Christian Fellowship
“That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving...” Psalm 26:7
Vol. 20, No. 3 March 2011
Worldwide, we have just seen a winter for the record books. But you don’t have to get too excited; it is just the beginning. We will continue to see some extravagant events take place that will shake the world scene.
Where does that leave you as a Christian? Do you hold firm to your convictions that God knows what He is doing? Do you truly believe that He loves and protects you no matter what happens? If you have not yet been tested in this area, then it is going to be difficult for you when things heat up in your corner.
I have experienced so much over the past few years that I am more and more convinced of the love and care that God has for His children. The church is growing up and is able to handle disappointments and a turning away from the worldly scene that is coming down. You can’t be a part of it and still be safe in the arms of Jesus.
Salvation is truly more than believing in Jesus. It is abiding in Jesus Who will keep us and guide us in this Day of Vengeance.
Isa 61:1-2 (KJV) The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; (2) To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
In Christ,
Pr. Steve
CASUAL LIVING
Luk 9:57-62 (KJV) And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. (58) And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. (59) And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. (60) Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. (61) And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. (62) And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
Do not get distracted with the culture of our day! This is a pull from the spiritual darkness. The problem is that we are in a day such as Noah’s in which people were marrying and partying, eating and drinking, and doing what the culture dictated. There is nothing wrong with eating or drinking or marrying. But God’s Word says these activities can become problems. It is not that people do these things; it is that they take precedence over everything else. It is occupation with the world and the things of the world. The flood came suddenly and swept them away. The Lord knows we must eat and that we can marry, but we must not be consumed with the ordinary things of life. The problem is not the addicts, the homosexuals, or murderers. They know deep down inside what they are doing is wrong. The problem is the ordinary. Nobody is starving. Most people have a roof over their head. But what about the ordinary things? You may worry about the future, about terrorism, about paying your taxes. But you will survive. But what about that which goes on in your own household? Does it consume you and your time? Do you say you are following the Lord, but you are actually more concerned about the daily cares of life?
The greatest problems for the Kingdom of God are the mundane things that consume us--the ordinary living that keeps us from following the Lord with our whole hearts. Do we keep looking back wishing for something different?
When things get severe in our lives, as when someone close to us dies, or we have the loss of financial security, or a sickness overtakes us, we begin to pray like never before. We need answers and consolation and hope. BUT, if we are not in a difficult place, things seem to be settled around us and we lean back and relax; we tend to back off with God.
But we are in a war. When war breaks out you can’t relax or sit back and allow people to be destroyed. You have to watch and be on the alert 24-7. But we aren’t. We tend to the casual things of life as if the war doesn’t include us.
When the Lord says, “Follow Me,” He means keep your minds focused on Him at all times. That means “Watch.” What we think it means is, “Can I get away with doing what I want and still be safe? Just tell me the rules and I will follow to the best of my ability; and grace will keep me the rest of the way.” That is the attitude of “religion.” There is a big difference between following Christ and having religion that does what it wants just to survive. Religion is a school, but God is a life. You can learn about the things of God, but somewhere you have to start dealing with God. Religion has caused more wars and problems than anything else in life or throughout history. And, now, because of religion worldwide, we have the greatest threat to our way of living The point is that as we sit idly by with the mundane things of life, we are being overtaken-– American Christians are like frogs – we sit comfortably in a cool safe place; but all the while, things are heating up until we no longer have the energy to jump to safety. God wants to wake us up before it is too late. If you live a casual life, you are not being prepared for the Kingdom of God.
What is it that occupies your mind most of the time? You say, “But if I keep my mind on the Lord, I won’t get my job done.” Actually, it is quite the opposite. The more you dwell on the Lord, the more you will accomplish in a shorter time with fewer mistakes. You actually do better the more you dwell on Christ and on what He is saying and doing. You will do a better job if your mind is on the Lord. And then when things happen that are out of your control, you won’t be in a panic.
The way a Christian is supposed to live is to continually be asking the Lord “What am I to do today and how do I do it?” Don’t wait for a disaster. It was said that the government was not ready for Hurricane Katrina--of course they weren’t. They were living as usual, believing nothing bad was going to happen. But it did. And it will again--something will happen, but are you going to be prepared?
Follow Christ! Don’t live a casual life! Jesus told us what a true disciple was in Luke 9:23-25.
According to Acts 11:26 disciples were called Christians. So by definition a true Christian is a disciple who follows the leading and direction of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not how many times a week you attend church. That is the school of the disciple, but it is not the life. The life is when you decide that Jesus is first in your life. It is an orientation to the way you live. It is the way you approach life. It is the way you approach your job. It is the way you approach your school. It is the way you approach every test of life. You don’t live blindly. It is “Lord, how about this? Lord, how about that ?” Consulting Him becomes second nature to you. Then when the lid blows off, and it will one day, you will get through the situation with great grace and dignity.
Don’t get caught in the political issues of the democrats or the republicans. Get caught up with what Jesus is saying. You may think, "I don’t know what Jesus is saying." Did you think about listening? Stop and listen!
If we have received the Lord, then according to Colossians 3 we are already at the right hand of Christ. But you will lose sight of your position if you maintain a casual life down here. God wants us to become aware of who we are and where we are and what He is saying. Every true Christian has the Spirit of Prophecy. Are you developing it? It doesn’t make you a prophet; it makes you aware of spiritual things in your life and the lives of those with whom you associate. The Testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy. And it is in you, but you have to listen. Take time to be holy, and speak often with your Lord.
If you are having difficulty hearing Jesus, maybe it is because you are listening too much to the voices of the world. Too many voices make you crazy. It is a question of “redeeming the time.” How do you use your time? The casual Christian is occupied with worldly concerns. That condition is called “being lukewarm!” That is the standard of Christianity in America. But that doesn’t make it Godly. The rest of the world is not America.
When you come to the place where the Lord fills your mind and your thoughts, you can do just about anything; do it well; and be content in what you are doing, knowing that you are being led by the Spirit of God. But when you are not occupied by the Spirit of God, you find yourself wasting time, wasting money, and wasting your talents on the ordinary, mundane, useless things of life.
It’s not just a time of eating and drinking and marrying, but it is also a time of buying and selling, planting and building. Here, we are not talking about sin being the problem. The problem is taking for granted that you are ok when you “think” you are being true to Jesus. Instead, you may simply be “adding” Jesus to your life instead of making Him Lord of your life. Such a state means we have accepted Him as Savior, but not as King.
If you are going in the wrong direction, Jesus will help you. It does not matter how bad your situation; when you sincerely ask for His help, He will guide you through the rough times, the good times, and every time of life. No bondage can keep you from His delivering hand if you ask Him.
If you are a person who doesn’t spend any time listening to Jesus, you are doing exactly what Satan wants. He wants to keep you spiritually immature so you won’t be any threat to his kingdom. He doesn’t want you to rule because he thinks this earth belongs to him.
According to Bible, there are demonic spirits that have been sent to dry places after being cast out of people. They are constantly looking for a person who is open spiritually, one who has some water spiritually. These demons want to occupy your dwelling place to sustain them and give them a feeling of life. They will wear you down until they can find an opening to come in. This is not theory – this is Bible. And this is happening to the Church in America. Demons are being released from all parts of the earth. How many, I don’t know. Where they come from, we are not told. But they are here. And they will manifest when you least expect it. Little by little you gratify them until they begin to rule and control you. When you begin to dry up spiritually, they aren’t bothered. They just find someplace else to go—another body to inhabit.
But with the power of Jesus operating in you, they have no place in you. They can’t harm you and can’t touch you, but you have to mean business with Him and determine not to live casually.
The ordinary pursuits of life can so occupy you that you don’t hear from Jesus, and in the meantime the protection over your life is ebbing away. All the while the little demons are waiting, ready to jump aboard.
-Pr. Steve
. . . My calling as a pastor
Pastor’s Journal 2010
Mar. 4: “My peace is with you at all times. It is available through every difficult thought or circumstance. I am that peace. It goes beyond understanding. And it fills your being so you can think and act according to the power of the Spirit at work in your being.”
Mar. 5: “You have been declared righteous because of the faith you have in Me.”
Mar. 8: “At the “Name of Jesus…….”
Mar.9: “Be strong, Son, for this fight if not yours but Mine. I know the battle you are in but the victory is assured because I am in control.”
Mar. 11: Power is perfected in weakness.
Mar.13: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”
Mar. 18: “I hear your cries for help. I am leading you.”
Mar. 22: I will keep running the race until I meet the goal set for me by the Lord Jesus. Then I will receive my reward.
Mar. 27: Lord, You always treat me fairly. Teach me to have good judgment. Before I was afflicted, I did not understand the pain of others. But You are good and You do what is good. I have learned Your precepts with all my heart. It was good for me to be afflicted so I could learn your statutes. I will serve You all the days of my life
Mar. 30: “A broken and contrite spirit, O Lord, You will not refuse.”
The Fire of Love
Deu 5:6-22 (KJV) “I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. (7) Thou shalt have none other gods before me. (8) Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth: (9) Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, (10) And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments. (11) Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. (12) Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee. (13) Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work: (14) But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. (15) And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day. (16) Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. (17) Thou shalt not kill. (18) Neither shalt thou commit adultery. (19) Neither shalt thou steal. (20) Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour. (21) Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour's wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour's. (22) These words the LORD spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me.”
What do we feel when we read these commandments? Be honest with yourself, what do you feel? One can experience a myriad of contemplations, and even be moved emotionally by these commands from God; but the real message here is that God sends His fire to cleanse and keep us through His Word and His Spirit. He is our Heavenly Father and His love for us causes Him to speak to us, and His desire for us causes Him to commune with us.
Deu 5:26-27 (KJV) “For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? (27) Go thou near, and hear all that the LORD our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the LORD our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it.”
People tend to push away from God. Why would we push away from God? Unhealthy fear has always caused people to make mistakes. We should not make decisions that are motivated by unhealthy fear. We should instead ask ourselves what the motivation is for every decision that we are about to make before moving forward in it. We must also understand that God’s motivation is to care for us and to direct us.
Deu 5:33 (KJV) “Ye shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.”
We must let the fire of God consume everything that is not of Him in our lives. Only as that is happening is our worship to Him in spirit and in truth and our lives lived to the fullest.
Mat 3:11-12 (KJV) “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: (12) Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
We know that this fire is working in us because God loves us so much that He sent His only begotten Son to baptize us with His Holy Spirit and to give His life for us. His motivation is love for us, so let us live our lives with motivations of love for Him above all else.
Son 8:6-7 (KJV) “Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. (7) Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.”
-Kurt Thurston
“A Story”
It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80’s arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am. I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would be able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound.
On exam, it was well-healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress the wound. While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor’s appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me, no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I inquired as to her health.
He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer’s disease. As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in 5 years now. I was surprised, and asked him, ‘and you still go every morning, even though she doesn’t know who you are?’ He smiled as he patted my hand and said, ‘she doesn’t know me, but I still know who she is.’ I had to hold back tears as he left. I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought, ‘that is the kind of love I want in my life.’
True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be.
I want to share this with you; you may have seen this as an email before.
The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.
I hope you share this with someone you care about. I just did.
‘Life isn’t about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain.’
We are all getting older. Tomorrow may be our turn.
Next course from Christian Life Educators Network
Richmond Center:
April 7-9 2011
Biblical Approach to the Wounded Human Spirit by Rev. Carol Fallaw
This course is a study of the wounded spirit. We will examine reasons a person’s
spirit becomes wounded and gain a greater understanding of how God restores.
Included are practical tools to minister to hurting people.
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