When you open a checking account you put money in. It is your money. Your ATM card comes in the mail. On it is a number to call and activate your card. Once your card is activated you can begin using it to make purchases through your account. When you were saved you were given a Heavenly Account. It is your duty now to follow through.
First you must look at your statement to find what you have in your free account. The Bible is your statement. All sins are wiped off the ledger and you have been given everything that belongs to Christ. If you have not read the statement (Scriptures) you have been missing out on the Heavenly Account awarded you at Faith in Christ!
Your account must be activated. You have a Father with your best interest in mind. He activated it for you. This took place on the day of Pentecost. The Holy Ghost was given to all who believe. You received this personal account administrator on the day you believed. Your account has been activated. You now have access to all the Father has gifted to you. But maybe you didn’t know this. Probably because you haven’t been reading your statement (Bible)!
Now you have the account. You are aware of its activation. What are you waiting on? Now is the time to spend some Heavenly money. It is yours, but it is for a specific purpose. As believers we belong to a faraway place called Heaven. Our account is for the purposes of Heaven. We are given all we have for the work and enjoyment of the place where we will spend eternity. We are not given our resources for poor stewardship in earthly purposes.
Believers are of a far country. The place is Heaven. Our home is eternal. We are to be workers for the Kingdom of God. All we have is for that purpose. Our Father leaves us without need when it comes to our service to and fellowship with Him. Until we open His record of our account we don’t know what we have to accomplish what He has planned for us to do. If we were account managers in any worldly firm and had this record we would be fired immediately!! Thank God we serve a forgiving and merciful God!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Asking for Revival (the Great Commission)
In the Old Testament book of Ezra the Temple was under construction after the People of God experienced a long exile under Babylonian captivivity. When the foundation of the Temple was laid (chapter 3) the older men wept and the younger shouted. The young men were viewing something they had only heard about. The elders were carried away by the memories of the Temple destroyed by the Babylonians. Weeping was certainly called for in remberance of the fellowship with God that was broken by sin and rejection of God's warning and call to repentance.
We as believers can look to a time that should cause us to weep. The time I will call your attention to is a time none of us have physically witnessed. We only have a record of the time when all believers were assembled together waiting. They waited for a person. The person they waited for was Jesus Christ in the person of the Holy Ghost. Coupled with the promise of the Holy Spirit they waited with a Great Commission in mind. After the person, Holy Spirit, was sent from on high and recieved by the Church a passion for fulfilling the Great Commisson propelled believers into life long ministry.
As we weep over a time past may we make it the time when the Church was given the Great Commission and made that commission the purpose of life. Sharing the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth was imperative to the early church and should still be for us today. The uttermost carries deeper meaning than most understand. Yes we should share the Gospel to the ends of the physical earth, but there is much more. Uttermost means not only the end of the physical but also the end of the time. We are in the time of the Church. Until we rest in Heaven in the presence of our Savior we are under the call of the Great Commission. May God Revive=change, awaken us to the original work of the Church.
One Commission, the Great Commission.
We as believers can look to a time that should cause us to weep. The time I will call your attention to is a time none of us have physically witnessed. We only have a record of the time when all believers were assembled together waiting. They waited for a person. The person they waited for was Jesus Christ in the person of the Holy Ghost. Coupled with the promise of the Holy Spirit they waited with a Great Commission in mind. After the person, Holy Spirit, was sent from on high and recieved by the Church a passion for fulfilling the Great Commisson propelled believers into life long ministry.
As we weep over a time past may we make it the time when the Church was given the Great Commission and made that commission the purpose of life. Sharing the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth was imperative to the early church and should still be for us today. The uttermost carries deeper meaning than most understand. Yes we should share the Gospel to the ends of the physical earth, but there is much more. Uttermost means not only the end of the physical but also the end of the time. We are in the time of the Church. Until we rest in Heaven in the presence of our Savior we are under the call of the Great Commission. May God Revive=change, awaken us to the original work of the Church.
One Commission, the Great Commission.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Praying for the work in 2010
Please be in prayer for all churches participating in the GPS initiativehttp://www.greatcommissiongps.com/templates/System/default.asp?id=48151 .
I desire your prayers in all areas of ministry.
1, Preparing for Discipleship Study (Soul Shaping) @ Cherokee Baptist Association Feb. 9 2010 @ 6:30 pm.
Monday, August 3, 2009
We serve a Jealous God
A lukewarm ministry is a withering blight. It is an iceberg in the Church. It
freezes and deadens. But can lips be cold which speak of heaven—of hell—of
never-dying souls—of God's everlasting love in Christ!
Henry Law, Beacons of the Bible, 1869.
Henry Law wrote the words above in 1869. They still hold true in 2009. God will spew out of His mouth the lukewarm church. That is from His word which is forever settled. It never changes. Why is it so important for believers to be serving with a sense of urgency accompanied by unmatched diligence? Because the God we serve is a jealous God?
God tells us through His giving of the Ten Commandments He is a jealous God. We should have no other god before Him. We are warned in the New Testament we cannot serve two masters. We will love one and hate the other. Everything we do must be for and toward one master. The right master is the Heavenly Father who is a jealous God.
We are not without instruction as to how to live a life of diligent service to our Lord. Countless examples are also given to us showing what happened to those who did not serve God (a jealous God) with their whole heart. Israel as God's chosen people often sought pleasure and went after false gods. Nineveh, a Gentile people, repented after Jonah preached only to later return to former sins. Both groups were not given a free pass. We read in Nahum chapter one what happened to the Gentile people. God told them He is a jealous God. Why jealous over a Gentile people? Because they were called to God. Through repentance they belong to God.
All who come to God by faith in Jesus Christ are made His. He is jealous when it comes to His own. Just how deep is His jealousy? So deep He has fixed a gulf between the prepared place of His people so no one can cross. Only Christ can take Gods people across. So deep He uses His word to rebuke and chastise His own children when we step outside His will. So deep He will one day destroy all who do not trust Jesus Christ as savior.
Our God will not share His Glory with another, He will not accept partial worship, He casts out all who do not accept His Son and He will one day right every wrong done toward Himself and His people. Why? Because He is jealous.
freezes and deadens. But can lips be cold which speak of heaven—of hell—of
never-dying souls—of God's everlasting love in Christ!
Henry Law, Beacons of the Bible, 1869.
Henry Law wrote the words above in 1869. They still hold true in 2009. God will spew out of His mouth the lukewarm church. That is from His word which is forever settled. It never changes. Why is it so important for believers to be serving with a sense of urgency accompanied by unmatched diligence? Because the God we serve is a jealous God?
God tells us through His giving of the Ten Commandments He is a jealous God. We should have no other god before Him. We are warned in the New Testament we cannot serve two masters. We will love one and hate the other. Everything we do must be for and toward one master. The right master is the Heavenly Father who is a jealous God.
We are not without instruction as to how to live a life of diligent service to our Lord. Countless examples are also given to us showing what happened to those who did not serve God (a jealous God) with their whole heart. Israel as God's chosen people often sought pleasure and went after false gods. Nineveh, a Gentile people, repented after Jonah preached only to later return to former sins. Both groups were not given a free pass. We read in Nahum chapter one what happened to the Gentile people. God told them He is a jealous God. Why jealous over a Gentile people? Because they were called to God. Through repentance they belong to God.
All who come to God by faith in Jesus Christ are made His. He is jealous when it comes to His own. Just how deep is His jealousy? So deep He has fixed a gulf between the prepared place of His people so no one can cross. Only Christ can take Gods people across. So deep He uses His word to rebuke and chastise His own children when we step outside His will. So deep He will one day destroy all who do not trust Jesus Christ as savior.
Our God will not share His Glory with another, He will not accept partial worship, He casts out all who do not accept His Son and He will one day right every wrong done toward Himself and His people. Why? Because He is jealous.
Friday, July 31, 2009
The Great Commission
Bloggers are having fun with the Great Commission Resurgence called for by leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention. Some are writing favorably and some not so favorably concerning the document laying out ten commitments believed to be necessary for a Great Commission Resurgence. The manuscript mentioned can be viewed here, http://greatcommissionresurgence.com/
Regardless where you stand concerning the GCR effort we are still called to fulfill the Great Commission. May we join in prayer concerning the Church and the Great Commission. When the United States are among the top three in most lost souls we should be greatly disturbed as believers. The Great Commission begins at home, but that is never a reason to not evangelize the people of the world. We should not strive to stop world missions because of our sin. The goal should be to repent of the sin, get it right at home and be vigilant in spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth.
Their is a Great Commission still before us. It has not been removed. May we be active in the commission, reliant upon the Commissioner and ready to go where commissioned!!
Regardless where you stand concerning the GCR effort we are still called to fulfill the Great Commission. May we join in prayer concerning the Church and the Great Commission. When the United States are among the top three in most lost souls we should be greatly disturbed as believers. The Great Commission begins at home, but that is never a reason to not evangelize the people of the world. We should not strive to stop world missions because of our sin. The goal should be to repent of the sin, get it right at home and be vigilant in spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth.
Their is a Great Commission still before us. It has not been removed. May we be active in the commission, reliant upon the Commissioner and ready to go where commissioned!!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Another Sunday Rolls Around
For many Sunday is a day of rest. Not everyone thinks of the day of rest the same way. Some think it is the day to sleep in, go from bed to couch and do as little as possible all day long. Others view Sunday as the day to wake up early, get out of the house to play and not return until bed time. What is your plan the next time Sunday rolls around?
God said Sunday was a day of rest. A rest from regular work and activity. A day for refreshing. Not only physical rest and replenishing, but for spiritual revitalizing. To go farthar it is not simply for your individual stimulation, but Sunday is for both you and the entire community of faith. Hebrews 10:25 happens to be one of the most quoted verses in scripture by pastors. It says; "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some [is]; but exhorting [one another]: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. " What is often overlooked is the verse before verse 25. Verse 24 says; "And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:" To overlook verse 24 is to overlook the full meaning God intended for His people. We are to be active in the lives of all believers. Workin together for the spiritual benefit of one another is part of our purpose when we assemble together on Sunday.
When Sunday rolls around will you reject the command to observe the Lord's Day? Will you conciously decide to decline the privilge of being strengthened by God's People.
Not only do we need to provoke others to love and good works we have the privilege of being provoked when we may not feel like doing good works and loving the way Christ did. I pray you will take advantage of what God has provided to His people through His Word and promises. Another Sunday is rolling around. Why not get up, get ready and Worship the Lord in the company of other believers today?
citations
http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Hbr&c=10&v=25&t=KJV&sstr=0
God said Sunday was a day of rest. A rest from regular work and activity. A day for refreshing. Not only physical rest and replenishing, but for spiritual revitalizing. To go farthar it is not simply for your individual stimulation, but Sunday is for both you and the entire community of faith. Hebrews 10:25 happens to be one of the most quoted verses in scripture by pastors. It says; "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some [is]; but exhorting [one another]: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. " What is often overlooked is the verse before verse 25. Verse 24 says; "And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:" To overlook verse 24 is to overlook the full meaning God intended for His people. We are to be active in the lives of all believers. Workin together for the spiritual benefit of one another is part of our purpose when we assemble together on Sunday.
When Sunday rolls around will you reject the command to observe the Lord's Day? Will you conciously decide to decline the privilge of being strengthened by God's People.
Not only do we need to provoke others to love and good works we have the privilege of being provoked when we may not feel like doing good works and loving the way Christ did. I pray you will take advantage of what God has provided to His people through His Word and promises. Another Sunday is rolling around. Why not get up, get ready and Worship the Lord in the company of other believers today?
A new survey released by The Barna Group, which has been tracking America’s
religious behavior and beliefs since 1984, reveals that one out of every three
adults (33%) is classified as unchurched - meaning they have not attended a
religious service of any type during the past six months. While that figure is
considerably higher than the one out of five who qualified as unchurched in the
early Nineties, it is statistically unchanged since 36% were recorded as having
avoided religious services in the company’s 1994 study.(The Barna Group of Ventura, California; www.barnagroup.org)
citations
http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Hbr&c=10&v=25&t=KJV&sstr=0
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