Thursday, October 27, 2016

Problems Part 2... Problems of Life



(How We All Feel Right Now)
Problems, problems, and then more problems; to be completely honest, we all have them… Some big, a few small, and several in between; however, we all that one or two really big issue that seems simply too much to bear. But why is this? Is it the enemy? Is it just a part of our life here on earth? 

And the questions just keep on coming…

For example, why is it that we worry about these problems and situations so darn much? Really; what has happened to our faith? Do we no longer have faith in God or in ourselves, that we have allowed the problems of this world to overcome us? How is it that, we have allowed these issues to outshine, and overshadow our God, how could this be? In our meager existence here on earth, it seems that we have somehow forgotten the Lord our God who brought us out of Egypt, regulating Him to a place in our lives of little to no importance and allowing our worries to take His place in our lives. This simply should not be, for as the Word tells us, from within our hearts, the mouth speaks, (Mat. 12:34) and by speaking of our worries and stress, more than of the Lord our God, we replace Him, which is truly a form of idolatry… making the issues of this world our idols, and the result of this is that souls may be forced to pay the price; eternal separation from the Lord Jesus Christ…

(Worrying Steals our Rest)

So, let’s talk about these “problems” and “worries” that have caused us so much grief; hence forth, we shall refer to them as Egypt, for as we know, Egypt was once a place of bondage, torture and the enslavement of God’s people. Egypt was a place in which the children of God were nothing more than tools, often abused, forced into hard labor, and forced to work to the very precipice of death’s door. Before we can proceed, we must first understand that for each and every one of us, Egypt looks different. For some, Egypt may be a lack of employment, yet for others, Egypt may be financial difficulties, and still for others it may be alcohol or drug abuse. For some individuals, Egypt can be many terrible situations, all rolled up into one; however, in reality, Egypt is nothing more than a mindset, an idea, or set of ideas that work to keep us as individuals, trapped, forcing the individual to act in ways not pleasing to God. 
Over the many thousands of years that Egypt has been a nation, she has been conquered, she has been infiltrated by her enemies, and she has even faced civil war, and although she remains a great nation even until this day, the face of the nation of Egypt has been changed, and just has the nation of Egypt has been molded and transformed throughout the years, the Egypt in our own lives shall evolve, change, multiply, and fall.
(Pack Up and Leave Egypt Behind)


At one point in my own life, I faced my own Egypt, and she was huge… filled with profanity and violence, not the kind you find on television shows and in the movies, but the real deal five to life in prison stuff, the types of story that you read about but you just couldn't imagine anyone acting that way stuff, and I felt as though I was trapped, in a lifestyle in which there are usually only two ways out, death or incarceration. After repeated conversations with my mom, my dad, and a good friend by the name of Tom, I decided to try this Jesus thing out, and so I asked God to reveal Himself to me... I prayed to the Lord and said, "God if you are real, and if you care about me like they said, show Yourself to me, act on my behalf, remove me from the terrible situation I have found myself in, free me from the Egyptian slave masters,” and He did, it was not quick, nor was it easy, but it was truly wonderful…

Matthew 9:29,30
Then touched He their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. And their eyes were opened...

(Some Days, We Just Want to Explode)
You see, in that moment, I asked Christ Jesus to remove the scales from my eyes: I asked Him to allow me to see the signs and the evidence that He truly cared; and you know what, He did just that. When Jesus revealed Himself to me, and when I could finally see the truth, it became so obvious to me that I had been living a lie, and for the first time in my life, I began to Glorify God and Praise Him, for who He was, and not for show… For so many of us, we go through the motions, or we do it because that is what we’ve always done, not knowing who God is personally, nor why we praise Him at all. Unfortunately; for so many of us today, the reality is that we do not really want to have a relationship with God, why? Simply stated, we do not wish to submit to God’s authority over our lives, nor do we wish to give Him any of our precious time… we only want our eyes to be opened just enough to see our way around Egypt while not seeing the source of the Light by which we see. Sadly, we don't even really want to leave Egypt, when asked, we say that we do, but just as many of the Israelites wished to return to the “safety and security” of provided by the Pharaoh and his bench men, we also choose not to follow God, preferring the easiness of this world over the narrow path that leads to God… We instead make our own god, and by doing so, we unwittingly make the prince of Egypt, the prince of this world, our God, turning ourselves over to the dark side, the darkness, and the one by whom the scales had been placed over our eyes to begin with… How sad…


(Jesus will Come to You)
So, finally, we have arrived here at the end of our short journey together, and before I go, I’d like to share with you the fact that I’m speaking to some of you today who for one reason or another just can't seem to “get it together.” I am speaking to those who are fighting “the battle of the flesh” daily, and I am speaking to those who are not really sure what’s going on, but you know “that something has got to change.” I am speaking to you today so that you know that God is real, and if you ask Him to reveal Himself to you, He will do it. Now, this is really easy to do, just talk to the Lord, and share with Him the reason that you've come to seeking Him… For example: “Dear Lord, I have come to you today because I need a healing, and I would like for you to heal me today, in the name of Jesus I pray, Amen” or perhaps you need the chains of this world to be broken off, because instead of honoring God and following after Jesus Christ, you run right to Egypt… Really and truly, it does not matter what the need is, just give it to the Lord, pray to Him and ask Him to remove that thing from your life, ask Him to show you that He is real, and ask Him to be your guide, and I can assure you that just as God did it for me He will do it for you…



Please, do not be afraid and do not put this off until another day, because one day, we may find that the gates of Egypt have become the gates of hell, and the way back is no where to be found… This, my friend, is real life, and we only have this one chance to get it right... So be careful, choose life, and choose CHRIST... God Bless... Amen

Saturday, July 30, 2016

the Restorer

(Restoration of an Antique Watch)
The word Restore, Restoration, Restorer, or any other form of the word Restore is found in the Bible at least 83 times, but what does this all me? However, before we can determine the meaning of this, we must know the meaning of the word restoration. According to the very intelligent individuals at Dictionary.com the word restoration simply means the act of restoring; renewal, revival, or reestablishment. The state or fact of being restored, and finally a return of something to a former, original, normal, or unimpaired condition... Now, wouldn't we all like a little piece of restoration in our lives... Now, let's see what the Bible has to say about restoration...


Proverbs 6:31 states that we are to be restored sevenfold...
Psalms 23:3 David tells us that God restoreth his soul...
Mark 8:25 Jesus restored sight to the blind man...
Luke 6:10 Jesus restored the hand of the cripple man...

The accounts of God’s ability to restore what has been lost are too numerous to count; however, we cannot discuss restoration without mentioning God’s promise in the Old Testament Book of Joel...

Joel 2:21 Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things...
Joel 2:24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil...
Joel 2:25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you...

(the enemy)
So, what does this all mean anyway? Great question, and here's the answer, God wants to return to you, everything that the evil one, aka. the devil, has stolen from you, your family, your loved ones and even their families. As we all know, Christ Jesus has all the power of the heavens above, the pits below, and the right here, and right now... The Lord can restore to you, all that has been lost or stolen, so there is no reason to fear. Our bad or past relationships, any old sin, or any number of mistakes will not stop us from reaching the promises of God, which he has given to each and everyone of us... Well, except you, me, and ourselves... Whatever the enemy has stolen from us, is still available to us, but you've got to go get  it, claim it for yourself... But in order to reclaim it, you have to call upon the Name of the Lord, for He is our Strength, our Song, and our Redeemer... So, what's the first step? first, you must believe...

As we know, according to the Word, Belief always comes before reward, John 3:16 For God so Loved the world that He gave us Jesus Christ, and whosoever Believes, shall receive life everlasting, and if we skip over to Hebrews, we will find that if we fail to have Faith, Belief, it is impossible to please God, for we must believe that God is, and that He is a rewarder to those who seek after Him... Repentance comes next, as Peter stated with much energy and excitement, Repent and be Baptized, everyone of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of our sins... After this, we shall receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost... But, there is one step missing here, it is forgiveness. Now, you may be under the assumption that I am going to now mention the forgiveness of others, and yes, this is a very important step; however, here, it is the forgiveness of self that is the question...


In this day and hour, it is sometimes very easy to see the need to forgive others of their mishaps; yet, we seldom see the need to forgive ourselves, and even when we do, it is very difficult to forgive ourselves, instead we simply move forward,selfishly holding on to our “misgivings” as if God is not big enough to both forgive our sins, and cast them as far as the east is from the west, permanently removing the mistake forever from our memory. 

(Jesus Writing in the Sand)
In John chapter 8, the Lord Jesus Christ has been confronted by a group of  Scribes and Pharisees, condemning a woman for the act of adultery, when the group asked Christ what should be done, He began to write in the dirt  while speaking, “He that is without sin, cast the first stone;” slowly, they all walked away, leaving Jesus alone with the young lady. Shortly thereafter, Jesus arose slowly and asked the young lady, “where are your accusers has no one condemned you?” Answering Jesus‘ question, she stated, “No man my Lord,” and here is where it gets good, “neither do I condemn you: go, and sin no more.” So, what does this all mean? well, simply put do not condemn yourselves for the things that you have already been forgiven for... forgive yourself, let it go, and move on... Once we learn to forget about what God has already forgiven us for, then, and only then are we ready to regain, what was taken from us in the first place; why? because we have taken the ammunition out of the hands of lucifer; thereby regaining control of our lives, and allowing the Restorer, to begin to work in our lives... Restoration...

I Samuel 12:16 
Now therefore stand and see this great thing, which the Lord will do before your eyes...





Friday, June 10, 2016

Fire and Power...

(Myself & Bishop Phillips)
The last few services at the PromiseLand have been phenomenal; Bishop Phillips has been bringing the word of God, and breaking it down, verse by verse, word by word... Prophecy, Power, the Holy Ghost, and Fire... the presence of God has surely been there, in each and every service, and just like on the Day of Pentecost 2000 years ago, the Holy Ghost came down like a Mighty and Rushing Wind...

Now, I know that some of you may not know or understand exactly what I am referring to when I speak of Holy Ghost Power and Fire: and so I'll give to you a very brief explanation of what, or rather who the Holy Ghost is...

As we all already know, Jesus Christ was crucified on Good Friday, after being betrayed by Judas Iscariot, one of the organization twelve disciples. Three days later, after descending into hell, and stripping the keys of hell and death from lucifer himself, Jesus the Nazarene would rise again! For forty days after the resurrection, Jesus would show Himself many times to His disciples; walking along the dusty roads just days after His burial, cooking breakfast on the beach, and passing through walls of solid stone before He finally ascended into Heaven. Before beginning His final ascension into the heavenly places, Jesus would have one final meeting with His disciples, in which He ordered them to return to the upper room and tarry there until the promise of the Comforter, that is the Holy Spirit, would become a reality...

Ten days after Christ's ascension into heaven, Mary, the mother of Jesus, along with Mary Magdalene, the brothers of Jesus, the Apostles and many others totaling one-hundred and twenty, where praying when a mighty and rushing wind came down from Heaven, and each and everyone of the 120 individuals present there in the upper room that day received the gift of the Holy Ghost... That same Spirit that raised Christ Jesus from the grave filled everyone in that place that night, and that same Power is available to you and I today just as the Apostle Peter describes below...

(The Holy Ghost)
Acts 2:14-21
But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved...

So, what do we do now? Ask yourself, do I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died for me? Yes! Now, What's the next step? Well, according to Acts 2:38,  we must Repent of our sin, then we are to be Baptized in the Name of Jesus for the remission of our sins, and finally, we become eligible for the promise of Joel chapter two, that the Spirit will be poured out upon all flesh, and that that same Holy Ghost Power will rain down on you... Yes! It's free, it's Grace, it's Salvation, Liberty, Freedom, and it's all freely given to those who Believe... Thank you Jesus for your Holy Spirit... Amen...

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Thursday, June 9, 2016

Problems...

(PROBLEMS)
(Completely Frustrated)
Problems, problems, and more problems, we all have them; although, it may seem that some are BIGGER than others, as humans, we all have our own share of them. So, what do we do when faced with these problems and situations that sometime arise in our lives? Do we face them head on, do we set them aside until tomorrow, or do we simply just  away cower in fear? For some, it is the first answer, for others it is the second, for others it is the third, and for so many others, it could be something completely different. Now, if there are multiple responses for the simple situations that arrive, what are we to do when faced with those larger than life problems, you know, those situations that, for many seem to be completely unbearable? Do we pass them on to the next individual, or do we just give up all together? To answer these questions we must first take a look at the Israelites, who at the time, were in captivity, slaves to the Pharaohs of Egypt, and their mighty armies. 

(Moses Splits the Red Sea)
For more than four hundred years, the children of Israel were in the lands of the Egyptians; while initially they were there as guest of Joseph, a child of the Israelites, yet a man and servant of Egypt, but as time passed they would become both slaves and prisoners. As time passed, the children of Israel would begin to cry out for God, and as they did they would soon find out that their God would not only listen, but He would answer, sending Moses, another child of both Israel and Egypt, to set His people free. Although it was definitely not the desire of the Pharaoh to allow the people of Israel, his prisoners and slaves, to simply escape out of his hands, the mighty hand of God moved in favor of the Israelites, first in the form of plagues, and then in the form of total destruction, washing away the chariots and soldiers of Egypt in the calamity of the Red Sea, following the final escape of the Israelites.

(The Chains That Bind)
Now, back to those pesky problems of ours, it seems that we, in our haste to lead our daily fast paced lives, have forgotten the Lord our God who has more than enough Power to bring us out of our own personal Egypt. Now, it is important to understand that we each have an Egypt, that place, that problem, or that circumstance that has held us captive at one time or another, and as we know, everyone's Egypt is different. For some, the Egypt they’re facing may be alcoholism, while for others it may be divorce, unemployment, or a plethora of other captivators; however, for myself, my captivator was a life of gangs and violence. You see, it appeared, to me anyway, that I was trapped in a lifestyle that generally had only two ways, death or incarceration. After several conversations, and what honestly felt like consistent badgering from my parents and friends, I decided to investigate this “God thing” for myself, and so I prayed to the Lord; speaking, "God if you are real, and if you truly care for us on an individual level, them reveal yourself to me, and act on my behalf, relieve me from this uncomfortable and terrible situation," and guess what, the Lord our God would do just that.

Luke 18:40-43
...Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, He asked him, Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it , gave praise unto God...


(Jesus Saves)
You see, in the moment that I prayed that prayer, when I asked Jesus to relieve me of the pain I was feeling, God removed the scales from my eyes, and allowed me to see Him for who He truly was. God answered the prayers of His son; yes, I am the son of God, and you are His child as well, and when I could finally see the truth, thats when I began to realize that I had been living a total and complete lie. You see, the job of the enemy is to steal, your joy, to kill your dreams, and to destroy your life, and that is why the enemy consistently launches these problems, situations, and other distractions into our lives, in order to keep us from living the life that the Lord had intended for us to live. As I stated before, I began to Glorify God and Praise Him, thanking Him for giving me liberty, for setting me free, and for removing the chains that had held me captive for far too long. 


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Thursday, April 14, 2016

#theAnswer...

A few nights ago, I was asked an important question, and in response to the question, this answer was formulated... and today, i'd like to share it with you...

(The Question)
Ok, I'll start by saying this, it is appointed unto man, once, to die, and the comes, the judgement...
(Hebrews 9;27)

So, if you're not dead yet, you have not been judged; therefore, you still have a chance at life... 

The Word also tells us that there is only one sin that shall be unforgivable, and that's blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, and seeing that you have to this day, not dropped dead, I'd say that there's nothing you have said or done, that the Lord shall not forgive... (Mark 3:29)

Now, I'd like to share something else with you, I have not always been this "Fred"  that you see, I was not always loving on everybody, nor was I even all that friendly, I was that guy that ruined everyone's good time, some of my homies would tell me, "I've never had enemies until I met you, and now everyone hates me"... 

I was a street thug and a hoodlum, in the early 90's, my friends and I started a gang that is still around today, and to be honest, I was  just an all around bad guy... But one day, a friend of mine began asking me to go to church with him, he was relentless... he just would not give up, and eventually, I gave into  his endless request, and I went to church with him, not because I wanted to, but because he would not stop bothering me about it, and so I went... 13 years ago, and that was the beginning of the best part of my life... One visit led to another, and another... I'd go once a month, then twice a month, and after a while, I was all in... It didn't start that way, but what had happened as time passed, is that I had begun to truly trust God, and I had begun to have a relationship with Jesus Christ... 

As time passed, I had learned to love the presence of God, and I had even begun to entertain and commune with the presence of the Holy Spirit, and it was then that my real life began to change for the better... No longer was I just breathing to death, but I was truly living the "Life more Abundant" that Jesus described in John chapter ten... So don't feel as though you have done too much, said too much, or strayed too far from God, because He has built us a bridge to connect our sin-riddled lives, with His Perfect and Righteous Spirit, and this bridge is crafted from two wooden logs... It was first tied together with a few pieces of thorny vines, before being nailed together with four nails, and sealed from corruption with the Blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ... 

Now, I've said all of that, to say this... 
(The Answer)

God has already called you, otherwise, you would not being crying before you even finished asking me the question... You are already His child, and He is already your God, all you've got to do is finish the job... Come back to God, call on His Name, and you shall be saved... It's really simple... It tells us in the first part of the book of Acts that if we will repent, which simply means to turn away from... Or in this case, turn toward God and leave the sin behind, and if we will be Baptized in accordance to the Word of God, in the Name of Jesus, we shall be redeemed, we shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit... It's really simple... So no, it's not too late, and yes, He will forgive you... God Bless, and I am praying for you right now... (Acts 2:38)

...Please forgive any errors in punctuation or proper English as this is the reply to the question asked of me on the FaceBook messenger service...

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Friday, March 25, 2016

Barabbas

What is going? Are you serious? How can this be? You are letting me go? Is this some kind of mistake? I'd better run swiftly, before they realize what they've done... But wait just a second, in my haste to remove myself from this dark, damp, dingy, cell, I looked in His eyes, and I promise you, I could see forever... 
(Crowd chooses Barabbas)

At the time, I did not know His name, I had only been told that it was my lucky day, and to go before the masses changed there mind... Asking again, I said, "are you sure they said Barabbas?" And to that the Roman guard replied, "leave now, run, or I'll kill you myself," and so I ran, I ran passing by the cell of the man who would take my place, the man called Jesus of Nazareth. Walking hurriedly into the crowd, ducking low and covering my head with the gown and filthy rags the guards had given me, I began to ask, those I'd bumped into, what was happening all around, what was all the cheering, shouting, and loud rumbling about... Only to hear enthusiastic shouts of awkward joy, and glee, stating that in just a little while, there's going to be a crucifixion of three criminals, one who had spoken ill of the Hebrew God, one who called Himself the Son of God, King of the Jews... Realizing that I'd just seen this man, and that I'd seen so much depth in His eyes, I decided to follow the crowds , and see who it was that had taken my place...

As time passed, you could begin to hear the cheering and the shouts of the crowd along the dusty streets, and it was then that I saw Him, battered, beaten, and bruised... The flesh of His back was literally torn to shreds... His arms pulsing, his knuckles, bloodied and bare, and His legs, bowed under the pressure of that cross, the cross that I knew was rightfully mine... And yet, He carried, and again, I saw His eyes, and in them... I could the pain and the anguish; yet, somehow it was different, I could not quite understand it, but I knew something was different here... As they passed and continued up the hill, I saw a man appear out of the crowd, a man I would later find out was from Cyrene, and he helped bare the weight of that cumbersome and heavy cross, and as they walked up the hill, I followed...

Who is this man, who is this Jesus? I asked throughout the crowded and tangled mass of men, women, and children as we all stumbled up the pavers and bricks... There were those who replied with vulgar language and shouts of hate, but these were not the answers I seemed, I knew there had to be more, for what normal man would bare the cross and punishment of another? Rumors swirled around, many states that in His hasty trial, He said very few words, and did not even defend Himself? What kind of fool would do such a thing, knowing the consequences he would face from the blood thirsty crowds... Yes, I am a criminal, and I admit this to all, but this crowd, they too are criminals and murderers, enjoying the pain of others as if it were a game... And so, I continued to walk...

(Jesus and the Cross)
As I approached the top of the Hill of Skulls, Golgotha, I could hear the yells and screams of the crowd growing ever louder as I stumbled about. Still, I hold the cloth over my head as I begin asking questions to anyone who's gaze turns away from the three men on the cross long enough for me to speak... Answers, it seems, are hard to come by, and the fear creeping up my spine, that somehow there's been a terrible mistake, keeps me ducking down beneath the bushes, though scarce, it provides to me some reassurance that the guards, the Pharisees, and the High Priest will not notice me and request another cross be brought up for me to bare... And then, as if in a moment preordained before time itself, I look over and see a woman, who's tears stream down as only a mother's can, and she is looking up, towards the man in the middle... With her, are many other woman, and they're better consoled by a man who's face seems familiar... And as I stop yet another man in the rustling crowd to ask who they were, before I could even speak, he declared, look there, the Nazarene's mother cries for Him, she cries for Jesus the Messiah, King of the Jews... Laughing harshly as he spoke, and as I looked up at Him, I could feel Him, peering into my soul as I fell to my knees and wept, for I had heard of this man of many miracles, I had heard the stories of how He had risen many from the dead, how He had healed the sick, and opened the blinded eyes, and now here He is, nailed to a wooden cross that was meant for me...

Puzzled, confused, and distraught, I remained there, in the crowd of onlookers, staring in amazement as He, this man called the Messiah, hung there on that cross, His body tattered, beaten, and bruised: the blood soaked cross; His only garment. As I continue to look around, I gaze upon a woman called Mary, being held up by another man, much younger; however, I could tell that he must have loved her, for he held her so tightly. Curiously, I asked someone in the bustling crowd, “who is that woman?”, “that is the sinners mother!” the vile man exclaimed, and as I turned back around, I could see Mary, his mother, as she knelt at the foot of the cross along with many others I could only assume where His followers, and although He clearly had many, there were quite easily outnumbered by the blood thirsty onlookers in the crowd…

What am I to do now? certainly there is something more here, I thought to myself, and it was then, in that moment that I recalled the split second in which I stared deeply into His eyes when Pilate and his cronies released me. You see, as I stated before, in those eyes, I could see forever, past, present, and future. Knowing then that there was truly something extraordinary about this man, I felt the need to stay for a while, and so I wrapped my loosely fitting garment around my head and I crept up toward the front, near His followers, barely a couple feet away from His mother, and the lady Magdalene.

As the hours passed, I watched his mother cry out in agony, I witnessed His followers, His brothers, and so many others crying, praying, and just lingering about, that is until things began to change at an accelerating rate. Jesus, the carpenter, the man up on that cross, was pierced in the side, and from His side flowed natural blood, and what appeared to be water, what sort of manner is this? How could this be that a man could be pierced, and bleed both water and blood? In that moment, it came to me, this was no man at all, He was the Messiah, and He has taken my punishment for me, and as I began to weep aloud, I remembered all the scriptures that I learned as a little boy…

Isaiah 53:3-5
(Christ on the Cross)
…He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed…

And it was then, in that moment, that I knew that, that this man, this man Jesus, He was the Messiah, and He willingly traded His life for mine, and for my sin, He died. Jesus the Nazarene is the Messiah, and it is only through Him that we can see God, and from that moment on, I followed Him, I saw him return from the grave, I walked with the Disciples to Jerusalem, and I was in the upper room when the Holy Ghost fell on the Day of Pentecost, and I followed His teachings, I followed His ways, and I followed Him, Jesus Christ the Messiah until the end of my days…


Now, this is just a fictional interpretation of what may have happened, anything is possible, or perhaps it did happen in this way, we will not know until that day we meet Him, Christ Jesus for ourselves; but what I do know is this, anyone of us could be  Barabbas. Jesus Christ willingly took the place of Barabbas on the cross two-thousand years ago: today, Jesus has taken our place as well, for it was by His sacrifice that we all have a chance to not only live, but to live a life more abundantly, for it is by His stripes that we are healed. The precious blood of Jesus has  Redeemed us. You see, there is no Salvation in any other name, it is by Jesus Christ that we are Justified, and it is purely by His Grace and Mercy that we, those who Believe, have received the gift of everlasting life…

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Thursday, March 10, 2016

UNITY

I am Christian, I am Pentecostal, I am Apostolic... I am One with Christ, I reside in Him, and He in turn resides in me... At this current time, there are some four hundred different denominations throughout the Christian world; far too many if you ask me... How are we to win this world for God if we cannot even get out of our own way, know what I mean?? And so, my goal is, and always has been, to focus on what makes us who we are in our mission to be "Christ-Like" what is it that brings us together under the umbrella of Christianity, and that is Jesus Christ... You see, we all have something that we can learn from one another, and it's my belief that there has got to be a dialogue that allows us to break the ice, tare down the walls of division, and bring us all back together under the Blood, Cross, and Name of Jesus, it is then, and only then that we can truly win this world for God, and we can go home...

Psalm 133:1-2
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments...

I Corinthians 1:10
Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment...

I Peter 3:8-9
Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing...

I can go on and on and on... However, there is really no need as we all know it is God's desire that we all Love God with every fabric of our being, and in all we do, next we are to love our neighbor as ourselves... and who is our neighbor? You are, and I am... 

So, we know that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah, this is the very foundation of the Christian Faith... He was born of a virgin, Mary, and He walked, talked, and taught the multitudes before giving up His life as our ransom at the age of 33. After dying on the cross, Jesus would rise again on Resurrection Sunday, aka. Easter, before once again appearing before many witnesses, including but not limited to His disciples. After 40 days, Jesus ascended into Heaven to await the moment that He shall return again in victory, but before He left, Jesus instructed His followers to wait for a sign in Jerusalem, instructing the disciples that they would receive the Power of the Holy Ghost, which they did ten days later while having a prayer meeting in the upper room...

When Peter was asked about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and the fact that each man heard in his own language what was happening, Peter exclaimed that this was the prophecy of Joel, being fulfilled. When those who witnessed these events asked Peter what they must do to be saved, Peter states with excitement that each man must repent of his own sins, each man must be baptized, and each man would then receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, and it was then that the world was turned upside down with the wonderful truth, of the Gospel...  

Now, let us take a look at the scriptures regarding this exciting event, which is basically the founding of the church, in the book of Acts:
(Acts 2:1-4)
...And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language...

Yes, as we can see, everyone involved, everyone who was present, and everyone who received the gift of the Holy Spirit that 50th day after the Resurrection, was there in the upper room, praying on One Accord, that is in unison... You see, at that time, there was no division, no separation, the entire group was there, praying together for ten straight days... Mary, the earthly mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, the Disciples, and many others, totaling 120 souls were there, praying together in one accord, and in that moment, The Lord our God fulfilled the Promise, the Comforter, that is the Holy Spirit, was poured out upon all mankind. Unity, this is what we need in the Body of Christ today, titles, denominations, specific dogmas, and the rules of man should all be torn away; thereby, leaving the pure, unadulterated, Word of God as the rules by which we live. Unity, although it may seem to be impossible, is what we need within the Body of Christ; however, we must be able to accept our brothers and sisters without judging them for who the were, or where they are, unity without conformity. 

(Leviticus 20:26)(I Peter 1:16)
...And ye shall be Holy unto me: for I The Lord am Holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine...

Now, before we conclude, it must be noted that the Lord has called us unto Holiness, for He Himself is Holy; therefore, we must understand that yes, He accepts us the way that we are, but in no way does He expect us to stay that way... We, the children of the Most High God, should strive daily to shake off the things of this world, dying daily to sin and filth, only to become born again in Christ Jesus everyday. Daily, let our prayers be filled with love and praise for one another, let our prayers speak of unity within the Body of Christ, and finally, let our prayers speak of the desire to restore unity within the Body and revival in the streets... Unity, Holiness, and Prayer, these are the keys to Revival, and the ushering in of the return of our Lord and King, Jesus Christ...

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Friday, February 5, 2016

Bibles For Pakistan...

The people of Pakistan are hurting, and it is only the Word of God that can heal them... Please join me in Praying for the church there in Pakistan, and if you would like to help to purchase Bibles in the native tongue, please feel free to contact me at:
Email
FaceBook

More info to come...

Here are just a few pictures of the church members and children... 
 The Church began with only fifteen members in the fall of 2015 and has now grown to over 160 souls...
 Pastor Sajin Sajid, pictured in white, has worked diligently with the people in the area, teaching them to walk in the path of our Beloved Jesus Christ; however, he cannot do it alone, he needs our support...
 Holy Bibles, and other materials, are desperately needed in order to teach the people of Pakistan, that there is a better way, the straight and narrow path which leads to Life more Abundant; yet more importantly, it is the path to Salvation...
 I work very closely with Pastor Sajin on a weekly basis via social media, emails, telephone calls and Skype, and I can vouch that he is doing the work of the Kingdom, and with that stated, I am asking for your help and support. Whether it be in prayer, fasting, or financially, every bit of help is a Blessing... God Bless... Amen...

...Repent and be Baptized, every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Acts 2:38