Real miracles...

Raising the dead!
Salvation!

Which is the real miracle?

We have such a fear of death that we see the raising of the dead, or even the healing of someone who is suffering from a terminal illness, as the ultimate miracle.

Perhaps the ultimate miracle is that God has provided the way of forgiveness, that we might be saved from the death penalty our sin has earned us. If we were truly created for an eternity in the presence of God, as Genesis tells us, then perhaps Salvation is a far greater thing than even being raised from the dead…

Satan's work policy...

Here is something to think about…

Satan’s work policy:

If I see a people who believe in a false god,
I will give them poverty so they will cling all the more to their false
god.

If I see a people who believe in the true God, I will
give them incredible wealth, so they won’t need Him.

Doing the work of the Lord...

Are you busy doing the work of God?

Often, we become very busy doing what we think will benefit the church. We become very busy doing things for God.

On the surface, that seems all well and good. But can it be that we become so busy doing things for God, that we’re not actually helping God? Can it be that we are spending our time doing what we think God wants, while altogether missing what God is really calling us to?

Have you ever prayed, “Lord, help me do this work”? "Lord, help me do this thing, or that thing for you.” If you’ve ever prayed that, then perhaps your focus is on your work for God, rather than God’s work.

Instead of “Lord, help me do this work,” make your prayer, “Lord, let me help you in your work.” Instead of “Lord, help me”, make your prayer, “Lord, let me help you…” Only then will our focus truly be on the Lord. And only then will we know we are truly doing His will.

Power and the Holy Spirit...

In last Sunday’s message, I talked about the faith of children. How children live their faith and expect you to live your faith. But we are often worried about what others might think or what they may say, so we often remain quiet about our faith. As such, we are very powerless Christians.

Where does our power come from? If we were to become powerful, where would that power come from? It is the power of the Holy Spirit working in us.

How might we get this power? It is the power that comes to us as we submit to God. It is in submitting that we receive the Holy Spirit. It is in submitting that we receive God’s power.

Look at Peter’s example. The evening of Jesus’ arrest, he was just like you and me. Even though he had just spent the last three years with Jesus, in the courtyard, Peter denied even knowing Christ three times. Yet in Acts chapter 2, we see a powerful Peter, a transformed Peter. When Peter preaches in the streets over three thousand people come to faith in Jesus Christ.

What was the difference? The difference was the Holy Spirit! In the beginning of the chapter, the Holy Spirit came on the disciples. Even Peter, a disciple of Christ, perhaps the most sincere of all the twelve, could do nothing without the Holy Spirit. But with the Holy Spirit, there was no limit to His power!

If you want to be more powerful in your faith and in your witness for Christ, submit. The irony is the first shall be last - those that submit will be filled with Power. Because the power doesn’t come from within us. The power comes from God, and His Spirit working through us.

The great danger of pride...

I think that the great danger of pride is that our will becomes so much more important than it really is.

Truth be told, our will really isn’t very important at all. We boast, we want, we do, but in the end, isn’t it really God’s will that is done?

Furthermore, it is very possible to live our lives without any will of our own at all. In fact, we will do much better in life if we ignore our will, downplay it until it no longer exists, and just submit to the will of God.

The idea of submission to God’s will is so important in our life of faith, that the word submit appears some twenty times in Scripture! Perhaps, instead of being such a proud people, we should be a submissive people – submitting to each other (other believers) and to God.

It’s only when our will lines up perfectly with God’s will that we will find inner peace in our lives.

Children of the Bible

Sunday (June 8) was Children’s Sunday at the Almond Union of Churches. Some of the children present participated in the service, and the message, while we couldn’t get one of the kids to share anything, was about how God used several children in the Bible.

If you would like to read it, you can click on the link below…

June 8, 2008 – Children of the Bible

Thanks.

Poverty is not a curse...

Poverty is not a curse.
Homelessness is not a curse.

But maybe it can be a blessing!

Do you realize that God can use anything in our lives to draw us closer to Him? God can use whatever means necessary to clear away the stuff that distracts us, the stuff that keeps us from turning to Him.

Trials and temptations of all kinds might come our way, not to punish us, but to turn us around, and to cause us to seek God. Even poverty and homelessness might actually gifts, blessings, intended to clear our lives and turn us back to our relationship with God.

If you are struggling today, don’t think you’re being cursed. Don’t think of it as some judgment condemning you. And most of all, don’t think that God isn’t there. Don’t think you’re alone. Instead realize that God may be much more involved in the situation than you think, drawing you to Himself. God intends to have a relationship with you. God loves you. And He will use whatever means necessary to clear away the stuff that distracts us, the stuff that keeps us from turning to Him.

Poverty is not a curse.
Homelessness is not a curse.

But maybe it can be a blessing…
If we turn to God.