Who gets the glory???

1st Corinthians 3:7

So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

Many times you hear people bragging about how many people got saved at certain meetings, or conferences. I've even been to one where a message of repentance to current believers was preached, and many went forward. All were counted as new believers. It was all a numbers game. A "look what we did" expression. But all of that, as Solomon would say, is vanity. It is truly God who gives the increase, not you or me. It's the Holy Spirit's job to draw the folks into the kingdom. It's our job to be faithful to what the Lord tells us to do. Preaching the gospel on the streets is great, and those who get saved are a miracle, but where are they now? Those folks need to get taught, and discipled day after day, week after week. Oh, but there's no glory in that. No notches for your belt once they're already saved. But if they aren't taught, they will leave, and perhaps never come back. I for one, don't want that on my head. Paul, here in Corinthians, is telling the folks that it is Jesus who saves, not us. The people back then were telling one another, "I am of Paul." (meaning they had come to believe through a message Paul had preached) or, "I am of Apolos." He asks them in verse 5, "Who then is Paul, and who is Apolos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one?" We need to be very careful that we don't allow pride to enter in. We are all sinners saved by grace. Those who serve in positions of authority are judged more harshly ("My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. James 3:1), but we are all from the same boat, and in the same boat. It's not about us, but it's all about Jesus, and what He did. He deserves all the honor, the glory, and the praise. Have a wonderful day, and keep smiling, Jesus loves you. He proved how much at the cross. :-) PJ

Put it on........

Colossians 3:12-17

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long suffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. 14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

OK, I know there's a WHOLE lot of meat in there. We're told to put on some things. How do we put them on? Well, when you wake up in the morning, do your clothes just jump up on you? No, you have to put them on, right? It's a conscious decision and physical action. Well, we need to do the same with tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, and LONG suffering. Hehehehe. (Perhaps we need to physically act like we're really putting on all these things.....and speak it: "I put on tender mercies, kindness, meekness, long suffering.......this day, in Jesus name.") We need to bear with one another and forgive one another, even as Christ forgave us.....we MUST do. He doesn't say if you feel like it, or want to.....no, do it. You may say, "Brother, it's addressing the 'elect' of God, that's not me!" Oh yea it is. You are a child of the King....I don't care whether you're in leadership or not. We are all ambassadors for Christ. We're all one body, the body of Christ. And while you're at it, put on love and let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. Teach each other the word of God, and sing with, and to, one another songs of praise to God. In so many areas, we need to grow up. I need to grow up. With the Lord's help it's happening. We're all human, and we're not (any of us) perfect. We're still in this stinking flesh and at times we're going to mess up. You, me, your pastor, your friend, your brother, your sister.......everyone will mess up once in a while. We purpose in our hearts not to, but at times it happens. So we need to put on those things we mentioned before. Be merciful even when mercy is not shown to you. Let God be the judge, you live for Him according to His word, and encourage one another with the word of God. And also, whatever you do in word or in deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus. That's great advice. We can't belittle others, hate them, judge them, curse them.......if we purpose in our hearts to do all that we do in the name of the Lord, can we? Have a wonderful day and God bless. :-) Pastor James

Inside and out

Hebrews 2:1-9

Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. 2 For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, 4 God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will? 5 For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. 6 But one testified in a certain place, saying:


“ What is man that You are mindful of him,
Or the son of man that You take care of him?
7 You have made him a little lower than the angels;
You have crowned him with glory and honor, [a]
And set him over the works of Your hands.
8 You have put all things in subjection under his feet.”[b]

For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him. 9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.

These verses warn us not to take anything for granted. God has proven His love is true by sending Jesus to die on the cross for us. He left His throne in heaven to come live among us and taste death so that we wouldn't have to. He suffered and died in our place. We have so much to thank Him for. Are we constantly whining about what we don't have? Remember what we do have! We have a place in heaven with the Creator of all that is. There is no substitute for Him. There is no counterfeit that will stand up to all His glory! He is holy, perfect, and full of grace to all who come to Him. But as we see in the first verses those who don't receive this great gift will be subject to judgment, even eternal judgment. Besides all the horrible things we know about hell (from what we read in the bible) the worst thing about it will be the absense of beauty, of goodness, and all that comes from the Lord. In James we're told that every good gift comes from the Father above. So separation from Him would truly be hell. The fire, the worms, the smell.......all that is bad, but the worst part about it will be the absence of the presence of God. All that is good that is on the earth.......the laughter of a happy baby, the singing of the birds, the cool wind upon your face, the rain..........all those wonderful things are given to us by God. The myth of the goodness of man is really the presence of the Holy Spirit. Man is not good by nature. As Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?" I'll tell you who can know it.......it's not you. Only God can know it as we read in the next verse Jeremiah 17:10 "I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings." Also God knows the secrets of the heart Psalm 44:21......also Luke 16:15 tells us God knows your heart. Acts 15:8 "So God, who knows the heart......" So only God knows our heart inside and out. That's why David prayed in Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties;
24 And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting. David knew that there was stuff in his heart that he didn't even know about or recognize. It's stuff that lays dormant (unknown and unseen) until things start going wrong in our lives. When we pray that prayer that David prayed, the Lord will indeed show us things that we need to let go of. It's up to us whether we will or will not. Please read all the scriptures that are given here. There are also reference verses (clickable links) and please read those as well. It will clarify what is being said here, and will also confirm it. Have a great day, and a blessed weekend. :-) Pastor James

The real thing!

Psalm 16:11

You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

I've been pondering this for a couple days now. Why do folks want to get drunk or high on drugs......or both? I speak from experience, I was not a novice in this area. I started smoking pot and drinking when I was 12, popping pills at 14, cocaine at 15, and LSD at 16 or 17. Don't quote me, as those years were pretty much a blur, which was the desired effect. I can say the drugs and the alcohol were anesthetic for the pain I was in from being a molested during childhood. My molester was the one who introduced me to pot and alcohol. But, as I grew older it was the "high" I was most addicted to. Even folks in prison will make their own intoxicant using whatever they can find to use. Guards look the other way usually and as soon as they get out of work they're heading to the bar or to pick up some intoxicant of their own. Now, looking back, I know that all of it was a substitute for the presence of God. I realize now that I was so longing for His presence that I was willing to do anything to fill that void in my life. The devil has been clever in his ways. He's told those who've accepted his counterfeits that if they ever come to Christ, they'll have to give it all up. Little do they know that they'll be trading in the counterfeit for the real. Many refuse to come to Christ because they don't want to give up that "feeling" that the intoxicant gives them. Very sad. See, as David wrote in the verse above, in HIS presence is fullness of joy. There will NEVER be fullness of joy in your life until you enter into the presence of God. That's why now when I'm tempted to drink or do drugs, it has little to no appeal to me. Why would I trade the real for a counterfeit? It's like if I came to you and said, "Hey, I'll give you this counterfeit $20 bill for your real $100 bill." You'd probably give me a good slap......hehehehe. And I'd deserve it for even thinking you'd be dumb enough to trade me good money for bad. When you begin praising God, even in your house alone, you begin to enter into His presence as He has said that He inhabits the praise of His people. When He hears you singing about Him, to Him, He's got to come and be a part of it. Eeeeeeeeeeeeee glory! Isn't that wonderful? In His presence is truly fullness of joy!!! Sorry for the tardiness of the post......was out and about my Father's business today. Have a great night and God bless. :-) PJ

Set free?

John 8:31-36

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

What is the truth that will set you free? Check out John 14:6. where Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." Many folks today would say, "I'm not a slave to anyone!" when telling them that there is freedom in Jesus. The freedom, is freedom from a slavery to sin. Jesus gives the best answer there ever was for sin, and for slavery to it. He said that if the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. With Jesus death on the cross, the debt we owed to God (our death for our sin Romans 6:23) Jesus paid in full. Not only have we become free, but also joint heirs WITH Christ. We get to live in His house, with Him and His Father forever! What a great deal! It's so simple that many miss it. Drugs and alcohol are a cheap substitute for the presence of God. We, as humans, were created with a burning desire to be in the presence of God. He created us that way. Also, we were created to praise Him. That's why whether you like the music or not, you'll be tapping your foot to it before long. God placed rythym right in you.......it's called your heart, and it never misses a beat...........until it stops. We were created to praise and worship God.....it's built right into us. And those of us who've received that forgiveness of our sins, will be dancing in heaven too.......singing praises to God. We can dance and sing in His presence even now. Many folks have argued with me, or about me, that I'm crazy to say that angels don't sing. No where in the bible is it said that they do. Folks want to point to the book of Luke when Jesus was born. But the angels "said with a loud voice". They never sang. You know who will sing in heaven? You will. I will. Just because a song says that angels sing, doesn't mean the bible does. I must admit when I was first told this, I was incensed! I couldn't believe it. Until I did the research, and no where is it said in the bible that angels EVER sang, or sing. Never. Not once. Sure they vocalize praise to God, saying in a loud voice, but never does it mention singing. Perhaps folks just assumed it meant sing. The bible gives us the answers, if we will just be open to read them, believe them, and receive them. Jesus will set you free, if you let Him. You can continue to be a slave to sin if you want to. He won't force you. The "other side" is just a heart beat........a breath away. Why wait? Receive Jesus now. If you already have, share His love with those around you. God didn't force you to believe, don't try and force others too either. It's done in the Spirit, not with reason or eloquent words. When Jesus spoke, uneducated fishermen understood and so did five year old children. He didn't have to make Himself look important, or feel important. He was real. He loved folks. He loved the ones He scolded too, but He didn't, not scold them. By the way, the ones He scolded were the religious ones who thought they knew it all and quite frankly, should have known better. The Messiah they were waiting for was right in front of them, and they were plotting to kill Him. They didn't even recognize their Savior. Our example is Jesus. Let's strive to be more like Him. It's not easy. We have to purpose in our heart, not my will, but Your's be done. Have a great day and God bless. James

Receive mercy & grace

Hebrews 4:14-16

Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Are you weak? Of course you are. In some area you have weakness. It's not about our weakness, it's about His strength. Even when we're weak, in Jesus, we are strong. We don't have to have pity parties where we summarize, or even speak at length, about "How unworthy we are of God's love......since we were such scumbags.......and we are still weak in this area and that area....." Stop it! Quit focusing on who you used to be, and your inability to be perfect, and focus on His perfection......His ability to change and transform you if you are willing. This is going to surprise some of you, but so be it. Jesus didn't die on the cross so we could all be exactly alike! Did you know that? He doesn't want robots, and cookie-cutter Christians. You are who you are. Some of us are more emotional than others. Some of us are more compassionate than others. Some have a shorter fuse than others. It's not enough to say "That's the way we are, and that's the way we'll always be." As I said the other day, we're all being perfected, or sanctified, daily. Most of our problems emotionally (at least as men.....I can't tell you in depth how a woman feels, because guess what? I'm not one) come from pride. Boys are taught to be tough, that crying is for girls and wimps. We carry much of those things with us into our Christian walk. Jesus wept several times in the bible within a 3 year span of time. How many before? We don't know. We should never let "feelings" dictate our entire lives, or make rash decisions when we're all messed up emotionally. That's why when a spouse dies, the remaining spouse should wait at least a year before making any BIG decisions. We're all going to have things that upset us as well. I don't share this much, and some of you don't know it. I'm the one who found my dad when he died in 1988. Mom came in shortly after. One of my fears is finding my mom like that. That terrifies me at times. And yes, the enemy uses it to scare me once in a while too. But with the Lord's help I deal with it. If it ever happens, I know the Lord will give me the strength to deal with it. But with all our fears and shortcomings we can STILL come before the throne of grace, boldly and receive mercy and grace!!! I'm happy to say there are fewer things that concern me about day to day life, because I know the Lord is in control, and He's promised to always be with me. I can try to leave Him, but He will never leave me! But as David mentions in Psalm 139, no matter where I go, the Lord is there. I can't run from Him, I can't hide from Him. I can't deceive Him, but I can deceive myself. And I can allow myself to be deceived by the devil if I choose to believe his lies. Jesus described him as a liar, and the father of all lies. I can't be you, and you can't be me. We are all striving to be more like Jesus, but we shouldn't be striving to be more like each other. Let me give some examples. I preach, but I can't consider myself a failure if I don't preach like John Hagee, or Joel Olsteen, or Benny Hinn, my uncle, my cousin,.......or ____________ you fill in the blank. I'm a singer/songwriter/musician, but I can't consider myself a failure if I don't sing like Third Day, or Michael W. Smith, or ________ you fill in the blank. How is music most beautiful? It's most beautiful when there are major and minor parts being played and/or sung at the same time. If they're all singing or playing exactly the same notes, it's quite boring and not very pleasant to listen to. An orchestra must play together. All the different parts in unity. An oboe by itself sounds silly, comical even. We are God's orchestra. All together, but all just a little bit different. Unity is the key. I pray you all have a great day, and a splendid weekend. God bless you all. :-) James

PS: I'm sorry for my grammatical and/or spelling errors from time to time. I usually remember to do the spell check thingy, but sometimes I proofread the post and miss something. I guess I'm still being perfected in that area too. Hehehehe.

Mortality rate?

Hi there everyone. I thought this was quite enlightening as far as information goes. Perhaps it's useless information, but perhaps not. We all hear about how terrible things are and the secularization of our society is most disturbing. When the ACLU chooses to defend NAMBLA (the national man boy love association which promotes and celebrates the molestation of young boys by adult men and also posted on their website how to best lure, kidnap, & rape a young boy) and go after cities and towns that even mention anything Christian or have a cross somewhere. I mean come on, Las Cruces, NM is translated "The Crosses". It's the name of the town for heaven's sake and has been for years. Anyway, I'd better get off of that before I start quoting more documented cases of this secularization I'm speaking of. Here's the mortality rate study I did last night. I thought it was quite telling. Did you know that doctors in hospitals didn't wear gloves or even wash their hands when going from one patient to another until the early 20th century? Amazing. God told His people about disease way back in Moses time. Remember hearing about clean and unclean? Other nations died out because they didn't know about germs or diseases being spread. The Israelites were not so. Is God good or what? Here's the post:

Life expectancy at birth in the United States in 1901 was 49 years. At the end of the century it was 77 years, an increase of greater than 50%. Here are some other mortality rates from different cultures and different eras of time:

Classical Greece, 28
Classical Rome, 28
Medieval England, 33
End of 18th Century, 37
Early 20th Century, 50
Circa 1940, 65
Current (in the West), 77-81

All the above information was taken from Wikipedia.org website

Have a great day and God bless. :-) Pastor James

Get real???

2nd Timothy 3:1-6 & 12-14

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

12 Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. 13 But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.

Any of the above sound familiar? We have families nowadays run by the children, not by the parents. Many children aren't taught right from wrong, and even if they are, if it's not based on the word of God it holds no value. There's a wonderful movie out there, and it's not easy to find. It's called "Time Changers". The premise of the movie is that teaching right from wrong without mentioning that it's the word of God is basically useless. When you explain that God set up a way for us to live based upon His word, then it makes more sense. If you tell a child that it's simply wrong to steal, he or she may ask you, "Who says it's wrong? Feels right to me!" We also have many churches turning from the teachings of God and allowing an inclusionism mentality to seep in. That basically means they believe all paths lead to God so why not have a Wiccan (witch) come in and teach us their ways. If you want to unite under the banner of Christ.......those who don't believe in the deity of Christ are not going to go along with you. No matter what you call yourself you're my brother/sister if you believe what the bible teaches is necessary for salvation. And what is that? Believe in your heart (and confess with your mouth) that Jesus was born of a virgin, lived a perfect life, died on the cross for your (our) sins, and was raised from the dead on the 3rd day. That's the foundational belief system that's required for salvation according to the bible. That is what a Christian, or follower of Jesus believes. Check out Romans 10:9-13. The word of God is not confusing on that point. It's quite clear. That doesn't mean we have to be rude to folks from other faiths, but we cannot expect them to accept our ways, nor can we accept theirs. Jesus spoke about the way to heaven, and He was also quite clear. He didn't say there were many ways to heaven. He said that He was the only way. In
John 14:6
He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." He didn't apologize or go along to get along.......He told it like it is. Many folks nowadays want a pleasing gospel. Let's not talk about sin, heaven forbid. Sin is why we need Jesus. We can't defeat it, or stop doing it completely. You're a sinner.......I'm a sinner. We don't practice sin, but we do fall into it. We are all being sanctified daily.......granted we are reading our bibles and seeking the Lord daily. We see in
Romans 12:1-2
that we need to (verse 1) present ourselves (our bodies even) as living sacrifices to God. And we should also (verse 2) be transformed by the renewing of our minds. We need a good "brain washing". We all picked up garbage throughout our lives before submitting to Christ and giving our lives to Him.........being born again (see
John 3:1-21). Again these are not my words, or my opinion. This is the word of God folks. Who instituted the law of gravity? God, right? So you can go stand up on 10 story building and proclaim that you don't believe in the law of gravity until you're blue in the face. But once you step off the edge of that building, does your unbelief make it not so? Of course not. The law of gravity will apply whether you believe in it or not. Jesus spoke more about hell than He did about heaven. He wanted to make sure that no one went there. Your salvation was paid for by Jesus' death on the cross, and was sealed by His resurrection. But if you never acknowledge that gift, and receive it.........where will you go? Jesus has the only answer to sin. You don't have to work for it, you don't have to (nor could you ever) earn it. Your salvation is God's free gift to you. Are you going to receive it, and share it with others, or not? It's up to you. If you receive that pardon of your sins, that forgiveness that you and every human yearns for.........you will want to share it. I don't believe in forcing people, or jamming Jesus down people's throats. Tell them what He's done for you. Who you were before, and who you are now. That's what I do. I'm not proud of who I used to be, and how I used to be. But I know I couldn't be where I am now without Jesus. And every part of my life before prepared me for what I'm doing now. Are there things I wish I wouldn't have gone through that weren't my fault or my choice (as well as things that were my fault & choice)? You bet. But I can now minister to others who are going through the same things. I can't pretend to be perfect because I know I'm not. I am being perfected, but I'm not perfect yet. Again, I've said it before, but I wish I could get a T-Shirt made that says, "Under Construction, God's still working on me". I think that would be a great shirt. Maybe I'll copyright it, and get it done. Hehehehe. Please be careful, because there are folks out there who will try and confuse you and try to get you to believe them rather than the word of God. DON'T DO IT!

I'm sorry I didn't get to post today (Oct 11th, 2005) but I am posting tonight for tomorrow (10/12/05) as I have an early appointment and don't want to miss posting again. I pray that you read all the scriptures I put in these posts for a better understanding of everything that's said. On my blog On average it takes me between 30 minutes and an hour and half to do these posts, depending on their length and depth. It's well worth it to know that we are all being strengthened in our walk with the Lord. In my blog site of JesusfreaksRus (http://jesusfreaksrus.blogspot.com/) I provide clickable links for every scripture I mention and I'm putting that feature in this post as well. Hope it works here in my email. Have a great day and God bless........I'll see you friday. :-) Pastor James

Who's your hero???

Ephesians 5:1

Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

Here's a question for you. Who do you imitate, or strive to be like? Britney Spears? Brad Pitt? Madonna? Tom Brady? Who do you want to be more like? In whose image are you patterning yourself? This is a serious question, that we all must answer. If not outwardly, we should at least be honest with ourselves. Here we are taught to be imitators of God as dear children. Have you ever seen a little boy stretching to reach his daddy's footsteps so he can walk in them? Or have you seen a dad mowing the yard, and his little boy with a plastic mower right behind him? Daughters with moms may imitate their cooking or cleaning, or work they may do on the computer. This is what it is talking about. To see what the Lord does, and to imitate Him. What did Jesus do while He was on earth? What example did He leave us with? Mainly, to walk in love......to put others first, even when it's not convenient. Have you shared Jesus' love with anyone recently? Have you prayed for anyone, not worrying about who was watching, or what they would think? We aren't supposed to crave an audience, or to pray just to be noticed (as the Pharisees did), but we aren't to be ashamed of doing what's right, or praying for folks in a crowd. I wasn't ashamed to smoke and drink in front of people some years ago. I cursed in front of them, drove drunk on the highways, and pushed people around who annoyed me. Why should I now be ashamed to speak of Jesus, to pray for folks in the middle of a restaurant, a post office, Wal-Mart....where ever. When the Lord moves on my heart to do something, I do it. Do I always do what I should? Sadly, I must admit, I don't. Do I sometimes argue with the Lord about doing some of these things? Yep. But for the most part, I obey. What are we showing those around us? Can they tell we are imitating God? I'm just saying, let's apply what we've read today, to our lives. Let's be more obedient, and more open to the leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Amen?

I want to thank you all for your prayers as we went to see my cousin in prison. It went quite well as far as a visit goes. He's still got questions. There is much confusion within him, and we know who the author of confusion is. Please keep Bobby in your prayers. Have a wonderful day, and remember, Jesus loves you, and He's praying for you right now. :-) Pastor James

Originally posted 11/17/04. Please do continue to pray for Bobby.......he's out now and looking for work.

Sad but true......Pastor Search Committee

PASTOR SEARCH COMMITTEE REPORT


In our search for a suitable pastor, the following
scratch sheet was developed for your perusal. Of the
candidates investigated by the committee, only one
was found to have the necessary qualifications. The
list contains the names of the candidates and
comments on each, should you be interested in
investigating them further for future pastoral
placement.



NOAH: He has 120 years of preaching experience, but
no converts.
MOSES: He stutters; and his former congregation says
he loses his temper over trivial things. After
investigating his past, we also discovered that he
was also a murderer.
ABRAHAM: He took off to Egypt during hard times. We
heard that he got into trouble with the authorities
and then tried to lie his way out.
DAVID: He has unacceptable moral character. He might
have been considered for minister of music had he
not fallen.
SOLOMON: He has a reputation for wisdom, but fails
to practice what he preaches.
ELIJAH: He proved to be inconsistent, and is known
to fold under pressure.
HOSEA: His family life is in a shambles. Divorced,
and remarried to a prostitute.
JEREMIAH: He is too emotional, alarmist; some say a
real "pain in the neck".
AMOS: Comes from a farming background. Better off
picking figs.
JOHN: He says he is a Baptist...but lacks tact...and
dresses like a hippie. Would not feel comfortable at
a church potluck supper. It has been said he even
eats grasshoppers dipped in honey...
PETER: Has a bad temper, and was heard to have even
denied Christ publicly.
PAUL: We found him to lack tact. He is too harsh.
His appearance is contemptible and he preaches too
long...
TIMOTHY: He has potential, but is much too young for
the position.
JESUS: He tends to offend church members with his
preaching. Too radical. He especially offends Bible
Scholars. And he is too controversial. He hangs out
with sinners. He even offended the search committee
with his pointed questions.
JUDAS: He seems to be very practical, co-operative,
and good with money. He cares for the poor and
dresses well. We all agreed that he is the man we
are looking for to fill the vacancy as our Senior
Pastor.
Thank you for all you have done in assisting us with
our pastoral search.

Committee Chairman
D. O. A.

Church???

Hebrews 10:23-25



Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching.



Amen!!! For time sake I didn't go through the whole thing here, but please read from 19-25 and you will get the gist of the whole thought here. I'll take it up where we started. We are to hold fast to our confession that Jesus Christ is Lord of all. It is He who saved us and not ourselves. Always have your brothers and sisters in mind so that you will show His love that is within you. Verse 25 is all about going to church and being part of an active bible believing, Jesus preaching church. We are all to be under authority, to be accountable to someone. If we don't endure sound doctrine (the word of God, not the word of man) then we will be easily led astray. If we don't have fellowship (physical fellowship like in the church) with other believers we can get stagnated in our thinking and opinions of the word of God. We will read it less, and believe it less. We will begin to trust in what we feel rather than what the word of God says. Or we will be subject to popular opinion, rather than God's opinion, which you will find only in His word. That's why when you feel strongly about something you believe, find out why you believe it. Is it really something in the word of God, or did you misinterpret something someone once said as being the word of God? Many arguments and disagreements are founded on half truths. I try not to answer anyone with my opinion or how I feel. I like to answer with God's word, and let everyone decide for him/herself. Now we see here in verse 25, the "day". What the heck is that??? As we begin to see that time is running out according to prophesy in the bible, then we are to meet even more frequently. I believe we can see that happening. But that's a whole other subject. One day. Anyway folks, encourage one another, and go to church. That's what I get as the main point of verses 24-25. From 23, hold on to Jesus, and the commitment you made to follow Him. TTFN and God bless folks. :-) Pastor James

Don't forget

Hebrews 13:15-16

Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

Ah, the sacrifice of praise. What does that mean? Well, what I get from it is this: Praise God all the time, especially when you don't feel like it. You may say that doesn't make sense, but that would be a sacrifice of praise. I love how he says, "And do not forget to do good and share...." I really dig that. Just in case you did, don't forget to do good and share. God has shared all He has with us. His earth, His air, His kingdom, His Son.......all He has we have inherited through the death and resurrection of His Son, whom He gave us. We're not at the bottom of the will, but at the top. We are joint heirs with Christ.....EQUAL heirs. WOW. So after hearing all that, saying Amen, and jumping up and down a few times........ask yourself......why wouldn't I do good and share? God is all about giving. He gave His only begotten Son and all the other things we mentioned above. God is a giver. The question is, are we? The world is full of takers, but we are supposed to be givers. Now that doesn't mean you need to be penniless living in a tent down by the river or something......but you should have that willingness to give. It's in our new nature that we inherited through Christ. Not only do we have a new physical inheritance (as I spoke of recently.....such as we don't have to receive generational diseases in our physical family as we have a new inheritance) but also a spiritual inheritance. Just like a son or daughter will look like their parents, so we should (and do) look like our Father and Jesus. Ask the Lord to give you His heart for the lost. Ask Him to show you His love for them, and for you. You may be weeping for several days. His heart breaks for those who choose not to receive His free gift to them. He aches for those who have, or may end up in hell. He of course knows the future, we do not. If you ask Him to show you, He will. We need to get serious about telling folks about Jesus both in word and in deed. It brings me so much joy to be able to give. It's not that I want accolades, or to be thought of as someone special.....no I want the Lord to be lifted up, and I want them to know Him as I do. And just the simple act of a smile can do that. Opening a door......allowing someone ahead of you in line. Helping a stranger with no expectation of reciprocation (them being able to pay you back). How could we ever pay back Jesus for His sacrifice, or God for His gifts? Never. Not in a billion years. The beautiful thing is, He doesn't expect us to pay Him back. He just wants a relationship with us. Praise Him today, no matter what you're going through......knowing that whatever you go through, you'll grow through. And if you don't grow through it, chances are, you'll go through it again. Have a great day and God bless. :-) James

Press on

Philippians 3:13-14

Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

The New Living Translation says, "I'm still not all I should be...." Our question to ourselves should be, "Am I content with where I am in my walk with Christ, or do I want more?" And, "Am I really forgetting those things which are past? Am I pressing forward or am I stopped in the middle of the road, or on the side of the road watching others go by criticizing their pressing forward while I'm doing nothing?" It's easy to stop to smell the roses and stay there. We're supposed to be moving on, but many of us are stuck where we were 5 years ago....10 years ago, 20 years ago. We're still criticizing folks who passed us by (spiritually) years ago. They are speaking to mountains and seeing them move while we're still complaining about the mountain questioning God for it, and wondering if it's His will for there to be a mountain in our way. Marilyn Hickey gave some insight on this matter today in her teaching today. She said, "If it's God's will for that mountain to be there, why'd He tell you to move it?" Jesus said we could speak to this mountain or that mountain and tell it to move. And so why don't we? Is God unable to move it when we speak, or are we unable to believe He can do it? Well folks, God can certainly move it. The question is, are we ready for it to be moved, or have we grown attached to it? We all have mountains in our lives. Are we trying to climb over them, or go around them? Or have we just accepted that the mountain's there, and it's not going anywhere, so neither are we? Let's press on brothers and sisters. Let's not sit idly by and hear about signs and wonders......and let's not follow signs and wonders......they're supposed to follow YOU! Speak to that mountain in your life, no matter what it may be. Sickness, fear, financial problems, unsaved loved ones.......no matter what your mountain, speak to it. No one else can speak to it for you. YOU must command it out of the way. Your mountain can only hear your voice, not mine, not someone else's. Quit looking back and patting yourself on the back about the mountains that you spoke to that moved yesterday, and last year.....PRESS FORWARD and move on towards the finish line. Does a mile runner stop after the quarter mile and celebrate because he beat everyone to the quarter mile marker? No, not if he expects to finish the race. He keeps going and pressing forward. Have a wonderful day and God bless. :-) James