All Posts - Discipleship Network Forum

Say you will!

Posted by Federico Aguelo on February 22, 2011 at 6:45

ADONAI said to Moses, “Speak to Aaron and his sons, and tell them that this is how you are to bless the people of Israel: you are to say to them,

‘May ADONAI bless you and keep you.

May ADONAI make His face shine on you and show you His favor.

May ADONAI lift up His face toward you and give you peace.’

In this way, they are to put My Name on the people of Israel, so that I will bless them.”

- Numbers 6:22-27

In my previous blog, I submitted to you that ADONAI ELOHIM created by the spoken word. The Word of ADONAI is Truth and spiritual reality. The Word is the very ingredient of the invisible which ADONAI made visible. Therefore, every Word of ADONAI contains the spiritual force that created everything that we see in our world today.

When we realize how important the Word of ADONAI is, there is a longing within our inner man that begins to desire to know more and experience the reality of His Word. This is the very reason why ADONAI instructed us to keep the Word in our hearts. We are to teach them carefully to our children. We are to talk about them when we are at home, when we are travelling on the road, when we lie down and when we get up. The Word should become so real that we apply them in everything we do as our spiritual service of worship. We are to remind ourselves with them by inscribing them not only in memory but even on the walls of our houses and especially our doorframes and gates (Deut 6:6-9). Why? Because the Word is our life. Even the smallest particle in all of creation was made by the Word of ADONAI.

So, today, as a family, I strongly suggest to the head of the household, especially the men, to pray a verbal blessing to your entire family. You are the priest of ADONAI to your household, so I strongly recommend that you pray the Aaronic blessing upon your family as written on Numbers 6:22-26. Please study it carefully so you may appreciate what ADONAI wants to happen to your family. Bear in mind that it is important to pray it aloud so everyone can hear it because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of ADONAI (Rom 10:17). It also warns the enemy to beware of your family and it puts a hedge of protection around them.

Please pray with me, the prayer of the Psalmist:

“Teach me, ADONAI, the way of your laws;

Keeping them will be its own reward for me.

Give me understanding; then I will keep your Torah;

I will observe it with all my heart.

Guide me on the path of your commands,

For I take pleasure in it.

Bend my heart toward your instructions

and not toward selfish gain.

Turn my eyes away from worthless things;

with your ways, give me life.

Fulfill your promise, which you made to your servant.

which you made to those who fear you.”

-Psalms 119:33-38

מלאך

Truth or Consequence

Posted by Federico Aguelo on February 21, 2011 at 6:36

ADONAI, GOD, gave Adam this order: “You may freely eat

from every tree in the garden except the tree of the

knowledge of good and evil. You are not to eat from it,

because on the day that you eat from it,

it will become certain that you will die.”

- Gen 2:16,17

Today, people examine facts and their beliefs are founded on it. Their perception is purely based on their sense of sight, smell, hear, touch and taste. In short, man has to translate everything he encounters in concrete terms. The problem is, western education has taught us to think in abstract ways, Western education was heavily influenced by the Greek model of thinking. It was the ambition of Alexander the Great to change the language of every people he conquered because if he succeeded, it wouldchange the cultural climate. After all, the words of every language express the thoughts of every man. The new concepts and ideas of the Greek language would force a shift in the mindset of the man and thus influence his behavior. As a man thinks, so he is!

Introducing a new language or rather the idea that embodies words and a language was not Alexander’s unique idea. It was actually concocted by the old Serpent in Eden when he told Eve, “Did GOD really say…?” To prove his point, he appealed to Eve’s five physical senses to discredit the truthfulness of GOD’s word. He pointed out the facts: the fruit was beautiful to behold, smells good and would probably taste delicious. It was nutritious and would make her wise, even spiritually wise, discerning good from evil. So she took some and ate, and also gave some to Adam (Gen 3:1-6). However, we all know that we don’t always ‘get’ what we ‘see’. Physical beauty is just skin deep. The Serpent’s words can mean many things but GOD’s word can only mean one thing. Welcome to the murky world of crafty deception! Facts can be totally different from Truth.

When ADONAI ELOHIM created, He spoke the word. When Satan temps, he twists GOD’s word by using it in a different light. The word of ADONAI is Truth. The devil uses facts or even invents facts to affect the mindset of man. An example would be the Theory of Evolution. The Theory of Evolution espouses that all living things evolved from simple one-cell blob. Modern science tells us through extensive empirical research that even a one-cell animal is quite complex in structure with each part functioning with precision in a highly developed system. In fact, studies in microbiology have concluded that every living thing that has been discovered, even in fossil form, was already quite complex contrary to Darwin’s claim. The missing link is still missing and the theory of evolution has never been empirically tested and proven. But it is taught in schools, even by well-known professors as fact; even though science has debunked the theory so many times. The enemy would like us to believe that we came from the apes and the chimpanzee is our cousin. The Truth is, man was created in the image of GOD.

The Truth is, all believers are adopted sons of ADONAI through their union with YESHUA the Messiah (Gal 4:5-6; Eph 1:5). ADONAI created each living thing according to its kind (Gen 1:24-25). All believers are ADONAI’s kind through the blood of YESHUA which was shed on the cross (Jn 1:12; Eph 2:19). All believers are partakers of the divine nature through YESHUA (2Pet 1:4). All believers have the mind of YESHUA the Messiah (1Cor 2:16b). The mind of CHRIST only operates in ADONAI’s presence. All believers are blessed with all the blessings in the heavenly places (Eph 1:3) and with all the blessings of Abraham (Gal 3:14).

The Truth is, all believers are complete in YESHUA the Messiah (Col 2:10)and He holds us together and upholds us by the word of His power (Col 1:17; Heb 1:3). Nothing can separate us from the love of ADONAI!(Rom 8:38-39)

The Truth is, history is already written (Is 44:6-8) and in the Name of YESHUA, all believers have already won!(Rev 17:14)

מלאך

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF SALVATION? (Part Three)

Posted by Bobby Bruno on February 18, 2011 at 9:07

Who are the Wicked?

At one time we were all wicked people. We didn't know God through His Son, Jesus Christ. We did things to ourselves and other people that were wrong and cruel. Things that we thought we were justified in doing. Things that we now know were very wrong to do. We were unloving because we didn't know how to yet love because the truth wasn't yet in us.
But what made us wicked people? We all know that we became wicked at the Fall, when humanity decided that we were better off without God. When we look around the world today we see wickedness of many kinds. But ask those who don't know Jesus just what makes a person wicked and you may get many different answers. At first they won't acknowledge that they are wicked, but are, in fact, "good" people. Telling them that God said that there are no good people doesn't change their minds.
But what does it mean to be wicked (a biblical term)? Being wicked is having a mental disregard for justice, righteousness, truth, honor, virtue; evil in thought and life; depravity; sinfulness; criminality; pride and vanity; lust (International Standard Bible Dictionary), to name just a few. I'm not going to take the time to go into each one because I know that you can see these attitudes everywhere you look. And, may I dare say, we still see some of these attitudes in those who are following Jesus, because we know that we have not achieved perfection yet, and that our walk with Jesus is a step-by-step process of two steps forward, one step back.

God Promises Me That He Will Protect Me From Evil

How does God save us from the wicked? In Psalm 97:10, David exclaimed: You who love the LORD, hate evil! He protects the lives of his godly people and rescues them from the power of the wicked (New Living Translation). First: by giving us His Son, Jesus. When we enter into a relationship with Jesus, we come under the protection of our Holy God whose strength and power are unmatched anywhere in the universe. When Jesus conquered death He showed all evil that He alone is the King, and that all evil must bow down to Him in all regards. To this day evil is putting up one heck of a fight for control that it can never have and it knows it, but will not stop until it is thrown in the Lake of Fire at the end of time. How many people do you know who are on a relentless pursuit of destruction, and no matter how many times you tell them that they are headed down that road, they will tell you to buzz off and let them live their lives the way they want to?
God protects us from these kinds of people, especially when they place us in situations we would have not gotten into ourselves.
Let's look at an example about wicked people from the Bible, when it comes to God's protection. Proverbs 11:21 says, Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will go free (New International Version). Being a just God, He will not allow justice to go unpunished in the lives of those who are wicked and evil. Again, the Bible says that the wicked are those who have not accepted God's Son, Jesus, as their Lord and Savior. God's ultimate punishment comes in the form of separation from Him throughout eternity for not accepting Jesus. When God promises something, He delivers. When it seems that evil is about to overtake His children, He steps in and keeps them from ultimately being done in. As it is said in Proverbs 12:7, Wicked men are overthrown and are no more, but the house of the righteous stands firm (New International Version). No matter what wicked people put us through, we as God's children have the protection of the King. In the old days, if you had the protection of the King and someone murdered you, then it would have been as if the King himself had been murdered, and the murderer would be drawn and quartered, not just simply hanged. Please pardon the pun, but the wicked will be eternally separated from God the same way the murderer was eternally separated from his body, never to be rejoined again. It is freeing to know that the Lord has our backs, and no amount of evil will keep His protection from us. We are in the arms of the Lord.

The proud do not seek God

Psalm 10:4 says: The wicked people are too proud. They do not look for God; there is no room for God in their thoughts (New Century Version). Pride is the biggest roadblock, other than death, that stands in the way of people seeking God. Prideful people are filled with themselves so much that others don't even exist for them. They see their own wants and desires and will fill them any way they can, no matter who they have to step on to do so. Another way of saying "pride" is by saying, "me, me, me". "I like getting drunk on the weekends, so what if I miss work because I'm too hung over to go in; I like having sex with lots of women/men, who cares if I get AIDS; I like the affair I'm in, who cares if it wrecks my marriage; I like being Number One, who cares about Number Two; I like living my life the way I want to, who cares who gets hurt in the process".
Ah, pride. Pride can get us into so much trouble without us really even trying. You can't be high on yourself and God at the same time. Either God is in control of your life, or you are. You can't have it both ways. God must have first priority in your live if you want to live a free life under His protection. We all must humble ourselves everyday, and take ourselves out of God's way. When we don't, we open ourselves up for evil to have its way in our lives. When we are in control, we can get ourselves into a lot of trouble that we may have a hard time getting out of. But, if you allow God to have His way in your life, trouble is reduced, and your life will be a whole lot more peaceful.
Humble yourself and let God give you the kind of life you've always wanted.

The wicked are in pain and are afraid

Job 15:20-21a: "Wicked people are in pain throughout their lives. (21)They are surrounded by terrors… (New Living Translation)
Let's face it; we are all in pain. Since the Fall, man has been suffering the effects of his sins, whether we believe we've sinned or not. We suffer in every aspect of our lives, from working to pleasure. No matter how much we say we love our jobs, we still grumble and complain about things we have to do in them. Sometimes doing something pleasurable can bring with it the pain of guilt and condemnation from our pasts even if the pleasure is moral and right.
Look around our world today. There is suffering everywhere. Hunger, wars, disease, aches, pains, injustice etc, etc, etc… Alcohol and drug use are constantly on the rise as people look for ways to numb themselves from the pain this world can inflict on us. Immoral sexual relations are causing widespread STD's and AIDS. People are dying from the excessive use of anything that can (in our minds) relieve some of the pain we feel on a day to day basis. We are constantly being terrorized by the demons that run rampant over our world.
We are a confused people. We have no idea how to help ourselves. We don't know how to conduct our lives in such a way that even we can be happy with what we've accomplished. Ever since the Fall, Satan has been whispering in our ears that everything is going to be okay. He knows how to push our buttons, and he does it very easily. We have become a race of pushovers. One whisper from Satan that the course of action we are on is the right thing to do, and off we go in sin without even thinking of the consequences to others and ourselves.
We must humble ourselves and give it all to Jesus, only then can the voices in our heads be quieted to the point where we can hear the Savior's Voice. In my post "My Life In Christ' you will read of Jesus' miraculous intervention in my life. Satan kept telling me to kill myself, but every time the effort was stopped by a force greater than he was. Confusion was a way of life for me before Jesus came into it. Now, today, I have a clear mind and a clean conscience and I am at peace with myself. Please let the Savior give you His peace and His mind. What do you have to lose other than a mind and heart full of cobwebs?

Love Changes Everything

Posted by Margie Williamson on February 16, 2011 at 19:30

Yesterday, I attended a funeral for a older gentlemen who passed away suddenly. I barely knew him. He and his wife had recently come to the church and were just beginning to find their places of service. In fact, he had taught a Bible Study class on Sunday, felt bad, and had a stroke on the way to the hospital. He never recovered. I went to the service to support my mom who had taken the death hard.

His service was a celebration.

I cried my eyes out throughout the service.

As always, God used the experience to show me the depth of His love. One of the things that was presented as part of the service was the Andrew Lloyd Webber song, "Love Changes Everything." One line kept resonating for me: "Love changes everything, how you LIVE and how you DIE." I've been through so many funerals recently that God used the song and the grief to remind me of three things.

First, I cried my eyes out because the service was in the same room that my dad's funeral was in 1982. I haven't been in that room since his service (he was only 55 when he died) and I wasn't expecting the overwhelming grief that I felt for him. It came out of nowhere. I was reminded again the depth of God's love for us. The deep love that we have for a lost parent or child or friend can only make sense when considered through the lens of God's love for us. Because He loves, we can love. Because He loves us deeply, passionately, eternally, we, too, are able to experience that type of love. I love my daddy, and the love doesn't diminish through time. Neither does God's love for us. No wonder heaven will be so full of love.

Second, as I considered how much I could still grieve anew over the death of my dad, I couldn't help but think of the grief the Father felt when He had to watch the agony of humiliation and the pain of death as His Son died on a cross. I know God planned from the beginning of time for His Son to fulfill His promises to us. I don't think the knowing lessened the Father's grief and agony as He watched His Son suffer physically and spiritually as He took on the sins of the world. The more I understand the depth of God's love, the more I realize the depth of the Father's grief during that horrible day when Jesus suffered and died.

Third, I went to the service to support my mom. My mom and step-dad are best friends with the man who died and his wife. They have been best friends for the past 13 years and have traveled extensively together. What I didn't know until the night before the service was that this man's grandsons were members of my youth group when I served as a youth minister. Isn't it amazing when God shows us that as disciples, we're all connected. We're like heavy chain links that are soddered together with the Father's love and the Son's sacrifice into an unbreakable safety chain. We're all connected. Maybe that is the way that we can most feel the love of the Father and the Son and the Spirit.

Love changes everything . . . how we live and how we die.

Margie Williamson

Community Manager

Ready For the Road Ahead 2-20-2011

Posted by Ann H. LeFevre on February 15, 2011 at 18:36

Ready For the Road Ahead

Outside my kitchen window there hangs a small birdfeeder filled with a homemade suet mixture. A number of birds like to visit this feeder throughout the day, but, the most consistent patrons are a pair of Downy Woodpeckers. It's always fun to watch them maneuver their way across the feeder. As the suet gets lower, they must find some pretty acrobatic poses in order to keep their balance while feeding. Many times they will use their tail feathers, making a V formation with their body, to accomplish this. Who would have ever thought a bird would use its tail like that?

Sometimes our lives demand that we perform a balancing act. All sorts of things can fight for our attention and pull us off balance. Demands at work, home, and our own desires can cause us to tilt, slip or fall into unbalanced and unhealthy behaviors. The Bible says there is only one way to keep our lives balanced and that is to seek God and His ways first (Ps. 123: 1-2; Prov. 2: 1-7; Is. 55:6; Matt. 6:33; Col. 3:1-2; Phil. 4:18). The concept here is not much different than unbalanced wheels on a car. Wheels that are balanced assure you that your vehicle is safe. But unbalanced wheels not only wear out faster, they can even cause accidents. If your inner life is not balanced, your outer life will not be either.

So how about a spiritual check up this week? Ask yourself some of the following questions to see if your life is balanced as it should be. If it is, GREAT! If it isn't, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you to healthier choices for the balance in your life and seek out a Christian friend whom you can trust and ask them to keep you accountable as you fine tune your balance.

1. How is my relationship with God?

2. Have I been reading my Bible?

3. What has God been saying to me as I read His Word?

4. Where have I been resisting Him these days?

5. What is the state of your perspective and desires? Tempted? Dealing with fantasies? Entertainment?

6. What challenges do you see yourself facing in the coming week or month? In what ways will you meet that challenge?

7. What things take priority over spiritual matters in your life? Why?

8. Are there any unresolved conflicts in your circle of relationships right now? Are you able to reconcile them in a Biblical manner?

Gordon MacDonald wrote, "If the private world of a person is in order, it will be because they are convinced that the inner world of the spiritual must govern the outer world of activity." No one knew this principle better than King David. After a disastrous encounter with Bathsheba, he was confronted by the prophet Nathan and then wrote Psalm 51. If you should find yourself "unbalanced", follow David's footsteps and then rest on the promise of 1 John 1:9. No one said the path of a disciple would be easy, but with God's grace, it can be balanced.

Ann LeFevre 2/20/2011

Wait Patiently...

Posted by Federico Aguelo on February 15, 2011 at 5:56

Wait patiently for the LORD!

Wait confidently for him!

-Psalm 37:7

We live in a world filled with impatient people. Current advancement in technology only

serve to push everyone to hurry up more. We can be reached at any time, anywhere via email or direct mobile to mobile connection. We are taught to multi-task as if we are an octopus with eight tentacles, with each tentacle having its own mind. At the same time, we are expected to work as a team but please hurry up because we are working on a deadline and the boss wants it yesterday!

The LORD knows that man left on his own will work himself to death. So He wisely separated day from night, even determining their set times and the fixed limits of the places where they would live (Acts 17:26). Unfortunately, man has advanced so much that he has learned to transgress the boundaries of his location and the appropriate times of rest. Instead of resting as darkness falls, many decide to go out to eat, drink and be merry to the detriment of their physical well-being. This generation will rather not wait in line or postpone their enjoyment. Everyone wants instant gratification! The vendo culture is here to stay. As much as possible, we just want to push a button to get what we want, at warp speed. If we don’t, we cry out like babies, or raise a tantrum.

As a Christian, there is one thing that we need to appreciate. ADONAI is in control of every aspect of life, even the minutest detail. There is nothing that has happened that did not pass through His scrutiny. He declares:

This is what the LORD, your protector, says,

the one who formed you in the womb:

"I am the LORD, who made everything,

who alone stretched out the sky,

who fashioned the earth all by myself,

who frustrates the omens of the empty talkers

and humiliates the omen readers,

who overturns the counsel of the wise men

and makes their advice seem foolish,

who fulfills the oracles of his prophetic servants

and brings to pass the announcements of his messengers…”

- Isaiah 44:24-26

“I do this so people will recognize from east to west

that there is no GOD but me;

I am the LORD, I have no peer.

I am the one who forms

and creates darkness;

the one who brings about peace

and creates calamity.

I am the LORD, who accomplishes all these things.”

- Isaiah 45:6,7

So, the next time you want to get ahead in traffic, remember, GOD has a purpose for the situation. We may not know what it is, but rest assured, all is well when we follow His leading. I recall the story of the man who was hurrying to work at the World Trade Center. He passed by the coffee shop to get a cup and unfortunately spilled the coffee on his shirt. He had to run back home to change his shirt. He was running late. But because he was late, he was not destroyed along with the World Trade Center 0n9/11. Remember, you don’t know the future. It’s like walking backwards because you can’t see. It is better to hold fast to the hand of the FATHER as He personally guides you along the way. No shortcuts. No mess ups.

The word “wait patiently” in Hebrews is “damam”, meaning to be dumb, and by implication, to stop, to hold your peace, to be still. And the repetition, “wait confidently” in Hebrew is “khool, kheel”, meaning to twist or writhe in pain. ADONAI is telling us that He wants our complete trust even in the face of apparent lack or apparent defeat. He knows exactly what we are going through and He won’t let His word fall to the ground. He will rescue us from all trouble!

Somehow, in the course of the day, GOD has appointed several events in our lives. We may or may not like some of them; but for sure, it will be a great learning adventure!

Patience is a virtue of the godly

but people pretend to be blind to it

in the guise of freedom of expression!

מלאך

Free Will

Posted by Mary Elizabeth Whitlow on February 14, 2011 at 17:40

My husband and I were just talking about free will and how it is a common theme in Science Fiction for a group of explorers to come across a perfectly peaceful, happy, well-ordered society where there was no free will. The explorers want to "liberate" the poor people, and, in the process of introducing free will, totally ruin the society. He then asked me if I would like to love in a society with no free will.

I replied that heaven will pretty much be the ultimate utopia of a people who have completely surrendered their wills and, as C.S. Lewis put it, "Are no longer capable of wanting wrong things." A song song by Chris Rice states, "Freedom from myself will be the sweetest rest I've ever known." So, yes, not only would I want to live in a society with no free will, I am looking forward to it!

The biggest difference here from a world where there never was free will is that Heaven will be a place of people who had free will and surrendered it to the Love of Jesus, letting His Spirit take control in greater and greater measure until the day when they passed through the veil of earthly struggles and found the heavenly bliss of total surrender of all their own self will.

God gave us free will because He wanted our wills returned freely as a gift. He wanted "glad vassals" who are slaves of love, walking in the freedom of surrender, rather than slaves who never knew the freedom of giving over what they thought was rightfully theirs. God's gift of free will as allowed us to make a hell for ourselves, but we need to live in the dank slave dungeon of self-will to understand the free and spacious paradise of surrendering to God's will.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF SALVATION (Part Two)

Posted by Bobby Bruno on February 14, 2011 at 10:22

Only through Jesus Christ can I know God

I have been asked "Why do I need to accept Jesus to get into Heaven? I already believe that God exists. Isn't that enough? And why can't I get to know God without going through Jesus?" Those of us who know the answer to these questions know that Jesus has said that we can only know God if we know the Son first. But how do we explain it to those who don't understand why Jesus is so important to the equation of knowing the Father, Son, and Spirit? Of course we as Christians know that we need to have a relationship with Jesus first before we can even see God our Father. When we explain this to non-believers we have to explain it within the context of a relationship.
Say that you wanted to meet the twelve Apostles. The only way to do this is by finding someone who knows them and ask him to help you see the Apostles. The only way for Paul to get to see the Apostles was through Barnabas. If it hadn't been for Barnabas being as adamant about them letting him bring Paul to them, then Paul would not have met those who could steer him in the right direction in his ministry.
In our walk as Christians, we have had people come up to us and ask how they can know Jesus. This happened to my wife a couple of weeks ago. One of her best friends for years, who knew my wife was saved, suddenly came up to her and asked how she could know Jesus and what does being saved mean. My wife spoke with her and led her in the prayer of salvation right there in front of her other friends. Her friend is now saved and excited about it. Out of her four best friends, this friend saw the joy in my wife and wanted to know how to have it in hers. We're still praying for the other three.
Our relationship with Jesus helps other find a relationship with Him and with others.
It can also be explained like this. Say you wanted to meet me, but you didn't know how to get in touch with me. You've heard your Pastor say that he has met me on quite a few occasions, so you ask him if there is a way to get in touch with me. The Pastor says that he will call me and let me know that you wanted to see me. A week later we meet and begin a friendship that will last throughout the rest of our lives. Without the Pastor's help we may never have met and our friendship would never have been started.
Jesus clearly stated in our next Scripture that the only way to get to God was through him and no one else. John 14:5-6: Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” (6)Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (New International Version)
Many people today believe that there are many ways to God, but Jesus refutes that philosophy by using the word "I". When others ask us how "we" could say that Jesus is the only way to God and Heaven, we just need to point them to this verse and tell them that it is not "we" who is making this powerful claim, but Jesus, the Son of God. Most people don't accept this in their minds. But I wonder how many really accept it in their souls but refuse to listen to what their souls are telling them? How many in our midst really know that they need a Savior but refuse to give up what they perceive as the fun they would have to give up to follow Jesus? I know more than a few people who know without a shadow of a doubt that they need to be saved, but for some reason or another they don't want to give up their lifestyles, even though the know that giving up parts of it will better their lives. These are the kinds of people who confuse me: they know they need a Savior but they don't want Him to ruin their lives. Let's keep praying for them to see the veil lifted from their eyes.

My faith allows me to approach God’s throne with freedom and confidence

Once we have Jesus in our lives we can now approach God boldly and know that He will let us in and will listen to us when we pray to him. Ephesians 3:1 says, In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. (New International Version) Freedom and confidence!!! How wonderful is that? We can't even approach some of our own family members with freedom and confidence without fear of reprisal or of being ignored. God will never ignore us! He will always listen and always respond, maybe not in the way we might sometimes like, but He will respond. Need I say more…?

God Desires Me To Know Him

God desires us to know Him??? The God of the universe wants little ole me to know who He is? Me: just one human out of billions? God wants to have a relationship with me? Awesome isn't it? Even though we all at one time didn't want to know God, He was busy reconciling us back to Him so that we could get to know His love and mercy. Again, how many of our family members really want to know us for who we really are and not who they pretend to think we are?
The more God desires us, the more we are drawn to him. The more He stretches His arms out to us, the more we long to be cradled in them. All I know is that I am longing to give Jesus the biggest hug possible for saving my life. I once saw a drawing of Jesus hugging a man in Heaven. It brought tears to my eyes because that's what I want to do. I don't think that I could hug Jesus hard enough to take His breath away, but I love Him so much that I'm going to try.
He wanted to know me so that I could know Him. I thank God for His desire for me to know Him because, if He hadn't desired me, I'd no longer be in this world alive.

I become a witness to God’s love and work in my life

Once we have walked with Jesus for some time, we begin to become a witness for Him on this earth. That is why Jesus said that we would do greater things than what He had done in His time on earth. He only had three years to get people to know Him, but He has given us an entire lifetime to do the same thing. More people have been saved since Jesus was here than all who had been saved when He was among us. The Great Commission is still going strong and will continue until the Holy Spirit is taken out of the earth. We must continue to follow Jesus' footsteps and let the world know about His love and mercy.
Isaiah 43:10-13 says, "My people are my witnesses and my chosen servant. I want you to know Me, to trust Me, and understand that I alone am God. I have always been God; there can be no others. (11)I alone am the Lord; only I can rescue you. (12)I promised to save you, and I kept My promise. You are my witnesses that no other God did this. I, the Lord, have spoken. (13)I am God now and forever. No one can snatch you from Me or stand in My way." (Contemporary English Version The Promise)
Our witness is the fact of what Jesus has done to turn our lives around when we gave it to Him to control. Our testimony is the fact of our lives before Jesus: the tragedies, the upsets, the horrors, everything that made us seek for something more even if it meant death. These are the things we tell others to show them what Jesus Christ has done in our lives, and how He has changed us for His glory and purpose.
According to this verse, once saved, we are always saved. God will never let us go. He didn't give up His Son on the cross just to play games with our salvation. He gave up Jesus so that we may live with him forever, and so we may spread the Kingdom of God throughout this earth. God has been and will always be God, the only God. There is no other, no matter what the new agers may say.
May God always get the glory in your life; may He fulfill His purpose in you; and may you allow Him to use you as He will. May you be the witness that He has called you to be, utilizing everything that you were then and that you are now, so that others may see His love and mercy in your eyes and want to know where your joy comes from. May God bless you in everything you do for him.

Can We Give Up on a Group Member?

Posted by Sam O'Neal on February 14, 2011 at 9:37

Last week my friend Rick Howerton opened up his new blogwith a post entitled: "When to Abandon a Small-Group Member." Here was the full text of his post:

Never! There is…

     No sin to too decadent
     No opinion too controversial
     No revelation too disturbing
     No sickness too time consuming
     No need too costly
     No conflict too intense
     No addiction too immoral.

Luke 15:11 - 24

I thought that was a pretty cool sentiment, and so I re-tweeted the link to the post. A few of you re-tweeted it as well.

But then I got the following email from another SmallGroups.com reader:

"Nice sentiment in Howerton’s blog post, but I have to disagree with him. I had to ask a group member to leave once because she would go into rages during the group. I tried meeting with her personally, but she would fly into rages against me. I finally blocked her phone calls because they were giving me panic attacks."

So, before I give my opinion on this matter, I thought I would open things up to all of you. Is there ever a time when a group leader should "abandon" a group member?

What to Do in the Dessert?

Posted by Melody Richeson on February 12, 2011 at 20:23

Sometimes I get discouraged. I make plans but they don’t turn out quite as I had hoped or expected. A friend disappoints me. My job feels mundane. In spite of praying and waiting (and occasional bouts of whining), I’m still single. My body reminds me every day that I am indeed growing older and slowing down. I long for more out of church. More out of life. Something richer. More meaningful. Less lonely. I wonder, “Am I wasting my life? Have I missed God’s purposes for me?” (I confess I am a high idealist with strong melancholy tendencies. Undoubtedly, this is a bad combination.) I pray. I do my duty. Yet, each day feels increasingly like a long walk in the desert with little evidence of progress.

Because I grew up in New Mexico, I appreciate the beauty of the desert. A desert sunset is unequaled in color and hue. The mountains on the horizon are both rugged and elegant. But, I have also felt the desert’s arid assault. A hot desert wind can gust for days filling the air with grit until it’s everywhere – in your ears, your eyes, your food. It makes you irritable. People snap at each other or else pass without a word, their heads tucked inside the edges of their jackets. I know the feel of grit in my teeth. When life is hard and discouragement blows in like a desert wind, I know the feel of grit in my soul.

I have recently been captured by one little sentence I read. Upon the recommendation of C.S. Lewis, I decided to read George MacDonald’s fantasy work, Phantastes. The young wanderer, Anodos, comes upon a little spring where he stops to refresh himself. After he drinks from the “cheerful little stream” he says:

“It was born in a desert; but it seemed to say to itself, ‘I will flow and sing, and lave my banks, till I make my desert a paradise.’”

Oh, how I long to live like that! You see, when life gets hard, my tendency is to withdraw. I prefer to shrink back as if to conserve mental and emotional energy. I tuck my head inside my jacket and head for home. I begin to feel dried up – as if I have nothing to offer. That’s not what Anodos’ little stream did. No! It was flowing freely and seeking to bless everything in its path. I wonder if it’s possible for me to live with such freedom and generosity and joy that I could actually alter the world that surrounds me? Could I love so well that what was once an arid desert could become a lush place?

I once heard a speaker at a conference talk about the difference between living with an “abundance mentality” and living with a “scarcity mentality.” I don’t remember much of what he said, but the concept stuck with me. When I’m discouraged I begin to live with a mentality of scarcity, as if to say: “I don’t have much. As a matter of fact, what little I have feels like it’s in jeopardy; so I must hoard it and hold onto it.”

I’ve been wondering what it might look like as a follower of Jesus to live with a mentality of abundance:

These are lean economic times. So, I will be even more generous than usual, because my Father is the one who provides for me.

Do I feel like people are not meeting my needs? Friends? My husband? I will work even more energetically and joyfully to meet their needs, because Jesus himself will be to me what I most need from others.

I’m lonely. I will pursue other people and love them lavishly because God has pursued me, never given up on me, and has loved me with an everlasting love.

That is how Betsie ten Boom chose to live. You may remember her story as told by her sister Corrie in the book The Hiding Place. They were arrested for hiding Jews in their home during the German occupation of Holland in 1944. Nine months later, Betsie died in Ravensbruck concentration camp. Corrie tells how, through Jesus, and with Betsie’s prayers and influence, the barracks were transformed into a place of kindness and joy in the midst of terrible deprivation and misery.

Jesus said in Matthew 10:8, “Freely you have received, freely give.” That is how Betsie ten Boom lived. It is the message of the little stream in MacDonald’s tale. And that is exactly how I want to live as well. I can afford to live with hope and with joy and with great generosity toward others – even when I’m in the desert. Who knows? God might use my little life to radically change the landscape!

“I will flow and sing, and lave my banks, till I make my desert a paradise.”

Losing Focus

Posted by Margie Williamson on February 12, 2011 at 19:50

I fell today on the stairs in my house. Unfortunately, that's not really an unusual occurrence. I have had several falls before and I guess they'll continue. Today's seemed different to me.

I was carry a load of sheets downstairs in one hand and a partially filled cup of coffee in the other. One of the sheets dropped out of my grasp and tangled around my foot. With the cup of coffee in one hand and the laundry in the other, I didn't have a chance . . . I missed a step, hit my back on the corner of the wall, and landed on the slate tile below. It hurt. My husband has become amazingly calm with my falls.

You're probably wondering why in the wold I'm sharing the details. It's not because I'm looking for sympathy, but rather because I couldn't help think today about how much my fall is like the Christian life. I was doing the things I needed to do today, but lost my focus. It was only for a second, but that's all it took. And the baggage I carried––in this case the laundry and the coffee––prevented me from stopping what was an inevitable fall.

It's so easy to look out for the big things that can take our eyes off God––those ethical and moral failures that are so big that it's easy to think, "But I'd never fail like that!" It's not as easy to look out for the little things that can creep into our lives––like pride or anger.

I'm battered and a little bruised tonight. I've spent much of the day in my bed taking pain killers to help ease the pain. All because I lost my focus for just a second. Tonight, I pray that God will help me keep my spiritual focus on Him. It only takes a second to lose focus on Him.

Margie Williamson

Community Manager

Peace with Authority In spite of Abuse

Posted by Jenni Biegler on February 11, 2011 at 23:16

Last week I was meeting with one of our pastors about my passion for Discipleship. In a prior meeting, I had shared some things with him that caused him to go away with a check in his spirit about whether I would be okay with the leadership structure at my church, so he brought that up and we discussed it. I was open and honest about some trust issues that I have because of abuse of authority in other churches and acknowledged that there was some healing that yet needed to be done. I thought the conversation went well. I didn't feel defensive and I really wasn't worried about the issue, until I was driving home that night. I wrestled with that and other issues for 3 or 4 days and was tempted to give up on any desires to be involved in Discipleship at my church. After some concentrated time in prayer last weekend, I believe that God helped me to address this issue and to come to a level of peace that I did not have before. I enjoy journaling prayer but I don't particularly enjoy poetry. Yet I recently realized that God seems to give me a poem when I'm struggling with something that I cannot quite resolve in traditional prayer. When I shared this with a friend, he told me that I should post the poem somewhere. So here it is, maybe you can relate...

Into Your Refining Fire

I choose to go

How I'll turn out

I do not know

Mold me and make me

Fit for your plan

Even if it means

I must submit to a man

Re-direct and protect me

From those who'd abuse

Help me see clearly

How to serve those you choose

Your purposes are so much greater

Than all my fear and pain

Help me serve you freely

And bring honor to Your name

You've given me a vision

And you've mapped out a plan

To go and make disciples

Who will do all that You command

Obedience, Surrender,

Your will is my desire

So consume me, then fill me

And release me with fire

---Jenni Biegler (February 9, 2011)

Commit Your Way

Posted by Federico Aguelo on February 11, 2011 at 11:00

Commit your way to ADONAI;

Trust in Him, and He will act.

He will make your vindication shine forth like light,

The justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

-Psalm 37:5,6

Have you been waiting for a long time for the answer to your prayer? Does it seem like GOD has not heard you or has forgotten about you?

Not all my prayers have been granted…yet. But I continue to pray and persevere in hope, mainly because I know Him who I have placed my faith on. Many times I don’t know the particular reason why I have to wait long, but do I really have to understand everything before I continue in faith?

David encouraged us to commit our way to ADONAI. To commit in Hebrew is ‘galal’ meaning to roll (figuratively or literally). We are to roll our daily practices & habits toward the way of ADONAI. From our thought patterns (perceptions), to our words and to the work of our hands, the godly are instructed to align all his ways to the way of YHWH. By trusting Him, we will see him act on our behalf. By trusting Him, we confess that we are weak , but in our weakness, ADONAI is strong and powerful. By trusting Him, we declare that our GOD is almighty and sovereign over all the affairs of men.

ADONAI will not allow His reputation and character in you to suffer suspicion, so He will make righteousness come to pass and people will see His greatness in you when they witness your vindication. To surrender future circumstances to ADONAI is therefore the best thing that could ever happen to any believer.

When we remember that ADONAI creates circumstances in our favor by His holy word, we become armed with His presence and surrounded with His light. We are assured that no matter what happens, all is well with our souls!

מלאך

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF SALVATION? (Part One)

Posted by Bobby Bruno on February 9, 2011 at 11:29

What's in it for me? Isn't that what we always ask ourselves when we are asked to do something for someone else? We seem to think that unless it benefits us in some way, it's not worth doing. Why should I help you get to work when your car is getting fixed if you are not going to help with gas; and it doesn't matter if we work at the same location either? Why should I lend you money when I know that there is no way you are ever going to pay me back? Why should I…why should I…why should I…. Those three words should be taken out of our vocabulary. Why should we: because we are all in this life together. There was this one woman I read about who helped a homeless person only to find out that the one she helped was really a millionaire looking to see if anyone truly cared, and she was rewarded for her actions toward someone who seemed less fortunate than she was. Though this is not the norm, we are rewarded every time we take the time to help someone in need.
Take Jesus for instance… What did it benefit Him to being whipped short of death and hung on a cross to save us from our sins? He was tortured, beaten, spit at, criticized, mocked, yet He said not a word as He was being interrogated by those who thought they were better than everyone else. Again, what did Jesus gain from all of this pain and suffering? He gained us back from Satan so He could give us back to God. God wants to reconcile us all back to Him, but He will not force us. Salvation is voluntary. Either you want it or you don't, but you can't have it both ways. You are either for God or you are against Him, which means, whether you want to believe it or not, you are for Satan, the Devil, Lucifer. As I will explain during these next few posts, you are either saved or you are wicked, as the Bible calls those who have not accepted the Salvation of Jesus Christ.
But if you do, and when you do, accept God's free gift of salvation, you will experience many benefits that you will wonder how you ever lived without them before. I'm excited! How about you?
Let's get started.

Eternal Life In Heaven

Without salvation, we can’t be sure where we will spend eternity – Heaven or Hell. By accepting God’s gift of salvation, Jesus Christ, our entry into Heaven is secure. Christians who are truly born again can say with confidence that we know where we are going when we die. Jesus was very clear about those who did not choose to follow Him when He said in Matthew 7:21-23, "21Not all those who say that I am their Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven. The only people who will enter the kingdom of heaven are those who do what my Father in heaven wants. 22On the last day many people will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, we spoke for you, and through you we forced out demons and did many miracles.’ 23Then I will tell them clearly, ‘Get away from me, you who do evil. I never knew you.’ Jesus said that there are two kinds of people (in the same chapter), "24Everyone who hears my words and obeys them is like a wise man who built his house on rock. 25It rained hard, the floods came, and the winds blew and hit that house. But it did not fall, because it was built on rock. 26Everyone who hears my words and does not obey them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27It rained hard, the floods came, and the winds blew and hit that house, and it fell with a big crash.” (Both New Century Version) God wants us to obey Him in all things, but the one thing most of all that He wants us to obey Him in is accepting His Son Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Again, He wants all of us in Heaven with Him. But only those who hear the words of His Son and obey them will get into Heaven. No matter how many good deeds we've done on this earth, none of them will get us into Heaven. Only Jesus can get us there, but we have to know Him first.

I cannot lose my salvation

For those who believe, or have been told, that you can lose your salvation once you have gained it need to read what the Apostle Paul wrote to His student Timothy. In 2 Timothy 2:11-13, he wrote from the Spirit "This is a sure thing: If we die with him, we’ll live with him; (12)If we stick it out with him, we’ll rule with him; If we turn our backs on him, he’ll turn his back on us; (13)If we give up on him, he does not give up—for there’s no way he can be false to himself." (The Message)
This is the great news of the Gospel: You can never, never, never, never, never, lose your salvation. Once you are saved, you are saved forever!!! Let no one tell you different. Jesus said in John 10:28, "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand." (New International Version) Even if we turn our backs on Jesus, He will never turn His back on us. Because Jesus promised us that we could not be snatched away from Him, He would be lying if He gave up on us. Even if we turn away from Him, He will still do everything He can to get us to turn back to Him again. This is where the trials and tribulations in our lives come into play. Jesus would never willingly put us in harm's way, but He can and will allow them to persist until we once again see our need for Him and turn back to His loving ways.
So, rest assured: Jesus will never let you go no matter what you do. That doesn't give us a license to sin, but it does give us the freedom to do the good works that the Holy Spirit will give us to do without the fear of persecution or even death. Feel free to really live for Jesus. You will find that life is worth living and that following Jesus was the best decision you've ever made in your life.
I know that I have never regretted making that decision. Where once I was truly dead to the world, I am now truly alive in Christ, and I would never trade the two, even upon pain of death. But don't believe me; believe the Savior. Let Him show you a life that He knows you truly want. Don't deny yourself of life any longer. There is life in the Cross of Christ. Bow down to the One who created you. Give Him what is already His. You were meant for something greater, and in your heart you know you want to achieve that greatness. Until you accept and trust Jesus Christ with your life you will never even come close to the true life you want. Cry out to Jesus. He will respond and show you how life is to be truly lived.
May God bless you with His love.

Ready For the Road Ahead 2-13-2011

Posted by Ann H. LeFevre on February 8, 2011 at 17:40

Ready For the Road Ahead

One time while visiting Cape May, Jeff and I saw a print in a gallery that we just had to have. It was a photograph of a lighthouse off the coast of France, well known for the stormy waves that crash upon it each day. A photographer in a helicopter had captured one of those waves as it smashed around the base of the lighthouse while the lighthouse keeper blithely looked skyward to see what the noise was all about. One glance at this picture and you want to yell, "Watch out!! Get inside!!"

How many times over the years have you been gripped by headlines such as the ones concerning Egypt recently. As of February 7 the chaos in Cairo had continued for 14 days. Headlines on that day also proclaimed clashes in Cambodia, protesting in Turkey, and ships being raided by pirates in India. It seems that the world is a fearful place to live without a shelter to keep us safe in the storm. One glance at the headlines and your mind wants to yell, "Watch out!!! Stay inside!!"

No one understood better about how chaotic life could be than the ancient Israelite. Due to its key location on the path of several major trade routes linking 3 continents, Israel was constantly subjected to attacks and turnovers. Not only was their little sliver in the fertile crescent valuable for trade, other nations such as Assyria and Egypt, were on a mission to prove that their gods were far more powerful than Yahweh. They viewed their military victories as a reason to proclaim that Yahweh was weak and undependable. As threats for another invasion surfaced it was enough to cause any faithful Israelite to yell, "Watch out!! Don't go outside!!"

This month Jewish people will celebrate the festival of Purim whose story is found in the book of Esther. The Israelites had been conquered by Persia and some, like Esther, were now in exile. Times were unstable and uncertain. The strange thing about the book of Esther is that God's name is never mentioned. It appears that God is not involved in the story at all. Actually, God is very cleverly disguised within the story, and to the faithful there is no doubt that He is the source of Esther's courage and the reason the Jews prevail.

Sometimes the chaos of the world feels the same way. No matter what continent, no matter what nation or state, strife and turmoil seem to say that God is not involved in our world at all. Times are unstable and uncertain. However, the psalmist encourages us in Psalm 46 that even when mountains shake and the waters roar, God is in the midst of His people acting as an anchor and a source of hope which will see us through the storm safely (Heb. 6:13-20). We may not see it; we may not sense it, but we know God is at work in our story.

The Sea of Galilee is often depicted as an idyllic body of water surrounded by pleasant hills. However, it is not always that peaceful. Cutting into those rolling hills are gorges called "scarps" and when the wind blows down through the scarps on to the Sea of Galilee it stirs up the water and sailing becomes treacherous. Such a storm is recorded in Luke 8:22-25. This storm was so fierce that even the disciples who were seasoned fishermen feared they were about to die. Whether it is a massive wave off the coast of France, a disturbing headline about our chaotic world, or a storm upon the Sea of Galilee, there is only one thing to do when a storm of that intensity comes your way. Esther turned to God through fasting and prayer. The disciples turned to Jesus. Rather than succumbing to panic or hiding when life seems out of control, our best recourse is to follow in the footsteps of the psalmist and place our trust in the Lord (Ps. 121) for that is where our help comes from. Ann H. LeFevre 2/13/2011

WHAT WILL I DO WHEN MY FAITH IN JESUS BRINGS ME SALVATION?

Posted by Bobby Bruno on February 8, 2011 at 11:24

Gaining salvation in Jesus Christ is the ultimate experience any human could have. It is the only true freedom that we can obtain. It is not of this world and could never be. Some of the things we call freedom are nothing of the kind. How about the freedom to smoke? Are we really free when smoking can lead to the bondage of cancer, lung disease, and death? How about abortion? Does the freedom to murder babies in the womb really bring freedom for the woman who doesn't want the baby? Or does it bring to her the bondage of knowing that she did indeed murder a baby that, years later, she regrets getting rid of when she is not able to have children of her own due to a botched abortion? Whatever happened to the right to live? What about the bondage of homosexuality? God created marriage to be between one man and one woman. How else can children be brought into this world? A homosexual couple cannot do it together. Sure, they can raise a child, but God made it so that a child could only be brought up in a balanced way with a man and woman as parents. If one of those is missing in the relationship then the child will suffer greatly as he or she goes through life confused as how they are to be and act as a man or woman. If two men raise a child together, then the female aspect of the child's life will be missing. The same for women, the male aspect won't be there. Let's face it: a man cannot teach a girl how to be a woman, and a woman cannot teach a boy how to be a man.
Ah, but that is the wonderful thing about finding salvation in Jesus. I am a firm believer that homosexuality is a choice not inherited. For whatever reason, a boy or girl chooses to be homosexual whether they realize it or not. But when you give your live to Jesus, He can bring you into wholeness again and change you back into the person He created you to be. Now that's real freedom. We all want to be who we were made to be. We all long for a reason and a purpose for living. We all have this hope that, someday, we will find that certain something we are looking for to make our lives complete.
That completeness can only come by the salvation of Jesus Christ. There is no other way in this universe to find the real freedom we are all searching for. Once you allow Jesus into your life things will begin to change. You will surely become more peaceful, more hopeful of the future. The things from your past that haunt now you will slowly diminish to a memory. I had a very bad past due to being sexually abused. For 36 years I buried it down inside, not realizing that the way I was acting outwardly was a reflection of that abuse. When it surfaced again I tried to kill myself 5 times without success. When Jesus came along a called me to Him, things began to change quickly. I was able to look at the abuse from His eyes and see that, without it, I couldn't have become the man I am today. That's not to say that Jesus wanted it to happen. No. But He allowed it to happen because He knew my future. He knew that I would one day become the man He created me to be. I'm not all there yet, but I can see the changes being made to get me there, and the journey is fantastic. It's not always easy, but it is fantastic. Give Him your heart and you will see just how fantastic it is and feels.

I will praise Him for his grace of salvation

Isaiah 12:1-2 says that: In that day you will say: “I will praise you, O LORD. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. (2)Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.” (New International Version)
When Jesus saves us, He begins the journey to completeness. Before we let Him into our lives, God was angry at us. Not angry as in violent: angry as in, "I love you so much that I wish you wouldn't do that thing that will ultimately bring you harm." But after we accept His Son, Jesus, God's anger falls away as easily as the rain falls from the sky. God loves us immensely because He created us. God has promised us that, if we believe in His Son, He would give us a life worth living with meaning and purpose. He promised us that we would, someday, be with Him in Heaven for all of eternity. He promised us through His Holy Spirit that He would guide us through our day to day lives. If you trust in what Jesus has said He will do for you (read your Bible) He will never let you fall or fail. Trust in His strength and not your own to get through each day as you give up bad habits and create new ones. We call salvation the "Grace" of God. Grace is an extended favor or kindness to one who doesn’t deserve it and can never earn it. We can't work hard enough or do enough good deeds to earn God's love, He gives it to us freely though Jesus.

I will take refuge in His love and faithfulness

Psalm 57:1-3 says: Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed. (2)I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills his purpose for me. (3)He sends from heaven and saves me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me; God sends his love and his faithfulness. (New International Version)
No matter who is pursuing you God has your back if you accept His Son, Jesus, as your Lord and Savior. When problems arise we can find refuge in God. That means that whenever we have a problem, no matter how great or small, God will take care of you until the trouble has passed. Remember, Jesus never said He would keep you free from trouble, but would help in your time of need. Without trouble or problems we wouldn't grow as people, we would stay stuck in "infancy" and not grow into adulthood. Unfortunately, there are a lot of adults walking around that are still children on the inside. That's how I was with the abuse in my life until I gave it to Jesus. And not until we do give it all to Jesus will we grow up to be the kind of adults we are supposed to be. Go to God if you have a problem. Fall upon His mercy to see you through the hard times, and He will faithfully help you as He said He would always do.

I will show others what He has done for me, and will tell them of His love for me

In Psalm 40:1-3, David said, "I waited patiently for the LORD to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. (2)He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. (3)He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be astounded. They will put their trust in the LORD. (New Living Translation)
After Jesus takes over our lives and begins to bring us true freedom, others will see the changes in us and want to know how we did it. They will see that our attitudes have softened. They will see behaviors like smoking, drinking, premarital sex, cursing, the kind of movies we watch, and the way we conduct ourselves, among others, change. When we are so far down and mired in what seems like a hopeless situation, God will come through and help you get back up again. He will make your paths straight again and, if you let Him, will take your problem upon Himself, and give you the peace that you will need to see it through. God will not always take away the problem, but He will give you the wisdom, peace, and faith to help you overcome it.
As Christians, we are to be a light to the world. If we are truly walking with the Lord others will see it and want to know what's happened to us. Some will be amazed at the changes they see in you, and some will be angry at you for becoming a "Jesus Freak." Your old bar friends won't be happy when you tell them that you won't go out with them Fridays after work anymore to get drunk and watch baseball. They will think you are a pansy because you won't want to see any R rated movies anymore; and especially when you tell them that some of the PG-13 movies are questionable to you anymore. These friends may abandon you and that's okay because you will have gained a new family in your new church friends. But, still, there may be a couple of friends that may want to know about Jesus, and that's what it's all about.
It's all about freedom: Freedom to live right: freedom to live with a purpose; freedom to enjoy life…period.

What Will Jesus Do For Me If I Have Faith In Him? (Part Seven)

Posted by Bobby Bruno on February 8, 2011 at 11:23

In Jesus’ Love For Me:

To truly give the topic of Jesus' love for us the kind of consideration it truly deserves would take a book. Many have written about the love of Jesus: Pastors and theologians who have a much deeper understanding of Jesus through Scripture. What I write about here, today, is but a very small glimpse of His love for us. Giving His life up for us on the Cross was the greatest act of love anyone could have done for us. It is my prayer that when we get to the topic of Love in the future, after we talk about Hope, you will see Jesus in a new way, or perhaps in way that will open your eyes to the truth of your need for Him.
Today, I want to talk about how Jesus' love for us can help us through our day to day lives. At the end, it is my prayer that you will see Him as the only one who can truly keep you sane as you go through your day, battling whatever comes your way, good or bad.

His love for me allows me to give Him every anxiety I feel and He will take it from me

The Apostles did not only live with Jesus, they experienced Jesus. To experience Jesus is not only to know Him, but to live as He did, following God, the Father. God does not want us worrying about anything at anytime. As Jesus said in Matthew 6:34: "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (New International Version) Jesus walked around this earth not caring what people thought of Him. If something started to bother Him, He would listen to what God had to say before He opened His mouth in response. The apostles did the same thing as they walked around spreading the Gospel to the masses. They first watched how Jesus conducted Himself and then, when it came their time to go out, they followed His example through prayer and the leading of the Holy Spirit. Remember, when they were on their own, just as Jesus was when He walked this earth, they were able to put into practice what they had seen and were now able to experience for themselves the peace that Jesus had at all times.
But how do we experience the peace of Jesus? How do we not worry about yesterday, today, or tomorrow, when situations we would rather not deal with are thrown in front of us consistently? We do what the Apostles did when they ran into trouble: we run to Jesus. Peter 5:7 tells us to "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." (New International Version). Peter could not have written that statement if he didn't believe it or had not experienced it for himself. I'm sure, like all of us, it took Peter some time to give up everything to Jesus. I'm sure there were times that Peter felt he could handle whatever was thrown his way. But the more he gave up his troubles to Jesus, and the more he found peace in any given situation, the more he found that he could live a peaceful life by letting Jesus be in control of it.
Jesus wants us to give Him every situation we go through. Even little things like who to marry, what car to drive, what house to buy, what books you should read, what church to attend, where you should go to school, and that's just for starters. To you it may seem ridiculous or small, or not worth anyone's time, but to Jesus it is everything. He wants to be involved in every aspect of your life from the time you get up in the morning to the time you go to bed. He doesn't want you to worry about anything, nada, nothing at all. He wants you to lean on Him for direction every step of the way because He knows exactly where we should be and what we should be doing.
Remember, He created us and gave us the gifts we have so we could be used by Him to spread the Good News of His salvation to the world, such as I am doing through this blog. As of today, the blog has been read by people in 10 different countries and continues to average about 7 hits a day. All I did was take the gift of writing that God has given me to spread the news of salvation that is found only in Jesus. By giving Him my cares and worries each day, I keep my mind tuned into his Holy Spirit, whereby I am at peace and my mind is uncluttered. If you've read my post "My Life In Christ" you saw that this was not always so.
But why does Jesus want all our worries and troubles? Simple: because He loves us dearly and wants us to enjoy Him and our lives, which we can't do if we stay focused on our problems. It gives us a little taste of Heaven where there will be no troubles at all. Jesus already knows the outcome of all our problems and the outcome will be the best outcome for the situation at hand. Jesus has our backs, but we must give our troubles to Him.

In Righteousness:

Jesus will sustain me and never let me fall

Pursuing God is how we get the power of God into our lives. When we look to Him to figure out the solution to our problems, we are left to focus on Him even more. There is nothing in the world that Jesus can't handle. There is no power greater than the power of God. There is no situation that He can't handle. God never intended for us to handle our problems alone. He fully expects us to look to Him during all our trials in life. He wants to help us with as much intensity as He used in creating the universe and everything in it. You never have to suffer alone when you are a child of God. We suffer alone when we try to fix a bad situation without anyone's help. But when we ask for help, the problem gets solved faster, and in a way we may not have thought of ourselves. God has all the answers. All we have to do is what our next verse tells us to do.
Psalm 55:22 says: "Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall." (New International Version) This may not be easy since we humans think we know everything. But there comes a time in your life when you have to admit that you don't, that you need help from someone who knows what to do. Casting your cares on Jesus does not mean that you are weak; it means that you are strong in admitting you need help, because, as we all know, asking for help is the hardest thing for us to do. And, besides, who wants the problem to persist any longer than it has to? As a child of the living God, you will never fall or fail as long as Jesus has your back, front, every part of you.

Who are the righteousness ones?

Truly righteous people are those who are faithfully walking with Jesus Christ, and are living as He did when He was here on earth. We are called children of God because we have put our faith and trust in Jesus for our salvation and future. It was through Jesus death and resurrection that we who asked Jesus into our lives and to forgive us of our sins are declared righteous. As 2 Corinthians 5:21 tells us: "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (New International Version). Righteousness is another way of saying that we as Christians are "right with God."

When I obey God I am showing Him that I love Him by following the example of Jesus

After being declared right with God, He expects us to obey Him in every way. Since we know that He has only our best at heart, we should want to obey Him. It's not always easy since we have free will, but it can be done. Each day we should strive to be more like Jesus which would make our lives much easier to live and survive. As 1 John 2:3-6 says: "When we obey God, we are sure that we know Him. (4)But if we claim to know Him and don’t obey, we are lying and the truth isn’t in our hearts. (5)We truly love God only when we obey Him as we should, and then we know that we belong to Him. (6)If we say we are His; we must follow the example of Christ. (CEV The Promise)"
The example Of Christ is the only true example of love for others. Faith in His power and not ours is the only way to a peaceful, enjoyable life.
See you next time.

What Will Jesus Do For Me If I Have Faith In Him? (Part Six)

Posted by Bobby Bruno on February 8, 2011 at 11:21

In My Love For Jesus Christ:

When I am faithful to Him, my love for Jesus protects me from harsh punishment

Where do you think you would be today without the discipline of your parents when you were young? Sure, being grounded or hit with a belt was not pleasant, but did these things make you rebellious or more disciplined in your own life. How many times have you heard some people say that if it hadn't been for the discipline of their parents they might have turned out either dead or in jail? You see, discipline is not a bad thing no matter what teenagers say because we all know that we really want discipline in our lives to give us structure.
That's why we have laws that keep us from harm. They are there to protect us from injury or wrongdoing. Have you ever asked yourself where our laws really come from? Do you think they originated from man? No way! We are a very much undisciplined people. If we really had our way we would allow ourselves to do anything we wanted without the guilt and condemnation of our actions. But is that a good thing? How many people would be left on the earth if we killed everyone we were mad at to get them out of our lives? None at all whatsoever. Again, without discipline, we would all be miserable. If we could fulfill all of our dreams all at once what would there be to live for? What kind of future would our kids have to look forward to if everything was handed to them instantaneously?
That's why we have laws and rules. Every good and moral law we have on the books comes from God. If you read the Bible you would be surprised just how many laws we get from its pages: Laws that God gave us to follow. If this world would turn back to God, and the laws He created to protect us, we would all be joyful, free from discipline and guilt. God gave us these laws to show us how much He loves us. Parents show their children how much they love them by disciplining them when needed.
Now, what if I am a believer in Christ? God says that we are to obey Him and the laws He has written on our hearts and in His Word, the Holy Bible. When we don't obey Him then we are to expect the consequences of our actions. Sometimes God disciplines us Himself, or He will let other people do it. If you talk meanly to your wife, you can expect to make your own dinner that night. All kidding aside, if I murder someone then I expect to get the death penalty. If I don't then something in the justice system has gone wrong.
How do you think God feels when His children disobey Him? It causes Him pain and heartbreak the same as it does to parents who are disobeyed by their children. God always, always, always has our good in His heart. He doesn't want anything evil to happen to us, but we live in an evil world where evil happens quite frequently. It would take me a lot of posts to explain to you why God just doesn't do away with evil right now. The really short version is that He would have to do away with just about everybody living on this earth right now, excluding those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ.

Which brings us to today's message:
Psalm 31:23-24 says, "Love the LORD, all you faithful ones! For the LORD protects those who are loyal to him, but he harshly punishes all who are arrogant (proud -- New International Version). (24)So be strong and take courage, all you who put your hope in the LORD! (New Living Translation)
We as believers have a lot to be thankful for. Not only did Jesus save us from our sins and give us eternal life, He also showed us how to love others. But loving others can only come from Jesus loving us first. As we say "Love conquers all", but may I add that it only happens with the love and power of Jesus Christ’s Spirit living within us.
Before we come to know Christ, we humans only think we know what love is. When we say we love someone, we sometimes say it no stronger than if we say we love our car, house, or TV show. We like to say "love means never having to say you're sorry." Try telling that to your spouse the next time you do something wrong toward her. Even God wants us to say we are sorry to Him when we sin, so He can forgive us. But as believers, we learn from Jesus how to love others, including Him.
As the above verse says, we are to love the Lord for all the things He has done for us. We are to be faithful to Him because He is faithful to us in giving us the kind of life He said He would give us when we accepted His death and resurrection.
Being loyal to Christ means to follow Him only and no one else. No one should we worship other than Jesus. He should be our all in all. His being faithful to us brings us protection from evil. Satan can tempt us, but as believers, he has a harder time getting us to give in to the temptation because we have the power of God within us through the Holy Spirit. Still, as believers, we can give in to the temptation only when we try to not give in on our own strength. One misconception the world has about Christians is that we should never sin and should always do the right thing in every situation. True, we as Christians should never sin since we have Jesus, but as I have said once before, God gave us free will to ultimately choose what we want to do. Our bodies and our minds are still in a fallen state. When Jesus saved us He saved us from God's wrath and from Hell, and brought about the forgiveness we needed from God. It won't be until He comes back that we, as believers, will be changed into an immortal state of being. That is why verse 24 tells us to be strong and to have the courage that the hope we have in Jesus will be fulfilled in due time.

I will conclude this section, "What will Jesus Do For Me If I Have Faith In Him" in the next post.
Give your life to Christ and let Him set you free.

Trust in ADONAI

Posted by Federico Aguelo on February 8, 2011 at 7:02

Trust in ADONAI, and do good;

Settle in the land and feed on faithfulness.

Then you will delight yourself in ADONAI,

And He will give you your heart’s desire.

-Psalm 36:3,4

At the time of David, when you trust someone, you put your life in his hands. It is a picture of a man lying prostrate before a king. His whole body is exposed and helpless in abject surrender. The king could do as he pleases inasmuch as the man has given his life over to him. Such is trusting in ADONAI.

We know that ADONAI is good all the time and His love never fails and His mercy endures forever. We know that whoever calls upon His Name, He will in no way cast out. We know that He is the defender of the weak, the widow and the fatherless. We know that He gave His only SON as the ultimate sacrifice to save those who believe in Him. We know that nothing can separate us from the love of ADONAI. In fact, we have not seen or heard what ADONAI has in store for those who love Him. Such knowledge is too wonderful for us to fathom! This is why all who believe ought to do good, imitating the FATHER of light.

When we ‘know’ the character of ADONAI, we are not afraid to settle in the land. To settle is to build a home, a family and expand the influence of ADONAI by building relationships. When others see the light of ADONAI in our lives, they can’t help but be attracted to the light. Light always attracts and light always dispels darkness. When there is light, it encourages commerce of the kind that prospers and builds up. When there is light, there is focus and penetrating wisdom. When there is light there is joy and a sense of comfort that all is well.

The word ‘feed’ in Hebrew is’ ra’ah’ meaning to tend or pasture a flock which in general also means to rule. ADONAI is telling us to inhabit the land and take care of it, cultivate it and rule it with stability and integrity. It is the same command He gave to Adam in Eden.

Then you will find yourself proving the will of ADONAI in every situation and your heart will be filled with joy at seeing His blessing on everything you put your hands to. Yes, the delight of ADONAI will become your delight as your will is aligned with His will!

מלאך

What Will Jesus Do For Me If I Have Faith In Him? (Part Five)

Posted by Bobby Bruno on February 7, 2011 at 15:01

In Trust In Him:

"Who do you trust, hubba hubba? Who do you trust?" Yes, this is a line from the first Michael Keaton Batman movie, asked by the Joker towards the end of the film. What was he really asking here? Joker was talking to the people of Gotham about whether they should trust him (the bad guy) or Batman (the good guy). It all comes down to who you trust.
Where am I going with all of this? Let me ask you some questions about putting your trust in others. Who would you trust more: Someone who said that they would help you pay your bills for the next month if you were having trouble, or someone who actually did help you pay them? Someone who told you they loved you or someone who actually showed you they loved you by their actions? Someone whose motives you know are selfish, or someone who has always shown you that his motives are pure, not only by what he said, but by what he did? Would you trust your spouse if they were coming home late from work every night for no good reason, or the friend who saw him leave a restaurant that night with another women on his arm? Would you trust your spouse if you found strange phone numbers in his possession, and when you called them a voice you don't recognize answers? Would you trust a parent who constantly beat you even if you did nothing wrong to warrant it? Would you trust…? I think you get the point.
Now what about when it comes to God. Do you trust Him? Do you know that you can trust God? Answering these questions may be hard, especially if you grew up in a home where trusting someone could mean being hurt. Could you trust your father? If you learned not to be able to trust your father, then you were set on the path of not being able to trust any man. In my case, being sexually abused by a man made it absolutely sure that I could not trust another man for the rest of my life. Somehow I knew that I needed God in my life, but I felt I couldn't trust Him either. As I say in my post "My Life In Christ", it wasn't until I broke down from all the weight of the abuse and of trying to live my life through it on my own strength that I knew I couldn't survive on my own. If God hadn't "found" me, I would have never have had Him. Suicide is not an option.
But how do we learn to trust God? By first accepting Jesus as the Lord of our lives; by giving Him all control of every aspect of our lives. Until we accept Jesus as our Savior we will not be able to see God as the Father of our lives, we will not be able to see God for who He really is. And who is God to us? He is the only One who will ever truly love you in this universe because His love knows no boundaries, no limits. His forgiveness is immediate and forever. His power in your life will never be exhausted and will never diminish; His power will always be on full throughout the rest of your days. Only God will ever tell you the complete truth about who you really are to Him.
Which brings us to our first Scripture?

I must lean on God’s understanding, not on my own, or man’s wisdom

Proverbs 3:5-6 says: Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, (6)in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.(New International Version)
It's not just about God changing your life it's also about accepting what God is telling you about your life for good or bad. God can tell us anything He wants, but if we don't accept what He says as truth then we won't believe it. If you've been told all of your life that you are nothing, after a while you begin to believe it. God has to break through that mistaken belief to show you what He believes you are. It may take a while, but that depends on whether you will believe the God of the universe, or some person on this earth who was once told they were nothing too.
It's not about how we or others see or think of us; it's how God sees us. Don't forget: humans have a sin nature which automatically makes everything we see or think distorted in some way or another. That includes how we see ourselves. Never trust another person when it comes to who you are and what you are. Trust God alone. He made you. Who would be the better choice to explain the meaning of a work of art – the artist who put everything he had into every brushstroke he used to create it, or an "expert" who is a hundred years removed from the time the painting was done and who learned about art from a book? My guess it you would want to talk to the creator. That's who God is: Our Creator. Who better than Him would know everything about us. Where do you think your dreams for the future, your talents, your gifts, (yes, even the kind of toothpaste you would use) come from? They come from the One who created you as an individual, and as an individual has a personality like no one else.
We must trust in Jesus by giving Him all control of every situation we become involved in, bad, or good. We do this by giving our problems to Him to handle for us, and by not worrying about the outcome, believing that Jesus will do what is best for us, according to His Purpose for our lives, since He has always known the outcome even before you were born.
Now let's turn to one of the biggest problems we face as human beings when it comes to anything that affects our lives, which is everything. Worrying is one of the biggest causes of illness in our world. We worry about everything from money, to jobs, to relationships, to clothing, to housing, the biggest needs we have or our lives. But we even worry about things life, how our hair looks, how heavy we are, will our team win the playoffs. But mostly, if you took a good look inside yourself, you would see that you worry about the smallest things like why can't I have a car like he does; why can't I have a husband like she does, why can't I seem to get along with my kids? I could go on forever.
But what does Jesus have to say about worrying? A lot. But I have chosen the two most direct Scriptures that Jesus Himself said during the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus was speaking to a multitude of people of His day, but the Sermon on the Mount still speaks to us loud and clear today.

Worrying cannot lengthen my life, but can shorten it by the stress worry brings

First, Jesus told them in Matthew 6:27: "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" (New International Version)
I love how straightforward Jesus says things. How much more of a true statement could this be? Worrying can not give you more life, but it sure can take it away. If we were honest with ourselves, we would realize that we worry more than we think we do. But what is worry? Worry is anything you focus on that you have no control over. Worry is anything that we think about when we feel we can't do anything about the outcome. Worrying is when we think that other people are better than we are. Worrying about a situation doesn't solve the situation. It only perpetuates it for a longer period of time, and makes us more miserable.
So, since worrying isn't good for us, and can do nothing to make our lives better, then what do we do about it?

Worrying brings me more trouble than the situation itself

Matthew 6:34: "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (New International Version)
First, we give the worry up to Jesus. 1 Peter 5:7 says: "7Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you. (New Living Translation) God loves you so much that he wants all of your problems and will happily take them upon Himself so you can live a joyful life. All we need to do is to take care of what we personally can take care of for this day and this day only. If there is something that we cannot do in our own power and strength then we give it to Jesus. Yes there are some things we can and have to take care of on our own during our day. We are still responsible for working, eating, and worshipping God. But God will take care of everything else. Even if it seems to be taking a long time don't give up waiting. God works on His own timetable, but will answer you when and only when you need the answer.
I'm sure that we all could do with a lot less stress on our lives. But let's not add stress where we don't need to. Please trust Jesus and you will find the joy in your life increase. May His peace be with you as you go through your day leaning on Him and not yourself.
Have a good one.

Discipleship Network Forum

All Posts (1576)

Say you will!

Truth or Consequence

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF SALVATION? (Part Three)

Love Changes Everything

Ready For the Road Ahead 2-20-2011

Wait Patiently...

Free Will

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF SALVATION (Part Two)

Can We Give Up on a Group Member?

What to Do in the Dessert?

Losing Focus

Peace with Authority In spite of Abuse

Commit Your Way

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF SALVATION? (Part One)

Ready For the Road Ahead 2-13-2011

WHAT WILL I DO WHEN MY FAITH IN JESUS BRINGS ME SALVATION?

What Will Jesus Do For Me If I Have Faith In Him? (Part Seven)

What Will Jesus Do For Me If I Have Faith In Him? (Part Six)

Trust in ADONAI

What Will Jesus Do For Me If I Have Faith In Him? (Part Five)

Note: this page contains paid content.