He Lived His Message!

[Jesus Said] "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.  He that loveth his life shall lose it;  and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto Life Eternal."
~ John 12:24-25

Thoughts from the Pastor's Study:  Jesus' entire life was a sacrifice.  It began as He left the Glories of heaven and entered this world to become the "Only" Sacrifice that could atone for the sins of humanity -- our sins.  His message proclaims His purpose on the earth as is noted in the above Scripture -- to bear fruit for His Father!  To do this, He must die, be buried, and come forth in Resurrection power!  His Message was powerful, life changing, and fruitful!  His Message, His Life, His Sacrifice would end in giving us Eternal LIfe.  As you study the Life of Christ from Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, you will find a huge amount of Messages, yet one Message, "For God so Loved the world!"  Some people think of the "Sermon on the Mount" [Matthew 5] as His great Message, true, but there is so much to learned as we walk with Him among the people and hear all that is contained in the Kingdom of God Message.  His final Commission is found in Matthew and Mark, and this sums up His great purpose in coming to earth -- to bear fruit for the Father; and we are this Fruit!  Jesus is glorified through our Salvation, Commitment, and Dedication to God's Word.  As each new soul comes into the Kingdom, God is glorified by the Fruit of His Son's Sacrifice.  Oh how great a Salvation!  Jesus was the Message of God, a Love so great that the Father would begin the Salvation process with His Own Sacrifice, that of His Only Begotten Son.  His Message to us: Take the Gospel of God's Love and Jesus' Sacrifice of the world, Preach to every creature, Baptize them in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.  Teach them the Glorious Message of Repentance, Forgiveness and Eternal Life: They shall lay hands on the sick, they shall speak with New Tongues and signs shall follow them.  O the glorious Message of the Sacrificed Christ!  The Message of God's Love that softens the heart and germinates His powerful Truths!

God Loves us so much, O Thank you Jesus! Lovingly, Pastor 

He Went About Doing Good!

Thoughts from the Pastor's Study:
"He went about doing Good!"  What a statement!  This is what is recorded in Scripture concerning Jesus!  As we have noted in last Sunday's message, Heaven must have been a great place of comfort for Jesus.  There among the Worship, the High Praises that surround the Throne of God... and to think of the splendor of Heaven, Awesome!  Gates of pearl, streets of gold, precious stones throughout the city of God... the Crystal sea, the River of God, the Tree of Life...!  Jesus left the splendor of Heaven to fulfill His Father's will.  His Father's will was to send a Saviour, a Redeemer, One who would change the course of human destiny.  One that could cleanse the sin that had engulfed the once pure world.  Jesus would be a Sacrifice!  It was His destiny from the foundation of the world to be the Lamb slain for our sins.  It would take a Blood offering!  Perhaps we often forget the Sacrifice of our Saviour as sometimes we take for granted our Salvation.  Because of Jesus' Gift of His life to us, we have inherited Eternal Life.  As we see Jesus going into the Waters of Baptism, then being driven by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil for forty days... overcoming the temptations, Jesus now returns in the "power of the spirit" and His Ministry on earth begins. What we hear of Him is: "He went about doing good!"  All the while He was criticized, rebuked, judged, and religious leaders even plotted His death.  They used one of His own to fulfill their vicious anger and against Him; but all He did was good!  He raised the dead, healed the sick, and spoke the Message of God's Love.  Food for thought: It is most difficult to do good in such circumstances, but He is our example.  God give us strength to follow in His footsteps!  He cares for us!

Loving You, Pastor 

The Comfort Zone

"For God so Loved the world, that He gave His only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have Everlasting Life.  When God bringeth in the Firstbegotten into the world, He saith, let all the angels of God Worship Him.  But unto the Son He saith, Thy Throne, O God, is forever and ever; a Sceptre of righteousness is the Sceptre of Thy Kingdom."

~ John 3:16, Hebrews 1:6, 8

From Pastor's Thoughts:
When you read the above scriptures, it is noted that God gave unto His Son, a royal position in Heaven.  A Throne which would stand forever, and a Scepter of Righteousness to His Kingdom.  I would think this to be a "comfort zone" for Jesus.  Not a lot is said about Jesus before His offering to pay the price for the sins of humanity.  We learn He was there at creation and He was there at the Tower of Babel when the nations were punished and spread abroad into different languages.  It is noted that He saw satan fall from heaven.  In heaven He was in His Comfort zone.  It was a beautiful place, words can hardly describe the awesome beauty of Jesus' residence before He left the "glory" of heaven and joined the human race upon earth.  We have a brief knowledge of Heaven as John is taken up by the Spirit of God into the heavens to view the end time.  Let's take a peek at the glorious realm of heaven as it is revealed to John.  Can you imagine Jesus in this majestic realm before His journey to earth?  Revelation 4 reveals The Throne of God.  He is sitting there, and to look upon He is like a Jasper and a Sardine stone.  A rainbow engulfs the Throne and sends off a cascade of color like unto an emerald. Elders clothed in white raiment and wearing crowns of gold encircle the Throne.  There is thundering, lightening, voices, and lamps burning.  Seven Spirits of God hovering.  Before the Throne is a sea of glass like unto Crystal.  Heaven is filled with Worship.  Holy, Holy, Holy!  Now Father God asks Jesus, His only Son, to leave this 'most comfort zone' and become our Lamb of Sacrifice!  We are challenged in this Holy Season of Lent to offer something unto Him to commemorate His Gift of Salvation to us.  Let us come out of our comfort zone and be renewed!

 Loving you, Pastor