Thy Great Power

God through Jesus Christ has empowered His People with the Holy Ghost! It is not a Power to rule, it is an inward Power of Spiritual Strength! The Old Testament speaks of God’s Great Power!  It is strength in our inner man.  Our Faith is stronger, our Hope is more trusting, our Love for God grows daily. As we see Jesus Ascend unto the Father, He leaves this Message … “Ye shall receive power, after the Holy Ghost comes upon you!”  Power to overcome those little things that detour you in your Spiritual Growth. Yesterday was good, tomorrow will be better, but is Spiritual strength growing? … In God there is Great power and “nothing is too hard for Him!” Christianity needs this Great Power for the day in which we live. We need to know of a surety that the Arm of God is stretched out toward His Children and … “Is anything too hard for the Lord?  When God’s Message reached Sarah that she would have a child in her old age, she laughed within herself. God’s response to that was: “Is anything to hard for God!” It is important to note the rest of God’s Word to her … “At the appointed time…” -- God has a time set in motion for the difficult season of our life. “At the Appointed time He said, I will return to thee, and you shall have a son.” There was a waiting process!  Ps. 27:14 “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.” The waiting period strengthens us and tests the power of His Presence in our life. Sometimes it is hard for us to discern the Power of the Christ we serve. I love Nehemiah’s statement: “These are Thy servants and Thy people, whom Thou hast Redeemed by Thy Great Power!” He was referring to the Israelites because of their disobedience, but it serves us well today as we see anarchy on the rise against God and Christianity. On day when the kingdoms of this world becomes the Kingdom of our Lord, we will Praise with the Elders and give thanks: “O Lord God Almighty, which art, and was, and art to come; because Thou hast taken to Thee Thy Great Power, and hast reigned!” Let the Church of Jesus Christ be alerted, He is Coming Soon! Loving you, Pastor

The Promise of the Father

In the Old Testament God gave a Promise to the Israelites, it is called Abraham’s Covenant and it is awesome to read and to recognize that in the beginning of Holy Scripture we are included in God’s Plan. It is found in Genesis 17:1-7 to be brief let me quote Vs7 “And I will establish My Covenant between Me and thee, and thy seed after thee in their generations for an Everlasting Covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.” Here we need to stop and ponder this powerful statement that includes all the generations to come.  It was an Everlasting Covenant!  As we move into the New Testament we hear about the Promise of God being revealed through Christ.  In Christ we are Promised Eternal Life, this life has been Gifted with the Power of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is the Promise of the Father!  Yet today it is not preached much in our Churches and when it is, it is like a mere statement that happened long ago. But wait, it is still in effect today!  Has the Church of Jesus Christ lost its power? We are called by Jesus to be Witnesses of Him and to receive the Baptism of the Holy Ghost!  In Acts 1:4-5 listed above, we note Jesus Commanded them they should wait for the Promise of the Father! Perhaps this Command is not taken seriously in our Christian society today. If fact when it happened the ‘receivers’ were mocked! And those who looked on asked “What meaneth this” But Peter lifted up his voice and reminded them of the Old Testament Scriptures of Joel the Prophet: Joel 2:28-29: “It shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh;” Note Peter’s Words of the New Testament as he quotes from the Old Testament … As the Day of Pentecost arrives the Holy Ghost descends with a great sound, a rushing of a mighty wind and cloven tongues -- flames of fire! To this Peter responds: “This is that which was spoken by the Prophet Joel!” How has some portion of the Christ’s Church missed this “Promise of the Father” to them? Acts 2:39 declares: “For the Promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.  He is calling today, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying!” Note what comes with the Promise: Acts 13:52 “And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.” Praying for the Holy Ghost to fall afresh & Loving You! Pastor                          

Steadfastly Minded

Imagine the heartache that Ruth and Naomi was going through, losing their husbands and now alone in the world and no one to provide for them. Naomi was in her homeland, but Ruth was not in the land of her birth, but in a strange country. Now we read, Ruth was “Steadfastly Minded” to remain with Naomi in this strange land no matter the circumstances. As we ponder this thought … we note there were others in Scripture who had a Steadfast Mind. Today we pursue that thought, knowing that we need a Steadfast Mind in our relationship with our God. Perhaps these Scriptures are not new to you, but as we walk through them, no doubt we will be strengthened Spiritually. It is the work of the enemy to mess with our mind and often the negative things that are set forth in our mind never come to pass. But they took hours of peace from us as we stewed over the negative things set before us by the evil one. We know we are commanded in Scripture that God gives us the victory but it is often difficult to place our trust in Him when we are in the midst difficulties – I hear the Word of God “Be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord…!” May we get a vision of being “Steadfastly Minded.”  I believe we can have such a strong mind because once again God’s Word instills this Message in our heart. “Let this Mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.”  In Jesus we see a Steadfast Mind. And He lives in us.  We are sometimes prone to “forget” and perhaps confess weakness of mind, but today we encourage ourselves in the Word of God as we see the power of “Steadfastly Minded” Patriarchs. Ruth was rewarded for her Steadfastness. Job was rewarded for his steadfast attitude and Daniel also saw the hand of God move for him.  We read of Esther who was strong minded and saved the Hebrew Nation. Consider the Mary’s in Scripture, they were not daunted by what they thought, they still believed. In this generation, may we be Steadfastly Minded, even as Stephen and stand strong in the face of difficulty!  For our God is a refuge from the works of darkness and we are His overcomers! Loving you, Pastor