Philip was a disciple of the Lord and was also appointed as a deacon along with Stephen and five others. But these two I named , Stephen and Philip were not content to just stand around and serve tables to a bunch of widows. They had a Divine impulse, a Divine urging, there was a fire burning in their souls. It was the call of God to bear witness to the gospel, the Word of truth.
The call got Stephen in a lot of trouble....he lost his life for preaching the truth. Philip on the other hand was called to go preach a campaign in Samaria. Now one would think Philip would have waited awhile but if you read Acts 8:1-8 you will see that the persecution that Saul(later he was renamed Paul)was mounting against the church only causedc men like Philip to scatter and as they did they were spreading the good news of Jesus Christ everywhere. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and the result was, many got saved and healed and there was great joy in that city. The other day I felt an urging of the Holy Ghost to do something and to call certain persons and we have made plans for the near future, plans for the work of the Lord. And my urgings were confirmed by others. So if you have a relationshiop with the Lord and you know when it is He that is urging you to do a certain thing, then be like Philip and obey the leading of the Spirit. You will be glad you did.
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Thursday, May 20, 2010
Saturday, April 24, 2010
A lesson from Ephesus
It has been some time since I have submitted a posting to this blog, as I looked back to the last posting the date was March 8. At least that is what I found and interestingly enough the subject for today is on the same thing I wrote about then and the Lord prompted me before I looked back to share on this theme.
In our Tuesday evening Bible study we have been looking into Paul's epistle (letter to the unlearned). It is a wonderful letter, full of commendation for a church that loves each other. In fact Paul says in the 1st. chapter and verses 15 & 16, "Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and love to all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you inmy prayers." This church was full of love for all saints everywhere Jews loving Gentiles and Gentiles loving Jews thropugh Christ and because He made the sacrifice for all men and women, boys and girls. Now you have to take a look at the time frame. This book was probably written around 60-64 a.d. And John who wrote down and recorded the Revalation of Jesus , did this work around 96 A.D. A MAXIMUM OF 36 YEARS. How soon we forget and revert back to trying to work our way to heaven. Read the epistle to the Ephesians and then read Revelation ch.2 verses 1-7. It parallels our times today. How quickly the church of today has fallen from its fire and enthusiasm for God but not just 40 years ago, more like 75 -100 when revival fires burned across this continent. How we need men and women of prayer and return to our first love. As C.M. said in the last blog in her comment, we need to repent...after all that is what Jesus requires of us. It is not too late.
In our Tuesday evening Bible study we have been looking into Paul's epistle (letter to the unlearned). It is a wonderful letter, full of commendation for a church that loves each other. In fact Paul says in the 1st. chapter and verses 15 & 16, "Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and love to all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you inmy prayers." This church was full of love for all saints everywhere Jews loving Gentiles and Gentiles loving Jews thropugh Christ and because He made the sacrifice for all men and women, boys and girls. Now you have to take a look at the time frame. This book was probably written around 60-64 a.d. And John who wrote down and recorded the Revalation of Jesus , did this work around 96 A.D. A MAXIMUM OF 36 YEARS. How soon we forget and revert back to trying to work our way to heaven. Read the epistle to the Ephesians and then read Revelation ch.2 verses 1-7. It parallels our times today. How quickly the church of today has fallen from its fire and enthusiasm for God but not just 40 years ago, more like 75 -100 when revival fires burned across this continent. How we need men and women of prayer and return to our first love. As C.M. said in the last blog in her comment, we need to repent...after all that is what Jesus requires of us. It is not too late.
Monday, March 8, 2010
A missing element
A short time ago I wrote about the three"p"'s...perseverance, patience and prayer. And I made reference to a ship named perseverance which to me exemplified many trials that we face from time to time which leave us weather beaten and broken at times but if we persevere in prayer God will see us through. But there is an element missing. Take for instance the parable of the prodigal son. I am sure that his father persevered in prayer and showed great patience. An d it was Jesus who related that story as well as the story of the friend who came at midnight looking for bread. He also told the parable of the widow who sot justice from an unjust judge. There again we saw these three elements in action.
But Jesus again refers to these three ingredients when He delivers through the Apostle John a message to the church located in Ephesus. And He says, It's not enough, a nominal Christian life is not enough! Even a hard working good living Christian life is not enough...He said to the church in Ephesus, "I know your works, your labour, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil"...Rev. 2:2 verse 3, "and you have persevered and have patience, and have laboured for My names sake, and have not become weary." But in verse four, we see a real CRY FROM THE HEART OF JESUS. He says to the church of the Ephesians"Nevertheless I have this against you.........that you have left your first love." AS I MEDITATED ON THIS WORD TODAY I HAVE COME TO The conclusion that if we do not have an up to date love affair with Jesus then all of our goodness is just filthy rags. He says, "Repent and do the first works."....when you first accepted Jesus in your heart. and if you have never done so, I urge
you to accept Him know. Love, the missing ingredient.
But Jesus again refers to these three ingredients when He delivers through the Apostle John a message to the church located in Ephesus. And He says, It's not enough, a nominal Christian life is not enough! Even a hard working good living Christian life is not enough...He said to the church in Ephesus, "I know your works, your labour, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil"...Rev. 2:2 verse 3, "and you have persevered and have patience, and have laboured for My names sake, and have not become weary." But in verse four, we see a real CRY FROM THE HEART OF JESUS. He says to the church of the Ephesians"Nevertheless I have this against you.........that you have left your first love." AS I MEDITATED ON THIS WORD TODAY I HAVE COME TO The conclusion that if we do not have an up to date love affair with Jesus then all of our goodness is just filthy rags. He says, "Repent and do the first works."....when you first accepted Jesus in your heart. and if you have never done so, I urge
you to accept Him know. Love, the missing ingredient.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Lavish grace of God
This is a blessing bestowed upon my wife and I by our missionary friends in Rhode Island,"we are praying daily for God to bless you with His lavish grace." I don't think I ever heard it put that way before and it went to the very innermost resources of my soul and got down into my spirit. And I receive it in JESUS NAME. It fascinated my thinking so I went to the dictionary to see if I understood the meaning of "lavish" correctly.LAvish: to expend or give in great amounts or without limit; i.e. to lavish gifts on a person. Now I know grace is the unmerited favour of God and I know He has enough grace to cover all my sins, but this lavish grace seems to take it to a newer greater dimension for my thinking than ever before. He has given us of His lavish grace, grace without limits.....thank you Dr. and Sister Kutty for this blessing.
So you think that God cannot forgive your sins, that you have gone too far.....He has grace greater than all your sins. Accept Him today and you will experience grace without limits.
So you think that God cannot forgive your sins, that you have gone too far.....He has grace greater than all your sins. Accept Him today and you will experience grace without limits.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
In due season
Have you ever felt like "throwing in the towel?" I believe it is an expression that comes from the sport of boxing....when a fighter is beaten so badly that his trainer or manager will literally throw his towel in the ring to signal the referee to stop the fight.I don't know if they still do it or not. But you may hear that expression yet, when someone has had it so to speak, becomes tired of fighting and throws in the towel.
In Galatians's 6:9, the great Apostle Paul wrote the following to the church he had established in Galatia and said, "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." In the previous blog to this one, I wrote about the 3 "P's". PATIENCE, PERSEVERANCE AND PRAYER. It is with that blog in mind that I submit these thoughts. The modern version says "So let's not get tired of doing what is good.At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up."Sometimes even doing good things can become overwhelming and you feel like "throwing in the towel" Especially when your life style contains a lot of stress and there are so many demands on your time.But the scripture promises a harvest of blessing if.....we don't give up. So I want to encourage you to do those things that the Lord Jesus has called you to and not to grow weary in doing it...and trust Him for the grace to do it. You will not regret it.
In Galatians's 6:9, the great Apostle Paul wrote the following to the church he had established in Galatia and said, "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." In the previous blog to this one, I wrote about the 3 "P's". PATIENCE, PERSEVERANCE AND PRAYER. It is with that blog in mind that I submit these thoughts. The modern version says "So let's not get tired of doing what is good.At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up."Sometimes even doing good things can become overwhelming and you feel like "throwing in the towel" Especially when your life style contains a lot of stress and there are so many demands on your time.But the scripture promises a harvest of blessing if.....we don't give up. So I want to encourage you to do those things that the Lord Jesus has called you to and not to grow weary in doing it...and trust Him for the grace to do it. You will not regret it.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Three "P's"
Patience, perseverance, prayer...We have been studying the epistle of James on Tuesday nights at the church house.It is a very practical book , a manual for the Christian. And in chapter five it speaks of patience and perseverance and prayers. Ch. 5, verses 7-18 read: Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord.See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another brethren, lest you be condemned. "Behold the Judge is standing at the door!
My brethren, take the prophets , who spoke in the name of the Lord as an example of suffering and patience. Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord--that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful."Skip down to verses 13-18, "Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing songs." Look at these next verses starting with verse 14, "Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick and the Lord will raise him up." Verse 16 says "The effective fervent prayer of a righteous availeth much."
To get an answer to your prayer you will need to be persevering and have patience while you are waiting,
In my mind I can picture a time when I too was seeking an answer to a specific prayer that I was praying. On this particular day I was driving my old pickup truck and talking out loud to God and I was somewhat distressed over a situation and of course being an impatient soul, I wanted Him to answer immediately, but it did not happen that way. In fact it still hasn't completely taken place yet. But on that day which has been some years now, I WAS TAUGHT A MOST VALUABLE LESSON.
I was driving past a marine oil terminal where some large oil tankers dock to load petroleum products for the eastern seaboard of the United States. It was a route that I drove almost every day and I seldom bothered to notice any one or several of these ships, but on this day I looked up to notice an old rusting tanker. It was the prompting of the Holy Spirit that caused me to take notice.This ship was a rather large vessel well capable of weathering storms and it looked like it had weathered many storms in it's life time. It had huge blotches of rust where the paint was missing, but on the bow was the name of the ship and all the letters in the name were intact and in real good condition. PERSEVERANCE was the name of this vessel and I thought how appropriate of the owner to name her such. I also thought how appropriate God was and is to remind me that I need to continue in persevering prayer. Remember " The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." By the way, although the complete answer has not fully arrived just yet, nevertheless I have seen great improvement and gtreat gains have been made toward complete and total victory. I want to go on record and thank my Saviour for answering my prayer today. You can call on Him today...RC
My brethren, take the prophets , who spoke in the name of the Lord as an example of suffering and patience. Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord--that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful."Skip down to verses 13-18, "Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing songs." Look at these next verses starting with verse 14, "Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick and the Lord will raise him up." Verse 16 says "The effective fervent prayer of a righteous availeth much."
To get an answer to your prayer you will need to be persevering and have patience while you are waiting,
In my mind I can picture a time when I too was seeking an answer to a specific prayer that I was praying. On this particular day I was driving my old pickup truck and talking out loud to God and I was somewhat distressed over a situation and of course being an impatient soul, I wanted Him to answer immediately, but it did not happen that way. In fact it still hasn't completely taken place yet. But on that day which has been some years now, I WAS TAUGHT A MOST VALUABLE LESSON.
I was driving past a marine oil terminal where some large oil tankers dock to load petroleum products for the eastern seaboard of the United States. It was a route that I drove almost every day and I seldom bothered to notice any one or several of these ships, but on this day I looked up to notice an old rusting tanker. It was the prompting of the Holy Spirit that caused me to take notice.This ship was a rather large vessel well capable of weathering storms and it looked like it had weathered many storms in it's life time. It had huge blotches of rust where the paint was missing, but on the bow was the name of the ship and all the letters in the name were intact and in real good condition. PERSEVERANCE was the name of this vessel and I thought how appropriate of the owner to name her such. I also thought how appropriate God was and is to remind me that I need to continue in persevering prayer. Remember " The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." By the way, although the complete answer has not fully arrived just yet, nevertheless I have seen great improvement and gtreat gains have been made toward complete and total victory. I want to go on record and thank my Saviour for answering my prayer today. You can call on Him today...RC
Monday, January 11, 2010
priorities
According to the online dictionary that I use, to prioritize means "to give the highest or higher importance, rank, privilege, etc." To make it real simple...first things first. Like Jesus said in Matthew's gospel account, ch 6, vs. 33, "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness." quote is from the NKJV, the NRSV says "strive first for the kingdom of God." A few blog postings ago I talked about the preaching of the cross and I referred to a medical team going to Mali in Africa and ministering medical help to some people there. Last evening I witnessed a special power point presentation of that mission and I realized what priority really means.
These women who left our city and paid their own expenses as well as paying for much of the mission expense were doing something that was higher in rank than business as usual. They were putting the kingdom of God first, because that is what Jesus came to do. Matt. 11:4-6, "Go and tell John the things you hear and see . The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended in Me." Last evening's power point was an up to date version of what Jesus was talking about. It was a challenge to all who witnessed it; oh yes and not many dry eyes.... including mine.
These women who left our city and paid their own expenses as well as paying for much of the mission expense were doing something that was higher in rank than business as usual. They were putting the kingdom of God first, because that is what Jesus came to do. Matt. 11:4-6, "Go and tell John the things you hear and see . The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended in Me." Last evening's power point was an up to date version of what Jesus was talking about. It was a challenge to all who witnessed it; oh yes and not many dry eyes.... including mine.
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