The Resurrection Promise

NOTE: THIS IS A PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED WORK WHICH WILL BE TAUGHT ON JANUARY 25^TH AT VFO, MISS. IT HAS BEEN REVISED AND EDITED FOR CONTENT.    --TR

Jesus Christ commanded his disciples, before His ascension into the Heavens, to baptize and make disciples of all nations, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19)

When we are baptized, we symbolize the death to our old lives of sin, being buried with Christ, who knew no sin, and we are submerged in the waters. (Romans 5:8) For while we were yet sinners, Jesus Christ died for us. Then, as I understand it, we symbolize our resurrection to a new life, a life hidden in Christ, (Colossians 3:3) as we are raised up from the water to emerge as a new creature. That’s what Christ did; He fulfilled all righteousness known to mankind (Matthew 3:15) when he entered into the rite of baptism.

But even further is the symbolism of our future resurrection, the resurrection from sleep that those who have passed on will experience when Christ returns. This is a spiritual, yet physical resurrection that we—dead or living--will witness as Christians when Christ returns to rule and reign over all the earth for a thousand years! This is at the core of my belief, and this is what I am passing on to you; Christ is, indeed coming back! And we, too, will join with Him if we are truly God’s children.

I was listening to Pastor Tom read about Heaven last night, and it gave me a lot of food for thought. So, I looked into resurrection, and found some very helpful, tangible verses of scripture that support that premise and are even believed by some of the Old Testament Patriarchs, who did not receive the promise, but lived by faith, nevertheless. (Hebrews 11:39)

The first scripture was found in Psalms Chapter 16, Verse 10-11. It doubles for both our belief as Christians, as well as the prophetic statement of the Son of God, declaring, “For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. 11) Thou wilt show me the path of life; in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”

Because as heirs we, too are not to suffer corruption because of the reconciliation of our soul to God the Father by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ!

As you can see, Jesus Christ is the one referenced as “Thine Holy One”. And indeed, at God’s right hand are “pleasures for evermore”, for who sits at the right hand of the Father? Jesus Christ! It is a privilege to know Him; He is all the fullness of joy that we need. Observe and seek His marvelous miracles, and believe!

Christ said that some of us would be only able to believe by referring to the miraculous, which He performed.

How little and meager sometimes is the faith of man! “Doubting” Thomas said that he would not believe until he touched the scars in Jesus’ hands, placed his hand in the wound in His side. The same goes for us at times. Sometimes we even balk at the idea of doing something good, unable to believe that God would want us even to perform it!  

Further, it was also said “blessed is he who believeth in me and has never seen me.” That in itself requires a measure of faith which God alone can bestow. If you have that faith, thank God for it! It is Heaven-sent. And so you and I are truly blessed today.

David then said in Psalm 17:15, proving his belief in life beyond the one we are experiencing, “As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.”

The very semblance or appearance of being asleep was a term used by Jesus on occasion when He spoke of the time when people in His day had passed on. (To Jesus, who was able to wake any expired individual by merely speaking their name, it was surely true.) For a sleeping person, there is nothing to be known or experienced; they are asleep. They, for all practical purposes, are dead. But to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord! This means that the spirit lives, even when the body has expired. Jesus also told the Jews that He was a God of the living, not of the dead. Jesus even declared David alive and well, which really puzzled the Scribes and Pharisees!

The Greeks during Paul’s day believed that the body was an imprisonment for the soul, and that upon death the soul was “released” from its prison, that only the “real person” lives forever. But scripture supports the fact that, upon the resurrection of the Son of God, the body, a “glorified one”, was reunited with the spirit. Jesus was able to both to eat and to be seen after He had risen from the dead. This means that the body and soul are not permanently separated, because Jesus Christ was the first fruit of all who have been saved for God’s purpose in eternity. In short, Jesus Christ has opened the life gate, or the way to eternal life for us all, once for all!  This is an elementary point to most Christians, but I felt it important to repeat such a marvelous truth! And upon Christ’s return, we too will be united with a “glorified body”.

1 Corinthians 15: 46- 58 speaks of our resurrected bodies in more detail. In that passage, verse 51 states, “We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed.” Verse 52 states further: “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” (KJV)

But let us go back to Psalms, in Chapter 49. The NIV states in Verse 7-9 that, “No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him – the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough – that he should live on forever and not see decay.” Going further, David declares in Verse 13, “This is the fate of those who trust in themselves (death), and of their followers, who approve their sayings.”

Never trust in another human being for your soul to be saved; the fact that your parents lived a godly life, your husband or wife are Christian, will not guarantee your salvation. Christ is the only way. (Romans 5:7-9) Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Christ even said that Moses, although trusted by the Jews, was unfortunately their accuser—in that he had given the commandments that condemned them, not to mention that he had passed on, as well! Death awaits us all, good or bad.

But David states good news next: In Psalms 49 verse 15, David asserts, “But God will redeem my life from the grave; he will surely take me to Himself.”

What faith! David knew the promise that God had made to extend not only David’s Kingdom, but also to give life hereafter to him, putting someone in his lineage on the Throne to rule and reign forever—Jesus Christ! David was indeed blessed and highly favored!

That’s the importance of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross—because of His life and death and resurrection, we, too can feel as David did, thoroughly blessed to dwell in the House of the Lord forever and ever! What a promise, what an act of love God made when He sent His Son to be the ultimate sacrifice. Before the foundations of the world were ever formed, God knew that there would have to be a sacrifice for the sin of the man Adam and his offspring. It was all decided who that Lamb of God would be before the first man and woman were ever formed. David described it as costly, and the only one who could do it was Jesus! He alone is worthy and He alone can make our everlasting life possible, reconciling us to God the Father, through His sacrifice--in payment for our sin.

Jesus was able to lay down His life and to take it up again, and He is able to redeem us from death, and if you are a child of God, He has already sealed you and written your name in the Lamb’s Book of Life. I long for the day when we will all be united in the presence of God and His mighty angels! “For He shall receive me. Selah”. Psalms 49:15b (KJV)

Psalm 139:13-18 is a precious declaration about our lives and our ever-present help in time of need, about how God will provide for us and never leave us. “For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my Mother’s womb. I will praise thee: for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being imperfect; and in thy book all my members were written; which in continuance were fashioned when as yet there was none of them. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand; when I awake, I am still with thee.”

The NIV commentary states about this passage, “God’s character goes into the creation of every person. When you feel worthless or even begin to hate yourself, remember that God’s Spirit is ready and willing to work within you. We should have as much respect for ourselves as our Maker has for us.”

Feelings of worthlessness, self-loathing, insecurity, even self-consciousness, are all lies of the devil, planted in your conscious mind to be a stumbling block to your growth as a Blood-bought child of God.

Whether in life or after death, God will not separate Himself from His children. Jesus truly sticks closer than a brother, just what some of us need in our busy lives, the knowledge that God cannot lie or change His Mind and will be faithful--even if we falter. (Numbers 23:19) states it this way: God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he not speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? For some of you who are confused, Jesus IS God. Remember that He is intimately involved in your life and is handling all of the things that are happening to you and around you. By His wondrous grace, God provided all that we would ever need--in both this life and the next!

Chapter 140 of Psalms also says simply, (Verse 13) “Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name; the upright shall dwell in thy presence.” (KJV)

A tangible and promising verse follows, in Isaiah 26:19: “The dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.” Those who suffered death during Old Testament times, before Jesus Christ lived and walked this earth, waited patiently for the redemption of their souls from Sheol. It has been said that they still wait in some cases, that they wait for the judgment of the White Throne to this day while others state that Jesus Christ has already opened up hell’s gates and delivered some and taken them on to heaven. Whatever the case may be, Christ is faithful and will not forget one soul to whom He has given the gift of life. That is a promise. That is the importance of what Christ has done!

The following verse of scripture says that waking from our sleep will take place, whether saved or unsaved. Daniel 12:2 asserts, “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” It is not clear as to whether all will rise at the same time or exactly when all of this will take place. But In verse 13, Daniel is told that he would rest, but would arise to “stand in thy lot at the end of the days.”

“…God does not reveal everything to us in this life. We must be content with the partial picture until he wants us to see more. He will tell us all we need to know.”

 “…Daniel was assured by God that he would rise from the dead and receive his portion in God’s eternal kingdom. Faithfulness to God has a rich reward, not necessarily in this life, but most certainly in the life to come.” (Commentary, NIV)

Going back to 1 Corinthians 15, I would like to interject here that the Bible defines what will happen to us in this way: (Verses 52-55) “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53) For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54) So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying 55) O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”

The devil already knows, but just call the latter words an announcement of Victory! Christ has the key to hell and death! (Revelation 1:18) He said that all power was given him in heaven and on earth at the time that He was brought before His accusers and so, He did not have to suffer the cross, but He did! And that’s marvelous, miraculous, just the kind of love that we need! No one else has ever done it, and no one else ever will.

More information about Our Heavenly Dwelling lies in 2 Corinthians, 5: 1-10. It promises us that our heavenly dwelling(s) (bodies) will be permanent and perfect, while our present state causes us to groan, burdened, desiring that eternal dwelling place. In short, we long for immortality, walking by faith and not by sight.

In verse 10, the scripture states, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in HIS body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”

Death is the beginning of eternity in God’s Kingdom. However, from the moment we receive Christ and the Holy Spirit, our eternal life has begun. This hope is made to give us confidence and to spur us on to good works. 1 Corinthians 3:10--15 admonishes us to build our house on the Lord Jesus Christ and His ways. For as the scripture states, (10) “According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. 11) For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12) Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13) Every man’s work shall be made manifest; for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. 14) If any man’s work abides which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15) If a man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”

The latter I understand to mean that, if a person’s accomplishments are not done with the right heart, the person will survive, but will suffer losses—the destruction of their deeds--as a person who loses possessions while escaping a burning building. Still, one would have reason to rejoice--They would behold and dwell with the Most High forever! Do not tamper with the foundation that Christ has provided, however, and do not build with inferior materials. God wants your best.

The Holy Spirit has revealed to me that the motives in our hearts as to why and what we do are also materials that will either stand the test of God’s righteous requirements or no. Doing things in our own strength will not endure; only God’s spirit can make us righteous, anointed, called, and sanctified. “Turning over a new leaf” cannot bear the persecutions which come in life; only the Holy Spirit can!

Moving on to Philippians 3:21, Jesus promises here to transform our bodies into a “glorious body” like Christ’s. I like the KJV’s translation best; it proclaims as follows: “Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto Himself.” When we wake from our slumber and “sleep”, even death, we will be like Him. (1 John 3:2, paraphrased)

(2 Corinthians 10:5) We, too, should practice subduing all thoughts which exalt themselves into submission to the command and the Sovereign power of Jesus Christ! Amen?

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 gives those who are sorrowful and ignorant about the passing of friends and family, hope. God uses Paul’s pen to reveal a promise that, when Christ returns, all those who sleep in Him will return with him, and we will see them again. It also states that the dead in Christ shall rise first, then the “rapture” will occur and we who remain alive will meet Christ in the clouds of the air, to be united with Him forever. (I am paraphrasing)

Paul was writing this to comfort and to challenge the faith of those who had lost loved ones. And because Jesus came back to life, we can believe that we, too, will have new bodies and a new life, as He has, one that will never end.

“…God will turn our tragedies to triumphs, our poverty to riches, our pain to glory, and our defeat to victory. All believers throughout history will stand reunited in God’s very presence, safe and secure….” (NIV Commentary)

Finally, let me leave you with this verse of scripture: Revelation 20:  through Chapter 21: 4. It will give you more to think about in the areas of new life, new world, New Jerusalem, and promises a new earth, as well. According to this passage, not all of the dead will be raised at one time; some will not be raised until sometime after the end of the thousand years (Verse 5), while Christ rules the earth and the devil is contained in the bottomless pit.

After the thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ, the enemy will be loosed and will lay siege upon the encampment of the saints and the City of God, but God will rain fire and brimstone down and cast the devil into the lake of fire, where the beast and the false prophet are, and they shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever (Chapter 20: Verse 10).

And God will dwell with men, and there will be no more death, sorrow, crying, or pain. God will finally be re-united with man, as in the days of Adam and Eve. And the enemy will be no more. The peoples of the earth, both great and small, will then stand before the White throne judgment, and they will be judged according to what they have done. And so it will be. Amen, and amen.

Thanks be to God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom all glory and honor belong! Blessed be the Name of the Lord! For He is Worthy! The greatest pleasure remains for those who choose to serve Him now; don’t put it off. God is calling you.

Dear Friend,

You have asked me a question in our traffic for the website; I don’t know how you actually do that, but that is not important, I guess. This is not the first time you have conversed with me, I am sure…it makes me curious as to who you are! Whatever the case, I will strive through this blog to answer your question.

The Beatitudes…how has Victory Family Outreach “lived them”, in my own words…this is your question?

Where do I start? In areas of devotion to God’s Will, we sacrificed the whole of our lives to doing what it is that God has called us to do, and that is to learn more about Him, praise and worship Him, pray to Him, stay in fellowship both with God and others who love and adore Him, and to minister, last but not least, to those who are hurting--who need help to overcome the sin nature and the bondage to addictions of all kinds. We spent a total of eight years with Victory Family Houston, counting my three years of study and devotion, as well as Tom’s additional five years—doing all that was asked of him and learning how to run a Home and counsel and to free men with addictions. This could be considered a hungering and a thirsting for righteousness, which, through the work of the Holy Spirit, became possible at this very crucial, blessed, important, and special time in our lives. We could have remained drunks; we could have continued down the road to perdition, BUT GOD! As they taught us, God Himself is the One who draws us all to Him, not vice versa. Salvation is not of man, but of God.

Every time we sit down and have a Bible study, we are “breaking bread” with God, sharing with one another the Word, which leads to eternal life. Every Monday and Thursday we have Bible study down in Union, Miss., at Pastor Byron Artis’ “House of Hope”. The lessons are a myriad of Spiritual subjects, and much of it comes from the blogs written by Sister Carolyn Hollingsworth of CHOLLINGSWORTHMINISTRIES.ORG, and this one, victoryfamilyoutreach.org  which has been online since 2010. Pastor Byron Artis has been a faithful contributor and guidance to the men, as well as Pastor Bragston Miley and Pastor Jack Foster, as well as Mr. Jim Dionne and yes, Pastor Tom, too.

I said all that to say this: When the Pastor has poured out his heart for quite some time to all who have been in his care, he sometimes experiences a spiritual “emptiness”, which is all part of being “poor” in spirit. For such a time as this, we are refilled by the Holy Spirit through God’s Word and learning from other Ministries, a time of refreshing that God puts into hearts to renew and get us all back on track. Pastor Tom has several Pastor friends who support and advise him. This is quite a blessing for him. Any Preacher will tell you that, if he cares, he puts blood, sweat and tears into his ministry. Pray for your teachers, preachers, and ministers around you; they need your prayers.

So many men have come through VFO with Godly sorrow for what they have done in their lives of addiction. Lost relationships, friendships, family support, material possessions, and even children that they love dearly are all part of the terrible price paid for their lifestyles which range anywhere from a few years to all of their lives. They mourn for their loss, and even Tom and I mourn for the life of addiction and sin we once lived. God, however is not in the business of kicking a man when he’s down, but has the desire to lift us up and give us new life, amen? God and His Word comforts and we as brothers and sisters in Christ comfort one another.  

Meekness is stating the truth and disregarding intimidation, in love. All of us can say that at some time or another we have known, but not spoken the truth. Meekness is not a sign of weakness. It is knowing that no matter what may come, God is still in control. This attitude makes our faith stronger, and God will produce a crop in your life--some thirty, some sixty and some a hundred-fold, if you let your faith sustain you in every situation! Be blessed in this.

I guess you could say that my husband is as merciful as he can be. God has made us merciful, because our lives were so out of control, and yet, He sustained us! So why wouldn’t we, for instance, be merciful towards a man who is sneaking around smoking cigarettes and we finally uncover the fact that he is breaking the Home rules? We forgive the man, and he is not discharged from the Home. This makes him more useful to us because he is thankful; you cannot work with people that you browbeat. The human tendency is to be resentful of you if you choose to discourage and “ride” your disciples. Would Christ have done such a thing? It’s a matter of learning how to live a sober life, dedicated to God and to Holiness. This requires mercy. This is what we show our men at VFO.

There’s a song about how people laugh at those who reach down and help another person up. “Fool” is what it’s called. This is a kind of persecution that fazes us not. Even when folks act as if we’re pestering them and “begging” when we come around and ask for a donation. Even when the principle of God is Faith and what He can do for us every month in providing all our needs in the Home, if we just get out there and “swing the bat”. We want to thank all of the businesses and people who have been faithful in contributing to our cause, and helping us to stay open, those who realize the beauty of helping those who are caught in a web of addiction.

I hope that this has been somewhat helpful in answering your question. I would that I could boast in our behaviors and our perfection, but all have fallen short…I won’t be perfect until I see Him face to face. All one can do is cooperate with the Holy Spirit daily in his leading us to do the “next right thing”, as Mom Carmen used to put it.

“Snatching victims from the flames”,

Teresa

Pondering Sin

The Bible Dictionary defines sin as: Lawlessness, or transgression of God’s will, either by omitting doing what God’s law requires, or by doing what it forbids. Transgression can occur in thought (1 John 3:15), word (Matthew 5:22), or deed (Romans 1:32).

1 John 3:4 states, “Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact sin is lawlessness.” (NIV)

There is a difference between committing a sin and continuing to sin. Even the most faithful believers sometimes commit sin, but they do not cherish a particular sin and choose to commit it. A believer who sins repents, confesses his sin or error, and finds forgiveness.

 A person who continues to sin and shows little or no remorse, however, is not sorry for what he or she is doing. Thus a person never confesses his sin and receives no forgiveness. Such a person is in opposition to God and God’s enemy, no matter what he or she professes.

Through the Commandments that were written by God’s own finger on tablets atop Mount Sinai, we as the human race were able to finally understand the nature of our wrongs. In Deuteronomy 10:4, God tells Moses to chisel out two more stone tablets like the ones in Chapter Nine, verse 17, which Moses broke in anger when he discovered upon his return that the Israelites were worshipping a golden calf.

Moses was not the only one angry. God was ready to destroy the Israelites due to their provocation. Today is no different. In verse 13 of Chapter 9, the Lord said to Moses, “…I have seen this people, and they are a stiff-necked people indeed! 14) Let me alone, so that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven. And I will make you into a nation stronger and more numerous than they”.

The only One standing between annihilation and wrath of God in our Country is Jesus Christ.

Showing God’s mercy, Moses gave the Israelites another chance, after they had repented from their idolization and lawlessness. Having come from Egypt, some of them, many, as a matter of fact, had lived their whole lives without knowledge of the God who chose them and who delivered them from hard bondage. In Egypt there were, doubtless, hundreds of gods surrounding them to worship and to corrupt their purity. I’m sure that this was one reason that God decided to deliver them from Egypt to begin with; for God is not mocked and will not share His glory with another.

And so, after Moses broke the initial tablets with fury and lay prostrate before God for 40 days and nights in mourning, pleading with Him, the Lord gave the Israelites a second chance.

Aren’t you glad God is a God of second chances? I am!

Moses then returned to the top of Mount Sinai and received the law, which, if obeyed, would guarantee life and not death.

Deut. 10, Verse 4: “The Lord wrote on these tablets what he had written before, the Ten Commandments he had proclaimed to you on the mountain, out of the fire on the day of the assembly. And the Lord gave them to me.”

The curse of the law is not being able to obey it completely, and so Jesus came to “fulfill” the law by being the only one able to obey it to the letter. The law was written to show us a need for a Savior and the importance of Holiness and the Sacrifice that Christ made so that we could be liberated and freed from sin and death. (Galatians 3:13) Christ took the punishment when it should have been all of us, each individual striving but failing to live a sinless life! With man it is impossible, but with God, all things are possible!  (Matthew 19:26) That statement is pretty much the whole truth of the matter: Christ paid it all!

 “The tablets of the law were still in the ark about 500 years later when Solomon put it in his newly built temple (1 Kings 8:9) The ark last appears in the Israelite’s history during the reign of Josiah, about 300 years after Solomon (2 Chronicles 35:3).” (Life Application Study Bible, NIV)

Time passed. Man, although informed, failed the simple commands given him, or would live a life of dedication to each and every law, only to fall short in areas that the coming Savior and King would require. Later, Christ had his three short years of Ministry, speaking of the love one must have for God and the love one must possess for their fellow man or woman, children of God, the kingdom of Heaven being within us, not in the form of a Synagogue or Tabernacle. This man was a heretic, they said, but still…none of them could dispute that God would want all of these commands to be met in the simple admonishments to “Love God” and to “love your neighbor”. (Matthew 22:37-40)

The Law and our Lord had shown us the need for Salvation. But in (Romans 3:10-12, 20, and 23), the Bible states, “As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.  12) All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”

What was this impetus towards self-destruction? What made us all abandon the good fight-- now or at one time--what made us leave the narrow way and seek earthly pleasures? Why is this cycle taking place? The Bible is correct in that there are none Righteous. Therefore, it is the sin nature of man.  

Verses 20 and 23 of Romans 3 state, respectively: “20) Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.”

23) …“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”   

When Paul uses the word Righteous, he means “No one is innocent”. We are all valuable in God’s eyes, because He loves us and created us in His image. No one can earn right standing with God. God offers to forgive us if we return to Him in faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, to free and forgive us from sin.

Are some sins obvious, while still others remain hidden within? Let us ponder Galatians 5:19-21, first of all. “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious”, God’s Word tells us. “Sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20) idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21) and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (NIV)

In Mark 7:20-23 Jesus states, “…What comes out of a man is what makes him “unclean”. 21) For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22) greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man “unclean”.”

Unfortunately, we all have evil desires; we cannot ignore them. In order to walk in the Spirit, we must deal with our sinful inclinations decisively (crucify them daily) and commit ourselves to follow after the right standing of the Spirit and not the folly of the flesh. If the Spirit is dealing with you today about a certain weakness or flaw, pay heed and do all you can to cooperate with Him in cleansing you from all unrighteousness. He’s all you need. Come to God and repent and ask His forgiveness and His power to overcome that sin in your life. He is willing and able to help you.

Even allowing our minds to dwell on a single damaging thought or a less obvious sin, such as hatred, selfish ambition, envy—even revenge—will lead to outright sin and wrongdoing as well.

Instead, we must follow Paul’s example and let our minds dwell on whatever is noble, true, pure, lovely, and admirable. This will chase the darkness away from your mind. And praise and prayer will enable God’s hands to lift that detrimental burden from you that only He can alleviate. Don’t be dragged into a cesspool of dread and Spiritual poverty; it blinds you!

1 Timothy 5:24 differentiates between the kind of man that sin trails behind them, while others—their sins are obvious. Paul is instructing Timothy in this passage to choose men for positions of authority and responsibility who are above reproach. In the same way, he says, “good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not cannot be hidden.”

I can tell good things are going to happen to you, today, dear one! To you, by you, and for you! Amen?

What within us leads us to sin? The mind of sinful man.  Romans 8:6-8 states, “The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7) the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8) Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.”

You are divided into one of two categories according to Paul: those who let the sinful nature control them, and those who are led by the Holy Spirit to do that which is right. Jesus is the only way we can become one of those in right standing with God. His way brings life and peace. We must consciously choose to follow Christ daily. Center your life on Him. Use the Bible to discover God’s guidelines. And when the Holy Spirit points out what you should do in any given situation, do it gladly. This is the way to joy and peace.

Jeremiah 17:9 states, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” In God’s Word it is made clear why we sin: to put it another way, it is a heart matter. The heart is inclined towards sin the day we were born.  Forgetting and forsaking God is an easy routine; however, we can still submit to God when temptations come and ask His help to overcome them, seeking help in our time of need. God is gracious to answer prayer and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. It’s your choice: yield to temptation, or submit to God and resist the devil, so that he flees from you!

Proverbs 14:12 pinpoints the blindness of the natural man, in that it says, “12) There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”

Are you in a situation where you may have options, but very few sacrifices? In the Christian life, you may be selling out. Easy choices should warn us to take a moment to reflect on the repercussions of our decisions, as well as discern between what appears attractive and what it truly involves.  The right choice often involves sacrifice and hard work--getting out of our ‘comfort zone’.

“Don’t be enticed by apparent shortcuts that seem right but end in death.” –NIV Commentary

1 John 1:8-10 shows us the truth about ourselves. If we intend to overcome our tendency towards folly, sin, and death, we have to accept that: “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10) If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.”

This scripture exposed false teachers in the Gentile Faith who refused to acknowledge that sin separates us from God--that they sinned at all—who also stated that they were incapable of sinning. Was it self-deception, or a simple lie? These teachers refused to take sin seriously, and this is dangerous ground upon which to tread. Thinking that Christ’s sacrifice was unimportant, therefore, they did not repent from any sin and were not purified by the precious Blood of Christ, teaching others to adopt the same attitude. This is a deadly practice.

In this life, we should never let down our guard over areas of the sin with which we are flirting, dramatizing, playing the fool over, romancing, or pre-meditating. Sin’s dread sway can take over your mind, will and emotions like poison or cancer, taking root and putting a cesspool in your heart and life in which you find yourself sinking. It’s really that bad…don’t let it take hold in your life, Sister or Brother in Christ.

Outside influences that can lead us to sin: The aforementioned “cesspool in your heart” is what led Ananias and Sapphira to allow Satan to fill their hearts with lies, through their own greed, in order to deceive the Holy Spirit. (Acts 5:3) Sometimes the seed we receive to keep us on the right track gets stolen by the enemy, as well. These are distractions that make us forget the right way; so busy and nonstop are our lives today in this impersonal world that we forget to do what the Word tells us. We get so wrapped up in our personal affairs that we do not let the Spirit have its way. (Mark 4:15) A life filled with materialistic pursuits deafens us to God’s Word. Stay free, so that you can hear God when He speaks. (Mark 4 Verse 19)

(Ephesians 2:1-3) Following the ways of the world and the Prince of the Power of the Air will influence your daily life in a negative way. He is at work in the Sons of disobedience today. Following our cravings, desires and thoughts, our sinful nature, defined us all at one time. But God! –He has delivered us from the miry clay and set our feet upon a rock, amen? No More evil life for you, fellow Christian! Ain’t God good?

As for those who are wondering what God is all about: It is not an accident that you are reading this. God is drawing you. Salvation is not of ourselves: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me” (Jesus) “draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.” Jesus has been given power in heaven and earth and is faithful. The Word is true. God is drawing you to come to Him. Be saved J (John 6:44).

Jesus is our High Priest before God the Father, sitting beside Him daily, interceding for us in prayer. It states so in Hebrews 4:15-16 (I quote from the NIV): “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we many receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

God’s grace and mercy are what lead sinners to repentance! This following verse questions whether or not we are taking for granted the gift of salvation: Romans 2:4: “Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?”

Must everyone repent? According to the His Word, God is waiting for us all to repent and to come to Him. 2 Peter 3:9 states simply, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” This answers many who have questioned God’s return and reasoned in their hearts that He will continue to delay so that their lives are their own affair, beginning to end. This is not the case; God’s thoughts toward us are many, and one of them, I am sure, is to reconcile us to Him and save us from His Wrath. The Lord is gracious and compassionate; slow to anger and rich in love. And the Lord is good to all, and He has compassion on all that He has made…As far as the east is from the west, that’s how far, He has removed our transgressions from us!

Psalm 145:8 was written long before that song, but it describes God so very well that a song was added to it. It is one of my most favorite songs. (We used to sing along with it at the VFO Church in Pasadena, Tx, and we at  Victory Fellowship also play it, FYI)

There are also Christians who long for Christ’s return, due to persecution and this corruptible society, so we must always be ready for Him, while planning our course of service to last a long, long time. We should always be prepared to share Jesus with those who are lost; in that instance, time is indeed short. The life of the Christian only is in the beginning phase when we accept Christ. How many have said that they wished they had accepted Him long ago? But never knew what a joy it is to serve the Living God! I’m one of them.

In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.  Acts 17:30

In Luke 13:1-3 Pilate had killed and mingled the blood of Galileans with their sacrifices. When Jesus answered this, He admonished, “…Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3) I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” This passage states the simple facts:  The wages of sin is death. If it weren’t for Jesus Christ and His sacrifice, we too would be facing certain death. To accept His sacrifice and call upon His name and repent from all our sin is the first step.

“Pilate may have killed the Galileans because he thought they were rebelling against Rome; those killed by the tower of Siloam may have been working for the Romans on an aqueduct there. The Pharisees, who were opposed to using force to deal with Rome, would have said that the Galileans deserved to die for rebelling. The Zealots, a group of anti-Roman terrorists, would have said that the aqueduct workers deserved to die for cooperating. Jesus said that neither the Galileans nor the workers should be blamed for their calamity. And instead of blaming others, everyone should look to his or her own day of judgment.”—NIV Commentary

One of the signs of repentance is, “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.” Psalm 51:3 Know that your actions have hurt many people, and that God is grieved, but also know that God is merciful and that there is no sin too great for a God as great as our Mighty God!

Knowing what God desires is also part of the repentance process: “truth in the inner parts, wisdom in the inmost place.” A desire of our own to be cleansed, to be “whiter than snow”; a request for joy and gladness to hear, and rejoicing in the bones that God has crushed; the hope of seeing God’s face, hidden from our sin--for darkness, the place in which we hide our sins--is as noonday to God. And finally, David in Psalm 51: 6-10 asks God to “create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

Like David, we must ask God to cleanse us from within, clearing our hearts for new thoughts and desires. Right conduct can only come from a clean heart and spirit.

Although God will forgive us our sin, sometimes the natural consequences of those sins will continue to progress as a result of what we have done. In this Psalm, David had repented, but his household would never be the same as a result of his sin.

True repentance is humbling. The truly humble man knows the error of his ways and knows that the sinful nature abides within. He calls upon the Lord for mercy and doesn’t allow his heart to become “puffed up”. Self-righteousness can lead to even greater sin; humility can cause God to walk with you hand in hand.

There is fruit leading to repentance. The desire to be a better person, in a better world. Reformation, not ritual, is a fruit of repentance. A changed life is also part of the humbling of ourselves unto God and repenting of our sins. (Luke 3:7-9)

James 1:23-25 says of the fruit of repentance that: Anyone who listens to the Word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24) and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

Listening to God’s Word is not enough; doing what it says is fruit of repentance, a changed life. Do you put into action what you have studied? Do I myself benefit from these Bible Studies? Yes! In every way. Every aspect of the study of God’s Word embellishes and renews my life and mind. I can’t say enough about it!

James was Jesus’ brother, and he realized Him the King of Glory after his Ascension. The Holy Spirit is part of the process of being saved; baptism is also important.

Mark 16:16 are some of the final words of Christ before He was taken up to heaven and “He sat at the right hand of God”-- (Verse 19 of Mark 16)

He commanded his beloved ones to 15)…“Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16) Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”

Baptism, therefore, is important. Now, in some cases, baptism is not possible, such as times when a man or woman lies on their deathbed. Another instance of the absence of baptism, yet the man was saved, was when the thief hung on the cross. But Jesus commanded this, and it must have significance. The symbolic meaning of Christ’s death and burial and resurrection are re-enacted in the baptism process, in which the body is submerged in water and raised to new life in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

It is not the water of baptism that saves, but God’s grace accepted through faith in Christ. And baptism alone, without faith, cannot save man or woman, boy or girl.

“We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”— (Romans 6:4) Thinking of our old life as dead gives us a powerful motive to live a sinless, new life. Treating the old life, its desires and temptations as an obsolete, dead nature, can free us up to live a life of newness and freedom with Jesus.

Dead to Sin but alive to God: (Romans 6:11)

Once slaves to sin, now set free to live as “slaves” to righteousness: (Romans 6:18)

God’s spirit makes it possible for us to live for Him. “It’s my Desire” is a wonderful song that we sing at VFC. The beauty of your salvation, beloved, is that the Holy Spirit, willing and able, can help you through whatever you face in your life. It makes us able to carry out our commitment to God. In Matthew 19:25-26, Jesus tells his disciples that with God all things are possible. God is able to give you power with men and power with Him. All you need do, as a Christian, is follow Christ. As Keith Green said in a song I love, “Just be doin’ your best, and pray that it’s blessed…Jesus takes care of the rest.”

In this case, in context, Jesus had already stated that the rich were surely unable to enter the kingdom of heaven, which astonished his disciples. “Who then can be saved?” they asked.

“Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” The Holy Spirit, a separate, yet unified part of the Trinity, makes it possible for us to carry out our duties as God would require them and when, as well. When someone does you a good deed, remember that faith without works is dead; remember that the Holy Spirit has done you a beautiful service.

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” –Acts 1:8

This is proof positive that God gives us power with men! God’s plan will appear, no matter what forces try to alter the plan and purpose He has for his own.  Power from the Holy Spirit is not limited to strength beyond the ordinary—that power also involves courage, boldness, confidence, insight, ability, and authority. If you believe in Jesus Christ, you can experience the power of The Holy Spirit in your life.

(Acts 2:38) Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Repentance means to turn from your sin and to change the direction of your life…from selfishness and rebellion to dependence upon Christ for forgiveness, mercy, guidance, and divine purpose! We are not able either to save or to relieve our guilt; only God can do that. Baptism identifies us with Christ and the community of believers. It is a condition of the heart, of discipleship, and a sign of faith.

I have learned a lot from this lesson. I hope you have found it informative and it has cleared up some questions as to your concerns about sin. As I stated before, it’s no accident that you have read this blog. The God of the entire universe is acting in your behalf to bring you safely into the kingdom of His Marvelous Light! Don’t put it off; be reconciled to God and have your burden lifted today.

“For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.”  (Philippians 2:13) To be like Christ, we must train ourselves to think like Christ. To train ourselves to be more like Him, we need to be indwelled by the Holy Spirit, have the influence of faithful Christians around us, be consistently obedient to God’s Word, and exhibit sacrificial service.

Often it is while doing God’s will that we gain the desire to do it. If we are faithful in the small things, and do what God desires for us, He will change our desires to be worldly into a desire to be more like Him.

It is the desire of God to make of us His beloved son or daughter, called to glorify Him and to flourish in His hands. Don’t you want that, too?

….If you could see, where Jesus brought me from to where I am today, then you would know the reason why I love Him so….You can take this world’s wealth and riches, I don’t need earth’s fame…it’s my desire, to live for HIM! Halleluiah! Glory to God in the Highest!

LET THE POOR SAY I AM RICH!

To be poor means that sometimes we have to be poor in finances.  God, in His infinite wisdom, will sometimes place us in that position in order to bless us. No? Okay, what if you found yourself in that position anyway?? You may learn that this statement is not as bad as you first believed, when God shows up, shows off, and shows out!

To be at the point that you don’t believe that God exists, is also part of being “poor”. This is the most excruciating dilemma to experience, even if one has known God to be real before. Some believe the lies of the adversary, the enemy, the devil, as he likes throwing shadows at us and stating repeatedly that “There is no God, why believe in things you cannot see?” Agnostics, I have had the opportunity to know, question God’s existence because of the state of the world and they ask how God could allow such things as murder, rape, and all the rest to happen.

But the same enemy that lures the lost into these sins is the one who blames God, but you knew that, I’m sure. We have an adversary, and often he is about making himself loom large and trying to put God in a box or to phase Him out altogether! Our adversary is very angry and will stop at nothing (which God will allow)to take as many of us to hell with him in end times as possible! This is one that the devil uses on our young people, who are still tender shoots, reaching up from the soil in which they are planted, seeking…not sure of  just what as yet, but indeed, seeking. 

Even children raised in the church, yes, even those of the most devout households, begin to question the existence of God whenever life and hardship, volatile situations and emotional upheaval begin in their lives…much like some of us, until God revealed Himself, amen? This is why it is so important to instill in our children the true grace and mercy of God, not the harshest of discipline, unbending religion, lovelessness that our youth sometimes do not understand. The Bible advises us not to spare the rod, but it also says not to provoke our children to wrath, so that they become discouraged. (Colossians 3:21; Ephesians 6:4) In short, love them like Jesus did—with sincerity, concern and goodwill; this will show them the love of Christ.

Be assured, God will always be greater than our adversary! And He cannot be contained and will not be trampled upon! He is THE Mighty King of All the UNIVERSE!

 Often those of means and great privilege can be poor in spirit, and some will even say that they feel that they are “going through the motions”. Money or the lack of it doesn’t necessarily have to put us in that situation; the Pharisees and Sadducees also found themselves buried in their traditions and customs. But any well-to-do individual should know that their many blessings stem from the Creator of all the Universe. There are those who know God is the one who has given them the increase. One would be omitting a very important statistic if that were not mentioned, here. In fact, I believe that there are many Christian believers who attribute all their prosperity to God…these, too are truly blessed.   

When you are poor in finances, and there is no one who can help you (take our present economy, for instance), God is able to step in and prove to us that He alone is our Provider; He alone can make a provision. He’s proven that many times to me.  (That’s when God proves to be our HERO!) He does this without my asking sometimes, but sometimes I have to ask. Because, the Bible says both are the case: “He knows what we have need of even before we ask”, and “We have not because we ask not”.   

The Bible says that we are kings and priests…but none of us own anything…many people of God are speaking a prosperity message, and although His love can extend to us in financial areas, some of us are special, in that God strengthens our faith in ways that they have never fathomed—through poverty! “It’s gonna have to be God” is a song that Karen Peck and New River sing, and this is an example of such a concept.

The bible speaks of having all we want, but owning nothing; of being “in this world”, but not “of it”. Matthew 10:37-39 supports the premise that we are to love God more than family, and more than our own lives.  When you are at the point that you cannot move and shake, wheel and deal, God can! He made the ravens feed the prophet, ( 1 Kings, 17:19) He can surely feed us, who have fallen on hard times.   

The Bible says to seek the kingdom of God first, and all these “things” shall be added unto us. Things like faith, hope, and love! This applies to things that “money just can’t buy”, too.

“A Christian who owns nothing is dangerous to the devil. He is able to go wherever God wants him to go. He is able to take any chance because he is not afraid of losing anything. He is completely able to drop what he is doing to follow hard after God.

Such is not the case of many Christians. They are hampered by what they own. They are afraid of losing the security their jobs give so they refuse to take the profession to which He has called. They are afraid of alienating their children so they refuse to go to the mission field. They want to have a new car so they borrow until they can't possibly tithe. Each thing they own ties them down. They have been made impotent with their possessions.” –“Having everything, owning Nothing”, by Prentis

The rich young ruler was not able to let go of his many possessions. He had the legalistic approach down pat; he had followed the law and had done quite well for himself. He had such love for his wealth that he could not grasp the great importance and incredible peace of following Christ and dedicating his life to His service. To him it was a sacrifice too great to make, because the Gospel is foolishness to those who are perishing. Pastor Tom says it’s like trying to tell a person what 7Up tastes like when that person has never tasted it before; it cannot be described. Salvation is a wonderful, beautiful experience! Grace! That’s still the great, freedom-building tool of Christ to enable us to love one another with no bounds. And the possessions of this man hindered him and finally saddened him, for he realized the importance he had placed upon material things.

Finally, being poor in spirit can also mean that you have “poured out” all of the wine that God has poured into you in Ministering to the saints and bringing sinners to Christ, and you need to be “ministered to”, or “poured back into”. The wine is the love of Christ. Keith Green put it, “My flesh is tired of seeking God, but on my knees I’ll stay…I want to be a pleasing child, until that final day.”

Being poor in spirit is when we have been broken by our life’s experiences. By reaching down to help our fellow brothers or sisters up repeatedly, some of us have become ‘threadbare’ in the battle that has been waging for the souls of the lost. The maintenance of and ministering to the Saints can suck the spirit out of  Preacher, teacher, and soul-winner… if you let it.  In cases like this, we need to retreat, regroup, and pour our efforts into the Word of God, and spend much time on our knees, in intimate contact with the Maker of the Universe. And attending Church with fellow believers is very important, in that our spirits can be rejuvenated and we may find times of refreshing. Also, some prayer for your Pastor and Sister and Brother in Christ can help them to be encouraged, given strength and renewed faith. Be an impartation of GRACE to those who need God.

Here it is, another Friday, and the house has got to be cleaned today, as Chapel Service is taking place tonight at 7:30 p.m.

My dear friend, Melissa Craven, has left the first comment on the guestbook that I’ve seen for months, now. You may or may not know it, but Melissa is my Sister in Christ, a young woman whose family goes to the same church, Victory Fellowship, as the VFO men and Pastor Tom and me. She has four wonderful children and a great husband over whom she dotes. We sang a Christmas special at the Church party a few Wednesdays ago. It was a song entitled, “Christmas Shoes”.  If you have ever heard it, you would remember it…it’s about a little boy whose Mama is dying and he is buying her “Christmas Shoes” so that when she meets Jesus she will “look so great”.

It makes me get a lump in my throat just to think about that song.

This Christmas was wonderful for Victory Family, Mississippi. I hope that the Home in Houston also was blessed to know what the Season was really all about…I’m sure it was, because the thing that the Home is designed to do all year long is to revive lives and restore them from addictions and give them a new lease on life, these men who have, some of them, never known what it’s like to live a sober, Christian life. My husband, Pastor Tom, will never be the same after his experience with Victory Family Outreach. He has learned some life skills that will stay with him until the day he goes to meet our Maker.

I asked him last night if he thought that those skills were necessary, and he said, “Yes, it teaches men to be responsible.” Things like cooking, washing dishes, taking the initiative. No longer is it woman’s work to keep the household in order—not for Thomas Rowley, anyway. He is practically self-sufficient. Sure, I still clean and do laundry and all the rest, but it’s refreshing to know that if I am busy that my husband will pick up the slack in other areas. God is good.

Pastor Tom is out fundraising today with Nicholas, one of our men in the Home. Pastor Tom will be preaching tonight. It has been some time since he did so, and we’re looking forward to hearing what God imparts through him.

It’s a quarter to ten and the high will be 68 degrees today, with a 52-degree low. Suffice to say that this is a lot warmer than the days have been in the last couple of weeks. We have both gas and electric heat here in the Home. We have been fortunate in that our tank has not run out as of yet.

On the ninth of January, a group of wonderful women who call themselves the Christian Women’s Job Corp of Philadelphia will be re-convening to mentor women of all walks of life in job skills, etc. I participated in their last Semester (16 weeks) for a couple of months, finding out about their program from Jan Cooper, the teacher of the Program last year. 

These women are a refreshing and lively group, full of love for those whom they mentor and one another. Pastor Tom says that the best exercise for the human heart is to bend over and help someone else up, and that is what our group does. They study the Bible, have lively conversation, take instruction on the computer, and also have homework…lots of it (complete with “sticky notes”, lol). Life skills, interview instruction, goal setting and other subjects are taught. There could not be another instance in my own life more important than this, in my opinion.  Women need encouragement and love in order to thrive in their lives. This group of women provides that encouragement and love, and do it with grace and a kind of love and joy that only God can give. I am honored to be a part of their group.

The subject of my blog today is whether or not we are operating in the plan and purpose of God in each and every life today who is reading this.  Pastor Tom and I surmise that often, because of free will, we make choices in life that are contrary to the calling and purpose of our Lord.

How to know if we are operating in the calling that God has for us? God gave us the intelligence and the mind of Christ to do all that He has instructed us to do in His Word. What is the mind of Christ? The more you study the Bible, the more you know who Jesus is, and who you think you should be! It says that when we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, we have the mind of Christ, and automatically we should know what we should do. To visit the infirmed, imprisoned, to feed the hungry, and to help those in need. Listen to Keith Green’s “The Sheep and the Goats” song if you are in doubt as to what to do. He makes it all so clear, and Jesus Christ said “If you did it to the least of these, you did it unto ME”. It doesn’t matter if that believer is living a life of sin or not…

For instance, what if you saw a man on the street, a homeless man, who wanted something from you? What if he was drinking and had not had a bath for some time? Would you walk on the other side to avoid him, or stop and give him what he asks of you? Needless to say, you wouldn’t ask him if he believed in God, you would give him what he needs, Amen? For we don’t know if we may be entertaining angels unawares! It’s what is in your heart when you give that matters. This gift you give may turn a wayward heart to God, you never know!

And never underestimate the power of prayer. Too many have lost interest in the insight it takes to see when each prayer is being realized. Sometimes I say, “God, this is a long-term prayer”…sometimes, it is only a heartbeat away, but there was a time when the angels of heaven would reveal to me that a prayer was being answered and God wanted me to know that asking for things in Jesus’ name would be honored. They still are today. It was what the women in the Home in Houston called a “faith-lift”. So don’t think, when you are not able to help monetarily or in physical ways, that prayer will not avail that person who is looking for a miracle. God can help them even when you cannot.

A person needing food for their family should not be turned away, especially when you can give from your abundance. This is your reasonable act of service.

So wisdom and a liberal amount of both would be great, if you’re truly looking for God’s Will in your life. I cannot stress enough the avoidance of grieving the Holy Spirit when prayer is painfully absent and a person is standing in its need.

Sometimes I look for a voice in my spiritual life to tell me my next move. Sometimes I wonder just what I am surmising in the reading of the Word! But nothing equals those times when a thought will “drop” into my conscious mind after reading a good deal of the Word and the knowing that God is directing my decisions. Let go and let God lead, guide and direct you.

My life is so much more satisfying when I am doing what God has directed me to do. The writing of our Ministry’s letters, this blog, my singing and the simple acts of reading the Word and prayer to our wonderful God replenish and embellish my life! For at the end of the day, both Jesus and Soloman said in his pondering that to Worship God and to love your neighbor is the real reason we are alive. Let your heart be led by the Spirit today, and give unto God His due! He truly is Worthy!

NAMES FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT

One of the most famous and discussed chapters explaining the Holy Spirit are in John 3, when Nicodemus comes to Jesus Christ and asks how a man is to be born again. “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”(John 3:5-8)

The simple term, “Spirit” is defined as, “invisible, non-material part of humans, supernatural being (third person of the Trinity), other lesser supernatural beings; see ‘spiritual’”.  Which is defined: “Having to do with God; the human spirit, or other supernatural spirits.”

The Holy Spirit is also named “God”. In (Acts 5:3-4), Ananias and Sapphira had conspired to lie to the Apostle Peter about the amount Ananias had received for a piece of property which they had sold. They would keep part of the proceeds and lie about what they acquired for the property, making themselves appear to be more generous than they truly were. But being endowed with discernment and knowledge by the Holy Spirit, Peter informed Ananias that he was aware of their deceit, calling the one that they had lied to not only the Holy Spirit, but also God: What made you do such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.”

The couple had succumbed to temptation by the adversary and were drawn away by their sinful lusts and enticed, just as the enemy will try to provoke us to today. Even though the battle for our souls is finished and we have been declared “not guilty”, the devil tries to make God’s people stumble, even in today’s modern world.  Satan’s overthrow is coming, when Christ returns to rule and reign, judging the world in righteousness and with justice.

The Holy Spirit also holds the title of “Lord” in 2 Corinthians 3:18, when we are described as having ‘unveiled faces’, all reflecting the Lord’s glory, being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (Paraphrased)

Let us go back for a moment. In 2 Corinthians 3: Verse 13, the new covenant is compared to the old by the reminder that Moses covered his face with a veil in order to keep the Israelites from seeing the residual glory of being in God’s presence.  Pick up in Verse 14: But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. 15) Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16) But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17) Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

How can it be that the veil, which was rent in two during Christ’s agony on the cross, can be ignored by the observers of the Law and those who walk in condemnation even today?

Halleluiah! You don’t mind if I celebrate, do a little victory dance right now, do you? I would like to tell you that I have always had revelation knowledge of Christ’s saving grace, but that would be untrue. Suffice to say that today I am really bummed out by those who still try to keep that first covenant, who say that the Old testament must be adhered to to the letter in order to live and to be saved, and refuse to accept the free gift of salvation and redemption from the curse of the law that Christ made possible for even them. But they will not accept Him in that way; they might as well say that He was just a man and be done with it if the law is still in control of this people we call Christianity. Jesus said that not one jot or tittle shall pass from the law until all is fulfilled. When Christ died on that cruel cross for all my sins, that happened, just as Christ read Isaiah 61:1-3 in the Synagogue and said, “today this scripture is fulfilled”. That is how I understand it! Now we have to claim with boldness that the Spirit of life has set us free from the law of sin and death. Amen? Amen!

To put that another way, The Life Application Study Bible puts Verse 18 in this perspective: “The glory that the Spirit imparts to the believer is more excellent and lasts longer then the glory that Moses experienced. By gazing at the nature of God with unveiled minds, we can be more like Him.  In the Gospel, we see the truth about Christ, and it transforms us morally as we understand and apply it. Through learning about Christ’s life, we can understand how wonderful God is and what he is really like. As our knowledge deepens, the Holy Spirit helps us to change. Becoming Christ-like is a progressive experience. The more closely we follow Christ, the more we will be like Him.”

Fulfilling all righteousness, Christ came and led a sinless life. He was baptized, and he was selfless in all that He said and did. But the law was not the reason Christ came; it was to seek and to save that which was lost. Those who kept the law were what Jesus loosely termed as “the righteous”—self righteous, in all honesty. And today the same can be said of those who think that their deeds will make their election sure. Christ makes us able to be reconciled to God, not our white sepulchers and our religious traditions…that’s why He supported man’s being Lord of the Sabbath, and not the commandment to keep it Holy. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what Christ requires and what He does not. As I admitted, I’m still learning. And nothing could benefit you more than to be in a Bible-based church and reading and praying to God at this time in our lives. The revealing of Christ in my own life is so very much a blessing and an honor! That’s why I call the Holy Spirit “Lord”.

The secret wisdom spoken of in 1 Corinthians 2 is that of salvation, which was revealed upon Christ’s resurrection, through the power and the revelation of the Holy Spirit, called simply “his Spirit” in verse 10.  The King James says it best, when it states, “But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit; for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.”

I am reminded as I write this that Jesus questioned Nicodemus once about his belief in what He told him. “If I tell you of earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe when I tell you of Heavenly things?” (John 3:12) he asked.

It is beginning to unfold in this study, as I write this, that the conversation between Nicodemus and Christ, the Son of the Living God, was crucial in the forming of the Christian’s understanding about the Holy Spirit; it cannot be lightly dismissed. This subject has been on my mind much lately, because of unbelievers and their confusion over the liberty in which we operate as Christians! The Old Covenant is important in that it reveals our need for a Savior, while the New Covenant is in response to the facts: we cannot live according to the Law and expect to be reconciled to God. (“The LORD our Righteousness”--Jeremiah 23:6) God said that we would live if we observed the law and did the orders of the commandments, but also said all the earth stands condemned before almighty God, (Romans 3:19, paraphrased)thereby making infinitely important the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made on Calvary to one and all of us as believers.

God sent his Son into the world that all might be saved through Him. This is the message of the Spirit of God. This is the conviction that tugs at your heart whenever you go into a church and listen to the Pastor or Preacher reveal God’s Word. It is the Spirit of God in 1 Corinthians 3:16; it is that conviction of your sins and your need for a Savior that comes with John 15:26, in which Christ promises, “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.”

God is not only love; He is complete, unadulterated TRUTH. The truth about me was what made me turn to Christ to begin with. I knew that I was a sinner, that I was “tore up from the floor up”, that I was always making mistakes and that I needed what the Baptists call a “Personal Savior” (I was raised as a Baptist). Somewhere inside me was the propensity for being fallible, flawed, a misfit.

Again John 3:12 questions and challenges us to believe, and therefore follow and uphold the commands of Christ, not the law, given to us by a mediator (Galatians 3:19), angelic though it was. Ah! Do you find that hard to understand? Jesus Christ said, “Do not think it is I who judges you, but Moses, whom ye trust” (Paraphrased, John 5:45). One greater than Moses now was among them, and what would they (we) do? Would we be disobedient and refuse to do the Will of our Savior, or would we believe Jesus was the Way, the Truth and the Life, and be done with it? I took Him into my heart at the age of twelve, but did not really have what my heart could believe to be strong faith until He opened my heart’s eyes many years later. I was like that “small and useless seed”, that I had written about in my youth, “Fleeing from its home to greet the sun…suddenly it sees a whole new world, and kills itself before its life is done.”

It was all about dying to the flesh; it was all about leaving no stone unturned until I had exhausted all avenues of investigation of the worldly way. I had gone rogue and had become an enemy of God, but my life was only beginning when I cried out, “Lord, I can’t go on any further; take my life and do with it what you will.”

“Except a seed fall to the ground and die it can in no wise bear fruit”, Christ said. (Paraphrased, John 12:24) It is God who gives that seed the opportunity and the ability to bear fruit. I’m so glad that Jesus set me free and gives me the opportunity to bear much spiritual fruit through His Word and His Spirit!

The Holy Spirit is also known as the “Eternal Spirit” in Hebrews 9:14:  “How much more then, will the blood of Christ, who through the Eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” (NIV)

The forgiveness of God through Jesus Christ, as I have believed, has lifted the shame and the guilt I possessed from past mistakes and made me able to do all that God requires of me at this point in my life. Ain’t God good? This scripture does not mean that I can continue to sin so that grace may abound, because the Word says of such a concept, “God forbid”. It means that my struggles, my stumbling, my flaws, and defects of character, are all covered by the blood. And the Holy Spirit is making good use of us today, if we are, indeed, sons and daughters, children, of God.

Does this passage mean that consciences filled with past mistakes are condemned to repeat those mistakes? I’ll leave that up to you to decide. But it is established that the Holy Spirit has a great work to do here on this earth and in you. “Have your way, Holy Spirit; have your way.” Amen.

Have a safe and enjoyable New Year's! We at VFO love and appreciate you all. May God bless. Teresa Rowley

As We Countdown to Christmas…

Acts 19 is a “supernatural” Chapter. It speaks of healings that take place from the mere cloth that touched Paul’s body, just as the Word of God preaches that those who believe on Christ would be able to do all that He did, and more.

Jesus healed the lady with the issue of blood in the same way! --She merely touched the hem of His garment.

The Bible does not make empty promises, as some of us may have done at times. It delivers the truth and it does not compromise that truth and those promises! However, this does not mean that all people will have that healing power through such means as Paul had.  

This chapter speaks of demonic interaction with “vagabond Jews”, exorcists, described as “Son’s of Sceva, the Priest”, who adjure the evil spirits to leave those they oppress in the name of Jesus Christ, whom Paul was preaching. This particular evil spirit answers those seven men with the comment/question: Jesus and Paul we know, but who are you? Then it proceeds to attack, strip them and wound them! These exorcists fled from “its” presence.  

This chapter also explains that people were being baptized in the names of John, Christ, and the Holy Spirit! Each of those methods are important, because the baptism of repentance (John’s) is important, just as the baptism of Jesus Christ asks Him into your heart and the baptism of the Holy Spirit give you power with God and men! Repentance, Guidance/Salvation, and Power, all important, amen?

A good sign: speaking in tongues and prophesying! But this does not always happen in the life of every believer. (1 Cor. 12:29-30) Sometimes the Holy Spirit comes in quietly. Don’t let yourself become discouraged by the fact that you don’t speak in tongues. These are gifts of the Spirit; you may have received other gifts! Such as prophecy (speaking the word of the Lord with a powerful anointing), and revelatory visions.

This scripture—1^st Corinthians 12(The diversities of Gifts) -13 (The Love Chapter), we discussed in an excellent Bible study yesterday at the House of Hope. I began this study just before Bible study that same morning. Confirmation!

--Why is it that I still marvel? Christ asked His disciples that same thing whenever they would stand with their jaw dropped over something that they had seen happen because of Him. “Why is it that ye marvel?” As both God and man, he couldn’t relate to our astonishment/amazement over the things He had done. Anyone who can walk on water doesn’t get all puffed up and amazed over miracles that God produces in his life, amen? 

Not only was it a stance of Godly confidence, assurance that the Father would provide all that was needed, but today confirmation means for me that I am on the right track and that I am in the center of God’s will! That’s exciting news. It’s like having Jesus Christ speak directly to me through my friends, Pastors, and Sisters and Brothers in Christ to counsel and encourage me. Coincidence became a thing of the past long, long ago. There is no such thing as happenstance. Nothing happens randomly; all happens for a reason that sometimes only God knows! Some people are still trapped in that “random” chaotic existence that, for all practical purposes, serves to weaken their faith.

But sometimes things that happen are not good things. Some of those things that cause pain, hardship, etc., are really “Blessings”, or “Mercies in disguise”. Sister Bonnie at Church recommended a song called “Blessings”, by Laura Story (contributing artist), which I sang at VFC a couple of weeks back. It explains that somehow we always want the easy road, but that sometimes suffering, the fellowship of Christ’s suffering, is what God sends, for this is what is needed in order for us to grow.

The men of VFO sang a song the other Friday evening called “We’ll understand it, all by and by.” This song would do many of us a service if we listened to its wisdom…no sense grasping at straws and attempting to discover all answers and solve all mysteries before the time comes. “Wait and see”…this is a requirement of patience and often part of the Christian life.

Paul also left the synagogue after three months of preaching there because of hardened hearts and unbelief of those who spoke evil against him, just as the Bible had said we should do when others will not receive us. Wipe the dust from your feet and move on, it orders us.

Only 5 days until Christmas morning. Whether giving thanks for the Spirit, its gifts, or suffering, which produces perseverance and Godliness, we are truly blessed as a people of God! Amen? We here at VFO are glad to be operating in our calling and have been truly blessed by the men who have come to us over the last year.

Our prayer for you all is that you continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and that your joy may be full…because of your love for you fellow man this season and throughout the year.

Sister Julie, I don’t envy your job, getting the presents for all the men of VFO (although being Santa’s little helper three years in a row was fun!), Houston, but I know that those big gift bags will usher into some of the lives of those men a love that they have never even experienced before. From all walks of life, these men grew up in what could be loosely called dysfunction or something not too convincingly called a family life as little children and they have never known the love of Christ. Too often this is the case. Drop outs from education, having no roots in and of themselves, they are nomadic and severely hurting individuals. I wanted to let you know that I remember them this Holiday season. My prayer is that you don’t miss anyone, and that God empowers the showers of blessings for them so that they find a warm place growing in their hearts for the love of Christ. God bless you, and Victory Family Outreach, Houston.

Love to all this wonderful Christmas Season! --TR