OUR OWN PERSONAL LITTLE JESUS...

Luke 11:9

“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."

Colossians 1:16&17 

"He created all things and in Him all things are held together."

Genesis Chapter 1 

"He created all things with a word"

Acts 17:23

"For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. ’ Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you."

Job 42:5

“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You;"

In Him 478 times plus, In Christ 245 times = 723 Total 

Christ in you = 1 time

I grew up hearing evangelists and pastors telling me that I needed Jesus as my personal Savior. They were right, I did. For most Christians in the U.S. that is where it ends. Sometimes a disaster occurs and they turn back to Jesus for help. Sometimes the results are what they are hoping for and sometimes not so much.

Most of the Christians that I have known at least start out thinking of Jesus as the personal Savior that lives in their heart, or baby Jesus in the manger. Both are a small Jesus with a limited role in their life and creation.  In Luke 11:29 Jesus says seek and you will find. The little Jesus is the one most people have been seeking.

In Acts 17 Paul talks about being in Rome and seeing an alter inscribed "to an unknown GOD". Many people have been saved by a God they don't know. Job faithfully served a God he didn't know. He walked blamelessly before the Lord. Job did not walk in faith, but in fear which is what gave the enemy the opening to attack him. In the book Job chapters 38 & 39 God schools Job on who He is and what He has done. In chapter 42 Job says "before this I had only heard about you but, now I see you with my own eyes". Now Job is not just a servant of an unknown God, he has seen Him and knows Him. This is when Job has everything restored and more. 

John 1 and Colossians 1 both say that "all things were created by Him (Jesus), and in Him all things are held together". In Genesis chapter 1 it shows us God creating everything by speaking a word. The Hebrew word for God in that verse is "Elohim" or literally "Gods". Father, Son & Holy Spirit are revealed in the first verse of the Bible. The same Jesus walked on water, healed the sick, kicked the devils butt, and rose from the dead! The new testament talks about "Jesus in you" one time, it talks about "you in Christ" 723 times. He is big enough that we can all be in Him. If your Jesus is too small to meet your needs, trade him in (like Job did) for the one that is big enough and caring enough to meet them all and more!

                                                           Pastor Ron

A CALL TO ARMS

It is happening.  It really is happening, right now, right here in the New Port Richey area, and by everyday people.  All around us it is happening, Disciples of Christ are answering the call to arms. “The call to arms?” you ask. Yes the call to arms, the call to armed conflict, the call to armed conflict with the oppressors who have imprisoned so many that we love, and more importantly, all of the ones that the Lord loves with His entire being.    The oppressors are brutal and have neither love nor mercy – they seek to torment and destroy all they can out of hatred and revenge for their guaranteed future defeat.  It is time for us to answer the call to arms issued by the Word of The Lord and by the urging of the Holy Spirit.  Ephesians 5:16, says to, “Make the most of every opportunity for the days are evil.”, so we need to answer the call and cannot wait any longer.  Also, the Bible says in 2 Timothy 4:2, “Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season …” This is in command form, and therefore, we are responsible before The Lord to obey it.  To be “prepared in season and out of season”, means to be ready when we know we will be called upon to preach the word and when we do not think we will be called upon – be ready at all times.

 

 Just this week a man from our church was at the Publix on Ridge Rd, by Regency, and encountered a demon-possessed man.  He followed the man as he ran loops around the parking lot, trying to catch him and minister deliverance to him.  The demon possessed man fled into the Publix, but just then, another man by the entrance spoke out to the disciple to start a conversation.  The disciple recognized that this other man was the main focus that the Holy Spirit had at that moment.  The end result was that on the side walk in front of Publix the disciple rebuked the spirits of addiction and horror from the mind of the veteran who had seen too much and had become an alcoholic. The vet was crying and asked the question as to why the disciple wasn’t a pastor.  The disciple’s response was that he was just doing what all Christians are supposed to do.  I also learned of a person from our church this week who ministered to an older lady in the produce section of Wal-Mart and rebuked the spirit of infirmity behind the lady’s high cholesterol levels and super high blood pressure levels.  The conversation began because the older lady simply commented that she would be on a fruit and cottage cheese diet for the rest of her life.  Let’s state Ephesians 5:16 again, “Make the most of every opportunity for the days are evil.”  I was in the checkout line at Wal-Mart, and the Holy Spirit told me to tell the cashier, very sincerely and directly, that the Lord loves her.  I did so and she broke down crying making somewhat of a scene – there were three or four customers behind me waiting to be checked out.  The short story is that her mother was just murdered less than a week before and she wanted me to pray with her right there without regard for her job.  Her mother was murdered!  This poor woman was standing there with a gaping hole in her heart and on a different day, I may have just smiled and walked out the door! The King of the universe loves that cashier, her pain hurts His heart, and He wanted me to let her know so she could get to know Him, so they could cry together for a while, and so He could heal her hurts.

 

One of my favorite passages is Matthew 10:7-8, which says, “7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.”  The phrase, “as you go” means just that – as you go about your daily routine and business.  This is the call to arms, to be Disciples of Christ in love, in words, and in power … where ever we may go from day to day.  Our weapons?  The Scriptures clearly state in 2 Corinthians 10:3-4, “3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”  As I quoted before from 2 Timothy 4:2, we need to be ready to preach on the Lord’s behalf at all times.  I know some of you have arguments rising up in your mind as you read this, but the Lord would not issue a command to you unless he was going to make sure you were able to follow it.  You may not have Bible verses memorized yet, or a evangelistic message ready for street ministry, but every believer, every disciple, has at least one weapon, one mighty weapon.  Revelation 12:11 says, “They triumphed over him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony …” Two weapons are listed here – the blood of the Lamb, Jesus, and the word of their testimonies.  If you are a disciple, then that means you have the blood of Jesus, in you and covering you.  Notice the second weapon is phrased as “their”.  Using one of your personal testimonies of what the Lord has done for you to witness to people in your daily routines is powerful.  If you are new in the Lord and do not have an arsenal of testimonies yet, or none of yours fit the situation being discussed with the person to which you are ministering, use someone else’s testimonies – that is the “their” in “their testimonies”.  Tell them, “I have a friend who faced a similar situation …”, or ,”there is a lady at my church who …”, you get the point.  The Lord has made it so that we always have weapons with which to set captives free and bring people to Him.  We simply have to be willing to obey, to answer the "call to arms" He has issued. Will you answer it?

 

There is a saying that I came up with years ago to challenge myself and keep myself focused on the tasks of the Lord.  When I was feeling lazy, distracted, intimidated, or even offended, I would shake my soul with this phrase – often looking in the closest mirror straight into my own pupils.  It is a phrase I have brought back into personal usage and hope you will use it too.  It goes well with the first verse I quoted, it is this, “Get to work, souls are dying!”  With urgency, because every moment is someone’s last moment, let us answer the Lord’s call to arms and preach, heal, deliver, and work miracles as we go about our daily business.  Will you?

 

                                                                Baaron (LifeGroup Director)

 

 

 

 

SET YOUR MIND

After my last blog I hope that you are now speaking to yourself.

 

Now it's time to set your mind. How do you do that? Just like you would set your radio or TV. Choose where you want it to be & leave it there. Let's name where we want to be as the God Channel. Colossians 3:2 says "Set your mind on things above not on things of the earth."

 

This is a choice that you will have to make multiple times every day because your mind has an automatic reset to the "Earth Channel".

To do this you will need to:

In His wisdom I RECOGNIZE the origin of the thought. Does it condemn & tear down, or does it encourage & inspire?  (James 1:5)

Through His power I REFUSE to accept a negative thought that is contrary to the word of GOD.  (II Corinthians 10:5)                                                        

By His authority I RECKON myself as dead to sin. My true desire is to please GOD and turn from sin. I am now dead to sin, so just like a dead man I can't react to it.  (Romans 6:11)

 

In His grace I REST in the assurance that I am in Christ and He is in me. He has defeated the enemy once and for all. The devil has no power over me unless I choose to give it to him. (Isaiah 26:3)

 

The more we do this the easier it becomes. Eventually our emotions also begin to come in line, and learn that the truth is who we know not what we see.

 

                                                                      Pastor Ron

 

 

PROGRESS NOT PERFECTION...

In Phillippians 1:6, the apostle Paul says "be confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day Jesus comes back again".

If we turn the change process over to God and agree to cooperate the best we can, God will work change in us through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Last time I spoke about the power of God and getting plugged in.  Now we see the power of the Holy Spirit is where our process to progress is.  God knows we are not ever going to be "perfect" here on earth, however He does desire us to have progress in our walk.

God is pleased with whatever growth and progress you have made.  Just as a parent is thrilled at his or her baby's first steps, your heavenly Father is thrilled at each and every step of your growth.  No matter how small ... it's the direction of your heart that pleases Him.

Remember, "Progress, not Perfection"!

                                                                                                                 Pastor Kim

THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH

It is not always the easiest thing in the world to live the faith life.  There is a fight to it...the Bible plainly said "fight the good fight of faith" (1 Tim. 6:12)  I think some people read the first word, "Fight" and stop right there, and start fighting.  We need to know what we need to fight against.  Some people think it said fight other churches and other Christians.  This word fight doesn't mean to fight against the devil.  The Lord Jesus has already fought and defeated the devil.

We don't need to fight against the devil, we are to enforce our authority over him.  He is a defeated foe, not an up and coming adversary that we need to fear.  It doesn't mean to fight against sin, because Jesus has already cured the sin problem.  When we get the sinner to Jesus ... the sin problem is cured.

Many years past there were signs and advertisements saying "Help Fight Polio".  Then, they found a vaccine, so we don't see any effort or campaigns anymore.  We are not fighting Polio anymore, there is a cure for that, and so there is no need to fight.  It is defeated! We don't need to preach sin ... we need to proclaim the cure.

Notice it says fight the good fight.  Not the bad fight and not the evil fight.  When Israel came out of Egypt into Canaan, Moses sent out 12 spies to spy out the land.  When they returned the Bible said 10 spies brought back an evil report.  Their report was evil because they didn't believe God was with them.  Only 2 spies had a good report.  They said, "God is well able to deliver them into our hands! Let us go at once and possess the land"!  This fight is a fight to maintain a GOOD REPORT.  To always see that God is well able to help you and deliver you out of any situation that comes your way.  So many believers wake up with an evil report on their lips.  The glass is half empty... the glass is empty or the glass is broken.  We must believe that God will reward us when we bring Him pleasure with our faith. (Heb. 11:6)

Our report is an indication on whether we will be victorious or defeated.  We all have giants and mountains in our life and if we concentrate on them, we will feel like grasshoppers.  If we concentrate on the fact that God is with us, not only is the glass half full...it's totally full, running over and now we need a pitcher.  Keep your good report.  FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH.

                                                                                                               
                                                                                                           Pastor Dave

THE JOURNEY ALL NEED TO TAKE ...

I believe that the Lord allows things to happen to help us develop certain attributes, or to position us in life for something better or greater, and to help us learn something important and necessary. I also believe that we often get in the Lord’s way with our decision-making and cause outcomes that He never wanted for us; but because of His gift of free will, He lets us make those choices. When I began talking with the Lord about my life, who I was, who I was supposed to be, I realized that I had to be ready to hear things I did not want to hear, as well as the things I wanted to hear. I realized that if I was going to pursue truth, if I was going to take that journey, then I had to be prepared for an unknown percentage of fault to come and rest on my shoulders. I had an abusive stepdad, my parents were divorced and remarried three times each, we were shuffled around from town to town, my mom abandoned us kids for years (my relationship with her is fully restored because the Lord helped me to truly forgive her, and because she made the necessary changes in her life), and I could go on with other difficulties I faced.

There was plenty of legitimate blame to go around to others; however, I realized that I had to be truly, sincerely, "gloves-off", eyes-open, brutally honest with myself and braced to except whatever revelations of my own guilt and responsibility for my life and personality/character that the Lord would help me understand. I set out on that journey, with the Lord’s help, and after many tears, and admissions, and realizing how much hurt was buried in the hidden, locked-door caverns of my heart, and after realizing that I needed to forgive more people than I even remembered hurting me … I found peace, freedom, and a new me. I did not have to try to “act” like a new me – it was the natural change that happens to us when we reach inside and scrape out the hurts, fears, and unforgiveness towards others and ourselves.

I had to admit in many situations, that even if I was only 30%, or 20%, or even 1% at fault in a situation - I still had fault. I started seeing self-induced patterns in my life that were harmful to me, and I began to see situations and outcomes that could have been avoided altogether, or at the least mitigated, if I had acted and reacted differently. It also became much easier to see how the baggage inside of me due to all I had been through indirectly, and often enough directly, influenced my actions and reactions. If only I had taken that journey sooner, I would not have wasted so much time being a hurt version of my truly “at peace” self. 

What did I do? How did I start the journey? I basically asked the Lord to be my therapist and help me psycho-analyze myself; and He did, and I’m grateful. The journey was not easy. Facing the dark parts of oneself, the parts that we often keep busy to avoid admitting are there, the parts that seem too painful to relive, rehash, or rehearse can be terrifying. I promise you though, once your journey is under way, you will immediately begin to see the benefit and feel the incremental liberation. 

I love you and want you all to know the emotional and mental freedom that is in Christ. My hope is that this testimony awakens, stirs, and provokes all of you who have not already taken this journey, to muster the courage to do so. Discover truth, discover who you truly are, take the Lord's hand and take the journey. 
                                              Baaron (LifeGroup Director)

               

LISTENING & SPEAKING

"CHRISTIANS SPEND TOO MUCH TIME LISTENING TO THEMSELVES 

& NOT ENOUGH TIME SPEAKING TO THEMSELVES"

We all have thoughts that seem to float through our minds every day.  Sometimes they stick around for a while and start to take root. These stray thoughts usually come from what we are exposed to during the day. (Radio, TV, the "trash" magazines at the check out line in the supermarket, co-workers, friends or family.) Most of the things we are exposed to in a typical day are not particularly "Christian" in nature. 

In Ephesians 6:12 it talks about Satan and his little minions as "the world rulers of this darkness". Any kingdom is directly influenced by it's ruler. As a result all the things in the world around us are produced in an atmosphere of deceit, envy, and selfishness. The input that is programmed into our minds all day by the world that we live in is contrary to the way God does things. This passive "listening " is usually from the background noise of the world.

So what do we do about it? We can't all go live in a monastery. We have to reprogram our minds with the Word of God. Romans 12:2 says that we can "be transformed by the renewing of our minds." Transformed means to change from one thing to another. To change from a mind full of junk that is contrary to God's way, to a mind full of His Word and praise. The Gospel of John says that The Word is Jesus and Jesus is God. We can know God's mind, His will, and His character by reading the Word. 

Stray thoughts are sometimes just that, and sometimes they are little seeds of death planted by the enemy. The battle is not in our mind but, at the threshold of the mind. You can't help the thoughts that are presented to you, but you can choose to stop them before they take root.  2 Corinthians 10:4 & 5 talks about spiritual weapons casting down strongholds, and then immediately talks about casting down vain imaginations, and taking thoughts into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Everything good or bad is presented to us through our mind. So we need to be in a position to recognize the bad and take it into captivity, and cast it down before it can take root. If a thought does not glorify God, edify you, or the Church -- cast that sucker down! 

Time to speak to yourself.

Ephesians 5:19 says to "Speak to yourself in psalms, hymns, & spiritual songs". Philippians 4:8 says "think on things that are honorable, good, pure, and of good report". In other words we renew and transform our minds by filling them with the Word of God and with His praise. Notice this stuff is active not passive. Find some time every day to "decontaminate" yourself by washing out your mind with God's Word.

Like the new song we just learned in church "This is not where we belong" give yourself a package from home. Get some worship music and listen to it on the way to or from work to get some of the "grime of the day off" you. When those thoughts come to you, (and they will) start speaking to yourself. Choose to be transformed!

                                                                                                        Pastor Ron