From Faith To Faith!

Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."  Luke 9:23 _____________________________________________________ We are OK with the idea of Jesus being on the cross for us.  But it tends to make many of us uncomfortable to think of us picking up their own Cross and following Christ.  There is something wrong if we are not beating back our flesh on a daily basis.  If you think that you are living your life sin free, and have no need to seek GOD on a daily basis, then you might just want to re-evaluate how you are living.  Jesus said that you must do two things if you want to be his disciple: 1. Deny yourself 2. Pick up your cross. In other words put your flesh in its place.  Stop living to please yourself in every way your flesh pulls you.  This is more than sex or greed.  This has everything to do with self-control in every area of your life. Whether its...

Doing Good! Luke 6:35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. ______________________________________ At one time or another we all were enemies of God because of the sinful nature in our flesh.  Yet while we were sinners Jesus died for each of us. (Romans 5:18).  God reached out to us and offered us all a rich reward and redemption based on His goodness, not our action.  If this is true and in Christ we are saved and dare to call ourselves Christians, why would our enemies receive any less treatment?  Why would we hold grudges, and plan revenge if we are new creatures in Christ?  In this scripture the “ungrateful and wicked” that God is kind to, is all mankind.  God offered salvation to every man.  From Hitler to T.D. Jakes, the...

Matthew 6:25-27 Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? ____________________________________________________ If your life seems to be filled with seasons of worry broken up by moments of relief it is time for a change.  Worry only takes away from your life and has no place dwelling in your heart.  The warrior within is stifled when worry takes hold.  When worry takes hold the trust you have for GOD flies out of the window.  Too many times we only ask God for what we feel is possible.  We limit Him to the things we think are possible and take the realm of impossibility out of GOD's resume....

John 4:23-24 23  Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.  24  God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” ____________________________________ Worship has to be more than what you do for a couple of hours on Sunday in the sanctuary.  Worship must begin in your heart.  The word says that there will be a time when “true worshipers” will worship in “spirit and in truth”.  Not just with raised hands and in song but in obedience and with hearts filled with a hunger for the Father.  The Father must be worshiped with every action and breath we take.  This kind of worship cannot be faked or done part time.  God demands more than anointed singing and church attendance.  He demands a life of obedience that shouts our citizensh...

2 Chronicles 7: 14 If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. ______________________________________ We want God to hear us and to bless us.   We all need a healing and an answer from God.   And yet to achieve it the Bible is clear.   We must pray, seek, and crave GOD.   We must turn away from sin, and to Him.   Think about it.   How can you get closer to GOD when you are focused on yourself and the world?   Bottom line: If you really want God to be more than the reason you go to church, if you want Him to be your Lord and savior, then give up the things that separate you from Him.   Draw near to Him and he will draw near to you.   Consistently seek Him every day in every way.   Read His word and let it become a seed within you.   The healing begins when y...

Luke 10:2 2  He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. _________________________________________ How long will it take before we stop seeking to be entertained and get to work.   If you are getting a good word from your pastor and never move from inspiration to application then it is for nothing.   Stop wasting your pastor’s time.   God is not sending a word to you so you can catch an emotional high.   He aims to work through you.   God is speaking into your life so that you can lead others to Him. T ake the work of GOD seriously.   We are all called to be ministers and teachers of the Gospel (Matt 28:16-20).   Saving the lost is not your pastor’s job.   It is yours!   Your Pastor has been established to teach you and serve you as mentor and leader.   But as a congregation, we are called to take the gospel t...

Isaiah 40:29-31 He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. __________________________________________________   All power comes from GOD.   All strength obtained is a gift from the LORD.   No matter who or how strong you are the seasons of weakness will come.   Moments of doubt and weariness will rise.   Trials will wash over the shore of your life again and again.   Unless we cling to GOD and seek HIS face we will be overcome by the situations that face us. Glory to GOD that HE has spoken to us in his word!   HE has proclaimed HIS greatness in all of creation and we can reach up to HIM in confidence as a source of strength and great power.   Power to climb mountains, and fl...