Can God…?

Restore our Families: Many of our families have been buffeted and plagued by one problem after another – death, unrepentant prodigal (s), loss of intimacy with spouse, financial setback. The restoration of Naomi’s family is an expression of God’s divine providence in the face of a crisis brought about by death.

Save our Children: The stories of God’s divine intervention in the lives of Jesus Christ (the man); the prodigal; Moses; Samuel and Timothy gives us hope in the living God, the Savior of all men, especially those who believe!

Save our City: The city of Nineveh is described as “great” containing 120,000 people whose “evil ways” had caused God to declare judgment upon them. Though these “evil ways” are not described in the book of Jonah, Nahum later writes that Nineveh’s sins included plotting against the Lord, cruelty, prostitution, witchcraft and commercial exploitation. Yet when Jonah went to warn them of their impending doom, they took heed and the king declared a complete fast – even the animals were forbidden to “eat or drink.”When they repented, God had “pity” and cancelled His threatened punishment.

Heal: The following Scriptures speak to the healing power of Almighty God through faith: Nu.21:8; Mt.9:22; Mk.5:34-36; 6:13; Lk.4:39; 8:48; Jn.5:1-9; Ac.5:15; Jas.5:15-16. “Be not afraid, only be-lieve.”

God has given us great and precious promis-es. He is faithful. In Him there is no varia-bleness or shadow of turning. Whatever promise He has made to us, we can, with absolute certainty know that they will be fulfilled.
God Can, Yes He Can!

January Consecration

FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK

“Can God…? God Can, Yes He Can!”

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had every-thing before us, we had nothing before us; we were all going directly to Heaven, we were all going the other way."

This quote from Charles Dickens, I be-lieve, aptly describes the times in which we live. In such a climate as this it is very easy to doubt the providence of Almighty God.

Despite the signs and the “truth” it seemingly presents one thing remains abundantly clear, if God can do the greater, He is most certainly able to do the lesser.

What are some of the “lesser” things that you have been waiting on God to do for you but are yet to see? Utilize the weeks ahead to revive your faith and trust in a God whose promises are timeless.

I invite you to join me on this memorable journey to renew our faith in Elohim, El-Shaddai, Adonai, the great I Am! He is looking for a new breed of believers who are willing to exercise some confidence in a “Can Do” God!

VIEW OUR JANUARY CONSECRATION PROGRAM

Under Construction

We apologize for the delay in our posts. Please be patient with us as we make some changes to our blog. We will resume our posts. December 1. May God richly bless you.

Flowers vs Fruit

It is said that the word "flowers" appears some 37 times in the bible as against the word "fruit" which appears some 200 times. It means therefore that fruit-bearing is important to God and care must be taken to start reproducing.

According to the Scriptures: "Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow and continueth not." Therefore, it means that flowers are fleeting. They are just blossoms and are a sign of a promise. That promise is the fruit.

Is your life just full of blossoms and very little if any fruit? If the answer is yes, let us be committed to get more involved in the Kingdom to teach others so that they too can pass it on (II Tim. 2:1-2).


Quote: "You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of you intuition. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover is yourself. -Alan Alda

Christian Fellowship

It is usually said that Christians are some of the most difficult people to get along with. Also a common perception among saints or believers is the feeling that their congregation is often unfriendly and expresses little love among each other.

Perhaps the reason for that is that too often we are of the view that we ought to be "friends" with each person we meet and should accord the same kind of treatment generally. However from a spiritual perspective it is useful for us to reconsider the perception that is commonly held regarding friendships and relationships. Depending on who you are there are different depths to the two.

Friendships are usually more intimate. The individuals draw close, relationally there is chemistry. A relationship, while it is the basis of a friendship is more cordial and stems from an association or connection of people on a common ground working toward a common goal.

As Christians therefore, we bear several commonalities. We are partners of the gospel with the common goal of one day reigning with Christ in eternity. At the moment we are not called to be friends, but to build relationships with both God and man.

At the start of His ministry 5,000 people followed Jesus, but at the end reference is made of only one who loved Him. For the purpose of His ministry it was necessary for Him to relate with the mulititude, but He was not "friends" with all He came in contact with.

The apostle Paul enjoyed three kinds of relationships. One with someone older, his mentor Gamaliel, from whom he learned the law; one with someone wh owas on the same level as he, Barnabas, with whome he evangelized Macedonia; and someone younger, Timothy, whith whome he shared his wisdom.

Yet nowhere in the Scripture does it say Paul was "friends" with any of these three. However a relational bond was forged. Therefore we should pursue relationships rather than friendships in order to get the work of the Kingdom done.

The Pruning Process

A grape plant has the tendency to grow vigorously. As a result, a great deal of it's branches must be pruned each year in order to produce maximum results. Citing a passage from an old gardening manual, Bruce Wilkinson writes in the Bible study guide accompanying his book, Secrets of the Vine ".......If you don't prune your plant, it will turn nearly all it's energies to producing rampant growth rather than grapes..." According to Wilkinson, the "rampant growth" represents all those "preoccupations and priorities," while are not totally bad, are encumbrances that are besetting to the Christian.

In a vineyard, pruning is done to accomplish four specific purposes: to cut off dried-up or dying branches; to ensure adequate exposure to sunlight; to increase size and quality of the fruit; and to coax the development of new fruit. Similarly, our Father, the Vine dresser employs these principles as He shapes His branches, for it is said, He never takes anything away from His children unless He means to give them something better.

As it is when we are being disciplined, there is some amount of pain involved in the pruning process. However, we must be careful that we do not mistake the pain associated with pruning for disciplining. We are disciplined when we are growing contrary to the nature for which we were intended. We are pruned when we are doing something right (our branches are growing), but the product is below potential.

Several important principles of pruning are evident in the life of the apostle Paul. Philippians 1:12-14 describes a life that was bearing fruit yet underwent trials so a greater crop (furtherance of the gospel) could be harvested. In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, Paul's experiences are a testament of the principles that pruning is always for our good and is tailored to address our individual needs. The :"thorn" in Paul's flesh allowed for a more profound ministry potential. Philippians 3:7-9, indicates that pruning is as effective as we allow. This passage describes a life totally yielded to God, one that willingly relinquished all in pursuit of a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.

"Pruning is future oriented, the loss happens now; the gain comes later." Writing to the Galatians, Paul encouraged them to be steadfast in doing well for "in due season" they would reap if they did not give up. During this process it is easy to get impatient and some of us may even backslide into discipline by complaining. You get more out of pruning when you release (surrender) to God (Phil. 3:8), knowing that it will only stop when God accomplishes His desire for you.

Honorably Acquitted

As followers of Christ, all of us are guilty of trudging around with a burdensome piece of luggage labeled guilt, filled with past stains and flaws that Satan uses to convince us that we are failures. These past sins, though confessed and forgiven, have the ability (if we let them), to eclipse the abundant, joyful life we have in Jesus Christ. Israel, because of her idolatrous ways, was given over by God to her captives. But God in His mercies granted them a return from exile through the reign of Persian king, Darius. In his examination of his people’s history, Ezra makes a
profound statement: “From the days of our forefathers until now, our guilt has been
great. Because of our sins we…have been subjected to the sword and captivity…” (Ez.9:7). They had dishonored God and were guilty of their sins! And for that there was a price to pay. They had a city to rebuild and they were going to be judged. Zechariah chapter three sets the stage for this remarkable courtroom showdown. In a vision, God revealed to the prophet Zechariah, the spiritual representative of the people standing before the angel of the Lord. Here, Satan, the accuser, was the prosecutor (Zech.3:1). Does this picture look familiar? How often does Satan level accusations against us because of our sins? Note Joshua’s appearance as he stood before the Lord (3:3). How often do you feel unworthy because of the stains of the past? Fortunately, there was a Righteous Advocate in the courtroom that day. As soon as Beelzebub stood to deliver his argument, the Lord, in defense of His people said: “The Lord rebuke you Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! To His chosen, the Lord has promised that He “will remove the sin of the land in one day.” If we follow the prescription of: confession, repentance, and turning away then we too can leave the courtroom knowing that we are honorably acquitted!