God hears our Prayers

Does God hear and or answer prayers? What do you think? He most certainly does!!!! Remember when God's people were wandering in the dessert for years and years and years and years! God heard those people and Moses now didnt he. When God hears us Cry out, what does he do you may be asking yourself. God is with us even as Jesus and God the Father preside in Heaven the third part of the trinity the Holy Spirit is here with us and when two or more gather in God's name, Jesus is in the midst. Jesus is always in our hearts. We are the hands and feet, the body of Christ until Jesus returns. God often answers using us, his people! That is part or one way God answers, but that isnt all. God motivates us to respond to those who cry out, the poor who need us, the sick, and the lowest among us.

As followers of Christ it is our job to answer God's call for us to help those people. God can hear us, for God is love! God hears us through many ways-through our worries, our prayers or conversations with him, through the suffering of the world, through the love in the world, he hears us when we are gathered as his body for sure, God is beyond humanity. God is mroe than the human part of creation!!! God created all that is and it all reflects his awesome glory and power and love in some way. This shows his ability to create and heal all that is and bring life out of nothing and death. We need to listen to God in our lives, he speaks to us through nature, God is also in the scilence. It is often a subtle and quiet, yet quite obvious feeling in your heart were you here God answer your prayers and suddenly you know what God is telling you. Encouraging video below for the short hymn Here our Pray O' Lord

The Good Shepard

Throughout the bible we know of shepards- David leading his people, Moses, the shepards that saw the north Star, Jesus our Messiah, and probley think of throughout God's Holy Word. We are the sheep and that is not necessarily a compliment (people dont often know this). In ancient Palestine sheep did not have a good reputation to say the least as they are not very bright, and they need lots of direction as they are easily lead astray. However, Jesus says that those who lead the sheep away are these and bandits and wouldnt use the gateway.

Their is another analogy by Jesus that says their will be wolves in sheep clothing, trying to decieve those who are following the Good Shepard. A good shepard is far superior to a highered hand because he isinvested and loves his sheep, willing to leave the 99 to go after one, now that is love. Now these wolves would have a hard time getting in when these sheppards slept in the gateway forcing these wolves to go right over him to get to the sheep (not going to be very easy at all). Jesus is also the gateway into the corall, where all that wish to live with him in pastures a million times greener than the healthiest found in ancient palestine, paradise. Jesus is eluted to in Psalm 23 where it says the LORD is my Sheppard and I shall not want, he shall lead me to calm and crisp water. He will protect us from all evil with his rod and his staff, aka the sheppards crook, guidiing his followers like sheep with his crook, making sure we stay on path so we may not stray and can enjoy a life of undending for all time paradise with him.

His love for us is amazing as he lays down his life for us such as when he died for our sins, the nails in him our sin, taking the nails for us and rising again. Whover goes through his gate will go in and out and be safe and find pasture. He came so we may have abundant life. As he says we know how to discern his voice and those loyal to him sha

ll follow.

Baptism in the Holy Spirit

We have all have had times when we just wish we could start again. It might have been the more you said the deeper the whole you created became. It might have been a relationship where something might have went wrong, and you where never able to put things right again. You might feel its all too late. You can be of any age, color, race , socio economic status, for God celebrates all of His creation. God is love, with God it is never too late and you are always capable of making a fresh start. Baptism is such a wonderful change, you are now dead to selfishness and hate, so powerful that Jesus said it is being born again of water and spirit. Being able to start a new life with God, all mistakes of the past wiped clean, we may still need to face and the consequences of some of these mistakes, but out of God's love for his precious creation promises to give us what we need to live this new life well, making a fresh and renewing relationship with God. Amen.

Angels? What exactly are they

   First off let me start by saying Archangel Rafael will not be discussed since I have never read the appocryphal/deutercononical books and theirfore dont have a theological opinion on this matter and I am not going to comment on what I know but on what God has already revealed to me. To start off Arch Angels are high ranked angel who is in charge of other angels.

  Gabriel is well knowan an angel who typically serves as a messenger sent from God to certain people. From Wikipedia "The Gospel of Luke, Gabriel appeared to Zecharias, and to the virgin Mary foretelling the births of John the Baptist and Jesus, respectively (Luke 1:11–38). In the Book of Daniel, he is referred to as "the man Gabriel", while in the Book of Luke, Gabriel is referred to as "an angel of the Lord" (Luke 1:11). Now Michael is known more as a warrior- from Wikipedia "Michael is mentioned three times in the Book of Daniel, once as a "great prince who stands up for the children of your people". In the book of Revalation we are told that Michael shall be the leader of God's army against that of Satan. where during the war in heaven he defeats Satan. The Epistle of Jude Michael is specifically referred to as an "archangel".

  Regular angels are often charecterised as messengers of God (which they are). It is a source of debate whether they have wings and whether their phyiscal or strictly spiritual beings, however this is of no great theological importance. Angels are creatures of good, spirits of love, and messengers of the savior Jesus Christ (well except for the fallen ones). Diffrent angels are considered to have diffrent roles that they are used for. And although angels have greater knowledge than men, they are not omniscient, as Matthew 24:36 points out. Also we are told that after we are redeemed and saved in heaven we will be above angels (which some have suggested is one of the Reasons lucifer rebelled against God.

  While their is no direct connection to quote end quote Guardian Angels in the bible, we do see that at least some angels take on a similar wrole to what is often considered a guardian angel. While the term guardian angel doesnt exist within the bible, for all intesive purposes some angels basically have the same role as Pslam 91 tells us make it clear that angels do watch over us and that angels are extremely interested in us believers. Mathew 18:10 Jesus: "Beware that you don't look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father."....  so basically for all intesive purpose children have guardian angels just not in terms of that particular word.

Hope this helps, God Bless.

Testifying to the Truth in Faith and Expectance

The basis of this study or devotional is from John chapters 18 and 19. We want to get a complete picture of John's passion for Christ. Johns account leading up to the Crucifixion and death of our Lord and Saviour take a different role, surprisingly enough it isn't the priestly or prophetic aspect of Christ that John highlights but that of the Kingly role of Christ our dying saviour, I say this extremely ironic since John's Gospel unlike the others doesn't give an account for the kingdom of God.

 

Very surprisingly John doesn't focus on his Kingly aspects until ch 18. John only mentions the word King and Kingdom 6 times prior, only 6. The previous three are filled with these themes through and through. They explode towards the end of this Gospel though. Jesus mentions that this Kingdom is not of this world. 16 times the Greek words for King and Kingdom are used in these two chapters. What does it mean to be followers of this King that is not of this world. Do we really have Faith because that is what we are called to do. A recent poll states that 86 percent of all United States citizens consider themselves to be Christians at some level, but less than half knew who preached the sermon on the Mount (kind of shocking). This poll also said 60 % of the country was in church last Easter yet this is the scary part 1 of 4 did not know what Easter celebrated. The questions in ultimately do we have ears to hear, do we have faith to believe it, do we believe and trust and boldly and proudly declare that Christ is our King and Saviour.

 

Another questions is do we understand it. This is so significant because this helps to distinguish greatly the Difference between the Kingdom of God and any traditional kingdom. Pilate and Jesus dialogue sum up this difference...Pilate ask Christ are you the king of the Jews. He asks am I a Jew. And Pilate continues to press and Jesus says that his Kingdom is not of this world. Jesus said if my kingdom was from here my followers would have fought for my life. Pilate replies Snap! you are a king then. Jesus says basically you say I am a King and I have come into this world also to testify the Truth!

 

Everyone on the side of Truth listens to me. How do explain this amazing spiritual Kingdom to anyone who is absorb and lives in such a material world. My Kingdom is not of this world. We as followers of Jesus must remember that our Kingdom is not of this world. Jesus is not a king of a particular people or of a parcel of land but of All and ultimately of divine Truth. This truth is not simply a proposition to which one can ascend, but the very Gospel that Jesus life bears witness to. A truth to which people belong. I want to share a story that relates to this situations. God calls us to be servant on our turf, to be a witness and a light to a dark world were for every 60 people that attend an Easter service, 15 don't know what they are celebrating. Perhaps your turf is the baseball diamond, recording studio, an office, the architectural firm, car dealership, guitar shop, exc.

 

God is present in all things and places in life and he should be in all things we do. Winning or losing, in triumphs and in tragedy. Where's your turf and does God rule you their, is he at the center of your life and in all things you do. Not just when your winning, but also when you are losing. Not just during the triumphs but also in the tragedies of your life. Does God rule them? We are called to testify to the truth, of the Good News of Jesus Christ and the coming of his kingdom. When truth wakes us up, it also requires action.

 

In order to proclaim and testify truth we must live in it Truth doesn't obey our plans and our desires, it transforms us and our plans. When we open our hearts and minds to God, we grasp the power of truth. What does this mean? At times the truth can be tough to follow but this helps us to analyze why we believe what we believe, why we have faith in Christ our Saviour, why we see things unseen, why we are children of the Most high God. It often informs us that we are to be transformed by internal conflict, we must wrestle with scripture, we must ask to the tough questions for without this we will not grow in Christ. If you want answers take it up in prayer to God, for surely he will answer you. Remember when you are struggling that it is never the last word, the last word Belongs to God who will not abandon you. Freedom from fear: freedom from the fear of want and need, free from the fear of death, absolute freedom.

 

Resolve to testify to the hope that is within you (biblical reference). A truth that sets you free and perhaps even those around you. And remember whoever you are and wherever you are on your walk with Christ speak truth to power, speak truth in love, and most importantly speak truth even when your voice quivers (spelling) because that is how the Lord of all, Lord of Lords and King of Kings wants us to live. I will end with this John 4:24 (NLT) For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth. God Bless and Amen.

Showing the Love of God

We are called to show our love to God to others and we know this by John 13:35 NLT Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples. Jesus us to whole, Jesus calls you to be loving, Jesus calls us to be inclusive and invite all to the table. We experience all that God is in Jesus in his life, ministry, and every day lessons.Truely Jesus is the messiah, our saviour, the Son of God. The mark of Jesus's disciple is to be loving.

         

        Their was a time in my life when I wanted to be a med. doctor however I wasnt able to get into the shop in high school, but someone noticing I was down decided to talk spend the time talking to me making my day better. The little connections we make later can be part of how we witness to others and also shows others God's love. Kind acts of love are something people never forget, that they take with them their whole life.

       

         Sometimes we are called on to show God's love to and respond to those very diffrent from us and it cant strech us like never before. We must love and recieve people as they are such as a leper with an ear falling off and a caved in nose. Remember Jesus was always loving and kind to those who where outcasted by society at large- We must stand by and love those who have been seen as unclean for whatever reason as unclean or in some cases even beyond the Love of God. The thing is nothing is beyond God's love for people and expects us to try and do the same. We must welcome all to God's table and leave some of it up to God to change that person. What we must do is let them know we are their with them on their walk with Christ. We must address who God brings to us.

 

       Jesus didnt want the leper to simply be clean, but also to feel clean as well. Jesus was unafraid to touch and he wanted him to go back and be judged clean so once again he could be apart of his community and to feel loved once again. Jesus desired for the man to be comfortable in his own skin, be able to percieve himself as whole, as a child of the most high and wonderful God. When we touch peoples deepest need and help them it touches their body, mind, soul, and strength. Our witness is that everyone is presish in God's eyes, he wishes none to pairsh (though ultimately some will), and no one and I mean no one is ouside God's loving touch. 

      

      Jesus wants us to have life and have it abudantly. It is a call to life, it is a call to love, it is call to be all you can be made in the image of God. We must spread this abudant life through our love and through the Good News. When we finally learn this is a big portion of the message again, when we realise this once again, the world will begin once again to look at the body of Christ and see and find life, love, and wholeness. For that Folks is what God is all about, and that is what we as disciples of Jesus must also be all about. God Bless.

The Exodus-God is Liberating his People, what is their responce

The Exodus of all of God's chosen people is a liberation, commemorating the
unprecedented and dramatic redemption from slavery of the Israelite nation.
The Torah or our Old Testament depicts this liberation as one of the world’s
greatest moments in all of history: we see this people, six hundred thousand
strong, bearing all their possessions in bundles on their backs, standing on the
banks of the Red Sea. However before them the raging waters; behind, fierce
Egyptian army lead by the Pharaoh. For may this historic moment is known, even
to those who never had read the Holy Scriptures, the word of our Lord. We all
know this story. We’re used to regarding it as a tale of historical and
political liberation, which it certainly is, but for the first time I understood
this on a deeper level as well, to the point where yesterday I was brought to my
knees in humbleness and awe of our Lord God. This is also a story of a spiritual
liberation, about growth in God for Moses. This comes as a guy who was high up
in Egyptian society that ignores his Jewish roots, abandons the God of his
fathers to worship the Egyptian lifeless gods and goddess's, and murders an
Egyptian who was working the Hebrews too hard. Then one of the sheep (I’m
skipping around a little assuming that you guys know some of these details, if a
bit fuzzy please go back to Exodus the second book in the bible to fill in the
blanks) leads him down into what I can only think of as a cave like structure.
What Happens next is truly amazing!!!


Please Read Exodus 3: 2-22 in you favorite Bible translation and continue on:

Truly this is amazing, God liberating his people. Many people do not understand the Old Testament, but it is a story (a true and historical story mind you) that God liberate those who love him and picks up the low in society, gives justice, loves the humble, and raises the lowest in
society. Even when the Son of God came to us in his riches and permanently too
place in our humanity, sunk really low, relied on people early in his life, was
a carpenter, corrected what went wrong which was no fault of his own, suffered
crucifixion, rose again, permanently bears the marks of your sins, and loves us
unconditionally anyways. This is truly amazing. God is the GREATEST!!! However
here in America we still have slaves, usually young human trafficking slaves,
and across the world there are more slaves than ever which means we are not
doing our part as God's people, as disciples of Jesus. If we look at Exodus from
the narrator (Moses) and what he is trying to convey through the Holy Spirit is
that the People (God's Children) being liberated by God from the hands of the
ruthless Egyptian pharaoh and his people. As followers of Christ we tend to
identify with Moses the narrator but perhaps we should take a closer look For
those in the west we should realize wait a minute, we are not the Israel but we
are the Egyptians but in fact living in the so called first world and we are
very much so more like the Egyptians which is not a good thing. I think the west
has always struggled with these issues throughout history! We need to remember
God loves all and deposes the proud and the unjust.

God's liberation of his people via the exodus out of Egypt was the primary celebration is the Jewish Passover and Jesus is the modern Passover. Just as the blood of the Lamb in Exodus allows for death to pass over his People, we are marked by the Sinless lamb Jesus Christ by which we are saved from sin and the second death. God Bless.