March 27, 2010
Affirming Words 3/27/10-"What a Church Is Not" Part 4 of 4
A sermon from Pastor Sherry Phillips at Raging Fire Ministries in Bluefield, WV:
Encouraging Words 3/27/10 Can You Trust God?
From: Love Worth Finding
When you are down, do you have a hard time trusting God?
As a pastor, I have heard many come to me and ask, “Why, pastor, why?” And I cannot answer that question because “Why?” is God’s question. “How?” is our question. How are we going to react? God doesn’t tell us the whys.
Many of God’s saints have gone into darkness, I mean deep darkness, and they have not known why. There is going to come a time when you won’t understand where God is or what God is doing. You are going to be in such darkness that you won’t be able to see your hand in front of your face. Do you know what you do then?
Isaiah 50:10 says, “Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God.” Trust Him. Trust Him, though nothing in you feels like trusting Him, will yourself to trust Him.
Can you trust God when you are submerged in sorrow? Can you trust God when you are forsaken by friends? Can you trust God when you are dismayed by darkness and don’t know what is happening? If you can, you will shut the devil’s mouth and gain the victor’s crown.
When you are down, do you have a hard time trusting God?
As a pastor, I have heard many come to me and ask, “Why, pastor, why?” And I cannot answer that question because “Why?” is God’s question. “How?” is our question. How are we going to react? God doesn’t tell us the whys.
Many of God’s saints have gone into darkness, I mean deep darkness, and they have not known why. There is going to come a time when you won’t understand where God is or what God is doing. You are going to be in such darkness that you won’t be able to see your hand in front of your face. Do you know what you do then?
Isaiah 50:10 says, “Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God.” Trust Him. Trust Him, though nothing in you feels like trusting Him, will yourself to trust Him.
Can you trust God when you are submerged in sorrow? Can you trust God when you are forsaken by friends? Can you trust God when you are dismayed by darkness and don’t know what is happening? If you can, you will shut the devil’s mouth and gain the victor’s crown.
March 26, 2010
Affirming Words 3/26/10-"What a Church Is Not" Part 3 of 4
A sermon from Pastor Sherry Phillips at Raging Fire Ministries in Bluefield, WV:
Encouraging Words 3/26/10 Jesus... the Ark of Safety Part 2
From: Love Worth Finding
Do you think that Noah was safe in that ark? Absolutely. Now, Noah may have fallen down several times inside that ark, but he couldn’t fall out of it. Noah was as safe as that ark was safe because Noah was in the ark. It had atonement on the outside; it had atonement on the inside and God sealed them inside.
Imagine with me, though, for a minute, if God had told Noah:
I am sending a great flood to cover all the earth. Here’s how I want you to get prepared. I want you to build a great ship with some pegs on the side of it. One peg for you to hold on to, one for Mrs. Noah, one for Ham, one for Shem, one for Japheth, and one each for their wives. When it starts to rain, I want each of you to grab onto your peg and hold on with all your might because it is going to be a terrible flood. If you hold on until all the flood waters go down, you will be safe.
Do you think that is much of a salvation?
There are many who believe they’ll be secure when they get to heaven. They say, “When I get to heaven, I’m going to slam the door behind me and wipe the sweat off my brow and shout ‘I made it!’ “
Now wait a minute. If people don’t believe in security down here, how are they going to have security there? I read in the Bible where angels fell from heaven (Revelation 12:9). Security is not in a place. Security is in a person and His name is Jesus.
Do you think that Noah was safe in that ark? Absolutely. Now, Noah may have fallen down several times inside that ark, but he couldn’t fall out of it. Noah was as safe as that ark was safe because Noah was in the ark. It had atonement on the outside; it had atonement on the inside and God sealed them inside.
Imagine with me, though, for a minute, if God had told Noah:
I am sending a great flood to cover all the earth. Here’s how I want you to get prepared. I want you to build a great ship with some pegs on the side of it. One peg for you to hold on to, one for Mrs. Noah, one for Ham, one for Shem, one for Japheth, and one each for their wives. When it starts to rain, I want each of you to grab onto your peg and hold on with all your might because it is going to be a terrible flood. If you hold on until all the flood waters go down, you will be safe.
Do you think that is much of a salvation?
There are many who believe they’ll be secure when they get to heaven. They say, “When I get to heaven, I’m going to slam the door behind me and wipe the sweat off my brow and shout ‘I made it!’ “
Now wait a minute. If people don’t believe in security down here, how are they going to have security there? I read in the Bible where angels fell from heaven (Revelation 12:9). Security is not in a place. Security is in a person and His name is Jesus.
March 25, 2010
Affirming Words 3/25/10-"What a Church Is Not" Part 2 of 4
A sermon from Pastor Sherry Phillips of Raging Fire Ministries in Bluefield, WV:
Encouraging Words 3/25/10 Jesus... the Ark of Safety Part 1
From: Love Worth Finding
God wants us to be saved so much that He gives illustrations all through the Bible about it. I believe one of the grandest pictures of salvation is from the story of Noah’s ark.
Noah’s ark is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ in this way: The ark is like a great coffin. It doesn’t have a bow; it doesn’t have a stern; it doesn’t have a helm because it is under the control of Almighty God.
The ark keeps the judgment waters out. God shut Noah, his family, and the animals inside the ark. Genesis 7:16 says, “And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.”
God sealed them in. Nobody could open the door. But, there was a window. Noah could open the window and look up. Do you see the parallel?
Ephesians 1:13-14 says, “In whom [Jesus] ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory.”
We are in Christ, sealed by the Holy Spirit of God. It is in Jesus that we know God the Father. Is it not true that when we come in to Him, we are closed in to look up? The way that we look into heaven is through Jesus Christ, the Ark of Safety.
God wants us to be saved so much that He gives illustrations all through the Bible about it. I believe one of the grandest pictures of salvation is from the story of Noah’s ark.
Noah’s ark is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ in this way: The ark is like a great coffin. It doesn’t have a bow; it doesn’t have a stern; it doesn’t have a helm because it is under the control of Almighty God.
The ark keeps the judgment waters out. God shut Noah, his family, and the animals inside the ark. Genesis 7:16 says, “And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.”
God sealed them in. Nobody could open the door. But, there was a window. Noah could open the window and look up. Do you see the parallel?
Ephesians 1:13-14 says, “In whom [Jesus] ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory.”
We are in Christ, sealed by the Holy Spirit of God. It is in Jesus that we know God the Father. Is it not true that when we come in to Him, we are closed in to look up? The way that we look into heaven is through Jesus Christ, the Ark of Safety.
March 24, 2010
Affirming Words 3/24/10-"What a Church Is Not" Part 1 of 4
A sermon from Pastor Sherry Phillips of Raging Fire Ministries in Bluefield, WV:
Encouraging Words 3/24/10 Cast Your Burden on the Lord
From: Love Worth Finding
Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.”
I heard a story years ago about a man who was carrying a heavy load of grain down a country road. Another man in a horse-drawn wagon saw this traveler carrying his heavy load of grain and he said, “Mister, you need a ride? Get up here with me, and I’ll take you.”
And so the man got up in the wagon and they got on their way. A few minutes passed, and the driver looked behind him to see if the traveler was settled. He couldn’t believe what he saw – the man still had the load of grain on his shoulder. He said, “Man, put that down and relax!” But the traveler said, “Oh no. It’s enough to ask you to carry me without having you carry this also.”
Have you ever done that to the Lord? You say, “Well, Lord, I’ll let You save me, but I’ll carry my own burdens.” Friend, if you can trust Jesus to save you from hell, then why can’t you trust Him to carry your burdens?”
Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.”
I heard a story years ago about a man who was carrying a heavy load of grain down a country road. Another man in a horse-drawn wagon saw this traveler carrying his heavy load of grain and he said, “Mister, you need a ride? Get up here with me, and I’ll take you.”
And so the man got up in the wagon and they got on their way. A few minutes passed, and the driver looked behind him to see if the traveler was settled. He couldn’t believe what he saw – the man still had the load of grain on his shoulder. He said, “Man, put that down and relax!” But the traveler said, “Oh no. It’s enough to ask you to carry me without having you carry this also.”
Have you ever done that to the Lord? You say, “Well, Lord, I’ll let You save me, but I’ll carry my own burdens.” Friend, if you can trust Jesus to save you from hell, then why can’t you trust Him to carry your burdens?”
March 23, 2010
Affirming Words 3/23/10-'Hold Your Head Up High"
Here's a short devotional about God wanting queer people to have pride and to walk with their heads held high. The religious right are spiritual cowards and bullies, because they lack faith in God.
Matthew 25 Resource 3/22/10-Los Angeles Regional Foodbank (CA)
Los Angeles Regional Foodbank is a nonprofit charitable organization that has been serving the disadvantaged of our community since 1973. We are at the heart of a charitable food distribution network that includes nearly 900 charitable agency sites in Los Angeles County. A voluntary board of directors provides guidance and oversight for Foodbank activities.
The mission of the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank is to mobilize resources to fight hunger in our community.
To fulfill our mission we must:
Source and acquire food and other products and distribute to needy people through charitable agencies or directly through programs;
Energize the community to get involved and support hunger relief;
Conduct hunger education and awareness campaigns and advocate for public policies that alleviate hunger.
Our vision is that no one goes hungry in Los Angeles County.
Click here to find out more.
The mission of the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank is to mobilize resources to fight hunger in our community.
To fulfill our mission we must:
Source and acquire food and other products and distribute to needy people through charitable agencies or directly through programs;
Energize the community to get involved and support hunger relief;
Conduct hunger education and awareness campaigns and advocate for public policies that alleviate hunger.
Our vision is that no one goes hungry in Los Angeles County.
Click here to find out more.
Encouraging Words 3/23/10 How Does the Cross Bring Peace?
From: Love Worth Finding
“For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” (Colossians 1:19-20, emphasis mine).
Jesus Christ on the cross provided peace. How? At the cross, wickedness was not appeased. Wickedness was confronted. At the cross, sin was not overlooked. At the cross, sin was atoned and paid for.
God’s greatest righteousness confronted man’s greatest wickedness, and righteousness won and peace was attained through the blood of the cross. Thank God for that!
“For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” (Colossians 1:19-20, emphasis mine).
Jesus Christ on the cross provided peace. How? At the cross, wickedness was not appeased. Wickedness was confronted. At the cross, sin was not overlooked. At the cross, sin was atoned and paid for.
God’s greatest righteousness confronted man’s greatest wickedness, and righteousness won and peace was attained through the blood of the cross. Thank God for that!
March 22, 2010
Affirming Words 3/22/10-"The Simple Gospel of Jesus Christ"
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is very simple and open to all people. But Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender people have been shut out, told by many mainstream churches, that we cannot be Christian. Their version of Christianity is not the same as the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It has been added to and loaded up with rules, requirements, dogma, rituals, formalities, interpretations and ideology…by man.
Being a Christian today is conflicting, defies common sense and is burden-some. Yes there are those who want to dabble in the hearts and minds of Christians resulting in guilt, fear and doubt creating Christians who are weak, self-centered, judgmental, unloving and hypocritical.
Click here to read more from The Epistle.
Being a Christian today is conflicting, defies common sense and is burden-some. Yes there are those who want to dabble in the hearts and minds of Christians resulting in guilt, fear and doubt creating Christians who are weak, self-centered, judgmental, unloving and hypocritical.
Click here to read more from The Epistle.
LGBT Helping Hands 3/22/10-Boulder Pride Community Center (CO)
The vision of Boulder Pride is that BoulderCounty serve as a model of equality, respect, and well-being for LGBTQ people.
To achieve our vision, our mission is to foster safe environments for self-expression, gathering, support, and dialogue; advocate for social justice; collaborate with others who share our vision; celebrate the contributions of the many facets of our community; and educate the public about the experiences of LGBTQ people.
Click here to find out more.
To achieve our vision, our mission is to foster safe environments for self-expression, gathering, support, and dialogue; advocate for social justice; collaborate with others who share our vision; celebrate the contributions of the many facets of our community; and educate the public about the experiences of LGBTQ people.
Click here to find out more.
Encouraging Words 3/22/10 What is Justification?
From: Love Worth Finding
“…and whom He justified, them He also glorified. “Romans 8:30
What does it mean to be justified? It means to be declared righteous.
Justification is not being good, though being good gives God glory. When you put your faith where God put your sins – on the Lord Jesus Christ – then God stamps “righteous” over your name in His “Book of Life.”
It’s not because of what you have done or ever can do, but because of His justification.
No court on earth can justify anybody. But what God does is take a guilty person and not only give that guilty person a pardon, but He makes that guilty person just as if he had never sinned. That’s justification.
If you lived every moment believing in the justification that God has given you, how would your faith be strengthened? Would you be more vocal about the gift of God’s love?
“…and whom He justified, them He also glorified. “Romans 8:30
What does it mean to be justified? It means to be declared righteous.
Justification is not being good, though being good gives God glory. When you put your faith where God put your sins – on the Lord Jesus Christ – then God stamps “righteous” over your name in His “Book of Life.”
It’s not because of what you have done or ever can do, but because of His justification.
No court on earth can justify anybody. But what God does is take a guilty person and not only give that guilty person a pardon, but He makes that guilty person just as if he had never sinned. That’s justification.
If you lived every moment believing in the justification that God has given you, how would your faith be strengthened? Would you be more vocal about the gift of God’s love?
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