Today was a day when you realize why the enemy makes headway sometimes with the lost. Our example as Christians may be the only Christ the non-believer ever sees or hears. Don't you wish Christians would quit squabbling over scripture, and love one another even though many of us may be of different denominations, different doctrinal stances! Seems to me that the greatest gift is love... you know "for God so loved", God is love, the love of Christ drove Him to the cross, etc. I think we should major in the majors and in all things, speak love to one another. I am not saying we should not know that which we believe nor that we are to be easily persuaded away from doctrinal truths.
I recently heard a song that says "They will know us by our love". There are people (non-believers) out there who are watching us, some seeking truth, others seeking any reason to not know Christ. What kind of witness is it when we bitterly argue with one another, speak evil of one another, tear each other apart. Let's guard our speech and make it all acceptable before God, let's speak evil of no one, let's love one another even to the point that our love for one another causes the lost non-believer to desire this kind of love too.
Join me in making this a heart felt prayer... that Christ would help us love as He loved.. in thought, word and in deed.
In Jesus Name, Pastor Sandy
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Christ's Consecration
Consecration: literally means "setting apart". What strikes me with such force when I think of Christ's sacrifice... is the setting apart of Himself to the task He had ahead of Him. He exhibited singleness of focus... total consecration to the purpose He was born for...... to die.
He separated Himself from the Father, from all that heaven offered Him, from the love, from holiness, from all that is good.... to endure, to submit, to take on, to give up, to set apart Himself for us.
Consecration. He consecrated Himself to the purpose of His life.... for you, for me, in obedience to our Father. He endured the cross, despising the shame but for the joy set before Him .. he gladly submitted.
We are His joy. We are His, bought with the price He paid. As Resurrection Sunday approaches, let's consecrate ourselves as Jesus did. Consecration, a setting apart of our lives, and all that we are to Him... allowing Him to be who He is in us, bringing the joy and abundant life that Easter means!
Pastor Sandy
He separated Himself from the Father, from all that heaven offered Him, from the love, from holiness, from all that is good.... to endure, to submit, to take on, to give up, to set apart Himself for us.
Consecration. He consecrated Himself to the purpose of His life.... for you, for me, in obedience to our Father. He endured the cross, despising the shame but for the joy set before Him .. he gladly submitted.
We are His joy. We are His, bought with the price He paid. As Resurrection Sunday approaches, let's consecrate ourselves as Jesus did. Consecration, a setting apart of our lives, and all that we are to Him... allowing Him to be who He is in us, bringing the joy and abundant life that Easter means!
Pastor Sandy
Friday, March 23, 2012
God's Answer to Discouragement....
The Answer to Discouragement: So often we hear people say that they are tired, discouraged, overwhelmed by life. God provided all things for abundant life in Christ, but we do need to do our part. He tells us in Mark 16:20 that He goes working with us... even Apostle Peter when in jail had to strap on his sandles to get up and follow the angel out to freedom. So too, we need to do our part by... faith. Faith without works (acting on our faith-action) is dead.
So when you are tired, discouraged, overwhelmed what do you do... what is your part to do? First, turn to Jesus, let Him know of your issues/circumstances in prayer. Take authority over the circumstance/issue (enemy) through the use of His might Name by proclaiming and believing His Word. For He tells us He has given us all authority over all power of the enemy... that means sickness, disease, confusion, terror, fear, etc. (Luke 10:19)
Invite God into your circumstance/issue through praise. The Bible says the Joy of the Lord is our strength, but how do we get joy? The Bible says in the presence of the Lord there is fullness of joy. But how do we get into His presence to have His joy so we may have His strength? Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His presence with praise! The answer is WORSHIP...PRAISE!!
Psalms tells us that when we worship Him we are inviting Him to literally come and sit down among us... when He is with us all evil has to flee! As we submit ourselves to God, the enemy flees. It is a promise. The spirit of heaviness will leave and in comes the floodgates of heaven's joy which becomes our strength!!
So folks let worship Him, for not what we can get from Him but because He truly is WORTHY TO BE PRAISED!! HE is abundant life and being with Him brings victory into our circumstance/life!!! Blessings to you all, Pastor Sandy of http://www.raphactr.org/
So when you are tired, discouraged, overwhelmed what do you do... what is your part to do? First, turn to Jesus, let Him know of your issues/circumstances in prayer. Take authority over the circumstance/issue (enemy) through the use of His might Name by proclaiming and believing His Word. For He tells us He has given us all authority over all power of the enemy... that means sickness, disease, confusion, terror, fear, etc. (Luke 10:19)
Invite God into your circumstance/issue through praise. The Bible says the Joy of the Lord is our strength, but how do we get joy? The Bible says in the presence of the Lord there is fullness of joy. But how do we get into His presence to have His joy so we may have His strength? Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His presence with praise! The answer is WORSHIP...PRAISE!!
Psalms tells us that when we worship Him we are inviting Him to literally come and sit down among us... when He is with us all evil has to flee! As we submit ourselves to God, the enemy flees. It is a promise. The spirit of heaviness will leave and in comes the floodgates of heaven's joy which becomes our strength!!
So folks let worship Him, for not what we can get from Him but because He truly is WORTHY TO BE PRAISED!! HE is abundant life and being with Him brings victory into our circumstance/life!!! Blessings to you all, Pastor Sandy of http://www.raphactr.org/
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Faith or Hope?
Faith is now, right now. It is an inward knowing that what God said He would do, He will do. It is not a struggle to obtain, it is not a wish or a dream. Faith goes past all that to it already is.
Faith is now, or you could look at it as it is actually in the past. It is done. Past tense. When "God said" which is found at least 10 times in Genesis Chapter 1, it was. God didn't think it might be, but knew as He spoke... it was.
What we as Christians do, is to hope. Hope kills faith and is the opposite of it. Hope is future tense. Hope believes and looks forward to something happening but doesn't have it now. If God had hoped the earth might be formed in Genesis 1, then it never would have come into being. A child hopes for a birthday gift, an adult hopes for a job, a sick person hopes to get well, a single man or woman hopes to find their mate all which indicates they do not have it now, but are optimistic that it will come. Being optimistic is not bad. It certainly beats having a negative mindset, but as Christians we do not have to hope or try to keep ourselves optimistic. We have something easier and already completed for us.
God gave us His Word, the living Word, in the form of His Son, Jesus Christ. It is through Jesus Christ's blood sacrifice that hope is vanished but a knowing came into being. His promises found in His Word, the Holy Bible are the only way, the truth and give us life. We can count on His promises to be fulfilled, to not ever fail, to not change. God backs up His Word with Himself which is eternal, all powerful and is now. He is the "I AM".
When we know that which we hope for is done and was done on the Cross of Calvary, we have a confidence that causes us to be over comers. Our faith is not based upon a frivolous thought or action but based upon a living reality, Jesus Christ and what He bought for us. God's Word has provided us with abundant life if we will but grab hold of the promises, believe them, and act on what we know to be true. Jesus gave us everything we will ever need to live life here as Victors, Conquerors, Ambassadors, Kings and Priests unto Him. His atonement broke off every chain the enemy of your soul sought to hold you with. In believing God's promises then acting upon them ... you enter into the "now" aspect of God. You have that which you ask for, you have that which you know His Word says you have and you believe by faith that it is yours NOW.
No, this isn't mental gymnastics or simply positive thinking but is truth. When a person is centered in Christ, God's Word says that Christ abides in us, the Holy Spirit guides us into all truth, leads us into the path which we are to take and has given us health through His blood sacrifice. Abundant life is ours right now. We do not have to hope for it, we have it.
So, grab hold of Christ's hand, believe, receive and act on that which you to know to be truth from God's Word and you will have it. Mark 11:22-24
Faith is now, or you could look at it as it is actually in the past. It is done. Past tense. When "God said" which is found at least 10 times in Genesis Chapter 1, it was. God didn't think it might be, but knew as He spoke... it was.
What we as Christians do, is to hope. Hope kills faith and is the opposite of it. Hope is future tense. Hope believes and looks forward to something happening but doesn't have it now. If God had hoped the earth might be formed in Genesis 1, then it never would have come into being. A child hopes for a birthday gift, an adult hopes for a job, a sick person hopes to get well, a single man or woman hopes to find their mate all which indicates they do not have it now, but are optimistic that it will come. Being optimistic is not bad. It certainly beats having a negative mindset, but as Christians we do not have to hope or try to keep ourselves optimistic. We have something easier and already completed for us.
God gave us His Word, the living Word, in the form of His Son, Jesus Christ. It is through Jesus Christ's blood sacrifice that hope is vanished but a knowing came into being. His promises found in His Word, the Holy Bible are the only way, the truth and give us life. We can count on His promises to be fulfilled, to not ever fail, to not change. God backs up His Word with Himself which is eternal, all powerful and is now. He is the "I AM".
When we know that which we hope for is done and was done on the Cross of Calvary, we have a confidence that causes us to be over comers. Our faith is not based upon a frivolous thought or action but based upon a living reality, Jesus Christ and what He bought for us. God's Word has provided us with abundant life if we will but grab hold of the promises, believe them, and act on what we know to be true. Jesus gave us everything we will ever need to live life here as Victors, Conquerors, Ambassadors, Kings and Priests unto Him. His atonement broke off every chain the enemy of your soul sought to hold you with. In believing God's promises then acting upon them ... you enter into the "now" aspect of God. You have that which you ask for, you have that which you know His Word says you have and you believe by faith that it is yours NOW.
No, this isn't mental gymnastics or simply positive thinking but is truth. When a person is centered in Christ, God's Word says that Christ abides in us, the Holy Spirit guides us into all truth, leads us into the path which we are to take and has given us health through His blood sacrifice. Abundant life is ours right now. We do not have to hope for it, we have it.
So, grab hold of Christ's hand, believe, receive and act on that which you to know to be truth from God's Word and you will have it. Mark 11:22-24
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Let Christ's Healing Flow...
Isaiah 53:4-5
Surely he hath borne our griefs,
and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and
afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our
iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we
are healed.
Lesser- ...But only our diseases did he bear himself, and
our pains he carried... through his bruises was healing granted to us
Basic English- ...But it was our pain he took, and our
diseases were put on him: while to us he seemed as one diseased, on whom God's
punishment had come
Rotherham- ...by his stripes there is healing for us
Let your confession be:
Jesus has borne my sicknesses and diseases and carried my
pains. He took them upon Himself so that I do not have
to be sick, have diseases, or have pain. I will not bear what
He paid a price for me to have... freedom from disease, pains, and sins...
freedom! I refuse to let one drop of His blood sacrifice go to waste by
not receiving what He did for me, nor by carrying the sickness
myself. Satan is a liar and can not deceive me into thinking that I
have to bear what Jesus bore for me. By Jesus' stripes I am
totally healed and made whole. .. In Jesus Name. Thank you Lord Jesus!
Let Christ’s healing flow over you as you listen to Rev.
Don Clark’s song “Let Your Healing Flow” Click below:
http://www.gapministriesintl.org/Healing-Scriptures.html
Health and Wholeness is ours through Jesus Christ!
Pastor Sandy
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Choose who you will believe... you are who He says you are!!
Received a message about a girl who is anorexic based upon being called fat and ugly when she was a child. People can be ugly and hateful to others... whether it is calling someone fat, ugly, stupid, not good enough, etc. Satan will use anything he can think of to steal, kill and destroy God's people. People act and speak out of the nature they have. Those who don't have their minds renewed by the Word of God and the blood of the Lamb will act out of the nature they have... satan is their master.
Being born again transforms us from being under the sway of the evil one, to being new creatures in Christ Jesus. Sad for this girl, but her hope is in Christ revealing to her the lies she believes "she is ugly, fat etc" and letting her know who she really is... a precious child of the living King who loves her enough to have died and rose again for her!
Self esteem comes from knowing who we are in Christ and letting Him bring healing to the wounds (fiery darts-lies) of the enemy satan. For in Christ Jesus we are more than conquerors, we are who He says we are.. Kings and priests unto God, His friend, His sons and daughters who He loves so very much! Let us focus on Christ Jesus who loves us and came to give us abundant life, not death and destruction! We are who He says we are. (John 3:16, John 10:10, Rev. 1:5-6, Hebrews 12:2) Blessings to you, as you discover in Christ who you really are... In Christ, Pastor Sandy
Being born again transforms us from being under the sway of the evil one, to being new creatures in Christ Jesus. Sad for this girl, but her hope is in Christ revealing to her the lies she believes "she is ugly, fat etc" and letting her know who she really is... a precious child of the living King who loves her enough to have died and rose again for her!
Self esteem comes from knowing who we are in Christ and letting Him bring healing to the wounds (fiery darts-lies) of the enemy satan. For in Christ Jesus we are more than conquerors, we are who He says we are.. Kings and priests unto God, His friend, His sons and daughters who He loves so very much! Let us focus on Christ Jesus who loves us and came to give us abundant life, not death and destruction! We are who He says we are. (John 3:16, John 10:10, Rev. 1:5-6, Hebrews 12:2) Blessings to you, as you discover in Christ who you really are... In Christ, Pastor Sandy
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
"He will give you the desires of your heart"
Psalms 37:4 NKJV " Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart."
So many people take this to mean that God will bless us with whatever material blessings we may desire. Let's look at what is actually meant by "delight yourself also in the LORD". The Hebrew word translated “delight” literally means to be delicate or feminine (Strong’s, עָנַג), pliable or sensitive. In this context, it means to be dependent upon God and to derive one’s pleasure from Him.
Therefore if we delight in the Lord, we will be deriving our pleasure from him. As we delight in Him, we will find that His desires will become our desires. In other words... He will plant His desires in our hearts and those desires are what will come to pass.
God thinks good thoughts towards us and only has our good in mind. Jeremiah 29:11 NIV "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
We can rest in this that God has our best interest in His mind and will bless us as we take delight and are dependent on Him. There is peace in knowing this for it ceases our striving for things, purpose etc and releases us to walk in God certain of Him and His promise of abundant life.
Pastor Sandy
So many people take this to mean that God will bless us with whatever material blessings we may desire. Let's look at what is actually meant by "delight yourself also in the LORD". The Hebrew word translated “delight” literally means to be delicate or feminine (Strong’s, עָנַג), pliable or sensitive. In this context, it means to be dependent upon God and to derive one’s pleasure from Him.
Therefore if we delight in the Lord, we will be deriving our pleasure from him. As we delight in Him, we will find that His desires will become our desires. In other words... He will plant His desires in our hearts and those desires are what will come to pass.
God thinks good thoughts towards us and only has our good in mind. Jeremiah 29:11 NIV "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
We can rest in this that God has our best interest in His mind and will bless us as we take delight and are dependent on Him. There is peace in knowing this for it ceases our striving for things, purpose etc and releases us to walk in God certain of Him and His promise of abundant life.
Pastor Sandy
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