 |
Shining Light Apostolic Ministry
Wednesday, 11 November 2009
What do you want to hear
Mood:
 not sure
Topic: What do you want to hear
FROM THE DESK OF THE PASTOR: @ WHAT DO YOU WANT TO HEAR? @ When you go to church, what do you want to hear? The pastor to tell you “God is love” Something to make you feel good. To skip over the things you do wrong. What do you want to hear? “Woe to the rebellious children, says the Lord, Who take counsel, but not of Me, And who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, that they may add sin to sin; Who say to the seers, “Do not see,” And to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us right things; speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits.” Isaiah 30: 1; 10 Preachers today are worried, concerned and even afraid to preach the true word of God. They are afraid that their own congregation will not accept the truth or that the world system will not tolerate them speaking out against certain sins like, “Same sex marriages, shacking-up, or anything that is classified as sin. If they speak out on any of those things, it is considered a hate crime. Preacher do not hate the person, they hate the sin that person is committing against God and themselves. What do you want to hear? Do you want the preacher to tell you that it is okay to do those things, when it is not? How can the word of God have any effect, if they skip around the truth and just tell you things that are easy to listen to. Like, Jesus died for your sins. Yes he did. But do you think that because he died for your sins that gives you the right do go out and do anything you want to? No it does not. A sin is a sin, whether you like it or not. Preachers that are called by God cannot water the word of God down, just to please the people. God told Isaiah 58: 1, “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgressions.” A watered down word of God cannot be effective and do the job that it is supposed to do. It seems that people today want to believe a lie more so than the truth. To put good for evil, and evil for good. This is destroying the foundation on which our Christian value are built. It is already destroying our Nation; and we are closing our eyes and refusing to see what is going on around us. Our leaders are saying it is alright to have the same-sex marriages, and some are even encouraging it, but woe be to them. The prophets of old were killed far telling the truth, because people had rather heed the false teachers, they wanted to hear smooth things, deceits, just like people of today. Anything you want to do is alright with God, he understands. No, it is not alright, and yes he does understand. Everything is not alright with the Lord, he cares how his children dress, and he cares where they go, what they do, just like you care about your own children. We are His sons and daughters, He is our father. @ @ @ Jesus was murdered on an old rugged cross for telling the people their sin, for telling the truth, the Apostles were beaten, stoned, imprisoned, persecuted, others were martyred, except for John, for the Gospel, did the truth die with them? Did the truth stopped at them? Is this Nation reverting to the old ways? Cannot the truth be told today? Cry aloud, do not be afraid of being heard. Speak up, some ones feelings may be hurt, but it better to hurt their feelings than them to spend eternity in hell, and if you don’t tell them the blood is going to be on your hands, just like it is on Pilate’s, and it won’t wash off. Is that what you want, to answer for their sins? Many are dying in sin every day, which has not been told the truth. God said, “Show my people their transgressions.” How will they know, if the preachers do not tell them? They need to know the truth, then they can make their own decision, either to believe or not to believe, to do the right thing or not to do the right thing, but the choice is their. They have that right, don’t you think? I Timothy 4: 16 “Take heed unto thyself and unto the Doctrine; continue in them, for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee.” What do you want to hear? Tell the sinner, what must I do to be saved. Tell them, what must I do to stay saved. Tell the sinner what is required of them. Tell them what sin is. Sin is an abomination before the Lord, it makes him sick. You may be looking good before your fellow man, but that don’t mean you are looking good before God. Take heed to your ways. Don’t ever think that God is not watching you.
Posted by J.C.A.M.I. Staff
at 5:02 PM EST
Monday, 26 October 2009
At The Altar Of God
Topic: Altar
From the Pastor’s Desk: AT THE ALTAR OF GOD “Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?” Psalms 85:6. How many times have you heard the Pastor say, “The church is going to have a revival.” This is to pump up the church members, and try to get others into the church. To revive means to bring back to life, bring around, wake up, renew, and refresh, to recover.So, in comes some Evangelist to perform C.P.R. on the members of the church. However, have you ever asked yourself, why should they have to have life breathed into them? To be woke up, to be recharged. Is not the Spirit they have, the Spirit of the all mighty God, capable of breathing life into them? There are some so dead, that they do not need a revival, they need a resurrection. What has happened to the fire around God’s altar? Who poured water on the altar of God today. Elijah, on Mount Carmel, put the wood in order, and said, “Fill four water pots with water, and pour it on the wood. Then he told them, “Do it again.” In addition, he said, “Do it a third time.” And when Elijah prayed the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones of the altar and the dust.” I Kings 18: 30-39 What has happened to God’s Ministers today, the Shepherds of God’s people? The Evangelist comes in for a week or two, preaching the same things they have heard from their own Pastors. However, because they are different, they seem to strike a spark in a few people. The members seem to be revived for a few days. We are supposed to be ‘lively stones in the building” Where is the joy of the Lord? Where is the Rock of our salvation? Where is the fire around God’s altar? It is not our altar. When we come boldly before the throne of God, we come into the presence of the Lord, and it ceases from being a wooden altar at some church, or at home, and instead becomes an altar of God. Are we today, not cable of bringing that holy anointing of the Holy Ghost down around God’s altar?Do you think the Lord wants a Luke Warm Services? He tells us in Revelation, “Because you are neither Hot nor Cold, I will spue thee out of my mouth. That is what Jesus thinks of our Luke warm services. One would think we are breeding a church full of puppets, having to tell them everything to do, “Let us give praise to God in the house of the Lord.” or “Let everyone say Amen” or “Let everyone stand or sit, or raise your hand to praise the Lord.” We are not a bunch of robots, if we feel the fire of God burning in us we should be able to freely lift our hands in praise to our Lord and God, without feeling embarrassed and people staring at us as if we are a bunch of freaks. Jesus says, “If you are ashamed of me, I will be ashamed of you before my Father.”Do you think someone would be asked to leave the church if they were to say aloud, “Thank you Jesus.” Or “Halleluiah.” Whose church is it suppose to be any-way? To some man or to some group of people, or to the Almighty God? The word of God tells us that, “Upon this rock I will build my church.”The Holy Ghost is the fire, if you do not have the Holy Ghost, then how can you have any fire in the church? That is the way it came in the book of Acts, and it has not changed. Jesus tells us, “I am the same yesterday, today and for evermore.” Man is trying to change the word of God to suite himself, but they are heaping coals of hell fire upon their own heads. Where is the Holy Ghost today? It came with “other tongues and with power, as the Spirit of God gave the utterance,” so tell me, why is there no fire around God’s altar? Because too many people are professing to be born again, when they are not, they are professing, but not possessing the Holy Ghost. We are living in the Laodicean church age, neither hot nor cold. The rich-poor church. Rich in the things of this world, poor in the things that have to do with God.People are being taught what a particular church or pastor believes to be right, what they reason it to be, but it is not always, what the Bible says. They give their own opinion, and everyone has an opinion, but they seemed to have left Jesus out. What does the word of God say? The Holy Ghost came on the day of Pentecost and it has not gone anywhere, they spoke in tongues then and we speak in tongues today. It has not changed. God has not changed. Show me in the word of God, where the tongues were taken out of the Holy Ghost. Why do we fight so hard against the obvious? Because the one that we are listening to, Sunday after Sunday, cannot preach what they do not have, and what they do not have is the same Spirit of God, the Holy Ghost. Get the Holy Ghost with the tongues and there will be fire around God’s Altar.
Posted by J.C.A.M.I. Staff
at 12:57 PM EDT
Updated: Monday, 26 October 2009 12:58 PM EDT
Saturday, 17 October 2009
The Great Falling Away
Mood:
not sure
Topic: Falling Away
THE GREAT FALLING AWAY @ @ @ Every since the fall of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden man has been falling away from God and the truth of God’s word. Satan assaulted our first parents, to draw them into sin, and so separate between them and God. Observe the steps of the transgression: They are not steps upward, but downward away from God. 1- Eve saw. A great deal of sin comes in at the eyes. I John 2: 16, “For all that is in the world, the lust the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world.” We should look on that which we are in danger of lusting after. “But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart,” St. Matthew 5:28. 2- She took. It was her own act and deed. Satan may tempt, but he cannot force; may persuade us to cast ourselves down, but he cannot cast us down. “If you be the Son of God, cast yourself down......” St Matthew 4: 6 3- She did eat. When Eve looked perhaps she did not intend to take; or when she took, not to eat: but that’s not the way it ended. It is wise to stop the first motions of sin, and to leave off before it be meddled with. 4- She gave it also to Adam with her. Those that have done wrong, are willing to draw in others to do the same. 5- He did eat. By eating of the fruit of the tree that God had forbidden, Adam, by his disobedience, caused a separation between God and man. Romans 5: 19, “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one man’s obedience many will be made righteous.” When it was too late, Adam and Eve saw the folly of their disobedience. Those who sin go astray from God, they separate themselves from God. Samson, the strongest man in the world, let a woman turn him away from God. Solomon, the wisest man in the world, yet his great wisdom did not teach him self-control. He taught well but failed to practice his own teaching. He let women turn his head away from God and worship strange gods. Solomon became a public worshipper of abominable idols. If sinful passions are not crucified and mortified by the grace of God, they never will die of themselves, but will last even when opportunities to gratify them are taken away. “Let him that thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall.” We see how weak we are of ourselves, without the grace of God; let us watch and be sober. Ours is a dangerous warfare, and in an enemy’s country, while our worst foes are the traitors in our own hearts. There has always been a falling away, but more in these last days. But, like Joshua said, “as for me and my house I will serve the Lord.” Paul and Peter warned us of apostasy, a falling away from the truth of God’ word in their day over two thousand years ago, and it is still going on. Those that have been in the faith, in the church for years, are now falling back. For you have to have something, before you can fall away from it. The word of God tells us, don’t even look back into the world, he that looks back is not fit for the kingdom of heaven. Remember Lot’s wife, she looked back, for her heart was still in the world, she was not ready to turn loose of the things of this world. She was turned into a pillar of salt, because of her disobedience to God. Jesus is asking that same question of people today as he did his disciples, “will ye also go away?” Go away to where, to what? Peter said, “to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.” There have been many that has forsaken Christ, and have walked no more with Him; but what reason have you to make a change? Has not Jesus proved Himself all-sufficient? When your soul has simply trusted Jesus, have you ever been confused? Can you so much as dream of a better friend than Jesus has been to you? What friend would lay down their life willingly, that you may have life? Can you so much as dream of a better friend than He has been to you? Then change not the tried and true for something new and false. Is there anything going on in this world today that can compel you to leave Christ? Paul said in Romans 8: 39, “Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Can we think of anything that should turn us aside or do away with that love? Troubles neither causes nor shows any decline of Jesus’ love. Poor sinners, though you abound with the possessions of this world, what vain things are they. Can you say of any of them, who shall separate us? You may be removed from your pleasant dwellings, and friends, and estates. You may even live to see your own parting. Then farewell, all the things in this world that you hold most dear are nothing, what then do you have left, poor soul, who does not have Christ. You have nothing, but that which you would gladly part with, and cannot; the condemning guilt of all your sins. The man or woman who would fall away from Jesus Christ don’t realize the depth of God’s love toward us. When we are overwhelmed with this world, or with the demanding trials within the church, we find a blessing, like John, to lay our heads upon the bosom of our Saviour. This is one of the joys that we have today that we are saved in Him; and if our joy is satisfying, why should we think of changing? Who would want to exchange gold for dross? Why would you want to leave the Lord, unless you could find a more surer way to eternal life, and, since this can never be, let us hold on to Him with all our might. Can you suggest anything that could arise to cause you to mutiny, or forsake the love of Jesus Christ to serve under another Captain? I don‘t think so. “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon,” St. Matthew 6: 24. Worldly-mindedness is a common and fatal symptom of insincerity, for by no sin can Satan have a surer and faster hold of the soul, under the cloak of a profession of religion. God requires the whole heart, and will not share it with the world. When two masters oppose each other, no man can serve both. He who holds to the world and loves it, must despise God; he who loves God, must give up the friendship of the world. He cannot follow two callings successfully. Mammon means, “Money” or riches.” If God is not the object of supreme trust, something else will be, and it is most likely to be money. If life be long, Jesus changes not, if we be poor, what better than to have Jesus Christ in our lives to make us rich? And if we are sick, what better than to have Jesus as our doctor in the sick room? I can’t speak for you, but as for me, I’m with Peter, “lord, to whom shall we go?”
Posted by J.C.A.M.I. Staff
at 8:10 PM EDT
Saturday, 3 October 2009
Is Jesus in the House
Mood:
not sure
Topic: In the House
IS JESUS IN THE HOUSE?
Pastor: John Neal
I Kings 8: 9-11; St. Mark 2:1 “Nothing was in the Ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.”“And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house.” Have you ever asked yourself, what is the reason for church? When we have church we want to believe that Jesus is in the house. Too many times, He is not. If He is not, we are not having church we are only having a Social get together. If you want to make sure that Jesus is in the house, you had better take Him with you. Many churches go through their formal service, do all the usual things that we are programmed to do, but would we change anything if Jesus was to walk into the building? Is that not what we want to happen? Are churches so spiritual today that the glory of God, fires the house, so that they cannot minister for all of His glory. Do we allow the spirit of God to move in our services or our services so dull that he is muffled? Jesus lives in the mist of praises. Peter tells us in the book of Acts that the Holy Ghost came upon them with tongues and with fire but in this modern day of Christianity, the fire has been put out and the tongues have ceased. What has happened to the glory of God? How can God speak, if we keep him muzzled? How can churches have a Holy Ghost revival, if Jesus is left out of the house? If Jesus is there, so are the other tongues. They come as a set. They go together like Biscuits and butter or ham and eggs. We are living in modern times now, the computer age, most people feel that we have outgrown these things, that we don’t speak in other tongues as they did in Peter and Paul’s day, that was just for them. But I’ve got news for you, “Jesus said, I change not.” He is still the same today as he was in the days of Peter and Paul’s day. If Peter and Paul spoke in other tongues, then if Jesus is in the house you will speak in other tongues also. Is Jesus in the house? People are not taught or believe in speaking in other tongues, but that does not mean that they do not exist, if people get that feel good feeling when they are singing a song, that’s it, as for as they are concerned. But Jesus is not in the house, unless that feel good feeling comes with other tongues as the spirit of God gives the utterance. People go to church every Sunday and wouldn’t miss, but the sad part is they leave Jesus out. I have hear a lot of people tell me, they went to certain churches, but they didn’t feel anything. It was dry, it was dead, that was because Jesus was left out of the house. Jesus don’t dwell in a wooden frame building today, he dwell in a house not made by hands, if Jesus is in the house, he dwell inside of you. So the next time you go to church you will know that Jesus is in the house, because you bring him with you. Don’t wait for your pastor, or someone else to light the pilot light, because the fire has gone out. Bring the fire with you.
Posted by J.C.A.M.I. Staff
at 7:53 PM EDT
Updated: Saturday, 3 October 2009 7:55 PM EDT
Tuesday, 15 September 2009
Total Commitment
Mood:
 happy
Topic: Commitment
TOTAL COMMITMENT“Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, amen.” Eph 6:24. Sincerity means: Honesty, Realness, Heartfelt Emotion. Nothing short of total commitment. Ask yourself how many things, how many times, and in what, in our lives do we give total commitment? Is it our marriage, if so why are there so many divorces? Is it our work? Do we love our jobs so well that we give it our everything? What in our lives do we give a total commitment to? When Jesus went to the cross of Calvary to die for you and me, he did not go part of the way and say, This is enough, I’ve show the people that I love them, I’m not going to go any farther. His love for us was not a partial love. He gave His all, “TOTAL COMMITMENT” Do we give Him our all, or do we offer up a lukewarm praise? I know that we could never love as Jesus Christ loved us, but do we give Him our all. Do we give Him Total Commitment? Are we sincere in the things we do for Him, or is it just lip service? Do we only serve Him when things are going good for us? What about when the flames devour our homes and leaves us with nothing, or the flood water wash our homes away? Do we praise Him then? The word of God tells us, “The Lord giveth and the Lord Taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord.” Are we Total Committed. Jesus wants total commitment of your time, your love, and yes, even your thoughts, he will not accept anything less. He gave His all for you, and He expects more than just a token thank you Lord. He offers you love, He offers you Life. What do you offer Him? “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me” St. Matt 15:8. You say what people? Don’t suppose that Jesus is speaking just about the Jews. If you classify yourself a Christian, then he is taking about you as well as the Jews, unless you are total committed. St. Matthew 22:37 “Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” Jesus did not have to go to the cross for you or me, but He was total committed, He did not go only half way. He was not nailed to that cross for a few minutes, but he endured until “IT IS FINISHED” When we begin our walk with the Lord, we to have to endure until the end, and the only way we will be able to do that is by total commitment. We have equipment that can look at our bones, our stomach, our head, but we do not have anything to check out our sincerity. But Jesus can. He knows our thoughts, and the very intent of our hearts. You may fool me or even your pastor, but you cannot fool Jesus. Are we Saturday night Demons and Sunday morning Saints? Do what ever we want to on Saturday night and Sunday morning go to church and praise the Lord. “Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing, my brethren these thing ought not to be. Does a fountain send forth out of the same place sweet water and bitter?” James 3:10-11. “No fountain both yield salt water and fresh.” Neither can a true child of God. You can’t play false with Jesus and love Him at the same time. We can’t party with the Devil on Saturday night and all through the week, and go to church on Sunday and sing “Nearer my God to thee.” If you want to be nearer to God, then give Him your total commitment. We cannot serve two masters. Don’t fool yourselves, Jesus knows those that are His, those that are total committed.
Posted by J.C.A.M.I. Staff
at 8:35 PM EDT
Updated: Tuesday, 15 September 2009 8:37 PM EDT
Sunday, 30 August 2009
The Days Of Our Lives
Topic: Lives
From the Pastor’s Desk:
The Days of our Lives: I know that sounds like a Soap-Opera, but it is not. “This is the Day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it,” Psa. 118: 24.
The Lord made this day for his own pleasure, but he has allowed us to see this day, and once this day has passed you will never see it again. This is a day of your life. What have you done this day to praise the God of your creation? Did you thank him for waking you up this morning? Did you thank him for the food upon your table? How many people even consider that Jesus has given us this day, or any day? Most people just take it for granted that tomorrow follows today, but there are no guarantees that tomorrow will ever get here for some of us. Tomorrow is not promised to any of us. We should live every day of our lives like there is no tomorrow, make the very best of each and every day that the Lord blesses us with. For today will fade into the past and will never be seen again. Every day is a day that the Lord has made. It may not suite us, but God has made it to suite himself, and because he has blessed you enough to see another day a person should rejoice in it. If the Lord wants it to rain, we should put on our raincoats or grab an umbrella and rejoice in it, for it has pleased the Lord. Well I went to church Sunday, and praised him; for all that he has done, but what about today. That was yesterday, this is a new day, isn’t God still God on Monday and all through the week as he is on Sunday? What if your child got sick on Wednesday and you went to the Lord in prayer, and he said to you, “I’m sorry, this is not Sunday, and I can’t answer your prayer today.” That is the way we treat the Lord. Sorry Lord, I don’t have time to praise you nor thank you today for your many blessings on me and my family. I’ll remember you Sunday and give you a little praise. Do you think this pleases the Lord? I don’t think so. He is the same on Monday as he was on Sunday. Jesus is a seven days a week God. “For I am the Lord thy God and I change not.” Do people think that the church house is the only place we can give praise to the Lord who blesses us every day? Cannot we praise him in our homes, in our cars, our bedrooms, our kitchens? He is not a tiny God, he fills all space. Is in the church house the only place we are not ashamed or embarrassed to praise him. “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels,” Mark 8: 38. If the only time you can praise the Lord, is when your pastor tells you to lift your hands and praise the Lord, or say hallelujah, or thank you Jesus, then there is something wrong. These are the days of your lives. Make everyone count. Do we have to be told to get down on our knees and pray? God is Lord over this day as well as all seven days of the week. He does not have to please us with bright sunshiny days, but we need to please him. He is the one that died upon the Cross of Calvary for you and me, that we may have this life. He is the one who brought salvation to us for us to reach out and take hold of. Are we so ungrateful we cannot praise him except when we are in the church building? He dwells in the midst of praises. If you want God to smile upon you, try praising him more for what he has already done for you. Do you want God just to keep heaping blesses upon you, and you don’t even thank him for the blesses you have all ready received? Praise Him; let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Posted by J.C.A.M.I. Staff
at 5:28 PM EDT
Updated: Sunday, 30 August 2009 5:29 PM EDT
Wednesday, 7 January 2009
Where Is David?
Topic: David
WHERE IS DAVID? Pastor: John Neal David was a man after God’s own heart, he loved the Lord and the Lord loved David. He was a man of flesh and blood the same as you and I. He made mistakes, and he had his weakness, he had the same passions, same desires, same temptations, but there was something about David, in spite of his faults, God still loved him. God did not love the sin, but he loved the man. There was one thing David had that seems to be missing in the world today. He knew how to repent. He knew how to praise the Lord. Where is the spirit of David today? When we read the book of Psalms, we can see how much David loved the Lord, and how much he trusted in him. We may often repeat the words of David, and that is fine, but, we should have our own praise to God for what he has done for us, in our own words and not someone else’s. Our words may not sound as good as what David said, they may not be written down in a book here on earth for someone else to read, but God has them all written down is his great record book, and placed in his treasure chest. They are how we feel toward God, from our own lips and from our own heart, and mind. We should always have a praise for God, morning or night, for he is a twenty-four God, seven days a week. If we cannot think of something to thank him for, to praise him for, then there is something wrong with us. We only want to praise him when things are going good, and some don’t even praise him then. When we have money in the bank, our health is okay, our husband or wife is doing fine, our children are behaving, but, when things are not going so well, God still remains God. We need more of that spirit of David in the world, that has a praise for the Lord, no matter what. There are some days we may feel as if the Lord is ignoring us, is that because we are ignoring him? If we deny him, he will deny us. We want Jesus to love us, but do we love him? If so, then how do we let him know that we love him? Do we live our lives as if we loved him? Do we praise him with our whole heart, or do we just offer him lip service? Do we call upon his name, but do not the things he tells us? Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” Do we praise him seven days a week, or only on Sunday, where people can see us? Has our free nation become Sunday only worshippers of the Lord? This nation has become a nation of Dignified Christians, too dignified, too proud, to kneel down upon their knees in prayer to the “KING OF KING, and LORD OF LORD’S.” We need to recall to mind that Jesus was not too “Dignified” to be beaten, spit upon, slapped, humiliated, and shed his innocent blood on the Cross of Calvary and die for our sins. Not His, but yours and mine. Sinners, not worthy of one drop of his blood. When the preacher says a prayer on Sunday morning, we just nod our head in agreement. It reminds me of two old red Roasters, setting on the fence at the break of dawn, one crowed loudly announcing the breaking of the dawn. The other was so lazy, he just nodded his head in agreement. We nod our head in agreement to what the preacher has to say, no matter what. We need to open our mouths and lift our hands in praise unto the Lord. Jesus said, “If ye be ashamed of me before men, I shall be ashamed of you before my Father.” Are the people of this nation too proud, dignified, stubborn and rebellious, to lift up their hands and show the world they love the Lord Jesus. This is suppose to be a Christian nation, but they are taking everything away from the creator who created everything upon the face of this earth, including you and me. They have taken prayer out of our schools, and our children are running amuck. They have taken the ten commandments out, they are trying to convince the people that Jesus was not born of a virgin birth. They are telling the people you don’t need to be baptized, there is no resurrection, and that Jesus didn’t really die on the cross of Calvary, it was someone else in his place. How much longer do you think this is going to be a Christian nation? What is left for them to do, take “In God we trust” off of our currency as well. Out side of the church atmosphere, do we ever kneel down and pray? Do we have family prayer, you know, where the whole family sets around the table and holds hands and pray together, or kneel by their bedside and pray, to give thanks unto the Lord for each day that we live, for our food that he has given us, for our home that we have? David knew how to pray and to praise the Lord and he was not ashamed. He said what was in his heart, and showed his love toward God. Where is that spirit of David today? David was a man after God’s own heart. What is keeping us from being like David, a man or woman after God’s own heart? If we have that spirit of David, then let us lift up our hands, and show the world our love of Jesus.
Posted by J.C.A.M.I. Staff
at 11:37 PM EST
Updated: Wednesday, 7 January 2009 11:39 PM EST
Wednesday, 3 December 2008
No Room For Jesus
Mood:
not sure
Topic: No Room
NO ROOM FOR JESUS: Pastor: John Neal In the month of December people’s thoughts seem to turn to the baby Jesus who was born in a manger, and wrapped in swaddling clothes, in the city of Bethlehem, because there was no room in the Inn for the birth of our Lord and Savior. Plays are acted out all over the world of the wise men bringing gifts to the baby Jesus laying in the manger. You can also heard and see of men pretending to go through the same things as Jesus did as he had to carry his own cross to mount Calvary. But let them be beat as Jesus was beaten and then carry the cross on their mangled shoulders. Men can pretend if that makes them feel good, but they don’t have a clue as to what the suffering that Jesus had to endure for the sins of the world. Jesus was not pretending on that awful day. He had a purpose in mind, he was thinking of the people. Jesus told his disciples while he was still here on earth with them, “Let not your heart be troubles, ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions, if it were not so , I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself. That where I am, there ye may be also,” (St. John 14: 1-3). He has gone to prepare a place for us, but we must prepare a place for him, while we still walk this earth in human flesh. Jesus said, “The Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the son of man hath no where to lay his head,” (Matthew 8: 20). Can we make room in our life for Jesus? Are we so busy with the things of this world that there is no room in our hearts and our lives for the Lord? Jesus said, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you,” (St. John 15: 7). You can drive around town and see Million dollars Churches, and you may think, Oh boy, Jesus must surely dwell in a place like that. But not so, Jesus wants to dwell in the human body. He wants to abide in each one of us, a Tabernacle not made by hands. Jesus is not coming back for a building, but for a people that has made themselves ready. “I beseech (Beg) you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service,” (Romans 12:1). It is not some charity work you are doing for Jesus. It is your reasonable service. How many today have made room in their hearts for Jesus? Are we so busy with our daily activities, that we can’t find the time and the room for the Lord, the creator of heaven and earth, in our busy schedule? No time to pray, no time to read His word, no time to mediate on his goodness and long suffering toward us, no time to remember what he had to endure on the cross of Calvary for you and me, that we might have eternal life. Oh, it’s time for the football game, or it’s time for our favorite soap opera, I’ll think about that later, when I have the time, with nothing else to do. No time for Jesus. Take time for Jesus, he took time for you. Open up your heart’s door, and welcome the Savior of the world into your heart. Make room for Jesus. There was only room on that cross for one man, but that one man took all of our sins and nailed them there, (St. John 3: 16). Can we not make room in our heart and soul for that one man that went through so much for us? But, you may say, “I go to church on Sunday.” That’s fine, but that’s not what I ask you. What about the other six days of the week, is there room in your heart and soul for Jesus before and after church or do we just forget about him until next Sunday? Have the things of this world pushed Jesus out of our lives. We can’t have Jesus, and the world in our lives. One or the other has to go. You can’t drink bitter and sweet water from the same fountain. Jesus will not dwell in an unclean temple. He chased the unclean things out of his Father’s house, for he said it is, “a house of prayer, but you have made it a din of thieves,” (St. Matthew 21:12-13). Ye Hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you saying, the people draw nigh unto me with their mouth, and honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me,” (St. Matthew 15:7-9). No room for Jesus.
Posted by J.C.A.M.I. Staff
at 10:59 PM EST
Friday, 10 October 2008
Short
COMING UP SHORT By: Pastor., John B. Neal “Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was chief tax collector, and he was rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for he was going to pass that way,” (St. Luke 19: 1-4). People come up short on a great many things, in our lives from day to day, but we should never come up short in our walk with the Lord. Like Zacchaeus, who was determined to see Jesus, no matter what it takes, we must also find a way. Zacchaeus being small of stature, and in a large crowd, I’m sure felt like a small fish in a large ocean, but he had to find a way to see Jesus, and we must be just as determined. If God has given us a mountain in our lives, and if He does not show us a way over the mountain, then we have to find a way around the mountain. Zacchaeus did it the hard way, but he did it, he saw Jesus, because he made an effort. We also must put forth some effort, if we want to see Jesus. If it takes giving up something of the world, then give it up. It will be worth it all one day, when we see Jesus. The Lord Jesus is passing by, don’t let him pass you by, because you failed to put forth that extra effort, don’t miss out on seeing Him some day. Zacchaeus did the only thing he knew to do, if he wanted to see Jesus, and he did. He knew he had to come up higher. Do we feel the need within our own self to come up higher, or do we feel that we have all ready reached perfection? Do we feel we are coming up short in our walk with the Lord? If we do, then we should do something about it. What? you ask. We don’t have to climb a sycamore tree like Zacchaeus, but we can Pray more, as though your soul depended on it, for it does. Read more of God’s word, meditate more on God’s word, climb that gospel ladder each and every day. Not just on Sunday, when we feel we are suppose to, but every day we need to come up higher in the Lord, for our soul salvation depends on it. It is the difference between the first or the second resurrection, between heaven or hell. What would have happened to Zacchaeus , if not for a sycamore tree. He would not have been able to see Jesus. St. Luke 19: 5 tells us “Jesus looked up and saw him, and said to him, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must abide at your house.” If Zacchaeus had not have made that effort and climb the sycamore tree, Jesus would not have seen him. How many people don’t make that extra effort to see Jesus, and gets passed by, because they are coming up short. It is too late in God’s time table to be fooling anyone, especially our own selves. Coming up short is not an option. Do we seek Jesus with our whole heart? Do we put forth that extra effort to come up higher in the Lord? Do we know who Jesus is? He is coming this way again, when he descends from heaven to catch his chosen people up to meet him in the air. Are you ready to meet Jesus, or are you coming up short? Zacchaeus could have said, I can’t get through this crowd, I may as well give up and go back home. No. He did not let the crowd stop him from seeing Jesus. He did not let the fact that he was a small, short man stop him. He found a way, he came up higher so he could see over the crowd. He was determined to see Jesus. How determined are we? A lot of people will dress up on Sunday and go to church or a building, and sing the songs of praise to the Lord, pay tithes and offerings, and the other six days, forget all about Jesus until next Sunday. What are we trying to accomplish? Do we just want someone to see how religious we are? If we are not serious about our salvation, then we are on the wrong journey. It’s time to be honest with ourselves, just what are we trying to attain, a home in heaven, or a certain pew in the church building? Do we take time during our busy day to think about the coming of the Lord? Do we every think about those gates of pearls, the streets of gold, the walls of Jasper? Oh, how beautiful heaven must be. I can’t speak for you, but I know I want walk those streets of gold with my Savior. It’s time to either get right with the Lord, or be left behind, to become lost in the crowd. You say, why do I have to put forth an effort, Jesus paid it all on the cross of Calvary? That is true, Jesus took our sins to the cross that day. And your sins are covered by his blood if you repent of your sins, and seek him with all your heart. For Jesus knows our sincerity. Don’t fool yourself, and miss heaven, regardless of what you have been told, you do have to put forth some effort. How are you going to be covered by his blood, unless you are baptized in his name. How else is his blood going to be applied to your soul. And how else are you going to receive the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues as the Spirit of God gives the utterance, unless you put forth some effort. Deuteronomy 4: 29 “But if from there you will seek the Lord your God, Thou shalt find Him if thou seek Him with all thy heart, and with all thy soul.” II Chronicles 15: 2 “......If thou seek Him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.” Times may have changed, men, may have changed, but Jesus remains the same, He is the same, yesterday, today, and for evermore. If we realize that we are coming up short, then we, like Zacchaeus; must come up higher. We need to know where we stand with the Lord, for the Bible is a mirror, we look into it and find answers, that tells us right where we stand if we are truthful with ourselves. I speak to the ones that have not attained Perfection, that have not been, like Paul, to the third heaven. There are some who believe that they have come as high as they can, and they can’t come any higher. Why? Has the catching away of God people already taken place? May God help the boastful, the arrogant, the high mined, that walk around as if to say see “How great I am?” I would like to ask them, “Have you prayed an angel out of heaven as Cornelius did, and he wasn’t even a preacher. When did any of them raise anyone from the dead? Or walked on the water, or even so much as turn water into wine? There are many that say they are ready to go, if Jesus should come, but when that trumpet sounds, then what? Friend, brethren and sisters let us all strive to come up higher, that we might see Jesus. Let us put forth that extra effort, it’s not too hard, if we truly want to see Jesus. Come out of the shadows, come up higher in the Lord. Don’t ever stop striving for a closer walk with Jesus. May God bless.
Posted by J.C.A.M.I. Staff
at 7:30 PM EDT
Monday, 29 September 2008
Whom Do Ye Say That I Am
Mood:
not sure
WHOM DO YE SAY THAT I AM?
Pastor: John B. Neal
God said unto Moses, “I am that I am.” God will be what ever he wants to be. If he wants to be in the burning bush that was not consumed, then that is what he will be. If he so chooses to be a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night to lead his children, then that is what he will be. If he wants to step through the portals of time to be born of the Virgin Mary, to be clothed in human flesh, and dwell among men for 33 and 1/2 years in the bodily form of Jesus Christ, then that is what he will do. For who are we to say what God can do and what he cannot do? Who are we to tell God he cannot do this, if he so desires?
If he chooses to test this frail human form, its weakness and flaws, to feel our pain and our suffering, to know what makes us happy or sad. Can a child say to its mother, “you never gave birth to me?” Or a pot says to the potter, “you never made me?” Then how can we say, “Lord you can’t do this?” Nothing is impossible with God. He can do anything that pleases him.
Jesus, this human child, who had dwelt among men for 33 and 1/2 years, said unto John on the island of Patmos, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty,” (Revelation 1:8).
How can Jesus, who was born of a virgin, a woman of flesh and blood, the same as you and I, say, “I am the beginning.” How can he say, “I am the Almighty.” God does not lie. So how can this be? God plainly says, “My glory I will not give to another,” (Isaiah 42:8).
“Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me, I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no Savior,” (Isaiah 43:10-11).
“Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God,” (Isaiah 44:6). There is not, nor ever shall be two Gods.
God said, “I am the beginning.” Yet, Jesus, this child born of a woman, told John on the island of Patmos, “I am the beginning.” This is very confusing to many people, wondering, how can this be? There are so many interpretations on this subject, it almost boggles the mind. Which interpretation to believe. Jesus tells us to, “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life:.......” (St. John 5:39).
If we believe in God, then we know that God does not lie, but we also know that Jesus does not lie. So the explanation lies in the pages of the Bible. Remember, Jesus said, “Search the scriptures.”
We find in the book of Revelations that the Apostle John said, “Behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.” Neither two nor three, but one sat on the throne.
When Jesus came into the coast of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his Disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, some say that thou art John the Baptist; some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He said unto them, but whom say ye that I am?” (St. Matthew 16:15).
Simon Peter answered and said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God,” (verse 16) Jesus leaves no room for man made interpretations. You may want to think about it for awhile, but what man do you know that can raise the dead? Can a mere man or even a prophet? The dictionary says, a prophet is, “A person who tells what will happen.” If Jesus is no more than a mere man or just a prophet, how could he just speak to the raging storm and everything becomes calm? “And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat upon the ship, so that it was now full. And He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm,” (St. Mark 4:37, 39). Who has the power to control the elementals?
The human race is searching for something, but they don’t know exactly what it is. There is something lacking within each individual’s soul, an emptiness down deep within, that causes a yearning, a hunger within them. Because they don’t know what it is they are searching for, it is causing restlessness within them. Food can’t satisfy this type of hunger, drink can’t satisfy it either. Even in this modern enlightened age we are living in, with all its high tech knowledge, Jesus is still asking the same question, “Whom do ye say that I am?”
Regardless of what people think, most of them believe there is a God, a higher power that is in control. In the Apostle Paul’s journeys, he spoke to the men of Athens and said, “For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, To the Unknown God, who therefore ye ignorantly worship, Him declare I unto you,” (Acts 17:23).
In the New Testament we find John shut up in prison, but he heard the talk about Jesus and all the wonderful things he was doing. John then sent two of his disciples to Jesus and asked him, “.....Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?” (St. Matthew 11:3). And in searching the scriptures we find in St. John 1:41 that Andrew, “First findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, we have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus.” The name Messiah means: The expected deliverer. So Jesus is more than a man, for how can mere men deliver anyone?
How can man teach you what they don’t know? Jesus tells us to “Search the Scriptures.” History tells us that the Roman Emperor Constantine, summoned all the Bishops of the church for a general council at Nicaea in the year 325 A.D. The principal work of this council was the settlement of a great dispute which had risen over the nature of Jesus Christ. There was confusion and misunderstanding of who Jesus was, and many people today are still just as confused.
The Prophet Isaiah said, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel,” (Being interpreted is God with us, Isaiah 7:14). But who would believe such a report? Who ever heard of a virgin conceiving a child with no man present? Would you? Do you? When Isaiah glimpsed the glory of God he was seeing Jesus Christ. He said, “.....to whom hath the Arm of the Lord been revealed?” (Isaiah 53:1).
In Isaiah 40:5 we find, “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” Jesus did nothing in secret, all he did and all he said was before their eyes for all to see and hear, that would look or listen.
In searching the scriptures we find the Physician Luke, wrote that the angel Gabriel came down and told the Virgin Mary of the event to come. Mary asked, “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” And the angel of God said, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee: therefore also that Holy thing shall be called the Son of God,” (St. Luke 1:35).
But, who or what is this Holy thing? We find in St. Matthew 1:20-21, speaking of the Virgin Mary, “......for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus...”760 years before the birth of this child who was named Jesus, the Prophet Isaiah said, “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace,” (Isaiah 9:6). How could Jesus be all of these things, if he is just a mere man, or even a prophet? Isaiah never saw this child with his own eyes, but was told of God of his coming. The scriptures tell us that the Old Testament is for our learning. We cannot discard any part of the Bible. How did Isaiah have enough insight to call this child the Mighty God?” When God himself said, “I am He: before me there was no God formed; neither shall there be after me, I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no Savior,” (Isaiah 43:10-11. Jesus, Himself declared, “Before Abraham was I Am,” (St. John 8:58)
How can he call this child Jesus the Everlasting Father?” Jesus was never married. Remember, God’s Arm was to bring Salvation unto Him. “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world knew him not. He came to his own, and his own received him not The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us......” (St. John 1: 1, 10-11,14). Is it possible that Divinity and Humanity are united in the person of Jesus Christ, making Him both God and man?
God’s dwelling place was no longer to be a house of wood and gold, as it was in the Tabernacle, but a house of flesh and bones, in the bodily form of Jesus Christ, the True Tabernacle, which God pitched, and not man. “Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me,” (Hebrew 10:5).
As a man Jesus wept over the tomb of Lazarus, but as God He raised him from the grave,” (St. John 11:35, 44). As a Man he died upon the cross of Calvary,” (St. John 19:33 it was His humanity that died upon the cross), but as God, He arose from the tomb,” (I Cor. 15: 4; John 10:18 this was His Divinity). As God, Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life,” (St. John 11:25) as a man Jesus said, “The son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men, and they shall kill him,” (St. Matthew 17: 22-23). But as God, He declared, “Destroy this temple (body) and in three days I will raise it up,” (St. John 2:19). “Unto us a Son is given, (this is the humanity of Jesus) The Mighty God and the everlasting Father, ( this is his Divinity)
While Jesus Christ was both God and man, the man was not God and the God was not the man, but both God and man were united in Jesus Christ. The reason why the Son could say, “I and my Father are one,” (St. John 10:30) was because divinity and humanity were united in one person. The reason Jesus said, “My Father is greater than I,” (St. John 14:28) was because divinity is greater than humanity.
“But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him is glory both now and forever. Amen, (II Peter 3: 18). Search the Scriptures for in them we can find the truth. Whom do you say that I the Son of man am? This is a personal thing that each individual must answer for themselves. May God bless.
Posted by J.C.A.M.I. Staff
at 4:32 PM EDT
Updated: Monday, 29 September 2008 4:35 PM EDT
Newer | Latest | Older
|
| « |
November 2009 |
» |
 |
| S |
M |
T |
W |
T |
F |
S |
| 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| 8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
| 15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
| 22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
| 29 |
30 |
|
