From Every Tribe

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From Every Tribe

9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"Revelation 7:9-10

The day is coming when all the world past and present, from every village and city, people will come forth to recognize the salvation of the Lord. The world in its vast diversity will proclaim the glory God. 

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Mortal Bodies

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Mortal Bodies

¹¹ If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. Romans 8:11 (ESV)

 

This is another of those, wow, what did he just say verses.  If the Spirit of power that raised Jesus from the grave dwells in us, that same Spirit will give life to our mortal bodies. Focus on two words "mortal bodies" the same spirit that raised Jesus from the grave is living in you, to give life to your mortal body. He is not referring to your resurrected body he is specifically referring to your mortal body.  If you understand this verse the only question left is how do I plug into this power? How do we allow the Spirit of power living in us to give life to our mortal bodies?

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Stability

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Stability

6" For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. Malachi 3:6

What would happen if God were to change His mind and decide He had, had enough and removed Himself from the affairs of man? We find our security and hope in life in the consistency and permanence of God. Because He doesn't change we have a solid foundation on which to base our lives. Without an unchanging God, our lives would be left to hope in the fallibility of Man.  If God were to change His mind, He might destroy us all or leave us to our own devices I don't know which would be worse.

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Rescued

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Rescued

¹⁸ The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. 

Paul writing to Timothy almost off handily makes this statement "The Lord will rescue me." Here is one of the premier leaders of the Christian church. Paul who has influence and literally lead millions of people to Christ says "The Lord will rescue me" he has not forgotten who he is or feels he has earned the right or ability to say I will rescue myself. We have the audacity to say I will do this, I will do that, together we can conquer any opposition. Yet a man who has literally helped change the course of humanity is recognizing and glorifying God. Paul is acknowledging that it is only through God providence and will that we overcome any obstacle. If Paul is recognizing and glorifying God for all He does should we not do the same? 

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Seeing the Same Perceiving It Differently

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Seeing the Same Perceiving It Differently 

¹⁸ For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  1 Corinthians  1:18

We can all look at the same picture and perceive it differently. If you believe in Christ, you can look at the cross and see salvation, forgiveness, redemption, restoration, payment, regret, pain, conviction and horror.  If you don't believe in Christ, all you see a crucified man. 

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Partakers

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Partakers

3</sup> His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence ⁴ by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

These two verses are about what God has done for you, enabling you and I to be free from reaping the rewards of sin.  He grants us life, allowed us to know Him, then calls us to His glory and excellence.  If you look at it, it is stated in the past tense, this has already been done for you. "Called," past tense, "granted," past tense, "having escaped from" past tense, what he is stating in these two verses has already been done for you. Then it is left to us to "partake," we must take action to receive what has already been given us. We must take action to receive "His precious and very great promises," "divine nature" and be free from the sinful corruption of this world.  

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Spirit of Wisdom

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Spirit of wisdom

¹⁶ I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, ¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, ¹⁸ having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, Ephesians 1:16-17 


Paul is praying that we would receive the spirit of wisdom and revelation so we can understand what our hope in Christ is and what we have to look forward to. He wants us to know intimately what God has prepared for us.  Not figuratively but through unmovable belief, we should expect the fulfillment of the inheritance we have already received and will forever continue to receive. He is praying that through the spirit of wisdom and knowledge we become aware of the immovability of the hope and the promise of life in Christ. This life and promise is undeniable and is secure in God Himself. 

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Inheritance

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Inheritance

¹² giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. ¹³ He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:12-14

The dominion of darkness has no place in our lives as we have been transplanted into the kingdom of His son. We have access to His kingdom because we have been redeemed through the shedding of His blood, for the forgiveness of our sin. We are grateful, thankful that God the Father has made us inheritors of His amazing riches.

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Choose This Day

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Choose This Day

"But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15

This is a famous quote and declaration by Joshua. It, in essence, says I have decided my family, and I will stand for God. However, let's take this in context.

¹⁴ “Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! ¹⁵ And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:14-15

He is talking to all of Israel, and he is drawing a line, a litmus test. He is defining a clear distinction between the God of Israel and the gods of the world. Joshua is saying you can't have it both ways, you must choose. Then He says, "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” He is saying you are free to choose the Gods of this world but even if you do, even if all of you do, me and my house will serve the Lord. He is saying I have determined that if I am the only one that will stand with God so be it, I will. Before you make the same declaration as Joshua are you really ready to stand alone in your school in your university, job, community, city, state, and country? Are you willing to stand alone against all others and say I will serve the Lord?

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Haunted

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Haunted

¹² “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. ¹³ Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

John 14:12-14 (ESV)

This verse has haunted me my entire Christian life. It is one of those verses that can be thrown in my face and I have no answer to.  If someone were to ask me what greater things have you done? I would have nothing to say. Yet, there it is in black and white, John quoting Jesus. It is not ambiguous, it is not in need of theological explanation.  I can no longer hide from this verse, I need to know what I need to do to bring this verse alive in my life.  I think the key may be in who is being glorified by the asking, is it me or is it, Jesus?

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Positive Thinking

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Positive Thinking

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. Ephesians 6:10-11


All of the positive thinking all, of the self-affirming declarations, all of the self-edification that we adhere to, will be empty platitudes without the basis of Gods strength. If the basis of our positive attitudes and self-affirming declarations are ourselves, they will fail. They will leave you empty. To win in this life, we need the strength of God. We need to recognize it is His strength that will lead us to victory. That victory can only be achieved on His terms, not ours. If you stand defenseless before the enemy of God, your platitudes will not save you only the armor of God will prevail. It His His armor, His strength, His might that will bring you to that victory you seek.

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Authority

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Authority

¹⁸ And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Matthew 28:18 (ESV)

All authority means Jesus is the final appeal. He has the final say. Jesus is the one that dispenses justice and reward. He established standard and judgments.  God gave His son the sovereignty to rule the world as He sees fit. He gave Him, us to honor and glorify or to condemn and judge. Jesus is our savior and judge, and there is none other.

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Testimonies of Faith

Testimonies of Faith

Five years ago I had a major heart attack. I was in the hospital for six weeks and had serious complications. My kidneys failed, I had emergency surgery due to internal bleeding caused by a section of my bowls had become necrotic. My blood pressure all but disappeared.  About a week after I was released from the hospital I had another heart attack due to an artery completely clogging.  When they performed the bypass surgery, they were not able to bypass one artery because of where it was. The arteries in my heart are not normal, so a stent or angioplasty was not and option.

I wanted to share my experience with my family, however, do to the some of the side effects of the bypass I could not put two words together in a sentence in writing. It took two years before I could write coherently again. So I decided to start a blog for the sole purpose of sharing my experience with my family. I wanted them to know what happened as well as how God had brought me through.  To my surprise, other people started to following my blog.  It occurred to me that there probably were other people in the church that had a similar experience.  I started a writing group in the church to put these stories together, but it was not the right time. I could not get enough interest in the project. Our group did some other things, and members of our group did go on to publish books. But the testimony book was not done.

In May of this year, a new pastor took over the ministry which oversees our small group, and he suggested we write a book of testimonies.

Five years after my heart attack, the book is a reality.  The book is titled 'Testimonies of Faith." For those of you who attend Faith Assembly of God in Orlando Florida, the book will be available for sale this Sunday, Dec. 18, 2016. For everyone else, the book will be available on Amazon in the next few days. Since I am one of the authors and contributors of this book, I am very excited to see it in print. The testimonies in this book are stories that show how God is involved in the lives of your neighbors and friends. They are great moving stories that will encourage and inspire you in your faith or bring you to faith. All of the proceeds from the book will be donated to the youth ministry at Faith Assembly Of God in Orlando Florida.
  

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Unchangeable

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Unchangeable 

¹¹ so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
    it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
    and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:11 (ESV) 

Speaking through Isaiah God affirms His word. All of collected humanity can not ignore or nullify the word of the Lord. Everything that He has proclaimed will come to pass in His time and In His will.  Whether it be for salvation and glory or for damnation and judgment. If you feel you have a special exemption or a justify rational for sin, it will not stand before the word of the Lord. His word stands and will stand and bring forth His will as He has stated and proclaimed.

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Confession

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Confession

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 1 John 1:9-10
While we seek and preach, success, prosperity, health, joy, happiness, sacrifice, and work where does confession come in? Have we forgotten or regulated our most important of  beliefs to a hidden corner of our theology?  If we confess our sins, His forgiveness opens the door to all the things we seek and preach about? If we are cleansed from all unrighteousness what is left but blessing?

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Finish the Race

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Finish the Race

However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of Godʼs grace. Acts 20:24 NIV

As I read this verse, I ask myself, really? Have I repented to the point where I can honestly say that I am completing the task set before me to this degree?  Have I turned away from my sin, so entirely that I can say, I only live to testify "to the good news of Godʼs grace"? No, ashamedly I must confess there are still areas in my life that need to change. The more I know of God, the more I want to be what He created me to be but the battle in me still rages. I know that In Christ I have won the war, but the battles are still being fought. I hope that someday I can say, I solely live "testifying to the good news of Godʼs grace."

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Overcoming

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Overcoming

“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”
I John 5:4-5 NKJV

Overcoming the world is more than being victorious in or being successful in your endeavors. It is more than reaching the heights of your profession or garnering accolades, recognition, awards, and trophies. Overcoming may include all of that but it can't be achieved if that hole in your soul is not filled with the spirit of God in you. The way to fill that hole, is faith, faith  that "Jesus is the Son of God."

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Who Do You Call?

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Who Do You Call?

Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”

 Psalms 50:15 (NKJV) 

When trials come who do you call? A long time ago when I was a young man, I was playing basketball a player crumbled to the ground in pain.  He had an apparent painful injury.  The  Pastor's who was playing with us immediately prayed for the man.  Do you immediately turn to God or do you call your pastor, your doctor, the police, your children, your spouse, emergency services or anyone else. After the immediate crisis has passed is that when you remember to call on God. Is He your last desperate resort.  We need to look at this verse and apply it to our lives, we need to turn to Him first.  God Help me, in most cases would be enough, acknowledge Him. 

If you call on Him first, He will deliver you so that you might glorify Him.

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Expectation

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Expectation

¹¹ If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Matthew 7:11 (NKJV)

 

This verse says, that God your Father has prepared some excellent gifts for you. My question is, if God has great gifts for you what are you expecting? I know for me, I need to start expecting great things from God. Why would or should He give me something great if I am not expecting Him to? Every gift I have given to anyone is with the expectation that they will use it and enjoy it to their benefit. Wouldn't be reasonable to think that every gift He gives us is to be used and enjoy for our benefit?  Look at this he is expecting us to ask Him  "give good things to those who ask Him!" I expect that He, God is expecting us to call for the great thing. So that He can be glorified in the use of the great thing you have requested. I want to start living with an attitude and posture of expectation of receiving the gifts of God. I am ready and expecting to receive the great gifts God has prepared for me. Are you? 

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A Royal Priesthood

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A Royal Priesthood

 

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1peter 2:9-10

We are chosen, The thought that God chose me humbles me. He chose me.The creator of the universe has chosen me, He has chosen you and not only has he chosen you he has declared that you are a royal priesthood. He says that we are a holy nation, a people of His own, we belong to Him. That we were called from darkness into His marvelous light. We are his people to proclaim Him. We have received His mercy.

The world has not received mercy, the world has not been called His people the world is still in darkness. The world does not proclaim Him.  

Imagine, you are not a mistake, you're not a freak of nature, you were not in the right place at the right time. You have been sought after through the eons of time. God specifically and intentionally chose you because He loves you. Not only did He choose you He has elevated you to the position of a royal priest. He not only call you but He has a purpose for you a special calling only you can fulfill. The all knowing, all seeing, all powerful God, had you in mind when he created the universe. All of it, all of the universe was created to support you. All that we see in this life, in this world, and in the universe was made to provide you with sustenance to live.  All of it was done so He could call us His people. God values you so much He created the entire heavens just so you could live. Then He chose you.

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The Messenger of God

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The Messenger of God

12 Then he said to me, "Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. 13 The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia, Daniel 10:12-13

Know that you will be opposed! If you do the will of God it will not be easy, it will not be without strife, it will not be without obstacles.  Consider this, you are not Daniel you are the messenger of God. You have been left with the kings of Persia. You can not do it alone! You need the Spirit of God, The Holy Spirit to help you accomplish your task.

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Were My Help Comes From

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Were My Help Comes From

“I will lift up my eyes to the hills— From whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, Nor the moon by night. The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore.”
Psalms 121:1-8 NKJV

Sometimes we need to be reminded, that the Lord God is a wonderful, glorious, marvelous all-sufficient  Father, provider, protector and King. 

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Anxious Toil

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 Anxious Toil

1 Unless the Lord builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.
2 It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
for he gives to his beloved sleep.
Psalms 127 1:2

 "Anxious toil" a phrase that sums up some of the expended efforts of my life. If God is not in your efforts what does it matter if you accomplish the task or goal? Whatever your endeavor, if God is not central in its inception and completion it will be for naught.  The only accomplishments that will matter and be of present and eternal significance will be those that were fostered, aided and guided by God.

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I Will Lead the Blind

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I will lead the blind.

16 And I will lead the blind

in a way that they do not know,

in paths that they have not known

I will guide them.

I will turn the darkness before them into light,

the rough places into level ground.

These are the things I do,

and I do not forsake them. Isaiah 42:16

Do you think God is speaking about the physically blind?  No, He is speaking to us that are or were spiritually blind.  It means that while we are spiritually blind we can not see the path of salvation that He has prepared for us. It means we need to be guided by him on a path that will lead to physical salvation and spiritual life.  He will turn the darkness, hopelessness of our lives into the light of His life and he will never leave us. He will not tell us where to go and leave us to flounder on our own' He will go with us and guide us to His truth and Life.

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