February 2011 Blog Posts (125)

At least once a year, I have to tell this story because it reminds me afresh of God’s grace … poured out on me.  Also, so many folks ‘add in’ over the course of a year to the Morning Briefings distribution, that I want them to know of this miraculous occurrence in my life.  Because here’s the thing~  when you and I come face to face with God’s miraculous power, it changes everything—and I mean, everything.

It was the Fall of…

Yesterday I sent a briefing called “Of Lambs and Knives” which was a lesson on how God-fearing people ‘paid’ for their sins before the birth and crucifixion of Jesus …  but since many were on holiday, I should like to first point you back to that briefing, because in seeking to understand God’s plan for humanity, it is good information.

 Before the cross, what had God-fearing people done about their sin?   

In the Old Testament, when a person sinned, he was required to take the…

We have noted that grace is free to us, but it cost Jesus so very much to bring us forgiveness.    Before the cross, what had God-fearing people done about their sin?   

Check it out:

In the Old Testament, when a person sinned, he was required to take the very best, blue-ribbon lamb he could find, one without any spots or blemishes, to the priest at the temple.  There, in front of the priest, the sinner would grasp the lamb with both hands and confess his sin.  His guilt was…

In Isaiah 55:11 God says his word shall not return to him void, but it shall accomplish that which he pleases and it shall prosper in the thing where unto he sent it. Well, the only way his word can return to him is if someone speaks it. God has invested power in your words and his words are the greatest power. In the Book of Proverbs the Bible says a lot about your words. In Proverbs 12:6 it says something interesting it says- "The mouth of the upright will deliver them." And Proverbs 12:18…

Be victorious and surrender?  How does this work?  Don't we lose when we surrender?  Well, it all depends on the situation.  If we surrender in a game or in some sort of combat, we admit that we cannot win and thus accept defeat.  However, in terms of God and our Christian life, when we surrender, we are victorious!  Only when we are fully able to trust in God and offer our lives and everything in it can we truly be blessed and honor…

This is a passage that I read on a website called http://www.allaboutfollowingjesus.org.  It is filled with words of truth and encouraging information.  I decided to paste a clip and bold/underline some important words. 

I think the take home message is that living a Christian life is certainly not easy, but we will be victorious as long as we continue to ask and seek God's help.

"But…

Greetings,

Today is a sunny but cold day here in Ontario with temperatures at 18F (with wind chill feels like 9F). We are presently under a storm warning with high winds and expecting about 7 inches of snow from Sunday 6pm - Monday 6 am. As I type this I am listening to Charles Price from People's…

In Order to hear His voice, you must release all of your worries into His care. Entrust to Him everything that concerns you.This clears the way for you to seek His Face without obstacles.

He loves us with an everlasting Love. The human mind cannot comprehend His constancy. Your emotions flicker and…

Hello Brothers and Sisters in the Faith Of JESUS!! I wanted to share something with all of you. I do not want to see like I am advertising or anything of the such. Another Pastor and my self are trying a new Internet Church Program called the "Place.Com". I Dont know if any of you have heard of it or not. But what I am asking is that you would take a look and give me any ideas on how to improve or get participation Pastors to help with there sermons and bible studies to help reach those who…

POSTED FEB. 18,2011:Hello brothers and sisters in Christ... kindly include my husband Elmo in prayers... 

He will be having cranial Ct scan contrast asap... aside from terrible headache, his eye socket has been damage already.. …

We know life is futile. A man who considers that his life is of very wonderful importance is awfully close to a padded cell.  --  Clarence Darrow

The Law, grace, sin, justification, sanctification, baptism … why does it all matter?  All of these theological concepts of Paul’s letter to the Romans—do they really matter?  Should we even learn what these words mean?  I guess that depends.  Do you think that you are just a vapor—here today and gone tomorrow, with nothing of your…

So which is right—infant baptism or adult/believer baptism?  I wrote about my experience in “Baptized … have you been?”  Here’s another’s perspective that I thought might be a ‘counter’ to my experience:

“My own spiritual pilgrimage reflects a common pattern in the understanding of baptism.  I was baptized as an infant in the Lutheran church in which I was raised.  My later confirmation class presented the truth of the gospel clearly, but it did not really come home to me.  I was…

A familiar number showed on the screen of my cellphone; I smiled a greeting and heard--‘Hey, we never had Brian baptized – is it too late?  Can you do it?’  And then, ‘And do we need to get some god parents for this?’ 

Funny thing is, Brian, the son – well, he’s 16 years old.  My friend was combining two different kinds of baptism in his question—infant baptism and adult baptism or ‘believer’ baptism.  Our passage today provides a great platform to discuss both.

Before, Paul…