At church we had a Missionary Names Gilbert Tenorio. These are my notes from his service.
We read Acts 8:
There are 4 things that Man like and enjoy, but do NOT provide or give Salvation:
1> Authority and Power. WOW, to be a king or a president of a nation and have such power like that. It doesnt save us and we need to realize this. No single person on earth is above going thru Jesus to get to Heaven.
2> Wealth and Money...We all dream of having money, some of us would like to just have enough money to be able to live comfortably and not worry where our next mortgage will come from, but again, God wont accept the money of the wealthiest person for salvation. It doesnt work that way.
3> Religion and Being a member of a church. Altho the church will help guide you and point you in the right direction, they will not give you salvation.
4> Being well Educated. This will help you secure great employment, but will not save you
So what saves you from spending an Eternity in Hell? God's Grace saves you. Jesus died for your sins and he died for mine too. We have to believe that and have faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. "No one will come to the Father except thru Jesus Christ"
God wants his followers to do the following:
1> GO....Go where God wants you to go. If you get a calling from him, you should answer him, get up and GO!
2>TALK to the person God wants you to TALK to...If you get a feeling to speak to someone about their salvation, that is God and you need to speak to that person. Their salvation may be depending on your witness.
3> PREACH...Preach the Message God wants you to preach. God wants you to preach the Message about Jesus. You do not have to be a pastor to tell others about Jesus.
So what will you do? Go with me into the battle field and be armored with "the belt of truth", Your "Breastplate", "Sandals of Peace", "Shield of Faith", Salvations Helmet", and your "Sword of the Spirit!"
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Friday, April 30, 2010
HOW TO FACE RPOBLEMS
A couple of weeks ago I went on a women’s retreat to TN. This particular weekend was a fantastic weekend full of worship and praise music by Michael W Smith, Steven Curtis Chapman, and Charles Billingsley. We had guest speakers like Kay Arthur, writer: Karen Kingsbury, Comedian: Anita Renfroe, and Lori Salierno.
Today I am going to cover the things Lori talked about in her lesson. (it’s not word for word) There are 3 things you need to do when facing rough times:
Put Praise before the problem:
Don’t face problems alone. Pray and sing praise songs as you face the trouble. Read 2 Chronicles. Get that Praise out there. Don’t hesitate to sing and worship God. He is there with you and will comfort and guide you thru this time.
Walk thru the pain:We can’t keep our eyes closed and ignore the problems. We must continue on in life and keep moving, as you move forward thru the valley you are in it will get easier. Read the 23rd Psalm. Tho I walk thru the valley of the shadow of death. See we walk thru, not around, not backwards, not running, just simply walking thru. What are we walking thru? We are walking thru the shadow of death, not death it’s self. Sure it may feel and look and seem just like death, but don’t be fooled, it’s just the shadow. We can make it thru.
Walk in the light:We need to set an example as Christians. When the tough gets going, it doesn’t mean we can have mouths like sailors and be grouchy and rude. We need to allow God’s love to shine thru us and live according to God’s word.
Times are rough and everyone has something they are going thru, perhaps it’s something major, perhaps it’s not. Either way, if we live by these 3 rules, it will help us get thru the day.
Today I am going to cover the things Lori talked about in her lesson. (it’s not word for word) There are 3 things you need to do when facing rough times:
Put Praise before the problem:
Don’t face problems alone. Pray and sing praise songs as you face the trouble. Read 2 Chronicles. Get that Praise out there. Don’t hesitate to sing and worship God. He is there with you and will comfort and guide you thru this time.
Walk thru the pain:We can’t keep our eyes closed and ignore the problems. We must continue on in life and keep moving, as you move forward thru the valley you are in it will get easier. Read the 23rd Psalm. Tho I walk thru the valley of the shadow of death. See we walk thru, not around, not backwards, not running, just simply walking thru. What are we walking thru? We are walking thru the shadow of death, not death it’s self. Sure it may feel and look and seem just like death, but don’t be fooled, it’s just the shadow. We can make it thru.
Walk in the light:We need to set an example as Christians. When the tough gets going, it doesn’t mean we can have mouths like sailors and be grouchy and rude. We need to allow God’s love to shine thru us and live according to God’s word.
Times are rough and everyone has something they are going thru, perhaps it’s something major, perhaps it’s not. Either way, if we live by these 3 rules, it will help us get thru the day.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Easter
He Did That For Me
Alan Riley
Theologians have a fancy phrase for it... they call it "Substitutionary Atonement." What it means in plain English is that Jesus died on the cross paying the penalty for sin. From the beginning of the church, there has been a clear understanding of what Christ's death on the cross meant. It was not simply the unjust murder of an influential if somewhat unorthodox Jewish teacher on a Passover weekend. It was the only begotten Son of God willingly giving up His life to pay the price for sin. Your sin. My sin.
But for any truth to be a life-changing one, we must come to the place where it moves from being simple fact to being a truth that we embrace with our entire being. It is one thing to know that Jesus died for you, but another thing altogether for the full weight of that truth to become painfully clear to you. Someone once said this process involves making the 18-inch journey from your head to your heart.
I remember when I was 17 years old and a brand new Christian, so excited about my new-found faith. It was the Easter season, so the old movie "King of Kings" was on TV. When the movie showed the crucifixion, I was deeply moved as I saw Him beaten and mocked. As Jesus said, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do," tears began to roll down my face. How could they have done this to Jesus? Why would they want to crucify Him? Why didn't He call down angels to destroy them all and save Him?
It was then for the first time in my walk with the Lord I clearly sensed the Holy Spirit speak to my heart, as clearly as if I had heard it audibly. Just five simple words that pieced my heart like a knife: "I did this for you."
For the first time the full weight of that truth hit me like a ton of bricks. It was my sin that put Him there. He suffered and He died in my place. He did that for me.
Many years later I was reminded of that experience again, as I saw someone else experience the same thing. We went with a group from church to see the film "The Passion of the Christ." I wept along with most everyone in the theatre as I watched a much more true to life depiction of Jesus' suffering and death. As we were leaving the theatre, I noticed a member of our church - a 92 year-old retired physician who walked with two canes - make his way to a seat in the lobby and begin sobbing loudly. Several of us walked over to him. No one said anything for a few moments. The doctor struggled to regain enough composure to speak. When he finally did, he cried out through his tears, "That was for me!"
How long has it been since the reality of God's grace and forgiveness reduced you to tears? When was the last time you wept over your sin and what it cost the Lord Jesus? For most of us it has been way too long.
I encourage you to get caught up - again, as if for the first time - in the awe and wonder of the fact that the only begotten Son of God would give His life for you.
Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life... my all.
Alan Riley
Theologians have a fancy phrase for it... they call it "Substitutionary Atonement." What it means in plain English is that Jesus died on the cross paying the penalty for sin. From the beginning of the church, there has been a clear understanding of what Christ's death on the cross meant. It was not simply the unjust murder of an influential if somewhat unorthodox Jewish teacher on a Passover weekend. It was the only begotten Son of God willingly giving up His life to pay the price for sin. Your sin. My sin.
But for any truth to be a life-changing one, we must come to the place where it moves from being simple fact to being a truth that we embrace with our entire being. It is one thing to know that Jesus died for you, but another thing altogether for the full weight of that truth to become painfully clear to you. Someone once said this process involves making the 18-inch journey from your head to your heart.
I remember when I was 17 years old and a brand new Christian, so excited about my new-found faith. It was the Easter season, so the old movie "King of Kings" was on TV. When the movie showed the crucifixion, I was deeply moved as I saw Him beaten and mocked. As Jesus said, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do," tears began to roll down my face. How could they have done this to Jesus? Why would they want to crucify Him? Why didn't He call down angels to destroy them all and save Him?
It was then for the first time in my walk with the Lord I clearly sensed the Holy Spirit speak to my heart, as clearly as if I had heard it audibly. Just five simple words that pieced my heart like a knife: "I did this for you."
For the first time the full weight of that truth hit me like a ton of bricks. It was my sin that put Him there. He suffered and He died in my place. He did that for me.
Many years later I was reminded of that experience again, as I saw someone else experience the same thing. We went with a group from church to see the film "The Passion of the Christ." I wept along with most everyone in the theatre as I watched a much more true to life depiction of Jesus' suffering and death. As we were leaving the theatre, I noticed a member of our church - a 92 year-old retired physician who walked with two canes - make his way to a seat in the lobby and begin sobbing loudly. Several of us walked over to him. No one said anything for a few moments. The doctor struggled to regain enough composure to speak. When he finally did, he cried out through his tears, "That was for me!"
How long has it been since the reality of God's grace and forgiveness reduced you to tears? When was the last time you wept over your sin and what it cost the Lord Jesus? For most of us it has been way too long.
I encourage you to get caught up - again, as if for the first time - in the awe and wonder of the fact that the only begotten Son of God would give His life for you.
Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life... my all.
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