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Many Benefits
Hebrews 4
This epistle was written to wavering Jewish believers, encouraging them to stand fast in their faith. Hebrews chapter 4 carries on the declaration of the superiority of Christ Jesus’ ministry. The writer states that entering into the Sabbath rest means to accept God’s plan for us to cease from our own efforts for salvation. Man wants to add to the plan of salvation and thereby go against God’s provision, sometimes in willful disobedience. The author of Hebrews encourages us to not make the same mistake by rejecting God’s Sabbath rest in Jesus Christ.
“There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience” Hebrews 4:10-11
Just as God rested from His work of creation, the one who trusts in Christ rests in what God has done for him. Here are just a few of the many benefits we have as believers in Christ and every one of these statements is true:
• I am loved. 1 John 3:3
• I am a child of God. John 1:12
• I am redeemed and forgiven. Colossians 1:14
• I am a new creation because I am in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17
• I do not have a spirit of fear, but of love, power, and a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7
• I have direct access to God. Ephesians 2:18
• I am chosen to bear fruit. John 15:16
• I have been given exceedingly great and precious promises by God by which I share His nature. 2 Peter 1:4
• I can always know the presence of God because He never leaves me. Hebrews 13:5
• God works in me to help me do the things He wants me to do. Philippians 2:13
• I can ask God for wisdom and He will give me what I need. James 1:5
Let us enter into God’s rest, and in our daily life begin to learn a dependence upon the Holy Spirit’s help. We are confident as believers of two great provisions in our faith:
1. The Word of God, which reveals whether a person is living a spiritual life.
2. The ministry of Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, is able to bring us into immediate fellowship with God.
Praise His Name, for He is ever interceding on our behalf.
Pastor Kim
Next Reading: Hos. 13-14; Ps 100,102; Heb 5
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Hosea 6-9; Hebrews 3
Hebrews 3:15 " Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion."
What an amazing blessing it is to know that we have the opportunity to HEAR the VOICE of GOD. Throughout my walk with Jesus I've had the amazing opportunity of hearing His voice on multiple occasions. How... you may ask,... have you heard the voice of God? Well, I'm glad you asked. ;) Once I heard Him speak to me with an audible voice. Most of the time I hear Him speak to me through His written word. Other times there is an inner voice and I even hear Him speak to me through others who are speaking on His behalf. There are so many ways that the Lord communicates with us. He is an excellent communicator, but sometimes we aren't very good listeners. We are not positioned to hear him.
I believe the greatest hindrance to listening to His voice is sin, especially the sin of unbelief. Some people don't believe there is a God, let alone one who is speaking today. Sin hardens their hearts, blinds their eyes and plugs their ears. Fortunately the Holy Spirit continues to convict of sin and soften hearts. If you turn from your sin and turn towards God you will hear Him, loud and clear. When you hear His voice, don't rebel, and don't let anything drown out what you've heard. Hold on tight to what you've heard and follow His instructions. He will lead you places you've only dreamed of.
Are you positioned to hear His voice? If not, I encourage you to position yourself, because He is speaking today!
Following Jesus Christ,
Pastor Juan
Next Reading: Hosea 10-12; Psalm 73; Hebrews 4
What an amazing blessing it is to know that we have the opportunity to HEAR the VOICE of GOD. Throughout my walk with Jesus I've had the amazing opportunity of hearing His voice on multiple occasions. How... you may ask,... have you heard the voice of God? Well, I'm glad you asked. ;) Once I heard Him speak to me with an audible voice. Most of the time I hear Him speak to me through His written word. Other times there is an inner voice and I even hear Him speak to me through others who are speaking on His behalf. There are so many ways that the Lord communicates with us. He is an excellent communicator, but sometimes we aren't very good listeners. We are not positioned to hear him.
I believe the greatest hindrance to listening to His voice is sin, especially the sin of unbelief. Some people don't believe there is a God, let alone one who is speaking today. Sin hardens their hearts, blinds their eyes and plugs their ears. Fortunately the Holy Spirit continues to convict of sin and soften hearts. If you turn from your sin and turn towards God you will hear Him, loud and clear. When you hear His voice, don't rebel, and don't let anything drown out what you've heard. Hold on tight to what you've heard and follow His instructions. He will lead you places you've only dreamed of.
Are you positioned to hear His voice? If not, I encourage you to position yourself, because He is speaking today!
Following Jesus Christ,
Pastor Juan
Next Reading: Hosea 10-12; Psalm 73; Hebrews 4
Monday, July 5, 2010
Today's Reading: Hosea 2-5; Hebrews 2
Today’s Reading: Hosea 2-5; Hebrews 2
“Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.” Hebrews 2:1
Hebrews was written for the Jews who had received Jesus as their Messiah. They had not been solid enough in their faith so they were in danger of slipping back in to the traditions of Judaism. The book of Hebrews also appeals to the Greek mind since they saw everything on earth as the shadows cast by what was real. They were always searching for reality. The Jews, on the other hand, were searching for a way to approach God because historically there was a sense of being so unholy as not to be able to approach Him. The book of Hebrews presents Jesus as that approach to God. Chapter 2 deals with the ‘humanity of Christ’. Do not go back to your old life, to the law, that’s no way to live. Isn’t it amazing how often people will go back to their ‘comfort zone’ even after being delivered from bondages and sin? Even the Israelites complained about manna and reminisced about Egypt, the place of bondage. Galatians 5:1 says, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” And in 2 Peter 2:20 “For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.” How much harder it is to come back out of bondage once we have tasted of the liberty we have in Christ? “Lest we drift away…” We must give heed to the things we read in the Word and the things taught from godly teachers so that we do not lose heart and seek the common life. “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” John 8:36
Next Reading: Hosea 6-9; Hebrews 3
“Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.” Hebrews 2:1
Hebrews was written for the Jews who had received Jesus as their Messiah. They had not been solid enough in their faith so they were in danger of slipping back in to the traditions of Judaism. The book of Hebrews also appeals to the Greek mind since they saw everything on earth as the shadows cast by what was real. They were always searching for reality. The Jews, on the other hand, were searching for a way to approach God because historically there was a sense of being so unholy as not to be able to approach Him. The book of Hebrews presents Jesus as that approach to God. Chapter 2 deals with the ‘humanity of Christ’. Do not go back to your old life, to the law, that’s no way to live. Isn’t it amazing how often people will go back to their ‘comfort zone’ even after being delivered from bondages and sin? Even the Israelites complained about manna and reminisced about Egypt, the place of bondage. Galatians 5:1 says, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” And in 2 Peter 2:20 “For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.” How much harder it is to come back out of bondage once we have tasted of the liberty we have in Christ? “Lest we drift away…” We must give heed to the things we read in the Word and the things taught from godly teachers so that we do not lose heart and seek the common life. “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” John 8:36
Next Reading: Hosea 6-9; Hebrews 3
Sunday, July 4, 2010
2 kings 15’16; Hos 1; Heb 1;
Heb 1:1-2
In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.
The writer of Hebrew declares that in times past God spoke to us through profits such as Moses or Isaiah, Elijah, Hosa prophets who spoke at various times in various ways. But, now God speaks to us through His Son Jesus. God will still at times speak to us directly or by the Holy Spirit. The nice part is we have the very words of His Son to check out those times when we believe we hear Him directly or through a prophet. We have the very words of the Son of the living God to read and inspect and learn from every day. So we can in fact know His will, His direction, His desire for us. We even know the end of the world and what will happen in the last days. It is always interesting to me that we will sometimes desire more the personal prophecy than the word of God that is clear and we know for sure where it came from. We have the very words of “his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe”. Yet we seek the words of others and do not have time to read Gods word. I am so glad we can do this reading through the word of God together and I even get to write this blog and share my thoughts. Just think we read THE WORD OF THE LIVING GOD TOGEATHER. What greater privilege could we have but maybe having fellowship with that living God every day. “O” I forgot we have that to.
May God richly bless you and keep you in His word and in His fellowship as you seek Him daily.
Pastor Jack
Next reading Hos 2-5; Heb 2;
In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.
The writer of Hebrew declares that in times past God spoke to us through profits such as Moses or Isaiah, Elijah, Hosa prophets who spoke at various times in various ways. But, now God speaks to us through His Son Jesus. God will still at times speak to us directly or by the Holy Spirit. The nice part is we have the very words of His Son to check out those times when we believe we hear Him directly or through a prophet. We have the very words of the Son of the living God to read and inspect and learn from every day. So we can in fact know His will, His direction, His desire for us. We even know the end of the world and what will happen in the last days. It is always interesting to me that we will sometimes desire more the personal prophecy than the word of God that is clear and we know for sure where it came from. We have the very words of “his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe”. Yet we seek the words of others and do not have time to read Gods word. I am so glad we can do this reading through the word of God together and I even get to write this blog and share my thoughts. Just think we read THE WORD OF THE LIVING GOD TOGEATHER. What greater privilege could we have but maybe having fellowship with that living God every day. “O” I forgot we have that to.
May God richly bless you and keep you in His word and in His fellowship as you seek Him daily.
Pastor Jack
Next reading Hos 2-5; Heb 2;
Saturday, July 3, 2010
1 Chron. 7:14
2 Chronicles 7:14 “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
God’s remedy for a broken world is not complicated, has always worked in the past and can be counted on to work in the future. The prerequisite is a sick land. I think America qualifies for that. We are broken economically with nearly 10% unemployment, people losing their homes by the millions and life time savings disappearing. We are broken socially with families falling apart at record rates, kids raising themselves, marriages having less than 50% chance of success,. We are broken morally with teenage pregnancy through the roof the acceptance of homosexuality as an alternative to one man and one woman, and web pages that will connect you with another married person so you can commit adultery anonymously for a fee and the murder of unborn babies still hovering around a million and a half a year. Is our land sick? Without an infusion of the blood of Jesus Christ we are terminal.
The prescription starts with his people. The people of the world have no chance of healing the bleeding. Certainly the politicians are powerless to make the change because the change that’s needed is the change of the individual heart. So it starts with His people humbling themselves to pray. Why humility is so important is because pride keeps us from praying. As long as we think we can pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps we will never really get on our knees. Notice that forgiveness is so connected to the healing of our land. In a world that doesn’t even see sin as sin how is that going to happen? The answer is the Holy Spirit convicting the world of sin as a response to the repentance of God’s people repenting. It must start with us and when most of us take the remedy God will heal the land.
Pastor Rick
God’s remedy for a broken world is not complicated, has always worked in the past and can be counted on to work in the future. The prerequisite is a sick land. I think America qualifies for that. We are broken economically with nearly 10% unemployment, people losing their homes by the millions and life time savings disappearing. We are broken socially with families falling apart at record rates, kids raising themselves, marriages having less than 50% chance of success,. We are broken morally with teenage pregnancy through the roof the acceptance of homosexuality as an alternative to one man and one woman, and web pages that will connect you with another married person so you can commit adultery anonymously for a fee and the murder of unborn babies still hovering around a million and a half a year. Is our land sick? Without an infusion of the blood of Jesus Christ we are terminal.
The prescription starts with his people. The people of the world have no chance of healing the bleeding. Certainly the politicians are powerless to make the change because the change that’s needed is the change of the individual heart. So it starts with His people humbling themselves to pray. Why humility is so important is because pride keeps us from praying. As long as we think we can pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps we will never really get on our knees. Notice that forgiveness is so connected to the healing of our land. In a world that doesn’t even see sin as sin how is that going to happen? The answer is the Holy Spirit convicting the world of sin as a response to the repentance of God’s people repenting. It must start with us and when most of us take the remedy God will heal the land.
Pastor Rick
Friday, July 2, 2010
Isaiah 4-5; Psalm 115;Jude
"But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases,"
Psalm 115:3
I have been meditating on this verse for over a week. I was super excited when I noticed it was part of our reading today. I shared this verse last week with the kids at kids camp. This verse tells us that God does what pleases Him. That means that when he created you just the way you are, it brought him pleasure. Have you ever asked God, why did you make me with this body? Or, why would God create planets with nothing on them? Well the answer is found in Psalm 115, it brings God pleasure. The black dot in the center of my nose that really irritates me brings the Lord pleasure. All you people who feel like you have to much hair or, not enough. Your hairiness or lack of hair brings God pleasure. Everything about you God loves. Your personality, gifts, talents, or even lack of gifts and talents brings pleasure to the Lord. You can't pick up a magazine or watch television about hearing how something about you needs to change. Today the Lord is reminding you that when he created you it was good and it brought him pleasure. Be confident in the body and mind the Lord created you with. He created you for a purpose and when you function as he designed you I am confident you will find pleasure as well. Don't beleive the lies that you need to do this or do that, and then you'll be confident in who are. Be confident that the Lord doesn't create mistakes and that you are fearfully and wonderfully made. You have been created by the creator of the universe and you bring pleasure to Him. Instead of complaining about how you look or what you lack, rejoice that you reflect the glory of the Lord. You're a creation of a master crafstman, a one of a kind, priceless and worth the sacrifice of God's only Son
Bringing him pleasure,
Pastor Joe
Psalm 115:3
I have been meditating on this verse for over a week. I was super excited when I noticed it was part of our reading today. I shared this verse last week with the kids at kids camp. This verse tells us that God does what pleases Him. That means that when he created you just the way you are, it brought him pleasure. Have you ever asked God, why did you make me with this body? Or, why would God create planets with nothing on them? Well the answer is found in Psalm 115, it brings God pleasure. The black dot in the center of my nose that really irritates me brings the Lord pleasure. All you people who feel like you have to much hair or, not enough. Your hairiness or lack of hair brings God pleasure. Everything about you God loves. Your personality, gifts, talents, or even lack of gifts and talents brings pleasure to the Lord. You can't pick up a magazine or watch television about hearing how something about you needs to change. Today the Lord is reminding you that when he created you it was good and it brought him pleasure. Be confident in the body and mind the Lord created you with. He created you for a purpose and when you function as he designed you I am confident you will find pleasure as well. Don't beleive the lies that you need to do this or do that, and then you'll be confident in who are. Be confident that the Lord doesn't create mistakes and that you are fearfully and wonderfully made. You have been created by the creator of the universe and you bring pleasure to Him. Instead of complaining about how you look or what you lack, rejoice that you reflect the glory of the Lord. You're a creation of a master crafstman, a one of a kind, priceless and worth the sacrifice of God's only Son
Bringing him pleasure,
Pastor Joe
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Isaiah 1-3; Titus 3
As we read through Titus 3 we recognize there is definitely a calling on our lives that becomes very evident once we invite Jesus into our hearts and truly decide to live for Him. “Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.” (Titus 3, 1-3)
At one time we too were foolish, defiant, deceived and confined by our flesh. But when the compassion and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of the righteous things we have done, but because of His grace and mercy. So, now as Christians we need to recognize our inheritance is no longer here. We need to learn to walk submissive and ready to do good, even when others are violent and unjust towards us. While it is a difficult lesson for us because violence and injustice stir up the heart, try to remember that the injustice others are doing is sin, and that we also were formerly its slaves. Remember, grace alone has saved us, and according to that grace we should also show that towards others.
I once heard a great quote that reminds me of the difference of our lives BC (before Christ) and now WC (With Christ)…
“If the Lord awakens the conscience, we shall feel even the smallest sin heavy upon our souls.”
Author – Unknown
Be blessed and have a great day my friends,
Pastor Jason
Next Reading: Isaiah 4-5; Psalms 115; Jude
At one time we too were foolish, defiant, deceived and confined by our flesh. But when the compassion and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of the righteous things we have done, but because of His grace and mercy. So, now as Christians we need to recognize our inheritance is no longer here. We need to learn to walk submissive and ready to do good, even when others are violent and unjust towards us. While it is a difficult lesson for us because violence and injustice stir up the heart, try to remember that the injustice others are doing is sin, and that we also were formerly its slaves. Remember, grace alone has saved us, and according to that grace we should also show that towards others.
I once heard a great quote that reminds me of the difference of our lives BC (before Christ) and now WC (With Christ)…
“If the Lord awakens the conscience, we shall feel even the smallest sin heavy upon our souls.”
Author – Unknown
Be blessed and have a great day my friends,
Pastor Jason
Next Reading: Isaiah 4-5; Psalms 115; Jude
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