Finding Hope in a Troubled World


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Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglica...
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Be Encouraged: Jesus Is Coming!

We sometimes wonder where God is during the storms of life, in all the troubles of the world. Where is God? Why doesn’t He stop the evil? The Bible assures us that God will abolish evil when Christ returns. Someday He will come with shouts of acclamation, and there will be a joyous reunion of all those who have trusted in Him.

Jesus did not tell us when He is coming back. He said we were not to speculate. “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Matthew 24:36). The sixth chapter of Revelation gives a strikingly detailed portrait of the end times, but no one knows when these things will occur except the Father in heaven.

May The Good Lord Save Nigeria And Israel From All Our Enemies And Prosper Us Beyond Our Imaginations, In Jesus Christ Mighty Name We Pray, Amen!

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How Holy Communion Connects Us to God’s World


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The Power Of Communion
by Pastor Dony McGuire & Dr. Paul Graden

Last   month, Dr. Paul Graden brought us a wonderful teaching at our Sunday Worship   Celebration on the concepts and power of communion. He shared a somewhat lost   principle of the early church, in that they shared communion daily, often   multiple times a day, in their homes with those who were coming into   “the faith” as well as those who were already in “the faith.” I’ve   taken some of his teachings and broken them down in an attempt to awaken us   to some fresh realities about this all-important ordinance of our faith.

 

In that   time, communion typically took place prior to a meal and was preceded by a   “blessing,” much like Jesus blessed the bread before He broke it at   the Last Supper. The apostles devoted themselves to this (Acts 2:42). They   did this daily in homes (Acts 2:46). We see the Apostle Paul practicing this   also (Acts 20:11).

 

It wasn’t   until Rome took over the church in 313 AD that communion was restricted to   the church and the requirement for a priest to administer it started.   Interestingly enough, they allowed the “blessing” to remain at   home, which we now call “grace.” Before Rome banned communion at   home, there were hardly any records of sick or infirmed people in the church.   The only reason a “Christian” suffered illness was because they did   not understand what communion was really about. This is clearly   recorded in 1 Cor 11:28-32.

 

The church   had been instructed to walk in love (1 Cor 13), but they had failed to repent   to one another. Thus, some were receiving communion in an unworthy manner.   The result was that many were weak and sick, and many died. All because they   did not discern the Lord’s Body! The Corinthians missed Paul’s point. We can   learn from their misjudgment and heed Paul’s advice by understanding what   communion is about and starting off by judging ourselves first, bringing our   failings to God, repenting, receiving forgiveness and moving forward.

 

Communion   is paralleled with the Israelites preparation for the Exodus. They   slaughtered a lamb and its blood was applied to the doorpost to protect the   firstborn son from death. This was a typology of Jesus’ blood that would protect   us from death, as He promised us eternal life if we partake of communion   (John 6:53-54). Then the Israelites were instructed to eat the flesh of the   lamb. The next morning, millions of them left Egypt and not a single one of   them were sick or feeble! They continued taking communion daily by eating of   the “manna” (bread) that was supernaturally provided by God.

 

Similarly,   Jesus instructs us to eat of His flesh and drink His blood (John 6:53-54). In   verse 56, Jesus promises that, when we do this, we will continually dwell in   Him. Luke described the promise a little differently by describing our   dwelling in Him as having our spiritual eyes opened (Luke 24:30-35).

 

We should   keep in mind that communion is not a “magic pill”; it must be   combined with faith (Hebrews 11:6). It is a symbol of God’s covenant with us.

 

God’s   grace is allowing us this glimpse “under the hood” through the   science of quantum physics. Quantum physics has been called the “Science   of Heaven Invading Earth.” The best part is that God’s grace is   communicating this complex message in terms that we all can understand.   Quantum physicists have discovered so much information that relates to   this–too much to briefly share here. But here are a couple of things to chew   on:

 

1. Our DNA   produces Bio-Photons, which they describe as a ball of light inside of us and   an aura of light particles outside of us. They are controlled by our thoughts   and emotions and have the ability to change our molecular structure. So, when   we partake of communion, we ingest the bread and juice. Our bodies begin to   absorb the elements into our cells and bloodstream. In faith, we believe that   the bread and juice become the blood and the body of our Lord Jesus Christ   when we partake of these elements. If we can wrap our minds around our faith,   then we have to take this a step further and realize this also introduces the   very DNA of God into our bodies and changes our DNA to His. When this   happens, diseases are healed and wholeness comes. So we should do this daily,   and/or as often as we will, and mix it with our faith.

 

2.   Scientists tell us that we literally phase in and out of this physical world   3,500 times per minute. Where are we when we phase out? Ephesians 2:6 tells   us that we are seated with Christ in heavenly places. Imagine the simple act   of taking communion “by faith” opening our spiritual eyes and allowing us to   become aware that we live in heaven and earth simultaneously! Then we will   see and hear God clearly and wonderfully. Then we will do as Jesus did and only   say what the Father says and do what we see the Father doing (John 5:19).

 

Yes, I   understand how complex these thoughts might seem in context to the way some   of us were raised, and I also understand many of us were led to believe   quantum physicists and scientists were on the opposite side of the spectrum   when it comes to the separation of the church and the world. But many of   today’s quantum physicists and scientists are believers also and are looking   for answers as to why many in the church seem to be powerless, sick and   diseased.

 

We can   accept the words of Jesus “by faith” and believe that when we partake of the   elements of communion “by faith,” then we’re ingesting His flesh and His   blood into our bodies. I also believe it’s within our ability to comprehend   this and then understand because He is God’s Son, we become partakers of the   DNA of His Father who is also our Father!!!

WOW!!!

 

For that   reason, I am asking that our church family enter into a season of taking   communion daily. Believing that when we do this by faith, we are becoming   partakers of the very life of God. No sickness or disease can exist where the   life of God exists. It’s our opportunity to step into a new realm of   understanding knowing that God the Father is not afraid to share His very   life with all of His children.

 

I am so   thankful for the grace of God allowing me to partake of His supernatural   Kingdom today and effect the world around me in a powerful way for Jesus. My   prayer is that you will join me and we will build a unified church as we   truly become the Body of Christ.

 

 

May Our God The Almighty prosper Nigeria and Israel and defend us from all our enemies in Jesus Christ Name, Amen!

 

Matthew_18-20: For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them
Matthew_18-20: For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them
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Hope for the World: Jesus Is Coming


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Be Encouraged: Jesus Is Coming!

We sometimes wonder where God is during the storms of life, in all the troubles of the world. Where is God? Why doesn’t He stop the evil? The Bible assures us that God will abolish evil when Christ returns. Someday He will come with shouts of acclamation, and there will be a joyous reunion of all those who have trusted in Him.

Jesus did not tell us when He is coming back. He said we were not to speculate. “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Matthew 24:36). The sixth chapter of Revelation gives a strikingly detailed portrait of the end times, but no one knows when these things will occur except the Father in heaven.

May The Good Lord Save Nigeria And Israel From All Our Enemies And Prosper Us Beyond Our Imaginations, In Jesus Christ Mighty Name We Pray, Amen!

John_5-28: Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
John_5-28: Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
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The Resurrection of Christ: Hope for All the World


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Resurrection of Christ

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed

John 20:29, NIV

 

The Grave Clothes

 

Upon hearing the news of the empty tomb, Peter and John ran to see for themselves. Peter confronted the evidence, but he was confused. At that instant, he must have been angrier than ever. He must have surmised that the enemies of Jesus who had dared to crucify Him, had now taken the body for who knew what purpose!

John quietly looked around. He noticed that the grave clothes were totally unlike those of Lazarus, which had been just a pile of stinking rags by the time Martha had finished unwrapping him. These grave clothes were lying, not as though someone had removed them from the body, but as though the body were still inside! The face cloth was situated where the face would have been, with the few inches of the neck separating it from the rest of the shroud. As he studied the evidence, it must have gradually dawned on him that the grave clothes looked like an empty cocoon! They looked as though the body had just evaporated up through them! Then John knew! (John 20:8). The body hadn’t evaporated. Jesus had risen from the dead!

Blessings

May the LORD bless Nigeria, American and Israel and take care of us; May the LORD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the Lord lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

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The Heartbeat of Jesus


4 days of Evangelism Training in Southern Cali...

The Heartbeat of Jesus

Father, I want those you have given me to . . . see . . . the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

John 17:24, NIV

Before the foundation of the world was laid, God, in His divine sovereignty, planned to send His own Son to the cross to be our Saviour. Before the beginning of time and space and human history, He took counsel with Himself and decided to bring us into existence, knowing full well that we would rebel against Him and become separated from Him by our sin. So He made preparations for our redemption-preparations that were finished once and for all time at the cross.

The heartbeat of Jesus was to finish His Father’s plan and, in so doing, bring glory to God. In other words, through His own death on the cross, Jesus would reveal the love of God in such a way that people throughout the ages would praise Him and love Him and lay down their lives before Him. So He embraced the cross and all that it meant.

Blessings

May the LORD bless Nigeria, American and Israel and take care of us; May the LORD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the Lord lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

Christ The Solid Foundation


4 days of Evangelism Training in Southern Cali...

4 days of Evangelism Training in Southern California provided by LivingWaters Ministry. Obeying the great commission of Jesus Christ. "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to everyone" Mark 16:15 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Christ The Solid Foundation

Are you a wise builder for the Kingdom?

1 Corinthians 3:11 “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

Jesus is the foundation of the building, and we are to build on His foundation. We need to take heed of how and with what we build, because on The Day, it will be judged by fire. If we build wisely, it will remain, but if not it will be consumed by fire and it will show as works of the flesh and not of God. Are you a wise builder for the Kingdom? Read 1 Cor 3:5-17

May the LORD bless Nigeria, American and Israel and take care of us; May the LORD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the Lord lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

Jesus Is Knocking


Jesus is considered by scholars such as Weber ...

Jesus is considered by scholars such as Weber to be an example of a charismatic religious leader. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Jesus Is Knocking! by Ross Rhoads

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20).

T.S. Elliott wrote that “hollow men” are those who hear the call and refuse to heed it. The Lord of the church is seeking to enter His church. He presents them with the choice, “Open up or shut me out.”

And the consequences are clear. Jesus says, “I love you, rebuke and chasten you. Be zealous and repent” (cf. Revelation 3:19). Open the door now! Each of us has something we would not like the Lord to identify in our lives, but there is no barrier that His eyes cannot see. What is behind your closed door?

Jesus knows why there is no response to His knocking. Spoiled by their prosperity, believers are complacent and content. They feel they “have need for nothing.” Jesus says they are “wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked” (Revelation 3:17). Too much of everything resulted in the loss of the Lord’s presence and fellowship. Could that be true of us today?

C.S. Lewis wrote, “There are only two kinds of people in the end: Those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘thy will be done.'”

Prayer

Lord, we know that apart from You, we are nothing. Open our eyes to any door we have closed to Your Spirit, and help us to see our need for the Saviour every day. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

May the LORD bless Nigeria, American and Israel and take care of us; May the LORD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the Lord lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

As we abide in Christ Jesus and allow His Word to reveal to us His will


Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglica...

Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglican Church http://www.stjohnsashfield.org.au, Ashfield, New South Wales. Illustrates Jesus' description of himself "I am the Good Shepherd" (from the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 11). This version of the image shows the detail of his face. The memorial window is also captioned: "To the Glory of God and in Loving Memory of William Wright. Died 6th November, 1932. Aged 70 Yrs." (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As we abide in Christ Jesus and allow His Word to reveal to us His will

John 15:7 says: “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” As we abide in Jesus and allow His Word to reveal to us His will, then we have a foundation of faith. Our faith is not in what we presume, not in what we see, and not in religious practice, but it is in the Word of God. As we stay in Christ and let His Word dwell in us, then His Word fills us with faith. His Word is a revelation of His will; therefore, whatever we ask according to His Word we receive of the Father. Jesus gives us two great secrets to answered prayer.

First, we must be born again, and through Christ Jesus we are.

Second, we must let His Word reveal to us God’s will and fill us with faith. Then when we act on it and ask based on the Word, God gives it and performs it.

Have faith and ask!

May the LORD bless Nigeria, American and Israel and take care of us; May the LORD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the Lord lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

Jesus is with you


Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglica...

Jesus is with You

Matthew 9:24 says: “He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed Him to scorn.”

Are you like the people around Jesus in this story? He was entering the home of Jairus, a desperate man whose daughter had just died. There was no hope in man in this situation, but Jairus hoped in God. His family was helpless, and they were at the end of what they could do when Jesus said, “Give place, for she’s not dead.” In other words, “Give place; it’s not hopeless. Give place, for I am here. Give place; nothing is impossible if you believe Me.”

Often we think that our circumstance is beyond hope. We find it hard to see how Jesus could take the worst-case scenario and make it new. But Jesus is the master of rebuilding, the master of recreating, the master of healing, the master of repair, and the master of new beginnings. Wherever you are today, no matter what you are going through, lift up your eyes because your redemption does not come from man, and it does not come from you, but it comes from Jesus Christ.

He is there with you now!

May the LORD bless Nigeria, American and Israel and take care of us; May the LORD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the Lord lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. even so, Amen


Česky: Kříže - symbol utrpení Ježíše Krista a ...

Česky: Kříže - symbol utrpení Ježíše Krista a jeho ukřižování (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglica...

Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced
Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
-Revelation 1:7

I love sunrises and sunsets. When I behold the magnificent spectrum of colours spreading
across the sky, it is a feast for my eyes that warms my heart. Yet, with each sunrise
or sunset, I cannot help but wonder what it will look like when Christ returns.

Revelation says that, “Every eye will see Him.” That means everyone. Everyone! I
know on that day I will be rejoicing because Christ has returned, but I also have
a feeling that my heart will ache for some people I didn’t get to know better.
The neighbor I was too scared to talk with about Jesus. The one I was afraid would
laugh at me for my faith.

I won’t sugarcoat it – doing the work that Jesus has called us to can be hard at
times. You open yourself up to criticism and ridicule. And that only grows when
you say “yes” to full-time ministry because, when times are tough, you take public
blows from a crowded field of second guessers. Yet, what drives me each morning
to continue to do God‘s work is picturing the look on my neighbor’s face when Christ
returns, a look that says, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Perhaps you never thought you could be God’s instrument of change in someone else’s
life. Oh, how wrong you are. Today, you can choose be the ambulance driver that
brings someone you know to the Master Physician, God Almighty.

PRAYER:

Lord Jesus, show me the person You want me to introduce to You today. In Jesus’
name, I pray. Amen.

Name loved ones and acquaintances who need to know more about Jesus. How will you
model for them the love of Christ today?

May the LORD bless Nigeria, American and Israel and take care of us; May the LORD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the Lord lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!