Tag: Food For Growth

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Come Together

15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. ~ Luke 2:15–16

They said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see…” They were all in agreement, for the Scriptures stated that they said to one another. It was not just one zealot bullying everyone else to go. They were in total agreement.

They were not arguing or quarreling amongst themselves on what to do with the sheep? They felt it was their God-given responsibility and their God-given right to do so.

Often times we get so caught up with the little inconsistencies in our beliefs that we can’t come together as one body in Christ Jesus. We can’t come together as one Church body able to act as one being led by the Holy Spirit if we allow simple things to separate us and cause division.

This Christmas, try to become one with your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus. It was as the shepherds were on that the angel brought them good news and great joy. It was as the followers of Christ were one in the upper room that the Holy Spirit came down with great power. What will happen this Christmas if we all come together as one in Spirit and in Truth.

Place. Love. Go Forth and Come Together.

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Go and Tell

10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” ~ Luke 2:10-12

This is the very first Christmas. The long-awaited promise has finally come. The prophecy has finally been fulfilled. Joy should now fill every heart. A song should fill every mouth, for the LORD is come. Oh, come, let us adore Him. Oh, come, let us celebrate His coming. For He comes to seek and to save that which was lost. Praise the LORD.

The angel was, in fact, telling the shepherds, you need to go to Bethlehem and see this thing. This is the event you all have been waiting for your entire lives, and your parents before you, and their parents before them.

In other words, come and see. That is our Christmas mandate. Come and See; Go and Tell. It’s our Christmas mandate, and more than half of Christians do not know it even exists or can not recognize it. Maybe that is the reason why more and more Christians are falling down on their God-given responsibility of “Go and Tell.” They simply don’t know about it or are under the impression that it is not their personal responsibility.

According to Christ, it’s our responsibility. This is our call. This is our Don’tCommission. We are to tell the good news to anyone who will listen. Don’t wait any longer. Go and tell the good news. Christ has come. Hope is here. Salvation has been purchased for all of mankind. Don’t wait any longer. Don’t miss your opportunity. Don’t miss your Christmas mandate.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Go and Tell.

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Love Recklessly

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. ~ 1 Corinthians 13:4–8

At Christmas time, there are community outreaches to get involved in that will give you the opportunity to give back. Why is this so important? Because the body of Christ builds up, not tears down. The body of Christ unites; it does not divide. The body of Christ encourages it does not discourage. Because we operate in love, and love always protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres.

And when would be a better time to start reaching out to others and bettering your community than Christmas? Because Christmas is a time for helping those in our community who are in need. Churches are filled with those who don’t have enough. They barely make ends meet.

I understand that there are scam artists out there. But even if we’re scammed 9 out 10 times, we’ve still helped the one. Isn’t that the point of leaving the 99? Isn’t that the beautiful, self-sacrificing, reckless love that saved us? If we could all love as Christ does, the world would be a much better place.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Love Recklessly.

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Proclaim the Good News

4 We must work the works of Him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. ~ John 9:4-5

Jesus said that He and His disciples had to work the works of Him who sent Him. We, too, must work the works of Jesus, for the night is coming. The times are evil, and no one listens to our message anymore.

Christians no longer believe that the Great Commission is for them but for the Pastor alone. We only have a short time on this earth to achieve the maximum produce. And if so, we had better start working and doing what Jesus told us to do.

Go ye into all the world and proclaim the Good News.

This Christmas, let us proclaim to every tribe and every nation starting with our own. Let us win souls for the LORD.

Heavenly Father, thank You that You allow us to be a part of what You are doing. Help us to be bold in proclaiming the Good News. Open the spiritual eyes of those who are not serving You, and call them to Yourself. In Jesus Name, amen.

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Raise the Bar

17 Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, 18 and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty. ~ 2 Corinthians 6:17–18

We are no longer to mimic the things of this world or to participate in them. What am I talking about? I’m talking about being a Christian. Living a life of holiness. Not making excuses about Jesus is the only Holy One. Or Jesus is the only one who is good. Or no one is perfect except for Jesus.

No! We Strive for Holiness. We might not achieve it, but it’s not for the lack of trying. We ought not to accept anything less. Strive for perfection. Strive for holiness and stop the excuses. God said we are to be holy just like He is holy.

If we set the bar just to accept salvation, what happens if you miss it? You’d miss salvation altogether. You’d be condemned to Hell for all eternity separated from God Almighty. But if you set the bar at perfection and you miss that perfection, you’ll still land among righteousness. You can never aim too high for God to help you to reach.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Raise the Bar.

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Listen to His Holy Spirit

15 Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, 16 but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness. ~ 2 Peter 2:15–16

If we know for sure that God does not approve of a certain lifestyle or a certain habit, then we forsake that lifestyle and correct the course. We only need to pray about things that are not so clear-cut, things that are ambiguous. In days of antiquity, they cast lots to determine the will of God. Even the eleven apostles cast lots to determine who would take Judas’ place in Acts chapter 1.

But ten days later, in Acts chapter 2, the Holy Spirit came, and we never heard about casting lots to determine God’s will after that. Why? Because they received the Holy Spirit. God spoke directly to them, and nothing has changed for us today. God still speaks directly to us through His Holy Spirit.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Listen to His Holy Spirit.

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Follow the Word

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. ~ Romans 12:1–2

We must listen to and evaluate what is being said, or what is being taught, or what is being propagated. Then we are to test it. In other words, we are to compare it with the Word of God. If, for whatever reason, it does not line up or match up with God’s word, if we don’t have full and complete congruency, then we are to throw it out. Dismiss it completely as false and misleading. We are to drop it like a hot potato.

When it is not a blatant contradiction of the Word of God and a little more in-depth analysis is needed, then that is where prayer comes in.

If God’s word says, ‘Do Not Do It!’ then there is no need to pray about it. That is what Balaam did in Numbers chapter 22-24. Although he knew God’s good and perfect will, he was enticed by the lure of wealth and profit. Don’t succumb to Balaam’s error. Don’t allow the world to lure you away from the straight and narrow by its beguiling, poisoned fruit. Let the Word of God lead you on your journey, not the world.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Follow the Word.

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Watchmen Where Are You?

17 Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel, and he saw the company of Jehu as he came and said, “I see a company.” And Joram said, “Take a horseman and send to meet them, and let him say, ‘Is it peace?’ ” 18 So a man on horseback went to meet him and said, “Thus says the king, ‘Is it peace?’ ” And Jehu said, “What do you have to do with peace? Turn around and ride behind me.” And the watchman reported, saying, “The messenger reached them, but he is not coming back.” 19 Then he sent out a second horseman, who came to them and said, “Thus the king has said, ‘Is it peace?’ ” And Jehu answered, “What do you have to do with peace? Turn around and ride behind me.” 20 Again the watchman reported, “He reached them, but he is not coming back. And the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi, for he drives furiously.” ~ 2 Kings 9:17–20

The Hebrew word (ṣā·p̄ā(h)), translated watchman, means:
keep watch, be a lookout,
i.e., intently watch a situation using primarily the eye-gate, but possibly also using other senses, implying a future hope or expectation.

Jesus told us to watch and pray. By this, He made the Christians watchmen on the wall, so to speak. We are to announce good, and we are to announce bad. We are to announce friends, and we are to announce enemies. We are to announce peace, and we are to announce war.

It is our responsibility to protect the flock from potential dangers and warn of surprise attacks from the enemy. Therefore, it is our job to keep watch and to warn the body of Christ of impending dangers and threats.

We are to watch for approaching friends and let our fellow Christians know they are friends. We are likewise to watch for approaching enemies and sound the alarm that an enemy is approaching.

Not only this, but it is the watchman’s responsibility to warn the people on behalf of God when they are straying or falling away from His impending judgment. We are to warn them to turn from their wicked or their compromising ways and return to God.

It is a serious and crucial responsibility that we have and one we should not take lightly. Therefore, blow the trumpet and sound the alarm; danger and enemies disguised as friends are all around us. Warn the people of God, watchmen.

Father, give Your watchmen wisdom and understanding to recognize enemies from friends, danger from peace, and the prudence to act accordingly. Grant us boldness and confidence to warn, advise, and caution the body of Christ. Bless Your people LORD and watch over them as they climb the mountains and cross the valleys. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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Don’t Stay Complacent

8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death. ~ Revelation 21:8

Many believe that sin really only includes sexual immorality, murder, idolatry, or things like these. Often times we overlook the fact that Jesus said that the cowardly (those who are fearful), the faithless (those who do not believe), and the sorcerers (those who are into witchcraft) all have their portion in the Lake of Fire (Hell). So many times, we get caught up resettling the settled that we can’t move into the deeper things of Scripture. We get caught up in rebuilding and rebuilding the foundation that we can never grow spiritually as Christians. Why is that?

If the Devil can keep us locked in at the entry-level of Salvation, then his war isn’t against strong men and women of God; it’s against babies in the faith. Sin has become the dominant force in our society today because we have become so stuck on the basics we aren’t growing in our faith. We aren’t getting spiritually stronger. We aren’t getting spiritually wiser; instead, we’re staying complacent in our own ignorance, unable to mature in the Spirit.

Don’t let settled foundational beliefs hold you back in your faith. Build your foundation, then build on top of that. Seek more, and you will receive more.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Stay Complacent.

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Fear the Holy One

10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. ~ Proverbs 9:10

The fear of the LORD is not the kind of horror you feel at the sight of a mob of vicious men walking toward you and your family bent on total destruction and annihilation. Instead, it is the fear of the LORD, mixed with love and reverence, that keeps you from sinning because you know that His judgments are true, yet His mercies are renewed every day.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Fear the Holy One.

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