Welcome back, brothers and sisters!

Have you ever struggled in your faith, wondering if God is hearing your prayers? I know many people have become frustrated and disenchanted when they prayed repeatedly and vigorously for something only to not see it come to fruition. This has led many to see their growth in faith stall out. They oftentimes feel betrayed or neglected, because their prayers were not answered. I will admit that this used to describe me, as well.

For the longest time, my faith floundered as I became increasingly frustrated with non-response to many prayers I had offered up. You know what the problem really was? It was me. You see, beloved, I tended to submit specific requests to God that did not allow for open ended responses. Sometimes I would offer thanks with my prayers, and other times I would reserve giving thanks until I saw my prayer request fulfilled in exactly the manner I was looking for. You know what I never did? I never listened for the answer to my prayers. That, beloved, was a stumbling block that I just kept falling over.

You see, beloved, our prayers are answered, but we don’t always recognize the answers that God gives us. Why? It’s because we don’t tend to look to God for answers; rather we look to Him to just fulfill the request we offered in prayer in the exact that manner that we initially expected He should fulfill it. There are numerous problems with that, brothers and sisters.

The first problem with that thought process is that a truly loving and caring parent never gives their child everything that they ask for. Why? Well, the parent understands that many of things that their child asks for are not truly what he or she needs, right? In some cases what the child is asking for will actually cause them harm. Beloved, a responsible, caring, and loving parent will always focus on trying to help their child in the most effective and productive way. Why? We ruin our children when we give them everything they want. Conversely, we show genuine love to our children and help them grow and set up a brighter future when we make sure we provide them with what they need. Beloved, God is perfect and greater than us all. He is the greatest Father of all time. Jesus tells us in Matthew chapter 6, verses 25-34 that God knows what we truly need. He also tells us that the Father will see that those needs are met. Whether we need food, love, finances, clothing, housing, encouragement, hope, or a swift kick in the rear end, God will always be faithful in providing for His children. However, we should not be surprised when He does so in a manner that we don’t expect, which brings us to the 2nd problem. Consider the following:

“‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,’ saith the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.’” – Isaiah 55:8-9 (KJV)

That’s pretty straightforward, right? Beloved, His ways are not the same as our ways. Thank the Lord God Almighty for that!!! Historically, our ways led us into a life of sin and separation from the Lord. That’s why God had to send His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to suffer the cross to pay our sin debts. That was the only way our souls could be saved. This is a perfect example of how God’s ways are different than ours. How many of us would have sent our sons/daughters to suffer incredible punishment and death in order to keep the guilty from receiving the consequences of their own misdeeds? Exactly. None of us would have. Beloved, on our own we are weak, impure, and know so very little. However, God is mighty, perfect, and knows all. Given that we know this, we should open ourselves up to readily accepting that His answer to our prayers will be sufficient and perfect no matter what that answer is. In order to do this, however, we need to remove the third problem.

The third problem that keeps us from receiving/recognizing God’s answers to our prayers is that our thanks and trust are misdirected. What do I mean by that? Well, remember earlier in this message when I said that when I was younger I would sometimes give thanks with my prayers, while at other times saving that “thanks” to be given unto God until the moment at which He had done exactly what I had asked? That’s a problem. Another problem is in showing your trust to God only after your prayer request has been fulfilled. You see, beloved, we are supposed to make our prayers known unto God, doing so with faith, supplication, and thanksgiving. That means we don’t wait until delivery to give God glory. Brothers and sisters, we are to glorify, thank and praise God when we pray unto Him. Why? Because we know He is faithful. We know He is just. We know He is our Father in heaven that loves us, His children, with a complete and perfect love that passes all of our understanding. We don’t pray wishing that He will hear us and help us. We pray KNOWING and BELIEVING that He will answer us and that His answer will be perfect, whether it’s the answer we had in mind or not.

Beloved, we are not God’s evaluators!!! We are His children. All throughout human history God has consistently shown us His love and poured out His blessings upon us. His righteousness is true. He is faithful and will never forsake nor abandon us. If we believe this, and we know in our hearts that this is true, then we should be able to pray knowing that He will answer us and see that we have what we need. Praying with the knowledge that the Lord always hears and responds to His children represents praying that strengthens and displays our true faith and trust in Him. This makes for very powerful prayer, brothers and sisters!!! Furthermore, it is entirely appropriate to offer Him thanks every single time we talk to Him. Beloved, He has given us what no one else could, and He did so even though we didn’t deserve anything good from Him. Express your faith while in prayer, and always give Him thanks knowing that He will see that you have what you need.

If you remove these three problems, beloved, do you know what you will find? You will find that God is answering your prayers, time and time again. Why will you find this? You will find this, because by removing those obstacles, you have finally prepared yourself to listen to God’s answer to your prayer. In hindsight, you will see that many of your past “unanswered prayers” were not really unanswered at all. What you will find is that in the past, you just weren’t listening for His answer as a result of focusing only on your own wish. Sometimes the answer He provides is what you had in mind. Many times the answer He provides is not what you had in mind, and sometimes the answer is simply “no”. However, every single time the answer that God provides is exactly what it should be and is exactly the answer that we need. That is God’s promise to you that is stated many different times in many different ways all throughout the Old and New Testaments. If we will only open ourselves up to receive the answers He gives us, then we will recognize the fact that He answers us to a far great degree than we would otherwise imagine.

In summary, beloved, when making your prayer requests to the Lord, be sure to pray from your heart, with full faith that He will answer you. Always give Him thanks, as He is more than deserving of all thanks we can give. Lastly, in the course of doing so, be sure that you “listen” for His response. While we will not have a two-way conversation with Him on our cell phones (No AT&T, Verizon, Cricket tower coverage in heaven), we will “hear” His answer as we see Him move in our lives. At times we will also be blessed to hear that precious, small still voice speaking to our hearts. Beloved, until such time as we enter His kingdom, that small still voice is the most beautiful and comforting voice you will ever hear:-) Also, never forget that by studying His word daily, He will often reveal His answer(s) unto your prayer through Scripture. Don’t wait to believe in the answer to the prayer, beloved. Pray believing in the God that will always hear your prayers, and knowing that He will answer you.

While this world has known many religions, there is only one true God. Likewise, the only way to truly know God is through accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. We can rejoice this day in knowing that the Father and the Son love us and want to care for us. Though at times darkness may seem to be all around us, we need only follow the voice of the Lord in order to come out of the darkness and into His light. However, if we are going to follow His voice in order to come unto Him, we have to be sure we do one thing. LISTEN:-)

God loves you, brothers and sisters, and I love you, too!!! Thank you for taking the time to join us for today’s discussion. I hope you will be able to join us tomorrow.

Have a wonderful rest of the day!

May the Lord bless you, keep you, guide you, and make His face to shine upon you and your loved ones always.

Your brother in Christ,

Rev Jason Thurwanger

Welcome back, brothers and sisters.

There are a great many people in this world who have not accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  While this is troubling and heartbreaking, we know from scripture that the majority of people will not accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  Instead, the majority of people will endure permanent separation from the Lord, as they will spend eternity in the lake of fire being tormented ceaselessly.  In serving the Lord, our mission is to lead as many people to Jesus Christ as possible so that they are saved from such an eternity.   Today I want to focus on discussing just one group within this multitude of people that have not yet come to know Jesus Christ and have not accepted Him as their Lord and Savior.

The group we will discuss today consists of people that refuse to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, because they do not believe they are worthy to receive God’s love and forgiveness.  People within this group hold to a belief that the sins they have committed are either so numerous, or so terrible, that there is no way God could love them and forgive them.  They know they don’t deserve forgiveness of their sins, and they know they don’t deserve to enter heaven when the Lord calls His chosen home.  Let me tell you two things about this group of people.  First, they couldn’t be more right.  Secondly, they couldn’t be more wrong.  Confusing?  I’ll explain.

As we’ve already established this group of people does not believe that they deserve God’s love.  People in this group do not believe that they deserve to be forgiven, and they do not believe that they deserve to be saved so that they can spend eternity with the Lord.  Beloved, that they are completely correct in thinking those things.  I hope you believe the exact same things.  Do you know why I say that?  Brothers and sisters, absolutely none of us deserve God’s love, forgiveness, and to be in the presence of the Lord for all of eternity!!!  This is what makes God’s grace so very amazing:-) 

Beloved, it is only by grace through faith in Jesus Christ that we are cleansed of our sins and that we receive the “gift” of salvation.  Brothers and sisters, we wouldn’t call salvation a “gift” if we paid for it ourselves, right?  If we paid for it ourselves, it would be like any other purchase we make.  Salvation is the one thing that we couldn’t buy ourselves, regardless of any amount of material wealth in this world.  That’s exactly why Jesus Christ assumed the form of a man in this world.  If we could have purchased salvation on our own, then Jesus would have never needed to suffer the cross so that we could be reconciled to God the Father!!!  The apostle Paul wrote of our indequacy to save ourselves while also pointing out how we are able to be saved as follows: 

“And you [hath He quickened], who were dead in trespasses and sins;  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:  Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.  But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)  And hath raised [us] up together, and made [us] sit together in heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus:
That in the ages to come He might shew the exceeding riches of His grace in [His] kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:  Not of works, lest any man should boast.” – Ephesians 2:1-9 (KJV)

You see, beloved, truly amazing grace is so much more than a catchy little tune that we sing in church.  God’s amazing grace poured out to us through Jesus Christ is able to separate us from our past sins and makes us into a brand new creation in Christ Jesus.

The truth is that the price of your sins is death and only death.  In the Old Testament you’ll notice how lambs without blemished were sacrificed unto God as sin offerings.  These offerings served to show that the people repented of their sins and that they were offering the life of these valued animals so that the blood shed by these lambs could satisfy the death required by their sins.  There came a point, however, where the sins of the people became so offensive that no number of spotless lambs being sacrificed could come close to paying the sin debt that man had incurred.  When that happened, God didn’t just write us off.  Instead, He sent His own spotless Lamb to be sacrificed to pay the enormous sin debt incurred by man.  This Lamb was one of a kind and incredibly special as this Lamb was, and always will be, of God.  This Lamb also had, and still has, a name.  Perhaps you have heard of this Lamb of God?  His name is Jesus Christ.  Here’s how Jesus explained it in His own words:

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 
For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” – John 3:16-18 (KJV)

Again, brothers and sisters, a person is completely correct in believing that we are not worthy of God’s love, forgiveness, and to receive salvation.  As Jesus himself pointed out, God sent Him (Jesus) into the word so that we could be saved through Him.  Coming to the world to live in worldly poverty, be persecuted viciously and warrantlessly, and suffering the cross was not Jesus’ idea of a great and entertaining way to spend 30+ worldly years.  However, Jesus embraced this assignment as the opportunity to perform the will of the Father and save us from ourselves and our sins.  So, don’t beat yourself up about not being worthy any longer.  I conceded the point.  You’re not worthy.  I’m not worthy.  The apostles weren’t worthy.  No Christian walking the earth is worthy.  You see, beloved, one must be perfect in order to be worthy.  That means perfect in every single way.  Only One has ever been that completely perfect, and only One will ever be that completely perfect.  That One is none other than Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God the Father.  Only when we let Jesus into our hearts and accept Him as our Lord and Savior are the stains of our sin washed away.

You see, beloved, Jesus Christ is the spotless Lamb of God that was sacrificed once for all of our sins.  There is no amount of animal sacrifice, or any other kind of sacrifice, that is sufficient to pay for our sins.  Fortunately for us, no other sacrifice of life and blood is needed, because the sacrifice that Jesus made of himself for us is all-sufficient to pay our sin debts.  To sacrifice animals to God as sin offerings after Jesus suffered the cross would be an offense to God.  Why?  Because doing so would be to imply that one rejects the sufficiency of Jesus Christ to pay for the sins of all.  Don’t forget, brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ is God in the form of man.  The power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus unleashed over sickness, sin, evil, and death is none other than the very Spirit of God the Father.   

Through Jesus’ death on the cross, our sin debts are paid.  The death required for our sin was submitted through Jesus Christ dying for us.  When Jesus rose from the grave on the 3rd day, He conquered death once and for all.  By giving our lives to Jesus and having our souls filled with the Holy Spirit, we are able to share in Jesus’ victory over death.  This is the only path to eternal salvation and life everlasting spent in the presence of the Lord.  No matter what any religion, church, or spiritual leader tells you, there is no other path to gain admittance to spending eternity in the presence of the Lord.  Don’t take my word for it.  Take Jesus’ word for it.  Here’s what Jesus said to the apostle Thomas:

“Jesus saith unto him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’” – John 14:6 (KJV)

Well, I think we’ve established that none of us are worthy of God’s love, forgiveness, and to spend eternity in His presence.  Now let’s address the belief that our sins are too great and/or numerous for us to receive God’s love, forgiveness, and to spend eternity in His presence.  To put it frankly, this belief is absolutely wrong.  Why do I say that?  Well, if a person believes that their own past sins are too great, either in severity or number, for them to be forgiven they are in essence trying to diminish/limit the power of God and the sufficiency of Christ Jesus to save them from their sins.  This would be a mistake.

You see, beloved, you are dealing with two things here.  On the one hand is your own sins.  On the other hand is the Lord God Almighty.  Let me say again……on the other hand is the Lord God “Almighty”.  Which do you think is more powerful?  Let me give you a hint.  I put quotes around “Almighty” for a reason.  Brothers and sisters, He is the Lord God Almighty.  He is greater than your sins!!!  Think about it.  When you say God can’t forgive you for something, you’re trying to put limitations on God that you have put on yourself.  The real issue is that you haven’t forgiven yourself for those past sin.  God is more than capable of forgiving your sins and cleansing you.  You want to know a secret that’s not really a secret?  He already has paid for your sins by sending His only begotten Son to suffer the cross so that you could be save.  You see, beloved, God is love, but God is also just.  Being just means that He requires that your sins be paid for.  If you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior then you accept the gift of forgiveness and salvation that Jesus bought for you by giving His own life and blood on the cross.  And that’s not all!!!  Serving as the cherry on top is the truth that once you are forgiven and saved, you gain an inheritance that no one can take from you.  That inheritance involves spending eternity in everlasting life in the presence of the Lord!!!  Does that sound great?  It should, because it is great and so much more:-)  Furthermore, no matter how great you try to imagine that an eternity in the presence of the Lord will be, it will be even better than your loftiest expectations.  Consider the following written by the apostle Paul through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God:

“But as it is written, ‘Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.’” – 1 Corinthians 2:9 (KJV)

Finally, beloved, perhaps you struggle with thoughts/questions about how God could possibly love you after all the sins you have committed and given all your flaws.  I would offer you two things to consider.  First, God has shown you His love time and again, with the biggest example of His love being the fact that He sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross so that you (yes, you) could be saved.  He would not have done that if He didn’t love you, right?  I mean, His only begotten Son (Jesus) is absolutely perfect in every possible way, yet He willingly this Son that He loves completely to die for you so that you could come home to be with Him one day.  Secondly, I would offer you that while God has many names (I Am, Jehovah, Yahweh, etc), there is one name that He has that should make perfectly clear to you why He loves you regardless of your less than perfect past.  You know what that name is?  That name is Father.  Beloved, God is our heavenly Father.  We are His children.  We disappoint Him at times, break His heart at times, make Him angry at times.  Sometimes we make Him smile, while at other times we make Him laugh.  We also make Him cry at times.  Sometimes these are tears of joy, and sometimes these are tears of sadness.  Beloved, God loves us all of the time.  Even when He chastises/disciplines us, He does so because He loves us.  God’s love is perfect and powerful and passes all of our comprehension.  At the end of the day, however, He is our Father.  My children do not always do things that put a smile on my face.  However, no matter what, my love for them is not the least bit diminished.  Even much more so, beloved, God’s love for each and every one of us is not diminished by our past transgressions.  He loves as only the ultimate Father could.  Praise God!!!  Thank you, Lord for your abundant mercy, amazing grace, and your perfect love!!! 

I hope that today’s message helps you to draw closer to the Lord.  If you are reading this, and you have put off accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior due to feelings of unworthiness, I pray that this will help you to overcome those feelings and proceed into the waiting arms of the Lord that has given everything just to make sure that you can be reconciled unto Him and spend eternity in the place that He has prepared for all who love Him.  Please join me in prayer as we close today’s message.

Thank You, Lord, for working Your will through our lives.  Though we are flawed, You never cease to make sure we have what we need to fulfill Your perfect will.  Through you, all things are possible.  Thank You for loving us as we are, for changing us from what we were, and for leading us to what You have always intended for us to be.  Thank You for giving hope to the hopeless.  Thank You for giving love to the rejected/dejected.  Thank You for giving comfort and peace to those who are troubled and worried.  Thank You for saving us from our sins, from ourselves, from death, and from evil.  Thank You for everything, Lord.  Truly blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.  All thanks, praise, glory, honor and worship unto You and Your blessed name!!!  In Your precious and matchless name we humbly, thankfully, and faithfully pray.  Amen.

Thank you for joining us for today’s message.  I hope you will be able to join us again for tomorrow’s next message.  Have a wonderful and blessed rest of the day!!!

May the Lord bless you, keep you, guide you, and make His face to shine upon you and your loved ones always.

Your brother in Christ,

Rev Jason Thurwanger

As discussed in my last entry, these are the paintings commissioned by Dinha Bonifacio.

Both paintings are of watercolor, markers, and collage on paper, with glossolalia script.

Ao cumprir-se o dia de Pentecostes, estavam todos reunidos no mesmo lugar. De repente veio do céu um ruído, como que de um vento impetuoso, e encheu toda a casa onde estavam sentados. E lhes apareceram umas línguas como que de fogo, que se distribuíam, e sobre cada um deles pousou uma.
–Atos 2: 1-3

Linguas de Fogo (Tongues of Fire)

Detail:

Chegou a Dia de Pentecost (The Day of Pentecost Arrived)

Detail:

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.
–Acts 2: 1-3

All text and images Copyright 2009 Andrea Bonifacio.

Jesus’ promise of the pouring out of the Holy Spirit came to pass a few days later on the day of Pentecost. As the 120 were waiting before the Lord, the Holy Spirit of promise filled them all. The sound of the rushing wind and the many voices caused a multitude to soon gather and ask, “Whatever could this mean?”

Acts 2:1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.

3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.

4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

5 And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven.

6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language.

7 Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans?

8 “And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born?

9 “Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,

10 “Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,

11 “Cretans and Arabs—-we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.”

12 So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?”

13 Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.”

Peter explained the event by quoting from the prophet Joel.

Acts 2:14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words.

15 “For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.

God was fulfilling at least three great promises at one time.    1) Joel’s prophecy of the pouring out of the Spirit on all flesh.       2) God’s promise to gather His people from every nation under heaven to pour out His Spirit on them. (Ezekiel 36:21-27)  3) God’s promise to Abraham that through him and his Seed, Jesus, all the nations of the earth would be blessed.  (Genesis 22:15-18; Galatians 3:8-16)

Devout Jews from every nation under heaven were in Jerusalem, as Ezekiel had foretold. (Ezekiel 36:24) Each of them heard the disciples glorify God in their own language. Some said they were drunk.  But Peter explained what was happening by quoting from the prophet Joel. May we also heed his words?

Welcome back, brothers and sisters!!!

Do you love your enemies?  Do you have compassion for those that ridicule you, cheat you, and look for ways to wrong you?  How do you respond to their attacks and vitriol?

Do you respond with love and forgiveness as Christ Jesus tells us to respond, and as He modeled perfectly for us?  If you don’t then you are disappointing your Master.  I know that it can be particularly hard to forgive and love those who wrong you.  From my personal experience, I am all too familiar with just how hard this can be.  However, I also understand the futility of saying, “I know I should forgive them, but…”.  Beloved, qualified forgiveness is no forgiveness at all.  It’s much like someone who almost trusts you.  They either trust you, or they don’t.  In that same vein, we either offer complete and unconditional forgiveness, or we are not offering forgiveness at all.

Several months ago I was a target of vilification from a group of individuals that were doing everything they could to tear me down and break me.  They used deception, lies, insults, threats, and many different forms of under-handed attacks.  In past years when someone would play these games with me, I was very quick to counter by systemically taking my own swings back at them until they would completely give up.  Though I was very adept at doing so, I was not proud of my ability to “take someone down a peg”.  Nothing positive ever came from it.

Well, as this situation developed and got more vicious (it lasted over 6 months) I became angrier and angrier.  I began to plot exactly how I would make these people pay for their attacks.  Before I implemented my counterattacks, however, something happened.  The more I prayed and shared my burdens and my anger with the Lord, the more I began to feel ashamed for my lust for revenge.  That feeling led me to do something I had never done under such extreme persecution before;  I tried to look at those attacking me through the Lord’s eyes. 

When I did that, beloved, my heart broke for my persecutors.  I no longer saw people who were trying to hurt me.  Instead, I saw a bunch of lost “children” who had been tricked into doing the evil one’s will.  I also realized that if I struck back at them in the manner I had planned, then I would also be doing the evil one’s will.

The moment this realization washed over me, I prayed to the Lord and apologized for the anger that I had allowed to burn hotter and hotter inside of me and for the bad intentions I had planned to respond to these people with.  I also pled with the Lord to forgive the people that had been persecuting me.  I asked that He would open their eyes, ears, and hearts to see the error of their ways so that they might be reconciled unto Him and His will.  I forgave every single one of them that had wronged me, and I felt a strong love burning for them deep within me.  For some time thereafter I prayed for them each and every day, hoping that they would come to Christ and repent of their evil deeds.  I still pray for them on a frequent basis.

Since I began to feel compassion for my persecutors and began praying for them, I have no longer carried the burdens and anger that their persecution initially brought on.  I came to realize that I could only carry so much.  I could either carry those burdens and that incredible anger, or I could carry love and forgivenss.  You see, beloved, we cannot carry both.  We cannot serve the Lord God Almighty by doing the evil one’s work.  I let go of those destructive feelings, so that I could allow all of my being to be filled with the Lord’s love and grow in faith.  By responding to their attackes with forgiveness, and responding to their hate with love, I have lived my faith rather than just speaking it.

Through this experience, the Lord has refined me in faith much further.  While the latest actions of my persecutors show that they have not yet turned to the Lord, I will continue to pray that they will eventually see the error of their ways, repent, and be reconciled unto God.  Though having to separate myself from the situation meant that I no longer would get to work closely with people that I dearly cared about, I was able to do so knowing that on that great day of the Lord, I will be reunited with my friends of faith for all of eternity.  Thank you, Lord!!!

Beloved, don’t fall into the trap of thinking, “Well, I should forgive them, but…”!  There are no “exceptions/buts”.  Judgment does not belong to us.  The Lord handles judgment.  Vengeance belongs to the Lord, so it is not our place to dish it out.  Furthermore, carrying a grudge/resentment will only serve to put distance between you and the Lord.  Is whatever wrong someone committed against you worth turning away from God?  No!!!  Just as Jesus forgave all of us of our wrongs/sins, as faithful servants of the Lord we are to forgive all that offend/attack us as well.

Remember that Jesus made this point when He asked what we gained by only loving those that already love us.  Beloved, is striking back at someone in anger proof of Christ’s love?  No!!!  That’s not what He taught us.  Turning the other cheek is not just some abstract concept.  It is the very instruction that our Lord and Savior gave to us.  He did not qualify that instruction by telling us to follow it only part of the time.  We are to follow the Lord’s instructions all of the time.

Love your enemies, beloved.  They don’t deserve your love, but by responding with love and forgiveness you may just be able to plant a seed that eventually leads them to be reconciled unto the Lord.  You see, beloved, if you expect people to want to be filled with Christ, the portrait you paint in the manner that you live should be a portrait that shines brightly with the Lord’s light.  If people see someone that’s always angry, bitter, resentful, and lashing out, are they going to feel compelled to seek after that which fills them?  No!!!  However, when we respond with the incredible strength and power displayed only through unconditional love, complete forgiveness, and steadfast faith, then people are drawn to learn more about what fills you with such assurance, peace, and joy.  This will help to encourage them to repent of their sins and turn their life over to the Lord.  Remember, beloved, we were just as lost as they are now at an earlier point in our own lives, before we received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  Let’s not break our Father’s heart by making Him watch His children attack each other with hateful and hurtful intrigues.  Let’s make His day by showing Him our love, faith, and obedience by following the example that He set for us.

Precious one, if you have not yet received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, but you would sincerely like to, then please pray the following prayer:

“Lord God Almighty, I know that I am a sinner and that I am lost.  I know that I need to be saved from sin, but I also know that I can’t save myself.  Lord Jesus, I know that only You can save me.  I know that you paid for my salvation with your own life and blood on the cross.  I know that when You rose from the grave on the third day, you provided everlasting life to all who trust in You.  Right now, I lay down my life and let go of my pride, my vanity and every other sin that has kept me from You.  Lord Jesus, I now completely trust my life to You.  I open my heart to You, Lord.  Please come into my heart.  Please forgive me of all of my sins, and please accept me as Your child.  From this point on, I commit my life to You.  Please guide me and provide me strength as I begin to live the rest of my life for You.  In Your precious and matchless name I pray. Amen.”

I you just prayed that prayer, honestly seeking the Lord, then you are now saved.  The robe of righteousness is now available unto you through your Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ.  Though you will still face adversity in this world, you now have the Lord with you to face and overcome anything that comes your way.  Dedicate yourself to your new relationship with the Lord by talking to Him often through prayer, while also studying His word.  Ask the Lord to guide your every path, and follow the path that He sets before you.  I would further encourage you to seek out opportunities for fellowship with other believers.  Serve the Lord with all your heart, and always seek His will in all things.  Welcome to the family:-)  Know that the angels in heaven are rejoicing at your decision to give your life to the Lord today!!!

I want to thank you all for joining today’s discussion.  I hope you will be able to join us for Friday’s day of prayer so that we can unleash the power of the Lord through prayer over this week’s prayer requests.

Remember, if you would like to order the new book “Strapping On the Whole Armor of God – Suiting Up For Spiritual Warfare), please visit my website at http://www.yourbrotherinchrist.com .  If you prefer to order by mail, you will also find the mailing address on that website.  This book is very valuable in helping people understand how to go about securely and effectively putting on the whole armor of God that the apostle Paul refers to in Chapter 6 of Ephesians.  We are praying that many people will receive this book and be blessed in their walk with the Lord by reading it.

May the Lord bless you, keep you, guide you, and make His face to shine upon you and your loved ones always.

Your brother in Christ,

Rev Jason Thurwanger

I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”       Luke 24:49

They all joined together constantly in prayer.       Acts 1:14

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.       Acts 2:1-4, 41

It was an incredible moment. After years of preparation, and days of praying, God’s Spirit was shaking the city of Jerusalem. Even in the days of David’s tabernacle and the glories of Solomon’s temple, the city had never before experienced such an intense manifestation of God’s power.

A violent, gale-force wind had blown on the 120 disciples gathered in the upper room. With cloven flames of fire resting on them, and languages they’d never spoken before gushing out of their mouths, they were being empowered with the very Spirit of God.

Before they knew it, crowds filled with nations from around the world were gathering around the upper room. Although some people laughed at them and called them drunkards, thousands of others were radically saved.

In the months to come, thousands upon thousands would be saved. Even priests came to the faith, and the city continued to be shaken for years.

What an amazing account of God’s miraculous power! Imagine what it must have been like to see a whole city shaken by the power of the Holy Spirit. Fortunately, we don’t have to just imagine it.

Much of what happened in Jerusalem has also happened, throughout history, in city after city around the world. Although the day of Pentecost was obviously a unique, divine moment in which the Holy Spirit baptized the early church in power, it is also a model for what God can do in our cities and nations today.

I say a model, because the same God who shook Jerusalem can also radically shake your city. There are, however, certain principles which must be followed.

First, there was a trained, dedicated cell of disciples at the core of the Pentecost revival. Jesus hand-picked these men and trained them Himself for over three years. Their commitment and dedication brought divine cohesion. It would take that divine cohesion to withstand the extraordinary pressure necessary to see God move in their city.

Second, the people in the upper room were committed to their city. It is interesting to note that Jesus was not willing to empower His apostles and disciples on the Mount of Ascension. Instead, He told them to return to the city.

This was a strategic move, for Jesus had more in mind than simply empowering his disciples. He also wanted to saturate the soil in their city with showers from Heaven.

God has been saying the very same thing to the church today, as well. Time and time again, messages are preached on loving your city and not forgetting your city.

I am convinced that as we focus on what God is saying, He will give us the power we need to see not only our churches, but also our cities changed for His glory.

Third, the disciples joined together in constant prayer until the power came. They realized that undisciplined, sporadic prayer would never bring rain from Heaven. This same emphasis on prayer can be seen throughout our world today.

From global prayer initiatives to 24-hour-a-day prayer centers in churches and cities around the world, God is releasing the waves of prayer which always precede the waves of revival.

Fourth, Scripture says they were all together, in one place. Their togetherness, however, was more than just geographical. After years with Jesus, they had grown to the place where they could truly walk as one in the purposes of God.

Their unique unity was the very foundation God would use to build the large, multi-ethnic church He had purposed to build through them. This same kind of spirit-developed, Word-centered unity is desperately needed today.

Fifth, it is critical that we understand the importance of God’s timing as we pursue His best for our city. In Acts 3:19, Peter exhorts the crowd to repent and turn to God, so their sins could be forgiven and times of refreshing could come from the Lord. These times of refreshing speak of revival.

Although no one can predict when revivals are coming, the principles involved in birthing them are vital for our cities, whether we ever experience the fullness of revival or not.

Wherever you live today, these principles are important for you. I am convinced that when God finds a core of believers who are willing to pray in unity for their city, He will answer their prayers.

His answer may take the form of a mighty, rushing wind from Heaven, or it may just be a new level of receptivity to the Gospel in their city. Whatever form it takes, however, is ultimately God’s concern, not theirs.

Their concern is to simply cooperate with God as He moves to transform the city they love.

© Copyright 2005 by Jim Laffoon

Welcome back, brothers and sisters.

It is not often that we hear people talk about humility as a blessing.  Oftentimes, humility is mentioned in a negative way.  For example, I’m sure you’ve heard people talk about the “lesson of humility” in a negative vein, right, as though it was an experience that one would want to avoid?  Interestingly, the truth is that we all need to learn the lesson of humility at least once in our life, and in some cases more than once.  Why?  Beloved, humility brings us closer to the Lord.  Humility is a quality that Satan does not have.  Why?  It’s simple really.  Humility is the polar opposite of pride.

Think about it, brothers and sisters.  Pride results in people puffing themselves up.  Prideful people create an enhanced and unrealistically flattering vision of themselves.  They have to believe that they are better than others so that their elevated view of themselves is maintained.  A person filled with pride is almost impossible to teach, as their pride won’t allow them to admit that they need help to grow.  Someone filled with pride has a tendency to repeat mistakes of the past due to their unwillingness to learn from anyone other than themselves.  Even if 20 other people have made the same mistake, all to their own detriment, the prideful person will think they can do the same thing without the adverse consequences.  Why?  Because they believe that others that may have tried the same thing and failed are somehow inferior to them.  Their superiority complex will rarely allow consideration of the reality that the same limitations that apply to others also applies to them.

Humility, on the other hand, is quite different.  Humility often goes hand in hand with meekness.  A humble person sees themselves as they really are.  They are lowly in heart, not esteeming themselves any better than others.  As a matter of fact, they often esteem themselves even less than they esteem others.  The meekness found in a person that is truly humble is a key quality that results in submission to God’s will rather than their own.  A humble person is a willing student as the enormous barriers that pride throws up never enter into the equation.  A person filled with humility is not nearly as likely to repeat mistakes made previously, as they tend to learn from previous mistakes.  When they err, the humble person will acknowledge their error/shortcoming, and they will be open to understanding what they needed to do differently.

Is it possible to have a strong Christian walk in life while being an incredibly proud person?  No, it is not.  Why is that?  Well, beloved, an extremely prideful person is focused on themselves and on doing what they need to do to maintain or further enlarge the image of themselves that they are trying to project.  They esteem their own will in doing so as a more of a priority than God’s will.  A humble person subjugates their own will to God’s will, opting to seek His will before their own. 

Beloved, their are two great examples that come to mind that clearly demonstrate the difference between pride and humility.  Acting as the eternal poster boy for pride and selfishness is none other than Satan.  Think about it.  Satan always puts his own will first.  He rebelled against fulfilling God’s will due to thinking that doing so would somehow diminish his own greatness while also magnifying the truth that there is One greater than him. 

On the flip side, our champion of humility and meekness is none other than Jesus Christ.  That’s right, beloved, the greatest example of humility and meekness that we have is none other than the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  Was Jesus meek?  Yes, He submitted himself to His Father’s will by accepting to suffer the cross in order to fulfill God’s plan.  Jesus is the purest picture of humility that we will ever have.  Consider the following words of Jesus:

“Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” – Matthew 11:28-29 (KJV)

Here is another quote from when Jesus was praying to God the Father in the garden of Gethsemane shortly before Judas betrayed Him to the authorities.  Jesus knew the horrors He would have to suffer if He fell into the hands of the authorities, and the following quotes part of His prayer to the Father that very night:

“And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, ‘Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from Me: nevertheless not My will, but thine, be done.’” – Luke 22:41-42 (KJV)

Beloved, this is the only begotten Son of God!!!  He could have called down legions of angels to deliver himself, but instead He was humble and meek enough to submit to His Father’s will.  Consider what the apostle Paul said in the following:

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:  But made himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:  And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” – Philippians 2:5-8 (KJV)

Thank the Lord for humility!!!  Humility is truly a wonderful quality for each of us to have.  How does humility bring us closer to God?  Consider the following:

• How are we to hunger and thirst after righteousness unless we acknowledge that we are not righteous on our own? 
• Those who are meek have needed gentleness themselves.  Humility means willingly acknowledging that need. 
• If you do not recognize your own need for mercy, then how likely are you to be merciful to others?  Humility enables you to admit your sins, repent, and seek the Lord’s forgiveness.  In doing so, we receive His forgiveness and so much more:-)
• It takes humility to admit and own your mistakes.  To be willing and able to admit our own mistakes is a key ingredient to enabling us to be effect peacemakers.
• You cannot have purity of heart if you heart is full of foolish pride.
• How can we grow in our faith and walk with the Lord, unless we are honest about our need for such growth.  Humility is the acknowledgement of that need.
• To stand firm as a Christian means being willing to give all in order to serve Christ.  Christians that live for Christ undergo various forms of persecution (i.e. slander, undue criticism, false imprisonment, physical harm, emotional/mental abuse, etc.).  In order to make such a stand requires the humility of submitting to God’s will and putting Him first, at the expense of a harder existence in this world that we presently live in.

How does God view humility?  While there are many different excerpts in the bible that illustrate God’s view of humility, we will list just a few here.  Consider the following scriptures:

“By humility [and] the fear of the LORD [are] riches, and honour, and life.” – Proverbs 22:4 (KJV)

“[When] pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly [is] wisdom.” – Proverbs 11:2 (KJV)

“[He that is] despised, and hath a servant, [is] better than he that honoureth himself, and lacketh bread.” – Proverbs 12:9 (KJV)

“The fear of the LORD [is] the instruction of wisdom; and before honour [is] humility.” – Proverbs 15:33 (KJV)

“Better [it is to be] of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.” – Proverbs 16:19 (KJV)

“Blessed [are] the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed [are] they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.  Blessed [are] the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.  Blessed [are] they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.  Blessed [are] the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.  Blessed [are] the pure in heart: for they shall see God.  Blessed [are] the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.  Blessed [are] they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are ye, when [men] shall revile you, and persecute [you], and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.” – Matthew 5:3-11 (KJV)

Beloved, the last quote in that list is a quote from Jesus’ sermon on the Mount.  When you look at each of the statements He makes in that quote, you can see the need for humility and meekness as a central underpinning to every group He is speaking of.  I pray that all who read this message are filled with humility and draw closer to the Lord by continually seeking and submitting to His will.

If you have not yet given your life to Christ Jesus, but you would like to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior right now, please join me in praying the following prayer:

“Lord God Almighty, I know that I am a sinner and that I am lost.  I know that I need to be saved from sin, but I also know that I can’t save myself.  Lord Jesus, I know that only You can save me.  I know that you paid for my salvation with your own life and blood on the cross.  I know that when You rose from the grave on the third day, you conquered death and provided everlasting life to all who trust in You.  Right now, I lay down my life and let go of my pride, my vanity and every other sin that has kept me from You.  Lord Jesus, I now completely trust my life to You.  I open my heart to You, Lord.  Please come into my heart.  Please forgive me of all of my sins, and please accept me as Your child.  From this point on, I commit my life to You.  Please guide me and provide me strength as I begin to live the rest of my life for You.  In Your precious and matchless name I pray.  Amen.”

Beloved, if you just sincerely prayed that prayer, then you are now born-again in Jesus ChristJ  Welcome to the family!!!  You will still have many trials/problems to face in this world, but you will never again face them alone.  With the Lord God Almighty on your side, all problems just became manageableJ  I would encourage you to get to know the Lord better by spending a few minutes each day studying His word (bible), communicating with Him frequently through prayer, and by seeking other Christians to have some fellowship with.  All of these things will help you to grow spiritually in your new relationship with the Lord.  Remember, from this point forward your life should reflect who you serve, and you serve Jesus Christ as your Lord and SaviorJ  Praise God!!!

Thank you all for joining us for today’s discussion.  I hope you will be able to join us for Thursday’s message. 

As always, if you have a prayer request you would like us to join you in prayer over, please don’t hesitate to send it to us either through the “Comments” box on this page, or by emailing me directly at jasonthurwanger @ dellmail.com.  We will maintain your privacy.

Remember, if you would like to order the new book “Strapping On the Whole Armor of God – Suiting Up For Spiritual Warfare), please visit my website at http://www.yourbrotherinchrist.com .  If you prefer to order by mail, you will also find the mailing address on that website.  This book is very valuable in helping people understand how to go about securely and effectively putting on the whole armor of God that the apostle Paul refers to in Chapter 6 of Ephesians.  We are praying that many people will receive this book and be blessed in their walk with the Lord by reading it.

Have a wonderful and blessed rest of the day!!!

May the Lord bless you, keep you, guide you, and make His face to shine upon you and your loved ones always.

Your brother in Christ,

Rev Jason Thurwanger

Matthew, an apostle

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

– “‘Heart’ of the Beatitudes,” BIBLE, recorded by Matthew (Mat 5.6-8).

(Matthew, born at Nazareth, Israel – died [tradition] at Nadabah, Ethiopia)

Converted to Christ, at Capernaum, shore of Galilee   

Sanctified, in Upper Room, Pentecost, Jerusalem

Seriously, brothers and sister, God’s ban on same-sex marriage is still in effect. Furthermore, God’s ban on civil unions and homosexuality is still in effect. You see, beloved, while legislatures, judges, and other individuals may decide that it’s okay to be homosexual, God’s law remains in effect.Now, there are many that will read this and accuse me of being intolerant. They will wonder why I am so behind the times while society has shown itself very progressive and tolerant in accepting homosexuality. Here is my response. First of all, I thank the Lord God Almighty for my intolerance. Furthermore, I would rather grow in God’s timeless and lasting word rather than lose my soul to the “progressiveness” of this world. Society has indeed shown itself progressive in its ability to separate itself from God on this particular issue.

Beloved, God created a woman for Adam; not a man. You may think that’s harsh, but it is the truth. Consider the following:

“So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, ‘Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.’” – Genesis 1:27-28 (KJV)

Brothers and sisters, a man cannot multiply with a man, and a woman cannot multiply with a woman. Only a man and woman can multiply. Consider also:

“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” – Genesis 2:24 (KJV)

Beloved, these words were not initially authored by me. The Author of these words is God himself. Though many people of this world have decided to compromise on this issue, the fact of the matter is that we are to be obedient to God in this matter, and all other matters. It is His will, not ours, that we are to commit ourselves to doing.

Whether you believe that homosexuality is genetic, or whether you believe it is a choice/lifestyle, the truth is that it is an affront to God. All sin is an affront to God. To repent of a sin, while planning on continuing to live in that sin, is not repentance at all. It’s lip service.

I remember several years ago when a battle over this issue within one of the religions caused that particular denomination to split into two separate organizations. The more liberal of the two approved of allowing homosexual ministers, while the more conservative opposed allowing homosexual ministers. I can still remember watching an interview with minister of the liberal portion of the church that thought it should be allowed. His statement was that while they believed strongly in God’s word, they also saw the need to compromise on the issue in light of the changing times.

Beloved, anyone that is willing to attempt to compromise God’s word/law/will is not serving the Lord. They are essentially trying to bend God to their own will, which is based in sin. Beloved, when we give our lives to Christ, we are to let go of our embrace of our sinful lifestyle. Our old selves are to die, as we become new creations in Christ.

Some people have gone so far as to take advantage of people’s ignorance of God’s word by claiming that God’s word does not specifically address homosexuality. Beloved, this is an absolute lie, and it is a lie sponsored by none other than Satan itself. Do you want some examples of just how specific the bible is about God’s view of homosexuality? Consider the following:

“Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: It is abomination.” – Leviticus 18:22 (KJV)

“For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men and women working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet.” – Romans 1:26-27 (KJV)

“Know ye not that unrighteousness shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolators, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” – 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (KJV)

“If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.” – Leviticus 20:13 (KJV)

That’s pretty clear, isn’t it? Did the last verse strike you as particularly harsh? It shouldn’t have. We know that the wages for all sin is death, so why would it be any different for this particular sin?

So how are we to deal with homosexuality? Are we to compromise our obedience to the Lord and say that its okay? No!!! We don’t say lying is okay. We don’t say murder is okay. We don’t say rape is okay. We don’t say homosexuality is okay!!! Purposely rejecting God’s word and will in order to satisfy your own affection for the pleasures of sin is never okay, no matter what that sin is. So here’s what we ought to do when dealing with someone who engages in homosexuality:

• Love them unconditionally, just as the Lord loves all of us unconditionally. Beloved, we are not to judge them. We are to love them with the Lord’s love. Remember that we were all lost to sin at one time in our lives.
• Share God’s word with them and encourage them to repent of their sins and to receive the deliverance that only Christ Jesus can provide.  That means living in that sin no more.
• Encourage them to separate from those things that would be likely to draw them back into homosexuality.

Beloved, I love homosexuals, murderers, liars, whores, pimps, drug dealers, and all other sinners, as I know that God does as well. We are never to pass judgment on those lost in sin. We are, however, to share the Truth with them at every opportunity so that they may see the light, repent of their sins, and be reconciled unto God.

As I’m sure you have come to know by now, it is not my style to be indirect and not speak God’s word in order to avoid offending anyone. Just know that my intention is never to offend. My intention is to always speak God’s word clearly, accurately, and consistently so that more may come to the Lord.

So in closing today, the choice is simple. Will you be tolerant of homosexuality so that we can all just get along, and because various men and woman have said its okay to do so, or will you obey the Lord God Almighty in truly living His word and protecting the sanctity of marriage? The choice is yours.

Thank you for joining us for today’s discussion. I hope you will be able to join with us for our next message.

Have a wonderful and blessed rest of the day!

May the Lord bless you, keep you, guide you, and make His face to shine upon you and your loved ones always.

Your brother in Christ,

Rev Jason Thurwanger

The Holy Spirit is God; this is important to keep in mind because it means that, as God, the Holy Spirit is sovereign and free to act in whatever ways he chooses to act. We see his sovereign freedom in passages like John 3:8: “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Here, John uses a pun with the word “wind” which in Greek is the same word for “Spirit.” Likewise, with regard to Spiritual gifts, Paul says in 1 Cor. 12:11, “All these [gifts] are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.” The Holy Spirit decides how he will act, where he will go, whom he will bring to life, and to whom he will give certain gifts. This is important to emphasize at the outset because I think this explains the variety of “conversion stories” in the book of Acts. Thus, it is relevant to the issue of the so-called “baptism of the Holy Spirit.”

Technically, the phrase “baptism of the Holy Spirit” is never used in the New Testament. Rather, John the Baptist predicts that one will come after him who will baptize “with” or “in” (I list “with” or “in” because the Greek preposition can mean either one, and I’m not sure which is the better way to understand it in these contexts) the Holy Spirit (Matt. 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33; as a side note, this is one of the rare truths about Jesus taught in all 4 Gospels!). To what does this refer? The book of Acts mentions this language specifically only twice. In Acts 1:5, as he ascends to heaven, Jesus tells his disciples that they will be baptized “with” or “in” the Holy Spirit “not many days from now.” It seems clear enough that he is referring to what will take place on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4). The second reference to this event is in Acts 11:16, where Peter remembers this promise of Jesus (recorded in Acts 1:5) as he reflects on and reports about the salvation of (Gentiles) Cornelius and his family. He says in Acts 11:15, “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning,” which I think is a reference back to Pentecost.

But, how are we to understand what happened at Pentecost? When Jesus was preparing his disciples for his imminent departure, he promised them that he would send the Holy Spirit to be in them (John 14:16-17). He seems to indicate here that this would be a new experience for them, that the Holy Spirit was not “in” them, but that he will be in them later. I think this is what happens in Acts 2; the Holy Spirit came to them, “and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4). I think we can understand the language of “filling” here as a reference to the Holy Spirit taking up permanent residence within the disciples. The Spirit chooses to manifest his presence in them by empowering them to speak in tongues (which, by the way, is surely a different experience than is being discussed in 1 Cor. 12-14). Now, notice, after Peter’s speech, when 3000 people “received his word and were baptized,” the text doesn’t mention that these 3000 began speaking in tongues. That could be significant. The next time in Acts we read of people receiving the Holy Spirit is speaking of the Samaritans in Acts 8:14-17. Philip had preached the gospel to these Samaritans, and many believed and were baptized, but the Holy Spirit “had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 8:16). So, apparently, the apostles expected there to be some evidence that these believing Samaritans had received the Holy Spirit, but there was nothing. Perhaps they expected speaking in tongues; it’s hard to say. Peter and John come over to Samaria, prayed for these new believers to receive the Holy Spirit, and laid their hands on them. While they were laying their hands on these believers, “they received the Holy Spirit” (Acts 8:17). So, in Acts 2, the Spirit explodes on the scene, you might say as an uninvited, though welcome, guest. In Acts 8, with the Samaritans, Peter and John lay their hands on believers, and then the Holy Spirit comes, and apparently manifests his presence in some way. Moreover, in Acts 8, Philip apparently only baptized these Samaritans in the name of Jesus. I suppose this is to be contrasted with the “formula” given in Matt. 28:19: “in the [one] name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” Now, I think Peter here gives us a reminder of the Spirit’s freedom and sovereignty in this passage. When Simon the magician begged to purchase the power seemingly exhibited by the apostles, Peter chastises him, saying, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!” (Acts 8:20). Not only does this remind us that the Holy Spirit’s presence in a believer’s life is a gift, it reminds us that Peter and John’s hand-laying did not cause the Holy Spirit to come. For whatever reason, the Holy Spirit chose to come (and apparently make his presence known to them in some way Luke chose not to tell us) after they prayed and when they laid hands on these believers. In Acts 11:44, Peter doesn’t even finish his sermon when the Spirit decides to enter Cornelius and his household and again manifested himself in some way that Peter knew it had happened. It could go on with examples of how this plays out, but I’d better move on to Acts 19!

So, in Acts 19, Paul encounters some “disciples” who seem a little confused or misinformed. Notice he doesn’t identify whose disciples they are. Back in Acts 18, we meet Apollos preaching in Ephesus, and we find out that “he knew only the baptism of John” (Acts 18:25). Then, Priscilla and Aquila “took him and explained to him the way of God more accurately” (Acts 18:26). We’re not told exactly what they taught him, but we can probably safely infer that they explained to him that John’s baptism was no longer significant (more on that momentarily). So, perhaps these “disciples” Paul encounters in Ephesus were actually disciples of Apollos (or perhaps, less likely, they were actually disciples of John the Baptist himself, still lingering around several years after John was executed). Thus, Apollos had only taught them about the significance of John’s baptism, not knowing any more than that himself. We’re not given the entirety of the conversation, but apparently in speaking with them something cued Paul to the fact that they had not yet received the Holy Spirit. Notice also that he obviously thinks this is not right and that he expected that they should have received the Holy Spirit “when they believed” (Acts 19:2) this is one of the many occasions where the KJV has mistranslated a very important participle!). When they tell him that they’ve never heard “that there is a Holy Spirit,” I think they probably mean that they hadn’t heard that the Holy Spirit had been given (they wouldn’t be very good Jews even if they didn’t know the Holy Spirit existed!). It’s interesting that his immediate question (apparently) in response to this is to ask about their baptism. Then, Paul “explains the way of God more accurately” (to borrow the phrase from Acts 18) by explaining the significance of John’s baptism in light of Jesus’ death and resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit. “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus” (Acts 19:4). So, John’s baptism, as I understand it, functioned as a symbolic act showing that a Jewish person was repenting of their sins and looking forward to the coming of the Messiah. Baptism is always a symbolic act, but it can symbolize different things. John’s baptism was to signify repentance and a purification from sin and, more importantly, to point forward to the actual availability of repentance and cleansing from sin that Jesus would provide. These disciples (apparently) got the point, and then “were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 19:5). Recall back in Acts 8, merely being baptized in the name of Jesus seemed to be presented as a deficiency or a problem, but here it’s exactly what needed to be done. And the Holy Spirit chooses to come on them and manifest himself by the believers’ speaking in tongues and prophesying (Acts 19:6). Now, were these “disciples” Christians when Paul meets them? I (somewhat more tentatively) say that they were not believers or saved at that point. I think it’s best to understand the book of Acts as a whole indicating that a person is not a Christian or a genuine believer if the Holy Spirit does not dwell in that person. Likewise, Paul’s letters I think are fairly clear that the Holy Spirit brings a person to life, transferring him or her from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of Jesus, graciously empowers belief in the individual, and immediately takes up residence in the believer and begins his transformation of the believer into the image of Jesus.

To sum up, then, what does it mean to be baptized “in” or “with” the Holy Spirit? It seems to refer to the Holy Spirit’s entering and settling into a believer. I don’t think we can perceive a pattern that the Holy Spirit must fit into for when or how he enters the believer, and I don’t think we can perceive a pattern that the Holy Spirit must fit into for the way he might manifest his presence in a believer’s life. Also, it’s important to highlight that baptism, with regard to the Holy Spirit, is being used as a metaphor, and since actual baptism with water was associated with cleansing or purification, I wonder if we ought to understand cleansing as a part of this issue. In other words, when the Holy Spirit “baptizes” a person (or when Jesus baptizes a person with the Holy Spirit), fundamentally it means that the Holy Spirit cleanses that person by moving in and cleaning house, we might say.

Ronnie Collins asked me to post this and we ask everyone to pray fo 3000 to be saved.  We have a BIG GOD and “Nothing” is to Big for Him.

50 “Golden Days” of Evangelism  40 Days of Prayer and Preparation

Click on the link above and see what it’s all about.

James, bishop of Jerusalem

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. – “Invitation to ask,” BIBLE, recorded by James (Jam 1.5).

James, ½ brother to Jesus, born Nazareth (?) – died Jerusalem (?)

Converted to Christ sometime between Joh 7.5 and Pentecost

Sanctified, in Upper Room, Pentecost, Jerusalem (Act 1.14, if literal)

The more charismatic/pentecostal church that I’ve been at the past couple weeks have taught me a few things. First off, they’ve kind of killed a lot of my understanding of church, especially when it comes to structure.

I have had probably 15 classes in my college career that focused so much on “how church should be done” or the structure of things, and while that’s all good and what-not, I’ve kind of gotten to a point where I could care less. It’s not that structure isn’t important, I mean even the charismatics have one, but it’s okay for them to interrupt it if God speaks to them to do so. They also could care less about time restraints…

Which is quite against my nature I have come to realized.

For example, we were supposed to start at 10:00 which was when we all got together to pray for the service and something inside of me kept yelling: “Come on! We have to play! We have to play!” So I’m trying to learn to shut up and forget about these time restraints. And even though we were only supposed to play for 40 minutes, I think we probably played for about an hour by the time it was over (although part of it was us playing behind someone who was talking).

The charismatics are also more open to handing the mic over to people. Creepy right? I mean, God forbid someone other than the pastor says something about Jesus! People just walk up, grab the mic, and start talking about some kind of vision or word the Lord gave them or share a good story or testimony.

See, the thing is that I’ve been trying to find the proper structure for God to work in for years now, rather than let God BE the structure. And really, He doesn’t have that much of a structure. He’s rather spontaneous.

Also, someone came up and told the church that they were going to be taken to the next level in supernatural and people seemed really stoked about it. And I could probably say that some of them were confused about it. Around this time someone was crying and yelling very loudly. I believe he was doing so in tongues (or I just couldn’t make out what he was saying).

Some lady at the end of the service was either prophesying over us or blessing us (probably both I think). She was asking that oil would be poured out over us and soak us so that we would be so slippery that the enemy would just slip right off of us (oil is used much in the Bible for annointing). It put quite an interesting image in my head. She also mentioned that God was going to release a Heavenly song in each one of us. It sounds like we might get the band together now to start writing some music.

While she was blessing/prophesying, one of the things she said that stuck out to me was that “we had to walk in straight paths.” Or in other words we needed to stay away from sin and not let it allow us to stumble. But note this: she told us nicely. I felt at that moment that she was looking into my soul and seeing all the crap there, and yet didn’t condemn me for it. Instead it was like a… holy rebuke of some sort. Whatever it was, God spoke to me in that moment in love and conviction. Or lovely conviction! Something I am not used to.

In all honesty, I am the greatest condemner of myself. Churches have emphasized sin in a way that hasn’t helped either. And so I occassionaly get caught up in a depression caused by my own condemnation when a lot of times God is trying to just take that stuff from me. Why is it that we want to keep all that crap with us all the time rather than give it away?

Maybe you know what I’m talking about. If you do, I have a video I will be working on over the next week or so that I hope will help you get rid of all that crap. But first, I must retrieve my camera footage from some people who grabbed it after I forgot it at church a week ago.

I’m excited to see what God has in store for me as I hope to grow more in the ways of the Spirit. I’m also interested to see what exactly He is doing with music in my life. In all honesty, I was starting to lose a passion for music over the past year or so and yet, for whatever reason, it has entered back into my life in a bigger or at least more meaningful way than ever before. So God, whatever it is You’re doing, do it. Don’t let me get in the way.

Peter, an apostle

… day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night;  in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and  the elements shall melt with fervent heat,  the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. – “Peter’s Day of Lord,” BIBLE, recorded by Peter (2Pe 3.10).

(Peter, born in Israel – died [tradition] at Rome)

Married ____ (Mat 8.14 Jesus healed wife’s mother)

Converted to Christ, on shore of the Sea of Galilee

Sanctified, in Upper Room, Pentecost, Jerusalem

In this study I have tried to show what the Scripture teaches about water baptism. I know there is more to say but basically it is personal response to our faith in the Lord Jesus as the Son of God, and that He died for our sins.

By the physical act of baptism we are declaring the spiritual fact that in Jesus we want to count the sins of the past as dead. We want to bury it all by baptism with Him. Coming up out of the water signifies that we are risen with Him to walk a new life in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6; Colossians 2:12,13) Then the promised Holy Spirit will help us, comfort, strengthen, and guide us into all His truth.

There are many different teachings, rules, and ways concerning how and when water baptism should be done. I find a few simple words very spiritually satisfying and Scriptural.

We know that Jesus said to baptize all that became His disciples in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Some object because the name of Jesus is not mentioned in these words. On the day of Pentecost Peter commanded the people to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus. Some think there is a conflict. I do no see a conflict for these reasons.

If I refuse to use these words of Jesus I am refusing to observe and teach what He said. If I baptize without doing and saying it in Jesus name I am not obeying the commandment to do all things in His name. (Colossians 3:17) Therefore I do both. I use Jesus’ words and give them in Jesus’ name.

After the one to be baptized gives a testimony of their faith in the Lord Jesus as the Son of God, and that through Him we receive the forgiveness of sins, I proceed with these or similar words:

Because of your testimony, and because of Jesus’ command-ment, in Jesus name I now baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

If they have not already received the promised Holy Spirit I, along with others, pray for this blessing.

Our desire and prayer for you is:

Colossians 1:9 …that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;

10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.

Carlton B. Abbott and Leelah Boone Abbott

Hello again, brothers and sisters!!!

Before we get into today’s discussion, I just want to briefly say “thank you” to those of you who have been regularly taking part in these discussions, as well as those of you who visit whenever you are able.  I would also like to thank all of our first-time visitors.  It is a blessing and a genuine pleasure to have you all here:-)

For today’s discussion, we will review the parables of the treasure and the goodly pearl.  While these two parables were a couple of the shorter parables that Jesus shared, they are certainly just as important as all of the other parables.  Jesus was speaking with His disciples when He shared these parables.  The parables are as follows:

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field;  the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:  Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.” – Matthew 13:44-46 (KJV)

Both of these parables are making the same point, right?  Let’s break them down, shall we?

The man seeking treasure, and the merchant-man seeking goodly pearls, are played in real life by sinners seeking the truth, redemption, and salvation.  The treasure hiding in the field and the goodly pearl, represent the kingdom of God found through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who is also the Living Word of God.  So with that being the case, why would we have to sell all that we have in order to buy our way into the kingdom of God through Jesus Christ?  Doesn’t that run contrary to salvation being a gift given freely by grace through faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior?  It sure does.  however, the point of these parables is not that we are “buying” our way into the kingdom of God. 

The point is that once we have discovered the kingdom of heaven by accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we should value nothing else as much as this “treasure/goodly pearl”.  Beloved, when we find the kingdom of heaven through Jesus Christ and His word, we should value the Lord, His word, and His kingdom above anything else in our lives.  As obedient and faithful servants, there should be no price we are unwilling to pay in order to serve Him completely.  If we live in complete submission to the Lord’s will, then there is no room for competing interests.  Just as with the Apostle Paul, all former things we held dear we must be willing to count as lost once we are saved.  Why?  Well, once we are saved, serving the Lord is to be the focal point of our lives, and our vision is to be focused like a laser on doing so.

Interestingly, in these two parables that Jesus Christ shared with us we can also Him as the man/merchant-man seeking the treasure/goodly pearls.  Think about it.  Jesus gave up all that He had and suffered death on the cross in order to pay our sin debt.  In so doing, beloved, we were saved and purchased by His blood.  The treasure being “hid” in the field refers to those who live in Christ being granted access to the kingdom of heaven, which is a place that someone who serves sin cannot find or gain access to.  Once we belong to Christ, He protects us from the enemy.  We are effectively “hidden” in His protection, as once we belong to Christ Jesus, we cannot be snatched away from Him.  As Jesus said:

“I told you, and ye believed not:  the works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me.  But ye believe not, because ye are not of My sheep, as I said unto you.  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me:  And I give unto them eternal life;  and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.  My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all;  and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father’s hand.  I and My Father are one.” – John 10:25-30 (KJV)

Brothers and sisters, let us rejoice that the Lord considers us His “treasure/goodly pearl” and was willing to pay everything in order to save us!!!  Praise God!!!  Thank you, Jesus!!!  Furthermore, let’s praise the Lord God Almighty for His lovingkindness and longsuffering, and let’s show Him that He is the only real treasure that matters to us, as well!!!  Beloved, do you know what the word of God, the truth, salvation, entrance to the kingdom of heaven, light, love, peace, life, faith, wisdom, and understanding all have in common?  I’ll tell you what.  We find and receive all these things when we find Christ and turn our lives over to Him.  Jesus is the Truth.  Jesus is the Living Word of God.  Jesus is the Prince of Peace.  Jesus is the Author and Finisher/Perfector of our faith.  He is the Way to the Father and the kingdom of heaven.  Jesus Christ is the Life.  The Lord is the Light of the world.  You get the point, yes?

Beloved, besides the praise we offer to the Lord in the form of prayer, song, and worship, we need to commit ourselves to praise Him through our lives and actions.  That we belong to Christ Jesus should be obvious to all not just by the words we speak, but also by the things we do.  It should not appear to others that we live for money, or for the approval of man;  rather it should be clear to all that we live to serve our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Just as Jesus paid for us by giving up all that He had for our sakes, we ought to esteem our treasure, found in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, above any passing “treasure” that this world has to offer.  Remember, beloved, the treasure of this world lasts for a limited amount of time and diminishes.  The treasure of the Lord is forever.  Suffer any necessary hardships, persecutions, or trials in this world in order to serve the Lord obediently and faithfully.  By so doing, your treasure in heaven will be waiting for you, and increasing, and will be with you forever:-)

Beloved, the Lord will always provide for, and take care of, those entrusted to Him.  It is, however, up to each one of us to make the decision to seek the Lord and His kingdom.  If we are willing to walk through the thorns, rats, mice, and bugs, and other treacheries of the field in order to find Him, then we will find that our “treasure” is more than worth the jouney.  Remember, beloved, hidden treasure only has value to us once we find it.  In order to find it, we must seek it.  As Jesus said:

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness;  and all these things shall be added unto you.” – Matthew 6:33 (KJV)

Precious one, we cannot claim hidden treasure that is never discovered, because we have no idea where it is.  Once we seek and find our treasure in Christ Jesus, however, we have the greatest treasure of all.  This is real treasure.  Everything other treasure pursued yields only fools gold.  So often we allow the cares of this world to distract us from searching for our hidden treasure.  Jesus was telling us not to get consumed/wrapped up in the concerns of this world.  He was telling us that we should put our whole focus on seeking the Lord and His will.  We can do so while not being overwhelmed with thoughts of what we will eat, where we will live, or what we will clothe ourselves with, because God will see to our needs just as He does with the birds of the air and the grass of the field.

Please pray for all those who have no idea of the hidden treasure available to them.  Let’s pray that they go searching for it, willing to brave the trials of the journey, in order to find the only treasure that really counts.  Furthermore, let’s pray that once they find that treasure, they see Him for who He really is and turn their lives over to Him as their Lord and Savior.  Jesus Christ is our treasure.

If you are ready to discover your hidden treasure, and claim your eternal inheritance from the Lord God Almighty, you can do so by accepting Him as your Lord and Savior today.  If you would like to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior today, and be saved, please pray the following prayer with me:

“Lord God Almighty, I know that I am a sinner and that I am lost.  I know that I need to be saved from sin, but I also know that I can’t save myself.  Lord Jesus, I know that only You can save me.  I know that you paid for my salvation with your own life and blood on the cross.  I know that when You rose from the grave on the third day, you conquered death and provided everlasting life to all who trust in You.  Right now, I lay down my life and let go of my pride, my vanity and every other sin that has kept me from You.  Lord Jesus, I now completely trust my life to You.  I open my heart to You, Lord.  Please come into my heart.  Please forgive me of all of my sins, and please accept me as Your child.  From this point on, I commit my life to You. Please guide me and provide me strength as I begin to live the rest of my life for You.  In Your precious and matchless name I pray.  Amen.”

Beloved, if you just prayed that prayer sincerely, then you just found your hidden treasure.  I would encourage you to find out what’s all in the treasure chest by exploring it through God’s word, through prayer with supplication and thanksgiving to the Lord, and by asking Him to reveal the fullness of the treasure to you.  The treasure you have, precious one, is priceless.  God set aside this treasure just for you through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.  Welcome to the family:-)  The angels in heaven are rejoicing this very moment at your decision to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.  Find out about this and much more by exploring God’s word that He had written just for you:-)  This relationship with Christ is the most precious and important relationship you will ever have.  Invest yourself in growing the relationship as much as possible.  Seek the Lord’s will in all things, and let your will be completely surrendered to Him.

Thank you for joining our discussion today.   I hope you are able to join us on Friday to pray over this week’s prayer requests. 

Remember, if you would like to order the new book “Strapping On the Whole Armor of God – Suiting Up For Spiritual Warfare), please visit my website at http://www.yourbrotherinchrist.com .  If you prefer to order by mail, you will also find the mailing address on that website.  This book is very valuable in helping people understand how to go about securely and effectively putting on the whole armor of God that the apostle Paul refers to in Chapter 6 of Ephesians.  We are praying that many people will receive this book and be blessed in their walk with the Lord by reading it.

Have a wonderful and blessed rest of the day!!!  Walk in faith, knowing that you are loved by the Creator of the heavens, earth, and all life, and knowing that the treasure that you now carry in your heart and soul is priceless:-)

Have a happy, safe, and blessed Thanksgiving Day tomorrow!  Give a special thanks to the Lord for all that He has done for you and your loved ones.  Without Him, we’d be in a very bad place:-)

May the Lord bless you, keep you, guide you, and make His face to shine upon you and your loved ones always.

Your brother in Christ,

Rev Jason Thurwanger

John, an apostle

Here is wisdom.  Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore six. – “mark of beast,” BIBLE, recorded by John (Rev 13.18).

(John, born son of Zebedee, in Israel – died [tradition] at Ephesus, Asia-modern Turkey)

Converted to Christ, on shore of the Sea of Galilee

Sanctified, in Upper Room, Pentecost, Jerusalem

Welcome back, brothers and sisters!!! 

Today we are going to discuss the parable of the ten virgins and the bridegroom.  Jesus was talking to His disciples about be ready for the last day when He shared the following parable:

“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.  And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.  They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:  But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.  While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.  And at midnight there was a cry made, ‘Behold, the bridegroom cometh;  go ye out to meet him.’  Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.”

“And the foolish said unto the wise, ‘Give us of your oil;  for our lamps are gone out.’  But the wise answered, saying, ‘Not so;  lest there be not enough for us and you:  but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.’  And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came;  and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage:  and the door was shut.”

“Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us.’  But he answered and said, ‘Verily I say unto you, I know you not.” – Matthew 25:1-12 (KJV)

Brothers and sisters, the message of this parable is very sobering.  Let’s break this parable down and discuss the thrust of the message.

First of all, cast in the role of the bridegroom is the one and only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ.  The ten virgins represent us, believers and non-believers.

Okay, so now that we know the cast, what is the tie-in to the oil and the lamps?  That’s simple, actually.  Why do we need lamps?  Lamps help us to see where we are going, right?  We are blinded when we are surrounded by darkness.

The lamps, beloved, represent our spirits/souls.  Why do I say this?  Consider the following scripture:

“The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly.” – Proverbs 20:27 (KJV)

So if the lamp represents our soul/spirit, what does the oil represent?  The oil represents the Holy Spirit, which is attained through Christ Jesus.  Remember, beloved, that though Jesus is not present with us physically on earth anymore, He lives here in our hearts through the Holy Spirit.  This is the same Holy Spirit that God the Father filled Jesus, His only begotten Son, with after He was baptized by John the Baptist.  Brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ is also known as the Light of the World.  Having His light in us, we can rejoice in knowing that our lamps will be lit and shining brightly at the moment that Jesus comes for us.

You see, beloved, the Holy Spirit is the oil that shines brightly enough that all can see our light, which is the presence of the Lord in our hearts.  How can people see that light?  Well, let’s look at the type of light that the Holy Spirit emanates, as described by the Apostle Paul:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance:  against such there is no law.” - Galatians 5:22-23 (KJV)

You see, beloved, when we live in Christ, we are to be faithful and obedient servants of that which He blesses and graces us with.  Frankly, the manner in which we live should be a strong witness for Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Remember, brothers and sisters, as His servants, our lives should be lived in such a manner as to reflect to others our service to our Lord and Savior.  That means we are to let the Lord’s light shine through us for all to see.  Jesus said the following about this:

“Ye are the light of the world.  A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.  Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick;  and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” – Matthew 5:14-16 (KJV)

Beloved, the 5 virgins that heed the Lord’s word, and live by it, are those that He will find doing His work when He returns for His bride, which is the church.  The church is comprised of all those who have accepted salvation given by grace through faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  Only those that have Christ in them will be called home to be with the Lord.  Those that do not have Christ in them have souls/spirits filled with darkness instead of light.  Since there will be no light found in such people, they will be passed over when the believers are called home.  Consider the parable of the ten virgins, and listen to what Jesus said would happen when He calls His servants home:

“Then shall two be in the field;  the one shall be taken, and the other left.  Two women shall be grinding at the mill;  the one shall be taken, and the other left.  Watch therefore;  for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.  But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.  Therefore be ye also ready:  for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh.  Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?  Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.  Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.  But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, ‘My lord delayeth his coming’;  and shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;  The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites:  there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” – Matthew 24:40-51 (KJV)

Brothers and sisters, no one knows when Jesus will return.  Jesus Himself said that only the Father knows the appointed hour.  The point is that we are supposed to constantly live our lives doing the work of our Lord and Savior so that in that “twinkling of an eye” when Jesus does return, we are found as faithful and obedient servants, diligently doing His work and will.

Unfortunately, beloved, there are many that live without Christ in their hearts.  They do not have the oil of the Holy Spirit burning brightly within them and emanating His light in their lives.  This, brothers and sisters, is all the more reason for us to constantly have our lamps lit with the oil of the Holy Spirit.  By sharing, embracing, and living the Lord’s word and love, we will be more effective in shining His light through the darkness in order to reach those that are presently lost.  Just as we were once lost before being found, we are incredibly blessed with the opportunity to help gather many of our Shepherd’s lost “sheep” by lighting up the path that will lead them home to Him.  This is our mission, beloved, and the time is now to carry it out.

No one should take for granted that the Lord will not come back for “x” amount more time.  We simply do not know the Lord’s return date and time, as only the Father knows.  Jesus could return in 5,000 years, 5 months, 5 weeks, 5 days, or in the next 5 seconds.  Regardless of how long it is until Jesus returns, we need to commit ourselves to doing His work every single day of our lives.  When He returns for us, let’s bless and glorify Him by meeting Him with as many well-oiled lamps as possible!!!

I would like to ask each and every person taking part in today’s discussion a few questions.  If the Lord Jesus Christ were to return in the next few seconds, would you be ready?  Would the Lord find your lamp lit brightly by the oil of the Holy Spirit?  Just as importantly, are you confident and assured that all of your family, friends, and loved ones would be found ready if Jesus were to return in the next few seconds?  Are you confident that hte majority of people in this world are ready to meet the Lord?

Let’s be honest, beloved.  There are a great many people that are not yet ready to meet Jesus Christ.  If Jesus were calling His faithful servants home today, an incredibly large number of people would be among those left behind.  Evidence of this can be found all throughout the world today.  Just turn on the 6 o’clock news, or go for a drive through the city, and you will see that much of humanity is spiritually lost and adrift at sea, without boat or life jacket.  This, brothers and sisters, is the urgency of our mission.  Just as with the 5 foolish virgins, those who are not ready to meet the Lord when He calls His faithful home will find out the harsh reality that the time for making the decision to commit their lives to Him has passed.

Beloved, ask the Lord for the endurance, strength, perseverance, and courage to work tirelessly to share His love and His word with as many people as possible.  The Lord will give you the words and the guidance you need through the Holy Spirit.  The time is now, beloved, for us to increase our staffing levels of faithful and obedient servants to take part in the Lord’s harvest.  Let’s get to work!!!

If you have not yet accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, but you would like to, please pray the following prayer:

“Lord God Almighty, I know that I am a sinner and that I am lost.  I know that I need to be saved from sin, but I also know that I can’t save myself.  Lord Jesus, I know that only You can save me.  I know that you paid for my salvation with your own life and blood on the cross.  I know that when You rose from the grave on the third day, you provided everlasting life to all who trust in You.  Right now, I lay down my life and let go of my pride, my vanity and every other sin that has kept me from You.  Lord Jesus, I now completely trust my life to You.  I open my heart to You, Lord.  Please come into my heart.  Please forgive me of all of my sins, and please accept me as Your child.  From this point on, I commit my life to You.  Please guide me and provide me strength as I begin to live the rest of my life for You.  In Your precious and matchless name I pray.  Amen.”

Beloved, if you just prayed that prayer then you can rejoice in knowing that you now have the presence of the Lord in your heart.  While you will still face trials and tribulation in this world, you will never again face it alone.  Nurture your new relationship with the Lord and grow that relationship by getting to know Him better.  You can do this by studying His word (the bible), while also making talking to Him continually through prayer made with thanksgiving and supplication.  All you have to do to find out what the Lord had in mind for your life when He made you is to ask Him to shape your life in manner in which serves His will and then embrace the changes that He makes in you and your life.  Welcome to the family, beloved!!!  You are precious in your Heavenly Father’s eyes, and the angels in heaven are rejoicing in your decision to accept Christ Jesus as your Lord and Savior:-)  We are happy to have you!!!

Thank you for joining us for today’s discussion.  I hope you will be able to join us for tomorrow’s next discussion.  Now, go enjoy this day that the Lord has made, and make the most of it.  Be glad, and rejoice in it!!!  Share the Lord, His love, and His word with as many people as possible, doing so just as freely as the Father shared His only begotten Son with us:-)

May the Lord bless you, keep you, guide you, and make His face to shine upon you and your loved ones always.

Your brother in Christ,

Rev Jason Thurwanger

The Church should be about the healing presence of Jesus. My wife told me about a dream she had, and then I was reminded of two incredible stories in Acts. In Acts 5 it was Peter walking down a street and people could be healed by Peter’s shadow touching them. In Acts 19 it was Paul working at his trade. People would take work items from him and bring them to the sick and demon possessed… and they were healed.

It wasn’t Peter. It wasn’t Paul. It was the healing presence of Jesus. That should be the Church. We are to be so saturated with the Spirit that at any time the presence of Jesus touches infirmities and healing can flow. All kinds of healing. Not just physical healing. The Church is to bring the healing balm to the nations. We are to be the place of peace. Come around the Church and you find wholeness and healing.

We need that healing presence of Jesus flowing from us!

Welcome back, brothers and sisters!!!

Today we are going to discuss the parable of the wedding banquet.  This is a parable that Jesus spoke to the chief priests and Pharisees of the temple.  The parable is as follows:

“The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, whcih made a marriage for his son, And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding:  and they would not come.  Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, ‘Tell them which are bidden, ‘Behold, I have prepared my dinner:  my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready:  come unto the marriage.”  But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:  And the remnant took his servants, and intreated them spitefully, and slew them.”

“But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth:  and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.  Then saith he to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.  Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.’  So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good:  and the wedding was furnished with guests.”

“And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there was a man which had not on a wedding garment:  And he saith unto him, ‘Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment?’  And he was speechless.  Then said the king to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness;  there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’  For many are called, but few are chosen.” – Mattew 22:2-14 (KJV)

Brothers and sisters, let’s break down the parable, staring with the cast.

The king of the parable represents God the Father.  The son that the king has arranged a marriage for is Jesus Christ.  The bride to be is the church of Christ, which is all who live in the Lord.  The servants that were sent out to invite the guests represent the prophets.  The first group of guests that was repeatedly invited was the Israelites, God’s chosen people.  Remember, that though many prophets were respected and revered for a time, they usually ended up being persecuted/killed by the very people they were trying to reach with God’s message.

The second group of guests are the Gentiles, or the non-Jews.  When the Jewish people repeatedly rejected the Father, His word, and ultimately Jesus Christ and the Gospel He shared, the Gentiles were blessed with the opportunity to receive the Gospel and to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior while also receiving the gift of salvation that is found only in the only begotten Son of God.

Why was the one guest in the parable cast into outer darkness for not having on a wedding garment?  The answer is simple.  Do you know what the wedding garment is that the guests were to be clothed with?  Consider the following scripture:

“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God;  for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.” – Isaiah 61:10 (KJV)

You see, beloved, in order to attend the marriage of the Lamb of God, we must be attired appropriately.  We know that the only person we can get the appropriate attire from is Jesus Christ.  Why?  Through Jesus our sins are washed away, our hearts are purified, and we are clothed with the robe of righteousness.  The person in the parable without the robe of righteousness was a person that had not given their life to Jesus Christ, and was subsequently not wearing the necessary robe of righteousness.  Therefore, the inappropriately attired guest offended the king (God the Father). 

Brothers and sisters, there are people in this world who call themselves Christians, yet Christ is not found anywhere in them.  Such people often assume that going to church, periodically praying, and sometimes reading the bible and quoting chapter and verse is sufficient.  These are usually people that rejoice in sin Monday through Saturday, while attempting to live a Christian life on Sunday.  These are referred to as Sunday Christians, or Convenient Christians, and they do not have a place at the Lord’s table.  Why?  Beloved, Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior 365 days/year and 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Likewise, we are to be His servants at all times as well, living obediently and faithfully in serving Him.  Unfortunately, some are not sincere in their service to the Lord.  Jesus spoke of such people when He said the following about the day of judgment:

“Not everyone that saith unto Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven;  but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven.  Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?  and in thy name have cast out devils?  and in thy name done many wonderful works?’  And then I will profess unto them, ‘I never knew you:  depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.” – Matthew 7:21-23 (KJV)

You see, beloved, while we can fool our fellow man into believing that we are someone we are not, God always knows who we are.  God knows our hearts and knows all there is to possibly know about us.  A few acts, or a few words, do not make a faithful and obedient servant in Christ.  A faithful and obedient servant of the Lord lives in service to Him at all times, while also having the Lord in his/her heart at all times.  We love His word, regularly study it, and He writes it into our hearts.  We take every opportunity to share the Lord’s love and word with anyone we can reach.  We are never ashamed to confess to others that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, and Jesus is not ashamed of presenting us to the Father and speaking on our behalf.  Beloved, let’s live Christ in our lives all day, every single day.  Let’s study His word regularly as diligent students, and let’s do His work always as faithful and obedient servants are to do.  The Lord has already given us everything by blessing us with the gift of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  Let’s show Him how much we appreciate His sacrifice, His love, and His forgiveness by doing His work and will unceasingly and with a glad heart.

Beloved, if you have not yet received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, but you would sincerely like to, then please pray the following prayer:

“Lord God Almighty, I know that I am a sinner and that I am lost.  I know that I need to be saved from sin, but I also know that I can’t save myself.  Lord Jesus, I know that only You can save me.  I know that you paid for my salvation with your own life and blood on the cross.  I know that when You rose from the grave on the third day, you provided everlasting life to all who trust in You.  Right now, I lay down my life and let go of my pride, my vanity and every other sin that has kept me from You.  Lord Jesus, I now completely trust my life to You.  I open my heart to You, Lord.  Please come into my heart.  Please forgive me of all of my sins, and please accept me as Your child.  From this point on, I commit my life to You.  Please guide me and provide me strength as I begin to live the rest of my life for You.  In Your precious and matchless name I pray. Amen.”

I you just prayed that prayer, honestly seeking the Lord, then you are now saved.  The robe of righteousness is now available unto you, and though you will still face adversity in this world, you now have the Lord with you to face and overcome anything that comes your way.  Nurture your relationship with the Lord by talking to Him often through prayer with thanks and supplication, while also studying His word.  Ask the Lord to guide your every path, and follow the path that He sets before you.  You no longer serve the sins and lusts of this world.  Your chains that tied you to the things of this world have now been broken.  Serve the Lord with all your heart, and always seek His will in all things.  Welcome to the family:-)  Know that the angels in heaven are rejoicing at your decision to give your life to the Lord!!!

I want to thank you all for joining in on today’s discussion.  I hope you will be able to join us for tomorrow’s next message.

I hope you have a wonderful and blessed rest of the day.  Remember, you are loved by the very Creator of earth, the heavens, and all life with a love that is perfect, complete, and powerful beyond our present ability to fully comprehend.  Precious one, He made you in your mother’s womb, and you are very special to Him:-)

May the Lord bless you, keep you, guide you, and make His face to shine upon you and your loved ones always.

Your brother in Christ,

Rev Jason Thurwanger

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blu Starter Kit

“These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations,
which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.”
~Leviticus 23:4 KJV~

Pesach (Passover)

Related Bible References: Leviticus 23:4-8; Exodus 12:1-17; 1 Cor 5:7b;
Exodus 12: 24,26-27; Exodus 2:23-24; 6:5-8; 13:3,14
Symbol: BLOOD Remembers the Exodus from Egypt. A great time to have
one of our “Messiah in the Passover” programs. Remember Israel’s
deliverance from Egypt.
Reading: Song of Solomon
Fulfillment: 1 Cor 5:6-7; John 8:34; John 1:29; 1 Peter 2:5; Galatians
4:3-5,9; 5:1; 2 Peter 2:19; Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14; 1 Peter
1:18-19; 1 John 1:7; Revelation 1:5; Hebrews 10:1-10; John 1:36;
John 13:1-16 & Luke 22:13-20

Feast of Unleavened Bread – (Hag Ha Matzah)

Related Bible References: Exodus 12:15-20; 1 Cor 5:7-8 & Leviticus
23:4,6-14
Celebrated: one week — Nisan 15-21
Symbol: Matzah. A week of eating bread made without yeast (Matzah),
to remember how God brought the Isrealites out of Egypt in haste.
Fulfillment: 1 Cor 5:6-8; Acts 12:3-4 & Acts 20:6

First Fruits – Yom HaBikkurim

Related Bible References: Leviticus 23:7-14
Celebrated: Nisan 16 The day after the Sabbath.
Symbol: Known as the Feast of First Fruits. Presenting a sheaf of the first harvest. Jesus’ resurrection: He is “the firstfruits” from the dead (1 Cor 15:20,35). Harvest Offering First day after the Sabbath after Passover (Sunday) Leviticus 23:9
Reading & Fulfillment: 1 Cor 15:20-21

Shavuoth – (Feast of Weeks – Pentecost)

Related Bible References: Leviticus 23:9-22 & Deut 16:9-12
Symbol: It celebrates the time of the giving of the Law to Moses on
Mount Sinai. From Acts 2:1-41, this holiday is a celebration of the
birthday of the church. Holy Spirit was given the Day of Pentecost…..
“and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit” –Acts 2:1-13. Harvest
Offering Fifty Days (hence: Pentecost) after Passover.
Reading: Ruth
Fulfillment: Acts 2:1-13 & Acts 26:23

Rosh Hashanah – (Feast of Trumpets)
The Jewish New Year

Related Bible References: Leviticus 23:23-25
Celebrated: Tishri 1
Symbol: Celebrates the beginning of the Jewish Civil year. It is both a time of rejoicing as well as a holy occasion (see Nehemiah 8:2, 9-12). The Shofar (Ram’s horn Trumpets are blown to proclaim a gathering for worship. A trumpet is often a symbol of war. It is also a symbol of calling together or gathering. There are two different “schools of thought”, so to speak on how it will be fullfilled, either The Feast of Trumpets is representative of The Second Coming of Jesus Christ or The Rapture.

Yom Kippur – (Day of Atonement)

Related Bible References: Leviticus 16:1-34 23:26-32 & Isaiah 34:5-6
Celebrated: 10 Tishri
Symbol: Is the holiest day of the Jewish year. A time to consider Jesus as our atonement. Sacrifices for sins of the nation. Hebrews 9 & 10 and Romans 5:10,11. Some believe that this will be fulfilled by The Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Succoth – (Feast of Tabernacles/Booths)

Related Bible References: Leviticus 23:33-44; Neh 8; Zechariah 14:16-19 & Zechariah 14:1-4, 9
Celebrated: Beginning at sunset. Lasts 7 days. Tishri 15-21
Symbol: Sukkot recalls 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, living in tents (booths) and worshiping in a portable tabernacle. Sukkot is also known as the Feast of Ingathering – a wonderful harvest holiday. Wanderings in the Wilderness. Feast of Tabernacles Temporary Booths are constructed to remind Israel of the Wilderness wandering. A Lulav of Palm Branches are waved ushering the Kingdom. This feast consists of seven days with the first day being a Sabbath. Concludes and on the 8th day The Last Great Day (of the Feast) is celebrated. See John 7:37-38. Some believe that this will be fulfilled by the Millenium Reign of The Lord Jesus on earth.
Reading: Ecclesiastes

NOT INCLUDED IN THE 7 -

Feasts but not part of the Major Seven:

Hanukkah – (Feast of Dedication)

Related Bible References: Daniel 8:13-14 & John 10:22-23
Celebrated: 25 Kislev
Symbol: Hanukkah commemorates the re-dedication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem in 165 BC, and Hanukkah holds great meaning for Christians today. Jesus celebrated Hanukkah.

Purim – (Feast of Lots)

Related Bible References: Book of Esther
Celebrated: Celebrated 14 Adar.
Symbol: Commemorates the story of Esther when King Ahasuerus denounced
Haman’s plot to annihilate the entire Jewish population of Persia. Purim is
a joyful celebration of thanksgiving for Esther’s courageous acts
and God’s faithfulness. Jesus celebrated Purim.

 Source: Annies Home Page

Jesus and His Disciples

My God, in the evening of life You will judge me according to my love.  Help me grow in love each day.

Today is a Mass of thanksgiving for the liturgical year that is ending and preparation for the new one which is about to begin.  We are reminded that the present life is fleeting and that our Lord invites us to keep ourselves in readiness for the final step which will usher us into eternity.

In today’s Gospel from Matthew (24:15-35), Jesus foretells the destruction of the world, and His second Advent, when all nations shall see the eternal Judge coming with power and majesty in the clouds of heaven.

At that time Jesus said to His disciples: When you shall see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the Prophet, standing in the holy place; he that readeth, let him understand: then they that are in Judea, let them flee to the mountains; and he that is on the housetop, let him not come down to take anything out of this house; and he that is in the field, let him not go back to take his coat.  And woe to them that are with child and that give suck, in those days.  But pray that our flight be not in the winter, or no the sabbath: for there shall be great tribulation, such as hath not been found from the beginning of the world until now, neither shall be: and unless those days had been shortened, no flesh should be saved; but for the sake of the elect, those days shall be shortened.  Then if any man shall say to you: Lo, here is Christ, or there; do not believe him; for there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch as to deceive (if possible) even the elect.  Behold I have told it to you, beforehand.  If therefore they shall say to you: Behold he is in the desert, go ye not out: Behold he is in the closets, believe it not.  For as lightning cometh out of the east, and appeareth even into the west: so shall the coming of the Son of man be.  Wheresoever the body shall be, there shall the eagles also be gathered together.  And immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be moved:  And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all tribes of the earth mourn: and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with much power and majesty.  And he shall send his angels with a trumpet, and a great voice: and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the farthest parts of the heavens to the utmost bounds of them.  And from the fig tree learn a parable: When the branch thereof is now tender, and the leaves come forth, you know that summer is nigh.  So you also, when you shall see all these things, know ye that it is nigh, even at the doors.  Amen I say to you, that this generation shall not pass till all these things be done.  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.

Excita, quaesumus, Domine, tuarum fidelium voluntates: ut divini operis fructum propensius exsequentes, pietatis tuae remedia mejora percipiant.  Per Dominum nostrum.

Stir up, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the wills of Thy faithful to seek more earnestly this fruit of the divine work, that they will receive more abundantly healing gifts from Thy tender mercy.  Through our Lord.