Victory in Jesus

Dear Friends,

Have you ever felt like a failure? Have you ever been discouraged? Did you ever want to quit? Oh how the evil one knows our buttons and loves to push them. I had just finished typing and printing the words below that come from a book entitled: The Saving Life of Christ by Major W. Ian Thomas. It is a book full of truth and life for those who believe! I got a call from a Christian sister who was crying due to a battle she had just endured. She felt she had sinned as she lost control of her temper. Ever been there? Well the beauty of the situation was that she had cried out to Jesus to forgive her but the evil one was still yelling of her failure! She called just as I was about to put this printed paper in my purse. Wow! Does God see your pain? Does He care? Eternity past He saw this sister in distress and had the paper in my hand when she called. Don't tell me He isn't a God who acts on our behalf. First I assured her that she was forgiven 1 John 1:9 and that sin was actually in her past as we spoke, covered by the righteousness of Christ to be rememberd no more as far as the east is from the west. We began praising Jesus for His great love poured out for us. Then I said you must listen to what I have in my hand. It is the greatest truth that has hit my heart in a very long time. I was somewhat down in my Spirit as I began to read this book and God showed me His great love toward me. Please read the following with a believing heart and rejoice in Jesus!




You compromise with Amalek ( your flesh) at your peril! In your flesh dwells no good thing. Spare it if you will but it will never spare you! Presume to find something good in it, when God has wholly condemned it, and the day will come when it will destroy you and rob you of your crown! God says that no flesh will ever glory in His presence. It can only make your body the devil’s plaything, so that he can be incarnate in all you say and do, robbing Christ of His rightful sovereignty in your humanity, whose life alone constitutes the true and only source of genuine righteousness.
Are you still offering to God the best of what God has condemned?
Do not be deceived by Amalek! Resist him with the rod of God held high, appropriating the victory already won. Carve your way through his ranks, for this is your victory, even your faith! Go on and go in, thanking the Lord JESUS for His life, as you have learned to thank Him for His DEATH—for what He is, as you have learned to thank Him for what He DID! Christ is your VICTORY!

Thank you for reading and my prayer for you is that you will find victory for each day in Jesus!

When Life is Uncertain

Dear Ones,
How we must react to God's will? Our SS lesson this week is on the time in Jesus' life that He must face the wrath of God against sin and know the terror of the full power of satan. He had just finished having the passover meal with His disciples where He had told them the bread was a symbol of His body which is broken for them and the wine was a symbol of His blood that would be shed for them. The disciples didn't fully understand but led by Peter they all said they would die with Jesus. Jesus quouted the old testment saying the sheperd would be stiked and the sheep would scatter. Yet even Jesus has been tempted in every way that you and I are tempted. He knew God's will yet He was afraid. He knew He would suffer yet He wanted this cup to pass from Him. This is where the road met the rubber! Jesus surrendered His will to God's. He knew the imediate future looked bleak yet He said "Not my will but Yours be done." It was sacrificing His will to do the will of the Father.
When life overwhelms us we must remember to go to the Father God. Jesus went into the garden of Gethseme and fell on the ground in great sorrow. Yet as He prayed to the Father three different times He surrendered His will to Abba Father.
What could this mean for us? When we are faced with difficult decisons we must go to the One who holds us by His mighty hand. We must surrender our will to His. It is not easy in fact it is very difficult.
I can give you an example. I of late have been praying that God would help me to be obedient in the little things that He might use me in a greater way for His kingdom. There is a section of our city called Rice and Mann and much evil is done in this neighborhood. Murders and rapes and beatings are common day. Yet my heart has been drawn to this neighborhood. A girl who sells her body in order to survive asked Jesus to come into her heart at God's Provisions (clothes closet). The change in her countance was miracouly beautiful. Then a small five year old little girl was at AWANA last week whom I helped to understand the difference between God and Jesus. She was so precious and I pray I will have many more opportunities to work with her. She couldn't say her address but she said I stay at Rice and Mann. God is opening a door and I want to be obedient. It is a difficult way but I know God will go with me and before me to make my path smooth as I trust in Him.
That is what Jesus ultimately did. He trusted the Father and went through much suffering to be raised to the glory of God. He sits at the right hand of the Father praying for you and me. What a comfort!

Keep the faith,

Opal

Do you have a mundane life?

I am reading a book entitled Jesus among other God's by Ravi Zacharias. This morning he was speaking of the life. He asked a question that I pose to you. Do any human beings ever realize life while the live it--every, every moment? The saints maybe--they do some, because they slow down and think and look beyond activities to their longings and somehow broach the possiblity of meaning that transcends their actions. In short if we are to truly understand who we are, we must understand what bread can and cannot do.
Jesus met a woman at the well.The diciples come and offer him lunch. He was talking to a socially ostracized and desperate woman whose life had been used and abused till she had no sense of self-worth left. The disciples chided Him for talking to this outcast, saying "you must be hungry".He says he has food that they don't know which is to do the will of My Father.
So my first understanding is that if I am to be fulfilled, I must pursue a will that is greater than mine--a fulfilled lfie is one that has the will of God as its focus, not the appetite of the flesh.
Jesus went on to say look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. He pointed to a hunger that was of universal proportion. There was hunger everywhere and He said there was food for all. It was not wheat or water, It was Christ Himselfk the Bread of Life. The Samaritan woman grasped what He said with a fevor that came from an awarenes of her real need. The transaction was fascinating--she came with a bucket and He sent her back with a spring of living water. She came rejected, He sent her back accepted by God Himself. She came wounded, He sent her back whole. She came living a life of quiet desperation. She ran back overflowing with hope.
The disciples missed it all. It was lunchtime for them.

What about you and me? Do we awaken each day with stuff on our minds. Crowding us with things to do, jobs to go to, appointmnets to meet and oh don't forget about food. We must have food to survive right? But if we get up to the same routine each day. Day after day, what is our satisfaction in this life? What can we do?
It is not only reading God's living Word that will excite and satisfy your soul but it is doing the will of God. In obedience we will find God's blessings. We must realize there are people all around us each day that need to know the hope we each have. If we just live our lives for us and our friends will we miss the will of God? I have come to realize that the majority of my weeks are spent working and eating and sleeping. I love Sundays and I love fellowship but Jesus wants us to see the fields of those who might never know His love. The outcast folks, the desperate folks the rich folks. Who is God putting in your path every day at work that He might use you to reach.
I challenge yoiu to begin to pray that God would use you to His glory! Oh what a life to be satisfied by Him. There is no greater satisfaction than this. There is nothing in this world that will satisfy you for it will leave you longing for more.

Pray for us as we pray for you. . .

Opal

A Word From the LORD

Have you ever read the Word and suddenly the words seem to lift off the page? I am so grateful that as I read each day and come to a time where I am struggling or overwhelmed that God meets me in His Word. He not only meets me but He has prepared eternity past that I would be in His Word this morning at a place in His Word through my daily reading. He gives me encouragment and stirs my Spirit to know He is talking with me! So as I was reading yesterday He showed me something I want to share with you who would read . . .

I was reading in the 12th chapter of John as my dailey spot to read. I came to verse 27,28 that lifted off the page as my Spirit jumped within me. That verse reads "Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? Father save Me from this hour? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father glorify Your name."

I sensed within my Spirit that Jesus was showing me something wonderful and something scarey. God by His will and His purposes drew me to Himself to glorify Him. So as I come to this hour, this day, this momement it is for His purpose. It is to glorify His name. So as I began to understand I realized each moment we live, each day that we awaken it is for this purpose that we have come. To glorify His name.

Wow! If we could walk in obedience as Jesus walked in obedience we would be very aware that it is for His purpose that we have come that He might receive glory from our lives!

Do you live for your glory or His? For what purpose do you live? Bro James Dean once said we should chew upon the Word of God given to us all day. Yes! If we chew upon the Word of God we will glorify Him with our lives. The Word of God will show us how to be Holy as He is holy. He will show us the purpose for each day and how to glorify HIm with our lives.

Walk in His ways and by His power and His will and purposes will be in our lives.

Bless my soul and everything that is within me to the glory of Him!

Thanks for reading. Keep the Faith

Opal

The Question

This was sent to me by email and it really hit my heart hard with the truth of it all. Please read on and see what you believe?????


Subject: The question that could change your life.

If you do not read another email this year, read this.

> THE QUESTION THAT CHANGED MY LIFE
> -by David Ryser.
>
> .
> A number of years ago, I had the privilege of teaching at a school
> of ministry. My students were hungry for God, and I was constantly
> searching for ways to challenge them to fall more in love with
> Jesus and to become voices for revival in the Church. I came across
> a quote attributed most often to Rev. Sam Pascoe. It is a short
> version of the history of Christianity, and it goes like this:
>
> Christianity started in Palestine as a fellowship;
> it moved to Greece and became a philosophy;
> it moved to Italy and became an institution;
> it moved to Europe and became a culture;
> it came to America and became an enterprise.
>
> Some of the students were only 18 or 19 years old--barely out of
> diapers--and I wanted them to understand and appreciate the import
> of the last line, so I clarified it by adding, "An enterprise. That's a
> business."
>
> After a few moments Martha, the youngest student in the class,
> raised her hand. I could not imagine what her question might be. I
> thought the little vignette was self-explanatory, and that I had
> performed it brilliantly. Nevertheless, I acknowledged Martha's
> raised hand, "Yes, Martha."
>
> She asked such a simple question, "A business? But isn't it supposed
> to be a body?"
>
> I could not envision where this line of questioning was going, and the
> only response I could think of was, "Yes."
>
> She continued, "But when a body becomes a business, isn't that a
> prostitute?"
>
> The room went dead silent. For several seconds no one moved or
> spoke. We were stunned, afraid to make a sound because the
> presence of God had flooded into the room, and we knew we were
> on holy ground. All I could think in those sacred moments was,
> "Wow, I wish I'd thought of that." I didn't dare express that thought
> aloud. God had taken over the class.
>
> Martha's question changed my life. For six months, I thought about
> her question at least once every day. "When a body becomes a
> business, isn't that a prostitute?"
>
> There is only one answer to her question. The answer is "Yes."
>
> The American Church, tragically, is heavily populated by people who
> do not love God. How can we love Him? We don't even know Him;
> and I mean really know Him.
>
> I stand by my statement that most American Christians do not
> know God--much less love Him. The root of this condition originates
> in how we came to God. Most of us came to Him because of what
> we were told He would do for us. We were promised that He would
> bless us in life and take us to heaven after death. We married Him
> for His money, and we don't care if He lives or dies as long as we
> can get His stuff. We have made the Kingdom of God into a business,
> merchandising His anointing.
>
> This should not be. We are commanded to love God, and are called
> to be the Bride of Christ---that's pretty intimate stuff. We are
> supposed
> to be His lovers. How can we love someone we don't even know? And
> even if we do know someone, is that a guarantee that we truly love
> them? Are we lovers or prostitutes?
>
> I was pondering Martha's question again one day, and considered
> the question, "What's the difference between a lover and a prostitute?"
> I realized that both do many of the same things, but a lover does
> what she does because she loves. A prostitute pretends to love, but
> only as long as you pay. Then I asked the question, "What would
> happen if God stopped paying me?"
>
> For the next several months, I allowed God to search me to uncover
> my motives for loving and serving Him.
>
> Was I really a true lover of God?
> What would happen if He stopped blessing me?
> What if He never did another thing for me? Would I still love Him?
>
> Please understand---I believe in the promises and blessings of God.
> The issue here is not whether God blesses His children; the issue is
> the condition of my heart. Why do I serve Him? Are His blessings
> in my life the gifts of a loving Father, or are they a wage that I have
> earned or a bribe/payment to love Him? Do I love God without any
> conditions?
>
> It took several months to work through these questions. Even now I
> wonder if my desire to love God is always matched by my attitude
> and behavior. I still catch myself being disappointed with God and
> angry that He has not met some perceived need in my life. I suspect
> this is something which is never fully resolved, but I want more than
> anything else to be a true lover of God.
>
> So what is it going to be? Which are we---lover or prostitute?
>
> There are no prostitutes in heaven, or in the Kingdom of God for
> that matter, but there are plenty of former prostitutes in both
> places. Take it from a recovering prostitute when I say there is no
> substitute for unconditional, intimate relationship with God. And I
> mean there is no palatable substitute available to us (take another
> look at Matthew 7:21-23 sometime).
>
> We must choose.
>
> Dr. David Ryser.


Keep the Faith,

Mom

Something Wonderful to share

As I was reading my SS lesson for this week and our lesson is from Galatians 1 and the verses that caught my attention were 1:6-9. I want to share something wonderful with you.

Paul had presented the gospel of Christ to these folks and as he left them, other religious men came from Jerusalem and began to tell them that they had to follow their religious laws in order to be really saved. They made it appear that Paul had not told them the whole story of how to be saved. Yet Paul's heat is enraged that such untruth was being preached to the young church. So he writes this letter to the Galatians to help them know the truth that will make them free.

Oh, my friend: The gospel is faith plus nothing--nothing for you to do, only accept God's precious gift.

I had John 1:12-13 explained to me like this. It reads, "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of men, but of GOD."

1) You see we didn't inherit a relationship with God because of our Mom or Dad's relationship with Him. 2) We can't get a relationship with God because we want it with all of our flesh. 3. Nor can we have a relationship with God because someone desperately wants it for us. But it is of God. It is a miracle of rebirth. It is a miracle of God drawing us to Himself through the Holy Spirit and revealing Himself to us.

So how can we receive what God is offering to us?

We must pray to HIM admitting we are sinners in great need of a Savior. We must believe on Jesus Christ's name and Him crucified and risen again on the 3rd day according to the scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)
And by the miracle of God you will be reborn into His family. He will wash away all your sins and you will know peace with God within your heart.

I love the old hymnal "Just as I am" because that is a picture of God's grace. We can never be good enough to be in His presence or do enough good things to earn it. We must understand that Jesus paid the full price for our sins. Jesus satisfied God's wrath against sinners once and forever. So we must come just as we are, broken, in great need and fall before Him admitting He is our only hope.

I want to thank you for reading this blog. I don't know what you are going through but God does and He put this upon my heart to share. I don’t know if this is something that you have been struggling with or something God wants to use to help you share with someone else. I will pray for you and know that God sees your life and He is our greatest hope.

Keep the Faith

Opal

Do You Want to Be Made Well?

Jesus went up to Jerusalem. There in Jerusalem was a pool called Behtesda having 5 porches. There lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed waiting for the moving of the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water was made well of whatever disease he had.
Now we come to a man who had been diseased for 38 years and Jesus asks him "Do you want to be made well?"
I have to presume that if this was asked, the man had to be aware of his disease. Yet as I pondered that question I wondered if there were those diseased that would not want to be made well and therefore the question. Then as i further thought why would a person not want to be made well i looked back on my life. Looking back over my life I lived for myself before Christ. I thought I had a pretty good life. Yet when I became aware of my disease of sin I could not do anything about it. I was powerless to heal myself, just as this man had been powerless for 38 long years.
It is only by the grace of God that Jesus comes to us offering to make us well. Offering to pay the price for our diseased life. Just as he spoke health into this man's life telling him to pick up his mat and walk he will do for us. He offers us life by His sacrifce. Paid in full for us to be made whole. Praise God for the Son who walked obediently even unto death. Praise Jesus Christ who despised the shame of the suffering and the cross for the joy set before Him. What was that joy? It was the joy of seeing us in need of Him. It was the joy that our answer to that question, DO YOU WANT TO BE MADE WELL would be yes! YES! Wash me clean and I will be clean in deed!

I thank you for reading and I hope it has stirred your heart in gratitude that Christ came to you and now you live for Him.

Keep the Faith

Opal