Depending on God

We started off by one of our ladies saying she was reminded this week that we need not to forget to praise God. Remember the "Doxology?”

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heav’nly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

It’s good to be reminded that He is to be praised and not just in the good times.

We began talking about our dependence on God. Many think that when God comforts us, our troubles just go away. If that were always the case, people would turn to God only out of a desire to be relieved of pain and not out of love for Him. God is faithful. In 2 Corinthians 1:3-11, Paul experienced great suffering. He felt like he was going to die, totally overwhelmed and powerless to do anything. He trusted God. He had to totally rely on Him to help and intercede. Depending on God shows us how much we need Him and how powerful He is and how powerless we are. If He can raise the dead, surely He can see us through difficult circumstances.

I read this the other day:

Have you made peace with your present situation? Can you trust that God is doing His perfect work in your through every circumstance? If you can’t you will grow restless, hopeless and eventually mad at God. You will become bitter and hard.

We should pray for ourselves and each other that in times of difficulties, knowing God will walk through it with us and that He will give us the guidance and direction that we need.

Which Jesus Do You Serve?

This is a great post that I received and wanted to share:

WHICH JESUS Do YOU SERVE??-Posted by Brendon Powell.

There seems to be more than one Jesus to choose from these days.
Which one is the true Jesus and who am I following?

· There’s a ‘seeker friendly’ Jesus, he’s the one who will not offend anyone in anyway. He loves everyone no matter what they do.
. There’s a ‘sow and reap’ Jesus, he made a covenant with man so that man could sow his seed and reap wealth and happiness on earth and then go to heaven when he dies.
· There’s a ‘blend in with the world’ Jesus, he wants us to look like, act like, and be like the world in order to reach the lost.
· There’s a ‘never ending grace’ Jesus, his ‘grace’ covers us no matter what we do or how we live.
· There’s a ‘just believe’ Jesus. As long as you truly believe in your heart, you’re saved.
· There’s a ‘name it claim it’ Jesus. You name it; anything and it’s yours! If you don’t get it, it’s because you lack faith. It’s your fault.
· There’s a ‘carnal’ Jesus. He doesn’t expect you to overcome sin, he understands you’re just carnal.
· There’s a ‘heart dwelling’ Jesus. All you have to do is ask him into your heart and voilà, he’s there. You’re going to heaven!

Truth:
There’s the Jesus who said “Repent and believe the gospel,the kingdom of God is at hand.” -Mark 1:15
He said, “Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Him.” -Luke 9:23-25
He said without Him you are already condemned. -John 3:18
He said He came to save the world -John 3:16
He said unless you forsake all you have, you cannot be His disciple. -Luke 14:33
He said if we love anyone more than Him we are not worthy of Him. -Matt 10:37-39
He said if you love this life you’ll lose it. -John 12:25-26
He said you cannot serve God and money. -Matt 6:24
He said fear God who can destroy both body and soul in hell. -Mt 10:28
He said be extreme in your war against sin. -Matt 18:8-9
He said love God with all your heart, soul and mind and your neighbour as yourself. -Matt 22:37-39
He said He is the light of the world. –John 8:12
He said the gate is narrow and the way is difficult and few find it. -Matt 7:13-14
He said those who believe in Him but work iniquity will be cast out. -Matt 7:21-23
He said you’ll be hated for His name’s sake, but if you endure to the end, you’ll be saved. -Matt 10:22
He said I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me. –John 14:6

Which Jesus do you serve?

True Repentance

Home church was at MJ’s. There was a sweet, gentle Presence of the Holy Spirit surrounding us as we began to worship. When we started our discussion of God’s Word, one thing was very clear…True repentance gives you a new way to live, not a license to continue in the same sinful lifestyle. Some are being lulled to believe, that if they cry their eyeballs out, walk to the altar and asked for prayer, then they have repented. Sometimes it can be emotional, but emotions do not enhance true repentance. If we continue in the same sin, have we really repented? I think not. We can speak the words, but, if it is not a life change of the heart, are we taking the Lord’s work on the cross in vain? Are we hearing the same spiritual message as from the apostles of old? Is the true gospel being watered down with the “prosperity” and” life is all good” messages? Narrow is the road doesn’t mean it will widen at the end of time. When you walk on a narrow road, you walk closely with others on the same road. “If we say we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness (sin), we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 6-7) True repentance is Life. No Repentance is Death. Let us choose wisely.

Sunday, March 15th

Our discussion this past Sunday started out by hearing from Ken about a book he was reading on Hell. From there we started discussing how in today’s society, so many people don’t take Hell serious. The thought that this is eternal damnation, separation from God should shake you to the very core of your being. That’s just not what we are seeing in the world today. The mentality is that everything is going to be fine; I’m a good person so I don’t have anything to worry about. How wrong is that thinking? Hell is real and if you are not a child of God, that is where you will find yourself.
From there we started reading in Numbers 11 where the children of Israel were complaining to Moses. This time it’s about their food. Each morning God was providing them with fresh manna but they were so busy complaining about what they didn’t have, they didn’t see the miracle from God. Still, they wanted meat. Never satisfied, always wanting more.
Are we like that in our own life? Do we find that we are complaining about what we don’t have instead of being thankful for what we have? Today, things in this world are unsettling, but God is faithful, steadfast, never changing. He will see us through whatever our circumstance we are in. Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” God has to be our foundation, if He is not, what you call a foundation will crumble, it will not stand.

He Is Our Strength

We met at Russell and Vicki’s home this past Sunday. We started talking about what’s going on in the world and from there folks started sharing what was on their heart. There is concern for what’s going on in today’s economy. Some of the people were speaking about staying in the will of God, walking in faith, heeding the Word of God. We can do this by staying in the Word, praying, having fellowship with the brethren. After that we went into a time of praise and that lead into a great time of prayer. The meal was delicious of course and we had fun sitting around spending time and talking with one another.
Isaiah 40:28-31 says:
“ Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, And to [those who have] no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the LORD Shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

Church at The Lamberts

Home church is exactly that...the church gathering at a home. You have heard the saying "home is where the heart is", well, it fits the home church. It is a place where hearts are longing for more of a relationship with the Lord and with each other. The home setting is a relaxed atmosphere that promotes caring, sharing and encouragement. Not only do we uplift each other, but we also challenge each other to BE and DO all that we are called to BE and DO! Also, we gather outside of the homes, as we meet for coffee, lunch or helping someone move, and the like. We have purposed in our hearts to care for one another and that comes from meeting together and getting to know each other...the home church is a great place to start.

Church at "The Verrett's"

One great aspect of meeting in a home is we get to all help in the kitchen when it is time for lunch. Everyone pitches in with the fixing and with the cleaning up, so no one is left with the whole load. As you can see from the smiling faces while leaving, it was a pleasant time for all! We all appreciate MJ for the great pictures she has taken.