LOVE!

The Bible is a book that is full of Love!

We may tend to think that the love of God is limited to a few verses in the New Testament and that all is related to Jesus, but this is not so because God expresses His love for those who have faith in Him and for His people Israel long before the coming of Messiah and the establishment of Ekklesia!

John 3:16. Remains controversial only by those who remain limited in their Biblical knowledge and study or who have been blinkered by the veil of replacement theology?

But the Holy Scriptures are full of God’s love and it would take a long time to cover every area, so one has been limited and once more has provided as bases from where you can work from!

Exodus 15:3, Deuteronomy 4:37, 7:8, Luke 6:27, John 16:27, Galatians 2:20, Revelation 3:15.

Stephen!

The cost for loving Jesus?

Most of us will never have to face death for our faith in God, but many do around the world and more so during Christmas and Easter from deceived and sick people who fail to grasp the truth even about their own religions or atheism!

Many of us do face some form of intimidation, insult and attack from the world daily and it is hard at times to love these idiotic nasty people?

We can be attacked even in fellowship by our so called brothers and sisters, out of spite and jealousy, arguments boil over nothing and can lead to bitter roots something we are warned not to allow in our selves!

Stephen loved Jesus and spoke truth’s that the world could not excuse or hide from, very much as the religious men of Israel denied their Messiah, because He did not meet their standard!

This is a warning to us, that we have to try to reach His standards, knowing that we will fail and that love is one of many elements that make up the character of the Godhead under grace?

Acts 7:1-8:1, Romans 3:25, 2 Corinthians 2:7, Ephesians 4:32, Colossians 3:13, 1 John 1:9.

We hope that you can enjoy the Christmas season, even if you are isolated and that you will have a peaceful New Year?

Zechariah’s Prophecy! Part-One.

Luke 1:67-79.

We tend to over look this New Testament Prophecy, perhaps because it points to the Jewish race and to that of John, who would make a way for Jesus the Messiah to come!

But in these few verses is some invaluable lessons as to the events that were taking place in Jerusalem two thousand years ago and continue to this day in the form of anti-Semitism and even in Ekklesia by many who fail to understand what the Holy Bible is saying?

These human reactions prove that some who profess a faith, are not what they say they are, while others have been mislead into false or not fully understood teachings! Verses 69-71 sum up the connection of events past and present in the day of Jesus appearing and His role in redeeming the nation and all who believe in Him?

But those he came for rejected Him as much as many continue to so today!

Psalm 18:2-3, 132:17-18, Luke 1:32-33, Romans 9:4-5.

EVIL! Two.

World War-I/II+ We Remember?

There is much pride in the human heart to remember the fallen of past wars and conflicts and it would seem honorable to do so, but not was all right in these two world wars and all wars!

Men in fear were treated as cowards and shot and their families not compensated with a war pension, greed and spite came to the fore, those who refused on religious grounds were either killed or rejected by society?

Meanwhile the suffering of nerve gas, high-explosive ammunitions left men with terrible if not horrific wounds and in the 1939-45 war many nations refused the Jews prior to the Nazi-Holocaust while others avoided their rescue and Britain maintained similar prison conditions in the Middle-East until Winston Churchill got challenged by the events?

Wars have to be fought to save our systems of politics and at one time supposed Christian values, but this is a smoke screen to cover arms sales and the pride of royal families, madness of dictatorship and excuses for sin and they will continue until even the Day of Armageddon!

Genesis 44:4, Numbers 13:32, Job 19:19, 35:12, Psalm 78:68, Proverbs 24:1, Ecclesiastes 9:3, Jeremiah 31:3, Hosea 11:1, Matthew 5:11, Luke 7::47, John 3:14-18, 12:43, 13:34, 15:9, Romans 8:37, Ephesians 2:4, Revelation 16:16.

1 Timothy 3:16. Part-One.

Not in every Translation?

Some have suggested this is a later add on to the original letter, but we could all be accused of making a footnote to our own letters of encouragement to others!

It is a powerful verse in the New Testament about Jesus our Lord and Savior!

Christ/Messiah came as a human or in human flesh!

The Holy Spirit proved that He pleased God!

He was seen by Angels!

Christ/Messiah was preached to the Nations!

People put their faith in Him!

And He was taken up in Glory!

What is the problem, a miss translation, replacement theology, or down right anti-Semitism in the early Church to Armenian, Roman Catholic and others?

Deuteronomy 31:23, 1 Chronicles 22:13, Psalm 42:2, Jeremiah 10:10, Acts 1:2, Hebrews 3:2-6.

Harvest Time!

From the window box to the plains?

When serving in the inner cities we tend not to see the point of having a harvest festival and yet many members have allotments, gardens, window boxes to sow a few fruit and vegetables so they can count the pennies?

On the other hand the countryside and the small ports have their respective catches of grains and fish and have something to give God the thanks for!

Not many today see a value of the harvest festival, since they associate it only with the material, but Jesus referred to the Spiritual side of all of our callings to witness our faith, share our testimony, speak and pray and then the Angels will reap fields that are white for souls for Eternity?

There are many ways to do these services, giving thanks, involving children, young people and older folks, talking about experience or just a plain service?

The use of the community is important in the role of the food bank and also in growing the wrong crops such as narcotics, showing people a right way and asking them to consider Jesus!

Genesis 8:22, Exodus 23:16, 2 Chronicles 32:28, Matthew 6:26, 13:30, Galatians 6:9, James 3:18.

Gifts of the Holy Spirit!

What are they for?

A great debate rages in the Ekklesia today in relation to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, with many claiming that that time in the book of acts is over?

But if we take time and end our doctrinal blind spots we will take note that in 1 Corinthians chapter 12 and verse 4 we are told the essential reason, before hitting the juicy bits!

Gifts, service and activity are the essentials of being touched at His will by the Holy Spirit, one who will remain active and effective in the lives of all believers who remain in fellowship with God.

We cannot preach, teach, witness, share, talk about God without the Holy Spirit, we have to be touched and given each individually our gifting, so that we may serve, so that we will remain active no matter what Satan tries to use to draw us down?

Romans 15:17, 2 Corinthians 9:12, Ephesians 4:12, 2 Timothy 4:5, Hebrews 12:28, James 2:22, Revelation 2:19.

The Prodigal Son! Three.

Jealousy?

Infuriation might be a better word for the son who worked away and did not flout his fathers inheritance!

But like many Christians today in Ekklesia they miss the point when a prostitute or a big time criminal gets saved, it makes the place, reputation of good living look dirty?

Because their hearts were blinded to God’s love and mercy on the lost, just as this father took back his son and so we have a powerful evangelism tool with Luke 15 that can be applied in the community and worldwide today?

As believers we are always now with our father who through the good works of Jesus has bought us with blood and when we see the uncomfortable coming in let us rejoice for God has brought another home!

Luke 15:11-32, Romans 15:9-13, Ephesians 2:1-10.

Christian despair & Depression!

‘Not a bed of Roses?

The statement, ‘It is hard to be a believer, should not be under estimated, since many of us who are now long in the faith now the pain and costs that are involved as we progress in that race that the Apostle Paul encourages us with!

Ekklesia has much to answer to when it comes to depression, mental-illness and despair amongst believers? What was at one time referred to for missionaries is now widespread in the body, since many of us live in pluralistic societies that are hostile to Christians?

Nothing much has changed from the times of the pagan world of the early followers of the way to modern times, the world has turned back to the worship of nature and abandoned the God of the Holy Bible and many believers are starting to fall away, as we are told is to happen!

But we have a God who loves us and His son Jesus who died for us, we must run to Him and trust to endure and to press on? It is indeed very hard, but the price for us is too great to know give up or let go? Let us encourage one and another and help, pray, financials and a roof?

2 Corinthians 4:8-11, Psalm 56:2-3, Proverbs 8:10, 1 Peter 1:7, 4:12-14.

The Prodigal Son! One.

The Fathers love for Us?

This story that Jesus told is about the young waster and his failure and his redemption being welcomed back into his family!

The illustration is a lovely one of Gods love for this lost world, the meaning of the story could be applied to each one of us, unless we came to know the Lord as a child?

In this series we will start with the last verse since it is the key of the message that we need to rejoice as we see New believers enter into the Ekklesia the family of God!

Luke 15:11-32, Isaiah 35:10, Hosea 14:9.