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.

The Kingdom of Israel?

Anti-Semitism in the Ekklesia!

We here this time are dealing with some serious facts when it comes to the Christian attitude to Israel being restored as a nation and a Kingdom!

Now for over eighteen hundred years the Gentiles have enjoyed keeping Jewish believers in their Messiah down and part from that justifying slavery, and many other ideals that are to suit their own agenda of oppression?

These ideas have crossed over from the Catholic Churches to the Protestant Reformations and today to the many new Churches, from the Apostolic revival to ecumenical ideas, community types and other revivals that have been overrun by false leadership?

Jesus did not give a time for that question asked 2000 years ago, because He said, ‘He said only the Father knew! We may not accept now that the state of Israel is that restoration, but when Israel is to be restored it will have to be in the same place that it exists now?

Acts 1:6-8.

The continued Value of….

Preaching?

We tend in the west today to excuse the need to stand on a soap box and degrade our dignity on a street corner to tell dying society around us of the Good News of Jesus!

Christians have allowed the standards of the world to influence us and so in many places the faith is in decline? Some say it is different now with technology and the Internet, but one did not see much to qualify this during the pandemic in the British Isles so it is not true!

The world cannot see and does not want know, unless someone has the courage to speak and share Jesus and from this point to that of the pulpit, people need quality teaching and the altar call for people to believe that God loves them and gave to us His One and Only son, forgiving us of our pasts and promising to us the Eternal Life!

It is a simple message that needs to be got out and proclaimed by believers who will surrender all, not just the words of a hymn on a Sunday morning, but everyday?

Acts 2:26-31, 8:25, 14:6, 21, Romans 10:14, 1 Corinthians 15:1, 11, Galatians 4:13, Philippians 1:30, Colossians 1:23, 1 Timothy 3:16, Hebrews 3:7, 15, 2 Peter 2:5, Revelation 1:9, 20:4.

Satan and the the Devil. Two

Job and Jesus, knew Suffering!

This comparison between two men and Satan is of great value to all believers who are suffering today, in hostile environments, bad neighbors, difficult Churches and religious persecution that involves violent attacks.

It is hard to be a follower of Jesus, it is hard to love and forgive at time those that seek you both physical and mental harm?

Job was innocent, but his friends did not comfort him but rather find ways to make him believe he had sinned. Jesus was insulted and attempts to trap Him with words was a daily toll, both men suffered pain and rejection but both made it through.

They show to us a way and an understanding more so Jesus of all that we have gone through, He too did for us. Job was rewarded for his faith with prosperity, Jesus with sitting on his Fathers throne and we who press on and win the crown Salvation Eternal!

Job 1:8-12, 20-22, 16:12, Isaiah 53:3, Mark 8:31, Ephesians 1:20, Hebrews 11:35-39.

Apostle and Disciple Peter.

‘Don’t be Afraid Peter!

Jesus sums up Peter in that he was dominated by fear or himself and of others, from sinking on the water to the rooster crowing to being pulled up by Paul.

We see fear, we see zeal and weakness and we see hypocrisy a bit like us all who claim to be something that when challenged may fail to our own thorn that slows us down and that God will not remove?

It is hard to be a believer Jesus, as it was with Peter a great preacher after Pentecost that lead many to faith, the writer of two fantastic letters in the New Testament, a man that Jesus said Ekklesia would be built on and that does not mean Rome as some like to think.

Matthew 8:28, 16:18, Mark 14:72, John 21:15, Acts 2:38-40, Galatians 2:12, 1 Peter, 2 Peter.

#blm! Part-Two.

Stereotyping?

Something that all of humanity has is the impression that if one does one thing terrible, all of that race colour and creed must be the same?

But we who think we are civilised are not, since we are better and not like the rest who is our estimation are not!

This is when we see the ugly side of comfort sin at work in our hearts to judge others, without seeing our own same situation? Jesus told the hypocrites to take the plank out of their own eyes before even attempting to remove the speck from others!

Black people want equality with white society, but this does not mean they are better than us? It just shows that we are all the same and hold very similar points of views one being Anti-Semitism and as much as some Arabs consider black people still to be semi-ape creatures only fir for abuse?

Humanity in its thinking has not changed, many of those black chiefs in West-Africa would still do the same as they did two-hundred years ago! While attitudes are not limited to colour barriers, basically we are all the same, but conditioning has caused more division’s.

Mark 7:3-5, Luke 6:41-42, Numbers 14:24, Philippians 4:5, Titus 3:2, 1 Peter 3:8.