The Do Gooder

When I was a child, in Church on a regular basis they would sing a song whose verses go like this:

I Get So Thrilled With Jesus
Every Moment of the Day
I Get So Thrilled With Jesus

He's the Truth, the Life, the Way
I Get So Thrilled With Jesus
He Satisfies My Longing Soul

I Get so Thrilled With Jesus
He's the One Who Made Me Whole

Now there's some fantastic Truth about our Lord and Savior. He is wonderful not just because He has to be as the Only Son of God, but His character as very God of very God enables Him to be all that we need in terms of relationship. As a child I had no problem singing that song because it had alot of things in it I liked:

Thrill. Satisfaction. Life. Every Moment, Every Day wow. When Peter was preaching to the Gentiles in Acts 10:38, he focused not on the sin of the Gentiles, but the essential goodness of Christ. He went about doing GOOD and healing ALL who were oppressed of the Devil.

The Devil seems to be quite busy all around the world. John declared in 1 John 4:4 "Greater is He that is In you"

God is able through His Son Jesus to heal and provide today. Jesus said to the disciples. Greater works than these shall you do because I go unto my Father (John 14:12)

Today, as you look over your life, your problems, the hard to answer questions...consider that as a Believer you have all the resources of Heaven and Earth available to you. God will take care of you....

I Get So Thrilled With Jesus!

What the Spirit Does to Help

I'm talking of course, about the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity. The current situation in our society, especially Evangelical Christianity appears to be ignoring the Power and Purpose of God's Spirit to help us accomplish the task of world evangelization. I'm a Pentecostal. I was raised as a Pentecostal, and now I'm ordained in a Pentecostal Church, the Assemblies of God. I'm not just a Pentecostal because of my heritage, as important as that is, I'm not just a Pentecostal because of my vocation although being Pentecostal is required for my chosen profession. I'm Pentecostal because I understand the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church is shown throughout Scripture and is necessary to do the ministry. So, to the previous question: What exactly does the Holy Spirit do to help. Romans 8:1-39 is a great chapter in God's word that describes the wonderful way the Spirit helps us. But the Spirit helps us in many other ways. I came across a chart in "The Holy Spirit: A Pentecostal Introduction" by Thomas Holdcroft, (one of the textbooks for "Person and Work of the Holy Spirit" I took as a student at SAGU in the 80s. Holdcroft captures in these simple phrases a fantastic overview of all the benefits that the Spirit provides for us. I wanted to share this with you:

The Spirit's Ministry and Work in the Believer

Regenerates or Makes Spiritually Alive

Indwells

Grants Assurance

Sanctifies or Achieves Holiness

Empowers Spiritually

Leads and Guides

Assists in Worship and Prayer

Implements Adoption

Communes and Fellowships

Anoints

Seals

Teaches and Reminds

This is why I believe that the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a necessity for any believer who wants to do something for God for a lifetime of ministry. The Apostles saw the importance of it or they wouldn't have asked the Gentiles about it in Acts 10:44-46; Paul must have understood it's purpose and use for churches all across the world or he wouldn't have specified regulations for public worship as in 1 Corinthians 14:1-40.

In our day of floods of information, good and bad...we need a HELPER who can stand beside us and help us make decisions. Christians believe and understand the Holy Spirit to be that Helper. Jesus spoke that he would be the "Other Counselor" who would be with us forever. Truly...it doesn't matter what your label is: Assembly of God, Baptist, Episcopalian, Lutheran, Church of Christ, Christian, Discontented....we all need the Power of the Holy Spirit to live a successful Christian life.

Maybe you should consider today opening your heart up to God and allowing Him to direct you. Start first with Romans 8:1-39 and be encouraged that the same ONE who made the heavens is now present to work in and through us.

The Abundant Life

Life in Christ is an Abundant Life! Today I heard a well respected Pastor speaking on the radio from a prominent church. In his attempt to speak realistically about the power of God's word, he drew distinctions on Christian Experience that essentially equated Christian Experience with those of Muslims, Athiests, Hindus, and other worldviews. I do NOT think this communication was deliberate, as the context of his message was essentially biblical. As Paul the Apostle said in 1 Corinthians 15:1-2, our faith must be in Christ alone. So what of Christian Experience? Romans 8:16 states clearly that God's Spirit bears witness with our spirit. The confession of Romans 10:9-10 is a genuine experience that in no way compares with other false religions. Jesus declared that He has come that we might have life, and have it more abundantly (John 10:10). Later Jesus declared, that when He the Spirit of truth would come, He would GUIDE US into truth (John 16:13). It's a privilege to be a Christian! It's a privilege to know God! It is the Christian's responsibility to love God with our HEARTS and our MINDS. (Deuteronomy 6:1-9)

What a Deal!

Making deals is serious business. One only need to think of the last time they purchased a vehicle how difficult and complex the dealmaking process was. I remember reviewing a site called beat the car salesman over and over again, just so I could have help in not being cheated. Why? Because many people are suspicious of making deals. Trust is implicit in a deal and most of the time, those of us in the western world are suspicious and looking behind the obvious to figure out if we are getting a good deal or not. When it comes to God, however, the cards are stacked against us. We are doomed. Since the sin that entered the garden, we have been at a disadvantage. One only need to hear God's quote on sin in Genesis 4:4-7 to get an idea of how insidious and awful sin is in its effect on us. But thankfully, God has provided an answer to sin by sending His Son. You know this already? How about this fact. It's not a fair deal. We deserve to die as it says in Romans 3:23. Most of us think that we are ok and not that sinful, but according the the Scriptures, we are not able to help ourselves. Jeremiah commented on this so eloquently with his statement in Jeremiah 17:9.

But we're talking about a deals! Isaiah was in an interesting situation as the Southern Kingdom of Judah was the remaining country after the Northern Kingdom had been deported by the Assyrians. In Isaiah 1:1-17, he lists the activities of humans that are anything but righteous. But the DEAL is in Isaiah 1:18.

Consider the winner and the loser. God gets our sin, we get salvation. He chooses to exchange the ugly for the beautiful, the profane for the righteous, and the dirty for the clean.

Come NOW! Let us Reason to Gather! Though your sins be as scarlet, they will be as white as snow, though they are red as crimson, they shall be as wool!

What Isaiah saw some 700 years before Christmas, we get the deal some 2000 years later. Come Now! Let Us Reason to Gather!

What?, Where? or Who? Is Your Light?

Everyone has preferences on how to start their day. One sets the coffeepot to brew at the right time, another checks their facebook status, still another picks up a Bible or says a prayer. Of course devotionals are helpful tools, like prayer help us to orient our day. Some have the privilege of hitting the elliptical or the treadmill while listening to their iphone or checking the latest stock projections.

Like life, days don't always start the way that we plan and adjustments have to be made. Life can sometimes be so random that one would be tempted to follow the management philosophy of Peters and Austin, Ready: Fire!, Aim!, Fire!, Aim! In addition to all our plans it might be helpful to give some consideration not to a task, but to a Person. Psalm 18:28 points to this idea,

You, O Lord, Keep my lamp burning. My God turns my darkness into light.

What a comfort to know that the One who made the heavens and the earth, is interested in our everyday, as the Stuart Hamblin said: "He's Big Enough, to Rule the Mighty Universe, Yet Small Enough, to Live Within My Heart".

Going Through Trials? We Were Destined for Them

One of the great questions of life that individuals throw upward to heaven is..why?

Like modern day Psalmists, we believers constantly look to God in times of trial and, if our prayers were facebook posts, the status would say: Why am I going through this difficulty? In this, of course is the assumption that all should be well. It should be...but it usually isn't. I don't know anyone who likes trials. I sure don't. Yet, trials and difficulties are simply a part of life. Pastor Rick Warren recently stated in a meeting that I was in that he used to think of life as a series of hills and valleys; he continued by stating that now he views life as a railroad track, with blessings on one track and trials on the other....inferring you need both to move forward. As clever as that is, there is no illustration that is adequate to describe the questioning that often happens as we transition through the stages of life. Jesus of course had alot to say about it as in John 16:33, but I noticed in reading 1 Thessalonians 3:1-13, that in Paul's encouraging letter to the new church, he states a fact of life for believers. You might recall that in Acts 17:1-13, the new Church that Paul and his associates started in Thessalonica made alot of people angry...so angry that Paul had a very short visit and was essentially run out of town. The opponents of Paul disliked him so much they chased him to Berea, prompting Luke to make the comment comparing the character of Bereans vs. Thessalonians in Acts 17:11!


Destined for trials? Yes. Look at 1 Thessalonians 3:3. Living for Jesus is not the easiest thing....but it's better than the alternative. Paul says in 1 Thess 3:8....now we REALLY LIVE if you stand fast in the Lord....


So? What does that have to do with me? Everything! Your commitment to Christ, your Church attendance, your Christian witness that you live out everyday is encouraging someone. It encourages someone like your children who watch what you do, your pastor and fellow church members who struggle side by side in this world to live for God. YOU are making a difference, even if you don't think you are .


The Thessalonian church illustrates for us the power in the grace of God. It really was a miracle when the grace of God came to you, Christian. Trials are a part of life, but look WHO WE HAVE that has brought us LIFE!

As John 20:31 declares, Jesus came to redeem us, but following the redemption, having believed, we might have LIFE in His name!

More About the Holy Spirit

Today we talked about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit at Bethel Temple (Acts 2:1-42), You can listen to the sermon at www.betheltemple.net . For those who care, there are more Scriptures that speak to the issue of the Holy Spirit, such as Acts 4:23-31; Acts 8:9-25; and Acts 10:44-46. While across the Evangelical world, there is wide understanding and acceptance of the role of the Holy Spirit as the third Person of the Trinity, oftentimes Pentecostals/Charismatics are viewed as at best on the fringes of orthodox theology. This is unfortunate as the positions held by classical Pentecostal denominations: Assemblies of God, Church of God, and Pentecostal Church of God, Church of God in Christ, Foursquare. hold views with regard to salvation the same with orthodox Christianity. Some non-Pentecostals are quick to associate the "tongues will cease" language of I Corinthians 12:31 as a prophetic call that the manifestations of the Spirit would eventually cease, rather than look for an empowering experience that follows the explicit instructions of Jesus. They would choose to refer to Acts 2:1-42 as "The Birth of the Church", exclusively while ignoring Jesus's instruction in Acts 1:8 to wait for an enduement with Power. While it is true that the Apostle Paul regulated the expression of Spritual manifestations in I Corinthians 12:1-31 and 1 Corinthians 14:1-40, he did NOT exclude the expression of spiritual manifestations in public worship. Romans 8:1-38 is loaded with information about the activity of the Spirit in the life of the believer. There is so much more to the Christian life than just checking the block for fire insurance. John 20:31 declares that John's epistle was written so that we would believe, and having believed, have "live in His name". This abundant life is certainly been the characteristic of Classical Pentecostals who wanted more of God. As an ordained Assemblies of God minister, it's my belief that the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is for ALL believers and is requisite to any kind of abundant life. That is not to say that non-Pentecostals have not had tremendous experiences with God, are doing many great things for the Kingdom of God, and faithfully represent Christ to the world. We all stand equal at the foot of the cross. But it's important, I think to ask the question that was asked of the Samaritan believers in Acts 19:1-7 "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when YOU believed?"

The Wonders of Reference Tagging

For my second blog post, which is the reason I switched to blogger, is to visit about reference tagging by the good folks at Logos Bible software. Rather than give the instructions, which might just bore you to death, I decided to illustrate with this blog. Let's say, on your website or blog you want to talk about John 1. Then later you want to talk about the purpose of the church in Ephesians 4:11-16. As you can see, these references, when you put your cursor over them have been turned into popups/hyperlinks. Automatically, the code at the bottom of this blog is making that happen and it's free! Praise the God of Genesis 1 who has enable all of us who love Psalm 139 to have the ability to write and blog about Romans 10:9-10 and spread the good news of John 3:16 and Revelation 1 to the whole world. So try it out on your spot and help spread the word, or should I just say, John 1

Coffee and the KJV, ESV, or NIV

For my first blog with blogger, I thought I'd comment on the cool coffeepot that one of our church members brought by for the pastor's office. It's awesome. It has a blue backlit display, auto timer, auto shutoff and chrome accents! :-) What's better than that, it was gifted to the church by a great church member who, along with her husband and children are a great asset in themselves to our church. It caused me to think, because of the way that I think, about what's the absolute best Bible version. Like coffeemakers, that depends on what you like. One of the interns at our church, though only 18 years old, loves the King James version. My personal favorite is the ESV. Church use now has commonly shifted to the NIV. Which one is best? Let me ask you, how do you like your messages from the Lord? Do you like them with a British accent? that causes you to look behind the 1611 word usage to find the original meaning? Then you should use the KJV. Or do you like to open up Scripture and get the concept of the author's original intended meaning quickly? The NIV is for you. IF however, you want a strict verse by verse translation of the earliest and best manuscripts the Biblical authors wrote, you might just want to look at the ESV. I had an ugly white coffee pot in the office that didn't have an autoshutoff and I risked setting the church on fire everytime I turned it on. It still made coffee. Now that I have the high speed coffee maker, I have virtually eliminated the risk of burning the church down due to coffee consumption. It makes coffee too. I can assure you of this: I will drink more coffee because it's cool. Has your Bible study been suffering lately? Maybe it's time for a fresh look at the word of God. It might just communicate something you've never seen before.