Monday,..turned to 'Saturday'....with Mark !

It was Christmas Season and all through the house,....not a creature was stirring ,...just Brother Mark!,.....thinkin' about !

Rather than waiting for Monday, and ' Mondays With Mark ' ( which, along with more consistency with all of this blog's pages, will be much more active with the coming year ),
we decided to share mark's insight now.

It's Christmas night and I reflect on the day. Barbara is asleep as she needs to be at work by 6 AM, and I just finished watching " CHRISTMAS EVE " while I awaited my toothache to subside.
The movie is very much about 'doing the right thing', even if you don't see how it makes a difference. You find out that a series of people, each doing the right thing, fit into God's plan
unbeknownst to them ( but as we know, divinely planned by God ).  Doing the right thing wasn't easy and came at a cost to each, but the result was miraculous for those who benefited from their individual acts of ' doing the RIGHT THING ', or ' doing the' GOD THING '.

What was the 'right thing', and how do you recognize it, then act on it?  It's very simple, yet incredibly hard at the same time!  Do as Christ lived and told us,  love God and love one another 
as you would like to be loved yourself !!! .
The second part, the love another like you want to be loved requires ' EMPATHY '.  Empathy?
What is empathy?, ... How do you come by empathy?  ... I'm glad you asked!

EMPATHY, 9 it's a 17 point word in 'Scrabble'.  www.I.word.com defines it as the action of understanding, being aware of,  being sensitive to,  vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts,  and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner: also: the capacity for this.
( PLEASE READ THIS DEFINITION THROUGH A FEW TIMES BEFORE YOU CONTINUE TO READ THIS POST, ... I'LL WAIT,...IN FACT, i'LL READ IT OVER WITH YOU ! )

As a self identified Christ believer/follower I claim that 'EMPATHY', is a 100 point word in 'Scrabble'. !!!  It's what Christmas is TRULY about, it's what our lives as proclaimed believers should be about !

WORD PICTURE : think of ' empathy ' as a sort of God Given radar. Picture it, make the beeping sound in you mind, watch the line sweep it's way across the scope. Before we became believers, and as new believers, our ' empathy ' may have been offline or had a limited range, ... anywhere between inches or a few yards!.  As we mature in our faith, that's religious speak for having a relationship with Christ, which is religious talk  for getting to know, understand, and have empathy for God. Which is religious talk  for coming to grips with ' why God loves me ! NO MATTER WHAT!
As that relationship deepens,  God increases our ' empathy ' range, to 'feet, yards,miles, ...tens of thousands of them. There is no limit! " It's range is as far as our Love for God Is. ".
Our God's ' empathy ' radar range is as UNLIMITED !,  as is His ' ,LOVE, FOR EACH OF US !

             " AMEN !,....you 'go' Mark ! ",,,,,    ( edited by bill ,... as I also
                                                                               assumed secretarial duties for this posting! )

So, what's up with with this ' Radar ' thing?  ...  How do we use it ?   Radar is used to identify things in your vicinity or path that you likely would not notice on your own.
"I'm a Captain of a ship, ...there's dense fog! ... and my radar shows a boat dead ahead!,....Collision Course!
CRAAASH ! , we collided, ' grab the life jackets! , launch the life boats, we're SINKING!

What went wrong ?  " I saw the boat on the radar,....... I had empathy for the person!

                                                            LIGHTBULB !!!

                                                     ............ " I NEVER CHANGED COURSE ! "   , ... wow!

Before I go on,...it's confession time. God made known to me someone on my empathy radar. The right thing to do was to invite this person over to spend Christmas with my family and I. But, i didn't do this. I failed at loving another as I would like to be loved. Instead of knowing I did the right thing, 

, ( the GOD/CHRIST thing )  I feel guilt and failure.  Fortunately, I have a Savior to wipe clean the slate, and God gives all of us the opportunity to turn to Him whilst strengthening faith and healing our hearts when we knowledge our mistakes, and seek His help, which is His Will, to correct our paths.

How do we learn to react correctly when someone/something comes into view on our empathy radar?  We turn to Holy Scripture , With examining 'how' Jesus lived.  For Christ is fulfillment of Scripture!  Think of our Scriptures as an ' instruction manual ' directly from our God. our Creator, our Father ! '  It's a pretty fair bet that living as possibly close (in our human frailty) To the letter of God's given desires for us, ..the better poised we are to gain the peace of God. We will have the eternal, perfect, holy relationship with God by living leading a life in the footsteps of Jesus.

Simple, Right ! ........... except, human nature is to lean toward the lies of satan ( sorry, I refuse to capitalize the name! ).    But as the famous line of a Clint Eastwood movie, ... "we don need no stinkin' instructinz! "  We all make the same mistakes as Eve and Adam, believing in the lies of satan, and that we don't need God and God doesn't have our interests at heart.

" Hog - Wash "

......... ( it's bill editing and getting hid dander up. )

This  choice has/had consequences. The consequence is loss of spirit ! , we no longer are as we were. We can't be in God Because God is Spirit, and we've lost track of ours. But God so loved His creation and so desires an eternal relationship with His creation, he sent His only begotten Son, Jesus to show us " The Way ", and erase our sins so that we may be resurrected , and that our souls will be united with that of our Savior as well as the Father.

Christ lived as a man, was tempted, felt anguish and pain, endured persecution, torture, and death to atone for OUR sins, so at resurrection we can become the complete Holy Spirits who will enjoy eternal relationship with a Holy Spirit God !

The one thing Christ cannot and will not do for us is to force us into this relationship with Him.

God gave us free-will, and this is most inviolate. We need to freely accept this 'gift' of a new Holy life from God. We accept this gift when we believe wholeheartedly that Jesus is the Son of God. 

He is the Christ. That He is our righteousness in eternity through the Divine Exchange at the mount where he freely and out of Love, ....paid for the sins of humanity !

Full circle, when we accept this gift of life it comes with some responsibilities, .. ........................  the "Great Commission"  to spread the " GOOD NEWS " of the Gospel to every corner of the world. 

Why ?,...  need you ask?,.....   so ALL of God's creation,  ...  ALL of humanity have the opportunity to freely accept God's gift of a new spirit life through believing in His Son, Jesus Christ.

Having empathy and choosing to act rightly isn't to make this present life better , ... ( but, it does )

nor does it indicate you've earned something, it's to lead humanity to Christ so they might choose a relationship with Christ and accept His gift of eternity. 

What Would Jesus Do ? , ... Each time you inadvertently or by mishap hurt someone, you make it more likely they reject or push away this free and wondrous blessing from Father God.

That's it tonight,...it's 2:23 AM  EST

If you want scripture citations, have conversation, care to make a comment, or get in touch ,.....

PLEASE COMMENT !

NOTE :  All negative comments may be directed specifically of Brother Mark.

               All positive comments may be directed to Pastor Bill.

                                                                               ( it's Good to be the Editor of a fellowship

                                                                                           of good humored Christians !  haha! )

                                         God Bless !  and we wish you all a safe happy,                                                   and Christ Filled 

         New Year !

.....in Loving Christian Fellowship,  Step With Christ Ministries.

Verily, Verily,...I say unto you,... the Christ is the True Meaning !

Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ !



Step With Christ Ministries would like to extend every blessing to you as we celebrate The Birth of Our Savior!  May we never forget the TRUE meaning of Christmas !



Simply put, the coming of our Prophesied Messiah, is yet ANOTHER of God's foretold 

' Love Promises '  come True. Today may we praise our God and Messiah for their endless 

Grace, Mercy, and Blessings. May we, as we are responsible to do,.....'Share the Story with

the generations' in effort to glorify the endless love of God.



Merry Christmas to ALL !  and may the Holy Spirit within, guide us to the inspiration of others

in effort for all to bear fruit that is pleasing to the eyes of God, and to share 'The Good News' of

Salvation through Christ.



May The Lord touch your hearts on this most Holy of days !

Happy Hanukkah ! To our Jewish Brother and Sisters

Shalom Beloved,

As some of you are aware, Step with Christ Ministries is a supporting partner of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, and follows the Messianic Jew initiative quite closely.
On a personal level, and as it pertains to my own continual Ministry training, I feel as though Jewish Rabbi mentors such as those involved with the fellowship as well as Rabbi Schneider from Discovering The Jewish Jesus,and  Rabbi Eckstein offer Old Testament insight that only adds to our understanding of the New Testament, and magnifies the power and understanding of the Godhead. I firmly believe that the Judaic roots of the Christian Faith bring a more complete understanding of the Power, Glory, and Love of God!
These teachers as well as so many others give Christians a more robust understanding of how the Old and New testaments are connected. As ( Marie ), a follower from Philadelphia so eloquently yet simply puts it, " Jesus did not come to abolish the old Testament, but to fulfill it. ''

Today, much of Christianity tends to completely forget the Old Testament, Marie, as well as myself are happy to have found teachers from the Messianic Jew initiative which tie these two books together in such a way that one cannot help but to more fully understand how they together create a much deeper level of FAITH in our Father and Creator. The highlighting of the plethora of God's Love Promises foretold by His chosen messengers,and Prophets culminating to the greatest promise of all with the birth of Our Messiah provides not only for an immensely deep and well founded level of faith, but additionally a fuller understanding of the powerful Love our Creator has for each of us.

As Hanukkah began at sunset last evening, I thought it to be an opportune time to First and Foremost wish our Jewish Brothers and Sisters a very Happy Hanukkah with heartfelt wishes for Godly blessings throughout the upcoming year. We pray that turmoil and atrocities in the area quell and leave the firm understanding that " The Lord is Indeed Our Protector ", firmly understood by ALL.

( The Following ' Story of Hanukkah ', has been extrapolated from my " Discovering The Jewish Jesus "  December newsletter as it is a succinct and short depiction of the Jewish Holiday of Hanukkah,.................The Feast of Dedication.

The Story of Hanukkah

Hanukkah is thought of by most of us as an exclusively Jewish holiday. Interestingly enough, the only place that Hanukkah is mentioned in the Holy Bible is in the New Testament: " At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem" ( John 10:22 )

The Hebrew word Hanukkah means dedication, and therefore called, The Feast of Dedication. This feast commemorates the Jewish people's rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem to the Lord.

The history of Hanukkah began when the Greco-Assyrians invaded and captured Jerusalem. They attempted to destroy the culture and religion of the Jews, and desecrate the Temple of the Lord. During this time, a group of Greco-Assyrian soldiers marched into a Jewish settlement and demanded that the Priest there, Mattathias, sacrifice a pig to their pagan god, Zeus. Because Mattathias feared the Lord more than the soldiers, he refused to sacrifice the pig!  A fellow Jewish onlooker, fearing the Greco-Assyrians wrath, volunteered to sacrifice the pig. In response to this,

Mattathias drew his sword and killed him.

This act of conviction and courage was so inspiring to the rest of the Jews that they right there and then  joined Mattathias and formed an army. Under the leadership of Judah ( Mattathias' son )

this army of our Lord successfully stopped the Greco Assyrians from overtaking their settlement, and eventually drove them out of the whole region!, including Jerusalem and the Temple !

This victory climaxed with the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem, and the innauguration of The Feast of Dedication in 164 BC.

When the Jews lit the Menorah ( the lampstand inside the Temple ), during the re-dedication they found that there was only enough oil to burn for ONE day. However, tradition states that the oil burned supernaturally EIGHT days!!!  Thus, the Hanukkah menorah that Jewish people light each year has eight candles, representing these eight miraculous days of burning. An additional 9th 'Servant' candle on the Hanukkah Menorah is used to light the additional candles each night of Hanukkah.

" LOOK FOR HOW MANY WAYS TO BLESS ISRAEL AND THE JEWISH PEOPLE. PRAY FOR THEM. GIVE TO THE PURPOSES OF THEIR SALVATION. YOU WILL BE BLESSED."

                                                                           ....... ( Genesis 12:3 )

Again, Happy Hanukkah to our Jewish brothers and sisters. May the Lord our God bless you with the everlasting and overwhelming Peace of the Holy Spirit !

STEP WITH CHRIST MINISTRIES 

" How Great Is Our God ! "

Blessings to All and Happy Friday !



Just a quick drop of  "inspiration ", as I continue with our broader update!

,

I hope to have a ' special ensemble ' accompany me next month when I'm honored to lead worship in January at First Christian Church in beautiful Kittery Point, Maine.

( check back for a date. )



On the personal level, Joshua Aaron indeed relates how Great our God Truly Is, The Jewish Heritage of Jesus, The roots of our Christian Faith and Old Testament History.

Have a " Blessed Day " in Christ Jesus!



God Bless!

..







 

Dear Father !

Dear Father,

Father, I am ever so gracious that I've been granted your constant, un-interupted presence in my life due to the most divine exchange at Calvary.
Whether I'm up or down, happy or sad, done wrong or done right, you are eternally with me!
Your help, protection, provision, strength and peace are constantly with me. 

Lord, you are indeed my sufficiency. With you I have NO need. I pray you help me to relate this faithful reality to all whose path I may cross along the journey you have planned for me.

I commit to evangelize the Good News of salvation through your Holy Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, through the remainder of my human life !!!  I pray you continue to stir the Holy Spirit within me and bless my words so that the ears of my brothers and sisters take a step beyond simply listening, but to actually HEAR the good news.

Please continue to enlighten my ways so that I may be an effective vessel of true Christianity.
I ask this in the name of your most Holy Son whose ways and words I strive to emulate with each passing day.

I am yours Father !
May you bless my ways, that I would be pleasing to your eyes.
                                                                                                               AMEN !!!!!!

We're ' Back in the Saddle '

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ !

I Faithfully believe this is the last time I will have to extend my apologies for not having updated this blog with both Christ Based Inspiration and Ministry Updates. With regard to the ministry updates, feel free to check back tomorrow or the day after for some truly exciting news to report.

Nonetheless, I've tried extremely hard to not consume our ministry initiative with my personal health challenges. That has become a bit difficult as several of you are very familiar with the realty of my personal health obstacles, as it has become such a large piece of my personal testimony of Christ and His overwhelming love and unimaginable power for us. This, along with the devout prayers thrown my way from our ministries partner churches and prayer chains, with so many specific Thanx to Marcia Spelman's Prayer Warriors at First Parish Congregational Church in York, Maine,    First Parish Conservative Congregational Church in Kittery,   and Messiah Church in Wells, Maine.

So,....let's first talk about Thanksgiving. This year's Thanksgiving, for me personally, seems to have played out to have been the most wondrous Thanksgiving of my life.
First however, lets take a look at a piece of the Thanksgiving Prayer offered here at my house this year.
This year we were blessed with an 'Open House ' where members of our closest Christian family which is comprised of several different congregations of Christians in the area joined us. ( how wonderful it was to have Fellowship across the congregational lines,...so to speak ! ) Mark Cable, a contributing member of our ministry  seemed to sum up the credible initiative this way,...... "Churches Should Be COMPLETING one Another,...... rather than COMPETING with one Another !."
The Thanksgiving Prayer I offered was rooted in a recent sermon from Rabbi Eckstein of The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
Rabbi Eckstein was very quick to point out the fact that Thanksgiving was first made a National Holiday by then President Abraham Lincoln. In 1863, President Lincoln seemed to have the fortitude lacking in so many professional politicians nowaday. President Lincoln reflected upon a year that was ' filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. " He went on to boldly say that we should 'observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving to our beneficient Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.'

Imagine that !!!,.... A President actually mentioning, and speaking out for the many many Thanks we owe to our Father and Creator. A President cemented in God. A President whom actually advocates Christ Like living and Worship. At that time, a country founded in God by Men of God.
Nonetheless, it was enlightening  to have a Thanksgiving Prayer that went a bit deeper than Pilgrims and Native Indians.
But quickly back to the personal blessings I received over Thanksgiving as I believe we should all Minister our Testimonies to one another in an effort to broaden one anothers faith. First and foremost, with regard to my health challenges. While I don't necessarily have a cure, I was called the day before Thanksgiving by my Primary Care Doctor with the best news of a powerful blessing from above. As many of you are aware, last year just prior to Goodall Hospital becoming a victim of what  is often referred to as a 'leveraged buyout', Goodall Hospital had begun providing me with an aggressive cutting edge infusion/transfusion protocol. This protocol had provided a quality of life change for me which CUT  the 100 + Hospitalized days, and  60 plus Oncological Outpatient Infusion days by 40 and 20. Needless to say, and as pointed out by many of you, " I had energy, and the Ministry diversified ". Next, the Mother Hospital, S.M.H.C., chose to no longer provide the protocol. ( This was a powerful blow, as only a few hospitals nationwide are providing this therapy. It unfortunately appears that the Administrative directives of this hospital relate directly to how much profit can be made on each of the 6 ICU beds in the hospital. )

B-U-T ~!!!,  What a powerful and Graceful and Loving God we do have !
As mentioned, my Primary Provider instructed me that the former Director of Hospitalist Medicine has opened a private office next town from me in Wells, Maine, and that he has agreed to re-establish me with the booster protocol that so overwhelmingly and positively affected my health situation. It quite honestly brought me to tears as this would provide not simply better health, but the time necessary to carry out my life's initiative to serve our God !  With The Lord our God,.. I am The Healthiest Sick Man Alive!
It also went to further clarify to me that our prayers and journeys are carefully orchestrated by God, to cross and affect one another's paths and prayers. To this and So much more, I offer our Lord Thanksgiving!

There's MORE !!!
As if I could even fathom a greater Thanksgiving Blessing than the ones mentioned above !!!  The Lord through His infinite Grace and Mercy blessed me with an even greater blessing.
For those of you whom have heard my personal testimony at a Southern Maine Church, Bible Study, or Men's Group function, you are aware that prior to being saved, I lived what could certainly be called a checkered past........ I thank God daily that He is a forgiving God and that he will ultimately judge me as the man I became as a result of His planned diversities. I feel richly blessed that God chooses ordinary men to achieve the most extraordinary things in His name.
In living the checkered past mentioned above and prior to being saved, I damaged the relationship between my own Father and myself quite seriously.
Since being saved, I have been unable to re-establish a healthy relationship with my father. Quite honestly, not having him in my life after throwing off the old man, and becoming anew through Jesus Christ has caused me very deep despair and a feeling of lonliness. ( I again offer Him my Thanksgiving for providing me a wife of tremendous love and support, and a great contributor to my new life in Christ)
But again I offer our Lord Great Thanksgiving as when I called my Father to wish a Happy Thanksgiving
he seemed to have an open heart to me. Frankly, we had the first encouraging conversation In many years.
My faith dictates to me that the Lord has stirred the Holy Spirit within my Father. I firmly believe the Lord to be 'in-process' of answering my prayers to re unite my father and I.

Forgive me for rambling on, but I wanted to share my testimony of Thanksgiving blessing with you all.
What a powerful and loving Father we all have! Reflect on your days as you close them, I think you can find that every day is THANKSGIVING !

And Remember,...... " Right Believing leads to right Living " !
See Ya Tomorrow with MINISTRY NEWS !

GOD Bless !

The Holy Spirit's Power and Our Effort - Part 1 by Francis Chan

Happy Monday !



Today is the day that the Lord has given us, .... I pray that the inspirational video below will aid you

in rejoicing in the ever present Jesus Christ today.



I read a  verse taken from this video ( 2 Peter 1 v.5 ), after watching it. VERY POWERFUL !

As a matter of fact, it seems to have etched itself onto my soul. I pray it provides the same to you.



Time has certainly become quite the commodity these days. That said, if you presently don't have the 45 minutes to view this video by Francis Chan presently, I implore you to come back to it.



Great Stuff  !



Warm Blessings in the name of Christ Jesus,

bill

Ministers of Christ

" Bretheren, if any among you wanders from the TRUTH of God, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death cover a great multitude of sins. " ......(James 5:19-20)

     At times, a Christian's greatest deterrent of sin can quite simply be the life of another Christian or brother/sister in Christ. However, many Christians believe it to be ' none of their business ' if another Christian should choose to sin. Perhaps this perception stems from being perceived as judgmental if they were to respond to anothers sin ( God KNOWS. we've each got plenty of our own ! ).  The modern world and the ever expansive clamor for self-righteous ways is a persuasion for people ' NOT, to get involved '. 

But does watching another person fall prevent us from being a loving Intercessor for Christ and our Christian responsibilities ?       hmmmm!

     As Christians we are all well aware that sin brings death ( Romans 6:23 ).

Sin kills relationships, tears apart marriages, dulls life's joys, and as we see happening at an alarming rate, is destroying PEACE around the world.

SO,......... when we see a brother or sister ' wander ' from the truth into error,

how should we respond ?

Most of us know,.... but ALL of us need to be consistently reminded that the answer to this ( and most all ) of life's sensitive questions such as the aforementioned is readily found in The Walk of Jesus, as outlined in The Gospel.

Quite simply friends, ..

" What Would Jesus Do ? "

When our Savior saw sin it broke His ever-caring, ever-loving heart as outlined in ( Matt. 23:37-39 ), He wept over entire cities when He saw them rejecting the TRUTH . This is how deeply He cares,... that we may experience the insurmountable blessings that are righteous to us simply by living With, In, and Through Jesus Christ !!

Jesus prayed vigorously for His disciples to be strong when temptation came near. He warned those who were headed toward a ' spiritual stumble '. And as was shown at Calvary, .... He was even willing to die to save us from our own sins. He was aware of the spreading devastation caused by sin.

Our Savior was and is so full of grace and mercy, in His unfailing love for us,

that He NEVER simply ' watched '  or stood without warning while His children were led from the ' narrow path ' to the ever widening ' highway of sin '.

He ALWAYS took a pro active role in re-directing us back to the Father !

' Minding our own P's & Q's ', may save us some awkward times and discomfort, but it will in no way help a Brother or Sister who may need help

returning to the Lord. Please, pray ever fervently for ALL of our Brothers and Sisters. This my friends will ensure our Christian motives, and better prepare us to appropriately minister to them appropriately if the need should present itself.

A portion of the TRUTH of Christianity is that we are all accountable to one another to be Ministers of Christ. Let us pray that we are ever alert in the event that God asks us to minister to our friends in Christ.

In The Mighty and Loving name of He Who is Most High !............AMEN !

The Lord Delights in His Children

     Within Jeff's video below, I find a great analogy between that of our Lord and Father and that of an earthly father. As you will see, the Lord delights in us,...( all of us ) , just as an earthly father delights in his own children.



Just further Proof and Truth that we are created in " HIS " image. .....Amen!



Praise God !,  and please pray for all earthly fathers. That they too will delight in their own children, and demonstrate the Christian Responsibilities of the important duties of demonstrating the Lord's expectations of us to our children and our Christian Familial Legacies. For in this, fathers may be considered the earthly patriarchal potter as they mold and hold the family unit in the name of Christ Jesus.



Pray this, live this, show this. For SO much depends on the Christian stability of today's modern and vulnerable family units. " Let's mold our families into a healthy representation of The Body of Christ ! "



God Bless, and enjoy the video !

Bill

God's Perfect Peace !!!

Happy Sunday !,...and, what a beautiful Autumn day Our Lord has Given Us.


Upon awakening this morning after a 90 degree very humid and physically exhausting day, I was overcome by a strong feeling of God's Peace.
After a rather rough day filled with personal trial, this feeling of God's Peace is a welcome blessing.

I reflect on on a book written by Jack Hartman in the early 80's. Pastor Hartman's writings on the Deep Inner Peace of God may well be the most compelling and revealing written realization of the Un-paralelled Love of God that I've ever read. Truly a 'Must Read' although hard to find as it's out of print.
But let me convey some of Hartman's understanding of how God's love results in this 'Deep Inner Peace of God'.

The Creator who spoke us into being is obviously more than capable of handling virtually Any circumstance that would ever come up against us and our human frailty.  " For with God nothing is ever impossible...." Luke 1:37

The winds of life blow in very uncertain direction, the waves of life toss unexpectedly, but they have NO power over the Holy Spirit living inside each and every one of us through the Love of our Father and Savior. Jesus taught humanity this great Truth centuries ago on The Sea of Galilee.
As Jesus and His disciples crossed the lake that evening, a furious storm of more than hurricane proportion arose out of nowhere. The giant waves tossed and filled the boat to the point of understandable human distress. (Mark 4:37)
The disciples were terrified by the strength of the storm, yet Jesus remained calm and peaceful. As a matter of fact, he slept until His disciples frantically woke Him and expressed their fear of capsizing and drowning.
A beautiful event next took place  as " He arose, and rebuked the wind, and instructed the sea,.........PEACE,......Be Still ! "  ... and the wind ceased, and the water calmed. He said to them, Why are ye so fearful? How is it ye have no faith?" ... (Mark 4:39-40)

The same great peaceful Lord to command the wind and sea so very many years ago remains living inside each one of us today! For Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever! ( Hebrews 13:8 )
He doesn't want us to be worried or afraid today any more than He wanted His disciples to be worried or afraid. When the storms of life come at us, He wants us to be still and know He is God.
He wants us to face every challenge, obstacle, or hurt of life with calmness derived from true Faith that He is indeed our protector,...our sufficiency, our guardian. For, fear and worry indicate our level of Godly Trust,.....FAITH !

Calmness in the face of adversity indicates that we do trust Him.

Trust in the Lord,... Trust in the Word,... Trust in the fact that when we are faced with what seem like monumental problems, we should never be discouraged because we do not believe we can handle them. Instead, we should see the Glory of God in our weakness, and realize that this is what enables the Lord's strength to be released in our lives.

We must realize that we can't do anything of real significance by ourselves and that everything we need comes from Him. " Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God"
( II Corinthians 3:5 )

Review this thought,these scriptural verses,... engrain this thought to your souls,........the Gracious and Merciful outcome is indeed " The Deep Inner Peace of God ". A peace that surpasses virtually ANY obstacle, and provides us the Joy of Christ in all we do.

With The Love of Christ,                   AMEN and God Bless You !!!

Beth Moore !

Happy Tuesday to All !!!

With the Summer winding down, Memorial Day done, and kids off to school, it's a bit like a new beginning.
But then again, our merciful and gracious God is the provider of oh so many ' new beginnings '.

Personally, I am excited with the ending Summer as it provides me additional time to devote to Christ.

This morning I found a great Beth Moore quotation and would like to share it with you. It goes like this:

Satisfaction Guaranteed

God is not only the answer to a thousand needs,

He is the answer to a thousand wants. He is the fulfillment

of our chief desire in all of life. For whether or not we've ever recognized it,

What we desire is unfailing LOVE.

Oh, God, awake our souls to see-- You are what we want,

not just what we need. Yes, our life's protection, but also our

hearts affection. Yes, our soul's salvation, but also our heart's

exhilaration. Unfailing Love. A love that will never let me go !... ' Beth Moore '

This is a great one to think on !  And I thank my Sister in Christ ' Susan Brindle ( a true woman of God )

and a Sister in Christ met in Christian Fellowship. For she is responsible for introducing me to the work of Beth Moore. Spend time in Christian Fellowship folks !........"Talk about a win-win situation !"

God's Peace to you ALL !

Please Forgive Me !

Hello Brothers and Sisters in Christ !

I am so profusely sorry for having not updated the blog for the past week. But please know that arrangements have been made to rectify the issue should it arise again, which I pray it will not!

I had told myself that I in no way wanted to use this blog to use it as a platform to tell my own story.
However, with no posts for a week I believe I owe you all an explanation.
Those of you whom already know me are aware of my health dilemma. But, for those of you whom are unaware, I suffer from a combination of Auto-Immune diseases as well as a Neurological disease.
All of which are incurable, and have clinical symptoms that when active, trigger one another.

That's where I will stop, as I do not want this Ministry to be identified with my health, but with
Christian Fellowship.
All I know is that I am truly Blessed with the most amazing relationship with Jesus Christ, and Godly Fellowship with all of you !  This my friends is the very best medicine I could ever ask for.
It allows me to face virtually any health challenge with CHRIST, and find blessing in any day and under any circumstance!  I have honestly grown through this diversity and am actually happy to have it be part of my life!

I've said it before many many times,.... " I am the healthiest sick man that you will ever meet ".

Truly, I can relate to the famous quote of Mother Theresa which goes like this :
                " I Know That God Won't Give Me Anything I can't Handle,...........
    I Just Wish he Didn't Trust me So Much ! "    

  Or,......." He didn't bring me to it,.....not to bring me through it ! " ,  Truly, it has been the vehicle by which I have developed a deep personal relationship with our Lord and Savior.

I move forward in life with the deep understanding of the scriptural verse that states
 " By His Stripes,... I Am Healed ! ",...........and So Are You!.............PRAISE GOD !

So !, that said, ready yourselves for several page postings, and some truly exciting announcements. May God Bless your week,...and may you be blessed with the deep inner peace of GOD !
                                                        AMEN !

Sunday Service

Dear Friends in Christ,


This past week has been blessed with Soooo much great news to share. Hence, the delay in delivering today's 'Sunday Service' message.

So,....in trying not to lose it's continuity entirely, I will leave you with today's message. In an effort to (not) convolude  the short but Very powerful  message, I will leave you this, and update everyone tomorrow.

Today's Sunday Sermon is presented by a truly inspirational young ' Next Generation ',....... Wow!  I feel old !  Young Evangelist of Christ. Today's young people would be well served to listen to this young man.
In actuality " We ALL should " !
Young Christ driven people like this can change the world.
Talk about the Joy of Christ !!!.....................Amen !    He's really quite inspirational !

Enjoy the video,....it's great !,  I will post some great updates for you all tomorrow !
GOD BLESS YOU !

How Great Is our God !!

How Great is Our God !!

It's not a question,.......it's a " Statement " !!!

The video below provides me with such a very DEEP understanding of " How Great Our God Truly Is "
I also reflect on the Jewish roots of our faith. Important components to our Old Testament understanding as it's prophecies prove out the ' doubter '.  How very blessed we are to have been included with God's Chosen Ones!
Please don't forget to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Today's Messianic Jew initiative brings much happiness. Our Brothers and Sisters in Israel are enduring troublesome times right now. Many say          ' prophetic'.
For more Information on the ' Fellowship ' of Christians and Jews, we visit and support the ministry of The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. 

God Bless, and Have a great night !

HEBREW - How Great is our God / Gadol Elohai by Joshua Aaron

Paying It Forward !



Any chance we get to pass on something that touches you deeply and strengthens your relationship with God, we should consider a ' kindness ' if it results in the same.

God Will Never Leave You!

And,......once you actually 'find' Him, you will never want to leave Him.

One thing I am quite sure of is that God's endless and unconditional love for us,

is ALWAYS with us,.................even when we aren't necessarily aware of His

presence.

I'm pretty sure you will agree with me after viewing this You Tube.



The endless blessings bestowed upon us aren't always outwardly visible.

( another point depicted in this video )



For those of you with adolescent children, I'm sure you will agree that talking

with them about God and His unyielding Love for all His children, is a whole

different ball of wax than it was when our own parents spoke with us about

this topic. The world, and ways of the world have indeed changed,..........

and NOT for the better !



I was blessed with the viewing of this video when I walked in the living room

one morning to find my wife in tears. When I asked what was wrong, she simply

said,........' we are SO lucky to have a GOD who cares for us so deeply and 

in so many ways '. So, she next replayed this YouTube she had just watched

which had brought her to these tears of joy. Well, no matter how much I hate

admitting it,...........she was right AGAIN !



The following day, we played the video for our 21 going on 35 year old daughter.

And I am as happy as a Father can be to tell you,...... as a result of this simple

video,......" Something Clicked ", in her pretty little blonde head !!!

I truly believe that seeing this video has enlightened her in such a way

that she is developing that PERSONAL relationship with Christ,

which as we all know is required of us if we are to be righteous in His Holy name.



I pray that viewing this video inspires you also, and that you might pass it on to

someone who perhaps doesn't quite get it.



With Warm Wishes that you are touched by the " Love of God "



Bill

God's Healing Hand

How often do we hear about a Christian's ' re-birth ', or personal relationship with Jesus Christ being initiated  during life's darkest hours, at a time of deep physical sickness, or at a time we are completely broken that we finally turn to the Love of Jesus Christ as our ultimate remedy,..........(which He surely is)!

Today, it is with a heavy heart that I feel compelled to highlight the request for Prayer for ( a dear and compassionate friend/nurse, whom happens to be a Oncology Nurse of several years at the Oncology Infusion Center where I have personally been treated for the past 4 years ). Well,.....Karen has just been diagnosed with a very difficult cancer of the blood, and will begin Chemotherapy next week.

I tell you true, that having been  a recipient of prayer for healing by my Church, congregation, Bible Study Group, and numerous other brothers and sisters in Christ, " The Power of Prayer is Strong ! ".  It's effect on me personally has not only improved my overall health status on the 'physical' level, but the effect it had on the curative " Inward Holy Spirit " was so very significant, that it has enabled me to find blessing in even the most difficult moments of my own sickness.
To put it very simply, Prayer has instilled a personal outlook that makes me self-label myself as
' The Healthiest Sick Man, I've EVER met '. .......................PRAISE GOD !

So, I do indeed ask your help. I humbly ask that you pray for our Sister in Christ, Karen. Please pray that she sees that God has many ways to heal our damaged bodies, and that it is all based on the redemptive work of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Worry is one of the major causes of health issues and contribute to the challenges to overcome sickness.
It ages our bodies and minds, it causes ulcers and high blood pressure. Worry causes sleepless nights, it eats away at our minds, and drains us emotionally.
Worry is in fact stress, which has by numerous physicians been labeled as a great obstacle to regaining health, and may contribute to lengthened sickness.
We worry because we don't know if we are honest with ourselves in considering whether we have the Complete Faith needed to receive God's many promises.

This is why not only during times of crisis in sickness, but throughout our lives we must 'immerse ourselves in Holy Scriptures'  so that we come to know God's merciful promises to us,...his children !

God's word tells us that He wants us " looking unto Jesus. the author and supplier of faith " (HEB. 12:2)
" Jesus is the source of all Faith " He is far greater and more powerful than any problem or sickness we will ever encounter. " God has dealt to every man, the measure of faith. "  ( ROM 12:3)

If we keep our eyes on Jesus Christ, He will grow our faith. This, my friends, is the divine growth of faith.!
Growth to the point that we can realize Him as our complete sufficiency, to enable us to place our problems and sickness at the foot of the cross.
A true faith that lends the complete understanding that " By His Stripes WE are Healed"  (ISAIAH 53:5)

In closing today, may I be so humble to ask that we pray in earnest for Nurse, Karen ( A true earthly angel of mercy), as well as all other brothers and sisters in Christ that may be facing a situation of serious disease without the utmost and highest faith in Jesus Christ. Through Him and With Him we surely can achieve anything!..........................................( inclusive of Holy Miracles ! )
Lord, please help her not to ever lose heart or hope in His ultimate ability to heal. For it is written,........
' I am the Lord God Who Heals You '

We ask that you restore full health to Karen and others afflicted. " Restore her health and heal all her wounds " ....(JER. 30:17)

Father, we see you as the one Sovereign Lord who forgives all iniquities, who heals all diseases, who redeems our lives from destruction, and crowns us with loving-kindness and tender mercies.
                                                                                                            ...........(Psalm 103:2-4)
Finally God,...(and I promise, this is the final,....finally). But God, you have anointed us to have healing virtue in our lives,....if we are only to ask. The Bible says 'we have not,because we ask not',(James 4:2)
So God, we ask you now for this Anointing to be activated in Karen's life as well as all those in need.
We, as Karen's Brothers and Sisters in Christ as you for your apostolic anointing of healing power, miracles, and virtue to be released through our fervent prayers to Karen. May these blessings be bestowed
and result in complete recovery so that she may continue to share her God given blessings of nursing, and become even further pleasing to your watchful eyes.

We Humbly ask this in the Holy Name of Jesus

Living with Joy Francis Chan 2014

Happy Sunday ! and Blessings in the Name Most High,

In an effort to create a 'regular' Sunday presence for our blog, strong consideration was geared toward the fact that on occasion, some of us may not be able to physically ' attend ' our home congregations.
Whether the Sunday obstacle be a sporadic work schedule, vacation, out of town wedding, or a home-bound patient, the devout seek the nourishment of the word and opportunity to worship.

That said, and combined with the fact that if I myself become tired in hearing my own words of ministry,.....you must also become tired of me!
Hence, we've chosen to regularly feature the sermons of endeared and revered Pastors from throughout history and the world. We pray you find Godly driven inspiration from our Sunday Sermons, and that our efforts result in helping you find that " Deep Inner Peace ", that is provided by aligning your heart with that of Christ Jesus.

God Bless !

Today's Sunday Sermon

Black Sheep or ' Lost Sheep ' ? ....pt.2

Blessings, in the name of  The Most High !,

I hope you find inspiration in part 2 of the Black Sheep  or    ' Lost Sheep ' ?  posting below yesterdays video. Combined with part one, I pray you find inspiration in the name of Christ.

"Do not judge, and you will not be judged.

Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.

Forgive, and you will be forgiven."

                                                         ....Luke 6:37  ( NIV )

The parable of ' The Prodigal Son ' seems to me,...to highlight the need for Holy Discernment. (the ability to apply the knowledge gained from  experience, and the wisdom, gained from the knowledge,...and,... apply a Holy Spirit driven response,.....shown to us in the ' steps ' of Jesus,...we will attain Holy Discernment.)

What a great example of God's limitless Grace, Mercy, and forgiveness !  (which by the way,...he expects from us )

Many readers of this parable believe the story is about the youngest son coming home to such unconditional love, and total forgiveness. The son that disregarded the respect of his Father, squandered his inheritance in sinful ways, and the driving force of unconditional fatherly love that is shown in his forgiveness

.

does this remind you of Our Father and Creators love?

Indeed !,.... But ask yourself,...whether the sins of the oldest son are just as serious as those of the youngest.

Perhaps his are even worse. For his are sins of the heart.  He worked hard daily, respected his Father always, obeyed always,.....and sight-fully appeared to 'do the right thing'. But sins of the heart are not always that apparent.  jealousy, self-righteousness, resentful, and judgmental.

These sins of the heart, are very dangerous, as they can lead to challenging the directives of Jesus Christ himself with regard to both forgiveness AND love. ' Love ' Your Neighbor ?

AND

Tell me if I'm mistaken,  can we possibly be 'Honoring God our Creator' by 'stepping' in a direction other than those of Christ (get it? 'Step' With Christ Ministries !  ...'I crack my self up!'  (sorry)!!! )

But NO,...we're not honoring God by stepping away from those footprints of Christ.

So, let's pray that when we next confront a situation that may lead itself to judgement,....that we use Holy Discernment in response.

Dear Lord God,

As you appropriate the many blessings you will bestow upon us today, we ask that you place special attention to the blessing of Holy Discernment. Help us to better ' step with Christ ' when addressing life's many challenges such as 'judgement'.  ( help us realize that You alone are Judge )

Help us to ' keep WITH scripture ' and help us to ' keep IN scripture, so that we may be more pleasing in your eyes. And finally Lord,....please help us to never forget the vital importance of living a biblically directed life.

In Christ' Holy Name,

We Pray!...............................................and they all said !      AMEN.

John Waller "The Jesus I need"

Start your day with Thanksgiving for The Cleansing Blood of Jesus !

Black Sheep or ' Lost Sheep ' ?

Happy Thursday, with wishes of Warm Blessings in the name of The Most High !

Most of us have heard the age old expression of " The Black Sheep of the Family ". Truly, what a hurtful label. I can easily speak about being labeled The Black Sheep as I myself  was ( prior to committing to life with and through Christ ), labeled as such in my own family. So, Yes,....it's a tough label, a hurtful label, but oft times a hypocritical label,....or should we say " Judgmental ". Lets take a deeper look at this issue.

First off, lets talk about the fact that such a quote or label is typically and initially inferred by a family member. Likely a family member whom you have wronged in the past or one in whose eyes we've not measured up to THEIR expectations. But, whose expectations should we really be trying to meet?
I'm pretty sure it's God's expectations. Furthermore, I'm pretty sure that those expectations can be easily found in Holy Scripture. As a matter of fact, not only will Scripture outline ( in several places, and by several sources ) God's expectations, but through ' stepping ', or walking through life as Jesus did, God has shown us HOW to meet those expectations.

Let's take a quick look at Judgement, as if we were to use the Black Sheep label, we have obviously demonstrated that we are so self-righteous that we completely disregard  Scriptural Directive. For, Matt. 7:1 reads " Do not judge others or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. "
And, as far as the phrase ' Black Sheep ' goes, when I consider the complexity of using this label, my mind goes directly to the word SHEEP.
As Christians, we understand the analogy of 'we' the children of God have since the inception of Christianity,  been viewed as the sheep of our loving Father and Creator, who is well portrayed as our infallible "Guardian Shepherd".
This said,.... this Minister of Christ asks you to consider this:  Rather than labeling any of our Christian Brothers and Sisters as "Black Sheep" due to previous wandering ways,....perhaps 'worldly ways', should we perhaps perceive such a situation as " A Lost Sheep "?............. perhaps that same 'lost sheep' that Jesus tells us he will leave the fold to find?  Hmmmm!

My next issue with the modern day 'black sheep' label is simply this: More times than not, the black sheep label is issued by a family member. Moms, Dads, Siblings, In-Laws, Uncles, Aunts and more.
Now, we all know the reality of the fact that the family dynamic has drastically changed throughout the generations. As a matter of fact, I firmly believe that modern family dynamics or lack thereof  is one of the worlds greatest contributors to  rampant sinful ways. Gone seem the days of generational respect, generational blessings, washing away are the days of family reunions, losing it's substance is the age old phrase of 'Blood is thicker than water'. ( Thank you Father, for the LIVING WATER ! )  Family relationships and family love has changed, the WORD and LOVE of God has not changed and never will.
The book of Isiah remains a favorite of mine as you may see in future writings. Consequently, I add to the above mentioned familial shortcomings that contribute to family member judgement, this following verse from the prophet Isaiah : ISAIAH 58:7 ends with " and NEVER turn away from your own flesh and blood "
So i ask, what good have we done by labeling a family member as a Black Sheep? Will keeping your distance and holding tight to a grudge be pleasing to the eyes of God?
Is it not also said that any house divided against itself will surely crumble? Do we put such low value on family responsibility, Has family love become conditional?  It IS our responsibility to bring our 'lost sheep', back into the fold.



With Christ we can achieve anything!  We can overcome anything!  even our own ignorance to scriptural guidance. For His grace and mercy is infinite.

So, as we plod through our day today, let us reflect on this post. Have we treated any family members as a Black Sheep of the Family ? Look Inward!

Let us let go of the self-righteousness of familial judgement. Black Sheep, Red Sheep, Yellow Sheep,.......it doesn't matter! As we move forward on our ever changing journey, let us make every effort to more fully study and understand scripture ( as it is written and NOT re-interpreted ), truly, if we open our hearts and minds to scriptural directives we will leave the Black Sheep labeling behind as we move forward in a Christ like manner and " Find Our Lost Sheep :"...................really, WHAT WOULD JESUS DO ?

Please join me tomorrow as I keep with " Familial Responsibilities and Actualities ". I'm looking forward to examining a slightly different way of looking at the story of The Prodigal Son. 

May God Almighty ( El Sheddai ), bless your day with his infinite Grace and Mercy !

UNCOMPROMISING FAITH !

July 28  2014

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Greetings and "Happy Day" in the name of Christ Jesus !  Today's topic of review and prayer involves the
" TRUE " deep understanding toward the un-compromised word of God.

Question :  How could the early disciples turn the world upside down when millions of Christians can't even keep it right side up today?

The answer is really quite simple. They didn't conform their faith to the world. They had the truth, and they refused to water it down. They held a faith that would not under any circumstance compromise !
The words of Paul, " Do not be conformed to this world," have tremendous significance and meaning for us today.

Today's Prayer :

                         Dear Father God,

                     In our human frailty, we have ' diversified ' our challenges to live in a way that is truly pleasing to your eye. During a troublesome time with our Jewish Brothers and Sisters as they face numerous un-settling issues that appear to be closely aligned with Biblical Prophecy,   Christianity divisions continue to grow, .....to a point of  actually dividing Churches. ( surely NOW is the time to re-read the book of Revelation~!)
To put it simply, " The church is on dangerous ground when so many depart from the teachings of Christ ".
Surely when it departs from the teaching of  Jesus and attempts to Redefine HIS commands and compromise HIS truth, for the sake of believing that they are actually self-righteous enough to re-define the written word, is to me,..............unacceptable.
Lord,...please help me to align with like minded followers. That we may evangelize the truth, and help to patch the compromised path. Please help us to understand that " It is better to be divided by truth than to be united in error ".
Please help us Lord, to bring Jesus back to the churches that may have gone astray. It sometimes seems as though church has been commercialized and sometimes even franchised. In doing so, it becomes a compromise that is being played out in rewriting the Bible and preaching a gospel emphasizing the works of mankind. Please help these mis-guided Christians from watering down your word, Help them to find the joy provided us in doing so!
Help us to realize the urgency in " getting our houses in order ", as we find the daily human love-joy that is experienced in living a life through and with Jesus Christ. As we build our heavenly treasures, please bless us with growth of our relationship with our Messiah.Our Salvation!

We ask these blessings and opportunities to faithfully evangelize the truth of Life Through Christ.

Amen !

Today Is A Gift From The Lord, Let Us Rejoice In It !

Dear Loving Father,

I thank you for yet another day here on the earth you created for us. Furthermore, I praise you for all you have given me and will set before me.

In my relationship with your loving Son, in earnestly trying to walk in His directives, I am in the honest realization that ( I ) am the weak link in the chain of my relationship with Christ Jesus.
Today I pray that you reinforce the Holy Spirit that indwells within me so to harden the weakness of my personal chain of Holy Relationship so to enable me to better serve You, my Father and Creator.

Please continue through your endless Grace & Mercy to strengthen my relationship with Jesus, so that I may better minister the Truth of the necessity to be a  ' Born Again ' Christian. For as it is written in 1 JOHN 1:7,..." But if we walk in the light, as He is the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin."

How Blessed we are to fully understand that You are indeed The God of Second Chances!

We ask that you Bless this Ministry Initiative with Holy Discernment. That we may be a beacon of light to others, and that they may find the deep inner peace provided through a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior.
We pray these things in the Holiest of names, Christ Jesus...........................AMen !