Susan Sinclair sends us this: Happy New Year to everyone.
God loves us, and thanks to Jesus we are able to have a friendship with God. God wants everyone to know Him freely in this way, and Jesus told us to tell people and how to show people that God loves them. We are to love one another, make disciples and teach the word because, living His truth will set them and us free.
John 8:31 , then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Jesus also told us to do the works He did, in fact here is what he says through Paul about the church in the last days in II Timothy 3:5 [That they] Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
Are we as a church body doing the works Jesus commands? Are we making disciples? Are we teaching and learning His word? Are we using or denying His power? Are we expectant or surprised when He answers a prayer? Do we run to Him first for everything or do we go to Him last? The word says there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ, and God still loves us, but according to the word we may be on the wrong track, and God wants the best for His church and He wants us on the right track. If this message sparks something in your spirit, I encourage you to read the Bible like you have never read it before, meaning, allow the Holy Spirit to teach you and don’t let your previous experience get in the way of learning what the Bible says. A Christian often times (with all due respect) can quote what different verses say in the Bible and will not have a clue what they mean.
I have used a lot of verses today about works and ask that you do not get overwhelmed by the amount of scripture, but that you look at what Jesus is saying, and please expand your study as necessary at home to receive a more full understanding in context.
This year is a new beginning. Are you willing to begin this year by learning how to do the works of Jesus with power, along with the service of ministers with good deeds? We can and should do both according to scripture, but to do the works that Jesus commands us to do requires that we build our faith and set aside unbelief, and faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. We can set aside unbelief by choosing to believe what God says in his word, and by removing or limiting things in our lives that plant the seeds of doubt and unbelief. Remember, with God all things are possible. Until next time, God bless you and your loved ones.
Carol Boeddeker-Genet says there was quite a party at Randy Boeddeker’s on New Year’s Eve, starting with clay shooting all afternoon. When I got home from work my four dogs were scratching to get into the garage and away from the noise. No nap was possible due to the pow, pow, pow going on.
The flu kept me home from all the Christmas services but I am back up and at ‘em once again and still wondering where I got the bug. Tina Chriss came Monday morning for a visit and to compare notes for the church pictorial directory we’ll be working on in early February.
May God bless each and every one and may 2011 be an outstanding year for you.
