By Mark Stumbo
St. Petersburg, Russia
It is a very sensitive situation right now for Americans living in St. Petersburg, Russia. A gap has widened in U.S. and Russian relations more than I have ever seen. The recent conflict in the Ukraine has the potential to directly or indirectly affect us and the work of the Lord in Russia and our contacts in the Ukraine. Not only are the Russians starting to feel the impact of sanctions, but since we live among the people we feel them as well. Prices for food and travel have already started to rise. In the future, I am sure items and services will be limited. We hear rumors from time to time that it will be harder for Americans who wish to life in the country to get visa documents, and that Master Card and American Express will stop doing business in Russia. Already, some 70 billion dollars' worth of investment has left the nation as the world has lost confidence in Mr. Putin, confidence which took him around fifteen years to build.
Right now, there is a tense calm. We are praying for God to give us direction and divine protection as we are unsure what will unfold in the future. Some of our Russian neighbors do not look at us in the same way they did before. We see a storm across the bow of the ship.
Nevertheless, we are still determined to step across the railing and out into the sea of humanity; not to sink in the storm around us, but to keep our eyes on Jesus. We know that if we look at the ominous clouds of uncertainty, we will sink in doubt and self-pity. If we look at the crashing waves around us, we will be drowned by the opinions and feelings of others. But if we look at Jesus -- He shows us the way.
As I write this report, this upcoming Sunday will see three young children from the Sunday School Department being baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. On the 25th of May, we are planning a city-wide outreach,expecting people to come and break through in the Spirit. This summer we are planning to host a special event reaching out to children through English Evangelism. So, let kingdoms rise up against kingdoms, nations against nations, but as long as the Lord gives us the ability we want to labor in His Kingdom. We are not blind to the struggles around us, but are praying for revival, praying for the expansion of the church, praying and planning for God to do great things!
Editorial Note: Bro. Mark Stumbo and his family are ALJC missionaries home-based in St. Petersburg, Russia, with outreach in numerous places around the nation. They solicit your prayers that revival and a Holy Ghost outpouring will saturate the Russian people, filling them and empowering them to be witnesses any and every where all over this enormous nation. Hearts are hungry, God is willing, laborers are needed, prayer is vital!
Showing posts with label Body of Christ. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Body of Christ. Show all posts
Monday, June 30, 2014
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Walking In the Love of God
By Pastor Ken Foreman
Text: Ephesians 5:1-2 - "Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour."
Children tend to follow their parents just because they are their mom and dad. If we are truly a child of God, we will want to be "like daddy." (We cry, "Abba - Father!") Because He has loved and blessed us, we need to want to give back to Him in return.
Love takes risks... "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) That's one of the greatest things about Jesus... "But God commendeth His love toward us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
Text: Ephesians 5:1-2 - "Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour."
Children tend to follow their parents just because they are their mom and dad. If we are truly a child of God, we will want to be "like daddy." (We cry, "Abba - Father!") Because He has loved and blessed us, we need to want to give back to Him in return.
Love takes risks... "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) That's one of the greatest things about Jesus... "But God commendeth His love toward us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
- Walk in Love - do it until it feels natural.
- Guard Your Love! - "And because wickedness shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." (Matthew 24:12)
- The Origin of Love - God. God IS love! John 3:16-18 and chapters 13, through 17 are outpourings of the love Jesus had for His disciples, the church they were going to gather for His Name's sake, and us, who would believe on Him through their word. Families have falling outs - it's normal. Yet Jesus said, "Love one another." Everybody needs love. If you say you have the Holy Ghost but don't love - somebody's lying - and it's not God! It takes the Holy Ghost to produce the fruit of the Spirit; (Galatians 5:22) and the first fruit mentioned is love.
- The Focus/Object of Love - God first. Then, thy neighbor as thyself. Neighbors include your family, your church family, (the brotherhood,) your friends, co-workers, and those in your neighborhood. And don't forget your enemies! We're to love them too!
- The Nature of Love - It's found in I Corinthians 13... It suffers long, it's kind, it envieth not, it's not puffed up, it is not easily provoked, it thinks no evil, it rejoices in the truth, and it beareth, endureth, and hopeth all things. "Love covers a multitude of sin." (I Peter 4:4)
- The Blessings [Results] of Love - The Lord has promised a "crown of life" to them that love Him. (James 1:12) Furthermore, we are also promised that "all things will work together for good to them that love God." (Romans 8:28)
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Just a Touch...
By Don Warfield
Did you ever have someone touch you when you were so down you thought no one knew you existed? Do you remember what that touch meant to you? Let me tell you a true story...
I knew a young man who was walking with God and God was with him in his life. But the young man sinned. he went to his pastor and confessed his sin: the pastor told him he must sit down in all church services and take no part. Eager to be forgiven and to obey his pastor, the young man complied.
As time went on the young man continued to come to church every time the doors opened. His pastor withdrew from him to help him understand how sin had made a separation line between him and God.
He still kept coming, feeling very low. It seemed nobody cared or even knew he was there, and that even God had withdrawn from him: for he felt nothing when he came. But the young man thought, "If God is ever going to return to me, I will have to be in church where He can."
After a long time of going, he began thinking, "What is the use?" But then, on a Sunday night as he left his office to go to the platform.to start the service, the pastor walked down the aisle where the young man was sitting. As he passed, he laid his hand on the young man's shoulder.
To the young man, that touch said all the things the pastor could not yet say. Through the touch, the young man heard the words, "I know you are here. I see you come every service. I do care, I still love you. God still loves you. Keep coming. Stay faithful. God is restoring you."
The next time you feel at a loss as to how to comfort someone and can't think of any words to say, think of all the words the young man heard that night with just a touch!
Editor's Note: Bro. Don Warfield leads our Home Bible Study Ministry and teaches in the Adult Sunday School Class each month in rotation. He is a student of the Word and a blessing to the Body of Christ.
Did you ever have someone touch you when you were so down you thought no one knew you existed? Do you remember what that touch meant to you? Let me tell you a true story...
I knew a young man who was walking with God and God was with him in his life. But the young man sinned. he went to his pastor and confessed his sin: the pastor told him he must sit down in all church services and take no part. Eager to be forgiven and to obey his pastor, the young man complied.
As time went on the young man continued to come to church every time the doors opened. His pastor withdrew from him to help him understand how sin had made a separation line between him and God.
He still kept coming, feeling very low. It seemed nobody cared or even knew he was there, and that even God had withdrawn from him: for he felt nothing when he came. But the young man thought, "If God is ever going to return to me, I will have to be in church where He can."
After a long time of going, he began thinking, "What is the use?" But then, on a Sunday night as he left his office to go to the platform.to start the service, the pastor walked down the aisle where the young man was sitting. As he passed, he laid his hand on the young man's shoulder.
To the young man, that touch said all the things the pastor could not yet say. Through the touch, the young man heard the words, "I know you are here. I see you come every service. I do care, I still love you. God still loves you. Keep coming. Stay faithful. God is restoring you."
The next time you feel at a loss as to how to comfort someone and can't think of any words to say, think of all the words the young man heard that night with just a touch!
Editor's Note: Bro. Don Warfield leads our Home Bible Study Ministry and teaches in the Adult Sunday School Class each month in rotation. He is a student of the Word and a blessing to the Body of Christ.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Who's Validating You?.
Editorial
By Marjorie Kinnee
The raising of Lazarus from the dead caused many of the Jews to "believe on Jesus." (John 12:11) This included many chief rulers. Yet in the same chapter we read, "...because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." (John 12:42-43) What a dilemma! Knowing to do good but fearful that someone or something will be lost if you persist in the good you know to do. This crux is common to man, but it begs the question; who's validating you?
Popular opinion is weighty. Popular opinion is a salesman. The idea of what others will think accomplishes everything from correcting childish behavior to the latest polling data on the presidential elections. Politicians of all persuasions would have you think everybody and his cousin will be voting for them. It's the "pack" mentality. Know this, peer pressure is not reserved for teen angst only.
But there are three major problems with popular opinion. 1.) fickleness - will o'the wisp, here today and gone tomorrow. No staying ability. 2.) polluted wells - popular opinion depends on word of mouth. But if you've ever played the "gossip" game, you've seen how word of mouth can become twisted and polluted in just a few forwards. Social media has crystallized the gossip game into a corrupted art form. You cannot get pure water from a polluted well. 3.) cisterns - cisterns are reservoirs, holding tanks for fluids, usually water. They have no constant source of refreshing. Once corrupted, the corruption stays until the tank is emptied, scrubbed, bleached, rinsed and refilled. Without a drainage system and a source of renewal the cistern is going to stagnate, becoming a breeding ground for all sorts of foul critters and gunk.
Validation by every other earthly yardstick, (be it education, wealth, health, fame, beauty, material possessions, achievements, physical prowess and/or strength,) is still shallow at best and ephemeral always. If the source of your validation is weighted down with man's opinions, prejudices, and evaluations it can only reproduce more of the same. This flesh is never far from its genepool. What's more, we pass that genepool onward. We can do nothing else.
Even in the church, where the saints of the Most High congregate, there is a danger. It's comparing ourselves amongst ourselves. Who's the best, who's the greatest, who's the most educated, who's the most charismatic; "I am of Paul, I am of Apollos, I am of Cephas..." We seek to elevate ourselves by our accomplishments; what we know, who we know, and with whom we associate. What's worse, we consider ourselves a failure if we cannot measure up to someone else's yardstick. Paul said such comparisons are not wise. All they engender is a missed mark. In short, seeking men's applause is an exercise in leaning your ladder against the wrong wall. If you climb to the very top of the ladder, you're still in the wrong place. Jesus said, "What is a man profited if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?"
Paul's "pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus" aims the ladder in the right direction. When Jesus is your focal point, your example, and your reward, you're on target. After all - what is better than HIS smile of approval? Do you think that, as you stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ, you can be certified by anything other than what HE saw and recorded? And, if you get to hear HIM say, "Well done! thou good and faithful servant. Enter thou into the joys of your Lord! Is that not the greatest validation anyone could ever receive?
By Marjorie Kinnee
The raising of Lazarus from the dead caused many of the Jews to "believe on Jesus." (John 12:11) This included many chief rulers. Yet in the same chapter we read, "...because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." (John 12:42-43) What a dilemma! Knowing to do good but fearful that someone or something will be lost if you persist in the good you know to do. This crux is common to man, but it begs the question; who's validating you?
Popular opinion is weighty. Popular opinion is a salesman. The idea of what others will think accomplishes everything from correcting childish behavior to the latest polling data on the presidential elections. Politicians of all persuasions would have you think everybody and his cousin will be voting for them. It's the "pack" mentality. Know this, peer pressure is not reserved for teen angst only.
But there are three major problems with popular opinion. 1.) fickleness - will o'the wisp, here today and gone tomorrow. No staying ability. 2.) polluted wells - popular opinion depends on word of mouth. But if you've ever played the "gossip" game, you've seen how word of mouth can become twisted and polluted in just a few forwards. Social media has crystallized the gossip game into a corrupted art form. You cannot get pure water from a polluted well. 3.) cisterns - cisterns are reservoirs, holding tanks for fluids, usually water. They have no constant source of refreshing. Once corrupted, the corruption stays until the tank is emptied, scrubbed, bleached, rinsed and refilled. Without a drainage system and a source of renewal the cistern is going to stagnate, becoming a breeding ground for all sorts of foul critters and gunk.
Validation by every other earthly yardstick, (be it education, wealth, health, fame, beauty, material possessions, achievements, physical prowess and/or strength,) is still shallow at best and ephemeral always. If the source of your validation is weighted down with man's opinions, prejudices, and evaluations it can only reproduce more of the same. This flesh is never far from its genepool. What's more, we pass that genepool onward. We can do nothing else.
Even in the church, where the saints of the Most High congregate, there is a danger. It's comparing ourselves amongst ourselves. Who's the best, who's the greatest, who's the most educated, who's the most charismatic; "I am of Paul, I am of Apollos, I am of Cephas..." We seek to elevate ourselves by our accomplishments; what we know, who we know, and with whom we associate. What's worse, we consider ourselves a failure if we cannot measure up to someone else's yardstick. Paul said such comparisons are not wise. All they engender is a missed mark. In short, seeking men's applause is an exercise in leaning your ladder against the wrong wall. If you climb to the very top of the ladder, you're still in the wrong place. Jesus said, "What is a man profited if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?"
Paul's "pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus" aims the ladder in the right direction. When Jesus is your focal point, your example, and your reward, you're on target. After all - what is better than HIS smile of approval? Do you think that, as you stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ, you can be certified by anything other than what HE saw and recorded? And, if you get to hear HIM say, "Well done! thou good and faithful servant. Enter thou into the joys of your Lord! Is that not the greatest validation anyone could ever receive?
Monday, April 30, 2012
Where is Jesus?
By Laurel D. Williams
As children, my parents expected us to behave ourselves whenever they took us shopping. But, as children often do, we soon became bored with the process of shopping. The racks of clothes seemed to be the perfect spot to hide. What was the harm in hiding among the clothes and jumping out at your brothers? Despite repeated warnings, we continued in our games of hide and seek.
During one hiding phase, my parents became lost. When I discovered that my parents were not where they should be, I looked down the next aisle. Too short to look over anything, I continued to search as fear took hold. Finally, crying, I approached the saleslady. She announced for all the world at Montgomery Ward that "there was a little lost girl named Laurie and would her parents please come and get her."
My mother was not ecstatic to see me or overjoyed that her lost baby was found. Instead, she called me "Laurel Dawn." I was reminded of the importance of staying with her, listening to her, obeying her. She hoped I had "learned a lesson." I had.
Jesus and his parents went to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of Passover. They traveled with kinsfolk and acquaintances. They celebrated and worshipped at the temple. On the way home, after a day’s journey, Mary and Joseph discovered that their twelve year old son was missing. His parents returned to Jerusalem and searched for him for three days! How distraught, relieved, aggravated, and overjoyed they must have felt when they found him in the temple! His mother asked Him, "Son! Why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been frantic, searching for you everywhere." (Luke 2:48 NLT) But Jesus replied, "Why were you searching? You should have known that I must be about my Father’s business." (v.49)
His parents didn’t understand. Jesus returned to Nazareth and was obedient. But Jesus was plainly saying; Where else would I be? You know where I must be and what I must do.
So many people are searching for God. They thirst after Him, their souls hunger for Him. They look here, they look there. They try this, they try that. They philosophize and expound, "WHERE IS GOD?" They are frantic in their searching, spend years and lifetimes trying to find Jesus. It’s really quite SIMPLE. He is in His church! Why are you looking anywhere else ? He is in the temple!
Jesus is in the temple. Jesus is in the church! Surprise! Don’t you know He MUST be there? When we give ourselves to Christ and bury the old man, we become a new creature in Christ Jesus. That new creature is the temple of God! You are God’s temple! (I Corintthians 3:16-17) There He is, in me! No more frantic searching, He must be there doing the Father’s work in His temple! He must be there - making me like Him! Here He is; above all, through you all, and in us all! (Ephesians 4:6)
Rest in the knowledge, worship in the awesome revelation. He is right here every minute of every day of your life. He is right here in all His power, majesty, and glory. Emmanuel! God is in His temple: Omnipotent, Omnipresent, and Omniscient!
Where is He? Here!
"O God, we meditate on Your unfailing love as we worship You in Your temple." (Psalm 48:9 NLT)
"...The Lord is in His holy Temple. Let all the earth be silent before Him." (Habakkuk 2:20 NLT)
"For in Him we live, and move, and have our being;…" (Acts 17:28)
"…and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." (Matthew 28:20)
"And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God." (Revelation 21:3)
Editor's Note: Laurel Williams is married to Johnnie Williams. Their family lives in Orange, Texas and attends Eastgate United Pentecostal Church, (Pastor George R. Edwards,) in Vidor, where Laurie teaches Sunday School and is faithfully laboring in her Father's vineyard..
As children, my parents expected us to behave ourselves whenever they took us shopping. But, as children often do, we soon became bored with the process of shopping. The racks of clothes seemed to be the perfect spot to hide. What was the harm in hiding among the clothes and jumping out at your brothers? Despite repeated warnings, we continued in our games of hide and seek.
During one hiding phase, my parents became lost. When I discovered that my parents were not where they should be, I looked down the next aisle. Too short to look over anything, I continued to search as fear took hold. Finally, crying, I approached the saleslady. She announced for all the world at Montgomery Ward that "there was a little lost girl named Laurie and would her parents please come and get her."
My mother was not ecstatic to see me or overjoyed that her lost baby was found. Instead, she called me "Laurel Dawn." I was reminded of the importance of staying with her, listening to her, obeying her. She hoped I had "learned a lesson." I had.
Jesus and his parents went to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of Passover. They traveled with kinsfolk and acquaintances. They celebrated and worshipped at the temple. On the way home, after a day’s journey, Mary and Joseph discovered that their twelve year old son was missing. His parents returned to Jerusalem and searched for him for three days! How distraught, relieved, aggravated, and overjoyed they must have felt when they found him in the temple! His mother asked Him, "Son! Why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been frantic, searching for you everywhere." (Luke 2:48 NLT) But Jesus replied, "Why were you searching? You should have known that I must be about my Father’s business." (v.49)
His parents didn’t understand. Jesus returned to Nazareth and was obedient. But Jesus was plainly saying; Where else would I be? You know where I must be and what I must do.
So many people are searching for God. They thirst after Him, their souls hunger for Him. They look here, they look there. They try this, they try that. They philosophize and expound, "WHERE IS GOD?" They are frantic in their searching, spend years and lifetimes trying to find Jesus. It’s really quite SIMPLE. He is in His church! Why are you looking anywhere else ? He is in the temple!
Jesus is in the temple. Jesus is in the church! Surprise! Don’t you know He MUST be there? When we give ourselves to Christ and bury the old man, we become a new creature in Christ Jesus. That new creature is the temple of God! You are God’s temple! (I Corintthians 3:16-17) There He is, in me! No more frantic searching, He must be there doing the Father’s work in His temple! He must be there - making me like Him! Here He is; above all, through you all, and in us all! (Ephesians 4:6)
Rest in the knowledge, worship in the awesome revelation. He is right here every minute of every day of your life. He is right here in all His power, majesty, and glory. Emmanuel! God is in His temple: Omnipotent, Omnipresent, and Omniscient!
Where is He? Here!
"O God, we meditate on Your unfailing love as we worship You in Your temple." (Psalm 48:9 NLT)
"...The Lord is in His holy Temple. Let all the earth be silent before Him." (Habakkuk 2:20 NLT)
"For in Him we live, and move, and have our being;…" (Acts 17:28)
"…and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." (Matthew 28:20)
"And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God." (Revelation 21:3)
Editor's Note: Laurel Williams is married to Johnnie Williams. Their family lives in Orange, Texas and attends Eastgate United Pentecostal Church, (Pastor George R. Edwards,) in Vidor, where Laurie teaches Sunday School and is faithfully laboring in her Father's vineyard..
Power... Fusion!
By Donna Franklin
God clearly told us in His Word that He is the Author of Fusion!
It began with Adam and Eve. One man and one woman were to become one as the Lord God joined them together. This is still God's plan! It is His will. Any of man's attempts to change this will result in confusion. And we know God is not the Author of that!
E Pluribus Unum – one of America's most important descriptions – that from the many, we are to become one… one nation consisting of every citizen, under God, with obedience to all just laws and a willingness to work together to bring liberty and justice to all.
President Ronald Reagan expressed the desire that we become that nation. He asked the rhetorical question: What could we accomplish if we didn't care who got the credit? In these days of politicians wanting to be treated as idols, we are a long way from finding out.
The Church began in one mind and one accord… the Body of Jesus Christ here on earth, designed to use His power and authority to carry out His will for all. "Till we all come in the unity of the faith...unto a perfect man… from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, making increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love." (Ephesians 4:13-16)
"For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones." (Ephesians 5:30)
"…that they all may be one…in us…" (John 17:21)
It is so clearly the will of God that we be unified. If we are determined to love the Lord above all else in our lives and to love our neighbors as ourselves, we will join together as one and accomplish great things in His Name. There will be this power only as we have this holy fusion/unity. May God exceedingly bless every single one who does their best to make this happen!
Editor's Note: Donna Franklin ad her husband attend the United Pentecostal Church in Paoli, Oklahoma (Pastor Terry Erwin). She has long been a writer of articles and poems, and is a willing worker and a valuable asset to the Body of Christ through her home church.
God clearly told us in His Word that He is the Author of Fusion!
It began with Adam and Eve. One man and one woman were to become one as the Lord God joined them together. This is still God's plan! It is His will. Any of man's attempts to change this will result in confusion. And we know God is not the Author of that!
E Pluribus Unum – one of America's most important descriptions – that from the many, we are to become one… one nation consisting of every citizen, under God, with obedience to all just laws and a willingness to work together to bring liberty and justice to all.
President Ronald Reagan expressed the desire that we become that nation. He asked the rhetorical question: What could we accomplish if we didn't care who got the credit? In these days of politicians wanting to be treated as idols, we are a long way from finding out.
The Church began in one mind and one accord… the Body of Jesus Christ here on earth, designed to use His power and authority to carry out His will for all. "Till we all come in the unity of the faith...unto a perfect man… from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, making increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love." (Ephesians 4:13-16)
"For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones." (Ephesians 5:30)
"…that they all may be one…in us…" (John 17:21)
It is so clearly the will of God that we be unified. If we are determined to love the Lord above all else in our lives and to love our neighbors as ourselves, we will join together as one and accomplish great things in His Name. There will be this power only as we have this holy fusion/unity. May God exceedingly bless every single one who does their best to make this happen!
Editor's Note: Donna Franklin ad her husband attend the United Pentecostal Church in Paoli, Oklahoma (Pastor Terry Erwin). She has long been a writer of articles and poems, and is a willing worker and a valuable asset to the Body of Christ through her home church.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)