Walk The Talk

Matthew 28:16-20...Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

We all know this as the great commission that Jesus has commanded us to do. This is the ultimate goal for all ministry. We are to teach others to observe whatsoever He has commanded us and He is with us as we go. Now, when we are going about and teaching others there are some very important things to keep in mind. as we travel the path with Him... Heavenly Father, I thank You for the word that you have given us Lord lead us and guide us and show us the truth as we share with those whose path we may cross. Help me to speak Your word to help us understand the message at hand. In Jesus Name...Amen!

Be Honest, Be genuine! Back up your words, Do what you say you are going to do. Folks it does not take long for us to see when someone's actions are not lining up with their words. Be real even if it makes you unpopular. Jesus spoke the truth regardless of whether or not it would be popular and He has commanded us to speak the truth. We are not here for a poularity contest or to scratch itchy ears! 2Timothy 4:2-5...Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

If you make a mistake then own up to it! Do not try to be bigger than you really are! Just be yourself and preach the truth that Jesus has given you! I beleive that we are living in that time that Paul was referring to. Men want to hear good things that are pleasing to themselves. I refer to the prosperity messages of today and the feel good messages. The Lord wants us to speak the truth! The truth sometimes hurts but in the end it always prevails!

Figure out who God made you to be. Search the heart of God ask Him! He is here waiting for you to talk to Him. John 4:23... But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. He longs for our relationship to grow with Him. He is our Father. If you don't know what to say then tell Him so, then listen for Him to answer you. There is no set rules to talking to Him. Just aproach him as you would any father and pour out your heart! Believe me He will be thrilled and He will answer you. He longs for this type of communication! Discover how He has gifted you. Try to discern His special calling on your life and follow it! Be intense! Perservere until you know that you know. There is nothing more satisfying then to know that you are doing what God has called you and gifted you to do!

Be Compassionate! Matthew 25:37-40...Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Whatever we do to others we do it to Him! Have a clear and consistant demonstration of Christ's love toward all people! This will pull them toward Him. This reminds me of the story of the good Samaritan who went out of his way to help someone who was injured and down and out. Luke 10:30-37... And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

We need to have compassion. Acts of mercy will open peoples hearts like nothing else can! This is also part of the new covenant Jesus has given us John 13:34-35... A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

When we are compassionate others will recognize it as real Christianity. This will help them better understand what Jesus is truly like. As He manifests Himself through us. His love and caring shines through us and then others will want to know Him. We will be "Walking The Talk" not just talking the talk! Jesus's grace and mercy is here for us. His love and and kindness will always be there for us! 1Corinthians 10:13...There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. Follow the pattern of Jesus. In my last post I mentioned some of these...begin to develope a more healthy mix of rest, relaxation, recreation, and restore relationships. Spend quiet time with The Lord study His word. Eliminate sinful behavior!

Sacrifice makes people stop in their tracks and ask...Why would you go out of your way for me? What is your motivation for helping me? Why would you put me before yourself? Sacrificial acts are rarely forgotten. It can impact a person for the rest of their life. It is a small investment with huge didvidends! Live Life in such a way that it makes our faith in Jesus Christ irresistable to those outside of God's family. Phillipians 2:13-15...For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; We are His light which shines in the world today Matthew 5:16...Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. As we preach and teach we should therefore show in our lives His love as we "Walk The Talk!" Amen!

Are You Ashamed?

Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels" (Mark 8:38.)
Are you ashamed to speak the name of Jesus Christ? Are you ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ? We are in another Christmas season now and so many people, from fear of offending someone, can not say "Merry Christmas". I have a response to those who skip around the true meaning and just say (Happy Holidays) my imediate reply is : "Happy Birthday Jesus!" Jesus is very specific in what He said in the above verse. If we are ashamed of Him He will also be ashamed of us when He comes into the glory of Father God! I for one am heart broken by this continuing assault on Jesus and His disciples (Christians). "Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts", 2Peter 3:3. When are we going to say enough is enough? When will we gird up our loins and exibit some backbone? The name of Jesus gives us a choice. Whom will you serve? Whom will you give your life to? Whom will you depend upon? Self willed people want to be able to have the right to decide for themselves what way they will take but Jesus tells us that there is only one way. Jesus saith unto him,
"I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me". John 14:6. One way! That is it! We are to be gentle but not weak! These verses are some of the very words that have caused the intolerance toward Jesus and His disciples (Christians) The world cannot fathom any absolutes! They want to make a "Do your own thing and all roads will lead to God" mentality. This is just not so! We have just read the opposite of that in the book of John. It is also wide spread throughout the bible. Yes folks there are absolutes in this world. Will we let our brothers and sisters burn at judgment day because we do not want to offend? God forbid! We must speak the truth even if it may offend someone! I would rather offend someone with the truth and save them from hell and damnation than to keep quiet and indiffent and just say nothing.
"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved". Acts 4:12. Folks this is it! We are to love one another and if we truly do love our nieghbor as we love ourself then we must speak up and show that love. During this Christmas season (and through the year) as we celebrate the birth of our Lord an Savior Jesus Christ let us not be ashamed of the gospel. Let us not be ashamed to tell others how they can be saved from an eternity of pain and suffering. Let us share the hope that is in us. Celebrate Jesus because He is truly the reason for the (Holiday) season! Do not be ashamed to share what God has done for you. Folks it is not that difficult. Just testify of what The Lord has done in your life. If we all share a little with someone and not be ashamed of who changed our lives then lives will be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit who can turn around anyones life and bring true peace and joy to their heart. The words that He has given us will not return to Him void. Speak out! Be not ashamed!
In His Love
Bro_Jerry_Walter

We are His children!

Romans 8:14 says For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. Verse 27 states And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will. NLT

Times are tough, but if you are led by the Spirit you are a child of God! The Spirit pleads for you in harmony with God's will. God isn't trying to make you happy, He is blessing you for your overall good. "To fulfill His purpose in your life".

Romans 8:28 says And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purposes for them. NLT

Things happen to us. Situations aren't always the way we would like for them to be. Do you believe Jesus died on the cross so our sins would be forgiven? Do you believe your life has changed and you are not the same person? Does the Holy Spirit reside in you, does He guide and lead you? Or are you led by your selfish motives and emotions to please yourself?

Jesus died for you and was raised for you, when you were water baptized in symbol died and resurrected now you may live a new life. Your thoughts and emotions are new your dead to the old self and alive through Christ!

When things don't go the way you'd expect, and it seems like all hope is lost, trust in the God who leads you He said He would never leave you nor forsake you, you might just need to have a different perspective a different view one that is led by the Spirit.

Romans 8:38,39 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life (our sinful lives) neither angels nor demons neither our fears for today (doubts) nor our worries about tomorrow (anxieties) not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below "indeed" nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God. That is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Lord loves you, remember to pray and hold onto the promise of God nothing can separate you from His love; "Not even your fears, anxieties, or the sin in your life, He still loves you".

Poets!

Hello sorry for the delay since the last blog. It's been a journey but a wonderful one at that!

If you haven't read Matthew chapters 5-7 known as Jesus' sermon on the mount, please read it and if you have read it read it again. Make your reading of the bible personal read it as though God Himself has given it to you.

After I read those chapters again I found myself seeing new ideas new lessons no matter how many times I read my bible I taste something new, a fresh fruit perfectly ripe.

I would love to give you everything He showed me in reading His sermon, but this is a blog not a book, so I will shorten it and go to the ending of Jesus' sermon when He shares this; verse 24,27 Message Bible. "These words I speak to you not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who builds his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit- but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock. "But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don't work them into your life, you are like the stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards." I want to focus on verses 24 & 25, building a life is based on the Greek word poieo, which is translated "Do" and in the Greek language is a very active word, in English we get the word poet.

A poet is a person who takes words and does something with them, makes something beautiful, personal, and original out of them.

Jesus says, "Be poets. make something of these words I've spoken to you. Make a life, epic and poetic. And make it beautiful. Make it a work of art." That's something we can all do. One well-chosen word at a time. One stanza of service at a time. And with our words and deeds, we can leave something beautiful behind in the lives of others. (Eugene Peterson)

We have an opportunity to be poets "doers of ...." You finish the rest!

Pastor Wes

How do we get there!

Paul new he was going to go to Rome. The journey he took to get there wasn't what he expected. Most times we plan on something happening or we are expecting things to happen, we have assumptions and ideas of how it is going to happen. We come up with visions of grandeur trying to anticipate and almost making arrangements of how it will turn out and if we have any reservations or hints of displeasure we say "this isn't from God".

Resistance can come in many different forms; ourselves, other people, or natural occurrences. Sometimes our brethren may not agree with the way we think or how we interpret things. Causing a hindrance and conflict possibly changing the way you do things. Upon Paul's return to Jerusalem in Acts:22 there were a few believers that were told he was teaching against the law of Moses which of course he was not, but in the story you will see Paul was expected to go and show the people wrong through a ceremony how "righteous". I would like for you to read the chapter yourself and see.

Then we of course can hinder or change things just by our selfishness or our motives may not always be focused on what God has directed. There are many examples in the Bible of people and there selfish motives read it and you will see.

And then there is always the weather that can throw a wrench into our plans or change the course of direction. Acts:27 shows how a storm can cause a change in direction or cause some delay to getting to our destination.

The purpose of this is to remind us that the journey is set before us, but how we get there isn't always the way we expect it! Paul probably thought his trip to Rome would have been more of a missionary trip then a legal one. The result his presentation of the Gospel even penetrated the walls of the emperor's palace.

Sometimes our plans don't work out as we want them to, they work out even better than we expected!

Lost on the Road

I was walking along on this dry and deserted road not knowing where to go. The wind and dust make me uable to see anything ahead. For somehow Lord I lost my way. I took a wrong turn, I don't remember when. I'm dry and weary, so tired Lord.

Lord come and help me! Lord I long for your touch again. I come upon a spring, so perfect it never ends. He says, "Drink". I ask how for I have not anything to draw the water with. "Use your hands" I will enable you "use your hands" I am the living water to draw from that gives you life that never ends. "Use your hands".

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

I tell you if there is a need for something it's to communicate! No matter what the outcome may be express your thoughts to the people you interact with. First think about what is on your mind then, pray about it and ask God to show you what and how to say what is on your heart and mind. People closest to us are the ones it seems we have the hardest time talking or expressing what's on our mind because we're afraid of the outcome. How will they respond, will they agree with me or will they argue and not see things the way you want them to! That's right we're so afraid that we won't be able to do things the way we want to. That maybe we'll see it their way and we don't like to be wrong. Maybe that's the reason we don't pray? We don't want God to change our mind we want things our way!

Pastor Wes

Prayer for others

Let us take time to remember to pray for those God places on our mind. It is a gift that we are able to pray and lift up others. God will bless you! I think God is calling us right now to pray and support each other.

Eph 6:18 Never stop praying, especially for others.

Discouragement

Have you ever been discouraged? How about afraid of something or a situation? Don't let discouraging situations rule your attitude or thoughts. When fear controls your mind, pray and ask God to give you strength! He is always there. I pray that you strengthen us this week Lord to be diligent and that we be able to persevere in our walk with You. Lord I ask that we will not receive any discouraging thoughts and that our minds will be focused and not distracted.

This is what it means to Persevere-To persist in or remain constant to a purpose, idea, or task in the face of obstacles or discouragement. I pray that we will remain in our Lord Jesus. He persevered for our sake so that we could persevere!