Hebrews 1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those
As I write this blog, I am looking out my window beholding the beautiful sunshine sifting through the big oak tree located in the back yard or our parsonage home. I also see the effects of the wind gently move its leaves overhead. In addition, I had stepped outside earlier this morning and felt the cool and refreshing effects of 69 degree weather that was blessing the little town of Arcadia, Florida, as well as my face.
But in reading one of my morning devotions, I was reminded of one of the wondrous unseen gifts given to me from God, His ministering spirits, the angels! As Charles Spurgeon reminds us they bear us up in their hands lest we dash our foot against a stone, they rejoice over the return of the prodigal to his Father’s house, and they welcome the advent of the believer to the King’s palace above.
If our eyes could be opened, we should see horses of fire and chariots of fire about the servants of the Lord. And yet the Hebrew writer tells us that Jesus is superior to the angels. Praise and thanksgiving be offered to Him who sends out the angels to render service to the saints, those who have inherited salvation in Christ! I can feel the brush of angel’s wings, I see glory on each face.
Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place!
Pastor Louie
Offering Your Gifts
Exodus 25:1-2 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Tell the sons of Israel to raise a contribution
We love, because He first loved us. I John 4:19
The Bible tells us that God, first.
God first created, God first loved, God first, forgave, God first...
Our hearts cannot truly and authentically be moved unless God first moves them through the Spirit of the living Christ. But OH, what a glorious promise and present and future reality! I have recently begun a new series of Sunday morning messages entitled, Giving Your Best to the Lord as a focus for our emphasis as a congregation on the subject of giving and stewardship.
When God told Moses to raise a contribution both monetary and material among the Israelites for the construction of the portable tabernacle that would accompany them through the desert, He said the true collection, the one that would make the difference, would be taken from those whose hearts moved them. When the Holy Spirit moves a heart captivated first by the love of God and sensitive to put God first in all things, including ones finances, then the blessings of God follow in His will and perfect way.
And the most important reason of all is, because He first loved me!
Seeking through the Holy Spirit to give my best to the One Who has given me His best in Christ,
Pastor Louie
The Light of Christ
John 1:4-5 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness
This past weekend Nancy and I went to see the new movie based on a true story entitled, Woodlawn. The movie is set in the turbulent years of 1972-1974 when the Jesus Revolution, birthed at an event called Explo 72 held at the Cotton Bowl in June of that year, had a transforming effect on a sports chaplain who in turn, courageously shared the gospel of Jesus Christ with the Woodlawn High School football team of Birmingham, Alabama. From there, God began to transform its team, coach, community and even its rival team, the Jets of Banks High School, as well as the segregation-torn city of Birmingham.
I walked away from the movie sensing a new call to the High calling and honor of being a member of the Body of Christ! God never meant for any Christian to go at it alone when being a bearer of the light of Christ in the midst of this present darkness in which we find ourselves today. Pastor Jim Cymbala reminds us how the predator is always looking for the one who has strayed from the pack. Therefore, pray for your church and for your pastor and its leaders that they will be in the word and in prayer. And ask God to give you the courage to share the gospel of Christ even when it isnt easy.
Church, it is time we stand together for the cause of Christ like never before! You were Gods idea and so is the church! Dont abandon her as some in the First Century and this century are doing! See Hebrews 10:19-25. May God empower us for this new day!
I encourage you to see the movie Woodlawn if at all possible.
In the Name of the Revolutionary Love of Jesus Christ that Conquers All,
Pastor Louie
The Gift and the Spirit of Generosity
2 Corinthians 9:6-7 Now this I say, he who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly, and he who sows
When I was about four or five years old, my mother taught me one of the most important lessons I could ever learn when it comes to giving. We were at someones house for a Christmas party and I received a little toy race car as a gift. There was another little boy who was with his mother at the party and, for whatever reason, he had not received a gift. Most likely the adults were exchanging gifts and were supposed to have brought a gift for their own children in attendance, but for whatever reason, this little boy hadnt received a gift. So, I will never forget what my mother said to me. She said, Louie, why dont you give your car to him. Well, I remember that I didnt want to. As a matter of fact, I think I cried, but my mom told me how proud she was of me while the little boy played with his new car on the carpet next to me, and in time, I was feeling much better.
Now, I am 59 years old, and I still remember the bold and loving action my mother took in planting the seed for effective stewardship Gods way in my mind and heart so long ago. That giving in faith and leaving the results to our heavenly Father, is so much more powerful than the selfishness that it truly behind, the act of taking.
Luke recording the words of Paul, and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. Acts 20:35.
Thank you Lord for a mothers lesson. Pastor Louie