Romans 8:10-11 And if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is al
I can honestly tell you that on most occasions in my 26 years of ministry, there has been quite a drop in worship attendance the Sunday following Easter Sunday. Now, there is no doubt as to the wonderful blessing to be received when attending church to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord on Easter Sunday, but nevertheless, it can be rather sad to witness such a drop in attendance the following week. And yet, may we allow Paul to challenge each one of us to the deeper spiritual truth that lies at the bottom of this illustration. A challenge that encourages each one of us to the reality of the resurrection and the daily life of the believer.
Paul is writing to the Roman Christians of his day, on the radical transformation that takes place in the life of the believer enabling him or her to walk daily as a new Spirit man or Spirit woman in Christ! Therefore, the believer is no longer controlled by the flesh nor guilt and condemnation, because the Spirit of the living Christ lives inside that Christian, empowering that believer with the same power form on High that raised Jesus from the dead! Now that is something to cause us to fill our churches to overflow every Sunday, but God tells us to go outside our church and tell others of the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ!
Read Romans 8:16 and notice the spirt and Spirit relationship Paul addresses in this verse, and be encouraged these days after Easter!
Looking forward to Easter each day!
Pastor Louie
Lord I Believe in You
Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe
As I listen to my wife Nancy practice a song entitled, Lord, I believe in You, this verse came instantly to my mind. God rewards those who seek Him because they believe that He is. Throughout the Bible we are given the great I AM statements of God and Christ, truly meaning I AM, I AM, and there is no other! When Moses asked God by what name should he tell the sons of Israel who were in bondage in Egypt had sent him to them, God said to Moses, Tell them I AM has sent you to them.
And in the New Testament, Jesus said, I AM the Bread of Life that has come down from heaven. I Am the Great Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep. I AM the Light of the World. I Am the Resurrection and the Life!
Yes, as Beth Moore has given us this five part shield of faith which will strengthen you daily Christian, not to believe about Jesus but to believe Him. God is Who He says He is, God can do what He says He can do, I am who God says I am, I can do all things through Christ, and the word of God is alive and active in me!
God forth believing that He is!
Pastor Louie
Jesus Loves Me This I Know
Psalm 139:14 I will give thanks to Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made, wonderful are Thy
Jesus loves me! This I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to him belong; they are weak, but he is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus love me! Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so.
I have a bookmark in my personal study Bible that I love to look at every day. It pictures a cute little gray and black puppy with ears tipped in black. The caption reads, God loves me because I’m me.
Christian, do you know that for you, at the deepest level of your heart and soul? God loves you because you are you!
God created you, you! Therefore, you are not to try to be anyone else, other than you. God gave you your personality, interests, and Spiritual gifting that comes to fruition when you are born again of the Holy Spirit from on High, (See John Three). Then, as your faith grows through spending time with God daily in prayer and in His word, you become more and more like Christ in your attitudes and actions. But it all founded upon a healthy view of the love God has for you in Jesus Christ.
David proclaimed, I will give thanks to Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made, wonderful are Thy works, and my soul knows it very well. Psalm 139:14 Thank God today, that this same promise applies to you.
One day a scribe asked Jesus what commandment is the foremost of all , to which Jesus replied, The number one commandment is that the Lord God is One Lord and you are to love Him with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. And the second commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself, there is no other commandment greater than these. Pastor Louie
The Lord Looks at the Heart
I Samuel 16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his st
I remember most vividly a particular sermon one of my pastors preached in my hometown church when I was in Junior High School. His sermon was entitled, The Body Beautiful, and he was contrasting how the media, the entertainment world, and the world of sports in particular all placed their emphasis on the way in which we look rather than character and morals. Pastor Larry went on to say, it was not what was on the outside that matters most to God, but what is on the inside of man.
In this passage, God has instructed the prophet Samuel to go among the sons of Jesse to find the next king of Israel following Saul. Upon arrival, God rejected the first seven sons of Jesse so Samuel would be led to anoint his youngest eighth son, David, who was out in the field attending sheep. And even in spite of David’s sins including adultery and murder, God saw that David had a repentant heart and was, as Scripture proclaims, a man after the heart of God.
Are you more concerned about outward appearances and trying to please God by the things you do or accomplish, or with honestly asking God what will honor Him when it comes to character, choices, and the way you live your daily life? Do you judge others by appearance? May we be Christians who invite the Holy Spirit to change us from the inside out?
Pastor Louie