He is Risen!

2000 years ago on the first Easter Sunday, a few ladies went to the tomb where Jesus was buried. They must have been both curious and anxious; curious to see whether Jesus had risen from the dead, and anxious to witness the Resurrection of the Son of God. Upon arriving at the tomb, it was opened. With great expectancy and anticipation, they entered the tomb, piercing through the darkness they didn't see the body of Jesus Christ, rather they saw an angel of the Lord. The angel spoke the words that have been repeated by millions of Christians on Easter Sunday; He is Risen! Jesus Christ, the Son of God is not counted among the dead, He is alive! Because He LIVES, YOU can come ALIVE! All that Jesus did on the cross was for our benefit: He is hope for the hopeless, He is strength for the weak, He is wisdom for the learned, and He offers everlasting life. Life has a way of placing people in tombs. A tomb is built to whole the dead. A tomb couldn't keep the Son of God, and life's tomb shouldn't keep you from coming alive!Christians shouldn't be dead, because He lives we should live. Everything that life throws at us don't whole a candle to the power of the Holy Spirit of God who re energize believers day after day. As Christians, we must learn to shake off the deadness; we should learn to prune the dead branches attached to our lives, and when we encounter life's tombs that have overwhelmed us and sealed us end with stones of worry, doubt, fear, failure, and disappointment, remember that Jesus still roll back the stones. The greater the stone, the greater the power of God to roll back that stone. The power of the Holy Spirit is the power to capture the spirit of Easter. The hope of Easter is the power of the Holy Spirit at work in you. Celebrate it!

The Cross of Jesus

Our English word for the Cross that Jesus bore is not the same word for Cross in the original manuscript of the bible. Why? Because bible translators couldn't find a word in English that adequately conveyed the true meaning of the Cross. A Cross 2000 years ago was something to be feared; it was to be something dreaded. Why? Because anyone condemned to be crucified would suffer a death that was both painful and slow. The condemned prisoner would be nailed to the Cross; the nails would Pierce the veins, and crush the tendons in both hands and feet. The arteries in the head and stomach would swell because of the surge of blood. The wounds would quickly become infected. The pain of Crucifixion was so great, that the victim would desire a quick death more than anything else. As you can see, the Cross that Jesus bore was no cheap Cross. Jesus bore His Cross in obedience to God and He has appointed Christians to bear their Cross in obedience to Himself. Anyone unwilling to bear their cross can't be a follower of Jesus! BUT, Christ supplies the grace that's equal to the burden of the Cross. Bearing the Cross identifies you with Christ in His suffering; what I mean is this, bearing your Cross includes suffering loss, damages, and injuries in your service to the Lord. But here is the kicker, it don't have to only hurt. Jesus showed the world and Church that through the pain is hope, possibility, and peace. I am a shameless cross-bearer! Admittedly I don't like pain, but it's God's will that I bear it from time to time so that through my life, His purpose might be fulfilled. Strangely enough, every cross bearer has the same story. Now here comes the riddle, what's your story?

Gift vs Talent

There is a great deal of confusion about the Gifts of the Spirit in operation; every believer has been given at least one spiritual gift. Why? We are gifted to serve; if Jesus taught us anything, He taught us to serve others in the power of the Holy Spirit! "It is not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord of Host." Jesus came and died to alleviate human suffering caused by the meanest of sin. Sin separates us from God; sin isolates us from God; without a relationship with God, through Jesus Christ, we'll be the ones in the greatest need for spiritual, emotional, and physical alleviation from suffering. Believers have a command from the Lord to use our spiritual gifts, in whatever form it may be in, to faithfully serve others. But natural talents will destroy the potential of any Christian to live a Christ centered, victorious life! Natural talent should be checked at the door of any Church. When a church is operated exclusively on naturally talented people, look out below because a train wreck is well on the way. Do yourself a favor, commit to only allowing your natural talents to dovetail your spiritual gifts- and not take the place of the Gift. Gifts verses Talents? No contest! Talents are great in their proper place, but talent is unable to sustain the momentum of consistently meeting the needs of others in ministry. Talent is show-n-tell within the walls of the Church; spiritual gifts are the real deal. The Kingdom of God is not show -n-tell, but a matter of spiritual power. Lastly, spiritual gifts empower Christians to live their lives on a supernatural level. This is truly possible-don't let the haters fool you! The gifts of the spirit will always make room for you, because they will always be needed to alleviate human suffering.

Gifted

Christians have grossly underestimated the value of there relationship with the Creator; we know how to take advantage of our relationship with political people, celebrities, business people and so on, but we under estimate the value of our union with Christ! There are so many benefits to being Christian: We are blessed and heaven bound; we are not perfect, but forgiven. The most tangible value of our union with Christ are the Gifts of the Spirit. God has generously lavished on believers spiritual gifts. Most of us have received at least one lavished gift from someone we know personally, but natural gifts, though great, don't whole a candle to spiritual gifts. Sadly, most Christians treat spiritual gifts the same way they treat unwanted gifts. We lay aside unwanted gifts; we appreciate the thought and gesture for the gift, but we find unwanted gifts irrelevant to the moment or mission of our lives. But that's WRONG! Spiritual gifts are the mother-load of gifts. these gifts keep on giving! God wouldn't have given them to you if they would be useless; He wouldn't have presented them to the Church if there purpose would soon become irrelevant. In the Pauline letters of the New Testament, we learn a great deal about these gifts; we know that they are "favored" gifts. That means that God so favored Christians, that He gave them lavished gifts they didn't deserve, and we all know that favor isn't fair! The New Testament identifies 20 different spiritual gifts that God has given to empower believers. Bottom line, it is time for you to unwrap your spiritual gifts and discover there powers. So go ahead and remove the Bow and Ribbons; tear away the wrapping and start using the gifts God favored you with! And remember, the value of spiritual gifts transcend the present, because they are the only gifts on earth that has eternal value! Lastly, you can go back to our homepage and take an assessment designed to help you discover your spiritual gift, and you should attend the upcoming workshop on spiritual gifts discovery, starting on Sunday morning, March 20, 2011. For further information, visit our website.

Call of God

Every person is called by God; non-Christians are called to accept the grace provided through the blood of Jesus. Christians are called upward and higher in their walk with God! The Lord calls us where we are and as we are, but He compels us to grow inward and onward in Christ Jesus! We are first called to the person of Jesus Christ; the power, grace, mercy, and salvation is connected with Jesus. Without His blood, God would only see the sin of our lives and not the redemption of our lives because of the blood. Secondly, we are called to a personal relationship with the Lord; this relationship is the method of transformation. Transformation is the process of discipleship; Jesus called his disciples to follow him in transformation. He clearly told them that if they followed Him, he would transform them! Transformation is vital and necessary for success as a Christian. The call to transformation is a call to successful Christian living on every level. Lastly, we are called to a purpose. God created you for purpose; every aspect of your being solves a problem. Your ears solves a problem with hearing; your eyes solves a problem with sight; your mouth solves a problems with speech. You were created to solve spiritual problems. God has called you to successful Christian living so you can solve the greatest number of problems. To sum it all up, many are called but only a few answer! Resolve to answer the call of God at every level and in every area of your life; your personal, spiritual, financial, and emotional success will depend on it-I promise!

Marriable

Christian dating always have an objective; marriage! That's right! the objective of Christian dating is marriage. Why not? What else could possibly be the objective of dating? For Christians, the objective can't be sex-that's fornication. Fornication comes from the root word porneo; from that word we get the English word porn. God established the rules for Christian dating; the rule is sexual abstinence before marriage. The objective of dating can't just be social interaction; that can be accomplished without the commitment expected with dating. From the Christian perspective, a single Christian content to be along without a compelling desire for a soul mate should rejoice in the knowledge that they are complete and lack nothing from the Lord. Going out for fun, social interaction, and fellowship wouldn't be considered dating. It would simply be what it is. However, if their is a growing desire for companionship; if there is burning passion for the opposite sex, dating serves a God given purpose of attracting, qualifying, and marrying the person you will love, and give yourself fully too. So let's be clear, God expect single Christians to practice sexual abstinence as a living sacrifice to Him. The reward is joy, peace, and power in the Holy Ghost. However, if you are dating or looking to date, prepare yourself for the spiritual, emotional, and relational challenges; and remember, godly boundaries doesn't mean that you can't enjoy the process.

Day 21 of my 21 Day fast

The race is not given to the swift nor the strong, but to him/her who finishes the race. I have finished the race; the fast is now officially over. My faith is made perfect; the joy of the Lord is my strength. This amazing journey has stretch me to a new level. Fighting through the distractions, body pains, temptations, and the rest, I have learned a great many things about myself, and the power of the Holy Spirit in a brand new way!. I hope that you were able to finish your fast; I trust that obvious distractions weren't compelling enough to move your focus away from having your greatness needs presented to God. Satan's objective is always going to be to kill, steal, and destroy your faith! That's his purpose; your purpose is to worship God on the highest level, and at your best. Remember a very important key in the Daniel's fast, his answer didn't come until after the fast was over. So if you haven't gotten the breakthrough that you have been waiting for, be of good cheer. God has already worked it out; you must simply wait on the blessings to materialize in your life. But, be alert to the enemy. If he can't prevent your blessing from entering your life, he will try and steal it out of your life. If you are praying about your children, don't be surprised if they do something ridiculous to destroy your faith and hope in their salvation and deliverance. That's the enemy trying to fight you back through them. Keep believing; keep praying! I pray that the essences of your fast remains a sweet aroma in the presence of God, and that you constantly operate at a new level of faith and hope, and joy in the Holy Ghost!