Recent Blog Entries
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The Great I Am from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Moses had been a shepherd for forty years in the land of Midian when the Lord appeared to him in a burning bush. The bush was self-sustaining and wouldn't burn up. The Lord told Moses He had heard the cries of the Israelite people who were ... -
He said, "What is God's Kingdom like? To what shall I compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and put in his own garden. It grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the sky live in its branches." Luke 13:18-19 WEB.I can look at the magnificent oak tree in our yard and r...
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He said, "Come!" Peter stepped down from the boat, and walked on the waters to come to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was strong, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand, took hold of him, and said to him, "You of li...
Institutionalized Religion
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For John the Baptizer came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Behold, a gluttonous man, and a drunkard; a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Luke 7:33 WEB
There was always a gloomy feeling that settled over you when you entered the church sanctuary. Everyone was somber with long faces like they were in mourning, but it was not a funeral. The elders, certainly looked elderly. The paintings of Jesus on the wall always made Him look sad. He was either a baby in a manger, or bleeding out on a cross. The church was cold, quiet, and highly religious. It was institutionalized religion at its finest, and the denomination was little more than a franchise.
When I read my Bible, I could not help but think, 'We seem to be missing something.' Jesus lived a colorful life, a full human life. He laughed with people, He loved people, He wept over people. Jesus had friends. He fasted often, but at other times, He ate well. The pharisees stood outside and watched Him eat with tax collectors and sinners (Matthew 9:11). While they felt they were too holy to go inside.
Jesus gave His disciples nicknames like the 'Sons of Thunder' (Mark 3:17) when James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven. He rejoiced in the Holy Spirit (Luke 10:21). The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17) and I believe that Jesus walked in that realm. The joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10) and I believe that Jesus was strong in joy.
The great reformer Martin Luther became a monk and wore himself out praying to saints, fasting, and confessing to his superiors, yet it gave him no peace. Then one day he found true grace, left monkery, married a nun, and changed the known world. Luther raised ten children and concluded that 'Marriage is a far better school for character than any monastery."
The Lord Jesus wants you to live a full and wonderful life just like He did. There will be times of laughing, and times of weeping. There will be times of fasting, and there will be times of feasting. There is a time to be born, and a time to die. So allow room for joy in your life and balance the drudgery. Don't allow cold, dead religion to sap the joy from your life, for it was God who invented sunshine.
Prayer: Heavenly Father please restore the joy to my life and let me feel Your touch once again. Help me focus on what is important to You, and guide my heart. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray.
Note: 'Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God.' (Philippians 4:6-7) ~ If you have a prayer need, we are here for you! We and the prayer team are ready to lift you up at our private prayer page: RHM Prayer Network> You can subscribe to our daily devotional here <
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Amen
AMEN. Lord be with me in all that I do. Amen
Amen Father
Amen!!
Heavenly Father please make what's important to you important to us.Fill us with your Holy Spirit.We love and worship you. Amen.
Amen!
Amen thank you Father
Amen! Thank You Lord!
Heavenly Father at times I feel so disappointed with what is going on our lives, restore the joy we need on these times of worry and give us Your Holy Spirit. That everything we do be according to Your will not ours, we trust and love You oh Lord. In the name of Your beloved Son Jesus we pray,Amen.
Excellent message Pastor, thank you and Sylvia. God bless you both.
Amen!
Amen
Amen Good Afternoon
Amen Lord
Amen
Amen and Amen!
I loved this message!
I have experienced the same thing, sadly to say; in the Lutheran church. The church I was raised in, based on the reformation of Martin Luther. Praise God that He helped me realize the same things about the repetitive speaking of words and going through the motions. They would speak about Holy Spirit but, wouldn't allow him the freedom to move and move people. I also noticed the same and the extreme opposite in other protestant denominations. I've been to a holiness denomination who had a renown speaker visiting, who was a teacher that l looked up to as being truthful. But when I heard a parent we knew tell us of a youth meeting that night that he was present at, it was appalling to me. He talked to them about receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit and they wouldn't let those who were willing for that to leave until they started speaking in tongues.That meeting became and all nighter. Needless to say, that parent removed their child after they noticed the length of time going by. The point is, we have to let Father Yahweh and Holy Spirit decide what gift of His Spirit that He chooses to impart to a follower of Christ. Man cannot force another man or child to have a certain gift such as speaking in another tounge. Paul through the inspiration of Holy Spirit wrote that there are other gifts such as prophecy, interpretation of someone speaking another tounge in the presence of a group of people,teaching and exhortation to name a few. So,I fully believe that the gifts that were imparted by Father Yahweh back in that day of pentecost are still possible now and till the end of the age. Praise Father Yahweh who gives all good gifts to his children liberally.......
And by the way pastor Dion, I feel your message is spot on.
Amen!