Tag: Bible

Godly Power

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last days

Life “de-powers” us. It saps our energies, depletes our courage, drains our patience. People–pressures get us down; problems stir us up; physical ills distress us; worry over people we love disturbs us.
We all need strength—strength to think clearly, love creatively, endure consistently; strength to fill up our diminished reserves; supernatural strength that flows from a limitless source, quietly filling us with power.
I want you to meet Someone who can provide that kind of strength. He is willing to listen to us and understand, He will encourage us to talk until we know what we really want to say. He will probe to the nub of the issue of our fears and frustrations with X-ray discernment and wisdom, and will help us to see any confusion in our thinking or distortions in our emotions. He not only can lead us to the truth about ourselves, but possesses the power to help us act on what He guides us to be, say or do. He has the power to heal our painful memories, sharpen our vision of what is best for our future, and enlist us in a purpose that’s big enough to fire our imaginations and give ultimate meaning and lasting joy to our daily living.
That’s a tall order. No loved one, friend, psychiatrist, psychologist, pastor, or social worker can meet all of these qualifications. But there is One Who has all of these qualifications—and much more.
He alone has the omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence to give us the kind of help we need. He can help us with our problems, relationships, and decisions, for He knows everything. He is with us always, for He never sleeps. He has all power to give us the gift of primary faith as well as pertinacious faith, guidance for our daily lives, conviction and courage to face the future unafraid.
Who is this? A Person spelled with a capital “P.” He is a Person in the Trinity. He is the Holy Spirit.
We celebrate Pentecost and remember the time fifty days after Passover when Jesus’ disciples and followers received the power of the Holy Spirit. (read Acts, chapter 2). There is no greater need in your life and mine and in the church throughout the world than for a contemporary Pentecost. We confess with John Oxenham,

Not for one single day,
Can I discern the way,
But this I surely know—
Who gives the day
Will show the way
So I securely go.

The Holy Spirit is the Greatest Counselor in the World. The word, “counselor” may not be the first word that comes to your mind when you think of the Holy Spirit. For many, the Holy Spirit is the least known and understood Person of the Trinity.
Jesus used this propitious word, “Counselor,” to declare what the Spirit is meant to be in our lives. – Lloyd John Ogilvie

I do not want to be two-thirds of a Christian – I desire and need to have the Spirit of God engaged in my life to make me wholly Christian; a properly empowered Christian.

Last Days Stuff

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last days

One popular theological tradition says that all believers sin every day in thought, word, and deed.  That seems so much less than the victory over sin promised by the Bible.  Across the years far too many Christians have settled for too little, emphasizing human frailties and the pervasiveness of sin.  Caving into the argument that a person is doomed to stumble along in constant failure, they have lived defeated lives.  Some have given up Christianity altogether.  Not only did individuals suffer personal defeat, but the reputation of the Kingdom also suffered.

As human beings, we were created in the image of God to live in holy fellowship with Him.  Much of that fellowship was lost to sin.  The experience of heart holiness offers us a restoration that put us back on track to fulfilling God’s original plan.

Because of this, genuine, wholehearted love for God, our neighbors, and the rest of His creation is possible for us again.  The doctrine of entire sanctification is that door that leads us into glorious, full and perfect fellowship with God. — from an Article by Howard Culbertson, Roger Hahn and Dean Nelson. For more like this visit http://home.snu.edu/~hculbert

So why would we, as Christians, want to live at a level less than that which Jesus has indicated is possible for us while we reside in this temporary life?  God commanded us to be holy, we find that we are unable to do so in our own power but it is  a command, nonetheless.  Therefore God must have provided a way in which it could be done since it was a command and not merely a suggested ideal.  Some reportedly have found it like Lloyd Ogilvie and Billy Graham who are definitely not of the Wesleyan theological persuasion and have their own way of proclaiming the higher calling of empowered Christian living and heart holiness.

It is not enough to know God and Jesus – you must also engage the Holy Spirit in your life – Lloyd John Ogilvie

  • Pastor Ward Clinton

Made in China

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Today the NYSE opened at 15,676 and jumped to 16,085.  Then it began to drift downward to 15,920 over the next hour.  Personally, I expect to see it wind up in negative territory again today.

The Shanghai Composite started its day good but wound up down another 1.27%.  Reports are that it has lost 25% of its value over the last 5 business days.  The European markets are following as well.  Most market analysts are saying, at the moment, the DOW is still the market the world watches and are poo-pooing the idea that the Chinese stock market has any significance.

I couldn’t help but laugh yesterday when Jeff Reeves said “you’d be crazy not to buy Apple stock today” because my first thought was, “Is that the captain of the ‘Titanic’ speaking?”  Shortly after he made his statement, or at least after the story got reported, the NYSE began its slide toward another 200 plus point loss for the day.

Once it was the city of London that led the way in the world financial markets.  For most of the last century, it has been Wall Street.  This week, at the very least, it is China.  What can be said for certain regarding this crash, if we can call it a crash, is that it is very much like your TV or your smart phone in that it is stamped “Made in China.”

Pastor Ward Clinton

What you believe makes an eternal difference

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state churchGlobal warming hoaxBible Islam sucks Jesus v Muhammad

You are an eternal being living a temporary human existence.

     What you believe makes a difference.

        Are you prepared for the consequences of your belief system, whether “good” or “bad”?

Pastor Ward Clinton

Voices

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A fellow blogger over at “The Healing Arena” has a post entitled, “What’s that voice in your head?”  A portion of it follows:

Why are you thinking the way you are thinking now?

Why are you acting like that now?

Why did you just take that strange decision which is very unlike yourself?

  • You think God’s attitude towards you has changed because of some short-coming in you or a mistake you made.

  • or you think you are unworthy of love and appreciation because you’re too far down the drain.

  • Some devil is whispering some nasty stuff into your ear and you’re beginning to believe it.

  • Some nay-sayer is speaking negativism into your mind and it’s taking its toll on you.

More of it can be found at: https://thehealingarena.wordpress.com/2015/08/02/whats-that-voice-in-your-head/

If you follow that link (hopefully it opens up in a new page so you don’t lose your place here) you will find that Elijah is mentioned.  Now she did not go into any detail regarding Elijah, that might have gotten too far off track, but I shall take that risk here.

Elijah was fresh off his world-famous victory and should have been super-empowered to keep fighting the battle and gaining incredible victories as he smashed all his foes left and right.  So why is he running away instead of pressing forward and taking advantage of the momentum?

God provides him some food to strengthen him for the journey he is taking but He does not tell Elijah to go back to where he should be.  Instead He allows Elijah to continue on in his journey and when Elijah is ready God assures / reminds him “You are not alone.”  He then gives Elijah a new assignment.

A few years ago I participated in an activity where I was the victim.  A blindfold was securely placed and the folk around me started saying things like: “You’re no good,”  You really messed up again,” “You’re such a loser,” and other things of that nature.  Have you ever told yourself things like that?

At first I almost laughed because I knew all those people and I knew that they all liked me, excepting for maybe one or two of them, also I was their assistant pastor at the time.  However the “voices” started taking a toll on me and memories of some of my own past shortcoming and failures suddenly started coming to mind, some of which I have beaten myself up for, and I remembered the voices of some others in my life who didn’t like me and some negative things they had said.  Suddenly I did not feel like laughing for I could feel a wave of dark depression enveloping me, ready to choke me.

The voice of one of those physically present, started to crack.  Since I’d had a counseling session or two with her I knew she was starting to hurt and I wanted to stop the experiment but the “key phrase” had not been uttered (I didn’t even know what the “key phrase” was, they all knew what it was but the moderator had purposely kept me uninformed) I was not the one in control and it was not yet time for the exercise to stop.  Nevertheless, at that moment, I wasn’t feeling like I could really have given any words of encouragement to anyone.

Then I heard another voice which I could not really quite comprehend, at least not initially.  It was saying, “You’re good,” “You are loved,” “You’re a child of The King,” etc.  It was like a tiny flicker of light somewhere in the suffocating darkness.  I began to focus on that solitary, still, small, voice and the depressing feeling began to recede but only as long as I could focus on that one voice.  Then, finally, the key phrase, “Well done,”  was uttered, everyone went quiet.  The blindfold was removed.  The experiment was over.

The person in charge, the moderator, offered a quick apology as she realized my eyes had “sweated a little bit” but I assured them all that it was okay.  In the discussion we all had following the experiment I learned that she had actually been speaking for awhile before I ever heard her.  It was when I heard the hurt behind the antagonistic voice and had empathy for its owner that I finally heard the positive voice.

Gretiana’s statement, “Just manage to go out there and be good to someone, even if you need it more, even if they don’t deserve it.” triggered my memory and inspired this blog posting.  It is not just in that little experiment where that bit of advice worked, I’ve seen it work on several occasions in real life situations.  I’ve heard the testimony of others.

Going through a rough time?  Cheer up. It’s not over yet.

  Breathe in deeply … c’mon humor me … now exhale.

  What is the point?  God is not finished with you here yet.  Your special task probably still lies out there and you’ve got more preparation to go through.  Now matter what happens always remember:

You are not alone, He, Jesus, is there.

He is not shouting.  His is a still, small, voice.  Funny how people flock to the motivational speakers but none of them comes even close to being as good as Jesus.  He knows all about you and He is there, nearby.  One day He will utter the key phrase “Well done….”  My eyes will probably get all sweaty on that day, too.

  • Pastor Ward Clinton

Narcissistic Personality Disorder with Delusions of Grandeur

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The way I see it Barak Hussein Obama is downright demonically delusional but due to the Democrat and associated liberal tendency towards despising God and His people and even often the convincing of themselves that God doesn’t exist then perhaps I should phrase the problem in such a manner as to be more pleasing and persuasive to their ear by explaining that it is obvious that Obama is suffering from a severe malady which may be identified as Narcissistic Personality disorder with Delusions of Grandeur.

Liberals, which may be more accurately termed “global progressives,” tend to consider all those who fail to march in lockstep with them not merely opponents in the arena of ideas but their moral and mortal enemies who are to be destroyed, not merely persuaded but destroyed.  Those who are supportive of the Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution as well as Capitalists, Conservatives, and Christians are counted as foes because we stand in the way of this demonic wave of evil along with its vile underlings that push for enslavement to the god of this world which is creeping over the globe.

Mark 13:12-13; John 15:20-21

  • Pastor Ward Clinton