A short exhortation by pastor Sonny Islas - Like a Baby in the Womb

1 JOHN 2:6 says, 
He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

Those who are truly in Christ are like a baby in the mother’s womb. How so? you ask. 

The baby (fetus), while in the mother’s belly is connected to her via the umbilical cord. While inside (like us “In Him.”), through the umbilical cord, the mother provides life’s essentials such as blood, oxygen and nutrients in order to sustain the growing and thriving child. 

In a spiritual sense, when we connect to Christ through faith (the spiritual umbilical cord) we too get His blood: to redeem us and wash away all our sin. We get His oxygen: the Holy Spirit (the breath of eternal life) to seal us, sustain us and empower us to do all that we’ve been born again to do. 

We also get His nutrients: His life changing Word which gives us practical wisdom, purpose, direction, strength and the knowledge of God Himself. 

These are some of the graces we get when we are “in Him” [The phrase "in Christ" appears 12 times in the epistle by the apostle Paul to the Ephesians]. As long as we stay closely connected to Jesus through unshakable faith, passionate prayer, and total surrender or steady obedience to His Word with the much-needed help of His Spirit; it is then that we can and will live out His life in a more fruitful and effective way. 

Keep this in mind: most spiritual growth happens when you are alone with God. In times when no one is looking like that of a baby in the secret place (the womb). 

Lastly, in JOHN 15:5, Jesus said, I am the Vine, you are the branches, He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

Here to serve,

Pastor Sonny Read more!

BUTTERFLY ILLUSIONS - By Gregory R Reid, DD

~ By Greg Reid, 

The last few weeks have been very crucial, and I so appreciate your prayers. I was able to take a small prayer break and come back ready to jump into some important matters. I also returned from the Sons of God conference in Lubbock, and was so blessed by the turnout and the receptive hearts, and being able to meet with some outstanding men and women of God who are on the cutting edge of important biblical studies. Specially blessed to finally meet my old friend Dr. Judd Burton whose book “Interview With the Giant” is second to none in this field.

It is hard to define in some ways what God has called me to: it has always been as a watchman, and has always centered around youth and preparing the generations to forward the Kingdom of God no matter what era it is, always with the reality in mind that the return of Jesus was imminent. And I still believe that, more now than ever. As I see barrier after barrier falling I realize we are far beyond Sodom now. Preparing this generation is even more important than ever.

Read more!

Separated and Called

Bobservations Column:
by Pastor Bob Lawrenz

In our reading today, we learn of more gifts of the Holy Spirit, beyond what are listed in 1 Corinthians 12. Ephesians 4:11-12 says “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:”

As with other gifts of the Spirit, the gifts each have their own role within the Body of Christ. And just as 1 Corinthians states, the Holy Spirit gives gifts to people severally as He sees fit, according to His purposes.

We see this in our study today within the Church of Antioch. the Church leadership is identified by names, and then we read that the Holy Spirit speaks to them and Paul and Barnabas are separated out to a specific work of God’s choosing. If Galatians 2 identifies James, Peter, and John as the “Pillars of the Church” at Jerusalem, then clearly those named are the leaders of Antioch. They were men of varied backgrounds, and social strata, but all were of one mind in Christ. They ministered to the Lord and fasted, and the Holy Spirit used them to launch Paul and Barnabas into a life of spreading the Gospel.

Each of Antioch’s Leaders were themselves aware of what happens when you go out and spread the Gospel; all were part of Antioch’s Spiritual awakening, and church growth. Willingly, they went out and started a church, and once established, God sent one of their own out with Saul (Paul) to take the Good News even further than they had, to the ends of the Earth.

Paul and Barnabas were filled with the Spirit, and surely the Spirit gave each of them multiple Spiritual Gifts, to accomplish their mission. And if we want to be used by God? 1 Corinthians 12:31 says, “But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way. “ This “more excellent way” Paul mentions is apparently another of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit: the Gift of Agape’. It is not a love that comes naturally, neither can it be feigned. It is God’s love for us that we are called to share with the world: from Jerusalem, to Judea, to Samaria, and to the ends of the Earth. 

“ And now abideth faith, hope, and (agape’), these three; but the greatest of these is (agape’). "

~ 1Corinthians 13:13

Read more!

GUARDING AGAINST APOSTASY

by Anne Kisly

2 Timothy 4:3 

³ For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;"

We are witnesses to the times we are living in, the end times. How do we know? The bible warned about these times, Matthew 24 details the signs of these times.  Before we go on, I think we should review these signs.

The following clear and concise excerpts are taken from 50 Reasons, by Dr. David Reagan:

1) The Signs of Nature 

“…and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.” (Luke 21:11)

This category of signs has always been the least respected, even among believers. The mere mention of it usually evokes a sneer accompanied by the words, “Come on, what else is new? There have always been earthquakes and tornadoes and hurricanes.” But those who have this attitude forget that Jesus said the signs would be like “birth pangs” (Matthew 24:8). That means they will increase in frequency and intensity the closer we get to the Lord’s return. In other words, there will be more frequent natural disasters and more intense ones.

2) The Signs of Society
“Realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God…” (2 Timothy 3:1-4)

This passage sounds like a typical evening newscast today! Notice the three things it says people will love in the end times: self, money, and pleasure.

The love of self is Humanism — the belief that Man can accomplish anything on his own. The love of money is Materialism. When Humanism is your religion, your god will always be money. The love of pleasure is the third love that is mentioned. This is Hedonism, the lifestyle that is always produced by Humanism and Materialism.

But God cannot be mocked (Galatians 6:7). He therefore sees to it that when people chose Humanism, Materialism, and Hedonism, the payoff is always Nihilism — which is a fancy philosophical word for despair.

Need I emphasize that our world is wallowing in despair today? We live in a society plagued by abortion, homosexuality, domestic violence, child molestation, blasphemy, pornography, alcoholism, drug abuse and gambling.

Like the days of the Judges in the Old Testament, people are doing what is right in their own eyes, and the result is that people are calling evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20).

Read more!

Challenges In Faith

Bobservations Column:
by Pastor Bob Lawrenz

New winds of doctrine constantly buffet the church. Doctrines come, and doctrines go, and sadly, in the process, many undiscerning believers can be turned away from the church. The proof of them all is the Scriptures themselves. True Christian Doctrine for Christ’s Church will withstand the test of time, and the test of Scriptures.

False doctrines that tickle the believers’ ears can be exposed readily, because they that choose to follow these must somehow alter God’s Word to support the doctrine, and give credence to other beliefs of the sect, or cult. Subtlety is the name of their game. Leave enough authentic passages that one might not notice additions, or subtractions. Yet this is why God tells us that He does not change (Malachi 3:6 / Psalm 89:34). He will be faithful to His unchanging Word, and He has even warned us of the consequences of the changing of His word by human hands (Revelation 22 : 18, 19).

This is what Peter faced in today’s passage in Acts 10, a new doctrine, addressing the Gentiles, not just the Jews. For a Jew to have his heart opened to the idea that God’s grace could also be upon the Gentiles, seemed preposterous, and Peter learned a hard lesson at the hand of God: salvation was for all, not just God’s Chosen People. And as proof, here we are on the receiving end of God’s grace, mercy, and forgiveness.

Fringe Churches and Cults have often used the tactic of altering God’s Word so that their doctrines are supported. From “...the word was god,” in John 1, the Jehovah’s Witnesses have presented us with, “the word was a God...” The founder of the Seventh Day Adventist Church needed to support a spiritual fulfillment of prophecy, so more than 60 words were added to the Book of Daniel to support the doctrine of Soul Sleep. The Golden Plates from the Mormon Angel Moroni promptly disappeared after being received by Joseph Smith. There was no way to check the accuracy of his later teachings.

As Peter is confronted with Gentile salvation, God provides a miraculous display that tells him that God is the Provider of all, for all.

“But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” ~ Gal. 1:6-9

Read more!

WANT TO GIVE UP? An Exhortation from pastor Josh Boubion

~ By Josh Boubion

WANT TO GIVE UP?

There has been a long line of people who have rejected the Lord in their lives from Adam and Eve to your 'uncle Steve'. 

I understand that life can get real tough and it seems like leaving is the best option. Many marriages have communication complications that turn into arguments, and all too often leads to wanting to give up. At the heart of it all most of the time we are people-pleasers; we don’t want to see others upset with us or disappointed in us. So our first thought in times of an argument or when the pressure is coming on at work, we want to just run away and not deal with the matter at hand.

Read more!