"We see, in many a land, the proudest dynasties and tyrannies still crushing, with their mountain weight, every free motion of the Consciences and hearts of men. We see, on the other hand, the truest heroism for the right and the greatest devotion to the Truth in hearts that God has touched. We have a work to do, as great as our forefathers and, perhaps, far greater. The enemies of Truth are more numerous and subtle than ever and the needs of the Church are greater than at any preceding time. If we are not debtors to the present, then men were never debtors to their age and their time. Brethren, we are debtors to the hour in which we live. Oh, that we might stamp it with Truth and that God might help us to impress upon its wings some proof that it has not flown by neglected and unheeded." -- C.H. Spurgeon . . . "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:31, 32 . . . . .

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Friday, April 28, 2023

TTUF TOPIC # 3: What About Prayer? PART 1 of 3:


Prayer – The purpose and various kinds of prayer

Prayer is simply talking with GOD; it’s half the conversation; the other half: the Bible, the revelation, the ‘voice’ of GOD. Between the Scriptures and prayer we have both sides for a meaningful relationship. No relationship can be established or last without communication.

How does one communicate with a parent? A sibling, a friend, a co-worker? By simply speaking out your thoughts and feelings.

The Bible itself has much to say about prayer. I found an excellent article about what forms that prayer takes in the life of the disciple – check out the GOTQUESTIONS article, What are the Different Types of Prayer?

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Wednesday, April 26, 2023

DEUTERONOMY 19: A REHEARSAL ON HOLINESS, A CALL TO FAITHFULNESS

Contributing commentaries by pastors Sonny Islas, Albert Lopez, and James Fire

DEUTERONOMY 19: A TRUE WITNESS FOR CHRIST, OUR REDEEMER – by James Fire (April 5th); check out the complete teaching online coming soon!

INTRODUCTION: We covered this biblical role of a kinsman redeemer or kinsman goel previously in LEVITICUS 27, the entire chapter deals with this dual role of the kinsman redeemer and the avenger of blood, that ties that person to their family relations.

It’s mentioned here again in abbreviated form by way of reminder.
And by way of reminder for SHINE BRIGHT saints, let me share again what I spoke on when I taught the third chapter of DEUTERONOMY:

This book can be seen as three distinct sermons given by Moses to the next generation of Israel (you remember that the first generation, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb (and all of the Hebrews twenty years old and younger) all perished because of their lack of faith in their faithful GOD of truth and grace).

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Tuesday, April 25, 2023

TTUF TOPIC # 2: What About the Bible? PART 2 of 2:

In JOHN 6:63 the Lord Jesus told us, “It is the Spirit who gives life … the words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.”

The Bible isn’t a textbook so much as it is our food, our guide, our protector, and comfort and our spiritual weapon. It’s FULL of SPIRITUAL POWER and LIFE!

“If we’re unsatisfied after we’ve read/studied the Bible, it depends on whether we first of all have the Spirit of GOD dwelling in us (are we really born again?) and second, do we come to the Bible expecting life-giving, nourishing spiritual food or not?

Check out the Fundamentals of the Faith, click on this link for those totally important doctrines of the Bible we must believe as Christians!
For more in-depth study (hey, buckle up, this is a LONG RIDE!):
DISCIPLESHIP 101- Sessions 1-4

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Monday, April 24, 2023

TTUF TOPIC # 2: What About the Bible? PART I:



The Bible” is a library of 66 books written by forty authors (Kings, Princes, Prophets, fisherman, herdsman, tax collectors, etc.) who took notes from GOD’s Spirit (2 TIM 3:16; 2 PET 1:21) – written over thousands of years in different languages and even different continents. Yet for all those variables, this book has a singular message that revolves around the Person of Christ Jesus (PSA 40:7; JOHN 5:39). It is GOD’s divine revelation of Himself – an autobiography!

By GOD’s inspired revelation we clearly learn Who He is, His nature, His desires; His objectives, goals, His plan for the ages through Jesus the WORD made flesh, Who dwelled among us (JOHN 1:14), full of grace and truth!

We learn what GOD has planned for us, and what He expects from us, His children!

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Sunday, April 23, 2023

DEUTERONOMY 18: A REHEARSAL ON HOLINESS, A CALL TO FAITHFULNESS –

Contributing commentaries by pastors Sonny Islas, Albert Lopez, and James Fire

DEUTERONOMY 18: PRIESTS, WITCHES & PROPHETS By Sonny Islas; check out the complete teaching here!

In this chapter Moses will remind this new generation of 1. Laws regarding the Priest and the Levites. 2. To stay clear from witchcraft and the like. And 3. The difference between true and false prophets.

DEUTERONOMY 18:1-8
1 "The priests, the Levites-all the tribe of Levi-shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel; they shall eat the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and His portion. 2 "Therefore they shall have no inheritance among their brethren; the LORD is their inheritance, as He said to them. 3 "And this shall be the priest's due from the people, from those who offer a sacrifice, whether it is bull or sheep: they shall give to the priest the shoulder, the cheeks, and the stomach. 4 "The firstfruits of your grain and your new wine and your oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep, you shall give him. 5 "For the LORD your God has chosen him out of all your tribes to stand to minister in the name of the LORD, him and his sons forever. 6 "So if a Levite comes from any of your gates, from where he dwells among all Israel, and comes with all the desire of his mind to the place which the LORD chooses, 7 "then he may serve in the name of the LORD his God as all his brethren the Levites do, who stand there before the LORD. 8 "They shall have equal portions to eat, besides what comes from the sale of his inheritance
.

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Saturday, April 22, 2023

WALKING The COVENANT WAY: PART 7 of 8: The DAVIDIC Covenant

The following was originally published on TTUF as 2 SAMUEL 7 – COVENANT KEEPER For The KING: ESTABLISHING The ETERNAL THRONE of DAVID By GOD’s PROMISE, which I preached on at a Bible Conference on The LIFE Of KING DAVID. Included in that are links to Facebook videos.

~ By James Fire

We are here to learn about David, the faithful shepherd boy, slayer of lions and bears; the youngest and therefore the least of seven brothers, the last one to be considered a king; who alone stood toe to toe with a giant and got him to ‘lose his head’; the only musician who could soothe the agitated state of the King’s spiritually dark gloom, the Psalmist who desired only one thing: that he would “dwell in the house of the LORD forever, to see the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in His temple” (PSALM 27).

David: the warrior and champion of Israel unrivaled except perhaps by Joshua, successor to Moses. David, the man after GOD’s own heart, who when confronted on his sin, didn’t try to shift the blame as did Saul, but ‘fessed up and was restored to his fellowship with the LORD. The king, whose covenant GOD established and is keeping for this king and the coming King of Israel, Jesus Christ!
I am extremely blessed that 2 SAMUEL chapter 7 occurs before chapter 11.
I remember a slogan for a convenience food mart, “Oh thank heaven for 7-11!”
And I certainly thank the LORD of heaven that chapter 7 happens before 11. What we see here in chapter 7 is GOD’s unconditional covenant with King David – and what do we see happen in chapter 11? It was the major misstep of misery and fall of David into adultery with Bathsheba and the subsequent murder of her husband, Uriah.

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Friday, April 21, 2023

DEUTERONOMY 17: A REHEARSAL ON HOLINESS, A CALL TO FAITHFULNESS –

DEUTERONOMY: A REHEARSAL ON HOLINESS, A CALL TO FAITHFULNESS –


Contributing commentaries by pastors Sonny Islas, Albert Lopez, and James Fire

DEUTERONOMY 17: An EARTHLY KING POINTING To The KING Of KINGS by Albert Lopez
; apologies, teaching not available on video.

INTRODUCTION: How many of you at times have felt like you deserve more than you have received? If we are honest, I think that we all have felt like that at one time or another. There could be many reasons that we feel this way, but the reality is that we are more selfish than selfless at times.

How many of you think that the Lord deserves more than we give Him? How many of us think about giving Him the best part of our day as we wake up? Do we thank Him for another day and spend time in His Word? Or are we quick to jump on our phone to check out social media or the score from last night’s game? There is definitely room for these things but don’t let them not be our priority.

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Thursday, April 20, 2023

TTUF TOPICS For TODAY’s TEENS - Basic Questions



INTRODUCTIONThese will be short, to the point articles to equip this upcoming generation (this means you, my young friend!): all our valued youth who desire to “live godly in Christ Jesus” (2 TIMOTHY 3:12).
For this particular series, there are Eight Topics (divided into parts). Feel free to print these out, along with information provided at the links!

Author’s note: I was a teenager in the 70s and 80s, and being a Christian then had its challenges, but nothing like today! The world is a darker, more openly sinful place than it ever was, and so this generation of Christians needs to be all the more ready (and you can be!!) to meet these challenges with confidence, power, and humility.

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STUDY In The Book of NEHEMIAH – PART FOUR: TRIUMPH by TRANSFORMATION

INTRODUCTION: The late Dr. Chuck Missler made the assertion that “every name, every place, every word in the Bible is there by Divine design…” and “…there is nothing incidental in the Scriptures…”

The WORD Incarnate is Jesus Christ, the Creator of all things – and just as He created all things with astonishing exactness and precision, right down to the atomic structure of the universe, but also, the atoms themselves have parts we call the subatomic structure and even these subatomic parts have even smaller parts called quanta. I believe He has attended the inspiration of Scripture with at least the same level (I suspect, much higher) of detail, precision and exactness.

One could read through GENESIS 5, and come away with the superficial fact that it lists a genealogy of ten names, and yet when you peel back the English, delve deeper than the colloquial meaning of the Hebrew, and go down into the root meanings of those names, they spell out the message of the Gospel:
“Man [Adam] appointed [Seth] mortal [Enosh] sorrow [Cainan]. The blessed GOD [Mahalalel] shall come down [Jared], teaching [Enoch] His death shall bring [Methuselah] the despairing [Lamech] rest [Noah].”!!! Coincidence? Hardly!
As we have already seen in the last article, some of the names of people and even of some places have very significant meaning. This Bible is a treasure trove of truth – and any treasure worth having is usually buried deep – and requires a lot of digging to unearth them!
PROVERBS 25:2-3
2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter. 3 As the heavens for height and the earth for depth, So the heart of kings is unsearchable.
And if not for the canon of Scripture, the heart of the King of kings would be entirely unsearchable; yet because we who are born again have understanding of the Word by the indwelling Spirit, we are able to see into the holy, magnificent, glorious, beautiful, gracious heart of our King, the LORD of Truth and Grace (ROM 11:33; EPH 3:8-11)!

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Monday, April 17, 2023

DEUTERONOMY 16: A REHEARSAL ON HOLINESS, A CALL TO FAITHFULNESS –

Contributing commentaries by pastors Sonny Islas, Albert Lopez, and James Fire

DEUTERONOMY 16: REMEMBERING GOD’S GOODNESS by Sonny Islas; check out the complete teaching here!

INTRODUCTION: At this point in the history of the Nation of Israel, Moses reminds God’s people to faithfully keep three major feasts once they’ve entered the Promised Land – Canaan. These three major feasts are called 1. The Passover Feast. 2. The Feast of Weeks. 3. The Feast of Tabernacles/Booths.

DEUTERONOMY 16:1-8 The Passover Reviewed
1 "Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover to the LORD your God, for in the month of Abib the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by night. 2 "Therefore you shall sacrifice the Passover to the LORD your God, from the flock and the herd, in the place where the LORD chooses to put His name. 3 "You shall eat no leavened bread with it; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it, that is, the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste), that you may remember the day in which you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life. 4 "And no leaven shall be seen among you in all your territory for seven days, nor shall any of the meat which you sacrifice the first day at twilight remain overnight until morning. 5 "You may not sacrifice the Passover within any of your gates which the LORD your God gives you; 6 "but at the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide, there you shall sacrifice the Passover at twilight, at the going down of the sun, at the time you came out of Egypt. 7 "And you shall roast and eat it in the place which the LORD your God chooses, and in the morning you shall turn and go to your tents. 8 "Six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a sacred assembly to the LORD your God. You shall do no work on it.

Read more!
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