Bowmansdale Church of God

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Dear Friends,

Last week we began looking at the attributes of God. We began to understand that God is all powerful. The word is Omnipotent. Closely related but not the same is the understanding that God is all sufficient. God needs nothing else. He does not need me. He does not need you. He is all sufficient. When God creates the world and all that is in it, He required no help. God simply speaks the word and the world came into being. This subject is called "creation ex nihilo"

"Ex nihilo" is Latin for "from nothing." The term "creation ex nihilo" refers to God creating everything from nothing. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Prior to that moment there was nothing. God didn’t make the universe from preexisting building blocks. He started from scratch.

Genesis 1:1-5

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day.

God simply created from nothing, by speaking the word, and it was so. The Bible never expressly states that God made everything from nothing, but it is implied. In the book of Hebrews 11 we read, Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

God is all sufficient! He does not need anything, but He does desire to have a relationship with us. In John 3: 16 we read, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. We also read in Titus 3:7,

so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

God does not need us, but we certainly do need Him!

 

Blessings,

Pastor Mike

Dear Friends,

This week I want to focus on the aspect of God that sometimes we overlook. God is omnipotent! The word omnipotent means that God is all powerful! Did you get that? God is all powerful! There is nothing that God cannot do. Occasionally theologians play games with the understanding of the omnipotence of God. They will ask a question like, "Can God make a rock so big that even God cannot lift it?" While this is humorous and can occupy one’s mind for a little while, the point of understanding what we can about omnipotence, is that we can understand that God has no limits. We cannot ask God for something that He is incapable of doing.

In the Bible the omnipotence of God is conveyed by one of the names of God. God Almighty, or the Lord Almighty is one of the names for God that help us to understand that God is ALL POWERFUL! One of the first times that we see this is in Genesis 17:1-2,

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers."

God’s message to Abram is that there is nothing that God cannot do. He can make a 99 year old man become a father to a wife who is barren. Now, barren does not simply mean that the woman has no children, it means that she is physically incapable of having children. God says, I am Almighty, there is nothing that I cannot do. Abram believes and the Lord changes his name to Abraham. Abram means a "high father" and Abraham means "an exalted father of many".

Abram or the "high father" was not really a father, but was instead a patriarch to Lot. He was a father-like figure to Lot, who was his nephew. Abram wanted to be a "real" father, and he asked the LORD Almighty what it was that the Lord could give him, since he was childless. Genesis 15:1-4 relates this story,

After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:

"Do not be afraid, Abram.

I am your shield, your very great reward."

But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir."

Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir.

So, now that we have seen and begin to understand that God is Omnipotent, what should we ask of Him? Should we ask Him for the things that we can do ourselves? I believe not! That is simply laziness, if we ask god to do something that we could do for ourselves. I believe that we should ask God to do something that only God Almighty can do!

In Matthew 7:7 we read, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. In John 16:24 we see, Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

Blessings,

Pastor Mike

Dear Friends,

I am continually amazed at the God we serve! This past week we saw the hand of God at work in the life of a three (3) year old boy named Julius. On Tuesday Julius had a kidney transplant at the Hershey Medical Center. After many hours of intense surgery and a few days of the Intensive Care Unit, Julius came home from the Hospital on Saturday! Praise God. Now the waiting and the anxiousness is not completely over, but we praise God for the victory thus far! In the Psalms we see a passage that helps me understand my ability to not understand the complexity of the human body.

Psalm 139:13-17 says,

For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you

when I was made in the secret place.

When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

your eyes saw my unformed body.

All the days ordained for me

were written in your book

before one of them came to be.

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!

How vast is the sum of them!

I cannot imagine what the medical staff had to do to accomplish all of this surgery. All of the blood supplies, the connection to the rest of the urinary tract, etc. is beyond my ability to fully comprehend.

Thank God for the abilities that He has given the Physicians, nurses, and others who work in the medical field to take care of us!

The complexity of the human body should be enough for anyone to realize that first there is a God, and second that the process of evolution cannot be supported from a scientific or spiritual perspective.

Now that we understand that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, we should move to the next logical step in this process, How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!

How vast is the sum of them!

Blessings,

Pastor Mike

P.C. Julius Fealtman!, Pastor Gordon & Annie Avey, Pastor Kevin Richardson, Pastor Ed Rosenberry, Dr. David Draper

Dear Friends,

The last time that I wrote I was planning on preaching Revival Services at the Six Mile Run Church of God. Well, the Lord has other plans. I became ill and spent a whole week confined to home. Not only was I not feeling well, I am sure that I was as grumpy as a bear. Melinda deserves credit! Well, I have been on a run since then. Conference was the next week, and then I taught Church of God History and Polity, along with Pastor Ed Rosenberry, at Winebrenner Theological Seminary. I flew home on Friday for Mother’s Day weekend, and in a short while I fly to Ohio for meetings tomorrow and Wednesday. Well, enough about me.

One of the exciting events at Conference is the Ordination Service. This year I had the privilege of preaching. What is Ordination and what does it mean to be Ordained? The word ‘ordain’ or ‘ordained’ is used several times in the Bible. The first is in reference to Aaron, the brother of Moses. In Exodus 28:41 we read, After you put these clothes on your brother Aaron and his sons, anoint and ordain them. Consecrate them so they may serve me as priests.

The word ordain come from the Latin word "ordinare" which means to order. When God calls someone to the ministry, He calls or Orders them to serve. In some denominations the process of Ordination is to "receive Holy Orders".

It is really the final understanding that the person called is not their own, that they have been bought with a price. In 1 Corinthians 7:23-24 we read, You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. Brothers, each man, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation God called him to.

The ordained one is a person who has "sold out" to God. First, the pastor realizes that the Lord has saved him or her. They have been "born again" Second, they understand that the Lord has called them to a "holy" life. Holy in this sense doesn’t mean without sin, although that would be nice, but instead means "set apart for use by God. The ‘ordained’ realizes that he or she is one who has been set free from sin. We were once a slave to sin, but now we are a servant to God. This is the concept of being redeemed. To be redeemed means to be bought. In the New Testament there are three Greek words that help us to understand this concept. The first word is "agarazo". This means that we are bought in the marketplace. Jesus pays the price for us in the Marketplace of Sin. The second word is "exagarazo" which means to be removed form the Marketplace. Once Jesus has redeemed us from the Marketplace, we are no longer available for sale again in the Marketplace of Sin. The third word is "l utruo", which means loosened or set free. The bonds of sin are loosened from us and we are set free. In response, the one who has been "ordered" chooses to follow the Lord with his/her life vocationally and in every other way. All who have been redeemed should follow the Lord, but the ‘ordained’ have a special calling to follow the Lord vocationally as well.

The interesting thing about following the Lord? Only He (God ) knows where you are going. For example, look at the life of Abram, who later is known as Abraham. God called, he followed not knowing where he was going, and God led him to the promised land.

Blessings,

Pastor Mike

Dear Friends,

As you may note from the dates listed above, I will not be issuing a devotional next week. I will be preaching Revival Services at the Six Mile Run Church of God. I would appreciate your prayer on my behalf and for the folks at the Six Mile Run Church as well. I have studying, preparing, and praying about these services for some time now. I love to preach and I take seriously any opportunity to share the Word of God. I will be there from April 13-16 for the Revival Meeting, although I will be teaching a seminar on Saturday the 12^th on preparing a one year preaching plan for pastors in the area.

As a child growing up in the Windsor Church of God I looked forward to Revival Services. We had them in both the Spring and Autumn. It was during a revival service that I came to know Jesus as my Savior, and it was during Revival Services that I understood my call into ministry.

All of this got me to thinking, what does the word revival mean? Well, literally it means to restore life to that which is lifeless. Or, to live again. While the word "revival" does not appear in the Bible, the concept is certainly there. In the Book of Nehemiah for instance we have the story of the people of Israel coming back to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple after the Babylonian Captivity. Let’s look at Nehemiah 8:1-6

all the people assembled as one man in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded for Israel.

So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law. Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform built for the occasion. Beside him on his right stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah and Maaseiah; and on his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam. Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up. Ezra praised the LORD, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, "Amen! Amen!" Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

What broke out was revival. Imagine! What would our churches be like today of we stood to read the Word of God, raised our hands in worship and then fell to the ground prostrate before the Lord.

In the New Testament we know of the story of Nicodemus in John chapter 3. He is a leader in the Jewish Ruling Council and comes to visit Jesus at night. He inquires of Jesus and the Lord tells him in verse 3, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." Nicodemus doesn’t understand. How can this be? Jesus responds, "Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

How can this be?" Nicodemus asked. ( the same question as before)

"You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things? I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven-the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

 

Dear Friends,

Psst! I have good news and bad news. Which one do you want first? The Good news! Easter was once again wonderful! Just like every year. What a wonder to celebrate the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord. Here in the Happy Place we call Central Pennsylvania, the weather was beautiful! A little cool, but beautiful. What a joy to sing the wonderful Resurrection hymns of the Church. "Low in the Grave He Lay..." "Up From the Grave He Arose". It does your heart and soul good. The bad news? Well, I hate to be the first to say this, but....it’s only 9 months to Christmas Eve! Unfortunately, for some people that is the only time that they come to church, Christmas and Easter. Am I upset with them? Well, no! I would sooner if they came more regularly than that, but I am grateful for whenever they come.

Now, don’t start warming up those Christmas Carols just yet, there is a lot of living to do in the meantime. Each day is a gift form God, and we should not hurry them along or wish them away. Psalms 118 reminds us,

This is the day the LORD has made;

let us rejoice and be glad in it.

So, relax, and enjoy what the Lord has in store for you for today, and tomorrow, and the next day. There is so much to enjoy with the spring tome and the summer just around the corner. Let us not forget another thing! We not only look forward to spring and summer, Easter and Christmas, but we should also look forward to the return of the Lord, at a day and a time that no one knows.

The Church has been waiting for the return of the Lord for almost 2000 years. Jesus tells us that only the Father knows when the Son will come. In Matthew 25:13 we read, "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour."

The days will pass until that Day comes. What day? The day of the Lord. The day when the Lord will return. Why has He come already? 2 Peter 3:8-10, tells us:

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.

So, only 270 shopping days until.............

Blessings,

Pastor Mike

P.C. Julius Fealtman, Bekka Steinberger, Pastor Gordon & Annie Avey, Ron Weikel, Pastor Kevin Richardson, Sue Kennedy, Randy Tobias, Donna Binkley, Earl DeHaven’s father, Janet Sauers, Jim Chrisamore!, Janet Willis, Flooding Victims, Hen’s granddaughter Stacey, Barb Sidle, Sandy McBride, Wilma Trivett, Gordon Deckman, Sadie Cavanaugh

Dear Friends,

Today is St. Patrick’s Day and the Monday of Holy Week. This is the first time in many years that these two things have coincided. Often times the celebration of St. Patrick’s day seems so irrelevant to Holy Week. It should not. While St. Patty’s day has become secularized to the point that we care little about the man and only care about green beer, corned beef & cabbage, and having a good time, we should remember why St. Patrick’s Day was started. Now, I want you to understand that I enjoy having a good time, I do not want to loose the importance of this Day. Patrick was a British born man ( late 300's) who became a Missionary to Ireland, but with a twist. When he was sixteen years of age he was captured in Britain by an Irish raiding party and taken to Ireland where he was enslaved. He lived as a slave for the next six years, before escaping to return to Britain. He entered in the study of the priesthood in the Catholic Church. After his Ordination, he choose to return to Ireland to serve as a Missionary. Patrick was responsible for the conversion of Ireland to Christianity. Wow, you talk about the power of forgiveness! If I had been enslaved in Ireland, I am sure that the last thing that I would have wanted to do was to return to this land to help them understand the love and grace of Jesus.

Isn’t this exactly what Holy Week is all about? Jesus died for those who are incapable of righteousness on their own. That would be ME and you! (Excuse the improper grammar, used for emphasis) In Romans 3 we are told:

But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.

Let’s consider this. We have a righteousness from God that comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. We are justified freely by Jesus’ grace through the redemption that comes by Jesus. Good Friday is all about the fact that Jesus is our sacrifice of atonement, that comes through faith in His blood.

The Apostle Paul continues in Romans 4 telling us:

"Blessed are they

whose transgressions are forgiven,

whose sins are covered.

Blessed is the man

whose sin the Lord will never count against him."

Can you be like St. Patrick? Can you experience the love and forgiveness of Jesus, and then share it with those who have mistreated you? How can you not? If we read this statement from Jesus, in Luke 6:37 "Forgive, and you will be forgiven.", I believe that we all need to be a Saint like Patrick!

Blessings,

Pastor Mike

Dear Friends,

Once again we will continue our look at patterns for Prayer. The Apostle Paul admonishes us to: pray without ceasing, (1 Thessalonians 5:17) The last time we looked at the Lord’s Prayer and the pattern that is contained therein. Many times people tell me that they don’t know how to pray. At first, I want to say that’s nonsense. If you know how to talk, you know how to pray. Then I began to realize that people were really asking for help with their prayer life. I than began suggesting alternative patterns for praying. While you do not have to use a pattern for prayer, most of us do. Even if your prayer life is completely spontaneous you probably follow a pattern. If you listen to the pastor on a Sunday morning, he or she probably follows a pattern. If you pray before a meal, you probably follow a pattern. If you recite the traditional bedtime prayer with your children you follow a pattern. There is nothing wrong with a pattern. Most clothing is made using a pattern, although as you can see there are many varieties, so also there can be many patterns for prayer.

One of my favorites is called the ACTS method for prayer. This is not original with me, and I have no idea who came up with this pattern, but you are free to use it as well.

A - The ‘A’ represents Adoration. Begin your prayer life by telling the Lord how much you love Him, and how you realize that He loves you. Many times in the Bible we are told of love. The word love is mentioned 551 times in the NIV. The great statement of faith in the Old Testament is found in Deuteronomy 6:4-5

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

                    We are also told that the Lord loves us: In Numbers 14:18

                    The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion.

C - The ‘C’ stands for Confession. As the old adage goes, confession is good for the soul. We are told in Ezra 10:11 Now make confession to the LORD, the God of your fathers, and do his will. Confession releases the guilt that we feel over sin that has been committed. The Lord loves a penitent heart. We are told in 1 John 1:8-9 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Spend some time confessing your sins to God, and in receiving your forgiveness. Remember there are sins of commission, actions that we have taken, and there are sins of omission , what we have not done, but should have! So, confess, and be restored to full fellowship with God.

T - The ‘T’ stands for Thanksgiving. We should spend some time in our prayer life being thankful to God. What do you have to be thankful for? Don’t even go there! How about life, salvation, family, homes, churches, jobs, freedom...... Let’s look at a few passages.

                     Ezra 3:11 With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the LORD:

                    Psalm 100:4

                   Enter his gates with thanksgiving

                   and his courts with praise;

                  give thanks to him and praise his name.

                  Philippians 4:6

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

S - The ‘S’ stands for supplication. Supplication means to pray for the need of others and yourself. Many of us maintain a prayer concern list. You know, people who need prayer because of illness, joblessness, the military, etc. Pray for them. And remember to be thankful for answered prayer. Pray for yourself. I know that some of you have trouble doing this, because somehow we think that this is selfish. You are God’s workmanship. Ephesians 2:10 tells us, For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. He wants the best for you! He sent His Son for You! In Galatians 6:2 we read, Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

 

This little pneumonic device (ACTS) is easy to remember and a good little pattern to freshen your prayer life.

Blessings,

Pastor Mike

Dear Friends,

As we continue to look at the issue of how to live a daily Christian life, today we will look at the issue of prayer more closely. The Bible has a lot to teach us about prayer. The first thing that I want to tell you about prayer is that there is not a bad way to go about it. Please do not think that you have to pray like the pastor prays in a Sunday Morning worship service. That is one type of prayer, but not the only type. While Sunday Morning Worship prayer tends to be pretty formal, your prayer life does not have to be nearly as formal. To paraphrase St. Francis of Assisi, "Pray always, use words if you must". What did he mean by that? In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 we read, "Pray without ceasing"(KJV). In the NIV it says, "pray continually". I believe that the Apostle Paul is instructing us to understand that there are at least three times in which to pray.

First, we should pray alone. We should have some time set aside everyday where we can pour out our heart to the Lord. This can be a conversational type of prayer, but can be any type of prayer . We need to pour out our heart to God and then spend some time listening to Him as well. Sometimes this is called the "prayer closet". In Matthew 6, Jesus tells us, "But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." This room is called the "closet" in the King James. I believe that Jesus is telling us to go to a place where we can pray without distraction. We cannot pray without distraction in front of the television for instance.

Second, we should pray with our family. I believe that if a husband and wife spend time praying with each other and for each other their bonds will be strengthened. When thy have children the children need to be included in the family prayer time as well. I still believe that the husband and wife should still have time for prayer just for the two of them. The family is important to God. From the first pages of scripture family is important to God. When Noah builds the Ark, it is the means of salvation for his family, not just for him! God tells him to take his family into the Ark. "The LORD then said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation." When the Passover take place the people of Israel are told to take a lamb for their family. Family is important. The church is sometimes referred to as the ‘family of God’. If you are a single person you still have an obligation In Galatians 6:10 we read, "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."

Third, we should pray in the assembly of believers to corporately call upon the name of the Lord. When I was a child in the church at Windsor, corporate prayer time was an event. There was a leader designated for the prayer, but virtually everyone else also prayed aloud in agreement with the Leader of the prayer. It was a wonderful cacophony of sound! Perhaps to some it sounded like confusion, but to me it was like a choir following the chorister in song. The leader would pray and everyone would sing along in prayer. We are instructed in the Word to pray corporately. In Acts 1:14, we read, "They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers." Again in Acts 2:42 we read,

"They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer."

So, pray! Pray alone or with someone. Pray with your family. Pray with the church!

Next week we will look at different kinds of prayer and different situations for prayer.

 

Blessings,

Pastor Mike

Dear Friends,

Last week we began looking at the issue of how to live a daily Christian life. I suggested that you start with the acknowledgment of the Lord as the very first thing in the day. The next step is to devote yourself to the reading and meditation of God’s Word. Now, for those of you who perhaps have never regularly participated in a devotional life this may seem intimidating. It does not need to be. Pick up a little devotional guide like, "Our Daily Bread" or the "Upper Room" and read the little story along with the scripture suggested. Sometimes there is even a suggested prayer.

Another suggestion is to work your way through a passage of scripture like one of the Psalms or one of the Gospels. Don’t necessarily try to bite off more than you can chew. In other words, keep it small. Read a paragraph or a few verses and then reflect on this passage. Ask yourself what the Lord is saying to you about this passage of scripture. I believe that every time that you read a passage of scripture it will speak to you in a different way.

Back in the 70's the idea of meditation became the "cool" or "hip" thing to do, using the appropriate 70's jargon. Well, the Lord has encouraged us to meditate on His Word for thousands of years. Now, Biblical meditation does not mean to say "OHM" over and over again, what ir means is to think and think deeply about a passage. I personally believe that we are missing a great blessing when we do not take the time to think deeply. Many people do not take the time to think because they are too busy. The question is busy doing what? In the New International Version of the Bible the word meditate is used 14 times. Here is an example:

Joshua 1:8

Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

What many people are doing is being busy trying to be successful according to the world’s standard. Why don’t you try being successful and prosperous according to God’s standard.

Take that passage of scripture and think on it throughout the day. Maybe you want to write a verse on a "sticky note" and place it where you will see it throughout the day. Then, every time that you see it you will be reminded to think and meditate on God’s Word.

 

Blessings,

Pastor Mike

Dear Friends,

Some of you asked me to not focus on snow again, since the Lord has provided us with a visual reminder this past week. Well, how about cold?, or sleet?, or hail?, only kidding. Today I want to begin looking at how to live a Christian life daily.

I suspect that we all could occasionally use a reminder of the importance of our faith in our daily lives. Most of us have had a mountaintop experience with the Lord, or perhaps more than one. You know what I mean. When we came under conviction and yielded our life to the Holy Spirit, and asked Jesus to be our Savior and Lord, it was a mountaintop experience! Another might have been when you were baptized. Understanding the symbolism of being lowered into the watery grave, the symbol of our death because of our sins, and then to be raised up from the water, a symbol of our resurrection, is another of those mountaintop experiences.

So, what about the time that separates those mountaintops? Whether they are valley experiences or merely plateau, they are more often than not the ‘normal’ experiences of our daily life. Just because they are not jam packed with excitement doesn’t mean that they are not meaningful or relevant.

So, just how do I make progress daily in my walk with the Lord? The first thing is to acknowledge the Lord the first thing in the morning. Whether you wake up saying, ‘Good morning Lord’, or ‘Good Lord, morning’, try to remind yourself at the beginning of each day that you belong to Jesus. Some of the greatest wisdom and daily advice that we read comes to us from the Psalms. In Psalm 5:1-3 we read,

Give ear to my words, O LORD,

consider my sighing.

Listen to my cry for help,

my King and my God,

for to you I pray.

In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice;

in the morning I lay my requests before you

and wait in expectation.

In this Psalm, David reminds us to acknowledge the Lord in the morning and to wait in expectation for Him. I have never served in the military, but I do know that military personnel await orders from their commander. David, who is commander in chief of the Army of Israel, also waits in expectation, knowing that the Lord listens and hears my cry for help and understands my requests.

I believe that if we start our day in a proper fashion and align our priorities correctly we can walk with the Lord throughout the day and rest in Him through the night.

Blessings,

Pastor Mike

Dear Friends,

For today’s devotional I want to look at a word that is used in scripture in the New International Version only 20 times. It is an appropriate word to look at in January, at least in the Northern hemisphere, although we have not had much to deal with in Pennsylvania thus far this winter. You got it, the word is ‘snow’. Snow is one of those words that evokes emotion from most people. Children like it, adults don’t (for the most part), we discuss it, and perhaps some even curse it, but it is mentioned in scripture 20 times.

Most of the time when snow is mentioned it is used as an adjective to describe something. Sometimes leprosy is mentioned and described as being as white as snow. One of the most memorable of these is in Numbers 12. In this chapter Miriam and Aaron began complaining against Moses (their brother), because he had taken a Cushite wife. What is the issue? A Cushite was from the land of Cush in Africa. I believe the issue was that her skin was black. Racial prejudice is wrong and has always been wrong. So Aaron and Miriam are called to account because of their issue with their brother Moses and his new wife. They are called to the Tent of Meeting, the Tabernacle of the Lord, by the Lord along with Moses. Let’s look at verse 4-11:

At once the LORD said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, "Come out to the Tent of Meeting, all three of you." So the three of them came out. Then the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the Tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When both of them stepped forward, he said, "Listen to my words:

"When a prophet of the LORD is among you,

I reveal myself to him in visions,

I speak to him in dreams.

But this is not true of my servant Moses;

he is faithful in all my house.

With him I speak face to face,

clearly and not in riddles;

he sees the form of the LORD.

Why then were you not afraid

to speak against my servant Moses?"

The anger of the LORD burned against them, and he left them.

When the cloud lifted from above the Tent, there stood Miriam--leprous, like snow. Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had leprosy; and he said to Moses, "Please, my lord, do not hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed.

It is almost like God saying to Aaron and Miriam, if you want white, I can show you white. Aaron pleads on behalf of his sister to Moses, and Moses pleads to God. God says to put her outside of the camp for 7 days, and then she is healed.

Another occasion when snow is used as an adjective occurs in Psalm 51. A much more positive use of the word here in verse 7,

"Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;

wash me, and I will be whiter than snow."

The situation here is David’s confession after Nathan had confronted him regarding his sin with Bathsheba. In this confession David wants to be cleansed. In this case white as snow is as good as it gets.

So, when the Lord provides snow for us, as I am sure will happen here in Pennsylvania this winter, remember that it can serve as a reminder to us of the Word of God.

 

 

Blessings,

Pastor Mike

Dear Friends,

Today is the day before Christmas. This evening will be Christmas Eve. It will bring joy and delight to many, and perhaps disappointment to some. While the reasons for disappointment vary, there need be no disappointment in the celebration of the birth of Jesus. For the last two weeks we have looked at the meaning and character of both Joseph and Mary, Jesus’ earthly parents. Today we will look at the meaning and characteristics of Jesus.

"Jesus" (Iesous) is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew "Joshua" (yehoshua`), meaning "Yahweh is salvation." In Matt 1:21 the name as commanded by the angel to be given to the son of Mary, "for it is he that shall save his people from their sins". It is the personal name of the Lord in the Gospels and the Acts, but generally in the Epistles appears in combination with "Christ"

"Christ" (Christos) is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew "Messiah" (mashiach; John 1:41; 4:25, "Messiah"), meaning "anointed" . It designates Jesus as the fulfiller of the Messianic hopes of the Old Testament and of the Jewish people. After the resurrection it became the current title for Jesus in the apostolic church. Most frequently in the Epistles He is called "Jesus Christ," sometimes "Christ Jesus" In this case "Christ" has acquired the force of a proper name. Very frequently the term is associated with "Lord" (kurios)-"the (or "our") Lord Jesus Christ"

We are told in the Old Testament prophecy of Isaiah that He will be called, (Isaiah 9:6)

And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

In the New Testament we are told by the Apostle Paul in Philippians 2:10-11

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

May the blessing of the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord be yours this Christmas and always.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Blessings,

Pastor Mike

P.C. Julius Fealtman, Bekka Steinberger, Pastor Gordon & Annie Avey, Ron Weikel, Theo Daniels, Dorothy Spangler!, Proctor family!, John Lindsay, Paul Bierbower, Sr., Christina Richie, Jaime Washburn, Ken Danne!r, Lisa Rabert, Bill Davis, Tara Bierbower, Adam & Jess Krist, Military Personnel, Shelley Scaramuzzino, Jack Shambaugh, Sr.!, Lester Greenfield, Judy Fissel, Lori Reynolds, Marsha Miller, Betty Nester, Sam Miller, Randy Tobias

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Dear Friends,

Last week in this devotional we looked at the person and character of Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus. Today we want to focus our attention on Jesus’ mother, Mary. Mary os a very common name in Jesus time. There are no less than six (6) women in the New Testament who have the name of Mary. Today we want to spend out time looking at the person of Mary the Mother of Jesus.

First, what does the name ‘Mary’ mean? Mary s the Greek form of the Hebrew name Miriam. Because of the popularity of the name there are many derivations such as Maria, Marion, Marian, Miryam. So, what does the name mean? Well, the short answer is obstinate or rebellious. Obviously, these two words bring negative things to mind, however I want to suggest to you that there can be a positive side of being obstinate or rebellious. ( I happen to be somewhat of an expert on being obstinate and rebellious, and I think that there is a beneficial side of this attitude.) Enough about me!

Mary the Mother of Jesus is from a town in the Galilee called Nazareth. She was of the tribe of Judah as we see in the genealogy of Jesus as listed in Luke’s gospel. She was probably a young woman. This means that she was probably as young as 14, but probably not older than 16. She was pledged to be married to Joseph the carpenter, and she was a virgin. When the angel of the Lord visited her, he calls her highly favored. Luke 1:26-37, says, "In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end." "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God." What is so rebellious about this? Well, I am not sure that there is anything rebellious or obstinate about this, although it is certainly unusual. Maybe that’s what rebellious means! Actually that is exactly one of the definitions of rebellious. It means to resist the norms or conventions of society. What can be more against the norms of society than for a virgin to be pregnant and the b aby’s father to be the Holy Spirit?

What is important for us to understand in the person of Mary is that she was obedient to the will of the Heavenly Father. In Luke 1:38 we read, "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her."

We have only a few scriptural views of Mary. The birth narrative, Jesus circumcision and the blessing of Simeon and Anna, when Jesus was 12 years old at the Temple, she was present at the wedding feast in Cana, she was present when Jesus was teaching the multitudes on one occasion and Jesus asked the question, who is my mother and brother? Finally, she was present when Jesus was crucified, the prophecy of Simeon comes ringing back, "and a sword shall pierce your soul as well."

In reaction to the Roman Catholic teachings about Mary, many Protestants almost totally neglect her and her contribution. What can be said of her that is consistent with Holy Scripture?

God was in her womb. In conceiving and bearing the Lord Jesus Christ, she gave earthly birth not to mere man but to the Son of God Himself.

She conceived as a virgin through the mysterious power of the Holy Spirit.

We are to bless and honor her, for as she herself said under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit "From now on all generations will call me blessed," (Luke 1:48).

As the first member of the human race to accept Christ, she stands as the first of the redeemed and as the flagship of humanity itself. She is our enduring example for faith, service to God, and a life of righteousness.

Blessings,

Pastor Mike

P.C. Julius Fealtman, Bekka Steinberger, Pastor Gordon & Annie Avey, Ron Weikel, Theo Daniels, Dorothy Spangler, Proctor family, Jane Rhone, John Lindsay, Paul Bierbower, Sr., Cantata!, Christina Richie, Barb Morgret, Jaime Washburn, Ken Danner, Lisa Rabert, Colorado attacks, Bill Davis

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Dear Friends,

Today we will begin looking at some of the individuals that are present at the birth of Jesus. Specifically today we will look at Joseph, the betrothed husband of Mary, and the "father" of Jesus. I want you to understand that Jesus has no earthly father, since Mary was overcome by the Holy Spirit as we see in Luke 1:35, "The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God." Joseph, however, does fill the role of an earthly father for Jesus. This Joseph is a remarkable man.

The first thing that I want us to understand is that Joseph’s name has a meaning, just like most if not all names. I believe that it is important to know the meaning of a name before considering the application that name. The name Joseph means "Increaser" in the Hebrew language. So, how does Joseph the husband of Mary, mean "increaser" as we look at his role and character?

The first insight in Joseph for us occurs in Matthew 1:18-25 "This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"-which means, "God with us."

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

The first thing that we see about Joseph is that he is an honorable man. He was pledged to marry Mary, but has no union with her until after the birth of Jesus. The second thing that we see is that was a righteous man and did not want to expose Mary to public shame, he was going to divorce her quietly. The third thing that we see about Joseph is that he was obedient to the Lord. When the angel of the Lord appeared to him, and told him what to do, he did it.

The next set of things that we see about Joseph is also in Matthew in chapter 2:13-15, "When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him." So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son." Again we see Joseph as an obedient man, sensitive to the Lord, and a protector of Mary and Jesus. After Herod died the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph again and he brought Mary and Jesus back to Israel, but not to Bethlehem as he originally intended, but to Nazareth, because Herod’s son was still in Jerusalem.

In Luke 2 we see that Joseph also was obedient to the Lord when he took Jesus to the Temple on the 8^th day for his circumcision, and for His consecration to the Lord.

Yes, Joseph is the increaser. He increased in his own faith by being obedient to the Lord over and over. He also increased the rearing of Jesus by protecting and providing for Jesus and Mary. Apart from the fact that Joseph was a carpenter, and would have surely taught Jesus about carpentry and faith, we know of little else about Joseph. He disappears from the Gospel after Jesus being in the Temple at about the age of 12 (probably Jesus’ Bar Mitzpah). What I do know is this.... we should be thankful for Joseph, a man of God, and the surrogate father of Jesus.

 

Blessings,

Pastor Mike

P.C. Julius Fealtman, Bekka Steinberger, Pastor Gordon & Annie Avey, Ron Weikel, Theo Daniels, Dorothy Spangler, Kennedy’s Valley Church Mission Team, proctor family, Dale Peck!, Raymond Martin!, Richard Lloyd family, Roy Dodson, Doris Fishel, Adriana Shue, Don Gotwalt, Jeanette Fenton!, Barb Morgret, The Choir

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Dear Friends,

Today is the final look at the Armor of God passage. The Lord completes the equipment with two very important items, one that you wear and one that you carry. They are the helmet and the sword. Again, one of these , the helmet, is used for personal protection and the other, the sword, is used for attack. Let’s remind ourselves of this passage again.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. W ith this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

First, today we will look at the ‘Helmet of Salvation’. The Apostle uses the word ‘take’ in reference to the helmet of salvation, and I feel that I must comment on this word to avoid any confusion that might arise. The Greek word that is translated ‘take’ can also be rightly translated ‘receive’. While we receive our salvation as a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9), we must ‘take’ the gift that has been offered, or else we will never receive that gift. This Greek word is also a different word then is used earlier in this same passage that is also translated ‘take’. The previous use of the word ‘take’ is similar to the word ‘pick up’.

The helmet of the ancient soldier was made of leather that had been fitted to the individual soldier’s head than treated to make it hard. After the leather was cured a brass exterior was fitted to the leather to provide additional protection. Tests on these helmets have shown that they were able to withstand a blow from a battleaxe without cleaving in two. Often adorning the helmet was an emblem to show allegiance to the unit or division. This helmet of salvation is also referred to by the Apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:8 as the "hope of salvation as a helmet."

The idea is, that a well-founded hope of salvation will preserve us in the day of spiritual conflict, and will guard us from the blows which an enemy would strike. The helmet defended the head, a vital part; and so the hope of salvation will defend the soul, and keep it from the blows of the enemy. A soldier would not fight well without a hope of victory. A Christian could not contend with his foes, without the hope of final salvation; but, sustained by this, what has he to dread?

The sword was an essential part of the armor of an ancient soldier. His other weapons were the bow, the spear, or the battle-axe. But, without a sword, no soldier would have regarded himself as well armed. The ancient sword was short, and usually two-edged, and resembled very much a dagger. In Hebrews 4:12 we read, "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Remember that Jesus uses this same weapon, the Word of God, to defend Himself against the tempter (Satan) in Matthew chapter 4 where He was tempted after His baptism. If the Word of God is useful by Jesus in fending off the attack of the enemy, how much more so for us!

Finally, we are told what to pray in the Spirit with all kinds of prayers and requests, and to pray for continually for the saints. We must be ready at all times for spiritual warfare. In this Advent season we should realize that unless we are well prepared we can be distracted by looking at the commercialization of Christmas without also seeing the spiritual application of Jesus’ Advent and the promise of the Advent to come!

Blessings,

Pastor Mike

P.C. Julius Fealtman, Bekka Steinberger, Pastor Gordon & Annie Avey, Gary Myers!, Ron Weikel, Theo Daniels, Dorothy Spangler, Mr. Chrisamore!, Kennedy’s Valley Church Mission Team, Sharon McClauslin, Diane & Aaron Hoffman & Peyton Lane born on 12/02/07!, Dan’s Father!

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Dear Friends,

For the last several weeks we have been looking at the Armor of God and how it applies to our lives. We are all drafted to be in the Lord’s Army when we ask Jesus to be our Savior. Sometimes we are good soldiers (or sailors for the Navy) of the Cross, and sometimes we are AWOL. Knowing that we want to be good soldiers and effective for Jesus, let us take a look again at our passage.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. W ith this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Let’s take a look at the footwear of the soldier. The common footwear of the day was sandals, which were probably no more than a piece of leather with some strips of leather used to tie them to the feet. As you can imagine, this would provide very little protection. One of the things that soldiers did in Jesus’ day was to wear a sandal that was fitted with nails through the foot-bed to give them better traction. This was kind of like early spikes that we use today in sporting applications. The other thing that the soldiers used were a device called greaves. These greaves were a boot like structure that would cover the top of the foot and ankle and would extend to almost the knee. They were often made of bronze or brass and were used to cover the lower extremities. Greaves are mentioned in scripture in 1 Samuel 17:6. We are told there that these greaves belonged to Goliath and were a part of his armament.

If your feet are unprotected they can lead you to be susceptible to attack. If the feet or legs are materially wounded, a man can neither stand to resist his foe, pursue him if vanquished, nor flee from him should he have the worst of the fight. The Israelites were commanded to eat the Passover with their feet shod, to show that they were ready for their journey. And our Lord commands his disciples to be shod with sandals, that they might be ready to go and publish the Gospel, as the Israelites were to go to possess the Promised Land. Every Christian should consider himself on his journey from a strange land to his own country, and not only stand every moment prepared to proceed, but be every moment in actual progress toward his home.

We are also to be ‘ready’ for the gospel of peace. This peace is the peace that comes between God and man. We are not told that we will have peace among men, quite the opposite. Jesus tells us in John 15 that the world will hate us. (John 15:18) We, however have the gospel of Peace to share with all. We must have a good foot hold on the Gospel so that we can stand firm in sharing the Gospel with those who stand in opposition to the Gospel.

Blessings,

Pastor Mike

P.C. Julius Fealtman, Bekka Steinberger, Pastor Gordon & Annie Avey, Gary & Lois Myers, Ron Weikel, Sam Miller!, Theo Daniels, Dorothy Spangler, Zack & Amy Wilt, Grace Li’s friend, Boozer family, Shirley Gochenour, Ray Martin, Charlotte Kerr, Jared Miller, Marvette’s Mother, Church Camp, Katey Kane

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Dear Friends, Let's continue our look at the armor of God that is available to all believers. We promised that we would look at the pieces of this armor and how to use it properly. This passage is found in Ephesians 6. Let's take a look. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Last week we looked at the 'belt of truth'. Today we want to concentrate on the breastplate of righteousness. The Greek word that is used here is the 'thoorax'. We have a very similar word in the English language that is thorax. The thorax is the part of the trunk in humans between the neck and the abdomen, containing the cavity, enclosed by the ribs, sternum, and certain vertebrae, in which the heart, lungs, etc., are situated. This breastplate then would cover many vital organs and would be a critical piece of armament. Today there is a requirement for our soldiers and police officers to wear a 'flak' jacket or a bullet proof vest. The breastplate was a similar device. In Jesus day it would have to main parts, one to cover the chest and the other to cover the back. It was made of rings, or in the form of scales, or of plates, so fastened together that they, would be flexible, and yet guard the body from a sword, spear, or arrow. We are told in other places on scripture of a coat of mail. We are told that Goliath's coat of mail weighed five thousand shekels of brass, or nearly one hundred and sixty pounds. It was often formed of plates of brass, laid one upon another, like the scales of a fish. The breast-plate defended the vital parts of the body; and the idea here may be that the integrity of life, and righteousness of character, is as necessary to defend us from the assaults of Satan, as the coat of mail was to preserve the heart from the arrows of an enemy. Remember, our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers of darkness. Our breastplate has to be righteousness. If we are not righteous we are vulnerable. Now, I want us to understand that we cannot be righteous on our own. In Isaiah 64:6 we read, All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; So, how does righteousness come? The scripture answers that as well. In Genesis 15:6, we read, Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness. This is confirmed many times again like in Romans 1:17, For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith." Our righteousness is from our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Only by remaining strong in our faith can we ward off the attacks of Satan. Cinch your belt and put on your breastplate daily, we are at war! Blessings, Pastor Mike P.C. Julius Fealtman, Bekka Steinberger, Pastor Gordon & Annie Avey, Gary & Lois Myers, Ron Weikel, Sam Miller, Barry Walker!, Dr. Stanley Cordell!, Robert Hemler, Theo Daniels, Dale Peck, the Adams family, John Heckman, Dorothy Spangler, Answered Prayer!, Velma Mumpher The ! Indicates a praise --NextPart_Webmail_9m3u9jl4l_12517_1194883967_0 Content-Type: text/html Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

Dear Friends,

Certain things in life intrigue me. Sometimes I notice things and spend time in discovery that others would perhaps not find interesting at all. Certain phrases that we use in life have intrigued me. The phrase "in the beginning" intrigues me. This phrase occurs five times in the English Bible. Most of us are familiar with the first usage of this phrase. In Genesis 1:1 we read, " In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." This phrase is also used as the opening phrase in John 1:1, where we read, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

I believe that the Apostle John used this phrase intentionally. He wanted us to understand that the coming of the Messiah (Jesus) is a "new" Genesis. The word Genesis literally means "in the beginning", that is why the first book of the Bible is called Genesis. The name is taken from the first phrase.

In both of these citations the concept of the beginning is the same, it has everything to do with God. Before anything else is God. After anything else there is God. Jesus said the same thing, using different words when He said, " I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End."

The other usages if the phrase "in the beginning" have to do with this concept as well. In Psalm 102:25 we read, " In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands." It seems pretty obvious that the Psalmist is referring to the act of creation as well in the usage of this phrase.

Let’s look again at the phrase in John. He uses this with the intention that God is sending the Messiah for a new beginning. That’s what the Christian faith is all about. New beginnings. All of us understand that we have a beginning, we were conceived and born, a beginning. We also need to understand that when we place our faith in Jesus Christ we are "born again" a new beginning. In John 3, Jesus said to Nicodemus, "In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." A new beginning! I am thankful that the Lord Jesus Christ offers us a new Genesis, a new beginning, a fresh start!

Blessings,

Pastor Mike

P.C. Julius Fealtman, Bekka Steinberger, Pastor Gordon & Annie Avey, Jamie Washburn, Nathan Gitt, Ruth Eckels, Jim Crisamore, Bruce Roland, Victor Rivera, Ronnie Shaffer, Kelley Shaffer, Bob Herman, Jim & Nancy Davis, Adam & Jess Krist!, Taryn Tobias, Keil Tobias, Josie Stonesifer, Tracey Angel, Sue Simmons!, Roy Quickel, Denise Beachley, Jeanette Fenton

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