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Comment by Raymond E. Watson, Jr on March 27, 2013 at 6:53pm
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But Peter said, “I don’t have silver or gold, but what I have, I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” Then, taking him by the right hand he raised him up, and at once his feet and ankles became strong. Acts 3:6-7 HCSB
The church attempts to offer different ministries and programs to those that are hurting. Slick programs are produced and publicized and large crowds come out. Teachers and speakers that are authorities on the certain problem are presented, and everyone is excited about what is happening. However after a few weeks the excitement fades and the crowds shrink. To top it off many of the people that came are leaving the same way they came in. The leaders of these programs start to wonder about where things went wrong. The sad thing is that many do not find the answer to that question. They do not find the answer because they believe that the slick program, the talented teachers and speakers should be enough. While these things may be good they might lack the main thing, which is Christ.
When Peter and John went to the Temple they did not have anything visible that would help anyone. These two men were just going to afternoon prayer, when they crossed paths with the beggar at the gate. The beggar was in need, he had to be carried to the gate, no job no income, and because he could not walk no forward progress on his own. This sounds like many that we know in life. They may have whole bodies but they are crippled. The beggar looks at Peter and John for cash to help his situation, but money was not going to change him. Our programs may be slick and “with the times”, but they do not change people. That is what Peter and John were showing when they offered “Jesus Christ of Nazareth”. It was Jesus that transformed the crippled beggar into a healed and whole man. A whole man that was able to walk for the first time in his life. It is Christ and Christ alone who is able to change a person. A program or ministry that does not offer Christ is an empty one. An empty program is an empty fountain that leaves people empty. Therefore let all the of endeavors of the church offer Christ first so that those in need are filled and changed.
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Comment by Warrior Richardson on March 20, 2013 at 11:33am
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YOU WILL BE MY WITNESS
A Gospel Tract Workshop
By Warrior Richardson, Instructor
Develop drawing skills and learn to use them to present the good news about Jesus Christ in a fun and exciting way.
This workshop consists of eight 4-hour sessions for a total of 32 hours. The first two hours of each session consists of learning to communicate the basics of the Christian faith clearly. The last two hours consist of learning basic drawing skills.
For more information go to www.warriorrichardson.com.
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There is not a lot of talk about sin. It seems that every church confronts a list of sins that go on the outside of the church. Folks like to position themselves on the right side of the issue. However in talking about them they are not called by name, what is used are labels and cute names to describe sin. The sad result in doing that is that sin is not confronted and what is on the outside of the church creeps in to the inside.
We do not like to face it, but sin has crept into the one vehicle that is supposed to change the world. We turn away from it, we cover it up but it is still sin. It is sin that is killing the power of the church. In turn sin is killing the church’s witness. Sin is killing the church because sin separates the people from God.
We like to cover it up or say that it is not happening, but how many “saints” do you know that are engaged in sinful activity? It might be the sister that is doing all she can to hold on to a relationship. What about the brother that conducts business on the corner. Think about the mother whose phone is like the National Enquirer hotline. Consider the trustees that slide a few coins off to make the count even. All these things are sin. God knows about them and judges accordingly. The Lord withdraws His power from the people. Without God’s power miracles cannot be worked through the church. Without God’s power lives cannot be transformed through the church. With God’s power the church cannot stand up against the enemy.
The other effect is not only God knows, but those that do not believe know of our “secret sins”. They know because the ripple effects show up in our daily lives. It is these ripple effects that destroy our testimony and turn them away from the Living God. It does not matter how we talk to them or how long they will not be changed, because the power to change them will not be felt (Acts 1:8). This is why it is important to stay away from sin. Jesus only died once for sin and rose so that we can walk in a new life. So let us walk in it not looking back to the sins that separated us from it, lest we crucify the Saviour again.
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I was watching a news program last night and was disturbed on what was reported. It was reported that “Patriot” and militia groups were on the rise. It seems that they are near the same level they were right before the Oklahoma City bombing. What puzzles me is that a majority of them claim to have Christian underpinnings. However their actions and words do not reflect that, they reflect fear.
Fear keeps us from helping people who appear different than us. Fear keeps us from relating to those that are different than us. Fear causes us to oppress others who do not conform to our norms. Fear forces us to live in a box thinking that the ones who are different are in a box. If we claim to be followers of Christ then we should follow His example when encountered those that were “different”.
In those encounters Christ helped, ministered to, and delivered, those that were not Jews. It was Christ who ministered to the Samaritan woman at the well. Christ stopped and healed the Syrophenician woman’s daughter. Christ was the one that delivered the crazy man in the graveyard. Even the best known parable of Christ has a Samaritan as the hero.
The reason for all of that is to show the Will of God toward Man. Jesus stated that He came to do the will of the Father. That will is God is not a respecter of person. Meaning that it does not matter who you are, where you are from, or what you look like God is concerned about you and loves you. All of which Christ revealed through His life, death and resurrection. If we are to be followers of the Saviour then we need to reflect Christ to all peoples. Christ showed love, peace, joy, grace and hope to those who are different, never fear. For the spirit of fear is not the Spirit of Christ.
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People wonder why churches today lack people in the pews and power in the community. There are cities like my hometown of Chicago, where in the roughest neighborhoods seem to have a church on every block, but have some of the toughest problems. There is a liquor store on every corner, a dope house on down the street, a home in the midst, and violence is the order of the day. Many times the people doing these things are right in the church. The problem is not the church per se, but it is some of the people in the church. They have not seen Jesus transfigured before them.
There are many that claim Jesus as their Saviour, but He has not been transfigured before them. Many think that the words of Jesus and His teachings are wonderful, but He has not been transfigured before them. Unless Jesus has been transfigured in your life one cannot see who He really is.
When Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James, and John it became real that He was the Christ the Son of the Living God. Out of this revelation comes the fact the Jesus is more than a good teacher, He is God Word. Jesus is more than a Saviour, He is King. Jesus is more than good, He is Holy. When Jesus is transfigured before you begin to see that it was God in the flesh that hung on the Cross, Holy blood that was shed and victory that rose out of the grave. This allows for the Holy Spirit to empower us to show others that Jesus is who He says He is.
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Why is it that we run from one relationship to another? We dress up, go to the club, hook up, give it up, and then break up. Does it seem that the pattern is repeated in your life? Then in the aftermath we want to blame the other person for the failure. There we are feeling angry, sad and lonely.
The angry and sad part of this is understandable. We are angry because we feel that a wrong has been done to us. We are sad because a relationship is dead. However the lonely part should not be a part of this. Everyone has the need for human companionship, which was proven in Genesis 2:18, but that companionship was given to someone that was complete.
Adam was complete when Eve was brought to him. His completeness was not in what he had, nor was it in the job that he held. Adam’s completeness came from the relationship that he had with God. This was a relationship that filled and completed Adam to the point that he did not feel lonely. It was God who stated that, “…It is not good that the man should be alone…”, not Adam stating he was lonely. Before we can even think about being in a relationship with someone else we need to think about being complete in our relationship with God. For if we don’t we will be looking for someone to complete us, which will repeat the cycle mentioned above.
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We chase after things. It does not matter what it is; a car, a house, a larger paycheck, a piece of jewelry, a companion we chase after it. There is nothing wrong with acquiring those things; the problem arises when the things that we acquire become void fillers. The sad thing is that a void filler is something like a pothole patch in winter. It is good for the moment, but after awhile the hole will come back.
We need to stop pursuing things, and start pursuing God. God is the only one who can fill the voids in our lives. The Saviour states that we should "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness..." (Matt 6:33). Before we search for things we need to search for God's Kingdom. That means that we should be seeking His government, His law, His presence, and above all God Himself. When we seek the things of God with our whole heart He will add to us the things that we desire. But in the end, all that other stuff won't matter because we will have the main thing, God.
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I saw a license plate that read "I'm Holy". I then wondered what makes a person holy. Holiness, or being holy, is about being separated from that which taints one's character and soul. In light of that we are surrounded everyday by things that pollute our souls. Some of the things that we do give evidence that our inner most being as been affected by this taint. It does not matter how good we try to be there are aspects of our character that is tainted. Therefore it is not possible for a person to holy in and of themselves.
God is the only one that is Holy in and of Himself. The taint of sin can not stand before Him nor have power over Him. God desires His people to be Holy (Be ye Holy, for I am Holy). God also knows that we cannot achieve Holiness by ourselves. In order for us to obtain Holiness we must be in a relationship with His Son. It is only through Jesus' death on the cross that the taint of sin is removed from us. And it is only through His resurrection we can walk in Holiness by the power of the Holy Spirit.
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A riot at a mall in Chicago. Violence on the rise. Uploaded videos of people getting knocked out and other stuff that will not be mentioned. Beef and business we do not need to know about on Facebook, no wonder there are people who raise their voices with urgency stating that something needs to be done. That there needs to be prayer in schools and the public square. Not only is it needed, it needs to mandated. Well there is nothing wrong with prayer, there is something wrong with it being mandated. You can have everyone pray under a mandate, but you will never get to real source of the problem, which is the heart.
God does not want people to pray, worship, or praise Him under the form of a mandate. God wants people to do that from their heart. The reason that we are seeing this stuff happen eventhough there seems to be a church on every corner is because God is not in our hearts. By rote we go to church, by rote we sing the songs, by rote we know what to do, but in the end "by rote" it does not change the heart. God is looking for us to have a relationship with Him, not a religion. Jesus states that "Behold I stand at the door and knock. Whoever opens I will come and sup (eat) with him (her)." In other words Jesus wants to enter into a relationship with the person. It does not matter where you are from, your past, ethnic background, or income. He wants a relationship with you. A relationship that changes your heart and brings love and peace to your being. A relationship that causes praise, worship and prayer to flow out of you. A relationship that can give you the power to bring change around you.
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