1 Corinthians 12:27, We are one body of Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:27

"Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually."
NKJV

Dear JoAnn,

We have all heard the expression, "there is no 'I' in teamwork" and this is even truer for the church. Like a team that has made it to the Super Bowl, we should stand united in Christ working together for one unified purpose - to proclaim the Gospel to the world. This is a lofty goal, yet it is one that our coach has called us to. Christ has given us the directive and now we must follow through, as a team.

Romans 12:15 "Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep." NKJV

Like a team, the church must support each player as they gain ground for the Kingdom. If one member is in pain, the rest should grieve for them then do what they can to help. If there is a big play and one person is blessed, we all rejoice with glad hearts. There is no room for selfishness or jealousy in the family of God. These things lead to bitterness, deceit, and division. Remember, this is not about us. If we think that this life is about us, then we miss out on God's amazing blessings and the team suffers. It's about our Lord and it's about others. In front of us is the field of life and the God of all creation has empowered us to gain ground for His Kingdom. It's bigger than you and I, yet God has called us to the line of scrimmage. Are you ready? This could be your finest hour.

Life Lesson: We are in Christ and a part of something bigger and more important than just ourselves.

Dear God,
Thank You for life and for inviting me to be part of this adventure with You. Thank You for the gifts You've given me. Lord, I pray that You use them for Your Kingdom. Help me to get rid of any selfishness and to put others first. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Living to tell what He died to say,
Pastor David McGee

My Comments: You have heard it said, "There is no "I" in we!" We are the body of Christ and as one we should care for the whole and work with the whole body for the Glory of God in the righteousness of Jesus the Christ the Son of God. One with the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

He give us gifts and circumstances to use them and to share Him who loved us so much He gave up His seat in Heaven to become a man and suffer and die for our sin. The sin that seperates us from God. When we accept His sacrifice and are part of the body we have then a commission to share Him with anyone He guides us to do so and to work with the body of believers all over the world to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ in whatever situation He allows us and goes with us to share it in.

Once we receive this pearl of great price we do not bury it we share it so others may become a part of the body. We do not hide our light under cover rather we shine it in a dark world so we can lead souls out of darkness into the light.

Even those in prisons know it is not just them doing the work all by themselves even if they do not see anyone for years who believes. They know the body is praying for them and that Jesus Himself and His Angels are there with them, suffering with them.

1 Peter 3:12-14 Says,  Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share in Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rest upon you.

So remember we are on body of Christ as it says in Romans 12:4/5, For as in one body we have many members and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. An because of this we must live in harmony with in the body weven when there are differences in order to bring more of the lost to God through the saving grace of Jesus for as it is written in Romans 14:11/12, "As I live, says the Lord every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God." so then each of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block of hindrance in the way of a brother.(This particular passage had to do with eating practices between the circumsized and the uncircumcized yet it is very much to be used to remember we are one body and what we do to one part effects the rest of the body. We are commanded to love one another, share in eachothers burdens and sorrow and joy.)

I pray the Lord guides the body and the body listens and follows all that He wants us to do and that we all become more Christ like every moment of every day. May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ rest upon you and may you remember Him, His suffering and His love as you go through the things in life that come your way. may the Lord strengthen and guide you and be with you always  until the end of the age or He takes you home to be with Him. Amen

2 Corinthians 1:10

2 Corinthians 1:10

"And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us."
NLT

Dear JoAnn,

Often when we are walking in the midst of a suffering, we may believe that God will rescue us, but it's still difficult to fully trust Him. As we read the verse above, it's almost like God knew we would struggle to trust Him and so He makes sure to emphasize His ability to rescue. In 2 Corinthians 1:10 Paul writes of rescue three times:

Did rescue
Will rescue
Will continue to rescue

You see friend, God's plan is not to leave us in the middle of pain and hardship forever. He won't allow us to walk into a dark valley and then leave us there to wander aimlessly without end. The truth is, HE WILL RESCUE. In fact, even if we were to walk in suffering the rest of our lives, we can know as a follower of Christ... He will rescue when He comes again. When we realize this, we don't really need to know why He is doing it, but only that we can trust He is in control and will be with us until the end. Whatever door He opens or whatever door He closes, we can trust Him. He is good... all the time.

Life Lesson: Our faith is really growing when we don't know what God is doing, and we still trust Him.

Dear God,
Thank You for Your love that is so great, that you would rescue me in my times of need. I also thank You for also using my hard times for my benefit. Help me not to despair in difficult times but rather to rejoice because I know that my rescue is on the way. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Living to tell what He died to say,
Pastor David McGee

My Comments: Today at Calvary Chapel there was a man from Voice of the Martyrs who talked about this very issue. He showed many who were persecuted for the name of Jesus and the Gospel of Jesus. Many who were left for dead who came back to witness to the same people who tried to kill them and who did atrocities to them. These stories were from many places in the world, North Korea, China, Colombia and many African places as well as even places in Europe and America. It will get worse here the closer to Christ's return and we must be strong in Him, His strength and His grace to love those who persecute us, to pray for them and to witness to them and others and to never deny Jesus or the Gospel.

My trials seemed so small in comparison to the horror stories related and even some videos that were shown of the things done.

One time when I was in fifth grade the second week of class I took ill and when I came back to class the classmates who had all been so friendly would now not talk with or look me in the eye. I could not understand yet I had a peace. I had always known God and knew Him to be my protector (after all He had saved my Dad often, had cured me of polio, saved me after many raped and molestations so He could take care of this situation). During the math period towards the middle of the morning, while the teacher who had her back to the class, a boy (I think his name was Lawrence but I do not truly remember) passed me a note from behind me. He stated the teacher had told them if anyone talked to me for the rest of the year they would not pass on to sixth grade. He apologized and I knew he felt badly.

Later at recess I went out on the grounds and since no one would talk or play with me (it seemed to have spread to the rest of the school children because I was not allowed into the games though one person did let me into the four square game and one boy threw the ball at my chest so hard I thought I would die. So then I was not let back in. I wandered over to a girl in the far left corner of the playground who was sitting with her head down and swinging her feet front to back and in circles on the bench. She had shinny red hair and her cloths though clean had patches on them. She was sitting in the shade of the huge oak tree.

I sat down and we started talking and I told her what had happened and she told me they would not play with her because of her cloths so of course we became fast friends and we together for the rest of the year. I know if my teacher had not done what she did I would never had met Penny and she was a wonderful friends.

See it was a small thing compared to the suffering of those in other places who are persecuted for righteousness sake yet from the things that happened to me and my loved ones and the way the Lord brought us through them I know to trust Him in all things. Over the years since my conversion He has strengthened me in this. May He give you the strength to trust Him in all things and study His word so when these times are upon you, you may have His word for comfort and added strength. Amen

Acts 10:22-23, We are our brothers keeper.

Acts 10:22-23

"And they said, "Cornelius the centurion, a just man, one who fears God and has a good reputation among all the nation of the Jews, was divinely instructed by a holy angel to summon you to his house, and to hear words from you." Then he invited them in and lodged them. On the next day Peter went away with them, and some brethren from Joppa accompanied him."
NKJV

Dear JoAnn,

In Acts chapter ten, we see the doors opening wide for all of humanity to hear the gospel. Until this time, only a select few knew of the good news about Jesus. That was about to change, drastically. The good news to be presented and accepted by this group of gentiles would impact all of mankind. The world would never be the same.

Now that we have heard the good news, we have the privilege to help others hear it. It is my desire to reach people with the good news through any means possible, short of sin. In Genesis chapter four, Cain posed the question, "am I my brother's keeper?" The answer is a resounding 'yes'. We are responsible for reaching this generation with the good news that God loves them and died for their sins. Let's change the world one life at a time... starting with yours.

Life Lesson: We should work together to reach the world.

Dear Lord,
I want to thank You that because I asked You to forgive me, You have indeed forgiven me. There are still many people who have not accepted You as Lord and Savior. Lord, please give me a burden to reach people. Lord I want to join together with my brothers and sisters to reach the world. Help me to care about whether they come to You or not. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Living to tell what He died to say,
Pastor David McGee

My Comments: When I was a very little girl of 3 I was babysitting my sister and when I was 5 I was babysitting my 5 day old cousin and from then on I took care of children. My Mom wanted me to know how to take care of my Sister because she always felt she would die on or around age 30 so she wanted me to be her substitue Mom as my Dad was rarely around. He was a fisherman and was gone 9 months of the year and when home he drank and later when he got a job as the Head Maintance he continured to drink and that made home a place of secrets. But the main thing for this posting is Mom wanted me to grow up quick so I would be prepared. I was.

I have always had a sense of needing to take care of others so it came easier for me than some to feel the need to help others come to know the Love and saving Grace of Jesus. We are told to go into the world and tell them about Him and He will ask us when we stand in front of Him why we did not or He will say "Well done good and faithful servant" I want to hear this from Him. Lord help me to put myself aside and reach out to any You want me to reach out to and may I give a good impression of Jesus in all I say and do. Amen

Just thinking today

Today I was extremely busy as a son and his family are going to be living here with us for a couple of weeks and our home is not child proof. And being a one bedroom I needed to make room for more bodies. So I tackled our bedroom which has the only room with a window that the sun shines in. Sunshine cheers me and gives me energy.
As I use our bedrooms for our office and my painting easels and painting supplies, frames and such this required a lot of work and many hours of restructuring. When it was complete I lay down to get my wind back and cool off and was gazing out the window with the sunshine streaming in upon the two plants I had on the sill. I looked at the two trees outside the window and gave thanks to God for them and praised Him for letting them be there. I was reminded of when Jesus came upon the fig tree and it did not have fruit for him. It had much growth yet nothing of sustanance to feed the weary traveler. It was cursed and died.
I looked at my trees that give me so much all year long. In the summer they are full of leaves and their branches reach up reminding me to keep looking up to the Lord and raising my arms in His praises. They shelter my little window from too much sunshine on the hotest of days while letting in enough to gladden my soul.
In the fall the leaves turn the most beautiful of colors bringing great joy to me and anyone who walks or drives by them and to those who come to visit me. Even sharing their leaves with my guests and allowing me to use them in my decorations. I hunger for the fall every year to see the glorious reds and pink reds that shower me with such beauty.
In the winter the leaves fall slowly. Often slower than the other trees in on the road, holding their colors long after most have lost theirs as if they knew I needed the shelter of the leaves as I ran to and fro from the care to the house. Then the snow comes and when it is heavey as it was this year they hold the snow so I can enjoy it's glittering beauty from the comfort of my little window and they allow the birds to sit and sing to me. This year a crow brought a tool (piece of wood) to wipe some of the snow off of the limbs as if to help the tree directly in front of my window. When the sun shines the bare limbs graciously allow the sun to shine into our room bringing winter cheer into our little home.
I thought of all of this as I lay there and thought what is the fruit of these trees?
Yet that is not the most important question I should have been comtemplating. If the fig tree is us or our nation as it was the nation of Isreal in the Lord's day, then am I bearing much fruit or just full of leaves. Leaves that seem to be good for those around, leaves that give shade and rest to those going through my life? There are many so called Christians (we all know some) who seem to be everything they should be. They serve at church, work in ministries, give money, even pay tithe and work in charities. Yet they do not really believe all they say. They even quote the Bible with great accuracy. Yet the fruit is in the life they lead and do they bear much fruit? Do they live the Word of God and lead others to the Lord?
We all must look at our lives this way and be honest with ourselves as to where we stand and are we saved and if not friend I pray all who read this will give their lives to the Lord Jesus and stand on the Word of Christ Jesus who is the Rock. Only He can change us, grow us and help us to bear much fruit. May you all know Him who loves you and accept His sacrifice of grace. Amen

Acts 9:15-16, No one is unreachable of God

Acts 9:15-16

But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name's sake."
NKJV

Dear JoAnn,

In Chapter nine of the book of Acts, we see Jesus interrupting the life of Saul of Tarsus. Saul was living out his life doing his 'own thing' with zeal. Unfortunately, Saul's 'thing' was harassing and persecuting Christians. Have you ever found your life interrupted by God? You were going about your life doing your own thing and all of sudden God interrupts, saves you and gives you a passion for lost souls. If you have met Jesus, you should have a passion for lost souls. Sometimes I hear people tell their life stories and wonder if they are grateful for this divine interruption. You have heard the stories. 'My life was great until I met Jesus, now I am barely getting by.' What a disservice that does to the treasure that we have found. We have now been graciously given a heavenly perspective in an otherwise earthly world. We have been given the high, holy and heavenly calling of offering hope to a doomed place. We have a calling to offer love to a world that long ago lost it, and light to a darkness that swallows the human soul. The only thing worse than having this kind of life changing interruption...is not having one. I am thankful for mine. How about you? Let's change the world, one life at a time, starting with yours.

Life Lesson: We are supposed to be a part of God's plan to reach the world.

Dear Jesus,
Thank you for coming into my life. I now give my life to You. If You can use my life to encourage one person, serve one person, or to see one person brought to You, please do so. There is no greater joy than to give our lives away. You not only told us that, but You showed us that. Lord, help me to look for ways to give my life away. Until the whole world hears, in Jesus' name, Amen.

Living to tell what He died to say,
Pastor David McGee
My Comments:  Remember the Aunt Mona I referred to in another post? The one who with her son laid hands on and prayed for our 2nd oldest daughter? Well, She was a true Christian who brought glory to the Lord and lived her life and raised her son in the light of the Lord and the trueth of His Word.

I did not see it that way then because I did not know the truth. I loved them yet I mocked them and called them fanatics. Now I am called one by others who do not know any better. As she loved me and left me to God's ministrations I leave them. As this story shows God can reach someone no matter how far off base they are. He is amazing. I know my Aunt and Uncle and my little cousin loved God very much and were saved and are now in heaven with the Lord Jesus and I know their prayers have a lot to do with why the Lord pulled me out of the muck and mire and set my feet upon the Rock of Jesus. May it be so for you my friend. Amen

Acts 8:18-19

Acts 8:18-19

"And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, 'Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.'"
NKJV

In this passage, Simon thought he could buy the power of the Holy Spirit. Simon wanted this power so that he could impress others. That is not what the power of God is for. The power of God is given that we may live for Him. We have the power of God that our lives might demonstrate God's work changing us. We should be good stewards, using our power and resources to reach people. We should want to encourage people in their faith. Throughout the bible, we see Jesus using His power to touch lives, and He did so without weird displays. I believe this gives us our model of what using that power looks like. Why do you desire supernatural power? Hopefully it is to bless others. How do you use your God given resources? Is it to bless and reach others? I hope that it is. With what we have been given, we can make a difference in the hereafter, by making a difference in the here and now.

Life Lesson: God has given us power and resources to reach others.

Lord,
All the good things in my life have come from You. My life, my strength, my wisdom, and all that I am or hope to be is a gift from You. I want to use my power, strength, and resources to reach a lost and dying world. We know from Your life, Jesus, that You cared about people. As I follow You, help me to care for others. Help me to use what You have given me wisely as a good steward to reach others. In the name of Yeshua, Jesus, Amen.

Living to tell what He died to say,
Pastor David McGee

My Comment: My hubby and I were talking about the issue when we left church on Sunday. Amazing how God has things like that occur in our lives? There are many ways one can work and help in the body, community and world as well.

As my main concern is the body we work in several ministries and have worked in others. That way we give of ourselves and our time. We tithe and we give to charities and that is using the finances the Lord has entrusted to us. And in this area the Lord has impressed on me more and more the giving up of the things that are unnessary in my life so I can use His money to a better use. Not that we have ever done a lot of stuff for ourselves.

We have never been the ones to go out and buy lots of "toys". Yet we have been selfish and used the "extra" we have had to go to meals out or movies though we go to the price reduced and the inexpensive restaurants we have spent on ourselves often in the past in this manner.

This past year because of many surgeries and Dr. copays and medications our savings was depleted which caused us to take a closer look at how we were spending the money. So we did some cutting including meals out and movies (including the popcorn and drink unless we earn them for free on our card). As we get used to our new lifestyle we will hopefully find extra money that we can use to better account for the Glory of the Lord.

For me I have used my fb site to share the Word of God with my loved ones and this year a friend set up this blog for me to share the Word of God and my thoughts with the world. My thoughts do not matter yet as I read the Word I try to apply it to my life and putting it down helps me flesh it out.

I pray the Lord will continue to shape me and grow me in the use of my time and finances and expecially as they pertain to the growing of His Kingdom. Amen

Shortly after I accepted the Lord Jesus as my Savior (which was just before 911)  I asked the Holy Spirit to dwell in me because I thought one had to and did not know that as one accepts the Lord's gift they are indwelt. Yet what I really was asking for was to be able to speak in tongues. He gave me that gift yet I learned later that it is not important whether ones speaks in tongues as that is not the greatest gift and all do not do it (It is also, something that should usually be done in private as it is really prayer to my heavenly Father); I am thankful for all the gifts the Lord has given me and know He knows which ones I need and will supply others if needed for His glory.

As I related before my baby daughter was dieing and my Aunt and 8 year old cousin laid hands on and prayed for her and she was healed. One would never had known they had the gift of healing. They never bragged about it. In fact they never said anything about it up to the day the passed on the be with Our Lord.

We do with our gifts as the Lord wishes us to do not for our glory or praise. It is all only for His glory and praise!

Friend use your gifts as He guides you and remember to give Him all the Glory and Praise and take none for yourself.

We are all miracles

Acts 8:5-6 "Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did." NKJV The love of God is compelling. His love can overcome all differences between believers. It can drive us to brave and heroic deeds; to reach those who do not yet know God. We spend our lives building up walls through fear and insecurity. In the safety of God's love, He now asks us to tear those walls down; often with people who make us uncomfortable. The Jews and the Samaritans did not get along; in fact they hated each other. The Lord led the early church at Jerusalem to minister and love on the Samaritans. They were willing to lay down their lives and reach out to others; God did incredible things in Samaria and beyond. What will the Lord do through us if we are willing to reach outside of our social groups? Stretch outside of your comfort zone and see what the Lord does on the outside and be amazed at what He does on the inside. The Bible says this... Rom 8:38-39 "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." NKJV Life Lesson: We should love one another including other people groups. Lord, You alone see the fears inside me. I ask You to help me love others. Help me reach out to others who are just as scared as I am. Because You love me, I know I can love others. You tell us to do this so...Lord I need your help. Strengthen me to love others in the midst of a cold, dark and bitter world. May that light shine like a beacon of hope to all who see it and stand as a witness of Your love for the world. In Jesus' name, Amen. Living to tell what He died to say, Pastor David McGee My comments: I have been so blessed in my short 64 (now nearly 67)years of living to be the recipient and observer of miracles in my life and my loved ones lives. When I was three I had polio and God healed me of it leaving me a leg a bit shorter to remind me that it truly happened. When I was a couple of years older my Dad who was a fisherman, craber and for a short time ran a mail boat run, hit an iceberg and the boat was sinking. Jesus appeared to me and told me to tell my Mom to light the Holy candle. It was in the front room the room we closed off during the winter to conserve heat. Yet she believed me and went and lite it and prayed for my Dad and the safety of the other men on the mailboat. The mail was closed in waterproof bags and thrown overboard so that hopefully some of it would make it through as the men knew they would not unless a miracle happened. At the same time she lite the Lampotic another boat came into view and rescued the my Dad, the men and the mail. When I was 11 the Lord came to me again and told me to have my Mom lite the Lampotic as Dad  was in danger. His Dad had cancer and was dieing and Dad had been spending a great deal of time with him in the hospital and not sleeping. He had to haul cargo freight from CA to AZ and on the return trip he fell asleep at the wheel He went off the road down an 80 foot ravine. The onlookers said it looked so smooth when he went off. They looked down at the Semicab which looked more like a crumpled wad of paper and they did not think he was alive. Then as the Lampotic was lite and Mom prayed my Dad miraculously climbed out of the upper window and was half way up the side of the ravine before anyone went down to help him as they were all in shock. He only sustained a slight cut over the eye to remind him of the experience and God's mercy. When my second child was two months old she was dieing. Her eyes had sunk into her head, she had dark black circles around her eyes. This happened in a matter of hours. The Dr said she had a deformed kidney and it had to of happened while she was inside of me. My folks got her and I a plane ticket from AK to WA. Before leaving my Aunt and Cousin asked if they could lay hands on her and pray for her. I said yes and by the time we arrived at the hospital my daughter was revived and did not have a deformed kidney. They said it had to have been pneumonia. We all have miracles that show us God's love for us. The very breath we take, the different abilities we have, our minds, our heart beating, the beauty of a sunrise or sunset, the birth of a child, food, oxygen, the list goes on. Usually we do not see them for what they are. We look for the big ones and feel God does not hear us if we do not get what we ask for yet He loves us through the small as well as the big. Through all of those times I loved God yet did not know the true meaning of accepting Jesus the Christ as my Savior. It was many years before God was to help me learn just what it meant. I thank Him for the miracles in my life and for persisting in chasing me and capturing me with His unending love. May you know His peace and experience His forgiveness and Love. Abba Father thank you for the miracle of our lives and all the miracles you do for us even when we do not understand them. Thank You in Jesus name in union with Your Holy Spirit. Amen. Rebishka