🏳️‍🌈✝️ Be Still

Apostolic Faith Church

01/29/2018

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He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. – Psalm 107:29

 A man nervously paced the floor of his office. He needed an answer from God, time was running out, and he was becoming desperate. A deadline was upon him. He had prayed for the answer, yet he still did not have a clue as to what the answer would be. “Lord, you know exactly what I need. You have never failed me, and I know you won’t fail me now,” he cried out. Finally he became silent in his weariness.

In his quietness, the answer finally came: “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). He realized that in all his worry and crying out to God, he had failed to do what was necessary—be still. He was crying out so loudly and so persistently that he could not hear the voice of God speaking to him, giving him the solution to his dilemma. Hurriedly, he ran to his desk and began to do the research for his project as God showed him what to look for. He began typing, and the words came faster than he could move his fingers. When the project was presented, the very words of that verse became life: God was exalted and received the glory.

Many times, we can be like this man. We get so worried and consumed with the situation at hand that our conversation with the Lord becomes one sided. We cry out so loudly that we cannot hear the loving God who answers us before we call, and while we are yet speaking, will hear us (Isaiah 65:24). God wants to speak peace to our souls. He knows our every concern and already has the perfect solution, but He patiently waits for us to be still so we can hear Him.

It is difficult to be still in the midst of trouble, but God will calm the storms so the waves subside around us. When we are still and listen to Him, God gives the wisdom we are seeking. It may not be what we are expecting, but it will be exactly what we need. He has the solution to our every problem. He only asks that we be still.

 

🏳️‍🌈✝️ The Endless Pursuit

Heather B. Iseminger

01/29/2018

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True Love. For some, these two words kindle images of long-stemmed roses and candle-lit dinners. For others, the very thought of Happily Ever After brings on a headlong tailspin of depression that includes two men by the name of Ben and Jerry. Over the years, I have found myself in both places. But lately, I have been reminded of the most lavish display of love mankind has ever known.

Last year a friend of mine, Bonnie, and her husband began the process of adopting two beautiful children from Ethiopia. After facing one complicated hurdle after another, Bonnie knew the Lord was urging her to go to Ethiopia and remain there until she could finalize the adoption. Regardless of the time it might take, she was going to bring her son and daughter home. At the blessing of her husband, she quit her job, packed her bags, and bought a plane ticket. Though they both assumed she would be home in less than a month, she remained in a foreign land for almost four.

Bonnie's walk down this tear-stained path to claim her children has been a vivid and very real reminder of the deep, passionate love God has for me. This fight, this battle, this crusade for her babies is a beautiful portrayal of God's relentless pursuit of us—His children. The Father will stop at nothing to make sure we are safely in His arms.

This is the love that prevails. Jesus Christ has already proven He will do whatever it takes to demonstrate His love for His children. He left a sinless heaven to join humanity on a sinful earth because He loves us. He allowed himself to be ridiculed, tortured, beaten because He loves us. He felt the piercing agony of nails rip through his flesh because He loves us. The Son of God took the sin of the world and paid the highest price because He loves us.

Romans 5:8 states, "But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Christ gave His life so we may be called sons and daughters of the King. What love! What incredible, all-consuming passion! To know we have a Father in Heaven who will pursue us, fight for us, and even die for us is a powerful love indeed.

We each have been created to love and be loved. Our deepest desires come from the heart that longs to be pursued. Is it possible you feel very unloved during the season of life holding you? Regardless of the pain you may be facing right now or the rejection sometimes glaring you in the face, may you be encouraged by the existence of True Love. A Love only God, the one who created you, can give.

When discouragement stares at you from the mirror of life, place your heart at the foot of the cross. It is in this place where love brings you in, holds you tightly, and carries you. The shadow of the cross reflects the greatest love man has ever known. May its beautiful shadow be a reminder you have been fought for, you have been pursued, you are wanted, you are loved!
Because of a mother's endless love, Bonnie's children flew home with her on Valentine's Day. Because of our Father's endless love, we have a heavenly home waiting for us.

"Look at how great a love the Father has given us that we should be called God's children. And we are!" 1 John 3:1a

Copyright © 2012 by Heather B. Iseminger. Used with permission.

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🏳️‍🌈✝️ BELOVED, REALIZING YOU NEED MY HELP is half the battle

Rainbow Pastor David

01/29/2018

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BELOVED, REALIZING YOU NEED MY HELP is half the battle.  You also need My Word and My Spirit.  The Bible imparts to you essential wisdom:  My promises to be near you and take care of you, exhortations that help you avoid sinful snares, offers of forgiveness when you "miss the mark," promises of My Spirit's living in you and empowering you.  It is important not to be surprised or alarmed by the many trials that enter your life.  

Until you reach your ultimate home in heaven, you will be at war.  When you have a wartime mentality, it's easier to handle difficulties as they arise.  You don't waste time and energy bemoaning your circumstances; you avoid the trap of feeling singled out for hardship.  I do indeed equip you fully to handle your difficulties.  But you have to make the effort to use what I provide:  My Presence, My Word, My Spirit.  Come to Me when you are heavy laden and you will find rest for your soul.
 

"So do not fear,  for I am with you; do not be dismayed,  for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."  Isaiah 41:10 

🏳️‍🌈✝️ 9 Verses to Remind You – Jesus Understands

Written by Joanna Weaver

01/28/2018

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Have you ever felt alone?

When you’re going through a difficult time, nothing means more than having someone come alongside who understands what you’re going through.

“Jesus wept” is famous as the shortest verse in the Bible (John 11:35), but to me the real power of that two-word passage from the story of Lazarus is the reassurance that Jesus under­stands what life is like for us.

He doesn’t ask anything of us that He wasn’t willing to do Himself, and He promises to be with us in all we have to go through. For example:

• Jesus knew temptation: “He was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan” (Mark 1:13).

• Jesus knew poverty: “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20).

• Jesus knew frustration: “He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.… ‘Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!’” (John 2:15-16).

• Jesus knew weariness: “Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well” (John 4:6).

• Jesus knew disappointment: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem…how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks,…but you were not willing” (Luke 13:34).

• Jesus knew rejection: “From this time many of his dis ciples turned back and no longer followed him” (John 6:66).

• Jesus knew sorrow: “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death” (Matthew 26:38).

• Jesus knew ridicule: “Again and again they struck him…and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid [mocking] homage to him” (Mark 15:19)

• Jesus knew loneliness: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).

 You Are Not Alone

No matter what you’re going through, my friend, you have a God who is “intimately acquainted” with all your ways (Psalm 139:3 NASB).

He doesn’t stand back, remaining distant from your pain.

Instead, He wants to crawl down into the darkest part of your life. If you’ll let Him, He wants to wrap His arms around you.

He wants to whisper comfort to your pain. More than that, He wants to infuse you with strength to withstand whatever comes your way.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.

HEBREWS 4:15

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🏳️‍🌈✝️ Turn you sight inside out so you can see GOD.

Written by John W. Ritenbaugh

01/28/2018 

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Then Job answered the LORD and said: "I know that You can do everything,And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. You asked, "Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?" Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. Listen, please, and let me speak;
You said, "I will question you, and you shall answer Me." "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes." Job 42:1-6

This is the conclusion, the climax, of his long and detailed story. Now Job can see God. From the context, properly seeing God involves getting the self out of the way! As long as self was in his line of sight, Job judged God by his own perspective. Remember, we see what we want to see, what we are educated to see. So Job saw his own wisdom, his own works, and they blocked his view of God in His greatness. The carnal mind is trained to do this.

It takes great determination, discipline in study and in prayer, and meditation to break oneself of that natural, carnal mode of thinking. Even when we succeed, we have to understand that our vision of God still has to be constantly replenished—"day by day," Paul says (II Corinthians 4:16)—and upgraded, refocused, exercised, as it were, in the truth.

Job's case is particularly interesting. Job thought he knew God well, but he was painfully unaware that there was still much that he did not know. During his sufferings, he threw a great many direct challenges at God in an effort either to justify himself or to understand why he was going through this trial. Yet, God never directly answered any of Job's challenges! Instead, beginning in chapter 38, He leads Job to see his own insignificance in light of God's greatness. Most people do not realize that in the entire book Job never repents of sin. Sin is not the issue! The issue is that, despite Job's extensive knowledge of God, he did not see Him as all-powerful! He did realize that God alone puts down evil and brings to pass all of His holy will.

We can tell the real issue in the book of Job by what God says in chapters 38-41. God makes two speeches. It is not self-righteousness that God addresses, but Job's questioning of God's justice in the governance of His creation.

When Job opens his mouth to speak in Job 42:1-6, it is to tell God that he got the point: God's purpose is all that counts! In addition, since He is God, He can bring it to pass. God has the right, the will, and the loving nature to do anything He pleases to anybody at any time—and good will result.

Do we believe that? A caution, however: A man as spiritually mature as Job did not—until the end of the book.

— John W. Ritenbaugh

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🏳️‍🌈✝️ Obey His Voice — Choose Life!

 

Written By Rand Kreycik

 

01/28/2018 

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“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him....” Deuteronomy 30:19-20a 

 

What a wayward people the Israelites were! Instead of contentedly following God’s good plan for their lives, they were constantly grumbling and wishing to choose their own way. Even on the very threshold of the good land God had promised them, they began demanding to go back to Egypt – to slavery – away from the life that God longed to give them (see Numbers 14:1-4).

In Deuteronomy 30, a generation later, after almost all the rebellious Israelites had died in the desert, Moses recounted to the people how good and patient God had been to them — and would continue to be with them — if they would only listen and decide to obey their faithful God’s voice to choose life.

 

Silly Israelites! I’m glad I’m not like them. Oh, but how often I am! How often would I have chosen a way of death until my merciful God pulled me back from the brink? How grateful I am that He has never given up on me. This motivates me to listen, obey, and choose life daily!

Has your own way ever seemed better than God’s? Have you ever felt so far from God that you believe He has given up on you? Be assured that He always offers forgiveness and life to those who turn from their own ways and seek His. He is ready and waiting for you to choose His life.

Lord God, only you know how often I have almost chosen death instead of your gracious way of life. Thank you for never letting me go! Help me every day to hear your voice, to walk in your ways, to choose the life you long to give me. Amen.

 

Go Deeper — The next time you have a major decision to make, ask God which way you should choose and listen for the answer. Then be open to His response and obey it.

🏳️‍🌈✝️Putting Off the Weight

The Apostolic Faith Church

01/28/2018

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Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. – Hebrews 12:1

Recently, a man who installed an appliance in my home told me of an older lady in his church who held Bible studies at her home one evening each week. Sometimes there were up to forty or more people who attended. This lady was saving up money to buy new furniture, which she eventually was able to do. After she got her new furniture, she became quite concerned about maintaining its nice condition. She made a point of admonishing the people who came to her Bible studies to be careful how they treated her furniture. Many became so self-conscious that they simply quit coming to her home, until she only had about ten people attending. 

One night, this lady had a dream that the Rapture had taken place. She felt herself going up, but she saw other people passing her by as she rose toward Heaven. She could not figure out why this was happening until she looked down and there was all of her furniture tied to her feet! The next Sunday evening at church, she stood up and asked for forgiveness, saying that she had let her furniture become more important than the Bible studies. 

How easily possessions can become major priorities in our lives, perhaps even without our realizing it. Like this woman, probably all of us have experienced what it is like to anticipate a particular purchase and diligently save our money until we can afford to buy it. Then, once we finally have that item, we want to do everything we can to enjoy it as much as possible. This is not a problem, unless our possessions become more important to us than doing God’s work. We must always remember that everything we have comes from God and should be used for His glory.

The focus verse tells us that we are running a spiritual race, and we do not want to have anything weighing us down. If we are finding it difficult to detach ourselves from the “stuff” in our lives, we can ask God to help us get rid of it. It may not happen the same way as it did for the woman with the new furniture, but somehow God will help us keep things in the right perspective!

 

🏳️‍🌈✝️ Keep all the commandments of the Lord

Rainbow Pastor David 

01/28/2018

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BELOVED, I TOOK A HUGE RISK WHEN I CREATED MANKIND in My own image.  I made you with the potential to reverence and love Me freely, without coercion.  In doing so, I gave you freedom to treat Me as an equal – or worse.  I paid enormously for your freedom - with My own blood.  This payment has made it possible for you to know Me - the King of kings and Lord of lords.  When one of My children draws near to Me in reverent awe, I open My heart and offer intimate friendship.  The Joy we share in one another cannot be measured.  
 
From time to time you overstep your bounds, forgetting who I AM.  You talk to Me carelessly, even slanderously.  Our intimacy is hindered by your irreverent attitude, but My Love for you is constant.  When you remember My majestic Presence and return to Me repentantly.  I rush to meet you and enfold you in My embrace.  I celebrate with you the Joy of being close again, as we walk together down the path of Life.

"Until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in His own time - God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords."  1 Timothy 6:14-15

 

🏳️‍🌈✝️ Turn Your Idols into Dust

Written by Hannah Goodwyn - Senior Producer

01/28/2018

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Jesus often spoke in parables to teach his followers truths about the way God sees us and how we should live. He also revealed visions and dreams to strong believers in order to warn or alert them.

In the same way, God sometimes illustrates a point to me about His ways or my spiritual state based on a personal experience. Sitting in church this past Sunday, I felt the Holy Spirit quicken a recent memory of my visit to a museum where I encountered a gold-plated statue honoring the Greek goddess Athena. This moment became etched in my mind as God began to set the scene for what would be a powerful teaching lesson directly from His heart.

Walking into the temple hall, I gazed at the altar. As I inched closer, I began to recognize the fierce look of the illuminated statue. Towering over me was a gold-encased figure that commanded my attention. Her shine was brilliant and her detail had to have been carved with careful hands. This golden woman brought such a terrible feeling upon me. I sensed myself honoring this idol with my silent respect. Standing before it, I was arrested, mesmerized by its enormity and grandeur. I was ignorant of the man who stood behind me. With a whisper, he seized my soul. It was Christ himself. With assurance in His eyes, He offered mercy. In tandem, we reached out our hands to the golden idol, turning it to dust.

Immediately, I felt this overwhelming peace deep within me. As I reviewed these images, I realized that all too often we allow “idols” to replace God in our hearts. Instead of honoring the Lord with our energy, our desires, and our time, we invest them in worthless dreams and fleeting pleasures. Our culture also has created idols that many committed Christians glorify. Even the “American Dream” becomes a dangerous ideal when it consumes our lives. We are hounded by the desire to gain wealth so that we may find true fulfillment. Men and women alike give themselves to their careers to achieve “power” in the marketplace. Even beyond these seemingly legitimate ideals are the secret sins we feed with our pride – namely greed, gluttony, lust, and hatred. We build these idols because we find comfort in our greed, security in our possessions, and even power as we judge each other.

Obeying the commandments God gave to Moses on Mt. Sinai is central to our faith. His first two commands speak directly to our tendency as flawed people to turn away from our Savior.

You must not have any other god but me. You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected — even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those[a] who love me and obey my commands. (Exodus 20:3-6, NLT)

God is jealous for our affection. He doesn’t want half of your heart, but all of you.
Our sins and false senses of security bring us no relief. As Habakkuk 2:18 states, idols are lifeless statues. These gods are made by our hands and can do nothing for us (Psalm 115:4-7). They only distract from the one True God.

In the vision, God in the flesh was quick to forgive my idolatry. His mercy wiped away the mistakes I was making even in that moment.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8, NIV)

Even in the midst of our darkness, Christ reaches out His hand of forgiveness. Grab hold of His grace and allow Him to turn the gods you’ve worshiped into ashes on the floor.

Copyright © Hannah Goodwyn 2007. Used with permission.

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🏳️‍🌈✝️ Hang On Tight

The Apostolic Faith Church

01/27/2018

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What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. – Psalm 56:3

On a day when there was no school, I took my nine-year-old granddaughter to the school playground to give her a chance to try playing on the bars. At the time, she was recovering from a fractured elbow and dislocated arm due to being kicked by a young horse. Her cast had recently been removed, but her arm was still weak, and she could not yet totally straighten it. Before her accident, she loved playing on the bars at school, so with permission from the doctor to do “anything a kid would do,” we headed over to the climbing structure.

She climbed up on the middle bar, but then lost her nerve. She asked if I would help her get back down. Knowing that I would not be with her on a normal school day, I instead encouraged her to do it on her own. She moved back close to a post and hung on, just sitting there. I coached her on how to get down, and although she was afraid at first, by following my directions she made it back to the lower bar where she successfully did a flip upside down. Then she let go with her hands and, hanging by her knees, touched the ground. She was able to get down easily from there.

This experience reminded me of how God helps us through situations that seem overwhelming. When we face tasks that are frightening to us, we may not know what to do at first, and the fear of making a mistake can be paralyzing. If we will only remember that God wants us to be like children when we find ourselves in uncomfortable situations! When we feel unsure of ourselves, the Lord is always right beside us, encouraging us to keep pressing on. He may not come in and miraculously take away our trials; He wants us to grow and learn from these experiences. But He will be our guide and help us each step of the way. All we have to do is hang on tight and follow His instructions.