Posted by: missionventureministries | April 26, 2011

THE BLESSED HOPE –Thessalonians 4:16-17

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. – 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

The crucifixion had taken place on Passover, while the sacrificial lambs were being prepared. This Jewish holiday always falls on a full moon, and three days later, “very early in the morning” (Luke 24:1),“while it  was still dark” (John 20:1), Jesus rose from the dead. Only the morning star and the waning moon shone  down upon His tomb as it opened. Jerusalem’s shadows had not yet retreated, and its citizens were still asleep. Yes it was still night, during the hours of darkness and sleep, when He arose, but His rising did not break the slumbering of the city.

And it will be during the darkness of the early morning, while only the morning star is shining, that Christ’s body, His church, will arise. “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20). “But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are  Christ’s at His coming” (1 Corinthians 15:23). Like Jesus, His saints will awake while the children of the night and darkness are still sleeping.  And the believers will “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we (those who have  accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior) will be changed.” (1 Corinthians 15:52)

Upon rising, the saints will disturb no one, and the world will not hear the voice that summons them. As  quietly as Jesus has laid each of their bodies to rest, each in their own silent grave, so also like children held in the arms of their mother, He will just as quietly and gently awake them when the hour arrives.

Into their graves the earliest ray of glory will find its way and each will hear His voice, as Jesus calls his own  by name and awakens each of His saints to the sound of the trumpet of God. As they arise, they will soak up the first light of morning, while the clouds of the eastern sky will give only the faintest hint of the believers being caught up. The gentle fragrance of the morning, along with its soothing stillness, invigorating freshness, sweet loneliness, and quiet purity, all so solemn and yet so full of hope, will be theirs.

Oh what a great blessings this day will be! Those who trusted in Jesus will be tossing mortality aside, and will rise with glorifies bodies and so “the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord” – 1 Thessalonians 4:17

The light of “the bright Morning Star” (Revelation 22:16) will guide the saints upward in the direction of the sound of the trumpet. The rays of the Morning Star will, like the star of Bethlehem, be directing the saints to the presence of the King of kings. Hallelujah! “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day or the hour” –   Matthew 25:13.

Jesus said: “I am coming quickly.” Amen! “Come,
Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20)

Maranatha!

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Posted by: missionventureministries | April 19, 2011

The Greatest Commandment – Deuteronomy 6:5 and Matthew 22:37-40

“Jesus said to him, you shall love the Lord your God with all your  heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” – Matthew 22:37-40

The two greatest commandments are listed here. When we read the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, the first four of the ten emphasize are in loving God and the last six loving our neighbor.

The first commandment appears in Deuteronomy 6:5 and the second in Leviticus 19:18 and is commanded by God Himself, “but you shall love your neighbor as you love yourself: I am the Lord.”

The Bible is filled with commandments about loving God and one another: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words which I am commanding you this day shall be first in your own minds and hearts. You shall sharpen them to make them penetrate, and teach them diligently upon the minds and hearts of your children, and you shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up” – Deuteronomy 6:5-7.

When we carefully read over these verses, we can see that loving God is not an option – it is a commandment. If we love anyone or anything more than the Lord, then that person or thing is our god, but if we love Him with all our might, then He is our God the King of kings and Lord of Lords, our Creator, Redeemer and Savior.

After establishing the first commandment, to diligently serve Him, keep His statutes, precepts, ordinances and obey His every command, He goes on to tell us: “You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself” – Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31.

What happens to religious people who attend church but refuse to love and obey the Lord? There is a difference between going to church for an hour or two on Sunday; and having a deep and spiritual relationship with God the Father through our Messiah Jesus. This is what Jesus Himself said about religious people: ‘Woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe but disregard justice and bypass the love of God … Woe to you, Pharisees! For you love the best seats … Woe to you Pharisees! For you are like graves which are not marked and men walk over them and don’t know it’ – Luke 11:42-44.

On another occasion Jesus said: “I know you and understand that you do not have the love of God in you’ – John 5:42. And Paul mentioned in his letter to Timothy: “They will be lovers of self, rather than lovers of God, for although they have a form of Godliness they deny the power of God. Avoid all such people and turn away from them’ – 2 Timothy 3:2-5.

People who refuse to love God are warned: “Woe to them”. In other words, they are doomed unless they repent of their sins and turn to God. Just going to church and being religious is far from being enough;  neither is claiming a religion. How many hundreds of people are mislead by thinking that claiming to be a Christian is enough to get them to heaven? Yet they rarely attend church; never give God any of their time, and the only time they say the name of Jesus is as an expletive.

Even worse are idol-worshippers praying to statues and having these images in their homes. These, need to be taught and realize that allegiance is to the One and only living God, our Creator and Savior. They need to repent otherwise they will never enter the Kingdom of God. Just simply claiming a religion is not enough. Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” – John 14:6

Loving God with all our soul means that we should love God with our whole life – our whole being, it does not mean to be a two hour a week Christian who sits in church and warms a seat, someone who is involved in an empty religion and who finds a way to squeeze God into their lives as a religious afterthought. Furthermore, we should love God even to the point of sacrificing our lives for Him. Jesus Himself did that for us and that is what Jesus is calling us to do. To be acceptable to God, we are to be ‘living sacrifices’. That means we are to live wholly for God, to consciously commit ourselves to loving the Lord, if needed, to the point of death. “I appeal to you, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and well pleasing to God which is your reasonable service” – Romans 12:1.

Jesus loved the Father and He listened, paid attention and obeyed Him. Jesus loved us with all of His life and soul, right up until He breathed His last breath. ‘Before the Passover Feast began, Jesus knew that the time had come for Him to leave this world and return to the Father. And as He had loved those who were His own in the world, He loved them to the very end’ – John 13:1. Jesus loved us with His whole heart (He loved us enough to die for us), with His whole life and soul (He gave up His spirit for us), with His whole mind (He made a conscious decision to willingly go to the cross for us), and with all His strength (He poured out His blood for us as a living sacrifice) so we need to love God with the same total commitment.

May we learn with the help of the Holy Spirit to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” Amen!

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Posted by: missionventureministries | April 12, 2011

A Living Sacrifice and Humble Service in the Body of Christ – Romans 12:1-3 – Part 1 of 2

1Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.  3For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. – Romans 12:1-3

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy . . . Here Paul is speaking to us Christians. It is possible to commit our lives to the Lord for the purpose of salvation and yet not be yielded to the Lord in our daily lives. It is only when we make the total sacrifice in every area of our lives that we begin to see God’s perfect will manifest through our lives.

Paul used the mercies of God to encourage these Romans to give themselves totally to God. It is the goodness of God that leads people to repentance. (Romans 2:4)

To present  your bodies as living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God . . . We are the ones who have to make this presentation of our bodies to the Lord. He will not do it for us. We cannot just rebuke the flesh and expect it to disappear. We have to give our bodies to God as living sacrifices daily. We have to die to our own
desires daily. This has to be a living, ongoing commitment to the Lord.

This is your true and proper worship . . . Many Christians think that living lives totally consecrated to God is something that only preachers or a few religious people do. They see it as “extra” and “not normal” Christianity. However, Paul said this level of commitment is true and proper worship. Jesus died for each one of us, so each one of us ought to live for Him.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world . . . This scripture is telling us that we should be different than the unbelievers. Most of us as Christians recognize this, but we seem at a loss as to how to accomplish it. This verse goes on to give us the answer. The key is our minds. As we read in Proverbs 23:7 “For as he thinks in his
heart, so is he.”

If we think on the same things that the world thinks, we are going to get the same results. If we keep our minds stayed upon God through the study of His Word and fellowship with Him, then we will have perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3). It’s that simple.

But be transformed by the renewing of your mind. . . The word “transformed” is describing a complete change, like that of a caterpillar changing into a butterfly. This word is also the same word that was used to describe Jesus’ transformation when His face shone and His garments became white as the light (Matthew 17:2). Making our thinking line up with God’s Word will affect this complete transformation in our lives.

When people are born again, they become totally new creations in their spirits. Their spiritual salvation is complete. “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power” – Colossians 2:9-10. However, it is not God’s will that we only be changed on the inside; He wants to manifest this salvation in our physical lives also. That takes place through the renewing of our minds. If we fail to renew our minds, we can live our entire time on this earth without experiencing the abundant life that Jesus provided for us (John 10:10).

Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will . . . Finding God’s will for our lives is not hard when we do what these verses instruct us to do. As a matter of fact, it would be impossible to ignore God’s will once we commit ourselves to Him as living sacrifices and begin to renew our minds. Finding God’s will for our lives only becomes hard if we are not totally committed to the Lord. God’s will for all of us is to be living sacrifices to Him. Once that is accomplished, more specific direction will come as we renew our minds.

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Please continue this study in part 2 of 2

https://missionventureministries.wordpress.com/2011/04/12/a-living-sacrifice-and-humble-service-in-the-body-of-christ-%e2%80%93-romans-121-3-part-2-of-2/

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Posted by: missionventureministries | April 12, 2011

A Living Sacrifice and Humble Service in the Body of Christ – Romans 12:1-3 – Part 2 of 2

1Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.  3For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. – Romans 12:1-3

In verses one and two of chapter 12 of Romans, Paul gave a “foolproof” formula for our success. However, to keep anyone from gloating at the tremendous potential of these promises, he made it clear in Romans 12:3 that everyone has been given the same potential. And in Romans 12:4-8, he revealed that people all have different functions, and all need each other.

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you . . . This gives double emphasis to the fact that Paul is speaking to all believers, not just especially gifted ones. First, it is to every one of you. Second, by referring to his apostleship as a gift of God’s grace, he acknowledges that his position and his ministry abilities come
from God and not himself (take a look at what he wrote in the letter to the Ephesians 3:7-9).

Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather…with sound judgment . . . Paul begins his discussion of spiritual gifts with an appeal to humility. If it were up to us, many would choose the “in the spot light” gifts, such as teaching or leadership. But exercising those gifts properly requires just as much humility as exercising the “less visible” gifts of serving or mercy. They all come from God, and are all meant to be used for His glory, not our own. We need to be sober-minded (have a clear thinking) about ourselves; not arrogant or prideful, but on the other hand not denying that God can work through us. If God has given us a gift we do not need to keep reminding people what that gift is, we need to humbly follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit and use it for the glory of God.

In accordance with the measure of faith God has given you . . . This refers to the measure, or measuring stick, we should use to evaluate ourselves which is the Christian faith. In other words, God’s Word should guide the way we think about ourselves and not our self-esteem or lack thereof.

Paul was saying we need to remember that God has given every believer a measure of faith. This gives us clear understanding (sober thinking) to recognize that what we have is a gift from God that every child of God possesses. Some of us live up to more of our potential than others, but it is only God’s mercy that makes it possible for any of us to accomplish anything, therefore we should not boast. We were all given an equal  amount of faith at salvation. The problem is not that we don’t have faith, but rather we don’t know how to use our faith, because of a lack of renewing our minds.

Paul said he was living his Christian life by the faith of the Son of God (Galatians 2:20). Since we all have been given “the” measure of faith, then that means we all have the faith of the Son of God in us. Our faith is sufficient and the problem we might be experiencing is a result of our minds not knowing what we have; therefore you should “trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” – Proverbs 3:5-6

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To read Part 1 of 2 click on the link below

https://missionventureministries.wordpress.com/2011/04/12/a-living-sacrifice-and-humble-service-in-the-body-of-christ-%e2%80%93-romans-121-3-part-1-of-2/

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Posted by: missionventureministries | April 5, 2011

PERFECT PEACE – Isaiah 26:3

“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in You”  –  Isaiah 26:3

In order for us to have peace, all we need to do is to focus our minds on God; it is as simple as that. When we focus our minds on the Lord, then along with that focus comes trust in Him and in His power.

As we look at Isaiah, we see that this wonderful promise was given in the darkest period of Israel’s history. With all that is going on in the world today, this verse should prove to be of special help to us today. Many people are surrounded by much gloominess and depression and when we are constantly threatened with the three great enemies of doubt, fear and worry, we need to keep our minds fixed on the Lord and realize how precious and comforting these words become to us.

You will keep in perfect peace. Peace is a condition of freedom from disturbance within our soul; it is perfect harmony reigning within us. The peace which God offers is very practical and which by His grace we can experience. It is none other than trusting in our Lord. Just like Paul wrote to the Philippians: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near, do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:4-7

As we look at these words and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus, we realize how blessed we are as Christians, because this peace belongs to those who rest on the finished work of Christ for salvation.

The Lord Jesus Christ procured peace for us upon the cross of Calvary, and that peace is conveyed to our hearts and minds by the Holy Spirit as stated in Galatians 5:22: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness”.

Psalm 119:165 tells us that “great peace have those who love your law (commandments), and nothing can make them stumble. And again as we look up Leviticus 26:3-6 we see a very important word “if”. God gives us a guarantee that if we will walk in His statutes and keep His commandments, He will keep our hearts in perfect peace. If we will do our part, then God will surely do His part.

Those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in You. Those who are dedicated and committed to God and who trust in Him, these will experience this wonderful promise. This requires faith, we believe with our mind and we trust with our heart that God will give what He promises.

We need to keep in mind that God’s peace is not always the removal of troubles in our lives but it is His presence that gives us a freedom on the inside of our soul. Thus even in the midst of sorrow, sickness, and sadness, we can have peace.
We should always “trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.” – Proverbs 3:5-6 
Jesus spoke about peace to His disciples near the time of His capture and death. He said “peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled neither let them be afraid.” –  John 14:27
 

So, he who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust!” – Psalms 91:1-2

May you experience God’s perfect peace as you keep your mind fixed on Him and place your trust in Him.

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Posted by: missionventureministries | March 29, 2011

FAITH COMES FROM HEARING THE WORD ABOUT CHRIST –Romans 10:17

“So faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” – Romans 10:17 

Before a person believes on Christ he must HEAR. Jesus . . . said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” and He answered, “Who is He, Lord that I may believe in Him?” Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you.” And he said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped Him. John 9:35-38

A person cannot believe in Jesus Christ if he has never heard of Him. Faith is based upon the facts concerning who Christ is and what He has done. The facts are found in the Word of God and those facts must be HEARD. “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”

Before a person can hear, he must have the gospel presented to them, or they must have the opportunity to read a tract about the “Good News”. Without someone presenting the gospel message there can be no faith and no salvation. Believers have an awesome responsibility in this, because we are the instruments God uses to evangelize.

Verse 10:15 in Romans asks: “How will they preach unless they are sent?”  Before a person can preach, they must be sent by God! God is the One who does the sending! God, not man, sends forth His servants and His missionaries. We do the praying: “Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest” – Matthew 9:38 and God will do the sending.

It would be wonderful if everyone who heard the gospel would believe the good news and be saved. The tragedy is that the great majority of those who hear the gospel reject it: “However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT?” – Romans 10:16

How tragic! God has good news and people don’t want it! They reject God’s offer of peace (v.15). They reject God’s invitation to be saved for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

Trying to pierce a sinner’s heart without the Bible is like a soldier trying to pierce the enemy’s heart without a sword. Believers do not need to defend the Bible nor do they need to try to prove that it is true. They simply need to use the Bible, trusting a great God to honor His Word and do the work in the hearts of men and women. God’s Word will go forth and accomplish its purpose: “So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it” – Isaiah 55:11.

God’s emissaries must be those that teach the truths from the Scriptures. May we never substitute our own ideas, opinions or philosophies for the pure, unadulterated truth of God’s Word! “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation–having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,” –  Ephesians 1:13. Faith comes by hearing the gospel!

 

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Posted by: missionventureministries | March 22, 2011

CALL UNTO ME – Jeremiah 33:3

“Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” – Jeremiah 33:3

This is one of the great promises of the Bible. “Call unto Me. . .” – this is where it begins, with God.

In this verse Jeremiah is being counseled by God Himself to pray in prison. For forty years the prophet Jeremiah had warned that Judah and Jerusalem would be destroyed for their sins, and now the armies of Babylon were at the very walls of the city. Zedekiah the king does not want him prophesying the ruin of Judah, so Jeremiah has been cast into a pit in prison. To the human thought it was beyond any doubt that God’s promises to Israel were all going to fail. It was exactly in that dark time that God comes to His servant with words of encouragement.

If prayer begins with God, then why do we run to people for advice, when Almighty God stands and waits for us to call upon Him? There is no balm in Gilead apart from the Great Physician (Jeremiah 8:22). Throughout the Scriptures there are words of action, commands, directives, and here we are to be active in calling unto Him. How often do we call upon God? Is it as often as we call a family member or friend? The problem most humans have is that they call everybody else, but not God.

We need to call upon God without ceasing. “And I will answer thee. . .” No doubt, some fear that they will call or they have called and no answer came. But believe these words here, “I will answer thee”. In His time and in His way He will answer.

As patient as God has been waiting for us to call upon Him, so should we also wait before Him trusting and believing that He will answer. He has been faithful in the past to answer. Some people need help in their faith to believe this; however we need to believe that the Lord will answer and wait patiently upon Him.

How great is our God. “For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised” – 1 Chronicles 16:25, for there is nothing too hard for Him. There is nothing which He cannot do, for God is able to do all things. So how great and mighty will these works be? Beyond our understanding that is for sure. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” – Isaiah 55:9

The Scriptures tells us of God’s mighty deeds. The parting of the Red Sea, the provisions for the children of Israel for 40 years, water out of a rock, food from heaven, giants slain, lions mouths held shut, to name a few. Who can do such great and mighty things as our God? There is none else, only God and He alone that can do these great and mighty things in our midst and for His glory.

We need to believe in the mighty God “who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think – Ephesians 3:20. We need to trust in Him and believe in Him that He is able. “Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”  

Let us be reminded that we know very little about the future and are assured only those things that are written in the Bible. We need therefore, to walk close to the Lord because we do not know what will happen, today, tomorrow or next week, but God does. Remember our adversary the devil is seeking us, we do not know how he will attack and come against us. We do not know what temptations lie before us that will cause us to be tempted and sin against our Lord. We do not know what man will to do us, but God knows all things and He moves the events of man and time for His own purpose. He knows our needs; He knows our weakness; He knows what we face and He wants us to “call unto Him” so He is able to work great wonders to provide, to heal, to answer, to shield, to save and to do all things for His glory. There is hope if we believe in our Creator, so then, let us hold fast to this marvelous verse of a promise from God.

Prayer lifts you up on high, above the swirling tumult of the present, to see the purposes of God in Christ and to know that these purposes shall forever stand. Prayer brings us to know the love of God in Jesus Christ so that by faith, the gift of God, you might say, I am persuaded “that neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” – Romans 8:39.  That is the blessing of prayer.

Is there anything as precious as that? That is why God must lead us often in the way of trial, to humble us and to teach us to trust in Him and pray. May God Himself speak to you today these words: “Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”

 

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Posted by: missionventureministries | March 7, 2011

DO NOT LOOK BACK; KEEP YOUR EYE UPON JESUS – Luke 9:62

Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” – Luke 9:62

“Looking back” does not mean we are only evaluating the progress we made since deciding to leave the world. Instead, it is like Lot’s wife when she looked back; she became a pillar of salt. She probably had a change of heart. Doubting the wisdom of God’s gift of protection, she placed a higher priority in what she was leaving behind, her earthy possessions. In doing so; her action indicated regret for having left Sodom and for that she paid with her life.

Like Lot’s wife, when we look back we are looking at the world, however to succeed in God’s ways it requires keeping an eye upon Jesus with conviction. Abraham was a wonderful example, he left his homeland without ever looking back and “he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God” – Hebrews 11:10.

As Christians we cannot go towards the Kingdom with our attention diverted elsewhere. We must be prepared to put God first in all things.

When athletes run in a race, they do not look back for fear of losing the focus and falling, which will also endanger the other athletes.

Looking at Peter we see another example. When he walked on the sea towards Jesus, he was doing fine while he kept his eyes on Him, but the minute he started focusing on external circumstances like the storm and waves and everything around him, he started to sink.

In our Christian walk we need to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. We need to realize that the Lord is in control of our lives. We need to remember that the past is dead and gone. Neither you nor I can change a thing about it or bring it into the present. We also cannot do anything about the future; it is in God’s hands. All we can work with is the here and the now. We need to deal with our present reality without looking over our shoulder.

We need to ask God what He wants us to do today, and leave the past behind. Look to the future instead, and memorize Galatians 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” We do not have to see the road ahead of us to take the first step in faith. God will make the way. God sees the entire road; He is the one that has the map for our life if we will only let Him be our guide.

In Genesis 22:7-8 when Isaac asked his father  “The fire and wood are here,” “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” and  “Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.”

 

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Posted by: missionventureministries | March 1, 2011

YOU COULD BE IN SERIOUS DANGER! – Revelation 20:15

Because we care for you, your family and your friends, we have made available a very important article concerning your eternal destiny. Please share this with those that need to be aware where they are going to spend eternity.

To learn about what the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has told us in the Bible please click on the following link:

THE TRUTH ABOUT HELL

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Posted by: missionventureministries | February 22, 2011

FOLLOW THOSE WHO ARE TRUE TO THE WORD OF GOD – 2 Timothy 3:10-12

“But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions I endured. And out of them all, the Lord delivered me. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”

Paul exposed the false leaders and reminded Timothy that he (Paul) had been a faithful servant of God. It is important in these difficult days that we follow the right spiritual leaders.

What are their characteristics?

Their lives are open for all to see – “You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life” (NIV) – 2 Timothy 3:10. Paul had nothing to hide. Like his Master, he could say, “I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus replied. “I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret.” – John 18:20. To Agrippa Paul told “the Jewish people all know the way I have lived ever since I was a child, from the beginning of my life in my own country, and also in Jerusalem” – Acts 26:4. Timothy had lived and labored with Paul and knew the man well. Paul had not hidden behind extravagant claims or religious propaganda.

They teach true doctrine – “My doctrine” or “my teaching” in Paul’s case meant the true faith, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. No matter how appealing a preacher may be, if he does not preach the truth of God’s word, he does not deserve our support. On radio and TV today, we have a great deal of “pseudo-Christianity” which is a mixture of psychology, success motivation, and false teachers, with a little bit of Bible thrown in, to make it look religious. Beware, be cautious, and watch out!

They practice what they preach – Paul’s “manner or way of life” backed up his messages. He did not preach sacrifice and lived in luxury. He gave to others far more than he received from them. He stood up for the truth even when it meant losing friends and, in the end, losing his life. Paul was a servant, not a celebrity.

Their purpose is to Glorify God – There was never a question about Paul’s “purpose” in ministry: He wanted to do God’s will and finish the work God gave him to do “but none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God”- Acts 20:24.  In the letter to the Philippians he writes: “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” – Philippians 1:21. Paul was a man of “faith” who trusted God to meet his needs. He was a man of “long-suffering” who endured persecution. He was a man of “love” who willingly gave himself to serve others.

The word “perseverance” at the end of 2 Timothy 3:10 means “endurance, the ability to stick with it when the going gets tough.”

They are willing to suffer – “persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions I endured. And out of them all, the Lord delivered me. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution”- 2 Timothy 3:11-12. Paul did not ask others to suffer for him, however, he suffered for others. The fact that he was persecuted from city to city was proof that he was living a godly life. Some people today have the idea that godliness means escaping persecution, when just the opposite is true.

The times are not going to get better, but we Christians can become better people, even in bad times. We must separate ourselves from that which is false, devote ourselves to that which is true, and continue in our study of the Word of God. Then God can equip us for ministry in these difficult days, and we will have the joy of seeing others come to the knowledge of the truth.

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