Proverbs Chapter 18 on October 18th
The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?…Words satisfy the soul as food satisfies the stomach; the right words… bring satisfaction …for the tongue can…nourish life. (Proverbs 18:14 & 20-21, KJV/NLT) It has been said that if a person repeats an action or a task 21 days in a row, it will become a habit. One of the habits we so desperately need in Pentecostal Tabernacle is the habit of reading God’s Word on a daily basis. And Joshua 1:8 informs us that reading God’s Word daily is tied to our success in this life. With this in mind, I want to challenge our entire congregation to join me on a Bible reading program. I’ve been reading one chapter a day from the book of Proverbs. Why? Because, first of all, it is a book full of wisdom, which is the most important thing a person can get (Proverbs 4:7). Secondly, the word “Proverbs” means “for or on behalf of words.” Words are so important that they can literally shape a person’s destiny and strengthen their life. The book of Proverbs can teach us how to use our words judiciously in order to produce the effect God desires in the lives of those whom receive of our words. Thus, I challenge you to join me in reading one chapter per day in the Book of Proverbs. With today’s date being October 18th, you can start today by reading Proverbs Chapter 18. I believe that by November 7th you will experience the benefits and satisfaction that can only come from God’s words of wisdom. I invite you to join me, and I can hardly wait to see the...
read morePressing the Refresh Button
Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything. The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. (Proverbs 11:24-25, NLT) Many of us have come to understand that the refresh button on our computer allows a static (i.e. showing little or no change or movement) page to update information that has changed. Refresh means to provide new vigor and energy by rest, food, etc., to stimulate (the memory), reinvigorate, cheer, or freshen in appearance, color, etc. The word translated refresh in this Scripture is the Hebrew word ravah, which means: to soak or water (abundantly). Far too often when we are feeling drained, tired, dry, or exhausted our response is to do something that often makes matters worse. Reverting to actions such as eating far too much, sitting in front of a television or computer screen far too long, or hanging out with people who are far too far from God can only lead us to feeling more exhausted spiritually and emotionally. This Scripture informs us that we can press the refresh button on our spirit and soul (mind, emotion, and will power) if we would choose to not be self-centered but instead experience new vigor or energy by bringing reinvigoration and cheer to others. Maybe this is the week for you to take time to send a card, an email, a text, or an old-fashioned telephone call to someone for whom the pages life have grown static. These are folks where there’s been little or no change in their lives. Daily they are trudging through the monotony of raising children, a boring or dead end job, constant financial pressures, academic stress, the list goes on… And though some of us may say that the situations just described sound more like our own lives, this Scripture indicates that our actions can have restorative powers not only in the lives of those to whom we decide to extend God’s generosity, but in our own lives in the...
read moreFresh Bread: Not Added Favor but Multiplied Favor
Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord (2 Peter 1:1-2, KJV) One of my favorite scriptures in the Bible is found in Matthew 6:33: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (NKJV). I love the “things added” part. However, when it comes to good stuff from God, I’d much prefer to have things “multiplied” to me as opposed to simply added. Peter tells us that we can actually put ourselves in a position where we can cause God to switch from simply adding His blessings to us, to multiplying them. A simple definition of the word “grace” is the word “favor”. I use an acronym that helps me define the word “favor”. It is the word P.A.S.S. God gives me His grace and His favor because He wants to pass me and not fail me. P.A.S.S. means: Promote Appreciate (as oppose to depreciate) Side with (Psalm 118:6), and Support. The Scripture tells us that we can have God’s grace, favor, P.A.S.S. multiplied to us, but it occurs “through knowledge of God and Jesus.” The etymology (original definition) of the word “knowledge” is “The practice of perceiving the truth.” The Bible—God’s Word—is truth. (John 17:17; John 8:31-32, NLT). Thus, the more we read the Bible, the more we perceive the truth about God and Jesus. But there’s a problem! In a poll taken by the Gallup Organization in October, 2000, 59% of Americans reported that they read the Bible at least occasionally. This is down from 73% in the 1980s. The percentage of Americans who read the Bible at least once a week is 37%. This is down slightly from 40% in 1990 (see: Americans and the Bible). And if these statistics were trending downward in the 90s, then they are probably even worse as we head into a new decade. With statistics such as these, can there be any wonder as to why we are experiencing only added grace instead of multiplied and abundant grace? How do we change this? Joshua 1:8 and Psalm 1:2 instruct us to meditate (spend a lot of time) in the Word of God. It’s been said that if a person does something 21 days in a row, it will become a habit. So, here’s your homework: This month, read one chapter in the Book of Proverbs every day. Do not read two in one day and nothing the next. The goal is to establish the discipline of practicing the perception of the truth about God and our Lord Jesus. Get ready for multiplied favor is waiting for you. I invite your...
read moreThe New iPod Touch
On September 7th, Apple did it again by releasing its new iPod nano. What makes this new nano different from the old are the added features of video recording and an FM radio with live pausing. You may or may not like Apple’s products, but it cannot be denied that this company has the reputation of being cool, innovative, and able to grow. We at Pentecostal Tabernacle determined that if our church is going to be associated with being cool, innovative, and growing, then we must also focus on having a new “iPod touch”. Therefore, at the beginning of the year we determined that our congregation would consistently work on four areas (iPod): 1. Influencers (Developing strong leaders) 2. Pastoral Care (Providing good spiritual care for our members) 3. Organization (Becoming better managers of all our resources, especially our talented partners) 4. Discipleship (Fulfilling our Lord’s commission, found in Matthew 28:19, to make disciples) Thus, the free iPod nano we are giving out at each of our Back-to-School Sunday services today is a visual reinforcement of our commitment to these four areas. We are renewing our iPod touch because we believe that when churches, organizations, or people continue to develop in these four areas, they do not simply grow, they grow in a healthy manner. So, my question is: Are you growing in these particular areas of your life? If not, then I not only invite you to join us on this journey but I also invite your...
read moreHappy vs. Rejoice
Have you noticed that the Bible does not command us to be happy but does command us to rejoice? When I searched both words in the King James Version of the Bible, I discovered that the word “happy” was used 25 times while the word “rejoice” was used 240. It seems to me that God puts a far higher premium on our rejoicing than our being happy. But the question is, Why? Maybe the reason can be found in the definition of each word. The root word of the adjective “happy” is the word “hap”. This word is defined as, “one’s luck or lot, an occurrence, happening, or accident”. However, the root word of the word “rejoice” is “re” + “gaudium” which is a verb that means “Go back to your source of delight (satisfaction), again and again.” The word “Happy” is an adjective, while “Rejoice” is a verb. Now most of us have learned that an adjective is a word that describes or identifies a noun (a person, place, or thing). Thus, happy is not an action. It is simply an identifier, a description, a result. Therefore, if you are happy now, it just so happened that you are described as being lucky at that moment ,though it was an accident. And that also means you could be identified as unhappy tomorrow. But the word “Rejoice” is a verb, which reflects an action, an exercise, movement, something one does. Happy seems passive. Happy connotes waiting for something to occur that will bring one into a certain place of satisfaction, such as a better job, a romantic relationship, a sunny day, a great sale on a desired item. Rejoice speaks to something that is very active. Rejoice speaks to something I can have control over. Thus, if my source of satisfaction is running, I can go back to running again and again. However, the Bible commands us to “Rejoice in the Lord”; to go back to our source of delight (satisfaction). That source is: The Lord. Psalm 37:4 tells us, “Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” Wow! If we keep going back to make the Lord our source of satisfaction again and again, He will give us the desires of our heart. So which will you choose? Will you choose to wait for some “person (romantic love of your life), place (fantasy vacation) or thing (scholarship, new car, new house, new job) to hap-pen that will in turn bring satisfaction in your life? Or will you, of your own choice, control, and decision keep going back to your source of satisfaction, which can always be found in the Lord who never changes no matter what our circumstances are (Malachi 3:6)? I think I already know the answer, but I do invite your...
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