By Bishop Donald Hilliard
Among the Christmas Eve congregation at 5th Avenue Presbyterian Church was a recovering alcoholic named Jim. It was his first Christmas alone, and when a young family sat down beside him he couldn't handle it. Leaving the church he met Pastor Thomas Tewell who asked where he was going. "Out for a drink," he replied.
Knowing Jim's history, Tewell said, "You can't. Where's your sponsor?" "On vacation," he replied. "I came tonight needing a word of hope and ended up sitting beside this family. If I had my life together, I'd be here with mine."
As the pastor walked to the pulpit he prayed, "God, give me a word of hope for Jim." Then after welcoming the congregation he said, "I have a request. If anyone here is a friend of Bill W.'s, and if you are you'll know it, please meet me in the vestry. (Bill Wilson, better known as Bill W., co-founded Alcoholics Anonymous)
Immediately people from all over the congregation began to respond. Dr. Tewell says, "While I was busy preaching about the Incarnation, the Word was becoming flesh before my eyes!"
As you celebrate Jesus' birth, remember that many around you are hurting; they've lost hope. Don't forget, "The Word became flesh" only because Jesus went out of His way to redeem sinners, lift the fallen, encourage the despairing, and minister to the sick, the lonely and the forgotten.
He said, "In as much as you've done it unto the least...of these...you've done it unto me" (See Mt 25:40). So instead of keeping to yourself this year, reach out to others - go ahead, make it your best Christmas ever!
Bishop Donald Hilliard, Jr. is the Pastor of one church in three locations in New Jersey: Cathedral International in Perth Amboy, Cathedral Assembly by the Shore in Asbury Park, and Cathedral Assembly in the Fields in Plainfield. For more on Bishop Hilliard’s ministry, visit http://www.thecathedral.org.…
Showing posts with label word made flesh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label word made flesh. Show all posts
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Where He Reigns, There Is Peace
By Bishop E. Earl Jenkins
Ira Sankey provided the music for D.L. Moody's evangelistic meetings. One night after singing a solo called "The Shepherd's Song" a stranger asked him, "Did you serve in the Union Army?" When he said yes, the man asked, "Were you on picket duty one moonlit night in the winter of 1860?" When Sankey said yes, the man continued: "Me too. But I was in the Confederate Army, and when I saw you I decided to kill you. Then you started singing that song, so I took my finger off the trigger thinking, 'I'll let him sing then I'll shoot him.' But you stirred up so many childhood memories of my Godly mother that it was impossible for me to follow through. That night when I thought of the God who saved you from certain death, my arm went limp."
Such stories aren't unusual. One Christmas during WWI as Americans and Germans were in their bunkers, somebody started singing, "O Little Town of Bethlehem." Immediately men who'd been shooting at each other began singing in German and English, "O Holy Child of Bethlehem! Descend to us we pray; Cast out our sin and enter in, be born in us today. We hear the Christmas Angels the great glad tidings tell; O come to us, abide with us, Our Lord, Emmanuel."
Jesus is "The Prince of Peace" (See Is 9:6), and the Bible says, "Of...his government and peace there will be no end." Where Christ governs, there's peace! Whether it's a sniper preparing to pick off a sentry or a spouse planning to explode in anger, Jesus can change hearts and bring peace - if you let Him!
Scripture Of The Day: "Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end." - Isaiah 9:7a (NKJV)
Bishop Edward Earl Jenkins is the senior pastor and founder of the True Servant Worship & Praise Church located in Trenton, New Jersey. For over twenty years, Bishop Jenkins’ unique method of preaching and teaching has opened doors to allow him to touch the hearts of many lives near and far. For more information, visit him at http://www.eejministries.org…
Ira Sankey provided the music for D.L. Moody's evangelistic meetings. One night after singing a solo called "The Shepherd's Song" a stranger asked him, "Did you serve in the Union Army?" When he said yes, the man asked, "Were you on picket duty one moonlit night in the winter of 1860?" When Sankey said yes, the man continued: "Me too. But I was in the Confederate Army, and when I saw you I decided to kill you. Then you started singing that song, so I took my finger off the trigger thinking, 'I'll let him sing then I'll shoot him.' But you stirred up so many childhood memories of my Godly mother that it was impossible for me to follow through. That night when I thought of the God who saved you from certain death, my arm went limp."
Such stories aren't unusual. One Christmas during WWI as Americans and Germans were in their bunkers, somebody started singing, "O Little Town of Bethlehem." Immediately men who'd been shooting at each other began singing in German and English, "O Holy Child of Bethlehem! Descend to us we pray; Cast out our sin and enter in, be born in us today. We hear the Christmas Angels the great glad tidings tell; O come to us, abide with us, Our Lord, Emmanuel."
Jesus is "The Prince of Peace" (See Is 9:6), and the Bible says, "Of...his government and peace there will be no end." Where Christ governs, there's peace! Whether it's a sniper preparing to pick off a sentry or a spouse planning to explode in anger, Jesus can change hearts and bring peace - if you let Him!
Scripture Of The Day: "Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end." - Isaiah 9:7a (NKJV)
Bishop Edward Earl Jenkins is the senior pastor and founder of the True Servant Worship & Praise Church located in Trenton, New Jersey. For over twenty years, Bishop Jenkins’ unique method of preaching and teaching has opened doors to allow him to touch the hearts of many lives near and far. For more information, visit him at http://www.eejministries.org…
Thursday, December 16, 2010
The Word Made Flesh
By Pastor James C. Matthews
John 1:14 is one of the most revealing scriptures in the Bible. It not only reveals God Himself having come as one of us, but a kingdom principle that God intends for us to live by. This principle simply stated is: Every word God speaks, He intends for it to be made flesh - or manifest! If this is true, and believers desire to see God's Word manifest in their lives, why is there so little manifestation taking place? It is not that the Word is impotent or insufficient. Far from it! The answer lies in our lack of understanding concerning the biblical principle and process by which God has ordained manifestation occur.
Many people have become frustrated, and even fainted, due to a lack of manifestation in their lives as it pertains to the Word of God. They hear and believe the Word of God, but are still waiting on the promises to manifest in their lives. We misunderstand what the Word of God is and how it manifests in our lives. Manifestation is really the revelation of what was there all the time - it just wasn't visible. Manifestation is a two part process that involves both God and man. God initiates the process by providing the spiritual substance of the thing, then man is responsible for doing what is necessary in the natural to prepare a place for it to manifest. Without both there will be no manifestation.
"Now faith (the Word of God) is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1, brackets added). This scripture reveals that God has provided the substance of all things we hope for through His Word. Our ability to see what we're hoping for is dependent upon a place being prepared in the natural.
This is more clearly seen in John 1:1 and John 1:14. It reads, "In the beginning was the word' ... 'And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." The Word has been there all the time. However, when God decided to make His Word flesh or to manifest it, He had to find a "prepared place" (Mary's womb) for the Pre-existing Word to manifest itself. Man now could see what had been there from the beginning. We first receive a thing by our hearing before it can pass through our hands.
As I considered this revelation, the Holy Spirit revealed to me, there is so little manifestation in believers' lives because they do not understand that God provides for us by speaking to us. Every provision God has given man has come from His mouth. They continue to look for things at the mailbox, another person or through a job, when the authorized means of manifestation begin in the Word. God has done His part - He has given us His Word. We must receive and prepare to see what He has said.
I praise God for His Word that was made flesh! When we were helplessly lost and desperately indebted to sin, God sent His Word to be made flesh for us. The same Word that created all things (Hebrews 11:3, Colossians 1:16), became a man so that He could die for all men and pay a debt that we could not pay. I thank God that His Word became flesh! Even more so, I am glad that His Word has found a prepared place in me and become flesh!
Scripture Of The Day: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." - John 1:14
Pastor James C. (J.C.) Matthews is the founder and Senior Pastor of the multi-cultural non-denominational Dunamis Life Ministries of Dallas, Texas. He is the author of Saved but Stuck: 30 Days to Personal Revival, I’ll Come… When I Get Myself Together, and My Situation Is Not My Destination - Only Preparation. http://www.jcmatthewsministries.com/…
John 1:14 is one of the most revealing scriptures in the Bible. It not only reveals God Himself having come as one of us, but a kingdom principle that God intends for us to live by. This principle simply stated is: Every word God speaks, He intends for it to be made flesh - or manifest! If this is true, and believers desire to see God's Word manifest in their lives, why is there so little manifestation taking place? It is not that the Word is impotent or insufficient. Far from it! The answer lies in our lack of understanding concerning the biblical principle and process by which God has ordained manifestation occur.
Many people have become frustrated, and even fainted, due to a lack of manifestation in their lives as it pertains to the Word of God. They hear and believe the Word of God, but are still waiting on the promises to manifest in their lives. We misunderstand what the Word of God is and how it manifests in our lives. Manifestation is really the revelation of what was there all the time - it just wasn't visible. Manifestation is a two part process that involves both God and man. God initiates the process by providing the spiritual substance of the thing, then man is responsible for doing what is necessary in the natural to prepare a place for it to manifest. Without both there will be no manifestation.
"Now faith (the Word of God) is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1, brackets added). This scripture reveals that God has provided the substance of all things we hope for through His Word. Our ability to see what we're hoping for is dependent upon a place being prepared in the natural.
This is more clearly seen in John 1:1 and John 1:14. It reads, "In the beginning was the word' ... 'And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." The Word has been there all the time. However, when God decided to make His Word flesh or to manifest it, He had to find a "prepared place" (Mary's womb) for the Pre-existing Word to manifest itself. Man now could see what had been there from the beginning. We first receive a thing by our hearing before it can pass through our hands.
As I considered this revelation, the Holy Spirit revealed to me, there is so little manifestation in believers' lives because they do not understand that God provides for us by speaking to us. Every provision God has given man has come from His mouth. They continue to look for things at the mailbox, another person or through a job, when the authorized means of manifestation begin in the Word. God has done His part - He has given us His Word. We must receive and prepare to see what He has said.
I praise God for His Word that was made flesh! When we were helplessly lost and desperately indebted to sin, God sent His Word to be made flesh for us. The same Word that created all things (Hebrews 11:3, Colossians 1:16), became a man so that He could die for all men and pay a debt that we could not pay. I thank God that His Word became flesh! Even more so, I am glad that His Word has found a prepared place in me and become flesh!
Scripture Of The Day: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." - John 1:14
Pastor James C. (J.C.) Matthews is the founder and Senior Pastor of the multi-cultural non-denominational Dunamis Life Ministries of Dallas, Texas. He is the author of Saved but Stuck: 30 Days to Personal Revival, I’ll Come… When I Get Myself Together, and My Situation Is Not My Destination - Only Preparation. http://www.jcmatthewsministries.com/…
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
I Know
By Mike DeVries
There are perhaps no two more powerful words than the words "I know."
I know what you're going through.
I know what it is like.
I know how you are feeling.
I know.
We all long to hear those words, do we not? We all long to believe that there is someone, anyone, who knows what it is like - who knows what we are going through. When you find that certain someone who does know what it is like, doesn't it seem to change everything?
Some two thousand years ago, in a sleepy town in Judea, God did something revolutionary. Rather than offering a voice of concern to a weary world, God did something beyond what anyone could have ever dreamed or imagined.
In Jesus, the Word, the voice, comes to dwell among us.
In the incarnation, we celebrate the reality that God knows and cares enough about people that He chose to dwell among us in a very physical and present sort of way. The unseen God of Israelite history was now the seen God. The invisible made visible.
We are told in the Scriptures that in Jesus "we saw the glory of the one and only." In other words, Jesus was putting God on display. You want to see what God is like? You want to see how to live in harmony with the Creator? Look at Jesus. He is the way and the truth and the life.
In the incarnation is found a large message from God to you and me: I know.
I know what you're going through.
I know what it is like.
I know how you are feeling.
I know.
So wherever you find yourself this day, no matter what circumstances you may find yourself in, know that there is a God who knows. Feeling alone? He knows. Feeling overwhelmed? He knows. Feeling as if you just cannot go on? He knows. Feeling like there is no one who understands? He knows. He's been there too. In Jesus, He knows.
He knows. He knows. He knows.
Scripture Of The Day: "Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life." - 1 John 5:12
Mike DeVries is the teaching pastor at Sa’kred - a community of Jesus followers in Laguna Hills, CA who are exploring what it looks like to embody the way and teachings of Jesus in this present culture. You can find him blogging at http://awakening.typepad.com/.
There are perhaps no two more powerful words than the words "I know."
I know what you're going through.
I know what it is like.
I know how you are feeling.
I know.
We all long to hear those words, do we not? We all long to believe that there is someone, anyone, who knows what it is like - who knows what we are going through. When you find that certain someone who does know what it is like, doesn't it seem to change everything?
Some two thousand years ago, in a sleepy town in Judea, God did something revolutionary. Rather than offering a voice of concern to a weary world, God did something beyond what anyone could have ever dreamed or imagined.
In Jesus, the Word, the voice, comes to dwell among us.
In the incarnation, we celebrate the reality that God knows and cares enough about people that He chose to dwell among us in a very physical and present sort of way. The unseen God of Israelite history was now the seen God. The invisible made visible.
We are told in the Scriptures that in Jesus "we saw the glory of the one and only." In other words, Jesus was putting God on display. You want to see what God is like? You want to see how to live in harmony with the Creator? Look at Jesus. He is the way and the truth and the life.
In the incarnation is found a large message from God to you and me: I know.
I know what you're going through.
I know what it is like.
I know how you are feeling.
I know.
So wherever you find yourself this day, no matter what circumstances you may find yourself in, know that there is a God who knows. Feeling alone? He knows. Feeling overwhelmed? He knows. Feeling as if you just cannot go on? He knows. Feeling like there is no one who understands? He knows. He's been there too. In Jesus, He knows.
He knows. He knows. He knows.
Scripture Of The Day: "Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life." - 1 John 5:12
Mike DeVries is the teaching pastor at Sa’kred - a community of Jesus followers in Laguna Hills, CA who are exploring what it looks like to embody the way and teachings of Jesus in this present culture. You can find him blogging at http://awakening.typepad.com/.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Like Jesus
By Ed Young
Whether they are traveling through a small farming town in Nebraska, a surfing village in California or an industrial community in Pennsylvania, politicians love to show how they can relate to the people in that area. But the sad thing is that they can't really meet those people on the same level; they can't identify with them no matter how hard they try to make it appear like they can.
Jesus, though, never gives us that illusion of identity. He doesn't throw up a façade to try and appear like he gets where we are coming from. Jesus Christ connected with the people of two thousand years ago, and he connects with you and me today on a level that we can understand and appreciate.
At one point we've all said, "No one understands my situation." But that statement could not be farther from the truth. Jesus understands; he's been there; he knows what we go through day in and day out. He had a job--for most of his life he was a carpenter. He had the same relationships that you and I have today--mother, father, brothers, sister, friends and enemies. He even faced the same temptations that you and I face. Jesus knows what daily living is like. He knows because he's been there himself.
So this week, when you feel like there is no one that can grasp what you are going through; when you feel like throwing up your hands and giving up; when you have that gut reaction of, "No one understands my situation..." remember that our Savior has been there and then add two words to your statement: "Like Jesus."
Scripture Of The Day: "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin." - Hebrews 4:15
Ed Young is the founding and Senior Pastor of Fellowship Church. His weekly television program, Ed Young Ministries, can be seen throughout the U.S. and Europe, including USA, TBN, Daystar and CNBC Europe. You can find more on Ed at http://www.fellowshipchurch.com or find him blogging at http://www.edyoungblog.com.…
Whether they are traveling through a small farming town in Nebraska, a surfing village in California or an industrial community in Pennsylvania, politicians love to show how they can relate to the people in that area. But the sad thing is that they can't really meet those people on the same level; they can't identify with them no matter how hard they try to make it appear like they can.
Jesus, though, never gives us that illusion of identity. He doesn't throw up a façade to try and appear like he gets where we are coming from. Jesus Christ connected with the people of two thousand years ago, and he connects with you and me today on a level that we can understand and appreciate.
At one point we've all said, "No one understands my situation." But that statement could not be farther from the truth. Jesus understands; he's been there; he knows what we go through day in and day out. He had a job--for most of his life he was a carpenter. He had the same relationships that you and I have today--mother, father, brothers, sister, friends and enemies. He even faced the same temptations that you and I face. Jesus knows what daily living is like. He knows because he's been there himself.
So this week, when you feel like there is no one that can grasp what you are going through; when you feel like throwing up your hands and giving up; when you have that gut reaction of, "No one understands my situation..." remember that our Savior has been there and then add two words to your statement: "Like Jesus."
Scripture Of The Day: "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin." - Hebrews 4:15
Ed Young is the founding and Senior Pastor of Fellowship Church. His weekly television program, Ed Young Ministries, can be seen throughout the U.S. and Europe, including USA, TBN, Daystar and CNBC Europe. You can find more on Ed at http://www.fellowshipchurch.com or find him blogging at http://www.edyoungblog.com.…
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