In 2 Kings 6 there is an incredible story...

... about Elisha and the sons of the prophets. The sons of the prophets came to Elisha and told him that they needed more space and could they have permission to go down to the Jordan River and cut down trees for building them more room.  2Kings 6:5-7 (NKJV) “But as one was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, "Alas, master! For it was borrowed."  So the man of God said, "Where did it fall?" And he showed him the place. So he cut off a stick, and threw it in there; and he made the iron float.  Therefore he said, "Pick it up for yourself." So he reached out his hand and took it.” 

  Why in the world would God feel like it was important for us to know that He could make an ax head float?  Was it that He wanted the prophet to save face and not appear to be irresponsible?  I don’t think so.  God was wanting the prophet to know and is wanting us to know that He has the power of reversal, annulment, cancellation, negation, revocation, and undoing when it is needed in our lives.  If God has the power to reverse the natural order of gravity and make an ax head float then surely He has the power to reverse our situation.

The Word of God has to be our final authority when we face situations which need to be reversed. Listen to the faith of Abraham in these verses:  Romans 4:16 21 (NKJV) “...as it is written, "I have made you a father of many nations") in the presence of Him whom he believed  God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;  who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, "So shall your descendants be."  And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.”  Please know that God has the power of divine reversal in your situation as you choose to stand in faith like Abraham did.  Amen!

Maybe you have a desire...

... to be faithful to Jesus but you are confused by so many voices speaking into your life. We hear so much political correctness and we have a fear of being intolerant of those who may believe differently than we do. The fear is further propagated by saying if you speak against certain lifestyles or people who may seem compromising to you that you are guilty of a “hate crime.” Even in the church there is confusion of where the lines are to be drawn between showing grace and mercy and being accepting of things contrary to God’s law.

So what is our standard?  How do we measure what is right and where we are to stand as a church? We want to reach the lost but we do not want to compromise our convictions to do so. Our standard has always been and will forever be the Word of God. Jesus said in Matthew 24:35 (NKJV) “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.” Political correctness should never dictate what our standard should be on abortion, same sex marriage, adultery, Israel, or any other social issue of our day.

We need to be so careful in these last days that we are not presuming on the grace of God by believing the doctrines of man instead of the Living Word of God.  The writer of Hebrews says: Hebrews 4:12 (NLT) “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” It exposes sin and righteousness. Paul says: Romans 6:15 16 (NLT) “Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.” Obey God and His Word and you will be faithful to Him!

The Apostle Paul warns of something...

... in the New Testament that is definitely as relevant today as it was then, maybe even more so. In 2 Corinthians 10:12 (NLT) He says “Oh, don’t worry; we wouldn’t dare say that we are as wonderful as these other men who tell you how important they are! But they are only comparing themselves with each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement. How ignorant!” Comparing ourselves with others is about as common as judging others but that is a subject for another time. We all get caught up in this trap of comparing ourselves with those around us.

My doctor tells me to lose weight but I can see others who are in worse shape than myself. When we are confronted with our disobedience before God we can always find someone else who is living more wrongly than we are. When our children do not want to be denied whatever the latest event that is happening, they want to compare themselves with their friends who seemingly get to always do whatever they want. “It is not fair” they say!  We always come back with the same proverbial answer, “If your friends wanted to jump off of a cliff would you want to jump off too?”

  What I believe the answer is for this horrendous habit of comparing ourselves with others is that we answer the question, “What is our standard?”  Is it my friends, are they my standard?  Is it the latest fad, is that our standard?  Is it that I am better than that person or the other?  What is our standard?  James 1:22 (NLT) “But don’t just listen to God’s Word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.”  I make my choices based on what God’s Word says about my situation. Philippians 2:5 (NLT)  “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.”  When I am faced with tough choices, instead of comparing myself with others, I should ask the question, “What would Jesus do?”  Comparing yourself to others is unwise...comparing yourself to Jesus can be life transforming! 

Hurricane Harvey devastates southern...

... Texas and Louisiana and our hearts are broken to see lives lost and property destroyed. I heard the governor of Texas say the water around Houston was the size of Lake Michigan…unbelievable!  Our hearts ached for the people there so we prayed and we gave. Then, Irma shows up…islands wiped out and the entire state of Florida is affected. Again, lives lost (elderly in a nursing home) and property destroyed from Key West to Jacksonville. Over half of the population of Florida was without electricity at one time and many are still without it. It is definitely easier to pray for others going through a storm and even, easier to give to help others going through such tragedy, than to go through it ourselves. 

Listen to the psalmist: Psalm 107:28-32 (NKJV)  “Then they cry out to the LORD in their trouble, And He brings them out of their distresses. He calms the storm, So that its waves are still. Then they are glad because they are quiet; So He guides them to their desired haven. Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people, And praise Him in the company of the elders.” He, God, calms the storm and He guides us to our desired haven. Do you just suppose God is trying to get us to return to Him? We should give Him thanks for His goodness, for His protection, for His provision, and for His unending love for us.

I kept hearing people say during and after the storm, “We have no power!” My friends and fellow followers of Christ, that is not true. We may not have electricity but we have power in the Name of Jesus. We have the power to pray, we have the power to help someone else in need, we have the power to give to bless those who are hurting…oh, we have power. Acts 1:8 “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you…” Let us use the power we have to be hands-on witnesses during this time of devastation. Who knows, this power we have may just lead someone to Jesus! 

We are getting ready to welcome...

...new folks into covenant membership in the next couple of weeks and we are so excited about that. In this article I want to speak about covenant and the vision of what it means.  We shared these verses from Matthew 19:4 6 (NLT) “Haven’t you read the Scriptures?” Jesus replied. “They record that from the beginning ‘God made them male and female.’  And he said, ‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’  Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together.”  We have examined how God compares the covenant we have with our local church to marriage between a man and woman.

The difference between an attender and a member is the difference between living together and getting married. A lot of people want to date the church, but they don't want to get married.  If someone or some church hotter comes along they will drop you and go to something more exciting.  God is serious about marriage and about His Church, “... let no one split apart what God has joined together.”  

Many have viewed church membership as being non-essential and even a type of manmade bondage.  The truth is God has emphasized covenant from the beginning.  Pastor Brandon Hovey from Calvary Chapel in a article wrote “What is the big deal about church membership or covenants?  Church membership is a good idea. You see church membership is not about having your name on a dusty roll sheet. It's not about secret clubs, silly handshakes or more rules. It's about something many in our culture are terrified of: commitment. It's about making a public promise to live according to Scripture and support the work of the congregation.”  Come on, Life Church, let us be one and let us be covenant members serving God, one another, and reaching the lost!

Maybe you have a desire...

... to be faithful to Jesus but you are confused by so many voices speaking into your life. We hear so much political correctness and we have a fear of being intolerant of those who may believe differently than we do.  The fear is further propagated by saying if you speak against certain lifestyles or people who may seem compromising to you that you are guilty of a “hate crime.”  Even in the church there is confusion of where the lines are to be drawn between showing grace and mercy and being accepting of things contrary to God’s law.

So what is our standard?  How do we measure what is right and where we are to stand as a church? We want to reach the lost but we do not want to compromise our convictions to do so. Our standard has always been and will forever be the Word of God. Jesus said in Matthew 24:35 (NKJV) “ Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.” Political correctness should never dictate what our standard should be on abortion, same sex marriage, adultery, Israel, or any other social issue of our day.

We need to be so careful in these last days that we are not presuming on the grace of God by believing the doctrines of man instead of the Living Word of God.  The writer of Hebrews says: Hebrews 4:12 (NLT) “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest twoedged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”  It exposes sin and righteousness. Paul says: Romans 6:1516 (NLT) “Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.” Obey God and His Word and you will be extra faithful to Him! 

God has led us here...

... at Life Church Assembly of God to be faithful to the Lord in every area of our lives. He has spoken to us about being extra faithful because the days are evil.  Paul says:  Ephesians 5:13 (NLT) “Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.  Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people.” Paul was saying that as believers we should not be involved in the evil surrounding us in the world.

The apostle goes on to say:  Ephesians 5:1518 (NLT)  “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise.   Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.  Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.  Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit...”  We can be upset and even filled with righteous indignation about the sin in the world around us but until we are upset with the sin in the church we are being very hypocritical. What a concept...be careful how you live. It is imperative that in these last days that we are extraordinarily faithful to the Lord and that we don’t live in a foolish manner.

It appears to me that it always comes back to this...we desperately need to be filled with the presence and power of Holy Spirit.  It only stands to reason that if we are filled with the Spirit of the living God we will not be involved in sexual immorality, impurity, or greed.  I just wonder if the greed that these verses are talking about would be, having the means to spread the gospel through missions and not do it.  Just a thought!  The key is this...don’t get intoxicated by the things of this world but be filled with the Holy Spirit.  As close as we are to the coming of Christ I implore you to ask God multiple times a day for Him to give you the Promise of Holy Spirit.