Our Mission To love all people at all times and lead them into a new life in Christ.
Our Vision To be a church that will be multicultural and generational, having a lasting impact on the people to whom we minister.
To see the gospel extend beyond the walls of our church through various outreaches.
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| Post 9/11, we as a nation have a greater sense of the need to be on the alert. Home alarms, car alarms, business alarms and other such security devices are a part of the world in which we live in. With all the talk about national security it seems that life all round us is filled with reasons to be on our guard and to protect ourselves.
But what about spiritual matters? The things that concern our inner man are far more important than any material goods we might be able to protect.
Proverbs 4:23 “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. King Solomon, considered the wisest man to ever live, was the writer of these words. He encourages us to guard our heart above everything else.
The Hebrew word for heart can have symbolic meaning of such things as; the spiritual aspect of man, the mind, the will, the conscience, the moral character of a person, the seat of his desires and passions even the whole man himself.
Our heart is the focal point of life. We can be effective in protecting our homes, business, property and even our borders from terrorist attacks but if we fail to protect this one thing “our heart” it will effect all areas of our lives.
Just as when our natural heart gets out of rhythm if not corrected in time it will soon take its toll and eventually effect the rest of the body. So will our spiritual heart when is not guarded and protected, it will began to beat out of rhythm and will begin to take its toll in our lives.
Proverbs 4:23 New Living Translation “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” |
If one wants to please God he must have faith. “But without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Heb 11:6) None of us would be pleased if our friends constantly made us a liar every time we opened our mouths. Not one of us would feel like ever doing anything for those who did this. The same is true with God. He is a person and we should learn to treat Him as a person and not insult Him by questioning and doubting every promise that He makes. God is under no obligation to answer our prayers if we do not have implicit faith in Him for what we ask.
Faith is simple. It is believing God without wavering, doubting, or questioning what He says. It is taking God at His Word and believing what He has promised He is able to perform. It is believing not only that He is able, but that He will do it. It is the quality of counting those things that “be not as though they were.” (Romans 4:17) It is “the substance of things hoped for” and the first payment on things that we desire from God (Heb. 11: 1-3)
The way to get faith is by hearing the Word of God. (Romans 10:17) The way to use faith is to take God at His Word and judge Him faithful in granting what is asked in the name of Jesus. Ask and then believe that it is done. Thank God for it as if it was already done. Expect the complete answer whether you see it at once or not. Forget symptoms, feelings, impossibilities, or anything to the contrary of God’s Word and it shall be done regardless of how impossible it may appear outwardly. Faith laughs at impossibilities and cries, “it is done!” It leaves all results and all answers with God as being God’s part. He doesn’t need any help from us! Our part then is to cooperate with faith and not hinder its working by doubting and unbelief and questioning the “how” and the “when” of the answer.
If a Christian will truly exercise faith, there will be no question as to the answer!
So just have FAITH IN GOD!!!
Continued from last week article:
In order for our bodies to maintain all of its systems, the hypothalamus gland in the brain works to regulate factors so that we remain at a stat of homeostasis. Normal blood pressure is 120/80 and our body temperature is 98.6. The hypothalamus is constantly receiving inputs about the status of our body and makes changes if anything goes haywire. The autonomic nervous system controls all those things that happen without you thinking about it. Your heart beating, breathing, sweating, blood pressure, etc. A fearful thought triggers the hypothalamus, it signals the autonomic nervous system which in turn affects your heart rate, breathing, B/P, sweating, etc. The body is ready for fight or flight. There is a time for rest and a time for action. Fight or flight is usually a short time period. But if the stressor is not removed than the fight or flight response is extended beyond normal time and will cause the body to start breaking down. When the body is in a continuous state of fear, stress or anxiety, it leaves no time for rest, recovery, and body repair. Sickness than is the results. Proverbs 23:7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.
Yes, doctors will tell you that stress kills, but what do they offer? Prozac or another anti anxiety drug. Jeremiah 6:14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; but there is no peace.
Jesus, not Prozac, is the prince of peace. John 14:27 Peace I leave with you my peace I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid.
Just as fear can put in into fight or flight mode. God’s provisions can bring you into peace. His gift of perfect peace belongs to those whose minds are fixed on Him. Staying your mind on Him and not on fear and failures and insecurities will bring your body back into homeostasis.
Acts 1:3 “..to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.”
After Jesus’ resurrection the angel announced that he was risen from the dead. He appeared to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus only talking with them, and their hearts burned within them. He appeared to the eleven and Thomas and rebuked them for unbelief. But, He appeared to “them” with MANY INFALLIBLE PROOFS.
If we experience the power of His resurrection we can speak “heart-warming” encouragement to those around us. We can also rebuke the doubters for their unbelief. These are the easy parts of our post spiritual resurrection. To be a true disciple of Jesus let us live in such a way that we show “many infallible proofs” that we have truly taken part in His resurrection. The true mark of a risen disciple is demonstration of a changed life. We will live differently than before
Thank you to Makenzie Hughes and Michiah Baxter for helping with the children during the Saturday morning AEGA meeting.
Thank you to Anita Webster who is in charge of the Wednesday and Sunday night Children’s Church.
Anyone who would like to help see Pastor LaVerne.
Beginning Wednesday night, April 7, Pastor LaVerne will be teaching a six weeks study called, “Secrets of Success, Wealth, and Happiness” from the book of Proverbs.
Adults and youth are welcome to be a part of this.
On Wednesdays at Rumors Hair Salon in Columbia, Pastor LaVerne is doing a Bible Study, “Victory over Darkness”,
Everyone welcome for this 45 minute study.
The future of the Church is not determined by its members. The end of the Church is in God’s hands. The Church of God will prevail over all in the end. Jesus did all that was necessary to make sure of that. His death and resurrection is the Church’s victory. Of His Kingdom there is no end. That is the word of God. The Church Universal is in good hands. When things are left in God’s hands, they always end up good.
However, the local church bodies are a product of the effort of the members operating with God’s help. Each of us should ask ourselves a question. “What would the church be like if all the members were like me?” What if everyone attended were like me? What if everyone gave like me? What if everyone talked (confession) like me? What if everyone volunteered like me? What if everyone gave the time I do? If everyone in the church acted like me, what kind of church would our church be?
When I gave my testimony last Saturday at the AEGA conference I ran out of time before I got to share about how fear affects the body.
“Even relatively short periods of stress may cause changes that leave brain cells hypertensive for weeks, reports Israeli scientist trying to uncover the molecular root of post-traumatic stress disorder.” Washington Associated Press.
“Pregnant women who often stressed out could be programming their fetuses nervous systems for heightened actions to stress and a greater lifetime risk of heart attacks, scientists reported over the weekend”. USA Today.
We all know by now the negative effects of fear stress and anxiety to our bodies. Angina, arrhythmias, asthma, allergies, high blood pressure, IBS, tension, headaches, stroke, insomnia, diabetes, prostatitis, malabsorption and eczema to just name a few of many diseases to be stress related. Doctors are only now starting to study this mind/body connection. This new field of study is called Psychoneuro-immunology!
But God has told us about the connection in His Word. 1 Thes. 5:23 and the very God of peach sanctify you wholly, and I pray God your whole sprit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our enemy, however, understand our bodies quite well. He knows about our mind/body/soul connection. He knows that we are only sustained in health and sanity to the degree that we match up to the nature of the living God. He knows that by controlling our thoughts, he can control our biology. He uses stress, fear and anxiety to break down our bodies.
To be continued…..
“Go into all the world and preach the Gospel…” Jesus left this command with His disciples in Matthew 28. They began to carry it out after the day of Pentecost when they were filled with the Holy Spirit. For 2000 years that assignment has not changed. The cast is different but the purpose is still the same-bring the world to Jesus.
New Life for the Nations is part of that cast. We have a responsibility to be faithful. AEGA is also part of that mission. Through our association with them we are reaching into 65 countries. Millions of people have contact with AEGA members all over the world.
Our involvement and financial support for AEGA means we have a hand in ministry to the masses of the world. We joined the organization to give us an opportunity to reach the nations in a way we could not do as one local body. This weekend is a chance for us to fellowship and edify one another.
There are not multiple bodies of Christ. There is one body with many parts. There is one message of the Gospel. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Many of the “beliefs” we have that divide the body are not part of the Gospel of salvation; they are courses of action that affect our everyday lives. We need to know the difference between “doctrine” and “opinion”.
| I believe that if you ask most people if they worry, they will answer with a yes. Most have perfected the art of worry with a life time of practice. With all of the worry nothing real value has been obtained.
Worry will never change any outcome or solve any problem or cause a miracle to happen. Prayer will. Taking action against worry will. Placing your faith in God will.
I read somewhere that doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome is nothing but insanity.
In Matthew 6:27 “Which of you by taking thought (worry) can add one cubic unto his stature? We are told repeatedly in the Bible to Fear Not (worry not).
What we focus on, we feel, and what we feel grows. When we feed our problems with fear or worry they become like giants to us.
Worry and fear cannot live in the same space as hope and faith. One will always drive out the other. When you stand on faith and take positive action, like prayer and rebuking the spirit, or even just changing what you are thinking about, like thinking on something good, you evict worry and fear from your mind. When you allow worry and fear to start, you allow hope and faith to move away. Both cannot be there at the same time. You either have one or the other.
The first step to breaking the worry habit is to become more aware when you are worrying and what you are worrying about. Then change your mind and focus on good things that are happening in your life or that you would like to happen. Concentrate on good things.
When you are worrying you are giving a lot of mental and physical and emotional energy into things you cannot change. When you are worrying about things you cannot change you are not focusing on the things you can change!
The moment that we focus on the things that we can do, the action that we can take, the decisions we can make we move form a state of worry and fear to a state of faith. This state of faith is a wonderful cure for worry. Try it and see!!! |
When dealing with fear we have weapons at our disposal.
The first and most important weapon in dealing with fear is to praise God. Put on praise music. Sing to Him. Thank God for everything He has done in your life. If fear is still tap dancing in your mind than do it again.
Our second weapon is the Word of God. God’s word is alive and sharper than a two edged sword. Speaking God’s promises over yourself and your situation will trigger faith and faith is the antidote for fear.
A third weapon is to use your authority in Jesus Christ. Speak to the spirit of fear. Say Father, I repent for cooperating with the spirit of fear. I renounce all fear in my life. I bind, muzzle, and gag the spirit of fear. In the name of Jesus, spirit of fear I command you to go.
God is so good you just never know when He is going to do something wonderful just to bless you. That is the truth. Never forget that God’s love is trillions of times more powerful than any fear. God’s love is to fear what light is to darkness. The light removes the darkness the same way that God’s love removes fear. When you get a revelation, that love, fear has no place in your life, you are on your way to winning the battle.
The spirit of fear is the enemy’s first line of defense. Fear will freeze your ability to make good decisions.
In the Bible, God tells us 365 times not to be afraid. Fear not. That is one for every day of the year.
Fear brings torment. Only spiritual weapons will win the war against the spirit of fear.
We must remember that the spiritual laws that govern the supernatural world are as concrete as the law of gravity.
| “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” Eccl. 3:1
What is the purpose? What is my purpose? Is there a purpose for everything? When I ask these questions, I am not referring to the things that happen. I am talking about the things that are.
Everything God created has a purpose. There are millions of life forms on the planet and all of them have a purpose for being here. When God created everything in the beginning, He declared that it was all “good.” Is everything that exists now still good? The logical answer is “no it is not.” What happened? Man sinned (as ruler of this planet) and nature was corrupted. What was in harmony before the fall became “enmity” afterwards.
You must believe you have a purpose. If you are here, you are here for a purpose. You are not an accident. You are part of God’s divine plan. No matter how unworthy you might think you are, you are part of God’s plan. You must believe that God loves you, and He has a divine plan for you. Never feel like you do not belong.
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” NIV |
“Therefore, we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.” I Cor. 4:16
Does it seem like most people are more concerned with the outward man than with the inward man? However, the “outward man” is the body that holds us as part of this temporary world. It is the part of us that makes us human. It is the “dust of the earth” from which we were created.
It is true that we are eternal beings that live forever, but we must learn to distinguish between the temporal and the eternal. Temporal refers to that which only affects one in this present world. Eternal refers to that which affects life after this life.
Paul tells us to look not at temporal things but at eternal things. Why? Temporal things change. They are not always in harmony with God’s will. There are earthly consequences for temporal choices. Eternal things never change. They are forever and they are always right.
Eternal things depend on and are measured by what we really believe. Temporal things depend on and are measured by what we do. The quality of our earthly life is determined by our actions. The quality of our eternal life is determined by what we believe. But remember, “faith without works is useless.” Eternal life comes only by what we believe, not our works; otherwise, salvation would be “by works.”
Works (good or bad) are a major factor in our temporal life. Our earthly life is the result of our choices here. Works can also be a reflection of what we really believe.
“The Lord will open to you His good treasure…to bless all the work of your hand…” Deut. 28:12
There is no question that God has promised to bless those who will trust in Him. But, it is plain throughout Scripture that God has expectations of us. We are admonished to do something that God can bless.
As the Scripture above says, God will open His treasure of bless the work of our hand. What is the condition? Do something with your hands. God blesses “something”—He doesn’t bless “nothing.”
James was not promoting a “faith” vs. “works” philosophy in his epistle. He was actually saying, “if you really believe something, you will do something about it.” Believing God to meet your financial needs without you giving is “faith without works.” You can’t believe for harvest from a garden if you don’t pay the price to sow the seed.
There is a principle of sowing in every area of our lives. It is true, “Whatever you sow is what you reap.”
“When the Son of Man comes will He find faith on the earth?” Jesus had a reason for everything He said and did. To ask this question must have been an indication of how He knew things would get before His return.
There is a spirit at work in the world. John calls it the Spirit of Antichrist. There is every indication in Scripture that Antichrist will temporally succeed in his mission of deceiving the unbelieving world. He will greatly succeed in turning the hearts of mankind away from Jesus and to other gods. If there is to be a continual increase in the popularity of Christianity much of prophetic Scripture must be wrong. Scripture says there will be a great falling away in the end times.
The power and truth of Christianity has not diminished through the ages. Its popularity among the nations is dwindling. Do not confuse popularity with power. Man is seeking to elevate and glorify himself in the place of God. God’s power to save has not weakened. He will still save to the uttermost, but man is continually seeking some other source of help. But, “those who believe in the Lord will not be put to shame.” When He returns we will win. If we die serving Him we will still win.
We live in a society that is filled with media outlets. All of them are trying to get our attention. We have radio, newspapers, television, satellite, cable, internet, DVDs, MP3s, cell phones thatt do everything, just to mention the most well known.
Everyone has a version of the “truth” of reality and an agenda they wish to foster. Pictures and voices flood our eyes and minds on a constant basis with anything and everything one can imagine.
Who has the real truth? Who really cares about the real truth? Who is just out for their own selfish gain? It is hard to decide who can be trusted and who can’t. Who’s informatin can I depend upon? Politically, socially, and morally, who has the right answers? Who is sending a true picture the way it should be seen?
Where does one find the “real truth”? God says it is found in His Word. If you are watching something I suggest you watch what God is doing. You can watch Jesus or you can watch the devil. Find out what Jesus is doing and not focus on what the devil is up to. Be careful where you focus your attention or you will end up deceived.
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