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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A Night like No other
From CTA. INC.
HOPE–When something good is coming, it seems like it takes forever for it to come. God’s people in the Old Testament knew that feeling They were waiting to be rescued. God’s people didn’t know when the rescuer could come. They waited. Their children waited. Their grandchildren waited. For generations and generations, their descendants kept hoping and waiting. Their hope was based on God’s promise. And God always keeps His promises. He sent His only son Jesus to be the rescuer. On Christmas we celebrate the day that He was born. Jesus took the punishment for our sin by dying on the cross. But wait, there’s more! Jesus rose from the dead. He promised to come back again and give us eternal life. Jesus will come back, and it’s going to be good! It’s hard to wait for something wonderful to come, but hope helps us get through. Hope is being certain that what we are waiting for will really happen.
PEACE–When God made the world, it was peaceful and beautiful. Each thing was in the right place. The relationship between God and the people He made was also beautiful and peaceful. In Genesis we read that God spent time with Adam and Eve. He walked through their garden home and they talked together. Can you imagine how fun and amazing that would be? When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, their relationship changed. They rejected God’s good rules. Instead of peaceful walks together, they tried to hide from him. Their sin built a wall between God and themselves. When Isaiah called the coming Messiah the Prince of Peace, it wasn’t just an empty title. When Jesus took the death punishment that we deserve, he broke down the wall of separation. We don’t need to be afraid of God and try to hide from Him the way Adam and Eve did. A sleeping baby is a sweet sight. Once a baby is well fed and comfortable, she can finally relax. Closed eyes and regular breathing show peaceful rest. God cares for you more than any earthly parent could.
He sent Jesus to restore the relationship that was broken with sin. Through Jesus, we have complete peace with God…
We can rest in him!
SWEET. SWEET GRACE
“For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” Romans 6:14
In many places today, all you hear is more teaching on right doing, right doing, and more right doing! But I believe what we need is more teaching on right believing. What we need to do is keep pointing people to Jesus, His grace, His finished work, and His forgiveness. I have no doubt then that their right believing will produce right living. They will become people whose hope is not in the righteousness they can produce, but in the gift of righteousness from Jesus Christ and what Jesus can produce in them.
Sin has no dominion over your life when you are under grace. Sin cannot take root in your life when you are established in God’s forgiveness. Receiving His forgiveness and gift of righteousness puts you in a cycle of victory over sin, whereas those who receive condemnation for every wrong thought in th4eir mind enter into a never-ending cycle of defeat.
Do you see the difference?
Joseph Prince
Seeing God through the Eyes of Jesus
Jesus portrays God as a good shepherd, a good woman, and a good father in Luke Chapter 15. He also teaches that repentance is based on our acceptance of the love God has for us. The shepherd searched and found the lost sheep. The woman, the owner of the lost coin, searched and found her lost coin. The father of the Prodigal ran out and embraced and kissed him.
If we don’t see our heavenly Father in the light Jesus portrayed Him to be, we will act like the critical fault-finding brother who resists his father’s love, grace, and mercy–at the same time, being blind to the love his father has for him.
Ed Elliot
Your Heart Will Expose You
Today, you hear many believers talking about God in terms of going through tests, trials, tribulations, judgment, and even hardships. Whenever your spiritual identity isn’t rooted in righteousness, your will feel worthy of suffering instead of blessing.
Paul explained to the church in Rome that trials, tribulations, and persecutions, etc. would never separate you from God’s love. (Romans 8:35-39) He went on to teach them they would overcome all these situations if they never forgot they were loved by God.
Religion tries to convince people that trials, tribulations, etc. came as punishment or evidence that God is angry with you. Obviously, Paul disagrees because he wanted believers to know that it doesn’t matter what life’s difficulties they face. They didn’t come from God.
“Do not let your heart be troubled,(afraid, cowardly. Believe (confidently) in God and trust in Him, (Have faith, hold on to it, rely on it, keep going and ) believe also in Me (John 14:1, AMP).
Ed Elliot
If it troubles you, God wants to take care of it!
The very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows. Luke 12:7, NLT
If, as the Bible says, God bothers to keep track of how many hairs you have on your head, then there is no symptom, no discomfort, and no condition in your body that He doesn’t know of or care about. His love for you is all-encompassing, personal and in-depth. There is nothing in your body or life too small that you can’t bring to Him and watch Him take care of ! Joseph Prince
The Power of Righteousness
Most believers struggle with their identity. They allow their failures and sins to identify who they are. I can’t tell you how many people I have counseled who believe they are losers because of their past. Sadly, even friends and family have reinforced this erroneous idea in their heads. The truth is, as a believer in Jesus, He has given us His righteousness as a gift (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Being righteous does not mean you will never fall. It means when you do fall, you get back up again.
“For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes” (Proverbs 24:16).
How does God help us get back up again? So glad you asked, and I promise the answer will bless you. The last verse in Psalm 23 about Jesus being our Good Shepherd, tells us something we should never forget.
“Surely goodness and mercy and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell forever (throughout all my days) in the house and in the presence of the Lord” (Psalm 23:6) AMP.
Whenever you fall, you fall into the arms of God’s goodness and mercy that will never fail you. God uses His goodness and mercy to raise you when you fall. It is His unfailing love for you that helps you stand up again after you have fallen.
Do me a favor. Turn around and say, “Thank you goodness and mercy, for always being there for me to catch me when I fall and for raising me up again.”
Ed Elliot
Why We Should not Worry
“Therefore I tell you, stop being worried or anxious (perpetually uneasy, distracted) about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, as to what you will wear. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow (seed) nor reap (the harvest) nor gather (the crops) into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by worrying can add one hour to the length of life?”
Matthew 6:25-27
Jesus preached against worry three times, He said, “Do not worry.”
Worry is probably one of the major reasons for stress.
Worry will hold one captive, waste one’s time, sap one’s energy and robone of today’s joy.
Listen! Worry is fear-based. Worry is meditating on things that we are afraid of.
God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, love and of sound mind. Satan is the author of fear.
Moreover, fear will give the devil legal entry into one’s life. Bishop Daniel O.C.
GOD IS A GOOD FATHER
What man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good fits to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Matthew 7:9-11
How do you know that God is a good God and a good Father?
Jesus dealt with this question simply by asking another question: “If earthly fathers, imperfect as they are, know how to give good gifts to their children, don’t you think that your loving Father who is in heaven will be even better?”
If your child asks you for bread, would you give him a stone? Certainly not. You would give him the best bread you can find. How much more then, will your heavenly Father give good things to you when you ask Him!
Beloved, know in your heart that God is a good Father to you. So if you need something today, just as Him for it. And as you ask HIm, believe that you have received it from Him, and you will have it (Mark 11:24). Joseph Prince
The Right Definition of “Righteousness”
What has a right understanding of your righteousness got to do with expecting good to happen to you today? Everything!
Many believers associate righteousness with a list of things that they have to do, and if they fulfill this list, they feel “righteous.” Conversely, when they fail in terms of their behavior, they feel “unrighteous.” But this is the wrong definition of righteousness.
Look at 2 Corinthians 5:21: “For He (God) made Him (Jesus Christ) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (Jesus Christ).” We are not righteous because we do right. We became righteous because of what Jesus did for us at the cross. “Righteousness, “ therefore, is not based on our right doing. It is based entirely on Jesus’ right doing. Christianity is not about doing the right to become righteous. It is all about believing right in Jesus to become righteous.
Do you realize we have been conditioned to associate being blessed with doing right? Most belief systems are based on a system of merit whereby you need to fulfill certain requirements–give to the poor, do good to others and care for the underprivileged–to attain a certain state of righteousness. It all sounds very noble, self-sacrificial and appealing to our flesh, which likes to feel that our good works have earned us our righteousness.
But God is not looking at your nobility, sacrifices or good works to justify you. He is only interested in Jesus’ humility at the cross. He looks at His Son’s perfect sacrifice at Calvary to justify you and make you righteous! Attempting to be justified by your good works and trying your best to keep the Ten Commandments to become righteous is to negate the cross of Jesus Christ. It is as good as saying, “ the cross is not enough to justify me. I need to depend on my good works to make myself clean and righteous before God.”
The apostle Paul said, “I do not frustrate the grace (unmerited favor) of God; for if righteousness comes by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” My friend, consider carefully what Paul is saying here. He is effectively saying that if you are depending on your good works, your doing and your ability to keep perfectly the Ten Commandments to become righteous, then Jesus died for nothing! That’s what “in vain” means–for nothing! So don’t frustrate the grace of God by depending on your good works to make yourself righteous and put God on your side. Jesus’ sacrifice is more than enough to justify you! And when you know that you are justified, you can be confident that the unmerited favor of God is on your side and expect good to happen to you today! Joseph Prince
The Right Definition of “Righteousness”
What has a right understanding of your righteousness got to do with expecting good to happen to you today? Everything!
Many believers associate righteousness with a list of things that they have to do, and if they fulfill this list, they feel “righteous.” Conversely, when they fail in terms of their behavior, they feel “unrighteous.” But this is the wrong definition of righteousness.
Look at 2 Corinthians 5:21: “For He (God) made Him (Jesus Christ) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (Jesus Christ).” We are not righteous because we do right. We became righteous because of what Jesus did for us at the cross. “Righteousness, “ therefore, is not based on our right doing. It is based entirely on Jesus’ right doing. Christianity is not about doing the right to become righteous. It is all about believing right in Jesus to become righteous.
Do you realize we have been conditioned to associate being blessed with doing right? Most belief systems are based on a system of merit whereby you need to fulfill certain requirements–give to the poor, do good to others and care for the underprivileged–to attain a certain state of righteousness. It all sounds very noble, self-sacrificial and appealing to our flesh, which likes to feel that our good works have earned us our righteousness.
But God is not looking at your nobility, sacrifices or good works to justify you. He is only interested in Jesus’ humility at the cross. He looks at His Son’s perfect sacrifice at Calvary to justify you and make you righteous! Attempting to be justified by your good works and trying your best to keep the Ten Commandments to become righteous is to negate the cross of Jesus Christ. It is as good as saying, “ the cross is not enough to justify me. I need to depend on my good works to make myself clean and righteous before God.”
The apostle Paul said, “I do not frustrate the grace (unmerited favor) of God; for if righteousness comes by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” My friend, consider carefully what Paul is saying here. He is effectively saying that if you are depending on your good works, your doing and your ability to keep perfectly the Ten Commandments to become righteous, then Jesus died for nothing! That’s what “in vain” means–for nothing! So don’t frustrate the grace of God by depending on your good works to make yourself righteous and put God on your side. Jesus’ sacrifice is more than enough to justify you! And when you know that you are justified, you can be confident that the unmerited favor of God is on your side and expect good to happen to you today! Joseph Prince
The Right Definition of “Righteousness”
What has a right understanding of your righteousness got to do with expecting good to happen to you today? Everything!
Many believers associate righteousness with a list of things that they have to do, and if they fulfill this list, they feel “righteous.” Conversely, when they fail in terms of their behavior, they feel “unrighteous.” But this is the wrong definition of righteousness.
Look at 2 Corinthians 5:21: “For He (God) made Him (Jesus Christ) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (Jesus Christ).” We are not righteous because we do right. We became righteous because of what Jesus did for us at the cross. “Righteousness, “ therefore, is not based on our right doing. It is based entirely on Jesus’ right doing. Christianity is not about doing the right to become righteous. It is all about believing right in Jesus to become righteous.
Do you realize we have been conditioned to associate being blessed with doing right? Most belief systems are based on a system of merit whereby you need to fulfill certain requirements–give to the poor, do good to others and care for the underprivileged–to attain a certain state of righteousness. It all sounds very noble, self-sacrificial and appealing to our flesh, which likes to feel that our good works have earned us our righteousness.
But God is not looking at your nobility, sacrifices or good works to justify you. He is only interested in Jesus’ humility at the cross. He looks at His Son’s perfect sacrifice at Calvary to justify you and make you righteous! Attempting to be justified by your good works and trying your best to keep the Ten Commandments to become righteous is to negate the cross of Jesus Christ. It is as good as saying, “ the cross is not enough to justify me. I need to depend on my good works to make myself clean and righteous before God.”
The apostle Paul said, “I do not frustrate the grace (unmerited favor) of God; for if righteousness comes by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” My friend, consider carefully what Paul is saying here. He is effectively saying that if you are depending on your good works, your doing and your ability to keep perfectly the Ten Commandments to become righteous, then Jesus died for nothing! That’s what “in vain” means–for nothing! So don’t frustrate the grace of God by depending on your good works to make yourself righteous and put God on your side. Jesus’ sacrifice is more than enough to justify you! And when you know that you are justified, you can be confident that the unmerited favor of God is on your side and expect good to happen to you today! Joseph Prince
The Right Definition of “Righteousness”
What has a right understanding of your righteousness got to do with expecting good to happen to you today? Everything!
Many believers associate righteousness with a list of things that they have to do, and if they fulfill this list, they feel “righteous.” Conversely, when they fail in terms of their behavior, they feel “unrighteous.” But this is the wrong definition of righteousness.
Look at 2 Corinthians 5:21: “For He (God) made Him (Jesus Christ) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (Jesus Christ).” We are not righteous because we do right. We became righteous because of what Jesus did for us at the cross. “Righteousness, “ therefore, is not based on our right doing. It is based entirely on Jesus’ right doing. Christianity is not about doing the right to become righteous. It is all about believing right in Jesus to become righteous.
Do you realize we have been conditioned to associate being blessed with doing right? Most belief systems are based on a system of merit whereby you need to fulfill certain requirements–give to the poor, do good to others and care for the underprivileged–to attain a certain state of righteousness. It all sounds very noble, self-sacrificial and appealing to our flesh, which likes to feel that our good works have earned us our righteousness.
But God is not looking at your nobility, sacrifices or good works to justify you. He is only interested in Jesus’ humility at the cross. He looks at His Son’s perfect sacrifice at Calvary to justify you and make you righteous! Attempting to be justified by your good works and trying your best to keep the Ten Commandments to become righteous is to negate the cross of Jesus Christ. It is as good as saying, “ the cross is not enough to justify me. I need to depend on my good works to make myself clean and righteous before God.”
The apostle Paul said, “I do not frustrate the grace (unmerited favor) of God; for if righteousness comes by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” My friend, consider carefully what Paul is saying here. He is effectively saying that if you are depending on your good works, your doing and your ability to keep perfectly the Ten Commandments to become righteous, then Jesus died for nothing! That’s what “in vain” means–for nothing! So don’t frustrate the grace of God by depending on your good works to make yourself righteous and put God on your side. Jesus’ sacrifice is more than enough to justify you! And when you know that you are justified, you can be confident that the unmerited favor of God is on your side and expect good to happen to you today! Joseph Prince
Could you forgive someone who sexually assaulted you and cut of your hands and feet?
Many years ago, I read a news story about a young girl who had been kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and brutally attacked. Her hands and feet had been cut off by her attacker, and she was left for dead. Miraculously, she survived, and the man was caught and sent to prison for his horrific crime.
Eighteen years later, this man was being paroled. The news media got wind of it and thought this would make a great human interest story. They tracked down the girl, who was now a married woman with children of her own. With cameras running, they approached her front door, and when she answered, they delivered the news that the man who had kidnapped and brutalized her was going to be set free! The cameras quickly zoomed in on her face expecting to see a burst of emotional outrage and anger at hearing this monster was going free. Instead, she calmly said, “Eighteen years ago this man took thirty minutes of my life, and I have decided not to give him one second more.”
This lady was a believer in Jesus and she made the decision to forgive the man who had maimed and violated her so terribly. If she hadn’t forgiven him, she too would have been in prison; a different kind but, nonetheless, a prison.
Someone once said, “ Harboring unforgiveness is like drinking poison and hoping your enemy will die!” Unforgiveness poisons anyone who holds it, causing them to become bitter. It is impossible to be bitter and get better at the same time!
The love every believer possesses today is the very same love that forgave the entire world on the cross. God would never ask us to forgive if He hadn’t equipped us with the ability to do so. This same love can heal your broken heart and enable you to forgive the one who broke it. Living in God’s forgiveness is freedom. Knowing how to forgive is freeing.
“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:23). Ed Elliot
A LYDIA PLACE
She was baptized along with other members of her household, and she asked us to be her guests. “If you agree that I am faithful to the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my home.” And she urged us until we did. Acts 16:15
“Be my guests,” said Lydia to Paul and Silas. Lydia “urged” them–in other words, she wouldn’t take no for an answer. So Paul and Silas accepted her offer of gracious hospitality.
Hospitality has been defined as “the love of strangers,” and all through Christian history, the homes of believers have been the places where both strangers and friends have gathered for worship, friendship, healing, and help. Paul told the Roman Christians to practice hospitality (Romans 12:13); and Paul honored Gaius, the Roman whose hospitality he and the church enjoyed (16:23). On the island of Malta after a shipwreck, Publius, “the chief official of the island,” welcomed Paul, Luke, and their companions to his home and fed them for three days (Acts 28:7). Paul healed Publius’ father while he was there, and a stream of blessing began on the island (28:8-10).
If nonbelievers, like Publius, and brand-new believers, like Lydia, welcomed strangers hospitably, then how much more should we, who have known the Lord for much longer, show hospitality? The problem often lies in western busyness and fractured, scattered families. The words, “Come and stay with me,” are seldom heard.
Jill Briscoe
The Key to Living a Life Filled with Joy!
When we entertain or meditate on thoughts from our past or present, that gives birth to negative emotions. If we don’t cast them down as Scripture instructs us to do, those thoughts will cause us to disconnect from our true identity in Christ.
“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).
One significant negative thought that tries to capture many people is the false idea that God doesn’t love them. Take that thought captive and cast it down never to think or meditate on it ever again because Jesus’ life demonstrated beyond any shadow of a doubt God loves us.
Ed Ellliot
Delight in Jesus Daily
The Bible tells us, “Blessed in the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly.” This means that while there is wisdom in ungodly counsel, a blessed man does not depend on it nor walk in it. On the contrary, his delight is in the Word of God, which is the person of Jesus!
Let your delight be in Jesus. See Him in every page of the Bible as you meditate on God’s Word day and night.
Beloved, whose counsel are you walking in today for your provision? Be wary of ungodly counsel that promises you quick short-term gains that could cause you to get into a debt trap. Conversely, as you meditate on Jesus daily, you will enjoy the blessings of abundance as a by-product of just being in His presence! As you delight in Jesus, you will bring forth fruit in season, your leaf (your health) will not wither, and whatever you do becomes abundantly blessed!
Joseph Prince
JUDGE GOD FAITHFUL
“By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.” Hebrews 11:11
We often hear about Abraham’s faith, but do you know that his wife, Sarah, had faith too? She received divine strength to conceive Isaac, even though by this time, as a woman who had never conceived, she was doubly barren!
How did Sarah find faith? The Bible tells us that she “judged Him faithful who had provided”. She was conscious of the Lord’s faithfulness, not her own faithfulness!
My friend, rest in the faithfulness of Jesus. It’s not your faith but His faithfulness–His faithfulness is always loving you and making good on His promise to heal you. When you find yourself wavering in faith, judge Him faithful and be at rest. He cannot fail you and will do as His Word has promised.
Joseph Prince
JUDGE GOD FAITHFUL
“By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged HIm faithful who had promised.” Hebrews 11:11
We often hear about Abraham’s faith, but do you know that his wife, Sarah, had faith too? She received divine strength to conceive Isaac, even though by this time, as a woman who had never conceived, she was doubly barren!
How did Sarah find faith? The Bible tells us that she “judged Him faithful who had provided”. She was conscious of the Lord’s faithfulness, not her own faithfulness!
My friend, rest in the faithfulness of Jesus. It’s not your faith but His faithfulness–His faithfulness is always loving you and making good on His promise to heal you. When you find yourself wavering in faith, judge Him faithful and be at rest. He cannot fail you and will do as His Word has promised.
Joseph Prince
THE RACE IS NOT TO THE SWIFT
“I returned and saw under the sun that–the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all.” Ecclesiastes 9:11
The world tells you that those with the qualifications, talents and experience get the jobs, promotions and high salaries.
My friend, though you live in this world, as God’s beloved child, you need not be limited by it. You have God’s favor–His unmerited, unearned, undeserved grace! Ecclesiastes 9:11 says, “The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strongest, most knowledgeable or best looking in the natural world, God can still give you good success when you depend on His grace.
Instead of mulling over your “disqualifications”, be conscious of God’s favor on you. Smile and say, “God’s favor is all over me because of Jesus. I expect good things to happen to me today!” Beloved, be conscious of His favor. Believe it. Confess it. And you will experience it.
Joseph Prince
ENCOUNTER THE PERSON OF GRACE, JESUS CHRIST
“What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace! Certainly not!! Romans 6:15
When I share–even from the Bible–the gift of righteousness we have through Christ, someone will inevitably say, “But, Pastor Prince, If you preach that one is forever righteous before the Lord apart from his works and law keeping, won’t people go out and live a licentious life? Won’t I give people a license to sin?” Let me make this very clear–”I, Joseph Prince, (and New Life for the Nations**) are vehemently, completely, aggressively, and irrevocably against sin! Sin is evil. We do not condone sin”. A lifestyle of sin leads only to defeat and destruction.
Our goal is for people to live a life of victory over sin, but we do not believe a victorious life comes by keeping the law. I am convinced that it happens by preaching the grace of God. What you will see in our congregation is that sin loses its appeal when you encounter the person of grace, Jesus Christ, and realize all that He has done for you on the cross and blessed you with. You will begin to realize that you have been given this great gift of righteousness, and that you did nothing to deserve it. You did nothing to earn it and you did nothing to merit it.
Now, will such an encounter with Jesus cause you to want to go out and sin? Of course not! On the contrary, It will cause you to fall in love with Jesus all over again. It will make you a better husband, a better father, a better housewife, a better student. It will make you someone who desires with all your heart to guard the glory of our Lord Jesus by living a life that is victorious over sin, by His grace and strength. The preoccupation with Christ instead of self will cause you to start reigning in life through the one, Jesus Christ. That is what we call the Grace Revelation!
The Word of God says, “ Awake to righteousness and sin not.. (I Cor. 15:34 KJV). The more you realize you are righteous, the more you will experience victory over sin! So, wake up every morning and give thanks that you are the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ! Joseph Prince
**The name of our church was inserted into this article by Pastor LaVerne to establish where we stand*.
JESUS CHRIST…
Dr. Daniel O.C.
Is my God, my King, my lord, my Savior and my Healer!
He is my Refuge, my Provider, my Strength and my Defender!
My Protector, my Peace, my Joy, my Life and my All!
Jesus is my rock, my High Tower and my Everything, blessed be His holy name!
God’s way is much better than ours. So, hold on tight, hang in there, strengthen your faith and everything will fall into place with God.
Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does change the future.
I will thank God for my blessings without forgetting that I am BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING.
God, Adonai Elohim has taught me that I never need to worry about tomorrow. I overcome yesterday. I am alive and dealing with today. With God’s help, I will face tomorrow and withstand whatever may come my way.
What God, Adonai Yahweh promised in the BLOOD OF JESUS shall come to pass in my LIFE in Jesus’ mighty name, Amen!
Remember, there are about 4200 world religions, but there is only ONE Man who conquered sin, death, the grave, and hell forever. His name is JESUS CHRIST!
What would happen if………
What do you think would have happened to the Prodigal son had he run into his elder brother before he got to experience the love, acceptance, embrace, and kiss of his father?
I think there is a good chance he may have never made it home. His elder brother’s view of their father was radically different from who he really was.
I believe the elder brother would have scolded and condemned his younger brother for being selfish, thoughtless, reckless, and living a sin-filled life. He would have probably made the Prodigal think his father was so angry with him he never wanted to see him again. At that point of hopelessness, the Prodigal would have probably changed his course and may have never gone home.
How we portray God to people we meet daily will determine the path they take in life. My desire is for people to experience our heavenly Father’s unconditional love and forgiveness as a reality in their hearts. We never know when we act as God’s embrace and kiss to someone searching for the kind of love only God can provide.
Ed & Laurie Elliott
There always has been a full-blown, spiritual attack on children. But now it’s bolder. The church must engage in the battle like never before. Barna Research shows that what a young person believes by the time they are 13 years old is most likely what they will believe until death. After the age of 19, someone’s probability of accepting Christ drops to just 6%.
The battle is more difficult because children are not taken to church. The social center of the community was the church, now it is the school. In 2018 before the pandemic, church attendance had dwindled to a mere 18% of the USA population. Church attendees tend to be older, meaning far fewer than 18% of children were in church. Now we have the additional phenomena of people who never got around to returning to church after the pandemic.
“The percentage of people (with ) a biblical worldview declines in each successively younger generation…to only 4 percent of Gen Z (teenagers). This is a foreboding statistic for the Gen z children who are coming next.
When a church loves and encourages children, parents appreciate it like nothing else. Parenting is such hard work that when a child comes home with a new attitude, parents take notice and want to meet whoever is responsible.
By Lydia Kaiser CHURCHLEADERS
“Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” Proverbs 22:6
“And He took the children in His arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them” Mark 10:16
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