While I enjoyed the message yesterday morning, today I was gearing up and getting a sneak preview of our services next week.  If you have not heard we are having Justin Krom from Chosen People Ministries come next week (March 15th) to share The Passover Experience with us.  It is a wonderful presentation of the Lord’s Supper and how it relates to the Jewish Passover feast that Jesus was celebrating that night with his disciples.  Hear how many of the elements from this 3500 year old ritual shines a prophetic light on the life of Jesus.  Invite everyone you know to this unique worship experience.

I liked the idea from this Sunday that two thieves with equal assess to Jesus prayed two different prayers, with two different answers.  Both witnessed the same man dying between them, yet only one found the faith and courage to ask to be remembered.  Only the second thief had his prayer answered and paradise awaited him.  Both men had life and death held out before them.  One chose physical life and died.  One chose spiritual life and lived.  We too have that same choice  before us.  Are you going to choose the right one?

This is the last week of my I Am series.  And I think it is a vital I am statement that we need to ponder many times.  What does it mean to be connected?  How are we to bear fruit?  Am I in danger of being cut off?  In answer to that last question, the simple answer is if you are asking the question, then most likely you are not cut off.  Being cut off is not something that you have to worry about if you are worrying about it.  It is when you get to the point of not being concerned about this possibility is the first indication that your heart has grown so cold and hardened that it doesn’t matter to you whether or not you are saved.  Nothing in life can take away your salvation (Rom 8), but if you choose to walk away from God and his gift of life in Jesus, your salvation may be in jeopardy.  Just as you have free will to accept Jesus as your savior, you have free will to reject his salvation.  However, if you are starting to ask the question, “Am I in danger of being cut off” than maybe God is urging you into a closer more intimate relationship with him.  Just as earthly relationship can grow distant and disconnected if not given the right time and effort needed to maintain those relationships, so to your relationship with God.  God doesn’t just want your initial yes to his plan of salvation, He wants that acceptance to grow closer to you as you grow closer to him.  The closer you are with God, the further you are from wandering off and losing that salvation given to you.

Heaven is a wonderful place from what the Bible tells us.  And I am looking forward one day of dwelling there.  And this is not just a hope, but a real destination which was paid for by the blood of Jesus cleansing me from my sins.  I know without a doubt that He died and rose again.  And one day (I hope soon), He will come back to take me home.  If you do not have this confidence and would like to know more, please contact me here at the church and I would be more than happy to lead you down the path that leads to everlasting life in God’s kingdom.

In my sermon this last week, I started off with a list of people who were raised from the dead.  I listed 7 including Jesus.  These were not from a list I found, but from my own memory of the Bible.  However, my memory failed me because as I was starting to prepare next week’s message, I recalled another resurrection story I failed to list.  In Acts 9, Peter raised a woman named Dorcas (also called Tabitha) back to life.

A lot of sickness has gone through our house these last few weeks and it is hard sometimes to get into the office to get things done when you have to watch a child home sick from school.  My schedule has been a bit disrupted from the norm and I find myself distracted more easily when I am wondering what my kids might be going through.  However, it is encouraging to know that Jesus as my shepherd is with me fighting the battles I am going through.  He knows what I am going through and he helps me get through them.  I find I need his guidance even more when I do not have the strength to make it through.

As you might be able to see, I am not writing this on January 13th.  I am a few days behind due to some sickness in my family.  However, I have been thinking about this light that we talked about on Sunday. My first point was about Jesus doing miracles even today.  Some of those miracles are “natural” i.e. medications the help cure or heal, doctors performing surgery, etc.  And God has blessed and provided through some of these means “miracles” that might not have happened not too long ago.  I do not believe like some other religious groups that God only heals via supernatural ways by faith believing.  Doctors and hospitals all are involved with health and healing in the Christian’s life.  But I also believe that does not deny the fact that God still uses supernatural healing.  Miracles happen.  People who are prayed over or anointed with oil can be healed by a direct touch from our Maker.  I even struggled whether or not to include in my sermon a time for me to ask if anyone wanted the elders and I to lay hands on those who needed to be anointed.  I only decided not to because I have never done anything like that on a Sunday morning and felt too apprehensive about it.  I do not feel I have the gift of healing and it would scare me if a supernatural healing would happen because of something I did.  It might “go to my head” and knowing how many of this congregation have physical needs . . . . well I will just say that while I know the Spirit can and does, actually experiencing it would freak me out.  Besides, I know many times that our prayers times have seen many answers to prayer for healing.  Also I would be more than happy to anoint and pray for someone if they ask me (they take the initiative) but a little scared if I would initially ask the congregation who wanted to be anointed.  Hope this confusion makes sense to you.  If not, come and ask me about it and maybe I can flesh it out more on a one on one basis. Until next week, God Bless.