When we are confronted with Emotional, Intellectual or Spirtual Troubles, we often refer to them as Tribulation. Now that our wallets are being affected, we are calling it a Crisis of Great Proportion. When James uses the word "temptations"in the following verse, he is speaking of troubles and tribulations. We tend to divide our "temptations"into two catagories. Those that effect the soul and those that effect the wallet, when in all actuality, the source of these trobles is one and the same. Jas 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
We can react to these temptations based on emotion or logic but niether one will offer us any solace. While we under-go "Crisis" in America's economy, remember that this is just another way that the devil can get under our skin and cause us to act like unbelievers. We need to face money problems the same way we approach any other problem in life. With Joy and Gratitude toward God knowing that He is working a greater good in our life.
Is it a mere coincidence that more troubles come our way when we make a firmer commitment to God? The devil and the World will try to convince us that the commitment we make is not worth the trouble. We know better. God is on our side and He wants us to be at Peace, no matter what happens around us. Don't let money problems, or any problems, steal away your Joy as a child of God. God is in the process of perfecting us, no matter how things look on the outside, God is in complete control of all things that pertain to us. Be patient and allow God to work in us, "a greater weight of Glory".
Nothing can be a Crisis as long as God has the last Word...
Pastor Charles
Integrity:
Psa 7:8 The LORD shall judge the people: judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me.
I read the 'Daily Word' as a part of my daily devotion. Today the devotion was on Integrity. After thinking about it today, this is what I came up with;
A Christian's Character is revealed by what they would do if they thought no other person would ever find out.
A Christian's Integrity is revealed by what they would do if they thought that GOD would never find out.
Fruit of the Spirit vs. Works of the Flesh Far too many Christians live their daily lives in humanism (accepting that which is morally base or anamalistic). Jesus bought us Freedom with His shed blood. Not a freedom to do what we humanly desire, but a freedom to live above that which is animal (humanistic). A freedom which allows us to live according to God's Spirit (a morally acceptable life) without fear of the consequences of The Law (thus fulfilling His Law).
For today's study I have in mind to define (from the original language)...
The Fruit of the Spirit vs. The Works of the Flesh
If you live in the Spirit, you will transcend the Law ((live above the Law) Example: If you always drive the speed limit, you never have to worry about the police or law - You never have to worry about consequences of wrongdoing)
Fruit of the spirit (God's Spirit within us)
There are seven Fruit of the Spirit:
1. Love (affection)
2. Joy (cheerfulness, delight)
3. Peace (quietness, prosperity)
4. Longsuffering (patience, fortitude)
5. Gentleness (moral excellence)
6. Goodness (virtue, beneficial to others)
7. Faith (absolute moral conviction, no doubts)
8. Meekness (humility)
9. Temperance (self-control = Spirit controlled)
If you live in the Flesh, you are subject to the Law of man and God ((Under Judgement) Always looking over your shoulder with guilt, waiting for the consequences of wrongdoing)
Works of the Flesh (are made manifest (apparent).
There are seventeen Works of the Flesh:
1. Adultery (spiritual) idolatry
2. Fornication (sexual sin)
3. Uncleanness (impure)
4. Lasciviousness (filthy)
5. Idolatry (image worship)
6. Witchcraft (sorcery)
7. Hatred (hostile)
8. Variance (debate or conflict)
9. Emulations (jealousy, malice)
10. Wrath (outward show of anger)
11. Strife (faction- causing division)
12. Seditions (disunion)
13. Heresies (sect or faction- false doctrine)
14. Envyings (ill will from jealousy)
15. Murders (slaughter)
16. Drunkenness (intoxication)
17. Revellings (letting loose)
Can you find the opposing work and fruit:
example: Strife is opposite of Peace
Make a list of each (Fruit vs. Works of Flesh) and draw lines toward their opposite.
Until Death Do We Part.
“unless a grain of wheat fall to the ground and die, it abides alone; but if it dies it
brings forth much fruit.” (Jn. 12:24)
Jesus teaches us a great truth in this verse of scripture; that all things must die in order to bring forth fruit. Most of us live day by day in hope that God will remove troubles, illness, worries, etc... from our life so we can praise Him. The better way to live is to understand how God uses things that seem negative to make a positive... even death. The Bible teaches us that we must "die to sin so that we may live in righteousness" we must "kill the lust of our flesh" in order to have life abundant, and bring forth fruit in our daily lives. If God is going to make us better people and cause us to grow spiritually, then we must accept the death of temporal things.
The Biblical definition of death is 'Seperation'.
Understanding this definition we can conclude that the worst death is ultimate and eternal seperation from God, but that does not preclude the smaller seperations we must endure in life in order for Godly Life to result. Anything that happens in our daily life to cause us to GRIEVE over it's loss, can be included in this principle of death and life. Jesus teaches us that the death of a grain of wheat will result in a new life that will produce much fruit. Therefore the death (or seperation) of earthly things in our daily lives will ultimately bring forth life and fruit. The principle He is trying to teach us is this: that all forms of death (seperation) involve suffering and grief, but these things are necessary to bring forth Godly Life so that the things that we often do not want to endure are the very things that God will use to give us greater spiritual life and the ability to bring forth fruit unto God. Things like Illness, change, troubles, conflict... (the kind of things that would normally cause us stress, worry, fear or 'grief') are the very things that God will use to cause you to grow in Christ until you are able to bring forth fruit. This principle is the reason that James is able to say that we should "count it all joy" when seemingly negative things happen to us. We need to remember that all things that cause us to grieve are things that should be dying to us (in the flesh), and all the bad traits, and selfish behaviors should die along with them, so that we may truly become "new creatures in Christ". Only when something dies, can it truly live. This principle is a mystery to the world, (they cannot understand it), but it is our salvation through Christ Jesus.
It is only when our old sinfull self dies, that we can truly live for God,
When our selfish, sinfull nature is buried 'neath the sod.
God can take any Negative and turn it into a Positive.
If we will let Him complete His work in us, we can be assured that when all that is negative has died, then and only then, all that is positive will start to live.
Charles Beason, Pastor
Not Enough Time...
Most days, it seems that my time is used up before I even begin the day. There never seems to be enough time in a day to accomplish all that needs to be done. That's why it is so important to us, as Chritians to be reminded that our life is short. Our time here on earth "is but a vapor" and we need to concentrate on what is truly important. The most important things in life are the things that are eternal. Sure, we all have jobs and other duties that we have to accomplish, but we must always set aside some amount of that time for God and His children (those that need us). To tally the value of how we spend our limited time, we must always consider the fact that people are more important than possessions, and God is more important than a job, or a house, or anything else that we tend to work so hard for. The Eternal importance of Love, Joy, Peace, Gentleness Meekness, Faith, Self-Control, Integrity, etc... these are the things we will take with us when we leave this world. Therefore we should spend more time cultivating our Spiritual Growth than we do our bank accounts. There is a certain person that I am praying for at this time... they are having a hard time financially so they began to work on Sunday (and stop attending worship service) to try to make more money. They have forgotton the promise of God, that if we will seek His Kingdom first, all our earthly needs will be met. Sometimes God has to shake up our time schedule in order for us to realize what is most important in life. Don't wait until God has to wake you up to what is truly important, and remember to set aside some time for Him each day. Even five minutes of Bible Study and Prayer will make an incredible difference in your day, and your eternal happiness.
At the end of your life; are you going to wish you had worked more? Are you going to wish you had spent more time away from your family and friends? Are you going to be happy to face God and explain to Him that you just did not have time for Him? I think Not. So concentrate your efforts on the things that are truly and eternally important and your Time will be well spent.
There is an old saying:
Love People, Not Things.
Use, Things, Not People.
May the Lord Bless your Time today,
Pastor, Charles Beason
Thank God it's Over!
What's over? Thanksgiving. For some people... some can wait for ten years or so before it comes around again, for other people it can come more than once a year. For most of us once a year is plenty. For the cook and hostess there is lots of labor and stress: Planning the meal, cooking, cleaning up, all the time she is being the perfect hostess. All of this could cause a person to even hate Thanksgiving. I have been in homes where drinking beer and watching T.V.was the most exciting thing for the day. Let's ask ourselves can Thanksgiving really be over? The answer to this is "YES" for the people who never give thanks on Thanksgiving or any other time of the year. The child of God, on the other hand should never cease to give thanks and praise. One of the most remembered bible chapters I learned in school was Psalms 100: Verse 1: Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Verse 2: Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing. Verse 3: Know ye that the Lord He is God: It is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves. We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Verse 4: Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name. Verse 5: For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endures to all generations. Take a few minutes and say a prayer such as this: "Our Father God, help us to always be thankful and to remember your loving grace through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour." Amen.
Submitted by Brother Bill Crowe (Associate Pastor)
SALVATION:
Is there steps, or degrees?
Luke,Chapter 5, tells us that Jesus was teaching from a ship when Peter was told by Jesus to thrust out into the deep. Peter told Jesus that he and his crew had been fishing all night without catching any fish. Jesus told him to launch out into the deep and there he would find and catch fish. Here you will find that Jesus told Peter on which side of the ship to cast the net. When Peter did what the Master told him to do, he caught more fish than he ever had caught in his whold life as a fisherman When we get saved we are saved, and no one can take our salvation from us. On the other side of the story we can be robbed of our blessings. If you want a full life in Christ, there is just a little more to do than just being saved. You can be rich in the Spirit, or you can be poor in the Spirit Now this is where the degrees come in. You can sit around and do nothing, and be saved, but you can't have the blessings of God in your life without putting something in. I will name a few: Prayer, belonging to a bible believing Church, taking part in the service of the Master, observing the Lord's Supper and washing of the Saint's feet, and fellowship with the saints of God. Call me and let's talk: Brother Bill: 760-252-0419
Article by: Bill Crowe (Assoc. Pastor)
William (Bill) Crowe is now the Associate Pastor at Oasis Missionary Baptist Church
A True Test of Faith
James 1:1-4
This past few weeks has been a true test of Faith for anyone in Real Estate, Construction, etc...
I am in the Flooring business (until the Church grows large enough to support me) and it has really been a trial. It is almost as if someone turned off a switch, and suddenly there is no jobs. Real Estate has plummeted, Construction has ceased and Flooring is last thing on peoples mind right now. (Therefore NO SALES and NO WORK). As the Flooring Consultant and Estimator I feel a great amount of Pressure because the income of 5 to 6 families depends on me to make the Sale.
Yet in spite of how bleak the picture seems to be, I know that God is still in control of all things. He has always provided our needs (not always our desires, but always our needs) and I know by experience that He will provide for us. We may need to buckle down and budget for now --- But Success awaits those who will Patiently "Wait Upon the Lord". In His time we will see the Best outcome.
In the Book of James we are told to be Happy ("count it all Joy") when our Faith is tested. So I will remain content until the Lord works His mighty Power.
Article By: Charles Beason (Pastor)
Charles Beason is the Pastor at Oasis Missionary Baptist Church
Born Again to Become a New Creature in Christ
John 3:1-6
A pig enjoys wallowing in the mud, and a son enjoys the love and fellowship of being in His Father’s House. You can give a pig a bath, dress him up in a suit and tie and bring him to church. What have you got? A clean pig in a suit and tie. As soon as church service is over, where will he go? Back to the pigpen. On the other hand, if you take a believer in Christ (that is a son of the Heavenly Father), and he backslides and winds up down the street in the beer joint, if he is truly a son, he will eventually come back to His Father’s House. Why do I believe this? Because I was that kind of a son. A true son will one day look around and realize that the pigpen is no place for a son. No more than a butterfly can go back and become a caterpillar, a born again son cannot go back a become a pig. We are new creatures in Christ, forevermore.
Article By: Charles Beason (Pastor)
LONG BEFORE WE HAD SOME OF THE NEW WAYS OF TREATING PEOPLE A LITTLE GIRL WAS VERY SICK AND THE ONLY WAY OF HELPING HER WAS TO USE HER LITTLE BROTHER AS A TYPE OF MACHINE .THE DOCTORS NEEDED TO USE THE LIVER OF THE LITTLE BOY TO TO CLEANCE THE BLOOD OF THE LITTLE GRIL TO SAVE HER LIFE.TO MAKE A LONG SHORT THEY TOOK BOTH THE CHILDERN INTO SURGERY AND AS THE LITTLE BOY WAS LAID BY THE SIDE OF HIS LITTLE SISTER AND THE TUBES WHERE HOOK UP BETWEEN THEM THE LITTLE BOY LOOK UP AT THE NURSE AND ASKED? WHEN AM I GOING TO DIE .TEARS CAME IN THE NURES EYES YOUR NOT GOING TO DIE SON WE ONY NEED TO USE YOUR GOOD LIVER TO CLEAN THE BLOOD OF YOUR LITTLE SISTER.DO YOU KNOW ABOUT A MAN IN THE BIBLE WHO GAVE HIS BLOOD TO CLEANCE OURS:
Article By: Bill Crowe (Reverend)
There is an old song that people like to sing and it has a powerful message
"don't let the devil ride because he will drive".
Submitted by: Bill Crowe
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