special Simply Scripture (from Keith of Noonday Devotionals)

Welcome Dear Friends

Thank for joining us once again, I do hope you are enjoying these studies and that you will share them with all your friends.
Please take time to read and listen to the links situated at the bottomof this study
God bless you
Keith


FAITH IN GOD

Hebrews 11

1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

6 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.

I wonder what comes to mind when you think of the word Faith.

What a word it is.. many definitions are given of it, but the ultimate one is given in the verses above and then in the rest of the great chapter we have various examples of how faith worked in action.

One of the things that Faith sees is the possible instead of the impossible. It says inLuke 1:37, that nothing is impossible with God and faith lines up with His promises.

Faith is basically lining up our thoughts with God's. Do You think God thinks anything is too difficult for Him to accomplish.. then neither should we.

Look at some of the things that God has accomplished for His people

He opened the Red Sea and River Jordan for them
He brought down the walls of Jericho
He shut the mouths of lions and protected His saints in the fiery furnace.
He opened the doors of both Paul's and Peter's prison cells

Now how's your faith believer? You see it is not the amount of our faith, but simply Who we place it in. Is anything too hard for the Lord?

The more you get to know the Father, the greater your faith will become. The first time you do something is always the hardest, so it is in the spiritual realm. God will never let us down, but we have to trust Him.

Maybe you haven't given all your cares to God 1 Peter 5:7. Isn't it time you did?.. this is a command not an option.

In verse 6, Faith is the essential element in salvation, but not only in salvation, but in the Christian life. We walk by Faith and not by sight. When you become a Christian, you enter a new realm. You won't be able to see things as you did before, your life is not now in your hands, it is under the control of your heavenly Father and to say Jesus is Lord is the greatest act of Faith that anyone can say, because you are letting go of your life and handing it over to another. Have you done that yet? Have you said Jesus is Lord of my life?

Some Christians say.. well I haven't much faith. Jesus says in Matthew 17:

20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Now the Mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds you can get, but it accomplishes much. This is because when we put our faith in God, it is not the amount of our faith, it is Who we put it in that counts. If I am preparing to do a parachute jump, I may be a trembling wreck waiting to jump, but I know that I have the correct equipment on that will get me safely to the ground. Like wise with Faith, we have God with us as we jump out in faith. We know that we will land safely, because we have God as our parachute. When jumping out of that plane, I have 100% confidence in that parachute, likewise I have 100% confidence in God. (This does not mean I would do a parachute jump.. indeed the words, not in a million years come to mind!!!)

Faith is the tried and tested method, there is no other way to act, but in faith. Faith pleases God, because it shows you trust Him and allows Him to show what He can do in your life, it takes us out of the equation, you are saying 'here is this situation Lord, it's all up to you'.

As I was thinking about faith, the Lord brought to mind the film Back to the Future 3.

Doc and Marty are on the train and to get back to the future, they seek to send the train over the canyon, which has only 2 tracks.

This is like how we act in Faith, there is a chasm or canyon, which we have to get over and we cant see the way across, we only see the first few rails across the canyon, but the rest is just a yawning gap. When Doc in the film, was speeding the train towards the canyon, he had to go through obstacles, and likewise we have to burst through obstacles, such as doubt and fear and the best way to do this, is to exercise faith every day. The more faith is exercised, the stronger it becomes.. Doubt and fear are the enemies of Faith, but basically they are sin, because you are doubting.. God's ability to do something and He is able to do everything Ephesians 3:20.

As soon as the train in the film, hits the canyon and goes over the first two rails, then the rest are put in place. You see believer when you launch out in faith, God does the rest. All he wants from you is that you act in faith, it shows God that you believe who He is and that he will reward them who diligently seek Him.

We needn't go back to the future.. we need to look to the future with confidence, we need to go full steam ahead, knowing that when we act in faith, that activates God's power in our lives.

Are you ready to go full steam ahead and launch out in faith?

I hope this has been of help and encouragement to you

God Bless you

Keith


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Welcome to Simply Scripture

As always, it is an amazing joy to share with you. I love writing these studies to Glorify God.. this is what it is all about. It is nothing of me and all about God.. amen

I love you Lord from the bottom of my heart

Please view the links at the bottom of this mail.. you will be truly blessed and please don't forget to share this study.. you are welcome to print it out and pass it on etc

The word of God and what I write are not copyright, use it for God's glory.. amen.

God Bless and Thanks
Keith


COMPLETE IN GOD
Colossians 2

7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:


I love the book of Colossians. Just bursting with great truths.. as is the whole Bible of course.

These verses sum up the way we grow as Christians, especially verses 7 and 10.

There are certain stages that we go through.

Rooted

Firstly everyone has to have strong roots. In the parable of the sower, the seed that did not bear fruit had no roots and that is why first and foremost, we must have strong roots.

This happens is in 2 ways. Firstly we must trust Christ as Saviour. We must come to a point of trusting Christ to deliver us from our sinful lives by the power of His atoning death on the cross.

Secondly we must not only receive the Word of God with gladness, but obey it without question. Jesus said that we are his friends if we obey HIM John 15:14.

Built up

The second thing that happens is that we are built up in the faith Jude 20-21. In these verses it gives us three things that will build us up:

Prayer, Love the brethren and Looking for the Coming of Christ.

To be built up, we must exercise these things in our daily lives, we must practice them so we build up our spiritual muscle.

Stablished in the Faith

We are to be stable and this means, and this means that we walk a consistent walk every day. we are not blown about by circumstances like the disciples were on the sea of Galilee. When storms come, they will not hinder us, because we are sheltering under the shadow of the Almighty and have complete confidence in Him Psalm 91:1-2 and 1 Peter 5:7.

Abounding

In John 7:38, Jesus says that rivers of living water will flow out of the person who believes. Maybe some of us as believers aren't the fount of all knowledge, but we can be the fountain of living waters which replenish a dry and dusty land.

The Christian life is like the building of a house, lots of time spent on the foundations, then the walls go up, then the house is stable and then when all this is done the house is fit for habitation. Much time is spent by the Lord on building strong foundations, and this will take time. But the Lord will not move you on until He feels that these foundations are truly solid.

In verse 10 Paul comes to the magnificent conclusion that we are complete in Christ. We are not yet the finished article though. We are in the construction phase or a work in progress. Press on dear believer to be an abounding ambassador for your Lord. Press on like Paul to the highest calling ever. Philippians 3:10-17.

God bless you
Keith


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Welcome to Simply Scripture

As always, it is a real joy to share. I greet you in the matchless name of Jesus.

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God bless

Keith


GOD'S WORD - COMPLETE TRUTH


1 Timothy 6:20-21 (King James Version)

20 O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:

21 Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen.

My dear friends

I wasn't expecting to write on these verses, but felt led to by the Lord

In this day and age we are bombarded with all kinds of theories and man's reasoning, why things are like they are and how to put them right. We are bombarded with the false theory of evolution that seeks to discredit the true biblical account of creation.

Let me sound a warning on that subject and it is this:

If we don't believe the first 3 chapters of the bible, why should be believe the rest of it? The bible is either totally and completely true or not at all.

If you do not believe the first chapters of Genesis and what God said happened, you then discredit the doctrines of:

The Trinity
The Person of the Holy Spirit
The Fall of Man
The Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ

And so many more, brothers and sisters, we must hold onto the truth of scripture so tightly and never let it go.

Things haven't changed that much.. in Paul's day, their were false teachers just as there is today.

Here are some verses to back up scripture:

2 Peter 1:21 (King James Version)

21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

2 Timothy 3

16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished
unto all good works.

When confronting the devil, Jesus used the Old testament scriptures to defeat Him, he had the utmost confidence in the whole of the Bible from cover to cover and so must we. Matthew 4:1-11

Are we holding fast the faithful word?

Titus 2

9 Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.

A final Question. Are you a student of the Word or the world?

What do you spend most time reading the newspapers or the Bible?

Look at the warnings in these verses. Paul names and shames these people, it is really a terrible thing to lead people into error. Teachers and preachers of the word, have a deep responsibility to speak not their own words, but words spoken to them, through the HOLY SPIRIT.. amen.

Look at what false teaching does.. it smells like rotting cheese in your fridge, do you leave rotting food in your fridge?.. no you get rid of it. If false teaching is not dealt with, it will lead to the overthrowing of the faith of some believers and the church smelling bad both in the nostrils of God and to the world.

We only have to look at some of the seven churches in the book of Revelation, to see how seriously God takes this subject.. amen.

If we do not act to root out our false teaching then some young believers fall because of it, God looks at our non action just as badly as those who have brought the false teaching.

2 Timothy 2

15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

16 But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.

17 And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;

18 Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.

My brothers and sisters, it is time to spend time digging into the word of God.. maybe just ask the Holy Spirit to reveal things to you.. Jesus promised that the HOLY SPIRIT, would lead you into all truth.. take Jesus at HIS word.

God bless you

Keith

Keith who is totallylovedbyGod


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What an amazing joy and privilege to be with you today.

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Thanks and God bless

Keith




GOD IS FAITHFUL

1 Thessalonians 5

24 Faithful is He Who is calling you [to Himself] and utterly trustworthy, and He will also do it [fulfill His call by hallowing and keeping you].

This verse is just so awesome, and it is packed full of truths for the believer.

The first thing to notice is the fact that God is faithful.

In Lamentations chapter 3, the Prophet is really sad, but when he looks at the faithfulness of God, he is excited and joyful.

21 But this I recall and therefore have I hope and expectation:

22 It is because of the Lord's mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His [tender] compassion's fail not.

23 They are new every morning; great and abundant is Your stability and faithfulness.

Fact is my brothers and sisters, circumstances may change, people may change, but God doesn't change and HE is faithful.

The second thing to realise is that we are called by God. We are His chosen people as a church and as individuals. We are chosen for a specific purpose and that is for being His mouthpieces down here on earth. We are tools of the master, we are God's ambassadors here on earth.. Paul puts it wonderfully in :-

Romans Chapter 8:

30 And those whom He thus foreordained, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified (acquitted, made righteous, putting them into right standing with Himself). And those whom He justified, He also glorified [raising them to a heavenly dignity and condition or state of being

Isn't it wonderful to be called of God?

We know that God is faithful and that he has called us, but the final part of the verse says he will do it.. do what you might ask?

Peter in his first epistle puts it like this in Chapter 2

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, [God's] own [d]purchased, special people, that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

To set forth the works of God.. to speak forth .. by our mouths and to display the virtues and perfections of him.. by our lives.

He also wants your sanctification from the world, God wants you to be separate from this world as outlined in 1 Thessalonians 4:

3 For this is the will of God, that you should be consecrated (separated and set apart for pure and holy living): that you should abstain and shrink from all sexual vice,

This is God's will for your life.. this is why He is faithful.. he wants you to be truly His. God is rightfully jealous, if anyone or anything steals that place of Lordship in your life.. it is His by right.

In Philippians 2, we have another reason why God wants you to be separate:

13 [Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while [j]effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and [k]delight.

God has been faithful with me over the years, he has held me, because He is doing a work in me. He has called me out from the world, to separate me for Himself. He takes pleasure in you believer, you are so valuable to the Father that he gave His Son for your salvation and now sends His Holy Spirit to help you.

Amazing being a believer ...amen.

Let me finish with another awesome verse and promise from the word of God.

Jude 24-25

24Now to Him Who is able to keep you without stumbling or slipping or falling, and to present [you] unblemished (blameless and faultless) before the presence of His glory in triumphant joy and exultation [with unspeakable, ecstatic delight]--

25To the one only God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory (splendor), majesty, might and dominion, and power and authority, before all time and now and forever (unto all the ages of eternity). Amen (so be it).

God Bless you

Keith



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Welcome to Simply Scripture

What a joy, it is to share with you, once again from the word of God. I hope that you enjoy this study and that it encourages you to dig deep into God's precious and Holy Word.

Please share this study with all your friends and also take time to click on the featured page links at the bottom of this message

Thanks

God Bless

Keith

DEBORAH AND BARAK


Judges chapters 4-5

Israel had in Joshua 24, made a clear choice to follow the Lord. But all through the book of Judges, we see them going back and forth, just like we do sometimes.

The book of Judges is a true parallel, of the believer's walk today, we sin and fall away from God, are then delivered, go on with Him and then we fall back into the same practices that got us into trouble in the first place.

We are going to look at someone who was one of the Judges of Israel. Deborah and how she helped a man, who was weak in Faith to reach his full potential. For a cross reference to all the qualities of Deborah, please read Proverbs 31:10-31

And yes, she was a woman, let me say this. God chooses people who are dedicated to Him, he does not care, about gender, race, color etc.The only thing that matters to God is that the person concerned is committed to Him and wants to serve HIM and him alone. The Holy Spirit, gives out gifts at his choosing, not ours.

That means, he will give teaching and preaching gifts to women...DO I HEAR AN AMEN?

Deborah had several qualities that we are going to look at:

She had a deep and intimate relationship with God

She lived right in the midst of Israel, who as a nation were rebelling openly against God and yet she was one, who knew GOD and heard from HIM personally. My brothers and sisters, we live in the middle of deep wickedness, and we should be like lights shining bright, making sure this world, not only hears about Jesus, but sees Him as well.

She heard and obeyed God's voice Ch 4:6

She was able to hear God clearly. Remember she was a prophetess, who people came to for advice and help, but even before you and I can help anyone, we have to be able to decipher and discern the voice of God. Jesus said "my sheep hear my voice and the voice of a stranger they will not hear"

She had a great understanding of who God was

The Lord God of Israel. What is your view of God?. This is such an important question. If we see God as small, then we will only expect him to do small things, if we see Him as an ogre and not a father, then we will be frightened of Him and not have the sonship we are deserving of , because of the sacrifice of Jesus.

But if we see God, as the Lord God of Israel, just like David AND Deborah did, , then we will be strong and do exploits. Daniel 11:32


She was trusted by the People

They came to Her. She had wisdom, knowledge that drew them. We need to have the wisdom of God, not the wisdom of men. All we have to do is ask for it as James 1:5 says.

5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

She inspired faithless Barak

I don't know of any finer compliment that anyone could pay, than the one Barak paid Deborah, and yes Barak should have had more faith, but Deborah so stood out as a true woman of God that Barak, would not go into battle without her.

Are you a man or woman of God, who your fellow believers, would say, I will not go into this battle without them?

I love what she says in Verse 14:

Then Deborah said to Barak, "Go! This is the day the LORD has given Sisera into your hands. Has not the LORD gone ahead of you?"

Maybe that is what you need to hear believer. The Lord is saying to you, to step out in faith. He has prepared a way ahead of you and he is telling you to step out in faith. Are you prepared to do this?

Let us have the qualities of Deborah, it does not matter if you a man or woman, black or white, what matters is that you are submitted to God, because once you are, every enemy will flee from before your face.

To all of us, who are like Barak. We need a push to get ourselves moving forward. There is hope, as in Hebrews 11:32, it says this

32 And what shall I say further? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets

Please also read the wonderful song of Praise of Deborah and Barak in Chapter 5

Hallelujah and Glory to the Lord God of Israel!

God bless you

Keith


Special Sermon

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Special sermon

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Welcome to Simply Scripture

It is a great joy to welcome you once again to this study of God's word.

Please share these messages with all your friends, contacts and prayer groups.. thanks.

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Thanks and God bless

Keith

I NEED YOU TO SERVE ME AND ME ALONE

Genesis 6:1-22


We live in times that are so similar to Noah's, the heart of man hasn't changed at all from that time to this, it is still deceitful and desperately wicked Jeremiah 17:9. But neither has God's power changed or His ability and willingness to save sinners.. amen Isaiah 59:1.

It was a privilege to be shown things about Noah and the Lord opened my eyes and just shared some wonderful things with me , which I would like to share with you now.

We are modern day Noah's in certain way.

Vs 5- We live right in the midst of a world that is continually evil and does not respect God's laws, we are part of this world, but we are not of it John 17:15-16, we have a different and unique calling, to be holy ( set apart ) and to serve the one true God.

Vs 8- 9 In all this evil, there was one man, Noah who walked with God, I find this truly amazing, there has always been through scripture and history, ones who have stood up for truth and walked serenely and dynamically with their God... amen

I am reminded of what God said of Job in Job 1:8, would God have said the same thing about me? We often say that because of the situation we are in, we can't have that close fellowship with God, but let us say because of our situation, we are able to have a close fellowship with our Lord, the difficulty of our earthly life, should drive us to a closer and deeper walk with God, as we rely on Him.. totally and completely.

Noah found favor, God is looking for men and women, who He can pour His favor out unto, He searched the whole earth looking for someone, He is still doing that today.. amen. In the first world war, the UK had a sign that said 'your country needs you'. Now my brothers and sisters there is a sign with God saying 'I need you to serve Me and me alone'.

What is your response to that call christian believer?

Noah also receives specific instructions on what to do to save the animals vs 14-21, just like us, we have received the Great Commission from our Lord, on saving souls, no wonder this was virtually the last thing JESUS said to His disciples that was recorded, don't you think Matthew is trying to tell us something?

This is an amazing thing and isn't this true of all God's servants, he did all that the Lord commanded him vs 22, pretty simple this Christian life isn't it? It is simply a matter of doing as you are told.. amen. You are not your own, you are the Lord's.

What would of happened , if Noah has used shortcuts to building the ark. God had given Him specific instructions, told Him to build it of gopher wood. What if He had said ' can't find much gopher wood round these parts' and used other materials. If God commands us to do something He will give us the resources. We are here to do as we are told by the Lord, not to make our own plans.. amen

So Noah had to go and fetch one of each species and bring them into the ark, just like us, we are commanded to go and bring every nation , male and female into the ark of God's love, we are told to go and bring people of all nations to the true ark, which of course is our precious savior, Jesus.

We are never told in scripture to stay in church and be complacent, if you aren't getting out as a church into your community, city and you are expecting people to come to you, then you are disobeying the great commission given by the LORD. You know you can put on great evangelism programmes in our churches, but the test of every Christian and church is how effective they are in their community.. amen. We shouldn't wait for the whole world to come to us.. the command was GO into all the world.. not stay in the comfort of your church!

Once the people were safe in the ark, they were truly safe, once we come to the true protection of Jesus, we are safe in his arms, there is an ark today and it is Jesus , to bring people into the safe refuge of His love is an amazing privilege. He has given us this job, lets get to it church.

God is still looking for men and women who will walk with Him and obey Him. The Christian life is not complicated. It is a question of walking with God.. not ahead of Him or behind Him and obeying what He tells you to do.

In 1858 in New York City, three men met for a prayer meeting one lunchtime.. one year later 100,000 souls had been saved. The Welsh revival of 1904, came about because a few ladies and one man, prayed and sought God like never before. We are the only people who can change the world, because we are sent by the One who is Love and Hope with the glorious message of the gospel.. amen. God only needs a few people truly committed to Him..amen

Give me 100 men that hate nothing but sin, and love Jesus Christ, and we'll shake England for God.” - John Wesley

Richard Baxter, the Puritan preacher of the 17th century conveys the urgency, the zeal of Christian witness when he said, "I preached as never sure to preach again, and as a dying man to dying men!"

“If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.” CT Studd

Are you prepared to walk with God and obey His voice?.Whatever the cost?

God bless you


Keith


Special Sermon

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Welcome again to our newsletter

It is such a special time of the year.. HOLY WEEK. The week that changed the world forever. Both of us love this time, it means so much to both myself and Helen.

I hope you like this card

http://www.123greetings.com/events/easter/flowers/easter3.html

We hope you enjoy hearing our story and how God brought us together.

God bless you

Keith Helen Ming


BLESSINGS FROM ABOVE

Many of you know how myself and Helen came together, but some don't, so for those who don't here is our story.

In 2011, I had an old hotmail account with 50 contacts, so I decided to move these contacts to my new gmail account. I sent an e-mail asking people to move across and one of those people was Helen.. she had been on my e-mail list for 2 years.. how she got on it was a mystery.

One person moved over.. guess who. This was in May 2011. So she started to receive my mails from gmail..but she did not reply until August and her first e-mail asked me if I was man or woman.. strange question I thought!!!.

Anyway we got talking on e-mail and started to exchange photos and other things, throughout August and September, during this time, something was happening in my heart.. Helen was and is different.. if you met her, you would immediately know why.

On the last day of September at about 8pm, I was praying for Helen, this being 4am in Nanjing, she heard in her heart that Keith would be her husband, and the next day I received an e-mail telling me that she loved me.My heart hit the roof and three days later God confirmed this to me also. Since then we have been on a beautiful journey.

Every part of our journey has been guided by the Lord, we have seen many miracles in our lives.

On the 30th June 2012, I arrived in Nanjing and what joy there was when we saw each other at the airport. On the 11th July we became engaged and on the 28th October we were married.

This Easter will be our first together, Helen is God's gift to me as is our precious daughter Ming.

But the greatest gift that has ever been given is Jesus.. what happened at Christmas was and is wonderful, but Easter is the final act of the life of Jesus, it is his crowning glory.

We love Easter, for the reason of Jesus.. he is everything to us. He has given us each other.. myself and Helen, but his greater gift to us is Jesus

May God bless you this Easter and always

Love, Prayers and Hugs

Keith Helen Ming


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Please listen to these videos by Lee strobel and also article.. who moved the stone

http://www.leestrobel.com/channels/Christ.php

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Welcome to Simply Scripture

What a joy to share with you once again. It is my favourite time of year, spring is here.. at last.

I hope you are blessed by what I share with you and would share it with others.

Please click on the links at the bottom of these Messages.

Thanks

God bless you

Keith

I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE


John 14

1DO NOT let your hearts be troubled (distressed, agitated). You believe in and adhere to and trust in and rely on God; believe in and adhere to and trust in and rely also on Me.


2In My Father's house there are many dwelling places (homes). If it were not so, I would have told you; for I am going away to prepare a place for you.


3 And when (if) I go and make ready a place for you, I will come back again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also.


4And [to the place] where I am going, you know the way.


5Thomas said to Him, Lord, we do not know where You are going, so how can we know the way?


6Jesus said to him, I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by (through) Me.


Dear friends


I have been led to these verses and the Lord has shared some beautiful things with me. It is amazing to receive from the Lord, and to be taught by Holy Spirit. Believe me, I have no insight at all into Scripture, it all comes from the Holy Spirit.. who is the best teacher amen


The disciples were so full of questions in this part of scripture and Thomas (bless his heart), was asking Jesus about the way. Jesus had been talking about going to heaven and preparing a place for us.. don't you just love that. Jesus is preparing for our arrival....isn't that thrilling?


I just want to concentrate on verse 6. The words are so familiar to us.. THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE


Here is what the Lord has shared with me and I hope you will be blessed also.


Jesus is The only Way to God


We have so many competing images in today's world, we are told that this religion is the answer to all the troubles in the world. But there is only one answer to the problems of the world.. and that is Jesus.. amen.


Jesus was talking to men, who were Jews and who knew all about the many sacrifices that the Jews had to make to do. But this was going to change because Jesus was going to die the ultimate sacrificial death on the cross, He was and is the perfect sacrifice for sin. A lamb totally pure and unblemished.. amen


The priest of the Old testament, had to go through so much ritual, rather like today. People go to church, they give money, they do good deeds, which are all fine in their own way. But they are missing the point. Man cannot reach up to God.. He has reached down to them and offered them free salvation if only they would accept it.


I love the verses in Hebrews 10, that state the new deal that the Christian has


19Therefore, brethren, since we have full freedom and confidence to enter into the [Holy of] Holies [by the power and virtue] in the blood of Jesus,


20By this fresh (new) and living way which He initiated and dedicated and opened for us through the separating curtain (veil of the Holy of Holies), that is, through His flesh,


21And since we have [such] a great and wonderful and noble Priest [Who rules] over the house of God,


22Let us all come forward and draw near with true (honest and sincere) hearts in unqualified assurance and absolute conviction engendered by faith (by [b]that leaning of the entire human personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness), having our hearts sprinkled and purified from a guilty (evil) conscience and our bodies cleansed with pure water.


Jesus shows us the truth about God


If you read further on in John 14, we see that Philip asks Jesus to show them the Father. Jesus replies that he and the Father are linked so closely.. amen


9Jesus replied, Have I been with all of you for so long a time, and do you not recognize and know Me yet, Philip? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say then, Show us the Father?


10Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in Me? What I am telling you I do not say on My own authority and of My own accord; but the Father Who lives continually in Me does the ([a]His) works (His own miracles, deeds of power).


11Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me; or else believe Me for the sake of the [very] works themselves. [If you cannot trust Me, at least let these works that I do in My Father's name convince you.


Jesus is fully God..completely and utterly. What the Father is like is what Jesus is like. How Jesus acted on earth s what the Father is like.. amen


How did Jesus act on earth?


He acted in Love towards people
He criticised religious hypocrisy
He looked on people with compassion
He gave Himself as a sacrifice


We need no longer ask, what God is like. We have beheld His glory in His Son.. amen


As John puts it so beautifully in Chapter 1 of his gospel


14And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory (His honor, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth.


Jesus gives us the Life of God


Many years before, God had promised to give the people a new heart. This was promised in the book of Ezekiel.
In Chapter 11


19And I will give them one heart [a new heart] and I will put a new spirit within them; and I will take the stony [unnaturally hardened] heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh [sensitive and responsive to the touch of their God]


And Chapter 36


26A new heart will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.


This was now made possible by the sacrifice of Jesus upon the Cross. Anyone, who came to him and knelt at the foot of the cross in repentance and faith, and received Jesus as Saviour was now able to be in right standing with God.


The promise made to Ezekiel, was now able to made true and is still being made true today.. amen. All over the world.. men and women are coming to a life changing experience of Jesus and His power to change lives.


Let me finish with 2 wonderful verses


John 1


12B.But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is, to those who BELIEVE in (adhere to, trust in and rely on) His name.


2 Corinthians 5


17Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a NEW creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!


Jesus came to give life back, He came to save from sin and to completely loose the bonds of sin, death and fear. He came to give us freedom and power and a sound mind.. to give us life here on earth that is truly amazing.


John 10


10The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it [b]overflows).

My friend I want to share what God has given me to share with you.. let us call them the 6 R's

Realise

You have to realise that you have no righteousness of your own, no hope of salvation and that you only hope lies in Christ.

Isaiah 64

6 For we have all become like one who is unclean [ceremonially, like a leper], and all our righteousness (our best deeds of rightness and justice) is like filthy rags or a polluted garment; we all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away [far from God’s favor, hurrying us toward destruction].

Romans 3

20 For no person will be justified (made righteous, acquitted, and judged acceptable) in His sight by observing the works prescribed by the Law. For [the real function of] the Law is to make men recognize and be conscious of sin [[a]not mere perception, but an acquaintance with sin which works toward repentance, faith, and holy character].

Repent

To repent means to turn, you are walking in one direction and you turn round and walk in the other.. with no looking back. Repentance is not a once and for all thing, for the believer it is a daily habit. Repentance is essential for salvation.

Luke 5

32 I have not come to arouse and invite and call the righteous, but [a]the erring ones ([b]those not free from sin) to repentance [[c]to change their minds for the better and heartily to amend their ways, with abhorrence of their past sins].

Acts 2

38 And Peter answered them, Repent (change your views and purpose to accept the will of God in your inner selves instead of rejecting it) and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of and release from your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Receive

When we come to God, in repentance and faith that activates God's grace and God promises that those who come to Him, that he will not cast them out. In John 1:12-13, they will be given the power to become the sons of God.

12 But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name—
13 Who owe their birth neither to [c]bloods nor to the will of the flesh [that of physical impulse] nor to the will of man [that of a natural father], but to God. [They are born of God!]

Released

What happens when you are truly saved, is that you are released from the death sentence that was hanging over your life, You are now free to worship God and to serve Him. He is your father, your God and most importantly your Lord. Although your old nature remains, it does not have the power to control you, it will try.. believe me.

Righteous

When God sees you now, He sees you clothed in the pure robes of Jesus righteousness. You were bought back by Jesus on the cross, he paid for you with his life. The purchase price was the highest price ever paid.. amen

Romans 5

17 For if because of one man’s trespass (lapse, offense) death reigned through that one, much more surely will those who receive [God’s] overflowing grace (unmerited favor) and the free gift of righteousness [putting them into right standing with Himself] reign as kings in life through the one Man Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).
18 Well then, as one man’s trespass [one man’s false step and falling away led] to condemnation for all men, so one Man’s act of righteousness [leads] to acquittal and right standing with God and life for all men.
19 For just as by one man’s disobedience (failing to hear, [k]heedlessness, and carelessness) the many were constituted sinners, so by one Man’s obedience the many will be constituted righteous (made acceptable to God, brought into right standing with Him).
20 But then Law came in, [only] to expand and increase the trespass [making it more apparent and exciting opposition]. But where sin increased and abounded, grace (God’s unmerited favor) has surpassed it and increased the more and superabounded,
21 So that, [just] as sin has reigned in death, [so] grace (His unearned and undeserved favor) might reign also through righteousness (right standing with God) which issues in eternal life through Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) our Lord.

Remember

Now you are saved my friend, you need to do some things every day

Praise God for his salvation
Tell Him you love Him
Pray and talk to God.. tell him your heart
Read and study the bible every day
Tell everyone what Jesus means to you
Meet and share with your fellow believers on Sunday through a local church
Ask God to fill you daily with His holy Spirit and wisdom Ephesians 5:18 and James chapter 1

My friend God is so amazing.. come to trust Him as your Saviour and Lord.

If you wish to trust Him.. please say this prayer and let me know you have on faithhopeandlovefellowship@gmail.com

Dear God

I come to you and admit that I have no hope apart from Jesus. and his death and Rising from the dead. I am a sinner, who comes to you in repentance and faith asking that you would touch me with your grace and make me your child. I turn from my past life and will seek to live for you all the days of my life. Thank you for dying for me.

In Jesus Name

Amen



God bless you



Keith



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Welcome to Simply Scripture

What a joy it is to share with you once again, as we study these wonderful chapters of God's precious word. I have only just scratched the surface, so please study these chapters further and continue to seek God.

Please pass on these messages to all your friends and contacts and let's reach every country in the world with these messages.

Thanks and God bless you

Keith

SIN HINDERING YOUR WALK WITH GOD


Joshua Chapters 7 and 8

Grab your bible and a cup of tea, coffee etc and let's study this passage.

Please read Joshua 6:18-19 and see what God commanded the children of Israel not to do

This is one of my favourite passage's of scripture. Joshua and the children of Israel, had won an astonishing victory at Jericho. They had achieved something, that was mind blowing. They had achieved this through believing what God had told them.. Amen.

But as we read in Joshua 6:18-19, God had commanded them not to take of the plunder of the city. But what did they do?

This really speaks to me, of their lack of faith in the provision of God. God wants to provide for our needs Himself, he is a jealous God and he is able to provide all our needs.. amen. That is if only we would let Him.

We want to do it ourselves at times, and when we do, we end up with second best and not God's best.. Amen?

Matthew Henry comments on Joshua Chapter 7:1-5

Achan took some of the spoil of Jericho. The love of the world is that root of bitterness, which of all others is most hardly rooted up. We should take heed of sin ourselves, lest by it many be defiled or disquieted, Hebrews 12:15; and take heed of having fellowship with sinners, lest we share their guilt. It concerns us to watch over one another to prevent sin, because others' sins may be to our damage. The easy conquest of Jericho excited contempt of the enemy, and a disposition to expect the Lord to do all for them without their using proper means. Thus men abuse the doctrines of Divine grace, and the promises of God, into excuses for their own sloth and self-indulgence. We are to work out our own salvation, though it is God that works in us. It was a dear victory to the Canaanites, whereby Israel was awakened and reformed, and reconciled to their God, and the people of Canaan hardened to their own ruin.

Let me share, what God has shown me through this passage.

Chapter 7:1

When we sin and disobey, the direct command of the Lord, his anger is kindled against us. Do you think Christian, that you can sin and still remain in fellowship with God? He will not tolerate sin in any shape or form, whether this is stealing a small thing.. like Achan did or thinking wrong thoughts. God sees your motives, your attitudes and your heart, you cannot hide anything from God.

Chapter 7:2-3

Off went the men to view Ai. and they came back really confident. But we do not read that Joshua spent anytime at all, asking for God's blessing on this venture. How often do we as individuals and churches, rush into some venture, without even asking the Lord. Without HIM, we can do nothing. Without His precious anointing, we are helpless..DO I HEAR AN AMEN?

Chapter 7:10-11

I love these verses. God has heard the cries of the children of Israel about their defeat at Ai. Just imagine, one little defeat and look at the children of Israel in the preceding verses. they are virtually tearing their hair out and having such an inquest over what happened. But they knew why this happened and so do we when defeat hits our lives. It is because there is sin in the camp.

The Lord shared this with me, this comes directly from the heart of God to His church.

'When we should be on our faces in repentance, we are on our feet in pride and when we should be walking in confidence before God, we are on our faces in despair'

In verse 11, it says that the children of Israel have broken the covenant between themselves and God and so it is when we sin. Let us see sin as it is, sin brings separation, even for a believer. God will not look on sin in a believer's life, never mind tolerate it...Amen

Chapter 7:12-13

This is what happens to believers/churches that tolerate and have sin in their midst.The anointing of God, leaves them. Just like it did Samson. They reach out, they preach, they share, but the Spirit of the Lord has departed. How can the Holy Spirit, who is totally pure, live in a believer or church who is actively practising sin? It is impossible my brothers and sisters, you cannot live in the fullness of the Holy Spirit and in sin. You have to make a choice.

Clear instructions were given to Joshua, the small word UP., stands out. It is a call to action, not just for Joshua's day, but for today's church, once the Holy Spirit, has shown us sin. Then we are to get up and go to one place and that is the foot of the cross and confess it. 1 John 1:7-9 and Psalms 32 and 51.

When God says 'get up' to Joshua. He is saying, whatever are you doing down there Joshua. Likewise with us. Joshua was in the right position at the wrong time, maybe if he had been on his face in prayer before he sent the men to Ai, there wouldn't of been men lost. We sin and then come to God asking for forgiveness, when we needed to come to God asking for strength, not to commit that sin.. Amen. If he had prayed to God and asked His counsel, before he sent the men to Ai, the Lord would of shared with Him, what was wrong within the camp.

Chapter 7:14-17

When sin is evident, within a church fellowship. There must be action taken. This needs to be systematic and means identifying the root cause of Sin. Joshua had to question many people, who were innocent. But I am sure, that this was done, to show the children of Israel the seriousness of the sin that had been committed.

When Sin, happens in a believer's life. He/she must examine each and every area of their lives, to identify the root cause and to confess it, at the foot of the cross.


Remember, what it says in Galatians 5:9

9A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.

Chapter 7:18-23

The only good thing you can say about Achan is that when he has confronted with this sin, he confessed it immediately. Let me ask you something that the Lord has just shared with me and it relates to the answer given by Achan in Verse 21.

Is there anything hid in the midst of your tent (your life), that needs to be dug up and dealt with? Have you got something, that no one knows about, but is hindering your walk with God and allowing the devil to keep you in defeat. It is an accursed thing and needs to be dealt with and destroyed. Maybe it has been hid for many many years, no one knows about it.. But God does and he wants you and is asking you to destroy it.. NOW!

On this issue, I speak to myself, as over the years, I have struggled with this. All of God's saints struggled.. look at the Apostle Paul in Chapter 7 of Romans for an example. But their defining experience and it will be mine also is Philippians 3:7-15.. AMEN!

Chapter 7:24-26

Achan was dealt with in the harshest way possible. Now I am not saying that we should do this in the present day. But we must be ruthless towards sin. We are told to be crucified with Christ, we are told to put the flesh to death daily. It must be buried under a great heap of stones. We must be as ruthless to our flesh, as the children of Israel were to Achan.. Amen.

Chapter 8

A great victory was won but more important than that , restoration happened between God and his people , because sin was dealt with in a ruthless way.

May we individually and as a church, deal with sin, in a ruthless way. Confess it and be restored believer and receive the blessing of the LORD.

There is hope though, the following comes from My wonderful Pastor, Mark who ended his excellent sermon on this passage by saying this.

Even though this is a story of judgment, it is also a proclamation of hope. The Valley of Achor (a place of trouble) is a foreshadowing of the cross. In taking the punishment for our sin, Jesus went down into that dark valley of judgment and died in our place. God has provided a means by which this dark, hopeless place can become a path toward peace and restoration. God turned the cross of Calvary, a place of unbelievable "trouble," into a place of hope. Way back in Hosea 2:14 God promised, "I will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope." In Isaiah 65:10 He said, "The Valley of Achor will become a resting place for My people who seek Me."And in sending Jesus that is what He has done. Even the valley of trouble can become the door to hope.


God Bless you


Keith


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Thanks

Keith

Are You a Judge?

Matthew 7

1 DO NOT judge and criticize and condemn others, so that you may not be judged and criticized and condemned yourselves.

2For just as you judge and criticize and condemn others, you will be judged and criticized and condemned, and in accordance with the measure you [use to] deal out to others, it will be dealt out again to you.

3Why do you [a]stare from without at the [b]very small particle that is in your brother's eye but do not become aware of and consider the beam [c]of timber that is in your own eye?

4Or how can you say to your brother, Let me get the tiny particle out of your eye, when there is the beam [d]of timber in your own eye?

5You hypocrite, first get the beam of timber out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the tiny particle out of your brother's eye.

Grab a coffee and your Bible and let us see what the word of God says on judging other believers. We are going to use the verses above as our starting point, as they were said by our Saviour whilst here on earth and are so cutting and relevant.

This is my Achilles heel , so to speak. My main fault is dealing with people. So I speak to myself first and foremost.

I write to 2 prisoners in the USA, and before the Lord had me write this message, he got me to go to the website of the Department Of Corrections, to see what they had been convicted of. After I had done this, he asked me ' do you have a judgemental spirit'?

We are going to using the Five L's, and the first one is:

Listen

When we hear of or see a fellow believer doing something that is wrong. How quick are we to condemn them or do we ask the Lord? What do you want me to do in this situation Lord?.

If you see your pastor, going into somewhere you think is wrong. (say a casino) What would you do? Would you be on the phone to all your friends saying 'you won't believe what I just saw', or would would you share with your pastor quietly, and listen to his/her explanation.

How much trouble and pain could be avoided if we did this. How many people have left church and are now back in the world, because some well meaning believer criticised them and told them that their actions were wrong.

We are told to speak the truth.. but in Love

Ephesians 4:15 (King James Version)

15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

In James 4, we are told this:

12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

So who are you to Judge?. Are you God?

Look

In the passage in Matthew, the person with the speck in his/her eye is being closely examined by the one with the giant beam in his/her eye. Do you go around, looking for faults in others? That my friend is not a gifting of the Holy Spirit.. it is taking on the role of the Holy Spirit and stealing His role and this hurts Him and quenches His power.

It is like going to the optician, he/she gets up really close and shines a strong light in your eye, if you are judging others, then this is what you are doing. It is time to stop doing it...amen.

We are told in Philippians 2

12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Work out our own Salvation, not everyone Else's.

1 Peter 4:15 (King James Version)

15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters.

Are you a busy bee involving yourself in other people's matters?

Let

Not to judge others, means we let God be God. The Holy Spirit comes to convict men of sin, that is one of his roles, it is not and never will be mine/yours. He does not want our help. John 16:8

The word of God is the tool that the Holy Spirit uses to convict. Hebrews 4:12. It says the Word of God divides joint from marrow, nothing can be hid from it. The word of God used by the Spirit of God, will always correct. One of the great verses in scripture is 2 Timothy 3:16, where rebuke and correction are two facets of it's ministry. The Spirit of God, will use the word of God to convict and bring sin to the surface.

Live

So how are we to act towards believers who are wrong and acting wrongly? Well we are to live before them in a true way.

We ourselves are to look unto Jesus, we are to keep our focus on God Hebrews 12:1-3. We are to draw close to our Lord.

We are not to have an exalted opinion of ourselves, just because we do not fall into that sin, look at what Paul said.

1 Corinthians 10:12 (King James Version)

12Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

Love

One of the things a believer needs so much when he/she falls into sin, is to be loved. We have to be loving and welcoming to them as Jesus would. He was and is the good Shepherd, and would search for the one sheep that was lost.


In James 5:19-20, we have two of the greatest verses on this subject and they are:

19 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

Sometimes rebuke is needed, but this is to be carried out, in love and with real wisdom. It must be done by mature believers, who are able to instruct and correct the behaviour of the believer concerned. It must be carried out under the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Let us not judge a brother or sister, but gently and like Jesus would, offer them the hand of fellowship.

I realise that this is a subject some believers disagree on, and I have sought to share what God has laid on my heart.

Remember, we can only do what it outlined in James 5:19-20, when our own hearts are right with the Lord.

Let us always examine ourselves in the light of scripture.
For further reading
Romans Chapter 14
1 Corinthians chapter 13
Hebrews 10:28-30
James 2:4
James 4:11-12
James 5: 9
Proverbs 25:15
Luke 12:14
John 7:24
1 Timothy 5:19

God bless you

Keith
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Welcome to our latest newsletter

Greetings from China. Here is an update on a typical weekend that we have, I hope you are blessed by it.

God Bless you
Keith Helen Ming

THE LONGEST WEEKEND

This last weekend was so busy and i wish to share something of what happened with you all.

As you may know, I have started teaching English, with 10 teenagers on Saturday morning. Having finished my class.. my lovely wife informed me that the tutor centre had phoned and they wanted me to teach that afternoon. So after getting home and having a hurried lunch, we went down to the centre, which is a short distance from our flat. Eight youngsters had turned up and next week, we start properly with them. At various points during the lesson, we were down to 5-6 as students went out to the toilet, my wife told me, that i should tell them to ask before they leave class. There is a steep learning curve, not just for the students, but for the teachers as well.

Helen was in the midst of cooking both lunch and dinner and preparing her sermon, I usually cook during the week. But my teaching wasn't over as Our friend Chen has found us 7 youngsters to teach, these were aged between 5-8 and so we had to organise the colour change game and also the Song I can sing a rainbow.

This class was by far the most challenging. Maybe you are a parent of a child within that age range, you know how inquisitive and active they are!. Chen has a lovely little boy called Stephen, who is lively to put it mildly. I had brought packets of M and M's, to illustrate colours. No sooner had I put them down, than Stephen had taken them and had stashed the individual packets in his drawer, so before we could start class, these had to be retrieved. class started and several of the students, were pretty restless, but we finally got to the end of lesson without any major mishaps, the M and M monster then struck again though and again these were retrieved this time from his wardrobe!

Sunday was no less busy as we had decided to go out after church, first of all, we were up to worship God with our fellow believers, Helen preached on the Tabernacle that the Israelites had in the desert, as usual she was very good. After service, we had a feast, church members brought food they had cooked and bought and about 20 of us sat down to eat. Everyone enjoyed not only the food, but the fellowship we shared.

On Sunday afternoon,myself, Helen and Ming went to our favourite shop. It sells great clothes at cheap prices.. a great combination!!!.

Ming spent large parts of the afternoon in the changing room, trying on things, she decided on a new shirt and jeans..after much deliberation!!!. Helen wanted me to get a summer coat, after trying several one and thinking they were too much, we came upon one that was 60 yuan.. very cheap.

A recurring problem had been shoes for me, as shops in China, seem to stock small sizes. I take a size 10 in the UK, and to the Chinese I must have the feet of the jolly green giant!!!. We were just paying for our things, when Helen said 'try these, they look bigger'. They were perfect and only cost 50 yuan and get this, they are real leather. God is so good and gracious to us, showerering blessings on us.

Things bought we decide to go and get something to eat, refreshed Helen said I want to get you a shirt, OK I said, so we headed back to the shop, and after all of us had tried on lots of things, we found a great one at 60 yuan, in other shops it would cost us 200.

Before we caught the bus home, we went to the cake shop to get some cakes, we all love to eat cakes and so would you if you came to the cake shop we go to!!.

We then headed home, tired and exhausted. As Helen rested her head on my shoulder, I reflected that this was something I had always wanted but never thought would happen..my own real family. What a blessing Ming and Helen are, I love them both with all my heart.

Thank you Lord for giving them to me

God bless you

Keith Helen Ming



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Welcome to Simply Scripture

What an honour and Privilege, it is to share, from God's holy and Precious Word. I would be grateful, if you were to forward this message onto all your friends. Let's get the word of God out into the world.

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Thanks for taking the time to read this message.. my prayer is that God would challenge you and encourage you in your Christian walk.



God bless you and thanks.

Keith

YOUR COVENANT (promise) TO GOD - DO YOU STILL HONOR IT?

Joshua 24
14Now therefore, [reverently] fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and in truth; put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the [Euphrates] River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.
15And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
16The people answered," Far be it from us to forsake the Lord to serve other gods;
17For it is the Lord our God Who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, Who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went and among all the peoples through whom we passed.
18And the Lord drove out before us all the people, the Amorites who dwelt in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for He is our God"
19And Joshua said to the people, "You cannot serve the Lord, for He is a holy God; He is a jealous God. He will not forgive your transgressions or your sins.
20If you forsake the Lord and [b]serve strange gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good."
21And the people said to Joshua, "No; BUT WE WILL SERVE THE LORD"
22Then Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord, to serve Him". And they said, "We are witnesses."
23Then put away, said he, the foreign gods that are among you and incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.
24The people said to Joshua, The Lord our God we will serve; His voice we will obey.
25So Joshua made a COVENANT with the people that day, and made statutes and ordinances for them at Shechem.
26And Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God; and he took a great stone and set it up there under an oak that was in [the court of] the sanctuary of the Lord.

Joshua is saying his last words on the earth, he is an old man, having been through the times of wandering in the wilderness and the times of Conquest in the promised land.

He was the last of the originals, who had set off all those years ago from Egypt and in verses 1-13 of this chapter, he brought all that to the remembrance of the Children of Israel.

What final words they were, words of passion, words of courage, words of power, that challenge the children of Israel and should challenge us today.

I want my final words to inspire a new generation of people.. don't you?

Can you imagine it...Joshua addressing the leaders of each tribe.. there must be of been hundreds if not thousands of them and then addressing the whole people. Can you imagine the scene.. their earthly leader was probably standing on a hill.. and was speaking to people as far as the eye could see.. can you see it in your minds eyes.. just try and picture it for a moment.

In His final address to the people, he had led into the promised land. Joshua shares what the true implications and cost of following God are.

In these closing chapters of the Book that is named after him, he pulls no punches, sharing openly and telling the people what is expected of them.

Over the past few months, my heart has been very burdened by these verses. The Lord has laid these on my heart, with a new vigour, maybe because the question Joshua asked and the choice Joshua gave the people, is the one that is most relevant to the church today. We all need to answer this question and to nail our colours to the Flag of Jesus.. amen. There is no sitting on the fence here, you are either totally for Christ or against HIM

Look at what the Apostle John said to the church at Laodicea in Revelation 3

15I know your [record of] works and what you are doing; you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot!
16So, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of My mouth!
Lukewarm and half hearted Christianity.. makes the Lord sick.. he has had enough of it. The call is still the same, it is all or nothing.. amen.
Empty and sham religion disgusts the Lord, he cannot stand it, indeed it makes Him spew it out of his mouth. So does half hearted and compromising Christian's.

In verse 19, Joshua shared with the children of Israel, who their Master was. That He was and is Holy and jealous. You know my friend, the Lord is our best friend, but we must always remember, who He is. He is not to be taken or treated lightly. He is the One who is Lord over all, the One who brought this world into being and the One who is worthy of all praise and honour.

Verse 19 is in direct opposite to some of the preachers today, they will hide the truth from people. They offer them a gospel, which says Come to Jesus and all your problems are solved.. Come to a God, who is Loving and Yes of Course HE IS LOVE. But also He is jealous because nothing is more important than worshiping and serving HIM.. amen.

In verse 20-21, Joshua told the children of Israel, what would happen if they disobeyed the Lord and broke the covenant. We too have a covenant relationship with the LORD and if we break it, by falling into sin and disobedience, the consequences will be dire.. amen. God will rebuke and chasten us.. amen.

He truly is our Father amen.. but He CAN and WILL rebuke and chasten us, if He feels that it will benefit us. See Hebrews chapter 12. Remember that he wants to transform us into the very likeness of Christ, and HE will leave no stone unturned to do this. What does it say in John 15, after we have borne fruit, we are pruned so we bear MORE FRUIT. God is constantly challenging me (us ) to go deeper and higher and to get to know HIM in a more intimate way.. amen

Let us at all times, show due reverence to the One we serve and give HIM alll glory, blessing and power.

They had come a long way since they crossed the Jordan, but there was more land to be possessed, more enemies to be fought. This is always the case for the Christ Follower, we are never told to rest on our achievements, yes we are told to rest in the Lord, but never to rest and stop seeking to progress in ways of the Lord and battling the enemy of our souls.

The children of Israel had a stark choice put in front of them, to serve the Lord or not to serve him. For the Christ follower, there is a stark choice to be made and there is only decision that can be made and that is to follow Jesus with every ounce of our being.

God puts before you this choice, he does not force you to follow him. This is a love relationship and he wants you to love Him and serve Him, for who He is and not for what you can gain for yourself. If you give yourself totally to Him, he will give you more than you ever imagined, riches that are far above rubies Proverbs 3 and these riches will never lose value, indeed as time goes on, they will increase in value.

The children of Israel, came into the promised land, still desiring to hold on to their past, even though God had given them the land, they still looked longingly at their past and yearned after it. That is why at their first opportunity, they strayed and served foreign gods.

The last 2 chapters of the book of Joshua are required reading. Study them and ask yourself, the very questions, that were asked by Joshua to the children of Israel.

The children of Israel, wanted truly to serve God, but they also wanted things made easy and comfortable for them. Let us always, be people, who not only serve with our mouths, but serve the Lord with our hearts. It is so easy to talk and say in church "yes we will serve the Lord", and then when we get out into the world , we crumble.

The children of Israel,were numerous in number and they probably felt comfortable saying these things. You know brothers and sisters, we can have that safety in numbers attitude ourselves. It is easy to say in front of believers on Sunday morning, that we love and serve Jesus, but difficult to say it, in front of your unbelieving work colleagues on Monday morning.

We need to remember our covenant with the Lord. How often do we need to make a commitment to the Lord on Sunday morning or evening and then completely forget it.

In verses 25-26.

Joshua did 3 things.. he made statutes and ordinances. Standards were set.. our standard and benchmark is the word of God.. amen.

He wrote them down.. maybe you should keep a journal of your life with God and big events in your life, so they are etched on your mind.

He made a memorial. Every time the people made that commitment, they were reminded of what happened. For us, it may be a verse or hymn that is our memorial or a sermon that we have on CD, it is our living memorial to that time of commitment. It draws us back and reminds us of what we did on that particular occasion.


LET US FINISH WITH THE WORDS OF JESUS

MATTHEW 15:8

THIS PEOPLE DRAWETH NIGH UNTO ME WITH THEIR MOUTH, AND HONOURETH ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR FROM ME .

Let me ask this question, to myself and you, the reader. How close is our heart to the Lord? It is not enough to sing hymns on Sunday and then be far away from Him, the rest of the week. Being a christian, means 100% commitment, 24/7

My brothers and Sisters, let us be true to the Lord. Let us speak the truth to Him also. May our lives at all times, back up what our mouths say.

It is time also to stop preaching a gospel, that is soapy. We need to share with people, that when they become Christian's, they become servants of God. Life as a Christian is one of service and subjection to the will of God. We need to tell people, that God deserves and expects their whole lives as a living sacrifice. Romans 12:1-2.

When we sing.. I surrender all.. let us mean it with ALL our hearts.. amen

Let us draw near to God with a pure heart and choose this day to serve Him

God bless you

Keith


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Welcome to Simply Scripture


What a joy it is to share, with you from God's word. I do hope you are blessed by what the Lord, has laid on my heart.

Please pass on these messages to all your friends and contacts.. let's get the Word out into the world.

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God bless you

Keith

COMMUNION AND COMMUNICATION WITH GOD

Psalm 90

17 And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.

Exodus 34

29 And it came to pass, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in his' hand, that he was not aware that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him.

30 And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him.

I was thumbing through my Bible and I came across this verse in Psalm 90. This was one of the few Psalms written by Moses and it links in with these verses in Exodus.

Moses knew what it meant to see God face to face, he had a deep encounter with God. He was the one who knew God deeply... after spending 40 days and nights in his presence who wouldn't?

As I was thinking about this and especially about the verse in Psalms.. it got me to thinking.. is this our prayer? As we move about today, let us say 'let the Beauty of the Lord be upon us'. If it is, what a difference it would make to the world.

Thinking about the verses in Exodus 34, especially verse 29, I asked the Lord what the two tablets of Testimony represented and He said they represented two things.

One is Communion, that is spending time with Him... we can only give out as much as we receive from the Lord. I know that when I am spending time in prayer, that the majority of time is spent in talking. Maybe, if I/you, spent less time talking and more time listening, then our lives, would have deeper meaning.

A great example to look at is the Apostle John, in the book of Revelation. If you read the book of Revelation, you will see that John doesn't say much. He is just in awe of what he is seeing and who he is in the presence of. We too, must be aware, that it is the One true God, whose presence we are in.

The second is Communication, we have to talk to the Lord, BUT the Lord said that Communion is first, only when we spend time quietly In His presence, can He Communicate with us and we with Him. So often the Lord wants to speak into our lives, but He can't get a word in edge ways, because we spend all our prayer times, reciting a long list of prayer needs either for ourselves or others.. now it is good to pray for ourselves and others, but not before we worship and Praise God.

Maybe we should use this formula for prayer

C- Confession of Sin
A- Adoration of God
S - Supplication
T- Thanksgiving

This is what prayer is all about, it is the giving of all our worries to God and letting him deal with them.. Amen. We need to truly believe in Prayer that He will act in answering our prayers according to His will and for His Glory.. Amen!

It says Moses' face shone, as long as he talked with Him. As long as we have direct Communion and Communication with the Father, then our faces will shine, but if sin creeps in then our faces will no longer shine, because of sin. Is your face no longer shining because of some sin?

The Lord just said ' I am the One who shines brightly, the more time you spend in My presence, the more of My brightness you will have and be able to share with the world'.

Your face will tell a story today.. Does it show the beauty of Jesus or it is sour and disheartened? Could someone look at your face and tell that you were a Christian, because of your Communion with the Father. My friends say that they can tell how I am feeling by just looking at my face.. every face tells a story. What story are you reflecting believer?. One of Joy or of anger and unhappiness.

You know that has happened to me twice, someone has come to me and said your face in shining, and both these times have been when I am at work. Both times, I had no idea that my face was shining. My brothers and sisters, we won't realise it, but the world around us will.. Amen.

You see we can Have Real Communion with the Father, right in the midst of our busy day.
Believer, how much time, have you spent in the presence of God?

Just soaking up His Majesty.
Standing in awe at His Holiness
Gazing into His Glory

I have just finished reading a book called the Vision of His Glory by Anne Graham Lotz. In these last days, we surely need to have a vision, like Isaiah did in Chapter 6 of his wonderful book.

May all of us, seek after God, like never before.

God bless you

Keith


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Urgent Prayer request for Ming.. our precious daughter

She has her final National Chinese exams this Saturday and Sunday. She has been top student throughout a number of years.. surround her with your prayers. Although she said a prayer to trust Christ at an early age, she needs to know God for herself. Please pray that she would come to know HIM as her true Saviour. Thank God she has fully accepted me as her father.. me, Helen and her are a true family. Please pray God would allow Helen and me to have a baby.. it would be God's gift to us.

Her proud parents

Keith and Helen

Welcome to a very special Simply Scripture
My Dearly beloved Friends
I have been led of the Lord to write on the most wonderful event, that is yet to happen in this world, and that is the wonderful second coming of Our Lord and Saviour.. JESUS CHRIST.

In writing this, I am not going to take a position on when the rapture will happen etc. I am someone who just believes that we will be raptured and am looking forward to that great event.

Please feel free to share this message with everyone you can, the Word of God needs to get out into the world. The church needs to awaken, and I just hope that God through His Precious Holy Spirit, uses this message to encourage and bless my fellow believers in their most holy faith.

Please click on the featured page links at the bottom of this message.
May God bless you abundantly
Keith

All bible quotes are from the Amplified Bible.
WE DO NOT KNOW THE DAY OR THE HOUR

Mark 13

32But of that day or that hour not a [single] person knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

33Be on your guard [constantly alert], and watch and pray; for you do not know when the time will come.

34It is like a man already] going on a journey; when he leaves home, he puts his servants in charge, each with his particular task, and he gives orders to the doorkeeper to be constantly alert and on the watch.

35Therefore watch (give strict attention, be cautious and alert), for you do not know when the Master of the house is coming--in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrowing, or in the morning--

36[Watch, I say] lest He come suddenly and unexpectedly and find you asleep.

37And what I say to you I say to everybody: Watch (give strict attention, be cautious, active, and alert)!

Acts 1
6So when they were assembled, they asked Him, Lord, is this the time when You will re-establish the kingdom and restore it to Israel?

7He said to them, It is not for you to become acquainted with and know what time brings [the things and events of time and their definite periods] or fixed years and seasons (their critical niche in time), which the Father has appointed (fixed and reserved) by His own choice and authority and personal power.

My Brothers and Sisters

In the church today, there is much debate, about the exact time Jesus will be coming back. Indeed some people are even saying, that they know the day and hour, that Jesus will return.

Please note from the words of Jesus, that the time of the return of Jesus, is entirely in the hand of the Father and no one else. If you hear people say, they know the date and time of the rapture etc, you know that they are talking rubbish and not according to Scripture.

The Lord does give us clues though. If you read Mark 13 and Mathew 24, Jesus tells us that there will be signs that we have to look for. Nation shall rise against nation and the gospel will be proclaimed to all people. Jesus warns the disciples that many will say.. look here is Christ.

He gives us these words of warning in Matthew 24:23

23If anyone says to you then, Behold, here is the Christ (the Messiah)! or, There He is!--do not believe it.

24For false Christs and false prophets will arise, and they will show great signs and wonders so as to deceive and lead astray, if possible, even the elect (God's chosen ones).

25See, I have warned you beforehand.

26So if they say to you, Behold, He is in the wilderness (desert)--do not go out there; if they tell you, Behold, He is in the secret places or inner rooms--do not believe it.

27For just as the lightning flashes from the east and shines and [h]is seen as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.

So how is Jesus going to return to Earth? We are told in 1 Thessalonians 4:

16For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud cry of summons, with the shout of an archangel, and with the blast of the trumpet of God. And those who have departed this life in Christ will rise first.

17Then we, the living ones who remain [on the earth], shall simultaneously be caught up along with [the resurrected dead] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so always (through the eternity of the eternities) we shall be with the Lord!

18Therefore comfort and encourage one another with these words.

We are also told that it will take the world by surprise. Jesus says that it will be the same as in the time of Noah.

Mathew 24:38 -39

38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark;

39and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.


I Thess 5:1-4

1 But as to the suitable times and the precise seasons and dates, brethren, you have no necessity for anything being written to you.

2For you yourselves know perfectly well that the day of the [return of the] Lord will come [as unexpectedly and suddenly] as a thief in the night.

3When people are saying, all is well and secure, and, there is peace and safety, then in a moment unforeseen destruction (ruin and death) will come upon them as suddenly as labour pains come upon a woman with child; and they shall by no means escape, for there will be no escape.

4But you are not in [given up to the power of] darkness, brethren, for that day to overtake you by surprise like a thief.

So in the light of all this, what is to be our attitude? So how does the return of Jesus affect our daily lives? Here are some principles for you…

Firstly, we have to be always looking up.. Amen. I don't know about you, but I am always scanning the skies, eagerly looking for as Paul puts it.. the glorious appearing of our Lord. I hope your eyes are turned upwards.. looking for Jesus.

Titus 2
13 Awaiting and looking for the [fulfilment, the realization of our] blessed hope, even the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One),

Secondly, we have to be about the business of the Lord. What is that business you may ask. Well it is to preach the gospel. Jesus states in Matthew 28:16-20 and Acts 1:8, what we are to do, and it is not to debate and speculate on when He is coming back. To do this is to fall into a trap of the devil. He wants us to be sidetracked from our main task of sharing Christ, and so will try anything to stop us.

Thirdly, we have to be close to the Lord. We must have a close and deep relationship with Him. That means spending lots of time in prayer, reading and studying His Word, and being in fellowship with His people.

Many brothers and sisters all over the world are suffering terrible persecution and over the coming years, the western world, will start to see more and more persecution of the Church. We really need to be so close to the Father in fellowship, so that we can stand up to the coming persecution. Christian, you may say, that I am speaking idle words, but persecution is coming .

We need to grow into the very likeness of Christ - Ephesians 5:1-2 and 1 Peter 1:13-17
We need to have on the armour of God - Ephesians 6:10-17
We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit - Ephesians 5:18
We need to have our minds renewed by the Word of God - Romans 12:1-2 and Colossians 3:16
We need to be ready in season and out of season to share the gospel - 2 Timothy 4:2

Time is very short my brothers and sisters. Every day is one day nearer the glorious appearing of our wonderful Lord and Saviour.

Let us not debate when Jesus is coming back but let us rejoice that He IS coming back to take us to be with Him - John 14:1-6.

We need to be about our Master's business. CT Studd that Great missionary once said,

' Some wish to live in view of church or chapel bell.. I want to run a rescue mission within a yard of hell'

Matthew Henry Comments on the Apostles Question in Acts 1 -

'They were earnest in asking about that which their master, never had directed or encouraged them to seek'

You know every single prophecy about the first coming of Jesus, was fulfilled, and likewise, every prophecy about His second coming in power and glory, will be fulfilled, also.

Christian, your job is to look forward with joy to that glorious day and to spend your time in fruitful service, so that you will hear the words.. well done thou good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of the Lord.

If you disagree with me on what I have written about then please give feedback. I don't know it all.

All I am is one who owes everything to God. I am a blood bought child of God who loves God, His Word, and His people. I have shared texts from the Holy Scriptures.. the book I reverence and love.

I long for that day, when my Saviour I will see.. I hope you do too.


Scriptures for further study

Mark Chapter 13
Matthew chapter 24
Matthew 25:13
1 Thess 4:16-18
1 Thess 5:1-4
2 Peter 1:20-21
2 Peter 2:1-4
2 Peter 3:8-12
Titus 2:13

God bless you!
Your friend and fellow servant
Keith
Please listen to this sermon

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Welcome to Simply Scripture
What a great joy it is to share with you. May you be blessed as you dig into God's Holy Word. But before we start, there is just enough time to grab a coffee and cake. And your Bible and let's get going. By the way I love this Psalm and would encourage you to read all 176 verses of it.

Please pass on this devotion to all your friends.
God bless you
Keith

THE BIBLE - WORD FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD
Psalm 119: 9

How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your Word.

Just going to share a couple of thoughts on this, we are constantly bombarded with things and images that portray nothing but filth and things that are directly against God's standard of pureness and holiness, so what are the principles that the believer can apply to keep his way pure?

This verse says that there is one way and one way alone and that is by living according to the word of God. Notice that Jesus said in defense to the devil in his temptation that Man was to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, and so it is with us, we must never have any other guidebook than the Word of God. In this day of great teachers and good Christian books we must never use them as anything other than aids to growth.

The Bible is and always must remain our final authority.

James says that it is not just listening to the Word of God, but obedience to it that brings results James 1:22-26. We are not just to receive the word, but to act on it. The Word of God is like a mirror, it shows us our faults.. Amen.. but it also shows how to put them right.. Amen.

We have to let the Word of God take up residence in our lives, this again is our responsibility, we have to do this ourselves. God is not going to force himself on us, we must make a conscious decision to let in what is pure and undefiled into our lives. Colossians 3:16, Philippians 4:7-8.

Your mind is the battleground, so it is has to be refreshed and renewed on a minute by minute basis, you cannot get away with reading the Bible just once a day and then putting it away and receiving the word on Sunday, you need to go to God's gas station and fill up on a regular basis with the word of God. Romans 12: 2.

So here is how we keep our way pure, by jumping in to the swimming pool of God's word and immersing ourselves in it, by taking what we see as options as commands and learning that what God has said, He has said for our benefit.

One final question, if you had a personal gold mine, wouldn't you go into it often and mine it, digging out the richest seams? This is what God has given you with the Word of God, he has given you all you need to walk in today's world, keeping your way pure and undefiled. Is your gold mine.. your Bible unused?. Is it left on the shelf and only taken down on Sunday's?

Can I make a suggestion? When you go to church on Sunday.. take your Bible and follow the sermon.. take notes to study later.

Listen to Cd's of sermons in your car or on your I-POD. Some people say you can get too much of a good thing.. but you can never get enough of the WORD OF GOD..... AMEN.

So lets be eager to dig into Gods word, even the difficult passages. In closing let me share this. It was only two years ago, that I first read Revelation right through, and I had been a believer for 25 years, so don't worry if you don't understand it all, just immerse yourselves in the Word.

God bless you
Keith
Please listen to the podcasts of my home church in the UK and view their excellent website. Please pray for my dear brother Pastor Richard and his wife Esther

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http://www.homechurch.org.uk/

Welcome to News from China
Hello Once again to our Newsletter about life here in China. We send our love and thanks to you all, wishing you GOD'S blessing on you and all your family

We love you but remember God's love is greater
God bless you
Keith Helen Ming

WHAT'S IN A NAME
Last Saturday was pretty momentous for me, although I had tutored three students in our own home for 8 weeks, here I was with not just three but 11 students gathered at the home of our dear friends Chen and Sugo. Four very nervous teenage girls and seven lively teenage boys, one very worried teacher, one supportive translator.. thanks Chen and one very supportive and prayerful wife.. my beloved Helen.

Well, I thought let's get to know each other, so I decided to introduce myself and told them something about me and the UK.

So I wrote on the white board, my name is Keith and asked them one by one to write their English names.. so the first one came up and wrote that her name was Catherine.. nice name I thought.. I wonder what the others are, I was in for big shock and a big laugh also as you will see as you read further.

The next of the girls came up and her name of course was Pigeon.. yes really..OK I thought.. it is China after all. The next two girls were Celia and Grace.. beautiful names.. onto the boys.

The first one had an English name and wait for this.. Fish....so we had a pigeon and a fish.

Next up came Michael, who is the cheeky one of the group, good name I thought.. next please and here is the funny part.. I had no idea about this, when they sat down that this would happen.. the next boy was called.. have you guessed it yet.....
JACKSON
So now I had Michael Jackson seated on the sofa.

By Now I was starting to giggle, as anyone who knows me will testify to, trying to control my giggling was proving very difficult, but I was just about managing it.

The other boys in order were called Tony, Scott, Peter and King.

All was well until I asked them to do things in groups and come out to the front.. I asked Michael Jackson to come out to the front and at this point, I completely lost it, just collapsed in fits of laughter on the floor.

I can say that I have found my true vocation.. no not as a comedian, but as a teacher. All the students will be returning and also I will be teaching some younger students and working for a tutor centre.

I hope this makes you smile and laugh.

God bless you
Keith Helen Ming
Ming our Precious daughter has very important exams soon.. please pray for her

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Welcome to Simply Scripture
GOD SEES EVERYTHING

What a joy it is to share with you again.

Grab your Bible and let's study this wonderful psalm.. TOGETHER

And also pass on these messages to all your friends and contacts

God bless you

Keith


Psalm 1

1[a]BLESSED (HAPPY, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly [following their advice, their plans and purposes], nor stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down [to relax and rest] where the scornful [and the mockers] gather.
2But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law (the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night.
3And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity].
4Not so the wicked [those disobedient and living without God are not so]. But they are like the chaff [worthless, dead, without substance] which the wind drives away.

5Therefore the wicked [those disobedient and living without God] shall not stand [justified] in the judgment, nor [b]sinners in the congregation of the righteous [those who are upright and in right standing with God].
6For the Lord knows and is fully acquainted with the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly [those living outside God's will] shall perish (end in ruin and come to nought).

Dear Friends

The First Psalm is such a wonderful one and I just wish to share some things about it.

Here is the way temptation can strike, it starts off slowly, but as we see in these verses it can spiral out of control and then we fall into Sin.

Walking- C/f Proverbs 1:15

Note here that it is not the actual walking, that is wrong, it is who we walk with and what we listen to. We need to be very careful with what we fill our minds with and who we have as our friends. We are to be in the world, but not of it John 17:7-17. We must feed our minds with the right type of food to keep it healthy Philippians 4:7-8.

Standing

Once we start to stop and ponder sin, it will take control. How often Do We (I), look longingly at some temptation, we must realize that the result of giving in to it, leads to death, in a spiritual sense Romans 6:23. We become submissive and inactive it says in the Psalm, we stand and look earnestly after this or that pleasure. Be careful christian, what you see and what you watch.


Sitting

Please note the lessening of activity here, when we are walking we are actually doing something, but then we become dormant.
There are thousands of Christian's, who have started off well, but are now back in the clutches of the world, because like Demas, they have loved this present world. 2 Timothy 4:10. You have been warned Believer.

In verses 2-3, we are given the answer. And that answer is to fill ourselves with God's word. Not just to read it, but to meditate on it, and to do this on a continuous and regular basis, remember that these writers did not have the NT to read, they had just the law of the Lord, but it was so refreshing to them.

That means they were refreshed by reading the books of the Law, like Chronicles and even Leviticus .. Do you find the word of God lifeless or life giving?
In Verse 3, the man who does this is compared to a tree. Can I ask you a question?.

Have you ever tried to move an oak tree, that is many years old? It is unmovable, the roots of that tree go down deep. Indeed we are like trees and we are fed by the Living waters of God, which is in Christ Jesus and His Word.

This is why we are told to be steadfast unmovable always abounding in the work of the Lord 1 Corinthians 15:58 . How rooted and grounded are you in the word of God? Are you still taking it in milk form 1 Peter 2:2 or in meat from Hebrews 5:11-14 and 1 Corinthians 3:1-3.

In the New Testament, Paul says that we must feed on THE WORD, in verses such as Colossians 3:16, and also we must never fear temptation as Jesus has overcome the world and the devil Hebrews 2:14-18 & 1 Corinthians 10:13.

Jesus has defeated the devil through his word. Matthew 4:1-12 and made a mockery of all His power Colossians 2:11-15, He has given us the same authority, let's use it and go forward to victory.

Verses 4-6 show what happens to those , who choose to disobey God. The Apostle Paul says in Romans 6:23:

23For the wages which sin pays is death, but the [bountiful] free gift of God is eternal life through (in union with) Jesus Christ our Lord.

God knows the way of the righteous and He sees everything that happens to them.

Verse 6 for the believer, is wonderful. Your Father sees everything that has been said about you, any actions that people take against you, have been seen by your heavenly Father and He takes note of all these actions and He will reward or punish the people responsible.

You may look believer at people who are doing well, because they are exploiting others and doing evil things.

Nothing is unseen believer... no one does anything in secret.. all things will be exposed on judgment day. The Lord looks on these people and considers them chaff.. that the wind blows away.

God bless you
Keith
Please listen to this wonderful sermon

http://www.sermonaudio.com/playpopup.asp?SID=7230115432


Here is a wonderful website.. stand with your persecuted brothers and sisters in prayer and fellowship 1 Cor 12:26

http://www.persecution.com/

Welcome to our latest update

Thanks for taking time to read our latest newsletter. Please share it with all your friends and contacts

Keith and Helen

Xīn Nián Kuài Lè


Happy New year to you all.. yes I know we are a bit late. Most of you celebrate New year on 31st December.. not so in China.

I want to let you know how we spent our New year here in China on the Saturday 9th February.

We had the pleasure of going to Helen's parents and were able to give them gifts of Fruit and also Red envelope filled with Money.. this is traditional in China. We had two wonderful meals with them.. a veritable feast of 10-15 dishes at each sitting.. one at lunchtime and one at suppertime.

Fireworks and firecrackers were being set off all day, but this was only a preview of what would happen just after midnight. On Chinese New year eve, Chinese TV run a 4 hour spectacular.. this year featuring Celine Dion and for those who don' know who she is.. she is the woman who gave us the theme song from the Film Titanic.. which sank by the way..if you haven't seen the film..I hope I haven't spoilt the ending for you!!

So we got home about 10pm, walking to the bus stop through empty streets.. everyone was watching TV. So it started as soon as the clock struck midnight, Helen having seen all of it before said Oh I will watch all this from the window.. but Keith with it being his first Chinese new Year decided to go out amongst it all.

In the UK, we have bonfire night and as a youngster, we used to buy fireworks and build a bonfire. The slogan for the company who sold the fireworks was 'light up the sky with standard fireworks'. boy was it lit up on that night.. for at least half an hour, you couldn't hear yourself think as everyone came out and set off firecrackers and fireworks. Some of the most spectacular went many hundreds of feet into the air.. some just made loud bangs.. these were the firecrackers. It lasted until about 1am and then stopped, but some nice person decided to set off some more at 5am and woke us up.. lovely people these Chinese!!!

Later that week we had Helen's family over for lunch, there were 9 of us, Helen and I cooked and Helen's family brought dishes and Helen's brother joined us for the last part of the cooking process. We had such a blessed and happy time as Helen's family are awesome. I hope soon to be able to welcome some of my family over to see us, that will be awesome.

Then we spent two days training how to share our faith.. The church in Nanjing organised some brothers to come from Wuhan to share with us, how to share our precious faith. They graduated 53 students.. 52 Chinese and someone else.The website to gain more information is http://evangelismexplosion.org/about-us/

Thanks for taking the time to read our newsletter

God bless you all

Keith Helen Ming


If any one of your friends.. wants to receive these devotions and updates... please e-mail me at faithhopendlovefellowship@gmail.com

Welcome to Simply Scripture

Believe it or not, this study was first written , back in 2006, but this is such an important subject.. it is the cause of so many Pastors, Christian Leaders and Ordinary believers falling into sin.. it is PRIDE.

I write this, because I can easily be led into pride..praise for the devotions/studies.. can go to my head. I have to realise that it is God that uses me and that I am nothing at all, without Him. He is the inspiration behind everything that I do, it is His Holy Spirit that opens up His word to me, it is the Holy Spirit who speaks to people's hearts.

I wish to give all the glory and praise to the Lord.. He alone is my inspiration.. He alone is my everything and I am nothing without Him

If you don't think, you suffer from this, then please go no further.. but it would be for your benefit if you did. So please grab your Bible.

Please pass this message onto all your friends.

Thanks

God bless

Keith

PRIDE GOES BEFORE A FALL (Proverbs 16:18)


In the life of the believer,there are many things that the devil brings to attack us with, and one of the most prevalent is the one of PRIDE, and today we are going to look at the reasons behind it and the remedy for it.

Reasons for Pride:

Pride goes back right before the formation of the earth, indeed it was the reason why the devil was thrown out of heaven see Isaiah 14:12-17, basically it is the "I" syndrome, we want to be seen, we want to be in first place.

In Mark 7:22, the seriousness of pride is brought home to us by Jesus Himself, look at the sins, it is associated with, then the next time you are tempted by pride, remember this verse.

Mark 7:22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:

Warnings are given by Paul in the following verses :

1 Cor. 10:12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

Phil 3:4 Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:

Results of Pride:

The Old Testament was written for our learning, we can see all through the history of the children of Israel that pride was a major problem and had terrible consequences for them and their fellowship with God and each other.

It leads to destruction, these verses say that it is because of pride that Moab and the children of Ammon will be like Sodom and Gomorrah because of their pride, this is a stark warning to us all.

Zephaniah 2:9-10 Therefore as I live, saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them. This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of the LORD of hosts.

Pride will deceive you, you will think more of yourself, than you ought, you will exalt yourself and believe the hype so to speak, this is clearly shown by the prophet Obadiah in his short but powerful book.

Oba 1:3 The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?

It leads to contention and division in the ranks of God's people, how often have we seen churches, families and even ministries crumble because of this problem? Solomon in this verse squarely puts it down to pride.

Pro 13:10 Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.

Pride will cause real pain, the prophet here is in anguish, he is weeping , seeing the children of Israel carried away captive, this church is what can and will happen to us, if we refuse to listen and learn that pride is not to be treated lightly.

Jer 13:17 But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the LORD'S flock is carried away captive.

Remedy for Pride:

So can pride be dealt with in the life of the believer? Yes! Praise God, here are a few principles that will help you in your walk

Phil 2:5 and Hebrews 12:2

Look constantly at the example of Jesus, focus on Him, look at His life, when we follow Him, we have to cast aside any thoughts of ourselves, more of Jesus = less of us.

Col 3:16, Romans 12:2 and Philippians 4:7-8

The mind is the battleground, every day, we have to deal with incoming thoughts, and how do we do this? By giving the word of God the keys to your mind and letting it take up permanent residence.

Proverbs 23:7 and 1 Cor 2:16

We have the victory through Christ, we have the mind of Christ and we have to confess that daily and often, if indeed we have the mind of Christ, can we be prideful? No, of course not. Did Jesus have any pride in him? No, of course not, so speak that YOU HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST, as when we confess in Jesus name .. It has power. James 4:7-8 and 1 Peter 5:6

Both of these saints of God tell us to humble ourselves and James states that we are to stand and fight against the devil, resist Him, if you do he won't put up much of a fight, he cannot stand against your authority, if you rebuke him in the Name of Jesus.

Proverbs 4:23

Remember it is your responsibility to keep your heart, you are the keeper of your heart, you do not know other people's hearts. With all diligence, don't take your mind off Jesus for one second, keep a watchful eye as it is your responsibility.

Also we must go back to our roots so to speak and that is to go back to the one place that puts everything into perspective for the believer and that is the cross, when you look at the cross, all proud thoughts are blown away.

For further Study

Proverbs 6:16-19
1 John 1:8-2:2
1 Corinthians 9:27

I hope this has blessed your heart

God bless and thanks for Reading

Keith

Welcome to Simply Scripture

It is a real joy and privilege to share with you all once again. I am so privileged to be able to share with people all over the world...who read these messages. Thanks to all of you, who forward these messages onto all your friends and If you don't already, then please do.

Before you start to read this article.. I want you to click on the following two Links. These were soul winners.. men who were so devoted to saving souls. Look at their lives and be inspired. We think that we are winning souls for Jesus.. but please look at the example that these men set and then consider whether you are a soul winner.


Thanks and God bless you

Keith

John Harper
http://www.blessedquietness.com/journal/housechu/harper.htm

CT Studd

http://www.wholesomewords.org/biography/biorpcambridge7.html



Simply Scripture

LETS REACH THE WORLD AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Matthew 28:17-20

17 And when they saw him, they worshiped him: but some doubted.
18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.


My Dear friends.

This message has been on my heart for some time and I am following the Leading of the Spirit of God as I write it.
These are some of the last recorded words of Jesus whilst he was on earth, so He sure wants them remembered.. This passage has:

Commands

Go vs 19
Teach all Nations vs 19
Baptize vs 19

Promises

Jesus has all authority.. over everything vs 18
Jesus will be with us vs 20

It says that they worshiped Him verse 17, but there was still doubts there, doubts about what you may ask, they had seen the evidence of Jesus Resurrection, they had seen His miracle working power. Are you like some of the disciples?. You have seen Jesus do miracles in your life, you have seen His power in evidence in your life, but you still doubt. He asks why?

Jesus has the answer to their doubt in verse 18, he said that all authority was given to Him. Yes that's right my friends.. all power. And who had given Jesus all authority, it was the Father, who had given all things into His hands. Jesus has at His disposal, the greatest power the world has ever seen or will see.. AMEN.

Because of what He says in verse 18, we can be confident of our commission in verses 19-20. Are we?
This is not just a commission to evangelize the world, we have to do follow up and bringing men and women to maturity in Christ.

We have to baptize these believers, they have to know the realization of being buried with Christ in baptism Romans 6:1-4. Just like the early church did, we have to do the same. Acts chs 2-6.

Baptism was an outward sign of an inner commitment, it was a testimony to the world of a person coming to trust Jesus. If you haven't been baptized by immersion, I would encourage you to be baptized.. it is the most wonderful experience and you will be obeying the words of Jesus.

We have to teach and train them up , sharing with them all that Jesus taught, so that they follow Him closely and become effective disciples of the Lord. Can I ask, do we as individuals and churches neglect our role here?

I Love the discourse of Jesus in John chs 13-17, it is so beautiful. there He outlined certain things that the disciples had to learn.

That they were to be connected to the vine... the relationship with Christ John 15:1-5
The Unity of the Believers.. the Love they had to have one for another John chapter 17
Obedience to God John 14

There are others, but if all young Christians knew these 3 principles, they wouldn't go far wrong Amen? If we share with each new converts to read these five chapters, then they would start on the right path, because this is what Jesus says, not our church doctrine book!

We have lots of conversions, but how many true disciples do we make? In his sermon.. "Hells Best Kept Secret", Ray Comfort said that nearly 80% of people who come to Christ are lost. Is this because we neglect part of the great commission? It is no good obeying one part of it and not the rest. Does a mother have a baby and then leave it to fend on it's own?. NO!. Neither should we with spiritual babes. Jesus has shed his precious blood to redeem them.. how dare we neglect them?

We need not be afraid when we go out into the world, because not only do we have the ultimate power of Jesus with us, we have the very presence of Jesus with us, by the means of the Holy Spirit. He promises to be with us and never ever leave us.

My friends, let us not be afraid to witness and share the gospel, let us not doubt the gospel, let us not doubt that the Lord's hand is shortened, it still can and will save the vilest sinner. Look at Paul for instance, God saved Him
Let us take up the challenge of reaching the world and then helping people who trust in Jesus, grow into maturity.

How do we reach the world for Christ. Well here are a few ways. . Why Don't you:

Prayer walk your street/road/village claiming it for Jesus and anointing it with the blood of Jesus.. speaking it over your community.. claim your street for Christ.

Get Gospels of John or Gospel Booklets from your local christian bookstore and distribute them in your local area. Place your church's address and phone number on it or even your own.

Give out these booklets to people at your local shop/store.. or where ever you meet people. Always carry Gospels/christian literature with you.

If there are Christians from other churches who live on your street/road, get together once a month to pray for people.. it sure would help Christian unity if nothing else. Or even organise a street event.. such as a coffee morning, come on church get creative.. get out of your comfort zone.. Jesus told us to go.. not stay in our ivory towers we call church.

Open your home to your friends/neighbours,

In closing I want to go back to John Harper . When the Titanic went down, there were large numbers of people in the water and the lifeboats were half full. We are the people in the lifeboats who have been gloriously saved. One only Lifeboat went back to look for survivors. this is a picture of the church today. Can I ask, is your lifeboat only half full and why aren't you going back to pick up survivors and rescue them from certain death?

Because if they are without Christ, that is what they are facing. The lifeboats were frightened of being dragged under by the swell, they said lets just leave it to the main rescue ship.. albeit we do, we say let's have a big crusade with a big evangelist.

What's your excuse believer for not going back and seeking to rescue those in the water? All these excuses hold no water with God my friends.. however good we think they are.. Amen.

You are their only hope after all. Has your lifeboat been back to pick up survivors or are you letting them drown?

CT Studd said that he wanted to have a rescue chapel within a yard of hell. He gave up so much for the gospel, what are you willing to give up for the gospel? Jesus says go, he doesn't say stay in your churches and be comfortable.. Amen? If my/your Christianity doesn't cost us anything, then it is not biblical Christianity .. Amen?

Let us weep for the souls of men.. like Jesus did. we all say we want to be like Jesus.. well do we weep like he did?

Let's reach the world and make a difference.

God bless you
Keith
Please listen to this inspiring sermon.. only 12 minutes long

http://www.sermonaudio.com/playpopup.asp?SID=11908653572

Welcome to Simply Scripture

It is a joy to share with you once again, from God's word. Please dig into it, for yourself, you will be constantly amazed.
All I ask is that you share these messages with all your friends, contacts and churches. I have never asked money for them and never will. You are free to use any of this material to bless the Body of Christ

Keith

EQUIPPING OF THE SAINTS

Ephesians 4:11-16

11And His gifts were [varied; He Himself appointed and gave men to us] some to be apostles (special messengers), some prophets (inspired preachers and expounders), some evangelists (preachers of the Gospel, traveling missionaries), some pastors (shepherds of His flock) and teachers.

12His intention was the perfecting and the full equipping of the saints (His consecrated people), [that they should do] the work of ministering toward building up Christ's body (the church).

13[That it might develop] until we all attain oneness in the faith and in the comprehension of the [[b]full and accurate] knowledge of the Son of God, that [we might arrive] at really mature manhood (the completeness of personality which is nothing less than the standard height of Christ's own perfection), the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ and the completeness found in Him.

14So then, we may no longer be children, tossed [like ships] to and fro between chance gusts of teaching and wavering with every changing wind of doctrine, [the prey of] the cunning and cleverness of [c]unscrupulous men, [gamblers engaged] in every shifting form of trickery in inventing errors to mislead.

15Rather, let our lives lovingly [d]express truth [in all things, speaking truly, dealing truly, living truly]. Enfolded in love, let us grow up in every way and in all things into Him Who is the Head, [even] Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).

16For because of Him the whole body (the church, in all its various parts), closely joined and firmly knit together by the joints and ligaments with which it is supplied, when each part [with power adapted to its need] is working properly [in all its functions], grows to full maturity, building itself up in love.




What a wonderful passage of scripture, it is just packed with so much for the believer to be gloriously happy about.

First and foremost, we are part of the greatest and most unique group that the world has ever seen and that is the Body of Christ.

We are not only a body, but a bride that is awaiting it's bridegroom. HE (JESUS) is looking to make His church into a pure bride that is spotless and ready for the bridegroom.. who is Jesus. amen.

Do we realize Who we represent? We represent Jesus and are His ambassadors to the world today. 2 Corinthians 5:21

God has placed people in unique positions, within this body. These are people, who have in their hands, the five fold ministry, of teaching and helping the church reach its full potential.

As individual believers, we have to be thankful for such people and we have to give them our full support as they serve the Lord in this capacity. We must not pull them down, but support them in prayer, in sharing and encouraging them as they fulfill this exacting role within the Body of Christ.

Although these people have these roles within the body, they are first and foremost servants, they need to exalt Christ and Him alone and not seek titles or to take the Glory, which belongs to God alone from HIM.

Having one of these ministries, doesn't mean you have made it as a Christian, indeed God chooses weak vessels to work through. Every person, who has these ministries, must realise that without God, they can do nothing and they have no strength in themselves. Please read 2 Corinthians chapter 12.
Have you encouraged or blessed your Pastor? Told Him/her, how much they are valued and loved?

Verse 12; tells us why they are there.

To perfect the saints- that is to bring each and every believer to maturity, to help them be like the Lord.

To do the work of the ministry- To fulfill their calling as shepherds and to lead the flock of God on the correct road.

To edify the Body- To share with the Body of Christ, things that will build it up.

This ministry has an outflow, and these are outlined in verses 13-15:

The first one of these is Unity. The greatest wish of our Lord and the greatest wish of every believer should be that each and everyone is walking in unity, one with another. When the Holy Spirit falls in revival power, He is not going to worry, if you are Baptist or Methodist, what matters is that you are open to Him, so He can flow through you.

The second is that we come to the full knowledge of Jesus. Isn't that awesome? We have to continue to grow daily to the fullness of Knowing Him.

This is what Paul said in Philippians 3, if he was seeking to grow into this, shouldn't we?

The third is that we are strong and steadfast, knowing the word and being able to discern things that are wrong. The only answer to the devil and to false teachers is to know the Word of God, not just in our heads, but in our hearts. It must penetrate our deepest being, and dwell in us richly Colossians 3:16 and Psalm 119.

The fourth is that we speak and act out of love to our brethren. When the five fold ministry is sure within a church, there is love coupled with godly rebuke.

The leaders and teachers are respected and they are able to rebuke, as the members, truly look at their pastors and leaders in the true light.

Verse 16 is just totally awesome. This is when the whole body is working together. Living as it should, loving as nothing else can and being the greatest force in the world, because the Holy Spirit's power is seen through its life and witness.

The deepest wish of the Lord is to see His church, all of it, living and walking in Unity. But it is also the deepest fear of the devil that is why he tries and sometimes succeeds in bringing strife, within a church.

The church needs to focus on the main task, of reaching the world, and growing the believers into maturity, anything that diverts the church from that task, is a tactic of the devil, and we as believers, need to be wise to his tactics.

Division, strife and discord, within the church, never comes from God, it is always the tactic of the devil.

Isn't it time, we stopped giving him help? It is time to put aside our petty squabbles and stand together as verse 16 says

God bless you


Keith

Welcome to Simply Scripture

I do hope you are blessed by what God has laid on my heart. As it is Simply Scripture.. I want you to stop right there and go and get your Bible and also make yourself comfortable.



Please share this study with all your friends, let us get the word of God out into the world. If anyone wants to receive these studies direct e-mail me at faithhopelovefellowship@hotmail.com



God bless you

Your friend

Keith


Bearing/Sharing Burdens

We are going to look at this important subject to the body of Christ.

Let me say that Jesus has borne every burden we ever had, the most important one being of sin. He dealt with this in his death and Resurrection. So we have the privilege of bearing our brethren's burdens and helping them to carry them.

The Call to Bear/share

Galatians 6

2Bear (endure, carry) one another's burdens and [a]troublesome moral faults, and in this way fulfill and observe perfectly the law of Christ (the Messiah) and complete [b]what is lacking [in your obedience to it].

The apostle Paul puts it plainly here, the command is quite simple. In doing this we are acting in obedience, we are doing what God wants us to do and that will surely please our Father, and after all, isn't that our aim.

The Reward

Mark 9

41 For I tell you truly, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to and bear the name of Christ will by no means fail to get his reward.

Have you ever thought your little act of kindness has gone unrewarded. No act, however small goes unrewarded by God, he sees everything, and will reward you and that's all you require

The Practise

Matthew 6

1 TAKE CARE not to do your good deeds publicly or before men, in order to be seen by them; otherwise you will have no reward [[a]reserved for and awaiting you] with and from your Father Who is in heaven.
2 Thus, whenever you give to the poor, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites in the synagogues and in the streets like to do, that they may be [b]recognized and honored and praised by men. Truly I tell you, they have their reward [c]in full already.

3 But when you give to charity, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,

4 So that your deeds of charity may be in secret; and your Father Who sees in secret will reward you openly.

God is interested in How you do things, your true heart motive. What motivates you to help people, is it to be recognised or win people's applause?

The Penalty of Not sharing/ Bearing Acts 5:1-11

Please read this for yourself, this is not just what happened in the early church. We have the Same God now, he doesn't change, neither do his standards change.

Examples of Sharing

The Early Church Acts 2:44-45
Barnabas Acts 4:32-37
A church meeting a need and being rewarded for it Philippians 4:13-19

It was the practise of the early church and it should be ours

The Purpose

Shows our commitment to each other Romans 15:1-2

Shows our obedience to his direct command Romans 12:13

We are sowing seed 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 and Galatians 6:7-9

God has promised us blessing if we share Malachi 3

Shows our faith in action James 2:13-17

Allows God to reward us, by giving back to us 2 Corinthians 9:6-15

Shows our thankfulness to God 2 Corinthians 9:12

Allows God's servants to operate and the gospel to go forth 2 Corinthians 9:12

Glorifies God 1 Peter 2:12

The world is put to silence 1 Peter 2:15

A final question

Do you think you share with your brothers and sisters?

Do you think you bear their burdens?

In the wonderful book of 1 John in chapter 3, we have these words, with which we shall finish

16 By this we come to know (progressively to recognize, to perceive, to understand) the [essential] love: that He laid down His [own] life for us; and we ought to lay [our] lives down for [those who are our] brothers [[l]in Him].

17 But if anyone has this world's goods (resources for sustaining life) and sees his brother and [m]fellow believer in need, yet closes his heart of compassion against him, how can the love of God live and remain in him?

18L little children, let us not love [merely] in theory or in speech but in deed and in truth (in practise and in sincerity).

19 By this we shall come to know (perceive, recognize, and understand) that we are of the Truth, and can reassure (quiet, conciliate, and pacify) our hearts in His presence,

LET ME ASK YOU THESE QUESTIONS

Would you lay down your life for any of your brothers or sisters in Christ?

Have you had another believer come to you with a need and you have had the resources to help and you said ' I will pray for you'. That is sin and displeases God

Do all your actions show God's love?

Is your heart at peace because you know you have acted in love towards people?

And finally

Have you closed your heart and turned a blind eye to your brother in need, if you have how can God's love and remember God is love, live inside you?

This is the very essence of being a believer, remember what James said about pure religion.. it is not not worship or prayer... but

James 1:27



27External [a]religious worship [[b]religion as it is expressed in outward acts] that is pure and unblemished in the sight of God the Father is this: to visit and help and care for the orphans and widows in their affliction and need, and to keep oneself unspotted and uncontaminated from the world.

How many orphans and widows have you helped?

Searching questions.. what is your answer?

God Bless you

Keith

Welcome to Simply Scripture

Hello Everyone.. it is an amazing privilege to be able to share with you again. Please grab your Bible, make yourself a cup of tea or coffee and yes get yourself a piece of cake!!!



God bless you

Keith

Epaphras

Colossians 1

7 You so learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ in our stead and as our representative and yours.

8 Also he has informed us of your love in the [Holy] Spirit.

Colossians 4

12 Epaphras, who is one of yourselves, a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. [He is] always striving for you earnestly in his prayers, [pleading] that you may [as persons of ripe character and clear conviction] stand firm and mature [in spiritual growth], convinced and fully assured in [b]everything willed by God.

13 For I bear him testimony that he has labored hard in your behalf and for [the believers] in Laodicea and those in Hierapolis.



We are going to look at three aspects of his man's life:

WHO HE WAS
WHAT HE DID
WHY HE DID IT.

Let us look at the first of these.

Are you fascinated why in the New testament, the Apostle Paul tells us about some of his co-workers. I think that it is an indication of how valuable these people were to Him and his ministry, but most importantly to God.

So who was Epaphras

Well he was probably the founder of this church here at Colossae, but he was much more than that , as it says certain things about Him in the first Chapter of Colossians.

Who he was

He was beloved verse 7. Believer you are loved beyond measure, Not just by the Lord, if that isn't enough but by your fellow believers.

He was a servant verse 7 Jesus said that the greatest among you, must be your servant. Do you my dear brother in Christ, have a servant's heart and do you serve without question your fellow believers?

He was Faithful. Verse 7. Probably this man started out in quite a lowly position, but he was faithful in those little things. If you want to be trusted in the big things, you must be faithful in the little things. Such as, do you keep your word? Do you say you will be somewhere and then don't turn up?

He could be trusted Verse 7 Paul trusted this man completely and utterly. Tell me would your pastor, be able to trust you in a role like this?

He told the truth of the Gospel see Verse 6 This man taught the gospel as outlined in verse 6, he did not compromise it.

He spoke of the Grace of God see Verse 6 It says that the gospel came to this church clearly and in truth. This man who founded the church, spoke the gospel in power and gave all the glory to the Lord.

Secondly

What he did

I just love verse 8.

He gave Paul a good report on the believers in this place, he did not tell bad things to the apostle, he told of their love in the Spirit. I wonder if you had to say one thing about your church, what would it be? Would you give a good report?

In Philemon 23, it states that this man was a fellow prisoner of Paul in Rome and yet he was passionate about these churches. He was in real pain for these churches. It says that he wrestled in prayer for them.

I would think that he prayed Ephesians 3:14-21 over them and spent many many hours, even sleepless nights bringing them before the throne of grace. Wow! what an example, this is true prayer my brothers, he went through real agony on their behalf, such passion and fervour. Colossians 4:12.

Praying for our brothers and sisters, does not mean you say a few words like Bless that church or that person.. We have to agonise in prayer.. we want to be like Jesus in prayer.. let me ask you do you sweat drops of blood or stay up all night like Jesus did?.. I know Epaphras did.

Paul is in admiration of Epaphras, what a testimonial Paul gives Him in verse 13. If someone was watching you every day, what would they say of you? Actually the report given by Epaphras in Verse 8 of Chapter 1, enabled Paul to pray like he did in verses 9-14.

Thirdly

Why he did it

So why did Epaphras do it? He was locked up and he could of forget them completely, after all they were not his responsibility any more.

Firstly it was driven by love, he was a man of love. He totally loved these believers, that my friend was his motivation, it drove everything he did.

Secondly, he wanted them to fully know Christ in every way. He wanted this church to understand the power of God in their lives. He wanted this church to have the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives. He wanted them to be totally and utterly set apart for God.

Epaphras is a model for us today, a man of prayer, a man of passion and a man of love.

I hope you are blessed as you read what the Lord has laid on my heart

We certainly need more like this man in the church today.. Amen?

Are you willing to be an Epaphras?

God bless you

Keith

All I ask is that you share these devotions with all your friends and groups. If anyone wants to receive these devotions direct.. please e-mail me at faithhopelovefellowship@hotmail.com

Welcome to Simply Scripture
Please note that I have closed the website, because I have no time to attend to it. I have a family now and need to concentrate on my Wife Helen , our daughter Ming and our church. I will continue to send out the Devotions, China Cry and Gems. Please share with all your friends and groups. If any of your friend wants to receive them direct, please reply to faithhopelovefellowship@hotmail.com

What a joy it is to share with you once again. It's that time again.. coffee and cake time and let's study what God has placed on my heart to share with you. Please be blessed and share with all your friends.

God bless you
Keith

WHAT IS A CHRISTIAN? (1).. Part 2 to follow

Acts 11:26 (King James Version)

26 And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that for a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.

I want us to look at exactly what a Christian is. So get your Bible and be prepared to look up the references. Oh I am using the King James Version of the Bible.
Sinner Romans 3:23, 1 Timothy 1:15 and Romans 3:9

Like Paul, a believer is someone who has been made aware of his depravity before God. This is the work of the Holy Spirit, he is the one who convicts of sin


The believer is one who has come to the foot of the cross in repentance and faith and has made a complete turnaround in his/her life, that is what repentance means, to turn 180 degrees and to go in the opposite direction, this is an essential element in Salvation, and every true Christian has a repentant heart. Jeremiah 25:5, 1 John 1:7-9, Mark 2:17, Acts 17:30

Saved
The thing that makes you a Christian is salvation. So let's look at this glorious reality.

We are saved FROM

Hell and eternal punishment (separation from GOD) Matthew 25:45-46, Revelation 20:12-15, Hebrews 9:27

God is completely Holy and will not tolerate sin in any form and that means that those who reject Him and choose a life of sin, must be punished for their rebellion. Everyone must give an account of their actions before God, even Christians.

Condemnation

The only claim to heaven, a believer has is the Righteousness of Jesus and the shed blood of Jesus.

John 5:24, John 3:17-19 and Romans 8:1

Ever since the Garden of Eden. Men and women have been under condemnation because of sin, but a Christian is someone who is free of that condemnation and is free and alive. Are you?

Sin and Death
1 Corinthians 15:56, Colossians 2:11-15 and Romans 6:23

The penalty for sin is death, but because of the Sacrifice of Jesus, that penalty is paid. Has your penalty been paid?

The Curse of the Law

Galatians 3:13


The law given to the Israelites was to keep them close to God and was very strict. Jesus came to fulfill the law in every point and to bring us into a new relationship. God says that He will write his law in your heart, this is not a legalistic relationship, but a joyful union of Creator and created being, being brought back into fellowship.

Because Of

So how are we saved, what operation does God use to do this.

The Blood of Jesus 1 John 2:2, 1 Peter 1:18-19

Throughout scripture, God required sacrifice, in the form of a lamb that was completely pure. In Jesus He provide the purest lamb ever, Jesus, the sinless and pure lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.

The righteousness of Jesus Romans 5:7-8, 2 Corinthians 5:21 and Isaiah 61:10

When God sees us as Christians, He sees not our sin, but the righteousness of Jesus. We are clothed with His righteousness, we are new creations 2 Corinthians 5:17

Grace operating through Faith
John 1:12-13 and Ephesians 2:6-10

God's grace is always there, but it is our acceptance of that grace that allows the Holy Spirit to open up our spirits and to do the circumcision without hands, He literally reaches into our spirits and takes out the old rotten one and puts in a perfect and new spirit, don't ask me how he does it, He just does it......totally amazing.. amen

Saved to

What are we saved to, what is the purpose of our salvation.

To be Holy 1 Peter 1:16
To be His Witnesses on the earth Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:8
To Be a spiritual House - for God to dwell in 1 Peter 2:5
To offer up praises to God 1 Peter 2:5 and 9
To Be His servants Romans 12:1 and Romans 6:18
To the day of Redemption Ephesians 4:30


Servants
We are to follow the example of Jesus, it says in Ephesians 5:1 that we are to be followers of God, therefore we have to seek to be like Jesus and follow the path He took.

This meant service, please read and study John 13:1-17 and Philippians 2:5-11, for the great example Jesus was . One that we must follow at all times and at all costs.

We are always to remember that when we do something like share the gospel, we are only obeying instructions and we are unprofitable servants at best. Luke 17:10

We must serve the brethren, and a good passage to help us on this is Philippians 2:1-4, it is perhaps significant that Paul shares His wonderful discourse on the Service Of Jesus after this in verses 5-11, just to show us how it should be done.

Stewards
A steward is someone who has something in safe keeping. So are you a good steward?

What are we stewards of:

The Gospel 1 Corinthians 9:17

Do we share the gospel? Do we treasure it? God has no other means of spreading His word than us, He hasn't given it to the angels, but to us.

The Mysteries of God 1 Corinthians 4:1
Wow! what a responsibility to have this. It says that the prophets earnestly sought after these things, but we have them due to the operation of the Holy Spirit, how much do we seek to go further and get beyond the surface of the scriptures?

Our Gifts and Finances

God has graciously given us not only spiritual , but material gifts to use for his glory. Have we used them to their full capacity? Please read the stories of the stewards in Luke 12:43-48 and Luke 19:11-27. Let us examine ourselves in the Light of scripture.

Students 2 Timothy 2:15
I love Psalm 119 and one of my favourite verses is verse 97, the psalmist has just the books of the law to meditate on, but they are his joy and delight. Is the Bible your joy and delight?. Do you love it above everything else?. Please read the whole of Psalm 119.. yes all of it..it is truly amazing.. amen

Is it like Honey to you? Ps 119:103

The Bible will also keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from your Bible, someone very wise once said this. Please read and study Psalm 119:9-12

How do you defeat the Devil like Jesus did Matthew 4:1-11? You wont and can't unless you know the word from cover to cover Hebrews 4:12. So you are able to use it as the Sword of the Spirit to destroy every lie of the devil.

One of my favourite verses is Colossians 3:16, letting the word of God dwell within you will not only benefit you, but others as well, you will sing in your heart and will help others to do the same.

It will correct you and make you wise unto salvation, it is the only Do it all book in the world, it has the answer to every situation, every problem you will ever encounter or have, because God who is the answer wrote it. 2 Timothy 3:13-17

Soldier
The Key verses here are Ephesians 6:10-18, again please study them.

Let me ask you a question. Have you ever seen a soldier with half his kit on? Likewise the Christian , must have all his armour on, does a soldier go out without his weapon?. Neither should we.. we have to know our armour.. we must keep it in tip top condition.. like the shield of faith.. how do we do that.. by exercising our faith and believing God... He is faithful and responds to faith. Hebrews 11:1-6

A soldier keeps himself separate from the world, he is focused on the Battle, nothing distracts him from his job, sure he has time to relax and enjoy himself, but his first priority is obeying his commanding officer 2 Timothy 2:3-4. Are you obeying your commanding officer- Jesus?. Yes soldiers do have leisure time.. but their priority is the warfare they are engaged in. What is your priority.. your warfare or your leisure?

Supplicator

We are to pray and not to faint. Luke 18:1. We are to pray constantly 1 Thess 5:17. What does that mean?

It means to be in a constant state of prayerfulness, prayer is not something to be done in your quiet time, it is a constant and persistent fellowship with the Father, it is coming to the throne of Grace constantly and often, the throne of grace should be a place you love to be.

We are to talk to God as our Father, as our best friend and to share our heart with Him, the deepest desires and requests of our hearts, He knows already, but He longs to hear it from us, because He loves to hear His children's voice. Has he heard you voice lately or have you been hiding from Him like Adam, because of some sin?

Submitted

What a joy it is to be a Christian.. a saved person.

The final thing a Christian is that he is under new ownership. He is under the Lordship of Jesus. He has gladly given his life over to a new owner.. he is no longer in charge.

1 Corinthians 12:3 says that no one can say Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Spirit. That is the evidence of your salvation, that is what makes you a Christian, your acceptance of not only His sacrifice, but also your proclamation of Jesus as Lord -. Romans 10:9.

Let me finish with a final question.

Have you submitted your life to God?

This means giving up everything and becoming like Jesus, following Him, going where He went, which ultimately led to the cross, this means you and your flesh will have to be crucified, it will have to die on a daily basis. Galatians 2:20.

That is what a Christian is, a crucified follower of Jesus.

James 4:7 says that you must submit to God, this is not an optional command but a compulsory one, one that must be obeyed.

In Acts 17:6 the Christians were seen as people who turned the world upside down.

Are you prepared to do this? With God's help we will do it and put the world the right way up

God bless you
Keith
Thanks for Reading... I hope this has blessed you.

Welcome to Simply Scripture

It's that time again!!!!. So grab your bible and a cup of tea and let's study the precious word of God.


Please take time to visit the links, at the bottom of this message. They will truly be a blessing to you

God bless you

Keith

Cain And Abel

Genesis 4:1-16

Today's society is full of anger, we get angry at the slightest thing, but as it says in

Ecclesiastes "There is nothing new under the sun."

In Genesis 3, we see how sin came into the world, and now we see the spread of sin, in a dramatic way. Let us look at the story of Cain and Abel in Chapter 4.

This message has been on my heart for a long time and as I looked at the story anew. God revealed some new things to me, and I am just passing on these things to you, my brothers and sisters.

We always focus on the murder committed by Cain, but there were several underlying things, that led to the murder. These included their attitudes to giving and jealously.

They both had different professions, one tilled the ground, and one was a shepherd. In both cases God gave them increase, but it was their attitude to their increase that set one apart from another, one knew that it has come from God and was glad to give it freely back to the provider, and the other had the attitude, that it was he, who had earned the fruits of his labor. We labor and sow in church, but it is God who gives the increase. Remember all our blessings come from God.

One of the main problems with Cain was that of jealously, He must of looked enviously at his brother, who did not have to do the back breaking work of tilling ground day after day. Is this the same with us?

Some of us in the church are called to do menial jobs, such as set up and clear up after meetings, you will never preach, but you can make the venue look great. Do you look enviously at the shepherd? The one who stands up at the front and shares from the Word of God.

Let me share something with you all. For years I helped put chairs away and washed up after meetings (which I still do), and now God has graciously allowed me to share his word, through writing. Believe me, I thought "when Lord," but God will train you up and then give you more responsibility, but it is in these training periods that you must prove yourself. Moses spent forty years being in the backside of the desert before he was called of God. That must of been a hard time.. a time of learning and a time where he got to know God in a deeper and fuller way. Even the apostle Paul, had his period of training after his conversion.. if God has treated these awesome servants of God like this.. Do you think HE will treat you differently?

Abel brought of the first fruits of His herd, he brought the best, Cain waited till all his produce was in and then gave and then he gave sparingly and grudgingly. When we Give to God, how do we give to God.? It says that God loves a cheerful giver. Do we give with a glad heart?. They say that the wallet is the last part of the Christian to be saved, is this the case with you?.

Let's look at a modern day example, you are going to church on Sunday morning, do you grab the change off the table to put into the collection plate, like Cain did or do you, like Abel, purpose that you will give the first fruits of your increase to God? God has promised to pour out a blessing that you will not be able to contain if you do the Latter. Malachi 3:8-11

Jealously and wrong choices, led to his fury against Abel, but it was not Abel who Cain was angry against, it was God. God is very plain spoken, he doesn't pull any punches with Cain. Indeed he asks the same type of question that he asked Cain's father Adam. Today he asks the same question, "Where is thy brother?"

The Lord asks a second question 'what have you done'. To every christian, he asks the same question.. sin you see is that bad, if you have hurt your brother offended your brother sister, God makes it clear you have offended HIM personally. Is God asking you today 'what have you done'. To offend a brother or sister and to cause them to fall is to literally slap Jesus in the face and none of us, would ever do that.. so why do we treat our brethren badly. God looks at sin especially harshly, indeed in the life of David the man after God's own heart, he sent probably the strongest rebuke ever to sin through the prophet Nathan.. what have you done David..likewise you sin.. God says to you.. what have you done believer.

Cain was unrepentant, he didn't come to God for forgiveness, the blood of Abel cried out to God. Cain probably thought like Moses, his sin would be hid, but sin is never hid from God.. he sees it all.. the eyes of the Lord are in every place.. amen

In the New Testament, Jesus took it further, If you were angry with your brother without a cause, like Cain was, then we are in big trouble.. strong words Christian

Matthew 5:22 (King James Version)

22But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

This is one of the most important questions we have to confront church, if we can't love the brethren, how can we love the world?

Abel had an excellence about Him, he took time to do things, he gave the choice cuts to God. How much more should we offer the best of our lives to God? Romans 12:1-2. We need to surrender our whole lives to God and not just the bits we want to ..amen. We sing I surrender all.. but do we know what that really means?

Sin was truly at the door of Cain's life and his failure to confront it, led not only to his downfall, but to the death of his own brother. If we do not confront our anger, jealously, greed etc, it will not only let the devil defeat us, but it will lead to damage to other believers and even cause churches to be split with strife and division.

This is why sin has to be dealt with as soon as it is evident, deal with the root of the problem, the blood of Jesus cleanses you from all sin. If you don't then that sin/habit will end up mastering you. The only place where sin can be defeated is at the foot of the cross. Colossians 2:11-15 and 1 John 1:6-2:2. Go to it on a regular basis.

No sin can be hidden from the Lord, he wants us to confront our sin/failures, confess them in repentance and consecrate ourselves fully to Him. God wants us to run to him, not away from him.

I hope these thoughts are of encouragement to you.

God Bless you

Keith


If you have enjoyed this message please take time to view the website all 12 pages of the site, especially the page where you can post your prayer requests, please post them and please take time to come back and pray over the ones posted

http://www.ourchurch.com/member/p/preciouspromise/index.php?p=1_12_Prayer-Requests-Page




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God Bless you

Keith and Helen