Noonday Devotion by Keith

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
Please share this message and please click on the featured page links at the bottom of this message, these are very important links, they relate to the persecuted church

Keith
Simply Scripture
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.
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 fulfil this exacting role within the Body of Christ.

Have you encouraged or blessed your Pastor? Tell Him/her, how much they are valued and loved

Verse 12; tell 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 fulfil their calling as shepherd's and to lead the flock of God on the correct road.
To edifying 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 are 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 fulness 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, no 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


Featured Website

Please view the website of this Dear brother and please sign the petition to get him released. Please pass on this website to all your friends

http://www.freealim.com/


Featured Website Link
Please view the Page devoted to the Persecuted Church. This page changes every Friday. Please scroll down to the bottom of the page

http://www.ourchurch.com/member/f/faithhopelove/index.php?p=1_14_Persecuted-Church

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
Please share this message and please click on the featured page links at the bottom of this message, these are very important links, they relate to the persecuted church
Keith
Simply Scripture
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.
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 fulfil this exacting role within the Body of Christ.

Have you encouraged or blessed your Pastor? Tell Him/her, how much they are valued and loved

Verse 12; tell 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 fulfil their calling as shepherd's and to lead the flock of God on the correct road.
To edifying 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 are 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 fulness 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, no 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

Featured Website
Please view the website of this Dear brother and please sign the petition to get him
released. Please pass on this website to all your friends

http://www.freealim.com/

Featured Website Link
Please view the Page devoted to the Persecuted Church. This page changes every Friday. Please scroll down to the bottom of the page

http://www.ourchurch.com/member/f/faithhopelove/index.php?p=1_14_Persecuted-Church

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

Please click on the featured page links at the bottom of this message. you will be richly blessed

Thanks

God bless

Keith


Joshua 24
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.


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.

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.

Let us at all times, show due reverence to the one we serve and give HIM all 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 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.
What a difference a day makes?
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 christians, 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 sacrifie. Romans 12:1-2.
When we sing.. I surrender all.. let us mean it with all our hearts.. amen
Let us draw nigh to God with a pure heart and choose this day to serve Him

God bless you

Keith



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Welcome to Spirit Steps
It is a joy to share with you once again, as we finish the wonderful third chapter of the Book of Acts.
Please feel free to pass on these messages to all your contacts and also take time to click on the links at the bottom of this message
Thanks
Keith
Chapter 3
13The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our forefathers, has glorified His Servant and [c]Son Jesus [doing Him this honor], Whom you indeed delivered up and denied and rejected and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had determined to let Him go.
14But you denied and rejected and disowned the Pure and Holy, the Just and Blameless One, and demanded [the pardon of] a murderer to be granted to you.
15But you killed the very Source (the Author) of life, Whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.
16And His name, through and by faith in His name, has made this man whom you see and recognize well and strong. [Yes] the faith which is through and by Him [Jesus] has given the man this perfect soundness [of body] before all of you.
17And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance [not aware of what you were doing], as did your rulers also.
18Thus has God fulfilled what He foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ (the Messiah) should undergo ill treatment and be afflicted and suffer.
19So repent (change your mind and purpose); turn around and return [to God], that your sins may be erased (blotted out, wiped clean), that times of refreshing (of recovering from the effects of heat, of [d]reviving with fresh air) may come from the presence of the Lord;
20And that He may send [to you] the Christ (the Messiah), Who before was designated and appointed for you--even Jesus,
21Whom heaven must receive [and retain] until the time for the complete restoration of all that God spoke by the mouth of all His holy prophets for ages past [from the most ancient time in the memory of man].
22Thus Moses said to the forefathers, The Lord God will raise up for you a Prophet from among your brethren as [He raised up] me; Him you shall listen to and understand by hearing and heed in all things whatever He tells you.
23And it shall be that every soul that does not listen to and understand by hearing and heed that Prophet shall be utterly [e]exterminated from among the people.
24Indeed, all the prophets from Samuel and those who came afterwards, as many as have spoken, also promised and foretold and proclaimed these days.
25You are the descendants (sons) of the prophets and the heirs of the covenant which God made and gave to your forefathers, saying to Abraham, And in your Seed (Heir) shall all the families of the earth be blessed and benefited.
26It was to you first that God sent His Servant and Son Jesus, when He raised Him up [[f]provided and gave Him for us], to bless you in turning every one of you from your wickedness and evil ways.
　
　
Peter continues to share the gospel, with the people. Boy his preaching, can really help us, as we seek to share the Gospel.
The Power of the Holy Spirit, had transformed him, from someone, who had denied Jesus, into one who uplifted HIM, in front of thousands of people.
What we need to realise, is that GOD can and wants to do exactly the same for you and I.

God did not caste Peter off, he restored Peter and gave Him a powerful Ministry, you may say.. well that was Peter, but he has done the same with me, God is still in the restoration business.. amen
Peter preached Repentance.. oh how we need this today.. amen.
People do not need to hear a gospel that says.. Come to Jesus and all your problems will be sorted out.. in fact.. when you become a christian.. you will have persecution etc etc. But we have a Saviour, whose love and grace, makes everything worthwhile....amen
He makes life truly real and worth living, despite persecution and opposition from the devil and the world. Jesus makes life, the greatest adventure. Whatever we lose when we become christians, we receive more than we can ever imagine, because we have Jesus.. amen.
Jesus said that he came to bring a sword, and indeed he also said that because of Him, you would be hated by this world. Isn't it about time, we were honest in our preaching and told people the Truth?
Matthew 10
34Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
35For I have come to part asunder a man from his father, and a daughter from her mother, and a newly married wife from her mother-in-law
36And a man's foes will be they of his own household.
Yes, Jesus will totally and completely heal them and He gives them peace with God, through his Death and Resurrection. But opposition and persecution, will happen.
The world need to hear words like Repentance and Hell again Church. It is time to stop preaching a gospel that promises wealth and prosperity. amen. God prospers us far above the world's riches, when we are in Christ.. amen. The Lord chooses to bless some with wealth, he blesses whom he chooses.. amen.
Paul knew wealth and he also knew poverty, but in both, he was secure and satisfied. Whatever situation, you are in.. are you satisfied and content?
I Invite all believers, who are reading this, to look at the sermons preached in the Early chapters of Acts and compare them to what is preached in their pulpits each Sunday, if your church is not preaching the Christianity practised in the first few chapters of acts, then you should seek a church that is,
I also ask all preachers of the word, if they are preaching the true Gospel, that was preached in the early church. Please check your standing before God. Please read Jeremiah chapter 23
Brothers and Sisters, I wonder what would happen if the same sermon, Peter preached here, was preached in pulpits up and down our land?
Let us preach Jesus crucified and risen again and that the penalty for not repenting of sin, is Death and Hell
God bless you
Keith
Featured Website
Please pray and support this Unique Ministry. Please make sure you sign up to receive their Newsletter
http://www.streetlife.org/index.html

Featured Website Link
Please check out the Page called Persecuted Church. It is Updated every Friday
http://www.ourchurch.com/member/f/faithhopelove/index.php?p=1_14_Persecuted-Church

Welcome to Spirit Steps
It is a joy to share with you once again, as we finish the wonderful third chapter of the Book of Acts.
Please feel free to pass on these messages to all your contacts and also take time to click on the links at the bottom of this message
Thanks
Keith
Chapter 3
13The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our forefathers, has glorified His Servant and [c]Son Jesus [doing Him this honor], Whom you indeed delivered up and denied and rejected and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had determined to let Him go.
14But you denied and rejected and disowned the Pure and Holy, the Just and Blameless One, and demanded [the pardon of] a murderer to be granted to you.
15But you killed the very Source (the Author) of life, Whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.
16And His name, through and by faith in His name, has made this man whom you see and recognize well and strong. [Yes] the faith which is through and by Him [Jesus] has given the man this perfect soundness [of body] before all of you.
17And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance [not aware of what you were doing], as did your rulers also.
18Thus has God fulfilled what He foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ (the Messiah) should undergo ill treatment and be afflicted and suffer.
19So repent (change your mind and purpose); turn around and return [to God], that your sins may be erased (blotted out, wiped clean), that times of refreshing (of recovering from the effects of heat, of [d]reviving with fresh air) may come from the presence of the Lord;
20And that He may send [to you] the Christ (the Messiah), Who before was designated and appointed for you--even Jesus,
21Whom heaven must receive [and retain] until the time for the complete restoration of all that God spoke by the mouth of all His holy prophets for ages past [from the most ancient time in the memory of man].
22Thus Moses said to the forefathers, The Lord God will raise up for you a Prophet from among your brethren as [He raised up] me; Him you shall listen to and understand by hearing and heed in all things whatever He tells you.
23And it shall be that every soul that does not listen to and understand by hearing and heed that Prophet shall be utterly [e]exterminated from among the people.
24Indeed, all the prophets from Samuel and those who came afterwards, as many as have spoken, also promised and foretold and proclaimed these days.
25You are the descendants (sons) of the prophets and the heirs of the covenant which God made and gave to your forefathers, saying to Abraham, And in your Seed (Heir) shall all the families of the earth be blessed and benefited.
26It was to you first that God sent His Servant and Son Jesus, when He raised Him up [[f]provided and gave Him for us], to bless you in turning every one of you from your wickedness and evil ways.

Peter continues to share the gospel, with the people. Boy his preaching, can really help us, as we seek to share the Gospel.
The Power of the Holy Spirit, had transformed him, from someone, who had denied Jesus, into one who uplifted HIM, in front of thousands of people.
What we need to realise, is that GOD can and wants to do exactly the same for you and I.
God did not caste Peter off, he restored Peter and gave Him a powerful Ministry, you may say.. well that was Peter, but he has done the same with me, God is still in the restoration business.. amen
Peter preached Repentance.. oh how we need this today.. amen.
People do not need to hear a gospel that says.. Come to Jesus and all your problems will be sorted out.. in fact.. when you become a christian.. you will have persecution etc etc. But we have a Saviour, whose love and grace, makes everything worthwhile....amen
He makes life truly real and worth living, despite persecution and opposition from the devil and the world. Jesus makes life, the greatest adventure. Whatever we lose when we become christians, we receive more than we can ever imagine, because we have Jesus.. amen.
Jesus said that he came to bring a sword, and indeed he also said that because of Him, you would be hated by this world. Isn't it about time, we were honest in our preaching and told people the Truth?
Matthew 10
34Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
35For I have come to part asunder a man from his father, and a daughter from her mother, and a newly married wife from her mother-in-law
36And a man's foes will be they of his own household.
Yes, Jesus will totally and completely heal them and He gives them peace with God, through his Death and Resurrection. But opposition and persecution, will happen.
The world need to hear words like Repentance and Hell again Church. It is time to stop preaching a gospel that promises wealth and prosperity. amen. God prospers us far above the world's riches, when we are in Christ.. amen. The Lord chooses to bless some with wealth, he blesses whom he chooses.. amen.
Paul knew wealth and he also knew poverty, but in both, he was secure and satisfied. Whatever situation, you are in.. are you satisfied and content?
I Invite all believers, who are reading this, to look at the sermons preached in the Early chapters of Acts and compare them to what is preached in their pulpits each Sunday, if your church is not preaching the Christianity practised in the first few chapters of acts, then you should seek a church that is,
I also ask all preachers of the word, if they are preaching the true Gospel, that was preached in the early church. Please check your standing before God. Please read Jeremiah chapter 23
Brothers and Sisters, I wonder what would happen if the same sermon, Peter preached here, was preached in pulpits up and down our land?
Let us preach Jesus crucified and risen again and that the penalty for not repenting of sin, is Death and Hell
God bless you
Keith
Featured Website
Please pray and support this Unique Ministry. Please make sure you sign up to receive their Newsletter
http://www.streetlife.org/index.html

Featured Website Link
Please check out the Page called Persecuted Church. It is Updated every Friday
http://www.ourchurch.com/member/f/faithhopelove/index.php?p=1_14_Persecuted-Church

Welcome to Spirit Steps

We continue our way through the wonderful book of Acts. The apostles are certainly turning Jerusalem upside down.. amen.

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

The ESP Ministry website, is one of the best on the web and the Prayer Page is full of awesome prayers

Thanks

Keith

Acts Chapter 3

9 And all the people saw him walking about and praising God,
10 And they recognized him as the man who usually sat [begging] for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement (bewilderment, consternation) over what had occurred to him.
11 Now while he [still] firmly clung to Peter and John, all the people in utmost amazement ran together and crowded around them in the covered porch (walk) called Solomon's.
12 And Peter, seeing it, answered the people, You men of Israel, why are you so surprised and wondering at this? Why do you keep staring at us, as though by our [own individual] power or [active] piety we had made this man [able] to walk?

Today, the Lord just wants me to share about, what Peter said in Verse 12.

What Peter said all those years ago, has direct relevance to the Church of Today.

When the Lord, works in power in his church, why are we so surprised? When the Lord heals someone, why are we shocked?

After all, my brothers and sisters, this is what God does.. amen. He is in the healing business, He is in the deliverance business.. amen

We must be careful, when these healings occur, that we look not at the person who God is using to do them.

Today, it is the fashion, for so called healers to claim, that it is through their power that people are healed and delivered, when it is not down to them at all.

It is all down to the power of God, and has nothing to do with them.

We need to give God the full of Glory, for anything that happens in our lives and the lives of people we touch with HIS healing and grace. Anything other than this, is sin and taking what is rightfully God's. He deserves and indeed demands all the praise and glory.. amen

Let us not be amazed, when God works powerfully, indeed let us expect it and then give HIM all the glory.. amen

Jesus said that without him ye can do nothing.. amen. We are to be totally dependent on the power of God, working through us. When we are used by God to help people and encourage them, let us remember that it is only through God's power, are we able to do this.

Just a personal note here. I love writing and sharing from God's word and many times, I receive positive feedback. But I have to remember, that it is God, who gives me things to write through His Holy Spirit, opening up his word. All praise and honour and glory, must always go to God.. amen

Let us Give God all the Glory.. amen

God bless you

Keith





Featured website

Please click on the site of ESP Ministries. This is one of the best websites, on the subject of Cults, Pornography and Dealing with evils like the Harry Potter Films

http://espministries.com/main.html

Featured website Link

Please take time to view the Prayer Page on my site. Please speak some of these wonderful prayers, over your life

http://www.ourchurch.com/member/f/faithhopelove/index.php?p=1_20_Prayer-Power

Welcome to Spirit Steps

We continue our way through the wonderful book of Acts. The apostles are certainly turning Jerusalem upside down.. amen.

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

The ESP Ministry website, is one of the best on the web and the Prayer Page is full of awesome prayers

Thanks

Keith

Acts Chapter 3

9 And all the people saw him walking about and praising God,
10 And they recognized him as the man who usually sat [begging] for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement (bewilderment, consternation) over what had occurred to him.
11 Now while he [still] firmly clung to Peter and John, all the people in utmost amazement ran together and crowded around them in the covered porch (walk) called Solomon's.
12 And Peter, seeing it, answered the people, You men of Israel, why are you so surprised and wondering at this? Why do you keep staring at us, as though by our [own individual] power or [active] piety we had made this man [able] to walk?

Today, the Lord just wants me to share about, what Peter said in Verse 12.

What Peter said all those years ago, has direct relevance to the Church of Today.

When the Lord, works in power in his church, why are we so surprised? When the Lord heals someone, why are we shocked?

After all, my brothers and sisters, this is what God does.. amen. He is in the healing business, He is in the deliverance business.. amen

We must be careful, when these healings occur, that we look not at the person who God is using to do them.

Today, it is the fashion, for so called healers to claim, that it is through their power that people are healed and delivered, when it is not down to them at all.

It is all down to the power of God, and has nothing to do with them.

We need to give God the full of Glory, for anything that happens in our lives and the lives of people we touch with HIS healing and grace. Anything other than this, is sin and taking what is rightfully God's. He deserves and indeed demands all the praise and glory.. amen

Let us not be amazed, when God works powerfully, indeed let us expect it and then give HIM all the glory.. amen

Jesus said that without him ye can do nothing.. amen. We are to be totally dependent on the power of God, working through us. When we are used by God to help people and encourage them, let us remember that it is only through God's power, are we able to do this.

Just a personal note here. I love writing and sharing from God's word and many times, I receive positive feedback. But I have to remember, that it is God, who gives me things to write through His Holy Spirit, opening up his word. All praise and honour and glory, must always go to God.. amen

Let us Give God all the Glory.. amen

God bless you

Keith

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Please click on the site of ESP Ministries. This is one of the best websites, on the subject of Cults, Pornography and Dealing with evils like the Harry Potter Films
http://espministries.com/main.html

Featured website Link

Please take time to view the Prayer Page on my site. Please speak some of these wonderful prayers, over your life
http://www.ourchurch.com/member/f/faithhopelove/index.php?p=1_20_Prayer-Power

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. I would be grateful, if you would click on the featured page link to the site and also to the featured website link at the bottom of this message Thanks God bless you Keith 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 Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not 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 last night 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, as we received from the Lord. 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. 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. 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. You see we can Have Real Communion with the Father, right in the midst of our busy day. I say this not to glorify myself, as I like Moses had no idea, my face was shining. 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 Featured website Please click on the Link below. The Navigators are a great group, whose material will enable you to study the word of God http://www.navigators.org/us/ministries Featured website Link This is the Home page to my site. Please check out my testimony and also the amazing Christian music on it http://www.ourchurch.com/member/f/faithhopelove

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.

I would be grateful, if you would click on the featured page link to the site and also to the featured website link at the bottom of this message

Thanks

God bless you

Keith

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 Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not 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 last night 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, as we received from the Lord.

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.
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.
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.

You see we can Have Real Communion with the Father, right in the midst of our busy day. I say this not to glorify myself, as I like Moses had no idea, my face was shining.

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



Featured website

Please click on the Link below. The Navigators are a great group, whose material will enable you to study the word of God

http://www.navigators.org/us/ministries


Featured website Link

This is the Home page to my site. Please check out my testimony and also the amazing Christian music on it

http://www.ourchurch.com/member/f/faithhopelove

Welcome to Noonday Devotion

What a great joy and privilege to share from God's word.

All that I ask, is that you not only read these devotions, but share them, with all your friends. Let's get the WORD into the world.

Please take time to click on the featured page links at the bottom of these messages, you will be truly blessed

Thanks and God bless you

Keith

Noonday Devotion by Keith

Devotion 1


Psalm 68
11 The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it.
The more time you spend in the bible, the more amazed, you get. This verse for example.
In 2 Corinthians 5:21 we are ambassadors, in Isaiah 62:6, we are watchmen. One thing is true and that is that we are truth tellers, we share the precious truth of God's holy word to mankind.
The Lord has spoken throughout history, and the gallery of people he has used is so wonderful: Paul, Peter, Jeremiah and David to mention a few.
But in these last days, he has chosen You to share his word with those who you come into contact with and that are closest to you. Will you be the mouthpiece of the most High?. We have the awesome privilege of sharing our Saviour with people.

Let us be truth tellers today and always.

To who, have you published the word of the Lord.. this week?
For the glory of God and the honour of his name

Amen

God bless you

Keith


Devotion 2

Hebrews 12
4You have not yet struggled and fought agonizingly against sin, nor have you yet resisted and withstood to the point of pouring out your [own] blood.
This is so awesome. You know reading verse 4, takes me back to the verses where Jesus was in the Garden. He resisted against the devil, to the point of sweating great drops of blood. He was standing his ground firmly; Maybe that is what the writer of Hebrews is referring to here.
If Jesus so resisted the devil in the garden Isn't this what we are to do ? For anyone who has seen the Passion film, don't you love the encounter between Jesus and the devil, that look of disdain that Jesus gives the devil before crushing the serpent under his feet. In the movie it was as if Jesus said.." "That's it, enough is enough"

We need to stop and say that very thing, enough is enough!
We are told to be imitators of Christ. That means we are to strive in prayer, like Jesus did, tell the devil where to go, by using your weapon, the word of God.

A final question
Do we strive against sin?
Do we roll over and just let sin have the victory over us?

Paul in Romans Chapter 6, says these words

1WHAT SHALL we say [to all this]? Are we to remain in sin in order that God's grace (favor and mercy) may multiply and overflow?
2Certainly not! How can we who died to sin live in it any longer?
12Let not sin therefore rule as king in your mortal (short-lived, perishable) bodies, to make you yield to its cravings and be subject to its lusts and evil passions.
13Do not continue offering or yielding your bodily members [and [a]faculties] to sin as instruments (tools) of wickedness. But offer and yield yourselves to God as though you have been raised from the dead to [perpetual] life, and your bodily members [and [b]faculties] to God, presenting them as implements of righteousness.

14For sin shall not [any longer] exert dominion over you, since now you are not under Law [as slaves], but under grace [as subjects of God's favor and mercy].
15What then [are we to conclude]? Shall we sin because we live not under Law but under God's favor and mercy? Certainly not!
16Do you not know that if you continually surrender yourselves to anyone to do his will, you are the slaves of him whom you obey, whether that be to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience which leads to righteousness (right doing and right standing with God)?

17But thank God, though you were once slaves of sin, you have become obedient with all your heart to the standard of teaching in which you were instructed and to which you were committed.

18And having been set free from sin, you have become the servants of righteousness (of conformity to the divine will in thought, purpose, and action).
If sin is having the victory over us, we need to examine ourselves and ask the Lord to give us, the strength to overcome it.
Remember it says.. Greater is He that is in us, than he who is the world.. amen

God bless you
Keith





Morning and Evening by CH Spurgeon

AM

"Whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil." – Proverbs 1:33
Divine love is rendered conspicuous when it shines in the midst of judgments. Fair is that lone star which smiles through the rifts of the thunder clouds; bright is the oasis which blooms in the wilderness of sand; so fair and so bright is love in the midst of wrath. When the Israelites provoked the Most High by their continued idolatry, he punished them by withholding both dew and rain, so that their land was visited by a sore famine; but while he did this, he took care that his own chosen ones should be secure. If all other brooks are dry, yet shall there be one reserved for Elijah; and when that fails, God shall still preserve for him a place of sustenance; nay, not only so, the Lord had not simply one "Elijah," but he had a remnant according to the election of grace, who were hidden by fifties in a cave, and though the whole land was subject to famine, yet these fifties in the cave were fed, and fed from Ahab’s table too by His faithful, God-fearing steward, Obadiah. Let us from this draw the inference, that come what may, God’s people are safe. Let convulsions shake the solid earth, let the skies themselves be rent in twain, yet amid the wreck of worlds the believer shall be as secure as in the calmest hour of rest. If God cannot save his people under heaven, he will save them in heaven. If the world becomes too hot to hold them, then heaven shall be the place of their reception and their safety. Be ye then confident, when ye hear of wars, and rumours of wars. Let no agitation distress you, but be quiet from fear of evil. Whatsoever cometh upon the earth, you, beneath the broad wings of Jehovah, shall be secure. Stay yourself upon his promise; rest in his faithfulness, and bid defiance to the blackest future, for there is nothing in it direful for you. Your sole concern should be to show forth to the world the blessedness of hearkening to the voice of wisdom.

PM

"Let not one of them escape." – I Kings 18:40
When the prophet Elijah had received the answer to his prayer, and the fire from heaven had consumed the sacrifice in the presence of all the people, he called upon the assembled Israelites to take the priests of Baal, and sternly cried, "Let not one of them escape." He took them all down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there. So must it be with our sins-they are all doomed, not one must be preserved. Our darling sin must die. Spare it not for its much crying. Strike, though it be as dear as an Isaac. Strike, for God struck at sin when it was laid upon his own Son. With stern unflinching purpose must you condemn to death that sin which was once the idol of your heart. Do you ask how you are to accomplish this? Jesus will be your power. You have grace to overcome sin given you in the covenant of grace; you have strength to win the victory in the crusade against inward lusts, because Christ Jesus has promised to be with you even unto the end. If you would triumph over darkness, set yourself in the presence of the Sun of Righteousness. There is no place so well adapted for the discovery of sin, and recovery from its power and guilt, as the immediate presence of God. Job never knew how to get rid of sin half so well as he did when his eye of faith rested upon God, and then he abhorred himself, and repented in dust and ashes. The fine gold of the Christian is oft becoming dim. We need the sacred fire to consume the dross. Let us fly to our God, he is a consuming fire; he will not consume our spirit, but our sins. Let the goodness of God excite us to a sacred jealousy, and to a holy revenge against those iniquities which are hateful in his sight. Go forth to battle with Amalek, in his strength, and utterly destroy the accursed crew: let not one of them escape.

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Welcome to Noonday Devotion

It is with great joy that I welcome you, as we share from God's precious word. You know the Word of God, never loses it's wonder, it is my great joy as I read and study it, and hear from the Lord through it. Never forget that it is one of our greatest privileges.. please read, study and treasure the Holy and precious word of God. Please don't leave it on a shelf.. gathering dust

I would be grateful, if you would forward these message onto all your friends and church contacts. Please also click the links at the bottom of these messages

Thanks and God bless

Keith


Noonday Devotion by Keith

Devotion 1


Hebrews chapter 10

8 Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;
9Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.
10By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:
12But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
I just love these verses in this chapter of Hebrews.
All through the Old testament, there are rules and rules about how the Israelites should sacrifice to the Lord. They are very exacting for the Children of Israel. It is an interesting thought to think, how would we cope if we had to put up with all those rules.
The rules about sacrifice in the Old testament, are like our own efforts to win salvation through works of the flesh, we simply can't win our salvation, because God is Holy and we are sinners, we need someone to bridge that gap and that someone is Jesus
There is a song by Ray Boltz called One drop of Blood, and it is set in the court room of heaven, and God asks, why we should be let into heaven. The answer of Ray Boltz and every believer,is to plead the precious blood of Christ and his finished work upon the cross.
I wonder what you plea will be. Are you depending on your own efforts or on the atoning finished work of Jesus on the cross?
Turn in repentance and trust in Christ.
If you want to trust Jesus as Saviour please say this prayer
Father God I have sinned against you in thought, word and deed and I ask your forgiveness. I trust completely and utterly on the finished work of your Son Jesus on the cross and I turn from my sin and ask that you save me by your grace.
I ask this in Faith believing you will do it.
In Jesus name
Amen
He alone can set you free
God bless you
Keith

Devotion 2

Isaiah 53

6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

I would just like to share the last part of the verse.

This is something so mind blowing.

Every single wrong thought, wrong motive and wrong action has been laid upon the spotless and sinless Son of God at the Cross of Calvary.

The Cross was the place of most mercy, it was also the place where God's righteous anger was poured out on sin. God was merciless on his precious Son.. for you and me. Jesus died so that we could be free.. he took all your sin.. isn't that awesome.

We need never to forget what happened at the cross, it should be constantly at the forefront of our Minds

Never forget Calvary and praise God constantly for your salvation.

Calvary's cross
Oh what a place of wonder, love and grace

God Bless you

Keith




Morning and Evening by CH Spurgeon

AM

"And because of all this we make a sure covenant." – Nehemiah 9:38


There are many occasions in our experience when we may very rightly, and with benefit, renew our covenant with God. After recovery from sickness when, like Hezekiah, we have had a new term of years added to our life, we may fitly do it. After any deliverance from trouble, when our joys bud forth anew, let us again visit the foot of the cross, and renew our consecration. Especially, let us do this after any sin which has grieved the Holy Spirit, or brought dishonour upon the cause of God; let us then look to that blood which can make us whiter than snow, and again offer ourselves unto the Lord. We should not only let our troubles confirm our dedication to God, but our prosperity should do the same. If we ever meet with occasions which deserve to be called "crowning mercies" then, surely, if he hath crowned us, we ought also to crown our God; let us bring forth anew all the jewels of the divine regalia which have been stored in the jewel-closet of our heart, and let our God sit upon the throne of our love, arrayed in royal apparel. If we would learn to profit by our prosperity, we should not need so much adversity. If we would gather from a kiss all the good it might confer upon us, we should not so often smart under the rod. Have we lately received some blessing which we little expected? Has the Lord put our feet in a large room? Can we sing of mercies multiplied? Then this is the day to put our hand upon the horns of the altar, and say, "Bind me here, my God; bind me here with cords, even for ever." Inasmuch as we need the fulfilment of new promises from God, let us offer renewed prayers that our old vows may not be dishonoured. Let us this morning make with him a sure covenant, because of the pains of Jesus which for the last month we have been considering with gratitude.


PM

"All the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted." – Ezekiel 3:7


Are there no exceptions? No, not one. Even the favoured race are thus described. Are the best so bad?-then what must the worst be? Come, my heart, consider how far thou hast a share in this universal accusation, and while considering, be ready to take shame unto thyself wherein thou mayst have been guilty. The first charge is impudence, or hardness of forehead, a want of holy shame, an unhallowed boldness in evil. Before my conversion, I could sin and feel no compunction, hear of my guilt and yet remain unhumbled, and even confess my iniquity and manifest no inward humiliation on account of it. For a sinner to go to God's house and pretend to pray to him and praise him argues a brazen-facedness of the worst kind! Alas! since the day of my new birth I have doubted my Lord to his face, murmured unblushingly in his presence, worshipped before him in a slovenly manner, and sinned without bewailing myself concerning it. If my forehead were not as an adamant, harder than flint, I should have far more holy fear, and a far deeper contrition of spirit. Woe is me, I am one of the impudent house of Israel. The second charge is hardheartedness, and I must not venture to plead innocent here. Once I had nothing but a heart of stone, and although through grace I now have a new and fleshy heart, much of my former obduracy remains. I am not affected by the death of Jesus as I ought to be; neither am I moved by the ruin of my fellow men, the wickedness of the times, the chastisement of my heavenly Father, and my own failures, as I should be. O that my heart would melt at the recital of my Saviour's sufferings and death. Would to God I were rid of this nether millstone within me, this hateful body of death. Blessed be the name of the Lord, the disease is not incurable, the Saviour's precious blood is the universal solvent, and me, even me, it will effectually soften, till my heart melts as wax before the fire.







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Thanks

Keith

Noonday Devotion by Keith

Devotion 1

1 Chronicles 16

29 Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

What an awesome verse. This is a direct command.

I love the first part. The Lord is due glory and honour, yes indeed, not only for who HE is, but for all HE does for us.

We are told here to bring an offering and In Romans 12:1-2, the offering is ourselves. God desires that we lay our lives before Him, because when we lose our lives, we truly find them in Christ.

What an amazing finish to this verse, we are to worship God in the beauty of His Holiness. God is holy, and there is something beautiful, when we are in His presence.

The holiness of God is so awesome, when we are in His presence, we are transformed and we transcend above this world,

God says Be ye holy, for I am Holy. 1 PETER 1:15-17

Spend time in God's holy presence just worshipping and admiring the beauty that will surround you. You know Moses when he came down from the mountain, his face shone, he truly had spent time, worshipping the Lord in the beauty of Holiness

How much time do we spend, doing what this verse says?

We need to spend more time in secret place with God.. so that we can give out. Psalm 91:1-2

We can only give out to people, what we ourselves have learnt from spending time with God.. amen

God bless you

Keith


Devotion 2

Genesis 1


26 God said, Let Us [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] make mankind in Our image, after Our likeness, and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the [tame] beasts, and over all of the earth, and over everything that creeps upon the earth.(D)

Isn't it awesome that we are made after the Image of God, this verse is just so beautiful and the Lord just wants me to share this. You know that we are the pinnacle of His physical creation, but we are also the pinnacle of His spiritual creation.

When we are born again, we become new creatures in Christ, It is like the Father , Son and Holy Spirit, saying, let us make this man or woman after our own image, let us mould him/her into what we want Him to be.

God is called the potter and we the clay, does the clay have a voice?. No it dormant whilst it is being moulded, likewise with us, we have to be silent and Let God do his perfect work in US.

Psalm 139 , Jeremiah 29:11-13 and Isaiah 43 sum up beautifully what God thinks of Us.

His love is beyond measure and we are his treasures.

You.. yes you.. the one who is feeling down today. You are his wonderful treasure.. his love and care for you is amazing


Be blessed.

Keith


Morning and Evening by CH Spurgeon

AM

"God, that comforteth those that are cast down." – II Corinthians 7:6
And who comforteth like him? Go to some poor, melancholy, distressed child of God; tell him sweet promises, and whisper in his ear choice words of comfort; he is like the deaf adder, he listens not to the voice of the charmer, charm he never so wisely. He is drinking gall and wormwood, and comfort him as you may, it will be only a note or two of mournful resignation that you will get from him; you will bring forth no psalms of praise, no hallelujahs, no joyful sonnets. But let God come to his child, let him lift up his countenance, and the mourner's eyes glisten with hope. Do you not hear him sing-
"`Tis paradise, if thou art here;
If thou depart, `tis hell?"
You could not have cheered him: but the Lord has done it; "He is the God of all comfort." There is no balm in Gilead, but there is balm in God. There is no physician among the creatures, but the Creator is Jehovah-rophi. It is marvellous how one sweet word of God will make whole songs for Christians. One word of God is like a piece of gold, and the Christian is the gold beater, and can hammer that promise out for whole weeks. So, then, poor Christian, thou needest not sit down in despair. Go to the Comforter, and ask him to give thee consolation. Thou art a poor dry well. You have heard it said, that when a pump is dry, you must pour water down it first of all, and then you will get water, and so, Christian, when thou art dry, go to God, ask him to shed abroad his joy in thy heart, and then thy joy shall be full. Do not go to earthly acquaintances, for you will find them Job's comforters after all; but go first and foremost to thy "God, that comforteth those that are cast down," and you will soon say, "In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul."
PM
"Thou hast left thy first love." – Revelation 2:4

Ever to be remembered is that best and brightest of hours, when first we saw the Lord, lost our burden, received the roll of promise, rejoiced in full salvation, and went on our way in peace. It was spring time in the soul; the winter was past; the mutterings of Sinai's thunders were hushed; the flashings of its lightnings were no more perceived; God was beheld as reconciled; the law threatened no vengeance, justice demanded no punishment. Then the flowers appeared in our heart; hope, love, peace, and patience sprung from the sod; the hyacinth of repentance, the snowdrop of pure holiness, the crocus of golden faith, the daffodil of early love, all decked the garden of the soul. The time of the singing of birds was come, and we rejoiced with thanksgiving; we magnified the holy name of our forgiving God, and our resolve was, "Lord, I am thine, wholly thine; all I am, and all I have, I would devote to thee. Thou hast bought me with thy blood-let me spend myself and be spent in thy service. In life and in death let me be consecrated to thee." How have we kept this resolve? Our espousal love burned with a holy flame of devoutedness to Jesus-is it the same now? Might not Jesus well say to us, "I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love"? Alas! it is but little we have done for our Master's glory. Our winter has lasted all too long. We are as cold as ice when we should feel a summer's glow and bloom with sacred flowers. We give to God pence when he deserveth pounds, nay, deserveth our heart's blood to be coined in the service of his church and of his truth. But shall we continue thus? O Lord, after thou hast so richly blessed us, shall we be ungrateful and become indifferent to thy good cause and work? O quicken us that we may return to our first love, and do our first works! Send us a genial spring, O Sun of Righteousness.




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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.

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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 of 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

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Welcome to Noonday Devotion

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God bless you

Keith


Noonday Devotion by Keith

Devotion 1


1 Corinthians 1

21 For when the world with all its earthly wisdom failed to perceive and recognize and know God by means of its own philosophy, God in His wisdom was pleased through the foolishness of preaching [salvation, procured by Christ and to be had through Him], to save those who believed (who clung to and trusted in and relied on Him).

23We preach Christ (the Messiah) crucified, [preaching which] to the Jews is a scandal and an offensive stumbling block [that springs a snare or trap], and to the Gentiles it is absurd and utterly unphilosophical nonsense.

I love these verses.. it is just awesome.

If you have ever read pilgrim's progress.. these words will resonate in your heart. Everyone thought pilgrim was crazy.. maybe people think that you are crazy, because of your faith. Before you trusted Christ, I expect that many of us, thought that being a christian, was utter madness, but once our eyes, were opened, it became perfectly clear.

You know the world says it has great wisdom and yet it cannot fathom the glorious fact of salvation through faith in the shed blood and finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross.

To the christian, these things are so wonderful. The cross is so wonderful to us, it the place where our sin was washed away, where all our guilt was ended and we were made right with our Father, we were bought with the ultimate sacrifice.. the shed blood of the precious lamb of God.

And how does God save us.. through the foolishness of preaching.. through people sharing the gospel.

How often do you hear people say.. you can have faith but it should be kept personal and is just a private matter.

The gospel is to be shared, it is to be shown daily in our lives.. it is to be borne out in love

The Amplified Bible says that we clung to and relied on Him.. that is such an awesome picture.. we should at all times.. like the hymn writer said:

cling to the old rugged cross

The cross for the believer is not just something to rejoice in, it is something to be remembered and run to, because there we can have all sin washed away, but it is also something to be revealed to the world.

Let us not only run to the cross in repentance and glory in it's power, but lead others to it's life changing power, so that people can experience true freedom.

What a glorious place the cross is

Have you been to the Old rugged Cross, so that your sin, can be washed away?

At the cross, my sin was washed away

Hallelujah

God Bless you

Keith


Devotion 2


2 Chronicles 34

15 Hilkiah told Shaphan the scribe, I have found the Book of the Law in the Lord's house. And [he] gave the book to Shaphan.

16 Shaphan took the book to King Josiah, but [first] reported to him, All that was committed to your servants they are doing.

When reading these verses, the Lord laid this thought upon my heart and it centres on what Shaphan said to King Josiah in verse 16.

Our lives are like the book that was found. What if the book of our life was found. What would it say?

Would it say Keith has done all that was committed to Him?

Would it say that you have led a life of obedience to God?

What would it say about my/your dealings with people?

Our lives are an open book.. when people read our lives, what do they see, do they see a life submitted to Christ and anointed with the power of the Holy Spirit.

Do they see a life that is victorious and different or are we the same as the world in our attitudes and approach to life and people?

These are questions I/we need to ask ourselves.

We are different to anything else on this planet, we testify to the power and glory of God. Let us always make sure we do that.

Looking unto our Saviour and showing forth his marvellous light to a needy world.

God Bless you


Keith




Morning and Evening by CH Spurgeon

AM

"They shall go hindmost with their standards." – Numbers 2:31

The camp of Dan brought up the rear when the armies of Israel were on the march. The Danites occupied the hindmost place, but what mattered the position, since they were as truly part of the host as were the foremost tribes; they followed the same fiery cloudy pillar, they ate of the same manna, drank of the same spiritual rock, and journeyed to the same inheritance. Come, my heart, cheer up, though last and least; it is thy privilege to be in the army, and to fare as they fare who lead the van. Some one must be hindmost in honour and esteem, some one must do menial work for Jesus, and why should not I? In a poor village, among an ignorant peasantry; or in a back street, among degraded sinners, I will work on, and "go hindmost with my standard."
The Danites occupied a very useful place. Stragglers have to be picked up upon the march, and lost property has to be gathered from the field. Fiery spirits may dash forward over untrodden paths to learn fresh truth, and win more souls to Jesus; but some of a more conservative spirit may be well engaged in reminding the church of her ancient faith, and restoring her fainting sons. Every position has its duties, and the slowly moving children of God will find their peculiar state one in which they may be eminently a blessing to the whole host.

The rear guard is a place of danger. There are foes behind us as well as before us. Attacks may come from any quarter. We read that Amalek fell upon Israel, and slew some of the hindmost of them. The experienced Christian will find much work for his weapons in aiding those poor doubting, desponding, wavering, souls, who are hindmost in faith, knowledge, and joy. These must not be left unaided, and therefore be it the business of well-taught saints to bear their standards among the hindmost. My soul, do thou tenderly watch to help the hindmost this day.

PM

"He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully." – Psalm 24:4

Outward practical holiness is a very precious mark of grace. It is to be feared that many professors have perverted the doctrine of justification by faith in such a way as to treat good works with contempt; if so, they will receive everlasting contempt at the last great day. If our hands are not clean, let us wash them in Jesus' precious blood, and so let us lift up pure hands unto God. But "clean hands" will not suffice, unless they are connected with "a pure heart." True religion is heart-work. We may wash the outside of the cup and the platter as long as we please, but if the inward parts be filthy, we are filthy altogether in the sight of God, for our hearts are more truly ourselves than our hands are; the very life of our being lies in the inner nature, and hence the imperative need of purity within. The pure in heart shall see God, all others are but blind bats.

The man who is born for heaven "hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity." All men have their joys, by which their souls are lifted up; the worldling lifts up his soul in carnal delights, which are mere empty vanities; but the saint loves more substantial things; like Jehoshaphat, he is lifted up in the ways of the Lord. He who is content with husks, will be reckoned with the swine. Does the world satisfy thee? Then thou hast thy reward and portion in this life; make much of it, for thou shalt know no other joy.

"Nor sworn deceitfully." The saints are men of honour still. The Christian man's word is his only oath; but that is as good as twenty oaths of other men. False speaking will shut any man out of heaven, for a liar shall not enter into God's house, whatever may be his professions or doings. Reader, does the text before us condemn thee, or dost thou hope to ascend into the hill of the Lord?

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Keith

Noonday Devotion by Keith

Devotion 1


Proverbs 15

3 The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch upon the evil and the good.

Have you as a believer asked someone to repeat something they have said to you, because you didn't quite catch it, and they said ' oh It was nothing important'.

Well God never misses anything, he sees and hears everything, he does not miss a trick.

To me as a believer, this is really comforting, because I know that sometimes things are said and done behind my back, but God sees and hears everything.

He sees all the times you have been talked about, every bad word that has been spoken about you and every trick that has been planned and played on you.

Our Father sees absolutely everything and so we can rest in this truth, we do not have to worry about what people say about us, or do to us, because God sees it and he weighs these things, he is our avenger.

So we have to let God be God. Do Not act as God, seeking revenge, because you have the fearful judge of the universe in your corner.

He sees the injustice done to you and he and he alone, will deal with that. One thing that you have to remember is that in the end, you will come through all of the trials stronger and sweeter, because you stand on the promises of God and you look to Him. Do not seek to deal with things in your own way.

Believe me, it has taken me a long time to learn this lesson and yes.. I fail still.. but God in his graciousness just picks me up, after I have come to him and asked for his forgiveness.

Please don't think I am some super christian.. because I am not.. But God loves me and I trust in Him

I hope this blesses someone

God Bless you

Keith


Devotion 2

Daniel 6

8 Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing that it may not be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be altered.
9 So King Darius signed the writing and the decree.

10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house, and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he got down upon his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.

We know the story of Daniel, so well. How God shut the lions mouths after he had been placed in their den.

I just want to focus on Daniel's attitude in verse 10.

He knew that the writing, had been signed by the King and he knew the results of breaking that command, given by the King.

But his relationship to God, meant more to him, that his relationship with the King.

He knew that breaking this order, meant the loss of his privileged position, and would lead to death.

But he was prepared to give it all up, because of his relationship with God

Is your relationship to God, the number one thing in your life?

Would you be prepared to go and still pray and witness like Daniel Did? Even though you knew the severe consequences of your actions?

Daniel, was very definite and very public in his prayers, he prayed with his windows open, people would of heard him.

Maybe, you will say, that he was reckless, well God honoured his stand for truth.

It is time church, to stand up like Daniel.

Many years ago, the cover of Keith Green album.. No compromise, had a picture of a King carried on a chair and all about Him, people bowing to the ground except one.
We need to stand up and be strong in our faith.. amen. The time for compromise is over, it is time to stand up and speak up for the Lord. It is time to be like the Early church in Acts 17:6, they were known as the people who turned the whole world upside down. The church and also individual Christian's, need to recapture the spirit and lifestyle of the early church.. amen
Isn't it time, we became No Compromise Christians and begin to turn the world upside down for Jesus. If we do this, the world would sit up and take notice

God bless you

Keith



Morning and Evening by CH Spurgeon

AM

"I have chosen you out of the world." – John 15:19
Here is distinguishing grace and discriminating regard; for some are made the special objects of divine affection. Do not be afraid to dwell upon this high doctrine of election. When your mind is most heavy and depressed, you will find it to be a bottle of richest cordial. Those who doubt the doctrines of grace, or who cast them into the shade, miss the richest clusters of Eshcol; they lose the wines on the lees well refined, the fat things full of marrow. There is no balm in Gilead comparable to it. If the honey in Jonathan's wood when but touched enlightened the eyes, this is honey which will enlighten your heart to love and learn the mysteries of the kingdom of God. Eat, and fear not a surfeit; live upon this choice dainty, and fear not that it will be too delicate a diet. Meat from the King's table will hurt none of his courtiers. Desire to have your mind enlarged, that you may comprehend more and more the eternal, everlasting, discriminating love of God. When you have mounted as high as election, tarry on its sister mount, the covenant of grace. Covenant engagements are the munitions of stupendous rock behind which we lie entrenched; covenant engagements with the surety, Christ Jesus, are the quiet resting-places of trembling spirits.

"His oath, his covenant, his blood,
Support me in the raging flood;
When every earthly prop gives way,
This still is all my strength and stay."
If Jesus undertook to bring me to glory, and if the Father promised that he would give me to the Son to be a part of the infinite reward of the travail of his soul; then, my soul, till God himself shall be unfaithful, till Jesus shall cease to be the truth, thou art safe. When David danced before the ark, he told Michal that election made him do so. Come, my soul, exult before the God of grace and leap for joy of heart.

PM
"I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin." – Psalm 32:5
David's grief for sin was bitter. Its effects were visible upon his outward frame: "his bones waxed old"; "his moisture was turned into the drought of summer." No remedy could he find, until he made a full confession before the throne of the heavenly grace. He tells us that for a time he kept silence, and his heart became more and more filled with grief: like a mountain tarn whose outlet is blocked up, his soul was swollen with torrents of sorrow. He fashioned excuses; he endeavoured to divert his thoughts, but it was all to no purpose; like a festering sore his anguish gathered, and as he would not use the lancet of confession, his spirit was full of torment, and knew no rest. At last it came to this, that he must return unto his God in humble penitence, or die outright; so he hastened to the mercy-seat, and there unrolled the volume of his iniquities before the all-seeing One, acknowledging all the evil of his ways in language such as you read in the fifty-first and other penitential Psalms. Having done this, a work so simple and yet so difficult to pride, he received at once the token of divine forgiveness; the bones which had been broken were made to rejoice, and he came forth from his closet to sing the blessedness of the man whose transgression is forgiven. See the value of a grace-wrought confession of sin! It is to be prized above all price, for in every case where there is a genuine, gracious confession, mercy is freely given, not because the repentance and confession deserve mercy, but for Christ's sake. Blessed be God, there is always healing for the broken heart; the fountain is ever flowing to cleanse us from our sins. Truly, O Lord, thou art a God "ready to pardon!" Therefore will we acknowledge our iniquities.

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Keith


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 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, this comes direct 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 likewise 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.

Remmber, 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 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

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 happened, 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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KEITH
Welcome to Simply Scripture
It is a great joy to share with you once again. Please grab your bible as we study the story of Gideon.
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Thank you
Keith
Gideon's Call Judges Chapter 6
What me Lord?
All through the bible, God calls his servants to do a specific work for him. They come from varying backgrounds, and as God is unchanging Hebrews 13:8, he still calls his people today, the thing we have to do is to hear his voice and obey him.
All over scripture there are people who heard God, such as Gideon and even Moses who although they heard first hand from God, made up excuses not to obey. As we read later on in scripture "To obey is better than sacrifice". 1 Samuel 15:22
Gideon had a visit from an angel and he gave reasons why God couldn't use him, but God graciously answered all his questions and shared with him some vital truths that are relevant to us today.
The first thing to notice is that God still speaks, even when his people are in bondage, he finds a way to reach them. All through scripture, by whatever means, he reaches out to them. God still speaks today to his church, he is not silent and has not left the body of Christ, without guidance and hope, The days of thus sayeth the Lord are not over.
Vs 11 When God through his angel, came to Gideon, he reassured him, to say that he built up his self esteem is an understatement. Gideon was so afraid, he was actually threshing the wheat out of the sight of the Midianites, he must of been pretty scared, but the first thing the Lord did was to build him up and encourage him.
When we come into people's lives, do our words build up or tear down? If you spent five minutes with someone, would that person say that you have been a blessing or a burden?
Gideon's W's
Why v13
The question God is often asked by believers, is why this or that has happened. More often than not, we know why bad things happen and these things are linked to disobedience.

Gideon knew full well why this calamity had fallen upon Israel, and so do we. When trouble comes into our life, we shout, murmur and say, God has forsaken us and I can't imagine why this or that has happened to us. In Amos 4:4-13, the prophet says that Israel has failed to return to God. Ask how can I come back to my first Love. Remember if you are out of line with God, guess who moved.
Where vs13
Again Gideon took the focus off himself and put it onto God, He virtually blames God to shield himself from obeying God's call. Yes it is God who works through wonders and miracles, but he has to have willing vessels to work through. Also the children of Israel were living in the afterglow of blessing, if your country has seen revival in the last 50 years, give thanks to God.But what about now?
God asks us to go forward and claim new victories, we do not want to hear of revival's past but the outpouring of the Spirit now. Are we glorying in victories that have been won instead of concentrating on the battle now being fought, or are we even bemoaning past defeats?
I just Love verse 14, God faced him directly, the Lord pulled no punches with Gideon, again beautiful words of reassurance and of power, he was, I think at this point, getting slightly annoyed with Gideon. The Lord looked upon Gideon, I wonder when he looks upon me/us, what does he see?
Who Me? Vs 15
As usual when we take the focus off God and place it on ourselves, we are bound to feel like this, we can be like the ten spies in Numbers who saw themselves as grasshoppers in the sight of the enemy or as Caleb and Joshua who saw the enemy as grasshoppers.
This depends on our view of ourselves, yes we are unworthy servants, but we are filled with a power that is greater than anything the world has ever seen before. But it also depends on our view of God.. do we see him, as we ought to see him, as all powerful.. or do we think his power is limited?
Yes God does use the foolish things of this world to confound the wise,, it means that in the sight of the world, you are foolish, but not in God's eyes, and you should never ever put yourself down.To be a child of God is the highest privilege in the world.
Do you realize, what you are doing if you say, well you shouldn't pick me to do this or that job, you are telling the Father that he has made a mistake and that he is wrong to do what he is doing. This is akin to calling God a liar and is sin and rebellion against God. For the job you are doing in the kingdom of God, there is no one better qualified than you, because you have been picked by the Holy Spirit from a short list of 1.
Have God given you a job to do in the body of Christ?. Have you refused to do that job? Well my friend, God is not going to give you another one
How dare we escape if we refuse such a great commission?
What He wanted Vs 17
God graciously recommissions Gideon again in Vs 16, he truly has to hold his hand, the tenderness and graciousness of the Lord are so in evidence, he tells him, that he will be with him Vs 12, that he will succeed Vs 16, if we have that assurance, then surely that is enough.
Well not in Gideon's case, he asks for a sign from the Lord. How often do we do that, we hear clearly from the Lord, we know the right thing to do, but then we ask, well God please make it a little clearer for me, give me something tangible that I can see with my own eyes, hearing from you isn't really enough, this truly shows a lack of faith. Faith is outlined in Hebrews 11:1-2 IS THE EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT SEEN.
In the following verses, Gideon worshipped the Lord, but still required confirmation from the Lord, how often before we obey do we need confirmation in one way or the other.
Like Gideon, be assured of the promises of God in verses 12,14 and 16, they are true and will never ever let you down, so stand strong and true.
Worshipping vs 19-21,24
Gideon was a man who was willing and eager to worship God. He wanted to reverence God to find out what his will truly was. He knew how to worship and he had a true and willing heart to bring worship to his God. Are we?
Wonder vs 22-24
What would happen if you saw an angel?.

It states In Scripture that many times we entertain angels without knowing it, remember you never know when you will bump into one. Maybe, you have today.
Will You vs 25-32
Would you like Gideon, be prepared to smash down the altar of the false god in your midst. Gideon was right in the middle of a nation, that was serving Baal, and here God was telling Him to tear down their altar and replace it with an altar to One True God.
Now Gideon Did tear down the altar of Baal at night. Still after all this reassurance from the Lord, he did it at night.. but the point is, that he did it.
Sometimes it doesn't matter about the timing of our doing things, as long as we obey the voice of the Lord. Yes he was frightened, yes he did it with fear and trembling, but he did it.
Let me finish with this question.
Are we prepared to tear down the altar of Baal's in our lives and replace it with an altar of purity and peace? We all have Baal altar's in our lives, some are sports, some are money, some are cars.
Let us replace them with an altar to the One true God, we may do it like Gideon, in fear and trembling, but let's do it afraid anyway.
God will honor you stand for him.
Daniel 11:32b those who know their God will be strong and do exploits.
God bless you
Keith
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Welcome to Simply Scripture

It is with great joy that I greet you from Morecambe, Lancashire in the UK.

What a joy it is, to share with you again, and to give you, what the Lord, has shared with me through His Holy Spirit, as he has opened up the word of God to me. I would encourage you to read and study the word of God, it is your own personal gold mine.

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God bless you

Keith

Love overcomes evil

These thoughts the Lord has laid on my heart and I sincerely hope that they encourage you to grow in your walk of faith with the Father.

The Lord wants us to look at some verses regarding how we react to the evil in the world and the evil that is sometimes done to us. How do we react to it?

There are three key verses in Chapter 12 of Romans that we are going to use as our texts.

The First one is :

9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

The Love talked about here is the agape Love of the Father. This should characterise the Christian. This means that we will love without hypocrisy and not from behind a mask. A great verse about this is 1 Timothy 1:5

5 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned

Because we are walking in that agape Love, we run away from evil. To abhor something means to treat it with disgust. Let me ask you a question? Do you think gossip or backbiting is evil?. When this happens in your church, do you run towards it and join in.. or do you seek to get as far away as you can from it? Do you abhor sin in all it's forms. True and pure agape Love does. C/f Ephesians 5:12

Agape Love cleaves to things that are pure and good. In Philippians 4, Paul gives us a list of all those things we must cling to, we must hold onto these things with all our might.

8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Let us not just hate the evil in the world, there is much of that, but let us draw near unto our Father. Let us concentrate on the good things of God, let us draw near to Him and worship Him.

The second Verse in Romans 12, is verse 17:

17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.

These last 5 verses of this chapter are truly awesome. Paul here is saying to the believer in verse 17. Do not give back to the person who is doing you wrong, what he/she has given to you. We wear our What would Jesus do badges, well here is what Jesus would do.

He showed that true Agape love to people, not least on the cross. The greatest example of Agape Love ever .

If we render evil for evil, we are playing the Devil's game and using the world's method of revenge and not trusting our heavenly Father to deal with the situation.

Do we really think our All- seeing Father misses anything?. Do we doubt his power to deal with any situation? If we deal with a situation by ourselves, we are saying that God is not big enough or doesn't care enough for us, that is disobedience brethren and outright rebellion.

The last verse in this Chapter is:

21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

How many times has a really bad situation been transformed by the calm spirit filled agape love reaction of a believer? As the believer acts in love, evil can be overcome and love and peace can and will prevail.

We sometimes underestimate the power of true agape love in a situation.

On numerous testimonies you hear this, ' I really hurt this believer and pushed him/her to his limits, I was really awful to him/her.. but they just loved me'. I wonder if this has been your experience, I know it was mine and brought me to Faith in Christ.

Let me share my testimony.

At age 15 and completely out of control, I was put in a new class at school.. in the class was a christian who showed me Jesus, by his daily life.. not reacting, when I was horrible to him.. and Boy was I horrible ( the person.. who is still a dear friend, and is reading this right now and mate, I just wish to thank you from the bottom of my heart).

He didn't just tell me about Jesus through words, he showed me Jesus by his daily walk. People are watching you all the time, how you react, what you say and especially how you say things.

You see true agape love breaks down the greatest barriers, because people have no answer to it.. it is supernatural.. it comes direct from the Father. The world cannot handle it, because it is the opposite of everything the world represents.

Think of Paul.. he was battle hardened to the things of the Lord, but Stephen's testimony, touched Paul. We need to realise that every little act of love has an effect on people, however far away they seem from God. The Holy Spirit.. will use your agape acts of Love.. so be not weary in well doing.. and leave the rest up to God

Paul is really saying here, 'Turn every bad situation into your advantage and the dynamic tool we use is the pure agape love of the Father. It is shed abroad in our hearts. It is up to us to develop that Love by spending lots of time in his presence.

We talk of some people being 'lovegods', but we know the 'God Of Love!. Let us pour the agape love of God into every situation.

Please read

Ephesians 4:29-32
Matthew 5 :39-48
Acts 7:54-60
Romans Chapter 12
2 Cor 13:7
1 Peter3:9
Revelation 2:2
Amen

God Bless you

Keith

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Welcome to Simply Scripture

It is so wonderful to share with you once again. Please get yourself comfortable with a cup of tea/coffee and a cake and grab your bible.

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Keith


Dear Friends

The Lord has laid this message on my heart , and I felt a strong urge in my spirit, that I was to share this with you. The Lord obviously wants people to hear this and so I share this and ask for the Holy Spirit's anointing as it goes out.

The Lord has put three things on my heart to share with you, concerning the words 'ONE THING'.

What is the one thing you desire? Let us look at three of the greatest believers who ever lived and see what their one wish was.
We will learn from these Great men of God of how to deal with your past, how to live in the present and how to look forward to your future

Paul

Philippians 3

13 I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,

Paul's greatest desire was to know Christ and him Crucified and to also know the power of the resurrection of Jesus. In His great testimony in this chapter, Paul pours out his heart, about knowing Christ in a way that is so deep and powerful.

To achieve this Goal, he has to do one thing and that is to forget all that has gone before, all the past failures, everything that had happened in the past had to go.

We need to have the mindset of letting all our past go , because only then can we go forward.

The Lord says to his church, how can you walk forward in victory, when you are looking back, have you ever tried to walk forward whilst looking behind you?

Remember the words of Jesus.. no man who has put his hand to the plough and then looks back is worthy of the kingdom of God. Luke 9:57-62

The Lord says we have too many pillars of salt in the church, people who are like Lot's wife, those who have trusted Christ and then looked back. The Look back of Lot's wife, was one of deep longing and yearning. Are you looking back over your shoulder yearning for your past life?


David

Psalm 27

4 One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek, inquire for, and [insistently] require: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord [in His presence] all the days of my life, to behold and gaze upon the beauty [the sweet attractiveness and the delightful loveliness] of the Lord and to meditate, consider, and inquire in His temple.

David was the greatest king of Israel, he was the man who had a true heart and he had riches, glory and honour. But his one and only desire, was to be in the presence of God. He had it all, but all these things did not matter, because the greatest desire of his heart, was to be in the presence of God. If you lost everything in your life.. house, job etc, would the presence of God be enough to sustain you?

Like David we are to seek God. Paul was talking about what to do with your past. David says that in our present situation, we are to seek God.

This is the greatest need of the christian today, he/she needs to spend more time in the Father's presence. People ask, how do you become like Jesus?. Well you earnestly seek Him. God says you will find me when you seek me with your whole heart.

To seek in this verse means to search, it means to run after to desire. Is it our only desire to seek after God? It was David's and it must be ours too. I challenge you to seek God.. no not to just read a devotional for five minutes a morning.. but to spend time waiting on Him.. to talk to Him as your best friend.

Another challenge is to cut down on your TV.. for all those who watch soaps/sports etc.. and then worry why their christian lives have no power. It's time to seek the Lord Church

Peter

2 Peter
8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
Paul has talked about the past. David has talked about the present. Now Peter is looking forward to the glorious day when Jesus comes again.
In this chapter, he says that mockers and scoffers will come saying that Jesus won't come, but we can be sure of this one thing, because God is a promise keeping God.
You know we need to be constantly scanning the skies with the greatest anticipation in the world, every day is one day closer to the coming of our Lord. I think the coming of Jesus is something to get excited about.. amen

It is nearly time to go home my friends.. time to look into our Saviour's face. Let's get excited about something that is truly worth shouting about.
This is what the Lord wants his Church to focus on
Forget the past
Seek the Lord
Look for His coming.
Don't look back, Look to Jesus and Look up

Yours in His service

Keith

For further Study

Philippians 3:7-16
Psalm 27
Jeremiah chapter 33
James 4:7-9
2 Chronicles 7:14-16
1 Thess 4:16-18
Matthew 6:33
Hosea 10:12
Amos 5:4-14
1 Chronicles 16:11

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Welcome to Simply Scripture

It is a real joy to share with you again. I do hope you are blessed by this study. Please pass on this study onto all your friends and please click the featured page link at the bottom of the message

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 my 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 explaination.
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 what there 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 also 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.

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 Spirit Steps
It is such a privilege to share with you once again. I do hope that you are all enjoying these studies. Please share them with all your friends, your house/cell groups.
Please click on the featured page link at the bottom of this message
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God bless
Keith
Acts 2
42And they steadfastly persevered, devoting themselves constantly to the instruction and fellowship of the apostles, to the breaking of bread [including the Lord's Supper] and prayers.
43And a sense of awe (reverential fear) came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were performed through the apostles (the special messengers).
44And all who believed (who adhered to and trusted in and relied on Jesus Christ) were united and [together] they had everything in common;
45And they sold their possessions (both their landed property and their movable goods) and distributed the price among all, according as any had need.
46And day after day they regularly assembled in the temple with united purpose, and in their homes they broke bread [including the Lord's Supper]. They partook of their food with gladness and simplicity and generous hearts,
47Constantly praising God and being in favor and goodwill with all the people; and the Lord kept adding [to their number] daily those who were being saved [from spiritual death].
The church in these early chapters of the Book of Acts, was it's purest form
It was founded through the powerful preaching that happened on the Day of Pentecost.. it was spirit filled, spirit led and anointed by the Holy Spirit.
As I look at this passage of scripture.. the title I would give to it is, THE MODEL CHURCH.. not the perfect church, because no church is perfect.. amen
It did several tings that made it grow, now if we replicate these in our modern church's, then God will bless.. amen
Let us look at these
Verse 42
It steadfastly persevered, the church was not easily put off. The disciples would of probably warned these new converts, that there would be a cost in following the Lord. We need to warn and tell the people who we are sharing the gospel with, that there will be a cost in following the Lord, it means taking up your cross, it means going through persecution. Jesus warns in the parable of the sower, that many will fall away when persecution comes, it is time to stop preaching a soapy gospel and tell people the truth my friends
Many Christians in today's day and age, say that they can exist without going to church, that church does not matter. The Local fellowship is the agent, where christian fellowship can be activated and where it can grow. Believe me, when I first came back to the Lord in 2003, I tried to exist by reading christian messages on the net, it didn't work. My dear believing friend, you need to be involved within a church environment. It is where christian service can happen. Let me share this, although I write on here and am active in doing that, I also am active in my own church and also under a shepherd.. my dear Pastor Mark. It is the place, where I sit under teaching and where I am a full member of the fellowship.
Please get involved in a bible believing church.. and don't just be a pew warmer.
The principles of finding a good church are outlined in verse 42.
It Must preach the true Gospel.. Jesus Died and rose again and Is seated at the right hand of God
It Must Practice the Lord's supper and Baptism
It Must encourage christian principles such as fellowship, bible reading and prayer
Verse 43
In a truly spirit filled and anointed church, there is a sense of the awesomeness of God.. he alone is the one that is worshipped. Reverential fear is a thing, we need today in the church.. why?
Because if you have this, we are careful not to grieve our Father by sin.. amen. The fear of God, is the beginning of wisdom, it is where wisdom starts. We need a new vision of who God is.. when we have this..then we can progress.. we need to bow the knee at the awesomeness of God.. his glory , his majesty.
Many miracles were done by the apostles, but they were done in the environment of there being a deep fear of the Lord upon the whole church. They saw the power of God in action day after day and this fact, made them shudder with wonder. When we see the power of God in action.. what is our reaction?
Please note, that out of the awe and worship of God, came the miracles. Not the other way round, so often, we want to see miracles, before worship. Out of all our worship, flows everything including our service etc. When we are in awe at the power of God, like the early church were, God will show himself in miracle working power.
Verse 44
Church is difficult..when I look at my church.. different people from different backgrounds.. but with one thing in common.. saved by the precious blood of the Lamb.. amen
Unity within the body of Christ, is so powerful. That is why the devil spends so much time seeking to destroy the unity of the church, that is why it is crucial to keep unity in the bond of peace. It is essential, if God is ever going to work in your church, that unity is kept. It says earlier in the Chapter, that there were Jews from all over, hearing this sermon, but they were so together, no wonder the Lord worked in glorious power.. the church was living in Unity.
Maybe God can't work in your church, because it is not living in Unity. Unity in Christ = Blessing By GOD
Verse 45
Unity in the early church, was not just about being together in person. It had it's practical outflow and so it must be for us. Many times in scripture and you know the places, we are told to help our brothers and sisters in the Lord. Indeed if we see, a brother or sister in need and send him/her away, with a nice prayer, we are in sin.
When was the last time, you helped one of your brothers and sisters in Christ?. If I/you, have the resources to help someone in your church, who needs help and you don't give it, then sin lies at my /your door my friend.
The Lord takes this very seriously, indeed if you look further on in Acts to Chapter 4:32-Chapter 5:11. If the Lord looks on it seriously, then I think, we should also .. amen

Verse 46
Two things here strike me:
Firstly, they loved being together worshipping God and sharing with each other, it was a source of amazing joy. They could hardly wait to praise and worship God. I wonder do we have the same attitude? Is Sunday fellowship or bible study or whatever you attend, a time you looked forward to with anticipation and joy?
Secondly, there was no pride within the church. They ate their food with simplicity, there was no one lording it over anyone else. There was no one saying.. look at me. They had real humility and care for one another. Do we in our church, have the same attitude?
Verse 47
By continually praising God, the church were only obeying the word of God as it states in Psalm 34:1. A church that is continually praising God, will have no time for backbiting, strife and gossip.. because praise to God, will be a never ending stream of blessing.
If your church, is in strife, is backbiting each other and full of strife.. God is saying to you today, that it is time to repent and stop doing these things and to start praising Him.. amen
Praise pleases God.. he will give your church favour..in two ways
Firstly with Man. Do you wonder why many church's have problems with secular agencies over many issues, maybe if they had a praising attitude, then the world would sit up and take notice. The world will take notice of the church, when the church stops complaining, about what it hasn't got and starts to be what it should be.. one body that praises God.. whatever the circumstances.. amen
Secondly with Himself. He will bless and increase your church and add to the church. He will expand your territory and grow your ministry.
Finally, you may think, that is this, cant and won't happen in today's world. You can't produce a formula for church growth.. but you can put strong principles in place
There are many books out .. the purpose driven church etc.. and these are good up to a point.. am not knocking them.. but they need to be subject to the Only book that matters and that is the WORD OF GOD
We can do all things and still we need the Holy Spirit.. to move in Power. Because it is God and him alone that brings about revival through his sovereign will.. but we can help by giving him the opportunity to work.. amen
I have only scratched the surface in this study and I would encourage you to delve into this passage in more detail
God bless

Keith

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Welcome to Spirit Steps
We are coming to the climax of the Day of Pentecost....Peter has finished his sermon . What happens next is amazing.. it is awesome and it can and will happen today.. amen. I hope you are enjoying these studies.
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God bless you
Keith

Acts 2
38And 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.
39For the promise [of the Holy Spirit] is to and for you and your children, and to and for all that are far away, [even] to and for as many as the Lord our God invites and bids to come to Himself.
40And [Peter] [i]solemnly and earnestly witnessed (testified) and admonished (exhorted) with much more continuous speaking and warned (reproved, advised, encouraged) them, saying, Be saved from this crooked (perverse, wicked, unjust) generation.
41Therefore those who accepted and welcomed his message were baptized, and there were added that day about 3,000 souls.
In verse 37 of this chapter, we observed that the people, who were listening to Peter's sermon, were cut to the heart and asked what should they do.
We noticed that when the gospel is preached in power and authority and Jesus is the one lifted up, that the Holy Spirit works. It reminds me of the words in Hebrews 4:
12 For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the [g]breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart.
We are going to look at Peter's response to the question asked in Verse 37
The first word, he utters in answering their question is.. REPENT. not even in those days was it popular to say this word and although it is not popular today, we must preach repentance amen. Paul says to Timothy.. to Preach the Gospel.. in and out of season..2 Timothy 4:2.
Whether it is popular or not to preach repentance, we must preach it. This is one word that that the world doesn't want to hear, because it comes with the implication, that we have something to turn from .. amen.
To repent.. means to turn from sin and head in the opposite direction. It means you literally reject the way of sin and that it becomes something that you hate
If to repent was a personal and heart thing, then to be baptised, was and is a very public thing. Now I realise that there are many of you, who do not believe in it.
Well Jesus practised it and here, right at the start of the Church's existence, we have it embedded into the church fabric so to speak.
Baptism by full immersion is Biblical my friend, it is a sign to the world, that you are identified with Christ Romans chapter 6. I would encourage you to seek the Lord on this matter
Aren't verses 38-39 amazing... all through Old Testament, the Holy Spirit was on the Mighty men of God.. now it was being promised to the Jews.. to live inside of them.. and that promise still stands today....amen
Peter stated that this world was perverse and corrupt, strong words. He had great boldness and was only interested in one thing and that was saving souls.. he was not interested in bowing down to political correctness or to the the world's standards. He and the apostles were not politically correct.. instead that sought to stand against the authorities, who were corrupt amen. If it was corrupt and perverse in the days of the apostles, I wonder what words they would use , if they were around today?
We must always be obedient to Governments, but if they Break God's law, we must never be afraid to stand up for our Lord and say that what they are doing is not right and is wrong in the eyes of the Lord. Remember that we are the Lord's voice on the earth
Three thousands souls were converted.. wow.. now that's amazing and that were all baptised the same day.. it would of gone on all night.. oh for that to happen in today's world. It can still happen.. has the Lord changed?. Do you or your church believe it can still happen today?
The First church was so strong, because of the first sermon.. they knew.. each and every one of them, what they were saved from.. the power and penalty of sin, through the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus. They produced mighty men and women of God, because these were people who had turned and repented of their sins and were walking in God's way.
Church, we need to preach repentance. God saves and gives us so much.. but he demands repentance from us.. probably the Key attribute of the Christian.. is that he/she has a repentant heart. Even if they do sin.. it is not long before their heart cry is like David's in Psalm 51:
1HAVE MERCY upon me, O God, according to Your steadfast love; according to the multitude of Your tender mercy and loving-kindness blot out my transgressions.
2Wash me thoroughly [and repeatedly] from my iniquity and guilt and cleanse me and make me wholly pure from my sin!
3For I am conscious of my transgressions and I acknowledge them; my sin is ever before me.
4Against You, You only, have I sinned and done that which is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified in Your sentence and faultless in Your judgment.(A)
May God Bless you

Keith
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