1 John 4:4

4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

This weeks verse is:

Romans 8:1

8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Back To The Basics          

There are two Christian Disciplines that when practiced regularly will strengthen and establish our relationship with God.

1. Prayer: When we love someone we want to talk to them. Prayer is two way communication with God where we develop our relationship with God. The Bible instructs us to “pray in Jesus Name” as we bring our requests to Him. Prayer can be done kneeling, sitting or standing – what is important is not the posture of the body but the faith and sincerity of the heart.

2. Bible Reading: King David said (Ps 119:11) ”Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” The Bible gives us direction in life and provides a firm basis for our Christian life. Taken on a daily basis the Scriptures build faith in our lives. There are many different translations and paraphrases of the Bible so, for general reading purposes, find one that you are comfortable with (older language/modern language) and then read it.

Congratulations to those who have already completed reading the Bible through this year! You are an inspiration!

Over 40 people have committed to reading the Bible through this year, most using the BREAD Bible reading chart. Due to the response and requests for charts we have run out of our supply - although if needed we can make photocopies.

I misplaced my chart so I was looking for a replacement that would continue on the same schedule. I came across this electronic version of the BREAD chart provided by Bro. Arlo Moehlenpah which actually improves on the paper version. For each day of Bible reading there are links that take you to the daily reading online along with study questions and some occasional brief commentary.

Thank you Bro. Moehlenpah for making this available.

Check it out here

While reading in the book of Judges today I noticed several things which apply to our lives today. I’ll just quickly lay out some of them from the first few chapters in point form.

• God wanted them to have total victory over their enemies but they were willing to settle for partial. They then discovered the problems of allowing their enemies to live in the same space. The Bible teaches us that as Christians we have three enemies - the world (culture or system of the world as opposed to God), the flesh (natural man) and the devil. God has promised us victory in the battle but too often we become content with partial victories and coexistence.
• God wanted them to maintain their identity as a distinct people of God - they began to bring the values of the people around them into their own lives and worship. We live in a culture that is challenging to faith, challenging to morality and challenging to living a godly life. As a Christian we often have to go against the flow, making decisions and lifestyle choices that are different from those around us.
• God used ordinary people who were willing to follow Him. Here we see the grace of God exhibited towards his wayward chosen people - even when they turned to worship other Gods and their land was overrun by their enemies - God would raise up faithful men and women whom he would empower to free them once again.

Their names are not household names, names like Othniel, Shamgar, Ehud, Deborah and Barak, but they stand as a testimony of what God can do through ordinary men and women submitted to his purposes and willing to follow him. In overwhelming circumstances they received divine power and enablement to lead God’s people and to win the necessary victories.

God still works through ordinary people! As we read the book of Judges we need to be able to dream about what God can do through ordinary people today and then make it our prayer "God work through me where I am and with what I’ve got!" Then walk through the doors of opportunity for ministry to others that God provides.

"Bible Study Tuesday" was once again a great day!

We had another first time guest in our English morning Bible Study and had a great time of digging into the word along with some discussion.

The Spanish Bible Study in the evening was also a wonderful time of fellowship, Word and discussion. Once again I taught the lesson in French (or at least a version of French ) and it was translated into Spanish.

Please continue to pray for both of these studies that through them people will come to know Jesus! Just a note of praise - one of our participants came to Christ on Easter Sunday. For that we give God a shout of thanks!

I’m also working on plans for another group Bible study in English. Each session lasts a little over an hour (depending on discussion and questions) and we go through and overview of the main themes of

the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.

If you haven’t been in a Bible Study or if you have a friend you would like to bring to a Bible Study send me an email and let me know about "best times" for scheduling. We probably will limit the initial number of participants to 8.

Check out Joshua 3:5 (NIV) "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you."

The act of consecration points to the principle that God acts powerfully on behalf of His people when they are clean and aligned with His will. This is a powerful spiritual principle that enables a greater dimension of God’s power in our lives. Before the prayer for the miracle we need our prayer should be "Lord search me and cleanse me".

The next day, when the feet of the priests touched the flood waters of the Jordan river it began to back up to allow them to cross on dry ground. What looked like an impossible situation simply became the setting for a miracle.

I’ve been thinking about the goodness of God to us this week…and I’m looking forward to this weekend with a sense of anticipation…looking for the Lord to do AMAZING THINGS among us!!!

What is the amazing thing that God wants to do in your life?

The New Testament Bible reading for today is Acts chapter 1, the introduction to the first 33 years of church history.

One of the key verses of the entire book is found in Acts 1:8 "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."

As Jesus spoke to His disciples just moments before His ascension He informed them that before they could do His work they needed His power. In this verse we see the need for reception of the presence and power of the Holy Ghost in our lives, not just strength or ability but power in operation and action. Our part in it is to be willing to receive and then to step up to be witnesses, depending on the help of the Holy Ghost.

As we read through the book of Acts you will notice a continuing theme of an intermingling of divine and human action - God and man working together to impact the world.

A great prayer for today (and every day) would be "Lord take what I have and empower me today to make a difference in my world!"