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Bible Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my brothers and sisters – my friends and neighbors. It’s Sunday July 19TH 2020, and this is the day that our LORD has made. Let us rejoice. Let us be glad in it. And let us go in to God’s Word.

For about a year I preached about James – the half-brother of Jesus – James The Just. I preached 10 sermons from the Book of James. Good stuff. Good News. It was my first extended message series. I should do another one. Maybe in a few years.

So after James, and 1ST & 2ND Peter, and 1ST, 2ND, and 3RD John – comes Jude. Jude is right before the Book of Revelation at the end of the New Testament. And Jude – he was a brother of James – which means – he was a brother of Jesus. Like James – Jude did not believe and follow Christ during Christ’s short ministry. They just thought that He was a bit crazy. It wasn’t until after Christ rose from the dead – like He said He would – that James, Jude, and others became believers and followers of Christ. They became church leaders after that. The resurrection of Christ proved everything.

So Jude’s letter is a single chapter – with 25 verses. Jude warns us about false teachers in the early church, and how they lived their lives away from the church.

You know the modern church of today has false teachers and false prophets. We all have the capability of being a false teacher or a false prophet. It’s so easy to do. You know we become false prophets when we worry about something – when we allow fear to come in to our heart. We become false prophets when we prophecy on a future that our God does not have planned.

“I am so worried about this happening and that happening. I do not know what I am going to do to recover from that disaster, but I better come up with a plan. God help me with this plan. Show me the way !”  Meanwhile God is trying to tell you, “What disaster ?” (It’s all in your mind.)

We become false prophets when we waste time – when we waste energy – dwelling on something that’s not going to happen.

Sure bad things are going to happen to us along the way, but more bad things happen to us in our thoughts than actually occur in real life. Don’t let the enemy into your mind – into your heart. The enemy leaves less space for God to occupy your mind and your heart.

I like the ending of Jude’s letter. It’s an uplifting worship to our God.

Now all glory to God – who is able to keep you from falling away, and will bring you with great joy into His glorious presence without a single fault. All glory to Him who alone is God – our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are His before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time !  Amen. (Jude 1:24-25 NLT)

Whenever you have one of those days – where you think that you’re not good enough for God – or where you think that God isn’t there for you – or where you think that there’s something better for you in the world out there – look to that Scripture right there – those two verses from Jude. Only God has all of the glory – all of the majesty – all of the power – and all of the authority – then, now, and forever. That’s the God I believe. That’s the God I follow. That’s the God I trust. That’s the God who is overflowing with “Kindness & Love”.

Show that “Kindness & Love” to your brothers and sisters – to your friends and neighbors.

All rights reserved (c) 2020 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

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God

Life Pointe Church Sunday Morning Tossed Salad

Here are my takeaways in 15 words or less:

– Alex did a bang-up job on the drums during Praise & Worship.
– The whole band totally rocked God’s house this morning.
– The band seems to be multiplying.
– I counted 9 of them up on stage.
– We didn’t sing just to hear ourselves sing.
– We sang so that God would clearly hear us.
– Pastor Mike B. presented the teaching this morning.
– It was all about Perseverance.
– I must follow God’s will for my Life despite the world around me.
– I must run the race that is marked out for me by God.
– I must be persistent in praying to Him.
– I must ask, seek, and knock – and never give up.
– God wants to give me Goodness.
– God wants to change my mind, heart, and soul.
– God chose me when I was a sinner.
– I must get up again after I get knocked down.
– Satan wants to keep me down and out for the count.
– God wants me to rise above it all and continue moving forward.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NLT, 2ND Ed.)
16  That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.
17  For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever !
18  So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

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God

Bible Stories

TONIGHT I prepared for my weekly Life Pointe Church Life Group which I will be meeting up with tomorrow night. (Yes Patricia and Venus – I actually did my homework for this week.)

I read a couple of excellent recommended parables tonight within the Book of Luke in the New Testament:

Story Of The Good Samaritan – Luke 10:30-37
This dude was viciously attacked and brutalized by street thugs and left for dead by the roadside. Two cats just walked on by and ignored him as he laid there crippled. Then along came a good neighbour who stopped everything that he was doing to help the dude out and bring him to comfort and safety. He was a rare man then, and I think that he’s still a rare man today. Why can’t we all be more like that Good Samaritan ?

Story Of The Lost Son – Luke 15:11-31
This crazy young cat explored the world all around him and loved it all. He lavished in the evil and the darkness until he had nothing left. He was left for dead due to his own devices. He went back home and begged for mercy. His Father totally embraced him and forgave him for his sins. The crazy young cat was once lost and dead to Satan, but now he was found and reborn again to his Lord and Saviour. He experienced a euphoric new Life forever after. It was a journey that he had never experienced before. I can relate to that crazy young cat. I am him !

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God

Bedtime Stories

‘The Fortune Cookie Message Of The Week Club’ posted earlier tonight got me thinking about what the Bible says about success and complacency through it all. I went digging into the New Testament – specifically the 2ND Book of Corinthians.

I found this intriguing passage in Chapter 3 (New Living Translation):

1 Are we beginning again to tell you how good we are ? Some people need to bring letters of recommendation with them or ask you to write letters of recommendation for them.
2 But the only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves ! Your lives are a letter written in our hearts, and everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you.
3 Clearly, you are a letter from Christ prepared by us. It is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on stone, but on human hearts.
4 We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ.
5 It is not that we think we can do anything of lasting value by ourselves. Our only power and success come from God.

The way that I read that Scripture above is that you don’t need to bother God with boasting of how good you are and what good you’ve done. Your true success can be seen easily in your heart and in your soul. If one can see the goodness that you have done for others there – then that is the ultimate measuring stick of success. It’s not the material goods and possessions that surround you on the outside that matter, but rather what’s going on in your heart, in your mind, and in your soul. That’s what God cares about. That’s what He always sees. If He sees good in there then you are His, for that goodness – it came from Him.