FIRST LIGHT - Spiritual Growth

“My voice shall You hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto You, and will look up”. (Psalm 5:3) 

     Remember, there are two places where men will spend eternity: One is heaven with the Lord; the other is the lake of fire with - well you know.

     Two principles apply to our spiritual growth. First, It is important to understand where we are in our relationship to Christ; and Secondly, Where He wants to lead us.

     The following seven stages of spiritual development may help you discover where your current walk with Christ is and His plan for your future walk:

1.      Unbelief – God is not a part of our lives.

2.      Salvation – Christ enters our lives through faith in His atoning cross.

3.      Service – We work for God b because of what He did for us.

4.      Frustrated inadequacy – Our service is not fulfilling but frustrating.

5.      Spiritual dependency – We come to trusts in His power to work through us.

6.      Emotional surgery – We open up our minds, emotions, and thoughts for God to heal and restore.

7.      Complete in Christ – He is our life – regardless of circumstances. We are content, satisfied in His indwelling presence. Our frail life exchanged for His all-sufficient life.

     Where would you place yourself? God’s goal is that you become complete in Him – trusting and relying on Christ to impart all that you will ever need. Anchor yourself in Christ.

FIRST LIGHT - The Power of the Cross

“My voice shall You hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto You, and will look up”. (Psalm 5:3)

     There are two places where men will spend eternity: One is heaven with the Lord; the other is the lake of fire with - well you know.

     The power of the cross is twofold. Supremely, it is the reconciliation of God and man.

     But it is more. The cross of Christ and His finished work there is also the only basis for a radical change in our relationship with one another. Let’s face it! It is our encounters with other folk that stirs up most of our anxieties. Tension with family, coworkers, friends, neighbors, or an acquaintance can occupy much of our time and thought.

     For sin not only created conflict and alienation with God, it also exalted self to the throne of every man’s life. Only the cross, where we receive the new nature of Christ, can provide the power to relate harmoniously to one another. We are called and enabled supernaturally to: “Serve one another” (Galatians 5:13). “Comfort one another” (1 Thessalonians 4:18). “Bear one another’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2). “Accept one another” (Romans 15:7). “Admonish one another” (Romans 15:14).

     If you are at odds with a Christian Brother or friend, go to the cross and ask our Lord Jesus Christ for His power through the Holy Spirit to demonstrate the reality of His love through you. Becoming a peacemaker will bring “the peace which surpasses comprehension” (Philippians 4:7).

FIRST LIGHT - Words for the Soul

“My voice shall You hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto You, and will look up”. (Psalm 5:3)

FIRST LIGHT SERIES – Our blog is starting a new series referred to as FIRST LIGHT in hopes of encouraging, educating and strengthening you in your daily walk with the Lord.

     There are two places where men will spend eternity: One is heaven with the Lord; the other is the lake of fire with - well you know.

     The Bible in the book of John 14:1-3 tells us; “Let not your heart be troubled: you believe in God, believe also in me.  2) In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3) And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also”.

     Those words of Jesus have been recited at countless gravesides, speaking comfort and quiet hope of an eternal future of those in locked in the grieving boundaries of time and space.

     But Jesus meant more by His statement; His gentle assurance was meant to transform our struggle into an understandable, exciting journey with an identifiable destination.

     These words or comfort for the living, those who know life through the experience of being “born again.” There would always be room for speculation if Jesus had not gone on to lay the groundwork, presenting Himself as; “the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comet to the Father, but through Me” (John 14:6).
     The magnitude of that one statement cancels out and shows the emptiness of statements by “educated men” who wish to believe that “heaven is such that all who have lived well, of whatever religion, have a place there.”

     “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom You hast sent” (John 17:3)

     Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus? Have you accepted him as Lord and Savior? You can right now: All you have to do is ask Him to come into your life, save you and forgive you from all your sins, then you too will have this good news. Read the Bible it's food for the soul.

I'M SORRY

Someone once said, “For a happy marriage, when your wrong admit it, when your right shut up.” This is good advice and could eliminate many problems if adhered to. It’s also good for much more than just marriage.

               What is it about the human workings that hates to admit, “I was wrong?” It just kind of hangs up in your throat doesn’t it.

               How many arguments, fusses, disagreements, and “falling outs” could have been stopped in the initial stages, before things got out of hand, if either party would have just stopped and said “I’m sorry,” instead of going on in indifference. Sounds easy doesn’t it? Does it really matter who was wrong? Does it really matter what it was about? Fact is, we usually come up with plenty of reasons, and a lot of them from religious reasoning, why we have the right and reason to not be the one to give in. “After all, it’s the principle of the matter. I can’t show weakness by giving in, and besides, Jesus showed anger and righteous indignation.” Yeah He did, but He never came into sin as a result of it. Can we say that we usually don’t sin when we are angry?

               Lord, guard my lips, mind, and heart against hurting those who I love, and love me, with angry words spoken in haste or out of my own hurt.

               What does the Word of God say?  Ephesians 4:23-32 & 5:4   23) And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24) And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. 25) Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another. 26) Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: 27) Neither give place to the devil. 28) Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needs. 29) Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. 30) And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. 31) Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32) And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

5:4) Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.

Pray this Prayer:  Lord, guard my lips, mind, and heart against hurting those who I love, and love me, with angry words spoken in haste or out of my own hurt.

               Remember God loves you!          

HIS STRENGTH FOR OUR WEAKNESS (Part 3)

3.  THEIR GREAT DISCOVERY (No Task is Too Great for God – His Strength for Our Weakness)

     An yet Paul had said that it was when he was at his weakest that God’s power was channeled most effectively in his life. It is difficult to imagine a situation that would be more threatening than the one Israel faced. Little did she realize that she was about to make a great discovery. No task is too great for God.

     Moses responded to the cries and laments of Israel by saying: “Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord” (Exodus 14:13). Pharaoh was behind them, the Red Sea was before them, but Israel was about to discover that God makes a way where there is no way. When we are dealing with Him we have touched supernatural resources. An east wind began to blow all night long, and a path was made in the sea.

     Israel was about to discover that when God acts He acts in the nick of time. His words to Paul had been: “My grace is sufficient.” Not an overabundance, not too little, but just enough. This is a thought that characterizes God’s actions: “When the fullness of time was come” (Gal. 4:4). God sent forth His Son, Christ Jesus. God acts in our lives at a time when we needed Him to act. This was Israel’s discovery. Now they needed the Red Sea parted. The time had come.

     But there was a third discovery. Salvation is not what we do, but it is what God does. These were the words of Moses: “Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.” Not what we do, but what He does. No task is too great for Him.

     Let me ask you:

·         Do you feel like there is no place to go?

·        Is your back to the wall?

     We don’t have to go anywhere or do anything to experience His presence and His strength. It is there for those who will make the discovery “When I am weak, then am I strong.”

HIS STRENGTH FOR OUR WEAKNESS (Part 2)

2.  THE TEMPTATION WITH WHICH THEY FLIRTED (No strength Left to Fight – A Great Danger)

      Israel’s anxiety over her dilemma was only exceeded by its dangerousness. There are great dangers in weakness. When we are weak we have little strength left to fight. Certainly a fight appeared inevitable. Pharaoh’s army was thundering down upon Israel and her strength was gone.

      She began to flirt with temptation. She had no place to go and no strength left to fight. Temptation is most effective when we are at our weakness. Esau made this discovery when he sold his birthright to Jacob. Saul found himself flirting with temptation while he waited on Samuel to offer the sacrifice at Gilgal. When we are at our weakest the pressure to give life’s pressures is at its severest level.

      How do we know that she began to flirt with temptation? We see it in her behavior. She began to look for someone to blame for her circumstance other than herself. You know you are at your weakest when you began to look for someone to blame your problems on. Israel did. She began to accuse Moses of leading her “away into the wilderness to die” (Exodus 14:19-31). And her accusations were wholly false. Her own description of the circumstance sounds like she was compelled to leave Egypt. This was not the case. Moses had led, but Israel had followed of her own free will. A generation of her parents had “cried to the Lord” for deliverance. This fact was related to Moses at the burning bush. “The cry of the children of Israel has come unto me” (Exodus 3:9). With little strength left to fight she began to blame others for her circumstance.

     With little strength left to fight she was tempted to sacrifice her faith in a moment of fear. “The children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid” (Exodus 14:10). Fear is a great instrument of temptation sometimes. It causes us to do things that at a more rational moment we would never consider. Saul offered the sacrifice at Gilgal because he was afraid that Samuel would not arrive before the Philistines pitched their battle. David had Uriah murdered because he was afraid his own deeds with Bathsheba would be disclosed. Fear is a great tempter. Israel was afraid.

     Yet there was still a third dimension to Israel’s temptation. She forgot the past from which she had come. She told Moses that it had been better if he had never come and she was still in Egypt “to serve the Egyptians” (Exodus 14:12). It is always a mistake to forget the past for which we have come. It provides a perspective on the present and the future that God’s people need to be effective. Yet with no place to go and with no strength left to fight, Israel found herself flirting with temptation.

Be sure to check the blog posting in a couple of days for 3rd Installment – (THEIR GREAT DISCOVERY (No Task is Too Great for God – His Strength for Our Weakness).

   Remember, you gain victory by finding His Strength for your Weakness.

HIS STRENGTH FOR OUR WEAKNESS (Part 1)

1.      THE SITUATION THEY FACED (No Place to Go – A Great Dilemma)

     When Paul was writing the Corinthians about this new discovery – His strength for our weakness – he says: “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Cor. 12:9). Israel found itself in a particularly weakened position. Yet it would have been difficult to convince Israel that their circumstance was one in which to glory. With the Red Sea in front of them and Pharaohs armies descending, Israel had no place to go.

     Let me ask you:

·        Did you ever face a situation in which you did not know what to do next or you did not know where to turn?

·        Did it seem you had no place to go?

Such was the situation for Israel then (and my I add now with the world situation in the Middle East). She was facing a great dilemma with no place to go. It could be said that her alternatives were limited. She could not go forward. The Red Sea was in front of her. She could not retreat because Pharaohs chariots (the Scripture says there were 600) bearing down upon her. She could not make a lateral move left or right because great mountains were on both sides.

      Another question:

·        Did you ever feel life had taken away your choices?

·        Did you ever feel that the only options that you had were bad options?

      It must have seemed so for Israel.

     And yet there was something else that contributed to Israel’s weakness. She had expended her energies. She had marched all night long and now she was tired. I think many people are tired today. Our world lives in a very rushed place. The stresses and strains of expended energies leave us like Israel in the midst of a great dilemma with no place to go and little energy left to fight.

     Yet Israel, between Pharaohs chariots and the Red Sea waters, was weak for anotherreason. She had displaced her affections. She wasn’t home anymore. She had left her home in Egypt. Even if it wasn’t the kind of home that she had journeyed into the desert with her home on her back. She was homeless. Her affections had been displaced. We hear much about homelessness today. Perhaps there is no situation that is more anxiety producing or more energy sapping than that of homelessness.

     Israel found herself facing a great weakness brought about by a great dilemma – no place to go.

     Be sure to check the blog posting in a couple of days for 2d Installment – (THE TEMPTATION

     WITH WHICH THEY FLIRTED (No Strength Left to Fight – A Great Danger).

     Remember, you gain victory by finding His Strength for your Weakness.

HIS STRENGTH FOR OUR WEAKNESS (Introduction)

The Scriptures are full of Irony. Irony is an outcome of events that is contrary to what might have been expected. Imagine the irony in Pharaohs decree to kill the male Hebrew children. He began to fear that Israel’s rapid multiplying would result in their rising up against Egypt. Yet his daughter drew Moses from the bulrush and raised him in the place of Egypt. It is an irony that the one Pharaoh feared was living in his place and eating at his table. Hear the irony of Solomon’s words when he writes: “There is that makes himself rich yet hath nothing; there is that makes him=self poor yet hath great riches” (Proverbs 13:7).

      And there is irony in the New Testament as well. We hear irony in Jesus’ words when He tells the disciples: “Whosoever would be great among you, let him be your minister” (Matt. 20:26), or “The last shall be first and the first last” (Matt. 20:16).

     The Apostle Paul experienced a great irony in his own life. He wrote in detail about it to the Corinthians. He was describing his familiar “thorn in the flesh” that he prayed three times to be delivered from when he made a great discovery. “When I am weak, then am I strong” (2 Cor. 12:10). Paul discovered that when he was at his weakest the power of God was at its strongest in his own life. Let me ask you:

·        Do you feel weak today?

·        Are you wrestling against difficulties that you have no resources to overcome?

The message for us is that times of weakness are a blessing if they place us in the atmosphere of experiencing the strength and power of God.

     His strength for our weakness is a truth that weaves its way throughout the Scriptures. It is illustrated clearly when Israel had her back to the Red Sea and Pharaohs chariots were rushing in upon her. 

  

     Over the next few days this message (HIS STRENGTH FOR OUR WEAKNESS) will be presented in separate blog postings illustrating three (3) major points:

1.      THE SITUATION THEY FACED (No Place to Go – A Great Dilemma)

2.      THE TEMPTATION WITH WHICH THEY FLIRTED (No Strength Left to Fight – A Great Danger)

3.      THEIR GREAT DISCOVERY (No Task is Too Great for God – His strength for Our Weakness)

     Be sure to check out the next few blog postings and gain victory by finding His Strength for your Weakness.

Give Thanks In All Things

In Romans 8:28 the Word of God says; “And we know that all things work together for good to them who love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.”

The startling command of 1 Thessalonians 5:18 bewilders even committed believers at times: The verse says: “In everything give thanks for this is the Will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

How do we give thanks in times of catastrophe? For what are we grateful when disaster strikes?

As foreign as it may seem, we give thanks to God in all things because His sovereign, loving power is able to weave our grief, sorrow, and pain into the fabric of His eternal plan for our lives. God does not cause evil, and neither is He conquered by it.

His purpose for us cannot be thwarted by our problems. For that, we can give thanks in the midst of our adversity.

Listen to this Evangelist: The sovereignty of God is the one impregnable rock to which the suffering human heart must cling. The circumstances surrounding our lives are no accident: they may be the work of evil, but that evil is held firmly within the mighty hand of our sovereign God.

Listen: All evil is subject to Him, and evil cannot touch His children unless He permits it. God is the Lord of human history and of the personal history of every member of His redeemed family.

Tuesday’s Praise/Worship and Bible Study

Location: First Assembly of God Church Campus located at 601 S. Market St., Brazoria, TX 77422.

Date/Time: Each Tuesday from 10:00a.m., until 12:00 noon.

A reminder to all in the vicinity of Brazoria, Texas area, or if you are just passing through to stop by for a time of {Praise and Worship} with music and song guaranteed to bless you plus prayer followed by an anointed {Bible Study - Message}. Main speakers: Brice Fowler (Bible Study Director) and/or Ron Little (Evangelist), plus other special invited anointed men and women of God.

We issued a guarantee about this Bible Study/Prayer group. Which is: You will not be disappointed and will not leave the same way you came; because of the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. We have seen bondage's such as; (fear, unforgiveness and guilt to name a few) broken, bodies healed. In other words folks have been saved, healed, delivered and set free because of the Cross of Jesus Christ and His finished work plus the anointing power of the Holy Spirit.

Everybody is cordially invited and there is only one requirement: Come expecting a Miracle from God.