Jesus Is

From Kenneth Copeland

Jesus is…

Able's sacrifice, Noah's rainbow, Abraham's ram, Isaac's Wells, Jacob's ladder, Moses' Rod, Elijah's staff,

Elisha's mantle…

Isaachar's burden, Juda's scepter, Balaam's Shilo, David's slingshot, Samuel's cruse of oil, Gideon's fleece, Hezekiah's sundial, Isaiah's fig poultice…

Peter's shadow, Paul's handkerchiefs and aprons, Steven's signs and wonders, John's Revelation of Jesus and the city of God coming down to earth so God will dwell with men.
He is a husband to the widow, a father to the fatherless, a light for those in darkness, the Bright and MorningStar,

the Lily-of-the-valley…

He is the Seed of the woman, the Passover Lamb, the pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night, the profit like unto Moses…

He is the Great Shepherd, the Bread of Life, the Chief Cornerstone, the High Priest, the Word of God, the Son of God, the Son of Man, the Son of David, the Bridegroom…

He is the way, the truth and the life, the great physician, the Rose of Sharon, the Vine, the Fairest of 10,000, the Last Adam, our Redeemer, the Devils Defeater, the Honey in the Rock and the Staff of Life.

He is the great I AM, the fullness of the Godhead bodily, the Lamb of God, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords!
He has a name above all names-rejoice in his name. Allow his praises to fill your heart daily as we celebrate Jesus-the greatest gift ever given to us in this world.

APPROACHES TO SHARING THE GOSPEL IN THE BIBLE BELT

APPROACHES TO SHARING THE GOSPEL IN THE BIBLE BELT

By Ted Sandquist

Find some scriptures that ‘attach’ to these contexts...think on them...pray for those you are building relationally with by name and prepare to talk to them in November or during the Holiday Season.

1—Building prayer for healing or a need.

2—What God did in sending Jesus calls for a response from us...have you ever made a response to God for the gift of Jesus? This is an opening to talk personally about your own story.

3—Are you a believer in Christ...a follower? Especially here in the Bible-belt this distinction is quite clear to those raised in the church.

Romans 1:10… so that you might believe and obey

Matthew 11:33… take my yoke upon you and learn

4—What do you/we/they need to awaken to? Sometimes a “wake up call” is what God uses to get people’s attention...sometimes He uses a “now” word because it is full of the Holy Spirit...ie. Advertisers are using awakening and wake-up right now...very interesting.

5—I’d like to tell you my story,

6—Can we have a discussion about spiritual life with no need for a debate or a ‘winner’ or ‘loser’?

7—Did you know it is possible to know God? He is the one who said, “Now this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:3)

8—Sometimes we can start with a scripture the Lord gives us that is either very alive to us or that He has given to us specifically for the person we are to talk to...the Scriptures are very powerful in and of themselves. Let’s think about being His voice to this person.

WILL YOU CRY FOR ME?

WILL YOU CRY FOR ME?

by Steven E. White

~~~

Will you cry for me?

Will  you shed a tear?

Will you stop to comfort me?

Or offer up a prayer?

Will you cry for me?

When you hear my story?

Will you think, such a shame?

Or give God the glory?

Will you think, it’s such awful luck,

He’s too young for this,

Why do bad things always happen?

What good can come of this?

And as you watch me, as you listen,

A prayer might come to mind,

Lord, restore him back to how he was,

Our Lord, so strong, so kind.

~ But ~

I won’t cry for me.

I won’t shed a tear.

Comforting can be nice,

But better, always, is prayer.

I won’t cry for me,

For I know the whole story,

Sometimes we must pass through flame,

To show God’s full Glory.

I no longer believe in luck,

My soul is in God’s hands.

There is no bad on this earth,

that won’t yield to my Redeemer’s plan.

So as you watch, as you listen,

A new prayer comes to mind,

For God is so Good, and always so True,

And my Savior is always so kind.

THERE IS POWER IN THE BLOOD

THERE IS POWER IN THE BLOOD

By Dwight Cunkle

Our inner world may be cluttered with competing spirits, thoughts and feelings, like athletes on a field striving against one another. Bring every thought captive to obey Christ by removing altars to everything else and building a fresh altar in prayer with God.

The power of the blood of Jesus on the city of my self: (R)

•

Its walls shall fall, its bars of iron shall be cut and its gates shall be broken to pieces. (Is 45: 2)

•

Its altars shall be destroyed, the carved images of its gods shall be cut down, its sacred pillars and wooden images shall be broken. (Deuteronomy 7: 5, 12: 3)

•

The name of the enemy shall be destroyed from every place in it  (Deuteronomy 12: 3) and his high places shall be removed. (Ezekiel 20: 29, 2 Chronicles 17: 6, 2 Chronicles 20: 33)

•

Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth. (Isaiah 40: 4, Luke 3: 5)

The power of the blood of Jesus on the city of my self: (R)

•

The altar of God shall be built, the walls shall be built

and the doors hung. (Ez 3, Neh 3 & 7: 1 - 3)

The ruined and desolate places shall be built and the

desert shall blossom. (Is 35: 1 – 2, Ez 36: 34 - 36)

•

And Christ shall be formed in me. (Galatians 4: 19) (R)

•

And the city of my self, Jerusalem, shall be the city

of the great King. (Matthew 5: 35)

The power of the blood of Jesus on my inner Jerusalem: (R)

•

It shall put on her strength, her beautiful garments; a holy city, the uncircumcised and the unclean shall no longer come to it. (Isaiah 52: 1)

•

But it shall be a dwelling place of God in the spirit (Ephesians 2: 22), a home for the Trinity (John 14: 23), a place for the Holy one and my heart a throne for the high. (Isaiah 57: 15)

The Road from Lostness

The Road from Lostness

By Richard Lineberry

We’re probably all familiar with the parallel of the lost sheep from Luke 15. The one sheep strays away from the flock and the shepherd leaves the 99 others long enough to search and find it and bring it home.

Jesus, of course, is the Good Shepherd who not only knows each of us by name but loves us. A good shepherd has great time and energy invested in the flock and certainly doesn't want any losses.

In Ezekiel 34, the prophet rebukes the “shepherds” of God’s people who were negligent in their leadership duties. They let their sheep (God’s people) wander around and be vulnerable to predators. They were poorly led and abused. God spoke harshly against them. They certainly were bad shepherds.

Jesus, praise the Lord, is the Good Shepherd. He lays down His life for us, not just once, but continually. When He finds us initially (our spiritual rebirth), He starts the long trip of taking us home. He places us with the rest of the flock (other believers) and heals the wounds we received from the kingdom of darkness.

Of course the former lost sheep has to cooperate with the program and not run away anymore. The Good Shepherd knows where to lead and the good sheep is traveling on the road out of lostness.

As we come into God’s Presence this morning, let’s expose our thanks for the skill of the Good Shepherd and ask for new grace to follow and know Him.