Thursday, July 29, 2010

Miracles of Intercession

I really encourage all to listen with full attention to Pastor Claude Houde's sermon (also posted on Times Square Church website) entitled The Miracle of Intercession (July 25). If you can, watch the video, not only the audio. I would memorize this message if I could! Don't miss a word he says! A word from the very heart of the Father...

"True Intercession: it always goes from Inspiration to Intercession... Will you stand between the living and the dead? ...Are you a Complainer? A Consumer? or a Combatant ...I am a Worshiper, but I am also called to be a Warrior."

Pay special attention to his powerful and clear message about having "one hand on God's shoulder, and another on man... One hand on God leads to Blindness, one hand on Man leads to Burnout. But one hand on God, another on man leads to Breakthrough!"

This message is a MUST for every child of God to understand and live in the miracle of Intercession.

Totally awesome. Totally convicting. Don't miss it.

I want to pray NOW!

Monday, July 26, 2010

The Habit of Bible Reading

I read this from Halley's Bible Handbook and it really goes well with what we learned in Bible Study yesterday.
It's a bit long but it's worth reading.
I hope this encourages us to read His Word. =)
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Everyone should love the Bible. Everybody should read the Bible.

Everybody.

It is God’s Word. It holds the solution of life. It tells about the best Friend humanity ever had, the noblest, kindest, truest Man who ever walked on this earth.

It is the most beautiful story ever told. It is the best guide to human conduct ever known. It gives a meaning, a glow, a joy, a victory, a destiny, and a glory to life elsewhere unknown.

There is nothing in history, or in literature, that in any way compares with the simple record of the Man of Galilee, who spent His days and nights ministering to the suffering, teaching human kindness, dying for human sin, rising to life that shall never end, and promising eternal security and eternal happiness to all who will come to Him.

Most people, in their serious mood, must have some question in their minds as to how things are going to stack up when the end comes. Laugh it off and toss it aside as we may, that day will come. And then what?

Well, it is the Bible that has the answer. And an unmistakable answer it is. There is a God. There is a heaven. There is a hell. There is a Savior. There will be a day of judgment. Happy is the person who in this life makes his or her peace with the Christ of the Bible and gets ready for the final takeoff.

How can any thoughtful person keep his or her heart from warming up to Christ and to the book that tells about Him? Everybody ought to love the Bible. Everybody. Everybody.

Yet the widespread of neglect of the Bible by churches and by the church people is simply appalling. Oh, we talk about the Bible, and defend the Bible, and praise the Bible, and exalt the Bible. Yes indeed! But many church members seldom ever even look into a Bible – indeed, would be ashamed to be seen reading the Bible. And an alarming percentage of church leadership generally seems to be making no serious effort to get people to be Bible readers.

We are intelligent about everything else in the world. Why not be intelligent about our religion? We read newspapers, magazines, novels, and all kinds of books, and listen to the radio and watch television by the hour. Yet most of us do not even know the names of the Bible books. Shame on us! Worse still, the pulpit, which could easily remedy the situation, seems often not to care and generally does not emphasize personal Bible reading.

Individual, direct contact with God’s Word is the principal means of Christian growth. All the leaders in Christian history who displayed any kind of spiritual power have been devoted readers of the Bible.

The Bible is the book we live by. Bible reading is the means by which we learn, and keep fresh in our minds, the ideas that mold our lives. Our lives are the product of our thoughts. To live right, we need to think right. We must read the Bible frequently and regularly so that God’s thoughts may be frequently and regularly in our minds; so that His thoughts may become our thoughts; so that our ideas may become conformed to God’s ideas; so that we may be transformed into God’s own image and be made fit for eternal companionship with our Creator.

We may, indeed, absorb Christian truth, in some measure, by attending religious services, listening to sermons, Bible lessons, and testimonies, and by reading Christian literature.

But however good and helpful these things may be, they give us God’s truth secondhand, diluted through human channels and, to quite an extent, obscured by human ideas and traditions.

Such things cannot possibly take the place of reading for ourselves the Bible itself, and grounding our faith and hope and life directly in God’s Word.

God’s Word is the weapon of the Spirit of God for the redemption and perfection of the human soul. It is not enough to listen to others talk and teach and preach about the Bible. We need to keep ourselves, every one of us, in direct touch with God’s Word. It is the power of God in our hearts.



Bible reading is a basic Christian habit.

We do not mean that we should worship the Bible as a fetish. But we do worship the God and the Savior the Bible tells us about. And because we love our God and our Savior, we love dearly and devotedly the book that is from Him and about Him.

Nor do we mean that the habit of bible reading is in itself a virtue, for it is possible to read the Bible without applying its teachings to one’s own life. And there are those who read the Bible and yet are mean and crooked and un-Christian. But they are the exception.

As a rule, Bible reading, if done in the right spirit, is a habit out of which all Christian virtues grow – the most effective character – forming power known to mankind.



Bible reading is an act of religious devotion. Our attitude toward the Bible is a pretty sure indication of our attitude toward Christ. If we love a person, we love to read about him or her, do we not? If we could only bring ourselves to think of our Bible reading as an act of devotion to Christ, we might be inclined to treat the matter less lightly.

It is a glorious thing to be a Christian. The most exalted privilege any mortal can have is to walk through life hand in hand with Christ as Savior and Guide. Or, to put it more correctly, to toddle along at His side and, though always stumbling, never letting go of His hand.

This personal relationship of each of us with Christ is one of the intimate things of life, and we do not talk much about it, probably because we often believe that we are pitifully unworthy to wear His name. Why would the Creator of all things care about me? But deep down in our hearts, in our serious moods, we know that because of our weakness, our worldliness, our frivolity, our selfishness, and our sins, we need Him more than we love anything else in this world. He is our Father. And in our saner moments we know that we should not willingly offend or hurt Him for anything. Why would we intentionally hurt the One who loves us and whom we love? We are thoughtless.

The Bible is the book that tells about Christ and His immeasurable love for us. Is it possibly to love Christ and at the same time be complacently indifferent to His Word? It is possible? Each one of us has to make daily choices – to serve Him and not the world. The Bible teaches us how!

The Bible is also the best devotional book. Booklets and books of daily devotions, now published in such abundance, may have their place. But they are no substitute for the Bible. The Bible is God’s own word, and no other book can take its place. Every Christian, young and old, should be a faithful reader of the Bible.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Spiritual Depression

God is truely all knowing and understanding~! I stuggle with depression and I hate being alone. I have been parranoid and in fear of failure and I was so distracted when all God wanted me to do is keep my eyes on Jesus. I realized I also fear depression because of my past. I was in denial and self sufficient. God revealed and convicted to me through the sermon the prophet's attitude how he was self sufficient in fear of his life and some issues that weren't dealt with that I didn't want to. When my troubles and worries are big God will always be small but when my God is big my troubles and worries are tiny. One thing that really stuck to me is that Elijiah knew God and even if he saw the mountain and fire ect what caused him to cover His face was God Himself.The spiritual depression was an oppurtunity to get closer to God for this man. What really drawed me closer was when i reread the passage. God speaks to Elijiah in a soft and tender way with love. He was a gentleman with him because God isn't t tamemaster. He could've said "Go back to where I told you to go! You didn't do wrong" But in His own special way he approach Elijiah asking why is he there and waited patiently until he realized what he done wrong. I won't stay depressed because it is clearly an oppurtunity to know God and be intimate with Him and the struggles that are here and coming to know Him are good kind and I must press on with Jesus the author and perfector of our faith. God will have great delight in us even in our stuggles because we are trying to know Him but ONE THING THAT WAS CLEAR WAS TO NEVER GIVE UP ~!!! to KEEP PRESSING ONWARD because it is worth it and there is greater hope in OUR Savior than anything in the world. Thank you God for your unconditional and unfailing love~!

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Golden Bells

There was an old bridge. Worn by time and weathered by the climate. The end of the bridge was unseen to the naked eye. Only the bold would spur on the path. One misstep could mean death, for beneath it was a long way down, down in the rapids of the river. But what was scarier was the unfamiliar territory beyond the bridge, even more so than the rushing waters beneath. And on this bridge there was a sign, that read, “Treasure at other end. Come and take!”
But most who passed by disregarded it and disbelieved it.

One day three travelers read the sign and with much boldness decided to take the journey to the unknown. They chose to take the path. They steadied themselves and made their way closer and closer to the bridge. With deep breaths they embarked on the journey ahead in search of treasures. With each step the fear of the surrounding dissipated. And confidence and exhilaration arose in their hearts. But something even more wonderful started happening, something magical. Instantly, the rust of the bridge had faded and the bridge had transformed. As they looked back the way they came, they noticed that the bridge was no longer the old bridge. The bridge had turned to gold. The beauty amazed them.

The bridge had been a magic bridge.
The only way to unlock the magic was a choice, a choice to travel – to journey beyond. All their fears had now vanished. And as they walked, each new step came with more assurance and hope.

Oh, what could be waiting on the other side!


When they finally crossed over, they were taken aback in astonishment!
Was this all real!
The place was a gold mine!
The only thing you saw were bells – GOLDEN BELLS.
The entire land was filled with these golden bells.
Not one, not a hundred, and not even thousands, but an endless provision of golden bells.

But the first traveler’s face was downcast.
Disappointed he voiced,

“I traveled, not for gold
Nor for fame, but of another
A desire for wonder – adventure and more
For riches & wealth, I already possess”


He returned the way he came. The magic of the journey had been lost and he never desired to come across the bridge again.

But the second traveler was filled joy!
In joy he said,

“Alas, the treasures, how marvelous
I searched and searched, for this place
For I knew, the bridge was no ordinary
Full of magic, of wonder and more
In awe I stand, in love I am”


He took with him five golden bells and placed them in his backpack and journeyed back home. He exchanged the golden bells for food and clothes. He shared his wealth with the entire town. And he would return each new day to replenish all his needs.

Now the third traveler, stood bewildered. Such a beautiful and enchanting bridge, yet why the golden bells? What could this mean! There has to be something more! He walked around troubled by the meaning of this place. But as he walked further in, he noticed a golden well which had been surrounded by all the golden bells. What a strange place for a well! Perplexed he went over to look inside. It was not filled with water as you would expect, but something peculiar. It had been filled with keys – golden keys. He picked one key and also one bell and sat down. He was flustered and agitated. He stared intently at the bell hoping for a keyhole to make it fit. But no such luck. What good is a key without doors?

In frustration he hit the bell with the golden key.

GONG.

GONG.

GONG.

The gongs rang and rang. The sound was beautiful, magical.
The air became lighter. He became lighter. He felt as if he was being lifted with each new gong. And then the gong had stopped and all the magic seemed to have stopped as well. He tried to ring the bell again, but no sound came forth . He went and grabbed another bell and tried again. This time the gong came, louder and louder it rang. And he was lifted, lifted high with the gongs, to a place he had never seen. And this place had a golden door. He used the key to unlock the door.
Behind the door, he saw!

He proclaimed,

“In wonder and amazement
My heart’s desire; standing – standing here
From youth til now, long-suffering, how I have searched
The very thing, I have found
Which magic has brought me,
To meet you now; here and forever
Could there be, any other
More gracious, more worthy
Utter peace, pureness – sweeter than any
In bended knee, worship, worship"


And the voice spoke back,

“Grace is here
And everywhere, nowhere scarce;
In plentiful, never to disappear;
As long as the sun shines,
As long as the moon glows.
Waiting to make known,
It will always be.
Grace is waiting
Longing to give, to embrace the one
Willing to see, that which is hidden
Repentance is key, to unlock grace
For grace is veiled, concealed to sight
Clouded by darkness, from within you
For grace will touch,
one who unlocks, revealing truth”


“Grace has opened, from heaven above
now taste and see
blessings poured, overflow
Immeasurable, uncontained
For the one, the seeker who comes”


The third traveler enjoyed his time with the ONE and came back every day to receive one blessing after another.