Posted by Pastor Bruce on June 3, 2010
Obeying on command is our goal as Christians. To obey all that the Lord (Our Master) orders us to do.
He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” (John 14:21 NKJV)
Our obedience to the Word of God is a direct reflection of how much we love and trust Jesus. There is no other way to “be happy in Jesus” but to trust and obey.
Obedience is almost non-existent in the day that we are living because there is very little submission to God. No submission, no honor, no respect and in turn no obedience. God expects us to obey not because we “have to”, but because He wants to manifest Himself to us and through us.
The way to experience a greater manifestation of God in your life is to find out what the Word of God says and obey it immediately…without hesitation. Obedience is not optional in the Kingdom of God. The Lord requires it and rewards it! Find out what the Lord wants you to do and do it, OBEY! There is no other way.
Posted by Pastor Bruce on May 3, 2010
What is greater than all sin?
Above all things have intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins [forgives and disregards the offenses of others]. – 1 Peter 4:8 AMP
The love of God is greater than all sin! Jesus’ love for us and in us will conquer any and every wrong.
1 Corinthians 13 says that one aspect of love is that it never fails and never quits (it never gets to a place where it gives up) Sure there are times where we want to give up but instead of giving up we would “tap into” the love of God on the inside of us…we would receive the strength that it takes to love and win!
The opposite of cover is expose. Love does not expose sin. It is not our job or calling in life to go around shining a light on every one’s sin to expose them. (we don’t go to the other extreme and pretend as though sin doesn’t exist either…) By “covering sin” the Bible means that we forgive, forget and look past the sin of others in order that we keep ourselves from judging and criticizing those that we see in sin. Jesus ministered to the woman that was caught in the act of adultery by saying “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.” There is no condemnation in Christ. Operate in the extreme love of God and release people from their sin. Allow the love of God on the inside of you to cover sin not expose it.
Posted by Pastor Bruce on April 29, 2010
What do you think will transform the church?
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. – 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NLT
The love of God manifested through the children of God will transform the Church of God!
“It (love) should be preached from the pulpit until every member of the congregation becomes love conscious, until it would be impossible for them to quarrel or say unkind things to one another.” – E.W. Kenyon
We are ordered to obey the love command by the Head of the Church, Jesus Christ. It is not an option but a holy command that when Jesus obeyed it, it allowed God the Father to restore the relationship between Himself and His most prized possession: mankind.
The Church is in the restoration business. Our job is to restore man to God. But we must be living a life of extreme love in order to accomplish the task that we have been given. We must obey the “love command” to a greater extent in order to see the Harvest come in. The Harvest that Jesus spoke about in Matthew 9:38 will only come in to the degree that the Church is living according to the commandment to love each other AS Jesus has loved us. We must get busy focusing on the love command and quit focusing on the things that do not matter.
Posted by Pastor Bruce on March 24, 2010
“If” is a big word to be so small.
Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; – John 8:31 (KJV)
Believing on Jesus does not make you a disciple. There is only one thing that will make you a disciple and that is continuing in the words of Jesus. Jesus said this. He made the distinction.
Many folks believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Fewer people actually become a disciple of Jesus.
A disciple means a follower. Someone that acts on the example and teachings of another. An apprentice is a follower of his mentor. To do what you have been taught to do. “Doing” is the difference.
Knowing what Jesus taught is good but doing what Jesus taught produces freedom. Being free requires acting on the truth. Truth acted upon produces freedom. The price of freedom is acting on the truth!
Don’t be satisfied with being just a believer. Continue in the truth of God’s Word, act like Jesus and experience the freedom that only the truth can provide. Be a disciple…do His word at all times…when it is convenient and when it is not convenient. Continue…
Posted by Pastor Bruce on March 16, 2010
Is it really all about you?!
For the others all seek [to advance] their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ (the Messiah). – Phillipians 2:21 (AMP)
How obvious is it that we live in a self-seeking, self-absorbed society? People are racing at the speed of sound to “get all they can out of life” under the guise of enjoyment and working desperately to make a name for themselves. Ever think about the phrase “name for yourself”? We are called by His Name to lift up His Name!
Jesus must become greater in our lives than we are. He must become the central focus in our lives and when He does the people that are looking at us will see Him shining so brightly that they will glorify our Heavenly Father (Matt. 5:16) … (not glorify us!).
Marketing has become the way of life in this generation. We market absolutely everything! (including water and oxygen!) We market ourselves and are in competition with ourselves to our own detriment. Whatever happened to “preferring one another before ourselves”? Or have we taken that out of “our version” of the Bible…? (Just a thought…)
Who are you promoting today? Do people glorify you or do they glorify God because of you? Our Father is expecting us to act like Jesus and when we do our interests become secondary and His interests become primary. We begin to look more like Him and in turn we are able to accomplish more of His will than our own. After all, isn’t that what it is all about? Not our will but His will be done in our lives? How are we measuring up?
Posted by Pastor Bruce on March 4, 2010
Face it, God would not ask you to do something that you could not do.
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” – Phillippians 4:13
Following God requires that you walk in His strength. His strength in us is His ability flowing through us by His Spirit.
There is nothing that you can not do that God is leading you to do.
For example, from His Word we can see that it is His will for us to love our spouse and our family. This can not be done through our own strength, it requires the power of God working in us. He does not expect us to fulfill His supernatural will with our natural means. Through God we can do all things.
You may feel like you can not do what you know that you should and what you know that God is asking you to do, but remember:
- God is just and can not ask you to do something that you can not do
- He wants you to rely on Him and His strength to do all that you must do
Don’t say that you can’t because through Him and with His strength, you can! Rise up in the power of His might and show all those around you that you can do it! Declare I CAN DO ALL THINGS through HIM!
Posted by Pastor Bruce on February 8, 2010
Get out of the boat!
He said, Come! So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water, and he came toward Jesus. – Matt. 14:29
Jesus is saying, “COME!…get out of the boat and walk on the water with Me!” You can do it, you were designed to do what Jesus did. We are fit for the task. Our Father has great faith in us because He put it there. He wants us to use it and the way that we use it is to get out of the boat and dare to walk on the water.
While the rest of the disciples sat in the boat watching Peter he was walking on the water with Jesus! (We tend to focus on the fact that he sank down into the water and Jesus had to help him back up and forget that he was the only one out of the disciples that did the impossible!)
Begin to ask God what He wants you to do that you haven’t done up to this point in your life. He is always calling us to go higher, reach farther and do what no one else has ever done! (of course He expects us to depend on Him by looking to Him for strength and ability beyond our natural ability) He wants to show Himself strong on our behalf and empower us to do the impossible, conquer the challenge and live as an over-comer! You can do it, look at Jesus, believe and get out of the boat!
Posted by Pastor Bruce on February 3, 2010
The Church is waking up!
Therefore He says, Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall shine (make day dawn) upon you and give you light. [Isa. 26:19; 60:1, 2.] Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise (sensible, intelligent people), – Ephesians 5:14-15 AMP
We must realize what time it is and wake up! Quit hitting the “snooze button” and get out of the bed.
Jesus is depending on us to do our part as His Body and begin to move toward the sick and lost. Have compassion on people and stretch out our hands to give help, healing and hope!
As these verses state we need to examine the way that we are living so that we are living with purpose. Also, we need to make sure that we are doing the Word and not just hearing it. Allow the Word to purge us and cleanse us in order to bear more fruit. We must put a premium on doing the Word in these days. But in order to do the Word you must first know the Word. Be students of the Word as 2 Timothy 2:15 says in order that we be not ashamed so that we can do the Word (James 1:22 and Joshua 1:8)
Let’s not let the Lord find us sleeping on the job (as He did when He asked a few of His disciples to pray just outside the garden of Gethsemane)…we need to wake up, look at the clock, stir up the gift in us and be about our Father’s business!
Posted by Pastor Bruce on February 1, 2010
Take a look at the switch…is it on, or off?
Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, – Eph 3:20 (KJV)
God wants do more than you can imagine for you but He is limited by the power that is at work within you. We say that “God can do anything that He chooses to do” but then we fail to remember that God has limited Himself to His Word. His will for us is clearly explained in His Word and in this day and age that we live in, He has given us the ability to decide. When we decide to do His Word, we are blessed…when we don’t do His Word, we are not blessed. (James 1:22)We have a responsibility.
ACCORDING TO…is a condition…that means “even as” or “as much as”. We are responsible to allow the power of God to operate in us. We do this when we knowledge Him in all our ways and believe Him in every situation. Faith is the key to receiving the promises of God. Find out in His Word what He has promised to you specifically then believe Him! Believing Him switches on the power! Go ahead
Posted by Pastor Bruce on January 28, 2010
At what time in history was obedience ever made optional?
“If you love me, you will obey my commandments” – John 14:15
Obedience is a manifestation of love. You can not truly say that you love God and habitually disobey His word. It just does not work.
Today’s society completely accepts that children have the right to tell their parents what to do and what they are going to do and not going to do. The world around us has protected the right to disobey authority and be OK with it. It is in one word REBELLION.
There is no where in the Bible that gives us the right to disobey God. We do not have the choice to obey or disobey God…IF we love Him. The question then becomes, “Do you love God?”. If so, we will see it in your complete and immediate obedience to His word.
Because He loves us He would never require us to do anything that would hurt us or anyone else. The Word says that His commandments are not grievous or burdensome. Jesus even went so far to say that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. He is not a hard taskmaster. Everything that He asks us to do is for our benefit…to help and bless us…and ultimately make us a bigger blessing.
How much would you say today that you love God?
