4/3/2018

John 11:23-28 (KJV) ²³  Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. ²⁴  Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. ²⁵  Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: ²⁶  And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? ²⁷  She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world. ²⁸  And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee.

Here, in John 11 we see a fine example of Faith. All Christians have faith, the faith that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, the faith that we will live in Heaven after we die or go in the rapture, however many of us or lacking the faith that God wants us to have in our daily lives.

Martha knew that Lazarus was going to live in Heaven. She believed that whatsoever Jesus said was the truth, not just part of it, all of it. Jesus reaffirmed her faith when he said; “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.”

Martha had the faith of “if Jesus said it, it is so” and her brother’s death did not shake it. Notice that it does not state that she was weeping or crying where it does state that Mary was weeping. Who had the greater faith?

Martha knew that all was well with her brother, Mary needed more than just Jesus’ word, she needed to see his word in action. In verse 45 it states, “many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.” Ask yourself, “Do I believe by faith or because of what I see?”

In Luke 10:38-42 it states that Mary was the one that sat at Jesus’ feet and had Jesus say that she had “chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” Martha was the one that went about doing what needed to be done to see to Jesus’ comfort.

I believe that we need to be a combination of both Martha and Mary. We need Martha’s “know so” faith and Mary’s strong desire to know more about God. We need to continually study and learn more about God until the day we die, while keeping that “know so” faith that God is in control and all is well with us.

C.I. Wilson

3/31/2018

Celebration of Praise and Brother & Sister Wingrove welcomed a church full of friends and fellow ministers at their Anniversary Celebration today. There was music, singing, praising God, prayer and even an offering for the new sanctuary.

God was moving in the service in a way that caused several people that I overheard, comment on how nice it was to feel the power and presence of God moving. God not only moved during the multiple testimonies that people gave, he also moved during the singing.

We started with some congregational singing, led by Sister Carrie Conway and let me tell you she picked out some good old-fashioned songs, ones that spoke to the heart. Then we moved on to the special singers. Almost everyone there was a special singer. You wanted to sing, you became a special singer. They were all good.

Brother Wingrove took the time to let each of our General Board members stand and tell how God is working in their lives (good testimonies).

Brother Gibbs felt led to allow God the opportunity to reach down and do a work for the people that wanted something from God, from their health to their pocketbook. Several people commented to me that they were believing on God to meet their needs.

After everyone got their soul fed they gathered in the fellowship hall to enjoy some fine Christian fellowship and some good food.

If you missed this anniversary celebration, you missed some good singing, testimonies, moving of God's spirit, food and fellowship. If the Lord tarries, you might want to make their next one.

C.I. Wilson

3/30/2018

It’s impossible to make forward progress on a merry-go-round.

When we get off, it’s even worse. Our sense of balance swirls around us, and we can’t walk a straight line if we try. We stumble, fall down, and we require a helping hand if we want to stand.

Life without Christ is much the same. Unexpected events spin us around, our sense of direction twirls out of control, and we can no longer get back on track.

We’re lost, stumbling through life, simply trying not to fall down.

Philippians 2:13 says we’ve got a helping hand reaching our way:

“For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

Through financial disasters, God has a plan to bring us through.

When our health fails, God offers his healing.

In fractured relationships, God is still there, pointing us to a good end.

We must remember the words we read in Phlippians: God works in us for his good pleasure. Our God who loves us never wants us to come to a bad end.

When our focus is on Jesus, our path will always lead toward him.

Copyright © 2018 MyChurchNotes.net

Used by permission of the author: Farley L. Dunn

3/29/2018

 “Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” John 9:3

In Biblical days, if you were sick or disabled they judged you and said you have sinned or else, in the case of the disability being from birth, your parents sinned. Nowadays people, even church people, had a tendency, to judge you and wonder what you have done wrong not just if you are sick, disabled but also if you are poor or have financial problems.

We do not know why things happen to people, there are many things that we do not know and may never know about others. It could be a poor decision that was made, it could be genetics, and it could be a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. We should not judge people and treat them differently.

After receiving his healing the people noticed and then the man’s trial began. It started with his neighbors; they could not believe what had happened, so they asked him. When the man answered with the truth, they did not believe him and took him to the Pharisees. Again, the man told what happened and at this point, it almost seems like they interrogated him. The Pharisees could not agree and come to a consensus about it. It almost seems they thought he was lying then or had been faking it all his life.

They called his parents, and I really like their answer: “²⁰  His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind: ²¹  But by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself." John 9:20-21

Even today, if we ask someone about something and we do not believe their answer we go and ask others that we think should know the answer. They were afraid of the “Jews” and knew that if they told something that the Pharisees did not like they would then be in trouble. However, their answer is one that we need to use today when people ask us about someone else. “…ask him: he shall speak for himself.”

If we would let people speak for themselves then we cannot be accused of speaking out of turn because we may not know the whole story and would just be repeating what others are saying and they may not be speaking the whole story either.

Please, take the time to read John chapter 9. Then let God speak to you.

C.I. Wilson

3/27/2018

John 8:4-11 (KJV) ⁴  They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. ⁵  Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? ⁶   This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. ⁷  So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. ⁸  And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. ⁹  And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. ¹⁰  When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? ¹¹   She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

Who condemns us? God does not condemn us neither does Jesus or the Holy Ghost. All the way through the Bible God shows us that he loves us and wants us to spend eternity in Heaven with him, Jesus and the Holy Ghost.

Now we are convicted by our own conscience, our sense of right and wrong, and we were taught the difference between right and wrong from the time we were toddlers all the way to the present. First by our family, then by those placed in authority over us, teachers, police officers, politicians, even our bosses.

We condemn, convict and send ourselves to hell. All Jesus does is forgives us of our sins and tells us to “go and sin no more.”

By: C.I. Wilson