1/7/2018

Matthew 9:35-38 (KJV)
³⁵  And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
³⁶  But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
³⁷  Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;
³⁸  Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.

While reading, these words stood out to me, Jesus went all around in the big cities, the small cities and in the country visiting with the people. Jesus knew that the people in the country were different from those in the small cities as well as those in the large cities. Jesus recognized the differences but he mainly saw their sameness. Jesus saw the need that they all had alike, the need of salvation.

Now Jesus was just one person, he had a following, and it was not just the twelve disciples. Jesus saw the need for a multitude of workers and he saw that they were needed at that time however he also saw the need down through the years to the present time. In verse 38 he gave us a commission; “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.”

Are we praying that God will send laborers or are we praying God send others just not me? If we pray that God will send workers, it might be us. God wants us working for him wherever he has a need for us and not just were we want to go.

Lord thank you for loving us enough that you sent someone to us so that we might hear about you; give us the boldness of being that someone to others. Thank you for loving us enough that you sent Jesus to earth to show us the way and for each one of the men who wrote our Bible so we might meet Jesus. Thank you for caring enough for our souls to make the way for us, today, to know of your home and that we are invited to come and live with you throughout eternity. Amen.

This morning while I was doing my devotionals God brought this to my attention, then hours later while watching the Swaggart channel, Gabriel Swaggart read his text and my husband said it was the same text as what God gave me this morning. God will confirm things that he tells us by using scripture or someone else and I feel this is confirmation that we need to be praying for his will in our lives and then doing what he says in the Bible and to us personally while we meditate on his Word.

C.I. Wilson

1/5/2018

A story tells that two friends were walking through the desert.

At a specific point of the journey, they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face.

The one, who got slapped, was hurt, but, without anything to say,he wrote in the sand:

“TODAY, MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE.”

They kept walking, until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath.

The one who got slapped and hurt started drowning, and the other friend saved him.

When he recovered from the fright, he wrote on a stone,

“TODAY, MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE.”

The friend who saved and slapped his best friend, asked him,

“Why, after I hurt you, you wrote in the sand, and now you write on a stone?”

The other friend, smiling, replied:

“When a friend hurts us, we should write it down in the sand, where the winds of forgiveness

get in charge of erasing it away, and when something great happens, we should engrave it in the stone

of the memory of the heart, where no wind can erase it.”

LEARN TO WRITE IN THE SAND……

Author Unknown

1/3/2018

Matthew 4:23-24 (KJV)
²³  And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
²⁴  And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.

Jesus never pastored a church in a building or on television, however he preached to a congregation that was different every time. The crowds followed him from place to place, wherever he went. He could have been like some evangelist that I have heard of, that have a set of sermons and preached those sermons at every revival; however, our Bible shows us Jesus was not that way.

Jesus met the needs of each person who came to hear him preach and a lot accepted what they heard. Matthew 4:23 states that Jesus healed all manner of sickness and all manner of disease, which tells me that if you are sick or have a disease you can receive your healing from him. I think the Bible puts it that way because we know today that you can have a disease and not be sick. Diabetes is such a disease, if you watch what to eat you can live a lifetime in health, however, if you do not you can be sick.

Verse 24 adds torments. How many Christians are tormented in modern times; I have no idea about others, just myself and those that I meet. Parents whose children are not serving God are tormented by the actions of those children. Adults who do not know how to manage their finances are tormented by bill collectors. Jesus healed the tormented then and he can do it today. If, we let him, Jesus can and will bring peace to each tormented person that comes to him and lets him do his will in their lives.

Heavenly Father, Thank you for letting us know that you are with us and will not leave us no matter what comes our way. Thank you for letting us know when we stray from you and your will for us. I ask you to bless your children this year, as they grow closer to you with health, peace of mind, love and joy. May you be the most important person in their lives. Amen.

C.I. Wilson

January 1, 2018

Mark 11:25-26 (KJV)
²⁵  And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
²⁶  But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

It is so easy, to slip by things like forgiveness, because it is not an outward sin, that most can see; of course, sometimes you can see it, by an attitude or discernment by the Spirit. The best definition I have ever heard of not forgiving is like, drinking poison and hoping the other person dies.

The New Year, or even at Thanksgiving is a good time for me to look back over the year, and see what I have or have not done to fulfill and obey what the Lord would have me do and say; and come clean from it all. Whether it is something I have put off, or neglected, or even a slack at letting things/life hinder my Prayer time/fellowship with the Lord, and reading the Word of God. I like to think of my Bible and Prayer time as my nutrition and strength from the Lord, to keep me on the right track and my heart right with my Heavenly Father.

I do not want anything to hinder my daily walk with the Lord. Nothing. A few verses above these, the Lord Jesus is teaching on having Faith, he also teaches us on giving, and that before you leave your gift/offering, go to the one, and make things right, and then bring your offering to the Lord. Our heart right with the Lord is the greatest gift we can give, and then we can offer our gifts in money, the Word and deeds. Blessed are the Peacemakers. Matthew 5.

I pray the Lord bless you and keep us all in 2018, to walk in His fullness everyday.

Sister Patricia Bell

Family Christian Center Church   Madill, Oklahoma

December 25, 2017

Luke 2:10-14 (KJV)
¹⁰  And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
¹¹  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
¹²  And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
¹³  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
¹⁴  Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

What a way to announce the birth of a son. We announce births in many different ways. Some do it by card, some by email, twitter or text. Some do it in person but the shepherds had a choir deliver their announcement. The Holy Ghost informed Simeon that the child Jesus was going to be in the Temple that day so he was in place to bless him. Anna was so close to God by prayer and fasting that when she heard Simeon she instantly knew who this child was.

At the time of his birth, God also sent an announcement to the world and a group of scholars or wise men noticed this announcement, a star. They followed the star until they came to Jerusalem and then they asked directions, for he was no longer in the stable. This information came to the notice of King Herod. It seems that the king received his announcement almost two years later than the shepherds did.

Today you would think that all the people would know what we are celebrating today, after all we have lived with Christmas on the television for a month, and special decorations have been in the stores for a while, in some stores since October. Yet we have not used all this publicity to invite the people to meet Jesus on a first name basis.

Let us make a stronger effort in the next twelve months to spread the word about this wonderful birth so that next Christmas there will be more people telling Jesus: Happy Birthday.

C.I. Wilson