Milk of the word

As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye ma grow thereby.
1 Peter 2:2

A whole lot to say on this, but simply want to thank the Lord for a renewed desire to be in His word more and more.

Love not the World

And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honor thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.
(Mar 10:17-22)


This young man seemed to be full of great zeal to do what was right. After all, he came RUNNING to Jesus. And as Jesus begins to remind him of the commandments, he acknowledges that he had observed those things since he was a youth. But then Jesus points out "One thing thou lackest".

We must be careful in feeling good about "following" all the commandments. Serving Christ is not about checking things off of a list, but about serving Him with all of our heart. One small part of our heart not sold out to Him means we are lacking. I don't want to be found falling short of His desires for my life. Lord help us not to coming running, eager with zeal, but to have to go away in sadness because there is something in this world that we love more that our Saviour.

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.
(1Jn 2:15-17)

Not Understanding

And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ. And he charged them that they should tell no man of him. And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.
(Mar 8:29-33)

Peter is found here in a situation many people find themselves in, not understanding God's plan. He had just stated that he believed Jesus was "the Christ". Peter's view of who the Christ was to be, as with many of the Jews, was totally different than what God's plan for Christ was. The Jewish people were looking for a political-military deliverer. Someone who would make them an independent nation once again. God's will was to send someone to deliver them spiritually!

How often do we look for God to do one thing, when He is really wanting to do something else? We pray and read our Bibles, and are just sure that God is going to do "A", when His will is that "B" happens.

To avoid this, we must do what Peter was not doing in the passage above. We must LISTEN to the Master. Jesus, in describing what would happen, was trying to clear up their misconceptions on what He was there for. Yet Peter, the very one who had just stated that He was the Messiah, rebuked him ?!

Let our prayer be, Lord help me to listen to You!

We must not stay

And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it;
(Mar 7:32-36)

Above is one of the many instances where Christ touched someone's life, and told them not to be telling anyone, and yet they could not contain themselves because of the wonderful things that had been done for them. It seems that all too often Christians find themselves in the opposite situation. Christ has come set us free from the burden of sin and from the despair of this life. He has commanded us
Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. And yet we contain what He has done for us without telling others like we should.

May God help us to be as Jeremiah and sayBut his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.

Traditions

Mar 7:1 Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem. And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault. For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brazen vessels, and of tables. Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands? He answered and said unto them, Well hath Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.


Tradition, the thing that is so often upheld by the past and disdained by the future. Not all tradition is bad, but when we are talking about serving God, we must be careful how we approach tradition. We must not simply throw it aside, for often there is some principle or reason behind it. Unfortunately, over time even some of the best principles and reasons behind things, do not keep the traditions from being twisted and distorted into something never intended in the beginning. As well as the fact that many times, traditions have simply formed out of someone's preference for one thing over another.

We must be careful that we do not judge others by our traditions. Secondly, we should examine our traditions and make sure that they are biblical, not making commandments out of man's opinions and ideas, no matter how well intentioned.

2Co 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

We should prove those things that we hold most dear, lest satan turn it into a snare somehow.

New Lens

Click Here

The above is something new I am trying out in an attempt to gather various media and information about TCOG across the web into one place. In addition, over time it will help generate some income which I am intending at this time to direct towards our World Missions. So, stop by and give it a look. There are links to podcasts and videos from various of our ministers and churches. Eventually, I plan on having different pictures from different events across the country and hopefully globe, as well as links to every website that any of our churches have up and running. Check back often as I hope to have it updated frequently.

Let not your hearts be hardened!

And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered. For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened. Mark 6:51-52

We find the disciples in a situation where Jesus had just fed over five thousand people with a few loves and fishes. The food had multiplied dramatically so that there was quite a bit more left over when everyone was done eating, than there had been when they began to eat! And yet the Bible tells us that the disciples hearts were hardened! They were amazed that Jesus was able to walk on water and that the wind obeyed Him. I am sure that none of us would think that we would ever be in the same situation. That is, God performing a wonderful miracle before our eyes, and then being amazed that He has the power to do an even greater miracle. Yet, if we are not careful this is the very situation we will find ourselves in. Praying and receiving a miracle, and then not being able to comprehend how He can do something even greater.


Eph 3:20 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,

He has the ability to go so far beyond what we can think that it will blow our minds! Let us trust in Him to provide whatever the situation.

Signs

And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. Mark 16:17,18


And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation. Mark 8:11,12

Contrast the two passages above. In the first, Jesus describes to His disciples the signs that will FOLLOW those that believe on Him. In the second, we see where those SEEKING a sign(for their own personal reasons) were denied a sign. In doing a simple concordance search for the words- sign(s)- you will find that this was not the only place that those opposing Jesus were searching for some sign to verify His authority and power. We should not seek for signs to validate our anointing, ministry, etc. Rather the signs should follow us as we labor for Him. When we believe on Him, follow after His will, and seek Him then the signs follow.

Let us seek Him rather than seeking signs.

Balance

The Word demonstrates that we must have balance in our lives. One instance that I came across recently that spoke of this to me is in Mark 6.

And they went out, and preached that men should repent. And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them. Mark 6:12,13

The preached against sin and also went about healing and casting out devils. It seems that too many in Christianity tend towards one extreme or the other. They want to preach the Truth, but fail to enact it. Others want to show love by physically being in the community and doing works, but fail to tell them the truth or repentance.

As The Church of God we must make sure that we do BOTH. We must preach the Word unwavering, but the preaching must be backed up by God to confirming it, i.e. signs of His anointing, working. Otherwise, we are just preaching the letter of the law, with no Spirit to convict and compel the people.

Created for HIS pleasure

Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. Revelation 4:11

God created EVERYTHING that ever has been, that is, and that ever will be. He is the almighty creator. Just as importantly, it is for His pleasure that things are created. Think about it, Gen. 1:27 tells us that we are created in His own image. We are created in the image of God.

So, we are 1)created in the image of God, and 2)created for His pleasure.

When the world around seems to count as of little worth, remember how you were created and why.