I just had to share this link. It is a wonderful addition to my previous post. Many thanks to Pastor Brad Williams. Read @ Sojourner.
For a closer look at what kind of busy we should be: check out Tyler's post @ Sons of the Prophets.
The book of Acts is one of my favorites. It is rich in historical data, sets forth the foundation of the New Testament Church, chronicles the exploits of the Apostles, and provides an overview of the life of Paul. For today's post, I want to use a portion of chapter 26; copied here from the KJV. Follow this link for the entire chapter.
16But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
17Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,
18To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
Here Paul recounts the words previously recorded in Acts 9:3-6 then elaborates a bit more on the message from Christ in verses 16 - 18. For our study today; I want to glean from the text some reasons Christ makes Himself known to us. Why He takes us out of the world just to send us back unto it.
No different than Paul; we all are called and empowered to be His witnesses. We must declare the same message as Paul, as we minister to the world .
Also worth mentioning: We must be knocked off of our "high horse"of sinfulness before we can be of use to the Lord. Secondly, we have to stand up/become attentive in order to receive instructions for salvation and ministry. We can't work in the Kingdom lying down!
Just a little background info related to my 08/10/07 post about the awesome conference I attended in NM. You may remember back in May I posted an e-mail from my father in the ministry. His name is Earl McQuitty and he is the senior pastor of Liberty Christian Fellowship. He is also the vice president of Vision Ministries which is headed by Pastor Wilford Carrasco.
It was springtime 1991. I had just moved to Colorado as a newly wedded transplant from TN. We were looking for a church home. After shopping* around a bit my husband suggested ____ in Aztec, NM. I don't remember the date, but I recall the experience. It was on a Sunday morning and we had arrived for morning worship service. As we crossed the threshold I felt the Presence of God and knew we had found home.
We were welcomed with smiles and hugs. The music was the old-time Pentecostal kind that I had enjoyed all my life. Pastor McQuitty preached the Truth with anointing and fire. We were invited back for the evening service. The only problem was that we lived 60 miles away.
Sister McQuitty said we could stay in the evangelist's quarters for the afternoon if we wanted to stay close until the evening service. We did and that was the beginning of a relationship that has grown dearer as the years have gone by.
We relocated to Aztec and found jobs locally. It wasn't very long before Pastor had put us to work in the church. He recognized God's call on our lives and began to train us in the ministry. Rather than try to sum it up in a post, I'll just list a few events to bring the story current.
Please remember Pastor McQuitty in your prayers. He has chronic back and foot pain that often hinders his pace. If I have any one earthly person to credit with success in ministry, it is Pastor Earl D. McQuitty.
* shopping is not the same as church hopping. Shoppers have their roots in the Lord and want a place to serve. Hoppers have little roots of any sort.
My how time flies! I did not realize that it had been 10 days since my last post. According to my sitemeter, some of you have been checking in regularly. So sorry for the lack of new material. I've had lots of laundry to catch up on since vacation. And we have been involved in a couple of outreach opportunities with our church. My sis over at BTIW tells me that traffic always slacks up in the summer but mine has been pretty consistent.
Thank you for your continued support. You will find my post for today at Beneath the Ivy Wreath's Worship Wednesday.
Writing a new post has dropped a few pegs on my priority list this week. Making preparations for a vacation trip has consumed much of my time. For some good reading, I offer this link. The letter was written in January 2007, but it is appropriate for the days we are living in. We need to preach the same message that John the Baptist preached. "Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand." BTW, I believe David Wilkerson is a true prophet of the Lord with a message for today.
There seems to be a lot of folks taking on-line personality tests these days. Many take them as I did, just for fun. Others may genuinely be interested in how they present themselves or how they are perceived. Still others may be seeking suggestions for changing unwanted personality traits.
Truthful answers are required for correct analysis. If a person’s evaluation of himself is skewed then the results of the personality test will be invalid. Often taking more than one type of test will yield better results.
Actually, you can put a label on your personality by simply asking another person to state their observations of you. What do they see when they look at you? What do they hear when they are listening to you? How do they feel when they are in your presence?
Much of what they will share will be based on external actions. Externals can be manipulated to suit the occasion. Stressful situations will often bring out the true condition of the heart. Personality is influenced by character and character by one's relationship with Christ.
“Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.” Matthew 7:17, 18 KJV
“A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things; and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.” Matthew 12:35 KJV
“What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become the servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.” Romans 6:21, 22 KJV
“But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.” James 3:17, 18 KJV
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such there is no law." Galatians 5:22, 23 KJV
