ePIC: "Lifting Up"

   

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Wisdom with Brother Taylor

 Wisdom with Brother Taylor

• To know the peace of God we must take time to know the God of peace.
• Success is having contentment and peace with God, and knowing you are doing His will.
• It is meekness that communicates strength in life.  If you have to always be in control of everything, you are a weak person.
• Worship must be more than outward passion, it must also be inward devotion.
• We must take God seriously and trust him completely.
• Life IN Christ we have endless hope.  Life without Christ we have an hopeless end.
• Flattery is saying things to a persons face that you would not say behind their back.
• Love is the giving of ourselves, to the benefit of others.
• Love must be as much a light as it is a flame.
• The main Characteristic of Love is unselfish giving.

Brother Taylor

8 Days of Mother's Day (One isn't Enough)

8 Days of Mother's Day (One isn't Enough)

   You may not have ever heard of it, It’s something I came up with a few years ago.  It is designed for all the married men out there, Mother’s Day is to honor your Mother, but “8 Days of Mother's Day” (One isn't Enough) is to honor your Wife!!!  From the Sunday prior (this year May 1^st – May 8^th) to Mother’s Day love on your wife with things she wants to do, each of those days do something for her, that she normally does, help with the burden of all she does to balance out the home.  Examples: Get her flowers, cook her diner, draw a candlelit bath, give her a massage, rub her feet, tell her sit down, you’ll clean the house today, or do the laundry, be creative, but most of all, each day, let her know how much you love her.

    I was discussing this at work with a friend, and he said it would be a good idea to put it out there for Christian men, he did it last year and was going to do it again this year!  I happened to see the “Royal Wedding” today at work on break and was telling someone that, that was very extravagant, many people may get much notoriety because of their status, but the only status that will impress me, is IF they are still in love 40 years from now like many couples who have a humble status, that’s a greater honor!!!

“Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.” 1 Cor 7:3

Maranatha!

Doulos D

Focus on JESUS

   Focus on JESUS

   Moses, Elijah, Samuel, James, John, Peter and the Apostle Paul, just to name a few of some of the great men of God recorded in the Bible.  Though these Apostles and Prophets are part of the foundation upon which the faith is laid, they are not the Chief Cornerstone (Jesus).  Some, get side tracted and easily forget that God’s grand goal is not to conform us into the image of the Apostle Paul or Elijah, but to conform us into “the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29) “….unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:” (Eph 4:13) (1 John 3:2-3; Phil 3:21; Eph 4:24; 2 Cor 3:18; 1 Cor 15:49; Rom 13:14)

  From time to time we need to examine ourselves to see IF we are really becoming more and more LIKE Jesus, not our denominations or favorite personalities.  I know of people who get so involved and fixated on error, cults, judgments and false religions, (and not that these things are not important or even critical) that they veer off the God called straight path and become more LIKE someone their hanging around rather than LIKE Jesus.  And that’s possible for anyone to fall into, so I’m not accusing or excusing, but it’s EASY to get caught up with people you hand around with, the momentum of a crowd, even perhaps like the crowd that was present along the Villa Del La Rosa, we need to be careful that we don’t get sucked into the crowd yelling crucify Him.  I’m reminded of the instance in the Gospel of Luke 9:53-56, where the disciples James and John seemed eager to command fire to come down from Heaven and consume the people for rejecting Jesus, but Jesus, “… he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them.” (Luke 9:55-56)  Some people can’t speak of the goodness of God that leads men to repentance (Romans 2:4), all their filled with is pending judgment (Hebrew 9:27), and how God is angry with the wicked every day, (Psalm 7:11)  And though these things are facts, I never see the comparison of themselves in the same manner with Jesus when they convey it!  That’s the scary thing!!  They’re religious, full of zeal, but no likeness of Christ as expressed in the Gospels!!!  One might say, wait, Jesus eyes are a flame of fire in the Book of Revelation.  That’s true, but, when He walked upon this earth the 1^st time, in the image which we are to follow, He was full of mercy, grace and truth, seeking to SAVE that which is lost, He went about doing good healing all that were oppressed by the devil, the evidence of the fruit of the Spirit was overflowing in His life (Gal 5:22-23; Eph 5:9)  Compassion towards those broke and beaten down by sin, His words were seasoned with grace unto the hearers!  Warnings of Hell were to everybody but the stern warnings of Jesus of damnation and hell were always to those who held the truth in unrighteousness, the hypocrites, the self righteous, not to the crushed and repenting.

  

   I remember a story of a husband who heard two different preachers years apart preach on Hell and who goes there.  The first time, he heard the message, but didn’t surrender his life to Jesus, the second time he heard a similar message, and he did!  His wife asked him about it, knowing the 2 occasions, what was the difference?  The difference was, he replied, the first preacher proclaimed it, but sounded as if he wanted me to go there!  The second proclaimed the same thing, but sounded as if he didn’t want me to go there! 

   Brethren, In wrath, remember mercy, remember that God is still “…not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) “Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?” (Ezek 33:11)

WWJD is not a far fetched idea to consider when we interact with people in communicating the Gospel.

Maranatha!

Doulos D

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Treasure IN Heaven

Treasure in Heaven

(Matthew 19:21; Mark 10:21; Luke 12:33; Luke 18:22)

   Stock Market?  Gold?  Bonds?  CD’s?  Lottery? Retirement?  Savings?  401k?  IRA?

In an economy as unstable as the worlds economy is, it would be nice to know of a place where there is a sure investment, some stability to sustain you in the tempestous times.  Many secularists are more and more pointing people to buy gold, and so far, yes that has been a good investment, BUT, there is something far more better than gold or silver to invest in!  In fact, as good as gold or silver is, the Holy Bible declares that  “Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD's wrath; …” Zephaniah 1:18 “They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.” Ezekiel 7:19    

    There goes the gold and silver, even that will be worth very little in the days ahead! The Holy Bible goes onto say, “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.”  1 Tim 6:17-19

The best investment anyone can make outside of being born again is helping those in need!!!

• “ I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20:35
• “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.” Prov 19:17
• “But godliness with contentment is great gain(look that up in the greek sometime). For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.”  1 Tim 6:6-8
• “(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” Matt 6:32-34

   What good is gold or silver anyway to a dying man?  I could name some things a dying man would like to have or would have liked to have or done prior to his dying, 99.9% of people wouldn’t ask for more temporal riches on their death bed. 

 “Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?

And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.

For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.

But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning;

And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.

Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.

And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.

And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through.

Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.”

Luke 12:27-40

Maranatha!!!

Doulos D

Revival: Stir US O God!!!

We' are changing the order of service for Sunday nights to "Stir US O God" If are in the Tampa Bay area and want to have a visitation of God for True Revival, you are welcome to join us @ 6:00PM as we study Revival's over the past century and seeking God till He comes!!!

• Revival: Stir US O God
• Revival: Stir US O God  pt 2

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How to find Rest for your Soul!!!!

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Great passage of Scripture!  Come unto me (Jesus) is the 1^st step to achieving this rest.  Step 2 and 3 are found in the next verse, (Step 2) Take my yoke upon you, (after a born again experience, we don’t walk away from Him, waving bye and saying thanks for saving me, we hand the reins of our lives over to our redeemer.)  Step 3 and learn of me; (Everyone born again is called to be a disciple, and through reading and studying of the Scripture, prayer and assembling together with other believers as a body, we learn of Jesus, how we can be victorious and sustain peace and rest for our souls, even in perilous times as this) for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.  

Matthew 11:28-30

Wisdom on Riches

Wisdom on Riches

• Prov 10:22  The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.

• Prov 11:4  Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death.

• Prov 11:28 He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch.

• Prov 13:7   There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.

• Prov 14:21  He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he.

• Prov 14:31  He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.

• Prov 15:16 Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith.

• Prov 16:8 Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right.

• Prov 16:16  How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!

• Prov 17:5  Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished.

• Prov 19:1 Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.

• Prov 19:17  He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.

• Prov 22:4   By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.

• Prov 23:4-5  Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.

• Prov 28:6  Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich.

• Prov 28:11  The rich man is wise in his own conceit; but the poor that hath understanding searcheth him out.

• Prov 28:20  A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.

• Prov 28:22  He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.

• Prov 28:27   He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”  Eccl 12:13-14

The OLD CROSS versus The NEW CROSS

THE OLD CROSS AND THE NEW
by A.W. Tozer, 1946

Man: The Dwelling Place Of God, Published 1966 -

ALL UNANNOUNCED AND MOSTLY UNDETECTED there has come in modem times a new cross into popular evangelical circles. It is like the old cross, but different: the likenesses are superficial; the differences, fundamental.

From this new cross has sprung a new philosophy of the Christian life, and from that new philosophy has come a new evangelical techniques new type of meeting and a new kind of preaching. This new evangelism employs the same language as the old, but its content is not the same and its emphasis not as before.

The old cross would have no truck with the world. For Adam's proud flesh it meant the end of the journey. It carried into effect the sentence imposed by the law of Sinai. The new cross is not opposed to the human race; rather, it is a friendly pal and, if understood aright, it is the source of oceans of good clean fun and innocent enjoyment. It lets Adam live without interference. His life motivation is unchanged; he still lives for his own pleasure, only now he takes delight in singing choruses and watching religious movies instead of singing bawdy songs and drinking hard liquor. The accent is still on enjoyment, though the fun is now on a higher plane morally if not
intellectually.

The new cross encourages a new and entirely different evangelistic approach. The evangelist does not demand abnegation of the old life before a new life can be received. He preaches not contrasts but similarities. He seeks to key into public interest by showing that Christianity makes no unpleasant demands; rather, it offers the same thing the world does, only on a higher level. Whatever the sin-mad world happens to be clamoring after at the moment is
cleverly shown to be the very thing the gospel offers, only the religious product is better.

The new cross does not slay the sinner, it redirects him. It gears him into a cleaner and jollier way of living and saves his self-respect. To the self-assertive it says, "Come and assert yourself for Christ." To the egotist it says, "Come and do your boasting in the Lord." To the thrillseeker it says, "Come and enjoy the thrill of Christian fellowship." The Christian message is slanted in the direction of the current vogue in order to make it acceptable to
the public.

The philosophy back of this kind of thing may be sincere but its sincerity does not save it from being false. It is false because it is blind. It misses completely the whole meaning of the cross.

The old cross is a symbol of death. It stands for the abrupt, violent end of a human being. The man in Roman times who took up his cross and started down the road had already said goodby to his friends. He was not coming back. He was going out to have it ended. The cross made no compromise, modified nothing, spared nothing; it slew all of the man, completely and for good. It did not try to keep on good terms with its victim. It struck cruel and bard, and when it had finished its work, the man was no more.

The race of Adam is under death sentence. There is no commutation and no escape. God cannot approve any of the fruits of sin, however innocent they may appear or beautiful to the eyes of men. God salvages the individual by
liquidating him and then raising him again to newness of life.

That evangelism which draws friendly parallels between the ways of God and the ways of men is false to the Bible and cruel to the souls of its bearers. The faith of Christ does not parallel the world, it intersects it. In coming to
Christ we do not bring our old life up onto a higher plane; we leave it at the cross. The corn of wheat must fall into the ground and die.

We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or modem education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum.

God offers life, but not an improved old life. The life He offers is life out of death. It stands always on the far side of the cross. Whoever would possess it must pass under the rod. He must repudiate himself and concur in God's just sentence against him.

What does this mean to the individual, the condemned man who would find life in Christ Jesus? How can this theology be translated into life? Simply, he must repent and believe. He must forsake his sins and then go on to forsake himself. Let him cover nothing, defend nothing, excuse nothing. Let him not seek to make terms with God, but let him bow his head before the stroke of God's stem displeasure and acknowledge himself worthy to die.

Having done this let him gaze with simple trust upon the risen Saviour, and from Him will come life and rebirth and cleansing and power. The cross that ended the earthly life of Jesus now puts an end to the sinner; and the power
that raised Christ from the dead now raises him to a new life along with Christ.

"By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil."  Proverbs 16:6  KJV

Got Jesus?

GOT JESUS?

I saw this bumper sticker the other day on a car….

GOT JESUS?

Though the question may be a good one,

It’s not the "REAL" Question!!!

Lot’s of people claim they "have Jesus", they "know Jesus". Just walk the streets and testify of the Gospel and sure enough they’ll tell you, "I know Jesus". It’s kind of like the American thing to say! After all, with a estimated "50 million evangelical Christians" you got to be politically correct. (NO) If you want to play games with Heaven and Hell, I wouldn’t recommend it; I rather be spiritually correct!

The question IS NOT: "GOT JESUS?"

The real question IS: "Does Jesus GOT YOU?"

Galatians 4:9
But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?

Phillipians 3:12
Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

1 Corinthians 8:3
But if any man love God, the same is known of him.

Do you REALLY KNOW JESUS?

I John 2:3-63 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
Titus 1:16
16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

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?

2 Corinthians 13:5

HE THAT HATH EARS TO HEAR….
LET HIM HEAR

The Dusty Bible version of the Bible?

The Dusty Bible version of the Bible?  Have you ever heard of it???

Hope you haven't, but just incase IF you have, go find it...

Someone once said: that "this Book will keep you from Sin, or SIN will keep you from this Book."

Another said:

Basic

Instructions

Before

Leaving

Earth

Yet another also said:

THE BIBLE contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you.

   It is the traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword, and the Christian’s charter. Here Paradise is restored, Heaven opened, and the gates of hell disclosed.

   CHRIST is its grand subject, our good the design, and the glory of God its end.

   It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, and prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, and river of pleasure. It is given you in life, will be opened at the judgment, and be remembered forever. It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the greatest labor, and will condemn all who trifle with its sacred contents.

Last but NOT least, GOD said:

"....blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it." Luke 11:28 KJV