Holy Spirit

BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT EPHESIANS 5:18
God's indwelling Spirit does three wonderful things for each of us:
1) He seals us! Listen: '...ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit...' (Ephesians 1:13 KJV). To protect a letter you seal the envelope. To keep air out of the jar you seal its mouth with a rubber-ringed lid. To seal a deal, you sign the contract. A seal declares importance, value and ownership. Are you getting the idea?
2) He protects us! Peter says we are '...shielded by God's power...' (1 Peter 1:5 NIV). Do you have any idea how many times God has stepped between you and the enemy, protecting you from harm? Deep within each of us God's Spirit whispers, 'You are mine, and what I own I protect and care for'
3) He makes sure our prayers are heard! Listen: 'The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness. We do not even know how we ought to pray, but through our inarticulate groans the Spirit Himself is pleading for us, and God who searches our inmost being knows what the Spirit means, because He pleads for God's own people, in God's own way' (Romans 8:26-27 NEB). Notice: 'the Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness.' Weak bodies, weak wills, weak faith. How good to know that it's not up to us. 'The Spirit Himself is pleading for us.' None of us pray as much as we should - but we all pray more than we think - because the Holy Spirit turns our very sighs into petitions and makes sure that we get heard. Sealed! Protected! Heard! Spirit-filled living - refuse to settle for less.
More to come...
Love,
Dawn Saunders

Righteousness

When we received Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, we received the gift. Righteousness is a gift. It is God's ability on my ability to stand before God without blemish. It is the quality of God's DNA blood flowing through my blood. Moreso, it is the belivers Bill of Rights:

• the right to prosper
• the right to have devine health
• the right to wealth
• the right to be the head and not the tail
• the right to overcome trials, temptation and struggles in our lives
• the right to full redemptive benefits
• the right to salvation, grace and favor
• the right to the blessings

More to come,

Ms. Dabs

Types of Fast

The Bible describes four major types of fasting:

A Regular Fast - Traditionally, a regular fast means refraining from eating all food. Most people still drink water or juice during a regular fast. When Jesus fasted in the desert, the Bible says, "After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry." This verse does not mention Jesus being thirsty.


A Partial Fast - This type of fast generally refers to omitting a specific meal from your diet or refraining from certain types of foods. Daniel 10:2-3 says, "At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over." In Daniel 1:12, they restricted their diet to vegetables and water: "Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink."


A Full Fast - These fasts are complete - no food and no drink. Acts 9:9 describes when Paul went on a full fast for three days following his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus: "For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything." Esther also called for this type of fast in Esther 4:15-16: "Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 'Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.'" It is recommended that this type of fast be done with extreme caution and not for extended periods of time.


A Sexual Fast - 1 Corinthians 7:3-6 says, "The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control."
Although not mentioned in the Bible, Christians today commit to fasting from other activities as well. Some give up entertainment such as TV or movies to concentrate on prayer. Others fast from sleep or another activity for a specified period of time.

Fasting,
Ms. Dabs

Fasting

This week discussion is about fasting. Prepare yourself to learn and hear what God has to say about fasting. Especially in a time like this when the saints of God are elevated. Send your comments and points to us. What do you say about fasting?

Seek God while He is yet present,
Ms.Dabs

Doubt and Fear

God did not give us a spirit of fear but a spirit of faith that overcome doubt and fear. In doing so we can now freely walk in perfect love. Love is a weapon use to help cast out such sins as unbelieve. God want us to be bless. Therefore, we must believe what we have not seen and have faith in the things to come through Jesus Christ. Readings Matthew 14: 24-33 to help you build your faith to overcome daily trials. Faith will also help you to reverence God and not fear man. Actually, we encourage you not to take your eyes off Jesus who is your primary souce of protection. According to Matthew 14: 28-33, Peter took his eyes off Jesus and lost faith and became fearful. He began to doubt the power of God while he was walking on water trusting God to hold him up. However, he got distracted and lost faith. He began to sink when doubt stepped in.

Although, Peter was afraid, he knew who to call upon in time of trouble and that was Jesus. He cried out for the Lord to save him and was saved. We have to remember when we are afraid or have fear in our lives we must know who to turn to for deliverance. Keep Jesus in your near presence to help you overcome fear and doubt at all times. God is our source in times of trouble no matter if we become afraid or lose trust. Just turn to Jesus always.

Remember doubting Thomas? Be not of little faith or doubt those things which you have not seen. Read John 20: 24-31. Doubting Thomas was one of the 12 disciples in the Bible. Another name for Thomas was Didymus, which comes from the Hebrew and Greek words both meaning 'the twin.' He wasn't one of the more well known disciples, but he was popular enough to earn the nickname "Doubting Thomas." He was given this label because he simply did not believe that Jesus had risen from the dead. I too have been a 'Doubting Thomas.' But the experience made me a better person and made my faith so much more stronger in my walk with Jesus. I doubted many times about who I am in Christ. I know who I am now because I have faith and believe the word of God.

What happens to him? Doubting Thomas does not stay a doubter. When he sees the risen Jesus, all that Jesus has taught over the years now clicks in, and to his death Thomas is an outspoken advocate for his Lord. You to can become free of doubt and fear and move to be an advocate for Jesus Christ. Use your experiences and make testimonies of them too help the next person gain freedom from doubt and fear.

Bless the Lord,
Ms.Dabs

The Dynamics of spiritual growth

We must first learn to identify and understand how we spiritually mature by becoming more intentional in our use of time and methods. Understanding the dynamics of spiritual growth makes us more aware of how God uses the specific circumstances of our lives to draw us closer to Himself.
There are eight principles of spiritual growth that helps us to unravel God’s mystery of transforming sinful, rebellious people into godly, passionate lovers of His Son, Jesus. We are using scriptures and common experiences to drive our point across.

1. God is ultimately responsible for all spiritual growth.
• Isaiah 61:11 God plays the role of a seasoned farmer, carefully preparing the soil and maintaining the garden with the vision to sea each seed grow into maturity.
• 1 Corinthians 15:10 teaches that everything the Christian becomes or accomplishes for the kingdom of God is only because of God’s grace and power
• Phil. 1:6 God is ultimately responsible for the growth process in our lives from beginning to end

2. Effort, diligence, and discipline are absolutely necessary for growth

3. Spiritual growth potential may not be easy to see at first
4. Spiritual growth depends on an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.
5. Growth is primarily an inside-out process
6. Spiritual growth relates to every aspect of our lives
7. Growth happens most naturally within a close social context.
• Close-knit families and churches are nurturing nests for strong, growing Christians
• Deut 6: 6-9 Moses encouraged the people to naturally learn to worship, love, and obey God
• Acts 2:42-47 it is evident that the
8. Significant growth occurs within the context of frustration, suffering, or challenge.
• 2 Thess 1:3 point to the principle that we often grow most through difficult times
• Romans 8: 18-27 suffering is presented as a necessary and even normal part of the Christian
• James 1: 12 staying obedient to the Lord in the midst of suffering can strengthen our faith
FOR FURHTER DISCUSSION
1. Which of the eight ways that people grow and develop is the most significant for you personally?
2. Identify a time in your life when you grew the most and explain why.
3. What do you think are the consequences when a person who claims to be a Christian refuses to put forth any effort to grow?
4. Why is it that many people don’t really grow until they hit a difficult obstacle in life?
5. Identify the characteristics of a class experience or a group experience that had a significant influence on your life spiritually.