Gratitude

“…in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

~ I Thessalonians 5:18

To not do the will of God, most would define as sin. Therefore, ingratitude is a sin. Perhaps it is a sin most easily remedied. It shouldn’t take hours of counseling or deliverance to spring one out of ingratitude. It simply takes a proposed confession of saying, “Thank-you”. I am one of those who believes there is a connection between gratitude and miracles. I am convinced that when I can be genuinely grateful for the blessings and circumstances (yes, even the tough ones) of my life, I provide an atmosphere for faith to be released and God to work supernaturally. 

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The Call to Preach

Almost 50 years ago, when I was called into the ministry to preach the Gospel, it was normal to hear messages on a routine basis about God’s vocational call to ministry, preaching, or missionary service. It was a part of the work of the church to issue the call and pray for the Spirit to call His servants into full-time Christian service. Especially the call to preaching and teaching.

This may still be taking place in some churches, but candidly, I don’t hear those messages much, or at all.

It’s catching up to us.

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Uncommon

“But as the One Who called you is holy, you yourselves also be holy in all your conduct and manner of living. For it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

  • I Peter 1:15-16 AMPC

Most people confuse or conflate the word “holy” with the word “righteous”. There may be overlaps, but there is a distinction which is noteworthy. To be “holy”, is to be…

Uncommon.

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The New Testament Prophet’s Assignment (Part 6)

*This is a series of posts which might be of benefit for the first time reader to begin at the “Introduction” for continuity sake.

As an historian, I tend to see history through 2 important lenses: Providential and Restorative. This means I believe God has intervened and continues to intervene in human history for His purposes. In like manner, I also believe He is breaking our incessant default to pragmatism and attempting to restore divine pattern and design to His Church. If we desire divine results, we must consider divine patterns. When it comes to what the Lord dwells in, the Bible indicates that He can be very detailed (Consider the Ark of the Covenant, The Temple, The Tabernacle and utensils). I do believe prophets can help to align us with God’s restorative program. Consider some insightful Scriptures related to these thoughts:

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The Difference Between the Gift, the Office, and Titles. (Part 5)

*This is a series of posts which might be of benefit for the first time reader to begin at the “Introduction” for continuity sake.

Obviously, for a prophet to be a prophet, there has to be some disposition to prophesy. That appears to be a  simplistic statement, but apparently it needs to be stated. Titles abound in modern Christianity and many of those titles are self-conveyed. People declare themselves to be established in a certain office (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, Elder, Deacon, Minister, etc.) without any fruit of such establishment or endorsement from a local church body. I believe these offices exist, but how it is appropriated as a title might need further evaluation. The Bible certainly presents these offices as a reality, but tends to present them as job descriptions more than titles. Nowhere in Scripture does Paul refer to himself as “The Apostle Paul”, but rather, “Paul, an apostle”. A strong case can be made that these offices are descriptors more than titles.

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