How will they know if they DO NOT SEE?

 Jesus never said they will know you are my disciples by the number of people that show up in your buildings… Or by the number of books that you sell… Or by the amount of money in your bank account… Or by how fancy a car you drive… Or how big a house you live in… Or how many people adore you and think you’re wonderful and a great orator and a wise and impressive pastor!

No, none of these things were ever mentioned by Christ as being the mark of one of his disciples. His measuring stick was far far beyond the measuring stick of our fleshly and worldly viewpoint. He said the world would know we were his disciples but how we LOVE one another!

How do we love and show that love to one another? 

Perhaps we can all agree to all agree that love is measured by our actions and not our words, so let’s look at it from that point of view and I’m going to speak from my own personal perspective.

When we come in to fellowship with the body of believers and everyone waves and greet us and says hello and hugs us and tells us they love us- that feels good for the moment. But then when they don’t return phone calls, when they don’t want to get together and have lunch, when they don’t want to spend any actual time with you getting to know you it is clear there is no love. When a group forms and then excludes others, there is no love.When things get difficult and you really just need some support and encouragement and prayer, but outside of that one person designated as pastor for the group, no one else has time for you, there is no love!

Love is doing life together; love is including anyone and everyone who wants to be included; Love is following through when you say you were going to do something or be somewhere.

Love is not only encouraging continued growth in your own life and in the lives of others, but love is also making room for that growth, and accommodating that growth when it occurs rather than continue to relate to that person by how they used to be rather than how they are as a new creation in Christ!

1 Corinthians 13 has become so popular as pithy memes and wedding filler. Paul, speaking by the unction of the Holy Spirit, revealed some deep spiritual truth about love that we all need to examine in light of our own hearts and behaviors and ask God to work that incredible true work of love in us and through us, that we might truly example what it is to be a disciple of Christ. Not by how good we are or how much we do or how nice we behave; but by loving according to his standard and showing how good he is, and how much he has done, and how he behaves!

Go to 1 Corinthians chapter 13 and begin to do your own serious word study of each of the words Paul declares love is… And see where you might incorporate that more fully into your walk with Christ, drawing blessing to your self and pouring blessing out on others!!

Consider this; to truly love your neighbor is truly loving yourself and the entire body of Christ!

Expectations

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth...

Have you ever wondered what God wants of you? 

God asks us to:
walk humbly before Him;
recognizing that we are not able to be holy, perfect, clean, righteous on our own, God provided a way for us to humbly receive ability to be clothed in Christ the Redeemers Righteousness

God asks us to:
love mercy;
thinking about all the mercy that has been poured into us should make it very simple to give away as much as possible, but God didn't even say "give mercy" or "be merciful".  He just said Love Mercy, for yourself and for others.  He knows that what you love will be manifest in your life

God asks us to:
do justly;
and since we are not capable of complete objectivity and balanced justice, we are NOT to judge, but do justly - according to what is morally right or fair - and that is ONLY Gods department, so we have the added understanding that vengeance is the Lords!

In essence, God has given us a framework to work within, in order to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.  He made each of us individual, unique and special.  He isn't looking for cloned Christians, all looking, speaking and acting the same.  He is looking for His particular, peculiar children to be witnesses OF Jesus His Son, each in our own unique way.

This isn't a comprehensive, all inclusive or exhaustive study.
I've read Oswald.
I've devoured Tozer.
C.S. Lewis
Jonathan Edwards
and many, many, many other authors who know a lot more than I ever will.

and I've read the Bible.  Over and over and over again for the last 49 of my 55 years.  My understanding has grown with each reading.  My life has changed dramatically over time as I've gained new understanding, insight and wisdom.

One of the main things I've discovered is that God is sovereign.  We, the created beings, cannot put Him in a neat package of our making without losing all that He is!

• He is INFINITELY CREATIVE
• He is BEYOND OUR COMPREHENSION
• He is THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY

Until the day we see Him face to face, the best we can hope for is to imitate Him in some manner so others will see how great HE IS.  Everyone relates differently, so He created many different ways for His greatness to be seen, heard, experienced and understood.  He set a frame.  Boundaries if you will.  

Within those boundaries, there are no limitations except those we set up ourselves, denying ourselves the fullness of all HE IS.

Scripture to consider: (New King James Version)

Micah 6:8

Psalm 139

Ephesians 1 and 2

Philippians 2:12

Acts 1

I Corinthians 13:12

Reputation vs TRUTH

Amazingly enough and although I’ve read the book of Acts numerous times, the other day while my husband read chapter 5 to me something I’d never noticed before captured my attention and demanded further investigation.

Read with me a little bit, and see if you catch it:

Acts 5: 17-29

¹⁷ Then the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with indignation, ¹⁸ and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison. ¹⁹ But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, ²⁰ “Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life.”

²¹ And when they heard that, they entered the temple early in the morning and taught. But the high priest and those with him came and called the council together, with all the elders of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.

²² But when the officers came and did not find them in the prison, they returned and reported, ²³ saying, “Indeed we found the prison shut securely, and the guards standing outside^[a] before the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside!” ²⁴ Now when the high priest,^[b] the captain of the temple, and the chief priests heard these things, they wondered what the outcome would be. ²⁵ So one came and told them, saying,^[c] “Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!”

²⁶ Then the captain went with the officers and brought them without violence, for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned. ²⁷ And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, ²⁸ saying, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!”

²⁹ But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men. ³⁰ The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. ³¹ Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. ³² And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

Take another look, specifically at verse 28.

Now if I may ask you a question. 

IfRo you put men in prison and the next morning they weren’t in there despite the locked doors and guards, wouldn’t your first question be HOW DID YOU GET OUT OF PRISON?

The very fact they didn’t ask the question indicates to me they already knew the answer.  So they were asking the only question that mattered to them – WHY DID YOU THWART OUR AUTHORITY?

Their only true concern was what they saw as the diminishing of:

Their POWER: because they liked ruling it over others

Their POSITION: in the community which afforded them “special” treatment

Their PRESTIGE: recognized and respected by everyone as being ‘above’ and more important

When we go about our lives, what are our major concerns?  Are we focused on the integrity and purity of God’s word and our adherence to it?  In our churches, are our concerns about teaching and demonstrating Truth or have we been swayed into false concern over protecting our own “reputations”?

Asking the tough questions will help us not only to examine our own hearts, but to keep them right and in alignment with the will and purposes of the Lord.

It's far too easy to slip and fall into "worldly" thinking and actions, especially when so many actions of our churches are difficult to differentiate from actions in the world.

To experience transformation that pleases the Lord, we are NOT to conform to this world!

(Romans 12:2)

Complete a Prayer Request - upper left corner - and receive HELP from the Holy Spirit of the living God in your circumstances.

Definitive TRUTH

I have a confession to make.  I am not a Bible scholar.  Oh, I've been reading the Good Book for 47 years now.  I have attended bible classes, completed the ministerial program for credentialing and participated in and taught Bible studies for over 30 years.  I spent three years learning the Greek, Aramaic and Hebrew of the Bible, studied the cultural influences at work in those who wrote the words inspired by the Holy Spirit and prayed for wisdom and understanding from God through all of it.  But I'm no scholar.  I would never profess to be an expert or pretend I understand or can explain every verse, every seeming contradiction and I would never declare that I know it so well that I would unequivocally state I know the TRUTH it expounds without doubt of any kind.

I know a few things unequivocally.  I know that in the beginning, God, who already existed and will always exist, created the heavens and the earth.  I know He is Love and in expressing that Love He created Man and made them male and female in His own image.  I know He gave free will to both the Angels and the Man He created in order that we could freely choose to worship and obey Him.  I know Lucifer, created to be the Angel of Light, and 1/3 of all the Angels chose not to worship or obey and were cast out of Heaven.

I know that Man sinned and every man since has been born into sin.  I know God cast Himself in human form and came to earth to redeem Man from sin.  I know that if any living person confesses Jesus as Lord, believes in his heart that God raised Jesus from the dead after He was crucified to pay the penalty for our sin and repents of their sin, God forgives and washes us clean.  I know we become new creatures in Christ when that occurs and that Heaven rejoices over all who do.

I know that when we pray, God hears and responds.  The response isn't always the one we were hoping for, or it doesn't come as quickly or in the form we desired, but there is always a response from God, even if we fail to recognize it.

I know that God exists as One unified God manifesting in three persons, as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  I know that the spirit realm is as real and has more powerful effect upon us as this physical realm we live in until our physical bodies die.  I know that God created Man to be Eternal, and our confession of Him as Lord determines our Eternal place either in darkness, separate from Him or in His Presence for Eternity.

All the other stuff?  Some of it I'm not so sure of.  Some I'm fairly sure is rules and regulations man made up to make himself feel better about himself, or make himself feel like he's in control of things he has no control over at all.  Some of it I think has great significance to us, and some I don't think is very important in the scheme of Eternity at all.  Some is designed to help us move closer to the Lord.  Some has been twisted to trick us into moving farther away from God.

I know that we argue the details and meaning of scripture as if we actually have a say in what is TRUTH, and that doesn't glorify God, who called us before the foundations of the world were laid in place to walk with Him in Unity and know the Joy of Salvation. The truth is simply that we are subject to the Living God who created us and all that is surrounding us.  The TRUTH is Jesus, according to what He Himself declared.

I am 100% certain the TRUTH is not for us to choose for ourselves what it is or isn't truth, just as I am 100% certain we are subject to the TRUTH as God presents it.  It is for us to discover His truth, not our own version of truth.  Because one day, each of us will stand on our own before Him with no way to hide anything of our hearts and be judged by the Only Wise God Who is TRUTH.

The only covering allowed is Jesus.  Nothing and no one else.  He Who is TRUTH will speak on our behalf.
The only true choice in life, death and Eternity any of us has for 100% certainty is the choice to choose Jesus or reject Him.The truth is we have no real way to say we "know" the truth for certain, all we can do is be clothed in Him.

I choose Jesus.  What about you?

There are too many instances, I believe, when we as individuals for whatever our reasons may be, look to someone else to direct us, someone else to validate us, someone else to tell us what is the right thing to do. And there are some very few times when that is exactly the right thing to do - seek counsel from others, and yet to not make our own choices, our own decisions gives us a false sense of freedom.  I say a false sense of freedom, because we ultimately have the idea that we are not accountable since we followed someone else's dictates and I say false, because we each will give an account of ourselves before the Lord one day and no matter where the decision came from we will be held accountable for our actions.

With that in mind, and since we must in fact live with the consequences of every decision and action we take, it makes far more sense to actually hold ourselves accountable to think through and then make as wise a decision in all instances as our hearts can manage.  Right or even if it turns out wrong, God will be pleased that we have held ourselves in account - AS LONG AS OUR INTENTION HAS NOT BEEN EVIL.

This is a hard thought and concept for most to grasp, for we cannot help but look at the actual behavior of the flesh.  Intentions are difficult to discern due to our own set of experiences and emotions and thoughts.  God looks on the heart, not the flesh.  God is the discerner of our hearts, and the bible tells us that even if our own hearts condemn us God is greater than our hearts!

For this very reason we are warned NOT TO JUDGE OTHERS.  The criteria which we utilize to judge is so flawed that any and all judgments we make will of course, be terribly flawed, especially as we judge according to the flesh and not the intentions of the heart.  FRUIT in a life we are to look at and consider, but not to judge the individual actions on their own merits because there is so much we do not know, so much we do not understand and so much more we are simply ignorant of!

We must each, however, judge our own hearts, examine them and assure ourselves that we are obedient to our Lord.  For this reason, the Apostle Paul exhorts us all in II Timothy 2:15 to "Study to show yourself approved before God, a workman who needs NOT be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth!"

Careful reading and study of Gods word for OURSELVES and not just accepting any and everything others say about Gods Word is an action we will be held accountable for, as our understanding of Gods word will influence all our decisions and actions.  Pick up that book of all books TODAY, ask God for wisdom and begin reading.  May I suggest beginning in the Book of Acts, as it so wonderfully portrays the First Century Church in all its glory prior to any interference of mans rules and religiosity?

Blessings as you walk your walk of Fellowship with the Heavenly Father this week.  Our prayer for each of you is that you will recognize how much God loves you and fulfill your role in the Body of Christ!

The peace that passes all understanding.  We write about it.  We pray about it.  We read about it.  We dream about it.  We yearn for it.  We talk about it.  We attempt to encourage one another with thoughts and admonitions concerning it, but do we really HAVE IT?

We can and do.  When you experience its affects you will never doubt or question it again.  It is a peace that passes all understanding.  It is inexplicable.  But it is not unattainable.  It isn't earned, bought or bargained for.  The Lord just gives it, and one day you are sitting in a quiet place perhaps, or in the midst of incredible crisis and you suddenly realize that although by all natural laws and reasoning you should be panicked, you should be upset - you aren't.  YOU ARE NOT IN THE LEAST BIT CONCERNED ABOUT CIRCUMSTANCES BUT INSTEAD YOU HAVE A QUIET SENSE OF PEACE AND HOPE AND ASSURANCE DEEP WITHIN YOU.

I cannot tell you the how or why, but I will share this with you.  I am in the midst of what would "normally" be a very difficult emotional and upsetting time with one of my children.  Heap onto that the stresses and strains of moving, major life changes occurring, major ministry changes coming and the natural order of life changes for a woman in her early 50's.

I should be a mess!  I sat down this morning and prayed, calmly, firmly and with faith.  And then it hit me in the most wonderful way:

I AM COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY AT PEACE IN MY HEART.

Thank you Lord!  I praise Your Holy Name and give you all the glory.  Thank you for the total peace that passes all my understanding but which I so desperately had need of.

I can only tell you this and pray it encourages you - Abandon yourself to the Lord.  It is a bit unnerving, taking that first step and sticking to that decision.  You will be thankful.  For He is Faithful.

And how is your week coming along?  I would LOVE to hear from you - leave a comment, send a prayer request or just say "hi!"

and may the God of all peace be gracious to you now and in every time of your need.
Pastor Marie

In the midst of EVERY storm, peace

Luke 24: 36-39  Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them and said to them “Peace to you.”  But they were terrified and frightened and supposed they had seen a spirit.  And He said to them “Why are you troubled?  And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself.  Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have Flesh and bones as you see I have.”

Peace our Lord and Savior assures us, is ours, and yet we run through our lives frantic and terrorized by every circumstance as far from peace as it is possible to be.  Christians, my brothers and sisters, PEACE, not as the world gives but according the creator of peace, the source of peace belongs to us.  It has been freely given to us and quite frankly the only way to lose it is to be defeated by deceit – lied to and tricked into believing that chaos reigns and has control.  Jesus Himself stands as our advocate and declares to us PEACE.  Will we believe Him or allow the terror of our own hearts to steal His truth from us.

Why are we troubled when we see the mayhem in this world?  Why do doubts arise in our hearts?  Why are we so frightened when He has promised us that we will have such troubles in this world?  We will be persecuted, we will be hated, nation will rise against nation and kingdom will rise against kingdom.  False prophets will rise up and they will deceive many.  Lies will be held up as truth and truth will be denied as a lie.

Behold, has He not told us in advance that these things will come to pass?  Has He not made Himself known?  Hasn’t He shown Himself trustworthy?  Don’t be frightened and don’t let terror keep you from enjoying His peace, his Joy and the freedom He paid so dear a price to give to you.  Just as He did for the disciples, He has done for us.  He assures us that no matter what is going on around us, no matter the wicked state of the world, no matter what our eyes see or our hearts tell us, His truth remains and can be trusted and believed.

Peace to you.  The Son of redemption has declared it and it is so.  Blessings to you my brothers and sisters.  Do not doubt.  Do not fear.  Hold fast to faith for He is faithful who has promised.  Keep in mind always that our lives in Him are Eternal and they are sure.  Recognize the Lord Jesus your Savior and know you are not alone.  Lift up your eyes and hearts to the His truth, that you may know His peace and receive by grace His deliverance.  Keeping in mind always that this world is not our home, just a place we pass through on our way to Our Father.

...and Be Filled with the Holy Spirit...

You can choose to LISTEN or read for yourself!  WELCOME to Sunday Sermon with Turn the Tide Ministries!  May God bless you richly in wisdom and understanding as you receive His Word of Truth!

I've seen a lot of methodology be put into practice both as a lay person growing in the Lord and as Clergy encouraging others to grow in the Lord, so I've seen most if not all of the actions people take and the things they're willing to try in order to BE LIKE JESUS.  Don't get me wrong, that IS a goal we are instructed to work toward and a prize worth aspiring to, however, it is not something we will EVER attain in our flesh, by our own actions no matter how badly we want it or how hard we try.

What then is the answer to the puzzle of Gods word telling us to "be holy as I am holy, be ye perfect as I am perfect, the things that I do you shall do also and greater than these because I go the Father, and imitate God dear children, and...you get where I'm going with this, right?  How do we DO these things, like in all trials count it JOY, in all our tribulations be MORE THAN CONQUERORS?
(ps - all of the above are in the Bible - look them up and be blessed at what God thinks of His kids!)

Together, lets you and I take a look at Luke 3:21-22 and Luke 4:1 and Acts 1: 6-8 (I'll be reading the New King James Version and you follow along with whatever version you are most comfortable with)

When all the people were baptized it came to pass the Jesus also was baptized and while He prayed the Heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended in bodily from like a dove upon Him and a voice came from heaven which said "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased."

Then Jesus being filled with the Holy Spirit returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness...

Therefore when they had come together they asked Him saying "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"  And He said to them "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.  But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jersusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth."

Notice anything each of these scriptures has in common?  Jesus, who was fully God and fully man, while He operated as flesh on this earth had done no miracles before this time, needed to be  FILLED  WITH  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT.  The most the scripture says of Him before He was baptized in the Jordan was that He grew in stature and in wisdom and in favor with God and man. (Luke 2:52)  But once He was baptized in the Holy Spirit things changed dramatically!  Suddenly He had the power as well as the wisdom of the Word of God to suffer 40 days of temptation by satan and  WIN !  Suddenly, filled with the Holy Spirit the scripture tells us, He begins to heal people and preach with authority like had never been seen before and perform miracles!

It is the same with us.  Until we  RECOGNIZE  that we cannot even under the very best of circumstances ever control our flesh with rules and laws (if it could have been done wouldn't the Israelites have done it?) accept Gods incredible grace and realize that only by yielding to the Holy Spirit, following the Holy Spirit, being LED by the Holy Spirit can we ever accomplish anything truly satisfying in life whether simply doing a great job at work, being a terrific parent or wonderful spouse, friend, sibling, daughter or son - only in surrender to the Holy Spirit will we ever begin to behave and talk and BE the victorious Christian we desire to be.  In the flesh it just cannot be accomplished!  Jesus told the disciples plainly, apart from Me you can do NOTHING!  Why why why why WHY do we keep putting ourselves in  BONDAGE  to sinful flesh, trying to force our flesh to behave though God has revealed to us that it cannot be done, which is why he did it for us?   But because we have Christ in us (Colossians 1:27) the hope of Glory, because the Holy Spirit is in charge, then we can do ALL  THINGS  THROUGH  CHRIST  WHO  STRENGTHENS  US  (Philippians 4:13)

God sent His only begotten Son to sacrifice Himself as the substitute for us, paying the penalty for our sin, so we could experience salvation.  Not  JUST  get a ticket into heaven, but to live a life of victory, joy and satisfaction RIGHT  NOW.  Simply because God created us and He loves us and He wants us to be happy and full of JOY.  Yes, we live in a fallen world full of sin and it affects us negatively routinely and regularly,  however, we are not stuck there, we have HOPE of much more, something much better.  Fellowship, right standing and full friendship with the Almighty Creator of Heaven and Earth.  We just say "THANK  YOU   FATHER" and receive it because we can never earn it or deserve it.  Thank you Lord for Your mercy, grace and kindness to forgive me, a sinner, and let me live according to your abundant riches in glory! Amen.

Knocking on Doors

Following the leading of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, we were going door to door and offering to pray for people.  Only one said no and shut the door on us.  Most were very pleasantly surprised and responded positively to the offer, made with no strings attached.  We knocked on the next door and a man answered.  He seemed rather distracted, but invited us in and asked us to sit down.  We made the offer to pray and he accepted, but had some questions he wanted to asked first.

At the end of our impromptu interview, he allowed us to pray for him and his family.  He asked where we gathered on Sunday and we told him along with a welcome to join us anytime he chose.

His children began attending regularly and became part of the church family.  Several times when they were not working he and his wife joined us as well.

As we are a traveling ministry, the time came for us to move on.  Joyfully we bid farewell to our new friends and followed the Lords leading once more to parts unknown.  Several months later we received a phone call from the pastor of that church we'd worked with while in that area.  He asked if we remembered the gentleman on who's door we had knocked who subsequently visited the church.  We said we did.  Then he shared a story that reminded us and encouraged us in the work God has called us to.

Pastor began "Jim (not his real name) called me out of the blue the other day.  He wanted to share a story for me to pass on to you.  He said that day we came to his door and offered to pray for him, he had at that very moment been sitting in his office.  His marriage was falling apart and his business was a mess.  He cried out to God and asked for help.  Right then is when we knocked on his door!"

Since then, with open hearts to the Lord this family has received much healing and deliverance.  If Jim hadn't called Pastor to share with him, we never would have known the impact our little insignificant act of obedience had harvested for the Glory of God Almighty!  We don't always see the result, but God always knows the end He is moving us toward.  Always, it is for not only our good but the good of others as well.

What a mighty, awesome, loving, kind and infinitely creative God we serve!  This story and so many others like it are the reason we have forsaken all to travel where the Holy Spirit leads and share the glorious Gospel of Salvation through Christ Jesus with any and all that we come in contact with.  We don't count souls harvested, we just obey our God and trust in Him with all our hearts, leaving things in His ultra capable hands!

What a joy, what a privilege to serve the Lord and fulfill His purposes in our lives.  Whatever the Lord has called you to in YOUR life, be encouraged that He is there working all things together for good even when you don't see or know the result of it.  Every insignificant act of obedience He turns to SIGNIFICANT GLORY TO HIS WONDERFUL NAME.

Perspective, perception and REALITY

Prayer and faith go hand in hand.  Whether you have great faith or little faith, prayer will increase your faith as you exercise it.  You may start out tentatively calling out in doubt and even fear to the Lord, uncertain of being heard, and find yourself ending in strength of conviction that you are not only heard but will be answered.   Many of the Psalms David the King of Israel wrote express themselves in like manner.  You can hear David struggling with faith, crying out “why do my enemies appear to be prospering while I who worship God am suffering?”  As David relates the events occurring as he is experiencing them, another concept becomes obvious to the astute observer.  

In relating through prayer his experience of these events as he sees them through his own eyes, his vision begins to change so mightily that by the end of the prayer, though nothing has occurred in the physical world to warrant it,  David’s prayer has dramatically changed from his narrow perspective focused on himself to a broader sense of these events causing him to give glory and praise to God, who he can now recognize as working in the situations he has been praying about!  This is so beautifully illustrated in Psalm 78 that I often go there when I am in need of reminder that how I see things and how God sees things are very different.  I have learned to trust His viewpoint far more than my limited one.

Have you ever shared a memory with a sibling or friend and found your memories do not even appear related?  What you remember and what they remember sound like two completely separate memories entirely.  It is the same as when two people give their account of an accident.  Each heard and saw the same thing but may relate what they experienced so differently it doesn’t seem like they witnessed the same event at all.  Many have dismissed the Biblical accounts of Jesus’ ministry recorded in the four gospels precisely for the reason that they appear to contradict one another at certain points.  When in fact, those differences in the accounts actually prove that the events were witnessed by real people and are not simply stories being recited by memory. 

Perception is our reality, and how we perceive things to be will dictate our actions and our reactions to circumstances.  On our own, we haven’t really the capacity for TRUTH, since everything is filtered through our personal belief systems which are based on our history, our experiences and largely what we've been taught.  Through prayer we are brought into agreement with truth that is larger than our understanding which then changes our perspective, taking us out of our narrow viewpoint and opening our hearts to Gods viewpoint which is perfect and Eternal and all encompassing.  

With that changed perspective achieved it then changes our perception of all that surrounds and concerns us.  That change now has the power through the Holy Spirit to change our belief system.  What we believe is the catalyst to changing our hearts and out of the heart come the issues of LIFE.  In this manner God accomplishes great changes in our lives, now leading us by His spirit into TRUTH, guiding us out of narrow thinking that is focused on ourselves and leading us into His perspective of love and grace which we now by the power of that Spirit have the ability to bestow upon others, building up the Body of Christ in LOVE.

Practical application of biblical truth in action, which has the power of God to change our world!

Thank you for joining Tide Turning Tales!  Each week, we bring you stories of our travels as we share the Gospel of salvation through Christ Jesus, application of principles from the Bible we know will bless your life or just words of encouragement, which we all need on a regular basis to navigate the rough waters of this world.

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The Purpose OF Church!

Come Sunday morning a lot of people will gather in buildings big and small, fancy and plain.  They'll greet one another, hug each other, smile and tell each other they are just fine and then they'll sit down in pews or individual seats, in some places the lights will dim to create "ambiance", in other places they won't.  In some places all attention will be riveted to a stage area where concert style lighting will create a mood, and music will begin to play.  Other places, just a few voices will be raised while in still others some canned music with or without accompanying video and or words will take place.  For a few moments.  Fifteen, twenty and in a few of these buildings up to 45 minutes or more of music and voices raised and hands waving and some will work up an emotional fever they'll call "the spirit" and then everyone will quiet down and listen to one person, a Pastor, deliver a sermon about the word of God, around the Word of God, concerning the Word of God and then every one will smile, and hug and go home.

Some version of this with a few minor variations and maybe an altar call directing folks to pray a certain prayer to ask Jesus into their hearts will take place this morning.  Because it is The Lords Day. The day of Worship. And we will be doing what everyone else is doing and has done for hundreds of years now, and then most will go home, have a nice dinner, get up on Monday morning and start the same cycle again.

As God stirred this message in my heart over the last several weeks and I began to try to put it in writing, I thought about how I might soften it, make it easier on others to read, and how putting the TRUTH out there in such a harsh manner would cause many to stop reading.  The truth can be very hard to swallow, but if we want to please God, it must be truth we swallow.  If you don't want to please God, more than likely you aren't reading this anyway.


Being convinced that we are indeed living in the "end time" Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24, we are DETERMINED to preach the Gospel without compromise, equip the saints and build the Body of Christ in love. We sense Gods hand moving mightily in us in this direction. Music, drama and preaching to share His glorious words of LIFE!


We see the "gathering together of saints" as being necessary, we just think the current method and style is wasteful! We've been asking God to share with us a BETTER way - His way! 

In reading Corinthians Apostle Paul is so clear that the gathering of believers is to specifically EQUIP THEM for ministry TO THE LOST AND UNSAVED, not to each other!   In the church, it seems believers serve each other and call that ministry.   As you dig deeper into the things of God a certain restlessness ought to accompany the acquisition of knowledge - a restlessness to GET OUT AND DO! 

Apostle Paul said it well - WE ARE TO GROW UP AND MATURE IN CHRIST AND THEN DIE TO OURSELVES AND BRING THE TRUTH TO THE LOST AND UNSAVED. I cannot find in Paul's teachings where we just close our doors and serve ourselves with feel good Ladies meetings and "pound our chests" Mens meetings!   We are to go out into the highways and byways and COMPEL others to JOIN US FOR THE FEAST TO COME!

To compel implies a certain forcefulness being applied.  

Here's the deal (that was for you Gary) - we who claim to be Christian are to be a peculiar people, separated unto God in HOLINESS for His purpose.  We are different from the world and they NEED to see that.  We don't "reach" them by acting like them and sounding like them.  We reach them with the TRUTH by practicing that truth in our own hearts and lives.  By preaching that TRUTH unvarnished and uncompromised. 

We are ALL sinners who have fallen short of Gods glory - but we don't remain there.  We change and grow.  My own testimony is one of a grave sinner God never gave up on.  His grace was sufficient for me and it is sufficient for you - but not to the end that He turns His head and ignores our continuing in sin because He is gracious.  We must repent of sin and begin to walk in HIS LIGHT.  We must preach His truth, understanding that in this life, we will suffer and be persecuted for His Names sake.  It is in ETERNITY that we will have everlasting Joy.  

The Power of the Holy Spirit is manifest in order to show the UNBELIEVERS the truth of God, not to put on a show for those who profess Christ so they can get the willies and feel good about themselves.  

The Power of the Holy Spirit is manifest in order to lead others to a saving knowledge of Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior, not to serve the selfish desire of a few privileged saints so they can pat themselves on their backs for their mighty spiritual prowess.

We, the saints of the Living God are His mighty warriors, equipped by Him to do battle in the Spirit in order that others who are lost and wandering aimlessly would come to a knowledge of THE TRUTH, Jesus, the only way, the truth and the life and to know the power of His resurrection in order that God would be glorified through us.

Saints, it is not for our selfish aims and desires but for the increase of Gods Kingdom and the building of His Body that He has given us the Holy Spirit as comforter, guide, counselor and deliverer.  As you gather with the Body this Lords Day, listen for, strive to understand and consider well His call concerning you personally, with all the talent and ability He has gifted you with to SERVE GODS PURPOSE AS HIS AMBASSADOR ON THIS EARTH.

Whatever you do; MAKE IT COUNT FOR CHRIST!

BALANCE IN THE BODY OF CHRIST

When the teeter totter is not resting upon a proper fulcrum it cannot be rightly balanced.  When we, the Body of Christ are not balanced on the ROCK which is Christ, having Him as our Head and His command as our foundation, the Body likewise cannot find proper balance.

In many of our American churches the work of ministry is resting on the Pastor as its fulcrum, not only in expectation that the Pastor will do the work of the ministry while the sheep of the pasture show up on Sunday to sit for an hour, but many times also resting solely on the Pastors whims, desires and personal dictates.  Why is this?  People have abdicated their responsibility to be accountable to one another. Pastor “power” is running amok precisely because the people God intended to be contributing members of the Body see themselves as less  in spirit or ability than those few considered anointed as clergy.

Failure to individually adhere to Apostle Pauls exhortation in II Timothy 2:15 “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God a worker who need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth”,  has left many ignorant and vulnerable to false teaching and the wolves in sheep’s clothing who devour them.  We sit passive in the face of the serious problems cropping up in our churches feeling helpless to stop it. Sin runs rampant and Christians are seen as powerless and ineffective to the very ones we are to example Christ before! 

Somewhere along the way we’ve lost sight of the truth that every born again believer who calls on the name of Jesus as Savior is to be a minister of the Gospel as set forth in Apostle Pauls second letter to the Corinthians 5:17-18 and 6:1 “we then as workers together...”  We have absented ourselves from our role in the Body of Christ and expect to be carried by arms that have no legs to support them!  Apostle Paul revealed clearly in First Corinthians 12:12 the importance of every member of the body doing his or her part. If we fail it is not just we but the whole Body who is failiing!

We turn Pastors, our fellow workers into some sort of celebrity figureheads and bow to them in worship as the foolish Israelites bowed to their own handmade golden calf in the wilderness rather than remain true to the Mighty God who delivered us from slavery to sin.  We place the full weight of ministry upon the imperfect shoulders of Pastors throughout our religious organizations and then we are angry with them at the imperfection that results. As quickly as we shoved them onto pedestals is just how quick  we are to join in the mocking of the world to knock them off with hardly a single prayer and replace them with more imperfect specimens. 

We’ve watered down our Lord Jesus' truth in a false effort to make it more palatable in order to appear we are tolerant and inclusive that the world in turn might find us more acceptable and agree to populate our church pews and include us in return. When that doesn't happen  we seem blind that how they do spitefully use us is really a screaming cry about how desperately in need they are for us to pray for them, to pray for their deliverance from the darkness that grips their souls!

Let me be clear in what I am saying here.  The world does not need Christians to include them, but they violently need us to recognize how lost they are and pray to Almighty God for their salvation.  Jesus sternly rebuked those who took the “work of ministry” to be treated as a light matter. He stressed this important point when He declared in Matthew 11:12 “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence and the VIOLENT take it by force.” 

Take what by force?  Take the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN by force!

The single most powerful force in the hands of a believer of Jesus Christ as Savior and God the Father as Creator is prayer.  Simple, powerful, zealous and energetic prayer laid as an offering upon the altar of Gods throne of grace.  Both in the physical realm and the spiritual realm prayer is our most powerful weapon, affecting both earth now and all Eternity in Heaven!

I do not point these things out from some lofty position of authority but on the contrary, from the position of lowly servant to the people of the Lord, a sinner saved by the gracious Savior. I cry out as the Holy Spirit of God that is in me reveals in order that we all might come together in unity. 

Church, our Head is calling us to obey Him more perfectly in the way of surrender that He might open a way to fuller understanding and intimate relationship with Him for all His sheep. We must continually strive to TURN TO HIM, JESUS, WHO IS THE HEAD OF THE BODY, in order to serve His purposes and not our own.

All Scripture is quoted from the New King James Version. 

Pastor Marie and her husband continue to travel the US, sharing the Gospel of Salvation through Christ alone and exhorting Unity in Christs Church across denominational lines.

You are welcome to comment on the opinion expressed here. 

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http://www.reverbnation.com/turnthetideministries/song/15923084-too-much-slack-time

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Blessings,
The Pastors at Turn the Tide Ministries

Is there a Doctor in the House?

I was absolutely certain of what was in my heart, but not so certain if it were just me in my own desire.  So I asked God “Why would you call ME Lord, to preach your righteous, holy words of life giving salvation to others?”  I knew well, as did God, the sin in my life.  Though I had repented, surely such a past as mine disqualified me from the future dream my heart was forming even as I rejected it as nonsense. 

But I had vowed a vow, when that day of full surrender came to my heart finally after years of stumbling and sinning and trying to “be good” on my own.  A simple yet powerful vow I could do nothing else but keep.  To obey Him, the Lord, in all things as best I could, no matter the difficulty.  And God was, as clearly as I could understand it, calling me to take the necessary steps to obtain the validation of men He had already freely anointed me for, to be a Minister of the Gospel.  Every ordinance man had ordained was against such an occurrence, yet the strength of conviction in my heart could not be denied.

So I began a journey, difficult yet filled with joy in obedience to the Call of my Heavenly Father.   Who would accept one such as I, divorced, bankrupt, a sinner with sin that was very evident and impossible to hide.   To make it even more difficult, I am female! 

The Lord, so full of Love for His children, took me to an earthly ministry known for its stringent regulations concerning Ministers, particularly concerning women.  I hid nothing, kept nothing back, and even as all the rules of man said NO, God said YES! Accepted into the Ministerial Program, I was credentialed in June 2006.  Next, on to full Ordination.  I was on track, with many powerful and influential men and women speaking for me in this.

BUT GOD…. Have you ever noticed that when man says “But…” it is usually something rather negative that follows?  BUT GOD, when He steps in, He brings about miracles.  He overcomes the world, just as He promised when He walked this earth as a man, and encouraged His disciples, warning them that in this world there would be trials and tribulations, but we should take heart, for He has overcome the world!

Years before, when I finally let go of my dreams and desires and surrendered all to the Lord, broken, broke and divorced,  in jest to my friends I declared I would never marry again unless God Himself brought that man right to my front door!  Then I put all that aside and began to walk in the path my Lord was leading.

As I was moving forward in the hierarchy of the church, Thanksgiving day 2007 there came a knock on my door.  January 2008 I married for the last and only TRUE time in my life.  But man – man declared this was “unrighteous” and removed all support for me as a Minister, even so far as taking away those hard-earned credentials!

BUT GOD – who is the One who called and anointed me, brought me to a place where GRACE was spoken, and once more His call as anointed Minister was validated by man as I received  full Ordination as Minister of His precious Gospel. 

All through I kept questioning, asking “Why would you call ME Lord, to preach your righteous, holy words of life giving salvation to others?”   One day, the Lord spoke these words to my heart, and I repeat them now to encourage others, broken Brothers and Sisters who need to hear.  I heard these quiet questions in answer to my seeking.

“When you have an electrical problem, who do you call?   An electrician!  When the plumbing isn’t working, who do you call?  A plumber!  When you want a picture drawn, who do you call? An artist!  When I want sinners to hear of my forgiveness and grace – I call a sinner who has been forgiven.”

This is why Turn the Tide Ministries exists, why we travel all over the USA , presenting our dramas and working with local churches.  To bring life giving truth to sinners, that it is the GRACE of God that will set them free and change their lives.   He alone is the Healer of broker hearts! That no matter what the sin, there is forgiveness and wholeness through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior! 

RESOLUTIONS

Great insight and great revelation was given to the Apostle Paul after his conversion on that road to Damascus.  Once introduced to TRUTH Himself, Paul never looked back, but set himself on a forward seeking mission that cost him a great deal in his personal, physical life but gained him a far greater reward in his spiritual, eternal life!

Phil 3:10-11 (Amplified Version) “For my determined purpose is that I may know Him, that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly, and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection which it exerts over believers and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed in Spirit into His likeness even to His death in the HOPE that if possible I may attain to the spiritual and moral resurrection that lifts me out from among the dead even while in the body."

WOW! Now there is a mouthful of spiritual transforming POWER! Read that a few times to let it sink fully into your heart.

From this we see that Paul had 2 distinct, specific and IMPORTANT goals in mind for his relationship with Christ.

1.)  TO KNOW JESUS

            How do we ever really get to know the heart, thoughts and being of another?  First, we must spend TIME with them and pay close attention to them; observe them in situations; listen to the words they speak; discover their likes and dislikes, the behavior patterns that indicate who they are in relation to others and how they treat other people.  Not just their friends and families, but people in general, how they behave toward them, how they speak of others, especially when not in the presence of those persons!

To KNOW JESUS we need to observe Him both in His humanity that we can relate to which we will find in the Gospels, and also in His divinity which shines through the Old Testament prophesies of His coming.  To know Him, we must read the book written about Him.  Whether for five minutes, an hour or a chapter a day – immerse yourself in His written Word and you will get to know WHO HE IS IN RELATION TO YOU!

2.) TO KNOW THE POWER OF HIS RESURRECTION

            This goes far deeper than simply acknowledging that Jesus was raised from the dead.  Lazarus was also raised from the dead as was Jarius’ daughter, but in their resurrections there is no indication of power on their parts.  In Jesus’ resurrection POWER from Him personally and made known to US PERSONALLY is available!  Power to overcome sin!  Power to transform lives!  Power to bring LIFE and that ETERNAL!  How does it work?  Why does it work?  How does it affect each of us in our lives?

TO KNOW THAT POWER is to understand your own place in this world, the purpose you were born and live for and why the Almighty Maker of Heaven and earth loves you so very much!  You can read about this power in the Bible, but that isn’t the extent of it.  That tells you stories of this power, but it isn’t personal – YET!  Once you KNOW JESUS, then you are in a position to KNOW THE RESURRECTION POWER up close and personally in your own life, your own circumstances.

From this knowledge springs forth a life that honors God the Father and releases extraordinary JOY into the life you live right now – and ushers you into a joy filled ETERNAL LIFE as well.

Paul knew how to make a New Years Resolution!  What is your resolution?  Will you move closer to the One Who created you this year?  “Draw near to me” says the Lord, “and I will draw near to you.”

Planting, Watering and HARVESTING!

There just isn't any other feeling quite like the JOY that comes from assisting someone out of darkness and into the Kingdom of the Living God!  That's really all we do you know, assist others.

It is GOD Who calls all people to His Kingdom.  It is His goodness that draws them to Him.  It is His Holy Spirit that anoints them to hear.

Many plant seeds of truth and many more water and nurture those seeds, blessing them with the warmth of the SON and the food of His truth until one day, God graciously allows one of His Ambassadors the awesome privilege and honor of escorting one across the border - from dead in trespasses and sins to ALIVE ETERNALLY in Christ Jesus the Lord!  And what a responsibility - reaping the Harvest of Souls for the glory of God the Creator and Savior!

We are thanking God the Father for just such a "border crossing" privilege, as Kim made confession of Christ as Savior, asked and received forgiveness of sin. 

Many planted truth seeds, many watered and nurtured.  How WONDERFUL it is when the BODY OF CHRIST works together!

MERRY CHRISTMAS indeed!

America and God

We’ve been so “Americanized” about our Christianity that although in our churches you hear us say the words ‘its not about us”; in our hearts – ITS ALL ABOUT US!  Why aren’t WE getting things just the way WE want them?  Why aren’t WE seeing just what WE want to see?  Why isn’t God doing just what WE want Him to do?  Need proof?  Look closely at and READ the words of our modern day so-called “worship” songs.  READ THEM!  Here I AM to worship.    I am bowing down, I AM giving glory, I - I - I - I - I – Oh- we’re worshipping alright – we are worshipping the CREATURE (ourselves) and not the CREATOR!  The truth is- there is only ONE I AM and it ain’t you and it ain’t me!  Jesus declared the only  truth, “before Abraham was I AM” 

Ever wonder why so many miracle stories seem to come from what we consider “third world countries” about AWESOME things God is doing in hearts and lives?  Why their churches are growing by 10’s of thousands on a regular basis?  I wonder if it doesn’t have something to do with the fact that they aren’t spoiled and pampered and convinced that the whole world and God included “owes” them something? Perhaps they have a better understanding of “gratitude” because they haven’t had every luxury handed to them since birth and been brain washed into believing its their RIGHT  to have whatever they think they need.  It may even have something to do with an awe toward God that we seem to lack here in our American churches, allowing us to think its no big deal if we “sell” Gods good news or use it to enrich ourselves.  In the name of Christianity we’ve made “celebrities” of those God has blessed and anointed and then gleefully torn them to shreds when they bought into the hype and started to think they really were something! (Do we really need to name names here?  Just think of headlines in the last few years - Swaggert, Baker, Haggard and more!)

It is very difficult to separate politics from religion in spite of the best efforts of America to do so.  (In fact, I maintain it is IMPOSSIBLE!)  Who we are as a nation is absolutely reflected in who we are as people in our personal lives.  Are we a people who follow a moral code and have a reverent fear of God our Creator?  (See Psalm 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD.)  America was founded on religious freedom.  NOT freedom FROM religion – but freedom to express religious beliefs as each individual might choose to worship.  NOT freedom FROM worshipping God, but freedom TO worship God in the manner you choose for yourself and your family.  Or not to have any religious expression in your life if that is what you choose.  BUT also not the right to STOP others from religious expression! 

Right now I sincerely hope many reading this are sputtering about “separation of church and state.”  I hope that, because it means we’re being read by those who don’t know the Lord as their God.  And that’s GOOD!  You can’t learn if you never read about things you don’t already know about and it is Gods most ardent desire that every single soul of His creation KNOW HIM!  He doesn’t have ONE specific criteria for HOW you worship either, but just THAT you worship the ONE TRUE GOD.  (See Exodus chapter 20.)  God speaks of having no God before Him, and not bowing down to idols and having no graven images – yet He does not limit your expression of worship to Him.  It is for YOUR health, for YOUR well being and for YOUR blessing that HE desires you to know His truth, because He loves you so very much and He knows the only possibility of YOU being TRULY blessed is to know HIM.

FOR THE RECORD; there is NO such statement found ANYWHERE in the Consitution of the United States of America.  It states that congress shall make NO LAW concerning a religion – not that religion has no place in our laws.  In fact, it is our laws that give our citizens the right to have NO RELIGION IN THEIR PERSONAL LIVES if that is what they choose to do, however,  IT DOES NOT GIVE ANYONE THE RIGHT TO INFRINGE UPON OTHERS INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS TO HAVE RELIGION IN THEIR LIVES!  If the majority of Americans celebrate Christmas – then MERRY CHRISTMAS it is and not Happy Holidays for the majority of us.  Which brings me to this “silent majority” stuff.  If we are in fact the majority,  WE’D BETTER STOP BEING SO SILENT BEFORE WE ARE SILENCED ALL TOGETHER!

You may agree with my sentiments here.  You may not agree with my sentiments.  That’s okay.  That’s the beauty of America.  You have a right to your opinion AND I HAVE A RIGHT TO MINE.