One Result of the COVID19 Shutdown

These last few weeks being forced into self quarantine in my home, I found myself spending a lot more time on social media and browsing the internet far more than usual. Doing so has reinforced for me a truth that I’ve known but I am now ever more certain of, and that truth is that there is no honest to goodness absolute truth outside of God’s word.

That may sound like a no brainer on first reading, especially to fellow Christians, but I’m asking you to think more deeply about this than perhaps you have up to this point in your life.  We are all influenced (whether we fully recognize that influence or not) by the things we read, the things we see, the movies we watch. We bring those thoughts inspired by all those different stimuli, we bring all those attitudes and those experiences with us into our church services, into our Bible reading, and into our prayer times!

As a result, aware or unaware of it, we actually end up diluting the truth from God‘s word with all the things that we see and hear and experience in the world around us. A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough, God’s word tells us.(1Corinthians 5:6) And I have discovered over the course of the last couple of weeks in particular, just how true that truth truly is!

The bottom line of understanding that I’ve come to from this experience of Internet and social media overload?

The only way to truly walk WITH Christ is to walk IN Christ. And what I mean by that is not to allow myself to be diluted by others opinions and thoughts and lies and false truths that they put out there in the media, the news, the movies, the books, the entertainment, the opinion pieces, the editorials and the everything outside of God’s pure word.

At a certain point in my past, I had come to the realization that I needed to make a decision within my own heart to truly follow Christ and Him alone.  That led to a period of time (for me it was 3 full months) of shutting off the TV, shutting off the radio, shutting out the noise of the world (easier, as there wasn’t the World Wide Web available at the time!) and reading ONLY the Bible, Christian books and magazines and listening ONLY to Christian music.

It reminded me of when I first got saved. I had started reading the Bible at the age of six and I know that I got filled with the Holy Spirit at a very young age, outside any church experience. It was just me and God. Growing up in an abusive household, broken by multiple divorces, alcoholism and witchcraft practices, that time alone with God gave me protection and comfort that I don’t even have words to describe.  Then in my late teens, I left the church I’d been attending since the age of 3 and began a journey of seeking the God I had come to know through His Word.  I wasn’t finding it in the church I was at, and I didn’t find it in the churches  I began visiting. I often found myself at odds with what was being taught, but I was too young and immature, too naïve and uneducated to understand.

During the time that I spent attempting to follow church teachings, I have come to realize is the time that I became the most vulnerable and moved away from just following God, to integrating other peoples opinions, thoughts and ideas into my own thinking and actions in life. And I fell prey to the flesh, convinced that the actions of my childhood were at fault for my faulty thinking, were the reason for my poor decisions and basically for any and all sin that I committed. And I spent years paying the price for that idea that I wasn’t personally responsible. This allowed me to continue in sin and attempt to correct things in my flesh, rather than shedding them, as Gods Word tells us to do (Philippians 3:13), letting them go and confessing them as sin and being set free the way God‘s word tells me he wants me to be! Years of trying to reconcile the mess inside of me with the opinions of man that I was hearing inside and outside the church resulted in years of living confused, dazed, uncertain and unsure and vulnerable and …. sinful.

Before anyone starts to get the crazy and incorrect notion that I am trying to blame my sin on anything or anyone other than myself, let me be clear. I am responsible for how I responded to all of the information that I allowed into my life and to influence my thinking and therefore my actions. These are my sins and it is my need to go before my God and seek His forgiveness and be cleansed of all my unrighteousness by the precious blood of Jesus! Saying that leads right into one of the biggest truths that I have come to understand. That truth is that according to the Bible, each one of us is individually responsible for ourselves.

We are individually responsible to seek God and His righteousness with all our hearts FIRST and with diligence. We are individually accountable to God for the repentance of our sin and we are individually responsible to turn and follow Christ as a faithful disciple of His truth. We are INDIVIDUALS, not a collective, individually responsible before a God who created us, loves us, and cares for us but has set a standard of truth for us.

With all of that understood, we can then bring that into the body of Christ where we can encourage one another and love one another and lift one another up and build one another up and hold one another accountable and help one another to make whatever change needs to be made according to God‘s truth, not according to our opinion or any denominations doctrine or theology. We don’t wait to reach a “level” before being part of the Body, but within the Body, we are to be working toward that individual goal while collectively assisting and encouraging each other in that goal. (Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 10:17; 12:13)

In doing it this way, working individually and collectively, we positively influence each other to seek out Gods truth for ourselves and for each other.  In this way we all grow and have something productive to offer to the both the Body of Christ and the world around us.  A reading of the Gospels is an example of this principle being lived out in the daily lives of those first and early church disciples.

That is how we will build the Body of Christ in love, as the book of Ephesians tells us to do, rather than tearing each other down by our opinions and our ideas of what theology and what doctrine should be followed or what  behaviors should be displayed or how we should dress and what our hair should look like and how we should talk and what ministry should be defined as and how it should look and how we should go about it!

In all of these things that I have discovered both in the many years of my walk with Christ and reinforced just lately, one of the biggest discoveries I have made is that our God is an infinitely creative God who treats everyone singularly and individually and has the creative power to bring a specific life work to every individual that He created!!

When we go to God‘s word, and we begin everything, including each single day, with God’s perfect and undiluted truth, then we change from glory to glory; then we are convicted but not condemned; convicted of sin leading us to repent before Him and He brings change as He brings the balm of forgiveness.

The very act of starting each new day with a refresher course of truth enab les us to put aside our flesh just as his Word exhorts us to do, and then we truly discover the freedom in Christ He sent His Son to deliver us to! True freedom! We discover what it really means to be led by the Holy Spirit rather than led by the group mentality of the people we hang out with, or their opinions of how we should behave, or the theology of church denominations and religious institutions.

Jesus’ own words in the bible tell us that if we are filled with the Holy Spirit (which is God himself!) then that Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth! (John 16:13) Not ‘some’ truth, not somebody else’s truth, not even our own truth, but THE TRUTH, and ALL of it! (1Corinthians 2:13)  And that we will need no teacher beyond God holy spirit, (1John 2:27) because then we will have all that we need.

That is what will make us, all of us, healthy believers participating in a healthy body of Christ as opposed to being members of an audience being entertained by a select few on a certain day of the week at a certain hour for a certain amount of time with an expectation that we will pay a certain amount of money for the privilege. (Do not misunderstand, I am not advocating against the gathering of the saints.  That is ordained by God and is GOOD for the growth of the individual and the Body as a whole.  What I am advocating is change; a change in the audience/performer format currently followed in almost every church which results in sleeping, uninvolved Christians!)

God has a plan for His creation. And that plan is not discovered from the mind or heart of man or any group of men and/or women. God‘s perfect plan isn’t even simply or fully contained in the writings we call the Bible (which is holy and it is perfect but it’s not everything God intends), for that Bible itself tells us that God will reveal… there are further revelations… that the Holy Spirit will lead us to ALL truth… which we wouldn’t need if all the truth was already contained in the book. (A book by the way, which is perfect and is Holy but did not exist for many many many generations upon generations. And for generation upon generation has been subject to the translation, mistranslation and opinions of those who do the translations of that book!)

Try to understand what I am trying to convey here; that the book is perfect, the book is holy, and the book is our starting point, however, the fullness and the greatness and the totality of God certainly cannot be contained by a single book, (John 21:25), which is why Colossians 1:27 tells us we have Christ in us, which is the Holy Spirit, which in the book of Romans God through the Apostle Paul reveals to us, will be the vehicle that brings us to all truth!

If God intended that the written Word, the Bible alone, would be what brings us to all truth, he would have said so. He did not say that. He said His Holy Spirit, which resides in the heart of each and every believer, (a believer being those who have confessed Jesus is Lord and believe that God has raised Jesus from the dead for their redemption from sin, those whose names are written in the Lambs Book of Life), they will be led by the Holy Spirit of the living God in their individual daily lives!

We have become a culture and society plagued by what we call the ‘victim mentality’. I’m not responsible, I’m not accountable, I’m the victim of someone else’s behavior. I can see why Satan would push such a false narrative. With that mindset how easily he can then spread the lie that as long as you’re in church every time the doors are open you have a ticket to heaven and God will forgive any and all of your sins without you truly doing the work of repentance. And repentance is work! If you are sinning on a regular and daily basis, giving up that sin isn’t a fast and simple and easy thing. It’s like getting free of any addiction, there’s some hard work involved!

By promoting this “I am not responsible it is someone else’s responsibility” attitude and heart set even in the people of God who call Jesus their Lord, Satan has been able to steer people away from that personal accountability, away from that personal responsibility to seek first the kingdom of God which would truly set them free!

Instead we are given the false feeling that we have ‘done our duty’ before God, simply by sitting in the pew or chair in a building, singing a few songs along with the entertainment on the stage, and listening, unfortunately most of the time with half an ear and even less of our hearts, to somebody else preach or lecture us about some aspect or opinion or principal, hopefully even from the Bible, and then go home with nary a thought about what we’ve heard or how it would apply to our lives or any kind of discussion concerning it whatsoever!

This isn’t what the Bible teaches!

1Corinthians 14 indicates teaching is to be immediately followed by discussion among everyone there! Yet today, after we’ve “attended the service” we go about our lives, with the wrong notion but fully convinced in our hearts, that we’ve done what God requires of us since we put a few dollars in the offering plate and we sat through the service, that somehow that should please God and that God Almighty should give us a pass on anything else we do throughout the week! (This may not be your experience, but it is unfortunately the experience of far too many who name themselves Christians!)

If this isn’t you, then good for you! If you dig into God‘s word daily on your own seeking to know Him, seeking to understand His will for your life, seeking the foundational truth you need so that you can hear from the Holy Spirit daily and follow the Holy Spirit’s leading into all truth for your life, for the work of ministry God has called you individually to, then good for you!

But for the vast majority who call themselves Christians, that is simply not how this works.

In the last several weeks, I have come to understand to a far greater degree, the understanding God began to give me years and years ago but it has taken this long to truly take hold and build roots in my heart, that there is a slumbering sickness in the church of God across denominational lines and including every denomination and/or non-denominational gathering of Gods saints, for the most part. This is the prayer God has continually pressed on my heart year after year, that His Body would WAKE UP!!

Each of us needs to examine our own heart, as the Apostle Paul states clearly,(2Corinthians 13:5), but having examined our own heart, each of us is responsible to then move forward in the truth that the Holy Spirit reveals to us.

This then is me, moving forward in the truth the Holy Spirit has revealed to me. I have allowed myself to slip away from that individual accountability and responsibility, to die to myself in order that I might live to Christ, and to diligently and relentlessly seek to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit and follow the leading of that Holy Spirit. If my journey can help one other soul make their own journey into truth, then it is well worth putting myself out there  as transparently as I can and allowing myself to be vulnerable. In fact, that very principle is one of the things God has clearly reiterated and reminded me of and made ever clearer to me in these last few weeks. Part of my joy as a Christian sister is ‘laying down my life’ for others!

It is not enough to just hear someone talk about God’s word. If we put the writings of Paul together, rather than set apart one sentence here or one sentence there, we discover that we do need to hear the word of God preached, but we also need to read and understand it for ourselves, discuss it with other like-minded believers so that each of us comes to a full and/or fuller understanding of how it relates to our lives as well as how we should be applying the principle from God‘s word, and how we can truly encourage one another to grow and change and be more productive as laborers in God’s field of harvest!

God has called us to be ambassadors for Christ, (2Corinthians 5:20), every single one of us is called to be an ambassador and a minister. Not a single one of us anywhere in the entire Bible is called to be an audience member.  Not a single one of us anywhere in God’s word is called to only to bankroll someone else’s ministry or ambassadorship! In fact Jesus himself laid out the very first and foundational principle, in Acts 1:8- when He declared to the disciples, “you will be witnesses to Me!”

These last few weeks in isolation, spent reading God‘s word, praying God‘s word, and with way too much time spent looking at what is going on in the hearts of others via their social media posts, I am more convinced than ever of several things.
the gathering of the saints is an absolute necessity for the strength and well-being of the  individual Christian and the Body of Christ as a whole.

• the gathering of the saints must be interactive, with every member fully engaging. 
• the gathering of the Church is to be as described in 2Timothy 3:16-17; All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

This happens with discussion, by encouraging one another, confessing to one another so that the word can be shared more fully with each other.  In this way the gathering becomes a place of learning and strengthening for the real work of ministry.

• the actual work of the ministry is to take place daily out in our regular daily lives, involving the people we see when we go shopping, the people that we work with, the people we live next to, the people we encounter at gas stations, the people we run into when we’re camping, when we’re fishing, when we’re simply living our lives!  We are equipped (Ephesians 4:12), we are ready ‘instant in season and out of season’ (2Timothy4:2) to share God’s truth. 

Too often all the saints of God share is come to my church, come listen to my pastor who is so smart. But we are all called to share the simple truth of gods word, God‘s salvation gift and God‘s everlasting love with a hurting, lost and terribly wounded world.  The gathering of the saints is to equip each and every one of us for this important work!  Not for us to sing a few songs and hear a great speech.  Not for us to have a social activity to attend.  But to prepare every single one of us as a witness and representative of the Lord God!

Not everyone will listen when we share and not everyone will receive it, but that isn’t our concern. Our concern is to share. The condition of the heart of that person who hears, is between that person and the Holy Spirit. Our only responsibility there after before and after sharing Gods TRUTH is to pray for people. Pray for the Holy Spirit work to occur, to enter the hearts of others and transform them from dead in trespasses and sins to alive for eternity through Christ Jesus the Lord!

1 Timothy 2:1-4
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior;
4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

Put aside the meme’s, the cliche’s, the niceties of false truth that God wants you to be “happy, healthy and wealthy” and grab hold of His Truth! Abundant life and true joy comes from obedience to Him.  Obedience to Him leads to others coming to know Him and His name being glorified.  His, not ours.

We say “HE IS WORTHY TO BE PRAISED”  but is the way we live life proving that truth?  We fall so far short no matter how hard we try or how much we want to glorify His name!  I know I certainly do!  And once again, He and only He provides.  For even while we were sinners, He sent His son to save the world! (Romans 5:18)  By grace we are saved, not of works (Ephesians 2:8-9) lest any of us should have anything to boast about.

Father, I sincerely ask in the mighty name of Jesus that these tiny little words might somehow make a difference in someone’s life, and lead them out of darkness and into the light of your warm and welcoming love! I am incredibly thankful to You, and more so as I get to know You better!  I pray that will be the experience of many others as well, as I humbly share Your message of salvation with any and all in the course of my life, as You give me opportunity.  Thank you so much for your love and care and leading in my life!  I am so grateful, and look forward to all You have for me!  I am listening for the trumpet sound and looking for Your Sons coming, and meanwhile I obediently will WATCH & PRAY as You instructed.  Thank You for saving me, thank You for working through me to reach others by being a witness for You, in Jesus name!

The Great HOPE

When I first began to listen, really listen to others teach the precepts and doctrine of the Bible, it inspired me and stirred such a passion in my heart!  How did these people KNOW these things?  How could they be so sure?

As a young child I began reading the Bible, and having no real life experience, most of what I read escaped my understanding completely.  BUT... a layer of wisdom was being sowed in my heart.  As I continued to read, and study, and listen to others, and study some more and read some more I discovered that a great deal of the Bible revealed itself, quite simply, within itself.

Take as an example the great problem of SIN.  Having listened to the teaching of man we come to understand that we each are sinners in need of a Savior, and God provided Jesus as our Savior.  We are blessed at the Great Salvation but are then deceived into condemnation, believing falsely that having once obtained the Great Salvation we are no longer worthy of it, can never be worthy of it and must pay a price, over and over again, in what appears to be a vain hope that we'll squeak by and sneak into heaven.

NAH... that just ain't the truth my friends!

Here's a simple truth in Gods Word taken from the Old Testament.

Jeremiah 3: 1 They say "If a man divorces his wife, and she goes from and becomes another man's, may he return to her again?  would not that land be greatly polluted? But you have played the harlot with many lovers; Yet return to Me" says the Lord.

If the "text" for the sermon were to stop there, we would only grasp how woefully we lack, how we fall so far short.  We might say we believe that God forgives us, certainly, but there would linger an edge of fear, a slice of doubt that could keep us enslaved to our sin as a burden that, though lifted, the shadow would remain to cloud our life still.

Continuing to read we will find within the same passage of scripture these words of truth:

Jeremiah 3: 12 -13  ...For I am merciful, says the Lord; I will not remain angry forever.  Only acknowledge your iniquity, that you have transgressed against the Lord your God....

Forgiveness is a complete and utter thing with God.  He requires that we acknowledge our sin in order that we will take responsibility and turn away from sin.  He doesn't hold it over our heads, count it against us forever or bring it up to humiliate us.  He throws it in a sea of forgetfulness, He separates us from it as far as the east is from the west and He remembers it no more.  GRACE.

In His Word, the Bible, we find we can indeed have the Great Salvation.  In our human frailty we find in Him we have Great Hope of His strength being our strength.

Be encouraged today!

IF you have confessed your sin to God, and turned away, repented of it, He has forgiven you and you walk, not burdened or shadowed, but FREE indeed as Christ Jesus declared!  Truly free to live in newness of heart, strength of purpose and JOY as you fulfill the great and mighty plan God has for your life!

IF you have not yet taken this step yet, today can be the day of your rebirth as a new creation in Christ, set free from enslaving sin and moving forward in the Grace of the Lord our God.

This is our Great Hope, to live eternally through Christ in God.  Allelujah!

Want to know more, understand more, gain more and receive all that God has for you?  Read, dear friend, His matchless wonderful words of life and love and hope and joy found in His book that we call the Bible.

It isn't just "a" book, it is THE BOOK.
Through it for centuries God speaks to those
who will LISTEN.

The Excellent Mercy of the Creator

Bow down Your ear O Lord, hear me, for I am poor and needy

Preserve my life; for I am holy - YOU are my God

Save Your servant who trusts in You!

Be merciful to me O Lord, for I cry to You all day long

Rejoice the soul of Your servant, for to You O Lord I lift up my soul

for You Lord are good and ready to forgive

and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.

Give ear O Lord to my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications

In the day of my trouble I will call upon You, for You will answer me

Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord

Nor are there any works like Your works.

All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You O Lord

and shall glorify Your name.  For You are great and do wondrous things;

YOU ALONE ARE GOD.

Teach me Your way O Lord; I will walk in Your truth

Unite my heart to fear Your name forevermore

For great is Your mercy toward me

and You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

O God, the proud have risen against me

and a violent mob have sought my life

and have not set You before them.

But You O Lord are a God full of compassion; and gracious, 

longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.

Oh turn to me and have mercy on me!

Give Your strength to Your servant and save the child of Your maidservant

Show me a sign for good, that those who hate me may see it and be ashamed

because You, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me

Psalm 86 - a cry to the Lord our God, our Creator, to remember us in our troubles and
to save us out of those troubles.  May you be encouraged today, knowing for a certainty that the Lord, God of all creation, is FOR you and ON YOUR SIDE!  Seek Him, trust Him and walk in His ways and see YOUR  SALVATION today!

Lord in Heaven, May each soul who reads these words be comforted in the knowledge of Your Love for them, and be strengthened by Your Holy Spirit working in them, reaping blessing in their lives and situations and bringing Glory to Your name, I ask and pray in the name of Jesus our Savior, AMEN!

Radio's, Sin and this thing called CHURCH

Remember when the radio was the
focal point of every home?  It's
still a great source of information.

  I was listening to the radio this week and was especially pleased to hear an interview about     to start with Pastor Jim Cymbala.  At one time I was part of the choir of a sister church with   the Brooklyn Tabernacle and had the distinct pleasure of attending not only several Sunday   services at the Brooklyn Tab, but also of taking part in several choir workshops.  Attending     a Tuesday prayer night at the Brooklyn Tab is not an evening you are likely to forget.  I’m a   fan, too, having read all of his books and looking forward to reading the newest one.  

Can you imagine my shock when the first thing I heard Pastor Cymbala tell the radio host interviewing him that only 6% of Americans are actually Biblical Christians!  He went on to clarify that what he meant by that was only 6% of those identifying themselves as Christians in recent polls also specified belief that Jesus is the one and only way to heaven.

When I could force my dropped jam to snap shut I realized I wasn’t actually that shocked after all.  Over the last several years that Turn the Tide Ministries has been traveling the US and sharing the message of the Gospel, we’ve visited a lot of churches and talked with a lot of folks.  Folks in church, not attending church regularly at this time and those who have never attended church.  In every one of these categories of people we’ve heard their own versions about all the different ways to reach heaven.  We’ve listened to argument after argument that God surely isn’t going to “send” so and so to hell just because they are

·        Homosexual

·        Fornicators; living in sin

·        Abusing drugs or alcohol

·        Telling white lies

·        Only stealing from their company because they are underpaid

·        Cheating on their husband/wife but it’s the spouses fault

See I Corinthians 6:9 and Ephesians 5:5, then we’ll talk more about that.

What we’ve learned over the last few years specifically is that there is a serious sin problem plaguing  American Christians.  The sin problem isn’t as simple as that people are sinning and need to repent.  It’s a tougher problem even than that!  It’s a problem exacerbated by the fact that few church leaders are preaching against sin, they make light of sin or they are simply excusing it altogether!  If I had a dollar for every time someone told me “Oh, my pastor said God won’t hold (fill in the blank) against me.  I’ll just be forgiven.”  

Forgiveness isn’t automatic and though it is freely given it isn’t cheap and easy.  In first recognizing that we are sinners, that we have committed sin, we must repent in sincere sorrow and ask forgiveness in a heart that does not plan to continue in sin.  That doesn’t seem to be a concept anyone understands anymore.  The teaching we’ve heard goes along the lines of as long as you show up in church regularly and drop money in the offering plate or bucket or basket, you are okay with God and don’t need to concern yourself with much more than that, unless it’s something really obvious, and even then, the teaching goes, grace will cover so just get on with your life and don’t worry about it.

 

HUH!?!?! 

It seems anything goes, as long as you can report a certain number of church attendee’s.  We were invited to visit a church down south and attended the praise and worship practice.  I was frankly shocked at the harshness of the worship leader toward those volunteering their time to provide music.  Perfection was his goal and nothing less down to the minutest detail would be tolerated.  Turns out the worship leader was also the Pastor.  Made me wonder how he behaved toward the sheep entrusted to his care when they fell short of the perfection he demanded.  I discovered the answer the next morning.  

The music was indeed pitch perfect.  It was also cold and lifeless.  There was not so much worship as there was a performance, which the audience, ummm, I mean, congregation, dutifully applauded for when it was over.  The preaching was also lifeless.  No evidence of the Holy Spirit present or invited.  As much as was humanly possible all was orchestrated to a cold, calculated perfection that left me craving some time with God the Father to recuperate from the exhaustion of just watching the attempt to master perfection through the flesh.

YUK!

In a recent editorial, J. Lee Grady, the Editor of Charisma, a Christian magazine, made the following observation.

“I don’t care if you have strobe lights, fog machines, killer musicians and a home-run sermon every week. If people don’t see true brokenness in the pulpit and experience real pastoral care, they will never grow into disciples. Shallow, professional leaders produce shallow Christianity.”  

I agree wholeheartedly!  On the other end of the spectrum, we sat in a service with barely a handful of people and very little polish in evidence.  It was clear these were not trained or educated folks.  Just people reaching out to the Lord.  And they did not quit crying out and singing and praising Him until they broke through and reached the Throne room.  The music was off key, it was obvious none of them actually knew how to play any of the instruments, but it was one of the sweetest sounds we’d ever heard.  I’m guessing it was to God, too, because He showed up and the service was anointed.  The prayers were powerful and the love was evident in abundance.

We have moved so far away from the biblical model we find in the book of Acts, where the truth was preached at all costs, including the cost of their very lives.  Nowadays, we are so concerned with "our" reputations, we have little to no regard for the reputation of the only one that counts.  That of Jesus our Lord and Savior.   Most church leadership would and DOES reject this style of church service.  They appear content to please the people in return for the mammon they worship, oh sorry, I mean, the money they NEED to keep the church doors open and the retirement funds full. 

Church has become about everything BUT Jesus and His gospel message and all about programs, formula’s and our own brand of Christian Celebrities (more on these next week) all carefully wrapped around God, clothed in the name of God but having very little to do with Him at all.  

Daily reading of THIS bread
will keep us well FED!

My bottom line here is similar to how I heard Pastor Cymbala end his radio interview.

When it comes to the gathering of the saints of God, and please do not misunderstand me, I know that gathering to strengthen and encourage and teach and disciple is of great importance, it should not be about well planned programs and it surely should not be about following the latest fad or church growth formula.  The planning stage should begin and end with a sincere and humble heart before God, our Bibles, a quiet time of contemplation and prayer and a fervent request for WISDOM from God the Father in how to “do” this thing we call church.    

PRAYERS REQUESTS MAY BE MADE BY FILLING OUT THE FORM AT THE TOP LEFT OF THE PAGE.  WE PRAY DAILY AND HOST PRAYER SERVICES ON FRIDAY EVENINGS.  WE ASK THAT YOU KEEP TURN THE TIDE MINISTRIES IN YOUR PRAYERS, AND MAY THE GOD OF PEACE BLESS US ALL WITH WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING IN THE HOLY SPIRIT.

The Body of Christ

Adherence, or the imperfect human attempt to adhere to the principles found in the Bible are what separate Believers from unbelievers and the actual application in our thoughts and subsequently our actions on a consistent and deliberate basis is what brings about the maturity in Christ from remaining a babe, able to drink milk only, as Paul the Apostle so lovingly described it.

Simply put, there are several steps we can follow that lead us to maturity as a Christian:

          *   Read, know and understand Gods word to the very best of your ability

II Timothy 2:15  Study to show yourself approved unto God a workman who need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth

          *   Choose to be obedient and think according to what you've studied 

Romans 12:2  and be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

          *   Give all glory and praise to the one to Whom all Glory and Praise is due    

I Corinthians 1:31  That according as it is written he that glories, let him glory in the Lord

Notice in each of these and in the many others found in the Bible, the end result, the beginning reason and the "why" is NEVER about you and I, not about us "getting what we ask for" or our lives being made easy and blessed.  It always begins, is about and ends with the Lord.  We give a lot of lip service to "its all about Jesus" but our actions often show the lie that in our hearts it is really all about us!

When a disciple asked Jesus about the greatest commandment, that, too, was all about the only one worthy of honor - the Lord!

Matthew 22: 36 - 39

Master, which is the great commandment in the law?  Jesus said unto him - You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it.  You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself.

Jesus cut right to the heart of the matter, didn't He?  Every fiber of our being is created by God for His purpose precisely because HE IS THE CREATOR!  And the best use of all the "love" we have in us?  TO GIVE IT AWAY TO THOSE AROUND US.  

Jesus told His disciples that whoever would be first, would be last.  Whoever tried to "save" his own life would lose it.  This isn't a physical law, but a spiritual one.  To us, in our reasoning and logic it makes no sense at all.  But if you try it, you discover it works, perfectly, every time and in ways you can't even begin to imagine.  Take a moment, look up these verses and read the context of why Jesus spoke in this manner.  Next time, we'll take a look at them together, so be sure to send your questions and comments to turnthetideministry@live.com and join the discussion!

Verses to read:

Matthew 10:39; 16:25  Mark 8:35  Luke 9:24; 17:33  John 12:2

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.

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.

We welcome your Prayer Requests and your comments!

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!

Our Amazing Lord!

Isn't it amazing how God works? When we get ourselves out of His way, set aside our own will and desire and truly allow His Spirit to lead and guide us we may end up in places we never even dreamed of doing things we hadn't ever thought about and yet they are just exactly the right place and the right things to do, bringing Glory and Honor to His name rather than our own. We are finding this truth applied over and over again in our journeying as Ambassadors for Christ.

You may be familiar with the parable Jesus shares in Luke 12:20 about the man who puts his hope in the physical riches of this world only to enjoy none of the fruits of his labor. His focus was on the temporary things of this world rather than obedience to the Lord. In short the story is a snapshot of his life. He is blessed with abundance of goods, but rather than giving thanks to God and seeking how he might honor the Lord for the abundance he's been granted, he makes his own selfish plans which are never realized as his life ends that very night.

The point or moral of the story is simply to give God the glory, to seek Gods way for our lives and not our own ways. To recognize the temporary nature of this life and keep our focus on the HOPE that is ours in Eternity, precisely so that we won't get fixated on the things of this world. This is an especially necessary reminder in this age of instant gratification. Cell phones keep us in instant constant contact and computers connect us to everything the world has to offer at the push of a button. We've grown so far and so fast, and yet the exhortation remains to WAIT UPON THE LORD. His timing, His will, His plan brought to completion in our lives.

We recently had a "plan" about where we were going and what we were going to do.  It was a good plan that included being a blessing to others, preaching the Word of God and leading people to a saving knowledge of Christ as Savior.  A good plan, but it was our plan, not Gods plan.  Thankfully, as we prayed and sought His way for us, He showed us His way.  It wasn't ours, not what we had thought but His is so much better!

One of the things we've had to guard against in our lives since answering the Lords call to live as Missionaries fully surrendered to Him is a tendency to define what we think "ministry"is or what it should look like based on how it's "always been done." We see it in the churches as well. This is what has worked in the past, so we simply continue in our flesh doing what has worked in the past. A few tweaks here or there to keep up with technology, maybe refresh the music ministry to reflect current tastes, but essentially we plod along doing what we've always done.

In the midst of his discourse to believers in the first century, wherein he touches upon many different subjects, the Apostle James makes this great observation that is timely to our lives today.  "Come now, you who say "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit"; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that." James 4: 13-15

We are joyfully and even sometimes painfully discovering that MINISTRY as God defines it is very different from "what we've always done" and very different from what we thought it would be. When we insist on defining what His work is, we limit ourselves to our ability and our knowledge. WE BOX GOD IN. We don't stop His work from occurring, we simply stop ourselves from doing His work and begin doing our own. By putting aside our preconceived notions and truly seeking the leading of the Holy Spirit, we will find ourselves doing things we never could have imagined, for He is infinitely CREATIVE, but they will be the things that bring about His glory, His will and have positive Eternal effect on others lives as well as our own.

Thank you for joining us today for an encouraging Word in the Lord!  Subscribe to Tide Turning Tales and get the Teachings and inspiring stories right to your inbox.  Leave a comment and tell us how the Lord is working in your life! We are one body in Christ.  Whatever we do, lets MAKE IT COUNT FOR CHRIST.

IS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A CHRISTIAN NATION?

Founded on the idea of freedom.  Not freedom FROM religion, but freedom OF religion, this great country began.  Humble but strong in the belief of individual freedom to worship. To pray. To express praise to Almighty God. ARE WE STILL THAT NATION?
I offer no apologetics. A simple question, you answer.
 IS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A CHRISTIAN NATION?

SURRENDER IS VICTORY!

Man did not create the true God for mans purposes, but the true God created man for His own purposes.

Hebrews 11:6 ….for he who comes to God must believe that He is…..

All the human race starts somewhere.   We have a beginning and we realize at some point in our life journey that we will most certainly have an end in this physical world.

If we haven’t already been introduced to the Creator of Heaven and earth it is certain that we will start thinking thoughts of this nature.  Once we do, we discover a choice must be made.  To believe or to reject.  How fearsome a thing is free will after all.  Rejection has its own consequence. 

This morning, let us consider the consequence of believing.

As we begin to learn and grow in understanding it is very possible and almost probable that we will find ourselves again in conflicts.  Conflicted between our new heart’s desire to please the Almighty God we’ve now chosen to abandon ourselves in obedience to and the old, fleshly desire of sin that continues to rear its ugly head and demand our attention.  Most of us might even come to agree that this is the hardest “fight” in the life journey of a believer.  When won, it is almost surely a long arduous battle which has left many scars.  We take courage in the knowledge that all believers face this fight.  We are enlivened to know we do not struggle in this alone, but our brothers and sisters in Christ struggle as well. 

But there is another battle.  One more subtle than the battle of flesh and spirit quarreling over our attention.  One deep in our heart we wrestle mightily with and are hard pressed to see anyone else’s struggle in order to be encouraged by it.  It is the struggle of FAITH, wrapped snugly around and intertwined with the struggle of understanding.  Being human, we want to SEE before we believe, but that is not an available option.  We form our thoughts and behaviors on our experiential history, but this struggle often defies that avenue of wisdom.

It is the struggle to reconcile ourselves to trust and believe and obey and surrender our complete and whole and total selves to a God we cannot see, hear, taste, touch or smell in the even harder circumstance of what appears to be contradictions.  He is a God of GRACE and MERCY, yet also a God of WRATH and RIGHTEOUSNESS.  He is kind and forgiving, while remaining completely HOLY and JUST.  He LOVES US, yet CHASTISES US in our disobedience sometimes quite severly.

And we are to TRUST HIM, not in spite of these seeming contradictions, but inside these very contradictions.  Brothers and Sisters, this is hard!  Hard to walk by faith, hard to live in obedience.  Yet this is the place of SURRENDER.  Not blind faith, not foolish faith.  Perhaps not even faith at all.  Simple SURRENDER, embracing the spiritual knowledge that when one comes to the Lord, one must believe that He is…..AND that He is a REWARDER of those who diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)

In the diligent seeking is where you will find, not easy to follow directions, but the strength and grace necessary to SURRENDER.  Consider the idea in this sentence deeply and well:

Man did not create the true God for mans purposes, but the true God created man for His own purposes. ~ Reverend Marie Krebs

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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!