My Lord, My Friend

Equipping The Saints - Witnessing With The Romans Road: Part 2

Following on from yesterdays post Equipping The Saints – Witnessing With The Romans Road: Part 1, is the second part aptly named part 2. If you haven’t read part 1 I encourage you to click on the above link and have a read. After all it contains steps 1, 2, and 3. Tonight the remaining steps to help witness to someone using the Romans road.

Step 4 – Romans 5:8 - ‘But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.’

This step of the Romans road shows that it was always God’s plan to redeem us, to offer us a way out of the certainty of an eternity away from Him. It breaks God’s heart every time one of us leaves this earth to spend eternity away from Him, because He created us for relationship with Him. So while we went on sinning and remained ignorant He devised a plan that would set us free, but it meant seeing His own son sent to hell. Now that is an amazing measure of His love for us!

Practical Witnessing Tip – This is a great time just to talk one on one about God’s great love for us, and how it has no measure, and that it eclipses any feeling of love we could ever experience for any person. He loved us so much, he paid an amazing price so that we could be free. And that plan had been laid down from the very beginning of time.

Step 5 – Romans 10:9-10 - ‘that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.’

This is probably the most vital step, followed of course by the recognition of having sinned and needing to be forgiven. This step requires all travelers down the Romans Road to confess that Jesus is their Lord and Savior and that they believed He was raised from the dead. Confessing this, is as the rest of the scripture says the way to salvation. In doing this step, you’re also acknowledging that you are your life is forfeit and that you are taking on Christ likeness, meaning that you know you weren’t living your life right, and that has to change.

Practical Witnessing Tip - If you’ve made it to this stage they are probably already at a stage where they understand that they have lived a life of sin and that Jesus is the only way out of that sin. It can also be the hardest step, sometimes people require a demonstration of power before they will believe, but that’s okay. Our God is God who likes to show himself. He likes to prove to us that he is real and living. This is a great time to ask Him for a word of knowledge, pray for a healing, or just ask for the holy spirit to touch them and invite God to reveal himself. Don’t worry, He Will. He’s got your back!!

Step 6 – Romans 10:13 - ‘For whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved’

Reassurance. Reassurance that if you call upon the name you WILL be saved. No if’s buts or maybe’s. There may be no outward manifestation, no tingles, no nothing. You may not even feel any different. Which can naturally lead to doubt. And doubt can lead to denying that anything even happened, which is the easiest way to find yourself back in the mess you’ve come from. But this verse assures us, that no matter how we feel. If we admit Jesus as our Lord and savior, and call upon his name we are saved. It’s black and white!

Practical Witnessing Tip - Reassure the person you’re leading down the road that this is the greatest decision they could have ever made. It means that their soul is secure, and they now have the greatest friend and ally the universe over. The creator. Reassure them that believing in Him doesn’t make you loopy, or mean you have to get on your knees and pray. Tell them that God wants you real. Just the way He made you. He wants them their relationship with Him to be like a father to a child. And that He is a loving father! Also reassure them that though they may not have felt anything, now that they have called upon His name, they are saved!

Step 7 – Revelations 3:20 - ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.’

From the moment we were born God has given us opportunities to find Him and come into a relationship, and even if you turn your back on Him now, He will not turn His back on you. He will stand and knock and hope that you open the door to Him. His relationship is really so one sided. We open the door and He gives us the desires of our heart, dines with us, and ensures our place with Him for salvation!

Practical witnessing Tip - If the person you were talking down the Romans road wasn’t open or receptive, don’t force them. Love them! God hasn’t forgotten about them, and He will keep knocking and hoping that they will open the door to the them. But don’t stop witnessing either. God uses us as His tools on this earth. If you aren’t sharing the word with them, or telling them of his love, or of the miracles you’ve seen, there’s a good chance no one else will! Most importantly, be a good representative of Jesus. Don’t tarnish His image with your actions. Your life is a testimony. Don’t be afraid to share it!

Well there you have it folks. It is my genuine hope and desire that this helps you in your witnessing, or even helps you come to a decision to make Jesus your lord and savior! We’ll be praying for you, and that there will be harvesters out in the fields.

If you want a good sinners pray to pray with anyone who walked down the road and wanted to make a decision, or you want to make a decision to follow God yourself, check out Old Fellow Johns post on it HERE.

Be Blessed

-The Kid

WHY PRAY

We have completed a blog on the attributes of God. One of His many attributes is He is Omniscient, which simply means “ALL KNOWING”.

We read in Scripture that God knows such things as the numbers of hairs on our heads, and the number of the stars in the sky, if that is not enough to make us astounded, he also knows the grains of sands, he made.

Ok! One might say, what does that really mean for me, well God knows far more than trivial facts about you. God {Our Lord and Our Friend} knows your thought, your plans, and your emotions.

Let read the story in John chapter 4.{Paraphrased}:

Jesus was traveling from Judea to Galilee. Jesus paused to rest beside a well in Samaria. a woman came to the well, and Jesus spoke to her. Her jaw dropped to the ground as Jesus told her about her life and her mistakes and then help her see Him as the Messiah. Because of this encounter with Jesus, the woman ran into town telling everyone, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did!

Our Lord and Our Friend knows everything about us, nothing is hidden from Him.

He does not tell us everything we will come across in your life, but He does promise to be with us, It is our choice, whether we take Him with us. He wants a relationship with us, and we should be aware, prayer is a dialogue and not a monologue.

When we talk to Him {in prayer], we can tell Him everything, as He will be the best Friend we will ever have. So lay all your concerns and needs, and even share your joys with Him.

God tells us about Himself, and will outline His plans for us, again it is our choice to follow.

Remember He loves us, more than we can even imagine, and He knows the answer to all our questions.

Have a Good conversation with him today.

God Bless.

O F J

REFLECTIONS

Sitting on a local beach late in the afternoon, watching the waves of the retreating tide. the clouds appear to be hanging in the sky. People running, people walking, people having dinner by the sea, the darkness starting to roll in lights start flickering. Feeling completely at peace, enjoying the serenity of the day closing and the night starting.

Our lives go through fazes like this. There are days when we are so busy then we come to the quietness of night or perhaps like me a shift worker, the busyness of the night was about to start, and when day comes so does sleep.

Life has become so complex, I think we make it complex.

If we were to turn to our bibles and read Ecclesiastes.

Ecclesiastes 1 verse 7 Solomon (King Solomon) one of the richest and wisest kings from history is reflecting “Is life worth living, everything is futile”

If we take a reflection of what Ecclesiastes is about, his message is apart from God, life is full of weariness and disappointments.

Most of the people who I was watching that afternoon, would have known little about God, and in their little corner of the world were trapped in the weariness and disappointments of life or were happy in what life had dealt them.

Ecclesiastes is a dramatic autobiography of Solomon’s experience and reflections while he was out of friendship with God.

The problem that faced Solomon in his reflecting was how he could find happiness and satisfaction apart from God (Eccl 1 verses 1 to 3)

We will teach on Ecclesiastes another time, but we believe Ecclesiastes is a good place to start reflecting on our life and situations around us.

We can also look back at the past and reflect on the life of prominent people of faith. One such couple George and Mary Muller. Their story is amazing, they started children’s homes, when there were lots of homeless children, the children would either remain homeless or were sent to factories to work under awful conditions.

The fruits of their ministry are still evident today. People have said of George Muller, that in today’s economy $18 million passed through his hands and he didn’t keep any for himself.

They trusted God through hard and tough times and came through. They would have had many reflective moments where they would have doubted themselves, but like Solomon, I believe the answer they would have found was with God who they dedicated their work to. They would have also found that everything done without Him is futile.

So with the thought of refection we at this ministry would believe, that if we do not reflect Jesus and all He has done for us through the cross, through Redemption, through the shedding of His Blood (dying on the cross), through His Grace, that He freely gives to those that accept, we would have failed.

This ministry is to reflect, Our Lord and Our Friend, and help us all to truely come to know Him in a deep way, to help us all on our way to maturity in Christ Jesus as we grow together.

It is in Jesus we live and have our being.

We ask you to reflect on this get into your bibles and find Him and what a wonderful Savior He is.

God bless

O F J

SCRIPTURE VERSE

ROMANS 8 VERSE 38 AND 39

Verse 38 “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, Verse 39 nor height, nor any other created thing will have the power to separate us, from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

ARE YOU PERSUADED?

The love of our Lord can never be taken from us, where ever we go, what ever we do. What a promise! Sit back and let that sink in!

God did say he would never leave us or forsake us, we may do things that upset him, but God’s love is not of a human nature, which would say “I can’t love you now because you did a certain thing.”

God loves at all times.

God always loves us though we are all sinners and will continue to be until the day He takes us home. (We touched on it here)

But God hates our sin - the things we bring in to our life, that will ensnare us, trap, and bring us down.

But as the verse says neither height nor depth can separate us from the Love of Our Lord and Friend.

He loves us too much to leave us in a sinful state, He is there for our failings, He is also there for our triumphs.

The passage of Scripture which starts at Romans 8 verse 31 and goes through to Romans 8 verse 39 is called the Believers Triumph.

Read and start to triumph and overcome in your walk with Our Lord and Friend!

God Bless O F J

SCRIPTURE VERSE 6

Psalm 1 verse 3

“How happy is the man,

Who does not follow the advice of the wicked [worldly]

or take the path of sinners [way of the world]

or join a group of mockers (ungodly)

Instead his delight is in the Lord’s instruction,

and he meditates on it day and night [it is a part of their lives]

They are like a tree planted beside stream of water,

that bears it fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither,

Whatever he (they do) does prosper.”

Sorry its a long one but its a good one to remember.

Meditate in the word of God and draw inspiration from this wonderful God breathed book.

We hope through this ministry to help you and get a new love for reading God’s word.

It is a necessity for real life, real love and real compassion.

It is necessary just to be real, because He made us that way.

God Bless

O F J

Ephesians

A wonderful book to read. It is virtually a Spiritual health check for us all.

Ephesians set out in memorable terms and vivid pictures, the practical consequences of what God has done in Christ.

Ephesians 1:4

Believers (followers of Christ) Chrisitians are chosen. But let’s read from verse 3: ‘Blessed by God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens of Christ’.

Verse 4: ‘For He chose us in Him before the foundations of the world, to be Holy and blameless in His sight.’

You see there is an ‘US’ there. If we are in Christ Jesus, we are blessed with every spiritual blessing. We are chosen. There is a place God has made for us, and he will equip us. Believers have a new status.

Verse 7: ‘In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace.’

(Speaking of Riches why not take a read of Old Fellow John’s poem on riches here)

Believers are specially taught.

Verse 9: He has made known to us the mystery of His will.

Verse 13-14: Believers are given an inheritance.

All the wealth of heaven is made over to them, the Holy Spirit is a first installment or appetiser of all that God has for us in Christ.

Ephesians gives us hope. God is able to use even sinful human choices for His purposes and whatever God does for those in Christ, He does accordingly to a carefully orchestrated plan for their benefit.

Ephesians describes the eternal benefit of faith in Christ, it explains that our faith is a move from death to life.

In Ephesians, there is a focus on unity in Christ. We are members of the body of Christ. Ephesians compares the unity we have in Christ with a mantle unity. This book tells us to prepare for a fight not carnal, but spiritual warfare.

2 Corinthians 10:3-4 (Corinthians also written by Paul)

‘For although we are walking in the flesh (physical appearance), we do not wage war in a fleshly way. Since the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly but physical through God for the demolition of strongholds.’

Paul was writing Ephesians from a jail cell but he didn’t consider himself a prisoner of circumstance, he refers to himself as the prisoner of the Lord. It didn’t matter to Paul that he was in jail, where ever he was he knew he was to do the Lord’s work. Our ministry statement ‘WE MUST BE ABOUT THE BUSINESS OF OUR LORD AND FRIEND’.

Let us finish with Ephesians 2:17-18

‘Christ came and preached peace to you who were far away and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Holy Spirit.’

This is a brief study of Ephesians we would leave you to read. The whole book is refreshing for your walk with our Lord and friend.

We will leave you with a reflective thought: ‘It is never the cost of your ministry (or walk) that is inspirated, it is the fruit of your ministry (or walk) that is important to God’.

God bless.

OFJ

Faith In Action: The Business We’re About #2

We are compelled to be about the business of the Lord, which is the Fathers business, not because we have to, but because we want to, for Him.

In my line of work I meet a lot of people, and getting a chance to share my faith is such a wonderful opportunity, not only for me but often for the people I meet.

The stories these people open up with are often the reason I feel compelled to share my faith, this people need to hear the life changing Gospel of Christ.

I never storm a fortress of somebodies life who are not willing to hear it, but if I have a chance to share I will.

I met Brad* when he was forced into my taxi by bouncers from a night a club. Great I thought, They’re giving me their problems. Brad, as I was about to find outwas angry had just experienced a relationship breakdown.

He was Angry! He shook with rage as he stewed over the situation. Unfortunately for me he lived in the outer suburbs, and that was a long way to take an angry man.

I started asking questions trying to get his mind off of things, things like what did he do for a living. This was not a bad man, I found out through his answers, he’d just had a sequence of bad experiences that made him very angry.

We talked for while about general things, then I asked him did he have a faith in God. He said he did. I gave him our ministry card (If it matters to you It Matter to Him)

I asked if I could pray for him. He nodded, and I began with him in the car.

I went something like this. ” Oh Lord I thank you for allowing me to meet this man. I thank you for your peace, your guidance and direction for this man in the name of of my Lord And Friend.”

He turned to me as he was getting out and shook my hand, and said you are a wise man I can hear it in your voice, Thank You.

His anger had turned to hope, and peace had returned to his life.

I was only the vessel My Lord and Friend used because I was acting in His wisdom & not mine. We can miss the most amazing things in this life if we don’t open ourselves up to what God is wanting to do. We have to be willing!

We must be about His business. Old Fellow John God bless.

*Name changed to protect identity.

Week 2 Scripture Verse

John 3 verse 16

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, should have everlasting life.”

Is there anything more beautiful in this world than this scripture?

Want to know what God thinks about you? Just put your name in the place of whosoever, and see that even if you were the only person to grace this earth Jesus still would have been sent for you!

Say it to yourself, for God so loved __________, that He gave His only begotten Son, that ___________ believes in Him, should have ever lasting life. let it flow through your life.

You will be different.

The God of the universe loves you and loves you too much to leave you the way you are.

Come follow Our Lord and Our Friend

Being Well Oiled

Just the other night I was watching an oil tanker dock at the wharf. This great ship that was designed to carry oil from port to port, over many unforgiving seas,was tied to the dock. Tied so it wouldn’t move, to rest, to either refill or discharge it’s cargo.

We are designed like this great carrier to carry God’s Holy oil.

To carry God’s anointing through the great seas of life, the great vastness, to distribute His Anointing Oil. We are His vessels.

Who is the captain of your vessel, what is the product you are carrying, is it what you were designed to carry?

If this ship was to carry a toxic substance it would be no longer good for anything. Sometimes we decide to sail alone, to go solo and carry toxic cargo instead. Cargo which will destroy our life, in the same way a ship would corrode if any of the cargo were to spill so to would we destroy our vessel.

We are designed to sale through the seas of life with His Presence it, doesn’t matter what vessel we’re in, or what condition. He is meant to be the captain of our vessel with His Precious cargo on board.

Come pull up at a dock, empty what should not be there, undergo repair, to be ready to accept the cargo we are designed to carry. The oil of life.

Remember the story of the foolish virgin.

Pull up beside the precious dock of His Word 66 cleansing manual, to help restart, recharge and resend.

After all when we go out to sea with God as our captain, not even the roughest sea’s can knock us off the best course he has set for our lives. But it all starts with carrying the right cargo.

Encouragement

Encouragement we all need it.

When we grow tired and are discouraged our strength seems to fail. Our will seems to break, our drive seems to diminish, like a car without petrol or oil. We too, like cars, require fuel to live, to keep pushing on, to fighting against that neverending barrage. We need encouragement. It’s amazing what just the tiniest whiff of it can do. It can be the stone in the sling that brings down that Goliath. It can bring clarity, unknot the biggest knot, re-inspire. It brings us to life!

Do you know a person that encourages well? Barnabas was.

ACTS 11:23 -When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.

He (Barnabas) was filled with joy and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord. He was known as the great encourager. He was a great encourager to John Mark and encouraged him to become a great leader of the Faith.

We all need to be encouraged, and we all need to encourage. The words you say to others can be like rain to thirsty plants. It can help them grow and reach for their God given destiny.

Be encouraged God loves you! He loves you too much to ever leave you.

TRUST HIM - BE ENCOURAGED - ENCOURAGE SOMEBODY ELSE use the gift that Barnabas had, that we too can receive and use. Freely He gave, so freely we give!