hi John, how have you been doing, what is God doing in your life these days. thanks for joining the group we're still working on some training pages. Everyone in the group is working together helping each other with any problems we have or other people outside the group may be having. I was in prison ministry for a few years, that's where I became a certified Christian counselor. But if you read some of the and information we have in the group. You don't need to be certified to be a disciple of Christ, but we all like to use biblical Christian counseling to help each other. We are getting some more videos, we would like to train each other if you know of any good videos or information about biblical counseling please let us know. You can post them in the group, and if you ever want some fellowship. This is a full-time ministry for some of us here, and we have tons of Christian movies now from Genesis to Revelation. Plus some great sermons if you're a hyper Calvinist like some of us. We have Paul washer, John piper and John MacArthur. They're my favorite preachers we have many more. If you enjoy writing Christian articles about politics or what's happening in the Christian church. Please let me know, I can post them many different places so others can read them. so send me a message, tell me which you been up to. Enjoy the Christian movies, I like the movie of the book of John, apostle John wrote that's my favorite one. There's nothing on TV I like watching, I enjoy the site watching the movies and talk with the chat room at the same time. Thanks during the group, God bless Frank

 

Fruit of the Spirit - Visible Growth in Jesus Christ
"Fruit of the Spirit" is a biblical term that sums up the nine visible attributes of a true Christian life. Using the King James Version of Galatians 5:22-23, these attributes are: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance. We learn from scripture that these are not individual "fruits" from which we pick and choose. Rather, the fruit of the Spirit is one ninefold "fruit" that characterizes all who truly walk in the Holy Spirit. Collectively, these are the fruits that all Christians should be producing in their new lives with Jesus Christ.

Fruit of the Spirit - The Nine Biblical Attributes
The fruit of the Spirit is a physical manifestation of a Christian's transformed life. In order to mature as believers, we should study and understand the attributes of the ninefold fruit:

Love - "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him" (1 John 4:16). Through Jesus Christ, our greatest goal is to do all things in love. "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails" (1 Corinthians 13:4-8).

Joy - "The joy of the Lord is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10). "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:2).

Peace - "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Romans 15:13).

Longsuffering (patience) -- We are "strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness" (Colossians 1:11). "With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love" (Ephesians 4:2).

Gentleness (kindness) -- We should live "in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left" (2 Corinthians 6:6-7).

Goodness - "Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power" (2 Thessalonians 1:11). "For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth" (Ephesians 5:9).

Faith (faithfulness) - "O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth" (Isaiah 25:1). "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith" (Ephesians 3:16-17).

Meekness - "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted" (Galatians 6:1). "With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love" (Ephesians 4:2).

Temperance (self-control) - "But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love" (2 Peter 1:5-7).

Fruit of the Spirit - A Devotional for All Christians
The fruit of the Spirit is a wonderful study for Christians at any level of spiritual maturity. We hope this website provides a thought-provoking devotional and a springboard for growth.

 

 

your brother in Christ
Frank

The Bible says that the Holy Spirit is God. The Bible also tells us that the Holy Spirit is a Person, a Being with a mind, emotions, and a will.

The Holy Spirit is God is clearly seen in many Scriptures including Acts 5:3-4. In this verse Peter confronts Ananias as to why he had lied to the Holy Spirit and tells him that he had “not lied to men but to God.” It is a clear declaration that lying to the Holy Spirit is lying to God. We can know that the Holy Spirit is indeed a Person because He possesses a mind, emotions, and a will.

The Holy Spirit thinks and knows (1 Corinthians 2:10).

The Holy Spirit can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30).

The Spirit intercedes for us (Romans 8:26-27).

The Holy Spirit makes decisions according to His will (1 Corinthians 12:7-11).

The fact that the Holy Spirit is God is clearly seen in many Scriptures including Acts 5:3-4. In this verse Peter confronts Ananias as to why he had lied to the Holy Spirit and tells him that he had “not lied to men but to God.” It is a clear declaration that lying to the Holy Spirit is lying to God. We can also know that the Holy Spirit is God because He possesses the attributes or characteristics of God. For example, the fact that the Holy Spirit is omnipresent is seen in Psalm 139:7-8, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.” Then in 1 Corinthians 2:10, we see the characteristic of omniscience in the Holy Spirit. “But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.”

We can know that the Holy Spirit is indeed a Person because He possesses a mind, emotions, and a will. The Holy Spirit thinks and knows (1 Corinthians 2:10). The Holy Spirit can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30). The Spirit intercedes for us (Romans 8:26-27). The Holy Spirit makes decisions according to His will (1 Corinthians 12:7-11). The Holy Spirit is God, the third “Person” of the Trinity. As God, the Holy Spirit can truly function as the Comforter and Counselor that Jesus promised He would be (John 14:16,26; 15:26).

God Bless
Your Brother in Christ
Frank

Hi John ( like the new profile picture )

I am sending the prayer request out. let me know if you have any. My ministry is to encourage others to become more like Christ, and inspire you to a higher calling for God. Here a devoltional to bless you.

THE CHRIST WITHIN YOU


The fact that there is to be a great transformation take place in our lives through a relationship with Christ Jesus is a fact which is either many times completely ignored or so vaguely mentioned that no one hears it, believes it or wants to know about it. Some will say that this transformation takes place at the time of our physical death, but the scriptures declare that it comes about through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ being activated into the life of the believer.

This transformation is spoken of as 'putting off the old man of sin and putting on the new man' who is created into God-image through Christ. The apostle Paul declared that humanity has already been translated into the kingdom of the Son, that he has already died, and been raised and seated together with Christ in the heavenly places far above all principalities and powers ! One cannot read the epistles of the apostle Paul and not see that The Lord Jesus took humanity with him from Golgotha to glory, and that man has indeed been already risen and God sees him now through the accomplished work of Christ Jesus. The glorious redemption of mankind through Christ has been watered down to just a story told, something we talk about and never see, because we have not allowed the finished work of calvary to become alive in our lives! Until the fact that you have already died and been resurrected in Christ Jesus dawns upon your heart and mind, and becomes a living reality in your life then my friend, you have not yet known him! Paul emphatically, speaks in the past-tense form here ; that is he states clearly that 'you are dead, and hid away in Christ! ( Col. ch 3; ver. 3.)..................ver. 9-10 ' seeing that you have put off the old man , and have put-on the new-man, renewed in knowledge after the image of his creator! Man is not in the image of God until he is recreated in and through Christ Jesus. The wonderful, awesome fact that we have been carried away in Christ is a fact which is settled in heaven before the throne of the Father, but man in his ignorance and unbelief has not allowed this fact to become real in his life, so he stumbles and falls , becomes confused and discouraged, and ultimately he looses his way . We find in Philippians ch 3; ver. 10 ' that I may know him, and the power of His resurrection; 'being made conformable to his death!

This means that Christ brought us there but this fact must become a reality to us by the Christ within. It was for this endtime people , this harvest time people that this awesome reality was to manifest itself! A new creation is coming forth from the womb of the mother church! We are being translated from the feminine spirit of the mother church into the masculine spirit of the Sonship of Jesus Christ, and nothing in this world or any other world can stop this process of the Holy Ghost to bring forth Gods fruit of the earth for which He has so long waited for!

This translation, this conformation, this transformation, is taking place in this very hour among those who have received the love of the truth more than a love for traditional doctrine. We are in a time when the Christ within must be allowed access to every phase of your life to take away and add to it as he chooses to mold and transform you into the new man of God's new creation.
If the Christ within is not allowed access to all of your life then He will surely depart because in this day He must appear in His true form as King of Kings and Lord of Lords , even in your heart and life!

God Bless
Your Brother in Christ
Frank

  Start the New Year by forgiving others

Unforgiveness is something that can really hold us back from escaping the corruption of sin and living for God.  Unforgiveness comes in many forms, such as bitterness, hatred, malice, holding grudges and resentment.  It can actually block God's forgiveness of our sin and provides a foothold for the devil to influence our lives.  Additionally, unforgiveness can plant a “root of bitterness” in us that leads to various damaging results (e.g. ruins the fruit of the Holy Spirit, stunts spiritual growth, contributes to physical illness).  Like acid can destroy the vessel that holds it, so can unforgiveness destroy us when we harbor it. 

 Here are some key scriptures addressing our need to forgive:

• ³Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. ⁴And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, "I repent,' you shall forgive him." Luke 17:3-4 NKJV

• ¹⁴"For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.  Matthew 6:14-15 NKJV

• "Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions.” Mark 11:25 NASB 

• “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:32 NASB 

Forgiving others

God expects us to forgive others just as he has forgiven us.  God, who is perfect, sacrificed his Son Jesus so that our sin penalty (death) would be paid.  Because of our faith in Christ (and his sacrifice), God forgives us from our sin.  If we then refuse to forgive another person for an offense, we are dishonoring the forgiveness that God gave us.   God will hold us accountable for this as Jesus illustrated in the sobering parable of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18:21-35).  

The scripture says, “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Romans 12:19 NKJV).  As God's followers, we must submit our desire for justice to him and trust it in his hand.   

This can be very hard to do, especially if someone has spitefully mistreated us or someone we love.  Forgiving someone is not condoning what they have done, but rather, it is laying the case before God’s throne and asking him to deal with it according to his will.  We have to remember that God saw the evil that was done.  He knows how deeply we’ve been hurt.  If we can come to the place where we’re willing to forgive the person through Christ’s love, we will be able to move forward and leave the burden of justice in his capable hands.   

Are you ready to forgive?  Not everyone reading this page will be ready to forgive the person(s). I encourage you to ask God to give you the desire and ability to forgive "from the heart" as Jesus mentioned in Matthew 18:35 NIV.   Here is an example prayer:  "Lord God, I recognize my sin of unforgiveness.  Please help me get to the point of being willing to forgive those who have wronged me.  Please give me the desire and ability to forgive.  Thank you, Lord. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen." 

Prayer to forgive others:  Don't pray this prayer until you are ready to truly forgive the people who wronged you. God commands us to forgive "from the heart."

“Heavenly Father, you are holy and righteous.  You are perfect in justice.  I confess that I have not forgiven as you have commanded me to.   Through Jesus Christ, I now forgive these people: I confess my pride and judgment of those people.  Please forgive me Lord and cleanse me from my sin.  Please help me to thoroughly entrust these people and the wrongs they caused me into your hands.  I pray that your will be done in my life and in their lives.  Please help me to no longer think on those wrongs , but instead to focus my thoughts on you.  I invite you, Lord, into any painful memories I have concerning what was done.  Please heal any wounds I received and help me to have your perspective on what happened.  (Take time now to pray silently and receive from the Lord) Thank you, Father!   In the name of Jesus Christ I pray, Amen.”

Forgiving ourselves

When we've made bad mistakes in life, it can be tempting to unmercifully hold ourselves responsible.  This too is a way of trying to act like God as judge, inflicting the punishment of condemnation on ourselves.  Just as God has forgiven us for our sin, we need to forgive ourselves for our sin as well.  When we release ourselves from this self-judgment, we will free ourselves to become the new person that God intends us to be. 

Here is an example prayer:  "Heavenly Father, I confess that I have unmercifully held myself in judgment concerning. I forgive myself for my role in that situation.  Please cleanse me of all self-condemnation by the blood of Jesus and restore in me a healthy self-esteem.  Thank you, Lord for forgiving me and empowering me to live for you as a new creation.  In Jesus' name I pray, Amen."

Having forgiven others, and ourselves, we must now walk forward and resist the temptations to revisit the unforgiveness.  This will likely require us to exercise authority over thoughts and persistently make them obedient to Jesus 

Happy New Year

your brother in Christ

Frank

Hi John

Merry Christmas, may the Lord bless you and give you His peace. Here is a devotional to help you in your spiritual growth, and inspire you to a higher calling for God.


The Prince of Peace

Isaiah prophesied about the arrival of the Messiah, preaching that a virgin would conceive. The Son of that virgin would wear many titles and names. That prophecy described Jesus.

Isaiah 7:14: “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

Isaiah 9:6: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

The promised Son is Immanuel, God with us, Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Jesus is the peacegiver.

Our nation is presently fighting a war on terrorism with fronts in Afghanistan and Iraq. The names al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden instantly remind us that we are living in a different world since September 11, 2001.

Wars engulf the world in an iron-clawed grip, with battles being fought in the Middle East, Africa, Asia; not only by nations against other nations, but by militants seeking to overthrow legitimate governments. The United Nations, like the League of Nations before it, seems powerless to bring peace.

Additionally, many of our urban cities regularly experience gang warfare. And if we are honest, hostilities and war-like violence invade our homes and schools. Even the Christian church is not fully exempt from some type of war.

So where is this peace that Isaiah said Jesus would bring?

Worldly peace often comes from negotiation, compromise, or militaristic victory over enemies. Sometimes it comes through relationships. In previous centuries Europe was related through arranged royal marriages. This ancient tactic of warring nations giving their children to marry into the families of their enemies was an attempt to bring lasting peace. After all, one kingdom wouldn’t attack another when the reigning monarchy included their own children! But this attempt, like others, failed to bring peace to the world. War is still with us.

Jesus said in John 14:27: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

Jesus promised personal peace that would precede worldwide peace. God’s program of peace is based on personal acceptance of Him and His program of personal change that brings peace of mind. This peace doesn’t come with negotiation. We cannot bargain with God or use mutual compromise, saying, “OK God, I will give up this if You will do that.”

Jesus gives us peace only as we surrender our all to Him. No negotiation, no compromise. It’s all or nothing with God. The result of this no compromising surrender is peace.

That’s why God inspired Isaiah to write: “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You” (Isaiah 26:3, NKJV).* We must first receive peace from God before we can make peace in the world.

Christ reconciles us to God by bringing our surrendered hearts into conformity to the Father as we focus the attention of our minds on Him.

Someone has called religion the “opiate of the people,” equating a spiritual experience to being drugged. What they failed to understand is that God gives His children peace in the middle of all sorts of negativity that the world produces. We are not “drugged out” by our worship and praise; we are enabled and strengthened to endure by it. God’s peace enables those who have it to make it through everything the world and the devil can throw at them.

Despite poverty, abuse, sickness, death, and loneliness people still find peace. This is the peace Paul talks about in Philippians 4:7: “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” This peace can be experienced but not explained.

It is not external but internal as Christ rules in our hearts. When the Holy Spirit takes up residence in us and rules our minds, thoughts, and desires, He produces peace and contentment in us.

That’s why Jesus said in John 16:33: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” We will find our peace of mind and heart as we seek Jesus; our peace is in Him. The world could not control Him because He was committed to the Father, and the Father gave Him peace. And the world cannot take away what God gives.

So how do we get from a personal peace to a worldwide peace? Certainly Jesus wants us to be involved peacemakers, having blessed them in Matthew 5:9.

We get there by spreading the principles of the Prince of Peace from one person to another, from one heart to another, from one house to another, and through the communities we live in. One of the enduring principles of Jesus is justice. It is written in the Bible more than 170 times. Repeatedly through history, God speaks to justice in judgment. God wants us to do the right thing, in the right way, at the right time. That is justice.

One bumper sticker I read said: “If you want peace, work for justice.” Jesus is just, and His judgments are always righteous because He is righteous. There will be no peace in the world while injustice rules.

The prophet Amos challenged people in his day to justice when he wrote: “But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream” (Amos 5:24). Justice and righteousness are partners. Where one exists, the other is found. Jesus, the only righteous Man, calls us to righteousness in Him. We can effect peace in the world by following His example in the power of the Holy Spirit to do justly.

While we live in the individual peacefulness of Christ, we are also to seek peace through justice at all levels in the world around us.

We do so, however, knowing that there is no God-granted exemption in this world from war, racism, classism, or sexism. God rules through the willing submission of His subjects. Where people refuse to follow God, there will be injustice and strife, violence, and wars. Remember, this world is the temporary domain of Satan, and multitudes of people choose to follow him. Until Jesus returns to receive the world fully into His rulership, war, violence, and their fellow travelers will be with us.

Peace through politics and military might are temporary, changing as each regime transitions into the hands of a more charismatic leader. Social movements come and go, and we still don’t have lasting worldwide peace. The Word of God teaches us that the only person who can bring permanent peace to our world and troubled souls is Jesus, “The Prince of Peace.” May He come soon to change this world into a peaceful habitation.

RICARDO GRAHAM, D.MIN., is the president of the Pacific Union Conference, headquartered in Westlake Village, Californi

God Bless
your brother in Christ
Frank

SpiritualGraphics.com
Hi John

I am sending the prayer request out. let me know if you have any prayer requests. My calling from God is encouraging others, to become more like Christ. Here is a devotional to inspire you to a higher calling for God.

The Holy Spirit will Guide Us

The Bible tells us, that the Holy Spirit will guide us, but the Holy Spirit will not control us. Jesus doesn't say that the Holy Spirit will force us to do anything, Jesus said guide us. Sometimes, I wish the Holy Spirit would control me. The Spirit is our guide, so we are always responsible for our words and actions. The Spirit guides believers to the truth.

The Holy Spirit helps us believers discern between what is true and what is not. In everyday living the Holy Spirit will guide you, He will give you that extra discernment of the Spirit. You will develop a sensitivity to the Spirit guidance, and you will worry less about the decisions you make in life.

When you think about it makes perfect sense, after all the Holy Spirit is in you. He has direct access to our minds, emotions, and consciences. He is prefect for communicating God's will for our life.

*

*

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

"Poor in spirit" means to be humble. Humility is the realization that all your gifts and blessings come from the grace of God. To have poverty of spirit means to be completely empty and open to the Word of God. We are humble. Humility brings an openness and an inner peace, allowing one to do the will of God. It is pride, the opposite of humility, that brings misery. For pride brings anger and the seeking of revenge, especially when one is offended. If every man were humble and poor in spirit, there would be no war!

"Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted."
If we are humble and appreciate that all of our gifts and blessings come from God, we grow in love and gratitude for Jesus Christ our Savior. But this can only produce mourning and regret over our own sins and the sins of this world, for we have hurt the one who has been so good to us.

"Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied."

The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit and their necessity in fulfilling the Beatitudes. For example, one must have the gift of fortitude so one may be courageous in seeking justice.

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."

A humble person becomes meek, or becomes gentle and kind, even in the face of adversity and hardship. The will of God are certainly not in vogue these days, but they will bring one peace in this world and in the next.

"Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God."

Jesus says the pure of heart shall see God! To be pure of heart means to be free of all selfish intentions and self-seeking desires. What a beautiful goal! How many times have any of us performed an act perfectly free of any personal gain? Such an act is pure love. An act of pure and selfless giving brings happiness to all.

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.

" Peacemakers not only live peaceful lives but also try to bring peace and friendship to others. The Lord wants you first to be yourself filled with the blessings of peace and then to communicate it to those who have need of it. By imitating God's love of man, the peacemakers become children of God.

"Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven."

Jesus said many times that those who follow Him will be persecuted. "If they persecute me, they will persecute you" (John 15:20-21). Stephen, Peter and Paul, nearly all of the Apostles, and many Christians in the Roman era suffered martyrdom. But the Lord promised those that suffer for his sake will be rewarded with the Kingdom of Heaven!

God Bless
Your brother in Christ
Frank

SpiritualGraphics.com

Hi John

How are you doing, If you need any help or prayer request, let me know. We are close to x mass, and some of you might be feeling the Holiday Stress. Maybe this will help

God seeks our surrender

One of our greatest needs is to know that we are loved. Each one of us has to feel deep down in our heart, that someone loves us and cares for us.
This is how God designed us, He love each one of us with a passionate intensity too deep for words. God created human beings with fellowship in mind, first with Himself, and then with each other. But we can't love each other, until we have ourselves experienced the Love of God. God seeks our surrender, we surrender to His call to be our Savior, Lord and friend. If we hold something back from God, we cannot know Him completely or fully experience His love.

When we surrender to Him, we get all of Him. The more we get to know and love Jesus, the more effective our service will be.
The closer we draw to God, the more He will impact our lives. Jesus calls upon His followers to reject the natural human inclination toward self. The first step is to submit and surrender to God our will, our affections, our bodies, and our lives. Our own pleasures and happiness can no longer be primary goals. Instead, we must be willing to renounce all and lay down our lives, if required. Peter admonishes us to "no longer live in the flesh for the lusts of men," meaning we should no longer pursue wrong desires. Are we willing to forsake all, to give up everything including our lives? Our Christian duty is to deny our lust of the flesh.

Your brother in Christ

Frank