ONE MESSAGE. ONE FAITH.

What makes believers different from the world? Not the "do'"s and "don't do's". Not the "wear and "don't wear"- and certainly not status, money, or influence. So what distinguishes believers from the rest of the world? Holiness. Holiness is not a practice that allows me to come to God. If I may, I propose the opposite! Holiness is the result of us drawing near to God. He allows this because of the ransom of blood that was paid, and the veil that was torn, to grant us access to His throne.  In order to draw near to Him, I must be first be covered by the blood of Jesus.This is achieved through repentance, and baptism in the name of my kinsmen redeemer- Jesus Christ. In short, I don't practice holiness to experience God. His grace brings me salvation which brings me near to God. My nearness to God makes me more like Him- Holy.

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" Luke 11:13 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/luk.11.13.ESV The simplicity in this verse astounds me.  Ask The Heavenly Father for the Holy Spirit, and He will give it to you.  Amen!  It's that easy. It does not require a marathon. Ask the Heavenly Father is literally the definition of prayer..."address a solemn request or expression of thanks to a deity or other object of worship." Jesus taught us how to pray.  Pray then like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. * For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Matthew 6:9‭-‬13‭ ESV The templa...

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Matthew 28:18‭-‬19 NKJV All authority is given to Me- singular. So if all power belongs to Jesus,  the power of salvation is conclusively in Jesus.  Jesus --in saying to baptize in the name (singular) of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit-- is revealing a truth to his disciples. I AM. I Am the Father. [ If you see me you see the FatherJn 14:8-9]. I Am the Son [the vessel of flesh the Father Who is Spirit inhabits Col. 2:9]. I AM the Holy Spirit [The comforter will be sent in my Name Jn 14:26; I will come to you Jn 14:17-18]. Baptize in my name. Remission of sins is in my name Luke 24:47; Acts10:43. This is why Peter spoke the message in Acts 2:38 so assuredly. 

* image from web* 1 5 And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written. 17 And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp. 18 And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear.- Exodus 32:17 Isn't it something that the sound of worship is synonymous with the sound of war?  Now in this passage the people are worshiping an idol. Yet still consider, when  believers worship with passion, excitement, and in the shout of triumph, we confuse the enemy. He knows he must prepare for a fight. But when he shows up, his fight is not with the people, it's with the people's God. God fights for us. When we worship, he is enthroned right where ...

Exodus 13:21  And the  Lord  went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.  22  The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people. Night or Day the guidance of God will lead you.  When you repent ( walk out of Egypt), and surrender to his leadership ( by faith in baptism in His name and receiving his Spirit), He will be exactly what you need in all seasons. His Spirit will not ever depart from you.  To find out more about this life-transforming experience feel free to email us at onemessage.onefaith@gmail.com. 

God called. Moses resisted. Excuse after excuse, Moses whined about his inabilities. "Send someone else", Moses advised. And if it were me, that would have been the end of Moses's story. But like an old hymn reminds us "he looked beyond our faults and saw"--for Moses, his true potential. So it would seem the Lord took pity on Moses, knowing his frame [Psalm 103:14] and presented him with a counter offer. He would not send someone besides Moses, he would send someone beside Moses--Aaron, Moses' brother. From the point in the story between Exodus 4:27 to Exodus 8:20 God strategically positions Moses to assume his God-ordained role. Moses is still the one God speaks to, but he is instructed to tell Aaron what to say. Aaron speaks God's words, and carries out his instructions. Exodus 8:5. Exodus 8:16. A few times, the scripture indicates Moses and Aaron are given a task to execute together. Clearly Moses is not yet ready to go solo. God in his infin...

Photo cred: https://fromthemarginsofmybible.wordpress.com/ Moses has been commissioned by God to go before Pharaoh and tell him to let the Hebrew children go. Moses responds with fear and insecurity and makes excuse after excuse  to prove why he is not the man for the job. Obviously God knows otherwise and still sends Moses on his way, providing him Aaron as his leaning post. Like a father teaching his son to ride a bike, however, God works with Moses, because he knows, more than Moses does, what Moses is able to do. 21  And the  Lord  said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. - Exodus 4:21   27  And the  Lord  said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he went and met him on the mountain of God, and kissed him.  28  So Moses told Aaron all the words of the...

I have been gaining refreshing insight from the Word of God recently as I have begin reading the bible in portions- Torah portions to be exact. It is wonderful to see the "line upon line" and the congruence of the scripture from the Torah ( the books of Moses), the prophets, and the New Testament. The river of redemption and love of Yahweh flows from beginning to end. As cliche as it sounds the entire bible can truly summed up in the word LOVE. As I read the portion for this week- Va'era -, I was drawn in by the transformation of Moses. His transformation was a direct result of the patience and long-suffering of Jehovah. Moses was lovingly nudged, even pushed, into the role we all know him for today. Yet, if the events played out without God's intentional involvement, it seems we would have, instead, the Books of Aaron. But we do not.  Though Moses resisted, God in his infinite wisdom ushered Moses into his purpose. Let's take a look; from https://t...

Whether subconscious or deliberate, many stand at the fulcrum of the old and new years and look back and ahead. I ushered in the new year with fellowship and prayer with friends. As the day progressed it was apparent to me that even though the year just renewed, my plans for 2017 were well under way before it had begun. There were events to plan, classes to take, goals to achieve, and budgets to make. As I knelt in prayer the other morning talking with the Lord about the things ahead, I realized how just a little over a year ago, many of my present plans would not exist. A little over a year ago I wanted to go a different direction, but if I had gone in that direction, (of which I was so sure of at the time), it would have prevented me from my present future. Had I taken it upon myself, to do what I was convinced made sense at the time, I would be facing a different reality. God knew. Jeremiah 29:11.  I recall being upset that I was unable to continue my educatio...

Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray,  believe  that ye  receive  them, and ye shall have them.- Mark 11:24 *image from web* There are many heartwarming stories of unfortunate circumstances that are miraculously turned around during this time of the year.  Many a Hallmark Christmas movie is themed around the whole idea of miracles and Christmas- stopping short of course of the miraculous entrance of Jehovah embodied in full authority and power in the most ironic vessel of a baby.   But what of this- this phenomenon when the miraculous seems to be more easily accomplished in this holiday season? Has God held back his power to manifest it uniquely during this time of the year? Jesus Christ the  same   yesterday , and to day, and for ever.- Hebrews 13:8 For I am the  Lord , I  change   not- Malachi 3:6a According to the word of God, no.  Then what has changed? Th...

" You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid" Matt 5:14 You- Who is this "you"? The Ekklesia- the called out ones;The disciples of Christ; the whole body of believers. Are... their present state of being the ... Specific, direct, and pointed. Unique. light of the world -    the world's source of illumination. A city    a vibrant, growing, adapting, receiving, releasing, interactive, ground-breaking, trend-setting, sharing, community of neighbors that is set on a hill  purposefully placed above the plain; positioned strategically on an upward slope cannot be hid un-apologetically visible; unable to be covered; distinctive; obvious; apparent; unable to be ignored What we are as the body of Christ- LIGHT- is not just a light.  What we are - that is it. The light. Our being Light demands that we "cannot be hid".  We cannot  be hidden. We  should not not look...

The Most powerful force "Above all taking the shield of faith..." Think of that- above all. Faith is the most powerful force, because  faith moves God . FAITH moves GOD! Faith also shields believers from the effects of the devil's attacks. So like a baby just learning to stand and walk, God deliberately orchestrates events and circumstances to get us from "pulling up and holding on" faith to "effortless rolling from heel to toe" faith. It's strength training for the spirit. Many times the faith we possess to pray a prayer, is not the faith we need to receive the answer. So God begins a process, equipping and increasing our faith to receive the very thing  for which we prayed . What we get in return is more than the desired thing, but "exceeding, abundantly beyond what we ask or think".   In other words- increased faith. When we are beyond the "pull up and hold on" level of faith, then our arms are free ...

image from web It's the timeless metaphor. You know the story: Coal.  Extreme heat.   Extreme pressure.   Glittery sparkling clear rock that bends and reflects light. And while that remains factually untrue (coal is not actually involved in natural diamond formation), the principle of the process manages to find it's way into the  hearts of the persevering, the aspiring, the goal-seeking, and the dream-chasing. There is something imprinted in the minds of men to rise up to challenges we face. Overcoming challenges results in accomplishment. Sense of accomplishment give us purpose. And purpose gives us life. So we rise. In the face of adversity we push, and if we must, we fight.  The saddest people in the world are not the poorest, but the one who has lost his will to go on, to fight- to live. It is in this vein the Lord speaks to us . It is to this appeal that He implores us: " diligently seek him" "search for m...

PRESS. image from web My desire for God must  drive  me to the throne of God. I must press, like the woman with the issue of blood-- I must persevere. There has to be an inner desperation, a dire thirst in my soul that longs for God. O God, You  are  my God; Early will I seek You; My  soul  thirsts for You; My flesh  longs  for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water.- Psalm 63:1 My  soul   longs , yes, even faints For the courts of the  Lord ; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.- Psalm 84:2   I spread out my hands to You; My  soul   longs  for You like a thirsty land. Selah- Psalm 143:6 What brought David to the point of his flesh - his flesh(!)- longing for the Lord? Well the flesh [ basar]  used here is in context of the tangible body- rather than the carnal nature of man as we'd normally translate it in the new testament. So David was saying his soul and his physi...

image from www.davidmbn.com In prayer this morning  I was humbled as I marveled at  the turning of God's attention to me the minute I called his name. The fact that I can call on his name and he respond- for I can sense the wafting in of the ever-presence of God- astounds me.  It overwhelmed me to recognize his loving kindness. I relate to David when he poses the question, "What is man that you are mindful of him?" The song that declares "OH! how he loves us" reverberates in my thoughts and I double over smitten by the undeserved affection and attention the Lord gives me. Again, in David's words, " these thoughts are too wonderful for me." But it did not begin there. Before the the presence of God was able to overtake me I was overtaken by the pursuit of HEBEL. You know, the HEBEL that Solomon writes about in Ecclesiastes 2:1. I said [ amar] in my heart [ leb] , “Come now [ yalak] , I will test [ nacah] you with mirth[ simchah ]; ther...

Easy yoke? Light burden? Easy is not usually the first word that comes to mind with the image of a  Yoke. But there it is in Matthew 11:29. "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light"   Truth is, yokes are easy when the one you're yoked with is carrying the bulk of the load. Burdens become light when you are suddenly freed from carrying the load of guilt and condemnation on your shoulders alone.  So Jesus beckons us to take the load of the world off our shoulders and yoke up with him. Even when I walk      through the darkest valley, [ a ] I will not be afraid,      for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff      protect and comfort me. - Psalm 23:4

Part 6 of our "Revelation of Jesus Christ" Study  took us to chapter 4; it declared the creator of Heaven and earth to be none other than Jesus Christ- Jehovah our Salvation. We last see John in heaven gazing upon ONE being on the throne. This being is God himself, [Revelation 4:8], who is being worshiped by beasts and elders. Chapter 5 continues from this scene. And I saw in the right  hand  of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2  Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?”  3  And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. What do you observe here? A. there is a HIM sitting (alone) on the throne B. HE (alone) is holding a heavily sealed scroll ( 7 seals to be exact) C.An angel (curiously described as strong) poses the question about worthiness to open the...