December 25 is the day the Christian church celebrates the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. His birth was prophesied over 800 before it took place. A multitude of heavenly host praising God to shepherds (the lowly working man of their time) that Jesus was born in a manger in Bethlehem (the bread of life was born in the house of bread.) Astrologers (the magi) followed His own personal star to come & worship Him who was born the King of the Jews. Herod was so ticked & filled with fear & anger that he had all male children under two years of age killed, do you think he was a bit paranoid or what? All this because of a baby, hard to understand or even comprehend.
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" For God so loved the people of the world (non believers) that He gave (an act of sacrificial love) His only begotten Son. The world we live in is self centered, actually self consumed, with the only time they give is within a give to get mindset.
Jesus left His rightful place in glory to come to this earth out of an act of obedience to His Father. Remember John 1:1 states In the beginning was the Word & the Word (Jesus) was with God & the Word was God. Jesus knew He was leaving His rightful place in glory to ultimately be curcified on the cross for the sins of the world (yours, mine & the entire worlds sin.)
But these acts of sacrificial love & obedience gave all of mankind the opportunity to have forgiveness of their sins.& live eternally in glory with the Godhead & all the saints of all time.
When this babe in the manger grew up He only ministered 3 1/2 years, never travelled more than 200 miles & yet affected history more than any king, ruler or dictator. Many have even vowed to wipe out every Christian they meet & the Bible they believe in. Many religious & worldly rulers have tried to rule by violence & fear yet in total contrast everything Jesus did was motivated by the love of God.
When He was on the sight of what would have been the stoning of the woman caught in adultery He was asked "Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned,. But what do You say?' He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." One by one they dropped their stones & Jesus was alone with the woman "Has no one condemned you?" No one, Lord. and Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you, GO AND SIN NO MORE." He did not compromise the law, did not condemn her, but rather gave her the opportunity to change her ways & live a righteous sin free life.
He witnessed a funeral procession with a widow weeping for her only sons death. Out of compassion He raised her son from the dead. Gods love is filled with compassion for others, which will always be followed by action (initially in prayer.)
When He set the man free who was demon possessed by a legion of demons, this man wanted to go with Him but Jesus said, "go to your friends & tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you."
John 3:17 Jesus did not come to condemn the world but to save it. To rescue you, to deliver you from life circumstances. What a merciful Savior whose love knows no bounds. Yes we will make mistakes, make wrong choices, feel as failures, Jesus is still there with His hand extended to you.
Does love judge? Not according to His Word. Let us look at just a couple of scriptures, God is love! Love never fails! Love conquers all! & the scripture I have chosen 1 Peter 4:8 And above all things have fervent love, for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins." Some automatically think hiding sin does not help a person turn from it. What this scripture means we have no right to talk of some one else's sins of yesterday, possibly even today. We have the right to pray for them, possibly encourage them in a different direction. One of our old congregation members was a native lady who once said to me "how can they judge me pastor, when they have not walked a mile in my moccasins?"
1st Timothy 1:15,16 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief (Paul.) However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.
To me the word longsuffering is key to the above scripture. My explanation for longsuffering is when your patience is exhausted then longsuffering kicks in & Gods love is totally encompassed within this singular word for me. Know matter how much we screw up, God is still on the throne. The words mercy & kindness can often be interchanged, because they both mean His LOYAL LOVE toward you & I.
We are to share the hope we have within us with others. We are to love on them (unconditionally)again not condemn them by our judgmental words. We are to speak life (the word) into their lives & life situations.
The word "believe" can be found 165 times within the new testament. A missionary in Africa was trying to translate the bible into a native dialect but he could not find anything to explain the word believe. Messages were sent by runners through the jungle & when one of these messengers came to him exhausted he fell into a bed & exclaimed a word which the missionary had never heard before & this is what it meant "I am resting all my weight here!" For the missionary he had his answer & for me I now have my definition for the word believe.
Final prayer "I would pray that by the power of the Holy Spirit that we would exchange our self centered attitudes for heartfelt words & deeds to our brethren & to the hurting world that surrounds us. Merry Christmas to one & all. I would pray that you would experience health, prosperity & a fruitful life in all areas in this upcoming New Year. But above all I pray you will experience Gods love afresh & anew.
Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord 1-613-479-0233
Wednesday, 26 December 2012
Tuesday, 28 August 2012
Stubborn as a Mule
A mule is a hybrid mix, horse & donkey & most are characterized as stubborn. The Lynn McKenzie "Gag & Hack" bit was specifically designed to bring hard headed horses & mules into submission. The rider pulls on the reigns & the bit tightens up like a vise on the mouth & nose under the chin & the bit inside the mouth exerts painful pressure in the mouth on the tongue & even the gums. It makes rebellion & disobedience so painful that after training most horses & mules wouldn't need that bit ever again. The mule is quick to learn obedience is better than pain & they soon learn to obey even the lightest touch.
Some people have also been known to be a tad stubborn, another applicable word may be bullheaded. Stubborn---self-willed, rebellious, unwilling to take direction, obstinate. Perversely adhering to their opinion in spite of reasoning arguments or persuasions. Like why would they allow the truth to get in the way? Sound somewhat familiar, you are in good company.
In Acts 9:1-6 we read how Saul (who later became the Apostle Paul) ran into a Holy Ghost "gag & hack." The Holy Spirit slipped it right over his eyes and nose, his mouth slammed shut, air supply cut off--fell to the ground as if struck by lightning. As an end result Saul acknowledges the Master he had claimed was an imposter "Lord, what do You want me to do?"
But why Saul? In Acts 7:51-60 we read how Saul was at Stephens final sermon "The Call of Abraham." Saul was a witness to Stephens stoning & death. He had heard the message of Christ Stephen shared, & he felt conviction. Listen to the final words of Stephen & see if they are not somewhat familiar "Lord do not charge them with this sin!"
The conviction of the Holy Spirit is oftentimes uncomfortable, it goes against our old evil worldly nature, old mindsets & old carnal fleshly selfish ways. God uses people, circumstances, trials & tribulations & even allows pain (C.S. Lewis Pain is God's megaphone)& sickness into our lives, to show us we've been pulling away from Him. He jabs, prod's, convicts & corrects because He loves us. God is trying to cure you of your rebellion so you can get on with your destiny in this life.
This is for Christian & heathen alike, some people are MASTER PROCRASTINATORS. Procrastination is the devils chloroform! How many times do we need to be convicted of the need for us to change? Don't believe your own excuses as within every excuse is at least one lie! Soften your heart, say yes to God & look to heaven for help.
How many times do we need to be convicted of the need for us to change. Listen to this excuse, I'm waiting for God to show me, to change me, to speak to me in an audible voice. Actually He's waiting to hear from you in an audible voice--He did it all at the cross of Calvary--it's now your turn.
God is longsuffering! He is more than just a merciful God, He is totally just and justice means you get what you deserve. For some the day will come that He will turn a deaf ear to their plea's. When He will put away their bridle & bit and turn them out into that hellish pasture they think so much of. I pray you are not one of them! For God is not willing that any should perish but all come to the place of repentance.
Food for thought!
Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord
Some people have also been known to be a tad stubborn, another applicable word may be bullheaded. Stubborn---self-willed, rebellious, unwilling to take direction, obstinate. Perversely adhering to their opinion in spite of reasoning arguments or persuasions. Like why would they allow the truth to get in the way? Sound somewhat familiar, you are in good company.
In Acts 9:1-6 we read how Saul (who later became the Apostle Paul) ran into a Holy Ghost "gag & hack." The Holy Spirit slipped it right over his eyes and nose, his mouth slammed shut, air supply cut off--fell to the ground as if struck by lightning. As an end result Saul acknowledges the Master he had claimed was an imposter "Lord, what do You want me to do?"
But why Saul? In Acts 7:51-60 we read how Saul was at Stephens final sermon "The Call of Abraham." Saul was a witness to Stephens stoning & death. He had heard the message of Christ Stephen shared, & he felt conviction. Listen to the final words of Stephen & see if they are not somewhat familiar "Lord do not charge them with this sin!"
The conviction of the Holy Spirit is oftentimes uncomfortable, it goes against our old evil worldly nature, old mindsets & old carnal fleshly selfish ways. God uses people, circumstances, trials & tribulations & even allows pain (C.S. Lewis Pain is God's megaphone)& sickness into our lives, to show us we've been pulling away from Him. He jabs, prod's, convicts & corrects because He loves us. God is trying to cure you of your rebellion so you can get on with your destiny in this life.
This is for Christian & heathen alike, some people are MASTER PROCRASTINATORS. Procrastination is the devils chloroform! How many times do we need to be convicted of the need for us to change? Don't believe your own excuses as within every excuse is at least one lie! Soften your heart, say yes to God & look to heaven for help.
How many times do we need to be convicted of the need for us to change. Listen to this excuse, I'm waiting for God to show me, to change me, to speak to me in an audible voice. Actually He's waiting to hear from you in an audible voice--He did it all at the cross of Calvary--it's now your turn.
God is longsuffering! He is more than just a merciful God, He is totally just and justice means you get what you deserve. For some the day will come that He will turn a deaf ear to their plea's. When He will put away their bridle & bit and turn them out into that hellish pasture they think so much of. I pray you are not one of them! For God is not willing that any should perish but all come to the place of repentance.
Food for thought!
Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord
Sunday, 12 August 2012
The Call to Evangelism
Revive us oh Lord! Revive=to breathe new life into. Revival is the Lords work, our job is to pray revival down from heaven! Nothing breathes new life into a church more than new converts! Today much of the soul winning is being done by the parachurch. There is a danger in this, as these new converts need to be discipled & that is the job of the church. If not discipled they will go back into their former lifestyle or worse yet the cults will scoop them up.
The church drastically needs revival before our new converts show up in church, why? If you study out sheep you will find if a young ewe lays down in a plush piece of pasture an old ewe will come and butt it out. Same within our congregations, jealousy can arise as God uses these new converts. What happens when a stranger enters into our church, stares & whispers, especially if they have a reputation within the community (wonder what they are here for.) Let me see now I believe an applicable scripture would be JUDGE NOT & YOU WILL NOT BE JUDGED! For true revival to happen the church has to repent & get on with doing the Lords business. New people to a service should draw a crowd of well wishers, introducing themselves & offering fellowship.
What is evangelism? Christ in action now! Jesus primary or supreme mission was to come & seek & save the lost. He in turn has given His church the Great Commission. Are we reaching the lost, not really, when the average church sees less than one new convert per year. I recently read a book "Evangelize or Fossilize" by Henry Lockyer 1938 wowser wowser what spiritual insight they had into the church way back then. What a prophetic message (warning) to the church of today. For an example a fossilized piece of wood looks exactly the same as when it was alive but now it has no life in it. Many of our churches are drawing dangerously close to becoming fossils of what used to be vibrant churches. What's happened?
Ephesians 4:11,12 And He Himself (Jesus) gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. These men & women are anointed by the Lord Jesus Christ to build up the body of Christ that we can all minister His gospel to the church & to the world. Evangelists are anointed of the Lord as soul winners but part of their calling is to TRAIN UP & ENCOURAGE to win souls. Charles Price Every Christian is in full time ministry unto the Lord, no matter his or her occupation. How else can the church grow?
Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge, because you have rejected knowledge WE THE CHURCH ARE NOT DOING IT THE JESUS WAY!
No evangelist, little soul winning & no teaching on the necessity of leading others to Christ!
I look to Luke 5:1-11 for the call to evangelism In vs 4 Jesus tells Simon Peter to launch out into the deep & let down your nets for a catch. vs 5 Simon answered and said to Him "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net." He could have said hey Jesus remember you are the carpenter I am the fisherman BUT he did not. In all likelihood Peter & the other fisherman fished the shallows where the fish are at night time. In the daytime they move back into the depths where they can not be seen & the water is cooler. Is this not an example of how the church has toiled night & day trying to evangelize to no avail. Spent time effort & money yet coming up empty NO NEW CONVERTS. In vs. 6 we find they caught a great number of fish & had to signal to their partners to help them. And they came & filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. Unity & one accord within the brethren BETWEEN DIFFERENT CHURCHES, wow what a unique idea. In vs 8 Simon Peter fell down at Jesus knees "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" When we come face to face with the reality of the ALL POWERFUL GOD we serve we are humbled & see clearly our sinful shortcomings. vs. 9 tells us they were astonished by the catch, I personally believe if we apply what we have learned here we too will see a harvest of souls. Submission & obedience, unity & one accord, humility not pompous arrogance, He told them not to be afraid He would make them fishers of men. No more fear of what others would say, no more focus on the every day mundane things of life, they are at that moment of receiving His call (they forsook all) servants of the Most High God Jesus is His name, hallelujah! Evangelism for a Christian is to be as natural as breathing!
Matthew 9:37,38 Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers in His harvest."
Every move of God is birthed in prayer, fueled by prayer & stops when the prayer stops. Recently on heard Ron Mains say "Do we pray with the same fervency for others as we do for ourselves in our times of need? For the lost, the addicted, the prostitutes, terrorists, cultists, politicians are you getting the pic yet?
Are we willing to give of our time, finances or possibly inconvenience ourselves to see others come to Christ. David Brainerd "I cared not where or how I lived or what hardship I went through as long as I could gain souls for Christ!" I can tell by your faces you think this is too extreme, no what Jesus went through for you & I that was extreme.
To evangelize we must have spiritual eyes to see the heart needs of others. We must take time to listen to the hurts of their hearts through their words & then minister according to the leading of the Holy Spirit. He is our guide and knows who, when & how others will be led to Jesus. A word in due season, an act of kindness or compassion, a testimony of the transforming power of the gospel of Jesus Christ or possibly just a listening ear.
Are we willing to stick our necks out & get involved in other peoples lives? Jesus was willing, He was rejected, falsely accused, scourged & crucified on the cross of Calvary in our place. His call comes to us today Isaiah 6:8,9 Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying: "Whom shall I send; and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."
Do you truly know the love of God in your heart--not a head knowledge of His word but His love for our fellowman in your heart! Let us pray a simple prayer "God please allow me to experience a deeper level of your love today."
This is a portion of an evangelism teaching I am preparing for the body of Christ. I personally believe the vast majority of Christians desire to see souls come to Christ but do not have a clue on how to do it. Food for Thought!
Blessings as always
Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord
e-mail kc_gorham@xplornet.com or phone 1-613-479-0233
The church drastically needs revival before our new converts show up in church, why? If you study out sheep you will find if a young ewe lays down in a plush piece of pasture an old ewe will come and butt it out. Same within our congregations, jealousy can arise as God uses these new converts. What happens when a stranger enters into our church, stares & whispers, especially if they have a reputation within the community (wonder what they are here for.) Let me see now I believe an applicable scripture would be JUDGE NOT & YOU WILL NOT BE JUDGED! For true revival to happen the church has to repent & get on with doing the Lords business. New people to a service should draw a crowd of well wishers, introducing themselves & offering fellowship.
What is evangelism? Christ in action now! Jesus primary or supreme mission was to come & seek & save the lost. He in turn has given His church the Great Commission. Are we reaching the lost, not really, when the average church sees less than one new convert per year. I recently read a book "Evangelize or Fossilize" by Henry Lockyer 1938 wowser wowser what spiritual insight they had into the church way back then. What a prophetic message (warning) to the church of today. For an example a fossilized piece of wood looks exactly the same as when it was alive but now it has no life in it. Many of our churches are drawing dangerously close to becoming fossils of what used to be vibrant churches. What's happened?
Ephesians 4:11,12 And He Himself (Jesus) gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. These men & women are anointed by the Lord Jesus Christ to build up the body of Christ that we can all minister His gospel to the church & to the world. Evangelists are anointed of the Lord as soul winners but part of their calling is to TRAIN UP & ENCOURAGE to win souls. Charles Price Every Christian is in full time ministry unto the Lord, no matter his or her occupation. How else can the church grow?
Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge, because you have rejected knowledge WE THE CHURCH ARE NOT DOING IT THE JESUS WAY!
No evangelist, little soul winning & no teaching on the necessity of leading others to Christ!
I look to Luke 5:1-11 for the call to evangelism In vs 4 Jesus tells Simon Peter to launch out into the deep & let down your nets for a catch. vs 5 Simon answered and said to Him "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net." He could have said hey Jesus remember you are the carpenter I am the fisherman BUT he did not. In all likelihood Peter & the other fisherman fished the shallows where the fish are at night time. In the daytime they move back into the depths where they can not be seen & the water is cooler. Is this not an example of how the church has toiled night & day trying to evangelize to no avail. Spent time effort & money yet coming up empty NO NEW CONVERTS. In vs. 6 we find they caught a great number of fish & had to signal to their partners to help them. And they came & filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. Unity & one accord within the brethren BETWEEN DIFFERENT CHURCHES, wow what a unique idea. In vs 8 Simon Peter fell down at Jesus knees "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" When we come face to face with the reality of the ALL POWERFUL GOD we serve we are humbled & see clearly our sinful shortcomings. vs. 9 tells us they were astonished by the catch, I personally believe if we apply what we have learned here we too will see a harvest of souls. Submission & obedience, unity & one accord, humility not pompous arrogance, He told them not to be afraid He would make them fishers of men. No more fear of what others would say, no more focus on the every day mundane things of life, they are at that moment of receiving His call (they forsook all) servants of the Most High God Jesus is His name, hallelujah! Evangelism for a Christian is to be as natural as breathing!
Matthew 9:37,38 Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers in His harvest."
Every move of God is birthed in prayer, fueled by prayer & stops when the prayer stops. Recently on heard Ron Mains say "Do we pray with the same fervency for others as we do for ourselves in our times of need? For the lost, the addicted, the prostitutes, terrorists, cultists, politicians are you getting the pic yet?
Are we willing to give of our time, finances or possibly inconvenience ourselves to see others come to Christ. David Brainerd "I cared not where or how I lived or what hardship I went through as long as I could gain souls for Christ!" I can tell by your faces you think this is too extreme, no what Jesus went through for you & I that was extreme.
To evangelize we must have spiritual eyes to see the heart needs of others. We must take time to listen to the hurts of their hearts through their words & then minister according to the leading of the Holy Spirit. He is our guide and knows who, when & how others will be led to Jesus. A word in due season, an act of kindness or compassion, a testimony of the transforming power of the gospel of Jesus Christ or possibly just a listening ear.
Are we willing to stick our necks out & get involved in other peoples lives? Jesus was willing, He was rejected, falsely accused, scourged & crucified on the cross of Calvary in our place. His call comes to us today Isaiah 6:8,9 Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying: "Whom shall I send; and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."
Do you truly know the love of God in your heart--not a head knowledge of His word but His love for our fellowman in your heart! Let us pray a simple prayer "God please allow me to experience a deeper level of your love today."
This is a portion of an evangelism teaching I am preparing for the body of Christ. I personally believe the vast majority of Christians desire to see souls come to Christ but do not have a clue on how to do it. Food for Thought!
Blessings as always
Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord
e-mail kc_gorham@xplornet.com or phone 1-613-479-0233
Saturday, 28 July 2012
The Cords That Bind Us
Ever wonder why some people are so tightly wound, is it just in their makeup or could there possibly be more to the picture than meets the eye? Were they born that way, is it Mom or Dads fault, possibly a generational curse? It's like all they can see is the negatives in life, you would think their walls are painted doom & gloom, oops I may be describing you! For sure you know I will have some fun explaining my take on this one.
The negative viewpoint on life & all that is in it comes from our lower carnal nature. Positivity does not come naturally, it must be continually worked at. Over the week I picked up a couple of quotes that are applicable "your gratitude determines your attitude" & "a grateful heart silences a complaining voice" great thoughts to ponder.
Each of us have much to be thankful for, an example is the fact we live in Canada (the greatest nation in the world.) There is an old hymn Count Your Blessings One by One. The first verse goes like this "When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed, when you are discouraged thinking all is lost. Count your many blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done." Besides you get your focus back on the Lord rather than the mole hills of life.
There is unmeasurable power in spoken words, negative or positive. Words can either put a person in bondage or set them free. For years now it has been recognized we should not call our kids dummy or stupid but those put downs are only the tip of a very large iceberg. You & I may have grown up with words like that but today it is referred to as verbal harassment. Ever heard this one or possibly even spoken it over someone else "you'll never amount to anything' or "you're just like you're old man, your mother, your brother, your sister. Lies, gossip, slander, false accusations, nitpicking all have a way of eating at you & make you feel like a piece of dirt.
The end result of these words is rejection, fear of man, unworthy, failure & lead you into a revengeful state. When you are unwilling to forgive you find yourself angry all the time & that anger leads into bitterness & that bitterness makes you a miserable as sin. The old adage is true misery loves company and the only people you find yourself hanging out with are other miserable souls who have nothing good to say about anybody or anything.
Why the attack? Words are a like a bullet & the target is a persons soul. The soul is made up of your mind, will, intellect, & the damaged goods are the memory & emotions. Within a persons soul is their character (who they are) & those negative words are to tear down or rip out any shreds of positive we may have had instilled within us.
In Ephesians 6:12 of the bible we learn people are not our problem, ok but who is? Our battle is against principalities, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. No I am not saying God is the problem but as Christians we have learned the enemy of our soul is Satan himself. And under him there is a demonic hierarchy of evil that creates havoc on this earth & has a hatred for Jews & Christians.
My personal belief is the spirit realm dictates to this earthly realm. For some of you, you will have now read enough, but for others you are saying, hey maybe this guy is onto something. Now here is the kicker the negative words of our born again spirit filled mouths, give him & his henchmen the right to create all the havoc he chooses, even within a Christians life. In other words we can be our own worst enemy.
Now the fun of trying to explain what I am driving at. As an example when our denominations & organizations starts quibbling over doctrine the devil has a good old fashioned belly laugh. Because he knows there is power in unity & one accord. If we cant even get along with each other (in a church) or within the body of Christ (believers) why would people want to join our cause?
Let us go to scripture to bring clarity & to learn how we combat the negative words & thoughts that pound away at us each & every day. Matt 16:19 "What is bound on earth is bound in heaven but what is loosed on earth is loosed in heaven." Our words can either bind someone in a negative state or loose them from one. John 20:23 tells us " If we forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." My take on this is that we forgive them they are released to change their ways but if we are unwilling to forgive, they remain stuck in the proverbial mud, or bound by our unforgiveness. Now take the time & check out some scriptures in Proverbs & see what it is you have been feeding on. Proverbs 16:27,28 Proverbs 17:14,15 Proverbs 18:18-21 Proverbs 21:23,24
I know I have had many negative words spoken over me & sad to say spoken many over others in my lifetime but some spoken in my childhood still try to rise up and harass me today. One powerful example is a recording that the demonic forces continually tries to play in my mind is "why do you not just quit trying to do anything for Jesus, you have never succeeded at anything in your life!" I have two standard answers for him #1 being I would rather do something for Christ today than do nothing at all. When you do nothing you have no possibility of accomplishing anything so that makes this a no brainer. Besides if you are doing it from a purer heart God most assuredly honor it. #2 the Lord does not measure success as man does, but by our FAITHFULNESS.
Here are a couple of scriptures for your arsenal Matthew 5:44 "But I say to you love your enemies (not the demons that are driving them)bless those who curse you (speak negative words about you) do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you & persecute you." In Romans 12:20 we learn how doing good to our enemies brings conviction on his soul that maybe, just maybe he is wrong, & could it be possible, we are right!
Load up your gospel guns & blast away in prayer but remember to couple that with action & when you put those two together you will see not only dramatic change in your enemies life but you will also find a new found freedom in serving Christ. He who the Lord sets free is free indeed. Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty.
There are reams more I could write on this subject but maybe another day as I have been long winded enough. Think positively, speak positive words & do positive things & your life & those around you will get gooder & gooder! Food for Thought!
Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord
The negative viewpoint on life & all that is in it comes from our lower carnal nature. Positivity does not come naturally, it must be continually worked at. Over the week I picked up a couple of quotes that are applicable "your gratitude determines your attitude" & "a grateful heart silences a complaining voice" great thoughts to ponder.
Each of us have much to be thankful for, an example is the fact we live in Canada (the greatest nation in the world.) There is an old hymn Count Your Blessings One by One. The first verse goes like this "When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed, when you are discouraged thinking all is lost. Count your many blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done." Besides you get your focus back on the Lord rather than the mole hills of life.
There is unmeasurable power in spoken words, negative or positive. Words can either put a person in bondage or set them free. For years now it has been recognized we should not call our kids dummy or stupid but those put downs are only the tip of a very large iceberg. You & I may have grown up with words like that but today it is referred to as verbal harassment. Ever heard this one or possibly even spoken it over someone else "you'll never amount to anything' or "you're just like you're old man, your mother, your brother, your sister. Lies, gossip, slander, false accusations, nitpicking all have a way of eating at you & make you feel like a piece of dirt.
The end result of these words is rejection, fear of man, unworthy, failure & lead you into a revengeful state. When you are unwilling to forgive you find yourself angry all the time & that anger leads into bitterness & that bitterness makes you a miserable as sin. The old adage is true misery loves company and the only people you find yourself hanging out with are other miserable souls who have nothing good to say about anybody or anything.
Why the attack? Words are a like a bullet & the target is a persons soul. The soul is made up of your mind, will, intellect, & the damaged goods are the memory & emotions. Within a persons soul is their character (who they are) & those negative words are to tear down or rip out any shreds of positive we may have had instilled within us.
In Ephesians 6:12 of the bible we learn people are not our problem, ok but who is? Our battle is against principalities, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. No I am not saying God is the problem but as Christians we have learned the enemy of our soul is Satan himself. And under him there is a demonic hierarchy of evil that creates havoc on this earth & has a hatred for Jews & Christians.
My personal belief is the spirit realm dictates to this earthly realm. For some of you, you will have now read enough, but for others you are saying, hey maybe this guy is onto something. Now here is the kicker the negative words of our born again spirit filled mouths, give him & his henchmen the right to create all the havoc he chooses, even within a Christians life. In other words we can be our own worst enemy.
Now the fun of trying to explain what I am driving at. As an example when our denominations & organizations starts quibbling over doctrine the devil has a good old fashioned belly laugh. Because he knows there is power in unity & one accord. If we cant even get along with each other (in a church) or within the body of Christ (believers) why would people want to join our cause?
Let us go to scripture to bring clarity & to learn how we combat the negative words & thoughts that pound away at us each & every day. Matt 16:19 "What is bound on earth is bound in heaven but what is loosed on earth is loosed in heaven." Our words can either bind someone in a negative state or loose them from one. John 20:23 tells us " If we forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." My take on this is that we forgive them they are released to change their ways but if we are unwilling to forgive, they remain stuck in the proverbial mud, or bound by our unforgiveness. Now take the time & check out some scriptures in Proverbs & see what it is you have been feeding on. Proverbs 16:27,28 Proverbs 17:14,15 Proverbs 18:18-21 Proverbs 21:23,24
I know I have had many negative words spoken over me & sad to say spoken many over others in my lifetime but some spoken in my childhood still try to rise up and harass me today. One powerful example is a recording that the demonic forces continually tries to play in my mind is "why do you not just quit trying to do anything for Jesus, you have never succeeded at anything in your life!" I have two standard answers for him #1 being I would rather do something for Christ today than do nothing at all. When you do nothing you have no possibility of accomplishing anything so that makes this a no brainer. Besides if you are doing it from a purer heart God most assuredly honor it. #2 the Lord does not measure success as man does, but by our FAITHFULNESS.
Here are a couple of scriptures for your arsenal Matthew 5:44 "But I say to you love your enemies (not the demons that are driving them)bless those who curse you (speak negative words about you) do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you & persecute you." In Romans 12:20 we learn how doing good to our enemies brings conviction on his soul that maybe, just maybe he is wrong, & could it be possible, we are right!
Load up your gospel guns & blast away in prayer but remember to couple that with action & when you put those two together you will see not only dramatic change in your enemies life but you will also find a new found freedom in serving Christ. He who the Lord sets free is free indeed. Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty.
There are reams more I could write on this subject but maybe another day as I have been long winded enough. Think positively, speak positive words & do positive things & your life & those around you will get gooder & gooder! Food for Thought!
Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord
Tuesday, 26 June 2012
The Boomerang
Silence is a boomerang & sorry to say Canada & the church in Canada are receiving the end result of our silence, anti-Christ laws. Numerous years ago they took the Lord's Prayer out of our public school system. Then same sex marriages, recently Ontario passed into law gay clubs in all schools, no matter their religious convictions. And our most recent outrage, bisexual & transvestites allowed into ladies washrooms.
Every home in Canada should receive a free pitchfork from our government to distribute the crap that has been forced upon us in the name of equal rights. Shame on us for our silence in allowing our elected politicians to cater to minority groups having perverted agenda's that will ultimately destroy everything we held dear!
The beginning of the downfall of the church in Canada happened in a two fold fashion. I am not sure of the years or which came first, the removal of the Lord's Prayer from the public school system or Sunday shopping. Prior to that families did church together & then hung out with friends & family, a day of rest just like the Bible teaches.
Our forefathers would roll over in their graves at the perversity of these laws. So often things that are meant for good can be twisted to the point that they actually attacks the freedom it was instituted to defend, (example equal rights & anti bullying.) Today our laws favor the vocal minorities & actually have put them in the place whereby their beliefs & ways, bully the masses.
People from all over the world came to Canada for a better life. They came knowing we were a nation founded upon Judeo-Christian principles. We have since our foundation, been a multicultural nation & thankful for it. I grew up with people from Germany, Russia, Estonia, Holland to name but a few of the nationalities. Their parents loved this nation of Canada & were greatly thankful for the warm welcome & opportunities it afforded them.
Today many who come here have a singular purpose of changing Canada into the nation they have previously left. I believe it was in the Parliament of Ontario that they tried to pass a law to institute Sharia law for those believing in it, how ludicrous. Within Sharia law it is OK to rape your wife or confine her to your house no matter her desire or will. Not in Canada you say, I'm not so sure anymore. Try going into their home nation (obviously this is not their home nation) & telling them to change their laws to fit our beliefs, not likely, you would be fortunate to come away with your life. If you don't like our laws God Bless you & bon voyage!
How does this once glorious nation regain what it has so obviously lost? We have to individually & corporately have to start standing up for what & who we believe in. For a Christian, Jesus & the lifestyle (morality) that comes from the Word of God, are what we desire for our nation. Proverbs 14:34 Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.
God does not want an external compliance to a set of rules. John 14:23 Jesus speaking "If anyone loves Me (you & I) they will keep (obey) My Word (not because we have to but because we want too.) What God wants is a humble repentant heart that truly worships Him. He wants to have His rightful place on the throne of our hearts.
All have sinned-- no good works or outward appearance of piety can restore a proper relationship with God. It took the sacrifice of His Son, the Sacrificial Lamb of God being crucified on the Cross of Calvary to put us in the place to receive God's forgiveness for our sins. First we must recognize we are sinners. Then we must ask His forgiveness for our sins and finally change our lives to line up with His Word. JESUS DID NOT DIE JUST FOR OUR MISTAKES, BUT FOR OUR SINS! Sin is sin whether you were led into it or made a mistake, get out of denial & ask the Lord's forgiveness.
Now that we have a picture of what righteousness is, is Canada a righteous nation? Are we doing our part to be righteous? Yes we all have areas within our lives to work on Romans 6:6,7 & 6:12-14 I am not talking about the extreme grace teaching that is rampant today. When God's grace (unmerited favor of God, we did not deserve it but He made a way for us,) and (the operational power of God, we can only truly change by tag teaming with the power of the Holy Spirit.) When His divine influence has touched your heart there will be an outward evidence of change in your life (out of thanksgiving for what He has done for you.)
Can we actually change the direction of the boomerang our silence has created? Yes we can, it starts by dumping our negative attitude & words. Next start thinking, speaking & living out the positivity found in the Bible. Stop doing wrong & start doing right. It is time for the church to stand up & speak out on behalf of Who & What we believe in "Jesus & His Word."
The Church has got to quit ripping each other apart for our petty denominational differences. Start focusing upon what we agree upon, the godhead or trinity, the virgin birth, that Jesus was crucified for our sins & is our resurrected Savior. That we are saved by the grace of God not by works but our works are an outward expression of our love & thanksgiving for who He is in our lives.
When God's love is present, unity & one accord can be found in the midst. The world desperately needs to see this in our individual churches, denominations & within the entire Body of Christ.
Is it too late to change the direction of the boomerang created by our silence? Absolutely not, not as long as we have breath! Food for thought!
Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord
Every home in Canada should receive a free pitchfork from our government to distribute the crap that has been forced upon us in the name of equal rights. Shame on us for our silence in allowing our elected politicians to cater to minority groups having perverted agenda's that will ultimately destroy everything we held dear!
The beginning of the downfall of the church in Canada happened in a two fold fashion. I am not sure of the years or which came first, the removal of the Lord's Prayer from the public school system or Sunday shopping. Prior to that families did church together & then hung out with friends & family, a day of rest just like the Bible teaches.
Our forefathers would roll over in their graves at the perversity of these laws. So often things that are meant for good can be twisted to the point that they actually attacks the freedom it was instituted to defend, (example equal rights & anti bullying.) Today our laws favor the vocal minorities & actually have put them in the place whereby their beliefs & ways, bully the masses.
People from all over the world came to Canada for a better life. They came knowing we were a nation founded upon Judeo-Christian principles. We have since our foundation, been a multicultural nation & thankful for it. I grew up with people from Germany, Russia, Estonia, Holland to name but a few of the nationalities. Their parents loved this nation of Canada & were greatly thankful for the warm welcome & opportunities it afforded them.
Today many who come here have a singular purpose of changing Canada into the nation they have previously left. I believe it was in the Parliament of Ontario that they tried to pass a law to institute Sharia law for those believing in it, how ludicrous. Within Sharia law it is OK to rape your wife or confine her to your house no matter her desire or will. Not in Canada you say, I'm not so sure anymore. Try going into their home nation (obviously this is not their home nation) & telling them to change their laws to fit our beliefs, not likely, you would be fortunate to come away with your life. If you don't like our laws God Bless you & bon voyage!
How does this once glorious nation regain what it has so obviously lost? We have to individually & corporately have to start standing up for what & who we believe in. For a Christian, Jesus & the lifestyle (morality) that comes from the Word of God, are what we desire for our nation. Proverbs 14:34 Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.
God does not want an external compliance to a set of rules. John 14:23 Jesus speaking "If anyone loves Me (you & I) they will keep (obey) My Word (not because we have to but because we want too.) What God wants is a humble repentant heart that truly worships Him. He wants to have His rightful place on the throne of our hearts.
All have sinned-- no good works or outward appearance of piety can restore a proper relationship with God. It took the sacrifice of His Son, the Sacrificial Lamb of God being crucified on the Cross of Calvary to put us in the place to receive God's forgiveness for our sins. First we must recognize we are sinners. Then we must ask His forgiveness for our sins and finally change our lives to line up with His Word. JESUS DID NOT DIE JUST FOR OUR MISTAKES, BUT FOR OUR SINS! Sin is sin whether you were led into it or made a mistake, get out of denial & ask the Lord's forgiveness.
Now that we have a picture of what righteousness is, is Canada a righteous nation? Are we doing our part to be righteous? Yes we all have areas within our lives to work on Romans 6:6,7 & 6:12-14 I am not talking about the extreme grace teaching that is rampant today. When God's grace (unmerited favor of God, we did not deserve it but He made a way for us,) and (the operational power of God, we can only truly change by tag teaming with the power of the Holy Spirit.) When His divine influence has touched your heart there will be an outward evidence of change in your life (out of thanksgiving for what He has done for you.)
Can we actually change the direction of the boomerang our silence has created? Yes we can, it starts by dumping our negative attitude & words. Next start thinking, speaking & living out the positivity found in the Bible. Stop doing wrong & start doing right. It is time for the church to stand up & speak out on behalf of Who & What we believe in "Jesus & His Word."
The Church has got to quit ripping each other apart for our petty denominational differences. Start focusing upon what we agree upon, the godhead or trinity, the virgin birth, that Jesus was crucified for our sins & is our resurrected Savior. That we are saved by the grace of God not by works but our works are an outward expression of our love & thanksgiving for who He is in our lives.
When God's love is present, unity & one accord can be found in the midst. The world desperately needs to see this in our individual churches, denominations & within the entire Body of Christ.
Is it too late to change the direction of the boomerang created by our silence? Absolutely not, not as long as we have breath! Food for thought!
Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord
Sunday, 3 June 2012
Dizzybrain
For some, exhaustion sets in before their feet touch the floor. When their eyes open, their mind becomes a whirlwind, thinking of everything they have to do & all of the possibles that may show up, no wonder their wore out. As Christians in all likelihood we have heard or read about the peace of God & yet it certainly does not appear to be included in our everyday lives. In fact we would question if it is even possible to find peace today in our chaotic lives. We may even question if God plays favorites & blesses some while ignoring others when He knows they too need peace.
1 Corinthians 14:33 is often taken out of context & sometimes brings condemnation on believers "For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, (but it goes on to say) as in all the churches of the saints." This is actually referenced to order within the church.
In fact God often brought confusion into peoples minds & situations. For an example have a look at what happened at the tower of Babel Genesis 11:6,7 And the Lord said, "Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them."Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech." Many times in the Old Testament God brought deliverance to His people over their enemies by bringing confusion on them.
Interestingly enough within this teaching on the Tower of Babel we also see a powerful example of unity & one accord. Now NOTHING THEY PROPOSE TO DO WILL BE WITHHELD FROM THEM. Imagine if a church chose to that place of UNITY & ONE ACCORD. Now let us but imagine the work we could do for our Lord if the body of Christ chose to drop our differences, hallelujah!
We find a key to confusion in Proverbs 28:1 The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion. When you are walking within a right standing with the Lord you can be certain of His word within your life, to help us face any & all situation each & every day. Fear is a horrible thing with a power that makes you do irrational things. This scripture shows the paranoia that can operate within your life without you even being aware of it. Example fear of man, those people over there are talking about me, while their conversation has nothing to do with you.
For me this message originated from the day Christ was crucified & the unbelievable tailspin this must have sent His disciples into. For the past 3 1/2 years they had followed every step Jesus made. They were His inner circle who were privileged to listen to Him explain how God wants us to live our lives, different from the teachings they had been taught all their lives. They were there when He healed the sick, cast out demons & even raised people from the dead. But now He was gone, what next. Peters initial reaction was to revert back to what he knew best, fishing.
Mark 4:35-40 We read of how the disciples & the Lord were in a boat when a fierce storm hit & the boat was taking on water. Jesus was asleep so the disciples woke Him & said "Teacher don't you care that we are perishing?" He arose & rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace be still!" The disciples looked at one another & said "Who can this be, that even the wind & the sea obey Him!"
Each of us face the storms of life, whether it be sickness, financial pressure, relationships etc.. Pressure brings fear & confusion! Some would say Lord I have done everything you asked of me, why is this happening to me? Others would say it works for others but God must play favorites. No only Jesus can calm the storms of life, not you nor me or anyone else.
Who can forget the fiery furnace from Daniel 3 that King Nebuchadnezzar was going to throw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. My words, King Nebuchadnezzar there is no chance we are going to bow down to you! Our God who we serve is able to deliver us from your burning fiery furnace so lets get it on! King Neby was furious had them bound & threw them in, fully dressed & all three bowed down in the midst as King Neby exclaimed "did we not throw three men into that furnace vs 25 Look! "I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God" JESUS WAS THERE WITH THEM & HE WILL BE WITH YOU IN YOUR FURNACE OF AFFLICTION!
We are all familiar with the old adage "you made your bed now sleep in it!" Jesus said to the paralytic (my words) take up your bed & walk! Many reading this have made mistakes & we can be living with the end results or cost factor today. Ask the Lords forgiveness & get on with serving Him. Another way of saying it is "take up your cross & bear the burden graciously, as you walk in His strength!
In all likelihood there will be those who would speak words of condemnation about you, do not take your eyes off Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. THEY NEED YOUR PRAYERS & you don't need to carry unforgiveness, it only opens the door to a spirit of bitterness. Remember Jesus is our example not the teachings of the world.
It doesn't matter if Mom or Dad were dizzybrains, break the cycle. 2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. A brand new creation on the face of this earth. It doesn't matter what you were in the past. You now have a brand new identity in Christ, fully equipped to live a victorious life. Not even generational curses can hold you back, apply the blood of Christ to them in Jesus name & be free!
In Luke 12:32 we read "Do not fear little flock" spoken by our Shepherd to the His followers. When under attack sheep huddle together & cry out in fear for their shepherd. To this day He watches over & intercedes for us. Fear is like sand in the machinery of life while faith is the lubricant that keeps everything running smoothly.
One of the messages I shared in the past was when you listen, do you hear? The only evidence you have heard is an accompanying action. I am going to add to that, when you listen, your heart is to hear! We are to train our spiritual eyes & ears to receive from God. There are multitudes of scriptures in the Bible that talk of our hearts Proverbs 2:2 apply thy heart to understanding. Proverb 2:10,11 When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, Discretion will preserve you; Understanding will keep you, to deliver you from the way of evil, Proverbs 3:5,6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; Please read Proverbs 3:1-6 & see what you can pull out of these marvelous scriptures.
2nd Timothy 1:7 For God has not given you a spirit of fear but of power, love & a sound mind! Hello out there in cyberspace, God wants us to have A SOUND MIND! Is peace of mind possible, YES, but we will have to retrain our brains. lst Peter 2:9 The Lord has called you out of the darkness into His marvelous light. Colossians 1:13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness. To be delivered is to be set free, His blood has paid the price for our freedom but it our job to stay free.
For those of you who know me Phillippians 4:8,9 are some of my favorite scriptures. If we make a practice of starting our day, continuing our day & ending our day focused on these scriptures guaranteed your life will change for the positive. Food for thought!
Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord
1 Corinthians 14:33 is often taken out of context & sometimes brings condemnation on believers "For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, (but it goes on to say) as in all the churches of the saints." This is actually referenced to order within the church.
In fact God often brought confusion into peoples minds & situations. For an example have a look at what happened at the tower of Babel Genesis 11:6,7 And the Lord said, "Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them."Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech." Many times in the Old Testament God brought deliverance to His people over their enemies by bringing confusion on them.
Interestingly enough within this teaching on the Tower of Babel we also see a powerful example of unity & one accord. Now NOTHING THEY PROPOSE TO DO WILL BE WITHHELD FROM THEM. Imagine if a church chose to that place of UNITY & ONE ACCORD. Now let us but imagine the work we could do for our Lord if the body of Christ chose to drop our differences, hallelujah!
We find a key to confusion in Proverbs 28:1 The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion. When you are walking within a right standing with the Lord you can be certain of His word within your life, to help us face any & all situation each & every day. Fear is a horrible thing with a power that makes you do irrational things. This scripture shows the paranoia that can operate within your life without you even being aware of it. Example fear of man, those people over there are talking about me, while their conversation has nothing to do with you.
For me this message originated from the day Christ was crucified & the unbelievable tailspin this must have sent His disciples into. For the past 3 1/2 years they had followed every step Jesus made. They were His inner circle who were privileged to listen to Him explain how God wants us to live our lives, different from the teachings they had been taught all their lives. They were there when He healed the sick, cast out demons & even raised people from the dead. But now He was gone, what next. Peters initial reaction was to revert back to what he knew best, fishing.
Mark 4:35-40 We read of how the disciples & the Lord were in a boat when a fierce storm hit & the boat was taking on water. Jesus was asleep so the disciples woke Him & said "Teacher don't you care that we are perishing?" He arose & rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace be still!" The disciples looked at one another & said "Who can this be, that even the wind & the sea obey Him!"
Each of us face the storms of life, whether it be sickness, financial pressure, relationships etc.. Pressure brings fear & confusion! Some would say Lord I have done everything you asked of me, why is this happening to me? Others would say it works for others but God must play favorites. No only Jesus can calm the storms of life, not you nor me or anyone else.
Who can forget the fiery furnace from Daniel 3 that King Nebuchadnezzar was going to throw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. My words, King Nebuchadnezzar there is no chance we are going to bow down to you! Our God who we serve is able to deliver us from your burning fiery furnace so lets get it on! King Neby was furious had them bound & threw them in, fully dressed & all three bowed down in the midst as King Neby exclaimed "did we not throw three men into that furnace vs 25 Look! "I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God" JESUS WAS THERE WITH THEM & HE WILL BE WITH YOU IN YOUR FURNACE OF AFFLICTION!
We are all familiar with the old adage "you made your bed now sleep in it!" Jesus said to the paralytic (my words) take up your bed & walk! Many reading this have made mistakes & we can be living with the end results or cost factor today. Ask the Lords forgiveness & get on with serving Him. Another way of saying it is "take up your cross & bear the burden graciously, as you walk in His strength!
In all likelihood there will be those who would speak words of condemnation about you, do not take your eyes off Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. THEY NEED YOUR PRAYERS & you don't need to carry unforgiveness, it only opens the door to a spirit of bitterness. Remember Jesus is our example not the teachings of the world.
It doesn't matter if Mom or Dad were dizzybrains, break the cycle. 2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. A brand new creation on the face of this earth. It doesn't matter what you were in the past. You now have a brand new identity in Christ, fully equipped to live a victorious life. Not even generational curses can hold you back, apply the blood of Christ to them in Jesus name & be free!
In Luke 12:32 we read "Do not fear little flock" spoken by our Shepherd to the His followers. When under attack sheep huddle together & cry out in fear for their shepherd. To this day He watches over & intercedes for us. Fear is like sand in the machinery of life while faith is the lubricant that keeps everything running smoothly.
One of the messages I shared in the past was when you listen, do you hear? The only evidence you have heard is an accompanying action. I am going to add to that, when you listen, your heart is to hear! We are to train our spiritual eyes & ears to receive from God. There are multitudes of scriptures in the Bible that talk of our hearts Proverbs 2:2 apply thy heart to understanding. Proverb 2:10,11 When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, Discretion will preserve you; Understanding will keep you, to deliver you from the way of evil, Proverbs 3:5,6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; Please read Proverbs 3:1-6 & see what you can pull out of these marvelous scriptures.
2nd Timothy 1:7 For God has not given you a spirit of fear but of power, love & a sound mind! Hello out there in cyberspace, God wants us to have A SOUND MIND! Is peace of mind possible, YES, but we will have to retrain our brains. lst Peter 2:9 The Lord has called you out of the darkness into His marvelous light. Colossians 1:13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness. To be delivered is to be set free, His blood has paid the price for our freedom but it our job to stay free.
For those of you who know me Phillippians 4:8,9 are some of my favorite scriptures. If we make a practice of starting our day, continuing our day & ending our day focused on these scriptures guaranteed your life will change for the positive. Food for thought!
Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord
Friday, 25 May 2012
One Without the Other Equals Nothing
This FFT applies to everything in our lives. For an example, words without accompanying action are meaningless! Guaranteed you have heard the words or even said them, "love you!" Do our actions back up the words? Or how about, I'll pray for you, but do we? If not, the words were meaningless!
Have you ever seen a couple totally in love? Whenever you see one, you see the other. Whether in church, at the coffee shop, out for a walk, always together hand in hand, arm in arm. Many times when one spouse dies it is not long after that the other goes to join them. One without the other equals nothing. A part of them died with their spouse but life does not necessarily have to be that way. I know personally when my wife Dar went to be with the Lord I rejoiced for her "to die is to gain." Thank God for the truth of His word "You can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. She beat me into glory & in my minds eye she is cheering me on to continue the work of the Lord here on earth until we meet again in glory. Since Dar's promotion to glory the Good Lord has blessed me with another bride & Carol & I continue to serve the Lord together.
I want to look at a little different scenario, the institution of the Lords supper & the crucifixion. Again one without the other equals nothing. Without the Communion table (or as my Catholic brothers & sisters would say the Eucharist) the crucifixion would have been nothing other then an execution. But with the institution of the Lord's Supper the crucifixion of Jesus became God's Passover Lamb--Lamb of God, the Sacrificial Lamb of God!
In Psalm 23 we read & the Jews knew The Lord is our Shepherd, but a recent revelation to me is that the Shepherd became the Sacrificial Lamb of God! This has been going deep into my inner person & bringing an illumination I had never seen before.
In the Old Testament a lamb was sacrificed at the Passover for the sins of the people. Now, with the new covenant Jesus Christ was going to take away the sins of the people "once and for all" through His death and resurrection. He went to the cross for our sins. He urged His followers to understand and experience the power of the Lord's Supper. A New Covenant that would bring freedom and eternal life to all who would believe. A celebration & realization of who He was & is!
This also fulfills the prophecy Jesus spoke of Himself in John 2:19 "destroy this temple, & in three days I will raise it up." In this particular instance one without the other would have made Jesus a false prophet, NOT LIKELY!
I can say with certainty that not one person left the Calvary after seeing Jesus crucified that what they had witnessed was the greatest sacrifice of all time. An act of obedience & worship from Jesus to His Father, God, that could never be matched.
His crucifixion sent the disciples into turmoil, what now? For the last three & one half years they had done nothing but follow Jesus, being there seeing Him minister the love of God in so many different ways. Healing, deliverance, even raising the dead & yet He is dead & gone, or is He?
One without the other equal equals nothing. Is Jesus alive in your life today? Food for thought!
Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord
Have you ever seen a couple totally in love? Whenever you see one, you see the other. Whether in church, at the coffee shop, out for a walk, always together hand in hand, arm in arm. Many times when one spouse dies it is not long after that the other goes to join them. One without the other equals nothing. A part of them died with their spouse but life does not necessarily have to be that way. I know personally when my wife Dar went to be with the Lord I rejoiced for her "to die is to gain." Thank God for the truth of His word "You can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. She beat me into glory & in my minds eye she is cheering me on to continue the work of the Lord here on earth until we meet again in glory. Since Dar's promotion to glory the Good Lord has blessed me with another bride & Carol & I continue to serve the Lord together.
I want to look at a little different scenario, the institution of the Lords supper & the crucifixion. Again one without the other equals nothing. Without the Communion table (or as my Catholic brothers & sisters would say the Eucharist) the crucifixion would have been nothing other then an execution. But with the institution of the Lord's Supper the crucifixion of Jesus became God's Passover Lamb--Lamb of God, the Sacrificial Lamb of God!
In Psalm 23 we read & the Jews knew The Lord is our Shepherd, but a recent revelation to me is that the Shepherd became the Sacrificial Lamb of God! This has been going deep into my inner person & bringing an illumination I had never seen before.
In the Old Testament a lamb was sacrificed at the Passover for the sins of the people. Now, with the new covenant Jesus Christ was going to take away the sins of the people "once and for all" through His death and resurrection. He went to the cross for our sins. He urged His followers to understand and experience the power of the Lord's Supper. A New Covenant that would bring freedom and eternal life to all who would believe. A celebration & realization of who He was & is!
This also fulfills the prophecy Jesus spoke of Himself in John 2:19 "destroy this temple, & in three days I will raise it up." In this particular instance one without the other would have made Jesus a false prophet, NOT LIKELY!
I can say with certainty that not one person left the Calvary after seeing Jesus crucified that what they had witnessed was the greatest sacrifice of all time. An act of obedience & worship from Jesus to His Father, God, that could never be matched.
His crucifixion sent the disciples into turmoil, what now? For the last three & one half years they had done nothing but follow Jesus, being there seeing Him minister the love of God in so many different ways. Healing, deliverance, even raising the dead & yet He is dead & gone, or is He?
One without the other equal equals nothing. Is Jesus alive in your life today? Food for thought!
Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord
Monday, 14 May 2012
The Highway of Holiness
We all go through stages in life, seasons. Those seasons include everything, friends, family, careers, wrong choices & right ones. In hindsight it is so simple to see how we screwed up, but a little more questionable is how some things worked out so well. Some call it luck while others like myself refer to it as divine coincidence. The ups & downs & even roundabouts that life presents to each of us can really get you shaking your head. Yet there is one who knew all along how things would work out, even before it happened, God!
Then why did I have to go through the bogus crap I did, duh possibly because of my dumb choices. God the Holy Spirit will always be a gentleman & never force you to do anything against you're will. So when you choose to go down the wrong pathway He will not stop you, but instead will allow you to be you. The author of free choice was & is God, cool eh, or maybe not so?
The world we live in is filled with darkness. The darkness of sin & despair, while for many a feeling of hopelessness is all they know. What a horrible place to be in, without hope. If you know no light, darkness is all you know! But Praise be to God when Jesus comes into your life, life itself changes. It's like everything around you is illuminated as never before. He gives you a sense of direction & He becomes your hope rope to hold onto when things get tough.
Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light. Psalm 119:105 His Word is a lamp unto our feet & a light unto our pathway! So as a Christian I should always be confirming my choices by searching out direction in the Bible. For those who read this blog or if you are someone who knows me personally I have a four fold strategy for my Christianity, read the word, pray pray pray, be faithful in all things & obey (whether we want to or not) what God shows us to do or not to do.
I cannot understand how so many Christians think they can get by without reading Gods Holy Word each & every day. Like for sure you will be bombarded by worldly perspectives & mindsets on a continual basis. Even our thought life can be hazardous to our health. Each & every day you will have at least 10,000 choices to make. It is not my way, not your way, but Yahweh (Gods way!)
Matthew 5:14-16 "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden." 15/ "Nor do they light a lamp & put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house." 16/ "let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."
The people of the world around us, those we come into contact with each & every day have to see we are not the same as everyone else, being peculiar is not a bad thing but biblical. Dump your candle for the Lord & become a flame thrower reach out with the love of God & touch someone each & every day. To do this you have to make yourself vulnerable, not something many people want to do. Plus you actually have to do something not just profess you are a Christian. Confess you love of Christ not merely by words but by everything you do!
John 8:12 "Jesus is the light of the world. He who follows Him shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life. Another scripture I love is one that Paul quoted "Imitate me as I imitate Christ!" Jesus has walked on this earth, shown us the way & it is up to us to follow Him as His disciples. Food for Thought!
Then why did I have to go through the bogus crap I did, duh possibly because of my dumb choices. God the Holy Spirit will always be a gentleman & never force you to do anything against you're will. So when you choose to go down the wrong pathway He will not stop you, but instead will allow you to be you. The author of free choice was & is God, cool eh, or maybe not so?
The world we live in is filled with darkness. The darkness of sin & despair, while for many a feeling of hopelessness is all they know. What a horrible place to be in, without hope. If you know no light, darkness is all you know! But Praise be to God when Jesus comes into your life, life itself changes. It's like everything around you is illuminated as never before. He gives you a sense of direction & He becomes your hope rope to hold onto when things get tough.
Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light. Psalm 119:105 His Word is a lamp unto our feet & a light unto our pathway! So as a Christian I should always be confirming my choices by searching out direction in the Bible. For those who read this blog or if you are someone who knows me personally I have a four fold strategy for my Christianity, read the word, pray pray pray, be faithful in all things & obey (whether we want to or not) what God shows us to do or not to do.
I cannot understand how so many Christians think they can get by without reading Gods Holy Word each & every day. Like for sure you will be bombarded by worldly perspectives & mindsets on a continual basis. Even our thought life can be hazardous to our health. Each & every day you will have at least 10,000 choices to make. It is not my way, not your way, but Yahweh (Gods way!)
Matthew 5:14-16 "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden." 15/ "Nor do they light a lamp & put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house." 16/ "let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."
The people of the world around us, those we come into contact with each & every day have to see we are not the same as everyone else, being peculiar is not a bad thing but biblical. Dump your candle for the Lord & become a flame thrower reach out with the love of God & touch someone each & every day. To do this you have to make yourself vulnerable, not something many people want to do. Plus you actually have to do something not just profess you are a Christian. Confess you love of Christ not merely by words but by everything you do!
John 8:12 "Jesus is the light of the world. He who follows Him shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life. Another scripture I love is one that Paul quoted "Imitate me as I imitate Christ!" Jesus has walked on this earth, shown us the way & it is up to us to follow Him as His disciples. Food for Thought!
Saturday, 5 May 2012
Restored By God
What does it mean"to be restored?" Websters gives us a number of perspectives. l/ to give back something taken away, lost. 2/ to bring back to a former or normal condition, as by repairing, rebuilding, altering. 3/ to put back in a place, position, rank. 4/ to bring back to health, strength, etc. 5/ to re-establish something which has passed away, as a custom (renew.)
Who needs to be restored? Now that is a wide open question, which in my eyes includes this glorious nation we live in, Canada. Let's face it even the United Nations has stated we are no longer a Christian nation, that means in their eyes we're a bunch of heathens.
We have always been a multicultural nation but today there is one major difference, as a nation we have allowed other religions to dictate to us what we can & cannot do ex. Merry Christmas! By doing this we have turned our back on the God who helped us to build this nation. We need as a nation to repent & for our government that means our laws have to line up with His Holy Word, ex. gay marriages, an abomination in Gods eyes!
By the way the first ones who need to repent in Canada are the Christians for allowing such nonsense to go on. Please don't give me the hogwash that you prayed about it! Most of us (Christian & non-Christian alike) totally agree on the things that have gone astray, even complain amongst ourselves, but we do not stand up for Who & What we believe in! Prayer is one thing, but like faith without works it will not accomplish the desired results.
Many today proclaim to be Christians but we no longer go to church or even follow the teachings of the Bible. If we are not reading & sitting under the influence of the Word of God the worlds mindsets will soon be in control of our lives. Trust me we all have buckets full of excuses on why we no longer do church or even read our Bibles, but within every excuse is at least one lie. If you are a true believer, the Holy Ghost has already been convicting you of your wrong doings. But the Holy Ghost always has been & always will be a gentleman. What that means is He will not force you to obey the Word of God, it has to be by your free will.
We cannot blame the devil or anyone else. The devil actually cannot make you do anything , all he can do is present the temptation & then it is up to each one of us to chose whether to bite into the forbidden fruit called sin or not. As for other people, dump that excuse & start to stand on your own two feet, saying & doing what you believe in, that is if you actually even know what you believe in.
We have a merciful God who is always willing to receive us back into the fold. 1 John 1:8 "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." It was no-one else who screwed up but each of us has done our part. Ask God to forgive you & get on with serving Him. 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
"One final scripture Galatians 6:1 "Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass (sin,) you who are spiritual (Christian) restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. My take on this is when we see a brother or sister in Christ in sin, it is our job to pray for them to be restored back into a righteous walk with the Lord.
Please do not think I am being pompous or holier than thou, I too am challenged daily by the business of life (& my lovely wife) to do as the scriptures challenge me to do. If we all are serious about being about our heavenly Fathers business look out devil, here comes the church storming the gates of hell taking back what he has stolen, food for thought!
Matthew 28:19 "Go therefore" and make disciples (not just lead people to Christ) of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you' and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord
Who needs to be restored? Now that is a wide open question, which in my eyes includes this glorious nation we live in, Canada. Let's face it even the United Nations has stated we are no longer a Christian nation, that means in their eyes we're a bunch of heathens.
We have always been a multicultural nation but today there is one major difference, as a nation we have allowed other religions to dictate to us what we can & cannot do ex. Merry Christmas! By doing this we have turned our back on the God who helped us to build this nation. We need as a nation to repent & for our government that means our laws have to line up with His Holy Word, ex. gay marriages, an abomination in Gods eyes!
By the way the first ones who need to repent in Canada are the Christians for allowing such nonsense to go on. Please don't give me the hogwash that you prayed about it! Most of us (Christian & non-Christian alike) totally agree on the things that have gone astray, even complain amongst ourselves, but we do not stand up for Who & What we believe in! Prayer is one thing, but like faith without works it will not accomplish the desired results.
Many today proclaim to be Christians but we no longer go to church or even follow the teachings of the Bible. If we are not reading & sitting under the influence of the Word of God the worlds mindsets will soon be in control of our lives. Trust me we all have buckets full of excuses on why we no longer do church or even read our Bibles, but within every excuse is at least one lie. If you are a true believer, the Holy Ghost has already been convicting you of your wrong doings. But the Holy Ghost always has been & always will be a gentleman. What that means is He will not force you to obey the Word of God, it has to be by your free will.
We cannot blame the devil or anyone else. The devil actually cannot make you do anything , all he can do is present the temptation & then it is up to each one of us to chose whether to bite into the forbidden fruit called sin or not. As for other people, dump that excuse & start to stand on your own two feet, saying & doing what you believe in, that is if you actually even know what you believe in.
We have a merciful God who is always willing to receive us back into the fold. 1 John 1:8 "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." It was no-one else who screwed up but each of us has done our part. Ask God to forgive you & get on with serving Him. 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
"One final scripture Galatians 6:1 "Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass (sin,) you who are spiritual (Christian) restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. My take on this is when we see a brother or sister in Christ in sin, it is our job to pray for them to be restored back into a righteous walk with the Lord.
Please do not think I am being pompous or holier than thou, I too am challenged daily by the business of life (& my lovely wife) to do as the scriptures challenge me to do. If we all are serious about being about our heavenly Fathers business look out devil, here comes the church storming the gates of hell taking back what he has stolen, food for thought!
Matthew 28:19 "Go therefore" and make disciples (not just lead people to Christ) of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you' and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord
Monday, 30 April 2012
Could Have Been, Is & Will Be
We all had dreams & goals at one time or another in each of our lives. No-one chooses to fail, it is not in our makeup. We want to succeed at everything we do. Hand in hand with our dreams & goals, is our hope. But one thing I found over the years was you have to have more than just something to hope for, I needed someone other than myself to hope in. For me His name is the name above all other names, Jesus!
Some of our dreams are totally illogical, you know like my becoming the next Johnny Bower, when I was a young hockey fan (back when the Leafs actually not only made the playoffs but won many a Stanley Cups.) You have to have exceptional natural abilities, dedication with the tenacity of a pit bull dog, the opportunity to do what you feel called to do & perfect timing for everything to come to pass.
Some dreams can be totally of God but always remember whatever we do as Christians is to glorify God, not self! When it is of God, His direction is totally upon your every step, not barring the trials & tribulations we all have faced & will face in our future. It also does not mean you will not have numerous opportunities to flat out give up, quit, say I have had enough, I can't handle it any more. When we hit a wall it doesn't mean it is over, in all likelihood it is just another change of direction, and keep on going.
I know personally my life has been a roller coaster ride of mammoth proportion. My parents saw all this potential, everybody agreed but when the hormones kicked in off I went. Eight years of hi-school (partying all the way) & you can probably guess the party didn't end there. It was to the point of my friends giving me the nickname "the carrot" because they expected me to become a vegetable. Another friend offered to pay my life insurance because he felt confident he could be collecting at any moment.
Sometimes you just never know what the future may hold. There is an old adage "if it's not broke don't fix it" but if life sucks it is time to make some changes. It's the same in all areas of life, work & play, marriage, you name it, it all works the same!
Are you seeing a picture in this. Maybe your life was not what you thought it could have been. Whether it was what most would call bad luck or flat out mistakes you made, LET IT GO & get on with making those necessary changes. And please, please, please stop blaming everyone else.
Don't fall into the plum syndrome (poor little unloved me.) A Rabbi wrote a book "Bad Stuff Happens to Good People," another old adage that applies to many lives, possibly yours.
Yes today is what it is, good, bad or ugly. Whether you believe it or not the ball is in your court Do not trust in another old adage "what will be, will be." If you are a Christian, get on your knees & pray. My suggestion would be to ask God for forgiveness for past sins, & pray for His direction from this day forward. Those past sins may even be as simple as unforgiveness, for holding a grudge (forgiveness is not optional) Matthew 6:14.15
I was an alcoholic, cross addicted to numerous drugs for over twenty five years, what was referred to as a main line addict & yet God in His sovereignty as a forgiving heavenly Father set me free & even called me as a minister. For thirteen years I had the privilege of preaching the gospel in Lindsay, Ontario. Today I still preach at a locally once a month, while in the summer time I travel from church to church doing the work of an evangelist. After three long years I have finally finished my autobiography "From Cross Addicted to Addicted to the Cross." Presently talking to a publisher while praying for the finances, but one thing is for sure GOD IS ABLE!
I am not bragging on me but on my Savior Jesus Christ. He saved me, delivered me, & gave me a purpose in life, sharing Him with others. God is not a respecter of persons, what He has done for me He can do for you. God has a plan for you & it is up to you to spend time with Him in prayer & reading His Word to find it out. Hold onto this thought, you & the Good Lord are in charge of what will be YOUR future, food for thought!
Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord .
Some of our dreams are totally illogical, you know like my becoming the next Johnny Bower, when I was a young hockey fan (back when the Leafs actually not only made the playoffs but won many a Stanley Cups.) You have to have exceptional natural abilities, dedication with the tenacity of a pit bull dog, the opportunity to do what you feel called to do & perfect timing for everything to come to pass.
Some dreams can be totally of God but always remember whatever we do as Christians is to glorify God, not self! When it is of God, His direction is totally upon your every step, not barring the trials & tribulations we all have faced & will face in our future. It also does not mean you will not have numerous opportunities to flat out give up, quit, say I have had enough, I can't handle it any more. When we hit a wall it doesn't mean it is over, in all likelihood it is just another change of direction, and keep on going.
I know personally my life has been a roller coaster ride of mammoth proportion. My parents saw all this potential, everybody agreed but when the hormones kicked in off I went. Eight years of hi-school (partying all the way) & you can probably guess the party didn't end there. It was to the point of my friends giving me the nickname "the carrot" because they expected me to become a vegetable. Another friend offered to pay my life insurance because he felt confident he could be collecting at any moment.
Sometimes you just never know what the future may hold. There is an old adage "if it's not broke don't fix it" but if life sucks it is time to make some changes. It's the same in all areas of life, work & play, marriage, you name it, it all works the same!
Are you seeing a picture in this. Maybe your life was not what you thought it could have been. Whether it was what most would call bad luck or flat out mistakes you made, LET IT GO & get on with making those necessary changes. And please, please, please stop blaming everyone else.
Don't fall into the plum syndrome (poor little unloved me.) A Rabbi wrote a book "Bad Stuff Happens to Good People," another old adage that applies to many lives, possibly yours.
Yes today is what it is, good, bad or ugly. Whether you believe it or not the ball is in your court Do not trust in another old adage "what will be, will be." If you are a Christian, get on your knees & pray. My suggestion would be to ask God for forgiveness for past sins, & pray for His direction from this day forward. Those past sins may even be as simple as unforgiveness, for holding a grudge (forgiveness is not optional) Matthew 6:14.15
I was an alcoholic, cross addicted to numerous drugs for over twenty five years, what was referred to as a main line addict & yet God in His sovereignty as a forgiving heavenly Father set me free & even called me as a minister. For thirteen years I had the privilege of preaching the gospel in Lindsay, Ontario. Today I still preach at a locally once a month, while in the summer time I travel from church to church doing the work of an evangelist. After three long years I have finally finished my autobiography "From Cross Addicted to Addicted to the Cross." Presently talking to a publisher while praying for the finances, but one thing is for sure GOD IS ABLE!
I am not bragging on me but on my Savior Jesus Christ. He saved me, delivered me, & gave me a purpose in life, sharing Him with others. God is not a respecter of persons, what He has done for me He can do for you. God has a plan for you & it is up to you to spend time with Him in prayer & reading His Word to find it out. Hold onto this thought, you & the Good Lord are in charge of what will be YOUR future, food for thought!
Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord .
Friday, 6 April 2012
The Week that Changed the World
This was a message I had the privilege to preach at Vennachar Free Methodist Church Easter Sunday. Spring is my favorite time of the year. To me it represents new life, winter in its bleakness has past, robins long since back, the maple syrup run is over & the frogs are croaking. During the winter season here everything appears to have died, but in truth they have become dormant, awaiting the warmth of spring. Here is a quote from Martin Luther "Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection not only in the bible but in every leaf of spring!" Resurrection=a raising from the dead or a coming back to life.
Last week was Palm Sunday a remembrance of the Sunday Jesus triumphantly road into Jerusalem on a colt with the crowds throwing palm leaves in front of Him proclaiming Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest! Hosanna is translated "come save now" as the Jews were looking to Jesus as a king who would save them or deliverer them from Roman rule. They were NOT proclaiming Him as their Messiah!
Christianity is based upon 5 simple truths. The virgin birth of Jesus Christ. This is not because Joseph had sex with Mary a virgin & she got pregnant, but rather that Mary miraculously conceived of the Holy Spirit our beloved Savior Jesus Christ.
The second truth is the fact that Jesus was crucified on the cross of Calvary. Not for any wrong He had done, but in reality He died in our rightful place. He became our substitute & was crucified for our sins. He became the Sacrificial Lamb that took away the sins of the world. He was the final blood sacrifice for our sins. He became our substitute, it is our sins that nailed Him to the cross, He took our place.
The next truth is the resurrection of Christ, when He arose from the grave. This is an area of the gospel that the church seemingly only focuses on during Easter & yet without the resurrection of Christ our religion would be the same as any other. Humanity including the church tend to set aside the supernatural aspect of Jesus. Here in North America we believe in medical science & history more than the simple truths of the Bible. It has always astounded me that such a large percentage of the Christian church today can believe in salvation (supernatural) & yet NOT the healing & deliverance our Lord teaches us in His Holy Word. Our Christian life is to exemplify the resurrection life Christ has placed within us. Jesus Himself foretold His suffering, crucifixtion, death & resurrection in a prophetic word He spoke in Mark 8:31.
The entire New Testament is based upon the forgiveness of our sins. It also shows us the necessity of our forgiving those who have wronged us. For us this is not optional, but mandatory as is so powerfully pointed out to us in Matthew 6:14,15 paraphrased if we choose not to forgive others the Lord will not forgive ours. We totally depend upon this forgiveness, which came to us by the finished work of the cross, for our eternity in glory. We as believers have been justified, the slate wiped clean, to the degree it is as if we had never sinned at all, miraculous or what?
The last we look too, & trust in, is the Grace of God. The unmerited favor (we didn't deserve His forgiveness.) The operational power of God (His dunamis supernatural power to accomplish or manifest the impossible.) We are saved by Grace not by works. The works are done out of thanksgiving for what He has done in our lives. This does not mean we continue in our sinful ways but turn from them Romans 5:21-Romans 6:2.
Now onward to the week that changed the world! These are but a few of the events leading up to the our Lord being crucified.
Monday Jesus cleansed the temple Mark 11:15-18 as He began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers. Later he said, is it not written "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations?" But you have made it a "den of thieves."
In Luke 20:1-8 the Sanhedrin challenged His authority as He taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel. These scriptures are an excellent read & to a degree show the mindset of denominational Christianity.
Mary anointed Jesus head & feet with costly oil John 12:3-11. To anoint a guests head was traditional but her anointing His feet was an act of worship.
This was the last straw for Judas Iscariot, the devil convinced him it was now time to betray Jesus to those who desired to have Him killed, Luke 22:1-6.
Jesus partook of Passover with the disciples & instituted the Lords Supper Luke 22:19-20.
Christ prayed for Himself in the Garden of Gethsemane "Father if it is your will take this cup from me, not my will but thy will be done." Luke 22:39-44
Jesus walked the gauntlet before the Sanhedrin. There were approximately 80 members to the Sanhedrin who punched Him spit in His face & even ripped out His beard to the degree that scripture tells us He could not even be recognized Isaiah 50:6, Isaiah 53:1-9.
The Sanhedrin turned Him over to Pilate to be condemned, sentenced & crucified Luke 23:13-23. BUT WHY WHAT HAD HE DONE? He was not a thief like those He was crucified with. Healed the sick(the blind, lepers, lame, on & on while showing compassion to widows & orphans, feeding the hungry, need I say more.
Matthew 27:51-54 Jesus had fulfilled His work on earth, the shedding of His innocent blood & sacrificial death for the remission of our sins. IT IS FINISHED! The finished work of the cross!
But praise God there is more THE STONE IF ROLLED AWAY! Joseph of Arimanthea, a prominent council member(a rich man) had Jesus body placed in his tomb Mark 15:42-47 Mark 16:1-6 He is Risen, Hallelujah! John 20 & 21 serve as inspirational teachings that need to be read more than once a year.
There are numerous perspectives on who crucified Christ & I will share mine. The Romans, Pilate gave the order. The Jews demanded it "Crucify Him!" The devil certainly had his part in it, using Judas Iscariot as he did, stirring up the crowds (as was so vividly shown in the movie The Passion of Christ.)
I have what is considered a vivid imagination & when you tie that to scripture wowser is the only term that comes to mind. In Matthew 12:38-40 Jesus spoke to the scribes & Pharisees prophetically of His future (my perspective He would spend three days & nights in hell.) Tie this to Colossians 2:13-15 my take Jesus is in hell with the devil & his demons chucking at Jesus mocking Him saying "you thought you were the Son of God & look at you now;" After three days the Holy Spirit said to Jesus "prophecy is fulfilled" Jesus looked up at the devil & roared with laughter (you actually thought you could hold the Son of God!) That is the picture we have hanging in our living room "the laughing Jesus!"
Ultimately God had a plan for salvation of His favorite creation, mankind. This became an absolute after Adam & Eve partook of the forbidden fruit I refer to as SIN (simply any & all disobedience to God.) Within that plan was the fact Jesus the Son of God (the second part of the Godhead) had to leave glory to become God in the flesh (incarnate) to live a sinless life & become the Sacrificial Lamb to die for the sins of mankind.
Whatever you are dealing with today, rejection, shame, un-forgiveness, sickness, that feeling of wanting to give up, matters not; it was dealt with at the cross, IT IS FINISHED! He has given us the victory, in the wonderful name of Jesus!
I closed the service with a simple salvation prayer & if you do not know Jesus as your Savior you too can come into a personal relationship with Him, "Father God forgive me my sins, come into my heart Lord Jesus & help me to become the person you want me to be. Thank-you Father for saving my soul & making me whole, I pray in Jesus name, amen! This prayer is the initial step
into a walk with Jesus & His followers in the local church from this day forward.
Two final scriptures Romans 10:9 "if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus & believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." It is not optional to believe in the resurrection! Yes the resurrection of Christ was supernatural so is salvation, only BELIEVE!
1 John 3:8 "For this purpose was the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil." The devil thought he had once & for all taken Jesus out of the picture, NOT! What he had done was fulfill that Jesus had spoken John 2:19 "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."
When we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ & His resurrection our lives are no longer the same & the world around us is changed.
Hope this Food for Thought has put a hunger into you to learn more of the one & only Savior of this world. Look forward to hearing from you!
Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord
Last week was Palm Sunday a remembrance of the Sunday Jesus triumphantly road into Jerusalem on a colt with the crowds throwing palm leaves in front of Him proclaiming Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest! Hosanna is translated "come save now" as the Jews were looking to Jesus as a king who would save them or deliverer them from Roman rule. They were NOT proclaiming Him as their Messiah!
Christianity is based upon 5 simple truths. The virgin birth of Jesus Christ. This is not because Joseph had sex with Mary a virgin & she got pregnant, but rather that Mary miraculously conceived of the Holy Spirit our beloved Savior Jesus Christ.
The second truth is the fact that Jesus was crucified on the cross of Calvary. Not for any wrong He had done, but in reality He died in our rightful place. He became our substitute & was crucified for our sins. He became the Sacrificial Lamb that took away the sins of the world. He was the final blood sacrifice for our sins. He became our substitute, it is our sins that nailed Him to the cross, He took our place.
The next truth is the resurrection of Christ, when He arose from the grave. This is an area of the gospel that the church seemingly only focuses on during Easter & yet without the resurrection of Christ our religion would be the same as any other. Humanity including the church tend to set aside the supernatural aspect of Jesus. Here in North America we believe in medical science & history more than the simple truths of the Bible. It has always astounded me that such a large percentage of the Christian church today can believe in salvation (supernatural) & yet NOT the healing & deliverance our Lord teaches us in His Holy Word. Our Christian life is to exemplify the resurrection life Christ has placed within us. Jesus Himself foretold His suffering, crucifixtion, death & resurrection in a prophetic word He spoke in Mark 8:31.
The entire New Testament is based upon the forgiveness of our sins. It also shows us the necessity of our forgiving those who have wronged us. For us this is not optional, but mandatory as is so powerfully pointed out to us in Matthew 6:14,15 paraphrased if we choose not to forgive others the Lord will not forgive ours. We totally depend upon this forgiveness, which came to us by the finished work of the cross, for our eternity in glory. We as believers have been justified, the slate wiped clean, to the degree it is as if we had never sinned at all, miraculous or what?
The last we look too, & trust in, is the Grace of God. The unmerited favor (we didn't deserve His forgiveness.) The operational power of God (His dunamis supernatural power to accomplish or manifest the impossible.) We are saved by Grace not by works. The works are done out of thanksgiving for what He has done in our lives. This does not mean we continue in our sinful ways but turn from them Romans 5:21-Romans 6:2.
Now onward to the week that changed the world! These are but a few of the events leading up to the our Lord being crucified.
Monday Jesus cleansed the temple Mark 11:15-18 as He began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers. Later he said, is it not written "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations?" But you have made it a "den of thieves."
In Luke 20:1-8 the Sanhedrin challenged His authority as He taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel. These scriptures are an excellent read & to a degree show the mindset of denominational Christianity.
Mary anointed Jesus head & feet with costly oil John 12:3-11. To anoint a guests head was traditional but her anointing His feet was an act of worship.
This was the last straw for Judas Iscariot, the devil convinced him it was now time to betray Jesus to those who desired to have Him killed, Luke 22:1-6.
Jesus partook of Passover with the disciples & instituted the Lords Supper Luke 22:19-20.
Christ prayed for Himself in the Garden of Gethsemane "Father if it is your will take this cup from me, not my will but thy will be done." Luke 22:39-44
Jesus walked the gauntlet before the Sanhedrin. There were approximately 80 members to the Sanhedrin who punched Him spit in His face & even ripped out His beard to the degree that scripture tells us He could not even be recognized Isaiah 50:6, Isaiah 53:1-9.
The Sanhedrin turned Him over to Pilate to be condemned, sentenced & crucified Luke 23:13-23. BUT WHY WHAT HAD HE DONE? He was not a thief like those He was crucified with. Healed the sick(the blind, lepers, lame, on & on while showing compassion to widows & orphans, feeding the hungry, need I say more.
Matthew 27:51-54 Jesus had fulfilled His work on earth, the shedding of His innocent blood & sacrificial death for the remission of our sins. IT IS FINISHED! The finished work of the cross!
But praise God there is more THE STONE IF ROLLED AWAY! Joseph of Arimanthea, a prominent council member(a rich man) had Jesus body placed in his tomb Mark 15:42-47 Mark 16:1-6 He is Risen, Hallelujah! John 20 & 21 serve as inspirational teachings that need to be read more than once a year.
There are numerous perspectives on who crucified Christ & I will share mine. The Romans, Pilate gave the order. The Jews demanded it "Crucify Him!" The devil certainly had his part in it, using Judas Iscariot as he did, stirring up the crowds (as was so vividly shown in the movie The Passion of Christ.)
I have what is considered a vivid imagination & when you tie that to scripture wowser is the only term that comes to mind. In Matthew 12:38-40 Jesus spoke to the scribes & Pharisees prophetically of His future (my perspective He would spend three days & nights in hell.) Tie this to Colossians 2:13-15 my take Jesus is in hell with the devil & his demons chucking at Jesus mocking Him saying "you thought you were the Son of God & look at you now;" After three days the Holy Spirit said to Jesus "prophecy is fulfilled" Jesus looked up at the devil & roared with laughter (you actually thought you could hold the Son of God!) That is the picture we have hanging in our living room "the laughing Jesus!"
Ultimately God had a plan for salvation of His favorite creation, mankind. This became an absolute after Adam & Eve partook of the forbidden fruit I refer to as SIN (simply any & all disobedience to God.) Within that plan was the fact Jesus the Son of God (the second part of the Godhead) had to leave glory to become God in the flesh (incarnate) to live a sinless life & become the Sacrificial Lamb to die for the sins of mankind.
Whatever you are dealing with today, rejection, shame, un-forgiveness, sickness, that feeling of wanting to give up, matters not; it was dealt with at the cross, IT IS FINISHED! He has given us the victory, in the wonderful name of Jesus!
I closed the service with a simple salvation prayer & if you do not know Jesus as your Savior you too can come into a personal relationship with Him, "Father God forgive me my sins, come into my heart Lord Jesus & help me to become the person you want me to be. Thank-you Father for saving my soul & making me whole, I pray in Jesus name, amen! This prayer is the initial step
into a walk with Jesus & His followers in the local church from this day forward.
Two final scriptures Romans 10:9 "if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus & believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." It is not optional to believe in the resurrection! Yes the resurrection of Christ was supernatural so is salvation, only BELIEVE!
1 John 3:8 "For this purpose was the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil." The devil thought he had once & for all taken Jesus out of the picture, NOT! What he had done was fulfill that Jesus had spoken John 2:19 "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."
When we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ & His resurrection our lives are no longer the same & the world around us is changed.
Hope this Food for Thought has put a hunger into you to learn more of the one & only Savior of this world. Look forward to hearing from you!
Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord
Wednesday, 28 March 2012
We Must Be A Spiritual Pugilist
To achieve anything in life we must be fighters. If you haven't noticed when you try to do something, how hard it is to keep true to your goal & complete it. You have to learn to hang in when the going gets tough because life can be one major knock down drag em out battle after another.
As a toddler you have to learn how to stay on your feet to be able to walk. Guaranteed each & every child had one or two bruises while learning how to walk. The child sees something or someone across the room & they try to run even before they can walk. The picture in my minds eye sees the father on the other side of the room saying, you can do it, one step at a time but please walk, don't run. For a Christian that is a picture of our Father God holding out His arms to us, cheering us on, & that gets a glory hallelujah from me!
There are many times while as a child, youth or adult where we trip over our own feet & down we go, possibly skinning our knees or at least bruising our pride. The people we need around us are those who will support us, lift us up, possibly speaking up if they see us going in a wrong direction. None of us need or want anymore mockery or condemnation. Lets face it, both the world & the church have an over abundance of critical judgmental pompous arrogant so & so's.
My youth was such a chaotic season for me. The fact you become as a piece of silly putty, continually being reformed by others around you, by your social status, by family, by the world we find ourselves living in. Alcohol, drugs, hormones, the 60's, motorcycles, do I need to say more, NOT! Probably the eight years of high school will finalize the pic for you. But over those years all I learned to do was party.
The title has the word pugilist in it, this does not mean we will always be involved in fisticuffs, but I can guarantee all of our lives will literally be filled with never-ending challenges. If we do not learn how to be over-comers our lives will never achieve the heights we would desire. No one wants to wander in the wilderness forty minutes today, let alone forty wasted years.
We will all make mistakes but that is not necessarily a bad thing "we will all make mistakes, those who learn from them will succeed, while those who choose not to learn from them will choose to live a lifestyle of failure."
Each person has to embrace life one day or one second at a time, & learn the lesson it holds for you. This is where we gain strength to win those battles that will come our way tomorrow. Pick your chin back up you are not in this battle alone & just because you messed up before doesn't make you a loser. You only lose in life when you lie down & quit. Pick yourself back up by the boot straps or have someone give you a kick in the butt (like this food for thought) & get back into the ring of life.
The Apostle Paul in 1st Timothy 6:12 talked about "fighting the good fight of faith." The Christian life is not always easy & we will always be fighting a battle with our fleshly nature. We will have to battle opposition to our Christianity from a sinful world. If you are doing damage to the kingdom of darkness, by being a soul winner or prayer warrior, you will definitely wage war with our adversary the devil. If you plan on battling all three on your own under your own power get ready for numerous face plants. We have to call upon the dunamis power of the Holy Spirit that resides within us. The Christian life involves self discipline, trials & tribulations, spiritual warfare, yet PRAISE GOD we are victorious through Christ!
Whether you are a Christian or not life will have many challenges to overcome. If you choose to follow Christ & His teachings you will face even more opposition. Even a dead fish can flow downstream with the school but it takes a special, spunky, focused, record beater to swim against the flow, to fulfill its purpose in life!
Over the years of my Christian walk I have done many things for the Lord, a privilege for sure. Some have said, but you haven't really had a lot of success. To this I respond "I would have rather have done something for Christ & seemingly failed, than to have done nothing at all!" If you are doing it with a pure heart God will bless it whether you see it or not. Are you up for your lifelong fight of faith, food for thought?
Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord
As a toddler you have to learn how to stay on your feet to be able to walk. Guaranteed each & every child had one or two bruises while learning how to walk. The child sees something or someone across the room & they try to run even before they can walk. The picture in my minds eye sees the father on the other side of the room saying, you can do it, one step at a time but please walk, don't run. For a Christian that is a picture of our Father God holding out His arms to us, cheering us on, & that gets a glory hallelujah from me!
There are many times while as a child, youth or adult where we trip over our own feet & down we go, possibly skinning our knees or at least bruising our pride. The people we need around us are those who will support us, lift us up, possibly speaking up if they see us going in a wrong direction. None of us need or want anymore mockery or condemnation. Lets face it, both the world & the church have an over abundance of critical judgmental pompous arrogant so & so's.
My youth was such a chaotic season for me. The fact you become as a piece of silly putty, continually being reformed by others around you, by your social status, by family, by the world we find ourselves living in. Alcohol, drugs, hormones, the 60's, motorcycles, do I need to say more, NOT! Probably the eight years of high school will finalize the pic for you. But over those years all I learned to do was party.
The title has the word pugilist in it, this does not mean we will always be involved in fisticuffs, but I can guarantee all of our lives will literally be filled with never-ending challenges. If we do not learn how to be over-comers our lives will never achieve the heights we would desire. No one wants to wander in the wilderness forty minutes today, let alone forty wasted years.
We will all make mistakes but that is not necessarily a bad thing "we will all make mistakes, those who learn from them will succeed, while those who choose not to learn from them will choose to live a lifestyle of failure."
Each person has to embrace life one day or one second at a time, & learn the lesson it holds for you. This is where we gain strength to win those battles that will come our way tomorrow. Pick your chin back up you are not in this battle alone & just because you messed up before doesn't make you a loser. You only lose in life when you lie down & quit. Pick yourself back up by the boot straps or have someone give you a kick in the butt (like this food for thought) & get back into the ring of life.
The Apostle Paul in 1st Timothy 6:12 talked about "fighting the good fight of faith." The Christian life is not always easy & we will always be fighting a battle with our fleshly nature. We will have to battle opposition to our Christianity from a sinful world. If you are doing damage to the kingdom of darkness, by being a soul winner or prayer warrior, you will definitely wage war with our adversary the devil. If you plan on battling all three on your own under your own power get ready for numerous face plants. We have to call upon the dunamis power of the Holy Spirit that resides within us. The Christian life involves self discipline, trials & tribulations, spiritual warfare, yet PRAISE GOD we are victorious through Christ!
Whether you are a Christian or not life will have many challenges to overcome. If you choose to follow Christ & His teachings you will face even more opposition. Even a dead fish can flow downstream with the school but it takes a special, spunky, focused, record beater to swim against the flow, to fulfill its purpose in life!
Over the years of my Christian walk I have done many things for the Lord, a privilege for sure. Some have said, but you haven't really had a lot of success. To this I respond "I would have rather have done something for Christ & seemingly failed, than to have done nothing at all!" If you are doing it with a pure heart God will bless it whether you see it or not. Are you up for your lifelong fight of faith, food for thought?
Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord
Thursday, 15 March 2012
Prayer; is it Really Necessary
Yes, yes, yes! If we really, truly had a clear picture of the importance God places on His children's prayers, we would repent & get on our faces praying our little hearts out! Within my simple faith I believe every prayer has Gods power backing it up, just waiting to manifest the answer. Whether it is a prayer for salvation, healing, deliverance, protection, matters not, God wants to answer it. Then what has happened to the power of prayer within His church (the lives of believers?)
For many, our prayer life started as children, possibly with the Lords Prayer or some simple prayer suited to our child like faith. But for many Christians our prayer life has not progressed or has even regressed to the point we no longer pray at all. Certainly we pray when in dire straights, PANIC PRAYERS. We definitely matured in our years, changed in our looks & in all likelihood our attitudes but has our prayer life matured accordingly?
Prayer for a Christian is an absolute necessity! How can we have a relationship with anyone (let alone God) without communicating with them. God is our Heavenly Father, the one who continually tells us to call out to Him (communicate with Him) Jeremiah 33:3 "Call to me, & I will answer you, and show you great & mighty things, which you do not know." If there is one single scripture that should encourage you to prayer this is it.
Unanswered prayers has turned many of us from our former committed prayer life. There are multitudes of reasons why our prayers do not get answered & for sure I will not cover them all but I will touch on some. Isaiah 59:2 "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear. I like to say it in this fashion; you can pray until the cows come home & I hope you are in a really big barn when you pray because when they hit the roof they are coming back down to earth NOT TO THE THRONE ROOM OF GRACE! Our willful knowing sins, cut us off from the power of God, so we do not see our prayers manifest!
Other times the most powerful distraction of today "THE BUSYNESS OF LIFE" keeps us from praying which once again shuts off any manifestation from materializing. There is a Christian cliche NO PRAYER, NO POWER! I want to take it one step further, for a believer to not pray is flat out SIN.
Everything within the Christians life is tied to prayer ex. the prayer of salvation. It is not up to the preacher, evangelist, friend to pray this prayer for you, God wants to hear the words from your mouth, hopefully initiated from your heart. Again I go back to Romans 10:9 comes to mind "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.
What should we be praying for? That list is endless (a Christians life should never be boring) for your government (all levels,) Why? 1st Timothy 2:1 "Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men (people,) 1st Timothy 2:2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.
Our politicians have a heavy load to carry. Many a person has found the frustrations of being in power to be way more than they expected & not in a positive sense. Firstly you have to analyze or possibly clean up whatever the past government had done. Then there is the absolute truth, POWER CORRUPTS, because suddenly what you say or do has the power to change things you could only complain about before.
We should be praying for our marriages, our children, our spouses, praying to God that we could fulfill what He has called us to do, to be all He has called us to be. Whatever our needs or the needs of others who come across our path. Yes even for miracles, healing, deliverance, protection & ultimately eternal life (salvation.)
Mark 10:15 "Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it." We need a simple child like faith that our heavenly Father not only hears but acts upon our prayer petitions.
In Revelations 5:18 we read and the golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Are those bowls going up to glory empty because of our lack of prayer, possibly. I have had the privilege of knowing saints of God who started every day with two hours of prayer, crying out for God to move in peoples lives, believers & non believers (salvation.) If they said I will pray for you it was not just a one time prayer if they remembered, but on a daily basis.
1 Chronicles 7:14 is not just an old testament prayer but for believers today "If my people who are called by My name will humble themselves (we cant do it on our own, that is pride) and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin & heal their land.
Larry Lea did a teaching a number of years ago in regards to Jesus words to His disciples, CAN YOU NOT TARRY ONE HOUR! He challenged believers to spend one hour in prayer, initially focusing on the Lords prayer. What it did was help train you to keep or retain your focus on prayer, and it starts one second at a time.
Do not think the adversary is going to just allow you to pray, he will put thoughts in your head to distract you from doing what God would have you to do, PRAY! Whether it is your busy day ahead or condemnation that would say, your prayers don't matter anyway. Remember he is the father of lies, YOUR PRAYERS MATTER & he knows it. And your prayers do damage to his plans, to his kingdom (the kingdom of darkness.)
Prayer is one of the key essentials of our Christian walk & this spiritual warfare I have been writing on! Let me know your thoughts on this simple food for thought.
Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord
For many, our prayer life started as children, possibly with the Lords Prayer or some simple prayer suited to our child like faith. But for many Christians our prayer life has not progressed or has even regressed to the point we no longer pray at all. Certainly we pray when in dire straights, PANIC PRAYERS. We definitely matured in our years, changed in our looks & in all likelihood our attitudes but has our prayer life matured accordingly?
Prayer for a Christian is an absolute necessity! How can we have a relationship with anyone (let alone God) without communicating with them. God is our Heavenly Father, the one who continually tells us to call out to Him (communicate with Him) Jeremiah 33:3 "Call to me, & I will answer you, and show you great & mighty things, which you do not know." If there is one single scripture that should encourage you to prayer this is it.
Unanswered prayers has turned many of us from our former committed prayer life. There are multitudes of reasons why our prayers do not get answered & for sure I will not cover them all but I will touch on some. Isaiah 59:2 "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear. I like to say it in this fashion; you can pray until the cows come home & I hope you are in a really big barn when you pray because when they hit the roof they are coming back down to earth NOT TO THE THRONE ROOM OF GRACE! Our willful knowing sins, cut us off from the power of God, so we do not see our prayers manifest!
Other times the most powerful distraction of today "THE BUSYNESS OF LIFE" keeps us from praying which once again shuts off any manifestation from materializing. There is a Christian cliche NO PRAYER, NO POWER! I want to take it one step further, for a believer to not pray is flat out SIN.
Everything within the Christians life is tied to prayer ex. the prayer of salvation. It is not up to the preacher, evangelist, friend to pray this prayer for you, God wants to hear the words from your mouth, hopefully initiated from your heart. Again I go back to Romans 10:9 comes to mind "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.
What should we be praying for? That list is endless (a Christians life should never be boring) for your government (all levels,) Why? 1st Timothy 2:1 "Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men (people,) 1st Timothy 2:2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.
Our politicians have a heavy load to carry. Many a person has found the frustrations of being in power to be way more than they expected & not in a positive sense. Firstly you have to analyze or possibly clean up whatever the past government had done. Then there is the absolute truth, POWER CORRUPTS, because suddenly what you say or do has the power to change things you could only complain about before.
We should be praying for our marriages, our children, our spouses, praying to God that we could fulfill what He has called us to do, to be all He has called us to be. Whatever our needs or the needs of others who come across our path. Yes even for miracles, healing, deliverance, protection & ultimately eternal life (salvation.)
Mark 10:15 "Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it." We need a simple child like faith that our heavenly Father not only hears but acts upon our prayer petitions.
In Revelations 5:18 we read and the golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Are those bowls going up to glory empty because of our lack of prayer, possibly. I have had the privilege of knowing saints of God who started every day with two hours of prayer, crying out for God to move in peoples lives, believers & non believers (salvation.) If they said I will pray for you it was not just a one time prayer if they remembered, but on a daily basis.
1 Chronicles 7:14 is not just an old testament prayer but for believers today "If my people who are called by My name will humble themselves (we cant do it on our own, that is pride) and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin & heal their land.
Larry Lea did a teaching a number of years ago in regards to Jesus words to His disciples, CAN YOU NOT TARRY ONE HOUR! He challenged believers to spend one hour in prayer, initially focusing on the Lords prayer. What it did was help train you to keep or retain your focus on prayer, and it starts one second at a time.
Do not think the adversary is going to just allow you to pray, he will put thoughts in your head to distract you from doing what God would have you to do, PRAY! Whether it is your busy day ahead or condemnation that would say, your prayers don't matter anyway. Remember he is the father of lies, YOUR PRAYERS MATTER & he knows it. And your prayers do damage to his plans, to his kingdom (the kingdom of darkness.)
Prayer is one of the key essentials of our Christian walk & this spiritual warfare I have been writing on! Let me know your thoughts on this simple food for thought.
Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord
Friday, 2 March 2012
Spiritual Armor
For the past number of weeks I have had a theme focusing upon spiritual warfare. I personally believe it is the spirit realm that is the real battlefield, which dictates to the happenings of this earth & our lives. Some would say I have gone too far but the more I dig into prayer & the Word of God the clearer I see this.
Today I want to focus on Ephesians 6:10-18 vs. 10 the strength being referred too is a strength greater than our own, it is the Lords strength. Notice the capital on His might, this scripture is talking of the dunamais power of the Holy Spirit the same power that brought light into the darkness, NOT OURS!
In verse 11 we are encouraged or instructed to put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Think about the time this was written. The apostle Paul had an excellent knowledge of Roman guards armor as much of his time was either in prison or under what we call today house arrest. If you are in a battle, a war, you had best be dressed for battle or you're adversary is going to take you out & it is hard to fight when you are on your backside. The wiles are the trickery of the devil example he came as an angel of light not with a red suit with horns & a pitchfork. Years ago I learned that evil is often times packaged in a most exquisite, beautiful way, yet it is as evil as the devil himself.
In verse 12 we read "for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers , against the rulers of the darkness of this age," against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. We must realize our battle is not with human cultists (Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, black arts, witchcraft to name but a few,) false religions Islam, Buddhist, Sikh, Hindu etc., terrorists, atheists or agnostics. But in truth with denomic beings working through them, of which even the flesh & blood opponents themselves are sometimes ignorant of that denomic influence in their lives. Take note of the hierarchy within the denomic realm, that in itself should be a wake-up call to the Body of Christ the church of today.
Again in verse 13 we are reminded to put on the whole (every piece) of God that we may be able to withstand the powers of darkness. Vigorously opposed, bravely resisting, standing your ground. We have an adversary who seeks to undermine and destroy every believers testimony, first word, COMPROMISE. Every day has the potential of being an evil day, temptation will come, you may be trashed for your beliefs, bad stuff happens to good people, how are we going to handle & overcome them? If God says we should be dressed for battle, put on the gear, this could be the day all hell breaks loose around you.
In verse 14 He teaches us to gird our waist with truth, a belt of truth. Jesus is the way, the truth & the life + Jesus & the Word are one & the same. The truth we need above any in our lives is Gods Holy Word. Also in Verse 14 encourages us to put on the breastplate of righteousness. The breastplate guards your heart, out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Our heart in the Word is referring to is the home of our inward person.
In 15 He tells us to have our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. I refer to these as our go ye shoes, go ye into all the world & spread His good news. Key word PREPARATION study His word, pray, pray in the Holy Ghost. It is our job to keep ourselves stirred up, ready at any moment to share the hope we have within us. Another key word is PEACE, we are not out to make war with our fellowman but to bring peace into their hearts &* lives.
In 16 we read "above all, take the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one." The shield is our protection FAITH forsaking all I trust in Him & His Holy Word, amen,amen! Quench means to put out the fiery darts (THOUGHTS) of the wicked one (Satan.) The devil cannot read your mind he reads your body language & listens to your words but he can put thoughts in your mind. The stupidest thoughts, perverted thoughts, bringing to remembrance things from years ago, things which the Lord has long since forgiven you of. The devil is the legalist & here is a truth to defeat him with, SHUT UP DEVIL GOD HAS FORGIVEN ME OF THAT SIN, GET OUT IN JESUS NAME!
Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God; My wife Carol shared with me a jewel I will pass on to you; If you put a bible on your head you would be totally covered by His Word, protection, provision, healing, whatever your need it is yours. In stead of it being on our head it is to be within our minds & hopefully rooted in our hearts. Salvation is deliverance body soul & spirit, glory be to God! We need to know the truth of Gods word, how to apply it to our lives & minister it to others.
The sword of the Spirit in Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul & spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Speak it, live it, share it & watch the power of God be poured out on others, transforming their lives as it has changed yours.
Verse 18 encourages us to pray always with all prayer and supplication (a formal request to a higher power, for us His name is Jesus), being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. Prayer is the primary means by which we engage in the battle & praying God's Word becomes our chief offensive weapon.
Sad to say whether it is from lack of teaching or slacking off from doing what we know we are to do, the church appears to be asleep at the wheel. This kind of Food for Thought hopefully is a reminder we needl to be about our Fathers business, it is go ye time!
Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord
Today I want to focus on Ephesians 6:10-18 vs. 10 the strength being referred too is a strength greater than our own, it is the Lords strength. Notice the capital on His might, this scripture is talking of the dunamais power of the Holy Spirit the same power that brought light into the darkness, NOT OURS!
In verse 11 we are encouraged or instructed to put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Think about the time this was written. The apostle Paul had an excellent knowledge of Roman guards armor as much of his time was either in prison or under what we call today house arrest. If you are in a battle, a war, you had best be dressed for battle or you're adversary is going to take you out & it is hard to fight when you are on your backside. The wiles are the trickery of the devil example he came as an angel of light not with a red suit with horns & a pitchfork. Years ago I learned that evil is often times packaged in a most exquisite, beautiful way, yet it is as evil as the devil himself.
In verse 12 we read "for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers , against the rulers of the darkness of this age," against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. We must realize our battle is not with human cultists (Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, black arts, witchcraft to name but a few,) false religions Islam, Buddhist, Sikh, Hindu etc., terrorists, atheists or agnostics. But in truth with denomic beings working through them, of which even the flesh & blood opponents themselves are sometimes ignorant of that denomic influence in their lives. Take note of the hierarchy within the denomic realm, that in itself should be a wake-up call to the Body of Christ the church of today.
Again in verse 13 we are reminded to put on the whole (every piece) of God that we may be able to withstand the powers of darkness. Vigorously opposed, bravely resisting, standing your ground. We have an adversary who seeks to undermine and destroy every believers testimony, first word, COMPROMISE. Every day has the potential of being an evil day, temptation will come, you may be trashed for your beliefs, bad stuff happens to good people, how are we going to handle & overcome them? If God says we should be dressed for battle, put on the gear, this could be the day all hell breaks loose around you.
In verse 14 He teaches us to gird our waist with truth, a belt of truth. Jesus is the way, the truth & the life + Jesus & the Word are one & the same. The truth we need above any in our lives is Gods Holy Word. Also in Verse 14 encourages us to put on the breastplate of righteousness. The breastplate guards your heart, out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Our heart in the Word is referring to is the home of our inward person.
In 15 He tells us to have our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. I refer to these as our go ye shoes, go ye into all the world & spread His good news. Key word PREPARATION study His word, pray, pray in the Holy Ghost. It is our job to keep ourselves stirred up, ready at any moment to share the hope we have within us. Another key word is PEACE, we are not out to make war with our fellowman but to bring peace into their hearts &* lives.
In 16 we read "above all, take the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one." The shield is our protection FAITH forsaking all I trust in Him & His Holy Word, amen,amen! Quench means to put out the fiery darts (THOUGHTS) of the wicked one (Satan.) The devil cannot read your mind he reads your body language & listens to your words but he can put thoughts in your mind. The stupidest thoughts, perverted thoughts, bringing to remembrance things from years ago, things which the Lord has long since forgiven you of. The devil is the legalist & here is a truth to defeat him with, SHUT UP DEVIL GOD HAS FORGIVEN ME OF THAT SIN, GET OUT IN JESUS NAME!
Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God; My wife Carol shared with me a jewel I will pass on to you; If you put a bible on your head you would be totally covered by His Word, protection, provision, healing, whatever your need it is yours. In stead of it being on our head it is to be within our minds & hopefully rooted in our hearts. Salvation is deliverance body soul & spirit, glory be to God! We need to know the truth of Gods word, how to apply it to our lives & minister it to others.
The sword of the Spirit in Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul & spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Speak it, live it, share it & watch the power of God be poured out on others, transforming their lives as it has changed yours.
Verse 18 encourages us to pray always with all prayer and supplication (a formal request to a higher power, for us His name is Jesus), being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. Prayer is the primary means by which we engage in the battle & praying God's Word becomes our chief offensive weapon.
Sad to say whether it is from lack of teaching or slacking off from doing what we know we are to do, the church appears to be asleep at the wheel. This kind of Food for Thought hopefully is a reminder we needl to be about our Fathers business, it is go ye time!
Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord
Monday, 20 February 2012
Holy Spirit Power
Every person in this high pressure, high anxiety world we live in needs a fresh touch from heaven. A helping hand in the time of trouble, a listening ear, someone to help carry the load, someone to guide us through the storms of life.
Wait a minute I just said every person that includes Christians, aren't we supposed to have it all together? Actually Christians need to be revived in this day & age. Revive--to breathe life back into ones soul! Psalm 119:107 "I am afflicted very much; Revive me, O Lord according to Your Word.
That scripture holds the key to true revival THE WORD! Too often we are all caught up in ministry, in being fundraisers to keep our ministry or church afloat. The busyness of life in itself is a curse of monumental size, that sucks our strength & energy & leaves us in such a pathetic weakened state. When we do not start our day in the Word of God we are setting ourselves up for another day of spinning our wheels while going nowhere.
It's good to participate in a church service, to sit under the teaching of Gods Word, to be gathered together with the brethren (like minded believers.) But this is only a part of the whole package. Early on in my walk with the Lord I summed up our four absolutes for a strong Christian walk. Read the Word, pray pray pray, faithful in all things, but without the fourth obedience to Gods Word, the first three can still make you feel as if you are running on empty.
I have heard it stated that 90% of our youth today no longer believe in absolutes. This ties into the post modern society of today. A truth is an absolute & Jesus is the way, the truth & the life! The Bible=the book of instructions before leaving earth. It is to be our road-map to life while here on earth. Personally I find an incredible hunger in the youth of today for something or someone to believe in.
What has the church of today presented to them & I am not throwing stones but the facts are the facts. Pedophiles being behind the pulpit, abuse of every sort to our native peoples, denominations ordaining homosexuals, Christian denominations at odds with one another, our government & denominations condoning & recognizing same sex marriages.
Traditional Christianity hasn't got what it takes. It is like a veneer of Christian customs & culture passed down in increasingly ineffective doses. Getting farther & farther from the source of its original power. Being a Christian is not just a change in our outward appearance, no smoking, drinking, drugging, cursing or swearing, mode of dress or even doing church & carrying a Bible even quoting it (satan can do that.) God looks at the inward person of the heart. We can no longer sit silently watching the adversary destroy our nation & youth.
As representative of Gods kingdom in this world of decay & sin & debauchery our silence has deprived the world of the purifying, healing, redeeming influence of righteousness. In Proverbs 14:34 we read Righteousness exalts a nation! Every nation desperately needs to see a people who are the righteousness of God, a people of prayer who believe their God is all powerful & believe in the power of prayer.
We take physical laws seriously ex. gravity, aerodynamics & so on. We research them, conform to them, cooperate with them. What if mankind took Gods spiritual & moral order just as seriously as His physical laws? No terrorism, no hatred, no discrimination, no exploitation, no abuse of power (nothing corrupts more than power) no divorce, no battered wives, no addiction, no hopelessness & despair, no suicide, no poverty, no pornography, no pollution,no crime, no murder, no war, no sex outside of marriage, no children born out of wedlock, no adultery & this list goes on & on.
You may say that's OK but you do not know the pressure I've been under. My response is when a lump of coal is put under pressure it becomes a diamond. Proverbs 17:3 The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, But the Lord tests the hearts. Maybe you've been put down all your life & are filled with guilt, shame which has you in a state of deep depression.
That's what this message is all about. You too can change your circumstances, the way you see yourself & others, BUT not under your strength. It is by the power of the Holy Spirit. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us! He strengthens us according to His Word!
I used to love wrestling when I was a kid growing up & especially the tag team matches. One of the wrestlers is being beat up & about to lose the match but he finds the strength to reach up & tag his partner & immediately everything changes. The Holy Spirit is your tag team partner. He is the one who created everything we see in this universe & HE IS IN YOUR CORNER!
You may feel like you're Christian walk has been on a slippery slope or you may not even know this Jesus I have been talking about BUT you can! 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness!
I believe the gospel of Jesus Christ still has the power to do the impossible, to change our lives & make us Christ-like. It has taken time for us to get into the state we find ourselves in but if we are willing to do our part it will come to pass! Food for Thought!
Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord
Wait a minute I just said every person that includes Christians, aren't we supposed to have it all together? Actually Christians need to be revived in this day & age. Revive--to breathe life back into ones soul! Psalm 119:107 "I am afflicted very much; Revive me, O Lord according to Your Word.
That scripture holds the key to true revival THE WORD! Too often we are all caught up in ministry, in being fundraisers to keep our ministry or church afloat. The busyness of life in itself is a curse of monumental size, that sucks our strength & energy & leaves us in such a pathetic weakened state. When we do not start our day in the Word of God we are setting ourselves up for another day of spinning our wheels while going nowhere.
It's good to participate in a church service, to sit under the teaching of Gods Word, to be gathered together with the brethren (like minded believers.) But this is only a part of the whole package. Early on in my walk with the Lord I summed up our four absolutes for a strong Christian walk. Read the Word, pray pray pray, faithful in all things, but without the fourth obedience to Gods Word, the first three can still make you feel as if you are running on empty.
I have heard it stated that 90% of our youth today no longer believe in absolutes. This ties into the post modern society of today. A truth is an absolute & Jesus is the way, the truth & the life! The Bible=the book of instructions before leaving earth. It is to be our road-map to life while here on earth. Personally I find an incredible hunger in the youth of today for something or someone to believe in.
What has the church of today presented to them & I am not throwing stones but the facts are the facts. Pedophiles being behind the pulpit, abuse of every sort to our native peoples, denominations ordaining homosexuals, Christian denominations at odds with one another, our government & denominations condoning & recognizing same sex marriages.
Traditional Christianity hasn't got what it takes. It is like a veneer of Christian customs & culture passed down in increasingly ineffective doses. Getting farther & farther from the source of its original power. Being a Christian is not just a change in our outward appearance, no smoking, drinking, drugging, cursing or swearing, mode of dress or even doing church & carrying a Bible even quoting it (satan can do that.) God looks at the inward person of the heart. We can no longer sit silently watching the adversary destroy our nation & youth.
As representative of Gods kingdom in this world of decay & sin & debauchery our silence has deprived the world of the purifying, healing, redeeming influence of righteousness. In Proverbs 14:34 we read Righteousness exalts a nation! Every nation desperately needs to see a people who are the righteousness of God, a people of prayer who believe their God is all powerful & believe in the power of prayer.
We take physical laws seriously ex. gravity, aerodynamics & so on. We research them, conform to them, cooperate with them. What if mankind took Gods spiritual & moral order just as seriously as His physical laws? No terrorism, no hatred, no discrimination, no exploitation, no abuse of power (nothing corrupts more than power) no divorce, no battered wives, no addiction, no hopelessness & despair, no suicide, no poverty, no pornography, no pollution,no crime, no murder, no war, no sex outside of marriage, no children born out of wedlock, no adultery & this list goes on & on.
You may say that's OK but you do not know the pressure I've been under. My response is when a lump of coal is put under pressure it becomes a diamond. Proverbs 17:3 The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, But the Lord tests the hearts. Maybe you've been put down all your life & are filled with guilt, shame which has you in a state of deep depression.
That's what this message is all about. You too can change your circumstances, the way you see yourself & others, BUT not under your strength. It is by the power of the Holy Spirit. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us! He strengthens us according to His Word!
I used to love wrestling when I was a kid growing up & especially the tag team matches. One of the wrestlers is being beat up & about to lose the match but he finds the strength to reach up & tag his partner & immediately everything changes. The Holy Spirit is your tag team partner. He is the one who created everything we see in this universe & HE IS IN YOUR CORNER!
You may feel like you're Christian walk has been on a slippery slope or you may not even know this Jesus I have been talking about BUT you can! 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness!
I believe the gospel of Jesus Christ still has the power to do the impossible, to change our lives & make us Christ-like. It has taken time for us to get into the state we find ourselves in but if we are willing to do our part it will come to pass! Food for Thought!
Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord
Sunday, 5 February 2012
Pure Worship is Powerful
Last week whether you figured it out or not I was still on the subject of spiritual warfare, it could have been titled "the truth will set you free." When we learn the truth & put it into practice within our lives, we have freedom over both sin & self, hallelujah! That is spiritual warfare at its finest.
King David had the heart of a worshipper, even though his life was anything but perfect. Disfunctional family, accomplice to murder, hung out with a bunch of losers in a cave, hey there is still hope for both you & me. David knew the faithfulness of the Father, that was where he recognized his freedom through Christ.
In the Old Testament we read how the worshipper's led the armies of Israel into battle,why? When we believe that God is omnipresent (everywhere at once), omniscience (all knowing) & omnipotent (all powerful) He is worthy of our praise & worship in every situation we face. It was important in their eyes to show God their faith that He would be with them to bring about victory in battle and it is the same for us today.
Worship has to be a lifestyle not just something that happens when we are in church. Praise is to take our focus off the busyness of life we face in our day to day life while worship directs our focus to God's Word. True worship is a continual focus on the Lord & the things of the Lord. Knowing full well He & only He can direct our steps to accomplish the things in life He wants us too. Our part is to have a listening ear & thankful obedience.
Every good thing in life comes down from the Father of light. That in itself should bring us to worship Him, not for the things He does but just for who He is. He is our creator, our healer, our deliverer, our provider, our peace, our all in all.
God has made a way for all of mankind to reconnect to Himself, wow. He gave us His very Son to be the Sacrificial Lamb of God that would take away the sins of this world. Not just your mistakes & mine but all sin for all time & all we have to do is receive Jesus as our Lord & Savior. The grace that God disposes upon us is freely, has the ability to change us & take us from glory to glory in service unto Him. All because of what Jesus did on the Cross of Calvary, glory be to God!
As we live our lives focusing on God & His Word all hell shutters, because it knows it has lost its power over us, we are free. God is soooooo good & worthy of all of our praise & worship for He alone is worthy. I had a bumper sticker on one of my old cars "God said it, I believe it, that settles it! When you live that out people see it, because you become the light in this dark sin filled world.
Traditional Christianity just wouldn't cut it because it is focused upon outward change while God Himself looks at the inward person of the heart. There is an old saying "you can fool some of the people some of the time but you cant fool all of the people all of the time!" To this I add "And you cant fool God at all, fool!" People see right through traditional Christianity & its facade.
They want something that is real & JESUS IS REAL! They want truth & He is the way, the truth & the life & bless God we have the opportunity to present Him to them.
Our worship of God has to express more than just our love for Him, it also has to express our submission to His will. Not obedience because we have too but because we want too, in thanksgiving for who He is in our lives. Food for Thought!
Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord
King David had the heart of a worshipper, even though his life was anything but perfect. Disfunctional family, accomplice to murder, hung out with a bunch of losers in a cave, hey there is still hope for both you & me. David knew the faithfulness of the Father, that was where he recognized his freedom through Christ.
In the Old Testament we read how the worshipper's led the armies of Israel into battle,why? When we believe that God is omnipresent (everywhere at once), omniscience (all knowing) & omnipotent (all powerful) He is worthy of our praise & worship in every situation we face. It was important in their eyes to show God their faith that He would be with them to bring about victory in battle and it is the same for us today.
Worship has to be a lifestyle not just something that happens when we are in church. Praise is to take our focus off the busyness of life we face in our day to day life while worship directs our focus to God's Word. True worship is a continual focus on the Lord & the things of the Lord. Knowing full well He & only He can direct our steps to accomplish the things in life He wants us too. Our part is to have a listening ear & thankful obedience.
Every good thing in life comes down from the Father of light. That in itself should bring us to worship Him, not for the things He does but just for who He is. He is our creator, our healer, our deliverer, our provider, our peace, our all in all.
God has made a way for all of mankind to reconnect to Himself, wow. He gave us His very Son to be the Sacrificial Lamb of God that would take away the sins of this world. Not just your mistakes & mine but all sin for all time & all we have to do is receive Jesus as our Lord & Savior. The grace that God disposes upon us is freely, has the ability to change us & take us from glory to glory in service unto Him. All because of what Jesus did on the Cross of Calvary, glory be to God!
As we live our lives focusing on God & His Word all hell shutters, because it knows it has lost its power over us, we are free. God is soooooo good & worthy of all of our praise & worship for He alone is worthy. I had a bumper sticker on one of my old cars "God said it, I believe it, that settles it! When you live that out people see it, because you become the light in this dark sin filled world.
Traditional Christianity just wouldn't cut it because it is focused upon outward change while God Himself looks at the inward person of the heart. There is an old saying "you can fool some of the people some of the time but you cant fool all of the people all of the time!" To this I add "And you cant fool God at all, fool!" People see right through traditional Christianity & its facade.
They want something that is real & JESUS IS REAL! They want truth & He is the way, the truth & the life & bless God we have the opportunity to present Him to them.
Our worship of God has to express more than just our love for Him, it also has to express our submission to His will. Not obedience because we have too but because we want too, in thanksgiving for who He is in our lives. Food for Thought!
Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord
Saturday, 28 January 2012
The Abuse of Gods Grace
Today within the Body of Christ we have a new perversion on the Grace of God. Christians say the law has been fulfilled when Jesus was crucified, died, was resurrected & ascended into heaven. To this I say amen! We are saved by grace through our faith in Jesus Christ. But some have lost sight of the true meaning of Gods grace and say they as new testament believers can do as they choose, because they are under Gods grace.
The law was never designed as a means of salvation; no one could be saved by keeping it. The law was the means for the people of Israel to learn how to live as Gods holy people. In Galatians 3:24 we learn the law was to be our schoolmaster. The law was intended to reveal sin & not bring righteousness. Again our righteousness can only come by our faith in Christ. Righteousness in itself means that we are in a right standing with God but that will never happen when you are knowingly practicing something that goes against the Word of God.
Yes we are to be led by the unction of the Holy Spirit but once again I remind you that God the Holy Spirit will never, never, never get into an argument with Jesus the Word of God, like it ain't never going to happen. This is where some of the theology of today breaks down. I watched one of my favorite shows the other night "It's Your Call" which had a subject regarding sex ( a taboo subject in some churches.) Many of the callers took the perspective it was between the husband wife & the Holy Spirit what they did in the bedroom. That is fine as long as what they choose to do, does not go against the Word of God. Example #1 Matthew 5:28 But I say to you (Jesus talking) that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Fantasy is Out according to God! Yes worldly sex therapists say it is proper & OK even healthy but God says its OUT! Example #2 1 Corinthians 6:9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators (sex outside marriage,) nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. Anal sex is OUT according to God, no matter what the world or the sex therapist says! Check out Romans 1:26,27 for all the confirmation you need.
As I have stated before there are three voices we hear in our head or heart that want to give us direction in our lives. The voice of God, the voice of the devil & the carnal emotional voice of SELF and all three sound the very same. Within my personal experience I know this is not an easy thing to do, discern which voice I am listening too. We are emotional creatures & those same emotions can easily be mistaken for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The only check & balance we have as Christians are the Word of God. How does that work if you think grace allows you to do anything you choose? Sorry I am a simple Christian & I will follow the direction laid out in the Word of God. God said it, I believe it, that settles it!
Another area I will touch upon to help explain this area is in the fact many times over my years of walking with the Lord I have met Christians (male & female) living together & witnessing to worldly people that it is wrong to live common-law. Like how weird is that, to the people of the world that is exactly what they are appearing to do. Yes God may have called them together I do not deny that, but to live together, never. And I am not doubting that they say they are not having sex ( none of my business, between them & God) but the scriptures state 1 Thessalonians 5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil!
My final scriptural reference on this subject will be Romans 5:19 -- 6:2 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? By the way just a thought, DEAD MEN CANT SIN!
Yes I do realize that the law was put into place for the lawbreakers but that does not make it OK for you & I and anyone else who calls themselves a Christian to do something directly against the Word of God? At that point in my estimation they have embraced the spirit of lawlessness that is ruling the mindset of the world of today. They have reverted back to following their lower carnal nature rather than the teachings of the most high, our beloved Jesus. Even if a person doesn't take the Word of God as the gospel on a subject(as I do) the warnings it gives should be a caution light going off inside anybody's brain. Food for thought!
Be blessed & I know you are
Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord
The law was never designed as a means of salvation; no one could be saved by keeping it. The law was the means for the people of Israel to learn how to live as Gods holy people. In Galatians 3:24 we learn the law was to be our schoolmaster. The law was intended to reveal sin & not bring righteousness. Again our righteousness can only come by our faith in Christ. Righteousness in itself means that we are in a right standing with God but that will never happen when you are knowingly practicing something that goes against the Word of God.
Yes we are to be led by the unction of the Holy Spirit but once again I remind you that God the Holy Spirit will never, never, never get into an argument with Jesus the Word of God, like it ain't never going to happen. This is where some of the theology of today breaks down. I watched one of my favorite shows the other night "It's Your Call" which had a subject regarding sex ( a taboo subject in some churches.) Many of the callers took the perspective it was between the husband wife & the Holy Spirit what they did in the bedroom. That is fine as long as what they choose to do, does not go against the Word of God. Example #1 Matthew 5:28 But I say to you (Jesus talking) that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Fantasy is Out according to God! Yes worldly sex therapists say it is proper & OK even healthy but God says its OUT! Example #2 1 Corinthians 6:9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators (sex outside marriage,) nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. Anal sex is OUT according to God, no matter what the world or the sex therapist says! Check out Romans 1:26,27 for all the confirmation you need.
As I have stated before there are three voices we hear in our head or heart that want to give us direction in our lives. The voice of God, the voice of the devil & the carnal emotional voice of SELF and all three sound the very same. Within my personal experience I know this is not an easy thing to do, discern which voice I am listening too. We are emotional creatures & those same emotions can easily be mistaken for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The only check & balance we have as Christians are the Word of God. How does that work if you think grace allows you to do anything you choose? Sorry I am a simple Christian & I will follow the direction laid out in the Word of God. God said it, I believe it, that settles it!
Another area I will touch upon to help explain this area is in the fact many times over my years of walking with the Lord I have met Christians (male & female) living together & witnessing to worldly people that it is wrong to live common-law. Like how weird is that, to the people of the world that is exactly what they are appearing to do. Yes God may have called them together I do not deny that, but to live together, never. And I am not doubting that they say they are not having sex ( none of my business, between them & God) but the scriptures state 1 Thessalonians 5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil!
My final scriptural reference on this subject will be Romans 5:19 -- 6:2 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? By the way just a thought, DEAD MEN CANT SIN!
Yes I do realize that the law was put into place for the lawbreakers but that does not make it OK for you & I and anyone else who calls themselves a Christian to do something directly against the Word of God? At that point in my estimation they have embraced the spirit of lawlessness that is ruling the mindset of the world of today. They have reverted back to following their lower carnal nature rather than the teachings of the most high, our beloved Jesus. Even if a person doesn't take the Word of God as the gospel on a subject(as I do) the warnings it gives should be a caution light going off inside anybody's brain. Food for thought!
Be blessed & I know you are
Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord
Wednesday, 18 January 2012
Praise Stops The Enemy!
I've said it before but it is one of those statements that needs to brought to light often. If the devil can make people believe he doesn't exist, he will not have to go to war, as he has already won the battle. Right after that he twists every negative thing that happens in the world to make people believe that it was ultimately Gods fault. The Bible teaches us the devil is the father of lies & there is no truth in him. He comes but to steal kill & destroy the life of all of humanity.
His purpose is to tear us down to the place we will spend eternity in hell with him. He has perversity in his heart (if he has a heart at all!) He will set us up, have people say things about us, devises evil continually& even has the audacity to bring false accusations before God day & night against the brethren. We have to learn to stand & fight him according to the teachings of the Lord.
One of the most powerful forms of spiritual warfare is praise. One thing I know for sure is that the devil hates to hear us praise our savior, it drives him nuts. It has always amazed me that all of creation continually praises the Lord of Glory while we supposedly His servants are hesitant to do so.
Sorry to say we allow church traditions to dictate our actions even in regards to how we praise the Lord. Our personal inhibitions & fear of man also tend to shy us out. Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first & also for the Greek." Another scripture that excites me is the Lord inhabits the praises of His people.
I know many believe our relationship with the Lord, our very Christianity is to be something that is to be private & reverential. I believe there is time for that but let us lo0k at another scripture "the Lord inhabits the praises of His people." The book of Psalms continually puts us in remembrance we are to sing praise unto His name, play our instruments unto Him, our whole life is to be an expression of praise & worship unto Him, Amen!
In Isaiah 42:12 we read "Let them give glory to the Lord, and declare His praise in the coast lands. 42:13 The Lord shall go forth like a mighty man; He shall stir up His zeal like a man of war. He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud; He shall prevail against His enemies. Your enemies are His enemies.
We all remember what happened when Paul & Silas were locked in prison PRAISING THE LORD. An earthquake opened the jailhouse doors their shackles fell off & ultimately even the Philippian jailer got saved (he & his household.) Glory be to God there is power in PRAISE.
We are told to praise Him at all times in all situations. Is it because He is an egomaniac, no but He is the light at the end of the tunnel for those in a very dark place. Don't forget we are to also praise Him in the good times because He is the author of every good gift & every perfect gift is from above. Paul & Silas in the natural had every reason to be caught up in one mega big pity party BUT they CHOSE to Praise the Lord!
Shake off the discouragement, the weariness & quit listening to the lies of the devil. Get with Gods program & get on with praising Him no matter the situation you may face. God is still the God of deliverance, He still sets the captives free no matter what your captivity may be. He is all powerful, all knowing & ever present & when you tap into His power through Praising Him (He inhabits the praises of His people) you too can make a difference, Food for Thought!
Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord
His purpose is to tear us down to the place we will spend eternity in hell with him. He has perversity in his heart (if he has a heart at all!) He will set us up, have people say things about us, devises evil continually& even has the audacity to bring false accusations before God day & night against the brethren. We have to learn to stand & fight him according to the teachings of the Lord.
One of the most powerful forms of spiritual warfare is praise. One thing I know for sure is that the devil hates to hear us praise our savior, it drives him nuts. It has always amazed me that all of creation continually praises the Lord of Glory while we supposedly His servants are hesitant to do so.
Sorry to say we allow church traditions to dictate our actions even in regards to how we praise the Lord. Our personal inhibitions & fear of man also tend to shy us out. Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first & also for the Greek." Another scripture that excites me is the Lord inhabits the praises of His people.
I know many believe our relationship with the Lord, our very Christianity is to be something that is to be private & reverential. I believe there is time for that but let us lo0k at another scripture "the Lord inhabits the praises of His people." The book of Psalms continually puts us in remembrance we are to sing praise unto His name, play our instruments unto Him, our whole life is to be an expression of praise & worship unto Him, Amen!
In Isaiah 42:12 we read "Let them give glory to the Lord, and declare His praise in the coast lands. 42:13 The Lord shall go forth like a mighty man; He shall stir up His zeal like a man of war. He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud; He shall prevail against His enemies. Your enemies are His enemies.
We all remember what happened when Paul & Silas were locked in prison PRAISING THE LORD. An earthquake opened the jailhouse doors their shackles fell off & ultimately even the Philippian jailer got saved (he & his household.) Glory be to God there is power in PRAISE.
We are told to praise Him at all times in all situations. Is it because He is an egomaniac, no but He is the light at the end of the tunnel for those in a very dark place. Don't forget we are to also praise Him in the good times because He is the author of every good gift & every perfect gift is from above. Paul & Silas in the natural had every reason to be caught up in one mega big pity party BUT they CHOSE to Praise the Lord!
Shake off the discouragement, the weariness & quit listening to the lies of the devil. Get with Gods program & get on with praising Him no matter the situation you may face. God is still the God of deliverance, He still sets the captives free no matter what your captivity may be. He is all powerful, all knowing & ever present & when you tap into His power through Praising Him (He inhabits the praises of His people) you too can make a difference, Food for Thought!
Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord
Wednesday, 11 January 2012
Revive Us Oh Lord
Everybody needs to be revived, to have new life breathed into them. It doesn't matter if that is in a persons work place, your sporting team, in their marriage or relationship. There are simple ways to work towards this but with humanity we are normally extremely shallow in work ethics or consistency. The other thing that holds us back is our pride, thinking it is wrong for us to ask for help or even call upon God for strength to continue on.
I do not believe that there is a 12 point system for you to follow when you are dealing with the things of the Lord. Let us look at Jacob who is also known as Israel. To his knowledge his favorite son Joseph was torn to shreds by a wild animal, imagine his feelings when they could not even find his body to bury. Then this ruler of Egypt keeps his son Simeon as a hostage & now he wanted his youngest son Benjamin. Then in Genesis 45 we read how Jacobs sons came back from Egypt saying Joseph is still alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt." And Jacob's heart stood still, because he did not believe them. But when they told him all the words which Joseph had said to them and when he saw the carts which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father REVIVED! Then Israel said "It is enough Joseph my son is still alive, I will go and see him before I die.
Not many of us have had to live through the events Jacob did & I thank God for that, but we all have life experiences that take the wind out of our sails. Discouragement is one of the main tools of spiritual warfare that the adversity uses against believers. If he can get us to believe we will never succeed in anything we do, he knows he is a winner. Galatians 6:9 tells us to not become weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap "if we do not lose heart."
Joseph was a wonderful example of keeping on no matter what. First his brothers threw him into a pit & sold him into slavery (brotherly love--not.) Then he goes to Egypt & becomes a servant in the house of Potiphar the captain of the guard for Pharaoh. Potiphar saw something in Joseph & made him overseer of his house, not bad for a slave. Then Potiphars wife decides this good looking Hebrew should join her in her bed. He said "how then can I do this wickedness & sin against God!" Potiphar knew he didn't do it (if he believed it, he would have killed Joseph" so off to prison Joseph goes. Bummer, bummer, bummer!
Then just like Potiphar the keeper of the prison saw something in Joseph & committed all the prisoners into his hands. Then the baker & the butler of the king of Egypt asked him if he could interpret their dreams, so he said do not interpretations belong to God so he listened to their dreams. The bakers dream said he would be hung & he was but the butlers said he would be restored to his position. Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.
Again Joseph could have got caught up in a major pity party but he did not, he continued to serve in his position in prison faithful, faithful, faithful in all areas (are we?) It took two years before the butler remembered him because Pharoah needed an interpreter of his own dreams. The long & the short of it was God used Joseph to interpret those dreams & because of it he became #2 man in all of Egypt, not bad for a Hebrew shepherd boy.
What was it that people saw in Joseph that encouraged them to put him in a place of responsibility? Continually we read in Genesis that "The Lord was with Him!" Even though he lived in a pagan society he remained faithful to His God, to the point others could see the difference in him. Let us hope we too can show the world around us our Savior through a life set aside for service unto Him. We are in this world but not to be of it.
Each one has their own path in life, bumpy as it may be & we may get off the beaten path & even go in the ditches of life but thanks be to God that He has a Holy Ghost tow truck that can pull us out of those ditches "if we will but ask & believe." We all have times of doubt & unbelief, that feeling of where did you go Lord, pick up His Holy Word & immerse yourself in it. This is the one way I know of to revive "to breathe new life into my soul!" Our hope, our very life, is in His most excellent hands. Know matter how good or bad things are going, God is still with you! Food for thought!
Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord
I do not believe that there is a 12 point system for you to follow when you are dealing with the things of the Lord. Let us look at Jacob who is also known as Israel. To his knowledge his favorite son Joseph was torn to shreds by a wild animal, imagine his feelings when they could not even find his body to bury. Then this ruler of Egypt keeps his son Simeon as a hostage & now he wanted his youngest son Benjamin. Then in Genesis 45 we read how Jacobs sons came back from Egypt saying Joseph is still alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt." And Jacob's heart stood still, because he did not believe them. But when they told him all the words which Joseph had said to them and when he saw the carts which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father REVIVED! Then Israel said "It is enough Joseph my son is still alive, I will go and see him before I die.
Not many of us have had to live through the events Jacob did & I thank God for that, but we all have life experiences that take the wind out of our sails. Discouragement is one of the main tools of spiritual warfare that the adversity uses against believers. If he can get us to believe we will never succeed in anything we do, he knows he is a winner. Galatians 6:9 tells us to not become weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap "if we do not lose heart."
Joseph was a wonderful example of keeping on no matter what. First his brothers threw him into a pit & sold him into slavery (brotherly love--not.) Then he goes to Egypt & becomes a servant in the house of Potiphar the captain of the guard for Pharaoh. Potiphar saw something in Joseph & made him overseer of his house, not bad for a slave. Then Potiphars wife decides this good looking Hebrew should join her in her bed. He said "how then can I do this wickedness & sin against God!" Potiphar knew he didn't do it (if he believed it, he would have killed Joseph" so off to prison Joseph goes. Bummer, bummer, bummer!
Then just like Potiphar the keeper of the prison saw something in Joseph & committed all the prisoners into his hands. Then the baker & the butler of the king of Egypt asked him if he could interpret their dreams, so he said do not interpretations belong to God so he listened to their dreams. The bakers dream said he would be hung & he was but the butlers said he would be restored to his position. Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.
Again Joseph could have got caught up in a major pity party but he did not, he continued to serve in his position in prison faithful, faithful, faithful in all areas (are we?) It took two years before the butler remembered him because Pharoah needed an interpreter of his own dreams. The long & the short of it was God used Joseph to interpret those dreams & because of it he became #2 man in all of Egypt, not bad for a Hebrew shepherd boy.
What was it that people saw in Joseph that encouraged them to put him in a place of responsibility? Continually we read in Genesis that "The Lord was with Him!" Even though he lived in a pagan society he remained faithful to His God, to the point others could see the difference in him. Let us hope we too can show the world around us our Savior through a life set aside for service unto Him. We are in this world but not to be of it.
Each one has their own path in life, bumpy as it may be & we may get off the beaten path & even go in the ditches of life but thanks be to God that He has a Holy Ghost tow truck that can pull us out of those ditches "if we will but ask & believe." We all have times of doubt & unbelief, that feeling of where did you go Lord, pick up His Holy Word & immerse yourself in it. This is the one way I know of to revive "to breathe new life into my soul!" Our hope, our very life, is in His most excellent hands. Know matter how good or bad things are going, God is still with you! Food for thought!
Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord
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