November 22, 2009

 John 17:20

  Thankful Peaceful Testimony 

John

Jesus said, "I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me because of their testimony." 

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Thoughts...

Good morning!  Before I get into the word and prayer, etc., I want to apologize for being late this morning.  It seems my computer does not want to communicate with the outside world.  I can only hope and pray you will get this message.  

Ok....so what Jesus said is very interesting.  Our testimony.  What is this?  Our testimony is the evidence of our prayers in our life, the manifestation of who we have become in him....who we are with him in us.  Who he is in us, as we show him to the world around us.  Our life and how we live it in and with him.

It seems our Lord is saying that we will believe in him because of how he has entered in, not just because he has entered in. We've grasped ahold of him, and we are showing the world about him, by how we live our life, and we believe as a result of the miracles in it that he provided by our willingness to accept him and obey him.  Kind of a full circle thing.  

We are to believe in him for who he is, and here he is telling us that we are to believe in him because of all the wonderful things he does.....ah.... reminds me of wizard of Oz.

This is surely something....everything...to be thankful for, if you have invited him in and are a disciple of his shown by how you live your life by obeying him.  And let me say, that obeying him is not something we do to get something.  It is something we do in thanksgiving for his love.  It is gratitude for being able to trust and rely on him....for giving us his life, so that we may be forgiven of our sins and have the opportunity to receive eternal life.  I say 'opportunity' because that is what it is.  Back to the obeying part....we also obey so as to receive eternal life.  We cannot just say "ya, I 'know' Jesus", "ya, I accepted him as my Lord and Savior", and then go do illegal, immoral, inappropriate things against what scripture tells us to do.  Once we accept him, we need to learn what to do that is right by reading scripture, and, who he is, to fall fully in love with him.,  Once in love, we will want to make him happy, and do what is right for both him and us...and the world.  Why the world....ah....there is the testimony.  By doing what is right, and good, and pure, etc., we are honoring him and showing the world who his is, that he is and how wonderful he is by our ACTIONS.  By how we live our life.  Who he is in us, and who we are with him in us.  Our testimony.  

This allows others to want what we have....WHO we have.  It is a way of telling the world all about him without assertively knocking on doors, or professing him verbally.  We are to show others by how we live....our testimony.  And we will believe in him even more.  And be even more thankful.  

Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5: 16  "Always be joyful.  Keep on praying.  No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.  And in Philippians 4: 6-7 he says, "Don't worry about anything:  instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand.  His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.  He closes 2 Thessalonians 3: !6 with, "May the Lord of peace himself always give you his peace no matter what happens.  The Lord be with you all."

Peace....now that is something of which to be truly thankful.  And what a testimony!

Then Jesus was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit and said, "O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding the truth from those who think themselves so wise and clever, and for revealing it to the childlike.  Yes, Father , it pleased you to do it this way.  John 10: 21

Let us come to him as little children and enter his gates with thanksgiving!  And show the world who he is, that he is and how wonderful he is...by our testimony.  Live well, and live abundantly!  May today and everyday be one of knowing joy, being filled with peace, giving thanksgiving, and radiating it all with his love...as you share your thankful peaceful testimony.  

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Let Us Pray

Lord God, Lamb of God, Holy Spirit come...and enter my heart, my soul, my mind.  Fill me anew with all the gifts and fruits you have to give me to make me everything I need to be a disciple for you, for myself, and those around me.  Help me indeed to have a testimony for you and with you.  Let me be in the world, but not of the world.  Help me to give thanks IN everything.  For this is your will and it will bring me peace and joy.  I may be going over the river and through the woods, but I will not be alone ever again, now that I have received you fully into my life.  Help me to learn more about you, even if I've known you for years, there is still more to learn...I don't know it all...I barely know a little, even if I've been one with you for a lifetime.  Thanks for the little things and for the big things.  Let me be a source of thanksgiving to others as you have been to me.  Let me open my gates with love and joy and peace to bless as I have been blessed showing my testimony to others.  Let us all be one in and with you.  So that with others, I and they may be able to finally sing, "Come ye thankful people come.  Raise the song of harvest home.  All our safely entered in, ere the winter storms begin.  God our maker doth provide, for our wants to be supplied.  Come to God's own temple come, raise the song of harvest home."  Amen.

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Psalm 95: 1-7

Come, let us sing to the LORD!  Let us give a joyous shout to the rock of our salvation!

Let us come before him with  thanksgiving.  Let us sing him psalms of praise.

For the LORD is a great God, the great King above all gods. 

He owns the depths of the earth, and even the mightiest mountains are his.

The sea belongs to him, for he made it.  His hands formed the dry land, too.

Come, let us worship and bow down.  Let us kneel before the LORD our maker, for he is our God.

We are the people he watches over, the sheep under his care.

Oh, that you would listen to his voice today!  

GOD OF WONDERS   *

Lord of Heaven and earth.  Lord of all creation.  Lord of Heaven and Earth.  Lord of all creation.

Of water, earth and sky.  The heavens are Your tabernacle.  Glory to the Lord on high.

God of wonders beyond our galaxy.  You are holy, holy.  The universe declares Your majesty.

You are holy, holy.  Lord of Heaven and earth.  Lord of Heaven and earth.

Early in the morning, I will celebrate the light.  

When I stumble in the darkeness, I will call Your name by night.

Hallelujah to the Lord of Heaven and earth.  Hallelujah to the Lord of Heaven and earth.

Hallelujah to the Lord of Heaven and earth.

God of wonders beyond our galaxy.  You are holy, holy.  Precious Lord, reveal your heart to me.

Father, holy, holy.  The universe declares Your majesty.  Your are holy, holy, holy, holy.

Hallelujah to the Lord of Heaven and earth.  *

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 Benediction...Blessing

Let us hear from Paul as he prays:  

When I think of the wisdom and scope of God's plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.  I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resouces he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit.  And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him.  May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love.  And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is.  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it.  Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Now glory be to God!  By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope.  May he be given glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages.  Amen.  Ephesians 3:14-21 NLT         

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Scroll down to read Jesus' Prayer of Thanksgiving...'The Unforced Rythms of Grace'.

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Definition of a Christian:  Anyone who believes in God, Jesus and Holy Spirit, and accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Regardless of church name or religious affiliation.  

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If you feel that the Church of the Holy Spirit has inspired or helped you, we'd like you to prayerfully consider tithing regulary to us or gifting us, so that we can further the work and carry out the will of the Father as proclaimed in Matthew 28:16 NLT

 to

 "Go and make disciples out of all the nations

baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.  And be sure of this:

I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

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  Our NEW Current Cause

My family and I, and the church, are in crisis and could desperately use your prayers and financial support.  Due to medical concerns, employment crisis, and economic devastation,  I do not have funding to meet everyday expenses right now for the church, or family, and home, nor those necessary to keep this website afloat, for those shut-in or needing spiritual support, nor the ability to help others along the way.  But I am confident that, with your help, balance can be achieved.  As God touches your heart, I hope you will pray earnestly for the church, my family and me, and send any amount of money you can to help.  Please note 'Church and Family' on your check, and, I will see that all funds get divided appropriately.  The church, I and my family, as well as to those to whom we reach out, will be sincerely grateful for anything you can do to help.  

Please accept my sincerest thanks....and may God bless you!

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Church of the Holy Spirit

and sent to

Church of the Holy Spirit

P.O. Box 86076

Tucson, Arizona

85754-6076

Please put 'CoHS' in the subject line.

If you have any questions, we can be reached at:

1-866-402-GIFT

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or

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As we grow, you will have options for allocating your gifts.

In the meantime, we hope you will trust us to direct them to where the need is the greatest.

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    One last thing....

 Jesus' Prayer of Thanksgiving

'The Unforced Rythms of Grace'

 "Abruptly Jesus broke into prayer:  "Thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth.  You've concealed your ways from sophisticates and know-it-alls, but spelled them out clearly to ordinary people.  Yes, Father, that's the way you like to work."

Jesus resumed talking to the people, but now tenderly.  "The Father has given me all these things to do and say.  This is a unique Father - Son operation, coming out of Father and Son intimacies and knowledge.  No one knows the Son the way the Father does, nor the Father the way the Son does.  But I'm not keeping it to myself; I'm ready to go over it line by line with anyone willing to listen."

"Are you tired?  Worn out?  Burned out on religion?  Come to me.  Get away with me and you'll recover your life.  I'll show you how to take a real rest.  Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it.  Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.  I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn how to live freely and lightly.

  Matthew 11:  25-30

  The Message

And the people said,

"Amen."

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I now write most prayers in the position of ' I ' (first person) because most people are sitting at their computer alone, not in groups, and it allows those reading and praying to personalize the prayer as coming from them going to God.  Variations may appear on holidays when families may wish to use the prayer provided.

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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996.  Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189.  All rights reserved.

 * Todays song  is from the CD 'Worship Together' and was written by Mac Powell and Cliff & Danielle Young.

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