He is not here.  He is risen!

 Luke 24:6

Welcome

to the

Church of the Holy Spirit

Current Sunday Scriptures below!

 Archived Scriptures in The Family Room!

NOW....Visit our NEW rooms in The Family Room! 

Embracing understanding with open arms...so all may become one.

We welcome and embrace you, loved ones,

throughout the world!

Hello and Welcome....

to our Brother(s) & Sister(s) in the areas of

Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico,

 the Phillipines and Indonesian Islands! 

Hey, USA, hi! 

We miss all others not with us today and look forward to meeting more!

My site map is not detailed, so, if I've missed someone, or misplaced someone,

let us hear from you via email!

PRAY...for all in the world!

'You care for people and animals alike O LORD.' 

Psalm 36: 6b

   Who We Are 

The Church of the Holy Spirit is a Christian church.

We believe in God the Father, Jesus the Son
and
Holy Spirit of truth, the Comforter and Teacher.

We believe that God made the heavens and the earth,
 and gave all creatures His son, Jesus,
who died on the cross to forgive our sins
 and
to give us eternal life.

We believe Jesus went to heaven, he is now seated at God’s right hand,
 and
that God gave us Holy Spirit to teach, comfort, and guide us.
 
We believe the Bible is the inspired word of God.

***

Who are God, Jesus and Holy Spirit?

God is our heavenly Father who created heaven and earth.  He gave us His Son, who died on a cross to allow our sins to be forgiven and give us eternal life becoming our Lord and Savior.  When Jesus died, Holy Spirit was made available to us to comfort, teach and guide us.

God in the beginning:  Genesis 1 & 2
Jesus:  Matthew 1, 2 & 3
Holy Spirit:  John 15:26, 16:5-15

Are you one with God, Jesus and Holy Spirit?

If you have not accepted the Trinity into your life and you would like to, pray this prayer or use your own words from your heart:

“Dear Heavenly Father God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit, please forgive me of my sins known and unknown.  Please come into my life, heal me and make me whole.  Give me a new life in and with you.  I wish to receive all that you have to give.  Baptize me in the fullness of your Holy Spirit, so that I can learn all I can about you to love you, and others, as you love me.  So I can love myself.  Thank you for giving me this new life.  Please send other Christians to surround me to help me grow and be strong to defeat Satan and the things of the world.  Help me to be worthy of your love.  Thank you God, Jesus and Holy Spirit.  In Jesus name I pray by and with the power of the Holy Spirit, dear Heavenly Father God.  Amen.” 

***

If you have prayed this prayer, please email us at TrinityMissions@msn.com, so we can agree with you in prayer, praise God, and uplift you with prayer support.  We are thrilled to welcome you into the family of believers and encourage you to find a church home nearby where you can study, grow and fellowship with others.  Someone may need your support as much as you need them.  We are commanded to come together in fellowship to worship His majesty.

If you choose to fellowship with us via the web, we are honored to welcome you to the Church of the Holy Spirit.  We pray you will be enriched and uplifted in the fullness of the Trinity to their glory.  Stay in touch and let us know how you are doing from time to time.  As the website grows, we will have a special page for this purpose, and, you will be able to list prayers for all to see, so that we may come together as a body of believers, for ‘wherever two or more shall gather, there will I be.’   Don’t forget to send prayers of thanksgiving, as well as petitions of tears.  

***

You are who I call ‘The Promise Children’, as in Romans 9:25-26 NLT:

“Those who were not my people, I will now call my people.  And I will love those whom I did not love before.  And, once they were told, ‘You are not my people.’  But now he will say, ‘You are children of the living God.”

***

“The Kingdom of God is near you now.”

***

The Apostle Paul gave us a “Prayer for Spiritual Empowerment” in Ephesians 3:14-21 NLT.  It reads

“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 resources 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.”  

Jesus told us to remain in his love in John 15:9-13 NLT:

“I have loved you even as the Father has loved me.  Remain in my love.  When you obey me, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father and remain in his love.  I have told you this so that you will be filled with my joy.  Yes, your joy will overflow!  I command you to love each other in the same way that I love you.  And here is how to measure it - the greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends." 

***

November 25, 2012

Giving Your All....With Love....Equally

Luke 10: 25 - 37

Luke

One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question:  "Teacher, what must I do to receive eternal life?"

Jesus replied, "What does the law of Moses say?  How do you read it?"

The man answered, "'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength, and all your mind.'  And, 'Love your neighbor as yourself'"

"Right!" Jesus told him.  "Do this and you will live!"

The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

Jesus replied with an illustration:  "A Jewish man was traveling on a trip from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits.  They stripped him of his clothes and money, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.

"By chance a Jewish priest came along; but when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by.  A Temple assistant [a Levite] walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.

"Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt deep pity.  Kneeling beside him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with medicine and bandaged them.  Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him.  The next day he handed the innkeeper two pieces of silver and told him to take care of the man.  'If his bill runs higher than that,' he said, 'I'll pay the difference the next time I am here.'

"Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?" Jesus asked.

The man replied, "The one who showed him mercy."

Then Jesus said, "Yes, now go and do the same." 

***

Thoughts.....

Hello out there in cyberspace!  It's great that you could join us today!

Eternal life, the commandment to love, the example to lay down your life.  All three topics interspersed with how not to treat someone, how not to give an example, how not to do your job....and....how to do better...how to do right....how to love and show mercy.  Concise and precise.  Jesus doesn't say a lot to say something important, yet he seems to give examples to get his points across to further clarify his meaning and intent.  Me....I'm a little wordy.  And he throws so much into so little.  Praise God! 

An expert in religious law attempted to test Jesus.  Thou shalt not test Jesus.  Good 'luck', if you try.  The law expert asked Jesus what he had to do to receive eternal life.  And Jesus threw a question back to him asking him what the law of Moses said and asked "How do you read it?"  This leaves me to believe Jesus understood the 'law of interpretation'...my term.  Everything is open to interpretation.  Please remember, though, if you have Holy Spirit living in you, you WILL have the truth.  1 John 2:27  And note, also, that Holy Spirit will reveal different things to us as we progress in life and grow in the Lord.  Sometimes we will receive milk, sometimes meat, sometimes dessert.  We may read the same thing over and over and each time learn more from the same exact words.  Blessed anointing for our souls.    

So, the man answered with Scripture "'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength, and all your mind.'  And, 'Love your neighbor as yourself '".  Deut 6:5 and Lev 19:15.  Jesus told him "Right!  Do this and you will live!"  Interesting that Jesus affirmed with two exclamations.  !!  Two exclamation points together always looks to me like a picture of two eyes wide open and eyebrows raised like when we might say, 'Yikes!', or 'Wow!' or 'What?!'.  In this case I can imagine the law expert saying "What?!"  It's like he had the first part down until Jesus got to the part about the neighbor.  Interestingly, I cannot picture any lawyers I've seen on TV going out of their way for anyone except maybe who they drink with at a bar in the moment or in a basketball tournament.  According to TV, certainly not even their family.  I am sure this is a major slant on the profession....rather I should say I hope this is....and that not all attorneys act this way.  But this man was a law expert in religion, so maybe they are different.  Hmmmmmm.....maybe not, as I recall some priests and ministers I've heard about....sadly.  Anyway.....

So then the religious law expert asked Jesus who is his neighbor.

Jesus went into story mode.  His 'norm'.  Jesus told him about a man who was traveling on a trip from Jerusalem to Jericho where he was attacked by bandits.  It appears they stripped him of his clothes and money, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.  How sad.  And yet this goes on everyday in our world today.

Jesus goes on to say a Jewish priest saw him, but crossed to the other side of the road and went passed him.  THIS caused my eyes to get big and eyebrows to go up the first time I read this.  I was young.  I couldn't imagine someone being in the position of authority in the church, preaching the need to love your neighbor, turning their back on anyone.  And yet, I have personally experienced since then, having backs turned on me by ministers and priests in positions of authority in the church.  (Truly I need to write a book someday....note in the meantime that none of the back turning had to do with my ministry.)  I count myself blessed, however, Jesus experienced it, too.....we are never alone.  Their loss....wait til they get to the pearly gates and have to answer for those choices....ouch.

If that is not enough, the poor guy, still on the road beaten and probably bloodied, is approached by a Temple assistant, a Levite.  He had the nerve....audacity....shallowness....to walk away....'pass by on the other side'....not doing anything to help him....after looking at the poor guy lying there.  Just like the priest.

Then a despised Samaritan shows up.  [A while back we learned that there was a hatred between the Jews and the Samaritans because the Jews saw themselves as pure descendants of Abraham, while the Samaritans were a mixed race produced when Jews from the northern kingdom intermarried with other people after Israel's exile.]  Jesus used this illustration because the religious law expert, a Jew, would expect the Samaritan to be the least likely to step up to the plate....believing him beneath him and therefore incapable, corrupt, etc.  How sad, I say again.  The attitude of the Jewish religious law expert was in complete opposition to what he quoted that he presumably believed, and, as a leader, was to live as an example to others.....the command to love your neighbor as yourself.  It was kind of a 'gotcha moment'. 

So the Samaritan, when he saw the man, felt deep pity.  "Kneeling beside him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with medicine and bandaged them.  Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him." 

Take a moment to think about what you might do up to this point.  If you saw a man on the street...or woman....would you stop and cleanse their wounds, soothe them with maybe an antibiotic ointment and bandage them?  This would take up your time, money for the treatment.  And then transport them in your nice clean car....donkey, horse, cart, camel to an inn, a hotel, a motel, a bed and breakfast.  A spa resort?  I'm not going too far.  Inns were precious commodities, if you will, back then. And would you stay....away from your job, your family, to take care of this stranger, in an attempt to bring them back to health, befriend them, listen to them? 

I need to say that as you follow along with me on our journey of learning scripture, many will be the time that I will ask poignant questions.  I am not asking judgmentally or critically.  I am asking with gentleness and sincerity, with love of our Lord, so you can learn about yourself, and your relationship and walk with our Savior.  These are not answers for me, they are answers for you, to help you become all that you and God want you to become....for him, and for yourself, and those around you.   

The next day the Samaritan handed the innkeeper two pieces of silver [denari - danarius is the equivalent of a full day's wage...so 2 day's wages] and told him to take care of the man.  Then he told him if the bill ran higher that he would pay it the next time he went there.

Would you do that?  Would I do that?  I have.  The circumstances were similar.  I say this not to boast, please do NOT misunderstand.  I say this to show you that, as a leader, I can be trusted, I have integrity, credibility.  I make every attempt to live the way I talk.  I know there are times we cannot step up to help others.  But many is the time we really can and choose not to do so.  I am far from perfect.  Nor am I currently financially able to do everything I would like.  However, not everything takes money.  Sometimes it just takes a heart.  An ear to listen.  Two arms to hug.  Lips to smile. Eyes to shine.  Or a brain to think things out for folks because sometimes folks can get so overwhelmed they can't find the way out or up.  All over the world there are crises, of epic proportion in some cases.  Can you give clothes, toys, dishes, glasses, sheets, blankets.....?  Can you plant a garden, rake up dead weeds, cut a yard, sweep a dirt floor, buy a new sofa or chair.....loving your neighbor as yourself?  Would you paint a house, fix a leak, repair a ceiling, change a toilet seat?  Wash a sink, fix a meal, share it in a hovel of a kitchen that hasn't been cleaned in years?  Give one of your 2 cars away?  A W A Y for free? 

How far will you go, what roads will you cross?  Jesus is telling us there should be no such thing as discrimination.  He is telling us we must do better.  That we HAVE to do better if we are to receive eternal life.  He's telling us we have to walk the talk.  That we really are one as a world of people.  And don't forget the animals.  Remember they were first in God's heart.  Whatever we do for the least of these we do for him.  Matthew 25:40.  Sometimes we view that as animals....sometimes people.

Jesus said, as recorded in John 15:12-13, "I command you to love each other in the same way that I love you.  And here is how to measure it - the greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends."  And in todays Scripture he extends that to include everyone in our path. 

In verse 36 of todays Scripture Jesus asked the religious law expert, "Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by the bandits?"  The religious law expert replied, "The one who showed him mercy."  and Jesus said, "Yes, now go and do the same."  Can you hear the humility, the gentleness in the law experts voice as he says this?  Perhaps with trepidation wondering if he can fulfill this....what others might think.  It only matters what God thinks. 

To not love another, is to not love God, Jesus, Holy Spirit.  It does not matter whether that person suffering is Christian or not.  It matters that they are a child of God having been made by him.  That makes everyone on this planet....and perhaps other planets as well, should we find such.....everyone is our brother or sister.  You may not have had a good relationship with your family members, or have none at all and cannot 'relate'.  It doesn't matter.  I know that you know how to be a friend to those you care about.  Jesus is telling us....you and me....everyone....we are to be a friend to everyone.  We may not ever have a friend, but we are to be a friend.  Like the song, we are to proclaim, "He ain't heavy, he's my brother." 

Countries are at war due to discrimination.  Many in the name of religion....even God.  That's not the way to eternal life.  Nations are at war within themselves. Sometimes even they proclaim it is in the name of God.  That's not the way to eternal life.  People war against each other with hatred, bigotry, discrimination.  There is no room for this....it is not the way to eternal life.

Many is the time I have walked into a CHRISTIAN church and heard that folks of different races or nationalities are not welcome.  Shame on them.  That is NOT a church that THE God of the universe presides over.  There is not room in the salvation message to change the words.  You cannot redefine the path to eternal life.  You cannot shame the pregnant teenager, or chastise the adulterer, or castrate verbally the homosexual, or tell the African they are not welcome in a Caucasian church, when the Caucasian church would not have existed in America were it not for the Indians saying 'welcome to America'.   And the rest of the church cussing when they stub their toe, or put each other down for how they dress, or wear make up, or don't drive the 'right' car....is not the way to eternal life.  Do you get my point, brothers and sisters?  Can I get an 'Amen'.

We are not perfect as a people.  But we should strive to say "Yes!" to the LORD Almighty.  He calls us to say yes to him, yes to eternal life, yes to salvation....forgiveness of sins.  IF we are to be Christians, we must....WE MUST love the Lord our God with all our hearts, all our souls, all your strengths, and all our minds and love our neighbors as ourselves.  EVERY neighbor has God in them.  Remember that.  Please.  They may not have Jesus.  They may have a different savior or none at all.  But how will they ever learn about your Savior, Jesus, if you have accepted Jesus as such, if you don't show them him through your actions? !!  !!  !!  !!  !!  I think you get my point now.  

If you have not accepted Jesus as your Savior and made him Lord of your life, I hope you will have learned today how much he loves...you.  I hope you will have learned today how to receive eternal life....that God wants that for you and loves you so much, that he sent his only begotten son, that whosoever [that's you] should believe in him, would be forgiven of their sins, because he died on a cross for you.  That because of his death and resurrection, you, too, can have eternal life.  How you receive it is to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself."  How you measure the greatest love for one another is when people lay down their lives for their friends.  Please consider asking Jesus into your life today.  It's the first step on what I hope will be a long and wonderful journey for you.  I welcome you to the family of believers.  And hey, when you get to heaven, as I expect to, I'll be able to say, "Welcome Home!"

I'd like to give a shout out to my friend, Sara, in Colorado.  Thank you for laying your life down for me.  I am blessed to have you in my life and call you friend.   

Jesus said, "...now go and do the same"....show mercy.   

*** 

Let Us Pray

God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, thank you for loving me, forgiving me, dying for me, uplifting me, being my friend.  May you find me worthy of being your friend.  'Thank you for putting your hand into my heaped up heart and passing over all the foolish and frivolous and weak things you can't help but dimly see there.'  May they never come to a bold light.  Please forgive me of my sins.  Thank you.  I want to thank you for showing me great love, that I may go forth proclaiming your love and living your love, as I reach out to others.  Help me to continue on the path you have chosen for me, that together, with you, I, may have victory in life, and in attaining the height of heaven's eternal home.  I am grateful for my friend, Sara.  Thank you for her and for all the blessings you've bestowed upon me over my life.  Thank you for bestowing blessings upon her life as well.  May you bless her, her husband and kids, both 2 legged and 4 legged, richly for her having blessed me in big ways and in small ways in being my friend.  And thank you God, Jesus, Holy Spirit for reminding me of Prayers That Prevail*.  I sorely needed that food yesterday.  I bow down to you, worship you through my loving, and praise you....giving you praise and thanksgiving IN everything....for this is your will, Father.  Bring all the people in your world to an understanding that we are all one and MUST take care of one another.  In Tucson, Arizona and many parts of the world in the Latino culture, and I am sure in other cultures as well, there is a saying, 'Mi casa su casa'.  My home is your home.  May everyone find room in their hearts to say 'welcome home' to strangers and friends alike.  May we all join a new voice as one, granting mercy, sharing peace, giving love.  I yearn for the olden days, when a handshake was gold, and a smile meant the world, and your word was  trusted, and there was an embrace of warmth from the heart for every man, woman, child....pet....on the planet.  I'm thinking of the movie they always show at Christmas here in America....with Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed.  Gee I can't think of the name of it.  You know, God.  Oh, wait, it's called, I think, "It's A Wonderful Life'.  I guess I am an idealist, because the Old Testament is full of pain and suffering brought on by others.  But it was not meant to be that way.  And the New Testament showed us how to try and kill Love, but Love could not be killed.  You, Jesus....Love....were resurrected....thank you God, thank you, Jesus....and thank you Holy Spirit for taking over when Love went 'up'.  Please continue to love me, that I may love others, and show me how to best live my life to be an example of what real love is meant to be in the world.  Thank you for helping me now and always.  May the doors of this church and any church I ever preside over for you ALWAYS be loving, caring, understanding, NON-discriminating.  And help me to know the difference.  May everyone walk the walk while they talk the talk.  I love you, thank you.  Amen. 

*Prayers That Prevail The Believer's Manual of Prayers by Cliff Richards with Lloyd Hildebrand Copyright 1990 by K & C International, Inc.                     

Lord,LordJesJeJeJJjEJJJ     JJThe LORD is king!  Let the nations tremble!  T***

More love.... 

  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 resources 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         

*** 

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

It is not how we worship, but that we worship....the Trinity!   

***

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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 regularly to us, or gifting us, so that we can further the work and carry out the will of the Father as proclaimed in Matthew 28:19-20 NLT

 to

 "Go and make disciples out of all the nations

baptizing 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."

***

  Our Current Cause

It is time to reach into the community and the world around you to see wherein lies the greatest need.  As you choose to focus on these areas, do so with a servant's heart.  Whether the need is for children, adults, or animals, or any cause in between that will help those in need, ask God how you can best serve his needs, what path you must take, and how long you should persevere.  Sometimes we are to be in the lives of others merely as stepping stones.  Sometimes we are to touch those lives forever.  Whatever journey you are called to take, whatever team you will be a member, know this:  God is with you always...even til the end of time.  He loves you, is grateful for you, and will help you along life's way, especially if you are helping others along theirs, persevering with a servant's heart.  

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

BesidesBesid   

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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 Rhythms 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.

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