Whoever….does not doubt in his heart,

but believes…., he will have whatever he says.

- Mark 11:23

Scripture Reading: James 1:2-15

I magine a young man and woman who have fallen in love. In a short while, there is a strong love for each other. What is a heart of love? It is a heart of faith. Faith and love are kin. In the measure that the young man and young woman love one another, they are true. One may go North and the other South, but because of their love, they will be faithful to one another.

It is the same when there is a deep love toward the Lord Jesus Christ. In this new life into which God has brought  us, Paul told us that we “have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that (we) may be married to another; to Him who was raised from the dead” ( Rom. 7:4). God brings us into a place of perfect love and perfect faith. A person who is born of God  is brought into a loyalty to the Lord Jesus that shrinks from anything impure. You see the purity of a man and woman when there is a deep natural affection between them; they disdain the thought of either of them being untrue. In the same way, in a measure of a person has faith in Jesus, he is pure.

We cannot doubt in our hearts. As we read His Word and believe the promises that He has so graciously given to us, we are made partakers of His very essence and life. The Lord is made a Bridegroom to us, and we are His Bride. His words to us are spirit and life ( John 6:63), transforming us and changing us, expelling what is natural and bringing in what is divine.

It is impossible to comprehend the love of God as we think in human terms. We must have a revelation from the Spirit of God. It was the love of God that brought Jesus, and it is this same love that helps you and me to believe.God will be your strength in every weakness. You who need His touch, remember that He loves you. If you are helpless or sick, look to the God of all grace, whose very essence is love, who delights to give liberally all life and strenght and power that you need.

Thought For Today: As we have heart fellowship with our Lord, our faith cannot be daunted.

Have a great day everyone and God bless you all!

For God’s Glory,

Pastor Tom

Peter…said, ” Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His Angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.”  -Acts 12: 1-17

There is a lot in an amen. I find that you can have zeal without faith. The scripture reading shows the difference between the amen of faith and having zeal without faith.

When Peter was imprisoned by Herod, the church was in constant prayer for his release. They were even praying all night. They had zeal, but they did not have faith. Although there is much that could be commended to us from this passage, one thing is missing: faith. Young Rhoda had more faith than the rest of them. When the knock came at the door, she ran to answer it. The moment she heard Peter’s voice, she was so excited to share the good news that she didn’t even unlock the gate so that Peter could come in. She ran with joy to tell those praying that Peter stood at the gate.

All the people said, ” you are mad. It isn’t so.” She insisted that she had seen Peter, but the people had no faith at all. They said, “Perhaps God has sent an angel.”

But Rhoda said, ” It is Peter.” And Peter continued knocking. They went an found him at the door. They had zeal but no faith. God wants to bring us to the place where we will take hold of Him in a living way. We need to rest and always trust the plan of God.

There was such a difference between Zacharias and Mary. Zacharias definitely wanted a son, but even when the angel came and told him that he would be a father, he was full of unbelief. The angel said, “You will be mute and not able to speak… because you did not believe” (Luke 1:20). But when the angel came to Mary, she said, ” let it be to me according to your word” (v. 38). This was the beginning of the amen.

God wants us to have an inward amen, a mighty moving amen, This amen say’s, “It is,” because God has spoken.

Thought for Today: Believe that there can be a real amen in your life.

Have a great day everyone and God bless you all!

For God’s Glory,

Pastor Tom

As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word,

that you may grow thereby.

- 1Peter 2:2

Beloved don’t forget that every day must be a day of advancement. If you have not made any advancement since yesterday, in a measure, you are a backslider. There is only one way for you between Calvary and glory, and it is forward. It is every day forward. It is no day back. It is advancement with God. It is cooperation with Him in the spirit.

We must see these things, because if we live on the same plane day after day, our vision becomes stale; the principles lose their earnestness. But we must be like those who are catching the vision of the Master day by day. We must make inroads into every passion that would interfere, and we must bring everything to the slaughter that is not holy. For in these days, God wants us to know that He wishes to seat us on high.

Often the most trying times are the most beneficial to our Christian growth. Consider Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Remember Moses and the trails he faced. beloved , if you read the scriptures, you will never find anything about easy times. All the glory came out of hard times.

If you are to be really reconstructed, it will be in hard times. It won’t be in a singing meeting, but at a time when you think all things are dried up, when you think there is no hope for you and you have passed up everything. That is the time that God makes the person. And out of the experience, we will have a story to tell about what God has done for us. When the trial is severe, when you think that no one is being tried as much as you ; when the trial is so hard that you cannot sleep and do not know what to do; “count it all joy” (James 1:2). You are in a good place when you do not know what to do; look to God for the answer.

Thought for Today: It is when you are tried by fire that God purges you, takes the dross away, and brings forth pure gold.

Have a great day everyone and God bless you all!

For God’s Glory,

Pastor Tom

He is able to subdue all things to Himself.

- Philippians 3:21

I know of a man of God who knew of several mental cases. How difficult they are naturally, but hoe easy for God to deal with. One laady said to him, “Not to far from her is a young man terribly afficted, with no rest day or night.” he went with a very imperfect knowledge as to what he had to do, but in the weak places, God helps our infirmities. He rebuked the demon in the name of Jesus, and then he said , ” I’ll come again tomorrow.” The next day when he came back, he was quite well and with his father in the field working.

Fifty miles away, there was a fine young man, twenty- five years of age. He had lost his reason to reason, could have no communication with his mother, and was always wandering back and forth. The pastor knew that God was waiting to bless. He cast out the demon power and heard later that he had become quite well.

So the Holy Spirit takes us on from one place to another. So many thing happen;  Through this pastor and things that I have experienced I live in heaven on earth. Do not wait for inspiration if you are in need; the Holy Spirit is available, and you can have  perfect deliverance.

He was taken to three persons, one in the care of an attendant. As he entered the room, there was a terrible noise and quarreling. It was such a noise it seemed  as if all powers of hell were stirred up. He had to wait for God’s time. The Holy Spirit rose in him at the right time, and the three were delivered. That night, they were singing praises to God.

Christ is the same today. When He reigns in you, you know how to obey and how to work in conjunction with His will, His power, His light, and His life. When we have faith based on knowledge, we know He has come. “You shall receive power when the holy Spirit has come upon you” (Acts 1:8). God is with the preson who dares to stand upon His Word.

Thought for today: How bountiful God is when we depend on Him! He gives us enough to spare for others.

“What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”

Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God,

that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

_John 6:28-29

I was healed of kidney stones, because of faith based on the knowledge of the experience of faith. When I have ministered to others, God has met and answered according to His will. We know that God will not fail us when we believe and trust in His power. The centurion had this faith when he said to Jesus,“Speak a word, and my servant will be healed” (Matt.8:8). Jesus answered him, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.’. And his servant was healed that same hour” (v. 13).

When I was in Florida where I and my wife was spending the winter, the doctors were saying that a woman was dying of cancer; and there was no hope. God told me to believe and lay hands on this women and pray for her healing. I stepped out in faith. I knew that what God had done for me He could do for her. I went to her house. Her suffering was terrible to witness. I prayed the prayer of faith over her. I said, ” in the name of Jesus,you are healed. She said I believe I am healed. the doctors called her in to do another test on her hoping to give her some hope. The doctors examined her carefully. They said , ” we don’t understand, you are 95% cancer free”. I knew this was of God; this is the healing of God.” It was faith based on Knowledge. We left to go back to New York for the summer when we returned the following October, we seen this wonderful woman and she was a 100% cancer free , Praise God! I talked to her this spring  8 years after we prayed for her healing. “And still cancer free”!

If I were to receive a check for a thousand dollars and knew only imperfectly the character of the man who sent it, I would be careful of him. I would not rely on the money until the check was honored at the bank.Jesus, on the other hand,  did great works because of His knowledge of His Father. He knew He could count on the character of God. faith begets knowledge, fellowship, and communion. If you see imperfect faith, full of doubt, a wavering condition, it always comes because of imperfect knowledge.

Thought for Today: God is more eager to answer than we are to ask.

Have a great day everyone and God bless you all!

For God’s Glory,

Pastor Tom

Seek out among you seven Men of good reputation,

full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint

over this business.

-Acts 6:3

During the time of the inauguration of the church, the disciples were pressured by many responsibilities. The practical things of life could not be attended to, and many were complaining concerning the neglect of their widows. Therefore, the disciples decided to choose seven men to do the work of caring for the needs of these widows- men who were “full of the Holy Spirit.” What a divine thought. No matter what kind of work was to be done, however menial it may have been, the person chosen had to be “full of the Holy Spirit.” The plan of the church was that everything, even everyday routines, must be sanctified to God, for the church had to be a Holy Spirit church. Beloved, God has never ordained anything less.

The heritage of the church is to be so equipped with power that God can lay His Hand upon any member at any time to do His perfect will. There is no stopping point in the Spirit-filled life. We begin at the cross, the place of disgrace, shame, and death, and that very death brings the power of resurrection life. Then, being filled with the Holy Spirit, we go on “from glory to glory” (2 Cor. 3:18). Let us not forget that possessing the baptism in the Holy Spirit means that there must be an ever increasing holiness. People know when the tide is flowing; they also know when it is declining. How the church needs divine anointing. It needs to see God’s presence and power so evidenced that the world will recognize it.

Thought For Today: When we please God in our daily service, we will always find that everyone who is faithful in the little things, God will make ruler over much (Matt. 25:21).

Have a great day everyone and God bless you all!

For God’s Glory,

Pastor Tom

When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.

-Job 23:10

Temptations come to all. In every temptation that comes, the Lord allows you to be temped to the hilt, but He will never allow you to be defeated if you walk in obedience. Right in the midst of the temptation, He will always “make the way of escape” (1 cor. 10:13). With His power, God sweeps away the refuge of lies (Isa. 28:17) and all the powers of darkness. He causes you always to triumph in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 2:14). The Lord loves His Saints and covers them with His almighty wings.

May God help us to see the truth. We cannot be “to the praise of His Glory” ( until we are ready for trials and are able to triumph in them. We cannot get away from the fact that sin came in by human nature, But God comes into our nature and put sin into the place of death. Why? So that the Spirit of God may come into the temple in all His power and liberty, and so that right here in this present, evil world Satan may be dethroned by the believer. You must come to see how wonderful you are in God and how helpless you are in yourself.

God declared Himself to be mightier than every opposing power when He cast out the powers of darkness from heaven. I want you to know that the same power that cast Satan out of heaven dwells in every person who is born of God. If you would only realize this, you would “reign in life” (Rom. 5:17). When you see people laid out under an evil power, when you see the powers of evil manifesting themselves, always ask them the question, “Did Jesus come in the flesh?” I have never heard an evil power answer this question in the affirmative. (See 1 John 4:2-3.) When you know you have an evil spirit to deal with, you have power to cast it out. Believe this fact, and act on it, for “greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” ( 1 John 4:4). God intends for you to overcome and has put a force in you whereby you may defeat the Devil.

Thought for Today: If you are not worth tempting, you are not worth much.

Have a great day everyone and God bless you all!

Pastor Tom

For where envying and strife is,

there is confusion and every evil work.

- James 3:16

The devil doesn’t just target friendships with  attacking you with envy and strife. He also knows how to get in between you and your church family, a ministry you love and support, or even the organization or place of business where you work. The enemy doesn’t care whom he divides- he simply wants to divide!

In the case of James 3:16, this word presents a picture of a believer who is so obsessed, gripped, and preoccupied with own view of things that he can’t see or hear the view of anyone else. In fact, his militant perspective has made him lopsided in his thinking. He never takes a softer line but holds out until all the other parties admit defeat and agree with his point of view.

Therefore, the word “envy” in James 3:16 could translated this way:

” For where there is a fierce desire to promote one’s own ideas and convictions to the elimination of everyone else…..”

If this kind of attitude continues, it will naturally lead to the next step strife comes into the picture.

James wants to make sure we understand what this kind of conduct eventually produces if this behavior isn’t stopped. He goes on to say, For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work”.

The word “evil” is from the word phaulos, describing something that is terribly bad or exceedingly vile. We get word “foul” from this Greek word. James is saying that where envy and strife are permitted to operate, thus producing confusion and anarchy in relationships, they ultimately yield a foul- smelling situation!

But understand this: You can stop this from happening by choosing to consider other people’s opinions to be just as important as your own! Instead of pushing your own agenda, why not stop and listen to what others have to say? They may have something powerful to contribute, but if you can’t hear them, you’ll never benefit from their perspective.

Our Confession For Today

I confess that I do not yield to envy and strife! When the opportunity for strife arises, I beat  Satan  at his own game by choosing to respectfully make room for the ideas, thoughts, and opinions of others. Even if I don’t agree with what they say, I let them know that I value their right to have a differing opinion. I maintain an attitude of staying on the same side with my fellow believers ; therefore, I put the devil on the run and keep him OUT of my relationships!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

Have a wonderful day and God bless you all!

For God’s Glory,

Pastor Tom

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…..

-Colossians 3:16

In Colossians 3:16, Paul tells us that the word of Christ should “dwell” in us richly. When Paul says this he is beseehing us to give God’s Word such a grand, welcoming reception that it literally feels at home in us and therefore comes to take up permanent residency!

Does the Word have this kind place in your life? Does it really “dwell” in you richly? Does it feel at home and confortable in your life? Or is the word of God treated like a stranger that is occasionally welcomed into your life as a visitor? Be honest!

Why not make today the day that the word of God comes to take up permanent residency on your life? Throw the door open, roll out the red carpet, and welcome the Word of God as a new, permanment resident in your heart!

Our Confession For Today

I confess that the word of God dwells richly in me. It has such a grand reseption in my life that it literally feels at home in me. Because I give it this place of prominence in my life, it produces phenomenal amounts of spiritual wealth in my life. I have so many spiritual riches inside me that they continually flow forth to enrich those around me!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

Have a wonderful day everyone and God bless you all!

For God’s Glory,

Pastor Tom

But God be thanked, that you were the servants of sin,

but you have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine

which was delivered you.

- Romans 6:17

Would you like to more fully appreciate how the grace of God has changed you? Why not take a little time today to recall what your spiritual condition was before His grace touched your life? As you do that, I think you’ll realize that before  Jesus Christ came into your heart, life was doomed to failure. in fact, it was so unpromising that Romans 6:17 says you were in reality a “servent’ to sin.

When Paul writes that we were previously the servents of sin, he uses the greek word doulos, one of the most wretched expressions for a slave in the ancient Greek language. It described a servent who was so totally sold into slavery that he had no destiny of his own; rather, he was perpetually obligated to do the bidding of his owner- fulfilling the whims, impulses, quirks, urges, and desires of his master for the rest of his life.

Our prior slavery to Satan was so deeply rooted in our nature that we became inseparable from the sinful nature that so constantly worked in us  and controlled us. Indeed, this pervading demonic presence in our lives was so absolute and supreme that Paul described it this way in Ephesians 2:2: “wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.”

But when Jesus Christ came into our lives, we were immediately emancipated - totally set free! Because of this, we are no longer servants to sin; now we are servants  of the Almighty God.

Now Jesus is  your Lord. Now it is the spirit of God who works in you and supernaturally energizes you to fulfill God’s will in your life. You have a new Master; and His name is Jesus! You have a new Source of energy on the inside - the power of the Holy Spirit!

Refuse to let sin have it’s way in your life any longer. Yes, you were a servant to sin in the past, but know you are a servant of Jesus Christ. So tell the devil to hit the road and take his temptations elsewhere! It’s time for you to yield to the Holy Spirit so He can mightly release His divine power in you and give you the energy you need to live a life of obedience to God!

Our Confession For Today

I confess that I am free because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. the shedding of His Blood paid the ransom for me. The hold Satan used to have on me is broken, and I am liberated and set free! Now God’s divine power operates mightily in me, and I have authority over the enemy who used to control me!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

Have a great day and God bless you all!

For God’s Glory,

Pastor Tom