Sometimes, in our daily walk, we are faced with challenges that just don't seem fair. "Why me, Lord?" we ask, and the answer may escape us for a good while. And then a bible verse may chide us like this one: "If you fail under pressure, your strength is too small." (PROVERBS 24:10 NLT)

Where do you go?  While this proverb might be taken as an insult, the apostle Paul's reassuring words that God wouldn't give us a burden more than we can bear (1 CORINTHIANS 10:13) gives courage and comfort to the troubled mind or heart.

 

Perhaps we say, "I didn't sign up for this," and are ready to throw in the towel, but God in His wisdom has something for us that we don't even think possible. A more important part of our journey is to discover that when we are at what we think is the end of the rope, God shows Himself to be faithful to all His promises. He reminds us that when we feel like our own strength is too small to hold up, He enables us by His strength through the Holy Spirit who lives within us, the same Spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead, and that's Powerful!

 

The Church Staff

  

  

The church doors are open for everyone every Wednesday evening at 7:00 p.m. for the "Awakening."  This service is intended to awaken your experience in the Spirit, to find out for yourself what the Spirit is saying to you and to do what He bids you to do.

  

The "Awakening" is a praise and worship event with random themes, and goes according to how the Holy Spirit leads. It is approximately an hour long, and after that there are other groups that continue on, such as the Intercessor's group, or the women's group who will meet every other Wednesday evening based on the book, "The Lies Women Believe and the Truth that Sets Them Free." These groups start their meeting at approximately 8:00 p.m.

  

We encourage all to come to the "Awakening."  Small groups who meet at other times during the week can also choose to boost attendance at the "Awakening" especially those groups who meet locally.  Other small groups like those in the Los Angeles-Glendale-Pasadena area can have a common meeting at designated intervals close to their area. And we take note of the new small groups that have started to form in the last couple of weeks.

  

  

  

Let's double and triple the number of small groups meeting by year's end.  Our God can do it, and He needs people to open their homes or offices either to host and/or to lead out in these new small groups. Potential hosts or leaders do not have to worry about preparing food, unless that's the kind of fellowship they want to start.  Remember that small groups do not have to be bible study groups exclusively. They can be teaching/study groups, nurture/support groups, or specific ministry groups. You decide what kind of small group you'd like to start, either as a host, a leader or both.

We learned to get rid of cumbersome "baggage" at the last Kingdom Life workshop. And we wrote about it on Monday's newsletter.

  

Tessa's blog yesterday expanded on the subject again. And here we're mentioning the same thing over. Get rid of your "baggage." 

  

Take on your "luggage" instead.  This is what "God tells you about you despite your own reality, facts or circumstances."

  

(Tessa's blog:  www.DailyTLC.blogspot.com )

  

Management by Force

"Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink." - Numbers 20:8

Moses and the people had been traveling for days without water. The people were thirsty. They were complaining and grumbling about their plight, and Moses became the object of their complaining. Moses sought the Lord for wisdom on how to handle the situation. The Lord instructed him to speak to the rock and water would flow. This would be a sign that God was still in control, that Moses was still the leader, and that God was their provider.

When it came time to speak to the rock, Moses' disgust with the people became so great that instead of speaking to the rock, he angrily addressed the people and then struck the rock twice. The water came out, in spite of Moses' disobedience. But the Lord was not pleased with Moses.

This was a time for Moses to operate at a higher level. No longer was he called to touch things with his staff to perform miracles; it was a time for him to speak to the problem. His very words would have changed the situation. Moses' staff represented two things-his physical work as a shepherd of sheep and his spiritual work as a shepherd of the people. God was calling him to move into a new dimension of using his staff. Up to now, Moses had always been commanded by God to touch something to perform the miracle. Now it was time to speak God's word to the problem.

However, Moses made the mistake many of us make. He used his instrument with force to accomplish something for God. He took something God wanted to be used in a righteous manner and used it in an unrighteous manner. He used force to solve the problem. This disobedience cost Moses his right to see the Promised Land.

Have you ever been tempted to use your power, skill, and ability to force a situation to happen, perhaps even out of anger? God is calling us to use prayer to move the face of mountains. The force of our ability is not satisfactory. God is calling each of us to a new dimension of walking with Him. 

 

(Today God Is First (TGIF) devotional message, Copyright by Os Hillman, Marketplace Leaders)

  

  

  

  

5:00 p.m. - Church Service -   Good News Hour - Pastor L J Dijamco