GodsFaithBook Weekly Newsletter

Message From Richard

Greetings my brothers and sisters and welcome to our latest edition of Gods Faith Book's weekly newsletter.

Greetings! Apart from Christ, we accomplish nothing. That's a stunning statement, isn't it? It would take a lifetime to really understand it. But for now, for today, let's focus on what we know Christ wants to do: to love and obey Him and to share His love with others!

A plant can't produce fruit on its own, right? Plants need proper soil, moisture, and sunlight to mature to the point of producing fruit. If those elements are present, the plant will naturally produce fruit.

Yet the fact that the fruit is born naturally doesn't diminish the reality that work has to happen in the plant for the fruit to be produced. The work of that plant is consistent with the nature of the plant, so it's natural -- but it's still work.

Christians likewise have a responsibility to actively depend on Christ for the development of the fruit of the Spirit. Our commitment to growth wanes easily when we grow tired of waiting, doesn't it? But we must not become discouraged. Rather, we must continue to do our part by laying aside our preoccupation with ourselves and focusing on others -- both God and our neighbors. As we learn to do this, we will see fruit grow that only the Spirit of God working within us can produce.

Let us not forget the tragedy that is unfolding in the Philippines during the aftermath of a tornado , a cataclysmic event unprecedented in modern history. that has taken the lives of over 10,000 men, women and children and has left hundreds of thousands without shelter, food, clothing or medicine. Please keep your prayers coming.

Below is a repeat of last week's plea for help.

We here at www.godsfaithbook.com will try to do our part. GFB will be donating ALL profits from our gift store for the next 30 days to organizations that are assisting the Philippines cause. As an added incentive to our members to help in this cause, we will be adding a 15% discount on all purchases made from our gift store over the next 30 days. Make sure you add the code: GFB1944 on your order to receive discount.

This is your chance to help those in need while helping yourselves to purchase gifts for your family and friends. Your help is needed NOW. So don't wait, make those holiday purchases now while helping those in need.

May God Bless and keep you and your families well and protected. AMEN.

Our new Christian dating site has been moved over to our new server and is fully functional and you can join and take advantage of your FREE 90 day membership. So, if you or any of your friends are single and still looking for that someone special, don't forget to check out: www.godsdatematch.com

We've added a new Book to our book section in our Gift Store. Spiritual Value System by: Julius Owusu

Would you like to arouse your appetite for spiritual growth and development? Are you in desperate need of a spiritual awakening, a spiritual renewal? Learn how to stop chasing earthly things and pursue your relationship with God. Would you like to be changed from being natural, carnal or religious, to being focused on Christ, becoming spiritual and supernatural? Do you long to be changed from being earthly minded to being heavenly minded. In short, this book will help you become the spiritual giant you ought to be.

This is a must read for the believer and the unbeliever alike. Unbelievers will see the need to be born again. The backslider will return to the place of grace once again. And the believer will move on to a new spiritual dimension in their walk with the Lord.

Are you willing and eager to practice the spiritual disciplines for the Christian life that it takes to reach your goal? If you are ready to stop being half-hearted and lackadaisical in your attitude towards the things of God, ready to pursue God with great tenacity, physical purity, moral integrity and spiritual intensity, then Spiritual Value System is for you.

With Christmas just around the corner, take some time out and check our E Card selection of FREE Christmas cards. Just go to quick link section at top of home page and click on e cards. It's quick, easy and they're FREE.

Remember, that this site does not belong to one person, it belongs to all of you. Without YOU, there is no US. Always Dare To Dream.

"Thank You Lord for this day, and for all you have done for us. Lord forgive us our sins, and help us with forgiveness of others. Lord please heal our bodies, minds and hearts, so that we are free and healthy in body, mind and Spirit. Lord may you guide , protect and provide for our family needs. In Jesus name we pray. Amen"

WE ARE IN JESUS HAND SO DONT WORRY HE IS ALWAYS WITH US.

GOD'S GRACE IS WHAT ENABLES YOU TO BELIEVE IN HIM. SO THANK HIM EACH DAY FOR REVEALING HIMSELF TO YOU!

DON'T KEEP GODS FAITHBOOK A SECRET, SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

Please visit the new and improved GFB gift store! The store is found on the menu and also by clicking here. Shipping and handling is FREE for all GFB members in the continental United States.

Proceeds from our store are used to both host and improve the GFB site...as well as fund different charities we are involved with.

A Time For Physical Rest- God's Model For a Good Work-Rest Balance by Beatrice Ofwona

As human beings, we are all at different stages in life- young, old, jobless or in school, working in offices, factories or self employed. Whatever it is that we are engaged in, there does come a time for physical rest. God desires that we rest and is Himself seen observing the same after creation where on the seventh day, He takes a rest. Genesis 2:2-3 expounds-'By the seventh day, God had finished the work He had been doing so on the seventh day He rested. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done.'

Further in Leviticus 25, God presents a modeling Scripture for a Sabbath rest for the land for the children of Israel whereby they were to leave it untilled.

Scripture gives the Word of God in its most complete state. To this end therefore we see that God Himself in the book of Genesis had a work-rest model that fitted perfectly well together.

Firstly we see that He planned His work well. On days 1 to 3 He concentrated on creation of light, water, sky, land and vegetation. On Days 4-6 He created the luminaries in the expanse of the skies, fish, birds and beasts of the land. From this we observe a formless world given form on days 1 to 3 to support the creatures that would follow on days 4 to 6. God is a planner and He planned creation so meticulously that the creatures only came after the formless void had been formed. Likewise we should learn from our Master planner on how to plan our lives and our schedules so that we know what to do before the other. In the same way we should also plan our days and know what we intend to accomplish in the new day that the Lord has made for us for always, what we do earlier, will have other things depending on them for their own fruition.

Secondly is to periodically evaluate our work. God noted and appreciated the goodness in the work He had done right from the beginning. After speaking light into existence in Genesis 1:3, He saw that it was good in 1:4; this is repeated severally each time He completed a task in Genesis 1:10, 1:12, 1:18, 1:21 and 1:31. This repetition places emphasis on the good works that God did but also gives us a pointer of His appreciation of what He was doing. Similarly, we must be reminded that for us to see, we must look. God must have looked back at His work and seen that it was good. Do we ourselves take the time to evaluate what we are doing? Despite being sovereign and a perfect God, He took the time to appreciate His own work. Evaluation helps us see our strengths and weaknesses, then consequently know what to improve on or what to capitalize on.

Thirdly is the reminder that the result of well planned and periodically evaluated work is a well deserved and enjoyable rest. God Himself created only for the six days. Even before He placed Adam in the Garden of Eden, He ensured that all that he would need was within reach and that he would have no need to call the on the LORD for anything, so that when He decided to rest on the seventh day, He truly was serious about resting.. Good work is followed by a deserved rest and how well one works will determine how one rests.

If we are the type of people who still get calls from the office when we are on leave then we do not know how to rest. God's work model was perfect and it showed us that if we are to prosper, then we must be willing to plan well. And that if we are to be healthy then we must be ready to rest enough.

God desires that we be motivated for life. He does not see us as other men see us but rather knows the secrets of our hearts. He therefore understands how we are wired and how best we can succeed in life. 1Samuel 16:7 explains 'But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

May the LORD help us to take the time to plan our activities wisely and do them as He did and continues to do. At creation He presented us with the perfect model that we, as His image-bearers, could adopt. The seeds of the jubilee of Leviticus 25 were planted in the creation story of Genesis . In Leviticus 25, God is taking us back to His Genesis model.

(Word count-816)

Group Profile - Community Outreach

If you are in Outreach Ministry Please Join this group. It will be a way for us to stay in the know of what is going on together. Feeding programs, Shelters, Community Events, Street Evangelism, etc. If you are sharing the Love of God in the Streets You should be here!

Weekly Devotional

Inspired by Rev 7:9-12

Not About Me - by Stephanie M. White

I will expose your righteousness and your works, and they will not benefit you. Isaiah 57:12 NIV

God tells us that our righteousness and our works will be exposed; they will be shown for what they really are - filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). We must understand that whatever we can do apart from Christ is nothing more than filthy rags in God's estimation. God is not interested in our attempts or our performance. We need to feel the same way.

2 Corinthians 11:30 (NIV) If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

Paul knew that his works were Spiritually worthless. Paul even bragged about the fact that he couldn't produce Spiritual fruit on his own - he was happy to be dependent on Christ! We should feel the same way! We should rejoice in the fact that Christianity is not about us. We should get excited about the fact that we must abide in Christ. The focus will be taken off of us when we truly understand that we cannot do anything of Spiritual value apart from Christ and focusing on Christ is something to be excited about! Truly understanding that our works are of no Spiritual value will send us into the open, loving arms of God. As long as we believe that we can be Spiritual on our own, we will not see our desperate need for the Word. If we are ever going to do something of Spiritual value it will only be because we are abiding in the Word and totally dependent on Christ instead of ourselves!

Featured Video

Jim Reeves - My Happiness

Bible Study Classes and Prayer Meeting

Bible Study is held in the AV Chat Room each Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Each Saturday we also have a Video prayer and worship session. Classes begin promptly at 8:00 PM EST except for the Tuesday class which begins at 3:00 PM E.S.T.

The GFB Prayer Meeting is held each Wednesday at approximately 9:00 PM EST in the AV Chat room.

For all members or friends of members who have your own ministry...

You can now create your own private or public ministry group on GFB!

Click for more information