The Healing Touch of God is GENTLENESS

The Fruit of the HOLY SPIRIT

Podcast Episode: The Fruit of the HOLY SPIRIT – GENTLENESS #2

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, AND SELF-CONTROL. There is no law against these things.” [Galatians 5:22-23 NLT]

We need to understand that love is the first characteristic of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. It is well placed at the head of the list, for it permeates all the rest of the attributes. Somehow, if we live a life of love, the other virtues will attend us all the days of our lives. Love is the key that unlocks the entire fruit basket of Galatians 5:22-23, as well as permeating in the LOVE Chapter of the book in the Bible – New Testament – 1 Corinthians 13.

In John 14:6-7 NLT says, “6 Jesus told him, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through Me. 7 If you had really known Me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him!”

In John 3:16-17 NLT says, “16 “For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent His Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him.”

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Love God, Love People, and Make Disciples,

Pastor Elias Aguilar Busuego Jr PhD DTM

Founding Pastor – Home Fellowship Churches – https://homefellowshipchurches.org

trinityblessings@homefellowshipchurches.org is inviting you to scheduled Zoom meetings.

Lord Jesus Christ Heals in Response to Faith

In Mark 5:21-34 NLT says, “21 Jesus got into the boat again and went back to the other side of the lake, where a large crowd gathered around Him on the shore. 22 Then a leader of the local synagogue, whose name was Jairus, arrived. When he saw Jesus, he fell at His feet, 23 pleading fervently with Him. “My little daughter is dying,” he said. “Please come and lay your hands on her; heal her so she can live.” 24 Jesus went with him, and all the people followed, crowding around Him. 25 A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. 26 She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse. 27 She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind Him through the crowd and touched His robe. 28 For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch His robe, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition. 30 Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from Him, so He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?”
31 His disciples said to Him, “Look at this crowd pressing around You. How can You ask, ‘Who touched Me?’”
32 But He kept on looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell at His feet and told Him what she had done. 34 And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.”

Our Lord Jesus Christ went back across the Sea of Galilee, probably landing back at Capernaum (Mark 4:35). As always, a large crowd gathered (see also Mark 1:33; 2:2; 3:7, 20; 4:1). The contrast with our Lord Jesus Christ just having been asked to leave the Gerasene region is unmistakable. Unfortunately, although He was popular with the people in Capernaum, they really were no more receptive to His message.

Our Lord Jesus Christ recrossed the Sea of Galilee, probably landing at Capernaum. Many synagogue leaders had close ties to the Pharisees. It is likely, therefore, that some synagogue rulers had been pressured not to support our Lord Jesus Christ.

In Mark Chapter 5 Verses 22-24 described the synagogue was the local center of worship (see Mark 1:21), and Jairus was a lay person elected as one of the leaders. Jairus held a position of high esteem in the town. He was responsible for supervising worship, running the weekly school, and caring for the building. For him to fall down before our Lord Jesus Christ and plead for Him to come heal his daughter was a significant and daring act of respect and worship.

We do not know the nature of the young girl’s sickness; apparently nothing had helped her and she would soon die. But Jairus remembered someone who could help – someone whose touch had healed many people in Capernaum (Mark 1:33-34). When Jairus heard that our Lord Jesus Christ had returned to Capernaum, he was among the crowd on the seashore (Mark 5:21). He asked for our Lord Jesus Christ’s touch on his daughter, knowing that if our Lord Jesus Christ were to come, his daughter would live. So, our Lord Jesus Christ went with him, with the curious crowd following along.

In Mark Chapter 5 Verses 25-26 described that in the crowd that pressed on our Lord Jesus Christ was another person in need of divine help. A woman who had had a hemorrhage (that is, bleeding; this may have been a menstrual or uterine disorder) for twelve years. The bleeding caused the woman to be in a constant condition of ritual uncleanness (see Leviticus 15:25-33). She could not worship in the synagogue, and she could not have normal social relationships, for anyone who came into contact with her would also become unclean. Thus, the woman was treated almost as severely as a leper. She had suffered and become destitute in trying to get a cure. There was no hope for alleviating her suffering, until she heard about our Lord Jesus Christ.

In Mark Chapter 5 Verses 27-28 described the woman worked her way through the crowd and came up behind our Lord Jesus Christ. She knew she only had to touch His clothing and she would be healed. The decision to touch our Lord Jesus Christ’s garment was due to the popular belief that the clothes of a holy man imparted spiritual and healing power (see Mark 6:56; Acts 19:11-12). She may have feared that our Lord Jesus Christ would not touch her if He knew her condition. Or she may have feared that if her disease became known to the crowd, the people who had touched her would be angry at having become unclean unknowingly. The woman knew she could be healed, but she tried to do it as unobtrusively as possible. She thought that she would just get healed and go away.

In Mark Chapter 5 Verse 29 described that the moment the woman touched our Lord Jesus Christ’s garment, the bleeding stopped. The disease that had weakened her body for years suddenly disappeared. She felt the difference and knew not only that the pain had stopped, but that she was also completely healed of the disease. What a moment of incredible joy this must have been for this woman!

In Mark Chapter 5 Verse 30 described that the healing had been immediate upon the woman’s touch (Mark 5:29); our Lord Jesus Christ’s knowledge of the healing was also immediate. As the woman felt the healing of her body, our Lord Jesus Christ felt the supernatural healing power go out of Him. Someone had touched Him in order to be healed, that person’s faith had allowed the healing to take place, and our Lord Jesus Christ perceived what had happened.

Our Lord Jesus Christ’s question, “Who touched my clothes?” had a definite purpose. Whether our Lord Jesus Christ already knew who touched Him or not is inconsequential.

What mattered was that our Lord Jesus Christ wanted to establish a relationship with this woman. She had hoped to go away undetected. Our Lord Jesus Christ, having healed her physically, wanted to heal her spiritually as well.

In the meantime, Jairus must have been exasperated; he was already in a hurry due to the severe illness of his daughter. No doubt the slow movement of the crowd was frustrating him. Then, of all things, our Lord Jesus Christ stopped to ask a seemingly silly question. Little did Jairus know that through all these events, he would be learning a valuable lesson about our Lord Jesus Christ’s power.

In Mark Chapter 5 Verse 31 described that the disciples were surprised by our Lord Jesus Christ’s question, so their reply seems almost rude. In effect they said, “How can you ask such a ridiculous question? Lots of people are touching you!” They did not understand that our Lord Jesus Christ meant a different kind of touch.

In Mark chapter 5 Verse 32 described that our Lord Jesus Christ looked around – the healed person could not have gone far, for our Lord Jesus Christ had stopped immediately upon being touched. He knew that person was there. In His piercing gaze at the few people nearest Him in the crowd was the unspoken demand that the person come forward. The crowd didn’t understand what was happening, the disciples’ thought our Lord Jesus Christ was being unreasonable, and Jairus was probably fuming. But one person did understand what our Lord Jesus Christ meant by the question, and she knew she had no choice but to answer.

In Mark Chapter 5 Verse 33 described that the woman told Him what she had done – that she had been unclean and had come jostling through the crowd, that she had dared to touch Him (a man) and did so in her unclean state, that she had hoped to remain undetected, and that she had been healed. To top it off, she had to say all of that in front of a crowd. No wonder the woman was frightened and trembling.

According to Jewish law, a man who touched a menstruating woman became ceremonially unclean (Leviticus 15:19-28). This was true whether her bleeding was normal or, as in this woman’s case, the result of illness. To protect themselves from such defilement, Jewish men carefully avoided touching, speaking to, or even looking at women. By contrast, our Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed to hundreds of people that this “unclean” woman had touched Him – and then He healed her. In our Lord Jesus Christ’s mind, this suffering woman was not to be overlooked. As God’s creation, she deserved attention and respect.

In Mark Chapter 5 Verse 34 described that far from being angry, our Lord Jesus Christ spoke to the woman in gentle words. She came for healing and received it. But she also received a relationship and peace with God Himself because of her faith. Our Lord Jesus Christ explained that it was not His clothing that had healed her; rather, her faith in reaching out to the one person who could heal her had allowed that healing to take place. She not only had faith, but she had placed her faith in the right person.

This woman had a seemingly incurable condition causing her to bleed constantly. This may have been a menstrual or uterine disorder that would have made her ritually unclean (Leviticus 15:25-27) and would have excluded her from most social contact. She desperately wanted our Lord Jesus Christ to heal her, but she knew that her bleeding would cause our Lord Jesus Christ to be unclean under Jewish law if she touched Him. Still, the woman reached out by faith and was healed.

Sometimes, we feel that our problems will keep us from God. But He is always ready to help. We should never allow our fear to keep us from approaching Him. Amen!

The disciples, no doubt, received a profound lesson in the value of planting seeds in even the most unlikely places. The crowd, while seeming to be nothing more than a hindrance on the way, held one pocket of “good soil” in whom our Lord Jesus Christ planted a seed.

Behind this gentleness is the frantic need of a woman who has spent all she had on physicians only to be healed by none. When there was no one else to turn to, when not every doctor had said any, she sought a gentle healer.

We have many testimonies about this and it’s only by faith we receive everything from God. Treating others with kindness so that all may approach and not be afraid. But gentleness makes others feel comfortable at our approach. When we serve others, when we share gentle words and deeds, may we remember that God’s grace allows us to be able to give and touch with the healing touch of God. Amen!

David’s Song of Praise for This Thanksgiving Week

In 1 Chronicles 16:8, 19-22 NLT says, “8 Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim His greatness. Let the whole world know what He has done.”

“19 He said this when you were few in number, a tiny group of strangers in Canaan. 20 They wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another. 21 Yet He did not let anyone oppress them. He warned kings on their behalf: 22 “Do not touch my chosen people, and do not hurt my prophets.”

This coming “Thanksgiving Week, let’s remember these four elements of true thanksgiving found in this song (Psalm): Several parts of this Psalms are parallel to songs in the book of Psalms: 16:8-22 with Psalms 105:1-15; 16:23-33 with Psalms 96; 16:34-36 with Psalms 106:1, 47, 48.

• (1) remembering what God has done,
• (2) telling others about it,
• (3) showing God’s glory to others, and
• (4) offering gifts of self, time, and resources. If we are truly thankful, our lives will show them.

In this Psalm, David rejoices with the people of Israel over the gentle leadership of God. God had, after all, cared for them in the wilderness and gently led them to Canaan.

The exodus might seem anything but gentle; nevertheless, that’s what it was. When Hosea pictured it, he wrote (Hosea 11:1-4), and David chooses in the writing of his thanksgiving Psalm: (1 Chronicles 16: 8, 19-22).

These gentle metaphors speak clearly of the tenderness of God and call us to approach our own wilderness experiences with the same gentleness toward our fellow travelers. Amen!

Our Lord Jesus Christ Appears to His Disciples

In John 20:19-23 NLT says, “19 That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” He said. 20 As He spoke, He showed them the wounds in His hands and His side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! 21 Again He said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so I am sending you.” 22 Then He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

People who hear about the Resurrection for the first time may need time before they can comprehend this amazing story. Like Mary and the disciples, they may pass through four stages of belief.

• (1) At first, they may think the story is a fabrication, impossible to believe (John 20:2).
• (2) Like Peter, they may check out the facts and still be puzzled about what happened (John 20:6).
• (3) Only when they encounter our Lord Jesus Christ personally are they able to accept the fact of the Resurrection (John 20:16).
• (4) Then, as they commit themselves to the risen Lord and devote their lives to serving Him, they begin to understand fully the reality of His presence with them (John 20:28).

Our Lord Jesus Christ gave His peace to them and then commissioned them to be His representatives, even as He had been the Father’s (see John 17:18). Our Lord Jesus Christ again identified Himself with His Father. He told the disciples by whose authority He did His work. Then He gave the task to His disciples of spreading the Gospel message around the world. They were sent with authority from God to preach, teach, and do miracles (see Matthew 28:16-20; Luke 24:47-49)-in essence, to continue across the world what our Lord Jesus Christ had begun in Palestine.

Whatever God has asked us to do, let’s remember:

• (1) Our authority comes from God, and
• (2) Our Lord Jesus Christ has demonstrated by words and actions how to accomplish the job He has given us. As the Father sent His Son, Jesus sends His followers . . . and you and me. Our response is to determine from day to day those to whom the Father God has sent us.
• Before the disciples could carry out this commission, however, they needed the power of the Holy Spirit. And our Lord Jesus Christ gave them this power by breathing into them the Holy Spirit. This act reminds us of what God did to make the first man come alive – He breathed into him (Adam) and he became a living soul (Genesis 2:7). There is life in the breath of God. Man was created but did not come alive until God had breathed into him the breath of life (Genesis 2:7). God’s first breath made man different from all other forms of creation. Here, through the breath of our Lord Jesus Christ, God imparted eternal, spiritual life. With this breathing came the power to do God’s will on earth.
• Our Lord Jesus Christ gave the disciples their Spirit-powered and Spirit-guided mission-to preach the Good News about Him so that people’s sins might be forgiven. The disciples did not have the power to forgive sins (only God can forgive sins), but our Lord Jesus Christ gave them the privilege of telling new believers that their sins have been forgiven because they have accepted our Lord Jesus Christ’s message. All Born-Again Christian believers have this same privilege. We can announce the forgiveness of sin with certainty when we ourselves repent and believe. Those who don’t believe will not experience the forgiveness of sins; their sins will be retained (i.e., not forgiven).

The gentle breath of God fills us with great power. But more than that, it fills us with an even greater hunger to be breathed upon again and again. Oh, I long to sing those Holy Spirit songs more in our small groups Bible studies. Amen!

The Widow at Zarephath with Prophet Elijah

In 1 Kings 17:8-24 NLT says, “8 Then the Lord said to Elijah, 9 “Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you.” 10 So he went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the gates of the village, he saw a widow gathering sticks, and he asked her, “Would you please bring me a little water in a cup?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called to her, “Bring me a bite of bread, too.” 12 But she said, “I swear by the Lord your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die.” 13 But Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you’ve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!” 15 So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her son continued to eat for many days. 16 There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah. 17 Sometime later the woman’s son became sick. He grew worse and worse, and finally he died. 18 Then she said to Elijah, “O man of God, what have you done to me? Have you come here to point out my sins and kill my son?” 19 But Elijah replied, “Give me your son.” And he took the child’s body from her arms, carried him up the stairs to the room where he was staying, and laid the body on his bed. 20 Then Elijah cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, why have you brought tragedy to this widow who has opened her home to me, causing her son to die?” 21 And he stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, please let this child’s life return to him.” 22 The Lord heard Elijah’s prayer, and the life of the child returned, and he revived! 23 Then Elijah brought him down from the upper room and gave him to his mother. “Look!” he said. “Your son is alive!” 24 Then the woman told Elijah, “Now I know for sure that you are a man of God, and that the Lord truly speaks through you.”

In a nation that was required by law to care for its prophets, it is ironic that God turned to ravens (unclean birds) and a widow (a foreigner from Jezebel’s home territory) to care for Elijah. God has help where we least expect it. He provides for us in ways that go beyond our narrow definitions or expectations. No matter how bitter our trials or how seemingly hopeless our situation, we should look for God’s caring touch. We may find His providence in some strange places!

When the widow of Zarephath met Elijah, she thought she was preparing her last meal. But a simple act of faith produced a miracle. She trusted Elijah and gave all she had to eat to him. Faith is the step between promise and assurance. Miracles seem so out of reach for our feeble faith. But every miracle, large or small, begins with an act of obedience. We may not see the solution until we take the first step of faith. Amen!

In 1 Kings Chapter 17 Verse 17 described that even when God has done a miracle in our lives, our troubles may not be over. The famine was a terrible experience, but the worst was yet to come. God’s provision is never given in order to let us rest upon it. We need to depend on Him as we face each new trial.

Two things stand out in this passage.

• First, Elijah is bold in His demand upon God. Some might think that he is talking somewhat abusively to God (“Have you brought tragedy also upon this widow … by causing her son to die?”). But let it be understood that Elijah is asking boldly. How often, by contrast, we – having no real confidence in our prayers – ask weakly, with little expectation.
• Second, some prophetic gentleness settles on this story. This fiery man of God is suddenly transformed into a tender healer of bereavement and lost hope. Perhaps this is the sort of gentleness with which we are to serve each other.    

With this gentle cry, the prophet’s God (our God) restores a dead boy to life. This touch is always to be ours. Not so dramatically, of course. Still, we who follow our Lord Jesus Christ exist to make dead things live. The key is never in us. We have no power in ourselves, but as we touch lifeless things, they can live because our Lord Jesus Christ who lives in us gives life through us and then beyond us. Amen!

Prologue: Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Eternal Word

In John 1:1-5 NLT says “1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He existed in the beginning with God. 3 God created everything through Him, and nothing was created except through Him. 4 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and His life brought light to everyone. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”

What our Lord Jesus Christ taught and what He did are tied inseparably to who He is. John shows our Lord Jesus Christ as fully human and fully God. Although our Lord Jesus Christ took upon Himself full humanity and lived as a man, He never ceased to be the eternal God who has always existed, the Creator and Sustainer of all things, and the source of eternal life.

This is the truth about our Lord Jesus Christ, and the foundation of all truth. If we cannot or do not believe this basic truth, we will not have enough faith to trust our eternal destiny to Him. That is why John wrote this Gospel – to build faith and confidence in our Lord Jesus Christ so that we may believe that He truly was and is the Son of God (John 20:30, 31).

John writes here with a most gentle spirit. He wants his message to be an honest testimony of those things he saw and knew to be true of our Lord Jesus Christ. Still, he declares it gently. John’s gentleness establishes the truth he wants to tell the world concerning our Lord Jesus Christ.

John wrote to believers everywhere, both Jews and non-Jews (Gentiles). As one of our Lord Jesus Christ’s 12 disciples, John was an eyewitness so His story is accurate. His book is not a biography (like the book of Luke); it is a thematic presentation of our Lord Jesus Christ’s life. Many in John’s original audience had a Greek background. Greek culture encouraged worship of many mythological gods, whose supernatural characteristics were as important to Greeks as genealogies were to Jews. John shows that our Lord Jesus Christ is not only different from but superior to these gods of mythology.

What does John mean by “the Word”? The Word was a term used by theologians and philosophers, both Jews and Greeks, in many different ways. In Hebrew Scripture, the Word was an agent of creation (Psalm 33:6), the source of God’s message to His people through the prophets (Hosea 4:1), and God’s law, His standard of holiness (Psalm 119:11).

In Greek philosophy, the Word was the principle of reason that governed the world, or the thought still in the mind, while in Hebrew thought, the Word was another expression for God. John’s description shows clearly that he is speaking of our Lord Jesus Christ (see especially John 1:14) – a human being he knew and loved, but at the same time the Creator of the universe, the ultimate revelation of God, the living picture of God’s holiness, the one who “holds all creation together” (Colossians 1:17). To Jewish readers, to say this man Jesus “was God” was blasphemous. To Greek readers, “the Word became human” (John 1:14) was unthinkable. To John, this new understanding of the Word was the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!

Now, let’s talk about “Prayer and “Salvation”.

Prayer is the key that unlocks and reveals faith. Effective prayer needs both an attitude of complete dependence and the action of asking. Prayer demonstrates complete reliance on God. Thus, there is no substitute for prayer, especially in situations that seem impossible.

So, let our hearts and minds in tune with God, in the power of God, the Holy Spirit. Let’s continuously and persistently pray for God’s perfect will be done. We as Born-Again Christians have been tried and cleansed, we have moved freely into a relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ that is more powerful than it was before our trials. We are at home in the presence and fellowship of God, for we are heirs with our Lord Jesus Christ, more like Him that we could ever have dreamed possible. So, let’s continuously and persistently pray for God’s perfect will be done. Amen!

The principle is that no one has anything of value to bring to God in order to deserve salvation, mercy, justification, or even a second glance from God. The proud will be humbled, but the humble will be honored. Acceptance before God cannot be achieved by good deeds, piety, or any amount of self-proclaimed righteousness.

Let’s never get over the effect of God’s saving transformation on people’s lives. People who were lost in sin, filled with anger and bitterness, give up their hatred and become approachable as we have studied and learned last time. That is, of course, why we minister to others. Those of us who minister are not people to whom (fruit of the Holy Spirit) love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control comes naturally. We are people who have been remodeled by grace. We thankfully leave our old natures far behind as we embrace the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, the first of the list > agape love of God, and in our treatment of others. Amen!

Sunday by Sunday as we come to worship, let me encourage our brothers – and sisters-in-Christ, and I want my readers and listeners to be both strong in the faith and sensitive to others’ needs. Because all, we as Born-Again Christian believers are strong in certain areas and weak in others. We constantly need to monitor the effects of our behavior on others.

In these FAITHFULLNESS Series of Podcast, we learned the following PURPOSES of this fruit of the HOLY SPIRIT:

• Gives us the idea of forbearance, patience or self-control
• To learn the art of ego displacement
• Helps us to speak of friendliness and cheerfulness
• Learn to humble ourselves like a child
• Know a way of winning others to Christ
• To see that we are considerate in all we do and remember that our Lord Jesus Christ is coming soon
• To receive the healing touch of God

On every Podcast, I always have three (3) questions we can answer from only these two (2) Sources: The Bible and the Guidance of the Holy Spirit. The following are:

First is about our > Observation: What do these passages or Scriptures say to you?

Second is about our own > Interpretation: What do these passages or Scriptures mean to you?

Third is about how we can apply > Application: How do the meaning of these passages or Scriptures apply to you or to your situation?

If you are not sure that you are Born-Again Christian believer or you have relatives, loved ones, friends, neighbors, and people in your circle of influence, please take a look and/or guide them to one of our ministries, “An Invitation to Meet Our Lord Jesus Christ” at https://homefellowshipchurches.org/an-invitation-to-meet-our-lord-jesus-christ/

Let’s give an opportunity for the lost souls to experience on being Born-Again Christian as explained by our Lord Jesus Christ in the book of John 3 in the New Testament of the Bible.

It is as simple as A, B, & C > Admit, Believe, & Confess. All Born-Again Christian believers prayed this simple prayer, we called “Sinner’s Prayer”

“Father God, I come to you in the name of Jesus Christ. I acknowledge and admit that I am a sinner and I need a Savior. I believe and have faith in Jesus Christ who was born of Virgin Mary, died on the Cross for the penalty of my sins, and rose again that I may have the eternal life. I confess and declare Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and Lord of my life. Please comfort, guide, and help me Holy Spirit to live and grow in my spiritual life according to Your Words, purpose, and perfect will of God, in my Lord Jesus Christ name, Amen!”

If you prayed this, “Sinner’s Prayer” sincerely in your heart, you are Born-Again Christian believer. However, you are a spiritual baby who needs to grow up. (See 1 Peter 2:2). You need to find a church or fellowship to grow spiritually. We are glad to establish or bring the fellowship to your own home if it is safer by appointment.

Now, let me pray for all of you:

Father God, we come into your presence in our Lord Jesus Christ name, and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank you, Lord Jesus Christ for Your agape love and forgiveness you have done on the Cross of Calvary, and continue to intercede for us in prayer. Thank you, Holy Spirit as our Helper and Comforter. Thank you for the wisdom, knowledge, understanding, courage and strength. We cling, yield, plug-in and tune-in to you Holy Spirit to help us understand God’s Words, obey them, receive Your divine revelation, know the Truth that sets us free, and apply them in our lives, in our Lord Jesus Christ name, Amen!”

Let’s praise and worship God in Spirit and in Truth. Give all thanks to God for all answered prayers.

Please send your > Praise Reports (answered prayers) and New Prayer Requests via email to: trinityblessings@homefellowshipchurches.org. God bless you all and our families!

A Message to be Blessed:

A Call to Repentance and Be Blessed

In Malachi 3:7-15 AMPC says, “7 Ever since the days of your ancestors, you have scorned my decrees and failed to obey them. Now return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “But you ask, ‘How can we return when we have never gone away?’ 8 “Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me! “But you ask, ‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’ “You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me. 9 You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me. 10 Bring all the tithes (the whole tenth of your income) into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now by it”, says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” [Malachi 2:2.] 11 “And I will rebuke the devourer (insects and plagues) for your sakes and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground, neither shall your vine drop its fruits before the time in the field,” says the Lord of hosts. 12 “And all nations shall call you happy and blessed, for you shall be a land of delight”, says the Lord of hosts.

If the people would obey God, giving as they should, God would flood His people with blessings. There would be an overabundance of God’s blessing if He was given what He requested.

Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse – See 2 Chronicles 31:11; cf. 1 Chronicles 26:20; Nehemiah 10:38; 13:5, 12. If the temple storehouses were empty, it was the people’s fault. God had already blessed them with enough to give a little back to Him.

Instead of destroying our crops (blessings), God would make them come in greater abundance than we had ever imagined possible (Amos 4:9; Haggai 2:19; Zechariah 8:12). The devourer – probably referring to locusts, though the word here is general in meaning (Baldwin). In the Near East, locust swarms are known for their ability to damage huge tracts of agricultural land (see note on Joel 1:4).

A delightsome land – All of the blessings promised to Jacob would come to pass if the people would obey God (Deuteronomy 33:29; Zechariah 8:13). Their land would be a delight to all who saw it (Daniel 8:9).

The problem in Malachi 3:7-12 was the people’s departure from God as reflected by their neglect of tithes and offerings. Two annual tithes were required according to Israelite law – one for the Levites (Leviticus 27:30; Numbers 18:21), and one to be used in worship at the annual feasts in Jerusalem (Deuteronomy 14:22). A tithe was required every three years to provide for the needs of the poor (Deuteronomy 14:28-29). There is debate as to whether this tithe for the poor was in addition to or served as a substitute for the tithe used in worship.

The New Testament pattern for tithing is proportionate giving – a person is to give “in relation to what you have earned” (1 Corinthians 16:2). Certainly a tithe should be given proportionate to one’s wealth, but not all proportionate giving is a tithe.

The anticipation of blessing for obedience to God’s command to tithe was based on the Mosaic covenant, which promised blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience (Malachi 3:10; cf. Deuteronomy 28:15-68). Generally, God will meet the needs of His own people (Psalm 34:9-10; Philippians 4:19), but that is not an unconditional guarantee. There certainly were and are exceptions. Yet, where God chooses not to provide physically, He gives sufficient grace to go without (2 Corinthians 12:9).

The problem in Malachi 3:14-15 was that the people were guilty of arrogant words against God. They were saying, “There is no prophet who is serving God,” and “God is not concerned about justice.” God responded by showing that He did distinguish between the wicked and the righteous. The righteous would be blessed, and the wicked would be judged.

A Call to – Make A Difference – Generous Giving

In 2 Corinthians 8:1-15 NLT says, “1 Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in His kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia. 2 They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity. 3 For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will. 4 They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem. 5 They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do. 6 So we have urged Titus, who encouraged your giving in the first place, to return to you and encourage you to finish this ministry of giving. 7 Since you excel in so many ways – in your faith, your gifted speakers, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, and your love from us – I want you to excel also in this gracious act of giving. 8 I am not commanding you to do this. But I am testing how genuine your love is by comparing it with the eagerness of the other churches. 9 You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich. 10 Here is my advice: It would be good for you to finish what you started a year ago. Last year you were the first who wanted to give, and you were the first to begin doing it. 11 Now you should finish what you started. Let the eagerness you showed in the beginning be matched now by your giving. Give in proportion to what you have. 12 Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have. 13 Of course, I don’t mean your giving should make life easy for others and hard for yourselves. I only mean that there should be some equality. 14 Right now you have plenty and can help those who are in need. Later, they will have plenty and can share with you when you need it. In this way, things will be equal. 15 As the Scriptures say, “Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough.”.

Paul, writing from Macedonia, hoped that news of the generosity of these churches would encourage the Corinthian believers and motivate them to solve their problems and unite in fellowship.

During his third missionary journey, Paul had collected money for the impoverished believers in Jerusalem. The churches in Macedonia – Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea – had given money even though they were poor, and they had sacrificially given more than Paul expected. Although they were poor themselves, they wanted to help. The amount we give is not as important as why and how we give. God does not want us to give grudgingly. Instead, He wants us to give as these churches did – out of dedication to our Lord Jesus Christ, love for fellow believers, the joy of helping those in need, as well as the fact that it was simply the good and right thing to do. How well does your giving measure up to the standards set by the Macedonian churches?

The Kingdom of God spreads through believers’ concern and eagerness to help others. Here we see several churches joining to help others beyond their own circle of friends and their own city. Let’s explore ways that we might link up with a ministry outside our city, either through your church/fellowship or through a Born-Again Christian organization such as Convoy of Hope – The Bridge Church -Hutto, Texas (My adopted local home church). By joining with other believers to do God’s work, we increase Christian unity and help the Kingdom grow. Amen!

The Corinthian believers excelled in everything – they had faith, gifted speakers, knowledge, enthusiasm, and love. Paul wanted them to also be leaders in giving. Giving is a natural response of love. Paul did not order the Corinthians to give, but he encouraged them to prove that their love was real. When we love someone, we want to give that person our time and attention and provide for his or her needs. If we refuse to help, our love is not as genuine as we say.

There is no evidence that our Lord Jesus Christ was any poorer than most first-century Palestinians; rather, our Lord Jesus Christ became poor by giving up His rights as God and becoming human. In His incarnation, God voluntarily became man – the person Jesus of Nazareth. As a man, our Lord Jesus Christ was subject to place, time, and other human limitations. He did not give up His eternal power when He became human, but He did set aside His glory and His rights (see Philippians 2:5-7). In response to the Father’s will, He limited His power and knowledge. Our Lord Jesus Christ became “poor” when He became human because He set aside so much. Yet by doing so, He made us “rich” because we received salvation and eternal life.
What made our Lord Jesus Christ’s humanity unique was His freedom from sin. In our Lord Jesus Christ, we can see every attribute of God’s character. The Incarnation is explained further in these Bible passages: John 1:1-14; Romans 1:2-5; Philippians 2:6-11; 1 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 2:14; 1 John 1:1-3.

The Christians in the Corinthian church had money, and apparently, they had planned to collect money for the Jerusalem church a year previously (see also 2 Corinthians 9:2). Paul challenges them to act on their plans.

Four principles of giving emerge here: (1) Our willingness to give enthusiastically is more important than the amount we give; (2) We should strive to fulfill our financial commitments; (3) If we give to others in need, they will, in turn, help us when we are in need; (4) We should give as a response to our Lord Jesus Christ, not for anything we can get out of it. How we give reflects our devotion to our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!