Peaceful, Joyful, Prosperous & Happy New Year of 2022!

What We Think is What We Are … Going to a Peaceful, Joyful, Prosperous & Happy New Year!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

JESUS CHRIST is the Reason for this Holiday Season

Podcast Episode: The Fruit of the HOLY SPIRIT – SELF-CONTROL #5

The Fruit of the HOLY SPIRIT

“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 of 1 Corinthians 13 – New Testament – in the Bible.

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.”

We are glad to invite you all to join us in our Zoom Services; Sunday Service at 6 pm and Bible Study on Wednesday at 6 pm, and Praise & Worship/Karaoke on Friday at 7 pm Central Time (CT). Karaoke location TBA.

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Podcast Messages & Bible Studies Topic: Fruit of the Holy Spirit, God’s Promises for All Our Every Needs, Books of Leviticus, the Gospel Books (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John), Revelation and Romans, Pastor/Chaplain Elias’ books – “From the Words and Thoughts to the Swords and Battlegrounds”, and “From the Battlegrounds and Wars to the Overcoming and Victories” portions (to be published soon).

Love God, Love People, and Make Disciples,

Pastor/Chaplain Elias Aguilar Busuego Jr PhD DTM

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

Chaplain – American Legion (AL) District 10 – Texas, AL Post 302 Hutto, TX, formerly at AL Post 447 Round Rock, TX

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A Living Sacrifice to GOD

In Romans 12:1-2 NLT says, “1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice – the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

When we are conformed to our Lord Jesus Christ image, in the person and presence of the Holy spirit, we love His Father just like He did, and our quality of worship soars to new heights. The goal of our own personal worship is to make us like our Lord Jesus Christ. He is like the great marble statue wherever it is, whose image we would bear. Our calling in worship is to become like Him alone. No other standard will suffice.

When sacrificing an animal according to God’s law, a priest would kill the animal, cut it in pieces, and place it on the altar. Sacrifice was important, but even in the Old Testament God made it clear that obedience from the heart was much more important (see 1 Samuel 15:22; Psalm 40:6; Amos 5:21-24). God wants us to offer ourselves, not animals, as living sacrifices – daily laying aside our own desires to follow Him, putting all our energy and resources at His disposal and trusting Him to guide us. We do this out of gratitude that our sins have been forgiven. Amen!

God has good, pleasing, and perfect plans for His children. He wants us to be transformed people with renewed minds, living to honor and obey Him. Because He wants only what is best for us, and because He gave His Son to make our new life possible, we should joyfully give ourselves as living sacrifices for His service.

Paul warned Christians: “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world” that are usually selfish and often corrupting. Wise Christians decide that much worldly behavior is off- limits for them. Our refusal to conform to this world’s values, however, must go even deeper than just behavior and customs; it must be firmly planted in our mind: “Let God transform us into a new person by changing the way we think.” It is possible to avoid most worldly customs and still be proud, covetous, selfish, stubborn, and arrogant. Only when the Holy Spirit renews, reeducates, and redirects our mind are we truly transformed (see Romans 8:5).

The only way to truly change our lives starting this first day of this new year of 2022 is to change the way we think.

According to the teaching of Pastor Rick Warren, in his book, entitled, “TRANSFORMED”, that there is the difference between “CONFORMING” and “TRANSFORMING”.

CONFORMING has to with our behavior and from the outside in, while TRANSFORMING has to do with our character and from the inside out. Amen!

Moses Lost His Cool at the Rock

In Numbers 20:6-13 NLT says, “6 Moses and Aaron turned away from the people and went to the entrance of the Tabernacle, where they fell face down on the ground. Then the glorious presence of the Lord appeared to them, 7 and the Lord said to Moses, 8 “You and Aaron must take the staff and assemble the entire community. As the people watch, speak to the rock over there, and it will pour out its water. You will provide enough water from the rock to satisfy the whole community and their livestock.” 9 So Moses did as he was told. He took the staff from the place where it was kept before the Lord. 10 Then he and Aaron summoned the people to come and gather at the rock. “Listen, you rebels!” he shouted. “Must we bring you water from this rock?” 11 Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with the staff, and water gushed out. So, the entire community and their livestock drank their fill. 12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust me enough to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel, you will not lead them into the land I am giving them!” 13 This place was known as the waters of Meribah (which means “arguing”) because there the people of Israel argued with the Lord, and there He demonstrated His holiness among them.”

The Lord had told Moses to speak to the rock; however, Moses struck it, not once, but twice. God did the miracle; yet Moses was taking credit for it when he said, “Must we bring you water from this rock?” For this he was forbidden to enter the Promised Land. Was God’s punishment of Moses too harsh? After all, the people had nagged him, slandered him, and rebelled against both him and God. Now they were at it again (Numbers 20:5). But Moses was the leader and model for the entire nation. Because of this great responsibility to the people, he could not be let off lightly. By striking the rock, Moses disobeyed God’s direct command and dishonored God in the presence of His people.

The seventh complaint concerned the need for water (cf. Exodus 15:22-26; 17:1-7). The account of Moses’ disobedience when striking the rock at Meribah for water is similar to God’s provision of water from a rock that is recorded in Exodus 17:1-7, but the settings, chronologies, and details distinguish the two incidents. Throughout Numbers there are recurring phrases regarding Moses’ obedience according to the Lord’s commands to him (Numbers 1:54; 2:34; 3:51; 4:37, 49; 8:20; 9:5, 23; 10:13; 16:40; 20:9). They lead the reader to this one moment of Moses’ disobedience. Moses was humble (Numbers 12:3); that is, he did exactly what the Lord commanded him, except for this one instance.

Also, the long section of Numbers 15–18 had stressed the significance of God’s authority behind the symbol of Aaron’s rod, the very rod Moses used wrongly here to strike the rock. To disobey was to disbelieve (Numbers 20:12), and to disbelieve was to dishonor God among the believers.

Moses lost his cool at the rock. If he had retained a therapist, he could have made a pretty good case for why he behaved as he did. First, the people were always complaining – one of the perennial downers of leadership. Second, they were taking too long to become ready to conquer Canaan. Moses didn’t get a lot of support from other team leaders. With all of this baggage to deal with, it seems understandable that Moses would lose his cool.

But God reminded Moses, and us, especially me, that the failure to manage out moods doesn’t only make us look foolish, it also diminishes our ability to follow the leadership of God. When Evangelists, Pastors, Bible Teachers become indulgent and allow their emotions to dictate their actions, people not only stop supporting their ministry, but they may also turn away from God. Our responsibility is similar to Moses’ responsibility: We are to manage our moods and reflect our obedience to God in all our actions. Amen!

Saul Tries to Kill David

In 1 Samuel 19:8-17 NLT says, “8 War broke out again after that, and David led his troops against the Philistines. He attacked them with such fury that they all ran away.
9 But one day when Saul was sitting at home, with spear in hand, the tormenting spirit from the Lord suddenly came upon him again. As David played his harp, 10 Saul hurled his spear at David. But David dodged out of the way, and leaving the spear stuck in the wall, he fled and escaped into the night. 11 Then Saul sent troops to watch David’s house. They were told to kill David when he came out the next morning. But Michal, David’s wife, warned him, “If you don’t escape tonight, you will be dead by morning.” 12 So she helped him climb out through a window, and he fled and escaped. 13 Then she took an idol and put it in his bed, covered it with blankets, and put a cushion of goat’s hair at its head. 14 When the troops came to arrest David, she told them he was sick and couldn’t get out of bed. 15 But Saul sent the troops back to get David. He ordered, “Bring him to me in his bed so I can kill him!” 16 But when they came to carry David out, they discovered that it was only an idol in the bed with a cushion of goat’s hair at its head. 17 “Why have you betrayed me like this and let my enemy escape?” Saul demanded of Michal. “I had to,” Michal replied. “He threatened to kill me if I didn’t help him.”

David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great slaughter. Since no details of any major battle were given (as they have been for Michmash and will be for Gilboa), we may suppose that the summary statement here of David’s victories reflects successes in skirmishes, raids, and the like, the net result of which was the killing of many Philistines, further increasing David’s popularity and consequently also Saul’s irrational jealousy. Hate reigns in Saul’s heart; reason has been abandoned. Saul’s judgment is so poisoned by his envy for his rival that he tries to kill David.

Saul . . . sent messengers unto David’s house, to watch him, and to slay him. The fear of causing a commotion in the town, or perhaps David’s better chance of escaping in the darkness, seems to have influenced the king in ordering his men to stand guard overnight and then move in. Somehow Michal comes to know of the plot to catch her husband, and she makes his escape possible.

Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed. The poor and ordinary folk slept on the floor, with some kind of matting serving as a mattress. The beds of the well-to-do (as David certainly was now) consisted of a wooden frame, not unlike a simple, modern cot, but without springs, of course. The reference to a life-size image, teraphim, is puzzling. Little is known about teraphim, believed to be household gods. Everywhere else but here they are small objects (e.g., Genesis 31:34; 1 Samuel 15:23). No teraphim-images of other than small size have been turned up by archaeologists in Palestine. There were, of course, laws against the making of images for worship. Michal’s actions were designed to deceive the soldiers if they broke into the house and to give David more time to escape. a pillow of goats’ hair. The goat was an extremely important domestic animal in ancient Palestine, and a recognized form of wealth. Goats, for example, were the principal source of milk, and goatskins were widely used for many purposes. Their hair, scraped from the hides, provided a raw material for making fabrics used for tents and domestic purposes. Something woven, like a blanket, might be what is meant here.

David fled . . . and came to Samuel to Ramah – Samuel was living in virtual retirement in Ramah, about three miles northeast of Saul’s capital, Gibeah.

King Saul let his emotions control his actions, and he lost an important and potentially beneficial relationship with David as a result. When we are faced with demons that vie, compete, contend, contest, struggle, strive, fight, rival or oppose for control of our souls, what will we do in response? How will we choose to live? The answer lies in self-control.

An evil spirit resided in Saul. When that spirit took over Saul’ life, all that he did was devious. Saul was clearly out of control.

The Apostle Paul subjected each temptation to indulgence to three tests (1 Corinthians 10:23, 31): First, is it beneficial? Second, is it constructive? Third, does it glorify God? Do we, like king Saul, surrender to evil so readily that we fail to face our temptations with these three questions? No! Let’s continue to pray. Amen!

Opposition from the Samaritans – Uncontrolled Moods

In Luke 9:51-56 NLT says, “51 As the time drew near for Him to ascend to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52 He sent messengers ahead to a Samaritan village to prepare for His arrival. 53 But the people of the village did not welcome Jesus because He was on His way to Jerusalem. 54 When James and John saw this, they said to Jesus, “Lord, should we call down fire from heaven to burn them up?” 55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them. 56 So they went on to another village.”

Although our Lord Jesus Christ knew He would face persecution and death in Jerusalem, He was determined to go there. That kind of resolve should characterize our lives, too. When God gives us a course of action, we must move steadily toward our destination, no matter what potential hazards await us there.

After Assyria invaded Israel, the northern kingdom, and resettled it with its own people (2 Kings 17:24-41), the mixed race that developed became known as the Samaritans. “Purebred” Jews hated these “half-breeds,” and the Samaritans in turn hated the Jews. So, many tensions arose between the two peoples that Jewish travelers between Galilee and southern Judea often walked around rather than through Samaritan territory, even though this lengthened their trip considerably. Our Lord Jesus Christ held no such prejudices, and he sent messengers ahead to get things ready in a Samaritan village. But the village refused to welcome these Jewish travelers.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, facing the end of His earthly ministry and His ensuing death and resurrection, sent messengers into some Samaritan villages to invite the residents to participate in the coming baptism of joy that would soon envelop the world. When the Samaritans did not welcome them, James and John lost control. Had God left heaven’s thunderbolts in their keeping, they would have destroyed the Samaritan’s with fire. Their uncontrolled moods made God appear to be as stern as they were.

When James and John were rejected by the Samaritan village, they didn’t want to stop at shaking the dust from their feet (Luke 9:5). They wanted to retaliate by calling down fire from heaven on the people, as Elijah did on the servants of a wicked king of Israel (2 Kings 1). When others reject or scorn us, we, too, may feel like retaliating. We must remember that judgment belongs to God, and we must not expect Him to use His power to carry out our personal vendettas. Amen!

Have you ever known Christians who seemed eager to torch the unbelieving world for the sake of good doctrine? We may always wonder what would have happened if our Lord Jesus Christ had replied to James and John, “Good idea, let’s destroy everybody who won’t accept our teachings.” James and John would have gone all through life scorching villages, smiling while they burned.

Most people who get “hostile with the Gospel” think they are helping out. But the control we should invoke is not on the errant world but on our own errant selves. We shouldn’t try to coerce the unbelieving world with thunderbolts. We should try to manage ourselves, and once we have made self-control a working principle in our own lives, the Samaritans, (other races and cultures or unbelievers) might warm up to their propositions. Amen!

Paul and Barnabas Separate

In Acts 15:36-41 NLT says, “36 After some time Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s go back and visit each city where we previously preached the word of the Lord, to see how the new believers are doing.” 37 Barnabas agreed and wanted to take along John Mark. 38 But Paul disagreed strongly, since John Mark had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in their work. 39 Their disagreement was so sharp that they separated. Barnabas took John Mark with him and sailed for Cyprus. 40 Paul chose Silas, and as he left, the believers entrusted him to the Lord’s gracious care. 41 Then he traveled throughout Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches there.”

Paul and Barnabas disagreed sharply over Mark. Paul didn’t want to take him along because he had left them earlier (Acts 13:13). This disagreement caused the two great preachers to form two teams, opening up two missionary endeavors instead of one. God works even through conflict and disagreements. Later, Mark became vital to Paul’s ministry (Colossians 4:10). Christians do not always agree, but problems can be solved by agreeing to disagree and letting God work His will.

Acts 15:39 reveals a quarrel between two godly men: Barnabas, who had sold his farm on Cyprus and given all to our Lord Jesus Christ, and Paul, who had given up a distinguished career in Jewish law. These two spiritual giants were quarreling. No one in Scripture is so holy as to be free of human failings, but the failure to manage our moods may scar the reputation of even the most noble.

Managing our moods and getting our feelings about our viewpoints under control is very important in our service to others. I have come to believe that there is only one real handicap maybe that keeps us from serving others: our undisciplined lives. The major detriment to the success of our evangelism is our own frail discipleship.

People may have some disabilities but the truly disabled are those whose moods are uncontrollable. Those who try to serve our Lord Jesus Christ without disciplining their lives end up making their faith a kind of religious romance in which they indulge every week or so. But those who can control their moods and manage their tempers demonstrate that the Kingdom of God is a believable, desirable place to seek. Amen!

Edom’s Judgment Announced

In Obadiah Verses 1-4 NLT (The Book has only 1 Chapter) says, “1 This is the vision that the Sovereign Lord revealed to Obadiah concerning the land of Edom. We have heard a message from the Lord that an ambassador was sent to the nations to say, “Get ready, everyone! Let’s assemble our armies and attack Edom!” 2 The Lord says to Edom, “I will cut you down to size among the nations; you will be greatly despised. 3 You have been deceived by your own pride because you live in a rock fortress and make your home high in the mountains. ‘Who can ever reach us way up here?’ you ask boastfully. 4 But even if you soared as high as eagles and built your nest among the stars, I would bring you crashing down,” says the Lord.”

Obadiah was a prophet from Judah who told of God’s judgment against the nation of Edom. There are two commonly accepted dates for this prophecy: (1) between 853 and 841 B.C., when King Jehoram and Jerusalem were attacked by a Philistine/Arab coalition (2 Chronicles 21:16); and (2) 586 B.C., when Jerusalem was completely destroyed by the Babylonians (2 Kings 25; 2 Chronicles 36). Edom had rejoiced over the misfortunes of both Israel and Judah, and yet the Edomites and Jews descended from two brothers – Esau and Jacob (Genesis 25:19-26). But just as these two brothers were constantly fighting, so were Israel and Edom. God pronounced judgment on Edom for its callous and malicious actions toward His people.

Edom was Judah’s southern neighbor, sharing a common boundary. But neighbors are not always friends, and Edom liked nothing about Judah. Edom’s capital at this time was Sela (perhaps the later city of Petra), a city considered impregnable because it was cut into rock cliffs and set in a canyon that could be entered only through a narrow gap. What Edom perceived as its strengths would be its downfall: (1) safety in their city (Obadiah 1:3-4) – God would send them plummeting from the heights; (2) pride in their self-sufficiency (Obadiah 1:4) – God would humble them; (3) wealth (Obadiah 1:5-6) – thieves would steal all they had; (4) allies (Obadiah 1:7) – God would cause them to turn against Edom; (5) wisdom (Obadiah 1:8-9) – the wise would be destroyed.

The Edomites felt secure, and they were proud of their self-sufficiency. But they were fooling themselves because there is no lasting security apart from God. Is your security in objects or people? Ask yourself how much lasting security they really offer. Possessions and people can disappear in a moment, but God does not change. Only He can supply true security. Amen!

Edom, the mountain fortress, would be brought low. Perched high in the mountains and carved from the rock. This nation trusted in topography as its strength and in its high and precipitous or steep cliffs as protection. But God said Edom’s self-protection encouraged its indulgence, and the nation would be brought down.

The Edomites were proud of their city carved right into the rock. Today, Sela, or Petra, is considered one of the marvels of the ancient world, but only as a tourist attraction. The Bible warns that pride is the surest route to self-destruction (Proverbs 16:18). Just as Petra and Edom fell, so will proud people fall. A humble person is more secure than a proud person because humility gives a more accurate perspective of oneself and the world.

Self-control is less prone to be a factor in a culture that feels safe and impregnable. So, it was with Edom. Edom, a nation south of the Dead Sea, was the desert’s only superpower. Who could possibly bring it down? But Edom was brought down, never to rise again. Foolish pride so often precedes a fall!

Self-control is rarely the virtue of the proud. Security breeds indulgence and death – both personal and national death. Still, believers are called to live lives of self-denial in times of cultural decadence, corruption, debauchery, depravity, dissolution, and self-indulgence. Only then can we triumph over that pitiable pride that defeated Edom and live to praise God in any nation or circumstance.

In Romans 6:11 says, “In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” Die and live! The dead have conquered all temptation. The dead don’t sin. So, when temptation crooks its finger and gives you its beguiling smile, play dead. Amen!

This concludes our 5th Series of the “Fruit of the Holy Spirit – SELF-CONTROL

Coming Soon!

The author’s next book entitled,

“FROM the BATTLEGROUNDS and WARS to the OVERCOMING and VICTORIES”

Prayer is important (Luke 18:1-8), but the attitude of prayer is vitally important. The people who had great self-confidence and scorned everyone were the Pharisees and other religious leaders who saw themselves as the only ones righteous enough to be acceptable to God. To these people, our Lord Jesus Christ told a story about two men who went to the Temple to pray. These two men were as different as could be: the one was a law-keeping and religious Pharisee, and the other was a dishonest tax collector.

This Pharisee’s actions and his prayer provide a picture of his life and occupation – he was a separatist, but his separatism and desire to remain clean before God had hardened into a lifestyle of self-righteousness. He stood by himself and prayed.

The words of this prayer, however, while probably true, were not prayed in the correct attitude of humility before God. He thanked God that he was not a sinner like everyone else. While the Pharisee was probably not like everyone else in a lot of ways, he erred in thinking that he was “not a sinner.” This Pharisee knew that he was far better than the tax collector he saw praying across the way. Tax collectors were not noted for their honesty, so this Pharisee compared himself favorably, telling God that he himself had never cheated or sinned or committed adultery. And, by the way, he also fasted twice a week and tithed from his income.

This Pharisee was confident of himself and his righteousness, while at the same time despising this other man, even though he, too, was in the Temple praying to the same God. The Pharisee did not welcome the tax collector who may have been seeking God; instead, the Pharisee gloated that he was so much more righteous.

The focus shifts to the tax collector who had come to the Temple and seems to have known full well the extent of his sin. He felt so low that he did not think he could even lift his eyes to heaven into God’s face; instead, he beat his chest (a sign of sorrow), praying for God to be merciful to him. He recognized himself as a sinner. He had been convicted of his sin and had come to the one place where he could find forgiveness. He had come to God, humbly recognizing that he did not deserve mercy.

Surprisingly enough, only the tax collector returned home justified before God. The word “justified” means God’s act of declaring people “not guilty” of sin. Only the tax collector recognized his sin; therefore, he was the only one God justified. The self-righteous Pharisee had said that he had no sin; therefore, there was nothing for God to justify for him. He returned home no different than when he had entered.

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.

This passage illustrates why most of us would rather deal with an honest sinner than an ego-driven church member.

Those who focus on how they look to others are those whose religion is mostly performance. Those who know they are sinners, on the other hand, find their needs too great to imagine that they could achieve actor-status before God.

We must remember that our Lord Jesus Christ called the Pharisees hypocrites, and that word means “actor’s mask.” But gentleness is naked – stripped and vulnerable. It never argues that its face is pretty – only honest. So, the tax collector goes home justified because integrity has replaced egotism. Gentleness never appeals to people of power, but it learns worship in the simple acts of openness and integrity. Amen!

Please continue below for the Invitation to meet our Lord Jesus Christ. God bless you all!

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 SELF-CONTROL Series of Podcast, we learned the following PURPOSES of this fruit of the HOLY SPIRIT:

• To know the path of coming to maturity
• To remember who we are in relationship with Christ
• To learn to say no to our appetites
• To receive freedom from permissiveness and mark of obedience
• To manage our moods and have a discipline life

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!