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

What We Think is What We Are … Starting a Peaceful, Joyful, Prosperous & Happy New Year with New Mindset!

Podcast Episode: The Fruit of the HOLY SPIRIT – LOVE #1

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.

If you already knew, understood, received the divine revelation and the truth that sets us free from sin, and from what is in The Gospel – The Good News, and especially you have experienced the Born-Again spiritual awakening (See John 3:3-7), you may skip The Gospel – The Good News below and browse all the way down to the Podcast Message. Thank you.

The Gospel – The Good News

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!”

This is one of the most basic and important passages in Scripture. How can we know the way to God? Only through our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Way because He is both God and man. By uniting our lives with His, we are united with God. Trust our Lord Jesus Christ, and in the power of the Holy Spirit to take you to our Father God, and all the benefits of being God’s child will be yours.

Our Lord Jesus Christ says, He is the only Way to God the Father. Some people may argue that this way is too narrow. In reality, it is wide enough for the whole world, if the world chooses to accept it. Instead of worrying about how limited it sounds to have only one way, we should be saying, “Thank you, GOD, for providing a sure Way to get to You!”

As the Way, our Lord Jesus Christ is our path to our Father God. As the Truth, He is the reality of all God’s promises. As the Life, He joins His divine life to ours, both now and eternally.

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.”

The message of The Good News – The Gospel comes to a focus in these verses. God’s love is not static or self-centered; it reaches out and draws others in. Here God sets the pattern of true love, the basis for all love relationships – when we love someone dearly, we are willing to give freely to the point of self-sacrifice. God paid dearly with the life of His Son, the highest price He could pay. Our Lord Jesus Christ accepted our punishment, paid the price for our sins, and then offered us the new life that He had bought for us. When we share the Good News with others, our love must be like our Lord Jesus Christ’s – willingly giving up our own comfort and security so that others might join us in receiving God’s unconditional love.

Some people are repulsed by the idea of eternal life because their lives are miserable. But eternal life is not an extension of a person’s miserable, mortal life; eternal life is God’s life embodied in our Lord Jesus Christ given to all believers now as a guarantee that they will live forever. In eternal life there is no death, sickness, enemy, evil, or sin. When we don’t know Jesus Christ, we make choices as though this life is all we have. In reality, this new life is just the introduction to eternity. Receive this new life by faith and begin to evaluate all that happens from an eternal perspective.

To “believe” is more than intellectual agreement that Jesus Christ is God. It means to put our trust and confidence in Him that He alone can save us. It is to put our Lord Jesus Christ in charge of our present plans and eternal destiny. Believing is both trusting His Words as reliable, and relying on Him for the power to change. If you have never trusted our Lord Jesus Christ, let this promise of everlasting life be yours – and believe. Amen!

The entire Gospel comes to a focus in this verse, John 3:16. God’s love is not just to a certain group of individuals – it is offered to the whole world. God’s agape and unconditional love is not static or self-centered; it reaches out and draws others in.

Again, here God’s actions defined the pattern of true love, the basis for all love relationships – when you love someone, you are willing to sacrifice dearly for that person. Sacrificial love is also practical in seeking ways to meet the needs of those who are loved.

In God’s case, that love was infinitely practical, since it set out to rescue those who had no hope of rescuing themselves. God paid dearly to save us; He gave His only Son, the highest price He could pay.

This offer is made to everyone who believes. Again, to “believe” is more than intellectual agreement that our Lord Jesus Christ is God. It means putting our trust and confidence in Him that He alone can save us. It is to put our Lord Jesus Christ in charge of our present plans and eternal destiny. Believing is both trusting His Words as reliable and relying on Him for the power to change.

Our Lord Jesus Christ accepted our punishment and paid the price for our sins so that we would not perish. Perish does not mean physical death, for everyone has an appointment with God, and will eventually die. Here it refers to eternity apart from God. Those who believe will receive the alternative, the new life that our Lord Jesus Christ bought for us – eternal life with God.

All people are already under God’s judgment because of sin – specifically the sin of not believing in God’s Son (John 16:9). The only way to escape the condemnation is to believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, because God did not send His Son into the world to condemn it but to save it. He who believes in Him is saved from God’s judgment. And God wants people to believe.

God may have seemed slow to most if not all of us Born-Again Christian believers, as we faced persecution every day and longed to be delivered. But God is not slow; He just is not on our timetable (Psalm 90:4). Our Lord Jesus Christ is waiting so that more sinners will repent and turn to Him. We must not sit and wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to return, but we should realize that time is short and we have important work to do – sharing the Gospel. Be ready to meet our Lord Jesus Christ any time, even today; yet, let’s plan our course of service as though He may not return for many years. (See 2 Peter 3:8-9).

When we consider ways to communicate the Gospel, we should follow our Lord Jesus Christ’s example. We do not need to condemn unbelievers; they are condemned already. We must tell them about this condemnation and then offer them the way of salvation – faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. When we share the Gospel with others, our love must be like our Lord Jesus Christ’s – willingly giving up our own comfort and security so that others might join us in receiving God’s love. Amen!

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.

To Join our Zoom Meetings, just click the link below:
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If you have any questions and/or concerns, please don’t hesitate to send them to:

Email: trinityblessings@homefellowshipchurches.org

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

Cry of Confession to God’s Mercy, Forgiveness and Redemption

In Psalm 130:1-5 NLT says, “1 From the depths of despair, O Lord, I call for your help. 2 Hear my cry, O Lord. Pay attention to my prayer. 3 Lord, if you kept a record of our sins,
who, O Lord, could ever survive? 4 But you offer forgiveness, that we might learn to fear You. 5 I am counting on the Lord; yes, I am counting on Him. I have put my hope in His Word.”

In the depths of despair, the psalmist cried out to God. Despair makes us feel isolated and distant from God, but this is precisely when we need God most. Despair over sin should not lead to self-pity, causing us to think more about ourselves than God. Instead, it should lead to confession and then to God’s mercy, forgiveness, and redemption. When we feel overwhelmed by a problem, feeling sorry for ourselves will only increase feelings of hopelessness; but crying out to God will turn our attention to the only one who can really help. Our Helper, our Comforter, God the Holy Spirit is always there in times of our need,

Keeping a record of sins (or holding a grudge) is like building a wall between you and another person, and it is nearly impossible to talk openly while the wall is there. God doesn’t keep a record of our sins; when He forgives, He forgives completely, tearing down any wall between us and Him. Therefore, we fear (revere) God, yet we can talk to Him about anything. When we pray, let’s realize that God is holding nothing against us. His lines of communication are completely open in a two-way line of communication.

Let’s hope in God’s forgiving love. These passages are an individual’s lament, a penitential psalm, and/or a pilgrim psalm. God’s pardon of sin is designed to turn man’s heart toward Him in reverence (Psalm 130:4). Amen!

What part does God’s forgiveness play in fulfilling His purposes for our lives? Just this:  We cannot work to perform His will while we swelter or burn under the necessity of carrying our own sins. We must be forgiven, for unforgiven sin dominates the focus of the needy soul. If we carry unforgiven sin, we cannot even think of what good, clear, positive focuses God would perform in our lives if we were free of our burden. Amen!

Our Jesus Christ is the Forgiving Love

In 2 Corinthians 2:5-11 NLT says, “5 I am not overstating it when I say that the man who caused all the trouble hurt all of you more than he hurt me. 6 Most of you opposed him, and that was punishment enough. 7 Now, however, it is time to forgive and comfort him. Otherwise, he may be overcome by discouragement. 8 So I urge you now to reaffirm your love for him. 9 I wrote to you as I did to test you and see if you would fully comply with my instructions. 10 When you forgive this man, I forgive him, too. And when I forgive whatever needs to be forgiven, I do so with Christ’s authority for your benefit, 11 so that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes.

These verses emphasize that the reason Paul was concerned about this man’s offense was not to correct an injury Paul had suffered. The man had hurt the entire church far more than he had offended Paul. Most likely, the offender’s actions had amounted to a direct attack on Paul’s apostolic authority. The teachings of the “false apostles,” who had infiltrated the Corinthian church and had started discrediting Paul’s authority, might have inspired this man to challenge Paul’s authority in public (See these “false apostles” in 2 Corinthians 11:1-15). Paul would perceive this not only as an attack on his authority but also an insult to the entire church, which had been founded on the Gospel message that Paul had delivered to them.

Paul’s concern in all of this was to assure the Corinthians that he wasn’t trying to defend himself. This wasn’t a personal vendetta; instead, it touched on the foundations of the Christian faith. The distinction expressed in this verse should be made in churches today. Personal agendas or preferences should not block the clear proclamation of the Gospel. But when an issue touches on the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ or the truth of the Gospel, that issue must be taken seriously, for it affects the life of the entire church. We, too, need to muster the courage to pass judgment on quarrelsome, selfish ambition in our churches, just as Paul did in the first century (See Philippians 2:3; James 3:14).

Apparently, the majority of the Corinthians had realized that tolerating this man and the sin he encouraged would ruin the congregation. They couldn’t function as the holy people of God with such a rebel among them. It is not clear what action the Corinthian church took against this offender. The main point is that most of the believers in the church were united in judgment against this man. This united front showed the man the seriousness of his sin and, no doubt, helped lead him to repentance.

Evidently, the reproof that the Corinthians had meted out was sufficient. The offender had realized the seriousness of his actions. Paul was extremely concerned that the Corinthians forgive and comfort the offender at the appropriate time so he would not become so discouraged that he couldn’t recover. Paul’s image here was of the disciplined person drowning in sadness. Paul wasn’t concerned for his own vindication in this distressing incident but instead for the offender’s spiritual welfare. Then the believers should show that they still love him.

Knowing the appropriate time to rebuke and the appropriate time to forgive is the key to compassionate church discipline. This type of discernment is crucial for a church plagued with problems, as the Corinthian church was. Christians in positions of authority must consistently check their motives when it comes to church discipline. They must ask: Am I keeping the spiritual welfare of my church members – especially that of the offender – in mind?

Paul reiterated his reason for writing the severe letter to the Corinthians. First of all, he hoped the letter would rectify the troublesome situation before he arrived (See 2 Corinthians 2:3). When he visited them, he wanted to encourage them in their faith instead of correcting them. Second, he wanted to find out how far they would go in obeying him.

Later in 2 Corinthians, Paul unequivocally will assert his authority as an apostle to punish disobedience. He had been empowered by our Lord Jesus Christ with apostolic authority (2 Corinthians 10:4-6). But Paul’s authority didn’t involve commanding obedience to himself but, instead, to our Lord Jesus Christ and the Gospel. When Paul defended his apostolic authority to the Corinthians, he was careful to explain that he possessed the authority to build up the church, not to tear it down (see 2 Corinthians 10:8; 13:10).

The good news was that the Corinthians were obedient to the Gospel. Titus’s report from Corinth revealed that they had listened to Paul’s rebuke and had obeyed his instructions. Their complete obedience in these matters caused Paul to rejoice (2 Corinthians 7:13-16).

The word for forgive is derived from the Greek word for “grace.” For Paul, forgiveness was the central point of the Gospel. It is only through God’s grace – that is, His undeserved favor – that anyone is saved at all (See Ephesians 2:5, 8). So, the Corinthians’ forgiveness of the offender among them was fundamentally based on our Lord Jesus Christ’s forgiveness of them (See Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13).

This verse downplays Paul’s own part in the entire incident. Since the offense was primarily directed against Paul (see 2 Corinthians 2:5), he should have been the first to pronounce forgiveness. Instead, he emphasized that it was the Corinthians who should forgive. He would merely agree with their verdict. In this way, he was reiterating the point that the offense had been against the entire church, not merely himself.

In downplaying his own authority in this situation, Paul was pointing to the ultimate authority: our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. It was before our Lord Jesus Christ that the church would forgive the offender, and it was before our Lord Jesus Christ that Paul – hundreds of miles away – would forgive the same offender.

In this way, Satan would not outsmart them. Paul spoke of Satan more in his letters to the Corinthians than in any other of his New Testament letters. He saw the telltale signs of a demonic attack on the church at Corinth. Second Corinthians unambiguously identifies the “false apostles” in the Corinthian church with the clever deceptions of Satan (See 2 Corinthians 11:14). Moreover, Paul identifies Satan as the one who was tempting some in the church into sexual immorality (See 1 Corinthians 5:1-5; 6:12-20) and others to participate in the idolatrous feasts of their pagan neighbors (See 1 Corinthians 10:18-22).

This passage identifies another one of Satan’s evil schemes. In their zeal to purge sin from the church, the Corinthians could punish the offender without keeping in mind the purpose of discipline: to inspire repentance and promote reconciliation to God. Under Satan’s influence, the offender’s sorrow could easily be turned into resentment (See 2 Corinthians 2:7) instead of repentance. Paul pleaded with the Corinthians to guard against such a tragic outcome.

We can only be brought near to God by a genuine plea for forgiveness. Then, we in turn can be free to forgive others. Amen!

Joseph’s Assurance of Forgiveness

In Genesis 50:15-21 NLT says, “15 But now that their father was dead, Joseph’s brothers became fearful. “Now Joseph will show his anger and pay us back for all the wrong we did to him,” they said. 16 So they sent this message to Joseph: “Before your father died, he instructed us 17 to say to you: ‘Please forgive your brothers for the great wrong they did to you – for their sin in treating you so cruelly.’ So, we, the servants of the God of your father, beg you to forgive our sin.” When Joseph received the message, he broke down and wept. 18 Then his brothers came and threw themselves down before Joseph. “Look, we are your slaves!” they said. 19 But Joseph replied, “Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. 21 No, don’t be afraid. I will continue to take care of you and your children.” So, he reassured them by speaking kindly to them.”

Now that Jacob (or Israel) was dead, the brothers feared revenge from Joseph. Could he really have forgiven them for selling him into slavery? But to their surprise, Joseph not only forgave them but reassured them, offering to care for them and their families. Joseph’s forgiveness was complete. He demonstrated how God graciously accepts us even though we don’t deserve it. Because God forgives us even when we have ignored or rejected Him, we should graciously forgive others.

Jacob, the dying patriarch, leaves a message for his powerful son in Egypt. Joseph is to forgive the horrible atrocities that his brothers committed when they sold him into slavery. Joseph does this, but it may not be his forgiving spirit that is the most beautiful manifestation of love in the passage. It may be that the most beautiful evidence of love comes from old Jacob who loves all his sons and knows that his plea for forgiveness can bring peace to his family.

The dying patriarch, Jacob, begs his family to forgive each other for their past sins. And mercifully, they do it. This is no light matter in the history of the nation of Israel. Without Joseph’s forgiveness, would the nation of Israel ever have become a possibility? If Israel were to avoid becoming inconsequential in human history, it was imperative that each of Jacob’s sons both grant and accept forgiveness.

When members of God’s family insist on quarreling with each other, they do not reflect God’s love. A fighting congregation is a slur on Calvary. It insults the forgiving heart of our heavenly Father.

What happens when we reflect God’s forgiving heart? Wonderful things came about because Joseph was willing to forgive his brothers. His own sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, became heirs along with their ten uncles to the land that God was about to give them. Jacob’s family would in time be forged into a great nation. Jacob’s descendants would bring the world the greatest single cultural force in human history: Judaism. From Judaism – which began with the clan of the all-forgiving Joseph and his brothers – would come a force for learning, law, medicine and the mercantile that would play a role in world history out of all proportion to its size. But don’t get me wrong about the religion of Judaism.

How much do others suffer when we ourselves are unforgiving within His church? Let us forgive readily, so that our service to others may be made possible. Let us show God’s love and forgiveness in our actions to others. Amen!

Blessed is the Forgiven and Blessed is the Forgiver – God’s Forgiven Love

In Psalm 32:1-2 NLT says, “1 Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! 2 Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty!”

Here David expresses the joy of forgiveness. God had forgiven him for the sins he had committed against Bathsheba and Uriah (See 2 Samuel 11–12). This is another of the penitential (repentance) psalms where the writer confesses his sin to God.

The Psalmist says that those whose sins are forgiven are blessed. Why blessed? Because those who have carried the wrong have laid down their guilt at last. They have put aside the heavy bundle of self-incrimination. See! They can stand up straight! They run. They fly. They have been given legs and bright new wings by the person Who forgave them. Now, without sin, they soar into the presence of God and find their worship sweet.

“Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him,” reckons the poet. How true! A forgiven soul may enter into the presence of God unobstructed. He may meet God, not just as forgiven, but also as clean. Clean is a more human synonym for Holy. God is holy and incapable of sin. He is not only incapable of sin; He is too holy even to look on it. But His instant forgiveness of our sins makes it possible for us to approach Him freely in our worship. Thus, God’s forgiveness of us makes possible our fellowship with Him, and this is worship: face-to-face fellowship with God.

Worship is loving God, but sin is an impediment, obstacle, barrier, hindrance, or obstruction to our loving. While we languish under what we will not confess, the only bridge between our Father God and ourselves is barricaded. Sin stiff-arms our approach to God. We can never embrace God while we hold Him at arms’ length. God’s forgiveness gives us elbows; our arms can bend. They can fold around our heavenly Father.

A child who has disobeyed his/her earthly father will be reluctant to come into his presence. He/She knows that he/she has wronged him, and while he/she wishes he/she might feel his embrace and sleep against his chest, the child also knows that there is an estrangement between the two of them that cannot be bridged until the child receives his forgiveness. Still, the child must ask for it. There lies before such a child the sheepish work of approaching his/her father and confessing. But after the honesty comes the embrace. What power can work such transformation? Grace! All has been removed that was formerly in the way of honest fellowship and love. Blessed is the Forgiven and Blessed is the Forgiver. Amen!

This concludes our 1st Series of the “Fruit of the Holy Spirit – LOVE

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 LOVE Series of Podcast, we will learn the following PURPOSES of this fruit of the HOLY SPIRIT:

• To truly experience love and forgiveness
• To learn to love unconditionally
• To learn how to give and serve with love
• To know and understand the true definition of love
• To understand and capture the passion of God
• Learn to be compassionate and how to worship
• To understand that love is the first characteristic of the fruit of 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 1 Corinthians 13.

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!