Pray So God Will Hear You

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 59

Focus Verses: Isaiah 59: 1-2 

“Listen! The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you, nor is His ear too deaf to hear you call. It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore.”

 

Maybe you thought God will always listen to you when you pray.  The Bible actually says there are some times when God will not hear our prayers.  Let’s say you know you have been involved in some sin and you begin to pray to God as if the sin never happened in your life.  God will not hear that prayer, because you are out of fellowship with Him.  However, if you begin that prayer by confessing that sin, and telling God you are sorry for what you have done wrong, then God will hear you and restore the relationship with you.  We will never be able to live a perfect life on this side of heaven, but we can make an effort to yield to Jesus every day.  Philippians 3:12  Paul says, “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me”.

There are actually two types of sins we can be guilty of.  Sin of commission is when we break a commandment. Which is doing something God has said not to do.  Then there is the sin of omission, and that is not doing something God has told us to do.  Let us be aware of this as the Psalmist writes in Psalm 66:18  “If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.”

God wants to hear your prayers.  But when we come to Him with unrepentant sin in our lives He must turn away until we confess that sin because He is a holy and righteous God. 

Bobby Johnson

Interlocking Ministries

A Crippled Spiritual Life

Bible Reading: Acts 3:1-10

Focus verse: "They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart." Ephesians 4:18

Charles is a young camper at Sagarume camp station. He accepted salvation today during our Children Bible lessons. He was so touched through the story in Acts 3:1-10 where Peter heals a crippled beggar. Just like the crippled beggar was healed of his physical condition and was able to walk, he too said that he has been crippled in his spiritual life and needed to stand up from his bad behaviours and begin to walk with God for the first time. He stood up and said that, "I have been crippled in my spiritual life and today in the name of Jesus of Nazareth I am standing up and beginning a new life with God" He was lead to salvation and was happy to be born again.

We are all spiritually deficient before we repent from our sins and submit ourselves to Christ.  Christ makes us new. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." 2 Corinthians 5:17

If Christ has made you new, you can live your life for Him, tell others of this salvation and praise Him.  If you are still spiritually crippled, you have the opportunity to be made new.

~Page Johnson, Interlocking Ministries

with the story by Pastor/Director Eliazar Wambo, 

Bethesda Faith Ministries & Makira Baptist Church

Continual Habit of Sin

Scripture Reading: 1 John 3:1-9

Focus Verse: 1 John 3:8 “He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning.  For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.”

There’s a saying that goes like this, “there are two certainties in life, death and taxes.”  Let’s add another one, sin.  The Bible even says that we all sin.  1 John 1:8 “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.”  This verse doesn’t give us an excuse to go out and commit sin.  

 

I believe the Bible teaches that once you have humbled yourself to repent of sin, believe God's Son Jesus was the sacrifice to pay the price for our sin and accept Christ to lead your life and are saved, then there is enough grace to cover you so you cannot lose your salvation.  Does that mean you can go out and live anyway you want?  No! That desire denies your heart for God. If you are living in a pattern of continual sin, then you don’t understand what Jesus did for you on the cross.  When you come to Christ for salvation, justification takes place.  Justified means that God sees me “just as if I had never sinned".  When you come to Christ for salvation there will be a change in your heart which will change your life choices. 

 

Someone who continues to sin WITHOUT being sorry for that sin is not in danger of loosing their salvation, but they may have never been saved to begin with.  Even as Christians, none of us are perfect, but we should have a pattern of doing what is right and not what is wrong.  A beliver has a pattern that brings internal conviction, repent and seek holy living.  God has justified the saved believer, so there should not be a continual unrepentant habit of sin in our lives.

Bobby Johnson

Interlocking Ministries

 

For more: "All of us have weaknesses and can fall into sin, even if we don’t want to. Even the apostle Paul did what he didn’t want to do because of the sin at work in his body (Romans 7:15). Like Paul, the response of the believer is to hate the sin, repent of it and ask for divine grace to overcome it (Romans 7:24-25). Although we need not fall because of God’s sufficient grace, sometimes we do because we rely upon our insufficient strength. When our faith grows weak and, like Peter, we deny our Lord in word or in life, even then there is still a chance to repent and be forgiven of our sin."  From Got Questions at https://www.gotquestions.org/forgive-same-sin.html

Three Important Dates

Scripture Reading:  Matthew 1:18-23

Focus Verse:  Luke 2:11  “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

There are three important dates in the life of every believer which provide a way for us to have a relationship with God.  The first important date is Christmas.  We are not sure if the date Christ was born was on December 25th, but we are sure that there was a day when he left heaven to come to this earth, and was born of a virgin.  If there were no reason for Christmas, we would not have the opportunity for heaven.  

The second important date is the Resurrection Day.  Easter is the date that Christians celebrate the death and resurrection of Christ.  He paid for the penalty of sin through taking it upon himself, a spotless innocent savior, then dying on a cross.  A price that we could not pay for ourselves.  If there was no resurrection, then we would not have the opportunity for heaven.  This life and death of Christ is a sacrificial gift that God is offering to every person on earth.  

The third important date is the day you were born again.  This is the date that you received God’s free gift of Christ into your life.  Without this third important date in your life, you will have a relationship with God and you will not be going to heaven.  If you have never invited Christ into your life by accepting this free gift of salvation, what better time to repent of your sins and follow Christ than today?  These three dates are of upmost importance in your life.  If you leave out any one of the three, there is no salvation and no eternity in heaven.

*Extra Bible Reading:  John 3:3,  John 11:25-26, Isaiah 9:6, Luke 2:12

Bobby Johnson
Interlocking Ministries

Interlocking in Ministry

Bible Reading: Ephesians 4

Focus Verse: "He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love."  Ephesians 4:16

"How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!" Psalm 133:1

Did you ever work on a puzzle?  When we gather for time as a family, sometimes we will find a puzzle and put it together.  The pieces interlock together to form a beautiful picture.  It takes focus and effort to find how they fit, but if we don't give up, we will succeed.  Or maybe your puzzle is the house that you are building and the parts of the house must fit together in the right order.

It is how things are supposed to work in the ministry of God when we are yielded to Him.  We fit together... work together with other believers as each of us is shaped differently and fills different roles. We interlock together, bound by Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit and we function as the body of Christ.  It is a beautiful picture of the community we are supposed to have as we love one another, respecting the different roles that God has given us. 

We need to work together with others who are in line with correct theology, but that doesn't mean there is never a struggle.  Do you ever struggle with other ministries or other believers in the same ministry?  As different people, we are sure to struggle to understand one another, but if we approach it in love instead of pride, God will help us to find our roles.  If we push our pride out, we can respect one another and find order in ministry under the headship of Christ.  Together we are stronger and more effective as we walk in unity.  We can use our differences to strengthen and sharpen each other as we serve together in love.  As we strive toward the goal of loving God, loving others and making disciples, we realize how much we need each other to form the beautiful picture that God is making of our lives.  As we make disciples, God is adding to the beautiful picture, one soul at a time.

As we bring each new soul into the church, God is forming His beautiful family.  Each part helps the other to grow.

Page Johnson
Interlocking Ministries

Additional scripture on the Body of Christ 1 Corinthians 12

Everyone God Brings Your Way is Important

Everyone God Brings Your Way is Important

Scripture reading:  1 Samuel 9:1-10
Focus verse: 1 Samuel 9:3, 7-8 “Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. And Kish said to his son Saul, “Please take one of the servants with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys…………. Then Saul said to his servant, “But look, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread in our vessels is all gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have? And the servant answered Saul again and said, “Look, I have here at hand one-fourth of a shekel of silver. I will give that to the man of God, to tell us our way.”
 

I have been in situations where people are treated as important based on their career, family lineage, jobs, race, sex etc. The society of today has a lot discrimination and has failed to recognize the importance of other people. Some churches give higher regards to members of good financial standing and don't fully regard words from the less privileged in their midst. Servants are treated as less important, people associate and get advice from those of their class. We fail to notice the potential of every person in our organizations and have become very discriminatory.
In this story that would later see Saul chosen and anointed as the first king of Israel, we see an important role played by the servant who accompanied Saul as he went to search for his father’s donkeys.  After three days of searching, they couldn’t get the donkeys and Saul loses hope and suggests that they return home since his father Kush could be getting worried about them too. The servant then advises Saul that in the city ahead is a seer who could help them know where the donkeys were. Saul is afraid to go because he didn’t have anything to give to the seer since it was a custom that you had to give something to a seer. Again, the servant tells him that he had some small money with him that they could give to the seer. By this, Saul get his way to the seer and little did he know that it was God sending him to the seer (Samuel). Samuel sees Saul and God reminds what he had spoken to him about this man who would visit him. By the end of the story, Saul is chosen by God as the first king of Israel and is anointed by Samuel.
How many times have we disregarded advice from our juniors or people not of our class? What do we look for in a man before we accept the teachings or advice they give to us? Who do we give the best seat in our meetings and why? How many times have we neglected the voice of God as He speaks to us through the children or servants just because we feel we are better or older than them? How do we select our leaders in our churches and what qualities do we consider? God says, Isaiah 55:8-7, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” 1 Samuel 16:7, But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

 Let us learn to see people in the mirror of God and regard everyone He brings our way as important. Let’s be careful lest we miss the things of God simply because we look at the person carrying them. Let the spirit of pride not to drive our lives but in humility consider the other person as better than us. God will always send his word, help or encouragement to our lives but sometimes it will come through a route you least expected. Let’s see things as God does and see everyone as an image and likeness of God.

Written by,
Eliazar Wambo
Pastor Makira Baptist Church & Director Bethesda Faith Ministries

Awake and Sober

 Awake and Sober
Bible Reading 1 Thessalonians 5
Focus Verse: "But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet." 1 Thessalonians 5:8

Jesus is coming back.  It's what believers long for and what makes those without Christ to tremble.  Anne Graham Lotz, the daughter of the great Evangelist Billy Graham, recently made a pledge at her father's funeral.  She explained that on the date of her father's death, the Jews' scripture for that day was about how Moses led the people of Israel out of bondage. Her father led millions out of the bondage of sin to the very edge of Heaven.  

She said, "Could it be that God is going to bring Joshua to lead us into the Promised Land, lead us to Heaven and – you know what the New Testament name for Joshua is? It's Jesus. And I believe this is a shot across the bow from Heaven. And I believe God is saying: 'Wake up church! Wake up world! Jesus is coming!" she declared. "I pledge to you, Daddy, that in view of His appearing, and in front of all these witnesses, I will preach the Word! I will do the work of an evangelist and I will share the Gospel and I will run my race and live my life so that five minutes before I see Jesus I have no regrets. I will live my life to glorify and exalt the name of the Lord Jesus Christ," she concluded.

What do we do as we wait for this glorious day, of which we have no knowledge of the day?  See verses 12-27 of 1 Thessalonians 5 for the long list that includes things like:
Acknowledge those who work hard among you and those who care for you.
Live in peace with each other.
Encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
Rejoice, pray and give thanks.
Test the spirits and hold onto good, while rejecting every kind of evil.
Let God sanctify (purify and cleanse) you.

We are also to go into all the land and preach the Gospel, starting with the neighbors. There is no time to be idle, disruptive, drunk or playing with the edge of evil.  We must be awake and sober to be doing our Heavenly Father's business.

~Page Johnson