Grace for Grace

John 1:16  And of His fullness have all we received, and grace for grace. Grace for Grace!!! This is like a math equation. Grace=grace. 

Just like Exodus 21:24 says an eye for an eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, which means if you took an eye, you gave back an eye. Likewise, grace as given unto you, give also. 

The world can do almost anything as well or better than the church. You need not be a Christian to build houses, feed the hungry or heal the sick. 

But there is only one thing the world cannot do. It cannot offer Grace. That is the churches’ most important contribution. Where else can the world go to find grace? Grace is Christianity’s best gift to the world. Now understand this, grace is more than forgiveness. 

It’s more than mercy. It’s beyond that. It’s on a very higher level. Many still struggle with unforgiveness that they cannot comprehend this state of grace, though we mention it all the time and ask for grace from God. 

Grace from God brings us closer to God, this same grace is available to us to use and bring others closer to us and to God. The verses in 2nd Cor. 8:7-11 admonish us that we should not receive grace in vain, and as we abound in everything else, we should also abound in grace, show it, do it. We also should offer grace. 

The Lord will make each and everyone of us grace givers, suppliers, distributors, and injectors, in Jesus Name. Amen. And of His fullness have all we received, and grace for grace.  

You will have good success this 2021.  

Remain blessed.   

Shalom.

Grace for Excellence II

From Our Pastor's Desk

Daniel 5:12 – “Forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and shewing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will shew the interpretation”  

Excellence is seen in – Knowledge, Understanding, Interpreting Concepts, Solving problems, Explaining complexities, enigmas, “hard sentences” etc.  

Excellent person has a spirit or an attitude that reflects these characteristics. Knowledgeable, ability to take things and break them down, solve complexities.  

Excellent people don’t look at problems and say “oh, we can’t do it…it’s never been done before” and back away. 

They look for  enigmas, complexities…understand them and explain them.  God is calling us to such, God is looking for Daniels. 

Not only from the pastors but leaders, workers, church members, every believer & every person, is expected of excellent spirits. 

Daniel exemplified this spirit during his service as a highly regarded administrator in a secular environment. The Scripture says that "he distinguished himself among the administrators . . . because of his exceptional qualities" so much so that "they could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent" - Daniel 6:3-4  

The spirit of Daniel is an excellent spirit. This is the Spirit of God, which is also upon each and everyone of us, in Jesus Name. Amen.  

You will have good success this 2021. 

Remain blessed.  

Shalom.

Grace for Distinction Part 1

 From Our Pastor's Desk

Numbers 32:12 – “Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun: for they have wholly followed the LORD” In Numbers 14:24, God testified of Caleb – “But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it” 

Due to no fault of his own, Caleb was forced to wander in the wilderness for forty years. 

He suffered because of the faithlessness & disobedience of the children of Israel. 

Through all this, Caleb never blamed God but simply trusted God and waited for the day when he would be allowed to cross over to the Promised Land. And that day came. 

Joshua 14:12-13 – “...And Joshua blessed him, and gave unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh Hebron for an inheritance” The "key" to our understanding of Caleb's character is found in the phrase, "different spirit" in Num. 14:24.  

The Caleb spirit was a distinctly different spirit from those around him, apart from a few (Joshua, Moses etc). A spirit of distinction. 

We too must possess a "different" spirit in order to be pleasing to God. Many in the Lord's church must come to grips with the fact that we are not like everyone else.  

The spirit of Caleb is a distinct, dream-fulfilling spirit. This is the Spirit of God, which is also upon each and everyone of us, in Jesus Name. Amen.  

You will have good success this 2021. 

Remain blessed.  Shalom.

Sufficient Grace

By Sis. Traci Salami 

Women are called to fulfill one of the most sacred duties known to man – to be mothers. Motherhood is no easy feat. We are charged with caring, nurturing, and developing innocent babies into upstanding and God-fearing members of society. 

The sacrifices women make are numerous and some fall short of ideal standards of motherhood when they place their faith in their own abilities rather than God. 

However, we all have the sufficient grace of God that will sustain us. God has a plan for mothers – one that gives them hope and a future. 

While some women crumble under the pressure by insisting on living life their own way, others rise to the occasion and fulfill the calling from the Lord by praying and asking God for help, trusting and believing in God’s plans, and acknowledging their weaknesses. 

Sometimes God blesses those who trust in Him with other “mother-figures” who will step in where the mother is not strong.  

In the story of Tabitha, we learn of a woman so connected to the needs of her community, that God uses her to feed, clothe, and nurture others. 

With Tabitha’s absence, the community mourns as if they had lost their own mother. Women are not only called to be mothers to their own children, but mothers of the community in which they live in order to bring others to Jesus. 

God blesses women with sufficient grace to nurture His children into His bosom and to answer His calling is an honorable act of service to God. 

As the Bible admonishes us to grow in grace & the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, may we be obedient by the help of His Spirit, in Jesus Name. Amen.  

You will have good success this 2021. 

Remain blessed.  

Shalom.