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Maintaining Momentum

By Aubrey L. Jayroe

Everyone knows that when you are playing in a game, the momentum is very important. You may be the underdog, but if the momentum is in your favor, there can be enough emotion and energy displayed to overcome any opponent.

Momentum is defined as “the impetus of or as of a moving object”. It is the continual movement of something in motion. In our walk with God we need to understand there is a spiritual momentum that needs detection by the Christian. There are times when God moves, and too often we enjoy that particular time, then slow down or become at ease. The fact is we need to carry on! We need to push harder! We need to try with greater anticipation!

As the presence of God moves for us in the Church, we need to capitalize on it. Abraham was a man just like we are. He felt, worried, worked, and lived as any other individual of his day did. Even though he was known as the Father of Faith, there were times when he had the same difficulty of touching

God as we do. However, one day, it all changed. The word was out that God was about to destroy the city where his nephew, Lot, lived. In fact, the angel of the Lord brought message to Abraham. This greatly disturbed Abraham.

Abraham did what any concerned Christian would do. He prayed about it. This  particular time he had God listening. Everyone knows the story of how Abraham began to seek God for the city of Sodom. When the time was right in the prayer, Abraham asked God to spare the city if fifty righteous people could be found. It probably amazed Abraham when God said yes! (Genesis 18:24)

So Abraham continued in his prayer. Many of us would quit there, but not Abraham. He wanted the city spared for 45, or 40, or 30, and eventually 10. The momentum was in Abraham’s favor, and he used it to his advantage. Even with God, the momentum Abraham had, worked. He had God going his way.

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Utilizing The Name Of Jesus

By Frank J Ewartrtf

If man is to know the One and only true God, in a real, practical and experimental sense, and be able to utilize that knowledge for his own benefit, it is absolutely necessary that he should have a revelation of His Name. This is so, because it is through His Name that God has elected to make Himself known to man-kind, through Time and Eternity.

The history of the true worship of the One true God discloses the fact that this worship was ever and essentially inseparable from His Name. Hence God said to Moses, when He revealed His Name, “By this Name was I not known to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” (The word, “known” should be rendered understood, for God was known by that Name, of which Jehovah or Yahwe is the substitute). Again, when God declared to Moses that the purpose of taking the Israelites out of Egypt was that they might worship Him on the mount, Moses asked, “When they shall say to me, what is his name, what shall I say unto them?” Indeed the early Christian worshippers of the One God were scions of the first worshippers we know anything about. It is written in Genesis, “Then began men to call on the Name of the Lord.” And again, “He built an altar there, and called upon the Name of the Lord.” After Pentecost the disciples invariably worshipped in the Name of the Lord. They met together to call on the Name of the Lord. “With all that call on Thy Name.” “To bind all that call on Thy Name.” (Gen. 4: 26; 26:25. Acts 9: 14)

Jesus taught them to pray in and through the Name of the

Lord. “Hitherto ye have asked nothing in My Name, ask and receive that your joy may be full.” The first words of the model prayer show what a place the Name occupied in true worship: “Our Father who art in heaven! Hallowed be Thy Name!”

As stated elsewhere in this book, the so-called ineffable or unutterable Name was, and still is, usually expressed in the Hebrew Scriptures by four letters, corresponding to the letters JHVH or YHWH in the English, and in that form it was, and still is, known among theologians as the “Nomen Tetragrammaton,” or Name of four letters. Now, without going into an exhaustive and academic discussion regarding the nature, purpose and meaning of that lost Name, which is beyond the limits of the purpose of this book, let it be stated that the most outstanding contribution to this intricate theme of modern times is, “A Remarkable Biblical Discovery—The Name of God,” by William Phillips Hall. Mr. Hall spent twenty years in research studies, and came out of it with this remarkable discovery, that may be briefly summarized thus: God’s original Name, which was and is called the ineffable or unutterable Name, by the religious Jews to this day, is retained in all its regal and peerless dignity and majesty in the English words, “I AM.” That this name is the self-expression, or self-declaration of God’s Own Being, that this Name was adopted, born (“the Name which Thou gayest me to bear”) and manifested to the disciples by The Christ—the Son of God. That this Name was retained in the Name of the Son of God—the Lord Jesus Christ, and constituted the ONE NAME OF GOD, throughout Time and Eternity (so far as we can know from a study of the Scriptures, because God put His finger on the “I AM” declaration, and said, “This is My Name, and this is My Memorial unto all generation.”) that it is the only Name used in baptism, and in the work of the ministry as prosecuted by the Apostles; that it is the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, (because “The fullness of the Godhead dwelt in Jesus,

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A Teacher Named Grace

By Terry R. Baughman

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age (Titus 2:11-12).

To a six-year-old in first grade, Miss Brown seemed like she the ancient of days. She must have been at least fifty! She was the classic old-maid schoolteacher who had taught all her life. Through the eyes of a timid first-grader she was kindly, but stern. She allowed time for games, but became serious about discipline. She permitted class recess and immediately following expected us to listen, to learn, and to read. In her class I was introduced to the wonderful world of literacy and the exciting adventures of Dick and Jane and their dog named Spot.

What often seemed like just another day of fun and planned activities, I now understand was her teaching plan. Her focus was on learning and her goal was to promote us to the second grade, to Mrs. Burks’ class. She really expected us to learn something and planned for us to grow!

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Stagnant Waters: Forgivness

By T.F. Tenney

Years ago I heard a pastor rehearse a unique story about an acquaintance. The man had been country-born, country-bred, and, as he said, “When I die I will be country-dead.” The gentleman had a unique spin on life. He left the farm and pursued higher education and went on to become a very wealthy entrepreneur. Late in life he decided to go back and purchase the old home place. The house his father built many years before was now in disrepair. Weeds and debris covered the yard as well as the entire acreage that had once been the family farm. He hired the finest architects to design the restoration.

While they were busy with the renovation and restoration of the home place, he secured some local well-diggers to re-dig the old shallow well on the property. The man remembered when he was just a small boy that his father had dug this well himself. Through the years of his growing up, it had served the family. Yet, now, it had long since been filled with all kinds of rubbish and rubble. Many years had passed since it had been functional.

After several days away from the work himself, the gentleman revisited the site. The men informed him the well had successfully been re-dug. He went over and looked at the pile of debris they had excavated. He turned to the foreman on the job and said, “Sir, I regret to inform you that the task is not yet completed. You have not actually dug to the bottom yet. Please keep digging.”

He went back to the city for several days and upon his return was again told the well had been re-dug, additional refuse had been removed from the old well. Again he passed the foreman and said, “Keep digging. You still have not reached the bottom.”

On his third visit back to the home place, the foreman told him, “Sir, we have completely re-dug this well. We simply cannot dig any deeper.” Upon inspection of the dregs last hauled out with this last excavation, the owner nodded his head in agreement.

The foreman, almost in jest, said, “You never looked in the well. You only looked at the trash heap. How do you know we really completed the job this time?”

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The Basis For Healing

David A. Huston

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. Colossians 3:12-13

The Spirit of the Lord was upon Jesus, anointing Him to minister deliverance and healing to those with whom He came in contact, and that same anointing rests today upon every true son of the anointing.

The Greek word translated “brokenhearted” in Luke 4:18 refers to people whose innermost being has been crushed or shattered. This is clearly not talking about a wound to the body, but to the spirit. Such wounds, when severe and left unhealed, can result in distorted thinking, inappropriate emotional responses, and persistent disobedience to the Word of God. Jesus was wounded for our transgressions, but His wounds were quickly healed; they never got infected with bitterness or malice.

Who are these brokenhearted people? In one sense, we are all brokenhearted. Because of the innate tendency of man to be haughty and proud, all must be wounded, all must suffer, all must experience pain. This is often the only way God can get our attention so that He can save us. But those He wounds He also intends to heal. Let us always remember that it was disobedience that necessitated the wounding; therefore increased obedience should always be the result of inner healing.

Anyone who has suffered spiritual wounds knows that they are just as real as physical wounds. The problem is that wounds to the spirit sometimes don’t heal as easily as do wounds to the body. This is due, in large part, to a general misunderstanding about the purpose of inner healing. It is also because many people don’t realize how badly hurt they really are—the spirit can’t be seen with the eyes as the physical body can. Since everyone coming to Christ needs spiritual healing to some degree, and since Jesus has made Himself available to heal us, let’s clear up some misunderstandings and discover the true purpose of His coming “to heal the brokenhearted.”

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The “Dual Nature of Jesus Christ”

By Gordon Magee

THE First Epistle of Paul to Timothy, the third chapter and the sixteenth verse—let us read it very carefully.

“And without controversy great is the mystery of the Holy Trinity. God was manifested in three persons, Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost.”

You would almost think that it read that way, to hear some folk talk. This is how it actually reads:

“And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh.”… The Bible, in its entire sixty-six books, knows nothing at all about a mysterious three-person godhead. The great mystery of godliness is the incarnation—God manifest in the flesh.

There are multiple proofs in the Scriptures of the genuine humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ. I will mention just a few of them. Listen to this composite word-picture and tell me if it does not portray the Lord Jesus as having a genuine human nature.

Matthew 4:2, “. . . He was . . . an hungred.” The same genuine pangs of physical hunger which grip your body and mine when we have been without food the Lord experienced. He was human enough to be hungry.

Matthew 8:24, “. . . But He was asleep.” The same sensation of oblivion which comes to your eyelids and mine which we call sleep was experienced by the Lord Jesus Christ. Another proof of His genuine humanity.

John 4:6, “Jesus therefore, being wearied with His journey, sat thus on the well.” If He over exerted Himself, so actual was His humanity, that the same weariness which enters your limbs and mine when we have over-exerted ourselves came also to Him. He was genuinely human in every aspect and in every detail.

John 11:35, “Jesus wept.” He was human enough to weep in a tempestuous emotional moment.

Luke 22:44, “And being in an agony He prayed more earnestly. . . .” Jesus knew what it was to have degrees of earnestness. I would not for one moment tolerate the suggestion that there ever was a time in Christ’s experience when He was not earnest  but the Bible teaches us that He knew degrees of earnestness. Just like you. Sometimes you pray and you are intensely earnest. Other times you pray and you are earnest, but not so much as before. That is because we are human. It is quite impossible for you and me to live in the same elevated emotional plane all the time.  We experience fluctuating degrees of earnestness Jesus was the same He was human.

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Fools Gold

By Roger Grohman

Fool’s gold is any mineral that can be mistaken for gold. The most common type of fool’s gold is pyrite. In the exposed surfaces of rock or as grains in a stream, pyrite is often brown on the outside because the exposed parts have been oxidized, to reveal a stable iron mineral. Pyrite can be distinguished from gold by its greater hardness, its lower specific gravity, its weight, and its dark streak. This should prove to us that everything that glitters and sparkles is not always judged to be true and pure.

One of the most difficult struggles that Pentecostal people have is distinguishing what is real, and what is false spiritually. Jesus declares that there is a strait gate and a broad gate. The strait gate is narrow and leads unto eternal life, “but few there be that find it.” The more popular way of the two is the wide gate, “and many there be which go in thereat,” but it leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13-14). Not every one who says, “Lord, Lord” or “Glory, Glory,” or “Hallelujah, praise the Lord” will be saved. For complete salvation to be effective in our lives, we must bring our carnal natures under subjection to the Holy Ghost (Matthew 7:21-23). The Apostle Paul was straightforward in identifying true and false spiritual elements. Paul listed at least twenty-five situations that Timothy was to be aware of and on guard against.

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The Kingdom is Not Meat and Drink

By Jack Tanner

For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost (Romans 14:17).

As I have often stated, the kingdom of God today, in the time of the church age, is a spiritual kingdom with spiritual values. The King is here in His kingdom when He enters each heart with His Spirit. He told the disciples He would not leave them comfortless but would send them the Comforter or Holy Ghost.

I have also tried to stress that first you locate the King, and there you will find His kingdom. The kingdom of God on earth can be discovered in His Spirit-filled saints. The disciples expected Jesus to establish a physical, earthly kingdom, not realizing that was to happen at another time. For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink. In other words, it is not a physical kingdom at this present time on earth. By being part of God’s kingdom, we are also part of the battle between the kingdoms of light and darkness, truth and lies, materialism and spirituality, self-importance and humility (just to name a few of the battles we fight).

Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world (I John 4:4). We are not in this alone, neither are  We just bystanders or observers. We have a victor as our leader, and the fight is on. Satan does not seem to realize that he is beaten and his doom is already determined.

Greater is he that is in you. This fact should quiet our fears and make us realize that we are on the winning team. Jesus went before us to conquer death, hell, and the grave. Paul wrote, 0 death, where is thy sting? 0 grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (I Corinthians 15:55-57). More…

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Three Magic Words

By Joanne Putnam

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof from such turn away. (II Timothy 3:1-5)

Truly these verses of Scripture describe the day in which we live. Verse two mentions “unthankful” as a sign of the last days. I don’t know about you, but have you noticed in the last few years how unthankful people are? You do something really nice for them or say something complimentary to them, and they don’t respond at all or there is a grunt. You hold a door open for them, allow them to go ahead of you in line, or allow them to move through an intersection first, and they don’t even acknowledge your kindness. We’ve seen people come into the church, whose lives God has completely changed and delivered and people who have been healed from life-threatening diseases who just turn their back on God and walk away. We’ve seen marriages God has restored and children who have returned to their families, and they just walked away.

We’ve seen people to whom the church has ministered in times of financial and emotional needs, who were ungrateful and unthankful, even to the point of saying it wasn’t enough, they needed more. They are unthankful, just as Timothy said. We live in an “entitlement” culture. “Gimme, gimme, take, take, take,” as one children’s song said years ago.

As Christians, we should be the most thankful people in the world. We should always have a thankful heart towards people. We need to look for the small things for which to thank people, going out of our way to let people know that we appreciate what they did for us, be it little or big! If someone compliments you, learn to say “thank you.” Don’t try to put yourself down or try to make some disclaimer, trying to appear humble; simply say, “thank you.” The world needs to see us as a thankful people! It definitely is not the norm today.

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