God’s will for all mankind – The Salvation of our souls-Day 6:

I suggest you read Day 5 first, by clicking here.
Man was not the only creature that was created with a sovereign free will. In Colossians 1:16 the bible states, “16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:”
The Garden of Eden was placed on earth, a physical location with magnificent beauty bearing the majesty of its maker, God. It was naturally irrigated and air conditioned by four rivers. It was decorated with every precious stone including the choicest of gold. Man did fall within the visible creation of God but within the category of the invisible creation of God was the angels, the cherubim, the seraphim, the archangels, and the 24 elders. At the helm of heavenly worship Satan had been created with any musical instrument embedded in his body and he was in charge of all the heavenly host to lead them in worship before the throne of God. His other name is “Lucifer” although we now popularly know him as “Satan” the devil, the serpent, the dragon and other names that depict his deception and deadly nature.

According to Ezekiel 28:13 Lucifer may have been also designated as a governor of the Garden of Eden. Note that he is described as being in “Eden” in the following scripture: “13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, emerald, chrysolite, onyx, jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and beryl. Gold work of tambourines and of pipes was in you. In the day that you were created they were prepared.” Ezekiel 28:13 World English Bible (WEB).
As was man, Lucifer was created as a free will moral agent. Lucifer was the first of creation to use his free will to rebel against his creator, God; “3 You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. 14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” Isaiah 14:13-14.

Satan led one third of the angels to stage a rebellion in an attempt to overthrow God and enthrone himself as the sovereign ruler of heaven and earth but the coup d’etat attempt failed. (To be continued in blog 7)

God’s plan for man spoiled: (To be continued in day 7 blog)
Model Prayer: Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord. I believe in my heart that God raised Him from the dead. Dear Jesus, come into my heart and be my Lord and Savior. I am sorry for my sins, and I ask you to forgive me, wash me with your blood, and give me your Holy Spirit to teach and guide me. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
If you believed and prayed the above prayer, you are now a born again child of God.
I would love to hear from you and will be more than glad to be of further spiritual assistance. Feel free to email me at: info@heavenlyspringschurch.org
Please use the button at the bottom of this article to share it with your social media friends.
Authored by: Pastor Godfrey Twahirwa
Thank you for visiting Heavenly Springs Church Blogsite. I hope that you subscribe to this Blog.
Please visit our regular website at: http://www.heavenlyspringschurch.org’. You can also access more of our free resources on YouTube by typing in “heavenly springs church” as a key word.
This article can be distributed, printed copied, and stored, without a need to secure written permission from the author provided it remains unaltered, is not sold, and credit is given to the author.
Note: Unless otherwise indicated all the scriptures used are from the King James Version of the bible.

God’s will for all mankind – The Salvation of our souls-Day 4:

I suggest you read Day 3 first, by clicking here.
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Genesis 1:1. To have a healthy building, it must have a healthy foundation. “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do”? Psalms 11:3. To understand God’s Plan of Salvation for Mankind, one need to understand God’s original plan for mankind to begin with, how it was spoiled, and how God reinstated it.
During the creation process God was concerned about ruler-ship. God is a God of order. There is order in heaven, God seats upon the throne, the 24 elders (Revelation 4) have their place, angels have their place, the archangels have their place, the Cherubim and Seraphim have their place and so are the heavenly creatures. There is rank and order in heaven, so God wanted to make the earth a replica of heaven.
God’s original plan for Man:
So, after God had created day and night, the bible states, “And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.” Genesis 1:16. God decided that even day and night needed rulers. God then created the sun to rule the day and the moon to rule the night. When it came to the earth and its affairs God saw that a ruler was needed. Genesis 1:26 states, “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” So, man was created to mirror his maker in heaven, here on earth, to have total dominion over the work of God’s hands. The three branches of government in the United States of America as well as other governments of the world, to some extent have features of God’s design. Companies and families reflect some aspects of God’s design. There’s a head, the final decision maker. When this order is challenged, the consequences are inevitably chaos.
God’s plan for man spoiled: (To be continued in day 5)
Model Prayer: Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord. I believe in my heart that God raised Him from the dead. Dear Jesus, come into my heart and be my Lord and Savior. I am sorry for my sins, and I ask you to forgive me, wash me with your blood, and give me your Holy Spirit to teach and guide me. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
If you believed and prayed the above prayer, you are now a born again child of God.
I would love to hear from you and will be more than glad to be of further spiritual assistance. Feel free to email me at: info@heavenlyspringschurch.org
Please use the button at the bottom of this article to share it with your social media friends.
Authored by: Pastor Godfrey Twahirwa
Thank you for visiting Heavenly Springs Church Blogsite. I hope that you subscribe to this Blog.
Please visit our regular website at: http://www.heavenlyspringschurch.org’. You can also access more of our free resources on YouTube by typing in “heavenly springs church” as a key word.
This article can be distributed, printed copied, and stored, without a need to secure written permission from the author provided it remains unaltered, is not sold, and credit is given to the author.
Note: Unless otherwise indicated all the scriptures used are from the King James Version of the bible.

God’s will for all mankind – The Salvation of our souls-Day3:

I suggest you read Day 2 first, by clicking here.
There is a story of a farmer, who found the eggs of an eagle. He took the eggs and stealthily inserted them into the nest of one of his chickens and mixed them within her eggs. Then the mother chicken predictably started brooding her eggs, including the eggs of an eagle. When time came for hatching, chicks were hatched out of the chicken’s eggs and only one egg from the eagle hatched an eaglet. The eaglet started to run around with chicks, eat worms like chicks, scratched the soil like chicks and assumed all the mannerisms of chicks. As time went by though, the eaglet’s physical make up – wings, eyes, beak, legs and its general appearance – became strikingly different from those of the chicks. However, the eaglet continued the mannerisms of chicks, run and hid with the chickens, when the mother chicken made an alarm sound, warning the chickens of a coming eagle. The eaglet though, started to wonder why he did not look like the chicks. One day, an eagle flew majestically across the sky, made an eagle sound and came down for a prey. All the chicks run and hid but the eaglet remained. The eagle obviously could not eat a fellow eagle but just started to want to socialize with this young eagle that was raised like a chicken. The young eagle finally realized that he was an eagle not a chick. He even tried the eagle sound and all the chicks and chickens in the village run for cover. After a few minutes of practicing eagle manners with the visiting eagle, the young eagle was able to fly across the sky just as majestically as the adult eagle.

We are God’s children. The scripture states that, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:” Roman 8:16. Like the eaglet, there is something in every individual that bears witness that we are created by God. That is why despite religious persecutions of Christians, Christianity still expanded all over the world, the bible has sold more copies than any other book known to man and even people who may not have come to fully confess their faith, refer to God as “a man upstairs”, “higher power” and so forth. It has take more conscious effort on the part of man to dismiss this intuitive connection with his maker, than to embrace it and explore the relationship. Like the eaglet, the bible tells us that we were hatched in sin. Psalms 51:5 states “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.”  We became raised as sinners when we are meant to be saints. Fallen nature taught mankind to live in the mannerisms of a sinner, talk like a sinner, walk like a sinner, act like a sinner, live like a sinner and the whole nine yard. We inherited that fallen nature from our common ancestor Adam. But then came the second Adam, the man Jesus Christ. Scriptures tell us that “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. Jesus came to show us that we are eagles and not chickens. That is why he ate with sinners, allowed prostitutes and tax collectors to hang out with him. The religious folks couldn’t take it. They cried “foul”, he is eating with sinners. The re-occurring theme of Jesus ministry was simple “Go and sin no more”. Simply put He was saying “stop living like a chicken, you belong to the eagle class”. In the book of John chapter 8 verses 1 through 11, there is a narration that highlights Jesus’ approach to sinners. Jesus’ approach to you and me is still the same today. Please read on:

“Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.

² And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.

³ And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,

⁴ They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.

⁵ Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?

⁶ This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.

⁷ So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

⁸ And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.

⁹ And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.

¹⁰ When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?

¹¹ She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. Jesus said to this woman that everyone wanted to make a spectacle, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more”  God is not mad at you and He is not out to get you. He wants you to know that you are not a chicken, you are an eagle. Stop acting like a chicken, go and sin no more, case closed. John 3:17 states “ For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” God never wastes his time telling chickens that they are chickens but He will take His time to tell a chicken that it is an eagle. Please read the following statement from Jesus “When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Mark 2:17.  (To be continued on day 4 blog)

 

 
Model Prayer: Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord. I believe in my heart that God raised Him from the dead. Dear Jesus, come into my heart and be my Lord and Savior. I am sorry for my sins, and I ask you to forgive me, wash me with your blood, and give me your Holy Spirit to teach and guide me. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
If you believed and prayed the above prayer, you are now a born again child of God.

I would love to hear from you and will be more than glad to be of further spiritual assistance. Feel free to email me at: info@heavenlyspringschurch.org

Please use the button at the bottom of this article to share it with your social media friends.

Authored by: Pastor Godfrey Twahirwa

Thank you for visiting Heavenly Springs Church Blogsite. I hope that you subscribe to this Blog.

Please visit our regular website at: www.heavenlyspringschurch.org’. You can also access more of our free resources on YouTube by typing in “heavenly springs church” as a key word.

This article can be distributed, printed copied, and stored, without a need to secure written permission from the author provided it remains unaltered, is not sold, and credit is given to the author.

Note: Unless otherwise indicated all the scriptures used are from the King James Version of the bible.

 

Biblical Prosperity – A Balanced Approach-Day 2:

I suggest you read Day 1 first, by clicking here.

So, if the doctrine of poverty/penance was not part of the early church, how did it creep into the church and into the minds of many today? It dates back to during the dark ages’ time. A man commonly known as Saint Francis of Assis, is to be credited with this teaching. Born a son of a prosperous merchant named Pietro di Bernardone in 1881/1882, Francis must have enjoyed the very luxuries that he later came to denounce. He even served in the military for his region of Assis, for which he went to war in 1204 AD. It is purported that, when en route to war, he saw a vision that directed him to go back to Assis, and consequently, he would come to loathe earthly things. According to the online article entitled “Saint Francis of Assisi” posted on Wikipedia, Francis went to Rome and” On a pilgrimage to Rome, he joined the poor in begging at St. Peter’s Basilica. The experience moved him to live in poverty”. His teaching influenced many followers, including Saint Clare who founded the order for “poor ladies” that was later named the “Poor Clares” in her honor, after her death.

Throughout the centuries up to now, this dark age rooted teaching, has not only continued to influence the church, but has also provided the a lens, through which the world looks at the church, that the church and Christians out to be poor. This mindset, has unconsciously been woven into the fabric of many of today’s world religions to a certain extent. The fallacy of this way of thinking is that it defeats most of, if not all of the values of Christianity.

Jesus said “… Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Mark 16:15 (This can’t be done without money)

Jesus gave the following narrative:

^3’ “’When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. ³² All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. ³³ And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. ³⁴ Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: ³⁵ for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; ³⁶ I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’

³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? ³⁸ When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? ³⁹ Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ ⁴⁰ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’” Matthew 25:31-40

Jesus expected the church to be so well off materially and financially, so that it would be able to take care of “the least of these” of our time. The church is expected to take care of the: hungry, the widows, the orphans, the neglected and the poor. This is not just to sit down with them and have a pity party with them, but to give to them something tangible to meet their need. Without the church at large and Christians individually prospering, what Jesus commanded believers to do, care for those in need, would simply not be possible. Romans 10:14-16 states, “¹⁴ How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? ¹⁵ And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” The preceding scripture about a preacher being able to preach to those who have not heard about Jesus, depends on someone being able to financially support the preacher, and sending him to preach “And how shall they preach, except they be sent?” The church and believers need to be financially prosperous in order to be able to do the sending.

God does not want us as His children to be poor because He, “….hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.” Psalms 35:27

He does not want to us to be sick because “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” I Peter 2:24. God does not want anyone to go to hell because He says, “Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?” Ezekiel 33:11. Any doctrine or teaching that is contrary to the aforementioned, is simply out of sync with scripture, and with the Gospel our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Stay tuned for Day 3 blog next, “God’s will for all mankind – The Salvation of our souls”.
Model Prayer: Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord. I believe in my heart that God raised Him from the dead. Dear Jesus, come into my heart and be my Lord and Savior. I am sorry for my sins, and I ask you to forgive me, wash me with your blood, and give me your Holy Spirit to teach and guide me. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
If you believed and prayed the above prayer, you are now a born again child of God.

I would love to hear from you and will be more than glad to be of further spiritual assistance. Feel free to email me at: info@heavenlyspringschurch.org

Please use the button at the bottom of this article to share it with your social media friends.

Authored by: Pastor Godfrey Twahirwa

Thank you for visiting Heavenly Springs Church Blogsite. I hope that you subscribe to this Blog.

Please visit our regular website at: www.heavenlyspringschurch.org’. You can also access more of our free resources on YouTube by typing in “heavenly springs church” as a key word.

This article can be distributed, printed copied, and stored, without a need to secure written permission from the author provided it remains unaltered, is not sold, and credit is given to the author.

Note: Unless otherwise indicated all the scriptures used are from the King James Version of the bible.

Biblical Prosperity – A Balanced Approach – Day 1:

Brethren and dear readers. It is with uttermost caution and sensitivity that I approach this subject of Biblical Prosperity. The Body of Christ has suffered many abuses in this area. However, we must not throw away the baby with the water. Understandably, the abuses in this area has left a sour taste, in the mouths of many, but I urge you to read on, instead of thinking “here comes another prosperity preacher”. I believe that you will not be disappointed. That is the very reason I added the phrase “a balanced approach”.  In order to do justice to this subject, we must dispel beliefs or what I regard as lies because of their inconsistence with scripture. The first lie and wrong image in the minds of many that need to be dispelled is the belief that Christians, believers, or the church of Christ in general, must be poor as sign of Godliness. In order to dispel this lie, we need to go to its roots or to the source of this mindset (which I call a stronghold). I will proceed slowly, because rushing through the subject will not do any justice to it.

In the letter or epistle of 3 John, verse 2, the apostle John writes to a man named Gaius, whom he addresses as a friend, “² Dear friend, I pray that you may prosper in every way and be in good health physically just as you are spiritually.” Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB). The apostle John acknowledged that Gaius was prospering spiritually, however it must have been apparent to John, that Gaius was not prospering in his health and in his career, in pace with his spiritual prosperity. This slack in Gaius’ life, was contrary to the Gospel, that it was worthy of the apostle’s focal prayer for his friend to prosper in “every way and be in good health physically”, so as to keep in line with his spiritual prosperity. This verse contains three major scriptural truths, which with God’s grace, I desire to address as we move forward. Jesus’ death on the cross made available to mankind three blessings, namely, spiritual salvation, bodily healing, and material provision. The early church which proceeded Jesus’ earthly ministry, understood these truths so well, that when John, who was one of the early church fathers, noticed a discrepancy in Gaius’ life, in contrast to what Christ died to provide, he prayed for Gaius to prosper in “every way”. Please note the following commentaries on verse 2:

Pulpit commentary

Ver. 2. – Beloved, I pray that in all respects (not “above all things” – St. John would surely never have said that) thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. The apostle wishes that his earthly career may be as bright as his spiritual career is; may he have a sound body for his sound mind, and may his fortunes be sound also. The Greek for “prosper” εὐοδοῦσθαι means exactly to “have a good career.”

Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper,…. Or succeed in all temporal affairs, in the business of life, in which he was; and as success of this sort depends upon the blessing of God, which maketh rich, it is to be wished and prayed for from him: ….

So, if the doctrine of poverty/penance was not part of the early church, how did it creep into the church and into the minds of many today? It dates back to during the time of dark ages. (to be continued in next post)

Model Prayer: Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord. I believe in my heart that God raised Him from the dead. Dear Jesus, come into my heart and be my Lord and Savior. I am sorry for my sins, and I ask you to forgive me, wash me with your blood, and give me your Holy Spirit to teach and guide me. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
If you believed and prayed the above prayer, you are now a born again child of God.

I would love to hear from you and will be more than glad to be of further spiritual assistance. Feel free to email me at: info@heavenlyspringschurch.org

Please use the button at the bottom of this article to share it with your social media friends.

                     

Authored by: Pastor Godfrey Twahirwa

Thank you for visiting Heavenly Springs Church Blogsite. I hope that you subscribe to this Blog.

Please visit our regular website at: www.heavenlyspringschurch.org’. You can also access more of our free resources on YouTube by typing in “heavenly springs church” as a key word.

This article can be distributed, printed copied, and stored, without a need to secure written permission from the author provided it remains unaltered, is not sold, and credit is given to the author.

Note: Unless otherwise indicated all the scriptures used are from the King James Version of the bible.

Walk in The Blessing:

Do you know that about 3% of the world’s richest people control over 90% of the world’s wealth? An excerpt from an article dated January 19^th, 2015,  entitled “The wealthiest are getting wealthier, and lobbying has a lot to do with it”which was published online by pbs.org sates as follows: “In 2014, the 1 percent held 48 percent of global wealth. But that doesn’t mean the other 52 percent was for the rest of us; most of it was controlled by the 20 wealthiest percent, leaving just 5.5 percent of global wealth for 80 percent of the world.”
The same article contained visuals which are inserted below:

That was in 2014 and the bottom continues to shrink while the top is getting fatter. The sober truth is that the people on the top may or may not necessarily know God.
Don’t worry about that, I want to share with you principals that will help you to experience true “wealth”. In the book of Proverbs, chapter 10 and verse 22 in the Amplified bible (AMP) it is stated “²² The blessing of the Lord—it makes [truly] rich, and He adds no sorrow with it [neither does toiling increase it].”  In the book of Deuteronomy chapter 8 verse 8 in the Expanded Bible it is stated “¹⁸ but remember the Lord your God! It is he who gives you the power to become rich, keeping the ·agreement [covenant; treaty] he promised to your ·ancestors [fathers], as it is today. “  In the book of Luke chapter 16, verse 11 Jesus made the following remark, ‘“¹¹ So if you have not been faithful with the unrighteous money, who will trust you with what is genuine?”’ Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB).
True wealth or genuine wealth starts with knowing God. Luke 12:21 states ‘“That’s how it is with the one who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”’ (HCSB). Jesus said that “³ But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Which thing did Jesus say will be added to the disciples as they would seek after God’s Kingdom? Riches. I am going to spend considerable amount of time exploring how to walk in “true riches” in the next blogs. Stay tuned.
Model Prayer: Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord. I believe in my heart that God raised Him from the dead. Dear Jesus, come into my heart and be my Lord and Savior. I am sorry for my sins, and I ask you to forgive me, wash me with your blood, and give me your Holy Spirit to teach and guide me. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
If you believed and prayed the above prayer, you are now a born again child of God.

I would love to hear from you and will be more than glad to be of further spiritual assistance. Feel free to email me at: info@heavenlyspringschurch.org

Please use the button at the bottom of this article to share it with your social media friends.

                           

Authored by: Pastor Godfrey Twahirwa

Thank you for visiting Heavenly Springs Church Blogsite. I hope that you subscribe to this Blog.

Please visit our regular website at: www.heavenlyspringschurch.org’. You can also access more of our free resources on YouTube by typing in “heavenly springs church” as a key word.

This article can be distributed, printed copied, and stored, without a need to secure written permission from the author provided it remains unaltered, is not sold, and credit is given to the author.

Note: Unless otherwise indicated all the scriptures used are from the King James Version of the bible.

Think Big

I had a story of an elephant which since a calf was tamed by a rope on a farm. The elephant grew to be about 13 feet tall and about 14000 pounds in weight, but the sad reality is that, this huge elephant was still grazing within the confines of a tiny rope that tied one of its legs to a tree.  An American psychologist by the name of B.F. Skinner attributes the kind of behavior exhibited by the elephant as a result of a process known in psychology as operant conditioning. The process works both in the animal kingdom as well as among humans. The premise of the process is simply that consequences control behavior. In the case of the elephant in discussion, it had developed a mental image that the rope was powerful enough to control it, even though it was now too strong to be controlled even by several ropes.  The elephant could not update its mental image it had developed when it was a calf and could certainly be controlled by a rope then.

The book of Romans chapter 12 verses 1-3 in the Amplified Bible state as follows, “I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) serviceand spiritual worship.

² Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God,even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].”

In the above stated scripture, Paul instructs Roman believers “not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude],”. Perhaps in our times this would be like telling someone “to think outside the box”. Sometimes society does not reward non conformity, it rewards group think. Like an elephant, when someone from childhood is punished for non-conformity and rewarded for conformity, the new hybrid is an individual that has abandoned self to satisfy conformity. My wife and I jokingly refer to that mindset as “cookie cutter” syndrome, “one size fits all”. The message of renewing one’s mind couldn’t come from a more appropriate vessel, Paul who was formerly Saul. Paul was a zealous Jew, and had made it his mission to eradicate a sect of Jews who called themselves the “followers of Jesus”. The book of Acts chapter 9 records that Jesus appeared to him while he (Paul) was on a road to Damascus to persecute Christians. Paul was converted, and so did his mission. He vowed to propagate the very messaged, he once wanted to eradicate. Paul had to discard what he had been taught growing up. He had to renew His mind in regard to Christianity. When an electronic device becomes faulty, some have a buttons that says “reset to default settings” but when pressed warns you that all saved data on the device will be lost. That is the equivalent of renewing one’s mind. We were created to think and to think big. However, though unintentionally, parents, teachers and society do scold at the divergent thinking abilities resident in all. Only few stick it out, stand alone, bear the rejection and pay the price for what they believe until society learns that things can be done differently. When a company rejects new thought, it does so at its own expense. Companies like Xerox and Kodak paid a heavy price for not thinking far ahead enough to anticipate and exploit the possibilities of personal computing. Being stubborn to change, even in the face of new information is simply foolishness in its highest form. This stance is not only disastrous to companies like Xerox and Kodak, but to individuals as well. When Jesus appeared to Saul, Saul gave up his stubbornness and embraced change, which put him in sync with his destiny. He discarded group think, which dictated to him, that as Jew he was to persecute Christians.

Dare to be a thinker. However, only God’s word can reconfigure our minds, and reset our minds to default settings, to be able to overcome man’s road blocks. Albert Einstein’s math teacher used to call him “lazy dog” and his mother’s vision for him was to learn music. No one seemed to realize the potential in him. But he stuck by his guts. In 1905 Einstein published four scientific articles in the German Annals of Physics, each of which could have rightly won Nobel Prizes. Albert Einstein shook the scientific community with his theories because he dared to be different based on information, not mere stubbornness.

I can’t recall the number, but psychologists estimate that by 2 years old, a child has had a significant numbers of “no”s than “yes”. Recently my son who is now 16 years old, asked me why I wouldn’t let him play outside with his friends when he was about 5 years old, which surprised me. How many words did we hear when growing up like: life is hard, life is not easy, marriage is difficult, you can’t afford that, and so forth and so on. These need to be discarded but you need new information to do so. The book of Philippians 4:13 states, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

How many times did someone try to do a noble thing but was penalized by society’s reaction or a student stood against bullying but was laughed at  by friends. How many start a business but become discouraged when plans go a weary. Failure is not a person, but an event. It is better to plan and fail than fail to plan. It is better to try and fail than never to try at all. Only those who try, do succeed. One is guaranteed to miss all the shots they never try. When we change our thinking, we can change our lives.

Model Prayer: Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord. I believe in my heart that God raised Him from the dead. Dear Jesus, come into my heart and be my Lord and Savior. I am sorry for my sins, and I ask you to forgive me, wash me with your blood, and give me your Holy Spirit to teach and guide me. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

If you believed and prayed the above prayer, you are now a born again child of God.

I would love to hear from you and will be more than glad to be of further spiritual assistance. Feel free to email me at: info@heavenlyspringschurch.org

Please use the button at the bottom of this article to share it with your social media friends.

                           

Authored by: Pastor Godfrey Twahirwa

Thank you for visiting Heavenly Springs Church Blogsite. I hope that you subscribe to this Blog.

Please visit our regular website at: www.heavenlyspringschurch.org’. You can also access more of our free resources on YouTube by typing in “heavenly springs church” as a key word.

This article can be distributed, printed copied, and stored, without a need to secure written permission from the author provided it remains unaltered, is not sold, and credit is given to the author.

Note: Unless otherwise indicated all the scriptures used are from the King James Version of the bible.

A Word of Thanks

²⁴ “The Lord bless you and keep you;
²⁵ The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
²⁶ The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.”’ Numbers 6:24-26

I would like to extend my sincere thanks to those of you who have faithfully read my blogs and liked them. It encourages me to get up early every morning and do my writing. Some blogs may not be of particular interest to you but stay tuned. I take time to hear from the Holy Spirit and discern what He is saying through me. It is not possible for me to acknowledge each one of you individually and some of you I don’t have your emails. To be put on Heavenly Springs Church email list you can do so by logging on to: http://heavenlyspringschurch.org/contact/

and submit to us your contact information.

Model Prayer: Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord. I believe in my heart that God raised Him from the dead. Dear Jesus, come into my heart and be my Lord and Savior. I am sorry for my sins, and I ask you to forgive me, wash me with your blood, and give me your Holy Spirit to teach and guide me. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

If you believed and prayed the above prayer, you are now a born again child of God.

I would love to hear from you and will be more than glad to be of further spiritual assistance. Feel free to email me at: info@heavenlyspringschurch.org

Please use the button at the bottom of this article to share it with your social media friends.

                      

Authored by: Pastor Godfrey Twahirwa

Thank you for visiting Heavenly Springs Church Blogsite. I hope that you subscribe to this Blog.

Please visit our regular website at: www.heavenlyspringschurch.org’. You can also access more of our free resources on YouTube by typing in “heavenly springs church” as a key word.

This article can be distributed, printed copied, and stored, without a need to secure written permission from the author provided it remains unaltered, is not sold, and credit is given to the author.

Note: Unless otherwise indicated all the scriptures used are from the King James Version of the bible.

Where you build and what you use to build matters:

In real estate they say “it’s location, location, location”. May I say that it is also “material, material, material”. In the book of Matthew, chapter 7, verse 24 to 27 Jesus told the following parable:

“24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.”

Jesus likened people that believed in His message, and practiced his teaching, to a wise man, who built his house on the rock. When this house was subjected to severe weather conditions brought about by rain (we may call it el nino in our times), it remained standing because it had a firm foundation. On the other hand, Jesus likened those who rejected his teaching and refused to practice it as a man, who built his house on the sand. When the house faced the rain, the floods, and the winds, it fell greatly.

In the book of I Corinthians, chapter 3, verse 9 through 15, the Apostle Paul likened the very life of a believer, to a building as follows:

“9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.

10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.

11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;

13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.

14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” Paul continues to elaborate that, the foundation of the building is Jesus Christ Himself and that there is no other viable foundation, other than Christ Himself. According to Paul’s account, men may elect to use a range of materials from the most precious as gold, to the least costly as stubble. However, with an understanding that, the integrity of the building woud be tested by fire. This story does coincide with Jesus’ story, that both the building on the sand. and the build on the rock, would be tested by severe rainy weather conditions. Life’s fires, rains, storms and floods face both those who are building on the sand (their own agendas without God), those who are build on the rock (have put God first in their lives), and those who are building with gold (God,s word) or building with other cheap materials (hay).  Only those who are building on the rock (Jesus foundation) and those who are building with choice material, gold (representing God’s word), will survive severe rainy weather conditions and the fire respectively.

Where are you building your life, your career, your marriage, your business?

In the book of Luke, chapter 12, verses 16 through 21 in the New International Version (NIV), Jesus told another parable as follows:

’16  “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”’

In yet another instance Jesus said “36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” Mark 8:36

They say “Life is fragile, handle with prayer” I would like to say that life can tend to be chaotic, handle with Christ”.

Model Prayer: Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord. I believe in my heart that God raised Him from the dead. Dear Jesus, come into my heart and be my Lord and Savior. I am sorry for my sins, and I ask you to forgive me, wash me with your blood, and give me your Holy Spirit to teach and guide me. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

If you believed and prayed the above prayer, you are now a born again child of God.

I would love to hear from you and will be more than glad to be of further spiritual assistance. Feel free to email me at: info@heavenlyspringschurch.org

Please use the button at the bottom of this article to share it with your social media friends.

Authored by: Pastor Godfrey Twahirwa

Thank you for visiting Heavenly Springs Church Blogsite. I hope that you subscribe to this Blog.

Please visit our regular website at: www.heavenlyspringschurch.org’. You can also access more of our free resources on YouTube by typing in “heavenly springs church” as a key word.

This article can be distributed, printed copied, and stored, without a need to secure written permission from the author provided it remains unaltered, is not sold, and credit is given to the author.

Note: Unless otherwise indicated all the scriptures used are from the King James Version of the bible.

A Prayer for Spiritual Revival.

Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I confess that we as a nation and a s people we have drifted away from your ways. We have followed the dictates of our own hearts. We have turned to idols, the work of our hands and we have followed the lusts of our flesh. Father we are incapable of changing ourselves to turn and follow you. Hear my prayer today. Open the flood gates of heaven and pour your Holy Spirit on us, on our families, on our communities, on our churches, and on our lands. The the nations stagger under the weight of your glory. Ordain praise in the mouth of babies and let the youth shout for Joy. Raise a new generation of worshipers across the land.

Send the rain of you Holy Spirit on this dry and thirsty land. The deserts be filled with springs and parched lands be filled with lilies.  Let the cloud of your glory descend and enter into every house of worship and let the priests, pastors, apostles, evangelists, missionaries bow down under the weigh of your glory. Take over every mouth piece in this land and let your voice be broadcasted across the nations. Arise Oh God and let your enemies scatter. Have mercy Lord and visit our land. Revive us oh Lord and we shall be revived, heal us oh Lord, and we shall be healed. Draw us near to you Lord and manifest yourself to us. Open eyes to see your glory and open our ears to hear your voice. Let a river from your throne room flow across this land bringing healing and deliverance to multitudes in this land.

Jesus, reign in our hearts and in our land. Let your kingdom come and let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.