We’ve all seen one, a beautiful sunset going beneath the horizon, and such a sight gives us hope and encouragement to press on toward the horizon’s of our future. But what is our first response when the horizon doesn’t look so beautiful?

The example given by my Church’s pastor, Gregg Matte in his sermon God Provides: Red Sea Crossing, was when the Isrealites were camping at the Red Sea and what was on the horizon was Pharaoh’s armies.(Exodus 14:11-31) And guess what their first response was…

They had just seen God do miraculous things through the ten plagues of Egypt and the first thing they did when adversity was on the horizon was complain.  If you think about it complaining is often our first response to adversity, and why is that? Often it’s because our faith is weak and forgetful, NOT God is weak and forgetful, but it’s our faith that has a hard time remembering God’s provision.

In this sermon, Pastor Gregg also listed the wrong ways to complain and the right ways to complain, which really hit home for me.

 WRONG ways to Complain:

1) Fear and anxiety consume your thoughts and words

2) Focus on short term results

3)Focus on the problem not the Provider

RIGHT ways to Complain:

1) Have a forward thinking faith: God has a reason for short term adversity

2)Subtract sarcasm and Add answers

3) Remember the good of the people outweigh the good of the person

We live in such a complaining culture that it’s hard to approach adversity with a positive attitude and with the faith that God is the Provider. What we have to constantly reminder our-self with daily Bible study and weekly fellowship is that God’s will is ALWAS accompanied by God’s Power AND Provision.

If you want to hear more on this relevant topic click on the following link: God ProvidesRed Sea Crossing

…can be learned from Noah’s Ark

One : Don’t miss the boat.

Two : Remember that we are all in the same boat.

Three : Plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the Ark.

Four : Stay fit When you’re 600 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big.

Five : Don’t listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done.

Six : Build your future on high ground.

Seven : For safety’s sake, travel in pairs.

Eight : Speed isn’t always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs.

Nine : When you’re stressed, float a while.

Ten : Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.

Eleven : No matter the storm, when you are with God, there’s always a rainbow waiting

My Sunday School Bibles Study has been going through the book of Acts. We were in chapter eleven this week, and in reading through the thirty verses of chapter eleven you might miss a verse. No there’s not an actual verse missing in your Bible, but you might have read over this one word without considering it. It’s a part of verse 26: The disciples were called Christians.

This may not seem like an important verse in the light of all the other verses in the Bible, but I find it VERY important. Surprisingly the term Christian is only used THREE times in the New Testament.

NOW when money is mentioned over 110 times, faith 280 times, and love almost 700 times, how could these three instances be so important. Well let me tell you: this word summarizes every verse in the New Testament. HOW SO, well in Latin Christianity MEANS:

WE BELONG TO CHRIST

Not only that, but this is how the WORLD refers to us. This is the label they give us, and even if they don’t believe as we do they know what that label SHOULD mean.

IN THE TIME OF ACTS, Christianity meant: one who has turned from sin, trusted Jesus Christ and received salvation through grace. SIMPLE ENOUGH RIGHT?

BUT TODAY, Christianity is almost synonymous with Hypocrisy. People join the fad because their not bad people without realizing CHRIST requires repentance and faith. It requires a change in lifestyle, a change of heart, and a change in worldview.

Try this question on for size: If you were arrested right now for being a Christian would there be enough evidence to convict you?
E
verything in our life SHOULD reflect Christ, granted none of us are perfect, but even when we falter our reaction SHOULD reflect the branding of our hearts.

True this is a bit of a tangent from ACTS 11, but it is something we need to remind ourselves of no matter where we are in our walk with Christ.

REMEMBER…..

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ “Then they remembered his words. –Lk 24:1-8

He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48You are witnesses of these things. 49I am going to send you what my Father has promised- Lk 24:46-49a

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. –Mt 28:18-20

English is, together with Dutch, one of the few languages that call Good Friday ‘good’. While one could say that Good Friday is the saddest day of the year for Christians, the Church uses the word ‘Good’ to show that Christ has died to liberate everyone from sin and that suffering and death are not pointless.

Other languages use other names for this day.

In Israel, Good Friday is known as “Big Friday.” In Germany it is “Karfreitag”, an Old German word meaning “Friday of lamentation”, although this meaning is not obvious to speakers of modern German. In Malta, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria, Republic of Macedonia (and Eastern Orthodox Church in general) the day is called Great Friday. In Armenia it is called “High Friday (Ավագ Ուրբաթ)”. In Russia they call it “Passion Friday (Strastnaja Pjatnitsa)”. In Latin America, Spain, France, Italy, the Philippines and Portugal the day is called “Holy Friday”; in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Faroe Islands and Iceland it is “Long Friday”. In Portuguese language it is called “Sexta-Feira Santa” meaning “Holy Friday”.

No matter how you say it, Good Friday is good because it is the day of our forgiveness. Granted Easter Sunday is the day of Salvation, but Good Friday marks the day the veil was torn and the final sacrifice made.

When God gave Moses the plans for the tabernacle, and David the plans for the temple there was to be a massive curtain that separated the rest of the temple from the Holies of Holies, the resting place for the Arc of the Covenant, and the holy seat of God. This curtain was thick, big, not just some bed sheet on a curtain rod. This was a serious piece of fabric. And just before Jesus’ last breath the curtain of Harrod’s temple ripped from floor to ceiling giving believers DIRECT access to God. No flaming hoops, no animal sacrifices, just a heart for God.

That is what makes Good Friday GOOD! God is not a distant God. We can each approach the throne of Christ with petition and praise. Christ made that possible. We as believers in Christ have the spirit of GOD in our Hearts. We are the temple of God, not a building in some distant place, but right there in your own four chambered heart.

All it takes is this prayer:

“Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be.”Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? If it does, pray this prayer right now and Christ will come into your life, as He promised.

Now that you have received Christ… check out this website: http://www.greatcom.org/english/nowthat.htm

Notes on a sermon by Greg Matte 8-13-06

If creation is removed accountability is removed. (Romans 1:20-30)
-as long as God is creator and we are the created we are accountable to God, so if creation is removed Man is in control and accountable to no one because of our “human” standards.
- Creator removed, Deceiver Received
Ex) Advocated for the environment and saving the earth are often the greatest advocates for abortion.

The greatness of God has no equal in the universe OR our lives (Proverbs 21:1)
-N.A.S.A. estimates 10 to the 12th number of stars in the sky and God places each and knows their names.

We respond to the greatness of God is creation with awe and comfort

God is not too great to care; He is too great to fail (Isaiah 40:27-31)
-reputation is built in a moment steaming from character which is built in a lifetime of action and words
-true greatness is not being aloof, but being connected. (Check out the awesome definition for greatness in Webster’s dictionary) WOW!

God never grows tired and He understand the depths
-Kinds of Tired:
*Physical
*Fed up with (anger)
* Tired in the journey (discouragement)

Lack of deep understanding is the root of our weariness
-God never tires because he always understands
-We need to surrender the end of the story

God is Generous and reviving
-The past is safe cause we know we made it threw

God is Trustworthy
-due to the hope that comes to renew us to soar with God, run beside him and be strong in our walk.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”-Jeremiah 29:11

We as humans cannot make such a strong statement. No matter how many times we tell someone we care for, that we will never hurt them, in time we do, whether it’s a small ache or a large pain. It’s our own fallibility that makes this happen, but what does that say about God.

He is infallible, loving, caring, and desires to bless you with the great abundance he has in heaven. The verse above is one I turn to often when the path before me is lost. God is telling Jeremiah, when he is struggling with his calling, that God knows the steps before him. Those steps will not lead to harm, but will come through to prosper you and give you hope.

Granted the path ahead may seem dark, and many times it is hard to trust someone else to lead you through the darkness. But God has a marvelous track record of loving us and keeping his promises. If we seek his glory in all things, his glory and blessings will shine on us. Maybe not on earth, but without a doubt in heaven.

May you be blessed and encouraged.