T.J.I.F.A.
THANK JESUS IT'S FRIDAY AGAIN!
PASS IT ON …& ON…& ON…& ON.
July 30, 2004
SUBJECT: "ALL POWER"
THE BULLY ON THE BLOCK ALWAYS MAKES IT A POINT TO LET EVERYONE KNOW HOW GREAT HE IS. HE GOES OUT OF HIS WAY TO PROVE HIS ABILITY AND STRENGTH. GOD, ON THE OTHER HAND, QUIETLY HAS . . . ALL POWER!
NOTEWORTHY: DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN MOTHER TERESA SPOKE AT THE PRAYER BREAKFAST IN WASHINGTON? BMCC
FRIDAY'S WORD: POWER
IN THE MIRROR: ‘POWER' SEEMS TO BE THE WORD FOR TODAY.
O TASTE AND SEE! BLUEBERRY PIE A-LA- MODE (IMITATION) FOR THOSE OF US THAT LOVE PIE, BUT SUMMERTIME IS TOO HOT TO HEAT UP THE OVEN . . .HERE IT IS! ENJOY! TER
LOOKING FORWARD
SEE YA NEXT TIME!
TER
ALL POWER
Matthew 28:18;" . . . All Power has been given unto me both in heaven and in earth . . . "
Do you remember the game ‘tug of war?' Do you remember how you chose the members to be on your side of the rope? If not…let me remind you of the rules of the game.
In tug of war, the goal was to pull the opposite team over a line which was drawn on the ground. Now, if you had a puny team, you didn't stand a chance of winning in the game. So the most strategic maneuver in plotting victory was to choose the strongest players or the BIGGEST (they didn't have to be strong, they just had to hold on to the rope). Putting this BIG participant at the end of the rope on your side would ensure that your team wasn't working against itself, but that this BIG team member was anchoring the rest of your team. Being the winner, your team could claim to be "The Most Powerful" in the neighborhood. With this honor came the pride of being a part of an overcoming force. Unstoppable. Unbeatable. Unsinkable.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, and America's retaliation, the understanding of ‘who had the most power' was sealed. The United States of America became the ‘BIGGEST' and the most powerful nation in the world. But this label wasn't given without observance of overcoming outcome. Seeing the outcome, our enemy, relinquished plans of attack and or engagement.
Jesus endured a terrible scourging and death for the world. "For GOD so loved the world, that He gave His only Begotten Son . . ." John 3:16. (KJV). To those who were observing on ‘that day', and to those who refuse to believe, it was obvious that evil had won. Evil had somehow pulled GOD'S team along with His ‘BIGGEST HEAVY WEIGHT' over the line and into Satan's dungeon, Hell.
Evil boasted for what seemed like an eternity that he was in charge of the world. Full of pride and arrogance he proclaimed himself to be the ‘most powerful'. Power without restraint is destructive. It targets individuals and weakens society. (i.e. The Holocaust)
Jesus Christ was only in Hell, three days. In those three days, Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of GOD, opened prison doors and set the captives FREE! He took the keys of Hell and Death and lead "Captivity captive." When Jesus thundered out of hell, he brought His team, His reputation, His victory and all that evil had stolen, with Him. Evil was left with NOTHING. He still has nothing, but evil has majored in deception and deceit. Evil is like a bad magician who knows his audience understands that he is tricking them, but he continues to be paid for putting on a good show.
Evil has used the same tricks with much success throughout all of time. His tricks give the illusion that he is more powerful than any prayer that you or I may pray. This isn't so. Tricks and deceit do not have any power. The rabbit which is pulled out of the magician's hat, comes from a hat that is usually sitting on a covered table. IF that rabbit was really in the hat, why can't the rabbit be produced from a hat that is NOT resting on a covered table? It is a trick. Evil always uses the same pattern of deceit to manipulate circumstances in his favor.
The Word of GOD says, in Ephesians 6:12: "We wrestle NOT against flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, rulers of darkness of this age and spiritual wickedness in high places. In this scripture it is said that there are ‘powers', but . . , in Jesus, the resurrected Lord said that "all power has been given unto me…" Jesus tells us in that one statement, that the POWER that He has is "The BIGGEST." Why? The word ‘powers' seems to indicate that there are many powers, and therefore many grades or levels of powers are mentioned in Ephesians. The ‘POWER' mentioned that Jesus speaks of seems indicative of only one overwhelming and encompassing power. If there is only one POWER, it must be the greatest power. A ‘POWER' without gradient or level, able to subdue and conquer all other powers.
Example: "The Power of the Cross"; "The Power of GOD"; "The Power of the Blood"; "The Power of His stripes"; "The Power of the Word of GOD"; "The Power of Love"; "The Power of the Resurrection".
It is important in this issue of TJIFA, that you understand the weakness of the evil one. It is important that you stop being deceived and begin walking in the POWER that Jesus secured for you on Calvary. Jesus tells us that "All POWER has been given unto Me both in heaven and in earth . . ." He then tells us what to do with that POWER. " . . .go into all the world and preach the Gospel . . ." POWER has been given unto you to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. POWER to heal the sick; raise the dead, to set the captives free, the recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those that are bruised, and to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. (Luke 4:16).
The powers of the evil one are to " . . . to kill, steal, and to destroy." (John 10:10) If the evil one had so much power he would have kept Jesus in the dungeon of hell . . . But he couldn't! The evil one did all that he could do to Jesus. He stole his reputation; he publicly humiliated him as a common liar, blasphemer and insurrectionist. The evil one had Jesus flogged with the ‘cat of nine tails', and then crucified Him dead. IF only the evil one had known that with every lick of the ‘cat of nine tails' on the back of ‘ALL POWER', he, the evil one, sowed HEALING and at the same time released bondage from the body of Jesus Christ. The bondage that He carried for you and me. IF the evil one had known that he was playing right into the perfection of Almighty GOD, he would have never ever crucified ‘ALL POWER.'
NOTE: What did you TAKE from Jesus? Did you take His seamless robe, or His garments, or His crown of thorns? Did you TAKE the sin and bondage that He carried for the world? Give it back! You can't carry the sin of the whole world and the crown of thorns wasn't made for a sinner. RECEIVE from Him His gift of ‘ALL POWER' whereby you shall be able to preach the Gospel, heal the sick and set the captives free. TER
The Evil One played one game with Almighty GOD . . .‘Tug of War.' What he didn't know, is that the game was already determined, and "ALL POWER" was His ‘ANCHOR MAN.'
Hebrews 2:14 says: "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;" (KJV)
Looking Forward
See Ya Next Time!
TER
NOTEWORTHY:
AT THE PRESIDENTIAL PRAYER BREAKFAST IN WASHINGTON D.C., MOTHER TERESA WAS THE SPEAKER.
"She made her way feebly to the rostrum over which her bent posture made her difficult to see. Seated to her right were Vice President Gord and his wife, while to her left, on the other side of the podium, sat President Clinton and the first lady. In front of these who had tried to use the power of the highest offices in our land to strengthen the cause of abortion, she said: "I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is war against the child, a direct killing of the innocent child, murdered by the mother herself . . . By abortion the mother does not learn to love, but kills even her own child to solve her problems.
And, by abortion, the father is told that he does not have to take any responsibility at all for the child he has brought into the world. That father is likely to put other women into the same trouble. So abortion just leads to more abortion. Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want. This is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion."
The crowd rose to its feet in applause while the Clintons and the Gores sat in silence throughout the thunderous ovation. As President rose to address the group, he said of Mother Teresa, "It's hard to argue with a life so well lived." The world's most powerful advocate of abortion had little to say in the face of a life characterized by the compelling outcomes of good works.
Submitted by: BMCC
FRIDAY'S WORD: power; The Hebrew language , like the English, has many words which convey the concept of power. The two most common words appear in the well-known passage, "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of host."(Zech. 4:6 NASB) Heb. hayil, the word for "might," can mean physical strength or valor, as of warriors, (Josh 1:14;8:3; 10:7) and therefore military power (1 Chr. 20:1); the armed forces or army itself (Ex.14:4,28; 1Kgs.20:19,25; Jer.32:2); ability or efficiency often involving moral worthiness (Ex. 18:21,25; Gen.47:6; Prov.12:4; 31:10; Ruth3:11) and wealth or economic influence (Gen.34:29; Deut.8:17,18; Prov.28:8; Ruth2:1,NASB).
The word for "Power" is Heb. koah, which can also mean physical strength (e.g. Samson, Jude 16:5; Saul, 1Sam. 28:30; strength to weep, 1Sam. 30:4; burden bearers, Neh.4:10), as well as ability (Gen.31:6; Ezr.2:69; Deut.8:17,18) and mental power ("strength of understanding,," Job 36:5, RSV ). Heb. gebura signifies strength or might (overmastering power) as of a war horse (Job 39:19), the sun (Jude 5:31), or a king (2Kgs.14:28).
In the OT the exercise of all true power rests in the hand of GOD alone, and forever (Ps. 66:7; 72:11). He is the One who gives political power to whom He pleases (Jer. 27:5; Dan. 2:20,21; 4:17), and strengthens those who wait on Him (Isa. 40:29-31). GOD revealed His power in creation (Jer. 10:12-16; 51:15-19) and in the upholding of the world and creation (Job 26:12; Ps. 65:5-8; Isa. 40:26; cf. Col. 1:17). Therefore there is nothing too hard for Him (Jer. 32:17).
In the NT dynamis represents ability (2Cor.8:3) or strength (Eph. 3:16), such as the power to perform miracles (Rom. 15:19), the power exhibited in Christ's resurrection (Eph. 1:19-20; Phil. 3:10), the power of the gospel (Rom. 1:16; 1Cor. 1:18, 24), and the power of the Holy Spirit in Christ (Lk. 4:14) and as He came to Pentecost (Acts 1:8).
Gr. exousia designates right and power in the sense of derived authority. Jesus speaks of all authority being given to Him (Mt. 28:18), such as authority to forgive sins (Mk. 2:10, NASB ). Jesus gave both power and authority to the Twelve in order to exorcise demons and heal diseases (Lk. 9:1). The person who believes in Christ has the "power" or right (NASB) to become a son (child, ASV) of GOD (Jn. 1:12). Gr. kratos expresses more the idea of strength to do things and is used of GOD'S power (Eph. 1:19; 6:10; Col. 1:11; 1Tim. 6:16; Rev. 5:13) and the devil's (Heb. 2:14).
The power of the keys refers to the power either to loose and forgive or to retain sins, announced by Christ to Peter at the time of his confession in Mt. 16:18-20. That this power was not to be Peter's alone, or even to be delegated by Peter to the church, as claimed by Roman Catholicism, is proved by the fact that Christ declared it to be applicable to all the disciples and all believers (Mt. 18:18). How is this power administered by believers? In two ways, the Reformed theologians say. First, through the teaching and preaching of the Word of GOD so that man may believe or refuse to believe. Second, through the discipline by the Church of those who have sinned."
IN THE MIRROR:
In looking at ‘power' in this weeks word I couldn't help but think back on something I found interesting some time ago. God gave a group of men a helpful way of understanding the strength of sin through an addiction. Using a powerful handgun as an example, no-one denied the destruction it was capable of performing, but the very next thought they were challenged on was to place that ‘powerful' weapon up against one of those military weapons that is capable of blowing a hole in a quarter-inch steel tank. You already figured it out didn't you? The handgun never lost its ‘power' but when you placed it up against what the military had to offer, you were just talking about BIG guns.
If you're dealing with an addiction today, and we're all addicted to sin, its not going to lose its power in your life just because you want it to, but because you make a decision that only you can make, (no-one can make it for you) to TRUST in a power greater than yourself.
Did you notice that word ‘trust'? It works interchangeably with the word ‘believe'. So often we believe in our foibles before we're ready to believe there's a power greater than whatever we're going through.
Misplaced trust has crippled mankind since the beginning of time, whether it's the Titanic, the Challenger space shuttle, or the simple ‘trust' we place in so many of the daily decisions we make in life that denies the POWER, and the authority God is capable of working and weaving into our everyday affairs.
The next time you may happen to see a faucet drip one drop at a time, place a bucket under it and watch it fill up, one drip at a time, because you'll be also experiencing how God wants to fulfill and impact your life with his awesome POWER, one day at a time!
S.L.C.
O TASTE AND SEE!
PIE A LA MODE (IMITATION)
INGREDIENTS:
3 GRAHAM CRACKERS CRUSHED.
1-2 SCOOPS VANILLA ICE CREAM OR YOUR CHOICE.
BLUEBERRY CANNED PIE FILLING.(OR YOUR CHOICE OF
CHERRY, APPLE, OR PEACH)
COOL WHIP OR REDDY WHIP TOPPING.
DIRECTIONS:
PLACE 3 GRAHAM CRACKERS IN PLASTIC BAG; CRUSH WITH ROLLING PEN OR OTHER OBJECT.
SPRINKLE DESIRED AMOUNT OF GRAHAM CRACKER INTO A MEDIUM SIZED BOWL.
ON TOP OF CRUSHED CRACKERS PLACE 1-2 SCOOPS OF ICE CREAM.
POUR OVER SCOOPS OF ICE CREAM, WARMED PIE FILLING.
TOP WITH COOL WHIP OR REDDY WHIP.
FOR THOSE OF US WHO DON'T FEEL LIKE BAKING THIS SUMMER, THIS RECIPE ACCOMPLISHES THE TASTE THAT YOU'LL ENJOY, AND IT'S EASY.
THIS RECIPE SERVES ONE, BUT IS EASILY ADAPTED TO SERVE A FRIEND…ENJOY!
TER