Network 4 Jesus

September 2008 Bible lesson

The Team — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 22:14:04 +0000

Proverbs 24:13-14 (KJV):
13 My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste:
14 So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off.

Proverbs 24:13-14 (AMP):
13 My son, eat honey, because it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.
14 So shall you know skillful and godly Wisdom to be thus to your life; if you find it, then shall there be a future and a reward, and your hope and expectation shall not be cut off.

These verses in Proverbs compare the eating of honey to the getting of godly Wisdom, and it is sweet. Since Jesus is Wisdom, Verse 13 is telling us to taste of the life of Jesus and you will find how sweet He is. Jesus is also referred to as “the Word” and when we read and take in the Word of God, we find that it is also pleasant and satisfying to our soul, as noted by the Psalmist David in this scripture:

Psalm 119:101-103:
101 I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word.
102 I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me.
103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

Verse 14 tells us that when we find the godly Wisdom in Jesus, it will also produce a future with fulfillment and a reward, and our expectation will not be cut off. When we obey the commandments of God, it will bring enlightenment that will cause our heart to rejoice according to the verses below. Even God’s judgments toward us are true and righteous and we need not fear them, if we have reverential fear for our Lord. These scriptures tell us that the Word of the Lord is to be desired more than gold and again the Bible mentions that God’s Word and His Wisdom are sweeter than honey.

Psalm 19:8-11:
8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.

When we obey God and keep His commandments, we are also promised a great reward. The “promised land” in the Bible was the reward given to the Israelites as they followed Moses through the wilderness to their inheritance. This land was referred to as “the land of milk and honey.” The reason it was given this name was because it was a very productive and fruitful land. The cattle had plenty of lush grass upon which they could graze, and that made them good milk producers. Since the bees must feed upon blossoms in order to make honey, the land also had to have many fruit trees and plants, thus the land had much fruit also. Hence, the name for the land was “the land of milk and honey.”

Leviticus 20:22-24:
22 Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: that the land, whither I bring you to dwell therein, spue you not out.
23 And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them.
24 But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the LORD your God, which have separated you from other people.

Spiritually our “land of milk and honey” is when we receive the promises of God. We have been given great and precious promises, as God’s children, and the Lord wants us to taste of them, and when we do, we will find they are sweeter than honey!

Just experiencing His love, joy and peace when we give our hearts to Him is a wonderful sweet experience.

We are promised so many more things, as God’s children, which include health, provision, protection, guidance, and victory over the devil and all of his attacks.

Jesus is that honey in the rock!

Groves To Release 1st Christmas album

The Team — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 22:06:49 +0000

During the last month of the year, you don’t have to travel far to see what Christmas is for many people, a combination of sacred celebration and family tradition. Sara Groves’ first Christmas album, O Holy Night, which will bow on INO Records this October 14th, sits snugly in that spot where the magnificent story of Bethlehem coalesces with the sounds of yuletide gathering of friends and family, “I’ve always dreamed of doing a Christmas album,” Groves says. “Christmas music was such a part of life growing up. We had a huge stack of records that only get played for one month of the year. Ultimately I wanted to convey this story of Christ that’s been told so many times with as much artistry and creativity as possibly because it bears repeating,” she says.

Produced by Ben Shive, O Holy Night was originally intended to be an advent album for her family that would consist solely of sacred Christmas songs. When she began working on it, though, she decided to include some of her favorite songs about her family’s Christmas traditions. One such song (one of four originals) is “To Be With You,” about Groves’ family Christmas, a sentimental snapshot of their gathering at her grandma’s house. Another is the fun song any parent who’s stayed up late on Christmas eve can relate to, “Toy Packaging,” which mimics how manufacturers twisty-tie and rivet everything to pieces of cardboard, saying, “my self-esteem is in the can, trying to open the robot man.”

Among the sacred Christmas songs included, “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear” and “Go Tell It on the Mountain” both have personal meanings to Groves; the latter recorded with family and friends gathered around, singing together.

About the first, which turned out to be one of her favorites on the album, Groves says, “I hadn’t really thought about this song, but the lyrics jumped off the page to me. My family has had a really hard year. We’ve had some death and pain. The second verse of this song talks about “over our sad plains the angels sing.” It talks about how they come to sing about Christ, and “still through broken skies they come.” I was in tears reading the lyrics. It goes back to the theme of peace. You’re not traveling alone. You’re not laboring in vain. You’re not carrying this hardship for no reason. Over this, God still has His way.”

August 2008 Bible lesson

The Team — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 21:59:51 +0000

Proverbs 22:5-6 (KJV):
5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward: he that doth keep his soul shall be far from them.
6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:5-6 (AMP):
5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the obstinate and willful; he who guards himself will be far from them.
6 Train up a child in the way he should go (and in keeping with his individual gift or bent), and when he is old he will not depart from it.

These verses in Proverbs speak of the fate of the rebellious, as well as instructing parents to train their children in the right way. Verse 5 clearly tells us that the froward (rebellious) person will end up on a path that is hedged in with thorns and snares. We all probably know people who stay in “hot water.” Many young people, to their own hurt, will not listen to the advice of their parents and elders, and end up going down the wrong road. They just seem to take their lessons in life the hard way — doing their own thing. However, there is a group of Christian youth, who truly love the Lord, and have respect for authority and godly advice, and they are the ones described as “keeping” or “guarding” their souls. Among those are young people who are chaste and have kept their virginity. They will escape the ravages of sexually transmitted diseases and scarred emotions, so that when they meet their mates, they can begin a life together without pain and guilt. This is not true of the rebellious youth who go down the path of sexual experimentation and then are wounded by the thorns and snares that go with that lifestyle.

Verse 6 admonishes us, as parents, to help our children find the right path and stay on it. We are told in this verse to “train” up our children in the Lord. Many parents have grief in their hearts over their grown children who have gone astray from their Christian heritage and teachings. They have wondered why their children did not walk in what they were taught. One reason for this is that many parents did not “train” their children, but only “taught” their children about the things of God. Teaching is sharing information, while training integrates that teaching into a lifestyle. As parents, we should also pray and ask the Lord to help us direct our children in the calling He has for them. We need to recognize the God given gifts they possess and encourage them along those lines.

Training is a lot more tedious and takes a committed effort on the part of parents. Training involves enforcing and reinforcing what is being taught. Lack of teaching and training our children in the standards and absolutes, as outlined in the Bible, has been the reason so many of our children are misguided. Many of our children are not receiving godly standards from their Christian parents, but are being taught by humanistic teachers in the public schools (where prayer is no longer allowed). If they do not receive their guidance there, they are getting it from baby sitters, secular movies, videos, CDs, games, books, magazines and last, but not least, their own peers. Parents have abdicated their roles as mentors, while our children get their values from our immoral society.

We must get back to training our children in the ways of the Lord. The Bible commands children to obey their parents in all things, if they want to please the Lord. (Of course, this means in all moral and right things. There are corrupt parents who would ask their children to do evil things, and a child should not obey in those things.) Parents are also told to not provoke their children to anger, and thereby discourage them. Parents are to be kind and good to their children, as the Lord is kind and good to us, His spiritual children.

Colossians 3:20-21: Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.

If we call on the Lord to help us, as parents, He will give us the wisdom, love and patience to raise our children properly, even in a wicked world; and when they are grown, they will not depart from the things that they learned from us.

The Final 7 Years

The Team — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 22:47:13 +0000

President Bush has said that he believes the final seven years to the Battle of Armageddon will begin yet this year!. What he meant was that he believed a final peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians would be concluded before the end of this year. The Bible says, when this happens, the final seven years to Armageddon and to the Second Coming of Jesus will begin.

Major prophetic fulfillments normally happen once in a century. There are presently FOUR MAJOR prophetic fulfillments converging in one year! That’s the reason we believe 2008 will probably be the greatest year of prophetic fulfillment since the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Two Billion To Die

The Bible specifically prophesies a war for the near future that will kill one-third of mankind—two billion human beings. This war will start from the area of the Euphrates River (the area of Iraq and Iran), and will escalate into the worst war the world has ever known. This will happen at about the same time as the signing of the Middle East peace treaty.

Mark Of The Beast

Three and one-half years after the Middle East peace treaty, the mark of the beast will be implemented on earth. All who take the number of the Antichrist (666) will be eternally lost! The UN has asked all nations to implement a number system for all of their citizens by 2010, and almost every nation is doing it right now! In America, it’s called the Real ID.

Anti-Christ Will Arise

The Bible prophesies that the Antichrist and the False Prophet will come to power out of a re-born Holy Roman Empire. The Holy Roman Empire is being recreated right now! On December 13, 2007, the 27 member nations of the European Union, the area of the old Holy Roman Empire, signed a constitution. The constitution is presently in the ratification process. The new Holy Roman Empire is expected to be complete by the end of this year or by early next year.

Mideast Peace

Most prophecies in the Bible do not have a time attached to their fulfillment. However, the prophecy about the coming Middle East peace treaty does. President Bush believes it will happen yet this year!

What if the final 7 years do begin this year?

When we consider the possibility that the final seven years to the Battle of Armageddon and the Second Coming could begin this year, we are filled with excitement, but also with an extreme sense of urgency, and thinking of 6.7 billion people on earth and most of them not ready to face eternity is sobering!

Jesus told us to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature, and that does not mean that you must go to every city in the world and preach the Gospel. Salvation starts from home, talk about Jesus to your friends, neighbors, and you will eventually carry on…

This is a short excerpt that we took from EndTime Ministries, and we just thought we can share it with you

Please click Here, to read more about the perilous times that we are living in…

Steven Curtis Hits The Stage Again

The Team — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 15:30:45 +0000

Over the course of two weeks, award winning Christian artist Steven Curtis Chapman has hit six different cities throughout the United States, touching the lives of his fans with his family’s story of faith and perseverance. The July 17 concert in Clarkston, Mich., Chapman’s fourth since the tragic death of his daughter in May, had the crowd of about 2,500 “laughing and crying and praying and rocking, often at the same time,” committee member Phil C. Giesken told The Saginaw News. “It’s beyond expectations,” Lori Chatten from Carol Stream, Ill., said of the most recent Chapman concert, held just this past Thursday in Wheaton, Ill. She told the local Daily Herald that she was surprised at how openly Chapman discussed his family’s struggles and pain over the last few months. “It’s a blessing that he shared that with us,” she said.

Earlier this year, in May, Maria Sue Chapman, the Grammy-winning music star’s 5-year-old daughter, was accidentally struck and killed by a sport utility vehicle driven by one of her brothers as he was pulling out of the driveway of the family’s home.

Maria, the Chapmans’ youngest daughter and one of three that had been adopted from China, had celebrated her fifth birthday less than ten days earlier.

Her tragic death triggered a massive outpouring of condolences and words of comfort for Chapman and his family.

In the first two weeks alone, thousands of people contributed over $310,000 toward Maria’s Miracle Fund, set up in honor of little Maria. Additionally, over 19,000 people posted their prayers and condolences to the Chapman family on a blog site dedicated to Maria that is accessible from the ministry’s website.

“Thank you so much for your prayers and your support. It’s the reason my family is more than surviving, but sure how faithful and true our Redeemer is,” Chapman said during Thursday’s concert, according to the Daily Herald.

While performing many of the classics that have won him five Grammys and 51 Dove awards, Chapman peppered throughout how intimately Maria’s death has affected him, and his songs.

After performing “Yours,” a song from his latest album, This Moment, Chapman shared how he had to examine his beliefs and rediscover how much they still meant.

Chapman said in particular he “had to come to a new realization” in the song “Yours,” which specifically addresses how everything belongs to God.

“There’s not an inch of all creation that God doesn’t look at and say ‘all of that’s mine,'” he explained, according to the Herald. For the song “Yours,” Chapman had added a third verse that addresses life after Maria.

Paula Odom, executive director of the Mid Cities Pregnancy Center, told the Star-Telegram of Fort Worth, Texas, 17 miles west of Euless, Texas, where Chapman’s fifth show was held, that Chapman is “a great family man.”

“The fact that he is still coming at this difficult time just shows what integrity he has. It speaks highly to his faith,” Odom commented.

Although Chapman had stopped touring and declined interviews after the May 21 tragedy, he decided later to continue with his U.S. concerts, according to his manager, Jim Houser.

“We wanted to go forward and give him the opportunity to share his faith,” Houser told the Star-Telegram. “Faith is what he does. It’s a profound, sad time, but the family is clinging to their faith and the assurance they will see Maria again.”

Beginning with the July 11 Lifest in Oshkosh, Wisc., Chapman hit the road and plans to continue through Sept. 20.

Like a number of the concerts prior to Thursday’s, proceeds from the most recent night went to Shaohannah’s Hope, the foundation Chapman and his wife, Mary Beth, established to help defray the costs of adoptions.

The Chapmans started the organization five years ago to give information and financial grants to families who want to adopt. Maria’s Miracle Fund, which the foundation created shortly after Maria’s death, has received more than $500,000 so far – an “overwhelming and honorable tribute to such a spirit-filled family and a beautiful young girl,” said foundation executive director Scott Hasenbalg on Chapman’s website.

At the present time, Chapman has six more cities to hit before concluding his tour in Puyallup, Wash., on Sept. 20. His international tours have been canceled so he can be close to his family.

Understanding The Bible part 7

The Team — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 22:13:26 +0000

Understanding The Bible part 6

The Team — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 22:11:15 +0000

Understanding The Bible part 5

The Team — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 21:52:38 +0000

Understanding The Bible part 4

The Team — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 21:50:31 +0000

Understanding The Bible part 3

The Team — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 21:48:29 +0000