Archive for April, 2010

Spiritual Growth #14 (April 16, 2010)

Saturday, April 17th, 2010

One of the things that happen as we grow spiritually is, we begin to question how adequate we are.  This is a very important issue. Many of us have placed a lot of confidence in our own strength and in own abilities, this must change.

Paul speaks of this in 2 Corinthians 3:5-6:  And such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God. Who also made us adequate as servants, not of the letter, but of the Spirit: for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

I want to share with you an incident that happened to me a long tome ago. When the Lord brought me into this ministry He showed me some of the things that were going to happen. I made the mistake of trying to make them happen. After about a year of trying and failing I gave up and told God I don’t want this ministry I can’t do it.  He said; “no the ministry is yours; I did not show you what you had to do; I showed you what I was going to do!”

Don’t make the mistake of trying to be spiritual. When you were a child did you have to try to be a child? No! You just naturally did childish things. You have now turned to the Lord and have been born-again of the Spirit, you don’t have to try to be spiritual, and you are spiritual. Now it is just a matter of using your spiritual senses and letting them develop.

Relax, don’t try to be super spiritual overnight, it took you years to grow up naturally and it is going to take time for you to grow up spiritually. Look around you at the young people.  Do they make mistakes? Did you make mistakes growing up? You are going to make a few mistakes in your spiritual journey. Don’t be to hard on yourself, keep pressing on, keep your eyes on Jesus, and stay attuned to the Holy Spirit. You will find that in your daily life you will become more and more fruitful in your speech and in your actions as your spiritual growth increases and the old ways are left behind. You are in the process of becoming like Jesus, a servant.       

  

Newsletter Message Spring 2010

Thursday, April 15th, 2010

The Gift Of Forgiveness!

 by Michael Nault 

I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name. 1 John 2:12

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up.  If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. James 5:15

I have struggled with a few things in my past and in this case it was with a relationship with a young lady during my Youth With A Mission years. I have always struggled with communicating with others and as this relationship was moving past the friendship stage, I simply walked away from it never allowing her the chance to voice her thoughts and feelings and I never allowed myself the same. There was no resolution. And this has bothered me on occasion throughout the years. 

The memory of this would rise up and I would wrestle with it, ask God to forgive me and I would struggle some more. But it would not go away. It was like having a ball and chain hooked to my neck and ankles. It bound me up!

Well a few weeks back the Lord gave me a revelation that set me free. While I was in the shower one morning the thought rushed into my mind: “What a gift forgiveness is!”  And after I heard those words and pondered them, they had a profound affect upon me.

In a general way, I knew that the Lord had forgiven me. After all, I asked Him into my life many years ago by praying the sinner’s prayer. He came in and I walked with God to the best of my ability and strength (or to be more accurate I stumbled along with Him). I read the scriptures many times and yet there were still a few things in my life that nagged me from my past.

But the living word entered into my being. And in my spirit I felt the release. The ball and chain broke away, I was set free. The gift allows me to be free of my youthful indiscretions. And because of the gift of forgiveness from our heavenly Father through Jesus Christ, we can forgive others and ourselves too.  And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. Heb. 10:18

I am no longer the man of ten, twenty or thirty years ago. I am a new creation, a new creature in Christ. And the free gift of forgiveness allows me to live fully today and not be tethered to my past.

Yes, “what a gift forgiveness is!” Thank you Father, thank you Jesus. And thank you Holy Spirit for leading and guiding me into all the truth.

Spiritual Growth #13 (April 8, 2010)

Friday, April 9th, 2010

One of the things that hold back a lot of people from going further along on a spiritual quest is fear. Satan will use fear to hinder you and stop you.

What are the fears that hinder you?  A fear of being mislead. A fear of making a mistake or maybe a fear of the unknown.  Some people don’t want to go beyond their partner, if that is the case you may not go very far in your spiritual journey.

Spiritual growth demands that we increase, that we become larger in many ways. It demands that we start doing things we have never done before, using talents we have never used. Spiritual growth demands that we overcome our fears whatever they are.

Spiritual growth demands that we step outside of our normal boundaries and walk in new paths. We must see that some of the things that we thought was truth was not truth and be willing to see things in a new way.

I am reminded of Paul and the Damascus road experience. Paul’s whole foundation was shaken and reshaped. That is the same thing that happens to us when we go on a spiritual journey. Many of the things that were so important to us are now of no value. A new value system forms in our spirit and soul. Old things pass away and new things come.

We begin to see other people in a different way.  We begin to see ourselves in a new way. Some days we look at ourselves and think: I haven’t changed at all, and then you realize you are not the same and that you have changed a lot. You are not the same person anymore.

I now tell people I am a bigger person then I used to be.  Some people might laugh but I mean what I say. I am not the small person I used to be. This spiritual journey has greatly enlarged me and I know it will do the same for you. I used to be in a small box.  Jesus set me free from that little box I was in.

Many years ago I sat in church one Sunday and I saw that there had to be more to life and Christianity then what I had. Something welled up inside of me saying there is more and I want it. Years have gone by and I have been greatly blessed and increased. I still know there is more and I still want more! 

Spiritual Growth #12 (March 27, 2010)

Friday, April 2nd, 2010

One of the comments I have heard many times in the past, from Christians and non-Christians alike; “I have a spiritual guide that directs me and helps me.”  I have three questions that you might think about.

For spiritual growth do I need a spiritual guide?

Do we have a spiritual guide?

Who is our spiritual guide?

John 3:3:  Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

John 3:5:  Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

For spiritual growth to happen we must be born of the Spirit.

To see and enter into the spiritual kingdom of God we must be spiritual.

Then we need a teacher and guide.

Acts 1:4-5:  Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for ?what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit ?not many days from now.”

John 14:25-26: These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. But the ?Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name ?He will teach you all things, and ?bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”

         John 16:12-14  “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.  But when He ?the Spirit of truth, comes, He will ?guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.”

         From what I see in these scriptures and have experienced in my own life, we need to receive Jesus and then pray for the Holy Spirit to lead us and to help us.  Bringing a new power and authority into our life if we are to expect any spiritual growth.