EXPIRATION DATE

We are all familiar with seeing this common instruction on a milk container, or a can of something or other that has a limited shelf life. The manufacturer recommends their product be used before a certain expiration date. But have you ever given much thought to the fact that we humans also have an "expiration date" that was apparently decided for us by our Creator? In (Heb 9:27) we read "And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment", and in (Psa 139:16) it is recorded "You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed"! These verses, as well as many others, tell us that we too have a "limited shelf life", so to speak. Our shelf life is the amount of time that we are appointed to live in these temporary "earth suits" here on planet earth. The length of time varies for each individual, depending a lot of various factors, but we should not lose sight of the fact that we all have an expiration date!

The good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that we can receive a life that is "eternal" and will last for ever and ever! Here is a great truth, "And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has life: whoever does not have the Son does not have life" (1 John 5:11-12). This is referring to the spiritual life we receive when we are "born again" (John 3:16), as opposed to the natural (shelf life) we receive in our mother's womb. We are unique creatures, because we are created in the "image of God" (Gen 1:27) having a spirit that will exist forever, either in heaven with Jesus, or in hell with the devil. According to God's Word there is only these two possible destinations. Jesus made a very clear statement recorded in (John 14:6) " I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me"! Some people are depending on various types of religious traditions to get them to heaven, but they will be sadly mistaken when they wake up some day in hell when their expiration date arrives!

Have you confirmed your reservation to spend eternity with Jesus? If not you still have time to do so if you are reading this article. Find a Bible and read (Eph 2:1-10), admit to God that you are a sinner, then repent of your past sinful life, and ask Jesus to receive you into the family of God. If you are sincere God will adopt you into His family, and you will be "born gain"! Then we can welcome you into the family of God, the "True Church" that Jesus is in the process of building!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer

FOUR LEVELS OF CHURCH STRUCTURE

1/ The house (cell level)

2/ The one pastor church (the traditional congregation)

3/ The citywide or regional dimension of church (city celebrations)

4/ The trans-regional networks of churches (denominations)

All the above are valid scriptural forms of "church life", and one form is not necessarily better than another. They are all meant to serve the body of Christ here on earth, as we relate to the Head, Jesus Christ, who is in heaven. Some people are called to place more emphasis on one form than another, depending on their God given talents. The important thing to remember is that there is only "one body" of Christ on planet earth! This is the "Church" that Jesus has been in the process of building now for some 2000 years. Most of us have had some limited experience with levels 1, 2 and 4 on the above listing, but how about number 3? If we agree that it is a valid form of church structure, why don't we see it in our cities and communities? I'm sure there may be functioning examples of this manifestation of church in some areas, but I have not seen any in my journey of over 40 years as a Christian. I have often wondered why, and have always been a firm believer in church unity over the years. I have always been part of a local church since being born into God's family in the mid 60's. I have served as deacon, board member, elder, and pastor, all in the Saint John area. I have seen many leaders come and go, churches thrive for a time and then either split or decline for some other reason.

I have often thought that a citywide, or regional Church Eldership. might have helped prevent some of the things that I have seen over the years that have wounded the body of Christ in some way. I realize that this would not be a simple thing like "electing" a group of leaders to fill this role. The ones that would be well known and popular enough to be chosen, would most likely not be the right ones for the position! This would have to be a "Kingdom appointment", and not a democratically decided thing, in my opinion. And therein lies the problem! How do we go about something like this, that we have no experience in doing? Part of the answer to this question I'm sure is to pray about it and expect the Holy Spirit to give some definite directions!

Does anyone have some other suggestions as to how this level of church structure might start to operate in our area? I would be interested in hearing from you.

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer

RENEWAL--- are we ready or not?

God is a God of renewal! Look at the OT picture of Israel and note how many times we see Him coming to renew, or restore His Chosen People! Renewal and restoration are similar terms, with a slightly different meaning, in my opinion. I see "restoration" as restoring something back to its original condition. But "renewal" would seem to imply the thought of creating something new, as well as restoring what was originally there! That's why I think renewal is the more appropriate term to use for what needs to happen in the Body of Christ today. Not only do we need to be restored to the simplicity and power of the church in the book of Acts, but we must be open for the "greater works" mentioned by Jesus in (John 14:12) as a promise to His followers. What will it take on our part to bring renewal to our communities?

1/ In (Acts 2:1) we read "They were all with one accord in one place". This speaks to me of the need for complete "unity" among believers from all denominations in our communities. How willing are we to work toward this type of unity? Are we willing to pay the cost? It might mean laying aside some "pet doctrines" that we have carried ever since becoming a christian. It could mean accepting that certain brother or sister who worships in that "different" church on the other side of town. You know where they pray real loud, and do strange things! Or maybe the Lord would even ask you to draw out some money from that little "nest egg" you have been saving for a rainy day, and give it to some brother who is going through a financial hard time. These are only a few of the things God might ask you to do to prove how much you desire renewal in your life and in your church!

2/ In (Acts 4:31) we read "After the prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness". Are we willing to be filled with the Holy Spirit as Paul exhorts us in (Eph 5:18) "But be ever filled and stimulated with the Holy Spirit" (Amp version), or are we still afraid of what might happen to us? Are we willing to obey this simple straight forward command in God's word? Or will we continue to believe our traditions, some of which teach us that this experience ended with the last of the original apostles in the first century? Are we honest enough to admit that we have held to our traditions more than to the word of God? Before we can declare the word of God with boldness in our city, it seems to me we must really believe the word and start to put its commands and principles into effect in our lives!

3/ In (Acts 6:7) we read "And the word of God increased , and the number of disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly"! Is this your desire for our city? Imagine with me, if you will, what would happen if God should allow the number of believers in our city to be multiplied by a small factor like 3, or even 4, what would our present churches do with this increase? But notice God uses the term "greatly", which could mean 30 or 40 times as many as at present! How can we prepare for numbers like that? That same verse could hold the answer, "and the word of God increased". We need to see the word of God increasing in individual lives and in the entire city. There has to be some way to saturate our communities with God's word, like maybe with small local Bible studies! Are you part of one? Maybe God wants you to start one with 2 or 3 neighbors in your home. Your tradition might tell you that before you could do that you would need 2 or 3 years of Bible school training. But (Acts 1:8) and (1 John 2:20) tell us all we need is the Holy Spirit, in His fullness! And Jesus did declare in (John 16:13) "When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth". Will we believe the words of Jesus, or hold to our traditions?

4/ In (Acts 8:26-27) we read about Phillip, a newly appointed deacon in the church at Jerusalem, who heard a word from an angel of God, and obeyed immediately. The result was the salvation of an influential man of great authority from Ethiopia, who spread the message of the gospel to that nation. I believe that if we as followers of Jesus, will sincerely work toward, and start to practice these 4 things---1/ Unity, 2/ God's fullness, 3/ Increase in the word, and 4/ Obedience, then we will be prepared for renewal. And when God sees we are ready, He will send a gracious outpouring of His Spirit to renew His Body in our community!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer

KITES AND STRINGS

I once read a poem about a little kite that dreamed about being set free from the string that held it to the ground. Part of the poem goes like this "Were I but free, I'd take a flight; and pierce the clouds beyond their sight. But ah! Like a poor pris'ner bound, my string confines me near the ground". The poor little kite didn't realize that the resistance from the string was the very thing that made flight possible! The poem goes on to tell about how one day the string broke, and instead of soaring above the clouds, the kite fell from the sky and crashed into the ocean!

This reminded me of some followers of Jesus who think that if they could just break free from what they consider to be "confining" circumstances in their life, they too like the little kite, would then be able to soar into the heavenlies. These strings in a believer's life might be, vows, promises, commitments, responsibilities etc. Although these things may seem to be restricting our spiritual progress, they are actually what helps us mature in our spiritual life! "Humility" could be one of these strings that are most important in our lives. Read (James 4:10) to see what he has to say about this very thing. In the NLT it reads "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up in honor". Before cutting any strings in your life, be sure it's not one that the Lord is using to hold you up like the string on a kite! Pride is the opposite of humility, and often comes before a fall. The title of the poem was "The Kite, or Pride, Must Have a Fall"! Pride was actually the original sin that was introduced to our universe by Lucifer (Isa 14:12-14), who then used it to cause Adam and Eve to fall, and introduce sin into the human race, (Rom 5:12). Satan is still our avowed enemy and will use any trick he can to keep us from serving God. If he can't pull us back into some sin we have been delivered from, then he will try to make us feel more spiritual than we really are, which is "spiritual pride"! This is one the worst sins going, and unfortunately he is able to deceive many Christians into thinking they have been given some "new revelation", that even though it may not quite line up with scripture, it feels right. We need to beware of deception in these last days, (Matt 24:24) and not be misled in our thinking like the little kite was in our poem!

"Though I am His sheep, I'm still prone to stray.

So Jesus in love sends afflictions my way:

The lessons that come in the school of deep pain,

Will teach me to follow my Lord once again!"---Bosch

Sincerely submitted

Gramp