CoreValues

CORE VALUES

 

By core values we mean Biblical values that form our belief system.

 

1/ God's written word, the Holy Bible, is infallible as written in the original languages used by the many authors involved. All our core values are based on scripture and must line up with the proper interpretation of this "Word".

 

2/ Jesus is the "Living Word" sent by the Father to show us Himself, and demonstrate how to interpret the Words that He spoke. Jesus came to call out from the world a group of people He referred to as the "Church". This word comes from the Greek [ecclesia] meaning "called out ones". This Church was to be His body on earth to carry out His will and instructions given from His present location in heaven at His Father's side.

 

3/ A proper understanding of the Kingdom of God is absolutely essential for this Church that Jesus is in the process of building from regenerated humans.

This Church must have a proper understanding of the "church in a locality", and also of the "Church Universal" which is the world wide expression of the

KingdomofGod The church in a locality concept helps to foster unity in the body of Christ, and prevents competion between local churches.

 

4/ every local expression of this Church must be based on the following list of Biblical qualifications 1/ salvation by grace alone. 2/ believer's baptism by immersion. 3/ the baptism with the Holy Spirit. 4/ the priesthood of all believers where everyone has access to Christ as head of His Church. 5/ servant leadership who have been set in place by the Lord as per (Eph 4:11-16, and 2 Cor 1:24). 6/ freedom of worship based on definite scriptural activities, such as singing in the Spirit, dancing in the Spirit, allowing the gifts of the Spirit to operate etc. 7/ have a definite form of discipleship training to raise up future leaders. 8/ have small home groups available to all believers to help develop proper relationships and encourage the use of the gifts of the Spirit. 9/ a priority should be given to outreach and missions, both local and worldwide. This should include teaching on returning the tithe to the Lord, and giving generous offerings as directed by Him.

 

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer

 

 

New Life From Old

NEW LIFE REPLACES OLD

 

We have a small beech tree near our driveway that makes itself seen in winter, because it keeps a fair number of its leaves from last summer, throughout the winter months. They just refuse to drop off, in spite of the snow and winter winds. I believe this beech tree has something to teach us. Most all deciduous trees drop their leaves in early fall, usually after the first real frosty night. This is due partly to the fact that they have served their useful role of providing energy to the tree from the sun all summer, and partly because the action of the frost breaking the bond between the leaf and the twig it has been attached to. The question is, why doesn't this happen to every leaf on this beech tree? Why do some leaves hang on until spring?

 

I really don't know the answers to these questions, but I do know what causes them to drop off eventually. When the days lengthen and the rays of the sun get warmer, the sap starts to flow up from the roots of that tree, and a miracle happens. New life starts to show as buds develop on these little twigs and the new life forces these stubborn old leaves to drop off to make room for the new ones! A very similar thing happens in our lives as followers of Jesus. Sometimes stubborn old habits just refuse to fall off, like those leaves on that beech tree. Paul speaks to this in (Gal 5:16-26), where he makes it clear that if we "walk in the Spirit, we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh". In other words, the flow of new life in the Spirit, will force these old habits to drop off! Just like the flow of sap up from the roots of that beech tree causes those leaves from last year to finally fall off!!

 

I trust this little illustration will help some of you get rid of some stubborn old habits from your former life that you picked up before you came to know Jesus. I expect to see that little beech tree in a short time, lose those stubborn old leaves, and be covered with new growth! And I expect to see the same thing happen in your lives, as you determine to follow Jesus closely and start obeying all of His commands recorded in scripture. As we nourish this new life "in Christ", by feeding on His word, and applying the truth to our lives, I guarantee you will gradually see these old habits formed in your old life drop off, just like the last years old leaves on our little beech tree!

Simcerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                 

 

 

 

Contentment

CONTENTMENT

 

This word is describing something that is seldom seen in our world today, in fact we might say it is a very "scarce" commodity. Outside of knowing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and trusting Him for the "salvation" of our soul, I doubt if contentment can even be achieved in our lives. Certainly having more money will not bring contentment, as viewing the lives of those who win a lottery will prove. No matter how large the jackpot is, it seems that people want "more". I recently read about a record $640 million jackpot last year in the US, the estimated value of what was spent on the purchase of tickets was $ 1.5 billion, and the chances of winning were a staggering 1 in 176 million, and yet people lined up to buy the tickets. And it didn't say how contented the winner was. I expect he would have lots of people wanting to help him spend his huge jackpot.

 

In the Bible we can read about a man named Agur in (Prov 30:1-9), who asked God for just two things. 1/ "Remove falsehood and lies far from me" and 2/ "Feed me with the food allotted to me". Read the whole 9 verses to get the context, but I would think this could very well be a recipe for a life of "Contentment". There are many verses of scripture that give us more or less the same answer, but I would suggest you read (1 Tim 6:3-10) where Paul is giving his young disciple named Timothy some good advice including in verse 10 "For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil". It would seem that from God's perspective verse 6 would contain the proper answer to contentment "Now godliness with contentment is great gain". This of course demands that we understand the meaning of "Godliness", which I understand it to mean a life that would please Father God in every way. This type of life is only possible when we are part of His family by being "adopted" by Him, after being "born again" by believing in, and accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior. And then being "filled with the Holy Spirit" as Paul states in (Eph 5:18-21), which is phrased in the form of a command. And the verb for "filled" in the Greek language means to be continually in the process of being filled. Someone asked Dwight Moody "why are you always talking about being filled with the Spirit?" To which he replied

"Because I leak!" That I believe to be the proper answer for all of us, because we leak and need to be continually filled. Some old Pentecostal saint used to say "stay under the spout where the Spirit comes out", which is also good advice in my opinion!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                              

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A WORLD OF OPPOSITES

 

In (Gen 1:3) we find that from the very beginning of creation God separated the darkness by sending the light. "Then God said 'let there be light' and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. Then He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day and the darkness night". (NLT). So we see that from the very start of creation we have had complete opposites, and God is able to separate between them. (Heb 4:12) This is an important principle to remember, when we consider things like we are presently seeing in the "church" today in this 21^st century. One of the most important things, in my opinion, is the tremendous increase of "deception", in church circles. Those who have been around for quite a few years are perhaps more apt to detect this, because although deception has been part of the church since the fourth century, it has never been as bad as we have seen since the start of this century. Of course the reason for that was foretold by Jesus in the twenty fourth chapter of Matthew's account of the gospel.

 

The closer we come to the return of Christ, the more "false prophets" will appear with new exciting teachings, accompanied with false signs and wonders that will deceive many! (Not just a few). In (2 Cor 11:3-4, 12: 11-15) we see clearly from Paul, who was trusted by God with many special revelations about the church, how our enemy Satan will come with his false prophets to teach things that are opposite to what Paul had taught them. So this should not surprise us, if we read and heed what God tells us in His Word. After all that is why He had it recorded, by choosing men to record what He wanted us to know, for such times as this. (2 Tim 3:16-17). If you check the records, you can trace this increase in "false" prophets back to the appearance of certain "prophets" in the early '90's. From their influence there was created a "prophetic movement" that has spread its influence around the world by way of modern technology! It's not hard to realize that it has been centered on Kansas City, and certain of the men who have become well known have started their ministry from there. It is not my intention to point out certain individuals as false prophets or apostles, but I know from experience that whenever there is a "real genuine" anything there is certain to be "counterfeits" of it raised up. Counterfeit $100.00 bills is an example, as well as "knock offs" of expensive watches, or other popular objects. Why should we be surprised that Satan would try to bring forth counterfeits of something that God has established, like His Kingdom!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer