Cell Phone Spirituality

Nancy Gaughan

          We all know how cell phones work.  When you get a new cell phone, you must charge the battery in the battery charger that came with the phone.  The energy in the battery is used up when you keep your phone turned on, which you should do continuously in case anyone calls you or you want to use it.  Once the battery is low, you again plug it into your charger to be recharged and ready to go.

          If you have a phone and never take it out of the charger, it is of no use to you.  If you carry it wherever you go without turning it on, as I often do, it is also useless.  I have the phone so that I can be reached if my son at school or husband at work need me.  When I don’t turn it on, I defeat the purpose of my even having the phone.

          Our walk with God is like that cell phone.  Worship services are our battery charger.  We come and get renewed and recharged to go out into the world and show God’s light in a dark world.  If we only feel God’s presence at church, we are like those who never take the cell phone from the charger.  If we leave the service, having felt God’s presence, but keep His spirit closed up within us, for only our own benefits, we are like those who carry their cell phones without turning them on.  It defeats the purpose of being recharged.  When we let His peace, or His patience, or forgiveness, or wisdom, or other fruits of the Spirit shine through us, we are using the spiritual energy we get from services to God’s glory. 

          The services are important because we all need recharging.  If you are using your spiritual battery, it will need to be recharged.  Worshipping with other believers renews us to go out and show the world God’s light.

Virus Symptoms

Power of Prayer

A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men on it were able to swim to a small, desert like island. The two survivors, not knowing what else to do, agreed that they had no other recourse but to pray to God. However, to find out whose prayer was more powerful, they agreed to divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island.

The first thing they prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the land, and he was able to eat its fruit. The other man's parcel of land remained barren.

After a week, the first man was lonely and he decided to pray for a wife. The next day, another ship was wrecked, and the only survivor was a woman who swam to his side of the land.  On the other side of the island, there was nothing.

Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes, and more food. The next day, like magic, all of these were given to him. However, the second man still had nothing.

Finally, the first man prayed for a ship, so that he and his wife could leave the island. In the morning, he found a ship docked at his side of the island.

The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second man on the island. He considered the other man unworthy to receive God's blessings, since none of his prayers had been answered. As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from heaven booming,

"Why are you leaving your companion on the island?"

"My blessings are mine alone, since I was the one who prayed for them", the first man answered. "His prayers were all unanswered and so he does not deserve anything."

"You are mistaken!" the voice rebuked him. "He had only one prayer, which I answered. If not for that, you would not have received any of my blessings."

"Tell me", the first man asked the voice, "What did he pray for that I should owe him anything?"

"He prayed that all your prayers be answered."

For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers alone, but those of another praying for us.

Author unknown

The Fellowship of the Unashamed

Romans 1:16

I am a part of the ‘Fellowship of the Unashamed.’ I have the Holy Spirit Power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight-walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, chintzy giving and dwarfed goals!

I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded. I now live by presence, lean by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer and labor by power.

My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won’t give up, back up, let up or shut up until I’ve preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up and stayed up for the cause of Christ.

I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until He returns, give until I drop, preach until all know and work until He comes.

And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My colors will be clear.

(Author Unknown)

Note to the person who considers him/herself a Christian: Anger is natural. It is part of sinful man. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can overcome letting our anger lead us to sin.

"The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." (Gal. 5:19-23)

Ps. 4:4 In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent.

Eph. 4:26 "In your anger do not sin" : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,

Prov. 29:11 A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.

Eccl. 7:9 Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.

Eph. 4:31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.

Col. 3:8 But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.

James 1:19-20 My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.

Prov. 15:1 A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Prov. 27:4 Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming

Prov. 30:33 For as churning the milk produces butter, and as twisting the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces strife."

As a Jewish believer and mother of two adult Jewish children who are not yet saved, I am sensitive to inadvertent walls that have been erected by sympathetic and prominent Christian leaders. These walls separate Jewish believers from Christians and Jews from all believers. Such barriers unnecessarily burden the Spirit-led lives of Jewish believers by making it much harder for us to spread the gospel to the Jews and by making it much harder for believing Christians to accept believing Jews into the body of the Messiah.

One such wall is the term "Christian Values". To understand the scriptures one must comprehend the Jewish culture at the time of Jesus. Jesus was not only the fulfillment, but also the embodiment of the Old Testament laws. The values Jesus taught were Jewish values and did not cease being Jewish values when the Messiah elaborated on and re-commanded them.

To unschooled Christians and unsaved gentiles, the term "Christian Values" seems to say the values are exclusively Christian, began with Christ. This lack of recognition of Jesus' Jewishness makes it very difficult for many Christians to accept as members of the body of the Messiah believers who adhere to the traditions that the apostles and the Messiah Himself kept. For example, when we were part of a Messianic Jewish Congregation, made up of believing Jews and Christians who worship on Saturday, we were twice turned down by local churches when we tried to rent facilities for our worship. Both times our request to worship was denied because it would have caused too much controversy within their congregations to have believing Jews, who had not given up their Jewishness, worship in their church.

To a Jew, the term "Christian Values" is as a red flag is to a bull. This is because, whether or not they practice them, Jews feel a sense of ownership, setting themselves apart by a higher ethical and moral code and by putting the welfare of the family and of the community above the welfare of the individual. The phrase is charged to a Jew because it does not give credit where it is deserved. The moral code that Jesus laid down pertains to all Jews and to all believing Christians alike. The lack of acknowledgment presents one more barrier for those who are burdened to reach the Jews with the Gospel.

He took my torment and gave me peace. He took my frustration and gave me a mission. I was raised a cultural Jew and knew I was Jewish because we celebrated the major Jewish holidays. Every Yom Kippur we recited, "Our Father, Our King, we come before you." Every Passover we relived God’s saving power as we recounted the story of His redemption from our slavery in Egypt. So when my sweetheart told me I needed the salvation of Jesus, I thought, "God saved me long ago. Read about it in Exodus."

As a modern liberal Jew, I laughed when he told me I was a sinner. Little lies and unforgiveness weren’t sin, I thought. Sin was only big things like murder and stealing. You can imagine my shock to read in Leviticus that to God even a careless thought is a sin that required sacrifice and that God holds us accountable even for sins we commit of which we are not aware. When a Messianic rabbi showed me that Jesus was the last, perfect sacrifice and our promised messiah, my response was, "Of course, it all fits. God always fulfills His promises. He promised a messiah who would die for our sins, and he kept His promise."

As a new believer, a Messianic Jew, I began listening to Christian radio and talking to both Jewish and gentile believers. I was outraged when I heard gentile Christians talking about Jesus as if He was all there was to the trinity. Where was my Father? What of the Holy Spirit? I was angry when I heard gentile believers ignorant and unappreciative of their Jewish roots. I heard both Messianic and other Jews talk of discrimination by Christians. It hurt because I, too, was a Christian now. It hurt to hear Protestant denominations put down other Protestants and Catholics. There was no love in this Christianity. The world of God’s people was splintered, full of conflict and ignorance. I was confused and upset. The Lord taught love and unity among believers. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus talked of our Father and of the Holy Spirit, Whom we receive when we accept Him as our savior. I had not been a believer long and I was tormented. As a Jew I understood accepting differences and loving family anyway. Jewish families stick together. Now in my Christian family, there was so much anger and division among my brothers and sisters. I was distraught.

Then one night I had a dream. I was walking with Jesus, pouring out my heart to Him. He sat on a boulder beneath a tree. I sat at His feet and wept in frustration. He put His hand on my head and in a voice full of compassion and strength said, "Do not be upset, Child. Know that they have been given what they need for Salvation. They must believe in Me. If they do not know My Father or the Spirit, but if they believe I died for their sins and rose again, that is all they need. You have been given much more for a reason. You are to use what you have been given to build bridges. Use Our Words to build bridges and break down walls."

God has a purpose for everyone who loves Him. Through that dream, took my torment and made me a lady with a mission. I am no longer upset when I meet Christians who, in the glory of Jesus, have lost sight of our Father and the Holy Spirit. They have what they need for salvation. I can let that pass. I have important work to do. Where all can see, I wear a silver Star of David and a silver Cross on a chain. The combination is unusual and opens doors of discussion wherever I go. In churches and Messianic synagogues who preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the differences within denominations are matters of practice, not basic theology. I try never to miss an opportunity to affirm other believers’ denominational uniqueness, yet cut through their cultural biases to the unifying message of the Gospel. The shoulder is different from the hair or the toes or the liver or skin, but we need them all. As Paul wrote, with all our diversity, we believers are one body. We are all grafted into the same tree, by the grace of our Father, His Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, one God with whom we now are to be one. It is time to appreciate our differences and work together in harmony to share His good news.

References:
    1. John 15:12
    2. Romans 8:28
    3. Romans 12:4-5
    4. Romans 11:17-18
    5. John 17: 20-23
    6. Mark 16:15

by Neil Gaughan

Is it really necessary to understand the whole bible? What is really required? Do you really need both testaments? Or better still, since we have the New Testament, why do we need the Old Testament?

The answer to these questions is that it is not required that we understand the whole bible to be saved, or belong to the Lord. The terms "saved" and "belonging to the Lord" are synonymous. What is required is that you, being chosen of God, accept the Messiah, Jesus, as savior. Period. This of course means that you receive Him by faith, repent or turn from your sin, realizing that you are a sinner and your helplessness in saving yourself, and rely totally on Him to do it -- in other words, let him do it.

If that is all we need, why then do we have the rest of scripture, and why is it so complicated. The answer is found in ITIM4:8 where we are told that all scripture is given for our edification, building up, teaching and to help us in leading a profitable life for the Lord. If we really want to know who God is and how He works, then we need to look into the scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, at both the historical and personal accounts, given to us by the Spirit of God, who is the author of the book.

If you want to know how God is going to work in your life, then look at the examples He has given throughout scripture. How He dealt with individuals then is the same way he will deal with you. Their lives and experiences were given for us to learn and profit by -- for instance the story of how Abraham learned to finally trust God and stopped trying to help Him out. This is how Ishmael came to be, by Abraham and Sarah trying to produce themselves what God said He would make happen. We learn from this that when God says He is going to do a work, He means it, and that He also expects to get the credit for it as well. When Sarah finally did become pregnant, there was no other way it could have happened than to be a work of God Himself.

So, mainly in the Old Testament, we have both historical and personal accounts to examine and learn from to gain a gleaming of how the Lord works. He has woven together in both contexts guides for individuals, countries, and especially for believers. Here He has described for us in great detail how He created the universe, established man, and His great plan for us, from beginning to end. For the skeptics He even established prophecies to foretell future events, and fulfilled them, to establish His credibility among the peoples and nations. The idea you get is that He is in control. He is able to raise up men and nations, cause events to happen, and even works in the lives of individuals like you and me on a personal level.

In the Old Testament, God has also revealed a great deal about His nature and His characteristics. We learn that He indeed exists in three distinct personalities, that He predates our entire universe, and will be here long after it is gone. We have literally no other vehicle in which to learn about our God than through this testament. So yes, we need the Old Testament in order to learn about God, to understand how he works, and to put Him in the proper perspective in our lives. In this testament you will find literally every instruction given to us in the New Testament.

So why do we need to understand the Jewishness of the testaments, and is it necessary? Well, God chose Israel to be His example of His people for the rest of the world to see Him reflected in them and their customs, and to lead the world to Him. Much of what is written was set down in a Jewish cultural context, which we need to understand to fully comprehend what God is trying to communicate to us. It is interesting to note that the Jews did not create the need for a Messiah, but were the chosen vehicle that God used to give Him to us. The story of their troubles and rejection of the Messiah is paralleled in many of our lives today, even as individuals. You see, most of the world, not just most of Israel, has rejected Jesus, the Messiah. In this, especially, there is no difference between Jew and Gentile. In studying the scripture you learn that in Israel God’s love and perseverance will be demonstrated in that He will preserve Israel to the end, and then save a remnant of each tribe.

And for the Jewish people who are believers, the secular culture is, of course, important. This is where they came from. They are a part of a people set apart and are special to the Lord. Gentiles are to love the Jewish people, not love just the Messianic Jewish Believers, because God loves them. This is not to say that there is any particular advantage in being a Jew with regard to belonging to the Body of Messiah -- there certainly is not. But the Jewish nation and people are special to God, and must therefore be special to us as believers.

As for the Messianic Believers’ religious customs, these go with being Jewish, and worshipping in a Jewish context. Have you been to a Black or Spanish church lately? Talk about context. Now they really have it! The gentiles have a culture too. And it is just as valid in the Body as is the Jewish culture. We have to recognize that, as they do.

So why the New Testament? In this set of books, God revealed Christ the Messiah as a person. He established his Church, set down its principles of operation, gave guidelines, identified it, specified it, and instructed us in how to live and operate as a body of believers, and showed us how not to be part of the world even though we are in it. It was here that the Messiah identified Himself as God, and fulfilled the prophecies He made about Himself, and made the way to salvation known, removing any doubts about what he meant. He lifted the veil, pushed away the vagueness left in the Old Testament about His purpose, and gave us His final revelation about Himself. And, if you see anything more anywhere else, don’t believe it.

So do we need both? You Bet!! If you want to really understand this God you serve, and as a Believer understand why you have difficulty in your life, understand what is means to trust and obey, learn about God’s character, get His advice on virtually every aspect of life, then you certainly need the Old Testament. To really see Christ, the Messiah, to see how you should be behaving as a Believer, and to understand the work and purpose of His Church, you need the New Testament. It is after all, all one book. It was intended that way. You should use it as such.