Expository Introduction

Posted on September 5, 2017 by Roland Ledoux


Isaiah 28:9-13, “Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.” For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people, To whom He said, “This is the rest with which You may cause the weary to rest,” And, “This is the refreshing”; Yet they would not hear. But the word of the LORD was to them, “Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little,” That they might go and fall backward, and be broken And snared and caught.”

Isaiah 28:10 — “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.”

Many of my Calvary Chapel peers and friends will recognize these verses for they are the foundation of the teaching style of many Pastors within the Calvary Chapel churches. AND, before you think I might be critical or criticizing, I am NOT criticizing this style of teaching/preaching! This actually encompasses some of my favorite teaching style and led me to truly recognize and understand the importance of keeping the Scriptures in context. My years in ministry within the Calvary Chapel *“organization” helped me to develop my own style of teaching.

If you think about it, the Scriptures were written in an orderly fashion (as inspired by the Holy Spirit) to portray a specific line of thought. It only stands to reason that to “expose” or analyze that line of thought, you read it, study it in the way and order that it was written.

I have many peers in the blogosphere who teach by exposition in their writing and posts and their teaching and writing is excellent AND inspiring. When I was actively preaching, I tended to use expository teaching more actively from the pulpit and even when I resorted to thematic teaching, it was the expository study of the Scriptures that allowed me to teach the theme I was covering within the context of the written Word.

The one thing about the above Scripture though and the context with which it is given, is that rather than “dictating” an inspired style of teaching “approved” by God, it is actually a treatise of the Lord mocking a grumbling and disobedient people at a particular time in Israel’s history. You can read most of Isaiah 28 and see that the Lord is criticizing His people who are criticizing the teaching and the way it is done. In today’s parlance, you might say the people are reacting the way of teaching by repeating, “blah, blah blah, blah blah, blah blah!” More or less snubbing the teachers of the time.

Still, because this WAS the way the Scriptures to that time had been taught, it was a very reasonable and practical way of teaching. This is not to say that thematic preaching/teaching (expounding on a theme, such as sin, or love, for instance) is not an effective way to preach or teach, it is just that thematic teaching or even studying a theme has its pitfalls if the student is not careful.

Today, we have many religious fads and false teachings that have crept into the church due to preachers and teachers taking OUT of context, Scriptures that fit a theory or idea, and once that germ of a thought has taken root, a preacher or teacher will do all within their power to make the Scriptures fit their theory! Whatever the motive, no matter how it makes the listener feel, it is still false teaching because it is TWISTING the Scriptures to fit a person’s theory, rather than making a person’s theory fit the contextual Scriptures!

This is one of the reasons why I hold so dearly (and yes, use it quite often) the Scripture that the Apostle Paul wrote, stating, “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” – 2 Corinthians 3:5-6. It is the Spirit of the Word, the Bible, that gives it life, the inspired meaning behind the words and not the words themselves. I have said it many times before and written in my articles that the Scriptures can be made to say just about anything a person wants them to say. This is one of the reasons we have so many cults cropping up from time to time and the false teachings that have infiltrated the church. Does that make the Scriptures flawed? Undoubtedly, it is the user and his ideas that are flawed. The Scriptures will remarkably confirm themselves when dealt with in the right spirit and context!

Plus, we need to be reminded that it is not just the preacher or teachers faults wholly, for individually we are responsible on what we accept as “gospel” and truth. When we stand before our Redeemer at the final judgment, He is NOT going to accept the excuse, “well, that is what my preacher/teacher taught or told me!”

Another of my favorite Scriptures was written by the Author of Acts when describing the exploits of Paul and Silas, “Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men.” – Acts 17:10-12.

I want you to focus on verse 11 where it says, “These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica,” some translations use the word “noble” in place of fair-minded. WHY were they this way? Because, “they received the word with all readiness,” first and foremost, their hearts were open, then, and here is the main reason, “and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” They didn’t search the Scriptures to find fault with Paul and Silas, because their hearts where already open to the Word, BUT, and it is a big BUT, they wanted to make sure that what they received was the TRUTH!!! They held themselves, individually accountable for what they received in their hearts and minds!!!

If we, almost two thousand years later, would do the same thing when it comes to the Scriptures and the Living Word of God, our churches and most likely our societies wouldn’t be in the mess that it is today. But rather than be like the noble Bereans, we have become more like the grumbling and complaining Israelites in the days of Isaiah! This goes to prove a point I have stated time and time again; human nature just does not change despite our knowledge of history! There is only ONE way for which our natures can change from the grumbling, complaining and deceitful to the fair-minded and noble and that is by the very BLOOD of Christ Jesus and our willingness to be spiritually bathed or washed in it!

When we surrender our very nature, our very willfulness to the Holy Spirit who leads us directly to the Cross of Christ and we accept that sacrifice for the penalty of our sinfulness, then and only then does the Holy Spirit take up residence with our spirit to guide, to teach and to convict (convince) us of spiritual truth. Then and only then can our minds and spirit be reawakened as children and heirs of God Almighty, our Heavenly Father and it is then that the spiritual gift of discernment becomes active and allows us to see the spirit of the Word of God and not just the letter. We then step into the realm that the Apostle Paul wrote about to the Corinthians, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1 Corinthians 2:12-14.

Anyway, I wanted to give you this introduction, so to speak, because I want to start some expository teaching on one of my favorite Books of the Bible, the Epistle of 1 John. It will be predominantly, verse by verse, line upon line teaching; thus the explanation given to this point.

Ever since I became born-again, just before my seventeenth birthday and started reading a Bible gifted to me, I quickly found that 1 John was to become an exceedingly favorite portion of the Bible. I think, for me, it was because of what I presumed to be the “grandfatherly” way in which John, the Apostle wrote it. It quickly touched my heart and spirit as a youth and was a big step to encouraging me to truly get in and read the Bible as a whole! I have been in love with the Bible ever since.

I hope and pray that 1 John will awaken/reawaken the love for God’s Word in you as it has me.

In closing, however you teach, or if you are a preacher, a minister (servant) of the Word, I hope and pray that you take to heart the importance of precept upon precept, line upon line in your study of the Word and especially as a guide for keeping the Scriptures in context. We WILL be accountable and answerable to Christ Jesus our Lord AND Master, for the words we speak towards the goal of instructing others; so, let not our words of instruction be in vain.

God bless and may the Spirit of the Living Word encompass your hearts, minds and spirits, always!

*Calvary Chapels for the most part do not want to associate their churches within the framework of a denomination and even though there are thousands throughout the world as an “organization” they consider themselves to be “undenominational.” This is given just as some informational background to my readers.
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The Cure

Posted on September 3, 2017 by Roland Ledoux


Romans 16:17, “Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them.”

Colossians 2:8, “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.”

1 Timothy 1:3-4, “As I urged you when I went into Macedonia–remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith.”

1 Timothy 5-11, “Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm. But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.”

2 Timothy 4:2-4, “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.”

Jude 1:16-19, “These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.”

Okay, starting off, I’m going to admit a weakness or a fault of mine that I have been experiencing for several months now. If hearing a teacher or preacher claiming faults or weaknesses is disconcerting to you, then you have my permission to “disengage” right now and go no further.

I have been heartsick! There I said it. A Christian teacher and preacher who admits to being heartsick for several months!!! Unheard of, right? Well, I’d rather be honest and truthful with you upfront, than lead you on into believing I am perfect without a care in the world!

It has nothing to do with my battle with physical pain, though that can be a hindrance, but rather it has to do with something beyond emotional pain, a spiritual pain as it were. Honestly! I am hurting in my spirit, greatly.

Now before you lecture (or scold) me, that I should be praying more, reading the Word more, “giving it all to God” more, etc., etc., let me tell you that those parts of my life, though they can always be improved, have not been the cause of any spiritual deficiency leading to my being “heartsick!”

No, in truth, the only thing that might clear my mind and spirit of this condition would be for me to become a total, dedicated hermit, or for the Lord to come and take me home! I know, I know, both these solutions seem to be incredibly drastic, but my mind has strayed that way for months now.

You see, I try to avoid the news outlets, the world goes on right outside my door. I try to avoid social media so I don’t see what is going on from the perspective of internet commentary and I have to go to the store, or the doctor’s office or any other countless, mundane routines of someone who is retired from public, let alone any other kind of service. I still see the world going by on its merry way as if they have an eternity of time to accomplish their own personal “bucket lists” before they have to depart, leaving behind “their” indelible marks on the remaining world!

I realize that I am speaking in the midst of some great heroic and unselfish deeds coming out of the natural disaster named hurricane “Harvey” hitting the state of Texas, predominantly, but effecting people in the other states adjacent to Texas as well. But, “Harvey” is recent (I am beginning to write this 9-3-2017), and I am looking back several months as my “spiritual” melancholy began to set in.

Riots in our streets, the breakdown of civil obedience, the assassination of our police officers, a backward spiral of race relations, a progressive, liberal media that doesn’t count on the truth to further its journalism endeavors, corruption beyond measure in an outgoing government being taken place by alleged (but not proven) corruption in an incoming new government, further wars and rumors of wars, etc., etc., so on and so forth!! This is just in the WORLD as a whole!

Then take into consideration, seeing corruption and crime firsthand in a small town that shouldn’t even be touched by such things, watching as the police time and again, trying to apprehend a neighbor/neighbors that time after time, demonstrate by their actions that the law doesn’t apply to them. Going to the neighborhood chain store, or grocery store and watch as people plow down the aisles without a look-see before entering the main aisle (I’m pretty much relegated to a wheel chair as my knees don’t support me more than a minute or two) as if they are in some sort of ultra-reality, crash-cart derby! I mean, most stores, grocery or department are laid out just like the lanes and throughways of a city traffic grid; you have your main lanes and then your cross lanes. If people drove out in their cities like they do in the stores, it would solve the population crisis real simply, and quite fast!

Okay, maybe, just maybe you are thinking I’m exaggerating just a little. Maybe I am, and my perspective has just become a little hypersensitive, but this much I will tell you, I have seen mankind in general, locally by people’s actions and on a world-scale by the news I have seen becoming more and more self-occupied and a lot more self-centered. Whether it be spending all their time on their cell phones (whether in traffic or not), or just doing whatever they can to get to their destinations, by whatever means necessary.

This has led me to another aspect of the human-nature condition that I have been a student of most of my life; human nature does not seem to change through the generations or, in fact, the centuries! It truly reminds me of that saying that everyone is familiar with, “those who fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it!”

The truth of this can be found throughout the Old Testament of the Bible, the Living Word of God. The children of Israel were created to be the heirs and children of God Almighty. All He asked of them was to follow Him in all their ways, His commands and directions. It just seems that at every turn, no matter the many heroic actions and incidents of their history, they also seemed to have an ongoing history of disobedience and willfulness. By the way, willfulness could be construed as self-centeredness as well!

So if you are reading this, tell me, in all of mankind’s history from the very beginning, other than the environment and the circumstances, WHAT HAS CHANGED?

Now I know, you are probably thinking, Pastor Roland, you are very pessimistic! It may appear that way, but in fact, I am very OPTIMISTIC! It’s just that my optimism isn’t in mankind’s ability to correct itself, but rather in the fact that God, our Heavenly Father, through the Redeeming quality of Christ Jesus is the only hope we have for mankind and that in Him AND only in Him will we ever find the “cure” to human-nature!

Then why the melancholy, the “heart-sickness,” you may be asking? The truth of the matter is that it is not just the world that I am witnessing this self-centeredness, but in many of my “peers” and friends in the “religious” arena. I have known for years what the Bible has prophesied and if the truth be told, for some reason, whatever the reason, I didn’t think I would be around to actually see some of what I am seeing take place! I am trying to be very transparent and yet at the same time, kind of put out there in the “blogosphere” a warning call, or an alarm call that all is not right in the organized “church-world!”

You see, we have been given an awesome gift, a roadmap as it were, a foundation for life that has been placed in our little hands for our benefit, individually, as well as corporately, for the betterment of those around us. The truth is, not everyone sees this as a benefit, and some go so far as to believe it is a recipe of “suggestions,” for the creation of a “happy” lifestyle. Some believe that it is a mythology for Utopia, a mystical magical formula that is only for some and not for all.

The Bible isn’t a “book of suggestions” but rather a key, a link, to what is missing in a life separated from its Creator, and the Way to get back that which has been missing. It’s not magic, it’s not mystical, but rather it is SPIRITUAL and it only works when the inner spirit has been reawakened and is sincerely curious as to what more there is to this mystery we call LIFE.

It is the answer to the question, “is this (this natural, physical, existence) all there is to life? In its inspired (inspired by the Holy Spirit) writings we see that this natural existence is only the finite stepping-stone to our REAL Life!

Sadly, we have people, who claim to be “from God” who do some of the very things the writers of the verses I gave at the beginning prophesied would happen. They have become more concerned with what the MAJORITY of people will think about them, than giving, out of a heart and spirit of love, the TRUTH which is only found in the whole Word of God! That, is the definition and demonstration of not love, but self-centeredness!

Jesus told some of the Jews that believed in Him, that “you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” – John 8:32. But the Jews were confused or unsure and Jesus had to give the explanation to clarify His statement by saying, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” – John 8:34-36.

Jesus demonstrated His love to those believing in Him and even those confused or unsure, not by skirting the issue of sin, but by explaining the hold living in sin has on mankind, AND by pointing out the fact that the Son is the way to overcome that hold! It would not have done the Jewish converts any good to avoid the issue of sin, for they would not have understood then the hold it had and the NEED they had to be released from it!

But today, it is neither fashionable nor expedient to point out sin, or the hold it has on people and thus the way to escape it, because if the subject DOES surface, it would not be “loving” towards those who are living in it!!

We have “religious” organizations that are literally changing, NOT TRANSLATING, but changing the words of the Bible so that they won’t appear to be so offensive to certain groups of people for fear that those groups might make a public spectacle and cause embarrassment to the “church!” OR, to garner more memberships, (so as to keep their coffers full) or to maintain their power structure within these organizations, they refuse to acknowledge outright sin, using the philosophy that to do so is NOT loving to the people living a lifestyle of sin!

Just to make it clear, I am NOT just speaking about a lifestyle of homosexuality either, though it is the one thing that is in the public eye right now. I am talking about any lifestyle that is actively engaged in sinful activity and is enabled by ignoring it, out of “love” for the person involved. To give you an example, many years ago, we attended a church for a very short time in Arizona, where the Pastor’s son was leading the Praise and Worship service while he (the son) was also having an adulterous relationship with a woman in the church. The Pastor was well aware that his son was living in active, ongoing sin, yet didn’t feel that it had any influence on the Praise and Worship, the very tool that is used to try and garner the manifest presence of the Lord, through His Holy Spirit, into the midst of the congregation!! The son still “loved” the Lord, but he also “loved” another man’s wife as well, so the “Love covered the sin!” —- (“By the way, the woman was separated, but still married to her husband.”)

Do I need you to guess whether the Spirit of the Lord rested upon that congregation or not? Some said it was always a great time of Praise and Worship. He was a very skilled musician, but I have seen the results first-hand of the Holy Spirit washing over an open and transparent congregation and this congregation didn’t exemplify that. The Holy Spirit, the Lord, will not manifest His presence upon a congregation that does not recognize, but rather enables continued, open sin within their congregation! You can have a wonderful time of music, you may experience great emotional exuberance, but the lasting, healing and redemptive quality of the Holy Spirit’s manifestation will not be present while sin reigns in the camp! The emotions die out soon after the service, the touch of the Holy Spirit lasts through many trials and tribulations!

I don’t need to reiterate the Scriptures I gave you in the beginning. If you read them, the Holy Spirit will illuminate the truth of them to you. You truly don’t need me to relay to you what is truth and what is falsehood. If you truly are a child of the Lord’s, you already have the Holy Spirit Whose mission it is to convict (meaning to convince) you of what His Word truly says.

I will end on this though; if you truly want to Love others as Christ Jesus loves, as our Heavenly Father commands, then don’t twist or run and hide from the truth when it needs to be revealed. To do so, is not love, but self-centeredness, because you are fearful of how someone feels or will react to you. If however, you want to truly love, give them the possibility of freedom, give them the Son, the Truth, the Light, the Life and the Way. If we determine to do this, as opportunities present themselves (not forcing it on others) then the love will take care of the sin.

My concern right now, more than anything else in the spiritual realm is that those teaching the Word of God, will teach/preach ALL of the Living Word of God and not just the parts that are pleasing to their role as “minister” etc. My concern is that we don’t become like the shepherds of the Prophet Jeremiah’s teaching and scatter the sheep, or bruise the sheep. The things that the Lord told the Prophet Jeremiah to prophesy about the religious leaders of his day, are repeating themselves in this age in which we are living and the Apostle Jude has told us this is a sign of the last days! All I can say to that is what the Apostle John ended with in the Book of Revelation, “He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” – Revelation 22:20.

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When You Pray, Pray This Way – Part III

Posted on July 9, 2017 by Roland Ledoux

Matthew 11:15, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

Let’s continue on from Part II to look at the SPIRIT of “The Lord’s Prayer”:

And Forgive us Our Debts, As We Forgive Our Debtors —– In other words, forgive us from those things, those circumstances, those instances where we have actually indebted ourselves to others because of transgressions, mistakes and outright sin. Our overall forgiveness comes from our faith in the Redemptive payment through the sacrifice of Christ Jesus and the Grace that pours forth in our acceptance, individually and personally for our own accountability.

But – what Jesus is saying here, are the day to day circumstances that demonstrate our individual transgressions toward others that we come into contact with or have influence over. We become indebted to others when we allow our will and desires to take selfish precedent over others needs and concerns. We need to DAILY ask the Lord to forgive us of these transgressions, but with one very important proviso; that while we are asking for our own forgiveness from these transgressions, we also hold no one else in debt to us for their transgressions. We hold no bitterness or accountability, but release their “indebted to us” back to the Lord!

The condition of our forgiveness depends on our ability to forgive those who have wronged us, no matter the circumstance!! I bring the importance of this up because years ago (and it still crops up its head from time to time) my wife and I were actively involved in a teaching/preaching ministry at a church in Globe, Arizona. The pastor there actually got to a point, where he started teaching from behind the pulpit and the Sunday School lectern that you DO NOT have to forgive another, unless they come to you and personally ask forgiveness!

They completely ignored the Biblical teachings of Jesus directly, as well as so many other Scriptures that the writers of the Bible, inspired by the Holy Spirit, instructed us to follow concerning the NECESSITY to our spiritual well-being for forgiving others, no matter what!! For those wondering, no, we didn’t stay much longer after this, though we tried so hard to correct their teaching. I am not exaggerating when I tell you today that this particular church has no more than a handful of people attending today. So sad.

The one thing that has been impressed upon my spirit time and time again is this; if we are truly forgiven ourselves, washed in the Saving Blood of Christ Jesus, our hearts and spirits are reborn to the point where we couldn’t hold back forgiveness from another if we wanted too!! I will ALWAYS remember the instance in the Bible where the sinful woman anointed the feet of Jesus at the house of Simon the Pharisee and this is what Jesus said, “Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” – Luke 7:47.

We have all sinned, and we all still transgress daily, whether it is through deed or thought and we ALL have to ask the Lord to forgive us as we forgive others. Yes our sins ARE forgiven, but we are not yet perfect and won’t be until He Who IS perfect comes for us to take us home and we must NEVER forget that fact!

Philippians 3:12-14, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

And Do Not Lead Us Into Temptation, —– This is NOT speaking of the same types of temptations that James speaks about his Epistle: “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.” – James 1:13. This is one of the reasons why it is so important to not just read your Bible, but to study it, to meditate on what it says. The Bible DOES NOT contradict itself, despite what some may say, but rather it is in our interpretation and/or understanding of it that causes conflict. When these situations arise, ASK the Holy Spirit to reveal it to you and HE most assuredly will!!

This part of our daily prayer is simply this; just as Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane as stated earlier, asking His Father to remove the “cup of suffering” from Him, we ask the Lord to remove the tests and trials of our daily lives as well. BUT – remember this; we ALWAYS qualify it with, “nevertheless, not my will, but THINE (Yours, Heavenly Father) be done!”

Why do we even pray this way? It is a further acknowledgment of our total and complete dependence upon our Heavenly Father as well as the total and complete surrender of our will to His! We recognize our own weaknesses in coping with the day to day trials that come our way. A person who does not recognize God Almighty as their Heavenly Father does not understand the humility in recognizing our limitations. We need to remember that this all ties back to the Father’s “will on earth as it is in Heaven”; meaning specifically His will be accomplished in our individual lives, just as His will is accomplished completely in Heaven, this very moment!

There is a part of the “Christian” church that today does not believe that God “tests” us so that we may recognize our limitations and weaknesses. The truth of the matter is that the Lord does ALLOW testing in our lives even if He is not the One actually “testing” us for the Bible tells us that “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” – James 1:2-4.

This falls into line with this part of our daily prayer. James was truly reiterating what the Savior was teaching to the disciples gathered around, and — this leads us into the second part of that prayer guideline:

But Deliver Us From the Evil One. —– We can ask for relief from daily testing and trials, but even though we may not avoid them, we can further ask, out of acknowledged weakness and limitations that our Heavenly Father, AS A FATHER, provide us with protection and strength from the very one, the devil, who is the very enemy of not just our soul but of our very existence. There is and there should be NO shame in crying out on a daily basis for protection from the very same adversary that TRIED to tempt Jesus in the wilderness!

When we ARE tested with trials and tribulations in our daily routine of life, the Father’s purpose in allowing it, is to make us stronger in spirit, a well-grounded heir to His Kingdom. But through the trials and such, it can and often does take a toll on our physical being, our natural self. It is during this time of weariness when the enemy tries to take advantage. It is for this very reason why we pray for deliverance from the evil one and this has the added advantage of also protecting us from falling into the trap of wronging others and becoming indebted to them as stated earlier.

For Yours is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory Forever. Amen. —– Again, we are acknowledging the fact that our Heavenly Father is the Ruler, the King of a vast Kingdom and that in the natural scheme of things it surpasses and dominates anything that our minds can fathom! We acknowledge once again through the power of PRAISE that all that we have “prayed” and asked for to this point is in recognition of His Majesty, Power, Glory and Bountiful, Eternal Love!

This ending is not found in some of the older manuscripts and is omitted in SOME Protestant and the Catholic Bible and yet, here again, while we are looking at the SPIRIT of the Living Word and not just the text, it is fitting that while we start our prayer to our Heavenly Father in praise and adoration, we should, after asking all from Him, end with the same, giving Him praise and adoration!

We can remember through the structured guideline of this prayer “form” that He truly is the Alpha and Omega of our lives! Remember what John wrote in his Gospel, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” – John 4:23-24.

Our Heavenly Father is ALWAYS seeking those who WILL worship Him. He desires and WANTS communion with His creation for it was by His Eternal, Unconditional Love that we were created and it was FOR that Love that He has made a way in which we can, once again, walk daily, with Him until that time when He calls us to our TRUE Home!


Jesus gave us further guidelines as found in Matthew and Luke. True intimacy isn’t in the constant repetition, it isn’t in the loud, boisterous proclamations that draw attention to oneself, but rather it is the simple, private, personal and individual communication that takes place between two Loved ones!

Remember, this prayer guideline, often referred to as the “Lord’s Prayer,” was not meant to be just repeated, but rather to be used as what I have often referred to as a guide, a pattern in which we can direct our innermost thoughts. True intimacy, true adoration, worship and love happens not just in the darkened recesses of our homes, but constantly, throughout our day; no matter what our activity, once our spirit has been reawakened, reignited anew, Christ Jesus draws us to the Father through Him, empowered by His Holy Spirit and we begin to realize that our real lives are not seen (for they are spiritual) and not of this natural world, but are ready to be lived in something much more precious, something much more grand!!!

This is all because God Almighty, the Creator of all that is, all that ever was and all that ever will be, chose us to be His children, and we have a home that is beyond explaining, with a Heavenly Father who loves us beyond condition!

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When You Pray, Pray This Way – Part II

Posted on July 9, 2017 by Roland Ledoux

Matthew 11:15, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

Let’s continue on from Part I to look at the SPIRIT of “The Lord’s Prayer”:

Your Kingdom Come —– Your Kingdom Come, denotes the place where You have personal rule and have supreme domain, the place where Your Law, Your edicts, Your plans, Your Will not just reside, but emanate from. This is the place where You and You alone as God Almighty are the ultimate Ruler, ultimate King, without question having total and absolute authority! Let them advance or proceed from Your Throne where You govern, and allow them to advance to/towards us. By remembering this, we acknowledge His rule, His Lordship, but we also remember in this acknowledgment that we are a part of that very Kingdom, for in truth, His Kingdom is everywhere that He resides and He DOES reside everywhere! Therefore, His absolute authority is everywhere and we are subject to that authority. He IS our authority as Father, but even though we are His children, we are his subjects as well.

Your Will Be Done on Earth as it is in Heaven —– When we ask the Lord, out of our Love for Him and not out of obligation, as future heirs and present-day children of God Almighty, to let His Will be done where we now reside, in the natural realm, because we KNOW that is how His Will operates in Heaven, in the Eternal, we are SURRENDERING our wills, desires, plans, wishes, etc., to the One that we KNOW is more loving, more intelligent, more wise and we acknowledge that He has our best interest in mind, because He IS our Heavenly Father!

For too long man’s will has taken precedent over the Lord’s will and we are just shy of completely destroying this island we call earth! Man’s will has not advanced our position in the Eternal even momentarily. It is only by totally surrendering our will and acknowledging that our Heavenly Father, God Almighty is wiser and has our BEST interests at heart that we actually can become the “heirs to the Kingdom” that our Heavenly Father wants for each of us!

It has been stated in many articles recently that when we ask the Lord to “let His will be done,” in relation to prayer and communion, that it is because we lack faith, or we do not know His plans or “will” for our future or His desires concerning certain events taking place in our lives.

But here is the thing; we can and should be communing with our Heavenly Father on a daily basis already, but just because we are, doesn’t mean that He will be divulging all His plans for us in specific detail, or that if we don’t know what tomorrow holds for us, it is a lack of faith. The very fact that we still need to TRUST in Him for tomorrow and the very fact that we can still say in our prayers, “thy will be done,” is the act of faith that the writer of Hebrews states allows us to “please God,” for as it is written, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” – Hebrews 11:6.

This is speaking directly about communing with God Almighty in that it states those who “diligently seek Him.” We do that in communication and ESPECIALLY when we believe that our answers, (whether yea or nay) and our rewards come FROM Him and that He is indeed God, and they (the answers and rewards) are His will and His will alone! If you take away our reliance upon what He holds for us in the future, and the TRUST needed to believe that He has our best ETERNAL consequences at heart, then we can NO LONGER please Him because faith would not and is not any longer needed.

When God appeared to Abraham and told him that his wife Sarah would bear children, God divulged to Abraham his general plan for his life. BUT – God did NOT divulge specifics because if He had, Abraham would not have to “practice” faith in God’s Word, all he would have to do would mark off the calendar until the specific time arrived! We see in the news today, just what happens when we don’t move in the direction of “thy will be done,” but take it upon ourselves because we THINK we know God’s plan for the moments still in front of us. Abraham’s rush to fulfill God’s promise out of God’s time has created a centuries old feud that will NOT disappear until Christ Jesus returns!!!

Jesus Christ Himself put His very own words into practice at the Garden of Gethsemane when He asked His Father to take away the “cup” that He would soon partake of. Jesus KNEW His mission, (His job, to put it crudely) and KNEW that He HAD to go voluntarily to the Cross until the very end, yet, because as a man, He wanted to avoid the suffering and pain, etc., He asked if it were at all possible, crying out to His Father “saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” – Luke 22:42.

He had faith in His Father’s ability to remove the pain and suffering, yet He subjected His own will as the suffering man to that of His Heavenly Father’s will! IF IT IS YOUR WILL!!! He knew it was the Father’s will for He had been about His Father’s business since He could BE about His Father’s business!

So, when you pray, you are making a statement of faith concerning your acknowledgement of God’s greater will over yours, you are asserting His Kingdom to be accomplished here on earth, and you are subjecting yourself under Him as your Father and you are letting Him take the reins of your life trusting that He WILL fulfill His promises and that He WILL illuminate your footsteps and direction!

Do NOT get trapped in these New Age fads that turn simple, God pleasing faith into some “magic” formula where you will receive what YOU want despite God’s Wise and Eternal Will! This type of religious fad has infiltrated the organized church establishment and has only led to confusion, heartache and disbelief; ALL tools of the enemy of your soul! Not everything that SEEMS or sounds right, IS right, and you NEED to discern the truth from the lie and deception and especially in the age we live in right now!

Wheat.

Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread —– We have a right, as acknowledged heirs, of our Heavenly Father Who created us and also created the means for our survival and existence, to ask individually and personally for those necessities that determine that very existence and survival for the here and now and to do so on a day by day basis. Jesus shows us this is not selfishness, but rather this also is another expression of our faith, for what child would ask something of their Father and NOT expect to receive? This is another area in which we are pleasing our Heavenly Father, because we are asking in faith, not just believing, but KNOWING that His promises include our daily sustenance, etc.

Luke 11:11, “If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?”

Notice also that Jesus is not telling us to ask for tomorrow’s bread! The following is Jesus actually explaining further to the disciples WHY we do not have to worry about what we ask of the Father in His (Jesus’) own words:

Matthew 6:25-33, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ “For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

END OF PART II

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When You Pray, Pray This Way – Part I

Posted on July 9, 2017 by Roland Ledoux

1 Corinthians 3:1-4, “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?”

Hebrews 5:12-14, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

Matthew 11:15, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

There has been so much talk lately on social media and in the news (yes in the news!) about prayer, and so many articles written about different ways to pray and prayers that will bring miracle answers, and miraculous healings and so forth and so on that it has caused a “restlessness” in my spirit!

Last night, the Lord kept speaking to me over and over again in my mind and spirit about HIS Word, what has HE said, what has HE instructed! Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against “praying” the Scriptures, reciting those things from long dead Prophets of God, especially when there are living truths in their recorded words as inspired by the Holy Spirit.

BUT ——- in all the things written about prayer and how to pray and what to pray and what you should and shouldn’t say in your prayers, teaching on WHY we pray to begin with has gone by the wayside and with that lack of teaching, HOW to pray and WHO to pray too has also suffered! This is the Churches fault; those like myself that have been called to SERVE others through teaching and exhortation, etc., gifts given from the Holy Spirit for ministry (service) to the very Church we are called to hold up and strengthen!

We have become so split in our organizations that our doctrines and theocracy and what we believe has become more central and more important than what the BIBLE, the Living Word of God, tells us to do! We need to remember that when our Heavenly Father, God Almighty commands His Son to return for His children and when Christ Jesus, Himself breaks through the clouds, He is only coming for one Body, one Bride, one CHURCH!!!!

Do you not remember the implication (see Genesis 3) found in the beginning of the Book of Genesis, that God WALKED with Adam and Eve and communed with them intimately. Why did He do that, if not for His love of His creation and the desire for their love in return? Do you think that their sin stopped the Father’s willingness to continue in communion, for wasn’t it after their initial sin that the implication of God’s willingness to continue to commune with them is stated in the examples given? God CONTINUED to speak to mankind in a way that man COULD hear and understand Him for a long while after that initial fall into sin!

The whole point of the first chapters of Genesis is to show our Heavenly Father’s undying love AND desire to continue to commune with mankind. Our Heavenly Father, God Almighty, the Creator of everything that is and ever was, WANTS an intimate relationship with His Creation and it always came through communion or communication!!!

Remember that when you read man’s journey from his first sin until redemption that it was NEVER God who stopped talking to man, but rather it was man’s shame because of his sin that caused man to stop communing with God, his Heavenly Father! This is what prayer is all about, communion and communication with the ONE Who created us to be a part of Himself!!!

So why make “prayer” so hard? Why turn it into something that is so extravagant, so convoluted that even a person with average intelligence is afraid to tackle it or explain it, let alone a little child? Have you ever watched a little child truly pray? In their innocence and simplicity, it is one of the most precious events you can ever be privy too! Yet that is exactly what the Lord wants from us and Jesus Himself taught us through His disciples!

When we pray, when we “TALK” to our Heavenly Father, we approach Him like we truly are, HIS CHILDREN! Jesus taught it very simply, very straight-forward this way as found in the Gospel of Matthew, as well as the Gospel of Luke:

Matthew 6:7-8, “And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.”

“In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” —- Matthew 6:9-13.

NOW — let’s break down this prayer into the components that are important and why Jesus taught us to pray following this guideline. Remember also, this IS a guideline and not just some words to memorize. It comes back to what I repeat from the Scriptures again and again concerning HOW I should look at the Word of God:

2 Corinthians 3:6, “who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

Let’s now look at the SPIRIT of this prayer:

Our Father in Heaven —– Jesus immediately starts off with WHO we are to pray too! Why is there so much confusion today? I don’t get it or understand it and especially so for those that say they read their Bibles daily! Jesus makes it perfectly clear that we are to pray to our FATHER in Heaven! It is God, our Father Who created us, it is God our Father from the very beginning that desired (and still desires) communion with us. Jesus came to pave the way so that the spiritual connection that was broken could be reignited!

John 14:4-11, “And where I go you know, and the way you know.”
Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”
Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.”
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.”

Our Father in Heaven denotes a personal, intimate relationship with the ONE Who looks upon each of us as more than a mere creation, but looks upon us as an individual, personal child of His! It denotes a belonging and an heir to the One Who loved us enough to bring us into existence. He IS a Father, but not just that, when we pray, we recognize Him as OUR Father. We recognize immediately that He is NOT as our or other earthly Fathers, but has a home in a spiritual realm that will one day, by virtue of our being His child and heir, be our home also. We are NOT orphaned, or abandoned, but rather are away “at school” as-it-were, to learn and to grow into the heirs that He wants us to be, for when we DO return Home!

Hallowed be Your Name —– Hallowed be Your Name meaning that not just You as our Heavenly Father, not just the Person that You are, but your very NAME is to be honored as holy, exalted, revered, praised as divine, worshipped and adored. It is not just Him as our Father, for truly He IS God Almighty and HE IS Holy and to be praised, etc., but His very Name is Holy for His Name cannot be separated from Who He IS! His Name also identifies who we are to Him and who IS His by the very fact that we ARE His progeny, His children having and identity with Him spiritually!

1 Peter 1:14-16, “as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

When we commune or communicate with our Heavenly Father Who Is God Almighty, we must remember that we are communing with a Loving Father, but a Father who is also Holy, Just, Perfect, Eternal, etc., and Who deserves by the very virtue of His Existence to be praised and exalted, magnified and LOVED above all other things! These are not things that should be done out of obligation, but rather out of the Love that SHOULD be reawakened in us spiritually by the very fact of His Spirit drawing us to Him!!

END OF PART I

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Study To Show Yourself Approved

Posted on June 12, 2017 by Roland Ledoux

pastorDesk
2 Timothy 2:15, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (KJV)

2 Timothy 2:15, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (NKJV)

2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (NKJV)

In August of 2017, I will turn 65 years old and I surrendered my heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ, just before my 17th birthday, so I have a few years of immersing myself into the Living Word of God, the Holy Bible. Even before being “born again/saved” I used to try and read our big ornate Catholic Bible that used to sit on our living-room coffee table.

From a young age I truly wanted to learn its spiritual secrets, but until surrendering my heart and soul to the Lord, it was a mixture of mystery, mysticism and religion that I couldn’t quite fathom. 1 Corinthians 2:14, “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

I am now all these years later (and have been for several decades) a teacher of the Word and I have learned several things along the way. Now, this is not an auto-biography of my life in the Word, but rather a setting forth of some tips, as it were, to help those who might want to get more out of their own study in the Word of God.

There are several legitimate ways in which to study and even teach the Word of God, but the two main ones I want to cover are probably your most basic. You might be asking at this point, why even put forth these “tips” as most everybody knows how to read. The truth of the matter is that in my many years of being a minister/servant of the Word of God, I have come across many, many individuals who actually do NOT read the Bible themselves, let alone study or even meditate on it, but rather rely totally upon their Pastor/Preacher/Teacher or some other expositor to tell them what the Bible has to say to them as individuals.

The sad circumstances of this practice is that without studying for yourselves you do not know if you are being given the whole truth, a partial truth or an outright false teaching and with have many pews and seats in our churches today filled with people suffering from this very sad state of events.

Our salvation is a very individual circumstance and we will NOT enter into eternity on the apron-strings of anyone else, teacher, preacher or otherwise! The Bible IS the Living Word of God because it has the ability to speak to each individual heart as well as a whole congregation of hearts. This is probably why, also, the Pastor/Preacher/Teacher has so much responsibility before the Lord for the very words that come forth from their mouths! We have not just been given a calling to express forth the TRUTH of the Word of God, but we have been given the responsibility of making sure we are teaching the truth and nothing but the truth!

As I stated earlier, there are several ways to approach a study in the Word of God. The two I am going to touch on is the Thematic and the Expository way, sometimes referred to as the Contextual way. Simply put, the Thematic is when you have an idea or a subject reference, for example, say you want to study on the Grace of God. You would reference and study different Scriptures and passages of Scripture that deal with that subject matter or theme.

By comparison the Expository or Contextual is when you start with a particular verse or paragraph and you go as the Prophet Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 28:10, “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.” When you read/study/teach this way, everything is in context, everything around a particular Scripture refers to or makes meaning to that central Scripture or paragraph.

Expository teaching forces you to keep your study and/or teaching in CONTEXT and doesn’t allow you to stray from the main theme of the subject being discussed. You can still reference NOT just the text, but the spirit of subject and you can still identify, commands to follow, examples put forth for demonstration, etc. Remember this is ALL of your study and/or teaching, it is NOT just the words you are trying to convey for the words are NOT what brings forth life, but you are pursuing the SPIRIT of the subject; what is really hidden behind the text!

Paul wrote this principle clearly for ALL of us in 2 Corinthians 3:5-6, “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

Thematic study/teaching is different and especially so in its discipline of the actual study/teaching! One of the main reasons why we have so many false teachings in the church-world today and so many religious fads that people follow “hook, line and sinker,” is because of the lack of discipline in Thematic study and especially from the pulpit or Sunday School Teacher in the classroom.

In Thematic study/teaching you STILL have to take things in context as you do with Expository, BUT, the big difference is, with Thematic, the studier or teacher can pull Scriptures from this part of the Bible and that part of the Bible and without the context of the Scripture(s) used, you can actually make the Bible say whatever you want it to say! It is for this reason that so many will say that the Scriptures contradict themselves or the Scriptures only apply to life in general!

The Word of God as a whole is definitely many-faceted and I/you can read one Scripture today and be really impacted by it and a week from now, see or perceive a meaning far deeper than first realized. This is one of the spiritual aspects that truly DOES make the Word of God, a LIVING force! This is what makes the Word of God, the textual/spiritual embodiment of Christ Jesus, Himself who is referred to as The Word of God! (John 1:1, 14). But – the Scriptures NEVER stray from the context in which they were given and when discerned by the inner spiritual man, they never stray from the context in which they are meant for the individual studying it!

One of the Scriptures I love to use when referring to those studying the Word of God and especially to those who value the TRUTH in the Word, AND equally special to those who might repeat a teaching, is found in the Book of Acts.

Acts 17:10-11, “Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.”

What made the Bereans so noble when it came to the Word of God, is not that they were looking to find FAULT with Paul’s teaching, but rather, they were seeking to confirm and verify the TRUTH of his teachings for their own spiritual welfare! Too many in our churches today, do NOT seek to verify whether the person behind the pulpit is telling you the WHOLE truth, a partial truth or even a fable!! The rely solely on the charisma of the individual, how many others believe what they teach and so on and so forth!

When we stand before the Lord on Judgment Day, He isn’t going to ask us if we believed in everything we heard and who we heard it from. He is either going to say, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” (Matthew 25), or He is going to say, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” (Matthew 7).

We truly need to take responsibility on how we apply the Living Word of God to our own lives. Teaching from others is important; if it weren’t so important, people like myself and my peers in Teaching Ministries wouldn’t have this type of calling on our lives. But, before any of us can teach, can be a “workman” who is equipped to do the work called too, we HAVE to study, as the New King James Version of the Bible says, we have to be DILIGENT in our study, we have to use the spiritual gift, given freely to all who are renewed in the spirit (born-again), that discernment, which IS a gift, to be able to delve into the treasure that IS the Word of God!

I want you to consider this; the beloved, Apostle John states this in 3 John 1:2, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.” The word prosper also means to profit, which confirms and verifies what the Apostle Paul wrote Timothy in the Scripture listed at the start of this article. The Living Word of God “is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped…..”


It, the Word of God, is PROFITABLE, you gain more from it than what you put into it! You come out ahead, you PROSPER, by taking into yourself, the Word of God!! When you read/study the Living Word of God, and you apply the spiritual gift of discernment and you LEARN the truth of that Word, your soul/spirit and yes even human nature prospers from it. For one thing, you GAIN (profit, prosper) wisdom, a commodity that is sadly in very, very short supply today! You GAIN (profit, prosper) in TRUTH! You actually strengthen yourself against falsehoods, both naturally and especially spiritually! BUT – this all comes to you by being “diligent,” or “studying to show YOURSELF approved to God,” and able to walk in this world of spiritual landmines by being equipped in truth and integrity!

The Word of God, when made to be a part of who you are in Christ, by the systematic study of its contents, changes you into a better person in the natural, yes, but more importantly it works an ETERNAL transformation in the spiritual!

Study to show YOURSELF approved to God, study to prove the truth of what others are teaching you, study to profit and prosper in your spirit and soul, for that is where the REAL gain is, and study to be equipped that you might help others who need a steady and sure spiritual hand! Remember what Paul wrote Timothy, the Word of God is profitable, it earns dividends, “for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness!” You CAN be equipped in all these areas, through the study, meditation and contemplation of the Word of God!

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Treasure Hunting

Posted on May 15, 2017 by Roland Ledoux


You know, for all of our “advanced” learning and education, and all of our technological achievements and advancements, it should be no surprise as to why the Bible, the Living Word of God is still so relevant for today. Human nature, never changes; at least without help from our Creator and Heavenly Father’s Hand in our lives.

Ever since mankind left the garden, he has always been pursuing treasure; to either increase his wealth among other men or status and power to appear to rise above others.

Yet the Bible tells us where true treasure lies and it is not in the ground or under a mountain.

Proverbs 8:10-11, “Receive my instruction, and not silver, And knowledge rather than choice gold; For wisdom is better than rubies, And all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her.”

Proverbs 16:16, “How much better to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.”

Proverbs 4:1-13, “Hear, my children, the instruction of a father, And give attention to know understanding; For I give you good doctrine: Do not forsake my law. When I was my father’s son, Tender and the only one in the sight of my mother, He also taught me, and said to me: “Let your heart retain my words; Keep my commands, and live. Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth. Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you; Love her, and she will keep you. Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. Exalt her, and she will promote you; She will bring you honor, when you embrace her. She will place on your head an ornament of grace; A crown of glory she will deliver to you.”
“Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, And the years of your life will be many. I have taught you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in right paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hindered, And when you run, you will not stumble. Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go; Keep her, for she is your life.”

Proverbs 11:14, “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.”

Proverbs 12:15, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But he who heeds counsel is wise.”

Proverbs 13:10, “By pride comes nothing but strife, But with the well-advised is wisdom.”

Proverbs 15:21, “Folly is joy to him who is destitute of discernment, But a man of understanding walks uprightly.”
22, “Without counsel, plans go awry, But in the multitude of counselors they are established.”

Proverbs 19:20, “Listen to counsel and receive instruction, That you may be wise in your latter days.”
21, “There are many plans in a man’s heart, Nevertheless the LORD’S counsel-that will stand.”

Proverbs 24:3-6, “Through wisdom a house is built, And by understanding it is established; By knowledge the rooms are filled With all precious and pleasant riches. A wise man is strong, Yes, a man of knowledge increases strength; For by wise counsel you will wage your own war, And in a multitude of counselors there is safety.”
7, “Wisdom is too lofty for a fool; He does not open his mouth in the gate.”

The Bible is a treasure trove and wisdom is the treasure that won’t be corrupted, as Jesus stated in Matthew 6:19-21, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Just some spiritual “food for thought”!!

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Run, Run The Race

Posted on April 30, 2017 by Roland Ledoux

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1 Corinthians 9:24-25, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.”

Philippians 3:12-14, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Hebrews 12:1-3, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.”

The Apostle Paul speaks a lot of the analogy between our Christian walk and that of a “race.” Paul, being not just a Jew, but a Roman as well, and as a soldier would have been very familiar with the Ancient Olympic Games. The Ancient Olympic Games had evolved from a “stadia” or a foot race into many other games and especially the horse and chariot races that Paul would have been familiar with.

The races occurred usually during one of two religious ceremonies to honor and deify the ancient Greek gods. It was a time when truce between armies of the region would be called, and politics for the most part would be put aside. But Paul in most of his Scriptural writings concentrated on the actual “racing” aspect of the games.

The analogy is not lost on this age that we also live in due to the level of fervor surrounding not just the modern Olympic Games, but other sports such as Football, Baseball and Basketball to mention just a few.

It should be no surprise then, that the analogy that the Apostle uses, written under the direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is still very applicable and fitting today! When I was a younger man, I used to run a lot, it was something I was good at. In my early High School days, it was Cross-Country running. I tried hurdles, but didn’t do good, but found out I had stamina to run distances. The thing about a runner is that there is always a reason to run. Whether it is for a goal such as a ribbon or trophy, for health reasons, or even for sponsored donations to help a worthy cause, as the Apostle Paul wrote it was for the prize at the end of the run, the crown as it were.


It hasn’t changed either in whatever you choose to “run” for. There is always a goal, something to be realized upon your finish. Unlike running though in the natural world where our “prize” is a perishable crown as Paul writes, when we are running a spiritual race, which equates for the most part as a long-distance or marathon race, we are running for something that can’t be taken from us, that can’t rust and break down or be destroyed.

Yet with any type of race, there can be stumbles, obstacles, hurdles as it were to climb over or to overcome. I learned early on that even though these “setbacks” can cost me the win, the ultimate goal of any runner is to finish. Paul makes this clear when writing to the various Churches. It’s the goal of the finish, of crossing that finish line where the real reward lies. We can’t look back upon the times we tripped or had to overcome an obstacle for those things are in the past and will always be a part of our past.

I didn’t have family support when I was running in Cross-Country, I was doing it for myself and to a degree for friendship. I always envied the other kids that were running who had a family member on the finish line, cheering them forward. Yet, inevitably, it had to be what was inside that caused each of us to keep moving forward no matter how winded or weary our muscles felt, that goal line was always in front of us until the very end!

The writer of Hebrews reminds us of the same thing when face discouragement or even troubled times in our Christian walk. As Christians, walking a spiritual walk as compared to just a religious lifestyle, we DO have, as the writer says, a “great cloud of witnesses,” who are cheering us on, who have shown before-times that this “race” CAN be won and we CAN successfully cross that finish line, as did others before us!

Discouragement, disappointment may and most likely WILL come, but by pushing aside the burden of those things, we continue to press forward with the goal in sight! We do this by keeping our spiritual eyes focused on what is ahead, neither looking to the sides at what is going on around us, or what we have already passed behind us!

Lately, I have had to re-evaluate MY running to see where my “sight” has been focused. This is what a runner does after every race. He looks back and analyzes what slowed him down or what caused him to stumble. Now, granted, unlike the natural runner who can do race after race, after race, we have one go at this marathon and we HAVE to run it with endurance, as the writer of Hebrews encourages. But, we are able to analyze, by the power of the Holy Spirit within, what is driving or motivating us, what is causing us to slow or to stumble, at all times while STILL in the race!

The only time a Christian “could” lose the race, would be if we were to give up completely. Now, I won’t get into it here, but the Bible does tell us that in the Last Days, there will be a great falling away or Apostasy. Some don’t believe in this Apostasy, or it doesn’t apply to Christians, yet the Bible speaks of it and just like Repentance is turning away from the darkness to the Light of Christ, Apostasy in the sense mentioned is turning away from the Light of Christ back to darkness.

My point is this, the choice to FINISH the race is always in your hands given the analogy of the writer of Hebrews and the Apostle Paul! This is why you lay aside discouragement, disappointment and even the sin that the Hebrews writer says can “easily ensnare” or slow us down!

We do this by first and foremost looking to Christ Jesus who is the Author AND Finisher of our faith AND by considering what He went through at the hands of sinners so that we might obtain the “prize” waiting at the goal-line! Christ Jesus is our sponsor AND trainer through the power of His Holy Spirit! When we consider what He has “put up” for each of us to be able to run, and when we can consider what He went through and we take to heart His teaching, then we have the ability and are equipped to cross that finish line!

We must never assume, no matter how far we have run, or how LONG we have been running that we have arrived, for to assume that we have arrived at the goal before the finish line is to stop in our tracks just shy of the goal! We haven’t, none of us, achieved a perfect course UNTIL we break that ribbon at the finish line and only then have we achieved the goal set before us.

I guess the real moral written here, is to run and to never give up. No matter how weary, we have a constant source of energizing Power available to us in the Holy Spirit. No matter how many times we stumble, we have a Redeemer and Savior that has already run this course against impossible odds and has beat the odds! This was ALWAYS His Father’s plan for us through His Son!

But we HAVE to enter the race and once entered begin running! Here’s a secret to keeping our eyes on the prize; unlike in the natural where the prize is shown as a motivation to those running and seen by all, in the spiritual, we have been told and retold and reminded again and again what that prize will be and the worth of that prize. We don’t actually see it, we have to “visualize” it in the spirit through faith. We have to go from believing what that prize is, in the beginning, to actually KNOWING what that prize is, BECAUSE we are getting closer to the finish line and our vision gets clearer and more focused the closer we get!

The closer you become to your trainer, Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit, the more you learn and “relate” to the Father and the more you recognize the prize He is offering you, BUT, you have to START running towards that goal!

What we as individuals need to do, is not just to run this race, but while running, we need to encourage one another to keep running. Just like that “great cloud of witnesses” we need to cheer one another on, remind each other that this race HAS been run by others and that the finish line is within each of our grasps.

The day that our feet step over that goal-line, will be for each of us individually the greatest day in our lives and our lives will truly begin eternally right there!!! Unlike when I was younger and envious of the other runners that had a parent cheering them on at the finish line, we are each going to experience our Lord and Savior with outstretched arms, welcoming our final footsteps into our new life! What a PRIZE that will be!!

Hebrews 3:6, “but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.”

14 “For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, . . .”

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Show Us A Sign

Posted on April 24, 2017 by Roland Ledoux

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Matthew 12:38-42, “Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.”

Matthew 16:1-4, “Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” And He left them and departed.”

Philippians 2:12-13, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”

14-16a, “Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life……..”

“Show us a sign. Prove to us that You are Who You say You are!” Or for this present age, “prove to us that what you say (preach/teach) is true!” “If God is real, if Jesus is truly His Son, show us a miracle!”

I want to ask you, “as a true believing Christian, a follower, a student, a disciple of Jesus, the Christ (Anointed One), how many times have you been confronted in a normal conversation with your friends, family or co-workers, concerning your belief?” It is rhetorical and yet, even though I don’t get out much anymore, I still am asked that question, or presented with that situation, both in the “real” world and online.

I am asked those questions not just about the existence of God, MY Heavenly Father (not just any god), but also about the Bible; and why do I insist on calling it the Living Word of God?! After all, before proving that the Bible is more than just a book, that it is in fact God’s Book, you have to prove that there is a God! Don’t you? Show us some signs and wonders, some real miracles! Then we will believe!

When I was younger and just newly “saved,” born-again, spiritually reborn, whatever term you choose to use, I truly thought it was my duty to defend the Bible. After all, it was the Bible that opened my eyes to the TRUTH that I personally had been missing. You have to understand, right before my 17th birthday, I was and had been a “religious” kid. I was raised Catholic, (NOT knocking Catholics at all, just speaking from MY limited experience) baptized in the Catholic Church, had been through Confirmation, been an Altar Boy, attended Catholic school (part of the time in grade school), attended Catechism, but, still had so many questions about God and mankind in general. I LOVED talking to anyone who would listen and reciprocate when in High School, about “religion!”

The Church says this, we observe that, we don’t do this, this is what “we” believe. And YES, we had a big, a huge Catholic Bible sitting on our living-room coffee table. I used to try and read it every chance I got, but when I would ask the young Priest of my Parish what something meant, I was told the reason there are Priests is so that THEY can interpret and teach from the Bible because it is just too complicated for the “normal” person to understand.

It was about in my junior year in High School when I became friends with a young man who “seemed” to share my interest in “religion.” When I would talk to him about what the Church says is this or that, he would listen and then tell me that the Bible says this. He was never confrontational, just confident that when I said the Church said something, he would question its basis or foundation and then counter with what the Bible stated. I learned that when he would give me a Scripture, I could go home, open that big, huge Bible on our coffee table and sure enough, for the most part it said the same thing almost word for word!

That’s when the Holy Spirit started doing something within me! Like the proverbial fish gazing at a hook, I was seeing the bait dangling in front of me and hungering for what was there, and I was getting ready to strike at it, “hook, line and sinker!” It was the temptation of having real, deep probing questions answered in a simple, non-confrontational way! My thirst for more knowledge of Who God is and why are we (mankind) even here, and why did He create us, was promisingly close.

For me, the Word that became alive and living, the Word that caused me, NOT to turn from my “faith,” but caused me to move into a different direction, was when, at the time, my best friend (he is now my brother-in-law) quoted 1 Timothy 2:5-6, “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, …….”

To be honest with you, he quoted the first SEVEN verses, but it was verse 5 and 6 that opened my eyes and changed my life forever! It was soon after that I was able to attend a special youth service his little church was having and as soon as the preacher called for people to come up to the altar, I struck with full force at that “dangling fish hook!” That night, I surrendered my heart, mind and spirit to our Heavenly Father in the Name of His Son Jesus Christ and my life was never the same!

I said my life was never the same. It’s not like I had years and years of life behind me, but my thirst for knowledge ABOUT God, turned into a thirst for not just more knowledge, but an actual relationship WITH Him! I’m going to share something with you though, it didn’t go well with my family. My mother wasn’t concerned as much (she was my step mother and always took me to church) but my father would have none of it, for we were Catholic and that was that! (He NEVER went to Church though still claimed to be a Catholic), but my grandmother on my real mother’s side was ecstatic, for though she also was a die-hard (and very devout) Catholic, she told me my real mother (who passed when I was three) was the same as me, always going to other churches with her girlfriends.

I ended up moving out of our house with only the clothes on my back at age 17. My Aunt took me in, until I was 18. But oh was I learning! And the JOY I was experiencing despite all the teenage troubles and such!!! The only thing I told my best friend during those times, is that when someone makes a commitment to surrender their lives to Christ, maybe, just maybe we should let them know that it is analogous to accepting a bouquet of roses; it’s a beautiful thing, but beware of the thorns! The enemy of our soul, the devil, would love for us to remain ignorant and unquestioning, and when you make a life-changing decision like that he tries to wound you with “thorns” but you can’t have a relationship with our Heavenly Father through Christ Jesus without questions and without truly KNOWING Who He is and His unconditional love for each of us! And THAT takes experiencing what He has in store for you! THAT was my sign!

You might be asking at this point what any of this has to do with the main title and the topic of people asking about proof of God or the legitimacy of His Living Word. You know that old saying, “hindsight is better than foresight?” Well, it couldn’t be more true. When I left the Catholic church, it was at a time in the late 60’s when it was going through a lot of major changes. I had begun attending the local Community College and many of the students in my classes were Catholic friends. They could not understand my “denial” of the faith AND I was upset that the Catholic Church hadn’t been the one to show me what I considered a new and real truth! But – I tried so hard to prove that God was more than a thought and His Word WAS living and true! It took the Holy Spirit some time for me to realize AND recognize that Christ Jesus has His TRUE followers in every church that is not afraid to speak His Name or recognize Him as Savior. By the same token, I had to learn that every church who teaches Jesus as Christ also has those who are there out of tradition or obligation and not necessarily for the same personal reasons or with the same personal experience as myself.

This is the importance of the verses quoted above that the Apostle Paul penned to the Philippians when he told them to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” – Philippians 2:12-13. It IS God our Creator, our Heavenly Father Who does the work in each of us and it is for HIS good pleasure and will, it is only our job to be pliable and yield to any direction He wishes to take us. But – it IS a personal experience and we should view it with awe and sincerity before Him!

I have learned through time that the real PROOF of the veracity of the Bible, the Living Word of God is found in those of us who follow its teachings and precepts with a sincere and surrendered heart, mind and spirit. The proof is in the FACT that IT never changes, but it changes US! The same is true of the manifest Word of God, Christ Jesus, as the writer of Hebrews 13:8 states, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

Now in the Scriptures cited at the top of this article, I gave two different examples of times that the religious leaders of Jesus’ day tried to trip Him up and trick Him with demands of signs and wonders to prove Who He was. At least two different times, they demanded the same thing despite what He had already accomplished up until those times. These religious leaders had the writings of the prophets and patriarchs to guide them and show them what they needed to know to believe the truth that was standing right before their very eyes. The sad fact of the matter is, they had twisted and perverted the Words they had until that time to the point they couldn’t even recognize them manifested in the Man standing in front of them! It is no wonder that Jesus called them out and told them they were a “wicked and perverse generation!”

Today it is exactly the same and we are at a nexus; history is repeating itself all over again within the spiritual! The religious leaders of our day aren’t called Pharisees or Sadducees though; today they are called by other titles, but their lust for power and position is no different and they are doing all they can to take the Proof of the Living Word and by culling and ripping out of it what is an inconvenient truth for the maintenance of their power and egos, they teach a watered-down, twisted gospel so they can continue in their supposed authority. Then they have the audacity to say to those that teach the WHOLE counsel of God, “show us a sign! You are NOT Christian, prove to us by what authority YOU teach, for Christ would not do that thing or do this thing!” In their attempts to grow in number and influence, they forget that our Heavenly Father DOES LOVES ALL His Creation, but He does NOT love His Creation’s sinfulness and when they (His Creation) reject as false the only true Redemption available to them, they deny it is really God’s way to demonstrate that a part of His Loving Nature is also by demonstrating He is also a Just God! You cannot have unconditional, agape love, mercy AND grace without Godly justice as well!

Jesus told them as He is telling us today, “Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.”—Matthew 16:3b.

Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:1-5, “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:
For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!”

But today, it is not “politically correct” to point these things out. After all, you might lose some of your congregation, you might ostracize someone or a group of people as a whole. Isn’t it better that they at least attend and hear SOME of the truth rather than chase them away with the WHOLE truth which might offend them? What about letting them “work out their own salvation with fear and trembling” I ask?

I’ll give you or present you with a sign; AND it was not given to the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, but to His followers. It was given not so that His disciples would fear, but so that they would be prepared and remain steadfast. It was given so that His TRUE followers would remain ever vigilant. I’ll present you a sign with the very words of Christ Jesus:

Matthew 24:3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

4-13, “And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”

35-39 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”

The signs, the proof, the TRUTH is all around us. We need to remain vigilant and steadfast. We need to demonstrate by actions our love for others WITHOUT compromising the truth in the process. There are those coming using the (in the) Name of Christ, yet do not KNOW Him in a personal, surrendered life way. We have to be aware, be discerning and we have to cling to what the Word of God says is truth.

Jesus, Himself stated this as written in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”

How can this even be? Doing great wonders and performing signs using His Name, yet He clearly states He doesn’t (didn’t) KNOW them! Just because we SAY we are a Christian and believe in (a) god, doesn’t mean we have a personal, “submitted to His will,” lifestyle that is directed and guided by Him, the One True God, our Creator, our Heavenly Father.

The best sign we can give? The best proof we can provide? “….work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” – Philippians 2:12-13.

I’ll show you a sign, I’ll give you undeniable proof:
WE AS TRUE CHRISTIANS ARE LIVING THE SIGN AND THE PROOF!!

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No Foundation? The End!

Posted on April 23, 2017 by Roland Ledoux

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Luke 6:47-49, “Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like:
“He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. “But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”

John 1:1-3, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”

John 1:12-14, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

1 Corinthians 3:10-11, “According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

I went through a couple of months where I couldn’t keep away from the news. Politics, world events, all the unsavoriness of what populates most news today. Since I am conservative in my beliefs, I pretty much kept to one news organization, so it took its toll on me. Seeing all they had to offer and dealing with increasing pain in my crippled knees and lower back didn’t help my outlook either. Excess pain SEEMS to heighten awareness and perspective, but much of the time it clouds or “filters” what you are actually seeing.


Then I just got fed up enough to actually cut it off cold-turkey except for the occasional online news “blurb” that might strike out at me. Of course, no matter what we are going through, we still have to live life away from the television or computer and sure enough, I couldn’t escape the “news” that was happening all around me in everyday life!

Now you have to understand something; as a Pastor (active behind a pulpit or not) I believe that we NEED to stay informed of world events, for it HAS an impact on our lives in general, but especially our spiritual lives for those of us who are trying and practicing to be true disciples and followers of Christ Jesus.

There’s an old saying that “knowledge is power” and for the most part, it is true, as long as the knowledge can be utilized in a wise way. Knowledge by itself is only trivia if it doesn’t affect your life in a positive way, even if only a little bit positive. For a true Christian, it comes back to what the Apostle Paul stated in Romans when he wrote, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” – Romans 8:28.

But witnessing the “news” and “world events” taking place around me on a local basis in the lives of those I pass by on a daily basis has made me realize that to many, knowledge, and especially wisdom, once referred to as “common sense” is sorely lacking.

I’m going to be blunt so you are going to have to bear with me. I have said for some time now that common sense has died. What used to be referred to as common sense, or normal, everyday wisdom has long been forsaken. When you witness someone who displays any kind of sense at all today, it is truly uncommon!

Pastor Roland, you are being “harsh and unloving again with statements like that!” Yes, I’ve been told that – many times in fact and yet I am speaking facts that are being witnessed by many who even today rely not just on “common sense or wisdom” but who walk by a spiritual wisdom, guided by the Holy Spirit! I am NOT the only one who is witnessing or has witnessed the demise of a commonality of good sense that used to direct our lives!

The sad truth is that it has progressed from something that I have written about and spoke about for quite some time now; self-centeredness or selfishness, which I have taught for years is the opposite of true love or loving! Loving, I state because true Godly love is an action, doing, NOT a noun or feeling. Love doesn’t become the noun, or the “thing” UNTIL it has actually taken place to the benefit of another life!

You may be wondering what I am leading up too with an introduction based on foundations, but the truth is, it isn’t just common sense that is lacking. Because common sense has been replaced as a “guide” or a “direction” for our lives and the way we interact with one another we have witnessed an epidemic and in actuality a PANDEMIC of stupidity that has risen across this world as it gets ever smaller and smaller due to technology! Wasn’t technology supposed to MAKE our lives better and more fruitful? Instead with the increase in knowledge that the Prophet Daniel wrote about that would take place in Daniel 12:4, we see with that knowledge also an increase in stupidity! Notice, I DID say stupidity and NOT ignorance! Ignorance can be cured and corrected, but stupidity is a disease of choice! How can knowledge increase to the degree it is and yet stupidity reach globally pandemic volumes?

By now you must know, where I’m heading! Foundations. Foundations are the literal bedrock of what not just secure and stable buildings are built upon, but also lives and especially spiritual lives. I am making a point to specify SPIRITUAL lives as opposed to religious lives. The love of money can be religious and we all know the Bible says it leads to evil. (Again, not money itself, but the love or IDOLIZING of money). There are many, many things in life around us that have become religions of themselves. Being religious does not make something spiritual.

Paul wrote to his beloved student and disciple, Timothy this concerning learning and knowledge and how it relates to TRUTH: “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” – 2 Timothy 3:1-7.

Before you become incensed that I would post the scriptures targeting gullible women as defined in verse 6, remember the times of which Paul was speaking to Timothy and the problems the early church was having with gossip and other sins. Today, we could substitute the term people just as you could for the term men in verse two! The POINT of the scripture is that it is not JUST perilous times that will come, but a time of learning, Paul says ALWAYS learning, knowledge on the increase, BUT never able to come to the knowledge of the TRUTH!!! What does that mean? Simply put, always learning and gaining new knowledge but always walking in stupidity, lacking the general COMMON sense that used to lead us in the past!

This is why we can have religious organizations and religious people who claim to be something and yet they are NOT spiritual! They DENY, Paul writes, the power of the Spirit, yet still retain their traditions and rituals so they appear to be religious! No wonder the Heart of our Heavenly Father is heavy with grief! No wonder so many true Christians look around and see all the religious entities and yet never sense a breakthrough into the manifest presence of Christ Jesus Himself!!

When “religious” leaders take the Living Word of God and decide to pick and choose what they will and will not follow, when they decide what is and what is not relevant for today they are doing exactly what the Apostle Paul prophesied to Timothy in keeping the FORM of godliness, but DENYING the power behind TRUE Godliness!!!

I started noticing this years and years ago when one religious fad after another would rise up and grab hold of the church-going people because some charismatic, honey-tongued preacher or teacher would take certain Scriptures out of context and weave great sounding doctrines that tickled the ears of all those who heard them! I also watched as true Christians fought with the concept of some of these doctrines as the truth unfolded in their personal lives and those of us who stood upon the WHOLE counsel of God had to do damage control with the TRUTH of the whole LIVING Word!

These teachers and preachers (and I use the term loosely) didn’t and still don’t understand that what they are doing is taking a jack-hammer to the foundation and turning parts of that foundation into rubble that is as worthless as sand or pea-gravel; and not able to secure and stabilize the building (life) that is standing on it! The sad part about it is that it is always, just a little here, and a little there until the very foundation itself is totally undermined!

When you start compromising the Living Word of God, when you start taking the parts that will make you popular but leave out the parts that are necessary to make the building strong, you are wounding Christ Jesus again by tearing out His Heart, or His Character or His Spirit! In essence, you are closing the very door to a relationship with His Father that can only be had THROUGH ALL of Him, because parts of the Living Word of God are NOT convenient, or might cause controversy or dispute within the four walls of your RELIGIOUS organization and you substitute that lie that comes straight from the devil and call it love, or tolerance. Yet like the blind leading the blind, you have already led many into the proverbial ditch, because you failed to understand that the strength of the building is in the FULL FOUNDATION and the form of the foundation is based on the cornerstone, which IS Christ Jesus!

When the Word of God tells me that there is ONLY one way to the Father, and that way is the Foundation already laid in the person of Christ Jesus, and when a religious organization says it’s alright to allow those living in sin to lead a religious organization and to lend their sinful teaching to its doctrines, then that religious organization is moving its building from the foundation and placing it on a bed of gravel or sand and it will NOT stand the storm that is already blowing upon us. As that wind becomes stronger, ONLY those built on the SOLID foundation will stand what is coming and coming so very soon.

I’m going to end this article with the LAST part that the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy and show you by the LIVING Word of God, that though we will face this ever growing storm and as the stupidity continues to increase and the LACK of the knowledge of the TRUTH is learned by those we come into daily contact with, we can have hope in Christ Jesus for them and we can still LOVE those afflicted because of Christ Jesus because Paul gave us this promise, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” – 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

ALL Scripture is given by inspiration, not just some, not just the convenient ones, but ALL Scripture and it is ALL profitable for doctrine, for reproof (for putting on the right track and proving truth) and for CORRECTION of falsehoods and for instruction on how to be righteous, (for whom is it given?) that the MAN OF GOD, may be complete and equipped for the task at hand!!!

If you are a man (or woman) of God, you can only be equipped for what is at hand by standing upon the WHOLE FOUNDATION (Christ Jesus, the WORD) and facing the world, however perilous it becomes, on the strength of that foundation and that foundation alone!

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Giving Thanks in ALL Things

Posted on November 24, 2016 by Roland Ledoux

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1Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

2Corinthians 4:15, “For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.”

2Corinthians 9:10-11, “Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God.”

Philippians 4:6, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Colossians 3:16-17, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

1Timothy 4:4-6, “For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed.

Psalm 95:2-3, “Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the LORD is the great God, And the great King above all gods.”

Psalm 100:4, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.”

Psalm 106:1, “Praise the LORD! Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.”

Psalm 107:8-9, “Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul, And fills the hungry soul with goodness.”

AND ON AND ON WITH SO MANY MORE!!!

As with all things spiritual, the action of giving thanks becomes second nature with practice and it is then that the emotional or feeling of thanks comes to the person giving thanks. Thanksgiving is a day to remember all the blessings that we have been given so freely from the Lord.

In giving thanks in ALL things (even those seemingly not so good) we remember what the Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

So remember; this day is a day to remember ALL those many blessings and the reasons for them, but EVERYDAY should be a day of giving thanks!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS AND MAY GOD’S BLESSINGS CONTINUE TO ENRICH EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOUR LIVES!!

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Doppelgänger

Posted on November 7, 2016 by Roland Ledoux

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*Doppelgänger

In fiction and folklore, a doppelgänger is a look-alike or double of a living person, sometimes portrayed as a paranormal phenomenon, and in some traditions as a harbinger of bad luck. In other traditions and stories, they recognize your ‘double-goer’ as an evil twin.

2 Corinthians 4:

2 But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.

3-4 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.

5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake.

6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. (Bold emphasis added by me).

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My wife and I were watching one of those popular crime dramas the other day and the title of the episode was the same I am using for this article. Now it was done to instill a bit of humor into a serious subject, but I am using it with the *preferred definition as set down by Microsoft Bing when I did a search of the word.

My Brother in Christ, Russ Hall, (WordPress Blog, Facebook Page) a long-time internet friend and peer whom I met when first involving myself in online “ministry” inspired me with the picture above that he had posted on his Facebook page. It has ceased to surprise me, for a long time now, what avenues the Holy Spirit uses to provide inspiration and direction for a message. As with so many others of my brothers and sisters, we are facing an uncertain future concerning not just politics, but the right to express ourselves religiously.

Lately, when I have written a new article, or have posted a new teaching, it has been rather “sin heavy” as a friend has tried to delicately share with me. What is surprising is that for many, many years, I have NOT concentrated so much on our sin nature, but much, much more on our REDEEMED nature, which you must admit is a lot more positive and acceptable to read and hear.

It’s just that lately, the state of our societies has demonstrated the truth that human nature, in general, just hasn’t changed that much since the time of Adam and Eve, and I believe that the closer we come to the time of Jesus Christ’s return, unapologetic, unredemptive human nature will become more and more prevalent.

This “foundation” I’ve laid out brings me to the point of why I have been “preaching” or teaching so much on the acknowledgement AND identification of sin. I know what you’re thinking; everybody knows right from wrong; everyone knows what sin is via the Ten Commandments. But yet — sin has become more socially acceptable and more prevalent today. Yet, every spiritual Christian KNOWS that it takes more than just knowledge of sin to be redeemed spiritually!

Still, we have churches today that are teaching that sin is relative; the Bible is not literal when it comes to our sinfulness; there are many paths to salvation; as long as there is love and peace, continued sin is not eternally significant, etc., etc. Churches are allowing gays to be in positions of leadership, same-sex marriages are being accepted because after all, love is all that matters, despite the fact that the Bible is clear about what REAL love is and what REAL sin is!

Main supposed “Christian” church denominations today are opening up areas of their churches for Muslim prayer mats pointing toward Mecca AND they are calling for boycotts AGAINST our spiritual brothers, the Nation of Israel, siding with RADICAL Arab factions claiming that Israel’s actions are against humanity! I have said this for years (literally years) now, that what was once right is now wrong, and what was once wrong is now right.

We forget that Jesus Himself stated, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.” – Matthew 10:34-39. (Bold emphasis added by me).

Jesus came to show the TRUTH about God’s relationship with man and to show AND provide the path to a relationship back with the Father. But in that, He showed that He is the ONLY path and in showing that truth, that very truth would be a sword, cutting relationships that would stand in the way of loving God Almighty with all that we are!

When I was an Associate Pastor at Calvary Chapel in Arizona, we combated against blatant New Age practices that weren’t just in our community, but had infiltrated several main-stream “Christian” denominations located in our community. With continual fervent prayer AND education identifying and attacking the practices we made big headway AND many brothers and sisters were made aware of the dangers of so many New Age teachings and practices!

This brings me to the inspiration behind Brother Russ Hall’s picture and the title of this article. You have to KNOW first, what the truth is and you have to understand that TRUTH, spiritual TRUTH is NOT relative. Truth is true and it comes from ONE source and one source only, our Heavenly Father, God Almighty in the image and likeness of His Son, the Living Word, Jesus (the Anointed One) Christ! It is written with the pen of men in the Bible, inspired by the Holy Spirit, the written representation of the Living Word! The written Word and the Living Word are in total and perfect agreement and harmony and there is no contradiction, what so ever!

If you choose to discard the Bible, the Truth of God Almighty and His RELATIONSHIP with mankind, His creation, you have nothing to base a life of spiritual liberty or freedom upon, for everything else is deception and lies from the “god of this world.” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

There are two churches operating in this world today. The TRUE Church, the Bride of Christ, and its doppelgänger, the false twin. They look the same and much of the time, they outwardly speak the same, but the difference is beyond the heart, in the spirit; and from the spirit, their works are revealed!

2 Corinthians 11:13-15, “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.”

My question to you, CHRISTIAN, is this; if the devil and his ministers can look and act like TRUE servants of God’s Word today, than how are YOU going to defend yourself and your loved ones from what is false? If you Bible is “metaphorically” gathering dust today and it is just used for show or some religious talisman, than how will you be able to JUDGE (Matthew 7:15-27) the truth and those speaking it?

church-mistakes

I know when I start speaking of judging (discernment) many of my brothers and sisters start getting nervous and jittery, but I want you to read the following Scripture and then go back when you have time and read the account that this Scripture refers too. Acts 17:10-11, “Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. These (Bereans) were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” (Bold and Parenthetical comment added by me).

The Bereans accepted the word with readiness, BUT/AND they searched the Scriptures to make sure what they heard was the truth! They weren’t doing it with the motive of finding fault with Paul and Silas’ teaching, rather they were searching so that they themselves wouldn’t be at fault with accepting a teaching that wasn’t directly from the Lord! They were discerning (judging) the truth to be just that, the truth!

Today we have so many who go to church to let the preacher/teacher do the work of the Bible and so many do not even pick up their Bibles to see if what is being taught is true. This is a sad indictment of the church today, but if you are a person who takes the time to read and study and see what the Word of God does say, you see the truth of what I am saying and as a spirit-led Christian, it has to concern you as well.

The reason we have main-stream churches allowing New Age practices to be a part of their churches as well as the other sins that have permeated the church is because people are relying on their feelings and what a personable teacher tells them rather than explore the Word for themselves. People are looking for happiness in church, happiness which depends on circumstances and feelings, rather than on spiritual joy, something that is deeper and derives from a relationship with the Holy Spirit and NOT based upon circumstances, but rather on truth. Feelings change, the Word of God does not!

What is sad is when instead of living a life based on the Spirit and the Truth of the Living Word of God, people look at world situations and apply their emotions, feelings that change with circumstances rather than the solid foundation of the Word of God. Because of this you hear social terms like tolerance, harmony, unity and compromise. Yet sadly for the deceived, the Word of God teaches exactly opposite and does not endorse conformity to the world. We hear all “well-meaning” church people tell others using worldly wisdom that we have to take care of those in the world.

That is NOT why Jesus came and that is NOT the instruction that Jesus gave the disciples just before He left this world for a season. Jesus came to reestablish a relationship with the Father that was lost due to man’s sinfulness. He came to reiterate the choice that mankind has, but that knowing not all will choose that renewed relationship and thus the outcome of that particular choice! Many, many churches today have become a place of social and political influence, totally neglecting the truth and the spiritual influence we have been called to share with the world!

Identifying sin and encouraging one another to spread the good news of the Gospel and the whole Counsel of the Word of God is no longer the priority. Rather, in an effort to gain membership and finances, to gain influence over the local communities is a sign of success in many main-stream churches.

This is why we have so many who claim to be Christians who can look at our political leaders and without remorse or a second thought, could place their approval behind those that have a proven track record of corruption, criminal activity, scandal and disdain for their fellow man. A TRUE Christian could judge (discern) someone who is false by the works and deeds that have gone before and make a spiritual determination. This determination would be based on the truth of the Word of God. But, instead we have those claiming to be Christians saying others are lying about the deceit and corruption and what is important is the policies this person or that person speaks on (feelings and emotions).

We hear so many of these doppelgänger churches speaking of unity and harmony in the world as if this is some thematic premise of the Bible. Yet when it comes to what the Bible says, Paul in Ephesians speaks of unity in the Spirit, unity with brothers and sisters, NOT unity with the world! Ephesians 4:1-3, “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” This Scripture is not talking about loving the world or being in unity with the world in the bond of peace, it is talking and Paul is addressing those in the emerging Church!

walking-in-lightThe Apostle John tells us this fact about the world and reiterates the truth of what Jesus stated when He said He didn’t come to bring peace but a sword. It reiterates the truth that our Redeemer commands us to love Him AND the Father more than ANYTHING the world offers, including people! 1 John 2:15-17, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world–the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life–is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.“

But don’t be deceived by those telling you that it is the earth itself, the natural world and creation that our Lord is telling you to hate! He is saying the world system, the world organization and the sin that runs the way the world progresses when it comes to seducing mankind. The natural world, the Lord made FOR mankind, for his dominion and for his pleasure!

If someone claims to be a Christian and doesn’t recognize sin for what it truly is and especially when it is blatantly in front of us, then you have to be discerning and ask yourself, if they can’t recognize sin, then how can the Spirit of Christ dwell in them, for the Spirit of Christ frees us from that sin and helps us protect our loved ones, both in our families and churches from the ravages and deception of sin. It is an indication of blinded eyes and a veiled mind as 2 Corinthians 4 states emphatically! We have been commanded by the Word of God to identify the false prophets, the bad fruit which can only come from bad trees, the wolves in sheep’s clothing, the doppelgänger which wishes to deceive and cause to stumble with worldly wisdom rather than the righteousness and foundation of Biblical truth!

We ARE to study the Word of God personally, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” – Philippians 2:12-13. (Bold emphasis added by me). But we are to study the Word of God to protect the many members of the Body of Christ as well. We truly ARE our “brother’s keepers!”

We are entering a time and I believe are there now, when True, Spirit-filled, Gospel oriented Christians will have to make a stand against the charlatans, the phony church, the doppelgänger church, the one that wishes to deceive. We will either stand for Christ Jesus, the True Jesus Christ, or we will stand for the phony that will attempt to deceive many and those that have no foundation based in the WHOLE Word of God!

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My Prayer for YOU Today!

Posted on October 21, 2016 by Roland Ledoux


This is my prayer today for all my family and friends, brothers and sisters and their families and friends! Our hope IS and ALWAYS has been in the Lord! This Psalm is for you from my heart today!
God is Forever faithful to His Promises and Never-ending in His Mercies!

psalm138
Please visit Jerusalem Prayer Team Facebook Page at: Jerusalem Prayer Team

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The Word of God, Eternal Life & The Eye of the Needle

Posted on October 21, 2016 by Roland Ledoux

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Hebrews 4:12-13, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”

Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

Matthew 19:23-26, “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

How many call Jesus, Master? We all acknowledge that Jesus is Master of many things and that many religious leaders of His day called Him Master, many times sarcastically, but even though Jesus was a Master Teacher, He was also a Master of the discussion! His wisdom in teaching in such a way as to draw others in with questions is exemplified throughout the Gospels. You just don’t hear too many teaching on that particular mastery.

Jesus knew how to set up His lessons with comments, parables, analogies and stories that caused those listening to want to ask questions. It wasn’t always the Jewish religious leaders and lawyers trying to trip Him up, for many times, it was just the average citizen wanting to hear what this “new” teacher had to say! Which of course, because of Jesus’ authoritative style of teaching, would lead to questions.

The problem that so many of us have today is that when we just READ the Bible we don’t always develop any questions for ourselves and when we don’t do anything to understand its setting or whether some of the stories are historical, analogous or parables, it can and does lead to misunderstandings and many times the very MEANINGS that Jesus was trying to convey end up getting lost in the details!

01word-bible-copyRemember, the Bible is the LIVING Word of God. It isn’t just the letter, the literal translation of the words, but the Spirit behind the words that cause it to live! (2 Corinthians 3:5-6). It is meant to stir up our minds and hearts and should cause us to have questions, to want to get answers from the Master! Because of those who do not make the attempt to understand this, we have teachings that become “religious fads,” based on one or two Scripture verses, many times taken out of context, we have teachings that are not backed up by the Word of God as a whole or taken literally when in fact they were meant as an analogy or as a parable to make a point.

One of the most misunderstood chapters in the New Testament is one I have taught on many times concerning judging; Matthew Chapter 7. Basically because Jesus is discussing judging in the form of sentencing or condemning to eternity and discerning right and wrong character as well as introspection, judging ourselves within. When this chapter though, is taken as a whole and you look at the different points that Jesus IS trying to make, the lesson He is TRYING to teach, you look at the behavior of the righteous in a whole different light.

On one hand you can see His warning against condemning another to a sentence of eternal punishment when in fact we are ALL condemned to an eternity of damnation by our sinfulness. Therefore, how is one person who is condemned able to be above another by pointing out another’s condemnation? Only from our Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ is judgment going to be meted out.

Jesus is trying to show that our Heavenly Father is a loving, giving and merciful Father and One that any of His children can approach openly. BUT, He also shows us what constitutes being a child of His. This is where a type of judging, or in other words, discerning what is true and what is false is important in becoming a child of our Heavenly Father.

Jesus is telling and showing us that our actions can demonstrate to others what is truly in our heart. It is a path that is narrow, one that leads forward in a straight-forward manner and, not everyone is on that path. Rather, the majority of people will take the more commonly traveled path, the path where everyone else is going in a certain direction, but their actions will show a “discerning” person what path that is. We are to be on a path that leads through Him and His Words, not the path that appears the most pleasing and easy because the “flow” is going in that direction.

As I have taught before, it is not always what a person says that they believe, but rather what a person does to backup what they say that translates into the right actions. Luke 6:43-45 are some parallel verses to Matthew chapter 7, “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

“From the abundance of a person’s heart the mouth speaks,” is a common Scripture that I have used and it doesn’t take long to listen to a person to know what it is that they truly love or what is a priority in their lives. But, what is in that person’s heart, also translates to what they do and this is what Jesus is trying to get across. It isn’t ALWAYS what a person says that makes them a child of God Almighty, for it is also actions, and this is what Jesus will ultimately have to judge a person on; is their heart in the right place, motivating them to deeds of righteousness or to deeds and acts of lawlessness?

The point though comes down to looking within ourselves. Does our heart motivate US to righteousness or are we playing a game TRYING to hide our true selves from everyone around us? As the Scriptures tell us in Luke 8:17, “For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.” We can try to hide from others who we truly are, but from our Heavenly Father, through Christ, it is impossible!

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Jesus finishes Matthew 7 with words of faith. FAITH? Where’s the faith in His admonitions in verses 24 through 27? You follow My words or you don’t; if you don’t you will experience a fall, and destruction! Yet, just as you will find in the writings of the Apostle James a confirmation of what constitutes faith, you will find confirmation of Jesus’ summation in Matthew 7 as words of faith; James 2:14-26, “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe–and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”

It is not just what you say; it is not just what you say you believe, it is also how you put those beliefs into action. Jesus is reiterating that, when He states that if you act upon His words, then you are acting wisely, acting in FAITH, believing that what He says is true, and so on, leading to wise action!

But, this is only part of the point that I am trying to make. Being able to take the WHOLE counsel of the Word of God is what allows us to grow into a whole person, more complete in Christ Jesus Himself, more able to effectively claim to be His disciples, His followers, no longer JUST servants, but friends, (John 15:15) truly Christian in not just what we say, but in what we do!

One of the discussions that Jesus had, led to the questions of eternal life, some of the same discussion that He had in Matthew 7, but here is where the details sometimes overshadow the point that Jesus is making in this modern age with our modern translations.

A big controversy exists today concerning the phrase “a camel passing through the eye of a needle” and what is its historical basis and what is its true meaning and yet there is so much research in the academic world trying to prove that the eye of the needle was a door within a gateway, or that Jesus was talking about the word camel being mistranslated from the word rope or cable, etc., etc.

The truth of the matter is that Jesus was trying to make a point that what may be impossible with mankind, whether it be a cable or rope passing through the literal eye of a sewing needle OR a camel going through a man-size door in a gate, it is NOT impossible with God when it concerns His ability to save man! Some readers get hung up on the rich man and his ability to be saved and others get hung up on whether Jesus was talking about a doorway or an actual needle!

There are things in history that can be shown that either ANALOGY can be historical and/or accurate, and either analogy works to prove the point that Jesus was making, but the fact that gets lost at times is the point that Christ Jesus was trying to make! Matthew 19:26, “But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

I love Bible history and I have a fondness for all science including archeology, but when it comes to the Word of God and its application to my life, that history gives me a setting and something in which to bring that Word alive! The history itself though, does NOT detract from the analogy or the point that Jesus was making. Those listening to His discussion didn’t question the details of the analogy or parable and neither should we. YET, many, many of my brothers and sisters stumble over NON-LITERAL points in the Word of God. They stumble over the letter, forgetting it IS the spirit of the Word that gives that Word, life!

One instance of this and the circumstance that made me realize just how serious this has become has been on my mind recently for some reason; it was when one of my “pastors” in Arizona began teaching from behind the pulpit that we only have to forgive a person 490 times and many times we don’t have to forgive if they don’t ASK for forgiveness!!! I’m being serious about this! This is no exaggeration to try and make a point; these types of things are being taught in supposedly fundamental “Christian” churches.

He used the incident in Matthew 18 when Peter thought he was being generous in forgiveness where it is recorded, “Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” – Matthew 18:21-22.

Jesus wasn’t being literal, but Peter was for he was referencing a discussion Jesus had with them, found in Luke 17:3-4, “Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

This “pastor” I was associated with used the circumstance in Luke 17 to justify NOT forgiving unless a person comes asking, which goes against countless other Scriptures found in the Bible! But He also used Matthew 18 to justify the number of times necessary to forgive, after that, forgiveness is not necessarily given; in other words, you can justify withholding forgiveness!!!

The truth of the matter is that in either case, Jesus is attempting to make the point that forgiveness should be given freely, without restraint, without condition and whenever necessary and in remembrance of our Father’s forgiveness. Don’t forget, when Jesus used the example of prayer in Matthew 6, often termed “The Lord’s Prayer,” he concluded the example by explaining the part on forgiveness given by stating this, “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” – Matthew 6:14.

In Peter’s time, seven times seventy, the need to forgive that many times was probably beyond comprehension! Not necessarily the sum, but the necessity, and so Jesus was not being literal, but in essence stating, “forgive as often as necessary!”

Another common NON-LITERAL point that has caused so much division in the Church is again from our beloved Apostle Peter, found in 2 Peter 3:8, “But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”

There are many Christians today who take this ONE Scripture and base doctrines, especially those associated with Creation on this one Scripture! Yet, as evidenced in the whole 3rd chapter of 2nd Peter, we see Peter is stating that time doesn’t matter to God. His analogy was meant to make those of his time realize time is nothing to the God of Creation, to a Heavenly Father who will keep and fulfill His promises to mankind in His own timing!! This analogy was never meant to provide a foundation for doctrine and yet in this modern age, churches and peoples are divided by it!!

Remember, one of the attributes of our Heavenly Father is Omniscience! All Knowledge, ALL SCIENCE! He is the Creator of the laws that govern the universe, that govern CREATION itself and man is only recently exploring the “tip of the iceberg,” as it were when it comes to understanding what governs our universe! With every new scientific discovery, despite the “arrogance” of some (I say some) scientists, I am only more in awe of my Heavenly Father’s Majesty and Glory!!! On the contrary, it doesn’t lesson my faith, but rather increases my faith, for I refuse to put my Sovereign, God, The Almighty in a box! He is truly bigger than my mind or any mind can comprehend!

Our Bible is rich and full and living and dynamic and no matter how many times you read it through and no matter how many times you study various and all chapters and books, you will NEVER be able to get your fill of it, for there is always something more to glean or learn from it! BUT, you don’t enter into the Word of God with a “hit and miss” attitude.

The key to Who our Heavenly Father is, the key to how He wants His children to be and how to relate to Him is all found within the pages of this GREAT and LIVING Word! It is the “doorway” to eternal life and a relationship with our Heavenly Father through our Redeemer, Christ Jesus! It shows us the possibility of the impossible! No matter how many times I have read it, no matter how many times I see others teach on familiar and non-familiar verses, I ALWAYS gain something more with which to wake up and approach each new day!!

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The Word of God is a “narrow and straight-forward” path yet also deep and complex when it needs to be to help guide us to where it is pointing! I challenge you; the next time you decide to read “through” it, do so with thought and prayer. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal His goals to your heart and spirit and I guarantee, you will never look at it the same way again!

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Just the Right Amount of Sting

Posted on September 13, 2016 by Roland Ledoux


1 Timothy 2:(1), “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, (2) for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. (3) For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, (4) who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (5) For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, (6) who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, (7) for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle–I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying–a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.”

John 4:23-24, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

I want to take just a bit of your time to explain some things to you, the reader of some of my posts and articles. This was actually inspired by my (ex) brother-in-law, who I still consider very much a brother, in the Lord and otherwise! You see, I wrote a post on my personal Facebook account about a liberal article that had been reblogged by a sister in the Lord. For those of you unfamiliar with reblogging, it is literally just reposting a blog written by someone else, a tool that WordPress (and I’m sure other blog sites) use to make it easy to share like thoughts.

This liberal article ignited, shall I say, some “righteous anger” in me as I look at so much of the lies being passed by the liberal media world as the world’s way and thus the enemy of our soul’s way of ensnaring and trapping not just those “blinded by the god of this world,” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4), but “if possible the very elect itself.” (Matthew 24:24).

My brother made a comment in reply that the article had just the “right amount of sting” as those who claim to be in the spiritual Church and who call themselves Christian need to stop playing games because of the times that we are living. I have been thinking and praying about that phrase, “just the right amount of sting” and I don’t criticize my brother for making it. BUT – as for my motive for writing the post, it wasn’t to HURT another, though I knew that it would at the least, STING.

I stated in a recent article on my blog, in the article “Whence Comes Division?” that we have taken that older saying, “the truth will set us free,” and replaced it with the “the truth hurts,” thereby condemning those who want to speak the truth for the fear of hurting others with that truth making it “politically” wrong in this pervasive societal climate we live in! You don’t dare state that sin or sinfulness is wrong, for it will destroy someone’s delicate sensibilities!

It DOES however raise my spiritual anger for anyone seeking and attempting to walk in the truth of the Word of God, and with so much going on in the world today being needless and senseless, yet, while senseless, it is necessary for the prophetic Word of God to be accomplished in the end times. This however does NOT make the needless suffering, lies and blatant corruption right and we SHOULD be interceding in prayer, but not just in prayer for those blinded, but in exhorting the truth also. Whether they accept the Word of Truth or not is not within our power, but a matter of their own choosing, the same choice Almighty God gives all of us, freely!

We must remember, and I am constantly reminding myself, that our Heavenly Father asks us to do a job, a calling and He and He alone equips us to accomplish that in obedience and yet, IT IS THE HOLY SPIRIT’S JOB TO ACCOMPLISH THE RESULTS! The Holy Spirit has and IS the power and He is the One who searches hearts, molds and transforms them!

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This leads me to the Scriptures I posted above at the start of this article. In 1 Timothy it was the Apostle Paul writing to his student and spiritual son Timothy giving him solid spiritual advice on HOW to wage warfare and especially on behalf of those who already consider themselves to be a part of the Church of Christ Jesus! This is why the Epistles of Timothy and even the short Epistle of Titus are considered Pastoral Epistles or Letters. They were written with the express purpose of helping to guide the leaders, in this particular case, Timothy and Titus in the governing and leadership of their local church.

Before I go into the aforementioned Scriptures above, let me lay out this foundation found in the previous verses from the ones mentioned above as found in the first chapter of 1 Timothy. Paul is stating this, “This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them (the prophecies) you may wage the good warfare, having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected (faith and a good conscience), concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan (shunned and marked as ones belonging to the enemy) that they may learn not to blaspheme (in the hope of learning and returning to the fold and avoiding final destruction).” – 1 Timothy 1:18-20, (emphasis added is mine).

Now if there was any reason to feel “stung” by an Elder or Leader of the Church, it would have not been just these two people, but those to who had the letter read too as a lesson! Serving the Lord is a LIFESTYLE choice and not some temporary fad or social club type of activity. It is no less true today as it was back then, but because of “political correctness,” (the new term, but very old censorship) it has not been followed or practiced in our “church world” or religious circles today. The reason for this has been obvious to me for decades, but I won’t get into now for that is a very definite controversial subject I may explore later!

The fact does remain, the truth CAN and often does hurt or sting, but the truth was never meant to destroy! It was meant for each of us to grasp personally and contemplate its ramifications in our own lives! The truth DOES AND WILL set us free if we take it to heart as an act of Love from our Heavenly Father and apply it to our individual lives.

We forget and pass off our inheritance as if it is such a small thing, but read what the writer of Hebrews reminded each of us, “For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.”

“You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.” If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.” – Hebrews 12:3-8.

This brings me to the verses from 1 Timothy chapter 2; after the Apostle shares with Timothy of the warfare that is real and in his midst, Paul exhorts his spiritual son to remember to give supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanks for ALL men, not just those who belong to the Church, but ALL mankind and then Paul goes on to explain those prayers should extend to those in positions of leadership and authority over us all; those who reign in higher civil and political office.

It says to pray, intercede, give supplication AND thanks! But here is where people forget to acknowledge the Spirit of the whole Word of God and get stuck on just the letter; it does not say we have to agree with wrong-doing and corruption, with lies and deceit! God Almighty, in so many other areas of Scripture they do not tell us to enable those negative qualities found in those in leadership, but we are to pray for their souls, for their spiritual eyes to be opened AND for spiritual wisdom! Why give thanks for them as the Word clearly says, then?

We give thanks for our leaders as the Prophet Daniel stated, “Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.” – Daniel 2:20-21.

The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans13:1, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.”

We give thanks for our leaders and those in authority NOT because of the lies and deceit, corruption and evil they do, but because our God in Heaven, set them up to fulfill HIS purpose, HIS will so that we might be inheritors of His Kingdom!! The same God who allows these leaders reign is the one who inspired the Apostle to write, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” – Romans 8:28.

So we give thanks for God’s will being accomplished and this lines up with all Scripture and why things transpire in the way they do. Paul goes on to tell Timothy to pray and give thanks that “we may lead a quiet and peaceable life.” How, when there is so much wrong? Paul states, “in all godliness and reverence!” But here is the thing so many overlook; in Romans 12:18, Paul also states, “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.”

I have heard so many quote this Scripture to justify never speaking out against the corruption and lies told by those who should know better and they speed or gloss over the part that says, “if it is possible!” There are times when, as the Scriptures continue, “as much as depends on you,” you cannot live without confrontation.

Paul explains this to Timothy and thus to all who would follow in the calling of Timothy and yes even Paul himself, “for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle–I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying–a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.” – 1 Timothy 2:7.

truth-set-freeIf you have been called to teach, preach or exhort the Word of God, you CANNOT ignore the TRUTH of His Word and you do not have the choice to water it down, to compromise its integrity or to twist it to say what you might want it to say! Your calling, your obligation is to tell the truth as the Holy Spirit reveals it to you and be obedient to Him! You can ONLY be obedient, you have no control how it is received or applied once it leaves your spirit and lips! The actual work and results were never yours to insure, they were ALWAYS the Holy Spirit’s, it was just our calling to speak the truth and do it with a heart and spirit motive of the same unconditional love for all that our Lord Jesus gave when He hung on the cross and then when He rose to be at the Right Hand of our Heavenly Father as our Intercessor and Advocate!!

Can you follow YOUR calling with that kind of motive; putting aside your concerns for feelings so that the truth can be told and blind eyes (spiritually) can be opened? It takes integrity and courage and being fallible, we won’t always succeed, but if we determine in our hearts and spirits that we are going to be obedient to the Spirit’s calling and move forward with that goal in mind, then a TRUE spiritual revival will be coming our way and not just some “circus show style” revival that won’t take root where it counts. For me personally, I want to see Christ Jesus coming through the clouds, mighty, glorious and victorious and just before that, I would love to see a great multitude of my fellow men and women bow their hearts and spirits and surrender to our Great and Mighty Redeemer!!!

THAT will be worth all the hurts and stings! That will be a day to remember, a day to Glorify our Heavenly Father and to Exalt Him for His Wisdom and Love!!!!

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Whence Comes Division?

Posted on September 11, 2016 by Roland Ledoux

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Mark 3:24-25, “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.”

Mark 3:31-35, “Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him. And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You.” But He answered them, saying, “Who is My mother, or My brothers?” And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother.”

Matthew 12:32-37, “Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come. Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

The other day I reposted an updated version of an article on unity within the spiritual Body of Christ, mainly because of the turmoil not just in the world around us, but here in the United States where I live, because of the political and social upheaval that is a sign of division and corruption.

church_divisionThe thing is, it has permeated into our “church” or religious circles and has caused many to question our so-called brothers and sisters. In the spiritual realm, within the true Body of Christ, there is NO division for the Body of Christ, those members called to be a part of the Kingdom of God, those who have been spiritually reborn are NOT divided in what is eternally significant and important; that is what is according to Matthew 22:37-40, “Jesus said to him,” ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ “This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ “On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

The confusion though in what I call “religious circles” as opposed to the spiritual is that as in every generation there are many who consider themselves “religious” yet without the spiritual knowledge of an INTIMATE relationship with Christ Jesus, Who is the source of our spiritual rebirth and regeneration. Many know OF Him, and know ABOUT Him, but don’t know Him intimately in the spirit.

You see, for several decades the church has replaced the importance of actions, with the importance of FEELINGS as an indication of love in action. You’ve heard me teach on this before, it’s nothing new, but it has caused a lot of confusion in “church circles” and a common truth is that confusion is NOT of the Spirit of God, but of the devil, the enemy of our souls.

You see, a favorite cliché used to be, “that actions speak louder than words.” In fact, it is an unequivocal truth and not just some idiom that our parents spoke. The Scriptures listed above in Matthew go to the truth of that saying. But through the generations, since the 60’s another slogan started to take prominence and it was spawned from the depths of hell and swallowed, “hook, line and sinker” by so many, that today it has become a way of life; “if it feels good, do it; as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone!”

Actions, backing up the veracity of your words, gave way to feelings taking prominence and what you say was the basis of your feelings and thoughts. The trouble with this is that actions are concrete, they are set, once accomplished, feelings are fleeting and based solely on subjective and relative emotion. Feelings can be influenced by the day, the weather, what you have eaten or how you have slept, whereas, actions, though at times motivated by feelings, display for the whole world to see, what is truly in your heart, what lies at the depths of your innermost thoughts, displaying the deep recesses of your spirit!

This is the very reason why Jesus used the analogy of the good tree producing good fruit and the bad tree, evil fruit. What comes forth in your actions, defines the person you truly are from your depths and the truth of the matter is, you can’t keep that to yourself, for as sure as the Sun rises and sets, what you love, what matters most to you, is what will not just make up the majority of your conversation, it will lead you to the actions you employ.

divisionDivision in the “church” world comes when well-meaning people, who believe they have the spiritual “pulse” of the Lord start relying on their feelings, instead of on the infallible TRUTH of the Word of God, which is never-changing, and always the unwavering benchmark of what is right and what is wrong!

Because I speak out against immigration crimes, I’m unloving. Because, I don’t agree with harboring Middle Eastern refugees within our borders, I’m unloving. Because I state the facts of black on black crimes, or Asian against Asian crimes, I’m unloving and racist. I CAN’T be a Christian, because how can you stand by and see these things go on in the world and not want to embrace them all; after all we are supposed to be a Christian Nation!

Well, I’m sorry to “HURT” your feelings and burst your bubble, but we haven’t been a Christian Nation since we started allowing women’s feelings of choice to murder unborn babies. We haven’t been a Christian Nation since we allow the freedom to express ourselves evolve into a billion-dollar porn industry. We haven’t been a Christian Nation since we have allowed laws to be enacted to legalize all forms of immoral businesses so that they can take on the appearance of legitimacy! We haven’t been a Christian Nation when we have allowed the very people leading this Nation to get away with breaking the very laws that would put any number of us “normal” citizens in prison for years!! We haven’t been a Christian Nation when we pass laws allowing same sex couples to enter into a spiritual sacrament, legally and call it love!! I could go on and on and on and yet the majority of people polled in this country believe they are Christians! But if you speak out against any of these immoral actions taking place in this “Christian Nation” you are labeled a racist, homophobic, xenophobic, sexist and if you are against RADICAL Islam, you are Islamophobic!

You are labeled “harsh and unloving” because you won’t embrace the “plight” of all these groups. Yet, what ever happened to America being a Nation of Laws and doing things the right and moral way? Well, because of feelings, morality is all relative now. You see, we have a woman running for President who claims that the Bible and the wisdom in the Bible has made her the person she is today, a person proven through the course of her public and professional career to resort to lies, deceit, blatant corruption and it is not just her words that condemn her, but her actions through 40 plus years.

But you see, here’s the problem; because she MENTIONS the Bible we are to accept her because after all it is the right thing to do. Yet many of my so-called brothers and sisters will continue to enable her, like the parent of a drug-addict enables their drug-addicted child to continue in their careless and reckless endangerment of their life and the life of others! Because, after all, you can’t stop LOVING them! But you see, THAT IS NOT LOVE! Love, real unconditional love would demand actions that prevent harm to come to them and to those around them. Selfish and self-centered feelings cause someone to continue to enable those doing wrong!

What happened to the “truth will set you free?” It was replaced by, “the truth hurts!” So, thereby the truth is wrong if it hurts someone’s feelings and that is why so many who buy into the devil’s liberal lies use feelings as a substitute for actionable love!

But, here’s the thing; everything we are experiencing today in society, in the world, has been recorded in the Bible, historically. The results of obeying the truth are evident as are the results of disobeying the truth and the fall that mankind takes historically when he as a whole ignores God’s Words and Truth!

But as a Christian, we have to feel love don’t we?? Where in the Bible is it stated as a fact or shown as an example that Godly, unconditional love is anything but an action? If you are a Christian we SHOULD be concerned (See, I wrote CONCERNED) about the things going on in the world and society around us for after all, we do live IN this world, though we are not a part of it (as spiritual Children of God). But we AREN’T commanded to be blindly led by our FEELINGS! We are told of things we can DO to make a difference. If your brother (the person living next to you) needs a coat and you have two, give him one! (But he has to receive it for it to do him any good!). What if you don’t have a spare? Help him find someone with a spare AND pray for his and your own guidance to that end!!!

Oh but brother Roland, praying for him might as well be as the Apostle James says, “If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?” – James 2:15-16.

But the whole point of James exhortation is that it takes faith AND works (actions); you can’t have one without the other and vice versa; but it takes everything working (action) together and in this exhortation, feelings never enter the picture. Sometimes, when situations and circumstances are beyond our ability to intervene, the most powerful intervention is prayer, fervent prayer. Prayer is not a feeling, but an action, it requires action and purpose, thought and preparation! James is the Apostle that also exhorts us to pray and ask the Lord (Who is willing to give generously) for wisdom, spiritual understanding!

My question in this article as stated in the title was “whence or where does division come from?” It comes from the enemy of our souls, it comes from confusion and unrest. 1 Corinthians 14:33, “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. (here, the term peace can also be translated to mean a quiet and restful mind, not troubled by confusion or doubt).

You CAN speak out about unrest and injustice and still be a Christian who truly loves your fellow man, but if the god of this world, the devil, has blinded mankind, the only act of love that will count for anything is to pray for their spiritual sight to be restored that they can make the choice to follow after Christ Jesus and accept His free gift of Grace and Redemption! You can clothe and feed your neighbor, but that will always be only temporary. You can open your house to the stranger, but that will always be only temporary. Eternal, is showing him the gift available to him, free of charge and priceless beyond compare, BUT, you can’t make him receive it! That always is and will be HIS choice and his choice alone!

slide15-640x360How do we stop the violence in our inner cities? How do we stop the poverty all over the world? How do we stop the wars that are taking place all over this world? We DON’T! We don’t have the power too, but we do have the ability to make a haven for those seeking and searching for the TRUTH, for those seeking and searching for a way to PRACTICE the truth without fear of reprisal, but it won’t happen if well-meaning “Christians” rely on their feelings instead of on the Holy Spirit to lead them and guide them into ALL truth!

Only a change of heart, a willing change of heart can make the world a different place. The sad truth is that Jesus Himself told us the outcome and you can FEEL bad, or you can do something by speaking up and pointing others to the ONLY way to a changed heart, which is found in Christ Jesus! Remember Jesus stated this, “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” – Matthew 7:12-14.

Jesus didn’t state this, to make those He was speaking too, to feel bad. This should be an encouragement to those seeking the truth, but it SHOULD definitely be a motivation for those Redeemed to action by hitting their knees and praying for the conditions in the world and not adding to them by falling into the enemy’s trap of “feeling” sorry!

You want unity in the “church or religious” world? Stop believing and spreading the world’s lies, plain and simple. Remember, it is not the Spiritual Church that is divided, it is the world that is divided and if you feel yourself on the outside looking in and confused at what the “church” is doing, the step back inside the TRUE CHURCH, the Body of Christ!

In closing, I want you to remember this, Jesus Christ died on the Cross and spilled his RED BLOOD so that ALL mankind might take part in His gift and in the true, Spiritual Body of Christ this IS the truth, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” – Galatians 3:26-29.

WHAT A PROMISE TO THOSE WHO ARE A PART OF THIS BODY!!

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Law + Grace = Mercy

Posted on September 10, 2016 by Roland Ledoux

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There has been such a misunderstanding about what grace is and it is due to such a lack of teaching or an over-simplification of teaching. Grace itself is or should not be hard to understand, but it has been used as an excuse for unrighteousness and unlawfulness for way too long!

To understand grace, we need to understand our relationship with the Law for it is because of the Law that we even need grace. The truth is that each and every one of us has been born and created under the Law of God. We can’t escape this truth; we are bound to the Law as sure as we our bound to each breath we take, and therein lies the problem.

You see, mankind CAN’T fulfill every aspect of the Law. We can’t. Adam and Eve proved that very point and they lived in a state of perfection. But, they were given, as we are, the ability to choose what path they/we walk. To validate that freedom of choice, the Lord, our Heavenly Father gave them a commandment, the first of the Law. That aspect showed them and us that we are not automatons or robots, without the ability to make free choices. This has been the Lord’s way of doing things in ALL His creation. Many think the angels were created without choice, but in fact, Lucifer, His best and brightest could not have rebelled without the ability to choose whether to follow what he was created for as opposed to rebelling against his creator!

There is a reason why our Heavenly Father created us with the ability to choose to follow His commandments or not too; for one, to love Him with our actions can only be real if we have a way of demonstrating our loving Him with actions. If we are given no choices to make a determination, it would not be love, real love, it would be forced servitude and the Lord WILL NOT force us to submit our wills to His without the ability to choose to do so.

james1_17The Law has and always will be our Master, our taskmaster, exacting perfection without question. The reason for this is two-fold; one to show us our inability, our imperfection and need for something beyond the Law and two, because one of our Heavenly Father’s many personality attributes is Just-ness or Justice. He is a Just God, and as the Apostle James writes, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.” – James 1:17-18, (bold emphasis mine).

Unlike our many worldly judges, God’s ability to judge is not based on feelings, on relationship with individuals (He’s no respecter of persons), on financial or power status, etc. He is Just, and there are no lies, deceit or manipulation in His Character; what He says, He does and means.

When you hear or read the phrase, “His Word is Law,” there is no “reading between the lines” or wondering as to what is meant. When you read, “but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” – 1 Peter 1:15-16, then you know that everything you need to be obedient is in those Words. There is no swaying one way or another, we either BE, (by action) Holy or we DON’T (by inaction) be Holy and we are judged by a Just God without any variation.

But, history has proven that we CAN’T fulfill every “jot and tittle” of the Law and if we can’t then we are doomed to the Justice that God has decreed is payment for NOT fulfilling every aspect of the Law.

What I have stated so far is basic theology that even a new-born Christian learns and understands. But this is why the need for grace becomes so important. We cannot escape the Law or the payment needed for not fulfilling the Law without grace.

Ephesians 2:4-9, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Bold emphasis mine).

The simplest teaching on grace that most Christians have been taught is that grace is “unmerited favor” with God. What is, unmerited favor? Have you thought about it, or have you just accepted it as it is stated? All I am asking of you, is to give it more than a cursory or passing thought.

Unmerited of course is simple; it means not earned or worked for, not deserved. Grace is a favor to us that we don’t deserve and we can’t earn. But grace, God’s Grace is so much more than that. Look again at the Scriptures in Ephesians 2:4-9. We are saved, or redeemed; in other words, payment for what we owe has been taken care of by Grace. Grace is a gift of God, it is THROUGH faith and not faith itself that saves us. Grace saves us and it is faith in that Grace that saves us. It is NOT some magic formula, but rather totally spiritual, trust in God’s Word, trust in something we can’t see, but have only heard about, from God’s Word. It is the Assurance in what God says about God’s Grace is true and real. You believe that His Grace saves or redeems us and it is that belief in the Grace that does the work, making the gift have value.

grace_unmerited_favor
Grace itself is a gift. But for the gift to be of value, you have to accept it for what it is. If you do not believe that the gift is of any value in your circumstance than the gift itself is of no value. It is NOT just saying it, but actually believing it. This is the difference of what makes the gift of Grace so important. Anybody can SAY anything and the saying of it does not make it so. But if you BELIEVE in something, the believing causes you to SPEAK of what you believe. It is cause and effect, but it is the difference between “getting the cart in front of the horse or the horse in its proper place!”

Now I want you to follow this line of reasoning; Jesus, God’s Anointed One (the Christ), is God’s gift, our Heavenly Father’s GIFT to mankind. Of all of mankind He is the ONLY ONE who was able to perfectly fulfill, (every jot and tittle) the Law. He alone is the only One who could live a life in perfection, while also suffering every temptation known to mankind and yet CHOOSE to obey every aspect of the Law!

Matthew 5:17-18, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.”

Grace is NOT some ethereal abstract concept floating out in the realm or “soup” of the supernatural. Grace is real and an attribute of our Heavenly Father’s personality and embodied in the life of Christ Jesus. Jesus is God’s Grace embodied and gifted to us because as Ephesians 2:4-9 states, that, “He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” (Bold emphasis mine).

Christ Jesus is God’s Grace shown to us and given to us as a free gift to pay the price not one of us could ever afford for the inability to fulfill the Law, the commandments of our Heavenly Father, God Almighty! We accept the gift of His life, death and resurrection for our penalty of sin and it is our faith in His gift, His Grace that redeems us from the JUST penalty of eternal death! In accepting and believing in that gift, we then appropriate God’s mercy, as stated in Ephesians 2:4. God’s mercy is not afforded us, until our debt to the Law through God’s Grace has been paid. It is then that God’s mercy is appropriated to our lives. It is through Christ Jesus, God’s Grace that our redemption has been mercifully paid. It is through no work of ourselves, but through ALL the work of His (Christ Jesus’) ministry. The value of the gift is in accepting ALL that He has accomplished, in giving Him all the praise and credit and then living a life reflecting His Grace in our lives.

When we accept Jesus Christ as the saving Grace within our lives, truly abiding within our lives in the unity of His Spirit with our spirit, then that grace no longer allows us to practice lawlessness or unrighteousness for now we have an intimate relationship, a KNOWING relationship with our JUST Heavenly Father through His gift of Grace, His Son, Christ Jesus!

grace_gods_giftWe must remember that EVERY attribute, every trait of our Heavenly Father is embodied in the person of Christ Jesus and Christ Jesus is the free gift to each of us that is beyond value; priceless for eternity! The value of the gift, is in the receiving and in the believing. The gift is free, what we do with that gift, already given, is our choice! It is all part of our Heavenly Father’s perfect plan from before our very beginning! It was His plan for each of us, individually even before He created His angels and messengers. In His wisdom and His thinking, in His willingness to create a being who would love Him for WHO He is, for what makes Him God; He created us with Grace and Mercy already in place to fulfill His Just-ness! His Law, His Grace can be claimed, can be appropriated in the personal and intimate KNOWING of His Son, Jesus, the Anointed One (Christ).

We live under the Law, we are ultimately judged under the Law, but we are redeemed by the Law of God’s Grace which affords us Mercy for eternity, IF we choose His freely given GIFT!

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Jigsaw Puzzle Unity – Redux

Posted on September 10, 2016 by Roland Ledoux

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Redux? Why did I choose that word? I don’t know, it just seemed fitting at the time. First, this is a message that I posted on another site some time ago and yet felt in the light of recent instances needed some update and clarification. There seems to be some confusion as to what spiritual unity truly is and with all the denominational differences, those differences can be confused with actual ministry and gifting differences. Also, with the state of the world that we live in today, with all the political turmoil and racial unrest reinvigorated by unscrupulous and corrupt leaders, we are seeing a division within those that claim to be a part of the Body of Christ.

Let me say this emphatically; the Spiritual Church is NOT divided, for if that were the case, then the Holy Spirit Himself would be divided and that is not Scriptural! So, it stands to reason that it is individual thinking and lack of spiritual understanding that is causing a division in “religious” circles. In the Spirit, in our Heavenly Father’s TRUE Kingdom, there is no division!

The fact remains is that the devil and his lies, his emissaries and the enemies of our soul, which includes the world order, is hard at work to keep mankind blind to the truth of the Spirit of God and the workings of His Kingdom. But we have this promise, “And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” – 1 John 4:3-6.

Greater is the Spirit within us (if we are truly children of God) then he who is in the world. But you can’t just stop there and park or camp on that Scripture alone! Those of the world, hear and believe the lies of the world, they accept the deception and falsehoods and those that KNOW God, in an intimate way, are not swayed by the lies of this world, but KNOW the truth, which Scripture tells us, sets us free. There is NO division in truth!

2 Corinthians 6:14-15, “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?”

We do not as individuals have to believe in everything exactly the same; but, truth and falsehood should be easily recognizable to a child of God who is walking in the Spirit of Christ Jesus! If you enable those who lie as a lifestyle in this world and deceive to gain their own ends, you enable the enemy and are actively condoning fellowship with this world order and its motive to destroy the truth! Then, whether you believe yourself to be religious (it should be spiritual) or not you are then the cause of division and you need to be called out, just as the Apostles Paul and Peter called out those in the letters they wrote to the churches! In doing so, you protect the “flock of the Lord” and you might “save a brother or sister from destruction,” according to Scripture!

If you are more concerned about feelings than you are of the Spirit of the Lord and the Spirit of the Word, then you have no stake in the Kingdom of God! You MUST unequivocally LOVE the Lord and His Kingdom and those who make up that Kingdom more than family or friends or you are the cause then of division in this world!

I KNOW beyond a doubt, that this seems harsh; but what is more important in eternity, this world and its ways or the Kingdom of God and the Body or Bride of Christ? This is NOT the LAW I am spouting, but actually GRACE in action! Grace has been so misunderstood and taught wrong for so long, it has become an avenue for lawlessness and a justification for unrighteousness!

Now, with these ideas, before you, take a look again at TRUE unity. Imagine from the Lord’s perspective, how HE sees a unified and complete Body! Are YOU one of the many puzzle pieces rightly fitted in its proper place? Only you, can truly answer that, but your actions, dictated by your heart, will determine where you fit in the TRUE image that God Almighty, our Heavenly Father, has created.

1 Corinthians 12:4-7, “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:…”

1 Corinthians 12:11-14, “But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body–whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free–and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many.”

1 Corinthians 12:18-20, “But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now indeed there are many members, yet one body.”

1 Corinthians 12:27, “Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.”

Just to let you know ahead of time, this is not a teaching on the gifts or ministries themselves, but rather a teaching on the Body of Christ itself and what it appears the Holy Spirit is accomplishing before our eyes.

jigsaw_puzzle_unity
Why Jigsaw Puzzle Unity, you ask? I love jigsaw puzzles; always have. I love seeing a picture and then watching it scrambled and using my intuitive skills to put it back together again with little odd-shaped pieces.

As I have been praying the last couple of days, I have been in AWE of how the Lord is bringing His Church together in unity and with purpose. It seems to me that this unity seems to be happening ever quicker as the days go by. That might just be me, but it sure appears that way.

Back in the early ‘70s, Ray Stedman’s teaching on Body Ministry was gaining ground in many of the fundamental churches and for me, who surrendered to the Lord in late 1969, it was an exciting time and teaching. The problem is, it ended up being treated like a religious fad for many churches rather than a spiritual reawakening! I clung to that teaching though and it not only helped me in areas of ministry, but it also helped me when dealing with others whose ministries differed from mine.

There are still those Pastors and Teachers who do teach it, but it doesn’t seem to be mainstream like it once was. I can tell you why I think that is so and I’m probably not far wrong from my experiences in various areas of ministries. But — that’s a lesson for another time, let’s just say for now that EGO has a lot to do with the lack of teaching!

What struck me about Body Ministry is how it resembles the jigsaw puzzles that I so love. You see, our Heavenly Father has this image, vision, picture of the Church Body, that which Christ Jesus as bridegroom is coming to call unto Himself. It’s a beautiful image and the Bride is decked out in her most brilliant and white dress. She is the vision of purity and intimacy and she beams with anticipation of her coming Lord. I can’t describe the beauty with which the Father views her, for it is beyond our comprehension while we are wrapped in this corruptible flesh.

But we are given a bit of a view of her if we are willing to look at her individual members. Like the jigsaw picture that ultimately creates the beautiful image when finished, she is made up of sometimes unique pieces, sometimes very similar with little differences, but each piece has its own place to make that image complete. You can’t take a similar piece to another and place it in the wrong spot for it will not look right and it certainly won’t fit right. Each piece has been pre-cut, pre-created with one purpose in mind, to complete the picture in the one and only spot it is meant to fill.

Notice another thing about this analogy; if you are missing a piece, the image, what should be seen is incomplete and not whole, for it takes the interlocking of each piece to not only make it complete, but make it secure and strong!

So it is with Body ministry! You can read the verses concerning the individual ministry and spiritual gifts, but the main point is that we NEED each one fitting where our Heavenly Father has created that gift to fit in the overall picture! Yes, God knew before the puzzle was in pieces, the importance of each piece and where each piece needed to fit and interlock!! Remember, it is God Almighty who sets the members as He sees fit, as it pleases Him! A jigsaw puzzle fits as it should because each piece IS unique and individual, in a good puzzle there are no two pieces alike. You can’t have ALL edge pieces or you can never have a complete picture, only a border. If only a border, what would it hold in place?

So it is with the Body of Christ. We have border pieces that help keep other pieces linked together. A border defines the size and outline of what the image is to be. It lends definition. You can look at it complete and say, yes, it is rectangular or square or round, etc. You can’t get something from a jigsaw puzzle that it was not meant to be, because each piece defines the complete outcome of the picture. So it is with the Body of Christ!

Here’s the thing; there is a reason why we are asked to surrender our wills to that of our Redeemer as Lord. It is His Spirit’s job or function, to make us the piece that God wants us to be so that we comprise the picture that He already foresees. What each of us is called to do, is no accident, for it is exactly what pleases our Heavenly Father.

What we are witnessing today, is the jigsaw puzzle of the unique pieces that make up the Church of God Universal, the Body of Christ, coming together as the Holy Spirit places us and creates within each of us the image that will ultimately make up the whole. The picture is already there in the mind of our Heavenly Father. We just have to be willing to submit to the interlocking process that produces unity and strength. The thing that interlocks each of us in our own unique way, is the love for one another, all who surround us as a piece of the puzzle. You can’t interlock with an edge piece if you are one of the center pieces, for you weren’t created too. You can love the complete picture by loving that piece of the puzzle next to you and interlocking with it creating strength and unity!

Eventually, you see the BIG picture. We ARE that Body, becoming more and more the beautiful Bride that the Father is preparing the Groom to come for. He is coming for a Bride who only has eyes for Him, who’s only desire is an intimate relationship with Him! Right now, each of us are adding to the larger picture if and when we allow the Holy Spirit to move us to that place that has been reserved for each of us!!

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I am tickled beyond measure, that I am living in a time when I can see God’s True Church coming together in Love, adding to the strength of our Heavenly Father’s vision of what we are meant to be to Him!!

Love is our border, our edge and it should and always will define us as the Church that God is building!

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The Living Word – God is ALL Part 2

Posted on August 10, 2016 by Roland Ledoux

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The next “Omni” characteristic of God’s personality that I want to cover is His Omnipresence. As can be seen fairly clearly this attribute means that God is ALL present or everywhere and there is nowhere He is not. To even begin to grasp this fact of our Heavenly Father you need to remember that our God is a Spirit. We cannot view or consider Him as a material or bodily presence as we know the body. One of my favorite Scriptures that I use often is found in John 4 and verse 24, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

It can be said, that God is the center or centered everywhere, and yet there is no limit to the area of His presence. Because He IS Spirit and not a material presence as with His Omnipotence, there is no limits to His being everywhere at once.

Jeremiah 23:23-24, “Am I a God near at hand,” says the LORD, “And not a God afar off? Can anyone hide himself in secret places, So I shall not see him?” says the LORD; “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the LORD.”

Ever-PresentDavid wrote, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” Even the night shall be light about me; Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You.” – Psalm 139:7-12.

Job 22:12 “Is not God in the height of heaven? And see the highest stars, how lofty they are!”

Another favorite Scripture that I love to quote is found in Proverbs 18:24b, “But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” Our God’s presence is closer to us that we can even truly imagine! Yet thinking on this, shouldn’t bring any type of fear, but rather a Godly Awe and an assuredness that should give us continual peace and strength!

Yet KNOWING that our Lord, our Heavenly Father’s Spirit is ever close to us, we also know that according to His Word, His Throne is in Heaven where He still reigns over all of His Creation. 1Kings 8:30b “Hear in heaven Your dwelling place……”

Isaiah 66:1a, “Thus says the LORD: “Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool.”

Revelation 21:2a, “Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God……”

So, though our Lord, His Spirit, can reside within our hearts and He remains closer in person than a brother, His Kingdom, His Throne is centered in Heaven! Because we as a bodily presence have trouble fathoming this idea, doesn’t make it untrue, but rather should stimulate our faith, which according to God’s Word in Hebrews 11:6, says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

eternal godWe should understand that because God is also everywhere, His Omnipresent nature also means that there are not boundaries as far as time is also concerned. You see, He doesn’t just dwell in the present, the here and now, and His presence is everywhere at once also, but His presence is also every-when! You see, one character trait of God does not negate the others, but rather they coincide with each other to make up His personality! God IS eternal! He exists outside of the very time that ensnares us, at least until our bodies release us from time and we also begin life in eternity.

This should give every child of God confidence and assurance and yet every enemy of God, a moment of pause for how does His enemies think they can hide from Him. How do false prophets and those who disguise themselves to deceive believe they can hide their secret crimes from God’s very presence? There truly is nothing hid from Him in the earth or in Heaven above!

One very famous hymn, penned by the late Frederick William Faber, states:
“But God is never so far off
As even to be near; He is within: our spirit is
The home He holds most dear.
To think of Him as by our side
Is almost as untrue, As to remove His throne beyond
Those skies of starry blue.
So all the while I thought myself Homeless, forlorn, and weary,
Missing my joy, I walked the earth, Myself God’s sanctuary.”

The first thing that should come to heart in a Christian’s mind is COMFORT! To truly KNOW that the One Who Created us and loves us unconditionally is ever present with us through all of life’s trials and journeys, should be considered a treasure beyond measure!

The second thing, should be what we discussed above, WARNING! “Thou God sees me,” should serve as a warning to any who choose to live a life of sin, whether it be the hidden sins in the darkness or the willing lifestyle of sinfulness!

As I stated in Part I, it’s easy to toss about “religious” words and especially so if you have been involved in church for a good deal of your lifetime. But, when you truly meditate and think upon the Character and Attributes of God Almighty, and when you start to look at them as the makeup of His Whole personality, it should give us an overwhelming sense of awe. Proverbs 1:7 tells us this, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

This fear that the writer of Proverbs speaks of is the sense of awe and wonder that I am referring too. It doesn’t mean to be afraid of our Heavenly Father for that contradicts His Own Words. But we are to be amazed and to wonder at His presence, and at His personality. The more you truly KNOW your Heavenly Father, the more intimate you are with Him, the more wondrous He becomes to you on a deeply personal and spiritual level!

god-is-omnipresent
When it comes down to it, isn’t that what our spiritual awakening was for? Isn’t that what this changed lifestyle and journey is to become? It’s not that we can get closer to our Lord and Father, but it’s that we recognize and finally realize just how close He IS to us already?!

In closing this part, I want to echo what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.” – Ephesians 3:8-12, (Emphasis mine).

END OF PART 2

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One Body, Many Members

Posted on August 9, 2016 by Roland Ledoux

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Luke 4:16-21, “So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.” Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

fulfilled-scripture-0011This Scripture shows us Jesus announcing His ministry and the reaction that followed. Now we can get into the particulars of Him being in the town of His youth and the relevance of His family growing up there and so forth, but the point that I want to make, is that at this point in history, Jesus announced the beginning of His ministry and He described what it would consist of. Jesus KNEW what He was called to do. He KNEW His mission as it were and He knew what it would entail.

No, He didn’t put a title or label to it, for what the ministry was called or titled wasn’t what was the important factor; the work, the service He would perform was what was important! So it is with ministries today. Titles are given for reasons of identification in the world we live in today. The title however doesn’t identify what that person’s true ministry or calling is; it is the work that is done, in faith and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

A couple of weeks ago, on my Facebook site, someone had shared with me a prophecy that had gone out in 2011 about one of our political candidates in the United States for today. It was a prophecy that also included blessings of harvest that the Lord has “promised” the U.S. for its work to other countries and nations in the past. It prompted me to do a teaching on what a true Spirit-led prophecy can be identified by; in other words, 100% accuracy. The problem is, we won’t know if this is 100% accurate until the presidential election is complete and actually a short time after.

So I taught on modern day prophecy. But I also did a section on the ministry of a Prophet (in our New Testament era) because so many church goers confuse the ministry of a Prophet with the gift of prophecy. The teaching of specific ministries is something that is often neglected in churches today and I have my “theories” as to why that is, but that isn’t what I want to center on today.

The fact is, I received about 3, maybe it was 4 emails from concerned Christians who thought I was coming out and claiming to have a Prophet’s ministry! After all, that is pretty arrogant of me if I was; but I guess they were basing it on some things I have taught, and putting together the teaching on prophecy and then the ministry of Prophet, they just ASSUMED I was claiming that ministry. First, let me say that it is because of the very thing I was trying to do, teach about the specifics of a Prophet’s ministry that brought this about. These things are NOT being taught today to the detriment of the Body of Christ. The ministry of Prophet, just like that of Apostle, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher as well as the other organizational ministries is NOT being taught and thus, those who actually have been called into a ministry may not even be aware that they have the ability and gifting to work in that area.

I personally blame most organized religious denominations for this, for if someone doesn’t go through THEIR channels, then there is no way God WOULD call them as individuals! But notice, Jesus didn’t wait for the religious leaders of His day to recognize Him either. He knew His Father’s calling at a young age and proceeded to pursue it, even though the timing for Him to come out openly hadn’t arrived.

I was fortunate to be mentored by a Teacher who understood the individual ministries and taught on each and every one specifically as well as the individual gifts given by the Holy Spirit, all of which I might add are for the edification of the CHURCH as a whole, save one, and it is the one gift that is given to only edify the believer and yet it is the one gift that some denominations have risen to a level of importance above every other gift INCLUDING LOVE!!

Again, just another important reason and proof of the importance of proper teaching and Bible study in our churches today!

Paul is one of the foremost of all the Apostles who, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit has taught on the ministry callings AND the gifts of the Holy Spirit. He does so not just in Romans and Corinthians, but in his other letters as well. He recognized, because of the Holy Spirit’s influence the importance these ministries and gifts would play, not just in the establishment of the NEW Church, but of the building up and edification needed to bring about unity within the Spiritual Body of Christ! Follow these Scriptures I have listed. I haven’t taken them out of context, but brought out the main points of his teaching:

1Corinthians 12:5-7, “There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all….”

1Corinthians 12:11, “But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.”

1Corinthians 12:18-20, “But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now indeed there are many members, yet one body.”

good and perfect giftI know this is a common subject for those of you who have followed me for some time, but it is because it is so vastly important in the continuing growth and maturation of a Christian’s lifestyle. There is NOT a single one of us who has been called to ONLY warm a pew! Each and every ministry, if acted upon in faith, is essential and vital for the health and well-being of the Body of Christ in its preparation for the coming Bridegroom!

When I first started the blog and before it, my other online ministries, I used the title of Pastor, because in the capacity of what I was doing, I was being a shepherd, I was being a Pastor and a Teacher; also, I have been a Pastor behind the pulpit. It helped those who were unfamiliar with the callings and gifts to understand where I was coming from. But for most of my brothers and sisters who understand, the title is not necessary. Now, in the “real” world, I go by Pastor (very seldom Reverend – I don’t care for THAT title) so that I can have access to the hospital when a patient desires prayer. Or when I have visited the jail to be able to talk to an inmate or share a Bible with them, etc. It is the government only, that looks for a label such as a license or my ordination papers. Our Heavenly Father doesn’t need that to use me nor does His Holy Spirit and it is the same with each and every one of you reading this right now.

I KNOW what I have been called to do. I KNOW my ministry calling and it was confirmed to me just like Paul’s “son” Timothy’s was by the laying on of hands and prayer by the elders. But I don’t need a title, unless someone demands for whatever reason clarification and then any title such as Pastor or Teacher, Reverend in the rare cases, will do!

We don’t have to as God’s children, make a ministry coming out announcement as Jesus did. Just as in Jesus’ case, there will be those who will except it as it is and others will scoff and ridicule. But, the question I have for you today is this; DO YOU KNOW WHAT GOD HAS CALLED YOU TO DO BY HIS HOLY SPIRIT?

Do you truly KNOW the specifics of your own personal ministry and if so, are you attempting to accomplish it by faith and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit? The title as I said doesn’t matter, but having a knowledge, a working knowledge and at least a degree of direction is important, otherwise, believe me, it is easy to become discouraged, disheartened and even start to question your place in God! This is the very reason why Paul was so adamant on encouraging Timothy AND Titus in their ministries.

If you are not sure about what the different ministries are and whether they are relevant today or not, seek out a Pastor or Teacher who is not afraid to tackle the subject. If you find a leader who tells you that the ministries listed by Paul in Romans and Corinthians aren’t relevant for today but were just for the establishment of the church, then run from them as fast as you can because they do NOT have yours NOR the Body of Christ’s well-being in mind. They are only concerned with their own position and ego.

And finally, if God’s children are taught the specifics of the individual ministries, there would be less conflict in the church because we would each recognize just what part each other is performing for the good of the whole! The church as a whole would be able to recognize when things are not as they should be and the proper ministry could deal with those problems in a loving and uplifting way. It all stems from whether we are willing to love one another enough to encourage one another or admonish one another as the need arises.

To put to rest any lingering concerns any of my brothers and sisters have concerning me claiming to have a Prophet’s ministry; NO, that is not my place in the Body of Christ. It is not my calling, though, at times, my ministry may appear in its teaching to touch that area, it is not my calling. But, I do KNOW what my Lord has called me to do and though I have skirted some of it for a while, I am determined to do all the Lord asks me to do without question, with Love for the eternal well-being of others and for my Love and gratefulness for His unconditional love for me!!

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