Are you Plugged in to Jesus

Good morning to all on this wonderful Thursday morning. God is in His Heaven and truly all is right with the world! The Kong household is in the final count down to launch Aleron on his medical career. Please keep this young man in your prayers and that God will continue to mold him into a GREAT and Wonderful healer.

I am continuing my journey in Matthew 16 verses 13-20, "When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." "But what about you?" He asked. "Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Then He warned His disciples not to tell anyone that He was the Christ. Amen and amen! what a revelation this must have been to Peter, that finally the Messiah, the Christ that all the tribes of Israel had been waiting on was here! At that very moment Peter was a changed man. Although he had been with Jesus for 3 years; had witnessed countless miracles; had seen Jesus walk on water and then walked on water himself; this is the moment that Peter KNEW that Jesus was the Christ and this was the moment of Peter's conversion.

All Christians have had this Peter experience when you just know that your Savior lives! You know that your life is not an accident and not dependant on circumstance or the kindness of other. You can feel the Power of the Holy Spirit and you step out on faith daily knowing that your Savior is behind you. You hunger for prayer and the Word of God. You don't feel right until you commune with the Lord. YOU HAVE TO BE PLUGGED IN! Peter KNEW right then and there; the veil of the temple had been rent through his faith and he saw his Messiah. Hallelujah and hallelujah. Our Christ lives today and if the world could know this joy then their lives would be enriched. Unlike Peter and the rest of the disciples, we are to preach and tell everyone of the good news that our Savior, the Christ, the Son of the Living God, lives and that He lives for all of us to accept Him and to turn our vision to His. He will help you get the junk out of your trunk! Like Peter in Matthew 14:29 you can walk on the water through your faith knowing that if you begin to sink and cry out to Jesus for help HE WILL HELP YOU IMMEDIATELY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What are you waiting for today? It is a great day to exercise our faith in the One and Only Living God of the Old and New testaments. Jesus has fulfilled all the scriptures so that we can live a victorious and abundant life! Have a wonderful, kingdom building day!

Stephanie

All Things are Possible through Your Faith

Good morning to all on this beautiful Thursday morning. Waine and I are leaving our little island today so please pray God's traveling mercies for us. I tell you that every day I am alive I come to know and understand the love of a wonderful God and this loving man. When Jesus said that the Greatest Commandment was that we love the Lord God with all our our heart and Second like unto to it, that we love one another as God has loved us, He really knew what He was talking about!

I am continuing my journey into Matthew 16, verses 1-12, "The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested Him by asking Him to show them a sign from heaven. He replied,"When evening comes, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,' and in the morning, 'Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah." Jesus then left them and went away. When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. "Be careful," Jesus said to them. "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees."  They discussed this among themselves and said, "It is because we didn't bring any bread." Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, "You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? Do you still not understand? Don't you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? How is it you don't understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees." Then they understood that He was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Amen in Jesus name!

Well this is certainly a great passage! First, did you know that sailors have a saying "Red sky at night, sailors delight. Red sky at dawn, sailors forlorn."? So much common sense advice is provided in the Bible and it is an account of the ministry of Christ as well as those that followed in His foot steps. Christ was telling the Pharisees and Sadducees that He was not fooled by their inquiry and about this time Christ knew that His time was short on the earth so He really didn't have time for their foolishness any more. No more time to placate folk that are intent on playing games. He was moving on and so should we when we have exhausted our ability to provide insight to those who will not accept the love or word of God. There are many people who still need to be touched in our Kingdom building efforts and when its time to roll then keep this passage in mind.

I also found it funny that Christ had to tell His disciples that they needed to stop acting as foolish children and begin to reflect on the life they had been exposed to by walking with Christ! As is recounted here, He was so through with this bread business and feeding the multitude, He provided them with a rebuke. Christ however rebuked the behavior of His disciples and didn't dismiss them. He loved His disciples and grieved over the lack of their faith in His abilities and the abilities that can come forth through their own FAITH. The disciples needed to begin to REFLECT and then ACCEPT the power of God through His Son Jesus and get over listening to what others said. I am so glad that Jesus loves me enough to continue to put up with the crappy stuff that comes out of my life sometimes and I thank Him, thank Him, thank Him for hanging with me.

I pray that you have a Faith filled day and I thank God for you in Jesus name! Amen and amen!

Stephanie

Keep Your Eyes on the Prize!

Good morning to all on this Wednesday morning. Please pray for my safe travels as I head out to Louisiana! Please also join with me in congratulating Dr. Aleron Kong, who yesterday matched in Internal Medicine. He will begin his training at the "House", Morehouse School of Medicine/Grady on July 1, 2010. God is good and His hand is always on us to ensure that we make the best decisions for our life!

As I continue my journey today in Matthew 11, verses 11-19 Christ says, "I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it for all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. He who has ears, let him hear. 'To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge and you did not mourn.' For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners." ' But wisdom is proved right by her actions."

I am sure the crowd listening to Jesus didn't understand half of what Jesus was sying in these verses. He was not only moving from Mosaic law in defining a righteous person, He was also telling the crowd that He was the Kingdom they had been waiting for. This man who wore simple clothes, owned only one pair of shoes, who regularly could be found in the company of sinners, tax collectors and whore, preached a gospel of forgiveness and claimed and demonstrated the power to raise the dead and heal lepers; this Man proclaimed and was indeed the Son of the Living God. The Messiah for whom the Jews awaited! But they believed not because their "eyes" were fixated on a prize they determined to be real and they were blinded by the prize right in front of their eyes!

How often are we fooled by our own mind as to what the Will of our Father is? That is the folly that befalls us because of the sins of Adam and his Eve. We have the curse of "reasoning" which is why Christ tells us to be child like and just believe. No reasoning is involved today--our hearts know what is true and real if we just believe in the One who can make all things right! Be wise today and trust the Man who holds your future in his hands. Don't believe the hype that Satan would have you believe; you are the Child of the King! Speak your blessings into esistence today and be bold in your approach to this life. Other men will then know the God you serve and they will be saved.

God loves you and so do I.

Stephanie