JESUS THE TRUE AND PERFECT MAN

In what ways did Jesus demonstrate true masculinity?

• It was in His courage to face his call
• His determination to finish His assignment on earth (John 17:4).                                                " I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do."
• His love and commitment to his family and friends. 
• His resolve to do His Father’s will. 
• Being a provider and a caretaker
• Feeding the hungry (Matt 14:13-21)                                                                                "13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. “Bring them here to me,” he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children."

• Healing the sick (Matthew 9:20-22; Matthew 9:35; Mark. 2:9-12, Luke. 17:12-16;               John. 9:6-7). 

   Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak.  She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.” Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment. Matthew 9:20-22 (NIV)

  "Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’?  But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man,  “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”  He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!” Mark 2:9-12 (NIV)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                "As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance  and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master,have pity on us!” When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Luke 17:12-16 (NIV)
• He was an honest member of the community, making sure his taxes were paid (Matthew 17:24-27).
• He was very effective in His dealings and as a leader
• He was able to commit the task of reaching souls to his disciples. 
• He was not selfish, but emptied himself for us. 
• He had impeccable integrity.
•  Jesus has been indeed a true and perfect man and He requires us to walk in His steps. 1 John 2:6

Prayer points 
Pray that

•  Men will desire always to be like Jesus
• Men will resolve to do the will of God 
• Men shall demonstrate distinctively the character of Jesus the true and perfect man
• Men will prove to be responsible citizens, holding on to their integrity at all times.

WHICH PARENTING ATTITUDE IS MOST EFFECTIVE FOR EDUCATIONAL SUCCESS?

Do parents have to be "tiger parents" for kids to succeed in school or should they have the laisse-faire attitude? Which type of parenting works well and which one does not? The answer seems to be neither here or there. Read the tale of these two students and decide. Click here

HE IS IN CONTROL

CAST YOUR VOTE NOW?

It is important to understand the death of Christ on the cross and its significance. Scarcely will someone die for another unless the person loves that someone dearly. Christ is the judge who came down from His throne above to die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins which is death. His death and resurrection brought us a renewed hope and assurance of eternal life.

"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed."  1 Peter 2:24 (KJV)

4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:4-5(KJV)

His stripes and oozing blood cleansed us from all unrighteousness. His finished work on Calvary cross left us with no doubt and guilt of sin. 

He said on the cross, "It is finished." Meaning there was no more any substitution for our sins except His blood alone.

What can wash away my sins,

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

What can make me whole again,

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Oh, precious is the flow

 that makes me white as snow,

No other fount I know,

Nothing but the blood of Jesus

18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, 1 Peter 3:17-18 (NKJV)

Because of the work done on Calvary cross, 

36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them. John 3:36(NIV)

The choice is yours! Will you believe in the saving power of Jesus' blood and be saved from eternal damnation or will you rather ignore Him and perish in hell fire? The choice is yours! Cast your vote now! Time is not on your side. 

PRAISE TIME AT THE CHURCH OF PENTECOST EASTER 2017 CONVENTION IN NEW JERSEY

YOU HAVE BEEN MADE WHOLE AGAIN!

Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.  1 Peter 2:24 (KJV)

4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:4-5(KJV)

Sin creates a wound in our relationship with God. It breaches the spiritual nutritional support that emanates to us from the Lord to nourish our inner being. It is an ulcer that undermines our very existence and destroys God's intended plan for our lives. Sin makes us depressed because feel guilty after the sin has been committed. It brings grief and sorrows to the self and sometimes to those around us. But there is an antidote to the damaging effect of sin, and that is, the blood of Jesus. By dying on the cross, he took our sinful nature, our griefs and sorrows, our depressions, our failures, and nailed them to the cross. He paid the price that we should have paid for our sins, which is death, and He put on us His own righteousness. We have been healed by His stripes. We now have peace with God. Because of this, we can go to Him with all confidence as His children. Our relationship with God has now been renewed or restored because of the redemptive blood of Jesus. 

Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart but go to Him in prayer and ask Him to come into your life and make you whole from all your sins. He is faithful and just to forgive you if you confess them. You will then become a child of God. Take the bold step of faith today!

GOD'S GOOD THOUGHTS FOR YOU!

 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” 15 You may say, “The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,” Jeremiah 29:11-15(NIV)

For about 70 years, the Israelites were in captivity in the land of Babylon. They had suffered greatly and it was predicted by the prophets that they would be taken out of this captivity by this time. They were getting a little bit frustrated when it appeared to them that this was taking too long and their freedom was not too evident to them. So they sang a song in Psalms 137:1-4 saying, "By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. There on the poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy;  they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land?

Yes, how can they sing songs of joy in a strange land? How can they sing songs of praises in captivity? Yet, God wanted them to rejoice and be fruitful in captivity. 

 4 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” 8 Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. 9 They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares the Lord. 10 This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. Jeremiah 29:4-10

When you are a child of God, He looks out for you in good and bad times, in rain or shine, in hunger or famine, in joy or in sorrow. He is a God of all seasons. In captivity He says rejoice and have hope because He has made a provision for you. In your captivity, He says, don't limit your potential, aspire for greater things. In your captivity He says, you must be the head and not the tail. You may be an immigrant in your country. Never limit how successful you can be in that country. You can do greater things than even the indigenous people if you apply yourself . Joseph was an immigrant in Egypt, yet, he rose to become the next in command to Pharoah.  He was a prisoner with prison clothes yet he continued to excel even in prison. He sharpened his skills of interpreting dreams in prison. Daniel did the same in Babylon. He rose to the highest rank there! 

Captivity is a training ground for greater things to come. God demands constancy in His worship and love for Him. He does not want us to wax and wane in out trust in Him. So it is written, in 1 Thessalonians 5:18(KJV), " In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." God has a plan and purpose for you in every circumstance of your life. That's why He does not want you to complain but to endure and press on in your act of worship to Him. He knows that there is a light at the end of the tunnel for you if you do not give up. God would certainly come through for you after your "70 years" in captivity. “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. "

 You may be asking the same questions David asked in Psalm 13:1-4:

    How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
   How long will you hide your face from me?

2    How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
    and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
    How long will my enemy triumph over me?

I want to reassure you that your captivity will not be long. It is for a season and a time! God's promise for you is 'Yes and Amen.' Your deliverance is set for an appointed time. 

"For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. Psalm 30:5

How can you deal with the long wait for deliverance? When God is about to do an expected good, He pours out a spirit of prayer. We must go to Him in prayer. Pray at all times, in season and out of season.                                                                                      

  "Rejoice always,  pray without ceasing." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17

We must call upon the Lord in expectation of good and deliverance. He says, " Call upon me and I will answer you." Promises are given to quicken and encourage prayer and when deliverance is coming, we must by prayer go forth to meet it. Daniel understood this very well so when the 70 years were expiring, he set his face to pray more fervently than ever. He sought the Lord with fervency. We must seek God with all our hearts, with all our might, and with all our strength. We must seek God diligently. Searching for Him diligently requires a careful search for directions in seeking Him and encouragements to our faith and hope in Him. These directions can be found in His word (The Bible). We must seek Him in sincerity and uprightness. "For without Holiness, no one can see God."

Go to God in prayer today for your deliverance is on the way!
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."