Pastor gave a good lesson last night at prayer meeting from Matt 14:22-33..After feeding the 5000 Jesus sent the disciples out into the ship while he went up the mountain to pray. This was in the evening and at the fourth watch which would have been about 4 am (I think) Jesus went to them on the sea. There was a storm raging, dark, disciples cant’ see, they have been rowing all night to no avail, boisterous wind blowing in their faces, they’re tired and scared…then there appears what they think is a spirit on the water…And Jesus says in Mt 14:27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. Those three words “it is I” are the same words as “I AM” in John 8:58 ..Joh 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. The Greek words . This is so great because the Great I AM was there on the raging sea defying gravity and any other law of thermodynamics and He can because He is the Creator God who brought all things into existence and sustains all things and existed before all things. Peter’s faith failed him a little when he said “If” in the verse Mt 14:28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. However, the God of our Creation held out his hand and they walked together back to the ship in the storm and when they got to the ship the wind ceased.

Even though the disciples were in the dark, some distance from shore, in the midst of a storm and very afraid, Jesus still saw them toiling and laboring…We are always within sight of an Omniscient God. If our faith falters for whatever reason He is still there saying, ” Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.” Our ego eimi…He holds our hand and walks with us even though we think we may be sinking…It is certainly empowering to know the God of Creation who loves us so.

“Live each day for the rest of your life as tho it were your last day on earth.” Jesus is coming again, it will be sudden without warning, how will you be living and where will you be afterward…in heaven with Him or left behind subject to the wrath of God? Ac 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. This is the only way to escape God’s wrath to come in this world or eternity. Don’t wait for tomorrow, today is the day of salvation. The clock is ticking, you may not have tomorrow.

Did you ever pray and  feel as though God does not hear?  In Isaiah 59:1-2 God gives us an answer to that question: “Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:  But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”  Sometimes we allow sin to settle into our souls; we become complacent in our sin and no longer hear the Spirit’s chiding.  Sin separates us from a holy God.  He will not hear our prayers if we regard iniquity in our hearts.  God also reveals the solution in 1John 1:9,” If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  Just as the priests of the Old Testament had to cleanse themselves before entering into God’s presence, we, too, must cleanse ourselves by confession.  Keep  a clean account and have the Lord’s ear when you pray.

The Merger of Calvinism with Worldliness
from Sword & Trowel 2009, No. 1 by Dr Peter Masters

This article link, you should meditate upon it. It might cause some to ask, “Is there faithfulness left upon the earth?”  Of course there is. God always has his faithful witness.

Are you allowing things of this world to merger with your faith?

How will you be judged in relationship to the judgment of the just?

Proverbs 12: 1-3

You should ask, “How may I arrive at a status of goodness?”

It has to do with loving instruction. This is not instruction from anywhere. It is not instruction from anyone. It has to do with obtaining favour of the LORD.

If you are purposed to working wicked devices, condemnation will be the result. You do not wish to be declared wrong? Then chose the nature of the devices you choose involve in your life.

You are not too old to learn. If you say teach me no more, your are full of pride. You already determine that you would turn away from the Lord’s wisdom. Reconsider. For the root of righteousness shall not be moved.

The best churches are full of gospel-saturated people holding tenaciously to a vision of godly obedience and God’s glory, and pursuing that godliness and glory with relentless, often unnoticed, plodding consistency.

In Sunday School class we have been studying “The Will of God” and have been using Romans 12:2( And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.) as our starting point.  To better understand the verse we looked at the meanings of some significant words.  First, “be not” as defined by Strong’s Concordance means never, an absolute denial: ” Conformed”, to fashion alike or mold into something: “Be ye”, always, continuously and “transformed”, to change into something distinctly different. So we could read the verse as “And never, absolutely never fashion yourself according to the philosophies of this world system, but always, continuously change into something distinctly different…”  As the verse continues we are told how to be transformed or changed into something distinctly different by the renewing of your mind.  And then the reason for that renewing is so you may test, examine or discern what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

I will discuss the “how and the “why” at a later time.  Today I am interested in sharing the idea of  “transformation”.    Metamorphoo is the Greek word for transformation from which we get our word “metamorphosis”.  In science the word metamorphosis describes the biological change in the form of an animal during the early stages of development.  A common example of metamorphosis is the monarch butterfly.  If  you take a milk weed leaf with a monarch egg on it and put it in a jar you will soon see the biological change occur.  From an egg emerges a larvae or caterpillar which is a worm like, hairy or spiny creature.  This creature transforms into a beautiful butterfly with a slender body, knobbed antennae and four broad, colorful wings.  It changed from a crawling creature on the ground to one that flies above the ground.  As I thought of the worm and the butterfly I remembered the song by Issac Watts, “At the Cross” and the idea that my Savior died “for such a worm as I”.  Before I was saved, I was a worm, but after my regeneration I am a beautiful butterfly, no longer grovelling in my sin.  2Co 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.  I exhort all people who have become that new creature to continually change toward the image of Christ who is our example.