The Church of Jesus Christ The Message of Hope

Revelation 21:24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. Volume 122 Summer 2010

The Church of Jesus Christ

Headquarters: 2797 Bryant St. Portage, IN 46368 Phone 219-763-1049

WWW.JESUSCHRISTISGOD.ORG Message of Hope

Editors: Bro. John & Sis. Sandi Garza Official Organ, owned by: The Church of Jesus Christ

Please send all articles to: Message of Hope

2797 Bryant St. Portage, IN 46368 Articles and Pictures Due: September 3rd

What Does The Church of Jesus Christ Believe?

We believe that the Bible is the infallible Word of God

and is the SOLE authority on every subject. We believe that Jesus Christ is the Almighty God. Rev. 1:8, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” God put on the robe of flesh and walked here on earth for 33 years to fulfill prophecy for the New Testament Church, which is The Church of Jesus Christ. According to the Word, John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:14, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us….” The Church of Jesus Christ believes that everyone must take His word seriously, John 8:24, “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I Am He ye shall die in your sins.”

We follow God’s Plan of salvation. Acts 2:38, “…Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Baptism is by immersion in water only. The evidence of the infilling of the Holy Ghost is according to Acts 2:4, “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” John 3:5 states, “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” We must then live a clean, holy, and dedicated life to Jesus Christ thereafter taking diligent heed to the Word.

The Church of Jesus Christ must be found faithful to His Word. We must be partakers of Communion service. This service consists of the Lord’s Supper and Foot Washing. 1 Cor. 11:24, 25, “And when he had given thanks, he brake it and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. (25) After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, “This cup is the New Testament in my blood: this do ye oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.” John 13:14, 15, “If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. (15) For I have given you an example that ye should do as I have done to you.”

Watch, pray, forsake not the assembling of yourselves together, give your tithes and offerings, so that YOU can be counted among the faithful when our one and only Savior, Jesus Christ, comes back in a “cloud with power and great glory!”

Bishop Board and Pastors

Bishop Jarret R. Spence, Presiding Bishop 2298 Fern Street Portage, IN 46368 Phone 219-762-7492

Bishop Paul Rose, Secretary/Treasurer P.O. Box 344 Cabin Creek, West Virginia 45035 Phone 304-595-5640

Bishop Danny Walls P. O. Box 216 Ingalls, IN 46048 Phone 317-485-4105 Bishop Robert O’Dell 5235 East Van Ness Road Pierceton, IN 46562 Phone 574-594-2337 Bishop Calvin Blaine Pennington P.O. Box 413 (Mailing Address) 12237 State Highway 576 Montpelier, OH 43543 Phone 419-485-4464 Bishop Harold Goodrich 36288 Valley Drive Paw Paw. MI 49079 269-655-9093 Elder Humberto Loera Iglesia De Jesucristo (The Church of Jesus Christ) 138 Alejandrina Col. San Isidro Matamoros, Tamps, Mexico Phone 956-564-0911

Bishop of Jamaica

Bishop Orville Rodney 199 Catherene Mount Albion P.A. Montego Bay, St. James, Jamaica, W.I. Phone 879-952-6676

Bishop of Canada

Bishop Mathias Gooden 75 Dunlop St., Apt. 406 Richmond Hills, ON L4C 2M7 CANADA Phone 905-883-8543

National Youth Leaders

Bro. Jarret & Sis. Caryn Spence 804 Pennsylvania Avenue Laporte, IN 46350 Phone 219-325-3904 Bro. Travis & Sis. Nora Hensley, Assistants 437 Tecumseh Street Warsaw, IN 46582 Phone 574-551-4487

Pierceton Report

Praise the Lord everyone! Jesus Christ is so great and greatly to be praised. He has blessed us with so many blessings. Truly it is an honor and a privilege to know him as our own. He is so worthy of all praise. We are so thankful for the last couple of months. We have really enjoyed the fellowship meetings, both at Montpelier, Ohio with Bishop Blaine Pennington, and at Decatur Michigan, with Bishop Harold Goodrich. The Lord has really blessed the services and the preaching has been excellent. And the fellowship with other saints of God is strengthening, especially in these last days we are in. It is encouraging to see that we don’t stand alone in the faith in these evil days. We are also thankful for the preaching and teaching that our pastor, Bishop Robert O’Dell has been bringing forth about the last days and how we should be preparing ourselves for God’s return. All the earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, volcanoes, wars, famine, etc., is just end time prophecy being fulfilled that Matthew Chapter 24 and the book of Revelation speaks about. As the church, we should be aware and take heed to all the signs God is giving to his people. The first thing Matthew 24 warns us about the end time, is to take heed that we be not deceived. No matter what goes on, we know that God is in control of it all. This is the most important time to take heed and get our lives in order, separate ourselves from the world. We may be in the world but we do not partake in the world’s deeds. Come out and touch not the unclean thing and I will receive you, says the Lord. God is separating a people for himself, his bride. You’re either in his bride or you’re not, it is just that simple. At the end of time there will only be two brides who represent the two churches: The world’s church and The Church of Jesus Christ. There will be no others. So, you are either in the one or the other. It is your choice now, but on the Day of Judgment God will only say “enter in” or “depart from me”, there will be no other options. If there ever has been a time, as God’s people, to be a separated people, it is NOW! The church should not be “blurring the lines” or bowing down to the worlds ways or compromising just to win souls. We need to be raising the standard high and proudly, not lowering it and being ashamed that we are different. God is only returning for the bride who is

proud to be set apart, has the high standard, and is not ashamed of it; the one who will stand in the face of adversity, proudly and boldly proclaiming Jesus Christ; the one who will walk in his ways, obeying his commands, willingly, not begrudgingly. Take Heed! Be not deceived! Are you in the bride of Christ? Are you drawing closer to God or slowly drifting away? Take heed and examine yourselves to see if you are in “The” faith! Church Reporter, Sis. Nora Hensley The Church of Jesus Christ Pierceton, In Pastor, Bishop Robert O’Dell

Forever Near By Vi B. Chevalier

I fold my hands in prayer, dear God, and

humbly turn to thee. You are the master of my fate, the dearest friend to me. I know you are forever near to guide me and strengthen me.

You are the ballast for my sails, the wind that sets me free. I fold my hands in prayer, and

know that come what may you share my sorrows, pain and sweetest joys, because you always care. I fold my hands in faith and feel

your Holy Presence fill my heart and soul with wondrous joy and always-always will.

1Chr. 16:34 Submitted by Sis. Lane Pastor: Bishop Spence

Bishops, Pastors, and Ministers that attended the General Convocation of 2010

For more photos of the Convocation Please visit our website. www.JESUSCHRISTISGOD.org

Well Praise the Lord Everyone!

From: The Church of Jesus Christ Portage, Indiana.

I just wanted to thank everyone who came to the convocation here in Portage, and for making it one of the best we have ever had. There have been so many (from all that attended) that have said the same thing. The way GOD moved in the services those three days was unlike anything we have ever seen. The theme of the convocation was ‘REMOVE NOT THE OLD LANDMARKS’. The teaching and preaching on this subject was outstanding, I think we all left with a new outlook on the old landmarks that our forefathers have left us. Below is an article on this subject, I did not write it, but I sure do agree with it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. We also want to thank all the pastors and ministers, and those from Canada that were in attendance. We are sorry that Elder Humberto Loera from Mexico was unable to attend this year because of illness with his

Mother-in-law that lives in Mexico City. He had his ticket, and was going to be here, but had to change his plans just before leaving. Let’s all be praying for her that God will hear her completely and pray for The Church of Jesus Christ in Mexico. May GOD bless you. Bishop Jarret R. Spence Pastor: The Church of Jesus Christ Portage, In

The Old Landmarks In Deuteronomy 19:14 we read, “Thou shalt

not remove thy neighbor’s landmark, which they of old time have set.” Again in Deuteronomy 27:17 we read, “Cursed be he that removeth his neighbors landmark.” We read again in Job 24:2, “Some remove the landmarks; they violently take away flocks, and feed thereof.” Proverbs 22:28 says, “Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.” Proverbs 23:10 says again, “Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless.” Verse 11 continues,

“For their redeemer is mighty; he shall plead their cause with thee.” In all these Scriptures we see that the original landmarks which were set in the time of laying out and allotting the land to the children of Israel when they received their inheritance were very important all the way through in maintaining proper identification of each person’s land as the inheritance passed down from one generation to another. None were to remove the landmarks which of old time had set (Deuteronomy 19:14). The ancient landmarks which had been set by their fathers were not to be removed (Proverbs 22:28). A curse was pronounced upon anyone who tampered with any of the original landmarks (Deuteronomy 27:17). The rightful inheritance of each one of the children of Israel could only be identified by reference to those ancient landmarks. It is the same in maintaining proper land lines and boundaries now. When a surveyor runs a land line he must locate corner stones and run the lines according to them. I have known them to dig up a considerable area in an effort to locate a corner stone, and if it could not be located, they could not proceed with the survey until one was established. Neither was this done by arbitrary means. The surveyor did not just look around and decide on an arbitrary location as being the most likely or pretty close and run from there. Rather he went to where he could clearly locate a corner stone in each direction from the corner to be established and measured in from those stones and established a corner that tied in with the other established corners in the area. Sometimes they would have to go maybe as much as a mile and perhaps in some cases even farther and measure in from each direction to locate a given corner. But the survey could not proceed until that corner had been definitely established to correspond with the other established corners in the area.

Also, in a survey, the line must be run according to where the original corner stones are found. If there are obstacles in the way and trees and brush, etc., which hinder him from seeing through to the other corner, he does not decide that the line cannot be established in that place and just move it over to another place. Instead he will carefully measure over a certain number of feet from the corner stone at each end of the line to clear the obstacle and set up his flag at that point to shoot to and run the line through from there, but bearing in mind all the time that the line he is shooting is so many feet off from the actual line. This becomes a matter of official record. When this is done and

recorded legally the adjacent land owners can just wrangle and fuss all they want to, and sue each other in court over the property line, but it will be always settled by the legal record, of that surveyor, who made the survey, and established those corners. Everything in a given area must correspond with everything around it and must be tied in with the general area. Now let us come down to apply this thought to us and to our spiritual standards, etc. Those literal landmarks referred to in the above texts which were so important to the children of Israel in their inheritance, etc. was typical of those ancient landmarks of spiritual truths and standards which have been established by our fathers for the church. In the 5th chapter of Hosea, God was pronouncing judgment against the priests and princes and people of Israel for their rebellion against Him and their idolatry, etc., and said, “The princes of Judah were like them that remove the bound: therefore I will pour out my wrath upon them like water.” (Hosea 5:10) From this we see that God considers a departure from established standards set in the Scriptures and established for saints to go by as removing the ancient landmarks, and His judgment is pronounced against it, and His wrath poured out upon those who do such things. We read, “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” (Revelation 22:18,19)

We see here that it is no light thing to tamper with God’s Word and the standards and principles (The Old Landmarks) it sets forth, to change them or remove them in any way can only bring trouble to those that do.

My prayer is that The Church of Jesus Christ (everywhere) can come together in unity and work on resetting the old landmarks that have worked for many years and still work today. Let’s not forget that the world and God is watching us, so let’s set a good example for them, and our children, as our forefathers have done for us. We don’t have much time Pastors, THE LORD IS COMING! Bishop Jarret R. Spence

The Chiefstone

The Headstone The Cornerstone

Chief means principal. The builders are the

people of the world. The stone is Jesus Christ. The cornerstone is Jesus Christ. Isaiah 28:16 here we are seeing God Almighty is laying for a foundation in the church a stone. The stone is set in Zion which is referred to as the church. When we are building we need a solid stone to build on. We come into this world built on our mothers and fathers.

In everything there is a foundation solid and strong. People are looking for a literal stone, a physical stone. Psalms 118:24 the one which is refused, the one which is rejected, the tried stone, the one that pass the test is the one people are departing from (Jesus Christ). Baptism is a burial. The bible tells us of two men who built their houses; one on the rock because he was wise so when the storm and the rain descended and the flood came the winds blew it fell not, because it was founded upon the rock. The other man built his house upon the sand because he was foolish. So when the storm, rain, wind, and flood came it fell because he built it on the sand. (Matt. 7:24-27) We must condition our lives for the great testing or tribulation, do not build on the sand.

All of us have a time when there will be problems. Stress is that which is able to bear when we put our trust in Jesus Christ. Human beings has a tendency to blow things out of proportion, Isaiah 54:11-17 when the tribulations come and you are afflicted and tossed with tempest (problems) and are not comforted remember there is a precious stone in Zion; the church a strong foundation. This stone is not cut out by hands to destroy the images that are of iron, brass, clay, and silver, for the stone which is disallowed indeed of men but chosen of God will be made the heat of the corner(1Peter 2:4-8, Acts 4:11)

There is room for business and pleasure but none for Christ the crucified? Behold he is there

knocking asking to let him in. The fall of the wicked is great the stone will grind them to powder. This stone will become the chief, the principal where they will be shouting according to Zac 4:7. Paul says the letter killeth. We who are obedient and have received the headstone are a chosen generation etc. (1Peter 2:9) Saints just keep holding on to God’s unchanging hand for he is going to see you through. Blessed is he that is in you than he that is in the world. I trust this is a blessing to you as it is to me. Missionary Sis. Doreen Benjamin. Canada A Christian Life… I like to think of a Christian life as a field of golden grain. First the seed is planted, to die, to live again. Then come the showers of blessings, to bring forth tender shoots. And then the sunshine of God’s love sends down the hearty roots! We must not forget the daily prayer, which makes us grow and grow. Now “fasting” and revival we now also know. The reading of God’s Holy Word, it makes us fertile too! So helping others on the way is not so hard to do. And then there is the “Pastor”, who plows and cultivates. To rid us of thorns and thistles, that enters all our gates. Then when harvest is over, we will all be gathered in. To be at home with Jesus Christ, where there will be no sin. That heavenly angel band, where there will be no tears or sorrow, in that bright sunny land! “May God Bless The Church of Jesus Christ” ~Sister Pittman

Praise the Lord from the beautiful state of

Ohio! We hope everybody's doing great! In Matthew 4:16 it says, "The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death, light is sprung up." Psalm 23:4 says, "Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."

Where this is a shadow, there's light. John 8:12, "Then spake Jesus again unto them saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." John 12:46, " I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness." Matthew 4:16 says the people sat in darkness. Ephesians 6:13-14 tells us to stand. When we're standing, then we are able to walk and we can fight the enemy much much better on our feet then if we were sitting. If we have that great light within us, which is Jesus Christ, our lives should reflect that light.

Take a flashlight and shine it into a mirror. Whether the light be bright or dim, that's what will shine back at you. Is you’re light bright or is it dim? As a brother or sister in Jesus Christ, we should be caring, have "enthusiasm," which is being "passionate."

We should always be focused on Jesus Christ...morning, noon, and night. If we wake up in the middle of the night, a prayer should be in our heart and on our lips.

Jesus Christ is optimistic. That is "bright, confident, and positive." He was committed, dedicated, and determined. He's our example! Here's a story: There was this business man who did a lot of traveling. He had a servant who would plan his trips, help him pack, and schedule his flights. This business man would go on his trip,

come home, talk about the next upcoming trip, and so on and so forth. One day, the business man died. At his funeral, everyone talked about him going to Heaven. The servant overheard what was being said but did not agree with them. When they questioned him on this, he replied, "I always helped him prepare for his travels down here, but I never once heard him plan or prepare for his heavenly journey." I heard this story many years ago. Most people say they are going, but their lives don't show it. We should be saturated in the word of God. If we cut ourselves, we should bleed bible verses. Quiz: Q. What is the longest word in the Bible? A. Mahershalalhashbaz (Isa. 8:1) Q. What is the longest verse in the Bible? A. Esther 8:9 Remember: Losing is temporary but quitting is permanent Brother John Brandenberger Pastor: Bishop Calvin B. Pennington

This is how we spell B-I-B-L-E:

B ----Basic I ----Instructions B ----Before L ----Leaving E ----Earth

Submitted by Sis. Lora Lovell

Pastor: Bro. Dale Basham

One Way into Gods Sheepfold Have you heard, or read that there is only one way to get into Gods sheepfold? In John 10:1, Jesus Christ said that he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, is the same as a thief and a robber. If we look at verse 9, Jesus Christ said, I am the door, by me if any man enters in, he shall be saved. There are many different ways that people are trying to get into Gods sheepfold. Which one is right? Which one are you trying to use? In Ephesians 4:5, the bible says there is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. So by that scripture we see that God has only one way for us to get into his sheepfold, has only one way for us to be baptized, has only one faith for us to believe. How do we get into Gods sheepfold? We know that on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Ghost was poured out in the upper room in Jerusalem. In Acts 1:13 we see the names of the disciples which were among the 120 people that were in the room. When the Holy Ghost fell upon all of those in the upper room the noise could be heard clear down to the street. The Jews in the street celebrating the feast of Pentecost heard this and they were all amazed. Some asked what it meant and others started to mock. In Acts2:14: But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice and began to preach to them. We can read Peters sermon down through verse 40. In verse 37 those people that heard Peters message were touched, and asked Peter and the rest of the apostles what they should do. In verse 38 Peter told them to repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and they would receive the Holy Ghost. Now if Peter was not preaching the right way to get into Gods kingdom, don’t you think the other disciples would have told peter that he was wrong? But no one told Peter that he was wrong, so he must have been right. Verse 41 says that they gladly received the words that Peter preached and were baptized, and that on that same day there was added to the church about three-thousand souls.

The only place in the bible that it talks about being baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is in Matthew 28:19.But if you read up in verse 16 the disciples met Jesus as they had arranged, and Jesus was once again teaching them, this was not a message he was giving the multitudes. And if we read Luke 24:45, we see that Jesus opened the disciples’ understanding to what he was teaching them. In verse 47 Jesus told them that repentance and remission of sin was to be preached in his name (in the name of Jesus Christ). What gave Peter the right to preach the plan of salvation, on the day of Pentecost? In Matthew 16:19 Jesus Christ himself gave peter the right by giving him the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Jesus Christ told Peter that whatsoever he would bind on earth would be bound in heaven, and whatsoever he loosed on earth would be loosed in heaven. By what way are you trying to get into Gods sheepfold? Have you searched the bible to see if your way will get you into Gods sheepfold? Have you searched the scriptures to see if you have eternal life or if you are being taught the whole truth? Proverbs 14:12 tells us that there is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the ends thereof are the ways of death. If your way of getting into Gods kingdom seems right to you, search the scriptures to make sure. We need to know for sure now, while we still have time to make our life right with God. We need to know for sure that we are truly in Gods sheepfold. Eld. Don Goodrich The Church of Jesus Christ Decatur, MI Pastor: Bishop Harold Goodrich

Painting The Church There was a Scottish painter named Smokey Macgregor who was very interested in making a penny wherever he could, so he often thinned down his paint to make it go a wee bit further. As it happened, he got away with this for some time, but eventually the local Church decided to do a big restoration job on the outside of one of their biggest buildings. Smokey put in a bid and because his price was so low he got the job.

So he set about erecting the scaffolding, setting up the planks, buying the paint and yes I am sorry to say, thinning it down with turpentine. Well, Smokey way up on the scaffolding, painting away, the job nearly completed, when suddenly there was a horrendous clap of thunder. The sky opened, and the rain poured down washing the thinned paint from all over the church and knocking Smokey clear off the scaffold to land on the lawn among the gravestones, surrounded by telltale puddles of the thinned and useless paint. Smokey was no fool. He knew this was a judgment from the Almighty. So he got down on his knees and cried:

"Oh, God, Oh God, forgive me; what should I do?" And from the thunder, a mighty voice spoke....

"Repaint! Repaint! And thin no more!"

Praise the Lord to all of our brothers and sisters in the Lord! God is so good and greatly to be praised! I stand in awe of every mountain that he moves. He has truly moved many mountains for us in Dyersburg. We give him all the praise and glory. We have been feasting on the word of the Lord brought to us through Bro. Dale Basham, our pastor. We are so thankful for him and Sis. Gale. They are a blessing to our church. Bro. Dale has been ministering on getting all of God that we can so we are prepared for the battles ahead. We know that the Bible is being fulfilled every day and that the world is just waxing worse. We want to keep our lamps filled with oil and burning bright for the Lord! We are so thankful for the wonderful youth camp this year. A great big “THANKS” goes out to Bro. Jarret and Sis. Caryn, Bro.Travis and Sis. Nora, and to all those that had a part in making it a wonderful camp. I know they spent many hours and a lot of hard work so we could come and enjoy youth camp. Thank you God most of all for being with us and moving in our services. It was so wonderful to see Bro. Micah Hensley receive the Holy Ghost and he and Bro. Jacob Ferrell get baptized in the precious name of Jesus Christ. That is what youth camp is all about! Our church is very blessed to have Bro. Pete and Sis. Tammy Putman as our youth leaders. They really have the youth at heart. After camp, we have been working hard on a fundraiser for the youth so they can take a trip this month. They really work hard to keep the youth together and busy. All that I can say about the Indiana Convocation is “God is so Awesome!!!” I have never been in convocation like that before. The spirit of the Lord was so strong in every service. Just when you thought a service was about to end, the Lord moved again. I feasted off of every minister/pastor’s message of “Not removing the Old Landmarks”. Thank the Lord that those were set up a long time ago and we don’t have the right to change them. If you were not there, you truly missed a blessing. We hope that everyone will be able to attend our Tent Revival in September. We are looking for a great time in the Lord and winning lost souls to Christ. Hope to see you there! Sis. Amanda Rose, Church Reporter Pastor: Bro. Dale Basham, Dyersburg

Praise the Lord to all my brothers and

sisters in Jesus Christ! I have a topic that I would like to talk about for a little bit that no one really likes to hear…death. It’s not something the flesh likes to think about, but unless the Lord comes soon, we all must go by the way of the grave. But, if we are truly saved and able to think spiritually, it shouldn’t bother us.

The Bible teaches us that death and the grave no longer has any power against those who are born again of water and of the Spirit! The Lord Himself has redeemed us from the power of the grave, and created a way that we all can live forever with Him. This was His intention from the beginning. Genesis 2:8-17 “And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.”

It goes on to say there were water, gold, and precious stones. Everything we needed was there. The only thing Adam and his wife couldn’t do was eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which they did and caused sin to separate them from God. In Genesis 3:22 it tells us God put them out of the garden unless they were to eat of the tree of life and live forever! Gods plan from the start was for us to live forever in fellowship with Him! But because of sin death came on all mankind. In 1 Corinthians 15:20-26 it tells us that by man, (Adam) came death. Also by man, (Jesus Christ) comes life, and He was the first to be raised from the dead. And in verse 26 it says; “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” In Hosea 13:14, God says, “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death…” That ransom, or price, was paid with His own blood, when He was crucified, then buried, and thank God three days later, He rose from the dead and is alive forever more! Death can no longer hold us down if we have

the Holy Ghost! Because in Romans 8:6-13 it tells us that if we have the same Spirit that raised up Jesus Christ, which is the Holy Ghost, we will also be raised up by that same Spirit!

I heard a song that gave me this thought and in it said, “Jesus didn’t weep because Lazarus was dead, He wept because He had to bring him back!” Lazarus had made it, and the grave was not going to be able to hold him down! It was needful for the Lord to perform the miracle to get some to believe, and to be a witness against others. And it made the Lord sad to have to bring him back.

If you read John 11:1-46, you will find that the Lord already knew Lazarus was dead before He got there, and He also knew that he was going to live again, because He was going to raise him from the dead! So why in verse 33 does it say “…he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled.” Then verse 35 “Jesus wept.” And again in verse 38 “Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave…” God did not want to bring one of His saints back from the dead when he had already made it! Psalm 116:15 says “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.”

God wants us all to live forever with Him, but we must become on of His saints by following His plan for salvation, so carefully laid out in the Holy Scriptures. And when we do this, death, hell, and the grave will no longer have any power over us! Bro. Jay Rogers Pastor: Bishop Randell Spence Portage, In

I was regretting the past and fearing the

future. Suddenly my Lord was speaking: My name is I AM he paused. He continued, when you live in the past with its mistakes and regrets, it is hard. I AM not there. My name is not I WAS. When you live in the future, with its problems and fears it is hard. I AM not there. My name is not I WILL BE. When you live in this moment, it is not hard. I AM here. My name is I AM. Sis. Judy Spence Pastor: Bishop Randell Spence Portage, In

A new minister was walking with an older,

more seasoned minister in the garden one day. Feeling a bit insecure about what God had for him to do, he was asking the older preacher for some advice. The older preacher walked up to a rosebush and handed the young preacher a rosebud and told him to open it without tearing off any petals. The young preacher looked in disbelief at the older preacher and was trying to figure out what a rosebud could possibly have to do with his wanting to know the will of God for his life and ministry. But because of his great respect for the older preacher, he proceeded to try to unfold the rose, while keeping every petal intact. It wasn't long before he realized how impossible this was to do. Noticing the younger preacher's inability to unfold the rosebud without tearing it, the older preacher began to recite the following poem... "It is only a tiny rosebud, a flower of God's design;

but I cannot unfold the petals with these clumsy hands of mine."

"The secret of unfolding flowers, is not known to such as I. GOD opens this flower so easily, But in

my hands they die." "If I cannot unfold a rosebud, this flower of God's design, then how can I have the wisdom to unfold

this life of mine?" "So I'll trust in God for leading each moment of my day. I will look to God for guidance in each step of

the way." "The path that lies before me, only my Lord knows.

I'll trust God to unfold the moments, just as he unfolds the rose."

God didn’t create anything without a purpose….but mosquitoes come close.

Light… Since light is the absence of darkness they cannot co-exist. Light will always displace

darkness and change its surroundings. Darkness has never had any power over light, and light always reveals what darkness has hidden from

view. Now the purpose of light is to let it “SHINE” and TRUE Christians must allow our LIGHT to SHINE for Jesus Christ our Lord and

Savior as He is the SOON coming King. God bless you. 1Corintians 15:57,58

Because of Calvary.

Sister Pittman Batavia, IL