Bruce Riley Artist

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Draw Freely

Four years since the last major Inkscape release, now news is out aboutversion 0.91 of this powerful vector drawing and painting tool. 

The main reason for the multi-year delay is that they've switched from their old custom rendering engine to using Cairo now, improving their support for open source standards.

 This release also adds symbol libraries and support for Visio stencils, cross platform WMF and EMF import and export, a native Windows 64-bit build, scads of bug fixes, and much more.

 Check out the full release notes for more information about what has changed, or just jump right to downloading your package for Windows, Linux, or Mac OS X.

Who doesn't like a free program download?

Tutorials on using Inkscape 

What is Inkscape and how can I get it?

Inkscape is Free and Open Source Software licensed under the GPL.

Global Warming Potato Thoughts

While some believe that the aluminum being daily sprayed over our heads is causing global warming, others are still clueless.

We wrap baked potatoes in aluminum foil before baking because it helps to hold in the heat for even cooking.

In much the same way the aluminum barrier they have created around the globe is holding in the earth's heat.

Anyone can see the whitish haze the under ten micron aluminum powders have created in the air that we are all breathing. 

It doesn't take a genius to observe the daily spraying above us.

To end global warming all it would take is to end the Monsanto backed spraying of our skies with micronized aluminum powder .

Look up Monsanto's patents on aluminum resistant plants for evidence that demands a verdict.

They want the soils of the earth to be over abundant in aluminum beyond the normal levels so that only their crops can grow. 

Here is the latest take on the public's attitude towards "global warming."

 An overwhelming majority of the American public, including nearly half of Republicans, support government action to curb global warming, according to a poll conducted by The New York Times, Stanford University and the nonpartisan environmental research group Resources for the Future. 

In a finding that could have implications for the 2016 presidential campaign, the poll also found that two-thirds of Americans say they are more likely to vote for political candidates who campaign on fighting climate change.

 They are less likely to vote for candidates who question or deny the science of human-caused global warming.

Among Republicans, 48 percent said they are more likely to vote for a candidate who supports fighting climate change, a result that Jon A. Krosnick, a professor of political science at Stanford University and an author of the survey, called "the most powerful finding" in the poll. 

 Many Republican candidates either question the science of climate change or do not publicly address the issue.

Apple Without Jobs Visionary Skills?

James B. Stewart writes in the NYT that in 1998 Bill Gates said in an interview that he "couldn't imagine a situation in which Apple would ever be bigger and more profitable than Microsoft" but less than two decades later, Apple, with a market capitalization more than double Microsoft's, has won. 

The most successful companies need a vision, and both Apple and Microsoft have one. 

But according to Stewart, Apple's vision was more radical and, as it turns out, more farsighted. 

Where Microsoft foresaw a computer on every person's desk, Apple went a big step further: Its vision was a computer in every pocket.

 "Apple has been very visionary in creating and expanding significant new consumer electronics categories," says Toni Sacconaghi. "

Unique, disruptive innovation is really hard to do. Doing it multiple times, as Apple has, is extremely difficult." 

According to Jobs' biographer Walter Isaacson, Microsoft seemed to have the better business for a long time.

 "But in the end, it didn't create products of ethereal beauty. Steve believed you had to control every brush stroke from beginning to end. Not because he was a control freak, but because he had a passion for perfection."

 Can Apple continue to live by Jobs's disruptive creed now that the company is as successful as Microsoft once was? 

According to Robert Cihra it was one thing for Apple to cannibalize its iPod or Mac businesses, but quite another to risk its iPhone juggernaut. 

 "The question investors have is, what's the next iPhone? There's no obvious answer. It's almost impossible to think of anything that will create a $140 billion business out of nothing."

Better for you search engine suggestions

Total privacy search engines:
https://ixquick.com/eng/protect-privacy.html?

https://duckduckgo.com/tour

https://unbubble.eu/info/en-GB/reasons

https://blekko.com/

***

 This is not an anonymous Internet searcher but it is included on the list because it carries results that nobody else does. BinSearch specialises in crawling binary Usenet newsgroups results that are ignored by all major search engines. You can search for Usenet posts subject, filenames or .nfo and limit your search to certain newsgroup or timeframe.

Due to the huge amount of data that Usenet carries, results are refreshed every few weeks and old ones dropped, Binsearch crawls thousands of groups but it is not possible to index all of them, only the major newsgroups.

http://www.binsearch.info/

Get Smart On Privacy!

Proclaim Him Lord

What was it that first caused you to become a Christian?

Think about it.

What turned your life around?

What was it that so motivated you that you were energized and enlightened when you first believed?

What sustained you?

Where are you today?

What motivates and sustains you today?

Are you still motivated?

As Pastor Jim Ewing has taught us, "God changes hearts."

How does He do it?

A revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ changes hearts.

Today's lesson addresses this and so much more...

  ***

As you walk with the Lord, you must be concerned about anything that affects your dedication to do the will of God.

One area that you must consider is the self-deception that will occur if you join the mixed multitude.

The mixed multitude went along with the children of Israel when they left Egypt.

They were the ones who grumbled along the way, the ones who failed.

Perhaps they thought it would be nice to have an excursion through the wilderness.

Maybe they had heard that Canaan was a land of milk and honey, and they felt they might like it; however, they were not really dedicated to the true covenants of Israel.


  The same lack of dedication can bring deception to God's people today.

You may feel that many different factors cause your problems, but the truth is that most of your problems occur because of a lack of personal dedication to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Much depends on the way you start out.

Anyone is capable of dedication, because a believer receives from Christ what he believes to receive.

You must come to Christ as the disciples did.

In Luke 5 we read that Jesus said, "Follow Me"; it was final.

The disciples left all and followed Him.


  You cannot stop and analyze everything and require a number of reasons why you should continue walking with God.

If you always have to be convinced of the reality of what God is doing in the earth, you might as well look for a lesser level of some humanitarian enterprise which you can believe in and be dedicated to.

But if you are going to be in the end-time army of the Lord, you must be prepared in your heart that no matter what happens, you have set your course to serve God.


  You cannot serve God for personal reasons.

Why should others pray for you and minister to you just to get you through your hard times?

Why should you want your problems to be worked out?

Is that the ultimate objective?

Doing the will of God always involves a total work of the cross in your life, and nothing less.

If you live on the level of the flesh and on the soulish level of emotions, being encouraged and discouraged by every wind that blows, this indicates that something is wrong.


  Deception can come where there is no revelation.

Remember that.

If God has not revealed His purpose for this end time to you so totally that your dedication is in it, you can be deceived and distracted or diverted from it.

Many people have been blessed by the truths that God is restoring today, but they still do not have a deep revelation.

If you do not know how He is moving in the earth and what He is saying, you absolutely cannot relate to Him.

Then you yourself- your own ambition, your own place, your own concerns- will be the focus of your interest.

You must have a revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ so that you can relate to Him, so that you can overcome deception by knowing where the truth is.

If you have not had that deep revelation, you will focus on other things.

Invariably, you will walk either in dedication through revelation or in distraction through self-centeredness.

Dedication comes through revelation.

If you know Him, if He is revealed to you, then you can be dedicated to do His will.

If you do not have that revelation, then you will be focused on something else, and you will be in trouble.


  An illustration of how dedication comes through revelation is found in the Gospel of Luke.

Simon Peter, James and John had been fishing all night and had caught nothing.

The next morning Jesus told them to return to deep water and let down their nets.

And when they had done this, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes; and their nets were breaking; and they beckoned unto their partners in the other boat, that they should come and help them.

And they came, and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.

But Simon Peter, when he saw it, fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for i am a sinful man, O Lord.

For he was amazed, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken; and so were also James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.

And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.

And when they had brought their boats to land, they left all, and followed Him.

Luke 5:6-11.

The dedication was there, and also the revelation of how wonderful the Lord was.

At that particular point there was no question in Peter's mind as to what he should do.

He was ready to do whatever he was told.

He requested that the Lord leave him because he sensed his own unworthiness.


  Without revelation there is no understanding of our unworthiness.

It is easy to spot the man who does not have the revelation of the Lord.

He is always looking for his place and for his ministry to be established.

He is always concerned with his own self-interests.

A dedicated believer says, "Lord, I am a sinful man.

I am not worthy to be around Your work."

When the Lord says to such a man, "Follow Me," he will leave everything and follow Him.


  There cannot be any consideration of the price of following the Lord.

If you have been counting the cost, then a walk with God is too expensive for you.

You cannot afford it.

Those who walk with God in this end time will not count the cost.

Like the early disciples, they will not stop to think of such things as the nets and the businesses they must leave behind.

When Peter, James, and John brought their nets to land, they did not throw them away; someone else took them and carried on a good fishing business.

The disciples forsook the entire business and followed the Lord without and further question.

Something within you must respond like that.


  When Elijah threw his mantle upon Elisha and called him a prophet, Elisha slew the oxen he was plowing with, built a fire with the plows which were made of hardened wood, and cooked the oxen.

Then he called in his family and his neighbors, gave the meat to them, and followed Elijah ( I Kings 19:19-21 ).

His leaving was irrevocable.

He was through plowing.

It was not that he was not a good farmer, but he had to be committed irrevocably to the commission of God.


  There is a dedication that must come even when you cannot foresee the price.

If you are starting to count the cost, somewhere down the line the cost will be too much.

You must determine in your heart not to count any cost.


  In Luke 5 we also read, And after these things he (Jesus) went forth, and beheld a publican, named Levi, sitting at the place of toll, and said unto him, Follow me.

And he forsook all, and rose up and followed him.

Luke 5:27-28.

The Scriptures classified the publicans ( tax collectors ) with the sinners.

( Matthew 9:10; 11:19 ).

Matthew was one of the tax collectors who had to make decisions that affected people's lives.

The tax collectors had a sense of power and feeling of infallibility, but no humility.

The Lord put it to Matthew very plainly when He said, "Follow Me."

Matthew responded, "Yes," and he forsook all.

He gave a big feast, a going away party ( Luke 5:29), and that was the end of all his political intrigue.

To be commissioned by the Roman government to collect taxes from people resulted in a very lucrative business, but he left it.


  Jesus spoke to those at the feast in reference to what Matthew had done.

And he spake also a parable unto them:

No man rendeth a piece from a new garment and putteth it upon an old garment; else he will rend the new, and also the piece from the new will not agree with the old.

And no man putteth new wine into old wineskins; else the new wine will burst the skins, and itself will be spilled, and the skins will perish.

But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.

And no man having drunk old wine desireth new; for he saith, the old is good.

Luke 5:36-39.


  Matthew had one attitude; he was ready to change every sense of value and every attitude completely, totally, and irrevocably.

Every response was going to be changed and be absolutely different.

He was going to become a servant.

He was going to serve the Lord.

He broke irrevocably with the old ways of thinking.

In him we see a true picture of dedication.


  You may already have a great amount of dedication, but you will be called upon to reevaluate your dedication in the days ahead.

Many things will come against you, and if you have already determined the price you are willing to pay, God will see to it that the cost is always just a little more.

Your dedication must be expanded to the place where you will leave all to follow Him.


  If you come into a walk with God with reservations in your heart, you will face one situation after another that will constantly challenge the limit of your dedication.

Instead of having to count the cost in your mind and be constantly challenged by the will of God, you might as well come to an absolute surrender.

You must decide whether there is a limit to how far you will serve the Lord in the place He has put you.


  Remember that revelation sets aside the process of reasoning.

Your greatest dedication must be the abandonment of the supreme court of your own carnal mind where you sit in judgment on everything.

just because something pleases you and you agree with it, do you accept it as a Word from the Lord?

In the New Testament churches of today, God has established such a divine order that when two or three prophets speak, it becomes binding on the entire church ( I Corinthians 14:29 ).

This would be true even if all the other members were apostles.

The Church is not a rank-and-file order of people, but a divine order by which God can bypass the supremacy of your own thinking and your own reasoning and can depend upon the dedication of your spirit to do the will of God.


  You can reason everything out, you can react to your circumstances, and you can have certain responses and conditioning's in you; but one fact supersedes all of that; if you have a revelation of a Word from God, you must follow that Word.

God reveals Himself to be the Lord, and He sets you in the Body as it pleases Him ( I Corinthians 12:18 ).

When He sets you in the Body, He does not tell you to stay as long as it seems reasonable, as long as the people measure up to your standards, or as long as they accept you.

He simply says, "Stay here."

It is up to you to have the dedication and the love to determine to stay, no matter what happens.

You must be set to serve the Lord and bless the Body without bitterness.

You must have the dedication to do the will of God where He has placed you, regardless of how you feel.

If you have a revelation that you are where God wants you, do not sit around feeling unappreciated, waiting for a Word from the Lord to set you in; God has already set you in the Body.


  Events are taking place that are moving the world, and it does not matter whether you have five loaves and two fishes or five thousand loaves and two thousand fishes.

God can feed a multitude with your little effort, but it must first be surrendered into His hands.

It must be blessed.

It must be bRoKeN.

He will do a tremendous work in your spirit to bring you to the total dedication which discipleship in this end time involves.


  This is a day of softness, of self-seeking, of self-indulgence.

Because of the blindness that is on most people, they do not care what is happening to the overall economy and financial structures.

Instead, they are more interested in obtaining as many creature comforts as they can.

In the midst of this blindness, God is demanding a total dedication of his people.

Whatever venture He sets before them, they will support it, no matter how impossible or foolish it may appear.

No matter what is set before them to test their obedience, they will obey the Lord.

Obedience to God is what really counts.


  Are you waiting for the glory and recognition to come to you and to those who serve God with you?

You may never see that day, though you will see the religious world continuing to battle for it.

You may find, however, that you will be dealing your bread to the poor sooner than you think.

God will push you into it.

In the meantime, when God tells you to do something, be ready to do it without any exaltation of the flesh.

Remember that there cannot be dedication without revelation of the Lordship of Christ over your life.

You must come into the total dedication that God demands of your life.

Do not hold anything back from God.

If you have and reservations in your dedication, pray for revelation, and watch how God brEaks your heart.

He will reveal Himself to you and becomes very real and deep and wonderful to you.


  Pray for the kind of revelation that will take the restraints and the limitations off your entire way of thinking.

Pray that god will give you a revelation of the complete picture the way God wants you to see it, so that you will not stumble along from problem to problem.

People with that kind of revelation will be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord ( I Corinthians 15:58 ).

If a person does not bother to find help and to seek a deeper revelation of the lordship of Christ, he can be shaken out of a walk with God.


  We read in the book of Acts that Paul was sustained , down through the years, by the revelation of the Lord.

Finally he gave this testimony, "I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision" ( Acts 26:19 ).

Once he had seen the Lord, once Christ's Lordship had been made real to him, his responses changed.

He no longer had to search through the writings of the prophets to see if Jesus was the Messiah.

The next Sabbath day he was in the synagogue disputing, "Jesus is the Messiah."

The people were amazed.

The Christians said, "He who persecuted us is now glorifying God in our midst" ( Galatians 1:23 ).

Some probably did not trust him because their relatives had been put in prison or killed during his persecutions.

It must have been very difficult for Paul.

Through the times of suspicion, through the plots to assassinate him, and through all the persecutions, the one thing that sustained him was the fact that he had seen the Lord.

People could argue with him about almost everything else, but he said, "Am I not an apostle? Am I not free?

Have I not seen the Lord Jesus?" ( I Corinthians 9:1 ).

He had seen Him.

He knew Him.

He was sustained by that revelation.


  You do not need to worry about your problems so much as you need a sustaining revelation of the lord in your heart to help you with those problems.

Wherever there is discouragement or depression, there is a low level of revelation of the Lord.

This is the whole problem.

Let us not face the negative side of it only; let us face the positive side also.

We could dwell on all the problems forever, but they are not the issue.

The issue is that we must have a Word from the Lord to prophesy changes.

We must have a positive focus in order to change situations.

By the Word of the Lord we can bring changes.


  Do not become discouraged about anything.

Just go before the lord and say, "Lord, reveal Yourself to me afresh."

Expose yourself constantly to the Lord.

Do not only be aware of the problems and circumstances; instead, become aware of the Lord.

Your awareness of Him is the first step to revelation.

Then you will receive the strength that comes from the Lord.

As you focus with all your heart on His presence, the eyes of your heart will be enlightened, and you will be transformed from glory to glory.

Because you set the lord always before you, you will not be moved.

The Gospel Of Jesus Christ Never Loses It's Power For It Is The Power Of God Unto Salvation

Wonders

Despise not small beginnings

HOW LONG O LORD

HOW LONG O LORD
To those who have tried to birth a ministry for years and years to no avails. 

Imagine this. - God gives someone an acre of land to plow plant and then reap the blessings of the harvest.

 We see other ministries spring up over night bearing much fruit with very little effort; they are in harvest while we are left in the dust. 

Could it be that their harvest came in so soon because they had only one acre to plow. 

What if God has given you a thousand acres but you just don’t know it yet or understand why it’s been such a long time plowing?

You keep on comparing yourself to those who only have one acre to plow.

 They were able to plow plant and reap very quickly because the parcel allotted to them was actually much smaller than yours.

Plowing a thousand acres could take most of a life time with no visible evidence of any fruit in sight.

 But after all that labor and waiting, the rains come and the sun shines down upon your ministry and the end results are beyond compare.

Let me remind you, that the Scripture says "Despise not small beginnings" and "Think not that your labor for the lord is in vain".

 Be faithful in the small things and the Lord will make you ruler over many.

Open our eyes Lord and cause us to see your faithfulness.

Recently, I visited the ruins of a Catholic mission. 

It was symbolic to me of a life gone by of dry dusty ministry attempts. 

When I came to the steps of a desolate dry ground that once lead to a well watered garden, all I could do was bow my head in defeat and say, Lord this is my life. 

With that I distinctly heard within my spirit the Lord say, "They that wait upon me will not be ashamed"

Tilson

***

And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.

Luke 19:13

I think that this is a prophetic word for Oden Fong and some others out there that I know who have been faithfully plowing away tirelessly for years and years.

You were once at the starting gate with everyone else. 

The gates lifted and everyone took off at a gallop. 

Only one problem, your gate did not lift. 

There you were, full of ambition and zealousness of youth.

 And the gate held you back seemly.

Today the Lord is allowing you to see that He had a master plan all along.

 Did He not say that the latter rain would be greater then the former rain? 

Did He not say that the first shall be last and the last shall be first?

The second string that has been benched all throughout this current game is about to get their chance! 

No more practice pitching, no more sitting back and watching the first string play while you try to not show your disappointment as you warm the bench.

 The coach is calling for you!

 For such a time as this.

 You know He is! 

You are beginning to see the strength and power of the Holy Spirit manifest in your midst. 

The power and strength of the Lord that is being granted to you will out distance those who went on before you. 

You are about to witness the greatest outpouring of the Holy Spirit that you have ever known.

The call to salvation that will be transmitted through your yielded lives is going to be heard! 

People are going to be flocking to you to hear what the Lord God Almighty has to say.

 They are going to come into the Kingdom of God in droves!

You have been faithful. 

You have never 'thrown in the towel.' 

You have persevered against all odds. 

You have said in your heart, until I die I will serve Him faithfully. 

You have been tried and tested in the furnace of afflictions and come through burnt and smoking, but you still stand no matter what.

The days ahead are truly evil! 

There will be widespread panic! 

The people will no longer shun the Master Creator, they will seek after Him with all their hearts.

 And YOU will be there to comfort them. 

You will be there to lead and guide them into the salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Well done My good and faithful servants, I am well pleased with you and will do as I have long ago promised you. 

I will do as I have long ago told you that I would.

 Be ready...

David

Reinhard Bonnke - God Uses Ordinery People

God Does Make His Presence Known

The Powerful Manifested Presence Of The Holy Spirit

Brant Baker And Calvary Chapel Of Costa Mesa

"I remember walking into that little church, of course that was before it grew. They didn't have that patio there. They just had a little side walk and it was dirty and they had old carpets out on the dirt lot.

They had not yet expanded, it was a small chapel, and it wasn't filled. But there was something that was filling it. Some one was filling it...I walked into that little church and I begin to feel this funny feeling. It was like molasses going through the air...I saw, I touched, and I realized the reality of Almighty God."
Brant Baker speaking at a service held at the Arlington Foursquare Church, 2085 California Ave, Riverside, California.

Brant Baker first encountered the fullness of the person called the Holy Spirit at Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa CA. He desired that every single service at Shekinah Fellowship be like what he had experienced at Calvary Chapel. Filled with a person, the person of the Holy Spirit. Many a person gives testimony that they encountered the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit at a Shekinah Fellowship service.

Brant refused to walk out on the platform until he was certain that the Holy Spirit's presence had manifested in the service. The worship would continue as Brant spoke out through his microphone saying, "Worship Him, Adore Him, O how we love Him. We give you praise dear Jesus, we give You praise! Worship Him."

Brant said, "It's only to know, to yield, and to be yielded to the Third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. He is the only One that can testify of Jesus. Did you know that? I can tell you about a person, but I can't preach Christ, preach Jesus, without yielding to the Holy Spirit, that He would make Him become alive. His life touches and penetrates our lives.

I want with everything that is within me to be able to love Him with everything that is within this being...to love Him with all our heart. To love one another. Let's get back to the basics of what the Bible is talking about.

'For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son' And Jesus said, 'As the Father has sent me, so I send you.' The same way, identical, Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Assembly of God, Foursquare, everybody! Miracles happen because of the Love of God. Salvation happens because of the Love of God, it's the greatest miracle."

To see a visual effect of the Holy Spirit you can view this video of the German evangelist Reinhard Bonnke, whom I consider to be one of the world's greatest evangelist. You can see the Holy Spirit sweeping over the people in powerful waves as he shouts "Hallelujah!". 

These are not rehearsed actions, these are spontaneous waves of the Holy Spirit flowing and manifesting on people. Brant Baker encountered much the same as he entered that little Calvary Chapel. That is why he decided to call his fellowship "Shekinah" which is the manifested presence of the Holy Spirit. Many a person experienced the Holy Spirit during those awesome meetings at Shekinah Fellowship.

Krazy Kat

Saturday Night Wrestling At The China Panda Cage

Felix the Cat - Cat in the swim (1922)

Whoa!

This Is Art!

The Holy Spirit Triumvirate Series

Let Us Be Clear About One Thing

The Holy Spirit...

I have had a number of interesting conversations over the years with other Christians concerning the Holy Spirit.

All believers that I have spoken with have agreed on the need to depend upon Him, that He leads us as we make ourselves available to Him, and that without Him, no one can come to Christ in true faith.

 Yet as we get into the details, I've found that born again Christians have some very different ideas, even among themselves, about the third Person of the Trinity, largely formed by what they had been taught by church leadership at the beginning of their walk with Christ.

The most prevalent view that I've come across over the years is that the Holy Spirit moves very differently now than He did in bible times, and that it is because we now have the completed canon of scripture and that the gifts of the Spirit in particular are no longer needed for that reason.

Now, I confess that I actually fell into that line of thinking for a number of years after having become disgusted with some of the fleshly displays and attitudes that I'd witnessed in some Pentecostal churches and in some circles of believers.

That protracted experience though, actually worked to cause a deeper hunger in my spirit for the moving of God's Spirit in my own life, and for the wonderful Presence of the Living God that I had previously known.

 I thank God to this day for continuing to draw and woo me as He did through those lean times.

Now, I want to be clear here- The years that I had abandoned my belief in the need for the gifts of the Spirit in this day and age were lean, lonely times...

I began seeking the Presence of the Lord more earnestly and started to cultivate the gift of tongues once again, and I could sense that God was freer to use me in any way He wanted to- which brought me face to face with the questions, How could it be that the gifts are no longer necessary?

Is moving in the gifts of the Spirit something that was once needed only because the Bible was not yet complete?

Do we not need physical as well as spiritual healing today? How about discerning of spirits? Faith? Word of wisdom? Word of knowledge?

 Do we forget about casting out demons because it's now the 21st century, or did they cease to exist as soon as the canon of scripture became complete?....

Let's be real- we're engaged in a life and death battle here. We must allow God to use us as He wills, and we must begin now!

Pray in the Spirit. Seek His face with all your heart. Read through the New Testament and see how freely the Spirit of God moved in and through His people- then tell me that God doesn't do that anymore!

Tell me we don't need that today!

Read the biographies of great men and women of God in the past, and you'll soon long for that closeness, that intimacy, that passion for the Lord that these people had, and that YOU TOO can have.

They didn't worry about being 'respectable' or 'poised and composed' or 'intelligent'. They wanted Christ, and they wanted Him with every fiber of their beings! Not socially acceptable?

 They couldn't have cared less- the Holy Spirit had a grip on them that they would never let go of, and we would do well to imitate their examples!...

Seek His face. Let Him move in and through you...
Be willing to be used of God to the fullest!
.
En Agape,
Pastor Jim Ewing

***

Why Does Today's Church Neglect The Holy Spirit?

Spiritual Gifts Are Presents To Be Opened By All Of Us Christians

The Gifts Of The Holy Spirit Are For Today

As an evangelical I believe in the fullness of the Holy Spirit and the exercise of all of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. I believe that the cessation of particular gifts is not taught in Scripture. I believe that the church is desperately weak and anemic because of the lack of these gifts.

I desire for those who believe in the gifts of the Spirit to come out of the closet and to begin to proclaim and practice these gifts in local churches. My prayer is that the church of Jesus Christ might be renewed. I have no preconceived notion of what that must look like, only the conviction that it is much needed.

Lonnie Frisbee the evangelist visited a fellowship once that was out of control. He shouted out loudly, "Stop toying with the gifts!" Abuses in the name of the Holy Spirit are everywhere it seems. The result is not good when God's people withdraw and relegate the exercise of the gifts to a small room behind the block wall instead of during the main service.

There is no place in Scripture where it states that the gifts of the Spirit have ceased. Recently a group of well intentioned Christians got together to support the idea that there are no gifts available today and that is because we have the Bible. On the surface it sounds very reasonable as they quote:

1 Corinthians 13:10

King James Version (KJV)

¹⁰ But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

The "perfect" cannot be taken to mean canonized Scripture. Paul is contrasting the partial with the complete, things that befit a child versus things that commend adulthood. The focal point for advance is the appearance of the "perfect." 

The Greek word teleios simply means "end," "purpose" or completion." Inherent in the word is no concept of a written record. This is simply a theological deduction.

Along with the faulty conclusion of 1 Cor 13:10 as a foundation, they deduced from Revelation 22:18-19 that prophecy ceased to exist with the closure of the canon.

 However, John's prohibition is not all prophesy, but to the deliberate falsification of the one given to him by the Holy Spirit. That Revelation is the last book in our New Testament canon does not mean it was the last to be written or the final prophecy given.

To state that some gifts have ceased and others have not is to go further than Scripture allows. The gifts belong to the church and will continue to belong to the church until the end of the age. Theological viewpoints do not determine the gifts nor do they activate or deactivate them.

Satan wants to divide the church. He will take any opportunity to breach the wall. A church without the gifts is harmless and no threat to him.

Some abuse of the gifts cause a reaction to retreat into the security of uniformity with no exercise of them other then just reading about them in the Scriptures.

The gifts are not weird as they have been made out to be. To despise these gifts, either by theological negation or practical skepticism, will leave us wholly unequipped to meet the battle. Our ancient foe, the devil, has not ceased his struggle to subdue the light of God. 

God does all things well. What He has appointed for His church has behind it wise purpose and meaning, for the mere reason that He is the One who has appointed it. 

Part of the joy we have is discovering the purpose and meaning which God had in mind when He appointed the gifts for His church. If God's Holy Spirit is to function fully in our lives, we must have an open heart and a consuming desire to know all we can about the nature and role of the Holy Spirit. His gifts and His ministries to the body of Christ.

The gifts of the Spirit, the weapons of our warfare, can destroy any force the devil might use against the body of Christ. 

You have to want the gifts of the Spirit. God will not force them on you. When you do receive them, have respect for them. Learn what God has said about them; then you will have great wisdom in the operation of these gifts, and they will remain with you. They are a vital part of your life as a Christian.

When our Lord Jesus came to this earth to conquer it and redeem it, He functioned only within the framework of the gifts of the Spirit. His total ministry on earth was not as God, but as a man, functioning in the gifts of the Spirit. All of the "miracles" Jesus performed were the result of a gift of the Spirit functioning at that time.

Jesus said:
"He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto My Father."
John 14:12

The ministry Jesus performed on this earth was directed, guided, and energized by the Holy Spirit. The same Holy Spirit that you and I have today. We can expect to do the same works Jesus did if we follow, line upon line and precept upon precept, everything the Word of God teaches.

Each one of us Christians has the right to every gift of the Holy Spirit. They are provided for the total body of Christ, and you are a part of His body.

The gifts of the Spirit cannot be earned. They are called "gifts" to reveal that there is only one way to obtain them: They are given to the church by God. These gifts are not optional. The people of the church in the past missed God by deciding for themselves whether or not they would accept them. The gifts of the Spirit are not placed at the disposal of the church on a take~it~or~leave~it proposition. We either take them or lose what we have.

How can the church do greater works than Jesus did if it does not have the gifts of the Holy Spirit? If the church no longer has the gifts, if they ceased somehow, then Jesus lied to us about being able to do greater works than He did. Because He did everything by the gifts of the Holy Spirit as a man and not as God. Therefore we must have the gifts to do the same.

Some people have the idea that everything Jesus did was because He was God, but they are 100 percent wrong! The amazing ministry of Jesus Christ is a perfect example of a ministry that functioned within the framework of the gifts of the Spirit.

If Jesus had performed His earthly ministry because He was God, then you and I could not follow His example because we are not God. But the remarkable thing is that He confined His ministry within the framework of the gifts of the Spirit.

I use the word confined because, as the Son of God, Jesus was not required to operate in this framework. He did not have to function through the gifts of the Holy Spirit. He could have spoken worlds into existence as was done in the beginning. But He deliberately confined Himself to minister within the limits of the gifts of the Spirit, and He did so for one purpose; that He might be a perfect example to you and me.

If what Jesus did, He did because He was the Son of Man and used the Holy Spirit to do it, then you and I can do it, too. If the ministry of Jesus was directed, guided, and energized by the Holy Spirit, then we can have the same kind of ministry because we have the same Holy Spirit.

Jesus functioned under the nine gifts that are in the New Testament, so can we.

What are the gifts of the Holy Spirit?

 What Is Baptism of The Holy Spirit?

 

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 Spiritual Gifts Not Natural Talents?

Finding Your Gifts

"Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant" (1 Corinthians 12:1).

 Spiritual gifts are often set aside when confused with the perfecting of natural talent.

I have read through a lot of material on the subject of finding your spiritual gifts. The intellect of man always seems to have some natural, logical explanation for taking out the supernatural. Most teachings on Finding Your Spiritual Gifts would better be titled, Finding Your Natural Talents.

Gifts of the Spirit are spiritual, not natural. You cannot find your spiritual gift by finding what you are naturally good at. Chances are your spiritual gifts will have nothing to do with what your natural talents are. When we are weak, He is strong. Your natural strong points are probably not your spiritual strong points. How can anybody be good at working miracles? If somebody were to have the gift of miracles, could anybody say that it was because they were good at it? Our natural strengths are almost never our spiritual strengths.

The prophet Amos recognized this when God called him to prophesy, he said in Amos 7:14-15, "...I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son; but I was an herdsmen and a gatherer of sycamore fruit: And the Lord took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel."

He was good at being a herdsman and gathering fruit, but being a prophet, that was something new, it was spiritual. It is not something that is hereditary, or by any means a naturally developed ability.

Gifts of the Spirit go beyond human boundaries. They enable a change of circumstances for a higher purpose. God uses spiritual gifts to alter the natural course of events.

There are many gifts of the Spirit and nine of them are clearly listed in 1 Corinthians 12. You cannot pick and choose which one of the nine best suits your religious preference and then leave the others out. God’s Word is not partially inspired, every word is pure.

Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights. All nine of the gifts that are listed in 1 Corinthians 12 are good and perfect.

The Pharisees of today say that it is wrong to seek signs and wonders and miracles. The Bible says to pursue them. "Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts..." (1 Corinthians 14:1).

The disciples prayed for miracles, they sought the Lord for signs and wonders. They prayed in Acts 4:29 –31,

"And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, By stretching forth thy hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus. And when they prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the Word of God with boldness."

Did God shake the place in His disapproval, or His approval?

To seek an experience is good when you seek to experience God.

Pastor Tilson