Essentials To The Christian Faith: Resurrection
Pastor David L. Burns
Nov 01, 2004

Thank you so much for your continued prayers for my dad. He loves the E-Meditations and Fresh Wind Ministries and I know he would love to hear from you. If you are able to send him a card, I am convinced that God would use it to boost him along in his healing. Let him know you are an e-med subscriber. The address is: Finis Burns, Jackson-Madison Hospital, Room 812, 708 W. Forest Ave, Jackson, Tn 38301 Thanks so much.

SCRIPTURE MEMORY VERSE: "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen"(Ephesians 3:20-21).

I love walking through the Old City of Jerusalem. I love the narrow walk-ways that wind through the old buildings and shops. I've just about learn to navigate my way around the maze of stony streets.

In Old Jerusalem is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, a place traditionally held as the tomb of Christ. Of course, many hold to the Garden Tomb as the tomb of Christ. I like the Garden Tomb better because of its ambiance, but historically, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher seems to be more probable. In any case, I rejoice that the tomb is empty! Christ has risen and is alive. Isn't that exciting. We have reason to celebrate and rejoice even through our greatest challenges because Jesus is alive.

"He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification"(Romans 4:25).

Because of the resurrection, we have victory over our own physical death. We have victory over the grave.

Someone one commented how Christians spend more time keeping the saved out of heaven than keeping the lost out of hell. We want to keep people around.

I want my dad to go to heaven, but we're praying for him to stay with us longer. But, when we realize the glories of Heaven, we really ought to pray each other into Heaven! Of course, we certainly need to pray for lost sinners, keeping them out of hell!

Consider an interesting thing about Christ's resurrection. His body was gone, but his burial clothes were left behind. This was totally opposite of what normally happens. Grave robbers steal the clothes but leave the body. Historical and practical evidence abounds supporting the resurrection of Christ. But, to accept the resurrection requires faith and an acceptance of God's Word.

"For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born"(1 Corinthians 15:3-8).

In a conversation with Martha Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:25-26).

This Scripture is our challenge for today, especially the latter part which is not only a question for Martha, but for us as well: "Do you believe this?" Do we really live our lives, believing in the resurrection of Christ, that we too live to live for Him?

The more we believe in the resurrection of Christ, the more we live for Him.

Accepting His resurrection frees us to reject the treasures of this life.

Accepting His resurrection enables us to deny the stranglehold of doubt.

Are you living each day in the power of His resurrection? You have been set free to celebrate victory, victory that is ours through the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

With Paul we ask, "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"(1 Corinthians 15:55)

Concluding as Paul did we too say, "The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ"(v. 56-57).

TODAY'S CHALLENGE: What have you allowed to reduce the impact of Christ's resurrection in your life? What has overpowered this truth causing you to doubt, live in fear or struggle with your faith?

Be confident in this: "For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living" (Romans 14:9).

It's not Easter, but who cares—Let's celebrate the resurrection of Christ anyway!!

Dear Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ is the answer to sin and death. Thank You for sending Christ and most of all we celebrate His death, burial and resurrection. In Jesus' Mighty Name, AMEN!

Re-arranging my life for Christ, David L. Burns

Nov 01 – Luke 9-12; Nov 02 – Luke 13-16; Nov 03 – Luke 17-20; Nov 04 – Luke 21-24; Nov 05 – John 1-4; Nov 06 – John 5-8;Nov 07 – John 9-12

Essentials To The Christian Faith: Resurrection Part 2
Pastor David L. Burns
Nov 02, 2004

SCRIPTURE MEMORY VERSE: "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen"(Ephesians 3:20-21).

Nothing is more essential to the Christian Faith than the resurrection of Jesus Christ, God's Son, our Savior. As we continue considering the resurrection of Christ, let's consider something that we may not want to talk about—our sin, it's payment and our deliverance.

God hates sin. Hate may seem too strong of a word to use when talking about God's view of sin, but it is used in the Bible in (Malachi 2) to show that sin is heinous to God. Sin alienates us from God and our disobedience is met with the completeness of God's wrath. It is sobering to consider that God does not grade on a curve. He does not make allowances or exceptions for sin's punishment. God promises to punish our sin to the full extent imaginable.

However, because of God's immense love for us, He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins. All the punishment and wrath that we deserved Christ abolished by taking our place by going to cross and paying our debt. Of course, His substitutionary death would mean nothing if He had not been raised from the dead.

Jesus Christ, "who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord"(Romans 1:4).

Therefore, as we face the reality of sin and it's consequential punishment, the resurrection gives us comfort, peace and joy to know that we no longer have to live in bondage to sin. Though the Bible says that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) we no longer have to worry about that payment.

The heart of man is tainted with such a propensity toward sin. It is only God's grace that sufficiently washes away our sin.

We stand in awe that God gazes upon us with great love even though we sin. The reason God can look upon us with love is because the debt for our sins has been atoned for by His Son, Jesus Christ.

Therefore, the next time you feel that you are not worthy of God's love, you are correct. You are not worthy, but through Christ's death, burial and resurrection we are worthy. It is not what we have done, but what Christ did for us.

"The blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin"(1 John 1:7).

TODAY'S CHALLENGE: We all need Jesus because without Him, God will carry out His succinct sentence toward our sin. However, once we accept Christ, God's love and grace is more than sufficient to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Though we should strive to live for Christ, our works do not grant us salvation. Even as Christians, we can never live a life on our own that is good enough to earn Eternal life. This only comes through Christ's resurrection. Walk in greater freedom and in deeper joy knowing that God loves you and gazes upon you because of His Son's death, burial and resurrection.

Dear Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ is the answer to sin and death. Thank You for sending Christ and most of all we celebrate His death, burial and resurrection. In Jesus' Mighty Name, AMEN!

Re-arranging my life for Christ, David L. Burns

Essentials To The Christian Faith: Resurrection Part 3
Pastor David L. Burns
Nov 03, 2004

SCRIPTURE MEMORY VERSE: "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen"(Ephesians 3:20-21).

Dear Heavenly Father, as we begin our study today, we pray that you would send your glory upon every one reading this E-meditation. Pour out Your Holy Spirit on us with such a powerful anointing that our souls will be liberated, our bodies healed and our minds renewed in Christ. Change us today under the auspice of Your Holy Spirit, In Jesus' Mighty name, AMEN!

Another important aspect of Christ which is fundamental to our faith is that He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father.

As Christ completed His work through His death, burial and resurrection He ascended to be at the right hand of God.

Because Christ ascended, we may ascend. Just as Christ was raised up we are raised up too, raised up in greater power from on High!

"After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it"(Mark 16:19-20).

Our Savior, Jesus Christ sits at the right hand of God. However, this is not to say He is absent or far away from us. He is never away from us but always with us. In response to this fundamental truth, we should model Christ's disciples and how they reacted to this truth. Their response? They went out and preached everywhere.

Because Christ resides at the right hand of God, their preaching was fortified as the "Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it"(v. 20).

To me, I call this resurrection power. The power of Christ's completed work flows through our veins and gives life to our feet, our hands and our tongue. We are fully charged and commissioned to make a difference in this world, and we have the power of the resurrection behind our efforts.

To ascend to a place of powerful proclamation, we must ascend to His Holy Hill—into His presence. As we spend time with God, we are able to give time to God. The more we are with Him the more we become like Him. The more we tarry in His presence the more we can carry out His work.

This is why Palmist asked: "Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place?"(Palms 24:3).

If I fail to spend time with God everyday, my day is ruined! My mind becomes my worst enemy. My thoughts are filled with stressful labor and emotional clutter. I notice that my attitude sinks.

But, when I can get away and "ascend" for a few hours to the hill of the Lord, I am like a new man. Some say that exercising will give you more energy, and I'm sure that is true. But nothing gives me more energy that talking to my Jesus, reading His Word, praising Him in song.

TODAY'S CHALLENGE:
Have you ascended to be with Christ lately? We spend so much of our time descending, lowering ourselves into worldly ways or worldly limitations. When we ascend with Christ, we rise up above all the limitations of the flesh because we accept our proper place in the Spirit. We are not bound to the flesh, to the natural, because as Christ sits at the right hand of God, He disperses upon us, through His Spirit, supernatural resources and abilities to do His will.

How do we receive His resurrection power? Just as Christ died to be raised up, so must we. We must die to our old sinful nature.

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Gal 2:20 NIV).

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the resurrection power that flows through us because of Christ's death, burial and resurrection. In Jesus' Mighty Name AMEN!

Re-arranging my life for Christ, David L. Burns

Essentials To The Christian Faith: Resurrection Part 4
Pastor David L. Burns
Nov 04, 2004

SCRIPTURE MEMORY VERSE: "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen"(Ephesians 3:20-21).

Dear Heavenly Father, as we begin our study today, we pray that you would send your glory upon every one reading this E-meditation. Pour out Your Holy Spirit on us with such a powerful anointing that our souls will be liberated, our bodies healed and our minds renewed in Christ. Change us today under the auspice of Your Holy Spirit, In Jesus' Mighty name, AMEN!

When you stand before the judgment of God, how well will you do? Another essential teaching that we must look at today is that Jesus Christ will judge the living and the dead.

"He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name"(Acts 10:42-43)

With the passing of time, we are getting closer and closer to the final judgment.

We may find ourselves living in defiance and denial of a pending judgment, but there's no way around it. We will all have our day in court with Christ as our judge.

"But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to men in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit"(1 Peter 4:5-6).

The very word "judgment" seems harsh and negative. When a judgment is placed against someone we think of punishment being inflicted to right a wrong.

What's the truth on the final judgment?

There will be two judgments in the end times, the judgment that will fall upon those who rejected Christ and the judgment of all who believed and lived for Christ. In the Bible the judgment for those who have rejected Christ is called the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelations 20:11). Those who come under this judgment will be cast into the Lake of fire and experience eternal torment.

True, authentic Christians will not face this judgment. What judgment will we face as Christians? The judgment seat of Christ. As Christians our judgment will not be for punishment for our wrongs, nor will it be a judgment to decide our eternal fate. Christ is not going to weigh our good and bad deeds and make a decision to send us to hell or heaven. If this was the case, then Christ died in vain.

Christ died to take away our sins, to cover our sins with His blood, past sins, present sins and future sins. We are forgiven through the shed blood of Christ. Therefore, the judgment for Christians will be one that we can look forward to with great excitement. For our judgment will be to disperse our final rewards based on our service to the Lord while we were living on earth.

"So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad" (2 Corinthians 5:9-10).

This judgment is known as the judgment seat of Christ. Again, this is not to determine our salvation, but our rewards for deeds done once we accepted Christ. We will be judged on the use of our time, our money, our words, the use of our Spiritual gifts and whether we pursued God's Will or not. For example, the bad deed of passivity will be judged and not rewarded.

All Christians will enjoy heaven. That is a given. However, there will be various degrees of reward, degrees of honor and reward given based on the judgment of Christ.

TODAY'S CHALLENGE: As Christians we need not fear the judgment. In fact, this should motivate us to strive to please God. However, we must continue to pray and speak with those who are lost, rejecting Christ, facing the Great White Throne Judgment.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for saving us by Your grace. May we strive to please You, and look forward to our day of judgment. In Jesus' Mighty Name AMEN!

Re-arranging my life for Christ, David L. Burns

Essentials To The Christian Faith: Holy Spirit
Pastor David L. Burns
Nov 05, 2004

++Don't have time to read this devotional? Go online and listen to it while you work: www.freshwind.org/audioemeds.html (http://www.freshwind.org/audioemeds.html)

SCRIPTURE MEMORY VERSE: "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen"(Ephesians 3:20-21).

Dear Heavenly Father, as we begin our study today, we pray that you would send your glory upon every one reading this E-meditation. Pour out Your Holy Spirit on us with such a powerful anointing that our souls will be liberated, our bodies healed and our minds renewed in Christ. Change us today under the auspice of Your Holy Spirit, In Jesus' Mighty name, AMEN!

Another essential, fundamental truth of Christianity is Holy Spirit.


We'll spend a few days on the Holy Spirit because there is so much to learn about and from the Holy Spirit.

To begin our study of the Holy Spirit, we must understand that the Holy Spirit is given to us to make us a whole and complete person in Christ. Filled with the Holy Spirit we never are for want of anything. The Holy Spirit is the very presence of God. Filled with the presence of God we lack nothing.

Jesus Christ said that when the Holy Spirit comes, "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth"(Acts 1:8).

In this passage, it is clear that the disciples were about to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that they could be a witness to all the world. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit we do not lack anything. We have all the power and resources we need to fulfill and to accomplish the perfect will of God!

When we completely live the way that God wants us to live, we become a dispenser of God's love, God's Word, God's provision and care for others. The Holy Spirit enables us to be God's paper boy. When I lived in Memphis, Tennessee as a young boy, I had a paper route and I was known as a paper boy. The Memphis Commercial Appeal paid me to get their news out to my neighborhood by delivering their newspaper. I didn't have to write the news, just deliver it. They provided everything I needed to make my deliveries.

God has some deliveries He wants us to make. He has some NEWS He wants us to get to our neighbors, so we are God's paper boy—or girl, Praise God.

The people who waited anxiously for their paper never knew anything about me, as it should be. I was just the delivery boy—the little paper boy. If I did my job right, they never heard me, saw me or knew I existed. They woke up, walked out on their porch and picked up their paper.

The Holy Spirit enables us, fills us with power and provision to deliver on God's behalf and the better we do it, the less people see us. If we allow the Spirit to use us the way He wants, then, people never hear us, they hear God! They never see us, they only see Jesus in us.

This is the proper understanding of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit enables us to carry out God's will in such a way that we become invisible and God becomes exceedingly visible.

I love this passage in Acts 1:4, "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about."

They could have gone out without waiting, without the Spirit but it would have been a waste of time. What we do in the flesh only bears fleshly fruit. But, what we do in the power of the Spirit and under the auspice of the Spirit bears Spiritual fruit, bountiful fruit, fruit that everyone can clearly see is from the mighty hand of God alone.

The Holy Spirit turns every Christian into a distribution center, distributing God's Good News, God's power, God's love, God's forgiveness and much more.

When Christians start drawing attention to themselves, they are not walking in step with the Spirit. Some Christians talk about "their" ministry…what God wants them to do. However, it is never our ministry, but God's ministry working through us. We are just God's paper boy, delivering the goods, distributing what God wants sent out.

It is so easy to be stuck on keeping the goods in the storehouse. When the Holy Spirit blesses us, it is tempting to store it up in our distribution center and marvel at what God has done for us through His Spirit. But this is not the purpose of the Spirit who lives in us.

The Spirit released the early disciples to go out in the power of God. God gave them a blank check, whatever they needed to accomplish His will was at their fingertips. All they had to do to continue receiving God's provision is to effectively give it out. Make the deliveries. That's all we have to do too!

"For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21).

TODAY'S CHALLENGE: Walk in the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Learn to trust in the Spirit to guide you, to carry you along showing you what to do for God and where to go, who to speak to and what to say. We must learn to stop relying on our own strength and going out in our own power, and start relying on His strength and going on in His power, the power of the Holy Spirit.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the presence of You Holy Spirit who fills us with power and provision to do Your Will. In Jesus' Mighty Name AMEN!

Re-arranging my life for Christ, David L. Burns

Essentials To The Christian Faith: Holy Spirit, Part 2
Pastor David L. Burns
Nov 08, 2004

SCRIPTURE MEMORY VERSE: "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." (Ephesians 4:30).

Dear Heavenly Father, as we begin our study today, we pray that you would send your glory upon every one reading this E-meditation. Pour out Your Holy Spirit on us with such a powerful anointing that our souls will be liberated, our bodies healed and our minds renewed in Christ. Change us today under the auspice of Your Holy Spirit, In Jesus' Mighty name, AMEN!

As we continue our series, "Essentials To The Christian Faith", let's look again to the Holy Spirit.

What role does the Holy Spirit play in the life of the Christian? Many Christians are totally unaware of the fullness of power that could be enjoyed if they would only give the Holy Spirit the proper place in their heart.

When Jesus began His ministry, He quoted Isaiah 61: "The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners…"(v. 1).

As we desire to be more like Christ, we too want the Spirit of the Sovereign LORD to be upon us, to anoint everything we do, that it would have the power of God upon it.

Yet, many Christians think they are living in the power of the Holy Spirit, but they are not. Such was the case with Apollos.

"Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately" (Acts 18:24-26).

Apollos, of Alexandria, had some good things going his way. He was well educated. He had a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. He was speaking out on behalf of the Lord with great fervor. He had been taught about Jesus accurately. But He didn't know the rest of the gospel. Priscilla and Aquila saw that he had a lot, but a lot more could be his if he could only grasp the complete way of God more adequately. He needed to understand the power of the Holy Spirit. He only knew about Jesus up to John the Baptist. Let me tell you, friend, a whole lot more happened after John the Baptist!

Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross and on the third day He rose from the dead. After His resurrection, while the disciples were waiting, the Holy Spirit came upon them and they were filled with boldness by the Holy Spirit.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is great power, great boldness, great wisdom and great freedom.

Every Christian should be walking in greater power, greater boldness, greater wisdom and greater freedom.

But so many Christian only go to church to keep relatives happy or to keep the pastor off their back. So many Christians are staying on the outer courts of the temple. Oh, but friend, the Bible tells us that when Christ Jesus died on the cross, the temple curtain was torn in two from top to bottom. The veil that once separated man from God was destroyed through the work of Jesus. We now have full access to the power and presence of God.

"For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit" (Ephesians 2:18).

The Holy Spirit is our guide and comforter. He comforts us as He moves us into the new things of the Lord. How many of you are drying up, Spiritually? Are you stale? Have you lost your first love for Jesus? Have trials, persecutions and difficulty put a damper on your enthusiasm for the Lord? Maybe you're bored of church, bored of your pastor and bored when you read your Bible. Friend, the Holy Spirit wants to move you into new areas for Jesus.

I'm amazed at how easily Christians will say, "We've never done it that way before" but at the same time throw a fit about the l east little change. We complain about change while at the same time say we are bored and want something new.

When we walk in step with the Holy Ghost we will never be bored in church. We will never be bored of the Bible or of the preaching of God's Word. When the Holy Spirit gets a hold of us, we will be filled with new things, new insights, new blessings and a new song will be upon our heart.

"But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code"(Romans 7:6).

The new way of the Spirit is the complete opposite of the old way of written code. Many Christians are all tied up in bondage to the written codes of the local church. They can't enjoy the freedom of the Spirit because the church has too many codes. Some churches even have dress codes. Listen, when the Holy Spirit gets down into our soul to the point where we do not grieve Him, a dress code is not needed.

This may sound old fashion, and I'm only 44, but when we come into the presence of God, shouldn't we look our best? What's wrong with that? If you don't have nice clothes, then certainly God knows that and is pleased with what you wear. I know that God looks on the inside, not on the outside, but sometimes how we dress determines how we feel and sometimes how we dress shows what's on our heart. All I am saying is that when we allow the Holy Spirit proper place in our lives, written codes won't be necessary. The Holy Spirit will lead our hearts.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. Freedom means new things in the Lord. Tomorrow, let's talk more about how the Holy Spirit carries us into the fresh things of the Lord.

TODAY'S CHALLENGE: Open your heart up to the Holy Spirit. Don't live out your Christian life with only half the truth, half of Christianity. There's so much more to Christ than just going to church and following the church calendar! The Holy Spirit desires to pour out a fresh anointing on each of us, fresh insights from His Words, fresh blessings from the Lord. Welcome the Holy Spirit into Your heart today!

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the presence of You Holy Spirit who fills us with power and provision to do Your Will. In Jesus' Mighty Name AMEN!

Re-arranging my life for Christ, David L. Burns

Nov 08 – John 13-16;Nov 09 – John 17-21;Nov 10 – Acts 1-3 Nov 11 –Acts 4-6;Nov 12 –Acts 7-9;Nov 13 –Acts 10-14;Nov 14 –James 1,2

Essentials To The Christian Faith: Holy Spirit, Part 3
Pastor David L. Burns
Nov 09, 2004

SCRIPTURE MEMORY VERSE: "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." (Ephesians 4:30).

Dear Heavenly Father, as we begin our study today, we pray that you would send your glory upon every one reading this E-meditation. Pour out Your Holy Spirit on us with such a powerful anointing that our souls will be liberated, our bodies healed and our minds renewed in Christ. Change us today under the auspice of Your Holy Spirit, In Jesus' Mighty name, AMEN!

Our study, "Essentials To The Christian Faith" brings us again to the subject of the Holy Spirit.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. Freedom means new things in the Lord because under bondage we stay stranded in old ways. The Holy Spirit carries us into the fresh things of the Lord.

When God's people were in bondage in Israel they experienced very little fresh and new things from the Lord. But, as God used Moses to lead them into freedom, to worship God in the desert, they begin to experience new and fresh appearances, direction and blessings from the Lord.

I live in East-Central Illinois where currently it is fall. We are beyond the season for new things to grow. From this point on, leaves will drop and almost everything will become dormant for the winter months. It is an environment of dormancy characterized by a cessation of growth and biological rest. Simply put, things just can't grow.

However, in the Spring the atmosphere changes, and things come alive, leaving us to conclude that the atmosphere determines the level of growth.

For our Christian growth to flourish, our atmosphere must be right. The atmosphere must be one filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit.

What we think on is vital to our Christian growth. The things we say and do greatly determine our level of Spiritual growth. If we are always thinking on the negative, telling ourselves what we can't do, and what we can't be, then we fall into a dormant Spiritual environment.

When Peter stepped out of the boat at Jesus' invitation, he was thinking right. He was in an atmosphere of Spiritual victory that evaporated away all his doubts. He was charged up, pumped up and full of faith. When Jesus said, "Come", he knew he could walk on the water, and he did. Then something changed. How he saw his atmosphere changed. He saw the wind and waves and he started to doubt Jesus' power over such fierce and severe weather.

Though the natural atmosphere was the same, Peter experienced two contrasting atmospheres—one of faith and one of doubt.

You see, if we live our lives in doubt we will not experience the miraculous things of God. We will only move along inch by inch. But, when we live our lives, in the Spirit, filled with faith in Jesus, we will take great strides into new experiences, new works, new fillings and new blessings. Do you live in doubt or in faith?

It is the power of the Holy Spirit that fills us with faith. Faith is the victory that overcomes all our worldly surroundings.

Practically speaking, to re-arrange our lives so that we live in an atmosphere for Spiritual growth means that some changes need to be made. It is our way of allowing more of Christ into our lives so that more change, more growth can take place. Though we cannot bring the growth about, as it only comes from God, we can position ourselves into a growth environment, an atmosphere of being Spirit-led.


TODAY'S CHALLENGE: Let me share several ways in which you can position yourself into a growth environment.

1). Start your day with prayer. Dedicate as much time as possible in the morning for prayer. Whether it is two minutes or two hours, pray in the morning as much as you can.

2). Choose one Scripture each day to memorize. Write your verse on an index card and carry it with you everywhere you go, saying it over and over until by the end of the day you have it memorize.

3). Dedicate a portion of your day to praise the Lord. When I read the biographies of many of the great Christians of long ago, most of them not only carried their Bibles with them, but also their hymn books. Praise songs were always on their lips. Write down the words to several praise songs that you enjoy, memorize the tune, then spend time throughout the day singing praises to the Lord.

4). Get rid of the clutter and garbage. Most Christians are still taking in way too much filthy, worldly garbage, either through t.v., secular radio or movies. Turn that worldly stuff off and open up the Word of God. Stop putting garbage into your mind, then wondering why you aren't growing. Replace worldly intake with Godly, Spiritual intake.

5). Study the Word of God. Spend at least 30 minutes a day studying and reading the Word of God. Use a notebook so that you can keep a diary of what you study. I buy hardback "daily diaries" that are about an inch thick. I write down special insights I gain while reading God's Word.

Of course, as you implement these 5 suggestions, continue to invite and ask the Holy Spirit to keep you on track, not to drift back into the old, dormant environment. Wake up Spiritually. Create an inviting environment where you can feel the presence of His Spirit bringing about new things into Your life.

We can't live the old way and expect new things!

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the presence of You Holy Spirit who fills us with power and provision to do Your Will. In Jesus' Mighty Name AMEN!

Re-arranging my life for Christ, David L. Burns

Essentials To The Christian Faith: Holy Spirit, Part 4
Pastor David L. Burns
Nov 10, 2004

SCRIPTURE MEMORY VERSE: "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." (Ephesians 4:30).

Dear Heavenly Father, as we begin our study today, we pray that You would send Your glory upon every one reading this E-meditation. Pour out Your Holy Spirit on us with such a powerful anointing that our souls will be liberated, our bodies healed and our minds renewed in Christ. Change us today under the auspice of Your Holy Spirit . In Jesus' Mighty name, AMEN!

Our study, "Essentials To The Christian Faith" brings us again to the subject of the Holy Spirit.

In Leviticus 26, the Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, giving him specific directions, laws and encouragement concerning the people of Israel. In verse 10-12, we find an awesome truth and word of encouragement that opens up our minds to realize the fullness of God's abundant blessings.

"You will still be eating last year's harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new. I will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people."

The more closely we draw into Christ through His Spirit, the more blessings we receive. We are so blessed that even before we finish enjoying the last blessings, we have to move them out to make room for new blessings. Before we feel we have adequately praised God for His last blessings, new blessings arrive.

This is what the Word says: "You will still be eating last year's harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new."

God says, "I will put my dwelling place among you…" There is no greater blessing than this. Though we are blessed by having God dwell among us through His Spirit, there are blessings that come within that blessing. In other words, it is an incomprehensible blessing that God would dwell within us through His Spirit. This alone is almost unfathomable. However, because He does dwell among us through His Spirit, He continues to pour out His blessings on us moment by moment.

We are blessed to have the Spirit dwell within because the Spirit leads us into greater blessings.

Our three oldest children are grown and on their own. They each live about 80 miles away from us, in different directions. Since they are far away, I'm not good at writing or sending gifts. I need to improve in this area. But, if there was some way I could dwell with them all the time, then I would want to bless them all the time.

The last time I went to see my dad in Tennessee my oldest daughter asked to go with me. Almost every time we ate out, I paid because I wanted to. My parents were that way. Every time they would visit they would pay for the meal or my mom would see something at the store she felt Sheri or I needed or something for the kids. But, when we are away, it's not as convenient. Of course, God can bless us from afar, but He is never afar. He has made His dwelling place among us. Because He dwells among us, we are privy to the deeper blessings of God.

Israel knew God in this way. As long as they obeyed Him He would honor their obedience by dwelling among them, giving them victory over their enemies and provision even in the most barren desert environments.

As New Testament Christians, we are even privy to a greater measure of God's presence and blessings through His Holy Spirit, dwelling within us continually.

New blessings sometimes come in unfamiliar packages. At first, we may be reluctant to open them. Sometimes the new blessings of the Lord are frightening to us, as we have become comfortable with the old blessings.

Israel did not recognize nor appreciate all of the new blessings associated with their deliverance from Egypt. At one point, they grumbled and wanted to go back into slavery.

But, God knows that in order for us to grow and move forward, He must send us new blessings, leading us to move out the old blessings, making room for the new. Otherwise, we will live in a place of stagnation and think we are happy.

This may seem unsettling. For God to be an unchanging God, why is there so much change in our lives? Because, God is drawing us unto Himself. He wants us to be like Christ, and that means we will go through much change!

TODAY'S CHALLENGE: What blessings have you turned into antiques? Are there blessings of long ago that you have framed and refuse to accept new blessings? Open your life up to the Holy Spirit, and let God change you through all that He has that is new for you.

"See if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it" (Malachi 3:10).

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the presence of Your Holy Spirit who fills us with power and provision to do Your Will. In Jesus' Mighty Name AMEN!

Re-arranging my life for Christ, David L. Burns

Nov 08 – John 13-16;Nov 09 – John 17-21;Nov 10 – Acts 1-3 Nov 11 –Acts 4-6;Nov 12 –Acts 7-9;Nov 13 –Acts 10-14;Nov 14 –James 1,2

Essentials To The Christian Faith: The Church
Pastor David L. Burns
Nov 11, 2004

Check out our online Bible Studies and other helpful resources at: www.freshwind.org/resources (http://www.freshwind.org/resources) Order today!

SCRIPTURE MEMORY VERSE: "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." (Ephesians 4:30).

Dear Heavenly Father, as we begin our study today, we pray that You would send Your glory upon every one reading this E-meditation. Pour out Your Holy Spirit on us with such a powerful anointing that our souls will be liberated, our bodies healed and our minds renewed in Christ. Change us today under the auspice of Your Holy Spirit. We pray this prayer not out of repetition, but in persistency. In Jesus' Mighty name, AMEN!

Our study, "Essentials To The Christian Faith" brings us again to a new subject, the Church.

The Church is the Body of Christ on earth, God's people serving and growing together to accomplish the will of God. The Church's one foundation is Jesus Christ, her Lord.

The Greek word for Church is ekklesia, which means "called out of" signifying that Christians who make up the Church are called of God.

There are two different aspects when referring to the Body of Christ that we must clarify. First, there is the larger Body of Christ which makes up all local churches. I always us the capital letter C when referring to the universal Church. Then there is the local fellowship and I always use a lower case c.

Both in the local church, and in the world-wide Church, Christ is the Head and He desires that all the individual Christians who make up the Body of Christ be in complete unity.

The Body of Christ cannot flirt with division, turmoil and dissension. Therefore, essential to our Christian faith is to understand that the Church is one, on Body, the Body of Christ.

"And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it"(Matthew 16:18).

The gates of Hades cannot overcome a united front, a cohesive Body of Christ. However, when the local church begins to segment itself and form cliques and groups with divisive spirits, the then the devil begins to overcome the church.

The Church is not built upon Peter, but upon what Peter said about Christ: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God"(Matthew 16:
16).

Christ gave His Body so that we might become one, not only with God, but with each other.

There are many power struggles within the local church which keep the church divided, keeping brothers and sisters from uniting and overcoming the devil.

The devil holds most local churches in bondage through various personality struggles, divisive board meetings and flat out ugly congregational meetings where unity and love are sacrificed on the altars of personal agendas and preference. Christ prayed for the Church to be one, just as Christ and God are one.

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus"(Galatians 3:28).

The oneness of the Church comes through the Holy Spirit, who holds us together.

"There is one body and one Spirit-- just as you were called to one hope when you were called-- one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all" (Ephesians 4:4-5).

Christ prayed for the Church to be one.

"I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me"(John 17:22-23).

TODAY'S CHALLENGE: The Church is to be one, one Body. The local fellowship must be a place of love and unity as well as sound doctrine. Today, what are you personally doing to help your local fellowship be a unified Body of Christ where love and unity abounds? What divisive spirit have you allowed to come from you and land upon the local church? Prayerfully ask the Lord to show you, today, how you can be used by Him to bring greater love and unity into your local fellowship.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the Church, the Body of Christ. Draw us together as One Body, that we might stand strong against the evil forces that avail themselves against Your Church. In Jesus' Mighty Name AMEN!

Re-arranging my life for Christ, David L. Burns

Essentials To The Christian Faith: The Church, Part 2
Pastor David L. Burns
Nov 12, 2004

SCRIPTURE MEMORY VERSE: "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." (Ephesians 4:30).

Dear Heavenly Father, as we begin our study today, we pray that You would send Your glory upon every one reading this E-meditation. Pour out Your Holy Spirit on us with such a powerful anointing that our souls will be liberated, our bodies healed and our minds renewed in Christ. Change us today under the auspice of Your Holy Spirit. We pray this prayer not out of repetition, but with persistency. In Jesus' Mighty name, AMEN!

Our study, "Essentials To The Christian Faith" brings us again to the subject of the Church.

"The Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time. God became Man for no other purpose. (C. S. Lewis - Mere Christianity. Macmillan Publishing. 1978. pgs.
169,170)

The Church is the Body of Christ on earth, God's people serving and growing together to accomplish the will of God. The Church's one foundation is Jesus Christ, her Lord.

It is so important that we grasp the value and the beauty of the local church. Within the local church we grow and learn about Jesus. We discover our purpose as Christians. We are equipped to serve the Lord as we discover and use our Spiritual gifts faithfully serving others. Within the local church we are lovingly admonished and encouraged to walk the straight and narrow way that leads to eternal life.

Within the local church we are blessed to have opportunities to enjoy treating others as Christ treats us. We experience being loved and loving others. We practice forgiveness and mercy as Christ has forgiven us and is merciful toward us.

Do you really have to be a member of a local church? Well, to be saved—no. Salvation comes through faith in Christ, not in church membership. However, as we "work out" our salvation (Philippians 2:12) the local church provides a safe place for us to grow closer to the Lord. When I say safe place, I mean a place where we are not carried away by strange teachings, and a place where we are held accountable so that we stay on the straight and narrow.

"Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings" (Hebrews 13:9).

It takes a tremendous amount of service and sacrifice on the part of Christian leaders to keep the local church from pursuing teachings and practices that are not according to the Bible. Many churches are tired of fighting that battle and have simply given in, and are allowing strange teachings to influence the church.

But, the local church must be guided by the Word of God and must stay focused on Christ and Christ alone. The early church as recorded in the book of Acts was a powerful force on earth, so powerful that it turned the world up-side-down for Christ. This power came because the Church refused to model the world. Instead, it modeled Christ and His Word.

For the Church to gain this powerful influence, it must forsake all association with that which is strange or unauthorized and seek the Lord, the Head of the Church.

In Leviticus chapter nine, we see the Lord appearing to His people through His Shekinah glory. But, in the very next chapter something strange happens.

"Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to his command. So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD" (Leviticus 10:1-2).

The King James Version says they offered a strange fire before the Lord. Now, it seems shocking that the Lord would kill them for such a small infraction. This may leave us with an uneasy feeling about the Lord's judgment. However, within this Scripture is great insight into our own priesthood, our own churches and strange teachings.

Let me explain. First, we are all priests.

"You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ"(1 Peter 2:5). Just as the priests in the Old Testament made offerings to the Lord, so do we. We give our Spiritual sacrifices to the Lord daily.

Nadab and Abihu's mistake was that they offered something to the Lord other than what He had commanded—it was strange and unauthorized. They knew better. They were well trained as priests. But even though they knew better they went before the Lord with a presumptuous spirit. Presumptuous means going beyond what is right and proper. To presume means to venture forward without authority or permission. This is what they did, and God halted them dead in their tracks.

Since every believer in Christ is a priest, as Peter says--we are a holy priesthood--then every church member must be very careful not to offer a strange fire up to the Lord.

How often are we led by a presumptuous spirit in the local church, presuming we know what is best, presuming we know what would make the church grow, presuming we know all about people and how to handle them, presuming we know the kind of worship that will draw a crowd and please the people, presuming we know how the pastor should preach, and how to handle the money. Yet, if at any time we go beyond what the Lord has specifically commanded He is gracious enough to stop us in our tracks.

Aaron's sons took it for granted that God would not care if they changed things up a bit. But, they were dead wrong.

Today, most congregations are struggling through the issue of traditional verses contemporary. And, this teaching can be used by either to make a point. The traditionalist can say that the new contemporary approach is a new and strange fire that God is not pleased with. While the contemporalist can say that tradition is the strange fire, a dead, stagnant religion that God has not commanded.

However both can be held accountable by God for missing the mark. It is not so much the style that concerns God, but the whether the heart is in obedience to His true Word. His Word determines the style, not our personal preference.

The traditionalist can offer strange fire to God by not embracing the new work of the Lord, the new move of God. However, the contemporalist can go beyond what is Biblical in an effort to meet the felt needs of today's seekers.

The answer then, is that we must re-evaluate why the Church is the Church. The Church is to draw all people to Christ. However, if it slips into methods that are no longer Biblical simply to draw people, then that is a strange fire to the Lord, presuming that anything goes. The traditionalist can easily begin worshiping yesterday, and ignore, even reject God's fresh Skekinah glory and presume that since it worked back then, it will work today. That is true sometimes, but not always.

TODAY'S CHALLENGE: To be the priest that we are called to be, we must carefully search out the things of God as found in the Word and live according to His Word. Jesus modeled this for us. Jesus became man, so that we would visually understand how He lived according to His Father's will and liking. He never deviated from His Father's plan. Nor should we.

Consider ways in which you have bought into the lies of the world concerning Christianity. There are so many strange teachings that are in the world, and have even crept into the local church. Be careful. Live only by His Word.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the Church, the Body of Christ. Draw us into Your Word that we may not offer strange and unauthorized fire to You. In Jesus' Mighty Name AMEN!

Re-arranging my life for Christ, David L. Burns

Essentials To The Christian Faith: Forgiveness
Pastor David L. Burns
Nov 15, 2004

**I want to thank all of you who were so kind to send my dad a card. He is slowly making progress, recovering from a stroke. I visited with him over the weekend and was humbled at his walls that were lined with your cards of encouragement! What a blessing.

SCRIPTURE MEMORY VERSE: "All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name"(Acts 10:43).

Dear Heavenly Father, as we begin our study today, we pray that You would send Your glory upon every one reading this E-meditation. Pour out Your Holy Spirit on us with such a powerful anointing that our souls will be liberated, our bodies healed and our minds renewed in Christ. Change us today under the auspice of Your Holy Spirit. We pray this prayer not out of repetition, but with persistency. In Jesus' Mighty name, AMEN!

Are you sinless? Well, obviously, until we enjoy our arrival in Heaven we will struggle with our sinful nature. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"(Romans 3:23a). But, the rest of this verse goes on to say that we "are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."

Sin is grievous. It causes pain and grief to us, and it grieves the heart of God as well. Within us, sin creates an unwanted hatred toward Christ. Though we may not want to admit it, sin causes us to hate holiness more than sin itself. Sin causes us to hate obedience and to hate striving to be more like Christ.

Sin swells us with pride causing us to think we are not sinners and that we are better off than other "sinners" and that we are just fine the way we are. The Word says, "For the wages of sin is death"(Romans
6:23).

One of the reasons sin is so deadly is because in the depth of sin, the devil deceives us, causing us not to realize the consequences of our sinful lifestyle. Sin causes a defiant spirit to rebel against the Lord, even sneering His promise to punishment sin.

Sin tears down safety nets and plows foolishly through clear and obvious barricades which were strategically placed by God to keep us from exiting the straight and narrow.

Sin is a thief, stealing from us all that could be ours if we would forfeit a lifestyle of sin and rebellion. Through sin, we are robbed blind of the joys and blessings of living for Jesus.

Therefore, God has always punished sin and evil to the fullest extent imaginable, starting with Adam and Eve being driven out of the garden of Eden and ending with satan finally being thrown into the lake of fire. God sent the flood to annihilate the inhabitants of the world because of the excessiveness of their sinful behavior.

Even sinning with good intentions does not free us from God's judgment as was the case with Uzzah when he reached out to stabilize the Ark of the Covenant. His intentions were good, but nonetheless were sinful as he disobeyed the Lord's command. God takes sin seriously and so must we.

The consequence of sin is clearly described by Jesus in the gospels: "They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth"(Matthew 13:42). Unrepentant sin is met with eternal torment. Due to the severity of sin, forgiveness came with a high price, a price too high for us to pay.

"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly"(Romans 5:6). We are powerless to avoid the payment for sin. It's a debt that we cannot pay. But, Christ paid our debt for us. God sent His Son to die on the cross so that we can be forgiven, released from the awful bondage of sin's tight hold.

"Your sins have been forgiven on account of his name"(1 John 2:12b).

TODAY'S CHALLENGE: Sin does not have to hold us in bondage. God sent His Son, Jesus, to take our punishment upon Himself. His great love stopped at nothing, not even giving His One and Only Son that we might have the forgiveness of sin through Christ's death, burial and resurrection.

Today, rejoice, and thank God for His Son's sacrifice, paying the price of Your sin.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for forgiveness that is ours through Christ Jesus' death, burial and resurrection. In Jesus' Mighty Name
AMEN!

Re-arranging my life for Christ, David L. Burns

Essentials To The Christian Faith: Resurrected Bodies
Pastor David L. Burns
Nov 16, 2004


SCRIPTURE MEMORY VERSE: "All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name"(Acts 10:43).

Dear Heavenly Father, as we begin our study today, we pray that You would send Your glory upon every one reading this E-meditation. Pour out Your Holy Spirit on us with such a powerful anointing that our souls will be liberated, our bodies healed and our minds renewed in Christ. Change us today under the auspice of Your Holy Spirit. We pray this prayer not out of repetition, but with persistency. In Jesus' Mighty name, AMEN!

As we continue our study on the "Essentials To The Christian Faith", let's look at the resurrection of the body. This is an essential teaching to Christianity as we will one day experience our own resurrection. Most of us are looking forward to a new body, knowing that as we age our earthly tabernacle begins to fall apart. But what does having a resurrected body mean?

As a pastor, I am often asked about the resurrection of the body. Many people wonder what age we'll be in Heaven. If a one year old baby dies, will they always be one year old in Heaven? Or will they age? Will we know each other? Will husbands and wives have the same type of relationship in Heaven as they have on earth. What will our resurrected body be like? Will we need to eat, sleep or take care of other daily essentials—if you know what I mean?

This brings other important questions to mind. For example, how can someone experience a resurrected body if they have been cremated? Tune in tomorrow for the answers to these questions—just kidding.

Similar questions must have been asked of Paul: "But someone may ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?" (1 Corinthians 15:35). Paul's response was, "How foolish!..."(v.36).

Paul calls this kind of thinking "foolish".

So, we must ground ourselves in what the Bible teaches about the resurrection of our bodies. Let's face it, we really should be looking forward to a new body! The one we have here on earth is just a rough draft, a beta version.

Jesus promises to "transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body"(Philippians 3:21). The reality is, He created our physical bodies from nothing so He doesn't really need the old one to make a new one. It's not like taking an old, worn-out car and getting new shocks and a tune up. We are transformed into glory.

"So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable"(1 Corinthians 15:42).

Like a seed, our physical bodies die and are laid in the ground.

"It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body"(1 Corinthians 15:43-44a). "For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory"(1 Corinthians 15:52-54).

Hurray, to die means to live in resurrected bodies, new bodies! As exciting as this is, the Bible gives little information about the details of our resurrected bodies, such as whether we will age in Heaven or what age we will remain. To me, it seems unlikely that a baby would remain a baby in Heaven, or that someone who is 97 would be that old in Heaven. I believe we will remain at some optimal enjoyable age.

Jesus did teach that there would not be marriage as we know it here on earth (Matthew 22:30ff).

TODAY'S APPLICATION: We are only passing through and our time on this earth is so short. Yet, when we die, we will be raised up. Though our worldly tabernacle may wear-out and give in, we will always be clothed with Christ.

Today, consider how ready you are should the Lord call you home today or this week. Are you ready to receive your new body?

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us life through Christ, the hope of glory. We will spend all eternity with You, enjoy the power of our resurrected bodies. In Jesus' Mighty Name
AMEN!

Re-arranging my life for Christ, David L. Burns

Essentials To The Christian Faith: Eternal Life
Pastor David L. Burns
Nov 17, 2004


SCRIPTURE MEMORY VERSE: "All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name"(Acts 10:43).

Dear Heavenly Father, as we begin our study today, we pray that You would send Your glory upon every one reading this E-meditation. Pour out Your Holy Spirit on us with such a powerful anointing that our souls will be liberated, our bodies healed and our minds renewed in Christ. Change us today under the auspice of Your Holy Spirit. We pray this prayer not out of repetition, but with persistency. In Jesus' Mighty name, AMEN!

Today, we wrap up our 25 part series on "Essentials Of The Christian Faith." I can't think of a better way to wrap up this series than teaching on everlasting life. This is the great reward and prize that we achieve when we die. Therefore, it is foundation and essential that we understand that as Christians, we will live forever.

As most of you know, my mother went home to be with the Lord on October 7th. I know that many of you have lost a close family member so you know the stages of grief that take place. The hardest part for me was the funeral service. I was sitting low enough where I could not see my mother's body in the casket, but my eyes made contact with a small card just above her head on the opened part of the casket that read: "Peggy: A Pearl". Boy, that choked me up. Indeed she was a pearl.

I think about my mom several times a day. I used to call her up and tell her my fears. Her words brought comfort to me like no other. I miss that a lot. When something went really well, I loved calling her up and telling her about a conquest in my life. She would be so excited for me. I miss that a lot. She was my cheerleader and prayer warrior and those two positions are going to be hard to fill, but not hard for the Lord.

I learned a lot during this time of loss. I learned how much a card means. I would cherish a sympathy card from friends, and read every line, stare at the picture, even carry it with me and read it during the day. I learned how important a phone call is when experiencing tragedy. I learned how negligent I had been in not drawing closer to support those around me, who experienced a bend in the road of life.

I also learned that people can be very insensitive. One person told someone in our family that my mother died because that particular person didn't go to church as often as they should. Seriously!

I learned that in times like this, people's supporting presence is crucial. Each person who visited with me was like a drop of water on a dry sponge.

Though I'm lonely for my mother, I take great comfort knowing that she is enjoying everlasting life with Jesus. Everlasting life brings us great joy and hope. I knew that I would have to apply sermons I had preached, E-meds I had written and comforting words I had given. Now, I would be tested to see if I could really believe and practiced what I preached.

Paul challenged me the most when he wrote: "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope"(1 Thessaolonians 4:13). From this verse, I knew that I must grieve differently. Sure, I will grieve her absence, but through the hope I have in Christ, I rejoice over her everlasting life in Him.

Scripture does mean what it says, "I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. I am the bread of life"(John 6:47).

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life"(John
3:16).

The only way to experience eternal life is to believe in Jesus. The more life shakes and shatters us, the more tightly we hang on to Jesus. Only by standing firmly on the promises of His Word, can we ride out our stormy seasons.

One particular day was terrible for me. Several days after my mother's funeral I received the unwanted phone call at Wednesday night church, that my dad was seriously ill. As the days progressed he worsened until finally they said they could do no more. That night, I was devastated, depressed and starting to feel the physical consequences of overwhelming emotions. My wife asked me, "Are you depressed or sad"? and I said, "Both!" But, that night and the next day, prayer warriors around the world summoned the Lord about my dad.

The next day I emerged from my barren and dry desert experience strong and joyful. Knowing that somehow, through it all, I would learn to trust deeper in Jesus. To have lost my dad at that moment would have seemed to me, to be beyond what I could have handled. You may disagree, but somehow I believe God knew that and allowed my dad to pull through a rough time. He has yet to regain the use of his right arm and leg. His speech is garbled. But we are prayerfully optimistic.

This is my story, a story of everlasting life, knowing that no matter what we miraculously recover from on this earth, we will all one day die, so that we might truly live. That's eternal life.

TODAY'S APPLICATION: We are all going to die. We can't stop death by going to church more and it doesn't mean our faith was weak. Death and sickness are inevitable at some time or another.

While walking through the cemetery, where most of our family is buried, my dad said, "I wish death could be like walking one moment in the here-and-now, then walking into hereafter." Well, it is almost that simple. Oh, we may experience the pain and suffering of a broken and diseased body before we die, but we must focus on our eternal life with Jesus. This far outweighs our momentary problems and trials. Rejoice today, that eternal life awaits you when your time is up—that is, if you trust in Jesus as your Savior.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the eternal life that is ours through Jesus. In Jesus' Mighty Name AMEN!

Re-arranging my life for Christ, David L. Burns

It's All About Jesus
Pastor David L. Burns
Nov 18, 2004


SCRIPTURE MEMORY VERSE: "All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name"(Acts 10:43).

Dear Heavenly Father, as we begin our study today, we pray that You would send Your glory upon every one reading this E-meditation. Pour out Your Holy Spirit on us with such a powerful anointing that our souls will be liberated, our bodies healed and our minds renewed in Christ. Change us today under the auspice of Your Holy Spirit. We pray this prayer not out of repetition, but with persistency. In Jesus' Mighty name, AMEN!

It's all about Jesus! The world teaches us that living is about us, all about what we want, what we like, our goals and our success. And oh how we buy in to such thinking. If you don't believe me take a look at what you have done to better yourself but haven't done to better the Kingdom of Christ. I don't mean to steal your joy today, but sometime the prophet's voice delivers!

Maybe you are knee deep in making a life for yourself. But this is not what true life is all about. True life is about living for Jesus, not for ourselves.

Christianity is all about Jesus. It's not about a denomination or church membership, and committee meetings. Jesus cannot and will not be reduced to such things as this because He's so much more. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. Sometimes we go ballistic trying to take care of the logistics. What is more logical than to take hold of the truth that it's all about Jesus!

So often, people try to reduce Jesus to a place of human understanding. But Christ goes beyond what we can understand. He's more than what we can know, more than what we can fathom. He's everything and so much more.

Friend, as Christians, it is so important that we start living our lives not for ourselves, but for Jesus. We are on this earth for the purposes God has planned for us.

While it is true that Jesus is all we need, it's true only because Jesus provides all we need. We know that Jesus is our light because He provides His light to guide us out of darkness and despair.

Jesus is our rock, providing a place for us to stand firm and strong, not easily shaken by the misgivings of life.

Jesus is our bread of life as He provides all we need to feast upon every Spiritual truth that comes from Him. This sounds great, but there is one small problem. We have a tendency to live for ourselves, not for Christ.

Let's be honest and talk first about lip service. It's easy to say we're sold out to Jesus, that we are living for Him, but are we really? Do our words, actions and activities reflect a committed passion for Christ? The truth of the matter is, it is far too easy for us to be more interested in our own interests, hobbies and activities and Christ only gets our second best, our leftovers.

Now we should really wake up and take notice to this because we can become so worldly, that we don't even realize how much we are depriving ourselves of a closer relationship with Jesus.

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me"(Galatians 2:20).

Now, here is where the rubber hits the road: How willing are we to crucify those things which stand in the way of a deeper relationship with Christ? In fact, Paul says that we need to crucify those things because we no longer live for ourselves, but Christ lives in us. The life we live isn't lived out to satisfy employers, or to have nicer things. We are to live by faith in the Son of God, because Jesus loves us and gave Himself for us.

How can Christ make provision for us when we are making provision for everything but Him?

"Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature" (Romans 13:14).

Well certainly, we try not to fall into sin, but to clothe ourselves with Christ is more than just not sinning, it is becoming like Him through putting Him first in our day. We say we have put Him first in our lives, but if we have, then He will be first in our day, in each hour and in each moment. Moment by moment, it is such a privilege to dwell on Christ, to be clothed with Him.

I'm learning that the more of Jesus we have in us, the more we spend with Him, the more of His provision is at our disposal. The more we walk in step with the Spirit, the more Spiritual power and provision is ours.

This theme is seen throughout various Old Testament passage showing how God dealt with His people of that time.

"For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess"(Deuteronomy 30:16).

"Then the LORD said: "I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the LORD, will do for you. 11 Obey what I command you today" (Exodus 34:10-11).

Friend, it is this simple. As we love the LORD, as we walk with Him moment by moment, as we strive to obey Him, then we will enjoy the riches of His provisions.

To truly reach a oneness with Christ, our heart must beat in rhythm with His heart. As our heart is in step with His, we will not be drawn away by worldly pursuits. We will seek after those things that really matter, those things that have Kingdom value. We will walk away from lesser things.

Look at this powerful verse again: "Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature" (Romans 13:14).

The more we put on Christ, the more we are able to walk in the fullness of His daily provision, daily provision of strength, comfort, wisdom, grace, mercy, forgiveness and love.

TODAY'S CHALLENGE: If you really want to put Christ first in your life, start with every hour. Make Christ first in every hour of your day, then you'll find He is first in your life.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Jesus. Help us put Him first. In Jesus' Mighty Name AMEN!

Re-arranging my life for Christ, David L. Burns

The Love Of Christ
Pastor David L. Burns
Nov 22, 2004

** Would you consider sowing a rather unusual seed? NOT MONEY! Over the last two months, God has made it more evident that usual how He is using this ministry to equip believers and soften the hearts of unbelievers. So, I want to encourage you to sow a seed. Consider each E-med as a Kingdom seed, with Godly power to touch lives. I'd like to ask you to sow one seed a day by sending, faxing, forwarding or mailing an E-med to someone. Let the Spirit of God direct you as to where to sow this seed. I believe God will reap a great Kingdom harvest as His Word will not return empty.

SCRIPTURE MEMORY VERSE: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts"(Psalms 139:23).

Dear Heavenly Father, send Your glory upon us and pour out Your Holy Spirit on us with such a powerful anointing that our souls will be liberated, our bodies healed and our minds renewed in Christ. Change us under the auspice of Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus' Mighty name, AMEN!

I received some strong feedback on last Thursday's and Friday's teaching about Jesus. Praise God, some of your comments got me fired up even more, to preach Jesus!

Do you know what the greatest thing about Jesus is? It's the awesome truth that He loves us! He loves you and me. In fact, there is nothing we can do to cause Jesus not to love us. Even though Christ hates our sin, He still loves us.

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us"(Romans 5:8).

Too often, we allow the reality of our human faults and frailties to stand in our way of receiving Christ's love for us. "How could Christ truly love me when I am so imperfect, so weak and faithless."

We erroneously believe that if we serve more, like go to Sunday School and follow the Ten Commandments, then somehow God will be happier with us and therefore, love us. This is pharisaical and does not cause Christ to love us more. God is love! He loves us.

"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins"(1 John 4:7-10).

Therefore, God desires to love us beyond what we can imagine. We think that if God really loved us, He would heal our every sickness, that He would guard us from every possible heartache and injury.

God loves us so much that He desires to give us that which will draw us more deeply into His presence. For being in His presence is far greater than having health, wealth and worldly contentment. If God feeds our self-centered appetites of personal success, He knows we will drift away from accepting His eternal love. Therefore, God desires that we would draw closer to Him through Spiritual intimacy.

There is no greater dispensing of the love of Christ than for Him to draw us unto Himself, that in His presence we would come to find that His true love sustains us, fills us, satisfies us and validities all that we go through in life. His love gives us what we need to be totally dependent upon Him, so that through basking in His presence we will receive and enjoy true joy that comes from His ultimate love for us.

Sometimes I wonder why Christ had to die. I mean, after all, God is so powerful, why couldn't He just accept our repentance and say, "Okay you're forgiven." Why did Jesus have to die. It's because God is so perfect, faithful and against evil, that no act of evil will ever escape His wrath. Friend, no act of evil, no sinful motive, word or action will ever escape God's wrath. It is written as in stone. Unless it is forgiven by Christ.

We're a mess. Sin crouches at our door. Even with bumper pads we bowl gutter balls. Really! We're just not good enough to earn His love.

I don't know most of you, but I do know that you can't do a thing about your sins on your own. God is not impressed with your attempts to be righteous. But He is impressed when by faith you accept what He has done for us.

You see, we are so wretched, that we actually deserve God's wrath. God will not let any evil go unpunished. But, because of His great love He sent His Son to receive the punishment of our sins.

He saved us not just FROM our sins, but saved us TO Himself. This is the part so often misunderstood. He saved us so He could pour out His love upon us daily, moment by moment.

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord"(Romans 8:38-39).

God gave His Son, Jesus, to set us free to receive His love. Christ's atonement for our sins has blazed a path for us to walk boldly into the presence of God, and receive mercy, grace, forgiveness and love.

We are saved so that we might walk close enough to God to receive the power of His love. We must have this close walk with Him often throughout the day. Such was the case last week for me.

I was on my way to the studio on a cloudy, rainy day, driving down a country road. I was praying, talking with Jesus, asking questions, pouring out my heart to the Lord.

I noticed something strange about a mile away. Because of the weather, it was hard to see clearly, but as I strained to see what I was looking at, it appeared to be an army tank. Of course, I knew that was impossible. There's no reason an army tank would be sitting out in the country in someone's yard. As I drove closer, it became more defined and visible. It was an old fashion wagon loaded with old wood crates. Close up, it didn't resemble an army tank at all.

As I continue talking with the Lord He asked, "What's the difference between a tank and a wagon full of wood?" I came up with some thoughts like, a tank is built from armor to resist fire, bombs and attacks. The wagon of wood could easily be crushed and burned. A tank is self propelled. A wagon has to be pulled along.

From that intimate time with Jesus, He spoke to my heart how He wants me to be a tank, fortified with His Word, propelled by His Spirit. He warned me of the dangers of being a dry, brittle wagon of wood. He warned me that I am not called to be pulled along, but to follow His command and to go boldly into enemy territory.

These are the intimate moments we live for. These are the intimate moments Christ died for, times for which we can bask in His presence, feel His instructional love guiding us into a greater position to receive His love.

TODAY'S CHALLENGE: Are you trying to earn God's saving love, His forgiveness and mercy? Are you constantly falling short and wondering if God truly loves you? Of course He does. Now, you must accept His love as demonstrated through Christ's death, burial and resurrection. But, more than being saved from His wrath we are saved into His love. For He desires that we live for Him, by Him and in Him.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for loving us so much that we do not have to work to be loved by You. Your grace is sufficient. In Jesus' Mighty Name AMEN!

Re-arranging my life for Christ, David L. Burns

***SPECIAL NOTE: Wow, I am so excited to share with you a ministry opportunity of a lifetime. My boss, Mark Burns (not related) of Great News Radio, and I have been led by the Lord to plan a MEN'S ONLY trip to the Holy Land, May 30-June6, 2005! We are so excited about what the Lord is going to accomplish on this unique gathering of men with hungry hearts for the Lord. I'll be teaching on this trip and the Lord laid the theme upon my heart, "The Foot Of A Warrior." As men, we fight many battles. Let's face it, we lose many battles to the devil. We will learn how to be warriors for the Lord, in key Holy Land sites where many Biblical battles took place. Call now to express your interest! 217-367-7777 and for more info! Hey women! Send your husband, son, dad or pastor. Your family could give this to him as a Christmas present! Talk it over at thanksgiving.

>> We want to thank Wanda Cummings from Pennsylvania for underwriting this week's cost of sending out the E-Meditations. Thank you, Wanda, for your support! If you'd like to send a gift to underwrite the daily E-Meditations visit: www.freshwind.org/underwrite.html (http://www.freshwind.org/underwrite.html)

DAILY SCRIPTURE READING: Nov 22 – 1 Corinthians 5-8; Nov 23 – 1 Corinthians 9-12; Nov 24 – 1 Corinthians 13-16; Nov 25 – Acts 19:11-20:1; 2 Corinthians 1-3; Nov 26 – 2 Corinthians 4-6; Nov 27 – 2 Corinthians 7-9; Nov 28 – 2 Corinthians 10-13; Acts 20:2

Jesus Is Our Trust Fund
Pastor David L. Burns
Nov 23, 2004

-> New teaching: "The Presumptuous Spirit" is available on our website: www.freshwind.org (http://www.freshwind.org/) Just click and listen to the whole teaching at your convenience.

SCRIPTURE MEMORY VERSE: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts"(Psalms 139:23).

Dear Heavenly Father, send Your glory upon us and pour out Your Holy Spirit on us with such a powerful anointing that our souls will be liberated, our bodies healed and our minds renewed in Christ. Change us under the auspice of Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus' Mighty name, AMEN!

Let me see if I can guess what your typical day is like. You wake up when you want, enjoying the beautiful morning view of your seaside cottage. You enjoy raising your own vegetables in your garden and fruit from your own trees. You take naps in the afternoon and at night enjoy reading a good book next to the fire. You're probably saying to yourself, "Get real!"

Okay, so we've established that we don't live in a perfect world. In fact, maybe your life is the opposite of what I described. Tension, turmoil and stress never cease. Maybe you are filled with worry, nervousness, and anxiety. A fretful spirit seems to come about so easily.

Oh, and at night! Isn't the night the worst? Do you have those nights when you just can't sleep or you wake up in the middle of the night filled with anxiety? Maybe your heart races or palpitates and you wake up with night-sweats. Then, it's impossible to go back to sleep because you begin worrying about everything.

Jesus does not want us worry or be anxious about anything. Without Christ we have a lot to worry about. But, as Christians, Christ not only died to take away our sins, but He died and rose again to free us from all strongholds, even the stronghold of worry.

Most of us do not want to admit or share our deepest anxiety. Usually we hid our anxiety behind a smile. Sometimes we cover up our fear with laughter. I know people who laugh when they are worried or nervous.

I can't get a widow out of my thoughts. Not just any widow, but one that gave her all.

"Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny" (Mark 12:41-42).

"Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything--all she had to live on"(Mark 12:43-44).

At first glance, we might think this Scripture relates more to giving than living without anxiety, but let's look more closely. First, isn't it interesting that Christ places Himself directly in front of where the offerings are given to the temple? As God in the flesh, Christ is not only looking at the gift, but into the heart of the giver.

Furthermore, He is observing these gifts because they are gifts given to Him, God, through the temple offering.

After observing the hearts and gifts, He takes His observations to His disciples to teach them an important principle, one that I think is more about not worrying than giving. He points out to His disciples that this widow had put more into the treasury than all of the rich people. Jesus said that the rich gave out of their wealth, but the widow gave out of her poverty putting in everything, even all she had to live on.

The rich gave, but not all. On their way home from church, they still had enough for gas, groceries, eating out at a nice restaurant and maybe even a trip to the mall for those "mall priced" clothes.

But when the widow gave, she had no extra for food, clothing or other basic needs of life.

In our "American lifestyle" we would look at the widow as not only monetarily poor, but poor in money management. We might conclude that she should have known better than to give everything. This is why I can't get her out of my mind.

As a pastor, if a widow asked me if she should give her entire wealth to the Lord's work, and not have a penny left to live on, I'd advise her not to do it, unless we both knew it was from the Lord. So, this is my struggle. Why did she do this?

Consider this: The widow may have given out of her earthly poverty, but she actually gave out of her eternal trust-fund. Praise God! She had such trust in God to meet her every need, that she knew that she could give it all, and not miss a thing! She was a worriless widow.

She didn't walk away asking herself, "What have I done? How will I pay my bills and eat?" She gave having confidence, knowing that her trust in God would see her through.

We worry when our trust-fund gets low. Or maybe we've never established a trust-fund. The more I depend upon myself to provide for my family's needs of life, the more I worry and fret.

In 1980, when I first began being paid to preach, I was scared to death. I was paid so little, that I could not depend upon my salary to pay our living expenses. But, the Lord always provided. My trust-fund was low back then. I trusted God—don't take me wrong. But, I trusted Him with a whole lot of fear and doubt.

How do we build up our trust-fund? And, I hope you understand what I mean by "trust-fund". I'm not suggesting an authentic, cash in the bank, trust-fund. I'm talking about putting our trust in Jesus, and letting Him be the "fund" we trust in, trusting in Him to provide the funds.

We build up our trust-fund by exercising our faith in Jesus. The less we trust in Him, the less interest accrues toward our faith. The more interest we have in Him, the more interests we have from Him.

Many Christians are too self-sufficient, providing their own means, making their own way. Have you failed to thank God for the simple things that He has provided for you this week, such as clothes, food and shelter, not to mention other things which we may have, such as jobs and money to pay bills. Failing to acknowledge where our provision comes from (from the Lord) depletes our trust-fund.

But as we give the Lord glory and praise for everything He has given us, moment by moment, our trust-fund is established and trust begins to accrue. When trust we accrue, worry we lose!

"Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still"(Exodus 14:13-14).

Let me just pull out key phrases: "Do not be afraid" "Stand firm" "You will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today" "The Egyptians you see today you will never see again" "The LORD will fight for you" "You need only to be still"

I believe the widow was still before the Lord. She gave out of a stillness, a peaceful, serene and still heart.

TODAY'S CHALLENGE: Why worry when you can pray? If you want to invest in your trust-fund, start trusting more. Learn to take God's Word seriously. Take God at His Word! Don't be afraid when you can trust in Jesus. Jesus does not want you to be anxious about anything. Stand firm in Christ. He will deliver you TODAY! Whatever has come against you today, you will never see it again. The Lord will fight the battle for you. Be still in His power and presence.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus"(Philippians 4:6-7).

Join me tomorrow for a two part series on THANKSGIVING!!

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for establishing a trust-fund for us, that we might trust You for life, and the provision for life. Your grace is always sufficient to bring into our lives exactly what we need and when we need it. Destroy the anxiety in us and help us to then, give our all to You. In Jesus' Mighty Name AMEN!

Re-arranging my life for Christ, David L. Burns

Do these E-meditations benefit you? Would you consider sowing a rather unusual seed? NOT MONEY! Over the last two months, God has made it more evident than usual how He is using this ministry to equip believers and soften the hearts of unbelievers. So, I want to encourage you to sow a seed. Consider each E-med as a Kingdom seed, with Godly power to touch lives. I'd like to ask you to sow one seed a day by sending, faxing, forwarding or mailing an E-med to someone. Let the Spirit of God direct you as to where to sow this seed. I believe God will reap a great Kingdom harvest as His Word will not return empty.

Beg The Lord, Then Give Thanks
Pastor David L. Burns
Nov 24, 2004

-> Come With Us To The Holy Land. More information at the bottom of at the end of this teaching.

SCRIPTURE MEMORY VERSE: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts"(Psalms 139:23).

Dear Heavenly Father, send Your glory upon us and pour out Your Holy Spirit on us with such a powerful anointing that our souls will be liberated, our bodies healed and our minds renewed in Christ. Change us under the auspice of Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus' Mighty name, AMEN!

When I was young, and a new Christian, I heard a phrase, which has always stayed with me. "A Christian is just one beggar telling another beggar where the food is." We might be uncomfortable seeing ourselves as beggars, because we like to think of ourselves as a child of the King, a friend of the Savior, a royal priesthood. So are we really beggars? Technically, a beggar is someone who solicits alms for a living. We might picture a beggar as someone who is lazy and doesn't want to work, who mooches off others. But consider this: One who begs isn't necessarily lazy, but someone who knows where to go for the source.

You can call me a beggar because I know that Jesus is my source, and I have no problem going before the throne of Jesus in prayer and asking!

A man in Scripture knew the power of Christ, and so He too had no problems begging Jesus for His healing.

"While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" And immediately the leprosy left him" (Luke 5:12-13).

The Scripture says that as soon as He saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged Jesus to work in his life. He had faith in Christ, faith that Jesus would answer his request to be healed. He begged Jesus to make it so. I looked up the word "begged" in Scripture and wow, so many people came up to Jesus and begged Him to work in their life.

Here's one such example:

"And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to him and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed"(Matthew 14:35-36).

I think the Lord wants us to come before Him and beg, but let me explain what I mean. First, I'm equating begging with crying out to the Lord, knowing that He is the only One who can deliver us, knowing that as we cry out to Jesus for salvation, He is the only One who can deliver us from sin and death, knowing that as we cry out to His Spirit, He is the only one who can comfort and guide us.

King David said in a thanksgiving Psalm:

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Cry out, "Save us, O God our Savior; gather us and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, that we may glory in your praise"(I Chronicles 16:34-35).

Jehoshaphat said, `If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.' 2 Chronicles 20:9).

"The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles"(Psalm 34:17).

The man with Leprosy in our opening Scripture cried out to Jesus for something he knew only Jesus could do. We are truly thankful for those things which we have cried out to Jesus for, and He answered. We give thanks because we know where our source of deliverance came from, no doubt about it.

But those things which we fail to beg Jesus for, we start to think we have accomplished and accumulated these things on our own. Thus we never go back to thank the Lord.

Did you thank God for the hot water that you enjoyed this morning? No, probably not. You probably jumped into the shower, went over in your head all you have to accomplish today, and never thanked the Lord for the hot shower. However, I guarantee that if you've been taking cold showers every morning for a week, and crying out to the Lord for some hot water, today you would have been praising and thanking God for what you take for granted. Are you understanding what I'm teaching?

We have ingratitude for those things which we have not begged God for. But, those things which we have prayed, cried out to God for and begged Him to do, when He does it, we truly express our thankfulness to Him.

TODAY'S CHALLENGE: What are you crying out to God to do in your life, I mean really getting down on your knees in prayer daily and praying God to intervene and do a mighty work? Are you truly asking God with a heart of constant prayer? We will grow and become thankful people when we let go of doing it ourselves and begin to prayerfully cry out to God and beg Him to work in our lives. Then, we will not be able to contain expressing our jubilant thanksgiving to the Lord.

Dear Heavenly Father, help us to ask You with greater confidence. You have so much You want to do in our lies and sometimes, we have not because we ask not.. In Jesus' Mighty Name AMEN!

Re-arranging my life for Christ, David L. Burns

Believe and Ask!
Pastor David L. Burns
Nov 26, 2004

SCRIPTURE MEMORY VERSE: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts"(Psalms 139:23).

Dear Heavenly Father, send Your glory upon us and pour out Your Holy Spirit on us with such a powerful anointing that our souls will be liberated, our bodies healed and our minds renewed in Christ. Change us under the auspice of Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus' Mighty name, AMEN!

What are you asking the Lord for in your prayer time? No doubt, we carry our needs to the Lord, daily in prayer, asking Him to intervene, to open doors of opportunities and to guide us. As Christians we are to constantly stay before the Lord asking, seeking and knocking. What does this mean, exactly?

Well, maybe sometimes we think that we should not bother the Lord, by our constant asking. Have you ever been told that by constantly praying about something, that maybe you don't have enough faith to just pray and believe it's going to be?

The Word of God has much to say about going before the Lord in prayer and asking for our needs.

Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened"(Matthew 7:7-8).

We have much to prayer about! Take a moment and consider all the things you have in your life that you have to pray about. We could pray all day and all night and still not adequately pray for all of our needs and issues. That's why Paul tells us to "pray continually" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). To sufficiently cover all our requests effectively in prayer, we have to pray continually.

Does this mean that we have to talk God into doing something our way? Not at all. But, the Lord does want to see our faith and grow our faith.

Now, consider what's on your heart, something that is really troubling you, something that you would liked to see changed. As we pray continually, we are drawn into the presence of the Lord. So, during our times of asking, in our times of earnest prayer, we find ourselves more often in the presence of the Lord. Of course, the more often we are in the Lord's presence in prayer, the more we grow in our faith.

The Lord has a way of testing and growing our faith. Has your faith ever been tested, I mean really tested? Abraham was severely tested by God when ask to give up his son. He passed his faith test and God spared Isaac, his son.

Maybe you are somewhat frustrated that you can't figure God out. If you are grasping for answers and knee deep in confusion about what the Lord is doing in your life, pray! You see, even thought we can't trace God, we can trust Him. And, so often, we learn to trust Him as He allows more traceless happenings to come into our lives.

The "whys" of life have a way of increasing our prayer life and as our prayer life increases, our faith grows.

The Lord does not tell us everything we want to know. There are some mysteries of life that only the Lord knows. But, there is so much which the Lord does want to reveal to us, as we remain close to Him in prayer.

"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD" (Jeremiah 29:13-14).

Therefore, we should never give up asking the Lord for the needs of our life, the issues we deal with and the curves in the road that we will face. We need the Lord, and He promises to always be with us. Therefore, we must learn to ask and to pray without ceasing.

"If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"(Matthew 7:11).

"Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field"(Matthew 9:38).

"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them" (Matthew 18:19-20).

"If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer" (Matthew 21:22).

"Have faith in God," Jesus answered. "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, `Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours"(Mark 11:22-24).

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen"(Ephesians 3:20).

"The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help. But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives" (1 Timothy 5:5-6).

We are to be like the widow and put our full trust and hope in the lord, praying night and day, asking God for help.

"You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures"(James 4:2-3).

We must learn to pray the heart of God, asking for that which is accordance with His perfect will.

"Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him"(1 John 3:21-22).

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him"(1 John 5:14-15).

TODAY'S CHALLENGE: Don't lose heart! Never, ever give up praying for the desire of your heart. Ask boldly with confidence, believing that Christ can and will do it. Then, be ready to give thanks when the answer comes.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for hearing us, when we pray. Your Word tells us to pray in confidence, asking for Your will in our lives. Give us greater faith to ask with greater confidence. In Jesus' Mighty Name, AMEN!

Dodging God's Will
Pastor David L. Burns
Nov 29, 2004

SCRIPTURE MEMORY VERSE: "Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me"(Mark 8:34).

Dear Heavenly Father, send Your glory upon us and pour out Your Holy Spirit on us with such a powerful anointing that our souls will be liberated, our bodies healed and our minds renewed in Christ. Change us under the auspice of Your Holy Spirit. We pray this prayer not out of repetition, but in persistency, In Jesus' Mighty name, AMEN!

Oh, how we need encouragement! In fact, our hunger for constant encouragement can cause us to reject God's specific will for us and only pursue selfish agendas.

If we aren't able to receive the level of encouragement we need from others, we try to encourage ourselves by pouring everything into our jobs, hoping to establish ourselves as "great" in someone's eyes. Or at least a bigger salary will make us feel good, knowing that someone is willing to honor our hard work. Or it might be that in order to resist the specific will of God, we hide from God in our work, or in our homes and hobbies.

Following the Lord's specific will does not always bring an abundance of encouragement. In fact, Jesus says that in the last days, we, as followers of Christ, will face persecution.

"All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another"(Matthew 10:22-23a).

But Jesus said, "Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man"(Luke 6:22).

Now, notice that Jesus uses the word "when", not "if" they hate you. Knowing our future, Jesus warns that as we truly follow Him by obeying His specific will, others will hate us.

This is hard, because we want people to like us. We want to take the easy and comfortable route of being a Christian.

If we live our lives in such a way as to reject Christ's specific will, living so that others will like us, we must ask, "Am I a true follower of Christ?"

Jonah found himself in this very place, struggling with the will of God. The will of God interrupts our own agendas as God does not consult our individual social calendars before He calls us to accomplish a specific task. Nor is He concerned about our work schedules. But we are. So, we often weigh God's specific will against what we have already established as "important", namely, work, hobbies, social activities and what we have planned for our future.

This was the case with Jonah. He was told by God, "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me"(Jonah 1:2). For God to tell us to do this would be a huge interruption for most of us. However, Jonah was a prophet so He should have been prepared for such a commission. If so, why did he run?

He ran away from God for the same reasons we run away from God. We have our opinions, our beliefs, our likes and dislikes, and our own personal agendas! When God asks us to accomplish something contrary to our personally ordered life, we run and hide, hoping God will "go away" and chose someone else to do His will.

Jonah did not want to go to Nineveh because he was in conflict with these enemies of Israel. It was not what he wanted to do, so the only way out, so he thought, was to run from God. In fact, he ran the opposite direction from Nineveh to Tarshish.

TODAY'S CHALLENGE: Are you running in the opposite direction from God's specific will for your life? As a true follower of Christ, have you truly given Christ freedom to interrupt your "perfect" world? Can you truly accept His specific will for you, even if it means throwing off your social calendar and your personal agenda?

To be called a Christians means we are followers of Christ. To be a follower of Christ does not mean just going to church and following Christ by going through religious motions. It means we must follow His specific calling, His specific will in our lives. At times, this may mean going way outside of what is comfortable to us. Will we run away from God, or run to Him?

I suspect there is a bit of Jonah in each of us. And no matter how many excuses we make up, no matter how hard and fast we run away from a call which we do not like, we can never get away from God's specific call. How can we truly be a Christ follower if we are running from Him?

Today, consider God's specific call upon your life. Are you drawing close to Christ by accepting His will? Are you running from God, hiding behind your work and your social life, refusing to accept God's call? Be a follower of Christ and embrace His specific will!

Tomorrow, more on Jonah!

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for heading us off when are tempted to run away from Your perfect will for us. You have a specific calling for each of us and it is so easy to reject Your will. Give us boldness to be willing to do Your will no matter what. In Jesus' Mighty Name, AMEN!

Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People?
Pastor David L. Burns
Nov 30, 2004

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SCRIPTURE MEMORY VERSE: "Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me"(Mark 8:34).

Dear Heavenly Father, send Your glory upon us and pour out Your Holy Spirit on us with such a powerful anointing that our souls will be liberated, our bodies healed and our minds renewed in Christ. Change us under the auspice of Your Holy Spirit. We pray this prayer not out of repetition, but in persistency, In Jesus' Mighty name, AMEN!

Why do bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people? By "good", we mean people who love the Lord and try their best to follow Him. Shouldn't God spare His followers from bad things? When bad things happen to followers of Christ, does it mean their faith is weak?

The Word tells us that we live in a sinful world. In the latter days our world has become filled with more evil. Because of the fall of man, going all the way back to the Garden of Eden, In Genesis chapter three our shiny armor is dented.

Being a Christian does not eliminate us from the effects that the fall brings into our lives. For example, because of the fall, man must go through painful toil to work, which he didn't have to do before sin entered the world. Because of the fall, women became subject to their husbands to rule over them, and they would have pain in giving birth.

It doesn't matter how perfectly we try to live our lives, the consequences of the fall of man are still going to taint our world.

Jesus said, "He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous"(Matthew 5:45b).

Maybe it doesn't seem fair, that people who reject Christ are living a better life than you? Well, they appear to be, but they are not. They are not living an abundant life. They are not able to have the Holy Spirit comfort and guide their hearts. They are missing out on the power of Christ in their life. What's good about that?

But most importantly, the scales will be balanced when we die. Those who rejected Christ will experience the consequences of hell. Those who live for Jesus will be rewarded eternal life. On earth, those who reject Christ may "appear" to be getting ahead, or living a better life. They might, here on earth, but not in eternity.

Having said that, we must also understand that many of the bad things that happen to us can be avoided. Not all, but some can be avoided. When we sin, as in telling a lie, that sin can bring us great misery. The repercussions of our sin can cause bad things to happen.

In running from God, Jonah ran into some bad times which he could have avoided. As Jonah attempted to run away from God, God chased Him with a great wind and a violent storm. Jonah thought he was safe on a ship, but He failed to remember God owns the sea on which His little boat sailed!

Unable to outrun God, he fell into a depressed sleep below deck until the captain woke him up and asked him to pray to his God for deliverance. The crew cast lots and determined that their calamity was all because of Jonah running from God.

They were terrified to be associated with one who was running from the Lord(Jonah 1:10). The sea grew rougher and rougher until they realized that the only way they could survive would be to give Jonah over to God. Jonah agreed. At first, the men tried to head back to shore, but they forgot God owned the wind and waves.

Throwing him over, they thought he would die at sea. They asked for God's forgiveness in advance for throwing Jonah overboard and taking his life. But, they forgot God owns the fish in the sea! As soon as they threw him into the sea, it was calm.

God provided a fish for Jonah. What Jonah viewed as a prison, God used to set him free. As he was inside for three days and three nights, Jonah prayed and the Lord came upon Him in forgiveness and spared His life.

Now, the Lord asked Jonah for the second time to go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim the message God would give him.

Aren't we like Jonah? When Jonah was living in comfort and pleasure, he rejected God's call. Now, after God got his attention through "bad things" Jonah agreed to depend upon the One who had rescued him.

TODAY'S CHALLENGE: Jonah could have avoided a mad dash to get out of town. Jonah could have avoided the fear of the violent sea. He could have avoided being thrown into the sea. He could have avoided being swallowed by a fish. He could have avoided three days in the belly of the fish. He could have avoided being thrown up on the beach. If he would have only obeyed the Lord and accepted the call to go to Nineveh.

I've often wondered how differently the ride to Nineveh would have been for Jonah had he joyful accepted his call? When we reject God's will in our life, we can expect God to use everything which He has created to bring us back around. He can even use those things which to us are evil and violent.

Isn't it time to stop the running, take off your running shoes and get on your knees in obedience and serve the Lord.

In your running are you ruining the life of your "shipmates"?

Prayerfully ask God to reveal to you what He is calling you to do, but that you are rejecting and ignoring? Are you running from righting a wrong, making restitution? Are you running from restoring a friendship? Are you running from a call to witness and share your faith? Some bad things can be avoided through living an obedient life.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for heading us off when are tempted to run away from Your perfect will for us. You have a specific calling for each of us and it is so easy to reject Your will. Give us boldness to be willing to do Your will no matter what. In Jesus' Mighty Name, AMEN!

The Right Heart
Pastor David L. Burns
Dec 1, 2004

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SCRIPTURE MEMORY VERSE: "Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me"(Mark 8:34).

Dear Heavenly Father, send Your glory upon us and pour out Your Holy Spirit on us with such a powerful anointing that our souls will be liberated, our bodies healed and our minds renewed in Christ. Change us under the auspice of Your Holy Spirit. We pray this prayer not out of repetition, but in persistency, In Jesus' Mighty name, AMEN!

Today, we'll wrap up our study on Jonah, starting with what Jesus said about Jonah.

"He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here"(Matthew 12:39-41).

Jonah is a real person, a real book in the Bible. What happened to Jonah is real. Therefore, Christ's death burial and resurrection appears through the story of Jonah as a shadow. In other words, as we study the story of Jonah we are actually seeing in the Old Testament a shadow of what would be fulfilled in Christ in the New Testament.

For example, as Jonah was in the belly of a huge fish for three days and three nights, so was the Son of Man in the earth for three days and three nights.

The Pharisees wanted Jesus to entertain them with His power by providing the miraculous. But Jesus said that the only sign He would give them is the same sign Jonah gave Nineveh, a sign (message) to repent and turn to God.

Jesus also said that Jonah's message of repentance led to the men of Nineveh repenting. As their righteous walk aligned them with God, they too would condemn those who are evil like they once were.

Some people have trouble believing a man can live three days in a big fish, but they fail to realize just who the Lord is! Not only is the Bible the errant Word of God, but we have Jesus who validates Jonah being in the fish.

Another interesting aspect of this Scripture is that Jesus says that one greater than Jonah is here now. He is referring to His own preaching that the Kingdom of God is at hand.

As powerful as Jonah's message was, Jonah's heart was constantly under the examination of God. Yesterday, we left off as Jonah was rescued by God by being swallowed by the big fish. Jonah repented of His rebellion to some degree and agreed to preach to Nineveh.

Though his message was used of God, Jonah's heart was still not right. In preaching his "turn or burn" message, he only preached the burn part of it. The only part of his message recorded in Scripture is found in Jonah 3:4, "On the first day, Jonah started into the city. He proclaimed: "Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned."

Not only was he preaching a powerful message, but he was hoping and waiting for such destruction of these long standing Gentile enemies of Israel.

As a result of Jonah's pre