Five Stones

Beloved, the word revival stems for the word ‘revive', which only occurs in the Bible 8 times. One of those places is Psalm 85:6 “Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?” A revival occurs wen something which was once alive, is brought back to life… There has many revivals throughout our great land and even in our specific locale… The Lord did this before and I am convinced He will do so again… We, his people, must be willing to see a revival again.. to seek His face, his will, His way through His word so glory God may pour throughout our valley once more… so those who were once on fire for Christ, would set ablaze again the Holy Spirit in their life… so those who know not Jesus, will come to saving knowledge of the grace of God! '... People abandoned theatres, taverns and Music Halls in order to be a part of the revivalist congregations. ... The call for temperance and social purity would see great momentum, but in the manner of simple social reform, but rather through the coveted testimonies of the newly saved. Social and religious life of the Cynon Valley and elsewhere, was altogether lifted onto a higher plane.' In the early months of 1859 Saron Chapel would see fifty new souls saved and become members of the church each month for four consecutive months. The huge increase in Saron's membership first presented few problems as this chapel had been enlarged in 1856 to provide seating capacity for a little over 900, making it the largest chapel ever built in the Cynon Valley. Revival meetings lasted anything up to five hours each, without a break… with the pews filled to the brim… Oh that we would see that again…

II Corinthians 5:14-17 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: 15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. 16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. 17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” Just imagine with me today… a innocent man, one Who had done no wrong, had no evil thoughts, no deceit ever present… but pure, honest… perfect… (I realise among humans this is an impossibility)… but there was One, Who took the form of a man… Who was perfect in every way, Who He Himself knew not sin and yet looked upon a civilisation past, present and future full of sin and in the midst of despair, and willing stood in their place they my live…

“Believe”, which is defined as to accept that something is true, especially without proof. No one should ever allow their own opinions, positions, preferences and for that matter agendas to override the authority of Holy Scripture… *John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Grace - the unmerited favour with God… Romans 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Romans 4:4, 16 “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.” ... 16 “Therefore it is] of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,” Grace is not a mandate… Grace is just there… it is held within the gift of God found solely through faith: Ephesians 2:8-10 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

The False Truth of Solitude Psalm 13:1-2“How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me? 2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?” There are days in our life which feel as if we are the only one going through tough times… Often we experience of solitude… we struggle with the thought of thinking we are the only one going through a certain issue…We often find ourselves thinking, “I don't know if I'm ever going to get out of these circumstances.” God's love for His children is incomparable with any affection we may see in our life and the assurance He has given us of such care is present every day.

Many times we pray and pray and pray and in the end, we may not get what we want.... If we are honest, what we truly want. How do we react? Do we stop praying? Do we go after what we want anyway? Do we settle back, trusting the Lord with His answer, knowing He has the best plan ready and waiting for us?

Anxiety is a feeling of unease, such as worry or fear, that can be mild or severe. some people find it hard to control their worries. Their feelings of anxiety are more constant and can often affect their daily lives. John 14:1 "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me." One of the key factors of releasing anxiousness and the feeling of being overwhelmed is to know one has support… encouragement… comfort if you will. A support team of friends and family is a sure way to at least find comfort in the mist of episodes… However, in order to work away from those days where the schedule, work, responsibilities or maybe just ADL seem to overtake and rob you of peace, it is comforting to know the King of kings, the God of gods… the Creator of all things is watching over you.

Mental-Emotional-Spirtual Wellness Society as a whole spends thousands on their physical wellness, and rightly so, but what our mental, emotional and spiritual wellness? Our life is made of areas we can mainly control, our Discipline, Decisions, Direction and even our Defence. All of these points, are inherently positive… Having a disciplined mindset, making the right decisions which lead in the right directions and the defending your ground. What happens when we know to do right… when we have strived to become the person we should.. living with discipline… then just one a whim… we make the wrong choice… we let our guard down… we lean toward the wrong direction… and what if the one wrong move… altered the direction of day? Week? Month? Year?… even our life… How are we to deal with defeat?

Beloved, the lesson to learn here is that our Lord's first concern is not ‘what' we give... but ‘how' we give it. !The Lord is concerned ‘how' we give our Time, Talent and Treasure... It never has been an element of quantity, but rather that of quality. !Friend, Christ is interested in your motive for giving – now look at it this way: *“And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.” – Christ is interested in your motive to walk the mile and whether or not it represents a dedicated sacrifice on your part!

Dr. R.A. Torrey, founder of the Montrose Bible Conference in PA, gives this definition of faith: “To believe God, is to rely upon or have unhesitating assurance of the truth of God's testimony, even though it is unsupported by any other evidence, to rely upon and have unfaltering assurance of the fulfillment of His promises, even though everything seems against fulfillment.” Beloved, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is never blind – this faith relies upon a full knowledge of the Lord as given in His perfect Word…Without faith, we cannot please God - Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Faith has been given to each and everyone of us conceived into this world… everyone has faith…

This is the final instalment on the topic of "Consider The Source" The 'source' is the foundation of our faith: the doctrine of the Bible as sole authority for faith and practice. All foundational doctrines rest upon this very one truth. If on cannot or will not come back to the source, then nothing is real… What does it mean that the Scripture is authoritative for the Christian's faith and practice? To hold in the verbal and plenary inspiration of the Old and New Testaments. The Bible as a direct revelation from God and the it (Bible) is infallible, inerrant and God's words written to mankind.

Philippians 4.8-9 “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.” What Paul and Barnabas taught the whole year in Antioch for the disciples to first be called Christians, meaning Christ-like, becomes quite self evident whilst reading through Paul's epistles. Again, we need a source in our life which doesn't contradict itself and never changes, we have such a source in the pure, precious, perfectly preserved INSPIRED word of God. This is where we find Paul's “teaching syllabus” on instructing the disciples how to live, which, again, resulted in them being called Christians FIRST in Antioch…

What do we believe? What do you believe? How do you share you faith, belief etc…The Trinity: God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three and yet one, all fully God;The absolute inspiration, inerrancy and infallibility of the Holy Scriptures;The incarnation, virgin birth, sinless life, death, burial, resurrection and substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ; The personal salvation of those who put their faith in the gospel of Christ; and The reality of the Second Coming, Heaven and Hell all fo these are fundamental truths, we hold to these truths as our fundamental basis of belief as a Christian… But where do we establish a solid mindset… Well we must consider the source..

Philippians 3:13 “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Everyone wants the prize… Everybody wants to stand on the winners podium, above the others receive the gold metal, trophies and the accolades which follow. However , everyone doesn't want to do what is needed to get there… and that is FORGETTING that which is behind… Friend, you cannot press toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of God whilst holding on to what happened or what used to be…

Complacency is the silent killer… the thief in the night who robs you of peace, joy, and success… It develops in us a sense of entitlement and rather I should say the sin of entitlement for no nation has ever remained successful with the root of an entitled generation are the helm… When asked what the greatest enemy to winning is, Coach Nick Saban answered “… being satisfied with where you are…complacency creates a blatant disregard for doing what is right… you can't do the things you feel like doing, you have to choose to do the things that are are going to help you accomplish the goals you have… When you are complacent you lose the respect for winning. Complacency has a way of rooting into the life of a believer who will settle back on their lees, being picked apart of what Christ ultimately wants for their life…Give a listen to this brief message in hopes to help you avoid complacency in your life.

The book of Isaiah is not only a marvellous book speaking of the judgment upon Judah, Israel and the surrounding heathen nations, but it also speaks of a beautiful story of redemption. Made up of 66 chapters, the undertones of the first 39 chapters echo the climate of the Old Testament whereas the latter 27 reflect inherently of the New. We find harsh words spoken during some difficult times for the people of God, who have made their own choices by turning away from God and yet in the midst of these words of judgement; comfort, forgiveness and mercy can still be reached. Join us today for a short and simple devotion found in chapter 1 of Isaiah's prophecy.

We find in Romans 13 a beautiful picture as well as instructions on how and why we should live intentionally in this present world. Considering the present climate, it is imperative we live a life not only 'on' purpose, but with 'a' purpose. Join in on today's brief words of encouragement as we discuss this matter of Living Intentionally.

Jesus Christ made many bold claims while on the earth and yet His actions reinforced His words and authority as the Son of God... Today we look at another miracle performed by Jesus during His earthly ministry which gives us further encouragement to trust our Lord in every aspect of our life. Today we look at "The Miracle in the Impossible as Victor", from Mark 5.35-43.

Jesus Christ made many bold claims while on the earth and yet His actions reinforced His words and authority as the Son of God... Today we look at another miracle performed by Jesus during His earthly ministry which gives us further encouragement to trust our Lord in every aspect of our life. Today we look at "The Miracle in the Medical as Healer", from Mark 5.25-34.

Jesus Christ made many bold claims while on the earth and yet His actions reinforced His words and authority as the Son of God... Today we look at another miracle performed by Jesus during His earthly ministry which gives us further encouragement to trust our Lord in every aspect of our life. Today we look at "The Miracle in the Spiritual as Saviour", from Mark 5.1-20.

We all experience storms in our life and there is a way to remove our focus upon the situations and circumstances of life when we realise Who controls it all.

We take a quick look at nine foundations which are daily being attacked in our modern society, but we do not have to lose faith, rather trust in precious Holy Scripture to assured and blessed.

Have you ever wondered what your place is in this world or what you may offer society? Take a little over 5 minutes today and be encouraged by seeing what God thinks of you and how your life is here to be a blessing as we bring glory unto the Lord.