Faith & Desires
Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Psalms 37:4

Can you imagine your child seeing that you are cooking breakfast and he would keep asking you if you are going to allow him to eat. How would that make you feel? Would you think that your child believes in the love that you have for him? I think that God feels the same way when we have a lack of faith in His love and provision for us. God cares about every detail of our life. God does not turn a blind eye or a deaf eye to our petitions. He is there and more than willing to answer our petitions when we ask in FAITH!

How does one ask in faith? We find a scripture that covers the need we have and then we ask God to help us according to that promise. God is willing, able, and wanting to complete His word in our lives. Then the battle begins in our mind. We ask in faith and then the devil fills our mind with all kinds of doubts and fears that beat up against us taking our mind off the promise. Let’s say you have your vision of what you would like to do. But you don’t have the money nor do you know anyone who can lend you the money. In Psalms 20: 4; “He (God) will give you your heart’s desire and make your plans succeed.”

What’s the catch? We need to seek to do God’s will first in our lives and He will add everything else. That does not mean we have to be perfect in our actions, not just in our heart. In other words, our motives must be sincere and pure. God is not looking for a perfect person. If we look at many of the Bible heroes, we can see they were far from perfect. Remember King David. This guy was far from perfect but God said he was a man after God’s own heart! What does that mean? David’s heart before God was sincere. He did not make excuses for his sin. He asked for forgiveness, left that sin and moved on.

God wants us to succeed. He wants us to prosper. Why? So, we can show others how great our God is and so we can bless others with that what we have received from Him. Go ahead, dream big and ask God to bless that which you desire to do to further His Kingdom on earth.

Are you in the Race?
You’ve all been to the stadium and seen the athletes’ race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You’re after one that’s gold eternally. I don’t know about you, but I’m running hard for the finish line. I’m giving it everything I’ve got. No sloppy living for me! I’m staying alert and in top condition. I’m not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself. I Cor. 9:25-27; (MSG)

The key word for us today is discipline. I know that for me that is sometimes very difficult for me to stay on track. Right now, I am working out in the gym. I did this many years ago when I was a young man. But now working out again I do not know I had so many different places that could hurt. I hurt all over and I felt like quitting but I know if there is no pain there is no gain. I need to train hard so I can get into condition and live a long and healthy life.

The apostle Paul was using this example to help us understand that we need to stay fit spiritually as well. What needs to take place for us to stay spiritually fit? To name a few; we need to pray, read and meditate on scripture, understand that we are in a battle and we must use the tools of God to win that battle, we need to resist evil and the oppressor, and we must have a heart of compassion and mercy towards the less fortunate.

I don’t know about you but at times I get really lazy. I use the excuse that I am too busy to do all of those things to keep me spiritually fit. But I know if I don’t stay spiritually fit, I am a target for the devil. I will become negative, resentful, and full of excuses for not obeying God. When this happens, I don’t even want to be around myself.

I have served the Lord for 53 years and I know that there have been many ups and downs in my life. I have had many questions which are still unanswered. But one thing I know for sure that as much as I minister to others God makes me learn the lesson first so I can teach others with knowledge and understanding. This I know, I don’t teach the Word of God because I can do everything that it states I should do. I teach the Word of God because it is true! Let’s stay fit so we can serve the Lord!

He came to Serve!
Just as the Son of Man came not to be waited on but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many [the price paid to set them free]. Matt. 20:28; (AMP)

How foreign is this concept to modern man. We want to be served and served with excellence. This is the mentality of the world. We are all caught up regarding our rights. We demand our rights. And if we don’t get our way we get angry and boisterous. However, this not the way we should be if we love God. Christ came to serve man. He healed us, He fed us, He washed our feet, He prayed for us, and ultimately, He died for us. Can you imagine that God humbled himself to serve mankind?

Christ came with a mission. His mission was to set us free from the bondages of hell here on earth and to provide us with eternal freedom in Him. Freedom came at a terrible price. Christ had to die on the cross of Calvary to pay a debt. Our debt! He paid with His death so we can have a NEW LIFE in Him. Not just a make-over, but a brand-new beginning. He did not come to establish a church or religion. He came that we might have a direct relationship with Father God though Him. He demonstrated this by teaching us the true way to love. To love as God, we put others first. To love like God, we look for ways to help and mend brokenness in people’s lives. True love is sacrificial.

Christ facing His death on the cross did not even defend himself. He did not complain. He didn’t say it was unfair. He knew that Father God was in control. Jesus knew that he did not need to protest. He stated that it was unto this end (the cross) that He came so we might have an abundant life in Him. He rested in the love of His father knowing that He completed His mission on earth. The next time you want to fight for your rights look better in how you might serve someone. Let Christ be our example, not the world!

Greetings from Bangladesh from Pastor Ashik who oversees the ministry we are supporting.

He is in charge of providing bible studies to many children and to win people to Jesus who are Muslim. They are doing a great job working for the Lord Jesus!
They have just experienced devastating monsoon rain which has destroyed their home and the city where they live.
We are asking if you could send us a tax-free donation of any amount so we may help them rebuild their home.

You can send your donation to our mailing address Harvest Evangelistic Association PO Box 934 Rosamond, CA. 93560 or to our Zelle account
To HarvestEvangelisticAssociation@aol.com

Thank you,
Claudia and Timothy Emerick

Set the Standard!
“Praise the LORD! How joyful are those who fear the LORD and delight in obeying his commands. Their children will be successful everywhere; an entire generation of godly people will be blessed. They themselves will be wealthy, and their good deeds will last forever.” Psalms 112: 1-3; New Living Translation

In the scripture today we can see the benefit of people who are godly. But what does the word godly mean? According to Vines Complete Expository Dictionary of the Old and New Testament Words one definition of the word godly means to be honest, just or to act right. Vines Dictionary states that it is a just or godly person who sets the standard for doing right. This standard is not set my men but by God. The godly person is a person who stands by their word. It is a person who does right to other people.

We live in a world where most people want to take short cuts to get ahead. If they need to lie a little to get ahead that’s OK. If they need to cheat a little to get ahead that’s OK. If they need to cheat on their taxes that’s OK. If they want to make money quickly by using false advertising, it’s OK. If they have a business and they offer inferior quality to make money, that’s OK. If they have to lie and say falsehoods to get ahead, that’s OK. It is OK to the world but not to God.

My father told me many times when I was growing up that all a person has is their word. If you can’t trust the word of a person, you can’t trust the person. He also stated that a person who lies to you will eventually steal from you. Our word is all we have to offer to demonstrate who and what we are made of.

Can people trust in your word? Are you a person of your word? When you say you will do something will you do it at the time you state you would do it? Do you lie or cheat to get ahead? Remember the blessings of being a godly person is not only for you but for generations to come in your family. What you do today echoes throughout eternity. By what standard do you live by?

Remember what you sow is what you will reap!

Our doctor Jesus!
And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. Acts 10:38, New Living Translation (NLT).

Have you seen your children lying sick with fever and we wished to take their place so they wouldn’t have to suffer. Well, that is what Jesus did for you and me! It says in I Peter 2: 24, “By his wounds you are healed.” You don’t know how many times I have seen the healing power of God touch people and make them whole. I have a good friend who name is Jeff and he is a Christian and a therapist and prays for his patients and God heals them. The Bibles states that those who believe in Christ will pray for the sick and God will heal them (Mark 16: 15-16).

Are you sick? The scripture is clear stating that sickness comes from the devil not from God. God does not want you to be sick. God wants you whole, full of life, energy and happiness. As you love your children and you don’t want them to be sick neither does God because He loves you even more! God does not want you sick. If you are tired of being sick emotionally, psychologically, physically, or spiritually please repeat these words out loud with me.

Dear God, I thank you Jesus that you took all of my diseases. Thank you by your power. I am whole and full of energy and I have power. I thank you that in Jesus I am complete. I lack nothing! I thank you Jesus that you live in me and I live for you. I thank you God that I have received everything that I have just confessed. Amen.

What is your excuse?
“He who observes the wind [and waits for all conditions to be favorable] will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.” Ecc. 11:4 (AMP).

This scripture speaks about a person that looks at the storms of life and waits and says I am not going to help others until all of the conditions in my life are perfect. God has called us in the middle of a dark and confused world to minister to people. We must remember that conditions will never be perfect to help others. But many people have many excuses for not serving God. We say that we are too old, too young, I don’t have time, I don’t have any money, I have too many of my own problems, it’s too hard, too early, I don’t know how to do this, I have kids, or I am taking care of my business, etc. What are we really saying to God? We are saying do not disturb me.

We must understand if we stand around waiting for everything to be perfect to serve God we will never sow into people’s lives. If we don’t sow we will never reap what God has for us. We must be ready to be used by God when it is convenient or inconvenient. But we are addicted to being convenient. If we go shopping and the escalator does not work we start to complain instead giving thanks to God that we have two good legs. We are addicted to entertainment and think that we should be entertained all of the time.

We don’t like to see the ugliest in the world because it means we have to do something to alleviate the pain and suffering of others. We need to get our eyes off of ourselves and reach out to others. We don’t need to pray if we should help people. God has called us to be the light in the middle of a dark world. If you don’t sow you will not reap. You need to sow time, money, mercy, compassion, patience, and love to reap these very same things when we will need them. Get your head out of the clouds, look around and help someone in need. Find someone who right now needs help and help them!

Do you want to make God happy? Help somebody!

The Doctrines of Baptisms
Introduction
The word baptizes (βαπτίζω) in Greek means to be dipped or immersed in water. Water baptism is not necessary for salvation. When a person is born again, they are baptized into the body of Christ. Water baptism is a recognition making a public statement that you are a Christian. Baptism refers to the person in their entirety, spirit, soul, and body and is an act of total surrender to Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
The following scriptures are in Matthew 26: 23. Mark 14: 20. John 13 :26 -27th.
The next scripture is in Hebrews 6:1-6 In verse 2 we see the word in plural baptisms. There are three types of baptism mentioned in scripture.
The first example of baptism John the Baptist preached repentance and the people were baptized. Matthew 3:13-17. It is here Jesus set the pattern or example of how one is to be baptized in water.
The second baptism is Matthews 28:19 where Jesus says go ye and teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
The third baptism the New Testament is Acts 1:5, which speaks about the baptism of the Holy Spirit in the Day of Pentecost.

Death & Resurrection
Romans 6:2-7
“Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

Baptism speaks off the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For those who were baptized it means death of your former lifestyle. And coming up out of the water is your resurrection to living a new life in the power of God. The Apostle Paul wants us to understand that we are dead to sin. That means we are not going to give place to sin in our lives. And we will be guided by the Holy Spirit who gives us the power over sin and Satan.