YOUNG CONVERTS If young converts want to be used of God, they must feed on His Word. Their experience may be very good and very profitable at the outset, and they may help others by telling it; but if they keep on doing nothing else but telling their experience, it will soon become stale and unprofitable, and people will weary of hearing the same thing over and over again. But when they have told how they have been converted, the next thing is to feed on the Word. We are not fountains ourselves; but the Word of God is the true fountain. And if we feed on the Word, it will be so easy then to speak to others; and not only that, but we shall be growing in grace all the while, and others will take notice of our walk and conversation. So few grow, because so few study. I would advise all young converts to keep as much as they can in the company of more experienced Christians. I like to keep in the society of those who know more than I do; and I never lose a chance of getting all the good I can out of them. Study the Bible carefully and prayerfully; ask of others what this passage means and what that passage means, and when you have become practically acquainted with the great truths it contains, you will have less to fear from the world, the flesh, and the devil. You will not be disappointed in your Christian life. If young converts want to be used of God, they must feed on His Word. Their experience may be very good and very profitable at the outset, and they may help others by telling it; but if they keep on doing nothing else but telling their experience, it will soon become stale and unprofitable, and people will weary of hearing the same thing over and over again. But when they have told how they have been converted, the next thing is to feed on the Word. We are not fountains ourselves; but the Word of God is the true fountain. And if we feed on the Word, it will be so easy then to speak to others; and not only that, but we shall be growing in grace all the while, and others will take notice of our walk and conversation. So few grow, because so few study. I would advise all young converts to keep as much as they can in the company of more experienced Christians. I like to keep in the society of those who know more than I do; and I never lose a chance of getting all the good I can out of them. Study the Bible carefully and prayerfully; ask of others what this passage means and what that passage means, and when you have become practically acquainted with the great truths it contains, you will have less to fear from the world, the flesh, and the devil. You will not be disappointed in your Christian life. FOOD FOR THOUGHT. PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM EVERLASTIG SALVATION CHURCH OF GOD MINISTRIES PayPal.me/donatetochurch Church link: Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com Subscribe to our YouTube channel: Andra Higginbotham
Hebrews 12:14 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. Matthew 18:15 If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. Colossians 3:13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. JUST A QUICK REFRESHER. PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM EVERLASTING SALVATION CHURCH OF GOD MINISTRIES PayPal.me/donatetochurch
THE BIBLE SPEAKS ABOUT GROWING OLD Aging in the Bible is said to be a sign of experience. The Lord promises His continued love and concern for the elderly. “I will be your God throughout your lifetime — until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you (Isaiah 46:4). EXODUS 20:12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. ISAIAH 46:4 Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. JOB 12:12 Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding? LEVITICUS 19:32 “ ‘Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the LORD. GOD WILL BE WITH US EVEN IN OUR OLD AGE. GOD WILL NOT STOP TAKING CARE OF US. PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM EVERLASTING SALVATION CHURCH OF GOD MINISTRIES PayPal.me/donatetochurch Church link: Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com Subscribe to our YouTube channel (Andra Higginbotham)
BIBLE FACTS A theme of Scripture often overlooked is what the Bible promises to do for God’s people. The Word, under various synonyms, is said in Psa. 19:7, 8 to convert the soul, make wise the simple, rejoice the heart, and enlighten the eyes. These great rewards are given to all who keep the precepts of Scripture, v.11. Men are born again through the instrumentality of the Word, Jas. 1:18; 1 Pet. 1:23. Faith comes to believers as they hear the Word, Rom. 10:17. Spiritual growth results from the realized desire for the sincere milk of the Word, 1 Pet. 2:2; 2 Pet. 3:18. Great peace have they who love God’s Word, Psa. 119:165. Those who obey it are promised divine blessings, Jas. 1:25. In the same way that Christ overcame the devil by using the written Word, Matt. 4:1–11, Christians are able to overcome the wicked one as the Word abides in them, 1 John 2:14. Paul spoke of the Word as able to build us up, Acts 20:32. An entire book has been written to provide the assurance of salvation, which is normal Christian experience, 1 John 5:13. It is the Word that sanctifies or cleanses, John 17:17, acting as a laver which reveals sin and provides cleansing as well, Eph. 5:25–27. The promise is given that those who honor the Word will find prosperity and success in all of God’s will, Josh. 1:8; Psa. 1:3. I HOPE YOU RECEIVED FROM THIS POWERFUL QUICK STUDY. PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM EVERLASTING SALVATION CHURCH OF GOD MINISTRIES PayPal.me/donatetochurch Church link: Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com Subscribe to our YouTube channel (Andra Higginbotham)
“I Just Know That God Has to Be Fed Up with Me” I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Phil. 1:6) One of the major difficulties we have with believing that God loves us is that we think he’s a lot like us. We love starting over. We tell ourselves that what’s needed is a fresh start, and so we throw ourselves into new relationships and situations. We trade romantic partners, begin friendships, move into different neighborhoods, and give ourselves to new jobs with starry-eyed enthusiasm, certain that these relationships and settings will be better than what we’ve left behind. Then reality settles in. Our new friends let us down. The neighborhood doesn’t feel as warm and welcoming as it once did. The new company has its own dysfunctional ways of doing things that pinch us in different ways. Everyone knows exactly what we mean when we sigh, “Yeah, the honeymoon is over.” But then we start looking around all over again, wondering, “Is the grass over there less brown than it is here?” We all do this. So it’s not surprising that we expect God to feel the same way toward us—“Surely at some point he has to realize the mistake he made getting involved with me and will decide he is ready to move on.” We mistake him for a Pollyannaish optimist who is hopelessly naïve and hasn’t yet had a strong enough dose of reality to turn him into a jaded cynic … like the rest of us. We look at the hard-heartedness and half-heartedness that we offer him and cannot imagine him—or anyone—hanging in with us, much less passionately loving us. We get trapped because we make too much of ourselves and too little of him. We see the mess and failure of our lives as being too great for anything to reshape them. And we see the strength of his commitment to us as being too weak to match the self-destructiveness that we carry inside. It’s time to give him more credit. God is not surprised that your life doesn’t perfectly reflect his glory. But he does intend it to. Jesus did not die for the mere possibility that you might end up a little bit better than you used to be. He died to guarantee that one day you would be pure and perfect, just like him. One thing stands out throughout Scripture: everything that God starts, he finishes. When he brought you into a relationship with himself, he first committed himself to finishing the work that he would begin in you (see Phil. 1:6). His commitment to you not only predates your commitment to him; it is the foundation upon which your commitment is built (see Eph. 1:4, 11–12). Be confident then. One day you will love him just as fully and completely as he loves you. THINK ABOUT IT: In your friendship with Christ, do you spend more time thinking about your relational weaknesses and failures or about his relational strengths? THINK ABOUT IT: Jesus is much more committed to you than you are to the sin that keeps you from him. NOW: Make a list, from Scripture and from your personal life, of all the ways that Jesus has shown how committed he is to you. GOD LOVES US!!! OUR GOD WILL NEVER STOP LOVING US!!! PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM EVERLASTING SALVATION CHURCH OF GOD MINISTRIES PayPal.me/donatetochurch Church link: Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com Subscribe to our YouTube channel: Andra Higginbotham
God’s acts are righteous. “I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight” (Jer. 9:24, NIV). “The Lord our God is righteous in everything He does” (Dan. 9:14, NIV). We may question God’s plans and even accuse Him of being unfair, but nobody can succeed in proving that God has ever done anything wrong. HAS GOD BEEN UNFAIR TO YOU? HAS GOD DONE ANYTHING WRONG TO YOU? PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM EVERLASTING SALVATION CHURCH OF GOD MINISTRIES PayPal.me/donatetochurch Church link: Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com
PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH: 1 JOHN 3:18 Dear children, we must show love through actions that are sincere, not through empty words. Men try to appear excellent in their preaching; they are less excellent in practicing what they preach. SHOW LOVE THROUGH ACTION, NOT THROUGH EMPTY WORDS. IF YOU CAN’T WALK IT, DON’T TALK IT. THINK ABOUT IT. PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM EVERLASTING SALVATION CHURCH OF GOD MINISTRIES PayPal.me/donatetochurch
Our God is a righteous God. His character is holy and without sin (1 John 1:5), and all that He says and does is right and just. “He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He” (Deut. 32:4, NKJV). “For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness; His countenance beholds the upright” (Ps. 11:7, NKJV). God’s Word is righteous. “I open my lips to speak what is right … All the words of my mouth are just; none of them is crooked or perverse. To the discerning all of them are right; they are faultless to those who have knowledge” (Prov. 8:6, 8–9, NIV; see Ps. 119:138). The Word of God reveals the God of the Word; His Word, like His character, can be trusted. Other nations had their gods, temples, priests, and sacrifices, but only the people of Israel worshiped the living God who spoke to them and gave them His Word. “Did any people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and live? Out of heaven He let you hear His voice, that He might instruct you; on earth He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words out of the midst of the fire” (Deut. 4:33, 36, NKJV). However, the privilege of hearing God’s Word brings with it the responsibility of obeying what He commands. “You shall therefore keep His statutes and His commandments which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which the Lord your God is giving you for all time” (Deut. 4:40, NKJV). “See that you do not refuse Him who speaks” (Heb. 12:25, NKJV). OUR GOD IS HOLY, OUR GOD IS RIGHTEOUS!!! LISTEN TO OUR GOD AND OBEY OUR GOD!!! PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM EVERLASTING SALVATION CHURCH OF GOD MINISTRIES PayPal.me/donatetochurch
THE BIBLE TEACHES US ABOUT DESIRES: Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Galatians 5:16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 1 Corinthians 6:12 Someone may say, “I’m allowed to do anything,” but not everything is helpful. I’m allowed to do anything, but I won’t allow anything to gain control over my life. Matthew 26:41 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. WALK WITH GOD, STAY IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD. CONTROL YOUR DESIRES. PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM EVERLASTING SALVATION CHURCH OF GOD MINISTRIES PayPal.me/donatetochurch
Make Way for the Righteous! Those who obey the wisdom taught in God’s Word will become more skillful in handling the affairs of life. But we must not think that this wisdom is a set of rules or a collection of “success formulas” that anyone can occasionally apply as he or she pleases. Following God’s wisdom is a full-time endeavor. His Word must first work within our hearts and transform our character before we can become the kind of people God can guide and bless. You don’t need godly character these days to be a success in making money. Many Hollywood celebrities, dishonest businessmen, and deceptive politicians have proved that. But if you’re concerned with making a life, you must major on building godly character. This explains why the words righteous and righteousness are used so often in Proverbs. Wisdom leads, “in the way of righteousness” (8:20) and, “in the way of righteousness is life” (12:28). “The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing” (10:28, NIV). The wicked have hopes, but they’re false hopes, so it behooves us to examine our own hearts to make sure we’re among the righteous who truly have hope, and that we’re the kind of people the Lord can trust with His blessings. SELF-CHECK: DOES YOUR LIFESTYLE CAUSE GOD TO WANT TO BLESS YOU? CAN GOD TRUST YOU WITH HIS BLESSINGS? PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM EVERLASTING SALVATION CHURCH OF GOD MINISTRIES PayPal.me/donatetochurch
