Thursday 6/11

Saturday 6/13

Have you ever heard the term, “Stop in the name of the law”? Hopefully it wasn’t because you personally were being addressed by an officer.  The term was adopted by police officers in an attempt to stop a criminal suspect, identifying themselves as ones whom are in the authority to order you to stop.

There are some sects that teach that “Jesus, and the Holy Spirit” are solely one entity, rather than 2 distinct persons.  They do this by looking at the phrase “Baptizing in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit” and saying “What is the name of the Holy Spirit”.  The error is, its not about the name, its about the authority represented by the name.

To baptize in the name of the Father, the son, and the Holy Spirit, means to baptize in the authority of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, recognizing that you have been commissioned by God to do so. Its often been said that the great commission to the church, has become the great omission by the church. Not only was the church to Baptize, but we’re also to teach others to observe all that Jesus has commanded us. Its important to note that Jesus commanded us to “teach others”, we’re not to “demand” others. If we’re teaching others to observe all that Jesus has commanded us, that means we are to live out the life that we were so called to live, and by examining our life, the lost will learn 1, who Jesus is, through our lives, and 2 how to live sold out for Him!

If you have made a commitment to Jesus Christ, and have not yet been baptized into the new life with Christ, the submersion into water (symbolic of )killing off the old nature, and coming out of the water professing your new life with Christ. I encourage you to let your pastor, family or friends know you desire to be baptized.

(Romans 6:3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?  4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Read Chapter )

2 5:17 Corinthians Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.  (Read Chapter )

If your in the immediate area and would like to be baptized, we will be having a baptismal service
July 18th Playland Beach and Playland with Calvary Chapel Westchester email me and let me know if your decision to join us jon@cfgreenwich.com

Check out our Baptism Service Online from  8/2006

"My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,' says the Lord.
'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9, Read Chapter)

God's plan for your life is far more greater than any plan you could have written yourself and actually lived every moment according to it. The key is trusting God to work it out. This week as your challenged take a step of faith by reacting differently to a circumstance that may occur and watch God work it out!

All things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28, Read Chapter)

The real problem is our "vision of the circumstances", we walk by faith and not by sight, when we observe the things of this world and they had not been foretold by God, we then trivialize the calamity, we begin to say "God must be doing this because".... ultimately the reality of what we're saying is "If I were God I would be doing this because, or if I were God, I would do it this way, or that way..." (Praise the Lord none of us are God!)

Read what God says about what he's doing -

Matthew 2:1,2  Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him." (read chapter)

Many families have different Christmas gift opening traditions. Some open one gift at midnight. My friends the Amereno's open "every gift" at midnight, so they can sleep in Christmas morning. Our family tradition was to only open gifts on Christmas morning, a tradition I still hold to today that drives my wife and kids crazy, because when you receive a gift the natural response is to open it. Even if it's a gift from a co worker, it goes under the tree till Christmas morning. Now here's another preference in tradition of unwrapping gifts, some will look for the best gift and unwrap it first, and others of us wait to crescendo and open the best gift last. Yet all of us have that one oddball gift you know you're re-gifting and it's simply going to stay wrapped because the contents didn't have any value to you personally inside.

The nation of Israel after being set free from slavery to the Egyptians and while wandering in the wilderness began to complain to Moses and God saying "why have you brought us out into the wilderness to die?" So God sent serpents to bite the complainers, and at that time some died, and others suffered great pain. While in their suffering God told Moses to set up a bronze serpent on a pole, and all those bitten and suffering and want healing need to simply look at the pole and the serpent and they will be healed Numbers 21:4-9 (read chapter). Can you imagine that some of the people still didn't unwrap that simple gift of just looking at the serpent on the pole (similar to the symbol you see at a doctor's office)?

Today we live in a time of total uncertainty, and my heart truly goes out to those that have suffered financially this year whether its stocks bottoming out, or the job loss (of which both I and my wife lost our job's this year). Whatever your situation, despair or suffering, some have learned to trust in Jesus, and have seen him come through time and time again without fail. Yet others of you like the children in the wilderness have yet to simply gaze upon Jesus and receive healing.

Some have said that the bible never says, you have to "receive Jesus" in order to be saved. False. The gift of salvation through Jesus Christ all be it free, is a gift that must be unwrapped in order to receive.  The Bible says "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:" John 1:12 (read chapter). Will the gift of salvation be the only gift unwrapped for you this Christmas season? It's the gift that you don't have to wait to unwrap its available to you now!

Have A Very Merry Christmas!