Calvary Temple

Isaiah wrote that he saw the Lord in the year that King Uzziah died.  That said a lot. He could have meant that in the year that a great and good king died…or, he could have meant that in the year that a formerly great and good king, who had a tragic and terrible end, died…Either way, Isaiah had a vision of God seated upon His throne and the hem of his robe was so big that it filled the temple.  We need a great big God right now, amidst all this political and social unrest.  You can ask the Lord to let you see Him enthroned upon your own heart and life. 

In Genesis 22 God gave Abraham an incredibly hard test.  But the Bible says in Romans 4:19-21 that Abraham did not stagger in his faith but remained faithful to God through the test.Sometimes we have hard tests to endure.  Will we stand as sure-footed and strong as Abraham did? Will we falter and have to ask God to forgive our doubts and wavering faith?  Even when we cannot see any way that God could get us through or that we could stand sure through the test, He just might surprise us with a ram stuck in the bushes that will meet every need.  Join us for this Bible Study.

In Exodus 19, God wanted to speak directly to Israel and have a relationship with them, but they recoiled and drew back away from Him and preferred Moses to do their talking for them. But when God sent his only begotten son, Jesus, to die for our sins, that precious blood not only cleanses us but it removes all traces of the sin for which we we’ve asked forgiveness and it became the basis upon which a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and the Father, could be established. Hebrews 12:18 tells us that unlike the Israelites who rejected God’s offer of love, the blood of Jesus speaks of good things for us.  Love, peace, healing, and eternal life with Him.

The Word of the Lord came to a young man named Jeremiah, whom God had chosen from his mother’s womb to be a prophet in Israel. God instructed Jeremiah to deliver a very hard and unpopular message to Israel about God’s coming judgment on them because of their idolatry and rebellion. Jeremiah 1:9,12 Then the Lord stretched out His hand and touched my mouth and said, Behold, I have put My words in your mouth; V12 …for I am watching over my word to perform it. I believe that God is still speaking today. He is telling us to be still and listen closely. Only as we put our ear to God’s heart can we truly hear his voice.

Israel needed a shepherd. They couldn’t stay in the pasture God gave them and as a result, they got into all kinds of sin and trouble. But, we too, yes, even Christians, must guard against straying off the path and getting tangled up in things that are harmful to us. But, thank God that He provided a Shepherd for us, too, and He loves us so. Jesus said in John 10 that fake shepherds are only interested in the money, and they don’t love the sheep. But our Good Shepherd loves knows and cares for the sheep of His pasture.

Ants are pretty amazing creatures. They are the most organized and industrious of all insects, and believe it or not, are a great source of protein. While we probably don’t want to eat them, God did command us in Proverbs 6:6-8 to pay attention to them. To be wise, as they are. To prepare and set aside food in the summertime for the winter and, that if we work together, we can accomplish a LOT!

Have you ever been disappointed by someone in church? The church at Corinth was also disappointed, and even mad at Paul the Apostle because he had to change his travel plans and not come stay with them through the winter. Sometimes we may experience disappointment in people, too. But the word of God says in II Corinthians 1:20 “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him AMEN, to the glory of God through us.” There is no double-talk, no second-guessing His word. He promises are Yes and Amen, always. In other words, you can securely stand upon ALL of the promises of God.

Philippians 2:12-15 tells us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling with the end result that we become Christlike, but we certainly can’t do it on our own. We need the Holy Spirit to transform us into Christlikeness so that He can then present us to the Father as His pure bride. That transformation process, which we sometimes call sanctification, might take a long while, but if we will partner with Him and give him those dead parts of ourselves, He will work on us little by little, until Jesus can be clearly seen shining through us, yes, even in those places where dysfunction and devastation used to be.

What does a move of the Holy Spirit look like today?  The book of Joel 2:28-32 tells us that it will be both seen and heard—worldwide!  It might not look like it did in days past, and it might be a bit messy, especially compared to decades of quietness in the church, but it surely will come. Jesus told the disciples in Mark 9:39 not to forbid another minister from casting out demons in His name just because he wasn’t one of the chosen disciples, for whoever isn’t against us is for us, so let him alone and let him do his own thing.  We may not have the answer to the question right now, but we do know we must be watchful and ready so we don’t miss it.  However it looks.

You may have heard that we are in a drought and that a famine is imminent in our country. The conditions were very similar in Israel, but the Lord God provided clean water for a city by putting salt into the polluted water and by using flour meal to heal a pot of poisoned soup for some Bible Students! The Bible assures us that even in difficult and scary times where our very life's resources may run low, or be compromised, our God knows how to provide for his people. He even said that the righteous would have enough to be gracious lenders to others during difficult times. Do you trust Him to provide ALL your needs? The Psamlist David said, I’ve never seen the righteous forsaken nor his descendants begging for bread. We can trust in the Lord our Provider.

Ever wonder how long God will allow the wicked to get away with their evil ways? So did David, the Psalmist. He writes in Psalm 94, How long, How Long oh Lord, will the wicked exult? It’s a fair question for today, as well! But Psalm 94 also assures us that God has reserved His judgment seat for them, and will avenge us from His and our adversaries. He will judge them with vengeance, QUICKLY. And our part is to continually cry out, day and night, to the Chief Avenger.

In Isaiah 5 we read about God’s vineyard, which represented the nation of Israel.  He did everything necessary to make the vineyard fruitful and prosper, which would have glorified God. But instead, because the people were stubborn and had evil hearts, they disrespected the land, the vines, and God, and produced only wild grapes, which had to be destroyed. The Book of John, Chapter 15 tells us that we must attach ourselves to the true vine, Jesus Christ.  He has given us all that’s necessary to be fruitful and prosper, to glorify God, the Father.  How are your grapes / fruits for the Lord’s service doing?  Do they need pruning?  Watering, cultivating?  The Master Vinedresser can help!

In John 16 Jesus told the disciples to ask the Father for anything in His name and the Father would give it to them. But, what if, when you are doing all that you can to live a God-like, holy life, and you pray to the Father in the Name of Jesus—like Jesus said to do, but you don’t see the results you expected to see, what then? Did you do something wrong or, could something else possibly be going on? Perhaps we need to look at what Job said in chapter 23:10, But he knows the way I take; and when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.

It’s such a privilege that Jesus included us in sharing the symbols of His broken body and the blood which He shed. We call this ceremony “communion.” Jesus told us to do this, and as often as we do it, to remember Him. He knew He was soon to die, but ever-thinking of His friends, family and us, He gave us all this way of remembering Him.  But it's not just a ceremony! It's our direct access to the redemption and resurrection power, in his body and blood.  What a blessed benefit from partaking of these symbols of the familiar elements of the Passover. But, those elements were missing the redemptive and resurrecting power found in the body and blood of Jesus.  Let’s remember!

This week we are blessed to receive an update from dear friends (and family), Gene and Inga Whitehead, missionaries to Sweden. If you would like to learn more about Gene and Inge's work in Sweden, or would be interested in giving to their ministry there, please visit Gene & Inga's website

Psalm 107 is such a beautiful passage of scripture. It ensures help from God for those who are exiled or banished from their home, imprisoned, sick or in peril at sea, if they call upon God for deliverance. There are many kinds of exiles, prisoners and illness. Spiritual bondage can be as devastating as physical imprisonment. A sin-sick soul will lead us to hell and, a soul who is teetering on the brink of despair can feel overwhelmed as though he were in a treacherous sea. But this chapter promises that He is full of goodness and wonderful works towards the children of men—even when we got ourselves in a mess. But, we must call to him for help. And then, most importantly, we must give thanks. We must remember his good works and give praise and glory for his deliverance.

The condition of our heart when we approach God matters very much to Him! In Numbers 20:6-13 Moses assumes a very acceptable posture of falling on his face prostrate before God and prays for a very worthy cause of needing water for the Children of Israel. All looked good from the surface.The scripture says that the glory of the Lord appeared to them there when he prayed.  But, despite God answering the prayer with very specific direction to speak to a rock and God would miraculously cause it to produce water for the people, Moses blatantly disobeyed and struck the rock instead. God called this disobedience unbelief.  Unbelief separates us from God, and ultimately, if not corrected and repented for, prevents us from achieving our goal of making Heaven our home.  It certainly kept Moses out of the Promised Land.

Do you want to be perfect? Me, too! And Jesus told us exactly how to do it, and how to be identified as children of our Father in Heaven. Sometimes it’s not easy. Sometimes, it's messy, uncomfortable and even unwanted. But our very identity is tied to it. And that is, showing the love of God to others. Even the unjust and unrighteous. Jesus showed us an example in Matthew 5:43-48 of Father God sharing his beautiful gifts of sunshine and rain with those who don’t deserve it, because he loves us so much...and he expects us to do the same. And, though it isn’t easy to do, it comes with great reward, for Jesus said in Matthew 25:37-40, if we show love to the least of these, we’ve shown it unto Him.

In Titus 1:5-12 Paul told Pastor Titus how to choose workers within the church and, very specifically, what kind of leader to avoid. We would do well to follow this pattern in electing government officials as well as church leaders! In II Timothy 1:5-8 Paul also told Pastor Timothy to remind himself of his godly heritage and the powerful gifts he’d received when he was ordained for ministry and to stir them up inside himself and see the power of God move. Paul was very clearly admonishing these young pastors that the teachings of Christ must remain pure in leaders in the government and the church, undefiled by evil men’s plans and motives and that they should not tolerate such behaviors. And, neither should we.

We find many beautiful parallels between the relationship of Jesus Christ with the church, his bride, and Jewish wedding traditions. Many of these traditions are reflected in the events surrounding the rapture of the church. Join us as we study this today.