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Religious Articles

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WHAT IS YOUR TESTIMONY?
Deuteronomy 6:20-25
20 When your son asks you in time to come, saying, “What is the meaning of the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which the Lord our God has commanded you?21 then you shall say to your son: “We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand;22 and the Lord showed signs and wonders before our eyes, great and severe, against Egypt, Pharaoh, and all his household.23 Then He brought us out from there, that he might bring us in, to give us the land of which He swore to our fathers.24 And the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is this day.25 Then it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to observe all these commandments before the Lord our God, as He has commanded us.

What have you learned and experienced with the Lord that you can go back and teach to your children?
Can you look back over your life and see God at work?

Do you have a personal testimony to share with others?

God's word, the bible commands parents to diligently teach children the ways of the Lord (Deut 6:7-9). However, parents must study the bible and heed God's commandments themselves; otherwise they will lack the necessary knowledge and have no personal testimony to share.

We sin not only because of our fleshy desires, but because of unbelief. The unbelief that there are no consequences for sinners, failure to believe the Holy Spirit can cleanse us from sin, or it can be our failure to believe and acknowledge that we are all Childen of God. Its unbelief that kept the children of Israel out of the promise land, and that all were once slaves to sin (Rom 6:27) lost in bondage but was brought of it by God’s mighty hand and found by. The Israelites were unbelievers in God while serving time as slaves to the Egyptian Pharoh, Ramses. They failed to believe God's promise to deliver them and suffered abuse for many years at the hands of Pharaoh and his army.

Today, we can liken the Isralites' egyptian bondage to our "bondage of sin". The Bible tells us that God "brought the Israelites out of the land of bondage (Egypt) with a mighty hand"! Today, God can and will deliver us from the "land of bondage" (our sins) as believe and have faith in Him. Just as God promised to "show signs and wonders" of deliverance to the Israelites (Deut 6:22), the day is near that he will exemplify all his glory and "show signs and wonders" to us, when Armageddon is upon us.. .The signs for the children of Israel were the plagues that God brought upon Pharaoh and his egyptian constituents, and by parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 13-14) in order to provide a seemingly impossible escape route for his people.

Take a look at your life, have you seen any signs and wonders? It could have been that you were addicted to drugs, craving them day and night, but now the Lord has delivered you from it and you no longer desire them. You may have been extremely ill, barely able to function as a normal human being, but now you are healed and in good health! No matter what your situation was, is, or may have been, God is the "deliverer"!

His holy spirit encourages us and guide us, so that we may live life free and more abundantly, while walking by faith and following the footsteps of Christ Jesus, our Lord. Many times, God allows us to endure trials and tribulations so that we can have a testimony to share with others. When you think about your life and past experiences, you will see how the Lord has saved and delivered you, and given you a testimony that enables you to personally preach about God's mighty works. And remember, do not allow sin or trials to overtake you, under any circumstances, for the bible tells us,".. to throw our burdents on God, for he himself will sustain you, never allowing the righteous one to totter" (Psalms 55:22), nor will he ".... place more on us than we can bear" (1 Col 10:13) and know that all hardships you experience, are simply " testimonies in the making"! Please be encouraged to share your experiences with your children, while raising them in the ways of the lord so that they may learn from your mistakes and be brought up in righteousness.

Contributed by reader, M. Davis, Virginia

Two of the Bible's Greatest Commandments

(Matthew 22:36-40)

^{How many of you would steal from yourself? Or lie on yourself? Or murder yourself? Not to many of us would. In Matthew 22:36-40*, The Lord tells us to love Him with all our being and to love our neighbors as we would love ourself. In fact the Lord Jesus taught that ALL of the Law hangs on two very important commandments.}

^{The passage reads as follows:}

^*36"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" ³⁷Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'^[b] ³⁸This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'^[c] ⁴⁰All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

Our Lord Jesus said that all the Law hang on these two commandments(Matt 22:36-40), to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, and soul and to love our neighbors as ourselves. If you take a look at the Ten Commandments found at Exodus 20:1-17*, you see how they corelate with the scriptures foud in Matthew. In Exodus chapter 20:

The first of four of the Ten Commandments deal with our Lord God:

1. You shall have no other gods before Me.

2. You shall not make yourself any idols.

3. You shall not take the Lord's name in vain.

4. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

Therefore, if we were to love the Lord with all our heart, mind, and soul we wouldn't violate these first four commandments.

The last six commandments tell us how to love one another:

5. Honor your father and mother.

6. You shall not murder.

7. You shall not commit adultery.

8. You shall not steal.

9. You shall not bear false witness

10. You shall not covet your neighbor's goods

In closing, please remember and make an effort to abide by the two great commandments (Matt 22:36-40) to exist peacefully amongst ourselves and more importantly to have peace with God.

* Biblically scriptures, excerpts and/or partial quotes found in the New International Bible

This article was written and submitted by C. Jones.

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Scripture Share: John 5: 1-9

I read John 5:1-9 a few times. It answered a few questions I had and it can also serve as a personal guide on what I need to do in my life. I guess I'll share first with you, what I learned from this passage and then share the questions that I have from this passage.

When I read this passage, I pictured a huge multitude of sick people just waiting around this healing pool.... waiting and waiting for the pool to be stirred. Once the pool is stirred, I can imagine the sick people just pushing others down to be the first in the pool....almost like a brawl. Now this certain man that had his sickness for 38yrs must have been there feeling completely helpless, because no one took the time to help him; all the others are looking out for themselves. I don't blame them, because I know they are desperate to be healed. Then I imagine all the healthy people passing by looking down on this great multitude of sick people and neither caring, nor wanting to get involved; they are afraid of getting sick themselves. Jesus approaches the sick man and asks him the question, " Do you want to be made well?" You would think the sick man would have given the very simple one word answer....YES, but he didn't. He went on and made excuses why he wasn't getting well, blaming others when his answer should have just been yes.

This story can be applied to daily situations people experience in their lives. For example,

1. Whenever and whatever we may be going through in life we know that Jesus can fix it, but way too often for myself I'm just like this man. Jesus ask us the very same question, Do you want to be made well? (That is in all aspects of our life..finances, health, spiritual growth, faith, etc.) We should be able to just say YES because not only do we know He can do it but that we also BELIEVE He can do it. We have to truly search our hearts to determine if we want to be made well.

Alot of people say they want to be made well in whatever aspect of life, but deep down in their heart they really don't want to be. Because if we truly wanted to be well we would take the necessary actions to do so. How can I better my finances when I don't save or just blow my money on whatever? Yeah I can say it but do I really want to do it? We tend to make excuses as to why we're in the situations we're in.

Then again, maybe the sick man's answer was to try to make Jesus feel sorry for him and help him into the pool. Many times, we try to find a reason to explain why things go wrong in our lives in order to seek the sympathy of others. Say for instance, have you ever made up some sob story about being late for work so that the boss would give you a break? Maybe not, but I know I have.

After the man answered the Lord, the Lord told him to, " rise take up your bed and walk". And the bible tells us that IMMEDIATELY the man was made well and he got up and walked. This was a true test of faith. Let's pretend that you are sick and you've been that way for 38yrs. All of a sudden, this man approaches you and says, "RISE take up your bed and walk". What do you think would be the first thing on your mind? Personally, I would have looked at that Man and said, " WHAT"??? Mind you, the bible didn't say Jesus touched the man or said a prayer for him to make him well. Jesus just SPOKE A FEW WORDS!!!!

How have I've been made well?? How could this Man just say get up and walk like shucks I've only been here for 38yrs, so how can I just get up? No doctor has come to make me well...I haven't stepped into the pool, so how can I just get up and walk? .FAITH! Hebrews 11:1states that "...faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not yet seen". We must have faith in God in order to be made well. Jesus SPOKE a WORD to us...so we must believe and trust and have FAITH that God will hear us and heal us, not a month from now, nor a year from now, but IMMEDIATELY!

We may not see it happen in the physical realm, but when we "RISE and take up our bed and WALK" by faith and not by sight, he will make us well (as stated in John 4:49-53).. This nobleman's son was made. All our trials and tribulations must be taken to the Lord and when He SPEAKS A WORD, we must continue with our lives and have faith that the Lord will heal us.

Now here are the questions that I have about this passage:

1. Was it that only one person was made well after the pool was stirred by the angel? Because it says that whoever was the FIRST to step in was made well.

2. How often did the angel come down to stir the pool? How long did these sick people wait? Were they there all the time because no one knew the exact time or even a round-about time that it was going to be stirred?

Written and submitted by C. Jones

;2006 Davis Ministries