We know that a dog or a kitten never pretends to be more than they are. Who they present to us is who we fall in love with. Such innocent purity helps us in every relationship we have. Our pets do not wonder why we love them. To love ourselves as we are loved by God requires savage acceptance of all the flaws. Regardless of our pretend posturing, or our efforts to impress, or what we imagine God may have overlooked, His love is all encompassing and certainly all knowing. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34 —-Our good, good Father commands that we love our neighbors as we love ourselves. As we grasp the depth of His love, we are compelled from within to love our Father with all our mind, heart, body and soul. “If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” 1 Corinthians 13:1

Pastor Jack had the flu just before his trip to Israel and preached the above message on May 19, 2019. “Beloved of God, do NOT think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to come and try you, as though some strange thing happened to you.” 1 Peter 4:12 NKJV – When Peter was led to write this letter, it was only a few months after Nero had his guards set Rome on fire. The fire started on July 19th in the year 64. Nero then blamed it on those who believed in the ONE true God. At that time the people who followed “the Way” were called ATHEISTS, the one God worshippers. This was considered an offense to Caesar, it was an abomination to not believe in the hundreds of Gods of the Pantheon. In 2022 we also live in an AGE of persecution so we are wise NOT to think it strange that we must persevere during the fiery trials ahead. For the next 200 years after this purposed FIRE, Christians were fed to the lions as entertainment, and 2 years later Peter was brutally killed. Since Satan is the prince of the air and ruler of planet earth right now, horrible evil has been unleashed by those not of the Way of Christ. Persecution is always on the radar, but it has not been as prolific as it will be according to Revelation chapter 5-18. Beloved of God, we are His kids and He cares for us. He holds us by the right hand as we face hardships. Many question “If God loves us, then why is there so much evil?” As the Bible tells us, Satan is now ruling the earth, and in 2020 the fiery trial of Covid19 came, churches were burned, the Bible was banned from courts, and in the future Christians will continue to be martyred for their faith. At the end of this relevant message, Jack was asked how he overcame stuttering, Crohn’s disease for 10 years, and his personal greatest trials. Jack shares the faith of Polycarp who burned, not tied to a stake, for his faith in God.

The reality is that when we chose to believe in Jesus Christ, our Father sealed us, He anointed us and gave us His word and our faith —-to hold on, and to suffer in His name and for His glory. We are the servants of God Almighty and by His grace, by the working of the Holy Spirit’s power, we are able to stand strong. The God who created all things, by His foreknowledge, our Father knew that even though He preferred that none should perish, that few would choose Him and enter the narrow gate. In His multi-faceted wisdom, according to His eternal purpose, in Him we have boldness, courage and confident access through our faith in Jesus. Our salvation awards us the great privilege of approaching our Father unhindered. Sin no longer separates us from His holy Presence. As His sons and daughters we have an open invitation to cry out, and to go behind the curtain to His mercy seat. Our Lord Jesus made a Way for us to enter into the Holy of Holies. His plan includes eternal life, without tears or persecution, in His magnificent Presence, forever with Him on a new earth. Hallelujah!

Remember that He took the runt kid of Jesse and transformed David into a king. He took a kids tiny lunch of a few loaves and fishes and fed thousands with leftovers to spare. Over and over in Scripture, God chose the lowly, the unlikely, the underdogs, the least experienced and brought forth an abundance. Holy Father God, thank You for seeing the value in the little that I have to offer. Oh Father, I humbly ask that You make my little more than enough. Multiply my talents that I may be a greater blessing to many. Thank You for giving me unique gifts and abilities. Help me to use them to connect with others at a heart level. Give me eyes to see what you see in others. Increase my faith so that I can stand strong in the face of fiery trials. When we realize the extent of our Father’s love for us, we are humbled by His lavish grace, patience and mercies and we choose to suffer well for His name’s sake. Matthew 5:12 “Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven.” For just as the prophets and believers before us were persecuted, so shall we be. We are the light of this world, and it is our choice to shine and proclaim our love for Jesus, even as we suffer. Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” AMEN the blessings of God are not things— the blessing of God is His daily FAVOR and His Way of using us to encourage others to HOLD on, even in the fire. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Hallelujah ❤️

“God has knowledge of me, He knows all my secrets. No matter where I am God sees and knows my thoughts. God knows where I have been and where I am going. My ways are clearly seen by Him. Every word and thought is recorded by my Father. From my conception, God has had His hand on me. Knowing that You have put Your hand on me, is greater than my understanding. There is no where I can go from Your guiding hand, for You are in every place. If I go into the heavens or under the earth, You are there. If I am blown by the wind over the seas, You are there. No matter where I am Your hand is there guiding me. Even in the darkness, You are there guiding me. Your hopes and dreams for me, the number of them are great and many. If I numbered them they would be more than the sands of the sea. The designs of evil go against Your hopes and dreams for me. Thank You for Your protective hand. Cause my heart to break for what breaks Yours, to hate whatever You hate. My wandering thoughts are tested by You. Let the secrets of my mind surface and be uncovered that I may examine them in Your presence and confess anything that is unclean. Guide my steps into the way of eternal life.” Psalm 139:1-24 as personalized by Michael A Hoyle. ‘I am holding you by your right hand…do not be afraid; I am here to help you.” Isaiah 41:13 TLB – How do we feel His hand holding us? Our Father transformed a worm into a butterfly! “For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.” Isaiah 43:19 —His living word comes to life all around us, we just need to open our spiritual eyes.

Before God struck Saul blind on his way to Damascus to kill Christians, Saul believed in all that he was taught by his famed teacher. Not one human could convince Saul that what he was taught did NOT mirror God’s heart. His prideful knowledge of the Scriptures secured his confidence that Jesus was NOT the Messiah. Saul stood firm on all that he believed to be true about God. “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come.” John 16:13 Saul’s pride kept him from gleaning the truth from the scrolls that were penned by the Holy Spirit. Paul would kill to defend what he believed was the truth, the life and the way. When God, His Son Jesus, appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus, the Holy Spirit led Saul into all truth about who Jesus was.

“He has made everything beautiful in His time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” Ecclesiastes 3:11 ❤️ Hallelujah and Amen – Saul was transformed as He personally experienced the power, grace, mercy and perfect love of God. The once prideful Saul was blinded and led into town. He had nothing to do but contemplate his ways in darkness. Once Saul embraced that he was a sinner, he was baptized by the Light and the revelation of who Jesus is, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the great I AM. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” 2 Timothy 3:16 — Dare to peek inside your heart and discover who God loves. Take the BEST option

We do not recognize who Jesus knows and loves unless we have taken the time to look within. We are transformed by God when we experience His perfect love. His perfect love, loves us as we are, warts, misconceptions and all. “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” James 4:10

“Your eyes will see the King in His beauty; They will behold a far distant land” Isaiah 33:17 NASB ❤️ Listen for the rumble, watch the signs, Jesus is coming quickly down the track. As we enter into His holy Presence, “He makes known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed ‘in Christ’ to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment – to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. In Him we were chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope ‘in Christ’, might be the praise of His glory.” Ephesians 1:9-12

God chose us and forgave us, as His imperfect beings to do His will. “Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for My sake will find it.” Matthew 10:39 The death of our carefully crafted public self allows us to face the hardships, the trials, the sickness, the injury with faith in He who holds our hand. The gift of His mercy is what allows us to endure pain, persecution and trials. We are His adopted, beloved and sealed kids and we have been set aside for His purpose. The goal of a spiritual relationship with God is that we surrender all, that we die to all of what we prefer, and allow Him to transform us and use us for His glory. ‘Therefore, if anyone is ‘in Christ’ the new creation has come: the old is gone, the new is here.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 AMAZING “for He chose us ‘in Him’ before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.” Ephesians 1:4

❤️ Revelation 22:12 Jesus spoke “Look I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me to repay each person for what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” Revelation 22:17 “Both the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Anyone who hears should say, “Come!” And the one who is thirsty should come. Whoever desires should take the Living Water as a gift.” Holman Bible. 20-21 “He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.” ❤️