DO YOU KNOW HOW THE APOSTLES DIED???

Faith Filled Thoughts
March 9th 2010
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DO YOU KNOW HOW THE APOSTLES DIED???

"And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake:
But he that endureth to the end shall be saved." Matthew 10:22


Matthew
Suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia,
killed by a sword wound.

Mark
Died in Alexandria, Egypt, after being dragged by horses
through the streets until he was dead.

Luke
was hanged in Greece as a result
of his tremendous preaching to the lost.

John
Faced martyrdom when he was boiled in huge basin of boiling oil
during a wave of persecution in Rome.
However, he was miraculously delivered from death.
John was then sentenced to the mines on the prison island of Patmos.
He wrote his prophetic Book of Revelation on Patmos.
The apostle John was later freed and returned to serve as Bishop
of Edessa in modern Turkey.
He died as an old man,
the only apostle to die peacefully.

Peter
was crucified upside down on an x-shaped cross.
According to church tradition it was because he told
his tormentors that he felt unworthy to die
in the same way that Jesus Christ had died.

James
The leader of the church in Jerusalem,
was thrown over a hundred feet down from the southeast
pinnacle of the Temple when he refused to deny his faith in Christ.
When they discovered that he survived the fall,
his enemies beat James to death with a fuller's club.
This was the same pinnacle where Satan
had taken Jesus during the Temptation.

James the Great
Son of Zebedee, was a fisherman by trade when Jesus
called him to a life time of ministry.
As a strong leader of the church,
James was ultimately beheaded at Jerusalem.
The Roman officer who guarded James watched amazed
as James defended his faith at his trial.
Later, the officer walked beside James to the place of execution.
Overcome by conviction, he declared his new faith to the judge
and knelt beside James to accept beheading as a Christian.

Bartholomew
also known as Nathaniel - Was a missionary to Asia.
He witnessed for our Lord in present day Turkey.
Bartholomew was martyred for his preaching in Armenia
where he was flayed to death by a whip.

Andrew
Was crucified on an x-shaped cross in Patras, Greece.
After being whipped severely by seven soldiers they tied
his body to the cross with cords to prolong his agony.
His followers reported that, when he was led toward the cross,
Andrew saluted it in these words:
'I have long desired and expected this happy hour.
The cross has been consecrated by the body of Christ hanging on it.'
He continued to preach to his tormentors for two days until he expired.

Thomas
Was stabbed with a spear in India during one
of his missionary trips to establish the church in the sub-continent.

Jude
Was killed with arrows when he refused

to deny his faith in Christ. Matthias –
The apostle chosen to replace the traitor
Judas Iscariot was stoned and then beheaded.

Barnabas
One of the group of seventy disciples,
wrote the Epistle of Barnabas.
He preached throughout Italy and Cyprus
. Barnabas was stoned to death at Salonica.

Paul
Was tortured and then beheaded by
the evil Emperor Nero at Rome in A.D. 67.
Paul endured a lengthy imprisonment which allowed him
to write his many epistles to the churches he had
formed throughout the Roman Empire.
These letters, which taught many of the foundational doctrines of Christianity,
form a large portion of the New Testament.

Perhaps this is a reminder to us that our sufferings here
are indeed minor compared to the intense persecution
and cold cruelty faced by the apostles/disciples
during their times for the sake of their
Faith.

May He Bless You and Keep You Today!

With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Pastor Connie
Please click below to see something Jesus left for your Spirit!:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60o3UP4Kjwg&feature=related

HURT IN THE BODY OF CHRIST PT 2

Faith Filled Thoughts
March 8th 2010
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HURT IN THE BODY OF CHRIST
Pt 2

Spiritually speaking , there are many parts that work together
in order for the body to function properly .
Jesus tells us that we are the branches and he is the vine .

The vine feeds the branches and the branches bear fruit .

If the branches are cut from the vine there can be no fruit .

Without fruit in our lives we are dead to the vine .

As Christians we are members of Gods family .

Every family has to support each other
and love each other to be functional .


If we as Gods family reach out to others then we are being Christ like .

If we are Christ like we can reach out to others with his arms
, his eyes , his voice , his ears , his heart , to comfort ,
to preach and to teach , to assist carry that load ,
to listen to the troubled and lonely ,
to give and to understand those who are not welcome ,
to welcome the stranger and to pray for those who need help .

Because Jesus is alive in us so is the Father and the spirit .

Because we are part of the body of Christ we can love even our enemies ,
we can forgive those who hurt and offend us .


The spirit of God can touch others who we meet .

The love of Jesus wants his love surround you every night and every day .

There is no barrier to his love .

It can transcend and break through the barriers that we put
and other place before us so that we can become happy in every way .



That is God’s plan for us all .



With Jesus in our eyes we can see far beyond the things that we call reality .

We can perceive mystery in a place where the love of God lives deep within our soul .

With faith and trust we come to an understanding of infinity .

Eternity is a place that is not so far beyond belief .

If we believe then we shall see that the love of God goes on forever and ever .

Where there is love that's where Christ will be .

If we are part of the body of Christ then his love has made itself a home in us .


In every country around the world the body of Christ are found to be at prayer together
helping each other and caring for others .

Organizations and ideals have been built on the foundations of Christ's teachings .

As we encounter hurt and disappointment in our lives
we are united with Christ who also suffered .
Jesus is there in the our suffering and despair.

To suffer for Christ 's sake is a precious thing
and if one part of the body suffers usually
it will have an impact on the rest of the body .

So in our suffering we can be united with others .

Together as the body of Christ we are strong
but if we cut ourselves away from the body
then we die to the other parts of the body .


As members of the body of Christ we must support one another
and not fight or do harm to others .

We must support the weak parts of the body
so that the whole body can survive.


The world will reject us as Christians ,
like a foreign or unwelcome influence ,
so we must stand together and be one .
That is where we get our strength .


In this life if we choose to follow Christ ,
we must walk as one in body and mind .

The journey ahead is never an easy road .

The world will not welcome those who are members of the body of Christ .

But if you trust in him and welcome him , he will make a home in you ,

Rejoice and be glad if your home is founded in Jesus Christ .

His love and mercy endures forever .


Even though around the world we are many we are one .

One in our faith and one in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ
who has made a home in us .

As one voice we can praise his name .




WE PRAY AS ONE BODY OF CHRIST

Oh God what can I say about Jesus your only son ?
No words could ever express how I feel .

What can I say about his life ?
No words could express
the mystery that only you can reveal .

Oh God what can I say about what you gave to me .
My words are only those of a mortal man .

Glory Halleluiah .
All praise and glory to you God Almighty .
To you I lift up my hand .

I lift it up in praise,
Much higher than my life ,
I lift up my prayer to you

Higher than the sky .

I lift up your name ,
your name is Mighty .
Praise and Glory to you
I lift up your name God on high

For the blessing you have given me ,
I thank you God .
I raise my hand and my prayer to you in praise .


I raise my voice to you ,

Oh God of mystery,
hear me Lord
Dearest Lord I want to give you praise .

All praise to the Father and the son .

Praise to the spirit .

All Glory and praise to the trinity .

May people of all nations praise the name of Jesus .

As one voice and as members of one body .
AMEN



May He Bless You and Keep You Today!

With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Pastor Connie
Please click below to see something Jesus left for your Spirit!:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTByEgZ8dgY&feature=related

HOW TO HANDLE HURT IN THE BODY OF CHRIST

Faith Filled Thoughts
March 4th 2010
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HOW TO HANDLE HURT IN THE BODY OF CHRIST
PT 1

“bless those who curse you and pray

for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44)


There was a time when a good friend of mine,
said she had been so hurt by the “Body Of Christ.”
I write this for my friend…JN

One sure thing that you will face in life, and yes, in church,
is that sooner or later, someone will offend you.
Many Christians will have occasion to be greatly offended by the words
and/or actions of other Christians.
How we handle these offenses has a profound impact on our spiritual advancement
and the progress of those around us.

All too often Christians become “stuck” in a place of being wounded
and become dysfunctional members of the Body of Christ.

Like it or not, people problems are one of your greatest opportunities
for spiritual advancement.
Relationship failures serve as a catalyst for spiritual growth
as the deep emotions of sorrow, anger, self-pity, bitterness, hatred, rage, vindictiveness, etc.
must be processed in healthy ways for our character to mature.
There is no way to avoid this process of maturation.
It does no good to guilt oneself by declaring,

“As a Christian I should not feel this way.”

All emotions, even negative ones, are God-given gifts
and are a part of what it means to be human.
The mature Christian does not necessarily have less anger
than the immature Christian.
The mature Christian has learned to process their anger in healthy
versus destructive and self-defeating ways.
Wounded people tend to fall into two general categories.
One group continues to replay the offense
and to recycle their negative emotions until
they build into waves of self-pity or crescendos of rage.
This is debilitating and can draw sympathizers deep into
the dysfunction of the wounded party.
The other group refuses to succumb to the nurse and rehearse syndrome and,
in the midst of personal pain, has the courage and fortitude
to seek a positive resolution to the problem.
This is both an emotional and intellectual process
that is a key dynamic to spiritual growth.

The Bible commands us, in many places,
to "love one another."
While most believers are well aware of these words,
acting upon them can be very difficult.
Obedience requires that we work through our negative emotions
to the point where we have gained the capacity to think
of the welfare of the offender regardless of what they have done.
This is a huge step forward. Compassion for the offender and
is one of the surest signs that God’s love has arrived on the scene.
We need to learn how to grow and walk in God’s love even in the worst of circumstances.
Love, in the biblical sense, is far more than an emotional feeling.
Love is a spiritual condition that allows us
to overcome the hatred and wrongs of others.

Jesus was filled with this kind of love when He declared from the cross,
“Father, forgive them.”
He exhorted his followers to demonstrate such love when he taught,
“bless those who curse you and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44)
So Remember…
Love is a commitment towards others, even when it hurts.

May He Bless You and Keep You Today!

With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Pastor Connie
Please click below to see something Jesus left for your Spirit!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KsfwvpcQhY&feature=related