Tag Archives: christian

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Conflicts of Your Christian Life

Conflicts: Things Have Changed

Conflict: A clash between hostile or opposing forces

7 Conflicts in the Christian Life

1) Christian behavior- Romans 13:1-2
“Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.”

The powers that be will use these verses to get the Child of God to be obedient to them for the purpose of control. The old man wants to address a situation in the ways it wants to without using the Word of God. They watch to see how you are, to get your reaction.

2) Sin. Do you wrestle with sin? It is a conflict with your spiritual walk. Sin comes in all types of ways. Sin is always present.

3) To live holy or not to live holy:

James 3:1-18, James 4:1-17, Romans 13:14, Romans 6:1

4) Flesh and the Spirit – Romans 8, John 1:13

5) The voice of Jesus Christ – Sometimes we think our own voices are the voice of Jesus. But, when He truly speaks to you, you will know assuredly. “And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.” John 10:4-5. Also see Matthew 16:17, John 10:27

6) Lust – This goes beyond sex. The lust to do evil, head games, lust to sin. Lust, money and power cause men to fall. For women,  love, financial ability, and outer appearance cause them to fall. Lust not, want not, need not. How many are lusting after Jesus? Ephesians 2:3

7) To pray or not to pray- We should know when to pray and what to prayer about and wait for God to answer. Matthew 6:7. David was a man after Gods own heart. His heart was genuine when he asked for forgiveness. We need to do the same.

These conflicts are just normally against the child of God, a part from personal conflicts. Whatever we go through, seek the answers from God, fall on your knees, fall on your face, humble yourself. He is the only hope in our Christian walk.

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Christmastime: A Talk about the Holiday

This Sabbath, Pastor Catron took time to speak about the upcoming holiday of Christmas. What did it mean to us before we became Children of God, what did it mean to us after believing in Christ, and this year what it means to us now.

We were asked these questions. For many, Christmas is a time of warmth, joy, and merriment. It means we can see our families, and give gifts not only of physical things, but gifts of love, goodness, and compassion. During this time, we remember those in need all the more, and we are very generous. We establish our traditions of putting up the tree, lighting the yule log, singing carols, eating pumpkin pie, decorating with green plants and lights, hanging the mistletoe, and waiting for Santa Clause. In addition to these things, it is acknowledged that Christ’s birth, although His true birth is unknown, is December 25. This is what Christmas meant to some before they became Children of God.

After believing in Christ, He now became the central theme of why we celebrated the holiday. Yet, what does Christmas mean, why do we celebrate it, even though it is not Christ’s true birthday?

Lady Catron did a little research to answer these very questions, and the results were shocking. It was from her finding that we read from during service. Ark of Covenant Ministries does not celebrate Christmas because it was discovered that before our Savior Jesus was born, the traditions of what we now know as Christmas were practiced as rituals by those who knew not God our Father. Infact, the rituals were in reverence to other gods. These traditions have no bases in biblical teaching, and Christ became associated with these traditions because the Catholic Church moved His birthday to December 25. Those who already looked to December 25 as a day to honor a pagan god with the traditions we now know from Christmas, were those whom the Catholic Church wished to draw into the Catholic faith with compromise.

With this knowledge, we could no longer celebrate Christmas in good conscience to the Father and to Jesus. We realize also that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). A mid the world that we live in today, we realize that even though unseen, evil spiritual forces are still at work among us and we must put on whole armour of God, that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil (Ephesians 6:11).

The holidays are no exception when it comes to spiritual warfare. Now that we realize the truth about Christmas, we should all the more be on guard against spiritual wickedness, tricks, and deception.

If you would like more information about our findings about the holiday, you can click the link bellow.

 

‘Tis the Season to be Pagan

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The Time of Purging Part One

Psalms 51:1-13
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness:
according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions:
and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned,
and done this evil in thy sight:
that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity;
and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts:
and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness;
that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins,
and blot out all mine iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God;
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from thy presence;
and take not thy holy spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation;
and uphold me with thy free spirit.
Then will I teach transgressors thy ways;
and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

David was a man after God’s own heart, because he knew how to ask for forgiveness. David said: Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

What is hyssop? It is a plant, a cleaning plant. It looks a lot like lavender. Lavender cleans you out and calms your mind. Hyssop has the same effect. It is native of the Mediterranean and is considered a holy plant. It is used as a disinfectant and cleanser. The oil can be used to treat arthritis and respiratory issues. In Christianity, it is associated with a new and clean spiritual life.

So, David did not just mention hyssop sparingly.

Kath-arios is the Greek word for purge. It means to clean, purify from sin, or cast out whatever is not pure or desirable.

David said clean out all the unnecessary, things spiritually and physically. As a Christian God has to clean us up for us to be an example for Him.