Sunday, January 27, 2013

WHATEVER YOUR HANDS FIND TO DO #79001262013



SURFING WITH JESUS
Pastor Gene A. Dasher, Sr.
#79001262013

WHATEVER YOUR HANDS FIND TO DO

One may ask, what is ministry and what am I to do. Read with me from the word of God. Ecclesiastes 9:10 (KJV)
10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

James 4:10 (KJV)
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
From these two verses I understand  that if I humble myself in the sight of the Lord I will be lifted up and I must use all my might to do whatever is placed before me by God. 

Then this brought me to looking at the age old question of what is Ministry. I’m told in the Greek it means “to serve.” One writer put it this way at wordmiracle.com. 

"Ministry IS USING WHATEVER GOD HAS GIVEN ME TO SERVE HIM AND THE NEEDS OF OTHERS"

We minister in 3 directions:

1. To God through Worship: Acts 13:2  As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.

3. To unbelievers through witnessing: Mathew 5:13: Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.


WE MINISTER TO 3 AREAS OF NEEDS.

To peoples physical needs.

To people's spiritual needs

To people's emotional needs

"There are different kinds of service to God, but it is the same Lord we are serving.  The Holy Spirit displays God's power through each of us as a means of helping the entire church.  All of you together are the one Body of Christ and each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it."

What is Ministry? Another writer at www.kirkwhitaker.com/ministrypage.php
shares it this way:

 “Ministry is giving of everything of yourself without expecting anything...not a peep, not a thank you. You do it out of love...for nothing else…Jesus told us that the first and greatest commandment was to love God our father with all our heart and soul and strength. But he then added that the second greatest commandment was to love our neighbors as ourselves and that all the laws and teaching of the prophets hung on these two commandments. Powerful stuff…You can see a difference in people when you give them your all...expecting nothing.”

“Ministry is not a mission trip, although that can be ministry. Ministry is not preaching from a pulpit, but it certainly can be. Ministry is not teaching a Sunday school class, but it can be. What is ministry then? It is...letting God use you for the spreading of His word and will. Cooking in a kitchen for homeless people can be a ministry...Scrubbing floors at a needy person’s house...if you do it for the Glory of God. Are you catching on? People go on mission trips...but if their heart is not in the right place it is just action. People preach from pulpits...but if their heart is not right it is just words. People can teach Sunday School...but if their heart is not in it for God...then it is just a lesson. 

As the Bible says, do all things for the Glory of God...that is ministry. If you approach it with that attitude, then you will reflect the love of God. Interesting isn't it.”

REMEMBER 

“If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1John 1:9

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Saturday, January 19, 2013

GRATITUDE FOR DELIVERANCE AND VICTORY #78901192013



SURFING WITH JESUS
Pastor Gene A. Dasher, Sr.
#78901192013

GRATITUDE FOR DELIVERANCE AND VICTORY

The only true way to be delivered from surrounding evil is to call upon God for help and strength. Psalm 18 is a Psalm of David, the servant of the Lord, who spake unto the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. And He said,

Psalm 18:1-6

 I will love thee, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.
The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.
In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears…

David praised God for his glorious works and blessings through the years. God’s protection of his people is limitless and can take many forms. David characterized God’s care with five military symbols.

God is like:

(1) A rock that can’t be penetrated by any who would harm us.
(2) A fortress or place of safety where the enemy can’t follow.
(3) A buckler, or shield, that comes between us and harm.
(4) A horn of Salvation, a symbol of might and power.
(5) A tower high above our enemies.

So, I declare unto you this day, this moment, if you need protection, LOOK TO GOD! Man may fail you but God is ever present and will never fail.  (Some notes from contributors to Life Application Bible, Tyndale.)

REMEMBER 

“If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1John 1:9

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Monday, January 14, 2013

CAUGHT UP ON SICKNESS #78801122013




SURFING WITH JESUS
Pastor Gene A. Dasher, Sr.
#78801122013

CAUGHT UP ON SICKNESS

Seems like everyone is sick or has been sick this week. My family has had its share this week too. My wife started getting better and I get it. You know the story, have you had your flu shot, yes, have you tried so and so and on and on it goes. 

Well in this process I got James 5:13-16 on my mind and spent most of the week on it. I know the ole song “The devil is a sly ole fox, if I could catch him I’d put him in a box, I’d lock the box and throw away the key for all those tricks he’s played on me.”

When you are sick, you are sick, and you just want to get over it. So, read with me these verses.
James 5:13-16 KJV
13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
We’ve done a lot of anointing and praying the past few days. God is always faithful we just have to get it in his hands. It’s been harder to be merry and sing songs but we have tried our best.
It says the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. This is best understood by saying the unceasing prayer. Believe you me as sick as some of us have been it has been quiet easy to pray continuously.
I hope this week you will be able to be merry and sing unto Lord and remember even in your sickness he is there.

REMEMBER 

“If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1John 1:9

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Monday, January 07, 2013

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013 #78701052013



SURFING WITH JESUS
Pastor Gene A. Dasher, Sr.
#78701052013

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013

To start the New Year many of you had revival and watch night services. I chose to have family time with my wife and enjoy being home. Whatever you did I hope you included the Lord in it.

My wife and I began our journey of reading the Bible thru this year. We sat down and took turns reading and then had prayer together. We usually are so busy that we do our own devotion but I really enjoyed taking time to do it together. As we read we found words we can’t pronounce so we just do like an old preacher did one time when he was reading he said I just say hi and fi when I can’t say it and move on. We decided that we would just use the first letter of the word and move on.

I hope you are take time to read and study God’s word this year. It is such a blessing to hide away more in us so that when it is needed the Spirit of God can bring it to our remembrance. One thing for sure; we are still reminded that in the beginning GOD created the heavens and the earth and all that is in it. That’s the “big bang” theory I believe in. Man can conjure up all the theories he wants but it will not change the word of God. And yes, I believe I was made in the likeness of God and I don’t believe God was a monkey.

Yesterday, after waiting 10 days to get everything done properly, we laid my HERO Robert (BOB) Meeks to rest at the Chattanooga National Cemetery. Bob was a Veterans Veteran. His dream of being a career Military man was cut short when he lost his legs in Vietnam. However, this did not stop him from serving hundreds of people as he worked for the State of Tennessee until he retired.

On Christmas day, Bob received the best present of all of us. He went home to be with Jesus. At the service it was cold and sunny, but in a tree right beside us was one little precious bird looking down at us us like it was making sure we were doing everything right. One family member and I got a kick out of it because it was like Bob looking over our shoulder.

So, how’s your New Year going? Do you have plans to share the love of Jesus with others? This old world is in a mess but in the midst of it all we can be the little birdie that looks down and proclaims Jesus to all who will receive.

I just want to proclaim God’s word as I did using psalms 100 at Bob’s celebration Rejoice with me as we read Psalms 100 which I used yesterday. Take a moment for Jesus with me.

Psalm 100 (KJV)
 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

Serve the Lord with gladness this year and be thankful for all he does for you.

REMEMBER
“If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1John 1:9
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