Team members in the word

Raven Kitchen

Thursday, May 7th, 2009

This is the kitchen and it is here we prepare the meals and pray before we go out everyday. God has blessed us with a new equipped kitchen and he continues to bless us with it everyday as we go out. We also have a few scriptures to share with you about how our God feels about the poor and homeless and how his heart is stretched out towards them.

kitchen1

Psalm 146:7 Who executes justice for the oppressed; Who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free

kitchen5

Prov. 19:17. He who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD, and He will repay him for his good deed.

kitchen7

The Bread of Life

Saturday, March 7th, 2009

“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.” (Matthew 26:26)

And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. (John 6:35)

The Cross
His body, scattered and spread
His blood poured out

Who am I?
Who are you?
We are One, we are The Body of Christ.

None of His bones are broken.

A body works in tandem. It all functions together. You can’t have one part over here, separated and kinda doing its own thing (like if you cut off your hand, it’s not gonna function!).

Communion to me, means communion with Him, and also serves as a reminder of our daily communion with Him, but it also signifies a Promise to Him, perhaps even as it might have been unspoken at the Last Supper, to keep His commandments, and to join together with others and unite as One. It is as if we are continuing a Promise that the Disciples made during the First Communion at the Last Supper, saying we don’t know where You are going, Lord, but we trust You, we thank You for sharing with us, and we will continue to spread God’s Word and the Gospel, even after You are gone in the flesh, because we are One with You. We are Your body.

Thank You Lord!

Trusting the Lord

Monday, March 2nd, 2009

Proverb 3 verses 5-8
Part 1 verses 5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart - fully - finally come to the understanding you cannot make it without Jesus period. Trust here means put your confidence and hope in Christ with all that is in you
With all your whole heart. Every part every area your total heart.

The heart- the center of man’s actions! Out of it flows the issues of life.
Jeremiah 17:9 the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked who can know it?

Jeremiah 31:33 I will put my laws in their inward parts and write it in their hearts.
Psalm 119 : 11 your word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you.

Psalm 51 create in me a clean heart oh God…..
All others trust need to be renounced forsaken repented of- break ties- relations with.

Lean not to your own understanding. Do not trust in your thoughts only Your Thinking our own thoughts your mind only or always your whole life.
Psalm 119:130 the entrance of your words gives light it gives understanding to the simple.

Proverb 2 - Out of His mouth comes knowledge and understanding - meaning only by the word of God the bible the scriptures do we have true understanding
Ephesians1: 18 - The eyes of your understanding being enlightened understanding here means the mind. The eyes of your mind invaded with light and life -made to see- sight - enlightened

The natural man’s darkened mind will deceive him at times and the heart is desperately wicked our mind can be our worst enemy what we think about can actually help to destroy us our hearts and minds are working together what you think you will speak and will believe it over a period of time - this fallen world system feeds us erroneous info. and we embrace it if not replaced with the truth it will bring destruction, sickness, worry, fear, doubt.

So even through this little study we see we learn that our eyes have understanding the mind has understanding so many wonderful things to be shown -learned and to understand about ourselves and God by God but only found in His word revealed only by trusting His word….. so do not lean or trust your own understanding ever!!!

In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths
Acknowledge To recognize the rights authority or status to take notice. To admit knowledge of / or agreement with give recognition to God ….power and authority and that He is God the only God. The Mighty God El Gibbor- GOD THE WARRIOR Isaiah 9:6

Psalm 16; 11 YOU WILL SHOW ME THE PATH OF LIFE.
Psalm 23:3 he leads me in paths of righteous for His name sake
Psalm 119: 105 your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Praying the word

Friday, January 30th, 2009

In each situation and circumstance, we need to pray and stand upon the settled word of God. In every situation and trial we must overcome. By overcoming, we allow the resurrected, ascended, glorified and exalted Christ to have his rightful position in our hearts.

When we go through a trial or tribulation and fear overwhelms us, we try to think on the Lord but fear controls us. What do we do to overcome? The word of God is God’s will. When we pray the word by the spirit, we are praying God’s will back to him and there is plenty power in that.

Some books we recommend are those of Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians and 2 Timothy. These books are about the church and its calling. When we as Christians begin to prayerfully read the scriptures, we find the word begins to live and operate in our lives. What’s even more exciting, as we read and pray the word back to the Lord, our mind will be girded up.

As we pray the word of God, the breath of God begins to take hold of our heart and we begin to see the problem from God’s vantage point (The Throne). Our situation may not change but our thinking does and we will begin to see that he’s good and he’s in charge.

As we pray the word we will come up over any problem. Not only that, our mind would be re-newed and we would turn away from self and begin to pray for the needs of others. As we pray the word of God our sword is turned towards the enemy and we begin to do battle for God’s plan and God’s people.

The leader gave us a book in the January meeting entitled “Praying the word” I really recommend that you read it. From the book this is what I got as I read it. God bless.

The trial of your faith

Friday, January 30th, 2009

Daniel 3:16-27

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, ” O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us out of thine hand, O King. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou has set up.” Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was charged against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was wont to be heated.

And he commanded certain mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their hosen, their tunics, and their mantles, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste: he spake, and said unto his counsellors, “Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?” They answered and said unto the king, “True, O king.” He answered and said, “Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the aspect of the fourth is like a son of the gods.” Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace: he spake and said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither.” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth out of the midst of the fire. And the satraps, the deputies, and the governors, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, that the fire had no power upon their bodies, nor was the hair on their head singed, neither were their hosen changed, nor had the smell of fire passed on them.

1 Peter 1:6-8

Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, ye have been put to grief in manifold trials, that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold that perisheth though it is proved by fire, may be found unto praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ: Whom not having seen ye love; on Whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable and full of glory.

The trial of your faith. A sailor can’t be a good sailor unless he passes through the storms. When the 3 Hebrew children faced death because of their faith, they went in willingly. As I read the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, I said to myself, if I was placed in that situation what I would have done? We as believers must stand strong for Christ no matter the problem.

The book Nor the Smell of Fire had four things that were the outcome of the trial.

1. The self destruction of the enemy.

The 3 Hebrew men made a choice in their hearts and said to the king that they would not bow down to any god other than the Most High. They didn’t compromise whatsoever in their walk with the Lord. If our lives are in relation to the Lord Jesus Christ, we don’t have to fear the fire (the trial or situation). He hasn’t given us a spirit of fear but of love, power and of a sound mind. Also, the very means that the enemy uses to bring about the fire would be consumed.

2. The loosing of Bonds.

King Nebuchadnezzer had the 3 young men bound (noticed bound) before they threw them into the fire. When the king looked into the furnace, he noticed they were no longer bound in the fire. The book states that the fire is ordained of God to loosen you from any bonds or strongholds in your life. Think about it, fire consumes and the Lord allows the enemy to turn up the heat with the purpose of loosing the bonds that are in our life. That is so awesome! What the enemy meant for evil God turns around for our benefit. As I read on, I thought about a glassblower who makes sculptures out of glass. In order for him to make the shape he needs to make, he places the glass in fire so it can be easily molded or mended into the shape of his choosing. That is how the Lord is with us. Each of us has a different shape and he uses the fire so we can be easliy molded and shaped into the image he wants us to be. He is the potter and we are the clay…

3. Closer fellowship with the Lord.

As the king looked into the fiery furnace, he saw four men loose, not three. He asked his servant if they threw in three men and the servant said yes. Then he replied saying, I am now seeing four men loose in the furnace with the fourth looking like the son of God. As I read this, I said ‘Wow Lord, you really are true to your word. You said you would never leave or forsake us and even in the midst of our trials and tribulations there you are with us.’ Saints, the Lord loves us and he will never leave us nor forsake us. As a result of the Lord being with us in the fire, we see a little bit more of Him or He reveals a little bit more of His nature to us (which is the friend that sticks closer than a brother). Faith increases in our hearts regarding Him (i.e. when future trials come, now we have the assurance that he would take us out of the next one) and we now have a testimony to share with others. We can say ‘I was in this situation or trial but I wasn’t alone. The lion of the tribe of Judah was there with me and he gave me the strength to endure.’

4. Nor the smell of fire, but Joy unspeakable.

When the 3 Hebrew men came out of the fire, not even the smell of smoke was on them. Wow not even the smell of smoke! That means that if they didn’t tell you, you wouldn’t even know that they were in the fire. As believers I ask you. Is there anyone reading this post who can say that they went through a trial, a tough situation or a serious challenge and no other believer would know it unless you told them? And even if you didn’t tell them they wouldn’t see that you are going through a tough trial but instead all they see is peace and joy? The enemy is a thief and my fellow believers don’t let the enemy rob you of your joy. Greater is he who is in you than he that is in the world. Jesus Christ is the prince of peace, by the enemy robbing you of your joy he is robbing you of your testimony in Christ Jesus.

Read the book “Nor the smell of fire” that the raven leader gave us in the January meeting. It’s the little blue book. God bless.

Doers of the Word

Thursday, October 2nd, 2008

Hello I’m on the Friday night team. A while back I was reading the word and I read the first chapter of the book of James. The verses that ministered to my heart were 22, 23 and 24.

Verse 22 states:

But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.

Verse 23 states:

For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror.

Verse 24 states:

for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.

That’s an awesome word, as I write it brings chills down my spine. Not only are we to be hearers, but we are also to be doers. As we read the word, we should apply them to our everyday life. This is why I thank the Holy Spirit for living and working through us. We can’t walk this walk in our own strength but it is through the Holy Spirit we can live a victorious christian life. Jesus is Lord and he reigns for all eternity. Let him reign in your heart as well.