Tag: Divine appointments

You Can’t Dabble in Porn – Gold Nuggets from Christian Business Men’s Zoom Session

In 1930, in the midst of the Great Depression, people were jumping off of skyscrapers to their death because they lost everything, and had no identity apart from their material possessions. A small group of businessmen came together and asked what can we do? This led to the formation of Christian Businessmen’s Committee, an organization dedicated to bringing the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ to a hurting world. There are now CBMC chapters all over the world, including one in Little Rock, Arkansas. You can learn more about CBMC, now Christian Business Men’s Connection, at http://www.cbmc.com.

The Little Rock CBMC held a zoom session this past Tuesday, October 12. It was very productive, as we gathered in Jesus’ name.  

1) 60% of church going men are involved in porn.  When one out of two men in church are involved in porn, you know it is serious.  Porn – don’t do it.  You become addicted to it.  A man is not attracted to his wife because of it.  It is adultery.  If you follow this, it is a 99% chance of a real adulterous relationship.  You feed the flesh.  You have to die to self. Chet

NOTE:  One of the brothers confessed that he lost his first wife of 20 years because of porn, and became estranged from his children.  This was BC – before Christ, and he was an alcoholic, heavily in debt, and making excuses.  When God changed him, it was instantaneous, and he made peace with everyone involved. 

2) The author of porn is Satan, and it is a real battle with evil.  Jesus was tempted by Satan and he responded by quoting scripture.  We can follow his example.  Santi

3) Porn is a wedge issue – it separates people from God and each other.  Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.  Gordon

4) You can’t dabble in porn.  When it pops up on your computer, don’t click on it.  Porn diminishes women.  Mike

5) Our nation is in deep trouble, and we need to cry out to the Lord for forgiveness and mercy or we will be taken into captivity.  At the recent “The Return” event in Washington D.C., Jonathan Cahn quoted II Chronicles 7:14:

“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”  II Chronicles 7:14

He then stated: “If you look at the history of Israel, they were constantly breaking the law; that’s what sent them into captivity for 70 years.  This is exactly what is happening in America today.  He took a clay pot and threw it on the ground and it broke into pieces (just like in the Old Testament).  That is what happened to Israel and will happen to the United States.  He is talking to the church: ‘If My people…’  Jim I.

6) If the light of Christ doesn’t shine through us, we are in the darkness.  We should look for divine appointments every day. Chet

7) There are no coincidences (Rule 39).  The closer I can walk with Him, He will take care of the rest of it.  All we can do is make the effort, and God will take it from there.  Jim I.

8) And God is a God of miracles.  Lois Vogel Sharp has a ministry and tells the story that when her baby was born dead, she cried out in the name of the Lord to bring him back to life, and he did.  Mark

9) We are in a blood covenant relationship with God.  In the Old Testament, David and Jonathan exchanged garments, and committed to each other.  We don’t understand the new blood covenant in the body of Christ.  Jesus paid the price with His blood.  When we make that commitment to God, we are in a blood covenant with Him.  We draw close to Him, we understand His requirements, and we try to walk in His footsteps.  He did the blood sacrifice for us.  Look at God’s blood covenant with Abraham.  Abraham didn’t even have to walk through it.  Jim I.

John, to the seven churches which are in Asia:  Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.  To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood…  Revelation 1:4-5

10) Jesus said “Ask the Father in My name”, so we can go to Him and say, Jesus, your son, gave me the right to come directly to you.  Jim I.

11) We are to be living sacrifices to God:

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.  Romans 12:1

We are in unity with the Holy Spirit.  We are living in a continual, streaming miracle – thinking and breathing, resting in that abiding relationship.  Always ask – what would Jesus do.  Rest in Him and see where He goes. Greg

12) How do we establish a blood covenant with Jesus Christ He died for us, so we have to die for Him.  We have a blood covenant with Jesus Christ because he died on the cross, shedding His blood.  When He died for us, we became brother and sister.  We are related to Him by his blood.  We are to devote ourselves to Him.  Santi

13) God is holy, so a blood sacrifice is required to account for sin.  Abraham was ready to sacrifice His son, but God provided a lamb for sacrifice.  God is holy, so a blood sacrifice is required to account for sin.  Mark

14) If a friend gets out of line, we must confront each other. Jim I.

A lady friend came to me and said she told me she observed something in my life that was being a barrier between me and Christ.  Her concern was my relationship to Christ.  Mike

15) Accepting people unconditionally comes first, then we ask God – teach me how to love people.  If we know the word, we can share it with them as the Holy spirit leads us.  Chet

16) We need to be able to perceive and interact with other people at the soul and spirit level, not just their mind or emotions (or their bodies).  Mark

Divine Appointments

Today was a day of reflection.  As the hours marched on, God revealed to me during my fasting and prayer that we take for granted the many times we are given a divine appointment.  We can choose to allow it to bless someone or miss an appointment that God set up for us to show others Christ lives in us.

I know that the hours draw nearer and nearer to the moment when Christ will come to take those whom He loves home to heaven.  But today I realized that every hour we are given divine appointments and we are blessed to serve God even in the midst of a storm.

These are events over the last few months that occurred, and today God showed me clearly how very much He loves His children, even unto the very last one.  He shows His love through His servants.

Standing in a grocery line the women in front of us, checking out her groceries with her teenage daughter goes to pay with her debit card.  The cashier passes it through and it is denied.  They do it again, only to have it denied twice.  She was very embarrassed, so she tries another card to no avail.  I could see the sheer horror on her face, and her daughter completely humiliated.  Knowing that God had blessed us with a monetary gift, I heard God saying “pay for her order”.  I told Bob, if it is denied again, we are to pay for her groceries. 

As the manager came over, and they checked again, they told her it was not going through (she asked what day it was, as if a paycheck should have hit her bank).  She was just about to leave with nothing, and I told the manager “use this debit card”.  She was shocked and tears started running down her cheeks.  I told her that God gave her a gift and that He loved her, go in peace and give thanks to God.  Not only was that appointment used for her, but her daughter was speechless, the manager and the young cashier were in tears … DIVINE APPOINTMENT.

A young couple who have nothing and love God with all their hearts live on a third floor, sleep on the floor, have a baby, and are trying to start a business. Bob goes there on a business call and his heart is moved.  He comes home to share with me, so we go and pull out provisions and supplies to share so they have food, toilet paper, and fun things that they would not buy for themselves… DIVINE APPOINTMENT.

Giving a homeless man a birthday wish of a lasagna and a birthday cake.  When he says that last year he spent his birthday with “Captain Morgan” (the rum bottle), and he never had a birthday cake in his life, and no one cooked something special just for him… DIVINE APPOINTMENT.

Going through the items we had left, and realizing that some veterans who just got housing and needed everything, all they got from our government was an apartment.  Giving up a mattress and box spring that was new and in storage, was again trusting God to supply what we need at the time we need it. Going shopping with tithe money to buy things they never had for themselves and seeing them cry with joy and sharing a hug and telling that Jesus loves them… DIVINE APPOINTMENT.

Seeing someone crying and stopping long enough to see what you can do for them.  Hours later, you have shed tears of sorrow and joy.  They just needed someone to listen and show the love of Christ… DIVINE APPOINTMENT.

Today leaving the ministry, we headed home early.  Thinking we would get some things done so that we could catch with life.  We were on the highway, when all of sudden Bob sees a small Mini Cooper come across three lanes of traffic out of control, take flight, hit the median, and start on fire.  We stop the car, run over, and get this precious young man out of the car, his face covered in blood, in shock, and confused.  I sat him down on the median.  I ran and got out wet wipes, cleaned his face and wounds, as Bob went back to get what he could out of the car.  My grandson who is 7 and my little dog in our car watched everything on the sidelines safe inside our car.

We stayed with this young man for 4 hours.  He was such a sweet young man, 27, and found out that he knows the Lord.  I knew in my spirit that today was “for such a time as this”.  After hours waiting for the state police to arrive, and finishing the accident report, we took him to his work to show his boss that he was in fact in an accident.  (His short covered in blood, his suit pants split in half, and still a bit out of sorts), we drove him home only to find out that he only lives three blocks from the ministry.  We got home at 7:30 p.m. after leaving at 1 p.m., only to both realize that we saw God save this man out of a car for a greater purpose… DIVINE APPOINTMENT.

These are just a few of the things I have experienced these past few months, and there are many others.  I know that time is very short, and the hours draw even closer, but we all need to realize that each day God gives us divine appointments to keep.  They may be small, and some large, but God will use them for His glory.  We are to keep our eyes fixed on our great God and King.  Time is irrelevant.  Does God make time for us?  Are we to share the provisions that God gave to us?  Are we to be Christ in a dying world?

Let us never forget to use our time left wisely.  Stop, listen to those who seem unlovable, God thinks they are important.  Stop, let go of the things that hold you here on the earth, they are going to be gone soon.  Look for every opportunity to share the love of Jesus Christ, in the smallest, to the greatest opportunity, every encounter matters.  You cup will be overflowing.  Give God all the glory and give Him the praise.  Time may be short, but divine appointments are still just that – DIVINE.

May God use His people to bless the lost, lonely, hurting, and hopeless.  We all can make a difference in someone’s life.  Make your time count.

In the precious blood of Jesus,

Manette July 29, 2014