The Kingdom by Gene McGuire September 30, 2013

“I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy and steadfast love. . . ” (Psalm 31:7- Amplified Bible)

COMMENT: In the mid 70’s I had just mc’ d an awards banquet for the Life Insurance Agency I headed. A young lady by the name of Janice Thomas came up to me and said: “You could do a lot of good in the Kingdom of God.” Well, I didn’t pay much attention to her because the only kingdom I was interested in expanding was my kingdom. Now that I look back on that incident, she didn’t see me as I was, but as I could be. There is a song that I have grown to love called “Mercy Saw Me”. Here is a part of the beautiful lyrics: “Beautiful, that’s how Mercy saw me. Though I was broke and all so lost, Mercy looked and saw my heart. Not what I was, but what I could be . . . .that’s how Jesus saw me.” In the book “Prayers That Avail Much” by Germaine Copeland, she says it so well: “But God – You are so rich in Your mercy! Even when I was dead (slain) by [my own] shortcomings and trespasses, You made me alive together in union with Christ, and it is by Your grace (Your favor and mercy that I did not deserve) that I am saved (delivered from judgment and made a partaker of Christ’s salvation).  You raised me up together with Him and made us sit down together [giving me joint seating with Him] in the heavenly sphere in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One).” [page 208]

SCRIPTURE STUDY: John 3:16, Romans 10:9 & 10 and 1 Timothy 1:15

WISE SAYING: WHAT YOU ARE IS GOD‘S GIFT TO YOU. WHAT YOU BECOME IS YOUR GIFT TO GOD.  

WISE SONG LYRICS: HE PICKED ME UP, TURNED ME ROUND AND PUT MY FEET OF SOLID GROUND.

Sincerely Yours, Gene McGuire   

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MY NEW YEAR’S MESSAGE by Gene McGuire January 1, 2013

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

     I send you my best wishes for a wonderfully blessed New Year. I was trying to think of a subject that would be most appropriate to write for our first message in 2013 and I came to the conclusion that we might profit from some new thinking this year. I really shouldn’t say what we’ll discuss today is new because it has always been in God’s Word, but many Christians are not really aware of it. I’m talking about getting the full benefit of salvation.

     There are two different words used for salvation in the Old and New Testaments (ye shuw’ ah and soteria). but they both have the same meaning: deliverance, safety, healing and soundness. This may come as a surprise to some who believed their salvation only guaranteed them a place in Heaven. Let me quickly say that if it were the only provision that salvation offered, it certainly would be enough; but when God saved you, He had more in store for you. Many scriptures bear witness to this fact. Galatians 3:14, which tell us the blessings of Abraham are ours, is only one example. You can receive all the other promises of God the same way you received your deliverance from the kingdom of darkness.

     Romans 10:9&10 states: “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” That is the procedure for receiving all the other promises of God . . . . believing and confessing. When the confession of your lips harmonizes with the confession of your heart, you will then have the thing sought after. A search of the letters to the Churches in the New Testament will give you a vivid description of who you are in Christ if you are a believer. It may not be manifest in your life at this moment, but that is still part of your inheritance as a child of God. Let’s use an example. Philippians 4:19 proclaims “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” You might say this is definitely not true in your life because you have nothing but lack. Well I want to tell you there is a difference between “facts” and the Truth. God’s word is true regardless of what may be manifest at any particular moment in your life.

     We should take God’s Word, personalize it, and begin to confess it. Our example from Philippians would then read, “My God supplies all my need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus”. Repeat it aloud and often because faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17). As you hear God’s Word, the belief in your heart will grow and, as we said before, when the confession of your heart harmonizes with the confession of your mouth, you will receive. We just used that Philippians scripture as an example. There are a multitude of other promises you should personalize and use. When you start this process you might encounter some difficulty. Your mind might balk at confessing things which haven’t been actualized as yet. You need to override those objections and boldly declare what God has said about you. In addition to that you must persist! Your confession is planting seeds of faith in your heart. They won’t bear fruit overnight. Just as the farmer must be patient, you must be patient. It may take weeks of months, but if you continue and don’t faint, your harvest will be bountiful!!!

May the NEW YEAR bring you many blessings,

GENE

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Character Flaws by Gene McGuire September, 2010

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. . . . .” (Romans 12:2)

COMMENT: Dear Saints, I often talk about some of my character flaws, but today I want to tell you about a “victory”! When I first became a Christian I read a booklet that told me to start sitting in the front of the church so I would not be distracted by others. Well, as time went on, I realized there was another reason to take a front seat. . . . . I need a lot of room when I worship the Lord. A couple of months ago a new couple joined our Church and one Sunday morning I walked up the aisle to see “my space” occupied by the newcomers. I was pleased that my response was calm as I took a seat across the aisle. I was pleased because I know that if the same situation had taken place a few years ago, my self-centeredness would have been on display.

I’m sure I would not have said anything to the couple, but I am positive that I would have made it my business to arrive early the next Sunday and “reclaim” my seat. The “squatters” haven’t been in church for several Sundays but I have respected their “territory” by leaving it empty. If, in the future, someone decides to preempt my current “abode”, I thank God that I will react in the same godly manner I just told you about.

SCRIPTURE STUDY:1 Corinthians 13:4 – 7

WISE SAYING: ANGER IS ONE LETTER SHORT OF DANGER!

Sincerely Yours, Gene McGuire