This six minute video is of another story of city transformation when churches work together (John 17 unity). This time the city is Portland, Orgeon. Not too far from Whatcom County.
God is moving mightily in these last days. When we show the love of Christ to the hurting in our community, the city is transformed. The spiritual forces of darkness (demonic powers) disperse when the light of Christ shines brightly.
Before going to The Cross JESUS prayed:
“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in me through their word; that they all may be one as You Father , are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that you sent me.”
John 17:20,21
What amazing transformation in the Whatcom County, Washington, population 210,000. Unity within the body of Christ (unity with diversity) and cities, counties are transformed. See the transformation for yourself in this twelve minute video.
Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You the only true God and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. John 17:1-3
What amazing words and JESUS spoke them knowing within hours He would be crucified.
He also warned them; “Indeed the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think they are offering a service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. But I have told you these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.” John 16:2-4 and”I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of Truth (Holy Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take what is mine and declare it to you.” John 16:12-14.
Surely, this is proof enough, JESUS is who He said He was. Whatever He prophesied came to pass. It happened.
The HOLY SPIRIT did come upon the believers at Pentecost just as JESUS told them. It transformed them and empowered them to live their lives knowing they had eternal life. The Holy Spirit comes to ALL believers in JESUS, to empower them to live the Christian life. Christians know the truth because the Spirit of truth dwells within them.
JESUS also told them, He would be killed and resurrected in three days. Here in John 16:16, He said, ” A little while, and you will see me no longer; but again a little while, and you will see Me.” The disciples had no idea what JESUS was talking about. “JESUS knew that they wanted to ask Him, so He said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? John 16:19
“Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy.” John 16:20
We know these nobodies (fishermen and tax collectors) went on to change the world by preaching the Good News.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” John 3:16
Jesus Christ the Creator, God the Son, though totally sinless, took on human nature, so He could become our Redeemer. He suffered on our behalf the penalty for mankind’s sin, which is death and separation from God. He did this to satisfy the righteous demands of the holiness and justice of God, His Father. All who truly believe in Him, repent of their sin and trust in Him have eternal life in a restored relationship with their Creator God.
Russell Wolfe is a producer for the recent hit GOD’S NOT DEAD and many other Christian movies. Recently diagnosed with ALS, Russell took to Facebook to contribute to spreading awareness and raising money for scientific research of this incurable disease – ALS also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease,
Regarding the Ice Bucket Challenge, Russell told Movieguide®, “So few people even know of the disease or even know what it is. I think it’s done a great job at raising awareness for that, but I felt that it was particularly good to link it to the fact that God’s not dead, mainly because I have faith that I’m healed, and I’ll receive that manifestation of that healing. Maybe there are some people I can encourage along the way.”
Encourage people he did. Within a week, his Ice Bucket Challenge had been shared over 34,000 times and over 3,000 comments flooded in with encouragement, prayers and others with ALS stories.
Moved by the huge response to the video, Russell said, “One thing that speaks specifically to me is the outpouring of people and their prayers. I’m so grateful for that. I’m actually taken back by how much it was shared, and how many people have included me in their prayers.”
When the news of his terminal diagnosis was revealed to him, Russell said his doctor was more surprised than he was because of Russell’s demeanor.
“I was so calm in reaction to the news,” Russell explained. “I’ve been through a lot of storms in my life, and God has certainly delivered me from each one. When I’ve had things that have happened that are bad, at the time, they might have seemed disastrous, but God has turned each and every one of them around so that in retrospect, I can look back at those, and I’m thankful that they happened, and I don’t feel any different about this. So when he gave me the news, I just looked at it as an opportunity to stand in my faith, and now we’ll just see how God uses this for his Glory.”
Romans 8:28 is a special encouragement to Russell, because God’s work and plan for his life is already so apparent.
“A part of the movie [GOD’S NOT DEAD] is sort of ironic, not only that I play the doctor that was delivering terminal news, and then I received that [same news] thereafter, but the letter that was in the movie that Kevin Sorbo read.
When we had the script, I felt that there needed to be a bridge between him being a solid atheist, and then converting to a Christian on the screen. So, I felt that while he was sitting in his office, he could pull out a letter from his mother. So, I wrote that letter. The idea behind that was, what would I tell my kids if I knew I was going to die at a young age? That letter that’s in the movie, I wrote it in that perspective. Again, the irony of writing that letter, and then getting a terminal diagnosis expresses the way I felt at that time and feel now knowing that I have this diagnosis.”
With his health deteriorating, Russell is still full of encouragement, faith and hope.
As he says, his message “is that God didn’t give this [ALS] to us. God didn’t give me ALS. I believe we live in a fallen world, and as such, bad things happen to good people. . . . What I do believe is that God can take any of those bad things and turn them into good. My message is to keep your faith. God is good all the time. He will turn things that are bad to the good. So, look for the hope in that.”
Pray for Russell Wolfe, his family and the thousands of others that suffer from ALS. Pray for physical healing through miracles and scientific advances through medicine, but especially, pray for a spiritual healing for all those who don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
edited article by Ben Kayser Managing Editor, Movie Guide
Contrast this pivotal resource of life with others, such as energy and finances, and a sharp distinction becomes obvious. While these other assets fluctuate, time constantly diminishes. No matter what one possesses, no matter the financial resources at your disposal, time cannot be purchased or stockpiled. One cannot gain access to additional time; you merely have the amount given to you.
So, if time is the most precious resource life offers, the question then becomes how do we use it wisely?
Peter Kreeft, a Christian philosopher, offers an important understanding of time and prayer. He notes, “We have time and prayer backwards. We think time determines prayer, but prayer determines time. We think our lack of time is the cause of our lack of prayer, but our lack of prayer is the cause of our lack of time.” This understanding of the relationship of time to prayer is not a pithy saying to be taken lightly, but biblical insight into the significance of both. For the One who listens to the prayer knows about multiplication.
Matthew chapter 14 speaks to the ability of Christ to multiply scarce resources in order to maximize their potential. Yet, consider if the child had never offered his five loves and two fish. Christ’s ability to multiply would, at least in this instance, never been engaged.
Succinctly put, life in modern society is belligerently backwards. Modern life is arranged around tasks and duties which consume a large portion of the time given us each day. This utilitarian view of time has riddled modern society, families, and individuals with discontent, loneliness, and want of purpose.
How now should we live?
Remember The Lord’s Prayer – “Your Kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. Invest your time in building God’s Kingdom on earth and you also build treasure in heaven which has ETERNAL value and significance. Don’t waste your time on building your Kingdom on earth, it is fleeting and ultimately brings no peace or joy.
Time is precious and limited, yet of eternal value. What makes it so is how you use it and whom you give it to. Begin now to start living eternally.
Lionel Ritchie preaching what the world needs on stage in Las Vegas – JESUS IS LOVE. Back in the eighties he was told to stop singing it and his other gospel songs or it would ruin his career. Well at the BET AWARDS show last Sunday night, what was meant to be a tribute to Lionel Ritchie was turned into a Gospel presentation by the renowned gospel singer Yolanda Adams as she “belted out” Lionel’s 1980’s hit ‘Jesus is Love’. It got a standing ovation. Make sure you watch to the end of the video to see what Lionel does with the crowd.
God is doing something significant. Christians who want the world to know God is real and their talent emanates from Him are winning major TV talent quests. Dami Im won the 2013 X Factor Australia. On winning the final, she gave all the glory and honour to God for her success. Sister Cristina Succia, the nun from Sicily won Italy’s The Voice 2014. She attributed her popularity to a thirst for joy, for love, for a message that is beautiful and pure. I am sure she is right. Collabro -They won the Britain’s Got Talent final 2014. Note the audiences reaction to the message on righteousness delivered by these five young men – a standing ovation. Many in the media don’t get it, they just conclude like Jim Kelly of the Daily Mail “Their success does not show that Britain has got talent at all. It only confirms that both the taste and the thinking of the British public remain at best an utter mystery and at worst banal”.
Danny Gokey has a poignant story to tell. His book title “Hope in Front of Me – Find purpose in your darkest moments” gives you an inkling of its substance. Its the first time I have posted a music video. I have a feeling any women viewers will appreciate it. Let me know what you think. Danny Gokey came third on American idol. He almost withdrew from the first audition as his first wife in her early twenties died unexpectedly from complications after heart surgery just weeks before the audition. The quality of this video is not great but even if you don’t like Danny’s song fast forward to the interview so you hear his story. Only God can transform lives like this and you know what, HE is doing it all the time. There is no doubt that all things work together for good to those who love God and are working according to His purposes. If you want to hear Danny sing more, go to the second link, to the interview on Huntley Street. His second song on this clip is my favourite. http://video.christianpost.com/100-huntley-street-featuring-american-idol-finalist-danny-gokey-episode-4-5749/
“Put your shoes way under your bed each night to ensure you get on your knees first thing of a morning in prayer.”
What good advice that is from a famous movie star who is not afraid to speak about the reality of GOD and the impact for good He will have on your life. True success is obedience to God.
LIVING ETERNAL NOW 