4 Years of God Ordained Ministry....Praise the Lord!

“Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10

We are truly abundantly blessed and eternally grateful to our Heavenly Father. He is a prayer answering God that is STILL in the miracle working business!

As New Beginnings Ministries approaches our fourth year rooted and grounded in the Lord Jesus Christ, it is important to not be distracted with the preparation and celebration but rather the significance of what this day means. It is indeed a joyous occasion and we all ought to celebrate. Let us take some time to look back and reflect where it is that the Lord has brought many of us from.

Many of us started out looking for a place to truly feel the presence of God. A place filled with love, unity, peace and the very comfort that is the Spirit of the Lord. We have faced many obstacles but through the unchanging grace of God, He saw us through each and every time. We can honestly say that the joy of the Lord has been our strength.

There are countless praise reports that we could testify to and there are numerous reasons to lift up holy hands in thanksgiving for what God has done. But there is always yet one reason to bless God. No matter what height God soars us to, or how deep He may require us to go, we will always stand firm on the gift of salvation.

There is nothing that any of us have done to be able to obtain such a precious gift as Jesus Christ. The one who first loved us before we even truly loved ourselves. There is for no other reason, that we stand united in love and ministry then to see the uplifting of Jesus Christ.

Lord we thank you on today just for You are. There is no other name above Your name and there is no other power above the power that belongs to You. May You forever be exalted, honored, feared and glorified in New Beginnings Ministries as well as our individual lives. We praise You, we honor You....WE LOVE YOU!!! Amen.

"Greater Faith This Year"

There is no God like Jehovah! As we walk into the New Year of 2012 and reflect back on 2011, we can all agree that God is faithful.

We all have endured many different trials and tribulations throughout this past year but since we all welcomed in 2012 on our knees before God, we can say that He brought us through every situation no matter how dark it may have seemed to be. God has never left us nor forsaken us. He has kept His promise to always be with us and provide a way of escape.

Some may still be experiencing difficult times in their individual lives as they continue to believe God for that better day. Keep holding on to God's unchanging hand. He is a very present help in the time of trouble. Continue to pray, seeking the face of God for strength to endure the storm. Believe without doubt that He will see you through the very thunder and rain that you are experiencing. Just as the disciples were fearful when the weather changed and the storm began to rock the boat, their faith began to waver and shake with the boat. Jesus called out to the storm and rebuked it. The storm obeyed and He asked the disciples where their faith was. (Luke 8:22-25)

It is important to remember that the beginning of the text informs us that Jesus had instructed the disciples to go to the other side of the lake. In order to get to the other side, they had to ride the storms of life when they began raging. Many of us have been instructed, just as the disciples were, to go to the other side. The other side can represent the next level of ministry that God has placed in you to fulfil or even a deeper, closer relationship with Him. In order to fulfill that ministry and rise to a higher height, your faith cannot waver. You must know, without doubt, that Jesus is...!

He is all that we need to walk in the calling that God has ordained. Without Jesus being on board of your vessel, you cannot rebuke the storms of life that come. You will indeed be overtaken and drown by life's circumstances, situations and pains, just as the disciples thought was going to happen to them until Jesus calmed the storm for their safe passage.

I encourage you to use this year to draw closer to God for a deeper faith in the power that rests in the name of Jesus Christ. I challenge you to use that power and rebuke the enemy in your life storm so that you can pass safely to your next level in Christ.

Amen.

Crossing Over the Jordan...

Deuteronomy 9:1-6 NIV


Not Because of Israel’s Righteousness

"1 Hear, Israel: You are now about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities that have walls up to the sky. 2 The people are strong and tall—Anakites! You know about them and have heard it said: “Who can stand up against the Anakites?” 3 But be assured today that the LORD your God is the one who goes across ahead of you like a devouring fire. He will destroy them; he will subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them quickly, as the LORD has promised you.

4 After the LORD your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, “The LORD has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.” No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is going to drive them out before you. 5 It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the LORD your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 6 Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people."

Praise God in all of His holiness. Greetings to each of you in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The season we are in now is one filled with much expectation. If you have been in the midst of what God is doing at New Beginnings Ministries, then you can feel the push forward in the atmosphere as God's presence does what only He can.

The push forward is the crossing of the Jordan to the other side. The other side filled with the manifestation of the vision given to NBM's established Pastor's when He chose them for this mission and they answered the call.

Now that it is time to cross the Jordan, great warnings of opposition and even faced opposition has come. Just as Nehemiah faced opposition with Sanballat in building the wall, we to have had to press forward with the building while fighting against the enemy and the opposition. Each trial and challenge we have overcome has led us to this right of passage. A right not created by our own righteousness, good deeds, integrity or power but simply because, God ordained it. We must remain humbled that God strategically chose us to carry out a mission that He already had planned. Like good soldiers, we follow orders from leadership and carry them out for the purpose of victory and not selfish gain. Our God is faithful and just to carry out each and every one of His promises and that includes the passage to the promised land that flows with milk and honey; so we must be faithful and carry out our orders.

But before the milk and honey can overflow, the work must first be done. There are souls to be saved by going forward and doing just what God spoke for us to do and that is to, "...dispossess nations greater and stronger than you,..." What "nation" do we face that is greater and stronger than us? In the natural it would appear that the land God called us to is filled with prostitutes, homeless, drug addicts, drunkards and crazies. We see many different people walk up and down the streets of the area God has sent us. We have to be reminded that He strategically placed us in a land that is filled with many great giants not because of what we have done but only because He desires to overthrow the wickedness and evil that has plagued the land before our time. His desire is to rid the wickedness by overcoming the unrigthousness with righteousness and make that which is unholy, holy.

The giant for a drug addict is the spirit of addiction. The giant for the prostitute is a spirit of lust, fornication, perversion and the like. The giant for the homeless is the spirit of oppression, worthlessness and etc. Every person that is battling something is facing a spiritual giant of some kind, but just as God said..."be assured today that the LORD your God is the one who goes across ahead of you like a devouring fire. He will destroy them; he will subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them quickly, as the LORD has promised you." We are assured that the giants that will be slayed will not be by our own power, but by the power of God.

We are reminded that God has gone before us and completed the work. Our only assignment is to cross over and take possession by driving them out. Driving them out is the work of our ministry. Driving them out is to command the giants to come under the subjection of the name of Jesus. Driving them out is to provide a loving place for the people that have been freed from the giants that kept them bound. A place of truth, love, hope, healing and a New Beginning in Jesus Christ. 

God has come to remind us that as we prepare to cross over and take possession of the promised land, that we 1. Did nothing for this promise. We are nothing more then servants, saved by grace and adopted into a promised inheritance. It was not by our own righteousness but only by the faithful word of our Father. 2. Remember that God's power went before us and completed the work but we still have much work to do. Land is pointless if it doesn't yield substance to sustain life. So we must be diligent in working the land. and 3. Don't forget number 1. 

If we can keep those 3 things at the forefront of our minds once we occupy the land, we will see just how much milk and honey God has in store to overflow. God bless.


 

Walking after His Image...

I recently saw a message on a church board that said: "Every Christian preaches a sermon every day" I thought about this for awhile trying to determine what exactly the message was saying. I finally settled on the motto that I often hear and keep near to my heart, "your greatest testimony is your everyday life".

It is said that "actions speak louder than words". Apostle Paul called the church members at Corinth "a letter from Christ" — living epistles (2 Corinthians 3:1-3). If these things are so, we should ask ourselves a few questions.
What message are we proclaiming?
Do we practice what we preach, or do our actions contradict and void our words?
Who is reading Christ's letter that is being written upon our life?



Paul answered that last question... speaking generally: "Known and read by everybody". More specifically, our family (especially our children), our friends, our co-workers (superiors, peers, & subordinates), our neighbors, our customers, and even those who are merely our acquaintances. Basically anyone that could possibly have contact with on a daily basis is someone tat is capable of reading our letters. Some only scan the headlines, quickly form a first impression and never bother to look closer, let alone read any fine print. Others know our story intimately... even "better than ourselves".


Is the Spirit of the living God writing upon your heart creating your letter? Or are you the chief story-writer and senior editor? How can you tell? Simple: do you conform to the image of this world, or do you conform to the image Jesus Christ?  Do you submit to the will of God and what He has for your life or are you running and seeking your own path and selfish destiny. Gods word says that there is a way that seems right unto a man that leads to death (Proverbs 14:12) Certainly, we are all a work in progress. We should not consider ourselves as having arrived and we surely should take heed to the warning of thinking higher of ourselves than we ought to, but we should be committed to making progress each day. If we are indeed a letter of Christ, we should bear some resemblance to His handiwork, we should bear His mark and be walking after the characteristics of Jesus Christ.


With that said, we cannot completely conform ourselves to the image of Christ through our own effort. It is the transforming work of the Holy Spirit and His Word. Our only part is to submit our lives as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2). That submission begins with simple obedience and holiness (1 Peter 1:13-16). It involves a conscious commitment to follow Him daily, even imitate, the life and ministry of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1). The process can be slow at times and steadfast at others but we can rest assured that it is thoroughly, eventually brought to completion by God Himself (Romans 8:29, Philippians 3:20-21).

Paul's testimony was: "I die daily (1 Corinthians 15:31)." and "...I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me... (Galatians 2:20, cf Philippians 1:20-21)."


So what does living the Christian day to day life look like? What does "right" look like?
Many thinks that it means substituting the personality of Jesus for our own; but God creates us to be unique. Every measure, every difference, every attribute, God placed in us to be used for His glory. We shouldn't abandon who we are, rather seek Him for the transforming of the areas that are not of Him so that we can be used for His glory in the ministry in which He set aside for each of us.


Rather, it means we adopt the character, the motives, and the roles of Jesus according to the biblical record of the time He walked upon the earth.


The Bible gives us very few character traits of Jesus. Most notable are Gentle, humble, and meek. But it doesn't give us a Boy Scout role model... loyal, brave, trustworthy, etc., that we can pattern ourselves after. Instead, the Bible reveals Jesus' character in action. Rather, the motives He acted upon and the roles He acted within. His life was a winning testimony to many.


His motives, what energized Him and drove Him, are clearly stated: "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work."


The roles of Jesus are seen in His "I am..." statements scattered throughout the gospels. Several are given, but they can be summarized into four: I am The Light, I am The Life, I am The Truth, and I am The Way. ALL POWERFUL!


Jesus said: "As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." If this world is to know Jesus, they must see Him living through us. Doing the will of the ONE who sends us, and fulfilling His work. Shining the light, sharing the life, proclaiming the truth, and pointing the way to true eternal life through redemption and salvation.

Let all of our lives be living testimonies toward the path of the one true King. Amen.
-Sis. S. Richard

After doing all you can do to stand...STAND therefore!

Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ. If you are able to read this message, then you are blessed to be in the land among the living. You have yet another opportunity to repent, turn from your ways and choose to follow after Jesus Christ. The choice is yours to make today!

Throughout the journey on the path behind the footsteps of our Savior, there are times when we stop and look around questionably because you can't seem to find the print of the footsteps you just seen. The bright sky dims and the clouds roll in. Before you know it, you've found yourself in the middle of a storm.

You begin to panic as the rain drops beat against your skin and roll down your eyebrows blinding your vision. Just when you think it can't any worse, you manage to see a path lit with just enough light to give you hope. You wipe your eyes, take a deep breath and stumble along the way following the glimpse of light that seemed to come out of nowhere.

Minutes seem like hours as time goes by and the storm continues to shower as you take step after step towards an unfamiliar place. You wipe your face again while rapidly blinking to clear your vision and refocus. When your vision clears you notice footprints next to your own. You feel a warm, strong arm cradle you and you naturally shift all your weight unto theirs. Their strength begins to carry you through the storm along the lighted path towards a place that you now know is your refuge from the storm. A place of comfort and peace. Joy and strength. Rest and healing to revive you to begin your journey again.

The strength of this person is the love of Jesus Christ. The love that was so graciously given to each and everyone of us that I have personally felt many times over during my storms and the warm sunny days. He is a Strong Tower and a Place of Refuge from the storm. He is a Bright Morning Star lighting the way through the dark. He is a Comforter and the Prince of Peace. Without Him, there are no sunny days and the storms of life would surely turn into moments of drowning.

I'm thankful, that when experiencing a storm, I am not alone. He is yet with me.

The trials and tribulations of life can be like a raging storm. Relentless, loud, terrifying and giving no clue of knowing when it will end. Just when the loud pelts of heavy rain begin to subside, the thunder crackles and the rain speed intensifies, lasting even longer then when it first started. The longer the storm, the more draining the wait becomes.

We get weak, tired and even anxious for a sign that the rain will let up. Sometimes the sign comes like a singing bird and a clear sky; and sometimes, the rain clouds keep rolling in day after day.

What do you do when the rain doesn't stop? What do you do when the trials of life keep coming in like a flood and your strength to get up and wait for the storm to pass has been drenched with doubt and fear? Gods word tells us that the battle is not ours to fight and that after doing all that we can do to stand, stand therefore.

His truth gives us confidence to stand on His word. To stand and know that when we are weak we are made strong and can stand with the confidence that the Love of Jesus Christ has already brought us out of the storm the day He died on the cross.

So stand with the confidence knowing that this storm too shall pass. Stand with the confidence knowing that He will perfect the work that He began in you. Stand therefore with confidence in the Lord knowing that the victory is yours. Stand therefore knowing that when you can't trace His footprints.....Trust Him and follow in faith!

He Breathed On Me

Freshly renewed today I"ve come to the conclusion early this morning that He breathed on me. It was by the calling of my name that I arose this morning. It wasn't by the alarm clock or because it was just time but it was because He breathed on me. God purposed that I should live this day, so with that same purpose I live. I live this day to be who God wants me to be in this day, why because He breathed on me. Their wasn't sun this morning but rain. Their wasn't the sound of birds chirping but thunder but it is yet evident that I'm alive and since I'm alive, I live, why because He breathed on me. Be Blessed.

3yrs and Gracefully Counting

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. It has been well over 1 yr since our last blog post and normally I would feel guilty that the time has not been taken to put forth the energy needed to keep this beautiful place current. BUT to God be the glory that I am conviction free. There is no guilt or shame as I see the lapse in dates.

 As I look back on the last post written and think about ALL that has taken place between them, I want to drop this computer and take off running! God has truly been moving.

New Beginnings Ministries has been on the rise in every aspect possible. From God adding to the body daily to acquiring a larger facility and expanded out. God's word is manifesting itself each and every day in ways that we would have never imagined and for that we are humbled and truly thankful to be on board of a vessel that God strategically built to sail into His Kingdom.

We are looking forward to continue to answer the call of Kingdom building and being sensitive to the Spirit of God during this season of change. He has truly done great things and our atmosphere of praise is evidence of our thanksgiving. New Beginnings Ministries asks that you would continue to support the Ministries by supporting this page.

Keep your eyes and hearts toward God and prepare yourselves to behold the power of the Lord! He is working. God bless.

Sister S.D. Richard [NBM Secretary]