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Allow Gays in Church

John Foster — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:10:14 +0000

Are gays and lesbians welcomed into your church and accepted as members of your congregation? Do you welcome them into your small select community of christian worship or do you reject them and cast them out as sinners?

I remember a statement that was once issued from the pulpit in the charismatic church that I attended.

“We want to start some communities in the church. A support group for gays and lesbians. Sorry, let me change that. A support group for ex gays and ex lesbians. Practising gays are not welcome.”

I still remember thinking, ” How can you ever become a ex gay without Jesus, through the church, to help you.”

So many churches that I know of reject the gays, lesbians and other sinners right out of their close and select little communities. “They are sinners you know, and they are going straight to the pits of hell. I want nothing to do with them.”

Years ago, in the same church mentioned above, a guest preacher was invited to preach at a yearly conference. The preacher, whose name I will not mention, was one of the most down to earth and incredible preachers that I have ever heard preaching.

He spoke on how his own spirit filled church was filled with gays, lesbians, and sinners of every class, and how every single person was welcomed into his church without criticism or judgement and each and every soul was loved regardless of what they were involved in.

Now is that not how you would picture Jesus to be. Jesus rejected the upright and ”righteous” people of the time and chose instead to spend his time in the company of tax collectors and other sinners.

Needless to say, that preacher was almost run out of town and every word that he preached was rejected by the church. Where was Jesus.

If you are expected to be washed and cleansed of all sin before you enter a church, how will anyone ever get to enter a church and meet with Jesus. If you expect a gay person to repent and give up his ways before he can come into your church to meet the living Jesus, then chances are he will never get to meet Jesus and accept Jesus into his life.

Were you free from all sin in your life before you first entered into your church and met Jesus? No – I did not think so.

Are you free from all sin in your life now – even though you have already been a christian for a long time? Again No!

Well if you are not free from sin, why do you expect a Gay or Lesbian or any other sinner to be free from their sin before they can enter your community? Is it perhaps that you consider that their sin is worse than your sin? As far as I am concerned sin is sin and there is no variation between sins. There is no single sin that is better than another sin. Sin is sin and in order to cleanse yourself of sin you have to go before Jesus, repent and be washed clean by His Blood.

Jesus does the changing .

Jesus loves you enough to accept you as you are, but loves you too much to leave you as you are.

When you come to Jesus and give your life to Him, crying Jesus help me please, Jesus opens his arms out to you and embraces you. He accepts you as you are, forgives you and washes you clean with His Blood. Slowly but surely He begins the process of changing you, your life and your passions. It is not an overnight or instant process. It takes time. He is the potter and you are the clay. Slowly you are molded into what He wants you to be.

In the case of gays and lesbians who are often some of the most hurting people in the world and who need the loving embrace of Jesus more than most, why do we reject them further and cast them out, expecting them to remove the sin from their lives immediately whilst we readily accept the fact that Jesus is still working in our own lives and has not yet completed the task of removing all the sin in our own life.

Take the log out of your own eye before you remove the splinter from your neighbours eye.

Before you judge and reject someone according to their “sin” and cast them out of your select community, simply ask yourself what Jesus would do if that person was standing in front of Him. Would He cast them out, or would He open His arms to them and love them. Sure I know that you are not Jesus, but then can you really claim to be a follower of Christ if you do not accept His ways and teachings.

Open your hearts and love someone today. Show them how the love of Jesus shines through you and help them to change their life simply by being accepted by someone like you. Your accepting someone for who they are could be the biggest thing that ever happened in their life and could make the real difference that will alter their lives forever.

God Bless

Victory in Jesus

John Foster — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 04:11:58 +0000

“Blesssed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been proved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him”, (James 1: 12).

We are in the midst of a war between good and bad. The war has raged for centuries and will continue to rage until the final hour when the earth is eventually destroyed and a new earth is created. This war consists of a series of battles.

Our war that we fight is not a physical war, but rather a spiritual war. It takes place mainly in the mind. On one side you know what is right and what is good. You know what Jesus would like you to do. On the other side, you have the Tempter – Satan, edging you and tempting you to do that which you do not wish to do.

Paul said in Romans 7:15 ” For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practise; but what I hate, that I do.”

Until the day that you die, Satan will continue to place temptations before you. It is his sole purpose to try and deceive you and lead you off the narrow track which is the way to life. Satan wants to see you fail and be destroyed.

Yes, you will fall and fail on Occasions.

Any person that tells me that they never fall and never fail is simply a liar in my eyes. If you are involved in the constant battles of life, you will at some stage become a casualty. You will get hurt and you will fall short of the Glory that God has set aside for you.

Jesus attaches no importance to how many times you fall and fail. Jesus will not judge you because you have fallen. He will not condemn you because you gave into temptation. You see Jesus is not the same as we are. We are quick to judge and condemn. Jesus is Pure Love.

It is not important to Jesus how many times you fall, but rather what is important to Him is how many times you get back up. In getting back up after a fall, comes the real victory in Jesus. Every time that you fall, Jesus is there right next to you, holding out his hands to pick you up and to nurse your wounds with His Love. As soon as you sincerely ask Him to forgive you, He forgives you.

Jesus not only knows that in every war there are casualties, but He also knows that in the end you will succeed and overcome through the strength that He gives to you. That is why you will receive the crown of life, for you will eventually be proved and will overcome temptation.

In humans there is the emotion of shame. With Jesus this emotion does not exist. Jesus is pure loved and He will never be ashamed of you.

The next time that you fall, instead of hanging your head in shame and hiding away from Jesus, rather lift your head up high and take the hand that Jesus is holding out to you and say proudly, ” Jesus, forgive me for falling, but do not worry about me for I am getting back up with your help. We will carry on and win this war.”

Do not judge your brother or sister when they fall, but rather be like Jesus wants you to be and hold out your hand, lift them up and encourage them to carry on with the good fight.

God Bless and may your day be filled with victory.

Message for 2010

John Foster — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 04:17:42 +0000

As 2010 has come upon us, it brings a new year and a new decade before us. 2009 Was a year filled with hardships as the world sank in a recession. Many lost their jobs and hard times were upon even those who managed to stay employed. Prices in supermarkets rose and the quality of living went down.

As part of a new year and a new decade I wish to bring this message of hope to you. It is a fresh start and new opportunities are waiting for you.

My Message of Hope to You.

Romans 12:2 says, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed through the renewing of your mind.” 2010 brings forth a new way of thinking for you. You need to break free from the negatives of the world and look forward to the hope that there is through the love that Jesus has for you.

Your Past has no Right to Interfere with Your Future!

Do not look back but keep your eyes firmly before you. Whenever you are looking back at the past, you miss what is lying ahead in the future. For just 2 minutes, try walking backwards. When you are walking backwards, you can not see where you are going and you walk into obstacle after obstacle. You trip and you fall. So is our life. When we try to get through life constantly looking at the past, we fail to see what is ahead of us and trip and fall at every obstacle.

2009 Has gone and every other year before that. Whatever happened to you in 2009 or 2008 or even yesterday has absolutely no right to interfere with what is happening to you today. Jesus is the way the truth and the life, and what Jesus has planned for you is far greater than anything that you have ever encountered before. Keep your eyes on Jesus and concentrate and feed on the love of Jesus.

As I went outside for a few minutes this morning, I was met with an amazing sight that it seems as if the Lord had prepared just for me. It was early and was just starting to get light. The sky was clouded over. There were flying ants flying around and a whole host of birds were swooping down and feeding on them.

The odd thing about this is that looking up and down the street in front of my house, the flying ants and birds were only in front of my house and nowhere else down or up the street. As I said, it was as if God had created the show just for me.

As I was watching the show it dawned on me that what I was seeing before me was life. God created the flying ants for the birds to feast on. The birds from the whole neighbourhood came to feast on the flying ants. Some important facts :-

1) The flying ants were in abundance. God gives us plenty of food in the form of opportunities.

2) The birds had to come to where the flying ants were. God did not send the ants to the birds, but rather the birds had to see that the flying ants were there and had to come to where the feast is. Sometimes we wait around hoping that God will bring the food to us instead of going out to where God has placed the food for us.

3) The show lasted about half an hour. Feed time was over. The birds had eaten their fill and the fresh rains chased the flying ants away. God created the food for the birds and fed them. Tomorrow he will feed them again, possibly in a different way, but they will never go without food. If you trust and abide in God, you may need to change and adjust constantly, but you will never hunger or thirst. Always remember that you are far more important to God than the birds.

Right at the beginning of this message, I quoted Romans 12:2. ” Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed through the renewing of your mind.” Do not allow the ways of the world to shape and form you, but rather take on a new shape and form and be totally transfigured when you start to believe in the word of God.

This is the most important scripture for you through the entire 2010. Memorise it. Do not allow the world to determine your future for 2010, but rather place your future in the hands of God and allow Him to guide and lead you so that you will never hunger or thirst again.

Have a blessed 2010.

Happy New Year 2010

John Foster — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 06:57:44 +0000

May your New year be Filled with the Love of Jesus

Love Jesus in 2010

I pray that your year will be filled with the love of Jesus and that as you enter into the new year, that all the problems and dissapointments that were part of 2009, will simply melt away and be removed from your life.

May 2010 be a year fill of blessings, love and prosperity for you and all of your family and loved one’s.

Most importantly, may the love of Jesus flood into your lives through the entire year and may you live your lives as true Christians as you follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

A New Year is always a time of new beginnings. There are resolutions and promises that are made. Before you make your new year resolutions this year, take a little time to ponder over them and just to decide whether they are really worth making.

Ask yourself whether that New Year resolution will add any extra value to your life? If it is not going to add substantial value to your life, then why bother with it. Forget about the unimportant things this year, and rather concentrate on that which is important. Spend time with your loved ones instead of chasing after a better lifestyle which in fact ends up destroying your life.

Life is short, so live it to the fullest. Invite Jesus into your life and live in the love that comes from Him, and in turn, take some of His Love that is in you and spread it around to those who are around you.

May God richly bless you in 2010.

Happy Birthday Jesus

John Foster — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 06:34:45 +0000

Happy birthday Jesus.

Today I celebrate your birthday and my prayer for today is that all will remember that Christmas is the day to celebrate your birth and the wonders that you did for us. I pray that all will take the time to simply stop and wish you Happy Birthday.

Thank You Jesus.

I love Jesus.

Delight In Jesus

John Foster — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:33:54 +0000

Psalm 37:4 ” Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” (New King James)

The scripture above is well known by most that have a christian background. It is often, however quoted incorrectly by many who tend to leave the word “Also” out of the quote. The word “also” tends to change the meaning slightly in that the quote “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will..” means that this is the only condition necessary for you to meet the requirements that Jesus has to give you all the desires of your heart.

When the quote includes the word “also”, the meaning changes and “Delight yourself also in the Lord…” becomes one of a number of requirements that need to be fulfilled first in order that Jesus gives you all the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:3 ” Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the Land and feed on His Faithfulness.” These are some of the other requirements that are needed in order that you should receive the desires of your heart.

1) You need to trust in the Lord – with all your heart and mind.
2) You must do Good – to others as well as to the Lord
3) You must Dwell in the land – we all live in the land – so this means somthing else – you must live in the word of God.
4) Feed on His faithfulness – receive your sustenance from Him.

The world teaches us that we are to receive all that we can from others and often when we come to Jesus and accept Him as Lord and Saviour in our lives, many come with the attitude of “what can I get from Jesus?”. This attitude of GIMME GIMME does not work and when you come to Jesus purely to receive from Him, it is hardly likely that you will receive anything back from Jesus.

When you fall in Love with Jesus and your love for Jesus becomes the centre of your existence, then you start to truly live to serve Jesus and then all the provisions of the scripture start to be fulfilled and Jesus, in return, starts to provide you with all the desires of your heart.

In order to fully live in the love of Jesus, first invite Jesus into your life, then Draw near to God and he will draw near to you, and lastly live in the Law of Liberty that He has given you.

Transformed Mind

John Foster — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 01:42:18 +0000

Today I am back to one scripture that I find totally fascinating and by which the doors to true faith are being opened. I am finding so much relevance in this scripture, that even though I have previous messages on Romans 12:2, I am again going to be writing about being transformed through the renewing of your mind.

Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed through the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Programmed by the world.

I am very involved in the world of online marketing to supplement my income, and sell quite a range of products of which weight loss products are one of my specialities. I have a number of products that are extremely good which include Hoodia, Acai Berry and Proactol, but the top product does not consist of a pill, but rather a program that is followed. It involves no real diet, no major exercise system, and yet the people who do embark on this course lose weight easily and permanently. This course uses what I call the “X” factor to encourage people to lose weight. What is the “X” factor. It is simply the deprogramming of the world system that you have adopted and the renewing of the mind. The program is called Weight Loss God’s Way and Romans 12:2 forms one of the core principles of the course.

What amazes me to no end is the fact that 9 out of ten people will rather buy a pill that may help them lose a little weight, or they will buy a strict diet that is going to make them so miserable that they will fall out of the diet and feel a total failure, before they are willing to trust in God and to use a system that is guaranteed to make them lose weight both easily and permanently.

Why? Simply put, people are programmed to trust a pill or a worldly system before they are prepared to trust in God, who created them, to fix their problems.

People who are sick, and I am talking about good solid faith filled christians, are more likely to trust in a pill prescribed by a doctor, than in a word from God that tells them to do something else that will cure their sickness. We are programmed to place our trust in places that do not belong to the Lord Jesus. Yes, I do know that Doctors are good and serve a great purpose, but do you know that God is far greater and far more knowledgeable than any Doctor! God says that when we are sick, we should call for the elders of the church to anoint us with oil in the name of the Lord, and to pray for us ( James 5:15).

Whether we choose to confess it or not, we have all become conformed (Moulded To) to this worlds standards and requirements of us. We are programmed to the worlds system.

Breaking Free from the world’s programming.

The day that we accept the Lord Jesus into our lives as Lord and Saviour, we are filled with love for Jesus, and also given the power of the name of Jesus, so that we may break free from the worldly systems that have held us captive. The largest problem is that we have been given the love of Jesus and the power of Jesus as a gift, and for many people it is one of those gifts that are seldom used, but rather put aside and kept on show somewhere.

Someone I know had a son who was walking to work daily. The walk was a fair distance and this family got together and feeling sorry for the young man having to walk to and from work daily, decided to buy a small car for him to save him the long walk. The gift was well recieved and well looked after by the young man who was very proud of his new possesion, washing, cleaning and showing off his new gift to everyone, but alas, he never ever drove in the car because he just felt so much more comfortable walking to and from work.

Many Christians are the exact same as this young man. They love Jesus, proudly show the love of Jesus to others, they know the power of the gift they have received in the name of Jesus, but they are more comfortable carrying on in their old wordly ways and therefore they fail to ever use the power of the name of Jesus to set themselves free from the situations that they find themselves in.

You have to break free from the mould that the world has placed you in, and undergo change by renewing the way that you think and accepting the power that has been given to us in the name of Jesus, and start using it.

How Do I Renew My Mind.

One of the most frequent questions asked is, “How do I renew my Mind?” This is in fact so simple that it escapes most people. To each of us is given a measure of faith when we accept Jesus as Lord of our lives. The faith that is given to us is the gift that we can choose to either use or place on show on the mantlepiece. When we start to choose to use the gift instead of the wordly system, and our trust in the gift is greater than our trust in the wordly system, we have begun the renewing of our mind.

When we choose to rather use the faith that is given to us, we undergo an automatic renewing of our mind, that continues to manifest itself into a transformed being. “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind”, implies that we will start to undergo physical change. When we place our trust in God’s word to lose weight and we apply His systems into our lives, our bodies undergo a transformation and we become that good and acceptable person that God created us to be. ( God actually says that we must test Him in this fact – “That you may prove.”)

When we start to rather seek prayer and the annointing by oil of the elders when we are sick, and to follow what God tells us to do, instead of following what the doctors are telling us, the faith that we start to exhibit is a renewing of the mind and you will start to walk in the health and healing that Jesus has promised.

When you are in financial difficulties, start to give away what you have. The world’s system says that you must take what you have and hide it away so that nobody can take it away from you. It is the worldly investment system. God’s investment system is to take what you have, give some to the church in order to further His work, and give to the poor and needy, that they may be fed and clothed. When you do this, He will look after it for you and return it to you, a good measure, pressed down and running over! (Do you still want to renew your mind.)

Start to renew your mind today through the forsaking of the worldly system and by placing your trust in the word of God.

The Love Jesus has.

John Foster — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 03:25:52 +0000

The love Jesus has for us is something that can never be fully described or recorded, for it is simply far greater than anything that we are ever able to comprehend or understand. Jesus loved you from the day you were born and continues to love you after the day that you cease to exist on this earth. When you are at your worst moments in life, filled with sin and with hate, the love Jesus has for you does not diminish.

Does Jesus Love Me?

One of the most frequently asked and pondered questions asked is “Does Jesus love me?” Jesus is the same yesteray, today and tomorrow and He loved you the day that you were born. The love Jesus has for you is far greater than any sin that you can commit and the light of His love shines into the darkness of any sin in your life and destroys that sin within you, making you perfect. Jesus hates sin, but at the same time is true to forgive you of every sin in your life, if you just ask Him to.

What does Jesus expect in return for His Love?

What price does Jesus ask in return for the great love that He has for us? The only thing ever expected of you is that you love Jesus with all your heart, that you love God and live in constant relationship and fellowship with Him through prayer and quiet time. Jesus says that the greatest commandment is to love the lord your God with all your heart.

The second greatest commandment of Jesus is that you love your neighbour as you love yourself. If you love Jesus, you will automatically be filled with the love of Jesus, and this love will radiate out from within you and you will start to love all the people around you and be filled with compassion for those around you, for you have become bonded to Jesus in love and become like Jesus in this bonding, hence the name of christian - Christ like. The qualities of Jesus will begin to grow within you as the fruits of the Spirit.

I do not yet Love Jesus.

I know of Jesus and have heard a lot about Him, but I have never come into a realtionship with Him and so I do not yet love Jesus. If you have never yet had the opportunity to get to know Jesus and to love Jesus, do not fear for Jesus still loves you and has always loved you and will continue to love you. However, Jesus is waiting for the day that you will come to Him and invite him into your life, that he may be able to say to you, “My child, I love You.”

If you have never invited Jesus into your heart, why not do it today, while you still have the opportunity. Merely say a little prayer to accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, and your life will be changed forever. You will experience fully the love of Jesus and your hardened heart will be turned to jelly as He fills you with His love and removes all sin away from you.

Do not forget to go out into the world today and to tell someone about the love Jesus has for them.

Sacrifice of Praise

John Foster — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 03:52:56 +0000

I will continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, for He dwells in the praises of His people. God lives in the praises offered up to Him by us. We are created to praise God. We have been made to walk in the love of Jesus. We walk in the shadow of His grace when we are doing what we have been created to do – Praise and Love.

Hebrews 13:15, ” Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.”

The Sacrifice of Praise of our lips.

The scripture above is very interesting in a few ways. First is that it refers to the praise of our lips, which is a sacrifice. Now a sacrifice is something that costs you, which you then give to God. How does the sacrifice of praise cost you? We are created to praise God, but yet, through the sinful nature that is within us and pride, we prefer to spend our time praising ourselves and giving glory to ourselves rather than to God. It takes sacrifice to stop giving glory and credit to yourself, and to recognise that without the power of God inside of you, that you are indeed capable of nothing and so therefore, you have to give the glory and credit to God for all things.

The Sacrifice of praise of our time.

The sacrifice of praise is not something that is a once off thing, but is performed on a regular basis, and ideally you should spend the first part of your day praising God and entering into relationship with Him. This is the great sacrifice for many, for they would far rather spend the extra time to sleep a little longer, than to get up a little earlier and spend time praising God and seeking His direction for the day.

Walk in the Love of Jesus.

The second part of the scripture says that we must not forget to do good and to share, for that is pleasing to God. This is to walk in the love of Jesus, for only by having the love of Jesus shining through you, are you able to go out and do good for others and to share with others.

When you are in constant relationship with God the Father, through Christ Jesus, constantly praying to Him and praising Him, then you start to walk in the shadow of His grace, and His hand is on your life, protecting you and leading you into the path that He has chosen for you.

Constantly sacrifice your praise to Him, that all may be smooth in your walk in the love of Jesus.

First Love

John Foster — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 04:36:25 +0000

Is your first love for Jesus still burning bright, or has the fire cooled down and the ambers lost their glow. Jesus is your first love, He is the Alpha and Omega, and therefore should be first and last. He is to be the first love in your life that shines bright and continues to burn fiercely all your life through.

Revelations 2:2 to 4. “I know your works, your labour, your patience, and that you can not bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them to be liars. And you have perservered and have patience, and have laboured for My name’s sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”

This is the message to the church of Ephesus. They are well commended for all their works and characteristics, and yet they are charged with having lost the burning first love that Jesus commands should be foremost in our lives.

Jesus commanded us that the greatest commandment of all time is to love the Lord God with all of our hearts. The second greatest is that we love our neighbour as we love ourselves. If you do not have the love of Jesus burning bright within your hearts, then anything else that you may do is of no real value. You can perform great and wonderful miracles, work 24/7 to spread the gospel, have extreme patience and endure all the trials, but if you do not have the light of love shining through you, it is of no avail.

Timothy says that we are to stir up the gift of God which is in you (2Timothy 1:6). We are to stir up the fire that is within us so that the love of Jesus shines bright from within and so that all who see us will be witness to the fact that we are as madly in love with Jesus as we were the first day that we accepted Jesus into our lives.