Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of Team MissionAccess Worldwide! Ponder with me the positively mind-blowing consequences of being Children of God. Let’s begin with our focus verse:
“So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith (Galatians 3: 26 NIV)”
What inspired this study is a BBC show entitled Heir Hunters which follows along as a team of investigators attempt to track down the rightful heirs of unclaimed estates where no will exists. Incredibly, some of these estates are quite sizable. But without the proper paperwork to prove their claim, after 12 years the money simply goes back into the government’s coffers.
Not so with the Children of God! Each and every precious soul who places their faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is a direct descendant of the Kingdom of God and entitled to a full inheritance.
Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of Team MissionAccess Worldwide! Methinks that our Awesome Lord hath given me a very timely message indeed! But I do believe it is not just for me alone, but for ALL of us in what appears to be a pivotal time in not just our church, but also in our nation, and our world.
Our Scripture Focus Verse is found in the OT Book of Micah 6:8 (NIV)
8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
Ah! I believe that in this one simple yet profound verse Our Awesome Lord is giving us His template for how best to properly rise up to the challenges we all face.
Theologian Martin Luther likened the struggle between justice and mercy to a drunken peasant who fails to straddle his horse if he leans too heavily on either the stirrup of justice or of mercy (1). Growing up I learned this delicate balance courtesy of my pugnacious pony Pepper who defied every effort to correct or control her (hmm I resemble that remark).
So how shall we remain upright?
The key is BALANCE.
Oh Precious Peeps! May the fullness of both justice and mercy prevail in all our efforts as we walk humbly for His Glory indeed.
Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of Team MissionAccess Worldwide! As we wave a fond farewell to Bartimaeus Baptist Temple’s (http://BBTemple.org) Homecoming #65, I am so honored to share a vision of what I believe Our Awesome Lord has prepared for us in the future.
Spoiler Alert! It ain’t retirement! Far from it.
In fact, I believe that we are entering what we’ll look back upon as the beginning of the Golden Age of our ministry.
Why do I say this? Because if we look back in scripture, we uncover something very similar that happened for God’s chosen people as recounted by the Prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 61: 3 (NASB 1995):
“To grant those who mourn in Zion,
Giving them a garland instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The cloak of praise instead of a disheartened spirit.
So they will be called oaks of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”
For context I include this commentary from BiblePortal.com:
“’Beauty for ashes’” is a promise to God’s people that He planned to get them out of their troubles and eventually send them the Messiah. This is clear from the background and context of the verse. Christians can still find hope and encouragement in these verses when they are going through hard times.”
Every year our Homecoming coincides with our national remembrance of 9/11/01 when we are reminded of the ashes. But behold the strong towers of defiance that rose up in their place! In the same way, I believe our weathered sign so eloquently captures the Beauty For Ashes that yet await our continued ministry efforts in our Golden Age to come. A Golden Opportunity for you to join us indeed!
Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of Team MissionAccess Worldwide! Meet J. I. Packer, who went Home to be with the Lord in 2020, full of years at the age of 93, here speaking on Personal Holiness:
What a timely message as we enter a brand New Year! May I be so bold as to suggest that we focus not just on the principles but rather on The Joy of Holiness. Many times throughout the Old and New Testament we hear echoes of holiness but find it first as a command here:
44 For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, because I am holy. (LEV 11: 44 NASB)
Let’s look more closely at two key words:
#1 CONSECRATE: to devote to a purpose with or as if with deep solemnity or dedication.
#2 HOLY: dedicated or consecrated to God or a religious purpose; sacred.
Note that “holy” is repeated twice, signifying its importance to Our Awesome Lord & Savior. What better time than now to recommit our hearts, our minds, and our lives and unleash the Joy of Holiness exceeding abundantly!
Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of Team MissionAccess worldwide! Langston Hughes, legendary poet of the Harlem Renaissance of the 60s, penned the timeless poem entitled “Tired”:
I am so tired of waiting, Aren’t you, For the world to become good And beautiful and kind? Let us take a knife And cut the world in two- And see what worms are eating At the rind. (1)
What’s crazy is that I started seeing the words “good and beautiful and kind” popping up everywhere! In fact it is the title of an excellent book by Rich Villodas: “Good and Beautiful and Kind: Becoming Whole in a Fractured World.” Rich is the Brooklyn-born lead pastor of New Life Fellowship in Elmhurst, NY. His book is a very personal testimony of how to live out our faith, not just by what we are doing, but how we are doing it. It all comes down to one pivotal question:
“Am I Being Formed Into Love?”
Here’s how it works: before you say anything, before you do anything, ask yourself “Is It #GBK? (Good? Beautiful? Kind?)” Think of it as a shortcut to Being Formed Into Love.
Oh Precious Peeps! It doesn’t have to be big. Or profound. But that’s exactly how we make a difference in this fractured world. Because even in this rotten world—no, let me rephrase that—especially in this rotten world, we are desperately needed to be #GBK for His Glory indeed.
Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of Team MissionAccess worldwide! This message I truly believe is a good and perfect gift downloaded directly into my sleepytime brain to encourage both me and you during even these the most perplexing of times inded.
Let me explain: to combat my ever-progressing MS I have been on the Coimbra protocol (high-dose Vitamin D to help treat autoimmune disease) since Summer 2019. Though I decided to discontinue this somewhat controversial treatment, I have in fact noticed some noticeable improvements including lucid dreaming. And praise God I had a doozy!
But before I share the dream let’s look at one of my favorite verses found in the Book of James:
James 1: 17 NASB
17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
I want to focus on just two words, the first being: GIFT. Now when I think of “gift” I think of a brightly wrapped box with a big bow and a card with my name on it!
But the second word is: EVERY which appears twice. Sometimes His best gifts come in far, far different packages than we expect which Laura Story captured so well in her song “Blessings.” Or like my dream may have no physical wrapping at all yet seems cloaked in mystery nevertheless. Ah but what a joy when our Awesome Lord creates something just for You! And though we just don’t necessarily understand we can take incredible comfort in knowing it was meant for us and for us to share.
So here’s my dream along with a hopeful interpretation I believe the Lord laid on my heart:
I dreamt that my Beloved husband Larry and I were riding together probably on DART when it came time for me to exit alone and proceed with some predetermined task. And though it was dark, I felt no fear until I encountered a flashing neon DETOUR sign ahead. My heart sank and though in my scooter I navigated my way through a gauntlet of construction DANGER roping to flag down a worker donning full reflective bling. “What am I supposed to do?” I anguished helplessly. The worker, who was a petite Hispanic woman, answered me confidently “God will take care of you!” and I awoke amazed.
WOW whatever was all that about?!! Well since the time that I dreamt it I truly believe that our Awesome Lord gently laid this comforting interpretation on my heart:
Peeps you may feel that you were just going about your business when BAM suddenly you found yourself alone in a strange place surrounded by flashing-neon danger. But yet again Praise God He was right there waiting to protect and to guide you through it! And though it may seem neither good nor perfect at the time, you can rest assured that He is there every good & perfect step of the way.
Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers Of Team MissionAccess Worldwide!
Our Message this season resulted from A Series of Fortunate Events that led me directly to Laura Story’s most excellent book When God Doesn’t Fix It. Who hasn’t heard her Grammy Award-Winning classic Blessings? But not until I read her book did I discover the Blessings In Disguise behind Laura’s story.
Shortly after their marriage her husband Martin Elvington began having medical issues that resulted in a diagnosis of brain tumor. Although they rushed to remove the malignant tumor he was left with permanent brain damage along with short-term memory loss requiring extensive retraining on simply how to live.
This “tragedy” however launched them into a journey of discovery of God’s plan & purpose for their lives that looked nothing like what they had envisioned but rather far exceeded their wildest dreams.
So try this: do what Laura does! Replace your inevitable “Why God?” with “Show Me HOW God?” Prepare to be amazed at how Our Awesome Lord can help turn even your deepest pain into His highest joy for Our Good & His Glory worldwide.
Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of Team Mission Access! Our focus this season is Prayer! I shall allow Bob Sorge’s excellent new book: “Reset – 20 Ways To A Consistent Prayer Life” to boldly lead us into a deeper relationship with our Awesome Lord by helping us create a powerful new habit to pray more consistently in the future.
I confess, Peeps: I have always struggled with the Apostle Paul’s urging to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17 NASB). How exactly am I supposed to fulfill this lofty goal? Thankfully Bob in his delightfully winsome way has given me hope of making progress of biblical proportions at long last.
Bob offers invaluable suggestions on how to build a stronger prayer life that I’ve exercised my freedom in Christ to outline in 3 steps to get you started:
#1 MAKE A 20/20 COMMITMENT! Commit to spending 20 minutes for 20 days to jump start your New & Improved prayer life.
#2 SET A TIME & PLACE Make an appointment! Select a set time & location that will allow you to build your relationship without distractions.
#3 TAKE NOTES! WRITE IT DOWN Keep records! I recommend an app called Mobile Knee in Google Play to capture your thoughts & prayers.
You CAN do this Peeps! After just 20 days I find that I actually look forward to my prayer time now and miss it when my schedule changes.
So my prayer for you — wherever you are in your walk with Christ – is simply to Reset! Revive. & Renew in 2020 & beyond.
Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of TEAM MissionAccess! Meet Leonard Knight, creator of Salvation Mountain. Located in the California Desert, Leonard literally with his bare hands, adobe clay and straw built a monument to his Core Beliefs: #1 Repent And Be Saved, and #2 God Is Love.
Leonard so perfectly embodies the spirit penned by the Apostle Paul:
1 Corinthians 1:27 NASB says 27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong.” Rather than delve into the commentaries let’s just take a closer look at these mind-boggling stats about Leonard:
-During his lifetime he was the most-visited man on earth with 500,000+ visitors (sans slick advertising or PR campaigns)
-Salvation Mountain was featured on album covers by Third Day and others
-In fact Salvation Mountain is now a protected national monument like Mount Rushmore!
So Peeps let our most powerful prayer be simply this: Lord allow me the honor to be a Fool for Your Glory Indeed!
Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of Team Mission Access!
This Season we honor the life and legacy of Fanny Crosby.
Born March 24, 1820, Frances Jane Crosby remains one of the most prolific writers of all time. From poetry to popular literature to more than 8000 hymns, Fanny’s influence continues to impact our worship today more than a century later.
Though blinded shortly after birth, Fanny considered her disability a blessing! She knew heartache, losing her first and only child from scarlet fever which inspired her to write “Safe In The Arms Of Jesus.” Unlike some artists today she went from popular secular to exclusively Christian music. Perhaps most amazing of all is that Fanny did not use Braille! She composed hymns in her head and thankfully had them transcribed to become the mainstay of hymnals worldwide even today.
Fanny passed away February 12, 1915 at the age of 94 (when average life expectancy was half that). Despite her fame the humble headstone reads simply “Aunt Fanny – She Hath Done What She Could.” Wise words indeed for all People & Families Affected By Disability worldwide!
