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Gifts of Life Community Fellowship is a place to fellowship with like-minded believers in collective praise, collective thought and collective unity through the Way, the Truth and the Life, Jesus, the Christ.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

A Prayer for Pastor Worley

Pastor Worley from South Carolina made some extremely harsh and NON-BIBLICAL statements from his pulpit regarding homosexuals recently.

I pray for his soul and his life and his congregation.

Yes, the bible says homosexual-ITY is a sin.

But no where does it say that "homosexuals should be put behind an electric fence until they die out."  And, there is absolutely NO context that this can be taken out of.  I saw the tape - he meant what he said.

Pastor Worley says, he "loves" homosexuals - but this is neither a loving statement, nor a Godly one.

The Word of God says we ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of the Lord (Romans 3:23)

In my bible and my dictionary and in my own mind and opinion, ALL means... ALL - nothing is excluded. That means me, Pastor Worley all his church, and mine, every homosexual and every individual - all of us have sinned and come short of the glory of the Lord.  But some of us are now saved from sin and dead to our sins.

And, not only have we all sinned, but we are all born into iniquity. So, if homosexuals say they are "born that way," then I can give them partial credit on that statement.  We all have a sin or iniquity that we are born into.  Fortunately for Pastor Worley, stupidity is not considered a sin.  But, he does have other issues - spiritual ones - which are just as serious an offense to God as the act of homosexuality.

Pastors are held to a higher standard and responsibility for what they teach their congregations.
Pastors are responsible for the very souls of their members.
Pastors who create a stumbling stone for those who are following them have a great judgement in store.
Pastors are called by God to be under-shepherds: earthly examples of our holy Shepherd, Jesus.

We are to follow our pastors as they follow Christ.  But I am sure Jesus would NOT lead his followers down the path Pastor Worley is leading his members who support him.

Adultery is a sin too.  So how did Jesus deal with the adulterous women?
He saved her from certain death (being stoned then and there) and said, "I condemn you not.  Go and sin no more."  He did not consign, sentance or condemn her to death behind an electrified fence.

John 3:16 "For God so LOVED the world (that means everyone in the world, whether they will believe in Him or not) that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever (this means anyone and everyone no matter what their sin) should believe on Him (and ONLY believe), would have everlasting Life.

BUT John 3:17 says, "For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world (so is that what we have Pastor Worley for? Is he greater than Jesus that he exercises this right when Jesus does not?); BUT that the world, through Him might be saved.

Homosexuals who believe in Jesus are saved and have everlasting Life.

Homosexuals who believe in Jesus and still practice homosexual-ITY do not believe homosexuality is a sin and therefore do not receive their salvation FROM this sin.

Homosexuals practising homosexuality who do not receive salvation from the sin of homosexuality are not saved from this sin.  Homosexuals not saved from their sin will not see the Kingdom of Heaven.

Let me break it down in the most basic format possible: SIN is separation from God.  Anything that is NOT of (our righteous) God is SIN.  There for SINS are the (unrighteous) acts that keep us in SIN and eternally separated from God.

God is Life.  Only God can give Eternal Life.
Anything that is not life is death.  The opposite of eternal life is eternal death.
Hence, sin = death.

However, under the New (and better) Covenant we have no right to judge, condemn or stone any sinner.  Not even Jesus has that right. God is the only Judge.  Jesus is our Defender.  Satan is our accuser - "the accuser of the Brethren" (Revelation 12:10)  Therefore, anyone speaking condemning (condemning a death sentence of) accusations against others - no matter what their sins are - is speaking on behalf of the enemy and not the Lord.

Pastor Worley is not speaking in love or of the Lord - for God is Love (1 John 4:8)  And for this I pray for him.  I pray that God would have mercy on him.  I pray that the Holy Ghost would convict his heart for his words - that he would repent and lead his congregation on the paths of righteousness.

And I pray, that all homosexuals (and terrorists, adulterers, fornicators and all other sinners like I used to be) would confess with their mouths that Jesus is Lord, and believe in their hearts that God raised Him from the dead so that they would be saved. (Romans 10:9)

I'll leave it to God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost to deal with homosexual-ITY.  They are far better equipped than me, Pastor Worley or anyone else here on this earth.

Power, Love & Peace Ya'll -
Min. Deidre Campbell-Jones

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Dominion & Condemnation

"Dominion"; "Reign" and "Kingdom" are all words of royalty and leadership.

As sons and daughters of the Most High, we are co-heirs with Jesus Christ to the Kingdom.  It is a Kingdom we are meant to bring to earth, just as it currently exists in heaven.

Unfortunately, we as Believers are unable to take our rightful place in the Kingdom (here and now upon this earth) because there are several truths we either don't know (ignorance) or misunderstand.  Some of those truths are: redemption; reconciliation; righteousness; forgiveness; sin and condemnation.

Our dominion upon this earth was blocked and hijacked by satan through sin in the Garden of Eden.

Jesus came, died and rose again so that we could be saved from that sin and restored to our dominion.

But satan continues to block our dominion by keeping us locked into sin through condemnation.

Romans 5, 6 & 8 contain a wealth of information regarding redemption, reconciliation, righteousness, forgiveness, sin and condemnation.  But most preachers still teach these scriptures in a way that continue to keep Believers from their true dominion.

Romans 5:18-19 "Therefore as by the offence of one (Adam's sin), judgement came upon all men (mankind) to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one (Jesus), the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.  For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous."

Romans 6 verse 2 says we are "dead to sin."  Verse 14: "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace." (Vs. 18) Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness"

In oter words: Adam's sin brought us condemnation, but Jesus brought righteousness.  When we convicted by sin, sin had dominion over us.  But when we walk in the free gift of righteousness, we walk in the grace of God free from sin.  Condemnation keeps us from dominion.

We are forgiven of sin once and for all. But if we constantly ask for the forgiveness have already been given, then we stay concious of what we think we are missing out on.  And if we stay fearful that we are sinners, and will sin, or might sin, or may not be fully forgiven of some unconfessed sin, then we stay sin conscious.  Our minds remain bound in sin and unforgiveness and cannot walk in the freedom of righteousness and dominion.

Romans 10:13 "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."  Once and for all.  Jesus died once.  And one time was powerful enough to forgive you of all your sin, past presant and future. Yes, all unrighteousness is sin.  But you have been given the free gift of righteousness - the righteousness of Christ.

Put off condemnation and put on the garment of righteousness.  Wear it.  Walk in it. 

Righteousness is the royal robe of your dominion.

Power, Love & Peace, ya'll
~Min. Dez

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Why Jesus' Blood?

We were meant to have life, live and live forever.

When God created Adam, He breathed the breath of life in him.  And God created a garden and placed in the midst of it The Tree of Life, and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Then God took man and placed him in the Garden, and He told Adam, "Of every tree in the midst of the garden you may freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat thereof, you shall surely die."

From the begining we had the choice of life and death.

See if you agree with me in this:
  • God created life
  • The opposite of life is death
  • The opposite of everlasting life is everlasting death
  • The only antidote to everlasting death is everlasting life
  • The only one with the antidote to death is the One who has life
  • God is the only cure from an eternal death.
God had already breathed the breath of life into Adam and he became a living soul in Genesis 2:7.  They were meant to eat of the tree of life and continue living life eternally.  But when Adam and Eve sinned and ate of the tree that would cause them to die, God expelled them from the Garden lest they eat also of the tree of life and live forever in a sinnful state of death. (Genesis 3:22-24)

And we were kept from the Way of the Tree of Life... until such a time as we could be redeemed from death and receive eternal life once again.  That time finally came 2000 years ago when Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and rose again so that we could have everlasting life.

John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
John 1:14 "And the Word wsas made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Jesus is the Word that became flesh; the same Word that in the beginning was with God and was God.  Jesus is the same God that gave us life, breathing His own Spirit into us so that we could live.

So why then is the blood so important?  Why Jesus' blood?

Levitucus 17:11 says, "For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I [God] have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul."

Only the blood of Jesus is pure enough, holy enough and righteous enough to cure us from the sin of death that infected our blood through the sin of disobedience and separation.

Our original ancestors (Adam and Eve) were exposed to the sickness of sin that imbedded death like a disease into our very DNA.  Our life-giving blood needed to be purified back to its original state of life.  That is why the Word had to come as Jesus - fully human and fully God - with the DNA of his earthly mother, and the DNA of his heavenly Father, so that His blood could redeem, reconcile and repurify the human race.

But God is a Spirit.  And by His Spirit He breathed the breath of Life into Adam.  And so by receiving that redemption and reconciliation through faith in Jesus, we too can receive the Spirit of God and the breath of Life, living eternally free from the sin of death, just as was originally intented.

John 3:16, "For God so loved the WORLD that He gave His only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER should believe on Him, would not perish (die), but have everlasting LIFE."

Believe and receive LIFE... eternally.

Power, Love & Peace, ya'll -
~Min. Dez

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Back to the Garden...

... a story of reconciliation.
Last week we talked about redemption and how through the price that Jesus paid for us, we have been redeemed from every curse of the law.  The price that was due for our sin was paid in full by Jesus' death on the cross.

But it seems since the dawn of church history, we as men and women have been taught that Adam and Eve were cursed in the Garden because of their sin of disobedience.

Well, here comes the controversy....

Adam and Eve were NEVER cursed in the Garden!!

And by the way, if I'm clearing up long standing myths... let me also clear up the belief that Eve ate an apple or some other fruit and Adam ate it too.  In actuality, Eve believed the "fruit" of satan's mouth.  Proverbs 12:14; Proverbs 13:2 and Proverbs 18:20 all describe the "fruit of [a man's] mouth."  The fruit of one's mouth are our words.  Eve believed satan's words and told (gave) them to Adam and he did believe (eat) also.

Then after all this went down and God came to confront Adam, He first cursed the serpent - Genesis 3:14.  Then God gave the woman the consequences of her actions.  The He gave Adam the consequenses of his actions, and finally God then cursed the ground for Adam's sake.

You see, when God created Adam and Eve He blessed them.  And because God is the Almighty Creator, every thing He speaks creates truth.  This is why God cannot lie.  His word creates truth.  The truth God spoke over Adam and Eve were blessings.  God cannot curse what He has already blessed.

However, since Adam and Eve were not cursed, but only the ground and satan were cursed, we (mankind) were subject to the curse of the ground and the curse of the enemy as a consequence of disobedience.  That disobedience relinquished our blessing to the hands of that which was cursed.

Genesis 1:28 "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it and have dominion over [it]."  Every blessing God originally gave mankind was then subject to the curse of the enemy or the curse of the land.

Oh, but praise God for Jesus!  Praise God for His death! Praise God for His resurrection!  Praise God for redemption and Praise God for reconciliation! 

Galatians 3:13 says we are redeemed from every curse of the law because Jesus became a curse for us.

But give praise and glory to the Lord of Hosts, because II Corinthians 5:18 says, "And all things are of God, who hat reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hat given to us the ministry of reconciliation;"

Redeemed means: to pay off; to ransom; to deliver from sin; to fulfill a promise; to make amends or atone; to restore.

And Reconciled means: to settle a quarrel; to make consisten; to make friendly.

Through our redemption we are reconciled from the original act of disobedience in the Garden - we are reconciled back to our original blessing.  It was never revoked - God never repents of His blessings or promises to us.  But instead, we are delivered from every curse, so that we can walk fully in the blessing of our reconciliation.

Yes we can be fruitful - in our bodies, souls, spirits and all our relationships; yes we can multiply and multiply all that we have; yes we can replenish what we have, what we use and replenish what is used upon this earth; yes we can subdue the earth, the devil and every aspect of this world; and yes - we have dominion!

But not only that, if you go back to God's original intent for Adam and Eve in the Garden, they were meant to be clothed with God's Glory and in constant communication with Him.  They were meant to eat freely from the tree of Life and life eternally with God.  Women were not meant to have enmity with the devil, we were meant to subdue him.  Women were not meant to have sorrow in conception, childbirth and raising our children.  We were meant to desire God, not our husbands and they were not meant to rule over us.  Men likewise, were meant to have all their provision, labor and worked blessed, and were not supposed to work, suffer and struggle for everything they needed for their families.  Man was not meant to be the insignificant dust that the enemy would seek to devour.

This is the life we are reconciled to through Jesus Christ.  We can live life as if still in the Garden before the fall.  We are reconciled back to the Garden...

Power, love & Peace, ya'll -
~Min. Dez

Monday, March 12, 2012

Basically... Redeemed

Here's the basics on redemption.

As Christians we hear all the time that we are "redeemed" - but it's Christianese that has a vague meaning.  We know it has something to do with Jesus and being saved from sin and that's good enough!

Ever redeem your recyclables for cash?

Ever redeem a coupon at the grocery store?

If you buy a bottle of soda, part of your purchase price includes the recycling redemption costs.  When you take the bottle to the recycling center, they give you back that portion that you already paid at the grocery store.

When you redeem a coupon, the grocer discounts the amount of the coupon that technically, the manufacturer is has already paid, or will pay on the behalf of the coupon holder.

Well, Jesus has paid the redemption price for our sin - death.  His death on the cross paid the ultimate price for our sin and separation from God.  Our debt of sin is completely paid in full and this is why on the cross Jesus exclaimed, "It is finished."  We are redeemed by faith when we confess Jesus by faith.

Michah 4:8-10 speaks to the "daughters of zion" - and I do believe there is a special redemption coming in the last days for women (as I've written about before in "The Redemption of Eve") - but Micah is prophetically speaking to those of who have confessed Jesus as our Lord and King.

"And you, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto you shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.  Now why do you cry out aloud? Is there no king in you? Is your counsellor perished? For pangs have taken you as a woman in travail.  Be in pain and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail.  For now shal you go forth out of the city, and you shall dwell in the field, and you shall go even to Babylon; there shall you be delivered; there the Lord shall redeem you from the hand of your enemies."

Now notice certain wording in these passages: first dominion implies that there are subsequent dominions; the kingdom shall come - just as Jesus expressed in the prayer He taught His disciples; and where is the king in you? Isn't Jesus the King of Kings? And isn't He a Mighty Counsellor?

Jesus said it was necessary for Him to die so that the Comforter could come - Comfortor in this case, also being another name for the Counsellor.  But we know that Counsellor did not simply die, but He rose again and is alive... so why to we labor, struggle, strive and suffer in sorrow; crying out and crying aloud as if Jesus does not abide within us or as if He died and did not rise again?

Micah says to go ahead and cry in our sorrows, because deliverance is coming.  He says we will be delivered from the midst of whatever is causing us to cry and travail over: the city; the field and the Babyonian Systems - such as credit, social security, banking and all those other worldly systems of managing this world.  In this day and age, our enemies are not Amalakites and Jebusites.... instead our enemies are IRS, Experion, Transunion, Wall Street and the Bank of Whoever...  A more detailed list can be found in the book of Deuteronomy.

Deuteronomy 28:1-14 states how we are blessed, but verses 15 - 68 says how we are cursed if we do not follow the commandments of the Lord.  And there are 75 detailed curses! Many people try to ignor the curses - if they've ever even read Deuteronomy at all!  But now, because of my redemption, I am excited to read those curses!

That's because Galatians 3:13 says, "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:"

We are redeemed!

Do yo believe in Jesus? Do you believe that He died on the cross for your sin?

If so, then you are REDEEMED from every curse of the law!

You are no longer subject to the curse of the Garden; the curse of the law; or the curses of not tithing.  Your are only subject to the blessings! All the blessings of the Garden, all the blessings of the law and all the blessings of tithes and offerings.

You are redeemed.

Walk in power, love and peace, ya'll!
~Min. Dez

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Do What? Part 4 - Receive

Wow... I cannot believe it has been so many months since I last wrote on this series.  And yet I remember it clearly and never will forget - it was September 19th 2011, when I received my 2010 Ford Escape.   And now here it is 2012...

Since September God has continued to work on my faith and I have indeed received many, many things by pure, unadulterated faith - miraculous faith!

But I still struggled as to how to write this last portion on "receiving" that I hadn't already written in believing.  I don't know why, but it dawned on me today.

Today I realized that "receive" is to "take and make something your own." You can actually believe something and not receive it.

If I told you I'd bought you a car and it was at the lot waiting for you - paid in full - and all you had to do was go down to the car lot get the key and drive off.  With excitement you wouldn't question whether or not you believed me.  You would head to the car lot in FAITH that what I said was true.  If the car was there, it would seal your belief in my words and you would take those keys - receiving that vehicle as your own.

But imagine a prophet says to you, "God has provided for your prosperity and by the end of the year you will no longer have to borrow on your house."  If you've got no job, are 2 months behind in your mortgage payment and it happens to be the month of December, it's very difficult for you to believe.

You may hope it's true, but because there is no belief that it IS true, then it's nearly impossible for you to receive its truth and take it and make it your own.  You see too many of the improbabilities in such a statement to be able to see that God is a God of impossibilities.

But God's ways are not our ways.  And God's thoughts are not our thoughts - especially when we think that God's word doesn't or cannot apply to us.  Even waiting for what we think is too long or when we cannot see how the prophetic word can come to pass are factors in our thoughts that keep us from receiving God's rhema word.

Matthew 10:41 says, "He that receives a prophet in the name of a prophet receives a prophet's reward. And he that receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man, receives a righteous man's reward."

Often times many of us receive a "word from the Lord" not from some world renowned and proven prophet, but from a church member, friend or spouse and we automatically meet the word with skepticism. It's easy to feel like the person is just saying something because they know you or care about you and want the best for you.  But what we first fail to realize is that many times our church members, friends or spouses don't even realize that they've tapped into the Spirit to receive a prophet word from the Lord Himself.  They may actually feel as though they just had a "feeling" or that's what their "gut" is telling them.

The second thing we fail to realize is that our own spirit bears witness to what the word is saying.  The skepticism we feel about whether or not the person delivering the word has heard from God, is not our spirit bearing witness to the actual word itself.

But when your spirit bears witness to the actual word being spoken over you - that's when you have a sense of whether or not the word sounds right or not.  If that word coming true is a comforting thought to you, or if its possibilities bring you edification or exhort you in any way, then that determines whether or not you can receive that person as a prophet.

Did you catch that? Notice I did not say that aspects of edification, exhortation and comfort determine whether or not a prophesy is true.  I Corinthians 14:3 says, "But he that prophesies, speaks unto men edification, exhortation and comfort."  but when you match this scripture with the one previously mentioned in Matthew 10:41 you see that you first have to receive a prophet as a prophet in order to receive the prophet's reward.

That means before a prophecy can be determined as valid or not, part of the validating process must include believing that the church member, your friend or your spouse actually is speaking prophetically to you.  Receive that person as a prophet by taking them at their word and making that word your own.

When you take that word and you receive it as yours - just like the promise of a new car at a car lot - your belief in that word fuels your faith and your faith makes manifest your hope that that word is true.

II Chronicles 20:20 - "And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper."

Believing in the prophet brings us prosperity - plain and simple.  Believe in the word.  Then receive the word.

But remember, I said it is possible to believe in something, but not receive it.

You can believe with hope.
Or you can believe with faith.

If you believe with hope then your hope always remains unrealized.  Belief and hope do not manifest what you're hoping for because hope contains an inherent amount of doubt.

My Bishop teaches that if you walk into a room and hope your friend has a mint, there's is always a hint of doubt as to whether or not that friend actually does have a mint.  You can believe that they probably do... just like you can believe that a prophetic word will probably come true or that that word of God probably applies to you.

But Hebrews 11:1 says, "NOW faith is the substance of things hoped, the evidence of things unseen."

Faith is the power that makes what you're hoping for substantial, tangible and seen.

Doubt is the counter-productive power that keeps what you're hoping for unsubstantial, elusive and invisible.

Say you have a cart - and inside the cart is what you're hoping for: your debts paid; a husband; a new house; or salvation for your loved ones.  You hope what you're hoping for is in that cart, but you can't see it at all.

Well, you've got two horses to hitch up to that cart: one's named Faith and the other horse's name is Doubt. Now mind you, you have faith, and your faith is big and strong - you know you have faith and so you call for faith to bring you that cart... kind of.

Think about the things you're hoping for... do your words actually call to your Faith so that it pulls what you're hoping for towards you? Or are you actually calling to the cart hoping for it to be filled with what you're hoping for? 

You are keeping hope alive, but your faith ain't moving!

Or worse, you may actually be calling to your horse of Faith in one sentence: "I know God sent me to this job as an answer to my prayers for my debt."  But then you call to your horse of Doubt in the very next sentence: "But I can't stand this place. I don't think I can last long enough to pay one bill!"

Well, Faith heard you and starts to take a step towards you with that cart filled with paid bills.  But Doubt hears you and starts to take a step away from you with that same cart of paid bills.  See - what you're hoping for IS in that cart.  But with Faith pulling towards you, and Doubt pulling away from you - neither horse goes anywhere.  They are equally matched with equal horse power.  And the bills don't get paid.

In the natural world there is a law that says, "Every action has an equal and opposite reaction."  And when we live in the natural, when we live by our flesh, our very words are subject to this law of nature.  But the spirit realm defies all natural law.

But you have to perceive the spirit realm - perceive that it exists and that God's word is real.
Then you have to believe in the spirit realm - believe that God's word is real for YOU.
And finally you have to receive what the spirit realm has for you - receive God's promises and make them your own!

God is a Spirit.  He created heaven and earth and made us stewards over this earth with a connection to the heaven through His Spirit and ours.  He tells us to pray, "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven."

His will for us is that our lives on earth match what is in heaven - but we must bring heaven to earth the same way God did.  Through our words.  God created all things with the Word of His Power and then He created us in His image and in His likeness.  That means that like Him, we too have the Word of His Power and we must speak His word in order to speak the unseen into the seen.

Doubt your doubt and SPEAK YOUR FAITH!

Through faith we perceive God's word.
Through faith we believe God's word.
Through faith we receive all the promises of God's word.

Only speaking will activate your faith into receiving.

Power, Love and Peace, ya'll -
~Min. Dez