I Am a Saint

“To the Saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus.”  Eph 1:1

If I walked into any church in America and asked how many perceive themselves as a sinner saved by grace, almost everyone would raise their hands. But if I asked how many perceive themselves as saints, few, if any would raise their hands. My response would be: Which is the most biblically accurate statement of who you are as a Christian? Does the Bible refer to the believer as a sinner or as a saint?

The overwhelming and consistent message of the New Testament is that we are all saints by the grace of God, sanctified because we are in Christ Jesus.

The most overwhelming concept in the early parts of Ephesians is the tremendous inheritance we have in Christ. Forty times in the one book of Ephesians, references are made either you being in Christ or Christ in you.

All that is needed for godly living is ours by divine power, which is inherent in the Christ-life within. The believer’s identity and purpose is in Christ. He becomes a doer of the Word because of who he already is.

Ephesians 5:8 says, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.” The problem is not that we are not saints; it is that we do not live like saints. DEAR HEAVENLY FATHER, I renounce the lie that I am just a sinner. I acknowledge that I am a saint not due to any effort on my part but because of my redemption in Christ. I receive and appropriate my new identity in Christ as a saint and I choose to do so by faith. I ask You to fijj me with Your Holy Spirit and enable me to live out my true identity as a saint so I may not sin. I choose to walk in the light that I may glorify You. I pray this in the wonderful name of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. AMEN.

Neil T. Anderson. Living Free in Christ (pp. 67-73). Kindle Edition.

The following is taken from a Florida newspaper:

A man was working on his motorcycle on his patio and his wife was in the house in the kitchen.  The man was racing the engine on the motorcycle and somehow, the motorcycle slipped into gear.  The man, still holding the handlebars, was dragged through a glass patio door and the motorcycle dumped onto the floor inside the house.  The wife, hearing the crash, ran into the dining room, and found her husband laying on the floor, cut and bleeding, the motorcycle laying next to him and the patio door shattered.  The wife ran to the phone and summoned an ambulance.

Because they lived on a fairly large hill, the wife went down the several flights of long steps to the street to direct the paramedics to her husband.  After the ambulance arrived and transported the husband to the hospital, the wife uprighted the motorcycle and pushed it outside.  Seeing that gas had spilled on the floor, the wife obtained some paper towels, blotted up the gasoline, and threw the towels in the toilet.

The husband was treated at the hospital and was released to come home. After arriving home, he looked at the shattered patio door and the damage done to his motorcycle.  He became despondent, went into the bathroom, sat on the toilet and smoked a cigarette.  After finishing the cigarette, he flipped it between his legs into the toilet bowl while still seated.  The wife, who was in the kitchen, heard a loud explosion and her husband screaming.  She ran into the bathroom and found her husband laying on the floor.  His trousers had been blown away and he was suffering burns on the buttocks, the back of his legs and his groin.  The wife again ran to the phone and called for an ambulance.

The same ambulance crew was dispatched and his wife met them at the street.  The paramedics loaded the husband on the stretcher and began carrying him to the street.  While they were going down the stairs to the street accompanied by the wife, one of the paramedics sked the wife how the husband had burned himself.  She told them and the paramedics started laughing so hard, one of them tipped the stretcher and dumped the husband out.  He fell down the remaining steps and broke his ankle.

So, “Is your day as bad as you think?”

Be Blessed Today

Don Milner

I Am a Member of Christ’s Body

“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”  1 Corinthians 12:27

Anybody who regularly relates to people on a deep level knows that they don’t inherently feel good about themselves. We are not born with an innate sense of worth or value.

Who we essentially are is not determined by what we do or the roles we live out in society. It is who we are that determines what we do, and then what we do brings sense of satisfaction and fulfillment.

Our identity or worth is not found in our talents, our intelligence, our beauty or even our spiritual gifts. Out identity comes from knowing who we are as children of God, and out sense of worth grows out of our commitment to become like him.

The only way you are going to live a productive life, feel good about yourself and carry out your calling in life is to discover who you really are. Find out what God has built into you, the talents He has given you. Use those gifts for the glory of God to edify the Body of Christ, and you will be fulfilled. Trying to be something you are not will only lead to failure and frustration.

DEAR HEAVENLY FATHER, I thank You for making me a member of Your Body I renounce tke lie that I have no part to play or no significant contribution to make in the Body of Christ. I accept what You have created in me and the special spiritual gifts that come from You. I commit myself to grow in Your likeness so that my gifts and abilities can be used to edify Your Church. I renounce the lie that my identity and sense of worth is found in my ability to perform. I accept the truth that my identity and worth is found in Christ and will be realized increasingly as I grow in Christ’s likeness. I thank You for being a part of Your family and that I can realize I not only have You as my Father, but I have brothers and sisters in Christ with whom I can share my life. In the wonderful name of Jesus I pray. AMEN.

Neil T. Anderson. Living Free in Christ (p. 64-66). Kindle Edition.

Baseball in the Bible.   A Play by Play account of a Baseball game written by Freddie Russell of the Nashville Banner.  All quotations are from the KJV.

Part 1 of 2

The people gathered (Numbers 11:32)

to see the battle  (1 Sam. 14:28)

and sat down to eat and drink  (Ex. 32:6)

old corn…. and ( Joshua 15:12)

sweet water.  (James 3:11)

Eli sat upon a seat by a post (1 Sam 1:9)

and he stretched himself   (I Kings 17:21)

that he may see good.  (Ps 34:12)

So the people shouted:  (Joshua 6:20)

“Where are the nine?  (Luke 17:17)

Let the young men now arise and play before us.”  (2 Sam 2:14)

The first came out  (Gen 25:25)

and went into the field  (Num 22:23)

and stood every may in his place  (Judg 7:21)

And Peter called  (Mk 14:72)

whether it be good or bad  (Lev 27:12)

As one mocketh, another do.  (Job 13:9)

with loud voices:  (Lk 23:23)

“Thou art blind !” (Rev 3:17)

And he stooped to  (1 Sam 28:4)

make clean… the platter (Lk 11:39)

and the trumpeters sounded:  (2 Chron 29:28)

“Kohath shall pitch.” (Num 3:29)

And Samson went and caught  (Judg 15:4)

David was up (2 Sam 24:11

on the left side (Eze 1:10)

and he struck it into the pan  (1 Sam 2:14)

foul.  (Matt 16:3)

The second was offered:  (Judg 15:4)

he striketh–  (Job 34:26)

he missed ! (1 Sam 20:18)

On the third (Gen 22:4)

he struck him out !  (2 Sam 20:10)

So Levite went in  (judg 17:10)

he stood and measured the earth; he beheld, and drove  (Hab 3:6)

for an homer.  (Hos 3:2)

And all the people shouted with a great shout.  (Ezra 3:11)

And Noah went in  (Gen 7:7)

and did fly   (2 Sam 22:11)

into the field  (Num 22:23)

And Jotham ran away  (Judg 9:21)

and looking back  (Lk 9:62)

gathered it.      (Isa 62:9)

And Aaron went in (Ex 5:1)

and he worketh it  (Isa 44:12)

two and two.  (Gen 7:9)

And Samson said:     (Judg 15:3)

“Strike it!”     (Ex  12:7)

and Aaron spake:  (Ex 4:30)

“A good man would   (Rom 5:7)

be not one of them that strike.”   (Prov 22:26)

And the man refused to smite.      ( 1 Kings 20:35)

And Aaron took,       (Num 16:47)

and he walked,  (1 Kings 15:3)

Amon sacrificed (2 Chron 33:22)

and Aaron ran     (Num 16:47)

into the second,  (Heb 9:7)

and overran !  (2 Sam 18:23)

And with the bag   (Micah 6:11)

afar off–  (Gen 22:4)

a good man out.    (Matt 12:35)

Now Jeremiah came in   (Jer 37:4)

Then he went out.   (Gen 31:33)

being caused to fly,  (Dan 9:21)

And the men of Israel retired.    (Judg 20:39)

Continued Later

As you can see, you can take the Bible and pull words out of context to prove anything….. but you don’t have to pull out of context to discover that you ARE BLESSED……

I Have Been Brought with a Price;

I Belong to God

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were brought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”   1 Corinthians 6:19-20

The world’s definition of freedom is to do your own thing, to exercise your independence by being a “free agent” morally. God’s definition of true freedom is for us to voluntarily to do His thing, which requires us to be dependent upon Him, the One who brought us with a price, the One to whom we belong.

As one who belongs to God, we have freedom in three ways:

1. 1.    We are free from the law. Gal 5:1
2. 2.    We are free from the past Gal 4:6-8
3. 3.    We can be free from sin

Now that I belong to God I carry a sense of responsibility. When people say, “Well, who does he belong to?” the answer is, “I belong to God.”. It is not a negative thing to be a servant of God. It is a joyful thing to say that I have been bought with a price, and I belong to God.

DEAR HEAVENLY FATHER, I thank You that You have purchased me from the slave market of sin and brought me into Your own kingdom of light. I joyfully announce the fact that I belong to You. I renounce the lie that I am unworthy to be Your child and that You don’t love me. I accept and proclaim the truth that You loved me and died for me while I was still a sinner. I am now alive in Christ, I have been bought with a price, and I belong to You for all eternity. I commit myself and my body to You as a living sacrifice, that I may glorify You. In Jesus’ precious name I pray. AMEN N.

Neil T. Anderson. Living Free in Christ (p. 53-59). Kindle Edition.

Now for the lighter side………

How many Youth Ministers does it take to change a light bulb?

Zero. Most youth ministers aren’t around long enough for the old bulb to burn out.

How many Pentecostals does it take to change a light bulb?

Only one – they always have their hands in the air anyway!!!

How about the Teen side….

Why did God ask Abraham to offer Issac as a sacrifice when he was 12 years old?

If he had waited until he was a teenager.. it wouldn’t have been a sacrifice !!

Dad: “Son don’t you know what happens to you when you break one of the ten commandments?”

Son: “Sure. You have nine left.”

About the Ten Commandments….

One man after reading the 10 commandments sighed: “Well at least I never made any graven images.”

One time a proud Bostonian was talking about how he was going to go to Mt. Sinai and stand where Moses received the Ten Commandments.

Mark Twain interupted him and said: “Why don’t you just stay in Boston and keep them?

About all other things….

A man sat between a Rabbi and a Protestant minister at a banquet.  He said “I feel like I am between the Old and the New Testament.”

The Rabbi replied, “That page is usually blank.”

A preacher had himself cloned so that he might reach more lost souls for the Lord.  His clone looked like him, but did not act like him.. The clone was a bad person, cursing at every breath, staying out all night bar hoping, etc.  The preacher knew he must get rid of this clone before he completely ruined his reputation.  The preacher invited the clone to a wild party on the 9th floor of a hotel, and while the clone was drunk, the preacher pushed him out of a window.     When the preacher was arrested for murder, he argued that he had not committed murder, he had only made “an obscene clone fall.”

Dear God, so far today, I’ve done all right.

I haven’t gossiped, and I haven’t lost my temper.

I haven’t been grumpy, nasty or selfish, and

I’m really glad of that !

But in a few minutes, God, I’m going to get our of bed, and from then on, I’m probably going to need a lot of help……

Be Blessed Today

Pastor Don

John 15:12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit–fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17 This is my command: Love each other.

A friend is someone who takes you into his confidence. It’s a reciprocal relationship. At

A friend is also someone who loves you, who has your best interests at heart, who stands by you in your lowest moments and sacrifices himself to meet your need.

In Christ, you have the best friend you could ever have. Many may desert you during times of trouble, but Jesus invites you to draw near to Him.

Another proof that Jesus is the ultimate friend is that He purposely gave Himself for us. He sacrificed Himself to meet our greatest need.

DEAR HEAVENLY FATHER, what a privilege to call You Father, and how thankful I am that You have chosen me to be Your friend. I renounce the lie that I am not worthy to be Your friend, because You have made me worthy. I renounce the lie that everybody is Your friend except me. And I announce the truth that I, too, am Your friend, because You have chosen me. From this day forward, I want to express my love toward You by being open and honest about myself to You and by loving and being real with the brethren. Thank You for the privilege, thank You for the calling, thank You for choosing me. In Jesus’ precious name I pray. AMEN.

Neil T. Anderson. Living Free in Christ (p. 32,34, 37). Kindle Edition.

Now for those things that I know you all have been wondering about.

Why isn’t there mouse-flavored cat food?

Is it possible to be totally partial?

What’s another word for thesaurus?

Would a fly without wings be called a walk?

Why do people who know the least know it the loudest?

If a turtle doesn’t have a shell, is he homeless or naked?

  I don’t know about the last one, but if he does have a shell, I know HE IS BLESSED!!!

John 1:12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God– 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

The most important belief about ourselves is that we are children of God and that being His child is a right given to us by God Himself.

My relationship with my dad was born out of natural descent, based on the human decision of my parents. Years later, I was privileged to enter a new relationship, to be born of God. The decision to enter into that relationship was not of my mother, nor of my father. The only one who had a volitional choice was me. I alone could choose to believe and receive Christ.

If I thought it was my obedience that determined whether or not I would stay related to God, I would be subjecting myself again to legalism. And if I did, I would logically conclude that I was related to God by my obedience, so if I disobeyed I would lose my relationship with Him. But that’s not true; we are saved by grace, through faith, not by works.

DEAR HEAVENLY FATHER, thank You for dying on the cross, taking my place and taking my sin upon Yourself I realize that I could not have any relationship with You on the basis of my works. But I thank You that in Christ I am forgiven, and right now, if I have never done so before, I receive You into my life. I believe that Jesus died for my sin, was raised on the third day, and I confess now with my mouth that Jesus is Lord. I come to You as Your child. I thank You for giving me eternal life. I renounce any lie of Satan that I have no right to be called Your child, and I thank You that You have given me that right. I no longer put any confidence in myself my confidence is in You and the fact that I am saved, not by what I have done, but by what You have done through Christ on the cross. I now accept myself as a child of God because of the free gift You have given to me. I gladly receive it and accept it for all eternity. In Jesus Name I pray. Amen

Neil T. Anderson. Living Free in Christ (p. 25, 26,27, 29). Kindle Edition.

Are these people blond?

I just got skylights put in my place.  The people who live above me are furious.

I played a blank tape on full volume.  The mime who lives next door complained.

Instead of talking to your plants, if you yelled at them, would they still grow?  Only to be troubled and insecure?

Is there another word for synonym?

Where do forest rangers go to “get away from it all”?

Be Blessed today.

Don Milner