From the Desk of Bishop Ty Tice
Hebrews 11:1-3 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (2) For by it the elders obtained a good report. (3) Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
Have you ever had a person, relative, or acquaintance in your life that just seemed to suck the life out of you? You end up being frustrated and trying to avoid them at all cost. As a Bishop, I have had many ministers and friends approach me with just such a dilemma. Many times the person is someone in their church or a person involved in their ministry. I usually ask the minister complaining to me what is their primal urge. Most often I will get a laugh and a response, “I just want to scream at them, GET A LIFE.”
Truly, Beloved, that is what you need to do! Not with the scream, but with the truth. Let’s look a little more closely at this person. We’ll call him/her, “Woe is Me.” Woe is Me, lives in a state of Could Have Been, Might Have Been, or Should Have Been. If you take the time to examine their life carefully, you will see that life has moved on, but they refuse to move with it.
Here is a couple of examples: 1. Sally is 38 years old, her daughter Mary is 20 and just married a nice young man named Roger. Every day when Roger get homes, mom is there. He really loves his wife and wants some quality time with her. He smiles sweetly at Sally and bites his tongue so as not to hurt Mary’s feeling. Mary still feels like the little daughter, and doesn’t want to hurt mom’s feelings. Mary thinks to herself, “I wish Roger didn’t like her so much, and would tell her to go home.”
2. Mike is 33. He hates his job as a bus driver. He had an awesome job as a design tech for a Dot Com Company. Life was sweet and then one day the president called a general meeting and told the staff at the end of the week their jobs and the company would cease to exist. There were 150 people now seeking a job in a market that had been slashed by 82%. This stupid bus driving position was just to get his family over the hump, but it seems the hump, became the road of no return.
Each of these, Woe is Me, has the right to say woe is me. However, they do not have the right to stay there. Example 1 went from being a mommy to staying a mommy without the child. She faces the issue of FEAR. Now we know that the Bible says, “God has not given us spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.”
The Lord, has ended this Phase of her life, and she must move on. That means asking the Lord for a vision of a new beginning. It means truly believing, “I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me.” It means totally trusting the Lord that “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” It means “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” This type of person must be encouraged to seek the Lord for New Direction in their life and then embrace it with the same enthusiasm as she did being a mother.
Example 2 went from having a status to having provision. Though both jobs had a adequate salary, this first job became Mike’s identity. So it is, with the masks that we wear. Mike has a PRIDE issue. He is more concerned with what people see him to be then who he truly is in Christ. He is a husband and a father, and God has anointed him to be the spiritual head of his house and to lead his family in righteousness. “But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” This provision is more than just material gain.
Mike, like Sally, faced a change in life circumstances. They both refused to move from their Could Have Been, Should Have Been, or Might Have Been. All of us go through life changes. I went from being a baby, to toddler, to a student, to a teenager, to a sailor in the US Navy, to a veteran, to a mail room clerk, to a student, to a computer operator, to a husband, to a computer programmer, to a student, to a real estate agent, to a student, to a buyer, to a minister, to a pastor, to a student, to a bishop, to a general bishop, to a college president, to an associate pastor, to a student, to a senior citizen, AND GUESS WHAT? GOD STILL isn’t done with me.
If you notice many of my phases was being a student; the one thing I NEVER wanted to be was a STUDENT. SO SAD, TOO BAD, and THAT’S LIFE. So to each of you that has someone wanting you to live their life for them, it is time for you to say with great Love, "GET YOUR OWN!" For those of you living someone’s life, IT IS TIME TO STEP UP TO THE PLATE AND ASK GOD FOR YOUR OWN LIFE!
In closing, when you are working in someone’s church or ministry, it is their Vision that dictates how things are to be done. You must within that ministry take ownership of the part that God has given you within the confines of the leader’s vision. If you don’t, you become an obstacle rather than a gear to help the ministry run smoothly.
As you GET A LIFE, remember to stay in FOCUS.
Following
Our
Christ
Under
Submission
Have an awesome life,
Bishop Tice
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From the Desk of Bishop Stefanie Farrone
SOME answers to spiritual warfare
This is a question, I ask people on many occasions. Do you believe that there is a devil roaming around like a lion, seeking whom he may devour? Most people today don’t. This is one of the devils biggest deceptions. He made most people believe he does not exist. In order for those who know better, for those who are engaged in a spiritual war against the principalities and powers, to raise an awareness of his existence and his plans for our destruction we need to ask ourselves a few important questions. First, why do so many Christians fail to realize that we are in a war with the dark side? Notice, I have not mentioned those who are not Christians. If America is at war with another country and American soldiers just don’t go to the battle, and don’t realize that we are at war, we cannot expect Canadian soldiers to fight the battle for us.
There are a few weapons that the devil used to blind us against his plans.
One: language In our postmodern world without any absolutes, morals being in the eye of the beholder anything can be made to look good by just simply re-describing it. Sex outside of marriage is called ‘alternative life-style, not sin anymore, murder is described in degree’s according to the defendants attorneys explanation, drug addiction is a illness, lying is not lying, because no one believes in absolute truth anymore. If I change the word ‘morals’ into values, it becomes subjective and the values of one person may not be the value of another.
Second: media Watching TV is replacing books in our society today. Images replace words and passivity replaces active thinking. When we read words we have to actively create images with our own imagination, but when we watch a movie we are like a baby in a womb. We can make free, active, and responsible rational and moral choices by faith or reason, but we are passive and defenseless toward images. There is no critical censor at the door of our mind that let some images in and not others; they all come in. Proverbs 4:23 tells us to keep our heart with all diligence for out of it flow the issues of life. Our eyes and ears are amongst others the gates of our heart. What do we let into our hearts? We turned ourselves from thinkers into picture watchers. Instead we should let God give our children and us a vision, instead of tele-vision. When faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God, I ask what comes by hearing today ‘s media ideas? What do we have faith in?
Third: Destruction of the sacred God created and ordained the family. Specifically, husband and wife as a representation of the unity of the Trinity. It is sacred. And the enemy struck a big blow in our society by trying to destroy the sacred. The family. As I mentioned before, fornication, sex before marriage is not called a sin anymore, but alternative lifestyle, divorce and state institutions raising our children, gangs take over as the primary family members and hero’s of our teenagers, violent cartoons, sexual explicit music videos take ALL the sacredness of the first God ordained institution, Marriage, family. Without the family as a stronghold, a safe-haven for our children, and us, a place where honor and truth abides, the search for the truth, becomes for many a search for the needle in the African jungle. This is also the point where many warriors of our Lord Jesus Christ beginning to faint. The fight through the postmodern jungle of our society, through endless opinions, believes, life-styles, cultures and…. and….. and……to touch the lost souls……
BUT, blessed are those who found refuge in these words. John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
FINALLY Eph 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Eph 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Eph 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Eph 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Reading verse 10, be strong in the power of His might. Those of us, who live in Christ, have full access to the power of His might. Might is the anointing to do everything. In Isaiah 11:2 we can see the 7 facets of the anointing. One is the Spirit of Might. Might is the anointing for battle, and in Philippians 4:13 we are told that we can do all things through Christ, the Anointed one and His anointing, who strengthens us. We are in Him, He is in us, therefore we have access to might for our battle. It is my prayer that all who study spiritual warfare are strengthened in their battles, and stand for the Lord Jesus in the midst of trials and struggles, with Joy. Because, He is Lord.
GOD BLESS YOU ALL!
Bishop Farrone
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