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The Elephant in the Room

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Eternal Life, God's Gifts to Us, Ministry, Spiritual Warfare
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Anyone who has followed me for a long time knows that I am a follower of Jesus Christ. However, because of what has been occurring during the Evangelical Christmas movement, I have been silent about where I stand in all of this. I have talked around it, but now I can no longer talk around that elephant in the room. I must deal with it.

The Enemy is Not People

According to Ephesians 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.”

The rulers of the darkness of this world are not people, but there are people who are controlled by this darkness, but it is not those people who are the problem. It is their ideology.

Conspiracy Theories are Agendas

Conspiracy theories fall into that category as much as anything else does. They are almost always lies and are used to control us with fear. The first time I realized the insidiousness of conspiracy theories had to do with a military installation in Crane, IN. Someone had taken pictures of the parking lot that was inside the Naval Surface Warfare Center made the parking spaces look much smaller than what a normal parking lot would look like. The commentator pointed out that FEMA was going to use the installation for keeping people rather than for cars and that the fence around was to keep people in.

I knew that wasn’t the truth, because I worked with several reservists who would go to the installation for training and used classified information. The reason that there was a fence was to keep people OUT not to keep people in. The parking lot in the photo didn’t have any cars in it so it was hard to distinguish the actual size of the parking spaces inside the lot. A good photographer could position his camera so that it appeared that the parking spaces were smaller. The conspiracy promoted fear that the government was out to get them and that they would be put into concentration camps if they didn’t stay on top of this.

This incident taught me to be weary of conspiracy theories because people often have agendas that they are trying to promote. Sensational conspiracy videos offer the most outlandish ideologies that people believe because they want to believe that the government is out to get them and that the enemy is on every corner and wants to destroy them.

People become convinced that what they are watching is true because of algorithms. Algorithms on the internet feed you more of what you are watching and don’t give you the alternative so you keep hearing the same ideology over and over again until you think that it all must be true because it appears everywhere.

No King but Jesus

Another aspect of the lie that we are being fed is the idea that some one person is going to save us from those powers. Again, it’s the fear of the darkness that makes us look for a savior to save us from that darkness. The sad thing is that any savior that we see except for THE Savior is a phony. It has happened throughout history. We often are just too lazy to see that any person other than Jesus Christ, no matter how benevolent he might seem in the beginning will succumb to the dark powers.

I saw this happen firsthand under a pastor that I sat under. He was a young man who wanted to do something great for God. He encountered a man who was on the radio who convinced him that God had chosen him to lead a church to greatness in the town where I lived. He then picked up and insisted that our church read a book that insisted that churchgoers were required to follow and not question their leaders.

This started him on a campaign to kick out anyone from the church who did not completely agree with him including the church board. I stayed long enough for the pastor to say that the church secretary and her husband (he was on the board) were holding seances and conducting witchcraft incantations on Saturday evenings at their house! I knew that wasn’t true! I attended the Bible studies that occurred there every Saturday night. There were no evil things happening there! I continued going even after that and sat right in the front of the church and then the pastor came after me and said that I had no business sitting there judging him. I told God there was no way that I could sit another service there and I got the impression that God was telling me that he wasn’t the one keeping me there. I left.

A few months later I heard that he had chased everyone out of the church and that he had convinced the last of the parishioners that since there were so few of them that they should sign the parsonage over to him as payment for his services. Shortly after that he chased those last ones away and then one Sunday, he and his family were the only ones left so he took the keys to the church and sent it to the denomination leaders saying that the people in the area were a backslidden wash that wanted nothing to do with the truth. He had murdered the church body one by one. He sold the parsonage and moved away.

Developing True Faith

How can we know what is true and what isn’t? Well, first, you must realize that fear is the opposite of faith. “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17. “without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:6

When it comes to spiritual things, we tend to be lazy and depend on another person to tell us what God wants to tell us. We try to depend on someone else’s faith rather than developing our own faith in God and therefore we are duped by conspiracies and teachers who have their own agendas.

Our faith is developed through heart-knowledge of the God who saves us and I leave you with this from his word. “For God so Loved the World, that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him will not perish but have everlasting life for God sent not his son into the world but that the world through him might be saved.” John 3:16 & 17. I urge you to meditate on these words this week.

When God Seems to Turn Away-Adam’s Story

July 6, 2016
Eternal Life
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Scripture reference Genesis chapter 3

In the Beginning, everything was perfect. God had created everything that was good and man was part of that Good.

Adams fall

God told mankind that they could eat of any tree in the garden, except for from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The subtle serpent came and tricked Eve into eating of that tree. Because of their disobedience to God’s word, mankind–Adam and Eve were banished from the garden. God put a flaming sword to guard another important tree in the garden called The Tree of Life.  Other consequences of their sin included hard work and pain in childbirth. He made the serpent crawl upon the ground and predicted that though the serpent would bruise his heel, the seed of the woman would crush the serpent’s head.

Sin Separated Man From God

After a time it seemed as though God rejected humans, but we soon learned that was not the case. If you’ll notice it said that God put the sword to guard the tree so that they would not live forever in their sins. If you will notice, when God entered the garden, he sought out Adam and Eve. They were the ones who separated themselves from their creator.

Just we put covers over electrical outlets to protect our children from themselves, God didn’t keep them from the Tree of Life to punish them, he did it to protect them from themselves. He didn’t want them living forever in their sins so he kept them from that tree.

As I looked more closely at the symbolism offered in the sword, I realized that the sword with its blade and hilt has a shape similar to the cross. The Word is often called the “Sword of the Spirit” and In John chapter one, John refers to Jesus as “The Word”.

Jesus said, “No man comes to the Father but by me.” (John 14:6)

Sin cannot remain in the same space that God occupies nor can God be where sin remains. When we allow sin to enter our lives, it ruins our relationship with God. Rebellion can make it seem as though God is far from us, however, all we need to do to get back in right fellowship with God is to allow the Word of God, Jesus Christ to change us so that our sins are forgiven and we can walk in the newness of life that is in Him.

The Word says that in order to be eternally saved, we have to agree that we have sinned, and we must if we want to accept Christ’s work on the cross. He has not rejected you.

Sin Isn’t the Only Reason God Seems Distant

Sin makes it seem as though God is far from us, however, just because God seems far from us, does not necessarily always mean that God seems far away because we have sinned. He desires to have a relationship with you, but you must come through Jesus to get to God.. Throughout the next quarter, I will be discussing how other people in the Bible often felt that God was far from them.. By examining these lives, we will learn that there are numerous reasons that God seems to too far away to care about us. In the process, we will learn that God isn’t punishing us for the wrong we have done, instead, he is demonstrating his mercy and grace despite the situations in which we find ourselves in this fallen world.

IMG_8330 final copy

Donna Brown is pastor at Faith in God Church  1 1/2 miles south of Brandsville, Missouri on Hwy 63. Sunday services are at 10 am and Wednesday night Bible Study at 6:30 pm.   As Author Cygnet Brown, she  has  published a nonfiction book: Simply Vegetable Gardening: Simple Organic Gardening Tips for the Beginning Gardener

She is also the author of historical fiction series The Locket Saga. which includes When God Turned His Head and Soldiers Don’t Cry, the Locket Saga Continues, and, A Coward’s Solace, Book III of the Locket Saga. The next book Book IV of the Locket Saga: Sailing Under the Black Flag will be out in the near future.

Her most recent publication were two booklets Help From Kelp and Using Diatomaceous Earth Around the House and Yard. Available in paperback

.For more information about Cygnet Brown and her books, check out her website at http://www.cygnetbrow.com .

©  2016 by Donna Brown. All rights reserved.

Having a Bountiful Eye

June 15, 2016
Eternal Life
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blue skies

Things are going really well for me. This afternoon, I will have a book signing at the Corry Public Library in Corry Pennsylvania from 3-6pm. If you are in the area, I would love to see you there.

The other day I was at a Bible study and we read this verse. In the King James Bible, Proverbs 22:9 says He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed for he giveth bread to the poor.

We also looked at a couple other versions for instance, the New International Version says, “The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.”

New American Standard Bible (NASB) says, “He who is generous will be blessed, for he gives some of his food to the poor.”

I like the King James Version here because of the use of the term “bountiful eye”. It relates to the way that the person relates to the world around him. The generous person sees God’s bountiful supply so he gives generously. In contrast, a person who sees lack in the world is going to see everything with an eye for lack rather than bounty this type of person will give willingly to the poor because he fears that he will not have enough.

A person with a bountiful eye has an eye toward the future. He sees hope in future events. He takes this verse in Luke 6:38 (KJV)to heart, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”

“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him,” Hebrews 11:6.

This bountiful eye is the eye of faith that God is and that he rewards those who seek him. The word seek here means to investigate, crave search out, to discover his essence.

Be Generous for Jesus Sake

Galatians 6:7 and 8 says, 7)“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap. 8) For he that sow to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that sow to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”

I would be extremely negligent if I didn’t bring up the fact that this bountiful eye should not be limited to our present life. This bountiful eye must focus on our eternal spiritual life. However, this is not to say that God will not allow us to have bounty here in lifetime. He did not call  probably has not called us a vow of poverty. What he does want us to realize however, is that our life in this world is only temporary and will one day pass away. Our focus should be on sowing for our future in eternity..

We need to remember that we give generously, not because we are going to get something for our generosity, but in recognizing the gift that Jesus Christ gave us. He gave us his life.

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Donna Brown is pastor at Faith in God Church  1 1/2 miles south of Brandsville, Missouri on Hwy 63. Sunday services are at 10 am and Wednesday night Bible Study at 6:30 pm.   As Author Cygnet Brown, she  has  published a nonfiction book: Simply Vegetable Gardening: Simple Organic Gardening Tips for the Beginning Gardener

She is also the author of historical fiction series The Locket Saga. which includes When God Turned His Head and Soldiers Don’t Cry, the Locket Saga Continues, and, A Coward’s Solace, Book III of the Locket Saga. The next book Book IV of the Locket Saga: Sailing Under the Black Flag will be out in the near future.

Her most recent publication were two booklets Help From Kelp and Using Diatomaceous Earth Around the House and Yard. Available in paperback

.For more information about Cygnet Brown and her books, check out her website at http://www.cygnetbrow.com .

Does the Bible Contradict Itself?

May 25, 2016
Eternal Life, God's Gifts to Us
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Return_of_the_Prodigal_Son_1667-1670_MurilloControversial Passages?

I have been saying that God created light, but that darkness already existed. I used the verses in Genesis one to show that God created light and then separated the light from the darkness. The verses didn’t say that he created the darkness. The verse says nothing about the idea that he made darkness, but in this passage, he separated the light from the darkness. Evil is always associated with darkness because it was not part of God’s light or what he creates because all that he creates (as it says in Genesis one) is good. I put this idea to a Bible study that I attend, and the idea wasn’t well received, however, several other people that I approached who also knew the Bible understood my stance.

One of my friends from the Bible study said that she had recently read that God created evil and darkness. She pointed out the verse–Isaiah 45:7 which says “I form the light and create darkness. I make peace and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.”

And yet I John 1:5 says, “This then is the message which we heard of him (Jesus Christ) and declare unto you, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all.”

These two verses seem to contradict one another, but do they really?

Let’s first look at Isaiah 45:7 for a moment in context with the rest of the passage. What he is doing here is showing that he created contrast between light and darkness. Because he formed light, he created the contrast with darkness. Because he created peace, he created a contrast with evil.

In Genesis, he told Adam and Eve that if they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they would die. They knew the light of God already. It was the darkness of evil that they did not know. When they ate of the tree, they then knew the contrast of good which was evil.

In contrast, the Israelites were given the law so that they would have a contrast between what was right and wrong. Before they had the law they did not know transgression because they did not know the law. Afterwards, they had a contrast between sin and righteousness. They couldn’t live up to it.

Jesus is the Only Way to God’s Eternal Life

When we understand that God’s way is separate from the way of the world, that there is no darkness (evil)  in God and that God is only light (good), then we should be able to understand that it is not through the law that we are saved, but he offers us the only way in his son Jesus. If everything EXCEPT Jesus is in darkness and evil is in darkness, then the only way to eternal life with God is by following Jesus. I know, that’s a spiritual concept that few can grasp even among Bible believers, but it true whether we believe it or not. As it says in Acts 4:12 “There is no other name (authority) given among men whereby we must be saved. God is tolerant on a lot of things, but not on this point. Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

I John 1:6-7-If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowsip one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanses us from all sin.”

Another Related Seemingly Contradicting Passage

“What about what it says in Romans 9:14-24,”, you may ask, “where it talks about God raising up the Pharaoh that he could demonstrate his (God’s) mercy to Moses?” The word there for raised is not the idea that he “made him that way” but that word “raised”does not mean that he created Pharaoh for that purpose. It means that he “resuscitated him or kept him alive”. When I read that passage in that context,, God kept Pharaoh from destruction to prove to Moses God’s ultimate power over the Pharaoh. Pharaoh was marked for destruction or God’s wrath, but God prolonged his life for Moses’ sake so that Moses could see that God was even more powerful than Pharaoh. In other words, God knew that it would take this object lesson for Moses to fully trust God.

God is Always Good

If we stand by the idea that God is always good, that he always works from wanted the best for you as his follower, it does make it easier to understand these verses that seem to contradict that idea.  When we come across one of these  verses that seem to indicate that God makes evil or bad things happen, we should take a moment and examine those verses more closely. If like the Bereans of Acts 17:10-12,  we search the scriptures ourselves and not just listen to what others tell us the word says, we will discover that Romans 8:28 is exactly true, “All things (DO!)work to the good of those who love the Lord who are called according to His purpose.”

IMG_8330 final copy

Donna Brown is pastor at Faith in God Church  1 1/2 miles south of Brandsville, Missouri on Hwy 63. Sunday services are at 10 am and Wednesday night Bible Study at 6:30 pm.   As Author Cygnet Brown, she  has  published a nonfiction book: Simply Vegetable Gardening: Simple Organic Gardening Tips for the Beginning Gardener

She is also the author of historical fiction series The Locket Saga. which includes When God Turned His Head and Soldiers Don’t Cry, the Locket Saga Continues, and, A Coward’s Solace, Book III of the Locket Saga. The next book Book IV of the Locket Saga: Sailing Under the Black Flag will be out in the near future.

Her most recent publication were two booklets Help From Kelp and Using Diatomaceous Earth Around the House and Yard. Available in paperback

.For more information about Cygnet Brown and her books, check out her website at http://www.cygnetbrow.com .

Is it Possible to be Both A Good Person and Rich?

May 18, 2016
Eternal Life
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Will you live forever with the one who died to save you?

Psalm 145:9 says that God is good to all, and his mercies are over all of his works. God does not make anything or anyone for that matter that he destined to be bad. There is redemption available for anyone. God always wants the best for everyone.

What Must I do To Be Saved?

In the Bible a young man exactly this question of Jesus.

Mark 10:17-18 says:

As Jesus started on His way, a man ran up and knelt before Him. “Good Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God.

Good can only come from God. If we decide that we don’t want to follow God, we doom ourselves to less than God’s best for us. We might have a decent life here, but we have more than just our lifetime here to consider. We have an eternity.

Jesus went on in Mark 10:19 to say to the man, “You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud, and honor your father and mother.”

In Mark 10:20 came the man’s reply “Master, all these have I observed from my youth.

Mark 10:21-Jesus looked at him, loved him, and said to him, “There is one thing you lack: Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”

Mark 10:22-But the man was saddened by these words and went away in sorrow, because he had great wealth.

Mark 10:23-Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”

Mark 10:24-And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!

Do you noticed that the disciples were shocked by what Jesus had said. He said that it was hard for a rich man to get into heaven and then he said that it was hard for anyone to get into heaven.

Mark 10:25-It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

Some have suggested that needle’s eye, or the eye of the needle, was a small gate at the entrance of Jerusalem and other cities. They say that when the city-keepers locked the main gates for the night, camels and their owners who arrived after the lock-out could squeeze through this gate. However, there is no ancient evidence to this idea that these gates were called “the eye of the needle”

Another theory is that camel is a mistranslation of the Aramaic word which also means rope. What they say that the passage means is that it is hard difficult to pass a rope through the eye of a needle. This a weak interpretation of this word.

These examples try to downplay the difficulty that Jesus is trying to show his disciples. Camels always got into the city gate. Anyone could untwist a piece of rope to thread it through the eye of a sewing needle. He was saying that money can easily get in the way of salvation. Too often we look to money or doctors, rather than God as our source. The rich young ruler was said because Jesus said his riches got between him and God.

 

Mark 10:26-27-

They (the disciplies) were even more astonished and said to one another, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”

Notice that it says that it is impossible for man, but then it says but not with God. This is saying that man can’t be saved by himself, but it takes man with God to be saved. It doesn’t say that only God can do it. It takes man too. It takes our cooperation with God to be saved.

The eye of the needle was not a little gate nor was the camel a rope. What these verses are saying is that man cannot put his possessions before his love of God, and only with God could he be saved, However, it doesn’t say that you have to be poor to be saved either. Anyone who lines himself up with what God wants for his life will be saved. God doesn’t have favorites.

What Exactly Do I Need to Do to Be Saved?

Notice too how Jesus said, “sell all that you have and follow me. He didn’t say follow God, he said follow Jesus. In Acts 4:12 it says, “There is no other name (authority other than Jesus) under Heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.”

I John 4:1-2 says that if we do not believe that Jesus was the Messiah (translated in Greek as Christ) come in the flesh, we did not know the truth and it is the spirit of the anti-Christ.

We are to believe the Jesus is our salvation come in the flesh to the point that we are willing to give up all that we have and follow him. Abraham did it. He offered Isaac, but God didn’t require it of him. That’s not to say that he wouldn’t require you give up everything you think you have, however. The disciples offered their lives and God kept them.

I have listened lately to some popular preachers on the television who never once mentioned the name of Jesus in their prosperity or positive thinking speeches. They talk about God, but never Jesus. I will not judge them, but for me, a salvation message is no salvation message without Jesus as the center of that message. If God wants you rich, I have no problem with it. Like Jesus told Peter at the end of the gospel of John, if he wants that person to live forever in his wealth, what does it matter to me? I however, would be an unfit minister of the Gospel if I didn’t tell you that Jesus is the only way to Eternal life.

IMG_8330 final copy

Donna Brown is pastor at Faith in God Church  1 1/2 miles south of Brandsville, Missouri on Hwy 63. Sunday services are at 10 am and Wednesday night Bible Study at 6:30 pm.   As Author Cygnet Brown, she  has recently published her first nonfiction book: Simply Vegetable Gardening: Simple Organic Gardening Tips for the Beginning Gardener

She is also the author of historical fiction series The Locket Saga. which includes When God Turned His Head and Soldiers Don’t Cry, the Locket Saga Continues, and most recently, A Coward’s Solace, Book III of the Locket Saga

Her most recent publication were two booklets Help From Kelp and Using Diatomaceous Earth Around the House and Yard. Available in paperback

.For more information about Cygnet Brown and her book, check out her website at http://www.cygnetbrow.com .

What We Should be Asking From God

March 16, 2016
Eternal Life, Perspective
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cross

A few days ago a friend of mine posted this on Facebook:
“As I was preparing to take Communion today, Holy Spirit dropped a revelation down into my spirit. Here goes: At the last supper, after Jesus gave His disciples the bread, He poured the wine and said to them “Drink ye ALL of it.” (Mt. 26:27) I thought that He meant that there shouldn’t be any wine left over, so drink it all up. (yep, I did think it meant that…lol.) What He revealed to me was what Jesus was really saying. (28) “For this is my blood of the NEW testament/NEW covenant, which is shed for many (whosoever will) for the remission of sins.. (29) But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it NEW with YOU in my Father’s kingdom.” ~Along with the communion cup we partake of now, we take in ALL that Jesus died to give us. Remission of sins AND our NEW covenant legal standing in our Father’s kingdom, and every NEW covenant promise He died to provide for ALL of us. Drink ye ALL of it means you drink in ALL I give and ALL I gave for ALL of you in the kingdom of God. Praise Him forevermore for His finished work.”

This is related to something that the Lord has been telling me. During our Wednesday night Bible Study, we have started going through the Psalms. As I was preparing for this lesson I came across this verse and the Lord spoke to me in it.

Psalm 2:8 “Ask of me and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.”

The words ASK OF ME were what got my attention at first because the Lord had been placing another verse on my heart over the past several weeks.

“You lust and have not, you kill and desire to have and cannot obtain, you fight and war, yet you have not, because you ask not. You ask and receive not because you ask amiss, that you may consume it upon your lusts.” James 4:2-3).

You ask, but you ask amiss-you ask with selfish motive but you are also not asking God. You’re asking everyone else to help you. You’re asking the doctors, the nurses, the banker, the preacher. You’re asking your friends to pray for you, but you fail to ask me. I want you to know that I am your source. I want to share all the good things with you that I have for you. I want to bless you more abundantly than you can imagine, but you are not asking ME. I am your source, not the doctors, not the nurses, not the bankers, not your employer, not your government, and not your preacher.
It’s okay that your friends pray for you, but I am looking for a relationship with you. I want to be your father, I want to give you every good thing, but you must first receive what only I can give and that is my love through my son Jesus.
When you read Psalm 2:8 in context with the rest of Psalm 2, you will see that he is talking to his son Jesus here, but as believers we are in Christ, so he is also talking about us.
It is easy enough to understand what the Father Creator means to give us the uttermost parts of the earth as our possession, but what does it mean that he shall “give the heathen for thine inheritance”?
As I sat here in my empty church building, I knew exactly what it means. He wants to give me heathens to disciple into the knowledge of him. He is telling me that since Jesus was “lifted up from the earth and that he would draw all men to himself”, that he would draw all men to himself.”
This word “heathen” literally means “gentiles” or as the Jews call them “goyim”. You and I are the heathen spoken of here. If we ask of him, he will bring others for us to disciple at whatever level we are ready to disciple others. He is looking for others. As Jesus had told his disciples, the harvest is ready, but the laborers are few. The laborers are also weak because we do not ask for the Lord’s guidance in journey through life. We are too busy asking others to do his will in our lives for us. It is time we started asking and listening to the one who is and has our source—our father, the creator of the universe, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ask with me that the Lord bring more of us Gentiles to himself. Ask him to bring more laborers into the harvest. I ask that I be able to share in this inheritance. I pray that you ask to labor in this harvest.

IMG_8330 final copy

Donna Brown is pastor at Faith in God Church  1 1/2 miles south of Brandsville, Missouri on Hwy 63. Sunday services are at 10 am and Wednesday night Bible Study at 6:30 pm.   As Author Cygnet Brown, she  has recently published her first nonfiction book: Simply Vegetable Gardening: Simple Organic Gardening Tips for the Beginning Gardener

She is also the author of historical fiction series The Locket Saga. which includes When God Turned His Head and Soldiers Don’t Cry, the Locket Saga Continues, and most recently, A Coward’s Solace, Book III of the Locket Saga

Her most recent publication were two booklets Help From Kelp and Using Diatomaceous Earth Around the House and Yard. Available in paperback.

.For more information about Cygnet Brown and her book, check out her website at http://www.cygnetbrow.com .

God’s Gift of Salvation

January 6, 2016
Eternal Life, God's Gifts to Us
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marriage supper of the lamb

The beginning of Deuteronomy tells in the beginning of the twenty-eighth chapter about the blessings that God would place on his people, Israel, if they obey him. The second half of the chapter however is much darker because it tells about the curses that would incur if they didn’t obey God.
In Isaiah 30: It tells about how Israel obeyed God for a while, then when they found themselves in trouble went to Egypt (the world) for their comfort. Then when they found themselves in a corner and in even more trouble, they would finally cry out to God and God would open his arms to them again.
What they learned was is that they could not keep God’s laws on their own. Over and over again God gave them the chance to redeem themselves. Over and over again Israel as a country failed to be able to follow the plan that God for them. They kept going back to the world that not only hated them, but cheated them out of God’s blessings.

Help Only God Could Provide

They needed help and God already had a plan in place. It says in John 3:17, “the son of man did not come to condemn the Law but to fulfill it.” Jesus, God came to earth in the flesh,. He chose to come to earth as a baby, to live a holy life that was uncorrupted by the world system, and to give himself as the ultimate sacrifice fulfilled the law and offered his accomplishment back to us as the gift of salvation. He, in essence said, “I know you are unable to keep the law so I am keeping it for you. If you’ll agree that I am Lord of your life, I give my blessing back to you.”
He took the curses of Deuteronomy 28 to the cross with him. If we believe it, then we receive salvation not only from eternal damnation, but also from those curses.

But You Have to Ask

That’s not to say that we have automatic immunity. In Romans 3:23 it says, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. In other words, we have all earned death if we sin. What exactly is sin, you ask? Sin is simply disobeying God’s instruction or preferring to follow the ways of the world rather than following those instructions.
Jesus came to fulfill the law. It says in Romans 6:23, “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” It is in only in his offering of himself as our Savior that we can have right standing with God. In Romans 12:6 it says that he is our propitiation and, I John 2:1 says that he is our advocate with the father. As it says in John 3:18, all you have to do is believe. However, if you do not believe, it also says in the same verse that you are condemned already.
Are you ready to accept the gift? All you have to do is believe that he is who he says he is. Otherwise you remain at the whim of the world’s system.

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Donna Brown is pastor at Faith in God Church  1 1/2 miles south of Brandsville, Missouri on Hwy 63. Sunday services are at 10 am and Wednesday night Bible Study at 6:30 pm.   As Author Cygnet Brown, she  has recently published her first nonfiction book: Simply Vegetable Gardening: Simple Organic Gardening Tips for the Beginning Gardener

She is also the author of historical fiction series The Locket Saga. which includes When God Turned His Head and Soldiers Don’t Cry, the Locket Saga Continues, and most recently, A Coward’s Solace, Book III of the Locket Saga.For more information about Cygnet Brown and her book, check out her website at http://www.cygnetbrow.com .

Not Servants, but Sons

December 30, 2015
Eternal Life, Persons of interest, Perspective
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Return_of_the_Prodigal_Son_1667-1670_Murillo

In Galatians Chapter 3, we learn that the law was created as a teacher to teach us that we cannot be right on our own. The Law was created so that we would know that we needed something more.

Last week, we celebrated the holiday where God came to earth as a baby. In Galatians 4:4 it says that God sent his Son made of woman under the law so that we could be made sons. You see, we weren’t able to follow the rules, so God sent us one who could and did. As it says in 4:5, he came to redeem them that were under the law so that we could receive the adoption of sons. We receive this adoption when we choose to believe, as it says in Hebrews 11:6 that we must have the faith to believe that God exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

We can call Him Father

In Galatians 4:6 it says that because we are sons, God sent the Spirit of HIS SON into our hearts so that we could cry out to him as Our Father. WE are no more servants but heirs of God through Christ. Once adopted, God doesn’t unadopt us when we do wrong, but he does allow you to suffer the consequences of our actions until we ‘see the light’.

The Son That When Astray

Jesus told about a younger son who decided that he didn’t want to have to follow his father’s rules and decided that he wanted to go out and see the world for himself. He took his inheritance and went out into the world. At first he had a great time. He partied. He chased women. He enjoyed himself, but then his money ran out. the next thing he did was start accepting work that was against everything that he was taught to believe in. He had to feed pigs which were considered unclean animals in his culture. He was underpaid for the work he did and didn’t even have enough to eat. He started stealing the pigs food in order to survive. Finally he said enough was enough. His Father treated his servants better than that. He decided that he would go back to His Father’s house and ask to be his servant.

If you know anything about the story of the prodigal son, you know that the father would have none of that. When he saw his son coming from afar off, he run to him, took him in as the son that the son always had been even when  he was not acting like a son.

The Son That Didn’t Know What He Had

Which brings us to the part of the story concerning the older brother. This older brother was not happy when his brother who wasted all that he was given was welcomed back with open arms. The older brother could not understand how it was that the Father could accept him with no questions asked. He then compared himself to the other brother. he had done everything as the Father had told him, but the Father didn’t celebrate that. The Father then said that he could have celebrated any time he wanted, that everything the father had given him was his to do with as he wished. The older son, because he always obeyed the Father acted more like a servant than one who was to inherit everything that belonged to the Father.

Learning What We Have In Christ

This parable reminds us that though we go out into the world and live like the world, it’s not all its cracked up to be. However, this story also shows us that living under the Law is bondage as well because it keeps us living as though we were servants rather than the Sons that God created us to become. Like the older brother, we have not because we ask not. Everything that the Father has, belongs to us, and yet we don’t accept it because we think that we have to somehow earn it. The truth is, Jesus already earned all of it. What we have to do is learn to accept what he has already given us and it is more than simply keeping us from going to hell when we die.

During the coming year,I am going to look what our father has given us. He saved us from more than just hell. We simply have to accept what he has given us and celebrate those gifts. Won’t you join me in learning what it is that God has for us. He has so much more to give us than just a “get out hell” free card?

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Donna Brown is pastor at Faith in God Church in Brandsville, Missouri.  As Author Cygnet Brown, she  has recently published her first nonfiction book: Simply Vegetable Gardening: Simple Organic Gardening Tips for the Beginning Gardener

She is also the author of historical fiction series The Locket Saga. which includes When God Turned His Head and Soldiers Don’t Cry, the Locket Saga Continues, and most recently, A Coward’s Solace, Book III of the Locket Saga.For more information about Cygnet Brown and her book, check out her website at http://www.cygnetbrow.com .

Why is Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Man So Controversial?

December 23, 2015
Cultural Influence, Eternal Life, Rebirth
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The other day I was talking to a woman while we were in the Christmas section of Walmart. She was looking for Christmas cards to send to her friends. She said that she had a hard time knowing what to send and i told her that I always sent inspirational cards. She said that she had a number of friends who were not Christian and would be offended by the card. I told her that I also had friends who were not Christians, but I would give them inspirational Christmas cards too. Being a Christian is part of who I am. When I left her to continue searching for non-offensive Christmas cards, I left her as confused as ever.

nativity with angels
As I have been thinking about this and have been reading about others who are offended by the concept that God came to earth as an infant to save men’s souls from eternal torment, I have to wonder, “why the offense? Why can’t nonbelievers simply be tolerant of those of us who do believe that the creator of the Universe could love us that much? Can we just agree to disagree and agree that the idea of “peace on earth, good will is a good thing and it is something that we all want? Isn’t this a good place to start? No one wants war and death, right? Why the offense?

That SIN Issue

It is partly because of that SIN issue. No one wants to admit that they need a Savior to rescue them from their sins. The Bible says that all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God.” (Romans 3:23). Acts 4:12 says that the only way to God is through his son Jesus.
Jesus was born Emanuel meaning “God dwelling with us”. He conducted a ministry of as was reported to John the Baptist in Luke 7: 22 “BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM.” Jesus the Messiah completed his ministry here on earth when he took our sins with him to the cross that “whosoever believes in him (in his authority to free us from sin and the wages of that sin) should have everlasting life.” (John 3:16). He then left and left behind his spirit to live in anyone who accept that spirit and that spirit is the spirit of God’s Love for all mankind.

God Is Not Condemning Us

True Christian faith is love, not condemnation. This is why the angel of the Lord said in Luke 2:10-12 “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to ALL people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior which is Christ the Lord.” and then all of the other angels joined Him by saying “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
The Christmas story is not a story of condemnation, but hope for the forever kind of peace that only he can give. God doesn’t want to fight you. He wants to teach you about his love for you! I pray that this holiday season, you will discover the truth that God wants to share with you

Putting Christ Back in Christmas Eve Celebration

Lately I have been thinking about how sad it is that people are going through the Christmas season and not even taking a moment to recognize why we celebrating in the first place. I am also thinking about all of the lonely people out there who have no one to share the holidays with. I wish that everyone had an opportunity to be with people they love. I want to do what I can to help, so I have opened my church on Christmas Eve for people to get together and celebrate the birth of our Savior and King. We are open to anyone during this time. We want to share Christ by singing traditional Christmas carols, reading of the Christmas story, and sharing this time together. We open the doors at 6 pm. We encourage everyone who attends to bring a plate of goodies to share.The festivities start at 6 pm.

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Donna Brown is pastor at Faith in God Church one and a half miles south of  Brandsville, Missouri on hwy 63..  As Author Cygnet Brown, she  has recently published her first nonfiction book: Simply Vegetable Gardening: Simple Organic Gardening Tips for the Beginning Gardener

She is also the author of historical fiction series The Locket Saga. which includes When God Turned His Head and Soldiers Don’t Cry, the Locket Saga Continues, and most recently, A Coward’s Solace, Book III of the Locket Saga.For more information about Cygnet Brown and her book, check out her website at http://www.cygnetbrow.com .

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