WITNESS ~ INSTRUCT ~ NURTURE / Volume 1 Issue 16
Jun 8, 2005
Hi !
In this issue, you'll read:
THE BOOK OF COLOSSIANS - PART ONE
SERVE THE LORD WITH GLADNESS
WORD FROM THE EDITOR - WEEK SIXTEEN Pastor Bobby and Sister Barbara Laster have been faithful and true servants of our Lord Jesus Christ for more than sixty years. Together they raised three children, Ken, Stuart, and Janet; all of whom are serving in the ministry in one capacity or another today. We are praying that our Heavenly Father will heal Pastor Bobby and give him many more years to continue serving Him by helping others find their way to the Savior. We love you Pastor Bobby and would like to take this opportunity to tell you how much we appreciate your love and support of Freedom Covenant Global Ministries. Your entire family has been a real blessing to all of us and this can only be an extension of the character and heart of Christ that you have portrayed for so many years. Get well soon! In Jesus Name, All editions of The W.I.N. E-Mail Newsletter are available on the Internet. To find them, navigate to www.fcgm.org and click on the "Newsletter" link. Feel free to copy as many as you want and pass them out to family and friends. If you would like to be added to our mailing list, send an e-mail containing your name and e-mail address to winsubscribe@fcgm.org. In your devotions this week, read Psalm 118. Note the similarities between this psalm and last week's psalm, Psalm 56. As you read, talk to the Lord about the content of this psalm. When you have finished, go back and find one or two verses and meditate prayerfully on them. Repeat this process daily during the coming week. II. Bible Study This week we begin reading the book of Colossians. In order to fully appreciate this letter, let's first acquaint ourselves with the background of Paul's mission to the city of Colossae (also spelt Colosse). Paul's purpose in writing to the Colossians was to refute a heresy called Gnosticism which had begun to infiltrate the Colossian church. Paul seeks to prove to the Colossians the superiority of Christ compared to the emptiness and powerlessness of human philosophy. Note particularly the word "fullness" as it repeats throughout the letter. Well, let's find a comfortable seat and read the book of Colossians right through in one sitting. As you read, ask yourself: What is Paul seeking to say to his readers? What is the most important thing on his heart? III. Memory Verse Here are a few suggestions that may help you to memorize your memory verses: 1. Ask the Lord to help you remember his Word (see John 14:26). 2. Use the version of the Bible you are most familiar with. What you normally read in your Bible is what you need to be memorizing. 3. Don't just memorize the contents of the verse; memorize its "address" (the verse reference) as well. You can do this by following this pattern: Step 1: reference; Step 2: verse content; Step 3: reference. Then repeat steps 1-3. Note that you are quoting the reference twice as many times as you quote the actual verse content. This gives the verse a clear "reference tag." 4. After you have read your memory verse out aloud several times, try going through your memory verse without reading your computer screen. 5. Look up your memory verse in your Bible. Look at its immediate context and read the verses that come before and after your memory verse. 6. Print out your memory verse or jot it down on a piece of paper. Take this paper with you when you go to work or do other daily activities. Meditate on the meaning of the verse throughout the day. 7. During your noon appointment with the Lord, take out your memory verse and go over it again. Talk to the Lord about what this verse means to you personally. 8. In the evening (at either your evening study or your evening devotions), see if you can quote your memory verse from memory. Then, without looking at the memory verse itself, see if you can find it in your Bible. 9. The next day, before you begin committing a new verse to memory, rehearse your previous day's memory verse and see if you can remember it (without cheating!). 10. Finally, at the end of the week (possibly on Sunday), collect all your week's memory verses, rehearse them and see if you can recall them without reading them. Spend a little extra time on any verses you have difficulty recalling. 11. Remember: Don't just memorize a verse. Put it into practice (James 1:22). It is not being able to quote a verse from memory that counts. It is His Word abiding in your heart that counts (John 15:7). When you actually apply a verse consistently to your daily life; that is when you truly know that verse! This article is Copyright © 1999, The Online Bible College. It is used by permission and formatted for presentation in this newsletter. I ran across the above quote in Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible, Adam Clarke, LL.D., F.S.A., (1715-1832), and the last part of the quotation jumped off the page at me. "He whom the religion of Christ has not made happy does not understand that religion, or does not make a proper use of it." My oh my, what a startling observation to make in light of the long faces we see in the Body of Christ today! Do we really have that many members who do not understand what Christ really did for them, or who do not make "proper use" of their Christianity? My first thought was that this cannot be a true statement, but then I look around at the misery and suffering that seems to be plaguing God's people in this 21st century, and it makes me question the validity of my own heart. Does every circumstance have to be pleasant for me to be happy? Do I need riches or good health in order to walk in the joy of the Lord? When other people come against me, does it turn my life upside down and not allow me to do what I need to do for the Lord? The answers to these and other questions of like nature should be a resounding NO! However, it appears that these very things are the driving force behind happiness, joy, and commitment for a lot of Christians today! Circumstances seem to dictate how much we do for Him and with what attitude we carry out those tasks. But that is not what the Scripture says! It does not say, "If circumstances are pleasant...," "If you have riches and good health...," Or so long as no one comes against you...!" Rather, it says: Psalms 100:1-5; " Make a joyful shout to the Lord today! Serve the Lord with gladness in spite of everything that may come against you! And know, I mean really know today, that the Lord, HE IS GOD! Blessings to all, Unless otherwise noted: All Scripture is taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Welcome to this week's edition of the W.I.N. E-Mail Newsletter. This week our hearts and prayers go out to our own Pastor Bobby Laster of Whitestone Christian Fellowship, Tucson Arizona. Pastor Bobby is presently in the hospital after having suffered a heart attack this past Friday morning. We ask all of our readers to pray for Pastor Bobby, his wife Sister Barbara, and the entire Laster family during this time of trial.
Rev. Sam T. Leigh
Presiding Bishop
Freedom Covenant Global Ministries
E-mail:
Website: www.fcgm.org
Bishop's eCorner: www.fcgm.org/ecorner/
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THE BOOK OF COLOSSIANS - PART ONE
I. Devotional Reading
Although once a leading city in Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), first century Colossae had been reduced to a second-rate market town, surpassed in importance by the neighboring cities of Laodicea and Hierapolis (note Colossians 4:13,16). What made Colossae important to Paul's mission was that during Paul's three-year ministry in Ephesus, one of Paul's converts, Epaphras, had carried the Gospel to Colossae (note Colossians 1:7-8).
Read Acts 19:8-10
Paul wrote to the Colossians during his first imprisonment in Rome, where he spent at least two years awaiting trial before Caesar (read Acts 28:16-31), and he wrote it at about the same time as his letters to the Ephesians and Philippians, and his letter to Philemon. It is important to remember that Paul was not at this time in a deep dungeon (as when he wrote 2 Timothy), but was under house arrest in his own rented home, free to preach the Gospel to all who visited him. 
Colossians 3:2-3; "
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SERVE THE LORD WITH GLADNESS
"Psa 100:2 - Serve the Lord with gladness - It is your privilege and duty to be happy in your religious worship. The religion of the true God is intended to remove human misery, and to make mankind happy. He whom the religion of Christ has not made happy does not understand that religion, or does not make a proper use of it."
No where in this passage of Scripture is there a qualifier! It simply says, (1) Make, (2a) Serve, (2b) Come, (3) Know, (4a) Enter, (4b) Be thankful, (4c) bless His name, (5a) For the Lord is..., (5b) His mercy is..., (5c) And His truth endures...!" This directive is to ALL the people of the Lord, regardless of denomination, title, or position. It is in spite of worldly circumstances or pressures of life, and even in the face of poverty, illness or death! God does not use circumstances of life to motivate Him in His caring and blessing of us, neither should we allow the circumstances of life to motivate us in our worship of Him.
Bishop Sam T. Leigh
Freedom Covenant Global Ministries
Colville WA 99114
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This newsletter Copyright © 2005 Freedom Covenant Global Ministries. All Rights Reserved. Individual articles displaying copyrights from other ministries are used by permission, have been formatted for use in this publication, and remain the property of respective ministry. Permission is granted to copy, print, and distribute this newsletter for ministry purposes, whether whole or in part, so long as ALL copyrights remain in place and no copies are printed or distributed for sale or commercial purposes.
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