Kotebe Emmanuel United Church

08/09/2017

Glory to God

05/07/2017

Seeking Him
In his letter to the church in Rome, Paul quotes an astonishing statement from the Psalms: “There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God” (Romans 3:11). How can Paul, and David before him, make such a sweeping declaration? Of all who have ever lived, not even one person has really sought after God? There’s no question that billions of people have sought after a god, but they have not always sought after the true God.
This fact ties directly to Adam and Eve’s sin through Satan’s deception. Throughout the history of mankind, the treachery promulgated by Satan has been so thorough that the natural man can perceive only bits and pieces of the real truth about God. As a result, our conceptions about God are blurred. It’s only when God chooses to reveal Himself to us that the pieces begin to fall together as our eyes are opened to truth. Then, truly seeking God becomes possible.
Jesus tells us in John 17:3, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” Here Jesus is telling us that our continuing to seek God, desiring to know Him more, is the essence of true life, eternal life. The most important thoughts our minds can entertain are thoughts of God, because they will determine the quality and direction of life. Seeking God, then, is an ongoing responsibility and privilege for all Christians.
But we also know that this is not always an easy thing to do, not because God is elusive, but because our minds are saturated with misconceptions and deceits planted by Satan and reinforced by the culture. But the good news is that these mistaken beliefs are done away with through the experiences of seeking God and coming to know Him. For example, 2 Chronicles 15:2-4 was written over two thousand years ago to a people like us: “He [Azariah, the prophet] went out to meet Asa and said to him, ‘Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach and without the law. But in their distress they turned to the LORD, the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was found by them.’”
Their instructions were simple: when they sincerely sought God, things went well, but when their desire to seek Him waned and eventually ceased altogether, their world came apart. Sin increased, morality declined, contact with God ceased. The admonitions to the children of God of that time are clear to us today: “If you seek him, he will be found by you.” This is such a profound principle that it is repeated throughout the Scriptures. The idea is that when we draw near to God, He reveals Himself to us. God does not hide Himself from the seeking heart.
• “But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.” (Deuteronomy 4:29)
• “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)
• "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7 NIV)
Stay blessed!
INTERNATIONAL NEW COVENANT MINISTRY - 2014

14/04/2017

What does it mean that our sins are washed away? How does faith in Jesus Christ wash all our sins away?

05/02/2017

People talk about searching for truth. But what do they mean? If they don’t know what truth looks like, how can they find it? They wouldn’t recognize it even if they tripped over it. How can the police search for a missing person without any description? They only handle the cases that can be handled – realities. The Bible word for “truth” is also the word for “real”. If something is true, then it is real. So I say: Dear truth-seeker. I’ve found TRUTH in Jesus Christ. HE is the missing person you have sought. He said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father but by Me.” You can come to Jesus now as you ask him to forgive your sins and receive Him as your Savior. The moment you do, your search is over; you have arrived. It’s for real! God bless you. REINHARD BONNKE

09/01/2017

For this is what the Lord says— he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited— he says: “I am the Lord, and there is no other. I have not spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness; I have not said to Jacob’s descendants, ‘Seek me in vain.’ I, the Lord, speak the truth; I declare what is right. “Gather together and come; assemble, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood, who pray to gods that cannot save. Declare what is to be, present it— let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago, who declared it from the distant past? Was it not I, the Lord ? And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me. (Isaiah 45:18-21 NIV)

07/12/2016

ኤፌሶን 3 (Ephesians)
18-19፤ ከቅዱሳን ሁሉ ጋር ስፋቱና ርዝመቱ ከፍታውም ጥልቅነቱም ምን ያህል መሆኑን ለማስተዋል፥ ከመታወቅም የሚያልፈውን የክርስቶስን ፍቅር ለማወቅ ትበረቱ ዘንድ፥ እስከ እግዚአብሔርም ፍጹም ሙላት ደርሳችሁ ትሞሉ ዘንድ።
20፤ እንግዲህ በእኛ እንደሚሠራው ኃይል መጠን ከምንለምነው ወይም ከምናስበው ሁሉ ይልቅ እጅግ አብልጦ ሊያደርግ ለሚቻለው፥
21፤ ለእርሱ በቤተ ክርስቲያን በክርስቶስ ኢየሱስ እስከ ትውልዶች ሁሉ ከዘላለም እስከ ዘላለም ክብር ይሁን፤ አሜን።

29/09/2016

Jesus will bring Peace to Chaos

The Savior we await will return historically, bodily, visibly and universally—to usher in the eternal kingdom, as the saints of God finally stand over the grave of smoking Babylon (Revelation 19:3).

With the returning Savior on His way, how will He find us? In our waiting, we are to be hard at it, in consistent living and witness to our dying world. If we don’t do it, nobody else will! The cross—and its inspiring sequel, the resurrection—this is enough to unite the world at the feet of a single individual. Here is the transforming power that has created the widest-ranging family of belief ever seen.

Can there come about a lasting unity that straddles every different grouping? The Bible says it is already here—through the leadership of one Man.

That is what waiting for the coming Savior can mean to us, whose citizenship is in Heaven. Live in the freedom of the City from above!

(Adapted from “The Promise of the Heavenly City” in the September 2016 issue of Decision magazine)

27/09/2016

እግዚአብሔር:መልካም:ነው::

06/01/2016

The Ultimate Giver

Romans 11:33-36

Amid all the preparations, decorations, and celebrations of the Christmas season, we need to set aside some quiet time to reflect upon the divine gifts that forever changed the course of human destiny. When that tiny baby entered our world in Bethlehem, the first of never-ending blessings was unleashed from heaven.

We generally focus on the Father’s gift: He gave His Son to be the Savior of the world (1 John 4:14). What we don’t often realize is that all three members of the Trinity have a part in this divine display of generosity, which continues into eternity. Jesus came to offer His life as a ransom for many. After His death and resurrection, He and the Father sent the Holy Spirit to live inside believers forever (Mark 10:45; John 14:16; John 16:7). The Spirit in turn gives spiritual gifts to all believers and produces His marvelous fruit in their lives (1 Cor. 12:7-11; Gal. 5:22-23).

The divine presents don’t end on earth. They continue in heaven when the Lord judges Christians and grants them rewards for good works that they could never have accomplished apart from His strength (1 Cor. 3:13-14; John 15:5). All the credit and glory belong to Him, and yet He graciously showers praise on His followers (1 Cor. 4:5).

We serve a caring, generous God. Think about the nonstop outpouring of blessings from His throne. Consider the many gifts He has freely given you and your loved ones, and ask, How will I respond today? He needs nothing from you, but He wants every part of you—not to control you but to show you the “surpassing riches of His grace in kindness” (Eph. 2:4-7).

Intouch Ministry

15/10/2015

Good Lesson

https://www.facebook.com/andremansuradvogadosassociados/videos/901074746571995/

08/10/2015

Question: "Do human beings truly have a free will?"

If “free will” means that God gives humans the opportunity to make choices that genuinely affect their destiny, then yes, human beings do have a free will. The world’s current sinful state is directly linked to choices made by Adam and Eve. God created mankind in His own image, and that included the ability to choose.

However, free will does not mean that mankind can do anything he pleases. Our choices are limited to what is in keeping with our nature. For example, a man may choose to walk across a bridge or not to walk across it; what he may notchoose is to fly over the bridge—his nature prevents him from flying. In a similar way, a man cannot choose to make himself righteous—his (sin) nature prevents him from canceling his guilt (Romans 3:23). So, free will is limited by nature.

This limitation does not mitigate our accountability. The Bible is clear that we not only have the ability to choose, we also have the responsibility to choose wisely. In the Old Testament, God chose a nation (Israel), but individuals within that nation still bore an obligation to choose obedience to God. And individuals outside of Israel were able to choose to believe and follow God as well (e.g., Ruth and Rahab).

In the New Testament, sinners are commanded over and over to “repent” and “believe” (Matthew 3:2; 4:17; Acts 3:19; 1 John 3:23). Every call to repent is a call to choose. The command to believe assumes that the hearer can choose to obey the command.

Jesus identified the problem of some unbelievers when He told them, “You refuse to come to me to have life” (John 5:40). Clearly, they could have come if they wanted to; their problem was they chose not to. “A man reaps what he sows” (Galatians 6:7), and those who are outside of salvation are “without excuse” (Romans 1:20-21).

But how can man, limited by a sin nature, ever choose what is good? It is only through the grace and power of God that free will truly becomes “free” in the sense of being able to choose salvation (John 15:16). It is the Holy Spirit who works in and through a person’s will to regenerate that person (John 1:12-13) and give him/her a new nature “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24). Salvation is God’s work. At the same time, our motives, desires, and actions are voluntary, and we are rightly held responsible for them.

www.gotquestions.org

Bible Questions Answered by GotQuestions.org! Fast and accurate answers to all your Bible Questions!

10/09/2015

The Purpose of Our Trials

1 Peter 4:12

Some believers like to portray their lives as ideal and carefree. But in reality, being a Christian isn’t always easy. In fact, sometimes we’ll experience trials that truly test our faith and ability to trust in God.

In today’s passage, Peter refers to times of testing as “fiery ordeals.” He says we shouldn’t be surprised when adversity comes our way. It’s important to remember that God has a purpose for our trials and will see us through each step of the way. But what purpose does God have for the hardships we face?

First, the heavenly Father will sometimes use painful experiences to cleanse and purify His children’s lives. Trials drive us to the Lord. Then, as we begin to focus on Him, we’re increasingly able to see things from His perspective and often become more aware of our sin.

Second, the Lord at times allows difficulty in our lives as a way of testing us—He might be trying our faith, endurance, or devotion to Him. He uses such experiences to reveal something about our spiritual development and to strengthen our faith.

Third, God uses suffering to demonstrate His power to sustain us. When He brings us through difficult times, He glorifies Himself. In turn, this encourages others when they experience trials, because they have witnessed God’s sustaining power in our lives.

Ultimately, hardships strengthen our testimony. In the midst of our struggles, we might feel overwhelmed. But once the storm has passed, we can often look back and see the Lord’s providential hand carrying us through.

Source:- In Touch Ministries