Getting ready for lent

Hi! It's coming! Lent is starting the Wenesday after 8th Sunday of ordinary time!

Are you spiritually ready? If not get ready for it in almost here!

I pray that you will have a blessed Lent season!

Chaplain Toni

Digging Deeper~ 7th Sunday ordinary time

Ex. 24:12-18: Here God is giving institutions to keep the sabbath day a day of rest and holy. He also instructs them on the 3 feasts that he wants to keep. These feasts are... unleavened bread, harvest, and ingathering. Three times a year the men are to go to the temple and give sacrifices of leaven bread, blood. Making sure that the fat of the sacrifice is all burnt up before morning.  Ps. 99: The Lord sits between the angels on the altar. He has been in the cloud pillar in the wilderness. He is strong. So let us go into the holy temple and praise and worship him.  2 Pet. 1:16-21: Be holy as God is holy. We were not saved by evil things of the world, but by the blood of Jesus Christ who was the lamb that was with out sin. If you believe you are saved and can call on the Father who does not favor one person over another. But judges righteously.  Mat. 17:1-9:Jesus takes Peter, James and John up on a mountain. While there were there Jesus met with Moses and Elias. Then a cloud came around them & a voice came from the cloud saying, "This is my son in which I am pleased. Listen to him." Peter, James and John saw and heard all of this. They fell on their faces in fear. Then the cloud went away & so did Moses & Elias. Afterward, Jesus touched them and told them to not be afraid and get up. Then Jesus told them to tell no one what they had witness.  When the people of God were getting ready to go into the promised land, God gave Moses instructions on how he wanted them to worship him. In the instructions he told them to keep the Sabbath holy by resting on that day. He also told them to celebrate 3 feasts a year & to have their men go to the temple to bring sacrifices to him & worship him (Ex. 24:12-18).  God's people are reminded of the time that God lead them in the wilderness as a pillar of cloud. And when he sat on the seat between the angels on the altar (Ps.99). All the while they were giving God sacrifices of animals, unladen bread & such. But When Jesus came that all changed. For he became the perfect and eternal lamb that takes away our sins (2 Peter 1:13-21). Even the disciples that were closest to Jesus was told that Jesus was God son when he was on the mountain with him Mat. 17:1-9). Challenge of the week: This week let us make sure that we take a day off to rest and worship God thanking him for Jesus and what he did on the cross for us.  Accomplishment of the week: How did you keep your Sabbath? Toni Kratochvil <tonikratochvil@gmail.com> 10:56 AM (1 minute ago) to Pastor, Michael, William, Heather Click here to Reply, Reply to all, or Forward 0.8 GB (5%) of 15 GB used Manage Terms - Privacy Last account activity: 2 hours ago Details

Digging Deeper~ 1st Sunday of Lent season

Gen. 12:1-4a: God told Abram to leave the land of his Fathers and to go to a land that would belong to his offspring. For God was going to make a nation out of his offspring. God also promised that he would be with Abram wherever he was and bless those who blessed him and cursed those who cursed him. Ps. 121: I will lift up my eyes unto the hills where God is, which is where my help comes from. He ever watches over us, protecting & caring  for us.  Rom. 4:1-5, 13-17: Just as Abraham was justified by faith, so are we. Which makes us heirs of God. This shows that Abraham is not only Father of many nations Physically, but spiritually.  John 3:1-17:  Nicodemus who was a Pharisee went to Jesus to ask him how to make sure he was right with God. Jesus told him that he needed to be born again. Nicodemus asked him how that could be done. Jesus explained that it was of the spirit not of the body. Then Jesus went on to explain that He came to save the world so that they would not be spiritually condemned anymore. But that all who believed in him could be saved.  Mat. 17:1-9:Jesus takes Peter, James and John up on a mountain. While there were there Jesus met with Moses and Elias. Then a cloud came around them & a voice came from the cloud saying, "This is my son in which I am pleased. Listen to him." Peter, James and John saw and heard all of this. They fell on their faces in fear. Then the cloud went away & so did Moses & Elias. Afterward, Jesus touched them and told them to not be afraid and get up. Then Jesus told them to tell no one what they had witness.  Where did following the only real God start? It started in Genesis with Adam and Eve. Then later God called a man named Abram to leave the land of his Fathers so that he could take Abram to a land that he would give to his offspring. Now this was a great promises as Abram was 75 years old and had no children yet (Gen. 12:1-4a). But Abram believed and trusted God and God did make him the Father of many nations.Paul tells the Romans that Because of Abraham's faith his not only was the Father of many nations physically , but spiritually also (Rom. 4:1-5, 13-17). In times past, many religions had their people worshiping their gods on the  Hills & mountains. Well, this made the only real God mad as he was the only one who should be worshiped on them. David knowing this said in the Psalms that he looked to the hills to get help from God (Ps. 121). I find it interesting that Jesus took some of his closes followers upon a mountain to revel something special to them that revealed that Jesus was the son of God (Mat. 17:1-9). I believe it to be a fitting place to have that happen. Later a Pharisee named Nicodemus came to Jesus because he understood who Jesus was. He asked him how one could be right with God. Jesus explained to him how Jesus had come to save mankind & that all who believed him him could be born again spiritually (John 3:1-17). Challenge of the week: Have you been saved? If not you can be! all you have to do is believe on Jesus,  then pray and ask God to forgive your sins and save you.   If you are already saved, make sure you look to God for all that you need this week. Strive to keep up the faith that God will take care of you even when you are going through a hard time.  Accomplishment of the week: So what did you do this week that brought you closer to trusting God? Click here to Reply, Reply to all, or Forward

Digging Deeper~ 6th Sunday ordinary time

Lev. 19:1-2,9-18:These are the instructions that God gave to Moses for the Israelites on how a holy person should act. 

Ps. 119:38-40: Lord, keep me from looking onto things that is not godly. Take away my shame, so I can live a godly life. Please keep your promises to me that is in your Word. Your law is good and I want to follow them. 

1 Cor. 3:10-11: You are a house that belongs to God. Jesus built the foundation of the house. Others have build on that foundation & does so even today. Be careful how you build on the house.  

Mat. 5:38-48: Jesus teaches his followers that as children of God they to not fight back when someone does evil to them. He goes on to say that they should love your enemy & pray for them. Why? Because it is the godly thing to do. For God does good things to the good & evil like giving them sunlight at the same time. You will be holy like God when you do these things.

In the verses of this week. We are told to be holy as God is holy. Then we are told how to be so. First, we are to keep our eyes in the Word of God, for it will help us know how God wants us to act. We need to keep our eyes on the Word for God has asked us to live & act differently then the world does. For example: we are told to NOT get revenge on those who does evil to us. Instead we are to pray for them and act in a good way towards them.

 Why? Because that is what God does. You see, God sent Jesus to die for us so that we could be saved long before we wanted to love and serve him. That is the foundation that he laid on the house & kingdom of God. Others who follow Jesus has built on that foundation ,so that we might see and come to Christ. Our souls are the stones that build the house of God. Now it is our turn to build on top of what godly men and women have built before us. We need to be careful how we do so. 

Why? Because others are watching our every move and how we live out our salvation will either draw people towards or away from God. 

Challenge of the week: 

This week, look at your life and figure out if your life is as godly as it should be. If you have an area of your life that isn't confess it to God asking for forgiveness. then strive to change it, so you will be a more godly person. This will help prepare you for lent season. 

Accomplishment of the week:

How did the change you made this week help you become a more godly person? 

Digging Deeper~ 5th week ordinary times

Deut. 30:15-20:God tells the Israelites that they need to love and obey him, even stay close to him when they cross over the river to take the land as your own. If you will have life and be blessed. But if you do not, you will have death and curses.  Ps. 119:1-8: Blessed is the man who lives holy lives & obeys God laws & Word all the time. I do not always do that. I wish I did. For your laws are fair. I praise you for that. I will work hard to obey your commands. So please don't leave me.  1 Cor. 3:1-9:Paul tells those from Corinth that he cannot talk to them about deep spiritual things because they are still babies in Christ. Why? Because they are like people of the world. How? They are jealous & argue among themselves. For example you say that you follow the person who baptized you. You are not to follow a person, you are to Follow Christ. Why? Because that person only planted the spiritual seed in you. God is the one who made the seed to grow. Yes, someone will plant the seed, someone will water the see and they will be rewarded for that.. But the seed will not grow until God makes it do so. You are like God's farm. We all must work with God to help that farm grow.  Mat. 5:21-37:Here Jesus is teaching. First, he teaches that it has been said that you should not murder someone or you will be judged. Then he says that you should not be angry with your brother will be judged by God. If you say bad things about your brother, that is worse. Lastly, if you call your brother a fool, you will be in danger of Hell's fire. With this in mind, if you remember that your brother is upset when you come to the altar. Leave your gift there and go and make up with him. Then come back to the altar. If your enemy is taking you to court become his friend fast. In fact, you should do that before you go to court. If you don't he may take you to court and you could end up in jail.  Jesus teaches about sin with sex. first, he teaches that it has been said not to have sex with someone with someone you are not married to. Then he says that if you look at a woman and want to have sex with her, you have already done that sin in your mind. If you sin with your eye take it out for it is better to not have the eye and go to Heaven then to have it and go to Hell. If your right hand leads you to sin, cut it off. It is better to not have it here on earth then to have your whole body goes to Hell. The devotional today tells us to not look to man to save us. Only look to God to save us. Once we have been saved we need to get real close to God and love him a lot. How? By reading and obeying his laws and Word. For it tells us how we are to live holy lives. Jesus taught on some of the sins we are to stay away from in Matthew. Paul also spoke of some of those sins in  1 Corinthians.   Now we do sin from time to time, but we are to get those things taken care of, before we worship God. That way we will come to him spiritually clean(Mat. 5:21-37). Strive to live that holy life and tell others about it.  When we love and obey God ,we will also be free of Hell's fire and receive the promise land from God.  Challenge of the week: This week, let us work to get closer to God. Let us work hard to obey God's laws and Word. For only then will we grow up in our spirit. If you are at odds with God or man go an make it right. So that you can come to God with a clean heart & mind.  Accomplishment of the week: What did you do to accomplish your goals this week? How has that brought you closer to God?  Click here to Reply, Reply to all, or Forward

Digging Deeper~ 4th Sunday ordinary times

Is. 58:1-9a (9b-12):God does not want a fast that is done without having your heart and soul into it. Instead he wants you to live holy lives. Then he will hear you when you cry to him. He will Guide you and take care of you.

Ps. 112:1-10: Praise the Lord you who fear the Lord & love his Word for He will give you peace and care for you. The wicked will see it and be upset. But do not think on them for they will be no more.

1 Cor. 2:1-12(13-16): Paul is saying that he came to the people of Corinth to preach Jesus Christ only in the power of the Holy Spirit. He spoke words of wisdom to the spiritually mature, for the deep spiritual wisdom can only be understood with the spirit. God judges all things and everyone through the spiritual eye, not the natural understanding. That is why we speak in words taught by the Spirit. Who can know the mind of the Lord? But we have been given the mind of Christ.

Mat. 5:13-20: Ye are the salt and the light of the earth. But  if your life is like salt that has lost its flavor & light that no one can see you are no good to God. So make sure that you stay close to God and live righteous lives. 

God does not want us to sing praises to him just because we have to. He wants us to read and live his Word. God has promised that when you do that he will hear your cries, give you peace and care for you (Is. 58; Ps. 112:1-10). As Christians, we are also encouraged to live out the word of God will godly lives. In doing so, we will be like salt & light to the world around us. But if we don't live godly lives we are any better to the world then salt that has lost its flavor and is thrown out on the streets or like a light that is not put in a place where it can help lead people out of the darkness (Mat.5:13-20). We would be like Paul when he spoke to people with spiritual words so that peoples spirits can hear and be lead to Jesus
Christ.Then they can have the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2).

Challenge of the week:

What part of this message hits home with you? With that in mind, what will you do this week to put this lesson into your life this week?

Accomplishment of the week:

So how did you do? How did what you did help bring you closer to being more Christ minded?