Twelve months completes the cycle of one year. Twelve hours encapsulate the day and the night. Twelve tribes of Israel. Twelve Judges, Twelve Apostles. Twelve foundations in the new Jerusalem. Twelve gates to the Holy City. Such an overwhelming pronouncement of twelve that symbolizes completion, fulfillment, and establishment. 

As we approach 2012, I pray that we are postured to enter what I believe the Spirit of God has decreed as a season of Kingdom Establishment. A mandate for the people of God to walk in that which is Completely New, where old things are passed away, and all things become new! Viewing life through the lens of a new paradigm. Living according to the Kingdom Agenda. Blessed with the benefits that a new beginning in Christ brings. It is imprinted in the Word that God gave to us.

It is time to stop imitating holiness, and just "be" holy. As we enter this season saints, don't "resolve" to be holy, transformed, renewed, refreshed. God calls us to "be" holy as God is holy. When we do so, not by might or power, but by His Spirit, blessings will overtake us. If you have not yet done so, surrender to the Kingdom mandate: Be not conformed to this world any longer, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable, and perfect will of God.

We have made beautiful music to the glory of God and for the good of others. But the best is yet to come! Just wait and see! But don't wait as the world waits. Wait as we are called to wait in the Kingdom! As those who find strength and renewal as we wait on the Lord! As those who find themselves mounting up with wings as eagles! As those who run, but never get weary; as those who walk (no matter how far the path, no matter how steep the slope) and never faint.

Blessings for the Completely New in 2012,

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“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps [1] and went to meet the bridegroom. [2] 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps.  Matt. 25:1-7
At the dawn of 2011, the Spirit of the Lord declared to us that this is the Season of Awakening - A time for us to hear the mandate of the Lord to awaken from sleep and dream state and to be aware of the times, for Christ is indeed soon to come. Our recent bible studies have taken us through Matt. 24 and 25, where Jesus articulates the signs of the times to his disciples, as well as the imperative not to be troubled, but ready at the end of the age.

In the parable of the ten virgins we see a striking parallel as both the foolish and the wise virgins (Those who were prepared and those who were not) had fallen to sleep as they awaited the Bridegroom, representing Jesus the Christ. But when it was midnight, there came a clarion call to wake-up to prepare for the coming of the Bridegroom. Those who were ready had their oil, and those who were not had to try to buy oil from "oil dealers." Those who were wise and ready were well received. Those who were foolish, were rejected. Please note that the Bridegroom doesn't tell them, "You're too late!" But instead he says, "Truly, I don't know you!" We are "known" by God as a New Creation, when we accept Christ as savior; when he places the seal of the Holy Spirit on us. It becomes a marker of our redemption, and thus access into the presence of the Lord.
(Read: Eph. 1:13-14, Matt. 3:17, John 6:27)

Many anticipate the return of the Christ, but how many of us are ready? How many of us know Jesus the Christ as Lord? Have you been washed by the blood of the Lamb? Have you been anointed with the sweet fragrant "oil" of the Holy Spirit? It is time to wake up my brothers and sisters. We can only shine the light of the Lord (Matt. 5:16) when we're filled with the oil of the Lord. We continue this reflection in the video below

...The hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. Romans 13:11-14

In His Service,
Pastor Barber
FaithWorks Christian Fellowship
Proving God at God's Word

Emery B. Barber is a founding and Lead Pastor of FaithWorks Christian Fellowship of Jamaica, NY, and co-author of the web devotional and devotional book, Words of Faith for FaithWorks Christian Center, International. As a Creative Media Consultant he provides training and services in various areas of digital marketing collateral with a special calling to Creative Worship Media.
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The Word Watcher 05/15/2011
 
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Grace and peace brothers and sisters in Christ. Has anyone ever made a promise to you and you're still waiting for them to keep it? Maybe it was a loan someone needed in a crunch and they promised to pay it back the next Friday, but "next Friday" never came! Well I'm so glad we serve a God who is indeed a "promise-keeper."

In the twelfth verse of the first chapter of Jeremiah, God informs Jeremiah, and us also by application, that "God watches over God's Word to perform it." And in the fifty-fifth chapter of Isaiah God says that "God's Word shall not return to God void, but it shall accomplish that which God purposes, and shall prosper in the thing for which God sent it." The God we serve is a Word-Watcher! That means that there is nothing that God has said or will say that will not come to pass. It must happen, because the Creator of the Universe has said so, and God's Word is sure!
We see this principle of God in practice from the beginning. In the book of Genesis, God said, "Let there be..." and the Word set out to accomplish it. We know this by the way, because God inspired John to write in the third verse of the first chapter of his book that, "all things were made through the Word and there was not anything, that was made, that wasn't made by the Word! But not only was the Word set to accomplish the will of the Father, but the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters, watching over the action of God's Word. Jesus, the Word made flesh, watches over God's Word when he says to John in the 4th chapter to allow his baptism to take place that "righteousness might be fulfilled." God is a Word - Watcher!

The question today is what did God speak over your life? What did God say about you? To you? Many of you are in a state of limbo right now, because like Jeremiah, you can't believe what God has said about you, or told you to do. Some of you are looking at your circumstances. Mad about the situations you're finding yourself in, instead of looking at where God has told you to go or listening to what God has told you to do. Get over your-self, and be about your Father's business. You can do what God said you can do! You can go where God said you can go, because our God is Word-Watcher!

Now please your Heavenly Father right now as you truly allow God's Word to be a lamp unto your feet and light unto your path, and fulfill the purposes of the Great Word-Watcher! Walk by Faith. Peace.

Pastor B.
FaithWorks Christian Fellowship
...Proving God at God's Word


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With all the "wars and rumors of wars" that are taking place on a day to day basis, it isn't very difficult to find oneself overwhelmed with fear and anxiety. Husbands and wives buckling under the financial pressures of a dwindling economy tend to take out their frustrations on one another. But God commands us in His Word not to be anxious about anything, but to turn to God in prayer. And as we make our requests with the Lord praise God in advance! We are to come before the Lord with a confidence that God has already done it, and thus honor Him with gratitude.

When we do this, God is moved to put peace on patrol. When we turn our hearts toward God in full dependence -  as those who seek God for our provision, for our protection, God is moved to permeate the atmosphere of our existence with a peace in the midst of the storm that is beyond our understanding. Put peace on patrol.

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;  and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Phil. 4:6-7

In His Service,
Pastor Barber
FaithWorks Christian Fellowship
Proving God at God's Word...

Emery B. Barber is a founding and Lead Pastor of FaithWorks Christian Fellowship of Jamaica, NY, and co-author of the web devotional and devotional book, Words of Faith for FaithWorks Christian Center, International. As a Creative Media Consultant he provides training and services in various areas of digital marketing collateral with a special calling to Creative Worship Media.
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In the 5th chapter of Matthew we find Jesus teaching a multitude that has engaged his new ministry. These are those who have responded to his call to "repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand." These are they who are eager to find their place in the Kingdom - in the presence of what ultimately is to be the new world order. Jesus starts this teaching  with a series of pronouncements of blessings. Please read the scriptures to see them at length. Today we glance at the first one. "Blessed are they who are poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven."

While Jesus may have been speaking to many who were disenfranchised in many ways, he is deliberate in speech to say, not poor, but poor in spirit. Poor in spirit speaks of one who is not just humble, but humbled. It means they have been through a process that has brought them to a place of emptiness before God. It is the realization that on one's best day they could never do for themselves what God can do for them, with them, and through them. Jesus the Christ pronounces blessing on this characteristic as part of a larger composite. For though one may find themselves in this place and posture now, it becomes part of the vehicle that guarantees one's inheritance in the presence of the Lord where there is fulness of joy and at His right hand pleasures evermore. Ps. 16:11
Prodigal Son, Allen-Aaron Hicks
He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1 What a blessed place to be - in the secret place of the Most High, abiding in His shadow. The question today is how do we get to this blessed place where we can declare that we are truly blessed. Allen-Aaron Hicks depicts imagery of this blessed experience in his painting about the story of The Prodigal Son found in Luke 15:11-32. This young man has gone through the process that has ultimately brought him to the place we are reflecting on today - poor in spirit. He has taken his inheritance and wasted it. He finds himself alone, broke, and broken in far country that is caught up in the midst of famine. He comes to himself as he is eating with the pigs, and realizes that the servants of his father's house eat better than what he is currently experiencing. He realizes he has missed the mark in his own strength, trying to follow his own way, and he relents. And he repents - that is, he decides to turn from his sin which has taken him to such a low place that he can hardly stand himself, and "return to the high place" in his father's house.  Not as a son, but as a servant - poor in spirit! When we're poor in spirit, we are not so concerned about our place and position in the house of God. We are grateful just to serve there - poor in spirit! The father who has been waiting for him, receives him with open arms - not as a servant, but as a resurrected son! He clothes him and holds a feast for him among his people.

You may find yourself in a low place right now, wondering how you got there, or why you never realized your position before now. Stop wondering and repent. Return to the High Place through Christ Jesus. Do it now. There is a high place promised to those who will humble themselves before the presence of an awesome master.  May we follow the example given by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and say, "Master, I have sinned against you and you alone. Forgive me, and make me a servant in your Kingdom." May the Joy of the Lord and the Peace of his Presence be yours.

In His Service,
Pastor B.
FaithWorks Christian Fellowship
Proving God at God's Word...

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Word of Faith - The Light of the Word
 
It's a new year filled with the potential to fulfill all of your goals. But what is your strategy? What route will you take? King David was inspired to write in the book of Psalms, "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and light unto my path." He knew that whatever plans he made, and whatever steps he took to fulfill them had to be guided by the illuminating light of the Word of God.
 
We need to be aware that the same holds true for today. Every answer to every question we may have in life can be found in the counsel of God's Word. That means we must study the Word of God in order to apply it to our lives. When we apply God's Word to our lives we give glory to God - or prove the steadfastness of God's plan for our lives, and encourage others to do the same.
 
As you make plans for the future - this week, this month, this year and beyond, let the light of the Word of God direct and illuminate your path.
 
Walking in the Light of God's Glory, 
Pastor B.
FaithWorks Christian Fellowship
Proving God at God's Word 
  
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