2010, I’m In!

 

As we embark upon the beginning of 2010, we are worshipping and praising God like never before. We are grateful to the Father for bringing sweetness out of our hardness this year, and for blessing us with honey from the rock and water from dry places. We have learned to consider Jesus, enduring hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ….realizing that He is our introduction, our conclusion and He is everything in between. Also we have come to trust God when we are mystified and we don't know why. We now know how to see matters when things look bad. We don't dwell on our problems and our pains, instead we confess the promises of God because we are fully persuaded that what God has promised, He is also able to perform in and through our lives. God's favor is always in place for us when we need it because grace is God's helping hand. The mantra for 2010 is I'm in! Bishop Holcomb taught us that we need to be into what we are into with no half stepping, totally committed, dedicated and identified with Christ. For it is in Him that we live and move and have our being.

 

Remaining in the place of grace, in the place by Jesus!

 

The Gift of His Presence

 

Apostle Holcomb preached a message entitled, "The Gift of His Presence." As children of the Most High God, the presence of God is more important and more valuable to us than presents under the tree. What God wants for Christmas from us is worship. He seeks for those who will worship Him in Spirit and in truth. When we worship God, we ascribe worth to Him that always ends in a high praise. The Bible tells us that God inhabits the praises of His people and in His presence there is fullness of joy. When the Lord is in our midst, His power is present to save, to heal, to deliver and to set free. He daily loads His people with benefits. God wants us saved, baptized in the Holy Ghost, and He wants us to worship Him. He also wants us to be a people who can go through our passages of pain, because we are not pursuing His prosperity, but we seek His presence.

The Perfect Gift: The Purpose of Christmas

 

This week Apostle Holcomb preached a message entitled, "The Perfect Gift: The Purpose of Christmas." The scripture reference was John 4:4-10. It is prevalent during this time of the year that we overspend for the reason that we desire to be a blessing to others by giving. It is also during this holiday season that people become depressed and oppressed for one reason or the other. It is written in the scriptures that Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil which frees us from all forms of bondage. Sharing the message of the love of Christ is the best, most valuable and most needed gift for all mankind. It's not about what's under the tree. It's all about who was on the tree. It's all about Jesus! It's all about Him!

Remain in the place of grace. Remain in the place by Jesus.

Sweetness out of Hardness

 

2009 has been declared favor time for our church and for the Body of Christ. Apostle Holcomb told us that we would experience honey from the rock, sweetness out of hardness and water from dry places. Most of us have experienced some extraordinarily hard times this year. We've overcome some trials and tribulations. The blessing of the Lord is that only through Jesus Christ can we say as the Psalmist David said in Psalm 119:71, "It was good that I was afflicted that I might learn Thy statutes." We realize that as verse 67 says, "Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now have I kept Thy Word." This year we learned that grace is God's helping hand and that His grace is in place for us when we need it. According to Pastor Valerie, we must come to the resolve that regardless of circumstances and hard times, with Jesus, it's still a wonderful life. Remember to remain in the place of grace. Remain in the place by Jesus.

To God Be the Glory

As we progressively approach the conclusion of 2009, I want to encourage your hearts and to say, "To God be the glory for all the wonderful things that He has done." I've come to learn that life is inundated with mountain top as well as valley experiences. We must come to the conclusion in our own hearts that God is still God. He is God all by Himself and there is none like Him independent of the cares of this world and the circumstances of life. He is good to us all the time: yesterday, today and forever. When we go through hard times and suffering, we must endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ. He is our introduction and He is our conclusion. We must also make Him everything in between. Please remember to remain in the place of grace. Remain in the place by Jesus!

Giving Thanks Well

As we approach this season of Thanksgiving, I'd like to share a message with you that Apostle Nate Holcomb preached a while back. The message is entitled, "Giving Thanks Well." As we continue to thank God for who He is and for what He does in our lives, I want to encourage your hearts to pray to the Father in your Heavenly prayer language, praying in the Holy Ghost. Thus our spiritual lives should also reflect thanksgiving as we come together in fellowship with God and being filled with the abundance of the Spirit of God.

When we pray in the Holy Spirit, we are praying the perfect will of the Father. The Holy Spirit makes intercession on behalf of the saints according to the will of God. Therefore when we pray in tongues, we are giving thanks well.

God is our loving, caring and sharing Heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit is a supernatural grace that He gives us gratis and undeserving. Grace is God's helping hand.

As always, please continue to remain in the place of grace, remaining in the place by Jesus.

The blessings of the Lord upon you, your family, your baskets, your barns, your cabinets, your storehouses, your health, your finances and God bless everything that concerns you.

Have a blessed thanksgiving, giving thanks well!!

How To Live In a Mad World

This week Apostle Holcomb preached a message entitled, "How To Live in a Mad World." We realize that God's grace is in place for us when we need it. As tragedy and madness take place all around us, God gives us power to overcome the issues of this world. We are over comers and we overcome by the blood of the lamb and the words of our testimony. Grace is God's power that enables us to stand in the midst of a mad world. Remember that as Christians, we are in the world but we are not of this world. We are spiritual beings having human encounters. Moreover when things take place that leave us bewildered, the Bible admonishes us to think it not strange. Romans 5:20 says that where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. Please remember to remain in the place of grace. Remain in the place by Jesus.

A Loyalty to Leadership; Adullum and Hebron Saints

Bishop Holcomb preached a message entitled "A Loyalty To Leadership; Adullum and Hebron Saints." In the scriptures, Adullum represents the place of safety, protection, refuge and shelter, which is symbolic of the local church. People who are in debt, distressed and discontented come to the church to receive help. These people become loyal at Adullum because they are grateful. They have hearts and attitudes of gratitude. Moreover, Hebron represents a place of sacrifice and loyalty. The same people who once needed help, now because of a grateful heart, come to be a help. Hebron saints have a loyalty to leadership. Loyalty is a matter of the heart. When we come to Hebron, we say to our leader that we are thy bone and we are thy flesh. We come with singleness of heart and that is, we come to make Jesus King! King in our homes, King in our community, King in our schools. We come to make Jesus King!

As always, please remember to remain in the place of grace, remaining in the place by Jesus!

NO MORE BAD DAYS By: Novice McDaniel

As a result of the circumstances and the fiery trials of life, I'm certain that we have all had some bad days. The good news is that we can count it all joy because Jesus is still on the throne. As we realize that giving thanksgiving and praise is always the appropriate response to whatever the situation, we'll learn to just say "thank you Lord" and we won't complain.Everyday is the day that the Lord has made and we can choose to rejoice and be glad in everyday. (Psalm 118:24) In other words, we can determine in our own hearts and minds not to have any more bad days! Remember, Beloved that hard times will come. They are designed to make us hard of heart. However we must practice and continue to order our conversations aright that we will see the salvation of the Lord. Against hope, let's continue to believe in hope according to that which has been spoken. We must teach our hearts to believe by training our mouths to speak the Word of God not allowing the situations and circumstances of life to dictate our days or our conversations. We must continue to see things above "see level," seeing things the way God sees them. It is written in Psalms 68:1, (KJV) "Let God arise and let His enemies be scattered." "Up with God and down with His enemies! (TMB)" Our hearts must be established in praise and in power.Likewise our hearts must be established in these 2 immutable things: (1) in the truthfulness of God's promise (2) in the faithfulness of God's performance. The first shows His integrity, His character and His credibility because God cannot lie. The second shows His ability, His competency and His capability because God cannot change.Remember that we are the heirs of promise and all the promises of God for us are yes and they are Amen. God is not a man that He should lie neither the Son of Man that He should repent. (KJV Numbers 23:19) In essence, if God said it, shall He not do it? If God has spoken it, He will surely bring it to pass. He's going to make good on His Word. We must trust the sovereignty of God in everything.

YES GOD CAN! YES GOD WILL! BUT IF NOT, HE'S STILL GOD!WE CAN CHOOSE TO HAVE NO MORE BAD DAYS. IF WE ONLY BELIEVE GOD, WE CAN BE FULLY PERSUADED THAT ALL IS WELL!

Remember to remain in the place of grace, Remaining in the place by Jesus!

The Revelation of Grace/The Sin of Worry: God Takes Care of Me

If we put God first and something or someone else is second, He is not pleased. The Lord is to have preeminence in our lives. We love God only. We must surrender our affections to the Lord. When this is accomplished, God will allow us to love others according to His will. His desire is not that we love others for our sakes, but for His sake and in Him. Likewise, when our concentration is on our issues, situations and cares of this life more than on God, we enter into the sin of worry. We should always exit the church in obedience to God's word. In doing so, we will realize that the Lord bids us to cast our cares upon Him for he cares for us. He bids us to take no thought for our lives because God will take care of us. However we must seek first the kingdom of God and all His righteousness and all the things will be added to our lives. God knows what we have need of. He supplies all our need according to His riches in glory by, in and through Christ Jesus. We should begin to thank the Lord for supplying our needs exceedingly, abundantly and above all that we can ask or think according to the power that works in us. It is essential that we stand on God's word and remember that although every day carries its own weight, God gives grace and strength sufficient for each day.

Remember to remain in the place of grace. Remain in the place by Jesus.

Grace Under the Law of Christ: Writing Your Life

2 Corinthians 3:2, 3 says that we are Christ's epistles known and read of men. Our lives are letters written not with ink, but through the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart. The New Testament provides us with the Gospel accounts according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Moreover we are presently living in the book of Acts because it is a continuous narrative. Therefore we write the fifth Gospel with our lives. We must give our personal accounts to the goodness and the faithfulness of the Lord. We live by grace under the law of Christ, and consequently our lives should be letters of the love, grace and mercy of God. We are the message of God to a lost and dying world. Therefore it is crucial that we keep ourselves in the love of God. In doing so, we will always exhibit the love of Christ and the fruit of the Spirit, maintaining our souls through self control. In showing forth the awesome love of God, we show His character and His nature. We demonstrate to the world the need to be totally focused and reliant upon the Lord.

We are the messages of God; faithful or unfaithful, loyal or disloyal.

Series 2/The Revelation of Grace/Grace, Prayer, Caring For Nothing Part III

If we pray, we should not worry and vice versa. Prayer replaces care. The Bible admonishes us to “Be careful for nothing but by everything with prayer and supplication with thanksgiving make your request known unto God.” (Philippians 4:6 KJV)The definition of the word care is an uneasy, fearful feeling about the outcome. It is to be anxious and worried. However when we worship the Lord, we come to realize who He is and who we are in Him. This revelation will cause us to be content in whatever state we find ourselves in. We will exhibit an uncomplaining acceptance of our lots based on our revelation of the Father. We will also have a restful, peaceful state of mind that’s undisturbed by external circumstances. With this sense of contentment comes the peace of God that passes all understanding. We will demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit which is Love. Joy is love’s strength. Peace is love’s safety. Longsuffering is love’s patience. Gentleness is love’s conduct. Goodness is love’s character. Faithfulness is love’s loyalty. Meekness is love’s humility and temperance is love’s self control.

In conclusion, we should begin to find ourselves at the feet of Jesus. As we come to realize that grace is God’s helping hand, we will be able to “Let our moderation be known to all men that the Lord is at hand.” (Philippians 4:5, KJV) May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

Jesus’ Solution To Man’s Problems

The message that Bishop Holcomb taught us this week is "Jesus' Solution to Man's Problems." We learned that God's solution to man is Jesus. Jesus' solution to man's problems is His Body. Our difficulty is that we do not properly discern the Lord's Body. As we partook of communion, we remembered to discern the Lord's Body. We realized that we must have a revelation of who Jesus is and who we are in Him. Thus we endeavor to always keep unity in the Body of Christ. We understand that the devil operates in division whereas God operates in unity. Therefore the church should always be a place of grace and a community of unity and not unison. Meaning that true unity is recognizing that we are all different but we come together in harmony to celebrate, to praise and to worship our wonderful Savior and Lord. He is Jesus, our soon coming King! Even as we remembered the Lord in partaking of His Body, we encourage you to do the same. Will you remember Jesus today? Will you keep Jesus in your mind this week? Will you consider the Lord in all that you do? And as always, please remember to remain in the place of grace. Remain in the place by Jesus!

Series 2 Revelation of Grace/Accessing Grace Through Our Prayers II

Bishop Holcomb preached a message last Wednesday entitled “Accessing Grace Through Our Prayers.” We, as Christians have access to Heaven, not because of entitlement based on who we are nor on what we’ve done. However we can enter the Holy Place because of who Jesus is and because of the salvific work of His redemption. Therefore according to Hebrews 4:16, “Let us therefore come boldly before the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
We learned that when we fold our hands, we signify that our hands are closed and God’s hands are always open. Thus the folding of the hands is more than a physical posture but it represents an attitude of the heart. Likewise when we bow our heads, it is in humility and in all humbleness to the Lordship of Jesus and to the sovereignty of Almighty God. Whereas,the closing of the eyes signify that we have a place that we can go to and meet the Lord in prayer. In this secret place, called our prayer closet, we close the doors, as we close our eyes with God on the inside with us.

Series 2 Revelation of Grace/Saved and Living by Grace

The message this week is “Saved and Living By Grace.” Saved means that we have accepted God’s only way of salvation through belief in the Lordship of His Son Jesus according to Romans 10:9,10. After salvation, we must live by the grace and the faith that we were saved by. We must humble ourselves to the Lord through submission and obedience. According to Isaiah 1:19, “If we are willing and obedient, we shall eat the good of the land.” It is really not enough for us to be obedient without being willing and submissive. Willingness is from within and obedience is from without. In other words, we bow before the Lord in submission and when we get up we walk in obedience. We must also be people of prayer. We fold our hands symbolizing that everything is out of our hands, our hands are closed. Everything is in God’s hands and God is still in control.

As always, please remember to remain in the place of grace. Remain in the place by Jesus.

The Revelation of Grace

Bishop Holcomb is teaching & preaching a series entitled, “The Revelation of Grace” and how that grace is God’s helping hand. Grace is God’s unmerited favor. It’s the favor of God given to us gratis and undeserving. Grace is Christ’s sacrifice. It is the salvific work of Christ, the salvific work of his redemption. Grace is God’s riches at Christ’s expense. In our church, The Christian House of Prayer, we give each other the high 5 and this is not a worldly gesture for us. But what we are saying is that, I extend unto you my brother and my sister the hand of grace. We are exchanging grace. We are exchanging favor. We are exchanging encouragement. We are saying that God is still in control. And as always, please remember to remain in the place of grace. Remain in the place by Jesus!

Revelation of Grace III/Where is the Christian's Strength

This week Bishop Holcomb taught a message entitled, “Where is the Christian’s Strength?” The questions with that become, are we weak enough for God to save us and are we weak enough for God to use us. According to 2 Corinthians 12:9, 10, God’s strength is made perfect in our weaknesses and therefore for the sake of Christ, we are to be content in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when we are weak, then we are strong. Am I weak enough Father? Am I submissive enough? Am I willing enough? Am I obedient enough? The world says that only the strong survive. But I submit unto you today that we must be weak enough to be used by God that His strength will be made perfect in and through our lives. As always, please remember to remain in the place of grace. Remain in the place by Jesus!

Revelation of Grace II/Earning VS Learning

Bishop Holcomb taught a message on 4 Aug 2009 entitled “Earning vs. Learning.”

I want to encourage your hearts to continue to be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Remember that grace is God’s favor in place when we need it. It is unmerited. It is gratis and it is undeserved. When we go to church, we should go to learn of the grace of God. We do not go to attempt to earn some sort of points based on what we do. Ephesians 2:8, 9 says, “For by grace are we saved through faith. And that not of ourselves. It is the gift of God. Not of works lest any man should boast.” Remember that we cannot earn our way to Heaven. We must learn the way to Heaven. When we leave the church, we should exit in obedience to God’s Word. In turn, we will move into God’s peace, God’s prosperity and into His victory for our lives.

The conclusion of the matter is to fear God and to serve God in truth.

And as always, please remember to remain in the place of grace. Remain in the place by Jesus.