A Tale of Three Trees

Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods.
They were discussing their hopes and dreams when the first tree said, 'Someday I hope to be a great treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems. I could be decorated with an intricate carving and everyone would see the beauty.'

Then the second tree said, 'Someday I will be a Mighty ship. I will take Kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world. People will feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull.'

Finally the third tree said, 'I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest Tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the hill, look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all time and people will always remember me.'

After a few years of praying that their dreams would com e true, a group of woodsmen came upon the trees. When one came to the first tree he said, 'This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a carpenter, and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy, because he knew the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest.

At the second tree the woodsman said, 'This looks like a strong tree. I will be able to sell it to the shipyard.' The second tree was happy because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship.

When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree as frightened because he knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not come true. One of the men said, 'I don't need anything special from my tree, I'll take this one,' and he cut it down.

When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed box for animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what he had prayed for.

The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end.

The third tree was cut into large pieces, and left alone in the dark.

The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams.

Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time.Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn't think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and He stood and said 'Peace' and the storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.

Finally, someone came and got the third tree.
It was carried through the streets as the People mocked the man who was carrying it.
When they came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God as was possible, because Jesus had been crucified on it.

The moral of this story is that when things don't seem to be going your way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in Him, God will give you great gifts.

Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined.

We don't always know what God's plans are for us. We just know that His Ways are not our ways, but His ways are always best.


Jubilee Family Church

The Family

I believe that the family is a foundation for the Church and society as a whole.

It is the smallest governmental structure in society.
Strong families = strong communities.
Strong communities = a strong country.

Families are made up of men, women and children.

I had someone say to me the other day, “I don’t know how you and Pastor Andrea do it?” in reference to us carrying our responsibilities outside of the family as well as the responsibilities of raising 5 children.

I thought, “We’re responsible adults,” That’s what we’re supposed to do. It’s normal
I just smiled and said, “Thank you.”

A problem with most families is selfishness.


Here's the video of the message!

Excerpt from an Article in USA Today
For many of USA's inmates, crime runs in the family
"This is much bigger than just a police issue," Joyce says. "It's about thinking differently. If we don't do something, this cycle will just continue."
Eddy, the Oregon psychologist, says most of the 400 inmates in his study, which focuses on their return to their families and young children, also have considerable generational links to crime.
At least 20% of the inmates reported that their mothers had been in prison. At least half said their fathers or siblings had been in prison.
"If you want to break the cycle, the current generation (of family members) has to be linked with education and jobs," Eddy says, adding that many need basic information on how to be good parents.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-01-28-crime-families_N.htm


The following information is taken from America is Too Young to Die, by Leonard Ravenhill. The book contains this startling quotation:

Max Jukes, [an] atheist, lived a godless life. He married an ungodly [woman], and from this union there were 310 who died as paupers, 150 were criminals, 7 were murderers, 100 were drunkards, and more than half of the women were prostitutes. His 540 descendants cost the State one and a quarter million dollars [before inflation].

Then there is a record of a great man of God, Jonathan Edwards. He lived at the same time as Max Jukes, but he married a godly [woman]. An investigation was made of 1,394 known descendants of Jonathan Edwards, of which 13 became college presidents, 65 college professors, 3 United States Senators, 30 judges, 100 lawyers, 60 physicians, 75 army and navy officers, 100 preachers and missionaries, 60 authors of prominence, one Vice-President of the United States, 80 public officials in other capacities, 295 college graduates, among whom were governors of states and ministers to foreign countries. Jonathan Edwards' descendants did not cost the state a penny (quoted in America is Too Young to Die by Leonard Ravenhill, Minneapolis, Minnesota: Bethany Fellowship, 1979, p. 112).

Responsible Fatherhood and the Role of the Family
Wade F. Horn, Ph.D., Assistant Secretary for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health And Human Services, at the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative Grantee Conference, September 30, 2002

By some estimates, 10 million children—one in seven—will, at some point before reaching age 18, have an incarcerated father.
What’s the impact of this? Having a father in prison is a powerful predictor of antisocial behavior in general and of criminality in particular. Put the father in prison and, by some estimates, you make the child five to six times more likely to end up in prison than otherwise. Most of us can barely imagine the pain, shame, disruption, and despair that children experience when their father gets incarcerated. These are what U.S. News & World Report a few months ago called "the most at-risk of at-risk kids."
http://www.reentry.gov/responsible.html

I believe that Christ can break generational behavioral patterns and give the new believer in Christ a fresh start at life.

Look up some scriptures that support this statement.

In Christ past paradigms of thinking and attitudes are subject to change at the new believers submission to God’s ways.

Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

What the Bible say in direct reference to the word family

1. Your Blood family Can misunderstand your commitment to Christ and his ministry.

Mark 3:21
When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind."

When Jesus Mother and brothers heard he wasn’t eating (Mark 3:20) they decided to take him with them because he’d lost his mind. This “Christianity” thing had gotten out of hand. Jesus then said his family was really those who do God’s will.
Jesus’ redefined his family
Mark 3:34-35
34Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! 35Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother."


Hebrews 2:11
Both the one who makes men holy(Jesus) and those who are made holy(his people) are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.

Mark 6:4-6
4Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor." 5He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6And he was amazed at their lack of faith.

One of the biggest enemies to the miraculous flowing through men and women of God you know if familiarity. It can lead to offense and blocks to the miracle working flow of God.
Knowing someone’s background and dismissing their ability to do something spiritual. Knowing too much about them or allowing that information to de spiritualize that person’s life. This prohibits the flow of God even through Jesus!

1 Corinthians 1:18
18For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Same message (of the Cross)
Different response
To the perishing - Foolishness
To the Christian - Power of God

What makes the difference is the Rhema voice of God. The believer has connected with the voice of God and the unbeliever has not and only sees things with the natural eye. This radically affects a person’s priorities. This change in priorities will bring division.

Luke 12:51-53
51Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."

2. The family must be cared for

1 Timothy 5:4
But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God.

Children who have adult parents who are in financial need should take care of their parents. Specifically widowed mothers.

1 Timothy 5:8
If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

This caring for family is so important that if it’s not done, judgment is already decreed that this person has denied the faith with their actions and is worse than an unbeliever!

3. The family of an overseer

Timothy 3:1
Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. 2Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. 5(If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) 6He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap.

How your family functions is a good indicator of the level of responsibility you should have in the church.
A person who’s family is falling apart needs to focus their energy on making the family work properly. First things first. Trying to minister in a leadership role when things aren’t right at home is a recipe for disaster.

4. A promise from God’s Word for your children.

Proverbs 22:6
Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

When we raise our children in the Lord they have an internal deposit in their hearts that they can never really get away from.
When the time is right they will come back to Christ. You can know that. Stand on the word for your children.

Acts 11:14
He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.‘
Acts 16:31
They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household."

Keep believing for your household to be saved. The message of the gospel is effective at reaching lost family members.

Jubilee Family Church

The Devil and the Duck

There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm and he was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods. He practiced in the woods; but he could never hit the target. Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner.

As he was walking back he saw Grandma's pet duck. Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head and killed it. He was shocked and grieved! In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood pile; only to see his sister watching! Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.

After lunch the next day Grandma said, 'Sally, let's wash the dishes' But Sally said, 'Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen.' Then she whispered to him, "Remember the duck?' So Johnny did the dishes.

Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing and Grandma said, 'I'm sorry but I need Sally to help make supper.' Sally just smiled and said, 'well that's all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help? She whispered again, 'Remember the duck?' So Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed to help.

After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally's; he Finally couldn't stand it any longer. He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck.

Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug and said, 'Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing, but because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.'

Thought for the day and every day thereafter:

Whatever is in your past, whatever you have done....? And the devil keeps throwing it up in your face (lying, cheating, debt, fear , bad habits, hatred, anger, bitterness, etc.)...whatever it is....You need to know
that: God was standing at the window and He saw the whole thing.

He has seen your whole life... He wants you to know that He loves you and that you are forgiven. He's just wondering how long you will let the devil make a slave of you.

Jubilee Family Church

What Happens in Heaven

This is one of the nicest e-mails I have seen and is so true:

I dreamed that I went to Heaven and an angel was showing me around. We walked side-by-side inside a large workroom filled with angels. My angel guide stopped in front of the first section and said, 'This is the Receiving Section. Here, all petitions to God said in prayer are received'

I looked around in this area, and it was terribly busy with so many angels sorting out petitions written on voluminous paper sheets and scraps from people all over the world.

Then we moved on down a long corridor until we reached the second section.

The angel then said to me, 'This is the Packaging and Delivery Section. Here, the graces and blessings the people asked for are processed and delivered to the living persons who asked for them. 'I noticed again how busy it was there. Ther e were many angels working hard at that station, since so many blessings had been requested and were being packaged for delivery to Earth.

Finally at the farthest end of the long corridor we stopped at the door of a very small station. To my great surprise, only one angel was seated there, idly doing nothing. 'This is the Acknowledgment Section,' my angel friend quietly admitted to me. He seemed embarrassed 'How is it that there is no work going on here?' I asked.

'So sad,' the angel sighed. 'After people receive the blessings that they asked for, very few send back acknowledgments .'

'How does one acknowledge God's blessings?' I asked.

'Simple,' the angel answered. Just say, 'Thank you, God.'

'What blessings should they acknowledge?' I asked.

'If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of this world. If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy .'

'And if you get this on your own computer, you are part of the 1% in the world who has that opportunity.'

'If you woke up this morning with more health than illness ... you are more blessed than the many who will not even survive this day .'

'If you have never experienced the fear in battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation ... you are ahead of 700 million people in the world.'

'If you can attend a church without the fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death you are envied by, and more blessed than, three billion people in the world! .'

'If your parents are still alive and still married ...you are very rare .'

'If you can hold your head up and smile, you are not the norm, you're unique to all those in doubt and despair.'

Ok, what now? How can I start?

If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing in that someone was thinking of you as very special and you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all.
Have a good day, count your blessings, and if you want, pass this along to remind everyone else how blessed we all are.

Jesus is My Master so I won't be Mastered by Anything

When the Bible speaks of the “Kingdom of God” It’s speaking of a Kingdom that is here but hasn’t reached its ultimate fulfillment.

The Kingdom of God as a Future Reality
The Kingdoms of this world and the kingdoms of God
Daniel 2:36-45

The Kingdom of God as a Past and Present Tense Reality
Component of the Kingdom of God

Luke 17:20b-21
"The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you."

The Spiritual Component
The phrase “Kingdom of God” appears 65 times in the New Testament. Starting with Matthew 12:28 But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

56 times the phrase refers to the establishment of a Kingdom in the present or a kingdom of the heart.
9 times the phrase refers to a Heavenly Kingdom or the millennial reign of Christ, a future kingdom.

1 Corinthians 6:9
9Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 12"Everything is permissible for me"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"—but I will not be mastered by anything.

Background on Corinth
The spiritual and moral environment of the first century city of Corinth was extremely unhealthy. Out of this culture, which had seen its prime and under the crushing weight of further moral decline would one day destroy itself, men and women answered the call of the gospel. They sought purpose for their lives; they sought a better way; they sought an eternal and abiding hope. They found it in Christ Jesus. Even if their city and culture would shortly lie in ruins, they would live forever.

When we’re talking about the Kingdom of God what are we talking about? (Discuss)

The Wicked Will Not Inherit the Kingdom of God
• The Sexually Immoral
(1) The Sexually Immoral shall not inherit the kingdom of God. This term refers to those who engage in sexual activity which God has declared sinful. He has not declared all sexual activity immoral. In fact, He condones and even encourages lawful sexual activity according to His design and purpose (I CORINTHIANS 7:2-4; HEBREWS 13:4). Fornication refers to sexual activity outside of the marriage relationship between a man and a woman. It would include premarital as well as extramarital sexual relationships of whatever duration from a one night stand to an ongoing affair. Such activity was rampant in first century Corinth. It is rampant today in our own society. It is unrighteous and it will keep one from inheriting the Kingdom of God.

• God must be First
(2) Idolaters shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Those who offer to others what belongs unto God are idolaters. A person's idol might be a statue before which he bows. Or more probably it might be his own desires. It is anything that a person adores more than God. Idolatry will keep one from inheriting the Kingdom of God.

• Adultery
(3) Adulterers shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Adultery seems to be more specific a term than fornication. It is usually limited to sexual unfaithfulness to a marriage partner. Adultery will keep one from inheriting the Kingdom of God.

• Male Prostitutes
(4)A man who sells himself sexually is not righteous and will not inherit the kingdom of God.

• Homosexual Offenders
(5)What does the Old Testament Say about Homosexuality?

Leviticus 18:22
" 'Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.

Leviticus 20:13
" 'If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.

Genesis 18
20 Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know."

Genesis 19:1-29
Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed

The Angels come to visit
They want to sleep out in the square.
Lot insists that they sleep in his house.

After dinner all the men of the city, young and old surrounded Lot’s house.
Genesis 19:5 "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them."

This is intense rape spirited homosexuality. There is nothing consensual about what these men of Sodom are attempting.

Genesis 19:6-8
Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him 7 and said, "No, my friends. Don't do this wicked thing. 8 Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don't do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof."

Something is really wrong with Lot. I believe he could’ve been pre-disposed to some poor sexual behavior before moving to Sodom but I believe the city has left an impression on him. His culture is effecting him. Just like he’s effecting the culture.
What man in his right mind would offer his 2 virgin daughters to a mob of rape ready men?

The daughters don’t appease the mob and they move to break down the door so they can have sex with the Angels and they threaten Lot that he’s going to get it worse than they.

The Angels strike the rape crazed men with blindness and conclude that the city must be destroyed.
Genesis 19:12,13
12 The two men said to Lot, "Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, 13 because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it."

We know that God does not rejoice in the demise of the wicked yet he destroys this city?
I believe God is always redemptive. If he can redeem you he will. If he can’t he may take you out or allow the Devil to take you out so you don’t influence anyone else in your ways.

Lot had a hard time believing the calamity that was going to come upon Sodom. He thought it was a Joke. He hesitated in leaving so the angels held his hand and had to lead him out.

God’s judgment is no Joke. We are in a time of great grace now but…

Revelation 15:7
7Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever.

There is a time coming in the future where God's wrath will be poured out onto the Earth

Quote from Freddy Mercury, a Bi-Sexual who prefered men.
For Freddie, the beginning of the end came when he was at boarding school in Bombay. He was just 13 and had his first homosexual experience - with an older pupil who made him call him Master. "I had a crush on The Master and I'd have done anything for him." he later confided. "When we went to bed together it didn't feel wrong and, although I had never had sex with a woman I wondered if it was really worth all the fuss! Over the next 20 years I went to bed with many women, for my sex drive is enormous and I like to live life to the full. But it was only when I was in the arms of a man that I felt truly fulfilled."

I thought up the name Queen. It's just a name, but it's very regal obviously, and it sounds splendid, It's a strong name, very universal and immediate. It had a lot of visual potential and was open to all sorts of interpretations. I was certainly aware of gay connotations, but that was just one facet of it. ” —Freddie Mercury

We are the champions written by Freddie Mercury has his heart and thus his world and life view. It’s been argued that the song we are the Champions is actually a homosexual anthem. Notice the desire to conquer and win at all costs. Homosexuality is not something that if you leave it alone it will leave you alone. It’s passionate and proud and desires to not just be understood but demands to be accepted and desires to take over.

The obvious reality that this lifestyle creates if it were to take over is that in one generation there wouldn’t be any people on the planet. This obviously is a negative thing for the continuation of the human race.
Any person should be able to see that without heterosexuals, life as we know it on the Earth would cease. Let's move on to the other sins listed here.

• Thieves
(6) Thieves shall not enter the kingdom of God. There is no excuse for taking that which rightfully belongs to another. Whether its shoplifting, pilfering, short-changing or armed robbery, fraud and extortion, it is thievery. Whether the person doing the stealing is rich or poor it will still keep one from inheriting the Kingdom of God.

• Greedy
(7) The Greedy will not inherit the Kingdom of God. This has to do with having an uncontrollable desire to possess a certain thing. It motivates one into committing sin in order to satisfy greed. Coveting that which belongs to another will keep one from inheriting the Kingdom of God.

• Drunkenness
(8) Children of God have no need to cloud their perspectives nor dull their senses. We must be able to think and reason clearly. Drunkenness causes one to lose focus and rationality. Those who give themselves over to intoxication will find that it keeps them from inheriting the Kingdom of God.

• Slanderers
(9)There are many to speak boldly about things that they know little about. Many men and women of God have had to endure reproach for their faith. Not even the Son of God escaped verbal abuse.

• Swindlers
(10) Swindlers and smooth talkers of all kinds are included here. The religious con-man belongs to this group as well as the secular. Those who prey on others by trying to take advantage of their misfortune would also be included. Swindlers cannot take their ill-gotten goods with them when they leave this world, nor will they inherit the Kingdom of God. Bernie Madoff is a swindler.

Sanctification is not the basis of justification but the inevitable result of justification. Those whom God declares righteous on the basis of their faith in Christ's work for them, God also makes righteous by the work of his Spirit within them. Those whose lives are characterized by the expressions of the sinful nature demonstrate that they have not been born by the power of the Spirit.

1 Cor. 6:12
12"Everything is permissible for me"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"—but I will not be mastered by anything.

Apostle Paul says, “I can do whatever I want but not everything is good for me.” I choose by God’s grace to not do the things that destroy the establishment of his Kingdom in my heart and the establishment of his kingdom on the earth.

Sin shall not be my master! Jesus is my master. If I’m mastered I’m getting robbed by the Devil! I’ve exchanged the truth for a lie and have become deceived.

Jubilee Family Church