House2HouseMD

Dear Saints: “You Have Left Your First Love” My son lost his phone in the house. For more than a month now, we have searched everywhere in the house and still can’t find it. “Lost” and “left” are two different words. Left means you know exactly where you left something and can go back and find it. As we continue our study of the book of Revelation (please read chapters 2 and 3), you will hear Jesus use “left” not “lost”. Many of us think Jesus said, “You have lost your first love”. Let’s hear directly from Jesus as He speaks to the Ephesian church and to us: “To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:  2  “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars;  3  and you have persever...

Dear Saints:   How dare we think we can live the Christian life in our own strength and our will-power. Paul will say to the Galatians:   “ O foolish Galatians! Who has  bewitched  you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?  2  This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?  3  Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?”    “Bewitched”? Yes, that is exactly where we may be right now in the church. We are at place in our individual lives and collective church lives where we are often doing and living without the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit. We have the technology; we can make things happen instantly by pushing some buttons and we are going at a high speed and not paying attention to the voice of the Holy Spirit. Ou...

  Dear Saints:   “I know Your Works.” l thank God for the cameras. It’s now everywhere for good and for bad. There are the body cameras required for the police to wear; home surveillance cameras, cameras on every phone and etc. We don’t normally think and believe that we are being watched. Even the thieves believe and think that nobody is watching. But there have been cameras from day one of the world’s creation. We are continually under the watchful eyes of the Lord. Have you thought about that? We are continuing our study of the book of Revelation (please read entire chapters 2 and 3). Jesus now speaks to the seven churches - Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. There are statements that are the same that Jesus gave to the seven churches. These are: "I know your works"; Commendations, Rebukes, "Repent"; "He who overcomes"; and "Hear what the Spirit says to the Churches". Keep in mind that these are not separat...

  Dear Saints: The COVID-19 pandemic has become a game changer and a reset button.  In July 2020, “ Barna president David Kinnaman indicated that as many as 20 percent of churches could close within the next 18 months.”  The reason being that we are now in the digital church age.   Barna Group is an organization that studies churches and church movements. The predicted rate of closure seem alarming but prior to COVID-19, churches were closing at an annual rate of 1% in the USA which is far better than most other institutions. Who owns churches? Do people own churches? Is it like McDonald restaurant where you buy a franchise? Some churches seem to be and they are the ones that will close. Jesus own churches and He is the Head of the Church (Ephesians 6). There are churches in different geography locations but there is only one Church. It’s not your denominational church but the Church of Jesus Christ. Jesus loved and died for His church therefore He paid the highest p...