notes from lisa...

" But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign ; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:" [Matthew 12:39] Believers today have become a generation of sign-seekers. We are following faith healers, financial miracles, prophetic "words from the Lord", our own supernatural healings and manifestations of all sorts. According to Jesus, it is a wicked--or "evil and adulterous generation" who seeks these things. Why shouldn't God's people have these things--or seek them?  God has reserved something greater and more magnificent for His people--something the "evil and adulterous" cannot grasp. When we understand the purpose of "signs" then we would know we are not to seek after them, but to seek after the spiritual and deep things of the Kingdom of God. "Signs" as Jesus used it here refers to (ceremonially or supernaturally) miracles, sign

"And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed , ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you." Luke 17:6 That's a whole lot of faith...or is it? In fact, it's less about quantity than about quality. Mustard seed faith is pure faith; it is faith that isn't moved by feelings and circumstances. It's the kind of faith Jesus said we would need to forgive, and to ask for forgiveness. We tend to use this scripture for everything but it's godly intent. Faith has a purpose--an eternal one. Faith is about making us ready for eternity; it's the gift God plants in us for the treacherous journey. We don't drum it up, but He gives to "every man the measure of faith" [Romans 12:3] and then "faith worketh by love" [Galatians 5:6]. We have the faith that we need, because He gave it to us; we don't have to get it on our own--or drum it up. T

When I forgive you, I don't really do anything for you . It is for myself, actually. It satisfies God's requirement and removes resentment, bitterness and vengeance from my heart. Jesus said, "But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." [Matthew 6:15, KJV] Trespasses are not light easy things, the Amplified Bible puts it this way: "reckless and willful sins". So, not only are they reckless, but they are done with willful intent in many cases--and we are still required to forgive even these, "seven times seventy". Forgiving others of their sins against us, large or small, is the only way we will enter eternity with Jesus. Not one of us will see Jesus, in peace who has failed to fully forgive and release even one of our offenders. If we have people in our lives that we have "forgiven, but not forgotten (what they have done to us, or others)", we have not actually forgiven them. Forgiv

" Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:" Matthew 28:19 " Go ", not " Bring " or " Take ". That was the commission Jesus gave to the first Christian disciples and it is the same commission that is extended to all of us that have come after them (and will). Somehow, that message has gotten lost--or misinterpreted. Today, we seem to interpret that commission as "bring as many people to church as you can", but there is a big problem with that message. It's good for us , but not for those who need the Gospel. It's downright inconvenient for those who need to hear what we already have and know. They don't want to get up early on Sunday; they stayed up too late on Saturday. They think we stay in service too long. They don't understand. They believe it's all about the money. They think all preachers are crooks. They had a bad experience in