Day One. Insight and Understanding.

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Christian, Christian Thought, Christianity, Church, Daily Word, Devotional, Encouragement, Fasting, God, grace and peace, IHP, In His Presence, Jesus Christ, Leo Colon, live life on purpose, Pastor Leo Colon, Scripture, wisdom

Beloved,

Grace and Peace be unto you, through the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ. I wanted to take the time to write you guys during the fast period, to encourage you as you go forth in this Journey we engage on our 10 day fast. This is a repost of an earlier posting. I pray that it encourages you. Look for a note from me daily with the exception of Sunday during the fast.

Today we begin our journey, hear the word of the LORD. From the beginning of this journey God has already sent an answer to you. The answer will bring to you insight and understanding. The bible records Daniel engaging in fasting and praying after discovering some things through the word of God.

New Living Translation:
Dan. 9:2 During the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, was studying the writings of the prophets. I learned from the word of the LORD, as recorded by Jeremiah the prophet, that Jerusalem must lie desolate for seventy years.
Dan. 9:3 So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and fasting. I wore rough sackcloth and sprinkled myself with ashes.

Point 1.
This 21 day fast is a time of prayer, great visions and fasting.
Remember to compile your prayer lists, and pray about the concerns on your lists daily.

Point 2.
Take the time to read your scriptures with diligence. There are answers and promises for you in the word of God, and many times this can direct your prayer. The sackcloth and ashes let’s us know that he subjected himself to discomfort during this time. Fasting means denying yourself comfort and luxury. You will get through it, remember do it one day at a time.

Beloved, I want to encourage you with this text. While you are praying, things are happening.

Dan. 9:21 As I was praying, Gabriel, whom I had seen in the earlier vision, came swiftly to me at the time of the evening sacrifice.
Dan. 9:22 He explained to me, “Daniel, I have come here to give you insight and understanding.
Dan. 9:23 The moment you began praying, a command was given. I am here to tell you what it was, for God loves you very much. Now listen, so you can understand the meaning of your vision.

While Daniel was praying, things were happening.  The text tell us the angel of the LORD, Gabriel came swiftly. God will speak to you during this time of fasting and prayer, and he will speak swiftly. The angel of the LORD explained his purpose for coming. “I have come to give you insight and understanding”. Be encouraged as you guys pray today. God has every intention, and has purposed to bring you insight and understanding. I speak in the name of Jesus, that no one will end this fast without insight into what God has for you, and that your insight will be clear to you. May God bring you understanding.

So beloved, look for insight.
insight |ˈinˌsīt|
noun
the capacity to gain an accurate and deep intuitive understanding of a person or thing

Thesaurus:
insight
noun
1 your insight has been invaluable intuition, discernment, perception, awareness, understanding, comprehension, apprehension, appreciation, penetration, acumen, perspicacity, judgment, acuity; vision, wisdom, prescience; informal savvy.
2 an insight into the government understanding of, appreciation of, revelation about; introduction to; informal eye-opener about.

And may God give you understanding.
understand |ˌəndərˈstand|
verb ( past and past part. -stood )
1 [ trans. ] perceive the intended meaning of (words, a language, or speaker)
Thesaurus:
understanding
noun
1 test your understanding of the language comprehension, apprehension, grasp, mastery, appreciation, assimilation, absorption; knowledge, awareness, insight, skill, expertise, proficiency; informal know-how; formal cognizance. antonym ignorance.
2 it was my understanding that this was free belief, perception, view, conviction, feeling, opinion, intuition, impression, assumption, supposition, inference, interpretation.
3 she treated me with understanding compassion, sympathy, pity, feeling, concern, consideration, kindness, sensitivity, decency, humanity, charity, goodwill, mercy, tolerance. antonym indifference.
4 we had a tacit understanding agreement, arrangement, deal, bargain, settlement, pledge, pact, compact, contract, covenant, bond, meeting of minds.

Remember beloved, drink all the water you can drink and take one bowl of Soup after 3PM. I pray this blog was an encouragement to you. Please, plan now to bring someone to church with you this week. This is part of what we are called to do. If you are not a member of a church, you need a place to run as if every step matters, come to In His Presence Family Worship Center at 1673 Dean Street, Brooklyn NY, every Sunday at 8 AM and every Wednesday at 7:30 PM. Some of the best people in the world are there and we would love to have you as our guest.
Also, if you would like to sow into this word, please obey what God is saying and give. Go to this link, http://ihpfwc.org/online-giving.html you can give by downloading our ‘Givelify’ app and going to In His Presence Worship Center. This give you a one step option, our you can use PayPal or give directly from the website. Honor the LORD with your substance. Proverbs 3:9

Yours Because I am His,
Leo Colon
www.ihpfwc.org
pastor@ihpfwc.org
888.640.5550

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Every Step Matters!! Live a disciplined and successful life.

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Christian, Christian Thought, Christianity, Church, Church Pastor Leo Colon, Daily Word, Devotional, Encouragement, God, In His Presence, Jesus Christ, jesus christ our lord, live life on purpose, Pastor Leo Colon, Scripture, The Prophet, wisdom

Beloved, Grace and Peace be unto you, through the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ. We have really been learning so much from the book of Proverbs and it is a privilege to share what we have been feasting on. Come and feast with us. Visit us at 1673 Dean Street, in Brooklyn NY. Also, visit our website, www.ihpfwc.org and keep up with what is happening at IHP and see what we’re about. Let’s continue looking at the book of Proverbs. The text:

Prov. 1:3 Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives, to help them do what is right, just, and fair. NLT

Their purpose, the purpose of the proverbs is to teach us. Teach us to live disciplined and successful lives. A working definition of disciplined is: showing a controlled form of behavior or way of working. So let’s look at it this way, proverbs will show us a controlled form of behavior for our life. This controlled life means it is not a reactionary life. A controlled life means no one can make you do anything. Discipline takes planning. This means your actions are defined by you. You plan your behavior and function accordingly. An undisciplined life means circumstances can rule you. When that happens, we tend to blame others for our actions. Wisdom from the proverbs teaches us to win. Not to win the approval of others but to achieve what we set out to achieve. Purpose is the goal. Discipline is essential even for the believer. This is not highlighted in today’s construct. We are taught that our feelings are more important than having a goal. Here is what the bible says about discipline:

1Cor. 9:24 ¶ Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win!
1Cor. 9:25 All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.
1Cor. 9:26 So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing.
1Cor. 9:27 I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified. NLT

Run to Win. This is what proverbs, (the word of God actually) teaches us. The Apostle makes the point. Athletes run, not to be in the race, but to win the race. No athlete, in their right mind thinks there is no need to prepare for a race. Only we do that. I include myself in this example. I have learned that preparation is how purposed is achieved and without it, I really am playing games. So, athletes TRAIN. They train and they do it with discipline. Meaning, if they are running, they learn what is the best technique for what they are running for. Sprinters train differently than long distance runners. What is your technique for winning this race called life? Or do you just start running when you hear the word GO! That is a good way to lose. You have to train yourself. So the Apostle says, he “runs with purpose in every step”. Every Step Matters!!!! We have to run as if every step matters! This is not shadow boxing. Every step you take as a Wife, sister, Daughter, Church Member, Brother, Father, Mother, Husband, Accountant, Police Officer, what ever you are called to be, Matters!

So live a disciplined life. The proverbs teaches us how. Every step matters. If they matter to you then hear what the scriptures say to you. Read the scriptures and obey it. Do what God says, this is the way to purpose. Pray, fast, tithes, evangelize, be ready to share your faith. Be disciplined. You cannot be a great athlete without a coach. Every great athlete has a coach. You cannot be a great believer without a Pastor. Make sure your discipline includes being a strong member of your church, whatever church God has called you to, support your church, pray for your pastor, discipline yourself to contribute to your believing community.

Every Step Matters!

I pray this blog was an encouragement to you. Please, plan now to bring someone to church with you this week. This is part of what we are called to do. If you are not a member of a church, you need a place to run as if every step matters, come to In His Presence Family Worship Center at 1673 Dean Street, Brooklyn NY, every Sunday at 8 AM and every Wednesday at 7:30 PM. Some of the best people in the world are there and we would love to have you as our guest.
Also, if you would like to sow into this word, please obey what God is saying and give. Go to this link, http://ihpfwc.org/online-giving.html you can give by downloading our ‘Givelify’ app and going to In His Presence Worship Center. This give you a one step option, our you can use PayPal or give directly from the website. Honor the LORD with your substance. Proverbs 3:9

Yours Because I am His,
Leo Colon
www.ihpfwc.org
pastor@ihpfwc.org
888.640.5550

#IHP #church #God #Jesus #fun #family #friends #follow #happy #love #pastor #teacher #inhispresenceny #church #apastorslove #apastorslife

Wisdom Makes My Life Better

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Christian Thought, Christianity, Church, Church Pastor Leo Colon, Daily Word, Devotional, Encouragement, God, In His Presence, Jesus Christ, live life on purpose, Scripture, The Prophet, wisdom

Grace and Peace. We at IHP have started looking at the book of Proverbs at our Wednesday Night Bible Study. I want to invite you to our Bible Study. I really believe the Bible helps us to make our lives better. My life has improved because of the word of God. I know the Bible can and will improve your life as well.

Let’s look at the text:
Prov. 1:2 ¶          Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline,
to help them understand the insights of the wise. NLT

The Bible helps us because it teaches us Wisdom, Discipline, Understanding, and Insight. This word, the Bible, will teach us to live disciplined and successful lives. I want my life to be exemplary. I want the best for my self. I have learned wisdom helps me make better decisions. Better decisions leads to less mistakes and that means I reach my goals sooner and often exceed them. I have also learned that I often learn things that I would only learn on the journey. Meaning, if I talked myself out of moving forward, not only would I not reach my goal but there would so much I would have never learned.
Now according to verse 2, Wisdom is learned. I am not born with wisdom. None of us are. Then this means becoming wise is a process. Having knowledge and becoming wise is NOT the same thing. Knowledge is the attainment of information. Wisdom is the application of knowledge. I have to learn first, then put what I have learned into action. I am not wise having One Million dollars, I am wise because I have used information to turn One Million dollars into Five Million. I am wise when my job becomes my company, when my efforts bring me a return.

Be wise, and invest in the process of obtaining knowledge and applying it. Read God’s word and apply it. Wisdom makes my life better. It can for you as well.
Here is another proverb:

Prov. 11:30 ¶ The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise. Be wise, bring someone to church with you. Do not come to church alone. God has called you to win souls.

Yours Because I am His,
Leo Colon
www.ihpfwc.org
pastor@ihpfwc.org
888.640.5550

#IHP #church #God #Jesus #fun #family #friends #follow #happy #love #pastor #teacher #inhispresenceny #church #apastorslove #apastorslife

You are a Masterpiece

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Christian, Christian Thought, Christianity, Church Pastor Leo Colon, Daily Word, Devotional, Encouragement, God, In His Presence, Jesus Christ, live life on purpose, Scripture, wisdom

Grace and Peace to you. Thank you for taking the time to read this blog. Today, I want to encourage you. You are a MASTERPIECE. That’s not just from me, it’s the Word of God. Let’s look at the text:

NLT
Eph. 2:10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Contextually, the Apostle Paul is encouraging all of us with what has to be one of the more pivotal verses in all Christendom.

NLT
Eph. 2:8 ¶ God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.
Eph. 2:9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

Letting us know, we are not save because of something we did or because we deserve to be saved but because of God’s love and purpose for our lives. Then he goes on in verse 10 to say that we are God’s Masterpiece. Wow, let’s think about that.

The word masterpiece is defined in the MW Collegiate Dictionary as:
MASTERPIECE: 1. a work done with extraordinary skill especially: supreme intellectual or artistic achievement.
2. a piece of work presented to a medieval guild as evidence of qualification for the rank of master.

OK, let’s think about this. No matter how I feel about myself, I am a work done with extraordinary skill. Imagine, me done with extraordinary skill but I have no confidence in myself. Seems crazy doesn’t it? Imagine any Masterpiece we know of. Let’s say the Mona Lisa. Can you imagine that you flew all the way to Paris to see this amazing work of art and all the while the painting is wondering does she belong there. The Painting is wondering does she belong in that museum. It would be easy to tell the painting, you are a masterpiece. You belong exactly where your Master put you. You belong here. You are worth the trouble we go through just to look at you. Also, anyone who would violate you, does not know your WORTH! You are precious. You are so precious that this museum goes through great lengths to protect you.

Another thing, the Mona Lisa does not go through a lot of mental anguish trying to change after the Master has done His work. The Master has made the Mona Lisa just the way He envisioned. Why would the painting determine it should change and be like other paintings. Can you imagine that the Mona Lisa decided it wants to be a meme as opposed to a great painting?

Well, here is my word to you, beloved, you are a work done with extraordinary skill. God did that. When God presented you, we all recognize God to embody the rank of Master. Anyone who would violate that does not know your WORTH! Don’t try to change, you are what God determined you to be. And anyone, including you, who does not see that, does not recognize a Masterpiece when they see one. You are a Masterpiece!

Hey, Masterpiece, I want to invite you to come to our Church. In His Presence Family Worship Center is a place full of Masterpieces just like you. Join us, every Sunday an 8 AM and every Wednesday at 7 PM. We meet at 1673 Dean Street, Brooklyn NY. Come and join us. Miracles are happening there. You want to make plans to be there.

Yours Because I am His,
Leo Colon
www.ihpfwc.org
pastor@ihpfwc.org
888.640.5550
#IHP #church #God #Jesus #fun #family #friends #follow #happy #love #pastor #teacher #inhispresenceny #church #apastorslove #apastorslife

Trust God

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Christian, Christian Thought, Christianity, Daily Word, Devotional, Encouragement, God, grace and peace, In His Presence, Jesus Christ, live life on purpose, Pastor Leo Colon, Scripture, wisdom

Grace and Peace be unto you, through the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ. I felt led of the LORD to share this short blog with you. I posted it on yesterday on social media and I thought it a good idea to post it here. It is short and really a snippet of what I have been sharing for the last two weeks at In His Presence Family Worship Center. I want to invite you to be my special guest at our church. We would be honored to have you as our special guest. Meet us at 1673 Dean Street, 8:00AM every Sunday morning and on Wednesday at 7:00 PM for prayer and bible study. Let’s look at the text for today:

Jer. 17:7 ¶          “But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence.

Jer. 17:8 They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.

NLT

Trusting God means to rely on him. The word of the Lord tells us there are blessing’s attached to our faith. You need to be the kind of person that trusts God more than you do man. There are three benefits to trusting God.

Number 1: God says he will plant you like a tree by the riverbank. He has placed you in soil to be cultivated to grow and to be sustained.

Number 2: You will not see heat coming. That which can cause harm to a tree is something you will not see. And it will not affect you. God never said heat would not come, but he would protect you from the heat that could damage anyone else.

Number 3: You will never stop producing fruit. God says if you trust him you will always be productive. You’re going to be able to produce where other people cannot.

Trust God. This is how you succeed. Trust God.

Live on Purpose and not By Mistake,
Yours Because I am His,
Leo Colon
pastor@ihpfwc.org
http://www.ihpfwc.org

Dy Four (4) NOTHING Shall be IMPOSSIBLE!!!

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Christian Thought, Christianity, Church, Daily Word, Devotional, Encouragement, Fasting, God, In His Presence, Pastor Leo Colon, Scripture, wisdom

Grace and Peace be unto you, through the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ. Today is Day Number Four (4). Congratulations you doing an amazing job. You are to be commended. Well Done! Today I want to continue encouraging you about faith. We have been looking at the text from Matthew 17 all week and I would like to continue from the same passage. Let’s look at the text.

Matt. 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Remember, when we left off Jesus reacted to the inability of his disciples to cast out the demon by calling this generation a faithless and perverse generation. Today let’s go a little further. The disciples themselves were concerned about their inability to cast out the demon. So, they did the best thing, they asked the LORD. They asked Jesus, “why could not we cast him out”? Jesus said because of your unbelief. OK wait! These are the disciples, who, left their careers, their families and gave up a lot to ‘follow’ Jesus. Yet it was their unbelief. It is possible to hang out with Jesus and still operate in unbelief. It is possible to be in the church, on staff, in the choir, on the usher board and still have unbelief. It is possible to believe that he is God, but not believe God enough for your current miracle. Let’s not get it twisted, I am sure you belong to a fine church, but we all need to be diligent about increasing our faith.

Then Jesus said something rather incredible.

“If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”

Mustards seeds are very small. Often, if I am holding one in my hand, one must strain to see it. So, imagine the juxtaposition here. If your faith is so small that it can hardly be seen, even by you, you can move something everyone can see! Including you. Further, consider that at this time mountains were understood to be ‘unmovable’. So, something you can hardly see, can move unmovable objects. Do you have an unmovable object in your life? Something you have tried to move naturally? Maybe it’s your temper, your depression, your habits. You can move it but not by human means. Everything that hinders you can be dealt with by faith in God. And here is the Word of the LORD to you for this year.

NOTHING SHALL BE IMPOSSIBLE!!!!!

 

Consider this, an all wise God, who knows all and sees all, says, Nothing shall be impossible if we have faith. Beloved, if you are determined to operate in faith, nothing that God says you can do is impossible. Nothing. Feast on that word as you go through your day, your week, your Year. In the year 2017, Nothing shall be impossible.

 

Remember, take one day at a time. This year we are following our Bishop H. Curtis Douglas and doing 7 days. Remember, drink all the water you can drink. Make sure it is at least 8 glasses of water. Also, you may have one bowl of soup, preferably after three (3) PM. Just do today. Do not try to fast all 7 days at once. Let tomorrow take care of tomorrow. Make sure you are using your prayer list. Pray for the things you are looking for in 2017. Also, plan now to bring someone to church with you on Sunday. Whatever church you belong to you need to bring someone with you. Certainly, if you do not have a church home we would be honored to have you as our special guest. Join us at 8 AM every Sunday and every Wednesday at 7 PM at In His Presence Family Worship Center on 1673 Dean St. Brooklyn NY. Our website is www.ihpfwc.org. We would love to see you.

 

Live Life on Purpose, and not by Mistake,

Yours Because I am His,

Leo Colon

pastor@ihpfwc.org

www.ihpfwc.org

 

 

 

 

Day Three (3) You are a Chosen Generation

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Christian, Christian Thought, Christianity, Church, Daily Word, Devotional, Encouragement, Fasting, In His Presence, Jesus Christ, live life on purpose, Pastor Leo Colon, Scripture, wisdom

Grace and Peace be unto you, through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus Christ. Today is Day Number Three (3). This is a big deal. I congratulate you on this milestone. I am rejoicing with you and I look forward to hearing your testimonies of what God has done. Today I want to continue with our discussion on Faith.  We are sharing a bit of what I shared at church on Sunday morning. Now, I want to personally invite you to be our guest this Sunday Morning at In His Presence Family Worship Center. Our Sunday morning service begins at 8:00 AM and we are done by 9:45. Come and join us this Sunday, 1673 Dean St., Brooklyn NY. You will be glad you did. Now let’s take a look at the text.

 

KJV

Matt. 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

 

We left off hearing Jesus’s disappointment when he heard that his disciples could not heal the boy possessed with a demon. The text says that the boy’s father said ‘I brought him to your disciples and they could not heal him’. Jesus reacted by saying:

KJV

Matt. 17:17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.

Yesterday we spoke about what is meant to be a part of that faithless generation. Today, let’s look a little further. Faithless and Perverse generation. The key hear is not much different than what we looked at yesterday. Our generation affects all of us, whether we realize it or not. These guys were his disciples and could not do what they were expected to do because they are part of a generation that is faithless and perverse. They believe Jesus is God and were still affected.

Well, what does perverse mean? It stems from the word pervert. In the original Greek, it is:

GK G1406 | S G1294   διαστρέφω   diastrephō   7x

to distort, turn away; met. to pervert, corrupt, Mt. 17:17; Lk. 9:41; to turn out of the way, cause to make defection, Lk. 23:2; Acts 13:8; διεστραμμένος, perverse, corrupt, erroneous

☞  MOUNCE | NIV | ESV | HCSB | NRSV | NKJV | KJV

 

So, when one perverts something, one distorts, one turns away, one corrupts. Now, you can distort was is established already. Meaning, a thing would have to be established, somehow what is right is already determined. You cannot corrupt, distort or pervert what does not exist. For example, it may be established that when conducting an election, the person with the most votes, wins said election. That would have to be set as a paradigm. To pervert it, there can be no ambiguity as to whether this is right. Perverting the process then means, knowing what is right, and doing what you know to be wrong, and developing an ethos to justify it.

Jesus is saying we are not only a faithless generation, but we know what is right and distort it to suit our fancy. We know what we are doing is wrong and we reason it away by saying I don’t feel fulfilled doing right. So, we twist the meaning of right to suit our needs. Beloved, Jesus is saying to us, we will not be able to adequately deal with demons in our life if we consistently distort what we know is right just to be able to feel good about the wrong we do. Our lives matter. If we distort God’s word to suit our sensibility, how can we be expected to deal with demonic attack? Our generation is perverse. We have accepted abortion, adultery, pre-marital sex, homosexuality. We even like it when candidates for President lie, denigrate and belittle others just to get into office. Just look around and see how perverse we are. God is saying even the believers are affected by this. You cannot live right and be comfortable with perversion. Live for God. Live like God says you should live and watch the power of God show up in your life. Demons must flee but we have to have faith and throw off the effects of our generation. You can do it. Radically live for Christ and watch the change. You are a chosen generation.

 

1Pet. 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

 

Beloved, through faith this is who you are. No longer defined by this perverse generation. I declare you a chosen generation.

 

Remember, take one day at a time. This year we are following our Bishop H. Curtis Douglas and doing 7 days. Remember, drink all the water you can drink. Make sure it is at least 8 glasses of water. Also, you may have one bowl of soup, preferably after three (3) PM. Just do today. Do not try to fast all 7 days at once. Let tomorrow take care of tomorrow. Make sure you are using your prayer list. Pray for the things you are looking for in 2017. Also, plan now to bring someone to church with you on Sunday. Whatever church you belong to you need to bring someone with you. Certainly, if you do not have a church home we would be honored to have you as our special guest. Join us at 8 AM every Sunday and every Wednesday at 7 PM at In His Presence Family Worship Center on 1673 Dean St. Brooklyn NY. Our website is www.ihpfwc.org. We would love to see you.

 

Live Life on Purpose, and not by Mistake,

Yours Because I am His,

Leo Colon

pastor@ihpfwc.org

www.ihpfwc.org

 

Day Two (2) We are a people of Faith.

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Christian, Christian Thought, Christianity, Daily Word, Devotional, Encouragement, Fasting, In His Presence, Jesus Christ, live life on purpose, Pastor Leo Colon, Scripture, wisdom

Grace and Peace be unto you, through the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ. Beloved, today is day number two (2) in our journey, our pilgrimage in our 2017 Fast. You are doing very well. Are you praying? Do you have a prayer list? Remember, the reason we are doing this is to seek of the LORD direction for 2017. We have an understanding of our purpose but we want God to show us a better way. Today, I would like to share a small piece of what I shared on Sunday from the pulpit of In His Presence Family Worship Center. I want to encourage you. You will need faith to make it through 2017. Let’s look at our text.

 

Matthew 17:20King James Version (KJV)

²⁰ And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

 

In this pericope, a man came to Jesus concerning his son, who was afflicted with a demon. He tells Jesus what is going on with his son and informs him that he took his son to his disciples and they could not heal his son. To that, Jesus replies:

Matthew 17:17King James Version (KJV)

¹⁷ Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.

 

Notice, Jesus did not bemoan the notion ‘o seminary less and uneducated generation’, nor did he deride them about how long they have been saved. He did not suggest to them that if they belonged to the right denomination they would have been able to deal with this. None of those assertions were made. He declared this generation faithless and perverse. Let’s take care to understand this. This is not a momentary lapse. This is a generational issue. It is bigger than your momentary lapse of faith. We are, in this twentieth/twenty-first century, part of a faithless and perverse nation. What we need to understand, we are not part of a people who have not seen miracles. We can see a miracle and be awed by it, but because we are witnessing miracles as part of a faithless generation, what we are used to and inundated with is the example of faithlessness. Because of that it is easy to convince ourselves of a lie, and lies and logic of men are more plausible to us then the truth of God.

The truth of God requires faith. There is no way to live in, function in and develop in God’s Kingdom without faith. Therefore we often attack issues that require faith with the logic of man. What is also common is that if you tried something God’s way and it does not work the way you or your contemporaries expect, you hear things like, ‘you were foolish to believe God in the first place’. If you did it the logical way, (according to Man), and it doesn’t work, well then it didn’t work out this time. Try what does not work, again. This would be acceptable in a faithless generation. Also, understand the Generation means years. So, this could mean that we are trying to live in faith, but our only example, as long as we have been living, has been faithlessness. Faithlessness is understandable even to many believers because this is the generation we belong to.

If this is true, our faith often is manifested with a logical proviso. Meaning we believe God but we are not fools and will not trust God enough to look stupid to men. Beloved, that is faithless.

 

Today, let’s fight to be believers who have faith. Let’s leave faithlessness behind. Our generation cannot save us. I want to be a man of faith. I declare that you are a man/woman of faith. Nothing shall be impossible for you. I believe that. You should too. Tomorrow let’s continue to talk more about faith.

 

Remember, take one day at a time. This year we are following our Bishop H. Curtis Douglas and doing 7 days. Remember, drink all the water you can drink. Make sure it is at least 8 glasses of water. Also, you may have one bowl of soup, preferably after three (3) PM. Just do today. Do not try to fast all 7 days at once. Let tomorrow take care of tomorrow. Also, plan now to bring someone to church with you on Sunday. Whatever church you belong to you need to bring someone with you. Certainly, if you do not have a church home we would be honored to have you as our special guest. Join us at 8 AM every Sunday and every Wednesday at 7 PM at In His Presence Family Worship Center on 1673 Dean St. Brooklyn NY. Our website is www.ihpfwc.org. We would love to see you.

 

Live Life on Purpose, and not by Mistake,

Yours Because I am His,

Leo Colon

pastor@ihpfwc.org

www.ihpfwc.org

 

 

Day One (1) Your Pilgrimage

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Christian, Christian Thought, Christianity, Church, Church Pastor Leo Colon, Daily Word, Devotional, Encouragement, Fasting, In His Presence, Jesus Christ, live life on purpose, wisdom

Grace and Peace be unto you, through the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ. Today is day number one (1) of our pilgrimage. I just wanted to say a short word to encourage you today as you begin this journey in 2017. I want to encourage you to have faith. Faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains. Here is the promise for 2017, “nothing shall be impossible”.

 

I want to encourage you this morning. Do not see this as vain repetition. In the kingdom of God there are many things that we are required to do every year because it is important for our development as citizens of the Kingdom of God. Every Jew was expected to engage in a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship God. The fact that it happened yearly does not mean that it is repetition without power. Actually, let’s define pilgrimage.

 

PILGRIMAGE

A journey made to a holy or revered place as an act of devotion or duty. As well as Jerusalem, there were several such holy places in Israel.

 

Here is a biblical attestation to this practice:

Luke 2:41-42New International Version (NIV)

⁴¹ Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. ⁴² When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom.

 

Jesus and his family did this every year because God commands it. As you journey on this fast in 2017, don’t listen to nay sayers who would tell you this is just a custom that has no meaning. You are doing this as an act of devotion to your God and to get his attention about your hope and supplications for the coming year.

 

Take one day at a time. This year we are following our Bishop H. Curtis Douglas and doing 7 days. Remember, drink all the water you can drink. Make sure it is at least 8 glasses of water. Also you may have one bowl of soup, preferably after three (3) PM. Just do today. Do not try to fast all 7 days at once. Let tomorrow take care of tomorrow. Also, plan now to bring someone to church with you on Sunday. Whatever church you belong to you need to bring someone with you. Certainly, if you do not have a church home we would be honored to have you as our special guest. Join us at 8 AM every Sunday and every Wednesday at 7 PM at In His Presence Family Worship Center on 1673 Dean St. Brooklyn NY. Our website is www.ihpfwc.org. We would love to see you.

 

Live Life on Purpose, and not by Mistake,

Yours Because I am His,

Leo Colon

pastor@ihpfwc.org

www.ihpfwc.org

 

 

 

We can Change our Future by Learning from Our Past.

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Christian, Christian Thought, Christianity, Church, Church Pastor Leo Colon, Daily Word, Devotional, Encouragement, In His Presence, Jesus Christ, live life on purpose, Scripture, wisdom

Grace and Peace be multiplied to you, through the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ. I pray this blog finds you well. It is my hope to encourage you and to speak into your spirit from the word of God. First let me invite you to our church. It is vital that you have a place of worship and a Pastor you can connect to and learn from. If you are searching for a church home or don’t know the value of one, allow me to invite you to In His Presence Family Worship Center. It is a good church with awesome people and the word of God is taught without compromise. Visit us online at IHPFWC.ORG. Come to church, we are located at 1673 Dean St. in Brooklyn. Service begins at 8 AM on Sunday and at 7 PM on Wednesday nights for bible study. Be my special guest. I am looking for you.

I preached from this text on Sunday and I just want to share a short excerpt with you. Let’s look at the text:

 

Is. 42:23 ¶         Who will hear these lessons from the past and see the ruin that awaits you in the future? (NLT)

The Prophet Isaiah is prophesying to the people of God and in chapter 43 speaks of what God is going to do and it is awesome. For that you should have been at church on Sunday, but before he gives them this awesome news, he makes plain Israel’s current situation. Often we miss the value of what God has done in our life because we have not taken stock of where we are in the midst of our deliverance. Some of us have even deluded ourselves into thinking we are fine where we are. When we don’t know what freedom is and how awesome it is, we think slavery is just fine. Some of us have been in slavery so long that we eulogize imprisonment. We speak well of it. We will mummer because we are being pushed into freedom because freedom takes hard work. Anything worth having does. A good marriage, a great position, a healthy body, all takes hard work.

That being said, anything you have achieved is viewed with a greater appreciation when you understand exactly where you are. Losing 50 pounds may not seem like a big deal if you did not know what you weighed, or what kind of effort it would take to do it. If you understand that you were 400 pounds and how hard it was to stay motivated, you will celebrate every pound.

Israel, according to the text was at a low point. The war with the Assyrians had left them robbed and plundered, enslaved, imprisoned and trapped. (Isaiah 42:22) NLT According to verse 24, they were fair game for anyone, ripe for the pickings and no one to protect them, because they did not “Obey God’s Law”. Beloved, it is entirely possible that we are not where we want to be because of our disobedience.

Is. 42:20             You see and recognize what is right but refuse to act on it.

You hear with your ears, but you don’t really listen.” (NLT)

Knowing this, the question is posed by the prophet. Will you “hear the lesson from the past and see the ruin that awaits”? We can and must learn from our mistakes. We can do whatever we set our minds to, if we are willing to learn. You can prosper if we do not repeat the same mistakes that made us unprosperous before. We can have a healthy marriage if we stop doing the unhealthy things we keep doing. Also, implied in this text is that our change is on us. Stop praying that God would change your circumstance, your husband or wife, your job. God wants to change you. When he changes you, you then change everything around you. When you learn from your past, you can see the ruin that awaits, you ought to do things God’s way and avert ruin. We can change everything. Stop settling for what you have been and become what God says you are. You are the head, not the tail. You are above and not beneath. This does not happen by God changing our surroundings, it happens when God changes us. When your mindset changes and you are determined to obey God, you cannot settle for what is, and nothing but God’s best is acceptable. None of this will happen if you continue to refuse to walk in God’s law. Beloved, God can change you. Walk in his ways and obey his word. We can change our future by learning from our past.

Yours Because I am His,

Leo Colon

www.ihpfwc.org

pastor@ihpfwc.org