With many of us being around family and friends this week whom perhaps we have not seen in a long time, I thought what better opportunity to share the gift of forgiveness through the blood of Jesus Christ.
Many of us may have a difficult time in knowing just how we are start up a conversation about Jesus, and the FREE gift He offers. With this in mind, I would like to share with you the "Antidote" annalogy. A great way of introducing Jesus and helping them see how His gift applies to my life is to start a conversation by asking the following questions...
"If you, being my family member or friend, were bitten by a poisionous snake and needed 'antidote' to save your life, how desperate would you be to receive that 'antidote'? Now, say after you had been bitten, you found out I had the 'antidote' all along, however I never gave it to you or shared it with you, how would that make you feel?" Another example is to ask a family member or friend this next question. "What if you or someone you loved was dying from a terminal illness (cancer, HIV, etc) and you found out I had knowledge of the cure for that terminal disease, would you want me to share that knowledge with you, or would you just like for me to keep it to myself and not share?"
Well in both of these cases I am pretty sure the response you will receive is, "YES!" This message should be shared. At this point, you can share with the person based on their response, that you would like to introduce them to the "Antidote" for their eternal salvation. It is important that people realize that all of us were bitten by the poisionous snake, satan (this is not a typo I REFUSE to capitalize that name), and that each of us were once terminally ill and sentenced to death. However, through the "Antidote" Jesus Christ, we are cured and have confidence in our salvation through His sacrifice! Be strengthened and be of good courage for He is with you!
In-Him,
Steve
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Monday, November 19, 2007
REJOICE and be Thankful!
I want to take just a few moments to provide some updates and schedule of "upcoming events" within The Road ministry:
We will not be meeting this coming Thursday (November 22nd) as that is Thanksgiving Evening. We will resume the following Thursday (November 29th).
I want to remind everyone about Thursday Night December 13th, as we will be watching a video testimony from Holocaust Survivor Peter Loth beginning at 6:30pm. Childcare is provided for our Thursday night worship time so come and join us.Please make every effort to come on this date if possible.
If you have not had an opportunity to join us on Thursday evenings, we invite you to join us for "hands on" biblical, applicable teaching that will help all of us to see our lives within the pages of God's Word. If you have any questions feel free to contact me at anytime 806-790-8520.
For those of you that were unable to join us this past Thursday night, we took a little stroll through Athens. However, I have a feeling that even though you may not have been with us physically, you most certainly take that stroll each and every day! Having said this let me ask you a question, Do your surroundings infulence your spiritual growth? Before you answer, let me paint a picture for you that we put into action this past Thursday night.
Imagine you are trying to grow/ develope a deeper relationship with God by reading His Word and meditating on what He says. However, during this time music is blarring in the background or perhaps the TV is on, or perhaps someone is trying to carry on a conversation with you that has absolutley nothing to do with the relationship you are trying to forge. Now imagine all of these going on at the same time and if you can, then you have a little insight about what it means to walk in Athens!!
A few years ago I planned a trip for Charlene and I for our 10th wedding anniversery. Charlene had never been to Las Vegas, so I thought I would take her there as a surprise. I made all of the arrangements; hotel,airline,activities the whole nine yards so off we went. Everything was fine with our flight no problems. We went to baggage claim and sure enough there were our bags no problem. We went out to the ground transportation location no problem, shuttle service pulled right up loaded our bags and off we went. However, once we were in route to our hotel Charlene and I were brought into a world we did not barrgin for. On most every billboard was an invitation to a bar, strip club, adult entertainment etc. Well as you can imagine, we were just a little surprised as this was not the trip we had purchased, we were brought into an inviornment we had not expected. Guess what, so did Paul on his journey to Athens!!!!
Paul has just been in Thesolinica and Berea with Timothy and Silas until, those who had become invious drove him out and he landed in Athens. Upon arrival in Athens Paul was placed in an inviornment that provoked the spirit within him. Let's look at the word provoked. His spirit was troubled, uneasy, uncomfortable within him and why was this? Because of his surroundings. Paul had entered into a world where anything goes, where Athenians had many different gods which they were worshiping (I guess they were trying to cover all their bases) however, it was the UNKNOWN GOD (Acts 17:23) that Paul was sent there to preach/witness and teach about.
I want to ask you, how many of us are walking in Athens today? How many of us walk in Athens and allow Athens to win? If we are honest with ourselves the truth is, we are all weak flesh and stumble on occasion on The Road. I want to ask you how many of us travel up the hill and speak to those around us about the truth of salvation through Jesus Christ? God will provide you with your very own Areopagus (platform) to be His mouth piece the question is, will you take the journey for Him?
This time of season reminds me that maybe my bank account isn't as plentiful as I might like, or maybe I didn't get that big promotion at work, or that perhaps I might be spending this Thanksgiving season without my spouse for the first time after God has called them home. But in whatever situation you find yourself this holiday season, remember that God is with you and even though sometimes He might allow us to walk through Athens, He has already provided direction for us that leads back to His gentle, loving forving arms. Amen
God Bless,
Steve Winters
PS: God is moving through The Road ministry and He has placed a special "Journey" on my heart over the last fews days. If you would like to travel this journey with us, join us Thursday Night November 29th to find out what it is. All I can tell you at this point is come prepared to "move" as opposed to "sitting". See ya Thursday!!!!!!
We will not be meeting this coming Thursday (November 22nd) as that is Thanksgiving Evening. We will resume the following Thursday (November 29th).
I want to remind everyone about Thursday Night December 13th, as we will be watching a video testimony from Holocaust Survivor Peter Loth beginning at 6:30pm. Childcare is provided for our Thursday night worship time so come and join us.Please make every effort to come on this date if possible.
If you have not had an opportunity to join us on Thursday evenings, we invite you to join us for "hands on" biblical, applicable teaching that will help all of us to see our lives within the pages of God's Word. If you have any questions feel free to contact me at anytime 806-790-8520.
For those of you that were unable to join us this past Thursday night, we took a little stroll through Athens. However, I have a feeling that even though you may not have been with us physically, you most certainly take that stroll each and every day! Having said this let me ask you a question, Do your surroundings infulence your spiritual growth? Before you answer, let me paint a picture for you that we put into action this past Thursday night.
Imagine you are trying to grow/ develope a deeper relationship with God by reading His Word and meditating on what He says. However, during this time music is blarring in the background or perhaps the TV is on, or perhaps someone is trying to carry on a conversation with you that has absolutley nothing to do with the relationship you are trying to forge. Now imagine all of these going on at the same time and if you can, then you have a little insight about what it means to walk in Athens!!
A few years ago I planned a trip for Charlene and I for our 10th wedding anniversery. Charlene had never been to Las Vegas, so I thought I would take her there as a surprise. I made all of the arrangements; hotel,airline,activities the whole nine yards so off we went. Everything was fine with our flight no problems. We went to baggage claim and sure enough there were our bags no problem. We went out to the ground transportation location no problem, shuttle service pulled right up loaded our bags and off we went. However, once we were in route to our hotel Charlene and I were brought into a world we did not barrgin for. On most every billboard was an invitation to a bar, strip club, adult entertainment etc. Well as you can imagine, we were just a little surprised as this was not the trip we had purchased, we were brought into an inviornment we had not expected. Guess what, so did Paul on his journey to Athens!!!!
Paul has just been in Thesolinica and Berea with Timothy and Silas until, those who had become invious drove him out and he landed in Athens. Upon arrival in Athens Paul was placed in an inviornment that provoked the spirit within him. Let's look at the word provoked. His spirit was troubled, uneasy, uncomfortable within him and why was this? Because of his surroundings. Paul had entered into a world where anything goes, where Athenians had many different gods which they were worshiping (I guess they were trying to cover all their bases) however, it was the UNKNOWN GOD (Acts 17:23) that Paul was sent there to preach/witness and teach about.
I want to ask you, how many of us are walking in Athens today? How many of us walk in Athens and allow Athens to win? If we are honest with ourselves the truth is, we are all weak flesh and stumble on occasion on The Road. I want to ask you how many of us travel up the hill and speak to those around us about the truth of salvation through Jesus Christ? God will provide you with your very own Areopagus (platform) to be His mouth piece the question is, will you take the journey for Him?
This time of season reminds me that maybe my bank account isn't as plentiful as I might like, or maybe I didn't get that big promotion at work, or that perhaps I might be spending this Thanksgiving season without my spouse for the first time after God has called them home. But in whatever situation you find yourself this holiday season, remember that God is with you and even though sometimes He might allow us to walk through Athens, He has already provided direction for us that leads back to His gentle, loving forving arms. Amen
God Bless,
Steve Winters
PS: God is moving through The Road ministry and He has placed a special "Journey" on my heart over the last fews days. If you would like to travel this journey with us, join us Thursday Night November 29th to find out what it is. All I can tell you at this point is come prepared to "move" as opposed to "sitting". See ya Thursday!!!!!!
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Healing Through Forgiveness
Grace and Peace
Few things can we look back upon and realize that a particular event or situation changed the course of our life, or the direction in which we are headed. Such events as meeting that special someone that would become you spouse for life, or perhaps the birth of your child or the graduation day of school. There are many more examples I could list however, the most life changing event for me (and I trust for you as well) was the day I gave my life to the Lord and to realize that through His sacrifice on the cross He had turned my tragedy into eternal triumph.
Many tragic events or circumstances change our lives forever, some will impact us possitivley other negativley but in each case we are impacted, the choice is ours in which direction we go. Having said all of this I want to share with you that on Thursday Evening December 13th, we will watch a video testimony that I am sure will change your life forever and help us to see what is really important in life.
The video we will watch is of Holocaust survivor Peter Loth. This video is 2hours in length and is not suitable for small/young children. Through a series of unimaginable events Peter Loth found the Lord and is now His voice as he travels the world sharing what God has done in his life. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tell everyone you know about Thursday evening December 13th starting at 6:30pm. I will be visiting many other congregations inviting them to join us on this evening. This is a true story that MUST be seen. God bless you and please help me in getting the word out about this night.
God Bless,
Steve Winters
Few things can we look back upon and realize that a particular event or situation changed the course of our life, or the direction in which we are headed. Such events as meeting that special someone that would become you spouse for life, or perhaps the birth of your child or the graduation day of school. There are many more examples I could list however, the most life changing event for me (and I trust for you as well) was the day I gave my life to the Lord and to realize that through His sacrifice on the cross He had turned my tragedy into eternal triumph.
Many tragic events or circumstances change our lives forever, some will impact us possitivley other negativley but in each case we are impacted, the choice is ours in which direction we go. Having said all of this I want to share with you that on Thursday Evening December 13th, we will watch a video testimony that I am sure will change your life forever and help us to see what is really important in life.
The video we will watch is of Holocaust survivor Peter Loth. This video is 2hours in length and is not suitable for small/young children. Through a series of unimaginable events Peter Loth found the Lord and is now His voice as he travels the world sharing what God has done in his life. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tell everyone you know about Thursday evening December 13th starting at 6:30pm. I will be visiting many other congregations inviting them to join us on this evening. This is a true story that MUST be seen. God bless you and please help me in getting the word out about this night.
God Bless,
Steve Winters
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
A Trip To The Playground
Oh how I use to love going to the playground! I think perhaps my favorite part about it was climbing on top of the monkey bars and looking down on everything and thinking to myself "How great is this, I can see things so clearly from high above and on top of that, I am on top of the WORLD!"
It is even that much more fun these days when I get the chance to share this experience with my children. It usually starts out early that morning when I announce to the family "What do you say we go to the park later this afternoon?" Well as you can imagine that idea makes me a huge hit instantly (and probably scores me a few points with the kids that I can cash in later HAHA) but the key factor in the invitation is that it will take place LATER in the day. Well after a few hours of asking "Is it time to go to the park yet?" Charlene and I agree that now is the time so we load up in the car and head for the park. Upon arrival it is shear pleasure, excitment and a sense of adventure as Charlene and I lead the way (both of us seeing who can get to the swings first HAHA). Sounds like alot of fun dosen't it? Well I must admit there was once a time when my kids DREADED going to the park and the reason why........ME! Let me explain
As much as I loved going to the park as a kid, and as much as I waited to share that experience with my children the first few times we took our kids to the park, I made it miserable for them and why you might ask? Because of the RULES I placed on them upon arrival. Here we were taking our kids to a fun/free/exciting/adventure filled place where they could run and enjoy just being in the presence of joy but instead they heard the following words from Me their Father; "Don't climb to high", "Don't run to fast", "Don't jump off of that" well you get the picture. Well finally a very wise woman (my wife Charlene) taught me that we had brought our children to the park to be free and just enjoy themselves. She assured me that indeed our children probably would skin up their knee or perhaps they might even bleed a little however, all of the pain and suffering for them would be worth it and if I didn't believe that I could just ask them. From that point forward I started to release the demands I ahd placed on them and just let them be children playing on the playground.
This got me to thinking about my spiritual walk with the Lord. 11years ago when I was 29 I gave into the lifetime pursuit that Christ had for me. Through those 29 years Jesus NEVER stopped pursuing me and the reason why, is because He knew that I belonged to Him and nothing was going to change that (Ephesians 1:4-6). When I gave myself to the Lord and repented and confessed Him as my Lord/Savior/Redeemer and was baptised into Him, it was at that time that I entered into the spiritual "park" God has wanted to take me to for all the previous 29years. We must realize that we have RECEIVED the FREE GIFT of salvation through what Christ Jesus has already done for us, and nothing you and I have done or will do can add to what the sacrifice of the cross has already done. When we are released into the "playground" of salvation through Jesus Christ it is suppose to be fun/exciting/adverture and most of all FREE. Remember the story I shared with you about placing rules on my kids once I released them into the playground, and how I had made what was intended to be freeing/fun/exciting, I had made miserable? Let's not do the same with ourselves or our brother and sisters by placing rules and regulations on their spiritual walk. Let us always remember to ask ourselves the question "Is this a salvational issue?" If we realize what we are saying or doing or placing upon someone is not, then let's run and play on the palyground that God paid a high price for us to enjoy and return to a Childlike Faith.
It is even that much more fun these days when I get the chance to share this experience with my children. It usually starts out early that morning when I announce to the family "What do you say we go to the park later this afternoon?" Well as you can imagine that idea makes me a huge hit instantly (and probably scores me a few points with the kids that I can cash in later HAHA) but the key factor in the invitation is that it will take place LATER in the day. Well after a few hours of asking "Is it time to go to the park yet?" Charlene and I agree that now is the time so we load up in the car and head for the park. Upon arrival it is shear pleasure, excitment and a sense of adventure as Charlene and I lead the way (both of us seeing who can get to the swings first HAHA). Sounds like alot of fun dosen't it? Well I must admit there was once a time when my kids DREADED going to the park and the reason why........ME! Let me explain
As much as I loved going to the park as a kid, and as much as I waited to share that experience with my children the first few times we took our kids to the park, I made it miserable for them and why you might ask? Because of the RULES I placed on them upon arrival. Here we were taking our kids to a fun/free/exciting/adventure filled place where they could run and enjoy just being in the presence of joy but instead they heard the following words from Me their Father; "Don't climb to high", "Don't run to fast", "Don't jump off of that" well you get the picture. Well finally a very wise woman (my wife Charlene) taught me that we had brought our children to the park to be free and just enjoy themselves. She assured me that indeed our children probably would skin up their knee or perhaps they might even bleed a little however, all of the pain and suffering for them would be worth it and if I didn't believe that I could just ask them. From that point forward I started to release the demands I ahd placed on them and just let them be children playing on the playground.
This got me to thinking about my spiritual walk with the Lord. 11years ago when I was 29 I gave into the lifetime pursuit that Christ had for me. Through those 29 years Jesus NEVER stopped pursuing me and the reason why, is because He knew that I belonged to Him and nothing was going to change that (Ephesians 1:4-6). When I gave myself to the Lord and repented and confessed Him as my Lord/Savior/Redeemer and was baptised into Him, it was at that time that I entered into the spiritual "park" God has wanted to take me to for all the previous 29years. We must realize that we have RECEIVED the FREE GIFT of salvation through what Christ Jesus has already done for us, and nothing you and I have done or will do can add to what the sacrifice of the cross has already done. When we are released into the "playground" of salvation through Jesus Christ it is suppose to be fun/exciting/adverture and most of all FREE. Remember the story I shared with you about placing rules on my kids once I released them into the playground, and how I had made what was intended to be freeing/fun/exciting, I had made miserable? Let's not do the same with ourselves or our brother and sisters by placing rules and regulations on their spiritual walk. Let us always remember to ask ourselves the question "Is this a salvational issue?" If we realize what we are saying or doing or placing upon someone is not, then let's run and play on the palyground that God paid a high price for us to enjoy and return to a Childlike Faith.
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