Fortress of Joy
  • Home
  • About
  • Schedule
  • Visitors
  • 2020 Faith Family Camp
  • Childrens Church
  • Youth Outreach
  • Marriage Ministry
  • Women's Ministry
  • S.O.B.E.R.
  • Life Words
  • Newsletters
  • Giving

bringing
the word
​to life

Picture
Being an ignorant fellow is not a crime until it comes to the knowledge of God. I was ignorant of God for the first thirty years of my life because I was taught by ignorant men.  Men who are deceived teach their deception and enlightened men teach the truth.  I had a major problem, I didn’t know where to go to find truth, my church had no faith in the Bible.  My mother bought a large gold paged Bible and put it on the coffee table.  Before any of us could touch it or hold it we had to put on clean clothes and wash our hands.  I tried to read from it one time but I think it was written in Latin.  The last time I saw it, it was in a stack of Outdoor Life magazines, and my little sister used color crayons to mark it up.
 
Luke 23:34 Then said Jesus, Father forgive them; for they know not what they do.
 
In my ignorance I prayed to statues and dead people, but Jesus forgave me.  Jesus is far more interested in establishing a relationship with us than chiding us for our ignorance.  I had no idea how stupid I thought until I was saved from myself.  We are surrounded by ignorant people but we can’t judge them because we were one of them.  The folks who know better but continue the wrong path are the ones who are headed for trouble.  Men who are offered the truth but reject it will also answer to God and no excuse they dream up will pardon them.
 
1 Timothy 1:13 The Apostle Paul said, I was a blasphemer, a persecutor and a murderer: but I obtained mercy because I did ignorantly.

 
Seems like to me that God is willing to forgive any sin we make in order to have us in His presence.  He forgave the men who crucified His Son onto the cross.  He forgave them while they were driving the nails into His Son’s hands and feet.  Some folks don’t think they ever need forgiveness because they don’t ever do anything wrong.  They may be the nicest people in the world, well, they may be the nicest people in hell.  No one in hell is ignorant but that’s a hell of a place to acknowledge the truth.
 
If you don’t meet Jesus in this life, you will never meet Him.

 
God wants just one thing from us, He wants us to acknowledge the truth and repent.  Some folks spend their entire life fabricating excuses and in one minute they could repent and not need any of their excuses.  Some folks won’t repent because they can’t figure out why God would want them.  Well you really won’t know until you make the connection, then you will discover that He loves you!  How can God love a sinner?  Because He is willing to forgive all of our sins.  Just let God be God, some folks want to argue with His way of doing things, as if they have a better way.
 
Isaiah 43:25 I am He that blots out your sins for mine own sake, and will not remember your sins.
 
So, not only does the Lord forgive us but He forgets our past.  The devil likes to remind us but there’s nothing to remember, so don’t.  God wants us to forget our past and focus on Him, just let the Lord love you.  Ignorance is a choice, don’t choose it, choose to know the One who loves you.  


By the Grace of God

5/2/2016

0 Comments

 
I’m a little hesitant to talk on the subject of grace because of all the false teachings on the subject. But I know the Spirit of grace will lead me through and into the truth.

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you are saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.
 
Traditionally, when a disciple reads this text they key in on two things, grace and the gift of God. They usually conclude that because it’s a gift, you have nothing to do with it just coming into your life. They continue to reason out their “revelation” of grace. If it’s a free gift, then you have it no matter what you do! If it’s a free gift, you don’t earn it, so you exempt yourself from obeying the Word of God because you are under grace. This is commonly referred to as “greasy grace”. It’s when one invalidates most of the Bible  because they are under grace. The truth is this, God gives us His grace to enable us to obey His Word.
There is a word in our text that most people conveniently overlook, it’s the word, FAITH. We are saved by grace through faith. Without faith, there can be no grace. Without faith it is impossible to please Him. People have focused on grace, but overlooked the requirement. The just shall live by faith, this has never been an option. No faith, no grace. It really is that cut and dried. People who “think” they can have grace without exercising their faith are deceiving only themselves. So what is grace and how does it affect our lives?

1 Corinthians 15:9 For by the grace of God, I am what I am.

 
Paul of Tarsus hated Jesus and the Christians. He thought it was his lot in life to lock-up Christians and destroy the church of Christ. However, he met Jesus on the way to arrest Christians and became a follower of Christ. He became an Apostle and then wrote two-thirds of the New Testament.

Grace is the supernatural power of God that changes a mans heart.

One minute Saul was a child of wrath and in the next, he was a child of God. That is grace. The blood of animals covered the sins of Israel for a year. But they had to sacrifice those animals every year because it did nothing to change the people. The blood of Jesus not only blotted out our sins, but it changed our nature and desire to sin again and again. If grace was just a free gift every man could just have, then everyone would be saved even without the knowledge of God!
Grace is applied only after faith is released and not until then. Grace was never intended to be a random act of God’s nature. It is the blessing of faith. Grace turned Paul from a murderer into a saint because he believed in Jesus.

 
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    OFFERING DECLARATION
    November 24, 2019


    My trust is in the Lord,
    therefore I live in hope.

    I no longer walk by sight,
    I live by the faith of Jesus.

    My life is in His hands,
    I will fear no evil.


    I am blessed of the Lord,
    so I put all my hope in Him.
    PRAYER FOCUS
    HOLIDAY SEASON
    Nehemiah 8:10
    Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat, drink the  sweet drink, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.
     
    RELATIONSHIPS
    1. Separation from Family and Friends. (Examples: Military, Prison, 
          Hospital)
    2.   Praying against loneliness and isolation. (Yourself/Others)
    3. Communication   Romans 12:10 Act in love; prefer one another in honor.
    4.   Peace of God will reign in our homes.
          
    FINANCES
    1.   Pray about unrealistic expectations of buying and receiving gifts.
    2.   Ask God for strategies and ideas that fit your budget and talents.
    3. Pray for wisdom about what organizations you can help and be  realistic about how much money you can spend toward their need.
    4. Pray for increase in finances. God will supply all our needs through 
          Christ Jesus.
     
    COUNTRY/CITY
    1.   Peace of God throughout this Season
    2.   Protection for all from enemies seen and unseen
    3.   Praying for God assignments
    4.   Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with us!

    RSS Feed

Contact Us
(406) 442-1819
support.fortress@aol.com
720 Faw Rd
Helena, Mt
59602
  • Home
  • About
  • Schedule
  • Visitors
  • 2020 Faith Family Camp
  • Childrens Church
  • Youth Outreach
  • Marriage Ministry
  • Women's Ministry
  • S.O.B.E.R.
  • Life Words
  • Newsletters
  • Giving