Date: 05/22/2023

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and to Him be the Glory, Power, and Dominion forever and ever and to the Holy Ghost that is yet abiding in the body. This week’s key phrase is Wisdom in how to treat your fellow man.

James 1:5 tells us. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him”.  If we need wisdom, all we have to do is ask our generous God. We must remember that knowledge and wisdom are not the same. Knowledge refers to the accumulation of facts. Wisdom gives us understanding of what the facts mean. Anyone can gain knowledge, but only God can give us wisdom. James 3:17-18 gives us seven marks of God’s wisdom, “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. ¹⁸ And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

“My brethren have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.  For there is no respect of persons with God” (Roman 2:11). We are to respect all people and treat them  with the love of Christ. Jesus treated everyone with dignity. God loves everyone. The Bible says that how we relate to people shows how much we really love God. Romans 15:7  reads, “Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God”.  Thus, in order to treat people right, we must love people. We should give everybody a lift whenever you can, Don’t tear them down. I Thessalonians 5:11 tells us, “Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do”. Let us be encouragers, not complainers and condemners. When people stumble, lift them up, not tear them down. Jesus gives us the perfect example on how people are to be treated in the story of the woman He met at the well in Saint John chapter 4. She was the wrong race (John 4:7), wrong gender (John 4:9, 27), had the wrong lifestyle (John 4: 16-18 ) and a sinner (John 4:18) . But Jesus excepted her, showed her appreciation, He affirmed her (by asking for water to drink), He even talked to her (John 4:27), He loved her, and He forgave her. Jesus showed her how she could enter the Kingdom of Heaven and how she could have a relationship with God (John 4:21-24) and she also became an Evangelist (John 4:28-30).

In closing, “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do and the God of peace shall be with you” (Philippians 4:6-9). If lack the wisdom in how to treat others,  Mark 11:24 sums up Wisdom in how to treat others. “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them”. God is a heart fixer and a mind regulator.  Until next week let us remember, “… with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26b).

In His Service,

Bishop Dr. Calvin Worthem

General Chief Overseer/Senior Bishop

Date: 04/24/2023

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and to Him be the Glory, Power, and Dominion forever and ever and to the Holy Ghost that is yet abiding in the body. This week’s key word is Secret Hurt.

You may ask what is secret hurt? Secret hurt others don’t know about. Hurts others may know about, but not the depth of emotional pain connected with the hurt. Secrets that would shame us if they were made known. Secrets that we keep protecting others, but hurt us at the same time. There are a lot of people who carry and live with secret hurts daily. Some are haunted by their secret hurt; others are trapped in their secret hurt. Matthew 11:28-30 tells us “Come to Me, all ye that labour and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”.

Of all the scriptures, I found Matthew 11:28-30, to be the most hopeful to those who are hurting the most. It is God’s lifeline for people with secret hurts, and for those with very open and obvious hurts. It was designed by God to attach itself to any and all of the pains the human heart has had to bear, and bring the balm of God’s restorative love. The preface Jesus gave to this promise of his rest can be found in Matthew 11: 25-27. It reads, “²⁵ At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. ²⁶ Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight. ²⁷ All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him”. Jesus said things are hidden from the wise and intelligent and revealed to babes. In other words it is a kind of secret knowledge. Then Jesus goes on to say that not only is there secret knowledge, but even knowing Him or God  the Father is not possible unless the curtain is pulled back.

So, Jesus  is saying come unto me and learn of me. Brothers and Sisters, secret hurt stays a secret until you follow the trail Jesus has left. Jesus wants more than to help us, He wants to be close to us.  So He says come to Me. Hence, knowing who God is and learning who He really is crucial. In Mark 7:6, “He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. This verse is speaking of the Jewish spiritual leaders said, these people honor me with their lips, but their hearts is from Him. That is the difference between a head and a heart of faith. Let me ask this question is yours a head or heart faith?  Have you fallen back to a head faith? We live in a generation where we speak the word, more than talk to the living Word which is Jesus. Where we speak to the storm more than we speak to the master of the Sea. Where religious truth has replaced personal relationships with God the Father.

In closing, Brothers and Sisters, no hurt is beyond Gods’ touch. No pain is impossible for Him to alleviate. No sorrow is beyond His scope and reach. Except those sorrows that are not brought to Him.  God stripped Jesus of the sick parts of humanity, and through His humanity He touches the deepest need and hurts. His words have been designed by God to get deep inside the human heart and provide the needed relief. God can give us rest through the removal of our burdens, the lifting of our load, and taking the weight off our shoulders. But it is more than that, it is the renewal of our life and energy. When God gives rest, He doesn’t just remove the weight, He make us whole again. He puts us back together, if we go to Him and learn of Him, we will find rest and be made whole. Until next week let us remember, “… with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).

In His Service,

Bishop Dr. Calvin Worthem

General Chief Overseer/Senior Bishop