The Young Pigeons Ministry: January 2008

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Challenge #5 – Set your Vision in CHRIST…You will NEVER Go Wrong!

Passage of Scripture (KJV): Proverbs 29:18; Habakkuk 2:3

Proverbs 29:18a: “Where there is no vision, the people perish:…”

Habakkuk 2:3: For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

Challenge:

Happy New Year to all! It is my sincere prayer—in the name of Jesus—that all you readers of my blogspot ministry may have the most abundant blessings not only in the year 2008, but also in many years to come.

It is now the beginning of 2008 – I’m sure most of you have New Year’s resolutions to improve yourself or your family or your job, etc. -- but have you ever asked yourself these questions: “What is my ultimate goal in life? Why do I exist in this world? Where is my life going from this point on? What is God’s purpose for my existence?” Tough questions to answer by yourself, but not quite if you seek God for answers. Being able to ask yourself the questions is the very first step. Answers will follow. God loves you the reason why He created you in the first place. There’s no need for you to dig the depth of the Bible for answers. The answers are only “knee-deep.” If you would only humble yourself and kneel down, asking God for forgiveness of your sins and accepting Christ as your Saviour and Lord – you will find the answers to your questions. Knowing the Five Steps to Heaven and reciting the Simple Prayer of Surrender—which could be found in the bottom page of this blogspot page—could lead you to answers.

The Bible says in Matthew 7:7: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:”

However—chances are, you may not really care what life offers you in the future, and you don’t care asking yourself those questions above. You may say that life has a life of its own, and it goes wherever it wants to go. You can simply ride on. Or, you may say you are having so much fun and material things in your life right now…why worry about the future? Wherever the wind blows you go. That’s it! If this is your attitude toward life, then you’re missing a whole lot. You must drop on your knee, look up, and seek God. Keep in mind that your life on earth is too short. In fact, some are shorter than others. Remember that God can always pull the plug on you, then what? I urge that you start thinking about your future as you are truly important. Set your vision starting NOW. The vision you will set TODAY will surely come, whether you like it or not. Read the above Scripture again! “Where there is no vision, the people perish:… For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry."

What is your vision? You may say it is 20/20 vision, but you know in your heart that’s not what I meant. The real question is more like, “How do you see yourself in the future?” Do you have any future at all? Keep in mind that future is not only in this life, but it goes beyond this life. The quick answer is that if you are simply riding on in life, simply having the most fun you can get every single day, you must accept the fact that you really have no future at all, and that you are on your way to Hell. The fact of the matter is you live day by day. In fact I challenge you to look at yourself in the mirror when you’re not having fun. I am positive you will find your life empty. Living is not just to have fun, my friend. When you die without accepting Christ, you will end up in burning Hell like the rich man in Luke 16: 23, which says” “And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments…” God created you for a reason, and the reason is not just for you to have fun and ignore the Call of God for Salvation. God created you in His own image (Genesis 1:27). You may be young and do not care about God’s plan in your life, but let me tell you something: GOD LOVES YOU! God wants to give direction in your life, and all you have to do is “believe.” The Bible says, living is believing so we do not die. John 11:26 says: “And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” In contrast, if we live in accordance with the world, we will die. Romans 8:13 says: “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.”

Why invest your life in things of this world which will always pass away, when you can invest your life in things of eternity which will never pass away? You can invest in Christ.

Jesus is actually saying, “I died for you. What have you done for me?”

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

TO ALL THE READERS OF THIS BLOGSPOT

Dear Readers:

Christian Greetings and Welcome to our site!

If this is your first time to visit - I am sure that it is not a coincidence that you are browsing this blogsite. Thank you for visiting.

Please make sure you scroll down the entire page, including the OLDER POSTS for more blessings.

If you are regular readers, welcome again, and thank you for coming back.

Your blessing is my blessing that glorifies our Father in Heaven! God Bless You!

Should you have any prayer request of any sort, or should you want to extend your encouragement and support to this Ministry -- please do not hesitate to email me at mhmoe@bellsouth.net.

Please bookmark the link http://youngpigeons.blogspot.com/ in your Favorites folder and share this blogsite to your family and friends.

Come back and see us again in the near future!

In Christ,
Manny H. Moe, Th.B.
Founder, The Young Pigeons Ministry

My First Call to Ministry

It was about April, 2003 when I started working at Reston, VA (near Washington DC)—this was a few weeks after I got laid off at my other employer in Springfield, VA—I was staying at Homestead Village (a motel) on a weekly basis, as I used to go home on weekends. It was in my motel room that God gave me the burden to study the Bible in-depth; it was in my motel room that I started communicating with God about his plans in my life. As many days went by, day after day, my communication with God became louder and louder, which was very audible to me. I remembered communicating with Him everyday and every night, and as I drove home and back between Reston and Raleigh. His plans to me became more and more clear and authoritative.

In obedience to God, I started studying the Bible by myself using every self-teaching book I could find in the bookstore. I was full of desire to study the Bible systematically and programmatically. In fact, the best methodology I used to like very much and enjoy the best was Kay Arthur’s inductive method of studying the Bible. It taught me the simple fact that studying without self-application is useless. I thought it was the most brilliant and effective way of studying the Word of God as the system includes observation, interpretation, and application. It was that application methodology that carved my lifestyle toward God, which slowly changed the face of my character one change after the other. Now, I value those changes as I see the results in my own family. Praise God!

In my motel room, I asked God one night—this was around the beginning of June, 2003—to give me a job closer to my home and family because I didn’t like where I was, not only because of the horrendous traffic in the Reston area, but also the distance I traveled every weekend to drive home and back. Almost immediately, God heard my prayer. My old Boss from my old job in Charlotte sent me an email asking me to return to the job I quit from on May, 2002. That was amazing! However, I didn’t realize that God had a condition for me in taking my old job back—the fact that I found myself competing with others for one job that I badly needed—and that was to have a formal schooling to study the Word of God. His condition became very audible to me. Realizing that His condition was real, and that my agreement with His condition was the only way I could get my job back, I had no other choice but agreed to it. Almost immediately, I got the job. This time I got much better pay. Next thing I knew, I was heading back home.

As soon as I got to Charlotte, in July 2003—I started looking for a school to start my formal study of the Word of God. I considered many Christian Universities and Bible Colleges but God brought me to Carolina Bible College, a small college at Concord, NC (a few miles from Charlotte) where I finished my Bachelor degree in Theology, in July 2006. I am very proud to be a graduate of Carolina Bible College.

And now (2008), in spite of my busy schedule with my full-time job as an Engineer, my church, and my family -- my struggling continuance to a Master of Arts degree in Theology with Trinity College & Theological Seminary (located at Newburg, Indiana) is one way to show my humble obedience to God’s call to His Ministry. I may not be worth to be a servant of Christ, but I follow Him anyway. I will always follow Psalms 23:6: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. Not certain what it is yet at this point, but one thing I am certain about is that God has a plan for me that only He would reveal to me in His time.

My Philosophy of Ministry

My philosophy of Ministry is very simple: it is my complete obedience to God’s overall plan in my life. Christ saved not only my life in July, 1996, but He also saved my soul in August 25, 1996. He made me realize that there was truth in the Bible that the Roman Catholic Church hid from my forefathers for many generations, and from me for the first 40 years of my life—and that is, the truth about Salvation, as explained by the Gospel of Christ. Finding Christ and knowing the real biblical truth set me free from the bondage of sin, hypocrisy, and heresy in the false and ritualistic religion of Roman Catholicism.

My philosophy of Ministry is based and anchored to this truth, that it will always be my very foundation the rest of my life, to spread the Gospel of Christ to the world. I know I’m not worth to do this job, I know it was not my choice to do this job, but I‘m doing it because God has called me.

My philosophy of Ministry is patterned to no other but the Ministry of my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

My philosophy of Ministry is always anchored to the Fundamental Independent Baptist heritage, giving emphasis on the Doctrines of Salvation and the Great Commission.

My philosophy of Ministry is always focused on reaching out to all kinds of people, in all ages. I believe in a simple principle that the success of any Ministry can be measured not by the huge number of followers, but by touching the heart of at least one lost soul and by bringing him into Salvation through faith in Christ.

My Doctrinal Statement

I believe that the 1611 King James Bible is the Word of God for the English speaking people, supernaturally inspired, so that it is inerrant and preserved by God and an authoritative standard for every age and every life. I do not believe in the accuracy of the New International Version (NIV).

I believe that God, out of His love for mankind, sent Christ into the world to save sinners (like me).

I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the only way to eternal salvation.

I believe that Jesus Christ in the flesh was both God and man, that He was born of a virgin and that He lived a sinless life, in which He taught and wrought mighty works and wonders and signs exactly as revealed in the four Gospels, that He was crucified, died as a penalty for our sins and was bodily raised from the dead on the third for our justification. Later, He ascended to the Father's right hand where He is head of the church and intercedes for believers, and from whence He is coming again personally, bodily, and visibly.

I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ made a perfect atonement for sin through his death on the cross. By His shed blood we are redeemed from our sins. He became sin for us that we might be justified through faith in His shed blood.

I believe that once a person is saved he becomes a new creation in Christ. The goal of the Christian will be grow to in spiritual maturity through obedience to the Word of God and the indwelling Spirit.

I believe the church exists for the purpose of sharing the exciting message of Christ with our community and with the world. I also believe it is the responsibility of the church to develop mature disciples of Christ through joyful worship service and meaningful Bible studies.