Christian By Choice

Thankyou Editor

Need a Hero?

Psalm 33

16 There is no king saved by the multitude of a host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.

17 A horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.

18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;

19 to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.

20 Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield.

21 For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name.

22 Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.

Who's your hero?

Hollywood has filled our lives with superhuman characters that promise to rescue the helpless humans from the evil menaces of society. Our minds have been so cluttered with images of masked heroes that some have forgotten about our true "Hero", the One who unselfishly gave His life and suffered all of the pain so that we may have eternal life. Fortunately, someone in Hollywood finally decided to show us a real superhero by producing the movie, "The Passion of the Christ".

David proclaims that even the mightiest of kings that ride upon the strongest of horses, surrounded by the mightiest of armies are are not able to save themselves. There is but only one Hero that can save you.

"Mortal power is a fiction, and those who trust in it are dupes. Serried ranks of armed men have failed to maintain an empire, or even to save their monarch's life when a decree from the court of heaven has gone forth for the empire's overthrow. The all seeing God preserves the poorest of his people when they are alone and friendless, but ten thousand armed men cannot ensure safety to him whom God leaves to destruction." --C.H. Spurgeon

May God bless your day with hope,

The Floodgate Ministry Team

Youth Ministry

Psalm 71

17 O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.

18 "Now also when I am old and greyheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation", and thy power to every one that is to come.

Time seems to be passing by at an enormous rate. Every day passed is another day gone from our life. A day that can never be reclaimed or replayed.

I like David's perspective this subject, "Now also when I am old and greyheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation".

Our life would be wasted unless we shared our joy and strength with the younger generation.

I spend a lot of my time performing concerts and playing for youth retreats and youth worship services. I thank God that he has given me the opportunity to share my faith with a younger generation. I count it a blessing with the conclusion of every event that we play. In the past years, I've witnessed numerous teenagers make their decision to follow Christ and to accept Him as their Savior.

If you ever have the opportunity to minister to a child or to a teenager (I'm sure that you will), I ask that you never pass up the chance. Our kids are growing up in a society that is making every effort to remove God from their lives. The enemy is attacking our children from many fronts. Our children are bombarded every day with information to distract them from the Christian values that they will need to become mature Christian adults. It's our responsibility, as adults, to ensure that we share the love of Christ with the next generation.

I challenge you to find a young person this week and talk with them, listen to them, and minister to them. I also ask you to lift up your community youth pastors in prayer. They have a tremendous responsibility and an incredibly difficult task.

"Blessed are they who begin in youth to proclaim the name of the Lord, and cease not until their last hour brings their last word for their divine Master." -- C.H. Spurgeon

May God bless your day with hope,

The Floodgate Ministry Team

Worthless?

Psalm 8

1 O LORD, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.

2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.

3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:

7 All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;

8 The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.

9 O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

Do you ever why God would care about the human race, the people that always seem to disappoint him? Why should he care about them, especially since he has all of the other creations of beauty that he could care for?

God created us only a little lower than the angels. I Corinthians 6:3 says, "Do you now know that we will judge the angels?". The next time that you question your worth, as a person, remember that God considers you highly valuable. We have great worth because we bear the "stamp" of the Creator. Because God has already declared how valuable you are to Him, You can be set free from feelings of worthlessness.

Let God work in your life just as David let Him work in his and you will see how majestic His name is in all of the earth. God, the all powerful Creator, cares for his most valuable creation - people.

The Floodgate Ministry Team

Who?

Psalm 15

1 Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?

2 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.

3 He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.

4 In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.

5 He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.

In this Psalm, David begins with a question. Lord, who may dwell in your presence? As an answer, David details what it takes to become strong in our faith.

1. Do what is right.

2. Always be honest.

3. Control your tongue.

4. Don't wrong your neighbors.

5. Honor your fellow believers

6. Keep your oaths and commitment. Stand strong to your word.

7. Don't profit off of the poor and needy.

All of that seems easy and logical. Yet, how many times have I broken these rules?

David says that whoever can follow these rules can never be shaken.

"No storm shall tear him from his foundations, drag him from his anchorage, or uproot him from his place. Like the Lord Jesus, whose dominion is everlasting, the true Christian shall never lose his crown. He shall not only be on Zion, but like Zion, fixed and firm. He shall dwell in the tabernacle of the Most High, and neither death nor judgment shall remove him from his place of privilege and blessedness. Let us betake ourselves to prayer and self-examination, for this Psalm is as fire for the gold, and as a furnace for silver. Can we endure its testing power?" -- C.H. Spurgeon

May God bless your day with an abundant joy,

The Floodgate Ministry Team

Searching for Joy

Psalm 51

12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

Have you lost the Joy of being a Christian? In this scripture, we find David searching to regain the joy of living. Due to the sin in his life, David lost the abundant life that he had once enjoyed.

To obtain the true joy of Christian living, We must first begin to hate the sin in our life.

"None but God can give back this joy; he can do it; we may ask it; he will do it for his own glory and our benefit. This joy comes not first, but follows pardon and purity: in such order it is safe, in any other it is vain presumption or idiotic delirium." -- C.H. Spurgeon

Have you lost your joy? Could you be like David? What has taken your joy for living?

May God bless your day with hope,

The Floodgate Ministry Team

Full of Goodness

Psalm 33

4 For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth.

5 He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.

I have always heard that there are two sides to every story. This adage holds true as I look upon the world that we live in. In the light of the current world events, many have developed a grim perspective of our society and our world. Many times the news media presents current events in such a way that there will seem to be no hope.

David reminds us in verse 5 that the earth is FULL of the goodness of the Lord. Although the news media may show us the dark side of the story, there is another side of the story. God is still in control. He provides wonderful rays of hope in every sunset and through every rainbow.

Yes, there are two sides to every story. Which side do you choose to believe?

"Earth might have been as full of terror as of grace, but instead thereof it teems and overflows with kindness. He who cannot see it, and yet lives in it as the fish lives in the water, deserves to die. If earth be full of mercy, what must heaven be where goodness

concentrates its beams? -- C.H. Spurgeon"

May God bless your day with hope,

The Floodgate Ministry Team