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Month: June 2022

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THE LOST ART OF BEING STILL

THE LOST ART OF BEING STILL

June 26, 2022 by NCC-Admin-1 in

“Be still and know that I am God… (Psalm 46:10 KJV).

One of the most ironic things in American life is the fact that we have more time saving devices at our disposal than ever before in history and yet we seem to have less time.  Time has become a precious commodity in American life. The truth is that there are still 24 hours in a day.  But we choose to fill it  up with more things.  We have become so busy in life that we have forgotten how to live and enjoy life. 

Even those who know the Lord find it difficult to spend time with Him.  The key is rediscovering how to be still.  Being still requires intentionality.  It requires not being rushed or hurried. It requires finding a quiet place.  It requires shutting off distractions (computers, cell phones, tv, radio etc.).  It requires turning our full attention to the Lord.  It requires opening His Word and reading with a desire to listen.  It requires sitting still in His Presence and turning a verse of scripture over in our minds thinking of each word and each phrase; letting its message take root in our heart.  It requires just reflecting on the Person of God as revealed in Jesus. It requires sometimes just observing and taking in the wonder of His creation all around us and being in awe of His creative power.  It requires being still enough to become conscious of His Presence.  It requires waiting.  It requires sometimes just sitting quietly before Him and not saying a word.

And it is in the stillness and quietness of those moments that we hear the “still small voice” of the Lord speaking softly to us in our spirit.  In those moments He reveals Himself to us; reminding us that He is with us, reaffirming His love for us and like a loving Shepherd gently nudging us in the direction He wants us to go. In the quietness of those moments He reaches out to us and invites us to follow Him on the path He has chosen for the day.  And as we step out onto the path we sense the gentle touch of His hand guiding us along the way. 

It is in the wonder and the mystery of being still that we rediscover once again that He is God and He is with us!  And it is in Him that we discover the meaning and purpose of the journey.

Rev. James W. Black

Evidence of The Holy Spirit Working in The Home

Evidence of The Holy Spirit Working in The Home

June 19, 2022 by NCC-Admin-1 in

“And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers…” (Malachi 4:6 KJV). 

Elijah was one of Israel’s greatest prophets.  The Word of God declared that before the Lord would come and establish His Kingdom that Elijah would return to prepare the way (Malachi 4:5).  Jesus revealed to his disciples that John The Baptist was that Elijah (Luke 1:16-17, Math. 11: 10, and Math. 17:11-13)! Jesus was declaring that the same anointing that was on Elijah was on John the Baptist. The Holy Spirit operated in him and through him in the same degree of power that He operated in Elijah during his day. Malachi then described what happens when the Holy Spirit comes and does His work in the family! 

The Holy Spirit will bring reconciliation in the family.  He will “turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers..”. His deep work in the heart of the fathers would  cause them to genuinely love their children.  They would delight in their children.  Their children would in turn  bring them great joy!  The children would not be seen as a burden or a bother but be seen as the blessing that God intended them to be (Psalm 127:3-5).   As a result the children would also delight in their fathers!   The relationship would  produce mutual joy. 

That is what The Holy Spirit does when He is invited into our lives and into our homes! 
He reconciles broken relationships.  He brings His love, His joy and His peace into the home.   He brings harmony.  He brings meaning and purpose  to the family.  He enables each member of the family to value and treasure one another.  And The Holy Spirit enables the family to become a refuge from the darkness of the world around it.  Each member of the family will find joy and delight in being with one another.  And Christ will be exalted in the midst of the family. 

To see a family that genuinely loves and cares for one another and to see that Christ is honored in the midst of that family is evidence that the Holy Spirit is at work within the family!  Such a sight brings honor and glory to the Lord and demonstrates that Jesus is truly alive!   So let us be encouraged to enthrone Christ in our lives and our families!  He wants to do a marvelous work in each of our families that will be a testimony to others! 

James W. Black

How Do Others Know You?

How Do Others Know You?

June 5, 2022 by NCC-Admin-1 in

“…I thank my God throughJesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.” 

Everyone is known in some measure by what they do in life. That is especially true for men, but it is also true for women as well.  We may be known as a teacher, a truck driver, a factory worker, a mechanic, a computer technician, an office worker, a business man (or woman), a homemaker, a caretaker, a photographer, a baker or a thousand other occupations.  And while all of these things are meaningful and important they only define what we do.  They do not define who we are. 

In writing to the Church at Rome, Paul was blessed by the fact that they were known by their faith in Christ!  In fact, their faith in Christ was known all over the world! 
Whenever anyone spoke of the Church in Rome, people everywhere identified them as genuine followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Of all the things we could be known for, the most important thing that we could be known for is to be a genuine follower of the Lord Jesus Christ!  Yes, we should be known as people of  excellence in  all that we do in any field of work or service. But above all it should be our desire to  be known as a genuine follower of the Lord.  In other words, when people speak of us, they not only speak of the excellent work that we do, but they also attest to the fact that our faith in Christ is evident, genuine and real. 

So while it is not our goal to seek the favor and the affirmation of others, it should be our goal to have the reality of our walk with Christ and our faith in Him affirmed not only by those inside the Body of Christ but by those outside of  it as well.  And if we make the effort to live what we say we believe, and we do it with a measure of consistency over a long period of time, it will become known.   And the reality of that should cause us to rejoice in the Lord and bring glory to Him and not unto us. 

James W. Black