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BERTIE LEDGER-ADVANCE NOVEMBER 15,20171 B3 The fabric of Bertie County since 1832 Faith How to defeat self destruction Special Events Have you ever heard that you were your own worst en emy? Paul writes of feeling that way in Romans 7. In Romans 8, he writes his own 7 step plan for defeating self-destruction. The steps are; 1. Remind yourself daily what Jesus did for you; 2, Ask the Holy Spirit to give you better thoughts; 3. Realize you have the ability to say no; 4. Turn your thoughts to God whenever you are afraid; 5. Focus on the long-term; 6. Remind yourself God is good and in control; and 7, Trust that God will never stop loving you. Paul writes that there are 3 enemies to life and peace; the world around you; Satan coming after you; and the battle between your old nature and your new nature within you. You may ask, how can 1 be set free from me? Paul asked “who will save me from me?” He realized most of his unhap piness in life was because he lis tened to himself rather than to God. What about you? Can you benefit from the seven mental habits Paul shares with us in Romans 8? Many bible scholars agree that Romans 8 is the most important chapter in the Chris tian bible to born again Chris tians. Remind yourself daily what Jesus did for you. Ask yourself “what is salvation” and “what are the benefits of knowing Je sus Christ.” Romans 8:1 “...there is no condemnation for those who know Jesus Christ...” To be free from “me” you have to remind yourself what Jesus did for you. Jesus was hung on the cross for you to be free of your hang-ups. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you The Rev. Randall Woodard Be Still better thoughts. The mindset of the flesh is hostile to God because it does not summit to God’s law. You have to ask for life and peace. Life and peace won’t find you until you ask for it, search for it, work for it, and willingly receive it. Realize you have the abil ity to say no. Ro mans 8:12 “we are not obligated to the flesh to live according to the flesh.” Galatians 5:16 “let the Spirit direct your life...” You will never be free from self-destruction until you decide not to self-destruct. Ask God for the wisdom and the strength to say no. Turn your thoughts to God whenever you are afraid. Ro mans 8:14-16 “the Spirit makes you God’s child...” 2 Timothy 1-17 “a spirit of power, love, and self-control...” You will have your old nature and your new Christian nature with you always. When you feed your new nature, it will win the battle against self-destruction and de spair going on within you. Pray, “God, help me fight my invisible war within me.” Focus on the long-term, not the short-term. A study at Har vard University concluded the more long-term your thinking is, the more successful you will be. Eternity is long-term think ing by Christians. The flesh thirsts and hungers for immedi ate gratification. The Holy Spirit blesses us with life and peace and through delayed gratification we lay up treasures for eternity and share in his glory. Romans 8:17 “we are heirs of God...we may also share in his glory.” Remind yourself God is good and in control. Romans 8:28 “God works for the good of those who love him...” Remind yourself that God is a good god, and he is in control. Pray “Lord, get me out of the way of the so lutions to my problems. Inter cede for me to keep me from self-destructing. 1 stand in the way of right and good. You work for the good in all things. 1 trust you Lord. 1 am leaning on your everlasting love.” Trust God will never stop lov ing you. Romans 8:38-39 “nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God.” He gave his only begotten son that you may have everlasting life. God never stops loving a child of God. Once you have salvation, God is not let ting you go. God’s everlasting love sets you free from your self destructive behavior. Get serious about changing your heart and commit to edify others, testify Jesus Christ, and glorify God. When you change yourself, you can help change others. You can change the world around you, put Satan be hind you, and win the invisible battle within you by practicing the seven mental habits in Ro mans 8. God bless you. Randall Woodard is the pastor of First Baptist Church in Rober- sonville. He may be reached at randallwoodard69@yahoo. com. A hope that is alive A few years ago the psychol ogy department at Duke Univer sity conducted an interesting experiment. They wanted to see how long rats could swim. In one container they placed a rat for whom there was no possibility of escape. He swam a few moments, saw that there was no possibility of escape, and ducked his head to drown. In the other container, they made the hope of escape pos sible for the rat. The rat swam for several hours before finally drowning. We usually say, “As long as there’s life, there is hope.” The Duke experiment proved, “As long as there’s hope, there is life.” 1 Peter 1:3 says “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Je sus Christ from the dead.” In the Bible the word “hope” means to believe in something that is certain to happen. It’s not, as some today say: “Well, I hope maybe someday I’ll make it to Heaven.” Biblical hope says, “I KNOW I’m on my way to Heaven to stay!” The apostle Peter says the hope of the believer in Christ is the absolute assurance of a home in Heaven. This living hope is alive because it has a daily impact upon our lives, not just in death. The apostle Paul said in 1 Cor inthians 15:19 that “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” Then goes on to explain that we aren’t most mis erable... but most blessed!! With faith in the Lord, we pos sess an exciting expectation and an amazing antic ipation. 1 Peter 1:4 speaks of this blessed heavenly hope as “an in heritance incor- - ruptible, and un defiled, and that away, reserved in can ^ y| The Rev. John Keeter The Winning Side fadeth not heaven for you.” This hope we have is unchang ing (“incorruptible”). The word means imperishable or not sub ject to destruction. Our heaven ly inheritance is something con stant and forever the same. In other words, all of our heavenly blessings will never change but be there forever for us to enjoy throughout eternity! This hope is unblemished (“un defiled”). This word describes our future heavenly inheritance as something that is unstained or unpolluted from a spiritual perspective, something that is flawless and perfect. No sin is found inside the pearly gates! (Rev. 21:27). This reminds us that Heaven Bible Trivia BY WILSON CASEY 1. Which book of the Bible (KJV) mentions the word “thanksgiv ing” the most times at eight? Genesis, Nehe- miah. Psalms, Isaiah 2. From Leviticus 22, a sacrifice of thanksgiv ing is most meaningful I^hen it is ... ? Sincere, Often, At your own will. Extravagant 3. What items of food and drink did Jesus give thanks for at the Last Supper? Figs/wa ter, Bread/wine, Fish es/nectar, Honey/milk 4. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the ... of God”? Pojyer, Will, Gratitude, Travail 5. Where was Jonah when he prayed with the voice of thanks giving? Fish’s belly. Aboard ship. In the wil derness, Mountaintop 6. Whose thanksgiv ing is expressed in Philippians 4:10-20? Paul, John the Baptist, James, David is a prepared place for prepared people! (John 14:1-3) We must confess our sins and be forgiven to enter in. This hope is unending (“and that fadeth not away”). This means that our future inheri tance in Heaven will never lose its wonder, glory, amazement, and magnificence. Heaven will retain its beauty and continue to bring us joy for ever. We will never lose the won der of it all. Finally, this hope is untouched (“reserved in heaven for you”). This means that our in heritance will be there when we get there! The word “reserved” means guarded, protected, and watched over. Our future inheritance is fixed in the most secure place in all the universe. If we know Jesus as our Savior, our inheritance is certain. Philippians 3:20 says that “our conversation (citizen ship) is in Heaven.” Do you have this living hope? Our hope of Heaven should be growing in our hearts more and more as the days go by. Time destroys most hopes; they fade and then they die. But the passing of time only makes a Christian’s hope that much more glorious! It is a hope that is alive! Jim Keeter is Pastor of Imman uel Baptist Church ofEdenton. He can be reached via email at jm- keeter@yahoo.com. ANSWERS: 1) Psalms; 2) At your own will; 3) Bread/wine; 4) Will; 5) Fish’s belly; 6) Paul Comments? More Trivia? Gift ideas? Visit www.TriviaGuy.com (c) 2017 King Fea tures Synd., Inc. Church announcements are published each week in the Bertie Ledger-Advance. The deadiine to submit news items for this listing is 10 a.m. each Monday. Submissions may be emailed to twhite@ncweeklies.com. Nov. 18 Evening Prayer ROXOBEL - Evening Prayer will be observed at 5 p.m. Sat urday, Nov. 18 at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. Light refreshments will be served following the service. The church is located at 206 West Church St. In Roxo- bel. The Rev. Canon Sonny Browne and congregation invite the public to attend. Nov. 19 Anniversary MERRY HILL-The 152nd Church Anniversary will be ob served at 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 19 at Peterson Chapel Mis sionary Baptist Church. The anniversary theme is “Many Members, But One Body” taken from I Corinthians 12:19-20. The guest speaker will be the Rev. O.D. Sykes, 3rd Vice President of the General Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. The Zion Bethlehem Mass Choir will provide musi cal selections. The Pastor, the Rev. Percell Whitaker, and congregation invite the public to attend. Scholarship Drive POWELLSVILLE - The Bertie County Aiumni Chapter of Elizabeth City State University will celebrate its annual Scholarship Drive at 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 19 at Piney Wood Chapel Baptist Church. The guest speaker wiil be Dr. Ricky L. Banks of St. Ste phens Missionary Baptist Church in Elizabeth City. Music will be provided by Harmony. The alumni invite the public to attend. Family, Friends Day AHOSKIE - Family and Friends Day will be observed at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 19 at Wactor Temple A.M.E. Zion Church. The theme for the event is “We are Family.” The guest speaker is the Rev. Michael Gaddy of Kadesh A.M.E. Zion Church. The church is located at 501 First St. East in Ahoskie. The congregation invites the public to attend. Ongoing Women’s Ministry WINDSOR - The Women’s Ministry meets from 6-8 p.m. on the second Friday of each month at Cedar Landing Mis sionary Baptist Church. The meetings include fun activities, free food, door prizes and lots of love. . The congregation invites the public to attend. Battieground for Success WINTON - Pastor Keith Urquhart will host a Facebook broadcast from 7-7:30 p.m. each Wednesday. The educational presentation “Battleground for Success” will be for school-aged students, parents and business- minded people. Help needed WILLIAMSTON - New Fellowship Church and Project Feed The 5000 is asking for help with donations of pet food for older adults who have pets as their only family member. For information on how to donate bagged or canned dog/ cat food, call 252-792-7191. Women Praying WILLIAMSTON - Prayer is being made for Williamston. All women are welcome to come and pray any time be tween noon and 2 p.m. at Word of Truth Fellowship, 1003 Washington St., Williamston. For more information, call 252-792-0678. Food Pantry WILLIAMSTON - The Food Pantry at the Bible Way Apos tolic Church is open from 8-10 a.m. The church is located at Sycamore and Center streets in Williamston. STOP Foreclosure STOP Lawsuits STOP Car Repossession STOP Tax Levies and Garnishments Call Allen C. Brown Attorney #252-752-0753 A Debt Relief Agency helping people eliminate debt through bankruptcy ^
Bertie Ledger-Advance (Windsor, N.C.)
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Nov. 15, 2017, edition 1
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