"Notes from the Vine" March 2010 VCM Newsletter

A message of warning!!!

 

Praise the LORD!!!

   I pray that all are well and growing in their faith. For truly I am greatly concerned, for the many that claim faith in JESUS CHRIST. For there are many out there that would enlist you to follow their words and teaching and not that of the MASTER!!! I’ve been spending a lot of time online as of late; due to the weather here is south Texas. I’ve over five hundred follower/friends on the two largest social networks and they all know that I’m a Christian and proud of this fact. If you’re reading this, there is a high likelihood that you’ve come here from knowledge of me or the ministry at one of these sites. Then again it could be from one of the other dozen or so that I visit and post on also.


   I have a good number of people that request I enlist them as friends, which usually I will do, after just briefly checking out their personal sites. With the current state of the ministry’s computer, I’m limited to the sites I can visit, due to the graphics content of them. Not that it’s pornographic or of a violent nature, but the amount of graphics on them. This system doesn’t handle a lot of graphics well and begins to slow down greatly or freeze completely up. Si, I will take a very brief glance at the wording of their speech and symbolism that the site contains. If it shows anything resembling a Christian nature I will allow them in as friends. Then it is up to them to remain on the site by not falling outside the bounds of decency and good moral judgment. To date, I’ve but knocked off two people that have joined as friends. The LORD has blessed me here greatly!

   Now to the point of this article: I have met more people that are preaching false doctrines then I’ve ever met before. There are those that believe in the redeeming sacrifice of JESUS, but not HIS teachings. Grouping the WORDS of JESUS and the apostle’s as only being applied to the Hebrews and no one else. They believe that the apostle Paul’s teaching are the only thing that gentile Christians should follow. These people start from the fact of errors within the translation of the Bible from the original text, which there are a good number of, but then they use their own slightly different wording to adapt it to their own beliefs. The basis of this is that all are saved by CHRIST crucifixion alone and there is no need of a person’s confession, repentance or acceptance of anything else. I other words, you are saved whether you want to be or not, no matter what kinds of heinous sins you’ve committed, you are guaranteed salvation and a place in heaven.


   There is another group that follow after a man that claims to of received direct revelations from GOD and still does to this very day in all aspects of the Christian faith and the soon return and judgment of the LORD upon all others beliefs. Now this is a fairly small group at this time, but there are many that have grown tired of fodder that is preached in mainstream Christian churches and are seeking after a quick return of the LORD. In this school of thought, they’re taking scripture, mostly prophetic, and adding more words to it to make matters seem more grave and judgmental.


   Another of these groups consists of the new apostles and prophets, preaching out of the Book of Enoch. These follow along the lines of basic Christianity and the doctrines of the church, yet say that if one doesn’t follow after the teachings of their ‘apostolic governance’ and authority they’re condemned and completely forsaken by GOD. These utter long lines of their apostle’s teaching and adhere to all that they teach and preach for fear of falling out of grace with GOD. Their words are luxurious and finely tempered with scripture, but with many words added within to draw new mean from within it. According to these, every denomination out there is wrong in their beliefs and we should all turn and follow their apostles and prophets. They will take any scripture that one places before them and use it right back against the person with but a few words added or subtracted.

   There other groups that I could go into, but for brevity I will keep it to these. Two things that all of these groups are very potent in, is their understanding of that which they follow and the understanding of scripture as taught by the Bible. Not just our Bible, but those that they claim to be better then ours. I have talked with members of all thee groups and seen firsthand how they can take scripture placed before them and twisted it, or disprove it to suit their whim. This is a very sure sign of a cult and one that all Christians should be aware of.

   I am a firm believer in the fact that we as Christians should be well versed in the Bible. We should not just read it, but dive deeply into every knock and cranny of it to understand it to the great depth possible. In other words, we should study to find ourselves approved. Being able to stand strong against any that try to change that which we believe, and also being able to disprove the errors of their teachings. This is a big task, especially considering the amount of time these kinds of groups have enlisted to studying their beliefs. I have found that some of these have great piles of ‘teaching’ lying at their side, ready to find the needed information to stand against whatever you’ve placed before them. I’ve even gone as far to find their sources and read massive quantities of these myself, so as to better understand what they insist is the truth.


  I will now ask of all those that read this, to start honing your skills in the apologetics of our faith. Start diving deeper into scripture then you ever have before. Doing all this with the leading and guidance of the HOLY SPIRIT and not depending upon your own wits or intelligence. There is a very well trained enemy out there, one that can weaken the faith of all but the most astute scholar, let alone one depending on their own strengths and not that of the LORD. So, pick up your sword and sharpen it well, honing it’s edge to the finest it can be and prepare yourself, for the battle for true Christianity has begun and many are those against us. Our swords must be sharpened and our armor polished, for the battle will be great. Though we know the outcome and we fight the battle well, there may be many that fall at the wayside if we don’t lead them into a fuller and more perfect understanding of what it means to be a CHRISTian!!!
 
 

This month in ministry

 

   In the last month, there has been a lot of work done online and due to the weather this alone. The weather on the coastal bend of south Texas has been cold and wet. Not like a lot of the country, but as to the normal for the area. This has kept me mostly inside doing that which I can out of this old computer. The headers here posted, are one of the gleanings from this work. It is a colorization and improvement of the original which was drawn for me while in prison. I would like to thank J. Conrad for his artistic help to me at that time, for without our logo would not be today.


   There has also been other graphics works being worked on, some are posted around our sites and at other places online and others yet completed. The current daily devotional has been going well, with a post for almost every day in the last month. Thank YOU LORD, for it is only by HIS grace that this was accomplished. There has been few blogs other wise from me, though there has been several posted or re posted.

   We now have a new member on board with the ministry. Donna Duncan has come on board to assist with the email prayer line. Though she lives out of state we’ve set up a means of her praying for those that enlist us for their prayer needs. Thank you Donna and welcome on board.


   The greatest amount of time has been spent on organizing our international branches. Team Liberia has had phenomenal growth this past month. We now have over twenty members, a board of trustees and several of these are ordained ministers willing to add to their calling for the LORD’s work through them. Thank you all and may GOD continue to bless this movement to win hearts and souls for the KINGDOM of GOD in the name of JESUS CHRIST!!!

   There have been several changes to the website; several slide shows have been added to pages. The work isn’t the best and this is due to several factors: 1 my personal inabilities in graphics, layout and design; 2. the computer system’s inability to render graphics well; 3. the need for an improved web service, whether a better package ($) through Office Live or a different service provider altogether or maybe just someone that has a better knowledge of this system of programming.


   One thing is for certain, Vine of CHRIST Ministries is growing, but there is a long way still to go and until others begin to catch the vision, this will not happen. So I ask you, please pray for the LORD to open your eyes about the truths behind this ministry and to that which HE would have you do to help in its growth. There are many great needs that can only be met when others from the KINGDOM of GOD here on earth catch the vision of sharing the love of CHRIST to those in need!!! If you feel the LORD calling you to help, don’t ask me or another person, just do it. Take the risk and just step out of the boat and trust the LORD to fully take care of you in the works that HE has called you to!!!