Attending church is not the final goal for Christians. It can be a helpful part of the journey — or it can become the very opposite.   Quote By Greg Albrecht (I am not affiliated to that particular online church.)

Jesus didn’t say, “Go to church” nor did He say that ministering in the church was the beginning and the end of Gods service opportunities. If fact he said the opposite: Jesus preached going into all the world and preaching the Gospel to every creature as His main line of service and then being faithful to continue spiritually feeding those who were committed to Him.

Now this may sound like church but it doesn’t include the million dollar church fund and the self-help messages and compromised messages being preached from the pulpit today to keep attendance and pay the bills. Jesus preached the true gospel and it was very unpopular amongst the well to do.

So, please don’t limit God or the spreading of His message by thinking everything has to be done with in the confines of the denominational church system. The Lord usually works contrary to the ways of man.

The True Church are the called out ones, (ecclesia) those who have excepted Jesus as their personal savior and have a personal relationship with Him are called out from the world and enjoined unto Him in Spirit and in Truth.

The early church fellowshipped in homes or anywhere they could meet. Somewhere along the line “Buildings” entered in and “self proclaimed leaders and denominations” have since tried to control Gods Spirit.

God’s true children have for the most part been persecuted by just such religious control down through the ages and in present day society are finding freedom in home churches and non-denomination surroundings.

Sure, you will find some good large churches from time to time but they will all be swept away by the soon coming Anti-Christ persecution. The temporal “physical” church will be forced to go underground at that time.

Why not stand out from the crowd now and grow into the stature of the man or woman He wants you to be and be prepared to help others then by nurturing the souls you win to the Lord now. (Really pray about who you would want to direct to a certain church and for what reason and why?)

Jesus’ church will always be His true children who love Him in spirit and in truth. Free of Denominations, Buildings, Religion and Bondage. Free to Love Him and His Children and free to help unite the Bide of Christ for His return.

Jesus said, “If you destroy this temple I will raise it up in three days” this spake he of His body. (Jesus is the temple.) He also said that He was the Resurrection and the Life and that He was the Light of the World.

When describing the New Heaven and Earth John says. And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb [is] the light thereof.

Come unto Jesus ye who are weary and He shall receive you and give you rest. True Christian fellowship is one thing, but controlled false doctrinal teaching for money; membership and fame are a different story.

Keep it Biblical and keep it pure like Jesus and the Bible so others can place their trust in Him and have true faith in the Word of God to endure the difficult days ahead. Jesus is the Living Word and the Word is God and that is your only Rock Solid Foundation throughout Eternity.

Abide in Him,

Dr. Ken Kovach 

Articles can be found at http://PastorsRant.com A Free Bible Course at: http://JapanBibleInstitute.com Ministry Tools & Christian/Self-Help: http://AllChristianServices.com Articles may be given away freely but please leave the credits intact.

The Body of Christ “Church without Hands”

From 1 Corinthians 12

For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also [is] Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether [we be] Jews or Gentiles, whether [we be] bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. (The Words that I speak unto you they Are Spirit and the Are Life.)

Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye [that which is] good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Drinking of His Spirit, Hearing His Voice and walking in His Spirit makes us a healthy body fitly joined together in the unity of His Love.

For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? (Each one of Gods children has a special place of service that only he can fill.)

And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body [were] an eye, where [were] the hearing? If the whole [were] hearing, where [were] the smelling? But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. (God knows what each of us is best suited for.)

And if they were all one member, where [were] the body? (If we were all the same we couldn’t accomplish His Plans.) But now [are they] many members, yet but one body. That there should be no schism in the body; but [that] the members should have the same care one for another.

And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. (We’re to helping to lift one another and not compete with each other, the difference of humility and pride.)

But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way. à1 Corinthians 13 is the next chapter……..Love is the excellent Way!

Dr. Ken Kovach

Articles can be found at http://PastorsRant.com A Free Bible Course at: http://JapanBibleInstitute.com Ministry Tools & Christian/Self-Help: http://AllChristianServices.com Articles may be given away freely but please leave the credits intact.

The Praise of God

I was sitting in the car today listing to some word and reading along and in St. John it said something like “they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.” And I just kind of broke out laughing even though I’ve heard that verse 100’s of times and I just thought “How Sick” “they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God”.

Thank God we’ve been set free to “Love the Praise of God more than the praise of man”, man pleasing is a real bondage trip and a downward spiral. There are lots of good verses on man pleasing and I’m trying to compile some now. Man pleasing is in the negative thinking bag for sure.

And then I though, well, I like a nod of approval sometimes even though I know what I was doing was in the right spirit and the Lord is/was blessing it. And I starting seeing that as another flavor of man pleasing and asked the Lord for deliverance on that one. Then this verse came along, For not he (or whoever) that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth.

There’s real freedom in knowing we only need Gods pat on the back, wanting any more is looking to man. (We all need and appreciate encouragement but we shouldn’t seek it. And if we get it we should thank the Lord and pass any praise on to Him.) I mean, I already new this but it’s just nice to keep sweeping those little props out of the way (that try to creep in) and keep the upward connection strong. Strong is Praise and Glory to God!

A couple convicting verses on the subject:

How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that [cometh] from God only?……..For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God [is] witness: Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor [yet] of others….Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

Thank God for True freedom in Jesus!

Dr. Ken Kovach

Articles can be found at http://PastorsRant.com A Free Bible Course at: http://JapanBibleInstitute.com Ministry Tools & Christian/Self-Help: http://AllChristianServices.com Articles may be given away freely but please leave the credits intact.

Letting Go and Starting Over

Starting over is never easy to do, but it is often something the Lord requires of each of us from time to time. We could title this “His re-training process.”

There may be many different reasons why these dramatic changes come into our lives, such as health problems, the sins of pride in getting lifted up, other sins, financial difficulties, getting off track spiritually or just needing a change in ministry.

Any of these types of scenarios can seem daunting and overwhelmingly lead to discouragement and thoughts of giving up. But these types of breakings and changes are all a part of our training and the Lord would never have allowed them to happen if it wasn’t for the purpose of working out His bigger plan for our lives.

We should never allow changes to make us bitter but better. No sin is too great for God to forgive and no failure is beyond His mending. He knows when to bring us down and draw us closer to himself. Like with the wandering sheep the shepherd has to sometimes break its leg so that it will never wander from the shepherd’s side again.

We are often like that wandering sheep and the Lord has to bring us down to keep us humble. It was said of Saul, “When thou was little in thine own eyes I did highly exalt thee,” we know from the word that Saul fell due to the sins of pride and disobedience.

Sometimes God has to bring us to the end of ourselves to where we have nothing left but Him and then He can truly start to rebuild and work in our lives and use us for His Glory.

In fact every true man or woman of God from Bible times until today have had to go through such breakings so God would have a chance to move in their lives and use them for His Glory.

God changes lives for His Glory so don’t be fearful of His breaking and remaking process which is a compliment of His love. He not only breaks and remakes us but He keeps us through the breakings and brings us out to victory when He has accomplished His purpose.

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.

My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed. Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble [you], and thereby many be defiled; (Better not Bitter)

Please read the whole passage from Heb. 12 for encouragement.

If you are presently going through a time of change, hold on to His word and melt in the arms of Jesus and let Him perfect that which concerneth you. He never fails.

Dr. Ken Kovach

Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:

18 For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole.

Articles can be found at http://PastorsRant.com A Free Bible Course at: http://JapanBibleInstitute.com Ministry Tools & Christian/Self-Help: http://AllChristianServices.com Articles may be given away freely but please leave the credits intact.

Failure is not the End

The “lame take the prey” and the “bird whose pinion was once broken” will often fly higher than ever before, by the grace of God.

Failure is not the end; it is usually the beginning of a whole new ministry in which you will fly higher than ever before. “A just man falleth seven times and rises up again.”

We should never fear failure as it is often the means by which God has chosen to make us into more useful, wiser, humbler and stronger vessels for His Glory.

If you are passing through the valleys of failure and defeat don’t let the waters of discouragement overflow thee. There is only one way to go and that is up! Up to the victory of the cross in Christ Jesus!

Let those dead works fall behind while you emerge and new man in Christ Jesus where old things are passed away and all things are become new.

Jesus specializes in resurrecting the New Man. I press towards the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth to those things which are before. New beginnings are one of Gods compliments.

Dr. Ken Kovach

Articles can be found at http://PastorsRant.com A Free Bible Course at: http://JapanBibleInstitute.com Ministry Tools & Christian/Self-Help: http://AllChristianServices.com Articles may be given away freely but please leave the credits intact.

There is Rest for the Weary

When Jesus was tired He often did three or four things in His Ministry when the Pressures and Overwhelming needs of the People and Multitudes pressed upon him or started to drain him of his strength.

He would often get away and rest, get alone and pray or trained his disciples to share more of the responsibility and help build relationships.

“And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth [unto him] whom he would: and they came unto him….And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,

And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:”

If we are to remain effective in our ministry with others we should follow His sample and these special words.

Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest….Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls…For my yoke [is] easy, and my burden is light.

Dr. Ken Kovach

Articles can be found at http://PastorsRant.com A Free Bible Course at: http://JapanBibleInstitute.com Ministry Tools & Christian/Self-Help: http://AllChristianServices.com Articles may be given away freely but please leave the credits intact.

Positive Attitude and Faith makes All the Difference!

          In life there are many things that you can’t control, no matter what! Nevertheless, you should never let those things, regardless of how bad they are, defeat you. “There are many things about tomorrow I may not understand, but I know who holds tomorrow and I know who holds my hand.” Remember that, no matter how bad the situation gets, you have to see the Lords hand in it and you’re the one who decides how to react to it and how much it can or will affect you.

          It is essential to always look to the Lord and pray to always see the positive aspects of any occurrence. In other words, try identifying the good parts in everything. Even though it might sound extremely hard at the beginning, seeking the Lord for the Mind of God about the situation and looking for the good aspects in the worst situations of all will help you exercise your way of thinking and, in time, you’ll find yourself viewing situations in an incredibly constructive and positive manner.

The Lord will help you to start seeing everything in a good light, when things can’t get worse than they already are. The answer is to detach yourself from the facts and ask the Lord to help you see things through His eyes. Remember that most things in this life are temporary and you have to move on, no matter what. Also, if you train yourself to smile a lot and be polite to the people around you, you might discover that, in fact, this actually represents an efficient “habit cultivating medicine” against bad thoughts and a healthy attitude towards life can play a crucial role in becoming a more positive person.

   But always remember to seek out the lesson you should learning from the situation. Have an open attitude towards whatever happened and try to be in a “learning mode” which will only make you wiser, stronger and more positive and full of faith for the future.

When there is an extremely difficult problem to solve and no solution seems to fit in, remember to change the perspective from which you’re looking at things. Getting awfully scared and not being able to think clearly, will definitely not lead you to resolving the issue. On the other hand, if you pray and really seek the Lord for his answers for the situation you may form another perspective as to how the Lord sees things, and develop a more positive attitude identifying difficult situations in a more positive manner and become a true problem solver.

You have to have a winner’s attitude in order to defeat problems. Consequently, if you’re nervous, afraid you might fail, unconvinced with your actions, etc. people around you will perceive you exactly as you perceive yourself. Our spirits are contagious and often are a reflection of our attitudes and thoughts. That is why it is so important to have the Mind of the Lord, peace in our hearts and His views on the matter.

The good thing about attitudes is that we can change or educate ourselves to view things more through the eyes of faith and with a positive outlook. And it has been proven that a good attitude toward everything around us is more efficient and effective than projecting worry and fear. Jesus is in the business of changing hearts and lives and a positive outlook can only produce good results, so have an “open attitude” and look at things through the eyes of faith!

Dr. Ken Kovach

Articles can be found at http://PastorsRant.com A Free Bible Course at: http://JapanBibleInstitute.com Ministry Tools & Christian/Self-Help: http://AllChristianServices.com Articles may be given away freely but please leave the credits intact.

Enemies from Within! Pt.1

One of the Enemies Favorite tactics is disunity, he likes to divide and conquer. And then when he gets you so busy fighting amongst yourselves that you no longer have the vision to work together to reach souls for Jesus then you are leaving the playing field to him.

1 Corinthians 1:10-13 ¹⁰Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. ¹¹For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. ¹²Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” ¹³Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

Is Christ divided? Was Paul, your Pastor, your denomination, your fellowship or pet doctrine crucified for you? No, sorry they weren’t. And just so we as Christians need to look beyond these petty differences and dwell on the things we do have in common and unite together to win the world to Jesus.

Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort [you] that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

We are called on to pray for, encourage, edify, and strengthen the body of Christ, Not to criticize. Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

When we stand before the Lord on that day (I may be wrong) but I don’t think He is going to be asking us what denomination we are from, who our Pastor was or did we faithfully attend church?

I think He’ll loving ask us, “what did we do with Jesus?” did we honor, love, receive and live for Him? Did we love His children? And what did we do with the gifts He gave us to use for His Glory?

Preconceived ideas of Gods righteousness will all be swept away in that day and we shall see Him as He is and be clothed in His righteousness alone. We’ll truly learn what His righteousness, love and mercy are all about. And we’ll be melted together is His love in true Unity of the Spirit.

And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.

Dr. Ken

Articles can be found at http://PastorsRant.com A Free Bible Course at: http://JapanBibleInstitute.com Ministry Tools & Christian/Self-Help: http://AllChristianServices.com Articles may be given away freely but please the credits intact.

Biblical Steps to Control Your Thoughts

Why should you want to control your thoughts? As the old adage goes, you are what you think. If you cannot control your thoughts, your thoughts will control you.

When other people say things that bring a negative thought into your head, you need to control whether you let it stay there. If you don’t have that control, your brain will start to build other thoughts off of that initial thought; whether it was true or not.

How do you start controlling your thoughts? First of all you need to know that it is possible. Next, if you have a thought that you should not keep, do not talk about that thought. Proverbs 30:32 says, “If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth.” Saying something about that thought only reinforces it.

You need to rebuke the thought and tell it to go away. That’s easier said than done, especially if you are not in the habit of doing it.

The Bible calls this casting down our thoughts. 2Co 10:5 says, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ”. God would not tell us to do something that we could not do. We need to ask Him for help when it comes to doing this. We also need to be persistent. At the beginning we may need to do this many times.

After casting down those thoughts we need to replace them with correct thoughts. In Php 4:8 it says, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

When someone has said something against you that has made you mad, you need to pray for them. This will get your focus off of yourself and onto what God wants you to do.

Once you have successfully controlled your thoughts for a while, it will become easier. You will be able to look back on past victories and that will help you through your current situation.
Don’t give in to your negative thoughts. They will destroy you. Cast them out. Replace them with what God wants you to think about. Make this a habit and your life will definitely improve.

Dr. Ken Kovach

Free Bible Course

Articles can be found at http://PastorsRant.com A Free Bible Course at: http://JapanBibleInstitute.com Ministry Tools & Christian/Self-Help: http://AllChristianServices.com

Positive Attitude and Faith makes All the Difference!

In life there are many things that you can’t control, no matter what! Nevertheless, you should never let those things, regardless of how bad they are, defeat you. “There are many things about tomorrow I may not understand, but I know who hold tomorrow and I know who holds my hand.” Remember that, no matter how bad the situation gets, you have to see the Lords hand in it and you’re the one who decides how to react to it and how much it can or will affect you.

It is essential to always look to the Lord and pray to always see the positive aspects of any occurrence. In other words, try identifying the good parts in everything. Even though it might sound extremely hard at the beginning, seeking the Lord for the Mind of God about the situation and looking for the good aspects in the worst situations of all will help you exercise your way of thinking and, in time, you’ll find yourself viewing situations in an incredibly constructive and positive manner.

The Lord will help you to start seeing everything in a good light, when things can’t get worse than they already are. The answer is to detach yourself from the facts and ask the Lord to help you see things through His eyes. Remember that most things in this life are temporary and you have to move on, no matter what. Also, if you train yourself to smile a lot and be polite to the people around you, you might discover that, in fact, this actually represents an efficient “habit cultivating medicine” against bad thoughts and a healthy attitude towards life can play a crucial role in becoming a more positive person.

But always remember to seek out the lesson you should learning from the situation. Have an open attitude towards whatever happened and try to be in a “learning mode” which will only make you wiser, stronger and more positive and full of faith for the future.

When there is an extremely difficult problem to solve and no solution seems to fit in, remember to change the perspective from which you’re looking at things. Getting awfully scared and not being able to think clearly, will definitely not lead you to resolving the issue. On the other hand, if you pray and really seek the Lord for his answers for the situation you may form another perspective as to how the Lord sees things, and develop a more positive attitude identifying difficult situations in a more positive manner and become a true problem solver.

You have to have a winner’s attitude in order to defeat problems. Consequently, if you’re nervous, afraid you might fail, unconvinced with your actions, etc. people around you will perceive you exactly as you perceive yourself. Our spirits are contagious and often are a reflection of our attitudes and thoughts. That is why it is so important to have the Mind of the Lord, peace in our hearts and His views on the matter.

The good thing about attitudes is that we can change or educate ourselves to view things more through the eyes of faith and with a positive outlook. And it has been proven that a good attitude toward everything around us is more efficient and effective than projecting worry and fear. Jesus is in the business of changing hearts and lives and a positive outlook can only produce good results, so have an “open attitude” and look at things through the eyes of faith!

Dr. Ken Kovach

Free Bible Course

Articles can be found at http://PastorsRant.com A Free Bible Course at: http://JapanBibleInstitute.com Ministry Tools & Christian/Self-Help: http://AllChristianServices.com