Messages Full of Life and Encouragement

 

Page Contents:
Knowing God | Other Messages | People's Stories | Missions Reports | Messages by Others
Speaking Our Faith | Online Bible Course | Newsletters

Knowing God

Are Carrots Really Green
Are carrots really green? Sounds like a ridiculous question, doesn't it? But if you had been taught all your life, from the time you were an infant until now that carrots are green, your answer to this question would be, "Of course they are."

Face to Face with Jesus
Today, I want to talk to you about something this is at the very heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ-that is, knowing and experiencing the Lord on a daily basis.

God Wants You in Heaven
Some folks have the idea that God is so mean, He's just sitting up in heaven waiting for the least excuse to club you over the head and send you to the lake of fire. No, that's not our God. God is love.

Is Jesus Really Lord?
Is Jesus really the Lord of your life? Are you allowing Him to govern your thoughts, your attitudes, your speech and your actions? Is your predominant inner drive and motivation governed by the direction of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit or do the norms and values of the culture and society around you control what you think and do?

Nothing but the Blood
Here's the facts: Buddha can't save you. The Virgin Mary can't save you. Better attitudes can't save you. Making money and being "successful" can't save you. Nothing but the blood of Jesus can save you!

He is Savior, but is He Lord?
Recently ministering in Manitoba, Canada on a Sunday evening, I was preaching on the subject, "The Remedy for Sin and Sickness," expounding the wonderful truths of God's salvation and healing through His Son, Jesus Christ.

His Pain Was Our Gain
Crucifixion was the most terrible of all deaths, an affliction so terrible that men would commit suicide rather than experience the awful pain and humiliation.

Righteousness: You Can't Live Without it.
Noone can get to heaven without it. If you have it, God will answer your prayers. What is it and how do you get it? It is "righteousness" and it must be received by faith as a gift from God.

The Resurrection Provides a Shocking Change!
"Quickened" means to make alive, but to me it carries with it the idea of a sudden jolt, a shocking change.

Healing for You

Forgive and Get Free!
Forgiveness is one the greatest and most freeing of all Christian graces. Perhaps the preeminent example of forgiveness can be seen by Jesus at Calvary as He prayed for those who had nailed Him to the cross, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." (Luke 23:34, NKJV)

Getting in Synch with God
Many of our problems in life, whether they be physical, mental or social, are caused by being out of synch with God.

God Still Does Miracles
The tradition of man has said: the age of miracles is over. The world has said: there are no such things. But no matter, the truth still remains: God still does miracles.

Good News for the Distressed
He came to heal the brokenhearted. Many hearts have been broken through calamity, abuse, neglect. The scripture says, "The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?" (Proverbs 18:14, KJV).

The Gospel of Healing
Just as there is a Gospel of our salvation, there is also a Gospel of Healing. Read this message to learn about the Good News that the Lord has provided healing for His people.

Healing Scriptures
The promise of divine healing all throughout the scriptures in various versions of the Word of God. Meditate these truths and be healed.

Other Messages

A Bridge of Sand
The recent collapse of the I-35 bridge in Minneapolis serves to remind us just how fleeting and insecure our life is upon this earth.

AMERICA! AMERICA!
On on the week of 9/11, the following article was scheduled to run in our local newspaper. Because of the great tragedy which our nation had endured, it did not seem like good medicine at the time, so another article was substituted. It would have been like preaching a funeral service, and talking about all the faults and weaknesses of the deceased. It would not be in good taste, and would be harmful to the family.

America is Ripe for Revival
Speculation, gambling, greed, spectacular wealth, and prosperity for an elite few were widening the gap between the "haves" and the "have nots." A nation hungry for the supernatural turned to spiritualism which gained a popular foothold over many minds. A playboy philosophy of "free love" was advocated and accepted by many.

Are You a Grasshopper?
But many people have an attitude about themselves that says, "I'm no good. I can't do anything. I'm just a bug." In the Bible, there were a group of men that made such a statement and ended up missing out in life.

Are You Living in the Bunkhouse?
When the prodigal son returned to his father, his best hope was to secure place in the bunkhouse among his father's servants.

Don't Miss Out on Your Inheritance!
So for every Christian this is a truth to embrace wholeheartedly. "I am a child of God with a full inheritance." "I'm a joint heir with Jesus Christ." (Romans 8:17) So lift your head up, put your shoulders back, breathe in a breath of fresh air and enjoy what is rightfully yours in Christ Jesus.

Enemies of Prosperity
When you can't take care of your children, provide for your household, pay your bills, there is a destruction working that needs to be overcome. But prosperity is more than money. There are many, many people who have truckloads of money who are extremely poor; and there are many people who don't have a lot of money who are really very rich.

Evangelists Arise!
Evangelists arise! The hour demands it. It's time for those who have received the sacred call to sound the herald message of salvation, to shout it from the roof tops.

First Things First
When God has His way, good things happen. Marriages are healed. Churches get on fire for God. The bars are empty. The churches are full. Young people serve the Lord. God's people prosper spirit, soul and body. Troubled minds are healed. Peace comes to troubled hearts. This is the joy of Kingdom living.

Freedom in Christ Jesus
People today are bound with fears, phobias, bondages of the will, chemical addictions, sexual bondages, and are victims of enslaving relationships. Jesus came to set such people free.

Glorious Gospel
The word "glorious" here refers to the splendor, the brightness, the majesty or the excellence of Jesus Christ and His Gospel. The Apostle Paul is saying that this Gospel (or "Good News") that he was preaching is so spectacular, so marvelous in its splendor and brightness that you would have to be blind not to see it.

God wants you in heaven! (Salvation Tract)
Some folks have the idea that God is so mean, He's just sitting up in heaven waiting for the least excuse to club you over the head and send you to the lake of fire. No, that's not our God. God is love! Print it and give it away!) Print this message on one sheet of paper (front and back) and it becomes a tri-fold flyer containing the Good News of God's salvation through Jesus Christ. Print it out and give it to a someone. They may become your friend forever.

Gospel Giving
A sports article stated that an NBA star was "disappointed" with his 85 million dollar contract. I wonder, how can you be disappointed with 85 million dollars? I suppose it's because someone else received 90 million. Come on! Get real!

If Peter Walked on the Water, So Can You
If Peter walked on the water, so can you! It's time to get out of the boat! It's time for you and me to follow our dreams. It's time to step into a new area of ministry. It's time to scrap the fear of rejection and reach out to someone with God's love. It's time to do something great and impossible for God. Jesus' disciples could talk the talk, but only Peter was willing to walk the walk. Many Christians have great potential in God. They know all the right jargon too, but they are just not willing to get out of the boat.

Pray for Our Young People
How many teenagers must die, how many valuable lives destroyed before we wake up to the needs of the young people in our communities?

Pray that Someone Would Go!
Jesus was motivated by the needs of those around Him. He looked for ways to help them, to heal them, to comfort them, to mend them. Jesus was all about people, and bringing the love of His Father to them. As He ministered to the people, he saw the great needs. They fainted and were scattered abroad, like sheep without a shepherd. Things have not changed all that much in 2,000 years. Today, the multitudes also are fainting and scattered. They are scattered about by all the philosophies of this world. . . humanism, idolatry, perversion. They are scattered about by every demon-inspired religion, by New Age spirituality, by sensuality and the pursuit of money. Many are just scattered about by their own needs and problems, such as poverty, sickness, and emotional bankruptcy.

Receiving Power in Your Life
Jesus told the church, "Ye shall receive power after the Holy Ghost is come upon you and you shall be witnesses unto me..." (Acts 1:8) You can receive that power in your life today.

Ten Reasons Why You Should Attend Church
If you are not involved in a local church, you are disobeying God and out of His will and out of His channel of blessings. The scripture is clear that it is God's will for you to associate with the church. Jesus, our leader and example, went to church

The Evangelist and the Local Church
The heart of the evangelist is to reach those that are away from God, both through his own ministry and also by influencing and training others.

The Evil of Sectarianism
There has always been that tendency in the church to reject those outside of our own little circle. They may be doing a good work for the Lord, and have fruit in their ministry, but because they "follow not us" we want to forbid them to do the works of Jesus or to minister in our midst. This is the operation of an evil spirit of sectarianism designed by Satan to separate and weaken the Body of Christ.

The Mighty Name of Jesus
The name of Jesus is not a religious by-word or phraseology, it is a powerful tool when spoken in faith by a believer.

The Power of Partnership

God, you, and one other person is a power-partnership, capable of world-changing results. By learning and cooperating with this principle, we can obtain miraculous results for God. By rejecting this principle, we consign ourselves to small insignificant progress in the the quest for success in the Christian life.

The Supply of the Spirit
Did you know that as a believer there is a supply within you to meet the spiritual needs of others in the Body of Christ?

The World's Greatest Cause
The greatest need in all the world is for people (men and women, boys and girls) to receive salvation through Jesus Christ. And the greatest cause is all the world is to take the Gospel to all the world that people might receive eternal life through Jesus Christ. This is the mission of the body of Christ.

Till Death Do Us Part
More than 50 percent of all marriage covenants made since 1970 will end in divorce, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor. The fallout from the United States Atomic Divorce Bomb is tremendous. Children are the innocent victims. Many suffer from physical, sexual and psychological abuse as a result of this breakdown of the family.

When a Leader Falls
When some prominent leaders in the church fell in the 90s, church attendance dropped, financial giving to ministries fell, and many Christians stopped serving the Lord.

Unity. . .
Not only good and pleasant, but crucial to world evangelism
This anointing and blessing are sorely missing in the church world today. All too often, instead of unity and love, we have strife and division, and as a result we are missing much of what the Lord has for us.

Where will you spend eternity?
It's interesting how much thought, energy and effort, we all put into the things of this present life, when these things are of very little lasting value.

Your Dreams Can Come True
All of us have dreams. For some, the light of our dreams may have been snuffed out or greatly dimmed through the adversities of life. Perhaps your dream concerned your family or your church or your finances or your ministry. But whatever that dream is composed of, the faith of God can give it substance and make it come to pass in your life.

People's Stories

Filling the Void. . .Tom Shanklin's Story (pdf)
His life was a succession of attempts at filling the emptiness inside, until Jesus filled him up like nothing else can.... Read the account of God's mighty deliverance in the life of Tom Shanklin.

Grandpa New Knew that He Knew
There he laid dying in his bed not recovering from a broken hip. He was just days away from his 90th birthday. In the background you could hear Grandma praying, "Lord don't take him home until he knows you."

Miracle Testimonies
I came back in a couple days for the results and he said, " I see no sign of diabetes in you," I give all the Glory, Honor and Praise to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

North Dakota Man Receives a Mighty Healing
His name is Richard. He had placed an ad in the paper to sell a small parcel of land on the west edge of town. As we stood on the land on a beautiful North Dakota evening, Richard began to share some of his health problems. As he spoke, a compassion rose up within me for this man.

The Power of God's Love
I grew up in a home where my mother, father, grandmother and grandfather all loved and trusted in Christ as their Savior. I came to know Jesus for myself at church camp. At 19, I married a man who was 32. My husband was very critical. Once he told me that he never could love me and said he had asked me to marry him only because he didn't think he would find anybody else.

Missions Reports

India 2007: Hunger for the Word
Everywhere I went, souls responded eagerly to the Word of the Gospel. In churches, among Bible school students, at a pastor's conference and in open air evangelistic meetings, God's Word immediately took root and bore much fruit.

India 2005: A Fishing Trip to Remember
I can remember, as a young boy growing up in southern Illinois, my father would often take me fishing. We would go out to a small lake or pond after he returned home from work and fish until the sun went down and it was too dark to see. Also, check out the India 2005 Photo Gallery.

Ukraine Mission 2005: FREE INDEED!
Check out TSM's latest missions trip to the Ukraine. God moved mightily in this vital nation.

Kenya Mission 2004
Our trip was both an awesome experience in the Lord and a very fruitful time of ministry. For our team (Kim Ellison of Fridley, Minnesota; Steve Basney of Cokato, Minnesota; Julie Nelson of Bismarck, North Dakota and me) it was time of fulfilling destiny and seeing the longing of our hearts to reach people with the Good News of Jesus Christ fulfilled.

China's Crying Heart
The story is one of endless bus trips, unsavory conditions, strange food, sleeping with rats, and mysterious remote villages in the awesome mountains of southwest Yunnan. But more than that, it is a story of people-a forgotten and yearning people, a people with hearts ready to receive the greatest message ever told.

Miracles in Kenya
We saw God move with signs, wonders and miracles in the name of Jesus. Many came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and many were encouraged in their walk with God.

Messages from Others

The Heart of God for the Muslims in the Last Days, Andrew Gackle
Because of my own unique experience in ministering to Muslims over the past year and a half, I now believe that there is a prophetic significance for the Muslim people of the world in these last days. Biblically, and in the natural world today, the Muslims are a people that cannot be ignored and the Lord allowed it to be that way.

Come Out of the Muddy Waters By Kim Ellison
I was one of eight that were about to begin a tubing trip down a wide muddy river. It's huge choppy waves crashed and churned as they went downstream. We were making our way into the raging waters with rubber inner tubes to transport us. The tubes would be our only protection against the rocks, the waves, and whatever else lay hidden below the surface.

Who was Jesus?
By Kim Ellison
Was he just a man, a great religious leader, or was he truly the Son of God? Did he rise from the dead or was it just a hoax? Christians are frequently confronted with these questions today. Leading world religions and the general populace vary greatly in their opinions in regards to Jesus.

Speaking Our Faith

The Holy Spirit is Working in Me
Confess and meditate these scriptures and yield yourself to the Holy Spirit. Allow Him to have full access to your life.

Healing Scriptures
The promise of divine healing all throughout the scriptures in various versions of the Word of God. Meditate these truths and be healed.

Overcoming Oppression
These are scriptures that I have found to be effective against mental oppression, anxiety and depression. Confess them three times a day and you will notice the oppression lifting. Quote the scripture and then confess that it belongs to you. Confession brings possession, in Jesus name. You can possess anything that is promised you in the Word of God, as you believe it, confess it, embrace and possess it. Confess it now: "I'm free in Jesus name."

Online Bible Course: Christianity 101
These teaching are not based on man's ideas and doctrines. They are based on the most powerful book in the world, the Holy Bible-the Word of God. As you open your heart to the truths on these pages, you will be laying a strong foundation for the building of your Christian life.

 

Chapter One: Understaning Salvation

According to Schofield's Reference Bible, salvation is the great inclusive word of the Gospel, gathering into itself all the redemptive acts and processes. It implies the ideas of safety, deliverance, preservation, healing and soundness. The Greek word translated healed and saved in the Bible are the same. God's salvation is for the spirit, soul and body.

 

Chapter Two: Understanding Water Baptism

Not only are we to believe and repent, but we also need to be baptized. Baptism is the normal and scriptural thing to do once a person has decided to follow Jesus. It is the Lord's command, and in the early church it was always done immediately upon conversion to Christ.

 

Chapter Three: Understanding the Baptism of the Holy Spirit

The baptism of the Holy Ghost is just as much a part of the Bible as the New Birth. Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they received power and then to begin to preach the Gospel. If you haven't received the Holy Ghost, ask the Lord to fulfill His promise to you and baptize you in the Holy Ghost and fire. The open your mouth and begin to speak in unknown languages by the inspiration of the Spirit.

 

Chapter Four: Going on with God

This fourth chapter contains some of the most important truths you will ever hear. To ignore or neglect these truths can be fatal to your success in the Christian life. Carefully absorb the scriptural truths on the final pages of this book. Ponder them and make decisions about your future. . . make a quality decision to follow Jesus, no matter what comes up in your life. Continue steadfastly in the things of God.