When Jesus ascended into heaven, two angels dressed in white stood beside the disciples and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking into the sky?” (Acts 1:11).

If Jesus came today he would find persons as Ward Davis , Craig Green, Wes Hilliard, John Freeland, Bill Baker, Jim Rogers, Buster Payne, Frank Appell, Jerry Varnado, Eric Sizemore, Joseph Tillman, Craig Estes, Pat Doyle, Bill Ligon, Andy Vellie, Bob Moon, Gene Thomas, Mary Lucy Bonfim, Mary Blance, Elizabeth Wolf, Kay Harris, Mary Kicklighter, Earl Tyson, Jim Capps, Jesse Lough, Bert Alexander and hundreds of other “Men of Galilee.” These men are looking at the sky just as the amazed disciples, hoping that Jesus will return. They are not playing the game of promotion; they are just looking up!!

There were in fact 11 of them:

“Peter, John and James and Andrew, Phillip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women.” (Acts 1:13- 14)

These men were looking for direction and purpose. Their hearts ached with feelings of abandonment, despair and loneliness, all of them desiring for Jesus to return to them.

I would have done the same. The Lord had ascended into heaven. Why not look to heaven for His return? I must confess, I have been lonely at times, but I have not sold my convictions. I am looking up these days for the hope of His coming. Along with me, there are many men and women.

It all has to do with others and God. Jesus himself said it this way:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:25-40)

The conflict emerges when God does something for you to complete your ministry, and you find that others will not accept you. They reject you because what God is doing through you confronts their traditions, their system, and their tolerance.

Jesus did not live to get the approval of man; He lived to set the captive free. He did not sell out His divine purpose in order to be accepted by the Sanhedrin.

I ask you this question: “Who are you spiritually? Men of Galilee or Men of Georgia? Women of Galilee or Women of Georgia?

“Men of Galilee” will not buy into the idea that Mohammed has a way unto salvation or that gods from India can lead to the peace that surpasses all understanding. To any who embrace this kind of thought I say:

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by whom we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) Read it for yourself!

“Men of Galilee” are not pleasers of men. They must carry out their call to its fullness, no matter what the cost, and “partake of His holiness” without looking for the next appointment. They serve the “global village,” not the neighborhood. They praise, they pray, they cry, they dance, they laugh, they sing, and they love with the full extent of their faith. They express their faith with zest and color and texture of character. Read these words in red from Revelation 3:14-15:

” I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”

Are you numbered among the “Men and Women of Galilee” or among the pleasers of men? Do you identify with “Men and Women of Galilee” or to ministers who give an Indian god the place of the Son of God?
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> Rick Bonfim

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“Seek the LORD while He may be found; call upon him while He is near.” (Isaiah 55:6)

If you ever been to Jamestown, Tennessee you will never forget it. Jamestown is the home of Sgt. York, World War I hero, who “turkey shot” all over the Germans, bringing in 200 prisoners of war himself. It’s been 10 years since my last visit. In our four-day meeting in Jamestown United Methodist Church, the Lord touched many prisoners of sadness, anger and fear.

I had the privilege there of meeting Jim Hodges. If you have never met him, come by the church office and take a seat. You will hear the story of how this Church of Christ pastor came to become a Methodist minister. It was all about prayer. At an early age, one of his sons sucked a nail down his windpipe. Jim felt like someone had slapped him in the face with a wet squirrel. (Another “Billy-ism”)

Jim commenced looking for someone to pray for the situation, but he found only unbelief and doubt in this lonely hospital. He told me, “They could not get a prayer out of that room with a rocket!”

Later on a group of men and women came to the hospital after hearing the news on the radio. One lady asked him if they could pray for his son. Jim consented and they began to pray. The room filled with faith and the air blossomend with the aroma of Jesus Christ. All thoughts of unbelief and despair began to evaporate out of Jim’s mind, and for the first time in many years the power of the Holy Spirit was present in the environment. His son made it through a difficult operation and Jim’s faith in prayer was drastically changed. Today, Jim and Molly (in their 70’s) minister at Jamestown United Methodist Church.

It is easy to see the power of prayer in Jim’s life. This year, Molly was found to have pancriatic cancer. Prayer began to be made unto God, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Their local physician, Dr. Mark, prayed for them and she was healed of the cancer.

Are you in need of prayer? “Seek the LORD while He may be found; call upon him while He is near.”

Rick Bonfim
Rick Bonfim Ministries

Would you believe me if I were to say that Jesus experienced fear, sadness, loneliness, pain, joy, love and many other emotions? Hebrews 4:15 says this:

“For we have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”

James writes about being tested to see if we are serving two masters. James 1:14 tells us that

…”one is tempted by one’s own desires…”

The Greek word “temptation” is also translated “test.” Every day, we as Christians are tested to see if we will obey God “when the chips are down.” (From Billy)

That which differentiates Jesus from you and me is that in these “tests” He did not sin. He had the emotions, but not once did He sin in them.

So what is the difference? What makes us fail the test? First let us understand the principle which James calls “desire.” None of the biblical writers indicate that having “desire” makes one guilty of sin. “Desire” is simply part of the package that makes up a human being. I have a desire for food because I have a valid need for it. Feeling hungry is part of being human. Shelter is desirable to me because I do not want to live in the woods where it is cold and lonely. And what about sexuality? My sexuality is also a God-given part of me, which means I will experience feelings and desires whether I like them or not.

To have a need or a desire is not sin. Sin enters when we set our hearts or take action to meet a valid need in an invalid way.

Jesus was “tested in all points like as we are.” In His humanity, He experienced the same feelings and the same thoughts. However, He was transparent with His Father, sharing every feeling and thought with His Father in unbroken fellowship. Never did He move to meet His human needs outside of God’s character, God’s Law, or God’s purpose for Him. The “second Adam” kept His Father as His Source, and did not give in to temptation to meet His own needs in His own rebellious way, as did the first Adam.

As we become godly persons we have to learn to deal with our desires. We need to understand how God wants to meet our need, to fulfill our desire, and also how Satan would entice us to meet it in our own way, apart from the grace of God. When and how do we to say “yes” to “desire” and when do we say “no?” If we err on the side of squelching every desire, we become robotic, refusing God’s good gifts. If we err on the side of indulging our desires as they come, we becomes libertines, breaking God’s boundaries in some way or another and grieving His heart. Satan’s destructive purposes are served by either error.

What to do? Well, live as if you are forgiven forever and allow the Holy Spirit to lead you in your “desires.” Desires are from God - they make us real, alive, and human, as God created us to be. They also must be submitted to Him if we are going to follow our Great High Priest, Jesus .

This is my blog for today.

RickBonfim