New Project Starting Now

Posted on March 29, 2012 by jdholmes

We are beginning a new project this month.  We are taking donations and fundraising in order to provide scholarships to young people to Christian summer camps.  We will be working with churches and summer camps to identify needy children who would benefit from this help.

It was through two scholarships to Baptist summer camps that I came to the Lord.  Had it not been for some kindly folks (who I don’t know) who provided the money for me to go to camp, I would never have had this opportunity.  We were poor, barely even having food on the table some weeks, so I know my mom couldn’t afford the fees and I was told someone else had paid.  It was a blessing to me (and very fun for an 11 year old).

So, we’d like your help.  Please give what you can to help an under-financed young person go to summer camp.  It can be a life changing experience for them as well.

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Happy New Year

Posted on January 4, 2012 by jdholmes

Happy New Year to one and all.  With the start of 2012, our clothing donations have been completed.

We are currently looking for new projects.  If you know of a needy person/family that has needs we can help meet, please drop us a line.  Note however that our cash reserves are very low and we have very little money for providing money to those in need.  Our services are available but we are cash strapped at present.

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Donations ongoing

Posted on November 30, 2011 by jdholmes

Donations to needy families are ongoing. 30 containers of clothing was donated recently help those in need.

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HELP for tornado victims

Posted on May 3, 2011 by jdholmes

As most know, tornadoes devastated several states last week.  In an effort to aid the victims, HIS Hands in Service will be taking a truck load of goods to the affected areas this weekend.

I’m writing this post to ask for your help also.  I know that everyone can’t get in their vehicle and go help these damaged areas, but there are many ways you can help.  You can contact churches in the area and make a donation online.  You can make a donation to HIS Hands in Service and I’ll present a check to the church where I drop off my truckload of goods, or if you have something to donate and live in our area, I’ll arrange to pick up your donation, load it on the truck and deliver it when I go.

Immediate needs are for diapers, paper products, ready-to-eat food, water, toiletries and clean up supplies.

If you would like to help, contact me through this web page or give me a call at the number listed on our contacts page.  For spam reasons, I won’t include that contact information in this message but it is easily accessible.

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The Joy of Ignorance

Posted on December 1, 2010 by jdholmes

Yesterday, I was having a conversation with a good friend and discussing a book we had both recently read.  She commented that things are much harder now that she knows more of the Bible and more of what she’s supposed to do.   I agreed with the comment and had pause to think about it since our discussion.

It was very easy being a “new” believer.  I was told, as many are, that all I had to do was to “believe” in Jesus and salvation was mine.  However, the Holy Spirit would not allow me to stay stagnant and before long, I was doing my morning Bible reading, joining small groups for Bible study, taking part in church organized study/learning activities and having many conversation and discussions with other believers.  But, the  more I learned (read), the more I discovered that what I’d been told was not only incorrect, but an outright lie in many cases.  The guy on the stage was saying different things than my Bible was saying (and by inference, what Jesus Himself was saying).

As I’ve grown as a follower, things have become much more complicated.  The closer I become with the Holy Spirit, the more I’m convicted and the more I’m urged to do.  The more I do, the more I discover how horrible I am and how far from God I actually am.  The positive side of this is that I love God more every day because as I realize how utterly depraved I am (we are), I see what an incredible GIFT God has given me in showing me Grace.  This love for God and constant work of the Holy Spirit makes my life more difficult each day, but ohhhhh, what a wonderful difficulty it is.

It was great being ignorant to all of this.  I lived life thinking things were wonderful and not even remotely knowing God.  It was simple.  I just had to say the sinner’s prayer, try and be a good person, listen to my pastor and my salvation was assured.  OH, How Little I knew and how WRONG I was.  I didn’t know that I’m held to a higher standard than that by God.  My pastor won’t be judged in my place on judgment day.  I wouldn’t have been able to use the “I didn’t know” excuse.  Had I stayed ignorant, I would NEVER have had the opportunity to know Jesus and to spend eternity at His feet.

Thank you Lord for the Gift and for the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Today’s life might be joyful in wrong belief and wrong thinking, but I’d rather be troubled today to spend eternity in Joyful union.

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Take up your cross daily

Posted on November 9, 2010 by jdholmes

In the “Follow Me” article, the discussion centered on following Jesus as the path to eternal life.  One of the quotations from Jesus also included taking up our cross daily.  For reference, Luke 9:23  23And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me”

I’ve had many small group and Bible study discussions about this concept of taking up our cross daily.  It has always been in the past where everyone discusses that large problem in their life that causes them constant issues.  It was generally agreed that dealing with that issue was what Jesus was talking about in this passage.  Most identified with Jesus carrying his own cross and our issue was our cross.

However, when writing “Follow Me”, the Spirit opened my eyes to the true meaning of that passage.

Taking up our cross on a daily basis includes bearing the major issue in our life, but there is MORE, MUCH MORE, involved here.  The actual meaning of “take up your cross daily” is to daily DO THE WILL OF GOD.

Jesus did actually carry his cross.  But the cross, for us, is symbolic.  The cross is the will of God.  Jesus knew what was coming and prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane prior to being arrested, asking God to take his burden (cross and crucifixion) from Him.  This is seen in Luke 22:42  saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this yet not My will, but Yours be done.”(my emphasis)

So, as Jesus followed the will of the Father, knowing the consequences, enduring the pain, we as followers of Jesus MUST daily do the will of the Father.  This certainly includes the major issues in our life, but also, in all aspects of our life.  This is not easy!!  Personally, it is extremely difficult as my worldly self wants to do what I want to do when I want to do it and how I want to do it.  I must subjugate ME, and fight daily to follow the will of Father.  Only with the help of the Holy Spirit is that possible for me.

This opens up another question.  How does one know the will of the Father??  Know the Bible.  Read the Bible.  Integrate the Bible into our daily lives.  

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Are you following a false prophet??

Posted on November 8, 2010 by jdholmes

Follow Me.

Jesus’ command to us.  This is a follow up to the last article on following Jesus and our responsibility as followers of Jesus.  We are trusting people.  We want to believe the pastor standing on the stage “teaching” his sermon.  Many are being led to Death and if we are to love others as ourselves, we must care for those who are being mis-led.

God wants to be in communion with each of His people.  God loves us and wants only the best for us…an eternity spent with Him.  Our only means of achieving this is through Jesus and each of us has a choice and our choices are often the hindrances to our salvation.

As mentioned in the previous article, it is each person’s responsibility to follow Jesus.  It is each of our own responsibility to know what that means.  We must rely on the Spirit and the words of God to show us what this means.  We cannot be lazy and rely on someone else to provide our knowledge of what we are supposed to do as followers of Christ.  Because, these people are people, sinners as we are, walking the path of sanctification as we are and they are not infallible in their learning nor their teaching.  Some make honest mistakes, some know the Truth, but obscure it or tell outright lies.

Jesus Himself tells us of these false prophets.  In Matthew 7:15 (New American Standard Bible)  15″Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”

Matthew 24:11 (New American Standard Bible)  11“Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many”

Matthew 24:24 (New American Standard Bible)  24“For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.”

Jesus knew what was to happen and warns us.  Yet, for a host of reasons, His message is ignored (and very seldom, if ever taught).

Peter, John, and Paul also warn of this.

2 Peter 2  1But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.

1 John 4 1Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

2 Corinthians 11:13-15 (New American Standard Bible)  13For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.

1 Timothy 4  1But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,

So…Are you following a true follower of Jesus or a false prophet?  Do you even know?  If you are following a pastor/preacher/priest and not following Jesus, you have placed a man above God.  If your religious teacher is not teaching Jesus and is providing false teaching, you are actually following Satan and putting your eternal soul into the evil one’s hands.

It is your responsibility to know Jesus and the Truth.  Listen to the Spirit and know the Bible.  Put your faith where it should be, in our Lord and Savior and the God inspired words of the Bible, and most importantly, the words of Jesus Himself.

What are you supposed to do if you recognize false teaching?  The Bible gives us the method for dealing with this.

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Follow Me

Posted on October 31, 2010 by jdholmes

Are you following Jesus or a false prophet?? 

This command came up yesterday as I was having a conversation with a friend.  Since that conversation, the Spirit has moved me to write this post, having convicted me several times last night for procrastination and waking me up multiple times during the night.

This simple command of Jesus embodies all that we are to do in our lives.  Two simple words that carry great import for our everlasting soul.  John 8:12 says, “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “(A)I am the Light of the world; (B)he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” 

There isn’t much argument over the fact that we are supposed to follow Jesus to acheive our eternal life.  In any discussion I’ve had with other believers, it’s pretty much a given that that’s what we are supposed to be doing.  Sanctification itself is us being made more into the image of Jesus.

Yet, millions sit weekly in pews, led by those preaching, relying on the guy on the stage to give them the message of eternal life, relying on the television preacher to provide their knowledge of the Way.  My heart aches and breaks for these misguided souls and it brings me to tears thinking of all the well intentioned Christians who are following the wrong leader, and consequently, losing the Kingdom of God.

Every day, each individual has many choices to make.  It is our God-given free will.  Many Christians allow their pastor, priest, preacher (whatever you want to call him or her) to impart God’s message and trust that message to be the truth.  They do little to actually know the Word themselves.  They have committed a cardinal sin (if sin can be categorized).  They no longer follow Jesus, they are following their pastor.

One need not look far into the news to find supposed church leaders who have fallen.  Yet, each of these fallen church leaders had a congregation, often numbered in the millions (Jim and Tammy Baker), following and believing the message they preached.  All pastors are human, full of sin, and broken just as each of the parishoners.  There is only one who is sinless and unbroken – Jesus Christ and it is He we are to be following.  Yet, one cannot follow Jesus without knowing His words and His message.  You cannot sit in the pews and depend upon the pastor to provide your knowledge.  Jesus will not judge the pastor in your place on judgement day. Jesus will not accept your excuse of having listened to your pastor and being ignorant of the Truth.  “I didn’t know” won’t work. 

Jesus Himself tells us that in Matthew 7:21-23, 21“(R)Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.   22“(S)Many will say to Me on (T)that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’  23“And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; (U)DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”(NASB)

There will be some readers of this who will say, “I’m following Jesus because my pastor is following Jesus and preaches the Truth.” Are you sure?  Do you know the Bible well enough to make that critical evaluation?  If not, you need to get into the Bible and learn what Jesus actually says.  Only when you are comfortable with your knowledge of Jesus and His teachings and can teach of them yourself should you feel comfortable relying on someone else for your eternal salvation.

God loves each and every one of us and wants to spend eternity with us.  However, he has set up only one way that we can acheive that.  Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Light.  Only through Him do we have any hope for an eternity spent with Him.

Below are some further references to “follow me” in the New Testament.  I’ve left out Mark and  Luke which have nearly identical verses to those quoted from Matthew. 

Matthew 10:38 “38“And (A)he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.”

Matthew 16:24 “24Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and (A)take up his cross and follow Me.”

Matthew 19:21 “Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and (A)sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have (B)treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

John 10:27 “My sheep (A)hear My voice, and (B)I know them, and they follow Me;”

John 12:26 “If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and (A)where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will (B)honor him.”

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Are you saved? Maybe. Maybe Not.

Posted on October 4, 2010 by jdholmes

This morning I was reading Acts again and came to chapter 8, verses 5-25 which struck a spark in me to write about this.  5 Philip went down to Samaria and preaches Christ unto them.  And, because of the miracles he did, the people believed.  Many evil spirits were cast out and many people were healed.  And there was great joy in that city.

However, in verse 9, “But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria giving out that himself was some great one:”  He was respected and many took him to be the great power of God. Verse 12 says, “But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.”

Yet, in verse 13 we have, “Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.”  So, Philip was in Samaria, doing miracles and healing the sick in Jesus’ name.  Many of the people of Samaria were converted due to his works.  Even Simon, previously a practicioner of sorcery, became a believer and was baptized.

Peter and John, hearing of Philip’s work, came down from Jerusalem, prayed over the converted and laid hands on them so they might receive the Holy Ghost (which they had not received upon believing and being baptized).

Simon saw this wonder and thought he could make money from it so Peter would not give him the Holy Spirit.  Then Peter tells him in verses 21 and 22, “Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. (my emphasis)  Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.

This reading struck a strong chord in me as I read it this morning.  I have a great concern over the those who do not follow the teachings of Jesus, yet will state that they have their salvation.  Here we have an example of one who “believed” and was “baptized”, yet did not receive the Holy Spirit due to the condition of his heart.  This example should give notice to those who often hear spoken a formula for salvation as being “say the sinner’s prayer and be baptized” and you will be saved for eternity.

This oft used formula is missing a few key pieces.  We are told to believe, repent, be baptized, recieve the Holy Spirit.  One missing part in Simon was repentance as Peter notes, his heart was not right.  Hence, though he checked off a couple of the steps, he did not receive the Holy Spirit and as a result, was not “saved.”

We can all learn an important and vital lesson from Simon.  Repentance is necessary.  Our heart must be right, i.e. we must have a heart for God, a heart invested in Jesus Christ and his word.  As a follower of Jesus, we must do that…FOLLOW and do those things he has commanded us to do…with a caring, loving, giving heart.

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How do I know what’s the right thing to do??

Posted on September 2, 2010 by jdholmes

Driving home with a young friend and young Jesus follower last night, after a very spiritual first Wednesday meeting at church, he asked a very pertinent and important question that I often take for granted.  How do I know what’s the right thing to do?

Personally, this question seldom comes up, but I did need to form an answer for him that he could use.  First, however a little background.  This young guy (25ish) is a believer and trying to be a follower of Christ.  He’s had a lot of trials in his short life and has a wife and three kids…a lot of stress in his life with just that family.  He’s recently moved to another city, alone, to take a job with a future and make a better life for his family.  He’s known about Jesus for years and really wants to be a better follower of Jesus, is concerned about being a Godly man.  All good qualities in my opinion.  My response to his question was…

Follow the Word.  Simple to say, I know, but often harder to do.  It becomes even more difficult when you don’t really “know” the Word.  But, the Word contains the answers to most of the questions that come up in daily life and how to deal with them.  So, read the Bible, know the Bible.  Now, I understand that that’s not going to happen overnight and will be an ongoing process for you.  It will take you weeks or months to get through it the first time and years ’til you “know” it.  So, while you’re getting to know it better, just ask yourself if you would respond to YOURSELF in the way that you determine to respond to others, or would you want someone else to do to you what you intend to do.

Jesus tells us to love others as we love ourselves.  So, would I tell myself what I’m saying to someone else?  Would I treat myself like I’m treating others?  Would I want to have done to me what you decide to do to someone?  Would I want someone treating my wife or kids the way I’m going to act in the situation?  If you can’t answer “YES” to all those questions, change your response.

Now, this is one of the hardest things I do everyday.  Even though I ”know” the Bible a bit and try and practice living it, only one was perfect and it’s not me.  I make mistakes daily and treat people differently than I treat myself.  When I recognize these errors, I repent and ask for forgiveness and ask for help in improving.  It’s an ongoing process.  You’ll get better the more you practice but always pray for help.

He seemed to understand and I’ll pray that he continues along the path.

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