Ministers of Jesus Christ
Assemblies of The Apostolic Faith
Atlanta, Georgia - USA
Apostle Dennis G. Smith, Pastor and Spiritual Overseer
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Ministers of Jesus Christ Assemblies of The Apostolic Faith Atlanta, Georgia - USA Apostle Dennis G. Smith, Pastor and Spiritual Overseer |
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To all the
Saints of God,
Grace and peace
be unto all the Saints of God around the World. As this Coronavirus
Pandemic continues, we are continually reminding the Saints of God that we are
obeying the magistrates and following the guideline of the health and
governmental authorities for the safety of all people.
Health authorities and
governmental officials continue to strongly encourage people to wear face
coverings in public and use social distancing, wash your hands, and get tested
with or without symptoms. In some places wearing face mask is
mandatory in all indoor and outdoor public spaces.
Health authorities are indicating that
the covid-19 infection data for the City of Atlanta, Georgia is not favorable at this present time, therefore the in-person services will remained on hold until further notice. Our city is requesting people to stay -at-home or shelter-in-place at their homes and
only leave for essential tasks.
As
we obey the Magistrates, we have complete faith that God will continue to hear
our prayers and provide a way for us through these uncertain times.
TITUS 3:1-2 Put
them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates,
to be ready to every good work, To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers,
but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.
This week’s
encouraging words of growth focuses on:
The renewing of your mind part I
By Apostle Dennis G. Smith
Romans 12:1
-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present
your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your
reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed
by the renewing of your mind, that ye
may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
When the term world is expressed according to areas of life like the sports
world, the fashion world, the business world, the religious world, the world
of sinners which includes the phonographic world, the illicit drug world, the
world of drunkards etc.… you can see worlds within worlds. The English word World means
roughly "Age of Man which can refer to man’s disobedience to God, man’s
disorder, and man’s chaos.
In the
Bible, the term World in some scriptural text refers to the fallen and
corrupt world order of human society or the children of disobedience, those
who continues to live in disobedience to the righteous, holy commandments of
God Almighty in contrast to the World-to-Come the orderly millennial
reign of Jesus Christ producing a thousand years of peace. The world, the
flesh, and the Devil are sources of temptations and sin that Christians are
reminded to depart from and resist.
The world is described by some, as human beings functioning according to
fleshly carnal desires and lust. The
ability to be "in this world, but not of this world"—as Jesus said—is what all
Christians must strive to obtain by the renewing of our mind.
Godliness refers to the divine nature or things that are devoted to and
proceeding from the Lord Jesus Christ who is God Almighty. The Godly nature
or character always carries connotations of goodness, beauty, benevolence,
justice, and other positive attributes that are for the wellbeing of all
mankind.
Notice that many of the listed attributes of the mind; we have direct control
over them and the emotional aspect we have control over how we respond to
them. When we begin to understand the control aspect then we can see the
renewing of the mind. Some psychologists argue that only
the "higher" intellectual functions constitute the mind, particularly reason
and memory and that the emotions of love, hate, fear, and joy should be seen
as different from the mind. You can clearly see why we as Bible believers
focus on the word of God which tells us that the first and second great
commandments are based on our love for God and our neighbors. And we have
complete control over our love for God and all mankind.
Matthew 22:35
- 40 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him,
and saying,” Master, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus
said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with
all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great
commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as
thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
In animals, the brain is the bodily organ that is the
control center of the central nervous system, responsible for bodily functions
and thought. Understanding the relationship between the brain and the mind is
one of the central issues in the history of philosophy.
To
overcome sin, we change our mind, we change our thought process, we change our
response to other people and our surroundings. We put away ungodly behavior,
we resist temptation, we practice moderation in all things. We continually
commune with God in pray and have the Holy Ghost indwelling us to empower us
or strengthen us to overcome all sinful things.
Our daily goal
is to present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable
service. This is our worship and devotion to God. Our praise and worship are
a part of our salvation in that it is our reasonable service. We should never
conform to the world but live a transformed or changed life by the renewing
our mind proving what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
We should
learn humility and seek Christian unity,
have brotherly Love
in all our Actions, not to be vengeful, and not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil
with good.
'THE CHRIST MIND" (part 1)
By Bishop S. McDowell Shelton
Not
everything that says—"Lord, Lord" —is right. Neither is everything that calls
itself anointed—always so holy, but it is a wonderful thing when you can
discern the anointing of God and are able to distinguish between that which is
real and that which is shadow. One thing that is certain about the Spirit it
never needs any help, it never needs any boost, it never needs any edge. If
you let it have its way, it can and will do the entire job. It can save you
totally.
It is not
difficult for us to discern the spirit of God, particularly since we have lost
our mind during this National Youth Conference. We have lost our mind and we
are glad. We want to talk to you and tell you—you had better lose your mind,
because your mind wants you to do what is pleasing to the flesh. But we want
to tell you about the Christ mind.
We do not care how holy you think you are, or how long you have had the Holy
Ghost, but if you do not continue in your search, if you do not continue in
your reaching out for the Christ mind and surrendering your mind to the mind
of Christ—carnality is going to come in some form or another. And in most
cases, it comes in a way that you think not. It comes not blatantly, or so
obviously all of the time, but it will come bringing a small lie, a
half-truth, a minute kind of deception. It comes bringing and reminding you
of your former ways, and your former days.
You cannot
maintain the spiritual mind without constant vigilance all of your waking
hours. Even as you go to sleep—sleep in the name of Jesus Christ and commit
your mind and dreams to Him that they too might be wholesome; because if the
devil does not get you in your waking state, he will get you in your dream
state. He is constantly waiting; he is constantly there to change you from
your spiritual concept and holy estate into some form of carnality.
You are never too old; you have not been saved that long (even if you have
been saved ninety-nine years) for the devil not to temp you. For everyone
there is a time and a place when the devil will come at your weakest hour and
bring some form of carnality. Perhaps he will not take you to the extreme and
seduce you with dangling jewelry or miniskirts, with alcohol, adultery, or
stealing, but he will come and turn your faith away from complete trust in
God. And most people, unfortunately, are not patient enough, nor diligent
enough to take the time to obtain the mind of Christ. Believe us—it takes a
good fighter; it takes a good battler- to obtain the Christ mind. You must
battle and fight the good fight, even against yourself. In fact, it is mainly
against yourself.
"Let this
mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God,
thought it not robbery to be equal with God." (Philippians 2:5-6)
You could
have been doing fine—being victorious for many years, and suddenly something
unnerves you so drastically that it offsets your entire equilibrium. It was a
little fox—yes, but it effectively destroys your vine and you lose taste for
spirituality because of one small issue. All of the things for which you have
labored, all of the sacrifices which you have made goes right down the drain.
Because you let a small root of bitterness spring up in your heart and you did
not erase it, you did not cut it out, you did not confess it, you did not lay
it aside, you did not eradicate it and bring it to a full end— all your good
works and your good name have come to nought.
Therefore, we are encouraging you to motivate within yourself the mind of
Christ before you take action. Stop and contemplate. What would Christ have
done if He were in the situation that you are in now? Would He have taken
revenge, would He have taken some kind of retribution, or would He have
suffered wrong, rather than to have done Wrong?
You are
only tabernacling here for a little while, and most things in this world are
not important. Most things in this world—if you do not live to accomplish
them, life will continue on. But if you have the mind of Christ, your life
will be complete. Your automobile is not important even if you do thank God
for it——and you should. The house you live in—if it were destroyed today—is
not all that important. Did not the foxes have their hole? And did not the
birds of the air have their nest? But the Son of man had no place to lay his
head. (See Matthew 8:19 - 20)
Matthew 8:19
- 20 And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee
whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and
the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his
head.
Your entire mind must be reversed; your entire mind must be changed. Your
new birth brings about a spirituality, it brings about a change in your life,
but the major' change takes place when your entire mind is renewed. When your
mind is renewed, no longer does it think in its old patterns, no longer does
it think in its old ways, no longer does it reach back for old references.
Instead, it says—I must first consult the Scriptures. When I put on apparel,
what does the Scripture say concerning it? Does it not command to do all
things in moderation? If it is a sister, she must remember the Word and put
on modest apparel; not with broided hair (hair decorated to conform to
worldly sensual appearance to attract lustful intentions), but she must be
shamefaced.
The Christ
mind tells you to be like Sarah and the women of old, who adorned themselves
in modest apparel and called their husband "lord". But if you let your carnal
mind operate, you would probably say "I go out to work every day; in fact, I
make as much or more money than he! No man can tell me what to do!" And when
you have that kind of spirit and mind—any woman who does not obey her husband
will not obey the Man of God because that spirit carries over. Perhaps they
have cleverly learned how to mask their religion more so when they are dealing
with us, but nevertheless, we have become their adversary. They agree with us
quickly in the way, but when they leave us, they do just the opposite.
With perfect
love,
Apostle Dennis G. Smith
Guidelines
for Individuals in Phase 1:
Guidelines for
Businesses in Phase 1:
Guidelines for
City Government in Phase 1:
Social
Distancing guidelines:
When to Wear a
Mask:
Those who are
staying home and have no close contact with people who are infected with
COIVID-19 do not need a mask most of the time. However, wearing a nonmedical
or homemade mask may be helpful in certain situations or for certain
populations. Wear a Mask when:
Because
homemade masks protect everyone else from the droplets created by the wearer,
it is important that as many people as possible wear these masks when leaving
their homes. This helps prevent those who may be infectious but are only
mildly symptomatic or not symptomatic from spreading the virus to others in
the community.
Everyone should
remember the phrase: “My mask protects you; your mask protects me.” By
increasing the overall number of people who are containing their coughs,
sneezes, and other droplets, it will help us control the overall spread of the
virus.
Atlanta
entered Phase 2 at the end of May:
· which allowed for small, private
gatherings of no more than 10 people with social distancing and allowed for
to-go and curbside pickups from restaurants (previously allowed in Phase
1) and retail establishments. The gathering size was increased to 50 people
with social distancing.
· Phase 1 is implemented when the
percent of hospital and critical care capacity remains above 50%.