Ephesians 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, This says that God has predestined us to be “adopted” as His sons through Jesus Christ. What adoption means must be determined by the cultural norms of the First Century. Adoption was a very binding legal contract in the Roman Empire, more binding even than natural birth. An adopted son was a full heir, and could never be disinherited after adoption. A natural-born son, however, could be disinherited. The difference is choice. A father could have a son by accident as the by- product of sexual intercourse with a woman, but a child could be adopted only by deliberate action on the part of the adopting parent. Thus, the metaphor of “adoption” emphasizes the deliberate choice exercised by God in choosing us to be His sons. This is also borne out by the language of the immediate context of Ephesians 1:5: "in accordance with His pleasure and will,” “to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us,” “in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding,” and “He made known unto us the mystery [secret] of His will according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Christ.” Clearly this was a decision entered into by God with complete understanding and commitment. Isn't God our Father good?

Purifier of Silver Malachi 3:3 says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study. That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes; he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it" If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you. --Author Unknown Rev Len Bellamy

As of October 10th,2006 we will no longer use the dtministry.zoomshare.com url for this ministry .... please only use the liveonlinechurch.zoomshare.com site when referring people to the church or ministry. Also please note that as of Wednesday, October 11th the dtministry.zoomshare site will have been deactivated & no longer usable. Thanks Pastor Len

Thu, 07 Sep 2006 Our New Room WOW! We have finally done it! Yes we have our own conference room - The_Meeting_Place! It has been a long time coming but finally we are not under anyone else's dictates or limitations on the minstry. Here is the welcome message when you login to the new room: The_Meeting_Place - Where God meets with us & We meet with God! A live online Christian church lifting up the Name of Jesus Christ - Join us Sat Morning at 10 AM ET for Singspiration - then at 11 AM ET for live praise filled worship - Communion is celebrated whenever there is a 5th Saturday of the month! Do join us!!! "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; (Genesis 28:17) On Wednesday night, Sept 6th a few regular worshippers got together & had a Dedication Service & committed the room & all activities to the Lord ..... when we have our new website up on our new domain you can hear the service - God indeed was there & blessed us mightily. To join us use the URL found on the Minsitry main page to download the room. I look forward to meeting you at The_Meeting_Place! Pastor Len