JUST THINKING, MONDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2010

As we celebrate the most wonderful season of the year.

I love the Christmas season, because it brings us together to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. But the past two weeks I have really been made to wonder, do we as a people really get into this season for the right reason? Especially we who are Christians do we really celebrate Christmas in the right frame of mind.

I understand it is the busiest time of the year we have shopping, parties, school play’s, Church cantatas, and all of these wonderful things that we all attend.

When I begin to watch and observe, we seem to forget there are so many who are so poor, less fortunate, jobless and even many of these people who have such dire needs, and they are being left out, forgotten. When it comes to our giving to the needs of helping these who are less fortunate, I have notice the churches and the saints of God seem to be slacking in this area. We are so busy with our own desires that we are forgetting the work of the church is reaching the people.

One instance was a ham give-away that I was involved in, only eight people gave to the cause and only two came and helped distribute to the twenty-two families we were helping. Second instance was a fruit basket give away. Only two people bought the fruit and the baskets. I, two ladies and a teenage girl distributed the thirty baskets. The third instance was the delivery of one hundred and fifty hand-sewn bags with fruit and candy to our local Veteran’s home. Only four to five people gave money to the cause. I along with, four adult women, four children and four teenagers went to the Veterans Home to distribute these bags.
We are so missing the opportunity to reach people with this saving gospel of truth, because we are so engrossed and occupied with our own desires and wants. God has blessed us so abuandantly and we fail to remember the reason for the season is GIVING.

I do not believe it is wrong for us to have a marvelous time of gift exchange with our families and friends. It is not wrong for us to buy special things for one another that we would not ordinarily buy. At the same time I believe all of this is wrong when we fail to give to those in our surroundings areas while we bask in excess and plenty.

O God my prayer is during this Christmas Season of 2010, wake us up to the real joy of GIVING from the bottom of our heart to those who are in need and doing without. Wipe away our greed and help us to see the needs around us. We must reach with all of our might to help these in need. If we touch their lives bodily first, we will win their confidences as to our real motives and we will then get the chance to touch them spiritually. Help us O God is my prayer to get involved as GIVERS to this hurting world.

JUST THINKING, SUNDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2010

Just Thinking, Sunday, December 12, 2010Great people do not think of themselves as being great; they just go out and do great things. Dr. M. D. Treece has been one of the greatest students and teachers of the Bible languages, of this generation. He is a modern-day Charles Haddon Spurgeon to Pentecostal pastors and preachers all over our world. I have personally learned so much from him. When we spend time with the right people in our life-time, we can become the right person our self. From simply knowing, and being pastored by Dr. M. D. Treece, I can honestly say, “he is truly one of the most amazing giants to walk this earth, of all times.
Dr. M. D. Treece taught that the programs of the local church flowed out of the preaching from the pulpit. In other words, his preaching became the fountainhead for the ministry programs of Apostolic Temple United Pentecostal Church. The pulpit was the central focus for this great church. Praise and worship set the stage for the “Word from God” for each week. Today, much is written about “church growth” but little expressed about “pulpit growth.” There are many roles that we can fill as pastors, but our number one assignment is to be ready when we step into the pulpit. Dr. M. D. Treece believed that his number one assignment each week for more than fifty years was to be “ready in season and out of season.” If we fill the pulpit, we can expect the Holy Ghost to fill everyone in the building.
Over the years that I evangelized, I would often purposely take some weekends off my busy schedule just to go home to Apostolic Temple so I could watch and listen to my favorite preacher preach to the great people there. I remember once making a distinct effort to sneak in and sit on the back row, so I could feel the impact of this mighty man of God from the furthest possible place from the pulpit. On that particular Sunday evening, he was preaching his annual message “Past Feeling.” Although I had heard him preach that wonderful message many times before, I watched him preach it as though it was his first time, with such freshness and anointing. Dr. M. D. Treece preached with such passion that the entire congregation was moved to prayer, many were making fresh decisions as to where they would spend eternity. Today, it seems that such God-given crescendos are often replaced, in many churches, with man-made ideas and little to no anointing. To Dr. M. D. Treece, the preacher’s role developed the local church’s goal. When he walked into the church service, everyone knew who the leader of Apostolic Temple United Pentecostal Church was, because he led with authority, love and much compassion.
Dr. M. D. Treece has always made preaching the Word clearer to me than any other preacher I have ever heard. I have been one of many who have had the privilege to sit with him and his wife in his study and talk about the Word of God. His study was the place where he met with God and crafted thousands of sermon messages, prophecy conference notes, Bible studies, Camp-meeting and General Conference messages. His study was also the place where he penned the books he wrote and distributed to so many ministers of the gospel. His writings will forever direct and help the ministry of the Pentecostal movement around the world.
In his study was a vast library of study books and good reading though out the ages of time. His large desk was centered in front of these many library shelves. His large desk was set up in such a manner that he could leave one study for awhile and go to another study without removing his work. He would have his book writings on the desk to go to when he had the time to devote, go to the other section of his desk to prepare for his coming services or meeting. Dr. M. D. Treece progressive study was not because he had a large desk, a massive library, and a large beautiful study, but because he had personalized a process that directed his desire to stay fresh in the Word of God. I can almost envision some pastors contemplating having a large desk, large library and a beautiful study for their future studying of sermonic messages and still miss the real point. It is not the size of his desks, or the beauty of his study that has made the difference, but the reality that when a preacher has a process of study, time is redeemed and his sermon quality continues to rise over the years, as did Dr. M. D. Treece, my wonderful Pastor. What has made Dr. M. D. Treece the preacher he has become over his life-time was that he knew where he was going and had a process to get him to that place? Whatever looks so simple to those on the outside, this great preacher has paid a great price to keep himself in the presence of God, and to bring so many of us with him.
I may have met many men who are lovers of Christ Jesus, but never have I met another man who loved Jesus as much as Dr. M. D. Treece. When a pastor reads the books “The Literal Word” they will see the Word of God has been open and real to Dr. M. D. Treece. His passion to serve the Lord Jesus Christ is still overflowing into every level of his life, especially now in his conversations with his family and friends. When he has preached about Jesus, it has not been an uncommon sight to see him fight tears that were rolling down his cheeks.
Even though Dr. M. D. Treece has always been a public figure in Apostolic Temple and a strong voice in the United Pentecostal Church International, he has at the same time been a very private person. One thing I can personally say about him, he did not share his biblical insights until he had clearly thought them through and was ready to deliver them as God had given them to him. So much of what is often said in ministry today is made up of random thoughts or parroted expressions heard from another preacher, without much serious thought to how these ideas were marinated over a long period of time, this was never done by my pastor. When Dr. M. D. Treece preached to the masses or shared conversation or lessons with a few, the people knew they were hearing from a godly man who had truly thought through the subject before sharing. I have sat with him on many occasions and just in general conversation the nuggets I have taken with me have been so powerful.
Dr. M. D. Treece has been and still is the greatest man in my life. He is the best pastor and leader that I have ever had. He not only has been a student of the Word himself, but he taught me to love the study of the Word. He is the greatest orator that I have ever listened to, the best teacher that ever taught me, the wisest counselor that I have ever been counseled by. Dr. M. D Treece is the one that taught me what relationships are all about.
My wonderful pastor I do not have words to express my love and thanks to you so I will keep it simple.
Thank you for being who you are,
Rodney Bankens, your son in the gospel


As my thinking continues, Sunday, December 12, 2010As I have gotten older in my years, I realize the old statement behind every successful man is a great wife. Sister Betty Treece is that wonderful individual who has been at the side of Dr. M. D. Treece all these many years.
Words cannot express my feeling to this wonderful godly lady. Sister Betty Treece is a very strong hard working leader at Apostolic Temple. She has never tried to take the place of her wonderful husband, but she has supported all his efforts and has stood with him in his ministry. Dr. M. D. Treece has always talked about her being “The Wind Beneath His Wings.” She has given him such positive support and still to this day is his strongest support.
I have never had a more positive, prayer warrior praying for me, my family and my ministry than this great lady. She has been a teacher to so many other women as to how to be a great wife, mother, grand-mother and pastors wife. So many families have survived failure simply because she has been there to give them so much great advice and counsel.
I have watched her support her elderly parents in their waning years, she did this with strength and dignity. She has been the strength of her family as they have seen Brother Treece face so many medical obstacles and she has been beside him through it all.
Sister Betty Treece, have two wonderful children that idolize her and Brother Treece. Their grand-children look up to them with so much respect, love and honor. What a wonderful family that they have.
Sister Betty Treece, I have heard her play the organ all of these years and her singing voice always moved me, because she is so anointed. What a gracious lady of faith she has always been. The strength she posses is beyond measure. She is always thinking of others above her own self. She is a gracious servant of the Lord, her family and the church she loves so dear. I know no greater lady that Sister Betty Treece. I am so thankful that this great lady has been a part of my life these many years. Such a great pastor’s wife she has been to all of us who have been a part of Apostolic Temple through-out all of these years.
To my wonderful pastor’s wife I really do not have the words to express my real feelings.
Thank you so much for simply being you,
Rodney Bankens, your son in the gospel

STILL JUST COFFEE

James 1:22-27KJV,

22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.
27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.


All of you that are my friends on Facebook, know that every morning when I make my posting, I talk about my cup of fresh home brewed FOLGER’S Coffee. You all know the FOLGER’S advertizing jingle, “The best part of waking up, is FOLGER’S in your cup.” Over the years due to what my taste-buds tell me, FOLGER’S has become the coffee of choice that I and my wife brew at home. When I go on a trip or a vacation, I take my own 4 cup Mr. Coffee® with me. I bring coffee filters FOLGER’S Coffee and even bring a large size ceramic cup for myself and my wife to use in our room. I do like my FOLGER’S coffee in the morning. When I am in position to make coffee at home, I make it in the morning, afternoon and evening times. If I am traveling I make it in the morning and evening. I usually stop one or two times during my travels for a good cup of Java at a place that has freshly brewed coffee. There is something about FOLGER’S it brings with it a delight for a real coffee connoisseur. Yes, when I was introduced to FOLGER’S I had been looking for the real thing for years and when I began to drink it on a regular bases I experienced a coffee that was good to the last drop of every pot. FOLGER’S is more than just coffee there is a fresh coffee experience in every cup.
As a boy growing up in southwest Louisiana, I was introduced to coffee at an early age. In our home we smelled the aroma of freshly dripped Community coffee all the time. My grand-parents used Seaport coffee. I drank a taste every now and then from both of these and did not really like either. They were just coffee to me. I always felt there was more to drinking coffee than the bitters that were left with these two coffee brands. No matter what I felt about these coffee’s they were still just coffee.
After I married and went to working shift work in the local Conoco Refinery, I started drinking Dark Roast Community with so much cream and sugar, that it tasted like dark roast syrup. I developed some stomach problems and the doctors told me it was from too much coffee, sugar and cream. I started drinking Community black and I detested the bitter after taste. Yes, with all the fixings that I would add this was still just coffee.
I attended some meetings in New Orleans and was introduced to Café au Lait, a hot cup of coffee blended with hot milk, this was dark, bold coffee blended with chicory also the cup had as much hot milk as it did coffee. I could sit there and add no sugar, but I was eating and dipping their French New Orleans-style beignets in my cup as I sipped. But at the end it was still just coffee.
I started traveling as a minister of the gospel in 1987. I left Louisiana and traveled into Mississippi, Texas, Arkansas, everywhere I went they had their different favorite coffee blends. I ended up in the state of Washington, while there we preached around the Seattle area. A friend of mine that I was with took me to several little coffee shops and I was introduced to café latte, this is steamed milk with about a half shot of espresso. I was introduced to cappuccino, an Italian coffee drink prepared with espresso and hot steamed-milk, steamed into a thick foam. Cappuccinos have steamed milk like the café latte but it is less textured with more body, then there is a full shot of espresso in the cup. I like all of these different blends of coffee, milk and even added syrups and flavors. But, at the end of the day, this is still just coffee.
I remember my grandmother making coffee in a little white sock pot. This pot had a filter that was made like a sock, or some folks just used a white cotton sock, (by looking at these old socks looked as though some individual had wore the new out of them before they became a coffee filter, (lol.) The sock was filled with dark roasted coffee then the hot boiling water was poured over the coffee just a little at a time; spooned sometimes. When this coffee was dripped and you drank it freshly brewed it had a punch that would wake you up, because it was very strong. Most folks only drank this type coffee from a demitasse cup, this is a small cup, or French for half cup. But in the end it was still just coffee.
In our home when I was growing up and even in my early adulthood we used the old stove top drip pots. These were metal pots that would make four to eight cups of coffee. You would put your measurement of coffee grounds in the receiver. You would boil water in a kettle and fill the top with the hot boiling water. The water would slowly drip through the coffee grounds and make your coffee as strong as you wanted it to be. When the coffee is freshly made in a drip pot it is really good, but to me when it is reheated, it changes tastes. But again with all of this said, it is still just coffee.
I can remember when the percolator type pot came into existence. This type pot was a method of heating water causing the heated water to rise through a perk tube to flood over the coffee grounds in the pot and trickle back through into the same pot, extracting the soluble contents from the grounds. When perked coffee is fresh it has a good flavor. The longer perked coffee sits it gets a burnt taste and gets old fast. In the end it is still just coffee.
Then in the 1972 the Mr. Coffee® brand coffee makes reshaped the way we make coffee in the USA. It is an electric brewing method that drips coffee quickly while you wait. This method of coffee dripping is very good when fresh, and keeps the coffee hot and fresh longer than any other method. If a person brews the same ole same ole coffee in this method they still end up with just coffee.
We are living in the era when designer coffee makers have hit the market. We have the one cup coffee makers and the gourmet coffee pods. These coffees can be brewed to your specialty taste and flavor. You can drink different flavors in each cup. But at the end of all this it is still just coffee.
We have gone through the era where coffee was served in just good thick ceramic type coffee cups or mugs. We have gone through the days of Styrofoam cups, paper cups, plastic to-go cups and stainless steel to-go cups. Can you believe that grown-ups like myself are drinking coffee today from Sippy lids, on our cups. No matter what type cup is used it is still just coffee.
It is thought that the energizing effect of the coffee bean plant was first recognized in Yemen, in Arabia and the north east of Ethiopia, and the cultivation of coffee first expanded in the Arab world. The earliest credible evidence of coffee drinking appears in the middle of the fifteenth century, in the Sufi monasteries of the Yemen in southern Arabia. From the Muslim world, coffee spread to Italy, then to the rest of Europe, to Indonesia, and to the Americas. Coffee has played an important role in many societies throughout history. In Africa and Yemen, it was used in religious ceremonies. As a result, the Ethiopian Church banned its secular consumption until the reign of Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia. It was banned in Ottoman Turkey during the 17th century for political reasons, and was associated with rebellious political activities in Europe. It took the place of drinking a spot of tea in the US after the Boston Tea Party. Many of the earlier Christian religious groups forbid the drinking of coffee calling it an open rebellion of sin. But no matter what the creed or the culture it was still just coffee.
Coffee comes from the seed of coffee cherries that grow in about seventy countries of the world. These Coffee cherries, which contain the coffee bean, are produced by several species of small evergreen bush of the genus Coffea. The two most commonly grown are Coffea canephora (also known as Coffea robusta) and Coffea arabica. Once ripe, coffee berries are picked, processed, and dried. The seeds are then roasted to varying degrees, depending on the desired flavor. They are then ground and brewed to create coffee that is packaged in need packages, sold to us in various places. We then take it to our home or offices to use with many fashioned pots to drip the coffee that we drink. But when it is all said and done, it is still just coffee.
I have come to the understanding, that everyone who is a coffee drinker has their favorite blend of coffee. They routinely prepare their fixings and drink their blend by themselves on a regular basis. I do know that real coffee drinkers, love to drink a cup or more of their java in the morning while they are starting their new day. Some coffee drinkers drink a cup during the day, in the afternoon and even at evening time. They often prepare their friends a serving of freshly brewed coffee that they keep in their home. But at the end of the day it is still just coffee.
Now, if the coffee drinkers are like me, they have a special place to purchase coffee that has been brewed in a public place of business. Starbucks® Coffee, Dunkin' Donuts® Coffee, McDonalds, Pilot Travel Centers LLC, Seattle drip coffee , so many other fast-food restaurants, eating establishments and coffee outlets in our communities, towns and cities. But no matter what establishment you purchase your brewed coffee beverage, it is still just coffee.
When I am traveling I usually start out with a cup of coffee that is equivalent to a Grande or medium size coffee at Starbucks, in my stainless steel Nissan Sippy Cup. I look for Starbucks when I am driving through areas that have them. When I am traveling on the Interstates or even US Highways I look for Pilot Travel Centers LLC, these two places of business are consistent on the making of their coffee. They always have fresh coffee and many different types to choose from. The worst of the worst for me is McDonalds, their employees refuse to keep good fresh coffee brewing except at 6:00 AM then you still cannot guarantee it to be consistent. (Kind of the same way with their meals, cold and taste like cardboard warmed over.) But no matter where you purchase your brewed coffee beverage, it is still just coffee.
When we think about coffee, we think of all the changes that have taken place over the years in bringing a cup of Java to your lips. The methods of getting it to you have changed. The methods of preparing it have changed. Coffee it one of the top three beverages sold in our world today. Coffee is up there with soda and water. But in the end no matter how they got it to you, no matter how they brewed it, it is still just coffee.
Now that I have you licking your lips and thinking of a way to get your next cup of Java, let us get to the real message today. So many folks deal with their soul salvation the same way they do their coffee. They really think it does not matter with the Lord just as long as they are believers.
These folks tell me that we are living in a day of change preacher, everything has changed and God does not expect us to do what He expected the Disciples and the early church to do to be saved. They say at the end of the day, church is still just church, and salvation is just salvation. Preacher, it really makes no difference as to what we believe as long as we are a believer.
Let me make this statement and make it very clear. “We are living in a day of so much change. I am in full agreement, our methods of reaching people does have to ever be changing to keep up with theses changing times. But the message of salvation will never change for anyone it does not matter how much everything else changes.”
I will be 62 years old in just a short while. I have watched the Christian World change its Doctrinal stand on salvation over the short span of my life. The average Christian denominational group has taken on the Roman Catholic adherence to the Trinity, which is not biblical doctrine at all. The Bible is clear that there is only One God and Jesus is His name. Baptism, in most Christian denomination if done, is done in the titles Father, son and Holy Ghost. Nowhere in the New Testament church did they baptize in any other name than Jesus Name. Today they have blended themselves into a nice little group of Believer’s, there is no real doctrine of repentance, baptism or infilling of the Spirit of God any more. There are very few lines that differentiate the denominations as they once did, every group now is Believers. There is no real experience of salvation preached in most churches anymore. Just give your heart to Jesus, Believe on Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and you are eternally saved. That all sounds good, but when there are no lines of biblical doctrine, this is not salvation it is just religion.
Only 53% of all American people feel like religion of any kind should play a role in their lives or their families. Therefore the number of Christians who never attend church is now at an all time high. I receive e-mails from people all the time who are in search for answers to problems, needs and family situation who say I am a Christian Believer, but not a church attendee. I want to be very kind today, but when people have no church involvement or fellowship in their life, they are not Christian at all, they are just religious.
When people claim they are believers, they cannot root their salvation back to and encounter or an experience with Jesus Christ. If they have never made them an altar of repentance, never been baptized in Jesus Name for the remission of sins and have never received the gift of the Holy Ghost, they are just religious.
Yes, I will be the first to admit at this time, we are living in an ever changing world. Because the world is ever changing, we the church of the living God, must ever be changing our methods to reach them with this Good News of Salvation. We must be every changing the way we receive these people into our houses of prayer and worship. But we cannot ever change the message. There is only One God His Name is Jesus, there is no such thing as a Holy Trinity. There is only one way to Christ and that is thru the cross of Calvary or thru His death, burial and resurrection. Peter said, repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Death = Repentance, Burial = Baptism in Jesus Name, resurrection = receiving the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, with the evidence of speaking with other tongues. This is biblical doctrine, not man-made idea, if you have not found yourself with this experience, you have only experienced religion. Salvation is from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Religion is mans ideas and man cannot save you.
We are living in the Emerging Generation or the day of the Emergent Church. This is a day that many church leaders are trying to blend Christianity in such a fashion, there is no experience with Jesus Christ, just involve yourself in social workings, live a decent life and believe in Jesus and you are okay. Again without the biblical experience of salvation you only have religion.
Here is where we are in this hour. We have to get people to the place of repentance. I know that scares many Christian folks to say we have to get people to do anything to get to heaven with the Lord. I understand we are not saved by our works. But we do have to follow the plan the Lord has laid out for us to receive from Him Salvation. When we get people to start repenting, then we get them thru the step of baptism in Jesus Name, they will then be filled with the glorious gift of the Holy Ghost. We have to disciple them with wonderful Bible teaching. We have to feed them from the Word of God, which will bring them into a deeper relationship with our Savior, Jesus Christ. Yes, they have to have a continual experience with Jesus Christ over and over again. When they experience this great salvation for themselves nothing else will satisfy them from then on like Jesus.
Here is the final statement I want to make, FOLGER’S is not just coffee to me anymore, it is about the experience I have in every cup. To this generation church cannot just be church anymore, but it is all about people having a continual experience with the Lord, every time they congregate to worship with the children of the Lord.
For a person to have a great cup of coffee, especially in the morning time, there must be a fresh experience that comes to me only from FOLGER’S, because it is still the best part of waking up. When it comes to church, it is no longer about who attends; it is not about the building, but it is about the experience we have with Jesus.