Encouragement is something we all need. When was the last time you really read Psalm 23? “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want … He restores my soul … I shall fear no evil for Thou art with me … You comfort me … You prepare a table for me … You anoint my head … my cup runneth over … goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life … I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” That encouragement from the Lord is just what I needed today, and everyday. Life isn’t all peaches and cream, we all go through some rough times and that’s why the Bible is full of encouraging words and why we need to encourage one another. Some people are more gifted at it than others, but anyone can be an encourager. We need to encourage each other in many ways, including to be growing spiritually mature. There is a lot more to being a Christian than sitting in a pew once a week. What you do and how you act the other six days is what the world sees and that’s how they will judge us. Does the walk match the talk. We need to encourage one another to be involved in serving others, being kind to everyone we encounter, helping someone who didn’t ask, little things that can really mean a lot. We need to encourage one another to be thankful for all He has done for us, for all we have. Whether we are rich in worldly goods or not, we are abundantly rich in Him! Make it a goal to encourage at least one person a day, be it a brother or sister or not, with a word or simple act of kindness. You’ll be surprised how little it takes to make someone’s day!
In this hurry up, fast paced, high speed internet world, sometimes it’s hard to understand why God is so slow in answering our prayers. If Google can answer in miliseconds, why can’t God? He can, but in His wisdom, He doesn’t. And He never answers late! His timetable, like everything about Him, is perfect. Many times when we don’t get answers right away, our emotions take over, and our emotions are unreliable! They tend to lead our thoughts astray. Because His timing doesn’t meet our expections, we give ourselves angst. Time to let the angst out and His promises in! He never sleeps on the job (He does not slumber), wherever you go, He is there, He knows what you’re going through, He has searched you and knows you, He formed you! He understands your thoughts and the path you are on. He promises that all things work together for good to those that love Him. If you have accepted Him and love Him, no matter what, it will be okay! It’s easy to know these things, but when you’re in the midst of troubles, they don’t always seem to be in the forefront of your thoughts. Think about this though. “God demonstrated His love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!” He loved us that much before we accepted Jesus, how much more is the Father’s love for His children now? He will never be late, He knows what you’re going through, what you need and when you need it. Don’t listen to your emotions, listen to your heart which is held safely in His hands.
“My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor My ways your ways says the Lord. For My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts.” That pretty much explains why we don’t understand everything that happens to us. We only see a frame of the movie reel while He’s already directed the whole picture. In Psalm 13, David, the man after God’s own heart, filled with sorrow, cries out feeling abandoned by God, but that was, again, because he hadn’t seen the whole film! Jesus tells us “In the world you will have tribulation.” Not maybe, you will have, but He also assures us that “I have overcome the world.” Things will happen but He will be there with us. Paul, an authority on tribulations, wrote these sobering words to Timothy. “You and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus, will suffer persecution.” Comes with the territory but also comes with huge rewards. It should be no surprize, that when you get closer to God, the devil attacks. Even though he knows he’s lost, the devil will cheap shot you whenever he can. Guess that’s a way of finding out which is the good seed and which seed never gets any roots. Plant your roots in the good soil, let them dig deep and grow strong in Jesus. He’ll be with you through the tribulations, He’ll be with you in the peace, and you’ll be with Him on the streets of gold!
Pastor Curt started a new series yesterday on a much needed topic that is revelant to non-believers and believers alike entitled When God Doesn’t Make Sense. We may not like to admit it,, but we all have inwardly, and maybe openly, at one time or another, thought God made some questionable choices. The old why do bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad? Here’s the rub though, we’re questioning God! The pot questioning the Potter! The created questioning the Creator? How can finite minds begin to truly comprehend the infinite? God tells us through Isaiah, “My thoughts are not your thoughts nor your ways My ways … My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts.” Paul relays in 1 COR 2 what Job said, “who knows the the mind of God,” and Job, if anyone, had a definite cause to question God … but he didn’t! Instead, Job said, “… though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.” Do you have a Job like trust? These are strange times. With politics, Covid, and who knows what’s next, your faith could very well be tested in the days to come. Don’t take it personally, it happens, but remember, God never gives up on you, don’t you ever give up on God! Keep strong in your prayers and when all your requests are made, end with the most freeing words, yet Thy will, not mine, be done!I
Something many of us lack and something we need to instill in our children is confidence. Not a worldly self righteous, egocentric, bragadocio attitude, but a Godly confidence of who we are in Him. Confidence because we are known by a holy, awesome God, who knows His sheep and calls them by name. Confidence because we belong to Him and are a part of His family. Saying we accepted the Lord always seems backwards to me. He accepted us, adopted us, filled us with the Holy Spirit, and has made us heirs of His kingdom! Confidence because we have been forgiven of our sins and cleansed by His blood. They have been removed as far as the east is from the west, and He will continue to forgive our failings when we confess them to Him. Confidence because we can change. He is working in us and will continue till the day He brings us home. Forgiven doesn’t mean perfect, we are a work in progress, some progress slower than others, but He will help us grow. Finally, we have confidence knowing we can make a difference because if “God is for us, who can be against us?” Read Romans 8:31-39. Okay, read it again. If those verses don’t fill you up with earth shaking confidence, I don’t know what will! He is for us, nothing, that is nothing can seperate us from His love. Now stand tall and go out and change the world around you! These key points on confidence are what the children will be learning this week in VBS. Thanks Pastor Wes for giving the adults their own mini VBS and a much needed confidence boost!
Pastor Wes finished his two part sermon, Compassion on the Crowds yesterday with some challenging thoughts. While we may be willing to serve in many different areas, what prevents us from really stepping out with compassion on the crowds? Is it a lack of faith? We have faith that He saved us, we believe He loves us, we have witnessed His hand on our lives in a personal way time and again, and we see His awesomeness everyday in His magnificent creation all around us. There is no doubt that all things are possible with Him! So do we think if we step out He won’t be with us? If we try to do things in our own strength, maybe, because He doesn’t want us trying to do the impossible without Him! He wants us to lean on Him in everything. He’ll give us the strength we need, He’ll be there to pick us up if we fall. It doesn’t matter to Him if we fail, only that we try. He will never leave us nor forsake us, whether we win or lose! I know I can’t have compassion on the crowds without Him. When Jesus asks you to love someone who seems impossible to love, offer what you can and allow Him to do the rest. He knows your talents, He gave them to you. If you have two bad knees, He won’t ask you to run the hurdles! Be open, be willing, seek His strength daily, and He will bring the crowds to you and fill you with enough of His compasson to love them!
By Tim Irving – Evangelism Team
By, Tim Irving – Evangelism Team
By Tim Irving – Evangelism Team
By Tim Irving – Evangelism Team
By Tim Irving – Evangelism Team
By, Tim Irving – Evangelism Team