I love my wife, my sons, my grandsons, my family more than words can express. I love the beauty of the ocean, the seashore, mountains, the myriad of animals and birds. I love the friends I have made all over the country over the years. I love this church. But … I know I’m an alien passing through, this world is not my home! It’s a great place to hang out for a few years, but I can’t wait to unpack my bags in the heavenly mansion! We all need to have Simeon’s attitude, who longed to see God’s Christ. He got to see Him as a baby when Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to the Temple to be dedicated, but we’re going to see Him in all His glory! For some it’s hard to pray, “Come soon Lord Jesus, come soon,” not because they don’t long for His coming, but for fear for those who haven’t accepted Him yet. I know we all have loved ones that haven’t given their hearts to Jesus, you can’t make them, but you can’t stop trying either! Let them see Jesus in you, pray for them daily, and don’t give up! Need a little inspiration? Walk around singing the chorus, “All I know is I’m not home yet, This is not where I belong, Take this world and give me Jesus, This is not where I belong.” I made that my theme song, hum it to myself whenever I watch the news, and especially when I’m at Walmart late at night. Keep looking and longing for His return, keep loving those that don’t know Him, and be ready to beam up!
I hope you all were able to be present or live stream yesterday’s service. Pastor Steve and the praise team were awesome! The world has been so crazy, it’s been hard to get in the Christmas spirit, but yesterday’s performance took care of that! It was the biggest six person choir you’ll ever hear! One of my favorite Christmas songs is “Mary Did You Know” and their rendition gave me chills. Beautiful music, powerful words written by Mark Lowry with great insight. Now, think about this. In Paul’s letter to the Colossians he writes, “He is the image of the invisible God … for by Him all things were created … all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things and in Him all things consist.” Mary proclaimed in Luke that “all generations will call me blessed,” but I wonder if in this life, did she truly realized how blessed she was? As Mark Lowery wrote, “When you kiss your little baby, you kiss the face of God!” Mary held and nurtured the One who holds her! Can we even get our minds around that? We serve an awesome God. Finite minds can never grasp how awesome He is. But, finite minds can obey Him, worship Him, show His love, and be a light in a dark world. Tis the season to be jolly, so let’s show the world what the joy of the Lord really is! Again, thank you Pastor Steve and the praise team for all your hard work and an inspired performance!
It’s not always easy to walk by faith and not by sight. At first, for Zacharias, it was hard to do either. Can’t really blame him though. An angel tells you that you and your old(er) wife are going to have a son who would pave the way for the coming Messiah is a lot to handle, but handle it they did. They became Godly parents and raised John with full understanding of his purpose in life. John had complete focus of who he was and what he needed to do and he kept his feet on the path laid before him. Wouldn’t it be nice to stay focused, follow the path we’re suppose to be on instead of getting side tracked and zigging and zagging our way along instead? We all have a purpose and while we may be able to do many different things, God created us with our own special abilities to use for Him. You may not think you have any special ability, but you do! Think about what comes easy to you. What’s easy for you to do may be like climbing a mountain to others. Pray about how God can use your uniqueness. John the Baptist was an evangelist and he stayed true to his calling. We all aren’t called to be evangelists, but we are called to be sowers. Pray about how you can sow using what comes naturally to you. You don’t have to preach from a soapbox, a simple gesture of kindness or caring can open the door of someone’s heart. Seek your path, stay focused, and leave the zigs and zags behind!
“I will enter His gates with thanksgiving in my heart, I will enter His courts with praise. I will say this is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice for He has made me glad!” A great praise chorus taken from Psalm 100 and one we should start off singing as we jump out (or slowly roll) of bed each day! It’s hard to believe this is Thanksgving week, I’m still waiting to celebrate the 4th of July. To say it’s been a strange year is a gross understatement, but strange or whatever, life goes on, and not only this week, but every day, we should be celebrating with thanksgiving what the Lord has done for us. A problem we have in America, the land of the overly abundantly blessed, is that people have a tendancy to focus on what they don’t have instead of on what they do have. Start focusing each day on your many blessings and especially the most important one, Jesus. If He is your Lord and Savior, you have all the riches in the world! You have a heavenly eternal home! You have an all powerful, loving, forgiving Father with a world wide family! You have a personal Councelor to lead, instruct, and intercede and with no fees! You have peace! You don’t have to worry about keeping up with the Joneses, they need to worry about keeping with you! Make a concerted effort this week to start each day with a thankful heart, counting your many blessings, and pray about how, because you are so blessed, that you can be a blessing to others. Thank You Lord for allowing us to live in such an abundantly blessed country, a privilege You have given us, never to be taken for granted!
In an unstable world, it’s good to have stability, and that is what God wants us to have. He’s given us His word, a love letter if you will, detailing His love, His promises, His instructions to lead a happy life. You can trust His Word, rely on His Word, but you do need to read His Word or else how will you know what He is telling you? By the hearsay of others? I hope not! He doesn’t promise a totally blissful existence, or as Pastor Curt said yesterday, “He doesn’t take all the potholes out of life,” but He does have a road crew ready to help repair any damage those potholes may have caused or as Paul told the Roman church, “all things (even potholes) work together for good to those who love God.” The key there is “those who love God.” Others may benefit, but the promise is to those that love Him, He takes care of His children. He also promises that there is nothing in this world that can separate us from Him. When you cling to Him, He clings to you with a vise like grip! What could possibly break the hold of the hands that formed the mountains? Let the world wobble in its insanity, we stand, with stability, on the firm foundation that cannot be shaken!
Admit it, you all envy someone or something sometimes; that beautiful house on the water, a car, a boat, that clown who has your dream job, the perfect spouse, the perfect in-law. The grass isn’t always as green as it looks on the other side of the fence, but that must be why commandment #10 is about coveting. It’s easy to accept the prosperity of nice people, but when the wicked roll in wealth, not so much. Even the Psalmist Asaph struggled with the boasting of the wicked’s abundance, until he took his eyes off man and put them back on God. “My flesh and my heart fali, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” We need to keep our eyes on Him and not the seeming success of the ungodly. No matter how much man may claim to be, no matter how much any government may try to be, God will always be in charge. It isn’t having and trusting worldly wealth and power that gets you into heaven. It’s faith in God, in Jesus, in His Word! The world may not be heading in the direction you think it should right now, but He is still in charge. Hear David’s words in Psalm 37. “And the Lord shall help them and deliver them. He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them because they trusted in Him.” Don’t worry about the wicked, God’s got their number. Instead, look at life with eternity eyes, look to see the bigger picture God is directing, trust in Him, and let Him help you play the role you’ve been given!
By: Tim Irving – Evangelism Team
Author: Tim Irving – Evangelism Team
By: Tim Irving – Evangelism Team
Author: Tim Irving – Evangelism Team
By: Tim Irving – Evangelism Team
Admit it, you all envy someone or something sometimes; that beautiful house on the water, a car, a boat, that clown who has your dream job, the perfect spouse, the perfect in-law. The grass isn’t always as green as it looks on the other side of the fence, but that must be why commandment #10 is about coveting. It’s easy to accept the prosperity of nice people, but when the wicked roll in wealth, not so much. Even the Psalmist Asaph struggled with the boasting of the wicked’s abundance, until he took his eyes off man and put them back on God. “My flesh and my heart fali, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” We need to keep our eyes on Him and not the seeming success of the ungodly. No matter how much man may claim to be, no matter how much any government may try to be, God will always be in charge. It isn’t having and trusting worldly wealth and power that gets you into heaven. It’s faith in God, in Jesus, in His Word! The world may not be heading in the direction you think it should right now, but He is still in charge. Hear David’s words in Psalm 37. “And the Lord shall help them and deliver them. He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them because they trusted in Him.” Don’t worry about the wicked, God’s got their number. Instead, look at life with eternity eyes, look to see the bigger picture God is directing, trust in Him, and let Him help you play the role you’ve been given!