Pressing On With Our Focus On Jesus

We believers in Jesus Christ have an enemy and that is the devil.  The devil goes around trying to find those whom he can devour and trip up.  The devil is going all over trying to cause trouble because he knows his time is running out for the Lord Jesus Christ is about to return someday very soon and establish the Kingdom of God to the earth in full completion.

Not all of our troubles are caused by the devil.  Sometimes our own sinful nature within our hearts cause us to make poor choices and we fall headfirst into sin.  We know that in this world troubles will come to each one of us.  Sometimes the same trouble keeps coming at us over and over again.  We must cling to the Lord Jesus and trust Him during our trial that we are encountering.

We need to submit to the Lord and resist the devil so that he will flee from us.  We need to walk in the Spirit and give no room to the fleshly nature that we all have.  The Lord will help us through the power of the Holy Spirit to resist temptations when they come.

We may feel like giving up at times, but we must press on with perseverance with our focus on the Lord Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our faith.  When we are assailed by the enemy we may feel discouraged and weak.  We are weak in our own power and strength, but the Lord is all powerful and He is mighty in strength.

We believers in Jesus Christ have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us to help us resist the temptations that come against us and the Holy Spirit will continue to work on us to make us more like Jesus.  That work won't be completed until the day we are taken to Heaven where we will be with the Lord forever.

Lord,
Help us to resist temptations and help us not to be discouraged.
You are the Lord and we trust You.
Come soon Lord Jesus.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

The God Who Restores

We live in a broken and sinful world.  There are many people in our world today that feel broken.  Many have experienced broken relationships and broken hearts.  There are a lot of troubling things going on in our world these days.  There is a lot of uncertainty that is for sure.  We are not sure what the immediate future holds for us, but we believers in Christ Jesus have a wonderful hope in our Lord and the wonderful promise of  Heaven awaiting us in the future.  Heaven only awaits those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ and His payment for our sins on the Cross.

We have all sinned and we have all fallen short of God's glory.  We are all born into this world with our hearts bent away from God.  Our relationship with God is broken and it has to be reconciled and restored.  God made a way for reconciliation and restoration of that relationship by sending His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to live a perfect and sinless life.  Jesus went obediently to the Cross where He shed His blood for our sins past, present, and future.  Everyone who repents of their sins and receives Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior will be saved.

When we receive Christ as Savior we are reconciled back into a right relationship with God.  We are commanded to love God with all of our hearts, minds, bodies, and souls.  We are also to love our neighbor as ourselves.  The Lord can help us mend the broken relationships with others as well.  It may not be easy and sometimes it may not be possible in some cases, but the Lord will grant us the wisdom and direction we ought to take is we just ask Him in prayer and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us while studying what God's Word says about our situation.

I had an experience last night that reminded me of brokenness.  I found a rather large wasp in my bathroom last night.  I really don't like wasp.  I went and got myself a fly swatter and tried to get rid of it, but I kept missing it.  The more it buzzed around and flew toward me the more my adrenalin pumped.  I was determined to get rid of that wasp so I swung the swatter with all of my might and the swatter made contact with one of the light bulbs that were over me mirror.  Apparently I am stronger than I give myself credit for because that bulb shattered in a billion little pieces of glass all over my bathroom.  It was totally broken and everything was in disarray.  I felt bad.  I cleaned up the broken pieces and I was reminded of how God cleans up the broken pieces of our hearts and our lives when we let Him do His work in us through the Holy Spirit.

I ended up finding a replacement for the bulb and I cleaned the bathroom.  Everything has been restored and no one could tell from looking at the bathroom now that anything had taken place.  Our God is a God of restoration as well.  He will clean up the broken pieces of our lives and He will heal the brokenness within in us when we come to Him by faith.  It won't be easy.  It may hurt and may be really hard at times, but we can trust that the Lord will take care of us because He loves us and He knows what is best for us.  One day we believers in Christ Jesus will enter Heaven and we will experience a wonderful complete restoration and be in God's glorious presence for all eternity.  What a wonderful and awesome day that will be.

Oh, In case you were wondering.  I never did find that wasp.

Lord,
Thank You for You love and mercy.
Help us to restore broken relationships if possible.
Help us to forgive those who have hurt us and have mistreated us.
Restore to us those things the enemy, the devil, has taken from us.
Grant us life to the full through our faith in You Lord Jesus.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

The Lord Provides

"And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus."
- Philippians 4:19

When we come to trust Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we can trust Him to meet our needs throughout our walk with Him.  The Lord knows what we truly need and He will meet those needs.  The Lord might not grant us what we want or desire however.  He isn't our genie who bends to our will.  The Lord is our God.  He is our Creator and Maker.  He is God.  We are His creation and we are to submit to His will and His calling.  

The Lord is our provider.  He will enable us and provide those things and skills we need to accomplish His will and His plan for our lives for His ultimate glory.  We may not always get those things that we think we need.  Those things we think we need may not be good for us or maybe the timing isn't right.  We can be assured that the Lord will do what is right and in His timing.  The Lord knows the beginning to the very end.  He knows what it will take for you and I to grow Spiritually and what will hinder our growth.  

We need to continue to study God's Word, the Bible, and we need to submit to the lead of the Holy Spirit.  We need to be anchored in the truth of who God is and the truth of his Holy Word.  We must prayerfully seek God and discern what it is He is calling us to do with our lives.  We need to make sure it lines up with Scripture so we can be certain we are truly hearing from the Lord for He will never go against His Word.

I am thankful that the Lord is always with us even when things in life look bad or get scary.  Sometimes we face fearful events that test our faith and trust in Him.  We must remember that God is faithful and trustworthy.  We can count on our God to give us strength and comfort during the trials that we all go through eventually.

A few weeks ago my mother had a operation to remove a small growth and it turned out to be Non- Hodgkin's Lymphoma, low grade.  She had x-rays following that and she had her doctors appointment today.  The results were very good.  There are no other signs of cancer.  Her blood work is fine, her lungs are clear, no other growths, and she feels fine.  Praise the Lord!  

Sometimes the Lord brings healing to our loved ones here while they are on the earth and sometimes that healing won't take place until their feet reach that Heavenly city where they will be with Jesus for all eternity.  We believers in Christ Jesus have a wonderful living hope and we have the promise that the Lord will provide for our genuine needs.

Sometimes it may seem really hard for us to see the Lord's provision, but we must continue to walk and live by faith in Him.  We must continue trusting that the Lord will work things out in our lives for His Glory and His purpose.  

If you are struggling to see God's provision for your life I would encourage you to continue to seek the Lord in prayer and ask Him to help you see His work in your life.  

Lord,

Help us to see Your provision for our lives when life seems hard.

You are God and we are not.

Lead us and guide us by Your Holy Spirit.

Thank You Lord Jesus for providing for us each and every day.

In Jesus Name I pray,

Amen.

Whom Are You Following?

I had the opportunity to preach down at the Selden Baptist Church this morning in Selden, Maine which is about a forty minute drive south of Houlton.  For the past few years I have been blessed with the opportunity to schedule the summer schedule at the Selden Baptist Church.  There aren't many that attend the services, but we have a good time praising and worshipping the Lord.  I have a good time proclaiming the truth of God by preaching the Word.  I am no great speaker, but I am thankful that the Lord can still use me to proclaim the Gospel truth.

Today I preached on following Jesus.  There are many things and ways we can follow in this world, but there is only one way that is the correct way.  Jesus said that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and no one can come to the Father except through Jesus.  There is only one way for us to obtain forgiveness of our sins and there is only one way into Heaven and that is through Jesus Christ.

This world in which we find ourselves living in is plunging deeper into darkness and wickedness.  People have a deep void in their hearts and they are trying to fill that void with drugs, alcohol, sinful lifestyles, and other things.  Those things that they reach for may be fun and exciting for a season, but eventually the fun wears off and they discover that they are trapped in bondage and they can't escape.  They may feel trapped and hopeless.  There is good news for them and for each one of us.  Jesus Christ can set the worse offender free from the bondage of sin and wickedness.  One must confess their sin to the Lord and repent of it and then receive Christ Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  The Lord will help and the Lord will heal if we submit to Him and His leading.

We have a choice in life.  We have the choice to follow the world's ways which will lead to destruction and loss or we can follow Jesus Christ and reap the eternal rewards of knowing Him as Lord and Savior.

Luke 5:1-11

1 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. 
                                                                           

2 He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets.

3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.

7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”

9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken,

10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.”

11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

In order for us to follow Jesus we must know who He is.  It is easy to know about someone, but to really know someone intimately is something totally different.  It is no enough for us to know about Jesus.  We must come to Him and have a relationship with Him.  We do this by humbling ourselves and realizing who we are.  We are sinners and we can't save ourselves because we are weak and we are not good enough to earn God's forgiveness or a place in Heaven.

We are all deserving of being eternally condemned and placed in a literal hell forever.  The good news is that God does not desire that anyone go to hell and He made a way for us to be reconciled back to Himself by sending Jesus Christ on a rescue mission.

God demonstrated His great love towards each one of us by sending Jesus Christ to this earth to live a perfect and sinless life.  Jesus went obediently to the Cross where He shed His blood for you and I.  It is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ where we find forgiveness of our sins, but we must receive this forgiveness by faith but trusting in His grace.

Jesus arose from the dead on the third day to show us that He is indeed God and He is now at the right hand of God the Father.  One day the Lord Jesus will return as the Lord of lords  and the King of kings.  Jesus didn't leave us as orphans, but He give the Holy Spirit to indwell every one that has placed their faith in Him for the forgiveness of sin.

We must repent of our sins and receive Jesus Christ as out Lord and Savior then we are to follow Him.  Peter and his friends left everything and followed Jesus.  What have we left to follow Jesus?

I hope that we have left something to follow Jesus.  Some have left their families, friends, jobs, a particular sin, and other things to follow Jesus.

Following Jesus isn't easy especially in an increasingly hostile world.  The world is growing more hateful and angry towards the truth of who God is and His followers.  Persecution will come to us eventually so I feel it is vitally important for us to know whom we are following.  Are we following Jesus or are we following the world?  Are we fishing for people an trying to win them to Christ?  I hope we are because that is exactly what the Lord Jesus wants us to do.  Proclaiming the truth of God's Word and preaching the Gospel message of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world is what we the Church is supposed to be all about.  People need Jesus!  

I chose to follow Jesus Christ for He is the One who died for my sins.  I will cling to Him no matter what persecution and hard times may come for I know to whom I belong and in whom I trust.  I trust the Lord Jesus with my daily life and with my eternal home.

Are you following Jesus?

Lord,

I chose to follow You wherever You lead me.

Help me not to be afraid and anxious.

Help me to have the courage and strength I need to do those things You would have me to do.

Make me a fisher of people that I may help lead someone to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Lead us and guide us by Your Holy Spirit.

In Jesus Name I pray,

Amen.

                                     

Leaning On Jesus When Storms Come

We all face times of uncertainty in our lives.  Life has it's challenges and it's ups and downs that is for sure.  It can be easy for us to feel discouraged when we face trials and challenges.  We know that in this world we will have trouble for that is what Jesus tells us in Scripture.  He also tells us to take heart because He has overcome the world and that should bring comfort to all of us who are trusting Him as our Lord and Savior.

Storms of life will come to all of us eventually.  The storm may come in the form of a job loss, finding ourselves in debt, loss of a loved one, a broken marriage, or an illness.  We know that if we hang around long enough that some kind of trouble will come to us.  We live in a fallen and sinful world.  This world is dying and it is growing darker day by day, but we must not lose heart for there is hope for you and I and for the entire world.

There is hope in the Lord Jesus Christ.  When we are worried, scared, stuck in a storm, and lost we can know that Jesus rescues.  When we find ourselves in a situation where we are tempted to worry we can know that the Lord Jesus is right by our side and we don't have to go through that situation alone.  

This world needs Jesus.  We believers in Jesus Christ need to spread the Gospel message throughout our communities and through out the world.  People are desperate to heart the truth.  They need to hear the truth about the true Living God and how they can be reconciled back to Him through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

People need to hear that there is a friend that sticks close than a brother and that is Jesus Christ.  We all feel lonely and at the end of our ropes at times, but it is in those times that we must draw closer to the Lord.  He cares for us and He loves us more than we can possibly imagine.

Lord,
Thank You for loving us so very greatly.
Help us to tell other people about You O Lord.
Come soon Lord Jesus.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

Thankful For VBS

Another year of Vacation Bible School has come and gone.  It was a fun filled and very busy week for everyone involved.  There were about one hundred and fifty children and one hundred volunteers helping out.  It was hard work for many and yet very rewarding because those involved were doing it for the Lord Jesus and hoping to draw the children there to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

I have enjoyed volunteering these past two years because I learn things and Biblical truths were reinforced in me to help me grow in my walk with Christ.  I love being with other believers in Jesus Christ and getting to know new people.  It is really hard for me to get to know new people since I am really super quiet and a super introvert, but I really do like being with people and trying to get to know them.  Don't mind me I have been going through this awkward phase for the past forty-two years.

There were twenty-one children that asked Jesus Christ to be their Lord and Savior!  What a great blessing that is!  Praise the Lord!  The angels in Heaven rejoiced and threw a big party for each one.  God is so very good and He is still working in people's hearts and lives today.

I can't wait until next year to volunteer for the Vacation Bible School again.  I feel really blessed to have been a part of such an important event even though my role wasn't that big, but every one's role in the Body of Christ is important as long as we are doing it for the Glory of God.

I would encourage you to lift up in prayer all of those children who have received Jesus as their Lord and Savior and that they would grow in faith.  I would also ask that you would pray for those who didn't, but hopefully soon will.

Lord,
Thank You for opportunities to serve You with my brothers and sisters in Christ.
I pray that You would open up other opportunities for me to serve.
I lift up the twenty-one children that made a profession of faith in Jesus.
Lead them and empower them to grow in their walk with You O Lord.
In Jesus Name I pray,
Amen.

Jesus Saves

This week has been a really busy week for myself and many other people as well.  I have been working at my job during the day then at night I have been volunteering at the Vacation Bible School for about an hour and a half at night since Sunday.  Tomorrow night is the last night.  It has been a great experience.  Last year I did the security detail which meant walking around the grounds and make sure no extra creepy people come on the scene.

This year I volunteered taking photos of everything that was going on and I was given the opportunity to do the Spotlight Story that runs at the end of every night which was really cool.  I had to take pictures of the children and some crew leaders in certain poses and there would be a slide show and the pictures would correspond to a Bible story that was being told that night.

I usually just take pictures of wild life and landscapes so this was rather outside of my comfort zone, but I felt like the Lord wanted me to do this and it has seemed to go well after a few glitches early on.  The Lord provided the help I needed to accomplish the project and I pray that He will get all the credit and glory for it.  God is good and He will provide for us.

The theme all week has been that Jesus rescues us when we are lonely, worried, when we face storms in our lives, and He also rescues us from sin.  We have all sinned and we have all fallen short of the glory of God.  Our hearts are bent away from God even as we are born into this world.  We are all deserving of being separated from God and placed into a literal hell for ever.

God doesn't want anyone of us to go to hell and be separated from Himself so He sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to the earth on a rescue mission.  God demonstrates His love toward us by sending Jesus to earth to live a perfect and sinless life.  Jesus went obediently to the Cross and died for our sins past, present, and future.  Jesus shed His own blood for our sins.  Jesus took the punishment that you and I deserve.  God raised Jesus to life on the third day thus conquering death.  Jesus is at the right hand of the Father in Heaven and one day Jesus will return to this earth and bring the Kingdom of God to full completion.

We must repent of our sins.  That is we are to recognize and agree with God that what we do is wrong and we want to be right with God.  The only way we can receive forgiveness of our sins and have a place in Heaven is for us to confess to the Lord that we have sinned and then we must receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

The children tonight were given the opportunity to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and I pray that many did.  I would ask that you would pray for those who received Jesus and that they would continue to grow in their faith in Him.

We are saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus our Lord.  When we come to know Jesus as our Lord and Savior then the Holy Spirit comes to indwell within us to help us to grow Spiritually and to be more like Jesus.

Lord,
You are Holy and I praise Your Name.
Lord, I pray for the children that have received Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
I pray they will grow in their faith and that they would tell others what You O Lord have done for them.
I pray for traveling mercies and for the test my mother has tomorrow.
Thank You Jesus for be an Awesome loving God.
In Jesus Name I pray,
Amen.

Our Rescuer When We Are Lonely

I decided to help out at the Vacation Bible School again this year that is being held at a church in my community.  There are three Churches that have joined together to try to reach children with the Gospel message of Jesus Christ.  It was a busy night tonight, but there was a lot of fun to be had as well.  My job was to take pictures of the children in various poses to be used at the end of the night in a spotlight slideshow presentation, but I wasn't able to get enough pictures throughout the night so we had to scrap that endeavor.

I felt like I failed.  I felt kind of lonely out there even though there we a lot of people around which reminded me of the Bible point of the night which was, "When we are lonely, Jesus rescues us!"  I am thankful for the wonderful promises that we have in Jesus Christ.

I am thankful that, even though I feel lonely at times and that people just don't understand me, Jesus is with me and He loves me.  There is no one that understands us and helps us like Jesus.  When we are lonely, Jesus recues us and He will encourage us through His Word and through the Holy Spirit.

There will be times in our lives when we try our best, but we fail miserably.  The Lord can use those times to teach us to trust Him more and He can work things out for our ultimate good and for His Glory.

God is good.  Lord willing everything will go better tomorrow night as I take more photos at VBS.  I did get a chance to take to people that I have never met before so it was still an enjoyable experience.
To God be the Glory.


Lord,
Thank You for Your love and Your amazing grace.
Thank You for being with me in lonely times.
I praise Your Name.
Lead us closer to You O Lord.
In Jesus Name I pray,
Amen.

Our Best Days Are Ahead Of Us

I apologize for not writing more blog postings, but my computer has been giving me a hard time lately.  The weird part is I just changed my Internet provider and now my Internet is blazing fast, but when your computer isn't working that great it isn't so enjoyable.  I even bought some new memory and installed it tonight into my computer.  It does run faster, but it still seems a little weird for some reason.  My computer is getting kind of old for a computer.  I think I have had it for maybe six or seven years.  I heard somewhere that is about the time limit for laptop computers.  I always thought that was a salesperson's ploy to get someone to buy a new laptop, but I guess they may be right.

Sometimes computers and other things break down or just don't work the way they used to.  Sometimes our bodies don't work the way they used to when we were younger.  It can be really hard when we reach a point when we can't move around the way we used to and we are unable to physically do those things we used to do.  I think of my aunt that lives upstate from me.  She has fallen down a few times and her legs bother her terribly.  He son felt it was necessary to place her in a nursing facility much to her displeasure I am afraid.  She couldn't move around like she used to and her family couldn't watch her all the time.  Her mind is sharp, but her body just doesn't operate the way it once did.

Many people have told me that it is no fun growing old and I have seen that to be true, but to we believers in Jesus Christ there is hope.  We know that Jesus died for our sins on the Cross and that if we have trusted Him as our Lord and Savior then we are heading to Heaven to be with Him one day when we leave this earth in death.  Some of us may not see death for the Lord Jesus may return and established His Kingdom upon the earth before we pass that would be a great blessing.

We also read in the Scriptures that we believers in Jesus Christ will get a new body.  Our new bodies will never grow old, creak, or crack.  Our memory will be sharper than it has ever been here on the earth.  Our bodies will be like the one Jesus had after His resurrection.  Our new bodies will be fit for eternity while the bodies we have now are just earthly bodies and they are not suited for eternity.

The Lord will give us a new body and it will be great.  We have no idea on this side of Heaven just how great it will be there in the presence of the Lord for ever and ever.  I can't wait for my new body, but I really can't wait to bow down at the feet of the Lord Jesus and thank Him for saving a poor sinner such as I.  I am thankful that I can come to the throne of grace and call out to Him in prayer right know, but I know that it will be far greater to be where He is and to be with Him.

The believer's best days are ahead of them.  We have a great hope and a great future in the Lord Jesus.

Lord,
I pray for those in nursing facilities and those who are home bound.
I ask that You would comfort them and encourage them through Your Word.
Thank You for the hope we have in You as followers of Christ Jesus.
Lead us and guide us by Your Holy Spirit.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

The Joy of the Lord is Our Strength

Sometimes in life we can get distracted.  We sometimes allow our worries and fears to steal our joy.  We live in a fallen and sinful world where things can go terribly wrong.  We also have a sin nature within ourselves as well.

Our enemy, the devil, loves going around stirring up trouble and he tries to rob us of our joy.  We must resist the devil at all cost so that he will flee from us.  We need to remember who we are in Christ Jesus if we are believing and trusting in Him for salvation.

We believers in Christ have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.  We should be filled with joy just by knowing the Lord, but unfortunately many believers don't feel very joyful at all.  We must remember that joy is not dependent upon our circumstances.  Our joy comes from the Lord through the Holy Spirit.  We can be going through a horrible ordeal and yet we can still have the joy of the Lord in our very hearts.

The joy of the Lord is our strength.  The Lord loves us and He sings over us.  He leads us and dwells within us through His Holy Spirit.  We don't have to worry nor do we need to be afraid for God is for us and not against us.  When we know the truth about God and Jesus we can remain joyful no matter what comes our way because we know we belong to the Lord.

We need to reestablish the joy in our hearts and that will come as we draw near to the Lord as we dig into the Bible and when we allow the Holy Spirit to teach us how to be more like Jesus.


Lord,
Sometimes life is tough.
Thank You that we can have joy in our hearts just by knowing You.
Thank You for allowing us to get to know You through Your One and Only Son, Jesus Christ.
Lead us and guide us by Your Holy Spirit.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

Turning To Jesus When We Start Worrying About Worrying

I had the opportunity to preach the Word at the Selden Baptist Church this morning.  There were only ten of  us there, but we had a delightful time praising the Lord and drawing near to Him.  I preached a familiar message on worry.  I wasn't so sure if I really wanting to preach on worrying, but I felt the Lord was directing me in that direction.  The reason I wasn't really eager to preach on worrying is because every time I preach on worrying something seems to come up in my life to worry about.

Life is full of opportunities for us to worry.  If we ever want to find something to worry about all we have to do is turn on our television or our other devices and look at what is going on in our world these days.  There are a lot of frightening things going on all around us.  Sometimes we get so caught up in worrying that we start to worry that we are worrying too much and by that time we are in real trouble.

What do yo worry about?  What keeps you up at night?  I remember a few weeks ago something totally stressed me out at work that got me worrying.  I was told that I needed to be more productive and do things faster.  I work in the produce section of a grocery store.  I was told that if I didn't follow a certain list that I would be written up.  I have been there for nearly 17 years and them treating me like that really hurt badly.  Well, I couldn't sleep that night.  I twisted and turned all night worrying what was going to happen.  Would I get fired?  What would I do for work if I lose my job?  These thoughts consumed me.  I ended up only getting an hour and half of sleep that night.  When I got out of bed in the morning I opened up the "Our Daily Bread" devotional to that mornings writing and there I saw the title, "What Keeps You Up At Night?"  It was a devotion on worry.  I think I rolled my eyes and said, "Really?"

The Lord sometimes uses times like these to get our attention to teach us something that we need to learn.  I know I really need to learn not to worry and I really need to learn to trust the Lord more fully.  He is God and I am His servant.  He is my Maker and He is the Creator of all things.  I am just a sinful wretched man that is saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

The passage of Scripture I used in today's sermon was Matthew 6:25-34 which says,

"25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
                                                                           

26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.

29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.

30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?

31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

We have all worried about something at some point in our lives.  I was worrying before I gave the sermon.  I was starting to feel anxious and panicky as I drove my car to the church, but I made it and all went well.  Sometimes the things that we end up worrying about never come to fruition.  Sometimes our imaginations get the best of us and then we end up feeling foolish at the wasted time that we spent worrying.  I think our enemy, the devil, likes it when we are worried and anxious because it is during those moments when we are least effective for the Lord.

We need to take our eyes off of the things that cause us to worry and turn our eyes upon the Lord Jesus, the One who paid the ultimate price by dying on the Cross for our sins.  We have been redeemed through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

Jesus tells us to look at the birds of the air and the flowers in the fields.  The Lord takes great care of them and we can know that the Lord will take even greater care of us.  God will go with us through the deepest and darkest of trials.  We can trust Him.  When life gets difficult and something unforeseen happens we can know that the Lord will see us through if we are trusting in Him.

Worrying can never add anything to our lives.  It can actually take away from our lives though.  Worrying can make us sick and shorten our lifespan.  I am still learning not to worry about things and I must confess I am all the way there yet.  I am still learning everyday to trust the Lord more and I have to relearn that many times.  I haven't mastered that yet either.  Thankfully, the Lord hasn't given up on me and He won't give up on you either.  I would encourage you to trust the Lord Jesus each step of the way.  When you stumble and fail get right back up again and reset your eyes upon Jesus Christ.  Jesus will never fail You.  Jesus loves you.

Let's take our worries to the Lord and leave them there with Him and trust Him more.  God knows what He is doing.  He is in control.  We can trust Him.

Lord,
Help us handle our worries better by focusing upon You.
Forgive us for worrying so much.
Empower us through the Holy Spirit to keep our focus on who You are.
We praise Your Holy Name O Lord.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

Shipwrecked and Rescued by Jesus

Sometimes worries and anxieties plague us.  We live in a troubling world.  Our world is broken and there are many shipwrecked people crashed upon the shore of hopelessness.  There are many people who need to be rescued.  There are many people who need to be thrown a lifeline and be saved.

There is hope for the hopeless.  There is indeed a rescuer to help those people who have been broken and nearly crushed against the rocky shore of sin.  That rescuers name is Jesus Christ.  God sent the Lord Jesus Christ to this earth on a rescue mission to save us from our sins.

We have all sinned and we have all fallen short of the glory of God.  We have all missed the mark.  Picture someone using a bow and arrow.  They try to hit the target with the arrow, but they fall far short and never make it to the target at all.  That is what sin is.  We have all fallen short of the target.

The Bible tells us that we have all sinned and the wages of sin is death.  We are all born into this world with a sin nature.  We are born separated from the Living God.  We are all deserving of being placed into a literal hell for all eternity because of our sin.

The good news is that God loves us and He made a way for us to be reconciled back to Himself by sending His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to this earth to save sinners such as you and I.  Jesus came to this earth as a baby placed in a manger and He lived a perfect and sinless life.  Jesus went obediently to the Cross where He laid down His life for our sins.  Jesus Christ shed His precious blood on the Cross for you and I.

Jesus took the punishment that we so rightly deserve so we could be reconciled back to God and into a right relationship with Him.  God raised Jesus to life on the third day to show us that He is indeed God.  Jesus defeated the devil and death.  Jesus rescued us from eternal damnation and hopelessness.

We must receive this gift of forgiveness and salvation however.  We do this by going to God in prayer and confessing our sins to Him and be willing to repent of our sins.  That means we agree with the Lord about our sinfulness and we are willing to turn away from our sins and that we want to turn to Him.  We must receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and trust in His grace through our faith in His finished work on the Cross.

When we come to know Christ as our Lord and Savior the Holy Spirit comes to live within us and we are sealed by the Holy Spirit forever.  We can never be lost again if we are truly trusting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  We may stumble and fall along life's journey, but if we are trusting in Jesus Christ and His payment for our sins then we have nothing to fear or worry about.

One day the Lord Jesus we come back to this earth as the King of kings and the Lord of lords.  He will judge the living and the dead.  Those of us who have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior will be allowed into Heaven, but those who have rejected Jesus Christ will be placed into a literal hell forever because they refused to repent of their sins and trust in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the Cross.

Do you feel like you have been shipwrecked and in dire need of being rescued?  I have good news for you.  There is someone who can rescue you right now, right where you are, and His name is Jesus Christ.

Take this moment to go to Him in prayer and receive the Lord Jesus Christ as Your Lord and Savior if you haven't done so yet.  If you are a believer in Christ already and you feel shipwrecked as well I would encourage you to draw near to the Lord Jesus and continue to read the Bible.  Continue to run the race before you with endurance and your eyes upon the Lord Jesus.


Lord,
Thank You for rescuing a wretched sinful man such as I.
I am weak, but thank You that You are strong.
I can't save myself because I am not good enough.
Thank You Jesus for dying for my sins which are many.
Thank You for taking the punishment that I so rightly deserve.
I praise You O Lord my God my redeemer.
I pray that many people will come to know You Lord Jesus as their Lord and Savior over the next few weeks.
Pour out Your Holy Spirit upon us and grant us the courage to live for You.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

Learning to Trust the Lord More

Sometimes life can be stressful and it can be so very easy for us to become distracted.  It is easy for us to lose focus.  There are so many things these days that are competing for our attention that sometimes we take our eyes off of the Lord.  We all have those moments when we get distracted and we start to go off the path that the Lord would have us to travel.

Sometimes things happen in our lives and we feel discouraged.  We may wonder why God have allowed this challenge to happen in our lives.  We don't always understand the things that we have to go through in live sometimes, but we can know that the Lord has a purpose for us and He is still working in our lives.

We can know that the Lord will lead us through the most difficult of circumstances.  The Lord wants us to trust Him and He wants us to submit to His calling on our lives.  The Lord knows what He is doing.  His thoughts are greater than our thoughts and His ways are greater than His ways.

We need to refocus our minds and our lives on the Lord.  We need to read His Word, the Bible, and we need to limit the things that cause us to be distracted and turn our attention back to the Lord.  Sometimes we think we know what is best, but that is often not the case.  God knows what is best for us by far.

In the days ahead let's renew our devotion to the Lord and learn to trust Him more.


Lord,
We praise Your Name.
Help us to trust You more.
Help us to draw nearer to You.
We love You Lord.  Help us to love others as You love us.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

Clinging to the True Vine

It is so very easy to get distracted these days.  We are so very busy running here and there and everywhere that we fail to accomplish has for us to accomplish for Him.  Many people are so very stressed out and they are on the very verge of giving up or throwing in the towel sort of speak.  There are many Pastors and Ministers and even lay leaders that are feeling burned out and they feel like giving up ministry and do something else.

It is so very easy for anyone of us to feel discouraged.  There seems to be a lot of people who are angry and complain a lot about everybody and everything.  Sometimes we end up trying to please people instead of pleasing God.  We shouldn't be trying to please people because that is nearly impossible anyway most of the time.  We can be pleasing to God by being reconciled back to Him through the Lord Jesus Christ.  We must have our faith in Him because we know that it is impossible to please God without faith.

John 15:1-8

1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.
                                                                            

2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.

4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.

7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

In order for we believers in Christ Jesus to produce fruit we must remain connected to the true vine, Jesus Christ.  We are saved by grace through faith in His finished work on the Cross on our behalf.  Once we come to faith in Christ we are sealed by the Holy Spirit for the day of redemption.  Once we place our faith and trust in Jesus Christ and in His finished work on the Cross we are saved forever.  That is we can't be lost again, but we can become fruitless if we aren't careful to stay close to the Lord Jesus.  

If we want to bear fruit we must remain in fellowship with Him.  That means we need to talk to Him in prayer and read the Bible to learn more about the Lord and allow Him to speak to us through His Word and the Holy Spirit.

Sometimes I can get so very spiritually dry because I fail to draw near to the Lord for one reason or another.  We all get distracted at times and at times we fail.  We sometimes allow our worries and fears run our lives instead of allowing the Lord to lead us and direct our steps.

I want to bear fruit for the Lord, but I know that I am good enough to do that in my own power or strength for I know I need the Lord to do it through me, but in order for that to happen I must submit to His leading and His direction.  God knows what He is doing we just need to trust Him more.

Sometimes the Lord will ask us to do something really big and outside of our comfort zone.  We can be assured that if the Lord has called us to a certain task He will provide for us to accomplish that task for His Glory and His praise.  We just need to cling to the True Vine, Jesus.

Lord,

I am small and weak.

I am not that talented in doing things, but I will trust You to lead me in the direction You would have me to go.

Lead us and equip us O Lord for the work You have called us to do.

We cling to You Lord Jesus.

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen.

Jesus is our Hope in Times of Trouble

There are times when our hearts feel troubled and we get afraid.  The days seem dark and at times lonely.  Sometimes we may feel like there is a dark cloud hanging over our heads.  The world is a troubling place at times.  We must be careful not to give into despair and hopelessness for there is hope.

There is a light that shines in the darkness and His name is Jesus Christ.  He is the Light of the world and He shines through every believer through the Holy Spirit.  The world is on a downward spiral, but we believers in Christ are on an upward journey to Glory where we shall be with the Lord forever and ever.

This is a fallen and sinful world we find ourselves living in.  Many people wonder what the problem is in this world these days and it is an easy answer.  The problem is sin and it is in every human heart on the planet.  It's my problem and yours.  We all have sinned and we have all fallen short of God's high standards.  We are all born into this world with our hearts bent away from the Living God who created Heaven and earth.  We are all guilty of sinning against God and we are all deserving of being placed into a literal hell outside of the presence of God for all eternity.

I feel ashamed and guilty over my sinfulness.  I am a sinful and wretched man.  I can't save myself no matter how hard I try to do good things.  I will never be good enough on my own to earn God's forgiveness.  I will never be good enough on my own to earn my way into Heaven when I die.

Thankfully, God made a way for you and for me to enter into Heaven.  God made a way for you and I to be reconciled back to Him.  God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to this earth on a rescue mission to save sinners such and you and I.  What an amazing God!  God made a way when there was absolutely no way.

God loves us so very much and He demonstrated His great love be sending Jesus Christ to live a perfect and sinless life.  Jesus went obediently to the Cross where He shed His blood for my sins, your sins, and the sins of the whole world.  The Bible says that who ever repents of their sins and trust in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior will be saved.  We need to receive His grace by placing our faith in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the Cross.

God doesn't desire that anyone should perish and go to hell.  God wants everyone to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  Unfortunately some people will refuse to come to Christ because they refuse to repent of their sinfulness and they refuse to receive the forgiveness that only Jesus Christ offers.

There is only one way into Heaven and there is only one way to be forgiven of our sins and that is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.  The Lord Jesus rose from the dead on the third day and He is now at the right hand of the Father in Heaven interceding in prayer on our behalf.  One day Jesus Christ will return as the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

In the meantime God didn't leave us to fend for ourselves until Jesus returns, but the Lord gives us the Holy Spirit to indwell everyone who has placed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  We have great hope for tomorrow through Jesus Christ.  Because He lives I don't have to fear tomorrow and you don't either if you are trusting in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

We have great hope in Jesus Christ.  The world needs to hear of the hope that there is in Jesus Christ.  If we don't tell them about Jesus who will?

We will always encounter trouble will we walk on this earth, but thankfully we never have to walk through our troubles on our own.  The Lord promises us that He will be right by our side each step of the way and we can trust in Him.  He will never leave us nor will He ever forsake us.  Thank You Jesus for leading us through our journey and thank You Lord for comforting us in our times of trouble through Your Word and through Your Holy Spirit.

Lord,
We praise Your Name.
Thank You for being our true living hope.
Come Soon Lord Jesus,
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.