A Clean Slate

Here I am sitting here writing this blog post on the very last day of the year 2018.  Many of us take this time to reflect back on the year and think of all of the things that have happened.  Some of us look at the year ahead of us and we wonder what the immediate future holds for us.

Many people start out the New Year with resolutions that they will only keep for a matter of days or weeks.  The New Year can be a clean slate of sorts, but often things stay the same for at least a little while.  This New Year for the believer can be a year of new possibilities and challenges.

May we recommit ourselves to the Lord's work and draw nearer to Him.  May we develop a hunger for God's Word like never before and serve others like never before showing the love that Jesus Christ has shown us.

The New Year will have it's ups and downs.  There will be wonderful mountaintop experiences and there will be heart wrenching sorrow.  Whatever the New Year holds for us we can rest assured that the Lord is already there and we can count on Him to help us through it.

Psalm 23

1 The LORD is my shepherd; I have all that I need. 
                                                                           

2 He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.

3 He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.

4 Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.

5 You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.

6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever.

The Lord will lead us through this new year just like He has led us in the past.  He will protect us and guide us.  He will lead us like a shepherd leads a flock of sheep.  Jesus is our good shepherd and we know He loves us for He laid down His life for us.

The Lord will provide for us throughout the year ahead.  Our God is an Awesome God and we can trust Him each and everyday.  May we set our gaze upon the Lord Jesus and allow Him to lead us throughout the year ahead.

We have a wonderful living hope in the Lord and we have a true promise of a Heavenly home when we leave this world.  We must have our sins forgiven through our faith in what Christ did for us on the Cross.

I wish you a very Happy New Year.  May we humble ourselves everyday and take up our cross and follow Jesus everyday.  

Lord,

We praise Your Holy Name.

Forgive us our sins of commission and our sins of omission.

Thank You Jesus for dying for our sins past, present, and future.

Come Soon Lord Jesus.

Help us to draw nearer to You in the year ahead.

In Jesus Name we pray, Amen.

Clinging To Our Unchanging Lord

Here we are at the end of another year and soon a new year will begin.  We don't know what the immediate future holds for us or for this world.  The years seem to fly by at a lightening pace and it does seem to go faster the longer we live here on this earth.  Many things have changed over the years and even during this past year which is about to draw to a close.

We know that change is a constant thing that happens.  Everything we see around us changes.  We don't always like change.  Some changes are uncomfortable and some changes are hard to get used to.  Sometimes change is necessary.

Thankfully, there is One that never changes.  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever more.  When our lives are troubled and we are rocked by a storm we can have great confidence that the Lord is with us and He will give us a peace in our hearts that surpasses all understanding.

The world is a very uncertain and dangerous place.  We live in an increasingly dark world where people are doing what is right in their own eyes.  The world is calling things evil that are actually good and the world is calling things that are evil good.  We are living in perilous times indeed and things will grow even darker until the Lord Jesus Christ returns at  His Second Coming.

We believers in Jesus Christ must stand firm upon the truth of God's Holy Word and cling to our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  The Lord never changes and He is a constant help in our time of need.  When things change and things seem dark we must remind ourselves that we have a wonderful living hope in the Lord Jesus Christ.

We also need to remember that this world is not our home and we also need to remember that there is more to come after our life here on earth is finished.  If we are trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we know that when we pass from this world in death we then will be taken to Heaven where we will be with the Lord forever.

Things will indeed change here on earth.  Some change will be good and some change won't be so good.  We can count on God never to change and we can count on the Lord to be there for us wherever we are and whatever trial we are going through.

Lord,
We thank You for not changing.
You are always true to Your Holy Word.
We praise Your Name.
Lead us and guide us into all truth through Your Holy Spirit.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

Proclaiming The Truth and Hope of Jesus Christ

I had a wonderful Christmas this year with time spent with family celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.  We had a wonderful meal, I got to take some pictures, and most importantly I was reminded of the wondrous love God has for us by sending Jesus Christ to this earth to rescue us from our sins.

Sometimes it seems that Christmas has been hijacked by the secular world to get people to spend their hard earned money on gifts that people won't even remember in a years time.  I wonder how many people even truly know what the true meaning of Christmas is.

 The true meaning of Christmas is important to each and every person on the planet whether they like it or not.  It was out of God's great love for all people that He sent His one and only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to this earth to give us true hope.

John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life."  God's love for us is great and wide.  The Lord invites everyone of us to have a personal relationship with Him through Jesus Christ.

This world is full of darkness and hopelessness.  This world needs to hear the Gospel Message of Jesus Christ.  We believers in Jesus Christ have been tasked to take the Good News of Jesus to those in our communities and to all the world.  

People all over our world need to hear that there is indeed Truth and Hope in the Lord Jesus Christ.  We are fast approaching a New Year and I pray that more people will come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.

Lord,
We praise Your Name.
We thank You for the true meaning of Christmas.
Help us to tell others of the hope we have in the Lord Jesus.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

Merry Christmas

Tonight I went to the Christmas Eve Candle Light Service at the First Baptist Church in Houlton, Maine.  This is the Church where I attend.  It was a great service tonight and it was very well attended.  The music was uplifting and wonderful.  The evening was focused on lifting up the Lord Jesus Christ who is worthy of all of our praise.

(Here is a link to the service that I attended):

 https://www.facebook.com/FirstBaptistChurchHoulton/videos/500053647191167/?t=12

This is the day before Christmas and we remember what Christmas is all about.  Christmas isn't about the shopping, family parties, and maxing out your credit cards.  It is about the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ, who was born in humblest conditions and placed in a manger because this world had no room for Him.

There are many people in our world today that still make no room for Jesus in their lives and they wonder why their lives are falling apart.  God came down from Heaven in the person of Jesus Christ to save us from our sins.

We celebrate the coming of Jesus tomorrow and we also wait expectantly for His second coming when He will return to this earth as the King of kings and the Lord of lords.  We believers in Jesus Christ will indeed be shouting Hallelujah to Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior when He returns.

I wish everyone who reads my blog postings a very Merry Christmas.  May the Lord bless you and keep you safe as you seek His face and draw nearer to Him this Christmas.

Lord,
Thank You for sending Jesus Christ to save us.
Thank You for saving a wretched man like me.
I praise Your Holy Name.
Come Soon Lord Jesus.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

Final Sunday of Advent: Love

Tomorrow marks the fourth and final Sunday of Advent as we prepare our hearts to celebrate the first coming of the Lord Jesus Christ at Christmas.  This time of the year reminds us of the great hope, joy, peace, and love that we have in the Lord.  We live in a world that is getting pretty dark and unfriendly.

People long for hope, peace, joy, and love in their lives, but they just can't seem to find it.  The world can't find these things because they are looking for them in all the wrong places.  A person will never find hope, peace, joy, or love in the bottom of a bottle of alcohol or in anything else of this world.

The only place a person can find true hope, peace, joy, and love is in God alone.  God demonstrated His great love towards each one of us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).  God sent Jesus Christ to this earth on the greatest rescue mission ever.  We are all in need of rescuing.  We are all sinners and we are all deserving of eternal punishment in a literal hell because we have broken God's law.

We are law breakers and there is nothing we can do in our own power to make ourselves right with God.  There are no amount of good works or good deeds that can save our souls from perishing in hell.  Thankfully, God is an awesome God and He made a way for everyone to be reconciled back to Himself.

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16).  God loves us and He doesn't want anyone to go to hell.  It was out of God's great love for people that He sent Jesus to thins world.  Jesus was born of a virgin and He lived a perfect and sinless life.

Jesus went to the Cross where He died for our sins, past, present, and future.  Jesus rose from the dead on the third day and He is now at the right hand of God interceding for us in prayer.  We must recognize our sinfulness and receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior in order to be saved.  We can't save ourselves.  We need to look unto Jesus and trust in His grace by faith.

God loves us so very much.  We can experience true hope, peace, joy, and love through a life changing personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  This world needs Jesus.  I need Jesus every moment of everyday.

I am weak, but Jesus is strong.  He instills within me hope, peace, joy, and love through the Holy Spirit who indwells all of us who believe.

This Christmas season let us remember the wonderful love God has for all of us and may we believers tell and show the love of Jesus to those around us.

Lord,
Thank You for Your great love towards us.
I pray for that unspoken prayer request that is on my mind.
Help us to sense Your loving presence in our lives through Your Holy Spirit in a powerful way.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

Our Help In Times Of Trouble

Our world is a world full of trouble.  We turn on the evening news programs on our televisions and we can see all kinds of trouble that is brewing all around the world.  These are indeed troubling times.  There is much darkness in this world and things will grow darker as the world tries to distance itself away from the Lord and the truth of the Bible.

Sometimes we worry and fear what will happen next in this world.  We believers in Jesus Christ must not allow fear to overwhelm us for we a safe in our Savior's arms.  If we are trusting in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior then we know that our sins are forgiven and that we have a home in Heaven waiting for us.

The Lord promises us in His Word that He will never leave us nor will He ever forsake us.  No matter what happens to us in life we can know with a certainty that Jesus is with us and He will help us through whatever trial we face.

This Christmas season let us remember that Jesus is our Immanuel, God with us, and may we remember that He is always with us even to the very end of the age.  No matter what troubles come our way and no matter what trials we encounter we can always trust the Lord Jesus to help us.

Lord,
We praise Your Name.
Thank You for being with us in our times of trouble.
Help us to keeps our eyes upon You, Lord Jesus.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

Shining His Light into the Darkness

Sometimes the cold winter months seem so dark and we feel like not doing anything.  The winter months in Northern Maine can be rather hard on people in one way or another.  Sometimes it is so very easy to feel depressed and all alone this time of the year.  We experience the lack of sunshine and we remember family and friends that are no longer with us.   This time of the year can be hard on many people.

I have been blessed to lead a service at a local nursing home facility twice a month.  I bring along someone to play the piano and I bring my guitar.  We sing hymns, we pray, and I share a devotional which is usually a writing from my blog.  No one has fallen asleep yet or walked out, (well except for that time I tried to sing Rock of Ages), on me.

Yesterday I went to that nursing home and we sang Christmas Hymns.  It was a great time and the Activities Director thanked us for being there and she said the residents really appreciated the visits as well.  I appreciated the compliments, but truth be known every time I leave there after a service I fell like I was the one that was blessed by seeing them.

Sometimes we can take things for granted and sometimes we fail to see God's goodness in the world around us.  There is a lot of darkness and loneliness in our world, but God still shines His light into the darkness.   I also had another great thing that occurred yesterday.

After I finished the service at the nursing home I joined the First Baptist Church of Houlton`s Youth Group to go Christmas Caroling.  It was a fun and amazing time.  This time of the year I sometimes feel anxious and nervous especially we I do something new, but I was super calm yesterday.  I felt the Lord's presence and it was a great time of fellowship as well as service.

The Lord wants to shine His light through us into this world of darkness.  We must stand firm upon His Holy Word and be anchored to the truth of who He is.  Let us be lead by the power of the Holy Spirit and minister to those in need even if it is only singing some songs to them or giving a friendly hug.

Lord,

We praise Your Holy Name.
Help us to serve You by serving others.
Help us to show Your love to those in need and to those who are lonely.
I praise Your Name.
In Jesus Name I pray,
Amen.

Third Sunday of Advent: Joy

Sometimes people use the words joy and happiness to mean the same thing, but they are indeed very different.  Happiness depends on our circumstances.  When our circumstances are favorable we feel happy, but when the circumstances turn bad we no longer feel happy, but we instead feel sad.

Joy on the other hand is not dependent upon our circumstances.  We can have a real sense of joy even when our lives are falling apart.  True joy in our hearts comes from having a proper relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ.

We experience joy in our hearts when we humble ourselves, repent of our sins, and receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  Joy is not something we can conger up ourselves.  Joy is implanted into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who indwells each of us who have trusted Jesus Christ and His finished work on the Cross for our sins.

We may be going through very difficult times and circumstances, but if we know the Lord we can still have a sense of joy in our hearts because we know God and we are known by Him as well.  The Lord loves us so very deeply and He cares for us.  The Lord has promised to be with us each step of the way on our journey here on earth.

We believers in Jesus Christ will one day leave this world and enter into Heaven where our joy will be complete for we will see the Lord as He is and be with Him forever.  That is our great hope and that should fill our hearts with an inexpressible joy.

During this Advent season as we prepare our hearts to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ we sing many songs and hymns that speak of this special season.  One of my favorites is, "Joy to the World."


Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

The light of the world was coming into this world of darkness.  God was sending His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, on the greatest rescue missions ever.   God became man and dwelt among us.  We have a hard time wrapping our minds around that, but that is what God did.  

The joy of the Lord is our strength.  He is the One that places such joy in our hearts just by knowing Him in a personal way through Jesus Christ.  This week of Advent may we reflect on the joy we have in the Lord.

Lord,

We praise Your Name.

Thank You, Lord, for the joy in our hearts just by knowing You.

Lead us and guide us through the Holy Spirit.

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen.

Loving Our Enemies

We are living in an increasingly hostile world.  There is a whole bunch of anger all around.  There is an increasing pressure arising against all of those who have placed their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.  I don't want to sound like an alarmist, but as the world grows more and more godless the worse things will be for those who hold firmly to the truth of the Bible and to the Lord Jesus Christ whom we serve.

We can very easily become complacent and we may feel like just going with the flow.  We don't want to offend people, but if we are truly following the truth we will offend people because the Cross is offensive to those who are perishing.  When I say we will offend people I do not mean being a jerk and mean spirited, but we need to proclaim the truth about God and His Holy Word.  When we proclaim the truth there will be people who will be offended because they don't what to repent of their sinful ways and turn to the living God who loves them.

There will be people who will not like us because we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and we want to please Him and we don't want to do what the world is doing.  Jesus tells us plainly how to handle those people who hate us.  We can read what He says in Luke 6:27-36 which says,

"27 “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. 
                                                                           

28 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.                                                    

29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also.

30 Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back.

31 Do to others as you would like them to do to you.

32 “If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them!

33 And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much!

34 And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.

35 “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked.

36 You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate." 

We believers are not to be hateful and angry towards unbelievers especially those who hate us.  We must remember that they are not our true enemy.  Our enemy is the devil and that is who the people of this world are serving if they haven't come to know Christ as their Lord and Savior.

We are called to love them and pray for them.  Loving someone doesn't mean we say what they are doing is right.  We need to tell people the truth about themselves, about God, and how to be reconciled back to God through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

Sometimes we get caught up in the philosophy of, "Preach Christ and when necessary use words."  

Well, if we don't verbally tell people about Christ and that we are followers of Jesus because He saved us from our sins, the people around us may just think we are nice and good people.

Faith comes by hearing and hearing comes by the Word of God (Romans 10:17).  We need to tell people in a compassionate and loving way about the Lord because we genuinely care about them and we don't want them to spend eternity in hell.  

Let's not keep Jesus a secret anymore this Christmas season.  Let's take this opportunity to tell someone about the Lord Jesus Christ our Immanuel.

Lord,

Help us to love our enemies.

We pray for those who don't like us because we follow You.

Lord, Grant us the courage and boldness and kindness to proclaim the truth of the Gospel to those in our families, our communities, and throughout the world.

May we stand up for the Lord Jesus.

We praise Your Name O Lord.

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen.

                    

God's Great Love For Us

The world can seem like a very dark and scary place at times.  There are a lot of things that can cause us to feel uneasy and scared.  This time of the year many people feel lonely and depressed.  Where I live it gets dark so very early this time of the year and it is very cold.  The temperature right now, as I write this blog posting, is 6 degrees F.

Last year this time I felt horribly depressed and anxious.  I even had a panic attack so bad that I called ambulance for myself.  I was rushed to the emergency room where my pulse rate was 143 which is really high for someone that wasn't exercising at the time.  I was checked out and I was told I very healthy which really didn't bring comfort to me at that moment.

In the year since I had to learn to trust the Lord and I also had to learn to relax more.  Sometimes it is hard to relax and let go of things that bother us.  I sometimes hold onto things such as bitterness and unforgiveness.  We believers in Christ are called to forgive as the Lord Jesus has forgiven us.

Sometimes it is not easy for us to forgive those who hurt us or someone we loved.  We won't be able to forgive those people on our own.  We will need the Lord's help to do that through the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.

The Lord is always with us even through the difficult times of life and He promises us that He will never leave us nor will He ever forsake us.  He is a friend that sticks closer than a brother.   The Lord will guide our steps as we learn to walk in the Spirit.

This is the time of the year that is supposed to be filled with joy and great promise because there is great hope and great promise in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ is the reason for this Christmas season.

There are many people who don't truly understand what Christmas is all about.  It is not about shopping, it's not about getting all kinds of gifts, and it's not about maxing out our credit cards on stuff that people won't remember we gave them a year from now.

Christmas is about God loving the world so very much that He sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, into this world on a rescue mission to save us from our sins and eternal damnation in a literal place called hell.  God is awesome and He loves us so very much.  God gave us the greatest gift that was ever given.  He gave us Jesus.

We know the Christmas story of Jesus being born of a virgin and placed in a manger.  We remember the perfect life that He lived.  We should definitely remember it was Jesus who went to the Cross and died in our place for our sins.  Jesus shed His blood for us to reconcile us back the God the Father.

Jesus took the punishment that you and I deserve.  Jesus didn't stay in the grave, but He rose from the dead on the third day to show us that He indeed is God.  We have all sinned and we have all fallen far short of God's high standards.  We all need forgiveness and there is only One way to obtain forgiveness of our sins and that is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

We must receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior by faith.  Times may be difficult and we may feel stressed and lonely, but may we always remember how much Jesus loves us and how much He did for us.

Lord,
Thank You for Your great love for us.
Thank You God for sending Jesus Christ on a rescue mission to save us sinners.
Help us to trust You more and more everyday.
We love You Lord Jesus.
Help us not to be afraid or anxious.
Help us to embrace the truth of who You are.
Come soon Lord Jesus.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

Pressing On Towards Jesus

The Christmas season is a time of quiet reflection as we remember the first coming of our dear Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as a baby placed in a manger.  We reflect on the awesomeness of our Heavenly Father as He looked upon mankind with love and sent His only begotten Son on a rescue mission to save us from our sins.

This time of year is one full of joy, hope, peace, and love.  We rejoice in the Lord for all that He has done for us.  Our hearts are full of gratitude as we ponder the great hope we have in Jesus Christ.  This time of the year is very busy with decorating, buying gifts, preparing meals, church activities, and family get togethers.

This time of the year can also spring up other emotions as well.  This time of the year can invoke sadness and loneliness for many.  Many have lost loved ones and the thoughts of a holiday without them there can be overwhelming to say the least.  We must not forget the lonely and broken hearted this time of the year.

There are many who have no one to share a meal with and there are many who get depressed especially after experiencing a loss and the dark of winter and the cold temperatures don't help very much.  The world can seem even colder and darker with out someone to share the holiday with.

May we always remember the hope that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ and tell those who are hurting and are lonely about the hope that we have.  Let us fix our eyes upon the Lord Jesus and continue to run the race that has been set before us.

May we continue to love one another and encourage each other with the peace, hope, joy, and love we have in Christ Jesus our Lord.

May the Lord bless you and keep you firmly in His grip this Christmas season.

Lord,
We praise Your Name.
Help us to press on towards You each and everyday.
Come Soon O Lord,
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

The Second Sunday of Advent: Peace

Our world is not a peaceful world.  There is a lot of tension, anger, and division, but certainly no true peace.  We pray for peace and I do believe many people want peace in their lives, their nations, and in the world.

We look at the world around us and we see wars, people arguing and fighting, and we see lots of strife.  We see a certain lack of peace everywhere we look in the world.  We see the lack of peace in our governments, our families, our work places, and sometimes dare I say in our churches.

There is only one way to find true everlasting peace and that is by allowing the Prince of Peace into our hearts and our lives.  I am of course talking about the Lord Jesus Christ.  No one will ever have peace in their hearts unless they repent of their sins and receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Jesus brings true peace into our lives when we receive Him into our hearts by faith.  We recall a long time ago when there were shepherds watching their flocks by night and an angel appeared to them announcing the coming of Christ the Lord, the Savior of the world.

Luke 2:8-20,

8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 
                                                                           

9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified,

10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.

11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!

12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger.

17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child.

18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished,

19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.

20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.

The angel appeared to the shepherds and said, "Don't be afraid! I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people."  The good news was that Jesus Christ, the Savior, was born into this world.  

The angel was joined by many more angels who shouted praises to God saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased."  

God made a way for each one of us to find true everlasting peace by sending His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, into this world to live a perfect sinless life and die on a cruel rugged Cross for our sins.  Jesus rose from the dead on the third day and He is at the right hand of the Father in Heaven interceding for us in prayer.  

Everyone of us that have repented of our sins and received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior have been reconciled back into a right relationship with God the Father.  We were enemies of God because of our sin and we lacked peace in our hearts, but now because of Jesus Christ we have peace through our faith in His grace in which we stand.

Do have peace in your hearts?  We can find true peace only in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  

Lord,

Thank You for the peace You offer us through Jesus Christ.

We praise Your Holy Name.

Help us to prepare our hearts to worship You as we should.

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen.

God is With Us

18 This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 
                                                                           

19 Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.

20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.

21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

22 All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:

23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’”

24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife.

25 But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.

- Matthew 1:18-25


Life can be challenging to say the least.  There will be good times and there will be hard times.  The world seems to be growing darker and things will continue to go down hill the more people turn away from the true living God and His principles.

This time of the year reminds us that even though things may look grim and bleak God is with us.  No matter what challenges and hardships that come our way we must acknowledge that God, the Creator and Sustainer of all things is with us and He is for us because He loves us.

We have all sinned and we have all fallen short of the glory of God.  We don't get to define what sin is.  God tells us what sin is in the Bible.  Sin is missing the mark and we have all missed the mark.  We have all been born with a sinful nature.  That means our hearts are bent away from God from birth.

We must repent of our sins and receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior in order to be saved.  Jesus came to this earth on a rescue mission.  We remember the account of Jesus birth and everything that happened during that time.  God sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, in this world to save us sinners.

When we read the account of Jesus birth in Bethlehem when He was placed in a manger we must also remember the Cross where Christ was nailed for our sins.  Jesus was born to die for you and I.  It was out of God's great love for you, for me, and for the entire world that He sent Jesus Christ into this world to save us from our sins.

Sin is serious.  Sin separates us from the true living God.  The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ (Romans 6:23).  God made a way when there seemed to be no way for us to have a proper relationship with Him by sending His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to be our Lord and Savior if we receive Him by faith.

When we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior the Holy Spirit comes to indwell us.  The world doesn't have the Holy Spirit because the world doesn't believe in Him nor knows Him.  Only those whom have placed their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and His substitutionary death on the Cross have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them.

We believers in Christ also have our sinful nature to contend with as well.  We are called to walk in the Spirit and give no room for the flesh (Galatians 5:16).  There is a war going on within a believer in Christ Jesus.

We need to chose moment by moment to walk in the Spirit and be obedient to the Lord.  God will help us to do that when we submit to His ways and His directions.  We can't live a life of obedience on our own.  We need the Lord to lead us and guide us each step of the way through the empowering of the Holy Spirit.

We remember that Jesus was called the Immanuel which means, "God with us" and the good news is that He is still with us each and everyday.  The better news is that He is also in us through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

There is no place we can go where God isn't there with us.  We will encounter hard difficult times.  We will each face challenges that are totally beyond our capacity of dealing with in our own power, but God is with us.

When we place out faith and trust in Jesus Christ we know that we will never be alone no matter what trials or persecutions we may face.  The days ahead may indeed be tough and we may feel like giving up.  Things may seem too hard for us to handle in our own strength, but we must remember that God us with us.

Are you facing a trying time?  We all go through things.  Some things are really hard and we may feel like we are about to break, but we must remember that the Lord Jesus loves us and that if we are trusting in Him as our Lord and Savior He will be with us no matter what difficulties come our way.

Lord,
Life is hard.
Trials can drag us down.
Thank You, Lord, for being with us each step of the way.
Thank You, Lord, for loving us and having mercy on us.
Help us to walk in the Spirit.
Help us to say no to fleshly desires and follow You and Your ways instead.
We are weak and broken, but You O Lord and string and mighty.
We praise Your Holy Name.
Lead us and guide us.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

Our Help In A Time Of Need

Sometimes the Christmas season can stir up feelings of sorrow and of loneliness because we are missing loved ones that aren't around anymore.  This season can also be stressful because of bills and our inability to pay them.  There are times when it feels like everything is stacked against us and we feel like we are in a hopeless situation.

The good news is that there is hope for us in Jesus Christ.  He make not fix the situation that we are in, but He promises us to be with us through the challenges of life.  The Lord will help us if we allow Him to.

We may need to ask the Lord for wisdom in how to handle the difficulties that we are experiencing and then we must allow Him time to answer.  This requires waiting on the Lord in a quiet place with our Bibles opened.  Sometimes we spend a lot of time talking to God in prayer and coming to Him with a laundry list of request, but we don't allow time for Him to speak to our hearts.

We need to listen to the Lord.  He does speak to us.  He speaks to us mainly through His Holy Word, the Bible, He speaks through other believers and sometimes unbelievers, and He also speaks to us through the Holy Spirit.

The Lord Jesus told us that in this world we would indeed experience troubles, but He also told us to not allow our hearts be troubled for He has overcome the world.  We sometimes need to remind ourselves that this world is not our home.  Our home is in Heaven where we will be with the Lord forever.

We believers in Jesus Christ have a great hope in the Lord.  This is not a wishful thinking kind of hope, but a true living hope.  We can trust the Lord Jesus and His promises because He is faithful and true to His word.

We will all encounter difficult trials ahead and some trials may be too much for us to handle on our own and in our own strength.  These times of difficulty can really challenge our faith.  This trials can make us bitter and have us turn away from the Lord or they can draw us ever nearer to our awesome loving God.

God loves us and He will help us through the worst of trials.  We need to trust Him and call out to Him for help.  He is our help in our time of need.

Lord,
Times are hard.
The bills keep piling up and the money just doesn't seem to come very fast these days.
We need Your help O Lord in our situation.
We ask that You would grant us wisdom.
Help us not to worry and fret over our problems.
We bring our concerns to You O Lord.
Lead us and guide us by Your Holy Spirit.
We praise Your Name and we love You Lord.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

Praying For The Mockers

II Peter 3:3-7 (NLT)

"3 Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. 
                                                                           

4 They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.”

                                                   

5 They deliberately forget that God made the heavens long ago by the word of his command, and he brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water. 

                                                  

6 Then he used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood. 

                                                  

7 And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed."  

We live in a world that is growing increasingly hostile to the truth about God and those who have placed their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Sometimes we forget that this world is not our home and that we have an enemy that doesn't like us very much because we belong to Jesus.  The devil is our enemy and he is stirring up trouble and hatred all around this world.

There are times I must admit that I am a little naive because I assume people like me, but sometimes that isn't always the case.  Sometimes when people find out that I am follower of Jesus they ask weird questions and speak to me in a mocking way.  

There is this young man who works at the grocery store where I work who seems to be mocking my belief in Jesus.  He hasn't come right out and said anything, but I just get the sense that he doesn't like me by the way he acts and what he says.  

The other day he found out that I was a Pastor and today as I was leaving work he says to me, "Praise Jesus."  So, I thought that was a good thing so I said, "Praise the Lord!"  to which the young man says to me in front of other people in line at the cash register, "I think hell will be much more fun."  After he said those words he left and I just can't stop thinking about the way he said those words.  

It was very chilling the way he said those words and there was such a coldness in his voice.  There are many people who are spiritually dead all around us and they need Jesus.  This young man needs Jesus.  

I would like to ask you to pray for this young man.  I want you to pray that the Lord Jesus would touch him in a powerful way and save his soul from the pits of hell.  Would you pray for him for me?

Lord Jesus,

We praise Your Name.

I pray for that young man who is so cold and full of hate.  

I pray that You would reach him with the gospel.

I pray for all of those in my family and my work place and in this community.

I ask that You O Lord would reach out to them in love and draw them into Your Kingdom.

There is only one way a person can be saved and that is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

Thank You Lord for saving a wretch like me.

Come Soon Lord.

In Jesus Name I pray,

Amen