The Greatest Commandment

²⁸ One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate. He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

²⁹ Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. ³⁰ And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’^{[a] 31} The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[b] No other commandment is greater than these.”

³² The teacher of religious law replied, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth by saying that there is only one God and no other. ³³ And I know it is important to love him with all my heart and all my understanding and all my strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law.”

³⁴ Realizing how much the man understood, Jesus said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.

- Mark 12:28-34


There came a time when many were questioning Jesus about the works He was doing.  One of the teachers of the religious law asked the Lord which of all the commandments was the greatest.  Jesus didn't side step the question at all.

He told the man plainly, reciting the Shema, He said, "Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is one and only Lord.  And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength."  Then Jesus added, "The second is equally important: "Love your neighbor as yourself.  No other commandment is greater than these."

We are called and commanded to love the Lord our God with our entire being.  That means we should be obedient to Him in every aspect of our lives and be entirely devoted to Him and the calling He has placed upon our lives.  The Lord isn't seeking out religious people who keep a list of rules. but He desires for people to love Him with their all because of His great love for them.

God demonstrated that great love by sending His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, into this world to die for us sinners (Romans 5:8).  When we love someone we ought to be faithful to them and trust them.  The Lord desires that we obey Him and trust Him.  He also desires that we love Him.  That includes loving the One He sent to die for our sins.

Jesus paid the price for our sin debt by laying down His life on the Cross for our sins.  We can't save ourselves.  We need a Savior and there is only One Savior and that is Christ the Lord.  The Lord's love for us is unconditional.  It is not based on our behavior, thankfully, because none of us would be worthy of love if it were.  God is crazy about us and He wants us to love Him just as much.

We must place God first in our lives by loving Him and walking in the truth of His Holy Word, the Bible.  We need also to walk in the Spirit so we will not fulfill the lust of the fleshly nature (Galatians 5:16).  When we are loving the Lord with all of our being we will be extra careful of how we are walking and when we stumble, (and we all do) , we will be quick to confess our sin to Him knowing that He will forgive us (I John 1:9).

When we are loving the Lord who is our Maker and Creator of all things then we should also love our neighbor as ourselves.  Our neighbors are those all around us on the planet.  The don't just include the people who live across the street, but those who live across the globe.  When we have the right view of God and a love for Him then we will be able to love people as well.

We live in a fallen world.  The world is full of hate and mean spiritedness.  There is a lot of angry words being spoken these days and they do nothing to stir up love for God or others.  What the world needs is to love the Lord, the One True Living God, with all their hearts and then love their neighbor as themselves.

What would the world look like if we put God first and love Him?  When we put God first and humble ourselves while trusting in what Jesus did for us on the Cross then we would want to love people around us and especially those who are in dire need.

This world is lacking in love and that is scary.  The love of most will grow cold before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ is indeed coming back one day soon and we must be ready for that day.

Lord,
Thank You for loving us so greatly.
Help us to love You with all of our being.
Help us to love others as well.
We need Your help, O Lord to do that better.
Empower us by the Holy Spirit to love those around us for Your Glory.
In Jesus Name I pray,
Amen.

Telling Others About Jesus

It's very easy to complain and get negative these days.  It is very easy to find ourselves discouraged as we see all the anger and the bickering back and forth between our leaders and sometimes the people around us.  It is in times such as these that we need to remember that this world is not our home and our hope is not found in this world.  Our hope is securely established in the Lord Jesus Christ who shed His blood on the Cross for our sins, rose from the dead on the third day, and will one day return to this earth as the King of kings and Lord of lords.

While we believers are in this world we have a job to do.  That job is to point people to the Lord Jesus Christ in hopes that they will repent of their sins and trust Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  Sometimes we believers fail at this miserably.  There are many people in churches today that think that it is the Pastor's job to tell others about Jesus and therefore they are off the hook sort of speak.  The Great Commission is for all believers in Christ Jesus and not just Pastors and leaders of a church body.  We are all called to tell others about Jesus Christ and their need to repent of their sins and trust Him as their Lord and Savior.

When we just tell someone to just believe in God and put Him in your heart we are falling short of telling the person of what they truly need.  They need Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  It is only by the shed blood of Jesus Christ that we must be saved by.  There is no other Name under Heaven in which people must be saved by and that Name is Jesus Christ.

The Body of Christ seems to have lost it's influence in today's society that we once had.  The Church needs a revival of the Holy Spirit in the lives of every believer and we need to stand firmly upon the truth of God's Holy Word, the Bible.  Many have gone astray and wandered into liberalism where everything goes.  We must get back to the truth and rediscover the true living God who reveals Himself in Creation and through the Bible.

Lord,
You are our hope.
Help us to have the courage to tell others about Jesus Christ and His love for them.
Help us to tell others about their need for Jesus.
Empower us through Your Holy Spirit to spread the Gospel where we live and throughout the world.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

Living in the Truth of God's Word

A believer in the Lord Jesus Christ must guard himself or herself from being like the world.  We have been called by Christ to no longer act as the way the world does, but to follow Jesus Christ and to do His will.  We can only accomplish this by reading and studying God's Holy Word, the Bible, and submitting to the lead of the Holy Spirit who indwells everyone who has trusted Christ as Lord and Savior.

It is so very easy for you and I to lose focus of the Lord and wander off the path that He has laid out for us, but we are always just one step from getting back on course, thankfully.  The Lord is always willing to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9).

It is never enough to just read the Bible and leave it without ever thinking about what we just read.  We should think upon the Word throughout the day even as we are doing other tasks.  We are to chew on Word and allow it to absorb deep within our very minds and souls so it may take root and produce a crop 30, 60, or 100 times that was sown for the building of God's Kingdom and for His ultimate Glory.

Psalm 1

¹ Blessed is the one
    who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
    or sit in the company of mockers,
² but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and who meditates on his law day and night.
³ That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
    which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
    whatever they do prospers.

⁴ Not so the wicked!
    They are like chaff
    that the wind blows away.
⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

⁶ For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

Sometimes it is all too easy for us to go with the flow.  We don't like looking different to others so we just go along with the crowd, but that is not what the Lord would have for us to do.  We are not called to be loud and obnoxious, but we aren't called to be like the world either.  We are to be in the world, but not of it.  There are many false teachers nowadays that have turned away from God's Holy Word and are running after worldly things such as prosperity and gaining material things which have no eternal value whatsoever.

We believers and followers of Jesus Christ must delight in the truth of His Word and think upon it daily and be aware of His presence in our lives through the Holy Spirit.  That believer of Jesus Christ whom has humbled themselves and feeds upon God's Word is likened to a tree that is planted by the stream of living water.  Such a person is well fed and watered by the Word and empowered by the Holy Spirit and will accomplish whatever God has planned for them.  They do not accomplish  anything in their own power or intellect mind you.  It is God doing the work through them and they are just humble, unworthy servants, only doing what their Master wants them to do.

Those who are trusting in Jesus Christ will not fall.  They may stumble and get tripped up on the way, but Christ will always make them stand for He is there with an outstretched hand to help those who stumble to get back up and continue the race that they have been called to endure with perseverance and a focus on the Lord Jesus Christ, our eternal prize.

Those whom have rejected Christ offer of salvation and those who continue in their wickedness have no such promise or hope whatsoever.  They reject the outstretched hand of Christ and they refuse His divine help.  Thus they have no future hope to look forward too.  The only thing they have to look forward to is Judgment.  It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God who will Judge the living and the dead at the end of days.

I love the Lord Jesus Christ with all of my heart, but I know I fail Him often.  I am the worst of sinners and have no righteousness of my own.  The only hope that I have is found in Jesus Christ and in Him alone.  I can't save myself.  You can't save yourself.  The people we meet everyday can't save themselves either.  This is true for everyone on the planet which is why we all need the Lord Jesus Christ.  Apart from Christ there is absolutely no hope to be found.  Without the Lord Jesus Christ we are doomed to utter destruction and torment.

I am thankful that there is hope in Jesus Christ for all who believe and trust in Him for salvation.  We must come to Him by faith trusting in His grace (Ephesians 2:8-10; John 3:16) .

Let's make sure we pay close attention to our walk with Christ and the reading of the Word to be a better witness for the Lord while hopefully drawing others to Him.

Lord,
I fail so very often at reading Your Word.
Help me to set more time to be in Your Word and being quiet in Your presence.
Lead us by Your Holy Spirit.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

Jesus Christ is Our Only Hope

The world is a crazy place.  There is a lot of anger and it all can be so very discouraging.  Things in this life seem to be moving at lightening speed.  We are all familiar with the old adage, "Time flies when you're having fun."  Sometimes it's really not much fun at all.  Life is hard and stressful.  There are a lot of voices in this world vying for our attention.

There is One voice we all must and need to hear and that is God's still small voice.  God is speaking to each one of us, but unfortunately we are so busy that we fail to listen.  There are people all around us that never give God a thought throughout their lives.  God loves them and He showers them with blessings, but they fail to believe in Him.

God is real and He is indeed alive.  God created the Heavens and the earth.  He created everything seen and unseen.  He is our Maker.  We are made in His image.  We are special to God.  I didn't always know God.  There was a time when I never gave God a single thought.  Thankfully, the Lord drew me towards Himself over time and He used many people on the way.

I was invited to church by my brother's wife many years ago now and I started to read the Bible for the first time after that.  I learned that I was a sinner and that I was headed for a literal hell if I were to die in my sins.  I learned I needed a Savior.  I needed Jesus Christ.  It was out of God's great love for you and I that God sent us His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to this earth to die on the cross for sinners such as you and I.

Why would God go to all that trouble?  It is because He loves us that much.  Many people want nothing to do with God nowadays.  There doesn't seem to be a reverence for God even in our Churches.  I live in New England where it is said that many people do not have faith in the Lord.  Many Churches have shrunk in numbers and many are closing the doors.

It is a dry and thirsty land where there is no fresh flowing water.  It is a dry spiritual landscape where there is no faith in the True Living God.  God is calling out to people to repent of their sins and place their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.  God doesn't want anyone to go to hell and be separated from Him forever.

We are saved by the grace that Jesus offers us.  We are not saved by works, but be grace alone.  We must receive this grace by placing out faith in Jesus Christ.  We do this by coming to Him in prayer and confessing to Him that we are a sinner and can't save ourselves.  Then we must ask Jesus Christ to forgive us our sins and trust in Him and His finished work that He accomplished for us by dying for our sins, past, present, and future.

God raised Jesus to life on the third day and He is now at the right hand of the Father in Heaven interceding for us in prayer.  When we come to faith in Christ we must continue to grow in Christ through the reading of the Bible, God's Holy Word, and being led by the Holy Spirit who indwells everyone who has trust Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

I hope that I have been a good witness for the Lord and that somehow people see the Lord's work in my life.  Hopefully, God can use me for His glory and draw some people to Himself by using me.  I am not really skilled at many things.  I fail a lot.  I act foolish and immature at times.  Maybe even a little childish (ok...a lot childish) at times.  I can be stubborn, cranky, mean, funny, and even angry at times.  I am soft spoken and misunderstood often.  I come off as aloof and uncaring.  I many faults.  I think way too much and can be overly sensitive.  I may seem cold and distant.  I am thankful for God's amazing grace.  I am saved by the shed blood of Jesus Christ.  I am saved by the grace of Jesus Christ.  I am thankful that the Lord can use someone like me for His glory and pray that He will continue to use me to draw others into a relationship with Himself through Jesus Christ the Lord.

I am deeply concerned about people's spiritual condition.  I fear that many are not ready to enter into eternity.  We are all appointed a day in which we will die and then after that we will appear before God in Judgment.  We will all have to give an account of how we lived our lives here on earth to the Living God.

Those who have rejected God's Son, Jesus Christ, will be sent to a literal hell because they refused to receive the forgiveness of their sins through Jesus Christ.  There is only one name under heaven that we must be saved by and that is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Those who have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior will enter into Heaven where there will be no more pain, tears, or death.   We will be with the Lord forever and ever.  Jesus Christ is our true living hope and we can trust Him with our salvation and our everyday lives as well.  God is good and He loves us.

May the Lord use us to spread the Gospel to those around us.

Lord,
Thank You for Your love and all that You have done for us.
I pray for my family and co-workers that don't know You O Lord.
I pray that You would use me to reach out to them before it is too late.
In Jesus Name I pray,
Amen.

The Security Guard and the Bird

The life of a believer in Jesus Christ is not easy.  We have a target on our backs.  Our enemy, the devil, goes around like a roaring lion trying to find someone to devour.  Satan will try to discourage us and he will try to ruin our witness for Christ.  Sometimes, the accuser of our souls, will use other people to come against us to discourage us.  Satan enjoys spreading falsehood and stirring up trouble.

There are people in our world today that love to stir up trouble for other people.  I witnessed this the other day and I was the target.  I was in a city about two hours south of where I live.  The city is called Bangor.  My mother, brother, his wife, and I went down there to take my mom to her doctors appointment as well to do other errands that we wanted to do.

The first stop was at a health care mall by the airport where my brother and his wife had something at the lab that they had there at the facility.  My mother and I stayed by the vehicle in the parking lot as we waited for their return.  I took my mother for a little walk around part the parking lot which wasn't really that far.  We made a little loop that probably took five minutes and we returned to the car.

When we returned I looked at a tree that we were parked next to and there was this amazing looking bird.  I like to take pictures of birds and other creatures that God has made.  The bird just stayed there on top of that tree motionless.  I took my cellphone out and took one picture, but I could get close enough.  So, I opened up the car door and got my camera from my bag.  I have one of those DSLR cameras with a zoom lens because I like taking photographs of mostly wildlife.

There I was taking several pictures of the bird on top of the tree in the parking lot of a health care mall when all of sudden a Security Guard comes up to me and says, "Are you taking pictures, sir?"  I answered, "Yes."

"You aren't taking pictures of the facility? Are you?", he asked.

I said, "No." , wondering where this was heading next.

Then I said, "I was just taking a picture of this bird", pointing my finger to the tree next to the car.

The Security Guard said, "Oh, Just taking pictures of birds, are you?"  He seemed satisfied with the answer and started to walk away, but I felt the need to prove myself so I showed him the pictures on the back of my digital camera just to try to ease his mind.  He was just doing his job checking out people.

He was satisfied with my answer and he walked away.  I noticed he walked to a woman who was standing at the buildings entrance and I heard him say to her, "He's taking pictures of birds."  The woman continued talking to the Guard for several minutes with her arms flapping in what I would say was anger.  I am not sure exactly why, but that Security Guard was taking heat from this woman who had a problem with me taking pictures of a bird in a parking lot.

I did say I was sorry to the Guard after I showed him the picture of the bird and as he was walking away.  It wasn't too long that my brother and his wife came out of the facility and we got into the vehicle to leave to go get breakfast.  When we left the woman was still yelling at the Guard and he turned from her and walked away having heard enough of whatever she was complaining about.  She walked away too throwing her hands in the air in disgust.

We believers in Christ have an accuser that will try to harm us, but we have Jesus who is our defender and our Savior.  Jesus took the punishment on the Cross for our sins and He seals us through the Holy Spirit who indwells all of us who have placed of faith in the finished work of Christ.  The Lord Jesus will stand up for us against our accuser just as the Security Guard stood up for me that day in a parking lot.

Maybe you are feeling attacked by the devil himself and you feel discouraged.  I would encourage you to keep trusting the Lord Jesus and cry out to Him in pray for His help and believe that He will indeed help you in a wonderful way.

Lord,
Thank You for the way You help us.
Thank You for Your great love and mercy.
Help us to continue to see Your helping hand everyday.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

Do Not Fret

"Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; 
for like the grass they will soon wither, 
like green plants they will soon die away.

Trust in the Lord and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

(Psalm 37:1-3)

Read Psalm 37:
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+37&version=NIV

Sometimes it seems like wicked evil people get away with things.  We hear of people committing crimes and getting a mere slap on the wrist.  There are many cold cases all around and some may never be solved.  There are people in our word today that think they have gotten away with a crime, but truth be known they haven't.

A person can fool people at times and a person can hide things from others for a time, but a person can never hide from God.  The wicked people in our world may seem to have gotten away with there "dirty deeds", but rest assure they will have to answer to the Lord God Almighty in judgment.

When we are aware of wicked people plotting things we need to trust the Lord to empower us to speak up against the evil deeds and take action to safe guard the innocent.  We must be still and know that the Lord is God and He will bring judgment on those who do evil.

We believers in Jesus Christ must pray for our governments and our local leaders.  We must pray that God will intervene and change the tide.  We must pray that people's hearts will be opened to the Lord.  For the Lord is the true living God and there is no other God besides Him.  He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Let's not be discouraged when it seems like there is wickedness everywhere.  Instead let's be  a people of prayer and trust the Lord to act through our prayers to turn people's hearts back to Him.  The Lord is still in control and we are all accountable to Him.

Lord,
Help us not to fret about things out of our control.
Help us not to fret about wicked people in our world today.
Help us instead to lift our eyes to You.
In Jesus Name,
Amen.

Finding Rest In the Arms of Jesus

There are many people in our world today that are stressed out with the pressures of life.  Life can be stressful for sure.  Many people seek rest, but they search for it in the wrong ways.  They try to find rest in a tropical vacation or some other activity.

There is only one place to find the rest that we are looking for and that is in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Jesus tells us to come to Him and find rest for our souls.  We all desire a peaceful rest deep within our souls.  We desire peace in a world that is full of problems and turmoil.  We long for something better where we are far away from trouble.

We can find such a place with the Lord Jesus.  He says in Matthew 11:28-30,

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."


Sometimes we try to find peace in worldly endeavors, but those things always seem to fall short.  We may feel peaceful after a break from work or laying on a beach in the sunshine, but that peaceful feeling soon fades away like a distant memory.

We need true peace that comes into our hearts and stay there not matter what trial or difficulty comes our way.  We live in a fallen world that is dying.  This is a sin filled world that is distancing itself from the true living God day by day.

The Lord still calls out to all of us to come to Jesus.  When we feel weary and weighed down by life's burdens we need to turn to Jesus.  When we feel noise in our souls and our minds we need to turn to
Jesus.

Do you need rest in your soul?  Are you tired and weary?  We all feel that way at times.  There is a great hope for us this very day.  There is a rest awaiting us through Jesus Christ.

How do we find this rest and peace within our souls.  We need to come to the Lord Jesus Christ in faith and trust in His grace.  We each have something within us that separates us from God and that is sin.  We have all missed the mark with God.

We are all sinners worthy of divine Judgment in which we would be found guilty and sent to a literal hell for all eternity.  The good news is that God made a way for us to be saved by sending His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, into this world to save us sinners of whom I am one of the worse.

Jesus shed His precious blood on the cross for our sins to reconcile us back to God.  We need to realize that we have sinned against God and that we can't save ourselves by our goodness because none of us is god enough on our own.  We must repent of our sins and place our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  When we do the Holy Spirit will come to indwell us to help us on our journey through life.

The Holy Spirit will comfort us with the peace of Christ when troubles arise.  He will empower us to live for the Lord and He will work on us to make us more like Jesus everyday.  It will be a life long adventure that won't be completed until we see the Lord Jesus in Heaven.

We must continue to seek the Lord everyday by reading the Word, the Bible, and praying.  The Lord Jesus will give us rest in our very souls when we come to know Him and trust Him.  Maybe you are feeling a lack of peace in your heart right now.  I would encourage you to keep trusting the Lord and keep learning from Him.  Keep seeking Him in prayer and in you quiet times.

The Lord is waiting for you with opened arms saying, "Come to me and find rest."


Lord,
I need Your peace and rest in my soul.
Help me to cast aside those things that cause me to stumble.
Help me O Lord not to grumble through trials, but help me to trust You more.
You are the Lord God Almighty.
You are my Maker and You are the Creator of all things.
I believe all things are possible with You.
You are Holy.
You are Mighty.
You are all powerful.
I praise the wonderful Name of Jesus.
Empower us through Your Holy Spirit to enter into Your lovely peace and rest.
In Jesus Name I pray,
Amen.

When Trouble Comes, Part 2

https://www.biblestudytools.com/nlt/2-chronicles/passage/?q=2-chronicles+20:1-30
(Above is the link to read 2 Chronicles 20:1-30 (NLT version)


There are times in our lives when we run into trouble.  Some trouble is our own doing because of the choices that we make.  Some trouble comes with no fault of our own.  We live in a world full of trouble.  Jesus told His disciples that in this world they would have trouble.  We have all experienced trouble in one form or another.

In 2 Chronicles Chapter 20:1-30 we read that King Jehoshaphat had trouble.  There were three armies heading towards Judah and there wasn't time to gather the troops and defend themselves.  The King was afraid.  Sometimes we trouble shows up at our doorstep we are afraid and with good reason.  Trouble can be scary especially when it shows up unannounced.  

Instead of remaining in his fear the King ordered everyone to fast and pray.  The King prayed a wonderful prayer reminding everyone what God had done for them in the past.  It is always good to remember all the good things that the Lord has done for us and in the lives of other believers.  The Lord is Mighty and He is Faithful.  The Lord is the Creator and Sustainer of all things.  There is nothing that surprises the Lord.  He knows all things.  

King Jehoshaphat prayed hard along with the people of Judah and they all stood there before the Lord with their eyes on the Lord waiting for the Lord to respond.  Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel and he spoke the words the Lord wanted him to say to the King.  The Lord told them not to be afraid or discouraged because of the vast army that was approaching.  For the battle is not yours, but God's.  

When troubles come we need to make sure we go to the Lord in prayer and allow Him to fight the battle for us.  The Lord knows the outcome.  He knows the future.  We just need to exercise our faith in the Lord no matter how dark and bleak our situation may seem at the moment.  Is life easy?  No, life is not easy at all.  Sometimes life is unfair and hurtful.  Sometimes the enemy comes at us like a roaring lion trying to destroy us, but we must not cower in fear.  We must cling to the faith we have in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Jesus is our Savior and our Redeemer.  Jesus is the One who will walk us through the fiery furnace of trouble.  

The Lord fought the battle for the King and Judah.  He will fight this troubling battle that you are facing as well.  Trust Him.  Call out to Him in prayer and believe the God will help you through this trouble that you are facing.  We have a wonderful living hope in the Lord Jesus Christ and we have a wonderful future ahead of us in Heaven if we are trusting in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  

May we go to the Lord when trouble comes knocking at our door and trust the Lord with our battles.

Lord,

You are Mighty and Holy.

You have delivered up from troubles many times over the years.

You are the Creator and Maker of all things.

You know every hair on our head.

You love us and care for us.

You are the True Living God and there is no other God besides You.

I pray for those going through trouble right now.

I ask that You would strengthen their faith and empower them through the Holy Spirit to endure.

I pray for the peace of God to guard our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Help us O Lord to stay the course and trust You everyday.

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen.

When Trouble Comes

We all encounter troubles throughout our lives.  Some troubles are small and easily dealt with.  While other troubles hit us with a one-two punch and knock the wind out of us.  Life isn't easy that is for sure.  The Lord Jesus told His disciples that in this world they would indeed have trouble, but He also told them to take heart for He has overcome the world.

Jesus paid the price for our sin on the cross and He defeated death by rising from the dead on the third day.  Jesus is the Son of the true Living God.  If we are trusting in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior then we have hope when trouble comes knocking at our doors.  Those who do not know Jesus as Savior and Lord have no true lasting hope.  Only Jesus Christ gives us any hope of forgiveness of our sins and He is our only hope to have an eternal home in Heaven when our lives are finished here on earth.

When troubles come our way we must remember that the Lord is with us each step of the way.  Jesus promises us that He will never leave us nor will He forsake us and He promises to be with us even until the end of the age.  Jesus is a friend that is closer than a brother.  We can trust the Lord to help us through any trouble that comes our way.

What do we do when trouble comes?  There is something we can do when we encounter trouble and that is we need to pray.  The Lord is a prayer away.  Actually, the Lord is closer than that through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit who lives in everyone that has placed their faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ and His shed blood for our sins on the cross.

Turning to the Lord in prayer when trouble comes should be our top priority.  Sadly, most of wait and try to figure things out on our own first then we might pray about it or ask other believers to pray for us.  That is so wrong of us!  We have a loving God who wants to hear from us and He is willing and able to help us in our times of trouble.  God is all powerful and mighty.  There is nothing to big or too small for our God to handle.

James 5:13 says, "Is any of you in trouble?  He should pray.  Is anyone happy?  Let him sing songs of praise."


When the trials of life come to us we must immediately come boldly to the throne of grace.  We must come to the Lord seeking Him in prayer.  We must to the Lord in faith and trust that He will help us when we call out to Him.  We are weak and powerless on our own, but our God is much stronger and much wiser .

We must allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us through the Word and His gentle promptings.  We must also be listening to what God is telling us in our prayer times and as we read the Bible.  I feel that prayer is missing in many of our churches today.  We need to come together more often and pray.

Every revival that has occurred has always started with someone praying in the power of the Holy Spirit.  The Lord wants to move in our congregations with great fresh power of the Holy Spirit, but many are refusing to call out to God in faith.  Jesus told His disciples one time to, "pray and don't give up."  We too must pray and not give up for the Lord is with us and He is willing and able to help us.  We need to reach out to God in prayer.

Lord,
We praise Your Name.
Thank You for helping us in our time of need.
Help us to remember we can always call out to You in prayer.
Empower us by Your Holy Spirit to do Your will.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

The Lord Cares For Us

Sometimes the world can seem so cold, dark, and unfriendly.  There are times when we wonder if anyone truly cares for us.  Many people just go through life unnoticed and just existing.  We can rest assure that someone does indeed care for us and there is someone that does notice us.  The One who cares for us and notices all that we do is God.

The Lord cares for us and He showers us with blessings each and everyday.  The Lord allowed us to awake this morning.  He provides us with a roof over our heads and food to eat.  The Lord provides for us in many other ways too.  He is the One that supplies us what we truly need.  God is so very good to us and He cares about us.

God loves us so very much and He demonstrated that by sending His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to this earth where He lived a perfect sinless life and died on the Cross for our sins.  We have all sinned against a Holy God.  We can't obtain forgiveness of our sins by being good or doing good things.  There is no one that does good according the Scriptures.  We have all fallen short of God's high standards.  There is not one of us that is good enough on his or her own to earn forgiveness and eternal life in Heaven.

We have all sinned and we are all deserving of being placed into a literal hell outside the presence of God for all eternity.  God doesn't want anyone to perish and go to hell so He is very patient with us.  It is the Lord's desire that we all come to repentance of our sins and receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and be saved.

There is only one name under Heaven in which we must be saved by and that is the name of Jesus Christ.  When we come to faith in Christ the Holy Spirit comes to indwell us.  The Holy Spirit will help us understand God's Word, the Bible, and He will help us to apply the Word to our hearts and lives.

When we have the Holy Spirit in us we are never truly alone no matter if everyone we know abandons us for one reason or another.  The Lord will never leave us nor will He ever forsake us if we are trusting in Him.

Everything seems to be changing in our world at an amazing rate, but thankfully God never changes and nothing catches Him off guard.  We need to praise the Lord and give Him thanks for all that He has done for us and all that He is working out on our behalf.

Let's lift up our eyes to the Lord when life seems hard and lonely.  Let's trust the Lord more and keep running the race that He has set us on.


Lord,
Thank You for caring for us and loving us. 
Help us to love You more.
Help us to also love those You put in our path.
Empower us through the Holy Spirit to live for You.
Come Soon Lord Jesus.
In Jesus Name I pray,
Amen.