One Person
I Kings 18:19-39
History certainly tells us that one person can affect many people. Examples of this would, of course, be people like Hitler and other leaders who have affected history in a negative way. Sometimes it is a person who does something good who influences people in a great way. There are even people from Alabama history who have written those stories about progress and great strides forward, with one person being the catalyst for that kind of activity.
In our Bible reading today, we see one man who was God’s man, he was God’s prophet, Elijah. In I Kings 18:19-39, the prophet Elijah is in a contest with some prophets of a false god named Baal. The prophet Elijah wanted to show people that God was the only true God. The false prophets built an altar and were praying to their God asking him to send down fire to burn up their sacrifice that was laying there on the altar. The false prophets prayed and prayed and their god did not answer them.
Finally Elijah built an altar just to the side of theirs, put up a sacrifice. He then had them dig a ditch around it, pour water all over the sacrifice, and fill the ditch with water. Then Elijah prayed, and God answered his prayer. He sent down fire that not only burned up the sacrifice, but also lapped up the water, the Bible says. Then the people knew that God was the only true God. Elijah was just one man, but he used himself to show God’s great power. God can use you too to do great things for Him today.
Our job as individuals is to let God have His way with us and set that great example for people to follow--not so that we will be glorified, but instead, that God will be. The people bowed down on the ground saying, “The Lord is God! The Lord is God! 1 King 18:39. What will it take today to influence people to say, “The Lord, He is God!”
I think this is a great week for people to be looking and understanding more the fact that God is God, and the great things He is doing for us. Of course, this week with Easter approaching, we are already thinking about the fact that God sent His only Son to live and die on the cross giving us a hope of heaven when this live is over. Jesus himself said, I am the way the truth and the light. No one comes to the Father except through me. The great teaching of the Bible is that there is a God, He loves people, and He sent His Son to die on the cross, and they buried Him. That is not the important part so much as He arose from the grave and defeated death. Because of His death, burial, and resurrection, we have the chance of eternal life with God in Heaven when this life is over. The questions for us is, are we the person who is trying to make a difference in our lives and all the people around us. Are we the one person who is doing it God’s way.
I hope we examine our lives today as we look and see where we are spiritually speaking, that we will make sure we faithfully obey God’s will. Someone says, “How do I do that?” The faith part of that equation involves hearing God’s word and believing it; the obedience part of that equation involves repentance, confession, and baptism. It includes faithful attendance, and giving of time, talents, and treasures. It involves teaching other people. Do what it takes God to put God first in your life, and you as one person can make a difference.
~Philip
31 March 2010
30 March 2010
FORGIVENESS
Matthew 18:21-35
Our Bible reading today comes from Matthew 18:21-35. There in the text a servant owed a king a lot of money, but the servant couldn't pay back the king. The king had a plan to bring in the servant and put him in jail for not paying his bills. That may be a sobering lesson for all of us for not paying our bills. The servant pleaded, saying, “ I have a wife and I have children and it is important that I remain out of jail.” The servant began to beg the king to forgive his debt, and the king had compassion on the servant. The servant said to the king, “Be patient with me.” I will pay you everything I owe.”(verse 26 ) The king felt sorry for the servant and decided he would dismiss the servant's debt and he would not have to pay the debt back at all.
Later though, that same servant went out and found another man who owed him a very small amount in comparison. The servant told the man to pay him the money, and the man asked the servant to be patient with him—almost the exact words the servant had used with the king. The servant, however, had no compassion for the man who owed him money. He grabbed him by the throat and threatened to kill him. Then the servant had the man thrown into jail, just like the king had planned for him.
When the king learned about this, you can imagine the king was very upset, very angry with what had gone on, and rightly so. By the time you get to verse 34, of our scripture reading the bible says, the king put his servant in prison to be punished until he could pay everything he owed. The king reversed his decision because of the man's lack of compassion.
These verses are good lessons for us today, because this king did the same as our heavenly Father did for us. Our heavenly Father is willing to forgive that great debt that we owe. A debt that we are really not able to repay, because the Bible teaches that the payment for sin is death. We don't want to die, and be separated from Christ, so God paid the debt for us with His son Jesus Christ.
You must truly forgive your brother or sister, or your heavenly Father will not forgive you, verse35 of our reading says. We need to be willing to forgive others and accept forgiveness from God. Colossians 3:15 says, “forgive other people because the Lord forgave you.
Let me encourage you today to read your Bibles and take time today to forgive other people around you. Make sure you put God first today and every day of your life. The way to do that is walking by faith and not by sight.
~Philip
Matthew 18:21-35
Our Bible reading today comes from Matthew 18:21-35. There in the text a servant owed a king a lot of money, but the servant couldn't pay back the king. The king had a plan to bring in the servant and put him in jail for not paying his bills. That may be a sobering lesson for all of us for not paying our bills. The servant pleaded, saying, “ I have a wife and I have children and it is important that I remain out of jail.” The servant began to beg the king to forgive his debt, and the king had compassion on the servant. The servant said to the king, “Be patient with me.” I will pay you everything I owe.”(verse 26 ) The king felt sorry for the servant and decided he would dismiss the servant's debt and he would not have to pay the debt back at all.
Later though, that same servant went out and found another man who owed him a very small amount in comparison. The servant told the man to pay him the money, and the man asked the servant to be patient with him—almost the exact words the servant had used with the king. The servant, however, had no compassion for the man who owed him money. He grabbed him by the throat and threatened to kill him. Then the servant had the man thrown into jail, just like the king had planned for him.
When the king learned about this, you can imagine the king was very upset, very angry with what had gone on, and rightly so. By the time you get to verse 34, of our scripture reading the bible says, the king put his servant in prison to be punished until he could pay everything he owed. The king reversed his decision because of the man's lack of compassion.
These verses are good lessons for us today, because this king did the same as our heavenly Father did for us. Our heavenly Father is willing to forgive that great debt that we owe. A debt that we are really not able to repay, because the Bible teaches that the payment for sin is death. We don't want to die, and be separated from Christ, so God paid the debt for us with His son Jesus Christ.
You must truly forgive your brother or sister, or your heavenly Father will not forgive you, verse35 of our reading says. We need to be willing to forgive others and accept forgiveness from God. Colossians 3:15 says, “forgive other people because the Lord forgave you.
Let me encourage you today to read your Bibles and take time today to forgive other people around you. Make sure you put God first today and every day of your life. The way to do that is walking by faith and not by sight.
~Philip
26 March 2010
Forever Love
Jeremiah 31:1-9 Ps. 100:5
I have tried and tried for years now to try to understand some languages. One of those languages I try hard to understand is American Sign Language, but it always seems hard at times to understand when someone using ASL (the reference most people use for American Sign Language). I finally realized and what really helped me to understand and improve my receptive skills was that I was only focusing on the signs and what I should have been doing was paying attention to the whole picture.
I went to a class one time and the title of it was “See it all, do it all”. The idea was that you not only watch the signs they are doing with their hands, but you look at the expressions on their faces and see the body movements and you see everything that is going on. Then and only then, I have a good clear picture of what is happening. It’s the same way in my life. When I face the problem, only focus on the problem itself-- one little thing that is going on instead of looking at the whole picture, I should be thinking about how God’s love is, and how he’s working and guiding me through the problem. If we focus on the over-all picture, and focus on God, including him in our life, then it changes the way we look at things.
In our Bible reading today, Jeremiah 31:1-9, God told the Israelites that He loved them. In verse three of that text God said, “I love you people with a love that continues forever. That is why I have continued showing you kindness.” God told the Israelites that He loved them in a way that was eternal. God loved them forever and He loves us forever.
Maybe you are facing a problem today, but instead of thinking about that one little problem--looking at the one area, and not being able to see clearly what is happening, think about God’s eternal love and about how He can help you with those problems. Guess what will happen, His word teaches that with every problem God sends a way that we will be able to overcome, that we can be successful through it all. The Lord is good. His love is forever and we can trust Him forever and ever, Psalm 100:5, says. Are you trusting God today, have you trusted Him enough to just give Him your life completely. I hope you are, but if you aren’t get you Bible out today and study. The Bible teaches that if you seek you shall find.
~Philip
Jeremiah 31:1-9 Ps. 100:5
I have tried and tried for years now to try to understand some languages. One of those languages I try hard to understand is American Sign Language, but it always seems hard at times to understand when someone using ASL (the reference most people use for American Sign Language). I finally realized and what really helped me to understand and improve my receptive skills was that I was only focusing on the signs and what I should have been doing was paying attention to the whole picture.
I went to a class one time and the title of it was “See it all, do it all”. The idea was that you not only watch the signs they are doing with their hands, but you look at the expressions on their faces and see the body movements and you see everything that is going on. Then and only then, I have a good clear picture of what is happening. It’s the same way in my life. When I face the problem, only focus on the problem itself-- one little thing that is going on instead of looking at the whole picture, I should be thinking about how God’s love is, and how he’s working and guiding me through the problem. If we focus on the over-all picture, and focus on God, including him in our life, then it changes the way we look at things.
In our Bible reading today, Jeremiah 31:1-9, God told the Israelites that He loved them. In verse three of that text God said, “I love you people with a love that continues forever. That is why I have continued showing you kindness.” God told the Israelites that He loved them in a way that was eternal. God loved them forever and He loves us forever.
Maybe you are facing a problem today, but instead of thinking about that one little problem--looking at the one area, and not being able to see clearly what is happening, think about God’s eternal love and about how He can help you with those problems. Guess what will happen, His word teaches that with every problem God sends a way that we will be able to overcome, that we can be successful through it all. The Lord is good. His love is forever and we can trust Him forever and ever, Psalm 100:5, says. Are you trusting God today, have you trusted Him enough to just give Him your life completely. I hope you are, but if you aren’t get you Bible out today and study. The Bible teaches that if you seek you shall find.
~Philip
25 March 2010
Be Like Jesus
I Sam. 8:1-21 I Pet. 2:21
In I Samuel 8:1-21, the Bible tells us about God's people the Israelites. They wanted to have a king just as the other people in the other surrounding lands had kings. God wanted to be their king, but the Israelites decided they did not want that kind of king...they wanted a human king they could see sitting on a throne in a particular place. This made God very sad. God told the people that they had made a bad decision because if they did this and had a king like everybody else, bad things would happen to them because they had a human king. The people did not listen to God, they still wanted a human king, so they started to search.
God said to them,”If you have got to have a king, at least have this king. So God helped them to select a particular king. The second king selected was perhaps the greatest king of all times for the Israelites. After that other kings followed, and sure enough it happened just like God said it would. Things went from pretty good, to very good, then to pretty good, then steadily downhill after that. Each king became worse than his predecessor. Oh, there were a few good kings here and there to give a glimmer of hope. But for the most part the kings just became worse and worse.
Sometimes we to want to be like the people around us. We want to wear the same kind of clothes, drive the same cars, wear the same hairstyles. Sometimes we want to try to be like other people in the things that we do or don't do when it comes to God's will. Some people go to places because they are the popular places to go for worship. Some people may even say, I am going to go over there because so and so goes there. Let me encourage you not to do things because everybody else does. Let me encourage you to do things because it is God's will for your life. If you are a Christian you belong to Jesus. He is the one who paid the price, He is your king, and you should not be like all the people around you, having all sorts of other kings in your life.
Instead I hope you are trying to be like Jesus, that you are trying to do what He called you to do. Christ gave you an example to follow and you should do the same things he did, I Peter 2:21. What are you doing today? Are you doing the things Christ wants you do, or things that are popular today? I hope you are doing things Christ's way. That you are faithfully obeying God's will—that you are listening to His will, that you believe what He has to say, that you are willing to repent, confess, and be baptized. And, finally that you are willing to live faithfully each day, putting God first and trying to be like Jesus this day and every day.
~Philip
I Sam. 8:1-21 Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel. The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice. Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the LORD. And the LORD said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. 8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day—with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them.” So Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who asked him for a king. And he said, “This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants. And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the LORD will not hear you in that day.” Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, “No, but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he repeated them in the hearing of the LORD.
I Sam. 8:1-21 I Pet. 2:21
In I Samuel 8:1-21, the Bible tells us about God's people the Israelites. They wanted to have a king just as the other people in the other surrounding lands had kings. God wanted to be their king, but the Israelites decided they did not want that kind of king...they wanted a human king they could see sitting on a throne in a particular place. This made God very sad. God told the people that they had made a bad decision because if they did this and had a king like everybody else, bad things would happen to them because they had a human king. The people did not listen to God, they still wanted a human king, so they started to search.
God said to them,”If you have got to have a king, at least have this king. So God helped them to select a particular king. The second king selected was perhaps the greatest king of all times for the Israelites. After that other kings followed, and sure enough it happened just like God said it would. Things went from pretty good, to very good, then to pretty good, then steadily downhill after that. Each king became worse than his predecessor. Oh, there were a few good kings here and there to give a glimmer of hope. But for the most part the kings just became worse and worse.
Sometimes we to want to be like the people around us. We want to wear the same kind of clothes, drive the same cars, wear the same hairstyles. Sometimes we want to try to be like other people in the things that we do or don't do when it comes to God's will. Some people go to places because they are the popular places to go for worship. Some people may even say, I am going to go over there because so and so goes there. Let me encourage you not to do things because everybody else does. Let me encourage you to do things because it is God's will for your life. If you are a Christian you belong to Jesus. He is the one who paid the price, He is your king, and you should not be like all the people around you, having all sorts of other kings in your life.
Instead I hope you are trying to be like Jesus, that you are trying to do what He called you to do. Christ gave you an example to follow and you should do the same things he did, I Peter 2:21. What are you doing today? Are you doing the things Christ wants you do, or things that are popular today? I hope you are doing things Christ's way. That you are faithfully obeying God's will—that you are listening to His will, that you believe what He has to say, that you are willing to repent, confess, and be baptized. And, finally that you are willing to live faithfully each day, putting God first and trying to be like Jesus this day and every day.
~Philip
I Sam. 8:1-21 Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel. The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice. Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the LORD. And the LORD said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. 8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day—with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them.” So Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who asked him for a king. And he said, “This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants. And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the LORD will not hear you in that day.” Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, “No, but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he repeated them in the hearing of the LORD.
24 March 2010
LIVE FOR JESUS
II Timothy 1:3-14 1:14
There are a lot of things some people can do with a piece of paper. One thing you can do is fold it up and make different shapes. My son likes to fold it up and make a popper out of it,or better yet fold it up and make a football out of it, he will play at any restaurant you want to play there on the table as long as it takes for our food to come. Org homy is of course, the name the Chinese have given to the art of paper folding. People who know this skill can make spectacular things out of paper. They can fold it in a certain way and make a beautiful flower or some animal. Another thing you can do with a piece of paper is write on it or draw on it, or you can take that piece of paper up and crumble it and make it into a big ugly wad of paper. Our lives are a lot like that paper—you can make it into something beautiful or something ugly.
In our Bible reading today, II Timothy 1:3-14, we see there in the text that Paul is writing to a young man named Timothy. Paul is encouraging Timothy to make something of his life and not to be ashamed to tell people about our Lord Jesus, verse 8. Then he also added--”Follow the teachings that are there for yourself.”, verse 13. Paul encouraged Timothy to always live for Jesus, and we should that too. We should put God first in our lives and make sure we are living this day and every day for Him.
Someone says, “How do we do that?” Well, the way that we do that is put God first. In Matthew 6:33 Jesus himself is speaking. He is telling about a lot of stuff people are worried about and He says don't worry about all the stuff. Instead put God first.-- “Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and all these things will be added unto you.” You see, the idea is if we put God first He takes care of the rest.
What a great principle that is to follow every day of our life. The way we put God first is to love Him with all of our heart, soul, strength, and mind. We show that love by taking care of others who are around us. But how do we ever get to the point that we really love God? Well, I believe that it is when we finally have heard His word, and have believed it, we've listened to what He says and realize how powerful God is, and how He loves us. Once we realize how he loves us then we will be willing to keep his commandments because we will love Him back. God Himself said, “If you love Me you will keep My commandments .” We believe Hie word, we repent of our sins, we confess our faith, we are baptized into Christ. We live faithfully each day after that, putting Him first by the things we do—by our prayer life, by the giving of our time, talents, and treasures, by searching the scriptures daily, by our teaching other people, by our always attending church services.
The question becomes are we living for Jesus each day? He paid the price for you and me. If we give our life to Him we can and should belong to Him. He is happy to call us a joint heirs with Him with the blessings of Heaven, but in order to do that, God has to be put first, which means we must walk by faith and not by sight.
~Philip
II Timothy 1:3-14 1:14
There are a lot of things some people can do with a piece of paper. One thing you can do is fold it up and make different shapes. My son likes to fold it up and make a popper out of it,or better yet fold it up and make a football out of it, he will play at any restaurant you want to play there on the table as long as it takes for our food to come. Org homy is of course, the name the Chinese have given to the art of paper folding. People who know this skill can make spectacular things out of paper. They can fold it in a certain way and make a beautiful flower or some animal. Another thing you can do with a piece of paper is write on it or draw on it, or you can take that piece of paper up and crumble it and make it into a big ugly wad of paper. Our lives are a lot like that paper—you can make it into something beautiful or something ugly.
In our Bible reading today, II Timothy 1:3-14, we see there in the text that Paul is writing to a young man named Timothy. Paul is encouraging Timothy to make something of his life and not to be ashamed to tell people about our Lord Jesus, verse 8. Then he also added--”Follow the teachings that are there for yourself.”, verse 13. Paul encouraged Timothy to always live for Jesus, and we should that too. We should put God first in our lives and make sure we are living this day and every day for Him.
Someone says, “How do we do that?” Well, the way that we do that is put God first. In Matthew 6:33 Jesus himself is speaking. He is telling about a lot of stuff people are worried about and He says don't worry about all the stuff. Instead put God first.-- “Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and all these things will be added unto you.” You see, the idea is if we put God first He takes care of the rest.
What a great principle that is to follow every day of our life. The way we put God first is to love Him with all of our heart, soul, strength, and mind. We show that love by taking care of others who are around us. But how do we ever get to the point that we really love God? Well, I believe that it is when we finally have heard His word, and have believed it, we've listened to what He says and realize how powerful God is, and how He loves us. Once we realize how he loves us then we will be willing to keep his commandments because we will love Him back. God Himself said, “If you love Me you will keep My commandments .” We believe Hie word, we repent of our sins, we confess our faith, we are baptized into Christ. We live faithfully each day after that, putting Him first by the things we do—by our prayer life, by the giving of our time, talents, and treasures, by searching the scriptures daily, by our teaching other people, by our always attending church services.
The question becomes are we living for Jesus each day? He paid the price for you and me. If we give our life to Him we can and should belong to Him. He is happy to call us a joint heirs with Him with the blessings of Heaven, but in order to do that, God has to be put first, which means we must walk by faith and not by sight.
~Philip
23 March 2010
SMALL PACKAGES
Psalms 117:1-2
There is an old saying here in America that sometimes good things come in small packages. The gift on the outside may be very small, but the gift on the inside may be very big or very special in some way. We are familiar with that phrase. Sometimes I receive small packages from friends or family members. Inside that package is a gift that ends up being very special to me. In a lot of ways this is very true. It doesn’t matter how small the package may be, it’s what’s on the inside that is important, and even beyond that, who it came from is what is important.
Today’s Bible reading is only two verses long. It is one of the smallest chapters in the Bible, Psalm 117:1-2. It’s a very small text, but in this text is something very important for each of us. This text reminds us to praise God. Why? Because He loves us-- His love is great and his faithfulness lasts forever. Pretty simple isn’t it. Praise God because He loves us and His faithfulness lasts forever. Sometimes our friends and family aren’t around when we need someone to encourage us and help us, but God is always with us and He is always the same--always faithful.
Talk to God today, give Him your time and give Him your thanks for His love and His faithfulness to you. By the way, a few chapters before that in Psalm 100:5, the Bible says the Lord is good. His love is forever. We can trust Him forever and forever. What a beautiful idea. Trust God today enough to give Him your life.
There are really only two questions in life. The first question is: Can I trust God? The answer is obvious--yes. You can trust God, no doubt about it. The second question is: Can God trust us? Can we say, “Okay, God here is my life. I’m going to hand it over to you. I trust you and therefore you can trust me.” I hope your answer is “yes”. I hope you will hear what God has to say, that you will believe it, that you will put it into action with repentance, confession, and baptism.
I hope you will do those things that you know you ought to do, and even if nobody else does, just go about taking care of those things you know you should be doing. This includes reading the Bible each day, taking time to teach others about God, and giving of your time, talents, and treasures--those benevolent kind of things that are so important. If we will do those things, people will see God glorified, and as a result people will come to faithful obedience to God’s will. That after all, is what being a Christian should be all about. I hope today is a great day for you.
~Philip
Psalms 117:1-2
There is an old saying here in America that sometimes good things come in small packages. The gift on the outside may be very small, but the gift on the inside may be very big or very special in some way. We are familiar with that phrase. Sometimes I receive small packages from friends or family members. Inside that package is a gift that ends up being very special to me. In a lot of ways this is very true. It doesn’t matter how small the package may be, it’s what’s on the inside that is important, and even beyond that, who it came from is what is important.
Today’s Bible reading is only two verses long. It is one of the smallest chapters in the Bible, Psalm 117:1-2. It’s a very small text, but in this text is something very important for each of us. This text reminds us to praise God. Why? Because He loves us-- His love is great and his faithfulness lasts forever. Pretty simple isn’t it. Praise God because He loves us and His faithfulness lasts forever. Sometimes our friends and family aren’t around when we need someone to encourage us and help us, but God is always with us and He is always the same--always faithful.
Talk to God today, give Him your time and give Him your thanks for His love and His faithfulness to you. By the way, a few chapters before that in Psalm 100:5, the Bible says the Lord is good. His love is forever. We can trust Him forever and forever. What a beautiful idea. Trust God today enough to give Him your life.
There are really only two questions in life. The first question is: Can I trust God? The answer is obvious--yes. You can trust God, no doubt about it. The second question is: Can God trust us? Can we say, “Okay, God here is my life. I’m going to hand it over to you. I trust you and therefore you can trust me.” I hope your answer is “yes”. I hope you will hear what God has to say, that you will believe it, that you will put it into action with repentance, confession, and baptism.
I hope you will do those things that you know you ought to do, and even if nobody else does, just go about taking care of those things you know you should be doing. This includes reading the Bible each day, taking time to teach others about God, and giving of your time, talents, and treasures--those benevolent kind of things that are so important. If we will do those things, people will see God glorified, and as a result people will come to faithful obedience to God’s will. That after all, is what being a Christian should be all about. I hope today is a great day for you.
~Philip
22 March 2010
SHARING
Romans 12:9-13
There are a lot of benefits to being a minister. Where I work it is a blessing to do those things that I get paid to do. It's one of those jobs that people look at and say, “Wow, does someone actually get paid to do that.”
The Lord has really blessed us and the church has continued to grow. One of the things though that I really enjoy doing, in fact it is toward the top of the list, is benevolence work. Benevolence work is a Bible sort of word, but another word my Mother would use for it is—sharing. You know, we as children we heard from our parents that we ought to share. We are always telling our children to share. We try to teach that lesson. Sometimes adults forget this lesson if we are not careful. We have the opportunity to share many things. One of those things we are able to do is to take care of those needs others may have. Maybe you could help with the Food Bank, or with some other place, like helping with clothes or furniture or other things people are in need of. Maybe it's paying some bill, or taking food over to someone. Whatever the case is, we can find different ways to help people.
In Romans 12:9-12, our Bible reading today, the apostle Paul says for us to share with people who have need—to look for people who need help, and welcome those people into your homes. Paul says, make sure you as Christians do your job, and share with people who are hungry, or need clothes, or shelter. What we often do though is say something like, “Well, if you need anything just let me know.” We're really hoping that that's the end of it. What if someone actually said to you, “Well, I do need some things, and here is what I need.” Then we would say, “How dare they give us a list.” …..Well, you asked.
What Christians really should do is not wait for someone to give a list, but be pro active. If we see they need something, just do it without being asked. There are many examples in our Bible of people who shared. There were people who shared food with David and his army in I Samuel 25. There was a husband and wife who shared with God's “man of the day” in II Kings 4. Many people today have needs and there are many ways we can share. The Bible teaches that it is our duty—that we should go and do good. Hebrews 13:16 says, “do not forget to do good for those people and share with those people. I hope today you can learn with me that one of the things with Christians we should be doing is sharing with other people.
~Philip
Romans 12:9-13 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the necessity of saints, given to hospitality.
Romans 12:9-13
There are a lot of benefits to being a minister. Where I work it is a blessing to do those things that I get paid to do. It's one of those jobs that people look at and say, “Wow, does someone actually get paid to do that.”
The Lord has really blessed us and the church has continued to grow. One of the things though that I really enjoy doing, in fact it is toward the top of the list, is benevolence work. Benevolence work is a Bible sort of word, but another word my Mother would use for it is—sharing. You know, we as children we heard from our parents that we ought to share. We are always telling our children to share. We try to teach that lesson. Sometimes adults forget this lesson if we are not careful. We have the opportunity to share many things. One of those things we are able to do is to take care of those needs others may have. Maybe you could help with the Food Bank, or with some other place, like helping with clothes or furniture or other things people are in need of. Maybe it's paying some bill, or taking food over to someone. Whatever the case is, we can find different ways to help people.
In Romans 12:9-12, our Bible reading today, the apostle Paul says for us to share with people who have need—to look for people who need help, and welcome those people into your homes. Paul says, make sure you as Christians do your job, and share with people who are hungry, or need clothes, or shelter. What we often do though is say something like, “Well, if you need anything just let me know.” We're really hoping that that's the end of it. What if someone actually said to you, “Well, I do need some things, and here is what I need.” Then we would say, “How dare they give us a list.” …..Well, you asked.
What Christians really should do is not wait for someone to give a list, but be pro active. If we see they need something, just do it without being asked. There are many examples in our Bible of people who shared. There were people who shared food with David and his army in I Samuel 25. There was a husband and wife who shared with God's “man of the day” in II Kings 4. Many people today have needs and there are many ways we can share. The Bible teaches that it is our duty—that we should go and do good. Hebrews 13:16 says, “do not forget to do good for those people and share with those people. I hope today you can learn with me that one of the things with Christians we should be doing is sharing with other people.
~Philip
Romans 12:9-13 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the necessity of saints, given to hospitality.
19 March 2010
STOP THE GOSSIP
James 3:8-12 Leviticus 19:16
Imagine if you will, that I steal something from someone; then I feel sorry about that and say I need to make things right. I can go back to that person, and I can give them back what I have taken. By the way, this is your bonus for today, if you have stolen something – return it. Take it back and make things right with the person, make it right with society. Pay the price if you have to, and then make sure you are living right.
Take that same example and assume with me for a minute that I have gossiped about someone. I steal their good reputation, and the fact is I can never give it back. It’s not like I stole a possession, I stole their reputation. The Bible says it is more valuable than all the stuff. The Old Testament book of Proverbs says a good name is rather to be had than silver or gold. Yet sometimes we all are probably guilty of gossip. Let me encourage you today to stop gossip.
I knew an elderly lady who called herself a Christian. She did many things that Christians do. She would pray and she would show up for church services, she would partake of the Lord’s Supper, she would give some of her time, talent and treasures. The problem was she would become upset when other people were around and maybe someone would do something little in the overall scheme of things, and she would become furious at them. Then this woman would do something that in my opinion made her not a Christian. The woman would go and gossip about people. She wouldn’t just do it occasionally. This woman was going and gossiping all the time. She didn’t have any friends anymore because she would gossip about everyone she got to know. She would find something negative to say all the time. She would find some way to gossip about something and spread a rumor about somebody or if they did one little thing wrong you could count on her telling everybody about it. I’ve heard it said –there are three kinds of tell a’s , a telegraph, a telegram, and a tele_______(insert this lady’s name). Either way you get the message out and it shouldn’t be that way.
When we want to say something about another person, we should first ask ourselves a couple of questions. First of all, “Is it true?” If you haven’t gotten it from that person, then you should not repeat it. The second thing we should ask ourselves , “Is it necessary?” Something may be true, but it may not be necessary to tell everybody. Many of things that people have done that they are not proud of simply may not be necessarily something we should say to other people. It doesn’t affect anything. It’s between that person and God, and I have no business sharing it. Then, of course, “Is it kind?” Can I say this? Is it something I would want someone to say about me.” We often in the South try to whitewash things. We try to be very aware of how we come across so we say things to try to make it a little bit nicer. We say “ Well, I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true.” Or I’m not telling you anything I wouldn’t say right to their face. What I’ve started doing when people come to me in my office, and say something like that. I say well come on let’s go see them, and often times you know what happens.
See, if the answer to any of those questions is “no”, or” I’m not sure”, or “maybe”. If so, we should simply not say anything. We say it only if it is true, it is necessary, and it is kind. In our Bible reading today James reminds us that Christians should not say things that are both praise and cursing from one mouth. (chapter 3 verse 8-12).
Be careful today what you say and make sure you say just those things that are pleasing to God to God’s ears.
~Philip
James 3:8-12 Leviticus 19:16
Imagine if you will, that I steal something from someone; then I feel sorry about that and say I need to make things right. I can go back to that person, and I can give them back what I have taken. By the way, this is your bonus for today, if you have stolen something – return it. Take it back and make things right with the person, make it right with society. Pay the price if you have to, and then make sure you are living right.
Take that same example and assume with me for a minute that I have gossiped about someone. I steal their good reputation, and the fact is I can never give it back. It’s not like I stole a possession, I stole their reputation. The Bible says it is more valuable than all the stuff. The Old Testament book of Proverbs says a good name is rather to be had than silver or gold. Yet sometimes we all are probably guilty of gossip. Let me encourage you today to stop gossip.
I knew an elderly lady who called herself a Christian. She did many things that Christians do. She would pray and she would show up for church services, she would partake of the Lord’s Supper, she would give some of her time, talent and treasures. The problem was she would become upset when other people were around and maybe someone would do something little in the overall scheme of things, and she would become furious at them. Then this woman would do something that in my opinion made her not a Christian. The woman would go and gossip about people. She wouldn’t just do it occasionally. This woman was going and gossiping all the time. She didn’t have any friends anymore because she would gossip about everyone she got to know. She would find something negative to say all the time. She would find some way to gossip about something and spread a rumor about somebody or if they did one little thing wrong you could count on her telling everybody about it. I’ve heard it said –there are three kinds of tell a’s , a telegraph, a telegram, and a tele_______(insert this lady’s name). Either way you get the message out and it shouldn’t be that way.
When we want to say something about another person, we should first ask ourselves a couple of questions. First of all, “Is it true?” If you haven’t gotten it from that person, then you should not repeat it. The second thing we should ask ourselves , “Is it necessary?” Something may be true, but it may not be necessary to tell everybody. Many of things that people have done that they are not proud of simply may not be necessarily something we should say to other people. It doesn’t affect anything. It’s between that person and God, and I have no business sharing it. Then, of course, “Is it kind?” Can I say this? Is it something I would want someone to say about me.” We often in the South try to whitewash things. We try to be very aware of how we come across so we say things to try to make it a little bit nicer. We say “ Well, I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true.” Or I’m not telling you anything I wouldn’t say right to their face. What I’ve started doing when people come to me in my office, and say something like that. I say well come on let’s go see them, and often times you know what happens.
See, if the answer to any of those questions is “no”, or” I’m not sure”, or “maybe”. If so, we should simply not say anything. We say it only if it is true, it is necessary, and it is kind. In our Bible reading today James reminds us that Christians should not say things that are both praise and cursing from one mouth. (chapter 3 verse 8-12).
Be careful today what you say and make sure you say just those things that are pleasing to God to God’s ears.
~Philip
18 March 2010
Don’t Be Angry
Psalm 37:1-9 Psalm 37:3-4
A few years ago there was a commercial that ran frequently and said, “Don’t get mad, get glad.” Let me encourage you today not to get angry. I’m not selling trash bags, but I think it’s something that will help
us as we go through this day of our life.
The Bible teaches us that strong feelings, anger, teaches us to do things that are very destructive in our lives and other people’s lives. Paul says in Ephesians 4:26-27, that when you become angry, don’t let your anger make you sin, and don’t continue to be angry all day. Don’t give the devil a way to defeat you. These are interesting verses. You see, when you become angry, the devil can use those feelings, our anger to cause us to sin. Think about a time when you became angry. After you became angry maybe you yelled at a friend, or said something to your spouse, or said something bad with the children in the room, then you regretted doing that. Maybe you broke something or hit somebody, frankly, something you should never do.
Again, listen to the words of the Bible--don’t be angry, don’t get mad, don’t become so upset that you also want to do bad things. That really comes from our Old Testament reading from the book of Psalms 37:1-9. We should not let the devil control us. We especially should not let the devil use our anger to direct our steps. We should allow the Holy Spirit to help us stop being angry, to control ourselves by giving over control to God. Then we would be pleasing to God. If you have a problem with anger, give the problem to God and ask Him to help you. Don’t do those things that are not pleasing to God, instead concentrate on doing good and that will be a blessing for those around us.
From our Bibles these words come, “If you trust the Lord and do good things, you will live and enjoy many things that the land gives. Enjoy serving the Lord and He will give you what you want.” The idea is, do we direct our attention first and foremost to God and to His service? The question for each of us becomes, “Are we really serving God, and doing those things God would have us to do, or are we spending all of our time caught up in anger?” Are we spending all our time in the middle of stuff that is just overwhelming in our lives?
Let me encourage you today, don’t become angry, but sift through God’s word, see what He says and become a happy, obedient servant. In that process, grow to what God can make you to be. Let God have your life and use it for His will no matter where you are. It doesn’t matter if we live right here in Elba proper, out in the country, or even in another city, wherever we are, the same things happen, don’t they? We lose our temper and the devil tries to use it against us. God says, ”Look, give your life to me and let me have control of it.” Paul said it this way, “I’m crucified with Christ, nevertheless, I live, yet not I but Christ liveth in me. The life that I now live in the flesh, I live by faith, and the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.”
~Philip
Psalm 37:1-9 Psalm 37:3-4
A few years ago there was a commercial that ran frequently and said, “Don’t get mad, get glad.” Let me encourage you today not to get angry. I’m not selling trash bags, but I think it’s something that will help
us as we go through this day of our life.
The Bible teaches us that strong feelings, anger, teaches us to do things that are very destructive in our lives and other people’s lives. Paul says in Ephesians 4:26-27, that when you become angry, don’t let your anger make you sin, and don’t continue to be angry all day. Don’t give the devil a way to defeat you. These are interesting verses. You see, when you become angry, the devil can use those feelings, our anger to cause us to sin. Think about a time when you became angry. After you became angry maybe you yelled at a friend, or said something to your spouse, or said something bad with the children in the room, then you regretted doing that. Maybe you broke something or hit somebody, frankly, something you should never do.
Again, listen to the words of the Bible--don’t be angry, don’t get mad, don’t become so upset that you also want to do bad things. That really comes from our Old Testament reading from the book of Psalms 37:1-9. We should not let the devil control us. We especially should not let the devil use our anger to direct our steps. We should allow the Holy Spirit to help us stop being angry, to control ourselves by giving over control to God. Then we would be pleasing to God. If you have a problem with anger, give the problem to God and ask Him to help you. Don’t do those things that are not pleasing to God, instead concentrate on doing good and that will be a blessing for those around us.
From our Bibles these words come, “If you trust the Lord and do good things, you will live and enjoy many things that the land gives. Enjoy serving the Lord and He will give you what you want.” The idea is, do we direct our attention first and foremost to God and to His service? The question for each of us becomes, “Are we really serving God, and doing those things God would have us to do, or are we spending all of our time caught up in anger?” Are we spending all our time in the middle of stuff that is just overwhelming in our lives?
Let me encourage you today, don’t become angry, but sift through God’s word, see what He says and become a happy, obedient servant. In that process, grow to what God can make you to be. Let God have your life and use it for His will no matter where you are. It doesn’t matter if we live right here in Elba proper, out in the country, or even in another city, wherever we are, the same things happen, don’t they? We lose our temper and the devil tries to use it against us. God says, ”Look, give your life to me and let me have control of it.” Paul said it this way, “I’m crucified with Christ, nevertheless, I live, yet not I but Christ liveth in me. The life that I now live in the flesh, I live by faith, and the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.”
~Philip
ROOTS
Jeremiah 17:5-8 Jer. 17-7
Well today’s a neat kind of day. I hope you have on your green so nobody pinches you, or if you do get pinched I hope it reminds you of something. There are a lot of things that remind you of something else. There are things that you see, smell, or maybe something that you have that remind you of somebody. I remember different family members—many of whom have died and have gone through hard sickness and suffering as their life grew to an end. As I look back, I don’t remember the hard times though. I was thinking today, I don’t remember the bad stuff. If we try, we can only remember the good times. It’s easy to remember the good times. It’s easy to remember where we come from, and the good things about it.
Today’s my Mom’s birthday--so Happy Birthday to my Mom if she is listening or reading her Daily Update. We love you and appreciate you!
I was looking at photographs, and was thinking---we don’t take pictures of the bad stuff, just the good stuff. We don’t take pictures of when we are sick and unhappy, instead we take pictures of when we are happy. It’s the good smells and things that happen around us in life that remind us of good thing . Today’s a holiday, St Patricks Day,when people wear green. If you don't know the whole story behind that, you might want to research and find out for yourself the story.
I just want to direct your attention to think about roots. I want you to think about where you came from and about the good memories, and to look over in the book of Jeremiah 17:5-8. This is our Scripture reading today. There we read about situation again that Jeremiah’s involved in. This time it seems like it is an encouraging message that we hear from Jeremiah. What he says is this, “that person will be like a strong tree planted by water. That tree has large roots that find the water. That tree produces fruit .” Jeremiah 17:8.
It is like this; in our homes we can be like a tree that is planted by waters that brings forth fruit and is good and beneficial for the whole family, or we can be like a tumbleweed, dry in the desert and just blown by the wind to and fro. It’s up to you whether you will be rooted in God’s teachings and the teachings your Mom taught you, or are you going to do something else. I hope today you will decide to do it God’s way. I hope that today you will decide to do it God’s way and hear the word, believe it, repent, confess your faith, and be baptized if you need to. I hope you will be restored if you have strayed away from those deep roots of the truth. Come back and let those roots start growing and spreading and producing what God would have us to be. God will use you in a very special way.
~Philip
Jeremiah 17:5-8 Jer. 17-7
Well today’s a neat kind of day. I hope you have on your green so nobody pinches you, or if you do get pinched I hope it reminds you of something. There are a lot of things that remind you of something else. There are things that you see, smell, or maybe something that you have that remind you of somebody. I remember different family members—many of whom have died and have gone through hard sickness and suffering as their life grew to an end. As I look back, I don’t remember the hard times though. I was thinking today, I don’t remember the bad stuff. If we try, we can only remember the good times. It’s easy to remember the good times. It’s easy to remember where we come from, and the good things about it.
Today’s my Mom’s birthday--so Happy Birthday to my Mom if she is listening or reading her Daily Update. We love you and appreciate you!
I was looking at photographs, and was thinking---we don’t take pictures of the bad stuff, just the good stuff. We don’t take pictures of when we are sick and unhappy, instead we take pictures of when we are happy. It’s the good smells and things that happen around us in life that remind us of good thing . Today’s a holiday, St Patricks Day,when people wear green. If you don't know the whole story behind that, you might want to research and find out for yourself the story.
I just want to direct your attention to think about roots. I want you to think about where you came from and about the good memories, and to look over in the book of Jeremiah 17:5-8. This is our Scripture reading today. There we read about situation again that Jeremiah’s involved in. This time it seems like it is an encouraging message that we hear from Jeremiah. What he says is this, “that person will be like a strong tree planted by water. That tree has large roots that find the water. That tree produces fruit .” Jeremiah 17:8.
It is like this; in our homes we can be like a tree that is planted by waters that brings forth fruit and is good and beneficial for the whole family, or we can be like a tumbleweed, dry in the desert and just blown by the wind to and fro. It’s up to you whether you will be rooted in God’s teachings and the teachings your Mom taught you, or are you going to do something else. I hope today you will decide to do it God’s way. I hope that today you will decide to do it God’s way and hear the word, believe it, repent, confess your faith, and be baptized if you need to. I hope you will be restored if you have strayed away from those deep roots of the truth. Come back and let those roots start growing and spreading and producing what God would have us to be. God will use you in a very special way.
~Philip
NO HOPE
Lamentations 1:1-6 Jer. 3:22-23
There are a lot of characters, as you well know, in your Bible. Let me encourage you to take time to open the book, and see what God says, then apply those things to your life. It will make our life better in this life and certainly in the life to come. Now is our opportunity to faithfully obey God’s will so that we can spend eternity with God.
Today we are going to look at a book we may not be as familiar with. Just hearing people talk, I think most people are more familiar with Psalms or Genesis. This is the book of Lamentations. Lamentations 1:1-6 is our scripture reading today. Jeremiah is God’s prophet. He is the chosen guy at the time. God is using him and he is writing Jeremiah and Lamentations of the Old Testament. Sometimes Jeremiah is known as “weeping prophet”. Why? Because of his messages. His messages seem to be sad.
I don’t know what people say about our messages. I hope they say of my messages that they are encouraging and exciting and uplifting. I hope you can come see for yourself. My goal is to deliver encouraging kinds of messages. Jeremiah is going with a different one. His message is one of sorrow and loss. His message was to turn again to God or there would be no hope left for Israel. If you look at all of his writings you will see “no hope” as the overwhelming theme of the message Israel had to hear. It was probably not a message they wanted to hear.
I realize that sometimes we kind of feel that way too. Sometimes there are a lot of things going on and we feel there is not a lot of hope left for us. Sometimes people may think they are stuck--they can’t find a job, or they can’t get better, or there’s no hope at all. Maybe you have felt like the Israelites. There have been times in my life when I’ve been sad and when tears have come. But God helps us through those bad times. He strengthens our faith through Him if we continue to hear His word and listen to what He says. When I think of those things in life, and I hear people say there’s no hope, I think to we need to completely depend on God. That’s a time when instead of growing weaker in our faith, our faith should grow. When we realize that God will never fail us. He will help you always face bad times. I don’t know what’s going on today in your life. It may be that today is one of those days when it is just a tough day for you. If feel like you are at the end of your rope and there is nothing else you can do. Don’t give up. Instead, here’s what you do. You just simply trust completely in God. God’s love and kindness never ends. His compassion never ends. Every morning He shows it in a new way. Do you know who said those words? That same weeping prophet, Jeremiah. (3:21-22)
~Philip
Lamentations 1:1-6 Jer. 3:22-23
There are a lot of characters, as you well know, in your Bible. Let me encourage you to take time to open the book, and see what God says, then apply those things to your life. It will make our life better in this life and certainly in the life to come. Now is our opportunity to faithfully obey God’s will so that we can spend eternity with God.
Today we are going to look at a book we may not be as familiar with. Just hearing people talk, I think most people are more familiar with Psalms or Genesis. This is the book of Lamentations. Lamentations 1:1-6 is our scripture reading today. Jeremiah is God’s prophet. He is the chosen guy at the time. God is using him and he is writing Jeremiah and Lamentations of the Old Testament. Sometimes Jeremiah is known as “weeping prophet”. Why? Because of his messages. His messages seem to be sad.
I don’t know what people say about our messages. I hope they say of my messages that they are encouraging and exciting and uplifting. I hope you can come see for yourself. My goal is to deliver encouraging kinds of messages. Jeremiah is going with a different one. His message is one of sorrow and loss. His message was to turn again to God or there would be no hope left for Israel. If you look at all of his writings you will see “no hope” as the overwhelming theme of the message Israel had to hear. It was probably not a message they wanted to hear.
I realize that sometimes we kind of feel that way too. Sometimes there are a lot of things going on and we feel there is not a lot of hope left for us. Sometimes people may think they are stuck--they can’t find a job, or they can’t get better, or there’s no hope at all. Maybe you have felt like the Israelites. There have been times in my life when I’ve been sad and when tears have come. But God helps us through those bad times. He strengthens our faith through Him if we continue to hear His word and listen to what He says. When I think of those things in life, and I hear people say there’s no hope, I think to we need to completely depend on God. That’s a time when instead of growing weaker in our faith, our faith should grow. When we realize that God will never fail us. He will help you always face bad times. I don’t know what’s going on today in your life. It may be that today is one of those days when it is just a tough day for you. If feel like you are at the end of your rope and there is nothing else you can do. Don’t give up. Instead, here’s what you do. You just simply trust completely in God. God’s love and kindness never ends. His compassion never ends. Every morning He shows it in a new way. Do you know who said those words? That same weeping prophet, Jeremiah. (3:21-22)
~Philip
Unity with Jesus
John 15:1-17
Unity means one with the whole. There are three ways in which we can have unity with Jesus. We can develop this unity through our Bible Study and our prayer each day. We should share our thoughts and concerns with Him.
The second way to have unity with Jesus is through our worship service. When we worship in an organized fashion we give praise to God and we thank God for His sacrifice –the great sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary.
A third way to develop unity with Jesus is to have fellowship with other Christians. Christian friends encourage us to do what's right, and they comfort us as we live each day. In our Bible reading today, Jesus tells us that we should be united with Him. In verse 4 of our text, John 15:4, Jesus says continue with me and I will continue with you. Jesus wants you to be with Him forever, so make sure you continue with Him today.
If we are to have the unity that we have talked about we should have as Christians, and have this unity that Jesus wants us to have we should do this through prayer and bible study, through not forsaking the assembly, and through fellowship.
~Philip
John 15:1-17
Unity means one with the whole. There are three ways in which we can have unity with Jesus. We can develop this unity through our Bible Study and our prayer each day. We should share our thoughts and concerns with Him.
The second way to have unity with Jesus is through our worship service. When we worship in an organized fashion we give praise to God and we thank God for His sacrifice –the great sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary.
A third way to develop unity with Jesus is to have fellowship with other Christians. Christian friends encourage us to do what's right, and they comfort us as we live each day. In our Bible reading today, Jesus tells us that we should be united with Him. In verse 4 of our text, John 15:4, Jesus says continue with me and I will continue with you. Jesus wants you to be with Him forever, so make sure you continue with Him today.
If we are to have the unity that we have talked about we should have as Christians, and have this unity that Jesus wants us to have we should do this through prayer and bible study, through not forsaking the assembly, and through fellowship.
~Philip
12 March 2010
Quiet Gentle Voice
1 Kings 19:1-18
In I Kings 19:1-18, our Bible reading today, Elijah was sad. In verse four of that text he said, ”I have had enough Lord, let me die.” Maybe in your lifetime you have reached a point where you have just felt overwhelmed by all of the stuff and by the problems that you face, and all the problems going on. You are trying to get to a point in your life when you can say, “I now know what and how.”
We realize though that we don’t always get that answer. As a matter of fact, we don’t always get the answer we expected at all. People often say, “You know I’m waiting for the Lord to speak to me, and I believe the Lord is going to speak loudly to me.” But let me show you this text. The Lord did speak back to Elijah, but He didn’t speak through the wind, or a fire, or an earthquake. Instead He spoke in a quiet, gentle voice, verse 12 says.
God encouraged Elijah not to give up, and after Elijah had heard this, you know the rest of the story, at least you who are Bible scholars do. He certainly was not ready to give up, instead he was ready to serve God again. When I go through different things in life, one of the things I really enjoy is getting by myself and just listening to the cool breeze blowing. Yesterday at just a moment in time when I was by myself. I was driving down the street and had rolled the window down in the car, the wind was blowing in, and I thought you know, this is exactly where I need to be and what I need to be doing.
It is a beautiful thing when we can sit and see God all around us and know all the things God has done for us, and we see how God has blessed us. I believe it is in those things and those times that God is indeed speaking to us. Don’t give up. God in His quiet gentle voice is speaking to us, saying for us to have a relationship with Him. He is saying, “Don’t’ forget about me. Remember me.” It is God you see who created the Heavens and the earth. We should focus on that relationship with God, feel encouraged and ready to serve Him as we see Him in nature and in His Word.
Every person needs to get away for a while alone and get away from all the hurry and the problems of the world and just relax--to look again and to know what God is saying to you. Maybe you need to take some time and maybe just enjoy your favorite sport or some hobby that you do. Maybe you need to go somewhere that is a special place for you and just be alone with God. I remember again what Jesus himself would even do that. Many times He would be just surrounded with people pressing against Him. They would drive Him out into a boat so He could turn around and speak to those folks. But when he was really to a point when He just wanted to be alone with God, do you know what He would do? He would go off to some quiet place. He would go to a mountain top by himself or by the sea just to be alone and communicate with God. Let me encourage you today to take some time to communicate with God. In our Bible reading today, I Kings 19 verse 11, the last part of that verse, and verse 12 , it says there was an earthquake but the earthquake was not the Lord, there was a fire, but the fire was not the Lord, then comes the quiet, gentle voice of God speaking. Listen to what God has to say this day and every day.
~Philip
1 Kings 19:1-18
In I Kings 19:1-18, our Bible reading today, Elijah was sad. In verse four of that text he said, ”I have had enough Lord, let me die.” Maybe in your lifetime you have reached a point where you have just felt overwhelmed by all of the stuff and by the problems that you face, and all the problems going on. You are trying to get to a point in your life when you can say, “I now know what and how.”
We realize though that we don’t always get that answer. As a matter of fact, we don’t always get the answer we expected at all. People often say, “You know I’m waiting for the Lord to speak to me, and I believe the Lord is going to speak loudly to me.” But let me show you this text. The Lord did speak back to Elijah, but He didn’t speak through the wind, or a fire, or an earthquake. Instead He spoke in a quiet, gentle voice, verse 12 says.
God encouraged Elijah not to give up, and after Elijah had heard this, you know the rest of the story, at least you who are Bible scholars do. He certainly was not ready to give up, instead he was ready to serve God again. When I go through different things in life, one of the things I really enjoy is getting by myself and just listening to the cool breeze blowing. Yesterday at just a moment in time when I was by myself. I was driving down the street and had rolled the window down in the car, the wind was blowing in, and I thought you know, this is exactly where I need to be and what I need to be doing.
It is a beautiful thing when we can sit and see God all around us and know all the things God has done for us, and we see how God has blessed us. I believe it is in those things and those times that God is indeed speaking to us. Don’t give up. God in His quiet gentle voice is speaking to us, saying for us to have a relationship with Him. He is saying, “Don’t’ forget about me. Remember me.” It is God you see who created the Heavens and the earth. We should focus on that relationship with God, feel encouraged and ready to serve Him as we see Him in nature and in His Word.
Every person needs to get away for a while alone and get away from all the hurry and the problems of the world and just relax--to look again and to know what God is saying to you. Maybe you need to take some time and maybe just enjoy your favorite sport or some hobby that you do. Maybe you need to go somewhere that is a special place for you and just be alone with God. I remember again what Jesus himself would even do that. Many times He would be just surrounded with people pressing against Him. They would drive Him out into a boat so He could turn around and speak to those folks. But when he was really to a point when He just wanted to be alone with God, do you know what He would do? He would go off to some quiet place. He would go to a mountain top by himself or by the sea just to be alone and communicate with God. Let me encourage you today to take some time to communicate with God. In our Bible reading today, I Kings 19 verse 11, the last part of that verse, and verse 12 , it says there was an earthquake but the earthquake was not the Lord, there was a fire, but the fire was not the Lord, then comes the quiet, gentle voice of God speaking. Listen to what God has to say this day and every day.
~Philip
11 March 2010
PATIENCE
Hebrews 12:1-13 Rom. 12:12
Well, it happened again recently; I was traveling to another town and should have left earlier. My wife and kids were waiting on me so I was in a big hurry. As I went through town, I had already had to slam on brakes because one of our police officers was parked there--I didn’t want to get stopped by him. As I went out of town and got to where the four lane changes to a two lane, wouldn’t you know, there was a guy taking his pick up truck for a walk, or so it seemed to me. There was a car between us, and I was frustrated with everyone in front of me. Off in the distance I could see a glimmer of hope--a four lane.
As I sped past the pick up truck, I realized I knew the guy, and hated to speed past him, but I did. I then wondered, is there anything I can learn from this? Why do those things always happen when we are in such a big hurry. I thought God is trying to teach me something through that guy--to be patient. There are times when people are patient with you and you want them to be. Of course the rule we should live by and want others to live by is, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” When I am having a struggle and going very slowly, I want people to be not only patient with me, but very patient with me. So, I remember then that God is in control of my life and he knows what is best for me. God will make things right and make things happen in the right time, and things will work according to His will.
In our scripture reading today, Hebrews 12:1-13, we are reminded again of the importance of patience. Today as always, I want to encourage you to take the time to read the text. In verse three of that text it says for us to think about Jesus. He was patient when sinful men were doing bad things against him. Think about Him so that you will also be patient and not stop trying. What a beautiful verse. No matter what you’re facing today, be patient, and remember that God is in control of everything.
~Philip
Hebrews 12:1-13 Rom. 12:12
Well, it happened again recently; I was traveling to another town and should have left earlier. My wife and kids were waiting on me so I was in a big hurry. As I went through town, I had already had to slam on brakes because one of our police officers was parked there--I didn’t want to get stopped by him. As I went out of town and got to where the four lane changes to a two lane, wouldn’t you know, there was a guy taking his pick up truck for a walk, or so it seemed to me. There was a car between us, and I was frustrated with everyone in front of me. Off in the distance I could see a glimmer of hope--a four lane.
As I sped past the pick up truck, I realized I knew the guy, and hated to speed past him, but I did. I then wondered, is there anything I can learn from this? Why do those things always happen when we are in such a big hurry. I thought God is trying to teach me something through that guy--to be patient. There are times when people are patient with you and you want them to be. Of course the rule we should live by and want others to live by is, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” When I am having a struggle and going very slowly, I want people to be not only patient with me, but very patient with me. So, I remember then that God is in control of my life and he knows what is best for me. God will make things right and make things happen in the right time, and things will work according to His will.
In our scripture reading today, Hebrews 12:1-13, we are reminded again of the importance of patience. Today as always, I want to encourage you to take the time to read the text. In verse three of that text it says for us to think about Jesus. He was patient when sinful men were doing bad things against him. Think about Him so that you will also be patient and not stop trying. What a beautiful verse. No matter what you’re facing today, be patient, and remember that God is in control of everything.
~Philip
09 March 2010
Shining Light
Matthew 5:13-16 Mat. 5;16
I have met a lot of people doing church work. You know, I’ve met a lot of people in unlikely places. Sometimes you meet people who seem to be really nice folks. Sometimes you meet people in jails and all kinds of places. You meet people whom you would probably never meet otherwise. We laugh sometimes there in our office that my job sometimes is one where we encourage people to be outside their comfort zone. They meet all sorts of people, and laugh at me for the different people that we bring in and have around us. That is really a great blessing for me.
I know there is one lady whom you would think has everything just right. It is where I was preaching before, and she was always involved in things that were happening and busy doing good things. She was a leader in the card ministry. She must have sent thousands of cards to people. Many of them she would make herself, and she would do something special by sticking something on the card, or do something to make you know she had actually made the card and her hand was involved.
Her name was Martha Dossey and she taught Sunday School, and also did a lot of other things. Often she would come and do nice things even for me. She would remind me when things weren’t going exactly right or the way I wanted them to that she and others loved me, cared about me. She told me they loved the work we were doing, were encouraged by it, and saw great growth and potential. That really helped me. It seems when I really needed encouragement, that was exactly the time I would get a card from her. She would remind me again to be where I need to be.
I found out later on that she didn’t have a perfect life, like I had once thought. She had many health problems of her own, and her husband had a lot of health problems. They were struggling. To look on the surface you would think everything was great with her, and she was only there to encourage other people. She later told me that even though things weren’t the best at her house, she was going to make them the very best that she could and try to encourage and help others. What a great blessing she has been to me and so many others. It is surprising to know that when you think someone has a perfect life, sometimes they don’t.
We know and she knew that the great teaching of the Bible is to always put God first and let your light shine before men. God understood that when we let our light shine, it reflects back on us, and also on God, and shows God living in us and makes our life better than it would have been. She liked the light of Jesus and she liked to talk about the Bible and she would often say to me, “This is what I was reading, and what I was thinking. What do you think?” What a great blessing. Maybe we should take our problems today and say, “My problems are there. I am going to do what I can to solve them, but I’m not going to dwell on them. Instead I’m going to let God’s light shine through me, and as a result others will see His good works and glorify the Father which is in Heaven. Things will be better in my life as a result.”
~Philip
Matthew 5:13-16 Mat. 5;16
I have met a lot of people doing church work. You know, I’ve met a lot of people in unlikely places. Sometimes you meet people who seem to be really nice folks. Sometimes you meet people in jails and all kinds of places. You meet people whom you would probably never meet otherwise. We laugh sometimes there in our office that my job sometimes is one where we encourage people to be outside their comfort zone. They meet all sorts of people, and laugh at me for the different people that we bring in and have around us. That is really a great blessing for me.
I know there is one lady whom you would think has everything just right. It is where I was preaching before, and she was always involved in things that were happening and busy doing good things. She was a leader in the card ministry. She must have sent thousands of cards to people. Many of them she would make herself, and she would do something special by sticking something on the card, or do something to make you know she had actually made the card and her hand was involved.
Her name was Martha Dossey and she taught Sunday School, and also did a lot of other things. Often she would come and do nice things even for me. She would remind me when things weren’t going exactly right or the way I wanted them to that she and others loved me, cared about me. She told me they loved the work we were doing, were encouraged by it, and saw great growth and potential. That really helped me. It seems when I really needed encouragement, that was exactly the time I would get a card from her. She would remind me again to be where I need to be.
I found out later on that she didn’t have a perfect life, like I had once thought. She had many health problems of her own, and her husband had a lot of health problems. They were struggling. To look on the surface you would think everything was great with her, and she was only there to encourage other people. She later told me that even though things weren’t the best at her house, she was going to make them the very best that she could and try to encourage and help others. What a great blessing she has been to me and so many others. It is surprising to know that when you think someone has a perfect life, sometimes they don’t.
We know and she knew that the great teaching of the Bible is to always put God first and let your light shine before men. God understood that when we let our light shine, it reflects back on us, and also on God, and shows God living in us and makes our life better than it would have been. She liked the light of Jesus and she liked to talk about the Bible and she would often say to me, “This is what I was reading, and what I was thinking. What do you think?” What a great blessing. Maybe we should take our problems today and say, “My problems are there. I am going to do what I can to solve them, but I’m not going to dwell on them. Instead I’m going to let God’s light shine through me, and as a result others will see His good works and glorify the Father which is in Heaven. Things will be better in my life as a result.”
~Philip
08 March 2010
God’s Word
Psalm 65:1-13
Today is Monday and it’s a beautiful day here in Elba. The sun is shining! I understand from the weatherman and others I have talked to today, that the rain is coming again. Sometimes when it rains people will get depressed and grumpy, saying they don’t like the rain, but sometimes I like the rain, especially in the springtime. Because all of a sudden the flowers start popping up out of the ground and the grass starts getting green.
I remember from other years, and I know it will this year too--one day the grass is all brown and the very next day after a rain suddenly it’s green, and I know that spring has finally arrived. Our Bible reading today tells us how God sends the rain to water the ground. Then we can have food to eat.
Another place in our Bible tells us that God’s word, the Bible, is water itself. It is spiritual water that we all need. Today’s Bible reading comes from Psalm 65:1-13. I encourage you to read that entire Psalm today. In Psalm 1, you might want to read that whole Psalm. Verses 1 through 3 talks about God’s word and that blessed man who is like a tree living beside the rivers of water, which causes the tree to be strong and bring forth fruit in its season. See, when we read God’s word and study it and when we do those things God wants us to do it, makes us strong like a tree planted by the rivers of water.
Do you want today to be spiritual strong? We want today to read God’s word, we want to learn what to do to live God’s word. We want to learn to form a relationship with God. We need to build this relationship through faith, then we will be strong like the tree planted by the water. I hope today will be a good day for you, not only today but all this week. Wherever you are,I hope you will become strong spiritually through faithful obedience to His will. God will be well pleased with you.
Check out our website at www.elbachurchofchrist.com and see what’s happening here. Come be with us at the Elba Church of Christ.
~Philip
Psalm 65:1-13
Today is Monday and it’s a beautiful day here in Elba. The sun is shining! I understand from the weatherman and others I have talked to today, that the rain is coming again. Sometimes when it rains people will get depressed and grumpy, saying they don’t like the rain, but sometimes I like the rain, especially in the springtime. Because all of a sudden the flowers start popping up out of the ground and the grass starts getting green.
I remember from other years, and I know it will this year too--one day the grass is all brown and the very next day after a rain suddenly it’s green, and I know that spring has finally arrived. Our Bible reading today tells us how God sends the rain to water the ground. Then we can have food to eat.
Another place in our Bible tells us that God’s word, the Bible, is water itself. It is spiritual water that we all need. Today’s Bible reading comes from Psalm 65:1-13. I encourage you to read that entire Psalm today. In Psalm 1, you might want to read that whole Psalm. Verses 1 through 3 talks about God’s word and that blessed man who is like a tree living beside the rivers of water, which causes the tree to be strong and bring forth fruit in its season. See, when we read God’s word and study it and when we do those things God wants us to do it, makes us strong like a tree planted by the rivers of water.
Do you want today to be spiritual strong? We want today to read God’s word, we want to learn what to do to live God’s word. We want to learn to form a relationship with God. We need to build this relationship through faith, then we will be strong like the tree planted by the water. I hope today will be a good day for you, not only today but all this week. Wherever you are,I hope you will become strong spiritually through faithful obedience to His will. God will be well pleased with you.
Check out our website at www.elbachurchofchrist.com and see what’s happening here. Come be with us at the Elba Church of Christ.
~Philip
04 March 2010
God is All-Powerful
Psalm 115:1-18
God is awesome because he is all powerful. Our Bible reading today reminds us that God has all the power in the universe. The Bible is filled with examples of God’s power. God created everything in the world, Genesis chapter 1. He destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorra, Genesis chapter 19. God divided the waters of the Red Sea and the Israelites walked across on dry land, Exodus chapter 14. He sent bread to feed the Israelites when they were wandering in the wilderness, Exodus chapter 16.
If God is all powerful, we need to depend on Him to help us every day, including this day. We cannot control storms and hurricanes, but God has the power to control the weather. We can’t control all the things that happen around us and in the world, but God can. We can’t force our friends to become Christians, we can’t force people to depend on God, but we can. God can change even their hearts and encourage them to do His will. God has the power to do whatever we cannot do. God is the most powerful thing we have ever known. God has the power to forgive our sins. We cannot remove our own sins, but God has made a way for our sins to be forgiven, and that way is Jesus Christ.
As a matter of fact, the teaching from the New Testament says that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Our scripture reading today, Psalm 115:1-18, reminds us again how powerful God really is. We are asking you again today to read the whole Psalm. We need to be reading the Bible every day. Let me take a minute to tell how important it is to read the Bible. Romans 10:17, says faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. I can’t tell you how often someone says to me, I know I ought to be reading my Bible more, but I just can’t find the time. Well, find the time today to read Psalm 115:1-18, and see God’s power and see how great God truly is.
In the book of Matthew, chapter 19, verse 26, the last part of that verse says this is something people cannot do for themselves, but God can do all things. I just want to remind you again today that God is the one who can do it all and again, God can forgive our sins. The way He has chosen to do that is through the blood of Jesus Christ. The way we contact the blood of Jesus Christ is through baptism. And we should put Him on in baptism this day. We ought to faithfully obey His will whatever it is. We have to hear, believe, repent, confess, and be baptized, to live faithfully the rest of our lives.
~Philip
Psalm 115:1-18
God is awesome because he is all powerful. Our Bible reading today reminds us that God has all the power in the universe. The Bible is filled with examples of God’s power. God created everything in the world, Genesis chapter 1. He destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorra, Genesis chapter 19. God divided the waters of the Red Sea and the Israelites walked across on dry land, Exodus chapter 14. He sent bread to feed the Israelites when they were wandering in the wilderness, Exodus chapter 16.
If God is all powerful, we need to depend on Him to help us every day, including this day. We cannot control storms and hurricanes, but God has the power to control the weather. We can’t control all the things that happen around us and in the world, but God can. We can’t force our friends to become Christians, we can’t force people to depend on God, but we can. God can change even their hearts and encourage them to do His will. God has the power to do whatever we cannot do. God is the most powerful thing we have ever known. God has the power to forgive our sins. We cannot remove our own sins, but God has made a way for our sins to be forgiven, and that way is Jesus Christ.
As a matter of fact, the teaching from the New Testament says that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Our scripture reading today, Psalm 115:1-18, reminds us again how powerful God really is. We are asking you again today to read the whole Psalm. We need to be reading the Bible every day. Let me take a minute to tell how important it is to read the Bible. Romans 10:17, says faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. I can’t tell you how often someone says to me, I know I ought to be reading my Bible more, but I just can’t find the time. Well, find the time today to read Psalm 115:1-18, and see God’s power and see how great God truly is.
In the book of Matthew, chapter 19, verse 26, the last part of that verse says this is something people cannot do for themselves, but God can do all things. I just want to remind you again today that God is the one who can do it all and again, God can forgive our sins. The way He has chosen to do that is through the blood of Jesus Christ. The way we contact the blood of Jesus Christ is through baptism. And we should put Him on in baptism this day. We ought to faithfully obey His will whatever it is. We have to hear, believe, repent, confess, and be baptized, to live faithfully the rest of our lives.
~Philip
03 March 2010
GOD--HE’S ALWAYS WITH US
Psalm 139:7-24
God is Awesome because He is everywhere. Psalms 139:5 says “Lord, you are all around me, in front of me and in back of me.” It is sometimes hard to understand how God can be everywhere in the world at the same time. Our scripture reading today says, ”Lord, when I go up you’re there, if I go down to the depths of the earth you are there. If I go East where the sun rises you are there. If I go West to the sea you are there.” Even there your right hand holds me and I know you are there. God can help us if we live just that way. Whether we live in the big city, or whether we live right here in Elba or on a mountain in Asia, God is there with us, even when we are asleep. He’s there with us when we are driving down the road.
Our Bible reading today tells that even before we were born He was there with us, and we were there with Him. No matter what you do today or where you go, God is there with you. This should be comforting for you to know that God is with you just as a loving parent would be all the time and everywhere you are. But it goes even beyond that, He knows what we do. He knows everything we think and what we say and what we do.
We used to sing a song when I was growing up in church services that said, “There’s an all seeing eye watching you.” Many of you probably remember that song. That song would just sort of scare me, to tell you the truth. It was a scary thought to know that someone was watching me all the time. I don’t think God is watching us to catch us doing something wrong. He’s watching to see us doing something right. He is watching us to see us doing good to others and sharing His message of love and salvation. He’s watching to see how we love others. He’s watching to see how we are, and how we can help, so don’t be afraid or even lonely.
Remember God is everywhere in the world. He’s there with you today, and he is here with me. Where ever we may be, God is there. Just a book or two over in the book of Proverbs-- Proverbs 15: 3 says “The Lord sees what happens everywhere.” The Lord watches every person, good and evil.
Today is Wednesday, and I hope you can come be with us for our fellowship meal, and afterwards for our Bible study.
~Philip
Psalm 139:7-24
God is Awesome because He is everywhere. Psalms 139:5 says “Lord, you are all around me, in front of me and in back of me.” It is sometimes hard to understand how God can be everywhere in the world at the same time. Our scripture reading today says, ”Lord, when I go up you’re there, if I go down to the depths of the earth you are there. If I go East where the sun rises you are there. If I go West to the sea you are there.” Even there your right hand holds me and I know you are there. God can help us if we live just that way. Whether we live in the big city, or whether we live right here in Elba or on a mountain in Asia, God is there with us, even when we are asleep. He’s there with us when we are driving down the road.
Our Bible reading today tells that even before we were born He was there with us, and we were there with Him. No matter what you do today or where you go, God is there with you. This should be comforting for you to know that God is with you just as a loving parent would be all the time and everywhere you are. But it goes even beyond that, He knows what we do. He knows everything we think and what we say and what we do.
We used to sing a song when I was growing up in church services that said, “There’s an all seeing eye watching you.” Many of you probably remember that song. That song would just sort of scare me, to tell you the truth. It was a scary thought to know that someone was watching me all the time. I don’t think God is watching us to catch us doing something wrong. He’s watching to see us doing something right. He is watching us to see us doing good to others and sharing His message of love and salvation. He’s watching to see how we love others. He’s watching to see how we are, and how we can help, so don’t be afraid or even lonely.
Remember God is everywhere in the world. He’s there with you today, and he is here with me. Where ever we may be, God is there. Just a book or two over in the book of Proverbs-- Proverbs 15: 3 says “The Lord sees what happens everywhere.” The Lord watches every person, good and evil.
Today is Wednesday, and I hope you can come be with us for our fellowship meal, and afterwards for our Bible study.
~Philip
02 March 2010
God Loves Us
Psalm 136:1-26
God is awesome because He loves us and He cares for us. Our Bible reading today reminds us again and again to praise the Lord. Why? Because his loves lasts forever and forever. The scripture reading today comes from Psalm 136:1-26. I know it is a long reading, but let me encourage you today to take the time to read that Psalm. What you will see there again, is that God is worthy of our praise because he continues to love us forever and forever.
The past few weeks we have looked at God. We talked recently about the fact that God is faithful and we are looking at some of those things that God is. God knows everything and He is all powerful. He is everywhere and He is faithful to us. But probably the most valuable characteristic of God is that He loves us all, regardless of who we are or where we are in life. When we see God, we see that He really loves us. When someone loves us we feel wanted we feel happy. We feel successful, we feel sustained. Because of God’s love we know that he wants us, that He wants to be a part of our life. He wants us to be a part of His family.
We can be happy because we are important to Him, and we can be satisfied knowing that God will take care of us. Because God loves us He did something wonderful for you and for me. You of course already know what it is I’m referring to--He sent His son Jesus to live here on earth. While He was here on earth He did many amazing things himself to show He was who He claimed to be. In doing that He showed God’s love. Jesus even died on the cross for each of us, again, showing how much God really loves us. Why did He do that? Because He wanted to accept the punishment for our sins. He paid the price that we would never be able to pay on our own.
All these things happen because God loves us so much. He loved us enough to send His son down to earth, to live and to die on the cross of Calvary for us. A familiar text from the New Testament, John 3:16, says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
The question today is do you believe in God. Do you believe He loved us so much that he sent his son to die for us. Do you have the will to do those things that it takes-- to put Him on in baptism, to live faithfully after you’ve done it. Do you really love God. That’s what God’s looking for. He loves us so much and what He wants in return is to hear us say, “God, I love you, too.” It’s kind of like when we were in school, and sent love notes to one another…check yes if you love me. When they sent you a note they wanted you to check yes. Some of you checked “no” probably, but they really wanted you to check “yes”. God does too. He wants you to check “Yes” God I love you. And I’ll do those things you ask me to do. I’ll hear your word, believe it, confess, repent and be baptized. He also wants us to be together and study His word. Come be with us and attend our classes, including our Sign Language Class.
~Philip
Psalm 136:1-26
God is awesome because He loves us and He cares for us. Our Bible reading today reminds us again and again to praise the Lord. Why? Because his loves lasts forever and forever. The scripture reading today comes from Psalm 136:1-26. I know it is a long reading, but let me encourage you today to take the time to read that Psalm. What you will see there again, is that God is worthy of our praise because he continues to love us forever and forever.
The past few weeks we have looked at God. We talked recently about the fact that God is faithful and we are looking at some of those things that God is. God knows everything and He is all powerful. He is everywhere and He is faithful to us. But probably the most valuable characteristic of God is that He loves us all, regardless of who we are or where we are in life. When we see God, we see that He really loves us. When someone loves us we feel wanted we feel happy. We feel successful, we feel sustained. Because of God’s love we know that he wants us, that He wants to be a part of our life. He wants us to be a part of His family.
We can be happy because we are important to Him, and we can be satisfied knowing that God will take care of us. Because God loves us He did something wonderful for you and for me. You of course already know what it is I’m referring to--He sent His son Jesus to live here on earth. While He was here on earth He did many amazing things himself to show He was who He claimed to be. In doing that He showed God’s love. Jesus even died on the cross for each of us, again, showing how much God really loves us. Why did He do that? Because He wanted to accept the punishment for our sins. He paid the price that we would never be able to pay on our own.
All these things happen because God loves us so much. He loved us enough to send His son down to earth, to live and to die on the cross of Calvary for us. A familiar text from the New Testament, John 3:16, says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
The question today is do you believe in God. Do you believe He loved us so much that he sent his son to die for us. Do you have the will to do those things that it takes-- to put Him on in baptism, to live faithfully after you’ve done it. Do you really love God. That’s what God’s looking for. He loves us so much and what He wants in return is to hear us say, “God, I love you, too.” It’s kind of like when we were in school, and sent love notes to one another…check yes if you love me. When they sent you a note they wanted you to check yes. Some of you checked “no” probably, but they really wanted you to check “yes”. God does too. He wants you to check “Yes” God I love you. And I’ll do those things you ask me to do. I’ll hear your word, believe it, confess, repent and be baptized. He also wants us to be together and study His word. Come be with us and attend our classes, including our Sign Language Class.
~Philip
01 March 2010
HEAVEN
John 14:1-6
When my wife and I first got married we had plans to build a bigger house, but we decided the best thing to do was to stay in the small apartment she had lived in before we got married. The apartment was very small and we didn’t even have cable television for the first year--no religious reason. We were just trying to save money. We had two closets--one on each end of the house. We did have two bathrooms, which was nice, but mine was on the other end of the apartment. We finally did get a house with more room before our son was born. We even got cable television and started to accumulate more stuff.
I think about the houses we have lived in over the years. We live here in Elba. Before this we lived in Niceville, Florida, Georgiana, and Montgomery. We have lived a lot of places. I grew up in Greenville, and my parent’s house was different from any we have lived in. They had a four bedroom house with three bathrooms and all sorts of things. It is interesting going back to visit.
John 14:1-6 in our Bible reading says “In our Father’s house are many rooms”. This verse is talking about our Heavenly Father, of course. We are promised to get to go back to our Father’s house--not our earthly father’s house, but our home in Heaven. John 14 says our Heavenly Father has a home with many rooms. Verse 2 says, He is preparing a place for us in this place called Heaven.
Something even more special is that Jesus will be there too. If you will do the things God wants you to do, you can look forward to living in Heaven with your Heavenly Father. Certainly He wants you to do those things He has commanded you to do. It will make your life a lot easier here on earth, as well as getting you to Heaven.
~Philip
John 14:1-6
When my wife and I first got married we had plans to build a bigger house, but we decided the best thing to do was to stay in the small apartment she had lived in before we got married. The apartment was very small and we didn’t even have cable television for the first year--no religious reason. We were just trying to save money. We had two closets--one on each end of the house. We did have two bathrooms, which was nice, but mine was on the other end of the apartment. We finally did get a house with more room before our son was born. We even got cable television and started to accumulate more stuff.
I think about the houses we have lived in over the years. We live here in Elba. Before this we lived in Niceville, Florida, Georgiana, and Montgomery. We have lived a lot of places. I grew up in Greenville, and my parent’s house was different from any we have lived in. They had a four bedroom house with three bathrooms and all sorts of things. It is interesting going back to visit.
John 14:1-6 in our Bible reading says “In our Father’s house are many rooms”. This verse is talking about our Heavenly Father, of course. We are promised to get to go back to our Father’s house--not our earthly father’s house, but our home in Heaven. John 14 says our Heavenly Father has a home with many rooms. Verse 2 says, He is preparing a place for us in this place called Heaven.
Something even more special is that Jesus will be there too. If you will do the things God wants you to do, you can look forward to living in Heaven with your Heavenly Father. Certainly He wants you to do those things He has commanded you to do. It will make your life a lot easier here on earth, as well as getting you to Heaven.
~Philip
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