GOD'S ANIMALS (Last installment)
Ephesians 1:3-10
My friend adopted a dog from a shelter. I guess that's a good way to have an animal or a pet....just go to one of the shelters. I understand that a lot of animals in the world for whom God has given us the responsibility to be stewards, for what ever reason are abused or not taken care of, or people give them away. This is a great opportunity to help by adopting a dog. As my friend was at the shelter looking, she saw a dog named Lady and for some reason she saw a connection. She thought that dog was in need of a friend. She said to herself, “That's my dog.” The adoption process went through and Lady was happy that she had a new good home. My friend was certainly happy that she had a pet. She said later that she just saw Lady and thought she was a special dog. I don't know exactly what it was—maybe it was the size of the dog or the color.
Our Bible reading today, Ephesians 1:3-10, tells us that God has adopted us as His children. So it's the same way with us. There are a lot of ways he could have done this, but instead He made us His special creation. God has adopted us as His own. Verse 5 of that text says, “Before the world was made God decided to make us His own children through Jesus Christ.” That is what God wanted to do. That was His plan and it pleased Him. We look at that and think, “Wow! That is special. He wanted us to be His children.
God was also preparing a place for His adopted children to live—that place is heaven. In that place there will be no sin and no sadness. You have a special opportunity to be God's child, to be with Him when this life is over. He wants to love you, he wants you to love Him and serve Him today. Let me encourage all of you to do just that. Let's make our lives such that He can adopt us. You see the Father, God, loved us so much. This shows how much He loved us. 1 John 3:1 tells us we are really God's children. Come and be with us, and worship with us. We can all have that special relationship with God.
~Philip
30 April 2010
29 April 2010
God’s Animals
Psalm 55:16-24 Mat 6:34
For many years on a local radio station they had a program on every day
called”Worry Bird”. I was thinking, ” What if there was really an animal
that God had created called a worry bird.” The premise of the program on
the radio station was that people would call into the station with their
worries and complaints. People would then discuss them. Sometimes the
person taking the call would just say ‘next call’ after the person told
his worry.
There’s really no bird called the worry bird. Often the person who worries
a lot is called the worry bird. The real image we have of a worry bird is
one with ruffled feathers sticking up in all sorts of directions.
Probably he would shake all over all the time. He would pace back and
forth on the wire where he was sitting. When I am worried or afraid I
know I am restless and can’t sit still. I think about the problem all the
time and feel sick because of it. I don’t want to be a worry bird. I
want to remember the words of 1 Peter 5:7 which says “Give all your
worries to God because He cares for you.” I need to remember I have
someone to give all my worries to.
Maybe you will start worrying today about something. If you do I hope you
will remember that you can give those worries to God. Our scripture
reading today comes from Psalm 55:16-24 -- a great text. I encourage you
to go and read that text. Read the Bible and see that what we are saying
is so. Jesus is talking “Don’t worry about tomorrow, each day has enough
trouble of its own. Tomorrow will have its own troubles take care of.”
Let’s don’t get caught up in worry. As a matter of fact, worry is a sin.
We are not to spend our time that way. We are supposed to be spending our
time together and leading others to Him. I want to encourage you to spend
some time in prayer to God to give him your worries and once you give
those worries away, come be with us at one of our services. We would love
to have you, and see you involved with us.
~Philip
Psalm 55:16-24 I call to God, and the LORD saves me. Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice. He ransoms me unharmed from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me. God, who is enthroned forever, will hear them and afflict them—
Selah
men who never change their ways and have no fear of God. My companion attacks his friends; he violates his covenant. His speech is smooth as butter, yet war is in his heart; his words are more soothing than oil, yet they are drawn swords. Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall. But you, O God, will bring down the wicked into the pit of corruption; bloodthirsty and deceitful men will not live out half their days. But as for me, I trust in you.
Psalm 55:16-24 Mat 6:34
For many years on a local radio station they had a program on every day
called”Worry Bird”. I was thinking, ” What if there was really an animal
that God had created called a worry bird.” The premise of the program on
the radio station was that people would call into the station with their
worries and complaints. People would then discuss them. Sometimes the
person taking the call would just say ‘next call’ after the person told
his worry.
There’s really no bird called the worry bird. Often the person who worries
a lot is called the worry bird. The real image we have of a worry bird is
one with ruffled feathers sticking up in all sorts of directions.
Probably he would shake all over all the time. He would pace back and
forth on the wire where he was sitting. When I am worried or afraid I
know I am restless and can’t sit still. I think about the problem all the
time and feel sick because of it. I don’t want to be a worry bird. I
want to remember the words of 1 Peter 5:7 which says “Give all your
worries to God because He cares for you.” I need to remember I have
someone to give all my worries to.
Maybe you will start worrying today about something. If you do I hope you
will remember that you can give those worries to God. Our scripture
reading today comes from Psalm 55:16-24 -- a great text. I encourage you
to go and read that text. Read the Bible and see that what we are saying
is so. Jesus is talking “Don’t worry about tomorrow, each day has enough
trouble of its own. Tomorrow will have its own troubles take care of.”
Let’s don’t get caught up in worry. As a matter of fact, worry is a sin.
We are not to spend our time that way. We are supposed to be spending our
time together and leading others to Him. I want to encourage you to spend
some time in prayer to God to give him your worries and once you give
those worries away, come be with us at one of our services. We would love
to have you, and see you involved with us.
~Philip
Psalm 55:16-24 I call to God, and the LORD saves me. Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice. He ransoms me unharmed from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me. God, who is enthroned forever, will hear them and afflict them—
Selah
men who never change their ways and have no fear of God. My companion attacks his friends; he violates his covenant. His speech is smooth as butter, yet war is in his heart; his words are more soothing than oil, yet they are drawn swords. Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall. But you, O God, will bring down the wicked into the pit of corruption; bloodthirsty and deceitful men will not live out half their days. But as for me, I trust in you.
28 April 2010
God’s Animals
Psalm 52:8-9
Before we moved to Elba, we were living in another city. Some people we knew had a dog, apparently a very vicious dog. You may have noticed that over the last few days we have been talking about animals. Today I want to talk about a dog, because this dog is interesting to me. He looked the part of a ferocious dog and he would growl and bark and run up to the fence. Anyone who did not know the dog would be terrified of him, but all you had to do was growl back at him and he would turn tail and run and hide. He would hide the rest of the time you are visiting.
Every time I went to visit the people I would growl at the dog and he would run away. They would tell me that their dog on the outside was very ferocious, but on the inside was fearful about many things around him. As a matter of fact, my friends would say, He’ll run from anything. He’ll run from a squirrel, he’ll run from anything in our yard, he’ll run from anything that barks at him even a small child. It’s kind of a funny story, think, but really in life we sometimes run away too, don’t we.
There are things that make us afraid and that we are not sure about. Let me tell you this. It is in those times that we need to depend on God to take away the fears. In those times God can and wants to take away your fears. Sometimes he works through other people to take away our fears.
Sometimes people can’t help me though, and I remember God is all powerful and in a special way God is going to help. Psalm 52:8-9 is our Bible reading today. I hope you will just read the whole Psalm. Verse 8 says that God will take all the fears away, and that I can always trust God to help me. Maybe you will become afraid or worried today, maybe something you can’t help. Maybe there is something in your life today that you’ve been thinking about and worried about. Remember that you can always depend on God to help you and comfort you. The Lord is good He is a safe place to go to in time of trouble. He takes care of people who trust in him, Nahum 1:7 teaches. I hope we learn today to depend on God for our strength.
~Philip
Psalm 52:8-9
Before we moved to Elba, we were living in another city. Some people we knew had a dog, apparently a very vicious dog. You may have noticed that over the last few days we have been talking about animals. Today I want to talk about a dog, because this dog is interesting to me. He looked the part of a ferocious dog and he would growl and bark and run up to the fence. Anyone who did not know the dog would be terrified of him, but all you had to do was growl back at him and he would turn tail and run and hide. He would hide the rest of the time you are visiting.
Every time I went to visit the people I would growl at the dog and he would run away. They would tell me that their dog on the outside was very ferocious, but on the inside was fearful about many things around him. As a matter of fact, my friends would say, He’ll run from anything. He’ll run from a squirrel, he’ll run from anything in our yard, he’ll run from anything that barks at him even a small child. It’s kind of a funny story, think, but really in life we sometimes run away too, don’t we.
There are things that make us afraid and that we are not sure about. Let me tell you this. It is in those times that we need to depend on God to take away the fears. In those times God can and wants to take away your fears. Sometimes he works through other people to take away our fears.
Sometimes people can’t help me though, and I remember God is all powerful and in a special way God is going to help. Psalm 52:8-9 is our Bible reading today. I hope you will just read the whole Psalm. Verse 8 says that God will take all the fears away, and that I can always trust God to help me. Maybe you will become afraid or worried today, maybe something you can’t help. Maybe there is something in your life today that you’ve been thinking about and worried about. Remember that you can always depend on God to help you and comfort you. The Lord is good He is a safe place to go to in time of trouble. He takes care of people who trust in him, Nahum 1:7 teaches. I hope we learn today to depend on God for our strength.
~Philip
27 April 2010
God’s Animals
John 3:16-18 I John 3 16
I know a lady who is blind and has a guide dog to help her get around town. She uses the guide dog when she is outside, or in some building she is not familiar with and the guide dog will help her. One day my friend was walking outside and a car was backing out of the driveway next to where she and her guide dog were walking. She fell and was hurt. She was sore from the fall, but the guide dog was hurt
really badly and it was a long while before he could go back to work.
Animals do amazing things. I heard not only about my friend’s guide dog, but about a police dog that took a bullet for the police officer who was his partner. Animals are a great part of our lives. Today and for the rest of the week we are going to be talking about God’s creation of animals, and some of the things that animals do-- the way they help us in some aspects of life.
I wanted to tell you the police dog and guide dog story for this reason. We see the sacrifice the police dog made. In our Bible reading today, John 3:16-18, a person made an unbelievable sacrifice for us. I want to encourage you today to read these verses with 20/20 vision (20 verses before, and 20 verses after). John 3:16-18, talks about Jesus. A long time ago Jesus did something for us that was amazing. He suffered a terrible death for you and for me. My friend’s dog did something nice for her, and I think it is amazing that animals sense those kind of things. But Jesus did something so much greater. He saved us from eternal punishment.
Take the time today to see how this really worked, and to realize that God sent His only Son to die on the cross for us. He really loved us, and gave his life for us. We should love and give our lives for our brothers and sisters in Christ. We learned that from 1 John 3:16 teaches so we know then that we should love the way God loved. We learn that lesson from animals sometimes and from other places in life. We especially learned it from Jesus Christ His Son. If we do that we will see God pleased with us as we become more and more like Him.
~Philip
John 3:16-18 I John 3 16
I know a lady who is blind and has a guide dog to help her get around town. She uses the guide dog when she is outside, or in some building she is not familiar with and the guide dog will help her. One day my friend was walking outside and a car was backing out of the driveway next to where she and her guide dog were walking. She fell and was hurt. She was sore from the fall, but the guide dog was hurt
really badly and it was a long while before he could go back to work.
Animals do amazing things. I heard not only about my friend’s guide dog, but about a police dog that took a bullet for the police officer who was his partner. Animals are a great part of our lives. Today and for the rest of the week we are going to be talking about God’s creation of animals, and some of the things that animals do-- the way they help us in some aspects of life.
I wanted to tell you the police dog and guide dog story for this reason. We see the sacrifice the police dog made. In our Bible reading today, John 3:16-18, a person made an unbelievable sacrifice for us. I want to encourage you today to read these verses with 20/20 vision (20 verses before, and 20 verses after). John 3:16-18, talks about Jesus. A long time ago Jesus did something for us that was amazing. He suffered a terrible death for you and for me. My friend’s dog did something nice for her, and I think it is amazing that animals sense those kind of things. But Jesus did something so much greater. He saved us from eternal punishment.
Take the time today to see how this really worked, and to realize that God sent His only Son to die on the cross for us. He really loved us, and gave his life for us. We should love and give our lives for our brothers and sisters in Christ. We learned that from 1 John 3:16 teaches so we know then that we should love the way God loved. We learn that lesson from animals sometimes and from other places in life. We especially learned it from Jesus Christ His Son. If we do that we will see God pleased with us as we become more and more like Him.
~Philip
26 April 2010
God’s Animals
Genesis 2:4-20
In Genesis 2:4-20, our Bible reading today, it tells that God created the world and made many wonderful things. He made the sun and the stars He made plants and animals and people. God is truly powerful. He made some awesome things. I like to read the Bible about what God has done, and realize that God can do whatever He wants to do. He set everything in motion. He set the boundaries for everything.
God certainly shows His power when He makes certain things. There are some things that every time we see them, it’s amazing to us. I find that especially true when I look at all the animals God has created. We see God’s power. He made some animals to fly through the air and some animals to live in the water. He made some animals to live in a very special place and in a special way. He put them in just the right place where they could make it, apparently on their own. But we really know that God is behind taking care of them.
For the next few days our devotionals will talk about animals and some of the things that we see, and we think how awesome God is when we see these things. It will be fun to see all the different animals, the birds, and the dogs and the cats--the things we normally see around us on a daily basis.
I want you to do something today, when you look at the animals. I want you to remember that God made all of them. Thank God for making this beautiful world we live in. Be sure and thank Him for all the things He has made. God gives us just those things we need. I hope as you look around you, you will realize all the things God has given us that we need. He takes care of us. …and all of His animals.
I hope over the next few days we can learn some of these lessons from just looking at some of the things God has made for us. I know we can. And I know we can learn some great lessons by just looking at some of God’s word from the Bible.
When you read in Romans 10:17, and see that we need to hear God’s word, then put those thoughts into action and do God’s will. When He says do it, do we listen or does it fall on deaf ears? Are you taking it in, or not processing-- just ignoring it. I hope you are doing those things. If you do you will follow in Gods light and we will all go to Heaven together.
~Philip
Genesis 2:4-20
In Genesis 2:4-20, our Bible reading today, it tells that God created the world and made many wonderful things. He made the sun and the stars He made plants and animals and people. God is truly powerful. He made some awesome things. I like to read the Bible about what God has done, and realize that God can do whatever He wants to do. He set everything in motion. He set the boundaries for everything.
God certainly shows His power when He makes certain things. There are some things that every time we see them, it’s amazing to us. I find that especially true when I look at all the animals God has created. We see God’s power. He made some animals to fly through the air and some animals to live in the water. He made some animals to live in a very special place and in a special way. He put them in just the right place where they could make it, apparently on their own. But we really know that God is behind taking care of them.
For the next few days our devotionals will talk about animals and some of the things that we see, and we think how awesome God is when we see these things. It will be fun to see all the different animals, the birds, and the dogs and the cats--the things we normally see around us on a daily basis.
I want you to do something today, when you look at the animals. I want you to remember that God made all of them. Thank God for making this beautiful world we live in. Be sure and thank Him for all the things He has made. God gives us just those things we need. I hope as you look around you, you will realize all the things God has given us that we need. He takes care of us. …and all of His animals.
I hope over the next few days we can learn some of these lessons from just looking at some of the things God has made for us. I know we can. And I know we can learn some great lessons by just looking at some of God’s word from the Bible.
When you read in Romans 10:17, and see that we need to hear God’s word, then put those thoughts into action and do God’s will. When He says do it, do we listen or does it fall on deaf ears? Are you taking it in, or not processing-- just ignoring it. I hope you are doing those things. If you do you will follow in Gods light and we will all go to Heaven together.
~Philip
23 April 2010
ENCOURAGE OTHERS
Hebrews 10:24-25
I’ve been in some scary situations in my life, like moving to a new town or meeting a new person. Some people might say, “That’s not too scary, I kind of like it.” Well, I have too over the years. I’ve got to the point now that I enjoy meeting new people and going new places. God has always helped me through those situations in life when I wasn’t as confident, maybe when I was nervous about those things.
Others often come to me and tell me a similar kind of thing--that they are embarrassed or scared to talk to people. Often God uses other Christians to encourage me during these scary situations. When I am with other Christians I don’t feel so alone. There is power in numbers. When Christians are together, they can be a power for God together. They can stand up and be counted.
If I am in a dark room with only a small candle, there is just a little light. But if I am in a dark room with many people who each have a small candle, it really lights up. It is the same thing in the church. Christians need to meet together and help each other. Hebrews 10:24-25, our text today encourages us that we should not stop meeting together; that we should want our Christian family meeting around us. Some people have stopped doing this though, but we should not stop meeting together. We should want our fellow Christians around us and we should encourage each other. We should be together. Maybe you have been facing some scary situations, maybe you have been depending on yourself, or just your friends that you know. l know some folks who haven’t been attending church and haven’t been around their Christians friends who could encourage them and help them. If you haven’t been to church in a while, we are here and want you to be a part of our Christian family again.
I hope you will come and be with us in worship and fellowship.
~Philip
Hebrews 10:24-25
I’ve been in some scary situations in my life, like moving to a new town or meeting a new person. Some people might say, “That’s not too scary, I kind of like it.” Well, I have too over the years. I’ve got to the point now that I enjoy meeting new people and going new places. God has always helped me through those situations in life when I wasn’t as confident, maybe when I was nervous about those things.
Others often come to me and tell me a similar kind of thing--that they are embarrassed or scared to talk to people. Often God uses other Christians to encourage me during these scary situations. When I am with other Christians I don’t feel so alone. There is power in numbers. When Christians are together, they can be a power for God together. They can stand up and be counted.
If I am in a dark room with only a small candle, there is just a little light. But if I am in a dark room with many people who each have a small candle, it really lights up. It is the same thing in the church. Christians need to meet together and help each other. Hebrews 10:24-25, our text today encourages us that we should not stop meeting together; that we should want our Christian family meeting around us. Some people have stopped doing this though, but we should not stop meeting together. We should want our fellow Christians around us and we should encourage each other. We should be together. Maybe you have been facing some scary situations, maybe you have been depending on yourself, or just your friends that you know. l know some folks who haven’t been attending church and haven’t been around their Christians friends who could encourage them and help them. If you haven’t been to church in a while, we are here and want you to be a part of our Christian family again.
I hope you will come and be with us in worship and fellowship.
~Philip
22 April 2010
SALT
Luke14:34-35
Salt is very important , and a useful thing for us. It makes food taste better. It can also make a person very thirsty. In Matthew 5:13, Jesus tells us that we are to be like salt. “You are the salt of the earth but if the salt loses its taste it cannot be made salty again. Salt is good for nothing if it loses its taste. It must be thrown out for people to walk on.“
In the same way people who are salt show God’s love and make the world a better place to live in. Salt makes people thirsty, and in the same way Christians should live so that others will want to be a Christian too. We should make people thirsty for God’s word. Our Bible reading today tells us something else about salt. Look at verses 34 and 35 of our text for today, which is Luke 14, and by the way we give you the text each day for you to go back and read and study. I hope you are looking at these verses with 20/20 vision(Twenty verses before and twenty after). If you do that, you have read a lot of Bible but on top of that, you have something valuable--you’ve looked contextually at the verses.
Verse 34 and the first part of 35 says, “If the salt loses its salty taste you cannot make it salty again. It is worth nothing.”
If you have any questions I hope you will contact us, and I hope you will come and we will open our Bibles and study together. Because I want to make this very clear, our desire is to go to heaven together when this life is over. To do that we must make sure we get it right, and make sure we understand what God expects of us, and apply it in our lives. If we want to lead people to Jesus, we need to be salty, this means to have a right relationship with God. This means we need to b closely following Jesus today.
I encourage you today to read and study, then begin to teach others about the way to heaven.
~Philip
Luke 14:34-35 Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.
"He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
Luke14:34-35
Salt is very important , and a useful thing for us. It makes food taste better. It can also make a person very thirsty. In Matthew 5:13, Jesus tells us that we are to be like salt. “You are the salt of the earth but if the salt loses its taste it cannot be made salty again. Salt is good for nothing if it loses its taste. It must be thrown out for people to walk on.“
In the same way people who are salt show God’s love and make the world a better place to live in. Salt makes people thirsty, and in the same way Christians should live so that others will want to be a Christian too. We should make people thirsty for God’s word. Our Bible reading today tells us something else about salt. Look at verses 34 and 35 of our text for today, which is Luke 14, and by the way we give you the text each day for you to go back and read and study. I hope you are looking at these verses with 20/20 vision(Twenty verses before and twenty after). If you do that, you have read a lot of Bible but on top of that, you have something valuable--you’ve looked contextually at the verses.
Verse 34 and the first part of 35 says, “If the salt loses its salty taste you cannot make it salty again. It is worth nothing.”
If you have any questions I hope you will contact us, and I hope you will come and we will open our Bibles and study together. Because I want to make this very clear, our desire is to go to heaven together when this life is over. To do that we must make sure we get it right, and make sure we understand what God expects of us, and apply it in our lives. If we want to lead people to Jesus, we need to be salty, this means to have a right relationship with God. This means we need to b closely following Jesus today.
I encourage you today to read and study, then begin to teach others about the way to heaven.
~Philip
Luke 14:34-35 Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.
"He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
20 April 2010
OBEDIENCE
Genesis 12:1-9
Abraham, or Abram, is one of the Bible’s great examples of obedience. Our Bible reading today tells about a time when God told Abraham to live in a way that was pleasing to Him. He told Abraham to leave his home and his people and move to a new land. Our Bible reading, by the way is Genesis 12:1-9, and verse 4 says that Abraham left his homeland just like God said to do.
Later on God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. Abraham again obeyed God. Genesis 22, tells us about Abraham being ready to sacrifice Isaac, but an angel of the Lord stopped him from killing Isaac. In Genesis 22:12, the Bible says, ”Now I can see that you respect and obey God.” God expects us to obey His commandments too. In John 15:10, Jesus said, He obeyed His commandments, and in Acts 5:29, Peter and the other apostles said to the Jewish leaders, “We must obey God, not you.” If we love God, we must obey his commandments. In I John 5:3, the Bible says, loving God means obeying His commandments, or if you love Me you will keep My commandments.
I hope you will love and obey God today. I hope that you will take the time to learn what He will have us to do and apply them in your life. Let’s be like the Old Testament characters and obey God. When God told them to do something in a particular way, they would put those things into practice and do it the way God said to do it. What a simple life we would have if we did that--whatever God said to do, we would do it just that way even if it seems confusing or even if it seems unnecessary, or even if we think it may be for somebody else.
I need to make sure God is talking to me. If He is talking to me or to people in general I need to make sure to do those things God says do. For example, I’m going to love him without any other condition attached. I’m going to give him my life and give God control over me, so that when this life is over things can be even better than they are here. Oh, they are pretty good here, aren’t they? God takes good care of us in this life, but how much better it will be when we are able to spend eternity with God.
I hope you are making plans today to go heaven. I hope you are making plans today to be faithful and obedient to God’s will. I also hope you are making plans today to come be with us at our services. We meet on Wednesday night at 7pm. There is a very good Men’s Bible Study every Wednesday morning at 6:30am. The Ladies Bible Class meets the second Monday night of each month. Of course, our regular Sunday morning and night worship services are Bible class at 9am, worship at 10am, Sunday evening worship at 5pm.We also have other activities going on. Come join us!
~Philip
Genesis 12:1-9
Abraham, or Abram, is one of the Bible’s great examples of obedience. Our Bible reading today tells about a time when God told Abraham to live in a way that was pleasing to Him. He told Abraham to leave his home and his people and move to a new land. Our Bible reading, by the way is Genesis 12:1-9, and verse 4 says that Abraham left his homeland just like God said to do.
Later on God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. Abraham again obeyed God. Genesis 22, tells us about Abraham being ready to sacrifice Isaac, but an angel of the Lord stopped him from killing Isaac. In Genesis 22:12, the Bible says, ”Now I can see that you respect and obey God.” God expects us to obey His commandments too. In John 15:10, Jesus said, He obeyed His commandments, and in Acts 5:29, Peter and the other apostles said to the Jewish leaders, “We must obey God, not you.” If we love God, we must obey his commandments. In I John 5:3, the Bible says, loving God means obeying His commandments, or if you love Me you will keep My commandments.
I hope you will love and obey God today. I hope that you will take the time to learn what He will have us to do and apply them in your life. Let’s be like the Old Testament characters and obey God. When God told them to do something in a particular way, they would put those things into practice and do it the way God said to do it. What a simple life we would have if we did that--whatever God said to do, we would do it just that way even if it seems confusing or even if it seems unnecessary, or even if we think it may be for somebody else.
I need to make sure God is talking to me. If He is talking to me or to people in general I need to make sure to do those things God says do. For example, I’m going to love him without any other condition attached. I’m going to give him my life and give God control over me, so that when this life is over things can be even better than they are here. Oh, they are pretty good here, aren’t they? God takes good care of us in this life, but how much better it will be when we are able to spend eternity with God.
I hope you are making plans today to go heaven. I hope you are making plans today to be faithful and obedient to God’s will. I also hope you are making plans today to come be with us at our services. We meet on Wednesday night at 7pm. There is a very good Men’s Bible Study every Wednesday morning at 6:30am. The Ladies Bible Class meets the second Monday night of each month. Of course, our regular Sunday morning and night worship services are Bible class at 9am, worship at 10am, Sunday evening worship at 5pm.We also have other activities going on. Come join us!
~Philip
16 April 2010
FOUR DAYS
John 11:17-44
One of Jesus’ friends Lazarus had died, and four days later Jesus arrived in the town where Lazarus was buried. Lazarus’ sisters met Jesus on the way, and took him to the tomb where Lazarus had been buried. Jesus told the people to do a very strange thing. He told them to move the stone away from the tomb.
Martha said to Him, “Lord, it has been four days since Lazarus has died. There will be a bad smell.” His body had started to decay, you see. That is verse 39 of our Bible reading today, which is John 11:17-44. The people moved away the stone from the tomb. Jesus prayed and talked to God. He then called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”, and Lazarus walked out of the tomb. This was a miracle! It was something that was beyond what could be explained naturally. It was something that only could be done by God’s power.
Jesus did these miracles to prove He was who He claimed to be. Jesus brought Lazarus back to life after he had been dead four whole days. Many people saw this miracle and saw that Jesus was truly God’s son. We can read about this miracle in our Bibles, and know that Jesus really is God’s son and who he claimed to be.
I want today to encourage you to study your Bibles--to look and see what it is that God tells us in His Word and to understand something else about it. You might find some new thing that you haven’t seen before, and to take it in. Let it just reinforce your faith today. Let those things you read be an encouragement to you and an instruction for your life. We need to hear what God says, and we need to put it into practice. For example, God says, “You should hear my word”, Romans 10:17. He says, “You should believe My Word,” Mark 16:16. We should put it into practice, and repent of our sins just as He tells us to do in Acts 2:38. We should confess our faith, Matthew 10:32. He tells us we should be baptized, Acts 22:16. He tells us we should live faithfully, Revelation 22:10. We should put all these things to practice in our lives.
Are you doing those things you know you should in order to be pleasing in God’s sight. I hope your answer today is yes. I hope you can truly say, ”I am trying to the best of my ability to please God.” We know if we keep His commandments, He knows that we love Him. For God Himself said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” I hope that in faithful obedience today you will do all those things that God asks you to do--that you will put Him first in your life by walking by faith and not by sight.
~Philip
John 11:17-44
One of Jesus’ friends Lazarus had died, and four days later Jesus arrived in the town where Lazarus was buried. Lazarus’ sisters met Jesus on the way, and took him to the tomb where Lazarus had been buried. Jesus told the people to do a very strange thing. He told them to move the stone away from the tomb.
Martha said to Him, “Lord, it has been four days since Lazarus has died. There will be a bad smell.” His body had started to decay, you see. That is verse 39 of our Bible reading today, which is John 11:17-44. The people moved away the stone from the tomb. Jesus prayed and talked to God. He then called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”, and Lazarus walked out of the tomb. This was a miracle! It was something that was beyond what could be explained naturally. It was something that only could be done by God’s power.
Jesus did these miracles to prove He was who He claimed to be. Jesus brought Lazarus back to life after he had been dead four whole days. Many people saw this miracle and saw that Jesus was truly God’s son. We can read about this miracle in our Bibles, and know that Jesus really is God’s son and who he claimed to be.
I want today to encourage you to study your Bibles--to look and see what it is that God tells us in His Word and to understand something else about it. You might find some new thing that you haven’t seen before, and to take it in. Let it just reinforce your faith today. Let those things you read be an encouragement to you and an instruction for your life. We need to hear what God says, and we need to put it into practice. For example, God says, “You should hear my word”, Romans 10:17. He says, “You should believe My Word,” Mark 16:16. We should put it into practice, and repent of our sins just as He tells us to do in Acts 2:38. We should confess our faith, Matthew 10:32. He tells us we should be baptized, Acts 22:16. He tells us we should live faithfully, Revelation 22:10. We should put all these things to practice in our lives.
Are you doing those things you know you should in order to be pleasing in God’s sight. I hope your answer today is yes. I hope you can truly say, ”I am trying to the best of my ability to please God.” We know if we keep His commandments, He knows that we love Him. For God Himself said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” I hope that in faithful obedience today you will do all those things that God asks you to do--that you will put Him first in your life by walking by faith and not by sight.
~Philip
15 April 2010
Three Days
Jonah 1:14-Chap. 2-10
Our Bible reading today is about Jonah. God told Jonah to go to the city of Nineveh and tell the people there to stop sinning. What an interesting thing for God to tell a preacher to do--something he should be doing anyway. Jonah was told to do this, but some of you Bible scholars will remember what happened.
Jonah was scared and ran away from God, but later God chose a very big fish to come and swallow up Jonah. Jonah was in the fish’s stomach for three days and three nights. This comes from our scripture reading today which is Jonah 1:14 thru 2:10. You get part of two chapters today, and we, of course, recommend you read with twenty/twenty vision. ( twenty verses before and twenty after the reading).
This is an important story in the Old Testament. I don’t think that three days is a very long time, but to Jonah it must have seemed like an eternity. So the question is what did Jonah do for three days? Jonah 2:1 answers that question. It says there that while Jonah was in the fish’s stomach he prayed to God. Here he is in one of the hardest times of his life. He felt guilty for running from God. He’s sinned, and is paying a price for it. God is correcting him by putting him in this fish, to get him where he needs to be. Jonah is praying and asking God to help him. He told God that he would obey, and God paid attention to Jonah’s prayers.
Sometimes we are like Jonah--instead of going to Nineveh, we get on a boat going in another direction. When this happens, when we are facing some problem along the way and are inside the belly of some problem, that’s when we should ask God for forgiveness and for help. God will forgive us and help us.
Take time today to talk to God. Take time today to ask Him to help you, in obedience to his will. We know that God is well pleased with obedience. He wants us to have faith and put that faith into action. It really is a simple plan when you think about it, isn’t it. He wants us to believe those things that He says, repent of our sins, confess our faith, and be baptized. He wants us to live it every day by studying the bible for ourselves, attending church, and giving of our time, talents, and treasures. The list could go on and on. But we know God is pleased with faithful obedience to His will. Jonah said in verse 9 of our text, “Lord, I will praise and thank you. I will give my special promise to you, and I will do these things that I have promised You.” Let us make sure to keep our promise to God.
~Philip
Jonah 1:14-Chap. 2-10
Our Bible reading today is about Jonah. God told Jonah to go to the city of Nineveh and tell the people there to stop sinning. What an interesting thing for God to tell a preacher to do--something he should be doing anyway. Jonah was told to do this, but some of you Bible scholars will remember what happened.
Jonah was scared and ran away from God, but later God chose a very big fish to come and swallow up Jonah. Jonah was in the fish’s stomach for three days and three nights. This comes from our scripture reading today which is Jonah 1:14 thru 2:10. You get part of two chapters today, and we, of course, recommend you read with twenty/twenty vision. ( twenty verses before and twenty after the reading).
This is an important story in the Old Testament. I don’t think that three days is a very long time, but to Jonah it must have seemed like an eternity. So the question is what did Jonah do for three days? Jonah 2:1 answers that question. It says there that while Jonah was in the fish’s stomach he prayed to God. Here he is in one of the hardest times of his life. He felt guilty for running from God. He’s sinned, and is paying a price for it. God is correcting him by putting him in this fish, to get him where he needs to be. Jonah is praying and asking God to help him. He told God that he would obey, and God paid attention to Jonah’s prayers.
Sometimes we are like Jonah--instead of going to Nineveh, we get on a boat going in another direction. When this happens, when we are facing some problem along the way and are inside the belly of some problem, that’s when we should ask God for forgiveness and for help. God will forgive us and help us.
Take time today to talk to God. Take time today to ask Him to help you, in obedience to his will. We know that God is well pleased with obedience. He wants us to have faith and put that faith into action. It really is a simple plan when you think about it, isn’t it. He wants us to believe those things that He says, repent of our sins, confess our faith, and be baptized. He wants us to live it every day by studying the bible for ourselves, attending church, and giving of our time, talents, and treasures. The list could go on and on. But we know God is pleased with faithful obedience to His will. Jonah said in verse 9 of our text, “Lord, I will praise and thank you. I will give my special promise to you, and I will do these things that I have promised You.” Let us make sure to keep our promise to God.
~Philip
SPIRITUAL VITAMIN
Ephesians 5:15-20
People spend a lot of money on all sorts of things to make them strong and healthy. People buy a lot of vitamins to help them stay strong and healthy. It’s probably a good idea to take vitamins. I want to talk to you today about spiritual vitamins--those things we can get from God’s word to encourage us and help us to be stronger Christians.
As matter of fact the vitamin I want to give you to be stronger is the V I T A M I N. Let me tell you what it should stand for, and to help us remember what we need for spiritual health. We should remember there are some things that are just true.
God gave us VICTORY over death. We have a hope of life in the hereafter because of what Jesus has done for us.
The second one letter of the word vitamin is the I. I guess I think about the Holy Spirit living IN us. It is important to realize if we obey God’s will we will receive that Holy Spirit from God. He is there to help us, to comfort us, to give those words to God that we somehow just can’t even get out. We should have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us in a pure way when we live that pure and holy kind of life.
The T in vitamin reminds us that every day we should THANK God for all He has given us. He has given us so much to be thankful for. The number one thing on our list of thankfulness should be His Son that He gave for us as a sacrifice for our sin.
He has also given us the ABILITY to serve Him. Ability is the A in vitamin. God gives us that strength within. Those specific talents we have that we can use in his service.
The next letter is M -- God shows us MERCY when we sin,and has promised us an INHERITANCE in heaven when this life is over. The last word in vitamin is NEW for new life. Through Jesus Christ we have that hope of a new life. We are made new, buried with Him in baptism and raised up to walk in newness of life. Be sure to take your spiritual vitamins each day, and put into action those things we need to be doing for good spiritual health. Spiritual vitamins are a good way to remember what we need to do each and every day.
~Philip
Ephesians 5:15-20
People spend a lot of money on all sorts of things to make them strong and healthy. People buy a lot of vitamins to help them stay strong and healthy. It’s probably a good idea to take vitamins. I want to talk to you today about spiritual vitamins--those things we can get from God’s word to encourage us and help us to be stronger Christians.
As matter of fact the vitamin I want to give you to be stronger is the V I T A M I N. Let me tell you what it should stand for, and to help us remember what we need for spiritual health. We should remember there are some things that are just true.
God gave us VICTORY over death. We have a hope of life in the hereafter because of what Jesus has done for us.
The second one letter of the word vitamin is the I. I guess I think about the Holy Spirit living IN us. It is important to realize if we obey God’s will we will receive that Holy Spirit from God. He is there to help us, to comfort us, to give those words to God that we somehow just can’t even get out. We should have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us in a pure way when we live that pure and holy kind of life.
The T in vitamin reminds us that every day we should THANK God for all He has given us. He has given us so much to be thankful for. The number one thing on our list of thankfulness should be His Son that He gave for us as a sacrifice for our sin.
He has also given us the ABILITY to serve Him. Ability is the A in vitamin. God gives us that strength within. Those specific talents we have that we can use in his service.
The next letter is M -- God shows us MERCY when we sin,and has promised us an INHERITANCE in heaven when this life is over. The last word in vitamin is NEW for new life. Through Jesus Christ we have that hope of a new life. We are made new, buried with Him in baptism and raised up to walk in newness of life. Be sure to take your spiritual vitamins each day, and put into action those things we need to be doing for good spiritual health. Spiritual vitamins are a good way to remember what we need to do each and every day.
~Philip
09 April 2010
TWO CHOICES
Colossians 3:12-17
As life goes by, I can give many examples of people who have made bad choices. There are a lot of those to choose from. Probably some of us would fit into that category. At some time in our lives have done things and made decisions we weren’t proud of and our family wasn’t proud of. God Himself was not proud of us. God wants us to make good decisions.
First of all today, let me encourage you to know God’s will--know those things He wants us to do in life. God says it this way, “If you love me, you will keep My commandments.” The idea of the word commandment is: there are some things required of God, and these things are things we have no choice but to do. That’s what God wants us to do. We have no choice but to do them if we hope to be right with God. We can avoid doing them but then God is not pleased with our actions.
As we go through our lives we make choices whether we are going to love other folks the way God did. That is really what I want to talk to you about today--the choices we make concerning other people. I hope we have already made the choice for ourselves to follow God, but what about others around us. I remember a few years ago there was a young girl who was pregnant and unmarried. She told her family she was going to marry the boy. One of her aunts said to her, “Don’t even bother send me an invitation. I’m not going to come or support this marriage in any way. Contrast that with another young lady who was at the same time pregnant and engaged to her boyfriend. Her family came to the wedding and supported her. Later on her new husband decided to obey God’s will and become a Christian.
You see the results from those two families. Neither family really accepted what had gone on. They weren’t proud of what had happened, but one family acted like God would. God hates sin but loves the sinner and the other family hated the sin and the sinner apparently.
In our Bible reading today Paul says we are to show mercy to people. We have two choices--either to show mercy and or not to show mercy, to be kind or not to be kind, to be gentle or not be gentle, to be humble or not be humble, to be patient or not be patient. Our Bible reading, by the way, comes from Colossians 3:12-17. I remember those families and one family reigns as the family who did just what Paul is talking about in verse 17 of our text. They did not excuse the sin, they did not say for them to do whatever they wanted to do. They loved them regardless of the sin in the same way God loved them. They encouraged them to then to the things necessary to go to heaven. We have two choices in life. God wants us to choose mercy and love. I hope this day and every day you will find somebody to love the way God loves us.
~Philip
Colossians 3:12-17
As life goes by, I can give many examples of people who have made bad choices. There are a lot of those to choose from. Probably some of us would fit into that category. At some time in our lives have done things and made decisions we weren’t proud of and our family wasn’t proud of. God Himself was not proud of us. God wants us to make good decisions.
First of all today, let me encourage you to know God’s will--know those things He wants us to do in life. God says it this way, “If you love me, you will keep My commandments.” The idea of the word commandment is: there are some things required of God, and these things are things we have no choice but to do. That’s what God wants us to do. We have no choice but to do them if we hope to be right with God. We can avoid doing them but then God is not pleased with our actions.
As we go through our lives we make choices whether we are going to love other folks the way God did. That is really what I want to talk to you about today--the choices we make concerning other people. I hope we have already made the choice for ourselves to follow God, but what about others around us. I remember a few years ago there was a young girl who was pregnant and unmarried. She told her family she was going to marry the boy. One of her aunts said to her, “Don’t even bother send me an invitation. I’m not going to come or support this marriage in any way. Contrast that with another young lady who was at the same time pregnant and engaged to her boyfriend. Her family came to the wedding and supported her. Later on her new husband decided to obey God’s will and become a Christian.
You see the results from those two families. Neither family really accepted what had gone on. They weren’t proud of what had happened, but one family acted like God would. God hates sin but loves the sinner and the other family hated the sin and the sinner apparently.
In our Bible reading today Paul says we are to show mercy to people. We have two choices--either to show mercy and or not to show mercy, to be kind or not to be kind, to be gentle or not be gentle, to be humble or not be humble, to be patient or not be patient. Our Bible reading, by the way, comes from Colossians 3:12-17. I remember those families and one family reigns as the family who did just what Paul is talking about in verse 17 of our text. They did not excuse the sin, they did not say for them to do whatever they wanted to do. They loved them regardless of the sin in the same way God loved them. They encouraged them to then to the things necessary to go to heaven. We have two choices in life. God wants us to choose mercy and love. I hope this day and every day you will find somebody to love the way God loves us.
~Philip
07 April 2010
BE READY
Matthew 25:1-13 25:13
One day Victoria invited Zack to come to church, and the preacher that particular Sunday talked about Jesus dying for our sins. Zack knew that he should be willing to faithfully obey God’s word, and accept what was taught from the Bible. He knew that Jesus was, and wanted to be his Savior if he would allow him to be, but Zack was afraid. He thought he would lose his friends in doing that. He said, “The only person I know who is a Christian is Victoria, and if I become a Christian all my other friends will make fun of me. I won’t have anything in common with them any more. I will have to quit everything that I have ever done.” So he just waited and waited.
As time went on, I studied with Zack. He continued to come to church with Victoria, and he continued to grow. He came to the point when I thought he was about ready to become a Christian, but he refused. Soon Zack started running with friends I thought he had no business being friends with, and Victoria even noticed this. Pretty soon they were broken up. Victoria kept coming to church, but she later on heard that Zack had been killed in a car accident. Zack’s friend was driving the car and had been using drugs. Apparently Zack had been on drugs and other things as well.
Victoria and Zack’s family asked me to help with the funeral service. That was kind of a hard thing to do. Here was a guy who knew to do right, but refused to do it. Kind of an interesting situation wasn’t it.
The Bible teaches us that we need to be ready. We need to be prepared, and we need to faithfully obey God’s will. In our Bible reading today, Matthew 25:1-13, we see ten girls. Five of these girls were ready to meet the bridegroom. They were Christians and serving God. The other five were not ready to accept the teachings of the Bible. We do not know when we are going to die. We do not know when Jesus will come again, but we know this. We need to be ready all the time. Zack was not ready, and I hope we are not in that same situation.
I hope that you are ready now to go to heaven. In order to do that we need to do some things. First of all we need to be ready. Verse 13 of our text, says, “Always be ready. We do not know when the Son of man will come.” We need to be ready by hearing God’s word, believing it, repenting of our sins, confessing our faith, and being baptized. We need to be ready by living faithfully each day. We need to be ready by spending time focusing on God, and worshiping Him. We need to spend the day giving of our time, talents, and treasures, and even teaching others about God’s word. I hope today is the day you will begin being ready.
~Philip
Matthew 25:1-13 25:13
One day Victoria invited Zack to come to church, and the preacher that particular Sunday talked about Jesus dying for our sins. Zack knew that he should be willing to faithfully obey God’s word, and accept what was taught from the Bible. He knew that Jesus was, and wanted to be his Savior if he would allow him to be, but Zack was afraid. He thought he would lose his friends in doing that. He said, “The only person I know who is a Christian is Victoria, and if I become a Christian all my other friends will make fun of me. I won’t have anything in common with them any more. I will have to quit everything that I have ever done.” So he just waited and waited.
As time went on, I studied with Zack. He continued to come to church with Victoria, and he continued to grow. He came to the point when I thought he was about ready to become a Christian, but he refused. Soon Zack started running with friends I thought he had no business being friends with, and Victoria even noticed this. Pretty soon they were broken up. Victoria kept coming to church, but she later on heard that Zack had been killed in a car accident. Zack’s friend was driving the car and had been using drugs. Apparently Zack had been on drugs and other things as well.
Victoria and Zack’s family asked me to help with the funeral service. That was kind of a hard thing to do. Here was a guy who knew to do right, but refused to do it. Kind of an interesting situation wasn’t it.
The Bible teaches us that we need to be ready. We need to be prepared, and we need to faithfully obey God’s will. In our Bible reading today, Matthew 25:1-13, we see ten girls. Five of these girls were ready to meet the bridegroom. They were Christians and serving God. The other five were not ready to accept the teachings of the Bible. We do not know when we are going to die. We do not know when Jesus will come again, but we know this. We need to be ready all the time. Zack was not ready, and I hope we are not in that same situation.
I hope that you are ready now to go to heaven. In order to do that we need to do some things. First of all we need to be ready. Verse 13 of our text, says, “Always be ready. We do not know when the Son of man will come.” We need to be ready by hearing God’s word, believing it, repenting of our sins, confessing our faith, and being baptized. We need to be ready by living faithfully each day. We need to be ready by spending time focusing on God, and worshiping Him. We need to spend the day giving of our time, talents, and treasures, and even teaching others about God’s word. I hope today is the day you will begin being ready.
~Philip
06 April 2010
PROBLEMS
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
Our Bible reading today is 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, and as always, I want to encourage you to be a daily Bible reader. It is such an important thing, and I don’t know of anything that is a more crucial step in our growing spiritually than simply studying God’s word. If we study we will learn that we ought to pray more, then we will start communicating better with God. We’ll learn that we must believe, repent, confess, and be baptized. We will learn we have to live the rest of our lives in service to God by giving of our time, talents, and treasures. We’ll learn that we should be busy teaching others. We’ll learn we must do the things God wants us to do; but it all starts with Bible reading and study.
In today’s Bible reading Paul is talking about a problem he had. He does not say specifically what his problem is, but just that he has one and wants help with it. God allowed Paul to have this problem, and even went so far as to say “My grace is sufficient for you.” Paul refers to the problem as his “thorn in the flesh”. That is where we get the phrase “thorn in the flesh”. Many people have speculated on what this problem was. The devil wanted this problem to bother Paul and to stick and fester like a thorn in the flesh, I’m sure.
That’s the way it seems that life goes, isn’t it? We have these problems, and the devil wants to keep poking us and letting that thing just keep festering and growing, becoming a bigger problem for us. Jesus wants to help us with those problems. Paul did not give up. He kept on asking God to take away the problem, but God told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you. When you are weak, My power will be made perfect in you.” In verse 9 of that text, you will see those words.
Every person in the world faces problems, but Christians have God’s grace, and because we have God’s grace we can stand strong and we can be like Paul-- happy even when the trials of life are all around us. Why? Well, because we are truly serving God and we have God on our side. We know that God will take care of us. Some of those problems may remain and continue, like they did in Paul’s life. We know that we will be victorious with God on our side. I’m happy when I have a problem , because when I am weak, then I am truly strong so says Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:10.
~Philip
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
Our Bible reading today is 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, and as always, I want to encourage you to be a daily Bible reader. It is such an important thing, and I don’t know of anything that is a more crucial step in our growing spiritually than simply studying God’s word. If we study we will learn that we ought to pray more, then we will start communicating better with God. We’ll learn that we must believe, repent, confess, and be baptized. We will learn we have to live the rest of our lives in service to God by giving of our time, talents, and treasures. We’ll learn that we should be busy teaching others. We’ll learn we must do the things God wants us to do; but it all starts with Bible reading and study.
In today’s Bible reading Paul is talking about a problem he had. He does not say specifically what his problem is, but just that he has one and wants help with it. God allowed Paul to have this problem, and even went so far as to say “My grace is sufficient for you.” Paul refers to the problem as his “thorn in the flesh”. That is where we get the phrase “thorn in the flesh”. Many people have speculated on what this problem was. The devil wanted this problem to bother Paul and to stick and fester like a thorn in the flesh, I’m sure.
That’s the way it seems that life goes, isn’t it? We have these problems, and the devil wants to keep poking us and letting that thing just keep festering and growing, becoming a bigger problem for us. Jesus wants to help us with those problems. Paul did not give up. He kept on asking God to take away the problem, but God told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you. When you are weak, My power will be made perfect in you.” In verse 9 of that text, you will see those words.
Every person in the world faces problems, but Christians have God’s grace, and because we have God’s grace we can stand strong and we can be like Paul-- happy even when the trials of life are all around us. Why? Well, because we are truly serving God and we have God on our side. We know that God will take care of us. Some of those problems may remain and continue, like they did in Paul’s life. We know that we will be victorious with God on our side. I’m happy when I have a problem , because when I am weak, then I am truly strong so says Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:10.
~Philip
05 April 2010
RESPECT and OBEY
Genesis 22:1-14
Abraham loved and served God, but one day God asked Abraham to do something that Abraham was not expecting. God told Abraham to give as a sacrifice, his son Isaac, whom God had given to him fulfilling a lengthy promise that God had made to Abraham and Sarah.
God said to kill Isaac for Him. So Abraham took Isaac to a land where God had told Him to go, and was preparing to make the sacrifice, the ultimate sacrifice to God. Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac, not because he wanted to get rid of him, but because God had told him to. Abraham said,” Whatever God says to do I am willing to do.” You Bible scholars may remember the story, that God stopped his hand and spared Isaac. Our scripture reading which comes from Genesis 22:1-14, says in verse 12, “Don’t kill your son or hurt Him in any way. I see that you are ready to respect and obey Me. You are ready to kill your son , your only son for Me.”
Do you know what God wants from us today. God wants to know if we are like Abraham, that we are willing to respect and obey Him. God doesn’t ask us to sacrifice our children, but instead God asks of us that we willingly sacrifice our lives for Him--giving Him our lives and letting Him have control of it.
Sometimes sin keeps us from obeying God. Maybe it is something simple that keeps us away from God, maybe a car, or TV, or video games. Whatever it may be, God says don’t let anything be there as your God. Don’t let anything be there that you love more than I. God wants us to stop loving other things and love Him the most. He wants to help us to focus on Him and His word. When we do that, God will become the most important thing in our life. As that happens, other things will become greater too.
God says, if you love Me, I will help you care and love other things as you should. Be sure today to make God the most important thing in your life. Be sure that you respect Him and obey Him. We sometimes give you that equation: Faith + Obedience + Salvation. I believe that to be true. We can use it in a different way today, we can say Respect + Obedience= Salvation. The same idea is there. We will hear what God has to say, we’ll believe it, and do those things God wants us to do. We will become what God wants us to be. He can use us then in His service. Because you did this for Me, God Says, I will make you this promise: ”I, the Lord, promise that I will truly bless you.” That was the result of the trial Abraham went through, Genesis 22:16-17. What about you? Is God able to bless you today?
~Philip
Genesis 22:1-14
Abraham loved and served God, but one day God asked Abraham to do something that Abraham was not expecting. God told Abraham to give as a sacrifice, his son Isaac, whom God had given to him fulfilling a lengthy promise that God had made to Abraham and Sarah.
God said to kill Isaac for Him. So Abraham took Isaac to a land where God had told Him to go, and was preparing to make the sacrifice, the ultimate sacrifice to God. Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac, not because he wanted to get rid of him, but because God had told him to. Abraham said,” Whatever God says to do I am willing to do.” You Bible scholars may remember the story, that God stopped his hand and spared Isaac. Our scripture reading which comes from Genesis 22:1-14, says in verse 12, “Don’t kill your son or hurt Him in any way. I see that you are ready to respect and obey Me. You are ready to kill your son , your only son for Me.”
Do you know what God wants from us today. God wants to know if we are like Abraham, that we are willing to respect and obey Him. God doesn’t ask us to sacrifice our children, but instead God asks of us that we willingly sacrifice our lives for Him--giving Him our lives and letting Him have control of it.
Sometimes sin keeps us from obeying God. Maybe it is something simple that keeps us away from God, maybe a car, or TV, or video games. Whatever it may be, God says don’t let anything be there as your God. Don’t let anything be there that you love more than I. God wants us to stop loving other things and love Him the most. He wants to help us to focus on Him and His word. When we do that, God will become the most important thing in our life. As that happens, other things will become greater too.
God says, if you love Me, I will help you care and love other things as you should. Be sure today to make God the most important thing in your life. Be sure that you respect Him and obey Him. We sometimes give you that equation: Faith + Obedience + Salvation. I believe that to be true. We can use it in a different way today, we can say Respect + Obedience= Salvation. The same idea is there. We will hear what God has to say, we’ll believe it, and do those things God wants us to do. We will become what God wants us to be. He can use us then in His service. Because you did this for Me, God Says, I will make you this promise: ”I, the Lord, promise that I will truly bless you.” That was the result of the trial Abraham went through, Genesis 22:16-17. What about you? Is God able to bless you today?
~Philip
02 April 2010
GOD SPEAKS
Psalm 119:9-16
God speaks to us today through God’s Word, the Bible. The Bible is His gift to us, and we should read and study God’s Word every day. Sometimes I think that when we read the Bible we don’t pay attention to what God says. It’s like we hear things in the background of our life and we don’t really pay attention to. But when we read a chapter or verse in the Bible we have to think about: “Have I read this verse before? What can I get from this particular verse? Maybe some of us should ask ourselves, “Have I read my Bible at all today?” Sometimes if we are not careful, we get busy with our other activities and forget about what we have read.
Let me encourage you today to spend some time listening when God talks. I remember a while back there was a commercial on. It might have been E. F. Hutton or someone, and the gist of the commercial was, “When he speaks, people listen.” The fact is when God speaks, people should listen. Maybe we should take more time to read and study. Maybe then we could take the verses we have read and think about what we have learned from those verses and apply them in our life.
Our scripture reading for today is from the book of Psalms, chapter 119, the longest chapter in the Bible, by the way. We will just read verses 9 through 16. There in verse 11, the Bible says, “I study your teaching very carefully, so I will not sin against you.” This shows us one of the most important reasons to study from our Bibles so that we can obey God and not sin against Him, so that we can do it His way and not our own.
I encourage you to take time to read and study God’s word carefully every day, to look at those things God asks you to do. And then ask God to help you as you study to understand and obey His will in His life. The Bible says if you will seek you will find. So we know that God has an actively role in our understanding His will for our life. He speaks to us through His word, the Bible. If we listen to His voice and to what he says, we can be in heaven when this life is over. It is in the book the Bible that we learn that we have to faithfully obey His will every day.
We encourage you this day to focus on what He has done for us. You see, it was on a day much like today that Jesus was put on trial on our behalf, not for sins He had committed, but for our sins that He took on himself for us. They spit on Him and tried Him, and did all those things we have heard so many talk about this week. They beat Him and cursed Him, and then they crucified Him. He died on that cross for each of us, and He gave himself freely for every one of us so that when this life is over we will have a hope of heaven with God. He did not just give himself and die on that cross, they took Him down and buried Him. But he was resurrected three days later. He was able to defeat death and give us the hope of defeating death as well.
Listen to God today as He speaks to you, and obey His will. He loves you. He gave His only begotten Son that if you will believe in Him you will not perish but have everlasting life. Let me encourage you to come be with us this Sunday. We are going to be talking about that very belief.
~Philip
Psalm 119:9-16
God speaks to us today through God’s Word, the Bible. The Bible is His gift to us, and we should read and study God’s Word every day. Sometimes I think that when we read the Bible we don’t pay attention to what God says. It’s like we hear things in the background of our life and we don’t really pay attention to. But when we read a chapter or verse in the Bible we have to think about: “Have I read this verse before? What can I get from this particular verse? Maybe some of us should ask ourselves, “Have I read my Bible at all today?” Sometimes if we are not careful, we get busy with our other activities and forget about what we have read.
Let me encourage you today to spend some time listening when God talks. I remember a while back there was a commercial on. It might have been E. F. Hutton or someone, and the gist of the commercial was, “When he speaks, people listen.” The fact is when God speaks, people should listen. Maybe we should take more time to read and study. Maybe then we could take the verses we have read and think about what we have learned from those verses and apply them in our life.
Our scripture reading for today is from the book of Psalms, chapter 119, the longest chapter in the Bible, by the way. We will just read verses 9 through 16. There in verse 11, the Bible says, “I study your teaching very carefully, so I will not sin against you.” This shows us one of the most important reasons to study from our Bibles so that we can obey God and not sin against Him, so that we can do it His way and not our own.
I encourage you to take time to read and study God’s word carefully every day, to look at those things God asks you to do. And then ask God to help you as you study to understand and obey His will in His life. The Bible says if you will seek you will find. So we know that God has an actively role in our understanding His will for our life. He speaks to us through His word, the Bible. If we listen to His voice and to what he says, we can be in heaven when this life is over. It is in the book the Bible that we learn that we have to faithfully obey His will every day.
We encourage you this day to focus on what He has done for us. You see, it was on a day much like today that Jesus was put on trial on our behalf, not for sins He had committed, but for our sins that He took on himself for us. They spit on Him and tried Him, and did all those things we have heard so many talk about this week. They beat Him and cursed Him, and then they crucified Him. He died on that cross for each of us, and He gave himself freely for every one of us so that when this life is over we will have a hope of heaven with God. He did not just give himself and die on that cross, they took Him down and buried Him. But he was resurrected three days later. He was able to defeat death and give us the hope of defeating death as well.
Listen to God today as He speaks to you, and obey His will. He loves you. He gave His only begotten Son that if you will believe in Him you will not perish but have everlasting life. Let me encourage you to come be with us this Sunday. We are going to be talking about that very belief.
~Philip
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
