GOD’S WAYS
Isaiah 55:8-13
Have you ever doubted God’s love, maybe when you lost your job or some terrible thing happened to you? You cannot imagine why God allowed that awful thing to happen to you. You wondered if God really loves you. Recently I was talking to a friend who had gone through some hard things in life, and he said, “Hey, I did that very thing in my life. I wondered how so many people could be blessed in so many ways while God allowed me to struggle?”
Well, I realized, and I hope you do too, that happiness in life is really not so important and hinged on what happens to you, but how your attitude is toward what is happening, and what place you give God in your life. What happens is not so important, but where God is in the plan is important. It is important to accept God’s plan for your life no matter what happens--whether it’s good or bad, whether it’s something you expected or didn’t expect.
In our Bible reading today, God said, “Your thoughts are not like my thoughts. Your ways are not like my ways. The Heavens are higher than the earth. In the same way my ways are higher than your ways. My thoughts are higher than your thoughts.“ That is verse 8 and 9 of our text which comes from Isaiah 55:8-13. Take time today to read that text. We can’t understand God’s thoughts, therefore, we can’t completely understand His plan for our lives. But when something bad happens around you or to you, you don’t have to doubt God’s love. God will use these troubles to make us stronger, and will allow us to help other people to find their way to God.
I hope we will remember the text from the New Testament that says, “All things work together for good to them that love the Lord.” It is the idea of us depending on God completely, and as we go through life God is in control. God will take care of each of us. Even when things are bad, He will make it work out for the best. I hope we will apply that today and every day of our life. I think the way to apply that is through our faithful obedience--that we hear His Word and believe it, repent of our sins, confess our faith, and are baptized to live faithfully the rest of our life. God sees then, that we are saying to Him,
“ I’ve given myself fully to You.”
Paul says it this way in Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me, and gave Himself for me.” Can you say this day that you are crucified with Christ ? Have you given yourself over to God, and that you are faithfully obeying His will? I hope that you can. If not, make those changes necessary today, do what it takes to be right with God so that when this life is over we can spend eternity in Heaven.
~Philip
29 July 2010
27 July 2010
GOD IS LOVE
1 John 4:16-21 I John 4:16
People in the world today talk a lot about love, but where does love really come from? Our Bible reading today gives us the answer to that question about love. It’s fine to talk about love, maybe we have a tendency to talk about it more than we should. We need to spend some time, as preachers for example, to make sure the lessons are balanced--the negative side of things as well as the positive side.
I think it is important too, to know where love comes from and who God really is; and what God really wants us to know about love. So, we turn in our Bibles to I John 4:16-21, our text today. Our Bible reading gives us the answer to the question ‘ where love is really from.’ Verse 16 says “God is love.” A person’s love comes from God himself, a person’s heart keeps his physical body strong, and that heart pumps blood throughout the body so that the rest of the body can receive food, air and all the things necessary to continue to function. A person naturally tries to keep his heart safe. He tries to make sure that he protects that area. For example, a soldier wears armor vest to protect his heart. Police officers often wear a bullet proof vest to protect those vital organs, especially the heart. This same way God keeps our spirit strong.
We need to remember that it was God’s love that sent Jesus to the cross to die for our sins. God’s love gives us hope and joy when we are facing difficult times. God’s love lives inside of us if we have God inside of us. This love helps us to not be afraid of God’s judgment. It helps us to love other people the way God’s loves them. It helps us to reach out, especially with spiritual help, to people in all sorts of situations in life.
We get God in our life by following His will, by knowing His will, and applying it in our lives. It’s through faith + obedience = salvation. That is the equation that works. It’s that faith that comes through hearing of God ‘s word. As we know, without faith we can’t do anything else. Then we put that faith into action because we know that without works faith is dead. So we faithfully obey God and accept His will for us, and then reflect it to others. Let’s have God inside us and wear that protective armor that shields us. When the devil, as we know He will, confronts us we will be able to withstand whatever he throws at us.
Come be with us on Wednesday night for dinner together, the Fellowship Meal at 6pm. The cost is none if you come as my guest. If you are visiting with us you will be my guest. Afterwards at 7pm we have family Bible class with classes for everyone from toddlers all the way to adults.
~Philip
1 John 4:16-21 I John 4:16
People in the world today talk a lot about love, but where does love really come from? Our Bible reading today gives us the answer to that question about love. It’s fine to talk about love, maybe we have a tendency to talk about it more than we should. We need to spend some time, as preachers for example, to make sure the lessons are balanced--the negative side of things as well as the positive side.
I think it is important too, to know where love comes from and who God really is; and what God really wants us to know about love. So, we turn in our Bibles to I John 4:16-21, our text today. Our Bible reading gives us the answer to the question ‘ where love is really from.’ Verse 16 says “God is love.” A person’s love comes from God himself, a person’s heart keeps his physical body strong, and that heart pumps blood throughout the body so that the rest of the body can receive food, air and all the things necessary to continue to function. A person naturally tries to keep his heart safe. He tries to make sure that he protects that area. For example, a soldier wears armor vest to protect his heart. Police officers often wear a bullet proof vest to protect those vital organs, especially the heart. This same way God keeps our spirit strong.
We need to remember that it was God’s love that sent Jesus to the cross to die for our sins. God’s love gives us hope and joy when we are facing difficult times. God’s love lives inside of us if we have God inside of us. This love helps us to not be afraid of God’s judgment. It helps us to love other people the way God’s loves them. It helps us to reach out, especially with spiritual help, to people in all sorts of situations in life.
We get God in our life by following His will, by knowing His will, and applying it in our lives. It’s through faith + obedience = salvation. That is the equation that works. It’s that faith that comes through hearing of God ‘s word. As we know, without faith we can’t do anything else. Then we put that faith into action because we know that without works faith is dead. So we faithfully obey God and accept His will for us, and then reflect it to others. Let’s have God inside us and wear that protective armor that shields us. When the devil, as we know He will, confronts us we will be able to withstand whatever he throws at us.
Come be with us on Wednesday night for dinner together, the Fellowship Meal at 6pm. The cost is none if you come as my guest. If you are visiting with us you will be my guest. Afterwards at 7pm we have family Bible class with classes for everyone from toddlers all the way to adults.
~Philip
26 July 2010
Jesus, the Light
John 8:12-19
Maybe you’ve experienced walking into a new place when the lights were off and you were bumping into things, maybe furniture and the wall. You have lost your sense of direction and were completely unorganized in your thinking about what to do next while fumbling for the light switch. When we walk in the darkness we have problems finding where we are going.
Sometimes we lose our direction in life, when we know we need to follow Jesus, but things in the world keep getting in our way--keep blinding us, blocking us from the light and our following Him. We bump into activities; we bump into people who can lead us into sin. We can become spiritually lost just as we can become physically lost. The feeling is kind of the same. We can be almost desperate to find our way back to the light. Jesus is the answer to all of our problems. That was true a long time ago and it is still true today. Jesus is still the answer to our problems. He is the way to God--the light of the world. In a familiar text we have read all of our lives, Jesus Himself called Himself the light of the World. And if we follow Him we will always have light and can clearly see the things around us that might cause us to sin. We need to follow Jesus today. He is the light that will lead us to live forever in Heaven with God and Jesus Christ.
The question is “Are you following the light, or are you fumbling around in the darkness?” I hope we can say today we are trusting in the light. Let me encourage you to read John 8:12-19 today. What you will see there is Jesus encouraging us to be in the light. He encourages us to see clearly where we are headed. In John 14:6, Jesus answered and said “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except by me.” We cannot go to God another way. He is the one who leads us to where we need to be in the end. We need to be following Him today. The way that we follow Him is through faithful obedience to His will.
I mentioned to you that my son was recently baptized into Christ, and we are so excited about his decision. What He did was, He said, “Dad, I’ve gotten to the point where I know the truth and I am ready to be saved. I understand the way to do that is to have faith in Jesus Christ, and I believe in Him.” He made that good confession of his faith and was baptized into Christ to put on Christ. He then started living that new life, and I encouraged him as I have encouraged you today, to always walk in the light.
I think there are some things we can do to help us with that: if we read our Bible every day , pray all the time, teach other people, attend church services, and give of our time, talents and treasures, it will help us to walk in the light.
~Philip
John 8:12-19
Maybe you’ve experienced walking into a new place when the lights were off and you were bumping into things, maybe furniture and the wall. You have lost your sense of direction and were completely unorganized in your thinking about what to do next while fumbling for the light switch. When we walk in the darkness we have problems finding where we are going.
Sometimes we lose our direction in life, when we know we need to follow Jesus, but things in the world keep getting in our way--keep blinding us, blocking us from the light and our following Him. We bump into activities; we bump into people who can lead us into sin. We can become spiritually lost just as we can become physically lost. The feeling is kind of the same. We can be almost desperate to find our way back to the light. Jesus is the answer to all of our problems. That was true a long time ago and it is still true today. Jesus is still the answer to our problems. He is the way to God--the light of the world. In a familiar text we have read all of our lives, Jesus Himself called Himself the light of the World. And if we follow Him we will always have light and can clearly see the things around us that might cause us to sin. We need to follow Jesus today. He is the light that will lead us to live forever in Heaven with God and Jesus Christ.
The question is “Are you following the light, or are you fumbling around in the darkness?” I hope we can say today we are trusting in the light. Let me encourage you to read John 8:12-19 today. What you will see there is Jesus encouraging us to be in the light. He encourages us to see clearly where we are headed. In John 14:6, Jesus answered and said “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except by me.” We cannot go to God another way. He is the one who leads us to where we need to be in the end. We need to be following Him today. The way that we follow Him is through faithful obedience to His will.
I mentioned to you that my son was recently baptized into Christ, and we are so excited about his decision. What He did was, He said, “Dad, I’ve gotten to the point where I know the truth and I am ready to be saved. I understand the way to do that is to have faith in Jesus Christ, and I believe in Him.” He made that good confession of his faith and was baptized into Christ to put on Christ. He then started living that new life, and I encouraged him as I have encouraged you today, to always walk in the light.
I think there are some things we can do to help us with that: if we read our Bible every day , pray all the time, teach other people, attend church services, and give of our time, talents and treasures, it will help us to walk in the light.
~Philip
22 July 2010
A GOOD ATTITUDE
Philippians 4:5-9
Having a good attitude is very important. You know, we find out different things in life, and there are reasons some people have bad attitudes. I sometimes see that in different people Maybe we are going through something, are struggling with health issues, or something else--maybe not physical, but emotional and it affects our attitude. They will say, “Most of the time I have a good attitude but ……. “
The Bible teaches, and we have learned from life, that having a good attitude can make all the difference. For instance, I’ve seen two people diagnosed with basically the same kind of cancer, one with a bad attitude who was soon dead, and one who went through the cancer treatments with a positive attitude and is still cancer free today. I’ve seen that a good attitude makes all the difference.
When we are facing those struggles we need to have a good attitude, and to remember Philippians 4. Philippians 4:5-9 is our scripture reading for today, especially verse 8. There the Bible tells us about things we ought to be thinking about and it says basically that we ought to think about things that are good and worthy of praise, things are true and honorable, things that are right and pure, things that are beautiful and respected. Those are the kind of things we should be thinking about. We shouldn’t be thinking about all the junk and all the worries of life. Instead don’t think about all that, think about all those things that are good.
It will help our attitude as we try to adjust it to where it needs to be when we think about those good things and we praise God and celebrate life. We are happier and it helps us to become stronger people, stronger even in God’s service.
I hope that today you will think about good things, that you will think about the Bible, that you will think about Christian friends, and that you’ll think about the fact that Jesus lived and died for you. I hope that you will praise God for all that He has done in our lives. I hope we will have the attitude that we need to have and our minds will focused where it needs to be focused so that God will be pleased with what we do today and every day. We should apply that principal of a good attitude not just today, but all the time. That’s part of living, part of living the way God wants us to anyway--having a good attitude about all the stuff. There are going to be struggles. Things will happen in your life that are unexpected --people will come and go, jobs will change. You name it and it will probably happen. But what is our attitude going to be like through it all? I hope it will be a great attitude as we go from this day forward trying to do what God would have us to do.
I hope you will come be with us at the Elba Church of Christ. We have great things happening. As a matter of fact, last night my son, Brantley was baptized, and we are excited about that. We are excited about our singing coming up on July 30, a Friday. We will sing from 7pm to 8:30pm. I hope you will come to the singing and join us for the fellowship and refreshments afterwards.
~Philip
Philippians 4:5-9
Having a good attitude is very important. You know, we find out different things in life, and there are reasons some people have bad attitudes. I sometimes see that in different people Maybe we are going through something, are struggling with health issues, or something else--maybe not physical, but emotional and it affects our attitude. They will say, “Most of the time I have a good attitude but ……. “
The Bible teaches, and we have learned from life, that having a good attitude can make all the difference. For instance, I’ve seen two people diagnosed with basically the same kind of cancer, one with a bad attitude who was soon dead, and one who went through the cancer treatments with a positive attitude and is still cancer free today. I’ve seen that a good attitude makes all the difference.
When we are facing those struggles we need to have a good attitude, and to remember Philippians 4. Philippians 4:5-9 is our scripture reading for today, especially verse 8. There the Bible tells us about things we ought to be thinking about and it says basically that we ought to think about things that are good and worthy of praise, things are true and honorable, things that are right and pure, things that are beautiful and respected. Those are the kind of things we should be thinking about. We shouldn’t be thinking about all the junk and all the worries of life. Instead don’t think about all that, think about all those things that are good.
It will help our attitude as we try to adjust it to where it needs to be when we think about those good things and we praise God and celebrate life. We are happier and it helps us to become stronger people, stronger even in God’s service.
I hope that today you will think about good things, that you will think about the Bible, that you will think about Christian friends, and that you’ll think about the fact that Jesus lived and died for you. I hope that you will praise God for all that He has done in our lives. I hope we will have the attitude that we need to have and our minds will focused where it needs to be focused so that God will be pleased with what we do today and every day. We should apply that principal of a good attitude not just today, but all the time. That’s part of living, part of living the way God wants us to anyway--having a good attitude about all the stuff. There are going to be struggles. Things will happen in your life that are unexpected --people will come and go, jobs will change. You name it and it will probably happen. But what is our attitude going to be like through it all? I hope it will be a great attitude as we go from this day forward trying to do what God would have us to do.
I hope you will come be with us at the Elba Church of Christ. We have great things happening. As a matter of fact, last night my son, Brantley was baptized, and we are excited about that. We are excited about our singing coming up on July 30, a Friday. We will sing from 7pm to 8:30pm. I hope you will come to the singing and join us for the fellowship and refreshments afterwards.
~Philip
21 July 2010
IN THE NEWS
John 3:16
It’s always interesting to hear Derek and the other guys at the radio station tell the local news. It’s not only interesting to hear the national stuff that is going on, but the local stuff as well. I like that, and of course, I’m always waiting for those magic words, “Here is Philip Box.”
We listen to the news to see what is going on. As I watched the news I thought that, like this morning, sometimes the news reports are not very accurate . I’m sure you are well aware of the lady who was asked to resign for some comments she had made. It turned out the comments she made were really the opposite of what everybody was thinking. Who knows what will happen there, maybe she will be reinstated. But we hear all kinds of stories don’t we? Sometimes we wonder what to believe and what not to believe. We ask ourselves quite often, “Is that really happening?” or “How could somebody actually do that?” So, we are always in amazement over the news.
I was thinking about some things in the news that are good things, or that should be in the news. For example, you know, maybe it would be a good idea if somebody said, “Again, to report on a story of old, God loves you.” John 3:16 is our text for today and teaches that. There the Bible said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son.” We think about the news reports and the news from the Bible, and we think about those great stories.--the Good News that we can have from God’s Word. We also think of other good news and good times when good information was shared. For example, when the wise men and the shepherds came at Jesus’ birth and again, the report was a good one. “Great news and good tidings, a Savior is born!”
Again and again when Jesus did His teachings and miracles He would go from place to place, and in every town the news report would have had to have been, “Good news! The Messiah has come through town and all the sick have been healed!”
What about your life today, is it filled with Jesus Christ? That’s the only way really that our life can be filled with good news--to be one with Jesus Christ, to be one with God through the blood of His Son Jesus Christ who died on the Cross of Calvary for us. As individuals we are to evaluate our own life. We are to see what God would have us to do and apply it in our life. We need a good understanding of God wants from us. God wants us to hear His word, Romans 10:17, believe it, Mark 16:16, then put it into action and repent of our sins Acts 2:38, confess our faith Matthew 10:32, be baptized into Christ Acts 2:38, Mark 16:16, and many other verses in the Bible, and live faithfully the rest of our life.
Come be with us tonight at 6pm for our Fellowship Meal, and 7pm for our Bible Study.
~Philip
John 3:16
It’s always interesting to hear Derek and the other guys at the radio station tell the local news. It’s not only interesting to hear the national stuff that is going on, but the local stuff as well. I like that, and of course, I’m always waiting for those magic words, “Here is Philip Box.”
We listen to the news to see what is going on. As I watched the news I thought that, like this morning, sometimes the news reports are not very accurate . I’m sure you are well aware of the lady who was asked to resign for some comments she had made. It turned out the comments she made were really the opposite of what everybody was thinking. Who knows what will happen there, maybe she will be reinstated. But we hear all kinds of stories don’t we? Sometimes we wonder what to believe and what not to believe. We ask ourselves quite often, “Is that really happening?” or “How could somebody actually do that?” So, we are always in amazement over the news.
I was thinking about some things in the news that are good things, or that should be in the news. For example, you know, maybe it would be a good idea if somebody said, “Again, to report on a story of old, God loves you.” John 3:16 is our text for today and teaches that. There the Bible said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son.” We think about the news reports and the news from the Bible, and we think about those great stories.--the Good News that we can have from God’s Word. We also think of other good news and good times when good information was shared. For example, when the wise men and the shepherds came at Jesus’ birth and again, the report was a good one. “Great news and good tidings, a Savior is born!”
Again and again when Jesus did His teachings and miracles He would go from place to place, and in every town the news report would have had to have been, “Good news! The Messiah has come through town and all the sick have been healed!”
What about your life today, is it filled with Jesus Christ? That’s the only way really that our life can be filled with good news--to be one with Jesus Christ, to be one with God through the blood of His Son Jesus Christ who died on the Cross of Calvary for us. As individuals we are to evaluate our own life. We are to see what God would have us to do and apply it in our life. We need a good understanding of God wants from us. God wants us to hear His word, Romans 10:17, believe it, Mark 16:16, then put it into action and repent of our sins Acts 2:38, confess our faith Matthew 10:32, be baptized into Christ Acts 2:38, Mark 16:16, and many other verses in the Bible, and live faithfully the rest of our life.
Come be with us tonight at 6pm for our Fellowship Meal, and 7pm for our Bible Study.
~Philip
15 July 2010
The Roses are Onions
2 Corinthians 14:17
One Morning I woke up fairly early and walked outside to take care of our dog, and some other things I needed to get done. While doing this I smelled several different smells as I went to different sections of our yard. I smelled honeysuckle that was growing right next door and I thought about how sweet those smelled. On the backside of where we are there was a rose bush or some flower, I'm pretty sure it was a rose, and I smelled that. Over in another section of the yard there were some onions, or some kind of weed that had grown up and smelled pretty strong. I began to think about how much we can smell and how much input we get just from smelling.
As we were walking around and thinking and talking, a text from 2 Corinthians came to mind. Our scripture reading today comes from that text, 2 Corinthians 2:14-17. There the Bible tells us that God uses us to spread His knowledge everywhere like a sweet smelling perfume. Some versions of the Bible say, “as a sweet smelling aroma or a sweet smelling flower”. We are the sweet smell of Christians who are being saved among those people who are being lost.
What do we smell like? Sometimes we have bodies that will smell terrible if we are not careful. I was at camp yesterday and visited with a bunch of young people, and a few of them came by who had apparently not taken a shower since they left for camp. I can just picture noses turning up as you read this. We see all these different inputs and censures that God has built into us so that we know when something smells good and when something smells bad.
When we tell someone about Jesus and have them accept Him and faithfully obey His will, we smell like roses to those people who are receptive to God's will, and we smell like one of those other terrible smells that I have already described to those who don't. But, we need to be a fragrant smell in the world—we need to be a sweet smelling aroma for God. We need to take time to not let terrible smells come from us like hatred and jealousy and pride. Instead let them smell good smells, something that smells sweet like God would have us to smell.
I hope that we will smell like that rose to people that we meet today. I hope that we will depend on God and that we will stay close to Him, then God will use us in spreading His aroma throughout all of the world. Because as it spreads, you know what happens—the world as a whole smells like a better place. By the way, speaking of good places to be, we would love to have you come be with us at our services. We meet on Sunday morning at 9am for Bible Class and 10am for Worship, and then again at 5pm for Evening Worship. We meet again on Wednesday nights at 6pm for our Fellowship meal and at 7pm for Family Bible classes. We would love for you to come. You certainly would be welcome. Check out our website too. It's www.elbachurchofchrist.com .
~Philip
2 Corinthians 14:17
One Morning I woke up fairly early and walked outside to take care of our dog, and some other things I needed to get done. While doing this I smelled several different smells as I went to different sections of our yard. I smelled honeysuckle that was growing right next door and I thought about how sweet those smelled. On the backside of where we are there was a rose bush or some flower, I'm pretty sure it was a rose, and I smelled that. Over in another section of the yard there were some onions, or some kind of weed that had grown up and smelled pretty strong. I began to think about how much we can smell and how much input we get just from smelling.
As we were walking around and thinking and talking, a text from 2 Corinthians came to mind. Our scripture reading today comes from that text, 2 Corinthians 2:14-17. There the Bible tells us that God uses us to spread His knowledge everywhere like a sweet smelling perfume. Some versions of the Bible say, “as a sweet smelling aroma or a sweet smelling flower”. We are the sweet smell of Christians who are being saved among those people who are being lost.
What do we smell like? Sometimes we have bodies that will smell terrible if we are not careful. I was at camp yesterday and visited with a bunch of young people, and a few of them came by who had apparently not taken a shower since they left for camp. I can just picture noses turning up as you read this. We see all these different inputs and censures that God has built into us so that we know when something smells good and when something smells bad.
When we tell someone about Jesus and have them accept Him and faithfully obey His will, we smell like roses to those people who are receptive to God's will, and we smell like one of those other terrible smells that I have already described to those who don't. But, we need to be a fragrant smell in the world—we need to be a sweet smelling aroma for God. We need to take time to not let terrible smells come from us like hatred and jealousy and pride. Instead let them smell good smells, something that smells sweet like God would have us to smell.
I hope that we will smell like that rose to people that we meet today. I hope that we will depend on God and that we will stay close to Him, then God will use us in spreading His aroma throughout all of the world. Because as it spreads, you know what happens—the world as a whole smells like a better place. By the way, speaking of good places to be, we would love to have you come be with us at our services. We meet on Sunday morning at 9am for Bible Class and 10am for Worship, and then again at 5pm for Evening Worship. We meet again on Wednesday nights at 6pm for our Fellowship meal and at 7pm for Family Bible classes. We would love for you to come. You certainly would be welcome. Check out our website too. It's www.elbachurchofchrist.com .
~Philip
14 July 2010
BRYSON’S FAVORITE BIBLE STORY
Genesis 6
During the summertime when we get to spend more time with our children, I
often ask those who are around me--different kids at church , “Hey what
did you learn in Bible class today?” or “What’s your favorite bible
story?” Maybe you have been asked that same thing, and maybe when asked
that question, something comes to mind for you as well.
I’m with Bryson again today. Bryson, of course, is my daughter who is
seven. I asked what her favorite Bible story was, and she replied,
“Noah’s Ark!” Of course we know that story is over in the book of
Genesis chapter 6. I asked Bryson what she remembered about Noah’s Ark.
She replied, “I remember that God was going to flood the whole earth and
He told Noah to build an ark, and he got his family on the ark. Then he
got two of every kind of animal and put them on His boat. It rained and
poured for 40 days and nights, and then after he had been on the ark for
40 days and nights he got off the ark and he and his family were saved.
Then he saw a big rainbow and God promised He would never flood the earth
again.”
What a great story, and great to hear our children repeat Bible stories
like the story of the great flood of the Old Testament. You see, Bryson
learned these stories by attending Bible class, and by going to Vacation
Bible School. Sometimes I hear parents say, “I wish my kids knew more
about the Bible, or I wish I knew more about the Bible. I should have been
there and learned more when I was younger.”
Well, let me encourage you today to start learning now. Go back and learn
that story of Noah and how God commanded him to build an ark out of gopher
wood and told him exactly how long and tall and wide to build the boat.
He told him to get at least two of every kind-- some animals he got more
than two. There was Noah and his wife, and his three sons and their
wives, all there on the boat together.
Over in the book of Hebrews in the New Testament, there is what we
sometimes call the “Roll Call of Faith”. Here’s faithful Noah who is
reported to have built an ark by faith for the saving of his household.
Noah was forewarned of things that never had been seen before yet he went
out and built that ark because God had told him to; and in faithful
obedience to God’s will, Noah was found pleasing to Him.
What great things for our children to learn-- great Bible stories. By the
way, what a great thing when adults can learn these Bible stories, and
when the Bible just becomes a part of our vocabulary. When we talk about
God’s word, and learn it, then we can apply it in our lives. After all,
that is a great teaching of the Bible, isn’t it? The Bible says in Romans
10:17, “So, then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Hear what God has to say, faithfully obey it, by serving others and
studying His Word. You can start by coming to be with us at our services
at 9am for Bible class, Worship service at o10am and 5pm on Sunday. We
also meet at 6pm on Wednesday for fellowship meal, and 7pm for Bible
Study.
~Philip
Genesis 6
During the summertime when we get to spend more time with our children, I
often ask those who are around me--different kids at church , “Hey what
did you learn in Bible class today?” or “What’s your favorite bible
story?” Maybe you have been asked that same thing, and maybe when asked
that question, something comes to mind for you as well.
I’m with Bryson again today. Bryson, of course, is my daughter who is
seven. I asked what her favorite Bible story was, and she replied,
“Noah’s Ark!” Of course we know that story is over in the book of
Genesis chapter 6. I asked Bryson what she remembered about Noah’s Ark.
She replied, “I remember that God was going to flood the whole earth and
He told Noah to build an ark, and he got his family on the ark. Then he
got two of every kind of animal and put them on His boat. It rained and
poured for 40 days and nights, and then after he had been on the ark for
40 days and nights he got off the ark and he and his family were saved.
Then he saw a big rainbow and God promised He would never flood the earth
again.”
What a great story, and great to hear our children repeat Bible stories
like the story of the great flood of the Old Testament. You see, Bryson
learned these stories by attending Bible class, and by going to Vacation
Bible School. Sometimes I hear parents say, “I wish my kids knew more
about the Bible, or I wish I knew more about the Bible. I should have been
there and learned more when I was younger.”
Well, let me encourage you today to start learning now. Go back and learn
that story of Noah and how God commanded him to build an ark out of gopher
wood and told him exactly how long and tall and wide to build the boat.
He told him to get at least two of every kind-- some animals he got more
than two. There was Noah and his wife, and his three sons and their
wives, all there on the boat together.
Over in the book of Hebrews in the New Testament, there is what we
sometimes call the “Roll Call of Faith”. Here’s faithful Noah who is
reported to have built an ark by faith for the saving of his household.
Noah was forewarned of things that never had been seen before yet he went
out and built that ark because God had told him to; and in faithful
obedience to God’s will, Noah was found pleasing to Him.
What great things for our children to learn-- great Bible stories. By the
way, what a great thing when adults can learn these Bible stories, and
when the Bible just becomes a part of our vocabulary. When we talk about
God’s word, and learn it, then we can apply it in our lives. After all,
that is a great teaching of the Bible, isn’t it? The Bible says in Romans
10:17, “So, then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Hear what God has to say, faithfully obey it, by serving others and
studying His Word. You can start by coming to be with us at our services
at 9am for Bible class, Worship service at o10am and 5pm on Sunday. We
also meet at 6pm on Wednesday for fellowship meal, and 7pm for Bible
Study.
~Philip
13 July 2010
TODAY
Matthew 6:19-21
I mentioned to you yesterday that it was a special day because my daughter Bryson was with me. She’s with me again today. I’m excited to have her with me. I was thinking about all the different times in our life. This is a special time for Bryson. She’s seven years old now and is going into the second grade. I asked Bryson what some the special days in her life were. Bryson said, “Christmas, Valentine Day, my Birthday, and Easter.
All kinds of days are special. “Do you know why today is a special day?” I asked Bryson. It’s because God gave it to us and today is the only day that we know for sure that we have. I was talking to someone not long ago who was struggling with health issues, and not really sure if life would be sustained for a long period of time. I think most of us think--today’s not my day, and life will continue. This person had some doubts, and said they didn’t know what would happen tomorrow. Well, the same is true for all of us. We prayed together and were thinking that time is a very special thing.
Today is a very special day because God has blessed us with it. As a matter of fact in our Bible reading today, Jesus talked about treasures. He said that worldly treasures that we spend so much time trying to obtain, like money, cars, houses, and jewelry--the list goes on. These things could be stolen or destroyed. He then said to store up for yourself treasures in heaven. The treasures in heaven cannot be destroyed by a moth or rust. The thieves can’t break in and steal these treasures. Matthew 6:20. By the way, read Matthew 6:19-21. Our treasures in heaven are things we don’t have to worry about because they are things that we can do with God, like worshipping Him or praising Him. Things like being kind , sharing with others, continuing to build up your storehouse of treasures in Heaven.
I hope you will be doing those kinds of things today. Things that are ultimately important because today is an important day for each of us. We can’t go back to yesterday. If we could, we probably would. There are some of us who would go back to when we were little and try to start over and do it right. Some people say, ”If I could go back knowing what I know now, I certainly would.” But we can’t--we are not promised tomorrow. I hope tomorrow comes and if it does we should be the very best that we can be tomorrow.
As a matter of fact, our lesson Sunday night--we are in the middle of our Summer Series, and our guest speaker was talking about being the best that you can be for God. If tomorrow does come, we should be the best that we can be for God. We know this--God is with us this day, today is the day of salvation. Now is the acceptable time to be sure our lives are right with God. Let us all today do some self-examination. Look at our lives and make sure we are the best we can be and be encouraging each other. Do this while it is today, Hebrews 3:13 says. If you are not, make sure you do what you need to do to faithfully obey God.
~Philip
Matthew 6:19-21
I mentioned to you yesterday that it was a special day because my daughter Bryson was with me. She’s with me again today. I’m excited to have her with me. I was thinking about all the different times in our life. This is a special time for Bryson. She’s seven years old now and is going into the second grade. I asked Bryson what some the special days in her life were. Bryson said, “Christmas, Valentine Day, my Birthday, and Easter.
All kinds of days are special. “Do you know why today is a special day?” I asked Bryson. It’s because God gave it to us and today is the only day that we know for sure that we have. I was talking to someone not long ago who was struggling with health issues, and not really sure if life would be sustained for a long period of time. I think most of us think--today’s not my day, and life will continue. This person had some doubts, and said they didn’t know what would happen tomorrow. Well, the same is true for all of us. We prayed together and were thinking that time is a very special thing.
Today is a very special day because God has blessed us with it. As a matter of fact in our Bible reading today, Jesus talked about treasures. He said that worldly treasures that we spend so much time trying to obtain, like money, cars, houses, and jewelry--the list goes on. These things could be stolen or destroyed. He then said to store up for yourself treasures in heaven. The treasures in heaven cannot be destroyed by a moth or rust. The thieves can’t break in and steal these treasures. Matthew 6:20. By the way, read Matthew 6:19-21. Our treasures in heaven are things we don’t have to worry about because they are things that we can do with God, like worshipping Him or praising Him. Things like being kind , sharing with others, continuing to build up your storehouse of treasures in Heaven.
I hope you will be doing those kinds of things today. Things that are ultimately important because today is an important day for each of us. We can’t go back to yesterday. If we could, we probably would. There are some of us who would go back to when we were little and try to start over and do it right. Some people say, ”If I could go back knowing what I know now, I certainly would.” But we can’t--we are not promised tomorrow. I hope tomorrow comes and if it does we should be the very best that we can be tomorrow.
As a matter of fact, our lesson Sunday night--we are in the middle of our Summer Series, and our guest speaker was talking about being the best that you can be for God. If tomorrow does come, we should be the best that we can be for God. We know this--God is with us this day, today is the day of salvation. Now is the acceptable time to be sure our lives are right with God. Let us all today do some self-examination. Look at our lives and make sure we are the best we can be and be encouraging each other. Do this while it is today, Hebrews 3:13 says. If you are not, make sure you do what you need to do to faithfully obey God.
~Philip
08 July 2010
GOD IS KNOCKING
John 3:16-17
When God speaks to you some people say He is knocking at the door of your heart. This means that God wants to be a part of your life. I think there are several ways, maybe three that I want to share with you today that God can knock at the door of our hearts.
First of all, God speaks through His Word, the Bible. John 5:24 says “If a person hears what I say and believes the one who sent me, that person has life forever.” Some people accept Jesus when they read the Bible or listen to another person maybe reading the Bible. It's just that simple plain Word of God, and it is sharper than a two edged sword.
The second way God speaks to us is through His people. Romans 10:14 says, “And for people to hear about the Lord, another person must tell them.” People who tell others about Jesus can be preachers and Sunday School teachers, but it can simply be a friend or family member who has a heart, and says, “You know, I need to share this great message with other people”. By the way, allof us should have that kind of attitude, shouldn't we?”
Then the third way God speaks to those of us who are on His side is through His Holy Spirit. John 16:8 says, “When the helper, or the Holy Spirit, comes He will prove to the people of the world the truth about these things, about sin and about being right with God, and about judgment.” Sometimes the Holy Spirit reminds our minds and our hearts that we need to be following Jesus.When God speaks we need to listen.
I remember several years ago now, a commercial that was on television and radio, and you might remember it as well. It goes something like this, “When E.F.Hutton speaks people listen.” When God speaks people should listen. See, it is God that holds great treasures in this life and the one to come. When God is speaking to you, let me encourage you to answer that knock on the door. There's an invitation song in many churches that says, “There's a stranger knocking on the door of your heart.” The question then is , “Will you let Him in?' I hope the answer is yes. I hope you will believe it, that you will repent of your sins, that you will confess your faith and be baptised into Christ. I hope you will live your faith every day as you faithfully obey His Will., that you continue to teach others as you study for yourself to give of your time, talents, and treasures. I hope you will attend church services--do all of these things.
The Lord is great! People praise Him very much. We can't count all the great things He does, so says Psalm 145:3. What a beautiful verse! We should spend every day praising the Lord. He's there, he's right there, begging to be a part of our lives and we need to accept Him. We need to open up our hearts and let Him in. As we do that our lives will change and the lives around us will change as well. The only way to have Him as part of your life is faithful obedience to His will. Faith + Obedience is what it takes for salvation. We have to put that faith into action for it to mean anything. Faith without obedience is dead the Bible would say. Obedience without faith is also useless.
I hope you come and be with us at our church services. We have Bible Class at 9am on Sunday morning and Worship Service at 10am and 5am. We have a Fellowship meal at 6pm on Wednesday and Bible Study at 7pm.
~Philip
John 3:16-17
When God speaks to you some people say He is knocking at the door of your heart. This means that God wants to be a part of your life. I think there are several ways, maybe three that I want to share with you today that God can knock at the door of our hearts.
First of all, God speaks through His Word, the Bible. John 5:24 says “If a person hears what I say and believes the one who sent me, that person has life forever.” Some people accept Jesus when they read the Bible or listen to another person maybe reading the Bible. It's just that simple plain Word of God, and it is sharper than a two edged sword.
The second way God speaks to us is through His people. Romans 10:14 says, “And for people to hear about the Lord, another person must tell them.” People who tell others about Jesus can be preachers and Sunday School teachers, but it can simply be a friend or family member who has a heart, and says, “You know, I need to share this great message with other people”. By the way, allof us should have that kind of attitude, shouldn't we?”
Then the third way God speaks to those of us who are on His side is through His Holy Spirit. John 16:8 says, “When the helper, or the Holy Spirit, comes He will prove to the people of the world the truth about these things, about sin and about being right with God, and about judgment.” Sometimes the Holy Spirit reminds our minds and our hearts that we need to be following Jesus.When God speaks we need to listen.
I remember several years ago now, a commercial that was on television and radio, and you might remember it as well. It goes something like this, “When E.F.Hutton speaks people listen.” When God speaks people should listen. See, it is God that holds great treasures in this life and the one to come. When God is speaking to you, let me encourage you to answer that knock on the door. There's an invitation song in many churches that says, “There's a stranger knocking on the door of your heart.” The question then is , “Will you let Him in?' I hope the answer is yes. I hope you will believe it, that you will repent of your sins, that you will confess your faith and be baptised into Christ. I hope you will live your faith every day as you faithfully obey His Will., that you continue to teach others as you study for yourself to give of your time, talents, and treasures. I hope you will attend church services--do all of these things.
The Lord is great! People praise Him very much. We can't count all the great things He does, so says Psalm 145:3. What a beautiful verse! We should spend every day praising the Lord. He's there, he's right there, begging to be a part of our lives and we need to accept Him. We need to open up our hearts and let Him in. As we do that our lives will change and the lives around us will change as well. The only way to have Him as part of your life is faithful obedience to His will. Faith + Obedience is what it takes for salvation. We have to put that faith into action for it to mean anything. Faith without obedience is dead the Bible would say. Obedience without faith is also useless.
I hope you come and be with us at our church services. We have Bible Class at 9am on Sunday morning and Worship Service at 10am and 5am. We have a Fellowship meal at 6pm on Wednesday and Bible Study at 7pm.
~Philip
THE BEST JUDGE
Rom 14:10-13 Rom 14:10
During the Olympics in 2002 in Salt Lake City, Utah, many people were upset when the figure skating happened. It was not because of the figure skating, but because of an event which occurred involving a Russian couple who was competing against a Canadian couple for the gold medal. Many people in the crowd thought, and I guess many of us who were watching thought the Canadians should have won, but the judges voted for the Russian couple. Later one of the judges admitted that she was persuaded to vote for the Russians instead of the Canadians. She never admitted to how much money or what was involved, but she did admit that she had been persuaded to vote a certain way.
The judges in the Olympics were certainly not perfect. When one person does this sort of thing, there are probably others who have done same thing. But there is good news in all of this about a particular judge. There is one judge who never makes a mistake. He is a perfect judge-- He is our God. That is why God is the only one who can truly judge us on the judgment day. Only God has the right to judge other people’s actions . That is why we need to use God’s judgment in helping people.
The most misquoted verse in our Bible is the verse that says don’t judge. The idea is that when people quote a verse that says don’t judge, they sometimes reference Matthew 7, where the Bible says to get the beam out of your own eye before you get the speck out of your brother’s eye. Never does the Bible say ignore the speck in your brother’s eye, as a matter of fact, the teaching is that we should help the brother with the speck in his eye after we get our life right and are where we need to be spiritually. We should correct our life and then help others use it in their lives. That is the way God wants us to use judging.
Ultimately though, at the judgment day, that special time when all of us will be before God, He will make the final decision. He will judge us for what we have done on earth, either good or bad. We need to make sure that we study the Bible and that we are following God’s rules. That’s true while we are here on earth. The plan we follow now will determine what will happen to us on judgment day.
Again, if you look in the book of Romans, chapter 14:10-13, it talks about the judgment day, the last part saying, “ We will all stand before God on Judgment Day, and God will judge.” If individuals were doing it we would probably mess up. God’s going to get it right and will judge us based on what we’ve done in accordance with His rule book, the Bible.
So, let me encourage you today to evaluate your life--see where you are spiritually. Are you doing those things God wants you to do? If not change it, do it God’s way. Have faith in Him and be obedient to His will, and in doing that salvation can be yours at the final judgment day.
~Philip
Rom 14:10-13 Rom 14:10
During the Olympics in 2002 in Salt Lake City, Utah, many people were upset when the figure skating happened. It was not because of the figure skating, but because of an event which occurred involving a Russian couple who was competing against a Canadian couple for the gold medal. Many people in the crowd thought, and I guess many of us who were watching thought the Canadians should have won, but the judges voted for the Russian couple. Later one of the judges admitted that she was persuaded to vote for the Russians instead of the Canadians. She never admitted to how much money or what was involved, but she did admit that she had been persuaded to vote a certain way.
The judges in the Olympics were certainly not perfect. When one person does this sort of thing, there are probably others who have done same thing. But there is good news in all of this about a particular judge. There is one judge who never makes a mistake. He is a perfect judge-- He is our God. That is why God is the only one who can truly judge us on the judgment day. Only God has the right to judge other people’s actions . That is why we need to use God’s judgment in helping people.
The most misquoted verse in our Bible is the verse that says don’t judge. The idea is that when people quote a verse that says don’t judge, they sometimes reference Matthew 7, where the Bible says to get the beam out of your own eye before you get the speck out of your brother’s eye. Never does the Bible say ignore the speck in your brother’s eye, as a matter of fact, the teaching is that we should help the brother with the speck in his eye after we get our life right and are where we need to be spiritually. We should correct our life and then help others use it in their lives. That is the way God wants us to use judging.
Ultimately though, at the judgment day, that special time when all of us will be before God, He will make the final decision. He will judge us for what we have done on earth, either good or bad. We need to make sure that we study the Bible and that we are following God’s rules. That’s true while we are here on earth. The plan we follow now will determine what will happen to us on judgment day.
Again, if you look in the book of Romans, chapter 14:10-13, it talks about the judgment day, the last part saying, “ We will all stand before God on Judgment Day, and God will judge.” If individuals were doing it we would probably mess up. God’s going to get it right and will judge us based on what we’ve done in accordance with His rule book, the Bible.
So, let me encourage you today to evaluate your life--see where you are spiritually. Are you doing those things God wants you to do? If not change it, do it God’s way. Have faith in Him and be obedient to His will, and in doing that salvation can be yours at the final judgment day.
~Philip
YEARS
2 Peter 3:8-13
Over the last few days we’ve been talking about years and their relation to the Bible. Today we are talking about 2 Peter 3:8-13. That, of course, is our Bible reading today, and I hope you are reading with 20/20 vision (20 verses before and 20 after.) It will give us a greater understanding and helps us to grow our faith that way. Faith comes by hearing the Word.
In this particular text we see some interesting verses. In verse 8, it says “To the Lord a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day.” That verse tells us that God is not limited to days and months, and even years. He says a thousand years is like a day here on earth to God. I heard a joke a few years ago that went like this: The guy was having a conversation with God and said, “God is it true that a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day?” God said, “Yes, that’s true.” The guy said does that mean a penny is like a million dollars and a million dollars is like a penny?” God said, “I guess the same thing would apply.” The guy said, “Well, will you give me a penny?” God said, “Yes, in a day or two.”
We don’t think about time the way God does. We have to refocus our thinking when it comes to these things. We need to be patient with God, verse 9 says. He wants all of us to know Jesus. He wants us to accept Him and be obedient to Him as we live our lives. We need to remember that God always knows what’s best. He makes things happen in His perfect time, not ours. As we have been looking at this idea of years, it may take years for us to get where we need to be, to be right with God in the end. It may be for some of us that our time is very short. Either way we need to make sure that God is the focus of our days, and of our years--that God is first in our life.
These verses also talk about a time when Jesus will come again, and we need to be ready. Why do we need to be ready? Because we don’t know exactly when Jesus will come. Verse 10 says the day the Lord will come again will be like a thief coming, therefore, one day when Jesus does come He will take His followers home to live with Him forever. The questions is, will we be among that number. I hope you are excited about Jesus second coming. I hope you are ready to meet Him. I hope that if you need to change things you will use the time God has blessed us with this day to make sure you have made things right with God. We are not the ones in control of time. God is.
We cannot go back to yesterday. God has not promised tomorrow so that makes this day, the day most important for each of us. Are we going to make sure we are living our lives in obedience to God’s will? I hope your answer will be yes.
~Philip
2 Peter 3:8-13
Over the last few days we’ve been talking about years and their relation to the Bible. Today we are talking about 2 Peter 3:8-13. That, of course, is our Bible reading today, and I hope you are reading with 20/20 vision (20 verses before and 20 after.) It will give us a greater understanding and helps us to grow our faith that way. Faith comes by hearing the Word.
In this particular text we see some interesting verses. In verse 8, it says “To the Lord a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day.” That verse tells us that God is not limited to days and months, and even years. He says a thousand years is like a day here on earth to God. I heard a joke a few years ago that went like this: The guy was having a conversation with God and said, “God is it true that a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day?” God said, “Yes, that’s true.” The guy said does that mean a penny is like a million dollars and a million dollars is like a penny?” God said, “I guess the same thing would apply.” The guy said, “Well, will you give me a penny?” God said, “Yes, in a day or two.”
We don’t think about time the way God does. We have to refocus our thinking when it comes to these things. We need to be patient with God, verse 9 says. He wants all of us to know Jesus. He wants us to accept Him and be obedient to Him as we live our lives. We need to remember that God always knows what’s best. He makes things happen in His perfect time, not ours. As we have been looking at this idea of years, it may take years for us to get where we need to be, to be right with God in the end. It may be for some of us that our time is very short. Either way we need to make sure that God is the focus of our days, and of our years--that God is first in our life.
These verses also talk about a time when Jesus will come again, and we need to be ready. Why do we need to be ready? Because we don’t know exactly when Jesus will come. Verse 10 says the day the Lord will come again will be like a thief coming, therefore, one day when Jesus does come He will take His followers home to live with Him forever. The questions is, will we be among that number. I hope you are excited about Jesus second coming. I hope you are ready to meet Him. I hope that if you need to change things you will use the time God has blessed us with this day to make sure you have made things right with God. We are not the ones in control of time. God is.
We cannot go back to yesterday. God has not promised tomorrow so that makes this day, the day most important for each of us. Are we going to make sure we are living our lives in obedience to God’s will? I hope your answer will be yes.
~Philip
02 July 2010
YEARS
Genesis 21:1-7
As this week comes to an end, we think how great this week has been. Really, the last couple of weeks have been great weeks for us. We hosted the National Workshop for the Deaf and had great success there, and this week has been our Vacation Bible School. Even though it’s over now we are still thinking about the great things we have learned and all the people who came and supported that great effort.
By the way, if you came we are glad you were with us. We hope you will come back and be with us all the time, and be a part of everything that’s going to be going on. If you helped us work we are especially thankful for you. Thank you for helping in so many different ways. I really appreciate all that you give and all that you do, and God appreciates it and notices it as well.
You know, we were talking a few weeks ago about the idea of months. There are several occasions in the Bible where it appears that it took several months for something to happen . There are several places in the Bible where things just dragged on and on, and it seemed like it took years for something to happen. Sometimes it seems like years, but time goes by quickly doesn’t it?
The lesson today is from Genesis 21:1-7. Let me encourage you today to read these verses. We haven’t been giving you a scripture reading in the last few days, but let’s get back to reading our Bible, and be really looking at what God would have us to do. In Genesis 2: 1-7, it’s one of those times when it seems it took years for God to deliver on what He had said, but we know from this story and from others like it that no matter how long it takes, it’s God time not our time.
This is a story of Abraham and his wife Sarah . They worshipped God and they did what God told them to do. As a matter of fact, when God told them to leave their home and move to a new land, they packed up and moved to that new place. Later on Abraham and Sarah were in this new home. They like it, but for some reason they were still sad. Why? Because they didn’t have any children. So God again spoke to Abraham and told him they would have a son. Abraham waited and waited, then finally after they had tried to help God out, and tried to take some short cuts, they learned a great lesson, that you need to wait on God and God will deliver. When Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90 years old, they had that baby boy that had been promised from God. They named that baby Isaac and all those things unfolded.
What they realized, and what we can realize today God keeps his promises. God always keeps His promises. When God says something will happen, it really will. It takes time sometimes, but we need to realize that God delivers on what He says. One example is when He says, “I will go and prepare a place for you, and I will come again that where I am there you may be also.” It’s a familiar text heard often at funerals. If God says it we can count on it. We need to read all God’s promises from the Bible and say, “Okay, God I am looking forward to you delivering on those promises. There are so many of them. Some that He has already delivered on and some that He will deliver. But we know this that God loves us and wants us to be saved, and the way to do that is to believe and obey his will.
Come be with us. We meet on Sunday morning at 9am for Bible class and 10am for Worship service.
~Philip
Genesis 21:1-7
As this week comes to an end, we think how great this week has been. Really, the last couple of weeks have been great weeks for us. We hosted the National Workshop for the Deaf and had great success there, and this week has been our Vacation Bible School. Even though it’s over now we are still thinking about the great things we have learned and all the people who came and supported that great effort.
By the way, if you came we are glad you were with us. We hope you will come back and be with us all the time, and be a part of everything that’s going to be going on. If you helped us work we are especially thankful for you. Thank you for helping in so many different ways. I really appreciate all that you give and all that you do, and God appreciates it and notices it as well.
You know, we were talking a few weeks ago about the idea of months. There are several occasions in the Bible where it appears that it took several months for something to happen . There are several places in the Bible where things just dragged on and on, and it seemed like it took years for something to happen. Sometimes it seems like years, but time goes by quickly doesn’t it?
The lesson today is from Genesis 21:1-7. Let me encourage you today to read these verses. We haven’t been giving you a scripture reading in the last few days, but let’s get back to reading our Bible, and be really looking at what God would have us to do. In Genesis 2: 1-7, it’s one of those times when it seems it took years for God to deliver on what He had said, but we know from this story and from others like it that no matter how long it takes, it’s God time not our time.
This is a story of Abraham and his wife Sarah . They worshipped God and they did what God told them to do. As a matter of fact, when God told them to leave their home and move to a new land, they packed up and moved to that new place. Later on Abraham and Sarah were in this new home. They like it, but for some reason they were still sad. Why? Because they didn’t have any children. So God again spoke to Abraham and told him they would have a son. Abraham waited and waited, then finally after they had tried to help God out, and tried to take some short cuts, they learned a great lesson, that you need to wait on God and God will deliver. When Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90 years old, they had that baby boy that had been promised from God. They named that baby Isaac and all those things unfolded.
What they realized, and what we can realize today God keeps his promises. God always keeps His promises. When God says something will happen, it really will. It takes time sometimes, but we need to realize that God delivers on what He says. One example is when He says, “I will go and prepare a place for you, and I will come again that where I am there you may be also.” It’s a familiar text heard often at funerals. If God says it we can count on it. We need to read all God’s promises from the Bible and say, “Okay, God I am looking forward to you delivering on those promises. There are so many of them. Some that He has already delivered on and some that He will deliver. But we know this that God loves us and wants us to be saved, and the way to do that is to believe and obey his will.
Come be with us. We meet on Sunday morning at 9am for Bible class and 10am for Worship service.
~Philip
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