Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Trusting God”

Our Bible verse for today: “In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three full weeks. I didn’t eat any rich food, no meat or wine entered my mouth, and I didn’t put any oil on my body until the three weeks were over.” Daniel 10:2-3 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “God is at work in your circumstances even when you don’t think He is.”

In his book, “Disappointment with God” author Philip Yancey writes about the problem of “the hiddenness of God.” He means that many times God seems to us to be hidden. Right at the time we need Him the most, there’s no sign of Him anywhere. It’s as if He has hidden Himself from us, and so we can become confused, disappointed, and maybe even resentful.

The classic Biblical example of “the hiddenness of God” is found in the book of Job. Job’s world fell apart for no apparent reason. Job was a good godly man who honored the Lord and treated others well. But suddenly his children were all tragically killed, he lost all of his wealth, and then he lost his health. Most of the book is a dialogue between Job and his three friends as they try to figure out why God would allow such things to happen.

What Job didn’t and couldn’t know was that behind the scenes, in the spiritual realm, there was a great cosmic drama playing out between God and Satan – and Job was in the center of it. Ultimately God used Job’s circumstances to bring about a tremendous victory over Satan and in the end, Job was honored and blessed by God for his faithfulness in the middle of what was eventually shown to be, a tremendous spiritual battle.

Daniel experienced something similar, but to a lesser degree. Daniel was greatly troubled. The people of God were suffering terribly in their captivity and Daniel was distraught and confused. For three weeks he prayed and fasted and begged God for understanding. But understanding didn’t come. Finally, on the twenty-fourth day, an angel arrived to advise Daniel that God had heard his prayers the moment he prayed them, but there was a great battle that had to be fought and won in the spiritual realm before Daniel could receive his answer. In time the battle was fought and won, and Daniel did receive the clarity he sought.

Have you ever experienced “the hiddenness of God”? Maybe your story reads a lot like Job’s or Daniel’s. Maybe that’s exactly what you’re going through right now. Well, just like in the cases of Job and Daniel, there is much happening behind the scenes, in the spiritual realm, that you simply aren’t aware of.

God may seem hidden to you right now, but He is aware of your situation and He’s not ignoring it. Things are happening. In His way and in His time answers will come, problems will be resolved, and you will know that God was there the whole time.

Trust Him.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for thins month: “Trusting God”

Our Bible verse for today: “What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And as for what you sow – you are not sowing the future body, but only a seed, perhaps of wheat or grain. But God gives it a body as He wants, and to each of the seeds its own body.” 1 Corinthians 15:36-37 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “Trust God for the person you are becoming.”

Let’s try a little experiment. First, try to imagine that you have never seen a tomato and therefore you have no idea what a fully grown deliciously ripe tomato looks like. Now, take a tiny tomato seed and place it in the palm of your hand. Look at it. By looking at the seed could you possibly visualize what the fully grown tomato will be like? No you can’t. The seed looks nothing like what it will one day become.

Let’s do it again, this time with an acorn. Holding that little brown oblong orb with a hard shell in your hand, do you see the mighty oak tree it will one day be? Probably not. The acorn is nothing like the oak tree. And yet, that is what it will one day become.

This time do it with a caterpillar. Do you see the butterfly? No? Try harder. Surely that fuzzy crawling little wormlike creature somehow resembles and reveals the beautiful majestic butterfly it is in the process of becoming. But no, there’s no resemblance. And yet, if it develops as intended by its Creator, it will indeed one day be that beautiful butterfly.

Now go look in a mirror. What do you see? Can you see the magnificent creation of God, a beautiful spirit created in the image of God and transformed into the likeness of Christ? Keep looking. It might take a while, and it might not be immediately obvious at the moment, but that transformation is slowly but surely taking place in the life of a child of God.

The process I’ve been describing is known in scientific circles as “metamorphosis”. The theological term is “sanctification”. Basically, sanctification means that over time the Holy Spirit is slowly transforming you into the man or woman God intends for you to be. Paul continues in 1 Corinthians 15:42-44:

“So it is with the resurrection of the dead: Sown in corruption, raised in incorruption; sown in dishonor, raised in glory; sown in weakness, raised in power; sown a natural body, raised a spiritual body.”

God is in the process of transforming you into the person He wants you to be. It will take time, and at times you may have trouble seeing it. But it is happening. You can trust Him for it. You were created for more. You were created to be more. Like the tomato that comes from the seed, like the mighty oak tree sleeping in the shell of an acorn, like the caterpillar which emerges from the cocoon as a beautiful butterfly, you will one day be the magnificent person God has always intended for you to be. Trust Him. Cooperate with Him. Let the Holy Spirit accomplish His transforming work in your life.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Trusting God”

Our Bible verse for today: “These are the names of David’s mighty men …” 2 Samuel 23:8 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Trust God to raise-up men and women to protect our nation.”

Today is Veteran’s Day. It’s the day we as a nation set aside to honor and thank all those who have served in the Armed Forces of our nation. From the earliest days in our history our nation has always relied on the bravery and sacrifice of those willing to go into harm’s way to protect us against all enemies. We should thank God for them.

King David was a great leader of his nation, but his greatness and success depended to a very large degree on a core of godly military leaders whom the Bible refers to as “David’s might men”. They in turn had the responsibility to train and lead battalions of soldiers, all of whom were tasked with protecting their nation. Had it not been for their sacrificial service, the nation of Israel would easily have been overrun by her enemies. Their service to the nation was vital, and it was ordained by God.

Today I urge you to identify the veterans among you and make it a point to thank them for their service to our country. Perhaps you could even buy them a cup of coffee, or lunch. In some manner simply remind them that a grateful nation appreciates their service.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Trusting God”

Our Bible verse for today: “Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you …?” 2 Corinthians 13:5 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Jesus lives in you and through you.”

I once read a statement which at first troubled me, then it intrigued me, and finally it excited me. It was many years ago and frankly, and I can’t even remember the title of the book or who the author was, but I do remember the statement. It went like this, “Jesus lives in you and through you. Therefore you have a shared life with Christ.”

I share a life with Christ? Seriously? How can that be?

As I studied the question I discovered that Biblically that statement is true. It’s what the Apostle Paul was referring to in his second letter to the Corinthians when he asked them that question in 2 Corinthians 13:5 “Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you?”

The idea of a “shared life”, Christ living in and through the lives of His followers, was a favorite theme of Paul’s and he returned to it frequently in his writing:

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?” 1 Corinthians 6:19

“For in Him we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17:28

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old is gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17

There are many other examples and therefore I could go on, but you get the point. At the time of salvation Jesus placed the Holy Spirit inside of your heart. Then, as you surrender your life fully and completely to Him, Jesus works in you to change you, and through you to accomplish His work in this world. The more fully surrendered to Him you are to Him, the more of Him there will be in your life, and the less of you.

This does not mean that you and I are in anyway divine, we are not. However it does mean that Christ lives in you by means of the Holy Spirit. He then uses your life for His purposes, and you get to participate in His life. That’s why the church is known as the Body of Christ on earth and it’s why individual believers are identified in the Bible as being a part of the Body of Christ.

What does all of this have to do with trusting God? Well, you can trust God to work out His purposes in and through your life. If Jesus is living in you and through you, it is in His own interest to enable you and empower you to accomplish the things that He wants done. The more fully surrendered you are to Him, the more that will happen. You can trust Him to bring about His purposes in your life because He is in you, and you are in Him, and together you are working to accomplish a common purpose.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Trusting God”

Our Bible verse for today: “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer.” 1 Peter 3:12 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Prayer is a great demonstration of trust in God.”

Probably no other single act of Christian discipleship so demonstrates trust in God as does the act of praying. The fact that you pray is proof that you believe in God, you believe He cares, you believe He listens, and you believe He will act based upon your prayers. That’s trust.

The author Jerry Bridges once wrote, “Prayer is the most tangible expression of trust in God.”

I believe he is right.

But where does that trust come from, how is it developed? It comes first and foremost from faith. We simply choose to believe that God is good and faithful, just and merciful – exactly as the Bible describes Him, and we then act on that faith by going to Him in prayer.

Strong faith and trust in God also comes from observation. The great poet Ralph Waldo Emerson put it like this, “All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.”

Just look at this incredible creation! What an awesome, powerful, creative, and wonderful God He must be! Yes, all I can see teaches me to trust Him for all I cannot see.

But also, trust in the Lord comes from experience. We know from personal experience that when God’s people pray, things happen. You don’t have to be a pray-er for very long before you discover that God listens to your prayers and He answers them. That then increases your faith and your level of trust in Him.

Prayer is a magnificent demonstration of your trust in God. It then follows that the more you pray, the more you trust, and the more you trust, the more you will pray.

Demonstrate your trust in Him today by going to Him in prayer.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Trusting God”

Our Bible verse for today: “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Trust God to help you resist temptation.”

Do you ever give-in to temptation? Ok, let me rephrase that. How many times every day do you give-in to temptation?  If you’re like me then the answer is “More times than I can keep track of.”

But why? Why do I give-in so frequently even when I know it’s wrong? The answers are many and often complex. Sometimes I like it and I do it intentionally even though I know it’s wrong. One donut, occasionally, is a treat. Four at one sitting is gluttony. But I like donuts! And so I eat them (I had three last Sunday).

Other times temptation is more complex and devious, such as addictions to drugs or pornography. But still, there must be ways to deal with it, right? The answer of course, is yes.

In 1 Corinthians 10:13 the Apostle Paul teaches that we will never face a temptation that is beyond our ability to withstand with the help of God. There is always a way out, and therefore victory over it is always within the realm of possibility.

With respect to my weaknesses for donuts the answer is obvious, “Stay away from the donuts Jim”. I was well aware that last Sunday was the first Sunday of the month and therefore “Donut Sunday” at our church. I knew the donuts were in the Fellowship Hall. And I also knew that there was no compelling reason for me to be in the Fellowship Hall (other than the fact that that’s where the donuts were!) I could have prayed a little prayer, asked God to give me some other pressing task that had to be done (away from the Fellowship Hall), and I could have avoided the gluttony. But the truth is that I wanted those donuts, all three of them, sin or no sin.

Addictions are harder to deal with but still, the battle is winnable. Ask God to show you the way out. Pick up the phone and call for the help of an accountability partner. Rebuke Satan and the demon of addiction in the name of Jesus.

God has promised to provide a way out, no matter the nature or source of the temptation. If you want the victory, and you seek God’s help, you can trust Him to help you.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Trusting God”

Our Bible verse for today: “Now concerning that day and hour no one knows – neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son – except the Father only.” Matthew 24:36 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “Just be faithful today and trust God for tomorrow.”

Depending on which “doom and gloom” preacher you listen to, Jesus is coming back soon, or there is some worldwide apocalypse about to occur, or the Antichrist is already in the world and is about to make his move, or … well, fill in the blank.

Recently we all lived through months and months of speculation and controversy regarding “The Blood Moons”. Honestly, I personally didn’t follow it very closely but evidently there were four red moons that appeared in a single year and some people were convinced that based upon ancient prophecy, that was supposed to signify something really bad. I guess September 27^th was supposed to be “the day”. As near as I can tell whatever it was that was supposed to happen on that day … didn’t. Oh well …

I don’t mean to be glib about such things because some day, the end will come. But for 2000 years every generation since the Apostles in the book of Acts have always thought they were living in the end times – and they have all been wrong. And every generation has always believed that there were events taking place in their world which were clearly and obviously “signs of the end times” – but they weren’t. And every generation has always produced “prophets” who claimed to have figured out when the end will come – and they have all been wrong.

Jesus told us this would be so. He told us that no one knows the day or hour. That knowledge belongs to the Father alone.

So what are we to do? My personal philosophy (and I’m certain this is what the Bible teaches and models), is that we are to live each day with the urgency that Jesus could come back today, but we are to plan as if He isn’t coming back for 100 years.

Martin Luther once wrote, “Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.”

I know I’ve written on this subject before, but I do so again this morning because even though the Blood Moon issue has come and gone, the obsessive thinking about such things remains. Many Christians are so preoccupied with end times thinking that they’re neglecting long-term Kingdom work. That’s damaging and dangerous. Satan will use such compulsive thinking to hinder Christ’s kingdom-building work if we let him.

Someday the end will come. Maybe soon. Maybe today. But probably not. Historically and statistically the doom and gloom self-proclaimed prophets of our generation are probably as wrong as all of those from previous generations. And if we pay them too much attention, we will damage and hinder important work that needs to be done now.

Live with urgency. Share Christ with others (today), but plan and build and work hard with an eye on tomorrow, and next week, and next month, and next year. Just be faithful and trust the timing of it all to the Father.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Trusting God”

Our Bible verse for today: “God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight.” 1 Kings 4:29 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Trusting God does not excuse us from using common sense and from making good decisions.”

At this point in our consideration of the theme of trusting God, I think it will be helpful to inject a word of caution. Trusting God does not relieve us of our responsibility to use common sense and make good decisions.

Unfortunately sometimes Christians do exactly that. Sometimes we use the idea of “trusting God” as a convenient catch-all that relieves us of the responsibility we have to be smart and to make good choices. At that point “Trusting God” becomes little more than god-talk.

At one point in my life I worked in a Christian work environment where the staff was expected to carry a heavy load as a matter of regular routine. Then we lost a staff member, but the overall workload was not scaled back at all. The decision by the boss was for people who were already working long and hard, to now work longer and harder and under even greater pressure.

Although not every project was immediately necessary, the boss would not back off on anything, not even for a while. The way it was justified was “Let’s just trust God to enable us to do it.” The problem was that those who remained on that staff were overloaded and burning out. The “trusting God” mantra recited by the boss was little more than convenient god-talk so he didn’t have to make hard choices.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee once told the story of a brash young man who frequently made poor choices and took unnecessary risks. When Dr. McGee attempted to counsel the young man about his poor decision making the young man replied, “Look, I trust God to take care of me. So even if I decide to go stand in front of a speeding train, if it’s not my God-ordained time to go, then I’ll be just fine. I trust God.”

Dr. McGee replied, “My friend, if you go stand in front of a speeding train I can assure you it will be your time to go. And that will be true no matter how much you were trusting in God for some other outcome!”

Trusting God does not relieve us of using common sense and making good decisions. You may be trusting God for a large increase in your income when what’s really needed, is for you to make better choices with the income you already have. Likewise, you may be trusting God for a miracle cure for your heart condition when what is really needed, is for you to make some lifestyle changes with respect to diet and exercise. And if your staff is already overloaded and burning out, rather than trusting God to empower them to herculean efforts, maybe you need to make better management decisions regarding what a reasonable workload actually is.

God gave Solomon the wisdom and the ability to make good decisions and smart choices. As long as Solomon did that, he was fine. When he stopped using common sense God simply stood back and allowed him to suffer the consequences. That will be true in your life and mine as well.

Trusting God does not relieve us from our responsibility to use common sense and to make good choices.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Trusting God”

Our Bible verse for today: “Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him, and He will help you.” Psalm 37:5 (NLT)

Our thought for today: “The definition of trust is actually a great description of God.”

The dictionary defines “trust” as, “Firm reliance on the integrity or ability of a person or thing.” Synonyms for trust include, “confidence, faith, certitude, certainty, belief, conviction, assurance, security, credibility, and trustworthiness.”

Those words define who God is. Nobody has more integrity than God. And ability? He is all-powerful, He created everything there is. Therefore we can have absolute confidence in Him; our faith in Him can be strong and certain; we can trust Him with conviction and assurance; because He is credible. When we think that deeply about what trust is, and we apply that understand to what we know to be true about God, we realize why He is so completely and totally trustworthy.

Therefore Psalm 37:5 encourages us to entrust everything to Him because when we do, He will help us. That’s one of the most common storylines in the Bible. Trust God, commit your ways to Him, seek His will rather than your own, and He will help you.

To help us gain an even fuller understanding of the concept of truly trusting, Rodale’s Synonym Finder offers this insight regarding what the act of trusting produces, “hope, hopefulness, optimism, expectation, and anticipation.”

We, the people of God, know this to be true from experience. When we truly trust God we discover that the black cloud of despair, uncertainty, and doubt is lifted and in its place we have hope, optimism, expectation, and a great sense of anticipation that good things are coming our way.

“Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him, and He will help you.”

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Trusting God”

Our Bible verse for today: “Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers, read it, then went up to the Lord’s temple, and spread it out before the Lord.” 2 Kings 19:14 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “Trust God to help you.”

At a time when both Israel and Judah had a long run of really bad kings, Hezekiah was one of the good ones. There was much evil in the land in those days, but Hezekiah was a godly man who was determined to honor the Lord. In 2 Chronicles 29:2 it is recorded of him, “He did what was right in the Lord’s sight just as his ancestor David had done.”

One of the chief characteristics of Hezekiah as a man, and of his reign as king, is recorded in 2 Kings 18:5, “Hezekiah trusted in the Lord God of Israel.”

We see his trust in God on full display a little later in chapter 18 and then on into chapter 19. There we read that the king of Assyria sent a huge army to attack and capture Hezekiah’s kingdom. The force was overwhelming. It was more than the Jews could withstand in their own power. Either God was going to show up in a big way, or Hezekiah and the whole nation would go down in defeat.

How did King Hezekiah respond to such a big problem? The same way he handled all his problems, we just read about it in 2 Kings 18:5, “he trusted in the Lord god of Israel.”

In  2 Kings 19:4 we read of the king receiving a letter from the commander of the Assyrian army demanding immediate surrender and threatening dire consequences otherwise. The king went into the temple, knelt at the altar, spread the letter on the altar, and gave the entire situation over to God. The king’s trust was in God to handle the problem. And He did. The Assyrian army was miraculously defeated and the people of God were delivered from almost certain doom.

How do you handle your problems? The bills you can’t pay; the relationship problem that seems to defy resolution; the difficult co-workers; the addiction you can’t seem to kick. Do you struggle with it in your own power? Do you look for worldly solutions (perhaps you’ll win the lottery!); do you just give up? Or, do you lay it before God and trust Him to guide you to a solution?

I love the imagery of Hezekiah actually taking the physical letter, laying it on the actual altar, then kneeling before the altar (and the letter), and talking to God about it. What a great example of trusting God!

Why don’t we do this? Take the eviction notice to the altar (or into your prayer closet), lay it before God and talk to Him about it. Bring a picture of the person you’re having relationship problems with and set it in front of you and talk to God about them. Bring that last unemployment check with you into your prayer time, show it to the Lord, remind Him that it’s the last one, and talk to Him about your need for a job. You get the idea.

Trust God to help you. Really trust Him. Show Him that you trust Him. And then expect to receive the help you need. When you do you’ll discover that God is very trustworthy.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim