Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Trusting God”

Our Bible verse for today: “When I am afraid, I will trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” Psalm 56:3-4 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “You can trust God.”

Who, or what, do you trust in? Most Christians would respond that they trust in God, and that, of course, would be the correct answer. But do we really? Do our lives really reflect a deep and abiding trust in God? Or, do we claim to ultimately and primarily trust God, but then live as if our trust is really in our career, our paycheck, our bank account, our spouse, our friends, and ourselves?

The great American evangelist of the 1800’s, D.L. Moody once wrote, “Trust in yourself and you are doomed to disappointment. Trust in your friends and they will die and leave you. Trust in money and you may have it taken away from you. Trust in reputation and some slanderous tongues will blast it. But trust in God and you are never confounded in time or in eternity.”

All this month we will explore the topic of trusting in God. We will consider what trust is, why God is worthy of our trust, how we can structure our lives based upon a deep and abiding trust in God, and how we can then actually live our lives trusting in God (as opposed to trusting (in actual practice), in anyone else or in anything else).

God alone is the only faultless, perfect, and completely dependable One. Therefore He alone is the One we must trust in. I look forward to learning more about this great truth with you.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Enthusiasm”

Our Bible verse for today: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “You can enthusiastically and confidently go forward with God.”

Uncertainty about the future is one of the most troubling and frustrating things many Christians deal with. We have plans for the future, and we have expectations about how we hope things will turn out, but in truth we just don’t know. Nobody knows the future – except God.

So when it comes to thinking about the future how can we be enthusiastic rather than hesitant, confident rather than fearful? And even more, how can we be decisive and bold, how can we move forward with confidence?

Proverbs 3:5-6 gives us the answer. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” In other words, to the very best of your ability surrender your will for His. Seek His guidance; be willing to put aside your own desires and preferences in exchange for His good and perfect will; ask the Holy Spirit to purify your heart and to help you to genuinely want what God wants.

Then, with your heart right, trust that He will lead you down the path He wants you to go. Remember, God has a good and perfect plan He wants to work-out in your life. He has a vested interest in helping you to make good choices that are consistent with His will. So if your heart is right, and if your desire is to seek His will and be obedient to it, you can trust Him to act as necessary to keep you on the straight path that leads to the goal He has ordained for you.

I frequently pray something like this: “Lord, to the best of my ability I am seeking your will. I’m now stepping out in faith believing You are leading me in this direction. But if I’m wrong, if I’m in any way stepping outside of Your will on this, please make that clear to me and I will stop. Orchestrate events as necessary to keep me moving in the direction You have chosen or, close doors to stop me altogether. Give me the insight and wisdom to honor You with my choices and actions. Not my will but Yours be done.”

Once you’ve prayed something like that, get moving. Far too many Christians allow fear, uncertainty, and doubt to hold them back from doing the things they ought to be doing. That’s unnecessary. God will help you. God will guide you. So get going. Do it with enthusiasm and do it with confidence trusting that God will lead you.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Enthusiasm”

Our Bible verse for today: “For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” 2 Chronicles 16:9 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Come near to God and God will come near to you.”

While conducting research in preparation to write his book “Finding God in Unexpected Places” author Philip Yancey observed a historical pattern which really shouldn’t surprise us. As Philip traced the spread of Christianity around the world, looking to discover where, and how, and why God was showing up in the most profound and biggest ways, he discovered that God seems to go where He is wanted the most.

In countries like Haiti, where the followers of Christ are passionate about their relationship with Him, the church is on-fire and there is a great spiritual awakening spreading across their land. In China, where Christians are so committed to the cause of Christ that they persevere in the face of intense government opposition, and pastors aren’t considered fully qualified until they have spent at least three years in prison for their faith, the church is flourishing. There are more Christians in China today than in any country on earth.

The highly developed and affluent nations of the Western world (the USA, Canada, Europe, etc) represent less than 35% of the Christian community worldwide. More than 65% of all Christians are somewhere other than here. And, the greatest works of God, the most profound and obvious evidence of His presence and power, is found over there not over here.

God goes where He is wanted.

I’m convinced that what is true for nations is also true for individuals. God goes where He is wanted. He shows up in big ways in the lives of those who want Him the most and who put the most time and effort into cultivating their relationship with Him.

2 Chronicles 16:9 reveals a great truth. God searches the world over for those whose hearts are truly hungry for Him and He then enters their lives in big ways, strengthening them, working in them (and working through them).

Give your heart completely to God and then be prepared for a mighty work of God in your life. God goes where He is wanted. How much do you want Him in your life?

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Enthusiasm”

Our Bible verse for today: “But his servants approached and said to him, ‘My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more should you do it when he tells you, ‘Wash and be clean?” 2 Kings 5:13 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “Obedience leads to enthusiasm”

We’ve all known people who make bad choices and suffer for it. They know full well that they need to change their behavior in order for the suffering to stop, but they continue in their destructive ways anyway. It could be abuse of drugs or alcohol that is killing them but they won’t stop. It could an unhealthy lifestyle and soon their body will begin to suffer the effects of it, but they won’t improve their diet and exercise habits. Maybe poor financial habits are keeping them impoverished and in debt, but they keep spending irresponsibly anyway. Bad choices like that are unbiblical and lead to suffering and sorrow.

Living well – living Biblically – is not complicated. And really, it’s also not that hard.

Naaman was a commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a mighty man, but he developed a case of leprosy that would ultimately eat him up and kill him if something didn’t change. Long story short, he ended up standing before Elisha, a God-anointed prophet. The man of God gave him simple instructions, “Go dip yourself in the Jordan River seven times and you will be healed.” But proud Naaman was outraged. This seemed like a childish and insultingly simple thing. He had expected a stupendous miracle like flashes of lightening, peels of thunder, and an instantaneous cure. Rather than obey the Godly instruction, he stomped off in a huff.

Fortunately his servants were able to talk sense into him (2 Kings 5:13-14). He gave-in, listened to them, and wonders of wonders, he was cured just like the man of God said he would be.

Obedience isn’t that hard. Often it’s fairly simple. In the Bible God gave us boundaries within which He commands us to live. The boundaries are actually pretty wide and give us a lot of freedom and flexibility, but we do have to stay within the boundaries. When we do, we’re living in the realm where God can and will bless us. That’s the best life any of us will ever have. When we wander outside of those boundaries, we take ourselves outside of God’s blessings.

What does this have to do with our theme of enthusiasm? Let’s go back to Naaman’s story. After he had followed the simple instructions and was healed: “Then Naaman and his whole company went back to the man of God, stood before him, and declared, “I know there’s no God in the whole world except in Israel.” (5:15)

Naaman obeyed, he was blessed, and he ended up very enthusiastic about the God of Israel. So will you. Obedience leads to enthusiasm. Identify the area of your life where you are currently not living Biblically, obey Him, receive the blessings of obedience, then watch and see what that does for your level of enthusiasm for God and for His ways.

Obedience leads to enthusiasm.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Enthusiasm”

Our Bible verse for today: “I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 11:3 (NASB)

Our thought for today: “Busyness distracts us from Christ.”

In previous devotional messages this month I’ve attempted to make the case for simplicity and solitude being key elements to cultivating a deep relationship with the Lord. I’ve argued that the more of God we experience, the more of Him we will want. That then will greatly increase our enthusiasm for Him, as well as our enthusiasm for joining in His kingdom-building work.

Busyness is an enemy of godly enthusiasm because it distracts us and takes our focus off of Jesus. Also, when we have too many things going on at once we end up being superficial – giving a little bit of attention to lots of things, but no deep and focused attention to anything.

In his book “Intimacy with the Almighty”, Pastor Chuck Swindoll offers a great quote from the author A.W. Tozer: “May not the inadequacy of much of our spiritual experience be traced back to our habit of skipping through the corridors of the Kingdom like children in the market place, chattering about everything, but pausing to learn the true value of nothing?”

Children are often energetic and enthusiastic, but in a mindless and superficial way; so too many Christians.

Pastor Chuck writes, “Let’s face it, you and I know of few places more susceptible to empty and endless chatter than religious circles. How easy to fall prey to meaningless talk, cliché-ridden responses, and mindless activities!”

If we’re going to be enthusiastic for the cause of Christ in a way that really matters, we’re going to have to go deep. And that will require time. It will require focus. It will mean pruning from our lives the non-essential things that distract us and keep us endlessly busy, but which are really fairly meaningless and insignificant.

What we discover when we finally do the pruning and cut-out the non-essential things that were draining away so much of our time and energy, is that we haven’t lost anything. We have gained. Suddenly our lives are better, fuller, deeper, and more satisfying.

Less truly can be more.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Enthusiasm”

Our Bible verse for today: “Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and incomprehensible things you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “Hearing from God increases your enthusiasm for God”

Has God ever spoken to you? If you’re a Christian then the answer is “Yes He has”. Maybe you didn’t recognize His voice, maybe you didn’t realize He was speaking to you, but He has spoken many times and in many ways.

One of the greatest truths in the Bible is that God wants to be heard and understood by His people, and He does communicate with us. But when it comes to hearing and understanding God our problem tends to be twofold. First, we either don’t understand how God typically speaks to us and therefore we aren’t paying attention to Him in the right ways. Or, we do understand how He normally communicates with us but we just don’t put forth the time and effort to listen.

Although God can speak to us in an infinite number of ways, including through a burning bush (Moses in Exodus 3:4), or even through the mouth of a donkey (Balaam in Numbers 22:28-29), as Henry Blackaby teaches in the Bible Study “Experiencing God”, the way God typically speaks to us in our day is through the Bible, through prayer, through the circumstances of our lives, through the counsel of trusted Christian advisors, and through the testimony of the church. (I would add to that through sermons and music as well.)

If you will bring your issue or situation before God and patiently and prayerfully seek to hear from Him in those ways He will, overtime, communicate His answer to you, usually in two or three of those ways, sometimes all of them.

Dr. James Dobson, of Focus on the Family fame, has used this prayer for most of his life when he was seeking to hear from God: “Lord, I need to know what you want me to do, and I am listening. Please speak to me through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, friends, and the things that I read.” (Now listen and pay attention in those ways).

What does all of this have to do with our theme of “enthusiasm”? Well, if you’ve ever heard from God, and you knew it was Him speaking to you, then you already know the answer to that question. Few things will boost your enthusiasm like knowing for certain that you just heard from God!

Hearing from God increases your enthusiasm for God. It’s just a matter of understanding how He usually speaks to us, and then putting forth the time and effort to listen in the right ways. I encourage you to spend some extra time today listening to God.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Enthusiasm”

Our Bible verse for today: “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.” 1 Timothy 6:6-8 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “Simplicity is good for enthusiasm”

This past weekend my wife and I held a yard sale. It was a really big deal for me because I hate yard sales. Detest them. I don’t go to them and I absolutely don’t hold them – except this time.

Linda and I recently came to the realization that it was time to downsize and simplify our lives. Our house was entirely too big for only two people, and we owned far too much stuff – most of which we hadn’t used in years. So we bought a smaller house just right for the two of us. But once we were all moved into it, and even after we had given away a lot of furniture and possessions to friends and family, we were still left with a two car garage packed so full of furniture, housewares, knick-knacks, and who knows what, that there was no room to walk. And all of that was extra stuff. Stuff we didn’t need, couldn’t use, and didn’t want. A two car garage filled with it!

Part of the dawning realization we had about the need to downsize and simplify was the understanding that rather than owning all that stuff, it actually ended up owning us. Once we had it we had to maintain it and store it – and that required time and money that could have been better used for other things.

In addition to our lives being jam packed with many more possessions than we needed, we had also allowed ourselves to become much busier than we should be. And all of that, the lives which were too busy and the mountains of extra stuff that we didn’t need, was distracting. Our attention was so divided, and there were so many things and activities swirling around the edges of our lives, that we weren’t paying full attention to the activities and people who matter the most.

In 1 Timothy 6:6-8 Paul writes about a better way. There he advocates for a simple life. It’s a common Biblical theme. King Solomon learned it the hard way and ended up writing an entire book of the Bible about it (Ecclesiastes). Simplicity and contentment is also a major theme in the book of Proverbs. Jesus modeled it for us, and the Apostle Paul wrote about it in several of his letters.

When we narrow our focus in life to the things, activities, and people who matter most, we’re able to pay deeper attention to them. That then will increase the joy we experience and the enthusiasm we have. Simplicity is good for enthusiasm.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Enthusiasm”

Our Bible verse for today: “Now we who are strong have an obligation to bear the weaknesses of those without strength, and not to please ourselves. Romans 15:1 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “Be enthusiastic about helping others.
In Romans chapter 15 the Apostle Paul wrote about the importance of Christians being  unselfish by putting the needs and concern of others, the church, and the kingdom of God first, and their own needs, wants, desires, and opinions second.

Paul went so far as to say that we need to be eager and enthusiastic about seeking out those who are weaker than us, less mature in the faith, and those who might be struggling with life issues and/or spiritual concerns, and we should make it our mission to help them.

In “The Message” Eugene Peterson explains it this way: “Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, “How can I help?”

Please note that chapter 15 of Romans comes right after chapter 14 of Romans. You will remember from yesterday’s devotional message that in chapter 14 Paul admonished the Roman Christians for getting caught-up in petty issues which were creating strife and division among them. He urged them to put aside the silliness about nonessential matters and focus instead on the things that really mattered in kingdom terms. Chapter 15 continues that train of thought by urging the readers to enthusiastically seek opportunities to be a source of help, strength, and encouragement to others.

We need to be sure we take the lessons of these two chapters together and in context. We are to help, strengthen, and encourage others regarding the things that really matter, instead of trying to force them to conform to our personal opinions and desires regarding secondary issues.

If you consider yourself to be strong in the faith and mature in your understanding of the things that really matter, then use that strength and maturity to help, strengthen and encourage others. Be enthusiastic about helping in ways that truly matter.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Enthusiasm”

Our Bible verse for today: “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.” Romans 14:19 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “When you enthusiastically serve God and others, you will be much less likely to be critical of others.”

In Romans chapter 14 Paul was making the case that Christians should not be critical of each other over differences in minor, secondary matters. In the case of Romans 14, Paul used the issue of food to make his point. In that culture in that day there were strong differences of opinions among Christians regarding what foods were “clean”, and therefore ok to eat, and which were “unclean”, and therefore to be avoided. The disagreement was causing considerable conflict among the Roman Christians.

Paul admonished them by telling them that their arguments over such things were silly and counter-productive because their preoccupation with those secondary issues was distracting them from what really mattered. They should have been focused instead on cooperating for the sake of the Kingdom. I like the way Eugene Peterson rendered verse 20 in his paraphrase of the Bible, “The Message”:

“God’s kingdom isn’t a matter of what you put in your stomach, for goodness sake. It’s what God does with your life as he sets it right, puts it together, and completes it with joy. Your task is to single-mindedly serve Christ. Do that and you’ll kill two birds with one stone: pleasing God above you and proving your worth to the people around you.”

I think Peterson hit on an important understanding which will go a long way towards resolving the silliness and pettiness that so often exists within churches over things that ultimately matter very little. If your focus is to single-mindedly and enthusiastically serve Christ and others, you will no longer care much about who’s eating what, or what color the carpet in the sanctuary is, or whether we sing all hymns or all praise songs or a mix of both. Instead you will be concerned about winning people to faith in Christ and helping them to grow as His disciples.

Let’s close today with the words of Paul in Romans 14:16-18: “Therefore, do not let your good be slandered, for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever serves Christ in this way is acceptable to God and approved by men.” (HCSB)

Amen! Let’s not be silly people who are preoccupied with silly things. Instead let’s enthusiastically focus on the things that really matter.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Enthusiasm”

Our Bible verse for today: “Now you are the body of Christ, and individual members of it.” 1 Corinthians 12:27 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “Make God visible to others.”

When Jesus was physically here on earth in a human body, the people around Him could see Him, hear Him, touch Him, and know Him as a flesh and blood human being. But Jesus isn’t here in that way anymore. In His place He has left the church. He has placed His Holy Spirit in the hearts of all those who follow Him, and through the guidance and the power of the Holy Spirit, in the lives of those Christians, Jesus continues to live and breath and move and work in this world. He lives in and through us and collectively, we the church, are known as “The Body of Christ”.

In his book, “Finding God in Unexpected Places” author Philip Yancey tells the story of a woman named Joanna whom he met in South Africa in 2004. Joanna had a ministry that involved going into the worst and most violent prison in the country to conduct Bible studies, worship services, and to offer Christian counseling to the prisoners. This prison was so bad and so violent that the prisoners was kept locked in their cells twenty-three out of twenty-four hours a day.

It was a dangerous place for an attractive young woman but she went in faith, trusting the Lord to protect her. She brought a message of forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God, and the prisoners responded enthusiastically. The Bible study groups and worship services were packed and after only one year, the number of violent assaults in that prison went from 279 down to 2.

When Yancey interviewed her and asked her to explain the remarkable success of her ministry in such a troubled and violent setting she responded, “Well, of course Philip, God was already present in the prison. I just had to make him visible.”

She just had to make God visible for them. They couldn’t see the Spirit of God, but they could see the Spirit of God living, breathing, and working in and through Joanna, and that made all the difference.

You too can make God visible to others. Jesus can and will use your hands and feet, your smile, your eyes, your words and your actions, as His own. He will accomplish His work through your body, and people will be able to see Him in and through you.

If you only will, you can make God visible to others. Now that’s something to be enthusiastic about. I encourage you to make God visible to someone today.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim