Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Trusting God”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Surely I spoke about things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.” Job 42:3 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Trust God to teach you important lessons as you go through tough times.”

 

When we consider the story of Job we usually conclude by giving him credit for enduring tremendous hardship without losing his faith in God. But while it’s certainly true that Job never lost his faith in God, it’s also true that in the middle of his pain and suffering Job questioned God – a lot. Job wanted to know what he had done to deserve this kind of suffering; he even suggested that God was being unfair and even harsh.

 

Sounds like me.

 

I would like to claim that I’m a towering pillar of strength and courage in the face of tough times and pain, but I’m not. I’m actually a lot like you. And like Job. While I never lose my faith in God, I do ask questions – and yes, I do complain. I’ll bet you do too.

 

And God’s ok with that. I mean, He already knows you feel that way so you might as well admit it and talk to Him about it, right? There is actually great value in being open and honest with God about your questions and complaints. Because when you talk to God about what you are feeling, openly and honestly, He then helps you to think through it and begin to see things from His perspective. That’s what happened to Job.

 

Now, Job was never told “why” he suffered the way that he did. You and I, the readers of his story, we are told, but even at the end of the story Job was never told the “why” of it all. But through the course of the pain and the suffering, as he asked questions of God and voiced his complaints, Job’s eyes were opened to greater spiritual realities. Through it all Job came to know and appreciate God in ways he never had before.

 

In verse 42:3 he even spoke about “things too wonderful for me to know.” If you go back and read the unfolding dialogue in the previous 41 chapters you realize that as Job wrestled through this thing, he discovered many wonderful things about God which he had not previously known. Job’s times of trial and struggle ended with him having a much deeper relationship with the Lord than he had before going into that difficult season of life.

 

And therein lies the lesson for us. God will not only walk with us through our seasons of difficulties, but He will use them to teach us and to grow us – if we will just let Him.

 

The next time you’re going through tough times I encourage you to use that season of life as an opportunity to learn and to grow. Spend lots of time with God; wrestle with Him; ask questions; voice complaints; seek understanding. Just like was true for Job, you can trust God to teach you valuable lessons through your times of trials.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

 

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Trusting God”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Where will my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1-2 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “God is the One who can be truly trusted.”

 

Who or what do you really trust in? Who or what do you look to for security, protection, provision, and happiness? If you’re a Christian then you probably immediately answered “I put my trust in God.” Ok, nice answer. That’s certainly the “Christian” thing to say.

 

But is it true? Do you really mean it? In actual day-to-day living are you trusting in God alone, or maybe are you trusting in God and in your good job. Or are you trusting God and your good looks, or God and your intelligence, or God and your guns, or … well, you get the idea.

 

Psalm 121 is probably one of the greatest declarations in the Bible of truly trusting fully and completely in God alone. I think it would be appropriate to simply quote the entire Psalm:

 

“I lift my eyes toward the mountains. Where will my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

 

He will not allow your foot to slip; your Protector will not slumber.

Indeed, the Protector of Israel does not slumber or sleep.

 

The Lord protects you; the Lord is a shelter right by your side.

The sun will not strike you by day or the moon by night.

 

The Lord will protect you from all harm; He will protect your life.

The Lord will protect your coming and going both now and forever.”

 

Amen.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

 

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: ‘Trusting God”

Our Bible verse for today: “Test Me in this way, says the Lord of Hosts. See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without measure.” Malachi 3:10 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “Take your eyes off of yourself.”

When we’re going through tough times it is basic human nature to turn our thoughts inward. We tend to believe we have to focus more intently on ourselves in order to deal effectively with our problems.

Unfortunately this can lead a person to become very self-absorbed. We convince ourselves that since our own issues seem so overwhelming, we don’t have the time or energy to be concerned about other people and their problems. But in the Bible God shows us a different way.

As an example, in Malachi chapter three the prophet taught about money and tithing. Evidently many of the people had come to the conclusion that their own financial needs were such that they could not afford to obey God’s command to give a tenth of their income to the church (a tithe). But through Malachi God told the people to simply obey Him and trust Him in this matter. Even though it might not have seemed possible or practical, He told them to trust Him, do what He commanded, and He in turn would bless their socks off.

God was telling the people to take their eyes off of themselves and off of their own problems, and to focus instead on obeying Him and blessing others.

Jesus spoke to this as well. In Matthew 6:25-34 (The “Do not worry” passage in the Sermon on the Mount), Jesus taught that rather than obsessively worrying about food and clothes, housing and car payments, money and bills, He said “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.”

God teaches us very clearly that He does not want us to be self-absorbed, focusing exclusively or even primarily on our own problems. He wants us to take our eyes off of ourselves and to focus instead on obeying Him and blessing others. When we do that, He assumes responsibility for all the other issues of our lives.

The best approach is always to simply trust God and obey Him. That doesn’t relieve you of your responsibility to make good choices and of being actively involved in solving your own problems, but it does open the door for God’s full blessings in your life. “Test Me in this way, says the Lord of Hosts. See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without measure.”

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Trusting God”

Our Bible verse for today: “Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “God will use other people to help you.”

If you’ve been involved in church life for any length of time, especially if you’re fortunate enough to be a member of a good church family, then you have experienced the blessing of Christians helping one another. When you’re struggling with difficult life situations, and brothers and sisters come alongside to help you, it is a relief and a blessing.

In 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Paul makes reference to the great truth that God comforts us and ministers to us in our own afflictions, so that we can then turn around and minister in similar fashion to others who are struggling. In fact, almost always, God brings us the relief we need through other Christians. Occasionally there will be a miraculous intervention. Maybe you woke up one morning to discover that in the middle of the night the angel Gabriel put an envelope of money under your pillow so you could pay for the needed repairs to your car – but probably not. More than likely the help you needed came from a generous brother or sister in your church family.

The Apostle Paul frequently relied on the help of other Christians, and he did so without hesitation and without shame. Life can be hard, and from time to time we all need help. That’s one of the primary reasons God brings us together in church families. We need each other. There is simply no Biblical model that allows for Christians to be out of church life. God does not call us to be Lone Ranger Christians.

In this life we all need help. You can trust God to bring you the help you need, but it will usually come – almost always – through other Christians. Accept the help. Receive it with thanksgiving. Then do the same for someone else.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

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