Category: September2022

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Wanting More

This morning I was greeted by this photo I had taken a few years back. It brought a smile to my face and a thought to my heart. This little fellow and his many friends came every morning, afternoon and evening to my feeders, always wanting more.

I have no idea how many pounds of sugar and gallons of water I would prepare each summer for the hummingbirds who visited my yard.

Come they did – 50+ at a feeding. I would take the feeders down, all eight of them, wash them and refill them. From the inside of the house I could hear their little wings whirling as they waited impatiently for me to bring them back to the yard, filled with nectar.

They were always wanting more.

Do you know that our heavenly Father does no less for us?

“Then Jesus said, ‘I am the bread that gives life. No one who comes to me will ever be hungry. No one who believes in me will ever be thirsty.'” John 6:35 ERV

“Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. 14 But anyone who drinks the water I give will never be thirsty again. The water I give people will be like a spring flowing inside them. It will bring them eternal life.’ 15 The woman said to Jesus, ‘Sir, give me this water. Then I will never be thirsty again and won’t have to come back here to get more water.’” John 4:13-15 ERV

He planned for all of life’s other necessities as well.

“‘Don’t worry and say, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 That’s what those people who don’t know God are always thinking about. Don’t worry, because your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things. 33 What you should want most is God’s kingdom and doing what he wants you to do. Then he will give you all these other things you need.'” Matthew 6:31-33 ERV

The Father provides for our needs and Jesus said what we should want most, our number one need, is to know Him and His kingdom. The Apostle Paul said this in his teaching to young christians:

“…now I think that all things are worth nothing compared with the greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of Christ, I lost all these things, and now I know that they are all worthless trash. All I want now is Christ. 9 I want to belong to him. In Christ I am right with God, but my being right does not come from following the law. It comes from God through faith. God uses my faith in Christ to make me right with him. 10 All I want is to know Christ and the power that raised him from death.” Philippians 3:8-10

Just like those little hummingbirds who were always wanting more, “All I want is to know Christ”, I want more.

The Father has meticulously planned for our every need. His plan is perfect. Our responsibility is to trust Him and make relationship with Him our top priority.

We should always be wanting more!

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On Fire

Something that most every camper enjoys is their campfires.

Early in the season the vegetation was so dry that the Forest Service executed a Stage 2, Red Flag fire restriction. No campfires, not even charcoal – anything that could cause a spark was restricted. Everyone understood the reasoning, but they weren’t happy.

Then the rains came and the restriction was lifted. I have no idea how many bags of firewood we have sold. There’s something mesmerizing about watching those yellow and gold flames. It’s soothing, comforting, inviting.

Campers love to sit around those campfires and visit. It’s definitely a time of relationship building, memory-making.

That is how our conversations should be as we interact with others. Remember yesterday’s verses – we are salt and light. Fire is a type of light, a warming and welcoming light. Those who are chilled from the circumstances of life can come and be warmed, those who are hungry for what’s missing in their hearts can come and be fed.

Those lacking joy can come to the fire within us and find fellowship.

Jeremiah was a prophet in a wicked and perverse generation. His nation was under siege because of their sins and their disobedience to God. He was a prophet whose message had been ignored and in fact, he had been jailed because of his message.

Just listen to what he said:

“Sometimes I say to myself, “I will forget about him.
    I will not speak anymore in his name.”
But when I say that, his message is like a fire burning inside me!
    It feels like it is burning deep in my bones!
I get tired of trying to hold his message inside.
    And finally, I am not able to hold it in.” Jeremiah 20:9 ERV

The message of God is a fire inside of me, I can’t hold it in. His was a message of repentance and forgiveness.

Is the message of God a fire inside us? We have a message of God’s love and forgiveness to offer those around us; a message of comfort, of nourishment, of acceptance.

There is a line from an Alicia Keys song that I want to ring true in my life. “This girl is on fire”.

Lord, let Your word burn within me, a fire that can’t be contained. Let me not hold back on the message you have given me. May I warm and console those around me with your love.

“John’s answer to this was, “I baptize you in water, but there is someone coming later who is able to do more than I can. I am not good enough to be the slave who unties his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” Luke 3:16 ERV

Holy Spirit, light the fire in my soul!

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Salt & Light

This world needs us! It needs our influence and our perspective. It needs us to be salt and light.

“You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.

14 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” Matthew 5:13-16 NLT

This is our calling. However, we can fail in our influence if we become more concerned about pleasing people than pleasing our Father.

Salt makes us thirsty. Thirsty for the living water that only God can supply. Light keeps us from stumbling in the darkness.

“Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:105 NLT

This world we live in needs both now more than ever.

Have you ever been in the trap of pleasing people? You know, when we try to impress folks with our efforts and our actions. It can be a vicious cycle of doing something nice, waiting for approval, doing something nice again to gain acceptance and kind words.

This type of action can be emotionally, physically and financially exhausting.

Jesus knew this very thing and walked away from those situations choosing rather to please God than man.

” In Jerusalem during Passover many people put their faith in Jesus, because they saw him work miracles. 24 But Jesus knew what was in their hearts, and he would not let them have power over him. 25 No one had to tell him what people were like. He already knew.” John 2:23-25 CEV

This account takes place early in Jesus ministry. He had just chosen his disciples and not many people knew Him. You would think that he would want to cater to these people who had just put their faith in Him but instead the Scripture says He didn’t allow them to have power over Him or to control Him and His actions by their opinions.

Sadly, today many Christians are giving others power over them and are making their belief in Jesus and His word take second place to public opinion.

Lord, we desire to stand strong today. Representing You without apology. We desire to please You and not cater to the dictates of men.

“Don’t ever let love and loyalty leave you. Tie them around your neck, and write them on your heart. 4 Then God will be pleased and think well of you and so will everyone else.

5 Trust the Lord completely, and don’t depend on your own knowledge. 6 With every step you take, think about what he wants, and he will help you go the right way. 7 Don’t trust in your own wisdom, but fear and respect the Lord and stay away from evil.” Proverbs 3:3-7 ERV

We all have a calling to fulfill – shine brightly and add flavor wherever we go!

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Never Underestimate the Impossible

This morning’s title comes from a song sung by Joe Nichols, a country singer. These were the words I heard running through my mind this morning.

“I’ve learned to never underestimate, The impossible”

Seems this is the message the Lord has wanted me to bring the last week. A message of hope, of safety, provision, protection, salvation, a message of doing the impossible.

“Nothing is impossible for God!” Luke 1:37 CEV

Let God be true and every man a liar, that’s what the Bible tells us! God cannot lie.

Abraham believed God rather than looking at his own body or the body of his wife and they had a child when he was one hundred. Mary believed God and she conceived a son when she was a virgin. The disciples believed God and they cast our demons, healed the sick and raised the dead. The lame man believed God and took up his bed and walked.

I believe God and He has healed me many times, brought peace in the midst of physical and emotional storms, prosperity out of poverty, and life eternal. I believe the word when it says, “with God, all things are possible”. I believe the word when it says, “by his stripes we are healed”. And I believe the word of God when it says, “nothing is impossible to him who believes”.

When we pray the word of God, we are praying God’s will because His word is His will. We can be confident when we pray the Word of God over a situation.

“And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. 15 And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.” I John 5:14-15 NLT

“Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.2 Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.3 He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. 4 He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. 5 He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!” Psalm 103:1-5 NLT

“ The robber comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I came so they might have life, a great full life.” John 10:10 NLV

Let God be true and every man a liar. Always let God’s word have the final say in your circumstances.

“God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind.
Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?” Numbers 23:19 NLT

Never underestimate the impossible for with God all things are possible!

AMEN!

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Answering the Why

Sometimes it may feel like you’re a flower amongst the weeds. So much around us is negative, pessimistic and ugly.

Then comes the “why”?

Why am I placed among these people? Neighbors who are unfriendly, co-workers who are antagonistic and family who are unloving.

Why?

Jesus may have asked that very question, but He also knew the answer. His Father loved the world…He was sent to bring knowledge of that love and forgiveness to us all.

Now here’s another “why”.

Why do I love the Lord? Why am I willing to stand for Him when others think my ways and ideas are old fashioned, out of date, archaic and foolish? Why do I believe in a God I can’t see and why am I willing to base my life on His word?

Why?

How do I answer these questions to others and how do I answer them in my heart?

In a nutshell – I love the Lord because He loved me first! In all my life my heavenly Father has never had a bad thought about me; He has never belittled me, never lied to me and He has never abandoned me and He never will!

Has He approved of everything I’ve done? NO

Has He corrected and instructed me? ABSOLUTELY

He has loved me unconditionally and without embarrassment.

My greatest form of worship is to love Him and then to love others as He has loved me.

“Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love to us: He sent his only Son into the world to give us life through him. 10 True love is God’s love for us, not our love for God. He sent his Son as the way to take away our sins.

11 That is how much God loved us, dear friends! So we also must love each other. 12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us. If we love each other, God’s love has reached its goal—it is made perfect in us.

13 We know that we live in God and God lives in us. We know this because he gave us his Spirit. 14 We have seen that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world, and this is what we tell people now. 15 Anyone who says, “I believe that Jesus is the Son of God,” is a person who lives in God, and God lives in that person. 16 So we know the love that God has for us, and we trust that love.

God is love. Everyone who lives in love lives in God, and God lives in them. 17 If God’s love is made perfect in us, we can be without fear on the day when God judges the world. We will be without fear, because in this world we are like Jesus. 18 Where God’s love is, there is no fear, because God’s perfect love takes away fear…19 We love because God first loved us.” I John 4:8-19 ERV

Like that flower among the weeds, we are here to bring the beauty of God’s love to the world.

I pray that you have an intimate knowledge of how much God loves you – it’s life changing!

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A Long Night

I consider it a pleasure and a privilege to share with you each day. Most of you I don’t know by sight but only by name. However, you fill my prayers, prayers for peace and health, prayers for a growing relationship with the Father.

I know life is filled with many challenges and for that reason I pray.

You may have gone to bed heavy-hearted last night. Maybe there were things rolling over and over in your mind while you tried to sleep. Some thoughts may have condemned while others just agitated but this is a new day and a time for a fresh start.

“Just thinking of my troubles and my lonely wandering makes me miserable. 20 That’s all I ever think about, and I am depressed. 21 Then I remember something that fills me with hope. 22 The Lord’s kindness never fails! If he had not been merciful, we would have been destroyed. 23 The Lord can always be trusted to show mercy each morning. 24 Deep in my heart I say, ‘The Lord is all I need; I can depend on him!’ 25 The Lord is kind to everyone who trusts and obeys him. 26 It is good to wait patiently for the Lord to save us.” Lamentations 3:19-26 CEV

It may have been a long night but this morning the Father remains faithful. The Lord’s kindness NEVER fails. The Lord can ALWAYS be trusted. The Lord is ALL I need. I can DEPEND on Him. The Lord’s mercies are new every morning – great is His faithfulness!

The long night is over.

Start fresh today and know that God has not and will not abandon you and He will deliver you in every situation. Let Him FILL you with hope!

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Time to Sing

Remember yesterday I told you “God’s Got This”! Well, we had the opportunity to live that out last night when we helped a camper and her kids who were in need.

Because of that, today’s post is later than normal. In fact, it’s one I recycled from years back. However, the truth conveyed has not changed.

Today’s mandate:

“Then I looked, and I heard the voices of many angels. The angels were around the throne, the four living beings, and the elders. There were thousands and thousands of angels—10,000 times 10,000. 12 The angels said in a loud voice,

“All power, wealth, wisdom, and strength belong to the Lamb who was killed. He is worthy to receive honor, glory, and praise!” 13 Then I heard every created being that is in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, everything in all these places, saying, “All praise and honor and glory and power forever and ever to the one who sits on the throne and to the Lamb!” Revelation 5:11-13 ERV

Sing with me and all the heavenly hosts:

To Him who sits on the throne and unto the Lamb – be blessing and glory and honor and power forever!

On Labor Day, labor to enter into the rest that God has called you too.

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God’s Got This

I had the strongest impression this morning that some of you have recently received bad news. It’s been unnerving, unsettling and even frightening.

When that happens it’s time to run to the Father.

“Light shines in the darkness for the godly…6 Such people will not be overcome by evil. Those who are righteous will be long remembered. 7 They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the Lord to care for them. 8 They are confident and fearless and can face their foes triumphantly.” Psalm 112:4-8 NLT

Do not fear bad news but instead, confidently trust the Lord to care for you!

“This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. 3 For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease.
4 He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. 5 Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day.” Psalm 91:2-5 NLT

A pastor we know used to say, “the first report is not the final report”. When a father heard “your daughter is dead”, the first report, Jesus said, “fear not, she’s only sleeping” and the young girl was restored to life. When Joseph was sent to prison for a crime he didn’t commit, the Father had the final say and Joseph was promoted to 2nd in command of all of Egypt.

“So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” Hebrews 4:16 NLT

Come boldly, bravely, to the Father’s throne. Tell Him your heart and receive the help you need.

“ It is true, we live in a body of flesh. But we do not fight like people of the world. 4 We do not use those things to fight with that the world uses. We use the things God gives to fight with and they have power. Those things God gives to fight with destroy the strong-places of the devil. 5 We break down every thought and proud thing that puts itself up against the wisdom of God. We take hold of every thought and make it obey Christ.” II Corinthians 10:3-5 NLV

Take hold of every thought.

All through the Bible we read the phrase “fear not”. Fear has never been a godly trait. It goes counter to all God is. He wants us to trust in His goodness, not fear the unknown. He provides and protects, we are never abandon or deserted.

“Hear my cry, O God. Listen to my prayer. 2 I call to You from the end of the earth when my heart is weak. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. 3 For You have been a safe place for me, a tower of strength where I am safe from those who fight against me. 4 Let me live in Your tent forever. Let me be safe under the covering of Your wings.” Psalm 61:1-4 NLV

Let me close with this prayer. “Father, I pray for all those who have received a bad report, those whose hearts have been shaken. You are the Father who brings peace, peace that passes all understanding. I say, according to Your word, peace be still. Help comes from You in Jesus name, amen.”

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