Our God is an Immovable Rock!

Immovable: Not capable of moving or being moved

Let's focus on the rock of Gibraltar for a minute. Normally people look at it as a symbol of strength and power, but today we want to look at it as an immovable object - just as Jesus is our majestic rock of Gibraltar - our salvation, our love, power, and strength. He's immovable. The devil might try this thing or that thing, but if we are anchored in the immovable rock, he can't shake our foundation.

I know that you all have read  about the three Hebrew boys, but let me remind you of the story. Those three boys took a stand and were immovable. Daniel 3:10 tells us that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made an image of gold. He also made a decree that every man that shall hear the sound of all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image (verse 11) and whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. Pretty serious, right? This might be enough to shake some people's foundations, but not those of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, for they were anchored in the solid rock.

When the music played, the three Hebrew boys did not worship the golden image. When this was told to the king, he became furious and asked them, "is it true that ye did not serve my gods, nor worship the golden image that I set up?" The king also asked, "who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?" In Daniel 3:17-18, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego told the king, "we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up."

When he heard this, the king commanded that the boys be cast into the fiery furnace. As he watched, the king was astounded and rose up in haste and spake, "did not we cast three into the midst of the fire?" The king's men answered, "true, O king." The king responded saying, "lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God."

How awesome is our God? It's He that pushes us out, but it's also He that's right there to pick us up before we ever hit the ground - especially when He sees that His children are immovable for His name sake. Remember my friends, He's in the midst of our fiery furnace with us... oh how we need to take a stand for the rock.

With all that's said, let the Church say Amen... and AMEN!

It's Not What Others Think about You, It's What You Think about Yourself!

Think: To reason and work out in the mind; to visualize

As it is told in Proverbs 23:7, "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he..." It doesn't matter what Jim says, or what Jane says - what's more important is what you think about yourself!

Friends, we must never put ourselves down or criticize ourselves by using words like "I’m so stupid!" or "I'm such an idiot!" These are not just phrases or words - they hold power. As the scripture above says, if we think it, it becomes our reality. So if we think we are stupid, we will eventually become stupid. We must feel good about who we are and what we think about ourselves. Of course, we have to be realistic - we are not perfect and we should not allow pride or arrogance to take over. What I’m saying is that you must love yourself and have a good opinion of yourself - because if you don’t, neither will anyone else!

If it's one thing that I’ve learned in this life, it's that people are going to talk about you! Whether you do something or if you do nothing - folks are going to talk about you! So keep that in mind and don’t let someone else's opinion dictate who you are!

Think about yourself as Jesus thinks of you. After all, He died for us, so He obviously thought we were special and well worth it!

Let's speak positive words about ourselves (and about others to help them on their journey!); words like "I’m blessed and highly favored by the Lord," "I’m an overcomer," "I am fearfully and wonderfully made," and "I carry the DNA of the all might God within me."  

Others can only put you down and cause you to have low self esteem if you allow it! Remember, it’s not what others think about you, it’s what you think about yourself that counts!

With all that said, let the Church say Amen…and AMEN!

Putting Our Trust in God is A Must!

Trust: confidence or faith in a person or thing.

Some people trust in their riches, some trust in themselves, and others trust in man. It’s like when EVERYTHING and EVERYONE else fails, then we look to the Lord to bail us out or to fix the situation, when He is where we should always go first. He’s the one who can turn around any situation, He’s the one who has all the riches, and He's the only one who can do everything -- but fail! Not to mention, He has all the power and authority. To put our confidence and faith in Him is truly a must!

Let us not place our trust in riches -- Proverbs 11:28 tells us, "He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch." In Mark 10:24 we see that "... the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!" The Word doesn't say that it’s wrong to have riches - God just doesn't want us to trust in them. Instead, let’s put our trust in Him.

God doesn't want us to place our trust in ourselves -- according to Proverb 28:26, "He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered." And in Jeremiah 17:9, we learn that "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" Finally, we're instructed to "Trust in, lean on, rely on, and have confidence in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is a refuge for us, a fortress and a high tower" (Psalms 62:8 (amplified)

We certainly don’t want to put all of our trust in man -- as it is told in Proverb 25:19, "Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint." We also find that "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man" (Psalms 118:8). Man can not direct his own steps, how can we expect that he can direct ours? "Thus saith the Lord; cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord (Jeremiah 17:5).

Friends, God knows what's best for us, so let’s put our trust in Him -- He will never let us down! After all, He wrote the master plan before the foundation of the world. We don’t know what today or tomorrow will bring, but He does, so let’s trust God and leave the choices up to Him!

With all that said, let the Church say amen... and AMEN!                          

Trust God in Every Situation!

Trust – to have confidence or faith in, to depend on

The message below was e-mailed to me recently and I was really blessed by it, so I wanted to share it with you all. I have to admit that I’m very guilty of wondering why did "this" or "that" situation happen; why things didn't work out the way I planned - after all, I did get up and pray! I've even asked the Lord to order my steps. But when things aren't going the way we want, we so often forget we have a heavenly Father who ALWAYS knows what’s best for us. This e-mail really helped put things into perspective. We must learn to "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; lean not unto thine own understanding." (Proverbs 3:5) I hope this blesses you as it did me.

Me (in a tizzy): God, can I ask you something?
GOD: Sure
Me: Promise you won't get mad?
GOD: I promise.
Me (frustrated): Why did you let so much stuff happen to me today?
GOD: What do you mean?
Me: Well I woke up late
GOD: Yes
Me: My car took forever to start
GOD: Okay....
Me (growling): At lunch, they made my sandwich wrong and I had to wait
GOD: Hmmmm..
Me: On the way home, my phone went dead, just as I picked up a call.
GOD: All right
Me (loudly): And to top it all off, when I got home, I just wanted to soak my feet in my foot massager and relax, but it wouldn't work. Nothing went right today! Why did you do that?
GOD: Well let me see..... the death angel was at your bed this morning and I had to send one of the other angels to battle him for your life. I let you sleep through that.
Me (humbled): Oh...
GOD: I didn't let your car start because there was a drunk driver on your route that might have hit you if you were on the road
Me (ashamed): ...
GOD: The first person who made your sandwich today was sick and I didn't want you to catch what they have, I knew you couldn't afford to miss work
Me (embarrassed): Oh.....
GOD: Your phone went dead because the person that was calling was going to give a false witness about what you said on that call, I didn't even let you talk to them so you would be covered
Me (softly): I see, God .
GOD: Oh and that foot massager, it had a short that was going to throw out all of the power in your house tonight. I didn't think you wanted to be in the dark.
Me: I'm sorry, God.
GOD: Don't be sorry, just learn to trust me.........in all things, the good and the bad
Me: I WILL trust you God
GOD: And don't doubt that my plan for your day is always better than your plan
Me: I won't God. And let me just tell you God, thank you for everything today.
GOD: You're welcome child. It was just another day being your God and I love looking after my children.

~ Author Unknown

With all that said, let the church say Amen... and AMEN!!               

It Is Finished!

Finish: to bring to an end, to conclude, defeat or destroy.

In order for something to be finished, there first has to be a beginning. On some levels, many things began in the Garden of Eden "...when the women <Eve> saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and... she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat" (Genesis 3:6). In other words, when Eve and then Adam ate the forbidden fruit. With those bites came the consciousness of sin, of condemnation, and spiritual separation from God. And this my friends, is where it all began...

In the old testament, when people sinned, the high priest would offer sacrifices once a year for the sins of the people; but the blood of animals could only cover sin - it could never redeem or take away sin. In fact, Hebrews 10:4-5 tells us, "For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Wherefore when He cometh into the world, He saith, sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me."

Jesus came into this earth to forgive us of our sins, iniquities, and transgressions; to teach us; to direct us; to heal us from all manner of sickness and diseases; and ultimately - to die for us. He came to pay the penalty for our sins. "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23).

When Jesus said “'it is finished' and he bowed his head and gave up the ghost,” it was a shout of victory and it was then that our sins were nailed to the cross (John 19:30). II Corinthians 5:21 tells us, "For He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." He had just paid the ultimate price and it was sufficient to pay for our sins. In other words, He had just bought us back - not with silver and gold, but with His own blood - and this gave us the right to spend eternity with Him and the Father.

So we know it started in the Garden with Eve and Adam and now, my friends, we know when it all ended. When Jesus said, “it is finished,” we no longer had to carry around condemnation; we don’t have to be spiritually separated from the Lord. He concluded all the works of the Father. He was the perfect sacrifice.

This Passover service, Resurrection Sunday, or Easter - no matter what you called it, please remember that this season is not about hiding eggs, receiving Easter baskets, or bunny rabbits - instead, it's all about Jesus dying on the old rugged cross for your sins and for mine.

With all that said, let the Church say Amen and... AMEN!