Just about Preaching Time!

My aunt shared this with me; now I would like to share it with you:

Now there are some people, at least I am told,

who go to the church through heat or the cold.

They act very lively, you'd think they were fine;

but they drop off to sleep just about preaching time.

When they enter the Church they talk loud and long,

and when service has started they join in the song.

Their singing is lusty, they remember the rhyme;

but they drop off to sleep just about preaching time.

They learn all the gossip, catch up on their talk;

to read the responsive they never would balk.

They hear the announcement and put in a dime;

then they drop off to sleep just about preaching time.

I wonder if Jesus should visit the place,

and stand in their pulpit while they look on His face;

if He should share with them some great truths sublime.

Would they still go to sleep just about preaching time?

Now, friends, He is coming; His Glory we'll see,

and go up to Heaven forever to be.

It may be this service His Glory will shine.

So, please, stay awake all through preaching time.

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

The Lord Is On Our Side!

On my side: Supporting someone or being in agreement with them

A songwriter once said, "if it had not been for the Lord on my side, tell me where would I be?" Friends, I for one can tell you that I would be like a ship tossed to and fro - with no direction, no plan or purpose - just being tossed to and fro. On the other side of that, I can easily say that there's a chance that I could have been six feet under - after all, I am a two-time cancer survivor. But Praise God, I'm happy to report that it was God who was on my side and that He gave me the victory!

If we were to ask Joshua, he would surely tell us that the Lord was on his side. The Lord blessed Joshua and the children of Israel to defeat Jericho, simply by walking around the city once a day for six days. On the seventh day, the Lord told them to walk around the city seven times, "...and the Priest shall blow with the trumpets... and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout and the wall of the city shall fall down flat. (Joshua 6:4-5) And don't you know that the wall fell down flat. Why? Because, they had the Lord on their side! What's so awesome about that is before they did anything, the Lord told Joshua that the King and all it's mighty warriors were already defeated.

Don't believe Joshua? Take David for instance,  When David was about to fight Goliath, the word said, "And the Philistine said to David come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beast of the field. Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied." (1 Samuel 17:44-50) The word said that David hasted and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. David was not afraid, because he knew that the Lord was on his side - and thus, David prevailed over Goliath with a sling and with a stone.

Need one more? Here's a quick one - there was a King by the name of Balak of Moab who started a war against Israel, and he paid Balaam (a prophet of God) to curse God's people. Instead, God made Balaam bless them. Why? Because the Lord was on their side!

My friends, just as he did it for Joshua, David, the Children of Israel and countless others, He will do the same for us. He is the same today, yesterday, and tomorrow. We must worship the Lord and the Lord alone and He will be on our side. Don't worry about your giants, or your situations, just love, trust, and believe in God.

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

Believing God In Prayer!

Believing - to have a firm conviction about something; regard as true or real

Let's take a minute to think about the things that we have automatically conditioned ourselves to believe in without even thinking about it. For example, we automatically believe that when we get into our car, it's going to start. When we turn the stove on, we automatically believe it's going to come on. On the opposite side of the spectrum, we know that if we don't pay our light bill, there's no doubt they won't be coming on when we flip that switch.

These are just a few examples of the things that we do in the natural; things that we have conditioned ourselves to believe and have faith in. Consider just how easy it is for us to believe that those things of the world are going to function exactly as we expect them to. Given how often we do these things without even thinking about them, why is it so hard for us to believe in the things from/of God? After all, God is so faithful to us that the only thing we have to do is believe in Him as much as we do in the natural things.

God has a perfect track record - so there's no need for us to doubt His ability when we pray. We've all heard and said it time and time again - God can do everything but fail! He can move mountains, He can cause walls to fall, He's so powerful that He gives us the easy job - He asks us simply to believe. Look at the birds in the sky, they don't have frozen worms in their freezers at home, but I doubt that they are worried about whether they are going to get fed on a day to day basis.

Listen to Joshua's prayer in Joshua 10:12-13: "Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon, and thou Moon in the valley of Aijalon. And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies." Joshua believed that God could make the sun and moon stand still - and they did.

It should be impossible to look at God's perfect track record and then somehow doubt His ability because as we've said, He can do everything but fail. He can move mountains, He can cause walls to fall. There's no limited to what He can do. He has given us the easy job - simply pray and believe. Remember, God is a God who's always there - He's always listening and always willing to help us. After all, we are His children and He loves us!

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

Be Honest and Fair!

Honest: Free from fraud or deception; truthful

It takes courage to be honest; but if we want to see God's blessing working in our lives, we must learn to be honest. God rewards honesty, integrity, and faithfulness. We may get away with not being honest for a while - but God knows. Not only does He know, but His word tells us that we will reap what we sow.

Honesty is a reflection of what’s on the inside of us; our actions are a reflection of our faith; and the truth in our actions is a part of being a good witness. Learning how to become a more honest person will also help us keep a clear conscious. If there is something you don’t like, by all means just say, "Lord - I really don’t like this, but help me to do it if it’s Your will." Just be honest with Him, because God is not going to bless a lie. The Lord - and other people - will forgive us if we will simply be truthful. 

While it is sometimes tempting (and easy!) to lie, misrepresent ourselves, or down play uncomfortable truths in an effort to avoid conflict; dishonesty is never good for our relationships. Remember - speaking the truth and living the truth helps those around us come to the truth. 

If something is built on dishonesty, it shall surely fall down, so we must be honest in our heart about who we are. If someone is dishonest with you or about you - you can’t do anything about that - you're not them. What you can do something about is what’s in you.

We should strive to be honest in all things, to all people - even our children. After all, they're people too and it's just as wrong to be dishonest with/to them as it is to any other person. God is looking for honest and fair people; how can He bless us with much when He can’t trust us with little?!

No one can be consistently honest without making a commitment to tell the truth. Speaking the truth and being honest and fair in all things is a mark of a healthy relationship. John 14:6 tells us that "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." This means that when we follow dishonesty, then we are moving away from the Lord. Being honest is about following in God’s footsteps - for He cannot and has no need to lie. Trust in the Lord enough to be honest and fair in all things, my friends, so that you may draw nigh to Him.

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

                                                                                                            

Let's Leave The Blues Behind!

Blues: Sorry, cast down, weary, grief, sad, depress, heart broken.

As we go into 2019, it’s important to remember that the Lord wants us to be thankful, full of joy, and in good spirits. After all, if you really think about it, God has it all under control. Ephesians 5:20 says, "Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." The Lord wants us to be happy and thankful every day, now how can we become cast-down, depressed or heart-broken if we are doing what God wants us to do?

Here's how we can do our part and beat the blues in this new year!!

1. Believe: what are we believing in? The positive word of God, of course! John 4:49-51 tells us, "The nobleman saith unto him, Sir come down err my child die. Jesus saith unto him, go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth." Jesus didn’t have to preach him a sermon, or show him a sign, the man simply believed. That’s the kind of trust we must have in His word.
2. Look for God's Purpose (i.e. Plan): to find God's purpose in this new year, we might have to go through a test; but friends, remember that tests are designed to take us to the next level - not to make us sad or cast-down. We’ve got to strive to go through each test with a thankful heart, knowing that our God is too holy, too righteous, and too just to allow anything to cross our path that’s not for our good and His Glory. As 1 Peter 5:10 says, "But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you."
3. Utilize the Promises in the Word of God: we must be sure to make use of God's word, and rehearse it back to Him. He said that He would never leave us nor forsake us; and that He is a very present help in the time of trouble. Philippians 4:19 says, "But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" and Proverbs 3:5-6 reminds us to, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." How can we become sad or cast-down if we are utilizing God's word?
4. Encourage other people: this may come as news to some, but it's not always about us! We must spread cheer, encourage, and motivate others. As II Corinthians 1:4 tells us, "Who comforteth us in all tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted to God."
5. Sing God's Praises: finally, no matter what our situation is, we must still be thankful. Look at Paul and Silas in Acts 16:25-26. They had been beaten and put into prison, and despite that, at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God. If they can sing praises after all they went through, surely we can manage to make a joyful noise unto the Lord and be thankful for the many, many wonderful things He has and is doing for us.

So you see, it’s easy to beat the blues In 2019 - we just need to continue to be thankful for all things and all situations. Remember, it’s essential that we give thanks, because God gives blessings by the way we give thanks.

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