John 15:4
To be “in Christ” is different than to “abide” in Him. The former is taken care of when we are born again. The latter can be interrupted. To “abide” means “to remain, to have continual contact, to have a conscious recognition of His presence.” We do that through prayer, reading His Word, and the fellowship of the saints.
Jesus gives the example that a branch is only the conduit, it doesn’t produce the fruit; the vine does. So our focus is not to bear fruit, but to stay in the vine. The immediate fruit we’ll see in our own lives is a resistance to sin. I recently talked to friend that had gone through a pretty dark patch in his walk with the Lord. I asked him afterward what had tripped him up. He simply said, “I stopped abiding.” Don’t let that happen.
Striving to abide,
Pastor Gerard Deleeuw
Jeremiah 36:23
While Jeremiah was in prison, he had Baruch deliver the word of God to the people of Judah and it eventually made its way to Jehoiakim, the king at that point. After hearing Jehudi just read a bit of the Lord’s word to Jeremiah, Jehoiakim had the scroll cut up and tossed into the fire. Why? He didn’t like what he heard about the Lord’s judgment towards Judah.
When we hear something we don’t like from God’s word, we might not toss our Bibles in the fire, but we might toss them in our trunks or on a shelf not to be looked at for a long time.
Yet just like Jehoiakim couldn’t stop God’s word from coming to pass by destroying it, we can’t stop the truthfulness of God’s word by ignoring it. When God points out sin in our lives through the Bible, it is still sin whether we believe it to be or not. It’s better to just accept the Scriptures as true and implement them in our lives because God knows better than we do.
Delighting in Your Word,
Pastor Ron Kitchell
Matthew 9:36-38
The heart of the Lord was always moved by the spiritual needs of the lost around Him. He saw them as weary and scattered, sheep without a shepherd. It was that vision and outlook He sought to convey to His disciples. The need for many to know the Shepherd was all around them; the harvest for hearing and receiving the Gospel was ripe but tragically few were speaking of Him. The laborers were few.
Are you a laborer telling those around you of the Shepherd who has come to save them, to lead them, and be their Lord? Jesus told His own to pray that God would send more laborers into the fields of harvest. Today I am praying God will send you!
Working in the fields with joy!
Pastor Jack Abeelen
John 16: 33
Why is it that as circumstances worsen, our faith often falters? Rather than believing that God remains in control – no matter how good or bad things appear – we let life’s challenges slowly overshadow our faith in God. Eventually, fear can replace our faith entirely. You might be experiencing this right now as you take stock of just how much has changed during COVID-19: our daily routines, our jobs, our finances. When life changes overnight, our faith can be shaken … but it doesn’t have to crumble.
For three years, Peter followed Jesus as one of His inner circle – one of the 12 disciples. When it came to Jesus’ earthly ministry, Peter saw it all: miraculous healings, powerful teaching, and provocative statements. Like most of Jesus’ followers, Peter assumed that Jesus was going to redeem the children of Israel as the long-awaited King of the Jews. So, you can imagine his shock when Jesus was arrested and sentenced to death on the cross. This wasn’t how the story was supposed to go – at least not according to Peter. Talk about a huge gap between expectations and current circumstances.
When life’s circumstances didn’t live up to expectations, Jesus’ closest followers lost hope and gave into fear. Yet, the story wasn’t over. Not only did Jesus overcome death on the cross through His resurrection, but He cared enough to specifically redeem His relationship with Peter (John 21:15-17).
The lesson for us in Peter’s story is that life’s circumstances do not determine God’s goodness. Even when hope seems lost and fears rush in, our faith need not falter. Why? Because even when the story appears over, God has other plans.
Pastor William Del Casale
Mark 5:42
Jesus had just returned by boat to Galilee from Decapolis when He was approached by Jairus who begged Jesus to come and heal his critically ill daughter. Jesus did not come straightaway because He was thronged by the crowds, and He also had taken the time to heal a woman. While Jesus was ministering, some from Jairus’ house came to announce that his daughter had died. Jesus continued to Jairus’ house and upon His arrival proclaimed that the girl was not dead but sleeping, at which point those mourning laughed Him to scorn. Jesus entered the room where she was lying and commanded her to arise, and immediately the girl was brought back to life and walked, while those in the room found themselves “overcome with great amazement.”
Contrast this amazement with the crowds outside. They are scornful and dismissive of Jesus because they do not know Him or His power, while the six inside have just experienced a display of His power, and it has affected them tremendously. Is this not a picture of our transformation in Jesus? We were once in the world, scornful and dead in our sins (Ephesians 2:1), but then we had an encounter with Jesus which radically changed us. May our own lives be such where our experience with Jesus is something impossible to hide.
Jeff Mericle
Genesis 13:3
Here we see that Abram went back to his first love….to where it all began. Back to Bethel! There are times in the life of a Christian when we need to just “go back” to the place where it all began, to the feet of Jesus at the altar. Going back to our first love.
That is what Jesus is telling the church of Ephesus in Revelation 2:2-5 when He says, “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen, repent and do the first works.”
Have you been doing that? What did you do at the beginning when you first met Jesus? Maybe you went to prayer meetings or had quiet time each morning.
If you miss that relationship you once had with the Lord, Jesus says to us, “Do those first works like when we first met.”
Keeping my eyes on Him.
Rich Kikuchi
Joel 2:12-13
A lot of people speak of God in the Old Testament as a bloodthirsty, vengeful deity with anger issues. Yes, the Old Testament is does have its share of God’s judgment and that judgment being executed. But what people fail to see is the true heart of God against the backdrop of man’s heart and their rebellion towards God.
In the passage above, the people of God were destined for judgment because their sins were many and their wickedness and rebellion prevented God’s blessings. But the Lord speaks to this rebellious people, expresses His heart to them to repent, shows them His desire to forgive and be merciful, blesses them with kindness, and relents from having to cause harm.
His heart is the same for us. There is no enjoyment when God has to decree his judgments on the unrepentant. He wants to bless us, He wants to showcase His mercy and kindness, but there must be repentance. Our hearts must turn to His heart, and when we do, it will be met with grace indescribable.
Pastor Jason Witt
Jeremiah 29:12-13
In a letter that Jeremiah was writing to the captives, he was writing all that the Lord commanded him to write. In that letter, the Lord told the captives that though you are in captivity, the Lord has not forgotten you. They might not be able to do all their religious duties, but He can still hear their prayers. Their prayer and God’s answer were part of their future and hope.
This is great news because it reminds me that no matter where I am, God will listen to me. He is not a God that hides from us or is off at a distance. If we seek Him, we will find Him. It could be that today maybe you feel that God is not listening to you. May this be a reminder that when we call upon the name of the Lord, He will hear you and answer your prayers giving you a future and a hope.
Joshua Navarro
Philippians 1:12-14
Rather than complaining about what he has endured, Paul points to the Lord’s purpose for all that he had gone through — the furtherance of the gospel. He could have whined about a huge list of his trials and tribulations over the years. But instead Paul finds joy in the fact that through it all, God used this as an opportunity to preach the gospel.
Paul was there, chained in prison, for Christ’s sake. His chains are what opened the door to speak to people who would not otherwise have given him the time of day. He was chained to a Roman solider 24/7 and every six hours when the guard was changed, he had a new “captive” audience.
And the guards weren’t the only ones being ministered to. “Most of my brothers in the Lord have become confident because of my chains, boldly speaking without fear.” Enthusiasm begets enthusiasm, zeal inspires zeal, and Paul’s focus to serve Jesus inspired the church to “speak without fear.” Which would motivate you more, a leader who said, “Forward! Go get ’em guys!” or one who stepped out and said, “Follow me!?” Paul was a “follow me!” leader.
Pastor Doug Hardin
Romans 6:6
Having been set free from the bondage of sin, we are no longer to walk in it. Our former self has been crucified with Christ so that the body of sin might be destroyed. However, we often allow a part of the old man to stick around. We tell ourselves that it isn’t that bad or that we have it under control; we try to train it like it’s our little pet.
The reality is there is no part of sin that is good, sin wants to enslave and oppress you. Jesus died so that sin might be destroyed in our lives and we would be set free from it. As followers of Christ, we need to see to it that we are putting sin to death in all areas of our lives. Yes, there will still be times when we fall into sin, but when we do we are to pick ourselves up and continue to press on towards Christ. The ways of sin are enticing, but the more we walk in the freedom of Jesus, the more that body of sin is done away with.
For the King,
Pastor Daniel Batistelli
