How incredible it is to know that the moment we place our faith in the Lord Jesus and give Him our lives, we receive complete forgiveness for all that would otherwise separate us from having a relationship with our Holy Father. It’s a done deal, sealed eternally by His Spirit. Though we may (will!) stumble along the course of our lives, His mercy never fails, His compassion never runs out.

Though we have been redeemed by His mighty hand, at times we are prone to wander from the close relationship we once shared with the Lord. Whether you have taken a few steps from His side or find yourself miles away from the God who redeemed you, know that He is ready to receive you back in His arms the moment that you turn to Him with a surrendered heart.

Believer, may we always remember that we belong to God. He paid to free us from slavery to sin with the blood of His Son, Jesus. How the Lord longs for us to return to Him every time we stray from the blessed relationship we enjoy in His loving care.

Jeff Deal

I know dads that will go all out for their kids, they will make time to take them to baseball practices and games, come home from work tired and hungry, but find time to throw the football around.

Paul reminds those in Thessalonica of the way he cared for them, as a good father encourages his son, only he did so for spiritual gain. ” That you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory,” Paul said. We exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children.

We are a family, the people of God, and as such we have a responsibility to one another to ensure that each of us would live up to their potential in Christ, not giving up on one another or growing weary in well doing. That we all would “walk worthy of Lord who calls us into His own kingdom and glory.”

Pastor Doug Hardin

Are you defeated in your life or are you walking in victory? The real question is are you living in sin? If you are living in sin, then you are living a defeated life. You cannot live in sin and have victory in Christ. You need to turn to the Lord and repent of sin and victory can be yours in Christ.

How many times did Israel disobey God and, as a result, their enemies had victory over them, but as soon they turned their hearts back to God and confessed their sins, He delivered them. Just as with us, it started with a little compromise and it would lead to a life of captivity and defeat. God has so much more in store for us. The Bible tells us that we are more than conquerors through Christ. If you find yourself walking in defeat, turn your heart back to the Lord and live a life of victory, regardless of your circumstances.

For the King,

Pastor Daniel Batistelli

Thought I would encourage all of us to really think of someone we can bless today with our words. It may be a co-worker, a fellow student, someone in our neighborhood, our church, or even in our own home. This Proverb is telling us that speaking to our fellow man; even things that might be difficult; are a blessing to the hearer when they are “fitly spoken,” which means with the right timing, intent, and tone. So pray about whom you might speak to today and ask the Lord to give you the words that will be a blessing and adornment to your listener.

Not just what we say but how we say it,

Pastor Gerard Deleeuw

One mistake people make about the Lord is He’s good with whatever people want to do. He’s accepting of all things, because a God of love wouldn’t judge others for their behavior.

The Corinth church certainly acted like that’s the God they served. Their church services had no order, with everyone talking at the same time and interrupting the Word being taught. Paul told them in 1 Corinthians 14:33, God is not the author of confusion.

When I teach a Sunday School class, I make sure there’s some order to the class so that the children there can hear God’s word clearly. If I let the kids do what they wanted, no one would ever hear the word. They’d be too busy playing and talking.

The same goes for the adult church. It’s meant to be a place run decently and with order so that God’s word can penetrate the hearts of the people. May we follow the direction of our God in Heaven.

Pastor Ron Kitchell

After Jesus ascended into heaven, the apostles had been gathering and preaching the gospel in the temple. Through their preaching, God was greatly adding souls to the church. The high priest and leadership were displeased with this, and therefore put the apostles in prison. During the night, God sent an angel to free the apostles and to command them to go back to the temple and preach Jesus. When the leadership discovered the apostles preaching in the temple again, they peacefully brought the apostles back to the council, and reminded the apostles that they had been commanded not to preach Jesus, to which they replied, “We ought to obey God rather than man.” This infuriated the council who then discussed their options behind closed doors. Today’s scripture passage is the approach that was proposed by Gamaliel and agreed upon by the council.

With the hindsight of 2,000 years, we clearly see the outcome of this event. The apostles were not perpetuating the work of men; they were preaching the good news of the risen Christ, and by the Holy Spirit, people were coming to a saving relationship with God. The gospel is the work of God, and as Gamaliel said, it cannot be overthrown. Every Christian is going to face opposition when sharing Jesus with others, and in comparison with church history, the western church faces minimal push back. May we be emboldened to share the gospel and love of Christ, and may we be reminded and encouraged that the work is God’s and that He will prevail.

Jeff Mericle

I love the way Paul does not sugarcoat sober realities, and humbly admits his personal experience. From Romans 7:13 to its end, Paul describes in excruciating detail the experience we have all gone through time and again.

But it doesn’t change the fact that, though a sincere follower of Christ, I continue to grapple with temptations to sin, even though I delight in the word in my inner man (Romans 7:22). I see another more sinister law in my flesh that constantly wars against the law in my mind that reaches its evil tentacles around me, pulling me into its grip.

Paul wrote Romans 6 to teach us that we must never give in to the constant barrage of fleshly temptations. “Do not let sin reign in your mortal bodies!” he exhorts us. There he helps us not to be deceived into ceasing to fight against sin, not to let it reign in our mortal bodies. In chapters 7 and 8, he gives us hope that though we’ve fought and fought hard, we should not sink into existential despair when we fail, for there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.

Yes, we are wretched sinners, but God has clothed us with His clean, white robes of righteousness. Blessed be His name.

Tom Day

It’s always good to be reminded of the Lord’s ability to be everywhere at all times. It can be so discouraging at times when you see the evil deeds of men not see justice. Where people harm other people and they profit from it. But God sees it all and He will balance the scales and exercise justice in His proper time. This knowledge provides me comfort because I don’t have to go around trying to fix every wrong. Rather I can focus my energy on sharing God’s truth, preaching repentance, and sharing God’s message of hope by offering them God’s forgiveness of sins at the expense of Jesus on the cross.

Vengeance is not ours; it is the Lord’s (Romans 12:19), so let’s get out there and do the good that God has prepared beforehand that we should walk in (Ephesians 2:10). He sees that, too!

Pastor Jason Witt

Each of us has built, is building, or will attempt to build a variety of things throughout our lives. Whether it be a career, a relationship, a marriage, or a family, we build over time and then we seek to protect that which we have invested our time in.

When we work solely by way of self-sufficiency, we are working in the dark, out of sync with God’s plans and purposes for good. When we seek to ensure that the Lord be the master builder of all that we undertake, we can be confident that He will establish a lasting result that is solid and true. While we are to remain watchful over all that is in our care, it is in God’s hands that we must ultimately place our reliance for security.

This morning, let’s keep this verse in mind and take a moment to seek the Lord’s guidance before hammering the first nail of the day. With God’s direction, we have the opportunity to make something built to last.

Jeff Deal

The Feast of Tabernacles was an eight-day feast, to remember how the Lord had provided for His people in the wilderness. As the people would gather at the steps of the temple, the priests would fill up big pitchers of water and bring them to the steps, pouring them out as the people sang about the coming Messiah. On the eighth day, they would go to the pool to fill the pitchers, but instead would leave them empty, turning them over on the steps but with no water coming out. It would represent how God brought them to the promised land, with rivers and streams to drink from.

So now Jesus stands up on the eighth day and cries out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” As the people were crying out for water in the wilderness, Moses beat on the rock and life-giving water came forth. Here Jesus says, “If you’re thirsty, come to me, and I will give you life.” He was beaten, He suffered, and died so we might live.

John adds here that, “He spoke concerning the Spirit, that those who believed in Him would receive.” The Holy Spirit that would bring new life to the believer and would flow from the life of those who believe as we live this new life for our Savior.

Pastor Doug Hardin