Everywhere you turn people are looking for love, yet who else can love us the way God loves us. Many times we are too busy and too distracted to remember that the most important thing of all is love and how we express that love to others.
How does this happen in the church? We need to see one another as God does, glorified in Christ, instead of focusing on the faults and shortcomings of others. We need to focus on who they are in Jesus. That’s what God did for us, God expressed His perfect love to us through Jesus’ death on the cross, that by the power of the Holy Spirit, we may express that same love to others.
Jesus prayed to the Father, “I in them, You in ME, that they may be made perfect in one…” all so that the love of God might be seen by all.
Pastor Doug Hardin
Until we go home to the Lord, we are going to battle the flesh. Many times it is going to come down to which one you are feeding more. Are you feeding the flesh or are you feeding the Spirit? When you starve the flesh and don’t allow it to have dominion over you, you are fighting the good fight and you are pleasing the Lord. It is important to note the way we can have victory over the flesh, by living in the power of the Spirit. Stop depending on yourself, you can’t do it on your own. You can only put the flesh to death through the Spirit.
For the King,
Daniel Batistelli
Maybe you’ve told a friend that you would take a bullet for them because you love them. Paul’s love for the Jewish people takes it about one million steps further than taking a bullet for someone by saying that he would give up his salvation if he could and be damned to hell if the Jews would come to know Jesus.
That is a deep love that Paul only has because he shares the heart of Christ. If we are unwilling to sacrifice the little things in life for the sake of someone’s salvation, do we actually love them as Christ loves us? Be willing to sacrifice yourself so that others can see and know Jesus.
Blessings,
Pastor Sean Boehm
Chapter 39 ended with Joseph in prison, but being prospered in the Lord. As it so happens, two former servants of Pharaoh are in the same part of the prison with Joseph, who notices their downcast faces. He asks why they’re sad. It’s good that Joseph, going through his own difficulties, still finds time to care about others. This is a good lesson for us, because so many times we’re so focused on what’s getting us down, it ruins our day.
Those are the times we should look to others and their needs. As bad of time as you’re having, is it worse than those around you? Joseph, serving out his time in prison, prospered by the Lord, cares about his fellow prisoners.
Oh, how this speaks to me! Because I can get into a “Woe is me!” attitude and not care for the others around me. Yet God has put us here to serve with cheerful hearts, no matter our circumstances. Who needs God’s help today?
Lord, give me a servant’s heart,
Pastor Ron Kitchell
Oftentimes in our worship of God, we can get caught up in what He can give us rather than Who is He. It is great that we look to what the Lord provides for us because He is our Provider. But, it cannot be our sole focus.
This is the beginning of a doxology that Paul goes into after he spends about three chapters talking about God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility. In the context of this verse, I think it is a great thing to do what Paul is doing and ponder upon who God is. Just reflect on everything that God is and does. As Paul did that, it brought him to this conclusion and a place of wonderful worship of God. Have you sat and reflected upon who God is recently? Take some time today in scripture to reflect upon everything about God so, in the time of want, God alone is enough to sustain that need.
Blessings,
Pastor Sean Boehm
I have always been fascinated and so reinforced in my faith by seeing prophecy fulfilled in our time. These regions that were enemies of God and His people 2,500 years ago are still contending with Israel today. Tyre and Sidon is modern Lebanon and Philistia is the Gaza Strip. Today, Israel uses Joel 3:4 as their constant military strategy. When someone strikes them, they swiftly and speedily retaliate. This is why I love prophecy because through it, God proves over and over that what He says, He will do. Whether it is predicted hundreds or thousands of years before, it WILL happen.
What does that mean for us? All the glorious prophecies throughout the Bible about Jesus’ return are as sure as if they had already happened. So today let’s all take comfort in knowing that no matter how bad things get around us, Jesus is coming soon to set everything right.
Longing for His soon return,
Pastor Gerard Deleeuw
This psalm was written along with Psalm 43, as the same chorus is repeated in both. The subject is simple: an upward look for a downcast soul. The psalmist is in desperate straits and in the midst of despair and distress, he challenges himself time and again with what we read here in the above verse. Wrestling with his emotions and fears, he encourages himself to run to the safety of faith in God and His ways.
Let’s face it, sometimes our fears overwhelm our faith and we need to sternly give ourselves a lecture. Maybe this morning you need to remind yourself that God is able and will have His way with us and so we can rest and rejoice and have hope. Go read Psalm 43:5 and the conclusion of the writer. Be encouraged, God is at work for our good today!
Hoping in God!
Pastor Jack Abeelen
The breastplate of righteousness is the second piece of armor that Paul tells us to put on as we face the spiritual battles of life against our great enemy, Satan. A soldier, to keep his vital organs and bowels protected, would wear a breastplate of armor. Without this piece of armor, one simple blow could end his life if the impact damaged enough of these vital organs. In order for a Christian to spiritually put on the breastplate of righteousness, we need to walk in the righteousness that we have been given by Christ Jesus.
Much of the enemy’s battle strategy is to get inside our minds, to stir up false emotions, and tempt us to act on these lies or false premises. In Jewish tradition, the heart represented the mind and the will, while the bowels were the source of feelings. Hence, the breastplate is to protect those very vital areas.
For us to spiritually protect our mind and our emotions against the enemy, we must stand and walk in the righteousness that Christ has imparted to us. We must make the decision to obey the Lord and His Word because He has given us the power to do so. The minute we try and fight in our own righteousness or believe that Christ’s righteousness isn’t enough for us, we leave our mind and feelings vulnerable for attack and we lose. But when, by faith, we put on that righteousness that has been freely given to us at a great cost to our Lord, we can go into the battle with great confidence!
Pastor Jason Witt
You are not a mistake. God knew you from the very beginning. At just the right time, He created you and skillfully weaved you together in your mother’s womb. Then He brought you forth, breathed life into you, and destined you for His glory. And it is a wonderful thing. The angels in heaven rejoice over you, for you are fearfully and wonderfully made.
You shall live on the earth for a predetermined number of days. Whether you lived just a few hours, a few days, or over 90 years—it is all God’s infinite wisdom that determines the exact number of days you will live for His purposes and His glory. This is the rock-solid foundation upon which our life is built. It is all God’s amazing plan.
But what if I’m just not feeling it right now, or I don’t like it. What if I resent this amazing plan sometimes? What about my cancer, my children, my handicap…? There are no easy answers, but this psalm offers you hope, if you believe and embrace it. It offers you assurance that God is working His plan in you for His purposes. “I am the Vine,” Jesus said in John 15:1, “and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me… that bears fruit, He prunes that it may bear more fruit.” Pain is part of the plan.
Tom Day
Our hearts are deceitful and wicked. There are times where our hearts desire something that we think will bring us happiness. We tell ourselves we just need that one thing and it will fulfill our heart’s desire. Then we move on to the next thing. Well, what happened? Our hearts are deceitful.
It will often lead us astray without any conviction because we claim it came from our hearts. “My heart told me that I need to quit my job. My heart told me that I need to start a relationship knowing it’s not a good fit for me.” It will lead you to rebellion and no real conviction. We should measure our heart’s desire to God’s word and truth.
God knows our hearts better than we know our own hearts. This is why we need to be sure to line it up to what His word says. How will we know if our hearts are deceitful or if it’s something that God put there? Line it up with scripture.
Following God’s word, not my heart,
Joshua Navarro
