Do you trust me? As your pastor, I hope I have earned your trust in the past year regarding the direction God is taking our church. Trust in each other helps us maintain our focus on a common goal—to win souls for Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, mankind is not infallible and trust sometimes disintegrates, or is taken away, from the strongest of human bonds. However, there is One who is trustworthy, who will protect us, who will stand beside us, who will keep our path straight (as long as we abide by the path), and who wants to spend eternity with us. Our series, “Under Cover”, continued this week with Psalms 91:1-2. In these scriptures, David writes of being in the shadow of God and finding refuge in Him, the One whom he trusts.
Now if we completely trust God, we should have no problem obeying God; for we understand that God has our best interests at heart (Jeremiah 29:11). Obeying God is a basic fundamental of knowing God—God and His inherent authority are inseparable. The following concept should grab you by the heart: to disobey God is to sin. We see this in the parable Jesus gives in Luke 14:16-24. God has invited many to fellowship with Him, but several have placed Him lower on their list of priorities. They have, in fact, refused His invitation—a simple act of disobedience. The result of this disobedience is separation from God, forever. If you would like to start obeying God, all it takes is an uncomplicated prayer. Just tell God you know you’re a sinner; that He gave His only son, Jesus, over to men; man crucified Him on a cross; but Jesus rose from the dead and gives us eternal life because of His resurrection. If you believe this in your heart and confess it with your mouth, you will be saved!
Christians are not immune to disobedience. We can be silently killed by its subtle nature. New and old Christians, alike, need to spend time with God on a daily basis, and we need to put more of the Word and less of the world in us. This routine preventative medicine for the soul will strengthen our hearts in the daily battles we face by the enemy. To ensure complete health, do not forget to get your routine vaccination of fasting and prayer to build a proper spirit within in you.
We are getting close to finishing the book of Revelation. We studied chapter 18 on Sunday evening, and looked at the relevance of the events that are to take place. In this chapter, John describes the destruction of Babylon. This is in reference to the destruction of the world governmental system and its commercialism, and the city, itself. We are given insight into the soul of this city-state system; “I sit as queen; I am not a widow, and I will never mourn” (verse 7). This pride is an abomination in the eyes of God, and grounds for her destruction. It is interesting to note that the angel in this chapter illuminated the earth with his splendor. The reasoning for this is simple; he just came out of the presence of God in heaven. By the way, that is also where we will be at this time. While we're on the subject, we are getting really close to reading about the new city of Jerusalem. Of all the incredible things John saw and wrote about, being in the presence of God for all eternity is one of the most exciting.
Have a blessed week,
Pastor Claude
Now if we completely trust God, we should have no problem obeying God; for we understand that God has our best interests at heart (Jeremiah 29:11). Obeying God is a basic fundamental of knowing God—God and His inherent authority are inseparable. The following concept should grab you by the heart: to disobey God is to sin. We see this in the parable Jesus gives in Luke 14:16-24. God has invited many to fellowship with Him, but several have placed Him lower on their list of priorities. They have, in fact, refused His invitation—a simple act of disobedience. The result of this disobedience is separation from God, forever. If you would like to start obeying God, all it takes is an uncomplicated prayer. Just tell God you know you’re a sinner; that He gave His only son, Jesus, over to men; man crucified Him on a cross; but Jesus rose from the dead and gives us eternal life because of His resurrection. If you believe this in your heart and confess it with your mouth, you will be saved!
Christians are not immune to disobedience. We can be silently killed by its subtle nature. New and old Christians, alike, need to spend time with God on a daily basis, and we need to put more of the Word and less of the world in us. This routine preventative medicine for the soul will strengthen our hearts in the daily battles we face by the enemy. To ensure complete health, do not forget to get your routine vaccination of fasting and prayer to build a proper spirit within in you.
We are getting close to finishing the book of Revelation. We studied chapter 18 on Sunday evening, and looked at the relevance of the events that are to take place. In this chapter, John describes the destruction of Babylon. This is in reference to the destruction of the world governmental system and its commercialism, and the city, itself. We are given insight into the soul of this city-state system; “I sit as queen; I am not a widow, and I will never mourn” (verse 7). This pride is an abomination in the eyes of God, and grounds for her destruction. It is interesting to note that the angel in this chapter illuminated the earth with his splendor. The reasoning for this is simple; he just came out of the presence of God in heaven. By the way, that is also where we will be at this time. While we're on the subject, we are getting really close to reading about the new city of Jerusalem. Of all the incredible things John saw and wrote about, being in the presence of God for all eternity is one of the most exciting.
Have a blessed week,
Pastor Claude
