I am Yours

Psalm 119:94 "Save me, for I am yours; I have sought out your precepts."

The three words, 'I am Yours' are beautiful to me. We often think of them in the romantic sense of giving oneself to someone in marriage for all of life. Or, as a dedicated offering to a friend to commit to helping. One of the most sacrificial acts in all of life for example, is to help someone move. It could be said that, " greater love has no man, than that they help a friend move.":) Those who have given this type of help or received it know of what I speak. Both indeed precious acts of love, but compare those to an eternal commitment between us individually and God...... no comparison. As much commitment, grit, sacrifice and love as it takes to be married or help somebody move, the surrender to God that says, 'I am Yours', is so much deeper.

Are you His? Do you really belong to Him? Have you sought out His precepts and based on faith in His truth decided that only He can save you and you are His? That kind of total commitment is the most amazing relationship of all. We probably need to make the 'I am Yours' statement almost every day. Why? It is so easy to get wrongly connected to so many different things in life. When 'we are His' it means that we belong to nobody else. The job doesn't own us. The phone isn't in charge. Our fears don't rule us. Our passions don't control us. Circumstances don’t dictate our feelings and literally nothing separates us from His love. That is not only spiritually true, it is also functionally true.

I must remind myself of my belonging to Him regularly for another reason also. Sometimes I get to thinking that I somehow have more control in my life than I should or do. Oh, I have responsibility for my choices and am personally accountable for what I do and say, but I am His. Knowing this, sets me free from the temptation to allow other things including me to take over. That gives me some peace and hope. I should be overjoyed to let Him have control.

You see, when I give Him ultimate say so and total sway over everything in my life, I am freed up to enjoy everything He leads me through and to do. If only He can save me, I probably ought to trust Him with everything else too. Makes sense doesn't it? We can sure trust Him because He is completely trustworthy. This freedom is one of the main principles of my life. When I am walking in the Spirit, aware that I am His and conscious of my surrender to Him, I can be free. Free to enjoy, free to experience, free to respond and free to give and love and serve and a whole host of other wonderful things. I encourage us today to say once again to the Lord, 'I am Yours'. I love you God.

His, Pastor Fred

Dried up and Cracked

Psalm 119:83 "Though I am like a wineskin in the smoke, I do not forget your decrees."

With just a little bit of research, or some decent deductive thinking we can figure out what smoke would do to a wineskin. Wineskins can get old with time and neglect alone, much less with the harsh elements of life taking their toll on them. Our spiritual lives are like wineskins and in order for us to stay fresh spiritually the wine must be used and replaced regularly and the wineskin needs to be protected from the elements and oiled up from time to time. If exposed to too much smoke it will indeed dry out and crack, especially if not oiled regularly and with old wine going stale in it. This is rich for illustration. Think about all the implications this has in your life.

We must take care of our spiritual self, much as we do our physical self. Without food, air, water, rest and activity we can starve, suffocate, get dehydrated, burned out and shut down. In the same way we spiritually must get enough food (Word of God), air, (Prayer), water (Streams of Refreshing), rest, (Reflection) and activity, (Fellowship) in order to thrive, or even survive. This is not rocket science or brain surgery here, just wise thinking.

Trouble comes, ever since Adam, smoke and even fire come through our lives and we get dry and cracked or worse and our spiritual lives are at risk. Such is life. Note what the verse says at the end though. The Psalmist says that no matter what happens... "I will not forget your decrees". What we experience, no matter how drastic or frightening, it does not change the truth of God's Word. The writer here infers that he has become like a wineskin that is dry and cracked from being exposed to too much smoke, he still does not forget the truth. That helps him keep writing and living.

We can learn from his experience. Uhhhhh, where there is smoke there is fire, so keep your distance. Take care of your spiritual self. In every circumstance, remember, the Word is always the source of truth and guidance. Are you feeling a little dry and cracked today? Take the necessary steps for restoration. Get into the Word, Pray, Get Refreshed, Reflect and Fellowship. Before you know it you'll be oiled up and ready for the 'new wine' of what God would love to do in your life. After all, like it says in the New Testament, can't put new wine in old wineskins. Let God renew your wineskin today. Be a vessel for His uses and purposes and watch what amazing things can happen in your life.

In His Service, Pastor Fred

Ray Beeman is "on"

Our Friday Devotion comes to us from Council Member, Ray Beeman:

One of my daily devotionals last week got me to thinking about His name. That day’s devotional was about the clause in verse 3 of the 23rd Psalm: "For His name’s sake". We sing songs at Grace Harbor celebrating His name, and it’s an important tradition here. Let me borrow from the devotional:

Ever ask, "How could God use someone like me?" The Psalmist answers, "For His name’s sake" Only one name matters, and it’s not yours. With the same intensity that God hates pride, He loves humility. His Word says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble" James 4:6 Don’t be like the beaver who told the rabbit, as they stared at the immense wall of Hoover Dam "No, I didn’t actually build it, but it was based on an idea of mine." One ought "… not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith" Rom. 12:3 Then there is the story of one of Charles Spurgeon’s students, who proudly stepped up to preach but came back down having failed miserably. Spurgeon said "if you’d only gone up the way you came down, you’d have come down the way you went up." God blesses our efforts only when they’re done "for His name’s sake."

Of the many references to "His name", consider these:

Matt. 18:20 "For where two or three are gathered in My name, I am there in the midst of them."

John 1:12 "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name."

Acts 3:6 [Peter, talking to the lame man] "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.

Acts 3:16 [the rest of the story] "And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong…"

Acts 4:12 "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

Phil. 2:9-11 "Therefore God also has exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every other name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Col. 3:17 "And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." [whether a rabbit, a preacher, or you]

Feeling small now, but blessed, thankful to be able to use His name and not mine, and thrilled to have beautiful, precious Scriptures to carry with me through the day,

Brother, Ray Beeman

Glad to See You

Psalm 119:74 "May those who fear you rejoice when they see me, for I have put my hope in your Word."

What do people think or feel as an initial impression when they encounter you? Kind of a tough question. I mean, do we actually know on a scale of 1 to 10 what the response score is to each of us as we encounter people on an everyday basis?

Two observations before I delve into this a little more. Seems to me that some of us are running around without any perception at all of what kind of an effect we have on everybody or anybody for that matter. I am sure there are some who don't care, (or say they don't), what anybody thinks and as one person told me not long ago, "That is their problem!" Wow, I guess it would be. Please understand I am not promoting hypersensitivity to what everybody is thinking or feeling to the degree that we all walk on eggshells all the time. Too many folks demand that all the time already.

What I am suggesting in actuality here is some heightened conscientiousness, not rampant self-conscience. Put simply, I want people to see me and rejoice in the Lord. I don't want people to see me and have a sense of dread or discomfort. When people see me I hope they know, I put my hope in the Lord and for that they rejoice. Once again, I am not saying that everybody has to be overjoyed with us at all times, but especially among us believers, seeing other believers ought to bring us some degree of joy, comfort and hope.

On Sundays, I often say to people that I am glad to see them. I sincerely mean that. Humbly put, I am always thankful that anyone shows up and truly joyful to see people at Grace Harbor for worship. In the same way, I am glad when I encounter people in public or hear from people via email or the phone or especially a letter. We recently received a letter from a friend we had not heard from in many years and it was a big blessing to be back in touch. I think written correspondence is especially appreciated these days. So, two levels of this. How do you respond to people and how do they respond to you. I think some more graciousness could be in order. We surely don't want to give off vibes of being cold or snooty or put-off, when we should be joyful, glad and kind. On the other hand, we sure don't want to be obnoxious, overwhelming or all-consuming, so as to bring out the worst responses in people either. Can you see both sides of it?

Hey, here is an interesting scenario. How about if all those who don't know what a pain in the neck they are get teamed up with those who are rudely insensitive to almost everybody? Hopefully, none of us fall in both categories. The potential for trouble is staggering. Back to the verse, because it really says it well. Let me paraphrase, and add a closing point. I sure hope my hope in the Lord and His Word shows and causes people to rejoice as I return that blessing to them. We Christians ought to be enjoying the experience of seeing each other way more often than we do.

See you soon in Him, Pastor Fred

HIS Love Never Fails

Psalm 119:76 "May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant."

In the Psalms, God's unfailing love is referred to over and over again. It is truly a comfort to know that God's love will never fail. Everything else can and will fail. People fail, stock markets fail, brakes fail, health fails, but, God's love cannot fail. Why? One, because it is unconditional. Two, because it is perfect. Three, because God says it won't and He hasn't lied to us yet. Isn't that, by itself, an interesting fact? As often as we refer to the enemy as the father of lies we should at the same time refer to God as the Father of Truth. This is what is so refreshingly comforting about His love. It is totally based in truth. He really, actually, honestly loves us... completely, perfectly, unconditionally and without conditions. THAT is comforting.

On top of that, He promises His servants, (referring to us by the way) that He will always love us, til the end (since we are going to live forever with Him, it will be an extra long time). When this promise is made to us servants, if you for some reason are concerned  by the definition of servant or you have a hard time identifying with the title, look at it this way. You are a servant of His, just by being a believer. Now, you may be a faithful servant or a lousy servant. That is between you and Him. But, we are all servants.

The promise this verse reminds me of is the one from Deuteronomy 31:6, repeated a couple more times in the Old Testament before it is quoted in Hebrews 13:5b "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." We all love that verse and quote it often. Right off hand though, we are not as familiar with the first part of that verse which says, "Keep your lives free from the love of money, be content with what you have, because God has said," (then part B of the verse that we like so much). Isn't it interesting what we memorize from the Bible? Equally interesting is what we conveniently tend to forget. We, too often try to get our comfort from money and the things it can buy. Only His unfailing love can give us real comfort. It is His love that compels Him to save us. His forgiveness and mercy come from His great love. His unfailing love will be ours throughout eternity. How comforting to know.

Contentment can be ours if we learn how to accept that the most important thing we need, is already ours. His love. Knowing God loves me and really applying His promises to my life and my choices frees me up from so much of the anxiety and worry and stress that come from my feelings. If God has promised me He will take care of me, never leave me, never forsake me and give me His unfailing love, what else do I need in order to be His servant? I am comforted just now considering His great love for us. Oh, how he wants us to accept His promises and depend on Him, instead of our own plans and schemes. We have much to learn in this area of life. Let's keep looking at His Word in the weeks ahead and see how He reveals Himself, His ways and His truth to us.

In His Word,  Pastor Fred 

Dead to Sin but Alive To God

“In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life IN Jesus Christ, our Lord.” Romans 6:11-13, 23

Have you noticed what our current society does with the issue of “sin”. People don’t like to be told they are “sinning”…. It makes them feel bad, guilty, ashamed (as if that’s a bad thing). So, what is the solution? Stop the sinning? Not according to the world. Instead of following God’s rules for living, Man simply re-defines it, sugar coats it, white washes it to look like something else. We have begun a fast descent down a slippery slope in this day and age because we have moved from a plumb-line point of absolute truth to a situational rule of human mentality. Have you ever sat through a philosophy class, and the teacher asked you those silly scenarios like: “Is stealing always wrong? What if it’s a mother with a starving child? What if the person needs to steal a car so that they can drive their dying family member to the emergency room?” The motivation behind these questions is to get you to consider that perhaps “ extenuating circumstances” can justify abandoning or redefining the “law” enabling you to break the rules guilt-free, instead of helping you find a solution within God’s provision. For the mother with the starving child… how about helping them find support from a local food bank, church or government program? For the person with the need to go to the hospital, why not call 911 and get assistance through the low income family plans available at the hospital? Man’s attempt to redefine sin is actually an illustration of what sin really is- deception. If people can convince themselves that things that once were identified as “sin” really aren’t that bad or not their fault, but something else, then they can walk around participating in “sin” without the guilt or fear of consequences. Television and media promote this, the judicial system protects this, the schools “re-educate” our next generations, sadly some churches promote this… and we as Bible believing Christians sit by and find ourselves like the proverbial frog-in-the-kettle… slowly boiling our consciences to death. Do you want Examples? In our modern times, we have begun to refer to the following “sins” with new more welcoming and politically acceptable terminology:

Homosexuality- alternative lifestyle- someone is “born” that way
Alcoholism- Disease
Gambling/Lotteries- possibility to meet a financial need
Euthanasia (mercy killing)- an act of love
Abortion- a woman’s right, “Pro-Choice”
Lust- love
Pornography- art
Lying- misspeaking
Dishonesty- shrewdness
Car-theft- joy riding
Cursing/obscenity- emphatic speech/freedom of speech or expression
Murder- justified due to victim of previous atrocities

This list is endless ….. but remember, just because people attempt to conceal or redefine sin so that they don’t feel bad about continuing to live in it, it doesn’t change the fact that IT IS STILL SIN in God’s Eyes. Proverbs 28:13 says, “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” It is bad enough to deny what Scripture teaches and how sin is defined according to GOD’s perspective, but if we continue to allow people to dismiss, redefine, justify and tolerate sin as not really that serious then something much more insidious is slowly taking place: the devil is slowly eroding away our faith and convincing man that there is no need for the Son of God to bear our sin and the Biblical doctrine of salvation is vanishing away even in our Christian society where social topics are being preached from the pulpit rather than the reality of an eternity in hell (a real place) separated from God forever. It started at the very beginning when God had made it clear that Adam and Eve were not to eat of the one tree in the Garden, and yet as Eve considered the fruit, the serpent contradicted God’s directive and assured her that she would not die…. AND the devil is still whispering in the ears of those who are listening: “You will not die”, after God has clearly told you that the wages of sin is death….

People of God, when are we going to wake up and realize that Sin is still Sin in God’s Eyes, no matter what our society tries to redefine it as. His Word clearly defines sin, it gives you many lists of things we are told to avoid and not allow to be within our lifestyles, our attitudes, or our homes.

“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming.” Colossians 3:5-6

“Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:19-21

What is sin? Do we even know these days???

Sin is basically your wishes and desires over God’s, or another way to look at it is: Sin is putting yourself above all others even God. Sin is simply rebellion against God and disobedience to the laws of God. When God gave us His rules to live by, they were given to us to protect us, to help us live healthy, productive lives in fellowship with one another and with Him. Just like being a parent, we have rules for our children so that they will grow and live safely. A parent would not allow their child to play in the street because there are dangers there, cars drive there and the child is too small to understand that at first, but needs to obey that rule for his own safety and well being. If that child doesn’t want to follow the rule, and wants to chase his ball out into the street, disastrous outcomes will occur. The child needs to trust his parent to know what’s best for him. God’s laws are also like the rules for driving a car… if we didn’t have laws to govern our driving activities, there would be chaos on the streets and highways of our world, not only for us but all others on the road at the same time as us. What if people suddenly decided to ignore all the stop signs at intersections…. Or wanted to drive on the wrong side of the freeway… if you don’t think that would be a challenge, try driving in a foreign country where there are NO stop signs or signals at intersections (and people DO drive on the wrong side of the road!)…. You literally take your life into your own hands when you get behind the wheel of a car and attempt to drive anywhere in such circumstances…. The same is true with our choosing to sin…. When we decide that we know better than God what is best for our lives, and we make our own rules and ignore God’s directives…. then sooner or later, we will head into intersections with no protection or understanding of the outcome.

Brothers and sisters, we need to make a decision: Are we going to continue rebelling against the laws of God? Are we going to continue “renaming” sin so that God’s grace may abound… Paul says, “May it never be!” Are we going to believe what the world/devil says about sin, or are we going to follow God’s definition of sin? God hates sin, there are consequences to a life of sin and God makes that very clear in His Word, sin separates us from a holy God, but He has made provision for forgiveness through Jesus Christ, His only Son. When are we going to realize that our actions deeply hurt God’s heart and that we need to REPENT (turn and go a different direction)! “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:9 Halleluiah, we are saved by grace, not by works, not by ourselves but only through the power of the Cross, but we have a responsibility to live a life that is pleasing unto the Lord. Let’s stop redefining sin, and start following God’s guidelines and living victoriously for Christ in ALL areas of our lives so we can be the examples to the world of what Christians should be… dead to sin, but alive to God!

Sister, Lahoma

Psalm 119:71

Psalm 119:71 "It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees."

You probably can guess where I might be headed with this verse from the next section of Psalm 119. I am enjoying immensely slowing down the reading and studying of the longest chapter in the Bible because it is showing me just how important it is to relate everything that happens in life to His Word. In every section the writer refers to the Word of God by it's many different names. In this particular eight verses, Psalm 119:65-72, the terms; Your Word (2 times), commands, decrees (2 times), precepts, law (2 times) are all used to describe the Bible. This style of writing keeps our attention and doesn't allow us to just gloss over the passage. Very effective when you slow down a little.

At first reading, verse 71 jumped off the page at me. This is a truth that we all know, but is still very hard to accept. Some of my greatest understandings of life, some of my true breakthroughs and epiphanies have come during times of affliction. Not just physical affliction, but emotional affliction and spiritual affliction too. What comes to mind right now is a season of my life from my early 20's when I was eventually bedridden with a case of mononucleosis. At first, I though I was just worn out, then I thought I had the flu, then I started to worry that something really serious was wrong with me. I remember the doctor asking me......"when did this start?" I informed him that I had felt poorly for several weeks and he let me know that I was going to feel poorly for several more weeks if I didn't curtail all activity and go to bed. I knew I was headed for trouble and I took counsel immediately.

So, I went home to Mom's, where I could get some decent food and a little TLC. About three weeks later I pulled around and got well. In those three down weeks I had some of the most refreshing personal times with the Lord of my whole life. I rested, I studied, I prayed, I wrote, I followed the doctor's instructions. God used that time in my life to refocus me and to prepare me for the next ministry change in my life. Early on, I would have never said that affliction was good for me. Once I accepted the prescription of bed rest, the affliction was actually, very good for me. I learned much more easily, because God had my undivided attention. No distractions and no excuses. Sometimes in life we need to get slowed down, and affliction is one way of that happening, so we can listen and learn.

Most people seem to have issues at the extremes. Either folks can't slow down or they can&'t get it in gear. We seem to gravitate into one of two categories; those who are in overdrive and those who are in park. For me.... I need to park it every once in a while so I don't burn out my overdrive. :) For others, they need to get it into gear so they don't completely stall out and start growing weeds under it. How about you? Are you afflicted? What is God trying to teach you through that? Are you in hyper overdrive and need to pull over at the spiritual Rest Area before you crash and burn? Or, are you in permanent park, and need a swift kick in the behind (ok, ok... or a hug) to get you going? Whichever is your case, God can teach us at afflicted times. Some of us desperately need some good affliction.

Someone recently told me that they were having a great deal of success in their life by way more often doing exactly opposite of what they would normally do. Hmmmmm ... interesting point. Maybe your overdrive or your permanent park is your affliction. Hmmmm. My counsel today is to talk to God about it. Ask Him what is going on for you. Who knows, maybe you will find out you are in reverse and really are headed for trouble. God will put you in the gear you need if you ask Him for His help. Hope this helps.

In Him,  Pastor Fred 

THE SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE OF DAILY DEVOTIONS

Our Friday Devotion comes to us from Council Member, Lahoma Ballester:

2 Corinthians 8:7 “But as you abound in everything--in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us--see that you abound in this grace also.”

Paul was encouraging the church in Corinth with this passage, and identifying their strengths. They had asked how they could support the work, and he was explaining that they were doing so much already in their maturity, but yet they could abound even more! The point of this passage of Scripture is NOT to guilt us into "doing more" out of a sense of duty, obligation, or fear. I believe it is more of a reminder not to become comfortable where we are in our walk with God. There are always areas to consider, ways we need to grow, disciplines we're possibly neglecting, or perhaps things in our hearts that aren't quite right. Whether you’re a seasoned saint or a new believer, we all have the need to go DEEPER with the Lord.

The best way to know which areas of your life you need to focus on is not to compare yourself with others, but to slow down a bit and allow the Lord to speak into your life regarding areas that need attention. One of the best ways to do that is to spend time daily in the Word. This is one of the areas in my own Christian life that suffers due to time constraints and over planned daily schedules is my private time with the Lord. It is not hard to sit down and work on bible studies or read books, but I must confess that it is harder and harder these days to simply carve out a set time each day to have my own private devotions with my Heavenly Father, whether at the beginning of the day (it’s sometimes REALLY hard to even get up an extra 15 minutes), or the end of the day (worn out, exhausted, home late, etc. etc.). When this element is lacking in my Christian disciplines, my spiritual life suffers, it is easier to get frustrated with life, to not respond in a way that God wants me to, and to forget the great resources of God’s Word when it comes to applying it to my circumstances. Lately, my dear sisters who mentor with me and I have been keeping each other accountable to read from God’s Word every single day, and it has been a real blessing to me. I get up early, I have a designated place where I sit and read a chapter from the gospels, and then a short chapter from a devotional book, and then spend a few minutes in quiet prayer before I move on into my crazy day. I highly recommend that you find a way to do this every day. If you are not finding time to do this, I want to challenge each of you to try this for a 30 day period and see how it impacts your life in fresh ways. There is no set standard of what a daily devotional time should look like, its really just between you and the Lord. If you have never done this before, here are 7 simple tips that will help you develop the basics elements of a solid devotional into the custom plan that's right for you.

1. Decide On a Time. View your time spent alone with God as an appointment to be kept in your daily calendar, if you do this, you will be less apt to miss or skip it. Remember, there is no “right” and “wrong” time of day. I prefer having my devotions first thing in the morning as this is the least likely time of day for an interruption. I seldom receive a call or have someone at my front door at 6:00 a.m. Whatever time of day you choose, let it be the best time of day for you. Perhaps a lunch break fits better into your agenda. Maybe at the end of your day, it is better to spend time focused on God’s Word before you go to sleep so that its truth lingers in your mind as you sleep.

2. Choose a Place. Finding the right place is key to your success. If you try to spend quality time with God lying in bed with the lights off, failure is inevitable. I decided to make a place specifically for my devotions. I chose a comfortable chair with a good reading light. Next to it I put a basket with all of my "tools" - my Bible, pen, devotional book and praise music as I read. When I get up in the morning, I simply get my cup of coffee, and then go to my place and everything is ready.

3. Choose a Time Frame. You have to decide how much time you can realistically commit to each day. Getting started with 15 minutes a day can quickly develop into more. Some people can commit to 30 minutes, others an hour or more a day. Start with a realistic goal that you feel you can meet.

4. Choose a Bible Reading Plan or Bible Study. This may take some time, but choosing a Bible reading plan or study guide will aid you in having a more focuses time of reading and study. If you just pick up your Bible and start reading randomly each day, you may have a difficult time understanding what you read, or applying it to your daily life. I recommend that you start with one of the gospels. Listen to the words of Jesus. Meditate on the power of HIS spoken words. Carry them with you for the day. You may also choose a devotional book that gives you a verse and a small portion of commentary so that you can think about new perspectives or be reminded of truths that you may have forgotten. The Christian Bookstore has many to choose from.

5. Spend Some Time in Prayer. Prayer is simply two-way communication between you and God. Talking to Him, telling Him about your struggles and cares and then listening for His voice. Some Christians don’t realize prayer includes listening. Remember to give Him time to speak to you in His still small voice {I Kings 19:12}.

6. Consider Spending Some Time in Worship. God has created us to praise Him. I Peter 2:9 says, “But you are a chosen people ... belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” You can express your praises silently or declare them in a loud voice. Try starting your devotional time with Psalm 5:1-3 "Give ear to my words, oh Lord. Consider my meditation. Harken unto the voice of my cry, my King and my God, for unto Thee will I pray, my voice shall Thou hear in the morning… oh Lord, in the morning will I direct my prayers unto Thee and will look up.” Such a gentle and wonderful way to start the day, wouldn’t you say? You may even want to play a quiet worship CD in the background during your devotional time. God inhabits the praises of His people, so let worship be a part of your private time with the Lord.

7. Commit to Follow Your Daily Devotional Plan. Keeping your commitment is probably the hardest part of getting started. Determine in your heart to keep it up, even when you fail or miss a day. Rather than beating yourself up when you mess up, just pray and ask God to help you. And, be sure to start over the next day. The rewards you will experience as you grow deeper in love with God will definitely be worth it!

Helpful Tips:

1. Keep working at your daily devotional plan for 21 days. By then it should become a habit and part of your regular routine.

2. Pray for God to give you the desire and the discipline to spend time with him each day.

3. Don’t give up. Eventually you will discover the joys and blessings of your obedience.

4. Find someone to hold you accountable in this discipline. Maybe pray for your accountability partner, and then occasionally check with one another to be sure you are staying faithful to the commitment of daily private devotions.

5. Be flexible. There may be times that it just isn’t possible to have your planned devotional time. When that happens, either change your plan to a later time in the day, or just start fresh on the next. If it happens too often, perhaps you need to re-evaluate your plan for devotions and find a more successful time in your schedule.

I pray for God to richly bless you as you commit to spending one-on-one time with Him. He is waiting to meet with you, He is longing to sit with you and show you His amazing ways as revealed in His Word.

Shalom, sister Lahoma

Personal Inventory

Psalm 119:59 "I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes."

Personal inventories are a moral necessity. We must regularly take a good, long hard look at ourselves. When the Psalmist says he has considered his ways I take it like this. I know the way I am capable of being. I know the way I sometimes go. I know the way my head gets twisted around and the way I handle myself in difficult situations. I have to consider myself knowing that God knows me completely better and face Him. Usually facing Him means I need to turn at least a little.

Objective self analysis is a healthy thing I think. There are two steps involved in looking at oneself. First is to make every attempt to see ourselves from God's perspective. My experience is that He is both more realistic and more compassionate. That may not be how it happens for you, but as for me, when I take that good, long, hard look, I want to do so standing before my loving God. He knows me through and through and loves me still and all.

No wonder the second step is to turn our steps toward His statutes. After all, it is His Word that is our guide to our steps. He is directing my path as much as I let Him and when I follow Him according to His Word I tend to stay a lot closer to Him. This verse is written in the past tense. Having considered my ways, I have turned my steps. Though the verse is retrospective, I think we should consider it in a prospective way, since that is a totally needed perspective.

I leave with you with this thought. Consideration is a prayerful process that should be done in the presence of Him. He will show us what we need to look at and consider if we will give Him the opportunity. Often I start to turn toward Him more just considering the need to consider my ways. However you get it done, get it done more often. If I don't consider my ways, my ways tend to take over and they tend to pull me far away from where He would like to lead my steps. Most important step actually is the first step. First step is to realize that we should be more considerate of our ways. That will make us more considerate in general and will keep us in closer fellowship with Him. Hope you have a wonderful day, full of directed steps in the right directions. The more we consider His Word the more likely we will follow Him more closely. So..... step by step today. Thank you for your consideration.

In His Steps, Pastor Fred

Psalm 119:53

Psalm 119:53 "Indignation grips me because of the wicked, who have forsaken your law.

There is a compelling quote from Edmund Burke that says...."All that is needed for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing." Those words have always convicted me. The Psalmist here is expressing his negative response to evil, wickedness and sin. I am sure you are aware of the forsaken position of our country because we have turned from God and it is overwhelming. Everywhere we turn, the standards are being lowered and the tolerance of ungodly behavior is running rampant. No wonder this is happening, because we do nothing. I am not suggesting that you say something outlandish, or pick a fight, but sometime, say something. I am not suggesting that you take up arms, but I am suggesting that not to respond is to respond. The age of political correctness is upon us like a plague and we have almost become numb enough that we are not even offended by the most egregious of sins.

I think it would be very fresh if we were to begin again to hold up the banner of righteousness. I think it is time to return to a movement of accountability in our churches. I think it is time to call sin, SIN and to draw some lines and establish some decency boundaries. We have become too lax and too accepting of what is wrong and against God's will. Please note here that the Psalmist does not say that the wicked make him indignant. Instead he says that indignation grips him because of the wicked, inferring that it is what they do. In our effort to not judge people we are allowing to let sin happen without comment. Call out the sin, the spirit will call out the sinner.

So here is our challenge. How do we do this? The next time someone uses God's name profanely, at least grimace, or better yet, suggest that it is not necessary. The next time you see dishonesty or littering or children being chastised mercilessly.... at least look surprised or maybe say ... 'come on now'. We seemingly don't want to get involved or to put ourselves in any awkward position. To an extreme though, don't you think? You don't have to grab somebody or overreact, but at least respond. The last time I heard vulgarity that was way over the top I gave a big theatrical reaction of 'Owie!!!' and the perpetrator apologized, which I accepted and affirmed them for their conscience.

Recently, I spotted a road rage situation developing where someone driving a big truck was cut off by a driver who didn't see them and they and their passenger started hand gesturing and yelling and driving erratically and tailgating, and then pulled up alongside the other car and cussed them out. I was hugely uncomfortable with the situation, ready to report the truck driver by getting their license number, when we got close enough to make eye contact to try to diffuse the escalating conflict, I realized that I knew the truck driver. They didn't see me, but I saw them and felt bad that I couldn't get their attention, because I knew if they saw me, they would back it down. For several blocks I tried to intervene, but alas, the errant car driver took the freeway and the truck driver kept barreling down the road, still yelling until out of sight. What an awkward scene. I intend to speak with my friend when I see them again. Such a bad witness.

Among believers I think we need to say 'bad witness' a lot more. Among the godless, we should speak the truth in love too. Better than doing nothing. We should feel indignation towards sin and some kind of godly response towards wickedness and misbehavior of all kinds. Start with the appropriate response to your own misbehavior and work on it from there. We can make a difference. Don't shrink into oblivion when stuff happens. Ask God to give you the right words to speak, then be bold.

Take care and be careful,
Pastor Fred

Psalm 119:45

Psalm 119:45 "I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts."

Have you ever had that exhilarating feeling of being totally free? If you haven't, I hope you do someday, because there is absolutely nothing like it. When it happens you must have the following three components:

1) Anxious for Nothing
2) The Peace that Passes Understanding
3) Unfathomable Joy

I have experienced this amazing freedom a number of times in my life, once just recently. It came as I was returning from Arizona one hot afternoon and in the face of difficult circumstances I started singing one of my favorite songs from the 60's and praying thankfulness for life in general and all of a sudden, everything was lifted off me. I was literally floating (trust me, even though I don't have air conditioning in the Volvo, it wasn't heatstroke), a wonderful peace came over me and I began praising God with untethered joy. Before I knew it my circumstance had changed and my anxieties were gone and my heart was full of love.

I know I am an unusual character, but I believe this experience is available to all of us, if we connect to the other side of the equation from Psalm 119:45. The first part of this verse is easy enough to understand..... I will walk about in freedom, we get what that means, but how do we get to do that? The second part answers the question that comes from the first part. We can have the exhilarating feeling of being totally free if we have sought out His precepts. We know we are talking about reading and studying the Word, right? The key to this verse is the word, sought. Sought is past tense. We must put the Word in our hearts now, for future use. We must store up truth in our minds, for easy reference. We must constantly be exposed to the Truth, for quick recall.

During my return trip in the desert I was dwelling on His promises, considering His majesty and meditating on His love. This thinking put me in a frame of mind to be able to begin the total freedom experience. From the deep reservoir of all the times in my life that I had sought out His precepts, there welled up to overflowing inside of my being a gusher of inexplicable freedom in the spirit. If you have had this happen, you know exactly what I am referring to, if not, my suggestion to you is that you begin filling that reservoir and using it often as the Spirit leads. The word 'sought' by the way is more than just glancing or looking. Sought means that I relentlessly searched for and singleheartedly pursued the Truth in His Word.

So there is only one question now to answer, right? What was the song? You might think it was a spiritual song, but it wasn't. The song I was singing was, "It's a Beautiful Morning" by the Rascals, here are the words.

It's a Beautiful Mornin, Ahhh
I think I'll go outside for awhile, an just smile
Just take in some clean fresh air, boy!
Ain't no sense in stayin inside
If the weathers fine and you got the time
It's your chance to wake up and plan another brand new day
Either way, It's a beautiful mornin, Ahhh
Each bird keeps singin his own song... so long!
I've got to be on my way now
Ain't no fun just hangin around
You've got to cover ground, you couldn't keep me down
It just ain't no good if the sun shines, when you're still inside,
shouldn't hide, still inside, shouldn't hide
Ah Ohhh (shouldn't hide) ah, ah, ohhhh
(Do, Do Waaaa.... Do, Do Waaaa)
There will be children with robins and flowers
Sunshine caresses each new waking hour
Seems to me that the people keep seein more and more each day
Gotta say, lead the way, It's Ok, wednesday, thursday, It's Ok
Monday, wednesday, friday, weekday... Ah, Ah, Ohhhh
(Do, Do Waaaaa) Ah, Ah, Oh,Oh Dooooo Ahhhhh
Woooooo oo oo oo Ahh Wooo Do Ahhh
Ohhhhhhhh oh, oh, oh

Thanks for reading the lyrics to one of my favorite songs, now......... after you have sought His precepts, experience freedom and don't let anything past, present or future, steal your joy. I won't either. :)

Pastor Fred

Keep Walking THROUGH the valley!

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4

I recently had to walk “through” a certain legal matter that potentially would have financially crippled my family for a very long time if we would survive it. It required that I appear and request a reconsideration of the matter, and it was in the midst of that fiery and fearful trial that I was reminded that sometimes we are called to walk THROUGH the valley of the shadow of death. Sometimes we find ourselves in a place where the outcome is uncertain, we may begin to feel hopeless or helpless, we feel there is no one who will champion our cause when we have been wrongly punished or accused, and we don’t know where to turn. Our enemy takes full advantage of our anxiety and failure to see when we find ourselves in these times, but our Spiritual eyes must never lose sight in the dark, and our mind must be completely covered in the truth of God’s Word that reminds us that He will never leave us nor forsake us, that He will champion our cause when we are wrongly accused, that ALL things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose, and that His comfort will see us through to the OTHER SIDE of the valley of the shadow of death. I am here to testify that GOD delivered me from the valley of the shadow of death this week, and miraculously gave me mercy in the situation that I was dealing with. It was a total GOD thing, I went into the valley rejoicing and trusting in Him, and I am here to testify that I am rejoicing on the other side of that valley, knowing that He is a faithful God to His children, and that He intervened and turned everything around to bring Him glory.

David wrote the 23rd Psalm, and was a man just like we are. He was tempted to fret over his life on many occasions, not the least of which was the time when Saul was unjustly seeking his life, which according to some commentators may very well form the background to this psalm. But you see, David overcame sinful worry by trusting and rejoicing in God. He said, “You MAKE ME lie down in green pastures”(verse 2). Wow, isn’t that the opposite of what our flesh wants to do…. And yet, our loving God directs us, makes us rest in HIM. I am so amazed by the love of my heavenly Father, He is so faithful and tender and knows what we need, even when we want to cry and hide or run away. He draws us into that green pasture; He calls us to lie down by still waters, and restores our soul. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh. Selah. Pause and consider that for a few moments.

The first four verses of Psalm 23 focus on God as the faithful and good Shepherd of His people. It calls us to trust Him as such. The second section made up of the last two verses, focuses our attention on God as a gracious host, preparing a splendid meal for a guest, and results in our rejoicing over His grace toward us. Why not read the entire Psalm 23 now for our closing meditation today and be reminded of the beauty of the Promises we have in it:

“The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” Psalm 23

Allow the Lord to help you walk THROUGH your valleys, and remember, He is with you every step of the way!

Shalom, sister Lahoma

Let's Not Allow Regret To Rob Us Of Our Joy

Our Friday Devotion comes to us from Council Member, John Adams:

All of us probably have times in our lives, and some of us might be experiencing that right now, when we wish out loud that we could just start over. If only we could go back and have another chance in some area of our lives, we would sure do things differently. Have you had that thought recently when it seems that everywhere you turn, things are just not going your way. Well, the truth of the matter is that we can't go back and probably shouldn't want to because, in some sense, it means that we are then trying to take the control of our lives away from God, where it rightfully should rest.

So, how do we live our lives without allowing regret to rob us of the joy that God promises? One of my favorite Scriptures is Proverbs 3 -"Further Benefits of Wisdom", where God shares:

"My Son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years, and bring you prosperity... TRUST IN THE LORD with all your heart and LEAN NOT ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING; in all your ways, ACKNOWLEDGE HIM, and HE WILL make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:1-2;5-6

At those times when I dare wander away from faithfully holding onto the promises God has given me, that's where the real troubles begins. Self doubt can start to take over, and pretty soon, it seems as if nothing is going as planned, so I must be doing something wrong, and only if I had done "thus and so" differently. Is there really any guarantee that if we had done any of the things in our lives differently, that the outcome would have ended up differently? The real answer is "no" because to answer "yes" means that we believe that we are directing our paths, not God, and we should know that this is not the case.

So, I for one am going to keep clinging on, in faith, by trusting in the Lord with my mind, soul, and whole heart, that He directs the outcome of ALL THINGS (not me), and He alone will do that which needs to be done in my life. Just a little reminder to myself today, that I so desperately needed, and so, I hope that this was a message that might minister to some of you today as well. Be reminded that "By wisdom, the Lord laid the earth's foundations, by understanding, He set the Heavens in place. (Proverbs 3:19) He remains in control, at all times, and for that reason, JOY is ours for the taking.

Wishing you a joyful and joyous weekend.

John

Turn My Heart O God

Psalm 119:36 "Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain."

Our hearts do not naturally turn toward God or His Word. Our nature is to turn towards ourselves and selfish gain. When we turn our hearts toward Him or His Word, a change must take place, in order for that to actually happen. A wonderful change, a good change, a change we need to experience over and over again. I am reminded of some song lyrics from some years back that illustrate this changing process. I want to share them with you.

Change my heart O God
Make it ever new
Turn my heart O God
Make it be like you

You are the Potter
I am the clay
Mold me and make me
This is what I pray

This song is playing over and over in my mind as I write this devotional. I wish you could hear the simple, catchy melody because it has a way of making you repeat the words over and over again. God's Word can change us, if we will let it. Why? Because it is the irrefutable truth. You know the way truth is, it sets you free. If I don't turn toward the truth, I will get caught up in the lies. I need to be renewed each day, some days more than once a day. Some days multiple times in one day. If I want to be like Jesus, I must be in His Word. His Word tells us who and how He is and reveals to us how to be more like Him. If not, I can make it all about me and what I want and what I think and not about Him. That comes pretty easy and we must choose not to or we will end up at the center of our own universe. A very small, selfish place where we suffer by our own doing.

The second stanza of the song is a great prayer. We need to be like clay in His hands. Let Him mold us, shape us and make us into what The Potter has in mind for us. Which would really be the best thing for us if we would surrender to it. Our tendency is to try to be our own potter and you know the results, a lot of cracked pots. It all begins with the turning. The first step is to turn to Him, to turn the pages of His Word, to turn our hearts away from our selfishness and towards His truth. Sometimes what we want and what he wants are worlds apart and we can begin to avoid Him. Sometimes that molding is a little painful and means big change. So today, turn, surrender, let Him mold you and make you into the beautiful vessel for Him that He wants you to be. Pray it, confirm it in His Word and surrender to it. Change feels good when it comes from Him. May you know this change and turn to Him for it.

In the Potter's hands, Pastor Fred

Isn’t It Time for A Little JOY!

"Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10

Why is joy important? Because the "joy of the Lord is your strength!" This verse teaches us that Joy produces strength. And strength is needed to fight. We, as believers, are called to "fight the good fight of faith" (1 Timothy 6:12). However, I believe that in these days, many people in the body of Christ are tired of fighting the good fight of faith. They are worn, they feel defeated, they see no answers to the challenges they face. They have fought a good fight, but the battle is wearing them down. They may be struggling to fight because they have lost their joy. This is not something new, it was also happening at the time of Jesus. The newly developing church was under siege, the followers of Christ were getting tired. John, the beloved disciple, under the unction of the Holy Spirit wrote I John 1: 1-4 to the believers of his day to remind them of what they had personally witnessed when they walked with Jesus so that it would encourage them to be FULL of Joy. We should pause today and be refreshed by his words: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life; the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us; that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.”

John wrote “these things” so that his listeners’ “joy” would be renewed, and be full. What things? What was John referring to? The JOY of knowing that you can have EVERLASTING LIFE through Jesus Christ, God’s Son (John 3:16). The disciple John may have also been referring to the many things that Jesus Himself had told the disciples while He was on earth. For example, Jesus told His disciples in John 15:7-11 "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full." Again, in John 16 just prior to Jesus’ arrest, our Lord said to his disciples, "You have sorrow now, but you will see me again. Your hearts will rejoice. No one may take your joy from you. Up until now, you have asked nothing in my name. Ask and you will receive, that your joy may be full."

It seems that the theme of JOY runs throughout the Word of God. It is a gift from the Lord in our troubling times. It is not happiness, for happiness depends on circumstances. JOY depends on KNOWING that the ONE you put your trust in is worthy of your trust and is able to handle everything, no matter what it looks like. Joy is Peace. Joy is Hope. Joy is the air we can breathe when “life” sucks it out of your lungs. In this world, my dear brothers and sisters, we will have trials, we will have sorrows, we will have defeats, we will have unexpected pain…. But do not let your hearts be sorrowed. Listen to the words of our precious Jesus Who KNEW we would need them: "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:1-6) Now… isn’t that something to just fill your heart to overflowing! We KNOW the Way, we KNOW the truth, we KNOW the life… and its what fills us with JOY and HOPE! Can I get a witness?????? Set your eyes on things above, not on things below. Keep your eyes on the prize. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Let NOT your heart be troubled. The word here in the original text for “troubled” means to shudder or suddenly tremble. When the world slaps you in the face, our hearts can sometimes tremble uncontrollably. In times like these, Stand firm, my friends. Keep your eyes on Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, let Him speak to the trembling of your heart today and say, “Be still”. And Be filled to overflowing with the Joy that comes in the morning from heaven’s throne. Let God pour His gift of JOY into your soul and water your thirsty dry heart. Rejoice, count it all JOY.

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.” I Peter 1:6-8

Shalom, Sister Lahoma

Take the Pill

Psalm 119:28 "My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your Word."

The Psalmist continues in this next section with more encouragement to seek the truth, be in the Word and to utilize the Bible as the source of understanding about all things. We seemingly have gone so far away from one of the foundational premises of our faith.... to be a People of the Book. Maybe part of that is that we have become so dependent on technology to deliver information to us by other means, like cellphones, television, internet and audio-visual presentations in many formats. We don't read much anymore, so the chances of reading the Word are even slimmer. Of course the Word is available in higher tech ways, but alas, the personal discipline of making that happen on top of receiving the Word and meditating on it almost seems unattainable.

Yet, we would all admit that our souls are indeed weary with sorrow, that we need strength, and we know that the Word is the source of that strength. No wonder we don't get what we need from God when we don't pursue it purposefully. The reading, studying and meditating on the Word always does me good. I am never disappointed when I go to the Truth and get strength from it. We should not complain about our weariness or our sorrow when all it would take is for us to turn to His Word and receive what He would give us according to our need. I think we are in need of a heavy, relentless dose of reminder that we must be hungry for the Truth.

In my late teens I went to a Youth Evangelism Conference where Rev. E.V. Hill spoke to us at the closing program. The basic message he was trying to give to several hundred youth was that the Word of God, The Bible, was the medicine that we needed. He suggested that when we complain about our issues, addictions, loneliness, conflicts, sickness, hurts, disappointments, disillusions and afflictions, that it reminded him of the man who went to the doctor with a litany of symptoms and conditions and the doctor gave him a pill that would take care of it all. The man came back a month later, sicker than a dog, about to die and give up and the doctor asked him," Have you been taking the pill I gave you?" "Well....." the man said, "I've been busy and distracted and tired and overwhelmed and I was feeling a little better after a couple of days taking it, but then, for some unknown reason, I just stopped." Rev. Hill then raised his voice in persuasive preaching style and yelled, "Don't complain to me...."TAKE THE PILL!!!!" Then, a series of excuses from the man were all answered with Rev. Hill screaming... "TAKE THE PILL!!!!" For each complaint or excuse he would hold up the Bible and shake it at us. I got the message.

Whenever anything about the Word is mentioned, I perk up. Whenever anything relates to the truth, I pay attention. I get my medicine from the Great Physician and He knows exactly what I need. Some time ago I told the story in a sermon about the man in Pershing Square who just went around with his Bible yelling, "READ YOUR BIBLE!!!!" Same message. Do you get it? We sure complain about how we don't know what to do, or why we feel the way we do or why things happen the way they do, or why people are the way they are. The Word of God addresses every one of our questions and pleas, but we must read it to get the answers. Medicine doesn't work unless you ingest it.

On the way back from Arizona after my car had already been repaired to the tune of several hundred dollars, on the way to Arizona, I broke down again at the foot of Chiriaco Summit. Blown radiator hose. I had been praying and singing my heart out when the car overheated. As I peered through the steam I saw that the hose had torn near the clamp and with a penny (I kid you not) a fishing knife and a few burnt fingers, I shortened that hose, reattached it successfully. (I was at the apex of my mechanical aptitude.) I then drove all the way home, no air conditioning, 107 degrees, weary and sorrowful, God strengthened me with His Word in a simple truth. "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world." I started rejoicing and praising God for His provision and power, I fixed my radiator hose (MacGyver would have been impressed) and I pressed on. I drove all the way home before I had more car problems. Praise the Lord!!! You see, even when I felt sick, the medicine I had in my soul, made we well. I had been taking my pills and reading my Bible, and God used the reserve of truth in me to give me the strength to do what I had to do.

I hope you get this message today. Less complaining, more preventive medicine. Exercise your faith. Do the right thing, press on. Give God the Glory and be victorious.

I am in His Word, because I know I need it.

Pastor Fred

Psalm 119:18

Psalm 119:18 "Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law."

When we read the Word of God, the Bible, we must prepare our hearts before beginning to read. We do so because there is something that needs to be acknowledged about the spiritual process of how the truth, literally gets into us. In the Book of Hebrews we are told, clearly, that the Word is 'living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword', which sounds a lot like it is not just like reading any old book, that there is something that happens when we read it that reveals truth to us. So, before you read, ask God to reveal to you what it is that He is going to show you. Ask Him to open your eyes that you may see wonderful things in His book.

When He shows it to you, there will be no doubt that it is indeed, wonderful. It may be wonderfully encouraging, wonderfully convicting, wonderfully powerful or wonderfully applicable. The important word in this verse though, is the word 'see'. You know how it is. You can have your eyes wide open and not see anything or at least not see what you should see. Having your eyes open is not perfect assurance that you will see. I'm sure all of us have had that embarrassing experience when we can't find something and someone else shows us that it is right under our nose. When He opens our eyes it is a different experience. Then we see.

I usually pray as I begin to read the Bible, asking God to show me what it is that He wants me to see. If I don't do this I tend to just start reading like I'm reviewing the sports page or something and I'm several paragraphs or verses in before I realize that I'm not getting anything out of it. I talk to myself while I read too. I ask questions, like.... "what does that have to do with me?", or .... "Lord, how can I use this in my life?", or I'm honest and say... "God, I don't get this." God wants you to understand what you are reading. He wants you to see all the wonderful things that He can show you. We must allow Him to reveal the truth to us.

Another great idea is to ask God before you read to take anything out of your mind that will prohibit you from understanding what you read. To literally ask Him to interpret the Word to your spirit. Note that the verse doesn't say to open our eyes so we can be smart, or powerful or impressive.... it just says that we should have our eyes open to see wonderful things. Almost kind of vague, isn't it? The Holy Spirit may reveal something to you that He doesn't reveal to me. We know that we can read something one time and not get anything and another time it is absolutely crystal clear what the verses are revealing to us, personally. Such is the nature of the Word of God. It is living and it is active and God's purpose through it is to reveal Himself and His truth to us.

Many of these next 20 or so devotionals are going to focus again and again on our desperate need for the Bible. We must consume it. We must love it. We must study it. We must know it and be hungry for it. There is no substitute for it. If you are not reading His Word then you will soon be spiritually stagnant. Everything in life will try to prohibit you from connecting with the Bible. The enemy hates it. He knows it and can misquote it, but the devil wants nothing more than to keep us out of it. If we will but open our eyes and see with the eyes of our hearts the wonderful truth in Scripture, it will change our lives and give us a different perspective. We can base our life in principles instead of feelings. I want to see the wonderful things in His truth, don't you? Sooooo, open your eyes. Oh, by the way, open the book too and your heart to what the Spirit would teach you through His Word. If you are indeed hungry, you can always have some more.

In His Book, Pastor Fred

"Our God Deserves More Than Lukewarm"

Our Friday Devotion comes to us from Council Member, Char Adams:

Are you like me, one of those people who seeks out the Psalms when you're needing just a little bit (or a lot) of "encouragement"? I love the Psalms, and as is usually the case, God must have directed me there last night because this is what He wanted me to share with you as my devotional message.

Have you ever stopped to think and be amazed as to how the Psalms are just full of action? If you will notice, all of the Psalms are "alive" with action, and we are being commanded to NOT just sit there, but DO something. Don't know where to get started in praising Our Lord? I'd suggest Psalm 96 as one to get you going. The entire passage is one of ACTION, so if you just picked out any one of the verbs (action words) in the following sentences, you would be well on your way to praising Him.

Psalm 96:2-4, 6-9 imparts:

SING to the Lord, PRAISE His name;
PROCLAIM His salvation day after day.
DECLARE His glory among the nations,
His marvelous deeds among all peoples.
For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
He is TO BE FEARED above all Gods . . .
Splendor and majesty are before Him;
strength and glory are in His sanctuary.
ASCRIBE to the Lord, O families of nations,
ASCRIBE to the Lord the glory due His name;
BRING AN OFFERING and COME into His courts.
WORSHIP the Lord in the splendor of His holiness;
TREMBLE before Him, all the earth.

I am convinced that God does not want His people to be "lukewarm" or "fence sitters", but instead to be alive in His Word. Hard to not be on fire for the Lord when we're singing, praising, proclaiming, declaring, fearing, ascribing His glory, bringing offerings, coming to Him, worshiping, and trembling before Him. As I was reading this Psalm, it sounded like "music to my ears" , but I (we) shouldn't stop there. Every day, we should be living out our lives in such a way that others see something special in us and want to get in on some of the action. If you feel you have been lukewarm in your worship of our Lord, I would encourage you to spend some (more) time in the Psalms and GET ON FIRE FOR THE LORD.

Wishing you His blessings this weekend,

Charlotte

Psalm 119:11

Psalm 119:11 "I have hidden your Word in my heart that I might not sin against you."

Hiding His Word in our hearts builds our conscience and holds our will accountable. The more of His truth that is readily accessible in our hearts, the easier it is to resist the temptation, pitfalls and distractions of life. Temptation to sin cannot overcome the truth. That is why when Jesus was tempted He combated the onslaught with the Word. Even when the Devil misused and misquoted the Scripture He stuck to the Truth and it set Him free. The only way I have ever been successful in resisting the enemy and his tactics is to use the Word. For me it has been even more powerful than His blood or His name.

In verses 14, 15 and 16 three simple suggestions come through that can help you with the battle in the preparation stage. We are encouraged to rejoice in His statutes like we would with great riches. We love to fantasize gleefully about attaining wealth and what we would do with it. We should do the same with His truth. Since we really can access the wealth of His truth, we don't have to just fantasize, we can actually act out on it. Do something with the Truth. Sharing it is a good thing.

Next we are encouraged to meditate on His precepts and consider His ways. With all the other nonsense that we obsess on, meditating on His precepts would be so much more productive. The consideration of His ways such as in thinking about, WWJD, "What would Jesus Do?" is a good thing to consider before we act or speak.

Lastly we are asked to delight in His decrees. I love the last promise of this section that says to the Lord.... "I will not neglect your Word." God sooooo knows us. He knows we do neglect His Word. We must for spiritual vitality find ourselves in His Word daily. Neglect can happen within a couple of days. The same is true for fellowship. If we are out of fellowship (missing Church) weeks in a row, it affects our spiritual well-being. Same is true with the Word, it just happens faster because it is based on a daily need. Do both and you are definitely headed for trouble.

Again the three words are rejoicing, meditating and delighting. I recently shared about my newly re found need to get in touch with my more celebrative, positive and life-loving personality that has faded some. So the rejoicing and delighting part are definitely my area of attention. The truth is something to rejoice about and so we must delight in Him. How often do we even think of the word delighting about anything. Ahhhhh , how refreshing that is... just delightful.

Makes me smile, Pastor Fred

Word Synonyms

Chapter 119: This psalm is an acrostic poem; the verses of each stanza begin with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

Psalm 119:1-8 ' Aleph
1 Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. 2 Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart. 3 They do nothing wrong; they walk in his ways. 4 You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed. 5 Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! 6 Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands. 7 I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws. 8 I will obey your decrees; do not utterly forsake me.

Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible, and is a magnificent collection of prayers and affirmations concerning the wisdom, wealth and wonder of God's revealed Word. The eight-line structure is based on eight synonyms for Scripture (law, precepts, statutes, word, commandments, testimonies, judgments and ordinances), found in all but 3 of it's 176 verses. This carefully embroidered pattern showcases the psalmist's passion for the moral beauty of God's truth. If you want to be better grounded in Scripture, this chapter could be the one of the most important one's you'll ever study.

When you read the first eight verses, right away you see how many different words for the teaching of the Bible are used. I will list them for you.

Law or laws (2), statutes, precepts, decrees (2), commands.

The action words that connect these words are the ones that I hope you will dwell on today. They are, walking (2), keeping, seeking, obeying (2), considering, praising and learning. If you desire to spiritually mature you must spend time doing these things. Do you consider your walk and seek to keep obeying while learning and praising? I used them all in one sentence so you could catch the collective impact of them. I believe that if we took time, focused and actually enacted that question functionally each day that it would change our lives for the better.

We must consider Him way more often, be conscious of our walk, with our eyes and hearts open and seeking diligently to keep (like a commitment) while obeying, not wavering or faltering so often. Then the learning and praising would come so much easier and naturally. If this is just overwhelming to you please start with learning and praising and then start from the beginning with consideration and try to finish the assignment in a day. I guarantee that such a quest will draw you into the Word to know His law, statutes, precepts, decrees and commands.

If we don't do this we just remain vaguely religious people who look at the truth as an idea, His word as literature, His ways as a lofty goal and the contagious Christian life as something a few other people actually do. As we take time with this chapter a clump of verses at a time, I hope they begin to speak to your Spirit too.

In His Joy, Pastor Fred

Show A Little Kindness

"Be ye kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." Ephesians 4:32

The word kindness comes from the Greek word "chrestotes," which is sometimes translated "gentleness". It should be the “fruit” evident in our daily lives (Galatians 5:22) because as God’s people, we should genuinely desire to help, instead of hurt. Again and again, the Old Testament uses "chrestotes" to describe God’s kindness. "Give thanks to God for He is kind, for his steadfast love lasts forever." (Psalm 106:1, 107:1, 136:1) (also see Psalm 69:16, 86:3, 100:5, 109:21). King David prayed: “Remember me, according to thy steadfast love, for Your kindness' sake, O Lord.” (Psalm 25:7) David recognized God’s kindness: "You are kind; therefore, in Your kindness teach me thy ordinances." (Psalm 119:65-68) The New Testament also speaks of God’s kindness and forbearance, and we must never forget that it is God’s KINDNESS that leads us to repentance, (Romans 2:4.) God’s kindness provides the means by which man is forgiven. The supreme demonstration of God's kindness was His willingness to give His only Son, Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:7, 4:32).

Paul wrote, "Doing nothing through faction or through vain glory, but in lowliness of mind each counting other better than himself; not looking each of you to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others..." (Philippians 2:3-4) Wouldn't a little kindness produce such beautiful results in our world today where kindness is rarely seen, and everyone seems to simply be trying to take care of just themselves and no one else matters. God desires that the mark of His people is that we be kind. I must "put on... kindness" (Colossians 3:12) as a part of my Christian life. Paul taught the Church at Corinth that kindness is a defining characteristic of Love, (1 Corinthians 13:4) We are called to love one another as examples of God’s compassion, and I believe it is our duty to make kindness one of the attributes that we, as God’s children, possess.

I offer you this challenge today: Look for ways to show KINDNESS to at least one person a day. It could be a friend, a family member, or a complete stranger. If you will take time out each day to do something for somebody else, your life would improve tremendously. You never know how your simple gesture of kindness can impact someone’s life. Maybe they just had a fight with their husband, yelled at their kids, or received bad news and your gesture reassures them of the goodness in people. I tried this the other day while walking down the street at Disneyland. There was some trash on the ground up ahead of me, and I noticed that an older security guard was slowly making his way over to pick it up. Instead of hurrying on my way, I simply reached down, scooped it up and dropped it in the trash and smiled at him… you would have thought I had given him a $100 bill! He looked astonished and then smiled and thanked me. Yes, it was part of his job to pick up trash: no, it wasn’t my trash in the first place; no, I didn’t HAVE to pick up that trash because someone else had been so rude to drop it; … it didn’t cost me anything other than 2 seconds of my time to show kindness to a stranger, and I walked away more blessed as I considered the importance of our kind acts to others in our daily lives. These simple acts do not have to cost you anything financially but the return from them can and will be profitable to your quality of life. Do something KIND just for the sake of being kind and showing God’s love. You will be amazed at the results! Here are some examples:

· say Hello to someone as you pass them on the street or in the store

· Hold open a door

· Offer to carry groceries for an older person

· Ask a cashier how his/her day is going

· Pick up trash on the ground (even when its not yours)

· Let someone cut in front of you in line

· Send an uplifting email or card

· Do an unpleasant task for someone

· Let a car in front of you in traffic

· Buy someone lunch or a coke

· Pay for the person behind you at the toll road

· Cook a meal for someone or invite them to your home for dinner

The list given is truly not inclusive, just a start showing you the possibilities of small kindness. Maybe you are too shy to try any of these, so how about this: Simply Smile! Purpose when you wake up that you will find at least one way to show kindness, for no apparent reason or personal gain other than to just be kind. Follow your heart. If you listen it will tell you what to do and who for. Everyone we pass in the run of a day is going through something. You never know how your act of kindness can change the day. Remember the saying... little things mean a lot. Be that someone to make a difference in the lives of the people you touch everyday. It may open a door to sharing your faith, for giving the reason for the HOPE that lies within you. Kindness is a way to bless others, so let us start sharing the blessings!!!

Shalom, Sister Lahoma

Day to Rejoice

Psalm 118:24 "This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."

If you have known me very long or have been to Grace Harbor more than a few times, you no doubt have heard me use this verse. I quote this scripture a lot. I use it at weddings to begin my comments, I quote it at memorial services to close my comments... adding, "Even" this is the day. I sometimes use it when I don't know what else to say or I blank on what I thought I was going to say. This verse is a simple truth that resonates with our hearts at special times, such is today for me. This verse is in the front of my mind, particularly over the last 48 hours. Let me tell you why.

I hit the road on July 28th to travel to Mesa, AZ to attend the memorial celebration of the life of one of my best friends ever. Through high-school and early college years my friends from First Baptist Church of San Fernando were the most important thing in my life besides God. There were seven of us known as the Magnificent Seven (even if we did say so ourselves). Kenny died of cancer while attending Fuller Seminary in the early 70's or we would have been the Magnificent Eight. Now we are six..... because Ricky is with Jesus now too. "This was the day that the Lord had made, and we rejoiced and were glad in it." The M-7?... Floren, Marcel, Grego and myself spent the last 24 hours together and Joel and the other Rick could not be with us because of family obligations. It was hugely important for us to be together.

Last week I received word that Ricky was working on a car for someone from the church where he has attended for the last 35 years and somehow while his son was calling for a price on parts, the car came off the jacks and fell on him, killing him instantly. His son found him. Can't imagine that pain. In this space I can't possibly do justice to tell you about Ricky's life in this devotional, so I won't. Just to let you know, we 7 believe and know that we were friends that stuck closer than brothers. Even though in recent years we have seemed to fall out of touch, when we are together, we are right there again.

I'm convinced that the 7 or 8 of us had one of the most dynamic and inspirational multi-level friendships ever. I know, I know.... when we were 16-20 we were the center of the universe too. There were probably close to 2,000 people at Ricky's memorial service. He was greatly loved. The powerpoint to music presentation about him spoke so deeply to my heart with memories and appreciation, that I received a new understanding of Psalm 118:24. For decades this verse has meant that each day is important, so get to work serving God. That has been my mantra. Now I am seeing and remembering a precious part of who I am that has faded over the last three decades, the importance of the rejoicing and glad part.

It seems that I have become quite a bit more of a too serious fellow over time. I think the ministry, parenting, some extra tough years and not remembering that precious part of the easy going, happy, fun-loving guy that I really am has taken a toll on my "glad factor". Sometimes those of us who serve like we do have this happen, it is not uncommon. As sure as that happened to me over time, something very new and fresh is happening today because of this experience over the last couple of days. My hope and faith is that God is installing something truly 'renewed' in me. I can actually already feel it. I am claiming that truth in the spirit and am going to feed it, so it grows. Please tell me if you notice a difference. If per chance you desperately need that overly serious fellow, just ignore the change. :) I am so looking forward to all the days that the Lord will make... and REJOICING and being GLAD in them. I will probably share more on this in the days ahead.

Glad to be in Him, Pastor Fred