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