Rejoice in the Lord...Always!

May 8, 2022 . . . In Matthew 20:20-28 , we learn of a special request made to Jesus by the mother of James and John. We can all appreciate that a mother typically wants what’s best for her children. In this case, she wants Jesus to give the seats on his right and left to her sons when he comes into his kingdom. Jesus quickly tells her, “Ye know not what ye ask,” and that it was not up to him to ch...

April 24, 2022 . . . Christ Is Risen! If these words were not true, then our faith is in vain. Read I Corinthians 15:14-20 where Paul lets the believers know that the gospel he takes to the world is true and that the consequences of it not being true would be unacceptable. When we see how the disciples suffered and were persecuted for the truth they were telling, we know that they did not suffer i...

April 17, 2022 . . . . Please read I Corinthians 15:1-4 where Paul tells us in a nutshell about the gospel and our Christian faith. He declares it and reminds the church in Corinth of what they need to know. Remember, there was no “Bible” in those days, but these letters written to the various churches were the beginning of what we share today. It was important that Jesus be buried.  As foret...

April 10, 2022 . . . . . During this Easter season, we are reminded of a sorrowful yet glorious time in the Christian year. The sorrow of seeing our Christ on the cross is not easy, but it is necessary for the glory to come. Read these passages to hear the last words of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ: Luke 23:34, 43, & 46, John 19:26, 27, 28, & 30, Matthew 27:46. What do you hear? Jesus...

April 3, 2022 . . . . Growing up in Christ #4 . . . I John 2:12-14 . . .  In the first epistle of John, he speaks to the Christ-followers to help them see their growth in their faith. He refers to them as little children, young men, and fathers, giving them advice and nurturing their maturity in Jesus Christ. A church needs a mix of all ages, both in their spirit journey and their physical jo...

March 27, 2022 . . . . Growing up in Christ #3 . . . . I Corinthians 12:12-13 . . . In Paul’s letter of support to the church in Corinth, he explains the next step after baptism. That step is for the people to recognize their spirit baptism as becoming one body in Christ with many members called the church. Throughout the world, the church in its greatest sense is one body and every member is impo...

March 20, 2022 . . . .  Growing up in Christ #2 . . . . As Baptists, we believe in following the Word of God as found in the Holy Bible. In the New Testament, there are many stories of early Christians turning to Christ and then being baptized. Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River to set an example for us. He did not need to be saved as He is the Holy Son of God. For us, though, it is an ac...

March 13, 2022 . . . . Growing Up in Christ #1 …. In Ephesians 2:1-10 Paul reminds us that we ALL have sinned, fallen out of God’s grace, and walked according to the ways of this world. However, once again we see a “But God” moment that, by His great love for us, renews us and brings us back to Him through the gift of Jesus Christ. We cannot save ourselves. Our spiritual life begins with Jesus Chr...

February 27, 2022 . . . . In the Old Testament, the first chapter of Daniel, verses 1-8, we see how Daniel responded when he and other young men were brought to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar after his victory in conquering Judah. The king only wanted the most perfect men so that he could transform them for three years into the culture of Babylon, thereby enslaving them as eunuchs to follow Babylo...

February 20, 2022 . . . . . In the Old Testament, Leviticus, Chapter 18 , has several verses in which God tells Moses His expectations for the people’s conduct, in particular their sexual conduct. He makes it clear what is not acceptable. In today’s world, many people have ignored those expectations and come to accept that which is unacceptable according to God. Was God saying these things only to...

February 13, 2022 . . . . We often ask, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” The man called “Job” appears in many historical writings of his time. The book of Job in our Bible was written in a time before Moses.  It gives us a narrative of a moral man who had it all, was wealthy, was a devoted servant of God, and regularly prayed and sanctified his children. God allowed Satan to test Jo...

February 6, 2022 . . . . . In Paul’s letter to the church in Rome, he begins by telling them he is a servant of Jesus Christ, that Jesus Christ the Son of God came in the flesh and was resurrected from the dead, paying the world’s sin debt with His blood. Paul reminds them that Jesus calls all people to be saints. Sometimes we forget who we are. We have a legacy and Jesus Christ is at the head. We...

January 23, 2022 There’s not any emotion that God can’t handle, and God can help us get over our anger. As humans, we have many emotions. Anger and bitterness are often hard for us to handle.  Examples are found throughout the Bible; Cain towards Abel ( Genesis 4:4-5 ), Joseph’s brothers toward him ( Genesis 37:3-4 ), Saul towards David ( I Samuel 18:5 ), David towards God ( II Samuel 6:1-8 )...

January 16, 2022 Colossians 1:15-21 . . . . Who is on the throne of your life? This passage in Colossians gives us seven reasons why Jesus should be the highest one we look up to. 1) He is the visible image of the invisible God. 2) He is the firstborn over all creation and therefore the highest in rank. 3) By him and for him were all things created. 4) He is before all things that exist. 5) Jesus...

II Chronicles Ch. 20 . . . . Faced with what looked like a battle of insurmountable odds, King Jehoshaphat admitted he was afraid and called on all of Judah to fast and ask God for help. Sometimes we feel that we are faced with similar situations. What do we do? This passage in II Chronicles Chapter 20 has some great examples of how to handle our fears in today’s world. First, know that it’s ok to...

Matthew 26:69-75 . . . Everyone has some kind of guilt in their past. Peter was no exception. He did not believe it when Jesus told him that he would deny him three times before the cock crowed. But, when it did happen, Peter wept bitterly, remembering what Jesus had told him. We all have regrets we would like to erase. Satan is real and is determined to kill or destroy us in order to defeat our w...

Matthew 2:13-23 . . . Sooner or later Christmas is over.  Work and life await us when the celebration is done. But God was not finished after the birth of Jesus. He still has plans, makes Himself clear, but we don’t listen. God still speaks in Verse 13 through the Angel, Joseph listened, and followed the instructions sent by God. Even today, He gets us moving spiritually. He wants us to read...

John 1:1-14, was written by John about 60 years after Christ was resurrected. He is writing to tell the reader that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. John lets us know that he was a witness to the life of Jesus Christ. He begins his book by reminding us what the Word is, that Jesus was the Word, born of God. He also reminds us that the Word has...

Luke 2:1-14 recounts the birth of Jesus Christ and some of the events that occurred during this amazing moment in time. As Christians, we celebrate in many ways, but this event is actually good news of great joy to ALL people on the earth. It is the birthday of the savior of the world! There are three reasons we need to celebrate this moment. 1) Proof that God LOVES us; 2) that He is WITH us; and,...

There are four main points that we need to remember during this season when we praise God for the birth of His Son, Jesus Christ. First, Matthew 1:18-25, Our miraculous gift . . . we need to see the miracle of Christmas. A virgin birth is not easy to understand, but all the pieces of the puzzle came together neatly in order for God to close the gap between man and God. Second, Luke 10:38-42, Know...

Nehemiah 12:27-47 reminds us of how to celebrate our thankfulness as well as things to consider when we worship. The story of Nehemiah begins in chapter 1 when he was told by his kin that the wall in Jerusalem was very broken down. So, he prayed that God would help him go there and organize the rebuilding of the wall. Seeking permission from the king, since Nehemiah was the king’s cupbearer, he as...

In Ephesians 4:22-32 Paul gives us ways to take back our heart when we mess up and give even a little bit of it over to Satan. It’s hard to get rid of him! But there are three things that we need to do: 1) Repent, 2) Renew, and 3) Resist . Put off the old lifestyle – be done with it! Stop lying. God’s kingdom is built on truth. Don’t let the sun go down upon your anger. Steal no more, whether it b...

If you have read about Saul’s conversion in Acts 9:1-19 , you see an example of what can happen when Jesus interrupts our life . Anyone/Everyone can change! Saul was “out to get” those who dared to believe and follow “The Way” that this “Jesus Christ” proclaimed. It offended his religious belief system as a devout Jewish leader. But, on the road to Damascus, Saul had a very unique experience that...

In Matthew 21:12-16 , we find Jesus going into the temple and overthrowing the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who sold doves. He was “cleaning house” and healing those who came to him. They began praising him. The chief priests and scribes did not like it.  Always with the perfect answer, Jesus put them in their place by reminding them of the scriptures. The Old Testament...

The Book of Daniel, Chapter 3 . . . It has never been easy to follow the Lord. In this chapter of Daniel, we read the story of the time that King Nebuchadnezzar learned how to respect the almighty power of the God of Israel when he put it to the test. Mankind’s sin began early in the book of Genesis. And, the Bible gives many examples of how every time that God gives us humans another change to st...