Praise Ye The Lord!

Psalm 150 KJV

Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.

Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.

Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.

Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.

Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.

Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.

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There is nothing that our God cannot do. Give thanks and praise to Him for all that He has done and will do! Our God is a great God! Praise ye the Lord!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Father, Son, Holy Spirit

Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.   (Matt 28:16-20 KJV)

Today is Trinity Sunday. Usually, on Trinity Sunday, I focus a bit on the essence of the triune God. But, with the state of the Union as it is today I am reminded greatly of what or rather who it is that can save us. Who it is that forgives us all of our sins, reconciling us to God and to one another. God through Christ Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit is our only real help in times like these.

We, too often, get caught up in the physical world, we forget that our battle is with spiritual forces. St. Paul wrote to the Ephesians: "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." (Eph 6:12)

Yes, we must stand up for what is right in this world. We must protect our neighbors. But, we cannot forget that what is behind the chaos are spiritual forces that aim to destroy us. We must engage in battle with these spiritual forces. We do that by doing exactly what Jesus commanded: teaching all people, baptizing in name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, teaching them everything that Jesus commanded to be taught. And, what he taught is good news for all people. We are to proclaim that Good News! We are to let people know that all power and authority has been given to Jesus in heaven and on earth. That will bring to us adversity. But, we must trust him to help us as we proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom for all who believe in him. We must rely on his (not ours, not any government's) authority and power to overcome the chaos. 

We thank God our Father this and every day that through the Son and by the power of the Holy Ghost we can stand firmly, facing all adversity, so that all people might know that freedom and the peace that God would give to us.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Do Not Be Afraid To Share The Good News!

Zeba Methodist Camp Meeting

at 7 pm, August. 5-9, 2019. The Worship space is a beautiful, peaceful 

place in the woods!

I will be sharing the Good News on Wed., August 7 this year. 

It is good to be back! Everyone is welcome to worship with us!

After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come. Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest. Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves. Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way. And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house. And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again. (Luke 10:1-3, 5-6 KJV)

I just can't do it! I cannot count the times that I've heard: "I can't do it! I can't go knocking on anyone's door!" I have heard these words while in both evangelism and stewardship committees. Now, while I am not into "programs" to grow the church or the bank account, I am into going out and inviting people to get to know Jesus.

Over the years I have knocked on many doors while my congregations (with a few exceptions) have totally rejected going out into the neighborhood to visit our neighbors and invite them to hear what Jesus has done for them and for all of us. 

Jesus sent seventy people out. They were not apostle's. They were ordinary people with extraordinary faith that instilled in them a sense of this is what they needed to do. I am convinced that many of them were a bit hesitant about their abilities and so he sent out two by two to support each other. Some of them may have even been afraid of who might be behind the doors they were knocking on. I have been warned on more than one occasion that it was too dangerous for me, a female, to be knocking on doors. But, I went anyway. 

I went blessing each house with peace as I stood at the door and knocked knowing that if there were not peaceful people within the house that the blessing would fall back on me. And, truth be told, I don't have a problem being blessed with peace! So, it was a win-win for me. Either I got to share the Good News of the Kingdom of God or I got blessed with the peace of God. 

No, I do not believe that "programs" work. They just feel too contrived. They feel way too man-made. But, I do believe that we need to go out and share the Good News. We do not need to be intimidated by the world around us as we go for the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of Peace goes with us. 

The harvest is plenty and laborers are needed. Who will go? Who will say: "I will go. Send me." Now, I know you're probably not going to be knocking on too many doors. But, may the Spirit of Christ lead you to share the Good News of the Kingdom of God through Jesus with those whom you do encounter in your daily routines. This is not just your pastor's "job." It is yours.

God's Peace - Pr. J

How Great He Is!

   O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.
   When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
   What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
   For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
   Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
   All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;
   The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
   O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

                                                                               (Psalm 8:1,3-9 KJV)

I am a little late on the blog this morning.  I was outside watering flowers and listening to the birds sing. The early mornings here in Florida are awesome. What a beautiful world our Lord created! It is such a privilege to be able to spend time observing His wondrous creation.

O Lord, our Lord, how great you are!

God's Peace - Pr. J