Praise The Lord For All That He Has Done!

Psalm 22:22-31 KJV; Praise the Lord for all that He has done and continues to do.

The Word Of The Lord Changes Us

Transfiguration Sunday; Exodus 34:29-35 KJV; The Word of the Lord changes us. Hear it and live life in a new and blessed way!

Bless The Lord!

Psalm 103:1-12 KJV;  16th Sun after Pentecost; We bless the name of the one who has so richly blessed us! 

Warn With Grace

Psalm 32:1-7 KJV; 15th Sunday after Pentecost; We are to warn those who are falling away for their sakes and ours.

Spiritual and Physical Needs

Matthew 14:13-21 KJV; 10th Sunday after Pentecost; Jesus took care of both physical and spiritual needs of those who followed him into the desert. Do we?

He Provides Us With Water

Psalm 65:9-13 KJV; 7th Sunday after Pentecost. He provides us with water that gives life to the earth and to us. He provides us with Living Water who is Jesus the Christ through whom we have eternal life.

Have Not Seen Yet We Believe

John 20:19-31 KJV; 1st Sunday after Easter. Although we have not seen Jesus with our own eyes; we believe the testimony of those who did.

We Rejoice Because He Loves Us

1 Peter 1L3-9 KJV; We cannot see Jesus as we see the world; yet, we rejoice because by faith we know that he loves us.

He Is Risen!

Matthew 28:1-10 KJV: Blessed Resurrection Day for He has risen for you! 

Psalm 112 Law And Gospel

Psalm 112:1-9 KJV; 5th Sunday after Epiphany - the Psalms are full of the law while at the same time they bring comfort and promise to those in times of trouble.

All Saints Sunday; Blessed Are They!

Matthew 5:1-12 KJV; Blessed are they in so many ways. Politicians, mainstream media, and various celebrities would divide us and send us down many disastrous paths; but, God seeks to unite us and lead us on a path of righteousness for his name's sake.

Praise God For He Is With Us

Psalm 113; God is with us always working for our good whether we think so or not.

Blessed Is The Nation

Reading from Psalm 33:12-22; Blessed is the nation whose God is Lord! Trust Him!

Let Your Light Shine!

Matthew 5:14-16 KJV Do not fear what others might think of you; but, let the light of Christ shine before others.

The Father Reveals His Son

Reading from Matthew 16:13-17 KJV Faith in the Messiah, Jesus Christ, is a gift from God.

Blessed Is He Who Trusts The Lord

Reading from Jeremiah 17:5-8 KJV The Lord has a good purpose for you. Trust Him.

Virtuous Relationship

Proverbs 31:10; 27-28 KJV

Trust The Lord Above All

Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.

For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.

Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.

For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

                                                                           (Jer 17:5-8 KJV)

A confession for this morning:  As I child I trusted just about everyone. As a young adult, who got burned many times by others, I began to trust no one. But, as I grew to know the Lord I began, once again, to trust others. I could trust others not because humankind is so trustworthy or good; but, because God is. Too often human beings will take the road that they think will benefit them no matter how much it might damage others. But, the Lord does not. He who loves us and cares for us was willing to die that we might be forgiven for the very sins that we commit against our neighbors out of selfishness and greed. 

I trust the Lord to take care of things that I cannot control and the things that others would take control of to the detriment of not just myself but humankind as a whole. I have been able to regain trust  in others because above all my faith, my love, my trust is in the Lord. While others would lead us to useless salt lands the Lord will make us to lie down in green pastures and lead us beside still waters. (Psalm 23)

I have learned the lesson, though, that when others willfully go against God's good will for others it is not the time to sit back and allow them to have any type of authority over myself or anyone else. There are times that we must stand up for what is good and right even if it requires a sacrifice on our part. God; after all, often does work through his people. 

We can live and work and even play with others because before them all we trust the Lord who loves us and gave himself for us.

Blessed are those who trust in the Lord "for he is good and his mercy endureth forever!" (Psalm 136)

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Prosper In Love

Psalm 1

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

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What does it mean to be blessed.  I don't know about all of you; but, I have found that living in relationship with God is to be blessed. 

There are many who preach that you will have every material thing that you desire if you follow God's law. But, to prosper has more meaning than the materialistic meaning that the word has taken on.   

Prosperity for the Christian is to grow rich in the love of God and to be fruitful by sharing his love with others.  When we share his love we don't have to worry about following every law because when we love God we automatically worship and put him before all others.  When we love others we will do them no harm. We will not sin against them. 

"Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." 

                                                                          (Rom 13:8-10)

Blessed are those who love the Lord and who love one another for they will be fruitful in edifying the church. They will live lives abundant with  the peace of heart and mind in the presence of God that faith alone in Christ alone can bring. 

There is a prosperity that is not just about money and things. It is better to be prosperous; enriched with these things:  "faith, hope, love," for they will last an eternity while our things will not.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

The Unborn Recognized The Unborn

And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;

And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.

And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:

And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord. 

                                                                 (Luke 1:39-45 KJV)

How old do you have to be before you know Jesus?  Do you have to have a certain amount of knowledge taught to you by humankind before you can know him? 

St. John the Baptist, the one who later introduced Jesus to the world,  recognized Jesus and leaped for joy while still in his mother's womb! John had not seen Jesus but he felt his presence. He knew Jesus even before he was born. 

It is not by any knowledge that the world gives us that Jesus comes into our lives.  It is by faith alone which is purely a gift from God. 

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God..." (Eph 2:8)

May God open our ears, eyes, minds, and hearts so that we might know the abiding presence of Jesus the Christ, for he is with us always. Help us dear Lord to live life more fully in his presence.

God's Peace - Pr. J.