Love The Lord

Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it:

That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.

Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. 

                                                                                            (Deut 6:1-9 KJV)

Loving and serving the Lord is not just for the hour you might sit in a church building one day a week. We are called to love him with our whole hearts, our entire souls, and with all of our might all of the time. Do the people around you know that you love and serve him? 

Our love is evidenced by what we say and do. 

Praise the Lord in all things; in what you say and do and at all times that others might in turn come to love Him as well.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Caring For All Of Creation

Psalm 8

O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.

Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.

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!

When God created all things, he put man in charge of taking care of his creation; the whole creation. That means to take care of one another as well! It does not mean that we get to destroy what God has made. It means to care for it.

Life in this world is rather short. But, life does not end there. All of the material things we have amassed will be gone. What will be left? Ask yourself this: "Will I have eternal life in the presence of the creator of heaven and earth? Will I get to see and be with the one who lived and died and lives again for me and for all people?"

The way that we have often cared for one another is evidence enough that we do not deserve eternal life in His presence. We have way too often turned our backs on God and on our fellow human beings. But, by faith in Him we have eternal life, anyway. It is His gift to all who believe in Him.

How excellent is the name of the One who created all things and who saves us in spite of ourselves! May God create in us new and clean hearts that we might love and and care for one another more fully.

God's Peace - Pr. J. 

Fear Not For God Has A Plan

But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. (Matt 1:20-21 KJV)

Joseph hears that his fiancee' is pregnant and not by him! Yet, the angel tells him not to be afraid to take Mary for his wife. God has a plan. It is a good plan.

Today, many men will marry a woman who is pregnant for another's child. They are not afraid to raise the child as their own. But, it was not so in the days of Joseph and Mary. Mary could have been stoned for carrying the child. Joseph did the right thing. He listened to the angel of the Lord and took Mary to be his wife and Jesus to be his son.

The faithful need not worry when things get rough. We do not have to be afraid. I know. It is natural to worry when things go awry. But, we don't have to. No matter what happens we can trust that God has a plan; a good plan for all who love him. (Rom 8:28)

May God bless you with the knowledge of His great love for you evidenced by the life and death of our Savior Jesus the Christ. 

God's Peace - Pr. J