Live In Righteousness And Truth

Ephesians 5:1-10 KJV Live in righteousness and truth; live in the light who is Jesus the Christ!

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.

Deliver Me

Psalm 27; Romans 8:28; Deliver me for in you only is our hope and our salvation. Help me to see your goodness!

As The Psalmist Prays

Psalm 27:7-14 KJV - As the psalmist prays so shall we pray trusting in the goodness of God to deliver us.

Help Us To See Your Goodness

Psalm 27:9-14; 1 Peter 5:-6-7 Help us to wait on you and to see your goodness, Lord.

LIve Life; Love One Another

A reading from Galatians 5:1,13-25 KJV for the 3rd Sunday after Pentecost. Walk in the Spirit and love one another.

The Lord Is My Shepherd

The Last Day Will Come For All People

Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

"But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.

Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.

For the Son of Man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.

Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:

Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.

And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch."

                                                               (Mark 13:31:37 KJV)

I've heard a lot of excuses for not worshipping God and for not following Jesus as a servant to others.  I can't come to worship or fellowship on Wednesdays because that's my bowling night. Talk about a false god! There are other excuses just as poor and some even worse.

According to the Gospel of Mark, Jesus warns us to watch and pray for we can never be sure when the last day will come. The world might end tomorrow or never in our lifetimes. But, the last day will come for us all and for many of us sooner than we expect or hoped for. It is not advisable to put off worshipping God and reaching out in Christian love to the people around you. As good as the intention is that day may never come.

As professed Christians we also profess to be lovers and servants of God. Let us not be found sleeping on the job when Christ comes again in full glory. Rise up and live life according to the will of God while there is still time!

"Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;

And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

(For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)

Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.

Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,

Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is." 

                                                                      (Eph 5:1-2, 9-17)

God's Peace - Pr. J.

We Have Hope In His Goodness

Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.

Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will keep the commandments of my God.

Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope. 

                                                                               (Psalm 119:114-116 KJV)

Since the beginning of time as we know it people have endured much hardship. The troubles often come at the hands of others; sometimes by our own poor choices. Sometimes we allow ourselves to be led astray into some serious "stinking thinking" through social media or hanging out too much with others whose lives are lived in darkness. Sometimes natural disasters are the cause of our grief. 

When troubling times come we often turn to the Lord and either blame Him or  maybe we have enough faith and good sense to trust him to see us through these times. There are definitely times in our lives when the only thing that can keep us up is prayer and hope in His Word; His promises.

We have hope because we trust God and we trust His Word. No matter how horrible things may seem God can work it out for the good for you and already has a good plan for you. Trust him and live with hope in His Word.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (Rom 8:28)

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Rise! Walk In The Light!

For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

(For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)

Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.

But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.

Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,

Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. (Eph 5:8-17 KJV)

The days can be both evil and very short. There really is no time to throw away. Every single minute is of value. Once it is gone it is gone for good. You cannot get that moment back. You do not get a retake so make the best of every moment. Live life and live it in Christ where the light shines on all things. 

Rise dear sleeper from the dead! Walk as a child of the light understanding the will of the Lord and then do the best you can to keep from turning away from his good will. Turn to him. Turn to the light and you will see the way out of the darkness that sinful desires would trap us in. 

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Even In The Shadow Of Death

Manatee in Bulow Creek

 PSALM 23 KJV

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

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The LORD is our shepherd! Thanks be to God that He is with us now and always, guiding us even as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death. 

As long as we live in this world, death looms large in front of us. But, God is larger. Thanks be to God, Christ has overcome the power of death for us. On this side of physical death there will always be trials and challenges to overcome. We will endure persecution for the sake of the Gospel (that is the good news of the Kingdom in Jesus the Christ). We will suffer even while rejoicing for we know that even as these days might present themselves as a shadowy darkness, God is with us and for us. He restores and keeps our souls no matter what darkness we might encounter.

His goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives. We are confident that the LORD, our Shepherd, will be present with us even as we dwell in His presence, in His House, in His Kingdom, forever! Amen!

God's Peace - Pr. J

His Mercy Endures Forever

PSALM 107:1-9 KJV

O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;

And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south.

They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.

Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.

Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.

And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.

Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.

+++

If you are a sinner (and we all are) give thanks to the Lord for his mercy that endures forever. Give thanks that he has redeemed you even from yourself for in Christ Jesus you have been forgiven all of your sins. Once forgiven they do not reappear. God doesn't bring back what He has already forgiven through Jesus. Once forgiven, always forgiven. As God forgives us, we must remember that He has forgiven us and so we ought to forgive ourselves. 

Do not give sway to your enemy the devil and cling to your guilt. Your guilt has been washed away by the blood of Jesus. Let it go. Clinging to the sins that Jesus died for will only cause you more grief. Focusing on your past guilt will cause many distresses. Your soul will continue in anguish as it is filled with hunger and thirst. Continually remembering and grieving sins that have been forgiven by God will stop you in your tracks. It will keep you from following in the right way. 

Focus not on your sins; rather, focus on following Jesus that you might be led forth in the way that he would have you go.

Grieve your sins for a moment as you confess them and then let them go giving thanks to God for His mercy endures forever. He forgives you. Speak it aloud! The Lord is good. He has redeemed me and His mercy endures forever!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

How Will They Know We Are Christians?

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." (Gal 5:22-23 KJV)

I was listening to a Christian speaker on YouTube the other night. His topic was "how can we tell if someone is a Christian other than just by them saying they are?" The first thing that came to my mind was the song "They Will Know We Are Christians By Our Love." But, that was not what he was directly getting to. His response was the verse from Galatians that reminds us that if the Spirit of God dwells in us we will produce the fruit of the Spirit which does indeed include love. 

In the Gospel of Matthew Jesus tells us that we can know whether a prophet is true or not. He said, You will know them by their fruits. "Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them." (Matt 7:16-20)

Yes, in faith and in faithfulness Christians will produce good fruit. They will love. They will be joyful. They will suffer much, showing gentleness, goodness, meekness, temperance in order that all might live in peace. 

What fruits do we bear as we profess to be Christians? Can anyone tell that we are truly followers of Christ by the fruits that we bear?

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Wait On The Lord

Psalm 27:11-14 KJV

Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.

Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty.

I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord. 

+++

Way too often we try to get those things, including the outcomes, that we want. We want what we want and we want it now. But, those things that we desire are not always what we need or what is best for us. It may seem like too much hardship or struggle to have to wait to work things out the right or the best way so we rush things and the end does not always end up the way that we anticipated that it would end.

Things may feel hard; but, there are times when we must endure and trust in the Lord to see us through. The Lord know what is good for us. Wait on him. He will open the doors that are meant for you. 

Do not make rash decisions to try to get what you want. Be of good courage and wait on the Lord and you will see the goodness of the Lord.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Good Shepherd Lead Me

He leadeth me beside the still waters.

 

Psalm 23 KJV

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Tomorrow is the fourth Sunday of Easter and the psalm for the day is the Shepherd's Psalm. How many Christians have not heard this psalm? How many have not memorized it? It is a psalm of comfort and of promise. It is a reminder that God, our shepherd, is with us. He is with us and for us. He will guide and protect us. His goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives and we will dwell in his presence for all of eternity. 

May you always dwell in his peace.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

A Gift From God

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Not of works, lest any man should boast.

                                                                                           (Eph 2:8-9 KJV)

Those who say they are Christian of course try to do good to their neighbor. But, it is never by these good works that one can be saved. It does not matter how much good that we do we are saved by God's grace through faith in the one who lived and died and yet lives for us. Salvation is not something that we can earn in any way, shape, or form. It comes as a gift from God through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. 

It is this one, Jesus the Christ, who inspires us by the Holy Spirit to follow in his footsteps and to do good. So, when if and when you find yourselves sitting high and mighty up on your horse and claiming your alleged goodness for yourself; think again. You will never be so high and mighty as the Lord. 

Remember, the story of how the people of Babel fell. The people's plan was to build a tower to reach to the heavens. God saw and dispersed the people to various regions; confounding their languages so that they could not get together and plan such things again. Their plan they had considered to be a good thing. God did not think it so. Their good plan came to nothing.

We will never reach the heavenly kingdom on our own. We cannot. God came down from the heavens to reach us and to reach out to us so that we might live in his heavenly kingdom, in his presence, for all eternity. This is a gift from God!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

No Law

But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 

                                                                             (Gal 5:18 - 23 KJV

There is no law against being nice. There is no law against caring for others. But, there are both God given laws and man-made laws about doing otherwise. 

Some not so joyful or peaceful consequences often follow breaking these laws. 

It is just so much easier to be nice and do what is right; do what is good for you and for others and we will all experience a whole lot less turmoil and drama in our lives for it.

May God help us all not to spitefully use or abuse others in any way. And, may His love, joy, and peace be with us always!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

This Too Shall Pass

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. (1 Cor 2:9 KJV)

Recently, my granddaughter reminded me that when she was still living at home, that I often told her "This too shall pass." I don't remember that; but, it is probably true as she had a lot of turmoil in her life.

Unfortunately, life does not always feel wonderful. Depression can often set in and when it does it is difficult to see any of the goodness that God has planned for those that love Him. 

It is difficult to grasp the future goodness God has planned when we're in the midst of turmoil; but, His promise is true.

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." (Rom 8:28)

These words are for you. Whatever you are going through, know that the Lord has a great plan for you and this time and probably many more trying times shall pass and in the end you will be rejoicing in the goodness of God. You will find peace in His presence.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

The Goodness Of The Lord

I believe that I shall see the goodness

   of the Lord
   in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
   be strong, and let your heart take 

   courage;

   wait for the Lord!

                     (Psalm 27:13-14 NRSV)

I wait. There are days when I'd really like to take a very long nap while I'm waiting to see the goodness of the Lord. It is on those days I do something that seems to be very cliché. I count my blessings. There is much goodness to be thankful for when we take the time to change our focus from what seems bad to what is good in our lives and in the lives of the people around us.

Yes, sometimes it takes a lot of courage and strength to keep moving forward; to face the evil in the world. But, exposing evil is sometimes required so that the darkness can be lifted and we can see the goodness of the Lord. 

And, sometimes it will take some waiting on our part in order to see His goodness even through those things which we deem to be most evil.

Thanks be to God for "We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose." (Rom 8:28)

God's Peace - Pr. J

A Better Plan?

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matt 4:4 NIV)

Today is one of those days when we really have to turn to the Lord and hear His promises! We must trust that He has a better plan and that it is a good plan.

My son was to close on a home today. It took a bit to find one that they liked and could afford. However, it does not look like that will happen. The seller has decided that she wants an additional $2500.00 to move out; $530.00 to pay what she would still owe after the closing; and seven additional days after closing to actually move out. That is an additional agreement outside of the original purchase agreement. Unfortunately, she has told so many stories that it is impossible to believe that she will actually move out after the additional days and it would take months to evict leaving my son and his family without a home themselves for four months. In fact, they have already turned in their notice to their present landlord and in about 3 weeks they will not have a home themselves unless they find something they can afford very quickly! The seller has made it clear since foreclosure is imminent on her home that she has nothing to lose if the additional terms are not agreed upon. She will lose her home either way. 

Man cannot live on bread alone; but, we cannot live without it either. But, life throws all kinds of unexpected curved balls at us and the only way we can either dodge or catch them to make the run is to trust in every word that comes from the mouth of God.

So today we are trusting that God has a good plan; an even better plan for my son and his family.

God's Peace - Pr. J