January 24, 2021
Remember, in Joseph’s life we want to watch for these four specific lessons: You must not be weakened by you situation; You must not be deceived by the persuasion; You must not be gentle with your emotions; You must not be confused with the immediate results.
January 17, 2021
Joseph is headed into dangerous, dark territory. He was sold to slave traders who were on their way to Egypt. How could this possibly work out good for Joseph? How could Joseph survive this with any possibility of having anything near an ordinary life? Look at what God tells us in Proverbs 16:7 – When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, He makes even his enemies live at peace with him.
January 10, 2021
In this passage (Genesis 32:22-28) we saw God change Jacob’s name to Israel. Jacob wrestled with God all night, into the dawn. We too, are to wrestle with God, all night, if that is what it takes; wrestling with Him in prayer and meditation. God knows how much we want something – and we need to know, also. We need to face it by this wrestling, that shows us how much we do or do not want something.
December 24, 2020
Over 700 years B.C., Isaiah prophesied the coming Messiah. He proclaimed how Jesus would come, “as a Child” – For to us a child is born. And… he proclaimed what the eventual outcome would be: Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.
December 14, 2020
Such a little town, with such a great honor. The phrase Bethlehem, Ephrathah, would be like us saying, Bostwick, Morgan County. Today the population is about 25,000. However, during the time of Jesus birth the population was about 300, except for the times of taxation when the population ballooned to thousands. Something like Bostwick hosting the Cotton Gin Festival. We have just hundreds normally, until Angie brings in thousands of folks to celebrate with us.
December 9, 2020
Realms of Glory, have you ever thought about just that part of the hymn? The Realms of Glory. I think we, sometimes, lose the fact that Jesus and the angels came from another place. From a “Supernatural” place. Have you ever thought of it in that way… Supernatural? Would the shepherds have thought “Supernatural?” Or did they realize there was even such a thing? They surely had to wonder what was going on!
December 1, 2020
Prepare our hearts, O God, for the coming of Jesus Christ, your Son. Deepen our joy as we make ready for the anniversary of His lowly birth at Bethlehem. By true faith in Him, who is the desire of the nations, the promise of the prophets, the Prince of Peace, the Redeemer of men, may we rightly welcome Him as the Savior of our souls and the Lord of our lives. Father, at this beautiful time of year, cause us to be intentional about spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ to a world that needs it so dearly. In Jesus Christ’s Name we pray. Amen.
November 23, 2020
Living in Bostwick, GA must be one of the great blessings on earth. God gives us blessings in many ways. Consequently, we should Thank Him in many ways. To begin with we Thank Him in our prayers. Praying daily, we should lift up Thanks to God for all our blessings. If you are like me there are probably too many blessings for you to keep track of. We forget some of the simple or subtle ones. One very basic blessing we have to be Thankful for is God’s Mercy. None of us have received what we deserve. And Thank Him for the blessing of Grace we all have received.
November 16, 2020
I call it a GIVING THANKS SUNDAY instead of A Thanksgiving Sunday so that, hopefully, you might sit up and listen a little more closely. All of us have things to Give Thanks for. I know, some more than others, but everyone can find SOMETHING! Today I want us to look for the unusual to Give Thanks for, not just the usual things.
November 9, 2020
Joseph and Mary were devout Jews, as were most of the “common” people of that day. So they were following the dictates of their religion to bring Jesus into the Temple on the eighth day after His birth. This act by Joseph and Mary not only fulfilled the Jewish religious requirements, it fulfilled a promise having been made to the Priest Simeon. I love how time and time again we see fulfilled promises, prophecies of God in the lives of everyday people.
November 1, 2020
Could you believe that some people are afraid of God being mad at them? That our Lord, Who came and died on the Cross for us, would be mad and stay mad at us? That’s not the way it works. That’s not who He is. He came to save us and deliver us from all of our fears. For our part, it’s a matter of believing and accepting. But that is not always that easy, is it? Should we worry about God being mad at us? No, no, a thousand times no!
October 25, 2020
What Matters Most is not a question, it’s a statement, an emphatic statement! For weeks we’ve been talking about the Apostle Paul. We moved from talking about Saul to the Apostle Paul as he began his ministry, to talking about many of the things he had to go through just to function in his ministry. We talked about all the punishment he had to endure to fulfill his Calling. (2 Corinthians 11:21-29) The whole time he never lost sight of his Call which was – To Know Christ and Make Him Known.
October 19, 2020
Imagine God approaching you and saying, “This is what you will look like in 40 years,” would you take the assignment? Paul did. Look back to Acts 9:15-16 where God tells Ananias that Saul will be told all he will have to endure. But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
October 12, 2020
Paul has not only earned the right to preach to us and teach us, he has earned the right to call us out and call us to God’s service and even more importantly, call us to be Holy. Look at his first letter to the Corinthians. In his address, the beginning, he sends that letter to the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ — their Lord and ours. (1 Corinthians 1:1-2)
