From the Pastor's Heart

Hearing the Heart

2009-02-27T14:26:00.000-08:00

... These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

- Mark 7:6b -

The Lord doesn't just read our lips; He also hears our hearts.

Love,
Your servant

Pathway to Destiny

2009-02-24T15:50:00.001-08:00

But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.

- Numbers 14:24 -

We can't get to our destiny without traveling the road of wholehearted obedience.

Love,
Your servant

Goodness, Love and You

2009-02-21T13:54:00.000-08:00

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

- Psalm 23:6 -

Evil and hardship may come and go, but goodness and love will stick with you.

Love,
Your servant

Take Courage

2009-02-16T16:59:00.000-08:00

The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, "Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.

- Acts 23:11 -

God's Word is sufficient assurance to allay our fears. No mob, no army and no power can thwart what God has decreed.

Love,
Your servant

Give Up and Give Over

2009-02-14T13:09:00.000-08:00

When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, "The Lord's will be done."

- Acts 21:14 -

Any further advice to someone set in his decision may just be an exercise in futility at best.

Giving up when there's nothing more you can do is neither an end nor a loss when you're working with God; it is just God's invitation for us to rest.

He knows how to finish well.

Love,

Your servant

Compelled to the Unknown

2009-02-13T12:53:00.000-08:00

And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there.

- Acts 20:22 -

Knowing that God's Spirit is our source of guidance ought to be enough for us to brave the unknown.

Love,
Your servant

The Name

2009-02-12T14:18:00.000-08:00

Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the Name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, "In the Name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out."

- Acts 19:13 -

Believers and unbelievers alike use the Name of Jesus. One group is unauthorized, the other is authorized. The only factor that makes the difference is personal relationship with Him Who owns that Name. Praise God for the wonders of that relationship.

Question is: has the world successfully outdone us by vainly and thoughtlessly uttering that precious Name many more times than us speaking that all-powerful Name in faith for all it's worth.

There's more to His Name than the almost formula-like use of closing our prayers with it. All authority in heaven and in earth is resident in it. We're authorized to bear that Name and all it's kingdom authority in all situations of life.

Love,
Your servant

Discipleship and Life

2009-02-11T17:25:00.000-08:00

After spending some time in Antioch, Paul set out from there and traveled from place to place throughout the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

- Acts 18:23 -

We can't imagine how powerfully, how effectively, how wonderfully we can disciple if we are just willing to go where they are and spend fragments of our lives strengthening them.

Love,
Your servant

Nobility and Truth

2009-02-10T15:50:00.000-08:00

Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day
to see if what Paul said was true.

- Acts 17:11 -

There's nobility in sincerely seeking the Scriptures.

Eagerly welcome ideas, but carefully weed out errors.

With so many views and opinions filling our culture, we're blessed to always have the indestructible and unchangeable manual for truth.

Love,
Your servant

Divine Back-Up

2009-02-07T21:41:00.000-08:00

So Paul and Barnabbas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of His grace by making them to do miraculous sign and wonders.

- Acts 14:3 -

If we speak God's Word boldly, He will back it up powerfully.

Love,
Your servant

Clear Focus / Divine Guidance

2009-02-06T18:05:00.001-08:00

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."

- Acts 13:2 -

Where we focus on, that's what we see clearly.

Our attention and actions ought to be focused on God so that in all areas of life, we may receive clear divine guidance.

Love,
Your servant

Qualified Occupants

2009-02-05T13:28:00.000-08:00

LORD, who may dwell in Your sanctuary? Who may live on Your holy hill? He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart.

- Psalm 15:1-2 -

The presence of our holy God only welcomes the presence of those made holy by God.

The way we live can determine where we can live.

May our walks, our works and our words reflect God's gracious holy presence in us.

Love,

Your servant

Right and Radiant

2009-02-04T16:09:00.000-08:00

The precepts of the LORD are right,

giving joy to the heart.

The commands of the LORD are radiant,

giving light to the eyes.

- Psalm 19:8

To live life joyfully and see life clearly: learn His Word faithfully and obey it constantly.

Love,

Your servant

Provision

2009-02-03T15:25:00.000-08:00

... "The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the LORD commanded to be done."

- Exodus 36:5 -

God will always fund His work.

If provision is lacking, here are the possible reasons:

1. We're not doing what God told us to do
2. We're doing what God didn't tell us to do
3. We are not giving enough
4. We're simply not giving

Let us, as God's overwhelmingly blessed people faithfully and generously pull our God-given resources together, and we'll see how the great work God has entrusted to us overflow with more than sufficient supply.

Love,
Your servant

Suffering Worthy

2009-01-29T13:45:00.000-08:00

The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.

- Acts 5:41 -

Not all "sufferers" are created equal. Everyone suffers, but not everyone is counted worthy to suffer for Christ.

What a joy this honor brings to His people.

Love,
Your servant

Only Jesus

2009-01-28T14:32:00.000-08:00

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.

- Acts 4:12 -

Salvation can only be found in Jesus because in Him only is where salvation is. Simple. Nothing narrow-minded about that.

I lost my keys one time. I left them with someone. It was a great relief when I remembered the one particular person with whom I left my keys. I looked hard; I looked at so many spots, but I only found them where they were. And this is true with anything you're looking for: you only find them where they are. No one will think it's a narrow-minded concept.

Stop looking anywhere else; salvation is found only where it is, rather, in Whom it is.

For the saved: never doubt the surety of the soleness of the Savior.

Love,
Your servant

Hang-Out

2009-01-26T13:25:00.000-08:00

Acts 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

The early church didn't just spend time together, they had their time well spent together.

This is a great tip on how we can make our "hang-out" time fuller.

Love,
Your servant