“God’s Not Pau Yet”

We are here for a purpose, His purpose. As we realize that and begin to step into the call He has on our lives to reach the world, we will be met with opposition. Opposition determined to stop us in our tracks. Opposition that we need to be prepared for or we will falter. We can prepare ourselves by ensuring we have sound footing upon The Rock and that we have a firm focus on what lies ahead.

It's easy to get caught up in a mentality of "waiting for the rapture" and forgetting that we are on a mission. A mission that we are called to do. A mission that is still very needed.

As our vision is focused through the lenses of the Word, we shift from focusing on the world around us which leads to fear, despair, and indifference to gazing on the Lord which leads to faith, hope, and love. Faith that His Word is absolute truth and WILL come to pass. Hope of what He has in store for us and that leads to "the things of earth growing strangely dim. Love that roots us in our place in Christ, that is contagious, and will lead to revival.

A new year is an opportunity to reflect and review the past year and cast a fresh vision for the upcoming year. It's also an opportune time to take a realistic measure of how we stack up. A measurement is only as accurate as the tool used to measure. We need to be sure that we are measuring with The Word or we will be deceived as to where we really stand.

In this age of deception, it is critical to be able to identify the truth. At times, the line between truth and deception can be obvious. At other times, the line may not be as clear and requires clearer vision to discern it.

We need to be sure we are doing what we can to improve our vision. If we aren't being proactive and correcting our vision, we won't pick up on the subtle deceit that tries to sneak in and steer us away. What we allow into our lives will either strengthen or hinder our vision and our ability to discern the truth. The only way to have 20/20 vision is to be in the word and to examine everything through It.

May we be a church with 20/20 vision in 2020. May we not only know the truth but also stand for it and let our light shine.

Does Jesus really know what I’m going through? I’m sure we’ve all asked ourselves that question a time or two. A quick review of the events of His life reveal that He knows the enemy’s primary tactic very well. He knows what it is like to have your identity attacked.

We see the king of the universe born in a manger because there was no room. In the world’s eyes, He was the son of an accused fornicator and nothing more. It took His resurrection for many, including His family, to accept who He was. His true majesty has yet to be fully revealed.

I think it’s safe to say He’s been through it before. Because He’s been through it, He can and will help us through it.

During the Christmas season, it's easy to focus on the virgin birth and loose sight of all the details that surrounded it. Details that make the story almost unbelievable. Details that God perfectly orchestrated. Details that if not perfectly orchestrated would have changed the course of history.

The sad thing is that much of the world missed these details and therefore missed the event. These people were not properly aligned to see God's hand at work. The scary thing is that we face the same possibility today. If we are not properly aligned, we will not "know" the shepherd's voice, we will not see His hand, and we likely miss His plan in action.

For the Gospel to be "good news" the need for a savior must be established. Once the need is established, the "good news" becomes the best news ever and we can't wait to receive it. Although salvation is obtained by simply receiving the gospel, our decision should be reflected in our lives. Salvation should be evidenced by our continuing steadfastly, pursuing the knowledge of Christ, confessing sins to stay in the relationship, being a part of the church, and being submitted to the Holy Spirit's promptings.

As we enter the holiday season, we tend to reflect on everything we have to be thankful for. If you have a hard time finding things to be thankful for, it's time for a change of perspective. 

As Christians, we should be the most thankful people on the planet. Not only for all that has been but also what will be done by God. No matter how much we have to be thankful for now, the best is yet to come.

We all know the promises God has made to us. We can probably even recite many of the scriptures containing them from memory. The question is, do we know the condition(s) tied to the promise(s)? Many, if not all, of God’s promises are attached to conditions that we are called to meet. In order to claim the promise(s), we have to know and meet the condition(s).

The call to fruitfulness is two-fold. We are called to be fruitful and multiply. The first step to bearing fruit is to abide in the vine, as we have been discussing. As we abide, fruit will be produced in our lives. Multiplication occurs as that fruit is spread. As we cultivate fruit in our lives; seeds are spread, planted, and produce fruit in others.

The idea of being fruitful and multiplying is exciting but there is a word of caution. The law of nature is that a seed will produce fruit after it's kind. Knowing this, we need to be careful of the seeds we allow to be planted in our lives and of the seeds we plant in others.