What God wants to do and what He gets to do in our life is often is very different. What God wants to do is often limited by what we will let Him do. God is love and God loves us. Understanding that simple truth is key to our allowing God to work in our lives. If we can embrace the truth of our text, something will happen that will transform our live. It will lift burdens from our shoulder and bring the sunshine of God’s presence and His love. In our text, Paul writes about the everyday problems that people experience in life. He says that we need to be conscious of those whose hands and knees have become weak dealing with the daily grind of life. He tells us to provide encouragement to those around us. The simple statement at the end of our text is the key to dealing with the burdens and struggles of life: “Let it be.” That means step back and allow for something that we are not seeing to come to fruition. That means to take our hands off of it, and let God work it out. That means that we have to give it some time. That means that we have to stop talking about it. That means that we cannot keep being mad about it. Just maybe we are not seeing everything that is part of the equations. God’s perspective is much better than ours, and if we will let God do it, he can do it better than we can. God’s outcome is better than any outcome we can engineer. Time can be our greatest ally. If we will simply let it go, time will heal our hurts. There are a lot of messed up people that are messed up because they cannot let it be. God wants to heal, God wants to restore, God wants to bless; we have to let it be.

We are creatures of habit. We easily fall into a routine of doing things. It is more difficult to get out of a routine than it is to get into one. We have gotten into the routine of singing and expecting good preaching. Good preaching and wonderful singing do not save people. It doesn’t matter if the music is just right or if the preacher says the right thing, we have to communicate the glory and goodness of God to a lost world.

There is no limit to what God can do. He cannot fail. He can do exceeding and abundantly above all we can do or think. He can do all this, and He deserves all the glory. Faith is contagious especially to those that are faithful. Bro. Custer observes that usually the manifestation of God’s power happens outside of the house of God. The prayer or the promise may happen in the house of God, but the result of that usually happens elsewhere. In the bible, healings didn’t happen in the temple or the tabernacle. This gives us an opportunity to praise God to those who are outside our four walls. The people that we want to reach don’t believe what we believe. The world needs to hear of the goodness of God and the story of salvation.

What God wants to do and what He gets to do in our life is often is very different. What God wants to do is often limited by what we will let Him do. God is love and God loves us. Understanding that simple truth is key to our allowing God to work in our lives. If we can embrace the truth of our text, something will happen that will transform our live. It will lift burdens from our shoulder and bring the sunshine of God’s presence and His love. In our text, Paul writes about the everyday problems that people experience in life. He says that we need to be conscious of those whose hands and knees have become weak dealing with the daily grind of life. He tells us to provide encouragement to those around us. The simple statement at the end of our text is the key to dealing with the burdens and struggles of life: “Let it be.” That means step back and allow for something that we are not seeing to come to fruition. That means to take our hands off of it, and let God work it out. That means that we have to give it some time. That means that we have to stop talking about it. That means that we cannot keep being mad about it. Just maybe we are not seeing everything that is part of the equations. God’s perspective is much better than ours, and if we will let God do it, he can do it better than we can. God’s outcome is better than any outcome we can engineer. Time can be our greatest ally. If we will simply let it go, time will heal our hurts. There are a lot of messed up people that are messed up because they cannot let it be. God wants to heal, God wants to restore, God wants to bless; we have to let it be.

GPS technology has changed navigation. Even with this, one of the biggest keys to getting somewhere is know where you are now. When you feel trapped by life, look up from where you are to find God. God will help you get beyond where you are now and moving to where He wants you to be.

GPS technology has changed navigation. Even with this, one of the biggest keys to getting somewhere is know where you are now. When you feel trapped by life, look up from where you are to find God. God will help you get beyond where you are now and moving to where He wants you to be.

As we draw to a close of the year, we tend to reflect upon the changes and events of the previous 12 months. Many times in the bible, God encourages His people to reflect and think about the happenings and experiences in their lives and to use that to chart a course going forward. Bro. Hughes stops to consider what has happened, and what may lay ahead in 2013. God often commanded Israel to certain actions in order to sustain themselves as a people. God knew that life would have situations and battles, and so for the preservation of His people, their future was dependent upon them keeping His commandments. One of these things was to teach their young. This was more than to just preserve their history and heritage. The reason God told Israel to teach their children was to remind them that what God has done, He will do again. Often times when we review the year, we remember the bad, pressures and troubles that happened. It is just as important to remember the blessing and good that came. The best evidence of what to expect in the future, is to remember what has happened in the past. The best way to face the future is simply to have faith in God. Faith is not blind acceptance of life’s problems, but faith is the promise that God has the answer to whatever problems there may be. The best indicator of what He will do is what He has already done. If He did it once, He will do it again! The hidden lesson of the past is that whatever God did, he has committed Himself to doing again.

Most of the struggles people have in life have nothing to do with the truth, but with perception. The truth can set us free, but perception can cloud the truth to the point that it will interfere with that. The perception is that if we get close enough to God, then that will change lives. The truth is that the Holy Ghost does not change people; people change people. We can have the greatest relationship with God, but still not be where He desires us to be. Yesterday cannot have control over today or tomorrow. God has given us the hope of absolute freedom, but very few of His children take advantage of that. The truth will make us free. The problem is that our perception of the truth will keep us from accepting that. When we allow life to define truth instead of allowing God do define it, we are bound even though freedom is there waiting to be claimed. We must not allow yesterday to define who we or were we are going. Perceptions cloud our minds. We look at life through the junk, the issues and problems. Until we change our perceptions, they will control us.

Most of the struggles people have in life have nothing to do with the truth, but with perception. The truth can set us free, but perception can cloud the truth to the point that it will interfere with that. The perception is that if we get close enough to God, then that will change lives. The truth is that the Holy Ghost does not change people; people change people. We can have the greatest relationship with God, but still not be where He desires us to be. Yesterday cannot have control over today or tomorrow. God has given us the hope of absolute freedom, but very few of His children take advantage of that. The truth will make us free. The problem is that our perception of the truth will keep us from accepting that. When we allow life to define truth instead of allowing God do define it, we are bound even though freedom is there waiting to be claimed. We must not allow yesterday to define who we or were we are going. Perceptions cloud our minds. We look at life through the junk, the issues and problems. Until we change our perceptions, they will control us.

As we draw to a close of the year, we tend to reflect upon the changes and events of the previous 12 months. Many times in the bible, God encourages His people to reflect and think about the happenings and experiences in their lives and to use that to chart a course going forward. Bro. Hughes stops to consider what has happened, and what may lay ahead in 2013. God often commanded Israel to certain actions in order to sustain themselves as a people. God knew that life would have situations and battles, and so for the preservation of His people, their future was dependent upon them keeping His commandments. One of these things was to teach their young. This was more than to just preserve their history and heritage. The reason God told Israel to teach their children was to remind them that what God has done, He will do again. Often times when we review the year, we remember the bad, pressures and troubles that happened. It is just as important to remember the blessing and good that came. The best evidence of what to expect in the future, is to remember what has happened in the past. The best way to face the future is simply to have faith in God. Faith is not blind acceptance of life’s problems, but faith is the promise that God has the answer to whatever problems there may be. The best indicator of what He will do is what He has already done. If He did it once, He will do it again! The hidden lesson of the past is that whatever God did, he has committed Himself to doing again.

We all think we know what Christmas is, but for many the meaning of Christmas is lost. It is buried beneath gifts, bows, parties and Santa. Bro. Hughes comes today to tell us why he celebrates Christmas. The reason for celebrating Christmas is found in our text. God created both men and angels. Both are very different, but there are similarities. God made a decision eons ago that of the two; man was to be saved. There is no salvation for angels. There are no prophets for angels. This verse describes how Christmas gives a gift to all of us. Why did God choose to save man and not angels? We cannot answer that question, but God decided to save man and that is why we celebrate Christmas. Christmas tells us that you and I mean more to God than anything else. The tree will be put away. Santa will come and go. The lights and tinsel will be taken down and put away. But the God that made a decision to save man will be with us all day every day all year. That is why I celebrate Christmas.