Time of Grace With Pastor Mike Novotny

Hezekiah stayed firm in his faith that God would provide.  God allowed the people of Judah to be terrified of the impending battle with the Assyrians to show them that through all things God is in control.  Then he sent just one angel to destroy the Assyrians.  Our faith will not grow unless it is tested.  We don't always feel God's presence in life, but blessed are those who believe.  

Stand firm in the knowledge that no matter how bad our earthly body gets as we age, we will be resurrected by God.  Our bodies might be injured, crippled, and disease filled here on earth, but we will be perfect in heaven.  This isn't a get out of jail free card though.  Our job is to care for our earthly body because it was given to us as a blessing.  We are God's temple!

Palm Monday should be a continuation of Palm Sunday. Jesus was praised and worshiped on Palm Sunday for his great miracles.  All of the crowds in Jerusalem sang great songs of praise as he rode in on a donkey.  Jesus cleared the temple and made it a place for worship again and our lesson is to continue God's praises all the days of the week.  

Just as he did with King Hezekiah’s life, God intervenes in our lives as well. He listens to our prayers and answers them because he cares about us. Our God is so big that there is nothing he can’t do. He made the sun’s shadow move backward for Hezekiah, and he will stop at nothing to keep us connected to him by faith. We have no need to worry about what the future holds because our amazing God is in control.

God want us to display strengths like Jonah. He knew God’s mercy is for all and knew God’s Word is powerful. Jonah didn’t run from God’s command to go to Nineveh because he thought it wouldn’t work; he was scared because he knew the power of God’s Word and didn’t think the Assyrians deserved saving. Christ himself said he would be like Jonah—resurrected after three days. God’s mercy is universal—for all people—so don’t be afraid to shout God’s saving message from the rooftops.

Noah and his family must have been terrified to be floating in an ark full of wild animals, surrounded only by water. But they were faithful servants of God, whom despite possible ridicule and doubt, built this floating home to preserve the family of believers. The church is our ark today, our safe zone. We might be made fun of or looked down upon, but we are children of God. On judgment day we will be rewarded with eternal life in heaven.

Wow, did Jesus have resistance to his message when he walked the earth as a human.  His disciples, family, friends, and neighbors thought he was crazy at times for traveling around telling people to believe and be saved.  You can experience that same resistance today, but don't be discouraged. Keep telling others about the saving message of Christ because God will give us perseverance to endure any sort of criticism Satan can dish out.

We can rebel and push back against God's influence in our life, but reality is that we need God and we desperately need those around us to encourage us in our faith.  We are blessed to have communities of believers that are able to bring us joy and satisfaction by meeting our spiritual needs.   Say yes to God's invitation to jump into a group of Christians and stop pushing back against God.

No earthly possession will go with you into heaven, but the people around you have the potential to be there with you.  What can we do to make that happen?  We can join the Great Commission and spread the good news of our Savior with everyone we meet.  Don't be afraid of the task given to God's children, but be confident that God is always with us.

It would be a scary sight to see a fire above the head of any human being, but that is how God made his presence known at the Pentecost following Jesus' death on the cross.  God gave all his believers the ability to speak in tongues and share the saving news of Christ in multiple languages.  God does not always make himself as apparently present as he did that Pentecost, but he does tell us that we are all good people who through him can tell others the good news of a Savior.  Even if we don't feel as though we have the words to speak we can trust that God will give us the right words at the right time.