Worthy Words

When we go through trial and temptation we frequently and fervently pray that God will not abandon us in those moments.   Why is it we forget that we need to pray this way at all times? There’s not a time in our life, no matter how blessed we are, in which we can afford to do without His continuous protection. It doesn’t matter if we are walking in close relationship with His light or standing in darkness or temptation we should be praying, “Do not abandon me, O LORD. Do not stand at a distance, my God. Come quickly to help me, O Lord my savior.” — Psalm 38:21-22 NLT Even little children while learning to walk need a steady strong parental hand to hold onto while keeping them safe from falling in their struggling attempts to balance as they move forward. Your car will quickly drift off the road into the ditch once you remove your hands from the wheel. So then, we cannot do without the constant and continuing aid from the Father above.  I suggest that you let this be ...

The practical effect of receiving God’s grace in our hearts through Jesus Christ results in Christ-followers becoming His servants. “I have called you back from the ends of the earth, saying, 'You are my servant.' For I have chosen you and will not throw you away.” — Isaiah 41:9   Even though we prone to be unfaithful and certainly are unworthy, yet because of His faithful nature we are His servants eating from His table and obeying His directives. Before He saved us we were the servants of sin. Now, because of His death, burial, and resurrection we have been made free. As a result each of us has now been taken into His family where we are being taught obedience to His will. We do not serve our Master perfectly, but we would if we could. The Lord calls us not only His servants, but His chosen ones —"I have chosen you."  We didn’t choose Him first, but He has chosen us. If we are to be God's servants—knowing that we are not always leaning that direction to be...

Growing up my family went to church “religiously” (isn’t it funny how we use of that word?), I can still remember disliking church. It was boring and long—filled with people whom I didn’t know and who looked, well... too serious. One Sunday, my grandmother asked me, “Eddie, do you like church?” Exactly how was I going to answer that since I didn’t quite know the answer yet? She continued, unaffected by my pause, “I sure hope so, because this is what heaven is going to be like – church, eternally.” I’m guessing I had a pretty typical reaction to this for a nine-year-old boy, thinking, “If heaven is like an eternal church service, I’m not sure I really want to go there?” I’m much older now, at least physically, so, I’ve been doing some thinking. Is it possible to do the very things that please God, yet be so far from the spirit of its intention, that we miss its purpose completely? Lately, the more and more I read God’s Word, I keep finding some places where God appears to be saying, ...

According to my wife there have been times (too many!) when we have decided to go out for dinner, hopped into the truck and started driving around looking for a place to eat. I know where I’m headed —dinner— but not where I’m going. The idea of knowing where I’m headed but not where I’m going reminds me of the Christ-follower’s journey. When we respond in faith to Christ, we begin a lifelong faith-journey. We are called to follow Him. But, life’s situations and experiences are always changing. We’re confronted with detours along the way that begin to be the norm rather than the exception. So, we face our faith-journey one day at a time, trusting that we know where we’re headed even when we can’t clearly see where we’re going. Faith makes our journey possible and worthwhile. In the Old Testament book of Genesis we read about Abraham’s life story. His story is encouraging because his faith-journey in one way or another is similar to what God is calling all of us to. God called Abraham t...