Author: Pastor Doug

Friends, I’m back home and testing a new tablet. Please bear with me.🙂

Our scripture today is John 3:16 (NASB1995).For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

This passage comes from Jesus Himself, explaining why He has come. Faith in Him is the only way for us to be saved. Later in this Gospel He tells us that“In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2). He also said “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6). Jesus is the only sacrifice that can save us, but we must choose to follow Him. Doing it our own way is not an option.

Heavenly Father, we are grateful for the gift of Jesus our Savior. Bless us to be energetic in our kingdom work, sharing Your love with the world. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Philippians 4:4 (ESV).

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.”

Paul sends encouragement to the Philippians that God is there for us no matter what we face. Our earthly situations may cause us to worry, but we can rejoice always in His promise of salvation through faith in Christ. If Paul can write this from prison, how much more can we rejoice in our everyday lives?

Jesus tells us “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). This means everyone and Jesus is ready for us to bring Him any issue, no matter how heavy laden we may be. We may stumble under what we deal with, but as the song Jesus Loves Me says “they are weak but He is strong.”

Trying to accomplish things our own way rarely works out, even when we have good intentions. We need to ask God to be in everything we do. He is there and ready, but we must choose to include Him in our lives. 

Loving Lord, You are our reason to rejoice always. Bless us to share that joy with all Your children everywhere. Amen.

Friends, I’m traveling this week, posting may be a bit erratic.

Our scripture today is Isaiah 40:3 (NASB1995).

A voice is calling, “Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.”

The prophet Isaiah points to the coming of the Messiah, with encouragement to “Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.” This refers to our call to share the Gospel with the world. It is our job to ensure that all hear the Good News.

In Luke 1 we read of the birth of John the Baptist and the promised coming of Jesus Himself. Luke quotes this verse from Isaiah in chapter 3 explaining John’s role in preparing the way of the Lord. Like John, we are to make things ready for the coming of the kingdom.

In ancient times people called heralds went ahead of important leaders, getting people’s attention and readying them for the message that was coming. Jesus gave us a message of love to share and a choice: rather than going our own way we can be saved from our sins by believing in Him. May we all see the light of His love and walk in His way.

Heavenly Father, thank You for making us part of what You are doing in creation. Bless us to be bold in our sharing of the Word everywhere. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Psalms 139:23-24 (NASB1995).

Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.

God knows every intimate detail of our existence, so nothing we can share surprises Him and likewise, nothing is hidden from Him. Earlier in this psalm David writes “For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb” (Psalms 139:13). He asks God to search him and know his heart that God might help him identify any issues.

In Jeremiah 1:5 God reminds the prophet (and us) “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.” The Lord knows us better than we know ourselves because He made us. If we listen to His guidance we can use the gifts we are given according to His plan.

David asks God to lead him “in the everlasting way.” God wants all His children to be saved, but we must choose His way for ourselves. By accepting the forgiveness Christ brought us we can be part of what God is doing in the world.

Loving Lord, we are grateful You made a way for us to be saved and wait for us to choose to follow Jesus. Send us to share Your love everywhere. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is 1 Peter 2:24 (NASB1995).

He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.

Peter quotes from the prophet Isaiah to remind us “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). Jesus accepted a punishment that was not His own, in order that we might be made right with the Father.

Peter could be the poster boy for all of us – a mixture of belief and doubt, confidence and confusion. He went from the high of proclaiming “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16) to the low of “I don’t know him!” (Luke 22:60). Yet Jesus forgave him and made him a leader of the early church.

It is easy for us to ignore our sin, or to despair that it could never be forgiven. God says both are the wrong way to handle it. Jesus came to be the way to the Father, and when we believe in Him, “by His wounds we are healed.”

Loving Lord, we are sorry for the times we have gone our own way instead of the path we have been shown. Forgive us and send us in Your strength to share the Good News everywhere. Amen.

Our scripture today is 2 Timothy 4:7 (NASB1995).

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.

Paul sends what were likely final greetings to his protégée Timothy from a Roman jail cell. He sounds confident even though his words speak of the end of his life. Paul shows us the joy of putting our trust in the Lord and not worrying about the future.

Jesus spoke of His death in much the same manner, not defiantly or fearfully, but with the confidence of faith. He taught us that we can have this same assurance from God the Father. Then, by following His example we can share God’s love with the world.

Paul had certainly “fought the good fight”, bringing the Gospel to many places and people who then further shared the Good News. We have the same call today and God offers the same promise of salvation to those who like Paul have kept the faith.

Gracious God, we are amazed that You love us so much, even when we fail. Bless us to carry Your love to everyone. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NASB1995).

“For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”

Jeremiah had prophesied about God’s coming discipline for many years. The people forgot the warning of Moses in Deuteronomy 8:14 “then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” They had become full of themselves rather than full of God.

God had given them a “timeout” in the desert where they learned to trust Him after some missteps. Now in the promised land they had forgotten Him and another “timeout” in Babylon was coming. Jeremiah now begins a series of lessons about the hope for the future.

Most parents will say they take no pleasure in giving children a timeout, but it is a necessary action to prevent greater harm. It allows the disobedient party to consider their behavior and their relationship to their parent. God is offering the people a blessing in disguise: an up close look at a society that lives without God, and a chance to renew their connection to our loving God who wants only the best for us.

Gracious God, we can’t see the entirety of Your plan, and our shortsightedness often leads us away from what You offer us. Forgive us and help us to trust when we do not see, walking by faith, not sight. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Proverbs 16:9 (NASB1995).

The mind of man plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.

Often the Hebrew word translated as “plans” in Proverbs has a negative connotation, but God blesses our plans when they are actually His plans. This is the lesson from this verse, that God doesn’t want mindless obedient robots, He wants us to think for ourselves, but as Paul says “with the mind of Christ”, transforming our minds from earthly things to heavenly service.

Proverbs 3:5 warns “Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding.” (This is my life verse and I wish I could say I have always followed it.) “Our own understanding” means without consulting with God over our plans, the sad story of humanity doing it our way. God gave us intellect and curiosity to use for the good of all creation, but too often we are foolish and selfish with our gifts.

God wants to be there for us in our endeavors when they align with His plan. That means He is in control and we are His instruments, working for the good of all His children. When we allow the Lord to direct our steps we help bring the joy of His kingdom to all.

Loving Lord, we are grateful for all You have provided for us to do Your work here. Bless us to be productive disciples, sharing the Gospel with everyone. Amen.

Our scripture today is 1 John 2:6 (NASB1995).

The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.

In his first letter John reiterates what Jesus warned us about – practice what you preach. Ok, I’m still working on it too. It’s easy to repeat what Jesus taught, it’s harder to live out that teaching.

In Matthew 23:3 Jesus says about the Pharisees “therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.” Ignoring God’s plan for us while saying we are obedient doesn’t fool anyone but ourselves and certainly not the Lord.

God has wonderful gifts and opportunities for us, but we have to choose them for ourselves. Then we can use them for their primary purpose – sharing the Good News and caring for one another. We must say and do what He teaches us!

Heavenly Father, we are sorry for the times our words and actions don’t match, and don’t reflect Your love. Bless us to be good stewards of Your gifts and Your word. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Matthew 6:19-21 (NASB1995).

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Jesus explains that we are worth more than our wealth, possessions and position. He reminds us that those things can be lost or taken away, and they are only temporary. God values us in a much different eternal way.

He knows and cares about each of us equally. John 3:16 says it plainly: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” That’s the promise, “whoever believes in Him”, no bar to meet on what we’ve accomplished, no failure that can’t be forgiven.

Storing up treasure in heaven means acting on that belief out of love and gratitude for salvation. God wants us to use all His gifts to care for His creation. Again, its not a competition and there’s no scorecard. We are called to be part of the mission to share the Good News everywhere.

Forgiving Father, bless us to let go of our desire for things and look after each other as You intend. Help us to be aware of those around us and reach out with Your love and care. Amen.