Thanks be to God, I am feeling a lot better. I was able to get back to work.
Here are the verses:
Jeremiah 17:14 -- "Heal me O Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise."
Philippians 4:19 -- "And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus."
I wanted to let you know that I have been very ill the last week. I will not be posting a sermon today. I am starting to feel a little better, and I will post the verses on Monday and a new sermon next Friday.
Thank you for taking the time to read the sermon this week. I hope that everyone has had a good week so far.
I John is one of the books of the Bible that I've read over and over again. One of the important messages of the book is that God loves us, so we also should love others. Those who love God will manifest their love for God in love for the world and love for those and those things that God loves. The book of I John tells us about forgiveness and light coming into a dark place.
There is one verse in this book that I want us to focus our attention on in today's message. I John 3:17 tells us that, "If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?"
There are two points that I want to make about our verse for today. First of all, the Bible is very clear in letting us know that true faith in Jesus Christ manifests itself in doing what is right and pleasing to the Lord. We just finished a study in the book of James not to long ago. If you remember, James was adamant on the point that faith without works is dead. It is not good enough to just say I believe. James says that some say they have faith. James says that we show that we have faith by our works, or by our good deeds. That does not mean that we are redeemed by good works or by keeping the law or by adding anything to what Jesus Christ has done for us by His grace.
If a person has a true transformation in their life brought about by the regeneration of the Holy Spirit, that person becomes a new creation in Christ. All of the old things have passed away. All has become new. We are to cast off the unfruitful works of darkness, sin and the fruits of the flesh. Instead, we are to walk in the light, and we are to manifest the fruit of the Spirit. We are to bear good fruit for the Lord as we abide in the vine which is Jesus our Lord.
Being a Christian does not mean going forward and reciting a prayer. Being a Christians means accepting Jesus as the Lord of one's life. A true possession of faith is demonstrated by following the commandments and the teachings of the Lord Jesus.
The new commandment that Jesus has given to His followers is that we are to love another as Jesus has loved us. Part of loving someone means that we provide them assistance in their time of need. We don't pass by and leave someone in their misery when it is in our power to help. Remember Jesus parable of the Good Samaritan.
Now to the second point that I want to bring up. As followers of Jesus, we need to show our love for Him and for this world by helping those who are in need. Many of those in my country have the means to help others who are need. I believe that if Christians would show their love for others and help those in need, we could alleviate much of the poverty and the suffering that we find in this world today.
In the United States, we are approaching the Thanksgiving Day holiday. If you are thankful for what God has blessed you with, and if the love of God is truly in your heart, don't turn away from those who have need. There are many hungry, homeless and in poverty. Jesus has called us to serve the least among us. During this holiday time, let us as we are able show our thanks and love for the Lord by reaching out in love to our brothers and sisters and helping them in their time of need. Amen.
Prayer Requests
This week, let us continue to pray for an end to the coronavirus pandemic. There are still many cases in the US. I now that Germany and the UK are having many cases as well. Pray that the sick will recover.
Pray for those in British Columbia dealing with the flooding. Pray that they will receive the aid that they need.
Continue to pray for peace in the world. Syria, Afghanistan, Chad, Ethiopia and Yemen really need our prayers.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let us all pray for those in the nations of Albania and India. Pray that many will come to know Jesus.
Next Friday, I will post another message on a passage that has meant a lot to me. On Monday, I will post the verses. There will not be a midweek post this week. May God bless you all. Happy Thanksgiving to those in the US.
I Peter 3:11 -- "They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it."
Matthew 5:9 -- "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God."
Welcome to this week's Weekend Sermon. I am glad that you have taken the time to read the sermon this week. I hope that everyone is doing very well.
Today, I would like us to focus our attention on another verse that has had a lot of meaning for me. Micah 4:4 states, "Everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for the Lord Almighty has spoken."
This verse is part of a larger context that tells us what is going to happen when the Lord Jesus comes in power and great glory at His Second Coming. He is going to physically return to this earth someday just as He promised to do. Many things will occur when Jesus comes back. As we learn from this passage in Micah, the world will finally have peace everywhere. Just before the verse for today's message, we read that nation will no longer rise against nation. They will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. There will be complete peace.
Peace in this world is something that I long for. If you have followed the blog for awhile, you know that each week I try to list some of the countries around the world that need prayers for peace. There are several countries where we have been praying for peace to come for quite some time. We have to be persistent in prayer as the Lord taught us, however, it does becoming discouraging when wars and violence continue and the innocent children are the ones who suffer the most.
I do take comfort in the fact that Jesus will come, and wars will be no more. He is the Almighty God, and whatever He says will be the rule. He will rule over all, and His rule will not be questioned until the final rebellion of Satan that will be immediately crushed.
The verse for today speaks about an individual type of peace that goes beyond the peace that comes when nations are no longer at war with one another. Our verse for today lets us know that when Jesus reigns, we will not have to fear what others with bad intentions might do to us. We will not have to fear violence and crime. We won't have to be afraid that something bad is going to happen to us or to those that we love. This is something that I am really looking forward to.
As someone who has had problems with anxiety and depression, part of what that brings for me is fear about what might happen. What bad thing is going to happen next that is going to bring about chaos and hardship in my life? It seems that there is just one thing after another, and sometimes it gets overwhelming and hard to deal with. I do take great comfort in the fact that Jesus is with me in all of the hard times in this life. I take even more comfort in knowing that all will be well when Jesus comes and makes all things new. I won't have to worry about anything. Jesus will be in complete control. It will be on earth as it is in heaven. Nothing will ever be able to harm us or trouble us again. That is the decree of the Lord, and He is the Almighty King of all the universe. May His name be praised.
Those who have put their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus are the ones who will be with Jesus on this world when He establishes His Kingdom. You can be part of that great world which is to come by turning to Jesus in repentance and faith. You can accept Jesus as the Lord of your life, and you will rule and reign with Him when He returns at His Second Coming. I urge you to turn to Jesus today.
If you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, take comfort in the great news that Jesus is coming again. He will make everything the way it was before sin entered into this world. We will be part of that. All will be well. Amen.
Prayer Request
I would like to thank the Lord for keeping me safe during the bad storms that we had in my area the other night. I do have something that I would ask you to pray about. I have to take my car to the shop on Monday. I am worried about how I am going to be able to pay for the repairs. Please pray that all will go well.
Please continue to pray for an end to the coronavirus pandemic. I heard this morning on the radio that cases in the US are rising again. I also heard that Germany is having a lot of problems with new cases. Please pray that all who are sick will recover.
Continue to pray that the nations of the world will work together to find a solution to the problem of global climate change.
Let us pray for peace in the troubled areas of this world. Pray for peace in Ethiopia, Chad, Libya, Syria and Yemen.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Laos and Myanmar. Pray that many will come to know Jesus.
Next week, I will post a message about another meaningful verse. I will post the verses on Monday, and I will try to post something midweek. May God bless you all.
Gray Days
The overcast sky
spreads out
across the darkened world.
A cumbersome quilt
pressing against the sleeper.
Pervading shades of gray
mute even the splendor
of blazing maples
whose orange and red
cannot penetrate the gloom.
The foreboding sky
mingles with the melancholy
of a depressed heart
lacking the light
that comes on a cloudless day.
I Peter 1:3 -- "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."
I Corinthians 15:22 -- "For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive."
It is time for us to get back to the weekly sermons. I had an enjoyable time doing the 31 Days in Proverbs series. I hope that you learned something from it. I hope that you have all been doing well and are in good health. I want to thank the Lord for giving me the opportunity to post this message.
For the next four weeks, I am going to present messages based on verses or passages in the Bible that have had a great deal of meaning to me in my life. There are actually three verses that I want us to focus on today. First of all Romans 8:1 tells us that, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."
The Bible is quite clear that all have sinned. We see this from both the Old and the New Testament. We stood condemned before God because our sin separated us from a holy God. We were part of the kingdom of darkness. The Bible actually says that in our lost state that we were enemies of God.
The Lord did not leave us in our sin. He is a God of justice, but He is also a God of mercy and love. He provided a way that we could be redeemed from sin and have a relationship with Him. God sent His Son the Lord Jesus Christ to this earth. He lived a perfect and sinless life. He succeeded where Adam failed.
The Bible says that Jesus bore our sins in His body on the cross. It also tells us that He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. When we call upon the name of the Lord in repentance and faith, Jesus takes away our sin. In place of our sin, He imputes to us His righteousness.
If we trust in what Jesus has done for us, we have moved from darkness to light. We have become God's friends instead of His enemies. As Romans 8:1 lets us know, we are no longer condemned. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. This is great news, and it is cause for us to always rejoice in the Lord.
Now, our two other verses let us know that we cannot be separated from the love of God. Romans 8:38-39 state, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, neither anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
These are amazing verses. God loves His children so much that nothing can separate from Him. While we live, we are loved by God. When we die, we will go to be with Jesus in the place that He has prepared for us. There are no spiritual forces that have the power to remove us from the love of God. In fact there is absolutely nothing that can separate from the love God in Christ Jesus. Nothing. We are loved by God with an amazing love that should make us want to praise Him at all times.
I am thankful to the Lord for His great love. I am redeemed not because of what I have done, but because of what Jesus has done for me. You can know the great love of the Lord in your life. Trust in the Lord Jesus. Accept Him and His forgiveness. You too will know that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Prayer Requests
I have been doing well for the past several weeks, and I want to thank the Lord for that. Please continue to pray that I will feel alright.
Please continue to pray that the coronavirus pandemic will end. Things are improving here in the US, but I just heard on the radio this morning that Russia, Germany and other nations, are seeing an increase in cases. Let us pray that those who are sick will quickly recover.
Pray for peace in this world. Yemen and Ethiopia really need our prayers right now. Pray for peace.
Pray in regard to the climate problems that our world is facing. Pray that the leaders of this world will find a way to help the planet.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in Eritrea and Guinea. Pray that many will come to know Jesus.
Next week, I will post the sermon on Friday. We will focus on another meaningful verse. I will post the verses on Monday, and I hope to have a midweek post. May God bless you all.
As many of you know, I've worked as a poet for a long time. I've posted some of my poems here on the blog in the past, and I intend to do so in the future. Reading poetry helps me to get in the mood to write poetry. I frequently read poetry books, and I am always on the lookout for poets the really inspire me.
I've recently been reading a poetry book entitled, "The Moon Before Morning'' by W.S Merwin. The poems in this book are excellent, and I believe that you would enjoy reading them. Merwin has many collections in publication, and he is among the most honored poets.
31 Days In Proverbs is over. We will return to normal here on the blog. Today, I will post the verses for the week. I hope to have a midweek post. On Friday, the Weekend Sermon will resume.
Verses
Isaiah 26:3 -- "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you."
I Corinthians 16:14 -- "Let all that you do be done in love."
