Verses For The Week And Prayer Request

       I am having extreme pain. Please pray that this will stop. 

Verses:

I Corinthians 16:14 -- "Let all that you do be done in love."

I John 4:19 -- "We love because He first loved us."

Weekend Sermon -- God Almighty

      Thank you for taking the time to read the blog this week. I also want to thank you for your prayers this week. We did not have a bad ice storm, and I thank the Lord for that. The coldest weather is also behind us. I hope that you are all having a very good week. 

     If you remember, last week, we began a new series of messages on the names of God found throughout the Old Testament. In the prior message, we focused on the fact that God is referred to as the Most High God. 

     Today, I want to us to bring our attention to the fact that God is referred to as God Almighty multiple times throughout the Scriptures. One of the first occurrences of this is found in Genesis 17:1 that states, "When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, I am God Almighty, walk before me faithfully and be blameless." We also see God called God Almighty in the Psalms such as Psalm 84:8 that reads, "Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty, listen to me God of Jacob." Also, in Hosea 12:5 we read, "The Lord God Almighty, the Lord is His name."

     God Almighty is one of the terms most used to describe God. What does it mean that God is Almighty? First of all, I believe that it refers to God's creative power. The Bible tells us that God spoke and created all that exists. Not only did He have the power to create the entire universe, the entire universe is currently sustained by the word of His power. 

     By describing God as Almighty, the Bible is telling us that the Lord has ultimate power. He is omnipotent. There is nothing that He cannot do that can be done. He has the power to make sure that His will and His way is carried out within the world. There is no force or power, including the power of evil, that can stand against Him and what He wants to do and accomplish in this world."

     In the Old Testament, one of the important ideas behind the title God Almighty is that God was able to make sure that Israel was safe. The enemies of God's people would not be able to defeat them as long as they remained faithful to the Lord. 

     Finally, God Almighty is mighty to save. Although we are held in the power of sin, God and His love are more powerful. God Almighty can break the power of sin and provide salvation to all who are willing to place their faith and trust in His only begotten Son. 

     Now, how is God Almighty for us? As I mentioned, He has the power to save us from sin. Also, because God is Almighty, He has the power to make sure that every promise that He has given to us is fulfilled. Jesus said that whoever believes in Him, will be with Him forever in the place that He has prepared for those who love Him. As the incarnation of the Almighty, Jesus has the power to bring about for all eternity that which He has promised. 

     As God Almighty, the Lord has the power to bring about what is the pinnacle of salvation, namely, the restoration of all things at the Second Coming. When Jesus returns, His Almighty power will end all sin and evil, and all things in the universe will be restored to the Edenic state. 

    We serve God Almighty. We can trust in His power to deliver us and to help us throughout this life. We can trust in His power to be with us in the life to come and for all eternity. Amen.

Prayer Requests

     Please continue to pray about my health and my job. I am feeling a little better this week. The job situation isn't that great. 

     The world is in a lot of turmoil right now. The entire Middle East seems like it could erupt in conflict at any time. Please pray for peace in this area of the world. Also, don't forget to keep praying for peace in Sudan and Ukraine. 

     Pray for those affected by natural disasters. Pray that they will get the aid that they need. 

     For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Japan and Morocco. Pray that many will come to know Jesus. 

     Next week, we will continue with our series. I will post the verses on Monday. May God bless you all. 

     

Verses For The Week

 Romans 12:12 -- "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."

John 15:11 -- "I have told you this so that my joy might be in you and that your joy might be made complete."

Something I Want To Say And A Couple Of Prayer Requests

     Because the last few days have been terrible with the weather and my health problems, I didn't get the chance to post something that is really important to me. January 13, is a really special day to me because that is the day that my friend Toby came to live with me. I am very thankful to the Lord that He brought the two of us together. 

     It has been very snowy where I live that last few days. Toby always loved to play in the snow. As long as it wasn't too cold. I don't think that he would have liked being out in the mess we've been having as the temperature was as cold as -10 F with -30 wind chills. 

     I miss Toby every day. I know that one day we will be together again. If he was still with me now, my life would be a lot better than it is. To be quite honest, since he has been gone, life hasn't been that great.

     I do have a couple of prayer requests. First of all, the weather people are forecasting freezing rain tonight and tomorrow where I live. Please pray that we don't get much ice.

     I have a second prayer request. With my health being bad coupled with the weather keeping me from getting to work a couple days, things are not going well at my job. They are very intolerant of people missing work even for bad sicknesses. They wrote up one person there because she took a couple of days off to be with her mother who was dying in hospice. My health is not good right now with lung and joint problems. First of all, please pray that I can get better. Second, pray that I can at least get to work more, but I would really like to find a job that is closer to my house where the management is better. 

    Thank you for your prayers. Hopefully, we will get everything back on track with the blog. We've started the new sermon series, and I am looking forward to that for the next few weeks. I have something else planned after that. Also, the second half of the Minor Prophets book is finished, and I will start posting that in a couple of weeks. 

     

Weekend Sermon -- The Most High God

      It is good to be able to post the message this week. Where I live in the US, we have been having terrible weather. We had a bad snow storm, and I couldn't get out of the house for a little while. Also, the temperatures have been well below zero Fahrenheit for a good stretch. Hopefully, these conditions will moderate, and I can get things back on the right schedule. 

     This week, we are going to start a new series of messages. Last year, we had a series that focused on the names and titles of Jesus found throughout the Bible. To start this year off, I want us to focus our attention on the names and titles for God found in the Old Testament. 

    Today, I want us to look at the fact that in many passages, God is referred to as the Most High God. In Hebrew, this is El Elyon. This title is used for God 28 times in the Scriptures. We see this title for God most often in the Psalms. For instance, Psalm 57:2 that states, "I will cry unto God most high, unto God that performeth all things for me."

     When the Bible refers to God as the Most High God, it is making the statement that there is no being anywhere that is greater than the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is the only True and Living God. Isaiah 45:5 tells us that God alone is God. Apart from Him, there is no other. His ways are above our ways, and His thoughts are above our thoughts. 

     The title Most High God, lets us know that our God is exalted and magnificent. One of the places in the Bible that really brings this out is in Isaiah 6. Isaiah sees God on His throne high and lifted up. The angels were crying out Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord. The whole earth is filled with His glory.  In addition to this passage, Revelation 4 and 5 give us a glimpse into the throne room of Heaven showing us the majesty of God.  These passages truly show us that God is the Most High God. 

    Now, what are the implications of all of this for us? First of all, since God is the Most High God, He is worthy of all our praise and adoration. He is above all. He is worthy of worship. He is the creator and sustainer of all things. As those created by the Most High God, it is our obligation to bring Him praise. 

    Since our God is the Most High God, He is worthy of our service and our loyalty. Paul tells us in Romans that we should present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God which is our reasonable service. There can be no greater thing that we can do in all of our lives than to serve the Most High God who is over all and above all. 

    Finally, since God is the Most High God, we should obey Him and do those things that He has commanded us to do. As the Sovereign Lord of the universe, He has set down the laws that are to govern this universe. We need to obey Him, follow His commandments and do what He has told us to do. 

     The one thing that the Most High God wants all people to do is to follow His Son the Lord Jesus Christ. When Jesus was on the mount of transfiguration, the voice of God came from the cloud saying, "This is My beloved Son, hear Him." The Most High God wants us to accept His Son as Savior so that we might be redeemed. Let us all listen to the Most High God. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     Please pray for me. I am not feeling at all well. The weather is getting me down. Thank you for your prayers. 

     Continue to pray for peace in the troubles areas of this world. Israel, Gaza, Yemen, Syria, Ukraine, Sudan, Chad, Myanmar and many other nations need our prayers for peace. 

     Pray for those affected by natural disasters. Pray that they will get the help and the aid that they need. 

     Pray for immigrants and migrants that they will be safe and find the help that they need. 

     For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Somalia and Thailand. Pray that many will come to know Jesus. 

     Next week, I hope to get things back on track. I will post the verses on Monday, and we will continue with our new series for the sermon. May God bless you all. 

Weekend Sermon

    The message will be very, very brief today. We are having bad winter weather . Please pray it won't be too bad.

      As we go into the new year, I want to urge everyone to keep up with your spiritual displines. Keep praying everday. The Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. We need to bring all cares to the Lord.

     Keep reading and studying the Bible especially the words of Jesus. We need to learn about Him so we can fully follow His commandments and teachings.

     Finally, keep doing good. We overcome evil with good and build up treasure in Heaven Amen.

Prayer Requests

     Keep praying for peace in Israel, Gaza, Yemen, Ukraine and Sudan.

     Pray for those in Qatar and Djibouti that they might learn more about Jesus.

     Next week I hope to start a new series. May God bless you all.

Verses For The Week

     Psalm 23:6 -- "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

     I John 4:7 -- "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God."

Weekend Sermon -- Focusing On The Right Things

      Thank you for reading the message today. I am posting a day later than usual because yesterday we had bad winter weather in my area, and I didn't want to get out to the library in the snow. The forecast is for very bad snow this whole week in my area, so please pray that it wont be too bad as I have quite a distance to travel to and from work. 

     We have just started the new year. Last week, I mentioned some of the things that we can do to be prepared spiritually for the new year. In today's message, I want us to think about what we will focus our time and attention on in the upcoming year and beyond. It is important that we are moving in the right direction in life. 

     As we begin, let us consider the words of Jesus on what our life's focus should be. In Matthew 6:19-21, Jesus gives us instruction about what is really important in life. He says, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

     In this passage, Jesus is telling us to make sure that we are living our lives with eternity's values in view. The focus of our lives should be on that which is eternal and not on that which is temporal. So many people, including many Christians that I know, make the focus of their life the pursuit of gaining wealth and accumulating possessions. Doing this is what Jesus calls building up treasure on earth. Working just to gain a lot of money and possessions is futile in the long run. These things will not remain. They can be gone in an instant, and we can't take them with us when we die. 

     Jesus tells us to make the focus of our lives the building up of treasure in Heaven. What does it mean to build up treasure in Heaven? One thing that I think that it means is that we try to lead others to faith in Jesus. There would be no greater treasure in Heaven that I can think of than to see people in eternity with us that we had the privilege to share the good news of the love of Jesus with. 

     I also believe that building up treasure in Heaven means doing good and trying to help others. It means living a life that draws us closer to the Lord Jesus. When we help others and love others, we are keeping eternity's values in view. We are following the teachings and commandments of Jesus, and that is something that we should always strive to do. 

     Now, I want to say another word about keeping the right focus in the new year and beyond. Jesus should always be the focus of our lives. Hebrews 12:2 tells us, "Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end."

     We have to keep our eyes on the Lord. We must not look to the left nor the right, and we definitely don't want to look behind us. Keeping our eyes on Jesus means keeping the Lord's example and way of doing things as the core of our being. It means that in every thing that we do in this life, we ask what Jesus did or what Jesus would do in the situation. We live and move in this world as Jesus did when He was here on this earth. 

     If we keep our eyes on Jesus, that will allow us to have the right focus in life. We will work in this life to build up treasure in Heaven, and we will realize that this world and what it contains is fading away. Jesus is Lord. Make Him your Lord by following Him all along the way. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     This week, please pray about the weather situation. It has me quite concerned. I will tell you why. With the new manager where I work, the job situation is precarious always. If I have to miss much due to weather, I might be out of a job, and I don't want that right now. Please keep praying. I thank you for your prayers. 

     Let us keep praying for peace in the war torn regions of our world. Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, and Sudan really need our prayers. 

     Pray for those who are recovering from natural disasters such as the earthquake that struck Japan. Pray that people's needs will be met. 

     Always remember to pray for the leaders of your nation. Pray that they will be guided by the Lord. 

     For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Bhutan and Togo. Pray that many will come to know Jesus. 

     Next week, I will post the verses on Monday. I hope to post the message on Friday. May God bless you all. 

Verses For The Week

 Philippians 3:14 -- " I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

Mark 10:45 -- "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many."