Verses For The Week

 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."

Weekend Sermon -- Micah 4:4

      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. 

Poem

 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.

Verses For The Week

 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."

Weekend Sermon -- Romans 8:1 and 8:38-39

      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. 

Book Recommendation

      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. 

Verses For The Week And An Update

      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."