With the Lord's help we will be sharing things on this page that we pray will be an encouragement to "my sheep." Things like devotional thoughts, praises, prayer requests, etc. Because we want to be a blessing, check this page on a regular basis.
January 18, 2010
For Today my prayer request for you is the same as John's was, "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." (III John 2)
Please join us in praying for Haiti.
Church, lets be determined to win in 2010!
Praise God for some new laborers in the Lord's work. Bro. Keith Smith (Bus Ministry) and Bro. Randy Ballard (Childrens ministry)
January 19, 2010
"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth"(III John 4). It was a joy to receive a phone call from Bro. Keith Smith last night and to hear his testimony about how the Lord used him to be a "fisher of men." He was on his way home when he saw a man on the street that looked hungry. Turns out he wasn't just physically hungry but spiritually hungry as well. Keith gave him the gospel and the man received the "bread of life." Praise God!
January 20,2010
Really enjoyed church this evening! Prayer time was special, heard an awesome rendition of "The King is Coming" by Bro. Randy Ballard, and Bro. Gary Wildt preached an excellent sermon on Powerless Christians.
January 21, 2010
Looking out the window and watching the rain continue. Can't help but recall the verses in Isaiah 55(9-10), "For as the rain cometh down, and snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." The song the Rochester's, Erwins, and our youth group does, "Send The Rain" also seems to be stuck in my mind, and I'm glad that it is. Also had a thought about Youth Rally this past November, the theme being "Send The Rain", and remember what a blessing that was!
January 26, 2010
Yesterday while I was working at the church I noticed that in the front yard a large flock of what I believe to be blackbirds had landed. Getting up from my desk I stood at the window for a few minutes and seen those birds do something strange. As quickly as they had landed they would lift off the ground and in a scrambled pattern they would zigzag in the air. Seconds later they would land on the yard only to repeat the process several times. I thought to myself, we are a lot like those blackbirds. We do not stay in one place long enough to benefit from something. We just light here and there but never really get all that is available to us. Sometimes we do this when it comes time to read our Bibles. We are guilty of doing this when it comes to prayer. Another area where this happens is in witnessing. I have even observed that it happens in church attendance. We never stay long enough in these things to get settled and established. We do them long enough to just get a taste but then we frantically fly off to something else. Then I thought of the words of Jesus when He said, "consider the sparrow..." and I said a prayer for myself and others that we would be more like the sparrow and less like the blackbirds. Let's meditate on God's Word, continue in prayer, cease not to teach and preach Jesus Christ, and forsake not the assembling of ourselves together!
January 27, 2010
Well my beloved basketball team lost it's first game of the college basketball season last night. This came just a day and a half after they had been proclaimed #1 in the polls, so they could very easily lose that #1 ranking. My thought is this: As soon as we make Jesus # One our opponent wants to defeat us. It is sad when Jesus is only allowed to be #1 in our lives for a short time. Sometimes we decide that the Word of God, prayer, etc. is going to be the priority in our lives only to discover that decision was short-lived. I am committed to keeping Jesus #1 in my life! What about you? Here is just a little "pastoral " counsel to help you with this challenge. Do not easily turn things over to the Devil. Put on the whole armor of God so that you are able to stand.
February 2, 2010
We wanted to write early Monday morning but were unable to because we could not access the site Admin page to update. I was told today that there was a problem with our server over the weekend and it was temporarily unavailable. The problem has been corrected thanks to Crown Web Services and we're back up and going. I am still praising the Lord for the good services that we had this past Sunday. It 's always good to see a lost person walk the aisle and get saved! Sister Martha Page was able to be at church and she blessed my heart with special music. Missionary Greg Wagoner shared with us what God is doing in Tanzania and preached a great message afterwards. I picked up on something he said in the DVD presentation on Tanzania that especially ministered to me. He gave this equation, TS x TS = (TSsquared), then he explained it. Time Spent x Trials Survived = Treasure Secured. Meditate on that for a while and I believe that will help you also!
February 4, 2010
A Pastor's Privilege
While I prayed this morning, your name came to mind. Before the throne in heaven I took a little time.
I asked God to send you comfort, to ease your every pain. I asked Him to send peace that you could not explain.
I asked if He would guide you in every step you take, and give you His own wisdom in every choice you make.
I prayed for His provision to meet your every need. I asked for HIs protection from Satan's fiery deeds.
As our time was almost ended one last request I made. The next time that you needed prayer, I asked God to call my name.
February 23, 2010
I have tried for years to make it a practice to read 5 Psalms a day as part of my devotional time with God. It has proven to be beneficial to me in our walk with the Lord. I've encouraged others to do the same and do so once again. In today's reading the Lord gave me something I wish to pass on to you. It has to do with the idea of being faithful. Sticking to it. In Psalm 119:31 it says, "I have stuck unto thy testimonies: O Lord, put me not to shame." We ought to stick to the Word! Then I was reminded of what Paul said in I Cor. 15:58, "Therefore my beloved brethren be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord..." We ought to stick to the work! I was also reminded of what Jesus said in Acts 1:8, "But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you : and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." Luke said in Acts 5:42, " and daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ." The Apostle Paul said in Acts 20: 27 - 31, "For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departure shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears. We ought to stick to witnessing and warning! I believe sticking to the previously mentioned things reveals that we are willing to "adhere" to God's will for our lives as His children.
April 24, 2010
I have witnessed an odd behavior the last few days at our house. We have a set of french doors in our living room that leads out to a deck. We actually use this as the front door to our home. Three days ago I observed a cardinal crashing into those doors. The bird would sit on the rail and sing(presumably) and repeatedly fly into the glass. It would sit at the foot of the door and jump upward into the glass also. From time to time it would move around to the front of the house and do the same thing at the two large picture windows there. As I write this article the bird is still doing this. I began to wonder what the reason was for such behavior and started researching material for an answer. Turns out that during the breeding season, the male cardinal may "fight" his reflection in a glass. I guess he thinks he see's competition. (Seems to me that he would learn real quick that there isn't any.) I am reminded of what the Apostle Paul said in I Corinthians 3:4-7 in regards to sowing and reaping a harvest. We must realize that it isn't a competition and that there can be no increase unless the Lord gives it. Some plant, and some water, but God gives the increase.
May 11, 2010
The Bible says in Mark 9:29 "According to your faith be it unto you." This truth is precious to me for it reveals that it's not according to your feelings, fame, fortune, friends, or your fate, but according to your faith. Faith is the medium of exchange in heaven. This is what God is interested in when we approach Him. If I carried two letters to the post office to be delivered and one of them was written on expensive stationary with every word being properly spelled but without a stamp, and the other letter written on cheap paper with misspelled words and a stamp included, which letter would get delivered? The one with the stamp. It is not the eloquence and form of our prayers that gets them delivered but the stamp of faith.
Sept. 6, 2011
What a blessed time we had last night in the first night of revival. Our dear friends, the Rochesters sang the praises of Jehovah and Bro. Scott Matthews preached a sermon on the path of life from Psalm 16:11. It's not always clear, of our choosing, or comfortable, but it is a path of faith, of following, and of fellowship. It ministered to me and so many others. I appreciate the good attendance to the house of God. Praying that we'll see you there this week also!
Drinking From My Saucer,
Bro. Randy