A Faith That Carries On

Sometimes carrying on, just carrying on, is the superhuman achievement. – A Camus

Zarephath had little to offer the poor widow, yet she stayed. Then Elijah showed up. AMEN!

You either admire them or call them crazy! Who – those who willingly live in places where seasonal weather (tornadoes, hurricanes) is prone to wreak havoc in your livelihood. They stay faithfully, trusting everything will be okay. And even when disaster strikes, they stay, rebuild, and reclaim their lives. A better analogy for true faith is hard to find. Everyone of us in our faith walk will have a crisis or two, a tempest or major storm such as a serious illness, marital difficulties, job loss, family discord or other setbacks that threaten our sense of well-being. This is where faith is tested, tried, and proven. Will we stay, rebuild, and reclaim our lives, trusting and knowing God is still with us, or walk away never to look back. I guess the question is: Do we really think God brought us this far to leave us?

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“These have come so that your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed..” – I Peter 1:7

P.S. - The class for 'Contagious Faith' starts tonight at 6:30pm on campus. Hope you can join us!

Shaped in the Darkness

Some of the sharpest pictures are developed in the darkest rooms. – W. Smith

While Jesus was dying on the cross there was darkness all over the land. But then came The Resurrection. Can you say - Hallelujah!

Photo albums. We all have them. And from time to time we revisit them and reflect on the character and nature of the photo and what we were doing at the time. But have you ever really thought about the fact the albums only have pictures of us in 'good times.' That there are no pictures of us when we were going 'through it,' the tough times, down times. The times that really shook us but yet shaped us the most. The fact of the matter is we’ve all had grief, suffering, heartache, and sorrow in our lives, sometimes more than we think we can bear or deserve. But in truth it is often out of the ‘crucible’ of our dark times we encounter the greatest growth, changed hearts, deeper convictions, or greater appreciation for who God really is, and we are made a little more like Christ. And that’s a good thing!

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“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 Peter 1:3

Dare to Share the Gospel

Find somebody to be successful for. Raise their hopes. Think of their needs. Barak Obama

Little did Andrew know that telling his brother Peter about Jesus would lead to Pentecost. Wow!

The angels didn't shout when man made the radio, for they were already hearing heavenly music daily. There was no heavenly news headline when man learned to fly or travel through air and space, for angels have been sent to and fro to earth by God since creation itself. And when man discovered 'cloud' computing and its vast storage/safety potential, it didn't even bring a heavenly yawn, for Christ, who is the 'Wisdom of God' and has 'all perfect knowledge' and is unhackable, existed before the foundation of the world. But let a sinner repent and 'boy o boy' those angels strike up the band and celebrate! Are you up for planning a heavenly party today? Your kindness, testimony, or act of discipleship could very well be the invitation needed.

Until tomorrow...

Pastor Botts

"Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances.....Even angels long to look into these things." - I Peter 1:10-12

Faith Through It

Faith doesn’t get you around trouble, it gets you through it. – Stanley Smith

Hebrews 11 tells us of the many who made it through great sufferings and circumstances because of their faith. WOW!

Oftentimes when troubles interrupt or upset our lives we’re left questioning, “why me, I’ve prayed, read the Word, and meditated on it, so why is this happening to me. I thought I was faith-proofed for the day.” God never said we would live trouble free lives, but trouble and circumstances are there to grow us and test our faith. Remember what the psalmist David wrote in the 23rd psalm, “even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,” – the key words being ‘walk through’ – not stay. When troubles come our way we must shine the light of faith upon them to get a clear path to follow.

Until Monday……

Pastor Botts

“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith – of greater worth than gold….may be proved genuine.” – I Peter 1:6-7

P.S. - Don't forget your Tropical wear for Aloha Sunday! 便

Deja Vu

The toughest lesson to learn is probably the one you thought you already had. – Sparks

Peter thought he was ready to die for Jesus until it was showtime. True he failed, but Jesus gave him another opportunity. AMEN!

Déjà vu, coincidence! It seems life is like this quite often for most. Things we thought we were over and done with, habits we thought we had firmly broken away from or grown up from; seem to reappear on the horizon, tripping us up time and again. But often when we look at it properly we see they are not coincidental, they are the life lessons God is trying to work out in our lives. And until we pass the test convincingly with understanding, we will be sorely tried on every hand. God is effectively trying to cleanse and purge us from all sin (not big sin, little sin; but ALL sin) and He wants us to prove our love to Him not by words but by our actions and our heart. Life today will be filled with opportunity.

Until tomorrow….

Pastor Botts

“So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory.” – I Peter 1:12-13

Dark Times Bright Future

Some of the sharpest pictures are developed in the darkest rooms. – W. Smith

While Jesus was dying on the cross there was darkness all over the land. But then came The Resurrection. Can you say - Hallelujah!

Photo albums. We all have them. And from time to time we revisit them and reflect on the character and nature of the photo and what we were doing at the time. But have you ever really thought about the fact the albums only have pictures of us in 'good times.' That there are no pictures of us when we were going 'through it,' the tough times, down times. The times that really shook us but yet shaped us the most. The fact of the matter is we’ve all had grief, suffering, heartache, and sorrow in our lives, sometimes more than we think we can bear or deserve. But in truth it is often out of the ‘crucible’ of our dark times we encounter the greatest growth, changed hearts, deeper convictions, or greater appreciation for who God really is, and we are made a little more like Christ. And that’s a good thing!

Until tomorrow…..

Pastor Botts

“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 Peter 1:3

Make it Through with Faith

Faith doesn’t get you around trouble, it gets you through it. – Stanley Smith

Hebrews 11 tells us of the many who made it through great sufferings and circumstances because of their faith. WOW!

Oftentimes when troubles interrupt or upset our lives we’re left questioning, “why me, I’ve prayed, read the Word, and meditated on it, so why is this happening to me. I thought I was faith-proofed for the day.” God never said we would live trouble free lives, but trouble and circumstances are there to grow us and test our faith. Remember what the psalmist David wrote in the 23rd psalm, “even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,” – the key words being ‘walk through’ – not stay. When troubles come our way we must shine the light of faith upon them to get a clear path to follow.

Until Monday……

Pastor Botts

“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith – of greater worth than gold….may be proved genuine.” – I Peter 1:6-7

P.S. - Hope to see you at the picnic tomorrow.