Making It Through

The best way out is always through. - Robert Frost

The only way into the Promised Land was through the nations of people God would help the Israelites conquer. They thought otherwise but finally trusted God's commands and were rewarded. AMEN!

No one likes pain or distress, and when they come we immediately try to circumvent them. But when God engineers situations for us He is shaping, pruning, and perfecting our character for His glory, and our perseverance is the order of the day. To quit, give up, or seek another avenue is to miss out on the blessings and growth He desires for us. True, it may be hard, unpleasant, distasteful, and seem lonely right now; but we must remember what He tells us in His Word "though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death....He is with us." Situations and circumstances in our life may not be the best, but that only means we've not quite made it through yet. We should just trust God and enjoy the journey.

Until tomorrow...

Pastor Botts

"Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him." - James 1:12

Your Fruit Will Always Tell On You

How we play the game shows something of our character; how we act after a loss shows all of it. – Richard Murray

Saul was happy David had slain the giant Goliath. But when the people praised David ‘more’ than him, all bets were off. Hmm!

Chair throwing, running into the stands after a fan, obscene gestures, etc. We’ve all seen or heard of this behavior in sports and rightly detest it. We make statements like “he should know better,” or “come on, get a grip,” or “it’s not that serious!” But often in our daily living we’re not much better. Minor incidents – we curse or swear like a sailor. Delays or setbacks – we blow our top. Unrequited respect – we burn a hole in them with our glare. As people of the Word, we are not called to always be nice but we are called to be holy and righteous in all we do. The good thing about it is God is a God of second and third chances, so today is another gift.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.” – Matthew 7:20

How To Be Truly Powerful

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power. – Abraham Lincoln

Solomon was considered the wisest king ever and a man of good character, but his son Rehoboam let the power of being king go to his head. OUCH!

It is said that power corrupts and that absolute power corrupts absolutely. And though most of us would say we would never be drunk with power as we see in most tyrants, despots, and dictators, in reality we are that way in some areas of our lives. We have the power to submit to God’s will or not, and more often than not we choose not to submit. Circumstances, resources, timing, happen to us all; and we can try to excuse ourselves from submission or obedience because of them, but it doesn’t get us off the hook. The whole idea and understanding of power can be gleaned from our Heavenly Father. He is omnipotent but yet He is full of love, mercy, grace, compassion and forgiveness. And if God sets the example for us, who are we to try something different?

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“The most important one, answered Jesus, is this…..Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” – Mark 12:30-31

Moving At the Pace of Together

The journey with others is sometimes slower, but God is never in a hurry. – Anon

Moses spent an additional 40 years in the wilderness with the rebellious Hebrew children, but he got to know God much better. AMEN!

As you travel along any road, street, or highway you’ll notice them. Signs with posted ‘safe’ speed limits. Limits determined to keep us safe and under control. We tend to want to speed through life, set our pace, hit our stride,; and not have anyone interfere with it. It’s as if we have a set time to arrive at a set destination. But God is not confined to our schedules, our pace, nor our end desires. It is we ‘who live and move and have our being in Him,’ and not the other way around. The best way for us to perfect our character is in relationship (with God and man) so God often engineers situations and circumstances for us to work or serve with those in whom we see no benefit, but He does. Ours is to enjoy the journey.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“We then who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.” – Romans 15:1-2

Perceiving the Potential

Where we see a block of cement a sculptor sees a work of beauty to unveil. - Anon

The disciples saw nothing good or worthwhile in Paul until Barnabas put him under the light of Christ. Hmm!

There is one profound truth we must all accept: the truth that God loves us more than we love ourselves. Being made in His image, He always sees the 'true' person we can become. He works in our lives through trials to strengthen our faith and trust in Him, struggles to help us fix our focus and dependence on Him, and oppositions to help us realize no one is greater than Him. He allows sickness and pain to remind us He is a healer and comforter, and even allows us to face sorrow/grief to remind us He is greater than death. The reason for all this is He sees in us the same 'character' traits that were in His Son Jesus, and He wants to perfect them in us. Why? That we may be like Jesus and help 'turn' others to Him to be saved. In this New Year, let's not waste any opportunities, let's remember that no matter what is happening in and around us God is at His work, because He knows us and loves us more than we love ourselves.

Until tomorrow...

Pastor Botts

"Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - of whom I am the worst." - I Timothy 1:15

Forged in the Mundane

Character is not made in a crisis, it is only exhibited. – Sparks

Moses spent 40 years toiling as a shepherd. God felt that was long enough to develop him into a leader for his people. Hmm!

We often look for character-building ideas and exercises to help us prepare for the major emergencies and turmoil in our life, on our jobs, and elsewhere. But true character is not learned in the classroom or high pressure situations, it can only be forged through the mundane activities of the day. It is a maturing process that comes over time, mainly time spent alone with God. The general truth is that what you do while you’re alone, you’ll do when the heat is on as well. If our character is suspect in the dark, it will be suspect in the light of the moment as well. Life’s situations will be calling upon us today, hopefully we'll be ready?

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that that you should follow in his steps…..When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.” – I Peter 2:21, 23

Hard But Good

Don’t wish it were easier, pray you get better! – J. Rohn

Solomon prayed not for easy guidelines to rule God’s people but for an increase in wisdom to do it justly. AMEN!

Make no bones about it, life at times is hard. But God never promised it would be a bed of roses every day. Often, if we’re not careful we find ourselves wishing life weren’t so hard, problems weren’t so many, even praying to God asking Him to make IT better (easier). But in reality, WE should be striving to get better, become more dedicated to the tasks, asking for strength to endure and understand God’s purpose rather than relief from the situation or circumstance. Taking the easy way out may save face, but it never helps to forge our character. The whole of this life is to prepare us for eternity, when we put on perfection.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“….The testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” – James 1:3-4

Ambassadors On Duty

We misrepresent God when we wear His name but not His character. - Anon

Jesus' main antagonists actually wore the clothes of holy men. Go Figure!

In sports it's "you play for the name on the front of the jersey, not the back!" In law enforcement and the military, it's "you respect the uniform!" The bottom line is you are a representative of the organization, its values, morals, and goals. You promise to uphold and promote them whenever and wherever. It's actually a biblical concept. We are Christ's 'ambassadors' in the world. Our aim is to uphold and promote the values, morals, and building of His kingdom whenever, and wherever we are. Living for God is not a some of the time life, nor a 'when it appeals to me life. It is a completely 'surrendered' life, where others should see/hear the Christ in us at all times. Why not start today.

Until Monday...

Pastor Botts

"Make the tree good and its fruit will be good or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit." - Matthew 12:33

Pulling Weeds

Solitary trees, if they grow at all, grow strong! - Winston Churchill

Achan! Korah! These men weren't anti-God, but they still had to be purged from the community. Hmm!

Weeds! Every garden or lawn has them. No one plants them, but they appear. Seeds sown via the wind or deposited unknowingly by visiting critters take root. And the next thing you know - BAM - they're growing. It's often the same in our lives. The enemy rarely comes in announcing his intention, he passes through casually scattering seeds. This is why we need to be careful of whom we associate with and/or the content of media we consume. Everything seems to have 'seeds.' The good thing for us is that we have a 'caretaker' of our garden, and He has a way of removing those 'weeds.' Jesus says let them grow together then toss them into the fire and He'll do the separating. Whoa! Maybe the turmoil, stress, or anxiousness in your life right now is the 'separation' process going on. Maybe all you need to do is stand firm and let Him finish the work. Why not just praise Him in the process. Amen!

Until tomorrow...

Pastor Botts

"Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character." - I Corinthians 15:33

Taking Life Off Pause

Even if you can’t get over it, get on with it! – R. Gilbert

Esau was infuriated with his brother Jacob for ‘stealing’ his blessing, but he managed to make a good life for himself and his people. It changed his heart too! WOW!

Life is a series of actions, circumstances, and events that come upon us all. And oftentimes the end results are not pleasant or to our liking. But we must remember God is not so much concerned about our ‘comfort’ in life as He is with our character. The things He allows (and yes sometimes He uses our enemies) are to help shape and mold us into what He needs us to be. We injure ourselves and slow our progress when we hold grudges or revenge in our heart – it's just excess baggage. Our lives should not be on hold because of what happened yesterday, we should be continually pressing on toward ‘the prize.’

Until tomorrow...

Pastor Botts

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw of everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance, the race marked out for us.” – Hebrews 12:1

The Road to Greatness Lies in Servitude

Do not despise the bottom rungs in the ascent to greatness. – Publilius Syrus

In the Upper Room meeting the disciples all looked for a prominent place to sit, Jesus looked for a place to serve. Hmm!

The measure of greatness in God’s kingdom differs greatly from that of the world. Society idolizes the rich, the powerful, the beautiful, the well-heeled, and those with large followings. The world will estimate your importance by the number of people serving you, but God is more concerned with the number of people you are serving. It takes a far more noble character to serve than to be served, but that’s the heart of God. Opportunities to serve will be great today.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

"Jesus called them together and said, ‘You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.” – Mark 10:42-44

Faith Forged Through Patience

Could you not watch with me one hour...... - Jesus

Saul grew impatient waiting on Samuel to arrive, and it cost him dearly. OUCH!

Technology, with its many instantaneous forms of communication has opened up the floodgates for conversation, idea exchanges, discussion, etc., which are all very good. Almost everyone with a cell phone, I-Pad, or PC can join in. The dark side of this communication phenomenon is that it has begun to make us very impatient. Just think of the times you've texted or emailed someone, then called to see if they received your message because their response wasn't quick enough for you. And sadly, we've let this impatient attitude creep into our relationship with God. We want our prayers answered in an instant. We want our faith built in a day, our character perfected through 1 or 2 bible study sessions at most. God cannot and will not be rushed. And if we become frustrated with His apparent delays to our needs, we must remember He is not so much concerned with our comfort as He is our character. And character is developed by a faith forged through perseverance and patience.

Until tomorrow...

Pastor Botts

"Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." - Psalm 27:14

The Humble Life

There is nothing noble about being superior to some other man. The true nobility is in being superior to your previous self. – Hindu Proverb

Jesus, though Kings of Kings, was able to connect with the ‘common’ man because he made himself common to man. Hmm!

In sports we want to overpower them. On the job we want to show them up. Even in the church we want to show them we’re holier. From our early upbringing we’re taught competition settles most things, and no one likes a loser. So we pattern our lives this way. Competition is okay in sports. But life itself is neither a competition nor an audition; it is character preparation before God. The noble man knows regardless of his blessings, talent, and surroundings, he is no better than his fellow man and that his overall success is actually somewhat tied to that of his fellow man succeeding as well, which should keep us all honest. After all, I’ve never met anyone who liked eating ‘humble pie.’

Until Monday…

Pastor Botts

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.” – Philippians 2:3

P.S. - hope you can join us tomorrow morning for Prayer Breakfast at 9:30am.

Unwrapping Changing Transformation

Complete acceptance is the doorway to transformation. - Eckhart Tolle

It really wasn't until that early morning 'fish' breakfast AFTER the Resurrection that Peter really, really, realized how much Jesus loved him. Hmm!

Look around! you probably have one yourself. A gift someone gave you, still in its original packaging. Oh, you unwrapped it alright, but it just hasn't found its way out of the package and into your use. You'll get around to it someday! Unfortunately, that's the way a lot of folks, even some of us; receive Jesus and the new life He brings. We openly claim the gift of salvation Jesus offers but never really let the Holy Spirit out of the package (into our hearts), so we never experience the life changing transformation promised. Maybe instead of asking God for more of this/that in our prayers we should just let the Holy Spirit out of the package. I'm sure He will not only change our 'perceived' needs but also give us a much clearer view of what we already have in Christ.

Until Monday...

Pastor Botts

"Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true."- Acts 17:11

Growing Up

We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future. - F. D. Roosevelt

Though he was only 8 years old when he became king, Josiah decided to be a man for God. WOW!

Ask any child 'Who do you want to be when you grow up?' and just listen to the answers. Most will posit a famous entertainer, rapper, or maybe an athlete. Others might answer a doctor, lawyer, business owner, etc. All great replies you would expect from children, but they don't answer the question. It's not 'what' (profession) do you want to be, but 'who' (character) do you want to be. Thinking along these lines we might ask ourselves are there any other 'childish ways' we may be rooted in. It's true God wants us to come to Him with 'childlike' faith (purity) but He doesn't want us to remain 'childish' (immature) in our ways. As we look at where we are right now, is this who we imagined we would be at this point in our lives years ago? Do I still throw temper tantrums? Do I still 'take my ball and go home' when I don't get my way? Hopefully we're a far better version than we ever thought possible, so we should praise God. If we're not who we want to be then we should also praise God, for there's still time to change; and then ask Him to shape us into 'who' we need to be for His glory.

Until tomorrow...

Pastor Botts


"When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put childish ways behind me." - I Corinthians 13:11

The Choice Is Yours

You are exactly who you’ve chosen to be! – Anon

Joseph’s character was never in question, and he made sure it stayed that way. Just ask Potiphar’s wife. Hmm!

From the moment we wake up each day until the moment we nod off at night, our life’s tapestry is knitted together by the decisions and choices we make. What to do, what to say, what to meditate on, etc… You can choose to dwell on your health problems, financial issues, or other challenges in your life, or you can choose to remind yourself of the blessings God has brought to you and brought you through. The choice of being bitter or better is not ‘forced’ upon us by life’s situations, it’s a conscious choice or decision we make alone. The one thing that should always remain in our consciousness is that ‘if God is God?’ our every decision should be made in light of His wisdom…… and man o’ man, does God have some answers.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“….but the wisdom that comes from heaven, is first of all pure; then peace-loving” – James 3:17

Praise for All That's Good

It’s just as easy to look for the good things in life as the bad. - Sparks

In all that Joseph went through (abandonment, prison, etc.) his attitude seems to say he never had a bad day. Hmm!

The alarm doesn’t go off and you wake up late. The sun is shining. You spill coffee on your clothes on the way to work. You have a job. The boss doesn’t like your report. You still have a job. You work through lunch to fix the report. You actually have food to eat. It can go on and on like this in work, life, relationships, you name it. The issue is we are so bent on seeing all the ‘wrongs’ or ‘bad things’ that occur to us that we seldom see or think about all the good that happens. We’re not hard-wired that way – for God wants us to see His beauty and splendor – but somewhere along the road of life we seem to have picked up blinders to all that is good and can only focus on what isn’t, and we gladly tell others about it. God never said life would be perfect, but that life would help perfect us, if we see it properly for what it is, a training ground for our character – which is the only thing we can take into eternity. So today, why not try to see all the good God brings your way and praise Him for it – for you need remember, you are a ‘piece of work’!

Until Monday…

Pastor Botts

“…I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be on my lips…..” – Psalm 34:1

Practice and Develop

Good habits are as easy to form as bad ones. – T. McCarver

The writer of Hebrews admonished the saints for neglecting the ‘habit’ of meeting together. He said something about it being a sinful practice. Hmm!

Most of us know it isn't hard to be good from time to time. What's tough is being good every day. And the only way to achieve such a lifestyle is to develop good habits. We must take the time and effort to deliberately force ourselves into acts of obedience and righteousness. This is how both habits and skills are developed, by doing it over and over again, building a 'winning streak'. The only difference is with skills we’re intentional about developing them, with habits we’re not. This is often why we develop bad habits before we know it. If we don’t continuously practice good habits, bad habits are the natural result. The question we must all answer is: If all we take into eternity with us is our character – what type of character would please God? I think we already know…

Until tomorrow…..

Pastor Botts

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true....noble...right...pure...lovely...admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice." - Philippians 4:8-9

Does It Fit?

If you were given a nickname descriptive of your character, would ‘Christian’ really fit? – Anon

True, God changed Abram’s name to Abraham – the father of many nations, but it took God 25 years to change his character to fit the name. Hmm!

In bible times a persons name represented their character, it was a look into who they were. Big assignments required big characters. Not in terms of stature or size, but in terms of heart and devotion to God. God will give us all responsibility in proportion to our character – the size of which will be up to us and our faith in God. And no matter the desire God will take His time in developing the character size we choose. He sees what we can be from an eternal perspective and not just day-to-day. The great thing is if you’re not happy with your character remember God is still at work.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse.” – Genesis 12:2-3

Handling the Small Things

To become reliable in the big things, you have to practice it in the small ones. – J. Budziszewski

Mighty Warrior, Mighty King – David. David ended up this way, but we mustn’t forget he started out as a ruddy little shepherd boy for his father. Hmm!

As long as we live trials and tribulation, temptation and trouble will come, no one is exempt. God will test us to build us up, and Satan will tempt us to try and tear us down. The key to overcoming both is the same; doing the right thing at all times, no matter when, where, or with whom. It’s not the big trials or temptations that often topple us. It’s our failure in the little dull, monotonous, repetitious ones that occur each day. If character is not forged here it is not forged at all. God is looking for faithfulness in all things small and great. Today will be full of opportunities to practice.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” – Luke 16:10