Are You Afraid of...?

Fear is the darkroom where 'negatives' are developed. - Anon

One man - Goliath - struck fear in a whole army, that is until David came along. WOW!

Kryptonite! It was Superman's weakness. It completely immobilized him and his superpowers. What about us, what might ours be - FEAR! Not the 'scared of the dark' kind of fear, but the fear of inadequacy, fear of not measuring up. We fear our past cropping up to embarrass us. We fear our future will be too difficult. We fear letting others down, letting ourselves down. Our fears keep us from reaching out, and often reaching UP to God. The enemy's greatest ploy is to fill us with fear. That's why God's Word directs us and commands us time and again not to be afraid. Just as He told Joshua to be 'strong and courageous' going into a foreign land, as we commune with God each morning we should leave that encounter 'strong and courageous' as we enter into the new territory of TODAY. As long as we are walking faithfully we really have no need to fear for God has our back, front, sides, etc., for He is all encompassing around us. So, we have nothing to fear but.......actually nothing!

Until tomorrow...

Pastor Botts

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you...Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid..." - John 14:27

Be Strong and Courageous

Fear is the darkroom where 'negatives' are developed. - Anon

One man - Goliath - struck fear in a whole army, that is until David came along. WOW!

Kryptonite! It was Superman's weakness. It completely immobilized him and his superpowers. What about us, what might ours be - FEAR! Not the 'scared of the dark' kind of fear, but the fear of inadequacy, fear of not measuring up. We fear our past cropping up to embarrass us. We fear our future will be too difficult. We fear letting others down, letting ourselves down. Our fears keep us from reaching out, and often reaching UP to God. The enemy's greatest ploy is to fill us with fear. That's why God's Word directs us and commands us time and again not to be afraid. Just as He told Joshua to be 'strong and courageous' going into a foreign land, as we commune with God each morning we should leave that encounter 'strong and courageous' as we enter into the new territory of TODAY. As long as we are walking faithfully we really have no need to fear for God has our back, front, sides, etc., for He is all encompassing around us. So, we have nothing to fear but.......actually nothing!

Until tomorrow.......

Pastor Botts

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you,.......Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid...." - John 14:27

The Courage to Try

It takes as much courage to have tried and failed as it does to have tried and succeeded. - A. Lindbergh

Jonathan against a garrison, David against Goliath. The odds were against them but at a minimum they were willing to step up. God did the rest. Hmm!

We admire them from afar. Those who seem to get the big jobs done. The mountain movers, earth shakers, trend-setters and so forth. They write books, develop apps, shift cultural views, start movements - and we admire them for it, sometimes even give them a royalty like status. But in truth, they are people just like us, who just had enough courage to live by their convictions. A home run hitter in baseball often strikes out. The basketball superstar often misses shots. But the common characteristic of both is they are willing to try day after day no matter what - for that's what made them who they are. The enemy doesn't want us to overcome and be successful so he tries to stop us (discouragement, fear, anxiety, etc.) before we get started. The saying "little is much when we place it in God's hands" doesn't only refer to money. So today would be a great day to step up.

Until tomorrow.....

Pastor Botts

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." - Joshua 1:9

Faith or Certainty?

Faith sometimes has to travel under sealed orders. – Oswald Sanders

Abram left his country, his people, and his father’s house without a clue as to where God was sending him. He TRUSTED that God knew. Amen!

In certain hierarchical situations information is only given when completely necessary. The lack of vital information however does not in any way relieve any of the subordinates of their duty, they are to trust that the commanding officers know what is best. God is the same with us at times asking us to trust Him and go forth without fully understanding it all, but trusting He knows best. If we are to be contagious we must first be courageous. If we need to see and understand everything before we do anything for God, that’s not faith, it’s certainty. The question we must answer is: are we willing to go, not knowing where or why?

Until tomorrow……

Pastor Botts

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.” – Hebrews 11:1-2

Today's scripture reading: Proverbs 23

Today's scripture reading question: reflecting on verse 23 How does one 'buy' the truth of God?

Go for it... with God!

TODAY is that tomorrow you’ve been putting things off for. - Anon

The 5 foolish virgins thought someone would alert them before the bridegroom came so they could get oil for their lamps. OOPS!

As much as we watch clock and calendar, there is never an ideal time to do anything, and if we waited for such a time we would never move forward. God grants us the day, we have to seize it and the opportunities it brings, making the best of the good times and the bad times. And at times we must go with reckless abandon, trusting God will sort it all out. Though God’s Word tells us we should ‘count the costs’ before acting, we cannot always tally our resources before ‘charging the hill of Philistines’ ala Jonathan; we must sometimes leave room for God to act. God is always at the ready, the question is: Are we prepared for Today?

Until tomorrow…..

Pastor Botts

“…Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”  - Joshua 1:9

Walking out from Fear

Fear is the darkroom where 'negatives' are developed. - Anon

One man - Goliath - struck fear in a whole army, that is until David came along. WOW!

Kryptonite! It was Superman's weakness. It completely immobilized him and his superpowers. What about us, what might ours be - FEAR! Not the 'scared of the dark' kind of fear, but the fear of inadequacy, fear of not measuring up. We fear our past cropping up to embarrass us. We fear our future will be too difficult. We fear letting others down, letting ourselves down. Our fears keep us from reaching out, and often reaching UP to God. The enemy's greatest ploy is to fill us with fear. That's why God's Word directs us and commands us time and again not to be afraid. Just as He told Joshua to be 'strong and courageous' going into a foreign land, as we commune with God each morning we should leave that encounter 'strong and courageous' as we enter into the new territory of TODAY. As long as we are walking faithfully we really have no need to fear for God has our back, front, sides, etc., for He is all encompassing around us. So, we have nothing to fear but.......actually nothing!

Until tomorrow.......

Pastor Botts

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you,.......Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid...." - John 14:27

Need to Know Basis

Faith sometimes has to travel under sealed orders. – Oswald Sanders

Abram left his country, his people, and his father’s house without a clue as to where God was sending him. He TRUSTED that God knew. Amen!

In certain hierarchical situations information is only given when completely necessary. The lack of vital information however does not in any way relieve any of the subordinates of their duty, they are to trust that the commanding officers know what is best. God is the same with us at times asking us to trust Him and go forth without fully understanding it all, but trusting He knows best. If we are to be contagious we must first be courageous. If we need to see and understand everything before we do anything for God, that’s not faith, it’s certainty. The question we must answer is: are we willing to go, not knowing where or why?

Until tomorrow……

Pastor Botts

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.” – Hebrews 11:1-2   

Tomorrow's Here!

TODAY is that tomorrow you’ve been putting things off for. - Anon

The 5 foolish virgins thought someone would alert them before the bridegroom came so they could get oil for their lamps. OOPS!

As much as we watch clock and calendar, there is never an ideal time to do anything, and if we waited for such a time we would never move forward. God grants us the day, we have to seize it and the opportunities it brings, making the best of the good times and the bad times. And at times we must go with reckless abandon, trusting God will sort it all out. Though God’s Word tells us we should ‘count the costs’ before acting, we cannot always tally our resources before ‘charging the hill of Philistines’ ala Jonathan; we must sometimes leave room for God to act. God is always at the ready, the question is: Are we prepared for Today?

Until tomorrow…..

Pastor Botts

“…Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”  - Joshua 1:9