The Accolades of Humanity

Not everything than can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted. – Albert Einstein

Peter was the most widely known of the apostles saving 3,000 with one sermon, but it was his brother Andrew that brought him to the Lord. Hmm!

Degrees, awards, titles, plaques, notoriety, etc. – these are all things that help draw attention to us and show others our worth and value. And while nice to have they are still a far cry from the humanity others and God would have of us. The things that really matter in life don’t hang from walls or go on business cards but come from the heart. Things like trust, loyalty, discipline, benevolence, respect; just to name a few; are incalculable in a relationship. The lives we will touch for God will not be because we have great resources behind us but because we have divine resources within us. No one knows how far a touch from God will go.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

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

Tragic Ends, Beautiful Beginnings

What a caterpillar calls the end of the world; God calls a beautiful butterfly. – Anon

Jesus went to the cross not so much to die, but more so that we might live. Hmm!

For most of us there are things that we say we just can’t do without, that life would not be worth it if we had to go without it (whatever ‘it’ may be). Often, we even rationalize with ourselves and question why God would want to keep us from such things. The reason is that He knows what tomorrow holds, plain and simple. Because God is always at His work, there may be some things He is trying to bring to an end in our lives that the new life may begin. Those habits, quirks, ‘needs,’ that we just can’t seem to live without, God is trying to show us the beauty life can bring without them. As the circumstances of life come upon us today and in the near future, maybe we need to pay attention to what God is addressing in us, for there is much more beauty in all of us to behold.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“I have seen the burden God has laid on men. He has made everything beautiful in its time…” Ecclesiastes 3:10-11

Emulating The Father's Values

Values are like fingerprints – you leave them all over everything you touch. – Anon

Jacob was such a man of integrity that even foreigners mourned his passing. Wow!

Children are noteworthy when they learn to walk in the values and virtues of their parents. Fathers are broad-chested when their sons emulate them, mothers are elated when their daughters become little ladies. If we feel this way with our children have we ever stopped to think how we make our Heavenly Father feel as his children? He wants so much for us to emulate Him, to hold dear what He holds dear, to love what He loves, to value what He values. Perhaps the only reason we fall short is not that He hasn’t tried to teach us, but just maybe we’ve been a bit out of His touch.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Matthew 7:21

Just Do It...Righteously

Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies just because they become fashions. – G.K. Chesterton

The idolatry practiced by their neighbors looked like fun and good times to the Israelites, but God thought otherwise. Ouch!

Wokeism. Cultural appropriation. Personal pronouns. New Age. Avant-Garde lifestyles, etc. Call it what you will, but we now live in a society where it is fully acceptable to find new ways to lower morality and shun any personal responsibility or acknowledge Almighty God. Everybody has turned to his own way. Even we as Christians if we’re not careful can get easily tangled up in the worldly offerings (media, leisure, clothing, idols, affirmations, etc.). But no matter what society calls it or how society sells it, before God it is still SIN, period! Don’t just do it, do it righteously.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.” – I Thessalonians 5:19-22

Life In Order

Life is much too complicated not to be orderly. – Anon

Daniel’s life was such that he needed to stop all he was doing to pray at least 3 times a day. It kept him focused!

It’s a debate that has been going on almost since the beginning of time: Did God actually create the heavens and the earth or did they just ‘spring’ forth from chaos (big bang). I think by now all of us are smart enough to know from personal experiences that chaos only creates more chaos, not order or peace. Man can explain how things may work in God’s creation, but he can’t explain why they work. And he knows if they don’t work properly we have chaos and disorder. The bottom line in all of this for us is that unless we put our life in proper order – God first in all things – we too will suffer chaos, disorder, and disappointment in greater proportion than normal.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.” – I Corinthians 14:40

Out of the Ordinary

Life is for one act only; improvisation is required! – Anon

Gideon and his 300 men defeated the Midianites without a sword among them. Just trumpets, empty jars, shouts, and of course – God. Hmm!

Complacency, conformity, and rigidity are too common in our lives. We love being where we are, who we are; and will fight anyone tooth and nail to keep things the way they are. We forget we serve a God who manifested Himself in many diverse ways. He’s the master of improvisation. He made even ‘devout’ folks like Elijah and Peter eat things they considered unclean, or go places they felt beneath them, just to bring glory to His name. So we, though confident in our faith; should never feel God won’t ‘stretch’ us in ways that require us to improvise. We need remember that though God loves us as we are, He’s making us into what He wants us to be, and that may require us being ‘bent out of shape’ by Him and for Him. Here’s hoping we’re all somewhat flexible.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“….I can do everything through Him who gives me strength…” – Philippians 4:13

Days of Future Beauty

Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it. – Richard Murray

Through a ‘harsh’ vision God let Peter know that Gentiles were just as acceptable as the Jews were in His sight. Hmm!

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!” How true, but how misapplied. We give the right to determine what is beautiful to imperfect individuals like ourselves. It was God actually, who created everything and called it “good,” (beautiful) the highest honor that could be bestowed upon the creation. And everyone created in His image is still beautiful to Him. He sees us very differently than we do ourselves. And though He loves us just as we are right now, His perfect love will not allow us to remain this way forever, for He sees a far more glorious person in us than we could ever imagine, and He will work to bring it about. Our lot is just to admire His handiwork in ourselves and others around us. So, in truth there really are no ugly ducklings.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“…He has made everything beautiful in its time…” – Ecclesiastes 3:11

Living The Way

First say to yourself what you will be; then do what you have to do to be. – Epictetus

Joshua made his choice loud and clear to all who would listen “me and my house will be servants of the Lord” and backed it up. He was a blessed man. AMEN!

God has given us many assurances of who we are as his children (loved, accepted, redeemed, protected, chosen, lenders not borrowers, the head not the tail, etc.) and what we should be. The decision has always been up to us to live like it. Maybe, just maybe at this point in our life we need to give up on trying to find the ‘secret’ to life and accept THE WAY of life. It’s the only way we can then claim the heritage and promises God has already laid out for us. There is no magic to it, just an acceptance of who God is and what He’s already done. To be anywhere outside the will of God makes no sense at all, but the choice is all ours.

Until Monday…

Pastor Botts

“I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” – Philippians 4:13

Not Over. Not Finished.

Everything works out in the end. If it hasn’t worked out yet, it’s not the end. – Richard Murray

God gave Joseph a ‘dream.’ He gave David a ‘promise.’ He said there was ‘none’ like Job on the earth. They all had major issues in life, but God made the end result worth it. AMEN!

We’re all familiar with the cliché “it’s not over till it’s over.” Though a tiresome phrase, the truth and veracity of it are ever true. And this is refreshing news. It gives us great hope that God is not finished with us yet. The dreams He gave us, promises in His Word, or blessings He's ascribed are still available to us. Life may have us in a headlock at the moment, our vision may be somewhat blurred right now, or a relationship may have soured today, but it’s not the end, God’s purposes will be worked out in life. It’s not for us to know the when and the how specifics, ours is just to wait and be faithful.

Until Monday…

Pastor Botts

“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 1:6

Seeing the Beauty

Beauty winks back at us each day! - Anon

Even seeing us at our worst, God still took on the form of a human to redeem us. Hmm!

Donna Karan! Louis Vuitton! Georgiou! We prize and admire these icons of fashion and beauty and others like them for their designs. Such talent and God-given ability to create. But yet, in all they do it still cannot compare to the creativity and beauty of what God has done. Jesus himself even goes so far to say "Solomon in all his splendor" could not compare to the natural beauty God made. Everything God made was good and beautiful, and that includes you and me. The things around us, or the clothes/accessories we adorn ourselves with may 'add' to the beauty, but unless we see ourselves as God's most prized and beautiful creation, we have a somewhat warped sense of what true beauty is. Made in His Image - now that's a picture of perfect design and beauty. May we see it and express it to others.

Until tomorrow...

Pastor Botts

"He has made everything beautiful in its time....." - Ecclesiastes 3:11

God's Love Notes

Love’s greatest gift is its ability to make everything it touches sacred. - B. De Angelis

Hagar thought she was unloved, so she hid. God found her and made her smile. Amen!

A few years ago there was a hit song 'Lookin for Love In All the Wrong Places..' While I don't know all the words, I do know the title spoke to the truth that we all long to be loved, and openly search for it. The problem is our definition is often skewed and wrong, based on a worldly point of view. God himself is the definition of true, pure, unconditional love. And He passes out 'love notes' to us each and every day, but as is often, our attention is focused elsewhere when He hands them out. We're so worried or distracted by life's cares, family situations, financial issues, etc., we fail to see the new sunrise He paints blazing "I love you!" Or the rain falling to refresh and replenish the earth again saying "I love you!" Or even the many times in our misery where He carries us in silence from grief to praise simply because "He loves us!" Yes, He knows we need it and readily supplies it, we just need to know HOW to receive it. His 'love notes' are new EVERY morning and EVERY day if we just slow down a bit and take the time to stop and read them.

Until tomorrow...

Pastor Botts

"The Lord appeared to us in the past saying: I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness." - Jeremiah 31:3

At Just the Right Time

Hell is truth seen too late. – T. Hobbes

God has always loved us and been for us and at "just the right time" sent His Son to prove it. Hmm!

TIMING – we all know it’s critical. A second too soon or too late could spell disaster. But when it comes to God we often don’t relate Him to the here and now. We often relate to Him in terms of what He’s done in the past for us, or how we’re asking Him to help us defeat this gigantic problem we’re up against. But He is the God of the here and now – time exists solely because of Him alone – and He’s ever present in every second. Often we spend time ‘waiting’ on God to move or act and fail to realize we can still enjoy Him in the process. One does not preclude the other. He’s an ever-present God. So as the song says ‘Don’t Wait Til’ Midnite’, CALL NOW! And I can guarantee the time will be that much better.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“He has made everything beautiful in its time….” – Ecclesiastes 3:11

Attitude of Faith

Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right. – Henry Ford

Jonathan thought he could overcome a garrison of soldiers, he was right. David thought he could defeat Goliath, he was right. Cain didn’t think he could please God, so he went out and proved himself right. Hmm!

Life happens to all of us, and it doesn’t wait around to see if we’re up to speed or feeling well, or putting our best foot forward, it just comes in waves. But it’s not that life comes at us fast or hard that dictates the circumstances of our lives, but how we respond to it. Attitude and faith are of primary importance to us in our Christian walk, and they go hand in hand. The determinant in every situation that arises will be our attitude, and that is something only we can control. Nothing is impossible, but with self it’s highly improbable. The key is to remember it’s not you but who lives within you.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” – Philippians 4:13

Patience Required

Everything comes at the proper time to him who knows how to wait. – Anon

When God finally freed the Israelites from Egyptian slavery, not a one of them asked Him ‘what took so long!’ – Hmm!

Though our average life span of 60-70 years may seem short, in the calendar of God it is long enough to accomplish every good and perfect work He has ordained for us, in the way He has purposed it for us, at the time He has established for us. Our attempts to speed life and its processes along so we may ‘enjoy’ life to the fullest only frustrates us, for the only true way to enjoy life in the fullest is through the action and activities of God, and He’s never been in a hurry. Patience is built upon a bedrock of trust, and because God transcends time as we know it, we must learn to faithfully trust Him in all things – hence patience is required.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“…..the revelation awaits an appointed time…and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.” – Habakkuk 2:3

Life Patches

Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it. - Confucius

Joseph's adventurous life was many times more colorful than the coat his father gave him. Amen!

Quilting is the art of taking 'patches' of fabric from various sources and blending them together for a finished product, usually a blanket, bedspread, or throw. Most quilters take patches of fabric from memorable/meaningful items (favorite old shirt/sweater, apron, couch/chair, etc.) and blend them together for a memorial that keeps them warm and brings comforting thoughts. Thinking along these lines if you were to view your life as a quilt, who/what might be some of the patches? Would any one patch be more meaningful than another? Would you be upset if someone had a few of the same patches? No matter - hopefully the patches that make us who we are allow us to joyfully give thanks to God for what He is doing in our lives.

Until tomorrow...

Pastor Botts

"He has made everything beautiful in its time....." - Ecclesiastes 3:11

Don't Send An Invite

Once you open the floodgates, you cannot tell the water where to run. – T. Sowell

Yes, Job's friends were miserable comforters indeed, but he did invite them over. Hmm!

When the levees gave way some years ago in New Orleans, the only thing left to do was assess the damage afterwards. It was much more damage than expected or estimated. So it is when we decide to engage our enemy - Satan. So often, when Satan comes our way with his calling card many of us will hold a debate with him. This is wrong and plays right into his hands, just ask Eve. The implications of one sinful encounter are enormous and impact far more people than you will ever imagine. Satan will always take us further than we want to go, stay longer than our invitation, and cost us more than we ever anticipated. As the day unfolds may we be wise and practice much self-control.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.” – I Thessalonians 5:21-22

You Matter

Everything you've always want to be, you already are. You're simply on the path to discovering it. - A. Keys

Elijah in his depression tried to run away and thought of death. God found him and told him his life still mattered. Amen!

When I was a kid I collected marbles, a drawerful of them, I had my favorites - cat's eye, steelies, boulders, etc. - of course. I also collected baseball cards, again with my favorite players getting top placement and care. The bible tells us God knows each star by name. Can you imagine that? When you consider the Milky Way and the billions upon billions of stars there, and each one having a name assigned by the Almighty. This should impress upon us how important we are to God, that in fact each one of us is His favorite. After all, we were made in His image. He not only knows our name but seeks to abide in our hearts each day. Through our ups and downs, tears and joys, and even in our darkest moments. He calls us 'beloved.' Why, not feel that way today!

Until tomorrow...

Pastor Botts

"What is man that you are mindful of him?" - Psalm 8:3

Buddy System

We are all something, but none of us are everything. – B. Pascal

God said Adam would be better off with Eve, not without. Hmm!

No man is an island unto himself. No matter what he has accomplished thus far, no matter what great plans he has laid out for himself, he will need others in his life if for nothing else but to cheer him on. God has placed each of us in a position wherein we are not complete without Him, and the only way to be complete in Him is through relationships with others. Though Jesus often withdrew to “lonely places” to pray, He himself was not a loner. He surrounded himself with those who would help Him carry out and complete His mission. He is our perfect example. When we try to go it alone or avoid the fellowship, we are actually only setting ourselves up for trouble.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!’” – I Corinthians 12:21

All Things Are Possible, But Not Until You Pray

Work as if everything depends on you and pray as if everything depends on GOD. – D.L. Moody

In the battle against the Amalekites Joshua fought for the people, while Moses lifted up his hands in prayer for them. God gave them victory!

Truth be told most of us live by the thought “if it’s going to be, then it’s up to me,” and in a majority of situations we often have no problem trying to do everything ourselves. We often feel no one can do it like us anyway, and we really are Superman or Superwoman. God did call us to serve, but He never intended for us to serve alone or in our own strength. Things that are to be are not solely up to us, for God is in the very details of life. So yes we work, but we work with purpose; remembering we can do all things through prayer but we cannot do anything until we pray!

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, ‘Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.’ But I prayed, ‘Now strengthen my hands.’” – Nehemiah 6:9

Live Courageously

Being an optimist after you’ve gotten everything you want doesn’t count. – F.M. Hubbard

When Jesus’ mother troubled him about the wine at the wedding feast, she knew something would be done, and it would be good. Wow!

Make no mistake friend, this world can present itself as a very formidable and powerful opponent; with its shocking human interest stories, depressing economic news, or downright evil activities of mankind seemingly going on all day, every day. But as those who trust in God, we must always know He is in control, nothing happening is catching Him off-guard, and He is always with us. So, in the midst of our surroundings, we can still live courageously, not shrinking back or retreating at all, but holding steady, listening for His call to move forward or move out of the way. Yes, this world will test us, but we only need remember the battle is the Lord’s and He has already assured us of the victory. So, whatever today brings, know that if we hold fast, we will overcome.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“…and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him….” – Romans 8:28