Certain It Will All Work Out In The End

Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out. – V. Havel

The Hebrew children standing before the fiery furnace didn’t know what God would do, but they knew God. AMEN!

Too often we as Christians soft peddle the gospel. We often try to make it appear to everyone that God works everything out to our joy and satisfaction, there’s no pain or suffering, no down moments in life, and that all is hunky dory. That kind of faith and hope is shallow and unscriptural. The faith and hope God searches our hearts for is where we trust Him no m

atter what the outcome may bring because He’s secured us already through Christ. This understanding allows us to have joy no matter what circumstances we’re in because we know in the end it will work out. The reason it hasn’t worked out just yet for us is because this isn’t the end.

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

The Shape of Your Faith

Faith is not a thing which one "loses," we merely cease to shape our lives by it. – G. Bernanos

When the Prodigal Son moved away from his father and his God, it wasn’t long before he realized what shape he was really in. Hmm!

Growing up one of the things we were taught was to ‘color in between’ the lines. No matter what the diagram or picture was we were instructed to color ‘inside’ the shape. This was not really just an object lesson on creativity but also an important life lesson on structure and discipline, for without structure or discipline life becomes meaningless and unfulfilling. Could you imagine trying to play hop-scotch, or basketball, or even checkers without a meaningful diagram to aid you? So it is with our faith, when we cease to live by it we become adrift in world which does not care nor have our best interests at heart. And prolonged drifting begins to change or harden our hearts and ways towards God and others. The good news though is that we can revive our faith simply by coming back to God and allowing Him to reshape us.

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

P.S. - We will be holding Bible Study tonight for those who would like to come out. Your prayers are always appreciated!

Masterful Faith

You will have mastered life when the “how to’s” are irrelevant. – R. Anthony

Abram left everything to go somewhere he knew not. As long as God was leading and providing he was okay with it. Hmm!

If we would be truthful about things, the hardest battle we face each and every day is not the battle with Satan, it’s our trusting in God. By nature we prefer tangible, hardcore, known evidence or resources rather than rely on what we can’t see. But God asks us to have complete faith in Him, and though God is not in the secret agent business, He does ask us to trust Him and leave the details up to Him. If we seriously look back over our life, I think we will find He’s earned that right.

Until tomorrow…….

Pastor Botts

“I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.” – Psalm 37:25

Make sure they match

If you walk, just walk, if you sit, just sit. But whatever you do, don’t wobble. – Anon.

Not much is said about Enoch’s life, but we know his talk must have matched his walk as he walked with God daily. Then God TOOK HIM!

Here it is Monday. We’re away from the saints, the ‘hallelujahs and Amens,’ and God’s house; out and about on public display. What will we do/say, who will we be? Life in the church building or sanctuary is easy, life in everyday settings is not. Temptation abounds (gossip, lying, crude talk or language, self-promotion,  keeping bad company, etc., )so our prayers should be that the visible evidence we put forth today would be enough to convict us beyond a reasonable doubt that we truly belong to Christ.

Until tomorrow……

Pastor Botts

“Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’, and your ‘No’, ‘No.’ anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” – Matthew 6:37