Constantly Committed to the Cause of Christ

Better to act and not be successful than never to have responded at all. – C. Ringma

Though he was unsuccessful in his attempt, Abraham at least pleaded with God for Sodom’s safety. Hmm!

Truth be told, we do want to see changes take place in our world, and in particular changes to situations which perpetuate sin, evil, or injustice. But sadly we are often slow to act because we don’t often make ourselves aware of them or because we avoid seeing things for what they really are. We often wait until the evil or injustice becomes more magnified before we respond, and then we often claim it’s too late or our little effort won’t help any. But faithfulness can never be measured in terms of successes, but only in terms of commitment. It does not matter the odds or conditions we’re up against. God has called us to be committed to the cause of Christ at all times, not just when it’s convenient or feels good, and often the cause of Christ will justify us going out into the public arena to try and help right injustice or stand up against evil. The one truth you can always say of a fighter – “at least he fought.”

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“Give everyone what you owe him: if you owe taxes, pay taxes, if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor then honor.” – Romans 13:7

New Every Morning

Your past should be a springboard, not a hammock! – E. Burke

The book of Judges is proof positive that God has little recollection of yesterday’s performance. Amen!

One of the truths of baseball is that it is hard to make it to the major league level, but once you do, it is even harder to stay there. They have so many metrics, statistics, and ways to measure your performance. One bad day/week and you can easily become overwhelmed by a stat sheet analysis. Thankfully, God is not that way with us. Even in our most difficult season we can still rejoice in His faithfulness, for our current situation in His sight is always based not on what we’ve done but on His unchanging heart for us and what Jesus has done. And though we may feel down or defeated He offers new mercy and hope each day. So let go of yesterday’s shortcomings and live on today’s opportunities.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:19-23

A Faithfulness to Remember

When we look back on the faithfulness of God, we praise Him. When we look forward to God’s faithfulness, we trust Him. – K. Watters

God knew the shortness of the human mind which is why He instituted ‘feast days’ and ‘memorials.’ It’s all about HIM. Amen!

Though we are not where we want to be as a nation, a people, or a person; let us never forget THE ONE, and others who fought and died valiantly, wrote and argued vociferously, or protested loudly, to bring us the freedoms we now enjoy. And let us continue to do all we can to push the issue forward for future generations, keeping it all anchored in Christ and His Church.

Happy Memorial Day!

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol Him, all you peoples. For great is His love towards us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the :Lord." - Psalm 117

Forgiveness: The Great Medication

Remember that when you forgive you heal, when you let go, you grow!

I’m certain it took Peter at least a few days to fully understand Jesus’ math lesson on forgiveness. Hmm!

Ask any professional pitcher or quarterback and they’ll tell you there were many times in their career where the ‘moment’ the ball left their hand they wished they could have it back. The end result being a homerun given up or an interception thrown. Not a good feeling. But that bad feeling is not limited to sports. How many times in our lives have we wished we could take back our mis-timed or harshly spoken words, correct a mistake or action that hurt someone or caused a negative reaction? And though it's part of being human, that doesn’t make it feel any better. But forgiveness does. It’s a great medication. And like the pitcher or quarterback who plays on, with God we know that His forgiveness always comes with another chance to get it right. So, today is an opportunity to do better than yesterday. WOW!

Until tomorrow...

Pastor Botts

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning, great is your faithfulness.” – Lamentations 3:22-23

Praise And Trust

When we look back on the faithfulness of God, we praise Him. When we look forward to God’s faithfulness, we trust Him. – K. Watters

God knew the shortness of the human mind which is why He instituted ‘feast days’ and ‘memorials.’ It’s all about HIM! Amen.

Well it's Friday, the end of another week. For most of us we sit back and reflect on the weekly activities and interactions to determine if it was good or bad. Some of us even go so far as to let the workweek activities dictate how we will spend the weekend. But no matter which way you look, backwards or forward you must admit, God has been faithful. Praise or Trust. Praise and Trust. Either way you can’t lose.

Until Monday…

Pastor Botts

“Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol Him, all you peoples. For great is His love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord.” – Psalm 117

Timely Daily Renewal

Time with God is never wasted, only invested; in YOU! - Anon

Even as a high-ranking official in the king’s court, Daniel still carved out time to meet with God at least 3 times a day. Hmm!

Go! Don’t stand still! Do Something! We are constantly driven and programmed to be outwardly focused. So many things demand our attention – work, children, house duties, friendships, recreation, and church to name a few. We are so busy doing things, and often even in the doing of these things we are thinking of other things that we need to get to. Small wonder we become restless when there’s nothing to do. And though God Himself gave us permission to ‘GO’ in the Great Commission, He never meant for us to go before consulting Him. We need time to look inward and be refreshed each day. God only gives us enough of Himself just for the day. Since tomorrow is not promised He has gifted us with all we need for today, with an earnest expectation that we will meet Him at the dawn of tomorrow, should we be so blessed; to be filled again. That’s why it is imperative that we spend time in inner renewal each day to gain new insights and direction for what lies ahead. Without such planning we’re pretty much lost for the day.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“….for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.” – Lamentations 3:22-24

Do Right No Matter What

You cannot make yourself feel something you do not feel, but you can make yourself do right in spite of your feelings. – Pearl S. Buck

Job lost everything he had, including his health. His wife wanted him to curse God. He just couldn’t do it. AMEN!

At times in life it seems like everything we’re involved in is collapsing or going bad. Investments go south, friendships go stale, career gets sidetracked, etc. Difficult as these times are they are good opportunities to stop and examine what is truly important to us; our relationship with our Heavenly Father. In spite of all that is happening He is still worthy of praise. It might not come easily but it should come. Without God we would be totally lost. Our praise for Him does not depend on our success but on His goodness, grace, mercy, and faithfulness. No matter what happens to us in life we can always choose to praise Him.

Until tomorrow……

Pastor Botts

“Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls – Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” - Habakkuk 3:17-18

Praise and Trust. He's Faithful!

When we look back on the faithfulness of God, we praise Him. When we look forward to God’s faithfulness, we trust Him. – K. Watters

God knew the shortness of the human mind which is why He instituted ‘feast days’ and ‘memorials.’ It’s all about HIM! Amen.

Well it's Friday, the end of another week. For most of us we sit back and reflect on the weekly activities and interactions to determine if it was good or bad. Some of us even go so far as to let the workweek activities dictate how we will spend the weekend. But no matter which way you look, backwards or forward you must admit, God has been faithful. Praise or Trust. Praise and Trust. Either way you can’t lose.

Until Monday…..

Pastor Botts

“Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol Him, all you peoples. For great is His love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord.” – Psalm 117

Integrity in the Small Things

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

David started out as a little ‘ruddy’ shepherd boy for his father. He was later known as Mighty Warrior, and Mighty King. Why, because he was faithful and obedient. Hmm!

As long as we live trials and temptations 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; or no matter how big or small a detail it is.  It’s not the big trials or temptations that often topple us, it’s our failure to be obedient in and overcome 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.

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

Patience over Anger

If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape 100 days of sorrow. – Chinese Proverb

Though James and John were angry with the Samaritans and wanted to destroy them because of their opposition, Jesus made them hold their peace. John was later invited to pray with them. WOW!

ANGER! An emotion that often gets out of hand when it’s “not about us.” The key to remember is the enemy knows this and often toys with us. A person who is not able to control their emotions and urges is ripe for disaster, with results that tend to be burdensome and long-lasting. If we fix our hearts and minds with the desire to bring God glory in all situations today, our tomorrows will certainly be rewarded.

Until Monday…..

Pastor Botts

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” – Galatians 5:22

P.S. - Don't forget our Sunday School Devotional time this Sunday at 9AM. Get answers to the 'questions' you always wanted to know.