Forward! March!

Regret is mostly caused by not having done anything. - Charles Bukowski

It made no sense at all to march around Jericho 7 times until it did. - Hmm!

Remember Lot's wife, after receiving God's instructions not to look back she did anyway, and it cost her dearly. Why did she do it? Possibly because she was a little uncomfortable leaving the 'familiar'. It's true, many of us are uncomfortable leaving the familiar, the tried and true. It's what we know, it fits well, and it's easy. One consequence of looking back is it makes moving forward much, much harder than it need be. True, moving forward is uncertain and often calls for us to exert ourselves in new ways we're not sure of. But move forward we must, and the great thing about it is we can trust God to provide all we need as doors and opportunity open up. Remember He prepares the way so we're always in a forward march position. Here's praying we can stay in step.

Until tomorrow...

Pastor Botts

"The [Master replied] well then, you should have put my 'talent' on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest." - Matthew 25:27

Passionate Pursuit of Spiritual Progression

Learning comes not from having books, writings, or even teachers; but the DESIRE within to know. – Anon

God chose many of His servants not based on what they knew, but WHO they pursued. AMEN!

Pre-school! High School! Colleges, universities, the ‘school of hard knocks.’ All avenues of education, life preparation, and social maturation. Each student has access to all they need to learn, but yet teachers still use grades such as A,B,C… to show their progress, which in truth is a measure of the student’s desire to actually know and understand. Similarly, in our Christian lives we have the same equal access to the bible, spiritual teachers/mentors, and fellowship with other Christians, to help us grow in the faith. And we see the same results, not all of us pursue spiritual growth with the same passion or desire. God is calling us into a relationship to ‘know Him’ not just know about Him. And as gracious as He is, He won’t be using a grading scale like our earthly teachers.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

"…One thing I ask of the Lord. This is what I seek; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple.” – Psalm 27:4

All We Need

Being is always more important than having. – C. Ringma

Joseph, Daniel, Paul. With all their ups and downs they never lost sight of whose child they were. Hmm!

We all like the taste of success and all that it brings. The accolades, the praise, the rewards and notoriety. Truth be known, it is to this end we were created by God; “to do ‘good works’ which He created beforehand for us to do.” So we strive to be successful in all we do. But we must be careful not to let these successes define us, where we began to think what we do and what we’ve achieved from it is more important than who we are, or that the successes make us who we are. We need to remind ourselves that we are more than our work and possessions. We need to remember we are ‘vessels’ used by God for His glory, and whether we have a million dollars or none, a fancy title or none; we are still the most precious in His sight and have all we need in Him. I can personally guarantee that you will have all you NEED today.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” – Matthew 6:25

Ready, Set, Pull

Next in importance to having a good aim is to know when to pull the trigger. – E. Leterman

In defeating the giant Goliath, David knew there was a time to shout victory for God, and a time to actually do something about it. It only took 1 stone. Amen!

Truthfully, most people have good intentions. They want to be honest, forthright, dedicated to the task and disciplined. They want to be. But wanting to be and actually being or doing are far apart. The only way to get from one to the other is to take action. Too often we miss opportunities to act for God because we tend to overanalyze situations, or try to outguess what God has in mind. The simple truth God has in mind is that we “love our neighbor as we love ourselves.” And He gave us hands, ears, eyes, feet, and a heart to do it with. It would be a sin to end the day with our “pouches” still fully loaded.

Until tomorrow……

Pastor Botts

“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” – Galatians 6:10

Do Gooders

Next in importance to having a good aim is to know when to pull the trigger. – E. Leterman

In defeating the giant Goliath, David knew there was a time to shout victory for God, and a time to actually do something about it. It only took 1 stone. Amen!

Truthfully, most people have good intentions. They want to be honest, forthright, dedicated to the task and disciplined. They want to be. But wanting to be and actually being or doing are far apart. The only way to get from one to the other is to take action. Too often we miss opportunities to act for God because we tend to overanalyze situations, or try to outguess what God has in mind. The simple truth is all God has in mind is that we “love our neighbor as we love ourselves.” And he gave us hands, ears, eyes, feet, and a heart to do it with. It would be a sin to end the day with our “pouches” still fully loaded.

Until tomorrow……

Pastor Botts

“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” – Galatians 6:10

Desire to Know

Learning comes not from having books, writings, or even teachers; but the DESIRE within to know. – Anon

God chose many of His servants not based on what they knew, but WHO they pursued. AMEN!

Pre-school! High School! Colleges, universities, the ‘school of hard knocks.’ All avenues of education, life preparation, and social maturation. Each student has access to all they need to learn, but yet teachers still use grades such as A,B,C… to show their progress, which in truth is a measure of the student’s desire to actually know and understand. Similarly, in our Christian lives we have the same equal access to the bible, spiritual teachers/mentors, and fellowship with other Christians, to help us grow in the faith. And we see the same results, not all of us pursue spiritual growth with the same passion or desire. God is calling us into a relationship to ‘know Him’ not just know about Him. And as gracious as He is, He won’t be using a grading scale like our earthly teachers.

Until tomorrow…..

Pastor Botts

“…One thing I ask of the Lord. This is what I seek; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple.” – Psalm 27:4

More than our work

Being is always more important than having. – C. Ringma

Joseph, Daniel, Paul. With all their ups and downs they never lost sight of whose child they were. Hmm!

We all like the taste of success and all that it brings. The accolades, the praise, the rewards and notoriety. Truth be known, it is to this end we were created by God; “to do ‘good works’ which He created beforehand for us to do.”  So we strive to be successful in all we do. But we must be careful not to let these successes define us, where we began to think what we do and what we’ve achieved from it is more important than who we are, or that the successes make us who we are. We need to remind ourselves that we are more than our work and possessions. We need to remember we are ‘vessels’ used by God for His glory, and whether we have a million dollars or none, a fancy title or none; we are still the most precious in His sight and have all we need in Him. I can personally guarantee that you will have all you NEED today.

Until tomorrow…..

Pastor Botts

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” – Matthew 6:25

Trust & Hope with no Script

Hope does not depend on having a blueprint for the future. – R.M. Pippert

Joseph, Abram, Moses, the 12 disciples; none of them knew exactly what was their next move – for they realized they were not in charge – God was. Hmm!

Did you ever notice a weekly TV sitcom – all the problems are solved within each 30 minute episode and everyone goes home happy (Happy Days, Leave it To Beaver, The Cosby Show). Life would be simple if it came with directions, and followed a script, but it doesn’t. But the absence of a script does not mean it has to be hard and cumbersome. It’s really only made that way by our incessant demand to be in the know on when and how everything will happen. We serve a God who asks us to trust Him to make everything alright though we can’t see it. If we cannot trust God we really have no hope for only He knows the future. Though everyone would like to know their future, the only promise for the future we have is a GOD that will love us – and that should be sufficient!

Until tomorrow…..

Pastor Botts

“Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” – Matthew 6:34