Offerings From the Heart

A picture is worth a 1,000 words! Anon

It wasn't the poor widow's money (2 coins) that astonished Jesus, it was her heart when she gave it. WOW!

They cover refrigerators all over the world. Drawings of 'stick figure families', not quite perfectly shaped hearts, crooked houses with stumpy trees, etc. Drawings by children, and though they are not a museum masterpiece, they are a heartwarming offering of love to a parent. In the same way, God loves our imperfect offerings and delights in them when they are offered from our hearts like those childhood drawings, for it's not so much the finished product that He sees, but the heart, devotion, and intent (love) we put into it. So, what rendering will you present to Him this day?

Until Monday...

Pastor Botts

"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." - I Peter 4:8

Hope to see you tonight at 6:30pm for our Good Friday service.

Don't Miss the Heart

When we detach the Word of God from the heart of God, we miss the point of God. - Richard Murray

Jesus chastised the religious rulers of his day because they 'made the Word of God something it should never be - burdensome. AMEN!

Truth be told, a lot of folks - many of them 'Christians' - just see the Word of God as a lot of commands. Do's and don'ts to live by with little or no relational attachment to Almighty God himself. It's as if He just says "here you go, live by these rules and I'll check in on you every so often." But God is 'Spirit' and His Word is infused with that 'Spirit' which make it alive and very relatable to our current issues and circumstances in life. Unlike our Supreme Court who hasn't a clue what 'democracy' is all about and seems to be changing it decision by decision, God's Word does not change. It is given to us in love, containing His heart's desire for us. The faith God seeks of us was NEVER meant to be burdensome, but joyful, enlightening, and inviting. When we go about our lives living by rote commands or rituals to 'placate' God we're the losers, not Him. And to miss the very heart of God is to really miss everything else in life. Here's hoping you can fall in love with the author a little more.

Until Monday...

Pastor Botts

" People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God - having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people." - II Timothy 3:2-5

Being More Like Christ

Practice without improvement is meaningless. – C. Knox

David learned to sling stones long before he came upon Goliath. Amen!

Ask any athlete, coach, musician, or even doctor, and they’ll tell you the whole idea of practice is to get better, quicker, stronger, more adept, etc., at their craft. It’s not just spending time ‘on the field’ its practice with a purpose or intent. The same is true of us as Christians. The whole idea and principle of our faith is to bring us into a closer communion and fellowship walk with God and make us more like Christ. But often we’re content just to go through the motions of church activity to appease our conscience, and convince ourselves we’re godly, growing complacent; without any intent on improvement, overcoming sin, growing in faith, or letting go of our worldly ways. The one thing we must always remember every day of our lives when it comes to our faith is, it’s not ourselves we have to convince – it’s God.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“This has been my practice: I obey your precepts. You are my portion, O Lord; I have promised to obey your words.” – Psalm 119:56-57

Enjoying the Detours

A truly joyful person enjoys the scenery on a detour. – Anon

Though the Israelites had to wander 40 years in the wilderness before they entered the Promised Land, it was worth it to Caleb. Hmm!

SigAlerts, accidents, road closures, one-way streets. Oftentimes things of this nature take us out of our normal “driving” patterns and cause us to map out different strategies and routes, and even with GPS it still often gets under our skin. Life is very similar in that oftentimes we must make detours, or put off until later things ‘we’ deemed needful and necessary now. It seemed Joseph’s life was one detour after another, but in reality it was all God’s plan to bring him before Pharaoh and to eventually save his people. Perhaps God has a plan for you in your detours, so maybe you should relax and enjoy the views.

Until Monday……

Pastor Botts

“But Joseph said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?’ You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” – Genesis 50:19-20