Investing Wisely

You cannot kill time without injury to eternity. – Henry David Thoreau

Jesus told his disciples they MUST work while it is day, for it would soon come a time when they couldn’t. OUCH!

Alarms, bells, whistles, chimes, etc. We’re surrounded by gadgets that each day remind us of the time. Time is the most precious commodity on planet earth. It is even more valuable than money. We can get more money, but we cannot get more time. Each morning we all awake with the same 24-hour timeframe with which to work. How we spend it will well determine where we go when our time is no more. The key is not to waste it on fruitless endeavors, dead-end roads, harboring resentment and hate, or meaningless living; but rather invest it in lives and projects that will make an eternal difference. Martin Luther King, Jr. said “the time is always right to do what is right.” And that time is now, for none of us is getting younger by the day.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts


“Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” – Psalm 90:12

Fair Financial Future

Yes, men do make counterfeit money, but more often than naught, money makes counterfeit men. - S. Harris

Rehoboam's focus on more taxation made him a lesser man than his father Solomon. OUCH!

The love of money, the attraction, the affectations it brings, the power it yields, the satisfaction and happiness it promises - it's all smoke and mirrors. Yes, we need money to survive in this life, exist in this culture, but no matter how much we have it does not and should not define us, nor should others measure us by it. Jesus told us we should use 'worldly wealth to gain friends' so that one day we 'might be welcomed into eternal dwellings.' Though God requires the tithe of us, I think the question we should sometimes ask ourselves is: what are we doing with the other 90%, how is that portion showing out in my life? That does bear some thought, doesn't it? Will anybody be in heaven based on my spending patterns? The best use of your dollar$ and ¢ent$ is to be $en$ible in preparation for tomorrow.

Until tomorrow...

Pastor Botts

"....for where your treasure is there your heart will be also..." - Matthew 6:22

The Currency of Life When Expressed

Time is too slow for the impatient, too swift for the aged; too long for the grieving, too short for those rejoicing; but to those who love, time is eternity. – H. VanDyke

Everyone wanted to know when the end times would be but even Jesus said he didn’t know. He did hint at preparing for eternity. Hmm!

Most of us have heard the saying “only what you do for Christ will last.” There’s great truth there but unfortunately most of us spend a great part of our life and efforts focused on the wrong goal – money. Money is not bad per se, and it is something we need to live, but TIME is actually the currency of life. And God in His wisdom made sure it’s the one thing we each possess in equal measure each day regardless of our station or lot in life. Our goal for God and His kingdom is to invest it wisely that it may pay dividends (treasures in heaven); for though it is spelled TIME, when caringly given to someone else it comes out LOVE. And that is God’s command to us.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“A new command I give you; Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” – John 13:34-35

NOTE: The Youth WILL NOT be meeting on campus tonight.

Resource or Lifesource?

When money is in your hand, that’s good, when it’s in your heart, that’s bad. –W. Smith

The rich young ruler came oh so close to salvation and missed it only because he didn’t know what ‘riches’ truly were. Hmm!

Resource or lifesource? Tool or trademark? Oftentimes, for many of us we get the 2 issues confused, particularly when it comes to money. Money and wealth in and of itself, is not a bad thing. God wants, of all people, his children to enjoy His blessings, however when money captures our heart, is our only motivating factor, and we will stop at nothing to have more of it; it replaces the very God who gave it as our 'lord and master.' And God said, “thou shalt not have ANY other gods before ME!” I pray you master it before it masters you.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food, and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” – I Timothy 6:6-10

Don't Waste A Moment

How you spend your time is more important than how you spend your money. Money mistakes can be corrected, but time is gone forever. - D. Norris

Paul wrote to the Ephesians that a wise decision is to 'make the most of every opportunity for good.' Amen!

24 hours in a day! That's true for all of us, no matter our pedigree, wealth, nationality, or age. God gifts each person the same 24 hours per day. And the world we live in goes overboard with opportunity after opportunity on how to spend it. Notice I said spend, not invest. Like money and babies, time also DOES NOT come with instructions but only a warning to use it wisely. It's been said that to 'kill time' is to harm eternity. If left unchecked time stealthily slips away taking with it much more than it brought, often leaving heavy regrets in its wake. I pray today may be a wake-up call for us all.

Until tomorrow...

Pastor Botts

"Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." - Psalm 90:12

You Matter

The most basic craving of man is not food, sex, recreation, or money. It is knowledge that he matters to someone. – W. Sheldon

Moses did it. So did Elijah. Then Jesus came along and did it too. 40 days alone with the ONE who mattered most. What a great declaration of worth by God. Amen!

Often, if we’re not careful we get caught up doing “life” work for the sake of the necessary things (housing, sustenance, etc.) and forgetting we have a larger more important purpose: GOD. We matter to Him! Regardless of what others may demand of us or even think of us, we matter to Him. He knows all about us and He cares for us; and this should motivate us to seek a closer intimate relationship with Him. And since God is never in a hurry, maybe we should not be either when we draw near to Him.

Until Monday…

Pastor Botts

“The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat he said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest. So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place’.” – Mark 6:30-32

Gratitude For What We Have

Whoever does not regard what he has as most ample wealth, is unhappy, though he may be master of the whole world. - Epicurus

Though she was queen of the land, Jezebel conspired to get Naboth's vineyard for her husband, king Ahab. Ouch!

Greed! Comparison! Jealousy! When you think about it, there really is nothing good that can come out these words when we practice them in life. They all point to never being satisfied. Greed=wanting more and more. Comparison=measuring myself by others. Jealousy=unhappy because someone else exists. These KILL our joy. To live unsatisfied is to live with an unquenchable desire for more, always more. This desire chokes out the spark of gratitude needed to ignite the joy life's blessings bring to us, for it is not joy that makes us grateful, it's gratitude that makes us joyful. That's how Paul learned to be content no matter the situation - gratitude. We will NEVER have everything we want in life and life will NEVER be completely about us, for God's redemptive story is far grander than we could ever imagine. But, we should be grateful it includes us.

Until tomorrow...

Pastor Botts

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'" - Hebrews 13:5

Refreshing Rest

Work is not always required. There is such a thing as sacred idleness. – G. MacDonald

The Israelites were not allowed to plow or plant their fields every 7th year. They were to trust that God would provide. He did!

Though money is not required to buy one necessity of the soul, we often work like it is. The work week stretches from 40 to 50 or 60+ hours a week. We often look for extra hours or weekends to pad the paycheck. This is not necessarily bad, but it often interferes with or cuts time we could spend replenishing body, mind and spirit, particularly the time God set aside for us to visit His house. It’s important to remember that when God made us He made us human, not machines.

Until Monday…….

Pastor Botts

“By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from ALLHIS WORK.” – Genesis 2:2

P.S. - Hope you can make our Family/Friends Game Night tonight at 6:30pm.

Don't forget this Sunday's Devotional time at 9AM - we're looking at the book of Philemon.

What Will You Choose?

Choices are the hinges of destiny. – Edwin Markham

The rich young ruler chose his earthly treasures, which he identified with; over Jesus and everlasting life. He also went away sad. OUCH!

“I wish I had done .....” “I should have gone to .......” “I shouldn’t have ......” These are all statements we often make when reflecting on our life. We are right now a summation of all the choices we made in the yesterdays of life. To look back over our life and lament over those choices is useless, we are where we are right now. To look back over them and learn from them and to chart the hand of God “working” throughout for our good regardless is breathtaking. Even better is the fact that God has gifted us TODAY, with every opportunity to make good choices that will determine our tomorrows and our eternity. Are you up to the challenge?

Until tomorrow…..

Pastor Botts

“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon.” – Matthew 6:24

What's on Deposit?

Each day we make deposits into the memory banks of others. – Charles Swindoll

Though deceased, Jonathan’s past friendship with young David, earned his son Mephibosheth a place at the King’s table. Hmm!

Banks deal in one commodity – MONEY. They take it in (deposits) and pay it out (withdrawals). But it’s all they deal in. You can’t go there and buy groceries, gas, etc., only monetary transactions. And just as you can’t get blood from a turnip, generally speaking people only pay back in currency what they received from the individual making the withdrawal. If we’ve been mean, hostile, selfish, and abusive to them we get it in return. Therefore if we don’t like what others are giving back to us then we should begin to think about the words, deeds, and pictures we’ve deposited into them. If we know we’ll need a healthy withdrawal later now is the time to begin making the deposits, and like any good investment portfolio it’s always good to spread your wealth around.

Until tomorrow…….

Pastor Botts

“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” – John 15:8.

Sensible Preparation

Yes, men do make counterfeit money, but more often than naught, money makes counterfeit men. - S. Harris

Rehoboam's focus on more taxation made him a lesser man than his father Solomon. OUCH!

The love of money, the attraction, the affectations it brings, the power it yields, the satisfaction and happiness it promises - it's all smoke and mirrors. Yes, we need money to survive in this life, exist in this culture, but no matter how much we have it does not and should not define us, nor should others measure us by it. Jesus told us we should use 'worldly wealth to gain friends' (Luke 16:9) so that one day we 'might be welcomed into eternal dwellings.' So I think the question we should sometimes ask ourselves is: what are we doing with the other 90%, how is that portion showing out in my life? That does bear some thought, doesn't it? Will anybody be in heaven based on my spending patterns? The best use of your dollar$ and ¢ent$ is to be $en$ible in preparation for tomorrow.

Until Monday.....

Pastor Botts

"....for where your treasure in there your heart will be also..." - Matthew 6:22

Note: The Discipleship class will be meeting this Sunday at 9:15AM.

Men's Bible Study will be at 4pm.

Who do you love?

When money is in your hand, that’s good, when it’s in your heart, that’s bad. –W. Smith

The rich young ruler came oh so close to salvation and missed it only because he didn’t know what ‘riches’ truly were. Hmm!

Resource or lifesource? Tool or trademark? Oftentimes, for many of us we get the 2 issues confused, particularly when it comes to money. Money and wealth in and of itself, is not a bad thing. God wants of all people his children to enjoy His blessings, however when money captures our heart, is our only motivating factor, and we will stop at nothing to have more of it; it replaces the very God who gave it as our 'lord and master.' And God said, “thou shalt not have ANY other gods before ME!” I pray you master it before it masters you.

Until tomorrow……

Pastor Botts

“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food, and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” – I Timothy 6:6-10

Time: Eternal Love

Time is too slow for the impatient, too swift for the aged; too long for the grieving, too short for those rejoicing; but to those who love, time is eternity. – H. VanDyke

Everyone wanted to know when the end times would be but even Jesus said he didn’t know. He did hint at preparing for eternity. Hmm!

Most of us have heard the saying “only what you do for Christ will last.” There’s great truth there but unfortunately most of us spend a great part of our life and efforts focused on the wrong goal – money. Money is not bad per se, and it is something we need to live, but TIME is actually the currency of life. And God in His wisdom made sure it’s the one thing we each possess in equal measure each day regardless of our station or lot in life. Our goal for God and His kingdom is to invest it wisely that it may pay dividends (treasures in heaven); for though it is spelled TIME, when caringly given to someone else it comes out LOVE. And that is God’s command to us.

Until tomorrow…….

Pastor Botts

“A new command I give you; Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” – John 13:34-35

Church Hop Much?

To eat bread without hope is still slowly to starve to death. - Pearl S. Buck

The crowd followed Jesus because he once physically fed them. He hoped they would make the spiritual connection. Hmm!

It's interesting that many of us who claim Christ as our daily bread are still starving, always chasing after the latest religious fad, the burgeoning exciting church, the most provocative speaker/singer, hanging on their every verse or premise. There's nothing wrong with wanting more, but when we chase after these to 'fill us up' thus supplanting Christ, we actually grow more malnourished. We wind up having a faith that's a mile wide yet only an inch deep, and it shows rather quickly when any adversity or trouble arises in our lives. If Christ truly is the bread that fills and saves (and He really is) maybe we need to eat a little slower and digest a bit more. After all, doctors will tell you eating this way is a healthy process.

Until tomorrow......

Pastor Botts

"Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare." - Isaiah 55:2

Individual Success

Success is a word in search of individual definition. – E. J. Blohm

Peter preached a sermon that won 3,000 souls and also wrote 2 books in the bible. Andrew, his brother, just brought him to Jesus. Which would you call the success?

Fame, power, wealth, glory – all well-known definers of success – by men. Yes, the world has its own definition of success, and quite often if we’re not careful we get caught up in its wake. It’s not wrong to want to be the best in any chosen field, God wants us to shine; but it should never be our identifier. We wear a name far greater than anything the world can offer us. God’s measure of success is never what it has achieved for us personally, but what it has done to advance His kingdom purposes. If it’s true that ‘only what we do for Christ will last’ then success takes on a whole new meaning.

Until tomorrow…..

Pastor Botts

“Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." Joshua 1:8

Away with The One we matter to

The most basic craving of man is not food, sex, recreation, or money. It is knowledge that he matters to someone. – W. Sheldon

Moses did it. So did Elijah. Then Jesus came along and did it too. 40 days alone with the ONE who mattered most. What a great declaration of worth by God. Amen!

Often, if we’re not careful we get caught up doing “life” work for the sake of the necessary things (housing, sustenance, etc.) and forgetting we have a larger more important purpose: GOD. We matter to Him! Regardless of what others may demand of us or even think of us, we matter to Him. He knows all about us and He cares for us; and this should motivate us to seek a closer intimate relationship with Him. And since God is never in a hurry, maybe we should not be either when we draw near to Him.

Until tomorrow……

Pastor Botts

“The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat he said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest. So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place’.” – Mark 6:30-32