First, Best and Thoughtful

Give not from the top of your purse, but from the bottom of your heart. – Anon

Jesus rebuked the Pharisees and teachers of the law often for their traditions of men which adhered to the 'letter' of the law but ignored the 'spiritual intent' of the law. He said they should do both. Hmm!

Often, in terms of what we give to God; whether it be praise, worship, offering, service, etc.; is done without much thought and preparation, but out of a sense of duty or obligation. God wants neither. He is seeking our love for Him, and our respect for His will. Just as we would never really want to be an 'afterthought' in people's dealings, God should not be in ours. If He is truly KING of Kings and LORD of Lords then only our best, as we have prepared ourselves will do. Remember you can give without loving, but you can’t love without giving. As we embark upon today may our God led heart be our guide.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“The Lord says; These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.” – Isaiah 29:13

Follow the Ruler

Don't be satisfied with following the rules. Follow the ruler. - Sparks

The religious leaders of Jesus' day felt they were right because they had the law of Moses and honored the Sabbath Day. Jesus said they had no idea who his Father was. WOW!

The 10 commandments! The Lord's Prayer! Church Allegiance! Many of us are content with knowing the rules and regulations of the church per se. We often feel that because we know them and obey them it makes us right with God. But, it's not what we do or don't do that makes us holy, it's who we are rightly related to that does it - God. He wants to commune with us and be involved in our day-to-day lives in every detail. And that friend, takes relationship - not just obeying the rules.

Until tomorrow...

Pastor Botts

"....One thing you lack [Jesus said], 'Go sell everything you have and give to the poor......then come, follow me." - Mark 10:21

How's Everything Coming Along?

No matter what the game is, there is always a scoreboard! - Anon

When Hezekiah showed off his kingdom to the king of Babylon, Isaiah let him know it was not just a simple gesture. OUCH!

As kids we played games for fun, exercise, and to pass the time. And though they offered all these things the one often overlooked benefit was they taught us rules and conduct. Every 'game' has its own rules and its own definition of what it means to win, whether it be points scored, profits made, course completed, etc. And no matter what the game was there was a scoreboard. To know if your game plan was working and where you stood you had to look at things in light of that scoreboard. Why, because our game plan was what we wanted to happen, but the scoreboard tells us what is happening. God has given us His Word and His Spirit to live by, to be Jesus with skin on, that's our game plan. Godliness and our impact on the world, that's the scoreboard. The question we each need to ask ourselves is 'how are we doing, and can we do better?'

Until tomorrow.....

Pastor Botts

"....But godliness with contentment is great gain...." - I Timothy 6:6

Not an Afterthought

Give not from the top of your purse, but from the bottom of your heart. – Anon

Jesus rebuked the Pharisees and teachers of the law often for their traditions of men which adhered to the 'letter' of the law but ignored the 'spiritual intent' of the law. He said they should do both. Hmm!

Often, in terms of what we give to God; whether it be praise, worship, offering, service, etc.; is done without much thought and preparation, but out of a sense of duty or obligation. God wants neither. He is seeking our love for Him, and our respect of His will. Just as we would never really want to be an 'afterthought' in people's dealings, God should not be in ours. If He is truly KING of Kings and LORD of Lords then only our best, as we have prepared ourselves will do. Remember you can give without loving, but you can’t love without giving. As we embark upon today may our heart be our guide.

Until tomorrow……

Pastor Botts

“The Lord says; These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.” – Isaiah 29:13

PLAY the game of Life

God has called us to play in the game of life, not to referee and keep score. – Richard Murray

Abraham, Joseph, David, Job; despite what hardships they encountered in life they persevered in faith. AMEN!

When it comes to playing games, if the truth be told; all of us like the rules when they favor us, and dislike them when they don’t. We often take the same attitude towards life as well. We want to stop it, make it fair, get the score (are we up or down), and even change the rules we don't like or agree with. But this is not our right nor our privilege. We were made to bring God glory in all things, period. I say it very deliberately – trials, obstacles, difficulties, and sometimes even defeat, are the very foods that fuel the growth of our faith. We grow through such ‘game time encounters’ when we persevere without looking for the easy way out, and God has promised to pay what is right.

Until tomorrow…..

Pastor Botts

“He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right’.” – Matthew 20:3

"Unless you help to make the laws they'll steal your rights with trumped up clause..." (W.E.B. DuBois) - Remember to VOTE today!

Loving God's Will

God’s will is not an itinerary, but an attitude. – A. Dhuse

The Pharisee checked off his to-do-list in his prayer time to God. God was not impressed. OUCH!

True, the bible has a lot of do’s and don’ts in it. But it is not a book of regulations and lists to march by, and pound others with, it is a letter to learn to love God; and live by. Without it, we have no idea of who God is and how to love Him. With it we know not only how to love God, but others and ourselves as well. Love is the greatest attitude.

Until Monday…..

Pastor Botts

“Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” – I John 4:11-12

God's Scoreboard

No matter what the game is, there is always a scoreboard! - Anon

When Hezekiah showed off his kingdom to the king of Babylon, Isaiah let him know it was not just a simple gesture. OUCH!

As kids we played games for fun, exercise, and to pass the time. And though they offered all these things the one often overlooked benefit was they taught us rules and conduct. Every 'game' has its own rules and its own definition of what it means to win, whether it be points scored, profits made, course completed, etc. And no matter what the game was there was a scoreboard. To know if your game plan was working and where you stood you had to look at things in light of that scoreboard. Why, because our game plan was what we wanted to happen, but the scoreboard tells us what is happening. God has given us His Word and His Spirit to live by, to be Jesus with skin on, that's our game plan. Godliness and our impact on the world, that's the scoreboard. The question we each need to ask ourselves is 'how are we doing, and can we do better?'

Until tomorrow.....

Pastor Botts

"....But godliness with contentment is great gain...." - I Timothy 6:6