Given Not Deserved

God loves us not because of who we are, but because of who He is. – Richard Murray

After his denials of Christ, Peter went out and wept. After his resurrection, Jesus went to Peter and ‘reinstated’ him. WOW!

The world gives adulation to its own. Movie stars, star athletes, writers, politicians, etc. are heaped great praise and adoration for their actions, and often begin to believe they deserve such. It’s easy for us to get caught up into the mode of thinking we deserve God’s love because of what we’ve accomplished for Him, how long we’ve been faithful, or even because we can see the ‘change’ in our lives. The truth of the matter is God loved us from the very beginning, when we weren’t the people we are now, when we had not accomplished the things we’ve accomplished now. He even loved us when we went astray, and rejected Him. Aside from His holiness, love is His nature. There is nothing we can really do to earn His love, for He freely gives it to all. May you feel loved today!

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16

Ours for the Asking

Many things are lost for want of asking. – English Proverb

The Syro-Phoenician woman braved redress from the disciples, indifference, and even name-calling from Jesus to make her request. Her faith was rewarded. Amen!

Without a doubt most of us believe God is a prayer answering God, but yet we fail to pray. Often what we call praying is actually just us meditating, hashing the issue out in our mind, but not really asking or talking to God about it. And because of our feelings of inadequacy, we often feel ashamed to even ask. But God wants us to ask “in faith,” and sometimes He will often test our faith to see if we are sincere. Every blessing God prepared, He prepared to lavish on His people and that should include you. Why not ask him today!

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.” – John 14:13

God's Omnipresent Glory

A man can no more diminish God’s glory by refusing to worship Him, than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word ‘darkness’ on a wall. – C. S. Lewis

The religious leaders heaped all the darkest insults, derogatory remarks, shame and reproach they could muster upon Jesus while He was on the cross. But, His GLORY still leaked out. AMEN!

It has been scientifically proven that a single drop of liquid can contain thousands, if not millions of living organisms. Though we cannot see it with the naked eye, under a microscope it comes to life. The glory of God defies all logic, and is vividly seen in every detail of life to the person who has eyes of faith and a spirit of understanding. He’s there all the time, friend.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory, and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” – Hebrews 1:3

A Time to Clean Up

There's no refund for time poorly spent. - J.F. Millburn

After talking to God, it didn't take Joshua long to find and correct the problem at Ai. Hmm!

Here we are 3 years removed from COVID's primary outbreak and we're still arguing over where it started. We're 3 years beyond the 'insurrection' and we're still trying to figure out who's responsible (we know). Now today, here you are way beyond cleaning up your life the way you promised yourself some time ago. Hmm! The problem is we often look and look again at the issues and carnage that has happened trying to find a pattern. But rarely do we close the proverbial 'barn door' or 'shut off the valve' that caused the issue in the first place. Before we clean up things, we need to stop the causes. That's where Christ and His transforming power comes into place. There's nothing too hard for Him and He will bring about the changes we need with justice and righteousness as He cleans up our mess. Yeah, the Messiah is who we need.

Until tomorrow...

Pastor Botts

"Jesus replied, 'Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.......So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." - John 8:34,36

God or Self Centered?

My great concern is not whether God is on my side; my great concern is to be on God’s side. – Abraham Lincoln

Even though David knew God was for him, he always sought God’s direction before his battles. Hmm!

History (which is God’s story) is written by God through the activity of those he chooses to work through. But oftentimes, we are so busy trying to bring God into our activity that we fail to recognize Him at work all around us. He seeks to redirect our attention so that we may join HIM – not the other way around – but we tend to be very self-centered, evaluating everything by how it affects or impacts only us. We must remember: the servant never sets the agenda – the MASTER does. If we are confused in life’s decisions maybe we need to revisit our role.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“Jesus answered: ‘I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself, he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.’” – John 5:19

Questions That Lead To Understanding

"That, my son, is the right question..." - excerpt from 'I Robot'

I imagine Saul was quite surprised at the answer he received to his question: "Who, are you Lord?" Hmm!

Think of the number of times in conversation you hear "how do I say this?" or "let me get my thoughts right..." to ensure the hearer gets the right interpretation of what's being said. Do we ever think along those lines when it comes to reading and studying God's Word. Maybe we miss the meaning or intent because we read it out of context, or maybe we miss it because we're searching for the answer we want, not what the truth reveals. God's knowledge is not limited by anything or anyone, and He holds the answers to the universe and all there is in His hands, willing to share with anyone who asks. However, we still must ask the right questions to receive what we seek/need. The scripture plainly points out God gives wisdom to everyone that asks, but it also says we need to ask with purpose, belief, and in humility. Any questions?

Until tomorrow...

Pastor Botts

"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all.......But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord: he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does " - James 1:5-8

Necessary Corrections

To find direction from God you must take correction from God. – Anon

Before Isaiah uttered his familiar refrain to God, “Here am I, Send me,” God had to purge and cleanse him for the task. Hmm!

All too often we want God to just pour out His blessing on us without speaking a word into our lives. But God is a God of relationship and covenant, our Heavenly Father; and as such has the authority to “correct” us when we stray. Just as our parents spoke into our lives and provided for us as we were growing up, the pattern they followed was given by God. So if we want and expect His blessings we must seek His ways. If we heed not the correction His ways require we are not his children nor entitled to the blessings. I pray we may all find our way today.

Until tomorrow…..

Pastor Botts

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and he chastises everyone He ACCEPTS as a son.” – Hebrews 12:5-6

P.S. - Never been to a VBS night, why not try tonight. You won't be disappointed! 6:30pm at Southside.

Feel the Love

God loves us not because of who we are, but because of who He is. – Richard Murray

After his denials of Christ, Peter went out and wept. After his resurrection, Jesus went to Peter and ‘reinstated’ him. WOW!

The world gives adulation to its own. Movie stars, star athletes, writers, politicians, etc. are heaped great praise and adoration for their actions, and often begin to believe they deserve such. It’s easy for us to get caught up into the mode of thinking we deserve God’s love because of what we’ve accomplished for Him, how long we’ve been faithful, or even because we can see the ‘change’ in our lives. The truth of the matter is God loved us from the very beginning, when we weren’t the people we are now, when we had not accomplished the things we’ve accomplished now. He even loved us when we went astray, and rejected Him. Aside from His holiness, love is His nature. There is nothing we can really do to earn His love, for He freely gives it to all. May you feel loved today!

Until tomorrow…….

Pastor Botts

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16

God's Glory Revealed

A man can no more diminish God’s glory by refusing to worship Him, than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word ‘darkness’ on a wall. – C. S. Lewis

The religious leaders heaped all the darkest insults, derogatory remarks, shame and reproach they could muster upon Jesus while He was on the cross. But, His GLORY still leaked out. AMEN!

It has been scientifically proven that a single drop of liquid can contain thousands, if not millions of living organisms. Though we cannot see it with the naked eye, under a microscope it comes to life. The glory of God defies all logic, and is vividly seen in every detail of life to the person who has eyes of faith and a spirit of understanding. He’s there all the time, friend.

Until tomorrow…..

Pastor Botts

“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory, and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” – Hebrews 1:3

Seek Love

If we look for opportunities to show love, we’ll overlook many, many opportunities to hate.  – Anon

The town was stirred with hatred and ready to stone the adulterous woman, but Jesus seized a chance to practice love. Hmm!

Often, because someone is not of our ilk, or up to our standards, or allowing us the freedoms we want, we shamelessly find ways to “put them down.” But if we’re to “love even our enemies,” then hatred and separation should be the last thing we seek. If God loves us in our imperfect status because He sees what we can be, we should love others the same. Love may not make the world go round, but it does often make the ride worthwhile, and you’ll find life a bit less stressful as well.

Until tomorrow…..

Pastor Botts

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” – John 3:16-17

Validated

When we live for the approval of God, we need not be disturbed by the opinion of others. – Anon

Most people rejected Jesus as ‘The Son of God,’ but He went ahead and died for them too. WOW!

Validation – it’s something in our humaness that drives us to seek after it. Day by day, job by job, relationship by relationship we seek it. The problem is not that we seek it, but where we seek it. We often tend to seek it from other imperfect beings like ourselves. If we are to ‘be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect’ then we ought to seek our approval from the one example He gave us – Himself in the flesh. The world may have its validation/approval rating systems, but living for the approval of God means we must be willing to give up ways and deeds that are not to His liking, regardless of what the world says. It’s really somewhat simple. To keep from being pulled in many different directions all we need do is listen for God’s voice.

Until tomorrow…..

Pastor Botts

“As soon as Jesus was baptized…..a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” - Matthew 3:16-17

Alllll of a Sudden

A ready person never needs to get ready. - Oswald Chambers

Thomas with his doubts and the other disciples were in the house when Jesus just 'showed up.' WOW!

We rarely worry about people who predict they know when Jesus will return to the earth. So many have tried and failed, besides the bible says 'no one knows the day or the hour.' But there is a phrase we use to describe a completely unexpected event or action that occurs. We say "all of a sudden,,,." But here's a twist, Jesus said His return will be 'all of a sudden', and yet most of us aren't prepared. The certainty of His coming is sure, the exact time though is uncertain, but it will be 'all of a sudden.' Here it is today and 'all of a sudden' we're a day older, but are we any closer to the Lord? In closing out the book of Revelation Jesus proclaimed "Yes, I am coming soon", and John added "Amen, come Lord Jesus!" Are we ready to make that statement as well. For it could happen 'all of a sudden!'

Until tomorrow.....

Pastor Botts

"...For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man." - Matthew 24:27

Godly Direction

My great concern is not whether God is on my side; my great concern is to be on God’s side. – Abraham Lincoln

Even though David knew God was for him, he always sought God’s direction before his battles. Hmm!

History (which is God’s story) is written by God through the activity of those he chooses to work through. But oftentimes, we are so busy trying to bring God into our activity that we fail to recognize Him at work all around us. He seeks to redirect our attention so that we may join HIM – not the other way around – but we tend to be very self-centered, evaluating everything by how it affects or impacts only us. We must remember: the servant never sets the agenda – the MASTER does. If we are confused in life’s decisions maybe we need to revisit our role.

Until tomorrow……

Pastor Botts

“Jesus answered: ‘I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself, he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.’” – John 5:19

Loving Correction

To find direction from God you must take correction from God. – Anon

Before Isaiah uttered his familiar refrain to God, “Here am I, Send me,” God had to purge and cleanse him for the task. Hmm!

All too often we want God to just pour out His blessing on us without speaking a word into our lives. But God is a God of relationship and covenant, our Heavenly Father; and as such has the authority to “correct” us when we stray. Just as our parents spoke into our lives and provided for us as we were growing up, the pattern they followed was given by God. So if we want and expect His blessings we must seek His ways. If we heed not the correction His ways require we are not his children nor entitled to the blessings. I pray we may all find our way today.

Until romorrow...

Pastor Botts

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and he chastises everyone He ACCEPTS as a son.” – Hebrews 12:5-6

Let Your Soul Grow!

Life is just a chance to grow a soul. – A. P. Davies

Before Jesus laid down his life for us, he impacted 11 others who did pretty much the same thing. That’s growth. Hmm!

We spend a great deal of our life dealing in cryptic clichés;  ‘trying to figure it all out,’ ‘asking what does it mean,’ and ‘how do I make the best of things.’ But God in His infinite wisdom has granted us purpose and provision to fulfill that purpose in a meaningful way. The end result of this life as we know it is to properly mature our soul for the next life. We’re not to get so bogged down or tied up in the affairs here that we ‘can’t’ or ‘won’t’ leave, but we’re to make this place somehow better by our being here. It’s not the situations or circumstances that we endure or overcome so much that help us grow, but the lives we impact in those situations and circumstances, and the amount we give of ourselves. Just like a seed grows from the inside out, so do we. That’s the way God designed it.

Until tomorrow……

Pastor Botts

“For every living soul belongs to me, the father as well as the son – both alike belong to me. The soul who sins is the one who will die.” – Ezekiel 18:4