Perfection Takes Time

Be not afraid of growing slowly; be afraid of only standing still. – Richard Murray

Jesus was twelve when he stymied the teachers of his day, but didn’t start his ministry until he was 30 – he needed the time. Hmm!

When it comes to change, too often we want it now, in the dramatic, miraculous fashion; and we grow weary and ready to give up when it doesn’t happen that way. But if we look around and understand God and His nature He always takes His time in developing or growing plans. He made man on the 6th day, not the first. Christ came as a ‘baby in a manger’ not a full-grown man. God is always at work, ‘He neither slumbers nor sleeps,’ so He is working on us. Our role is to be patient, steady, and persevere under the circumstances in which He has placed us. None of us are where we truly want to be maturity wise, but if we look back we should see a steady pattern or progression of betterment in our lives and with that - REJOICE!

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 1:6

Don't Just Stand Around

A wish changes nothing, a decision changes plans, but only actions get results. – Sparks

5, 2, and 1 were the number of talents the owner gave his servants. Two of the servants brought him a return. The other brought him grief. OUCH!

From a small child we are taught to dream big, shoot for the stars. And we go about it making all sorts of elaborate plans. But the only way to get the results we want is to work towards them. Investing time and patience (the greatest of warriors), discipline and prayer (our greatest resources), end results can be achieved. Rather than being one who ‘wondered what happened in life,’ God grants us each the opportunity to make life happen. And it’s often in helping others in life we achieve the dreams or goals we set for ourselves. So if we truly believe God is a “rewarder” of those who diligently seek him, then time is a’wastin.’

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ ‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’” – Matthew 20:6-7

Neighborly Assistance

You can stand tall without standing on someone, and you can be a victor without having victims. – H. Woods

Jesus said “there is none greater in heaven than John the Baptist,” and all he did was preach and baptize. Hmm!

One of the worldly perspectives we digest early on in life is that there is always a winner and a loser, that someone has to come out on top; and at all costs we’re to make sure that someone is us. And in truth we spend an inordinate amount of time trying to ‘scratch and claw’ our way up the ladder of success, for success requires the type of thinking and action where one must fight for all they get. In the search for significance, however; one seeks how they may best benefit society and those around them. Their way of thinking is not self-fulfillment but the enrichment of others, which is wholly in line with God’s desires, for we never stand taller than when we reach down to help someone else up.

Until tomorrow….

Pastor Botts

“Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even Christ did not please himself….” – Romans 15:2-3

Shadow Praise

Most of the shadows in this life are caused by standing in one’s own sunshine. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Even after Solomon was anointed king by David, Adonijah still tried to gain the spotlight by asking for Abishag; David’s wife. It cost him dearly. HMM!

It's been said "the hardest instrument to play in the orchestra is 2nd fiddle." No one wants to be second string or back-up, we all for some reason want to be first; that we may gain the recognition and notoriety we aptly deserve. We want, we covet, we boast, we brag – it’s all about us – never once thinking maybe God has a different perspective and a different purpose in mind. This is often how many of our problems get the best of us, for we keep the focus on ourselves. Receiving praise is one thing, but living for it spells trouble; for our purpose is not to deflect light to ourselves but to our Heavenly Father.

Until tomorrow….

Pastor Botts

“But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.’” – Numbers 20:12

A Good Example?

If you can’t be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning. – C. Aird

Noah, Moses, Job, David, Peter, the Babylonians, Assyrians, Canaanites. God used them all: some He saved, some He didn’t save. Hmm!

It is said that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” meaning its left open to the interpretation of the individual. What one may consider beautiful, magnificent, or breath-taking; someone else may find hideous and gross. Though the statement holds a lot of truth, the bottom line is that most if not all folks would rather fall on the side of beauty – something to behold and appreciate; and we’re no different. And if we think it through this is exactly what our lives are about. We are either being molded into something of beauty for God that others can appreciate and model or we’re becoming an ‘icon of poison’ for others to see and avoid. And since there is really no such thing as an ‘unfulfilled life’ the question we need be asking ourselves is on which end of the spectrum are we treading?

Until tomorrow…..

Pastor Botts

“These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us…..So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” – I Corinthians 10:11-12