One of the Great Mysteries of Grace

God doesn’t always smooth the path, but sometimes He puts springs in the wagon. – M. Lucas

Joseph’s pathway to prominence as Pharaoh’s 2nd in command wasn’t the smoothest, but God’s hand of favor was always upon him. Amen!

Hardship is as much a part of life as the air we breathe. For if we had no hardship, we really would not know the true experience of joy. Troubles may come and not seem to get better with much prayer and meditation, but God has promised to be with us every step of the way, and where one area of our life may be particularly troubled, God is still blessing in other areas. That’s one of the great mysteries of ‘grace.’ If we count our blessings, we’ll see it’s true.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“There was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘MY GRACE is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”’ – 2 Corinthians 12:7-9

Keep On Moving Forward

He who limps is still walking. – S. Lee

Jacob wrestled with God and received a ‘limp’ along with his blessing. Hmm!

Canes. Crutches. Walkers, or other medical devices. We’ve all seen them in one manner or another. All inventions to keep us mobile, moving, and/or active and in the main of life despite physical setbacks and weaknesses. There’s a great lesson in them. Perhaps you’ve suffered great losses in your life. Perhaps you’re suffering grief or sorrow or hurt that still brings pain or discomfort to your daily life. Don’t stop there or give up, for that’s what the enemy wants. The key is to keep moving closer to God and His purposes. He’s strong enough for us to lean on and He doesn’t mind us doing so.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“To keep me from becoming conceited….there was given me a thorn in my flesh….to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’” – II Corinthians 12:7-9

Ready For The Answer?

It is dangerous to pray if you are not ready to accept the answer. – Richard Murray

Gideon was okay with God answering the prayers to come and help his people, he just wasn’t keen on the idea that God wanted him to help out. Hmm!

We’ve all heard the phrase “be careful of what you ask for, because you just might get it.” Well in prayer that phrase is truly applicable. God is a prayer hearing and prayer answering God. Whenever God speaks to us, it will immediately require an adjustment in our life, and our reaction will reflect what we truly believe about Him. We will either be drawn closer to Him or move further away – but we will not remain where we are. Essentially, each time we read our bible and/or pray to God we must be prepared to either obey or be disobedient, for God will speak into our life. But though He speaks, He will leave the choice, and its consequences solely up to us. So today may be bringing answers to yesterday’s prayers.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“….Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me; ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness….” – II Corinthians 12:8-9

Keep On Moving

He who limps is still walking. – S. Lee

The 'staffs' of many of the patriarchs were heavily 'leaned upon' by them. Amen!

Canes. Crutches. Walkers, or other medical devices. We’ve all seen them in one manner or another. All inventions to keep us mobile, moving, and/or active and in the main of life despite physical setbacks and weaknesses. There’s a great lesson in them. Perhaps you’ve suffered great losses in your life. Perhaps you’re suffering grief or sorrow or hurt that still brings pain or discomfort to your daily life. Don’t stop there or give up, for that’s what the enemy wants. The key is to keep moving closer to God and His purposes. He’s strong enough for us to lean on and He doesn’t mind us doing so.

Until Monday…

Pastor Botts

“To keep me from becoming conceited….there was given me a thorn in my flesh….to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’” – II Corinthians 12:7-9

Ready for the Answer?

It is dangerous to pray if you are not ready to accept the answer. – Richard Murray

Gideon was okay with God answering the prayers to come and help his people, he just wasn’t keen on the idea that God needed him to help out. Hmm!

We’ve all heard the phrase “be careful of what you ask for, because you just might get it.” Well in prayer that phrase is truly applicable. God is a prayer hearing and prayer answering God. Whenever God speaks to us, it will immediately require an adjustment in our life, and our reaction will reflect what we truly believe about Him. We will either be drawn closer to Him, or move further away – but we will not remain where we are. Essentially, each time we read our bible and/or pray to God we must be prepared to either obey or be disobedient, for God will speak into our life. But though He speaks, He will leave the choice, and its consequences solely up to us. So today may be bringing answers to yesterday’s prayers.

Until tomorrow…..

Pastor Botts

“….Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me; ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness….” – II Corinthians 12:8-9

A little help along the way

He who limps is still walking. – S. Lee

Jacob wrestled with God and received a ‘limp’ along with his blessing. Hmm!

Canes. Crutches. Walkers, or other medical devices. We’ve all seen them in one manner or another. All inventions to keep us mobile, moving, and/or active and in the main of life despite physical setbacks and weaknesses. There’s a great lesson in them. Perhaps you’ve suffered great losses in your life. Perhaps you’re suffering grief or sorrow or hurt that still brings pain or discomfort to your daily life. Don’t stop there or give up, for that’s what the enemy wants. The key is to keep moving closer to God and His purposes. He’s strong enough for us to lean on and He doesn’t mind us doing so.

Until tomorrow…..

Pastor Botts

“To keep me from becoming conceited….there was given me a thorn in my flesh….to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’” – II Corinthians 12:7-9

Taking Time to Pray

The self-sufficient do not pray, the self-satisfied will not pray, the self-righteous cannot pray. No man will be greater than his prayer life. – L. Ravenhill

The unjust judge was so self-centered he even refused to acknowledge God. But a little old widow made his prayerless life miserable. Hmm!

Most of us know prayer is a privilege. Most of us know prayer brings us into intimate communion with God. Most of us know almost all there is to know about prayer. But few of us pray or pray often, as life’s demands beckon. But in reality, we can’t face anything until we have prayed. God has been gracious to us in many things, imagine how much more so if we really took the time to pray. The aim of prayer is not necessarily to get the answer, but to get hold of God. If your prayer life is suffering it’s time to look at “self.”

Until tomorrow…..

Pastor Botts

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” – II Chronicles 7:14

Understanding Prayer

Prayer is exhaling the spirit of man and inhaling the spirit of God. - E. Keith

Jesus often prayed aloud to the Father before the working of a miracle. Hmm!

The bible teaches us that God covets the prayers of His people, and that He promised to answer us when we call. His answer may be YES, NO, or wait. Though NO is an answer, generally it is the one we don't want to hear. Why, because often when we solicit God's help we think the thing we're asking His assistance in is somewhat hindering or limiting our effectiveness for Him. Like Paul, we consider it a 'thorn in our flesh,' and want it moved. But God's "NO" answer to Paul's desire was actually a "YES" answer to Paul's faith. God saying "MY Grace is sufficient for you, for MY Power is made perfect...." means don't worry about the handicap, know that I AM with you and I AM working through it for MY glory. What we often view as limitations God turns into a heavenly advantage. So if you're praying and waiting for deliverance, know that His Grace is sufficient, and that maybe He is just waiting on you to transform your 'limitation' into a heavenly advantage.

Until tomorrow.....

Pastor Botts

"....The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." - James 5:16

Word of Life

A word to the wise is sufficient, and it's life. - Anon

The Centurion leader knew it would only take a word from Jesus to heal his servant at home. Jesus called it great faith. Hmm!

If we were to receive a note or autograph from a famous politician, athlete, movie star, etc. we would probably save it as a keepsake, and proudly show it to our friends. How much more precious is a message from Almighty God! We often want God to speak into our lives, but often neglect to give Him opportunity. It's an overwhelming thought at times, but God speaks directly to each of us through the bible -His Word. Whenever we open our bibles we should expect that God has something to say to us. And no matter whether His words are praising us or disciplining us, we ought to consider it joy to receive such life-changing words from the Master. If you need a word from God why not open His Book today!

Until tomorrow......

Pastor Botts

"Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart: for I am called by your name, O Lord God of hosts." - Jeremiah 15:16

Let's Begin Then

The one thing more powerful than the will to win, is the courage to begin. – Anon

Abram left his father’s house, his people, and his land to go to a place he knew not where. But the key fact is he went. AMEN!

As adults most of us know how to walk. We just put one foot in front of the other, and we find we can get almost anywhere. But if we were to think back to our infancy we would realize it took a lot of courage then to do what we do naturally now. The fact is that because we wanted to, we did it. Well, we still have wants. We want the best, we want to win, we want to be successful, we want to be loved. None of these desires are wrong, but we must realize that they are just desires or wants. They are obtainable but only if we go after them. Wanting them to happen doesn’t make it so, we must actually begin the journey to make it happen. The same is true in our walk with God. It takes great courage to believe Him unswervingly, follow Him unquestioningly, and serve Him faithfully. It is a lifelong journey but it still begins with the first step everyday. It’s up to us.

Until Monday…….

Pastor Botts

“I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.” – Philippians 1:20

Keep Moving!

He who limps is still walking. – S. Lee

Jacob wrestled with God and received a ‘limp’ along with his blessing. Hmm!

Canes. Crutches. Walkers, or other medical devices. We’ve all seen them in one manner or another. All inventions to keep us mobile, moving, and/or active and in the main of life despite physical setbacks and weaknesses. There’s a great lesson in them. Perhaps you’ve suffered great losses in your life. Perhaps you’re suffering grief or sorrow or hurt that still brings pain or discomfort to your daily life. Don’t stop there or give up, for that’s what the enemy wants. The key is to keep moving closer to God and His purposes. He’s strong enough for us to lean on and He doesn’t mind us doing so.

Until tomorrow…..

Pastor Botts

“To keep me from becoming conceited….there was given me a thorn in my flesh….to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’” – II Corinthians 12:7-9