Tempering Your Speech

When words are 'heated' they lose their sweetness! - Anon

When they brought the woman caught in adultery to Jesus, he thought long and hard before he spoke. Hmm!

Coffee! Cocoa! Chili! Some things are good served piping hot. It adds to their overall presentation and enjoyment. We couldn't imagine receiving it any other way. But when it comes to conversation our words are not one of them. The bible tells us 'practice self-control', 'be slow to speak, slow to get angry', and 'in your anger do not sin'! Why, because in our anger not only do our tempers rise (think temperature) but our desire to inflict hurt, harm, and pain on others also increases. It's a mixture of self-presentation combined with pride, and everyone knows that's not a recipe to help build community. It's true, there are times we need to 'say what we need to say', but it should always be thought through and said constructively and in love. Sometimes silence sends an even greater message.

Until tomorrow...

Pastor Botts

"Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." - Colossians 4:6

Applyling Your Heart

In worship, we would rather our heart be without words, than our words without heart. – L. Broschman

God’s prophet Jeremiah flat out called the priests of the day liars and arrogant men practicing before God – and the people seemed to love it. GOD FORBID!

For the average Christian, Sunday is the day of worship where we go to God’s house and sing, pray, and even say a few “hallelujah’s" or "Amen’s.” But God is not relegated to the church house and worship is not restricted to a once-a-week occurrence, it is a way of life that flows from the heart in all we do. God is looking for more than lip service, He wants life application. Our prayer should be that our worship during the work week will be as “charged and passion-filled” as it was in His house on Sunday.

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

Nothing Less. Nothing More.

Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something. – Plato

When Jesus was ‘transfigured’ before the disciples there, Peter just couldn’t seem to hold his tongue. God set him straight! OUCH!

Look around, we now live in a culture where everyone is virtually connected at their fingertips by cellphone. And everywhere you go they are either ringing to be answered or someone is already talking on one or ‘thumbing’ through something on the screen. It didn’t use to be this way, but technology has made it easier and "affordable" – but that does not necessarily translate into needful. God has said our conversation is to be uplifting, seasoned with grace, non-condemning, and for the benefit of His kingdom purposes. Given the truth that we will one day have to give account for every word we speak, maybe we should weigh our words a bit more carefully.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” – Matthew 5:37

Convicted By Our Actions

Actions lie louder than words. – C. Wells

Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites because they did not 'practice' what they preached. Hmm!

If Jesus is to represent us in heaven before his Father, we must give him something to work with down here. Just as we can easily know what a person believes and thinks not by what they tell us, but by their actions, SO CAN God. And God is not impressed by our high and lofty thoughts, our intentions or speeches, or our wanting to do good, He desires our obedience to His will. None of His commandments are suggestions, food for thought, or take it or leave it theories. God sets the standard for righteousness and requires our obedience out of our love for Him and who He is. His word is life, and He expects us to strive each day to live it out. We can be certain that our actions will convict us, the only question is what will we be convicted of?

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” – Luke 6:46

Health. Hope. Healing.

Health is a trust from God. - Anon

James' letter declares that 'the prayers of faith will make a sick person well.' Hmm!

Look at any burned out forest closely after a few weeks and you can spot them. Tiny little buds and sprigs of green. New growth occurring. Healing taking place. It's a slow but ongoing process. Our lives follow suit. When devastating, tragic events occur and seem to cover us in darkness, and deaden our senses, spirits, or emotions, God gets busy with new growth. He does so to give us hope and strength to hold on. All we need do is just look closely to see the evidence. An unexpected call from a friend offering reassurance and prayer, a long-forgotten memory recalled to lift our spirit, or even a new connection with someone we never thought we had anything in common with. These are all signs of God quietly asking us "Do you want to get well?" Well, do you? Look closely, healing is in abundance for God is at work.

Until tomorrow...

Pastor Botts

"Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones." - Proverbs 16:24

Matching the Walk to the Talk

Too many folks have a big Christian vocabulary but little Christian experience. – C. Banning

Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites because their big talk didn’t match their walk. WHOA!

When we were born we spent at least a few years just taking things in, experiencing life’s joys and disappointments, learning basic motor skills and preferences. It’s as if God was giving us time to really experience life before we had anything to say. Truth is, we really should speak from our experiences for in them we have a depth of knowledge and wisdom to draw from. It seems this is lost in our Christian walk. We often walk in the sinful ways of the world, hold fast to a secular worldview, and spend little time with God – but yet we seem to know the lingo, scriptures to cite, and way to appear ‘holy’ to others. We must be careful in thinking this way because it is the common ploy of Satan (he masquerades as an angel of light). It’s good to praise God verbally, but a life well lived is the grandest example.

Until Monday…

Pastor Botts

“Where words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.” – Proverbs 10:19

Hope you can make it to Prayer Breakfast tomorrow morning at 9:30am.

Capture Those Thoughts

Beware of your thoughts. They can become words at any moment. – W. C. Brumby

Jephthah’s rashly spoken vow to God cost him his only daughter in sacrifice. OUCH!

Alarm clocks, car alarms, emergency sirens, screams, etc. These are all unexpected noises beyond our control that invade our mind and our inner peace. How much more so injurious are words from our mouths that hurt, maim, and tear down others. If it is true we speak from our hearts, we should be very careful what we feed it and we should “capture every thought” and make it subject it to Jesus before we act on it. Circumstances and situations will arise today that may upset our peace or plans, for that is the enemies goal. Ours is to live, love, and speak for Christ.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” – Colossians 4:5-6

Words Count

"This call may be monitored for quality assurance purposes....." - Operator

On the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter was surprised when God let it be known He was listening in. Hmm!

Communicate! We love to do it, we live to do it. Talk, text, post, tweet, I/M, D/M, etc., we just can't seem to get enough of it. We are social beings. After all, communication is at the crux of all relationships, and we were made for relationships. But I guess the bigger question we need to consider is what are we saying or communicating when we go at it? And why? We must remember as God's people we don't get a free pass at this. He said we will "one day give an account of every word we've spoken." The intent there is not a verbatim review of what we said, but what was our 'motive' behind what was said. Was it necessary, helpful, informational, etc., and most of all did it glorify Him? We may not want 'big brother' listening in on our communications but we need remember our Heavenly Father always is.

Until tomorrow.....

Pastor Botts

"Does He who implanted the ear not hear? Does He who formed the eye not see? - Psalm 94:9

Capture Those Thoughts

Beware of your thoughts. They can become words at any moment. – W. C. Brumby

The moment the rooster crowed; Peter wanted to eat his words. OUCH!

Alarm clocks, car alarms, cell-phone pings/dings, emergency sirens, screams, etc. These are all unexpected noises beyond our control that invade our mind and our inner peace. How much more so injurious are words from our mouths spoken rashly and harshly that hurt, maim, and tear down others. If it is true we speak from our hearts, we should be very careful what we feed it and we should “capture every thought” and make it subject it to Jesus before we act on it. There is an old saying that speaks to our act of conversation: "Please engage your brain before putting your mouth in gear!" Circumstances and situations will arise today that may upset our peace or plans, for that is our enemy's goal. Ours is to live, love, and speak for Christ.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” – Colossians 4:5-6

Let Your Life Do the Talking

The good and the wise lead quiet lives. Euripides

The moment Eve started ‘debating’ God’s word with Satan she lost, and eventually so did we. Thank God for redeeming love in Christ Jesus.

It’s often been said “many an argument is sound – and just that, SOUND!” When you step back and think about it there is a lot of truth to that. Often if we’re not careful, we’ll find ourselves with raised voices and raised heart rates being argumentative to ‘prove’ our point, or case, or situation. But the best argument we could ever present for Christ and His church is not by our vocabulary but by how we live our life. It’s true that sometimes it’s hard to keep our words edifying, encouraging, and fragrant; however, Jesus said they will know we are his disciples if we show “LOVE for one another.”

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

"Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” – Proverbs 12:18

Pray Onnnnn, Pray On!

The best way to change your world is to change your words. - M. Legacè

All the publican said was "have mercy on me a sinner" and it was more than enough to get a direct answer. Wow!

"How may I direct your call?" Ugh! At times I'm sure it's a phrase we hate to hear. Why, for we know at that time we will enter a portal where we will have to explain ourselves and our situation over and over and over again as we get transferred 2 or 3 times, before we can get anyone who can actually help us. AND within calling hours. It should truly make us appreciate the privilege of prayer even more. No call waiting, call forwarding, or transfers. Talking with God is not limited to certain hours or time zones and there is no interacting with an operator trying to explain ourselves again and again. We immediately get hold of the One who can handle our issues and actually knows them much better than we do, because He knows the future. Pray on, my child, pray on.

Until tomorrow...

Pastor Botts

"Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up..." - Luke 18:1

Wonderfully Encouraging Words

“Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life….” – Song Refrain

Jesus’ one on one ministry encounters always left them wanting more. Hmm!


Suicide! It occurs in our world every day. Why, because someone has reached a point where they feel there is no hope, no advantages, no upside to their life and the world is better off without them. In search of hope, meaning, or purpose they found nothing. Jesus came that “we might have life, and have it to the fullest”, meaning we should have enough to offer hope and encouragement to others. You never know just how far one word of encouragement can go, but the bible is full of examples of 1 person changing the trajectory of whole nations. Today, no matter where we are in life, up or down, let us remember our words should always carry the very important message of hope. You will not only encourage yourself and edify Christ, you might just change the course of someone’s life.


Until tomorrow…..


Pastor Botts


“…..But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” – Luke 22:32

Individual Ambassadors

I found out a long time ago that “I must do something” allows much more freedom than “something must be done.” – L. Hallum

The Good Samaritan didn’t wait until a truce was called, or a law was passed to help his ‘neighbor,’ he just did it! WOW.

We’ve all heard the maxim “actions speak louder than words” – and it’s true, particularly for us as God-fearing people. When we act instead of waiting for others to act we are truly free to express our God-given talents, abilities, and resources in ways to benefit the kingdom and bring glory to God, than if we wait for “someone else” to do it. God often places us in such situations that we may share His love in some form with others. He doesn’t expect us to go beyond our means but will amply supply all that we require. As the day unfolds and situations arise we must each remember that we are the individual ‘ambassador’ God has chosen in this situation, because God only leaves the big jobs for someone important like us.

Until tomorrow…

Pastor Botts

“Jesus replied, ‘They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” – Matthew 14:16

New Growth Healing

Health is a trust from God. - Anon

James letter declares that 'the prayers of faith will make a sick person well.' Hmm!

Look at any burned out forest closely after a few weeks and you can spot them. Tiny little buds and sprigs of green. New growth occurring. Healing taking place. It's a slow but ongoing process. Our lives follow suit. When devastating, tragic events occur and seem to cover us in darkness, and deaden our senses, spirits, or emotions, God gets busy with new growth. He does so to give us hope and strength to hold on. All we need do is just look closely to see the evidence. An unexpected call from a friend offering reassurance and prayer, a long forgotten memory recalled to lift our spirit, or even a new connection with someone we never thought we had anything in common with. These are all signs of God quietly asking us "Do you want to get well?" Well, do you? Look closely, healing is in abundance for God is at work.

Until tomorrow...

Pastor Botts

"Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones." - Proverbs 16:24

Turning Down the Heat

When words are 'heated' they lose their sweetness! - Anon

When they brought the woman caught in adultery to Jesus, he thought long and hard before he spoke. Hmm!

Coffee! Cocoa! Chili! Some things are good served piping hot. It adds to their overall presentation and enjoyment. We couldn't imagine receiving it any other way. But when it comes to conversation our words are not one of them. The bible tells us 'practice self-control', 'be slow to speak, slow to get angry', and 'in your anger do not sin'! Why, because in our anger not only do our tempers rise (think temperature) but our desire to inflict hurt, harm, and pain on others also increases. It's a mixture of self-presentation combined with pride, and everyone knows that not a recipe to help build community. It's true, there are times we need to 'say what we need to say', but it should always be thought through and said constructively and in love. Sometimes silence sends an even greater message.

Until tomorrow...

Pastor Botts

"let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." - Colossians 4:6

The Language of Great Imagination

Reality leaves a lot to the imagination. - John Lennon

You ever wonder what language the heavens use to 'declare' God's glory? WOW!

Here is a mind-blowing truth: God is ALWAYS bigger than anything He says or promises. Why, because words are truly inadequate to fully express His person and what He can truly do. Language is OUR means of communication - with its ideas and definitions - with one another. And as grandiose as we can make it, words could never contain or express the fullness of God Himself, no matter it be Latin, Greek, Hebrew, or the King's perfect English! And if God transcends language, can you truly imagine how great then His promises must be? And how powerful His Spirit at work in us can and should be? So I guess the question is: How great is our God, and how GREAT should He be?

Until Monday.....

Pastor Botts

"..to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to HIS POWER that is at work within us...." - Ephesians 3:20

Show the Way

A picture is a poem without words. – Horace

Many of the things that she saw him do, Jesus’ mother just ‘pondered’ them in her heart.

The Grand Canyon. A solar eclipse. A Hawaiian sunrise or sunset. What do they have in common? All are pictures in our mind which bring a speechless sense of awe and wonder of the greatness of God. In this sin darkened world God also expects our lives to bring about the same response in those around us. As one great philosopher of our time has said, “preach the gospel, and if necessary; then use words.” May we all “preach” boldly today.

Until tomorrow…….

Pastor Botts

In everything set them an example by doing what is good……. So that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.” – Titus 2:7-8

Imperfect Love Offerings

A picture is worth a 1,000 words! Anon

It wasn't the poor widow's money (2 coins) that astonished Jesus, it was her heart when she gave it. WOW!

They cover refrigerators all over the world. Drawings of 'stick figure families', not quite perfectly shaped hearts, crooked houses with stumpy trees, etc. Drawings by children, and though they are not a museum masterpiece, they are a heartwarming offering of love to a parent. In the same way, God loves our imperfect offerings and delights in them when they are offered from our hearts like those childhood drawings, for it's not so much the finished product that He sees, but the heart, devotion, and intent (love) we put into it. So, what rendering will you present to Him this day?

Until tomorrow.....

Pastor Botts

"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." - I Peter 4:8

Life Preaching

Words fitly spoken are powerful, but they are nothing compared to a life fitly lived. – Chuck Swindoll

Near the end of his life, Samuel, the priest of God called the people together to ‘present’ his life. They had nothing bad to say. Hmm!

It is true that God commissioned us to “GO” and spread the good news far and wide. And it is true that we are told to “study to show ourselves approved” in the word to anyone who asks us. But it is important for us to remember that we preach with our lives - in the way we live with, and around others - more loudly and clearly than anything we can say verbally. God will be providing topics and circumstances today that He hopes we clearly preach to others.

Until tomorrow…...

Pastor Botts

“Preach the word, be prepared in season and out of season, correct, rebuke and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction.” I Timothy 4:2

Not a Mumbling Word

Dignity is the capacity to hold back on the tongue what never should have been in the mind in the first place. – Anon

When Jesus was being scourged for our sins the bible says he “never said a mumbling word.” Such a loud, grand, and dignified response. Amen!

There is an old cliché which states: ‘Please engage your brain before putting your mouth in gear,’ meaning we need to stop and think before we speak. As children of God we need to seriously consider this truth. Often we speak too quickly and sometimes harshly, when it would be best to remain silent and prayerful. God is not against us being instructional or critical in our speaking, as long as it's done in an encouraging and engaging manner. But we must also know that no matter the case 'as above with Christ' sometimes some things are often left better unsaid and unthought. I pray you much success today!

Until tomorrow…….

Pastor Botts

“He who loves a pure heart and whose speech is gracious will have the king for his friend.” – Proverbs 22:11