Archives for November 2021

Plan Ahead

November 27, 2021 by Bill Leave a Comment

Plan Ahead

“I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

Plans are good and it’s always best to have them. Imagine a builder who didn’t have a plan, an entrepreneur starting a business with no plan or vision or a coach without a game plan. They would probably not be successful. Whatever we do, we need a plan. “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” (Proverbs 16:3.)

We also need a plan as we travel this Path of Life. We have an enemy who is constantly trying to get us off the Path and mess up our plans. “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8). This verse leads me to believe that our enemy is looking for someone who is weak in an area where he can attack. He’s not going to attack us in an area of strength. So recently, I got the vision of two strategy sessions that may be taking place in our lives: one in the devil’s camp and the other in God’s War Room.

The devil is meeting with his demons concerning…maybe you. “OK, listen up. We’ve attacked this person in this area of their lives many times before and we know it’s been a weakness for them. But recently, they have strengthened that area by declaring the Word of God so we’re not going to be successful attacking them there anymore. So here on the board are some other possibilities of their weaknesses where we may be able to attack them.” “So, let’s focus on these areas. Do you understand? Let’s go!” In God’s War Room, (our quiet time place with God): “OK, with My help, you’ve strengthened that weak area and that’s good. But now the devil is going to try to attack you in some of these other areas of your weakness. You’ve got to be ready; you’ve got to have a plan when you’re attacked.” “So, here are some scriptures to use when that happens…and it’s going to happen.” “Memorize these Words and use them like the Sword of the Spirit.” “Be ready and know that I’ll be there with you.” “Let’s go!” Do you know your weakness? Do you have a plan?

Why Do We Go To Church?

November 20, 2021 by Bill 1 Comment

As I was driving to church last week, this question came to my mind; “Why do we go to church?” So, I started thinking of all the reasons we go to church: To hear good preaching, to learn, to praise and worship God, to give an offering, to pray, to serve, to encourage others, to get forgiveness, to get saved, to be delivered from sin and for the fellowship. Also, it has been commanded of us, “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:25 NLT). We’re supposed to go to church. We know that the pandemic has given most churches the option for their people to “attend” online and many have been doing that. There are situations where that is a very good thing but I’m hearing that many are choosing the online option when they really could attend in person.

So, getting back to why we go to church. As I went over and thought about my list, I realized something important: Of all the reasons I could think of as to why we go to church, I realized that all of them could be done without going into a building with other people…except one. We don’t have to go to the building to pray, to give, to worship, to encourage others, to serve, etc. We can do those things, really, anywhere. But the one thing we cannot do without “assembling together” is fellowship. We can do all those other things online or in other places but, without getting together physically, we cannot experience the true joy of fellowship. Watching church online doesn’t give us the opportunity to talk, share stories, shake hands or hug, (if allowed), pray for someone or just say hello with a real smile.

I look forward to going to church much more than I do watching church. I’m glad for the opportunity to come to church with my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Enjoy all it has to offer, especially the fellowship.

He’s Here!

November 13, 2021 by Bill Leave a Comment

“The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” (Psalm 145:18)

I was driving to church and was asking God to be with us as we gathered in His name on this morning. The Bible says He will never leave us or forsake us, (Hebrews 13:5) so I knew He would be with us during our service. That, however, started a thinking process of the different ways and places God is with us.

If we’re saved and have asked Jesus into our lives, the Holy Spirit is in us, (Acts 2:38), so as we gather together in church, we bring God in with us. “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20). But then when we begin our praise and worship time, there is a different presence. The Bible says that God inhabits the praises of His people, (Psalm 22:3), so when we begin to praise and worship Him, I can see our praises going up and the Spirit of God inhabits those praises swirling around above us. What a powerful scene! This will also happen wherever we are; in the car, at home, while walking, when we lift our praises to Him. He’s there.

There are other times when God is near us. He is all around us. “And may the power of the Holy Spirit continually surround your life with his super-abundance until you radiate with hope!”(Romans 15:13).

He goes before us, “The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. (Deuteronomy 31:8).

He is behind us, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” (Isaiah 30:21).

He is beside us, “The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.” (Psalm 121:5).

So, as we can see, God is always near. But let’s not wander off from His presence. “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:8). He’s here!

What’s Hidden?

November 4, 2021 by Bill Leave a Comment

“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23-24).

In the first twelve verses of Psalm 139, King David mentions several things God knows about us: when we move, where we go, what we think, what we say. He’s always with us and has His hand on us. We can’t get away from Him and we can’t understand all this. But He’s there! That’s amazing!

As I was reading this passage one morning, I was reminded of a vision God gave me at work once. I had gone into the mail room at MEOC to see if I had anything in my mailbox. The 60+ boxes were all in a wooden rack on the wall arranged in alphabetical order. I could see in my box near the top but the contents of the other boxes to the side and below were in shadows. The light from the room revealed what was in my box when I looked directly into the space. The other boxes, especially the back portions, were in the shadows. It made me think of my life and the different compartments in me. Are there hidden things in compartments in my life that I need to bring into the light? Do I need to ask God to “search me” and “see if there is any offensive way in me”? The answer is YES! We all need to have this attitude. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” (Romans 3:23).

As we ask God to search us, He will respond by shining His light into one of our “boxes” and say, “Here child, look in this box, this is something you need to deal with.” We may already know what’s there but we have to empty that box and throw away what’s in there. Let’s do some purging of the things that are hidden. God is there to assist.

Archives for November 2021

Plan Ahead

Why Do We Go To Church?

He’s Here!

What’s Hidden?

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Archives for November 2021

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