Verse of the Day

Words of wisdom for April 1

Jesus is the only Way!

If you wake up in the night and your conscience is bothering you, confess your sins and ask Him to give you the strength to repent and relinquish them. If you’re worried about something or someone, then seek God and lift up your requests (after all, God is the Father who loves and cares for His children).
If you still can’t go to sleep, get up and do something productive rather than endlessly stewing in your uncertainty and fear. And if you sleep through the night, thank God for a clear conscience, a good job, a tired body, and a strong faith. You’ve been blessed.

Psalm 31:23 – “Love the Lord, all you His saints! The Lord preserves the faithful but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride.”
Join us today at 11 A.M. as we continue to study the book of Esther and learn how God used her to save a nation.

I say to each of you, “Examine yourself.” Ask God to reveal any pride in your life. If you struggle with pride, confess it before God and ask Him to give you an accurate and humble understanding of yourself. Pride is considered one of the seven deadly sins and will result in all kinds of trouble. Knowing that it can deceive and delude, you’ll need God’s help (and the insight of others) to identify this particular sin. If you don’t deal with pride, it will deal a destructive blow to you.
So we’ll end with this warning from 1 John 2:15-17, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

What can we learn from a man like Haman? I’ve heard it said (and believe it to be true) that no life is a waste. If nothing else, it can serve as an example of how not to live your life. If you struggle with pride, take heed from Haman’s life and choose a different path. Choose the long road of discipline and humility.
Jesus said it this way, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:7)

What is true repentance? Repentance is more than just confession. Repentance is more than just sorrow. Repentance is more than a few shed tears (although these are all good thing). Repentance is when you (by God’s grace) relinquish and release your sin. “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.” (2 Corinthians 7:10)
True repentance results in actual change. God will help you put away your sin and live a new way that honors and glorifies Him. Repentance is a change of mind, a change of values, and a change of direction . . . you will be utterly transformed and the course of your life will be eternally altered, you’ve stepped from death into life.

Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life

God’s judgment against sin is always perfectly timed. Some people revel in their sin without thought of what awaits them. They say to themselves: “Why should I stop sinning? Sin is pleasurable. I suffer no consequence. Why should I deny myself”? They’ve misread God. They’ve confused his patience and longsuffering with leniency. But they couldn’t be farther from the truth! It’s because God is slow to anger and abounding in mercy and desires that all would come to repentance.

“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

Pride can masquerade as spirituality or even humility. Pride has the uncanny ability to deceive. Beware lest you think too highly of yourself. And be warned not to think too lowly. What’s important is to see yourself accurately. Both the rose colored and tinted sunglasses distort the world.
What should we do? We should look through the clear lens of the Bible. If you’re a Christian, then you know you’re a sinner saved by God’s grace through faith. You’ve been given what you don’t deserve and spared from what you do deserve. Left to your own ways, you’d have destroyed yourself. But because of what God has done, the course of your life has been eternally altered.

Esther 5:9 – “If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my wish and fulfill my request.”

Join us today at 11 A.M. as we continue to study the book of Esther and learn how God used her to save a nation.

As Christians, we no longer fear death because Jesus defeated death. He was crucified, dead, and buried and on the third day rose from the grave. How can you receive this free gift of life (and be delivered from the devil and the fear of death)? Jesus said it clearly, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” (John 5:24)

He also said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26) It really is that simple.

Do you believe?

We must all face our darkest fears. Mankind’s greatest fear is death. We do everything in our strength to distract ourselves or delay the inevitable. But eventually we will all die. Death is the consequence of sin, the wages we deserve. God is paying us what we’ve earned. We’re all born sinful. We all sin. Therefore we all die. There is no avoiding this eventuality. One day you’ll draw your legs into your bed one last time, say your farewells, and breathe your last. Your money won’t save you. Your strength will fail you. And your health will flee you. It’s inevitable and can not be avoided. We will all one day die.

On that day when you stand before the God who gave you life, how will you fare? If you’re hoping your good deeds outweigh the bad and that the balance of justice will lean your way . . . you’ll be in big trouble. You can’t earn your way into heaven. You can’t bribe God. He owns everything. The wealth of earth is His and nothing can compare to the extravagance of heaven (gold is nothing more than paving stones in that place). Even your righteousness (the best and most altruistic things you’ve ever done in your whole life) is nothing more than filthy rags before God. You can’t save yourself. That’s really bad news.

But there’s really Good News. Hebrews 2:14-15 reveals what God has done for us (His frail creatures), “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.” God took the initiative and provided a way for us. He put on flesh and blood. He became one of us. Jesus came to earth to die for our sins (and in so doing defeat the devil). We’ve lived in fear long enough. We’ve been subjected to the fear of death all of our lives, but we no longer need fear. Why? Because Jesus has provided a way for us to live forever.

Esther 5:2 “And when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she won favor in his sight, and he held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter.”

In a strange way, this act of mercy symbolizes what Christ has done for us. Ahasuerus was called the king of kings and the lord of lords (for he had conquered the whole known world). Many kings bowed before him and honored him with their fealty and tribute. The queen was resplendent in beauty, having received her position by the king’s grace. She was allowed to come into his presence because of an act of mercy unmerited. Why? Because she was his queen.

Jesus is the true King of kings and Lord of lords. The church is his bride. Her position has been granted by His love. His love was expressed on the cross. Her beauty is revealed through the garments given by Him. And now we as the Church can approach the King without fear, for He has already extended His golden scepter to us. He has shown us mercy (not giving us what we’ve earned and deserve) and grace (giving us what we don’t deserve and can’t earn)

John 13:34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved, you also are to love one another.”

KIDS’ CLUB TONIGHT, February 28, 2024, beginning with a meal at 6 P.M. (Thank you, Mindy, Brandi, & Shayla!)

Tonight we learn about Jesus’ example to love and to serve one another.

Esther 5:1 – “On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king's palace, in front of the king's quarters, while the king was sitting on his royal throne inside the throne room opposite the entrance to the palace.”
Mordecai had been praying. The Jews of Susa had been praying. Esther and her ladies had been praying. She knew the moment of truth had arrived. “If I perish, I perish.” She knew that when she walked into the throne room, her life was forfeit. This was her final moment and also her finest moment. I imagine the king looked up as an unannounced and unbidden guest entered the court. Who would dare invade the king’s inner sanctum?
Esther came spiritually prepared (having covered this moment with three days of intensive fasting and prayer). She came physically prepared (having clothed herself in the beauty of her royal robes). She came emotionally prepared (having humbled herself, willing to sacrifice herself for others). She overcame her fears and faced death without wavering.

Fear can keep us from doing something stupid or it can cripple us and keep us from doing something good. How we respond to fear is the most important indicator of our wellbeing and maturity. In fact, those who’ve responded heroically in a life threatening situation weren’t lacking fear. On the contrary, they acted in spite of their fear. Courage isn’t the absence of fear, its action in the midst of fear.
Fear is natural and is common to the human experience. But fear itself is not a sin, it’s an emotion. If you were to jump out of an airplane, you’d wear a parachute because you don’t want to die? Your fear of death would save your life. But if your fear paralyzes and incapacitates you, then you’re allowing fear to control you (and that is a sin). Only faith can free you from your fears. Only God can save you.
2 Timothy 1:7 – “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”

Hebrews 10:24-25, “Meet together . . . encouraging one another, all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
Join us today at 11 A.M. as we continue to study the book of Esther.

Psalm 37:7 – “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him.”
Sometimes it’s good to take a deep breath, turn off the news and the noise and step outside, listen to the birds and enjoy the beauty of a sunset. When you do, you’ll realize that God is still on the throne. But far more important than communing with God in creation is the gathering of the saints. When we gather, we’re able to look at things from an eternal perspective. We come together and see God upon His throne and the end of all that is ugly and evil. We know that eventually right will prevail and Jesus will return and judge the world, reward the righteous, punish the wicked and make all things new. Our problems pale in comparison to the glory to come.

Esther 4:14 – “And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
God has providentially placed you exactly where you are. He has a plan. He has a purpose. He has a place. He desires for you to be effective and fruitful. He desires good for you and not evil.

Psalm 139:14 – “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”
God made you exactly the way you were meant to be. He formed you. He knitted you together in your mother’s womb. You’re wonderfully and fearfully made. God saw you before you were born. He knows the number of your days. Your strength, your intelligence, your athleticism, and your abilities . . . you didn’t earn them, you don’t deserve them . . . they are gracious gifts from God above.
God also knows the course of your life. He knew all of your days before you drew your first breath. If you want to be encouraged read Psalms 139:13-16, you’ll see the providence and provision of God. You may not be happy with the freckles on your face or the shape of your body or the color of your hair . . . but that’s how God made you. You are God’s creation. You aren’t the product of chance or random mutations. No! You are created in the image of God (even if that image has been obscured by the effects of sin). You need not be ashamed. You need not compare yourself to others. You need not worry. God made you the way that you are for a purpose that is uniquely suited to you. Don’t worry about others. They are not you. You are you (and God is the one who made you).

We live in troubled times. Who could have imagined the madness that has overtaken us! Our country is hurtling towards hell in a hand basket. People are on the broad path that leads to destruction. The odds seem stacked against us and we wonder how things will turn out.
What should we do? (We pursue God.) We should pray. We should seek God’s face. We should fast. We’re not without hope. God may still break through. Perhaps people will repent and believe. We should do our part and continue to live lives of faithfulness according to the truth of Scriptures. And we should share our faith and proclaim the Gospel. There is no other answer. Our problems are not political but spiritual. The answer is Jesus . . . and we have the Answer.
1 Corinthians 15:57 – “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

KIDS' CLUB TONIGHT, beginning with a meal at 6 P.M.
Tonight we learn about our Good Shepherd.
Memory Verse - John 10:14
"I am the Good Shepherd; I know My sheep and My sheep know Me."