We want to see you go from where you are to where God wants you to be.
THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT IS LOVE
JOY is love in jubilation.
PEACE is love in repose.
LONGSUFFERING is love on trial.
GENTLENESS is love in society.
GOODNESS is love in action.
FAITH is love in endurance.
MEEKNESS is love at school.
TEMPERANCE is love in discipline.
Two Victories
King David was up against a familiar foe. Years before as a young shepherd boy, he had faced down Goliath, the top Philistine warrior, by killing him with a well-placed stone (1 Sam. 17). Now David was king of Israel, and here come the Philistines again! They heard he was king, and they decided to attack (2 Sam. 5:17).
What do we do first when trouble is on the way? We could panic. We could plan. Or we could first do what David did—pray. “David inquired of the Lord” (v.19), and God guided the king.
David had to fight two battles with the Philistines—one at Baal Perazim and one at the Valley of Rephaim. It was a good thing he consulted God, because in these two battles there were two different strategies. In the first one, God won the battle with His power alone: “The Lord has broken through,” David recorded (v.20). For the next one, God gave David an action plan, and when he carried it out, the Israelites won (vv.23-25).
Each day we face many challenges. Although there is no one-size-fits-all answer, our first action should always be to consult God. As He guides us, we can have confidence in Him. Then, whether the victory comes through His miraculous intervention or through His guidance, all the glory goes to God.
Not to the strong is the battle,
Not to the swift is the race;
Yet to the true and the faithful
Victory is promised through grace. —Crosby
To stand up to any challenge, spend time on your knees.
Article by Dave Branon, Our Daily Bread, Copyright 2013 by RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Further distribution is prohibited without written permission from RBC Ministries
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Prayer and Fasting
POSF is currently on a “Daniels Fast” for the next 21 days started -Nov 1. Bro. Custer has a list of foods you can/cannot eat. You will be BLESSED beyond measure for your commitment as we unify our efforts for the Kingdom of God! If you have “personal needs” of any kind – “TEST” the Lord and you will see PROVEN RESULTS that WILL come from your commitment to FASTING!
Satisfaction Guaranteed! Jesus Never Fails!!!
The Tales Of Two Sticks
Conventional wisdom questions how much can be accomplished with little. We tend to believe that a lot more can be done if we have large financial resources, talented manpower, and innovative ideas. But these things don’t matter to God. Consider just a couple of examples:
In Judges 3:31, a relatively unknown man named Shamgar delivered Israel from the Philistines single-handedly. How? He won a great victory by killing 600 Philistines with nothing more than an oxgoad (a stick sharpened on one end to drive slow-moving animals).
In Exodus, when God asked Moses to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt, Moses was afraid the people wouldn’t listen to him or follow him. So God said, “What is that in your hand?” (4:2). Moses replied, “A rod.” God went on to use that rod in Moses’ hand to convince the people to follow him, to turn the Nile River into blood, to bring great plagues on Egypt, to part the Red Sea, and to perform miracles in the wilderness.
Moses’ rod and Shamgar’s oxgoad, when dedicated to God, became mighty tools. This helps us see that God can use what little we have, when surrendered to Him, to do great things. God is not looking for people with great abilities, but for those who are dedicated to following and obeying Him.
If you use what little you may have
To serve the Lord with all your heart
You will find that He can do great things
When you begin to do your part. —Sper
Little is much when God is in it.
Article by Albert Lee, Our Daily Bread, Copyright 2013 by RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Further distribution is prohibited without written permission from RBC Ministries
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Lessons From a Fence
When a section of fence around our house blew down in a howling March wind, my first reaction was to blame the man who built it for me only a few months before. On further reflection, I knew the fault was mine. As the fence was nearing completion, I told him there was no need to replace four existing posts from the previous fence with new ones set in concrete. “Just attach the new fence to the old posts,” I said. “It will be fine.” It was—until the winds came.
Jesus told a powerful story to emphasize the importance of building our lives on the solid foundation of obeying His Word. “Whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand” (Matt. 7:24-26). When the wind and rain beat against the houses, only the one built on the rock remained standing.
Hearing God’s Word is essential, but doing what He says is the key to weathering the storms of life. It’s never too late to start building on the Rock.
The wise man builds his house on rock
Instead of sinking sand;
For when the storms of life descend,
That house will surely stand. —Sper
When the world around you is crumbling, God is the Rock on which you can stand.
Article by David C. McCasland, Our Daily Bread, Copyright 2013 by RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Further distribution is prohibited without written permission from RBC Ministries
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Come join our church family on October 31st at 6:00 for a Candy Rain and a Trunk or Treat contest.
Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways!” —Haggai 1:7 (Read: Haggai 2:10-14)
Evil is like a contagious disease. Just as one person coughing in an airplane cabin can infect all the passengers, evil seems to spread among a group.
Holiness, on the other hand, must be deliberately sought. We do not become holy by associating with godly people in a cloistered environment. Holiness comes through faith and obedience to the Lord.
That is the point Haggai made centuries ago. He spoke about meat that had been set apart for sacrifice to God. If that meat touched some other food, it could not make the other food holy (2:12). On the other hand, ceremonial uncleanness could be easily transmitted by a mere touch (v.13).
Haggai told the people of Israel, who assumed they were holy because of their godly heritage, that they actually had become defiled because of their disobedience (v.14).
If you want to be holy, you must first give yourself in faith to God. Then you must learn what God wants you to do and in His strength obey Him. Having devout parents and associating with religious friends may help, but they cannot make you holy.
We become holy only as we live close to the Lord and do what He tells us to do.
Help me, O Lord, to be afraid
Of disobedient ways;
And may I seek what pleases You
And gives You highest praise. —Sper
Holiness is not a virus to be caught; it’s a way of life to be sought.
Article by Haddon W. Robinson, Our Daily Bread, Copyright 2013 by RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Further distribution is prohibited without written permission from RBC Ministries
The Slingshot Principle
by Mary Loudermilk
Life doesn’t always go as expected. Trouble comes to all of us, unexpectedly and sometimes intensely. Such times define our character and test our strength. It has been said that, “Adversity introduces a man to himself.
Oliver Wendell Holmes stated, “If I had a formula for bypassing trouble, I would not pass it round. Trouble creates a capacity to handle it. I don’t embrace trouble; that’s as bad as treating it as an enemy. But I do say meet it as a friend, for you’ll see a lot of it and had better be on speaking terms with it.”
A minister friend has developed what he calls “The Slingshot Principle.” Like the stone in the pocket of a slingshot, we want to move forward in life but it seems that the more we strive, adversity pulls us back and back and back some more. Eventually, when we feel we can take no more, the pressure releases and we shoot forward beyond what we could even anticipate. It seems we must go back before we go forward, and this is not easy to understand, especially in the middle of a difficult situation.
The Bible story of Joseph, found in Genesis 37-41, illustrates the Slingshot Principle. Joseph was the favored son of his father-and despised by his older brothers. This was more than a simple case of sibling rivalry. When the opportunity presented itself, the brothers placed Joseph in a pit and devised a plan to kill him. Then followed a better plan. Joseph was “in the slingshot”-sold to a passing caravan, taken to Egypt, sold as a slave, falsely accused, and put in prison. Years passed, and the backward pressure was intense.
Joseph’s story does not end there. A series of events brought him before Pharaoh to interpret his dreams. Joseph revealed that a time of plenty followed by a great famine would come upon Egypt, and he told how they should prepare. The pressure of the slingshot released, propelling him from the pit and prison to the palace. Pharaoh asked, “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God? … You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.”
A modern day story of triumph is that of Admiral Jim Stockdale, who for eight years endured torture as a prisoner of war in the “Hanoi Hilton.” When interviewed by Jim Collins in his book Good to Great, Stockdale stated of this horrific period of his life, “I never doubted not only that I would get out but also that I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the defining event of my life, which in retrospect, I would not trade.”
All of us will face trouble in life and feel that backward stretch. We must remember that, “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).
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[They] fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense. —Revelation 5:8
In our Bible-study group, we were examining the first five chapters of the book of Revelation. We spent time talking about the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders who sang a new song when they heard that the Lamb was worthy to open the seven-sealed scroll (Revelation 5:9-10).
One member of our group asked, “What is the significance of the objects they held in their hands? Why a harp and a bowl?”
We learned that since Old Testament days, the harp has been an instrument of worship. Psalms were often sung to the accompaniment of a harp, by choirs of priests and the congregation. The golden bowls, saucer-like pans filled with incense, sent up an aroma that was pleasing to God. The rising smoke represented prayer—the prayers of the saints rising up to the Lord.
Singing and prayer are integral parts of the Christian’s worship experience, both public and private. The two are often linked in Scripture. We may have a scratchy voice or sing off-key, but through song and prayer we can express our adoration to Almighty God.
What about your times alone with God, and your public worship? Let them include both a harp and a bowl—worshiping the Lord with singing and prayer.
Meet the Savior in the morning,
Kneel in humbleness to pray;
Lift your heart in praise and worship
At the opening gates of day. —Adams
A heart aflame with worship begins with the kindling of song and prayer.
Article by David C. Egner, Our Daily Bread, Copyright 2013 by RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Further distribution is prohibited without written permission from RBC Ministries