faith

Energy Assistance

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 KJV

I looked for the telephone number for energy assistance that was at the bottom of our power bill and began slowly dialing. “May I help you?” a friendly voice answered almost immediately.

“I was wondering if I could apply for low income help for our energy bill this winter because I haven’t been working full time.” I humbly said.

“Okay well let me get your information. “The lady began. First I gave my name, address and date of birth. Then began a series of questions about our family size, estimated income, and how much money we had in our bank account. “Well I see you will qualify.” The lady finally told me.

“Wow that’s great, so what do we do next?” I asked

“First there’s some bad news.” she said apologetically. “The problem is that  our state’s low income heating assistance program has run out of funding this year.”

Did you ever stop to realize that God created us with needs so that we would come to Him for His heavenly assistance program? When we call to Him in prayer, He won’t tell us He’ll call back later when the funding is approved. His riches in glory never run out! If we need mercy, healing, encouragement, or strength; these are always on hand and available for immediate deposit. God’s promise is that if we trust in Him alone, our bill will be paid in full and all the energy assistance we need will be freely supplied through our Jesus Christ our Lord!

Buying the Hat

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Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.             1 Peter 1: 18-19 ESV

While shopping at Walmart with my wife we happened to pass by a display of hats that caught my eye. So for a just a moment I paused to try a few on. First I glanced in the mirror and after I discovered one I liked I asked Nancy what she thought. But no matter how much she or I liked that hat, it still didn’t belong to me until it was paid for

My browsing the hat section is a lot like people treat the church. They like what they hear and maybe even try the Christian hat on for size; but then they put it back on the shelf, walk out the door. What is missing is that a transaction has never occurred. In order for salvation, to become ours someone must pay at the register. That someone is Jesus Christ. He stands waiting by the door for us to come to him so that our transaction can be completed. Today is the day to do more than try on the Christian hat for size. This is our time to meet with Jesus Christ and know for certain that everything we will ever need has been paid for in full with the precious blood of Jesus Christ!

 

The Secret Place

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But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.  Matthew 6:6

In  the year 1800 John Adams and his wife moved into the residence today known as the White House. The building was reconstructed after the British burned it down, and remodeled many times. Through all the history that had passed it has never been a secret where it is and that it is the home of the president of the United States. But if we want our president to listen to our request the trick is to get an appointment to meet him there.

white house

Photo by Aaron Kittredge on Pexels.com

The same is true with our place of prayer. When Jesus told us to go into the “secret place with God”, He wasn’t referring to some mystical hidden location. We don’t need to find some place that no one knows about where we can hide while we pray. We pray simply must be sure that the words we say are intended for God’s ears alone. We must be careful to not try and impress others either by the way we pray or how often. God’s appointment calendar will always open for us if we come in honesty and humility. In fact the most important part of our prayer is not the words we use, but in the answer God gives. When our hearts are right we will discover that God’s ears are always open and that He is prepared to listen to anyone who comes into His secret place. P1010570