Faith

Confessing Your Fears

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I sought the Lord and He heard me and delivered me from all my fears.  Psalm 34:4

A pastor of mine once had a job working on steel towers hundreds of feet tall. He talked with me one day about the process of training that men went through to be able to join the crew. One phrase that he often said was, “Any man who says he isn’t afraid is a liar!” I believe that King David would have agreed with my pastor. He didn’t try convincing God that he was courageous. David’s response to the fear that he felt was to cry out to the Lord. He knew that God already knew that he was terrified. He wasn’t trying to fool God or anyone else. David knew of only one place to go and that was to his knees! Like a child shouting for his father’s help David unhesitatingly cried to God. Just as you will never convince a child not to cry out when hurt, so we need to know that God is not putting us to the test to see how much pain we can withstand.

low angle view of electric post

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The entire mission of Jesus Christ while on earth was summed up in a single word, “Immanuel” He is God with us. He willing came to Bethlehem to be with us. He willingly was rejected by his own people, even at times by his own family so we would never have to be alone. Jesus knows the fact that we have lived all of our lives in fear of death. Jesus came to bring us life, not to tell us to keep a stiff upper lip. Admitting ours fears to God is nothing to be ashamed of; in fact it is our first step towards courage!

 

In Remembrance

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For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you; that the Lord Jesus on the night when He was betrayed took bread and when He had given thanks He broke it and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.                                           1 Corinthians 11:23-24 ESV

That night when Jesus sat down for the last supper it seemed that just about everything was going wrong. Judas had gone to the high priest to betray him. The Sanhedrin had decided to have Jesus put to death. The other eleven disciples were spending part of their time at the table arguing over which one of them was the most important. But in the presence of so much going wrong the Bible tells us that on that night when he was betrayed Jesus blessed and shared the bread and then the cup. Not one single detail of His plan was stopped.

In some ways this scene reminds me of what we are passing through now with the Corona virus snatching away from us innocent lives. And in the middle of our own time of testing if we look to the Lord and remember we will find a promise of a rejoicing in faith; hope in the face of any sufferings and most of all the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord even in the shadow of the cross.

KIMG0025

For those wishing to share in an online service that includes communion I invite you to join us today at 9 Am 11 AM and 5 PM Eastern Standard Time. We are Generations Christian Church of Trinity Florida and whether you live in our community of not we would be delighted to have you join us! You can either just click on the link below or look for us online at Generationscc.com  – God bless and have a wonderful Lord’s Day!

Generations Live Worship

The Last Puzzle Piece

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But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.  Acts 20:24 ESV

Over the first few weeks of our lockdown my wife and I spent several days putting together a 500 piece puzzle. It was one of the hardest  we had ever done because of the weird shapes of the pieces. Finally after 6 days it seemed as if we we were about to complete it when we sadly realized that it was missing 2 pieces! Looking back I can laugh but it reminds me that my life also has some missing pieces – like the answers to questions “Am I doing what God wants me to do?” and “What am I doing about that today?”

For each of us the answers are as different as the parts of our puzzle. Paul’s great way of answering that question for himself was rooted in his both faith and his determination to accomplish what God had called for him to do. Paul chose to leave behind his privileged life and no matter the cost take the journey God had chosen for him. The key to Paul’s clear thinking was that no one’s opinion mattered except the Lord’s. Now of course very few of us are called to leadership like Paul was, but all of us are shaped by God for our own moment in history. Our most important conversation today must be with Him. The good news for all of us is that He has promised to show us the way and how to fit the final pieces into our own life’s puzzle!

assorted puzzle game

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