Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.  Psalm 34:19

I can distinctly remember instances in my life that I've wondered how long I would have to endure a certain trial. Although I can rest assured that God is in control and the situation will pass, the waiting and enduring can be heart-wrenching.

At times like that I think of Abraham, Sarah, Queen Esther, David, Daniel and others who had received promises and yet walked their journey faithfully without knowing when deliverance would come. They made it. And in Psalm 34:19, I can cling to two promises. The first: many afflictions will come my way. That's a fact. It's in the Word. And it confirms I'm on the right path, so I'll take it. The second promise brings peace and joy as I am promised to be delivered out of them ALL! 

…in His own way

…in His own time

…for His own glory

-Lori C.

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Luke 24:33-34 (NASB) "And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them, saying, “The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon.”

Generally speaking, I am the impatient one in our house and my husband is the patient one. However, the one thing he is impatient about is when he gets a package or a new kitchen gadget. He always wants to open it up and put it together right away! I think it’s human nature: when there’s something we’re excited about, we can’t wait to get started.

The two disciples that met Jesus on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24 couldn’t wait to get started either. When they realized they had just seen the risen Savior, they immediately returned to Jerusalem to tell the other disciples the good news, even though it was after supper and getting late!

May we be as eager to share the Gospel now as we were when Jesus first revealed Himself to us.

-Kevi

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1 Samuel 8:19-20 (NASB) " Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No, but there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles."

The other day I was in the church nursery and I got a sippy cup out to give a drink to one of the little boys. My son saw the sippy cup and wanted it, instead of his cup we brought from home. His cup was almost identical to the other boy’s cup, except that it had a removable handle. I like to give my son cups with handles because it makes it easier for him to drink, he can hold it with one hand and still easily drink out of it. However, to avoid a tantrum over the other boy’s sippy cup I took the handle off of his cup, and he seemed quite pleased to have the exact same cup. His cup was actually better beforehand, but he wanted it to be the same.

The children of Israel had a better system than all the nations around them, because it was the system God had set up for them. But they only wanted to be like the other nations, and they insisted to Samuel that he appoint a king, since Samuel’s days were coming to their end. God let them have their way, even though He knew it was not the best way. You don’t have to look far in the Old Testament to find evil kings and problems that stemmed from having a kingdom just like all the other nations.

God’s ways are always best, but sometimes we settle for less because we want to be like the world. It takes faith to be set apart!

-Kevi

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Zechariah 7:5 (NASB) “Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, 
‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these seventy years, 
was it actually for Me that you fasted?

I missed church two Sundays in a row, which is unusual for me (but I had a good reason—staying home with my newborn baby)! I think missing church was actually good for me! I had to think about what I really missed: was it the social aspect of seeing my friends at church, was it the fulfilling of my ministry duties, or was it the time of worship and the opportunity to hear a word from God?

It’s easy to get caught up in religion and miss out on worship. The Israelites were fasting during their years of captivity, but over time they lost sight of the reason for the fast, and it was no longer worship. God knew that the fasts weren’t really for Him, but for them.

Lord, I don’t need any more religion, I need more of you.  

-Kevi

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1 Corinthians 15:10a (KJV) “But by the grace of God I am what I am:”

Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,

Freely bestowed on all who believe!

You that are longing to see His face,

Will you this moment His grace receive?

Grace, grace, God’s grace,

Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;

Grace, grace, God’s grace,

Grace that is greater than all our sin!

Sin and despair, like the sea waves cold,

Threaten the soul with infinite loss;

Grace that is greater, yes, grace untold,

Points to the refuge, the mighty cross.

Grace, grace, God’s grace,

Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;

Grace, grace, God’s grace,

Grace that is greater than all our sin!

-Julia Johnston

-Dennis

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John 1:16 (CEV) Because of all that the Son is, we have been given one blessing after another.

John 1:16 (KJV) And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

John 1:16  (NLT) From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.

I earned it! Really, where did you get the strength to work? Where did you get the ability to work? Where did you get the intelligence to work? Where did you get the air you are breathing?

Lord Jesus, this is Dennis. Me and Paul have one thing in common. “I am what I am, by the grace of God.”

-Dennis

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James 2:14-26 (NLT) What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?

So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”

You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?

Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.

Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road. Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.

-Dennis

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James 2:18 (CEB) Someone might claim, “You have faith and I have action.” But how can I see your faith apart from your actions? Instead, I’ll show you my faith by putting it into practice in faithful action.

I have a Brother-in-law who loves to fish. His wife, my sister, cooks the best fried catfish, bass and crappie around!

I have a nephew who has a new bass boat, and a talking fish he bought at Walmart!

I have a Brother-in-law that loves to hunt. They eat lots of deer, cooked like chicken fried steak. He makes deer jerky, and grinds a lot of it up like hamburger meat.

I have a nephew (true story) who loves to hunt. He has a hole in the hood of his pickup from the deer he missed!

I have a friend who loves Jesus and his neighbors. He drove from Tulsa to Oklahoma City to see them when they were in the hospital. He mowed their yard while they were gone and brought them some home cooked meals when they returned home.

I have a fellow church member who goes to church most Sundays.

Are you catching my drift? --------My name is Dennis and I resemble those remarks!

-Dennis

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"Show me your faith without your works and I will show you my faith by my works." -James

I am sure many of you have heard of the great tightrope walker, Blondin.

He was one of the greatest tightrope walkers of all time, and there are many legends told of the feats he performed. One of the most often told stories of Blondin concerns his crossing over the Niagara Falls on a tightrope. He reportedly did that several times. At some point he turned to his large audience, which included numerous reporters from various newspapers, and he asked them, "How many believe I can walk across this tightrope over the Falls pushing a wheelbarrow?"

People cheered loudly they were sure the great Blondin could do it. Then he asked, "How many believe I can push a wheelbarrow across the tightrope with a man sitting in it?" Again, there was a loud response.

Blondin then pointed to one of the most enthusiastic men in the audience, and said, "Okay, you, get into the wheelbarrow." Needless to say, the man made a quick exit.

Blondin demonstrated that there is often a great difference between belief, the faith we SAY we have, and the action faith we really have.

The measure of our faith is NOT our "talk," it is our "walk."

Faith is what we do.

It is not what …we say we will do.

-Dennis

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