Surrounded By The Presence Of Our Lord Jesus

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. Isaiah 43:2 (NIV)

When I read this passage I am so filled with comfort and hope. There are so many times in life when we are faced with circumstances that would seem to destroy us. All of us will face difficult circumstances in this life. But for those of us who are Children of God, we have the assurance that He will be with us in the midst of whatever circumstance we find ourselves in.

As we walk out of the door in the morning and face a day that is totally unknown to us, we can walk out with confidence that no matter what happens we will be surrounded by the presence of our Lord Jesus. We can walk in assurance that everything is going to be alright because we serve a God who did something incredible to prove His love for us. “If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn't gladly and freely do for us?”(Vs. 32) Wow! The obvious answer to that question is no! There is nothing that God would not do for His children. He spared no expense so that you and I could walk in a sweet assurance that whatever today or this next year bring that we are surrounded by and kept safe in His unquenchable love and abiding presence. That means that nothing, not even our enemies’ harshest condemnation or attacks remove God’s presence from us. Psalm 139:7-10 confirms that: “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”

With that said, everything being “alright” doesn’t mean that God’s presence keeps us from hurting. There are times when God takes away the pain; there are other times when God holds our hands in the midst of the painful experience. But in both cases He is there!

As we enter into this new year of 2009, walk in hand and hand with our Great Lord and be confident that no matter what you face that He is with you. And whether He protects you from the fire or holds you while you burn, His love for you doesn’t change and in either case, you will be “alright” in the end.

God Sent Forth His Son

“But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son,
born of a woman, born under the Law.”
Galatians 4:4 (NASB)

Merry Christmas. It’s seems very fitting that we are celebrating the birth of our Lord on the day that we regularly come together to worship Him. Corporate worship is in itself a celebration.

Each week we celebrate our Great God for all that He is and for all He has done and is doing. Today we focus in on celebrating our Master: “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”(Phil. 2:6,7) Praise and glory be to Him!

As you celebrate this Christmas be sure and take some time out just to thank Jesus for being willing and obedient to step into your journey so that you could have a relationship with His Father. Celebrate Him for being the greatest gift ever known to man. Celebrate His Father for being the Giver of such an incredible gift! Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! (2 Cor. 9:15)

The greatest gift and celebration that you could offer Him today, if you have not already, would be to receive the Greatest Gift from the Greatest Giver that He is offering you. So, if you do not know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, give your life to Him today and experience why the God of the universe moved heaven and earth just so your could celebrate what we call Christmas day.

The most wonderful Christmas passage in the Bible is found in John 3:16-17: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

Have a blessed day and remember to say Happy Birthday to Jesus and thank you, to His Father.

Merry Christmas,

Pastor MJ

Ever Felt Like You Can’t “Afford To Worship” ?

Have you ever felt like you can’t “afford to worship”? That you have given all you’ve got and anything that was left has been taken from you? Do you feel like all of your energy, joy, happiness, comfort, trust and hope have been swiped from under you? All the answers seem to point in the same direction – into a blank hole? How do you sing, “You are my all in all”? How do you sing, “There is joy in serving Jesus?” How in the world can you stand and lift you hands and proclaim, “There is none like You?” Have you every felt like when you sing, “Draw me close to you” that you do more damage to yourself than good, because it hurts too much, because the last time you sang that, and really poured your heart out, “nothing” happened and you just don’t want to be hurt again, to be left alone again to comfort your own broken heart?

One of my favorite hymns begins with the phrase, “My hope is in the Lord…” Every day lived needs to be lived with the hope and trust in God who has reveled Himself through Scripture, nature and experience and has promised that all that He claims about Himself through Scripture and through Jesus Christ is true and can be trusted.

Other than that, (and that “that” is HUGE) there is nothing else to hold on to. Except this; I have learned and am still learning that worship is one of the tools that God has given to us to empower us to live in victorious freedom, to see Him as He is.

Russ Taff in the late seventies sang a song entitled “Praise The Lord” that puts it well:

“When you're up against a struggle that shatters all your dreams,
And your hopes have been crushed By Satan's manifested schemes,
And you feel the urge within you to submit to earthly fears,
Don't let the faith you're standing' in Seem to disappear.
Praise the Lord, He can work through those who praise Him.
Praise the Lord, for our God inhabits praise.
Praise the Lord, for the chains that seem to bind you,
Serve only to remind you, that they drop powerless behind you
When you praise Him.”

So today, when you feel like giving up or you feel like living “under the circumstances”, pause and praise the Lord for something and watch what happens!

“By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me—
a prayer to the God of my life.”
Psalm 42:8

May He help you hear His song in the night that leads you to a brighter day!

Pastor MJ

Stress Of Christmas Time

“You did it: You changed wild lament into whirling
dance; you ripped off my black mourning band and
decked me with wild flowers. I’m about to burst with song;
I can’t keep quiet about you. God, my God,

I can’t thank you enough.”
(Psalm 30:11-12 The Message)

For many, the stress of how they are going to “do Christmas” this year drew them to do wild and crazy things just to try and make it happen. Some people shop at 4:00am to deal with stress, some eat more, some smoke, andwithdraw. How are you handling the stress of the day?

How we handle things that we go through, or are handed to us, will depend on our perspective! God’s Word tells us that all things, not some, but all things work together for good to those that love God and are called according to His purposes!

What are you faced with today? Were you hit with some unexpected, hardship or disappointment? Take courage and see you situation through your Father’s eyes. Know that He was aware of your present situation before you got there and that He has everything under control and has a purpose for you in the midst of where you are.

Whatever is stressing you out, breaking your heart, confusing you, or making you angry, give it to Father God and allow Him to cradle you in his arms all the while helping you to view things from His perspective. Remember, He is already at the end of your tribulation and is waiting to take your hand and walk with you there! How awesome is that? You are in the Genesis of your journey and He is already in your Revelation! But out of His love and awesome compassion, He is willing to walk with you through every chapter of your life until you reach home!

While you do this, you will see how some of the sourest events in life can be turned into the most refreshing and sweetest events known in your life and in the life of others. Realizing the truth of that, we have so much to praise Him for! Let’s do that together today and this week.