Celebrate Love

December 2021

Message from Pastor Tom:

The holidays are in full swing at my house and I’m sure at yours as well. All Christmas shoppers are running around as if they will never complete their Christmas tasks or their endless shopping lists, feeling Christmas will be a disappointing time to all those involved if they don’t complete it. Yet this season should never be a time of disappointment, or one to agonize over. Rather, this is a time to celebrate, remember and appreciate the gift of unconditional love from our heavily Father and our earthly families love and support. We need to be truly spiritual and not be hypercritical. We need to be gracious, compassionate, and loving people, and yes, I know this can be hard for some of us, including me.

Most psychological minds feel we are basically all party and social animals. I tend to believe each person is to a point, but at different degrees of this in life. It depends where they are on the social scale in their own mind and that of their connected friend’s mind. Fortunately, God is patient and waits on us as the Holy Spirit works continually to change our social love of all earthly things. I feel this is defined as me, myself and I, and anything that fits our needs from a specific person. This type of thinking happens until our heart starts changing to Christian love. I’ve learned this is part of God’s plan through His love and Grace, teaching us how to fit and belong in His plan for mankind. Now this is what I call one super Christmas gift, second to none, other than His birth and Resurrection. 

I also find we need to fail in the “worldly” sense, we need to win, and we need to have a sense of life with freedom by choosing our own way, which is happing in the social world as I have defined earlier. However, some never find Christian love. I ask, is this also in God’s plan to help teach us deeper love and respect for Him and the Church? Some of us are like Paul. We are slow to be accepted and sometimes never accepted in our own hometown. Paul had Christian love. Didn’t he learn it through the process of social love as I have stated? God created us and loves us more than we can imagine. God accepts us as we are. If we come to Him with pure hearts, our eyes set on the cross, trying our best to do what is right, with God’s help we will accomplish it. We only need to reach out, make every effort to continually show our Christian love by accepting and including others in our life. 

What stood out and really drove the meaning of “love” home to me was reading this quote in one of John’s letters, “Love is costly, not painless. Love isn’t passive; it takes initiative. Love doesn’t ignore or excuse sin; instead, love makes sacrifices…” I find this in my marriage, at work and most powerfully in my Christian walk. Jesus is our best example of love by showing it with His atoning sacrifice upon the cross, defined so elegantly in 1 John. We are able to start understanding unconditional love as Jesus forgives sinners that come to Him for mercy. 

Yet, when Jesus tenderly searches for wayward lost and hopeless sinners, then joyfully forgives them, it not only shows, but proves how He possesses extraordinary love. Jesus and His brothers James and Jude in their own letters have especially explained this throughout the Bible, with 1 John being the most defining. As John pointed out, love should be a major part of every Christian’s life. In fact, love is what truly defines us as Christians. 

So this Christmas, take the time to give love, celebrate Love with all those around you, and feel the warmth of our Heavenly Fathers Loving arms around you this Christmas and all the days ahead.

Heidi and I ask you join with us in praying for peace for our country, our leaders and those who are racially and spiritually persecuted worldwide. Until next month, may God richly bless you and keep you, may His face shine upon you. Merry Christmas and may each of you enjoy a very happy and prosperous new year in Christ.

Blessings from a pastor and his wife

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

A Season of Thanksgiving

November 2021

Message from Pastor Tom: 

Looking at this field of pumpkins made me smile, as I know many of them probably held prominent spots for different Halloween celebrations and decorations. It got me thinking about the blog for November, and of course, the word thanksgiving came to mind. I wondered how many are truly thankful for this bounty of growth, as we see here in the picture above. In fact, how many even take the time to be thankful for what God has supplied for them throughout their life. I find many don’t even know our Lord and Savior, rather they feel because of their own hard work it is well deserved. They believe everything is there for their use and enjoyment not giving a thought to where, how, or the work it takes for just one pumpkin. They don’t realize that if it were not for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, there would be nothing.

Since the Pilgrims observing that first Thanksgiving Day in 1621, and then President Lincoln proclaiming it a national holiday in 1863, Thanksgiving Day has been a vital part of our national life. This is a time for us to reflect and be thankful for our families and for what God has supplied for us. Gratitude and thanksgiving to God is a very important exercise. It is something all of us ought to do. However, it’s not only just a day of thanksgiving. The Bible tells us thanksgiving is also something that ought to be an attitude of our heart. When you pick up your Bible, please take the time to read Psalm 103:1–22 to your family, your friends, or yourself, and reflect in this time of thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is historically a day to praise and thank God the Father for blessings and to ask Him to heal the wounds of the nation. It was also a national day of penitence to humbly repent for our sinfulness and disobedience. In our sin, we fail repeatedly to get the proportions right. Only with divine redemption are we able to grow toward a balance that goes somewhat like this: Christians are thankful for all God’s gifts, especially his eternal gifts, and especially the surpassing value of knowing His Son Jesus Christ. He entered into this thankless world and died on our behalf for our incurable ingratitude. Jesus was the manifestation of the perfect life of thankfulness. Scripture shows us an impressive amount of times Jesus gave thanks to His Father.

So this Thanksgiving, let us all be thankful for the bounty our Lord Jesus Christ makes available to each of one of us and live a life of appreciation. All we must do is reach out and let His light shine through us, illuminating clearly and perfectly the path He has chosen for you and your family.

Heidi and I ask you join us in praying for peace for our country, our leaders, and those who are racially and spiritually persecuted worldwide. Please enjoy a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving. May God richly bless you and keep you, may His face shine upon you.

Blessings from a pastor and his wife

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

Let the Spirit Lead You

October 2021

Message from Pastor Tom: 

I would have to say October is one of my favorite months! Depending on where you live, this is when most of the foliage really starts changing colors, signifying the end of the summer season. It’s a time for cooler weather, lattes, and pumpkin spice, everything nice! It is also a time for fall festivals and Halloween fun! I believe October and Halloween bring new opportunities to share the Good News with strangers. The entire month is filled with a variety of Halloween and Fall Harvest activities and events. We will be at different places, meeting new people and this gives us the perfect opportunity to engage with others and introduce them to Jesus.

As a Christian blogger, I'm always thinking of ways to use the “non-Christian” holidays to reach the lost and help them meet Jesus at the foot of the cross. We’ve all been given an established order from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on the Great Commission. It doesn’t matter whether it’s Halloween, or any specific time of the year, it’s all about how we handle the assignment He has given us. 

All Christians know we are to be in mission, and that can mean locally or internationally. This should bring no sense of fear or dread, as God is with us through it all and will equip us for what He calls us to do. I think the longing and the feeling of guilt is the hardest for Christians to endure. When the longing for international service is there, but we are unable to find the means or the opportunity does not make itself available, there can be considerable feelings of guilt and frustration. This definitely puts a smile upon the devil’s face. I think we are most amazed by the ones so dedicated to foreign mission, their efforts are tireless and they manage the work seemingly stress free. I have personally only supported foreign mission work or assignments in a financial way or by prayer, but have not traveled myself to do so.  

My own mission work has been limited to the U.S. and Canada and that being only in my latter years. In my younger days, I worked mostly two jobs and with young children, I never had the opportunity to do so. That being said, I am in no way a scholar on the subject, other than what our Scriptures have taught me. I do know all things are possible through our Lord and this is where I draw my strength. As a disciple of Christ, I have forever surrendered my life to serving the Lord, and as a result, He makes us all fishers of men. I strive to be a true disciple of Christ, willing to abide in Him, allowing Jesus to live through me as a Christian doing God’s work. We truly become the most filled when we pour out the most to others. Our hearts grow when we share God’s love, allowing us to receive more than ever before. We need to handle our Lord’s Great Commission in our own way by letting the Holy Spirit guide us, by keeping our hearts pure, with our eyes upon foot of the cross, and letting the love shine through us to our fellow man.

Heidi and I ask you to join us in praying for peace for our country, our leaders and those racially and spiritually persecuted worldwide. Until next month, may God richly bless you and keep you, may His face shine upon you. 

Blessings from a pastor and his wife. 

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9 

God's Saving Grace

September 2021

Message from Pastor Tom:

I was sitting out back looking into our forest to see if the leaves were starting to lose their brilliant green color, as it is getting close to the time when they start turning their brilliant colors. But even though I began thinking I then also will have the chore of raking them, I started praising God for the beautiful view, and loving Grace He has bestowed upon my wife and I. In doing so, I started to pray for our country, our leaders, my prayers turned to Afghanistan and the problems there, then to all who have suffered the wrath of hurricane Ida, and the damage continuing as it travels north. I asked God how we could change the tide on all this destruction going on in the world. Then it became clear to me when I remembered watching an interview with a police officer the day after the hurricane hit Louisiana.  

When asked by a man who had ignored the evacuation orders why no one responded to his numerous calls for help at the storms worst, the officer replied he had to save himself before he could save anyone else. This holds true for each of us. We need to save ourselves before we can help others. We must start here at home by healing our own country before we can go anywhere else, for it is God who will heal the land. We as children of God need to put God first as 2 Chronicles 7:14 explains, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

I was pondering on ways to expound on this passage when I read this from Greg Laurie. I could not have explained any clearer, so I have included his vision in its entirety.

On the wall of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, DC, are these words from President Thomas Jefferson: “God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever.”

Someone conducted a study of the world’s great civilizations and noted that every nation has an average cycle of 200 years. They looked at various nations that came into prominence and then disappeared into obscurity. Interestingly, each one of these nations went through the same sequence. They went from spiritual faith to great courage, from great courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependency, and from dependency into bondage again.

Where do you think America is today? I think the problem is that many Americans don’t know, and many don’t care. Any civilization that ultimately collapsed, or was overcome by a foreign power, first fell apart on the inside. For example, as the Roman Empire rose to greatness, they no doubt assumed they would be around for centuries to come, but they were crumbling on the inside.

I believe the same is happening in America today. There is moral decay on the inside. We need to get back to the true God, not just spirituality. We need to get back to the God that our founding fathers believed in when they established this nation: The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Yes, we need to get back to the God who sent His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sin. We need to get back to the true and living God who can save America. 

To this, I simply say Amen!

Heidi and I ask you to join us in praying for peace for our country, our leaders and those racially and spiritually persecuted worldwide. Until next month, may God richly bless you and keep you, may His face shine upon you. 

Blessings from a pastor and his wife. 

My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek. Psalm 27:8

Trusting in the Lord

August 2021

Message from Pastor Tom:

I find that after staring at a computer all day or working out in the heat, a visit to the beach sounds so inviting. Especially on those hot August nights where you can find yourself drifting from your duties and responsibilities, or possibly not recognizing the need to trust in the Lord. The best advice I can give is we need to get back into Gods Word, Gods Church, and be with God’s people. Through our Lord and Savior’s embrace, we will discover true comfort, guidance, and direction.

Now this sounds easy, but how many will follow this advice? To be honest, probably not many. Being a Christian or not, most will go on drifting throughout their life not knowing their purpose or the plan God intended for them. I find most will think they are doing just fine, but in reality, they are not. Proverbs 3:5-6 reminds us to, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (KJV). This is my favorite Scripture in Proverbs, which tells us if we trust God completely, He will guide us. Yet, we will never know this if we do not get back into Gods Word, visit our places of worship, or share God’s truth with fellow Christians and the lost. By having Faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, it will improve your comfort and happiness, even during stressful and devastating difficulties. Having Faith is what helps us trust God in good or difficult times, especially like now with the Covid pandemic, and still find the peace only God can provide in all situations. 

I know all Christians have a testimony about the existence of God in their lives. Accepting Christ as Lord and Savior will change us. The power of God in our life, as witnessed by us, is our gospel and no different from those of Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. It does not matter whether you had to drop to rock bottom, or if it was a gradual awakening. The story of how we came to know and accept Jesus does not have to be dramatic and earthshaking. It is the fact we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, confessed and turned from our sins and are willing to trust, and dedicate our lives to being faithful and obedient servants of Christ. It is when doing His will, we can experience the earthshaking part of our journey within the plan He has for us. 

This is when the excitement really begins, as it tells us in Luke 15:10, “In the same way I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” So for some, the testimony may not be in how we came to know Christ, but how we are changed because we do. For when we live joyfully in service to God, in a manner that brings Him glory and honor, we are indeed telling a story for all to witness firsthand. Just by sharing your story, they will see your trust in the Lord by His light that will be shining from each of us. 

Heidi and I ask you to join us in praying for peace for our country, our leaders and those racially and spiritually persecuted worldwide. Until next month, may God richly bless you and keep you, may His face shine upon you. 

Blessings from a pastor and his wife. 

It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. 1 Corinthians 3:7

Freedom in Christ

July 2020

Message from Pastor Tom:

Our 4^th of July marks an extremely important holiday, as it is the day the United States declared independence from the British. We, as Americans associate this day with the beginning of the nation's true freedom. Freedom is also an important theme in the Bible. For many Christians the 4^th of July and the Bible go hand in hand.

What I mean by this is the Freedom you will experience after God has acted to remove all obstacles once you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. He will open your eyes, whether social, spiritual (sin and death), economic, as well recognizing what is blocking your creational purpose. A Christian’s purpose is to know, love, worship, and enjoy God forever. This freedom has been won for us by the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. By the power of the Holy Spirit, Christian’s seek to live this freedom and to join with God in freeing others through proclaiming the Truth with His Good Word, while we await freedom’s full realization at Christ’s second coming, as found in Romans 8:1–39.

Let us look at Job, he knew the truth but that did not stop his own family and friends telling him falsehoods and trying to have him act out against God. This world tries to lead us astray every minute of the day. Add the devil into the mix and we are bound to struggle for the truth, let alone hear the truth of God when spoken. The Bible makes it clear we do not determine truth, but rather we discover truth. We have the free will to ignore truth if we wish, but when we do, we risk our own eternal salvation and our walk with God.

The Bible is truth that is absolute and constant despite some people’s feelings and beliefs. You must accept the Bible by faith on your knees, and not question the truth. I could read you Scripture all day, tell you truths of the Bible as Apostle Paul has done. Yet if you do not pick up that Bible yourself and read the words, let God and the Holy Spirit speak to you personally, you will never know the absolute truth or have the Salvation God so desperately wants for you. I know we are all imperfect people. God is our perfect and loving heavenly Father, who only wants the absolute best for His children. He desires for us to grow spiritually mature, becoming more and more like Jesus Christ who is the definition of perfection. Are you ready for the Truth? God is waiting.

Heidi and I ask you to join us in praying for peace for our country, our leaders and those racially and spiritually persecuted worldwide. Until next month, may God richly bless you and keep you, may His face shine upon you. Please be safe and have a wonderful 4^th of July holiday.

Remember our Lord and Savior’s Saving Grace frees us from our sins and gives us eternal life. You only need to accept His gift of Grace.

Blessings from a pastor and his wife.

I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Psalm 16:8

Faith in the Lord

 

June 2021

Message from Pastor Tom:

In past blogs, I spoke of leaving all your trials and tribulations at the foot of the cross, as well as having Hope in all things through Jesus Christ. I truly believe when this life is through, it will all come down to having Faith. Saving faith grows by believing in God’s Word through Scripture. The more we read, the more we trust, and in turn, we experience His Peace and Hope in all things. 

Maybe today you are feeling anxious, worried, and maybe even a little afraid. The Bible tells us to, “Cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” 1 Peter 5:7 (NKJV). We need to have Faith in the Lord, stop worrying and let God assume the responsibility for our welfare. We have all had the experience of someone letting us down, or disappointing us in some way, but Jesus Christ never will. Having faith in Jesus Christ ensures you can trust Him to take care of you no matter what. Therefore, we need to keep our eyes on the cross and look to Jesus for all things large or small. If you keep your eyes on the Father, He will direct your steps. We must turn our eyes away from worthless things, and set our gaze upon Jesus.

My own personal Faith experience was severely tested with my past throat cancer. The ensuing chemotherapy along with the radiation treatments brought me closer to God in ways I never thought possible. Yes, I was terrified when I first heard the diagnosis, and I was worried about the outcome. Nevertheless, it was my Faith in Jesus that kept me going and trusting in His Word.  The entire experience opened new perspectives in my faith and plans for my continuing ministry. I never thought I could ever thank God for a diagnosis of cancer, yet without the experience I may never have reached this level of closeness to God. He truly has turned the ordinary into the extraordinary, giving me many opportunities to share my experiences with others and witnessing to God’s amazing grace. I have changed personally, giving all Glory to God, as He is the ultimate healer, knowing He walks with the doctor’s as well. The devil throws all types of pain and sickness into our path that can only lead us to personal destruction if we let it. Our faith in Christ can overcome these times of trial and make us stronger than we could ever imagine.

As always, Heidi and I pray this devotion touches your heart and gives you Hope in all things, leading you to a stronger Faith in Christ. That you too will find your own “cross” to remind you to place all your anxiety at its foot, giving them over to Jesus who is better equipped to take care of them and give us Hope. We also ask you continue to join us in praying for peace for our country, our leaders and those who are persecuted racially and spiritually worldwide.  

Until next month, may God richly bless you and keep you, may His face shine upon you always. 

Blessings from a pastor and his wife.

Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation. Hebrews 11:1–2