Skillful

September 16, 2019 Pastor Stephen Dedman Encouragement

Skillful

Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭22:29‬ ‭

Work For Jesus

God blesses every believer with extraordinary gifts. The Holy Spirit works in your life to show you who you are in Christ. You are special to God.

The Lord places us where He wants us to be. You are where you are because God has a plan to use your gifts and abilities for His glory. You need to have confidence in knowing that God has a specific plan for you. Nothing happens by accident or by mistake. God has equipped you and given you the opportunity to work a specific task that can only allow God to shine. You did not get to where you are without the help and guidance of God. You are placed at specific places for specific people. Your work is primarily a way for you to glorify God.

God blesses those who bless others. Sometimes you are blessed so that you will bless someone else. This is one way we can view or jobs. We should seek ever opportunity to show others how blessed we are for the knowledge and ability to do what we do for others. No matter what job you work or who you do it for, make sure to give God the glory and He will advance you when the time is right. You may have a boss but more importantly you have a King. His name is Jesus and He deserves all credit and honor. So honor Him today with your hard work and abilities that you have been blessed with. In return you will be full of joy and peace. If your goal is to please your Heavenly Father you are on the right track.

Prayer

Lord, today I give to those what you have given to me.

The Prayer Of Faith

September 14, 2019 Pastor Stephen Dedman Encouragement, Faith, Trust

The Prayer Of Faith

And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
James 5:15

The Cure For Spiritual Weakness

There are times in our life when we can become spiritually sick. Just as our physical bodies get sick with a virus or an infection our faith can also become weak and feeble. We can take an antibiotic for our bodies to help fight infections but what do we do when we are spiritually sick? Is there a prescription for spiritual weakness?

We must understand that there are seasons in life when we are faithful and strong and then there are times when our faith is weak. It’s during these times of weak faith when we are most vulnerable. This is when we quit reading and studying our Bible and we don’t pray as much as we did before. This is what James is referring to in James 5:13-18. He is writing to Believers who have been persecuted and are at their point of giving up and giving in. It takes a lot of strength to stay spiritually strong in our walk with the Lord. Jesus never promised us that it would be easy. However, James gives great advice for us to get spiritually healed.

The first step of spiritual healing is to recognize that you are sick and weak. Until you recognize your spiritual condition, nothing will change. The second step is to surround yourself with strong, spiritual people. These are the ones whose faith is so strong that it rubs off on others. Everyone needs a strong faithful person in their life. Third, you need to rely on the Holy Spirit to nourish your mind and soul through the Word of God. God wants to restore you to be the person He has called you to be. Stay strong and be encouraged.

Prayer

If you are spiritually weak pray for God to send you someone who can lift you up in faith and encouragement. If you are spiritually strong, pray for God to help you find someone who is weak and help them get back to where they need to be.

Hidden With Christ

September 10, 2019 Pastor Stephen Dedman Encouragement, Faith, Salvation, Trust

Hidden With Christ

For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3:3‬ ‭

New Life

Before we were saved by the grace of God, we lived for ourselves. It was self-merit and self-righteousness that brought us what we thought was justifiable. As long as we were good people and as long as we did good things, we were ok. But that was not the truth.

When our eyes were spiritually opened to the things of God, we were changed. As Scripture says, “For you have died.” When we come to Christ we die to our old ways and to our old self. No longer do we live for ourselves but we live for Christ. He is our Lord and Master and we submit to Him in all of our ways. Our actions and words reflect who we belong to. You may be thinking… “But sometimes I say and do things that are not aligned with Christ-likeness.” Just because we are Christians does not mean that we will never sin again. We all sin and come short of God’s glory.

The difference is in the next part of the verse… “and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” What this means is we are justified by the blood of Christ. When we come to Jesus through faith, we die to ourselves. We take up our cross and follow Him. We are born again. We are reborn into the likeness of Christ. When God looks at us He sees the righteousness of Christ and not the righteousness of ourselves. When we believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior we take on a new life and new characteristics. The Holy Spirit comes to our rescue and gives us power to live as Christ would have us to live. In other words we require the Holy Spirit to live holy and acceptable to God. Romans 12:1-2 gives us great insight of how we should live everyday. As we live holy lives we no longer live according to the world but according to the Word of God.

Prayer

Lord, I submit to you and live today for You. Show me what You want me to do for You today.