Pastor Stephen Dedman

Category: Faith

Close To God

Faith

His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us.
Acts 17:27

Thank you for your prayers, phone calls, emails, and text messages while my family and I were fighting Covid. I am recovering fine and ready to get back to ministering the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I give God the glory for healing me and my family. – Pastor Stephen

Getting close to the One who loves you the most isn’t as hard as it may seem. However, spending time with God requires effort. Especially when we have an adversary who will do whatever to keep you from spending time with God.

God created us, loves us and wants to be with us. But there is a problem that exists. Our sin separates us from Him because He is a holy and righteous God.

There is good news because God sent His only Son to connect us to Him. 1 Peter 3:18 says, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit.”

Getting close to God is as simple as having a relationship with Jesus. Knowing Jesus is knowing God. Getting close to Jesus is the same as getting close to God.

If you want to spend time with God you must spend time in the Word of God. God speaks through His Word.

Spend time communicating with God through prayer. Speaking with God draws us close to Him.

Worship helps us seek His presence. Find a way to worship Him today.

Pray

Lord, I love You and want to spend more time with You. Forgive me of my sins and renew my joy of Your salvation. Draw me close to You.

Remembering 9/11

Encouragement, Faith

‘that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ ‘
Joshua 4:6

September 11, 2001 was a day that many thought could never happen. Why would someone hijack a plane and use it as a suicide bomb? How could two planes cause so much havoc in New York City? Although it’s been 20 years, many still remember like it was yesterday.

Today’s verse proves that events such as 9/11 should never be forgotten. Memorials have been built so that people always remember what happened. People died and families were destroyed because of the cowardly attacks on our society.

God places emphasis on building memorials. They not only serve as reminders of what happened in the past but they also remind us how God brought so many people through.

There is even more attention put on this special day as our military was removed out of Afghanistan and the terrorist are back in power. It’s as if the war on terrorism was fought in vain. It’s as if the terror attacks never happened. Has America lost its patriotism?

When we are asked questions similar to, “What do these stones mean to you?”, what will we say? We should take this opportunity to remember how even in the midst of great tragedy, God was with us. Let’s recall how for a short time afterward, we were all united together as ONE NATION, UNDER GOD.

God please help us! And God bless the USA!

Pray

Lord, may we never forget that You are in our midst even in times of trouble. May our nation be turned back to You. Help us to unite together as one under You as our Almighty Creator, God.

Stop Running

Encouragement, Faith, Trust

“Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭31:5‬

There is a story of a lawyer who was trying to deliver an important document to a man. Thinking it was a subpoena, the man avoided the attorney at all cost. But this was a very persistent attorney, and he wouldn’t give up.

This went on for many years, until the man ended up in the hospital, dying of a serious illness. As he was lying on his death bed, the lawyer walked up next to him with the document in hand. The man said, “I can’t run from you anymore. I’m dying. Just give me the subpoena.”

“What subpoena?” the lawyer asked. “I have a document here to prove that you’ve inherited $20 million dollars!”

That is how it is when we run from God. We’re saying, “Get away from me, God, I don’t want your forgiveness, your love, and your mercy. I don’t want your blessings. I want to live the way I want to live.”

People run from God for all kinds of reasons. Maybe it’s because we think God has abandoned us. Or maybe we run from God because of pride and rebellion. Some run because they’ve been hurt. Others run because they’re scared. The reason we run is because we believe the lie that God’s presence is not best for us.

Instead of running away from God we need to run to Him. God loves you and wants to help you. God forgives you and extends mercy and grace when we don’t deserve it. Don’t be like the man in the story who ran for so long that he ended up missing out on a great blessing. Don’t miss out on the best things God has to offer.

Pray

Lord, I run to you and you only. Into your hand I commit my spirit. Forgive me for not trusting you more.