Pastor Stephen Dedman

Latest Posts

God-Fearing, Faithful Mothers

Trust

“When I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also.”
‭‭II Timothy‬ ‭1:5‬

Today we celebrate the women who are called by the name “mom.” What a great day to honor and cherish the mothers and women who mean so much to us.

Mothers are very important and influential.  Their worth and value can never be measured monetarily.  They never get a day off nor do they take a vacation from being a mother.

Paul mentioned that Timothy had a godly grandmother and mother.  Paul honors Lois and Eunice for being the faith influencers in Timothy’s life.  Because Timothy had a godly mother and grandmother, he became a godly man.  

Timothy’s mother instilled godly convictions and doctrinal truth into him as a young man.  She didn’t wait till he was grown, she began teaching him godly character at an early age.  It’s very clear that Lois and Eunice trained their son and grandson in the ways of the Lord.

Passing on sincere faith to our children is a necessity.  Sincere faith is genuine. Sincere faith takes time and effort to pass on to others.  Many hours of prayer and teaching the Scriptures go into raising a child to be strong in their faith.  

Godly mothers take the necessary time to teach what it means to be faithful in all things.  They teach their children the purpose of having sincere faith.

There is no such thing as a perfect mom but there are many who are close to it. Our moms need to be recognized for their love and commitment to passing on their faith to us. Make time today to say something special to your mom.

Pray

Lord, thank You for our godly mothers.  We give you praise and honor for giving us such wonderful teachers of Your Word. Give us more godly women who can continue the great work.

The Saints Must Change

Encouragement, Salvation

“And he (John the baptist) will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before Him (Jesus) in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
Luke 1:16-17

What will it take to turn this world upside down for Jesus? That is a question that many spiritual leaders have been pondering for a while. We desperately need to see a change in our nation today but what will it take? Who or what can bring about such a change?

God will not do a mighty work in our land until the hearts of His people are changed. We must stop pointing the finger at other people and start pointing the finger at ourselves. Sad to say, but the mess that we are living in is due to the condition of the hearts of God’s people.

The reason why the world is in such chaos is because the hearts of God’s people are in chaos. God desires that we, believers and Christians, get our heart right with Him.

We should never expect a lost and dying world to all of a sudden wake up and realize that they are wrong. What must take place is the saved people of God get their lives turned around and start living righteously and holy for our Righteous and Holy God.

John was sent as the forerunner for Jesus to prepare the way of Jesus’ coming. God used him to bring people to repentance by preaching and proclaiming the word of God. John was a man of God who lived a holy life set apart for God’s work. He did his job as God desired him to do. We too must prepare the hearts of others to receive Jesus.

Our lives must represent the life of Jesus. We can not expect the world to change until the people of God change first. We must take our sin to heart and confess it and repent of it. Then God will hear His people and heal their land. But nothing will change if we continue to live like we are right now. Don’t point the finger at other people and criticize their actions and not judge yourself. That is a hypocrite!

We must seek holiness and righteousness in our daily lives. We must be seeking after Jesus with our whole heart. We need to love like Jesus loves and forgive like Jesus forgives. Who among us will stand like John and proclaim the name of Jesus with courage and boldness? Who will prepare the way of Jesus’ coming soon?

Pray

Lord, mend my heart. Break my heart for the thing that breaks Yours. Help me to live holy and righteous before You. Let my life prepare others for Jesus.

What’s Weighing You Down?

Encouragement, Faith

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,”
Hebrews 12:1

Do you have any distractions in your life? Who doesn’t, right? The devil desires to keep us distracted so that we aren’t aligned with the will of God.

When we allow distractions to overcome us we allow our minds and hearts to stray from God’s plan and purpose. To stay on course means we must guard ourselves from becoming distracted. Most of the time we aren’t even aware that it is happening.

The New Living Translation says, “let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.” (Hebrews 12:1b) This terminology helps us to see that anything that weighs us down, especially sin, will keep us from achieving the perfect will of God.

We need to “strip off” whatever is distracting us. What distraction is keeping you from being one with God?

Our relationship with God through Jesus Christ should be the most important relationship in our life. Jesus said the most important commandment is to love God with all of our hearts, soul, and mind and then we are to love others.

When our hearts are focussed on God and the things of God we will do what God expects. Is Your heart in the right place?

It’s easy to get distracted when we are weighted down with sin. When we focus on holiness, we stray from sin and other distractions.

Pray

Lord, forgive me and keep me from sin. I confess my sin to You. Give me strength to stay the course and keep myself holy and pure.