Pastor Stephen Dedman

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God Loves You

Encouragement

‘The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”’
Zephaniah 3:17

We need people in our lives that love us regardless of our failures. We need people who will lift us up and encourage us when we feel like giving up. Do you have someone that can cheer you up when you are down?

You need to realize that God goes far and beyond what anyone else can do. God loves us no matter what we look like or what we have done in the past. God loves with an unconditional, eternal love that is just unfathomable.

Today’s verse makes us realize that God is always with us in all of our circumstances and is in the very middle of what is going on in our lives. It’s comforting to know that the One who loves us the most is right in the center of our lives. Even though we may think He is not actively involved, He is actually the One who is holding all things together in our lives.

It’s great to have people in our lives that will help us when we need help. But the One who we need the most is Jesus Christ. We need Christian people in our lives that will point us back to Jesus when we have turned away or have lost all faith.

Remember that the next time you witness someone who has given up faith and hope. Point them to the One who loves the regardless of what they have done. Direct them to the God who can bring them out of their circumstances and give them a new beginning.

Never forget how much God loves and cares for His children.

Pray

Lord, thank You for loving me and holding all things together when I feel like it is falling apart. Help me to point people to You so they can have the same kind of hope and peace that I have.

Are You Ready?

Encouragement, Salvation

‘Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.’
Revelation 1:7

One day soon Jesus is coming back. He will return in the clouds for his church. It will be a glorious day and everyone will see Him.

The rapture of the church is something we should be watching for. There should be something in the hearts of every Christian that longs to be united with Christ. To live with Him for eternity is our hope and goal as a Christian.

John was given a very unique revelation or vision as to what will happen in the last days. He was prompted to write it down for all of us to read and understand. Notably there is significance as to the holiness of the presence of Jesus. Jesus will be worshipped and honored as He should be.

We should never fear the coming of Jesus rather we should rejoice in the occasion. Jesus desires to be with His bride and we desire to be with our Master and Savior. It is encouraging to know that one day soon we all will be in glorified bodies.

The main question is, “Are you ready?” Are you ready for Jesus to return in the clouds and take up His church? The only way to be prepared is to believe in our hearts that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died on the cross, and was resurrected from the dead on the third day. Faith in Jesus gives us eternal life.

Are you ready for Jesus to come?

Pray

Lord, prepare my heart and soul for Your coming. Allow me to be a witness to others to prepare the way for You to come and get all who believe. Until You come, I will strive for holiness and righteousness.

Make Him A King

Encouragement, Trust

‘Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.’
John 6:15

After Jesus fed the 5,000 men, the Jews sought to make Him king. The Jews had often suffered famine in those times allowing their surrounding nations and enemies to prevail against them. Once they saw the power that Jesus had to multiply a few loaves of bread they instantly thought He was the one who could also provide protection against their evil enemies.

Their plan would get rid of king Herod, who allowed the Romans to be in power, and force Jesus to bring control back for the Jews. Jesus perceived this notion either by divine revelation or by watching circumstances unfold. So before the Jews could team together and form a new government, Jesus departed to the mountain to be alone and to pray to the Father.

If Jesus would have become king on earth, He would have never went to the cross where He essentially conquered the entire world. Jesus was fully aware of what was happening and knew the hearts of men. It is also possible that the disciples themselves were going along with making Him king because it would give them a seat of power in Jesus’ kingdom.

Sometimes we get the wrong idea about what God is doing in our life. We must be careful to make sure that we are submitting to His will and not trying to accomplish our agenda. We know the power of God and we want to see great things happen but it’s not always the plan of God to do so. We must be patient and wait upon the Lord.

Pray

Lord, You know all things and I don’t. I submit myself to your authority and I will wait for You to instruct me. Help me to know Your will and Your way.