Pastor Stephen Dedman

Latest Posts

Hands And Feet Of Jesus

Encouragement, Salvation

“Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.”
‭‭John‬ ‭4:34‬

What are your top priorities today? Is it making it to work on time, making sure the kids behave, or completing a task that has been lingering for some time?

Whatever it is, it has your attention and your focus. Your focus becomes your priority and your priority becomes what you do.

Throughout the Gospels we can read and understand the focus and priorities of Jesus.  We also see the priorities of His disciples.  Jesus was more concerned with the spiritual needs of people and the disciples were most concerned with their physical needs.  

Many examples throughout the gospels prove that Jesus’ focus was on people knowing and believing Him. Everything Jesus did pointed people to God. The disciples were learning from Jesus what the most important priorities should be.

In the beginning verses of John 4, Jesus met with a Samaritan woman at the well.  The disciples left to go get some food and came back to give some to Jesus.  When they asked him to eat He said these words, “My food is to do the will of God and to do His work.”  Again while Jesus’ mind was on spiritual matters the disciples were thinking about feeding the flesh.  Jesus was giving the woman at the well eternal life while the disciples were more interested in being fed and satisfying themselves.

Jesus entrusts us to do His work.  We are the hands and feet of Jesus and need to be concerned with the spiritual needs of others as much as we are trying to meet their physical needs.  Sometimes we neglect sharing the truth with those who need it and concentrate on making sure they have something to eat.  

We should always make sure that we are giving the “bread of life” to those who are lost and hungry.  Giving someone something to eat and not offering them Jesus is missing out on a great opportunity to witness.  We need to be about our Lord’s business and make new disciples.

Pray

Lord, send someone in my direction and allow me time to share the truth of Jesus Christ with them. Let my priorities prove that my love for you is authentic.

Jesus Knows

Encouragement

‘But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” ‘
Luke 5:5

Have you ever failed at something that you were good at? Do you remember that feeling of failure and frustration?

No one knows how to help you in times of discouragement like Jesus does. He will not just encourage you to do better next time, instead, He gives you a recipe for victory.

Peter was cleaning up after an all night fishing failure. It wasn’t like he had just caught a few fish; he had nothing, and he was a profession. There was nothing to show for his effort. He was ready to throw in the towel and give up. Needless to say, what he needed was a victory.

Jesus could have said to Peter, “Don’t worry about it. You’ll be in a different line of work soon.” Instead, Jesus instructed him to launch back out into the deep and let the nets down. That sounds crazy! A carpenter instructing a skilled professional fisherman where and how to catch fish! But even crazier was the fact that they caught so many fish that the nets were breaking and they had to call for help to carry in the weight of so many fish.

This is how Jesus works in our life. He will take us right back to where we were unsuccessful in order to build us back up. The problem may have been that you were relying on your own strength and understanding and He wanted you to rely and trust in Him. We must learn from our faults and failures so that next time we will experience victory in the supernatural, spiritual strength of God.

Pray

Lord, I know that I need Your help and Your strength. Comfort me with Your Holy Spirit and show me what to do next. Your ways and plans are much better than mine and I will follow Your lead.

A Transformed Heart

Encouragement

‘I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ‘ Ezekiel 36:26

Your attitude towards God comes directly from your heart. At the moment of salvation when the Holy Spirit comes into your life, your heart is permanently transformed. God’s greatest desire is to see that His people love Him with all of their hearts.

Apart from the cleaning work of the Holy Spirit of God, our hearts are deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9). In Psalm 51, David prayed that God would cleanse him and create in him a clean heart (Psalm 51:10). Jesus said we are blessed when our hearts are made pure (Matthew 5:8).

We know that sin hardens our heart the more we sin. The longer we hold on to unconfessed sin the harder our hearts become. Even to the point when people around us can tell a difference in our demeanor.

Sometimes we go through seasons when our hearts grow cold and we become desensitized to the important things of God. Much of the time we have a feeling of despair or “I don’t care”. The good news is that the Holy Spirit can change our hearts and soften our heart of stone.

Make sure to check your heart’s condition today. If your love for God and others is not what it should be then you should ask Him to renew your heart and restore your devotion to Him.

Pray

Lord, there are things that are not right in my heart and I need Your help. Change my heart and help me to love like You love. Set my heart on fire for the things that are important to You.