Pastor Stephen Dedman

Latest Posts

No Doubt

Encouragement, Faith, Trust

No Doubt

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭1:7‬

Casting out all fear and doubt

Satan uses tools of fear and doubt to keep us from doing extraordinary things.  God gives us power, love and a sound mind to do things that glorify Him.  But sometimes we limit God because of the fear and doubt we possess in our minds.

In Matthew 17:14-21 a man came to Jesus and begged for his son to be healed from demonic convulsions associated with epilepsy. Previously the man brought his son before the disciples but they couldn’t heal him. Immediately Jesus cast the demon out and the boy was healed. The disciples asked why they couldn’t cast it out and Jesus replied, “Because of your unbelief.”  He said if they had mustard seed-sized faith they could move mountains and nothing would be impossible for them. The problem wasn’t with their faith.  They had faith.  The problem was with their unbelief or doubt.  He gave them a solution: “this kind (of unbelief) does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” 

The devil plants seeds of doubt into our minds subconsciously and sometimes we are not aware of it.  We must protect our minds and be sure of what we are hearing and seeing is full of truth and not lies of Satan. Jesus said to fast and pray.  Fasting and praying starves the flesh of self desires and feeds our souls with the Spirit of God.

Is there anything ungodly that you should eliminate by fasting and praying?

Prayer

Pray in the Name of Jesus to have all fear, unbelief and doubt removed from your mind and replaced with God’s power, love and truth.

No Comparison

Encouragement, Trust

No Comparison

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:18‬

Suffering Vs. Glory

Every Christian lives in the hope of glory to come.  The Holy Spirit fills our hearts with hope and the reality that one day we will be in the presence of Almighty God.  Because we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, Jesus Christ restores us unto God with blessed assurance.  One day we will be made perfect and live eternally in Heaven with all the saints of God.  We shall see Jesus face-to-face.  That alone is enough to motivate us to anticipate the coming day of the Lord. Hallelujah!

But what about here and now, as we live on this earth?  We are not promised a life of luxury just because we are followers of Christ.  To say that a person is free from suffering and anguish because they trust Jesus is a false theology.  Perhaps when we do come to Christ in faith the sufferings and trials we face are more because the devil is trying hard to get us to stumble.  And the battle rages between good and evil.  That is why we are persecuted, mocked, and scorned for our faith in Christ.

Do you know that sufferings we face today will all fade away.  When we get to Heaven the glory we will receive outweighs the pain and suffering we endure here and now.  But here is the thing, we must keep the big picture in mind.  We are only here on this earth for a very short amount of time compared to eternity in Heaven.  James 4:14 says, “yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring.  What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”

Prayer

Pray and ask God to give you a heaven bound mind.

With All Your Heart

Salvation, Trust

With All Your Heart

“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;”
‭‭Joel‬ ‭2:12‬

 

Worship With All Your Heart

There is somewhat of a mystery to when the prophet Joel lived but most scholars believe he prophesied after the people returned to Jerusalem from the 70-year Babylonian captivity.  Joel speaks of a “locust plague” in Joel 1:4 that results from God’s judgment to the people’s lack of repentance.  Whether this plague was literal or not, Joel tells the people that they need to turn to God in repentance and worship to receive His rewards.

There has always been a history of God’s people straying away during times of prosperity and enjoying their blessings more than worshipping the God who blessed them.  This is still happening today.  We are so blessed as children of God but sometimes we tend to get caught up in seeking pleasure from material things than seeking joy from worshipping and praising God.

People who heed the proclamation of Joel can reverse the judgment of God and experience the character of God as Joel says, “God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and relents from punishing.” (Joel 2:13)  We must all repent and worship God whole-heartily.  Jo-el means “God is Jehovah”.  There is One God and we serve Him faithfully.

God demands and deserves our full commitment. Serving God half-heartily is unacceptable.  Lukewarm devotion has its devastating consequences as Jesus states in Revelation 3:16.

Even right now, turn to God with all your heart, soul and mind.

Prayer

Pray and ask God to forgive you of any sin that might be keeping you from receiving true joy and fellowship.