Pastor Stephen Dedman

Latest Posts

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.

Are You Struggling?

Faith, Trust

“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭40:8‬

Where do you find your security? Maybe it’s in your marriage, a career, good health, or even a comfortable lifestyle.

But what would happen if your “security blanket” disappeared overnight?  What if you lost your job?  What if your spouse walked out on you?  Or a health issue surfaced or you’re diagnosed with a terrible disease?  Let’s pray these never happen!

There will be times in our life when we’re jolted out of our false security. This is usually when panic sets in because we realize how vulnerable we really are. God has a way of showing us that we need Him and His Word instead of trusting in ourselves, others, or something else.

Our response to our troubles may sound like, “God, why have you forsaken me?”  “How am I going to make it?”  “How much longer, God?”  

Have you been there before?  Maybe your there right now.

Here is the truth: Everything on this earth is temporary, but the things of God stand forever.

We watch the grass turn green and the flowers bloom. These are the seasons when everything is going smooth and we start to believe that we don’t need God. But then the grass dries up and petals fall off leaving a gloomy landscape.

The promise that God gives us is that His Word stands forever. The things of God are permanent and they will last forever.

Do you have any areas of your life where you are struggling? Those are the areas where God wants to show you His love and grace He wants you to trust in Him

Pray

Lord, show me where I’m trying to be in control and not allowing You to guide me. Help me to not trust in false hope. God, I allow you to come into every area of my life.