Pastor Stephen Dedman

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I Am With You

Encouragement, Trust

I Am With You

Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭41:10‬

His Presence Is Everything

This is a verse we all should memorize and keep close to our hearts.  Whenever you feel that God may not be listening, remember this promise.  Or when you feel you just can’t make it another day, know that God is still there.  When you just cannot do it, He will.  He holds everything together in the palm of His hand.

The truth of this great verse is found in the promise of His presence. We never know what we may encounter from day to day, but we can count on God being right here with us.  If we have fear, His presence is all we need.  If we are without understanding, His wisdom surrounds us.  When we are lacking, He fills us with His love.  The power of His presence is overwhelming when we realize how close He is.  God is not far away.  As a Christian, He is living inside of you.  He wants to be part of your life.

We should seek and desire His presence everyday.  Moses said to God in Exodus 33:15, “If Your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.”  Moses didn’t want to make a move until he knew God was going with them.  Moses was so use to seeking His presence that He would be lost without it. That should be our same attitude and desire.  God’s presence is the most important thing we know.  The Holy Spirit is God’s presence.

Prayer

Praise Him out loud by saying or singing, “You are my strength, You are my help, You are my God!”

What Is This

Faith, Trust

What Is This

Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.”
‭‭Mark‬ ‭1:27

 

Man Of Wonders

When Jesus spoke people listened. They were amazed at what a great teacher He was.  He spoke with authority and people respected Him. Jesus made people think and gave them a reason to act upon what they heard. He is the greatest teacher ever known.

We learn many things when we study the life and ministry of Christ. His teachings were full of grace and full of wisdom. He astonished even the religious leaders with great knowledge.  But most of all, His teachings were associated with miracles that left everyone in awe.  Mark 1:27 doesn’t emphasize so much what He taught as much as how He taught.  John Mark wants the reader to know what a great teacher Jesus was.  When Jesus showed up to the synagogue it was something special for those who were present.  Jesus didn’t just preach and teach the Scriptures, He called people to a personal response.

Today we have many Bible teachers and preachers who proclaim the Gospel of Jesus with authority and wisdom.  Many are great scholars of God’s Word and share great witness of the power of the Holy Spirit.  But no one compares to Jesus.  We still are able to listen to His authority and wisdom by reading and studying the gospels.  It is important for a Christian to know Jesus and to understand how He taught.  His teachings are still the same.  We learn from Him everyday.

Prayer

Lord, teach me and make me to be the person you want me to be.  Give me wisdom to understand your Words and help me to respond the way you want me to.

 

Not My Will

Encouragement, Trust

Not My Will

Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.
Luke 22:42

God’s Will

As Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before He was to be crucified, He was intensely praying for God’s will to be done.  Divinely, Jesus knew what needed to be done but on the humanity side He was dreadful of what was to come.  This verse points to the fact that Jesus was fully man and fully God.

Jesus was praying for God to remove the cup of suffering.  He was praying if there could be any other way besides the cross then let it be.  But if not, then the will of the Father is best.  Jesus wanted the will of God to be done, perfectly.  This should be our prayer as well.  We should pray for God’s will to be done in our life not matter what.  No matter what suffer, loss, or anguish we must face it will be for the Lord’s sake.

Sometimes we don’t fully seek the will of God for our lives.  We seek was pleases us the most and when we face a mess we turn to God for help.  God’s will is always best for us but it’s not always the easiest.  We too may face suffering and shame in our walk with God but in the end we should always remember that if it is God’s will then it is the best way.  It’s hard sometimes to agree to have God’s will to be done in our life but we should yield our will and way to His.  Since God knows all things and He knows the future then we need to pray the same prayer that Jesus prayed.

Prayer

Lord, today, nonetheless, not my will, but yours, be done.  I submit to your will and way for my life.