Pastor Stephen Dedman

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I Stand At The Door

Trust

I Stand At The Door

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭3:20‬

Open The Door

Have you ever witnessed a church that was not on fire for the Lord?  Maybe the church wasn’t dead but it just wasn’t doing anything productive for the Lord.  This describes the spiritual condition of the Church at Laodicea in Revelation 3:14-21. The Church was neither cold nor hot. And it really upset the Lord to the point of sickness. In verse 16 the Lord says, “So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”

The Church at Laodicea was obviously a wealthy and prosperous congregation as they had everything they needed.  Their riches caused them to turn away from being effective in the ministry of serving the Lord. It sounds like they lost their focus and purpose of why they were a church in the first place. But the good news was they had opportunities to change. The Lord tells them that He is standing outside the door and knocking. He wants to come in but He will never be where He is not welcome.

It takes each and every Christian to be effective in the ministry of the Church. You need to be using your gifts and talents to evangelize and edify one another in your church. If you are not serving in a local church, you should ask the Lord to direct you to one that preaches the entire truth of God’s Word and serves the Lord with gladness and love. If you are at a church like Laodicea open the door and let the Lord back in where He can visit with you.

Prayer

Lord, I hear Your voice and I open the door to invite you in to fill Your house with Your Spirit.

As Far As The East Is From The West

Encouragement, Trust

As Far As The East Is From The West

As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭103:12‬

Forever Forgiven

What an amazing truth and promise we have from God. We need to be reminded of His forgiving love often. When God forgives our sins they will never be remembered again.

As humans this is hard for us to comprehend. We have the ability to forgive but we have difficulty with letting go.  How many times do we ask the Lord to forgive us from certain sins but we never let them leave our mind? It’s not God who keeps bringing them back to our attention it is us. When we ask God for forgiveness and we repent of our sins, He removes them from existence. They are not stored in a memory bank nor will they be counted against us in the future. They are gone.

That is a great blessing and benefit to remember. What a blessing it is to have all your sins removed and remembered no more. If you have confessed and repented of a sin then you need to accept God’s grace of forgiveness. If you are haunted with the guilt of that same sin then you need to trust this promise from God. Let the past stay in the past. It’s time to live today for today. When Satan wants to remind you of your past then remind him of his future. The Bible says there is a day coming when Satan will be chained up and put away. Then there will be a time when Jesus reigns as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The grace of God is more powerful than anything else.

Prayer

Confess your sins to the Lord and accept His wonderful and loving forgiveness.

Rejoice In The Lord

Encouragement, Trust

Rejoice In The Lord

Yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
‭‭Habakkuk‬ ‭3:18‬

 

God Is In Control

Habakkuk was experiencing some very tough economic times. Verse 17 tells us what was happening.  There were no figs on the trees, no grapes on the vines, no oil to cook with, no crops growing and no animals for meat. This simply means there was nothing to eat or drink and the future was not very promising.  People would panic if that were to happen today.

Habakkuk remained positive and faithful as verse 18 shines rays of hope. Habakkuk knew God was the source of everything. He knew that God is the Creator and Sustainer and could make anything happen. He knew God had everything under control. If God wasn’t going to allow the earth to produce then somehow everything would work out in His timing.  That’s why he says, “yet I will rejoice in the Lord and take joy in the God of my salvation.”  Even in the worst case senerio he knew he would be saved, even if he died.

Don’t focus on your circumstances. Focus on praising the One who controls everything. Circumstances can change quickly.  There was not a lot of food, but Jesus fed 5,000 men.  There was no wine at a wedding feast but Jesus saved the best for last.  To rejoice in the Lord when things are not going well means you know that God has something great in the works.  People all around you may be down in the dumps and depressed but you could be the one who brings hope and encouragement as a solution. Your attitude and actions reflect how you trust God.

Prayer

Praise God for what He has provided and you will not dwell on what you are lacking. God will provide what you need. Thank Him in advance.