Pastor Stephen Dedman

Tag: church

The Heart Of Jesus

Encouragement, Faith, Salvation

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

All through the Four Gospels we see the priority or the heart of Jesus.  We also witness the priority or the heart of the disciples.  Jesus was most concerned with the spiritual needs and the disciples were more concerned with the physical needs.  

Jesus stressed in Matthew 6:33 to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and then everything else will be added to your life.  Jesus promised that God would always meet peoples needs.  The disciples always had what they needed, exactly when they needed it.

In the beginning verses of John chapter 4, Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well.  The disciples went to get food and returned to give some to Jesus.  When they told him to eat He said, “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 feeding their bellies.

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

We should always make sure 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 a great opportunity to witness.  

Witness to someone today and let them know that God loves them.

Pray

Lord, send someone in my direction and allow me time to share the truth of Jesus Christ with them.  Thank you for sending the person who helped me to know Jesus.

My Light And Salvation

Faith, Trust

The Lord is my Light and my Salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭27:1‬

Have you ever been so afraid that you thought things wouldn’t work out?  Maybe it was a time of bad weather, a time of illness, or even in a time of war. Don’t think you’re alone. Many have feared for their life.

In this psalm, David was crying out to the Lord for help.  This could have been the time when David was running for his life from King Saul (1 Samuel 18:8).  David is talking to the Lord as he fears for his life.  

There are a couple of truths that can be learned as we face fears in our life.

We need to remember that the Lord is very near and personal to those who trust in Him.  Notice the personal relationship that David had with the Lord: “my light and my salvation”.  

Light represents God’s presence which breaks through every darkness.  Salvation is a word for God’s deliverance.  It is “yeshua” the Hebrew name for Jesus.  As David prayed, he had faith that the Lord was going to save him from harm.  His complete trust was in the Lord.

We also need to remember that our strength comes from the Lord.  David said, “the Lord is my stronghold.” He knew not to rely on his own strength but rather the strength of the Lord.  He trusted in the Lord to provide the strength necessary to get through the uncertain circumstances.

Even in the most dreadful and darkest hours, the Lord is present to lift us up and save us.

When you find yourself in troublesome times, trust in the Lord to give you strength and grace to carry on.

Do you trust God to see you through?

Pray

Lord, help me to remember to place my full trust in You. Strengthen me with Your Word and wisdom to endure the evil one. I rest in Your presence and power.

All Praise To God

Encouragement, Trust

Where there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?
Luke 17:18

Luke 17:11-19 tells the story of a marvelous miracle of Jesus healing ten men from the dreadful disease of leprosy.  Luke tells that there were ten healed physically, but only one was healed spiritually.  Jesus used this event to open the eyes of the spiritual blinded especially the priests.

Leprosy was associated among the people as a curse on mankind.  Lepers were the most miserable people.  Their physical pain was awful enough but they also endured complete isolation from family and friends.  

By law they were considered outcasts and remained so until their death because there was no cure.  And that is where we find these ten men, standing afar off, as Jesus passed through their village. As soon as they saw Him, they lifted their weak and raspy voices and cried out for mercy and help.  

Luke doesn’t tell us that Jesus heard them but rather He saw them.  With great compassion and mercy Jesus sent them to the priests in order to fulfill the Levitical law of healing.  And as they walked toward the temple they were all healed of the deadly disease.

Verse 15 is the climax of the story.  One of them, when he saw he was healed, returned and worshiped Jesus.  With thanksgiving in his heart and praise in his voice, the Samaritan received the spiritual blessing of salvation because of his faith.  The other men didn’t consider Jesus as God.  They were healed but not saved.

We should always be thankful for our physical blessings but we certainly show our gratitude to Jesus for saving our souls.  We do so through faithfully worshipping and serving Christ and showing compassion and forgiveness to all people.  If the only blessing we received was salvation, it is enough.  All other blessings are extra benefits.

Is there something God has done for you and you didn’t praise Him for it? Take a moment and praise Him.

Pray

Lord, I thank You for giving me spiritual insight.  I confess You as my Savior and I worship You only. I give You glory and honor for who You are.