Category Archives: Messages

Success Plan

I have written in the past about how each of us has a calling, a mission, that God has put us on. We go about our daily lives pursuing our occupations, responsibilities and hobbies, and if we keep God the priority in our life, he is directing us.

Proverbs 16:3 is a great passage to memorize and ties in with this concept. it says, “Commit your actions to the Lord , and your plans will succeed.”

When we say, “this is what I am trying to accomplish Lord, but let me do your will not mine,” we are committing our actions to the Lord. He promises our plan’s will succeed, which will ultimately be the plans he is using us to accomplish.

Dear Lord, Thank you for directing our activities toward success in the calling you have given us. Help us always begin our days and tasks by asking for your direction and guidance. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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Confess

Different denominations of Christians have different processes for confession, whether that is personally to a pastor or priest, or during the service as a group, or on one’s own. The important thing is that we confess our sins to God, ask for forgiveness, and relief from the temptations that pull us toward those sins. The more specific we can be when we confess, the better. Confessing to God is so much different than confessing our mistakes to other people. When we confess our sins to God, we can expect the weight of the guilt to be lifted, and to receive the peace of being forgiven.

The Living Bible says in 1 John 1:9, “But if we confess our sins to him, he can be depended on to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. And it is perfectly proper for God to do this for us because Christ died to wash away our sins”

Proverbs 28:13 says, “Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” NIV

Dear Lord, as we pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” Help us remember for our own good to confess our sins to you, and carry-on with renewed peace to avoid them in the future. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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One Thing

There is a popular business book called “One Thing” and the author’s main point is that in order to succeed we need to focus intently on one thing. If you are old enough to remember the Billy Crystal comedy movie, City Slickers, there was a tough old cowboy character “Curly” played by Jack Palance who had a famous scene where he said, holding up one finger, “the secret of life was one thing…., you have to find out what that one thing is for you.”

In the story of Mary and Martha recorded in Luke 10, Jesus came to visit sisters Mary and Martha, and while Jesus was there, Martha was busy with all the activities of hosting Jesus’ visit, but Mary sat and listened to Jesus teaching. This upset Martha who told Jesus it was not fair that Martha was working hard on all the arrangements while Mary sat listening to Jesus and not helping. Jesus’ answer was, Luke 10:42,43, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

There is only one thing we also need to be concerned with, and that is following Jesus. When we keep this in as our focus we stay on the right path.

Dear Lord, You have given us the incredible gift of Salvation through Jesus’ Christ. Help us remember that is the one thing that matters most. In His name we pray. Amen.

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Money

Money is often a difficult subject for Christians, some fear they will not have enough so they skimp on their offerings. Some fear they will not have enough, so they pinch pennies and cannot bring themselves to spend what they have. Both of these concerns are examples of people putting their faith in their money rather than in God.

Paul writes in Hebrews 13:5, “Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”

It is so illogical to believe that God would leave us short if we used our resources to do his will. When we put our trust in God, we don’t have to worry whether we will have enough. We know, as Paul wrote, He will never abandon us.

Proverbs 11:25 Says, “The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed..”

Dear Lord, Help us remember that our hope and security come from you, not our money. Help us use our money with a spirit of responsibility and generosity, believing your promise never to abandon us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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Encouragement

We all have occasions when our faith loses some energy. For some people, this occurs when something bad happens. They wonder “how could God have let that happen?” and their faith weakens. For others, they have been hoping and praying for something for a long time, and their faith begins to weaken waiting and wondering.

One of the great aspects of the Bible is that it usually contains an example that compares to most anything we encounter in our lives today.

Paul wrote the book of Romans about 20 years after his conversion from a persecutor of Christians, to a leader of them. Even he after spreading the news of Jesus Christ throughout the region for 20 years, he needed occasional encouragement.

He wrote in Romans 1:12, “When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.”

Paul is showing us that even he needs support in his faith journey. If Paul needed that, undoubtedly so do we. This is one of the reasons it is important to have Christian friends and regularly attend church where we can get the support and encouragement, to help us through those times our faith is challenged.

Dear Lord, Thank you for the opportunity to associate with other Christians to whom we can provide encouragement, and from whom we can get encouraged. Help us remember how important this is. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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