Archive for August, 2023

28 Aug

Adopted by God

Posted by sandhillspastor in Assurance, Blessings, Children, Families, Family of God, Praise.

Hello friends,

In the weather news, it was much cooler last week. There is speculation that the heat will return, but not quite to the level of past days. September can be hot, but fall weather is just around the proverbial corner. As usual a request for rain is at the top of our prayer list. Our immediate area could use a good soaking again.

I have joined the community of CPAP users. A recent sleep study indicated some issues with my nighttime breathing, and I now own one of those machines (or does it own me?). This is a learning experience I had hoped to avoid, but here we are. If I stop breathing for a short time, the machine will supply me with air. This is good but it requires some adjustment. I’m not comfortable enough with the mask and all, so I can’t tell if there is any benefit, but I suppose that will come.

News came to us this week that Alex (our grandson) will be able to adopt his wife’s little girl. She will be our great-granddaughter, Maria. This is something we have all been praying for and we are praising the Lord for working it all out. When it is finalized, we will all get together for a celebration. This is the inspiration for my devotional thought for this week.

The Bible tells us that we are all sinners. It also says that sin is the act of being disobedient to God. The penalty for that sin is death, or separation from God (Romans 6:23). As sinners, we were enemies of God. As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we become adopted sons and daughters of God, co-heirs with Christ of all the blessings of heaven. When the Holy Spirit comes to reside in us at the moment of salvation, we read; “For all those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back in fear. Instead, you received the spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out “Abba, Father!” The Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ… (Romans 8:14-17).

When we all get to heaven what a day of rejoicing that will be! This upcoming adoption is but a glimpse of that day.

In Christ,

Pastor Jerry

21 Aug

Sweet Fellowship

Posted by sandhillspastor in Baptism, Blessings, Body of Believers, Faith, Family of God, Fellowship, Heaven.

Dear friends,
We are getting prepared for some very hot weather. We are very thankful the AC works. Back in the days of our youth, it wasn’t such a big deal. Summer involved a lot of outdoor time and for the most part we just kept working; especially when we were in the hayfield. I think it was partly a mental thing; we knew it was hot but we didn’t dwell on it. At home, we would stop in the middle of the afternoon for a break and sit in the shade of a haystack to get a cool drink and sometimes there would be watermelon that had been cooled in a stock tank fed by a flowing well. Watermelon has never tasted that good!

Sunday, we attended a special day in the life of a young man we know. He is just a youngster, but in recognition of his faith in the Lord Jesus, he followed the Lord’s example of water baptism. Morning worship was followed by a short drive to the river, where in the presence of many witnesses, this young man publicly proclaimed his faith in Christ, and was baptized in obedience to his Lord’s command. Congratulations, Paxton!

Following the baptism ceremony, everyone returned to the church for a delicious meal and sweet fellowship with the believers who make up that church. It was a snapshot of that day when all who believe will gather in the presence of our Lord and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

We read in Revelation these words: Then a voice came from the throne, saying:
“Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both small and great!”

Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:

Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.
Fine linen, bright and clean was given her to wear.”
(Fine linen stands for the righteousness of the saints.)

Then the angel said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’” And he added, “These are the true words of God” (Revelation 19:5-9).

Will you be there? You will be if you know Jesus as your Savior.

In Him,
Pastor Jerry

14 Aug

Subject to Change

Posted by sandhillspastor in Best Life, Blessings, Change, Obedience, Planning, Trust, Wisdom.

Dear friends,

We were blessed with more rain this week. This is a great help for the lawn and garden as it keeps the watering at a minimum. I mentioned last week that we had ordered a recliner for the camper; it has been put in its place and now we are anticipating another outing somewhere in the future. Looking at the weather forecast, we may wait for cooler weather.

Everyone has their hopes and dreams of how they see the future, and the things they expect will happen. It doesn’t take long to realize that dreams and plans are one thing, but reality many times takes some strange twists and turns.

The Bible book of James has something to say about our plans. From chapter 4 we read: Come now, you who say, “today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes. Instead, you should say, “if the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that” (James 4:13-15).

Here is wisdom from the book of Proverbs; Commit your activities to the Lord, and your plans will be established (Proverbs 16:3). A person’s heart plans his way, but the Lord determines his steps (16:6).

God has a plan for each of us. He gives us a mind to plan for our days and years, but he wants us to seek his direction as we make those plans. And don’t be surprised when his plans turn out to be different than ours. I can testify that the plans I had for my own life did not go in the direction I had envisioned. But guess what? I am convinced that his plan was much better than mine.

When we come to faith in Christ, God begins to shape us into the person he has planned us to be. As Paul wrote in his letter to the church at Philippi, “I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6).

So, go ahead and make those plans, but leave room for the Lord to make changes.

In Him,

Pastor Jerry

7 Aug

Want or Need?

Posted by sandhillspastor in Best Life, Christian Living, Contentment, Happiness, Stewardship, Wisdom.

Dear readers,

Last week was nice, not too hot and with some nice rain. Sunday morning was much cooler; something about a cold front passing through the area. It made me think of fall, but I know this was wishful thinking. There is a very real possibility of a return to summer temps. We made a trip to Grand Island last week. We had been discussing the possibility of putting recliners in the camper in place of the very uncomfortable love seat/hide-a-bed. We made a purchase and of course, there wasn’t one in stock so we will wait a few days then go back to pick it up. Life at the lake is great, but sometimes we seek entertainment in other places.

On the topic of seeking whatever we might see as a need, I have found that needs and wants are two very different things. My life has been littered with things I wanted because I thought I needed them. After obtaining them, reality showed them as merely wants and they ended up in some scrap pile. Money spent foolishly because of a want that wasn’t really a need.

People chase after all kinds of things they think they can’t live without, only to be disappointed in the end. King Solomon in the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes had much to say about this. He said this: “I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for my labor. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind. Nothing was gained under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:10-11).

Further in the book Solomon continued: “Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them (5:10-11)?

He ends the book with these words: “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing whether it is good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).

Reflecting on life,

Pastor Jerry