Archive for October, 2024

28 Oct

Remembering

Posted by sandhillspastor in Blessings, Milestones, Praise, Wisdom.

Hello friends,
I trust you are enjoying the nice October weather. It’s not often we have these temperatures at this time of year. The only downside is we still need some beneficial moisture.

Sunday morning, I was doing some mental review of the past year. Our great-grandson is one year old, we celebrated our 60th anniversary in June and in October I reached the age of eighty. We are truly blessed!

The Bible has many commands to remember the times we are blessed by God. The Israelites were to place markers in remembrance of the times he blessed them with protection or provision. I believe we also need to remember those instances when we have been blessed. That is why we celebrate birthdays and other important events and give the Lord praise for those many times. Let’s look at some examples of God’s provision from Scripture.

He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever. He provided redemption for his people; he ordained his covenant forever—holy and awesome is his name (Psalm 111:5,9). He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call (Psalm 147:9).

Yet he has not left himself without testimony. He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy (Acts 14:17).

After the people of Israel crossed the Jordan river into the Promised Land we read: And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan. He said to the Israelites, “In the future when your descendants ask their fathers, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan just what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God. (Joshua 4:20-24).

Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me (Isaiah 46:9).

Just thinking,
Pastor Jerry

21 Oct

Don’t Stop

Posted by sandhillspastor in Assurance, Gospel, Obedience, Prayer, Trust, Wisdom.

Dear friends,
We are in the fall season. The sun shines, but the warming effect is short-lived. We did receive a few drops of rain on Friday. I believe everyone’s prayer is that we receive some beneficial moisture. In other parts of our country, they need drying conditions. In either case, we must trust the Lord to provide what is needed.

Regarding prayer, I am reminded of a passage of scripture in which Jesus instructs his disciples on the topic of prayer: “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:5-8).

In John’s first letter we read; “Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us” (1 John 3:21-23).

John concludes with these words: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him” (5:13-15).

Some good words from James: “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind” (James 1:5-6).

Keep asking,
Pastor Jerry

14 Oct

Storms of Life

Posted by sandhillspastor in Assurance, Contentment, Faith, Rest, Trials.

Hello everyone,
Cooler weather is in the forecast again. Our first killing frost has happened, and the end of gardening season has come.

Parts of our country are still recovering from hurricanes and others are dealing with wildfires and drought. My problems seem trivial in comparison. You have heard it said there is always someone in a worse situation than you, and I believe it. In each situation, we need to remember God has a plan, even in hardship or good times.

In the Old Testament God told Moses, “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged” (Deuteronomy 31:8). Also, the Lord told Joshua, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).

God, through the prophet, told his people Israel, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze” (Isaiah 43:2).

As Jesus prepared to leave his disciples and return to heaven, he told them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).

As we live our lives in the present, and if we have placed our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, we need not fear the storms of life or dread the cloudy days. I will close with the words of the apostle Peter.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never spoil perish or fade—kept in heaven for you who through faith are shielded by God’s power” (1 Peter 1:3-5a).

For Him,
Pastor Jerry

7 Oct

Excuses, Excuses

Posted by sandhillspastor in Calling, Christian Living, Evangelism, Obedience, Stewardship, Witness.

Dear friends

October has arrived, and the thought of winter coming sends a chill through these old bones. We will certainly enjoy whatever warm days remain before then. What follows is from a devotional by Pastor Greg Laurie titled “A Plethora of Excuses.”

When it comes to sharing our faith and reaching out to others with the gospel, we tend to offer a plethora of excuses as to why we cannot do it. Maybe the reason we don’t try to win people to Christ is because we really couldn’t care less.

Now, that isn’t true of every Christian. But it is true of a lot of Christians. “It’s not our problem. We are set. We’re happy. Go work out your own problems.”

That is the way many people in the church feel. We don’t want to be bothered with it. We just don’t care. We hear so much about the need for evangelism. We hear sermons on how to do it. And we engage in programs designed to mobilize the church to do it. But all this is of no consequence if we lack one simple essential: a burden and a concern for unbelievers.

One of the most important things of all is motivation. We must have the motivation to share our faith. And if we don’t have the motivation, we are not going to do anything.

So, do we really care? Do we really care about people who don’t know Christ? Do we really care if they go to Hell? Does it really matter to us?

Everywhere Jesus went during His earthly ministry, He was mobbed by people who were pushing and pulling and always wanting something from Him. They wanted healings, like the woman who had spent all her money on doctors and still was sick. So many wanted a touch from the Savior.

But Jesus saw their deepest need. He saw where they were hurting the most. He saw behind the facades, behind the defense mechanisms people put up. Jesus heard the real cry of their hearts. And He had compassion on them.

Matthew 9:36 says, “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (NLT).

If we are going to be used by God in any capacity, we have to develop something called compassion. We have to care.

In Truth,

Pastor Jerry