Don’t Worry the Lord Will Show Up

 

Mark 6:45-52   And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people.  And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray.  And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land.  And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them. But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out:  For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.  And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered. 
For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.

 

            In this passage of scripture we find the disciples considering not the past miracles.  Jesus had just fed five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fishes.  After everyone had finished eating they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments.  In less than twelve hours they were in a storm and their faith had diminished. 

This shows the weakness of man.  That’s why Paul said for us to always have a prayer or song in our hearts.  Even Jesus said men ought always to pray.  It’s so important to take advantage and listen when were in church to everything going on; the teaching, the preaching, testimonies, singing and during prayer.

Scriptures say faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.  Just like the disciples getting distracted by the storms, we get distracted by the cares and struggles of life.  We face situations when we need God and it seems that He is so far away.  It isn’t God that has moved away, it is us.  While the disciples were in the storm, scriptures say Jesus was watching over them.  He saw the hardship in rowing.  He saw that the wind was contrary to them and before they perished, He showed up.

If you’re a Christian and living right, Jesus does care about what is going on in your life.  He will show up before you perish.  It’s hard to understand how the disciples, just in a twelve hour period, had forgotten how Jesus had taken so little and fed so many then had taken up more than a hundred times what He started with.  Just like James said about Elijah, He was a man of like passion to us; meaning that just like us and Elijah, we need to hear from God.  This is why we should learn not only by the teaching and preaching but also from every part of the service.  For example the line in the song “our God will show up and take you through the fire again,” or “There’s nothing too hard for the Lord.”  I don’t know what I may face in the next week but I do know that there’s nothing too hard for the Lord and He will show up for me just like He did for the disciples.

           

Love in Christ,

Your pastor,

Charles A. Clark

 

            Remember the words of Jude when He said, “I thought it needful to write unto you of the common salvation and exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”  This foundation we’re on was purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ and the lives of the Apostles and others.

 

 

Be Swift to Hear

By Brother Mark Simmons

 

In these last days we hear a lot of empty words from preachers and especially from politicians.  They lack wisdom from God. They have no purpose or reason for what they say.  I am sure that you have heard about Shirley Sherrod, from the Agriculture Department who was forced to resign because she was misquoted in a speech she made.

 

Everyone should follow James 1:19-20, “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.  For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.”

 

Luke 11:17, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falleth.”

 

The Muslim nations all seem to be working together toward the down fall of the Christian nations and Israel.  The Muslim god is called Allah which is one name of the moon God.  This was the favorite god of Mohammad’s family.  I was always told that their god was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob but this seems to be incorrect.  Their god is not our God.

 

We, as Christians, are not working together because we are working in many different man made churches instead of the only church Jesus wanted us in, “His Church”.  Instead of one church there are many.  The many churches are divided against each other.

 

We will fall because we are always fast to speak, fast to fight and too slow and stupid to hear the truth.

 

We have also let lawyers take control of this nation and unless we vote them out, we are in a position of complete chaos.

 

Remember what Jesus said about lawyers.  Luke 11:52, “Woe unto you lawyers!  For ye have taken away the key of knowledge”:  God in our schools.  “Ye entered not in yourselves”.  Not many of them really know the Lord or they could not lie and cheat the way they do.  “and them that were entering in ye kindered” The laws they place us under are in direct opposition to God.

 

Stay strong in Jesus.  This is the only way we have ever had or will ever have to make it home.

 

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Some Assembly Required

By Brother Duane Bailey

 

Hebrews 10:25 “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”

We as saints are part of the body of Christ, with Christ being the head.  Paul mentioned in Ephesians 4 that it is from Christ that the body is fitly joined together or put together.  Each individual saint is a piece of the body and when we all come together, in Christ, we make up the complete body.  A piece by definition is a part of a whole and yet it is considered complete in itself.  Take a piece of pie for instance.  The pie with say 8 pieces is a complete pie.  Remove a piece and the pie is no longer whole, but that piece, which is part of the whole, is a complete piece.  It has a crust, a filling and a topping. 

Let’s say that we are going to take the 8 pieces and put the pie back together to make a whole pie.  But someone has run their finger through the topping of one piece.  Now when we bring all of the pieces back together what has happened to the whole?  Because one of the pieces is incomplete, the whole is incomplete.  The body is incomplete.  The same is true of the body.

When the life of one of the pieces of the body of Christ is incomplete, the body is incomplete.  When one part of the body suffers, it all should suffer.  When one member of the body is not complete, the body is not complete.  This shows the importance of you, the individual, as a member of the church or the body.  You affect the body whether you want to think you do or not.  You can hold the body back or you can help push the body forward.  When your life is not complete in Christ, you hinder the body. 

Our lives are divided in sections.  We have Church, work, family, play time, school, friends, hunting, fishing….  You fill in the blank what is in your life.  Some parts we allow Jesus in and allow Him to be the head.  Some parts we can limit His part in and some we push Him out all together.  But Christ should be the head of our body, the individual pieces of the body.  It is through Him that we as pieces are fitly joined together.  When He is not the head of every piece of our lives, we will fall apart, because He is the glue that holds it together.  You get stamped “Some assembly required”.  Take Christ out of one section of your life, no matter what it is, and your life will suffer.  And until you place Him back in as head, you will continue to suffer.  Take Christ out of enough of the pieces of your life and you die spiritually.

 I know that Hebrews 10:25 talks about assembling ourselves together by coming to church.  But as pieces we cannot forsake the assembling ourselves together either.  God says “get it together, so I can bless you”.   Colossians 2:19 says that the Head gives all the joints and bands of the body nourishment ministered and knit together and increases with the increase of God.  It is God that gives true increase, not the world.  Get increase from the world and you will be left wanting.  Get increase from God and you will be satisfied.

Whatever part of your life, place Jesus as the head.  In your home, your job or business, your “play time”, whatever it is.  That is where you will find true increase and you will fit into His body.  You can be a blessing to the body.  Fit Him in so He can fit you together.  Keep yourself assembled by keeping Him the head.

 

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Day by Day

Written by Eloise Speer

Submitted by Sister Brenda Bailey

 

Hebrews 11:4 “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and by it he being dead yet speaketh.”

 

            Today had been a sad day for us and many of our friends.  We went to the funeral of a close friend’s son.  The boy was only 21 years old, killed instantly in an accident.  While sitting in the funeral home looking at the cold, lifeless body of this young man, I wondered if this young man could sit up now and speak to us, what he would tell us.  I am sure he would not try to get our attention by telling a funny joke.  He would speak to us of those things that are eternal.  There is life beyond the grave, but the destination of this eternal abode is settled in this life.  We often look at our young men and women and see only their healthy looking bodies and feel that they have lots of time to decide where they will be in eternity.  But his young man, though dead, speaks to us.  His sudden death speaks of the uncertainty of life.  The Bible says, “It is appointed unto man once to die.”  None of us know when that appointed time is.  Job declared, “All my days will I wait till my change come.”  This young man’s early death speaks to warn us to prepare to meet our God today.  He had many plans made for the tomorrows, no doubt, but the quick exit he made from life to death speaks to us of not boasting of the tomorrows.  Today, right now, is all the time we have.  We need to realize the value of time.  This young man would speak to us, even the young people, about weighing our actions carefully and making the most of every opportunity God has given.  Realize each day, each hour.  We should redeem the time for God.  He would speak to us that life is too short here and too precious to waste on frivolous things.  He would beseech us to put our house in order.  Harbor no idle, foolish, bitter thoughts.  Live for God.  The difference between the wise man and the fool can be seen by his use of time.  Killed time has no resurrection.

 

Psalm 90:12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

 

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The Core of Selfishness

By: Sister Lynne Conley

 

Scripture Text: Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 1st John 4:7 KJV Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were three friends of the prophet, Daniel, in the Bible. They all were arrested during the attack of Israel. Daniel was appreciative to see the King of Babylon. The King of Babylon at that time was Darius. Daniel gained a lot of trust through his faithfulness to all those around him. He attended the royal schools for three years. In time all those around him each day knew about his skill.  He was gifted in the understanding of dreams. He became the governor of the region of Babylon. The king’s management was jealous and irritated with Daniel because he was favored by the royal leader. Daniel’s friends were thrown into the fiery furnace, and it was heated seven times hotter than ever before. They wouldn’t bow and worship the King of Babylon as their God. They were miraculously saved from that fiery furnace. Years later Daniel was thrown into a den of lions because he wouldn’t bow to the king. The same miracle happened to Daniel as his friends as his life was spared.  The king ordered Daniel’s accusers to be thrown into the lion’s:  the men, their wives and their children.  The lions broke all their bones into pieces. The King commanded and made a decree that everyone has to worship ‘’ The God of Daniel’’.  The cords of selfishness can and will bind us if we let it.  Selfishness is where a lot of people’s problems start at a very early age. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Mark 8:36 KJV. We all learn by the examples of others around us. What kind of example are we showing to those who once knew the Lord, or those who has never known the Lord? The Lord has to help us all to be the best example to all those we’re around each day so that someone that doesn’t know the Lord would see their need to serve Him. We are only here for a season in this life. What we do for the Lord will matter my friends. Stay Encouraged!

 

Let us all remember in our prayers daily: All the many individuals suffering with all kinds of pain and heartaches. All the individuals with cancer, heart related problems, diabetes, mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually sick people everywhere. All those individuals that have the authority over our churches, our communities, our jobs, our government, our politicians, our leaders, homeless individuals, the many people who have lost their loves ones, all the elderly in the nursing homes, the shut ins… that each day that someone will give them all a kind word, and a phone call or a card in the mail from their children. Let’s not forget all the little children with cancer at St. Jude’s hospital, the trauma units, all those individual are in financial ruin. Our service men and women as they are in harm’s way, they are protecting our freedom.

 

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Testimony

By Sister Julie Conley

 

            On December 15th the Doctor walked in and gave us the most devastating news we had ever heard.  “Mr. Conley I don’t need a biopsy to tell me that this is a stage four cancer”.  With this unbelievable news he informed us that he would be sending us to Wake Forest to see a specialist in throat cancer.  Feeling more numb than upset I told Mike that I would be right back and decided to walk outside.  As soon as I stepped out to the doors, the weight of the world fell upon my shoulders and I started shaking and crying hysterically.  The only thing I could think of was to call the kids but at that point I couldn’t have told you my kids names, much less their phone number.  As I’m sure you would know the kids were devastated and I remember Josh saying that Doctors are always right and that God is bigger than this.  He reminded me that Pastor Clarks church is cancer free and that to be strong and everything would “come out in the wash”.

            The next day we went to Winston-Salem just to hear that Mike would have to go through treatment and that this was a very treatable disease.  Even though the doctors were giving up positive feedback I began to let me mind wander and my faith began to fail.  That night we were talking about everything and I told Mike that I didn’t understand why this was happening.  I felt that since Mike would get up and go to church that he would be covered under the promise of a cancer free church.  I sa something that night that I have rarely seen, Mike looked at me with teary eyes and said “I have been straddling the fence for way to long” and that night we both hit the floor and pleaded for the Mercy and Grace of God.  As I cried asking for forgiveness I realized how long I had ran from the Lord and how easy it is to have your world come crashing down.  I felt horrible for not remaining faithful to the Lord and Mike trying to go to church whenever he got the chance.  I feel that if I had been faithful and came to church then Mike would have been able to attend more services.  I know that God has a Master Plan and that everything happens for a reason but I couldn’t help but to feel responsible.

            The purpose of this is to inform all of you not only of Mike’s situation, but to all of you to stay faithful.  I will be the first to tell you that I know God will bring you through the storm, but don’t wait for the thunder to sound to get you life right.  For those of you who have been faithful, I admire and encourage you to stay at the foot of the cross.  I thank God for the chance that He has given to Mike and I and I will glorify Him through the rest of my days.  I now understand that you have to stay faithful to God to be covered under the cancer free promise.  We had convince ourselves that a Sunday Christian would be enough and that nothing like this could happen to us.  Mike has made great progress and I thank God that he will be 100% cancer free.  I know that some people questioned how could Mike have cancer but as we told Josh, just because you make it to service every few Sundays, ti doesn’t mean that you’re faithful to Christ.  I will never take for granted what God has done for us and Mike and I are humbled and grateful for this.  Even though it has been hard to see my husband go through this trail I praise God for bringing us closer to Him!

            May the Lord bless you all, Mike and Julie Conley.

 

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THINKING HAPPINESS

Submitted by Sister Judy Clark

 

            In order to speak good things to the inner self, the thoughts must be controlled in order to do so.  We choose what we think as described in the following poem:

 

“Thinking Happiness”

 

Think of the things that make you happy,

Not the things that make you sad;

Think of the fine and true in mankind,

Not its sordid side and bad;

Think of the blessings that surround you,

Not the ones that are denied;

Think of the virtues of your friendships,

Not the weak and faulty side;

 

Think of the gains you’ve made in business,

Not the losses you’ve incurred;

Think of the good of you that’s spoken,

Not some cruel, hostile word;

Think of the days of health and pleasure,

Not the days of woe and pain;

Think of the days alive with sunshine,

Not the dismal days of rain;

 

Think of the hopes that lie before you,

Not the waste that lies behind;

Think of the treasures you have gathered,

Not the ones you’ve failed to find;

Think of the service you may render,

Not of serving self alone;

Think of the happiness of others,

And in this you’ll find your own!

–Robert E. Farley