Sunday May 19th, 2024; The whole world is looking for Peace, we all desire to have that feeling of peace. We have tried in many different ways to achieve it, to no avail. If it were possible to achieve it what would you do possess it? Jesus said in John 14:27-29 “peace I leave you, my peace I give unto: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” Jesus spoke of a peace that he possessed, a peace that is not understandable by the standards of the world. The only peace we will ever find in this world will be temporary at best, and at the worst out right deceptive by the hearts of men. 1 Thessalonians 5:3 declares that when men proclaim peace and safety then sudden destruction comes, but the kind of peace that Jesus offers is eternal, and it is guaranteed not by mighty Armies, or Political treaties, but by the Father that is in heaven, the peace of men is broken by circumstances that change, but with God there is nothing that exist which can cause his peace to fail. God is not influenced by Geo-political events, economic up evils, nor any other worldly event. The peace that Jesus left with us is not an earthly peace it is a Heavenly peace, and there is no other peace like it. It is not “World Peace” but peace within you and I that gives us the ability to have internal peace. This peace he did not leave to the world, but as in the passage text, it was left to each individual, who seek it and search for it. The conditions for achieving this peace are not burdensome and fully attainable, if we Receive his presence and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior; when the Holy Spirit enters to live in us, and we commit to make our way his way; By confessing that only through Jesus Christ is there eternal life; When we Discover the peace in his word, through studying the scripture, and spending time in the Bible; We experience it when we participating in praising and worshiping him, both personally and corporately; Being properly aligned to God’s will; when we cultivate a habit of peace in silent meditation of the word of God, and his magnificent Character, and loving nature; through regular and consistent prayer, and giving thanks to him in all things; living a life that is in Christ. When we have done all these things, we will begin to receive his peace. The Peace of God is tranquil state of appreciation and faith when we submit to and trust the commandments of God. Phillipians 4:7 and 1 Thessalonians 5:23. It requires a mixture of humility and courage to experience God’s peace, seeking beyond the mere abilities of our understanding, Proverbs 5:23. If God’s nature is peace, then our earnest appreciation of God is to live in his peace! The nearer we move toward him, the more of his peace can experience. Thankfully, the Bible provides us with specific guidance about how to be closer to him. Psalms 24:3-4 and James 4:8. The Peace we feel at first, remember when our guilty conscience was cleansed? That helps us to build, and our peace is increased the better we get at knowing God over time. 2 Peter 1:2 encourages us to grow in our relationship with God. Hebrews 10:22. When we grow in our knowledge of the wisdom and prosperity of God’s love for us, our minds and spirits develop a restful faith of his power and grace. We begin to recognize that he really will make all things to work together for the good and that his purpose for us will be achieved. We can follow this understanding with passages like Ephesians 3:18-19; Ephesians 1:3; Romans 8:28,38-39; Proverbs 19:21; Psalms 33:11; Phillipians 4:6; and Colossians 3:15. You see the biblical peace that Jesus left us is not focused on the circumstances and the troubles of this world, it focused on the infinite grace, mercy, and power of the Heavenly Father and the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ. If your world is full of anxiety, fear, and doubt, then you are not fully experiencing the fullness of the peace Jesus gave to each of us. If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord, then let him lead, if Jesus Christ is your savior, trust him to save you. Psalms 46:10 tells us to still and know that he is God.
Sunday May 5th, 2024; I have a question for you? If you have a good reason, or the best of intensions, is it okay for us to alter or give incorrect explanations of the scriptures? Sometimes to comfort others we may feel enticed to give a more comfortable explanation of what God says in the scriptures, it may be a friend or family member who is suffering, or in a struggle and we want anything to help them. The other day for example I read a post on the internet, that said that Jesus, at the last supper before his crucifixion, gave Judas bread to eat and wine to drink, and featured on the text that Jesus washed Judas’ feet. The think that the intention of the post was to show how Jesus when to great lengths to care for, loved even his enemies. I don’t think that the writer had any real thoughts of misleading those who saw the post, in fact I seen it re-posted many times by others. The Problem is that it is not true, In John 13:2-11 we see that Jesus did wash the feet of the disciples there in the upper room, but eleven where there, Judas had already left the room before the washing of the feet was done by Christ, not only that, but he had also left before he had eaten. Jesus in verse 26 of the same chapter 13 of John Jesus declares that the Identity of his betrayer is the one whom Jesus would “give sop to” meaning that it would one to whom he would dip the bread into the oil, and give it to him to eat, but Judas didn’t eat because when Jesus leaned over to hand Judas the bread, Jesus said to Judas in verse 27 what you have to do, do quickly, and then the scripture said that he departed immediately, if Judas left quickly, he never eat the bread not did, was he there for the wine. In verse 2 the bible say that “And supper being ended…”, The supper was over when Jesus washed the feet of the disciples, if then supper was over and Judas left before the bread and wine, then could not have been there for the foot washing. Jesus at the time of washing in the conversation between Peter and Him, he says that not all that where called where clean, the washing of the feet was a sanctifying act that Jesus preformed on those who would carry the gospel to the world, and we know that Judas was not part of the spreading of the gospel, nor could he have been because Satan had already entered into Judas’ heart. So, the post that I have seen gives a false narrative to the scriptures. It makes the bible a lie, and if we alter the scripture, we make it a heresy. There is enough scripture in the bible that proclaim the love that Christ has for even his enemies, starting with John 3:16, then there is the passage where it says that while we were yet sinners and enemies of Christ, he died for us. There is no reason to make a lie of the scriptures, even for the best of intensions. Remember that Satan in the Garden deceived eve by altering the word of God, he is a subtidal creature, he doesn’t make himself to one who work in dramatic situations, but by small seemingly quiet and innocent means, sometimes done in the name of good. don’t let good intent to cause you subvert the word of God.
Sunday 14 April 2024, It is with both Joy and Sadness that I record this Date, as a very great Lady and patriarch in the Church has gone to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, at 8:00pm today, Sis, Phileta Smith, the wife of the former Pastor, Bro. Hershell Smith left this earth and came into the fullness of God’s Grace. I will always remember her wit, and straight face funniness, Sometimes you weren’t sure if she was serious or pulling your chain., and her faithfulness was exemplary, she would for long time come to church, when she was in pain, sick, and tired, play the piano for the congregation so that we would have music to worship, and she would sing, even when her voice would crackle from age and illness, sometimes by herself, and sometimes with her loving daughter-in-law, Brenda Smith. And thin she held down her office as Church Secretary striving to ensure that everything was done to the best of her ability. As a pastor how much, I would love to have a church full of Sis. Phileta’s, what joy it would be. I think if I could relay anything to you who read this post, Sis. Phileta would say to you, and to the family she loved, if you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ, as she did, do not put of getting to know him, if you have become the prodigal Son or Daughter, your Lord is waiting for you return home to his arms. The world is a full of troubles and this life is more than what you see, but if you want what Sis. Phileta now has, you’d better not wait to long, every one of us has an appointed time to die, and you are no surer of your last day than any of us. I’am happy for Sis. Phileta, for she now knows what we can only imagine, The Bible says that it has not entered into the minds of men what God has laid up in heaven for those who love him, but Sis. Phileta knows for sure what that means. For the Family that is left behind, if you are a child of God you know where she is and you will one day join her, but for now there will be an emptiness that no one can fill, but think on the wonderful memories she has left you to remember, for memories are the things of this world, and have no place in heaven, where all things are brand new. I will miss you Sister, but I will be there one day.
The Summon for Sunday April 14th will be “His normal is our Unusual” Exodus 14:10-12 Did you ever consider the things that God is able to do outside realm of what we consider normal expectation. The Israelites prayed for hundreds of years for God to deliver them from their oppressors, and when God sent Moses to take them out from their bondage, they sought to return to their existence rather than give them a life of promise and independence. You see they initially want out and where glad to go, but as soon as their faith was tested, they wanted to go back, God will deliver his people whether by expected means, but more often than not by ways we didn’t expect, The Jews expect a great warrior to deliver them for them Romans, instead the Father sent a carpenter to deliver The warrior King will come later. What can God do, anything he wants to, why do we want to put God into the context of normalcy? When the heavens cannot contain him why do we think we can? If He can calm the storm with only the sound of his voice, If he can walk on water by his will, if he can feed the Israelites with the mana that came down for heaven, why would want just corn or wheat, if he can provide a means of support by filling jars with oil that never runs out, why would you want some other resource, stop looking for God to answer your prayers through normal means an trust that he also uses the unusual.
A Godly Woman and a faithful loving friend! I would like to ask all you who read this post to please pray for Sister Phileta Smith, a very sweet lady of our church, and a long time faithful servant of the Lord, and the wife of Brother Hershell Smith (the former pastor of Tolosa Baptist Church, who died of COVID in 2020) who was great preacher and Pastor of a number of Churches in and around DFW Cedar Creek, and Oklahoma for many years, She is close to going home, her health has been failing for some time, but even with her failing health, she was an exemplarily faith women of the Lord, she came every Sunday Morning to play the Piano, and she held down the Church Secretary duties until recently. I ask you to pray for her and for the family. I have asked the Lord to not tarry in bring her to her reward, but in his will and time, nevertheless she love her and will miss her, I will always remember her place in the phew forever.
Faithfulness! God said without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). We have faith you say! We believe in God the Father, Jesus Christ as the only begotten Son of God. That’s great, but along with having faith, we must also demonstrate that faith by being faithful to his commandments, instructions, and principals. One of our misgivings is that we think that if we know of him, if we have even accepted him as our Lord and Savoir, we are good to go, following that the rest of our life is ours to do with as we please, I mean God understands right? This life is not just about serving the Lord only, we’re intitled to a little fun once in a while, Jesus wouldn’t expect us to only be obedient to the Bible teachings, as long as I have given my tithes to the Church, prayed when I can, read my bible more than some, I even know some memory verses like John 3:16, and the “Roman Road” so what is the problem. The problem is your Faithfulness, in 1 Samule 2:30 God says “Where the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me forever: but now the Lord saith, be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. If you love the Lord, and I mean really Love him, love him with all your heart, and mind, and soul, and worship him with all your strength, you’ll make sure that he is the first thing you address, in everything. What is there that you have ask of God! Do think that God should be faithful to provide it? If you can’t find time for God then why should you think he should find time for you? God loves you, and that is true without fail, but the plans he has for you are not harsh, and they are for His glory, and to your benefit, for someone who gave his only son for you, to give your life everlasting, and remove your sins forever. What a small thing it is to show up for him when he calls on you to give up small things for him. In the end the bible says that every thought, every deed, every word we say, will be judged, the truth is, these things are being judged daily, not just on the day you stand before the Judgment seat. How will you be found, faithful, unfaithful, or somewhere in between. In the book of James, we are called to be doers of the word not only hears, in the book of James 2:19-20 it says that the devil knows God too, and he trembles, does your knowledge of God make you tremble, or call you to faithfulness?
Do you believe that God loves you? If you’re not sure, then I invite you to come and visit with us this Sunday 7 April 2024 and hear what the Lord’s word has to say regarding that very question. I know there are times when it seems that God doesn’t hear our prayers or love us, but that is as impossible for God as it is for the sun to rise in the west and set in the east. It’s not the nature of the Sun to rise in the west, because it is the nature of the Sun to rise in the east. The same is true of whether God loves you. Come and see why this is true.