Pastor's Thoughts to Ponder

If it were not for the Christmas season that we have come to celebrate as a day to acknowledge our Lord’s birth, the story of the shepherds would have been lost in the Bible for many people. Because of the Christmas stories, plays, and movies, most have become familiar with the shepherds. It’s been two thousand years since the incarnation of Christ into this world, and the story of the shepherds is still being lived out in the lives of believers.

Have you ever thought about how the devil (knows the drill), and he also pays people to work for him? The Bible says there is enjoyment in “the pleasure of sin” (Hebrews 11:25), but it’s only “for a season”! He pays with good times, fulfilling fleshly desires, and promising that more good times are coming (Ephesians 2:1-3). The last check received according to Romans 6:23, is death: not just dying, but dying apart from God!

Could you imagine anyone having children, bringing them into this world, and not wanting them to be good: good children, good husbands and wives, good neighbors to others, good providers for the family, and a good name when gone from this world?

I believe that God is saying to sinners today that you haven’t gone too far for Him to be able to save! When He begins to work in your mind, and to deal with your heart about salvation, you should leave the old life behind and come to Him and receive new life in Christ through the death, burial, and resurrection of His Son. When God is dealing with you, He is willing to “fetch” you out of sin and bring you unto Him.

It is said that Joseph’s brothers went to Egypt the first time for corn/grain, and that is exactly what they got. They never thought there would be any desire from this great man who was presiding over Egypt, to have anything to do with them. Yet, there was a longing in his heart to extend his love to them, to fellowship with them, to care for them, to offer forgiveness to them, and to establish a relationship with them.

Gratitude or Grumbling? - Colossians 1:4 Grumbling comes naturally, takes little thought, causes much damage, and should be safeguarded against at all costs. We do not have to teach children how to grumble, but we do need to encourage them to be thankful.

How to Avoid Confusion - (Numbers 15:16) One law and one manner shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you.

There are organs within the body that become diseased or damaged but are not considered life-threatening. This is not true of the heart.(Acts 2:37)

I think of the things that King Solomon could say: “I am King David’s son. I am the king of Israel. I am the richest and wisest of all kings. I have sat in judgment over great matters.” The list could go on and on, but one thing the king could not say truthfully was, “I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin.” Not even a king could do that.

Today, in New Testament terms, we still need people who have believed in Christ for salvation to do the work of God’s people in keeping the light burning. We don’t need to plant olive trees or find a tabernacle and a candlestick, but we must share the gospel of Jesus Christ. Israel was given the blessing of keeping the light on in the Old Testament, and the church is given the blessing in the New Testament through the gospel. Are you helping to keep the light burning?

We who have experienced the power of God working in us while in these bodies and living in this world know that we will not be disappointed when we, through the power of God, leave here and go there!

Confessions without submission unto the Lord will not prevent destruction. If we are unwilling to submit ourselves unto the Lord, our confessions are useless.

Hasn't the Lord provided a means that we can also give? Do we give back to the Lord with thankful hearts for His goodness unto us? When we come into the sanctuary that we feel the Lord has led us to be a part of, do we feel His presence in this place?

If you don’t like who you are, “a sinful man”, cry out to Jesus and He will make you into what you ought to be and really want to be...family!

When reading these three chapters, as believers, we will surely agree with God that nothing is more needed or to be desired than wisdom. Nothing can make life more fulfilling and desirable than wisdom.

A house, on the outside, may not look like a treasure, but remember, it’s who’s on the inside that counts.

Our eternal future hangs on whether or not we believe in Jesus and His gospel that leads to salvation, or listen to the new kings over Egypt (type of Satan) that lead to destruction.

Service and love go together like peanut butter and jelly. To serve without love makes the servant like unto a hireling. His eye will be on an easier job, a more profitable wage, and a better master. Where there is service with love, there is only one Master whom we desire, one field in which to serve, and our treasures are laid up in heaven. To know the Lord and to love Him are the greatest motivations for service in all the w