Nothing can separate us from the Love of God

It has been a tough week at First Assembly of God as we have had several people that we love go home to be with the Lord. We celebrate for them, but grieve for those left behind. I want to share with you something that blessed me this morning as I read from Rick Renner's "Sparkling Gems from the Greek."

Paul said, "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38,39).

Notice that Paul said, "For I am persuaded." The word "persuaded" is the Greek word peitho. It means to be persuaded, to be convinced, or to be swayed from one opinion to the opinion held by another. This word describes a person who has been coaxed from a particular conviction to embrace a different one. Furthermore, the Greek tense implies that this was a persuasion that had occurred to Paul in the past but is still so strong that it continues to be his conviction in the present. He was persuaded, and he continues to be persuaded. It could therefore be translated, "For I have been persuaded, and I remain convinced."

The word "death" is the Greek word thanatos, the Greek word for physical death, but it can also be used to depict mortal danger or a dangerous circumstance. In this case, Paul's primary meaning is that the love of God is so strong, even physical death cannot separate us from His divine love. Death may separate us from the earth and from people we love, but it is impossible for death to separate us from the love of God, for God's love doesn't stop with the cessation of life.

It is a fact that many believers feel overwhelmed by the situations they face in life. In fact, they often feel so confused and weighed down that they wonder if God is still near to them. This is precisely why Paul adds that even life cannot separate a believer from the love of Jesus Christ.

Just as the word thanatos describes physical death, this particular word for "life," the Greek word zoe, refers to physical life. Paul uses this word to let us know that neither the cessation of one's physical life nor the complex issues and events related to one's life on this earth are strong enough to separate a believer from the love of God.

Next, Paul lets us know that no spiritual being, good or bad, has enough power to separate us from God's love. The word "angels" is the Greek word angelos, which refers to brilliant, spiritual, angelic beings. Such angelic beings are extraordinarily strong, as is evidenced by hundreds of scriptures in both the Old and New Testament.

The word "principalities" is from the word archai. This is the same word that Paul uses in Ephesians 6:12, where he describes the rank and file of the devil's kingdom. The word archai is the plural for archos, the Greek word for a ruler or one who has long held a lofty position of power. The plural version of this word depicts an entire group of high- ranking demon spirits that have held their positions of power since the most ancient times. Although angels and demonic powers are indeed strong, they are not strong enough to disconnect a believer from God's love.

Paul also mentions "powers." This is taken from the word dunamis, which is the Greek word that sometimes depicted the powerful governments of men. Certainly Paul had been arrested, bound, and restricted by evil governments on many occasions, but none of these actions were ever sufficiently powerful to separate him from the love of God. A jail cell may have separated Paul from other believers. However, even in the deepest, darkest, most gruesome prison cell, Paul tangibly felt and personally experienced the love of God.

In addition to these points Paul has already mentioned, he uses the phrase "things present" to let us know that nothing that currently exists is able to prevent a person from experiencing God's love. The words "things present" are derived from the Greek word enistemi, a compound of the words en and histemi. The word en means in, and the word histemi means to stand. Thus, when these two words are joined to form the word enistemi, the new word describes something that is presently standing in its place. In this case, it means nothing presently existing or nothing that currently stands is sufficient to separate a believer from the all-powerful presence of God's love.

But Paul doesn't stop with the things that presently exist. He goes on to say that "things to come" are also not able to separate a believer from the love of God. The Greek word used here is from the word mello, and it describes events that will occur in the future. These are things that haven't happened yet, but will take place in the days and years to come. Paul has already said that nothing currently existing is strong enough to separate a believer from the love of God. Now he boldly declares that nothing will ever happen in the future that will contain enough power to hinder a believer from knowing and experiencing God's love.

As he continues, Paul also declares that neither "height, nor depth" shall be able to separate us from the love of God. The word "height" is the Greek word hupsuma, which expresses the notion of something that is overhead. It would include anything that is lofty, such as the sky and the heavens above. The word "depth" is the word bathos, the Greek word that expresses the notion of something that is exceedingly deep, like the deepest, darkest parts of the sea. Now Paul uses these illustrations to say that nothing in the sky or in the deepest parts of the earth has the power to keep one of God's children from knowing and experiencing His love.

To make sure absolutely everything is included in this comprehensive list, Paul adds "any other creature" to the list. The word "creature" is the Greek word ktisis, and it categorically refers to all created things in both the physical and spiritual worlds. Absolutely nothing in either of these spheres "shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

The words "shall be able" is from the word dunamai, which describes strength, capacity, or ability. The word "separate" is the Greek word choridzo, meaning to sunder, to sever, to disunite, to tear apart, to disconnect, to cut off, to disengage, or to withdraw. Notice that Paul says that nothing is capable of tearing a believer "from" the love of God. The word "from" is the Greek word apo, which means away and implies distance. This clearly means that there is nothing that can put distance between a believer and his Heavenly Father.

In light of the meanings of these Greek words in Romans 8:38 and 39, an interpretive translation of this verse could read:

"I have been persuaded, and I remain convinced, that neither death, nor the complications that often arise in life, nor powerful angelic beings, nor even an entire group of high-ranking demonic spirits, nor anything that currently exists, nor anything that could potentially happen in the future, nor any political power, nor anything in the highest heavens, nor anything that resides in the deepest depths, nor anything that has ever been created is capable of disconnecting us from the love of God or of putting any distance between us and the love of God, which is in Jesus Christ our Lord."

Never forget this message Paul proclaimed. Nothing in this world has enough power to disconnect you from the love of God. No angel, no demon, no government, no creature — and no mistake of your own making — will ever be capable of cutting you off from the love of God. God's love is greater than man will ever be able to comprehend. It reaches to the highest mountain, and it penetrates to the lowest parts of the earth. Regardless of what you are facing in your life today, God's love is with you — and nothing will ever be able to disconnect you from this awesome, powerful, all-consuming love! Blessings!

Pastor Rusty

God can do the UNBELIEVABLE

This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it! I hope you will as well.

This morning I received a devotion via email from one of my favorite authors, Max Lucado. It ministered to me so much that I decided to share it with all of you.

The kingdom of heaven. Its citizens are drunk on wonder.

Consider the case of Sarai. She is in her golden years, but God promises her a son. She gets excited. She visits the maternity shop and buys a few dresses. She plans her shower and remodels her tent … but no son. She eats a few birthday cakes and blows out a lot of candles … still no son. She goes through a decade of wall calendars … still no son.

So Sarai decides to take matters into her own hands. (“Maybe God needs me to take care of this one.”)

She convinces Abram that time is running out. (“Face it, Abe, you ain’t getting any younger, either.”) She commands her maid, Hagar, to go into Abram’s tent and see if he needs anything. (“And I mean ‘anything’!”) Hagar goes in a maid. She comes out a mom. And the problems begin.

Hagar is haughty. Sarai is jealous. Abram is dizzy from the dilemma. And God calls the baby boy a “wild donkey”—an appropriate name for one born out of stubbornness and destined to kick his way into history.

It isn’t the cozy family Sarai expected. And it isn’t a topic Abram and Sarai bring up very often at dinner.

Finally, fourteen years later, when Abram is pushing a century of years and Sarai ninety … when Abram has stopped listening to Sarai’s advice, and Sarai has stopped giving it … when the wallpaper in the nursery is faded and the baby furniture is several seasons out of date … when the topic of the promised child brings sighs and tears and long looks into a silent sky … God pays them a visit and tells them they had better select a name for their new son.

Abram and Sarai have the same response: laughter. They laugh partly because it is too good to happen and partly because it might. They laugh because they have given up hope, and hope born anew is always funny before it is real.

They laugh at the lunacy of it all.

They laugh because that is what you do when someone says he can do the impossible. They laugh a little at God, and a lot with God—for God is laughing, too. Then, with the smile still on his face, he gets busy doing what he does best—the unbelievable.

He changes a few things—beginning with their names. Abram, the father of one, will now be Abraham, the father of a multitude. Sarai, the barren one, will now be Sarah, the mother.

But their names aren’t the only things God changes. He changes their minds. He changes their faith. He changes the number of their tax deductions. He changes the way they define the word impossible.

Aren't you glad that God can change our minds, our faith and the way we define the word impossible? He can still do the unbelievable! He is an awesome God! Blessings.

Pastor Rusty

Wild Goose Chase

As most of you know, my oldest daughter and her family are spending a year in Washington, D.C. working on the staff of the National Community Church, where Mark Batterson is the lead pastor. I am so excited about this opportunity for them as Mark Batterson is rapidly becoming one of my favorite authors.

I am currently reading his lastest book, "Wild Goose Chase". I would recommend it to everyone. It is an EXCELLENT read! I also enjoyed his other book, "In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day". A few weeks ago I shared his "Chase the Lion Manifesto". He has "tweaked" it and come up with "Chase the Goose".....so I share it with you here:


Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Don't let fear dictate your decisions. Don't take the easy way out. Don't maintain the status quo. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing not to lose and start playing to win. Expand your horizons. Create some margins. Take off your sandals. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live today like it is the first day and the last day of your life. Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshipping what's right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Challenge old assumptions. Blaze new trails. Don't stop making mistakes. Celebrate your failures. Don't try to be who you're not. Be yourself. Don't make a living. Make a life. Quit making excuses. Quit playing defense. And quit putting eight-foot ceilings on what God can do. CHASE THE GOOSE!

Blessings!

Pastor Rusty

Sounding Brass, Cymbals and driving folks "WACKO"

This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it! I hope you are as well. Rejoicing really is a CHOICE!

This morning I was studying for my Sunday morning sermon on "Getting rid of Bitterness" and I read First Corinthians 13:1 and would like to share a few things from this verse with you today.

It seems that the apostle Paul encountered a group of people who were extremely "superspiritual" in the city of Corinth. However, Paul was unimpressed with these people and their level of spirituality because they had an obvious lack of love. Their deficit of love bothered him so deeply that he alluded to it when he wrote First Corinthians 13:1: "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal."

The words "sounding brass" are very important in this verse. Let's begin our study today with the word "brass." It comes from the Greek word chalkos, an old word that referred to metal. However, it wasn't just any metal; it was bronze or copper to which a small amount of tin had been added. This tin caused the metal to have a hollow, empty sound when it was beaten. That is why Paul also used the word "sounding" — the Greek word echo, which described a noise that reverberates or echoes. When these two words were used together, they portrayed the endless beating of metal that produces a hollow, annoying, irritating echo that seems to eternally reverberate.

In his book "Sparkling Gems from the Greek", Rick Renner says "when Paul wrote about a "sounding brass," he borrowed an illustration from the pagan world of Corinth to make his point about super- spiritual people who demonstrate no love. The illustration he chose to use was the endless, nonstop, annoying, aggravating, irritating, frenzied beating and clanging of brass that was performed in pagan worship and that echoed ceaselessly throughout the city of Corinth. The citizens of Corinth could never escape the endless banging of this metal, so this was an illustration everyone in the Corinthian church could readily comprehend.

The unsaved citizens of Corinth were deeply devoted to pagan religions. In terms of paganism and idolatry, Corinth stands out as one of the most wicked, idolatrous cities in world history. The pagan temples of the city were filled with worshipers who danced wildly under the influence of wine and drugs. In order to drive the people over the edge and into an emotionally frenzied state of spiritual ecstasy, the pagan priests would wildly beat the metal drums faster and faster and louder and louder.

The citizens believed the piercing, deafening banging and clanging of the drums was essential for achieving a state of spiritual ecstasy. Nevertheless, it was a constant nuisance to them, for they could never escape the constant, rhythmic pounding of metal that produced this clamoring noise.
As time passed, this well-known and commonly loathed, nonstop clanging noise became the very word people used to describe a person who talked incessantly."

Have you ever been around a person who talked so much that you didn't even listen to him anymore? After a while did you just look at the person without listening because words never seemed to stop pouring from his mouth? Did his words eventually just sound like noise to you, and they began to "DRIVE YOU WACKO?" Well, that is exactly what Paul is talking about here in First Corinthians 13:1 — people who say a lot and claim a lot, but who don't have a life to match their many words. Paul says people like this are just a lot of empty, shallow, clanging, banging noises that eventually become an irritant to all who are near enough to hear them.

But wait — Paul also likened these super- spiritual people who lacked love to "a tinkling cymbal." The word "tinkling" is a very poor translation, for the Greek word Malalazon means to clash or to crash loudly. The word "cymbal" comes from the Greek word kumbalon, which is the Greek word for cymbals. But when these two words are compounded together, it describes a constant, loud clashing of cymbals, much like the clashing cymbals played by the Jewish people just before they went to war! The clashing of those cymbals was a call to arms! It sounded the signal that it was time to fight!

I find it interesting that Paul would use the phrases "sounding brass" and a "tinkling cymbal" to describe these people. Just as a "sounding brass" was irritating and nerve-racking to all who heard it, and just as the "tinkling cymbal" aroused the mind and emotions for war — a person who claims great spirituality but doesn't demonstrate love can be just that much of an irritant!
As this type of person goes on endlessly in a perpetual, nonstop, shallow, boastful, self- glorification of himself, he almost makes you want to stand up and fight. But don't do it! You need to pray for patience when you're dealing with a person like that. If he isn't willing to listen and be changed, you need to ask God to show you a way to graciously remove yourself from the difficult encounter. But if a door opens and an opportunity arises for you to speak the truth in love, tell that person how he is coming across to others. If you were in that person's shoes, wouldn't you want someone to tell you the truth, even if you didn't like what he was telling you?

Don't wait until this person's nonstop talking drives you to the point of wanting to rise up and slap him and tell him to shut up. Before that ever happens, go to the Lord and ask Him to give you His heart for that person. When you have God's heart and mind about the situation, you'll be able to deal with it in the spirit of Jesus.

But what should you do if you are the one who talks nonstop? You need to pay attention to what you've read today. Do your words act like a repellant that drives people away from you? If you've noticed that people are avoiding you, maybe you need to find out the reason why! Go to someone and ask, "Would you please tell me what I am doing that is driving people away from me?" However, if you're going to ask this question, be prepared to receive the answer. You must be willing to make corrections in your character, your words, and your life.

The last thing you or I want to be is a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. Therefore, it would be good for all of us to go to the Lord and ask Him to reveal anything in our words or actions that needs to be changed. And if the Holy Spirit does reveal something to us, we need to give all our effort to bringing correction to our lives! Why not pray this prayer right now:

Lord, please help me be patient with people who are inconsiderate of others and won't stop talking about themselves. When I am tempted to lose my patience and to become angry with them, give me the grace to moderate my emotions so that I can respond to them in the spirit of Jesus. I know that You have been patient with me so often, and now it is my turn to be patient with others. Help me to show them the same kindness You have shown me and to avoid falling into the trap of being judgmental and impatient. I pray this in Jesus' name!


Blessings.

Pastor Rusty

Four Things that I WILL do today!

This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it! I hope you will as well. I am excited about today! My oldest daughter and her husband begin their time of training and ministry in Washington, D.C. In fact, as I write this blog they are arriving at the offices of the National Community Church where Mark Batterson is the lead pastor. What an opportunity for them. Mark Batterson is a young pastor, but is rapidly becoming one of my favorite authors and I am honored that Glenda and Brad will be on staff with him. What a learning experience this will be. Please pray for them today as they are very nervous. I know they will do GREAT.

Every morning we have pastoral prayer in the sanctuary. This morning as I walked into the church building, I could just sense God's presence in an awesome way. I knew He was about to speak something into my Spirit. I opened my Bible for today's reading. In addition to reading through the Bible this year, I read a Psalm and Proverbs that corresponds with the day of the month. For instance, today is September 9^th, so I read Psalm 9 and Proverbs 9. You should try doing this; it is like taking a spiritual vitamin to supplement your regular study and reading.

Anyway, as I opened up Psalm 9, God immediately challenged me with something in the first two verses of the chapter. I would like to share with you today, "Four things that I WILL do today!"

Psalm 9:1-2 I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. (2) I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

#1 I WILL give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart!

I have so much to be thankful for, but for some reason I find myself focusing on my problems instead of thanking God for His blessings and His faithfulness. When I focus on my problems and not on God, I am allowing worry to dominate my life. Listen to what Paul said concerning thanksgiving:

Philippians 4:4-7 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. (5) Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; (6) do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (7) And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in EVERYTHING by prayer, and supplication…WITH THANKSGIVING let your requests be made know to God. Then, the peace of God will overwhelm my life. Thanksgiving and peace go hand and hand. If I do not learn to thank God with my whole heart, then I will never experience the fullness of God's peace in my life. So TODAY, I have already made up my mind that I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart. Not half-heartedly, not sleepily, or because I have to…but because God is good and has blessed my life with good things. "Thank you Jesus for your hand upon me and your blessings that you have poured out upon me!"

#2 I WILL recount all of your wonderful deeds!

Periodically, in political elections the vote is so close that they call for a RECOUNT of the votes. That means they stop everything else they were doing and take the time to count again. David says in our text this morning that he would RECOUNT all of God's wonderful deeds. I believe that would be a good thing for me to do as well. I have stopped whatever else I was doing today so that I can recount God's blessings in my life. I would like to put them in an acrostic:

Redemption! I am so glad that Jesus redeemed me from the curse of the law. I was on my way to hell, but Jesus saved me!

Eternity! I am glad that this world is not my home, I am only passing through. When you get discouraged, stop and RECOUNT the fact that if you have made Jesus your Savior and Lord, you will spend eternity with Him! That is shouting ground!

Church family! I am blessed to pastor the greatest church in the world. What a wonderful group of people that show the love, light and life of Jesus to their world and areas of influence.

Outstanding health of my family! I am so blessed that my family is healthy. I am healthy. I never want to take that for granted.

USA! I am proud to be an American and to live in the greatest nation in the world. I am so thankful for the freedoms that we have.

Necessities of life! I have a home, cars, clothes, plenty of food and water, an awesome family and great friends. I am truly blessed!

The Holy Spirit! He nudges me and directs me attempting to bring out the character of Christ through the Fruit of the Spirit. I have taken Him for granted at times, and I truly repent of that.

Why don't you take a moment to RECOUNT all of the wonderful deeds of God in your life! As the song goes, "Count your blessings, name the one by one, and it may surprise you what the Lord has done."

#3 I WILL be glad and exult in you!

The word glad in the Hebrew here means a perpetual state of rejoicing and to brighten up. The word exult means to jump for joy, to be jubilant! You put these two words together and David is saying, "I will stay in a perpetual state of rejoicing that will brighten up all of those I come in contact with. I will be jubilant and jump for joy because of God's goodness!" David says I WILL be glad and exult the Lord. So today I CHOOSE to stay in a perpetual state of rejoicing. Being glad really is a choice. Listen to Psalm 9:2 in the Message version of the Bible:

Psalm 9:2 I'm whistling, laughing, and jumping for joy; I'm singing your song, High God. This is awesome isn't it? Make up your mind to be glad and exult the Lord today.

#4 I WILL sing praise to your name, O Most High

Psalm 20:7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

Every day I will sing praises to the Lord! I will praise the name of Jesus! There are seven Hebrews names for praise and each gives us a different aspect of praise. Please notice these differences below:

* Hallal: "to laud, boast, rave, to celebrate" - It is used approximately one hundred times in the Old Tes tament.

* Yadah: "to worship with extended hands, to throw out the hands" - It is used over ninety times in the Old Testament. (Yad means "hand.")

* Barak: "to bless, to declare God the origin of power for success, prosperity, and fertility" - It is used approximately seventy times in the Old Testament as praise to God.

* Tehillah: "to sing or laud" - It is derived from hallal and is generally accepted to mean "the singing of hallals." It is used over fifty times in the Old Testament.

* Zamar: "to pluck the strings of an instrument, to praise with song" - It is used almost exclusively in the Psalms and occurs approximately forty times in the Old Testament.

* Todah: "to extend the hands in thanksgiving, a thank-offering" - It is used only a few times when translated "praise" but occurs many other times in connection with thanksgiving.

* Shabach: "to commend, address in a loud tone, to shout" - This is the exclamatory form of praise in a special sense and is found only about seven times in the Old Testament.

My prayer for you today is that you will make up your mind to do these four things every single day! I'm going to give it a shot, how about you? Blessings.

Pastor Rusty

Thoughts on Washington D.C. and Bitterness

This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it. I hope you are as well.

I had quite an interesting and busy week last week. I was in Huntsville for Labor Day helping my oldest daughter and son-in-law pack up all of their belongings, and ended the week in Washington, D.C. their new home. The picture that I have posted was taken about two blocks from their home. I am so excited for them as they have "stepped out of the boat" of comfort and are following the Lord with all of their hearts. I couldn't be more proud of them. They really are an awesome young couple with two of the best little girls you will ever meet! (And they love their "big daddy!")

Thank you to everyone who has supported them through prayer and financial support. Please continue to do so! I know that the Lord will richly bless you. They report to the office of their new assignment tomorrow morning, so please pray for everything to go smooth and for them to be at peace today.

Last night in our service, I shared a little bit about the dangers of "bitterness". I would like to do the same here, with the help of Rick Renner in his "Sparkling Gems from the Greek" book.

When you find yourself constantly saying something derogatory about someone else, pay attention to what’s happening! What you’re saying about that person is a telltale sign that some bad seed is trying to take root in your heart.

Hebrews 12:15 tells us how to recognize bad seed when it begins to produce destructive fruit in our lives. It says, “lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you.” The words “springing up” are from the Greek word phuoo. This word depicts a little plant that is just starting to sprout and grow. It isn’t a large plant yet; rather, it’s a small seedling that is just breaking through the soil and starting to peek out at the world. However, the very fact that it’s peeking through the soil means there is a seed hidden in the soil producing this new life.

This is a very significant picture. It tells us that bitterness doesn’t overwhelm us all at once. Instead, it grows a little here and a little there until it finally becomes a huge, ugly growth that defiles our entire lives. Bitterness usually starts peeking up out of the depths of our souls in the form of negative thoughts about another person or a sour, sharp, distrusting, cynical attitude toward someone who has offended us. If the root is not quickly uprooted and removed, that bitterness will eventually become a full-blown tree that produces bitter, wounding, hurtful, and scornful fruit for everyone who eats of it.

Hebrews 12:15 shouts its warning: If you don’t stop these attitudes, they will eventually “trouble you.” The words “trouble you” are from the Greek word enochleo, which means to trouble, to harass, or to annoy. It refers to something inside that bothers and upsets you so much, you are constantly pestered by thoughts about it. In fact, your whole life is stalked by these hassling, troubling thoughts. What you allowed to take root and to fester inside your soul has now become a major nuisance to your peace, keeping you upset and emotionally torn up all the time.

• Do you have a grudge against someone that just gnaws away at you all the time?
• Every time you see that person, do you feel something sharp and ugly inside?
• When you hear about that person being blessed, do you wonder how God could possibly bless him when he did such an ugly thing to you?
• Do negative thoughts like these pester and bother you all the time?
  

If you relate to the questions I just asked you, then watch out! It may mean that a root of bitterness is growing inside you and that bitterness, resentment, and unforgiveness are starting to hound and stalk you wherever you go! You need to get a grip on yourself and let the Holy Spirit help you permanently rid yourself of these feelings; otherwise, you’ll end up troubled, annoyed, and terribly upset. You’ll lose your peace, forfeit your joy, and toss aside your victory. Friend, you don’t want to take this path! It’s too painful, too hurtful, and costs you too much in your walk with God.

So if you find yourself constantly saying something derogatory about someone else, pay attention to what’s happening! That is a tell-tale sign that some bad seed is trying to take root in your heart that could potentially grow into a major issue that hassles your whole life. Don’t let it happen! Ask the Holy Spirit to help you jerk out those roots from the soil of your heart so you can stay free! The Holy Spirit is willing, ready, and waiting to help you grab hold of those roots of bitterness and pull them clear out of your life. All He needs is your invitation, so why don’t you go ahead and ask Him to assist you right now?

MY PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, I ask You to please forgive me for allowing negative thoughts about others to consume me. Even though I don’t like what they did to me, I have no right to be bitter and resentful. I realize now that I am acting just as ugly inwardly as they acted outwardly. In Your eyes, my sin is just as bad as theirs. I am truly sorry for allowing these attitudes to grow inside me, Lord. To the best of my ability, I turn right now from the wrong thoughts that have been consuming me, and I choose instead to speak well of those who have offended or hurt me. Holy Spirit, help me uproot those wrong feelings from my heart and replace them with love and forgiveness. I pray this in Jesus’ name!

Blessings!

Pastor Rusty

Thoughts from 2 Chronicles 7:14

This is the day the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it!

I pray you are having a blessed day!

I want to share with you just a few thoughts today from God's Word.

2 Chronicles 7:14 "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." NIV

Some very powerful and important principles are listed in this one verse of scripture.

Allow me to highlight a few things:

1) IF... Such a big conjunction. If represents a condition to a promise.

2) My People who are called by my Name.....
God was making a promise to HIS FOLLOWERS that are called by HIS NAME.

3) Condition #1: Humble themselves
When I think of the word humility, I think of realizing "it's not all about me and my agenda".

4) Condition #2: Pray
We need to be in relationship with Him. Relationship involves effective communication which, in turn, includes talking as well as listening.

5) Condition #3: Seek His Face
This is a powerful one. Seeking His Face again is about relationship, but it goes further than just praying. It denotes an intimate relationship. So, we must, not just pray, but know Him intimately.

6) Condition #4: Turn From Your Wicked Ways
This is an automatic response to intimate relationship with God. When we are close enough to Him to "seek His face", then our reaction will be to change, to be more like Him~ to turn from our wicked ways.

7) Promise #1: I will hear from heaven.
When our lives line up with His will for us, then He is able to hear our requests.

8) Promise #2: I will forgive their sin.
We can't get what we don't ask for. When we ask for forgiveness, He gives if freely!

9) Promise #3: I will heal their land.
A national blessing from a personal intercession. This is where we are in America! We need God to heal our land.


I will share more regularly next week. My prayer is that you are praying for our nation and that our hearts will be turned to Him during this crucial time in our country!

Pastor Rusty