Be Good For Your Word

Week of October 21, 2022

One of the greatest gifts we have is our words.  Words are extremely important and words can mean everything!  Sadly, some people have not realized the power of the word.  One of the greatest disappointments of life is when someone says they will do something but then does not stay true to their word.  Commitments always come with a cost, so do not be careless with your words.

Now let’s consider our recent promises to God for a moment.  What have you said that is committed to Him?  Maybe a promise to read His word, to tithe, to serve, or to be a better spouse or parent.  Have you been faithful to follow through?  Also, consider the promises you have made to others.  When you tell a friend you will do something, do you follow through?  God will hold you accountable for the things you say. “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:37 NKJV).  God said in the book of Ecclesiastes to not make a promise and then not keep it.  Why is this so important to God?  Well, Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”  Words can and do bless people’s lives but, they can also destroy and devastate lives as well.  The way you follow through with the promises you make will help or hurt relationships. 

Remember, words mean everything!  Be a person who is good for his word because if your words cannot be trusted then you cannot be trusted.

God Bless, Pastor Rick

So He Prospered

Week of October 7, 2022

“And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, in the law and in the commandment, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart.  So he prospered.” (2 Chronicles 31:21, NKJV)

The key to prospering in what you do is to always remember to serve the Lord with all your heart. During the time of the Judean king Hezekiah, idolatry was the accepted religion of the day.  His parents had rejected God and encouraged people to worship other gods; (2 Chronicles 28).  Hezekiah could have also rejected God but instead, he chose to serve God with all of his heart.  He followed God’s commands and he made efforts to promote worship of the one true God.  As a result of Hezekiah’s determination to serve, God blessed him. He thrived in an unsettled time because he resolved to always follow God.

God will honor the person that commits to follow Him.  Notice the words of this next verse from 2 Chronicles 26:5 speaking of Uzziah. “He sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God; and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper.”  It has always taken courage to seek after God.  God is pleased to prosper those who strive to please Him. Hezekiah stands in contrast to Rehoboam an earlier King of Judah.     2 Chronicles 12:14 says, “And he did evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord.”  When you don’t set your heart to seek the Lord, calamity is the most likely result.  The surest way to prosper is to diligently pursue God with all of your heart.

God Bless, Pastor Rick

Keep Your Eyes Fixed On God

Week of September 30, 2022

And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and He said to them, “Hear now, you rebels!  Must we bring water for you out of this rock?”(Numbers 20:10, NKJV)

  It’s easy to see why Moses became frustrated with the Hebrew people. Moses lost his patience and became angry with them because they were being so hard-hearted.  Yet each and every time that Moses shifted his focus away from God, it cost him.  When he sought to help his people by taking matters into his own hands he ended up spending the next 40 years herding sheep on the back side of the desert.  This time his behavior cost him the opportunity to enter the Promised Land.  In his frustration, at the people’s irreverence, Moses committed the same sin of disobeying God’s instruction.  Sin happened because Moses allowed his attention to shift to the behavior of others rather than God. This can happen to us all.  God is always putting people around us who need our ministry but if we concentrate on their weaknesses and stubbornness their disobedience may frustrate us.  We may, just like Moses, commit the sin we are condemning.  We must keep our eyes focused on God.  When a friend’s behavior disappoints you, don’t concentrate on the friend’s sin but go to the Lord and ask Him what He wants you to do in that person’s life. This way you will have the wisdom and the patience you need to help your friend in a way that God desires.

God Bless, Pastor Rick