Salvation Has Come

Week of December 23, 2022

“Indeed the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the world: “Say to the daughter of Zion, surely your salvation is coming.”  (Isaiah 62:11, NKJV)

At Christmas we commemorate the coming of the Christ into the world, but we must not forget that He has come to invade our hearts.  His advent in the flesh as the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world means nothing unless we personally partake of His salvation.

To really embrace Christmas, Jesus has to inhabit our hearts with His Salvation.  The good news of Christmas is that Christ not only came into the world, but personally comes into the hearts of those who believe in Him.  Scripture says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.”  John 1:12 (NKJV) We must not forget this truth.

The good news of Christmas is that Christ comes with His hands filled with grace and forgiveness.  “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11 (NKJV) If you want to experience true Christmas joy, Christ must be born in your life.  When He takes up residence in your life it becomes a Merry Christmas in the true sense of the word.

God Bless, Pastor Rick

Jesus Was Born

Week of December 16, 2022

“Now, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem. (Matthew 2:1NKJV)”

It is a historical fact that Jesus was born in Bethlehem.  Through his physical birth, God revealed Himself to all of humanity.

He, who was born in Bethlehem more than two thousand years ago, is still being born in the hearts and lives of people today.  This simple truth is often lost in the chaos of our busy lives.  If your focus is on all the festive activities around Christmas time and you have not experienced the birth of Christ in your personal life, you will never know the real joy and peace of the true Christmas.  The birth of Christ in Bethlehem is but a mere historical fact and nothing more. Not until He is born in your life can you know the Christ of Christmas.

If you want to experience Christmas joy, Christ must be born in your life and placed at the center of your life.  Then it becomes a real Merry Christmas in every sense of the word.

God Bless, Pastor Rick

Small Things Like Obedience Are Really Big In God’s Eye’s

Week of December 9, 2022

“For who has despised the day of small things?  For these seven rejoice to see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.  They are the eyes of the Lord, which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth”  Zechariah 4:10 (NKV).

The world loves to see the spectacular. God has shown us through the Bible that He is more than capable of the spectacular but more often He chooses to work through the ordinary and seemingly insignificant for our benefit.

Throughout history, God’s answer to a critical time was to send a baby.  Moses, Samuel, John the Baptist and Jesus were all born as answers to a time of need.  When Jesus selected His disciples, He could have enlisted more but He only chose the twelve. When Jesus fed the multitude, He used only five loaves of bread and two fish from a boy’s lunch but it was sufficient in the hands of the Lord.  Jesus compared the kingdom of God to a mustard seed, which is the smallest of the seeds yet it grows into the biggest of trees. He said just a little bit of leaven raises the entire batch of dough.

We often think the bigger, the better, and measure success by the number of people involved in our ministry.  We also tend to seek the spectacular displays but we must learn to view success as God does not as man wants. Remember, God is interested in the heart and He is pleased with our sincere obedience to Him.

God Bless, Pastor Rick