Enlightened Eyes

Week of February 9, 2024

“The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.” Psalm 19:8

We all would like to be wise in our decisions. Whether it’s our personal life, our job, or our family we want to follow God. I want God to bless these areas. What is the solution to being wise in our decisions? The scripture says we have to make the word of God part of our life. Listen to Jeremiah 15:16 “When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, LORD God Almighty.” Jeremiah’s eating of the word was not a physical eating but a spiritual receiving the Word of God. We take in the Word of God. What’s the result according the Psalms 19:8? It brings joy to our hearts and it enlightens the eyes. Now this doesn’t mean that we can see into the future or that I know everything that God is up to all the time. But we do gain insight about the ways and the will of God.

When a road block comes we aren’t shocked by it, we realize that God often uses road blocks to redirect us. If God doesn’t answer our prayers we don’t lose heart because we realize sometimes God has a different agenda that is bigger than ours.

Learning to see through the scripture takes effort and your time. Think for a moment of those things that you devote yourself to, activities that take your time and effort but promise for less. Is having God enlighten your eyes appealing to you? The price is to take in the Word of God.

God Bless, Pastor Rick

Listen Up

Week of February 2, 2024

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”  Isaiah 3:21 (NKJV).

Many people like having the TV or radio on while talking to others or when they are busy doing other things. “No, that doesn’t distract me; I don’t even hear it.”

In the same way, we can tune out the Holy Spirit; we can become unaware that He is speaking to us. The children of Israel had come to a place where they were tired of the prophets talking to them about God. Isaiah 30:11 says, “Cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.” In other words, “Stop telling us about your Holy One of Israel.” But God kept speaking to them anyway. At some point, we may have been guilty of tuning God out, but He doesn’t tune us out.  The Bible says in Isaiah 30:21, “ a word behind” the Holy Spirit keeps reminding us of the truth of God’s word.

Does the noise of culture drown out the voice of the Holy Spirit? Or maybe your busy schedule, the demands of work and home, or the stress in your life? Do we need to wise up to the fact that in a world like today, we need to hear the voice of God for direction? Make time to be alone and quiet and truly listen to God. I can tell you that He is still speaking. If we practice the art of listening, we will hear God sharing His directions with us.

God Bless, Pastor Rick

Believe or Doubt

Week of January 26, 2024

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed;”  Luke 4:18 (NKJV).

This was an amazing moment.  You would have liked to have been in the room.  This was the announcement that people had longed to hear for generations.  But, sadly, many did not believe.  Jesus walked into a Synagogue and picked up the scroll of Scripture to read.  He read Isaiah’s prophecy of the Messiah’s role to heal, free, and restore.  The people had heard that passage read before, but today it was different.

Jesus finished, handed the scroll back to the attendant, looked out at the people looking at Him, and in so many words, said I am that person.  In Luke 4:21, someone questioned how Jesus could possibly be the promised Messiah.  It turned out that the people were angry with Jesus.  In fact, they were so angry that they wanted to kill him.  Why did they respond this way?  Because now the long-awaited promise had arrived, and now they either had to choose to believe or to doubt.  Many chose to doubt because believing required too much of them.  Some believed, and some doubted. How do you think you would have responded that day?  Maybe God is asking you to trust Him in an area of your life.  Will you move forward and believe, or will you doubt?

God Bless, Pastor Rick