Lesson Learned?

The toughest lesson to learn is probably the one you thought you already had. – Sparks  

Peter thought he was ready to die for Jesus until it was showtime. True he failed, but Jesus gave him another opportunity. AMEN!  

Déjà vu, coincidence! It seems life is like this quite often for most. Things we thought we were over and done with, habits we thought we had firmly broken away from or grown up from; seem to reappear on the horizon, tripping us up time and again. But often when we look at it properly we see they are not coincidental, they are the life lessons God is trying to work out in our lives. And until we pass the test convincingly with understanding, we will be sorely tried on every hand. God is effectively trying to cleanse and purge us from all sin (not big sin, little sin; but ALL sin) and He wants us to prove our love to Him not by words but by our actions and our heart. Life today will be filled with opportunity.  

Until tomorrow….  

Pastor Botts  

“So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory.” – I Peter 1:12-13

Trials come to make you strong

Some of the sharpest pictures are developed in the darkest rooms. – W. Smith 

While Jesus was dying on the cross there was darkness all over the land. But then came The Resurrection. Can you say - Hallelujah! 

Photo albums. We all have them. And from time to time we revisit them and reflect on the character and nature of the photo and what we were doing at the time. But have you ever really thought about the fact the albums only have pictures of us in 'good times.' That there are no pictures of us when we were going 'through it,' the tough times, down times. The times that really shook us but yet shaped us the most. The fact of the matter is we’ve all had grief, suffering, heartache, and sorrow in our lives, sometimes more than we think we can bear or deserve. But in truth it is often out of the ‘crucible’ of our dark times we encounter the greatest growth, changed hearts, deeper convictions, or greater appreciation for who God really is, and we are made a little more like Christ. And that’s a good thing! 

Until tomorrow….. 

Pastor Botts 

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead……In this you greatly rejoice,though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” – I Peter 1:3, 6-7