Faith Does

One person with a belief is greater than a force of 99 who only have interests. – Plato 

Jonathan, with one sword and only his armor bearer slew some 20 men, while his father and 600 soldiers caroused under a tree. Hmm! 

Most of us as Christians will say we have faith and mean it. The problem is sometimes we don’t understand it. Faith is not a noun or adjective, but a VERB. That means it takes more than lip service, it takes or requires action on our part. We often refer to the 11th chapter of Hebrews as the "Hall of Faith" as it bears out what our ancestors DID in their lives announcing “by faith they did…… . whatever their part.” God doesn’t expect us to do it all, He only expects us to allow Him to work through us to accomplish His purposes, or in other words do our part to continue in writing HIS-story. We were made for a purpose – HIS! 

Until tomorrow….. 

Pastor Botts 

“You dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” – I John 4:4

What More Do We Need?

If God should descend from heaven a hundred times, he would reveal nothing we need to know in addition to what he has already said. – J. Calvin

Jesus once fed 5,000 plus and 4,000 plus. Yet when he died there were maybe only 300-400 true believers. Hmm!

Man has made many trips to the moon and thus far what have we learned? Well, it’s not made of cheese, it is presently uninhabited, and oh yes, IT’S REAL! Pretty much what God said all along in His Word. We tend to think there is more to things that we can’t see or touch or feel – showing our need or desire to control them – than there really is. The moon is just the moon, the wind is just the wind, etc. And truthfully, though there is more to God than we could ever imagine, all we need to know about Him to love and acknowledge Him is given to us in His Word. Were we to truly get the Word into our hearts we would most definitely see more of God than we ever imagined to begin with. Today’s a good day to start.

Until tomorrow…..

Pastor Botts

“…He who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals His thoughts to man….....the Lord God Almighty is His name.” – Amos 4:13

Belief vs Conviction

Beliefs are what you hold, convictions are what hold you. – H.G. Wells

Joseph could not bring himself to sin against his God with Potiphar’s wife. Samuel could not sin against his God by failing to pray for His people. Beliefs no, convictions YES!

There is a common saying we’re all familiar with “talk is cheap,” meaning we are proven by our actions rather than by our words. Many a person has gone down in flames because they got their beliefs confused with their convictions. The enemy will always attack our beliefs (he attacked Jesus in Matthew 4) just to see our response - will we turn and run, give up; or will we trust God no matter what. For one growing in the faith there comes a crossing over point where we truly realize, feel, and understand the great love God has lavished on us, and we are convicted in our hearts never to cross or sever that bond nor leave its confines. That’s a worldview worth having. 

Until tomorrow…..

Pastor Botts

“If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” – II Corinthians 5:13-15