Scripture opens our eyes to a paradox that the world cannot fathom: the way up is down. Jesus made this shockingly clear when He said, “Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:4). Not the most accomplished. Not the most educated or eloquent or successful. The most humble. Humility is not a virtue among virtues; it is the posture from which every other virtue grows.

Consider why. Spiritual growth requires change—real, costly change. But change demands that we first admit we are wrong, broken, insufficient. A proud heart cannot do this. It defends itself, justifies itself, protects itself, and makes excuses for itself. It says, “I have it mostly figured out. My way is working fine.” And in that self-protection, it locks the door against transformation. The proud person cannot receive correction, cannot learn from failure, cannot be shaped by suffering. He is closed.

Humility opens the door. When you kneel before God and say—truly say—”I am weak, I am wrong, I cannot save myself, I cannot sanctify myself,” something breaks open in your soul. You stop trying to earn God’s favor and start receiving it. You stop defending your reputation and start caring about your character. You stop performing for an audience and start listening to the Spirit. This is why Jesus taught humility, and why all great men of the faith understood humility as the beginning of all wisdom. Augustine wrote of it. Spurgeon implored it unceasingly. Wesley preached it relentlessly.

Here’s what this looks like in real life: A man comes to church angry at his wife. He sits through the sermon on forgiveness and feels the Spirit’s conviction. Pride says, “But you don’t understand what she did. You don’t know how unreasonable she is.” Humility says, “I am a sinner in need of grace, just as she is. I have hurt people too. I need to repent.” In that moment of humility, he becomes capable of reconciliation. Without it, he remains locked in his grievance.

Or consider a woman who has served faithfully for years, and suddenly someone else receives recognition she expected. Pride rises: “After all I’ve done, this is how I’m treated?” Humility whispers: “My service was never meant to earn praise. It was meant to serve Christ. His approval is enough.” And in that surrender, she finds peace her accomplishments could never give her.

The scriptures teach that spiritual renewal—real, deep, transformative renewal—begins when we stop trying to defend ourselves and start admitting we are indefensible.  When we confess not just our sins but our bankruptcy. When we come to God not as a customer presenting a complaint but as a beggar presenting an empty hand. This is the narrow gate through which all genuine growth passes.

So ask yourself: Where am I defending myself instead of examining myself? Where am I protecting my image instead of pursuing my transformation? What would change if I stopped trying to prove I’m right and started asking God to make me righteous? That question, pursued with honest humility, is where renewal begins.

Yours in Christ, 

Pastor John   

 Listen to what Moses tells Israel in Deuteronomy 10:12–13: “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?”

Notice the phrase at the end: for your own good. Not “for God’s benefit.” Not “because God is arbitrary and demands submission.” But “for your own good.” This reframes obedience entirely. God’s commands are not chains. They’re not restrictions imposed by a distant tyrant. They’re instructions from a Father who loves you and knows what will actually make you flourish.

Think about a parent teaching a child not to run into the street. The child experiences this as a restriction. “Why can’t I go where I want?” The parent’s answer isn’t “Because I enjoy controlling you.” It’s “Because I love you, and I know what will kill you.” The command protects. The command is an act of love.

This is what Israel needed to hear—and what we need to hear. We live in a culture that frames obedience to God as oppressive, as if following His commands means surrendering your freedom and joy. But Scripture teaches the opposite. Psalm 119:45 says, “I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts.” Freedom comes through obedience, not despite it. The person who follows God’s commands about sexuality, generosity, honesty, and rest is not a slave. He’s free—free from shame, free from the destruction that sin brings, free to experience the life God designed him to enjoy.

Consider the command to rest on the Sabbath. Our culture sees rest as laziness, as something you earn after you’ve proven yourself productive enough. So we work ourselves to exhaustion, sacrifice our families, damage our health—all in pursuit of more. And God says, “Stop. Rest. You are not defined by your productivity. You are defined by your identity as My beloved child.” That command isn’t a burden. It’s a gift. It’s God saying, “I love you too much to let you destroy yourself.”

Or consider the commands about forgiveness. Jesus tells us to forgive those who wrong us, to let go of bitterness, to seek reconciliation. Our flesh screams that this is unfair, that we deserve to hold a grudge, that forgiveness lets the other person off the hook. But God knows what bitterness does to a human soul. He knows how unforgiveness eats you alive from the inside. His command to forgive is not punishment. It’s rescue. It’s Him saying, “I love you too much to let you poison yourself with hatred.”

God’s law is good. Not arbitrary. Not oppressive. Good. The Westminster Catechism asks, “What is the chief end of man?” and answers, “To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” Notice those two things together: glorify and enjoy. They’re not in tension. When you obey God, you glorify Him and you experience the joy and blessing He designed you to experience.

So when you’re tempted to see God’s commands as burdensome—when obedience feels like sacrifice—pause. Ask yourself: What is God actually protecting me from? What is He inviting me into? Often you’ll discover that the command you’re resisting is the very thing that would heal you, free you, restore you. God’s commands are not chains. They’re the blueprints for a human life lived as it was meant to be lived.

That’s the heart of Deuteronomy 10:12–13. Not “Obey because God demands it,” but “Obey because God loves you, and His way is the way of life.”

Yours in Christ, 

Pastor John   

Genesis 2:15

15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. 

We live in a culture that increasingly devalues the importance and Godliness of hard work.  We are always looking for the easy way, the quick way, and for many, a way out of doing even the most basic work necessary to provide daily sustenance and shelter.   Unfortunately, welfare entitlement has crept into the lives of millions resulting in the poisonous mentality of the sluggard.  It is much easier to lay in bed, than it is to get to work!  Even those who do work often find themselves grumbling and complaining and only finding misery in their employment.  Today we must be reminded of a very important truth…God created man for the purpose of work.  To work with joy, purpose and out of obedience to His design for mankind.  After God created Adam and placed him in the Garden of Eden, His very first directive to Adam was to cultivate and keep the garden.  Very simply, to work.  This directive was given before the warning to not eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, before God created woman, and before man’s fall into sin.  Which brings us to a very important reality, work is not a result of sin, laziness is!  Before the fall, man desired to obey God in daily work, after the fall man desired to disobey God in daily laziness.  Laziness and a life devoid of work feeds the flesh, while daily productivity feeds the Spirit. In short, daily work is not an option, but a wonderful privileged and obedience to God filled with many blessings.  The blessing of work is in the work itself and no other blessing is needed.  Work provides wages to feed ourselves and our families, it provides shelter and all other necessities of life.  Beyond this, it teaches us discipline, resilience and a spiritual readiness to go to work wherever we are needed.  A good work ethic allows us to be a blessing to others and to be faithful in giving to God’s Church.  All of these things are real, tangible blessings built right into work.  And while work has built-in blessings, laziness has built-in curses.  The sluggard struggles to pay for even the most basic of human needs such as food, shelter, clothing and provision for their families in any way.  The sluggard is never a blessing to others but rather a drain on others and upon the Church.  And above all, they lack the basic spiritual discipline and readiness needed to be useful in the hands of God.  Excluding those who have reached an age where work is no longer a physical possibility, work is not an option, it is one of the most basic requirements of a healthy life both physically and spiritually.  Therefore, be encouraged in your work this day!  It may seem mundane, menial and even at times a struggle, but the Lord has given us clear instruction and a wonderful blessing in the work of our hands.  Mothers, your work is tedious and trying at times, but the reward of raising children, keeping a home, and providing the care needed for your family to thrive is of primary importance to your children and husband.  Fathers, your work provides more than just the funds necessary to provide the basics of life, it teaches resilience, obedience, discipline and honors the Lord by protecting and nurturing your families!  Even for those who are single, work provides all of the same blessings and meaning that is required for a productive and meaningful life in Christ.  We may be called to different types of work, but it is all for the same purpose.  It is God’s way of providing all that we need to thrive physically and spiritually while we are here on earth!  There is coming a day when we will work for the Lord in eternity and there won’t be the terrible laziness of our flesh to get in the way!  But until then, let’s lay down our own fleshly desires and put our hands to the plow both in our daily work and our Kingdom work…they are more related to each other than we may think!

Yours in Christ, 

Pastor John   

 Psalm 37:4

4 Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

One of the truest and most sobering tests of our faith is to apply this verse to our lives.  First, Beloved, let us all ask ourselves this question; “what are the desires of thy heart?”  The answers that you give will reveal much about the condition of your heart, because it will expose where your true delight is found.  We are told to take delight in the Lord, and then the Lord will give us the desires of our hearts.  But why is delight in the Lord foundational to the fulfillment of this promise?  Well, very simply, the desires of the heart of a man or woman who’s delight in is the Lord look far different than the desires of the heart of a man or woman who’s delight is in the flesh.  What are the desires of the fleshly minded man or woman?  Money, power, clout, stature, possessions, leisure, pride, selfishness, and every lust of the flesh.  Is it God’s will to grant men these things?  May it never be!  But many professing Christians not only live as if it is God’s will to grant them these carnal desires, they teach others the same.  How many times have we heard that God wants us to be wealthy, healthy, powerful, prominent, and living life with an abundance of possessions and leisure.  But this gives rise to a very important question, and one that will expose the desires of our hearts this day.  Does a true Christian desire these carnal things above all?  Very simply put, the answer is “no”.  The man or woman who’s delight is in the Lord has been transformed from a heart full of carnal delights to delights in the things that God delights in, and much more than this…a delight in God Himself.  The true Christian delights in truth, selflessness, humility, love, grace, peace, self-control, and mercy.  More than this, we delight, not in what this world offers, but in the incredible knowledge of God Himself.  We delight in His beauty, power, majesty, grace and benignity.  Also, notice that Psalm 37:4 does not promise us that God will gratify all the appetites of our bodies and the whims of our own fleshly desires, God promises to grant us all the desires of the renewed and sanctified heart, and all the cravings of the sanctified soul.  Obedience, surrender, trust and faith.  These are the desires of a Godly man.  When all is said and considered, the most basic desire of the heart of a man or woman who delights in the Lord is to know, love, live for God, to please him and to be pleased in him.  The considerations of the flesh pale in comparison to the joy of the delight we have in our Heavenly Father.  Let us all find our delight in Him and in Him alone this day.  To love what He loves, to serve how Jesus served, and to sacrifice all we have so that we may find rest in His surpassing greatness and glory.  The Lord has promised to provide for the basics for the flesh, so, let us move past those carnal desires and desire to know, love and trust Him more today than we did yesterday.  

Yours in Christ,

Pastor John

 Joel 2:23

 23 Be glad, people of Zion,  rejoice in the Lord your God,

for he has given you the autumn rains because he is faithful.

He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before.

Oh what a blessing it is to know that the Lord is faithful!  To trust in His never-ending care, peace and rest!  What an unassailable promise we have in the refreshing of our hearts, minds and souls by the power of our Almighty God!  Beloved, in this Christian walk we face many days of great turbulence and struggle.  There are times when worry and fear sneak up on us like a thief in the night and threaten to steal away the simple joys of serving our Faithful God.  It seems that we make much of the Lord’s faithfulness in the midst of great struggle and fear.  And rightfully so!  The Lord is faithful in our struggles, of this there is no doubt!  But we must also make much of God’s faithfulness through times of great peace!  Today, let us remember that the Lord is equally faithful to send us times of great peace and joyous rest!  Like the autumn and spring rains refresh, soften, and prepare the earth for times of growth, and rejuvenation, so too does our Precious Lord prepare our hearts and lives to receive this same blessing when we need it most.  Be glad people of God!  Rejoice in the God of your salvation!  His rest is never far off.  He always stands on the ready to give His encouragement and peace to those who need it most, when they need it most.  There is a time for sorrow, a time for mourning and a time for sadness, but my prayer is that it is not this day!  Even if your circumstances are difficult, dire or uncertain, we can still find deep, soaking and refreshing rest in Him.  Remember this day, dear Beloved, to find your refreshment in the faithfulness and care of the Lord.  “Soak” your very soul in His precious Word.  Allow the deep, penetrating rain of the comfort of our Heavenly Father to penetrate your heart as you seek His fellowship in prayer.  Let the showers of gladness fill your mind with the remembrance of the Greatness of our God as you worship the Lord with your lips and with your whole being.  Sing to the Lord all ye people!  Shout to the Lord with gladness and joy!  Today is a day of refreshing!  May a calm, steady, soaking “rain” of gladness fill your life as you rest in Him.

Yours in Christ,

 Pastor John   

John 14:27

²⁷ Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. 

One of the greatest enemies to a thriving Christian faith is fear.  Not a fear of God, but a worldly fear.  The fear Jesus warns us against is a fear that robs us of our peace, comfort, trust, hope, faithfulness, love, joy, patience and even paralyzes us in disobedience.  How many times has fear prevented us from sharing the Gospel, or prevented us from seeking reconciliation?  Maybe fear has caused you to live in isolation from the body, or prevented you from confessing a sin.  Fear can cause us to become irrational, inconsolable, and even cause us to fall into the depths of a terrible depression.  Many people have lived in such fear that they have feebly attempted to control every situation of life.  Constantly fearful of what might happen, or what could happen, they seek to control every outcome, which of course is impossible, which only accelerates their fearfulness.   Ultimately, if we are not careful to keep fear in check, it will eventually rob us of our very security in Jesus Christ.  In short, fear is a terrible companion.  And if you have ever lived in fear, then you know just how terrible of a companion it is.  So, what is the remedy then?  Let us consider Jesus Christ.  When Jesus spoke these words, He was on the eve of His crucifixion and yet, He did not fear.  He didn’t fear man, He did not even fear sorrow, pain, suffering, trouble, or even death.  He stood firm as the storm around Him swelled and eventually swallowed up His very life.  What was Jesus’ secret in such a seemingly hopeless situation?  He understood that His life was not His own.  It belonged to the Father.  No matter, where the Father led Him, He would never lead Him astray.  Jesus would never find Himself in a position of hopelessness and despair, because He was always right where the Lord wanted Him to be.  Dear Christian, the reality of life is that we will never know exactly what lies before us.  There may be illness, death, loss of income, suffering, or many other toils ahead.  However, in spite of all of this, Jesus says something very interesting, “Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”  The scriptures tell us that the Spirit of God within us is a Spirit of power, love, and self-control.  Walking in the Spirit never produces fear.  Jesus says that He has given us a Spirit of peace, and if we find ourselves living in fear it is only because we have allowed fear into our lives.  We have looked upon the situation or circumstance that lay before us and we have surrendered to the enemy of fear, and we have done it willfully.  We must remain strong as to never let fear control us.  Do you want true, lasting peace?  Well, peace begins with this most wonderful and peace producing truth; our lives are not in our own hand, or under our own control.  When we come to terms with this reality, that is when we can finally, and truly live in a lasting peace.  Our lives are in the hands of the Living God!  Our days are in His hands, the circumstances of life are under His watchful care, and His promise is that no matter what may come, He will use all things for our good and for His glory.  What a freeing truth!  I may not know what the future holds, but I know the One who holds it!  And I know that He is faithful, trustworthy, wise, powerful, loving, and good.  Even if our suffering leads to our own death, we know, that even then, we have no fear, because death has lost its power over us.  Even in death we have joy, peace, and life…and it is eternal!  And so, the Christian truly has nothing to fear, except for one thing; the Christian should be very afraid of being afraid. Dear Beloved, today is the day to let go of any fear that has gripped your heart in recent weeks or months.  Do not let your hearts be troubled any longer, do not give in to the temptation of fear, reclaim the spirit of peace by letting go of your feeble attempts to control life.  Let go of your unproductive anxiety and fix your eyes on Jesus Christ.  Even in the midst of uncertainly, trouble, and suffering, the truth is that every day is full of meaning, hope, encouragement, purpose, and joy.  You may not see it, or even understand what God is doing now, but in His time, He will reveal His purpose to you.  And that truth is enough to set our hearts and minds at ease! 

Yours in Christ,

Pastor John                 

Proverbs 17:17

¹⁷ A friend loves at all times,
   and a brother is born for a time of adversity.

If you have ever planted a garden, then you understand that with gardening comes a lot of adversity.  Poor soil, drought, pests, diseases and even too much rain all pose threats to a healthy and productive garden.  And if simply preventing all the catastrophes wasn’t enough, you also have to put in the backbreaking work of tilling, planting, fertilizing, weeding, and watering.  And yet, as any gardener will tell you,  all of that work is worth it during the harvest!  Dear Friends! friendships are very similar to gardenening in many respects.  They take a lot of work, and there are many calamities that seek to destroy friendships along the way.  But if we put in the work, then the reward of true friendship lasts a lifetime.  The Word of God is full of so many profound truths and such marvelous mysteries that I think at times, we overlook some of the more “simple” and practical things.  There may be no more practical and usable advice concerning relationships in the bible than the biblical teaching concerning friendships.  Why?  Because even if you don’t have a spouse, children, or close relatives, we all have friends, and everyone of us is also a friend to someone else.  God honoring friendships are foundational to a healthy, thriving local Church, as well as vital to a healthy and thriving life.  This week, as I have been studying the scriptures, I once again came across Proverbs 17:17, and I said to myself, “Am I the friend the Lord has called me to be?”  How about you?  Let’s look together.  First, a friend will love at all times, both in good and bad.  But how does that play out in everyday life?  Well, it’s simple, the Lord literally tells us that deep friendship are for times of adversity.  God gives us friends primarily for when things go bad.  Meaning, anyone can be a friend when things go exactly how they want them to go, but a true brother or sister in Christ will prove themselves true during times of the deepest struggle and adversity.  They will stick it out through thick and thin.  Stand with their friend, not abandon.  Solomon has a lot to say about friendship.  As the king of Israel, he saw all sorts of people come and go from his life.  Many people were friendly to him to gain an advantage, many people just wanted to be close to the king.  There were probably dozens of motives people had to be friends with Solomon, and yet he observed throughout the years of his life that during times of great adversity, struggle and failure is when friends proved to be true or not.   

Proverbs 18:24

One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin,
    but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

When times of difficulty arise in our lives, having friends that will stick with us through thick and thin is literally a matter of ruin or flourishing in our lives.  Friends that are willing to stick by at all times can literally make the difference between prosperity or failure.  Elijah had Elisha, Jeremiah had Baruch, David had Jonathan, Paul had Luke, Timothy, Silas and Barnabas and Moses had Joshua.  The list could go on.  The bible speaks much of true friendship and the power of true friendships to overcome even the greatest adversity.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

⁹ Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. ¹⁰ For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up.

I do not know if you either have a friend like this or if you are a friend like this to anyone in your life.  If not, then I pray that God will bring you someone whom you can trust in this way, and that they can trust you in this way too.  And that God will prick your heart to lead you to learn how to love in this way if you currently do not know how.  We live in a culture that is so superficial and that has affected how we befriend others.  I think often times we would rather keep people at arm’s length and let our friendship only develop skin deep.  A type of friendship that is nothing more than a “smile and nod” while never getting close enough to offend or to be offended.  But the word of God says this…     

Proverbs 27:5-6

⁵ Better is open rebuke
Than love that is concealed.
⁶ Faithful are the wounds of a friend,
But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.

God says that a true friend will openly rebuke at times, even offend at times, and the good in this is that at least you know the truth of what they are thinking.  And that is better than the superficial friend that only gives kisses and outwardly acts pleasant at all times but behind your back they are deceitful and slanderous.  I know that I would rather have honesty at all times, even if that honesty hurt, than a superficial dishonest “friend.”  Finally, God tells us this…   

Colossians 3:12-14

¹² So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;¹³ bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. ¹⁴ Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.

While we will not be “best” friends with everyone, are we at least willing to hold ourselves to this standard of kindness, compassion, humility, gentleness, and patience as we serve one another in Christian love?  God has called us to unity in Christ!  Let us then stand firm in our unwavering love and support for one another.  Making and keeping friends is hard work, it takes time, effort, forgiveness, encouragement, and most of all, love.  And even with all of this work, like a garden, they take time to grow!  This week is as good a time as any to deliberately continue the work to create lasting friendships!  Blessed is the man who has true friends and is a true friend to others.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor John

“Revelation 11:15

“The kingdom of the world has become
    the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah,
    and he will reign for ever and ever.”

The Lord describes the nature of man as temporary.  Here today, and gone tomorrow.  He is like a breath, chaff in the wind, a flower that withers.  The breath he breathes, the job he works, the money he makes…all temporary.  The times he laughs, cries, eats, drinks, learns, and grows…all temporary.  Even for the greatest of men, no matter how hard he works, what kingdoms he builds, what inventions he creates, both his name and his work will eventually be forgotten by time.  Even for the most important and powerful of men, the most he can hope for is to simply be remembered as a footnote in history.  At the end of his life, King Solomon understood this heart-wrenching fate of man.  He had reached the heights of power, wealth, fame, wisdom, and excess in everything.  What was his conclusion?  Everything is futile!  What purpose is there in accomplishing such great feats if there is no hope for them to last?  If the only thing that a man could hope for was his own legacy then life truly is futile!  If our only hope is for what we build in this life for the here and now, then the comings and goings of life, the waking and sleeping, eating, and drinking, building, and tilling are all pointless.  Life would become a mundane exercise in survival simply for the sake of survival.  Do you ever feel like you’re spinning your wheels?  That each day seems to be a pointless exercise in all of the same tasks you did the day before?  Have you ever asked the question, “What is all of this for?”  Take heart fellow Believer!  The Lord has promised a day to come in which we will live in the eternal glory, power, strength, light and truth of the Lord.  Unlike ours, His kingdom is not temporary, His work is not futile, His power will never wane, His promise will never fade!  And even though each day may seem like an exercise in futility, every moment we spend in service to the Lord will one day be rewarded with an eternal reward!  Jesus Christ will reign forever!  And we, as His children, will reign with Him in the Kingdom to come!  We will not be divine like Him, all powerful like Him, but we will receive the same favor, love, and honor from the Father that Jesus receives!  Though we walk in the valley of despair and climb the mountain of struggle now, we can all rest in the assurance that one day very soon, we will be with the One who will reign forever!  This day, let us all be renewed in our strength and service to Jesus Christ.  The daily “mundane” life and obedience of a faithful saint is never a waste, never futile and never forgotten.  Because the Kingdom to which we belong is the Kingdom of the eternal God.   “To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.”

Yours in Christ,

Pastor John

Matthew 14:22

²² Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side…

Matthew chapter 14 contains one of the most memorable and well-known stories in all of the New Testament.  Peter would do what no mere man had ever done before; walk on water!  Can you imagine the level of faith it would take to follow Jesus out of the boat and step onto the raging, tumultuous sea?  However, this story of faith began with another equally important lesson in faith.  Before Jesus joined the disciples on the stormy sea, He first sent them out into it!  Now, it is possible that the weather was calm and the seas were flat at the beginning of their voyage, but it is also more likely that there were signs of rough seas as they began.  Many of these disciples were fishermen, they spent a lot of time on the water and they knew the telltale signs of ill weather to come.  However, in spite of the threat of a storm, they obeyed their Lord and sailed into the blackness of the night.  Jesus said to them, “go” and they obeyed.  Matthew 14:22 says that Jesus “made” them get into the boat.  There were most likely protests among the disciples, urging Jesus to come with or, urging Jesus to reconsider due to the threat of ill weather.  But nonetheless, Jesus insisted that they go on ahead of Him while He prayed, and to the disciples credit, they obeyed.  Oh, what sobering and yet wonderful lessons there are for us in this simple story of faith!  While it is true that many storms in life arise from our own sin and foolishness, have you considered that there are also storms in life that the Lord knowingly sends us and leads us into?  Like Daniel was sent into the lion’s den, so, often times we are sent into troubled waters and it is exactly where the Lord wants us to be.  Does that truth shake your faith today?  That the Lord would not just allow a storm in your life, but He would actually send you into one?  Do you often protest when the Lord places you in the midst of a storm?  Think of Psalm 23 for a moment, the great Psalm about our heavenly Shepherd.  What does it tell us?  “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death”!  It was the Shepherd who led His flock to that place!  But there is also a very comforting truth contained in the same Psalm; it is also the Shepherd that guides us through those dark places!  I know that many of us have been through some storms this past year in particular.  And it is very important to remember this; that even when we are truly following the Lord, we often find ourselves in the most troubling of storms.  Think of this; the disciples were exactly where Christ had sent them, and yet they were met with an unnerving situation.  They weren’t running from the Lord as Jonah was and then the Lord had to send a storm because of his disobedience.  No, they were going exactly where they were told to go.  It is no new thing for Christ’s disciples to meet with storms in the way of their faithful duty, and to be sent to sea even when their Master foresees a storm!  My prayer is that we do not become discouraged during those storms in our lives that seem to arise even when we are faithfully and dutifully obeying the Lord.  Difficulty in life is never a time to lose heart and fall back, but rather to exercise faith and press on!  Notice that this is exactly what the disciples did!  The scriptures do not say that they were discouraged because of the storm and so they turned back, no, they were tossed here and there by the waves and yet they continued to go on.  Were they fearful? Yes.  Where they  a little confused?  Absolutely!  But they never abandoned ship.  By faithful obedience to Christ and through faith in Him, they followed His commands and continued on.  Ever pressing forward in the midst of trying circumstances.  The disciples knew they were exactly where the Lord wanted them and so they were confident in that path.  As hard as it was, as discouraging as it was in the moment, they knew their faith was well placed.  They made their way forward the best they could.  Brothers and sisters, though troubles and difficulties may disturb us in our duty, they must not drive us from them!  As waves crash and winds swirl in our lives, as Christians we must learn to press into Christ, not flee His care.  If you think following Christ through the storm is hard, just wait until you follow your own path through the storm!  That is folly.  This Christian life is not easy, but then again, it was never promised to be.  In this world we will have troubles, but Jesus has overcome them all!  How are you fairing during the storms in life?  Do you keep your faith in the Lord and remain faithful?  Or do you turn your focus to the storm and begin to sink?  The disciples kept the course.  They had a task and they were going to see it through.  It was in this condition of faith in the midst of the storm that Jesus approached them and at their moment of greatest need brought the rescue and help to their seemingly dire situation.  Let us always press forward until our Help arrives.  He is never late, and we are never far from His care and watchful eye.

 Yours in Christ,

Pastor John