John 15:16 - “You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name." - NLT
Have you ever wondered why God would create human beings? He gave human beings the distinct resemblance of Himself when He created us in “His image”. God can be found to be a relational being, and so I believe that God created human beings so that He would not be lonely. His entire character through the Bible can be found as a loving Father, who cares deeply for His children. We just finished with Easter and now we enter into a season of Eastertide that will last until the day of Pentecost. So how do we continue to celebrate Easter? We look for the reason why Jesus died and rose from the grave. My answer would be that God wanted to give us a fruitful life while we are here on earth. So what does that look like? God has called us. He has allowed the Holy Spirit to speak to our hearts and minds so that we will be able to understand Him, hear from Him, and learn more about Him. Jesus came so that we might understand His great for us, and to be known as different because of His saving grace. God chose each of us for a special relationship. One that looks like a healthy plant. He called to us, saved us, and now it is up to us to produce lasting fruit. When we are found to be obeying God, following where He leads us, through the power of the resurrected Jesus, we will begin to understand what it means to produce lasting fruit. Just like a plant, we must endure the storms of life, keep our faith strong, and live a resurrected life. It won’t be easy. It will require us to maintain our relationship with God, even through the most difficult of circumstances. As we stay faithful through our troubles, God can be found to be everything that He has promised us He would be. And when He finds us to be producing that lasting fruit, even in our turmoil, He will provide for us. This month, I pray that we will remember and learn what it means to live a resurrected life! - Pastor Mike
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Exodus 12:14 - “This is a day to remember. Each year, from generation to generation, you must celebrate it as a special festival to the Lord. This is a law for all time.” - NLT
We are getting close to the end of what is known as Eastertide. It would be the forty days after Easter Sunday in which we are to remember the risen Jesus and what it all means for our lives. This culminates on Pentecost Sunday in which we are reminded of the Holy Spirit and how the “helper”, the “advocate”, the very Spirit of God came to the disciples. What does it mean for us to have that power of the Holy Spirit with us? Do we even understand that the Holy Spirit is God and He is always with us? When we are reminded of this great gift of God, we can come to know what it is He is asking of us, what it is that He is desiring us to do, and where He is wanting us to go. Moses was in a similar position but did not have the Holy Spirit. Moses had the active presence of God with him, and he struggled through. God desired for the people of Israel to never forget what it was that He saved them from. In Exodus we see God desiring that the people He saved never forget Him and what He did in saving them. This is why we have things we call traditions, sacraments, anything that reminds us of the great redemptive work of God. This month we are going to look at who we are, what God desires of us, and what is important to Him. We are going to look at the importance of the sacraments and remembering God and what He has done with our lives. We are going to look at the power of prayer, and the way in which the Holy Spirit is a gift that can empower us to handle any circumstance that we might face on this earth! My prayer is that we will all grow deeper in knowledge, but even more deeper in faith and belief. I pray that we would become a people that never want to forget the goodness of God. I pray that we become a people that would engage with Him, so that we can be more like Jesus and shine the grace of God into a world that so desperately needs to see Him! - Pastor Mike |
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November 2024
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