"Refuge"
 
Psalm 142:8 "For my eyes are toward You, O GOD, the Lord; in You l take refuge; do not leave me defenseless."

When tragedy or calamity strikes we often feel as though our whole world is being swept away. No matter how secure we may feel for eternity, when right here, right now starts coming undone at the seams, or reeling seemingly out of control, it can take all our faith to just turn our eyes toward the Lord.

To seek Him when the water is rising, or the clock is running out is a challenge. We must turn toward Him and to Him. There is no better place to turn. "He is our refuge and strength and a very present help in trouble." (Psalm 46:1) Verse 3 of Psalm 46 says, "Though the waters roar and foam"... No matter what, turn to Him. He is there. He is our refuge and safe place. He will defend us and be with us, no matter what. He will see us through it, one way or the other.

Turn your eyes, your heart, and your thoughts toward Him. Lord, I pray you will be the refuge for those facing tragedy and calamity. We need you. Thank you for being there with each one who turns their eyes toward you. We call out to you and trust you, God.

In Jesus Name,
Pastor Fred

"In The Morning" 

It is good to give thanks to the LORD, And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, And Your faithfulness every night, (Psalm 92:1-2)

Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, For in You do I trust; Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, For I lift up my soul to You. (Psalm 143:8)

Every morning when my eyes flutter open, I whisper “good morning Father” and I listen for the ‘still small voice’ of the Lord (1 Kings 19:11-12). I hear Him speak to me and as I lay still upon my bed, “thoughts of Peace and not evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11). The Lord has sought me and he has found me in complete innocence to “Worship Him in Spirit and in Truth”. In that moment of time straining against the thoughts that would rob me of this time of worship, knowing that soon the day will increase and the sounds of the world I live in will demand my attention, I give Him my unconditional adoration and trust. He hears me in the depths of my heart and He hears my thoughts and He hears my words, all to thank Him as best as I can to say I love you Lord Jesus. He requires no long prayers or eloquent words but only an authentic moment, such as when a child looks at you and smiles and holds your hand and trusts you to guide them through the day.

Yes Lord, I will meet you in the morning.

Extravagant Worship,
Greg Metcalf

"Having Peace, Standing in Grace  "
 
Romans 5:1-2 "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God."

These verses are a tremendous doctrinal statement about who we are in Christ and how we get there, and being justified by faith is fundamental to the core of our beliefs. But, two phrases are jumping off the page at me today that is the encouragement that l need to hear right now.

First, "we have peace" or simply put "having peace" is what l need to hear today. Jesus bought my peace. High price, but what a blessing. I have peace. I just need to remember that I do. I also have "this grace in which l stand", or, l am "standing in grace". His grace is sufficient, right? I love to think of myself having peace and standing in grace.

As l consider those truths just now, l realize that l am not only gonna be ok, l am gonna flourish, and when l don't, l am still gonna be ok. Why? Because l have this peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ and l have this grace in which l stand. So l can rejoice in hope of the glory of God. What a promise. The doctrine is good and true, but often l need to hear the words of what l believe. Beautiful words. Having peace, standing in grace. We are gonna be ok.

In Him,
Pastor Fred

 "Where To Set Your Mind"
 
Colossians 3:2 "Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth."

Our minds are wonderful things. Like our tongues that can say both beautiful things and terrible things, our minds can think beautiful and terrible things too. So we must set our thinking on the things above and not on the things here on earth.

Sounds so easy in principle, but in practice, not easy to do. What is above? Obviously Him, eternal things, pure and lovely things, good things, righteous things. What is here on earth? Temporal things, the enemy, stuff, impure and unholy things, bad things, evil things. Both lists could go on and on.

Two key words in this verse. 1. SET..that is a choice and a matter of the will. 2. YOUR.. take responsibility for your own mind and thoughts. So, set your mind again and again with me today. Why? Because a big part of the setting is resetting. Why? Because our default mode is "things on earth". So reset. "Things above". Feel free to set and reset as often as needed. That is grace.

In Him,
Pastor Fred

"One Spirit"
 
Ephesians 2:18 "For through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.

Here, in this verse, Paul is speaking to Jews and Gentiles. In principle, though this truth could be applied to any two groups that differ as long as they both know Christ. This means, like it or not, we are connected to every other believer via the Spirit, no matter how much we disagree. Note that he says "we" and "both". He, Jesus, connects all believers via His Spirit. Since He connects us we don't get to disconnect. His bond is stronger than our opinion, preference, or feelings. This is a stumbling block for the adamant of heart or the divisive.

If we resist this mandate to be connected we can hinder our connection to Him. Is it ok with you that people you dislike, do not prefer, or have feelings about can access God? Can they access Him with you? At the same time? In the same church? You see there is but One faith, One hope, One baptism, One Savior, One Word of God. One Way. So the One gets to make us one in Him. Baptists and Presbyterians, charismatics and evangelicals, pre-tribs and post-tribs, traditionalists and contemporaries. You get the picture. HE can connect you to anyone who shares the same Spirit and the same Father. Children of the Lord, obey your Father. He says we are one and access the same Father via the same Spirit.

In Him with you,
Pastor Fred

"Boastful"
 
Galatians 5:26 "Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another."

Do you love to correct? Or, point out every error, no matter how small? Do you have your verbal "red pencil" out, ready to spell check or grammar judge everyone, every chance you get? Worse yet, are you just waiting for certain people to mess up in any way so you can straighten them out? We all fall prey to this temptation, but some of us love it. This usually comes from feelings of false superiority or even repressed inferiority. Putting people down can make you feel bigger in the moment. Envy is not pretty, neither is boasting. Maybe if we encouraged each other more it would help. Have you been in the awkward position of correcting a corrector? How about out bragging someone? (You know, upstaging someone after they have boasted a little bit too much). Most of these things are pretty childish and immature. So let's build each other up so we don't feel the need to do it for ourselves so often. Be happy for others. Be glad for your own blessings. I think most conflict starts inside and then finds a way out. Let us look within for the source of envy, boasting, and contention.

Time for some reflection.
Pastor Fred

"Right Words" Proverbs 25:11 "Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances." Rich illustration here. I have been told that I sometimes have just the right words in certain circumstances. I also know that I have said the wrong thing at the wrong time a number of times. Probably more times than I know or would want to admit. Words are powerful. They heal and encourage, and divide and destroy. They can be just what is needed or the last thing that should be said. We all know that our words should often be reconsidered before spoken. Always wise to ask the Lord what to say, before we feel convicted to ask if we should not have said them. Apples of gold in settings of silver may refer to a piece of art that was near perfect. Just like perfect words at the right time and place. The loveliness of exquisite art can be beautiful beyond words and the ugliness of hate-speech can be loveless beyond description. Apples of gold or rotten apples. Big difference. Join me in a renewed commitment to speaking wisely, Pastor Fred