BLESSED IS THE NATION WHOSE GOD IS THE LORD!

FRANKLY SPEAKING,

11 THE COUNSEL OF THE LORD STANDS FOREVER, THE PLANS OF HIS HEART TO ALL GENERATIONS. 12 BLESSED IS THE NATION WHOSE GOD IS THE LORD, THE PEOPLE HE HAS CHOSEN AS HIS OWN INHERITANCE.

13 THE LORD LOOKS FROM HEAVEN; HE SEES ALL THE SONS OF MEN. ~ Psalm 33:11-13 NKJV

“BLESSED IS THE NATION WHOSE GOD IS THE LORD!”  ~ How do we know if a nation belongs to the LORD? What exactly does a “nation” look like whose “GOD IS THE LORD?” Does it only matter if the president claims to be a GOD -fearing CHRIST-follower? What about congress, the senate, supreme court judges, governors, and mayors? After all, our money still says, “In GOD we trust,” right? Maybe… it’s the journalists who report the news? Or, could it be the entertainment industry that sets our moral standard? I doubt it…

We might say, “It’s ‘the nation’ which is ‘the people.’” I agree, but how many people must believe in GOD and live for HIM?  Is it a vote that needs 51% to win the election? Let’s consider the exclusive statements of our LORD JESUS CHRIST: HE said, “I am the only way…” (John 14:6a) 

9 that if you confess with your mouth the LORD JESUS and believe in your heart that GOD has raised HIM from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ~ Romans 10:9-10

I am confident that the GOD who wants “all to come to repentance…” (II Peter 3:9b) has a different standard. HE searches one heart at a time! That’s why each of us must choose to make OUR “HEARTS CHRIST’S HOME.” Thus, we begin the study today leading one heart at a time to surrender, confess, and follow JESUS by giving HIM every area of our lives: one room at a time. HE’S at the door… will you respond? 😊

Living in THE SHADOW of the CROSS

Blessings in CHRIST

Pastor Wes

I Peter 3:15

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

FRANKLY SPEAKING,

4 “Listen, O Israel! THE LORD is our GOD, THE LORD alone. 5 And you must love THE LORD your GOD with all your HEART, all your SOUL, and all your STRENGTH. 6 And you must commit yourselves WHOLEHEARTEDLY to these COMMANDS that I am giving you today.

7 Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.                                                 Deuteronomy 6:4-7

THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY! ~ LOVE & OBEDIENCE!  I remember a time when people would start a job early in life, and they remained with the company for a lifetime. Our dear friend Caroline greeted people at Red Lobster for over 40 years. WOW! She was enduringly faithful!

It’s easy to be faithful when you remember your LOVE and your passion for someone or something. That’s why the BIBLE repeats the statement to LOVE the LORD your GOD with all your HEART.  When we have your HEART; we have the very best of you! Right?  Broken hearts are often marks of lost LOVE!

Our minds play tricks on us all the time. We wonder if someone is really a friend, or if they are really who they say they are. Your MIND is the battleground of future decisions. What you think is true determines many of your actions and choices. This is why the BIBLE tells us to LOVE THE LORD GOD with all your MIND! GOD knows our enemy is trying to deceive you!

We often lose perspective when we focus only on ourselves today. There is an eternity awaiting each of us. The decisions we make affect that eternity. That’s why GOD wants us to love HIM with all of our SOUL for alleternity.

Finally, we should love with all that we have. We LOVE with our health, our finances, and our possessions every day. GOD wants each of us to love HIM with all of our STRENGTH. No holding back or holding out! EVERYTHING! {Including our computers, cell phones, tablets, and Social Media posts! 🙂 }

GOD gives each of us the perfect prescription to help us in all of these arenas: REPEAT! When we keep practicing the same thing perfectly, we get better with practice! Let’s practice LOVING GOD and LOVING others! 😊

Living in the Shadow of the Cross

Blessings in CHRIST

Pastor Wes

I Peter 3:15