THE BIRTHPLACE OF A TESTIMONY

Today’s Bible readings are Job 16:1-19:29, 1 Corinthians 16:1-24, Psalm 40:1-10, & Proverbs 22:1

Psalm 40:5

⁵ O Lord my God, you have performed many wonders for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. You have no equal. If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them.

What is going on in your life right now? Are things tough? Are things difficult? Have you been struggling for months now? If this sounds like you, I want to encourage you today to rethink things. In the midst of your struggle there are still many things to praise the Lord about.

1.      God can deliver you from any of your problems.

I know that this may sound crazy but it is an encouraging thing to know that no matter how bad things get, we have an advocate who can set us free from every danger.

1)      If you are sick, He heals.

2)      If you are depressed, He gives joy for sorrow.

3)      If you are in need, He can supply.

4)      If your relationships are failing, He can restore.

This gives us hope no matter what we face because since God can deliver we can find relief. All we have to do is turn to Him. He is willing & able deliver us from all of our struggles.

                              2. God will help anyone who turns to Him.

This is great news because no matter how far you have fallen it is never too far for God to reach out & save you. He is not interested in your past record, only the current condition of your heart. Maybe you have failed many times, that doesn’t mean God won’t help you. Maybe you have made promises before that you have broken; that isn’t going to keep God from helping you if you are sincere now. He will save ANY & ALL who call on His name.

                              3. God is always available.

No matter where you are, no matter what time of day, GOD IS ABLE TO COME THROUGH FOR YOU! Don’t wait another minute cry out to Jesus. There is no need to suffer any longer Jesus will take you now. You have hurt long enough. It is time for your hurt to collide with the Great Healer. When the hurt & the Healer collide a testimony is birthed.

Pastor Richard Schlotter

NO MORE SLIPPERY SLOPES

 

Today’s Bible readings are Job 4:1-7:21, 1 Corinthians 14:18-40, Psalm 37:30-40, & Proverbs 21:27

Psalm 37:30-31

³⁰ The godly offer good counsel; they teach right from wrong. ³¹ They have made God’s law their own, so they will never slip from his path.

In a day in which there are so many things that we can’t be certain about, God offers us a beautiful promise in His Word. He promises us a way that will ensure that we never slip from His path. Think about that for a moment; to know that there is a way to make sure that we always stay in God’s will & on God’s path? That is an awesome thought.

Remember it is in His path that we find:

1.      Purpose

2.      Blessing

3.      Protection

4.      Joy

5.      Peace

6.      Hope

7.      Strength

These are things that we need on a regular basis. These are all things that we can have in abundance & without end if we stay connect to God. They are things that we can have if we stay on His path.

So what is the way that ensures we never leave His path? What is required to keep us safely moving on the path He has laid?

 

Making God’s law our own.

When we chose to make the law of God the guiding force in our lives we will always be safe on His path. His Word & His Spirit are always in agreement. They both, also, always agree with Him! One will always lead us to the other. They work together for the same purpose—KEEPING US ON GOD’S PATH!

Make it your aim to continue to learn God’s Word. Make it your aim to continue to meditate on it. Fill your mind & heart with God’s Word. It is life to those who find it. It is a light unto thy path!

Pastor Richard Schlotter

DOES THE MENTION OF YOUR NAME SILENCE THE ENEMY?

Today’s Bible readings are Job 1:1-3:26, 1 Corinthians 14:1-17, Psalm 37:12-29, & Proverbs 21:25-26

Job 2:1-3

One day the members of the heavenly court came again to present themselves before the Lord, and the Accuser, Satan, came with them. ² “Where have you come from?” the Lord asked Satan.

Satan answered the Lord, “I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that’s going on.”

³ Then the Lord asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil. And he has maintained his integrity, even though you urged me to harm him without cause.”

When we read the story of Job we often have thoughts like: “I hope I never have to go through anything like that.” Sometimes we may even think, “That guy really got a raw deal.” Many times we fail to recognize the positive things that are revealed in the story. We all know that it ends well for Job, but even in the beginning of the story we see some very honorable things to mention.

I want to discuss a point today that I think would do us all well to consider. In the beginning of the story we see satan accusing man before God. He was probably saying things like:

1.     People are failures.

2.     People hate good & love evil.

3.     Your creation is a messed up deal.

4.     Man is not worth saving.

This is the nature of satan. He always tries to magnify his half-truths to a place where they distort the truth. Yet notice what God said in reply to his accusations against man:

³ Then the Lord asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil. And he has maintained his integrity, even though you urged me to harm him without cause.”

God had taken notice of Job. God had seen his heart. God knew of his integrity. God knew that he was a man of character. I am sure that there were days when Job wondered if his choices to obey in the small things were even noticed, yet he maintained integrity in all that he did.

Imagine all the times that he did right when nobody was looking. Imagine all the times that he could have done things different & gotten away with it, yet each time he chose to walk upright & in integrity.

I want you to know that God never misses anything. He sees everything that we do. It may seem like nobody takes notice of your hard work & faithfulness BUT THAT IS JUST PLAIN NOT TRUE. God sees & remembers!!!

In all the accusations that satan brought, God silenced them with the mention of one man—JOB. God had great confidence in this one man because God had noticed the pattern of his lifestyle. Job had made the right decisions before. God knew he would make them again.

To me, I have to say, it must have been an honor to Job, in the end, to know that God thought so highly of him. It challenges me in my faith to maintain integrity at a high level so that God will have confidence in me as well. When the enemy speaks evil against God’s people I want the mention of my name to silence Him. It is my desire that when Christians are being persecuted that someone might say, “Well what about Richard? He walks the walk. He lives what he believes.”

I know that this is your aim also. That is why it is so important for us to make sure of actions line up with our message. Remember that faith without works is dead. So let your faith be demonstrated through your actions so the mention of your name silences the enemy.

 

Pastor Richard Schlotter

THE GREATEST OF ALL

                                                                                                           

Today’s Bible readings are Esther 8:1-10:3, 1 Corinthians 12:27-13:13, Psalm 37:1-11, & Proverbs 21:23-24

1 Corinthians 12:29-31

²⁹ Are we all apostles? Are we all prophets? Are we all teachers? Do we all have the power to do miracles? ³⁰ Do we all have the gift of healing? Do we all have the ability to speak in unknown languages? Do we all have the ability to interpret unknown languages? Of course not! ³¹ So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts.

But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all.

We, as people, often desire the things that we see as the most important to be part of our lives. We desire things like:

1.     A nice house

2.     A good job

3.     A perfect spouse

4.     Money in the bank

5.     Influence with people

When it comes to spiritual gifts, we have some of the same mind sets. We tend to desire & covet the gifts that we see as being the most powerful, or most glorious. We all have our own ideas of the gifts that we think are the best. For some, it would be the gift of healing. For others, it would be working of miracles. I know for me, I have often sought after the power gifts; gift of healing, gift of faith, working of miracles.

God knows our tendencies to gravitate toward the gifts that we view as the most spectacular. He understands how we are as humans. We can get so focused on pursuing a certain spiritual gift that we fail to walk in the most excellent way of all.

I want to take a moment to clarify what I’m saying. First, it is not wrong, or sinful, for you to desire, & even pursue, spiritual gifts. We are told to pursue spiritual gifts.

³¹ So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts.

But what happens to us is that we get so focused on operating in a certain gift that we fail to realize God has so much more to offer than just that particular gift. We can get what I call—tunnel vision. I have seen this happen in churches on a regular basis. For instance, many spirit-filled churches only recognize prophecy if it comes after someone operates in the gift of tongues. They wait in a service for someone to speak in tongues, so that, someone else can prophesy. This is the only way they think it can happen.

I have been in a church like this before. I have even prophesied in a church like this before. The people didn’t receive the word that came forth. It was as if they thought it was just me talking, or sharing a thought. In the same church, after the gift of tongues was in manifestation, I would give the interpretation; which is equal to prophesying; & everybody applaud & connect with God in reverence & holy fear.  Why does this happen?

Well, really for 2 reasons—IGNORANCE & ABUSE. People have never been taught full & accurate teaching on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The second reason is because certain things have been abused & misused. They have been over-emphasized while other gifts have been under-emphasized.

God is speaking to us in today’s passage about the danger in making these mistakes. In our pursuit for spiritual gifts we are exhorted to ALWAYS PURSUE FIRST THE MOST EXCELLENT WAY. What is the most excellent way?

1 Corinthians 13:1-7, 13

If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. ³ If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

⁴ Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud ⁵ or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. ⁶ It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. ⁷ Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

¹³ Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

Of all the spiritual gifts that the Holy Spirit makes available, the greatest is the love of God that He sheds abroad in our hearts when we make Jesus the Lord of our lives.

It is that love that we need more than anything else. It is that love that the world is supposed to recognize us by, not the power gifts, the utterance gifts, or the revelation gifts. Jesus said the world will know you are my disciples BY YOUR LOVE!!!

Love is the first thing to be neglected in our pursuit for spiritual gifts. Yet, love is the catalyst that makes them all work in effectiveness & power. Love holds them all together. Love keeps us from misusing them. Love compels us to extend them to others. Love makes them complete.

I, like Paul, encourage you to earnestly desire spiritual gifts. But never forget that the greatest gift is the gift of love. It is the one gift that ALL of us should aim to operate in at ALL times. To Christ be the glory for now & forever more!!!

Pastor Richard Schlotter