A Shepherd's Musings

God is Patient

2011-12-26T17:05:00.000-07:00

God is Patient!

“God Is” Devotional # 35

In the last devotional we meditated on the forbearance of God. Now, we will consider a paralleling attribute—His Patience! While forbearance refers primarily to God’s withholding of righteous wrath and judgment, God’s patience includes the attitude He keeps and the work He does while restraining His judgment.

The Apostle Peter encourages believers to “count the patience of our Lord as salvation” (1 Peter 3:16). Noah Webster lists one of the connotations of patience as “perseverance; constancy in labor or exertion.” God in patient perseverance and loving consistency has been working His plan to redeem mankind and justly deliver repentant individuals from the consequences of sin. Therefore, God’s patience with us includes His plan of salvation for us by sending His Son into this world to complete His redemptive work on the cross. Jesus was born to die upon Calvary! All this reveals God’s persevering patience with us.
While sharing his own salvation testimony, Paul clearly says that in Jesus Christ we see the perfection of patience:

The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life (1 Timothy 1:15-16).

How did Christ show His “perfect patience” toward Paul as an example to us who would believe in Christ for “eternal life”?   To answer this we must consider another connotation of the word patience: “the suffering of afflictions, pain, toil, calamity, provocation or other evil, with a calm, unruffled temper; endurance without murmuring or fretfulness.”   Certainly, Jesus demonstrated this kind of patience in the events that lead to the cross and in the very act of hanging on the cross in agonizing death. However, the context of 1 Timothy 1:15-17 does not seem to point to Christ’s patient suffering on the cross. Then to what does it point? It must point to Christ’s patience with Paul when he persecuted His followers, even to death! Jesus taught that how people treat His followers, those who bear His name, is in reality how they are treating Him (Matthew 25:31-46). When Paul consented to the death of Steven (Acts 8:1) he was in reality persecuting Christ. Furthermore, by the grace and power of Christ, Steven patiently suffered as a testimony to His Savior, Jesus Christ who patiently suffered with Him in suffering. It was after this that Jesus appeared to Paul on the Damascus road and displayed His patience with Paul as a testimony to all that there is forgiveness in Christ when we turn from our sin to Christ in repentance—a change of mind and heart about who we are and who Christ really is (Acts 9). Paul called Him Lord and obeyed the instructions that were given to him. Jesus Christ had been perfectly patient with him, when he did not deserve it. What an example to us!

We have also sinned against God. I shamefully remember ridiculing Christians before I came to Christ in humility. If God could forgive Paul, He can also forgive me in Jesus Christ. How about you? Have you felt that your sins are so bad that God would certainly never forgive you? Then find comfort in Christ’s perfect example of patience with Paul. God is not a respecter of persons and will certainly be patient with you as well. God is love! Out of His Love comes patience! I Corinthians 13:4 says, “Love is patient”.

Will you worship the Lord with me today and praise Him for His patience and then go the next step and pray for His grace to be patient with others as you wait for His coming? James 5:7 says, “Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord.” Romans 12:12, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”

With Prayer, Mark |

© December, 2011 Scripture quoted: ESV – Emphasis added

Verses for our meditation: God Is Patient!

Romans 2:2-5, We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. Do you suppose, O man–you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself–that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

1 Timothy 1:15-17, The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

1 Corinthians 13:4, Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant

1 Peter 3:18-20, For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.
2 Peter 3:4-9, They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

2 Peter 3:13-15a, But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. And count the patience of our Lord as salvation.

James 5:7-11, Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

Romans 12:10-21, Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Lastest "Knowing God" Devotionals

2011-12-26T16:55:00.000-07:00

What a blessing to write for the Glory of God!

Devotional 34: God is Forbearing!

Devotional 35: God is Patient!

Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year in Christ!

With prayer. Pastor Mark

Thankful for all God has taught me this year!

2011-11-27T06:04:00.000-07:00

Knowing God Devotionals!

My goal this year has been to write a devotional a week. Well, I have not reached my goal but have studied and written more than if I had not had such a goal. My revised goal is to keep writing on the theme of “God Is,” as revealed in the Holy Scriptures, until I have a devotional for each week of the year – 52.

The Lord encouraged me this morning in my Bible reading from this powerful passage:

1 Peter 4:10-11, As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies–in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Knowing God Devotionals on the Theme: God Is!

Devotional 1: Seeking Idols or God in 2011

Devotional 2: God Is!

Devotional 3: God is Light!

Devotional 4: God Is Beyond Us!

Devotional 5: God Is Knowable!

Devotional 6: God Is Near!

Devotional 7: God Is Merciful!

Devotional 8: God Is Holy!

Devotional 9: God Is Perfect in Justice!

Devotional 10: God is Righteous!

Devotional 11: God is Judge!

Devotional 12: God Is The Lawgiver!

Devotional 13: God Is King!

Devotional 14: God Is Sovereign!

Devotional 15: God is Good!

Devotional 16: God is Faithful!

Devotional 17: God Is True – part 1

Devotional 18: God is True – part 2

Devotional 19: God is Wise!

Devotional 20: God is Powerful!

Devotional 21: God is Spirit!

Devotional 22: God Is our Father!

Devotional 23: God is our Shield! I Know!

Devotional 24: God is Witness!

Devotional 25: God Is Unchanging!

Devotional 26: God is One!

Devotional 27: God is Eternal!

Devotional 28: God Is the Giver of Life!

Devotional 29: God is the Creator!

Devotional 30: God is our Guide!

Devotional 31: God is Our Shepherd

Devotional 32: God is Jealous

Devotional 33: God is Angry!

Courageous!

2011-10-04T06:38:00.000-06:00

It does take courage to do things God’s way. It takes courage to follow God’s instruction on being a parent. After viewing the new movie “Courageous”, Pastor Don and I concluded that we should encourage all to see this film about fathers assuming their God given responsibilities in parenting.

The following testimony is how God worked in my heart to become a better father:

While I was growing up, one of my favorite past-times was getting under-my-sister’s-skin. In other words I liked provoking her to anger. Even after trusting Christ at the age of 18, I still fell to this temptation but now felt convicted for my unkindness to the point that I would even ask her forgiveness. It is amazing how knowing Christ as Savior begins to change us and better our relationships within our families!

Nearly 10 years later when I became a father, it revealed that I still enjoyed irritating people, though I was unaware that I was doing anything wrong. This time it was my new baby daughter of just a few weeks old. Well, we had this new camera that had this automatic rewind and rapid picture taking capability, so I snapped a picture of our little one who was sleeping so sweetly in her car seat. Nothing wrong with that! But the flash kind of disturbed her rest, and she had a little frown upon her face. So I snapped another picture, the bright flash glaring into her little face. She became a little irritated now, and I was so amused by her reaction that I snapped another one, and another one, and another one–until my baby daughter was wailing in helpless frustration. She was crying and I was laughing. I was laughing at the frustration that I had the power to arouse in another person. I was laughing at the expense of someone for whom I was supposed to protect and tenderly care. It was so easy to do—so fun—so wrong!

I continued to provoke—I called it teasing my daughter. I did not really begin to change until about 6 years later when my wife encouraged me to find out what the Bible teaches about parenting. At that time I was floundering as a father, had been abdicating my responsibilities, and desperately needed help. The Bible had the wisdom and instruction I needed to be the father that God wanted me to be. Two of the scriptures that particularly grabbed my attention were Ephesians 6:4 “And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord,” and Colossians 3:21, “Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.”

I was deeply convicted of my unkindness in provoking my daughter to anger by those clear scriptural commands! What a contrast to the nurturing father God wanted me to be! By following the parenting practices of my ancestors, I was unwittingly discouraging my daughter. I was neglecting to build a relationship based upon loving respect. With God’s help I began to overcome the pleasure of provoking my daughter and instead began to lovingly train and correct her. I turned back from a path that had been leading me to ruin and began traveling a path that has brought me tremendous joy. God’s way made all the difference.

May God grant us fathers the grace to resist the temptations to provoke our children to wrath and give us the wisdom to train them for the Lord.

With Prayer, Pastor Mark

Note: The Bible study that changed my life in the area of parenting is available on my blog by clicking here. Please let me know if it has helped you. I would love to hear specific examples of how God has helped you through the Word of God to be a better parent.

God is our Guide!

2011-09-05T12:53:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite quotations from the Old Testament is from Abraham’s servant when he had returned to Abraham’s homeland to take a wife for Isaac. After experiencing God’s guidance in answer to prayer he said, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the LORD has led me in the way to the house of my master’s kinsmen” (Genesis 24:27). Can you look back in your life and see how God has led you “in the way”? You might want to list them out on a piece of paper or a journal. After making your list, praise and bless God for His guidance that Abraham’s servant attributed to God’s “steadfast love” and “faithfulness”! God certainly leads us in His love and faithfulness for He is a good guide.

One situation that I would have to put on my list of times in which God led me in the way would be when we followed the Lord’s direction in joining a certain mission board to go to Brazil as missionaries. We had just finished their required seminar classes in Ohio and needed to travel back across the country to Washington to start deputation in the Western states. We only had $150.00. We prayed for God’s guidance and provision for the trip. God led us to look up a friend in Minnesota, whose father offered me a temporary job on the spot. He needed someone to be the hands for his plumber who had just broken three fingers. So, I learned how to clean drains and sewer pipes, a skill which God would use in Brazil as I maintained mission property. God’s leading also opened up a door to witness to the plumber for three weeks. Having had opportunity to serve others, we were back on the road and heading west. On a Sunday we came to a small town in eastern Montana that bears my family name—Worden. God directed our timing to have arrived about the time that evening church services would be starting. We found a church with open doors and sensed God’s peace about attending. We met and had great fellowship with the pastor and congregation. Without any solicitation, the pastor took up a love offering after the service to help us on the way. I give God thanks and praise for He provided for us and led us while we were in the way.

God’s guidance may not always be so obvious. However, He is always directing those who trust Him and look to Him even in the mundane routines of daily life. God leads us daily by giving us wisdom and truth. He even gives His Spirit to believers to guide them into all truth as Jesus told His disciples, saying, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come” (John 16:13). We still have the truth that the Spirit of God revealed through the Prophets and Apostles in the Word of God which is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105). God guides us through His Word.
Many of the Psalms contain examples of how to call upon God for guidance and praise Him for this gift:

Psalm 5:8, Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me.

Psalm 25:5, Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.

In a previous devotion—God is Eternal, I listed out God’s eternal gifts. Well, we need to add one more. Psalm 48:12-14 indicates that God’s guidance is eternal, “Walk about Zion, go around her, number her towers, consider well her ramparts, go through her citadels, that you may tell the next generation that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever.”

Will you wait for God’s guidance as you are in the way? He will surely guide you if you call upon Him and seek truth and wisdom from His Word—the Bible.

With Prayer, Mark

© September, 2011 Scripture quoted: ESV – Emphasis added

Verses for our meditation: God Is Guide

Exodus 13:21, And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.

Psalm 5:8, Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me.

Psalm 25:5, Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.

Psalm 27:11-14, Teach me your way, O LORD, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies. Give me not up to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me, and they breathe out violence. I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living! Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!

Psalm 31:3-4, For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me; you take me out of the net they have hidden for me, for you are my refuge.

Psalm 37:23-24, The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand. KJV

Psalm 43:3-5, Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling! Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God. Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.

Psalm 48:12-14, Walk about Zion, go around her, number her towers, consider well her ramparts, go through her citadels, that you may tell the next generation that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever.

Psalm 73:24-25, You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

John 16:13, When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

James 1:2-8, Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

God is the Creator!

2011-08-29T15:26:00.000-06:00

A Shepherd’s Musings Devotional – Week 34-35 – God is . . .

In our last devotional we focused on the truth that God is the giver of life. Let’s broaden our perspective and consider that God is also the Creator of everything! The first verse of the Bible, Genesis 1:1, states this as fact, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” In thinking of God the Creator let’s consider two questions: what does this reveal about Him and how should this truth affect us?

1. God alone is sovereign over our lives; therefore, He is worthy of our respectful fear. He determines when we are born and when we die. We should acknowledge and take comfort in His powerful sovereignty over life. A person’s birth and death is no accident with God! Psalm 104:29-31 says, “When you [God] take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. When you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground. May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in his works.” Furthermore, the “Time Poem” of Ecclesiastes explicitly states that there is a “time to be born and a time to die.” Then the writer draws an appropriate conclusion and application in Ecclesiastes 3:14, “I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him.” Do you have a healthy fear of God your Creator? Jesus explained it this way, “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him” (Luke 12:4-5)!

2. God is supremely wise in all He does; therefore, He is worthy of our trust: A healthy view that God is our sovereign and wise Creator helps us to trust Him. This is true especially when we don’t understand the trials and difficulties of life that He purposefully designs for our good. This is what God through the prophet Jeremiah beautifully portrays by analogy for the children of Israel, “The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: ‘Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.’ So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. Then the word of the LORD came to me: ‘O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? Declares the LORD. Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel’” (Jeremiah 18:1-6). The Apostle Peter encourages followers of Christ with these words, “Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good” (1 Peter 4:19). Is there a difficulty or trial in your life in which you need to trust your faithful Creator? He deserves your trust.

3. God is gloriously powerful; therefore, He is worthy of our worship! Revelation 4:11 says, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
Sometimes we may be tempted to question God because of the circumstances of life, but as we wait upon Him in fear, trust and worship, He will surely help! Isaiah’s words are a challenging comfort, “Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, ‘My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God’ Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:27-31).

With Prayer, Mark

© August, 2011 Scripture quoted: ESV – Emphasis added

Verses for our meditation: God Is the Creator

Hebrews 11:3, By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

Psalm 33:6, By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.

Psalm 102:18, Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD:

Isaiah 42:5, Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it:

Isaiah 40:28, Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.

Isaiah 43:1, But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.

Isaiah 45:8, “Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit; let the earth cause them both to sprout; I the LORD have created it. Isaiah 45:12, I made the earth and created man on it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host. Isaiah 45:18, For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!): “I am the LORD, and there is no other.

Mark 13:19, For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be.

Colossians 1:15-17, He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Romans 1:25, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

1 Peter 4:19, Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

John 1:1-3, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Hebrews 11:2-3, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

Revelation 4:11, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

God Is the Giver of Life!

2011-08-16T14:32:00.000-06:00

In the creation account of Genesis, God is the giver of life. Genesis 2:7 says, “Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” Life is a gift from God, for God gives life! How interesting that people have the audacity to deny the existence of the very person who gives them their next breath! I can not speak for others but I know the reason I did so was because I strongly desired to be in control of my life. I didn’t want God messing with it. The irony in my former thinking is that the very life I did not want God messing with was in reality a gift from Him. Various Scriptures, such as Romans 3, teach that mankind is born with a rebellious heart toward His Creator. However, the desire or our Life-giver is to reconcile us to Himself. This is clear in many passages throughout the Bible. One of my favorites is from Paul’s messages to the intellectuals in Athens from Acts 17:24-28:

The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’

Human life is still a gift from God. We are still made in His image, although that image has been marred by the fall of the first man (Adam) into sin (Genesis 3). Albeit, we still should be in awe of the gift of life. My daughter recently gave birth to her third child, a precious little girl named Cecilia Lyn, who caused some to marvel at the gift of life. Even the doctor said, “How can anyone not believe in God after witnessing the birth of a child?” Each newborn I hold causes me to give thanks to the Giver of life and wonder about this powerful God who desires for us to seek Him and know Him. This adventure of learning to know God begins with faith, a believing trust in a Creator God. Hebrews 11:3 says, “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.” And then Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”
Are you believing in Him and seeking Him as you should? Remember that “In Him we live and move and have our being.” I encourage you to spend some time meditating on the following verses for your consideration about the Bible’s teaching that God is the giver of life and the giver of eternal life!

With Prayer, Mark

© August, 2011 Scripture quoted: ESV – Emphasis added

Verses for your meditation: God Is the Giver of Life

Deuteronomy 30:19-20, I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”

I Kings 17:21-24, Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the LORD, “O LORD my God, let this child’s life come into him again.” And the LORD listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives.” And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth.”

Job 24:22, Yet God prolongs the life of the mighty by his power; they rise up when they despair of life.

Job 27:8, For what is the hope of the godless when God cuts him off, when God takes away his life?

Job 33:4, The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

Psalm 30:2-3, O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. O LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.

Psalm 42:8, By day the LORD commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.

Psalm 54:4, Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life.

Ecclesiastes 5:18, Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot.
Ecclesiastes 8:15, And I commend joy, for man has no good thing under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun.

Isaiah 38:5, “Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life.

John 6:32-33, Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

1 Timothy 6:13, I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession,

1 John 5:16, If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life–to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that.

Verses for Your Meditation: God is the giver of Eternal Life

John 3:14-21, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

John 5:24, Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

John 6:35-40, Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
John 10:25-30, Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

John 12:23-26, And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
John 17:1-3, When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

John 20:24-31, Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Happy Father's Day, Abba Father.

2011-06-16T11:32:00.002-06:00

Is God your Father or not? Does your heart long to call out to God as your Abba, Father?

This week's Shepherd's Musings Devotional dives into the truth about Christians being adopted into God's family. Can you say

God Is My Father

Click on the above link to find out!

With Prayer, Mark

Updated list of "God Is" devotionals. Blessings to you in Christ!

2011-06-02T13:06:00.000-06:00

2011 Devotionals – God Is!

My goal is to write a devotional once a week on the theme: God Is!
My theme verse for the year is Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. “

Week 1: Seeking Idols or God in 2011

Week 2: God is Light

Week 3: God Is!

Week 4: God Is Beyond Us

Week 5: God Is Knowable

Week 6: God Is Near!

Week 7: God Is Merciful!

Week 8: God Is Holy

Week 9 – God Is Perfect in Justice

Week 10 - God is Righteous!

Week 11: God is Judge

Week 12: God Is The Lawgiver

Week 13: God Is King

Week 14: God Is Sovereign!

Week 15: God is Good!

Week 16: God is Faithful

Week 17: God Is True – part 1

Week 18: God is True – part 2

Week 19-20: God is Wise

Week 21: God is Powerful!

Week 22: God is Spirit!

Weekly Devotionals on the Theme: God Is!

2011-03-04T20:24:00.001-07:00

To save time I have been only posting devotionals on my ministry blog: http://magnifythelord.wordpress.com/

2011 Devotionals – God Is!

My goal is to write a devotional once a week on the theme: God Is!
My theme verse for the year is Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. “

Week 1: Seeking Idols or God in 2011

Week 2: God is Light

Week 3: God Is!

Week 4: God Is Beyond Us

Week 5: God Is Knowable

Week 6: God Is Near!

Week 7: God Is Merciful!

Week 8: God Is Holy

Week 9 – God Is Perfect in Justice

Please feel free to pass these links on to others who would be blessed by them.

With prayer, mark

A Definition of Love for the Whole Year -- not just this Valentine's Day

2011-02-10T04:54:00.000-07:00

This is the passage i turn to when i am not being loving:

I Corinthians 13:4-8a -”Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.8 Charity never faileth.”

For a more detailed study of each description click on the highlighted text:

1. Love is longsuffering – It bears injuries or provocation for a long time; it is patient, not easily provoked – Is there someone you need to continue to be patient with in a loving way?

2. Love is kind – Disposed to do good to others – Is there someone you can show kindness to this week in a loving way?

3. Love does not envy – It desires not to deprive others of what is rightfully theirs, it does not wish that they did not have it or had it to a lesser degree. – Is there someone or something you are envying that is keeping you from being loving?

4. Love is not proud – Is there something that you are proud about that is keeping you from loving God and others?

5. Love is not unseemly – it is not unfit, unbecoming, or indecent. Do you have unloving behavior in your life for which you should receive correction from the Lord, so you can be a more loving person?

6. Love seeketh not her own – Love is not selfish! Are there some selfish thoughts and motives in your heart that are keeping you from loving others?

7. Love is not easily provoked – Is not quick-tempered, touchy, irritable. Have you been irritable with someone today? If so the loving thing to do is to make it right by asking forgiveness.

8. Love thinketh no evil – It does not keep a ledger of the wrongs – it does not store up the memory of any wrong it has received. Do you have a list of someone’s wrongs stored up that you just won’t forgive? If so, do the loving thing and give it to God.

9. Love does not rejoice in iniquity – Love finds no pleasure in the sin of others that brings hardship and judgment into their lives. If you are rejoicing over the downfall of others, repent and pray for God’s mercy to be upon them.
10. Love rejoices in the truth – What truth have you rejoiced in today? Can you think of something true, that you can rejoice about in a loving way with others?

11. Love bears all things – It enduringly protects and covers the beloved in all things. What ever the hardship, difficulty, attack, and trial, the loving person is there to help, not only to back you up but also to be a shield. Are you being a protecting shield in your love for others?

12. Love believeth all things – love is completely trusting, it is not suspicious. Have you failed to give someone the benefit of the doubt lately? The loving thing is to check it out!

13. Love hopeth all things – It does not despair, it keeps on hoping for the best in regard for all men. Love refuses to take failure as final it does not give up on someone. Have you been tempted to give up on someone for whom you care deeply? Love keeps caring!

14. Love endureth all things – Love sustains the assaults of suffering or persecution, in the sense of bearing up under them, and enduring them patiently. Is your love for someone being tested? Let God help you to love them for the long hall.

Conclusion: Love Never Fails

Week 3 Devotional - GOD IS!

2011-01-14T22:16:00.001-07:00

Last week we considered the fact that God is Light. In so doing we just assumed that God is – or God exists! For a few moments let’s consider this big assumption that God is!

As a teenager I tried to convince myself that there was no God and was very willing to embrace evolution as an explanation for the origins of life. However to be honest deep in my being or God-given soul, I knew that an all-powerful Creator-God existed, and I was accountable to Him. I tried to suppress that truth because I wanted to do my own thing and call the shots of my own life. John 3:19 certainly applied to me, “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” Thankfully, God worked in marvelous ways and brought me to the point when I believed that He is! That is where people have to start with God, as Hebrews 11:6 indicates: “But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” Have you come to the point in your life that you believe that God is? If so, you will appreciate the Scriptures that reveal the God who is.

In Genesis chapter one we are introduced to God as the Creator who spoke and light was made as well as everything else. Interestingly, no proofs for God’s existence are offered in the chapter besides the creation itself. The inherent design in this world begs for the conclusion that an all-powerful and all-knowing Designer-Creator exists. You would think me crazy if I told you that the painting on the wall did not have a painter. The fact of the painting presupposes the fact of the painter. Much like the artist’s signature on a painting, God has left his unique signature all over His creation. Sadly, those who have chosen not to believe in God refuse to recognize His verifying signature. Paul makes this clear when he wrote: “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse” (Romans 1:19-20). David announces his conclusion in Psalm 19, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” The existence of God is a safe and right supposition to make when you look at His creation with an open heart and mind rather than a heart and mind closed to God.

Furthermore, when thinking about God we don’t have to complete the phrase “God is”. God is the eternally self-existing one. He has always existed and will always exist. He is eternal and never came into being or was created. He is the Creator and Sustainer of everyone and everything! Paul reveals this person as none other than Jesus Christ in Colossians 1:15-17, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” We should not be surprised that God revealed Himself to Moses as “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14), Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58), and the book of Revelation calls Jesus “the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8). Will you join me in worship and awe of the God who is?

With prayer, Mark
© January, 2011

God is Light!

2011-01-06T17:41:00.001-07:00

Key passages for your meditation: Genesis 1; John 1; 1 John 1; Psalm 119:105-112

In week one’s “Musings” I made the statement that the Bible is replete with verses telling us clearly who God is. Some of these statements refer specifically to God's nature and others to His mighty works.

Let’s consider a fundamental statement about God's very personhood: God is Light (1 John 1:5). This three word statement says volumes about who God is. As light, God exposes or reveals falsehood and truth, sin and righteousness. As light, God warms the heart like the sun warms the body on a cool spring day. As light, God is skillfully powerful like a laser beam used to remove cancer or correct vision loss. Today, we can rejoice because of God’s light! “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6).

God as light reveals our dependence on Him. In the same way that we are dependent on light in our physical world, we are correspondingly dependent on God as light in the spiritual realm. Light is necessary for life. Absence of light equals absence of life—physically as well as spiritually. Psalm 36:9 says, "For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.” Therefore, we are not surprised that Jesus as Immanuel (God with us ) would say, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12).

Furthermore, we are dependent upon light for physical sight as well as spiritual sight. Jesus said, "I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness." (John 12:46). I have had the privilege of knowing a blind man who cannot see physical light with his eyes because they were damaged at birth. He lives in physical darkness. In like manner, every person is born with damaged spiritual vision. We live in spiritual darkness until God so works in our lives that we respond to His light. Paul's self-righteous eyes were opened as he responded to Christ's appearance to him as light on the Damascus road. Years later while giving testimony to a human king, he quotes Christ's commission to preach the Gospel to Jews and Gentiles. He was sent "to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in [Jesus Christ]" (Acts 26:18).

Have you seen God’s light? Have you put your trust in the God who is light? There is always more light for us to see. Let’s seek help for our spiritual vision by praying David’s prayer in Psalm 119:18, "Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law." Here is a verse to get us started: Isaiah 60:19, “The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.” Let's keep thinking about the fact that God is our everlasting light and glory!

With prayer, Mark

Happy New Year : Dramatic performance of Mark's Gospel is free online!

2010-12-31T09:24:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed watching

Mark’s Gospel, Performed by Max McLean: Free Online

January 1st Devotional – Seeking Idols or God in 2011

2010-12-30T15:01:00.000-07:00

May the Lord grant you a blessed New Year! As I typed the previous greeting, my mind wondered, “What would make this coming year more blessed for me and those whom I’m writing?” How we answer that question will reveal what is really important to us. Our answer will reflect whether we think of blessings in God’s terms or our terms. If we seek the blessings of life without seeking the Giver of blessings, we make the blessings an idol that comes before God. We must guard our hearts from seeking some possession, position, or person that we think is necessary to bring blessing and happiness. Anything or anyone that we put before God becomes an idol. We would do well to start the year out in self examination by asking this question: “Is there something or someone in my life that is more important than God?” Whatever it is is your idol!

I believe that having lives truly blessed of God will require us to acknowledge our idols, pull them down, and cast them out of our hearts. Then we need a growing and deepening knowledge of our God by seeking Him diligently through His natural revelation (His creation) and His special revelation (the Scriptures). Paul’s prayer for the believers at Ephesus reveals our need for knowing God:

Eph 1:16-21, “I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come” (emphasis added).

Will you pray this prayer for yourself and others? Can we really go another year without becoming more serious about seeking God? We have not because we ask not!

This year I would like to dedicate my Shepherd’s Musings devotionals to seeking and knowing God by writing on the theme “God Is”. The Bible is replete with verses and passages that tell us about who God is and how we can relate with Him. My theme verse for this year will be Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him” (emphasis added).

May the year 2011 be filled with adventure in diligently seeking to know God! Will you join me in a quest to know God more fully and intimately as you seek Him? We can find our greatest satisfaction, pleasure, and fulfillment in Him and Him alone! May “grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord” (2 Peter 1:2). Blessing to you in 2011!

Sincerely in Christ, Mark

Selected Scripture about Knowing God

Emphasis added

1 Corinthians 15:34, “Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.”

2 Corinthians 4:6, “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

2 Corinthians 10:5, “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”

Colossians 1:9 -10, “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”

Colossians 3:9-10, “Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.”

Philippians 3:7-11, “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith-- that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”

Selected Scripture about Idols

Emphasis added

1 Chronicles 16:26, “For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.”

Isaiah 42:8, “I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.”

1 Thessalonians 1:9-10, “For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.”

1 John 5:21, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”

Revelation 2:14, “But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality.”

The Tension of Love, Forgivness, and Justice

2010-12-27T12:04:00.000-07:00

D. A. Carson book, Love in Hard Places (Wheaton: Crossway, 2002) has been challenging me these past few days on the topic of love and forgiveness. I have and will continue to have the tension that he talks about in the following paragraph from page 83-84:

"The preceding Scriptures suggest that Christians experience an
unavoidable tension. On the one hand, they are called to abandon bitterness,
to be forbearing, to have a forgiving stance even where the
repentance of the offending party is conspicuous by its absence; on the
other hand, their God-centered passion for justice, their concern for
God’s glory, ensure that the awful odium of sin is not glossed over. The
former stance without the latter quickly dissolves into a mushy sentimentality
that forgets how vile sin is; the latter stance without the former
easily hardens into rigid recriminations, self-righteous wrath,
unbending retaliation."

You can read the book for free as a pdf file by clicking this link: Love in Hard Places

God is Faithful! Are you?

2010-12-11T16:50:00.000-07:00

A Shepherd’s Musings - December 2010

Ways in which God Shows His Faithfulness

What a joy to have been able to write and preach about God’s faithfulness in the Year of Our Lord, 2010. I am prayerfully wondering about what theme would be good to write about on a monthly basis this coming year. I am open to suggestions, if you have any.

Last month I recounted some of the ways in which God has been faithful to me and hope that you spent some time doing the same. This last month of the year 2010, I want to muse upon some of the ways God has demonstrated His faithfulness to all of us.

Every morning as the light begins to penetrate the darkness at the dawn of a new day and we see the soft yet brilliant red hues in the sky, we are all benefactors of God’s common grace to both those who acknowledge Him and those who deny Him. The breath of air that we just breathed is a gift from God—life is a faithful gift from God. The food that we eat is a testimony of His faithfulness to His promise that there will be seedtime and harvest while the earth remains (Gen.8:22). Furthermore, that beautiful rainbow that dazzles our eyes with wonder and awe was given by God as a reminder of His faithfulness. Truly, there are signs and wonders all around us that speak volumes concerning God’s faithfulness for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear. For those who do not acknowledge God’s faithfulness the very fact that they are still alive is a testimony of God’s faithfulness. They still have a chance to humble themselves before God and believe in Him. For “without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). Also, 2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” There is still hope for our unsaved friends and loved ones! God in faithfulness has given them more time to respond to His faithful revelation of Himself through the light of His creation and Scripture—Psalm 19.

Every Christmas as we put up lights to celebrate the season, it is a testimony to our faithful God that He sent His Son to be the Light of the world. Jesus Himself said, “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.” The light of God’s faithfulness flickered in His coming into the garden to seek Adam and Eve after their sin and the giving of the first gospel promise (Genesis 3:15). It was progressively revealed throughout history as God unfolded his plan of redemption through the children of Israel and His prophets (Isaiah 9:6, Isaiah 53). It shined brighter at the incarnation when God became man at the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem—Immanuel—God with us! It blazed in darkness when God the Son took upon Himself the sin of the whole world by shedding His blood upon a cruel and agonizing cross that we might have the forgiveness of sin. It radiated at the resurrection and ascension of our King and Lord to sit at the right hand of God the Father. It will shine gloriously in the future when Christ returns to reign upon the earth for a 1000 years.

God is faithful! Will you and I be faithful to Him! The choice is ours to make each day. May the Lord give you grace and mercy for the coming year and peace as you wait upon Him. Have a worshipful Christmas and blessed New Year!

With love and prayer,

Mark R. Worden

Links to the 2010 “Pastor Chat” devotionals on God’s Faithfulness are as follows:

January: Dwelling on God’s Faithfulness!
February: Telling Others of God’s Faithfulness!
March: Hope and Confidence through God’s Faithfulness
April: God’s Calling and His Faithfulness
May: Chastening and God’s Faithfulness
June: God is Faithful in Mercy
July: Praise, Prayer and God’s Faithfulness
August: God’s Faithfulness in Spiritual Battle
September: God’s Faithfulness during Upheaval and Change
October: God’s Faithfulness and our Love and Obedience
November: Sharing Your Testimony of God’s Faithfulness
December: Ways in which God Shows His Faithfulness

Sermon Links to Mini-Series on “God’s Faithfulness”
January 3, 2010
Listen:Our God- A Faithful High Priest
Download Mp3:
January 10, 2010
Listen:Our God–A Faithful Provider
Download Mp3:
January 17, 2010
Listen:Our God–A Faithful Judge
Download Mp3:
January 24, 2010
Listen:Our God — A Faithful Protector
Download Mp3:
January 31, 2010
Listen:God Is Faithful; Are You?
Download Mp3:
(If these sermons have blessed you please feel free to share the links with others who might benefit from them.)
“So than faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” Romans 10:17

The progressive aspect of our Salvation . . . God's not through with me!

2010-11-07T16:23:00.000-07:00

I was blessed by the Desiring God post today entitled The Journey of Sanctification in which they quote Martin Luther thoughts on the process of sanctification:

This life therefore is not righteousness but growth in righteousness;
not health but healing;
not being but becoming;
not rest but exercise.
We are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing toward it.
The process is not finished, but it is going on.
This is not the end, but it is the road.
All does not yet gleam in glory, but all is being purified.

A Testimony of God's Faithfulness

2010-11-07T15:30:00.000-07:00

Has God been faithful to you? I would love to hear your stories of God’s faithfulness. I encourage you to follow the Psalmist’s example and not conceal, but declare and sing of God’s faithfulness as the following verses challenge us:

Ps 40:10, “I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation.”

Ps 88:11, “Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction?”

Ps 89:1, “I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.”

I would like to tell you some of the highlights of God’s faithfulness to me:

1. God was faithful to pursue me in grace when I tried to push Him out of my life from age 16 to 18 by putting my faith in an evolutionary explanation of the origin of life instead of recognizing Him as the Creator.

2. God was faithful to grant me a heart of repentance when I yielded to His love expressed in the Gospel of Christ (Romans 1-11) and received Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior on the third Sunday of August, 1978.

3. God was faithful to make me a new creature in Christ; He began changing my desires from the moment I surrendered and truly believed and trusted in Him with my whole heart.

4. God was faithful in leading me to Churches that taught and preached the Bible—where, although the pastors and congregations were not perfect, they for the most part had a heart for God and encouraged me to be faithful to our faithful God:

First Conservative Baptist Church, Roseburg, Oregon – Pastor Roy Campbell
Westside Baptist Church, Eugene, Oregon – Pastor Greg Kaminski
Emmanuel Baptist Church, Roseburg, Oregon – Pastor Dale Johnsen
Mount Calvary Baptist Church, Greenville, SC – Pastor Jessie Boyd & Mark Minnick
Temple Baptist Church, Richland, WA. – Pastor Michael Gilchrist
Jordan Valley Baptist Church, West Jordan, Utah – Pastor Harley Johnson
New Israel Baptist Church, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil – Pastor Sergio

5. God was faithful to always give me direction as I waited upon Him in prayer for guidance and wisdom to make the big decisions of life: where he wanted me to go to college, who He wanted me to marry, where and how He wanted me to serve Him.

6. God has been faithful to forgive me when I confess my sin (1 John 1:9-10).

7. God was faithful to help me be a better dad when I was struggling. His Word gave me wisdom beyond myself – Click hear to read the Bible study that changed my parenting.

8. God was faithful to give me the perfect help meet in my wife, Tammie, who is submissive yet not a doormat, supportive yet not flattering of my sinful ego, and sharpening yet not critical. God was faithful to restore my wife’s health when she became so ill while we served in Brazil.

9. God has been faithful to provide for all of our needs in 25 years of marriage and ministry. When we were about out of food, He provided in miraculous ways. When our mode of transportation broke down, He provided means and funds for it to be fixed. When we needed wisdom for family and ministry relationships, He gave wisdom for the asking like He promised. When we needed a place to rest our heads, He always put on the hearts of His people to take us in with loving assistance, which also gave us the opportunity to be a blessing in return.

10. When the burdens of life and ministry were too hard to bear ourselves, God was faithful to give us sustaining grace.

11. God was faithful to give me six challenging and good years as Pastor of First Baptist Church where it was a joy to see His word take root in the hearts of those who had ears to hear.

12. God has always been faithful to slow me down when I need slowed down and to speed me up when I needed speeded up.

As we wait on the Lord for future direction, we have no doubt that we can trust in our faithful God. I am reminded of something I wrote to Tammie Rich before she became Tammie Worden:

We can praise God for His providential hand of leading in the past;
We can look forward in faith to what He will do in the future;
but we must concentrate on keeping His commandments consistently today!

What was true for our lives over 25 years ago is true for our lives today; however, I would add another thought: We can only do it by the faithful enabling grace of God. The grace of God is what I preached on this past month while doing some pulpit supply at Grace Bible Church: You can listen to the message by clicking on the sermon title: Grace at Grace. Down load the message: Mp3
I praise God for His faithfulness! Will you?
With prayer, Mark R. Worden

2010-10-12T09:12:00.000-06:00

I had not painted for over 10 years, when last Sunday a special friend who happens to be an art teacher grabbed her art supplies and said, "Lets go painting." So Tammie and I tagged along to find a good view of the house that she is living in. The experience was a blessing that I found very relaxing and healing as the artist within me came alive again. Thank you Lord for the gifts you have given me; I give you all the glory!

October Musings on God's Faithfulness

2010-10-05T22:59:00.000-06:00

I would like to finish out the year writing about God’s faithfulness, because He is faithful!

Today I searched anew for Bible verses that reveal God’s faithfulness and was blessed by God’s revelation of Himself through His Word (see selected verses).

Apparently the first direct mention of God’s faithfulness is by Moses in Deuteronomy 7:9 as he addressed the children of Israel under the inspiration of God, “Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations.”

First, let’s note that this is a truth that we can know. Without a doubt, God will faithfully keep His covenants and His mercy. Secondly, that it is qualified by two conditions: 1) loving God and 2) keeping His commandments. The order is important here; the only way that anyone can keep God’s commands is to truly love Him first. We must respond to God’s revelation of Himself with loving faith and trust instead of rejection by willful ignorance (Romans 1) or willful religious pride (Romans 2). The Jewish leaders by the time of Christ had focused on the keeping of the commands in their own ways to the exclusion of knowing and loving God. Subsequently, they did not recognize Emmanuel and rejected their Messiah; therefore, they would not come under God’s mercy and instead came under God’s wrath as Jesus proclaimed in Matthew 23.

These two conditions of love and obedience, in that order, carry over into the New Testament in verses such as the following:

I John 4:19, “We love him, because he first loved us.”

Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

John 14:15 “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”

John 14:23, “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”

From these and many other verses we can conclude that our love, obedience, and faithfulness to God can only be attributed to God’s grace and work in us. It is the abiding Spirit of God within us as born again believers that helps us to depend on God’s faithfulness to His promises and mercy.

We must guard our hearts from trying to obey God without first loving Him. What has your motive been recently for obeying God?

With prayer, Brother Mark Worden

Artist's rendition of my last Sunday morning message at FBC

2010-09-12T16:44:00.001-06:00

Hanging Out a Shingle

2010-09-11T18:10:00.000-06:00

I am now available for pulpit supply and special meetings within driving distance from Dillon, Montana. Please give me a call if you would like to schedule a meeting: 406-683-2721

I am in grief but trusting God!

2010-08-29T14:01:00.003-06:00

September Pastor’s Chat

God is faithful! What a comforting thought and truth it is to know that our Lord, Savior, and God is faithful. 1 Corinthians 1:9 says, “God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Over the past (nearly) 6 years I have tried by the grace of God to be faithful to Him and His calling on my life to shepherd His flock at FBC of Dillon, Montana. However, on Wednesday, August 18, it became very clear that this calling was to come to an abrupt end. After having not received a majority in a vote of confidence to continue as Pastor of FBC, I gave my one month notice of resignation. We had prayed for God’s will to be revealed through the vote of our church members. I trust in God’s sovereignty and trust Him to provide for the flock at FBC as well as for us in the days to come. Can you trust Him? Will you trust Him?

God knows what each of us needs to be more conformed to the image of Christ. God is a faithful judge and heavenly Father! We can trust Him to send our way what is best for all of us. Romans 8:28 says, “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God and are the called according to His purpose.” Regardless of your understanding or lack of understanding of what has happened here at FBC—love God! Grow in your knowledge of Him. Grow in your faith and trust in Him. Search the Scriptures daily and obey its clear teaching. Don’t become bitter. Be forgiving. Be wise. Be careful and discerning. Ask God for wisdom and follow His leading. Be faithful to God, for He has been and will be faithful to you! People will fail you, but He will never fail you!

With love and prayer, Pastor Mark

Listen to Sunday’s Sermon: Love God!
Download: Mp3

May God give us wisdom, comfort, and help from
Romans 8:26-39

“Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

“For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

“What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Time to move on! But where?

2010-08-24T08:39:00.004-06:00

Last Wednesday night I felt the peace of God in an unusual way. While the vote of confidence ballot was being counted I asked the 30 members in attendance and a few visitors to turn to the hymn, "It is Well with my Soul" and we sang all 4 verses. As we continued to wait for the 4 deacons to return with the result, I asked if anyone would like to share a verse of scripture that would be edifying. About 6-7 people read or quoted comforting, encouraging, and challenging passages. During this time the deacons returned and all sat down and finally a deacon looked at the other deacons and got up and whispered in my ear, "15 to 15! It is your call Pastor" Earlier in the week I had had a premonition that it would be a split vote. When I heard that it was indeed, I felt the sovereign love of God for me and God's love in my heart for those who voted for me to continue as pastor and for those who cast a no confidence vote. For the first time in my life I experienced, in a great way for me and in a small way in comparison to my Lord, how He must have felt when He said on the cross, "Father, Forgive them for they know not what they do." As moderator I could have cast a vote in my favor to have a majority but knew that God wanted me to abstain from voting and read my prewritten resignation letter:

Resignation Letter of Pastor Mark Worden

August 18, 2010

Having not received a sufficient percentage for a vote of confidence as indicated by the constitution or my own conscience before God, I submit notice of my resignation as Pastor of FBC. I will gladly serve the church for another month or mutually agreeable date. I desire to work toward a peaceful and fruitful transition to the glory of God. My thoughts and emotions are mixed. First, I want to thank the Lord for his grace and help these past (nearly) 6 years. Second, I thank the congregation for the privilege of being your pastor, for the fellowship and friendship which we have enjoyed, and for the lessons of life and ministry that we have experienced together. Tammie and I will be praying for God’s blessing upon each of you and the congregation as a whole in the days to come. Romans 8:28 should bring hope, direction, and comfort to all of us at this time: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” We ask for your prayers during this transition time and for God’s future leading in our lives to fruitful ministry in the place of His calling, wherever it may be.

Sincerely in Christ,

Mark R. Worden

Now we are looking to the Lord for His direction, comfort, and wisdom and ask for your prayers.

If you get a chance listen to the message preached the Sunday before the vote of confidence: Good from Bad
http://sermon.net/download.php?c=18884-count_audio_download-2475187

God's Sovereignty

Coming up on our 25 year anniversary - August 10 Praise the Lord!

2010-07-10T16:32:00.005-06:00

Our daughter took these photos of us:

A Shepherd's day off

2010-04-17T19:30:00.004-06:00

My wife and I took a little drive this afternoon just to be together and enjoy God's creation:

True love throughout the year and not just on Valentine's Day

2010-02-03T22:21:00.007-07:00

When things are not going to well in my relationships. I go to God in prayer and read I Corinthians 13. The following Studies will open your eyes about what true love is all about.

I John 4:18-19, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us."

I Corinthians 13:4-7, "Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

Bible Study outlines on God's descriptions of love:

Lesson 1 – Love Suffereth Long

Lesson 2 – Love is Kind

Lesson 3 – Love Envieth Not

Lesson 4 – Love Is NOT Proud

Lesson 5 – Love’s Behavior is Not Unseemly – Coming soon – I lost the file

Lesson 6 – Love Seeketh Not Her Own

Lesson 7 – Love Is NOT Easily Provoked

Lesson 8 – Love Thinketh No Evil

Lesson 9 – How Love Rejoices

Lesson 10 – Love Rejoices in the Truth

Lesson 11 – Love Beareth All Things

Lesson 12 – Love Believeth all Things

Lesson 13 – Love Hopeth All Things

Lesson 14 -Love Endureth All Things

Lesson 15 – Love Never Fails

February Pastor's Chat

2010-02-01T21:10:00.000-07:00

February Pastor’s Chat

Each Sunday morning sermon this past month has been focused on our church theme, God Is Faithful. The first 4 sermon titles are part of the portrait that God paints for us of His faithfulness. From the canvas of the Word of God we have seen Our God— A Faithful High Priest, Our God—A Faithful Provider, Our God — A Faithful Judge, and Our God — A Faithful Protector. The last sermon in the series will focus on our faithfulness to our faithful God — God Is Faithful; Are You?

If you know this faithful God, naturally you will desire to tell others about Him. The Psalmist declares, “I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness, to all generations” (Psalm 89:1). Again he confesses, “I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation” (Psalm 40:10).

If you are a disciple of Jesus Christ, your Lord has given you a calling and a commission to go forth and preach the Gospel (Matthew 28:16-20). This mandate has two parts: 1) Salvation – making disciples of Christ and 2) Sanctification – teaching obedience to all of Christ’s teachings. Does this mandate seem to be to overwhelming even to begin? In ourselves it surely is! But we do not have to go it alone! Jesus, our faithful God, has promised to go with us: “lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” In the context of this great commission we are told in verse 17, “And when they saw [Jesus], they worshiped him.” Worship preceded their witness. Let’s worship our Lord for His faithfulness and then depend on His faithfulness to enable us to witness to others of His mercies that fail not! God is faithful!

With Prayer, Pastor Mark

January Sermon Links to Mini-Series on "God's Faithfulness"

January 3, 2010
Listen:Our God- A Faithful High Priest
Download Mp3:

January 10, 2010
Listen:Our God--A Faithful Provider
Download Mp3:

January 17, 2010
Listen:Our God--A Faithful Judge
Download Mp3:

January 24, 2010
Listen:Our God -- A Faithful Protector
Download Mp3:

January 31, 2010
Listen:God Is Faithful; Are You?
Download Mp3:

(If these sermons have blessed you please feel free to share the links with others who might benefit from them.)

"So than faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God." Romans 10:17

The Call to True Discipleship

2009-11-02T21:26:00.001-07:00

Are you following Christ or are you just playing church games? This past Lord's Day I preached from the same passage as last week ( Matthew 19:16-26) with a different focus and included the last few verses to close out the chapter (Matthew 19:27-30). The general outline to the message is as follows: The Call, the Response, and the Reward for Forsaking All and Following Christ. Click here to download the message for a listen.

November Pastor's Challenge

2009-10-30T22:28:00.001-06:00

God is worthy! The things of which God are worthy, from Revelation 5:12, have challenged us this year: “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.” Thus far, we have focused on what God is worthy of, but have not focused on the name of God in this verse. In this coming month of Thanksgiving let us focus on our God who is the Lamb.

This Lamb is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ whom John the Baptist identified as such in John 1:29 when he saw, “Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” Thanksgiving and love should well up in our hearts toward our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who bore our sin on the cross of Calvary as the Lamb of God ( I Peter 1:18-21). We who have been forgiven much should love much (Luke 7:47). But do we?

Do you sometimes sense a lack of love and thanksgiving in your heart toward Christ? My friend, I call you to remembrance! Remember your sin before a Holy and Righteous God. Remember the times you unwittingly and wittingly broke his commands. The Lamb, Jesus Christ, died for your sins. O praise Him! Thank Him! Stand in awe of the Lamb of God. It is by looking to our Savior that we can be delivered from the penalty of sin and the practice of sin. Hebrews 12:1-2 says, “Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” May God richly bless you as you look unto Jesus as the Lamb of God this coming Thanksgiving season!

With love and prayer, Pastor Mark

Selected Bible Verses on "The Lamb of God"

Genesis 22:8, “And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.”

John 1:36, “And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!”

I Peter 1:18-21, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.”

Acts 8:30-35, “And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.

Revelation 21:22, “And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.”

Revelation 21:23, “And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.”

Revelation 22:1, “And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.”

Revelation 22:3, “And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him.”

Links to Recent sermon download from FBC

Title: The Foundation of Marriage
Text: Matthew 19:1-6
http://sermon.net/download.php?c=18884-count_audio_download-2254256

Title: The Enemy of Marriage
Text: Matthew 19:7-9
http://sermon.net/download.php?c=18884-count_audio_download-2258073

Title: The Alternative to Marriage
Text: Matthew 19:10-12
http://sermon.net/download.php?c=18884-count_audio_download-2266639

Title: The Blessing of Children
Text: Matthew 19:13-15
http://sermon.net/download.php?c=18884-count_audio_download-2270870

Title: Eternal Life
Text: Matthew 19:16-26
http://sermon.net/download.php?c=18884-count_audio_download-2275000

Mini-Series on Marriage from Matthew 19:1-12

2009-10-12T11:10:00.001-06:00

The response from these messages have been encouraging. I have tried to preach the truth from Matthew 9:1-12 in love and compassion. One dear lady said after sermon two, “Pastor, I almost did not come to church today because I knew you would be preaching on the divorce passage. But boy am I glad I came; you preached a message of encouragement and hope even for us who have been divorced.” Praise God! It is only by His grace!

Sermon one: The Foundation of Marriage. Matthew 19:1-6

Sermon two: The Enemy of Marriage. Matthew 19:7-9

Sermon three: The Alternative to Marriage. Matthew 19:10-12

You can down load the messages by clicking on the titles. Please feel free to share these messages with others if they have been a help to you.

Pastor Mark's Podcast Feed

2009-09-21T16:10:00.002-06:00

This past Sunday we began a series of messages on marriage and divorce from Matthew chapter 19. We covered verses 1-6 and entitled the message, "Foundations of Marriage." You can download the message for a listen at the following feed:

http://sermon.net/pastormarkworden/rss

Responding to God's Call - Moses as an example

2009-08-31T11:17:00.006-06:00

I can sure relate to Moses and his response to God's call on his life. God's callings are often unexpected and a shock.

Romans 15:4, "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope."

As a pastor I find great comfort from the Scriptures that gives me hope in finding God's help to fulfill His calling in my life. O Lord help me to be completely dependent on you and walk by faith moment by moment of each day!

Down load the message entitled Responding to God's Call.

A Message on Forgiveness

2009-08-30T21:10:00.004-06:00

The struggle of forgiveness or the poison of unforgiveness, the choice is yours!

Download the message!

We often talk about God's blessing but what about blessing God?

2009-08-25T18:03:00.001-06:00

September Pastor's Chat:

We have come to the last item that Christ deserves to receive from us as mentioned in Revelation 5:12—blessing! What does it mean to bless the Lord?

The word bless, according to Noah Webster's 1828 dictionary, when used in reference to God means “to praise; to glorify, for benefits received,” or “to praise; to magnify for excellencies.” Certainly there are many benefits which we receive each day for which we should bless God. If we spend time in the Word of God reflecting and meditating on God’s Excellencies, how can we not break forth in verbal praise and tell others about the Excellencies of our God that we have beheld? God is worthy of blessing! Are you blessing God with your praise and adoration simply for who He is, as well as for his wonderful gifts to men? Or is there something in your heart that just isn’t comfortable about a God who wants to be worshiped? We certainly don’t look kindly upon men who set themselves up as someone great and display a desire to be worshiped and idolized by others. Does the question, “What makes it right for God to want to be worshiped?” lurk in the deep recesses of your heart and cause you not to abandon yourself in wholehearted worship of Him? Well, God is not a man! He was never a man who became a god! He is! He is eternal! He is great! He is perfect! He is creator! He is the one who sustains our very life! He holds this world together! He is all powerful! He is all knowing! He is present everywhere! My friend, God is worthy of our praise simply because of who He is. He is God! We will never experience true satisfaction until we find it in blessing God as Psalm 103 and 104 reveal. Please read them soon.

With prayer, Pastor Mark

2009-08-10T18:42:00.003-06:00

The best sermon I have ever heard on worshiping God from the heart. I hope that you will listen and grow in your ability to simple take pleasure in God simple for who He is. Click hear to listen!

Wisdom from Scripture for Parenting

2009-06-16T12:56:00.002-06:00

These articles were originally written for the “Archer” a homeschooling news letter that we published for our church’s homeschooling umbrella school where I served as the Principal for a few years (2002-2003). It is my hope that they might be an encouragement to Father’s who are wanting to raise their children for the Lord.

Introduction: The need for a Scriptural foundation for parenting!

Post 1- Establishing our goal in parenting – Proverbs 22:6

Post 2 – Reaching our goals in parenting – Proverbs 22:6

Post 3 – Teaching our children – Deuteronomy11:18

Post 4- The child’s role in being parented

Post 5 – The Father’s role in parenting – Ephesians 6:4

Post 6 -The Father’s role in parenting – Ephesians 6:4 – Part two

Post 7 -The Mother’s role in parenting – Titus 2:3-5

With prayer, Mark Worden

Announcing a new Bible teaching blog entitled "Magnify"

2009-06-10T20:57:00.003-06:00

Over the next few days I will be posting 7 articles dedicated to fathers on a new blog entitled "Magnify" Let me know if they are helpful to you!

You can find them at http://magnifythelord.wordpress.com

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there who are trying to raise their children for the Lord!

With prayer, Mark Worden

Musings about Fatherhood

2009-05-26T13:30:00.006-06:00

A Father’s Heart: Provoke Not Your Children to Wrath

May God grant us fathers the grace to resist the temptations to provoke our children to wrath and give us the wisdom to train them for the Lord.

With Prayer, Pastor Mark

Note: The Bible study that changed my life in the area of parenting is available on our church blog: http://magnifythelord.wordpress.com/bible-study/the-privilege-of-parenting

More Bible teaching on parenting can be found here.

Key Verses on Fatherhood

Psalm 103:13, “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.”

Proverbs 3:12, “For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

1 Thessalonians 2:11, “As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children.”

Ephesians 6:4, “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”

How are you responding to God's Revelation?

2009-05-18T21:21:00.006-06:00

One of my favorite passages in all the Bible is Psalm 19 about God's natural and special revelation.

Sermon Title: God's Revelation and Our Response

http://sermon.net/download.php?c=18884-count_audio_download-221235

Sermon Player

2009-04-24T21:44:00.001-06:00

If you are looking to listen to a sermon scroll down to the bottom of the page to find the Sermon Player from our pod casting site.

Christmas Barbecue

2008-12-25T19:45:00.000-07:00

Pure Delight!

2008-12-18T14:25:00.002-07:00

Being a grandfather has increased my understanding of the word delight!

God's Creation Overwhelms me!

2008-11-24T17:25:00.003-07:00

Blogs I Follow

2008-11-20T20:09:00.003-07:00

I presently am following my wife's, my daughter's and my son-in-law's blogs, as well as the blog that I manage for First Baptist Church of Dillon, MT. Apparently, blogging is becoming a way of life for us. The things my family writes about are very interesting and a blessing to me. The photo uploads help too!

Psalm 19

2008-11-20T19:09:00.000-07:00

1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,
5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.
6 His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
7 ¶ The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.
12 Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.
13 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. (KJV)