This is the Gospel
John 3:16-19 (NIV) 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.
John 14:6-7 (NIV) “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
1 CORINTHIANS 15:1-4
“Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” – 1 Corinthians 15:1-4
I ii’What is the gospel of Jesus Christ? Originating from the Greek, evangelion, the meaning is “good news.” And was there ever any better news than the plan of salvation?
It is crucial that we understand that salvation was not God’s response to our sin, but instead it was the original plan of redemption from the foundation of the world. As humans we sometimes have a Plan B just in case Plan A does not work. With God, there is no Plan B. Adam sinned, sin separated mankind from God, Jesus was born, He died in our place for our sins, and He was resurrected to give us new life. This is the Good News of salvation and that, as my Daddy used to say, “…is all she wrote.”
Time appears to be winding down, and the directive to “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature,” is becoming increasingly more urgent.
May we who have received the gift of salvation ask God daily for holy boldness to share the gospel—or, as I said at the end of each service—Take the name of Jesus with you, and share Him with all you meet.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
His Love Endures Forever
Psalms 136:1-3 1 Give thanks to the LORD because he is good.
His love continues (endures) forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love continues forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords.
His love continues forever.
In the Bible, “endure” means to bear hardship with patience and perseverance, remaining steadfast and faithful through trials, suffering, or temptation, rather than giving up or yielding, often with the promise of ultimate reward or salvation. It involves actively staying under a burden (Greek: hupomeno), bearing up under pressure, or simply lasting/remaining in a state of faithfulness.
Endurance is not just passively allowing bad things to happen n our lives. There is no passivity in serving Christ. Instead, the longer we serve Him, the greater our thirst, the stronger our hunger for His Word, His fellowship, and His constant presence.
Whether we are in a season of victory or we are in a time of suffering, let us ask God to remind us that He is our ever present help in time of need , and through him we can be sssured that we will have the ultimate victory.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and if the Holy Spirit. Amen.
And therefore I have hope
Lamentations 3:17 (NIV) 17 I have been deprived of peace;
I have forgotten what prosperity is.
Lamentations 3:20-26 (NIV)
20 I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast within me.
21 Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
22 Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”
25 The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
26 it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD.
Psalms 46:1 (NIV) 1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Job 19:25-27 (NIV) 25 I know that my redeemer lives,
and that in the end he will stand on the earth.
26 And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet in my flesh I will see God;
27 I myself will see him
with my own eyes —I, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me!
In preparing for the great winter storm of 2026, I worked diligently not to be caught off guard. I bought groceries, prepared meals, washed, dried and put up one load of laundry after another. Everything was going fine until Friday night when one load of clothes would not dry. Larry left a message with the repair shop we use, but it would be Wednesday before they could come.
Wednesday came and went, and parts would have to be ordered and a later visit scheduled Bottom line, this was the third repair on my dryer and the cost was now more than the cost of a new appliance. So next week I will receive a new dryer. If anyone needs me over the next few days, I will be in the laundry room.
In today’s reading, I am reminded that life is not aways smooth sailing. Yet, regardless of what comes our way we can be assured that God will not leave us nor forsake us. A broken dryer can be referred to as a “first world problem.” You know, the kind of problems that do not plague those who live in third world countries where the floors are not just dirty but made of dirt, the food is neither plentiful nor nutritious, and clothes are still washed in a creek.
As I read today’s scripture and ponder upon the goodness of God, I know, believe and understand that my life is never so despairing that I could ever give up on God. How about you? Is God still your hope? If not, pray with me now: Father God, today we approach You in the midst of turmoil, knowing that You alone are our help, you are our deliverer, and you are our Redeemer. By the blood of Jesus, we have been bought back and brought back into Your presence. May we live daily in the hope found only in You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
May we rejoice in the Lord today and every day.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
To be or not to be: Merciful
Micah 6:8 (NKJV) 8 He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you, But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?
Hebrews 4:14-16 14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
How often do we consider the mercy of God? We know that grace, in its simplest form, is unmerited favor. In other words, God gives us what we can not earn and do not deserve.
Conversely, mercy is God sparing us from what we deserve. And what do we deserve? We deserve the penalty of death. But while we were dead in our sins, Jesus came, paid the penalty, and reconciled us to the Father. And that is called mercy.
The issue for many of us is that we are eager to receive mercy, but we are not always ready to show others the same. Why? I think we simply cannot find it within ourselves to forgive multiple times, but often this is what mercy requires.
Additionally, we want mercy to be conditional upon the one who offended us being penitent, perhaps even begging us for forgiveness. But pay attention to Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:7 (NKJV) 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Showing mercy is not dependent upon another’s words or actions. How hard is that? We simply cannot live into the righteousness of Jesus without appealing to Him daily for HIS strength, HIS guidance, HIS unconditional love.
May we who have received abundant mercy from God, choose to give mercy to others for no other reason than because we can.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
To Be or Not To Be: Righteous
Psalms 34:7-19 7 The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him,
And delivers them.
8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
9 Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints!
There is no want to those who fear Him.
10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.
11 Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12 Who is the man who desires life,
And loves many days, that he may see good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil,
And your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their cry.
16 The face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears,
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the LORD delivers him out of them all.
I love these verses. I have talked often about the pathway of holiness. You see, in Psalm 14, Psalm 53 and Romans 3:10 we are told none is righteous, no not one. None except Jesus, that is.
Remember, Isaiah 64:6 says our righteousness is as filthy rags. This means we have no right standing before God apart from Jesus. So how do we clothe ourselves in righteousness? It is a daily choice to follow Jesus. The pathway of holiness is the way we achieve this choice.
Ps 34:11 Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12 Who is the man who desires life,
And loves many days, that he may see good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil,
And your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.
May we return to fearing God, seeking God, speaking good, and declaring that Jesus is Lord, now and forever.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Seeking Holiness 