Proclaiming the Word
The Circuit Riding Preacher
The Circuit Riding Preacher used to ride across the land
With a rifle in his saddle and the Bible in his hand,
He told the prairie people all about the promised land
As he went riding, singing down the trail.
Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarm,
Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.
The Circuit Riding Preacher traveled through the mire and mud
Told about the fiery furnace and of Noah and the flood.
He preached the way to heaven was by water and the blood
As he went riding, singing down the trail.
There is power, power, wonder-working power
In the blood, of the lamb,
There is power, power, wonder-working power
In the precious blood of the lamb.
You know, a circuit riding preacher said these words one day,
Lord, I’d rather see a sermon, than hear one any day,
And I’d rather one walk with me, than merely show the way
For the best of all the preachers are the men who live their creed
And to see their good in action, is what everybody needs.
I can learn to do it, if you let me see it done
I can watch their hands in action, but their tongues too fast may run.
And the sermons they deliver may be very wise and true
But I’d rather get my sermon in watching what they do.
For I may misunderstand them and the high advice they give,
But I’d rather get my lesson in watching how they live.
John 3:16
16 “For hGod so loved ithe world,9 jthat he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not kperish but have eternal life. 17 For lGod did not send his Son into the world mto condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 nWhoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not obelieved in the name of the only Son of God. 19
I have often joked that I was a circuit riding preacher. When I served the older congregation at Lakewood UMC, I went from Benton to Conway to Beebe and all over North Little Rock to take God’s word and share Holy Communion.
When I was appointed to the Sixteenth Section/Ward UMC churches, I traveled several days a week from Little Rock to Austin and Ward, riding in my trusty Subaru (the preacher-mobile) instead of on horseback as the circuit riders of old.
I counted it as great joy to be able to minister to and serve with the people in these congregations, and I am so thankful to have made life-long friends, many of whom watch these devotionals on Facebook.
Today my ministry has certainly changed. I cannot visit nursing homes or senior living centers due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Although I am still asked to fill the pulpit of the few churches that remain open, I usually decline because I am no longer strong enough to deliver the word in person. Many churches are offering services online, one of which is my home church, Asbury UMC, for which I am supremely grateful, but I miss being with the people of God.
I am sure that you, too, miss being in your church building. But remember, you are the church, I am the church, we are all the church,and therefore you are always with God and His people. Glory, glory hallelujah, His truth is marching on.
Receive now this blessing. God gave His only son for you and for me, and for all who will call on His name. Take the name of Jesus with you and share Him with all you meet.
Trust and Obey
Trust and Obey
1 When we walk with the Lord
in the light of his word,
what a glory he sheds on our way!
While we do his good will,
he abides with us still,
and with all who will trust and obey.
Refrain:
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
1 Samuel 15:22
But Samuel replied: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
When we were in Youth Group, we played a game called the trust game. One person stood with another standing directly behind them. The person in front was instructed to close his or her eyes, cross their arms, and fall backward, trusting the person behind them to catch them before they hit the floor. Admittedly, I was so small I never worried too much whether I would be caught. But no one wanted me to be the one catching. I was a head shorter than anyone else in the group and would clearly have fallen with the person I was trying to save from ending up on the floor.
Our scripture speaks of the importance of obedience to God, and we need to realize that obedience and trust go hand in hand. King Saul was going into battle, and he was instructed to wait until the prophet Samuel arrived to offer a sacrifice to God. Samuel was late, and Saul became fearful that the battle would be lost if the sacrifice was not given, so he took it upon himself to present the sacrifice to God instead of waiting. Did you remember that because of this rash act, King Saul would lose his kingdom?
Sometimes we can do things with the best of intentions, and other times out of fear, but the bottom line is that God doesn’t just request our obedience, He demands it.
You might be thinking, Pastor Carol, this isn’t a very encouraging message. We want to hear hope! But listen. Our hope is never in our own actions, but in waiting on God, listening to God, and living according to His Word.
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Does this scripture sound like a suggestion? No, it is not. When we acknowledge God, we are recognizing His rights, His authority, His status. When we trust and obey God, He will not only make our crooked paths straight, He will many times place us upon the right paths. God does not lead us down blind alleys, but instead He shines the light of His understanding upon us when we determine to walk in His word.
Trust and obey, there is no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
Receive now this blessing: May the Lord our God give strength to we His people, and may He overwhelm us with His peace.
Take the name of Jesus with you and share Him with all you meet.
Higher Ground
Are you goal oriented, or just living for today?
In the Sweet By and By
There’s a land that is fairer than day
And by faith we shall see it afar
For the father waits over the way
To prepare us a dwelling place there.
In the sweet by and by
We shall meet on that beautiful shore
In the sweet by and by
We shall meet on that beautiful shore.
Hi, it’s Pastor Carol again, and I want to share with you the hope that we have as Christ followers. Hear now the reading of God’s Holy Word:
John 14:1-3 (NRSV) 1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.
This is the word of God for the people of God.
Thanks be to God.
Has there ever been such hope as that given to us through Christ Jesus? First we have the hope of salvation found in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” Then we have the hope of the resurrection, “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he dies, yet shall he live,” John 11:25.
Can anyone exist without hope? Merriam-Webster dictionary says that the definition of hope is to cherish a desire with anticipation: to want something to happen or be true.The use of the word “hope” has become so overused, and really, the meaning has been watered down to the point that “hoping” is not much more than wishing that something unlikely will occur.
Conversely, hope in the Bible is a confident expectation, not because of our efforts, but because of God’s promises. There is a solidity in godly hope, whereas the hope found in the world is nothing more than a wispy trail of smoke that dissipates into the atmosphere.
So, I ask again; can anyone exist without hope? I think not. I encourage you today to grab hold of the hope found in the scriptures and in a personal relationship with Christ Jesus. There is a land that is fairer than day, but because of hope we can trust not only in that grand reunion on heaven’s shore, but in living daily a life that reflects Christ in all we say and do.
Receive now this blessing: 2 Th. 2:16-17 – Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. Take the name of Jesus with you, and share Him with all you meet.
Count it All Joy
You can have a melody down in your heart,
when it’s aching, almost breaking,
Even though the sorrow makes the teardrops start,
You can have a melody down in your heart.
James 1:2-4 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.
This is the Word of God, for the people of God.
Thanks be to God.
Let us pray: Father God, we acknowledge that You alone are the Giver of joy. May our joy be complete as we look to You, and You alone, as the source of every good thing. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
This is a strange time in which we live. 2020 had barely begun when we started hearing of a new virus called the novel coronavirus which soon gained pandemic status. Then, just as it seemed normalcy was returning, the news of the senseless death of a man named George Floyd ignited literal firestorms in cities around the world. In places like Little Rock, where I live, we were under an 8 pm curfew.
I am old, yet there are many things I still do not understand. But, there is one thing I know, understand and believe. When words fail, when understanding is limited, just say Jesus. You see, joy does not come as a result of our circumstances but in spite of our circumstances. James wrote in his letter to the universal church that our faith will be tested, but the test is not what matters. It is the way we react to this testing that reveals our character.
The word joy appears over and over again in the Scriptures. The psalmists write, “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning” (Ps. 30:5b) and “Shout for joy to God, all the earth” (Ps. 66:1). Likewise, in the New Testament, we read that joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22).
Joy is not a fleeting emotion, but instead it is a gift from the Holy Spirit and as our relationship with Christ grows, so does our joy. Life is full of choices. In the midst of the fear over a pandemic, the anger due to injustice, the many things we encounter in this life, I encourage you to choose joy.
Receive now this blessing: Joy is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Allow the Holy Spirit to flood your heart and soul with the joy that only He can give. Take the name of Jesus with you, and share Him with all you meet.
Seeking Holiness 