Good morning everyone. Rejoice in the lord always and again I say rejoice. I talked to a young friend last week that was struggling with doubt and beating herself up for having it in her life. She has now learned through scripture that sometimes doubt strengthens your faith. We are going to share in a prayer that a friend sent to me that says so much about the state our faith. Let it bless you.
Today’s Prayer
Dear Lord, as we search for answers to our problems, we ask how we can acquire faith. Open our eyes to see that we can not live without faith! … A sixteen year old girl* wrote these lines in 1956: “We hold a cup of salt water in our hands, and then we are told that beyond the beach lies the Atlantic Ocean — incredible! … We hear someone plunk the middle-C note, and then we are told that Beethoven wrote symphonies — unbelievable! … We see purple and blue oil paint oozing from a tube, and we are told that Monet painted water lilies — amazing! … Love, compassion, forgiveness, all of our encounters with man, and with God, give us only a hint of the nature of God’s totality. Faith is the determined and desperate will to believe that there are painters when we have seen only the paints; that there are symphonies when we have heard only one note; that there are oceans when we have observed only one cup of water!” Oh Lord, why is it so hard to believe in You as Creator of our universe — our world? … “Show me how to let my life open up for faith — wide enough for the sky to fall in, full of You.”** In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Let’s eat.
Doubts Dispelled
Dissolving of Doubts”
Daniel 5:12
This man Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, has exceptional ability and is filled with divine knowledge and understanding. He can interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve difficult problems. Call for Daniel, and he will tell you what the writing means.”
I have been too great a sinner
Matthew 9:9-13
As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him. Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?” When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
Is there salvation for me?
1 Timothy 1:15
This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all.
How could I keep from sinning?
Romans 8:1-2
So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power[a] of the life-giving Spirit has freed you[b] from the power of sin that leads to death.
Might I not fall away?
1 Peter 1:3-4
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.
Quote of the Day
The beautiful thing about this adventure called faith is that we can count on Him never to lead us astray.
Charles (Chuck) Swindoll
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REV. ELDER G E STERRETT
FOUNDER
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James H. Taylor Sr. – Kankakee City News has published my Daily meal message for a decade.