Weekly Encouragement
Good Wednesday Everyone,
Weekly blessings from your pastor. We are amid beautiful weather this time of year. Get outside and enjoy our God’s creation. We have several of our Bethel children playing baseball, so if you have time get the schedules of when our church children are playing and come out to see and support their baseball games. Parents, bring your children’s baseball schedules and put them on the bulletin board in the church welcome center. Tonight, for our “Wednesday Night Fellowship” we are serving fried chicken and if you can please bring a dish, side, or dessert to share. All are welcome! Per our schedule, after our meal the adults and youth will continue in our study of Revelation (Revelation 8), and the Children will have Mission Friends. Finally, this Sunday – We have our “Fifth Sunday Fellowship Dinner” it is immediately after Sunday’s worship service at noon. Our fifth Sunday Fellowships are a precious time for our entire congregation to carry over our Sunday fellowship by eating together. We would love to fill the fellowship hall and the weather is great for the kids to play outside.
This Lord’s Day we initiated our latest sermon series into the life of Daniel. Remember our key sermon series verses found in Ezekiel 14:12-14. God spoke the name of three men whose lives He would spare from judgement because of their righteousness, one of whom was Daniel. The other righteous men God named were Noah and Job. If God personally references the name of a righteous man whom He would withhold His judgement against, we must investigate the lives of these men. As we described Sunday, Daniel was a “brilliant” man of God in every aspect of his earthly life. Daniel truly lived to, “Obey God and leave all the consequences to Him.”
Daniel’s obedience to God produced deadly consequences upon his life. Are the “consequences” to obedience worth it. The answer is YES! We are so very blessed in this county, so blessed in fact the negative “consequences” for worldly obedience are rare, even non-existent. But negative consequences for godly obedience are rising. We are entering a day and time when Christians will have to stand strong with obedience unto God rather than follow orders from the world, our government, our employers, and even our friends. This is a hard day to comprehend for America. Each of us loves our country deeply, and we would all follow and even fight for the freedom our country provides. But our love of country must never supersede our love of God and the freedom we have in Christ Jesus. This Christian posture will place us into conflict with the world.
As Christians, do you know we can do whatever we want in this world? Isn’t this a weird thought? Have you ever heard this before? We can fill our desires anyway we wish. In this respect we agree completely with the world, and if Daniel had lived this way, he would never have experienced any negative consequences in his life. But like Daniel, we refuse to do things that would damage our relationship with our living God and Saviour. We choose to obey God. Make no mistake the choice to choose God is difficult, we stumble, and we fail miserably. Although our Bible does not record sin in Daniel’s life, he was not perfect. Daniel lived for God. Daniel prayed to God. Daniel asked God for strength, perseverance, and wisdom. And God provided everything.
So, where did Daniel’s worldly conflict come from, and likewise where do our conflicts come from in this life? Here is how to thrive with worldly people! The world takes out their frustration with God on us. We must understand, they are fighting a spiritual battle we have already won through our surrender to Jesus Christ. We were fighting the same spiritual battle with God, but we accepted peace with God through faith in Christ’s redemption through the cross. Those of the world have not done this. So, although they fight against us, they are fighting against Almighty God, and they will lose every battle unless they surrender and make peace with God through Jesus Christ. Tragically, many people will refuse God’s gracious gift of peace.
Daniel obeyed God and did not consider the consequences of his obedience. You can do this. You have so much more spiritual power than did Daniel. We have to tell the world how to make peace with God. Then, what happened in our lives, will happen in theirs too. We were reborn and remade as new creations in Christ Jesus. Be patient with worldly people. Show love to worldly people. Have mercy upon worldly people. And pray, pray, pray for worldly people. Don’t fight with them. Then some people, maybe only one person will, “Really want what you have, they just don’t know it yet.” Keep inviting. Keep loving. Keep obeying. Keep praying. Life with God is worth every breath. Hope to see you this Lord’s Day.
In Christ Jesus,
Pastor Michael
