Trusting Jesus

Psalm 84:10,12 For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. 

12. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.

There is no higher calling than simply being what the Lord wants you to be.  

When the Lord is "Our God" all of His things will become exceedingly precious to us.  We will want to be near Him at all times, to be in His house to worship.  

Genuine happiness can only be found by placing one's faith and trust in God. 

A life that is yielded to the Lord — walking in true faith — is blessed and can count on his or her needs being met; Matt. 6:33. 

“’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, — Just to take Him at His Word; — Just to rest upon His promise, — And to know, “Thus saith the Lord!”  By Louisa M. R. Stead 1882

Ideas for this unprofitable blog are taken from The Sermon Notebook—Biblical resources for preachers and teachers of the word of God. They allow these sermons to be used as the Lord leads but not for profit.

Rest For The Weary

Sometimes God allows things to enter our lives that nearly devastate us. But He does it to grow us and teach us more about Him. 

Trouble and trials are part and parcel of the human life, that’s a given. Job said it (Job 14:1; Job 5:7) and so did Jesus (John 16:33). What is not a given is what we do about them. Jesus has the perfect answer. 

Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Jesus invites us to come to Him because He can change what we face and how we face it. His power is beyond imagination 

The Lord may change our situation in an instant, removing our burden (1 Kings 18). 

Or He will leave the burden, but will lighten it. He did this for Ruth when He allowed her path to cross that of Boaz (Ruth 2-3). 

This is the most common aid we receive from Him. He gives us grace to carry the load (2 Cor. 12:9). We can rest in His yoke, His Spirit, His Peace.

However He decides to handle our situation, we can be sure that He will do that which is right for our life (Rom. 8:28). 

We can rest on His promise that He will meet our need (Phil. 4:19). 

Ideas for this unprofitable blog are taken from The Sermon Notebook—Biblical resources for preachers and teachers of the word of God. They allow these sermons to be used as the Lord leads but not for profit

The Devastating Flood

Hurricane Harvey, a Category 4 storm, hit our low-lying areas here in SE Texas on August 25, 2017. It caused $125 billion in damage according to the National Hurricane Center. 

Some dear church folks were among many who were forced out of their flooded homes with only what they could carry. After two years some finally moved into their rebuild homes, and some are still waiting — living in trailers. 

Yesterday another storm like Harvey repeated the same devastation in the same areas to the same dear people, and I’ve spent all day trying to find the right words to comfort them. 

The best I can do is pray for them and offer the following scripture that lifts and comforts me when I need it most. 

Psalm 18:2 The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

Ideas for this unprofitable blog are taken from The Sermon Notebook—Biblical resources for preachers and teachers of the word of God. They allow these sermons to be used as the Lord leads but not for profit.

Thoughts Of Peace

There is no such thing as chance or luck with the child of God. 

We are not wandering aimlessly hoping for a lucky break. Our lives don’t just happen; they are ordained and orchestrated of God. He has a plan and a purpose for each of us.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

God has an expected end for us that we could achieve if we would follow Him. 

I stand amazed at the power and wisdom of my Lord. I can’t see two seconds into the future, but God sees it all. He knows exactly what He has in store for me.

If we are to see God’s will fulfilled in our lives, we must seek Him in prayer.

Ideas for this unprofitable blog are taken from The Sermon Notebook—Biblical resources for preachers and teachers of the word of God. They allow these sermons to be used as the Lord leads but not for profit

Walking In The Fire

I first learned of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego — Israeli captives in Babylon — in Ms. Farley’s Primary Sunday School Class. 

They were being tossed into a burning fiery furnace because they wouldn’t worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s image. 

It’s good to know God when you face the fire, and these guys knew Him. 

Daniel 3:17-18 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

Here’s my favorite part. Old King Neb couldn’t believe what he saw. 

Daniel 3:24-25 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.

We are the children of the Heavenly King! Our God is the Creator! He is all-powerful. He owns it all and is perfectly capable of aiding us in our time of crisis even as he helped the Israeli guys in the fire.  

If you are His child, you need never fear Him bailing out on you! He has promised to be there for you. - Heb. 13:5.

Where is the fourth man? He’s walking in your fire. 

Ideas for this unprofitable blog are taken from The Sermon Notebook—Biblical resources for preachers and teachers of the word of God. They allow these sermons to be used as the Lord leads but not for profit.

Precious Possessions

Our precious possessions will ultimately perish. 

The Apostle Peter tells us about some precious things the good Lord has given us that will never perish or be taken away. 

— The trials of life are precious, making us stronger in the faith. 1 Pet. 1:7

— The blood of Jesus is precious, 1 Pet. 1:9. It’s the price of redemption and the proof of God's love. 

— Jesus is precious, 1 Pet. 2;6,7  He loves, cares, and understands us. He paid the ultimate price to save us - John 15:13.

— Our faith is precious. 2 Pet. 1;1. There is only one means of salvation and that is through faith in Jesus Christ, John 14:6.

— Precious promises:  2 Peter 1:4  Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

The promises of God are forever! You can hold onto them for they will never fail. 

Ideas for this unprofitable blog are taken from The Sermon Notebook—Biblical resources for preachers and teachers of the word of God. They allow these sermons to be used as the Lord leads but not for profit.

The Presence Of God

Psalm 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

What an encouragement it is to know that we will never face an instant of life on our own.  Every step, every valley, every mountain will be graced by His presence

The blessed footmen of God — goodness and mercy — follow us every where we go. 

It would be a blessing if we enjoyed the presence of the Lord as Paul did. 

But even when we can’t see Him, He is still there: watching, leading, protecting, being God. 

We can enjoy God’s presence. Abide in Him through His Word and prayer. 

Ideas for this unprofitable blog are taken from The Sermon Notebook—Biblical resources for preachers and teachers of the word of God. They allow these sermons to be used as the Lord leads but not for profit.