God's Promises

Day Two
”Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 (ESV)

If you’re a Christ Follower then you likely are familiar with this verse. We hear people recited it, quote it, pray it, but do you believe it? The promise is there, did you see it? “The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, WILL guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Sign me up! But wait…Did you see the sentence that preceded the promise? “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made know to God.” Do not be anxious about anything…Anxiety is characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts and physical changes like increased blood pressure. Hmm…Guilty as charged here, how about you? 

Then we have that next word. The word that shows up over and over in our Bibles, the one that changes everything. “But (God).”

BUT in EVERYTHING.  Everything in the greek here means, well everything. In everything, by prayer and supplication. Supplication isn’t a word I use in everyday conversation, but it means to ask or beg. So in order to be relieved or released from our anxiety, we are to pray and ask. Notice it didn’t say pray or ask, but and. Then we are provided the posture, the attitude on how to pray and ask; with thanksgiving. Again I don’t use thanksgiving in my normal day-to-day conversations, unless of course it is Thanksgiving (I love turkey!). Thanksgiving here means to express gratitude to God.

So let’s start over…”Do not be anxious, don’t feel tension or worry, but in everything by prayer and supplication, asking and begging, with thanksgiving, gratitude to God, let your request be made known to God.”

We can’t forget that last part…Let your request be made known to God. This can seem odd since God already knows our requests and needs, but Jesus wants to hear if from our mouth. He even asked a blind man what he wanted Him to do (Mark 10:51), that seemed pretty obvious too. I guess Jesus knew the saying “never assume.”

In this time of uncertainty with the growing epidemic, when fears and anxiety are rising, when more and more people are getting sick, when needed supplies are running low, when our loved ones, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc are headed out to work to keep the rest of us fed and healthy, lets not forget God has a promise for you. He promises to provide in ways people can’t. God will provide His peace, which surpasses all understanding, which means you can’t understand it by the way. He will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus. Again notice it didn’t say in the medical cure or in Clorox wipes. But in Christ Jesus.

Today, right now, bring everything to God. By prayer and supplication, ask, beg, and do it with a thankful heart that God is still God. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Let (all) your requests be made known to God, not just your spouse or your friends. Then and only then, will the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

And that is a promise!
Pastor Andy

Day Three
"Do not be afraid of sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes, for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught." Proverbs 3:25–26.

God does not promise here that there will be no terror, problems, or uncertainty.  Because he said, “…when it comes.”  So, we are to expect trouble times and suffering. God did not spare His Son from sufferings, He will not spare us from such fate.

The key to this promise is that “Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.” He will be our confidence during this time of uncertainty, not our wits, plans or even strength. So, what is your confidence in?  Is it in the finished work of Jesus Christ?  Or is it in your interpretation of the news media?

If you are believer Hebrews 3:6 says “…we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.” Our hope ought to be in Christ Jesus and not anything else. We hold fast to God's word and not the word of man.
My encouragement to you is to seek Jesus with all your might and wait for him in this time of struggle. Let God be your confidence and hope today, not the media, stimulus check or anything earthly.

Lean on Him and he will make your path straight.
Blessings,
Cody

Day Four

“And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way; 
even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.” Isaiah 35:8 (ESV)

There are a few promises here. One of them is heartwarming, the other one heartbreaking. Isaiah has given us a picture of this promise and warning. And a highway shall be there, this is something we can picture, even if it’s been a few weeks since we’ve driven on one. When we get on a highway we know exactly where we are headed, but instead of I-75 South toward warmer weather, this is the highway called Way of Holiness and it is heading to Heaven.

So far it sounds like a highway I want to be on, I imagine the scenery to Heaven is breathtaking! But it doesn’t take long to see there is a toll road ahead and there is only one type of currency that gets you through. It says “the unclean shall not pass over it.” Well if this means a clean shower and fresh clothes a few of my kids might be in trouble here. The good news is, that isn’t what unclean means in this context. Unclean here means something that opposes a standard. For example if my clothes were muddy from digging a ditch, that wouldn’t be considered unclean. However if I were a doctor and I was about to go into a surgery mud wouldn’t be up to standard, I would be unclean. The standard here isn’t dirty or mud (at least literally), but Gods standard and His Holiness, hence the name of the highway. Well that posses a problem for me, I don’t know about you.

I’ll be honest and this might surprise you… I’m not holy! I don’t live up to Gods Holiness. I sin! There I said it, now you know what my wife has known for years. I’m a sinner, I’m not perfect, I make mistakes (sometimes the same mistake twice!), I lose my temper from time to time, I doubt, I have fears (who likes snakes anyway), I have hate in my heart at times (have I told you how I feel about the steelers?), I say things I regret, I think things I shouldn’t, I could go on, but I think you get the point. So now what? I do I pass through?

Well here comes the good news, but it’s wrapped with the bad news. Although the unclean shall not pass over it. It SHALL belong to those who walk on the way. There is the promise… It shall or you could say it WILL. Not it might, it could or sometimes, but it shall, it will belong to those who walk on the way. The way of the standards of God. This isn’t about doing, as much as it is about being and becoming. In order to walk on the way we have to say yes to Jesus, but this isn’t about getting a ticket to heaven, this is about dying to self. This is about trusting God with your life, literally. When we do this, “even if they/we are fools, they/we shall not go astray.” Wait how can I be a fool and still not go astray?

A fool is someone without understanding. Sometimes we do things because we don’t understand the full impact of our actions. God in His mercy and grace knows when we do something that is foolish, and when we do something that goes purposefully against His standard (Holiness). 

When we live our lives for God, we have the ticket to pass the toll.

I like how John Wimber said it “I’m a fool for Christ, whose fool are you?”

Well, who’s are you?
Pastor Andy

Day Five

“The Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them.” Deuteronomy 28:13

I don’t know about you but I like the sound of this promise! The Lord will make me the head and I shall only go up… Heck yea, where do I sign? My marriage, my finances, my IQ, my golf (wait I want that to go down)… You get the point though. I want everything I do, in the general sense, to go up. Who doesn’t? I like this promise.

But there was an if in there, I’m not a fan of if’s. It said I will make you the head and you shall only go up, IF you obey the commandments of the Lord your God. First off I haven’t met too many people who like the word obey. Can’t we just say follow or listen? What about just do what I say? Obey means to submit to authority and do what is asked or required. The more I think about it, the more obey seems to be the right word. Until we truly acknowledge God is the true head, we will never truly obey Him. 

It’s funny… I want my kids to obey me, mostly because I’ve lived life and I know what is best for them. I’ve made mistakes in my life and now have wisdom (because I learned from those mistakes) and I want to impart that to them. The rules (commandments) in our house are for their good and their development and since they haven’t lived as much life as I have there are plenty of times they just have to trust that I know what is best. But get this, sometimes they don’t listen. I know, I know, it surprises me too! When that happens discipline is often soon to follow. Sometimes the natural consequences of their decisions is enough for the discipline, other times it isn’t.

See that is our reality… This was written before Jesus walked the earth and their were more than 600 commandments. Pretty unlikely you were going to obey all of those, which is why they had the sacrificial system, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

So what does that mean for us today? Jesus says in Matthew 5:17-18 that He came to fulfill the Law, not abolish or destroy them. He obeyed them, He fulfilled them and He took on the atoning, once and for all, sacrifice so that we no longer need to. Now our obedience is to Jesus, and for shortness sake, that means to Love God and Love Others. Then He will make us the head, that doesn’t mean we will always be first and win at everything in this world, it means we will be joined with Him in His Kingdom and His headship. If we obey… Oh and we need to be careful to do so.

Verse 14 - if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.  So be careful, don’t drift, stay focused on Jesus and watch out for those other gods in our lives.
Pastor Andy

Day Six

19 because your heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before the Lord, when you heard how I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. 20 Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place.’  And they brought back word to the king.” 2 Kings 22:19-20

Do you practice repentance of sin?

I know it is weird to ask this question but locked in a house with nowhere to go can provide us a time of internal questions. 

Look at how Josiah approaches his sin… “Because your heart was penitent,” the word here for “penitent,” means tenderness or made soft. During the times we are in, is your heart softened towards the Lord or is it hardened? Are you stewing in your home angry against God, because of what has happened with your job, money, freedom, time, or family?

If your heart is hardened to the Lord I want to encourage you to repent and turn back to the Lord. “…and you humbled yourself before the Lord...you have torn your clothes and wept before me...”, the humility that is expressed here is when Josiah tore his clothes for the grievance of sin. He cared deeply about the sin that was before him, so much in fact that he ripped his clothes. 

Ripping of clothing might not seem like humbling yourself or a great way to show sorrow. However, back then it was showing a sign of mourning called Keriah. Keriah, in Hebrew, means to be troubled or distressed. 

How do you grieve sin? Is there an expectation that you are forgiven so you do not need to? Or, do you weep over the choices you made that were against God? I think we should practice the art of Keriah. 

Because the promise is “…you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place.”  Rest is our promise today! A rest that provides peace within our souls. 

Are you restful or anxious, maybe you need to mourn and repent for the wicked things you have done. Rest and peace are for those who are humble. 

Day Seven

“And I will send hornets before you, which I shall drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you.” Exodus 23:28 (ESV)

I shall drive out the Hives, the Canaanite and the Hittites. This sounds like some sort of rash and if that were the case I say Yes & Amen to that promise! Well it isn’t referring to a rash, but enemies of Israel and the chosen people of God. So what is the promise here?

God says “I will.” I will send hornets before you… This represents Gods army and His bidding/fighting that He does BEFORE we engage in the fight. Do you see how awesome that is! The problem is I often do all the fighting I now how to do first and when and if I can win the fight, then I ask for Gods help. I haven’t even talked about whether it was a fight I should be engaged in anyway or the main point in all this, is this a Godly fight or a worldly one?

A worldly fight often revolves around either something specific I want or something I think I’m right in that has little to no impact on my faith or others faith in Jesus. A Godly fight is the opposite, I know shocker right. Godly fights are all the challenges and obstacles that often prevent or discourage us to introduce or tell people about Jesus. These are our real enemies. 

Not at the time this was written the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites were real enemies. They were communities of people at war with Israel. Israel was a nation striving to follow Gods Commandments and live a life of obedience. Our enemies (for most of us reading this) are sometimes people, but are often fears, insecurities, doubts, etc. This is where faith, trust and action come into play. 

The promise is that God will send hornets, His army, before us. That He will drive out His enemies (not our enemies).

Let us not fear. Often when we march to conflict, we will find that the opposing army is no longer there, because God’s “hornets” can do more than any of our weapons ever could. We must obey our marching orders and GO to the missing, telling everyone of the love, mercy and grace of Jesus. When we do that we will find more often than not that God has gone before us and prepared the way.

Who needs to hear about Jesus today? Invite Gods army to go before you and then boldly “march” into telling them how much they are loved.
Pastor Andy

Day Eight

“Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are my servant; I formed you; you are my servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me. 22 I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you.”  Isaiah 44:21-22

“Remember these things,” this phrase is probably the most crucial phrase in a time of uncertainty. Remember what God has already done for you. Do you think he will not show up now in your time of need? Remember what he has done on the cross.

“I formed you; you are my servant,” that is what we are—servants. Even Jesus declared himself a servant, “ 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many,” (Mark 10:45, emphases added). Jesus never proclaimed that being a servant of God was a bad thing. It is the position of every Christian and servant of Christ is the greatest honor.

“…you will not be forgotten by me,” did you hear that promise? Did you just glance over that phrase? God has not forgotten. Yes, He hears you. Yes, He knows what is going on more than anyone else in the world. Yes, He does care, He formed you.

He cares so much about you that he blotted out your transgressions. Blotted in Hebrew means to wipe clean, wipe out or even to annihilate. God sent his son to annihilate the sins you have committed that separated you from God. Remember Jesus  gave “his life as a ransom for many.” That does not sound like a God who is forgetting his people right now in suffering.  

This promise does require a response because of the many great things God has done:  

1.     I formed you
2.     You will not be forgotten by me
3.     I have blotted out your transgressions
4.     I have redeemed you

God clearly tells us our response to his promise is to return to Him. Like a faithful Dad says to an unfaithful child, “I do not care what you have done, come back to me”. Today, Come back to daddy he is waiting with open arms.
Blessings,
Cody

Day Nine

”And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and His name one.” Zechariah 14:9 (ESV)

It’s like a double rainbow, two promises in one! The Lord WILL be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord WILL be one and His name one.

Before I jump in to the promises, I first need to establish something about truth. The thing is even if you don’t believe something to be true, doesn’t mean it isn’t. For example, if you don’t believe the sun is going to rise tomorrow, that doesn’t mean it isn’t, because the truth is it will. I think that is important to understand, especially as it relates to today’s promise. Whether you believe it or not, it’s going to happen, but not because I said it, but because God’s word said it and believe it or not that is where all truth comes from.

OK, now that we have that settled let's look at the promises. The Lord WILL be king over all the earth. I know this can be hard to believe sometimes, especially when we see so much brokenness, so much sickness, so much hatred and so much selfishness, but that day is coming. The good news is we are closer to that day today than we were yesterday! I will say this, the one thing this unprecedented season of life has revealed is where many of us have put our trust, what we have worshiped, what other gods we have put with or above Jesus. By the way, you can’t have other gods you worship, even if you have Jesus above them. That is like me saying “I do” to my wife and still dating other women, even if my wife would be my number one gal.

So if you to have recognized a few idols, a few others gods that have snaked their way into your life, now is the time to turn (repent) from them, ask for Gods forgiveness and give Him your full attention. Because there will be a day the Lord will be king over all the earth. That brings us to the second promise. On that day the Lord WILL be one and His name one. In other words not only will it be obvious that the other gods people were worshiping were false gods, the Lord will be the only God left. Every knee will bow, every tongue confess, that Jesus is Lord (Romans 14:11). That means we will have to give an account for our life, how we lived it, what we did what we had and who we pledged our trust, our faith, our beliefs in. 

Personally I believe it is better to get those questions answered now, today, in this moment, than wait until Jesus comes in all His fullness and is Lord over all the earth and His name is the only name. And if you find yourself doubting this truth, it doesn’t mean it isn’t true. 

It’s going to happen… He promised it!

Your Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven!
Pastor Andy

Day Ten

9 “The Lord will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. 10 And all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you.” Deuteronomy 28:9-10

“The Lord will establish you as a people holy to himself,” we start the promise with God working on our behalf. The Hebrew word here for “establish” is qwm, it’s meaning is arise, stand up. Let’s put it together, “The Lord will stand you up as a people holy to himself.”

That is a promise to hold on to during these times of struggle. God will stand you up when times are difficult. When you feel like you cannot handle another day of loneliness, chaos, or bad news, God is your strength. He will work on your behalf when you cannot. Nothing explains this better than the cross. God went on your behalf on the cross to establish you as His people. Praise Jesus!  

So, then our response to God’s strength on the cross is to, “… keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways”. Jesus said to his disciples “if you love me keep my commands,” (John 13-16). The obedience God requires here is love. Because God showed you his love on the cross, love him back through obedience.

Our obedience to God’s commandments produces evangelism. Did you see that “And all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord.  The world will know that we are his people by our obedience. Jesus says in John 13:34 that by the way we love one another the world will know that we are his disciples.

Where is your strength today? Do you trust that Jesus went on your behalf on the cross so that you will be his people? Do you know the commandments of God, if so, do you love them and practice them.

I challenge you to wrestle with these questions today and pray for God’s guidance because apart from Christ we can do nothing.

Blessings, 
Pastor Cody 

Day Eleven

The Lord stood by him (The Apostle Paul) and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.” Acts 23:11 (ESV)

Paul was on trial for his faith, that (if not for God) would have ended in his death. To be honest, this is hard for me to truly grasp. I mean I live in a suburb outside of Cincinnati, Ohio. I can walk out my front door and profess my love for Jesus in song and dance if I want (nobody wants to see or hear that, trust me) with no fear of being put on trial or be put to death. I can wear my t-shirt that says “Jesus changes everything” and still not worry about being arrested for it. I can take my Bible with me and read it anywhere I go (now days that isn’t anywhere exciting). You can stand on a corner with a bullhorn if you want and tell people about Jesus and still there is little risk and worry about being arrested, and even if you are you won’t be put to death for it.

But for a moment, let’s imagine we are on trial for our faith in Jesus and the outcome is highly likely we are going to die for our faith. Then the Lord says to you “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in (name your city), so you must testify also in Rome.” Instead of Rome, lets say in your neighborhood, your family, you work, to your friends, on vacation, at the bar, when you get your haircut (I can’t wait until I can do that again), you get the point. So if you were in that situation, how comforted and encouraged would you be hearing God say “Take courage, I see you!” “Take courage and keep up the great work, in spite of trouble you find yourself in."

Encouragement is a powerful thing… Encourage literally means “to put courage in.” This is our promise. God will encourage us, He will put courage in us, in times of troubles. It is also important to point out that God knew Pauls challenges and God sees all that we have done for Him. 

I don’t know about you, but I feel challenged. As an extroverted pastor I miss people. I miss seeing the people God has allowed me to serve and love, I miss talking to people about what is going on in their life and hear what God is doing in and through their life. I miss the simple things of meeting friends for dinner or heading up to the park for ice cream and fun. I feel more challenged as a pastor and leader during these times, I feel the financial challenge of the unknown in our personal finances and the finances for the church. I feel challenged to trust God even if things aren’t or don’t go the way I want, the way I pray or the way I hope. It’s a difficult time, but I’m sure you can relate. My guess is you too find these times challenging and difficult. But God has a promise for us all, one we can’t lose sight of, no matter our circumstances, challenges and difficulties. 

God sees you! He knows what you are going through, He knows your challenges, He knows how difficult things are right now, He understands how you are feeling, He hasn’t forgotten or forsaken you. God wants you to take courage, face your challenges and difficulties, allow God to put courage in you. But… Be sure to testify about God in all things, even if things aren’t or don’t work out the way we want. Testify about God with your family, your friends, your work, your neighbors, with your social media friends, everywhere, to everyone. 

I’ll close with the words from the Apostle Paul from 1 Corinthians 15:58 from the Message paraphrase; " With all this going for us, my dear, dear friends, stand your ground. And don’t hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort.”

Stand your ground, don’t hold back. Throw yourself into the work of the Lord, confident that is will not be a waste of time. We can do this confidentially, because God has promises us that He will stand by our side, just as He did with Paul.

Pastor Andy

Day Twelve

165   “Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble. 166 I hope for your salvation, O Lord, and I do your commandments.”  Ps 119:165-166

True love for the Bible will bring us peace, especially in a time of uncertainty. The word “peace” is salom which means completeness. This word, completeness, is truly a remarkable word, imagine never wanting for anything again. Never wanting for money, success, relationships, you would be completely satisfied.

God’s word brings satisfaction because his word is himself. John 1 says the Word was with God and was God, so his Word brings completeness because he is complete. He gave us himself so that we would know this completeness.

If you examine your life today, would you say you are complete? Do you have internal peace that surpasses understanding? If not, then I would encourage you to listen to verse 166, “I hope for your salvation, O Lord, and I do your commandments.”

The completeness of peace and the rest we are all searching for during these times is God’s salvation. This salvation that God offers inspires obedience, “… I do your commandments.” Are you doing God’s commandments? Or are you living life the way you see fit. If you are living your life your way I bet you do not have peace, because true peace is only in Jesus Christ.

So, let us all praise God for his salvation which brings us peace.

Blessings,
Cody

Day Thirteen

And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.”  Numbers 21:8 (ESV)

This seems like an odd promise. I don’t know about where you live, but there aren’t a lot of poisonous snakes in my neighborhood and trust me if there were I’d move immediately. But lets say I was bitten before I could get the house on the market or pack my things, I don’t have a “fiery serpent on a pole” to look at. 

Well there is good news to all of this, besides the fact that there aren’t poisonous snakes all over our houses. To look is the Hebrew word (rāʾâ), which carries the idea to see with belief with understanding. That is great news, we can do that! Additionally the fiery serpent, which would have been made out of copper or bronze, is a symbol for Jesus. In other words, Jesus is the better fiery serpent. The power wasn’t in the fiery serpent, it was in the power of Gods word. Moses didn’t make this on his own accord, Moses was told by God to make it (Gods word). 

So this is good news for all of us! But, still I don’t think I’m getting bitten by a snake anytime soon. But the truth is everyone is bitten with sin and it has infected our lives. We are broken and lost. Some of us are addicted to drugs and alcohol, others pornography. Some us have been bitten by un-forgiveness, negative outlooks and gossip. Some of us have been bitten by anger or gambling. For some the bite shows up in eating disorders or self harm. 

Here is the hard truth… We are bitten by sin everyday! Whatever you’ve been bitten with there truly is one person who can offer you life and when you see Him, you shall live. No matter how long you’ve lived with the bite, you can decide today to look to Jesus and live. 

McGruff the Crime Dog used to say "Take a bite out of crime.” Now Jesus tells us we can "Take the bite out of sin” when we put our trust and belief in Him. 

And don’t forget to look to Jesus everyday. When we do that we shall live! He promised it!
Pastor Andy

Day Fourteen

“And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Jeremiah 31:34

 “they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord,” I hope this is freeing for you and your family. God will declare himself to you, through His Spirit ( John 16:13). The Spirit uses different avenues to accomplish this—one is by Gods word. The Spirit reveals what has been told to him by Jesus, John 16:13, “…but whatever he hears he will speak”.

The main point here is we have God not playing peak-a-boo with us, we have God who desperately wants us to know him. When we know him truly, there comes the revelation of our sin.

We cannot come before a holy God with our good deeds or merits and expect God to speak. There has to be a cleansing in order for anyone to approach God.

Gladly God does that thing, “For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” God forgives our iniquity and beyond forgiving, he will remember our sins no more. God dealt with the problem of sin at the cross. Sin is not an issue with God, it is an issue with our hearts.

We want to control our lives, we desire to be God. So, in our dissatisfaction with God’s provision at the cross we do what was right in our own eyes. We try to be the saviors, champions, the victor, but there is only one victor, God. For it will be by God’s grace that anyone will know him. It will be by God’s grace will anyone be cleared from their sins. It will be by God’s blood that anyone will be purified.

Today do not walk in what you think is right in your own eyes. Pray that God will reveal himself to you so that you will know him and experience his everlasting loving grace.

Blessings,
Cody 

Day Fifteen

“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Jeremiah 31:33-34 (ESV)

The old covenant was written in stone, you had to learn it and study it, but this new covenant will be put within and written on our hearts. 

There is a problem with this for a lot of us. Many of us are so familiar with this idea, we live in a culture where life revolves around us and more and more people believe and say things like “this is my truth” or “for me I believe.” On the surface those thoughts seem logical, I mean who are you to tell me what to believe? This is actually a very scary place to be. If you are the author of truth, what happens when what you believe doesn’t match what I believe? What about when you are wrong? You know you can’t be right 100% of time, don’t you? What if something you believe to be true hurts someone you care about?

This can get slippery quick I know, especially if we take the above verse out of context. I mean if my heart says it’s OK, then it must be… right? Well a few chapters before this in Jeremiah (17:9) we read “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” Does that clear it up for you? Confusing, right? These seem to be contradicting each other. How can the heart be deceitful and yet have God’s covenant written on our heart? How are we to know what to believe and what to do?

A few things to know (hang in there I’m getting to the promise) and you probably have already learned this in your life. Our hearts, if left on our own, will seek self. What I mean is we will live our lives seeking comfort, we will do what we can to prevent harm, we will do what we can to pursue happiness. And guess what, you won’t find it. I know some of you don’t believe what I just said, but let me ask you this… How is it working out for you? Sure there are moments and even seasons of it, but my guess is it ebbs and flows and get this, I’m betting it ebbs and flows based on what you’ve defined happiness is. When x, y and z happens, you’re happy. 

Let me give you a quick example of what this might look like. As long as you have enough money to pay the bills, as long as everyone is healthy, as long as I can still buy a few of the things I want on Amazon or at Costco, as long as we can still go on vacation, as long as I can still work, as long as I… Or instead of “as long as” it is the “if’s.” You know the if game, right? If I could make more money, if I could find someone to date, marry, love, if I could get out of this house, if he or she would pay more attention to me, if my kids would listen, if we could have kids, buy a house, go on a vacation, etc. The lists are endless really. 

Again all of those things aren’t necessarily bad, but they are lies. Your heart is deceiving you, you know why? Because your heart is deceitful and it is hard to understand, because those things feel right. However not all feelings are factual. So what do we do?

Here is where the promise comes in… I know, I took the long road to get here, but sometimes the trip makes more sense when you have all the scenery. Well to help guide people in their false truths, their false beliefs, their false pursuits that come back empty and unfulfilled, God provided a set of guidelines to for people to live by and test what their heart was saying to what the author of truth says. God provided these things on a stone tablet not to restrict our lives and limit our fun, but instead to give us what we needed to live a life of purpose and joy. When we did something against those guidelines then we needed to provide a sacrifice to God to show our repentance for it. But there is good news. Not anymore!

That was the old covenant, the old agreement. Now there is a new covenant and God has written it on our hearts. He has done this by providing us with His Spirit, the Holy Spirit. He will no longer remember our sins, no longer do we need to offer up animals as a sacrifice for the things we do wrong (our sin) because Jesus provided the once and for all blood sacrifice. 

Think about those promises for a moment. God has written His covenant, the way in which we can find true meaning and joy in our lives, on our hearts AND He will remember our sins no more.

If you want to know what peace is like, if you want to find meaning and joy in your life, if you want to know the real truth (and nothing but the truth), then say yes to Jesus. When we say yes to Jesus then we get a new heart! I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your old heart of stone and give you a hear of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). This new heart isn’t deceitful, if it’s submitted to God. Then no matter what life throws at us, we know that it’s because our world is broken, when people hurt us and others we understand it’s because of their heart of stone, when hard times come (and they will) we know we have a God who died for you and for me. 

We can find joy and we can live with peace and God can give you a new heart and He will write His love (and how we are to love God and others) on our heart. That isn’t just a promise, that is the truth!

The question is; Can you handle the truth?

Pastor Andy

Day Sixteen

20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Philippians 3:20-21

The future that Christians are all supposed to have their hearts on is not when the virus is over. The day that Christians all should be yearning for is the day that we are forever in the presence of God almighty.

There will be another disease, tragedy, or event that will put us back in panic or even the hospital. When Christians are in front of the almighty Lord, there will be no more tragedies. The Christian’s body will be perfect, for their bodies will be, “like his glorious body”. Do not miss this promise, Christians will be in the presence of the almighty God and their bodies will be like his perfect without the touch of sin.

Now, the Christian’s body can be subjected to so many diseases and uncertainty, but when they are in the presence of God their bodies will be perfect and holy. What a day to no longer be worrying about spaying Lysol on everything so we do not get a virus. What a day to no longer worry about what we will look like because it will not matter for we are perfect with God.

This day is promised to those who put all of their trust in the Lord. Do not let one more day pass you without experiencing this promise. Trust in God with all your might and repent for the things you have done and ask God for forgiveness and you too can have this promise.

Another promise here is that God will, “subject all things to himself.” All things death, Satan, even Hell itself will be subjected to God. All things will be under His power with no interruptions. The Ruler of this world will have no power over anyone.

What a day to be with our perfect God, with our holy bodies with all things subjected to himself. This day is the promised day that we all should be yearning for. So, when we do get back to somewhat normal and we can see friends and family, just remember it is just a glimpse of the day to come that all Christians will be united together. O, what a day!

Blessings,
Cody

Day Seventeen

“He chose our heritage for us…” Psalms 47:4

Reading this at first glance you may be wondering what heritage is the author writing about? The Hebrew word here is nahhala, which means inheritance. God has chosen our inheritance for us.

What inheritance could this be? Let us look at 1 Peter 1:3-4 “According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you…”

God has chosen for those whom he has caused to be born again to have an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for them. This inheritance is Jesus himself. Those who trust in Jesus will be in his presence 24/7. 

God himself is the most glorious inheritance that he can promise anyone. With God, things will not perish like money, gold or our bodies. In the presence of God nothing will be defiled. Our thoughts, actions, motives and very souls will be pure. In the presence of God nothing will fade, for they will appear new.

God has chosen the believer’s inheritance, which sounds (and is!) amazing. If you are not a believer, you can start today with asking God to forgive you for your sins and confess that without him you can do nothing to save yourself. If your confession is true, then you too can experience this promise.

Blessings,
Pastor Cody

Day Eighteen

What the wicked dreads will come upon him, but the desire of the righteous will be granted. Proverbs 10:24 (ESV)

It is easy to read this and quickly move past the first part, after all I’m not wicked, are you? Who do you know that is wicked? If you can think of anyone my bet is it’s one, maybe two people. We typically reserve wicked people with some of the worst people we have ever met. I’m with you. The problem is our definition might be wrong.

Wicked here means; unrighteous, having an unrighteous cause; guilty.

I don’t know about you, but I liked my own definition better, it allowed me to skate by. I mean compared to who I came up in my mind I’m far from wicked! But that is exactly the problem, that is how subtle and sly the enemy is. He convinces us that we aren’t that bad, I mean who is that good anyway?

I won’t spend too much time on this idea, instead I’ll ask a few questions…

What is it that you dread will come upon you, what is it that you dread will happen to you? Go ahead, take a moment and list them out. Be honest with yourself, besides God already knows what they are anyway. Now out of that list, where are your wicked thoughts or actions contributing or leading to those things becoming a reality? Let me ask it this way; where are your unrighteous (things that aren’t Godly) thoughts or actions contributing or leading to those things becoming a reality?

See we can’t hide from God and eventually, if we keep pursuing and/or acting in the ways of the wicked, what we dread the most will come upon us.

But… Here is the promise! But, the desires the righteous (God’s standards) will be granted.

In other words, when our desires are Godly desires, they will be granted. What are righteous desires? I think Philippians 4:8 gives us a great starting point. Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think (desire) such things.

When we do that, those desires will be granted and that’s a promise.

Pastor Andy

Day Nineteen

On that day holy to the Lord will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots in the Lord’s house will be like the sacred bowls in front of the altar. Zechariah 14:20 (ESV)

Cooking pots were cooking utensils used by worshippers to cook for their own meal the sacrificial meat intended for them from the peace offerings (see Leviticus 7:15). The promise here is that there will be a day when God will reign as the one true God and everything will be honoring, glorifying and worshiping Him.

But guess what… We can usher in that reign, His Kingdom can come on earth as it is in Heaven. As a matter of fact it has already begun and we can worship God now, we can “ring the bells of our life” and proclaim His holiness and goodness now. Our lives can be used as “cooking pots” for our co-workers, our neighbors, our family and friends to taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8).

If you believe the promise that God will come in all His power and glory one day, why not live in that promise now?
Pastor Andy

Day Twenty

When a man’s ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. Proverbs 16:7 (ESV)

I think we would all agree that we would love to please the Lord. The challenge is we aren’t perfect so it’s easy to believe we can’t please Him. To complicate it even more it is easy to read “when a man’s ways” and think it is in our doing that we please God. That is true, but it isn’t in just our behavior or what we do. What I mean is we can’t act or do our way into pleasing God. I can do nice things for my wife, but I can be seething mad while doing them or I can do them in an attempt to manipulate her. This isn’t what God has in mind.

A man’s way here is the idea is living in accordance to Gods commands. Love God will all your heart, mind and soul and love your neighbor as yourself. 

God will bless your most difficult relationships, if you live righteously and wisely. Living a godly life includes treating others right, which generally brings the natural consequence of peace. But the proverb teaches more than that. The LORD Himself will calm agitated enemies and protect you from violent ones for your obedience. There is a dual blessing in living a wise life – you grow in favor with both God and men.

The way for peace with enemies is by righteousness and wisdom, never by compromise or revenge. Godly living will please both God and men, but compromise or revenge will bring the wrath of God and the resulting anger of enemies. Put your trust in Him this day, faithfully obey His Scriptures, and fear no man.

This promise doesn’t mean harm will not come our way, but it does mean that when we live our lives in pursuit of Jesus and allow His word and His spirit to guide our life then when the ultimate enemy death comes knocking on our door, we will be at peace.

Romans says it this way; if God is for us, who can be against us? 

Pastor Andy

Day Twenty One

I will not leave you or forsake you. Joshua 1:5

This promised is given 6 times in scripture (Gen. 28:15; Deut. 31:6 & 8; Josh 1:5; 1 Chr. 28:20; Heb. 13:5). With the times of uncertainty in our midst, there is one certain thing God will never leave us. 

With coming of days seeming so dim, remember God is with you. This promise is true today as it was then. C.H Spurgeon said, “Not even once will the Lord desert us. Whatever happens, he will be by our side. Friends drop from us, for their help is like an April shower. But God is faithful, Jesus is the same forever, and the Holy Spirit remains in us.”

I hope you are comforted by this, God is not like our friends who come and go. Being with God is not like any relationship we ever had. Most of us have had friends betray us, God will not because he knows what it is like to be betrayed by friends. He will not leave you during trouble times, he is with you. Go to Him with your worries, fears or concerns, He will not leave you.

With God, he is in relationships for the long haul, eternity. It is very rare to have people in friendships for the long haul. With God, He is in relationships for their completion. He is in relationships to make people whole and blameless.

If you want this promise you must ask for forgiveness and repent to control your life without God. When you repent and confess of your sins, he will never leave you or forsake you.

Blessings,
Pastor Cody

Day Twenty Two
 “For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out.” Ezekiel 34:11

God seeks, God seeks for His sheep, what a wonderful promise. Jesus is called the “Good Shepherd” in John 10:11-18. Jesus is the good shepherd who seeks and saves his sheep. Jesus has sought us out , not the other way around.

Let, that be encouraging to us God seeks his sheep, he calls out to them and his sheep knows his voice (John 10:14). Jesus even declares that he will lay down his life for his sheep. How many people in your life right now can say that?

So, this promise is twofold: for those who are not Christ followers and for those who are. For those who are not Christ followers Jesus is willing as the good shepherd to get dirty to rescue you. As the good shepherd he will take his own life to save you.

As a Christ follower, Jesus is willing to get dirty with you to bring you back to the fold. There is nothing you can do to separate his love for you (Romans 8:38). He is the good shepherd to chase after you even when you go astray.

If you have not put your trust in Jesus, I want to encourage you to do so today. If you are and have stepped away from the fold of God, do not worry, trust in him and he will bring you back.

He is the good shepherd for his flock, he seeks and saves those who knows his voice.

Blessings,
Pastor Cody

Day Twenty Three

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” Romans 1:16-17

These kind of verses are easy to read and agree without much thought. I like the promise of salvation for believing and not being ashamed. I mean what is there to be ashamed about?

Again on the surface it all seems good, but lets slow the tape a bit…

What about at work? Does your faith shine through at work or do you leave your faith at the door and pick it back up when you leave? What about at school, with your friends, when you leave the house, when you go to the concert, sporting event, etc. You get the point. To not be ashamed of the gospel, means in all aspects of life.

I’ll be honest, there have been times in my life I was ashamed and left my faith at the door. Every time I regretted it. Over the years I’ve gotten to a place where my faith in Jesus has become front and center and I’m not ashamed to admit it.

It’s hard to be ashamed of the gospel with it is the power of God for salvation. Oh and that promise isn’t just for me, it’s for you too. All you have to do is believe and put your faith in Jesus.

Pastor Andy

Day Twenty Four 

“Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.” Proverbs 19:17 

I know it is crazy to talk about being generous in a time when people are hording toilet paper. The promise here is that the Lord will reward those who show kindness to the poor. Now you might be thinking, I am the poor how can I give to anyone?

Honen is the word here for “generous”. A better understanding for this word would be: one who distributes according to his own will. The question is not how much do I give, but what can I give.

The reality is Jesus gave us his life as an offering for us and if you are a follower of Christ you too are to give your life as an offering to others. Christianity means Christ-likeness, so if Christ gave himself up for us, we then in his likeness are to give up our desires, wants, and needs for others.

 Jesus says it best in John 13:34-35, “ 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

 The world will know that you are a Christian by your love. Our discipleship is measured by our love. In this time of uncertainty, let us not give up love for wants, let us love through Christ’ power. In doing so we will be rewarded, which is Christ. Christ is our reward, to know him, love him and to be in his presence.

 Here are some questions to reflect on. Are you giving what you can, or giving minimal so you can have more? Are you giving because you know what Christ gave you, so you give from an overflow of joy through Christ? Are you giving at all? 

Blessings,
Pastor Cody

Day Twenty Five

The Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous. Psalm 146:7

This reminds me of something my Dad used to say all the time; “I see said the blind man, as he picked up his hammer and saw.” It really has nothing to do with this Psalm other than the fact that God is the one responsible for you being able to see and read it. 

This promise of giving sight to the blind is a both/and. Yes God can heal those who are physically blind, but it is also God who provides sight to those spiritually blind. The truth is, without the help of God we cannot “see” God.

I love the imagery of God lifting those who are bowed down. Again this is imagery of bowing down is referring to repenting to God, asking for His forgiveness and acknowledging His authority in our lives.

The Lord loves the righteous, those that do the right thing in accordance to Gods commands. In other words, those that love God and others as God has not only displayed, but He also gave us the guidelines on how to do that well.

I like this promise, there are plenty of days I need to be reminded of this promise. The reality is if we aren’t careful we lose our sight of God because we get distracted by things that take the place of God. Additionally if we do not take Gods authority and role in our life seriously we won’t come to Him daily to bow down, thank Him and ask Him to forgive us and guide us.

When we do those things God provides us sight and lifts us up and like any good Dad would do I envision Him putting His arms around us to express how proud He is and how much He loves us.

So what are you waiting for? Bow down and talk to your Heavenly Father and pay attention as He picks you up and gives you eyes to see.

Pastor Andy

Day Twenty Six

11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’ Revelation 2:11

There are two things that are guaranteed for everyone: death and taxes. Most of us, if we were honest with ourselves, would admit that we are scared of death. That fear may originate from the process of death, how one dies. There is another fear of death which originates from what comes after this life.

Charles Spurgeon  who was a pastor and theologian once said, “The thing to fear is not the first death but the second death, not the paring of the soul from the body but the final separation of the entire man from God.” The death that Spurgeon is talking about is the total separation from God, which we would call Hell.

Hell is what it is because God’s presence is not there, which means there is no hope, love, joy, peace, or satisfaction because God’s presence empowers these pleasures. Hell is what it is because God is not there.

So, those who are Christ followers are promised that the second death will not happen for them, because they are spared from such fate. They are spared from this fate not because of their church attendance or good works, but because Jesus conquered that death for them.

They are spared because of their trust in Jesus’ finished work on the cross. With this in mind, people go to hell not because they are “just wicked,” but because they want nothing to do with Jesus who provides through his death hope, love, joy, peace and satisfaction.

Where are you looking for hope, love, joy, peace and satisfaction? Are they going to survive eternity? If not, why pursue such things. God offers a better life of true hope, love, joy, peace and satisfaction, that is eternal.

You can participate in this hope, love, joy and peace through repentance and confession that Jesus is LORD and Savior. It will be through your faith and by his grace that you will be saved.

Blessings,
Pastor Cody

Day Twenty Seven

Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you.
I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test! Malachi 3:10 (NLT)

We’ve been using a book called The Promises of God by Charles Spurgeon and have been following that particular days verse. I’ll be honest and say I wasn’t excited about getting this promise today. Not because I don’t believe it, heck we’ve lived it! But because of the timing of it, but if there is one thing I’ve learned over my years as a follower of Jesus is, His timing is perfect.

Let me start today’s promise with a few questions:

• When you read that verse what was the first thing that came to your mind (be honest)?

  • Was it a thought about “the church” asking for your money?

  • Was it guilt?

  • Was it pride because you tithe?

  • Was it challenging?

  • Was it exciting?

I believe we have to be honest where we are when it comes to our money and what we are doing with it, especially if we are a follower of Jesus. Do you really trust God? Do you really want to be a fully developing follower of Jesus? Do you really want to love God and love others? What holds you back? What prevents you from giving as God asks? What prevents you from bringing the whole tithe?

Here are the common things I hear.

• If I tithe I won’t be able to pay my bills.

• If I tithe I won’t have money to go on vacation.

• If I tithe I won’t have money for entertainment, going out to eat, etc.

• I don’t trust the church.

• I give my money to lots of originations.

• I’m generous in other ways.

Here is my response to all of those… You ready? Pray about it, read about it, study it, wrestle with it. Don’t take my word for it, after all I’m a pastor of a church, “I’m supposed to tell you to tithe.” This is why it is difficult for many pastors to talk about money and tithing, because there are people who think we only talk about it because it’s “for our church.” It isn’t my church by the way, it’s Gods. Yes I believe that. God simply is allowing me to lead it, trust me if He wants someone else to lead it He will find someone and trust me there is someone out there who could do a better job.

Now for the controversial thought. I know, you thought I already wrote about that. Personally I believe that the tithe is to the local church and what you give to other organizations should be above and beyond the tithe. I believe there isn’t a more important role that the role of the church. I believe other organizations do tremendous work for the Kingdom of God, but the sole purpose of the church is to tell people about Jesus, train and equip them to go out and Love God and Love Others. Eternity is literally at stake! Not everyone agrees with me, but I love talking about it, because I’m passionate about it and I believe it with everything in me.

OK. I’m about done… I know I’m a sinner and it’s only 9:30 AM and I’ve already sinned today and so have you. I used to say there is one area in my life that I can guarantee I won’t sin and only one. That is with my tithe. I can make that happen, I can decide to do that. Heck I even automate it so I don’t miss a single week! I don’t even have to think about it. I’ll also tell you we as a family haven’t tithed in years. Every year we give just a little more than the year before, so we give above and beyond a tithe. I used to think that was an area we weren’t going to sin in and then I felt the Holy Spirit prompt me and ask me this question; “what if I wanted you to give more?”

So not giving the tithe is the minimum, because God may ask you to give more in some season than others. 

I’ll end with one more question and remind us of the promise. When you get or received your stimulus check, was your first thought too tithe on it, to ask God what He wanted you to do with it? Or was it already spent in your mind? When we knew we were getting one we decided (didn’t pray about it) that I would give my whole check and felt really good about it. Then God prompted me to pray about it (dang it!). See even in our decision to tithe, there is still faith involved because if we truly want God to be the leader of our life then we have to bring everything to Him first. And don’t be surprised if He challenges you to do something different. 

Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test! Malachi 3:10 (NLT)

So put God to the test (the only time He says to do so by the way). He promises to open the windows of heaven for you and pour out blessings. That is a great promise!

Oh, you know why God tests us with our money and the trust of Him with it? Because where your heart is your treasure will be also (Matthew 6:21).

Pastor Andy

Day Twenty Eight

The righteous lead blameless lives; blessed are their children after them.  Proverbs 20:7

Righteous dude! Sorry I couldn’t resist. Righteous here means “right  standing with God.” That simply means, loving God well, obeying Him, following His commands. It doesn’t mean perfection.

Perfection means being perfect, without fault. Although it doesn’t mean we need to be perfect it does mean we admit when we are wrong, seek reconciliation, offer forgiveness, put others above ourselves, look to God for answers, seek wise counsel, tell others about Jesus, that we aren’t ashamed of God, well you get the picture. That is what being in right standing with God looks like in our lives. It’s then the promise of God is fulfilled. 

The righteous lead blameless lives; blessed are their children after them. Oh and before you take yourself off the hook because you don’t have children, we are all children of God. So whether you have actual children or not, I’m betting you have children in your life through family and/or friends and if not, then look to everyone you come in contact with as a child of God and be a blessing to them.

Pastor Andy

Day Twenty Nine

So the Lord your God will bless you in all that you do. Deuteronomy 15:18

Today’s thought comes directly from the book “The Promises of God by Charles Spurgeon."

An Israelite master was to give his slave freedom at the appointed time. And when he left his service, he was to start him in life with an abundant share. This was to be done wholeheartedly and joyfully. Then the Lord promised to bless this generous act. The spirit of this precept—and, indeed, the whole law of Christ—compels us to treat colleagues and tradesmen well. We ought to remember how the Lord has dealt with us, and that this means it absolutely necessary that we should deal graciously with others. It is fitting for the children of a gracious God to be generous. How can we expect our great Master to bless us in our business if we oppress those who serve us? 

What a blessing is here set before those with a generous frame of mind! To be blessed in all that we do is to be blessed indeed. The Lord will send us this partly through prosperity, partly through contentment of mind, and partly through a sense of his favor, which is the best of all blessings. He can make us feel that we are under his special care and are surrounded by his particular love. This makes this earthly life a joyous prelude to the life to come. God’s blessing is more than a fortune. It makes us rich and brings no sorrow in the process.

Day Thirty

  “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.” Ps 138:8

 He who has begun a work in your soul will carry on that work. This reflects Paul’s words in Philippians 1:6, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

 This ought to be comforting especially in a time of uncertainty, because we fail all the time and it takes God to complete the work of grace in our lives. We do not have to fight for this completion, it will be God who accomplishes the completion.

 The Lord will be the one to determine when Christians are complete in love, mercy, patience, kindness, gentleness, self-control, and character. He will complete this work for Christ followers because it was Him who started it.

 God is a keeper of his promises and has promised right here, no matter what your faith journey looks like, He is not done with you. Only He knows how to complete His gracious design.

 We are to pray that His gracious work will advance today for us and those around us. God is not done. Praise His name forever.

 Blessings,
Pastor Cody 

Day Thirty One

16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,  “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 2 Corinthians 6:16 (ESV)

I will! Not I might, I should, I could, sometimes, once in awhile, only when, if they… I will. This is a promise straight out of the mouth of God. “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them and I will be their God.”

If you have said yes to Jesus, He is with you, we are His! Read the verse again…

“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 2 Corinthians 6:16 (ESV)

God will walk with us. I have a theory in life and perhaps you can reflect on my theory for a moment because most likely this has happened during the last 6 or 7 weeks. When we go on walks with others people we often talk about different things than we do when we are sitting on the couch or around the dinner table. It’s as if the change of scenery and the activity of walking sparks different things in our brains and our conversations take on new life. Maybe it’s the lack of distractions, the nature, the freedom of leaving the house for a few moments. 

Take a moment and reflect on it. Have you found this to be true?

We have tried to take 2 walks a day (weather permitting) and I look forward to them. When I make calls to during the week, I put my AirPods in and walk around the neighborhood. I’m more attentive to who I’m talking too and I’m in no hurry to move on to the next thing.

God walks with us and we walk with Him. He is fully present with us, He has no other distractions and neither should we. 

Here is an idea, today take a walk with God. Maybe listen to some worship music and talk to God. You might find that you have more to talk about than you thought and who knows you might find yourself talking to God about different things than you have in the past. Either way God is with you, He is your God and He looks forward to walking with you. That is a promise!

Pastor Andy

Day Thirty Two

Do not say, “I will repay evil”; wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you. Proverbs 20:22

“Say and do nothing to revenge yourself,” says Charles Spurgeon. Why are we called not to avenge what has been wronged? In Romans 12:19 Paul speaks about this same concept, “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

We are not to repay evil with evil we are to forgive and move on. This is easier to write than to do. Trust me I know.

God owns vengeance, he fights for those who have been wronged, so when they have been wronged he will bring justice. He will be the ultimate judge over all creation.

This may cause you to rejoice or fear. Why would we fear this? We are not as good as we think we are. Jesus died for our sins, we are not good. Once we realize the weight of our sins and what it caused. We then realize that we are not owed justice in our favor.

If we are owed justice, we all deserve Hell. God dealt with our evil at the cross and we should be seeking mercy, not vengeance.

It is better to forget and forgive than seek vengeance because Jesus gave us grace when we did not deserve it. So we need to forgive and forget because Christ has forgiven us and blot out our transgressions.

Today forgive and forget. If you are struggling with this look at the cross, let Christ work in your forgiveness.

Blessings,
Pastor Cody

Day Thirty Three

17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone,
with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’  Revelation 2:17 (ESV)

Beloved, be stirred up to persevere in the holy war, for the reward of victory is great. Today we eat heavenly food which falls around our camps: the food of the wilderness, the food which comes from heaven, the food which never fails the pilgrims to Canaan (Exodus 16). But there is reserved for us in Christ Jesus a still higher degree of spiritual life, and a food for that life which is, as yet, hidden from our experience. In the golden pot that was stored in the ark there was a portion of manna hidden away, which though kept for ages never grew stale (Ex. 16:33–34). No one ever saw it, for it was hidden in the ark of the covenant in the Most Holy Place. In the same way, the highest life of the believer is hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3). We will come to it soon. Being made victorious through the grace of our Lord Jesus, we will eat the King’s meat and feed upon royal dainties. We will feed upon Jesus. He is our “hidden manna” as well as the manna of the wilderness. He is all in all to us in our highest as well as in our lowest estate. He helps us to fight, gives us the victory, and then He himself is our reward. 

Lord, help me to overcome.
Spurgeon, Charles H. The Promises of God.

Day Thirty Four

“For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” Isaiah 55:12

What is the most beautiful scene that you have experienced? Was it Niagara falls? The Amazon rain forest? Blue ridge mountains? The Rocky mountains?  I want you to get that picture in your head. Are you there?

The beauty that we have experience, that we have seen, has been through the lens of sin. The best scenery around has been touched by sin. Sin has infected the earth and even our eyes. Some of us wear glasses or contacts so we can only see things through literal lenses.

There will be a day that the curse of Genesis 3 will be removed, and all creation will be liberated from its bondage. A new earth, creation, will be released from the bondage of sin. This is what is promised to those who confess Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Just imagine those images seen with clarity. One day, Christ followers will be able to experience the mountains and the hills in the clearest form. There will be a day where Christ followers will be able to hear creation sing, sing with joy as it was designed to do. This will be peace in its purest form.

This is what our hearts are to long for. This will be for those who trust in Jesus as LORD and Savior. Do not read over this without the certainty of this promise.

Blessings,
Pastor Cody

Day Thirty Five

7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption,
but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Galatians 6:7-8 (ESV)

I have never met someone who planted a tomato plant and reaped grapes, have you? Have you ever picked an orange from an apple tree? Of course not, we get this, we’ve experienced this, we’ve lived it.

This time of year I’m normally nerding out on the Reds and all the new Bengals that were just drafted. I reap lots of information and I’m educated on who we have and what to expect. Recently we’ve decided that if we are likely going to be spending a lot more time at home this spring and summer lets look at what we can do to enhance our outdoor environments. I’ve sowed lots of manual labor and some research on how to enhance as cost effective as possible, we’ve reaped some great outdoor spaces!

I sow lots of time reading, studying, listening, discussing how to be a better leader, pastor and Christ Follower. I hope that is reaping improvement in all areas. This year I’ve sowed lots of discipline around my diet and exercise. I’m reaping the results, I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in since I hit my 40’s.

I’ve sowed some unhealthy things in my life as well… In the first few years of my marriage I sowed too much time seeking fun and drinking instead of sowing in my marriage. I’ve sowed some really bad financial decisions and reaped a lot of debt. I’ve sowed wanting people to like me at the expense of who God has called me to be. I’ve sowed impatience over wisdom, shortcuts over hard work, assumptions over facts, judgment over grace, anger over kindness, pride over understanding… I could go on, but I think you get the point.

In this season of life we are sowing more than we might realize and we will reap that harvest. Are you sowing fear over faith? Selfishness over selflessness? Greed over generosity? Unhealthy eating habits over healthy choices? Sitting over moving? Netflix over learning?

What would it look like to seek God and invite Him into your sowing? What would it look like to sow into your relationship with Him, before anything else?

We will reap what we sow...

Sow a stupid seed, you will reap a stupid harvest. 

What are you sowing? Because whatever the answer to that question is, we will reap it’s harvest and that is a promise!

Pastor Andy

Day Thirty Six

24 And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then rouse yourself, for then the Lord has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.” 2 Samuel 5:24

The beautiful part of the story of the Philistines is that we have a picture of God, who conquered the biggest of giants Israel knew. He has also defeated our biggest giant, sin. Our God went on our behalf and defeated sin at the cross.

It was our God who was struck down for our sins, that death defeated our greatest foe, sin. This is unique because most religions tell you to do something to earn god’s attention. We have a God who came down from heaven to pay attention to us.

Christ followers get to experience a God who has gone before them. You, too, can experience that by putting your trust in the Lord today.

Today you too can experience the promise of God going before you in your sin and shame. Today you can experience God going before you in your marriage, work, parenting, finances.

When we proclaim Jesus as Lord, he is Lord overall. Not just part of your life, but Jesus is Lord of all of your life. The good news is he has gone before you to work for the good of those who love Him.

Blessings,
Pastor Cody