Pastor’s Corner

Trivia:

Happy Friday everyone, please continue to uphold John in prayer he had a bout with hydration needs. Also continue to pray for strength for Brenda as she continues to care for him.

Well, yesterdays trivia question was; Which planet is best known for its prominent ring system? Well Saturn is the most extensive planet with rings, however, all of the planets named have rings, but Saturn is best known for its rings. Uranus has 9 distinct but less visible; while Neptune has 2 ultraviolet rings, then Jupiter has one ring of dust particles, a thin faint ring of light and 2 gossamer rings. But Saturn is the most prominent in appearance, so is most well known.

In the recent historical world; Can you guess which was the first product to be scanned with a barcode? A bag of Lay's; A can of Coke; A pack of Wrigley's; or a pack of Twinkies?

Challenge:

Psalm 50:7-15 "O my people, listen as I speak. Here are my charges against you, O Israel: I am God, your God! 8 I have no complaint about your sacrifices or the burnt offerings you constantly offer. 9 But I do not need bulls from your barns or the goats from your pens. 10 For all the animals of the forest are mine, and I own the cattle on a thousand hills. 11 I know every bird on the mountains, and all the animals of the field are mine. 12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for all the world is mine and everything in it. 13 Do I eat the meat of bulls? Do I drink the blood of goats? 14 Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God, and keep the vows you made to theMost High. 15 Then call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory."

According to these verses, do you understand just what our Eternal God desires from us? Well verse 14 points out to us that His greatest yearning is for us to offer to Him the spirit of thankfulness, the commitment of us upholding our promises to Him. Then in verse 15 Just think our Eternal, All powerful God joys in us coming, and looking to Him for solutions when we are in trouble. But most of all He is blessed when we speak often of the many times that He has heard our supplications and then how He has provided solutions in the middle of these needs.

Many times we fail to go to God when we face insoluable solutions, because we have believed the lies that Satan feeds to us, "God doesn't care or desire to hear or help you in your needs." "You don't deserve for God to answer your requests you made these problems yourself, so you have to work them out yourself." Neither of these lies or any other ones that Satan can concoct are spoken about in these verses.

Rather, "Our God!" as He says in verse 7, He doesn't need any sacrifices of this world, rather he yearns for the internal sacrifices that only we can give. He wants only for us to give Him our feelings and words of thankfulness, faithfulness, companionship, friendship, and fellowship.

Now Satan lies to us about God and His expectations of us. "You made this problem so now you have to get yourself out of it." OR "He doesn't care about your problems, your needs are insignificant to Him." OR "He just wants you to come to Him when you can offer Him something of value."

But none of these statements are true my fellow believer, for He makes it clear to us that what He desires of us is our expressions of thanksgiving for His presence in our lives. Unlike our earthly thinking He doesn't want shame, sadness, sorrow, rather He wants us to give Him these human feelings and then pick up these feelings that He has laid out for us: ones of thankfulness, fellowship, friendship, blessings, enrichment, real lifetime solutions, etc.

SO GO WITH GOD for He desires for us to come to Him, when we are overcome by our earthly problems, lay them at His feet, ask Him for His solutions, to look to Him in joy, give Him our sacrifices of praise, honor, and glory. For our understanding that He doesn't want to Lord over us in our time of need for His action, but rather for us to run to Him in our times of needs, to run to Him for solutions in our complex lives, for wisdom beyond our capacity, for His powerful hand of deliverance. O my dear one, He yearns for our fellowship in times of trouble and in our times of joy.

So take those overwhelming cares of today, place them before Him, for He loves it when we look to Him for solutions, for those times that we need comfort, for that time of our needing His friendship. Run to Him and He will take that heavy load and carry it together with you. He understands those struggles for He carried them to the cross.

Jesus speaks these comforting words to us; Come to Me, all who are weary (exhausted, overwhelmed) and heavy-laden, (beyond any visible solution) and I will give you rest. (we will together solve OUR problems) Matthew 11:28