Dare to Ask!

"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!"  (Matthew 7:11)

We serve an awesome God. One of the great blessings we have is relationship with the Lord. Out of that relationship we now receive the benefits of being His children. We can approach Him with boldness and confidence. Hebrews 4:16 tells us "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Sometimes we can get to the place that we think the Lord is tired of our asking, but He never is. We don't want our needs to be all we ever talk to the Lord about, but we need not hesitate to approach Him either.  

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." (Matthew 7:7)

"Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him." (Mark 11:23)

The Nicene Creed

We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son
He is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. AMEN.

The Fruit Test

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23)

The fruit of the Spirit is outward evidence of our walk with God. When the conditions are right a tree produces fruit naturally. It doesn't have to strain and make fruit occur. If the soil is good and it gets the proper amount of rain and sunlight it will produce fruit. A healthy tree produces good fruit.

Likewise, when our walk with the Lord is healthy fruit is produced! The list in Galatians 5:22-23 provides a wonderful checklist for our lives. If something is missing what is the problem? It won't be God, it will be me. If I don't have peace or joy, why not? I can then talk to the Lord and see where I'm missing Him or if the problem is some kind of external stress He can help me deal with that also! We have an awesome Heavenly Father.

Rejoice Today!

"This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:24)

Sometimes the challenges of the day can seem overwhelming. That's when we need to change our focus from the challenges to the possibilities. We need to change our focus from our circumstances to an expectation that our wonderful Heavenly Father is there for us today. We have his Spirit dwelling within and so many wonderful promises from God's Word. If we look for Him in the midst of the day we will find Him! He doesn't leave us or forsake us. He is a very present help in time of need. He has made this day! Rejoice and be glad in it!

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble." (Psalm 46:1)