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Your GREATEST TREASURE

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By pastor Jeff,

Matthew 6:19-21, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

There are many different ideas on what your treasure is, some say our children are our greatest treasure, some say Jesus is our greatest treasure, and some say our salvation is our greatest treasure and really not any of these could considered wrong.

So what is one of if not our greatest treasure?

According to many surveys the average American works an average of 8.9 hours a day; we spend probably ½ or so getting ready for work and an average of 46 minutes a day in commuting every day. So that accounts for about 10 hours and 10 minutes associated with work every single day of the work week (more if you are on salary).

The average American sleeps 7.7 hours per day, some more, some less, so that pushes us to close to 18 hours a day already used up or about ¾.

Then we have to eat and drink to reenergize our bodies, we spend some 34 minutes preparing and for cleanup a day and a little more than one hour per day consuming food and beverages. So now we are a little under 20 hours per day.

It’s said the average person watches TV 2 hours and 36 minutes a day and 2 more hours is spent on social media with Pinterest being the most used. Well according to my calculations that puts us at or slightly over our 24 hour day. No wonder we are tired and frustrated with life.

So has the devils scheme worked? Ephesians 5:16, “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil” Would you agree?

We spend so much time trying to compete and fulfill the American dream, that we don’t have much time to enjoy it.

We continually see our paycheck dwindle from the ever increasing taxes, food prices, housing and so on. It’s interesting to see that we had more buying power 40 years ago when the average wage was $4.03 per hour that we have today at $20.67 per hour.

We are not saying you shouldn’t work but maybe we need to relook at our priorities, for our time is being stolen from us and once it is gone, you can never get it back. Psalms 89:47, “Remember how short my time is: wherefore hast thou made all men in vain?”

Time is one of our greatest treasures and we need to never forget that it is a gift from God to be used as best as we can.

Time was always very important to me and I will be the first to admit that I did not like sharing it with anyone. I guess you can say I was not much a people person, people were selfish, mean, demanding of time and MY resources in time as well as money. When I really felt the call into the ministry, at first I thought man this will be awesome, you know, I get up on a Sunday morning, preach a life changing message, people would repent and get saved, pat me on the back and that would be it until the next Sunday.

But then I began to realize that that was not all it was going to be, and I began to have a change of heart a little bit. You mean people would need me to spend time counseling with them? Didn’t you hear my message about giving it all to Jesus? What do you mean you are having trouble with your children, your marriage, and your faith?

This was going to mean that it will cost me my most precious treasure “time”, but this is the treasure that will reap eternal rewards, “For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.”

Our greatest treasure is time, we need to invest it not in things, things that rust away, things that moths will devour, things that we have to put cameras all around our house to try and prevent thieves coming to steal so let’s become wise to the enemy of our souls desire to waste it on things that have no eternal reward, let’s try to spend more time with family, friends, and of course Jesus Christ and His precious word.

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What is Your Gift?

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By Pastor Jeff,

Matthew 2:1-11, “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.”

Now I want to point out a couple of traditions that have been added to the Christmas story that the bible doesn’t speak on, one was that there were only three wise men, we see that three gifts were given but scripture doesn’t say it was by just three wise men, there could of been hundreds for all we know. The other is that the wise men came the night that Jesus was born, in fact when the wise men did have their encounter the scripture tells us he was a young child and based on Herod sending his soldiers to kill all the male children two and under, Jesus could of been that age when the wise men did appear before the child Jesus.

With that we will look at the three gifts that the Wise men brought, Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh. The gold had a great monetary value and had to help during the upbringing of Jesus as Joseph, Mary, and family had to move more than once until they settled in Nazareth. Frankincense was a resin from the shrubs that grew in the mountain ranges that border Dhofar, Myrrh was also a resin from the Horn of Africa. These were very valuable and may even been more costly than the gold as frankincense was used by Kings and myrrh was used for funeral rites because of its strong aromatic scent. Some speculate that these three items would value in the millions of dollars but of course it that can’t be confirmed.

These valuable gifts were important in the life of Jesus but the question I have for you, is what gift do you bring to Jesus? Some may say our offerings of money, or a vow to pray, read your bible more, and so on it what our gift is, but I tell you that is not what Jesus wants. But you say I have nothing else to give, you say surely wouldn’t want this man of sin, Psalms 8:3-4, “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?” Indeed!

Thank God, that isn’t the way God sees us Psalms 139:14, “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.” Romans 5:8, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” I contend if you were the only person in this world that needed saving, Jesus would of still of come taken on the form of man, been rejected, suffered, died, buried, and Resurrected just for you. That’s the value Jesus puts on you, Jesus didn’t come for your bank account, your house, your cars, or any other material thing, He came for YOU! The best gift you could possibly give Jesus this Christmas and any other day is your Life, obey Acts 2:38 and become Born Again, don’t delay for we do not know that this may be the last Christmas we have before He returns.

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The Best Gift

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By Pastor Jeff,



James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

We are in the midst of Christmas season 2020 as kids all over the world are making out their Christmas lists. I remember when we were kids, we couldn’t wait for when the Sears and JCPenney’s catalogues would be delivered and we would go through them over and over again to mark the things we were hoping for.
I’m sure everyone reading this can remember that one special Christmas or if you were fortunate several Christmas’s that you got the gift that you had dreamed of. You can probably also remember some of the gifts you didn’t ask for as well.
That gift you would probably qualify as the “Best Gift” and you may even smile when you think of that gift or may have it even today.

Acts 20:35, “I have showed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.” I personally believe this is true when you have the opportunity to give to someone who could never repay you or if you can do it anonymously. But to be honest, I do like to be the recipient of gifts, and at Christmas we remember the “Best Gift” mankind has ever received.
John 4:10, “Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.” John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Because of this gift of God becoming flesh, dwelling among us, suffering, being crucified, His resurrection, and finally ascension we have another promise we receive. Acts 2:38-39,”Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:”
The gift of life that we have been blessed with is truly something to be grateful of, but eternal life that we get through faith in Christ is by far the, “Best Gift”! Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

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Is He the God or My God

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By Pastor Jeff,

John 20:24-28, “But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.”

In the U.S. we have approximately 330 million people with 244+ million of those over the age of eighteen. According to Pew Research 65% of Americans still consider themselves Christians that adds up to 158+ million Christians; so why is our nation so ungodly with abortion still the number one killer of children with 1700 every day, the rioting, looting, burning of cities, and cries for defunding the police in spite of rising crime around our country.

It’s an easy question to answer because one can call himself or herself whatever you want but it’s your relationship with Jesus Christ is what matters, Matthew 7:21-23, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

We find in the Old Testament that very few individuals had a relationship with God. He was the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, He was the God of Israel. Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David are some of the very few who had a close relationship with God. Unlike the New Testament in that each of has an opportunity to have an individual relationship with Jesus Christ. We now, can have the Lord of all things come into our hearts, John 14:18-20, “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”

He is not just the Lord God, He needs to become My Lord and My God in our lives, just ask this of yourself;

Is He the savior or is He My Savior? Is He the creator or His My Creator? Is He the provider or is He My Provider? Is He the healer or is He My Healer? Interesting how the change of one word can transform your attitude, your stance, and your relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Don’t just settle to be standing on the outside looking in by only recognizing that there is a Lord, that there is a God but never making Him the ruler of your heart and life. John 20:29, “Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”We are truly blessed to be able to just like Thomas to call out and declare that Jesus is My Lord and My God!

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Answered Prayer

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  By Pastor Mike

We are truly walking miracles. We know people who have beat diseases. Someone who received a new heart. Healed of carpel tunnel. Someone who was able to walk and talk after a major stroke even though doctors said he wouldn’t. Those are all miracles. When GOD answers prayers we need to thank HIM for the miracles in our lives and in the lives of others we know.

Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”

Mark 11:20-24 “And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”

Look at all the miracles in the Bible. The healing miracles. JESUS healed the blind, the deaf, the lame. He healed the lepers and cast out demons. People came back from the dead. The control HE had over storms. Walking on water. Feeding the multitudes. Healing the woman with the issue of blood.

I will never leave JESUS or never stop loving HIM or stop spending time with HIM. Whatever we go through lets always remember JESUS. We should always Praise HIM.

Psalm 150

Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.

2 Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.

3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.

4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.

5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.

6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.

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More of JESUS

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  By Pastor Mike

We’re all at different stages in our Christian walk and in our relationship with JESUS.  I’m just saying that I’m doing all I can to have a stronger relationship with JESUS. I want to encourage everyone to build a super strong relationship with HIM. HIS plan of salvation is the best thing for us because we will be with HIM forever. It’s very important not only to build that relationship in our lives, but to tell as many people as we can about it. HE loves everyone out there. HE just wants a relationship with HIS creation. That means everyone.

We all have stress with jobs, school, relationships, family. We gotta always put JESUS before any of that. We gotta pursue HIS face with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength.

Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Deuteronomy 6:5 “ And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”

Matthew 22:37-38 “ Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.”

We put JESUS first through worship & praise –

Hebrews 13:15 “ By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.”

I believe that when we have more of JESUS, we have more love for others around us.

Isaiah 64:8 “But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.”

We can flip this world right side up because it’s been upside down for so long. All in the name of JESUS. How many more people can receive the saving Power of the Holy Spirit by us telling folks. By teaching Bible studies. We are the hands and feet of JESUS. With our focus on JESUS and a closer relationship with HIM, I believe we will see greater.

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Unity

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  By Pastor Mike

Exodus 17:8-13

8 Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.

9 And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. 10 So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

As Moses became more tired, Aaron & Hur, brought a stone Moses could sit on and with one man on either side of him, they held up his arms so that Joshua could win the battle.

We need to be there for one another to lift up one another in prayer and in encouragement.

Acts 4:31-32

31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.

Psalm 133:1

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

Living together in unity has to involve loving one another – I mean everyone loving everyone – first and foremost by showing it – to everyone –I’m not saying its always easy – but its always the right thing to do  show the LOVE

How’s this for final act of UNITY

Philippians 2:9-11

9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Let’s be ready to stand in unity. Remember to pray for each other. Be there for one another.

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How Great is our GOD

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   By Pastor Mike

I wanna talk about how great our GOD is. Everything that HE has done should make us excited to live for HIM. HE saved people from drug addiction. Some from alcohol. Some from suicide. We all live for something or someone. I choose to live for JESUS. Way back when, I lived for myself and that’s when the enemy jumped in and ran my life. I was living the way I wanted to. Now I’m so excited I live for JESUS. I can’t lose now. I win. Doing my best for HIM.

GOD is so great because of who HE is. HE’s the one who spoke this world into existence. HE suffered and died for all of us so that we can be with HIM forever. We all have choices to make in our lives. The most important choice is to pick where you want to end up forever. What we do here on earth will depend where we’ll end up. I want to encourage everyone to choose JESUS. Choose you this day whom you will serve.

HE is so great that HE made a way for us to be with HIM forever. HE gives us HIS plan of salvation. It’s about being born of the water and the Spirit.

John 3:1-5

3 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. 3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

HE is so great that HE will heal every sickness and disease.

Matthew 9:35

35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

Luke 4:40-41

40 Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them.

41 And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Christ.

The word grace in the Bible, refers to the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God. John 1:14 tells us that God left His heavenly throne, became flesh and came to live with us here on earth. He was full of grace and truth. The Bible says that we receive blessings from the fullness of His grace.

1 John 4:3-4

3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. 4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

Ephesians 1:6-7

6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. 7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

Ephesians 2: 4-8

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God

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A Life of Faith

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   By Pastor Mike

I wanna talk about Faith and Hope. Because the Faith we have in JESUS brings us the Hope for a better life and to spend forever with HIM.

Chapter 11 of Hebrews talks a lot about Faith. Read it when you get a chance.

Hebrews 11:1

11 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:6 3

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

Without faith it’s impossible to please GOD. Without faith it’s impossible to receive the power and the blessings of JESUS. You may be saying “I’m praying but nothing is happening.” We can never give up on our prayers or become upset or question ourselves when we don’t get immediate results when we do pray. It’s always in HIS timing.

Sometimes we get tested just enough to make us uncomfortable. To get out of our comfort zones and keep going forward in our faith. The way to avoid unbelief is to choose to let JESUS do HIS thing and take care of business. To actively watch for HIM to do something miraculous.

I want to challenge us to deeper prayer; let’s focus beyond our limitations.

WE BELIEVE that we serve a big GOD and WE BELIEVE that a GOD-sized vision stretches us enough so that the only way it can happen is by the power of JESUS.

It’s very important in building our faith in JESUS. When we do that, anything can happen and we will be victorious in every situation.

Do we have the faith to tell that mountain to move? Do we have enough faith to tell any sickness and disease they are not welcome in our bodies?

Do we have enough faith to let JESUS handle any situation at work, on the road, in our homes, in the stores? Do we have enough faith to tell people about our JESUS and what HE does for us to bring them to HIS Kingdom?

The foundation of our relationship with JESUS is built on Faith. Without Faith our foundation will be too shallow and we might begin to lean off center and even fall over.

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Trust in JESUS

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  By Pastor Mike

I want to talk about Trusting JESUS.

Back in the day – a person’s word or a handshake meant something and you could trust they would stand by it.  Now everything has to be written down and signed. Press hard because when you sign you need many copies.  No one trusts anyone anymore because they’re too many scammers out there.  Too many cheaters, too many swindlers. Too many liars.

JESUS is the Best Thing that will ever happen in your life.  When you follow HIM and HIS word you will never go wrong.  NEVER. You can trust that everything that is in the Bible is the Truth. You can trust that HE will never let you down. You can trust when it says that HE will never leave you nor forsake you.

Job 13:15

15 Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.

Whatever happens to us, we gotta keep trusting in JESUS. When the enemy attacks us, trust HIM. When the enemy attacks our family, trust HIM. When the enemy attacks our brothers and sisters in the LORD, trust HIM.

Psalm 18:2

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.

When you read this verse you can trust that JESUS is the rock we stand on. HE is our fortress and protector. HE is our deliverer from everything we don’t want in our lives. Our deliverer from everything we wanna stop doing. HE is our buckler which is a strong shield that covers our whole body from every attack of the enemy. HE gave us the plan of salvation which is being born of the water and the Spirit. It’s found in ACTS 2:38. Our high tower that lifts us up over the enemy. Trust JESUS in all HE said because we win.

Psalm 118:8-9

8 It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.

9 It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.

That says it all.

You can trust that HE will answer prayers. We need to pray daily. Spend time with HIM. Talk to JESUS and listen for that still small voice. Prayer will be answered and it’s okay to pray anywhere and anytime. Pray for your family. Pray for these brothers and sisters. Pray for this church. Pray for your pastors and our wives. Pray for this city and surrounding cities. Pray for the lost to be saved. Pray for strength and wisdom as we reach out to people. Pray we get out of our comfort zones.

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