Pastor's Desk

9-2-25

Habakkuk 1:3  Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention. 

Do we ever feel like crying out as the prophet did?  We see the straight up wickness in this broken world and want to scream!  School shootings, church shootings and other acts of satanic violence are all to common.  War breaks out constantly all over the world. God knows and God hears.  A day is coming when they shall beat their swords into plowshares. Isaiah 2:4)  A day is coming when we will have an entirely new Heaven and Earth. (Revelation 21:1-4)

8-26-25

Corinthians 10:32-33  Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:     Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved. 

Obviously the truth of the Gospel may offend people.  We cannot help this.  However, when it comes to other issues we as Christians should not offend.  We should bend over backwards to avoid any unnecessary offense that would hamper our ability to share the Gospel. 

8-19-25

Colossians 3:14  And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. 

Charity or agape love is the bond of perfectness.  When the New Testament speaks of perfectness, it is recognized that only Christ is sinless.  The meaning, rather, is that we have come to the place in which we are living out the reality of Christ.  It was His agape love that made Him willing to go to the cross.  That is the bond we have with Him and ultimately with one another as Christians.  It is not sourced in us or our will but rather in Him and His power!. 

8-12-25

Philippians 1:3-5  I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,   Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,   For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; 

This Thursday will mark 11 years since I came here to Immanuel as pastor.  Marcia and I want to thank you for your fellowship in the Gospel.  You are truly a joy!

8-5-25

1Corinthians 6:9-11  Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,  Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.  And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. 

Two things should be as clear as possible.  One, people whose lives are characterized by rampant sin do not know Jesus Christ.  Two, people whose lives used to be characterized by these things are totally clean in the eyes of God, if they have come to Christ.  The devil will try to tell lost people that they are saved despite rampant sin.  The devil will try to tell saved people that they are still what they were when they are not.

7-29-25

Colossians 1:29  Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily. 

We should always remember that the truth is we do not just work for Jesus.  He works through us. We are His tools and instruments.  A master musician can make better music with a children's piano than an amatuer could with a Steinway!  So, God does great things through us when we are His instruments.  A master builder can take cheap bargain store tools and do a lot.  Christ can do great things in and through us.  He is  not limited by our abilities.So, when He gets ready to pick you and me up and use us, we should be ready to see results! 

7-22-25

Titus 3:1-2  Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,     To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men. 

 Meekness can be perceived as weakness.  Yet, the Bible makes it clear that it is not..  The desire to fight can seem right.  Yet, the Bible says that it is not. As we work to be salt and light in our culture, we must do so with this scripture in mind at all times.  Yet, the modern political climate in America sometimes makes this a challenging verse!  Only by His power can we do it right.

7-15-25

1Corinthians 9:25-27  And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:  But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. 

Our culture, like that of the Graeco-Roman world of the first century, is sports crazy!  Elite athletes are almost revered in modern America.  Certainly, one of the things that is most admired is their single minded devotion to their sport.  It is this devotion, perhaps as much as innate ability, that makes the difference in who succeeds or fails.  We who are saved should have an even more single minded devotion to the task of serving Jesus.  Each of us should ask ourselves a question.  Do I have such a devotion?

7-8-25

Romans 3:27  Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. 

No Old Testament figure ever kept the Law of Moses.  If they did they could brag but they never did.  However, we can brag on what Jesus Christ has done.  He did live sinlessly and then paid the price at the Cross for us to be considered  sinless.  Now that is something to brag about!

7-1-25

Matthew 19:14  But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. 

Next week begins our VBS.   Magnified is the theme.  Thanks to all the hard workers who are and will make this a success,  Above all, praise the Lord.  For, it is He who must be magnified.  Be in prayer that precious young people will be be impacted for Eternity.

6-24-25

Rom 12:21  Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. 

We can never overcome evil with more evil.  That just lets evil overcome us.  The only thing that can ever really stop evil is good.  Good always overcomes evil.  There may be suffering on the part of the person who determines to overcome evil with good.  However, it is the way of the Cross!

6-17-25

Genesis 1:27  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 

Does this not seem to be a clear statement in Scripture?  Mankind is different from the rest of God's Creation because we are in His image.  Men are different from women because God made us this way.  People tend to act like animals when they think that they are one.  If one desires to be the opposite sex than what God made them, it is the ultimate silliness.

6-10-25

Mat 24:29-30  Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:  And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Someday, after the Great Tribulation, Jesus Christ will return in power and Glory.  It will not be a happy day for those who reject Him as Savior.  Not everybody goes to Heaven when they die.  They will regret the day that they turned their backs on a Gospel presentation.

6-3-25

Revelation 1:17  And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: 

John fell in reverential fear at the revelation of Christ to him.  Yet, the hand of Jesus Christ meant he did not have to fear, in a terrified way.  He was in fact the child of the Living God.  Jesus is the Living God.! Those under the loving hand of Him will never ever have a thing to fear.  Let us shout halleluiah and dance for joy!

5-27-25

Job 1:20-22  Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,  And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.  In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. 

Job had just received news of the destruction of most all he held dear.  Contrary to what the devil said, he had blessed God anyway.  Is our praise of God in any way conditioned on our circumstances?  Do we point to Heaven even when we don't make a touchdown?  Do we praise God the same when we get a cancer diagnosis as when we get news of remission?  Throughout the rest of the Book of Job, Job maintains his steadfast commitment to the Lord.  It is an example to us all!

5-20-25

Hebrews 12:3  For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

Are we ever weary and faint in our minds in our service for and walk with Jesus?  Well. look up!  Do we ever feel that the world is after us hard? Look to the example the Master set.  We will not summon  the strength in our feeble selves to endure.  Only as we look to Him can we do that.

5-13-25

Acts 2:41  Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. 

This is the harvest of the first Gospel sermon preached by Peter after the Ascension.  It was on the day of Pentecost. Two tasty tomatoes are already good to go for harvest in my garden.  They have been nursed along for quite a while.  Soon many more (I hope) will follow.  They are the firstfruits.  That is what Pentecost was.  For over two-thousand years now, the Gospel has been producing fruit and it will until the Master returns for His Bride.

5-6-25

Ephesians 6:1-3  Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.  Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)  That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. 

A shout out goes to the moms, grandmas, meemaws and general nurturing ladies in our church.  Keep up the good work!  Keep being the one through whom little ones see the love of Jesus.  Thanks!  Mother's Day ought to be every day.  

4-29-25

1Co 2:1-4  And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.  For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.  And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.  And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: 

Our purpose in ministry is not to show off our abilities or giftedness.  It is to point to Jesus Christ and to rely upon His power and wisdom.  Sometimes it puts us in a seemingly vulnerable position.  However, in reality we are, when we rely solely on Him, right where we need to be. FROG: Fully Rely On God!

4-22-25

Heb 9:24-28   For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:  Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;  For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:  So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. 

The Roman Catholic pope died.  They will get another one.  The cycle will continue.  However, the true head of the Christian church rose from the dead and will return.  His once for all Atonement stands as the only hope for all true Christians worldwide and forever!

4-15-25

Acts 3:26  Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities. 

Peter's message that day to the people of Jerusalem remains the message today.  The Jewish people had the first opportunity to hear the Gospel.  It was theirs first.  It would not be theirs alone.  It was Peter again, later in the Book of Acts, to whom would be given  the task of sharing Christ with the first Gentile convert.  Cornelius would come to Christ as is recorded in Acts 10.  For all, it is the Resurrection that is the key.  This is the hope of Easter and all the rest of our years and Eternity!

4-8-25

Hebrews 5:14  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. 

As we grow in Christ we can deal with more and more deep things in the area of doctrine and maturity.  These things are of course available at the beginning of our walk with Christ.  However, the timing of when we come to that place in our walk with Jesus is up to us.

4-1-25

Psalm 53:1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good. 

Today is April Fools Day.  Folk play pranks, hopefully innocent and in good fun on one another.  However, there is one really dirty trick that is played everyday as the devil deceives people into foolishly denying the Lord!  It is given to us to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ that they might be freed from the bondage of such foolishness.

3-25-25

Luke 23:50-53  And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counsellor; and he was a good man, and a just:  (The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the kingdom of God.  This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus.  And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid. 

Do we ever reflect much on the role that Joseph of Arimathaea played in the Easter story?  No matter how selflessly someone lives their life, they will leave at least one burden to others.  Other people have to take care of the arrangements for their earthly body. This is normally taken care of by people who love them.  Obviously, Jesus' life was selfless like no other before or since.  Praise God that He would rise again on the third day.  This is our hope!  Yet, make no mistake, the body that Joseph went to claim from Pilate was dead!  Out of love, Joseph claimed the body of Jesus.  Out of love, he placed it in the tomb.  Out of love, he did what he did.  It is an act memorialized on the pages of God's Word.  Indeed, it ought to be.  It teaches us a wonderful lesson of love.

3-18-25

Romans 1:14  I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.

The storm passed us over and we owe it to others to be there for them.  Thanks to all who have stepped up to help victims of the tornado.  The storm has passed over us as Christians as well.  We are safe in Jesus Christ.  Let us us do our best to share Christ with others so that they too can be safe!

3-11-25

1Peter 3:12  For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. 

We often ask one another: "what are you doing?"   We do so to show interest in someone else's life. This is also a good question for our walk with Jesus.  Those that do evil as a pattern of life really are not walking with Jesus.  Indeed, Jesus is not walking that way.

3-4-25

2 Corinthians 5:8  We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. 

If we are absent from one place we are bound to be present somewhere else.  Better to be absent from work on vacation than absent and in a sick bed!   We will all be absent of this body.  Yet, some will not be present with the Lord!  Some will be in an awful place called Hell.  We must share the Good News of Jesus Christ.  For, the Gospel is the only way to be present with the Lord some day.

2-25-25

Titus 1:15-16  Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate. 

Can someone make a profession of faith that is belied by their behavior?  Absolutely!  That is what Paul is addressing here. Dirty minded, rebellious, disobedient and defiant they nonetheless claim that they know Jesus.  Yet, it is not the real Jesus.  It is a fake Jesus that has been custom designed to fit the lust of man.

2-18-25

Rev 21:7-8  He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.    But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. 

Anyone who thought winter was over is incorrect.  Well, at least here it is true.  In Australia it is a whole other season. It is likely nicer weather. Not all people have the same experience at the same time.  This is true in this world.  It is also true in the next.  What a contrast!  The reason that we are in a different season than Australia has to do with different hemispheres.  This changes every year. The eternal destiny of folk will not change.  People doomed to Hell will never gain Heaven.  People saved from Hell will never lose Heaven.  If you are saved praise God with every fiber of your being.  If you are not saved be saved today!

2-11-25

1 Thessalonians 2:4  But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts. 

Some might think that this verse applies only to Paul and people like him, namely preachers and Bible teachers.  This is not really true.  Every Christian has to stand by what they know to be true before God.  There is a temptation for all of us to "tell people what they want to hear".  However, we must not! For indeed, all of us us have been entrusted with the Gospel.  It s a sacred trust.

2-4-25

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12  Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power:  That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

We must never lose track of one central fact.  Our central mission is obedience to God and the shining forth of His glory.  We are not to seek and do not need glory.  Glory is only appropriate to God.  Let us ask ourselves: whose glory am I after?

1-28-25

Rev 22:20-21  He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

All is well that ends well.  This proverbial statement has no greater application than that of the end of all things here.  This verse is the end of the Bible.  It is the end of all things for God's people.  Yet, not all will end well for all people.  Only if one has come to Christ will they have a good ending.  Will it all end well for You?

1-21-25

Galatians 6:7-8  Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. 

As I  write, it is snowing in New Orleans, La. It is not snowing here.  This is not the norm.  It is the exception.  As it is with weather so it is with people.  What we normally do is what we really are and it is what we really believe.  Of course we all fail.  Sometimes we do or say things that are not who we really are.  Yet, what we normally say or do is who we really are!  It rarely snows in south Louisiana.

1-14-25

Joel 1:14  Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD, 

 Senate confirmation hearings are going on now.  It is unlikely that the primary questions will center around the persons walk with the Lord.  What will it take to make America and its leaders cry out in desperation to the Lord?  Not a polite little formal prayer but rather a true wailing cry is needed! 

1-7-25

Psalm 118:24  This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. 

On this day in 1986 my dad passed away.  It was also on this day a few years ago that I was severely injured when my pickup fell and broke my shoulder and did some other damage.  However, every other January 7 over my  lifetime has gone well.  No doubt, some absolutely wonderful things have happened on this day some years that I have totally forgotten about!  Maybe there is a day for you that seems negative.  I am not going to let it be.  Neither should you.