DAILY DEVOTION, May 3, 2021, Be as a little child

 I tell you the truth. You must accept God’s kingdom like a little child, or you will never enter it (Luke 18:17 ICB).

We say that salvation is by faith. Here it seems that redemption is reserved for those who are like a little child. Is this a conflict? I believe the point is this. Little children cannot provide for themselves, and so they must have faith in their parents or some other adult. Children live life without preparing food, buying a house or furniture, making decisions about the future, etc. They trust their parents to provide.

Jesus says we must have a similar attitude. We adults can easily fall into the trap of thinking we can provide for ourselves. When facing life’s most significant matters, we are helpless to provide for ourselves. How can we find forgiveness of sins? How can we earn a place in heaven? Where do we turn when faced with a problem we cannot solve? If we cannot learn to trust God with child-like faith, we will never enter God’s Kingdom.

We need to live life like little children, trusting God to care for us and to provide those spiritual needs we cannot provide for ourselves. We need to thank Him for giving us the ability to meet many temporal needs. Just as children cannot survive without some adult care, we cannot survive without God. The sooner we realize that, the better.

Dear Father, I ask You to set me free from all pride and arrogance. Help me to see that without faith in You and Your Son, I am nothing. Like a child, I cannot provide for those things which are most important.  I want to trust You with child-like faith. Help me, I pray, in Jesus’ name. Amen. 

DAILY DEVOTION, May 1, 2021

It is the same with the tongue. It is a small part of the body, but it brags about doing great things. A big forest fire can be started with only a little flame. ⁶ And the tongue is like a fire. It is a whole world of evil among the parts of our bodies. The tongue spreads its evil through the whole body. It starts a fire that influences all of life. The tongue gets this fire from hell (James 3:5-6, ICB).

When I lived on Woodland Drive, I decided to burn some leaves in the back of the yard. I thought my hose would reach the area. It didn’t, and my little fire soon became a big blaze. I imagined a vast fire would spread to the woods behind the house, and I would be in trouble. I could see the headline in the Enquirer: “Pastor of Warsaw Christian Church burns down many acres of woods.” I ran to the neighbor and received some much-needed help. While I burned more than I had planned, including a portion of my neighbor’s yard, we managed to get things under control.

James likens the tongue to a fire. Our careless words, our gossip, may seem to be a small matter, but it can ignite a spiritual forest fire. James says that such words come straight from hell. The devil chuckles when he sees how our words can damage the church and fellow Christians. Paul tells us to “let your speech be always with grace” (Col. 4:6). Good advice. Let’s resolve to be very careful when we speak. We don’t want to start a spiritual forest fire in our church!

Father, please button my lips when words of gossip want to slip out. I don’t want to hurt others or the church by my careless words. May my words always reflect kindness and grace. I ask this favor in the name of Jesus, Amen.

DEVOTION, April 30, 2021

But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law (James 2:9, LNT).

I wonder how many of us (myself included!) violate this biblical truth. Are we not inclined to favor some people over others? When we favor whites over blacks, men over women, etc., are we guilty of a sin! I believe James is speaking of “prejudice” as opposed to favoritism. That is the word used in other translations (AMP, NET). We may favor some persons over others (friends over strangers), but we must work hard at overcoming prejudice. Prejudice is the practice of lumping a group of people together (blacks, whites, Asians, men, women, etc.) and concluding that all those in a certain group are inferior.

James reminds us that all human beings are created in God’s image and are therefore worthy of our love and respect. During the slavery period of our history, blacks were considered inferior to whites. We have thankfully grown beyond that era, but prejudice still exists among us. As believers in Jesus, we need to recognize that prejudice is a sin, and if we see it present in us, we need to repent and pray that God will set us free from this evil. There is no place for prejudice among God’s people.

Heavenly Father, help me recognize any traces of prejudice in my soul and set it aside with Your help. Help me see and understand that all persons are created in Your image and worthy of respect. You love all peoples, and I pray that I may do the same, in Jesus name, Amen. 

First of all, thank you Sandy Schmitt for bringing the message last Sunday. I hear nothing but positive feedback. And thank you, congregation, for allowing us to attend the DHF conference in Decatur, IL at my old church where I served for about 17 years. It is wonderful to see how the church has grown since we decided to move out of the downtown area and relocate. DHF is thriving with many new faces at the conference.

Reminder: Sunday School will resume on May 2 (that is this coming Sunday!) with the adults meeting in the sanctuary from 9 AM to 9:45. Sandy Schmitt will lead us off as the teacher.

Church service will begin as usual at 10:00 AM.

Wednesday Bible study will resume on May 5th at 3:30. We will begin a video study entitled “Church History Made Easy.” Newcomers are always welcome.

Attention ladies! The FCW will have a workday this Thursday beginning at 8 AM. They will be cleaning windows among other tasks. All ladies are welcome to come and help.

The ladies had a successful rummage sale last Saturday. I believe they made over $1000 which will go towards the purchase of a new stove. Extra money will go toward other projects.

On Sunday, May 2nd I will resume the series on the Ten Commandments. We will be looking at the First Commandment from Exodus 20.

May you all have a very blessed week!
Pastor Bowman

DAILY DEVOTION, April 26, 2021

Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God (Colossians 4:12).

Paul calls attention to Epaphras, a bondservant (slave) of Jesus Christ. He is constantly working and praying for the Colossians that they may stand perfect in the will of God. We know there is no perfect church and no perfect Christian. Human sin and imperfections preclude that from happening. It makes me wonder, what would a perfect church look like?

In a perfect church, Christ would be honored as the head. His will would be the primary concern of each member. Submission to the Holy Spirit would be the chief goal for every member. The Bible would stand as the final authority for each individual and for the church.

Every member would be born again. Each one would be striving to live faithfully. When sin did crop up, there would be immediate confession and repentance. Each member would feel loved and cared for by the entire church. When personalities clash, those involved are quick to forgive. Being in harmony with one another is more important than being right.

There would be a burden for those who know not the Savior with a zealous missionary outreach both at home and abroad.

Other thoughts run through my mind as I imagine the perfect church, but let this suffice. No, we will never achieve total perfection in this life. There is no perfect church, but what kind of church should we strive to be? Shall we be content with mediocrity, or shall we strive to be the best we can be? While we will never achieve complete perfection, should not that be our goal?

Father, I want to be a church member who strives for perfection. I want to use whatever gifts and talents I have to further Your Kingdom. Yes, I will fall short of perfection, but I do not want to be content with mediocrity. I know that as I walk by faith, You will walk with me and use me to help in the building of Your kingdom. In Jesus’ name, Amen.