Psalm 119:114: You are my hiding place and my shield;I hope in your word.  . 

Devotion, 9/28, 2020, My beloved Son.

God said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with Him I am well pleased; listen to Him” (Matthew 17:5).

God, the Father, rarely speaks in the New Testament. Peter, James, and John are on the Mt. of Transfiguration with Jesus. They see the outshining of His divine nature. To make sure they understand what is happening, the Father speaks audibly from heaven. He states that Jesus is His beloved Son, and the Father is pleased with the work of His Son. If God, the Father is pleased with Jesus, I think we should also be pleased with Him. Jesus has fulfilled the Father’s purpose and will continue to do so. His final act of obedience during His earthly life takes place at the cross. We should be well pleased with what Jesus accomplished for us when He died for our sins.

Then the Father tells us to listen to His Son. Jesus is not only our Savior. He is also our Lord, who tells us how to live so we can please God. When we listen to Jesus and respond to His wisdom, God is well pleased with us. When God tells us to listen to His Son, and we fail to do so, how can we expect God’s blessings? God is not pleased when we fail to listen to His Son.

Living life with faith in Jesus as Savior and obedience to Him as Lord is the path that leads to a joyful and meaningful life.

Gracious Father, I agree with You that Jesus is Your beloved Son. I want His sacrifice and His teachings to be my daily bread. I do believe Jesus is my Savior. I love His wonderful teachings, but I must confess I do not always follow them as I should. I pray that my obedience to Him will grow to maturity with the help of the Holy Spirit. In His blessed name, I pray, Amen.

Marie’s daily verse: Romans 12:12 NKJV Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer. 

Devotion, 9/26/2020, Saturday, Trust in princes

Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day, their plans come to nothing. Blessed are those whose help is in the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God” (Psalm 146: 3-7).

As the election draws near, this is a good verse to remember. I am sure our church is a mixture of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. As a church, we take no position on political matters. We encourage everyone to vote for the person(s) who will best represent their Christian values. In the long run, our verse reminds us not to put all our hope in any politician (prince). The trouble with politicians is simple; they cannot save. They certainly cannot save our souls, and they cannot even save society. Politicians, like the rest of us, eventually die, and their plans die with them.

The Psalmist reminds us to put our trust in God. He alone can help us spiritually and socially. He alone can save our souls and save our country. Our hope must always be in the God of Jacob, who is also the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  To place your ultimate hope in a human being is folly.

Father, I thank You for this reminder never to place my ultimate hope in any politician. Like us, they are fallible, human beings. I look to You, and I have found You to be a wonderful Savior, through Jesus Christ. I believe You are also sovereign over all the nations, and I look to You to continue to bless our country with the glorious freedom You have granted us.  In Jesus holy name, I pray, Amen. 

Devotion, 9/26/2020, Saturday, Trust in princes

Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day, their plans come to nothing. Blessed are those whose help is in the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God” (Psalm 146: 3-7).

As the election draws near, this is a good verse to remember. I am sure our church is a mixture of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. As a church, we take no position on political matters. We encourage everyone to vote for the person(s) who will best represent their Christian values. In the long run, our verse reminds us not to put all our hope in any politician (prince). The trouble with politicians is simple; they cannot save. They certainly cannot save our souls, and they cannot even save society. Politicians, like the rest of us, eventually die, and their plans die with them.

The Psalmist reminds us to put our trust in God. He alone can help us spiritually and socially. He alone can save our souls and save our country. Our hope must always be in the God of Jacob, who is also the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  To place your ultimate hope in a human being is folly.

Father, I thank You for this reminder never to place my ultimate hope in any politician. Like us, they are fallible, human beings. I look to You, and I have found You to be a wonderful Savior, through Jesus Christ. I believe You are also sovereign over all the nations, and I look to You to continue to bless our country with the glorious freedom You have granted us.  In Jesus holy name, I pray, Amen. 

Devotion, 9/25/2020, Friday, If we confess…

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:8-9).

Yesterday’s devotion was about obedience. Today we reflect on disobedience. What do we do when we know we have disobeyed God? John is clear. We do fall into sin. If we claim to be sin-free, we are deceived. Those who are redeemed strive for obedience, but disobedience rears its ugly head. John tells us not to deceive ourselves and pretend we did not sin, or pass off our sins as of no importance.

The solution to the problem of ongoing sin is in the word “confess.” The Greek word (homologeo) means literally to speak the same thing. God knows what constitutes sin. When we confess our sins, we agree with God and say the same thing He says. We admit, acknowledge, declare that we have disobeyed the God who loves us and has redeemed us. We not only admit we have done wrong; we also declare our intention to turn away from that particular sin.

If we try to deny our sin, or act as if our acts of disobedience are unimportant, we submit ourselves to the judgment and discipline of God. The better course is to confess, receiving God’s forgiveness and His cleansing power. He can justly forgive us because Jesus bore our sins on the cross. We can depend upon His justice,

Christians are committed to obedience, and part of obedience is to confess our disobedience. Those who do so will find that God faithfully and justly forgives.

Gracious God, I desire to live a faithful life. I know I fall short of that lofty ideal. When I stray from Your will, grant me the grace to admit it, to confess to You my sin. Thank You for Your gracious promise to forgive in response to my honest confession, I pray in the wonderful name of Jesus, my redeemer, Amen. 

Dr. Rick Grace will be our guest speaker on Sunday, 9/27. Rick works with Disciple Heritage Fellowship. He is an outstanding speaker and Christian leader. In two weeks I will be speaking on the meaning of foot washing as we continue our study in the Gospel of John. I believe I will be able to show the relevance of foot washing in a new way.

Wednesday Bible Study at 3:30 will continue our study of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. Pastor Bowman will be the leader. Our focus will be on Jesus. We will look at 5 conclusions we make about Him based on Scripture.

Franklin Graham will be holding a prayer march in Washington DC on Saturday, Sept. 26th. It is definitely a time to pray for our country. Since most of us will not be traveling to DC we will participate by meeting at the church from 11:00 AM to around 1 PM. Marie will try to get the Washington march on our TV. If that is not successful come and pray during those hours for our nation. We certainly need God’s help in our country during these tumultuous times.

Walk with Jesus and have a blessed week! Pastor Bowman

There will be a zoom meeting tonight (Monday, 9/14) at the church at 6:30. We will meet Rawlie Hutton from the Solomon Foundation who will explain their ministry and answer questions, We will meet him live on our TV screen. All are welcome. If you have CD’s you might want to hear what Mr. Hutton has to say. 
Jack Salyer will be leading our Wednesday Bible study at 3:30.
The sermon on Sept. 20 is entitled “How to Save Your Life and Glorify God.”John 12:24-26. 
Looking ahead, Rick Grace from Disciple Heritage Fellowship will be our guest preacher on Sunday. Sept. 27. This is a ministry I was instrumental in starting in the 1980’s. It continues today under the leadership of Pastor Wayne Kent (Decatur, IL pastor at First Christian) and Rick Grace. 
Also looking ahead. Franklin Graham will be holding a prayer march in Washington DC on Saturday, Sept. 26th. It is a  time to pray for our country. Since most of us will not be traveling to  DC we will participate by meeting at the church from 11:00AM to around 1 PM. Marie will try to get the Washington march on our TV. If that is not successful come and pray during those hours for our nation. We certainly need God’s help in our country during these tumultuous times. 
Remember those on our prayer list. Have a blessed week. Pastor Bowman