Posted by Pastor Pat on October 31, 2009
“ He caused the storm to be still, So that the waves of the sea were hushed.”
(Psalm 107:29)
Have you ever felt as if you have no control over your life? It is the kind of feeling you get that wakes you up in the middle of the night and refuses to let you sleep. The emotion you experience is probably the same as one whose parachute is not opening even though every possible chord is pulled. Regardless as to what you might think and what others might tell you, the ‘feeling’ you have is less than ideal and your emotional stability is shot. When we find ourselves sucked into the vortex of the storm, what are we to do?
Why is God allowing us to experience a life out of control? I believe there are at least four reasons why such times visit our lives.
- First, trials come to assure us that we are not in control (James 4:13, 14).
Because of depravity, we have this incredible capacity for unbridled arrogance. For whatever reason, we actually believe the humanistic reports concerning our development and future. Whenever we think we have “our act together,” God has a way of showing us just how fragile the best-laid plans are. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
Posted by Pastor Pat on October 25, 2009
2 Corinthians 9:6
Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in every thing, you may have an abundance for every good deed;
While teaching the teens in the earlier part of the year I spoke on “The Seven Laws of the Jungle.” These “Laws” are dispensationally generic meaning regardless as to the dispensation they neither change nor become dated or irrelevant. One of the seven is called, “The Law of Sowing and Reaping.” In the providence of God this “Law” is no less true concerning giving.
At WBC we believe in what is called “Grace Giving.” This means we believe God is big enough to supply the needs for the advancement of His ministry in us and through us. We are equally convinced that God will use His people to meet the financial needs of the local church ministry. Thus at WBC you will not hear perpetual pleas for financial assistance nor will guilt be used to motivate the people of God to give. If somehow the corporate fellowship does not believe the ministries of WBC are worthy of continuation through financial giving, then they will come to an end. God’s will, in some ways, can be determined by the availability or lack therein of financial backing.
WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
Posted by Pastor Pat on October 19, 2009
“Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:22)
Peter’s question in verse 21 is intriguing because it is either very sincere, innocent or it is deceptive and pharisaical. Perhaps Peter thought he was already reasonably forgiving or he was maybe thinking of a situation where he was being “victimized” and wanted to know when he could “pull-the-plug” on another individual relationally.
Why did Peter say, “Up to seven times?” Let us consider some historical insight.
“It was Rabbinic teaching that a man must forgive his brother three times.” (Barclay, Matthew, 193). The prophet Amos uses the formula, “For three transgressions and for four” which many have “deduced that God’s forgiveness extends to three offences and that he visits the sinner with punishment at the fourth.” When Peter suggested “seven times,” he thought he was going very far. He expected commendation by His Lord.
WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
