Cozy with Crooks and Riffraff?

“I will praise thee, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing unto thee among the nations” (Psalm 57:11).

A heart that is not awakened to God will cause spiritual drowsiness, but awakened to God will create excitement and praise. There is nothing more boring than a heart that is sleepy toward our great God.

David points to his own heart and says, “My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and and give praise.” What is fixed? The heart, the conscience, the will, the affections which draws the mind afterwards.

While we sleep God is working for us. When David awoke he wanted to tell the whole world what God had done for Him. God answers prayer, and whatever He does is for your good and His glory.

Dear Church, 

Our hearts are saddened by all the damage inflicted upon mankind with the destruction from Hurricane Helene. 

May I give some critical thoughts for consideration? 

1. Natural disasters give us the opportunity to respond to God.  We can be angry, especially if it were our house, our business, our child lost in the rushing water, or the fallen tree.  Or we can stand in awe of the mighty power of the Almighty. 

2. The ground shook in Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee as did the other states where landfall occurred, and the storm moved up and left.  The only thing that matters to many is to be able to find firm ground to stand upon. 

3. The Bible instructs us to make sure that our lives are built upon a foundation that will never be shaken, a foundation that is not subject to the unpredictable forces of nature. 

4. At Mt. Sinai, the Bible records the first earthquake as God gave the law to Moses.  Why?  God expects and commands those who are created by Him to tremble and be in awe of His power.  His voice speaks of the content of the moral law; the voice of nature (earthquake) spelled out God’s power and authority.  The Ten Commandments shouted His rules for living; the Trembling of Nature shouted His rules for worshipping.  We are to fear Him for this is not only appropriate but commanded. 

5. God also spoke at Mt. Calvary and the earth quaked.  Jesus spoke words of kindness, mercy, and love even while He was being judged for our sins.  We should listen. “Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking.  For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to Listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, we will certainly not escape if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven!”  When God spoke from Mount Sinai His voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise:  “Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also.” 

6. The earth will not go on forever.  Earthquakes and hurricanes remind us that life is short and that God will re-create a new heaven and a new earth.  Only what is eternal will remain. 

7. We are to know that tragedies are teachers that instruct us to hold on to Christ tightly and hold everything else loosely. 

The Eternal Kingdom will never be shaken.  Find your Firm ground to stand upon and thank God for His Unshakeable Kingdom. 

Pastor Don 

“And of his fullness have we all received, and grace for grace” (John 1:16).

When you and I look into a river and perceive the fish swimming we would like to reach in and stop the water flow and catch the scene for a while. But we can’t because the current is heading downstream and it is strong, yet it was never meant to be stopped and caught.

While God gives us grace He desires for us to enjoy what He does for the moment but He doesn’t want us to reach in and try to stop it. He has more grace coming downstream that will pass by our eyes. It is wave of grace upon grace that He sends our way. We were never meant to stop the flow of grace and hunker down and bask in it.

Do you remember when Peter, James, and John were with the Lord Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration? They were asleep on that mountain. And all of a sudden they were awakened and saw the Lord Jesus speaking with Elijah and Moses about His upcoming death and resurrection.

Peter spoke up and wanted to build memorial booths for the occasion, and God the Father said, “This is my beloved Son, hear ye Him” (Matthew 17:5). God had more work to be done, more grace He wanted the disciples to see.

What about us? Are we satisfied with what the Lord has done thus far? Are we now satisfied that the debt renovation is now paid and there is no other territory to explore? Are we satisfied that no more people can be saved? Are we enjoying what has been accomplished and have no more get up and go for God?

God’s grace is new grace, continuous grace, uninterrupted grace that exceeds all we could imagine. Each spiritual blessing we appropriate becomes the foundation of greater blessing. God’s grace is like a mighty Niagara, thundering unending out of eternity into our hearts and lives.

Let us look into the future and ask God what He has in store for KMBC. He has an inexhaustible supply that every believer is given for all he or she needs in this world and the world to come. Pentecost filled the believers with Christ Himself and yet God emptied the upper room into the streets of Jerusalem. That is what God wants to do through us today and tomorrow and the future.

Let’s get full of Him and allow Him to carry us from grace to grace.

I Love you,

Pastor Don

“As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country” (Proverbs 25:23).

Do you remember the day when the good news of the gospel message of Christ came to you? I do. I never shall forget. The news was so good that I still feel the impact of it. The Holy Spirit came to live within me as a result of that Good News and I live.

There is no better way to live than to share the cold waters of the gospel to those who are hot and thirsty and sin-burned. A soul can be changed forever with your refreshing words of God’s grace. What joy to share the cold waters of Heaven’s River to those who will bend and drink.

Dear child of God allow your life to be consumed with taking the good news to Be the water boy of God’s Life and carry the cold and clear water of the gospel to others. They are thirsty, and traveling with a heavy heart, needing the life of God in them that says to them,

“You are my child now, I have You.”

Plow and pursue. Pray and pray. Talk and walk. Drink and share. Do it all for the souls of those who live in a foreign and far country without Christ. They live across your street, work in your office, walk beside you at school, and a million other places, and they are looking for a cup of cold water.

Oh, I took a drink from the Fountain of Life and I have never been thirsty again. He satisfies. Oh, oh, how He satisfies!

I love you,

Pastor Don

Dear Kinnett,

When I left the church’s building after our service this past morning several matters gripped my soul.  

1. I thought of those traveling home in the heavy rain and I asked the Lord for their safety.
2. I thought of those who were at home who truly are not well, and I prayed for them.
3. I thought of an illustrative point made at the beginning of my message yesterday too.  “A pastor met up with a delinquent church member and said to him that he had missed him for several weeks at the church meeting.  The man replied back to the pastor, ‘Well, you know, the children have been sick, we’ve been out-of-town, and besides that, it’s been raining.”  And the pastor said, “Well, it’s dry over at the church.”  And the delinquent church member said, “Yea, that’s another reason.”

While I traveled home my heart was lifted up to the Lord in prayer that He would send a deluge of rain to take the dryness away from our homes, communities, and churches.  We need more than “Mercy Drops Round Us Are Falling” for we are in great need of a flood sent from God upon the dry and parched ground.

Only the reading of the Word of God and the praying of the Word back to God will move the heart and hand of God.  The church is too busy today.  We hustle and bustle around while accomplishing nothing but clouds without water.

Please take time to pray.  Take time to be holy.  Take time to behold Him!

God, burden us of the aridness that surrounds us and is in us.  Prepare us for Spiritual Rain.

Pastor Don