The Pursuit

(KJV) Proverbs 8:17 I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.

He shall be found by those who seek Him. The Father can be found because He desires to be found. He wants us to know Him. He desires for us to discover Him for who He is. This seeking after and finding Him is not something you do once and then you find or discover all there is. No, He is "new every morning." It is like a great adventure, you find new treasure every day!

"Those that seek me early...." There is something about the early morning hours! Maybe it is the quietness of the night or the stillness of all the hustle and bustle of life. Maybe it is simply the seeker sacrificing something precious, sleep, to be with Him. God is found in a special way in those early morning hours.

However, we also understand it is more about the pursuit then it is the time of day. Pursue God and you will find Him. Pursue His presence and you will discover His newness everyday. You can never exhaust His beauty. You can never run to the end of His greatness. The more you pursue the more you discover.

He said, "Those that seek me....shall find me."

This is today,

Pastor Gary

Open My Eyes Lord

Have you ever been looking for something and you could not find it, only to discover it was right in front of you all the time? Well, I have on more then one occasion. My wife says, "You look like a man!" Sometimes we, or should I say, I need to slow down and see what is in front of me.

This morning I was reminded of the story about Elisha when he was surrounded by his enemies. The young man that was with Elisha was really concerned as to what was going to happen; fear gripped his heart. Elisha did not seem to be bothered or even concerned about what was happening. I imagine Elisha's lack of fear in the situation was very disconcerting to this young man. Have you ever been upset because someone else wasn't upset, or at least did not show the same emotion as you?

What was it about Elisha? I think the answer is, He knew what it was to live in the supernatural power of God. He knew what it was to pray, believe and then see results. He knew what it was to talk with God and to see the might and power of the Most High. He experienced the supernatural before so when it came to being surrounded by his enemies it did not produce fear in him; for he had seen the realities of the power of God before.

Elisha's prayer for his companion is worthy of notice. Then Elisha prayed, "O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!" The Lord opened the young man's eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire. (2 Kings 6:17 NLT)

Lord, open my eyes and let me see what is right in front of me. Help me not to look like a man, with my natural eyes. Help me to learn to see through my spiritual eyes. You are right here among us now, in all of your glory. Help me to live with a sense of the present reality of the supernatural. Open my eyes and let me see!

This is today,

Pastor Gary

Acquaintance with Grief

(My Upmost for His Highest)

A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Isaiah 53:3.

"We are not acquainted with grief in the way in which Our Lord was acquainted with it; we endure it, we get through it, but we do not become intimate with it. At the beginning of life we do not reconcile ourselves to the fact of sin. We take a rational view of life and say that a man by controlling his instincts, and by educating himself, can produce a life which will slowly evolve into the life of God. But as we go on, we find the presence of something which we have not taken into consideration, viz., sin, and it upsets all our calculations. Sin has made the basis of things wild and not rational. We have to recognize that sin is a fact, not a defect; sin is red-handed mutiny against God. Either God or sin must die in my life. The New Testament brings us right down to this one issue. If sin rules in me, God’s life in me will be killed; if God rules in me, sin in me will be killed. There is no possible ultimate but that. The climax of sin is that it crucified Jesus Christ, and what was true in the history of God on earth will be true in your history and in mine. In our mental outlook we have to reconcile ourselves to the fact of sin as the only explanation as to why Jesus Christ came, and the explanation of the grief and sorrow in life."

It has always amazed me how people blame God for all the ill in life. I have always wondered why people do not get angry with the enemy of their souls, the devil; instead, they wrongfully accuse and blame God. Sin is the "explanation of the grief and sorrow in life." May our prayer be, "Father, may your life rule in me, so that 'sin in me will be killed!'"

This is today,

Pastor Gary

The Goodness of God (Repost)

Not to overdo the phrase that people have been saying for years now but it is so true, "God is good all the time and all the time God is good." To be surrounded by great family and wonderful friends makes life good. God's faithfulness is evident in everyday life. Sure, there are challenges; and yes, there are still crises but to stop and to take a deep breath gives a wonderful perspective.

Be sure to stop to smell the roses and give God thanks.

This is today,

Pastor Gary

Determine to Sail the Seas

(an exert from My Upmost for His Hoghest)

Determine to know more than others. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them. John 13:17.

If you do not cut the moorings, God will have to break them by a storm and send you out. Launch all on God, go out on the great swelling tide of His purpose, and you will get your eyes open. If you believe in Jesus, you are not to spend all your time in the smooth waters just inside the harbour bar, full of delight, but always moored; you have to get out through the harbour bar into the great deeps of God and begin to know for yourself, begin to have spiritual discernment.

The counterfeit of obedience is a state of mind in which you work up occasions to sacrifice yourself; ardour is mistaken for discernment. It is easier to sacrifice yourself than to fulfil your spiritual destiny, which is stated in Romans 12:1–2 . It is a great deal better to fulfil the purpose of God in your life by discerning His will than to perform great acts of self-sacrifice. “To obey is better than sacrifice.” Beware of harking back to what you were once when God wants you to be something you have never been. “If any man will do …, he shall know.…”

This is today,

Pastor Gary

Catching the Eye of the Kinsman Redeemer

Ruth 2:5 "Then Boaz asked his foreman, "Who is that young woman over there? Who does she belong to?" Ruth was in the field gleaning behind the servants of Boaz when she suddenly caught the eye of Boaz. Little did she or Boaz realize that Providence was at work. It was not a meeting of chance, but of a divinely appointed nature. What was it in Ruth that caught the eye of Boaz? After all, she was a foreigner; she was a widow in need; and, she was stricken with what appeared to be a bad lot in life. However, it was her faith in the law of Moses that caused her to seek a field to glean in.

In this story of Boaz and Ruth we see a picture of Christ and the sinner. In this story we see grace at work. Boaz was kind and gracious to Ruth out of the pure goodness and love in his heart. She caught the eye of the "lord of the field." The good news is, you have caught the eye of the "Lord of the field." And just like Boaz instructed his servants and workers to be kind to Ruth and drop some extra blessings in her path, so the "Lord of the field" has left instructions to drop some blessing in your path.

Little did Ruth realize that this encounter with Boaz was going to change her life and fulfill God's plan and purpose. God is about to change your life, your circumstances and He is about to fulfill His purpose and plan to bless you and not harm you. Fear not, for you have caught the eye of the "Lord (Master) of the field."

This is today

Pastor Gary

Keep the Fire Burning

Leviticus 6:13 nlt says: "Remember, the fire must be kept burning on the altar at all times. It must never go out." It was the priests duty to make sure the fire on the altar was burning at all times. The continual burning of fire was imperative to proper worship. This fire was not just any fire. It was not common fire; it was holy fire! Leviticus 9:24 tells us that this fire emanated from the presence of God Himself. No wonder such an admonition as, "the fire must be kept burning on the altar at all times" was given. The reason is, this was not ordinary fire!

How is the fire burning on the altar of your heart? The priests were to remove the ashes every morning and take them to a place outside the camp. Are there some ashes that need to be removed in your life? Ashes, if not removed, over time will actually hinder the fire from burning properly. Ashes hinder the fire and keep it from burning brightly. The ashes can represent anything in our life that we allow to negatively affect the fire, the presence of God, in us.

The charge is: Keep the Fire Burning! Be intentional about it. Cultivate the presence of God in your life. Give yourself to His purposes and His cause.

This is today,

Pastor Gary

His Blood

The blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sin
1 John 1:7

Learn a lesson from the eye of the miner, who all day long is working amid the flying coal dust. When he emerges in the light of day his face may be grimy enough; but his eyes are clear and lustrous, because the fountain of tears in the lachrymal gland is ever pouring its gentle tides over the eye, cleansing away each speck of dust as soon as it alights.

Is not this the miracle of cleansing which our spirits need in such a world as this? And this is what our blessed Lord is prepared to do for us by His cleansing blood, if only we will trust Him.

F. B. Meyer

His Name

Psalm 9:10 declares, "Those who know your name trust in you,  for you, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for you." A name means so much. When you hear the name of friend you immediately get a picture of them in your mind. You think about them; who they are as a person; you think about their character.

In scriptures, often a persons name described their nature and their character. Jesus, when praying, states ( John 17:6) "I have manifested thy name unto the men." In essence, He was saying, "I have declared to them your nature, who you are." No wonder David said, "those who know your name trust in you" because he was speaking about knowing the character and nature of God. To know God, to truly understand who He is and what His nature is all about, is to trust Him.

He is faithful. He is merciful. He is full of grace. He is all-powerful. He is understanding. He is unchanging, constant and true. The list goes on and on because He Himself is infinite. May our prayer be, "help me to know your name."

This is today,

Pastor Gary

Boldness To Be

Acts 5:29 says, "Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men." Notice the boldness of Peter and the other apostles. What was the difference? They had been with the resurrected Christ. Jesus had baptized them in the Holy Spirit. They had been immersed in the presence of the Holy Ghost.

The task at hand was met by the power of the Holy Spirit within them. Have you been totally submerged In the Spirit's presence lately? Ask Jesus to "pour out the Holy Spirit" upon you (Acts 2:33).

This is today,

Pstor Gary

The Person of the Holy Spirit

George O. Woods, in his book "Living in the Spirit" writes: "If we simply think of Him as a power, then He becomes someone whom we get a hold of and use. But because He is a person, He is seeking to get a hold of us and use us to bring glory to Christ." May we allow the Holy Spirit to get a hold of us and use us. What a great thought!

This is today,

Pastor Gary

Let God Lead You

Psalm 23:2 NLT says: "2 He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams." There are many ways in which God leads us into a place of rest. He gives us rest when we lay our heads down at night. There is nothing sweeter then after a long day of hard work laying your head on your pillow and sweet rest comes upon you. He gives us rest on the first day of the week. Rest for our body and soul. A day when we feed our souls in the attendance of God's house. A day when we rest from any kind of labor and work.

What are some other ways in which He gives us rest? Often it is through the counsel of a friend. Proverbs 15:23 says ".... how good is a timely word!" (NIV). Often a word spoken by a friend, at the right moment, causes a sense of rest to come over you. Still yet, He always gives us rest when we pick up the bible and begin to injest His Word. That is, when begin to get His Word in us. Isaiah 26:3 (NLT) says "You will keep in perfect peace  all who trust in you,  all whose thoughts are fixed on you!" Be encouraged because there are some green meadows and some peaceful streams awaiting us!

This is today,

Pastor Gary

Whose Hand Is It In?

In Matthew 14:18 Jesus talking to His disciples said, "Bring them here to me" (nasb). He was making reference to the Five loaves of bread and two fish. Jesus took what was little and He blessed the multitude with it. What do you have in your hands that really needs to be placed in His hands? You know, in order for the disciples to "bring it to Him" they had to be willing to let go of it. Sometimes letting go of something is a little scary. Are you willing to let go and place it in his hands? This is where true transformation begins. Whose hand is it in?

This is today,

Pastor Gary

Are You Thirsty Yet?

Psalm 143:6 (nlt) I lift my hands to you in prayer. I thirst for you as parched land thirsts for rain. Interlude. Do we thirst for God? Your body thirsts for water because it needs water to survive. It thirsts for the nutrients water provides. It thirsts for water because there are certain things that only water can give and you can not get it anywhere else.

We need God to survive! Their are certain things which we need for survival that only God can give. Nothing else or no one else can provide these things for us. He has giving us Living Water through His Son Jesus Christ. He beckons us to drink and to be satisfied in Him. He alone can satisfy our thirst! Let us say like the Psalmist, "I lift my hands to you in prayer." Take your thirst to God and "O Friends, drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved." (Song of Solomon 5:1 kjv)

This is Today,

Pastor Gary

All the Days of My Life

Psalm 139 13-17 13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. 15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. 16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. 17 How precious are your thoughts about me,* O God. They cannot be numbered!

Before we were ever born, every day of our life was recorded. The Father saw your life, from beginning to end, the triumphs and the mistakes, the victories and the defeats....and the good news is, believer, He called you anyway! He gave His Son to take your penalty, to pay for your sin. What a great God!

Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed and He chose to love you. You are precious to God. You are the cream of the crop. You are the apple of His eye. Walk in faith today....hold your head high...you are highly favored of God. The psalmist implies that you are constantly on the mind of God and He is consumed with thoughts of you. Will you be consumed with Him, and most importantly, by Him?

This is Today,

Pastor Gary

Look to the Horizon

"Whether you travel by automobile or in an airplane, as you look ahead there is a limit to your vision. This point beyond which you cannot see is called the horizon. The horizon adds the element of adventure to your travels. It ever beckons you to discover what lies beyond. Through the ages the call of the horizon has caused explorers to venture into the unknown over land and sea. Intellectual horizons keep research scientists glued to their laboratories. Spiritual horizons also beckon us onward. God’s glory, love, and purposes have vistas that we have never seen. This fact causes the faithful to keep on keeping on. In faith we continue to travel toward the horizon of His will and purpose."

Author Unknown