Filed under: Bible Devotional
“So the LORD gave Israel all the land which He had sworn
to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it. And the LORD gave them rest on every side, according to all that He had
sworn to their fathers, and no one of all their enemies stood before
them; the LORD gave all their enemies into their hand. Not one of
the good promises which the LORD had made to the house of Israel
failed; all came to pass” (Joshua 21:43-45).
Have you ever been the victim of a broken promise? Or have
you ever been the promise-breaker? If you have lived for any length
of time at all, you can answer “yes” to at least one, and probably
both, of those questions. We live in a world that is littered with the
debris of promises that were not kept. It’s so commonplace that we
have almost come to expect it. The current political climate is a case
in point. Candidates of every political stripe make extravagant
promises to get elected and then seldom keep those promises. And,
worse yet, we accept such antics as business as usual. We even joke
about it: “Do you know how to tell if a politician is lying? Look to
see if his lips are moving.” Now, are all politicians liars and
intentionally deceptive? Of course not. But it happens often enough
to make us cynical to the point of joking about such important
matters. How sad!
Perhaps it is our experiences in this world that make it
difficult to trust in God’s promises. We find it hard to believe when
we read: “Not one of the good promises which the LORD had made
to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass.” We instinctively
begin to look for loopholes. We prepare ourselves for the eventually
let-down. But it doesn’t come! God is completely faithful to every
promise He makes! “Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will
bring it to pass” (1 Thessalonians 5:24).
God loves you! Mike
Next Sunday, August 7th, has been designated as our 3rd annual “Mission Sunday” for the Placerville congregation. Even though some of you already help missionaries on an individual basis, and we thank you for all you are doing in that regard, we would like to make Sunday, August 7th, a congregational effort that will be used exclusively for Mission efforts. Please prayerfully consider what you can do to share in this effort. Even in these tough economic times, we can step out in faith and remember that God has an incredible ability to multiply our efforts!
*Next Sunday we will hand out envelopes for the Mission contributions so that those funds can be kept separate from our regular contribution.
ALSO:
We will be having an important family meeting @ 5PM, August 7th. It is very important that every member attend this meeting, as we will be discussing our finances. Please keep this in prayer. (No regular service this evening.)
Thanks to everyone who gathered Wednesday evening at the memorial service for our dear sister Charline Yerian. Many people shared how their lives were touched by this remarkable servant of God. Several remarked about how she was such a great example of faithfulness, kindness, and generosity. Although the blue chair with armrests at the back of the auditorium is now vacant, the influence of her example will continue to be present among us.
While Charline can never be replaced, we continue to need godly role models just like her. Who will have the courage to be the next model of godly service and faithfulness in our spiritual family? Who will choose to step up and be the humble disciple that younger disciples can safely imitate?
We may be tempted to say, “That’s not for me! I don’t want to be an example for others.” But we are an example to others whether we like it or not. The only real choice we have is regarding what kind of example we are going to be. Will we be an example that inspires others to greater Christian faithfulness and service or will we be an example that does the opposite?
The baton is being passed in the marathon of faithfulness. Who will run the next leg of the race? While it is never too late to start, it is also never too early to start. This is not just a job for senior saints. There is always a pair of younger eyes watching how we live and serve God. Let’s rise to the task before us!
“Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1).
God loves you! Mike
Day #3 of Soul Quest is upon us! Tonight we’ll start our community BBQ at 5:30PM at the church building! Invite all of your friends and family to attend, have a good time, and stay for a Bible lesson afterwards. Our speaker tonight will be Coy Thorp and he will be speaking about Knowing Your Enemy.
Come join in the fellowship!
Here’s a link to an analysis that brother Rob Hindman compiled regarding the practices of the early Church and what they practiced with regularity on Sundays–or if the practice had no particular day associated with it. Check it out!
http://www.scribd.com/doc/52228132/What-the-Church-Did-Does-Together
Filed under: Fellowship
If you’re a man and you love to eat, then we’d love to have you join us at our Men’s Breakfast on Saturday, May 7th @ 7:30 in the morning. Kick off your weekend by having some hearty food and a good time with our group of guys. (No charge or strings attached.) 
Filed under: Bible Devotional
LIKE A VAPOR
The pictures of the devastation experienced by the nation of
Japan recently as the result of earthquakes and tsunamis are
terrifying. Walls of water, mud, and debris raced across the
landscape, destroying everything in their path. Entire houses, cars,
and boats floating along like toys in a bathtub. I couldn’t help but
think that people were losing their lives as I watched. There must
have been families in some of those houses. There must have been
workers in some of those buildings and fields. There must have
been some passengers in some of those cars and boats. Some had
time to escape but others didn’t. But my guess is that probably
everyone got up that morning and thought that the coming day would
be just like any other day. Little did they know that the coming day
would be unlike any other day they had ever experienced.
I do the same thing. My waking thoughts are never filled with
visions of a coming catastrophic event. I can’t remember ever
starting a day with serious doubts as to whether I would live through
it. Usually, I’m thinking about what I am going to do and where I
need to be (James 4:13). I naively move from moment to moment as
if they were owed to me. But they are not. Maybe next time, it will
be me swallowed up by water and mud. Perhaps my life will be cut
short by a natural (or unnatural) disaster. Maybe the drunk driver
will hit my car or maybe it will be my heart that skips one too many
beats. Who knows???
I realize the tone of this piece is a bit dark, but from time to
time I need a heavy dose of reality. What happened in Japan is one
of those reality checks. It re-emphasized for me that life can be a
fragile and fleeting thing (James 4:14). And I am reminded that,
while I can’t control the future, I can be ready for whatever the future
brings. Jesus Christ is disaster insurance!
God loves you! Mike
Filed under: Bible Devotional
DEALING WITH THE CONSEQUENCES
RE-CREATION
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The
earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters.
And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the
waters” (Genesis 1:1-2).
Right away, in the first two verses of Scripture, we begin to
learn something very important about the God of the universe. We
learn that God is interested in bringing order to chaos. When God set
out to fashion our world, did you notice what He started with? It is
described as formless, empty, and dark. The rest of Genesis chapter
one speaks of how God took that chaotic turmoil and set it in order.
He took the formless and gave it form. He filled the emptiness. He
brought light to the darkness. And by the time He was finished, the
final product bore no resemblance to the starting point. The world
God provided for the human race to fill and govern was “very good”
in every way.
May I suggest that what God did with our physical world in the
beginning is also what He desires to do in our personal lives? He
wants to bring order to the chaos. The ravages of sin make a real
mess in human lives. We suffer from the emptiness and darkness that
come when we are alienated from our Creator. We struggle to bring
some sense of order to our fractured lives but soon realize that our
best efforts are futile.
Only God has the ability to straighten out the mess we have
made. Only God can take the chaos and transform it into something
beautiful. When we choose to become a child of God by grace
through a living faith, we receive forgiveness and the gift of God’s
Spirit. And that same Spirit “hovers” over our lives from that point on,
as the Instrument of God’s re-creative and transforming power.
“Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit
within me” (Psalm 51:10).
God loves you! Mike
It is time to begin finalizing plans for our Soul Quest effort
this coming summer. The dates will be June 15-19, so please set
aside those days on your calendar.
One of the biggest hurdles we face each year is finding
housing for our guests. This past summer was no exception. We
managed to find a place for everyone but not without making it
difficult for some of our host families. We want to avoid that same
predicament this summer. I need to get a commitment as soon as
possible from everyone who is able to provide housing for Soul
Quest this year. There is a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board for
your name and the number and gender of guests you can host.
While it would be nice to be able to issue an open invitation to any
and all that can come, we also do not want to end up with more
guests than we can adequately provide for in view of our resources.
The sign-up sheet will let us know how many we can house and we
may have to limit attendees to the available housing slots. It is
possible that the number could be expanded to include those guests
who are able to participate during the day but return to their own
homes each evening.
As always, we will be needing volunteers to serve in all the
usual areas, including food, transportation, tools, and team leaders.
If you can help or would like to coordinate the efforts in any of
these specific areas, please talk to me about it. The possibility of
putting together an informational DVD about Soul Quest to be used
in promotional efforts has also been discussed. If you have the
computer skills necessary to do this and would like to take on the
project, please let me know.
There are numerous ways to be involved. With God’s help
and our participation, we can do more than we can imagine.
God loves you! Mike
