Personal Health

On Sunday I spoke about making a commitment to personal health. I Thess. 5:23 "May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept bleameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." I used this verse to show that personal health as a whole person is found in three areas of our life. Spiritual, emotional (soul) and body all work together and if we are going to be in good health we must make a effort to do what is right in all areas. I am not going to redo the message except to say that similar to our relationship with Christ this is not a once and done commitment. If we are going to be healthy in all three areas then I must renew that commitment on a daily basis in one manner or another. If I do not do that I become like many failed marriages where there was a lot of excitement in the beginning of the commitment to each other only to find that commitment to wane when the times and things of life became more difficult. Doing what is right is not always easy but it still will be right. Doing what is right will not always be convenient but it will still be productive. I encourage you as you make a commitment to be in good health that you realize this is one of the many commitments that we make that needs to be remade in order for it to be successful.
Have a good day and be in good health.

Pastor John

Expectation

It is now Saturday night and I am praying for a fresh move of the Holy Spirit in the service tomorrow. I look forward to Sundays because it gives me a chance to be with the family of God and to share on my heart what God has been speaking to me. See you tomorrow.

Pastor

Keeping first things first

This thought came out of my devotional time this morning. I am reading Bob Sorge's book "The secrets of the secret place". In today's reading he was reminding us that the most important thing is to love God. When the Spirit wrote to the church in Ephesus it said that they had forsaken their first love and made a call for them to return. Jesus said the greatest commandment was to love God with all of our heart, soul, strength and mind. It is very easy in our society today to get off track and along some things that are secondary to become a greater priority then they should. Examples of this happens all the time. There are people who state their family is important and then go weeks and even months being consumed by their jobs or hobbies which hinders them in spending time with the family. There are many Christians who talk as if God is the most important thing in their lives but then go days or weeks without opening their Bible and spending any quality time with the Lord in prayer and worship.

Keeping first things first is a challenge that everyone faces. Anyone who think that this is not a challenge in their lives will soon fall into a pattern and allow things to come into their lives that will hinder what they claim to be as most important. Keeping first things first as a believer in Jesus Christ demands focus and energy everyday to keep their relationship with Christ fresh and intimate. Let us humble ourselves before God today and be honest with Him with our struggles in keeping Him first in our lives. This will go a long way to helping us keep first things first in our lives.

May the God of peace be with you.

Pastor Backes

prayer

This week there is extra time set aside for prayer. The beginning of the year is a good time to focus on the importance of prayer. Praying to God must be seen as much more then a religious duty to fulfill. Prayer is the essence of our personal relationship with God. Prayer is more then seeking God to do something on our behalf, it is seeking Him so that we will know Him more and to understand Him more. I encourage you to set extra time aside this week to pray and wait upon the Lord. Isaiah 40:31 "But those who wait on the Lord will find new strength. they will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint." Let's start this year off right by coming to the Lord in prayer.