Notes from AM service, 16 January 2005

Brother Tom's Tidbit:

Matthew 7:7 (New American Standard Bible)
7 "Ask, and it will be
given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."

For most of us Christians, we like the asking. We pray, pray, pray, pray...not a problem to pray. It's the seeking and knocking we have a problem with. A lot of Christians have the misconception that we pray and that's all we have to do...God doesn't materialize things into our hands. We need to get up off our knees, exit our comfort zones, and go out seeking and knocking on doors. We may be told no, but eventually if we seek and knock enough we'll turn up at where God wants us to be to hear the yes. Remember, we have a role in our prayers being answered. Nothing is going to be Fed Exed, UPSed, or USPSed.

Sister Theresa's Tidbit:

We are God's ambassadors. We are, for some people, the only Jesus they
will see. We need to walk fearlessly in our faith--we are not
alone. Christ is with us; fear not. Be bold in faith.
Do your Christian duty confidently.

Pastor Chris:

Genesis 12:1-3; 9-20 (New American Standard Bible)
1 Now the LORD said to
Abram, "Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your
father's house, To the land which I will show you;
2 And I will make you a
great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall
be a blessing;
3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who
curses you I will curse And in you all the families of the earth will be
blessed."
9 Abram journeyed on, continuing toward the Negev.
10 Now
there was a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there,
for the famine was severe in the land.
11 It came about when he came near to
Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, "See now, I know that you are a beautiful
woman;
12 and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife';
and they will kill me, but they will let you live.
13 "Please say that you
are my sister so that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may live
on account of you."
14 It came about when Abram came into Egypt, the
Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.
15 Pharaoh's officials saw
her and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house.
16 Therefore he treated Abram well for her sake; and gave him sheep and oxen
and donkeys and male and female servants and female donkeys and camels.
17
But the LORD struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai,
Abram's wife.
18 Then Pharaoh called Abram and said, "What is this you have
done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife?
19 "Why did you
say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your
wife, take her and go."
20 Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and
they escorted him away, with his wife and all that belonged to him.

God blesses us, so that we will will be a blessing. God blesses us, so that we'll bless others. Often times, in order to bless us, He puts us to action. But, He's not going to give us a map and plan of action. We have to step out on faith, step outside our comfort zone-just do what it is He has called us to do. As we follow the path that God has set before us, He blesses us.

If you are not stepping out in faith to get blessed, you are depriving not only yourself but those whom you were to bless. You will have to step outside of your comfort zone and do whatever God puts in your heart to do.

Break from the shell of complacency and apathy in your praise, so you can receive blessings to bless others. It is not enough to fill a pew every Sunday. It is not enough to be there physically. You need to be there in body, mind, and soul-active in your praise.

When we walk in disobedience, we affect not only ourselves but all those around us. When we take matters into our own hands, we will mess up, but God still has a plan for your life-He has not given up on you. He still wants to bless you; make you a blessing unto others.

The good new is that despite all our failures, God has a plan for our lives. He wants us to be blessed abundantly in order that we will bless others.

Thank you for your comments. Have a blessed day! Please come again!