Courage to Stand

Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 4

Focus Verse: 1 Peter 4:14 
"If you are reproached for the name of Christ, Blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rest upon you.  On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified."

Throughout history many Christians have been persecuted for their faith.  Today we still hear of Christians mistreated in so many countries.  God gives a special grace and courage during these times.  These people are unwilling to deny Jesus, and unwilling to turn away from the One who has changed their lives.  Some would say "what a tragedy that a person had to die for their faith."  In reality we are all going to die one day.  What an honor to die for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Not that I desire to die today, but I would much rather die that way, than to die living for myself.  Those who have died for their faith not only knew how to live well, but knew how to die well.  Jesus said in Matthew 10:28  "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."  Jesus' disciples understood this, because many of them were killed for their faith.

You may not be sure if you could face persecution like that.  But if God allowed you to be put in that situation, then he WOULD give you the strength to endure it.  As Christians we know that this earth is not our home.  Jesus is preparing us a home where we will live forever.  Not just any home, but a perfect home in heaven.  As children of God we have much to look forward to.  I hope that you can say that you are living well, and also some day you will die well.

Bobby Johnson

director, Interlocking Ministries

Storms We Encounter

 Storms We Encounter

Scripture Reading:  Mark 4: 35-41

Focus Verses:  Mark 4: 35-37. “As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples,  " Let's cross to the other side of the lake."  So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed).  But soon a fierce storm came up.  High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.”

We can all encounter a type of storm in our lives. This week my first cousin had to have brain surgery to remove a tumor on her brain.  This is a storm in her life that she never expected to happen.  She is born again and is trusting God. We prayed for her, and God answered, and she survived the surgery and seems to be recovering well. We continue to pray for her, her husband and two boys as they go through this storm.

In our scripture reading the disciples also encountered a storm that they weren’t expecting.  This story tells us how God is in control of even the worst of circumstances we find ourselves in.  Some of these disciples were very experienced fishermen, and I’m sure they had seen bad storms before.  But this one was really bad because they feared for their very lives that they might drown.

Even though Jesus was asleep in the boat, He was fully aware of the storm and the situation the disciples were in.  And Jesus is now also aware of the storms you may be going through right now.  And Jesus will answer when He hears your call for help, just as he did for the disciples.  Jesus didn’t prevent the storm, but He calmed the storm.  Sometimes God will allow our storms to get so severe that we can do nothing except call on God for relief.  We are all going to face hardships in this life.  But we take comfort in knowing that God is in the storm with us.  Life is not always smooth sailing, but God is there with us.  

Paul said in Philippians 1:6  “I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”   Storms will come, and storms will go, but God is always with us.

Bobby Johnson
Interlocking Ministries

Give Them Something to Eat

Scripture: Matthew 14:13-20 

Focus verse: Matthew 14:16 – “They do not need to go away,” Jesus replied. “You give them something to eat.” We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish, they answered. “Bring them here to Me,” Jesus said. 

Have you ever felt like that the task before you is too big for you to handle?Have you ever felt that unless you get external support you cannot move? Did you ever come to a point where all that surrounds you is not enough?What do you do or where do you run to when you are faced with inadequacy?  

Jesus has just finished teaching more than five thousand people and it is getting late in the evening. The disciples are concerned about the crowd, they are hungry and they need to have something to eat. All that is available is a small amount of money and a small lunch (two fish and five loaves of bread) from a lad. The disciples advise Jesus to send the people away so that they can go and buy food for themselves in the nearby town. Then ironically, Jesus tells them not to send the people away but instead they need to give them something to eat. How is it possible? Two fish and five loaves of bread! Then Jesus said, “Bring them to me.”

Service to the Kingdom of God is all sufficient. God is not just concerned about our spiritual lives but also our physical needs. He cannot meet our spiritual needs and then send us out to the world to fetch for our physical needs. All that we need for our lives God has provided. We don’t need to send the people out to go and look for their needs but we can trust God to provide in His own ways even when what we have seems not enough. Our “not enough” is more than enough when we surrender it to the hands of God. Believers are not beggars from the world, our God is able to provide for all our needs much more than we think or ask. The task may seem too huge, but the God we carry is Mighty in power. Ours is to give thanks, trust and believe that He will be able to handle each situation.

 

Rev. Eliazar Wambo Nyakwadah

Pastor Makira Baptist Church

True Worshipper

Scripture Reading: Matthew 2:1-8

Focus Verse: Matthew 2:8  “Then he told them, Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child.  And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I may go and worship him also.”

The Christmas season brings some people to church that don’t normally go to church.  Maybe they also go during Easter.  Would we call these people “true worshippers”?  Probably not, because there is not a pattern in their life of worship to God.  In reality every person is a worshipper.  The question is what or who do you worship?  The list of things or people we could worship is long.  People might worship money, celebrities, sports, houses, vehicles, self, job, or nature etc.  Romans 1:25 says,  “They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise!”  

In our focus verse we see that King Herod was a false worshipper.  He pretended to be a worshipper.  There are people like him today.  They say they believe in God, but the life they live is far from what the Bible teaches.  He didn’t want to worship Jesus, he wanted to kill him.  Because Jesus was a threat to his own kingdom.  Maybe you’re not looking to kill Jesus, but you know that you are not a true worshipper either.  Herod wanted to be king of his own life. Philippians 2:9-10 says this about King Jesus, " Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth." God gives us a choice. What is the object of your worship?  This Christmas let’s make sure we are true worshippers in the One true God.

Bobby Johnson

Interlocking Ministries

We Can Have Great Joy

 We Can Have Great Joy

Scripture Reading: Luke 2:8-20

Focus Verses: Luke 2:10-12  “But the angel reassured them. Don’t be afraid! he said. I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior, yes, the Messiah, the Lord has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!  And you will recognize him by this sign.  You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

This Christmas will look different for our family.  Within the past few months both my wife’s parents have passed away.  Sometimes we go through a season of life that is hard.  The very first Christmas was a hard time for Israel.  Israel was being controlled by Rome, and the future was uncertain.  

Maybe you are going through a hard time in your life right now.  Maybe you’re going through an illness, or the loss of a loved one, or the loss of a job.  The angel’s message to the shepherds can be to you as well.  “Don’t be afraid, I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.”  Luke 2:10   Christmas is a cause for joy.  Not just on Christmas day, but for our whole lives, because Jesus came to save us for all eternity.  It can be hard to find joy sometimes on this earth because we are surrounded by troubles, but we can have great joy because this earth is not all there is.  

Heaven is waiting for those who have put their faith and trust in Jesus.  Jesus said, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33.  There is a reason we can have great joy this Christmas, and His name is Jesus.

Bobby Johnson

Interlocking Ministries  

A Friend Who Never Leaves You

 A Friend Who Never Leaves You

Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 31:1-8

Focus Verse Deuteronomy 31:6  "Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you, He will never leave you nor forsake you."

I have noticed as I go through life that I have friendships and relationships of different levels with people.  Some close friends and some distant friends.  Sometimes we may feel lonely because we don't put forth an effort to be a friend to others.  Have you gone through a hard time and you had one friend who would stick with you and encourage you but another friend was not checking with you about your life.  There is a friend who will never leave you.  The very best friend is God. He offers his relationship to you through Jesus.

Relationships are made stronger by the time and effort we put into the relationship.  God wants us to put time and effort into our relationship with Him.  As a result, He said that He would never leave us.  Even though we may do things that displease Him, He still will never leave us.  Just as a wayward child that displeases his parents, he is still their child.  We can never do anything that would make God turn His back on us and quit loving us.  He also loves us so much that we can't do more good to make Him love us more.  What a great comfort for us as God's children in knowing that Hebrews 13:5 will always be true.  "Never will I leave you, Never will I forsake you." Nothing changes God's love toward you. 

Bobby Johnson
Interlocking Ministries

A Warning For Christians

 A Warning For Christians

Scripture Reading: Revelation 2:1-7

Focus Verses: Revelation 2:4-5  “But I have this complaint against you.  You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!  Look how far you have fallen!  Turn back to me and do the works you did at first.  If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.”

I heard a story of a man who did a lot of exercise.  He did weight lifting, and running to get his body in the best physical shape.  And to look at him you could tell he would eat all the best foods and you could see all his muscles and could tell he did all this exercise.  Then one day he died of a heart attack.  He did all this exercise but he had a bad heart.

In our scripture reading there is a warning about our spiritual health.  You may look good on the outside, go to church, help your neighbor in need, and do all these good things.  But on the inside you’ve got a problem; you have lost your first love.  The church in Ephesus had left their first love.  Satan will say to you “God has put all these restrictions on you so your life is no longer fun.”  You may be tempted, but God's Word has guidelines to protect us.  Maybe you have built a fence on your compound and your children say “I want to play outside the fence” but you know it is dangerous outside the fence because of a busy road or dangerous animals.  Even more than a good earthly father, God always knows best. 

Jesus said in John 10:10  “My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”  A rich and satisfied life is a life where we joyfully serve Christ, have a passion for the Gospel, and a hunger for God’s Word.  These are all indications that we have not lost our first love.

Bobby Johnson
Interlocking Ministries