North Central Baptist Church Delhi, Louisiana

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What are you thankful for?  Is it your family or friends?  Is it your job or house?  What would be at the top of your list?  We can write many things that we are thankful for but in this list we sometimes forget a very important part of our lives.  Our list mostly contains worldly things, but does it mention our Creator?  Are you truly thankful for the one and only God?  The person who created us, the person who gives us life day after day and the person who gives of the list of things to be thankful for.

Are you thankful for the sun rising? Are you thankful for the beautiful, sunny day or a rainy day?  Are you thankful for each breath you take and the stars and moon?  These things may seem small and foolish things to be thankful for, but these are some of the many blessings God gives us each and every day.  Sure it is nice to have a great paying job to be able to buy anything your heart desires, but all that money can’t buy God’s blessings and God’s wonders.  Yes, having that job is a blessing from God, but are you thankful to God for providing you with the talents to do the job?  Are you using this blessing to do God’s work?

It is easy to be thankful to God in good times, but are you truly thankful for the bad times?  Are you getting down on your knees and thanking God for the hard and difficult time you are going through?  This is very difficult to do, because you expect God to make everything good and happy.  You expect God to make your life easy, without any hard times.  If you believe this, you are living in a fantasy world.  There is no such thing as an easy life.  Look at the life of Jesus as he lived here on earth. His life was far from easy and He is the one and only son of God.  He is the only perfect person to live, but He had a difficult road to travel.  Yes, He could have made his path easy, but He knew his Father’s plan for him and changing it was not an option for Him.  Are you thankful for Jesus and the hard life he lived on earth to give us forgiveness and for us to be able to have a relationship with God?  Are you thankful for Jesus dying on the cross for our sins?

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  Give thanks to the Lord our God for the sunrise, the sunset, the rain, or sunshine.  Give thanks to the Lord our God for each breath we take and each word we speak. Give thanks to the Lord our God for the abilities he has given us and the freedom to follow his word.  Give thanks to the Lord our God for the birds in the air and the flowers and trees, but most important, give thanks to the Lord our God for his wonderful and precious son, Jesus, for without him, we would not have a relationship the with our Father in heaven.

In God We Trust

Sandra Davis

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One Nation Under God has taken on a whole new meaning this day in time.  Thirty years ago, this statement was a proud and powerful statement.  Our nations was built on this simple saying.  Now it’s slowly changing and the nation is being driven away from God.  We who still believe in God and are followers of Christ are standing still and allowing our freedom of religion to be taken away and replaced with other religions or anti-Christ followers.  This nation is no longer one nation under God, but the devil’s workshop.  He is becoming more powerful and slowly breaking God’s connection with this country.

The media only reports the bad things that happen around the world.  They must report the bad side to every thing because that is what sells.  The media is strong and has a powerful influence over this nation. People want to believe what they say and show, therefore, they are influenced to follow them and it is safe to say the devil has his grasp on them.  All the negativity that is shown, no mention of God’s work or God’s grace can be found.

Now I am not talking about individual people but this nation as a whole.  Look at what happened when the devil won and had prayer taken out of schools.  You see more and more school shootings and it is getting to the point, you don’t want to send your children to school because you are scared there might be a shooting.  So you begin home schooling them and there is nothing wrong with protecting your children.  God protects his children and we must follow His example and protect our children.

Look at our court systems, people want to take out the ten commandments.  The ten commandments that our country was built on.  The commandments that our Lord God expects us to live by.  These commandments were not written for certain people to follow, but for everyone to follow.  I could image this nation if everyone believed and followed the commandments.  It would be a much greater place to live.  It wouldn’t be perfect, but you wouldn’t have all this hate and selfishness going one and the devil would not have such a strong hold on the US.  This nation is on a collision course to hell and this nation will break hell wide open if things don’t change.

Abortion is killing God’s creation.  God creates each of us and without Him, we would not be here.  God created the conception of a baby and when that life is created (at conception), then it is a life.  The ten commandments says thou shall not kill. It doesn’t say you can end the pregnancy before three months, it clearly says thou shall not kill.  God has a purpose for each life He creates and look at all of God’s work that has been taken away.

For those who believe in Jesus and follow his Word, God is watching over us.  He is with us and leading us where He wants us to be.  God knows what our future holds and He knows where this nation is headed.  Make sure your are on the path God has intended for you and you have accepted Jesus Christ as your savior, because when Jesus returns, God will protect his children, his followers.

In God We Trust

Sandra Davis

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We use the word “love” alot to describe a strong feeling for something or someone.  What things do you love?  Your family, car, clothes, food, and the list goes on.  This word is used to describe a feeling of happiness for something or someone we really like and have deep feelings for.

Since we use the word so much, it has lost its true meaning.  When we say “I love you”, we are also looking for you to prove it.  It is expected for you to prove how much you love someone, because we don’t want to believe just the words, but see it for ourselves.  How do you prove to someone how much you love them?  This task is most difficult because if there is doubt someone loves you, then you will never believe they love you.  You must have faith in that person and faith in the word “love” to be able to accept it.

When we turn and look for God, we also expect him to prove how much he loves us because the word “love” is becoming less valueable.  God has an unconditional love for us.  He made each and everyone of us in his own image and even when sin entered the world, he still loves us.  As generation to generation passes, more sin enters the world and he still loves us.

When something bad happens to us, we will ask God “Do you truly love us?  Why did you allow this to happen to me?”  No matter what the situation is, God always loves us.  He never promises us a perfect life.  He never promises us an easy life.  Sin is a part of us, and sin is what causes the bad things to happen.

The greatest act of love is John 3:16 – For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  God did prove his love for us by sending his only son to earth to die for every persons sins.  This world will always be full of sin, and God will not allow sin into heaven.  He knew none of us would make it to heaven to be with him on our own.  He sent Jesus, a perfect gift, to be our one way ticket to heaven.  Jesus is the only way to enter the kingdom of heaven, have you got your ticket yet?

God loves us no matter what we do.  He has an unconditional love for us that there really are no words to come close to describing it.  It is the most powerful and awesome love for any of us to accept.  The world will always be full of sin until Jesus’ return, but knowing that God wants you and loves you will open your eyes to the true meaning of “love”.

In God We Trust

Sandra Davis

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God gives us each abilities that will help us along our journey to heaven.  For some, He will entrust more abilities that others.  Depending on how you will use your abilities, will determine how many He will give you.  God gives these talents to see what we will do with them.  If we use them to glorify Him, then He will continue to give us more and more.  If we waste them or don’t use them, then He will take them away from us.  The more we use them, the more we will earn.  We all should be wise with the abilities God gives us.  There is a reason behind every talent that is given to us, we just have to look for the answer.

Jesus gives parables to us to help in the understanding of God’s Word.  The parable, Matthew 25:14-30, is describing the gifts God gives to us.  The parable describes a man entrusting his talent to his slaves.  One he gave five, the second he gave two, and the third he gave one.  Why do you think he didn’t give each one an equal share?  The master knew what each one’s abilities were and he gave to them according to their abilities.  He knew which one would do the most with the talents and he knew which one would do the least.  The slaves with five and two talents went to work and traveled the harder road and doubled what the master gave them.  The slave with one talent, went and dug a hole and buried the talent that his master gave him.  He did not earn anything.

When the master came back from his journey, he settled the accounts with the slaves.  The first and second slave came before the master and showed him what they earned, and the master was pleased with them.  He told them they did good and he would put them in charge of more things.

When the third slave approached the master he told the master he was afraid of him and he didn’t want to take a chance in losing what the master had given him.  The third slave took the easy path and didn’t want to take the risk.  The master was not happy that he had wasted what he entrusted to him.  The master took the talent away from him and gave it to the slave who now had ten talents.  Then he sent the third slave to the outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

This parable tells us we must use what God gives us to the best of our abilites.  We must use our talents and abilities to glorify God and He will entrust us with more and more wonderful abilities that will help us reach our goal – Heaven.  When we do God’s work, He is happy and pleased with us and one day we will hear these words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

In God We Trust

Sandra Davis

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You know the saying, you do the crime, you do the time.  This also can be applied to our relationship with God and Jesus.  We can not have a relationship with God because we have all sinned or “did the crime”.  In Romans, “There is none righteous, no, not one;” and “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

We are all sinners and we will never be good enough or sin free for God.  “But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.”  This is where God showed us his love and how much he cares about each and everyone of us by sending his one and only son Jesus.  Jesus died on the cross and shed his blood for our sins.  He is the only person to live sin free.  It was our sins that held him to the cross.  Without Jesus’ blood shed, we could never have a relationship with God.  John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Jesus dying on the cross for our sins is doing the time for our sins.  But this does not give us freedom to go out and do anything we want.  We must try not to sin but when we fall short, we must admit our sins to Jesus and ask for forgiveness and the strength not to commit them again.

God has the all seeing eye and he sees everything we do.  Nothing can be hidden from him.  So we can’t blame our sins on someone else or try to pass them onto someone else.  They are our sins and we must stand up for ourselves and admit them to Jesus.  “Nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not be known.”

Be strong and stand up tall knowing Jesus is on your side.  He is with us and forgives us of our short comings.  We must admit we are sinners and accept Jesus Christ in our lives.  Always remember the only way to heaven is through Jesus Christ.

In God We Trust

Sandra Davis

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We are quick to find faults in other people.  We sometimes just glance at a person and judge them by the way they look or act.  Is it in our hands to be the judge of others? No! That is in the hands of God.  Jesus said, “Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not see the log in your own eye?”  Jesus points out that our neighbor does have faults, but our own faults are greater because we are judging our neighbor, and Jesus teaches us that we must not judge others.

Before we start judging others, we must first look at ourself.  When you take an honest look into your own heart, you will find many faults.  I guess, trying to find other peoples faults just helps us to cover our own faults.  No matter who it is in this world, everybody has faults.  “Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Friend, let me take out the speck in your eye,’ when yourself do not see the log in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the log out of our own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.”  How can we judge others without judging ourself first?  Can you honestly look at yourself the way God sees you?

Each of us are sinners.  “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not comdemn, and you will not be condemned.  Forgive, and you will be forgiven;”  We all have many faults and all fall short of God’s glory.  This is our human nature.  We need to strive to become more like Jesus.  Live our lives like Jesus wants us too.  Love one another, be kind to one another, forgive one another, and live a joyful life with Jesus in our hearts.  But remember, do not judge others so you will not be judged.

Read Luke 6:37-45

In God We Trust

Sandra Davis

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Lord, I come to you today with my heart filled with pain and suffering.  The lose of a child is too much to handle.  The pain is felt from the tips of my toes to the top of my head.  My whole body aches for the gentle touch of my child again.  How will I make it through a day without this child you blessed me with.  Why was this life cut short and my life still going?  I don’t understand what is going on.  Lay your hand upon me and help me to understand why you have taken this precious gift from me.   Was I that bad as parent that you didn’t think I was fit to continue raising my child.  What have I done wrong?  In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

I lay my head down trying to get a moment of sleep, the house is so quite.  Everybody has gone and I am alone trying to take in what has happened in the last few days.  My mind starts to dream and I see my sweet child all dressed in white.  A perfect halo above my child’s head.  “Not to worry, I’m with Jesus.  This is the plan God planned out for me.  Don’t question his decision and follow his plan for you, so that one day we will be together again in this wonderful place called Heaven.  Close your eyes and get your rest.  You have many busy days ahead of you following God’s plan.”  I woke up in tears and just sat in bed.  Taking in and understanding what I had just seen.  After a few moments, I lowered my head.

Dear God,  I have done you wrong and I have sinned greatly.  I should not have questioned your power and decision to bring my child to Heaven with you.  You gave me this wonderful child, so precious and sweet, but I was only to have this child for just a short time and this made your plan complete.  We all are your children, and you are our Father.  Lay your hands upon me and get me back on the right path, so that one day my child and I can be together again in the wonderful place you have made for all your children, Heaven.  Please heal my heart and fill it with your love.  Forgive me of my sins and take back charge of my life.  In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

In God We Trust

Sandra Davis

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There will come a day when we will leave this earth and move on to either heaven or hell.  Heaven is described in the bible as a wonderful place full of happiness and joy.  There will be no more sorrow, pain, or sickness.  We will be with God and Jesus glorifying them for our salvation and leading us down the righteous path.

Hell is described as a horrible place, full of pain and suffering.  It is call a lake of fire and sulfur and where there is torment day and night, forever and ever, which is the second death.

When our time comes, we will be placed in front of a great white throne, with God sitting upon it.  Books will be opened to our pages and what we did with our lives will be listed.  Can you see what will be wrote on your pages?  Are you living the life God has planned for you?  We will all be judged according to how we have lived our life. God plans out our lives from the day we enter into this world.  We must study his word and make sure we stay on his path.  Do you think God will be happy with your actions today and how you are living your life now?  If you have doubt, turn to God and pray that he will help you get back on the right path.

The book of life will be opened and He will look for your name.  If your name is not in it, you will be sent to the lake of fire and sulfur.  “But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”  The only way to get your name in the book of life is through Jesus Christ. “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.’ ”

Yes, we are all sinners but we must work on trying not to sin.  We must live our lives like God wants us too.  The first step to salvation is admitting you are a sinner.  Repent and turn away from sin.  Also, you must believe Jesus Christ is God’s son and accept his gift of forgiveness for our sins.  Then, you must confess your faith in Jesus Christ as your savior and Lord.  Accept Jesus Christ and the price he paid for our sins so your name can be written in the book of life.

In God We Trust

Sandra Davis

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I had an experience a short time ago that God showed me he is in control of my life.  My eyes were opened to see his power and grace all in one instance.  God showed me that he still has a plan for my life.  I believe we all have had those moments before.  When you look closely at your life, you can find many instances like the one I had.  These moments can happen in a split second or they can last over a period of time.

God gives us these moments to remind us he is in control and our work for him is not done.  Sometimes it can be terrifying, but if that is what it takes to open our eyes to God, then that is what he will do.

God is with us every step of the way.  He has a plan for each and every one of us.  We must have faith and truely believe in him to see that he is with us. “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

To keep your faith strong, you have to trust in the Lord and know that his way is better than our own way. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your path.”  Hold onto your faith with both hands and God will keep your eyes opened toward him, and his plan for us.

In God We Trust

Sandra Davis

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Oh Lord, as I start this day, I will leave everything I know behind.  I am leaving my family, friends, and my home to start on this journey so far away.  How hard this is to leave evrything behind.  I will be an outsider, all alone in a foreign land.

I know you have placed me on this journey for a reason and it isn’t my place to question your plan.  I do find comfort in knowing you are beside me holding my hand.  Lead me and show me your way.

Be with me every step of the way, and open my heart and mind to hear your words.  Be with my family, for I love them dearly.  Watch over them and let them know you are with me.  My life is in your hands and let your will be done.  Guide me, lead me and show me your way.

Amen.

In God We Trust

Sandra Davis