YOU MAY BE DOWN, BUT YOU'RE NOT OUT!

Philippians 4:7; says, "The peace of God...will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus". What person would not want that kind of peace?  The 18th century author Samuel Johnson was noted for his wit, sensitivity, and his encyclopedic knowledge. He found solitude depressing. That is why he often took home the poor and homeless so that he could be surrounded by people. He also confessed that he had a deep fear of dying. An Encyclopedia Britannica article, however, speaks of Johnson's "zest for living." It characterizes him as a "Christian Moralist" with a strong conviction of the reality of sin and of redemption provided through faith in Jesus Christ. It also says that "his faith prevailed," because when he knew he was dying, "he refused to take any medications because he prayed that he might render (present)his soul to God unclouded." The article concludes, "Few men have left finer examples of the art of living than Samuel Johnson." I have known many believers with a disposition like that. Most of them went through repeated cycles of joy and gloom. And when they were down, merely quoting Bible verses helped a little because they were already aware of them. But they kept living for God and praying, and their faith prevailed. The "peace of God" filled their hearts (Philippians 4:7;). That's good news for all of us, especially for those who go through times of doubt and despair. It has been said, "Whenever the darkness grips your soul, And you are tempted to despair, Remember Christ's unfailing love, And trust His faithful care." When life is filled with shadows, face the sunshine of God's love. I hope you have a blessed day. If you have a comment or a testimony relating to this subject, please feel free to post it. I will review it of course before it appears.  Blessings to you. Pastor Bob 

BLESSED FRIENDSHIP

Let's discuss the subject of friends. Oscar Wilde wrote this about Bernard Shaw. "Shaw hasn't an enemy in the world. And none of his friends like him!" When I read author Jeremy Thorpe's misquoting of a Bible concept, I had to laugh out loud. Thorpe wrote, "Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his friends for his life." Unfortunately there are so many who actually abide by that fractured command. Someone else ventured, "A friend in need...is a pest!" Ah, but a real friend, now we're talking!

We all have many acquaintances whom we appreciate and enjoy. A friend is another dimension. A friend is someone who has been at your side through the proverbial "thick and thin." That friend knows you on your good days and the bad ones. But, they never vary from their appreciation for you. You can probably count the number of those friends on your ten fingers, especially if the duration of that friendship has been for decades. Daphne and I are so blessed to have such friends.

Of course the best friend we have is 'Jesus'. He promised to never leave us nor forsake us. Unlike Thorpe's misquote, Jesus laid down His life for His friends.
Lyricist J.C. Ludgate wrote, "A friend when other friendships cease, a friend when others fail, a friend who gives me joy and peace, a friend who will prevail! Friendship with Jesus, fellowship divine! Oh what blessed sweet communion, Jesus is a friend of mine!"
Our walk with Jesus is not religion. Far from it. It is a blessed friendship!

If you are unaware of who this friend is, His name is Jesus and He wants to be your Savior. All you need do is acknowledge Him today, admit you are a sinner, ask Him to forgive you and come into your heart. He will!! And He will be the friend that sticks closer than a brother. 
Please feel free to comment below and let me know if you accepted Christ as your Savior. i would love to pray with and for you.


(If you have a comment, click below and thanks in advance. If you would like to support this ministry in any way, please click the donate button at the top right of this page. Thank you and the Lord Bless You.) 
Pastor Robert Coutts 

YOU SAID, GOD'S LOVE IS "HOW BIG"?

Now there is a question that deserves an answer. How big is God's love? I doubt there is anything tangible enough on this earth to describe how big it is. Let's go somewhere together for a moment though. Let's go to the universe. How big is the universe? Well, if you were to ask an astronomer, undoubtedly he/she would say that the universe contains trillions of stars, and that the most distant galaxies are billions of what we call 'light years' away. Not just thousands, or millions or even billions of stars, but trillions of them spread across the vastness of space we call the universe.

I guess it is the incomprehensible figures like that that make it easy for doubters to doubt the Bible and they conclude that it is impossible for them to believe the Bible in light of those figures. I guess further they conclude that in light of those numbers, earth and humans seem insignificant. But these mind boggling dimensions should not or need not shake our faith. Instead I think we can use them to increase our faith and our awe as we take into account the message of His divine grace.
In Psalm 8: for example, the author marvels at God's creation and mankind's smallness. But then look! He breaks out into praise for God's greatness and care for us. (Read it for yourself and check it out).
To think that the Creator who made and upholds all this immensity has focused His redemptive love on tiny creatures like you and I, and sinful creatures at that, is literally mind boggling in itself! He cherishes us individually! And, He cherishes us as if each one of us were the 'sole' object of that fatherly attention. I don't know about your thought pattern right now, but mine says, "WOW!" It is amazing, as Paul testified, that Christ "loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20;). Are you weeping right now? I am. Tears of joy for the amazing love of God for me!
Instead of shaking our faith, I think the findings of astronomy should fill our souls, and hearts with the wonder of God. The immensity of God's creation can remind us of the immensity of God's love.
In creation we see God's hand; in redemption we see His heart. Did you know that His heart is fixed on you right now. Amazing, isn't it.
Please feel free to leave a comment on God's amazing love for you.
Pastor Robert Coutts

LET THE MUD DRY!

I hope you don't mind, but I felt that I should follow up on yesterday's post with another thought that seemed to go right along with the topic of being criticized. I was reading in Proverbs and I came across Proverbs 15:18; which states, "A wrathful man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger allays contention." Simply put, take your time in answering when you are angry and the fight will naturally fizzle out. Anger is a strong and even potentially destructive emotion emitting from the hearts of people who can lose control of it. When we are personally offended and we get our feelings hurt by others for example, our immediate reaction is to want to retaliate and "tell that person off". Well, sometimes confrontation to resolve a difference may be necessary, but more often than not, using restraint and allowing for a cooling off period is proper wisdom. I did read a story once about a man who had been insulted by someone else and he was irate over the issue to the point that he said, "I am going to his house right now and demand an apology!" His smart, and might I say wise wife said to him, "Honey, take a word of advice from one who does not like confrontation but likes peace. An insult is like mud; it will brush off much better when it dries. Wait till you are both cool, and you will both be able to resolve the issue. If you go right now, it will only escalate the argument further." The result of his waiting was good, because the next day the person who had insulted him came to him and asked him for forgiveness. Now, I know that not all problems have these kinds of happy endings, but the possibilities are greatly increased when we are 'slow to wrath'. So, the next time you are driven to anger by someone offending you or by some cutting remark against you, try counting to a hundred or something if necessary. Take some time to cool off. Time and God are on your side. Remember, 'mud always brushes off better when it is dry! And, here's another thought, "Anger is just one letter short of danger." I hope this helps when you are faced with a situation that requires calm and not anger. If you have faced some time like that and want to share, please post your comment. Have a great day.  Pastor Bob

GOSPEL GEEK SQUADS

A while ago, 'Sixty Minutes' a CBS News show, ran a segment on 'Geek Squads'. And for the record the term is not a derogatory term, but rather it is a term used by some of the most brilliant and up and coming technologically minded people of our time. It is a group of people who know computers inside out and because they know so much, they offer their services to repair computers everywhere. For we, the 'Golden Oldies' of our time, technology is growing so fast that it is almost impossible to keep up to the changes. Nowadays, you can buy a computer controlled refrigerator, toaster, water filter and even a commode! The refrigerator by the way can keep inventory of the food you have in it and the time you ran out of a certain item. The computer calls the grocery store and orders the foodstuffs for you, all you do is go and pick it up when you are notified by telephone or email that your order is ready. That is just scary! I have a couple of computers. One at home in my study and one at the church in my office, not to mention a laptop. I use the three of them primarily for word processing. The three of them seem to delight in driving me nuts. I have tried changing settings, backgrounds, adding programs etc., but in many cases, to no avail. What's that? Read the manual you say! Have YOU tried reading the manual? It is written in 'computerees' that bears little or no resemblance to any normal language normal humans read or speak. So...where is my Geek?

You know, sometimes we in the church make the Gospel as complicated as a computer. We speak in terminologies that the un-churched are not familiar with and cannot understand. The Gospel should be simple. You know, John 3:16; which is made up for the most part of single syllable words. If the Holy Spirit can keep it simple, why can't we. I would write a little more on this subject today but my computer just put a message on the screen that says I need to install a 'gazorninplat' or something like that.
Let's keep it simple!
Pastor Robert Coutts

ARE WE NEAR THE END?

Referring to an earlier article  on the Mayan Calendar, I think it is clear that all the year 2012 hysteria is unfounded. But would it be accurate to say that even if the 2012 date is wrong, we could very well be near the end of the world?

Well, that all depends on what is meant by "the end of the world." The only reliable source of information about the future is the Bible. We know it is reliable because it contains hundreds of very specific prophecies about persons, cities, and nations that have already been fulfilled in history. It also contains 109 specific prophecies about the Messiah that were fulfilled in the life of Jesus of Nazareth.23
The Bible prophesies the end of the current age, the end of the current world system, and the end of the natural world as we know it today. But it never prophesies the end of the world in the sense that the universe will cease to exist. In fact, it clearly states that planet earth will exist forever. What do you have to add to this. 

MAYAN CALENDAR ?

Mayan Calendar, Mayans. Mayan villages, Mayan peoples, Mayan predictions, What do you know about it? Can you fill me in. I've read some pretty heavy stuff about the year 2012.  Some like to set dates. Others think they are in the know. The world is full of Nostradamus's. Christ will come at the appointed time and not before. Reading some of the other views is actually fun. You get a real cross reference of beliefs and some of the stuff even challenges you to be stronger in your faith. "I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've committed unto Him against that day" and that's all there is to it for me. What say you? 

BAD HABITS OR BAD WEEDS!

Did you know that the Word of God commands us to "not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. Romans 6:12;?" It's much like yanking weeds out of your garden. You and I both know that it can be a struggle to stay on top of dandelions, crabgrass and the like. It can be difficult to overcome God's curse in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 3:17-18; And unto Adam He said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake: in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat of the herb of the field;"

When the ground is hard and dry it is nearly impossible to rid that ground of the weeds in it. But when you get a good rain, the ground gets soft and you can pull them out real easy. And did you notice. The newest or youngest weeds are the easiest to pull out in soft ground because they don't have deep roots, whereas the older more mature weeds have deep roots and are more stubborn to pull out.
Bad habits are just like that. The longer they remain in us, the more difficult they are to uproot. If we uproot them early when the heart is tender towards the love of God then we have the best chance for success.
In Romans 5:20-21; we read "Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord." These truths can soften the soil of a hard heart. And when we understand that Jesus died to free us from the penalty and power of sin, we will see the need to fight aggressively against sinful habits.
A passive faith will never kill bad habits. In order for these truths to work, an active faith needs to be applied. Yanking weeds out is often painful. It comes with many failures. Weeds grow back unless the root is taken out. But when we root out the weeds, 'the bad habits', success follows and then failure is defeated finally!
Do you need to pull some weeds out today? They say a bad habit is like a soft chair. It is easy to get into but hard to get out of.
Have a great day in the Lord and I look forward to your feedback.
Blessings. Pastor Coutts

LOOK OUT FOR THE BEAR!

Have you ever been to the far north? I mean like NORTH!! Northern Canada, Alaska, above the 60th parallel north! If you have, then you have seen the signs that warn you about the bears that roam wild in the wilderness. If you speak to old timers and the natives who live there and experienced bushmen/women, they will give you some sound advice. (If you go north, you should take this advice). 

1. Do not climb a tree if you run across a bear. Bears climb trees!
2. Don’t run. Bears can run and they are faster than you!
3. If the bear is brown, curl up in a ball on the ground and don’t move, play dead.
4. If the bear is black, jump around wildly and make a whole lot of noise. They are afraid of noise and they will turn tail and run.
5. If the bear is hungry, pray!
6. Never, NEVER, offer food to a bear!
7. Above all, never get between a bear and her cub(s).
In Hosea 13:8; we read this, “I will meet them like a bear deprived of her cubs”. In this verse God described Himself as being as angry with Israel as a mother bear who has been deprived of her cubs. God had done so much to show His love, but His people had wandered away from Him and taken the path of disobedience. So He disciplined them, while He reminded them of His love for them (Hosea 13:4-6; and Hosea 14:1-9;).
It would be wise for us to learn from what happened to Israel. By so doing we can avoid God’s anger and enjoy His love for us today.
1. Love and worship Him above all. Hosea 13:4;
2. Don’t try to hide your sin, confess it. Hosea 14:1-2;
3. Stay on the path of righteousness. Hosea 14:9;
Our God is a jealous God (Exodus 34:14;). He loves us but He will not tolerate disobedience.
Beware of the Bear!

BITE! BITE! BITE! ENOUGH TO DRIVE YOU CRAZY

Psalm 81:13; says, "Oh that my people would listen to me." Listening is an art. It's an art if you pay attention to what is said. I should have listen before I went fishing. I am a Canadian by birth and a Nomad by virtue of the times I have moved. But still, I lived in my native Canada long enough to learn how to fish and love it. Problem is, I should have listened to my elders before I went fishing. They said I needed, bug repellent or a good shotgun. They said, "the mosquitos are so big they come through the trees sideways so they don't clip their wings", and "the flies will sit on your shoulder and take a bite out of you and sit there and eat the piece they have bitten off you while they defy you to hit them". Also they said I should carry a shotgun to shoot them because they are so big. All the advice in the world did not work. I went without all that protection and sure enough, Bite! Bite! Bite! Enough to drive you crazy. Did you know that the bite of a blackfly creates a wound that swells up, gets red and itches like crazy? One or two bites and you scratch a lot but get a whole bunch and it can drive you nuts!

But the bite of a blackfly or a mosquito is nothing compared to what happened when the fourth plague hit Egypt. (Exodus 8:20-24;). As Moses said would happen, the air was thick with a swarm of flies that invaded Pharaoh's palace and every house of his officials and for that matter all over Egypt. But they were not found in the land of Goshen where the Israelites lived.
By this time Pharaoh should have been listening intently to every word that came out of Moses mouth. But even after the flies were gone verse 32; says Pharaoh hardened his heart. By doing this he set himself and his people up for even more serious judgments from God.
Sometimes the Lord uses drastic measures to get our attention. The "swarm of flies" can take on different forms like trouble, failure, guilt, the hurt looks of people we love. Those are the times we especially need to listen to God.
I would suggest today if you have not been in the habit of listening to God, that you try it while it is still quiet. The flies will come again and they will Bite! Bite! Bite! Until it drives you crazy. Hardening the heart can be worse than hardening of the arteries. Are the flies swarming around you? Post your comment. Have a great day.
Pastor Bob.