I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. John 14:18

Well, its been a month since we have walked into a church building for worship service. I was just thinking yesterday how many Sundays have passed, especially Easter Sunday, and no communing with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. All because this pandemic has changed the way we live for a while. Its sad, and I miss my church family. I miss worshipping God with music and a message, in person, that really touches my heart. Can you relate?

The other day I took a few minutes to do a spiritual checkup. I’ve got to be transparent; I don’t feel as if my spiritual health is better than it was before I went into this pandemic. I feel malnourished and weakened in my faith. As I was tossing around these thoughts in my mind, God laid a few simple words on my heart….”I will never leave you, nor forsake you.” Wow, I needed that refreshment. Here I am feeling down because my faith isn’t where it should be, yet Jesus reassured me, He is with me, loves me, and watches over me, even when I’m not able to attend church.

Maybe your walk with the Lord has suffered during this pandemic. Time away from God’s holy table can leave you malnourished and longing for His word and fellowship with brothers and sisters. So isolated, you feel like an orphan. Trust me friend, Jesus Christ has not left you alone. He is with you and will bring you through this difficult time. Stay in His word, keep praying and stay in touch with others as we come closer to brining the family back together for spiritual nourishment and worship! God bless!

But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Acts 16:25

 

If there is one word said and seen in text and email messages is “canceled”. With this COVID-19 pandemic, so many events, religious services, meetings….etc, everything has been canceled. As we approach Easter Sunday, we hear of church services and Easter gatherings cancelled. The real question is, is Easter cancelled?

 

We read in Acts 16 where Paul and Silas were doing work of the Lord and suffered physical abuse by beatings and threats against their life. After their beatings they were thrown into the inner most part of prison with their feet shackled. After going through all of those horrifying hours of abuse you’d think any mention of Jesus Christ and praising Him would be halted. If you read on past verse 25, you see the impact of their dedication to praising and worshipping God. People got saved. Their boldness and commitment to the Lord, despite all the bad things that happened, actually returned blessings to them and others.

 

Although your church services and Easter plans might be cancelled, Easter is not canceled. A day celebrating the life, death and most awesome resurrection of Jesus Christ can still be celebrated and honored, even in the most dire of moments. Celebrate Christ in your words and actions. The prisoners of Satan are watching you closely. Don’t be defeated. Keep celebrating Jesus through your faith and words this week! God bless!

Its often obedience in the small details that prepares the believer for obedience in all things.

Do you ever struggle with being obedient to God? The bible is full of scripture to guide the believer in living a more righteous life. And to be transparent, I find it difficult to measure up at times.

The words at the top of this blog came from a devotion I read recently. When I read it, I sat back and gave it some thought. How true it is when we are obedient to the small things God asks of us, it prepares us for the bigger steps of obedience. I’ve often heard it say….”it’s the little things that matter.” Very true, because they are the small stepping stones to bigger things in life, just like obedience in the small matters.

What are you struggling with today in regards to Godly obedience? Instead of tackling the big stuff right now, why don’t you focus on taking little steps of obedience. As you grow in your walk of obedience, you transform your mind to think like Christ and walk in step with His will. 

Stay in God’s word and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you, strengthen you and transform you into a more obedient Christian. The small steps matter! The end result of your obedience is His blessings showered down on your life. We all need more blessings! God bless!