A New Pair of Shoes

Ephesians 5:20 - Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

The other day I went looking for a new pair of brown dress shoes. I have several pairs of nice shoes but most of them are casual. I wanted a brown pair of dress shoes. I ran into the shoe store and spent a few minutes trying on shoes. When I found the pair I wanted I paid and left. As I was leaving the store it suddenly dawned on me that I had on a comfortable pair of shoes and at least two more pair in my closet that fit good not counting tennis shoes. Then I thought about all the people around the world who would be thankful to own even one pair of shoes. Many will never own a pair of shoes in their entire lives.

When I lived in Honduras I would see all the young men at the Bible school hanging out their clothes to dry after washing them by hand. Many times their socks would have holes in them and instead of tossing them in the trash they would keep them for their mothers to repair. Money was too tight to throw away a pair of socks that could be mended. After watching that, I promised myself that I would never be unthankful again. How easily that promise was broken once I was back in the prosperous United States.  I am not feeling bad about the fact that I am blessed and I don't feel bad for buying a pair of new shoes. I believe I should look nice when I go to the pulpit. But I did take a moment to thank God for all of his blessings and to ask his for forgiveness for any complaining I had done.

What about it? Is there too much complaining in your life? Now would be a good time to think of all God has blessed us with and spend some time being thankful. We may just find that things are not as bad as we once thought they were.

Thankfully,

Spanish Pastor Jones 

Waiting on God's Timing

Psalms 62:1 - Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation.

Have you ever made a decision that you quickly realized was a mistake? Naturally, we all have. For me, the biggest mistakes I've made have been the times when I didn't pray and ask God what He thought before I made my decision. Or worse yet, there have been times when I prayed and felt a check but went ahead and did what I wanted to do anyway. Then when things went wrong there was no one to blame but myself. Thank God for His mercy!

The word wait in this verse from the Psalms carries the meaning in Hebrew of sitting quietly. It means to sit and not be troubled or bother anyone else until we are given instructions. Much like a child who is told to sit quietly in the corner while mom or dad conducts business with the banker. Remember those days? How hard it was to just sit and wait. Patience doesn't come naturally to most of us. It is something that has to be cultivated within us. There is a reason that Jesus told us that we must become as a little child to please him.

We are taught in Sunday School to pray and ask God for what we need and He will answer. Then many times, when we pray, it seems as if nothing is happening. It is not that nothing is happening but that it is not time for us to move yet. Just like the child who has to wait on his parents, all of us have to wait on God at times. In those times we have a choice to make: Will I sit quietly and wait with confidence or will I fret because my answer hasn't come yet. Sounds easier said than done? It is. Yet if we can discipline ourselves to wait with patience we will have much more peace in our lives.

Remember that it is always worthwhile to wait on God's answer. He has information that we don't have and His timing is always perfect!

Waiting,

Spanish Pastor Jones

The Power of Words

 Proverbs 18:21 - Death and life are in the power of the tongue.

 

 The power of our words is so amazing. We can create things with out words and we can also destroy things. I remember one night I was preparing a Sunday School lesson and I leaned back in my chair and glanced at the ceiling. I live in a wooded area and there was a big wood roach over my head that had apparently gotten in from outside. I grabbed a towel and went to kill it but I missed. As I swung I said "You are a dead roach." I knew I didn't hit it but at the moment I spoke those words the roach fell to the floor dead. I was stunned and then I immediately heard the Holy Ghost say, "your words have that much power. You killed that roach with your words. You need to watch what you say."

I know that may sound crazy to some but we all know how much power is in our words. It is with words that man's imagination is ignited. Countries have been compelled into war by words and words are used to make pacts of peace. Words cause people to feel well and to feel bad, both physically and spiritually. Words of truth bring clarity and words of deception bring confusion. Words of encouragement bring hope and words of doubt often bring fear. 

 

Let us be careful of every word for we will answer to God for every idle (vain or evil) word that we speak. Why? Because by giving us the power of speech God has given us the power of creation.God created the world by His word and our words are the creative factor that is with in us. Doesn't it then stand to reason that we can affect destiny with our words. Let's not create things God didn't want created; let's use our words to build his kingdom. It's the only thing worth building!