River's Edge Baptist Church: Recent Episodes
None
“Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven will also forgive you your wrongdoing.”
Mark 11:25
It is hard work to forgive someone who has offended you! Even for Christians, forgiving and loving those who have “despitefully used us,” remains a challenge. But God has given us His grace and He demands that we too be gracious. We have a responsibility to allow Jesus Christ to forgive through us. There is no doubt that we cannot forgive others through our own strength. It is only by the blood and through the love of Jesus that we can forgive any person. Let God begin a fresh new work in you by forgiving those who have wronged you! God’s Word is clear, we may not be best friends with the people who have hurt us, but we will stand clean before the Lord if by forgiving them, we have released them from any consequences or judgments that we might desire them to experience! Don’t wish anvils to fall on people’s heads! Let God deal with them! Before we can experience true renewal and revival in our spirits, we have to release offenders into the Lord’s hands. They need not have control over us or our feelings any longer. Release them and so release yourself!
As we gather for A Sacred Assembly before the Lord this Sunday, turn loose of all those things and all those people who would hinder you from experiencing the joys and blessings of God! Name those persons one by one, forgive them in Jesus, and leave the discipline of their lives to God alone!
I love you all,
Pastor Stephen
“If your heart turns away and you do not listen and you are led astray to bow down to other gods and worship them, I tell you today that you will certainly perish.” Deuteronomy 30:17-18
“Anything that takes the place of your first love for God can be a false god or an idol of the heart,” (Claude King). My brothers and sisters, as we prepare to worship the Lord this Sunday in our Sacred Assembly and 7th Anniversary Celebration, I want to ask you: Have you lost your first love for God? Have you replaced your once strong and passionate commitment to Jesus and His church with some other action, or person, or job, or service? It’s easy to lose our way. People stray away from God’s will and His future for them quickly. But the Lord warns us in His Word through Ezekiel 14:3 …that we can put stumbling blocks in our own way, and in Matthew 22:37 ….that all our love should go to God, and in Revelation 2:4-5 ….that when we leave our first love, if we do not repent (turn around) and turn back toward God, He will remove our influence as a church from the community. As we prepare to praise God, thank God, and listen to God we must first repent from our idol worship! What ever it is that takes more time and priority in your life than the Almighty God, is an idol of your heart!
Today, will you pray along with me to put aside the idols of our hearts?
Gracious Heavenly Father, full of mercy and love; We worship You today! We thank You for your loving kindness to us. We praise You for always blessing us. We honor You for never leaving us! Dear Lord, we ask You to clean up our hearts today. Help us God put aside the idols of our hearts in which we have replaced Your worship! We cry out and ask You to forgive us Oh Lord! We have sinned and have fallen so short of Your glory. Please purge us of our wants and lustful desires. Please wash us in Your grace! Please anoint us with Your healing mercy. Please be our Refuge and Strength! Father, You alone know what we need and we know You will be faithful to Your Word and supply our needs according to Your riches in glory! Hear our prayers today. Take away any wrong desire within us. Help us walk in Your Truth and in Your Ways. You alone are our first love! In Jesus’ name, Amen!
I pray your day will be filled with God’s peace and His joy!
I love you all,
Pastor Stephen