What Shall We Pray?
God Is BIG!
God can do anything. ANYTHING! That means there is no problem that is too big for God to solve. Sadly, far too often we get preoccupied with our problems and lose sight of our God. Do not get me wrong problems can feel overwhelming, particularly when they are coming at us in droves. That is why in Shakespeare’s Hamlet Claudius says, “When sorrows come, they come not as single spies, but in battalions.” But what are we to do?
We have a choice. We decide where to focus our attention and when anything causes us to lose sight of God we are beginning to be defeated. But we are victorious conquerors, in fact if I can quote Paul “we are more than conquerors.” Here is the main idea. God is BIG. God is BIGGER than any sorrow, or heartache, or problem, or circumstance, or situation, or pain, or health concern, or financial issue. If we can remember that we will have a great defense against whatever the enemy throws at us. And we will live triumphant lives.
God Bless You,
Pastor Cox
05/02/21
Like a Good Neighbor
The global pandemic has reminded us that we are connected as a global community. We are neighbors, but are we good neighbors? The Good Samaritan was a good neighbor because he went out of his way to help his neighbor in need. Many times we think of faith as being solely about our relationship with God. But that is only half of it. Faith is about our relationship with God, and how that relationship informs our relationship with the people around us. The bible teaches that you cannot love God and hate your brother. Said another way it matters what kind of neighbor you are.
To be a good neighbor you have to be considerate of others. You have to look for opportunities to be helpful and supportive. Your neighbor needs to know you care. But who is your neighbor? Your neighbor is anyone near you. You have to look into the faces of those around you and see, not a stranger, but a neighbor. Share words of encouragement. Do random acts of kindness. Put smiles on people’s faces. Then you will be a good neighbor.
God bless you,
Pastor Cox
5/08/21
Be An Encourager
Life’s challenges can be overcome with the help of an encourager. Have you ever had a bad day, a day when things just would not go your way? It’s easy to point out what is going wrong, and to assign blame, but can you choose to be an encourager instead. Can you intentionally look for things that are going right, things to celebrate? It may seem counter intuitive, but it can be helpful. As believers we should not just be good at pointing out the flaws in others. That is easy to do. But what is also easy to do is to point out their strengths and to lift people up. Surprisingly, the world does not need more critics, we need more encouragers. We need more people who make it their business not to point out flaws, but to find celebration points.
This week I want to challenge you to encourage at least one person every day. If that sounds difficult, then that may tell you how critical you are. You will find that encouraging others, making them feel good about themselves, actually makes you feel good too. “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up” 1 Thessalonians 5:11
God bless you,
Pastor Cox
5/15/21
Go You!
Friends, this is your double barreled, double dose of encouragement. You are awesome! You are fearfully and wonderfully made! You are an overcomer! You have faced challenges and have come out, perhaps bruised, but certainly better. You have beaten the odds and you have turned surviving into thriving. You have cried your tears but you have pressed on to see those tears turn into joy. You are the wellspring in the desert of life. You are a living breathing testimony. There are people for whom giving up seemed the best course, but you persevered.
And even in moments when you did stop it was just temporary. You continue to find ways and reasons to keep climbing. You continue to ignore negativity being hurled in your direction. You turn down invitations to mediocrity as you ascend to a higher plane. And you have done it all by God’s grace and with God’s help. So let this be your pat on the back. Let this be your standing ovation. Let this be
your deafening ceaseless round of applause. Go You!
God bless you,
Pastor Cox
5/22/21
Restoration
Have you ever gotten to the point in life where you were just burned out? A time when you have given everything you had to give and were beginning to get frustrated. I have been there, and it is not a good feeling. I want to encourage you, especially those who may be feeling that way right now. First, remember self-care! You have to rest, and spend time doing things that uplift and encourage you. Go get a massage, talk to a therapist, go for a walk, spend time with friends, listen to some good music, or whatever you think will replenish you. But here is the good news… Jesus, our Savior, is a master of restoration. In fact David reminds us in Psalm 23:3 that God actually “restores our soul.” But it gets better than that.
God knows how to restore you so completely that it will cause your cup to overflow. Isn’t that good news? I am glad to know that when my tank is on E God knows how to restore my soul. Let’s encourage each other. Let’s pour into each other to help bring about communal restoration.
God bless you,
Pastor Cox
5/29/21