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GET TOGETHER- HE RESTORES DAMAGED GOODS
Ps 23:3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. (NKJV)
Perhaps we have all used the phrase, or had it used about us at some time in our lives “he or she is damaged goods.” To be honest we all have been damaged in some way and we all need our souls restored: Ro 3:23” for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (NKJV) All of us have either been damaged by our own sin, or by someone else’s sin. When this happens we often incur some emotional wounds, and not only are we effected spiritually, but psychologically was well. 

King David as the Bible tells us was a man after God’s own heart “Ac 13:22 “And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.” He was a great military leader. He was a great King. And yet he knew that he was damaged goods and needed soul restoration. 

If you look at his life he experienced rejection and jealousy by his own brothers. He fought hand to hand combat in a lot of wars. He was used by God to do a mighty miracle when he defeated the Philistine giant Goliath and saved the armies of Israel. Jonathon a friend that was as close as a brother was killed in battle. King Saul a King that he was loyal to tried to kill him on numerous occasions. He had several wives, children that did terrible things to each other. He was hailed as a hero and booed out of town by some of the same people. He committed adultery and then had the husband of the woman that he committed adultery with murdered. His own son Absalom led a rebellion against him. David wept and mourned when he found out that Absalom had been killed in battle. One time his troops at Ziklag had lost confidence in him and wanted to kill him. You haven’t heard the half of it. So when we think about someone who was damaged goods we can look at David.

On the other hand, when we need someone to look at that knew where to go to for his soul to be restored and get the damage repaired we can look at David. The Hebrew term for restore here is shuwb, shoob. It means to restore, to bring back, and it can also mean to repair.

First isn’t it great that our broken relationship with our Heavenly father can be restored through faith in the blood of Jesus Christ? Ro 5:9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. (NKJV) Also isn’t it great that when our emotions have been wounded to the point we either can’t cry anymore, or we have been hurt in such a way that all we can do is cry that there is One who can restore our soul in such a way that we can now as the scriptures tell us in Ro 12:15 “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep?” (NKJV) Now we are healed and we can laugh when it is time to laugh and cry when it is time to cry. And there will always be those times when we need to cry and when we need to laugh. David’s son Solomon wrote about that in Ec 3:4 “A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance.”

Part of soul restoration is knowing that you have been forgiven. We can look at the things that David had been forgiven of and know that the Lord Jesus stands ready to forgive us. Another vital part of soul restoration is forgiving and releasing those who may have hurt us in some way. Jesus told us how to do this in “Lu 11:4a And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us” David could have drank the poison of unforgiveness when he got the news that King Saul had been killed. He could have said well he had it coming! He could have listed all of the things that Saul had done to him. But he had forgiven King Saul. He also loved God and Israel to much to hold one of God’s anointed in unforgiveness (This didn’t excuse what Saul had done). The scriptures help us to see the heart of a restored soul. 2Sa 1:11 ¶ Therefore David took hold of his own clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him.12 And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son, for the people of the LORD and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. 2Sa 1:19 “The beauty of Israel is slain on your high places! How the mighty have fallen! (NKJV)
Today as you read this let me ask you something that I have to ask myself quiet often. Is there someone that you are holding in unforgiveness? Let them go. What they did was not right, but God doesn’t want you to drink the poison. That person that you are holding in unforgiveness could be you. Perhaps when you read of some of the things that David had done it brought to your mind some of your sins that you regret that you have committed and you have repented of them. God has forgiven you if you have asked Him. Don’t hold yourself in unforgiveness any longer. He wants to restore your soul. He stands ready to repair and restore us in such a way that we are no longer damaged goods, but we are repaired, restored, and put back in better condition than we originally were in. forgive others and forgive yourself. Then we are ready to be led into paths of righteousness for His name sake. 

Let Us Pray

Lord Jesus we thank You that you restore our souls. You also lead us into paths of righteousness. Help us to forgive those who have wronged us. Help us to receive the forgiveness that You have granted to us and not hold ourselves in unforgiveness. Restore the souls of all that we may have wounded and those who have wounded us. Help us to walk in complete restoration.

In Jesus Name

Amen
            
May you walk as a child of God with a restored soul!

Your friend/Kinfolk

Preston

GET TOGETHER- HE ONLY HAS EYES FOR US
Song of Solomon 8:6,7 THE SHULAMITE TO HER BELOVED Set me as a seal upon your heart, As a seal upon your arm; For love is as strong as death, Jealousy as cruel as the grave; Its flames are flames of fire, A most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love, Nor can the floods drown it. If a man would give for love All the wealth of his house, It would be utterly despised. (NKJV)

Okay when I use this example preaching at the prison most of the men will acknowledge that this has happened to them before. As you are reading this you are not sitting in your pew looking like you have had it altogether your whole life so relax perhaps it might have happened to you before as well.

Maybe you went to a nightclub, a high school, or college dance and you danced a slow dance with someone. At some point during that slow dance you realized that they were looking at someone else while they were dancing with you. They could have been cutting eyes at them, or making little head motions. Then the next thing that you knew they were gone with that person.

Today I want to tell you that there is One who has eyes only for you. His Name is Jesus Christ and you were created to dance with Him. His love is strong for you. His love for you was so strong that He would die for you. We are told throughout the Scriptures of how much that He loves us. Joh 10:11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. Joh 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. (NKJV) Ro 5:7,8 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 1Jo 4:10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. You get the picture. Someone that loves you that much is not going to cut out on you. They also aren’t going to be dancing with you and have their eyes on another. Here is a great promise for those who belong to Jesus Christ: 2Ch 16:9a “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” He desires to do good for those who love Him.

On the other hand perhaps some of us, or all of us have danced with someone and had our eyes on someone else. If we have God is ready to help us to get our eyes on the One who loves us and not let those eyes go after worthless things, or things that are not a part of our destiny. Heb 12:2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Today be reminded that Jesus Christ wants to dance with you eternally. If you dance with Him you will never want to dance with the devil again. Get in His word, enjoy intimate times of just loving on Him, and letting Him love on you. If you do I promise you that you will not want to cut your eyes toward another again. Because when you look into His eyes you see love that is unconditional, eternal, and life changing. I think that He is about to ask us for a dance. I am going to say yes. How about you?

Let Us Pray

Lord we than thank you for a love that cannot be quenched, or snuffed out. Lord we thank You for a love that cannot be washed away. We thank You for a love that would lead You to die for us so that we could live with You forever. Help us to never take our eyes off of you and to enjoy the dance.
In Jesus Name
Amen

If you see this on Facebook listen to the song that I posted on my page last night. If you didn’t Google in Dance with Me O Lover Of My Soul You Tube

Your Friend/Kinfolk
Preston

GET TOGETHER- He Won’t Quit On You! Don’t Quit On Him!Heb 13:5,6 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we may boldly say: “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”

            I can remember a song by Johnny Mathis from my younger days. It was titled the Twelfth of Never. There is a line in that song that goes like this: “You ask me how long I will love you, I’ll tell you true until the Twelfth of Never I will still be loving you.” I am sure that there are some people that sang that song to someone and thought that they meant it. Some people probably sang that song to someone and knew that they didn’t mean it. And certainly, I am sure that there are some people that sang it to someone and did mean it.

            The Book of Hebrews was originally written to a community of Jewish believers that were considering abandoning following Christ and returning to Judaism. They were facing persecution from their fellow Jews and things were beginning to get tougher with the Romans. The writer is encouraging them not to abandon their faith. There is a faithful promise in this passage. There is a promise from the lips of Jesus that He will not leave us nor forsake us The enemy may try to convince us otherwise, but it is Jesus voice that is the voice of truth and He has made us that eternal promise.

            The Greek terms here for never is ou me, oo may. It is a double negative. It means may God forbid. It also means according to Strong’s Concordance: a double negative strengthening the denial; not at all:–any more, at all, by any (no) means, neither, never, no (at all), in no case (wise), nor ever, not (at all, in any wise). What a great promise! He meant it then! He means it now! He means it throughout eternity! Now that is even better than the Twelfth of Never!

Let Us Pray

Jesus, we thank You that You have made us an eternal promise. We thank You for securing this promise with Your precious blood. We thank You for sealing it with the Holy Spirit. As we count on Your faithfulness help us to walk faithful to You.

In Jesus Name

Amen

I want to give a shout out to all of the encouragers in our lives! God uses you in mighty ways!

Your Friend/kinfolk

Preston

GET TOGETHER- You Were the First One That He Thought About.
Joh 15:16 “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.
I shared with you last week that I was going to my fifty year high school reunion this past Friday Night. I had such a wonderful time being with all my former classmates. I felt such love for each one them that it is very hard to come up with the right words to express how that I feel towards them.

One of my regrets has always been that I was not a Christian in High School. I think about how good that it would have been to be the player doing the devotionals with the football team and leading the team in prayer. I think that is what the Lord wanted me doing, but I wasn’t fulfilling it. The Bible talks about how God redeems the time. He did that in my life as He has so many times at our class reunion this past Friday night. He gave me the honor of doing the devotional and praying for the Reunion of the 1967 Dora High School Senior Class.

Friday I had several people pray for me because I knew that when many of my classmates knew me I was not walking in an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. I had not been born again. The Lord has blessed me with the opportunity to preach in a lot of places here and in other parts of the world. One time I preached in a village that was 85 percent Muslim in Kenya. But on the way down to the Reunion in my former hometown I had a giant knot in my stomach. The last time I remembered having one like that was going over Benoit Mountain on the football bus my Senior year in High School knowing our good friends the Cordova Blue Devils were waiting for us just across the Warrior River.

Well as it drew closer to time to do the devotional one of my good friends who was one of our outstanding cheerleaders came up to me and told me “you are one of the last persons that I ever thought would be a preacher.” She had some good reasons to say that. I also know that as a good friend in was all in fun. So just as I recovered from that one of my other good friends who was like a sister to me in high school comes up just before it is time to do the devotional and guess what she said? You guessed right. She said “well you are one of the last people that I ever thought would be a preacher. Now that will get you close to the Lord! To be honest I knew they were thankful for how God has changed my life and it helped me to not be nervous when I was doing the devotional.

Perhaps for all of us it might be said in some way that we would have been the last person to serve God in some way. The Bible is full of people that God had a plan for and they would have appeared to have been the last one that someone would have thought would have been fulfilling that plan in some way.

Abraham had been an idol worshipper. It is often pointed out that Moses was slow of speech. But here is another line of thought on Moses. Moses was brought up in the House of Pharaoh. He got a great formal education. He had probably been to some of the most extravagant parties on the face of the earth at that time: Hebrews 11:24-26 “By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. God had something better for him. There are many others. How About Rahab? She would have ben probably the last person that a lot of people would have thought would be used by God in one of Israel’s greatest military victories, “Jos 2:1 ¶ Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from Acacia Grove to spy secretly, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went, and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there.” How about the woman with the Alabaster Box? Lu 7:37 And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, Mt 26:13 “Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.” And don’t forget the apostle Paul who as Saul of Tarsus persecuted Christians. You get the picture.

How about you? Perhaps you are one of the last people that someone thought would be a Sunday School Teacher, or small group leader. Perhaps you are one of the last people that someone thought would be a successful Christian business man, or woman. Perhaps you are the last one that someone thought would function in the office gift of An Apostle, Prophet, Teacher, Evangelist, or Pastor. Perhaps you were chosen to be a coach, teacher, farmer, or political leader. Maybe you are the last one that someone would have thought would humbly and anonymously give to so many ministries in spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. No matter what your calling is know this. You weren’t the last one that God thought about for that calling. You were the first one. Now Jesus has a word for you. It is the passage at the top of this devotional: Joh 15:16 “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.
Let Us Pray
Lord we thank You that we were Your first choice for our assignments. Thank You for forgiving us for when we prolonged our acceptance of these assignments. Thank you for redeeming the time. Help us to lovingly bear fruit in the places that You have appointed us to be Your servants.

In Jesus Name

Amen
To my two classmates. Thanks for letting the Lord use you to loosen me up this past Friday Night. I love you both as wonderful friends. One day we will have a reunion like no other.

Your Friend/Kinfolk

Preston

GET TOGETHER- HAS YOUR HEART EVER BURNED WITHIN YOU? 

Lu 24:30-35 Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together,

saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.

            The late Hank Williams had a song called Cold Cold Heart. The lyrics tend to give the indication that someone that he loves has experienced something painful in their past that would inhibit them from loving again.

            Here are some of the lyrics to that song: “I tried so hard my dear to show that you’re my every dream. / Yet you’re afraid each thing I do is just some evil scheme / A memory from your lonesome past keeps us so far apart / Why can’t I free your doubtful mind and melt your cold cold heart”

            There can be lots of things that lead people to having cold hearts. It may be that they were rejected by a parent or someone that they loved. Perhaps they experienced something traumatic and it lead to their heart becoming cold. Sometimes people may have a cold heart because they feel let down at God. They may feel like God didn’t come through for them in the way that they thought that God would.

            In the passage above we see where two followers of Jesus shared with one another that while Jesus had appeared to them on the Road to Emmaus that their hearts had burned within them. If you go back in this passage you can see that their hearts were perplexed as they started on their journey from Jerusalem to Emmaus.

            At first Jesus appears to them and they do not recognize Him. Sometimes someone may be so focused on their disappointment with God that they don’t realize or recognize that God is in the midst of them and their situation. Jesus could tell these two guys were not very happy: Lu 24:17 “And He said to them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?”

            I t appears from their response that they didn’t feel like God came through for them like they thought that He would. Lu 24:18-21 “Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?” And He said to them, “What things?” So they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,

“and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. “But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened.”

            They also rejected the reports of the women that had been to the tomb. A cold cold heart can be very skeptical. But don’t stop reading. There is some good news! Their hearts did not remain cold! They heard the word of God from the mouth of God the Son; Lu 24:27 “And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” The anointing of the Holy Spirit upon the word of God can reheat a cold doubting heart. It can turn doubters into believers. It can heal the hurting. It can make those who don’t trust anymore to become believers who trust again! That word can make those who don’t recognize when Jesus is among us at first to become more aware of His Presence through the Holy Spirit.

            How about your heart today? Is your heart burning for God? Or perhaps some of life’s unfair, or unpredictable circumstances have put a chill on your heart? These guys at first didn’t think that Jesus had come through for them. Maybe you feel today like He either hasn’t come through for you, or that He has not come through in the way that you thought that He would.

            Remember with Him that there is always a Resurrection. For every Friday, there is a third day Sunday morning. With Him if we will stay in His word AND allow Him to walk beside us we will come to that place where we recognize that He was at work even when it did not seem like He was. They recognized Him in the breaking of the bread. Don’t let the enemy convince you that He has forsaken you. Do as our two friends on the Road to Emmaus did. Invite Him to join you and break bread with Him. Take Communion with Him and His people. When you do you will recognize Him and your heart will burn again!

Let Us Pray

Lord sometimes the voice of the enemy will try to convince us that you won’t come through for us and that we are hopeless. We praise You that by walking with You, staying in Communion with You and our fellow brothers and sisters that we will see You manifest the victory in our lives in all situations and circumstances! You are The Risen Christ the Anointed One! We love You!

In Jesus Name

Amen

Looking forward to being with my former Dora High class of 1967 Classmates at our Fifty-year Reunion this weekend!

Your Friend/Kinfolk

Preston

GET TOGETHER – THE BLOOD, THE GRAVE, THE RETURN

This week has always been a very special week in my journey with the Lord Jesus Christ. I am sure that for millions of Christians throughout the world that they feel the same way that I do. At our congregation, this week we will have a foot washing service on Tuesday Night, Friday Night we plan to have a night of praise and prayer, Saturday an Egg Hunt and cook -out and have a celebration of our Lord’s Resurrection on Sunday morning. I love every bit of it.

At the Celebration, this Sunday morning there are three key themes that I believe that the Lord wants us to focus on. The Blood, The Grave, and His Return. I encourage all who read this to go to the House of God this Sunday morning and to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ with God’s people.

This week as you prepare mediate on passages of what His suffering meant for all of us. When I think about the Blood I think about how all of us before we came to Christ were dead in our trespasses and sin. Ro 5:8,9 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him”. Now He has made us alive! He paid the price for our healing: 1Pe 2:24 “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness–by whose stripes you were healed.” Wow ! That is Good News!

They buried Him in a tomb. This grave tried to hide His glory. This grave tried to rob His followers and billions that would come later of the hope of eternal life. But the grave could not hold Him. The grave could not defeat the Hope that He brought to the world. When He came out of the tomb on the third day. Victory came! He defeated death, Hell, and the grave. Heb 2:14,15 ¶ “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”

I used to think about how bad that it would be to lay in a cold damp grave, or to be burning in Hell, but praise God the grave has been defeated!

His death on the cross was a real event in human history!. His Resurrection from the dead was a real event in human history! And guess what His return will be a real event in human history!The Apostle Paul tells us 1Th 4:1,176 “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.” Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”

For those of us in Christ we have so much to celebrate. We thank Him for shedding His precious blood for us and for the forgiveness of our sins! Heb 9:13,14 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? We celebrate His rising from the dead on the third day! 1Co 15:4 “and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (NKJV) and once again in His return we will live with Him forever and ever. There will be no bad days, no bad moments, no bad anything! Re 21:3,4 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

If you have received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior I pray that this week’s Get Together will inspire you to meditate on the Blood, the Grave, and His Return. If you have not repented of your sin and became a follower of Christ my prayer for you is that you will know that He loved you enough to die on the cross for your sins. And that when He came out of the grave on that Sunday morning He did it to give you new life here and eternal life in Heaven. He will return one day. I pray that all who read this will look forward to His return and be ready when He comes.

This week ponder these things in your heart and give Him the praise that He deserves.

Let Us Pray.

Lord Jesus we know that this week marks how much that You suffered for us. It also marks You taking our sins upon Yourself so that we could have eternal life. We Praise You that the grave could not hold You. We look forward to Your return. Help us to help others to be ready when You return.

In Jesus Name

Amen.

Have a Jesus week!!

Your Friend/Kinfolk

Preston

GET TOGETHER- JOY UNSPEAKABLE AND FULL OF GLORYNe 8:10 Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our LORD. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” (NKJV) Joh 15:11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. (NKJV)

                        One of my favorite old hymns (millennials don’t stop reading I love the new stuff as well) is Joy Unspeakable. The chorus has these words “It is joy unspeakable and full of glory Oh, the half has never been told.” I also love that old song I’ve Got the Joy, Joy, Joy Down In My Heart as well. Although I must admit that one of the things that challenges me the most about that song is watching people sing it with a frown on their face.

            Nehemiah had been given an assignment from God. He was charged with going back to Jerusalem after the Babylonian Exile and restoring the city. It took him only six months to do this although at times he faced discouragement, harassment, and strong opposition while he was at work doing the rebuilding. After he rebuilt the city he would also serve as the Governor of Judah for another thirteen years after that. I am sure those words about the joy of the Lord being our strength were words that he would have to draw on and stand on many times during this assignment.

            The Hebrew word for joy here is chedvah, khed-vaw’. Joy is gladness, it is happiness. Some people like to say that Jesus didn’t promise to make us happy. I understand what they are saying. On the other hand, the Lord didn’t tell Israel that He was going to take them into a land where it was barren, depressing and that they would just have to suck it up.

            This morning the Holy Spirit chastened me about letting the enemy steal joy. He said that this world needs to see some genuine Holy Spirit joy. Yes, Hell will try to rob us from experiencing the goodness that God desires for us to experience. I am not talking about selfish narcissism, but I am talking about walking in the will of God and putting God first in our lives. That is when we will experience true joy.

            Jesus explained it like this. He said that for us to Have this joy we have to abide in Him: Joh 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. (NKJV) When I lose my joy is when I start focusing on the problems rather than the Problem Solver. Because He is the Problem Solver we can experience true joy: Joh 15:7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. (NKJV) When we abide we can ask and it will be done. Then we experience true joy. We begin to bear fruit.

            To experience true joy we have to make a decision to love God first and to love our neighbor no matter what. Even if our neighbor sometimes may be a little challenging to love. Hey, don’t you think God could have said that we were a little challenging to love? But He didn’t because He loved us when to many people we would have been considered unlovable.

            Jesus talks to His the disciples about joy as a part of His farewell discourse as He is looking at dying a cruel death on a Roman Cross. He knows how these guys are going to abandon Him. He knows that the religious leaders are going to mock Him. he knows that nails will be going into His hands and feet. He knows that a spear will go into His side. He knows that he will be beaten to a pulp. And yet He is teaching on joy!

            The Greek word for joy here is chara, khar-ah’. It means a state of joy and gladness. Just like Nehemiah the Lord has assignments for all of us. We at times will face ridicule, discouragement, be misunderstood and sometimes just outright attacks from Hell to rob us of our joy. Let’s do what Jesus commanded us to do. Let’s love the Lord with all our hearts, soul, mind, and strength. Let’s love our neighbor as ourselves. Let’s love our enemies. And most of all abide in Him. When we do that I believe that we will experience joy unspeakable and full of glory. Our friends need what we have. Those that don’t like us need this joy. And to be honest I enjoy life a whole lot better when joy is flowing. I pray for you today that in Jesus your joy will be complete.

LET US PRAY

Lord we are often surrounded by bad news. Help us to be good news people. Lord we are often surrounded by strife, malice, contention unrighteous anger and bitterness. Help us to be salt, and light and living water givers in those places and environments. Help us most of all to abide in You.

In Jesus Name

Amen

We are so thankful for so many wonderful friends. We are thankful that God doesn’t give us what we deserve, but that God gives us His best! And you are some of His best!

Your Friend/Kinfolk

Preston

GET TOGETHER- Jesus Didn’t Dodge Sinners He Loved ThemMt 9:11-13 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.

“But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
This past week the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart very plainly about something. That something was that Jesus really loved all those people that He healed, delivered, and performed miracles either for, or in their life in some way. 

 The Holy Spirit has put a lot of people on my heart to pray for. Some are people on drugs. Some are people living sexual lifestyles that are in opposition to the Bible, some are people that I have seen make professions of faith, but don’t appear to be serving the Lord in a congregation. Others are some very “good people”, but to my knowledge they have not made a public profession of faith in Jesus Christ. One thing that the Holy Spirit impressed upon me was that when I pray for these people I really must pray out of love for them. 

I can remember well Christians who treated me like I was a human being before I met Christ and the love that they showed to me. I can remember one guy who kept score on a softball team that we played against. Some of us would be doing some things that we did not need to be doing after we had finished a game and while we were waiting on the next game to start. This guy would come around and just talk to us. He wasn’t handing out tracts, or really pointing his finger at us. But I knew that he was a Christian. I also remember some preachers who would buy bar-b-que from me and every once and a while I would ask them a theological question. Usually my question would be do you think that we are getting close to the end. I knew if we had been that I was in trouble. 

 Sometimes as Christians we like to stay in the safe place. We either avoid the unsaved, or if we do interact with them we often don’t come across as loving. I am certainly not advocating that a person that has had a problem with certain sins in their past go put themselves in a position where they could be tempted to succumb to that lifestyle again. On the other hand, we can be more like Jesus and meet some people who have not come to Christ and let our light shine while we are with them. 

 Perhaps when you attend a sporting event that is a good time to associate with someone that has not come to Christ. Other opportunities could be on your lunch break at work. I have the blessings of leading a devotional at a plant where a few weeks ago, one of the employees accepted Christ during the devotional time. 

Associating with unsaved people isn’t an endorsement of any lifestyle that person may be living. It is an opportunity for them to know that you love them, that you care about them and that they can see something in you that they don’t have. 

One of the people that had a strong influence on me was one of our former football coaches in my former hometown. This man lived a holy life without putting on a religious façade. I remember going to a fish fry at his house. I drank diet Pepsi rather than what I had been drinking in the past on occasions such as that. I can say two things about this man. He never judged me, but he never compromised what he believed. Isn’t that just like Jesus? Isn’t that who Jesus is calling us to be in this callous and finger pointing culture that we live in. Jesus said it like this “Mt 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. (NKJV)

  Remember Jesus didn’t eat and drink with sinners and tax collectors to endorse their sinful lifestyles. He ate with them to call them to repentance. I have found that the Holy Spirit does a lot better job than I do concerning convicting people of their sins. Pray for them, love them, and yes let them hear what God has done for you. But most of all remember that you must love them. Jesus said it like this Mt 22:39 “And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ His love is different than the way that the world loves Lu 6:32 “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.

  Let’s pray for people, love people, demonstrate love to people, and expect the Holy Spirit to call them to repentance from sin as they receive as we have the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let Us Pray

Lord Jesus we thank You for the Christians who loved us, prayed for us and associated with us before we came to know your forgiveness and mercy. Today help us to do the same for those that you have put in our path. We are soo excited about them being our future brothers and sisters in Christ!

In Jesus Name

Amen
Please pray for me. I am praying about whether I need to order more of my first two books, or whether it is time to write another one. Please keep me in prayer concerning that.

Your Friend/Kinfolk

Preston