JUNE NEWSLETTER NOTES

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Sunday -9:15 AM Bible Study / 10:30 AM Worship Service / 6:00 PM Evening Service --- Wednesday - 6:15 Bible Study & PBYF

by: Elder Randy Waters

06/01/2022

0

KEYS FOR THE KINGDOM - DEVOTION

Good morning! I hope things are well with all of you and that you are following Jesus real close these days. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to encourage and enhance your walk with Jesus. I must confess that COVID-19 has manifested some side effects of laziness regarding my visitation among the flock. Your request of such will be a sure prompter to getting me on the right path as well as clearing a guilty conscience.

You all continue to encourage me and glorify God by your presence in congregational worship on Sunday mornings. I know that numbers don’t necessarily make worship better, but any preacher would rather preach to people than pews. I humbly hope that the Lord will give and enable me to have a godly message for you. Thank you for praying for me. I surely need His Spirit and your prayers in order to do that. You always have a message for me though, and it’s a good message! Your countenance reflects your love for the Lord Jesus, and your attention shows you are hungry for the Bread of Life. Even though I don’t provide a menu, you always seem to appreciate what God has given me to share with you. The green pastures of grace and the fertile fields of the Gospel are great places to feed God’s sheep. And, from your pastor’s perspective it is wonderful to see it’s also where the sheep like to eat.

I know that some of you are not able to join us physically for worship at 4 South Zetterower Avenue. Even so, please know I thank God for you and your love for the Lord Jesus Christ as you join us on the internet media or phone for worship. God hears your prayers and the church is blessed by your participation.

The kingdom of God is a most precious place to be and the greatest place to live. Even though we are destined to His eternal kingdom called Heaven, we are living in His kingdom right now on earth. We may not get the full bounty of His glory and grace like we’ll get in heaven here on earth, but God does give us “spending money,” which makes our traveling so sweet! The Lord doesn’t provide and ATM on every corner, but He has given us the right keys to open the supply rooms of needs.

“And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.” Mark 1:35

Devotion means deep love or loyalty. It’s how we get and stay close to God. Although God is omnipresent and He is an ever-present help in time of trouble, we are liable to drift away from Him in the sensing of His felt presence. Being devoted to God prevents us from falling for the fantasies of this world and from the wrinkles of worry. The devil doesn’t like our being devoted to God because he knows being close to God will keep us away from sin. Actually, the devil got where he is because of not being devoted to his creator. If devotion to God is important to the kingdom of angels, how much more so is it to the kingdom of saints on earth?

Devotion is an important and necessary key to the kingdom because it opens the door of blessings. Our Heavenly Father has already blessed us with all spiritual blessings through Jesus Christ. Yet, many Christians do not realize and enjoy what God has done. We do not have to be devoted to be saved, but if we are saved, we will be devoted. None of us are as devoted to the Lord as we ought to be, but all of us want to be.

Devotion was introduced in the garden of Eden by God to Adam and Eve regarding the tree of knowledge of good and evil. We know now that the consequences of doubting God and dabbling with self-interests have radical and eternal consequences. Should we expect God to bless us if we are not devoted to Him? “God Bless America” is a great song to sing, but in reality it’s out of tune, because we are asking God to do something He cannot, rather will not do. The Bible is clear on de- votion of a nation:

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.” Psalm 33:12

The same principle is applicable to the church, family and the individual Christian’s life. If the United States of America, the Statesboro Primitive Baptist Church, your and my family and each of us individually decided to fully follow Jesus and do all He said do and not do all He said not to do, God would be shocked; but, our nation, church, family and personal lives would be blessed. The devil’s greatest tool is discouragement, but it will prove useless in the fertile fields of divine devotion. Sometimes we try everything but trying. Ramping up or resetting our devotion to God might be the thing to try in these ‘trying’ times. After all, sometimes it’s the last key we try on the keyring set that opens the door.

Devotion prevents division! God sent His only begotten Son to earth to save sinners like us so that we could be with Him forever. The Holy Spirit was given when that project was completed so that those Christ Jesus died for would have an internal compass to direct and devote their lives to the one who died for them. The only reason and motivation we have to be devoted to God is that Jesus died on the cross for us!

The life on earth and cross He bore is the ultimate display of divine devotion. Although Jesus could have called an army of angels to deliver Him from the horrific pain and separation from His father, He hung there devoted to die so that we would live. This fact alone should cause us to check the level of our devotion showing on the dipstick drawn from our saved souls.

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

If our devotional dipstick is below the ‘add’ mark we should go to the Lord who supplies all our needs and find room for reverence, resources for reading, and reasons for reflecting.

Reverence

Devotion is about God; it begins with Him and ends with Him. Devotion is also sustained by Him. Devotion reminds of our dependance upon God. Devotion to God assures us that our priorities are in the right order. In the book of Acts, chapter seventeen and verse twenty-eight, the Lord tells us that in Him we live, and move, and have our being.  Given that truth, reverence to God is the only way to have order in our lives and peace in our hearts.

There is no better way to reverence God than to pray to Him. Reverence means ‘bow in prayer’! Every waking moment should be lived with a reverential awe for God in all things we do, say and think. When God says we are to pray without ceasing, He lays out our devotional for the day.

Jesus Christ is our Lord and Saviour and He is also our pattern to put God first in our lives. Notice, even Jesus, the Son of God and King of Kings, got up early in the morning, found a quiet spot away from everyone else and prayed to His Heavenly Father. Jesus Christ came to earth to do the greatest work in the shortest amount of time and yet He took the time to be devoted to God in reverential prayer. It’s no wonder His influence is still so strongly felt on Earth. In addition, Jesus was probably the happiest man to ever live on Earth. The reason was He had His priorities right. If you want to know what Jesus would do, He would be devoted to reverence of His Heavenly Father. His devotion was the key to redemption. Our devotion is the key to the choir room where the redeemed “sing” so.

Reading

Devotion to God is not by sight. Devotion to God is by faith! Since faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen, devotion to God involves more than knowing about God. Devotion to God is knowing God. To know God is to be devoted to God. Mary Magdelene was devoted to Jesus because He cast seven demons out of her. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was devoted to God not because she understood how she would birth the Lord Jesus Christ, but because she believed and submitted to His holy word.

When we ask God to increase our faith, what we are really asking Him is to increase our devotion to Him. He has already answered that request! He has given us His written Word. Every word of His book is Holy inspired, without error or contradiction. If you want to be devoted to God, get into His Bible.

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” 2 Timothy 3:16

Sin is the greatest obstacle to our devotional life. Sin will keep you from the Bible or else the Bible will keep you from sin. Reading and thinking about God’s written word increases our faith when the Holy Spirit applies it to our hearts. The Bible is the greatest love story ever written. It is amazing love when we read the twenty third Psalm and find ourselves knowing the Shepherd!

Sometimes it helps in our devotional lives to read between the lines as well. Lots of trials and bumps in the road will not be shown in plain print. That’s when our devotion to those people, purposes, and places which are devoted to God provides the key to many blessings. The story of Ruth in the Old Testament provides a great example of being devoted to God in the gray areas of life and reading the white spaces of the Bible.

“And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: The Lord do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me.” Ruth 1:16,17

Reflecting

A good way to describe a true devotional moment is a quiet time spent praying, reading God’s word and reflecting on our relationship with Him.  One of the last prayer requests I make just before I go to sleep at night is for the Lord to forgive me of the sins I committed during that day. Honesty is very important to being devoted to anybody or anything, but especially to God. Confessing and repenting of our sins will aid us to be more devout believers. Reflection is a major player here because the first person we see in the mirror is ourselves. How could we not be devoted to one who has so much love for us and to us! When we count our blessings and try to name them one by one, it will surprise us to see what the Lord has done. It will also make us more devoted to Him.

Christians are the light of the world. We are so because of Jesus’ death on the cross. Therefore we are reflected light. Our devotion to God increases the candle power of that light. A dim light is a sign that devotion needs to be added. This causes me to recall a phone call I received at the church last Sunday morning from Sister Mary Jenny Smith. As you know, she and Brother Bobby are living in Atlanta now and are not able to attend services at SPBC. The separation from their home community and church has not separated them from God nor has it dimmed their devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ or His church You see, Sister Mary Jenny was calling not necessarily to talk to me, but to dial the church worship service so she and Brother Bobby could join us for worship.

May we all ask our Heavenly Father to stir the kindled embers of grace in our hearts so that we would be devoted to Him. When that happens, others will see that fervent devotion results in compassionate commotion!

Brother Randy




Blog comments will be sent to the moderator

KEYS FOR THE KINGDOM - DEVOTION

Good morning! I hope things are well with all of you and that you are following Jesus real close these days. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to encourage and enhance your walk with Jesus. I must confess that COVID-19 has manifested some side effects of laziness regarding my visitation among the flock. Your request of such will be a sure prompter to getting me on the right path as well as clearing a guilty conscience.

You all continue to encourage me and glorify God by your presence in congregational worship on Sunday mornings. I know that numbers don’t necessarily make worship better, but any preacher would rather preach to people than pews. I humbly hope that the Lord will give and enable me to have a godly message for you. Thank you for praying for me. I surely need His Spirit and your prayers in order to do that. You always have a message for me though, and it’s a good message! Your countenance reflects your love for the Lord Jesus, and your attention shows you are hungry for the Bread of Life. Even though I don’t provide a menu, you always seem to appreciate what God has given me to share with you. The green pastures of grace and the fertile fields of the Gospel are great places to feed God’s sheep. And, from your pastor’s perspective it is wonderful to see it’s also where the sheep like to eat.

I know that some of you are not able to join us physically for worship at 4 South Zetterower Avenue. Even so, please know I thank God for you and your love for the Lord Jesus Christ as you join us on the internet media or phone for worship. God hears your prayers and the church is blessed by your participation.

The kingdom of God is a most precious place to be and the greatest place to live. Even though we are destined to His eternal kingdom called Heaven, we are living in His kingdom right now on earth. We may not get the full bounty of His glory and grace like we’ll get in heaven here on earth, but God does give us “spending money,” which makes our traveling so sweet! The Lord doesn’t provide and ATM on every corner, but He has given us the right keys to open the supply rooms of needs.

“And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.” Mark 1:35

Devotion means deep love or loyalty. It’s how we get and stay close to God. Although God is omnipresent and He is an ever-present help in time of trouble, we are liable to drift away from Him in the sensing of His felt presence. Being devoted to God prevents us from falling for the fantasies of this world and from the wrinkles of worry. The devil doesn’t like our being devoted to God because he knows being close to God will keep us away from sin. Actually, the devil got where he is because of not being devoted to his creator. If devotion to God is important to the kingdom of angels, how much more so is it to the kingdom of saints on earth?

Devotion is an important and necessary key to the kingdom because it opens the door of blessings. Our Heavenly Father has already blessed us with all spiritual blessings through Jesus Christ. Yet, many Christians do not realize and enjoy what God has done. We do not have to be devoted to be saved, but if we are saved, we will be devoted. None of us are as devoted to the Lord as we ought to be, but all of us want to be.

Devotion was introduced in the garden of Eden by God to Adam and Eve regarding the tree of knowledge of good and evil. We know now that the consequences of doubting God and dabbling with self-interests have radical and eternal consequences. Should we expect God to bless us if we are not devoted to Him? “God Bless America” is a great song to sing, but in reality it’s out of tune, because we are asking God to do something He cannot, rather will not do. The Bible is clear on de- votion of a nation:

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.” Psalm 33:12

The same principle is applicable to the church, family and the individual Christian’s life. If the United States of America, the Statesboro Primitive Baptist Church, your and my family and each of us individually decided to fully follow Jesus and do all He said do and not do all He said not to do, God would be shocked; but, our nation, church, family and personal lives would be blessed. The devil’s greatest tool is discouragement, but it will prove useless in the fertile fields of divine devotion. Sometimes we try everything but trying. Ramping up or resetting our devotion to God might be the thing to try in these ‘trying’ times. After all, sometimes it’s the last key we try on the keyring set that opens the door.

Devotion prevents division! God sent His only begotten Son to earth to save sinners like us so that we could be with Him forever. The Holy Spirit was given when that project was completed so that those Christ Jesus died for would have an internal compass to direct and devote their lives to the one who died for them. The only reason and motivation we have to be devoted to God is that Jesus died on the cross for us!

The life on earth and cross He bore is the ultimate display of divine devotion. Although Jesus could have called an army of angels to deliver Him from the horrific pain and separation from His father, He hung there devoted to die so that we would live. This fact alone should cause us to check the level of our devotion showing on the dipstick drawn from our saved souls.

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

If our devotional dipstick is below the ‘add’ mark we should go to the Lord who supplies all our needs and find room for reverence, resources for reading, and reasons for reflecting.

Reverence

Devotion is about God; it begins with Him and ends with Him. Devotion is also sustained by Him. Devotion reminds of our dependance upon God. Devotion to God assures us that our priorities are in the right order. In the book of Acts, chapter seventeen and verse twenty-eight, the Lord tells us that in Him we live, and move, and have our being.  Given that truth, reverence to God is the only way to have order in our lives and peace in our hearts.

There is no better way to reverence God than to pray to Him. Reverence means ‘bow in prayer’! Every waking moment should be lived with a reverential awe for God in all things we do, say and think. When God says we are to pray without ceasing, He lays out our devotional for the day.

Jesus Christ is our Lord and Saviour and He is also our pattern to put God first in our lives. Notice, even Jesus, the Son of God and King of Kings, got up early in the morning, found a quiet spot away from everyone else and prayed to His Heavenly Father. Jesus Christ came to earth to do the greatest work in the shortest amount of time and yet He took the time to be devoted to God in reverential prayer. It’s no wonder His influence is still so strongly felt on Earth. In addition, Jesus was probably the happiest man to ever live on Earth. The reason was He had His priorities right. If you want to know what Jesus would do, He would be devoted to reverence of His Heavenly Father. His devotion was the key to redemption. Our devotion is the key to the choir room where the redeemed “sing” so.

Reading

Devotion to God is not by sight. Devotion to God is by faith! Since faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen, devotion to God involves more than knowing about God. Devotion to God is knowing God. To know God is to be devoted to God. Mary Magdelene was devoted to Jesus because He cast seven demons out of her. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was devoted to God not because she understood how she would birth the Lord Jesus Christ, but because she believed and submitted to His holy word.

When we ask God to increase our faith, what we are really asking Him is to increase our devotion to Him. He has already answered that request! He has given us His written Word. Every word of His book is Holy inspired, without error or contradiction. If you want to be devoted to God, get into His Bible.

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” 2 Timothy 3:16

Sin is the greatest obstacle to our devotional life. Sin will keep you from the Bible or else the Bible will keep you from sin. Reading and thinking about God’s written word increases our faith when the Holy Spirit applies it to our hearts. The Bible is the greatest love story ever written. It is amazing love when we read the twenty third Psalm and find ourselves knowing the Shepherd!

Sometimes it helps in our devotional lives to read between the lines as well. Lots of trials and bumps in the road will not be shown in plain print. That’s when our devotion to those people, purposes, and places which are devoted to God provides the key to many blessings. The story of Ruth in the Old Testament provides a great example of being devoted to God in the gray areas of life and reading the white spaces of the Bible.

“And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: The Lord do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me.” Ruth 1:16,17

Reflecting

A good way to describe a true devotional moment is a quiet time spent praying, reading God’s word and reflecting on our relationship with Him.  One of the last prayer requests I make just before I go to sleep at night is for the Lord to forgive me of the sins I committed during that day. Honesty is very important to being devoted to anybody or anything, but especially to God. Confessing and repenting of our sins will aid us to be more devout believers. Reflection is a major player here because the first person we see in the mirror is ourselves. How could we not be devoted to one who has so much love for us and to us! When we count our blessings and try to name them one by one, it will surprise us to see what the Lord has done. It will also make us more devoted to Him.

Christians are the light of the world. We are so because of Jesus’ death on the cross. Therefore we are reflected light. Our devotion to God increases the candle power of that light. A dim light is a sign that devotion needs to be added. This causes me to recall a phone call I received at the church last Sunday morning from Sister Mary Jenny Smith. As you know, she and Brother Bobby are living in Atlanta now and are not able to attend services at SPBC. The separation from their home community and church has not separated them from God nor has it dimmed their devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ or His church You see, Sister Mary Jenny was calling not necessarily to talk to me, but to dial the church worship service so she and Brother Bobby could join us for worship.

May we all ask our Heavenly Father to stir the kindled embers of grace in our hearts so that we would be devoted to Him. When that happens, others will see that fervent devotion results in compassionate commotion!

Brother Randy




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