WOLC New Testament Reading

Can you imagine a place without darkness. I am not referring to the evening darkness where you have to go and turn on a light but instead, a place without the darkness of the human heart. Yesterday I decided to follow a news station on my Facebook account. Within a couple hours I stopped following them. Why? Because the darkness of the human heart is overwhelming. Article after Article, tragedy after tragedy, you can find yourself drowning in negativity and sorrow. Sin has made this world a dark place. It is hard, if not impossible, for us to imagine what life must be like without sin and without darkness. Even those who are saved still have a sinful nature to contend with this side of Glory.   But there is NO DARKNESS IN GOD! 1 John 1:5 (ESV) This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that  God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. There is no Darkness in God! He is PERFECT! Now, if you a Christian you already know that but imagine what that mu

In Hebrews 10 we learn that what the blood of the Old Testament animals were unable to do (v.4), Jesus did….that is, take away sin. What the priests did over and over again (v.11), Jesus did once….that is offer one sacrifice. In the opening verse we read that the things in the OT were “a shadow of the good things that are coming.” A shadow is not the real thing. Everything in the OT pointed to the coming of Jesus who had “offered for all time one sacrifice for sins and sat down at the right hand of God.” (v.12) Now that Jesus has come we have access into the “Most Holy Place” (v.19)… the very presence of God, the throne of grace. This was closed to the people of the OT. But now we can come to our Heavenly Father with confidence and boldness. The author mentioned this earlier in 4:16--“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence…” You don’t need a goat, or a priest, or a certain place to access God. Right now, because Jesus has offered the perfect sacrifice you can en

“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." –Benjamin Franklin Was he right?? The Bible says the day is coming when Jesus will come back and those who are alive will be “caught up.” (1 Thess. 4:17) There will be some who will never die, but will be taken to meet Jesus in the air. We don’t know when, but we do know for “certain”, Jesus is coming again! So, Ben, you got one right! -Pastor Bob

“Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.” (Colossians 3:18-21 ESV) These are not restrictions. These are loved lived out. Spouses who devote their marriage to God. Children who are obedient because they know their parents put God first. Fathers who instill loving discipline in the home to build their children up in the way of the Lord. These type of relationships encourage and build up our homes. As a teacher I too often see the shortcomings of these commands. As a husband, and as a new father I pray that I do everything in my home to praise God, not myself. God comes first. Always! When I fall short, I pray that my family has the grace to forgive me and put me back to giving God the glory. Let us unite our homes under the name of Jesus and live love out! “And wha

Talking Kindly. Is that a nice thing to say? I can still remember hearing that. Ephesians 4:29 says Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths,  but only what is helpful for building others up  according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. We are surrounded by constant unwholesome talk. Maybe you hear it at the grocery store, work or maybe the place you take your car to get fixed. TV is filled with it today. But we (Christians) are to be different than everyone and everything else aren’t we? We are to be a light to the world and your speech is a part of that. What about social media? What are you posting on Social Media…that is considered our mouth online? What does your talk look like on there? I heard a story once of a man who worked in construction. He was a believer, didn’t swear or participate in inappropriate jokes and the other men noticed…to the point where they stopped swearing around this man. They realized that there was somethi

We don’t know the precise nature of Paul’s affliction, but he described it as a “thorn in the flesh” … a “messenger of Satan” (2 Cor. 12:7), which leads me to believe it was extremely severe. H.C.G. Moule in his commentary describes this as “a tremendous trial…a conflict that brought him face to face with the powers of hell.” No wonder Paul pleaded with God to remove it. However, God said “NO!” Have you been there? Are you there right now? Have you ever begged God to heal, rescue, or deliver you? But you heard what Paul heard- “NO!” God included in his answer to Paul a promise- “My grace is sufficient for you.” (2 Corinthians 12:9) Dr. David Jeremiah said of this promise in a recent video we watched in Sunday school -“God Is Enough”. When your boss calls you into his office and says he must let you go, “God Is Enough!” When the test results come back and the doctor says I need to see you in my office, “God Is Enough!”” When the telephone rings and you hear there’s been an accide

In Psalms 3 we see David fleeing from his son Absalom. In verse 8 we see a powerful verse. Psalms 3:8a (NIV) “From the  Lord  comes deliverance ” When are going through the trenches it can be hard to remember that deliverance comes from the Lord. David here was in the trenches. Imagine...it was his own son Absalom who was in charge of his enemies. David concludes Psalms 3 with the following… Psalms 3:8 From the  Lord  comes deliverance.      May your blessing be on your people. What are you going through in your life right now? Are you coming before the Lord and asking for His help? Come before the Lord and ask for His help! Maybe God has brought you through something and you have been delivered but you haven’t thanked Him for it. Take the time to come before God and thank Him for delivering you!

What is Love? The world around us would say that love is a set of feelings or desires.  But, if feelings and desires waiver and change then does that mean that our love changes based on those things? 1 Corinthians 13 gives us a great explanation of what love is. Love is not a set of feelings or desires instead love is a choice. It is a daily choice of whether or not you are going to love someone. I believe it is constantly asking God to help you love the people around you. We see in 1 John 4:7 that love comes from God…We need to surrender to Christ daily and ask the Holy Spirit to work in our lives that we might love other people in ways that the world cannot believe. Because honestly we all struggle with loving people. There are always going to be certain people, even brothers and sisters in Christ, that we struggle to love. We need God’s help! John 13:35 (ESV) "...By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

She wasn’t really my aunt. She was my mom’s mom’s sister, but I always called her Aunt Clara, everyone did! She lived in Penbrook (Harrisburg) and was a loving, wonderful and godly lady who taught a women’s Bible class in her home each week. She was completely devoted to God. She never married and lived with her sister. Boy, did she know her Bible. Clearly, she was one of the reasons I am in ministry today!! She grew old, sank into dementia (or something like it), and was moved to a nursing home. Mom and I would go and visit her. I’m not sure she always recognized us. She didn’t say much, certainly not a complete sentence…...Until, one day, out of her mouth flowed-- “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9 (KJV) Word perfect! It wasn’t long before she saw and heard… Pastor Bob