Let God’s Word Rain Upon Us

Isaiah 55:10-11

¹⁰ As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, ¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

We have had plenty of rain this summer. It might just be the most rain we have had during a summer in some time – maybe even historical. I know it has been hard finding the time when the grass wasn’t wet in order to cut it.

Rain falls at different rates. The other afternoon we had a storm at home. The rain came down so hard the ground couldn’t absorb it all. Another time last week it merely sprinkled – barely got the ground wet/damp. No matter how fast or light the rain falls – rain is typically good for the ground – the crops – the flowers – the grass – our wells. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater.

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What Are We Feeding Our Spiritual Bodies?

John 6:35

Then Jesus declared, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

Six guys from our church have joined together to lose weight. We support one another. We text and e-mail one another. We weigh in on Sunday mornings at church. It is working. As of our last weigh in the six of us have lost a combined 69 pounds. One brother has lost 17 pounds. Two others are in double digits. And reports from home scales indicate we will have a new combined total this Sunday – well into 70+ pounds.

We set goals of losing 5% of our body weight by Labor Day (we began on July 15^th). We have additional goals of 8% by Thanksgiving and 10% by Christmas (for a man weighing 280 pounds that would be a 28 pound lose by Christmas). Two brothers have already met their 5% goals – and another is very close – they are working toward their 8% goal already with a couple of weeks to go on Labor Day. We may need to adjust the goals.

Do We Connect with People?

Romans 12:15

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

Christian are often called upon to connect with people. As a pastor – I am often called upon to be empathetic with people and their needs/situations. At times I must be sympathetic or compassionate. Are we empathetic with others? Are we sympathetic at times? Are we compassionate too? Do we feel the pain of others?

I was moved by a report on Facebook yesterday of a police officers who pulled over and saved the life of a lifeless infant. His mother was panic mode and this officer calmly proceeded to give life support to the infant and rush him to the hospital in his patrol car. I could feel for the mom – and I could feel for the officer and his professionalism.

Stay Committed

Daniel 3:17-18

¹⁷ If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. ¹⁸ But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

If you’re rooting for the Orioles – this year – you’re one committed fan. They are in the midst of their worse season – ever. They are on track to finish with only 48 wins and a whopping 114 loses – or some terrible record like they have never seen. Their current record – after being swept by Boston is 35-84 – the worst in the majors this year (although Kansas City is not too far ahead of us at the moment). The race for the worst record is on – the prize – the #1 draft choice in each round of the upcoming draft.

Some believe the Orioles will not win 50 games this year. Their current record supports this theory – as I mentioned. They are headed to a 48-114 record at their current pace – and that is certainly a sorry state. If you are a follower of the Orioles – this year – you have your work cut out for you to stay committed.

No Jesus – No Peace – Know Jesus – Know Peace

Matthew 7:21

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

Yesterday – we preached a sermon about death and dying. As I was preparing for this message – it became clear to me that I couldn’t cover all of the questions surrounding death and dying in one message. In the message and in a Facebook post – I asked folks to share with me their questions about death and dying. I have received a number already and I’m planning the series soon.

A number of people said I answered some of their questions yesterday in the sermon (listen to it here when it posts – the title will be Do Not Be Ignorant). The base Scripture was 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17. You can read the sermon notes here – but listening will help a lot because much of the message is not on the sermon notes. The notes will allow you to have all of the Scriptures I used in the message.