Almost 2023?

From the day I am writing this, there are 54 days left until the end of the year. Those 54 days break down into 1 month and 24 days, or 7 weeks and 5 days, or approximately 1296 hours. It seems unreal that 2022 has passed so quickly.

As 2023 approaches us, are you doing better in your spiritual life than you were at the beginning of 2022? Most individuals I know do not make any new year’s resolutions, but they do plan on having a better year. How are you doing to have a better year?

If you are not where you want to be, how will you change the next 54 days? There are many things you can do in the next 7 weeks to grow spiritually. Allow me to offer a few suggestions:

  1. Fellowship with the saints – Fellowship means sharing. To share, we must be physically present. When we are present, we get to know one another. When we get to know one another, we support and encourage one another. The early church spent time each week in fellowship. (Acts 2.42; 1 John 1.3; Hebrews 10.24-25)

 

  1. Spend time in the Word – Reading and studying will increase your spiritual knowledge and create a greater desire to continue pressing forward. As Paul is noted as saying, he counted everything loss for the knowledge of Jesus (Philippians 3.10). Grow closer to Jesus through the Word. (Acts 17.11; 2 Timothy 2.15)

 

  1. Live what you believe – Tough decisions will occur, but God is able. With the knowledge we gain of God, Christ, and the Word of God, our actions will correspond with the knowledge we have gained. Consider the words of James, “… be doers of the word, and not hearers only…”

Just some thoughts,

Preacher’s Pen Friday – November 4, 2022

This is a transcription of the video. The text is not in a normal writing flow due to it being a transcription. 

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Hello everyboday.

It is Friday. It is November something, and it is the start of the weekend for many. So, as Christians, I want to give you four things to think about.

That's right, the number 4.

Here's four things that Christian can do to make their weekend even better.

#1 – The first of all is the plan to attend every service. Probably your congregation, over the weekend, is going to have services on Sunday morning. Plan to be there on Sunday morning. That's why we call it the Lord's Day.

Most of the time we say that we spend 1/7 of our time in church when, in actuality, it's probably just an hour, maybe two hours on Sunday, but plan to attend every service.

When you plan to attend every service, sit by somebody absolutely different. That's a kind of a bonus because you'll be able to get to know other people as you fellowship together, as you worship God.

So, #1, plan to attend every service.

#2 - surround yourself with Christians. If you want to grow closer to God, make sure that you are around God's people. Pretty simple.

You are the sum total of five people that you hang around each and every day each. And every week, if you tell me those five people, I can probably buy their characteristics. Tell you who you are.

So it's very important that you surround yourself with Christian surround yourself with like-minded, as Paul says in Philippians 2, that they can encourage you to be better each and every day.

So, #1, plan to attend every service. #2, surround yourself with Christians.

#3 - Spend time in prayer. Don't pray, because you're in trouble. Pray, because it's today. Just pray.

Spend time talking to God sharing your wants your needs. I think that God wants to hear everything from us because He's our Father, and He is somebody who has a desire to help us out in life, so you can do that.

So #1, plan to attend every service number to surround yourself with Christians.  #2, surround yourself with good people. #3, pray.

#4 - Sleep. That's right. I said it, get some sleep, but here's the deal. Not in church, not in church services, but renew your mind by getting the rest that you

So you can prepare yourself to be a little bit better. There's a lot of trends about how much sleep that we need, but every single one of us is different and being different. One of the great things is our sleep patterns are probably a little bit different, but you still need sleep. When you still need sleep, it helps to clear your mind, and it helps you feel better. It helps you act better. It helps you become a different person.

So there's some for things for you to think about…

#1 - Plan to attend every service.

#2 - Surround yourself with Christians.

#3 - Pray

#4 - Sleep. But not not in church, right?

That's something that we need to do but do those this weekend so that you can have a great and wonderful Sunday.

Let me know how they work for you and I look forward to talking to you soon.

My name is Chris Gallagher, or check us out, preacherpen.org. All the information is there.

Follow our podcast that we are bringing back and are very unique way. But hey, you have a great day that it's been about three minutes and we'll talk to you soon.

Thanks.

“In God We Rust”

“In God We Rust”

In 1957, a phrase appeared on all United States monies which have never been there before. A year previously, on July 30, 1956, President Dwight Eisenhower approved the law which Congress passed earlier that day. In that law, “In God We Trust” was to appear on all United States monies. Because of production times, it would be the next year before the words “In God We Trust” would appear on money for the first time.

The term, “In God We Trust” had appeared before in our nation’s history, but never as an official part of Law. The fourth verse of the Star-Spangled Banner contains the words,

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

As the phrase, “In God We Trust” continues to be printed on all United States monies, in 2005 there was a slight mistake. While printing the quarters, a machine malfunction imprinted the quarters with the words, “In God We Rust.” The faint imprint of the “T” can barely be seen.

There is a significant difference between rust and trust. Rust occurs because of several factors, but we are familiar with rust because of an object not being used or not being cared for properly. As Christians, are we using what we have been given? Are we using our talents? Are we using the blessings given to us by the Creator?

Let us trust in God, not rust in a pew. Let us trust in God, knowing that He has given us today, He has given us life, He has given us our abilities, and He has given us hope.

Just some thoughts,

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The Unsinkable, But Sinkable, Titanic

The Unsinkable, But Sinkable, Titanic

This year, the 110th anniversary of the Titanic’s dreadful night fell on “Good Friday,” April 15th. The date of April 15th is better known as Tax Day, so the reminder of the Titanic is often overlooked. However, it is one of the great lessons of the past two hundred years.

On April 10, 1912, the RMS Titanic left Southampton, UK on April 10, 1912, on its maiden voyage to New York City, USA. After stopping at Cherbourg, France and Queenstown, Ireland, the captain turned the ship toward New York.

As the RMS Titanic approached Newfoundland, the Titanic hit an iceberg at 11:40 pm on April 14, 1912. The ship SS Mesaba had given warning to the RMS Titanic of drifting ice along the path, but Capitan Edward Smith ignored the warnings. A little later, the Titanic stuck an iceberg, buckling the seams in the hull and creating a series of holes below the waterline.

The RMS Titanic was considered to be unsinkable. The name Titanic comes from the gods or the Titans of Greek mythology. However, the term “unsinkable,” when applied to the Titanic, referenced the watertight compartments in the hull. The compartments were designed to seal in case of a hole in the hull.

While the watertight compartments were designed to seal, the interior walls were not designed to hold all the water. As a result, when the outer seams busted, allowing water into five of the compartments. When the bow of the ship dipped forward, the water spilled from one compartment to another. The result was the ship continuing to fill with water, and finally sink to the bottom of the ocean.

What can we learn from this tragedy? Remember Proverbs 16.18, “Pride goes before destruction, and haughty spirit before a fall.”  We must be aware and beware of the situations around us and heed the warnings of others, yet we fall.

Are you heeding the warnings?

Just a thought,

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Feelings vs. Reality

Feelings vs. Reality

In 2018, Stacy Edwards and her daughters were in a horrible accident caused by a lady running a red light at 45 MPH. While Stacy and her daughters walked away without serious injuries, the statement of the lady who ran the red light was confusing. The lady at fault made a statement, included on the police report, that she “felt like the light was green.” (Homelife, December 2018)

Can you imagine the look on Stacy’s face as she read what the lady had said? Her life was put in jeopardy because someone “felt like the light was green” instead of the fact the light was red.

While feelings matter, they do not trump facts. In the case of Stacy Edwards and her family, the facts were simple; their light was green and the cross-traffic light was red.  When we rely on only our feelings, we risk putting ourselves in danger as well as others.

Take Ananias and Sapphira for example. I am sure that both felt their decision was justifiable. However, the fact was they were lying. The knew the truth, but possibly relied on feelings to guide their path to danger.

Consider these verses:

“Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.” (Proverbs 28.26)

“The way of a fool is right in his own eye, but a wise man listens to advice.” (Proverb 12.15)

Your feelings do matter, but we must remember our feelings do not trump facts. As Christians, the facts of spiritual life and given to us by God and we must live by them. (2 Peter 1.3)

Just some thoughts,

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