THERE’S EXCITEMENT IN THE AIR!

It’s Christmas time once again!  The bells are ringing, the choirs are singing, the world is proclaiming in the beautiful carols that Christ has come.  There is excitement in the air!

There is joy in our hearts as we put up our beautiful trees, and all the lovely colors speak of the majesty and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ:  Red stands for Christ’s blood shed for our sins.  Green stands for the fact that we have eternal life in Christ.  White stands for the purity of Christ, and the gold stands for the kingship and royalty of Jesus Christ.  So when you put up your tree and hang your decorations, be reminded as a Christian, what these colors mean to you and your relationship with your Wonderful Lord!

Then there are gifts to buy and send, always remembering that Christmas is not about all the gifts we receive and send but it is about God’s perfect gift, Jesus Christ.  There are goodies to bake to bless our families, friends and loved ones.  There is excitement in the air!  Christ has come!

And then I think of another day, another time when there was excitement in the air, a certain feeling that Someone was about to come on the scene.  And that Someone was prophesied to come in God’s Holy Word hundreds of years ago.  We go back to the time just before Jesus came, and think about the times in which the people in Israel lived.  They were cruelly oppressed by Rome.  There had been no message from God in 400 years!  Surely this must be the time when He will come?  I am sure shepherds sat around their campfires wondering when Messiah would come and bring peace to their world.  There was excitement in the air!

It was time for God to fulfill all the promises of Messiah.  For down through the years of history, God’s prophets had foretold that He would come. Many in that day were looking at the prophecies and wondering if this was the day and the time.  And indeed it was the time for His first advent, His first coming.  Let’s look at some of those prophecies in God’s Word.

God’s prophets also foretold of a coming Ruler, a Prince, a King who would rule forever and bring peace to a troubled world.  And we also are living in a troubled world, my friend, just as Israel was living in troubled times.  Among God’s people today, there is again excitement in the air.  Our King is coming! 

“But you Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting”  Micah 5:2.

The Prophet Micah foretold exactly where He was to be born, in Bethlehem.  And we all know the Christmas story in Matthew 2:6, and Luke 2:1-6.  He was born in Bethlehem exactly as the prophet foretold.  But Micah also prophesied that out of Bethlehem would come a Ruler who was from everlasting.  This Ruler had no beginning, He was before time. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God” John 1:1-2.

This little baby, who was born in Bethlehem, as the prophet foretold, was God in the flesh, coming to be the Ruler for all time.  He came to rule in the hearts of men who would accept Him as their Lord and Savior.  This little baby came to die for your sins and for mine.  And when He came there was truly excitement in the air!  The King had come!

“Therefore the LORD Himself will give you a sign:  Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Emmanuel” Isaiah 7:11. And in Matthew 1:22-23, an Angel appeared to Joseph in a dream telling Him to call the child “Emmanuel” just as the prophet had foretold.

 EMMANUEL

“God With Us”

“Emmanuel, I praise You for your faithful love.  Instead of casting me away from Your presence, You came to call me home.  Instead of punishing me for my sins, You came to free me from them,  Emmanuel, my God.   You are here with me today.  Live in me and glorify Your name, I pray.  Emmanuel continues to be with me in song and in His presence and in those special moments with Him. I would see a dramatic change in ministry and circumstances if I totally depended on the fact that God is with me, morning and evening.  This title reveals Jesus’ nature to “never leave me or forsake me”  Hebrews 13:5b. (Sharon Besler, 2007).

Emmanuel, “God with Us”, what a wonderful promise!  Yes, He sent His only beloved Son to dwell among us, to feel our pain and our sufferings.  And He does feel your pain and suffering, my friend.  He came as that little baby in Bethlehem, to grow into a man, live on this earth for three years and then to die on that cross, shed His blood for my sins, for your sins.  And He is still with us today, living in the hearts of His people, by the Holy Spirit.

Oh, the world will not see Him, will not feel that excitement.  But we feel that joy and anticipation as we look at His first advent.  At this time we celebrate His first advent, but there is another advent coming.  The second advent of our Lord and Savior will break the skies, as He will not come as a meek and humble baby in a manger, but will come as King of kings and Lord of lords!  And He will reign forever and forever!  This King “whose goings forth are from old, from everlasting” will reign at last.

So there is excitement in the air!  We will remember this season of joy His first advent and celebrate with scenes of that baby in the manger, Emmanuel, God with us.  He is desires to be Emmanuel to you, my friend?  He so wants to be with you, to be your Lord and Savior.  This could be the most wonderful Christmas you have ever celebrated by asking Him to come into your heart, and then you would be ready for His second advent, when He comes again.  Make that choice, my friends, and feel the excitement in the air! The King has come!

Have a Blessed Christmas Season,

Pastor Sharon

ALL THANKS BE TO GOD

As we enter this Thanksgiving week, I am reminded again of all God’s blessings, to me and to all my brothers and sisters in the Lord out there.  May God encourage your heart this week as you remember how much He has done for you, and His great love.

And if you do not know Jesus as your own personal Savior, may this be the week that you ask Him to come into your life.  It is the most important decision you will ever make, as it counts for eternity and forever.  And when our Blessed Lord comes into your life, you will never be the same, as He brings such joy and peace, no matter what the difficulties you face.  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new  creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new”  2 Corinthians 5:17.”

I recently came across this old hymn, which speaks of our journey as we walk with the Lord.  It speaks of our great salvation, the struggles we go through, His blessings, and right into eternity with Him.

THANKS BE TO GOD

Thanks be to God for my Redeemer,

Thanks for all Thou dost provide!

Thanks for times now but a mem’ry,

Thanks for Jesus by my side!

Thanks for pleasant, balmy springtime,

Thanks for dark and dreary  fall!

Thanks for tears by now forgotten,

Thanks for peace within my soul!

 Thanks for prayers that Thou hast answered,

Thanks for what thou dost deny!

Thanks for storms that I have weathered,

Thanks for all Thou dost supply!

Thanks for pain, and thanks for pleasure,

Thanks for comfort in despair!

Thanks for grace that none can measure,

Thanks for love beyond compare!

 Thanks for roses by the wayside,

Thanks for the thorns their stems contain!

Thanks for home and thanks for fireside,

Thanks for hope, that sweet refrain!

Thanks for joy and thanks for sorrow,

Thanks for heavenly peace with Thee!

Thanks for hope in the tomorrow,

Thanks thro’ all eternity!

 J.A. Hultman

So as we sit down with our loved ones this week around a loaded table, may it not be just a time of our annual feast, but a time of much reflection.  Let us bow our hearts in grateful thanks first of all for our Blessed Redeemer, and thank our Father for sending us His Son, Jesus, our Lord.  Our Blessed Redeemer has promised to provide, and to always walk with us and never to leave our side.  Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have.  For He Himself as said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” Hebrews 13:5.

We thank Him for the prayers He has answered, and the storms we have walked through, and for all the needs He has supplied.  Yes, we all have been through pain, walked in the valleys of despair, but then He leads us upon the mountaintops of comfort and joy.

And we thank Him for the grace without measure, and none of us can comprehend the absolute love that He has for us.  “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life” John 3:16.  Now that, my friend, is the ultimate love!

As we journey in this life, there will be paths of “roses.”  It is in those times that everything is going well, there is a sweet fragrance to our lives, but the “thorns” come, and prick our hearts.  Those “thorns” could be deep sorrow and pain, grief and despair, sickness and pain.  But He is there, and He is the only one who can bring us hope and comfort in this midst of our darkness.

We thank Him that we have our home and our families around us.  Think of those this day who are alone, poor and needy in this world, and how blessed we are here in this country with our bountiful  tables and the storehouse of wealth that He has provided.  May we never take these blessings for granted.

We thank Him for the peace He gives, and that we have hope in all our tomorrows.  We, as believers have what the Word calls, “Our Blessed Hope.” (Titus 2:13).  We look forward to eternity with our Lord, our Heavenly Home.  We look forward to seeing Him face to face, and no more pain and sorrow, tears or parting.  I pray that this Thanksgiving will be one of blessing and remembrance, and more than that, the salvation of many out there who need to find their way to Jesus, by the way of the cross and hope for eternity forever.

Have a Blessed Thanksgiving,

Pastor Sharon

“HE IS ALTOGETHER LOVELY”

As I look around me, at the world, my city, my nation, there is such sorrow and woe.  We hear of suicides, men taking their own lives, as they perceive they have no hope.  We hear of cancer and great sorrow in peoples’ lives.  People are despondent, lost and alone.  My heart breaks for the “lost” of this world.  I want to tell the world about the “Altogether Lovely One.”

“His mouth is most sweet, yes, he is altogether lovely.  This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem” Song of Solomon 5:16.

Our Lord Jesus, the “Altogether Lovely One” stands at the crossroads of our lives, calling, pleading for a lost world.  He is calling for you, my dear friends.  This “Lovely One” is the one who bore all our sorrows on the cruel cross of Calvary, shed His precious blood for my sins, for your sins.  He is Glorious in His resurrection and sits on the right hand of the Majesty on high, praying and interceding for a lost world, a world He came to save.  Listen to the words of Charles Spurgeon as he wrote of this “Altogether Lovely One.”

f we had time to think over this subject, we should say of our Lord that He is lovely in every office.  He is the most admirable Priest, and King, and Prophet that ever yet exercised the office.  He is a lovely Shepherd of a chosen flock, a lovely Friend, lovely Husband, a lovely Brother:  He is admirable in every position that He occupies for our sakes.

Our Lord’s loveliness appears in every condition:  in the manger, or in the temple; by the well, or on the sea; in the garden, or on the cross; in the tomb, or in the resurrection; in His first, or in His second coming.  He is not as the herb which flowers only at one season; or as the tree, which loses its leaves in winter; or as the moon, which waxes and wanes; or as the sea, which ebbs and flows.  In every condition, and at every time,” He is altogether lovely.”  (Charles F. Spurgeon)

He was there before the world was created.  This “Altogether Lovely One” was there at the beginning of time.  He is the great I AM of the burning bush in Exodus 3.  He is “The Word” in John 1:1-5.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through Him, and without Him noting was made that was made.  In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”

He came to this earth, shining in the darkness, and the world did not understand or accept His light.  And He shines in your darkest hours, my friend.  He is there in the midst of your storm, walking on the water.  This “Altogether Lovely One” is there in the midst of your sin and sorrow and your lost hope.  He shines through the darkest of nights, when it seems that all is lost.

“The LORD is high above all the nations, His glory above the heavens.  Who is like the LORD our God, who dwells on high, who humbles Himself to behold the things that are in the heavens and in the earth?  He raises the poor out of the dust, and lifts the needy out of the ash heap, that He may seat him with princes –with the princes of His people”  Psalm 113:4-8.

This “Altogether Lovely One” is higher than all the nations and their plans, and His glory shines even beyond the heavens.  But our Lord humbles Himself to see all that is going on in the heavens and the earth.  In other words, He is very much aware of the struggles that you are going through, as He is aware of the hearts of men.  And He longs to lift you up, even if you feel that you are in an “ash heap.”  Even if you feel you are the lowest of the low.  He wants to lift you up right now, at this moment.  He wants to seat you with Him in heavenly places, as the Apostle Paul shares in Ephesians  1:3.

And this “Altogether Lovely One” is our soon coming King.  And He will come in all His glory and beauty to gather His loved ones home.  Our minds cannot comprehend the glory of this King until we see His lovely face in all its beauty.  Will you be ready?  He could come at any time.  And He is not willing that any would perish or miss His coming.  His Word also says He is coming as a thief in the night,

1 Thessalonians  5:1-3: “ But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you.  For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.  For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman.  And they shall not escape.

Please don’t miss Him.  We live in that time, my friend, when the world is looking for peace.  We hear it in the news constantly.  So, again I plead with you out there.  Be ready, for we do not know when our Lord is coming, but He tells us to watch and wait.  Right now is the time for salvation.  Just call upon Him, my friends.  He will come into your heart and bring you peace and hope and joy, and faith in knowing that when He does come you will go to be with Him.  And we do not know what a day will bring.  Are you ready for eternity?  Don’t put off the most important decision of your life.  Our lives are like a vapor, here today and gone tomorrow.  Please be ready and don’t put off the Holy Spirit’s conviction in your heart, listen to His pleading and give it all to Him, He is waiting and He loves you so much, this “Altogether Lovely One.”

In Jesus’ Name,
Pastor Sharon

MY STONE OF REMEMBRANCE

As we continued on our journey, it was a time of memories, a time to reflect on our fifty years of marriage and what God has done in our lives.  Do you have “Stones of Remembrance?”  Those are the places where God has met you on your journey.  I shall tell you of one “Stone of Remembrance that has been precious in our life as we have walked with Him and depended upon Him for help and strength in times of trials.

It could be a place where God answered prayer in a particular way.  It would be a place where God rescued you out of a storm in your life.  It may have been a storm where it was so dark you couldn’t see your way ahead, and God met you there and brought great peace to your soul.  There are many “Stones of Remembrance” we could recall in our walk with the Lord and our journey toward our heavenly home, but this “Stone” is one of “Help.”

We were so young when we started our journey in life together.  And then the children came, and sometimes we did walk through stormy places, but God was always there to meet us.  One of the “Stones of Remembrance” that I recall is when our second daughter was born, and how God answered prayer. 

The delivery was complicated and we nearly lost our precious baby, but there was a pastor friend on his knees in the early morning hours praying for our baby, and we took her home from the hospital in two days.  There were many times when our young family had financial needs, and our God always intervened in marvelous ways.

Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying “Thus far the LORD has helped us” I Samuel 7:12.

This was the time when Samuel was the Judge in Israel, and Israel had just defeated the Philistines, with God’s help, and Samuel set this stone up to help them remember what God had done.  And we can also set up a “Stone of Ebenezer” and remember how the Lord has fought the battles for us all down through the years.

No matter where we have been in life, or where we are at the present, God is always there and has never left our side.  No matter what the age, down through the generations and years of time, God is and has always been there.  He has always been the help for His people

He is the God of today, the God of whatever experience you are going through right now.  In our fifty years of marriage, He was always there, even when at times we drifted from Him, but His arms were open and ready to receive us as we ran back into His arms.

I am reminded of Moses and the burning bush: And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.”  And He said, “Thus shall you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you’” Exodus 2:14.

And Jesus in the Temple facing the Jews declares in John 8:58: Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”  Jesus was the God of the burning bush! 

 So as we look back over our “Stone of Remembrance” we remember “I AM!”  He was the God of that very hour, God of that very day.  He is the God of yesterday, today and forever, but He is the God of “Right Now!” He is the very “Rock” upon which we build our faith.

 There is a wonderful hymn that has become very dear to me.  And it is the second verse of “Come Thou Fount” which reminds us of this “Stone of Help.”

“Here I raise mine Ebenezer, hither by Thy help I’m come; and I hope, by Thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home.  Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God; He, to rescue me from danger interposed His precious blood.”  (Robert Robertson)

So my friends, is He your “Stone of Help?”  If you are wandering from the fold of God right now, He is waiting to receive you into His fold.  He shed His precious blood for you, to bring you into His eternal home.  Call upon Him now, time is so short.  We see the world falling apart all around us, and Jesus is coming soon.  Don’t miss Him, please?  Just bow right now, right where you are and asked Jesus to come into your heart, to wash away your sin, make you a new creation in Him.  And He will bring you joy and peace whatever you may be going through right now.  He wants to be your “Stone of Help.”

Then I would encourage you, my friend, to find a good Bible believing church, and a pastor who can share more with you about the love of Jesus and encourage you in the Word.  And there you will find fellowship with other believers and can grow in Christ.  I pray that many of you out there will be encouraged to seek the Lord for whatever needs you may have, and may God bless you and be your “Ebenezer”, your “Stone of Help.”

 In Jesus’ Name,

Pastor Sharon

FINDING GOD IN A

DRY PLACE

I have again been on a journey.  This journey showed me many things that reminded me of my journey and your journey as we travel on this road of life, looking forward to our Heavenly Home.

As we traveled south and on into California, we encountered miles and miles of desert, sage brush and dry places.  We observed the surrounding hillsides, devoid of any green shrubs or evidence of water. We also traveled thru the great Mohave Desert with its cactus and dry stream beds.   We traveled miles and miles between rest stops.

Then up ahead would be an “oasis” of green trees, a place of rest, a place to stop and be refreshed, as we continued on in our journey across the desert.  As we neared our first destination, my home town, we saw more desert and miles and miles of absolute desolation.

This latest journey was one of dry places, one of renewal, one of memories, and one of fellowship with family and friends.  We also saw places and people who need Jesus, who are lost eternally unless they encounter the Lord Jesus Christ.  I experienced heart breaking moments of realizing how much this nation needs a great revival.  My heart broke over the darkness of sin.  Who is going to tell them of Jesus?  Who is going to pray and intercede for the lost?  Are we doing that?  Or are we just going about our own lives, unmindful of the places of sin and darkness?  I asked myself what I was doing for God’s kingdom to win the lost.

This nation is truly a thirsty land, and we are a thirsty people.  We have all the “things” our hearts could desire, but these “things” do not satisfy our souls.  People are wandering in the deserts of sin and heartbreak, of loneliness and despair.

“They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way; they found no city to dwell in.  Hungry and thirsty, they soul fainted in them.  Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble.  And He delivered them out of their distresses.  And He led them forth by the right way that they might go to a city for a dwelling place.  Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!  For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness” Psalm 107:4-9.

The Psalmist here is reminding us of the journey of the Children of Israel through the wilderness, and it is a picture of people today, wandering in the wilderness of despair.  They are lost without direction, wandering in a dry place, desolate, souls hungry and thirsty for the Living God.  Are you wandering in a desert place right now, my friends?  Maybe you have known the Lord, walked in the green pastures with your Shepherd, but you wandered away into the desert of despair, and you are like the Children of Israel, your soul is fainting within you.

But when they were lost in despair, they cried out to the LORD in the midst of their trouble, and our Wonderful Lord delivered them out of their distresses.  And if you are lost and wandering today, cry out to Him in your trouble, and He will set you on the right path, and lead you to the eternal city for your eternal dwelling place, Praise the Lord!

And then the Psalmist desires that men would then give thanks for the LORD for their deliverance and all the blessings that He desires to pour out upon them, and He wants to fill your hungry and thirsty soul with peace and joy.

“The parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water; in the habitation of jackals, where each lay, there shall be grass with reeds and rushes” Isaiah 35:7.

And what happens to a dry and thirsty land when water is brought in, especially by irrigation?  Green grass begins to spring up, flowers bloom, the desert will literally “blossom like a rose.” The parched land becomes green and lush and bears much fruit, so with us when we encounter the Living Lord, the Lord who walks with us through all our desert places.

“On that last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

Yes, in the midst of your desert place, in the midst of your parched soul, in the midst of your thirst, in the midst of your restless heart, hear the words of the Lord Jesus.  He is the Living Bread, He is the Living Water.  He is the One who will bring joy and refreshment to your parched soul.  And your desert will indeed blossom like a rose, your life will again bear fruit and you will experience such peace and joy, the like of which you have never experienced.

Call out to Him my friend, He is waiting for you.  He died for you, to give you eternal life with Him forever.  If only we could reach the lost in those places of darkness and despair and tell them about Jesus.  Jesus is the only answer to this world and its darkness and despair.  You believers out there, won’t you join me in prayer for the lost, for the dying?  Jesus wants to bring light into the dark places of this world, into the lonely and darkened hearts of people everywhere.  He is waiting and watching and not willing that any should perish.

I will be bring more of my journey in my next blog, a blog regarding “stones of remembrance”, those places along our path that we stop and reflect on the memories of those places, the blessings of those places, and sometimes there are places where times were hard, but our God was always there along our path, Praise the Lord!

In Christ’ Name,

Pastor Sharon