We live in a world that often breeds anxiety and fear. When we come face to face with tough times, we may fall prey to discouragement, doubt, or depression. Our Father in Heaven has other plans. Our God has promised that we may lead lives of abundance, not anxiety. 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”  God's word instructs us to “be anxious for nothing” (Philippians 4:6). So the question is, how can we put our fears to rest? We can put our fears to rest by taking them to God and leaving them there.

As you face the challenges of daily life, you may find yourself becoming anxious, troubled, discouraged, or fearful. If so, you must turn every one of your concerns over to our Heavenly Father. The same God who created the universe will comfort us if we ask Him so let us ask Him, trust Him, and then watch in amazement as your anxieties melt into the warmth of His loving hands.

Worry is a complete waste of energy. It solves nothing and will not resolve the anxieties on your mind.

David states in Psalm 22:19, “But You O Lord, do not be far from Me; O My Strength, hasten to Help Me!”  Psalm 22 immediately reveals that David was in trouble. “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Have you asked our God this question as David did? David boldly complained that God was not hearing his prayers. Have any of you felt this way doing this pandemic?  Maybe your circumstance does not look good right now. In times of crisis, however, what others are attempting is not as important as what God is doing. When we focus on God even in the worst of predicaments, we always discover that He is near and that His presence is our deliverance.

Right now, we need to focus on God’s presence right where we are. Due to the pandemic, a lot of us are restricted to home because of health, age, medical condition doubt, fear, loneliness, loss of a loved one, loss of a job, or broken relationships. We must watch His work, His perfect plan in His perfect way in His perfect time. God is in control and let us nor forgot this! Amen!

The apostle Paul communicates in several passages the important truth that Christ only has ONE BODY (4 times in 1 Corinthians 12:12-13, 2 times in Romans 12:4-5, Ephesians 1:23, 4:4).  His message is so radically different than what we see in Christianity today.

It was important for Paul to write this wonderful truth because he received it directly from God.  Christ said He would build His church (Matthew 16:18) and that He will be the head of it (Ephesians 1:22-23 according to Paul) because God has given Him all authority (Matthew 28:18-20).  

Jesus gave His blood for the church (Acts 20:28)!  He willingly sacrificed Himself for His precious body.  It is His blood that runs through the Fulshear church of Christ. As blood bought members of His body we must be active in doing His will and live in harmony with His word and people.  Reaching out in love with HIs hands and walking courageously with His feet are essential to being the body of Christ.  The body considers others first by living selfless and giving much.  We must be active participants working and functioning as a healthy body. 

There is only ONE BODY and there are many members that form is body.  If you are not a part of His body then you can become a part by….BELIEVING IN HIM (John 8:24), REPENTING OF YOUR SINS (Luke 13:3&5), CONFESSING HIM AS LORD (Matthew 10:32-33), and by being BAPTIZED IN CHRIST  FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS (Mark 16:16).  

Everyone is welcome to be a part of the ONE BODY of Christ which is His church.  Every part of His body is encouraged to be an active participant for the overall health and growth of the body. Everyone is also needed to help build a great church in Fulshear ....so let’s get busy working together!!

“For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.  For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.  For in fact the body is not one member but many.”  “And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.“ --  1 Corinthians 12:12-13 & Ephesians 1:22-23

Faith is the power tool of a Christian. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.  By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” (Hebrews 11:1-3)

Let me also share this with you, “Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” (1Chronicles 20:20)

Every life, including yours and mine, is a series of successes and failures, celebrations and disappointments, joy and sorrow. We all have experienced these things, and as long as we live in this life on God's good earth we will experience these things again. You see, every step of the way through every triumph and tragedy God will stand by your side and strengthen you if you have faith in Him.  Jesus taught His disciples that if they had faith, they could move mountains. You can too!  Do you have mountains in your life?

When you place your faith, your trust, and indeed your life in the hands of Christ our Lord, you will be amazed at the marvelous things He can do with you and through you. So strengthen your faith through praise, through worship, through Bible study, and through prayer. Trust God’s plan.  With Him all things are possible, and He stands ready to open a world of possibilities to us if we have that unconditional faith.

In closing, sometimes this world can be a fearful place, full of uncertainty and doubt. However, our Lord can overcome any challenge.

Father, give us faith and let us always remember that with Your love and Your power, we can live courageously and faithfully today, tomorrow, and the rest of our lives. Amen!

“O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth,
Who have set Your glory above the heavens!” (Psalms 8:1)

The key to understanding the psalmist’s words of praise is knowing that God’s name reflects His character. For instance, the name El Shaddai means,  “All-sufficient” or “Almighty One.” Elyon means “The Most High God” and refers to God’s supremacy and sovereignty. The names of God reveal who He is.

The psalmist was truly delighting in who God is and what He is like. Let us look at the picture of God’s amazing creation that the psalmist painted -- “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon, and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?” (Psalms 8:3-4 )

Within the majestic expanse of the universe, we are insignificant specks. Yet our infinite God sees us, knows us intimately, and loves us ceaselessly. Such divine consideration is truly beyond our comprehension.

In closing, “O Lord, Our Lord, Your love for me is truly amazing! Teach us to delight in You”.  Amen!

In life there are moments when we feel all alone.  There are a variety of reasons why we experience this feeling.  It could be because of betrayal, a terrible mistake, or a difference in moral living.  Again, there are many reasons for this feeling.

Jesus was no stranger to this feeling of loneliness. It appears that our Lord was no exception to these same feelings of loneliness along with the overwhelming experiences of life. Notice some of the more profound statements found in Isaiah 53:3  “He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”   

 As we open up our Bibles to John 18 we notice that Jesus was betrayed, arrested, and accused falsely for things He did not do.  We know that it is one of His apostles (Judas) who betrayed Him in 18:2.  He is DENIED by one of those closest to Him (Peter) in John 18:15-18 and 25-27.  He is questioned and ultimately REJECTED by the religious

Establishment in 19-24 and sent bound to Pilate.  Pilate is the one person in the process who “finds no fault in Him” (John 19:4) and he is not even religious.  However, Pilate does not do the right thing but rather SENTENCES Him to death.  He is MOCKED and SCOURGED by the Roman soldiers in chapter 19:1-4.  He is finally CRUCIFIED in 19:17-24. 

There is no place as LONELY and cruel as the CROSS!! His experience at Calvary was unjust, horrible, embarrassing, and ultimately cruel!!  This helps me to understand why Jesus is our perfect example and motivation for life (1 Peter 2:21).

Jesus was PREPARED before the experience at Calvary.  He didn’t wait until that moment to try and figure it out or prepare Himself spiritually.  Rather, He prayed in the garden and walked with the Father anticipating a horrible event.  He was not overcome with fear but rather TRUSTED that His Father was bigger than any experience in this life. While He EXPERIENCED loneliness He was not overcome with it.  

We must be reminded that we too will experience similar feelings, and tragedy but we are not to be overcome by them.  Remember,  “Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:17-19 

Remember, when walking hand in hand with Jesus you are never alone!