In the Word with Pastor Mike

We must be careful not to serve the Lord with an attitude that says, "I have to". We should come with a spirit that says, "I get to!" He does not need us, but graciously calls us into relationship with Him!

In life we have great needs and a greater need for a God who can be pursued confidently in prayer. This is the God who desires us to pray to Him without ceasing!

In a world full of offenses that come at us from all sides, Jesus encourages us to make sure that we don't become so jaded by what is coming our way that we excuse the same behavior in ourselves. "Take heed to yourself", He says to us. Rather than judging the motives of others, judge the reality of your own heart!

The answer to our questions is sitting right in front of us in God's Word, but sometime things are so obvious that we look right past them.

Rather than looking out at those we perceive to be in worse shape than we are with an air of superiority, we should look up to the Lord for a fresh understanding of His grace in our own lives.

We get into trouble in life when our value system is at odds with the value system of God. This is especially true when we devalue the people around us that He has sent us to bless.

Its easy for us to mistake God's longsuffering with us as a lack of concern, but this can not be further from the truth. God's nature is to lean toward mercy, but we must not mistake this for a lack of concern

Allowing our heart to follow principle rather than the reverse will serve us well in living a productive and victorious life. Jesus tells us to lead with our treasure, not our heart!

What we do with Jesus shows our opinion of truth no matter where it is spoken. Jesus is the sum total of all truth and what we do with Him, shows our true regard for truth.

There are many things in life that bring us joy, but there is a greater joy that surpasses all joys. This joy when placed at the head of the line increases all of our other joys. It is this joy that Jesus calls us to!