Miracles – Only in Jesus' Time?

Biblical Refs: Matt 4:23-24, Matt 8:2-3, Matt 8:6-13 & 16,
Matt 9:1-2, Matt 9:20-22, Mark 8:22-25, Mark 16:17-18,
Acts 3:16, Acts 8:3-6, James 5:14 glenavonchurch.googlepages.com/library

Sunday was a beautiful day - sunny with a temp of only -10c, as Pastor Lorne spoke on more of the miracles that Jesus performed. It was kind of ironic because to me, his voice seemed even more hoarse than the week before but I forgot to ask if he actually had the sore throat bug that seems to be making it's rounds.

Pastor Lorne started the message by bringing our attention to Matt 4:23-24. It says that Jesus went about “...healing every disease and sickness among the people.” He made no distinctions between paralysis, blindness or blood afflictions.

Do you know that 80% of prayer requests are for the healing of our bodies? And yes, miracles still happen today. Pastor Lorne believes that God has blessed modern medical doctors with the ability to heal. Don’t belittle anyone who claims of a miraculous recovery because they’ve been treated by a medical doctor. ie - those cured of cancer after surgery. But that’s not to say that God can’t reach down and heal you, either.

Pastor Lorne said to let your heart rise up in faith as you think of these healings:

– Leprosy – Back in Jesus’ time before there was a cure for leprosy, lepers were forced into colonies where they were shunned and considered outcasts from society. But leprosy can be cured. All it takes is an antibiotic over a period of time. Pastor Lorne reminded us of the leprosy commercials on TV where a small amount of money can buy antibitocs for lepers in 3rd world countries. He told us of a leper colony that even existed in Hawaii but has now ceased to exist, praise God! But in Matt 8:2-3, all Jesus did was touch the leper and say, “Be clean!” and in the blink of an eye, the man was cured.

- The Faith of the Centurion (Matt 8:6-13) – in this example, a centurion was so concerned for his servant that he went himself to see Jesus. What makes this passage special is that when Jesus said He would go and heal the servant, the centurion said, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” Wow! What faith! Pastor Lorne said that we can put our trust and faith in Jesus just like that centurion did and expect to be healed.

- He Healed all the Sick – Matt 8:16 says that not only did Jesus drive out their demons, but He healed all of the sick. Nothing was too difficult for him to cure and no one was left out. And when Jesus heals and delivers people from their sickness, lives change.

- Paralysis – Pastor Lorne said that Jesus heals when the people around a sick person pray for the healing and not just the invalid themselves. He used Matt 9:1-2 as an example of this. He then went on to ask if we could imagine that paralytic when he went home and walked into his own house. What do you think he and his family talked about?

- Blood Affliction – Matt 9:20-22 – The story of the lady who’s faith was so strong that she knew all she had to do was touch Jesus’ garment and she would be healed. The reward for her faith was a complete healing.

- Blindness – In Mark 8:22-25, Jesus spit on the man’s eyes and then asked if he saw anything. The man said “I see people; they look like trees walking around." So Jesus put His hands on the man’s eyes and restored full vision.

Pastor Lorne said sometimes after being prayed over, we feel a bit better but not 100%. Do we consider asking to be prayed over again? Or do we sit back and wait? Do we question God as to why we haven’t received complete healing after the first time? Sometimes it takes awhile. It will happen in God’s time.

Pastor Lorne said he doesn’t know what we believe about healing. Whether we believe it was only ‘back then’? He says no! He also asked us to look at James 5:14 which basically says that if you’re sick, you’re to be obedient to God and ask for healing.

He asked if we’ve noticed that even people who don’t have a personal relationship with Christ will pray for and receive complete healing.

Pastor Lorne admitted that 30 yrs ago, he was in an accident (he didn’t go into details) and the doctors gave him 10 mins to live but he received complete healing. (Praise God for that!)

He brought our attention to Mark 16:17-18 which says, “And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." This passage in Mark tells us that Jesus gave others the ability to heal as long as it was done in His name. See Acts 3:6-8 & 16 for the first example of Peter being able to heal in Jesus’ name. Pastor Lorne said the reference to snakes was because of the Acts 8:3-6 scripture where Paul was bitten by a snake and just shook it off without any ill effects.

The miracles that Jesus performed touched lives and brought hope. They gave people a reason for living. Jesus made no distinctions between the people or their sickness. He healed them all.

Pastor Lorne said Jesus wants to heal you. Just approach Him in faith and wait on His time.

If you would like to speak to Pastor Lorne about this or any other matter, or if you would like to be prayed over, please check out his info at the bottom of the right column.

Comments are always welcome.

We are the Boat Rowers

Scripture: Matt 14:24-32, Mark 6:47-51, Eph 6:13-18, Exodus 17:8-13
Hymnal scriptural reading #1 – Acts 8:28-39

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It was a blustery day on Sunday, with a temp of -34c, but a bunch of us braved the weather and headed to church. This photo was taken after church on Feb 17, on Hwy 48 just east of Montmartre.

Seems Pastor Lorne might’ve been under the weather a bit himself. He was smiling as usual, but his voice was a bit hoarse. His message was a continuation of Jesus’ miracles. Last week, his message had been about Peter getting out of the boat and walking on the water towards Jesus who was already walking on the waves.

This week, the message was about the rest of the men in the boat. The other disciples who stayed behind. The ones that didn’t feel the need to do something radical like Peter.

Pastor Lorne said the disciples in the boat were kind of like white water rafters. They have their oars in the water, trying to keep the boat/raft afloat, but the forces of nature aren’t giving them an easy time. They’re tipping this way and crashing that way in the frothy waves and their hearts are probably in their throats thinking they’re going to sink at any minute. With white water rafters, safety has been considered into every aspect of the adventure even though it looks uncontrolled. They are following a set path through the canyon, riding the current.

But what about the disciples? They were at the mercy of the wind and waves. But they had to keep the boat still and their fear was real!

Pastor Lorne brought out attention to Matt 14:32 which says, “when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.” Who were ‘they’? Well, Jesus and Peter – the two men who were out walking on the water while the rest of the disciples were trying to keep the boat steady.

The wind dying down as Jesus climbed into the boat was an affirmation to the disciples that He was indeed the Son of God. (v33)

Pastor Lorne went on to say that the disciples in the boat played an important role in this miracle – they waited. Even though they were scared, they did their best to keep the boat stable and afloat.

Pastor Lorne said we need people in our lives to hold the boat steady. He referred us to Eph 6:13 – “...and after you have done everything, to stand.” The disciples were doing that – standing firm and waiting as best as they could.

We need to do everything we can and then stand firm and wait.

Pastor Lorne said every family, church, workplace and school, needs someone to stand firm and be the steady one. Someone with experience and strength to get you over the rough spots. Someone willing to row the boat and keep it stable. It takes many people to keep it solid and steady.

He reminded us of the Old Testament story of Moses and the Israelites fighting against the Amalekites: “When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset.” (Exodus 17:8-13) In this case, Aaron and Hur were the rowers of the boat – it was their job to stand firm and wait.

So even if you’ve never walked on water or told a great testimony, you’ve still rowed the boat!

The reward for the disciples who kept the boat steady was the end of the storm.

Pastor Lorne wanted us to know that we are all important. We are the boat rowers. We count for so much because we’re the ones that keep the boat steady. God will keep His hand upon us to keep the boat straight. He’s using us to bring help and stability to others. All we have to do is keep the boat steady and provide a safe place for someone who needs refuge.

If you would like to speak to Pastor Lorne, check out his info at the bottom of the right column. Your comments are welcome on this or any other post.

Happy Valentine's Day

Today is the universal day of love!

You know how the marriage vows say, 'til death do us part'?

Well, God says, I'll love you forever!

The Bible says in John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Comment 101 – Wanna make a comment?

It has been brought to my attention that since this whole blogging thing is new, I should let everyone know how to make a comment.

I found this out when my hubby came home from work and said he’d added a comment to one of my blog posts and wanted to know if I received it yet. I checked and no, I hadn’t. I kept checking for 2 hrs before querying him again. I asked if he was sure he’d verified himself. He didn’t know what that was. So I asked if he’d copied the squiggly letters so that blogspot would know he was a human and not a computer program looking for ‘suckers’ to spam. No, my husband skipped that step because he didn’t know what it was.

So, this is what you do:

Go to the bottom of the blog post you would like to comment on. You will see the word comments – click on it. (The number preceding the word is the total amount of comments received for that post.) Usually, you will only see the word comments once, but for this blog post, you will also see it beside the word labels. You want to click on the one with the number beside it even if it's a zero.

You’re now at a new page with a box and a cursor. Type your comments in the box. When you are done, get out of the box.

You should now see a box with squiggly/misshapen letters. Below that you see the words, ‘word verification’ with an empty box beside them. Copy the funny looking letters in the box provided, making sure you use capital or small letters as you see them. Like I said above, this step is very important to ensure it’s a human making a comment and not just an information gathering program.

Next, it asks you to choose your identity.

If you have google account (free and easy to get), type in your email and password.

If you don’t have/want a google account, click on Anonymous.

But if you do use Anonymous, we won’t know who you are unless you add your name in the comments box. Please use your first name only if you’re concerned about privacy.

Okay, that’s it. If you have problems, contact me at: glenavonchurch@gmail.com

I’m looking forward to your comments, even if it’s just to say ‘Hi’.

Get Out of the Boat!

Biblical refs: John 6:14-15, Matt 14:22-33

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Pastor Lorne’s msg on Sunday was a continuation of his last msg – Jan 29th blog entry: Are you Overwhelmed? But first, let me start off by admitting what I knew all along but others have just discovered – I can’t add!

It’s not like Pastor Lorne came right out and said I couldn’t add, because he’s too nice a guy for that. No, he just started the msg on Sun by restating what he’d said before. Suddenly a light bulb went on and I suspected I hadn’t added properly. I have since added a note to that blog entry reflecting this. Sorry for the mix-up. (Writing is my forte – not math!)

So on Sunday, Pastor Lorne gave further explanation of his ‘Are You Overwhelmed?’ msg saying that if you take a huge task and break it down into smaller tasks, then it won’t seem so overwhelming. He went on to suggest it’s possible that’s what Jesus had intended by dividing the multitude into groups of 50 or so people each. It wouldn’t have seemed like such an overwhelming task that way.

Pastor Lorne said that after the miracle of feeding the crowd, the people wanted to take Jesus and make Him their King (John 6:14-15). So Jesus sent his disciples, by boat, to the other side of the lake, then he dismissed the crowd and went off to pray, alone.

Pastor Lorne asked if we knew that this is the greatest time of temptation – right after we’ve done something great for God and we’re on an emotional ‘high’. Beware of this time. Is it possible that this is why Jesus went to be alone and pray? To be away from the adoring crowds and accolades?

Sometime between 3 and 6 AM (the fourth watch), Jesus walked out – on the water – to the boat. Pastor Lorne asked us to imagine the scenario: the boat - buffeted by winds, the disciples – straining at the oars or bailing water trying to keep it afloat, and then in a flash of lightning, someone sees Jesus walking toward them! They were 3-3½ miles out in the middle of the lake and He’s walking toward them!

Pastor Lorne said he wishes he could walk on water when he’s out fencing, but usually he just sinks in the mud!

But Jesus was actually doing it! Matt 14:26 says, “When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear.” Jesus immediately identifies himself, telling them not to be scared. Peter took the words to heart because in verse 28, Peter replies, "Lord, if it's you…tell me to come to you on the water." Jesus answered in verse 29: “Come," He said.”

With that simple word, Peter got out of the boat and started walking on the water to Jesus. Pastor Lorne said that of all the people mentioned in the Bible and throughout history, Peter has the distinction of being the only person to actually walk on water. Yes, he sank when he noticed the wind and the waves, but that was after the fact - after he started thinking about what he was doing – after he lost his faith. When Peter allowed fear to creep in, the Bible says he (v 30-31) “cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"

Pastor Lorne said, “We need to get out of the boat”. It’s time to do something we’re not used to doing. To do something that’s hard for us to do. To go out on a limb.

Peter didn’t need to get out of the boat, but something called him out.

In our lives, we need to walk on the water a bit sometimes. To muster our faith.

While Peter kept his eyes on Jesus, he didn’t sink. This is a recurring story.

Do you need to walk on water? Step off the boat and step out in faith? That takes courage! A stretch of faith!

Pastor Lorne says if you ever have to face something – get out of the boat! Jesus is waiting with outstretched arms to catch you. Whether it’s now or in the future, in whatever your life’s situation, Jesus will be there waiting. And even if you feel like you’re sinking, He’s still waiting saying, “Come to me” to lift you up and carry you back to the safety of the boat.

Pastor Lorne finished the message with this question: Is Jesus calling you to get out of the boat?

Whatever your situation, God will give you the grace and faith to deal with it.

If you would like to speak to Pastor Lorne about this post, please use the contact info at the bottom of the right column or leave a comment.

The Rawling Brothers Concert at COTH

Church on the Hill was a wonderful place to be on Thurs night because we enjoyed the gospel music of the Rawling Brothers from Lundbreck, Alberta. Pastor Lorne Bonk introduced them as being from the Pincher Creek area although they lived in Meadow Lake, Sask at one time.

The church was comfortably full with 90 people in attendance. Thank the Lord the weather was good because we had many visitors from an area that stretched from Wolseley and Sintaluta to the north, west as far as Odessa, south to Fillmore and Stoughton, east to Kipling and even farther east to Elkhorn, Manitoba.

I went to the concert with the full intention of enjoying the music first, then cornering the Rawling Brothers into giving me an interview for this blog. But to ensure I didn’t miss a small testimony or two, I took out the digital voice recorder (DVR) I use for plotting my writing while on the run. I wasn’t sure how it would work, but I clicked it on, set it on my purse and enjoyed the show. Yesterday, when I started writing this blog entry, I plugged the DVR into my laptop and started transcribing everything I heard. Wow! Except for an occasional coughing spurt close to where we were sitting, I heard everything. And, after listening to the concert again, I realized that it was filled with testimonies. So, on a later blog date, I will do the actual interview, but here today, I will let you know what you missed! I would like to add that I’m typing this verbatim – in other words, I’m including all the ‘uh’s and ‘um’s instead of filling the paper with … (ellipses or dots). Although there are still dots where I omitted stuff I couldn’t hear or didn’t feel I had room for.

So, on stage were Doug and Bruce Rawling along with Doug’s son, Mark – playing the bass. The concert started with a well-known favorite. This was a great start as the audience was encouraged to sing and clap along.

Song: I’ll Fly Away

When the song finished, Doug pointed to the white banner hanging behind them, wondering if the person who made it was present. No, Kathy wasn’t. “Because it’s a great banner,” Doug said. The banner reflects Isaiah 1:18 “…Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow…”

Doug: when life is the best for me is when I am walking close to my Savior and, uh - sometimes more than others you know there’s the ups and downs of life and everything but what keeps me from being close to my Savior I guess is my sin whether I see it or not and I thank God He has an answer for that.

Song: Just A Closer Walk With Thee

Using the overhead projector, Doug talked about the bible camp he works at called Wilderness Ranch in Alberta. He talked about our how many city people don’t get to see the stars. Doug said: “I think that sometimes in a world created by our own hands, it’s easy to get kinda mixed up in our thinking. But you know, when you’re lying on the side of a hill at night and you got the horses munching grass, and the moon on the mountain, and the hay, and stars overhead, it’s easy to remember that God is big and you’re not and that’s important to remember. It sounds pretty simple but lots of times it’s not because we take way too much on ourselves. We worry about things we can’t change. We think we can do more than we can. And we’re so busy being busy that we forget who God is and that He is great for being who He is. God is big and you’re not.”

Doug: When you’re feeling small and insignificant, it’s when you are loved that you matter…we are small and God is big but that God has called every star into being, and knows them all by name. He loves you, so life matters. You know, every time your heart beats, every breath is a gift from Him and that’s an awesome place to be - to remember that God is big so we don’t have to be. But We are loved.

Song: The Camp Song (Wilderness Ranch photos played on the screen behind them. Click here for more info: http://www.wildernessranch.ab.ca/ )

Bruce: A lot of times…we so much want to do something for God that’s big that we maybe miss the little things that He asks us to do, right? And sometimes its the little things we can do for God might seem little to us but they might be really big to someone else. So I’d like to encourage you here in whatever town you came from – I’m sure there’s people where you live that need to know the love of Jesus - and we are His witnesses. We are the servants of the Lord. And we carry…when we are Christians, we carry the Holy Spirit in our hearts and we carry a message of hope or a message of forgiveness that the whole world is hungry for whether they know of it or not. And so I’d like to encourage you as you go home just to be aware of all the little things every day where God can use you in your life. And if you can be a vessel for Him.

Song: The Vessel

Doug: You guys are pretty good singers so we’re gonna sing some more. Do you know the song I saw the Light? Do you guys know the second verse? We don’t…
our version is Jesus Loves Me as the second verse…Jesus Loves Me – it’s quite an awesome thing! How do I know?...because the Bible tells us so. We have it on good authority that we are loved by the Holy Son of God our Christ and our Savior and our King. What an awesome thing!

Song: I saw the Light/Jesus Love Me

Song: His Sheep Am I

Doug: I got married when I was twenty yrs old and…I am just so thankful that God has blessed me with a great marriage. And uh - my wife is a sweetheart and she supports me and you know I’m not always home and kinda live my own kind of lifestyle… but I wrote my wife quite a lot of love songs and one time I wrote her a song and she said “if you really love me, do the dishes”. Anyway, here’s a song I wrote after I did the dishes, called, Still I do.

Song: Still I Do

Bruce teased us about the nonexistent Glenavon Coal Mine. He then did a melodious whistling rendition of the Snow White song, Whistle While you Work as an intro to the next song.

Song: The Coal Miner’s song ? (Coughing distortion so I’m not sure of the title.)
Song: I just Wanna Be a Sheep (Delightful, rousing crowd pleaser!)

Doug: We’re from Alberta but we are riders fans… you only have to live in Saskatchewan for a little while and…something in the water or something…

Song: Will the Circle Be Unbroken

Doug: We’re gonna do the song that I wrote a little bit after Jan 11, 2002 and uh I don’t remember dates very good - I even forgot my wife’s birthday a couple times - but I remember that date because that is the date our dad went home to be with His Lord. And uh Dad died of cancer and uh - Bruce and I feel really really blessed that we had an awesome father and he loved Jesus and it showed in his life and his actions and uh he knew how to make things fun….any moment is a gift from God and I don’t think there’s anything much better in this life than good memories. There’s nothing much sadder than regret. Things happen that can cause regret and I want to encourage you to make the most of every moment God gives you. It’s so easy to take people you love for granted and you know, there’s one good thing about cancer - you sure get time to say I love you. And with our father there really wasn’t anything left to say that hadn’t been said. And I’m thankful for that. It’s just the same sometimes - you think you’re kinda living in a dark hole - you ever been there? Tryna make sense out of things. You know it’s those times that we really need to cling to the promises in God‘s Word - that God has a plan for us - a plan to give us a future and a hope. In my Father’s house there’s many rooms. If it weren’t so I wouldn’t tell you. There’s life on both sides of the grave. No matter what the circumstances happen, God never changes.

Song: Window in the Basement

Bruce: Whatever we go through in life …our God is rock steady

Song: Rock Steady

Doug: Thank you so much for being here tonight. And uh - I think you have an awesome little town here…pretty cool restaurant…good bakery…pastor knows how to cook real good – in the microwave! We’re gonna play a song we used to do with our Dad - one of his favorites. It’s called Golden Slippers and this song is… it’s really old… it actually talks about going to heaven. Kind of a fun loving song but it has a good message.

Song: Golden Slippers

Bruce: Now the bible says that we’re supposed to be thankful people. We’re supposed to give thanks when… all the times, yup in all circumstances. Sometimes that’s easier to do than others…but we’re supposed to do it. And that is a witness to people. When we can be not grumpy. When we can be happy as a witness. There is a light that shines to people and uh we’re gonna do a song that you can sing sometimes when you’re feeling grumpy - I know cause I get grumpy once in a while - and this song just cheers me up anytime.

Song: Keep on the Sunnyside

As the musicians were leaving the stage, Pastor Lorne stepped forward and said they had a request to hear a song with the Dobro resonator guitar that Bruce had resting up on the guitar stand.

Song: Leaning on the Everlasting Arms (with Bruce playing the Dobro)

Pastor Lorne thanked everyone for coming – for driving all this way to be with us tonight. He then mentioned the table full of Rawling Brothers CD’s in the foyer if anyone wanted to take some of the music home with them. Downstairs, we had a chance for refreshments and fellowship.

If you missed getting one of the Rawling Brothers CD’s, you can order it online from their website at www.rawlingbrothers.com/music.html

You can see what songs are listed for each of their CD’s and even hear samples of their songs.

The Words We Chose, The Words We Speak

Biblical refs: John 1:1, Proverbs 18:12, James 3:6, James 3:9,
Acts 17:16-34, John 1:14, Exodus 4:10-12
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We had a treat on Sunday morning because Maurice Giroux delivered the message while Pastor Lorne and Dianne were away at the Christian Cowboy’s event.

Maurice started the message by drawing our attention to John 1:1. The Bible states: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

He then gave a dictionary definition of the word “word”: a sound or combination of sounds that has meaning and is an independent unit of speech.

So, we have words. We can speak. We have a tongue. But the tongue is sometimes referred to as a double edged sword. Why? Because with it, you can build up someone’s esteem with praise, or you can cut them down with harmful, hurtful words.

But just as God gave us our intellect, he also gave us emotions. And when our emotions get riled and we don’t control them, our emotions throw our intellect out the window. Whether intentional or not, if we don’t think before we speak, our tongues can do immeasurable damage.

Maurice brought our attention to Acts 17:16-34. Paul is preaching. He was like the Billy Graham of his time. Did you know that Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, is the author of 2/3 of the New Testament?

Paul was in Athens waiting for Silas and Timothy. He had noted that the city was filled with idols so instead of just sitting around while he waited, he went to the synagogue and marketplace “preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection”. Some philosophers heard him and invited him to speak at the Areopagus. (Wikipedia lists the Areopagus as: the 'Hill of Ares', north-west of the Acropolis, which in classical times functioned as the chief homicide court of Athens.)

Acts 17:21 says: “All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.” Maurice said Paul was probably thinking that his words wouldn’t be accepted but he had this huge crowd and he didn’t want to lose their attention. What did he do?

Well, Paul chose his words carefully. His topic was: ‘To an Unknown God’. He told them: “as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you." In other words, Maurice said, “Let me introduce you to the God of the universe.”

By doing this, Paul put a name to their unknown god and brought God into their lives. The Bible says in verse 32: “When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, "We want to hear you again on this subject." And verse 34: “A few men became followers of Paul and believed.”

Maurice said we should let Paul be our role model.

He also said he can relate to the ancient Greeks. He learned about evolution in school. Scholars are still trying to find that missing link! Maurice thought going to church would make him a Christian. But, he didn’t know God. He didn’t know he could have a personal relationship with God. He didn’t know that God wanted to be involved in every aspect of his life.

He said to look at the bees. They are attracted to the honey nectar and not the vinegar. We should try to attract people to God by using our words like honey and not vinegar. We chose the words we speak. And once spoken, they can never be retracted.

Exodus 4:12 says “Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say."

If you would like to talk to someone about this topic, you can contact Pastor Lorne at the info listed on the bottom of the right column. Your comments are invited.

A Good Thing

Today, we have a guest blogger. She is Dianne, wife of Pastor Lorne. You can find more info on Dianne at: glenavonchurch.googlepages.com/musicministry

Most every year, people make New Year’s Resolutions. Be it a resolution to lose weight, or more have family time, or spend less money, many times the resolutions fail. Maybe that is because a goal was defined but the plan for reaching that goal was not defined.

I’m so glad that God had a goal in mind when he created the world. He wanted fellowship with man to whom he had given a free will. He created all things, and man, and saw that it was good. However, because He is all-knowing, He knew that man would become sinful, and that He would have to redeem him. God had a plan.

In the fullness of time, He sent Jesus to be our sinless redeemer. Jesus came to pay the price with His life. It was a terrible cost. It wrenched the heart of God so much that he put 10,000 angels on alert to destroy everything if Jesus so much as called their name. But because he loved us so much, Jesus bore the punishment for our sin. The way to fellowship with God was restored.

Do you know the way to God’s plan for your life? Do you know the Savior? Why not read the Bible and find out for yourself? The book of John is a good place to start. It will help you discover God’s plan and how you fit into it. That is a good thing!

Thanks Dianne. If you would like to be a guest blogger or talk to someone about this blog, please check out the contact info at the bottom of the right column. Any comments?