Making a Differencewith Pastor Phil Erickson

Jul 3rd Guest Post by Sarah Becker

Todays Passage – Psalm 44 – 50

God is our refuge and strength,

a very present help in trouble.

(Psalm 46:1)

I love how this verse says that he is “very present”. For a long time, I didn’t think “very” fit here, but I knew that God’s word was perfect and that He had it there for a reason. As trials come and go, I see how fitting “very” is in this verse. God is emphasizing his omnipresence. I may have had knowledge that He is with me, but is it real in my life? God is not just present in my day He is very present.

So many times I think I need a person right then and there to help me with a problem because I thought they would understand, but they weren’t there or they really didn’t understand. I thought I needed them; I thought that they would solve the problem. Thinking it was the end of the world because no one could help me, I finally think of God. Ashamed of myself because He was my last resort, I find the Lord has been waiting for me to come to Him. When I do finally run to Him, I remember, through different circumstances throughout the day, Him calling my name. I am humbled at the fact that He still loves me and still helps me, even when I ignore His “very present help”.

If you find yourself in the same predicament in your life, let this verse and any other verse about God’s omnipresence help you. I’m so glad that I’m saved and I have Someone to turn to in times of trouble. This makes me want to be faithful to show and tell others how awesome and amazing He is to me. I hope it makes you want to do the same.

Jul 2nd Thirsty?

Today’s Passage Psalm 37  – 43

As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. Psalm 42:1

I remember when I was a boy, the neighborhood that I grew up in was involved in an unorganized baseball league and we would challenge other neighborhoods in our town to play us. I remember one very hot, summer afternoon we were playing Lake Riviera, our arch rivals.  The temperature was in the 90’s with high humidity.  It was a real scorcher.  I don’t remember who won or lost that game, but I do remember that out of all of the dozen or so guys on our team only one had enough sense to bring water.  I recall he had one of those Coleman jugs that contained about a half gallon or so of water.  At first he did not want to share; but under the threat of death from his teammates, he finally yielded and shared his treasure.  It was as close as I ever came to identifying with the rich man in Luke 16, who desired just a drop of cool water.

In the passage referenced above the Psalmist tells us that he had that kind of a thirst, not for water, but for the things of God.  Jesus said, “…if any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink” (John 7:37), and “blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6).  Amos referred to a thirst for the “hearing of the words of the Lord”. (Amos 8:11)

We tend to get thirsty when we have been without hydration for a while.  America is dehydrated spiritually, and I bet there are a lot of folks out there who are thirsting for God; and they may not even realize what they are thirsting for.  They have been drinking from the wells of this world for a long time, but have not found satisfaction.  The people of God are not helping the situation because they too have abandoned the well of the Word of God and have been sipping at the fountains of the devil.

Are you thirsty?  As God’s people, our desire should be for God’s will and God’s Word.  We should thirst after it.  How long has it been since you took a good, long, satisfying drink from God’s well?  How long has it been since you offered a cup of God’s Spirit to the thirsty people of the world around you?

Jul 1st How Wonderful It Is To Be Forgiven

Check the Schedule page for the Bible reading schedule for July.

Today’s Passage – Psalm 31 – 36

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Psalm 32:1

The Book of Hebrews admonishes us to grow up in our faith and move beyond the foundational truths of the Christian life. That’s good advice: we cannot stay babies forever.  However, it is wonderful to be reminded often about the simple truths of the forgiveness that God offers to all those who are willing to put their faith in Him. In this passage, there is a reminder to all of us who are saved.  The verse above simply reminds us of the fact those who have their sins forgiven are a blessed people.  To think that an omniscient God, who knows every sinful act of my past as well as every evil thought, would be willing to forgive me, and even look at me and treat as if I had never done or thought any of those horrible things.

It gets even better.  Notice verse 2:

Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. (Psalm 32:2)

It is one thing to choose to forgive the acts of the past; but to also forgive ahead of time all of our future transgressions is beyond comprehension.  God loves us unconditionally.  He says he will not “impute” our sin.  The word impute means to assign to or credit to.  God says that he will not assign or credit our debts or sins to our account.  Why?  Because 2000 years ago he laid all of the debt of my sin upon the His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.  Jesus paid my sin debt for me.  What a wonderful thought. Notice how that happened to David:

I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. (Psalm 32:5)

He acknowledged his sin.  He did not deny them or hide them.  He then confessed them to God and asked the Lord for forgiveness.  God could only forgive him because the debt would be paid by Christ. Have you confessed your sin to God, and asked Him for forgiveness?  Have you come to the foot of the cross and called upon the name of the Lord for salvation. If you haven’t done so yet, please call upon Him today.

To those of us who have received the forgiveness of God through the remission of our sins, how are we at forgiving each other?  God has forgiven everything that I have ever done or will do.  What right do I have to withhold forgiveness from others?  Just a thought.

Jun 29th Are You In the Valley or On the Mountain Today?

Today’s Passage – Psalm 21 – 25

Thou hast given him his heart’s desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah. (Psalm 21:2)

Jun 28th Acceptable in thy Sight

Today’s Passage – Psalm 16 – 20

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)

I love the Word of God.  I thoroughly enjoyed the Book of Job; but I am also having a wonderful time each morning in the Psalms.  As I read this morning, I was captured by the beauty of Psalm 19.  Verses 1-6 are expressions of David’s worship of God.  Verses 7 – 11 are remarks that lift up the Word of God, and the reader is admonished to place a higher value on the Word of God than gold.  Great Advice!

However, the verses that really caught my attention were verses 12 – 14 where David prays to God regarding God’s help in keeping him from sin.  In verses 12 and 13, he speaks of secret sins and presumptuous sins.  The presumptuous sins are those that we do blatantly, proudly, and in public view.  David begs God’s help in the removal of these things.

Verse 14 is the prayer that all of us should have on our lips and in our hearts the moment that we awake from sleep.  How often do we violate our relationship with God by allowing evil thoughts to take hold of our meditations.  we muse on things that are clearly outside of the will of God.  Ask God to control your thought life.  The minute the devil causes you to think about something that is wrong, take it to God.  Ask Him to help you.  Purposely divert your thoughts to things that are true, honest, just, and pure, etc.  Our sin begins with the musings of our heart.

Notice also the petition regarding his words.  Oh how I wish that I could take back some of my words.  The tongue can be a consuming fire, a deadly poison.  Why not ask God to help you get your tongue under control.

I wonder how many mistakes we could have avoided in the past had we made this our prayer?  We don’t have to make the same mistake in the future.  Let God control your thought life and your tongue!

Jun 27th (No Title)

Today’s Passage – Psalms 11 – 15

Jun 25th Kiss the Son

Today’s Passage – Psalms 1 – 5

I have enjoyed our reading in the Book of Job but I am also excited now that we are exploring the Psalms.  My though this morning comes from the second Psalm.  In this Psalm we get a glimpse into Heaven and we hear from the throne of God; but we also have a view into the earth where we see that the rulers of this world have set themselves in rebellion against God.  In verse 4 we see that God laughs at this.  Who does little man think he is in comparison to an almighty God.  The rulers of this world may think that they have power and authority, but few of them realize that it was God that gave them their power, and God could remove it at any time.

As we get closer to the end of this present age we will see the mighty men of this earth become more brazen in their fight against God.  At times it may seem that God is absent or even powerless to fight back; but don’t lose heart, He is in full control of His universe, and His patience with the rulers of this present world is quickly running out.

God’s warning to the kings of the earth holds true for the common man as well.  He tells us to “serve the Lord with fear” and to “kiss the Son”.  If you have not yet received Christ as your Savior you need to “kiss the Son” by receiving the forgiveness that only He can give you through His shed blood on the cross of Calvary.  If you are saved, you still need to “kiss the Son” by living your live in complete submission to His will.

Jun 24th I’d Better Keep My Mouth Shut

Today’s Passage – Job 40 – 42

Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth. (Job 40:4)

Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. (Job 42:3)

Have you ever made the statement, “I’d better keep my mouth shut”?  Have you ever told your child the same thing?  We can really get ourselves in trouble with our mouths, can’t we?  Sometimes it’s better not to say anything.  I remember when I was a brand new Christian.  I was having a discussion with Pastor Thompson about reaching the people around me for the Lord.  He said something that I never forgot: he said that if you don’t have an answer to their questions, or even their arguments, tell them that you don’t know the answer.  His exact words were, “Don’t snow them”.  What he meant was that we shouldn’t try to offer something on behalf of God that isn’t what God said.  We shouldn’t offer what we feel or think about God; but only tell people what we know to be true.  These friends of Job (and Job himself) were doing a lot of talking about God: each offering their own opinion about the situation; but how much of what they said was actually true.

The Bible says that we are God’s ambassadors.  We represent God to this world around us.  We speak on his behalf.  Shouldn’t we be very careful about what we say?  I wonder what God will have to say about me someday, especially the things that I have taught others about Him.  Preachers and teachers have an awesome responsibility.  Therefore we need to make sure that we are daily spending time with God in His word so that we can know how He thinks; and know what He teaches about any given subject.  And then when we are given the opportunity to speak on His behalf, whenever possible, we should tell people what God actually said, instead of what our opinion is.  As God’s ambassadors we have no right to represent ourselves, or present ourselves, or try to make ourselves look good in the eyes of the people.  We need to make God look good; and we need to give people the actual Words of God.

In God’s rebuke of Job, He said, “will thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous”?  What God was saying was that Job said things to justify himself; to make himself look good.  How often do I do that.  I am so afraid of the opinion of men that I have often condemned others in order to elevate myself.  Shame on me! and shame on all of us.  The Bible is very plain in its teaching that we don’t have to say too much, and that it is wise to hold our peace at times; and then when we do speak, we should be very careful about what we say.