WANT OR NEED? 4

Philippians 4:19 But my God shall SUPPLY ALL YOUR NEED according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Psalm 23:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

A teacher was trying to drive home the importance of expanding the vocabulary. She said that if you repeat a word ten times it will be yours forever. A young coed in the back of the class was heard saying over and over, "Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike..."

She obviously wanted Mike to be hers forever. I don't know if she ever got Mike or not but I wonder if she had would she have been happy with what she got. There are many times we think of so many things that we want. We think if we just had this or if we just had that we would be happy. I can speak from experience in saying that getting what we want does not always make us happy.

It is sometimes like the dog who caught the skunk. He got what he wanted but he sure didn't want what he got.

I think we would all be better off if we would just pray "Not my will, but thy will be done." It is then that we get what we need.

Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.


If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know. Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus. I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

WANT OR NEED? 3

Philippians 4:19 But my God shall SUPPLY ALL YOUR NEED according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Ps 23:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

"I really need a new cell phone."

That was a comment I heard a man make. At the time the man had no car, he was living in a house with no furniture and no utilities and had just started to work. His boss had to furnish his lunch each day until he got his first paycheck but he made that comment.

Sometimes I have heard people say other things like that and I am still amazed. I have a cell phone. I think maybe I was one of the last people in America to break down and get one. I love it. I like being in contact with my family on facebook and I like following people I am interested in on twitter but I can honestly say I don't absolutely need a phone of any kind.

There are many things that make our life more convenient and more comfortable that we have come to think of as necessities when actually they are luxuries.

Not only have I learned that I have all I need. I feel that I am greatly blessed to have much of what I want. A comfortable place to live, heat and air conditioning, clean water to drink, decent clothes to wear, and so many other things that we take for granted. "The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want."



Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.


If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know. Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus. I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

WANT OR NEED? 2

Philippians 4:19 But my God shall SUPPLY ALL YOUR NEED according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Psalm 23:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

I have many times heard the excuse "Sunday is my only day off so I need it to rest" as an excuse for not attending church. I have also noticed that the same person might spend the day doing just about anything but resting.

God shall supply all our needs. We need a time to be fed spiritually. We need a time to fellowship with other Christians and to study God's Word together. We need to spend some time in worship, after all, that is what we were created for. We need to be where God wants us to be. We need to be working together with His church doing His work. He has provided a way for us to do that and He chose to do His work through the Churches.

We may want to sleep in. (I suggest an afternoon nap after the services.) We may want to visit relatives or go to the beach or fishing or to a ball game but we definitely do not need those things.

America is truly at a crossroads and we must really do some searching of our hearts to find out what it really is we need. I promise you all your true needs can be supplied by a God who created it all.

Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.


If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know. Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus. I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.
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WANT OR NEED? 1

Philippians 4:19 But my God shall SUPPLY ALL YOUR NEED according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Ps 23:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

INTRODUCTION: We are living in a time and place that has been truly blessed. We have been blessed to the point that we have blurred the lines between wants and needs. What was once considered government charity has now been termed entitlements and people have surely come to feel that they are entitled to more than they need.

My son was visiting us the other day and my wife's birthday is approaching and he asked her, "Mom, is there anything you need that I can get you for your birthday." Her answer was, "Son, I really have everything I need."

It was the truth. She later remarked to me what a blessing it was to be able to say, "I have everything I need."

I am sure that as Christians, if we all examined what we have closely we would agree that we have everything we need. If someone were to ask me if there was anything in the world I wanted I might could come up with a very long list. I am sure we all could.

Jesus is sufficient for my salvation, to comfort me, to give me peace and for so much more. I guess as Christians we have everything we truly need in Him.

Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.


If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know. Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus. I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

Deception 4

Galations 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

It is sad to hear someone say of a young person, "Well, you know how it is, they have to sow their wild oats." No, they don't have too even though they usually will. What they don't usually say is that they are praying for a crop failure. They will reap what they sow and sometimes it is not a very pretty crop.

When I was very young we always had a garden, actually it was more like a truck patch. We grew a lot of what we ate. One thing I learned was that if you planted okra you would reap okra. If you planted butter beans you would reap butter beans.

In the last church I pastored there was a young man who lived next door and he came to my house with some of the biggest cucumbers I had ever seen in my life. They were way to big to be good anymore and he asked me, "Do you think these watermelons are ripe yet." I couldn't help laughing even though he was pretty upset. He had mistakenly planted cucumbers and was waiting for watermelons. He was disappointed.

Many people are sowing to the flesh and are disappointed when they do not reap the spiritual rewards. Spiritual growth comes from sowing spiritual seeds. When we sow to the flesh it is corrupted. You can not expect to grow into a spiritually mature Christian if you spend all your time in carnal pursuits. You must spend time in prayer, fellowship, study and witnessing to truly be sowing the spiritual seeds you need to sow. You can't plant cucumbers and reap watermelons.

Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.


If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know. Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus. I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

Deception 3

Eph 5:6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

I can't help but think of this verse whenever there is a big election. The politicians are all looking for some 30 second sound bite that will wind up on the evening news and they give speeches that sound really good. The problem is that when it is all over with we have no idea what they are saying.

Today even some preachers say that they do not believe that the Bible means what it says. If that is true I wonder why they are preaching in the first place and I wonder what are they preaching.

Sermons with no scriptural backing to them are empty. They are deceptive. They mean nothing, yet, many people are flocking to hear sweet sounding words because they don't convict them of the sin in their lives. Little do they know that they are bringing the wrath of God down on themselves.

Don't let Satan deceive you with vain words.


Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.


If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know. Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus. I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

Decption 2

Galations 6:3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.

Satan will deceive man into thinking that he is much more than he is. Many have elevated themselves to a position way above that which God intended. We are vessels for His service and we should never get to a point to where we think we are the center of the universe. God is.
I am sure that you have noticed what my wife and I call "Special People". You know the type I am describing. They are the ones who get in the express check out lane with a basket full of groceries. The 10 items or less sign does not apply to them because they are special.
They are the ones who park next to the store in the no parking fire lane because the rules do not apply to them. Breaking in line is okay, because they are "Special".
I can't help but wonder why these "special people" don't think the rules apply to them. I wonder if they know how people feel about them when they act "special".
Jesus taught us to be humble. He taught us to prefer others above our self. If we will humble ourselves He will lift us up. Any other ideas we might have are merely deceptive.


Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.


If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know. Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus. I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

Deception 1

Introduction: One of Satan's greatest tools is deception. He will deceive you if he possibly can. The rest of the week we will deal with some of the ways that Satan uses to try and deceive people.

Job 15:31 Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity: for vanity shall be his recompence.

Vanity means emptiness or nothing. It is sad but there are many today who trust in nothing. They don't trust other people, they don't trust the government, they don't even trust God. Some don't even trust themselves.
Their lives are empty shells and they are constantly trying to fill them with something but it is almost always the wrong thing. They wind up empty. Their lives are empty and they just keep trying to consume until they are full.
If our lives are to be full we must trust God. We must trust in His son, Jesus Christ to save us from the emptiness. He will fill us with joy, peace, and understanding. He will give our life meaning.

Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.


If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know. Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus. I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

Blockades 4

2Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

SALVATION IS OFFERED BY JESUS HIMSELF
Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, he teaches us of Jesus and Jesus knocks on the door of our heart wanting us to invite Him in.

Salvation is voluntary. God will not save you against your will. Jesus will not beat down the door of your heart and force Himself on you. You have to believe that He is who the Bible teaches that He is. You have to believe that He has to the power to save you. This is all voluntary but thankfully it is free.

God has placed many blockades on the road to Hell. There are some I did not cover in detail. The prayers of your family and friends, missionaries witnessing all over the world, preachers proclaiming the word of God. Gospel Tracts placed and handed out for the lost to read and many more. Why?

Because God wants everyone to turn around from that road to Hell and get on the straight and narrow path to Heaven by trusting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.



Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.


If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know. Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus. I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

Blockades 3

2Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

THE CHURCH IS A BLOCKADE
The main purpose of the church is to reach the unsaved.
Acts 8:4-5 Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word. {5} Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.

Christianity and the Church is definitely under attack worldwide. It seems that our educational system and much of our government is willing to tolerate just about any religion, with the exception of mainline Christianity. In many parts of the world people are in danger of imprisonment or even death for openly practicing Christianity. Thankfully it has not come to that in the United States, yet.

What those who attack the Church do not realize is that Bible Believing, Gospel Preaching, churches that truly believe the Word of God have the message that can keep them from going to Hell.

Remember, the scriptural New Testament churches that are true to the Bible are roadblocks on the way to Hell.

Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.


If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know. Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus. I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

Blockades 2

2Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

THE WORD OF GOD IS A BLOCKADE
It reveals the way of salvation.
Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

God didn't wait until we changed our lives. He didn't cast us aside because we were sinners. He loved us enough to send His own son to die in our place.

There are many who will go to Hell simply because they reject the salvation that Jesus has already bought for them. Their pride will cause them to think they are good enough on their own or that they will eventually be good enough.

God's Word, the Bible is filled with events that lead up to Jesus dying for us on the cross. The Gospels give an account of Jesus and His life, His death, His burial, and His wonderful resurrection.

The Bible is a blockade on the road to Hell.


Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.


If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know. Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus. I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

Blockades 1

2Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

INTRODUCTION: Some people have the mistaken opinion that God is just waiting to get even with them and that no matter what they do they are doomed. I personally believe that God has placed many blockades along the road to Hell.

We don't like to talk about Hell and it seems that when we do we speak of it we talk as if it is a mythological place or a state of mind.

There are a couple of things I really believe strongly and would like to share with you in the next few devotionals. One thing is that Hell is a real place, a place of torment, and it will be filled with real people. The other thing I believe strongly is that God has made every provision for us to keep us from going there.

Because God is a God of love and Grace and His mercy endures forever He has placed blockades on the road to hell. He has made provision in many ways to make sure that you must make the decision.If a person goes to hell he goes in spite of the barriers that God has placed before him.

Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.


If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know. Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus. I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

BY FAITH 6

Ro 5:5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

Faith makes us better witnesses. Because we have our hope in Jesus Christ we are better able to share that hope by our Faith in Him. When we are saved God gives us the Holy Spirit to seal and protect us as well as to teach us and comfort us.

It is very hard to convince someone else of something that you don't really believe yourself. Each time I think about how much God loved me, enough to send His Son to pay for my sins, hope springs up new in my heart.

Experience has taught me that it is that hope that causes my heart to swell with love which then is noticed and seen by those we come in contact with.

In closing this series on Faith there is one thing you need to understand. It is not great faith that we need. It is faith in a great God that we need.



Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.


If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know. Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus. I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

BY FAITH 5

Ro 5:4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

Experience and Hope are built on our Faith also. We can learn much from the mistakes we have made and from the trials and troubles that we have been through. If we are honest about it most of us are where we are in our lives because of the choices we made at some point or another in my life.

We have always heard the phrase, "If I had known then what I know now things would have been different." I know that they would have for me. I would have concentrated on something in school besides recess. I would have understood that some of the things I didn't think I would ever need to know would be harder to learn when I really needed to know them.

There was a time before I started tithing that I could hardly keep up with my bills. There have been times since I started tithing that I don't understand how I was able to pay my bills but I always did, sometimes on much less than I was making before. Through patience and learning to trust God we not only learn patience but the experience we gain is with us always.

The experience we gain from our past trials gives us hope. If you think about it, you have made it through the worst things that have ever happened to you. Remember there is always hope for those who know Jesus as Lord and Savior. Someday it is all going to be better.


Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.


If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know. Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus. I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

BY FAITH 4

Romans 5:3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

It takes faith to glory in tribulation. It is a wise person who realizes that when they are going through something hard that it could be God preparing them for something down the road. We have become a microwave type of generation. We want what we want and we want it now. We are into instant gratification. People find themselves stretched to the limit with debt because instead of saving for things they buy them on credit. Our financial crisis in the country today was caused by people wanting things they had not yet earned.

I have heard people say they have been praying for patience. My advice is don't. "Tribulation worketh patience." In common terms that means if you pray for patience you are asking God to send you enough trouble so that you can learn to be patience. I consider myself a patient person. I have not always been that way but because I wasn't it caused me trouble that I really did not enjoy. The trouble taught me patience. If we are impatient it only means that we are unsatisfied or unthankful for what we have now.

Make it a point to be patient. You are the only one who can do that. No one can do it for you. Patience is a great virtue that leads to other things but it takes Faith to realize that God has a plan for your life and you must wait on Him to reveal it. Our Faith helps us to be about His business while He is teaching us.


Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.


If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know. Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus. I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

BY FAITH 3

Romans 5:2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Our faith gives us access to God and His marvelous Grace. Jesus has become our High Priest and has offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. We are redeemed by His precious blood.

There is nothing in us that could ever make us be acceptable to God. We are sinful beings and the sin nature in us is unmistakeable. Only Jesus was able to pay our sin debt and make us be presentable before God. We can now go through His grace and worship and pray before God.

How frightful it would be for me to dare to go before God on my own merits. My faith assures me that I can therefore go before Him because Jesus has paid my sin debt. That gives me reason to rejoice in Him and in His Glory.


Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.


If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know. Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus. I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.

BY FAITH 2

Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

It seems that we live in a very fast paced world. I recently heard someone say that they would be glad when things got back to normal. I jokingly told them that I wouldn't because normal is hectic. I was only joking but it did cause me to stop and think. Why is everyone in such a hurry? Why are so many stressed out and constantly tired from all the busy things they are doing. Jesus said,...

Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

When I think of peace I think of rest. If we are not careful we can even make serving the Lord burdensome. We have all sorts of activities, all sorts of services, all types of ministries but sometimes we fail to just be still and spend time with Jesus. Jesus should be the center of our lives and we should revolve around Him the way a wheel revolves around a hub. We must spend time in prayer, fellowship, witnessing, and in fellowship, always remembering that Jesus is to be in the center of our lives and activities.

Take a few minutes to step away from the demands of this world and just concentrate on having a sweet fellowship with the one who died to give you eternal life. I promise if you make a habit of spending time with Jesus and putting Him first in your life, you will know Peace. This takes some faith that God will keep His promises.


Please feel free to contact me by email at

shilohkosciusko@gmail.com with questions, comments or even suggestions for further devotional studies.


If you know of someone new to the Kosciusko area and would like for our church to visit them please let us know. Our prayers are that this devotional ministry will be an outreach to bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus. I do appreciate you taking the time to read these devotionals and please keep us in your prayers.