GOD IS WITH US 3

Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

GOD IS WITH US IN TIME OF SORROW AND SUFFERING

2 Corinthians 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

As much as we hate to admit it we are going to face times of sorrow and suffering. In my ministry I have dealt with all types of people as they mourned the loss of a loved one. Sometimes in tragic situations.
I can tell you there is very much a difference between the people who know the Lord and those who don't know Him as they deal with their sorrow.

That does not mean that the loss is less to believers than it is to non-believers. It just means that they do not have to bear the burden of their sorrow alone. They are aware of the presence of God and His love and comfort strengthens them during their period of grief.

The same is true with suffering. I have prayed at the bedside of many who were terribly ill and were suffering. Those who were closer to God were able to handle it much better than the ones who did not know Him.

God is always there to help those who trust Him. He will especially make His presence known during sorrow and suffering when we need Him the most.

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.

GOD IS WITH US 2

Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.


GO IS WITH US AT THE TIME OF SALVATION
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

God is very much with us at the time of salvation. Salvation is of the Lord. He planned it. It is not our plan, the churches plan, or some other persons plan that saves us. It is God's plan of salvation that will free us from the bondage of sin.

He provided a way for us to be saved even though we can never be deserving of salvation. We are separated from God by our sins and can only be reconciled to Him by accepting Christ as our Savior. He paid the penalty for our sins and offers us salvation as a gift. It is His provision and our acceptance of it that brings us salvation.

The wonderful thing is that He offers that salvation to everyone and invites all men to come to Him for salvation.

He calls us and convicts us with His Holy Spirit. He is involved in our salvation and He is with us all the way.

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.

GOD IS WITH US 1

Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

INTRODUCTION: Even though we might not always be aware of the presence of God in our lives He is always with us.

Others might leave us but God never will. Sometimes others leave us by choice. Many homes are broken up because one parent or the other just chooses to leave and start a new life with someone else.

Sometimes we move to a new area and we leave behind close friends with every intention of staying in touch but then we slowly drift apart until we are no longer in contact

Some people leave due to means beyond their control. They might get transferred, they might even pass away but either way sometimes people leave us and they can't help it.

Jesus Christ, the light of the world stands in the midst of mankind and says :
Isaiah 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

Jesus will never leave us or forsake 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.

ONE ANOTHER 5

John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. (35) By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

WE SHOULD BEAR ONE ANOTHER'S BURDENS

Galations 6:2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ

We must first learn to bear our own burdens. There are some things we need to spend time alone with God and work out with Him and Him alone. Prayer, study and meditation can help us work through many of the burdens we face each day. Many times as a pastor I have had people to ask me to pray for them. In most cases they really mean that they want me to be praying along with them but in some cases I think that is exactly what they mean. They want me to do their praying for them because they have no intentions of doing much of it themselves. It is much better if you ask someone to pray with you about something. Do your own praying and don't expect someone to do it for you.

Just because I suspect that someone is not doing their own share of the praying doesn't mean that I am excused from helping them bear their burden. I can still pray on their behalf and I am obligated to do that. So often we tell people we are praying for them and we really never give it another thought. We need to be sincere when we tell someone that. It is serious business.

My wife and I have our prayer time together each day and there are many we pray for in certain circumstances and there are many we pray for daily. There have been those that have come to us and said, "I know you have been praying for me... I can feel your prayers." It is a blessing to hear that because then you realize that you are helping to bear someone else's burden.


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.

ONE ANOTHER 4

John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. (35) By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

WE MUST BE CAREFUL HOW WE JUDGE ONE ANOTHER

Matthew 7:1-2 Judge not, that ye be not judged. (2) For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

Have you ever been around someone who was very judgemental about everyone they knew? When I am around someone like that I always feel a little sorry for them because I know the verse above. I always wonder if people like that can't see their own faults and realize that they are as bad as some of the people they are passing judgement on.

People do a lot of things I don't approve of. I am even offended by a lot of things some people do, but... It is not my job to be their judge. It is my job to pray for them, and to try to set a positive example for them.

I once knew a preacher who left his wife for another woman. His brother, also a preacher, seemed to never tire of running his brother down for what he did. They moved away and we still stayed in contact with them and one day we received a letter from his wife telling us that he had left her for another woman. The very thing happened to him that he had been so openly critical of his brother for. We should never say it can't happen to me. Instead we should pray for those who do wrong and pray that God will keep us from temptation.

When you are judging someone harshly it is good to ask yourself how you might react if you were faced with the same circumstances and the same temptations. God can do a great job of judging without our help. Let's just try to keep ourselves from temptation.
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.

ONE ANOTHER 3

John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. (35) By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

WE ARE TO BE CONSIDERATE OF ONE ANOTHER
Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

I really don't have a lot of pet peeves but I guess people being inconsiderate is one of them. When my wife and I see someone doing something that is really inconsiderate we refer to them as "Special People."

These are people who don't think the rules apply to them. They are the ones who park in no parking zones or take up two spaces so no one can park close to their car. They are the ones who rush in front of you in the express check out lane with twice the number of items they should have. They are the ones who break in line or who think you should make exceptions to the rules from them. You all know who I am talking about and I hope none of you are the ones I am talking about.

It doesn't cost us much if anything to be courteous to others. As a matter of fact I have seen that it encourages good works in others just like the scripture above says. Remember your actions have an effect on others and on your testimony. Be considerate not only to one another but to everyone else as well.


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.

ONE ANOTHER 2

John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. (35) By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

WE ARE TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER

Romans 13:8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

For Christians to love one another is not optional. It is a commandment from Jesus. I have found that some people are a whole lot easier to love than others are. It has also sadly come to my attention that everyone is not going to love me. I really don't understand that but it is just a fact.

That realization came to me early in my ministry. I was trying to do everything and be everything that I was supposed to do and be and still some people did not love me. It was then that I realized that God did not call me into the ministry for me to be loved. He called me into the ministry to love others.

I learned, through much prayer and some agonizing that you can love even those who don't love you. If they don't love you that is their problem. If you don't love them that is your problem. Sometimes the people who are hardest to love are the ones that need loving the most.

You might not owe your Christian brothers much but one thing you do owe them is your love. After all, God replaces all you give away with special love from 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.