The Pastor's Pocket

Luke 5:16, “And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.”   Matthew 14:23, “And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.”   It is obvious that Jesus often withdrew from the crowds and got alone with His Father.  He used these times to pray, to refresh His soul, and to seek direction.  What an example we would do well to follow. After Jesus got away from things, He would return with renewed power and begin to minister again. Jesus knew that fatigue could be costly, that’s why He taught His disciples the principle of periodic isolation. In Mark 6:31, Jesus told His disciples, “Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while:”   God created the universe in six days and on the seventh day, He rested; He paused.  Why is pushing the pause button so hard to do in our own lives?  Why do we think we can have power with God without periods of isolation. The ministries of Moses, Pa

Ephesians 5:25b-26 says that Christ “Loved the church and gave Himself for it; That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word”.   You cannot have a great life unless you have a pure life.  You cannot have a pure life unless you have a pure mind.  You cannot have a pure mind unless you wash it daily with the Word of God.   I believe we all want to have a great life. A great life is the result of maintaining a clean life. A life lived in obedience to the will of God.  A clean life is an extension of a clean thought-life, which comes from consistent time in God’s Word.   God’s Word will wash impure thoughts and attitudes away. You just can’t bypass your time in the Word and expect to live a clean life. Psalm 119:11 says, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”   Let’s face it, we live in a dirty world, a culture that is filled with iniquity. It’s imperative that we not let the people of such a culture influence our behavior. We

In Genesis 18 we read where the Lord appeared to Abraham in the plains of Mamre. Then in Exodus 3 we read that at Horeb, the mountain of God, the angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush.   We must always celebrate turning points in our lives.  It is important that we attach significance to the places where God speaks to us. Throughout the Bible, we see God revealing His will to various people at specific places. In Acts 9, Paul, on the road to Damascus was told what God wanted him to do.  At the brook Cherith, God told Elijah to go to Zerephath because He had commanded a widow to sustain him during a famine (I Kings 17).  Over and over in the book of Jeremiah it says, “and the Word of the Lord came to me saying”. At specific places, God spoke to the prophet Jeremiah, and revealed to him what he was to do.   The greatest day of my life happened at a specific place, a church altar in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was there that I received Christ

The scriptures teach us in Psalm 9:12 that God doesn’t forget the “cry of the humble.”  Humility is an attitude that God has promised to honor.  James 4:6 says that “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”   God will honor our humble cry because it demonstrates our utter dependence upon the Him in our time of need.  Let’s face it, we want people to think we’ve got it all together. We don’t like to admit we might have problems we can’t solve ourselves.  Remember this: any move toward self-sufficiency is a move away from God.  He won’t intervene in our affairs, our problems, our crisis, unless we cry out to Him with a humble and sincere heart. A sincere cry to the Lord is an open declaration that we are unable to fix the situation we are in without God’s intervention.  It says, “Lord, I don’t have the wisdom, ability, or strength to solve this.  I need your help.”  At that moment, God delights in releasing His power and wisdom.   When Peter began to sink as he walked

He is awesome in every way! His person, His power, His provision. Nothing is too hard for Him. This great God tells us in Jeremiah 33:3 to “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and might things”. The Hebrew word for call is “qura”. It means, to call aloud, to cry out audibly.   A great God does great things!   Things we can’t even grasp at this present moment are available to us if we simply learn to cry out to Him in prayer. This is so simple, and yet, so profound.   God will release His power to us as we pray.   Friend, God is a God of order and design.   This is the acceptable protocol that God Himself has laid out for us.   If we do our part, call out to Him, He will do His part, answer, and show us great things.   It is so simple and yet I believe we have overlooked this aspect of prayer for a long time.   God wants to hear our voice.   Psalm 138:3, the psalmist tells us that he cried to God, He answered him, and strengthened him. Our Heavenly Father wants to

I’m sure many of you remember the words to a song that says, “where He leads me, I will follow.” I wonder if we really grasp the full meaning of those words. God is not dead, friend. He is THE true and living God. A living God communicates with His people. He speaks to us and gives instruction to us as we pray and seek His counsel. God is interested in every aspect of our lives, our family, our finances, our decisions. He will speak to us if we seek His will about a matter.   In I Samuel 23, there is a wonderful example of a godly man seeking God’s will in a matter. The Bible says that “David inquired of the Lord”. He asked, “Shall I go and smite the Philistines?” The Lord answered him and said, “Go and smite the Philistines and save Keilah.” David did not assume he knew what decision to make, he asked the Lord what he should do, and he got a clear answer.   When God tells us to “do this” or “go there”, are we willing to follow His instructions? Remember this; the instruction you obey

These are rough times to say the least, and we all have a choice. Surrender to defeat or stand and fight back. James instructs us in chapter 4, verse 7, “resist the devil”. Resist means to stand against, to withstand.   The devil is the chief adversary of every Christian. He is our number one enemy. He is a liar, a murderer, a thief, and a deceiver. He is a loser, he’s going down, and he wants to drag you down with him. Do you want this enemy to succeed against you? Are you willing to let the devil discourage you, defeat you, and rob of you of what is rightfully yours? Will you stand by while Satan ruins your world? You must take a stand against him!   Satan will use four distinct steps to take you out: (1) Desire – he will identify a sinful desire within you and will try to get you to fulfill it. (2) Doubt – he tries to get you to doubt the promises of God. (3) Deception – remember the devil is a liar. He said to Eve in Genesis 3:4, “ye shall not die”. He places the thought in your mi

Learning to pray can be enhanced if we study the great prayers of the Bible.  From Abraham to Moses, to Elijah, to Nehemiah, to David, the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah, to Jesus and to Paul, all these men got answers to their prayers.  Their prayers are recorded in scripture, so we know they were audible.   Many of Moses’ prayers got God’s attention.  He was a great intercessor – he cried out to God on behalf of the people.  Many of David’s prayers were worshipful in nature.  We can learn from them.   I encourage you to get your Bible and read Nehemiah’s prayer in Nehemiah 1:5-11.  It begins with praise.  It includes confession and petition.  Notice the sequence; although Nehemiah desperately needs something from God (vs. 11), he begins with praising God for who He is (vs. 5).  This is a great pattern for us to follow.   A prayer of Jesus, that is given the title “The Lord’s Prayer” is actually a model prayer (Matthew 6:9-13).  In this prayer, Jesus taught the same sequence of prayer a

The basic things we all must have to survive physically are food, air, and water.  Remove any of these for a period of time and you will perish. The basic things we need for our spiritual life are, the Word of God, prayer, and the church.   When we read and study the Word of God, hear it preached or taught, God speaks to us.  He guides us along as we learn the principles of His Word. When we pray, we talk to God.  This is essential if we are going to have communion and fellowship with Him.  Prayer is a necessary part of our Christian experience and crucial to developing our relationship with God.  If we neglect to pray, something very important to our spiritual life will be missing.   All Christians are not called to preach.   As believers, we are all called to serve in some capacity, and we are all called to pray.   Have you answered this important call to pray?   It’s life changing. Prayer is our duty and our privilege.   It’s not an option if we want to grow and experience God’s pow

“Thou are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power” Revelation 4:11.   God deserves all the glory for anything we accomplish. The Bible consistently warns us not to think too highly of what we do because God alone deserves the glory for whatever we become or attain. We live in a society that ascribes way too much glory to men.   Athletes that can hit home runs, drive a golf ball 300 yards, win races, or simply run fast; make millions of dollars, and are made out to be idols and heroes.   Successful businessmen who make the top fifty “Forbes” list, glory in their financial clout. Too many people in the church are overly proud of all they have attained materially. Spiritually, they think they are in need of nothing.   The only one deserving of glory and worship is God!  No athlete, politician, musician, or minister anywhere could accomplish anything were it not for the Almighty that gives them breath to breathe. Sure, man has gone to the moon, split the atom, and discovered

Psalm 23:6 says, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”   “Surely” - I like that word. It speaks of an absolute, something definite, reliable.   Many things, and many people, may prove unreliable in life, but God’s promises are sure.   We let ourselves down sometimes.   Our own devotion to God may falter, but God never does.   He is a faithful God; reliable, rock-solid, true. David, the author of Psalm 23, did not say maybe, possibly, I think so, or I hope so. He said, “Surely”. David knew that God’s goodness and mercy would follow him his entire earthly journey.   God’s goodness and mercy followed Moses through the wilderness and followed Joseph into Egypt. That same goodness and mercy followed Daniel into the lion’s den, followed Paul through his missionary journeys, and followed John to his island of exile.   Stop for a moment my friend and look back.   Think of all the scrapes God has brought

“But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.  For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favor wilt thou compass him as with a shield.”  Psalm 5:11-12   Seldom do we who are saved stop to thank the Lord for all He has done for us.  People may attend church (once a week for most) and offer praise to God for their salvation.  But the psalmist here in our text uses the word “ever” which means we are to rejoice, to shout for joy all the time, and forever. Why? Because God is our Defender.   If we love the Lord, we have an adversary, the old devil, Satan, who if not held at bay by the Almighty, would kill us all. And then there are people who oppose us, who even hate us, because we love Jesus (John 15:18).  They try to intimidate and discourage us, but we have a defender; God Himself who protects us from their attempts.   I love verse 12 that tells us the Lord blesse

When you are young, you think very little about eternity.   Heaven just doesn’t hold much appeal for you when you have love, marriage, and careers on your mind.   But as you get older, you begin to ask more questions like, what will my life after death be like?”   The truth is, Christians don’t get buried, they get planted. Paul writes of our bodies in I Corinthians 15:42b, “it is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption”. Verse 43a says, “it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory.”   God has placed just enough discomfort in our lives to make us long for heaven.   If we are saved, heaven will be our eternal home when we die. Don’t get too attached to the things of this world.   Sooner or later we’ll all be leaving. Philippians 3:20 tells us our conversation ( citizenship) is in heaven. That is our GPS address already typed in by God Himself. As we age, deal with a deteriorating body, more troubles, trials, and heartaches, we long more and more for our eternal home wher

Proverbs 3:5, Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”   When I was a boy, my family had a membership at a public swimming pool. My Dad would get in the water and urge me to jump in. Although unsure of my own swimming skills at the time, I really believed in my heart that if I jumped, my Dad would catch me. I put my trust in him, and he never let me down. He caught me every time.   I have read that in the circus, the trapeze artists really do have to trust each other. A special relationship exists between the one who jumps and the one who catches them. Once the person who jumps lets loose, they must trust the other person to catch them.   We must learn to do what God tells us to do, believing in our heart the Lord can be trusted with the outcome. Friend, you and I don’t have to know the future, we must trust our Heavenly Father who does. Go ahead and jump. Obey God’s instructions as He calls you into new levels of intimacy with Him. Be willing

I Peter 4:12 says, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:”   God’s people can face serious challenges just like everyone else. There are two verses of scripture that I find helpful in remembering that God does care for me, and He wants to help me through the trials, the problems, that I face.   I Peter 5:6, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:" I Peter 5:7, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”   I must humble myself before God and cast my cares on Him. Friend, the problems that drive you to God, are often the cares that only God can handle. God’s shoulders are wider than yours. What is it that you need to place in His hands today?     The Pastor’s Pocket Pastor Bruce Freeman  

Jesus said something in Luke 6:26 that we need to think about; “Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you. If we are living a godly life, we are going to be criticized for it. The fact is we should have a few enemies.   If we have the mind of Christ and a heart of compassion, the scriptures clearly teach that we will want to help people. We will want to reach out to people. However, every relationship in our life (outside of our family) should be tested. In other words, are we really succeeding in lifting them up or are they dragging us down?   In Numbers 33:55, God instructed the Israelites that those you let remain, “…shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell”.  Obviously, there were reasons why God required His people to separate themselves from some of the people around them.   You must discern those who belong in your past. Sometimes you just have to let go of people and turn them over to God.  You cannot fix ev

Contrary to what many people believe today, there are absolutes in life.  Some things are wrong and will always be wrong.  Some things are right and will always be right.  Exodus 20:12 says, “honor thy father and thy mother”. It’s always right to do so. Exodus 20:16 says, “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor”. It’s always wrong to lie and to deceive.   There are always choices in life.  We make choices every day.  The challenge is to choose to do right. To do the right thing requires courage and moral fortitude, but it has its rewards.   There was a radio talk show host who gave advice to callers and she always ended the conversation with these words, “now, just go do the right thing”.  I like that.  Doing the right thing may not always be easy or even popular, but it makes the most sense.  Read the story of Joseph in Genesis, chapters 37–50.  Joseph had a tough time. His brothers sold him into slavery. Potiphar’s wife lied about his actions and he was imprisoned.  J

Remember when Jesus first sent out His disciples? In Matthew 10:5-6 He said, “Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not, but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” It was God’s plan for the nation of Israel to hear the good news first, and later, the Gentile nations (Romans 1:16).   God doesn’t require us to reach everybody, but He does require us to reach somebody.   Not everyone is interested in our ministry, nor for that matter are they receptive to our message, but some are. We must, as Christians, focus on those who we can reach.   This is also true of us on a personal level. God doesn’t qualify us to minister to everyone we meet, but He does prepare the hearts of some people to need what we have to offer.   Perhaps you have experienced a divorce in your life or struggled with the death of a loved one. Maybe you have battled an addiction, struggled with an extended illness, or dealt with chronic pain.   Who is better t

“Fear not” is the command most often repeated in the Bible. Fear is never God’s will for His people. It is never an option for children of the living God.   Fear and faith are opposites.  When fear walks in, faith walks out. We know without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).  If we want to please God, we must conquer fear and walk in faith. With the world the way it is today, there are hundreds of reasons to be afraid, yet the Lord would have us trust Him with our fears and put our faith in His promises.   Psalm 46:1-2a, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear,”.  A choice is involved here.  Either we live in fear and worry all day, or we trust God.  To live in fear is as much a disobedience to God as stealing or lying. Instead of living in fear, pray.  Give your fears to the Lord and claim this promise, “I sought the Lord and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears” (Psalm 34:4).   The Pastor’s Pocket Pastor

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee.” Isaiah 26:3   Life overwhelms us sometime. Pressures from work and at home, financial matters, and health issues. All of these and more can come crashing in on us. What do we do? Many people look to another human being for all the answers. If you find that person, please let me know. The problem with this is it’s a flawed solution. Only God has all the answers. When you look to someone else to solve all your problems, you set yourself up for a major disappointment.   Many people look for a place where there are fewer problems. On April 27, 2011, one of the worst tornado outbreaks in U.S. history struck the Deep South. More than 300 people lost their lives. One of the cities hit hardest was Tuscaloosa, Alabama. A lady who was interviewed by a local TV station said, “We just moved from Oklahoma hoping to get away from this kind of thing.” In August of 1992, Hurricane Andrew was the most destructive hurricane to hit Flori

Desire, discipline, and delight.  Our prayer life must move through these stages to become a part of our life so that we look forward to praying with anticipation and expectation.   The Holy Spirit places within us the desire to pray.  People heard God’s voice in days gone by – no doubt about it.  However, we need to hear God’s voice today (Hebrews 3:7).  As a believer, I want to talk to God.  It’s my privilege.  I also want to hear what He says to me.  Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice” (John 10:27).   All the great prayer warriors of the past learned the discipline of prayer.  We must be disciplined if we are going to have an effective prayer life.  Prayer requires some effort.  We must beat back the flesh that is lazy and undisciplined.    When we are disciplined and learn to pray even when we don’t feel like it, prayer will go through a transformation.  It will become a delight .  Read the Psalms.  David and others looked forward to their time with God in prayer (Psalm 40:8, Psa

There’s no doubt about it, we live today at a frantic pace.  Our whole culture seems caught up in the life-in-the-fast-lane.  The danger is that we are so busy, we don’t take time to slow down and listen for God’s small still voice.   Rare is the Christian or the Church that takes the time to seek God’s face.  I’m always somewhat stunned when I read God’s message to the churches in Revelation 2 and 3.  When He repeatedly says, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches”. How can we hear what God is trying to say to us if there is so much noise and busyness in our lives and His voice is drowned out?   Jesus was one of the busiest people who ever lived.  He constantly had people approaching Him with their problems, sicknesses, and disease, yet He often withdrew to quiet places to get alone with His Father (Luke 5:16, Matthew 14:23, Mark 6:46). If Jesus saw the need to slow down and get alone with the Father and listen, how can we not see the need to do the

We share this planet with other people.  As long as we live, we will interact with people. So, remember this; no relationship in your life is insignificant. In I Corinthians 12:21, the Apostle Paul uses a comparison to the human body, “the eye cannot say to the hand I have not need of thee, nor again the head to the feet, I have not need of you.” Using a comparison to the human body, he illustrated how inter-connected we really are.  We each have knowledge, talent and skills that others can benefit from.   We cannot succeed in a society which ignores the potential of its people, and it’s the same in the Church.   Guard your friendships within your Church. Cherish them. You need them and they need you. By the way, make the effort to establish new friendships within your Church.   Everyone benefits in the long run.   Proverbs 18:24 says, “A man that has friends must show himself friendly”.   The Pastor’s Pocket Pastor Bruce Freeman