The Pastor's Pocket

Have you ever been to the ocean and taken the time to watch the waves crashing in on the shoreline? They just keep coming wave after wave. The process never ceases. That to me is a picture of God’s grace. His undeserved favor poured out upon our lives. Wave after wave, day by day, minute by minute.   In 2 Corinthians 12:9, God spoke to the Apostle Paul with these words, “My grace is sufficient for thee.” Sufficient means, always enough. Just like the waves of the ocean, God’s grace keeps coming. It never runs out. It never ceases to flow into our lives, in our crisis moments, and the dark seasons of our lives.   Thank God for the waves of His sufficient grace in your life.   The Pastor’s Pocket Pastor Bruce Freeman  

You’ve never really given a problem over to God until you completely trust Him with the outcome. Too much of our faith in prayer is tied to getting God to do what we think is best. We rejoice if God does what we ask or if He responds as we think He should. What if God has other plans? Is He any less faithful?   The truth is, God sometimes does have plans that differ from our own agenda.   As we pray, we must be willing to accept whatever God determines best.   That’s never easy, but it’s a place we must come to in our understanding of the Holy One.   We all know the story of the three Hebrew young men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and the fiery furnace.   The story is found in Daniel chapter 3.   An order had gone out from the Babylonian king that everyone in the province was to bow down to the golden idol, and anyone who refused would be thrown into a fiery furnace. I love the approach of these three men in Daniel 3:17, “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us

On our way to and from church, we drive through a construction zone where they are building a new highway. It’s a major project and at this point you can’t tell how and where it will one day reach completion. There are a lot of earth-moving bulldozers, dump trucks, and a lot of other machinery moving all over the place. At this point, only the architects and engineers really know how it will eventually come together to become a major highway.   It’s like that with our lives. Sometimes we go through trials, pass through the fires of hardship, and we wonder how it all fits together in God’s ultimate plan for us.   The Apostle John wrote in I John 3:2, “It doth not yet appear what we shall be”. In other words, right now, only the Divine Architect knows how it all fits together. But this much we do know, He does have a purpose and plan. John goes on to say in that same verse, “when He shall appear, we shall be like Him”. One day, we will come to the completion phase of His plan, and we wil

A lack of genuine holiness is the predominate reason God withholds His awesome power in our lives. When we pray and God does not respond, we need to consider the reason why. Psalm 66:18 says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:” Isaiah 59:1-2 says, Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” God has not gone deaf, but there may be an underlying problem and it’s not with Him, it is with you and me.   God is serious about how we deal with sin. If we fail to confess sin our prayer life will be hindered. I John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” The word confess means that we agree with God about our sin and admit we have sinned. When we say to Him, we failed to obey and we are sorry, He w

“Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for Thee”. Psalm 25:21   Waiting seems difficult, useless, and even impossible to do, but it does have a significant role to play in our development and growth process.   This generation is one of rush, rush, hurry, hurry.  I believe one of Satan’s tactics is to speed us up, bypassing the blessing that comes with lingering in the presence of God.  We must learn to enjoy the now, to savor the present moment.  After all, it has taken us a lifetime to get here.   Yesterday is in the tomb, tomorrow is in the womb. Today, this moment, is all we have.  So why do we find it so hard to wait on the Lord if that’s what He instructs us to do?  I have made many a blunder by failing to wait on God.  Pushing through my agenda seldom works out.    Here are some tips to help you and I wait on the Lord: (1) Waiting is hurry’s enemy.  Patience brings power, vision, motivation, and perseverance (Isaiah 4:28-31).  (2) True change occurs in the presenc

All doctors agree that stress levels in today’s society are extremely high. Pressure, if not processed correctly can affect us physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. The Lord never designed us to bear all burdens, that’s why He tells us in I Peter 5:7, “Cast all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” If we commit our ways to Him, He will sustain us.   There are many pressures we face in life. The pressure to conform, to attain, to meet schedules, to measure up, to finish, to perform, to be something or do something. These can all lead to stress. So how do we overcome the temptation to give in to the pressures we face. Here are some stress busters that will help us: (1) Depend on the Lord for the strength and grace you need. (2) Pray in times of distress, anytime, anywhere. (3) Accept the things you cannot change. (4) Work at changing the things within your control to change. (5) Learn to release your anxiety to the Lord. (6) Simply refuse to let the pressures control

Matthew 5:13, “Ye are the salt of the earth”. Put salt on any kind of food and it will change how that food tastes. Salt has an influence. Notice that Jesus said, “salt of the earth.” That goes way beyond our own church family. Jesus would have us influence those beyond the walls of our church.   It’s time we all reevaluate our level of saltiness. How much influence do we have on those who desperately need to be touched by the love of Jesus? Many in this world need salvation. We can’t reach them all, but we can reach some, with our influence, sharing our testimony, giving them the gospel – good news.   Here is a test of your level of influence: Do you believe in the potential of others? Do you serve those who can’t serve you? Do you love those who don’t love you back? Do you give to others expecting nothing in return? Do you reach out to anyone outside of your own church family?   Might our influence in this world be that of loving, giving, praying, and sharing with