The Pastor's Pocket

  “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices” (II Corinthians 2:11).  Satan’s devices (tricks, schemes, methods) are many.  Anyone who has ever gone fishing knows that you use any kind of bait that will work to catch fish.  I enjoy fishing for bass.  I have all kinds of bait (lures) in my little tackle box.  If one particular lure is not successful in helping me catch anything, I will try another. Satan is somewhat of a fisherman.  He has many ways in which to snare unsuspecting people.  We must be aware of his “baits”, his schemes.  The devil is a deceiver and his plan is to destroy our God-given purpose and to distract us from the will of God.  Here are some of the lures Satan has used successfully to ruin the testimony of many: The appeal of the world (II Timothy 4:10) Things – material possessions (Luke 12:15, Mark 10:21) Money – the hunger for wealth (I Timothy 6:7,10) Sexual temptation, se...

  Genesis 18:1, “And the LORD appeared unto him (Abraham) in the plains of Mamre…”  Exodus 3:2, “and the angel of the LORD appeared unto him (Moses) in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush…” (at Horeb, the mountain of God). We must always celebrate turning points to 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.  Paul, on the road to Damascus (Acts 9) 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 His prophet and revealed to him what he was to do. The greatest day of my life happened at a specific place – at an altar in Charlotte, North Carolina – where I received...

  “Christ…loved the church, and gave Himself for it; That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word,” Ephesians 5:25b & 26.   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.   We all want a great life, don’t we?  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, which leads to a pure mind and a great life.  You just can’t by-pass your time in the Word and expect to live a clean life (Psalm 119:11).  Let’s face it, we live in a “dirty” world, a culture that is filled with nasty stuff that will influence our behavior.   Why not determine to bathe you...

I've noticed recently the squirrels are busy!  All around us (in the woods where squirrels live) they are preparing for winter.  Gathering leaves for their nest and gathering nuts to hide, they are getting ready for cold weather. Most of you will get up tomorrow morning and get ready to go to work.  You'll shower, get dressed, warm up the car, you are preparing for your day ahead.  When you are expecting visitors, you straighten up the house and prepare for their arrival.  The airline industry works hard to make sure their planes are ready to fly.  Athletes "warm up" to get ready for competition. Jesus says, "get ready, I'm coming".  Are you ready for His return?  Folks, we'd better be prepared and get our house in order, for one day the Lord will surely come.  How can you be sure you are ready for this anticipated moment?  (1) Make sure you are saved.  (2) Make sure you are serving Christ in some capacity.  (3) Make sure you ...

Yep, I'm starting our devotional thoughts for this week with "lug nuts".  You may be wondering, what do "lug nuts" have to do with my spiritual life? Well... I was watching a NASCAR race a couple of weeks ago and I remember hearing that one of the cars had made a pit-stop, gone back out onto the track, and then had to come back into the pit because, you guessed it, a loose "lug nut".  That one little item could have caused a wreck if not corrected, if not fixed.  You and I have to pay attention to the little things in our life, things that may be causing us problems in our relationships, things that are bothering us personally, things that may be drawing us away from the Lord.  A little resentment, anger, frustration, jealousy, allowed to sit and fester in our mind, can cause major damage later. "Lug nuts", little things do matter!  It's the "little foxes that spoil the vines", Song of Solomon 2:15 From The Pastors' Pocket W...

Never gaze at something that does not belong in your future, either some thing , some one   or some   place .  Our adversary can use these to break our focus upon the Lord and His purpose for our lives. Many a good Christian has been side-tracked from the faith by coveting things that God never intended to be in their future.  This is why it is so very important that we guard our eyes.  What we look at long enough, we desire (Genesis 3:6).  What desires are fed and cultivated, lead to pursuit. The Psalmist wrote, "I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes..." (Psalm 101:3a).  David, a man after God's own heart, knew there were just some things that should not be coveted. There are some   people   that  don't belong in your future.  In Proverbs, Solomon warned his sons to stay clear of fools.  He warned of our association with angry people, carnal people, lazy people, deceitful people and so on. There are some   things ...

  We live in the most sophisticated and advanced technical society in the world.  We have massive communication power at our fingertips.  We can touch the numbers on our cell phone and in a few seconds, we can be in contact with someone clear around the world.  We have PCs (when they’re not “down”) that allow us to reach around the globe instantly. We can explore the internet, “google” something and find practically anything we want to know.  Our television sets now in HD make it feel like we are right there. Satellite radio provides listening pleasure without static!  Yet with all of this technology, it’s hard to have a real one-on-one relationship.  For example; when someone “texts” you, you can’t see their facial expressions, hear the inflection in their voice, and when you are emailed, often you don’t even know who it is that sent it to you.  I know that in the first century A.D. none of this technology was available, yet when I read in Acts 8...