Trust in the Lord

Hello and God’s Peace!

I pray that this Blog finds you all in the safe keeping of the Lord! No matter what our circumstances, His promises True and they are for each of us. Lean on the Promises of God throughout this week! Our message today will be by Pastor Rod Johnson. Before we get to that, I would like to remind you to visit our website often at www.themissionsite.com There you can view this blog, as well as the Latest FM News Blog. You can also go to links and work you way to some of our churches and you will be able to listen to sermons on line. For instance www.aalchurchma.org and www.alclakeworth.org are a couple of our churches, and from there you can link to many others. You can listen to live or archived sermons at most of these sites. Also, please sign up for skype sermons. Just email me at jthree16@comcast.net and I will put you on the list. We can deliver these over your cell phone which you can put by a microphone so your whole group can hear. In Christ! John Ruotsala FM Administrator Now, pastor Rod’s message!

Love and Trust The lord!
“Jesus said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:37-39
“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
Proverbs 3:5-6

There are many lessons to be learned as we study the Holy Scripture. They all begin with TRUST and Love toward God. For us to rely upon the Bible, we must believe and thereby know that it is the inerrant Word of the Lord! Trusting the Word is essential to obtaining wisdom, for by it we know ‘The Christ’! Thus we see from the Proverbs above that when by God’s grace we come to love and trust the Lord, we can rely upon the result; He shall direct our ways!
The Lord knows that we often have worries and fears that make us anxious about many things. So, Jesus said, “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or Wherewithal shall we be clothed? But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself” Matt. 6:31,33-34
What is it to trust? It is simply to rely or depend upon! To ‘trust in the Lord’ is to commit your way unto Him, taking refuge in Him. “In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame.” Psalm 71:1. In the text proverb, we are shown the blessing of the Lord as He directs us in His paths, when we acknowledge Him, not leaning upon our own understanding. Life becomes very simple -- the basics bring contentment because of godliness, as the blessings of God’s grace.
Trusting in the Lord’s guidance and wisdom results in “health to your body and nourishment to your bones.” ProvERBS 3:8 The blessing of the Lord to those who live in love, peace and joy with contentment, is health to both the body and soul.
One of the most difficult areas of trusting the Lord in our lives is to commit our tithes and offerings to Him. This, we often think, may affect acquiring our daily bread, our ability to have what we want, and therefore it will diminish our pleasures of life. So we ‘lean upon our own understanding’ and attempt to manage our money according to our own wisdom. BUT the Lord says: “Honor the LORD with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine”. Proverbs 3:9-10 and it is also written: “Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth.” Ecclesiastes 11:1-2
With our limited understanding, or ability to see into the future, we are prone to worry and fear. BUT the blessing of the Lord promised here is that He will provide for our needs even as we pray, “give us this day our daily bread”. He is faithful! What blessings do we lose when we untrustingly rely upon our own judgment? We will never know, because we did not receive them!!! 2 Cor. 9:6-10 “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously”. “God loves a cheerful giver.”
The Lord Jesus teaches us: “The world will know that you are My disciples because you love one another.” Our willingness to share with others is a vivid display of love. Providing the financial means to minister the Gospel of Jesus Christ to others is a key expression of love, as it clearly displays to them the loving concern for their needs of body and soul. What we often hear from recipients of The Master’s Mission grant awards in their letters of appreciation is gratitude for the love of God shown to them. Thus the Psalmist wrote: “Let them (the redeemed) sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare His works with rejoicing.” Psalm 107:22
· “As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them who love you, what thank have ye? For sinners also love those that love them.” Luke 6:31-32
· Isaiah 26:3-4 You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal.
· Psalm 84:12 O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusts in Thee.
In the Love of God
In His Service,
God’s Peace!
Pastor Rod