Fear can be a powerful force. It can get control of your mind, motives and outlook and when it does you have no peace or security. Fear can steal your happiness, it can ruin relationships, and it can keep you from becoming all that God intended you to be.

But the good news is that we don’t have to live in fear. God tells us in Isaiah 43:1 that he has created us and he has formed us. He tells us not fear because he has redeemed us and called us by name and we belong to him.

What joy and peace it is to be a child of God and receive these blessings! It is so simple to do too, just believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins, tell Him you repent, confess Him as your Lord and Savior and accept the salvation He has for you (Romans 10:9 – 10). Let His love come into your heart and enjoy the new life He has for you.

So the next time life shakes your confidence and your path becomes hard and long, don’t give up, don’t become afraid, don’t let satan have the victory. Remember you have a Heavenly Father that loves you and cares about you. He knows your name and He wants  to give you the very best. 

The good news today from East Point is that God loves you and we at East Point Cumberland Presbyterian Church love you too. 

It was demonstrated today that within our congregation are those that love unconditionally and pray without ceasing. There are those that go the extra mile to help one in need and patiently stand by to support.

Life is not perfect, there are all kinds of ups and downs and problems to face. But with the help of the Lord and the support and love of good Christian friends, life’s burdens can be easier to bear.

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7

Did you know that God is interested in you? Yes, you, and me! God desires to listen to us, commune with us and walk with us through each step of our day. We don’t have to worry about having the right words to say. God just wants to hear our praises, our requests, and our confessions. He wants to listen to our inmost thoughts and fears. God listens not just to our words, but to our hearts also and he knows exactly what we need. 

 God wants us to listen to Him too. When we sit quietly and meditate on His word, think about His might and about His great love for us we will begin to feel God move in our lives. We will begin to see our prayers being answered and His will for our lives will become clearer.

Isn’t it wonderful to know the we serve such a God? He is loving, caring, and merciful to His children. 

Thank you, Father! 

Our good news today is found in Philippians 3:12 – 21. Here Paul is encouraging his Christian friends to stay focused on the goal set before them as God’s children. That goal was to live a life worthy of  their calling as Christians and to one day enjoy eternal life in heaven, where everything is perfect. Paul encouraged them by saying that although he tried, he himself was not perfect and never would be perfect in this world. The Philippians would never be perfect in their lives either, but they could be confident in their future and know that Jesus was there with them every step of the way.

As part of God’s family, we too should strive for perfection in our lives. But because we live in a fallen world, we will never reach perfection here on earth. Hinderances in life cause us to get off the path sometimes. The devil places stumbling blocks in our way which may even cause us to lose our way.  But Jesus is always right with us. He will never lose us;  He will never let us go; He will never give up on us!

Our goal then as Christian is the same as the Philippians which received Paul’s letter long ago. We too should not give up. We need to stay focused on the goal, stay grounded in God’s word and keep  going. With God’s guidance and help, we too will reach our goal and will enjoy a perfect eternity with our Lord and Savior!

There is a hymn that we sing from time to time at East Point C.P. Church called, “I Know Whom I Have Believed”. To paraphrase the words, the song simply says, “I don’t know why God loved me so much that He gave His only Son to die for me, I don’t understand how this saving faith works, but I know it brought peace to my heart and I don’t know how the Holy Spirit moves to convict people of their sins, but, I do know whom I believe and I do know that I can trust Him to keep whatever I have committed to Him.” 

So what do we commit to God? Our lives, our work? These are important to us. Then there are things that are even more important, we might even call them treasures. Such treasures are our families, our children, our friends, or our health. All of these are good and precious. 

How do we protect our treasures against the evils of the world? It seems that there are always forces that try to destroy  and tear down. But just as the song says, we can stand firm in faith knowing that if we have committed our all to God, He will keep it. God is not wishy-washy, He doesn’t say one thing and do another. God always keeps His promises and He never changes His mind.

What good news to know that if we commit our lives and all that we have to Him, we can be assured that it is safe. God will never lose it nor will He forget about it. We can trust that He always has us covered with His mighty hands.

“Here is a trustworthy saying:

If we died with him, we will also live with him.

If we endure, we will also reign with him,

If we disown him , he will also disown us;

If we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.” 

2 Timothy 2:11-13.

These words were written by Paul to the young minister, Timothy. Paul’s words were meant to encourage and strengthen Timothy in his work for the Lord. Receiving such a letter from his mentor must have been welcomed news for Timothy. 

We too need encouragement from time to time. In this passage Paul is telling Timothy, and us too, to persevere. No suffering in this world is worth more than the reward we have in heaven. If we die while suffering we will begin our eternal life with Jesus. If our present circumstances seem hard, just remember that one day we will reign will the Lord in heaven. Never give up on serving God for even when our faith is weak, God is still faithful and will not forget us.

Thank you, God, for this good news. Thank you for using Paul to share it, in his life time, with the next generation. Help us to continue to be your witnesses  and share your words of encouragement with our children and grandchildren that they too will be your witnesses.