Psalm 121 NLT

¹ " I look up to the mountains, does my help come from there?

² My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!

³ He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber. 

⁴ Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps.

⁵ The Lord himself watches over you!  The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.

⁶ The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night.

⁷ The Lord keeps you from all harm  and watches over your life.

⁸ The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever. "

This admonition from the Psalms is our word of encouragement for the week.

Pastor and Linda are enjoying the great Rocky Mountains this week, but also relaxing in the Lord.  

Our prayers are that they have a wonderful time together enjoying His creation.  Pray that He will  invigorate them, and bring them home rested again soon.

Let's ALL claim this Psalm as OURS this week.    He is our peace, our comfort, our provider and Savior.  He is coming again.

Even so come Lord Jesus!

But until then thanks for covering us with your peace and protection.

Love ya,  Pastor Phil      

God will heal our land

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NLT)

^14 :Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land."

The recent willful actions of our judicial and executive branches of government must  certainly crush the heart of God, as they do each of us as Christians.  However, as we celebrate this weekend the birthday of our great country let us remember God's promise quoted in the text above.

He will forgive our land, IF we turn back to Him.    If we continue to go further from God, there is a price to be paid.

Praise God, He has a remnant, that will do and stand for what is Godly.  If our country repents, it can be great again as it has been for such a long time.    

Today, July 4th,  America is 239 years old.   Happy Birthday America!  God's word says if we train our children in what is right, when they're older they will not depart from that teaching.  Certainly 239 years of age is old enough for moral clarity and Godliness to return to this nation. if we pray!

As a veteran I'm proud to have served to  protect a great America.   As a Pastor my heart is broken over what some have chosen to do to "fundamentally change" the direction for our nation. God, bring America to repentance and help your children to stand for what is right!

With our votes we have the ability to reverse the course which some have set for our nation.   We can make a difference, if we pray and repent on behalf of our nation's sins.   I'm not giving up hope.  God is bigger than  His enemies.   God Bless America again, as we humble ourselves and repent.

Love ya,  Pastor Phil      

The story is told of a family who wished to bless their daughter as she was leaving for college. An elaborate dinner was prepared. Nothing was spared on the decorations. The guest list included all her many friends from high school and church. Everything was finally in place and everyone had arrived. As dinner came to a close, with a twinkle in his eye the proud dad clinked his fork on the side of his glass. All eyes were on him as he made a brief speech about the family's pride in the young lady's accomplishments. With a grand flourish he produced a mysteriously bulging envelope. Squealing with delight, the college-bound beauty ripped open the envelope, quickly scanned the words of love scrawled in her dad's messy handwriting and held up the key to the car of her dreams. Leading the charge out into the drive the girl exclaimed with confusion etched on her face, "but where IS it??" Joy turned to concern as everyone came to the sad realization it was nowhere to be found! Somehow, a thief had slipped in during the distractions of dinner and the beautiful new car had been stolen. 

Although the dear girl was owner of a wonderful new key on a leather fob with the brand name stenciled on it in gold, it was worthless without all the lesser, smaller, more mundane parts of the new car.  The list of the missing parts sadly and badly overshadowed the value of the key. Without all the parts moving in concert, the key was valueless. 

And so it is in the Church. It really doesn't matter who fills the pulpit or staffs the office. If each person who is part of the church fails to show up, the rest of the church just cannot function properly. 

Suppose someone found the girl's missing car at a dismantling shop. Suppose they were able to recover everything but "a few parts". Which ones would she be able to do without as she made the long drive to the university? The windshield? The transmission? The tires? You get the picture.  

As another Sunday rolls around we should ask ourselves if the church can reasonably be expected to function in our absence. Is the role we play so inconsequential that God really doesn't need us there after all? Or is the fact that we have allowed something to spirit us away from church rather like the girl with the shiny new key...to nothing. God needs each of us to fill our spot. 

See you on Sunday!

Lovingly,

Pastor Rich Orrell

Psalm 121   NLT

A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem

¹ "I look up to the mountains, does my help come from thee? 

² My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!

^3. He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber.

⁴ Indeed, He who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps.

⁵ The Lord Himself watches over you!   The Lord stands beside you as your shade.

⁶ The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.

⁷ The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life.

⁸ The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever!"

In today's busy world, with all the difficulties we face from day-to-day, we are tempted to run to 'professional'  sources  for help.

Doctors, lawyers, counselors, for every ache, problem and ailment we have are readily available.  While they may be good, God and HIS provision is our real source of help in time of trouble.

When you're in trouble—don't relegate God to the last solution of desperation.   Let's call on Him first!   He is where our true help comes from.

I take the littlest of problems to Him, and He comes through, saving me time, frustration and money. 

Often I take a problem to Him  before I retire for the evening and when I awake the next morning, the knowledge of how to handle the issue is clear in my mind, firmly planted there by His Holy Spirit. 

We serve an awesome God.   Let's take our burdens to the Lord and trust Him to keep us from all harm, He is our source.

God cares for you, and He does all things well!

Love ya, 

Pastor Phil      

With the growth of electronics over the years the air must certainly be filled with signals. Many kinds of satellite signals crisscross our little world; military, television, radio, GPS, weather, just to name a few. So how is it that we are not overwhelmed by the cacophony of electronic signals?

The answer is stunningly simple. We aren't tuned in to them. They pass through the room without us having the slightest awareness of their passing. It is only when we possess the right equipment tuned to the correct frequency that we can access the data contained in the flood of signals. 

So it is with the realm of the Spirit. God is continually speaking.  Alas, many never hear what He has to say. They never hear His comforting voice telling them how much He loves them. Nor have they ever heard him remind them that He will never leave them nor forsake them. 

The problem isn't that God has ceased speaking. The problem is that we are not attuned to His voice. 

How can we hear His still small voice when the media around us is thundering Madison avenue's siren song? With Hollywood clamoring for our attention and Facebook occupying so much of our time, how will we hear God saying, "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden"? 

Sometimes the best thing we can do is turn everything else off and open up the Bible. God can still be heard in the silence of the study as His Word leaps from the page to connect with the hunger of a heart finely tuned to hear His voice. "Be still and know that I am God" is still a valid form of worship. 

See you at the altar!

Pastor Rich Orrell 

God cares for you!

I Peter 5:7 NLT

"Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you!"

Friend, today is the day for all of us to give our burdens to the Lord and quit trying to solve the problems ourselves, He has this covered.

Much like the stories of the one who had a paid ticket on an ocean cruise & ate food brought from home, until it ran out, and nearly starved, when all the time his paid-in-full-ticket covered all the food he could possibly have ever wanted. Sumptuous fare was his, but he struggled trying to do his own thing, how foolish!

You know, it pays to know the benefits we have being one of The King's Kids.  We are blessed!

I love the chorus "Every Need Supplied."  Not just some times, but ALL of the time, He supplies our EVERY need.   We can take it to the bank—He will take care of us. Absolutely!

Whether it is a job, healing, a  broken relationship, God is your source and His resources are limitless. You can't even imagine what He has in store for you.

So, drop the burdens at His feet, just worship Him this weekend.   Come into His  presence, throw your head back and sing, raise your hands to Him!  

Don't worry about what others think, just lose yourself in worship of Him, for HE is worthy, and HE cares for you.  He's got your every need supplied!

Your tomorrows are ordered by Him, before time ever began!  You've tried to solve it, now give HIM a chance, test Him and see what He will do with your life!

Hallelujah, He is our peace!

Love ya,  Pastor Phil      

Vacation; what a restful word. But isn't it odd that the very same word triggers different anticipations in each of us? The professional driver looks forward to being a home body for the duration of his time off work. The stay at home mom likely thinks happily ahead to long days on the road going somewhere, anywhere other than "here".

The truth is, God has built into the apex of creation a strong need for rest. Doing without sleep is harmful to us beyond what we yet comprehend. Working seven days a week without time off for rest will burn any person out in a hurry.

And rest doesn't necessarily always mean a total lack of activity. Once in a while we just need to spend time doing something other than what we do each day of our lives. Even God in His wisdom rested after the frenetic six days of creation. "And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy...", says the book of Genesis. We don't know exactly what He did on that seventh day, just that He did not continue with the project in which He had been involved. He rested.

If God took time out to rest, shouldn't we? The writer feels that God rested more to set an example for us than to catch up on His own weariness.

With the convoluted and hectic schedules most of us keep, it is important that we deliberately take time to rest. Sunday should be a sacred time for us to worship and spend quality time with family. This allows recuperation from whatever our week held. Similarly, it is necessary now and then to take some time off away from the pressures of the every day world for vacation. Maybe this is the year for a "stay-cation". Perhaps the family budget has no room for a long trip to any of the incredibly expensive popular vacation destinations. But with enough planning there are many things close to home that can be wonderful day trips with loved ones.

Enjoy your work but take time off for rest.

See you Sunday!

Pastor Richard Orrell

CELEBRATE FREEDOM

Memorial Day is such a special day in the lives of Americans!    I choose to celebrate our Freedom each day of the year and not just on this one single day, but Monday is the official celebration in the USA.   So enjoy the holiday on Monday - and be thankful for AMERICA.

John 8:36 New Living Translation (NLT)

^{36  "}So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free."

As Memorial Day approaches each year, I think of my Uncle who gave his life in WW II in the Coral Sea Battle.    I think of the literal thousands who have died to provide America it's freedom.

I recall my Navy days as we  circumnavigated South America on a 1968 goodwill cruise, sharing America's bounty with others.

Then in 1970,  I  served aboard the U.S.S. Josephus Daniels off the coast of Vietnam, and thank God that our crew was kept safe by our Creator, as we served our country in an attempt to provide freedom for others.

Today I'm thankful for all who served in our military, and also for their families, who served with them by supporting them and being here for them when they returned.

And a "Special Thanks" to those who are serving in our military during this time when so little honor and respect is given for their sacrifices.  Let's let them know we appreciate them every chance we get.    A firm handshake, a hug, a smile - let our Vets know you appreciate them this weekend!

As Christians, the SON has set us free!  As Americans we are free by God's grace and the sacrifice of many who have served.  

Freedom is NOT free.    Jesus and our Veterans paid the price for our freedom.  Thanks to all who served, and thank You Jesus for salvation, healing and protection provided by Your sacrifice on Calvary!

GOD BLESS AMERICA and bring revival again to our thirsty land.

Love ya,  Pastor Phil      

Ask any sailor who has served aboard one of our navy’s fine ships. He will quickly say that the most important survival technique is to keep what is outside the vessel from getting inside. Probably a bit of over simplification in his statement but you get the idea. As long as the beautiful cobalt blue of the ocean’s depths remain outside, the vessel will stay afloat, complete its mission and return home safely.

Hmmm…Reckon there might be something here we could apply to our daily life with Christ? Yep. Thought so.

So…One can successfully navigate the dangerous depths through which we sail simply by keeping the things of the world outside? Yes. Loudly and enthusiastically yes.

The heart filled daily with the wonder of His presence will have no room for questionable entertainment choices. The life brimming over with the Word of God will scarcely have appetite for some vile tidbit offered by the spiritually bankrupt media through which we sail. Friendship with Jesus and His lovely people leaves a flashing “No-Vacancy” sign at our heart’s door. He who has tasted and seen that the Lord is good can easily recognize the skull and crossbones emblazoned on the world’s chalice so enticingly offered.

Batten down the hatches. Secure everything that might have gotten loose in easier times. We may be headed for a storm as the End Times develop before our very eyes. But as long as we keep what’s outside from getting inside, we can weather ANY storm

Sail on!

Pastor Richard Orrell

One old song uses the acrostic MOTHER to spell out how the author felt about his own mother. 

Using the same method may shed some light on motherhood in general. 

Mature

Other-centered

Thoughtful

Hard-working

Embracive 

Redemptive

All-in-all, our mothers have accepted their God-given role as the first one to teach us about life and how to live it. They have made no attempt to be our chum nor our best buddy. They have exemplified maturity laced with much love and laughter. We wound up with the choicest piece of the old red rooster while they seemed content to take the lesser cut.  No question was too simple nor could mom be stumped in those early days of "why". If she didn't know the answer she made a learning moment out of it for the one with the question as well as for her own inquiring mind. Oddly, mother was the first one up and the last to bed at night.  Most of us grew up thinking, "Moms don't require much rest, do they?" Only later did we accept her as the definition of stamina. And how refreshing it was to bring a friend home from school and discover mom's loving embrace invariably expanded to include whomever that might be. No matter the strata of society to which they belonged, when they were at our home, they were included.

One of the really important lessons we learned from mother was that everyone was worth the investment of time necessary to effect positive change in their life.  As a school bus driver, mother assigned the toughest kid with the worst reputation to help her back the long yellow monster as she turned it around at the end of the route. No doubt she could have done it without his "assistance". But she was looking for some means to raise his dismal opinion of himself. Too long he had been told how worthless he was. He just needed a calm gentle voice to say, " I couldn't have done it without you! Good job!"

Oh that we all might be wise enough to emulate the finest and best character traits we saw in our mothers! They showed us how it is done. Now let's get busy and carry the torch. 

It's our turn...

Lovingly,

Pastor Richard Orrell