This is a Test Post

tHIS IS A TEST!!! :)

Only Believe

Has that trial in your life
been going on so long
That everything in you screams,
"this is so wrong."

You can't understand,
it seems God is far away
As with tears you cry out to Him every day.

If you read God's Word
His truth you will see
That He has a job for you and a job for me.

ONLY BELIEVE…is what He has to say
At His feet this problem you must lay!
In His time and in His way
an answer to your problem will be there one day.

Keep on believing, don't lose hope
He'll give you His grace enabling you to cope.
Keep your eyes on Him as to Him you cleave;
He has promised He will never forsake or leave you.

Give Him time to work it all out,
The devil just wants you to worry and doubt. P
raising Him is one thing He's looking for!
To bless you is what He has in store.

So no matter what,
even when you don't understand,
ONLY BELIEVE!
That's what moves His hand!

Written by:
Beverly Shaffer

AVOID Tempations!

RUN AWAY
by Steven Curtis Chapman

Strolling past temptation avenue,
You hear so meny voices calling you;
Maybe you'll step in and take a quick look around.
Try to walk through it,
And you're gonna fall down.

CHORUS
You've gotta run away,
Turn around and run the other way;
Don't even look in the direction
of a thought you should not entertain.
You've gotta run away,
It's a prison that is calling your name;
You just can't win if you play,
So run away.

There comes a time when you must stand and fight,
When the darkness tries to evercome the light;
But sin that is dressed up in the color of gray,
Is only defeated
When we run away.

(chorus)

Don't put yourself in that position
Where sin can make it's proposition;
And if you find that you have fallen,
You gotta get up, get ready to run
Next time sin comes calling, calling.

June 2010: Congratulations Graduates!

The Comfort Zone

I used to have a comfort zone
where I knew I couldn't fail,
The same four walls of busy work
were really more like a jail

I longed so much to do the things
I'd never done before,
But I stayed inside my comfort zone
and paced the same old floor

I said it didn't matter
that I wasn't doing much,
I said I didn't care for things
like diamonds or furs and such

I claimed to be so busy
with the things inside my zone,
But deep inside I longed for
something special of my own

I couldn't let my life go by
just watching others win,
I held my breath and stepped outside
to let the change begin

I took a step and with new strength
I'd never felt before,
I kissed my comfort zone good bye
and closed and locked the door

If you are in a comfort zone
afraid to venture out,
Remember that all winners
were at one time filled with doubt

A step or two and words of praise
can make your dreams come true
Greet your future with a smile,
success is there for you!

May's Thought: A Good Desire

What do you desire? A house, a car, a husband, a wife, riches, fame or all of the above and then some? David said in Psalm 27:4 One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I might dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple. In this passage of scripture, David had his mind made up and settles as to what he wanted and desired. He desired one thing of the Lord. He just did get what he wanted because he desired it (you know that "name it, claim it" religion), as some preachers teach. He had to seek after it. How did he seek after it? He had to obey, trust, fast, pray, adn be about his Father's business. He had to go through his test and trials victoriously. David had to have a burning desire to accomplish what he wanted, which is essential to success or winning. His burning desire caused him to seek after his request. He knew what his main goal was. He wanted to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life. He knew that if he could dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life, God would grant his request and add other things. He wanted to behold the beauty of the Lord and enquire in his temple.

Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

What is your desire? May I give you a little advice? Do as David did above, and reap the benefits.

Psalm 91:14-16 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I [will be] with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

May God bless you!
Pastor Hodges

April's Thought: Have You Dissembled in Your Heart?

To paraphrase Jeremiah chapter 42 - the children of Judah asked Jeremiah to inquire of the Lord, and all that the Lord told them to do, they would do - whether it be good or evil. They promised they would obey the word of the Lord. They wanted God to show them the way wherein they must walk, and the thing that they should do. God promised them that if they would obey, He would build them up, and not pull them down, and He would plant them and not pluck them up: God repented of the evil that He did to them. God told them that He would be with them to save them and to deliver them. God told them that He would show mercies unto them. However, if the children of Judah did not obey the voice of the Lord, God told them the consequences: they were going to die. They were going to die by the sword, famine and by the pestilence, and none of them would remain or escape from the evil that God was going to bring upon the land.

But in verse 20, God explained that he knew the people had dissembled in their hearts. (Dissembled: false appearance in order to conceal facts, feelings or intentions; to put on the appearance of something not actually felt or true; to hide real beliefs, feelings or intentions through misleading speech or behavior.)

God told them what He would do for them if they would obey, and He told them what He was going to do if they did not obey. They still dissembled in their hearts. They didn't plan on obeying God. Notice how they did not say they weren't going to obey, but their actions spoke louder than their words. In Jeremiah 43:2, the children of Judah told Jeremiah he spoke falsely. Now here comes the action. They were determined to do things their way in spite of what Jeremiah (the voice of the Lord) told them to do. In Jeremiah 44:16-17, they told Jeremiah as for the word that he spoke to them in the name of the Lord, that they were not going to hearken to it. They were going to certainly do whatsoever thing that goeth forth out of their own mouth and so forth and so on.

Saints, how are we doing? Are we dissembling things in our hearts? Are we saying, "I'm going to obey this, but I'm not going to obey that - it doesn’t matter if God told me to do or not to do - I'm going to do whatever I want to do!" Watch our now! We had better be careful. What about our love for one another, being in unity with one another, our church attendance, the dress standard, gossiping, etc.? We need to repent of such things and get down to business with God before He allows evil to come upon us and afterwards destruction.

Whatever God has checked or corrected us on, we need to obey God and the ministry (the voice of the Lord). If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land.

Be blessed!
Pastor Eddie Hodges, Jr.

March's Thought: To What Are You Devoted?

It is a sad truth in our lives that we sometimes become more devoted to other things than God and His glory. Devotion is all around us in the world. Some of it is good and some of it is not. Good examples of devotion can be found in the love of a mother for her children and a father for his family. Bad examples can be found in extreme devotion to cars, houses, appearance, money, movie stars, sports teams and possessions. It is in our nature to become obsessed with things. Now, there is nothing wrong with being devoted to something -- unless that devotion becomes an obsession.

If it does, it pushes out proper behavior and proper admiration of God. This then becomes sinful. There should be nothing that holds more devotion in our lives than the Lord. Everything else must follow far behind. When you look at your own heart and look at what is most important to you, what you devote the most time to -- what will you find? To what are you most devoted? Though there are things that require greater amounts of time than worship and adoration of God (i.e. work, sleep), what is the most critical? What is the most important? We must evaluate what is most important to us and once again look to the cross of Christ where his love and patience abound.

The Scripture says, "If we believe not, yet He abideth faithful: He cannot deny Himself." 2 Timothy 2:13. Another scripture states: "For what if some did not believe? Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?" Romans 3:3. Lastly, another scripture states: "God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." 1 Corinthians 1:9.

The priority of our devotion should always be God first. Notice the last verse above where it states that God desires we have fellowship with Jesus Christ. This fellowship is the Greek word "koinonia." It means "intimacy and communion." God wants this intimacy and this communion with us. He wants our devotion to Him because it is only in this intimacy with the Lord Jesus that we can truly know what proper devotion really is and thereby experience the wonderful joy of the Lord's grace in a great way.

We need to look to the cross where we see the wonderful demonstration of God's loving devotion to us. It is there that we see a perfect devotion, a perfect devotion combined with perfect love -- that brings glory to God.

Are you seeking God? Are you devotion yourself to Him? It is high time to seek the Lord and be devoted and dedicated to Him.

Pastor Eddie Hodges, Jr.