Today I’m thinking about swimming and how refreshing it is to jump in or dive into the deep water. You are submerged and you become lighter.

A great book in the Bible about diving into Jesus, is the book of Colossians. In the 2nd chapter of Philippians verse 5 it says, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ,” that is kind of like jumping in the deep end of the water. Colossians tells us in the 2nd chapter verse 10, “And you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.” We are submerged in Christ and we are complete in Christ.

Colossians 3:1-3 is what I mean when I say that we ought to be submerged in Christ. Let me read those verses:

1. “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God”.
2. “Set your affection on thing above, not on things on the earth”.
3. “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.”

As a fish depends upon water, we should depend on Christ. A fish lives in the water, breathes in the water, and eats in the water. Take a fish out of the water and it dies. As the fish is dependant on water, Christians are dependant upon Christ.

This is Bro. Shep asking you to think about this.

Matthew 28:18-20 “If you are growing, you are going”

Well, here it is Sunday again. I was reading in the scriptures in Acts 28. The Apostle Paul was preaching at Rome in that 28th chapter, verse 24 and it reads, “And some believed the things that were spoken, and some not.” This scripture says there were some there that became believers and some remained unbelievers: two different categories.

One group joined one category by what they believed and the other joined that category by what they didn’t believe. The Bible says, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved.” I hope you believe because where you spend eternity, (Heaven or Hell) depends on it.

This is Bro. Shep asking you to think about it.

A Devotional By Brother Shepherd

I guess as I grow older in life, life becomes more precious to us. We think about how we have less days than before and it helps us want to live every day to the fullest in serving Him.

I was thinking about Ecclesiastes the 3rd chapter 1st verse-verse 8. It talks about the necessity of change in all things except, the love of God never changes. If you would permit me, let me read it to you.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: verse 2. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; verse 3. A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; verse 4. A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; verse 5. A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; verse 6. A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; verse 7. A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; verse 8. A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.”

What brought these verses to mind today was this morning as I stood in my kitchen looking out the window behind the sink; I saw the beautiful front yard and Blanche’s potted plants hanging from our porch and the birds sitting on the telephone line, and it was a beautiful scene. A few months ago there were no flowers, the grass was brown and lifeless, and no birds in the sky but, in time God changed that with a coming of a new season.

What really caught my attention was the hanging plants on our porch. It would have been a beautiful scene without them there but, they added a beautiful accent to the scene. I beheld their beauty and I thought about how when Christ comes into our lives, our lives become more beautiful because the Rose of Sharon has made a difference.

The thought came to my mind that if I will let the Rose of Sharon, Jesus Christ grow in my life, I can help change the scene of somebody else’s life. I ask myself a question. Shep, am I a rose or a weed?

This is Bro. Shep asking you to think about this.

P.S. Matthew 28:18-20

“If you are growing, you are going”

Psalms 18:1, 2, and 3 read in the KJV, “1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, the servant of the Lord, who spake unto the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul: And he said, I will love thee, O LORD, my strength.

2 The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

3 I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.” Verse 2 tells me of the security that we have in God through Jesus Christ.
When I was a boy I lived here in the Woodlawn community. That was back in the early and mid 1940’s. I used to go to town every Saturday to the Capitol Theater and they showed low budget cowboy movies all day long with people like: Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Gabby Hayes, Gene Autrey, and Lash Larue. These were heroes. They always got their guy at the end. They would always look back at the girl and then always ride off on their horse.

My mind sometimes works strangely and I connect verse 2 with what I saw in some of those low budget cowboy movies. This verse tells us that the Lord is my rock and my fortress, my deliverer. A lot of those movies sometimes had wagon trains being attacked by robbers and their only hope was to find an army fort and gallop at break neck speed and just at the last minute the door of the fortress would open wide and they would dash inside of the fort and be inside of the walls and the doors would close.

God is our strength and our fortress, our deliverer. Put your trust in God today. Be safe and be saved.

This is Bro. Shep asking you to think about it.

Matthew 28:18-20

“If you are going, you are growing”

In the scriptures in John 5:16-23 Jesus claims to be the son of God. In verse 19 in the Living Bible Translation it reads, “Jesus replied, I assure you the son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the son also does.” Sometimes I ask myself a question. How do I know that I know Jesus is the son of God? My mother told me so, my Sunday school teachers told me so, my Preacher told me so, and the Bible tells me so, but I know that Jesus Christ is the son of God because He changed my life where nothing else could.

To me that is a miracle that only God could do. I believe it was David or Zachariah that said Jesus didn’t come to make bad people good, He came to make dead people live. I hope and pray that you have received the miracle of being born again.

This morning our Grand daughter, Cara Roman went to the Lord around 5:30am.

She will be missed very much, but we Know we will see her again. She believed that Jesus died for her sins and rose from the grave.

In the scriptures in John 5:16-23 Jesus claims to be the son of God. In verse 19 in the Living Bible Translation it reads, “Jesus replied, I assure you the son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the son also does.” Sometimes I ask myself a question. How do I know that I know Jesus is the son of God? My mother told me so, my Sunday school teachers told me so, my Preacher told me so, and the Bible tells me so, but I know that Jesus Christ is the son of God because He changed my life where nothing else could.

To me that is a miracle that only God could do. I believe it was David or Zachariah that said Jesus didn’t come to make bad people good, He came to make dead people live. I hope and pray that you have received the miracle of being born again.

1 Cor 15:54-57
“Death has been swallowed up in victory .”

55 “Where, O death, is your victory ?
Where, O death, is your sting?”

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
NIV

As the Interim Pastor of Pugh Flat Baptist Church of Cadiz, KY my daily travels take me in many directions and I talk to a lot of people and I hear a lot of different ideas about salvation and how to obtain it. With all of the different denominations and beliefs there is it can be quite confusing. I have found it best to go to the Bible and find out about salvation and how to obtain it.

This is what Jesus spoke in John 14:6 in regards to salvation and “Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me.” What does it mean to go to the Father through Jesus? Jesus also spoke that our faith in Him is the way to eternal life.

A man questioned me today and asked me if you could be lost after you were saved? I believe that the scriptures clearly teach that if you have been born again, saved, and redeemed that you have eternal life and that you cannot lose your salvation. The scriptures say that we can be backslidden which really means to be disobedient to God and causes God’s chastisement to come upon us not to punish us but, to correct us. In Tennessee we have a different word for chastisement that word is a whipping.

I’m not saying that a Christian cannot sin and get away with it, what I am saying is if you are a Christian and backslide God is going to try to correct you and sometimes that can hurt. Not only in a physical realm but, also in the lost fellowship with God.

This is Brother Shep asking you to think about this.

Not to long ago I got a new cell phone which has a connecting ear piece and you can hear and talk with your hands free. These are great safety features but, as with all technology it has to be set up properly before it will work. I spent some time going over the instructions before I got the right connection and I am able to use it.

I was thinking about talking with God and how we have to have the right connection before that’s possible. I thought what connection do we need to be able to talk to God? The first one I came up with is: we have to believe in God. Secondly we can only go to God through Jesus Christ. He is our connection.

In Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus teaches His disciples to pray and we call it the Lord’s Prayer and the very last verse reads, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. This last verse adds an exclamation of what our attitude should be toward God.

On this cell phone I’m using, if I hadn’t had the right connection it wouldn’t work. In John 14:6 it reads, “Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” The statement for today is to make sure that you have the right connection.

This is Brother Shep asking you to think about this.

PS: Matthew 28:18-20

“If you are growing, you are going”

Have you ever thought of yourself as being a son or a daughter of God? Boy, that’s a startling thought! Me, a son of God! There’s an interesting scripture in Romans 8:14, “For as many as are led by the spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”

Think about that. There seems to be a growing enthusiasm for people to search their ancestral roots lately. Now here’s something to really think about, when we’re born again we become the sons and daughters of God. That’s how God looks at you.

There’s another scripture that says we are co-heirs with Jesus Christ (Galatians 4:7). Are we living and acting like the sons and daughters of God? Why don’t we all try harder to be a good child of God!

This is Brother Shep asking you to think about this.

I saw Jesus last week. He was wearing blue jeans and an old shirt. He was up at the church building. He was alone and working hard. For just a minute he looked a little like one of our members. But it was Jesus, I could tell by his smile.

I saw Jesus last Sunday. He was teaching a Bible class. He didn’t talk real loud or use long words. But it was Jesus. I could tell by his loving voice.

I saw Jesus yesterday. He was at the hospital visiting a friend who was sick. They prayed together quietly. For just a minute he looked like Brother Jones. But it was Jesus. I could tell by the tears in his eyes.

I saw Jesus this morning. He was in my kitchen making my breakfast and fixing me a special lunch. For just a minute he looked like my mom. But it was Jesus. I could feel the love from his heart.

I see Jesus everywhere. Taking food to the sick, welcoming others to his home, being friendly to a newcomer and for just a minute.

I think he’s someone I know. But it’s always Jesus. I can tell by the way he serves.

May someone see Jesus in you today.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Christ in you and you in Christ.

This is Brother Shepherd asking you to think about it.

The other morning while I was shaving, I was looking in the mirror and was grateful God saved a wretch like me. I thought of a scripture found in John 3:3 that says, “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” This is where Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be born again.

Nicodemus had asked Him a question, how could he have eternal life and Jesus said you must be born again. There are 3 important phrases in this statement.

The first one is you, which Jesus personalized it there. It is an individual thing you must be born again!

The second phrase is born again. This confused Nicodemus because he was thinking of a physical birth but, Jesus was speaking of a spiritual birth. Our physical birth will end, but our spiritual birth will never end!

The third key phrase is just one word however it rings loud and clear. That one word is must. With that one word, Jesus was telling him there is no other way than being born again.

I hope that you have experienced being born again. The born again experience is a must because you must be born again if you’re to enter the kingdom of God and through Jesus Christ and our belief in Him is the only way.

This is Brother Shepherd asking you to think about it.