The One Thing - United Faith Church Podcast

Galatians 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery "Before the Lord Jesus Christ, man was enslaved…" Hello, and welcome back to the One Thing Podcast. We are close to Fourth of July weekend: the day where we celebrate in the nation of America our independence. This reminded of the verse in the Word of the Lord in Galatians five, verse one. It says: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” "Christ has set us free that we would be free to love the Father." Before the Lord Jesus Christ, man was enslaved– enslaved by every sinful desire, every wicked rebellion in his heart toward God to say, “God I want to live my own life, I want to do my own thing,” where man would accept maybe some pieces of religion, but yet deny the true power that goes past religion and allows us to truly overcome our sin and to live for God. But, I rejoice today! As I think of Fourth of July, I want to not just celebrate our independence as a nation, but really celebrate the freedom that Jesus has brought– the freedom that when we trust in His mighty name, no longer are we enslaved to the wicked, evil desires of our own sinfulness and sinful ways. But, God has declared independence today for those in Christ. We are set free from the yoke of slavery, set free to no longer be burdened to our sinful nature to have to carry it out, but today it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. "He burst from the grave so that we would also follow along in freedom from death…" Our freedom is for one purpose: not to continue to live for our own wills, our own desires or agendas, but Christ has set us free that we would be free to love the Father. We would be free to seek Him and actually hear Him. We would be free not only to think of the right thing to do, not only to hear of the right thing to do according to the Word of God, but actually do it. We are free today. As we celebrate this Fourth of July weekend, I pray that we would be stopping also, looking at the fireworks and remembering that Christ went to the cross, and greater, bigger than any firework that we could ever see, He burst from the grave so that we would also follow along in freedom from death, freedom from our sin, and now able to live for the Kingdom of God. Happy Independence Day, not only for our nation, but happy Independence Day that today, as the Lord says, “It is for freedom that I set you free.” May we turn to Him, may we remember His goodness and thank Him for such a wonderful independence that we can love the Father as He has loved us.

John 14:18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.Welcome back to the One Thing Podcast. Sharing a word from the Book of John chapter 14, and verse 18. And these are the words of Jesus, He says, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” And this is Jesus; He’s about to enter into His mission to go to the cross and He’s going to meet with the Father in Heaven. But He’s saying, “Even though I’m going to go away, even though you won’t see me physically, I will not leave you as orphans.” “...it’s the power of God that He promises though the Holy Spirit to give us everything that we need to survive” And when you think of an orphan, an orphan is a child or a person that has been abandoned; left for themself, left to fetch in this life which can be difficult on their own - to go through life trying to survive without a parent or a loved one taking care of them and to guard them. But, the Lord says, for those that trust in Him, for those that have set their heart on walking in this life with the Lord Jesus, He says “I will not leave you as orphans, I’m not going to leave it to you to accomplish what I’ve called you to do. I will do it through you. And yes, your hands and your feet will move with Me.” "Look to Me son, look to Me daughter. Look to me to overcome."But ultimately it’s the power of God that He promises though the Holy Spirit to give us everything that we need to survive; but not only survive but I believe even thrive - Thrive in the power of God, thrive by overcoming our sin; by being able to subdue that thing that has been a snare to you in your life. Being able to subdue that darkness, that stronghold, that you and I on our own could never overcome, but because He hasn’t left us as orphans we can overcome, because He says, “I will come to you.” In other words, He says, “I will come on the inside of you, and I will empower you so that the world would know that although sin had entered this world, this place, and has separated man from God, that yet the hope of the Lord Jesus has come.” That those who look to Him are not left as orphans, not left to fetch to this world in darkness and in sin, but able to be a light that shines the power of God. “...truly make it to be what it is; the promise of hope, the promise of light, life, and holiness…” “I will not leave you as orphans.” Maybe today you have literally been an orphan. I pray today that you will look to the Lord Jesus, that He would take you into the family of God by faith. And for others, maybe you've been trying to do it in your own strength up to this point; trying to live righteously, trying to do the right thing with God, but you fail over and over. I pray you find encouragement in these words: “I will not leave you as an orphan. Look to Me son, look to Me daughter. Look to me to overcome. Look to me to do the work of the kingdom. I will give you what you need to be distinguished and to have what you need in order to show and display the power of My kingdom in your life.” So, once again, may we be encouraged this day, knowing that Jesus said that “I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you, I will be with you as you call upon Me, as you look to Me and you make Me your only hope, I will be with you.” So I just thank God today for His words. I thank the Lord for His promise, and I pray that we would not just speak of His promise, but we would truly make it to be what it is; the promise of hope, the promise of light, life, and holiness that comes through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Be blessed today, and may we be those, not orphaned, but taken in to the kingdom of God.Hi, Pastor Bob here. Welcome back to the Men of Valor and Daily Living podcast. The verse for today is from the book of Psalms chapter 90 verse 12. And it states, “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” "Do you live your Christian life like you have a shot clock with your days being numb...

Matthew 18:4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.Hello, and welcome to the One Thing Podcast. Matthew chapter 18, verse 4, says, “Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.” Some other versions of this scripture say that if you “humble yourself as a little child,” and there’s just really the sense of having a heart of a humble child that is willing to admit their weakness, willing to say, “Mommy, Daddy, I can’t do it.” "This is the attitude, the heart that Jesus is calling us to have: to be just like a little child." This is the heart and attitude that Jesus says is so precious among Heaven. It’s not as though we don’t understand as we begin to grow older or gain wisdom in the Lord, but it’s simply the heart that says, “Father, honestly, when I really look at my life, when I really look at what I am capable of apart from your power, Lord, I see that I need you. This circumstance, this situation, it is a heavy one, and Father I don’t know if I’m going to make it through. But Lord, help me. I need you.” Or, maybe it’s simply times in our lives where we’re giving our time to the Lord, we’re praying, and we’re seeking Him. And we’re simply saying, “Lord, I desire to know you more. I know that I can go much deeper. I know that there is so much more for you to unfold in my life. Father, help me! Please, let me come close to you.” This is the attitude, the heart that Jesus is calling us to have: to be just like a little child. "Simply, ‘Lord, I don’t know how to do it, but I know that you can.’" Some of you may have little children; some of you don’t, but all of us at some point in our lives have been around a child, maybe at the park, maybe at a gathering. And we’ve been able to see a child going to their parent and maybe saying, “Can you help me? Can you help me to open this? Can you help me to do this or do that?” And very rarely will you ever see somebody turn a child away when they approach you in such a manner. And so, today I encourage you to remember the simple words of Jesus, that if we would just humble ourself as a child, God could go so deep in our lives. He can go so far. Whatever your ailment today, whatever the situation, the circumstance, the problem– whatever it may be, I encourage you to stop and to come to the Lord Jesus. Simply, “Lord, I don’t know how to do it, but I know that you can.” Simply, “God, I’ve tried and I’ve failed, but I know that I will look to you once again knowing that you will lead me through.” Whatever it may be, we have hope in our savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. But, may we each take the lowly position of a child and be those who can become the greatest in the Kingdom simply because of the humble, lowly heart that comes by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Be blessed this day as you continue to seek our wonderful God and savior.

Hebrews 4:16 (AMPC) Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace Hello, and welcome back to the One Thing Podcast. I want to talk about approaching the throne of grace. Hebrews chapter four, verse sixteen – and this is the Amplified Version – it says, “Let us fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace…” And it goes on to speak about receiving mercy, and you know, really the blessing of God, but I wanted to focus just on this first part. “Let us fearlessly and confidently…” "It’s a confidence that doesn’t doubt that the Lord Jesus has made a way…" I have seen kids and people do things with confidence. I’ve seen kids that have been into the football game or the baseball game, how they confidently swing that bat or they confidently throw that ball, and adults who confidently go for the job interview or work hard to prove to the boss that they are capable of getting the job done. And those things are fine, but all of it is only temporary. "Grace: receiving that which we don’t deserve." But, I ask today, do we approach the Lord with confidence? Now, it’s not a confidence that is sort of arrogant or where “I deserve,” but it’s a confidence that doesn’t doubt that the Lord Jesus has made a way, that our faith in Him, our trust in Him – not our good works, not how good we were today, but simply our trust in looking to Him. We confidently, fearlessly, without doubting His call. He is calling all men to Himself, to come to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, to be able to approach His throne. And we are able to come in confidence, and fearlessly, not doubting that God, even if there’s issues, will work out those issues. Not doubting that if we’re going through some thing, some trial, we’re “in the fire” per se, that God is not going to bring us through. Regardless of our circumstance or situation, God is calling us to approach His throne of grace. Grace: receiving that which we don’t deserve. I don’t deserve to come to His throne. I don’t deserve many things, but because of His great mercy, I’m understanding that His graciousess has allowed for me to come out of my sin, to come out of my darkness, to come out of my waywardness, and to approach His throne, to find cleansing, to find healing. And what I find so great: an empowerment to do the work of the Kingdom. What is your confidence in today? Is it in the Lord Jesus Christ? And, the confidence that we proclaim to have in Him, is it full of doubt? Is it full of unbelief? Or, has God been able to give us a faith, confident like that young man or young woman about to swing that baseball bat because they know they can hit that ball? I pray today that we would have such a confidence in God, knowing that He will bring us through, knowing that to follow Him is the greatest thing. And not only that, but those who put their trust in Him, He is sure to bring to completion the good work that He’s begun in each one of us. Praying that we would fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace of the Lord Jesus Christ today. May you be blessed, and may you find and know the Lord as never before.

Luke 8:16 No one lights a lamp and then covers it with a bowl or hides it under a bed. A lamp is placed on a stand, where its light can be seen by all who enter the house. "...why have a light and not let it shine?" Hello, and welcome back to the one thing podcast. Our verse for today is coming from Luke chapter 8 verse 16, and these are the words of Jesus saying “No one lights a lamp and then covers it with a bowl or hides it under a bed. A lamp is placed on a stand where its light can be seen by all who enter the house”. "Have we allowed Him to bring His light into our lives and into our hearts?" This might be a familiar verse for some of us, but I love what the Lord is speaking about. He's saying if you have a light in your home, if you have a lamp or light - and in this case these men and women used to use literally a lamp that was lit with fire so it would really be dangerous to hide it under a bed or put it someplace under a bowl because it would burn or maybe cause a fire - but still in the same way we get that idea. It just doesn't make sense, why have a light and not let it shine? "No one comes into Christ and holds back." What is that light? It is the light of the Lord Jesus, and so I ask today “Have we allowed Him to bring His light into our lives and into our hearts?” And if so, has it been hidden? Has it been evident? Has God been able to take, maybe, the healing that He's done within us? Maybe the blessing that He's brought about? Have we been able to - in turn - been able to bring back a light, a thankfulness to God, a praise to the Lord, a testimony? Whatever it may be God is saying that if He has given us the light, if He's allowed us to come into the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, we must shine. He calls us to have our light “so shine before men” that they would come to know God. No one lights a lamp and then covers it. No one comes into Christ and holds back. No one comes into Christ and doesn't look that His light would shine in our speech and our actions and in the things that we do. Today, if we find that God has given us a light, yet we have snuffed it out or maybe hidden it and not allowed God to do the things that He's looked to do in our lives, I pray today that we would turn back to Christ and say “Lord let your light shine once again” Let a thankfulness begin to be given to God for the light that He's brought in our lives, and may we ask the Lord to let it shine in the way that He's calling it to shine. For some of us here that have never received the light of Christ, that have never come to Him, I pray today that we will call on the name of the Lord Jesus, who is the light of the world. The light of the world that has come to take away the sin of man and allow us to come into Christ Himself - that we would be a light. Praying that each one of us would grasp this word today and that we would truly be a light in a dark place. Blessings to each one of you. Amen.

Psalms 51:17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;     a broken and contrite heart     you, God, will not despise. "...He will never turn away the one who approaches Him with a broken contrite heart." Hello and welcome back to the One Thing podcast. Psalms 51:17 says this, “My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart You, God, will not despise.” When I read this verse it brings such hope. Such hope knowing that in the records and all the recollection of God from years before us even to this present day, God has never turned away a broken and contrite heart. We look at the world all around us. A world full of all sorts of suffering and just terrible things that are happening even now. Wars and rumors of wars and we can go on and on. But yet God has given us a hope: Even in the worst of circumstances and situations, He will never turn away the one who approaches Him with a broken contrite heart. "If we would humble ourself before God...we can come into a place of hope with God." What is a broken contrite heart? It's when God touches us to become broken over our sins against Him - broken of the world’s sins against Him . Our hearts and our minds expand to recognize that our great God - who had given His life, who has given His one and only Son for us, so that we would live so that we would come into His Lordship and His power - this very God has been the one that has given us all. Yet, man has rejected Him in so many ways because of the stubbornness of heart. But today God speaks His Word of hope - that He has yet to turn away a broken contrite heart. In other words: If we would humble ourself before God, whatever dealings we are dealing with in our life whatever situations or circumstance - even if it's not a personal thing, just looking at the world around us, - we can come into a place of hope with God. Asking Him saying, ‘Lord, touch my heart. Let it begin to break for You Lord. Let it break for my sins let it break for the sins of the world let it break God so that I would be able to come closer than ever before.’ See I’ve found that the pathway to God is a humble pathway. It's a pathway where we come in brokenness, we come contrite and humble - looking to do God's will. To say, ‘Lord, You are in charge not me. Here I am Father. Lead me to Yourself and allow me to lead others.’ "I'm praying that we would all ask the Lord to touch us in such a way that we would be able to come into a deeper relationship…" Will we take this hope today - that the Lord has yet to turn away a broken contrite heart. I'm praying that we would all ask the Lord to touch us in such a way that we would be able to come into a deeper relationship - in the brokenness and humility that He calls us to live and to walk in. That we would understand that there is victory in humbling ourself before God there is victory in the one who begins to break for the kingdom of the Lord Jesus that begins to break for the things of God - there is power in it. Why? Because as we come before Him, contrite broken, God also lifts us up, brings us near His side, draws us into His presence, and gives us all that we need in order to do what He's calling us to do. May you all be blessed today, and may we seek Him like never before.

Psalms 90:12 Teach us to number our days,     that we may gain a heart of wisdomHello and welcome back to the One Thing podcast. I was speaking to a group of youth group kids yesterday, and we were talking about Psalms chapter 90 verse 12. One of my favorite parts of that psalm - this is a psalm of Moses and he says, “Teach us to number our days, that we [would] gain a heart of wisdom.” "‘Teach us to realize that we are not going to be on this earth forever.’" “Teach us to number our days…” in other words, ‘Teach us to realize that we are not going to be on this earth forever.’ There comes a time, and the time can be sooner than later, where we will pass from this place, and to stand before God to a time of judgment - to a time of whether we're gonna enter into His glory, or to everlasting punishment. That's what the Scripture says. But, what great hope the Lord has given us: We can gain a heart of wisdom. It is wise to recognize that we only have so many days on this earth. And we can ask ourself what are we ever to do? Now as I spoke to the kids, discussing about how many hours people may spend a day - what is the average amount of time that the American may spend watching TV, whether it be streaming or whatever - we get into a day and the average was three hours a day. Three hours - most people spend three and probably more, passively watching their favorite episodes their seasons whatever it may be. It's really where a lot of people's time seems to go. So we moved on further and we asked the question about a statistic of how many hours a day did they think that a person spends on social media whether it be an app on the phone or on the computer whatever it may be but just some sort of social media. And the average was about two and a half hours a day. So think about this: People spend typically five hours - five hours doing something passive something that may not mean much but just really more of an entertainment. So we sorta laughed a little bit to think, wow that's a lot of time sometimes we waste. Not that it's terribly bad we watch television or anything but we were just thinking, wow, we could probably watch a lot less and do more with our time. So we're looking at how much time we waste and then, the next question was, when we put popcorn in the microwave or when we go to heat something up, even though it may be two or three minutes, how often do we really patiently wait? And we started to laugh again and we're thinking, in those three minutes for the popcorn to be popped we're just thinkin’, ‘Man this is taking forever.’ And even when we go to fast food restaurants or maybe waiting in the doctor's offices, we don't like to waste time there we want things to kinda hurry up - we wanna hurry up and get in and get out or get our food cooked. "We come into the wisdom of God." So, here goes the dilemma: We seem to be a people really good at wasting time, but then at the same time, we’re a people who like to hurry things up. We want things quick we want our food quick. And so, in this great dilemma of a people who waste time - but at the same time hate wasting time - what do we do? "...may we be those, balanced out with the power of God - doing His work and His will, and enjoying what He's given." We come into the wisdom of God. We come before God, as this Psalm says, ‘Father teach us to number our days. Teach us to see that there is an opportunity every moment of the day to grow closer to You. Teach us Lord, even though we may watch some television or do those different things, but let us not waste away in being so intense on entertainments - so intense on spending our time just kinda going by as though the time will not come to an end. Teach us Lord, to seek You with all of our heart. Teach us not to waste away. Teach us to be those who one day will stand before You God - not in judgment, as though we wasted our lives away,

Psalms 46:10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;     I will be exalted among the nations,     I will be exalted in the earth.”Hello and welcome back to the One Thing podcast. Today, I was thinking of one of my favorite verses, Psalms 46 verse 10 and it says, “‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’” Every time I read this scripture and I read the words “Be still”, I can't help but to think but to stop. Stop for a moment. Stop overthinking things. Stop going on to the next moment. “Be still”. This is an entrance into the presence of the Lord. To stop ourselves from just going about without hearing from the Lord. To stop ourselves for a moment, in the busyness of our day, which does happen, and to be still in His presence. “Without this stopping, without this stillness, we run around and wind up being so far from the will of the Lord…” He says to “know that I am God”. What does this mean? It means to keep things into perspective. When we're driving, when we see a stop sign, the reason that those signs are there is for us to stop, to be able to look to the left, to the right, to make sure no cars are coming, where an accident could be caused. It causes us to stop for a moment to allow others to go. It's for our safety and it's no different with the Lord. ]We have to have times and moments, whether we’re at work at the time, or remember when we’re on our lunch break or even at home to simply just stop for a moment and to come to God to still our minds and our hearts and allow ourselves to meditate on His Word, to pray to the Lord, to hear from Him. Without this stopping, without this stillness, we run around and wind up being so far from the will of the Lord but His will is perfect. His will is pleasing in His sight. Those who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, our goal in this life is to do the will of the Father. “It's important to find these moments of stillness...” In order to do so, it takes moments of being able to stop from the craziness of this world, the craziness of our days and to be still, remembering, knowing that He is God. He is in control. There's not one thing that He doesn’t know. There's not one moment we can have where God is not aware. It's important to find these moments of stillness and you can find Him anywhere. Even as you're driving in your car, to turn off the radio for a moment. To put the cell phone down, to stop checking the emails, and to simply begin to check in with God. “Be still and know that I am God”. Will you stop this day for a moment? Will you allow God to begin to speak, to renew, to refresh and to remind us of His great will that He looks to accomplish in those who trust in His name? Praying that we would find this Word to be refreshing and a Word that would draw us closer and closer to the Lord and all that He has in store, amen.

1 Corinthians 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.Hello and welcome back to the One Thing podcast. I was so reminded today of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 1:18 says, “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved it is the power of God.” “I pray we call on the power of Jesus today. To be also willing as He was to honor the Father....” As I read this scripture, I was reminded of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. I was reminded of His willingness to sacrifice Himself. To come on behalf of His people, so undeserving, a people who were sinful. Christ has decided to do the will of the Father which was to come and to deliver His people and to save us from our sins. I pray we call on the power of Jesus today. To be also willing as He was to honor the Father, doing all that we can to seek the Lord, to grow closer with Him, and to be used for His glory. “Today, there is power to be different. Power to be distinguished as those who walk overcoming our sin...” When I think of the cross of Jesus, I'm reminded of His mercy. How He was the very vessel of God's mercy who died on the cross. On the cross where I should have been placed. On the cross where we deserved to be because of our sin and wickedness. Yet, we can be thankful today. Thankful that God has sent mercy in the form of Jesus, that we can turn, repent and come back to God and live for Him. May we today be those thanking God as we think of the cross, of how merciful He's been to each one of us and to our families and that maybe today, God would pour out even more of His mercy so that we would bring Him glory. And lastly, when I think of the cross of the Lord Jesus, I'm reminded of His power. See, He didn't end it there. It didn't end at the cross but He rose again, and for those who trust in Him, for the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. It doesn't end for us today. it doesn't end until the day we go to be with the Lord. Today, there is power to be transformed through the power of the Lord Jesus. Today, there is power to be different. Power to be distinguished as those who walk overcoming our sin, subduing the darkness, and bringing glory to His name. Will you remember the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ today? What a wonderful work that the Lord Jesus has done. For us, it is truly the power of the Lord. May we come back to the old glory, to the old power of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Genesis 50:20  You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many livesHello and welcome back to the One Thing podcast. Genesis chapter 50 verse 20: “‘You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.’” "Regardless of what was happening in Joseph's life, God had found him to be faithful." These are the words of Joseph who is now speaking to his brothers the very same brothers, who years prior, had attempted to take his life. And in the process, his life was spared yet he was sold into slavery being taken far from his home from everything that he was familiar with, into the land of Egypt. Now if you thought that that was bad, there was a moment where Joseph was even accused and convicted of something that he didn't even do, and he found himself in prison. We now see him in a time of victory. Regardless of what was happening in Joseph's life, God had found him to be faithful. Joseph continued to worship God and hold to Him all throughout the years - even in times of affliction. Today can we stop for a moment to think about times of affliction in our lives? Maybe those moments where we didn't think we were gonna make it. Those moments where we were just thinking, ‘God my hands are up, I don't know what to do,’ but yet God has come through. Maybe that circumstance never changed, yet in it, God has allowed you to have a strength that you can never have without Him. "I pray today that God would give you strength and encourage you to hold…" Could we stop today and think about those moments in our life - and like Joseph, reflect on how what the enemy meant to take us out to destroy us God has turned for good - or maybe even others in our lives are blessed through it. I pray today that we would examine these times in our lives and begin to thank the Lord and remember His faithfulness. And for those of us who maybe we are in a circumstance or a situation today - maybe we have been afflicted maybe there's some stronghold of the enemy in our lives that we have not found deliverance from - I pray today that we would also be reminded of God's faithfulness in these words. That if we just hold on, if we worship the Lord if we continue to just bless Him, continue to cry out saying, ‘Father, I don't know what tomorrow may even bring, but Father I know that You are God.’ I pray today that God would give you strength and encourage you to hold - just like Joseph. "...may we be just like Joseph…knowing that He alone is God - and He alone can deliver." And as we call, and as we hold to the power of the Lord Jesus Christ that He alone would be our deliverer and that this day, many of us would reflect and be thankful that what the enemy meant for evil in our lives, God has turned around for His good, that we would also be saying, ‘Father, though there be a mountain before me, though there be a Red Sea that I need to get over somehow, Father I'm holding to You for You are faithful and You are strong. And Lord Jesus You are able to complete that good work that You had begun.’ May we be encouraged this day from the Word of the Lord and may we be just like Joseph found faithful, holding to the Lord all the days of our life, knowing that He alone is God - and He alone can deliver. Amen, amen.

Mark 1:35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed "...what did He fuel Himself most on?...He was being fueled by the power and the presence of His Father." Hello and welcome back to the One Thing podcast. The question of the day today is: What are you fueled by? Now we know we can easily look around and I see all sorts of energy drinks. There is all sorts of special foods that claim to give you the energy that you need for the day to fuel you in order to do the work you need to do - the schooling whatever it may be, the sport. There's all sorts of fuel, right that we take in physically. But what I find to be so much more important is what are we fueling our spiritual life with? Mark chapter one verse 35 says this about Jesus: “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed.” Now I love this. This verse speaks volumes to me. It speaks to me and shows that Jesus, who was probably the busiest He was not only ministering to people, not only spending hours in teaching others and in prayer, but we know that He was even a carpenter so there was a physical aspect and a spiritual aspect to the things that were included in His day. But what did He fuel Himself most on? Of course He ate food. Of course He drank water and probably made sure He was fed in times of need but, greater than all of it, in that solitary place - in those moments in the wee hours of the morning - He was being fueled by the power and the presence of His Father. "...do we stop to truly fuel ourselves as the Lord Jesus did?" I ask today: Do we do the same? As we pay attention to fueling ourselves and our bodies for the sport for the job to get done, do we also pay attention to our spiritual life? You see without God's presence without intimate moments of hearing Him speak - those intimate moments of taking time not to just read the Word and go about but to meditate on the Word of the Lord, to meditate in prayer. To think about maybe places of repentance in our lives to think upon the things that God is speaking and calling us to do in obedience - these are all part of the way that God fuels us. He speaks to us, He leads us, and He also empowers us to live for Him. But do we stop to truly fuel ourselves as the Lord Jesus did? He was the holiest man that ever lived, He was literally the Son of God, and He needed these moments to be refreshed with God He needed these moments to just stop and to be with the Father. "Praying that you will be fueled this day, and that you would seek Him like never before." Now listen I'm not saying it has to be in your prayer closet at home. It could be in your car drive. It could be in the walk that you take at the end of the day. It could be early in the morning as you wake up and find a solitary place as Jesus did whatever it may be, it's important that in this time and season, we are those fueled by the power and the presence of God. But it takes an effort. It costs us some time it will cost us some changing direction of the plans of our days - doing whatever we can to be in a place with God, to hear from Him to speak with Him, and to literally be fueled. What are you being fueled on today? I pray that if it hasn't been God, if you seem to have that take that's not filled with His presence, that in this due time and season you will begin to seek Him, and begin to go after Him like never before - to be fueled with His power, His glory and His presence. Praying that you will be fueled this day, and that you would seek Him like never before. Amen.

Ephesians 5:16 ...making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. "We have the opportunity to walk with the Lord." Hello and welcome back to the One Thing podcast. Very excited to share with you a Scripture today God always brings and reminds me of in order to encourage on how to live for the Lord and what God is calling for and not only in my life, but in the lives of Christians. And this is Ephesians 5:16. Paul simply says this he says, “...[make] the most of every opportunity, [for] the days are evil.” And what does this mean? Paul is reminding us is the Lord wants to remind us each moment of the day, is that today we have opportunity. What is this opportunity for the Christian for those who trust in the Lord Jesus? We have the opportunity to walk with the Lord. "the focus of the Kingdom of God is simply God and bringing Him honor and glory." You see he says, “...the days are evil.” Now what does that mean? He's not just referring to the outright evilness of violence and drugs and many other things that we can list off that may be part of it. But even more so that these days are evil days - days where it's so easy to get distracted from the will of God in our lives with all the things that seem to surround us all the entertainment all the gadgets - all the things that really fight for our attention, fight for our hearts. There’re days where it's just so easy to get unfocused on what truly matters in this life. The focus of the world is money. The focus of the world is to get for yourself and to do your own thing. But see the focus of the Kingdom of God is simply God and bringing Him honor and glory. It's taking every opportunity of this life that we have, for how many years that we may be on this earth, to live and breathe for the Lord Jesus Christ. You see there is hope today: That in Christ, our days can be different. Although we may live in a time where the days just seem to be so evil, we through the power of the Lord Jesus the Gospel that sets us free, can live these days different. We can be those who do not miss the opportunity - the opportunity for salvation. How today is the day of salvation for us to be saved from ourself, to be saved from the darkness. Today is an opportune day an opportune time for God to demonstrate His power in our lives by us trusting in Him and holding to our faith. There is opportunity today to hold onto Jesus to cry out to Him - to plead for His empowering, and to live and to make the most of every opportunity that He gives. "...will you make the most of every opportunity?" If we find today that we are those who have not made the most of every opportunity for the sake of Jesus, may we ask forgiveness, and may we begin to come in to Him asking for a new empowerment. To not just go about this day as an ordinary day, but as a time of opportunity for God to demonstrate His love and His power through His people. What will it be for you today - will you make the most of every opportunity? If that be your heart, may we cry out to the Lord Jesus for His help, and His empowerment in this time, this day. Amen.

Ephesians 4:1 "As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received" Hello and welcome back to the One Thing podcast. Excited to share a scripture from the book of Ephesians today. It’s Ephesians chapter 4 verse 1 and it says, “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” Now many times when we hear the word “calling”, or we talk about “our calling”, we can get into all sorts of things or aspects of what that calling may actually mean. For some people, they feel as though their calling may be to be a doctor, their calling is to travel the world, or their calling is to own a business and we've probably had numerous conversations about our calling and what we felt in our lives or we’ve heard from others. Some people feel they are called to serve the Lord, they are called to give their life to God. “Our main calling in this life as those who are in Christ is to serve the Lord.” Ultimately when I look at this verse, I see that Paul is calling all of us to live a life worthy of the calling we have received. What is that calling? See as a Christian, we can be called to do different things and yes they are important, whether we’re called to a certain job or to a certain industry or to a certain school but before we can get into any other calling, we must understand our ultimate calling, as Paul speaks here, a calling that is worthy of the Lord. Our main calling in this life as those who are in Christ is to serve the Lord. What does that look like? By carefully devoting ourselves to prayer, does it mean that we're in a prayer closet all day long? No, but it means we have a heart of prayer where we may be at work just crying out to the Lord, even as we're at a register, or even as we sit in front of a computer or we’re laboring and digging holes, we can be praying, “Father, come. Father, I worship You. I just bless You.” Really just trusting in Him. Trusting that He's hearing, trusting that we can worship Him even as we're driving in our cars. “And as we serve the Lord, God can empower us with the power of His Spirit.” And so we are called to serve the Lord. We do that by prayer. We do it by asking for His presence throughout the day. I just love to say, “Holy Spirit, come. Fill my mind. Alert me to Your voice. Help me to be quickened in obeying You. Quicken me, Father in obeying Your voice. Quicken me in understanding and obeying Your Word.” And as we serve the Lord, God can empower us with the power of His Spirit. To serve the Lord is to walk humbly with Him. The Word of the Lord says that this is what God requires: that we “love mercy, that we act justly and walk humbly with the Lord our God”. To serve the Lord, we must continue to walk in the heart of humility. Does it mean that we walk with our heads hanging low? No. Does it mean that we beat ourselves up and put ourselves down? No but it means that we have a right perspective of things. That, ‘Father, without You, I would not be here. Father, without You, I'd be perishing in the wickedness of the world but God, by Your great mercy, I can live, walk, and breathe in the freedom to worship God, to serve You and to fulfill my calling, which is to be with You. My calling to serve You God with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.’ So I ask today: do you know your calling? Do you know your calling? If not, may you look at this Word today. May you look to God and understand that He has called You to the greatest thing ever. The greatest call a man or woman can have, which is to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. Praying today that the Lord Jesus would touch you. That by the power of the gospel, by the power of His Spirit, He would allow us to fulfill and to live our lives worthy of the calling that He has given us. Worthy of the calling we have received in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Judges 17:6 In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fitHello and welcome back to the One Thing podcast. Today we are reading from Judges chapter 17, verse 6 and it says, “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.” "...we today as Christians are called to serve the King." This Scripture in the book of Judges was written around one of the most terrible times for Israel. There was no king to guide them and to help ‘em and to lead ‘em into righteousness - and it says that everyone did as they saw fit. Can you imagine everybody at that time doing whatever they imagined to be right? Having no idea of what the law was having no idea of what is right and what is wrong - no king to guard and to watch over the people? Can you imagine what society would be like? Can you imagine everybody just doing their own thing - not caring for one another not caring about the Lord not caring about our society not caring about our children. "‘Are we living like Israel in that time?’ - as though there was no king?" We may think about this and go, ‘Wow that is terrible.’ But, we today as Christians are called to serve the King. Revelation chapter 19:16 speaks about Jesus and it says, “On His robe and on His thigh He has [this] name written: King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” Therefore He is King above all kings - He is the King. Now for us that proclaim to follow Him, for us who proclaim to be Christians, we are called to serve the King - but do we serve Him? As we read this Scripture does it hit our hearts to say, ‘Are we living like Israel in that time?’ - as though there was no king? As though we can do what we feel is fit rather than regarding the Word of the Lord and His guidance in our life? "God has made a way today to come into His Kingship to serve the good King the great King the Lord Jesus and to find life." God is calling us to come back to the Kingship of God. Do we live with God as King over our house? Where in our households we're making sure that we're serving Him we're making sure that in all that we do our children are growing close to Him as King over our lives? Is He King over our decisions? Are we thinking about the decisions that we make in our jobs, in our homes and in everything that we do from our schooling to our daily life - is it governed by the will and the sovereignty of the King of all of heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ? Is He King of our hearts? Are we willing to guard our hearts - reserve our hearts for the King and for the King alone? Or, have we chosen to share our hearts with pride to share our hearts with darkness or wickedness or whatever it may be that pulls against the things of God in our lives? Today, God is calling us to stop and to recognize that He is the King above all kings, that He is Lord of all, and to ask ourselves: Do we serve the King? I don't wanna be like Israel, who lived at a time there with no king - and everyone did as they saw fit. See the ways of man naturally are ways of wickedness. God has made a way today to come into His Kingship to serve the good King the great King the Lord Jesus and to find life. Not to do as we feel fit. Not to go about as though He doesn't rule and reign, but to submit - to seek His face and to follow the Lord of all. Who is your King today? How have you lived before Him? What will you do? What will I do to be sure that we are under His governing, and be sure that we are walking in His light and in His truth? Praying that each one of us would recognize this great King - the Lord Jesus - in our lives and come closer to Him than ever before, walking and following His leading. Amen.

Proverbs 12:3 Wickedness never brings stability,     but the godly have deep roots.Hello, and welcome back to the One Thing Podcast. The Word of the Lord I would like to share today is Proverbs 12:3. It says “Wickedness never brings stability, but the Godly have deep roots”. If you think with me for a moment you might have heard somebody at some point in your life say “Sometimes you just have to come back to your roots.” "We are not to be swayed because our roots are not in this life, they are not in this world, but they are in His truth. They are in the Lord." When there is a time in life where you seem to have lost your way, or maybe you feel distant from God-maybe you feel as though there's more to life and living in the Kingdom of God and doing His work, but there just seems to be things that are in the way. Maybe you've lost focus. Maybe the world has just rampaged our spiritual life. We've allowed our spiritual life, our walk with God to dissipate. Sometimes in these moments we need to come back to our roots. See, the Godly have deep roots. Wickedness never brings stability. When we walk in our own way, when we walk and we root ourselves we find ourselves looking for stability and money in this world and things. It doesn't bring stability. We don't know what the American dollar will even mean tomorrow. We don't know if our homes that make us feel stable at times will even be here tomorrow, but there's one thing that we can know. That the Godly have deep roots. See, we are not rooted in the world, we are not rooted in the things of this life, but we are rooted in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Gospel is this; that man is unstable, lost in wickedness and in sin without Him. But in Christ those who trust in Him, when we put our faith in Him, we develop deep roots where although things may happen, although circumstances may come across our lives it doesn't matter. We are not to be swayed because our roots are not in this life, they are not in this world, but they are in His truth. They are in the Lord. "I pray today that we would all uproot all those things that are not of God." What are you rooted in today? The Godly have deep roots. We've got to come back to our roots. We've got to come back to the roots of the Gospel where we are walking according to the power of the Holy Spirit, where we choose not every day to go without His touch and His presence. We've got to come back to the roots of the Word of the Lord, where we make every decision according to the Word, where we walk and we think according to how the word says to think and to walk. Is there anybody listening right now looking to come back to your roots-- to be rooted in God? I pray today that we would all uproot all those things that are not of God. That we would uproot all the old mindsets, all the fleshy ways, all the things that really pull us away from the Lord, and that we would become rooted--coming back into the Lord, going deeper with Him today. Some of us may have already been rooted in the Lord and we know that it's kept us and has given us strength. I also pray today that you would be nourished. That the rain and the waters of God would just really touch those roots, allowed them to become even stronger, even bolder, and even more stable in the power of God. Praise God that we can be rooted in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ today. Amen.