Well, the day has arrived – my first opportunity to “blog”.  To me the purpose of blogging is communication – the opportunity to communicate, whether a simple thought, or an important Biblical truth.  On that note, obviously my thoughts mean little, whereas Biblical truth is vital.

This week has, and will continue to be a busy one – studying, working, helping some folks move, taking some young people to a youth rally, and on and on we could go with the plans and goals of the week.  Life certainly can get busy for all of us - so busy that it is easy to leave some things out.  Yet, in the busyness of life, I am reminded of the importance of time spent with God.  Matthew 6:33 reminds us to seek God and His righteousness first.  The Psalmist said he would seek God early, for his soul thirsted for God (Psalm 63:1).  Yes, though we are not all “morning people” a day begun with God is a day started right – time for prayer, to read and meditate on His blessed Word, to praise Him for all His blessings.

In the business of your life, take time for God.

Recently I have been preaching through Matthew and the past few messages have involved the ministry of John the Baptist. As I prepared for last Sunday’s message, Presenting the King, about the arrival of Jesus to the wilderness of Judea to be baptized, I was struck by the fact that John was busily doing as God had told him to do when Jesus came. It would seem that John did not know when Jesus would come, he just knew that Jesus would come and that until then, he had been given a job to do – prepare people for Jesus’ coming. In John 1, we see that when Jesus came, John was actively doing that which God had given him to do. Though we don’t know exactly how long John was preaching and telling people of the soon coming Messiah, we do know that he kept doing it until Jesus came. I’m sure there were times of discouragement in John’s ministry as in any ministry, but John was faithful to keep at it.

As I pondered John’s faithfulness, I thought of how all of us as Christians have been given a job to do – to serve the Lord and spread the Gospel, letting people know that Jesus came to save them, so that they can receive His gift of salvation and thus be ready when He comes again. Yes, Jesus is coming again – He told us so in His Word. Although we don’t know exactly when He is coming (it seems to me that it will be soon), the question is, will we still be busy serving Him like John was? Will we be actively trying to reach people with His Gospel message? Or will we have given up, got discouraged or distracted and quit? In speaking of His return, Jesus said, “Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.”

The challenge to us today is this, if Jesus was to come back today, would He find us “so doing”?

As we studied the life of Moses at Bible study on Wednesday night, God spoke to my heart through the familiar story of Moses and the burning bush. It was Exodus 3:4 that caught my attention, “And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.” It was when God saw that Moses stopped to see, that God called to Moses.

It got me thinking, how many times does God bring, or allow, something into our lives to see if we will stop for a minute. Oh, it probably won’t be a burning bush – it may be the beauty of a fall tree; or the grandeur of a mountain; perhaps the birth of a child; a raise in pay; some other good news; or perhaps even some bad news like losing a job; an accident; a natural disaster; or news on our health. We are often so busy with our lives that we are “too busy” to hear or see what God wants for us, yet He doesn’t force His way upon us, but He waits to get our attention, to see if we will stop long enough to hear His voice. You see, Moses was busy about his day too, but if he had not stopped to look at the burning bush, he would have missed all the plans God had for him.

Is God waiting to get your attention? Will you stop long enough to let Him speak to you? He wants to have fellowship with you, to draw you closer to Himself. He has plans for your life too.

As I prepared for the message this Sunday morning, I read again the familiar story of the conversion of the Philippian jailor in Acts 16.  But today I noticed something I hadn’t noticed before, I noticed his joy.  Acts 16:34 says, “And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.”  Just a few moments before (see v. 27), he despaired of life, but now he rejoiced – what was it that made the difference? It was believing in Jesus Christ.

In v. 30, he asked the question, “What must I do to be saved?” He wanted to know how he could have the assurance that when this life was over, he was ready for eternity. Many today seek this assurance, but are told it isn’t possible, or else they are given some complex answer of some religious rituals they must follow in order to HOPEFULLY gain eternal life.  But the answer today is as simple as it was then, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved”

Believing in Jesus Christ brings joy to one’s life, for it brings with it the assurance of eternal life.  Then for the Christian, joy comes as we believe the promises of God’s Word, and apply them to our lives – promises of His presence; promises of His provision; promises of His protection.

The Philippian jailor experienced joy that day, because he believed in Jesus Christ, how about you? Do you have that joy? Have you placed your faith in Jesus Christ for your salvation?  Christian, are you living in God’s joy by trusting the promises of His Word?

“O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”Psalm 34:8

A couple of weeks ago, as I was preparing to come to church, there was frost on my windshield.  It wasn’t really a surprise, I had noticed earlier in the week that there was frost on the roofs when I was walking the dog.  We knew it was coming, but the fact of scraping the windshield brought home the reality that summer is over, we are well into fall, and winter is just around the corner.  Though I like the summer better than the winter, I do enjoy the change of seasons, and certainly each one has its unique beauty, but as I pondered the changing seasons, I was reminded of Jeremiah 8:20. “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.”

Today is the day of God’s grace, the opportunity to be saved.  II Corinthians 6:2 reminds us that now the day of salvation.  We know from the Bible that God will judge the world one day – that day is coming, just like winter is coming.  As we look in the Bible, we see that the day is drawing closer and He has given us many signs to indicate that.  Like the frost on the window, we need to heed those signs and if we haven’t already done so, we need to choose Jesus Christ today, while there is time.

Jesus Christ has provided a complete salvation, He took upon Himself the judgement we deserved, so that we could enjoy the peace of God for all eternity in Heaven.  Have you accepted Him as YOUR Saviour?  If not, trust Him today – don’t let the sad words of Jeremiah 8:20 be yours.  If you do know Him, rejoice that you know Him, then be busy telling others of His wonderful salvation while there is opportunity to do so.