Thank God for His Infinite Love

Hebrews 8: 7 - 12, For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault with them, He says: "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah -- not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the LORD. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more." NKJV

I'm so grateful that God doesn't leave us to figure out salvation for ourselves. Will you praise the Lord with me today for His boundless love toward mankind? Even when we are faithless, God remains faithful. Let me explain what I mean. It was God who spoke to man after He had created him. He told him about the blessings, the power, and the provision that was provided for them. It was the Lord, who bound Himself to mankind through His covenant to be our Savior, Protector, Provider, and all that we would ever need.

Nevertheless, it seems that man has struggled to have a heart for God since before the fall. If we look at Adam's actions when he was with Eve in the garden, it seems that he was more wrapped up in Eve and what she desired than what God wanted. Even so, God has never allowed our lack of love and devotion toward Him to prevent His love from freely flowing toward us, His people.

While His own chosen people rejected His covenant and Him, God declared that He would make yet another covenant; and He would see to it that it was fulfilled. However, this new covenant could only be satisfied if He could find someone who would love Him as much as He loves us. Therefore, God sent His Son to earth, and through Jesus' love for the Father, God could make the declaration that the writer of Hebrews has made known to us, "All shall know Me."

Isn't it wonderful that God didn't let man's rejection of Him as God keep Him from accepting us in Christ? The greatest gift that God has ever given to mankind was the gift of His only- begotten Son. In Christ, every promise from God has been made forever secure. We can place our soul's trust in His Word and know of a surety that it will never fail or be altered. 

You see; the first covenant included mankind and his willingness to obey God (or lack thereof). However, the second covenant isn't that way. It is based on the blood of Jesus, Jesus' faithfulness, and on the love of God for His people. It is steadfast and sure; and it has been confirmed through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Consequently, if you have placed your faith in the Lordship of Jesus Christ, there is rest for you today.

We don't have to work like those who were born under the old covenant. However, we are to believe and obey His voice out of a heart filled with gratitude. The new covenant is based on God's love, not on man's goodness. May we love God, honor His Word in our hearts, and be grateful to Him for the blessings that He has given to us through Christ.

Thank God for God,

Pastor Asa Dockery

Seeing Clearly

John 16: 1 - 4, "These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them. NKJV

In today's scripture, Jesus was giving His disciples (including us) a warning. He was preparing them for the battle they would encounter when He left them to return to heaven. As He warns them about the treatment that some of them would have to face, He also exhorts them to remember what He has said, so that when persecution strikes, they won't become offended and lose their faith in Christ.

What the Holy Spirit has given for today is very important to our faith walk. We must constantly guard our hearts against the attacks of the enemy, so that we don't fall prey to any of his devices and lose faith in the heat of the battle. We begin to guard our hearts by asking the Lord to keep us from temptation and deliver us from evil long before either of them shows up at our door. Secondly, we guard our hearts by remembering that the battle isn't ours; it belongs to the Lord. If we keep this in the forefront of our minds, it will help us remain neutral when persecution enters our lives.

Satan wants us to take spiritual assaults personally. Remember what Jesus told us. He has already forewarned us about the conflicts and collateral damage that we would incur during the battle; He did this so that we wouldn't turn our hearts against the Lord. We will remain strong and of good courage, as long as we keep our eyes on Jesus. The writer of Hebrews tells us to consider Jesus and to keep our eyes on Him when we have to face hardships, lest we grow weary and become discouraged in our soul. 

The moment we begin to take the spiritual attacks personally, they will begin to affect both our perspective and our attitude toward God adversely. Instead of looking to Jesus as our source of inspiration and encouragement, we will begin to blame Him for the situations that we've had to encounter. If this has happened to you, or if it should occur in the future, the enemy has been effective at turning your heart against the Lord. It even happened to John the Baptist; therefore, it can very easily happen to you and me.  

It doesn't matter to Satan if you're a leader in the body of Christ or one of God's children, he doesn't want you to lean on the Lord. Therefore, it is essential that we keep our hearts protected and pure so that we can see the heart of God clearly during times of great persecution. We must never take the Lord's battle personally when we enlist in the good fight of faith. 

Let me leave you today with a final question: Has the enemy attacked you at some point in your walk of faith, and it has caused you to back off or lose a degree of trust in the Lord? John tells us in his epistle that God is light and that there is no darkness in Him. In other words, God doesn't change when we become wounded in battle. It just means that Satan was successful at inflicting a hurt in your heart that has altered your perception and/or attitude toward God. 

If this describes you, and you desire to be free from the hurt caused by your adversary, then ask the Holy Spirit to heal your wounded heart and fill it with God's love. Just because Satan occasionally gets the upper hand and deceives us into believing something that isn't true, it doesn't mean that we have to continue living with the guilt of that burden.  Jesus told us in John 8 that when we come to know the truth, it will make us free! This word was shared with you as a means to help you overcome the Devil. It is not intended to condemn you. Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. 

How Great Is Our God,
Pastor Asa Dockery

This Life Is No Dress Rehearsal

Deuteronomy 30: 19 - 20, I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them." NKJV

Have you ever met someone who believed that if they didn't get things "right" in this life, they could just do it over in the next one? We know for certain that the Bible doesn't support that belief. The life that God has already given us is the only one we will have. Consequently, what we do with it now will determine where we spend eternity. The Lord told Moses that heaven records our actions on earth, and those same actions will judge us at the end of the age.  

Further, the Lord, through the writings of Moses tells us to choose life while we are still sojourners in this world so that we and our descendants may live. If it really doesn't matter what we do in this life-time, then why does God command us to choose life now? There is no dress rehearsal, and there is no second chance after this life is over. However, once we realize that we have made some wrong choices and committed transgressions against Him, God gives us the ability through His infinite grace to begin again.

Nevertheless, when we start living for the Lord, we don't always get things right the first time. Thankfully, we have been given the Holy Spirit. He will guide us INTO all truth and show us the way to eternal life. He is the Spirit of God, and He dwells within our hearts. Whenever we stumble or fall into sin, He is the One who convicts us of trespasses and brings us back into right a relationship with the Father.

The only thing in this life that is to be practiced is our obedience to the voice of the Lord. Many of the patriarchs and matriarchs of the Bible didn't fully obey God at the onset of their faith walk. God's spirit worked with the saints of old and with the disciples as well. However, once they became submitted and committed in their hearts, obedience became their first nature. You see; the Holy Spirit will get us adorned and READY for the day that we stand before our Lord. He works in our hearts perfecting us so that we will not be naked and ashamed when we see our Great Shepherd.

Please take a moment to read the book of Jude. In one short chapter, this man of God deposited very important truths, which teach us to abstain from the corruption of this present world. Jude tells us to separate ourselves from wickedness and from wicked people so that we can live a life that is holy and pleasing unto the Lord. Jude understood the principle that God gave Moses in the book of Deuteronomy about making right choices in THIS life.

Are you living your life as if it were a dress rehearsal? Or are you living each day as if it were the last one before you go to meet your Lord? God doesn't want us to be caught off guard; He wants us to be prepared for the Day that we see Him face to face. Who knows? This could be the Day!

Preparing To Meet My Lord,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Inspirational Thoughts,
Jack Jones
Church Elder 

Only Be Strong and Courageous

Judges 6: 14 - 16, Then the Lord turned to him and said, "I will make you strong! Go and save Israel from the Midianites! I am sending you!" But Gideon replied, "Sir, how can I save Israel? My family is the poorest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least thought of in the entire family!"  Whereupon the Lord said to him, "But I, Jehovah, will be with you! And you shall quickly destroy the Midianite hordes!" TLB

When I read this passage, it reminded me of a principle that Jesus taught His disciples about servants. He said, "The greatest among you shall be your servant." Generally, a true servant doesn't see themselves as great. However, it seems to me that God has established a track record in the Bible of looking over people who were famous or of a grand stature. Instead, He would pick candidates whom we would think were the least likely to serve Him.

Gideon struggled deeply with a lack of self-confidence because of his "standing" in his community and family. Even so, when God looked on Gideon, He saw a mighty man of valor, a man of strength, ability, and force. We know from the story of David that God doesn't look on the outward appearance of a man or woman; He looks on their heart. Consequently, when God finds a person who may be considered the least of the least, but, nevertheless, he has the heart of a servant-leader or is a warrior of righteousness, He calls them into service.

You may be reading this today and saying, "I can so relate to the way Gideon felt." When we struggle with a lack of confidence, and we can only see our weaknesses, then we need to allow God to speak His Word into our heart. God saw the hidden potential in Gideon and spoke what He saw into Gideon's ears. We're told in Romans 4 that God calls those things that are not as though they were.

Like Gideon, when we see what we've been called to do for the Lord, we can certainly be overwhelmed. Even so, we must understand that God doesn't call us to serve Him in "our" strength, but "His" strength. This is the reason why the Lord could call Gideon a mighty man of valor and why He had full confidence that Gideon could finish all that God had instructed him to accomplish. The Lord knew that Gideon would fully rely on the presence of God and in the Words that He had spoken over him.  Gideon was assured of success because he knew that God was with him. When you and I have God's presence and God's instructions, we will also fulfill the purposes of God; and we will be victorious like Gideon was against the Midianites. With God all things are possible! It all begins with that first step of faith. ..Only when you step out will you know that God is truly with you.

Walking with God,

Pastor Asa Dockery

I Cannot Tell It All

Psalms 68 : 19, Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation! NKJV

The Lord desires that we celebrate His goodness in our lives. Therefore, we are instructed in His Word to acknowledge Him as the Source of all our needs. It is His good pleasure to give us His kingdom and to see that we're provided for in every area of life.

The psalmist teaches us to bless the Lord because He loads us with daily benefits through Christ. You've probably noticed that life has become very demanding. Consequently, as a result of these demands, we can on occasion become overwhelmed.

Nevertheless, we must always remember that it is the Lord, Who has brought us this far; and He will watch over us and keep us as we continue in our walk with Him.

We must guard our hearts from becoming consumed by life's challenges to the point that we ignore the hand of God that moves daily on the behalf of His children. I can't even begin to tell you all that the Lord has done for our family, the church, and the members of WHCN. However, I can tell you that if we keep  our eyes on the Lord and allow Him to move in His time, He will show up on time.

Even though John tells us in his gospel about the works of Jesus, he also said that there are far more things Jesus did that haven't even been written. He goes on to say that if everything that Jesus did while He walked on the earth was written down, the world couldn't contain the books. Amazing!

Do you have a book of testimonies where you've written down the times you've seen the faithfulness of God in your life or in your family's lives? Will you join with me today as I celebrate the faithfulness and goodness of the Lord? Let's tell Him that we know where our daily blessings come from... and we're not ashamed to admit it to others.

I Still Cannot Tell It All,
Pastor Asa Dockery

A Sacrifice of Worship

Exodus 10: 21 - 26, Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness which may even be felt." So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. They did not see one another; nor did anyone rise from his place for three days. But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings. Then Pharaoh called to Moses and said, "Go, serve the LORD; only let your flocks and your herds be kept back. Let your little ones also go with you." But Moses said, "You must also give us sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God. Our livestock also shall go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind. For we must take some of them to serve the LORD our God, and even we do not know with what we must serve the LORD until we arrive there." NKJV

Do you feel like you're in a place or a season of oppression? Unfortunately, all believers experience hard places in their walk; and it may seem as if it would be better to "make a deal with Pharaoh" and "cut our losses." Nevertheless, we must remember our covenant with God. The Lord revealed something to me several years ago, and it remains just as relevant today. He said, "Men love to make deals, but God only "makes covenants." The terms of our spiritual release from our foes have already been predetermined by the Lord; they are not up for negotiation by our captors.

If you remember, God had promised Abraham, the father of Israel that his people would live in a land for four hundred years and afterwards, they would come out with great substance. Pharaoh told Moses that he would let the people of God go so that they could worship the Lord.... However, he also said they had to leave their livestock behind. Therefore, Moses wouldn't agree with him.

You see; when the enemy seems to have the upper hand in a situation in our lives, we must remember our covenant with the Lord. I'm sure there are some of you reading this today that are in a situation you can't get out of; and your adversary wants you to take a loss before releasing you.

Please note that Pharaoh was willing to let them go, but he wanted to keep their animals so that they couldn't worship the Lord in the wilderness. What is the enemy in your situation trying to steal from you that could be used to bring glory and praise to God if it were released with you? God doesn't want you to come out with regrets. He wants you to walk free with everything that He has given to you; it will be a witness to others of His faithfulness and honor.

God will lead you with peace. When Pharaoh gave Moses the conditions of his release, Moses didn't have peace and, therefore, rejected the offer. So be still and know that God has your best interest at heart. When the conditions match the covenant, then the release will come without strings or regrets. Those who wait upon the Lord are renewed. The Lord waits until we can come out with our praise intact so that the world, and our enemies will know Who it was that has delivered us.

Not Leaving Without My Praise,

Pastor Asa Dockery

Breaking the Stronghold Of Isolation

John 8 : 29 - 30, And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him." As He spoke these words, many believed in Him. NKJV 

When God created us, He said that it wasn't good for us to be alone. Although the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, were created in the image and likeness of God, they were not created "self-sufficient." Had God created us as self-sufficient beings, there would not have been any need for man to have a companion. Nor would there have been any need for God to show them what to eat while in the garden. Furthermore, if God had created us as self-sufficient beings, we would not have needed Him. However, this is exactly the lie that Satan perpetrated upon Eve's ignorance about God and about herself.  

Satan convinced Eve that she didn't need God to become "like God" or become "self-sufficient." When he swayed her with his lies about God, it caused her to reject the commands of God and to partake of the forbidden fruit. What was the result of listening to the lies of the serpent? They became alienated from the life of God. Now let's review this for a moment. God created man with certain needs, and one of them is companionship with others. Knowing this, Satan followed God's original plan with his own agenda to separate us from the SOURCE of life, God, and ultimately from one another. God's goal is for us to be one with Him and each other, but Satan's goal is to isolate us. Satan first separated us from God through sin... preventing us from becoming one with each other. As a result of the fall of man, we lost God- consciousness. This simply means our conscience has been defiled with sin, and we are now sin-conscious.  

We see this sin-consciousness in the Garden of Eden shortly after they had partaken of the tree of knowledge. God came to Adam, but he and Eve hid themselves in the midst of the trees because they were afraid, and they were naked (self-conscious). Before the fall of man, Adam was neither frightened, nor was he ashamed. Therefore, we can conclude that as a result of sin (resulting in sin-conscience), we are separated from God through guilt, shame, and fear.

Now that we have been redeemed from sin and from the curse of the law as believers in Christ, how do we break the stronghold of isolation? You might tend to think that the stronghold over us would have been broken off of our lives at the point of salvation, and you would be correct (to a degree). In Christ and through His shed blood, the curse of sin has forever been broken off of our hearts and lives. Our spirit man has been regenerated, but our minds still need to be renewed. This is why Paul teaches us in Romans 12 that we must have our minds renewed so that we're not conformed to this world. It is through the renewing of our minds that we become transformed. This process doesn't happen overnight or with a one-time encounter with God. Remember, the JUST shall live by FAITH. We're not only saved by faith, but we're renewed daily by faith through the life of God dwelling within us.

  

As Jesus was preaching to the Jews in our opening verses, He told them that He was not alone. Isn't it something that Jesus was preaching on "spiritual isolation?" If He thought it important enough to mention to the chosen people of God, shouldn't we also take notice? As Jesus preached about the Father being with Him, He qualified (or gave the reason) why the Father had always been with Him, and He attributed it to unfailingly doing those things which pleased the Father. Now, remember that Adam didn't please the Father and became isolated from the life of God. The Last Adam, Jesus, obeyed the Father, and He knew or was cognoscente that God was always with Him.

In the following verses, Jesus is sharing to those who believed on Him that day. He made a very powerful and important statement to the Jews. He said, "If you continue in my word, then you are my disciples indeed." This tells us that we're not complete at the moment of salvation... although we ARE made complete in Christ. Salvation is the "beginning" of the restoration process of bringing us to a completed state in Christ. After Jesus told them to continue in His Word, He went on to say that they would come to know the truth, and the truth that they knew or experienced would make them free. If you truly want to break the stronghold of a guilty conscience and the feeling of being isolated from God, then you must live your new life in and through the Word of God. As believers learn and live the Word of God daily, it empowers us to break free from the stronghold of isolation and purges our guilty conscience. As the stronghold is broken, you will regain a God-consciousness. This is a very important principle for Christians to know and understand.  

Why did Satan want man to become separated from God in our minds? He knew that we would become weak and vulnerable to his vicious lies and attacks against us if we walked around with a guilty conscience or unworthy attitude concerning God's goodness. Furthermore, Satan wanted to disrupt and uproot us from inheriting the promises that God had spoken over man in Genesis 1. God had given us dominion over the earth so that we would cause it to become fruitful and bring an increase. God wanted us to REPLENISH the earth, but Satan wanted it to be destroyed. This is the reason he attacked Eve's faith in the garden. Satan didn't want mankind to have spiritual authority over him. He used the power of sin (creating fear in us) to make us feel unaccepted and unworthy of walking with God.  

Today, if you feel as though God has abandoned you because of circumstances that have occurred, then know that it is the stronghold of isolation. Satan uses this weakness of feeling separated in our minds to try and prevent us from stepping out in faith and challenging our feelings. One thing you and I as believers have that Adam and Eve didn't have is "Christ in us the hope of glory." This is the only sign that we need to overcome any stronghold that sin has placed on our minds from our past life. Today, submit this stronghold on your mind to the Lord and ask Him to guide you out of this pit of isolation. Once you pray the prayer of faith, you will begin to think differently. See yourself with God as the victor and not the victim. Finally, stay in the Word, in the fellowship of believers, live your new life according to the principles of God's Word, and in the liberating power of the Holy Spirit. "Whom the Son has set free, they are free indeed."

Walking with God,

Pastor Asa