What Is God Saying to Us Today

My Dear Child:

I’ll admit, your world looks pretty bleak at the moment.  Nations rise against nations.  Kingdoms fight against kingdoms.  Prices are rising, income is shrinking.  The future must look very bleak to you at times. 

In all of the madness that you may see around you, I have a few words of comfort and hope for you.  Keep reading.  And remember – I am still around and I love you with an undying love.

In this world you will have troubles.  Fear not, for I have overcome the world. 

~John 16:33

I am God, your Jehovah.  The holy one.

~Isaiah 48:17

I watch over you.  I protect you.  I am with you.

~Job 34:21

Even in the middle of the fiery furnace, I will be with you.

~Daniel 3:17

When the waves begin to crash in upon you, I am with you.

~Isaiah 43:1-3

I set the stars in their course.

~Isaiah 45:18

I created the heavens and the earth.

~Isaiah 42:5

I know your name.  I am your God.

~Isaiah 43:1

I never close my eyes or take a nap.

~Psalm 121:4

I will go with you wherever you go.

~Joshua 1:9

I will never leave you nor forsake you.

~Hebrews 13:5

Come to me with all your worries and fears.  I will give you rest.  

~Matthew 11:28

Fear not, neither be afraid, for I your God will be with you wherever you go.  

~Deuteronomy 31:8

Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.

~Romans 10:13

I Love YOU!

Your God, Abba, Jehovah, Yahweh!

P Michael Biggs

Internet Church

Offering Words of

Hope Encouragement

Inspiration

One Word at a Time

What Are We Supposed to Believe

I read a while back that the world was going to end in December – last December.

I once heard we’ll never make it past 1978.  That was 48 years ago.

I’ve heard no less than twenty names of individuals who were supposed to be the anti-Christ.  More than half of those men (no ladies on the list) are already dead.

I was once told I would go to hell for wearing a wedding band.  So far I’ve managed to escape that one too.

So what are we supposed to believe?

I believe in the Bible.  Some of the significant facts I can bring to light are these:

God is love!  John 3:16 reminds us of this:  “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, and whoever believes in Him shall be saved”

I John 4:9-10 continues this thought with “God sent His only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the payment for our sins.”

God always has His eye on us and He is always with us!

Deuteronomy 31:6:  “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them (your enemies). I your God will go before you and will never leave you nor forsake you.”

God welcomes us as we are, not as we should be.

Matthew 11:28 says “Come to me, all you who are weary and heavily burdened.  I will give you rest.”  He doesn’t command that we first go clean up, dress up.  He first says ‘come’.

In the story of the prodigal son, God is pictured as the Father.  The Father in this story is continually on the lookout for his wayward son.  He constantly looks longingly down the road hoping to catch a glimpse of his son returning home.

And on the day he sees his son a long way off, the Father runs to him.  Picture God running to us when we have been away for so long.  He threw his arms around his neck, and continued giving hugs and kisses.  He brought him in, put a new robe on his shoulder, laid out new cloths, and spread a feast for all the neighbors to attend in welcoming the wayward son.  The Father – God – was saying, “come home my son.  I have missed you.” 

He didn’t say – “Go clean up first.  Go confess first.  Go wash and shave first.”

I believe that picture of God.  I believe in His great love.  I believe in His generous forgiveness and His ability to look past the sins of his children and bring them into a place of restoration -  He brings us into a place of Grace and Healing.

This is what I believe.

Please allow this song to lead you into a few moments of thought and prayer.  Note the lyrics especially.

Click this link in case the link below does not work with your browser. 

Amazing Grace/Grace Flows Down 

- Chris Tomlin

Internet Church

Offering Words of

Hope

Encouragement

Inspiration

One Word at a Time

We All Need Help

My friend Allen Brock from Lewisburg, Tennessee told this story on Facebook recently and he gave me permission to share it. 

Take it away Allen.

“I just needed to stop and get gas and a cup of coffee on my way to work.  That was all.  As I walked toward the store entrance there he was. 

“I hoped he wouldn’t ask for any money” I thought.  He didn’t.

He sat on the curb in front of the store.  His appearance said he probably didn’t have enough money even for bus fare.  He was ragged, yet there was an air of dignity surrounding him.  His scraggly blond beard hid more than just his wrinkles.

He just sat there, quietly.  The expected plea for money never came.

I paid for my java and started to leave.  I walked passed him, then turned back and asked if he needed any help.  I was sure he would say yes.

‘Do you need any help?’  I had to repeat it twice.

His answer startled me.  He uttered three simple, profound words that I shall never forget.  We expect wisdom from great men and women.  We expect it from those of higher learning and accomplishment.  I expected nothing but an outstretched, grimy hand. 

Instead, he spoke three words that shook me.  

He said, ‘Don’t we all?’

Yes indeed.  Don’t we all … need help that is?  And when we do, to whom do we turn? 

In Psalm 46:1 we read this:  

God is our refuge and strength.  

A very present help in time of trouble.

Need help?  God is offering.  He offers strength when we are weary, a place of safety when we need deliverance, grace for every trial and forgiveness for any sin.

The faithful God wants to help you in whatever situation you may face.

Please watch this most encouraging song.

He’s Been Faithful – Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir

He's Been Faithful 

- Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir

(Oh, by the way, my friend Allen did offer the man some money for bus fare, a meal and a night’s lodging.  And our homeless friend gave Allen an important lesson to share with all of us.)

Internet Church

Offering Hope

Encouragement

Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Refuge

If a religious faith is anything, it is a refuge to run toward.  On the Hawaiian Island of Kona there is a large rock called Refuge Rock. 

People who broke the law of the King were exiled from their villages and chased down with the intent to be killed.  If the perpetrator could make it to Refuge Rock their sins were forgiven and they were declared safe and redeemed. (An abridged interpretation)

In other words, people ran to the refuge. 

And isn’t that what God is all about?  We run to Him with our worries, our burdens, our problems and our sorrows. 

In the Bible there is a story (Luke 7:36-50) of a prostitute who in so many words ran to Jesus.  She boldly invaded a dinner party, knelt behind Him and wet his feet with her tears and dried them with her hair.  She was a woman in need and she sought refuge at the feet of Christ.

In another story (Luke 17:11-19) Jesus is on His way into the city of Jerusalem.  Ten lepers heard He was passing near them.  They began calling loudly, “Jesus, please has mercy on us.” 

They knew and understood the source of their refuge – Jesus the Christ.  They needed relief from their physical infirmities.  They headed straight to the refuge giver.  And His words were, “Go show yourselves to the priest.  And as they went their way, they were cleansed of their leprosy.”

They sought and found their place of refuge.  How about that?

And now, my friend, do you need a place of refuge?  Do you need relief from some burden, some problem, some indignity, some past that has you in bondage?

Perhaps now is the perfect time to seek your place of refuge.  Have you called out to God with boldness? 

Have you asked with confidence for whatever help it is you need?

He stands ready to be let into whatever situation you face, or to help handle anything you can’t handle on your own.  He is your refuge and strength.

A word of hope:  I am here. I stand at the door and knock.  If you hear me, will you open up and let me in?  I will come in and we will share in fellowship - you and I.

~Revelations 3:20

“Our tendency is to run toward the light of Christ.  

We want to be near the one who accepts us and loves 

us at our worst.  We feel something in that embrace 

that other life experiences can’t offer.”

~Philip Yancey

And remember this:

God is our refuge and strength.  He is a strong help in time of trouble.  Therefore, we will not fear, even though the earth be removed and the mountains be swept into the sea; even if the waters roar and are full of waves, and even when the mountains shake. 

~Psalm 46:1-3

Thanks be to God!

Internet Church

Offering Words of

Hope

Encouragement

Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Where God Meets Us

In what setting do you feel most connected to God?  I’ve attended church all of my life.  In my growing up years I was in the church building three or four times each week. 

Am I better for it?  Probably not.  Shocked?  You should be.

Greatest of news … God can’t be confined inside the four walls of a building called a church, meeting hall, sanctuary, cathedral or tent. 

My Texas friend, Tim, says he worships God out on the plains of Texas on the back of his horse.  That is where he feels closest to God.

I had a wonderful worship moment not too long ago while lying on my living room sofa listening to Carolyn play a bunch of my favorite hymns and gospel songs.  That was a portal to heaven as surely as any other I’ve experienced.

I’ve had God moments in church, surely, and I’ve had them as I sat or stood gazing upon the magnificent natural beauty of this world.

I’ve had God moments in wonderful, intimate conversations with friends as we discussed life and God, struggles and success.  God can be as present in those moments of our lives as He can in any fine cathedral in the world.

I love this quote from Mother Teresa.

“In church is not the only place 

where we find God.

We find him in the mundane, 

the ordinary, the sick and suffering.  And we are closest to him,

perhaps, when the portals 

of eternity open up

to receive our loved ones.”

~Mother Teresa

Frankly, the idea that God can meet with us, any of us, all of us, whether in church or in a parked car, a small apartment, a lush hotel room, or a boat on the Pacific Ocean – the idea of God coming to me anywhere is what prompted me to start Internet Church.  

I have envisioned someone on the streets of Seattle, or in a town where you live, coming to wherever they call home late on a Saturday night.  Perhaps they’ve been wallowing in less than righteous activities, and they feel lousy about themselves and the state in which they are in and long, yea hope to make some kind of God connection.  

Through some miracle of God they stumble upon Internet Church and God directs them to some word of hope either in a current post or one of the back-list posts and for that moment in time God comes down and invades their world with love, hope and grace.

Now wouldn’t that be something?

As far as I know, most of my readers are Christian, and that is good.  Many of them have already had their weekly God-moment, and maybe in the middle of their week they find yet another word of hope to move them along the path toward God.

And if a reader hasn’t been to church in a while, or perhaps never, regardless of his/her state of dress, distress, financial, mental, physical condition, God invades their world through some words on a blog site, then God is doing His job, and I, perhaps, have had a small part in that too.

The big takeaway today is this – God is not restricted to four walls called church, or 3 songs, a prayer, an offering and a sermon.  He is much bigger than all of that.

What God most wants is to have relationship with each of us.  He wants to be invited into the everyday-ness of our lives.  He loves the mundane and the messy parts of our lives just as He loves the shine on our shoes, the knot in our tie and the press of our clothes. 

He moves best into the places we vacate for Him.  All God is asking for is a space in our hearts that meshes with the God-part of our heart.

Remember this – God loves us as we are – not as we should be. 

The invitation says “Come unto me, all who are weary and heavily burdened.  I will give you rest.”

That’s the kind of heart God is looking for.

Internet Church

Offering Words of

Hope

Encouragement

Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Will God Help Me

Let me tell you a story.

A six-year-old boy was digging in his sandbox when he hit a hard object.  The more he dug around it the more he revealed a rather large rock.  When he had uncovered enough of it he began moving it closer to the edge of his box.

He got to the edge and just could not lift or maneuver or use enough leverage to get the rock up and over the lip of his sandbox.

He began to fret.  His father heard him and came to see what was going on.

The son explained and then his dad asked, “Why didn’t you use all the strength you had available?”

The young boy was confused, and in his defense he proudly stated, “But Dad, I did use all of my strength available.”

Gently, with great kindness, the father bent down and said, “No son.  You didn’t use all the strength available to you.  You didn’t ask me, and I am available to help.”

And with that the father reached down and easily lifted the rather large rock and tossed it out of the sandbox.”

End of the story, but the meaning never ends.

We fret.  We grunt.  We maneuver.  We scheme.  We try to do life on our own, and yet we find ourselves on the short end of things.  Life just doesn’t seem to work out the way we hoped for.

Meanwhile, God is standing nearby offering His strength, His hand of help.  All that was needed was a simple prayer of “Help”. 

God is not an ogre.  He is not mean, nor does he mock us in our humanness.  He stands ready to assist with the large and small rocks that make up our lives.

The important thing is to reach out and ask for his help.  He wants to be in the mundane decisions just as much as He wants a hand in the big choices and big decisions.

Will you and I reach out and ask for His help?

Ask and you shall receive.  Seek and you shall find.  Knock and the door will be opened before you.”  Matthew 7:7

Psalm 34:4

I sought the Lord and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.

And we are encouraged to come to Him with our burdens and cares.

Cast all your cares upon the Lord, for He cares for you.  I Peter 5:7

Matthew 11:28-30

Come to me all who are weary and heavy hearted; I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn.  I am gentle and humble.  You will discover rest for your soul.  My yoke is easy.  My burden is light.  Come.

The rocks are many.  The load is heavy.  The way is steep.  The sun is hot and the road is long.  Invite God himself on the journey and He will help carry the burden.

Use all the strength that is available to you.

Trust Him!

Internet Church

Offering Words of

Hope

Encouragement

Inspiration

One Word at a Time

The World Will Not End at Election Time

If we listened to and believed most of the news today, one would think the world is going to end come election time in America. 

~Some like Donald.  Some hate him. 

~Some trust Bernie.  Some despise him. 

~Some believe Ted is a great man.  Others believe he is a liar. 

~Some trust Hillary.  Some want to crucify her.

So, we have a mixed bag of emotions that have escalated to a high level over this race for president of the US. 

And if the RIGHT person is not put in place, well, you better watch out.  The world will end as we know it, or so they say.

This is not a political rant.  This is not a political positional statement.

This is, perhaps, a word of hope and a reminder to all of us as to who is still in control of this world.

Big    G

Big    O

Big    D

G O D !

Where is your faith?  Where is your confidence in God the creator?  Let’s allow His word to reassure us.

Joshua 1:9 reminds us:  “Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous; do not fear, and don’t be dismayed.  I your God will be with you wherever you go.”

If Hillary is elected I will be with you.

If Donald wins, I’m there for you. 

Need more?

Mark 6:50 says this:  “Take courage.  It is I.”

In this particular instance Christ’s disciples were in a boat in the middle of a terrible storm.  The winds were fierce, the waves were swamping the boat and their oars seemed useless.  Along comes Christ with great words of hope.  Take courage.  I am here. 

We in a storm of deceit, half-truths, empty promises and great upheaval. 

God wants to settle us down with these words.  Take courage.  I am here.  I see the storms and winds and waves.  I see the lies and half truths.  Never fear.  I’m still nearby.

And finally – Psalm 118:6-7:  “God is with me; I will not fear.  What can man do to me?  The Lord is with me; He is helping me.”

After the election – God is with me.

Will you like or despise the agenda of the new president?  Regardless, the Lord is nearby.  He is helping you and me accept, adapt, and survive.

You want to know what I see through all of this? 

We need a huge dose of FAITH in God. 

We need FAITH that God supersedes, and overrides and is watching and caring. 

And this even extends to people in other lands.  They have their problems too.  And God’s eye is on them just as it is on America.

Got FAITH?

Be encouraged.

P Michael Biggs

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time