Today in the Word for November 4-8

Today in The Word

Monday Nov 3, 2019

 When we are in a difficult trial, do we tend to look for someone to blame? Welcome to The Word with Pastor David. James 1:13-15 reads:

 “When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”

 A generation ago, people would blame Satan for their failures. They would say, ‘The devil made me do it.’ (my apologies to Flip Wilson). But in our time, it is more popular for folks to blame God. After all, he knows everything, and he made me this way, and he has the power to stop bad things from happening etc.…

 But James is crystal clear: God is not our tempter. Our temptation is largely internal. We give in to our own desires and that can cascade into significant destruction.

 If we want to succeed through trials and temptations, it is best to stop looking for someone to blame and start looking at ourselves. Then we can honestly get to the root of the problem.

  And that’s the Word from Deer Lodge Assembly on the corner of 5th and Montana.

Today in The Word

Tuesday Nov 4, 2019

We have a tendency to blame God when things are not going well in our lives. Welcome to The Word with Pastor David. We can tell ourselves that God is the author of our trials and temptations. Yet James 1:16-187 states:

 “Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights who does not change like shifting shadows”

 The passage tells us that every good gift comes from God. If we can remember this, it can fundamentally change how we behave in a trial. If we think God is the likely author of our trial, we will do our best to avoid him, and tend to deal with our trial by ourselves. In contrast, if we think that God is the source of all good gifts, when we are in trial, we move toward God. He is not the source of our problem but rather the source of good in the midst of a storm.

 Don’t blame God in your crisis, but rather run to him. He is a lavish giver of good gifts.

 And that’s the Word from David Baker of Deer Lodge Assembly on the corner of 5th and Montana. 

Today in the Word

Wednesday Nov 5, 2019

 Nobody likes to be in a wilderness experience, but are there lessons to be learned when we feel we are on the back-side of the desert? Welcome to The Word with Pastor David. Moses tells the Israelites just before they enter the Promised Land in Deuteronomy 8:1-2:

 “Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the Lord promised on oath…Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to…test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.”

 The wilderness tests us. When we are in difficulty and under stress like the Israelites were for several decades, we find out what we really believe. Is our obedience to God merely talk or is it real? It is not that hard to obey God’s commands when there is no pressure. The wilderness is a ‘real-world’ experiment designed to measure our faithfulness.

 So, if you are in a wilderness right now, consider that this is the best lab in which to grow your faithfulness to God. Sometimes we might even thank God for providing a testing ground for our spiritual development. It is good to find out if we can walk the talk.

 And that’s the Word from Pastor David of Deer Lodge Assembly.  Join our Wednesday adult Bible Study at 6:30 for more of the Word.  

Today in the Word

Thursday Nov 6, 2019

Nobody likes to be in a wilderness experience, but are there lessons to be learned when we feel we are on the back-side of the desert? Welcome to The Word with Pastor David. Moses speaks of God to the Israelites just before they enter the Promised Land in Deuteronomy 8:3:

 “He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known…”

 One gift the desert gives is that the wilderness can humble us. The Israelites could not solve the problem of sustaining all their families and clans by what the desert naturally provides. They were against the wall. God miraculously provided manna—just enough for each day. And the people began to recognize their dependence on God. Desert experiences can leave us feeling helpless to solve even the most basic concerns of life. When we don’t have anywhere else to turn, we can turn to God. And when we do, we learn one of life’s great lessons: we are more dependent on God than we know—so we ought to lean on him in everything, not just when we are in trial and scared.

  And that is the Word from Deer Lodge Assembly on the corner of 5th and Montana. 

 Today in the Word

Friday Nov 7, 2019

What can a desert experience teach us? Welcome to The Word with Pastor David. Moses speaks of God to the Israelites after they have been in the wilderness for 40 years in Deuteronomy 8:3:

 “He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”

 If these words of Moses feel familiar, it is because they are. Jesus has been in his own wilderness experience for 40 days when Satan suggests he abuse his powers and make rocks into bread. Jesus quotes this same line from Deuteronomy 8.

 What is our desert lesson? God’s words are a bigger deal than even the basics of life. And it takes an extreme situation to put the basics of food water and shelter in doubt. Then we can make the priority decision. After all, it is ok to provide for our basics. We just need to know that God’s communication with us is first, and the basics of life are a distant second. And that is a life-lesson worth learning.

 And that’s the Word.  You can enjoy more of the Word this Sunday at 10:45 at Deer Lodge Assembly on the corner of 5th and Montana.