"Where Love Reigns!"
Redeemed Church © 2013 | Privacy Policy
From Pastor Sheli's Weekly 'Prayer & Praise' email
Weekly Announcements
11/20...Women's Bible Study
11/23...Thanksgiving Service / FISH Food Bank Drive Ends
12/7...Annual Christmas Party Following Service
Giving Opprtunity- F.I.N. (Families In Need) Christmas
SOCIAL- Instagram & YouTube @ Redeemed Church Vancouver WA
Email Praise Reports & Prayer Requests redeemedfam@gmail.com
Good Morning Church Family! God is able and faithful! I just love this time of year! A season of thankfulness. We are doing the 30 Days of Praise at church right now. Each day we take time to stop and be thankful for something that God has done or is doing in our lives. It is such a great time to focus in on all the praise reports that you have and to praise God for them! It really ushers in the Christmas season so beautifully because we enter it with thanksgiving instead of complaining. You come into the season not being caught up in the hustle and bustle but rather on a wave of praise. It is so amazing to me when you choose to live a life focused on praise, how it can affect the way you see life. I recently talked to a friend I hadn't talked to in a while and I didn't realize how upbeat and positive I was until she pointed it out. I shared with her my outlook comes from what I am looking at. If I focus on all that has gone wrong or all we've been through negatively or things we missed (you can see where this is going...) or disappointments I wouldn't be able to be so positive. I told her that I don't want to live my life focused on the wrongs... I want to focus on what the Word says and focus on all that is going right! There are so many negative things in the world because the world as a whole does not know the Lord or the Word and therefore it is going to only see what is right in front of them. This is why we are called to let our light shine! How can you shine when you are focused on all the negatives? The answer is, you can't.
I have had people tell me that I can be positive because nothing bad has ever happened to me or I haven't been through what they have been through. The reality is, everyone has been through things and everyone has had loss or disappointment in their lives because of the fallen world we live in. It comes down to how we choose to move forward. We have a choice. Remember what the Lord said through Moses in Deuteronomy 30?
Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, "Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?" Now is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, "Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?" No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it. See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to Him and to keep His commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now CHOOSE life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice and hold fast to Him.
We always have a choice and yet God in His grace even tells us the answer and which to choose to enjoy all the benefits that He has for us. CHOOSE life! Part of choosing life is choosing what you dwell on. Sometimes we don't correlate that what we dwell on and what we think eventually becomes who we are and what we do, but it does make a difference. If we get caught up in the too difficult or the unattainable like Moses talked about then we won't see things changing or getting better. But I love what Moses said, it's not too difficult for you or beyond your reach! He was talking to a group of people who were getting ready to cross through water, fight an enemy living in a city with insurmountable walls and take over a land that was filled with their enemy. Yet he was telling them they could do this! He was trying to get them to focus on the right thing... the victory they have in the Lord. He was telling them to choose life and blessing! I would like to say the same to you. No matter what is going on in your life, YOU CAN DO THIS! No matter how high the mountain looks, IT'S NOT BEYOND YOUR REACH! You know what the Word of God says and you know that God is with you so make the choice today to choose life! Choose blessings! Focus on what the Word says and focus on being thankful and focus on praising the Lord daily! Then watch and see what the Lord does in your life! He is faithful to His promises. We just need to focus on what those promises are and then praise Him in advance. Don't let this season of thanksgiving pass you by. Make the time everyday to be thankful and let that be your focus. Make a decision today to choose life and blessings! Have a wonderful rest of your week, Church Family and lets be a family that shines bright with the joy that comes from having thankful hearts! Blessings, Pastors Sheli and Steve
'What's Up at Your RC??'