Moment by Moment

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8 This past week, our Bethany prayer team was sitting around at our midweek prayer group mutually reflecting on how difficult a year it’s been… already.  I mean, we’re 34 days into it and I’m whipped.  It feels an awful lot like 2020, doesn’t it?  Somehow, I thought that…

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I don’t need the money. Over the past year, since COVID has ravaged the global economy, the US economy has also suffered greatly.  In March, when everything shut down, the unemployment rate soared from a historic low of 3.5% to a whopping 14.8% almost overnight.  Sixty million people were thrown out of work. In response to this devastation, Congress has twice passed stimulus bills that have provided one-time direct payments to every American taxpayer. So, on May 6, 2020 the…

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So, we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18 Yesterday I stood in the middle of the debris of a house fire that tragically struck one of our Bethany families.  The blaze was Saturday afternoon, so the fire trucks had long since left and the insurance adjuster was poking through the aftermath of soot and char.  To enter the…

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I’ve been struggling with my prayers of late. I don’t think I’m having a crisis of faith. I mean, I still believe that God is good, faithful, loves me unconditionally and has a good plan for my life. And I believe that God is sovereign over all and desires our world to be healed and reconciled. I think my issue is reconciling these truths with the madness we see all round us. It’s hard to know how to pray when…

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Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin. Zechariah 4:10 This past Sunday, as I sat quarantining in my living room watching our student ministry intern Isaac Martin preach, it hit me.  2021 is a big year.  This year I celebrate 30 years of pastoral ministry and 30 years of marriage to Pam.  It’s hard to believe, but in 1991 I was a pastoral intern at Grace Baptist Church of Boyertown, soon to marry…

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Probably about 5 years ago, Pam and I were challenged with the idea of God giving you a “word” for the new year.  Now, this isn’t a prophetic word, as in “this year God told me I should move to Colorado, start a new business, be wildly successful and earn a high six figure salary.” But more like a discipleship focus for the next 12 months. It’s an advance sense of an area God will be developing and refining you…

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Dear Family & Friends, As we look back over 2020, God has given us many reasons to REJOICE!  Here are a few highlights…  “The new house” has become our home. Living in Lancaster County has been peaceful and restful. We love the view of the farm fields out our back window and the clip-clopping of a horse & buggy rolling past our street.  Many evenings we take pictures of the vibrant sunsets that fill the sky.  It’s fascinating to watch…

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“God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding. He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’ So that everyone he has made may know his work, he stops all people from their labor.” Job 37:5-7 Massive storm spanning Ohio Valley to Southeast, bearing down on Northeast ~ Accuweather, December 15, 2020, 9:05 AM So, here we are… awaiting the first significant snowfall of the season.  I’m…

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Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Galatians 5:25 “What does it mean to ‘walk by the Spirit’”? (Galatians 5:16) My good friend, John Stroud, texted me this question last week as he did his sermon prep on Galatians 5. John and I were partners in ministry for over 10 years and he is now a full time counselor for Grace Ministries and an elder at Mosaic Church in Lynchburg, Virginia. He asked, not…

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Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God ….” Hebrews 12:28-29 At Bethany Grace Fellowship, this past Sunday we began a three-week series on thankfulness, entitled “Moving from ThanksGiving to ThanksLiving.”  And in my introduction, I mentioned how Thanksgiving has become somewhat of a “non-holiday” in our culture.  I good naturedly pointed out that our local Lowes has had artificial Christmas trees on sale since before Halloween and Christmas decorations appeared…

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