Today’s Verse

The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

Matthew 11:5

Monday, June 27

We live in the ultimate “day of good news.” On this side of the cross we have the good news of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection to share! We have the promise that the gospel is the power of God to change lives!

We have great teaching, great music, a great facility, great technology and great comfort. Yet, like the lepers we tend to hoard, not share these great blessings. We tend to keep them for ourselves, gorging ourselves, tucking them away for safe keeping. We easily become CONSUMERS of God’s blessings instead of PRODUCERS of His blessings!

When we hoard God’s blessings, we become selfish. We begin to think, “what can I get” instead of “what can I give.” We ask, “what can be done for me” instead of “what can I do for others.” We become preoccupied with “having our needs met” instead of “meeting the needs of others.”

We become SELF-CENTERED instead of CHRIST-CENTERED. The Christ-centered church, the church that upholds the gospel will always be reaching out in love and compassion to others!

When we hoard God’s blessings, divisions always come. Show me a church that is fractured by schisms and cliques and I’ll show you a church that is not centered on the gospel. Show me a church that is fighting and grumbling and I’ll show you one that’s lost its focus. Please, let’s make the gospel our central focus.

Weekly Memory Verse

The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him.

Ezra 8:22

"Wherever Jesus has been proclaimed, we see lives change for the good, nations change for the better, thieves become honest, alcoholics become sober, hateful individuals become channels of love, unjust persons embrace justice."
- J McDowell

Pastor Armstrong

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