Midweek Meditation

By Rev. Gregory L. Edmond Galatians 1:11 "Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the Gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning."     NLT "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me." Those words are some of the most famous and beautiful words of Christian history, yet it's not because of who wrote 'Amazing Grace' but rather because that lines ring with a very powerful, eternal truth. Grace is truly amazing. Consider the reality of God's grace. Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, That saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but not I’m found. T’was blind, but now I see. Grace allows us to fly even though we have fallen in the past. Grace allows us to be strong even though we have been weak in the past. Grace allows us a bright future even though our past would condemn us. Grace allows us to go out and try awesome things because we have a clean slate. When we trust in th...

                                                       By Rev. Gregory L. Edmond  Hosea 4:6 "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children." NKJV Knowledge is powerful. If you know how to fix a computer, you are a valuable asset to many people. If you know a foreign language, you are able to carry on conversations with those who live across the globe.  Even more importantly, if you know the Word of God, you are able to understand His promises and apply them to your life. This was not the case for the people of Israel in the b...

Trust in the Lord By Rev. Gregory L. Edmond 2 Kings 18:19 "Then the Rabshakeh said to them, "Say now to Hezekiah, 'Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: "What confidence is this in which you trust?"NKJV It is very easy to begin trusting in the 'things' of this world because of the subtle way they steal our attention away from God. It is because of this subtle infiltration of worldly things that every Christian should take the time to evaluate themselves. Is there something that you give a larger role in your life than God? Has your focus become a kaleidoscope of 'things' preventing you from clearly focusing on serving God? If so, confess to God and turn your gaze toward Him before the subtle deception of accumulation leaves you trusting in the stuff instead of God. Otherwise, there will come a day when you will find yourself spiritually and possibly physically famished. Life Lesson: We should know who or what we are ...

In The Potter’s Hands                        By Rev. Gregory L. Edmond Isaiah 29:16 "Surely you have things turned around! Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay; For shall the thing made say of him who made it, 'He did not make me'? Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it, 'He has no understanding'?" NKJV Imagine... the God of the universe who spoke stars and galaxies into existence is the very one who formed you into the person you are today. Your eyes, nose, hands and feet were all created by the One who holds the oceans in the palm of His hands. I don't know about you friend, but that is a humbling image. What great comfort to know that the God of all things created me the way I am and yet, He still desires to mold and make me more and more like Jesus. Of course, this process is tough and quite messy. There's a lot of molding, cutting and carving that seems painful at the time, but in the Master's ...

Rev. Gregory L. Edmond Be Real   by Rev. Gregory L. Edmond 1 Corinthians 2:3 "I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling." NKJV Paul is being very honest in this verse. He is not trying to make himself look better than he really is. He isn't covering up his weakness. In fact, in  1 Timothy 1:16 , Paul proclaims that he is an example of God's longsuffering. He is not a perfect man but a perfect example of God's loving-kindness, grace and mercy. At times, Christians act like we don't have any problems. The problem with this is that it leaves an impression to those who don't know Jesus. They see Christians pretending they are not messed up, and assume that since they still struggle with problems, they don't belong in church. In doing so, are we proclaiming God's goodness or our own? We need to proclaim God's goodness by being open about our problems and proclaiming that it is the goodness of God that saves! That...