I will rise up!

I know it's been a long time between posts. Forgive me! Today's message can be encouraging to those who need to know.

As I stopped today for time in prayer, I cried out to God concerning the fate of our nation. You know what? God is still listening and believe me when I tell you.. He still loves and cares about us.

Psalm 12:1-8 (NLT) "Help, O Lord, for the godly are fast disappearing! The faithful have vanished from the Earth! Neighbors lie to each other, speaking with flattering lips and deceitful hearts. (Sounds like our society today)

May the Lord cut off their flattering lips and silence their boastful tongues. They say, "We will lie to our heart's content. Our lips are our own- who can stop us?"

The Lord replies, "I have seen violence done to the helpless, and I have heard the groans of the poor. Now I will rise up to rescue them, as they have longed for Me to do."

The Lord's promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over. Therefore, Lord, we know you will protect the oppressed, preserving them forever from this lying generation, even though the wicked strut about, and evil is praised throughout the land.

Living for God is a deceitful world can be difficult and lonely. At one time Elijah felt so lonely he wanted to die. But God reminded him that there were 7,000 other faithful servants. God reminds us the same thing... Hang in there, you have other believers still out there with you, you're not alone. When you feel alone, seek out other believers for strength and support.

God said... "I will rise up!" He still hears your prayers and He's paying attention to what's going on in this generation. Fear not!

This was written by King David a long time ago... but if you look at this closely... it sounds like he's talking about us in 2008 AD. God still hears the cries of His children and promises to rise up on your behalf.

I hope this blog is an encouragement for you today... I know its help me.

God bless you as you bless others

Jim "DoughBoy" Brady

Can you believe it, the wrap up of another year and the ushering in of a new year. So what's in store for this year?

There are so many uncertainties that are always missing from our planning calendars, and if your life is anything like mine... there were quiet a few changes that I had to make on my own personal schedule, because I didn't plan for them. Sometimes those changes are really uncomfortable but they were necessary for me to go forward.

Have you experienced anything like that? Maybe the death of a loved one... a job change... moved into a new area for whatever reason. The point is, some of those changes may have been scheduled while others were unexpected and for us to move forward... we had to adjust our plans.

The Bible tells us in Proverbs 16:9(Msg) "We plan the way we want to live, but only God makes us able to live it."

Did you see that? "We plan the way we want to live..." How did you do with your planning schedule in 2007? Did your plans run according to your schedule?

Jeremiah 29:11(NLT) "For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord, they are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope"

Was God included in your plans? How often did you consult with God concerning your plans?

Jeremiah 29:12-13(NLT) "In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for Me wholeheartedly, you will find Me."

You see, we make it hard on ourselves when where not seeking God's plans for our lives, and making it even harder when we're not even scheduling our time to include seeking God.

The first scripture quoted in this message; Proverbs 16:9 ended like this: "...but only God makes us able to live it." Live what? Our plans for the way we want to live!

Matthew 6:33-34(NLT) "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else and live righteously and He will give you everything you need. So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries, today's trouble is enough for today."

My prayer for you reading this today is that you would start your 2008 planning schedules... time to seek God's plans... He promises a future and a hope.

Happy New Year
Pastor Jim "DoughBoy" Brady

Guiding Light

Wake up!

Look at this picture... the seas are the storms of life that are tossing us all over the place. But in the midst of this storm is a solid structure, and notice it is not moved by what is going on around it.

The sky is dark... yet there is a light that is guiding you toward that safe structure. That light is the word of God that can and still guides us.


The open arms on each side of this old light house are the open arms of Christ... please notice that the hands are open; not closed... God is not hateful... He is loving and compassionate and can still help you in and through the storms of life.

With the devastation all around us... why do we insist on ignoring the love of God? Why are we so bent on getting and keeping God away from us? We don't want Him involved in our lives and yet, whenever we're in a storm and drowning... we blame God... WHY?

What did God... ever do to you?

Some of our youth today have picked up this same hatred that their parents have and they don't even know why. They just know that they hate God and they hate people who are professing Christians. They hate the local church and all that it stands for.

If you look around you... you'll see that your world is crashing and in need of help... People everyday are killing each other... young people are in more serious trouble than ever before.

Has your child ever been in serious legal trouble and you quietly sat in your room and cried... "what did I do wrong"? My question to you is... did you ever tell your child about God, (about faith in Jesus Christ) or are you one of those parents that didn't believe... so you didn't want your child to believe?

If so... Look at the outcome!

Families are being ripped apart today... parents are killing their kids and kids are killing their parents... kids or even killing kids. This is not a display of love... it's plain out hatred.

Why is it so apparent... because we have turned away from the light... we have turned away from those outstretched arms.

I know why people hate what the light stands for. They hate it because it causes us to see ourselves for what we really are and we don't like that... we don't want to see the truth that we are really screwing things up. We are so full of ourselves that we figure we don't need help... look around... look at your life... look at your family... do you really have all the answers to life? I doubt it. If you're really honest which can be hard for some... we might even admit to ourselves.... we're in deep trouble. We need help.

This is where God's grace and mercy comes in...

• Grace is God giving you what you don't deserve
• Mercy is God not giving you what you do deserve

This is love... God still loves you!

Look... if this blog has chapped you off... good, I'm not here to tickle your ears... I'm here to get you to look at your heart... If it's dark... don't be a fool... turn toward the light while you still have time, and for the love of God... bring your kids. If you have to admit you've been a fool all this time; just spit out your pride because it will chock the life out of you and tell them you were wrong.

God is the same yesterday... today and tomorrow

He is still our life saver!

I love you
Jim "DoughBoy" Brady