Tuesday, January 23, 2018


Winter Starlings
(Photo by Doris High)

"All These Things"

Message summary: Whatever you are dealing with; a health matter, grief, finances, unemployment, betrayal, or any hurtful matter remember to make the right choice regarding your attitude. You can wallow in self-pity and cry out to any who will listen, "All these things are against me". Or you can victoriously declare, in all these things I am more than a conqueror through Him who loves me. As a believer, recognize that God works in and through all these things for our ultimate good to accomplish His eternal purpose.

Listen to our message on your audio player.

"All these things are against me" (Genesis 42:36). "In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us" (Romans 8:37).

Pastor Robert Morgan tells a story that we adapted for our opening illustration today.


The first text is Jacob's response when his sons had returned from Egypt and informed him that he must send Benjamin to Egypt before the brothers would be able to trade. His response is understandable given the amount of revelation he had. "Their father Jacob said to them, 'You have bereaved me of my children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and you would take Benjamin; all these things are against me.'" At this point neither he nor his sons knew that Joseph was alive and well in Egypt, nor that he was actually the one making the demands. Due to the deception of his own sons Jacob believed his favored son, Joseph, was dead; a clever deception they had been able to maintain for many years.

It seemed to Jacob like everything was going against him. Throughout his life he endured much loss, in part due to his poor choices; separation from his parents due to his deceptions, estrangement from his brother, problems with his father-in-law (who had deceived him), the loss of his beloved wife Rachel during childbirth, sibling rivalry intensified by Jacob's favoritism toward Joseph, the loss of Joseph whom he presumed to be dead, a crippling famine and now this. It sure seemed that all these things were going against him. Sometimes we feel that way don't we. It's so easy to lose perspective when we are dealing with numerous troubles in our lives.

The second text speaks of enduring faith in the midst of life's afflictions that leads to overwhelming victory. "In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us" (Romans 8:37). The apostle Paul is writing here and enumerates the "all these things" in verse 35: "tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword." With all due sympathy to that difficulty you might be experiencing, for most of us, (apart from distress) we have not experienced such extreme calamities.

Whatever you are dealing with; a health matter, grief, finances, unemployment, betrayal, or any hurtful matter remember to make the right choice regarding your attitude. You can wallow in self-pity and cry out to any who will listen, "All these things are against me". Or you can victoriously declare, in all these things I am more than a conqueror through Him who loves me. As a believer, recognize that God works in and through all these things for our ultimate good to accomplish His eternal purpose.


Be encouraged today.


Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Daily prayer: Father, troublesome times come to all and we who believe in Christ are no exception. I'm so thankful that Jesus forewarns us that we will experience troubles as long as we are in this world. He also reassures us that, even in the midst of our trouble, we can experience victorious joy because He overcame the world. And because He overcame the world we too can be overcomers. We are more than conquerors through Him who loves us. For that we are eternally grateful. Amen.

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"Mysterious Ways"  Video 

"I Am Persuaded"  Video  Travis Cottrell

"Just When You Thought"  Video  Joseph Habedank

Photos of winter birds (and other critters) by Doris High

Finally today:
These two courageous women found forgiveness through Christ after undergoing abortions in their younger years. They are promoting an eight week ministry called, Surrendering the Secret, aimed at women seeking forgiveness and peace who have gone through the trauma of abortion. A powerful testimony and much needed ministry video segment.

We appreciate our pastor's solid exposition and moving conclusion to Sunday's sermon. Certainly, if you are able to watch the entire sermon, but knowing so many have time constraints and many already heard a great sermon in their own church on Sunday let us just share the moving conclusion by Pastor Beau Eckert (video here.)