James Tealy will be with us again this year on June 28th at Heritage Day @ the Park. We were blessed by his music and encouraged by his words last year, and I can’t wait for James to be back this year.



James’ new album, “The Hardest Step To Land”, will be released at the beginning of June so the day at the park will be an excellent opportunity to pick one up and even get it signed! Check out the video below of the song “Hands” from the new album:

...He causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteousness and the unrighteousness...

-Matthew 5:45

We have been dumped on for the past week. I have heard there was over 30 inches of rain in some places. Personally, I enjoy sitting on the back porch and watching the rain fall except when it rains so much it starts coming through the doors! In other words, I don't mind the rain until the time it begins to affect me or my plans.

It is a fact of nature that there will be those days with no clouds in the sky and none on the horizon, as well as those times of rain and wind. Deserved or not, the bad weather will come and it’s the same within our lives. We will experience those times of blessings as well as times of difficulty. During the times of Jesus, and even today, it has been a common belief that difficulty in a persons life was the end result of sin. As a matter of fact, Jesus was asked one time why a person was sick and his reply was, "nothing... except that God be glorified!!"

These thoughts are close to my heart today because of several friends that I know who are struggling with physical issues or difficult situations in general. May we be reminded that God allows certain situations to happen and even goes as far as to create certain circumstances within our lives, but the desired purpose is for our faith to be enlarged and for the Father to be glorified.

Father, today we trust You in the good and bad times. We thank You because You are faithful, and You can be trusted.


-Sidney

Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

-John 19:25-27


While suffering on the cross, Jesus communicated the love he felt for his mom by recognizing her and making sure she was taken care of after his departure. There was no mistaking just how much he loved his mother. This Mother's Day, how did you communicate your love towards your mom? How easy it is for days, months and even sometimes years to go by without proper communication inside the family?


-Sidney Brock

How can we remember that the enemy is seeking ways that he cannot only distract us, but destroy us? We must put on the armor of God as Paul directed us in his writing found in Ephesians 6:10-17. My encouragement to you is to learn to pray these verses as a reminder of the enemies schemes but also remind you to suit up daily, preparing yourself for battle.

Here is an example of how to pray this "Awareness Prayer" as taken from Paul's words.

Father, I desire to be strong in the Lord and in His power and might, and today I am going to put on the full armor of God so that I can take my stand against the devil’s schemes. Lord, I don’t know what the devils schemes are for me, for Merideth, or for my kids, but I know that they are there. Father, make me sensitive so I can see the darts, temptations coming my way, that I can recognize them and do something about it. God, remind me that my battles are not with flesh and blood, not against him or her, but that there is a spiritual element to my conflicts, and help me to pray for my enemies and for the people that hurt me so that they can know the great grace and mercy you provide. God, do what you need to in my life so that I can be better at relating to others. Help me to remember it is not about flesh and blood—but my struggle is aginst the rulers and authorities and powers of this dark world, against spiritual forces in heavenly realms. God, today I put on the whole armor so that when the day of evil comes, I will be able to stand my ground. Lord, I stand firm by putting on the belt of truth, I want You to renew my mind to what is true. When I am tempted, I will be able to easily determine what is right and true from that which is a lie. Father, I want to put on the breastplate of righteousness. I thank You for giving me this breastplate, that I don’t come to you based on my good works but on the finished works of Christ on the cross. Today I want to do what is right; give me the wisdom to know what is right as well as the courage to do what is right even when it is tough. I want to put on the shoes of readiness so I am ready to go and take the gospel to the world and prioritize relationships with people that don’t know Christ. I want to be ready at all times to be used by You. I take up the shied of faith which I can use to extinguish all of the firely darts that come my way; all the flaming darts of the evil one because I will be shot at today. Let me use my shield of faith to defend myself, and by faith today, I claim victory over lust, pride, arrogance and busyness. I claim victory over anger and bad attitudes, over being greedy and selfish. Lord, You know what I am going to face today and when those temptations come my way, I am praying that You will remind me that I have already been given the victory over all of those of temptations. I want to put on my helmet of salvation that it may remind me of whose team I am on and the true gift of salvation that was given freely to me, not something that was earned. Thank You for those in my life that have influenced me for Christ. Help me today to take up the sword of the spirit and make Your Word a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path that I would not trust in my abilities but in Your Word, for it is perfect and true and teaches me what is right and wrong.

Father I pray this for my family as well. Help me as a father to prepare my children. Thank You for the armor and may I use it daily because I am in a battle.

In Your Name...


I encourage you to pray a similar prayer daily.

Preparing for the battle is serious business and so much is at stake. We must understand that there is an unseen world that is functioning in and around us. Everyday we will face the fiery darts. There is no need to be afraid, because "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.” -1 John 4:4


Sidney Brock

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in Him. For everything in the world-the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what a man has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

-1 John 2:15-16

While being bombarded with life stuff, (marriage, children, jobs, finances), I have been reminded just how easy it is to get distracted as a believer. Everyday we are stretched and pulled from so many directions, and those stresses have the potential to drain our energy as well as set us up for disaster.

Before we know it, we can be sitting on the edge of the cliff, hanging on by just by a thread. This "World" that we live in carries with it an unseen ebb and flow that is provided by the master of disaster himself: Satan, the father of this world, the prince of this world is deceitful and a liar. His desire is our distraction and destruction.

We cannot be caught off guard, and we must not give in to the ways of this world, but be on the lookout for potential land mines that can trip us up. We must be aware of things below, but set our minds and hearts on things above. With the beginning of each new day comes the "choice" for us to demonstrate our true love. How will you choose to live today?

-Pastor Sidney