Pastor H. Gene Allen

~ Good Morning!

Our Bible verse, and Devotion, comes to us, today, from …

• Psalm‬ ‭126:5‬ •

“Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!” (ESV‬‬)

The setting, here, in verses 5 and 6 is agricultural. After the land had been neglected for so long, it was almost impossible to work it. The planting would be very difficult, because the ground would be very hard. However, with hard work, and great persistence, you could finally get a harvest.

✝️ Psalm 126:5a says, “Those who sow with tears…”

The sowing with tears, or the agonizing over the work, here, could signify anything someone did to help advance God’s Kingdom; (e.g., encouraging people to respond to the Lord and return to Him).

✝️ Psalm 126:5b says, “shall reap with shouts of joy!”

The joyful harvesting (reap) would then refer to the people who would return to faith in God.

One commentator wrote, “The psalmist was convinced that continued labor, no matter how agonizingly difficult and frustrating, would result in more people returning to the Lord.

FYI … The use of the phrase, “sowing and reaping,” have been widely used by believers (Gal. 6:7). Jesus spoke of sowing as spreading the message of the kingdom, and spoke of reaping the harvest as people who received Him by faith (Matt. 13:1–8, 18, 23).

‼️ Isn’t it about time we do some SOWING and REAPING of our own ⁉️

Sincerely,

— Pastor Gene

~ Good Morning!

Our Bible verse, today, is found in …

• John‬ ‭1:12 •

“But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name:” (KJV)

Let’s take a deeper look at this verse.

✝️ “But to as many” — Individual people; people who had before been disobedient and unruly …

✝️ “to them gave He power…” (He gave them power) — The word “power” here means, that Jesus gave those who accepted Him, both the authority and ability, to be saved, changed and to become obedient Children of God.

✝️ “to become” — Jesus is, absolutely, the Son of God and through the cross, and His blood, we become the sons of God.

✝️ “the sons of God” — We become the sons and daughters of God in name and in nature. Through Jesus, we are now the legally adopted children of Father God, with all the same rights that Jesus has.

✝️ “believe on his name” — This is a phrase denoting authority, and having a supreme relationship with God. A person who believes, and accepts Jesus, as Lord and Savior, is from Father God, just as an earthly son is from his father. Because we are now a child of God, Father God has given us an inheritance which is the power to live an abundant life on earth and the supernatural power to have an eternal life in heaven.

⁉️ Have you received Jesus?

⁉️ Have you received the power to become a child of God?

⁉️ Have you believed in His name?

⁉️ Have your sins been forgiven and forgotten?

Today would be an excellent day for you to put your faith, and trust, in Jesus.

‼️ Believe in Jesus!

‼️ Take Him at His Word!

‼️ Trust Him as your Savior, and Lord!

‼️ Become a child of Father God!

❓ What about you who are already believers in Jesus? Are you placing your absolute trust in Him? Are you trusting Him to meet all of your needs? How are you on a Faith Scale today? You really need to think about this!

Don’t let your faith flatten just because you’ve been a believer for a period of time. Ask Jesus to renew your relationship with Him, right now, and then, you work hard to cultivate that relationship with Him every day.

God bless you as you Totally Devote Yourself to Jesus!

Sincerely,

— Pastor Gene

FamilyChurchAG.com

~ Good Morning and Happy TGIF!

Our Bible verse, today, is found in …

• Isaiah‬ ‭9:6 •

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (ESV‬‬)

Isaiah 9:6 tells us that “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,” and this child was Jesus. This Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace is the Savior of the world that the Jewish people had been waiting for.

When Jesus came to earth, prophecies were fulfilled. This baby, born of a virgin, grew up to be a man who lived a perfect, sinless life. He died on a cross and rose from the dead, granting us the opportunity to be delivered from our sins.

This is what Christmas is all about! However, many times, December is packed full of things that demand our attention:

• Getting the perfect gifts for those on our list.

• Being unusually kind with our words and actions.

• Preparing a delectable meal for a party.

• Creating the most spectacular card to send to friends and family.

• Etc, Etc, Etc …

And those are all great things! However, if we’re not careful, we can allow the Way We’re Celebrating to Replace the One We’re Celebrating.

We are meant to enjoy the Christmas season, and Christmas traditions, not worship them.

This Christmas season, I remind you of an old saying that simply says, “Jesus is the Reason for the Season.” Let’s determine to keep Jesus first, and foremost, this year.

Christmas is about an exciting announcement, a tremendous testimony; “For to us a child is born…!” Salvation has finally come!

📍 Wonderful has come!

📍 Counselor has come!

📍 Prince of Peace has come!

📍 Jesus is Savior!

📍 Jesus is King of Kings!

📍 Jesus is Lord of Lords!

• What is your testimony thisChristmas season⁉️

• What has Jesus done for you, thisyear⁉️

• Well, TESTIFY‼️

• Tell Someone About It‼️

The JOY of the Christmas Season comes when we authentically Celebrate the JESUS of the Christmas Season.

Merry Christmas!!!

Sincerely,

— Pastor Gene

Governor Stitt has called for Today, Thursday, December 3, 2020 to be A DAY of PRAYER and FASTING for the State of Oklahoma. Let’s Join Him in Praying for Our Great State.

• Let’s Pray for all those who are ill with this terrible COVID-19 disease, that they will be healed.

• Let’s Pray for all of those who have lost their jobs, and incomes, because of COVID-19, that they will receive new jobs and be blessed with great salaries.

• Let’s Pray for all those who have been negatively affected, by COVID-19, that their situation will be turned around and that they will be blessed.

• Let’s Pray for our Governor, state and local leaders, as they make decisions pertaining to COVID-19.