28 January 2024 - ENCS

Vicki Tekwani concluded the Set Apart series today

Focused on the biblical view of holiness, he did say

As per First Peter one, our conduct should be holy

We must aim to be holy since God is holy, we see

Confirming to God’s character leads to our holiness

To God, we are called into a relationship with access

To be holy like God, commands Leviticus eleven

We should desire to see God here and in heaven

We should want to be holy not to impress others

Building relationships with God must be our druthers

Throughout the Bible, the focus is on relationship

But we should do willingly, not due to a guilt trip

How we can be holy, Romans twelve does share

Present our body as a living sacrifice in prayer

Surrender and sacrifice, worldly patterns resist

Per Joshua one, renewing our minds is the gist

23 January 2024 - The Ghosting Trap

The other morning as I scrolled through my SQ App

There was a devotion entitled "The Ghosting Trap”

Engaging relationships can suddenly just disappear

Like a disconnected internet that becomes unclear

But as written in Deuteronomy chapter thirty one

Abandoning us is something God has never done

And per Isaiah forty one, we should never fear

For the Lord God and His strength are always near

21 January 2024 - ENCS

Pastor Josh Harris continued the Set Apart series today

Asking that to live out holiness, is there an effective way?

He mentioned two distinct mountains - Sinai and Zion

One was for Moses but the other points to God’s scion

Moses received the ten commandments on Mount Sinai

Those at the base could even see God’s fire from on high

Per Hebrews twelve, God’s laws without love insttill fear

That causes many an unbeliever to resist pulling near

Conversely, Mount Zion is the picture of a new covenant

Direct interaction with God is now available to a supplicant

We gain confidence knowing our names are in heaven

And our faith cannot be shaken, per verse twenty seven

God’s all-consuming fire can be destroying or refining

We must throw off all that hinders so we can be aligning

Remember that loving discipline oft seems like hardship

And loving others is following the law on our life’s trip

13 January 2024 - ENCS

Pastor Josh shared some thoughts at a get-together

That seem appropriate whether in fair or foul weather

The prophet Isaiah, in chapter sixty three verse seven

Mentions the all-loving kindness of God in heaven

We should remember all of our answered prayers

A testimony to how much our Lord God for us cares

All that God has bestowed on us, Isaiah did continue

Opportunities and talents that help in all that we do

So we thank God for blessings on our life’s trip

As we all pray, meditate, proclaim, and fellowship

7 January 2024 - ENCS

Pastor Josh kicked off a new series on holiness

‘Holy" can be taken in two ways, Josh did express

It can describe God who is above all that is bad

But many view it in a judgemental way that is sad

In chapter six, Isaiah saw God sitting on a throne

The fact that King Uzziah was a kind of milestone

Reminding us that in order to obtain our inheritance

We must at times from our old ways put a distance

Because God is holy, from the world He is separate

Human infirmity, impurity, and sinfulness are our fate

We all fall short of God’s glory, per Romans three

So were dead in our sins, in Ephesians two we see

God's perfect love can make us healthy spiritually

That helps us mentally, emotionally, and physically

Per Romans five, we have been justified by faith

By His grace we have been saved, Paul sayeth

God is holy - separate, sacred, and superlative

We are not holy - sinful and selfish in how we live

God makes us holy - setting us right and free

Enabling us up to do His good works with glee

31 December 2023 - ENCS

Pastor Josh ended the year talking about thankfulness

A feeling we should always bear in mind, he did stress

Per Acts seventeen, Paul said God made everything

That is why in many Psalms, David did praises sing

The SQ App has a function to see answered prayers

A powerful reminder that God both listens and cares

Josh stated we should be thankful to God every hour

For His provision, His protection, as well as His power

We should be thankful for God per Hebrews thirteen

Because God will never leave or forsake us, it is seen

And we are more than conquerors, per Romans eight

God’s presence, peace, and person will never abate

Be thankful to God for each other was his final point

For our fellow believers support and never disappoint

In First Corinthians one, Paul said to give thanks

Per Romans one, he said we help fill in others’ blanks

In Romans twelve, Paul said  be thankful to God above

For multiplied wisdom, mutual faith, and genuine love

25 December 2023 - Blessed Christmas

“Why do…the peoples plot in vain?” says Psalm two

The Lord and His Anointed One the leaders try to outdo

From heaven, the Lord scoffs and rebukes them all

For His King on Zion – the holy hill - God did install

“You are my Son…and I [am] your Father,” God said

God will make “the nations [His] inheritance” instead

“Therefore, you kings, be wise [and] be warned”

For they should serve the Lord they once scorned

 

The Lord said to Jesus, according to Psalm one hundred ten

To “sit at [His] right hand” and rule over all earthly men

For on “the day of battle”, “[His] troops will be willing”

Jesus is a “priest forever”, thus old prophecies fulfilling

God “will crush kings on the day of His wrath”

For Jesus will always be found on God’s path

There have been many priests, per Hebrews seven

But only one lives forever, He was sent from heaven

“Therefore he is able to save completely” any person

“He lives to intercede for them” before their lives worsen

 

The birth of Jesus is briefly written about in Luke two

Joseph went to Bethlehem, for a census all had to do

He went with Mary, his betrothed who was expecting

She gave birth to her son in a stable without objecting

There were shepherds in the nearby fields with their flock

The glory of the Lord shone, and their knees did all knock

But an angel came and told them about the good news

That in Bethlehem had been born the King of the Jews

They were told to rejoice, for they were not in any danger

They would find Jesus wrapped in clothes lying in a manger

“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem,” per Matthew two

Magi from the east came, a star in the sky was the clue

The king of the Jews is who they wanted to worship

So they brought gifts with them on the very long trip

King Herod was disturbed; the Magi in secret he did call

They were to report back to him; his evil plans not to stall

The child they did find as to the star they did refer

They worshipped him with gold, incense, and myrrh

About Herod’s evil plot from a dream they did learn

So by another route to their country they did return