It was midnight in the dungeon.  That’s where we find Paul and Silas in Acts 16.  Their ministry efforts in Philippi landed them in jail.  Supposing the charges made were true, the Roman authorities ordered Paul and Silas to be severely beaten.  The command was then given to the jailor to fasten their feet in the stocks.

There God’s two missionaries sat at midnight in a dark, damp dungeon.  Beaten.  Bloody.  Cold.  Uncomfortable.  

Sitting outside the prison door the jailor was used to hearing the groans and curses of those confined.  What he heard that night totally surprised him.  He heard singing and praying.  Someone was having church in the prison at midnight.  The jailor did not yet know about the God who gives songs in the night (Job 35:10).  Before the night was over, he would learn.

Still suffering from the beating, Paul and Silas were not about to let Satan steal their joy and silence their song.  So they began singing praises to the Lord.  It’s possible the words didn’t come easy at first, but they pressed on.  The farther they went the louder they sang, and the louder they sang the happier they became until the entire jail was filled with the sound of praises. “And the prisoners were listening to them” (Acts 16:25).

The Bible goes on to tell of the miraculous earthquake and the conversion of the jailor and his family.  But the thing that captured my attention today was the singing.

How easy it is to let the enemy silence your song when you are sitting in some dungeon at midnight.  We can be hit with a case of spiritual amnesia at those times.  For the life of us, we cannot remember past victories and eternal promises.  The fact that God has always been faithful completely slips our minds as we sink into the pit of despair.

How did Paul and Silas get out of prison that night?  They sang their way out.  We need faith that sings in the night and keeps on singing of the greatness of our God.  

Faith that sings will not only lift you out of the dungeon of despair, but will serve as a persuasive testimony to others.  No matter what comes your way, keep on believing and keep on singing.
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Pastor Todd Weston

It’s Thanksgiving time again.  I love everything about this holiday - the food, time with family and friends, and the fact that Christmas is just around the corner.  While we celebrate the holiday once a year, every day should be Thanksgiving for the believer.  

Paul told the Ephesians, we are to give thanks “always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 5:20).  Paul’s instruction to the Thessalonians is similar but with a slight adjustment, “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess. 5:18).  The message of these verses is that we are to give thanks always and in every situation.  

Scottish minister, Alexander Whyte, was known for his inspiring prayers in the pulpit.  He always managed to find something for which to be grateful.  One Sunday morning the weather was especially forbidding, and the mood in the church was gloomy.  One particular member thought to himself, “Certainly the preacher won’t be able to think of anything to give thanks for today!”  Much to his surprise, however, Whyte stepped into the pulpit and began his prayer with these words, “We thank Thee, O God, that it is not always like this!”  There is always something for which we can give thanks.

In his book, Chase the Lion, Mark Batterson made this observation, “Gratitude is thanking God after He does it.  Faith is thanking God before He does it.”  Like the healed leper of Luke 17 who returned to give thanks, we all can thank the Lord for the things He has done.  He has done great things.  This is after-the-fact thanksgiving.

But what about thanking God in advance for what He is going to do?  That requires faith.  It’s what the army of Israel did in 2 Chronicles 20:21 as they went to battle against the confederacy of armies that had invaded their land.  They marched to the battle singing, “Give thanks to the Lord; his faithful love endures forever!" (2 Chronicles 20:21 NLT)  Faith thanks God in advance, “being fully convinced that what He has promised He [is] able to perform” (Romans 4:21).

I encourage you to start a new spiritual discipline this Thanksgiving week.  Take a few moments each day to reflect back on the past and thank God for all He has done in your life.  That’s gratitude.  But don’t stop there.  Having looked back, now turn your gaze to the future and thank Him for all He is going to do.  That’s faith.

Before sitting down to dinner this Thursday, teach the practice of thanksgiving to your friends and family gathered around the table.  At all times and in all situations, give thanks.

Pastor Todd Weston 

Did you know that God can be unpredictable?  I would even say predictably unpredictable at times.  While God is always faithful, He oftentimes does things in ways you might not expect.  

Take David’s experience in 2 Samuel 5:17-25 for example.  No sooner was David made king over all Israel than the dreaded Philistines mounted an invasion.  So David did the smart thing and prayed.  He asked the Lord, “Should I attack the Philistines?  Will you hand them over to me?” And God said, “Attack!  I will certainly hand the Philistines over to you” (v19).  So David led the army of Israel in a full frontal assault.  The Philistines were not just defeated, they were decimated!  They even left their beloved idols behind as they ran for their lives.

A short time later David received word that the Philistines were back.  It was like a repeat performance.  David could have bypassed prayer this time.  He could have opted for the former plan of attack thinking, “It worked once; it will work again.”  Wisely, David did not take that course of action.  He must have suspected the unpredictability of God.

David prayed again, but this time received a different answer.  The Lord said, “Don’t attack now” (v23).  The frontal attack that worked before was not to be used again.  This time God told David to circle around behind the Philistines and create an ambush.  The army of Israel was to wait until they heard the sound of marching feet in the tops of the nearby balsam trees to launch the ambush.  The sound was the sign that God had gone ahead of Israel to defeat the enemy.

David learned to not assume that God would always act the same way twice.  Does He not say in His Word, “Behold, I will do a new thing”?  About the time you think you have God figured out, He does something to remind you He is past figuring out!  I think God enjoys mixing it up.  For one thing, it keeps us on our spiritual toes.  It also makes life quite exciting because you never know what incredible thing God is going to do next, or how He is going to pull it off.

I am glad to serve a God who can be unpredictable at times.  While I cannot always figure Him out, I am thankful God is always trustworthy.  No matter how He does it, God will always do the right thing, at the right time, and in the right way.  In this, He is absolutely predictable!

Pastor Todd Weston

It hit me like a ton of bricks!  

I was sitting in our men’s group that meets on Monday mornings at 6:30am.  We have been reading the book, In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day, by Mark Batterson.  The book is based on a story that is almost a byline in Scripture.  It’s the account of a man named Benaiah who did something crazy.  He jumped into a pit with a man-eating lion and killed it!  

As Batterson writes in his sequel titled Chase The Lion, “You can run away from what you are afraid of, but you’ll be running the rest of your life.  It’s time to face your fears, take a flying leap of faith, and chase the lion!”

The discussion in our men’s group that morning centered upon the greatness of God.  We talked about how God sees opportunities when we see obstacles.  We talked about those mountains of impossibility that rise up against us, and how God can use them to stretch and strengthen our faith.  We talked about what it means to resist the devil, which isn’t a defensive action but an offensive strategy.  God always calls us to play offense!

Then one of our men shared something so simple, and yet so powerful, that it hit me like a ton of bricks.  He said, “When our family is facing a crisis situation, we draw a picture of a mountain on a piece of paper.  We then name the mountain by whatever the need is we are facing.  Then we go to prayer and tell the mountain to get lost.”

That’s crazy faith!  Maybe, but it’s also biblical faith.  Jesus said so, “Have faith in God.  Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them” (Mark 11:22-23).

How many times have we prayed for God to remove some mountain of impossibility in our lives?  I know I have done so countless times.  But when I heard that statement the other morning, it became a moment of revelation.  I sensed the Lord saying to me, “ Stop asking me to remove the mountain when I have given you the authority (Luke 10:19) and the faith (Mark 11:22) to speak to it and command it to go!”

What mountain of impossibility are you facing today?  I’ve got good news for you.  God is bigger than the mountain!  Understand, it is God’s power that moves the mountain, not ours.  But He waits for us to step out in faith.  Get a piece of paper.  Draw a picture of a mountain.  Name it.  Then in the strong name of Jesus, command your mountain to get lost!

“Who are you, O great mountain?  You shall become a plain!” (Zechariah 4:7)  Step up in faith and be a mountain mover.

Pastor Todd Weston