Hi,

Trust you're doing OK with our latest extended lockdown.

Can I encourage you to continue using this time praying for our Nation and those struggling during these challenging times, the World we see on our screens and the widespread COVID impact, and countries like Afghanistan. Prayer has POWER TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

If you are doing it tough or in need of any assistance or prayer, please do contact me at holts@bigpond.com or 0419 248 724.

This week's Articles ( printed with permission from Max Lucado.com) for your encouragement are both focussed on STORMS and stormy times in our lives : The Storm Walker and Where to Stare in the Storm.

Many blessings

Ken

The Storm Walker

A wall of water eclipsed Peter’s view. A wind gust snapped the mast with a crack. Peter shifted his attention away from Jesus and toward the storm, and when he did, he sank like a brick in a pond. Give the storm more attention than the Storm Walker and get ready to do the same. Whether or not storms come, we cannot choose. But where we stare during a storm, we can.

God’s call to courage is not a call to naïveté or ignorance. We aren’t to be oblivious to the overwhelming challenges that life brings. We are to counterbalance them with long looks at God’s accomplishments. The scripture says, “We must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it” (Hebrews 2:1 NASB). Today do whatever it takes to keep your gaze on Jesus.

Where to stare in the storm

“‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’ So He said, ‘Come.’ And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus” (Matthew 14:28-29).

Peter never would have made this request on a calm sea. I doubt Peter would have ever stepped out of the boat. Storms prompt us to take unprecedented journeys. For a few heart-stilling moments, Peter did the impossible. He defied every law of gravity and nature.

Matthew moves us quickly to the major message of the event, and that is where to stare in a storm. “But when [Peter] saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, ‘Lord, save me!'” (v. 30). Focus on Christ, you can do the impossible. Focus on the storm, you begin to sink.

Overconfident...Overwhelmed...Overjoyed -..Psalm 30 - Ken Holt

Hi all,

Hope you're coping well with the changing nature of COVID restrictions.

Again, if you are in need of any assistance or prayer during these challenging times, please do contact me at holts@bigpond.com or 0419 248 724.

Please do keep praying for those around you and especially those in our Church Family that the Lord places upon your heart. And keep reaching out and encouraging one another.

This week's Article (printed with permission from Churchleaders.com) for your encouragement is : ' 10 Best Quotes from Billy Graham ...'. 

Finally do remember...Jesus the Good Shepherd meets you at every point of need you have in your life and IS himself everything you ever need.

Many blessings

Ken

1. “Being a Christian is more than just an instantaneous conversion; it is like a daily process whereby you grow to be more and more like Christ.”
2. “My home is in Heaven. I’m just traveling through this world.”
3. “God never takes away something from your life without replacing it with something better.”
4. “The will of God will not take us where the grace of God cannot sustain us.”
5. “It’s the Holy Spirit’s job to convict. God’s job to judge, and my job to love.”
6. “God has given us two hands—one to receive with and the other to give with. We are not cisterns made for hoarding; we are channels made for sharing.”
7. “My prayer today is that we will feel the loving arms of God wrapped around us, and will know in our hearts that He will never forsake us as we trust in Him.”
8. “We are the Bibles the world is reading; We are the creeds the world is needing; We are the sermons the world is heeding.”
9. “Christ not only died for all: He died for each.”
10. “I’ve read the last page of the Bible. It’s all going to turn out all right.”

Ken Holt delivering the message from Psalm 23 - Shepherd in life, in death, forever!

Hi all,

Warm Greetings.

Hope you're doing OK  and enjoying a little more freedom with the easing of COVID Restrictions.

Once again, if you are in any need of assistance or prayer during these challenging times, please do contact me at holts@bigpond.com or 0419 248 724.

This week's Article for your encouragement 'The Bold Words we Gloss Over' ( from Faith It Devo ) follows. 

Serenity Prayer: The Bold Words We Gloss Over

If you’ve been in the church for any amount of time — particularly a traditional church — you’re probably familiar with the Serenity Prayer.

Written by Reinhold Niebuhr, the Serenity Prayer is a humble submission to the Lord, giving up the things we cannot control, and trusting Him to provide just what our hearts need. Serenity is the state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled.

“God grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change; 

courage to change the things I can; 

and wisdom to know the difference.”

You’ve heard it. You’ve probably even prayed it.

The Serenity Prayer is one of those common references that holds a LOT of power, but tends to lose it’s emphasis the more it’s used.

Think about John 3:16. If a pastor references John 3:16 during a sermon, it can be easy to gloss over it. Not because it doesn’t matter, but because it’s something that nearly everyone knows. It’s the verse you were first taught at 5 years old with a cute little jingle and an Awanas badge, and it’s been burned in your brain ever since.

I feel like it’s the same with the Serenity Prayer. We often pray this BOLD prayer in submission to the Lord when things are out of our control

But do we really stop to think about the words we’re saying?

Guys, they are POWERFUL.

And what’s worse, is that we often only say the first four lines! The Serenity Prayer goes far beyond the typical “God grant me the serenity to accept what I cannot change…”

“Living one day at a time; 

enjoying one moment at a time; 

accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; 

taking, as He did, this sinful world

as it is, not as I would have it; 

trusting that He will make all things right

if I surrender to His Will; 

that I may be reasonably happy in this life

and supremely happy with Him

forever in the next. 

Amen.”

I mean, WHOA.

Y’all, those are fighting words right there.

Praying for God to give you this type of peace, means surrendering fully to His plan and His ways.

And that’s a lot easier said than done.

The Serenity Prayer is so much more than reciting a well-known phrase. It’s not something to gloss over or take lightly.

When praying the Serenity Prayer, I challenge you today to go beyond the first part. Dive deeper into the words. Put your soul into the communication you’re having with the Lord, and fully surrender your ways to His. Otherwise, we’re just praying fighting words that hold power and punch, without ever lifting our fist.

Many blessings

Ken