6 minute read
Christian
Since before the world was made God has known you and loved you. He has never taken His eyes away or ignored you. If you were to write down all Dr. Billy Holland the blessings and victories He has given to you, they would prove He has called you, has been guiding you, and has many wonderful things planned for your future. Do you believe this today? Is your life heading in a direction that you are excited about, or are you downcast? At this time of year, it’s common for many people to be filled with a mixture of emotions. Some are dealing with anxiety, while others are walking through a time of sadness and loneliness. Maybe something negative happened this year and you have not recovered from it. Maybe you have experienced a terrible loss and are in agony while trying to appear that everything is alright. Along with 2022 coming to a close, we have the new year just a couple of weeks away and fear of the unknown can be a little stressful. Has disappointment in the past, caused you to not be as confident or optimistic as you once were? Of course, we all have times in our lives when we are upset and feel that nothing is going right. Don't worry, you are perfectly normal. Life is a series of ups and downs and no matter how jolly of a personality you may have, there will be seasons when we search deep within ourselves to see if we are being attacked or maybe we need to forgive ourselves. Whatever the case, it’s easy to wallow in our sorrows, but when we turn our attention away from ourselves and focus on loving God and those around us, the dark clouds begin lifting, and the joy and brightness of God's presence will fill our hearts. I want to share God’s word with you from Psalm 42:5 and repeated again in verse 11, “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.” This is a passage from David and if you study his relationship with God, you know he had his share of sorrows, but he also learned how to encourage himself. He wrote this when his son Absalom committed treason but even through something as devastating as this he expresses that hope becomes even more empowered when everything seems hopeless. He examines his own heart and comes to the understanding there are times we will not comprehend why we are going through trials, but we are to obey and glorify God while we are waiting for our answer.
Instead of going to bed and covering our heads, let us look beyond our pity party and focus our eyes on the goodness of the Lord and how much He has done for us. Sometimes we are so absorbed with what we are going through, we forget all the things He has helped us with and saved us from. I had two situations today that could have been tragic, but God intervened in them both. I was driving on the bypass and was getting ready to change lanes when at the last second I saw a car beside me out of the corner of my eye. If I had turned into that car, the outcome would not have been good, to say the least. My wife kept talking and was never aware of the situation as I breathed a sigh of relief. The second situation involved me being on a ladder this afternoon on the front porch. I thought I was on the bottom step but I was actually on the step above and fell onto the concrete and into the storm door. I broke the door and have a few bruises, but miraculously I was not seriously injured.
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With two near misses on the same day, I've been humbly counting my blessings. I know it's easy at times to feel sorry for ourselves, but instead of feeling cast down, may we consider where we would be without God's constant mercy and compassion. Hope is a small word like love and joy, but it contains the power of the human soul to trust God and live every moment as if His promises are going to be fulfilled in our lives. Often we are troubled because we are focused more on what we interpret as a disappointment than on praising God for providing another opportunity to appreciate His goodness.
Read more about the Christian life at billyhollandministries.com
A Christian Fellowship
150 Fellowship Ln, Sherman, TX 75090 (903) 815-1333
Wednesday 6:30 pm –Potluck Meal 7:00 pm –Worship Service 7:00 pm –Jr & Sr High Youth Sunday 9:30 am –Sunday School (all ages) 10:30 am –Worship Service 10:30 am –KidZone Children’s Service (5yr –12 yr.)
Community Bible Fellowship
415 S Collins Fwy, Howe, TX 75459 Wednesday 6:30 pm - Food and Fellowship 7:00 pm - Community Kids (ages 3 6th grade, nursery available) 7:00 pm - Youth and Adult Bible Study Sunday 10:30 am - Worship Service
First Baptist Church Dorchester
11831 FM 902, Dorchester, TX 75459 903-476-5525 Wednesday 6:00 pm - Meal (Donations for adults and kids eat free) 6:30 pm - Praise service 7:00 pm - Youth Bible Study 7:00 pm - Adult Bible Study 7:00 pm - RA's/GA's/children's group Sunday 9:00 am - Men's Prayer Time 9:45 am - Sunday School 10:45 am - A.M. Worship Service 5:00 pm - Adult Choir Practice 6:00 pm - Evening Worship
First Baptist Church Howe
100 E. Davis St., Howe, TX 903-5325504 Wednesday 6:30 pm - Team Kid 6:30 pm - Youth Ministry 6:30 pm - Adult Bible Fellowship Sunday 9:15 am - Bible Fellowship 10:30am - Worship Service 6:00 pm—Potluck Fellowship and Bible Study
First United Methodist Church of Howe
810 N Denny St, Howe, TX 75459 903-532-6718 Monday 9:30 am - Care Team Meeting 10:30 am - Pastor's Bible Study Tuesday 9:30 am - Women's Bible Study 11:30 am - Out and About with Pastor Stephen 6:30 pm Boy Scouts Wednesday 9:00 am - Wednesday Workers 6:30 pm - Jr. High and Sr. High Youth Saturday 9:00 am - Feed My Sheep (1st and 3rd Sat each month) Sunday 8:40 am - Fellowship and Donuts 9:00 am - Sunday School 10:00 am - Worship service 3:00 pm - Cub Scouts
Howe Church of Christ
1205 N Collins Fwy, Howe, TX 75459 903-532-6441 Wednesday 7:00 pm - Bible Classes (all ages) Sunday 9:00 am - Bible Classes (all ages) 10:00 am - Worship Service 5:00 pm - Worship Service
Howe Church of the Square
100 E. O’Connell St., Howe, TX 75459 Sunday 10:00 am—Worship Service
Summit View Church
910 S Denny St, Howe, TX 75459 903-532-6828 Wednesday 7:00 pm - Radiate Youth 7:00 pm - Sanctuary of for prayer Sunday 9:30 am - Sunday School (kids, youth, women, men) 10:30 am - Worship Service 10:30 am - Kids Church
