Unicoi Church of God

Ephesians 1:19-20 – I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of His power for us who believe Him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.

In 1867, Alfred Nobel patented dynamite. The power of dynamite led to the construction of large buildings, the creation of roads and tunnels, and the mining of precious natural resource.

Though we marvel at such an explosive resource, the power of dynamite pales in comparison to the power of our God. With a word He created the heavens and earth. He put the stars in place and named each one. God has the power to move mountains, part seas, and calm the winds at His command. It is the same power that raised Jesus from the grave and defeated death and Satan. God’s power is available to us every day as we come to God and put our confidence in Him.

We are like gloves. The power of the Holy Spirit is like the hand in the glove. The glove cannot do anything by itself, but when the hand is in it, it can do many things. We must make room for the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Challenge: Trust God’s power to help you through any situation or decision and to guide you in your actions.

Today is National Be Bald Day. What’s the big deal
about hair? We cut it, comb it, color it, wash it, spray it,
and style it. It’s a big part of life.

Some people go bald because of heredity or medical
conditions.
Some even choose to shave their head
bald for convenience or to make a statement.

In the Bible, you’ll find people with a wide variety of hair
lengths – Samson had extra long hair (Judges 16:17-19),
Elisha became angry when a crowd of youth mocked
him by calling him baldhead (2 Kings 2:23-25), Absalom
had hair that weighed five lbs. when he cut it (2 Samuel
14:26).

Jesus even spoke of hair in Luke 12:7 – “And the very
hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be
afraid; you are more valuable to (God) than a whole
flock of sparrows.”

Some bald people joke that God doesn’t have to work
very hard counting their strands of hair. But really what
God is telling us is that He knows about every smallest
detail in each of our lives. Because of this, we should
not fear and worry.

When you shampoo, comb, or fix your hair, always
remember God knows about each thing in your life.

CHALLENGE:
Don’t worry! God cares about
everything in your life!

1 Thessalonians 5:17 – “Pray without ceasing.”

For most English-speaking people, the acronym ASAP
means “As Soon As Possible” or immediately. But for the
Christian it can also mean, “Always Say A Prayer.”

One mother had a 5 minute rule before her family left
the house every day. Everyone would gather 5 minutes
before leaving and mother would call each person by
name and pray a hedge of protection, pray for each
person to avoid temptation, and pray for each person to
use Godly wisdom as they portray Christ during the day.

Another lady would always pray over her place of work
and for her supervisors as well as over all those in
authority such as the government leaders, etc.

We all have so much to pray about.
The good thing
is we don’t have to have just one place to pray. We
can pray in the car, while shopping, at work, or even at
school. It doesn’t have to be a lot of words either. It
can just be, “Jesus help” or “I love you Lord.” Prayer is
also two-way. We can even be silent and thinking about
God, and He can impress our thoughts with His Word. It
is wonderful to know that we can actually communicate
with the creator of the universe; yet so many don’t take
time to pray.
Our Heavenly Father is waiting to hear
from us.

CHALLENGE:
The Church of God has set aside
this as a “Great Day of Prayer.” Take time to pray
throughout each day.

“Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content” (I Timothy 6:6-8, NKJV).

Why do people want the most stylish clothes, more jewelry, newest electronics, more money, nicer house, the brand new car, etc.?    Why?   Because many have become discontent with what they currently have.    What makes people discontent?   People are persuaded by advertisers and trying to keep up with what others have.   Becoming discontent and wanting more materialistically is a distraction to us growing spiritually.    We should want more spiritually and then we would not be craving material things.   Mother Teresa was a godly person who was content with the bare essentials of life.   She touched so many lives because she was not self-centered and wrapped with the materialism of this world.  

CHALLENGE:  Let’s become more God-centered and less centered on the material things of this world.

Hebrews 13:7 — Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.

This is not only a day to remember the great things that God has done in this church during the past 80 years, but it is also a day that we have chosen to be thankful for our current pastor of over 13 years.   Today we want to show him that we appreciate him for preaching the truth to us, for portraying a vision of faith for us to follow, for being there for us whenever we needed him, and for all of his prayers and fastings for this community.   He is not only a pastor of this church, but he pastors the community.

October is pastor appreciation month.   Let’s make sure that we bless him throughout the month of October, as well as today.   We can appreciate him by giving him gifts and notes of encouragement.   We can also respect his family / private time, and be dedicated and committed to the ministry that we have.   When we are not committed to doing our part in the ministry, it brings a burden on the pastor.

Thank God for committed, faithful, caring members of this church that have kept the Unicoi Church of God doors open to minister to this community for the past 80 years.   God planted this church, God brought in faithful members, and God will sustain this church until His coming.

Proverbs 29:18 – Where there is no vision, the people perish.

In 1865, William and Catherine Booth were in London.  Catherine was a skilled Bible teacher and William was asking God for direction.  William took a walk through the East End of London one night and saw all the pubs and poverty.  He returned to Catherine and said, “Where can you go and find such sinners as these, and where is there so great a need for your labors?”  Their life vision:  to reach the “down-and-outers” that others ignored.   This vision grew into what we now know as the Salvation Army.

Maybe you have a dream/vision.  Perhaps it’s a personal goal or even an idea for changing society.  Maybe you’ve shared it and others have criticized it and said, “It’ll never fly.”   Don’t get discouraged.  Back in 1792, William Carey, a great missionary pioneer said he lived by this:  “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.”

If you keep a vision/dream, you will flourish regardless of the many attempts and failures in the process.

CHALLENGE:  Stay focused on your mission toward your dream/vision.

The human resources director was taken aback by the applicant’s salary request. “You certainly expect to be compensated well for a beginner.”
The applicant replied, “Well sure. Work is a lot harder when you don’t know what you’re doing.”

God may ask us to do a service for Him, and our response may be—“I’m not gifted, experienced, or trained to do it. It would be too hard.” Or our response could be: “I’ll say Yes, Lord, Yes to Your Will and to Your Way.” God’s response is:
“His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” (Matthew 25:23)
The compensation for being faithful in God’s service is living in the JOY of the Lord. Many people have lost their JOY because they have not been faithful in their service to God. The JOY of the Lord will be your strength in serving God!
CHALLENGE: Ask God where you can best serve Him and then do that service to the best of your ability.

Young Mia, only four years old, returned home from
pre-school complaining, ‘Mommy, I’ve got a stomach
ache.’

‘That’s because your stomach is empty,’ Sarah, her
mother replied kindly. ‘You’ll feel better when you
have something in it.’

She made Mia a small snack and sure enough, Mia
felt better immediately.

Later that afternoon Mia’s teacher dropped by to see
Sarah. While she was chatting with Mia’s mom, she
mentioned she’d had a bad headache all day long.

Mia perked up straightaway and announced to her
teacher, ‘That’s because your head is empty. You’d
feel better if you had something in it!’

Philippians 4:8 states “Finally, brethren,
whatsoever things are true, whatsoever
things are honest, whatsoever things are just,
whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things
are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report;
if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise,
think on these things.”

If we fill our minds with these kind of thoughts, we
may have fewer spiritual headaches.

CHALLENGE: Think positive!

Exodus 20:12 – “Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God will give you.”

Today is National Parent’s Day. Parents are an important part of God’s plan for all His children. They are to teach their children all about God (Deut. 6:4-7 and Ps. 78:4-7); they are to discipline their children (Prov. 13:24); and they are to do all of this without aggravating them (Eph. 6:4 & Colossians 3:21). And this is in addition to all the other ways parents take care and provide for their children. So it shouldn’t come as a big surprise when God includes in His 10 laws a command to honor and obey our parents.

What does it mean to HONOR and OBEY our parents? It means speaking with respect and courtesy to your parents. It means following their Godly teachings and obeying their rules. It means telling your parents thank you for all they have done for you. It means taking care of them during their latter years.

CHALLENGE: If your parents are still alive, do something to honor them this week. If your parents have already passed, adopt an elderly person and honor them this week.

What comes to mind when you hear the word, “Father”?Some people have great relationships with their dads. Forothers, the relationship isn’t very strong. And some don’teven know who their father is.
We should know that God is a Father in the perfect sense—He’s what every father should try to be like. He loves; Hedisciplines; He cares; He guides; He is a provider; He’swith us and for us. Isn’t that great! That’s why Paul couldwrite, “So you should not be like cowering, fearful slaves.You should behave instead like God’s very own children,adopted into His family—calling Him “Father, dear Father’”(Romans 815).