Friday, December 20, 2019
Saying Thank You
| 2:07 MIN WATCH |
A video devotional from the The Gifts Of Christmas Series by Pastor Dale O’Shields.
Video Devotionals
Thursday, December 19, 2019
Your Greatest Gift
| 3:25 MIN WATCH |
A video devotional from the The Gifts Of Christmas Series by Pastor Dale O’Shields.
Wednesday, December 18, 2019
What’s Your Response?
| 3:28 MIN WATCH |
A video devotional from the The Gifts Of Christmas Series by Pastor Dale O’Shields.
Tuesday, December 17, 2019
The Gift of Connection
| 2:37 MIN WATCH |
A video devotional from the The Gifts Of Christmas Series by Pastor Dale O’Shields.
Monday, December 16, 2019
Your Customized Gift
| 1:50 MIN WATCH |
A video devotional from the The Gifts Of Christmas Series by Pastor Dale O’Shields.
Friday, December 13, 2019
It Begins With The Heart
| 2:19 MIN WATCH |
A video devotional from the Come Let Us Adore Him Christmas Series by Pastor Dale O’Shields.
Thursday, December 12, 2019
Keep Watch!
| 3:11 MIN WATCH |
A video devotional from the Come Let Us Adore Him Christmas Series by Pastor Dale O’Shields.
Wednesday, December 11, 2019
Remove Poison From Your Heart
| 2:53 MIN WATCH |
A video devotional from the Come Let Us Adore Him Christmas Series by Pastor Dale O’Shields.
Tuesday, December 10, 2019
A Season For A Heart Checkup
| 1:38 MIN WATCH |
A video devotional from the Come Let Us Adore Him Christmas Series by Pastor Dale O’Shields.
Monday, December 9, 2019
Guidance 101
| 1:27 MIN READ |
Every form of transportation requires a guidance system. Whether walking, driving, sailing, or flying, we need guidance. In ancient days, direction was discovered through the movement of the sun and stars. Over time people invented the compass and developed maps. Now we have sophisticated GPS systems on our smartphones! You can only get where you need or want to go when you have clear directions.
Unfortunately, far too many people wander through life without a reliable guidance system. They drift along, based upon their feelings and the flow of the influences around them. These are poor maps for life!
The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah described the poor choices of the people of Judah during one season of this nation. Look at his words found in Jeremiah 7:24 (NIV) “But they [Judah] did not listen or pay attention; instead they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward.”
To understand guidance, we need to understand this—the worst guide for your life is you! You need a better guide than yourself. The direction of your life needs to be determined by something more reliable than your emotions or the tug of the crowd around you. You’ll never make forward progress when you’re listening to such voices.
Stop for a moment, and think about your personal guidance system. If you’re not satisfied with your life location, perhaps it’s time to use a better map!
Pastor Dale
Friday, December 6, 2019
Where Are You Going?
| 1:34 MIN READ |
Where you end up is always determined by your heading. You can’t get to a location north of you if you’re driving south!
Too often, people say they want to get to a specific place in life while living their life in an entirely different direction. Sometimes they are sadly surprised by their destination, never realizing that they are where they are because they failed to properly plan their journey.
There’s a very simple solution to getting to the right place in life. Be careful about selecting your friends. Your friends are the biggest influence in your life. Get friendships right, and you likely will get life right.
The first friendship essential to choosing all other friends well is your friendship with God. When you’re pursuing a friendship with God, you’ll add and subtract people from your life. Your love for Him will become a filter for the others you’ll embrace as key influencers in your life.
David, the psalm writer, gave us a good reminder about the power of choosing the right friends in Psalm 1:1-3 (NCV) “Happy are those who don’t listen to the wicked, who don’t go where sinners go, who don’t do what evil people do. They love the Lord’s teachings, and they think about those teachings day and night. They are strong, like a tree planted by a river. The tree produces fruit in season, and its leaves don’t die. Everything they do will succeed.”
Stop for a moment and look around you. Where’s your life going? If you don’t like what you see, strongly consider changing your friends. Start by making God your #1!
Pastor Dale
Thursday, December 5, 2019
Pay Day
| 1:59 MIN READ |
Pay day is the day you get what’s coming to you. It’s the day you receive compensation for what you’ve done.
Most often, we think of pay day as a very good thing. When you have a job, you expect to get paid for the work you’ve performed. Pay day is that day.
However, in the arena of relationships, pay day can take on a whole new meaning. It becomes a part of dealing with hurts and offenses. It’s an internal decision to make someone pay for the pain they have caused you. We think, and sometimes say to the offending person, “Your day’s coming!” It’s called revenge, a grudge, retaliation.
Jesus gave a story in Matthew 18 about the right way to deal with relationship pain. He described a servant who owed a king millions of dollars. The king called in the loan, but the servant had no means to pay. This servant begged for time and mercy, and the king graciously forgave all the man’s massive debt.
Then the story takes an ugly turn. The forgiven servant left the king’s presence and immediately headed to the home of another servant who owed him a few hundred dollars. He grabbed his fellow servant by the neck, choked him, and demanded immediate repayment, offering no mercy or debt forgiveness. The greatly forgiven man refused to forgive a significantly lesser debt. When the king heard about it, he called the first servant back, sentenced him to prison, where he was tormented, all because of a merciless heart.
Jesus concluded the story with these words found in Matthew 18:35 (NIV) “This is how my Heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
Think about your life for a moment. How has God handled the great debt your sin created with Him? He sent Jesus to pay for it so that you could be forgiven. Our responsibility is to extend the forgiveness God has given us to others. Let’s stop making others pay for their failures toward us. Let’s give people the same forgiveness God freely and graciously gave us!
Pastor Dale
Wednesday, December 4, 2019
Save The Drama
| 1:35 MIN READ |
Sometimes the messages on tee shirts are quite funny and can be extremely profound. Several years ago, I noticed the words on a young lady’s shirt that made me chuckle and also drove home an important point. In bold letters was the phrase, “Save the Drama for your Mama!”
How many relationships are cursed by the continual presence of unneeded drama? Uncontrolled emotions, exaggerated hurts, angry temper tantrums, superlative-laden comments, and theatrical looks. Drama, drama, drama!
High drama in relationships damages trust and shuts down healthy, mature communication. It creates an atmosphere of attack and react. It keeps people stuck in childish patterns of blaming and defaming one another. Problems and pain are never truly resolved in the unreal world of drama.
To deal effectively with relationship conflict, you need emotional maturity. You must shut down the child in you and embrace the adult you’re called to be. Look at the way God tells us to handle our relationships in Colossians 3:12-15 (NIV) “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”
When you’re tempted to bring drama into your family or friendships, stop it. Step back from the situation and remember the tee-shirt, “Save the drama … !” It might save your relationship!
Pastor Dale
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
Who Are Your Real Friends?
| 1:41 MIN READ |
Who are your friends? Take it deeper, who are your real friends? There’s a difference between someone who claims to be a friend and people who are real friends.
It’s been said that a real friend is someone who walks into your life when everyone else walks out. Real friends are there for you in the sunshine and the rain. They are consistent, reliable, encouraging, and forgiving. They also want the best for you, and work to bring the best out of you.
The Old Testament character, David, had a real friend. His name was Jonathan. The story of Jonathan and David’s friendship is exceptional, especially when you understand its background.
Jonathan was the son of King Saul, the king of Israel. As Saul’s son, he was also the Prince of Israel, next in line for the throne. However, God had different plans. God had chosen David to become the next king. Both Saul and Jonathan knew this and responded quite differently.
King Saul developed deep jealousy and animosity toward David. An angry, murderous spirit entered him. For Saul, there was only one solution to what he perceived as David’s threat — to kill him.
You would expect Jonathan’s heart to mirror his dad’s. Instead, Jonathan embraced David as his friend. He saw the calling of God on David’s life and decided to do everything he could to protect David from his father, so he could reach his God-desired destiny.
This is a real friend! He put his life on the line for David. He was present, supportive, and committed.
The Bible speaks of the blessing of this kind of friend in Proverbs 17:17 (NIV) “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.”
Choose to be a Jonathan-kind of friend to others!
Pastor Dale
Monday, December 2, 2019
Did You Hear About…?
| 1:51 MIN READ |
Part of the ugly side of human nature is the insatiable appetite people have to seek out and share negative information about others. It’s called gossip. The Bible describes it as sinful and destructive, to others and to us.
Here are a few strong reminders:
Psalm 15:1-3 (TLB) “Lord, who may go and find refuge and shelter in your tabernacle up on your holy hill? Anyone who leads a blameless life and is truly sincere. Anyone who refuses to slander others, does not listen to gossip, never harms his neighbor.”
Proverbs 11:13 (TLB) “A gossip goes around spreading rumors, while a trustworthy man tries to quiet them.”
Proverbs 20:19 (TLB) “Don’t tell your secrets to a gossip unless you want them broadcast to the world.”
Proverbs 26:20 (TLB) “Fire goes out for lack of fuel, and tensions disappear when gossip stops.”
What makes gossip so attractive to us?
Often the need to spread rumors and damaging words to others about others is rooted in pride. In a strange way, when we put down others, we elevate ourselves. Gossip gives us a sense of moral, intellectual, or professional superiority. We feed the monster of ego by tearing into someone else.
The truth is, gossip says more about the person doing the gossiping than it does about the person who’s the focus of it. And you can be sure if you have a “friend” who gossips to you about others, it highly likely that they’re gossiping to others about you!
Gossip is bad for many reasons. A primary reason is that it runs counter to the nature of God. God is a Redeemer. Gossip is never redemptive, it’s always destructive. It never builds, restores, and heals. It tears, erodes, and diminishes.
The next time someone says to you, “Did you hear about… ?” pause. Make sure your conversations are always redemptive and never destructive. Let God’s nature be your nature!
Pastor Dale
Friday, November 29, 2019
Birds Of A Feather…
| 2:03 MIN READ |
You’ve probably already filled in the rest of the phrase—flock together. From what I read, it’s a statement going back to the mid-1500s. It proves something interesting; likes have been attracting likes for centuries—for all of human history.
This adage describes the law of attraction. Like attracts like. You like to be around people you like, who are like you! Got it?
This is all well and good if you’re a spiritually and emotionally healthy person. This means you’re more likely to attract friends who are the same. This is how healthy relationships get healthier. Two spiritually and emotionally healthy people create healthy relationship momentum. You spiral up together, instead of down together.
The opposite is also true. When we’re not healthy on the inside, or have destructive habits, similar people will show up at the doorsteps of our lives. Usually, this isn’t a good thing. As surely as health feeds on health, dysfunction feeds on dysfunction. The first place this shows up is in our friendships!
So here you go. If you don’t like your friends, if you need to change the kind of people you have in your life, start by looking in the mirror! Yep, this is the hard but helpful truth. You can’t change the law of attraction; it’s a law. You can change the thing doing the attracting! This would be you!
There’s Someone who is able and eager to help you become more healthy, spiritually, and emotionally. His name is Jesus. He specializes in changing people from the inside out. Paul, the apostle, reminded us of this in 2 Corinthians 5:17 (TLB) “When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun!” And in Romans 12:2 (NLT), “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
Birds of a feather… The best way to attract better friends is to become a better person. Jesus will help you!
Pastor Dale