LIVE IN THE PRESENT WITH GOD

Highlights from a message by Heather Keating - Thanksgiving Sunday October 13, 2024

Psalm 100:4 tells us to “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him and bless His name.”

In Matthew 6:30-34 Jesus tells us not to worry but to “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 3Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” We are to be thankful for what we have and not worry or complain about what we think we don’t or should have. Sometimes we pray and we wonder why prayers are not answered. Are we doing our part? In many scriptures God asks us to do something, but we only see the part of what He will do for us.

WE NEED TO LIVE IN THE PRESENT! God told me, “stop dwelling on the past and worrying about the future because you are missing out living in the present.” That was a wakeup call for me. I had allowed the enemy to consume my time over things that had happened that can no longer be changed, and fretting over what might come in the future. I was useless to God – I wasn’t trusting Him. I was feeling sorry for myself and wondering why? Why? I was missing out big time in what He had for me today. The enemy doesn’t want you to stay in the present, he’s trying to take you down by bringing up the past, and instilling fear in the future. I have felt and do feel this was and is an attack of the enemy in the area that is a soft spot for me, my family and on my pride as well.

When we turn things over to Him and we can live in the present with God guiding us with His Holy Spirit for what we need to do that day, we can put our trust in Him for our tomorrows and leave the cares of them in His hands. Nehemiah 8:10 says, “Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

 We will go through storms in life, but we are not alone. He will guide us if we trust Him and converse with Him. Many times, He talks to us, and we just pass it off as our own thinking.  We can choose to ignore Him, and be unhappy, or put Him first, trusting Him no matter what we find ourselves walking through. The disciples in the book of Acts had many challenges but they continue to walk in the ways of the Lord having the Holy Spirit guide them.

Deuteronomy 30:19 says, “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore, choose life, that both you and your descendants may live…” God was telling the people what He wanted them to choose but the decision was in their hands. We have those same choices today - choose life! Let your life shine to be a witness of the saving power of Jesus Christ. When Jesus was on the cross suffering, He still showed compassion to the one who asked to be with Him and gave eternal life to Him that day that he died on the cross. The love of Jesus is so great that I think we cannot fully comprehend it - that He was willing to be nailed to the cross for mankind, and sadly over the years many reject so great a salvation.

I am thankful for Christian grandparents, who both were saved at Amy MacPherson meetings. My parents that were raised up in the ways of the Lord. I am the third generation to be raised up at a late age to be a speaker/teacher for My Heavenly Father. One day Mom said, “We’ve got to get serious about our walk with God. If we’re not serious about God we need to get started.”

I am thankful for a loving family and that I finally got to have a baby brother. My parents had lost a son and a daughter between myself and my brother. To try again, took courage and I believe trust in the Lord. Graham was a healthy boy and I think he was always special because of what they had endured to get to that victory.

I am thankful for the family that God has given John and I despite the storms we have faced and are still facing. But we are standing on the word of God, trusting Him, seeing some battles that have turned to victory and some still to be won.

The quicker you turn things over to Him and trust Him, the sooner you can walk through the storms of life fulfilling God’s purpose for you and allowing Him to take care of the battles in His timing and His way. Let me say it has taken many years, many times giving and taking back, but praise the lord I just know that something good is going to happen.

God is only asking us to seek him, in His word, in prayer, to listen to Him, to trust Him with our prayer requests. The rest is up to Him to work on our behalf, while we go and do what ever it is He has called us to do.

1 John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” Walk in His perfect love - fearless. If fear comes then go to Jesus, spend time in His presence. It works! The enemy would like to keep us in fear but give Him no place.

No matter your age, God has you still on this planet so there are things for you to do. You are a witness of God’s keeping power until He takes you home or comes back for all who are ready. Do what He is calling you to do, answer His call. Step out. That is what Pastor John, and I are doing, also Pastor Richard and Diane. Don’t compare yourself to others. There are many aspects of the work of the Lord: ministers, Sunday school teachers, greeters, praise and worship leaders, but we also need those with skills to renovate, and build, and clean the House of the Lord. We are all servants of the Lord and we are all just as important in the eyes of God. We need to respect the gifts that are placed in each one and be thankful to God for each person that is contributing to the work of the Lord being obedient to God’s calling.

There is no happier place then to be in the will of God.