Posts by Pastor Roger Emmons (Page 29)

Romans 1:16-17  I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes—to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For in the gospel, a righteousness from God is revealed by faith, for faith, just as it is written, “The righteous will live by faith.” Dear Heavenly Father, It is hard to understand why anyone would be ashamed of the gospel—the good news of your love for us through Jesus,…

James 3:16-18 In fact, where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and every bad practice. But the wisdom that comes from above is first pure, then also peaceful, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who practice peace. Dear Heavenly Father, The daily news seems to highlight the world’s envy and selfish ambition. One person is hating or envious of…

Psalm 34:19 Many are the troubles of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him from them all. Dear Heavenly Father, You never promised your faithful followers that there would be no trouble in our lives for us. Instead, David reminds us that there will be many difficulties for believers. We have continuous struggles with the world, which criticizes our faith and values, insisting we need to accept those things they worship. Then, we face health struggles the same way the…

Psalm 34:1-3 I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise will always be in my mouth. In the Lord, my soul will boast. The humble will hear and rejoice. Proclaim the greatness of the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. Dear Heavenly Father, There is nothing that we do before you in which we should brag. You remind us in Your Word that all our actions are but filthy rags—our sins taint everything we do. Please humble us so we remember…

Luke 12: 27-31 [Jesus said] “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. But I tell you, not even Solomon, in all his glory, was dressed like one of these. If this is how God clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow, is thrown into the furnace, how much more will he clothe you, you of little faith? Do not constantly chase after what you will eat or what you will…

Psalm 34:15-18 The eyes of the Lord watch over the righteous. His ears listen to their cry. The face of the Lord is set against those who do evil, to cut off memory of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears. From all their distress he delivers them. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted. He saves those whose spirits have been crushed. Dear Heavenly Father, Forgive us when we accuse you of not caring about us or not hearing our prayers. Lord,…

Psalm 119:130 The doorway to your words lets in light. It gives understanding to the inexperienced. Dear Heavenly Father, Your word is where we receive all we need for this life; the Psalmist envisions it as a doorway that lets light into our lives. Our lives can become very chaotic at times, with situations coming against us from every direction, and we feel helpless in those events. However, as we turn to your word, you tell us how you limit…

Psalm 69:13 But I direct my prayer to you, O Lord, for a time of favor. God, in the greatness of your mercy, answer me with the certainty of salvation from you. Dear Heavenly Father, Since the fall into sin, we have faced trouble and corruption in this world. We are faced with the reality and weight of our sins all the days of our lives. We thank You for not leaving this weight upon us. Lead us to do…

John 5:39 You search the Scriptures because you think you have eternal life in them. They testify about me! Dear Lord Jesus, Give us the desire also to search the Scriptures so that we may find the truth about you. As you told those around you that day, the Bible testifies about you. The Old Testament was written as a promise for early believers that a Savior would one day come into the world. Through the Old Testament writers, early…

Mark 8:34-35 He called the crowd and his disciples together and said to them, “If anyone wants to follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. Dear Lord Jesus, You want only volunteers to be your followers and no one to be compelled or forced to be…