Psalms 100: 4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise.  Be thankful to, and bless His name.

We, within our church, have talked about this verse quite a bit and have tried to practice it.  What we have realized is that the key to life is being in the presence of the Lord.  The Bible tells us that He inhabits the praises of His people.  So how do we get into His courts with praise, the answer is that we must go through His gates.  The Key that unlocks the gates is thanksgiving. 

So the progression is very simple Thank Him and when you do you will realize how blessed you are and then you can’t help but praise Him.  But this Psalm is so much more. 

For instance: Verses 1-3 there are three admonitions from the Lord and there are 4 reasons for those admonitions.  He admonishes us to be Joyful, to serve with gladness and to come before His presence with singing.  Then He tells us the reasons, He is God, It is He who made us, we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. 

In verse 4-5, He admonishes us 4 times and then gives us 3 reasons why.  He admonishes us to enter into His gates with thanksgiving, Into His courts with praise, be thankful to Him and finally bless His name.  Notice bless not curse His Name. 

Then He gives us three reasons why, The Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting and finally His truth endures to all generations. 

If within my life I can give myself over to one truth and that is In His presence is joy everlasting and if I can battle to stay in His presence through prayer and the word of God, then my joy never changes.  Why because it is based on Him and Him alone and He never changes. 

Why did Peter get out of the boat to walk on the water, I believe it is simple, that was where His Lord was and if you will notice where ever Jesus was Peter was.

Oh, to know Him is the supreme goal of every Child of God! To be in His presence is the ultimate desire of every true child of the King. 

- Pastor Lee Cruse and Crickett hoping that you and your family will abide in His presence.   

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I Timothy 6:6: "Now godliness with contentment is great gain."

As we approach another Thanksgiving Day I have many thoughts that are running through my mind and many questions. One of those questions are why are so many today so discontented. I have had the privilege of traveling to some third world countries and we have never seen poverty like they have in other countries. I know that there are places in the United States that are poverty stricken but not on the same scale as other countries.

I have seen people who draw water from dirty pools, I just finish reading that in India kids who want to learn, and education is valued, that at night they send their kids out side to set under the street lights to have light to study.

I remember in an Orphanage in Garcia Brazil hearing little orphans sing while washing dishes, who had nothing and had been tossed out on the street, they sang “My Father has a Big House”.

Why are we, in this country, so arrogant and so unthankful? I believe the answer lies in our discontentment. We have forgotten that as I Timothy 6:7 says We brought nothing into this world and it is certain we can carry nothing out. The problem is that we trust in money and the kingdom of this world and all of its systems and procedures. The opposite is to trust in the Lord and allowing Him to be our source.

The Apostle Paul goes on to tell Timothy in vs. 8 and Having food and clothing with these we shall be content. Could our restlessness and discontentment lie in vs. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil…. . Have we lost our vision and have we forgotten who brought us into this world and who will in His time take us out. Shouldn’t our goal in life be to learn to be content? The rest of that verse says that if we can learn to be content in this life that it will bring us great gain. And I believe that is in every area of our lives. To look to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.

So this Thanksgiving when you set at the table and if you have a huge turkey or a bologna sandwich bow your head and give God thanks. If you have all of your children there with you then thank Him for there are others who don’t. If you have something to eat then thank Him for there are others who don’t. If you are healthy and all of your children are healthy then thank Him that you and your family are not at the Hospital.

The answer to godly contentment is allowing Jesus to be your source in every area of your life and learning to walk with Him and trust Him, learning to rest in Him.

- Pastor Lee Cruse and Crickett, hoping that you and your family will have the best Thanksgiving you have ever had.

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Psalms 20:7: "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the LORD our God. Proverbs 21:31 The horse is prepared for the day of battle, But deliverance is of the LORD."

I know that you are probably as glad as I am that this election is over. I don’t know when in my life time I have seen such anger and debasement on both sides. I do think the election turned out at least for this time to our advantage, but; we will see.

When the election was over and everyone was celebrating the newly elected President as if everything would be fine now, I couldn’t help but think of something in my life that happened. When I was just 11 years old I was on a Boy Scout camping trip and got lost from the rest of the members. We were actually leaving a mountainous area when I got a stone in my shoe. I sat down to take it out and when I got up the group had gone on. There was a fork in the path and they went one way and I went the other. In fact they came back to Winchester and no one knew that I was missing.

For eight hours I wandered out in that mountainous terrain. They finally discovered that I was missing and eight hours later came back for me. But why am I comparing that experience to this election, is that there was a time that I came out into a clearing and was finding my way out but, I looked back at the mountain and thought I was on the wrong side. I turned around and went back in.

Here’s my point, I believe that we as God’s people need to realize that after this election, we have come to a clearing, but we are not out of the woods yet. In that clearing we have the opportunity to get our bearings and to look to the horizon as to which way we need to take this country but we also can go back into the woods and that path could lead to the destruction of this country.

Donald Trump was put into place by the Lord God Jehovah, but we don’t look to Donald Trump or Washington D.C. or Frankfort Kentucky, we look to the Lord God almighty. He is our source, He is our healer, He is our protector and it is to Him that we look.

I believe that God; in His infinite mercy has given us a chance to right the ship but if we trust in our government or man it will lead to a future that I don’t want to see for my grandchildren or the members of this church.

We still have a long way because we have allowed our country to slide into the darkness of evil and sinfulness on a scale that we can’t believe. I believe that Our Father in Heaven is giving us a chance.

Remember the words that came to Zechariah in Chapter 4 verse 6 So he answered and said to me: "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' Says the LORD of hosts.

If the ship of state is righted it will not be by might nor by power but by His Spirit and who says this, God Almighty says this. Him and Him alone!

- Pastor Lee Cruse, who is looking to Jesus the Author and Finisher of our Faith.

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Esther 4:14 "For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"

Christians must come to the place where they know and by knowing, and I am not just talking about in your head but in your heart, that God is in control.  Someone has described the revelation of God to His children is that you know that you know that you know!  An intellectual ascertain will not stand in the face of adversity, when the storms roll in you must know and not doubt.  This is why in the book of James it tell us “ a double minded man is unstable in all of his ways” (James 1:8) it means that he really doesn’t know, oh he has a knowledge of things but has not come to the place of the revelation of God.

He or she must know that it is in God that we live and move and have our being.  He is in control.  When I read Romans 13 it tells me that it is God the Father that puts people into leadership and that even means the President of the United States. Sometimes we get what we ask for and sometimes we get what we deserve.

I believe that on November 8th, we could be coming to a historic time in this country.  Could it lead to our downfall or could this be a time of historical significance?  Just like what Mordecai told Esther “Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this”.  I believe that we are that Benjamin generation and we are the generation that Jesus is coming back in.  November the 8^th will to me be a historic date.  A date that we will look back on.  Will this election have such an impact as to change this country in the course of history? 

Will your grandchildren someday look back on history where the course of this country changed either for good or for bad?  And if it is for bad and your grandchildren will ask what you did to thwart the tide of evil, will you be able to say I voted against that, or if things change for good will you be able to say I voted for the good of this country.  Could this be just like it was for Esther where she saved her people, such a time as this for us?

There are people in war torn countries that walk through mine fields to be able to vote, people who risk their lives just to vote.  Will you take the time to vote in this election, if we stay home we could reap the whirl wind? 

- Pastor Lee Cruse who encourages all of our congregation to take the time next Tuesday to vote. 

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