The Word of God tells us that “Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Heb 13:8 NKJV. We, in our carnal body tend to be as changing as the shifting sands of the desert. Some are not sure that God has made up His mind about us, so, there is a constant search for ways to please God. Jesus is always the same because He sticks to the plan of God. Each one can be the same yesterday, today and forever spiritually as a disciple, being disciplined by God.

            Each time we go through a time of testing we discover just how faithful God is. God has built in a check valve; you won’t crash, burn, or derail. (1 Corinthians 10:13) says, “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” Since God knows how much you can handle, he will make a way of escape, leaving you stronger and ready for the next, temporary situation. When you see a problem coming, you can trust that the solution is already on the way.

            The plan was for Jesus to be on the cross. It got rough, yet He prayed to the Father. You can feel overwhelmed and alone like Jesus felt on the cross; stand on God’s word as Jesus did and find the joy that God has waiting for you. When the going got rough on the cross, Jesus committed his spirit unto the Lord. Jesus could have easily given up. He stayed the same, trusting God for the solution God had promised. Learn to trust God for the things that you feel that are more than you can bear.

            There is a story about a man named Peter who walked on water. (Matthew 14:29) Now as long as Peter stayed focused on the never changing Jesus, he walked on water; however as his focus left Jesus, he began to sink. We may like Peter, want to walk on water, although it may not be God’s plan, and find ourselves sinking, can call on his help. You need to listen to God’s call and answer it. Don’t wait for the right moment or someone to go with you, or until you are performance tested, make sure God is in it and follow him.

            We think of the day of miracles as a day gone by; Jesus is and will always be the same. The next time you feel overpowered by circumstances, look for Gods solution. He is still the same - he helped Peter back in the boat, and he is there for you.

            Toss a stone into an area of still water and you will get ripples. The stone causes little ridges on the water surface around the area where it entered. Those nice round ripples are determined by the impact of that stone. Many of the things that we do are like ripples; carrying from one generation to the next, or even day to day. Think about the ripples that our dad may have made in his life; children, work, or his walk with God. Think of life as a ripple, now look around you and see what ripples people around you are making, some are good and some are bad.

            The ripples that we make, those little waves of whatever they may be, are controlled by your attitude. It is written in I Corinthians 10:24 NIV, “Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.” Sometimes you only think of yourself and your own interest causing rapid deterioration of any ripple you may have started. Everyone knows that success comes with a risk of failure, so little or no risks are taken and the ripple goes no further. Everyone can make a ripple; they just don’t ask God what they have or how to use it. My dad had six children, raised them all well, and what a variation of ripples he got. Dad never put himself first; mom and we kids came first.

            Here are a few ripples that I found in the Bible.

                        Luke 23:39-43, Jesus was in pain, suffering, and thinking about others, saved a condemned thief on the cross.

                        Acts 7:59-60, Stephen while being stoned to death, asked God to forgive the ones stoning him.

                        Acts 16:25-34, Paul and Silas had been beaten and wrongly imprisoned, yet they witnessed to their jailer. Not only was the jailer saved, but the ripple they started saved the jailer’s entire family. What a ripple.

            Are you using what God has given you to make ripples? Your ripple may be as small as a smile, gentle as kind word, generous as a good deed, or any other act of love.

Place the good of others in front of your own good and watch God make your ripples grow.

            Many times we read in the Bible about the promises that God has made both to the Nation of Israel and to the rest of the world. Joshua 21:45,  ”Not one of the Lord’s good promises to the house of Israel failed; everyone was fulfilled.” It is not the promises that God makes to us that fail; it is the promises that we make that fail. Usually promises get lost or forgotten when life throws us a curve ball, control is lost, and then it’s pity party time. How many times have you asked, what did I do to deserve this, or why did God do this to me?  Everyday something is thrown at us that leave us with the illusion that life isn’t fair, and in turn promises are broken.

            Here is a good example of life that I heard this week. Think of life as a piece of cake, baked and ready to eat. Now take the same cake back to the mixing pan: any of the ingredients alone could be nasty. Imagine eating a spoon full of flour or spoon full of baking soda, nasty by themselves, yet added with the rest of the ingredients, mixed, and baked tastes very good. Life is very similar; we must not look at the ingredients, but the finished produce. Bad things put in God’s order always work for good.

            Promises get broken when we think that others are getting more than we are. What if God gave us anything we wanted without having to produce effort? We would then be in a socialist world where little or no effort would accomplish the same result. God has given a life where if the effort is great, the reward will be great. When our reward is taken away, effort becomes limited or non-existent. God’s promises are never out of reach, nor does God expect us to not earn them.

            Troubles, trials, or whatever you may choose to call them are not always the evil that is associated with them. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 7:10 that “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and brings no regret.” God made a promise to Abraham that a mediator would come, a promise, Jesus, who through belief in Him, would bring eternal life. God has kept the promise made to you, have you made a promise to Him?

Hi Everyone –

What an incredible and blessed weekend we have had with Valley Cowboy Church! Church family & readers of our website will know that we had 2 major events last weekend - a cowboy church service to be held at J Bit Ranch, LLC in Berryville, VA and our first ever country gospel concert held at Glen Maury Park in Buena Vista.

Todd & Barbara Johnson at J Bit are wonderful hosts – it is always such a pleasure to have church with them. Our dear friend, Roger Vincent, traveled all the way up from Staunton hauling his own sound equipment to use in the set-up.  Our dear friend, Nannette Vaughan and her mom Connie Clark traveled up from Blacksburg just for this event. We were all busy getting ready for the service when Todd & Barbara were blessed by the somewhat early birth of a new baby foal! What an exciting highlight to an already exciting event.

There was a great gathering before the service for food and fellowship and then we proceeded into our usual service. We sang praise & worship, Cliff delivered a great message and then Nanette took the stage. It was very fun and powerful! God was definitely in the house!

Saturday night’s concert was much the same, in terms of an amazing presence of God. Alan Kinsler was gracious enough to provide sound equipment and Lisa and he ran the sound for the other artists, then Lisa ran sound for Alan. The musicians were top of the line quality and every one of them really on top of their game that night. Mike Tetrick, of “Sin-Kickin’ Country” fame, asked to be on first, since he had to drive back to Virginia Beach right after the concert. He did a great performance, but was having so much fun that he was one of the very last folks to leave after the concert!

Nannette Vaughan did her usual fantastic job and we were very blessed to have as special guests Caroline Crist and Dora Nelson. The three of them sang as “The Trio” and it was awesome! Then, last but not least was Alan Kinsler and his daughter Payton singing together and individually. They were excellent and Payton just keeps getting better and better every time we hear her! (Okay, we love that kid – what can we say?)

What a weekend! Praise and worship, testimonies, fellowship, great music – it was an awesome time! If you didn’t get to make it, look for our next concert, scheduled for sometime in the fall. Watch the website for more news or come and visit us some Sunday morning if you can!

Your Sister in Christ,

Kristen Hall

            Usually we think of a designated driver with relationship to parties. Have you ever considered a designated driver for your life? People get just a little more than reckless with their lives and need to consider a little help. There are a lot of folks that live like there is no tomorrow.

           I see bumper stickers that say “God is My Co-Pilot”, and truthfully I wonder just why God would want to ride along. On an airplane, the pilot is number one or the person of most responsibility, the co-pilot is second in command, so, I would rather have God as pilot and myself as co-pilot. This would put God and Jesus as my designated driver.

            A young shepherd boy named David used God as his designated driver. He slew a bear and a lion, and while on an errand for his father slew a giant. David understood his inability to conquer the giant by himself and went after the giant knowing that God was beside him. David wrote in the 23^rd Psalm, “The Lord is my shepherd”. Change the word shepherd to designated driver and you can see how well the term fits. There is no doubt that David had a designated driver.

            Moses had a designated driver when the sea was parted and the children of Israel crossed on dry land. Joseph had a designated driver when his brothers threw him into the well and then sold him into slavery. Paul had a designated driver when he led the New Testament church. There are many men and women listed in God’s word, the Bible, that have chosen God as their designated driver.

            Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus is my designated driver and can be yours also. A designated driver gets you places when you can not safely get there on your own. There are a lot of driving aids around. None are as good as Jesus. Chose Him as your designated driver.