How can the weak be strong?

Joel 3:10b "Let the weak say, I am strong" How can this be, that a weak person can say, I am strong" 

Let me ask it again.

How can this be, that a weak person can say, I am strong, and then be strong? 

Well, first of all, if God says it, it has to be true, because God does not lie, and He cannot lie.

This verse is actually speaking prophetically of the blessings of the second coming, and of Jesus Christ's deliverance of His people during that time. 

But, the truth of this verse is not merely for the future, it's for us today. How do we know that, because Paul the apostle spoke of it in 2nd Corinthians 12:10b "For when I am weak, then I am strong"

He was speaking of what he had learned from Christ and about Christ and the strength that Christ gives to His people. 

Paul had come to experience on a personal level, that at the worst of times in his life, during the most difficult of all experiences, when he was brought to the end of himself, that it was then that he really found the strength of God in his life.

I think we can all identify with what we are like when all is going well, and we don't seem to have any problems at all. ( Not that those times are somehow not to be appreciated and enjoyed, they are from God also ) but, when we are in those "good" times, we can begin to become self sufficient and self reliant as it were. 

But, when the winds of trouble and sorrow come, they can sober us up very quickly, ( sometimes it takes more wind of trouble then others ) but, they can eventually lead us to see our own weakness, and then we realize how self reliant we are, and begin to turn back to the Lord for His strength. We become dependent on God, God dependent once again. 

So, how can the weak be strong? By turning to our strength, who is Jesus Christ, and we will find strength. 

God calls us to have faith in Him, and to believe that He is our strength etc. There is nothing magical about saying what is found there in Joel 3:10b, but, rather it's speaking to our belief in God. 

May God help us today, to find our strength in God, and exercise our faith in Him. 

Blessings to you. 

Bob Grenier

"How to receive God's wisdom"

The Book of Proverbs of course is filled with God's wisdom for daily living. And, in chapter 13:10, we are specifically told as to how we can receive God's wisdom into our lives

But, first of all, the Lord explains to us, that our pride will cause nothing but strife. Pride hears means, to be arrogant. Pride brings about strife, or waste, or struggles, and desolation. Pride will bring a person to ruin.

However, with the well-advised, or those who will receive counsel is wisdom.

So, the way to receive God's wisdom, is to simply be someone who will receive counsel. That receptive attitude of heart and mind, is the opposite of being prideful and arrogant.

How often we might tend to think we know so much, when in fact, we may know nothing at all about a particular situation or circumstance.

Many times, it's only later, after we have acted, or spoken up about something, or been so sure about what ought to be done, that we then discover facts that we did not know, and those facts show us how mistaken we were about what we said, did or thought.

So, with the above in mind, may our prayer today be that the Lord would help us to be humble, not so sure of ourselves, but willing to receive His counsel, because that attitude of heart, is what opens the door for us to receive God's wisdom and counsel.

By the way, the word counsel in the Bible, means "good advice, guidance, direction"

Many of God's blessings to you this day.

Pastor Bob Grenier

What worry and fear will do.

Pr 12:25* Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, But a good word makes it glad.

The word "Anxiety, comes from a word meaning fear, to be anxious, be concerned, be afraid, and it can mean, "to dread" 

When we have anxiety in our hearts, it causes depression, it causes us to be bowed down as it were, to fall down within ourselves.

"But a good word makes it glad" That's what can come to us, and that's what can happen to the heart that is depressed. 

And, of course we know of no better "word" then the "Word of God Himself" And, the blessed "Word of God" that He has given to us in the Holy Bible.

When we read the Bible we will hear many "good words" from God. Taken to heart, they become the evictor of depression, and the bringer of gladness within.

The Bible encourages us to keep our minds on the Lord, and on the beautiful and glorious truths of God. These are the "Good Words" that will bring that happiness into our souls. 

May you have many "Good Words" brought into your soul today. 

Pastor Bob Grenier

What happens if we wait on the Lord?

Isa 40:31 But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

First of all, this verse teaches us about difference. That is, the difference between the fact of being weak, having no might, being weary and falling. 

That's what was described in Isa 4029-30.

But here in 40:31, we are being told as to what will happen to, and what will be given to, and what changes will take place in the lives of those who wait on the Lord.

The word wait here, means to look for, to look to, or to hope in, to believe in. So, we are promised that if we will look to the Lord, hope in Him, believe in Him, that a number of things will happen to us 

The word shall is used 4 times here. And, it means to go through, to pass by, to go from, to change, to cause to pass. to change for better, to renew.

So, "Shall" is a word of great encouragement.

There are a number of things that "shall' happen to the person who waits, hopes in, looks to, believes in i.e the Lord.

1. They shall renew their strength.

2. They shall mount up with wings like eagles.

3. They shall run and not be weary.

4. They shall walk and not faint. 

What a great promise this was from the Lord, through Isaiah to the children of Israel and Judah concerning their future restoration into the land of Israel following their captivity. 

It's also a promise for us today. These are things the Lord will do in our lives as we look to Him, and continue to hope in Him, and believe Him. 

Blessings to you..

Bob Grenier 

A Common Miracle - Are You a Jesus Freak? Part 2

Below is an excerpt of Chapter 4 from "A Common Miracle" by Pastor Bob Grenier.

I went back to Florida and started reading that little Bible every day and continued smoking my dope each and every day ... still dealing and still partying, but reading that Bible with the distinct impression within myself that something was happening to me from above. I would go and sit in the courtyards of a church there in Tallahassee to just think and reflect about God.
A dope deal gone bad is what led up to that gun at my head, and that is what led to something I’ll never forget for eternity. It’s the night of the gun incident. Right there, in the very house where I had stood outside that day looking up into David M.’s eyes, God brought into my life what I’ve now come to know is the conviction of the Holy Spirit. The Gospel of John talks about this in Chapter 16. It has to do with God showing you what you don’t know and convincing you that it’s true. 

Coming Soon, Chapter 4 Part 3
 

A Common Miracle - Are You a Jesus Freak? Part 1

Below is an excerpt of Chapter 4 from "A Common Miracle" by Pastor Bob Grenier.

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
MARK 1:1

I REFER TO THE SCRIPTURE ABOVE, the one in Mark 1:1, because it was through that Scripture that my new life began.
I took Mr. H.’s advice and went to Negril, got some weed and went out to the beach one night to do just what the Bible said: “Be still, and know that I am God.” Well, what I was doing that night was not the best and most accurate interpre- tation/application of the Bible; but it was, in my own heart, what I thought I was to do. This is what I thought God want- ed me to do. The only way I could be still was to get myself calmed down with some good Jamaican Ganja.
As I sat on the beach that night, the moon was out, the sky was clear, and the ocean was lapping its waves up on the shore, one after the other. In my heart, I was contemplating all of this beautiful creation in front of me. I started think- ing and asking myself about how it all came to pass. “How did all this beauty come about?” I wondered.

At that moment, God spoke to my heart and told me that He was the one who created it. Not only did He speak to my heart about what He had done, but I had two other distinct impressions from Him: one, that He loved me; and two, that I could know Him. Actually there was a third, also, and that was that He wanted me to know Him. I remember being so impacted by this moment that the next morning I told one of my friends that he should come out with me that night, and we’d go and talk to God on the beach. You see, God’s Word is true; and He honored His Word in my life that night, even though I was far from truly understanding it. Like the hymn says, “I once was blind, but now I see.” Well, my eyes and heart were being opened. 

Coming Soon, Chapter 4 Part 2
 

A Common Miracle - Be Still and Know That I Am God Part 5

Below is an excerpt of Chapter 3 from "A Common Miracle" by Pastor Bob Grenier.

One day, I rented a car from a Mr. Oliver H., who had a car rental agency in Montego Bay. I allowed one of my Jamaican friends to use it, and he banged it up a bit. I turned the car in without any acknowledgement that it had been damaged. Well, Mr. H. had me summoned to his office; and there I sat in front of this man who was about to be used by God to change the course of my life for eternity. I don’t even remember him talking to me about the car and the damage done to it. I only remember him talking to me about the damage I was doing to myself. “If you keep this up, you will kill yourself,” he said to me. “Using this Ganja will destroy your life. Living the way you are will ruin your life,” he said. And then he pulled out the little pocket Bible that I mentioned earlier. He opened it to Psalm 46:10, read it to me and then gave the little Bible to me.

As I sat there in front of Mr. H., I started crying and sobbing. From deep inside me came this feeling of being naked emotionally and not knowing what was happening to me, except that Mr. H.’s words were piercing my soul ... hitting me life a knife ... stunning me inside. Nothing like this had ever happened to me in my life. I don’t think I had cried since I was a child. The only other time was sitting by my dad’s coffin. But now, here in this car rental office, my life was about to change. Mr. H. went on, and every word cut like an arrow into my life. There was no response from me to him, that I can remember. I wonder what he thought as he was speaking to me and after I left his office ... “no hope for this one.”
Can I tell you something I’ve found out over these years of knowing Christ? It’s about the Bible. The Bible is God’s Word to man, and He uses it to change lives, just as He did with me. I didn’t know then, when that little pocket Bible was given to me, that it would become my most treasured possession. I’ve long since lost that very Bible; but the Bible is my everyday companion, for in it I have found a relationship with my Father in heaven through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit of God. If you are in a turmoil and tailspin at this time in your life, like I was, may I direct you to that very same Scripture, Psalm 46:10 — “Be still, and know that I am God.” May God bless it to your soul, as He did to mine. 

Coming Soon, Chapter 4 Part 1