Thy Rod & Thy Staff
Nondenominational Church
A place to serve, not sit.
What We Do
Church Purpose
Our purpose at our Bible base church is to get people to be like Christ and turn from that which is contrary to Him. We would like very much to lead others to make Christ the foundation of their lives. We would like to show Jesus as a faithful friend, a loyal companion, as someone who will stand by our side when no one else will.
As a body of Bible based Christian believers, we see our whole purpose as doing the will of God so that His Spirit might be manifested in our midst. With His hand we hope to convince others that Christ is our Lord and Savior. We want to show that if we trust in Him, He will very clearly show us that He is who He claims to be.– a Provider who can supply whatever we need whenever we need it under any and all circumstances, a Physician with no limitations in His healing power, a Counselor with infinite understanding and wisdom. We would very much like to reflect Christ in our midst as the Good Shepherd (Psalms 23 and John 10:1:18), as the one and only way to God, our Father in heaven.
Consequently, our Bible based churches goal is to get others to see the love of God and act accordingly. Undoubtedly God wants us to do His will but He wants it to be done out of love. God wants us to serve Him not because we have too but because we want too. God wants us to serve Him because we see Him as He is. He wants us to do His will because we see that doing His will is for out good. This is the purpose of our church and the platform on which it stands. We want to weld together a body of believers who love Jesus Christ so much that they want to be just like Him.
What Jesus Did
‘One of You!’ – Mark 14:20
[Jesus] replied, “[The one who will betray me] is one of you twelve who is eating from this bowl with me.”
Key Thought
How sad Jesus’ words must have been to the apostles when they first heard them. How sad these words must also have been later as they remembered them. What a powerful reminder to us of our ability to falter and to let our LORD down. Our church, our fellowship of believers, will often have a “Judas” in our midst — someone who betrays Jesus and his disciples for some kind of personal gain. While we may not view our sins as being as bad as Judas’, we have all let the LORD down and betrayed him at some point in our lives, [1] and sin is sin. Thank God that he is forgiving. Thank the LORD Jesus that he paid the price to ransom us back from our weakness, hypocrisy, betrayal, and failure. Let’s use our time at the LORD’s Table to remind us of the price for our forgiveness, of our vulnerability to letting the LORD down, and of the opportunity we have to live passionately for him. Most of all, let’s remember that we can begin again, fresh and forgiven, and we must not let Satan win the battle when we falter. Let’s get back up, ask for the LORD’s forgiveness, receive his cleansing, and faithfully live for his glory in the future.
Today’s Prayer
LORD of all heaven and earth, my Abba Father, please help me to trust in your forgiveness and the Holy Spirit’s power so that I will not be crushed by my failures and sins. Instead, as I repent and you cleanse me, please empower me to live vibrantly and faithfully for you. This is my heart’s desire. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
Related Scripture Readings
1 John 1:5-10, 2:1-22 Corinthians 13:5Galatians 6:1Ⓒ 1996-2024 Heartlight, Inc. This material may not be reproduced in part or whole for commercial use without written consent. What Jesus Did! is written by Phil Ware and is available in book form. Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.