Posts by Matthew Shorack
Trust God To Be Your Defender
Trust God To Be Your Defender Most of us waste a lot of time and energy worrying about what could happen if things don’t go as we have planned. Anxiety can take its toll as we strive to defend our plans, decisions, and failures. How can we find peace of mind when things go sideways, and our efforts come up empty? Psalm 25:1-5 In you, Lord my God, I put my trust. 2 I trust in you; do not let…
Evaluating The Direction And Health Of My Spiritual Life
1) Am I being directed by God’s Word?2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.All of us tend to be controlled mostly by what we want. After we trust Jesus in faith, those things change and we desire to be directed by His will. The only place we can turn to for God’s truth is His…
The Power and Importance Of Mercy From God
The Power and Importance Of Mercy From God Psalm 25:6 Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. Grace means getting what we don’t deserve, and mercy means not getting what we do deserve. Both are true of God’s love for us, and we need both in our lives. We don’t deserve God’s mercy and we definitely can’t earn it, but whenever we turn to God in prayer, we can take comfort in knowing He…
Responding To Criticism And Persecution
2 Timothy 3:11-12 11 You know how much persecution and suffering I have endured. You know all about how I was persecuted in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra—but the Lord rescued me from all of it. 12 Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. These are three cities that Paul visited on his first missionary journey. Suffering was a major part of all of Paul’s work and in Lystra he was stoned and left for dead.…
God Equips Us For His Challenging Path
God Equips Us For His Challenging PathEphesians 3:16-2116 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you withpower through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell inyour hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and establishedin love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasphow wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to knowthis love that surpasses…
Blessings The Hard Ward Way
Blessings The Hard Ward Way I had only been in Uganda for about ten months. As Missionary Matthew, I had all those romantic ideas about what it meant to serve the Lord deep in the jungle. I was prepared for everything, or so I thought. Rose was an older lady who was under eighty pounds and in a wheelchair. She was dying slowly and was in excruciating pain. On Sunday, after our church service, she had asked to pray with…
Worship God In The Storm
Matthew 8:23-27 23 Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24 Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” 26 He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. 27…
Preparing For Victory
Preparing For Victory1 Peter 5:8-98 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like aroaring lion looking for someone to devour.9 Resist him, standing firm inthe faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout theworld is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.The best way to be successful in not giving into temptation is preparingbeforehand for victory. If you’re struggling with alcohol, ministering topeople in a bar is not you’re calling. If gossip is an…
Spiritual Warfare: Love Is A Battlefield
A spiritual battle is taking place all around us. This battle is unlike any other.There are no tanks or battleships, guns or spears to be seen, but it hasclaimed more victims than all other battlefields before. In this series we willbe looking at the weapons of our spiritual warfare, pulling down thestrongholds of our enemy, and experiencing freedom by bringing ourthoughts are under the protection and direction of Christ our Lord. Join us as we dive into 2 Corinthians 10…
Satan Uses Your Emotions To Cause Conflict
Satan Uses Your Emotions To Cause ConflictI love climbing, although the older I get I realize the consequences of a baddecision. The key to rock climbing is to use your legs more than your arms.Every gifted climber knows how to get a good foothold. Satan is alwayslooking to get a strong foothold in our lives. Through relationships, baddecisions, fear, and guilt. He will use whatever he can to lie his way into agood foothold in our lives. The question is,…
Listen And Do
James 1:22-25 22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but…
When We Feel Overwhelmed At Work
When We Feel Overwhelmed At WorkWhat do you do when problems at work seem overwhelming? Sometimes the stress of work can cause us to feel like the walls are closing in on us. Are we doomed to gritting our teeth and pretending to smile? How did the apostle Paul handle this stress when he was on his missionary journeys? 2 Corinthians 1:8-118 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the…
Are You Struggling To Grow Deeper In Your Faith?
Are You Struggling To Grow Deeper In Your Faith?Do you struggle with accepting God’s love? Why?Do you focus on the dos and don’ts of your faith more than love? Confusioncreates uncertainty and hesitation. So often we think we don’t love Godenough and that’s why we keep struggling with growing deeper in ourrelationship with the Lord. I think scripture makes it clear that the greaterproblem is that we don’t understand how much God loves us.1 John 1:9We love because God first…
What Words Best Describe Your Character?
What Words Best Describe Your Character?Genesis 32:27-2827 The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered. 28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”Why did God asked Jacob, “What is your name?” God obviously new his name and everything else about Jacob, so why would God ask this question. In the Old Testament people were named after their character. That…
Building Up Our Community
Building Up Our Community We build from the inside not from the outside. If we want to experience change in our communities, the way we talk to others will make all the difference when it comes time to moving forward in building unity and purpose. Proverbs 11:10-12 10 When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices; when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy. 11 Through the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of…
Psalms: Being Honest With God (series)
Psalms: Being Honest With God INTRODUCTION Psalms means “Book of Praises”. They are poems that were put to music. These life songs honestly communicate how we feel and think about God and how we navigate through the dangerous waters of life. God doesn’t want us to just act right, He wants us to be real with Him so we can experience true healing and life transformation through connecting with our great Counselor. Join us on this voyage through some of…