Devotions and other things from Pastor Brian
Thoughts, devotions, and other news from our pastor to encourage and challenge your walk with the Lord. Check back often as we will be adding new devotions from Pastor Brian and other Pastors to help you with your daily walk with the LORD.
Pride and Sin
by: Pastor Brian Neilson
06/04/2024
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Since the world has designated June as celebrate sin month or as they call it “Pride” month we are going to look at what the Bible says about sin and pride.
I think it is interesting that they picked the 6th month. Satan’s number is 6. I don’t think that is by accident. God’s number is 7 the number of perfection. Satan’s number is 6 one short of perfection. Like everything that Satan does, he always falls short, and he steals everything from God because he has nothing on h
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Salvation, a gift from God for everyone.
by: Brian Neilson
05/21/2024
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Most if not all people have heard the word salvation. It is a very churchy-sounding word, but what does it mean? And do you need to know about it? As usual with my devotional questions, the short answer is either yes or no. In this case, the short answer is, yes you do need it. How do I know you need it? Because everyone needs it. So what are you being saved from? And what is salvation? Let's take each question one at a time and then tie it all together.
What do you and I
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God's Love
by: Brian Neilson
11/01/2023
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As I was sitting here listening to music the Holy Spirit was speaking to my heart about God's love. Don't y'all just love it when the Holy Spirit does that? Anyway back to the point. God's love is very difficult for us to understand. It is nothing like the way we love. God loves us because of Him, not because of us. See God loves us because He is love. God loves us because He made us in His image. God's love does not depend on us at all. It is not based on what we do or do
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You can make a difference!
by: Brian Neilson
02/05/2023
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I was going through some folders on my computer yesterday looking for something else and I came across this powerful audio recording. It is the story of a little old man who lived on George Street in Sydney Australia. It is so powerful and encouraging. This is what God can do thru one person who is dedicated to Him and lives by faith in God and has truly given His heart to the LORD. I pray that it is a blessing to you and encourages you to let God use you in a powerful way
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Is the virgin birth important?
by: Pastor Brian Neilson
03/24/2022
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Most people even non Christians know the story of Jesus’s birth, how he was born of a virgin in the stable. But do you know why it is important or do you know that it is important?
First, yes it is important. As a matter of fact without the miracle of the virgin birth then nothing Jesus did after that would matter.
Why does it matter? Great question! There are a couple of reasons why it matters. First the Old Testament told us hundreds of years before it happened that Jesus
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Hypocrites in the church
by: Brian Neilson
09/22/2021
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I had a conversation recently with a lady who said she doesn't go to church because of all the "hypocrites" at church. I am sure most of us have had that conversation or maybe you are that person. My answer to this very nice lady and to anyone reading this who thinks this way is you are going to church for the wrong reason. We go to church because the Bible commands us to do so.
Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not...read more
Worldly Christianity
by: Brian Neilson
09/16/2021
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I read this week about a survey conducted by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University. The results sadly did not surprise me but they are disappointing. the 3 main results from the survey found that 72% of American Christians believe that "people are basically good". 71% "consider feelings, experience or the input of friends and family as their most trusted source of moral guidance. And finally, 58% believe that a person can earn his or her way into hea
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The hidden things
by: Brian Neilson
02/28/2021
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One of the many wonderful things about the Bible is the hidden messages that are all through the scriptures. When we read the Old Testament and we see the different lists of names we roll our eyes and just skip over those passages as if they are unimportant. There is nothing in God's word that is unimportant or is just there for no reason. The list of names that you brush off as boring can have a profound meaning.
What do I mean? There is a genealogy listed in Genesis 5, t
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Who is Jesus to you?
by: Brian Neilson
01/11/2021
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In Mattew 16:15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Jesus was asking His disciples this question but He is really asking all of us this question. It is a question that everyone must answer. It is the only question in your life that matters.
This is a very personal question. To answer this question you must believe that Jesus loves you so much that He would die for you and take your place on the cross. We all sin and come short of the glory of God, that is what
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Can you lose your salvation?
by: Brian Neilson
12/28/2020
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Many people do believe they can lose it. Many false teachings of mainstream religions teach that you can lose it.
This has always puzzled me because anyone who is saved knows we have nothing to do with receiving salvation so how in the world would we think we are strong enough or smart enough to do something to give it back.
Jesus is the one who saves us and He is the one who keeps us. Romans tells us clearly who we are saved by and it also makes it clear that He will keep u
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Did Jesus go to hell?
by: Brian Neilson
09/05/2020
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Did Jesus go to hell during the 3 days he was in the tomb? That sounds like a ridiculous question, but there are a lot of Pastors who teach this.
They quote different scriptures and they say things like He had to take the full punishment for our sins so that is why he went to hell. This like many false teachings is nonsense.
If He had to go to hell to finish the work, then why did He say on the cross it is finished? John 19:30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He sai
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God's promises
by: Brian Neilson
09/02/2020
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God literally makes thousands of promises in His word. Some are obvious promises and actually uses the word promise, yet others are promises based on how it is said. We also know from His word that he can not lie, he can not break a promise. So when he says "I will never leave you or forsake you". We can be absolutely sure that is true. We can know that when God says it is true we can check it off our list and no longer worry about it. As the old saying goes, "You can take
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Give your worries to Jesus
by: Brian Neilson
09/01/2020
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The world and the Prince of this world Satan tell you that you have to clean yourself up before you come to Jesus. You have to be a better person or stop your addiction first then you can come to Jesus. These are li
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How much does God love you?
by: Brian Neilson
08/31/2020
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John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Imagine sending your only son into a hostile environment, where you know he will be hated, rejected, mocked, spit on, called a liar, and a fraud, beaten nearly to death, slapped, and be murdered in the cruelest way possible, nailed to a cross. Not because your son did anything wrong. Not because he deserved it or that he had com
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The cross is personal
by: Brian Neilson
08/29/2020
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I titled this message “The cross, it’s personal”. Because it is. It is all about having a personal relationship with Jesus. It’s about the relationship between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. It’s all about the relationship between us as individuals and Jesus and as one body, the church body, and its relationship with Jesus. It is the gift to the world from Our Father in Heaven.
Jesus died on the cross for you personally. He didn’t die for some religi
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