Monday, April 14, 2008

The Joy of the Lord is Your Strength!

Good Morning! God is Great all the time! I hope the crackling fire, brewing coffee, green tea, and or cozy robe are giving you a cheerful Monday Morning!? Have you looked out and watched the sun rise lately? This would be a great day to do that, or maybe you'll have to wait until tomorrow, but nonetheless you should watch a sun rise. It will make your day seem so much better!

Pastor Fred! You seem to be so happy and cheerful this morning. What's up with that? Well, let me tell you. It really doesn't have anything to do with the way that I feel. Actually it just barely turned 7 a.m., and I've already got the garbage out by the curb, and had my morning glass of water. My baby decided that it was time to wake up at 6:40 a.m. this morning! So I am quite sleepy.

But, it is a beautiful morning, the sun is shining, the snow is melting, my baby is cooing in the next room while being amused by Winnie the Pooh classics, and God is Good all the Time! This Joy that I have deep inside this world didn't give it to me, and this world can't take it away!

This week has actually been a very trying week. Well, since Friday morning any way. See, Thursday night at Bible study we talked about Joy, and how it applies to relationships - as we've been doing a study on relationships and how the fruit of the Spirit should be applied to every relationship. Needless to say the good Lord above decided that I needed to be reminded myself about what I taught. We did much discussion on the fact that the Joy of the Lord is our strength, and the fact that joy is not an emotion, but rather a state of mind. Yes we can have emotions from being joyful such as happiness and cheerfulness, but nonetheless joy is a state of mind that goes beyond circumstance and feelings.

As I was saying Jesus decided it was time for a test of spirit, character and joy! I woke up first thing Friday morning, and gave the day to the Lord. I went down stairs, and as I passed by the basement stairwell I noticed something. Stopping to look I saw that the basement was flooded! My wonderful children had thrown toys into the sump-pump hole and clogged the pump! So now all the overnight spring rain and melting snow had over flowed and began to fill the basement! It wasn't much, just about a 1/2 and inch all over the whole basement, but it was enough to make a complete mess. (Thank you Jesus! It is going to be a great day!) Well, the pump was broken, but repairable. However, I was in the process of getting ready to leave for Woody Point so I could do some work, and couldn't take care of the basement mess until I got back.

As you are now seeing the test of my joy had begun in full swing!

To make a long story short with the help of the Holy Spirit and the preaching of my beautiful wife I was able to recognize the test, and bring my spirit under control and let the Lord teach me a lesson that I really needed to learn! Many other thing happened between Friday and Sunday, but I don't have the time or space to go through everything. Suffice it to say that God is good, and the Joy of the Lord can be your strength if you will just learn to keep your eye of the important stuff, and don't sweat the small stuff!
(Yes, a flooded basement is small stuff!)

Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice! (Paul)
As a man thinks in his mind, so is he! (Proverbs)


Yours for the Joy of the Lord,
Pastor Fred

Thursday, April 10, 2008

New Media Content

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for bearing with me as I update the blog, and add some new content. I hope you enjoy the radio. If you haven't noticed there is a small continuous play button on the top of the radio player. Also just added is the video player. I have been working on this for about 3 or 4 days, but finally figured everything out. It isn't very graphically pleasing yet, but it does stream the videos. Please enjoy. And you will be hearing more from me again!

Pastor Fred

Friday, April 04, 2008

The Muddy Puddle Question!

What is it about a muddy puddle that makes a child drawn to it? What is it about the muddy puddle that is like a magnet, and a child just has to step in it and dance!?

This question really struck me Thursday evening as my son, Ethan, and I were going into the Church for Bible Study. It had been a snowy, sloppy, warmish kind of day, and between the van and the Church was a rather large muddy puddle. As we passed, Ethan began to position himself for the big plunge! As I was on hand his impulsive desire to jump was quickly thwarted, and this question crossed my mind. Then in the few seconds before we entered the Church for Bible Study I realized that the Good Lord had just given me food for thought and sermon material!

We need to be like that muddy puddle! Not in respect the the muddy or even in respect to the puddle, but rather we must be like magnets that people feel need to jump into! As a Pastor and a Preacher it can be difficult at times to convince people of their spiritual needs, but if I could become like a muddy puddle I wouldn't have to convince people they would just want to jump in and get their spiritual needs met!

Everywhere Jesus went the crowds just happened. He was like a crowd magnet. He didn't have to announce His arrival into town. He didn't have to put up posters or make radio announcements! Jesus found some needy people and began to minister. The result: shortly afterward a huge crowd would begin to form, and He would have a congregation to preach to! Oh, to be more like Jesus! Oh, to be less like myself!

So my challenge this morning, evening and noon is that you change whatever needs to be changed in your life so that you are a magnetic muddy pool of spiritual desire! You get Jesus so He overflows and people will want the part that is slopping over!

Yours for magnetic Christianity,
Pastor Fred

PS. Enjoy my online Radio at the top of the page! Press the continuous button so the music will continually loop.

Something to Laugh About!

Pastor Fred Online: Sermons & Puppets

Our Prayer Family: A List of Prayer Requests

  • Newfoundland & Labrador! That a wave of God's Spirit would flood this great province!
  • Your Neighbors, that Jesus would save their souls!
  • Springdale, Newfoundland: Pray that God's Spirit would awaken souls to their need of salvation and continued spiritual growth. Also, pray that Pastor Fred can teach many Home Bible Studies.
  • Pastor Fred and his family: Pray for Health, Strength, Inspiration, Revival and that God will lead him to many hungry souls
  • The Country You Live in: Pray for Salvation, Revival, Missionaries and the Moving of God's Spirit

Weekly Prayer for A Country on my counter:

Please pray with me for the country that is in focus each week. Thank You and may God richly bless your prayer life.


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A Prayer for Canada:



This week Lord Jesus we bring the country of Canada. Let the revival of your Word and Name sweep across this vast dominion. Let all ethnic groups that now call this great land home become hungry for something more, and find YOU! Let the Church arise to become the bastion of Truth that it is meant to be. Let you people become the light and power that spreads your Gospel throughout all this land!
We ask this all in the Name of Jesus Christ -- Amen!