Elmira United Baptist Church

Sat. 4/10/21 "Strength For Today" from "Staying The Course" by Dr. David Jeremiah Title: "A Day Of Bible Reading" Scripture: Psalm 2 "But his delight is in th...e law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night." ***The late historian, Shelby Foote, spent twenty years writing nearly three thousands pages of his three-volume "The Civil War: A Narrative." He read more than three hundred books as part of his research, and would often spend six hours at a stretch immersed in his reading. No wonder his work on the American Civil War was considered the standard work on the subject. If spending six hours reading about a military conflict is profitable, how much more profitable might be extended hours reading the Bible? Hopefully all Christians attend to Bible reading consistantly. But those reading are usually short, perhaps a chapter involving a half hour of reading. But how about a spiritual getaway devoted to a deeper dive into Scripture? The Bible speaks of meditating on God's Word "day and night," which doesn't mean 24 hours straight. (It means often or continually). But what about a day, a night, or a weekend retreat to immerse one's heart and soul in Scripture? Plan a spiritual getaway to enjoy the "delights" that come from reading and meditating on God's Word Psalm 119:16, 35). A.W. Tozer once said: "The Word of God well understood and religiously obeyed is the shortest route to spiritual perfection." See more

Good morning everyone! "I wake up every morning with a grateful heart." We all should be grateful. God woke is up today. He didn't have to but it was in his pl...an to wake us up and hope we show some gratitude for the miracle he just performed. Another day to praise Him, to worship Him, to pray to Him and to talk to Him. We have another day to have God in our lives, planning our path, making sure we don't stray from that path, showering us with blessings during this day and most of all loving us as a Father. He is there for us all the time, working to keep us on the "straight and narrow" path, to make sure we don't get hurt and to keep us faithful to Him. He is also our best friend that we can share our thoughts with, cry to when things are not going just right, be happy with, and spend some quality time with. AND He gave us the Holy Spirit to guide us through the life he has laid out for us. Just in case he might be busy at the moment we have the HS to help us. What more could we ask for. And it is true!! A grateful heart is a happy heart!! See more

Fri. 4/9/21 "Strength For Today" from "Staying The Course" by Dr. David Jeremiah Title: "Be A Builder" Scripture: Romans 14:19 "Therefore let us pursue the th...ings which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.' ***Say you are at a neighborhood gathering and you meet a new neighbor. When you ask about his line of work he says, "I am the president of AAA Edification Company." If you are familiar with the New Testament language, you might think he was in a ministry of some sort. But when you inquire, he clarifies: "We're in the building business...house, apartments, office spaces, and the like." That would be a reasonable, if not unlikely, name for such a company since "edification" means to "build up," The New Testament words "edify" and "edification" are based on a compound biblical word: house and build. More than a dozen times, the apostle Paul applied this "building" idea to Christians and the church. On a large scale, he compared the church to a building a "holy temple in the Lord(Ephesians 2:21). At the personal level, He exhorted all Christians to "build up one anpther"...to build up the church by building up (edifying) the individual members (1 Thessalonians 5:11). Look for ways today to build....strengthen, encourage, love....other members of the Body of Christ. In doing so, you build up the whole church. Augustine Said: "If you build up yourself your edifice will be mere ruin." See more

Good morning everyone! Happy TGIF! "I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of troubl...e.' The words I would be singing to God today are: "My faith has founf a resting place, not in device nor creed, I trust the ever living one, His wounds for me shall plead. Enough for me that Jesus saves, this ends my fear and doubt; a sinful soul I come to Him, He'll never cast me out. My heart is leaning on the Word, the written Word of God, salvation by my Saviors name, salvation through His blood. My great physician heals the sick, the lost He came to save. For me His precious blood was shed. For me His life He gave. I need no other argument, I need no other plea, it is enough that Jesus died, and that He died for me! What more can we say. These words are from the old hymn, "My Faith Has Found A Resting Place," by Lidie H. Edmunds and Andre Gretry. Better words have never been spoken. "MUSIC IS WHAT COMES OUT WHEN OUR HEARTS SPEAK" See more

Thur. 4/8/21 "Strength For Today" from "Staying The Course" by Dr. David Jeremiah Title: "Nor find Thee To Fail" Scripture: Psalm 73:26 "My flesh and my heart ...fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." ***One of the most majestic hymns, "O Worship The King," says: "Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail, in Thee do we trust, nor find Thee to fail." We are frail and feeble, and our flesh and our heart may fail. Some people feel like failures beyond their control. We are sometimes tempted to think that God has failed. Even the prophet Jeremiah said in Jeremiah 15:18, "Will you surely be to me like an unreliable stream, as waters that fail?" But later in Lamentations 3:22, Jeremiah affirmed, "His compassions fail not." Nor do His promises. Joshua 21:45 says, "Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the House of Israel." All came to pass. Jesus echoed that truth saying, "And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail"(Luke 16:17). If you are encountering failure right now, turn around and encounter your matchless Lord. Take courage! Jesus never fails! Robert Grant said, "Thy mercies how tender, how firm to the end. Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer and Friend." See more

Wed. 4/7/21 "Strength For Today" from "Staying The Course" by Dr. David Jeremiah Title: "Little Ricky" Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:14 "For the love of Chris...t compels us." ***Child character Keith Thibodeaux became an overnight sensation as Little Ricky on the TV show "I Love Lucy," and later as Opie's friend, Johnny Paul on the "The Andy Griffith Show." After his youthful acting career ended, he joined a rock band, in the 1970's, battled depression and drug abuse. "My mother invited me to a church meeting in Louisiana,: he said. "It was in this meeting that I became a Christian, that Jesus Christ came into my life." Today Keith and his wife lead a fine arts ministry aimed at sharing the Gospel through ballet. Overnight sensations often awaken the next morning to find the glamor tarnished and the success fleeting. But when we are filled with God's compassionate love, we are happier, stronger and more useful. True success isn't overnight, it's eternal. Fame and fortune may be God's will for a few. It's the devil's trap for many. Only the love of Jesus satisfies us forever! Bob Jones, Jr. said: "There is no fullness of joy anywhere except in Christ. God has made the human heart so only He Himself can fill it. All the pleasures of the world, all the richness of earth, though they may bring a temporary thrill, they leave unsatisfied the longing of the heart." See more

Tues. 1/26/21 "Strength For Today" from "Blessed Beyond Measure" by Dr. David Jeremiah Title: "Don't Be Stopped" Scripture: John 17:4 "I have glorified You o...n the earth, I have finished the work You gave Me to do." ***An employer takes a trip out-of-town and leaves her assistant with a list of tasks to accomplish in her absence. If the employer returns and finds the tasks only partially complete, or completed in an unacceptable way. What does that mean? It means the assistant had little respect (fear, honor, awe) for the employer. The employer was not glorified by the assistant's performance. But what if the tasks are completed above and beyond the employer's expectations? The employer is glorified(honored) by the way the assistant valued the employer's assignment. The assistant may not have agreed with or enjoyed the tasks. But in order to honor the employer the tasks were completed. Jesus acted like the faithful assistant. When He was on earth, He accomplished the work that the Father had given Him to do. He, "Set His face like a flint"(Isaiah50:7), letting nothing keep Him from glorifying the Father. "He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem"(Luke 9:51). and died for the sins of the world. Whatever the tasks the Father has given you....spouse, employee, parent, friend....let nothing stop you from accomplishing them to God's glory. Perseverance is the ability to progress in spite of adversity.

Good morning everyone! Yesterday, today and forever! That about wraps up our concept of time. Jesus (as God then) is the epitome of time. He knew us before we ...were born, He formed us in the womb, and He counted every hair on our heads. From then on He has been with us every moment. When it seems like He is not with us, we are the ones who have stepped away from Him. God was with us through our whole lives and He is still there. We can talk to Him anytime and if you be still and know for sure He is God, you will hear His answer. It may not be the answer you are expecting and it could take awhile but He will give you an answer. The best part of it all is God will be with us forever, He will still be there when He escorts into our eternal life in heaven, and then we will all be together praising Him. Yesterday, today, and forever! is a promise we have everyday with Jesus! See more

Mon. 1/25/21 "Strength For Today" from "Blessed Beyond Measure" by Dr. David Jeremiah Title: "Perseverance and Optimism" Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:10 "But you h...ave carefully followed My doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, long-suffering, love and perseverance." ***NASA has incredible machines...rovers...that are designed to work on Mars. One is scheduled to land on the planet next month and it's name is PERSEVERANCE. The other is an earthbound copy that will perform the same tasks on earth to help engineers analyze the work and fix any problems with PERSEVERANCE. The machine on earth is named OPTIMISM, which is an acronym for Operational Perseverance Twin for Integration of Mechanisms and Instruments sent to Mars. What a lesson! We have a Savior in the heavens who persevered for us and won the victory, and that is why we can be optimists down here on earth. Whatever is discouraging you today, remember that your Savior is not discouraged. He is on His throne keeping all His promises and guiding your life by His providential power. Whatever is troubling you, take the most optimistic viewpoint possible. Christians, of all people, ought to have the most positive outlook on life. The reason Christians should be positive is not that we are blissfully unaware of the pains of life, but in the midst of pain and confusion, we have a hope grounded in the promises of God! See more

Good morning everyone! Well it's Monday, the back to work day, the can't sleep in day, the nothing ever good happens on Monday day and the I wish it was Friday ...day. Am I right? Well let's look at it this way. God woke us up this morning...blessing one. The past is gone with yesterday let's look to the New beginning God has given us...blessing two. We are starting fresh with a brand new day to remedy all those bad things that happened yesterday....third blessing. Here we are counting our blessings again but it doesn't stop there, with a new day you get many new blessings. We just counted three of them and according to God's Word there will be many more. Thank you Lord for a new day, a new week and a new attitude. Thank you Lord for all the blessings we know we will receive. See more

Sun. 1/24/21 "Strength For Today" from "Blessed beyond Measure" by Dr. David Jeremiah Title: "Eternal Life" Scripture: Psalm 102:27 "But you are the same, an...d your years will have no end." ***The writer of Psalm 102 was concerned about his fleeting days and years. He was apparently facing a serious illness or some crisis that was taking a heavy physical and emotional toll on him. He wasn't sure how long he'd live, and he felt the Lord might be shortening his days. We all have moments when we wonder if we will live as long as we had planned. But the psalmist was comforted in knowing that his God is eternal. "Your years are throughout all generations. Of old, You laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish...but You will endure.....your years will have no end." Because God's years will have no end, neither will those to whom He gives eternal life through Jesus Christ. Hymnist Frances Ridley Havergal once wrote, "Another year is dawning! Dear Father let it be. On earth, or else in heaven, Another year for thee." If the Lord takes us to heaven, it's in His timing. But if not, we have another year on earth to live for Him! Let's take advantage of it. Let's make a resolution this year: to anchor ourselves to God's grace. See more