Church Alive

10/23/2026

Our Biscuits & Brotherhood brunch is tomorrow! Ingredients will be purchased this evening. We will have plenty of food for everyone.

Even if you forgot to sign up, come on out for a great afternoon anyway! You will have a fantastic time and will be filled with the best spiritual meal you’ll enjoy all day! You also won’t get this kind of fellowship anywhere else.

10/22/2026

October 22, 2026

16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. (‭‭‭Ruth‬ ‭1‬‬:‭16‬ ‭NIV)
During a time of great famine in the land of Judah, Naomi, her husband, and two sons moved to Moab to live. Naomi’s sons married Moabite women. But within ten years Naomi’s husband and two sons died and left Naomi heartbroken and bitter. Naomi decided to go back to her homeland in Bethlehem and she tells her daughters-in-law to return to their hometown and families, and worship their own gods. But her daughter-in-law Ruth refused to leave Naomi in her state of grief and insisted on going to live with Naomi in Bethlehem and worship Naomi’s God.
It would have been easier for Ruth to have just gone back to her own family and told Naomi that she would be in her thoughts and prayers. But Ruth was better than that. Ruth chose to go back with Naomi, showing her love and support to her mother-in-law.
Today’s verse is a reminder that we too need to be more supportive to those in grief, despair, and in need of help and comfort. Praying for others is so important and needed, but many times our love and support needs to be shown in our actions as Ruth is showing Naomi and us in this verse. We can’t always pack up and move as Ruth did, but we can be supportive through prayer, visits, phone calls, texts, and other ways to show God’s love and comfort.
Choose to be supportive and a comfort for those in grief and despair, and be a blessing to all.
Be blessed.

10/22/2026

October 21, 2026

1 The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; (‭‭‭Psalms‬ ‭24‬‬:‭1‬ ‭NIV)
We all tend to believe that everything that we have belongs to us. We worked for it, therefore we own it. But, as Christians, we know that God created everything that has ever been created, the earth and everything in it, therefore it all belongs to God. We may think that man created the house that we live in, the cars and equipment that we use, but again, it was God that provided the materials, the means, and the knowledge to build them. We may say that we gave birth to our children, so they belong to us, but it was God that knitted them together in their mother’s womb and gave them life. We may even believe that our own life and body belongs to us, so it is up to us to live our life anyway we choose. But again, God created us so we actually belong to God as one of His creations. So everything that has ever been created, and everything that will be created belongs to God. Although God created us, and we belong to God, God will not force Himself into our lives. It is up to us to invite Jesus to come into our heart as Lord and Savior. But the beauty of it all is that when we choose Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and become obedient to God’s will for our lives, we become more than a creation of God. We become a child of God. We become what God created us to be. Of all of God’s creation, mankind is the only creation that can choose to follow God’s will for their life and choose Jesus as Lord.
Choose wisely and be blessed.

10/20/2026

October 20, 2026

10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. (‭‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭6‬‬:‭10‬ ‭NIV)
We live in a world that wants immediate recognition for all that we do, whether for ourselves or others. Even evil people want recognition for the harm they cause others.
Often people feel unappreciated when people don’t thank them or acknowledge their good deeds or acts of kindness. Often we are told by people of this world that we are just wasting our time helping others, because nobody sees our good deeds or hard work.
Today’s verse reminds us that God always sees our good work and acts of kindness, that He will never forget what we do for His children. The verse goes on to say that God sees our acts of kindness as love towards Him. We may never see the fruits of our good deeds for others while here on earth. But know that God sees everything that we do, out of love, as a sign of love for others and love for Him.
Know that God sees your good works and consider it all the recognition that you need, for one day, whether on earth, or in heaven, you will be rewarded.
Love others as God loves you, and be blessed.

10/19/2026

October 19, 2026

6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. (‭‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭13‬‬:‭6‬ ‭NIV)
If we were to ask different people what love is to them, we would get many different answers. I believe that too often we use the word love in place of the word like, or desire. I know that speaking for myself, I am always saying that I love this, or love that, when actually I should be saying that I like it, or that I like it better than something else. I believe that the way love is described in this chapter and verse is a perfect definition of God and how God loves us. I believe that in many ways, love is more of an action word than an emotion word. When the Bible tells us that we are to love our neighbor, I believe that it is saying that we are to have the same desires for them that God has for us meaning that we should be praying God’s blessings upon them and that they would come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. To say that we love anyone is to say that we want God’s very best for them and that we pray that God will show them the same mercy and grace that we desire for ourselves. For others to see true love in us, they should be able to see God’s mercy, grace, and truth living within us.
Live in the truth of God’s Word and be blessed.

10/18/2026

October 18, 2026

19 Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. (‭‭‭Psalms‬ ‭68‬‬:‭19‬ ‭NIV)
God never intended for us to be burdened down like we are. Most of the burdens that we carry and weigh us down are the things that we bring upon ourselves. God never promised us that life would be easy.
I like what Jesus is telling His disciples in John 16:33 concerning His death and resurrection; 33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Jesus knows that we will become weary and heavily burdened and He promises us that he will help us in our times of difficulty and despair when we come to Him and seek His will for our lives.
Matthew 11:28-30, 28”Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Don’t try to carry your burdens alone, lean into God and allow Him to bear them for you. Know that God’s mercies are new everyday, and be blessed.

10/18/2026

10/17/2026

October 17, 2026

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (‭‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬‬:‭28‬ ‭NIV)
We all are going to have to face ups and downs throughout our lives. Things and events that bring us pure joy, and things and tragedies that break our hearts. We may go from having a great job with a fancy title to become unemployed. We may be able to see and enjoy the birth of newborn healthy babies and turn right around and lose a family member or dear friend. Although, at the time, we may not be able to see anything in any of these situations that reflects God working in our lives, but in time we will.
As I look back in my own life, I remember times and events that God has blessed me beyond my own expectations or understanding. Things like a loving and healthy family. Financial needs and physical healing. Things that I am able to look back to and give God praise and glory for. There are also times of difficulties, the loss of a job or family members, things that caused me pain and heartache, but at the same time taught me how to lean into God for strength and comfort. Things that have taught me that God is always with me and that when I put my faith, hope, and trust in Him alone, He will always see me through life’s ups and downs. God has shown me that He does have a purpose and plan for my life, and as I seek to do God’s will and purpose for my life, and try to bless others, I find that it is me that is being blessed everyday.
Yes, God has shown me that in all things God works for the good of those that love Him.
Love the Lord your God and seek to fulfill the purpose that He has for your life, and be blessed.

10/16/2026

October 16, 2026

35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. (‭‭‭John‬ ‭6‬‬:‭35‬ ‭NIV)
At the beginning of this chapter it speaks of how Jesus fed about five thousand men plus women and children with just five small loaves of bread and two small fish. After the people saw what Jesus had done, many believed. I am sure that we too would have come to believe if we were hungry and Jesus performed that miracle in front of us. We all need food, water, and other essentials to survive. There are also other things that we desire to have just as a part of life in this world. But all of those things, “being our needs and wants” are just temporary things that fade away in time and serve no eternal value.
Yes, God wants to provide everything that we need here on earth to sustain us as we walk in obedience to Him. Our time here on earth is a very short time compared to eternity. In today’s verse, Jesus is offering us spiritual food, food from heaven, food of truth, wisdom, knowledge, food of hope and peace, food of the saving grace of Jesus Christ. We all at times desire things of this world in hope of finding peace and joy, only to realize that it quickly fades away. Only Jesus can give us true peace and hope that will never fade away.
Feed on the bread of life that only Jesus can offer and have the assurance of eternal life with God in heaven, and be blessed.

10/15/2026

October 15, 2026

13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (‭‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3‬‬:‭13‬ ‭NIV)
Throughout the Bible there are many different verses that remind us that we are to forgive others as God has forgiven us.
Today’s verse speaks of having a grievance against one another, and we may think of that as a misunderstanding and maybe not a big deal. Another example could be telling a lie, or even murder, or adultery. All of these are sins and require forgiveness and repentance. We may not like to admit it but we all are guilty of sin, and many of us on a daily basis. As Christians, we are quick to run to God to ask for forgiveness, but are we just as quick to forgive others that sin against us? Today’s verse reminds us that we are to forgive others as God has forgiven us. That is a command, not a suggestion. As Christians, most everyone can repeat the Lord’s Prayer as written in Matthew 6: 9-13. But not many of us choose to follow up the prayer with the next two verses. Matthew 6: 14-15; “14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
Another great example is found in Luke 6:37; “37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”
In Matthew 18, Peter asks Jesus how many times shall he forgive his brother or sister who sins against him. Up to seven times?
“22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
When someone sins against us, no matter how severe the sin, the healing process cannot begin until we forgive that person and strive to forget it.
Forgive as God has forgiven you, and allow the healing process to begin, and be blessed.