Fair Haven Church of God

06/14/2026

06/14/2026

“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.”
Exodus 20:7

A name is never just a label. It represents everything the person behind it is: their character, their reputation, their authority. When you sign your name on a check, you are not just writing letters. You are authorizing your bank to act on your behalf because your name carries your word. When the President of the United States signs a bill into law, it becomes law not because of the ink but because of the authority behind the signature. Names carry weight.
Which is why the Third Commandment is so weighty. The name of God represents not just one person's character and authority, but infinite character and infinite authority. Every name God carries in Scripture is a window into who He is. Jehovah Jireh, the Lord who provides. Jehovah Rapha, the Lord who heals. El Shaddai, the God Almighty. And above all these, the name above every name: Jesus. "You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). That name carries the power of eternity.
To take God's name in vain is to use it without meaning, to drain it of its weight and treat it like background noise. Profanity is the obvious form: coupling the holy name of God with a curse or hurling it as punctuation for anger. That is a direct violation. But there are subtler forms. Frivolity: saying "oh my God" without a thought, using the most sacred name in the universe as a filler word. And then there is hypocrisy: bearing the name of Christian while living in a way that misrepresents the One whose name you carry.
You bear the name of Jesus Christ. That is what it means to be called a Christian. And the Third Commandment calls you to live in such a way that the name you carry is honored rather than embarrassed. Not perfectly. None of us will manage that. But intentionally. With the awareness that the world is watching what it looks like to belong to Jesus, and that your life is either making His name look glorious or making it look cheap.
Let your life be a praise to His name. And let the words of your mouth, in private, in public, in frustration, in conversation, reflect the One you belong to.
YOU CARRY THE NAME OF JESUS. HONOR IT WITH THE WAY YOU LIVE AND SPEAK
God bless you.

06/13/2026

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.
Matthew 5:6

Our Lord Jesus calls those blessed who hunger and thirst after righteousness. What does it mean to hunger and thirst for righteousness? It means to desire, above all things, to be wholly conformed to the mind of God. Galatians 5:22-23 tells us that “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Is it any wonder then that “smart,” “important,” “comfortable, ” and “successful ” didn't make the fruit of the Spirit? We thirst for importance. We hunger for success. We strive to be comfortable. We want to feel and be seen as intelligent. And yet, none of these things will satisfy us. None of these things will bring us closer to God. None of these things will conform us to the mind and will of God. What are you thirsting for today? Where is your hunger leading you?
God bless you.

06/10/2026

You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Say it! Pray it! Speaking God’s Word out loud makes a difference. There is great power in the spoken word. Speaking aloud something that we might otherwise read on autopilot can make a huge difference in hiding God’s Word in our hearts. When we declare God’s Word together as a family we cover ourselves and our home in truth.
God bless you.

06/08/2026

God's Grace
“You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness.”
Habakkuk 1:13

What do pastors mean when they talk about “the grace of God”? It refers to much more than His kindness and mercy, although those traits are certainly evidence of His grace.
Grace means “undeserved favor or goodness.” God doesn’t owe us anything, yet in His grace, He still gives us good things. We don’t even deserve the next breath we take, but God in His grace grants it. Most of all, we don’t deserve to go to heaven, but in His grace God has provided the way: He sent Jesus Christ to die for our sins.
Remember: by nature we have no right to expect anything from God—except His judgment. That’s because we are sinners, and sin is rebellion against God. We don’t like to admit this. We like to think we aren’t so bad after all, and God ought to overlook our sins. But that’s just not true.
Thank God for His saving grace to you in Jesus Christ, and then seek, by His power, to glorify Him in your life.
When we begin to see every good thing as a gift from You, God, we realize just how generous You are with Your grace. Teach us to live lives of gratitude for the grace lavishly bestowed on us, to recognize the gifts, and to glorify the Giver.
God bless you.

06/07/2026

“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live…”
Deuteronomy 30:19

There’s a popular inspirational reading that captures some of the things that really matter most in life. It says at the end of your life…
“What will matter most is…
not what you bought, but what you built.
not what you got, but what you gave.
not your success, but your significance.
not that you learned, but that you taught.
not your competence, but your character.
not your memories, but the memories that live on in those who love you.
Living a life that matters doesn’t happen by accident. Life’s not a matter of circumstance, but of choice. Choose to live a life that matters.”
So what has mattered most in your life up until now? Do you know? Has it been your job… your family… your conquests? Listen, regardless of the past, God is saying to you right now, “Choose me… choose life today.”
Now you might say, “I’ve got questions.” That’s okay, come with your questions. Or you might say, “Well, I have issues that I need to take care of first.” No, just come like you are and let him take care of everything.
Let Jesus wash your sins away and give you a new life in him. There is nothing more important than that. GOD IS SAYING TO
YOU RIGHT NOW, “CHOOSE ME…CHOOSE LIFE TODAY

06/06/2026

"And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?"
In Esther 4:14

We read these/ words spoken by Mordecai to Esther, his cousin and adopted daughter.
Mordecai knew the dangerous position that Esther was in. She was a Jew living in Persia during a time when the king had decreed that all Jews were to be killed.
Esther was in a unique position. After she became queen she could plead with the king on behalf of her people.
But there was a catch. Anyone who went to the king without being called was put to death.
Esther had a choice. Have courage to help her people, or preserve her own life.
Would she embrace faith or fear?
“For Such A Time As This”
Esther standing in Susa.
As Christians, we also have been born “for such a time as this.”
Acts 17:26 tells us that God decided both when and where we would live.
We are living in a time plagued with anxiety. A spiritual battle to suppress God’s truth wages all around us.
Like Esther, we have a choice.
Do we compromise our beliefs to make life easier for ourselves? Or do we hold true to God’s Word?
We are called ambassadors and to share the Gospel with those who are lost and searching for hope.
Esther chose faithfulness, and it saved God’s people.
If we don’t stand today, what is at stake?
Ask God to give us wisdom and boldness as we live out our faith “for such a time as this.
God bless you.