Macedonia First Baptist Church in Pampa Texas

10/21/2026

Lift someone up today in prayer.

10/20/2026

Without Jesus, We Cannot. Without Us, He Will Not.

I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
John 15:5
I have learned this from the Lord: Without Him, we cannot. Without us, He will not. What this simply means is that we need to recognize the fact that if we do not depend on Jesus, there can be no real, long-lasting and abiding success—without Him, we cannot.

The Bible tells us that unless the Lord builds the house, we labor in vain (Ps. 127:1). Believers who want to experience His success need to recognize this truth and begin to depend on Jesus and Jesus alone.

There are some believers who may not articulate it, but in their hearts, they believe that without Jesus, they can still succeed. By believing and acting on this, they fall from the high place of God’s grace (His unmerited favor) back into the law, back into trying to merit and deserve success by their own efforts.

God’s Word tells us, “For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace [unmerited favor]” (Gal. 5:4 NLT).

These are strong words of warning. Once you start depending on your own merits and efforts to deserve God’s favor, you are back under the system of the law. You are cut off from Christ and have fallen from the place of having His unmerited favor work in your life.

Don’t misunderstand me, Jesus is still with you (He will never leave you nor forsake you [Heb. 13:5]), but by depending on your self-efforts, you effectively cut off His unmerited favor in your life.

So what do I mean when I say, “Without us, He will not”? Well, Jesus is a gentleman. He will not force His unmerited favor and success down your throat. He needs you to allow Him to work in your life. He waits patiently for you to trust Him. He waits patiently for you to depend on His unmerited favor, the way Joseph trusted and depended wholly on the Lord’s presence, until His manifested presence took over, and His glory radiated from everything that Joseph touched.

Beloved, let’s learn quickly that without Jesus, we cannot succeed, and if we choose not to respond to His unmerited favor, He will not force it on us. God’s unmerited favor is ever-flowing toward us and Jesus is waiting for us to come to the end of ourselves. He is waiting for you to stop struggling in your own attempts to somehow “deserve” His favor, and just depend on Him.

So in the areas that you are still depending on your own efforts to succeed, start resting in Jesus’ unmerited favor and begin experiencing His manifested presence and glory upon everything you

10/20/2026

You Can’t Lose Fellowship with God

Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness.
Daniel 9:24
There are some Christians who believe that you can lose fellowship with God when you sin, and you need to confess your sin to God and obtain forgiveness to become righteous again. They claim that your relationship with God is not broken when you sin, but fellowship with Him is, so you need to confess your sin to restore fellowship with Him.

It sounds very good. But believing that your fellowship with God is broken when you sin will affect your ability to come boldly to His throne of grace to receive from Him. In reality, both the words “relationship” and “fellowship” share the same Greek root word koinonia.

This means that even if you fail, relationship and fellowship with God are not broken. Why? Because your sins and failures have all been paid for at the cross. How can you ever lose your righteousness in Christ when it is based entirely on His perfect work and not your imperfection?

To see how we have everlasting righteousness in Christ, look at the prophecy in the Book of Daniel about Jesus’ work at Calvary. Daniel 9:24 describes His mission in no uncertain terms: “To finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness.”

Beloved, we can rejoice today because Jesus has fulfilled every iota of this prophecy! The blood of bulls and goats in the old covenant only provided limited and temporal righteousness for the children of Israel, and that is why with every new failing, the sacrifices had to be repeated.

But in the new covenant, the blood of Jesus put an end to sin and gave us everlasting righteousness! Listen carefully to this: Jesus does not have to be crucified repeatedly whenever you fail because every sin has already been paid for on the cross.

We need to trust in just how complete and perfect His finished work is. Today, as a new covenant believer, you are righteous not only until your next sin. You have everlasting righteousness!

10/16/2026

10/15/2026

God’s Robust Peace

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7
I want to talk to you today about experiencing God’s kind of peace in the midst of fearful circumstances. My friend, peace is not the absence of trouble in your life. It is not the absence of turmoil, challenges, or things that are not harmonious in your physical environment.

It is possible to be in the midst of the biggest crisis in your life and still experience peace. That’s the true kind of peace that you can experience with Jesus—peace that surpasses understanding. Naturally speaking, it does not make sense for you to feel completely at rest and at peace when you are in dire straits, but supernaturally, you can be filled with peace!

The world defines peace, harmony, and tranquility based on what is happening in the sensory realm. The world’s notion of peace would look something like this: A man lying in a hammock on a white sandy beach in Hawaii with luau music playing softly in the cabana, coconut trees swaying in perfect unison and warm, blue waves rolling languidly along the shoreline. The world calls that peace—until reality kicks in, and the transient peace that was experienced just moments ago dissipates into thin air!

You see, my friend, you cannot use your external surroundings to permanently influence the turmoil that you are feeling inside. Only Jesus can touch what you are feeling inside and turn that turmoil into His peace. With the Lord by your side, and from that abiding peace within, you can influence your external surroundings.

It’s not the other way round. With Jesus, transformation is always from inside out and not outside in. He puts a peace and rest in your heart that is so secure, you can face any challenge without worry or stress, regardless of your negative circumstances and environment.

10/08/2026

Saving You Is God’s Job Description

But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Matthew 1:20–21
The name “Jesus” is Yeshua in Hebrew, which contains an abbreviation for Yahweh, the name of God in Hebrew. So the name “Jesus” literally means “Yahweh is our Savior” or “The Lord is our Savior”! What a beautiful name!

Every time you call the name of Jesus, the name that is above every other name, you are calling God Himself to save you. Saving you is Jesus’ job description! Whatever the challenge or circumstance, whatever crisis you are in—physical, financial, or emotional—you can call on the name of Jesus and Almighty God Himself will save you!

My friend, you can take time to know the names of God, which He revealed under the old covenant, such as Elohim, El Shaddai, El Elyon, Jehovah-Jireh, Jehovah-Rophe, and Jehovah-Nissi. You can do a complete study on the names of God. I am not against that at all. I teach on the names of God in my church as well, but all these names will mean nothing to you if you don’t know that God Almighty Himself, Jesus, wants to save you first from all your sins, then from all your challenges.

God can be all powerful, but if you are not confident that He is interested in your success, His power would mean nothing to you. So, you don’t have to memorize all the names of God from the old covenant. What you need is a full revelation that Jesus, in the new covenant, is your Savior! What is Tiger Woods famous for? Golf! What is David Beckham famous for? Soccer! (He’s also famous for product endorsements!) What is Jesus famous for? Saving you!

What do you need saving from today? See Him in your situation, rescuing, protecting, and providing for you!

09/30/2026

Wisdom Is the Principal Thing

Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.
Proverbs 4:7
The solution to money problems is the wisdom of God. Today, as you believe God for increase, I want to encourage you to ask God first for wisdom with regard to all the provision challenges that you are facing right now.

In James 1:5, we learn that if anyone lacks wisdom, “let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”

The wisdom of God will help you to identify and solve the money problems that you are currently experiencing. Don’t prioritize accumulating material things. God’s Word declares that wisdom is the principal thing. My friend, in all your getting, get wisdom and understanding!

09/25/2026

Always Remember That You Are God’s Beloved

Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
Ephesians 1:5–6
Do you believe that you are beloved and highly favored by God? Ephesians 1:6 says, “to the praise of the glory of His grace [unmerited favor], by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.”

It is not possible for us to make ourselves accepted. We are made accepted by the glory of the Lord’s unmerited favor.

The word “accepted” in Ephesians 1:6 is the Greek word charitoo. Now, the root word for charitoo is charis, which means “grace.” So charitoo simply means “highly graced” or “highly favored.” In other words, you are highly favored in the Beloved!

Now, we know that “the Beloved” in Ephesians 1:6 refers to Jesus. If you read on, it says in the next verse that “In Him [Jesus the Beloved] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace [unmerited favor].”

Now, why didn’t the Bible just say that we are highly favored in Jesus or in Christ? (There are no insignificant details in the Bible.) Why did the Holy Spirit choose specifically to say that we are highly favored “in the Beloved”?

“Beloved” is a warm and intimate term that was used by God at the Jordan River to describe Jesus. The Bible tells us that when Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River, “He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, ‘You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’” (Mark 1:10–11).

God the Father spoke publicly and His words were recorded for you to know that to be “accepted in the Beloved” means that God is well pleased with you today. See yourself sandwiched right smack in the midst of Jesus, God’s Beloved.

When God looks at you, He doesn’t see you in your failures and shortcomings. He sees you in Jesus’ perfection and loveliness!

Because you are in Christ, God says to you, “You, _______________ (insert your name here), are My beloved, in whom I am well pleased.” Jesus is well-pleasing to God because He kept the law perfectly. You and I are well-pleasing to God because we are accepted and highly favored in the Beloved, who took all our sins and fulfilled the law on our behalf!

Immediately after Jesus was baptized, He was led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. The devil came to Jesus and said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread” (Matt. 4:3).

Now, don’t forget that Jesus had just heard the voice of His Father affirming Him with the words “You are My beloved Son.” Do you notice that the devil deliberately left out the word “beloved”?

Friend, for the devil’s temptations to work, he cannot remind you that you are God’s beloved. The moment you are reminded of your identity as God’s beloved in Christ, he will not be able to succeed!

It is no wonder that the devil wants to rob believers of their sense of being God’s beloved. So don’t fall for the devil’s trick. Remind yourself today and every day that you are God’s beloved!

09/23/2026

Where God Meets and Speaks with You

“And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat.”
Exodus 25:22
In Old Testament times, once a year, on Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, the high priest would go into the Holy of Holies and sprinkle the blood of an innocent animal on the mercy seat. After the blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled on the mercy seat, all God saw of the ark of the covenant was the blood, and not the rebellion and failure of man.

However, under the old covenant, the blood of the animal sacrifices only covered the sins of the children of Israel for one year. What happened on Yom Kippur was only a shadow. Our Lord Jesus is the substance. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, and His sacrifice on the cross was once and for all (John 1:29, Heb. 9:12)!

In Exodus 25:17–22, the Lord told Moses, “You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold . . . And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. . . . of one piece with the mercy seat. And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat. You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you. And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.”

Where will the Lord speak from? From above the mercy seat. That is what ministry is all about. Preaching from above the mercy seat, preaching about His mercy and grace, about His shed blood, and about His finished work. There are people who are preaching from the judgment seat, preaching about the law and how we have fallen short.

The wages of sin is death. Under the law, there is no escaping death. But this ministry is all about the Lord’s mercy, grace, favor, love, and protection.

Under grace, Jesus died our death on the cross. He was punished with the death we deserved for our sins. He gave up His protection on the cross, so that we may walk in divine protection today. Hallelujah! Doesn’t this just fill your heart with assurance and peace today?

09/22/2026

Guard Your Heart

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
Proverbs 4:23 NIV
The Bible tells us that the heart is where the issues of life spring forth. What we allow to enter our hearts will affect our thoughts, actions, and even our bodies. In other words, the condition of one’s heart determines the course of one’s life!

That is why Jesus, who bequeathed to us His peace, tells us, “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). So if we want to walk in His peace and rest, we need to guard our hearts and not let them spiral into negative thoughts, worry, and fear. The Book of Wisdom also tells us that a peaceful and cheerful heart promotes health (Prov. 17:22 NIV).

Beloved, there may be many things in our lives that we want to “guard,” such as our health or careers, but God wants us to guard our hearts above all else, and He will guard the rest!