Sunday Worship 10am with Fellowship Afterwards

At Faith on 48th, our goal is to bring the Hope of the Gospel to the community, and to help people become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.

We believe that your best days are ahead! This is why we offer a full experience including weekly services at our church location, in-depth Bible studies via Zoom, and unique camp and picnic experiences at our very own Faith Oaks Ranch.

Faith Tabernacle Church, located at the corner of 48th Street and University Avenue, has been serving the San Diego City Heights community since 1949. 

AUGUST 2025

I Need Thee O’ I Need Thee!

Blessings and honor to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who keeps us from falling and bestows His people with showers of blessings! I pray that you all rejoice in the Lord always.  The thought for this newsletter is simple, straight forward, yet very powerful!  I say that because of the unlimited ways He is able to get your attention and teach you matter than we can apply to our daily walk as believers.  

At the end of June, the family at Faith on 48th commenced renovation (Contractor) of the Fellowship Hall.  It has been a project in the works for several years to develop a community center which supports our City Heights family.  I remember a young lady during our Fall Festival 2019, who gave me a $5.00 dollar bill which I have to this day.  She was the first to donate funds and the inspiration for the renovation.

I was complacent, forgetting the amount of work involved and the details to get a project of the magnitude launched.  As such, after getting started with things, at times, I found myself getting overwhelmed.   An example would be the Cabinets and the Kitchen, they were not in the budget to be refaced or worked on, thought time would be on our side if we only worked the outer area of the cabinets.  Therefore, we took on the dubious task of doing them, and o’ boy!  

It seemed like the more cabinets I sanded, the more they kept multiplying. This started taking me to a place where I began to focus on the task than the end objective.

I started to get discouraged and asked the Lord to give me strength and don’t you know, that is exactly what He did, however, I had to stew in my own misery for a few days before help would arrive.  The answer to prayer would be accomplished through a men’s work party and fellowship that Saturday.  Many brethren showed and the priority of the work party shifted, and we were able to sand, prime and paint the last 12 doors and hang the others already completed.  We were also able to install a new Oven Fan and change all water supply lines for both bathrooms and kitchen.  I will say, there were other days where help was there but, what a relief I felt that day!

It was at that critical moment in the process that I was reminded of all the detailed work and exhausting hours that I could not have done it alone, without the help of the Lord.  Those who played a part in the work represented God’s strength for the journey. 

As I continued on, I heard this song playing my heart,  and has been so ever since: “I need thee O’ I need thee, every hour I need thee, O’ bless me now my Savior, I come to thee.” 

God was lovingly and preciously showing this vessel that His strength is needed in times of trouble or grief, or even when one becomes over burden.  Had it not been for the help of others, I would probably be basking in tears and feeling sorry for myself, but thanks be to God who supply’s our needs. I called upon the Lord and said, “Lord, I need you” and He delivered!

This is a simple yet effect lesson we all should harness in our spirit and know before life becomes overwhelming, or we find ourselves in that place, the Lord will give you relief!  Sometimes, God will allow your faith to be tried and tested to see if you will stick to His plan (sanding priming and painting).

Moses, (Exodus chapter 18) once found himself in that place until Jethro, his father in-law told him that eventually, he would wear himself out, unless!  Moses took Jetho’s advice and made (faithful) officers in each of the tribes to handle matters.

I believe this holds true today, individually and as the body of Christ. The Church is commissioned to go and preach the good news of the gospel to all mankind, knowing that challenges and periods shall come that are tiring and exhausting, but our rest is not on this earth, our rest is in Heaven.  Therefore, we must labor until Jesus returns, and until then, it is imperative to cry out “I need thee Lord”.

Our labor for the glory of the Lord is not in vain, and He sees everything that you’ll ever go through, and will give you the strength and peace you need to finish the journey.   We cannot accomplish His work on our own; we must go in the strength of the Lord.

Like the renovation of the fellowship hall, once completed, we will not dwell on all the energy it took to beautify it but rather, admire its’ completion. 

Therefore, lift up your head and shout to the Lord with a voice of triumph!  It is He who shall be with you until the very end.  Sing unto the Lord and let His praises be known in all the earth. Don’t remain silent and call upon Him, for He hears you!   May the peace of our God be with your spirit. 

His Servant, 

Pastor: Jimmy Smith