This last week and a half has been very difficult for me. I have been without my family as they have had to travel down to Florida for the wedding of my sister-in-law. I do not do well alone. It is not that I cannot survive, I can cook and clean and generally take care of myself, but emotionally I have come to realize just how much I love having my wife and children around and it is just plain odd to come home to a house that is empty. In moments like these I have encouraged others to focus on God and allow Him to be a help, but for some reason this time I realized that there was something more to focusing on God.
As I daily prayed and reflected on the absence of my family, I wanted to focus on God. When I was feeling something was missing, I took that thing and focused on the character of God related to the very item that I was experiencing. For example, when I missed the presence of my family I focused on the presence of God and verses like Hebrews 13:5, "I will never leave you or forsake you". When I was missing the loving hugs and kisses, I focused on the love of God expressed to me. When I was concerned for their safety, I thought about the way that God cares for even the sparrows and how not a single one falls to the ground without his knowledge.
In each item of anxiety, I was helped when I focused on the character of God and His revealed Word. I found solace and encouragement each time I chose to look away from my circumstances and look to the God who is in control. This does not mean there were not tears or that I suddenly started smiling every time I came home, it was still a really hard week, but I had the ability to better cope because I was looking at someone bigger than myself each time I was struggling.
I wonder if this would help you too today. In whatever it is that you are struggling with, look to the character of God that He reveals in His Word. Find solace and comfort in the arms of the one who has promised that He will meet all your needs according to the riches of grace expressed to us in Jesus Christ. Hold on to the one who is holding on to you and realize that even in anxiety and hardship, He is there.
Tuesday, December 17, 2019
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
Preparing for Christmas
When we think of preparing for Christmas, I am sure that most of us think fairly alike. We think about getting the decorations up and finishing the Christmas shopping. We think of mentally getting ready for the hustle and bustle and the preparation of making sure we can handle our time at the in-laws. We think of all of the cooking and baking. And most of us can remember a time when we forgot something in our Christmas preparation and we make sure that we don’t forget it again. But the regular preparations are not what I have in mind when I think of preparing for Christmas.
When we mention advent we often think of ritual and tradition. But the idea of advent is simply the reminder that something or someone is coming. Advent is the preparation for the coming of Christ. We celebrate the first coming of Christ to earth on December 25 each year. This is not the day Santa comes - it is the day set aside for the celebration of Christ coming to earth. When you go through the list in the first paragraph, how many of those things are preparing to celebrate the coming of Christ to earth? Is it enough to read the Christmas story before tearing into our wrapped goodies? Is it enough to say grace before consuming the holiday food we are looking forward to?
As we came closer to Thanksgiving, numerous people asked me what I was most looking forward to about the holiday. I think we need to remind each other of what the coming of Christ means in our lives and prepare ourselves in a way that focuses us on that which is really important.
The coming of Christ means that you and I have access to God the Father because of the forgiveness of our sins. It means that we have freedom to do that which is right in the sight of God because of the ability given us by the Spirit of God to discern right and wrong. It means that God has already conquered sin and death and that now we wait in anticipatory hope of the joy of the Kingdom that is coming. The coming of Christ means He will come again and He has made promises about that second coming!
All this and so much more. Are you ready to really celebrate Jesus this Christmas season?
When we mention advent we often think of ritual and tradition. But the idea of advent is simply the reminder that something or someone is coming. Advent is the preparation for the coming of Christ. We celebrate the first coming of Christ to earth on December 25 each year. This is not the day Santa comes - it is the day set aside for the celebration of Christ coming to earth. When you go through the list in the first paragraph, how many of those things are preparing to celebrate the coming of Christ to earth? Is it enough to read the Christmas story before tearing into our wrapped goodies? Is it enough to say grace before consuming the holiday food we are looking forward to?
As we came closer to Thanksgiving, numerous people asked me what I was most looking forward to about the holiday. I think we need to remind each other of what the coming of Christ means in our lives and prepare ourselves in a way that focuses us on that which is really important.
The coming of Christ means that you and I have access to God the Father because of the forgiveness of our sins. It means that we have freedom to do that which is right in the sight of God because of the ability given us by the Spirit of God to discern right and wrong. It means that God has already conquered sin and death and that now we wait in anticipatory hope of the joy of the Kingdom that is coming. The coming of Christ means He will come again and He has made promises about that second coming!
All this and so much more. Are you ready to really celebrate Jesus this Christmas season?
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Understanding My Purpose
Often times we get our lives turned upside down. Sometimes this happens by our own hand and sometimes it happens because we could never have predicted the hand that was dealt to us. Be it self-inflicted or external, the upending of our lives often results in a great deal of turmoil and pain. In these moments, especially these moments, it is essential that we remember our purpose.
Allow me to illustrate an all too familiar scene. This holiday season there is much to be thankful for and joyous about. However there are many who find their lives this year has given them a different perspective on the holidays. For some these days will be filled with sadness and sorrow due to the absence of a member of the family. For some these days will be filled with pain as all that their family seems to do is fight at the holidays. For some it will be a reminder that they are parentless, spouseless or in some other way broken. For those with a full table and full hearts it is far to easy to simply distance ourselves from the pain and revel in the joy of our full table and heart. And yet in doing so both the brokenhearted and those with full hearts have missed the point.
We tend to make our lives about us. And this is where understanding our purpose comes in extremely handy. Our lives are not about us. We were put on earth to bring honor and glory to a God who is over all, in all and through whom all that we see has been made and given to us not as a playground, but as a place in which we are able to point to and magnify our Creator God. More than that, our Creator sent His Son to place us into a right relationship with Him. A relationship that we broke by sin and He fixed by obedience and then gave to us by grace. And we now live and wait for Him to make all things right. This is an oversimplified version of the Scriptures but it is none-the-less true. And so be our experience joy or pain, the truth of our place here is the same. We are not here for us but we are here for Him.
I want to encourage myself and others to look not for ways to make my own life better, but for ways that I can point to the purpose I was placed here for. That my life would show Jesus to the world around me. And I can do that even if my heart is filled with sorrow. I can do that if I am rejoicing in the goodness of God or rejoicing in the pain that God has allowed in my life this year. I can do that in happiness and sorrow. I can do that in richness or poverty. No matter what my circumstances, I can find purpose in understanding that I am here to point to the God who put me here. And that is my purpose.
Allow me to illustrate an all too familiar scene. This holiday season there is much to be thankful for and joyous about. However there are many who find their lives this year has given them a different perspective on the holidays. For some these days will be filled with sadness and sorrow due to the absence of a member of the family. For some these days will be filled with pain as all that their family seems to do is fight at the holidays. For some it will be a reminder that they are parentless, spouseless or in some other way broken. For those with a full table and full hearts it is far to easy to simply distance ourselves from the pain and revel in the joy of our full table and heart. And yet in doing so both the brokenhearted and those with full hearts have missed the point.
We tend to make our lives about us. And this is where understanding our purpose comes in extremely handy. Our lives are not about us. We were put on earth to bring honor and glory to a God who is over all, in all and through whom all that we see has been made and given to us not as a playground, but as a place in which we are able to point to and magnify our Creator God. More than that, our Creator sent His Son to place us into a right relationship with Him. A relationship that we broke by sin and He fixed by obedience and then gave to us by grace. And we now live and wait for Him to make all things right. This is an oversimplified version of the Scriptures but it is none-the-less true. And so be our experience joy or pain, the truth of our place here is the same. We are not here for us but we are here for Him.
I want to encourage myself and others to look not for ways to make my own life better, but for ways that I can point to the purpose I was placed here for. That my life would show Jesus to the world around me. And I can do that even if my heart is filled with sorrow. I can do that if I am rejoicing in the goodness of God or rejoicing in the pain that God has allowed in my life this year. I can do that in happiness and sorrow. I can do that in richness or poverty. No matter what my circumstances, I can find purpose in understanding that I am here to point to the God who put me here. And that is my purpose.
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Are you truly thankful?
Have you even asked yourself the question, "Am I truly Thankful?" I want to ask this question this morning from two perspectives. The first is the perspective of that which I am thankful for. The word Thankful is broken into a root and a suffix - Thank and ful. Literally thankful is to be full of thanks. And so the things for which I am to be thankful for is all things. Paul says as much in 1 Thessalonians 5:19 ". . . in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." We are to give thanks in everything. Now the trouble as I examine my life is that I have taken thankfulness to mean gratitude for those things that please me. I tend to place myself at the center of the universe and when I do so I can divide my life into two categories - those things for which I am thankful and those things that I am not thankful for. The problem with this very human perspective is that it is not biblical.
The second approach is related to the first but slightly tuned. I then think about how often I give thanks. Paul a few verses earlier says, "Rejoice always." At all times and in all things we are to give thanks. When I focus on the things for which I am thankful as the things that please me then the moment the pleasure goes away I often cease to be thankful. I am thankful for a meal at dinner time but if at 9 PM I am suddenly snacky I somehow forget to be thankful for the meal I ate less than a few hours ago. If God blesses me with something but then a few days later I experience hardship I tend to focus on the hardship and forget the blessing.
At the end of the day the trouble with both the what and the how often of thankfulness tends to demonstrate that I am far too focused on myself. My thankfulness is determined by what God and others are doing for me and my thankfulness is only as frequent as the feeling of euphoria. I need to change perspective so that my thankfulness is biblical. When it is biblical my thanks will be ever present and continual. I will truly be full of thanks. Thankful.
The second approach is related to the first but slightly tuned. I then think about how often I give thanks. Paul a few verses earlier says, "Rejoice always." At all times and in all things we are to give thanks. When I focus on the things for which I am thankful as the things that please me then the moment the pleasure goes away I often cease to be thankful. I am thankful for a meal at dinner time but if at 9 PM I am suddenly snacky I somehow forget to be thankful for the meal I ate less than a few hours ago. If God blesses me with something but then a few days later I experience hardship I tend to focus on the hardship and forget the blessing.
At the end of the day the trouble with both the what and the how often of thankfulness tends to demonstrate that I am far too focused on myself. My thankfulness is determined by what God and others are doing for me and my thankfulness is only as frequent as the feeling of euphoria. I need to change perspective so that my thankfulness is biblical. When it is biblical my thanks will be ever present and continual. I will truly be full of thanks. Thankful.
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Statistics and Critical Thinking
I have said (at least to myself) that our world has lost and continues to decline in its ability to look at the world and think critically. I can only observe that there was a time in our history when you could disagree on a subject and still be friends. In our world today when Ellen and George Bush appear to be having fun together the world goes crazy. We have lost the ability to think critically. We are driven by "statistics and facts". And so people tell Ellen that George Bush statistically and factually is a person whom you should not be friends with.
When did we start to measure our relationships by those that agree with us and do only the things that we approve of and how do we not see this as a problem? We look to CNN to give us polls and numbers and we determine on the basis of the statistics that we see where the problems are. We trust that every single car company out there is the NUMBER ONE CAR COMPANY IN AMERICA. Ford, Chevy, Toyota and Dodge - all number one. Every cable and satellite company is number one in customer satisfaction. Every cell phone company. Every presidential candidate. And yet we measure our lives by these fabricated statistics without examining any of them with any measure of critical thinking. We hear statistics about crime and avoid people who frighten us because they look like the guy we saw on the news.
The problem with this is that some of this same kind of mentality is precisely what led to Hitler being in power. First it was economic turmoil that needed someone to blame. So Hitler turned all of that into power as he theorized who was to blame and then created a path out of the economic turmoil that included horrible treatment of multiple people groups who as it turned out did not look like Hitler or think like Hitler. People who were not like him were now the enemy. When I hear our present day political discussions I cannot help but think we may be close to a similar problem. And history tells us how this kind of thinking turns out in the end. It turns out with the worst marginalization of anyone who does not agree with the party in power at the time.
As Christians it is our job not to simply engage the world, it is our job to live with the love of Christ, the joy of Christ, and the mind of Christ among other things. So the next time you read a news article, or hear something on the radio, let us not lose our collective minds over whatever it happens to be. Let us stop and think both critically and most of all biblically about whatever it happens to be. And then let us engage our world in a Christ-like fashion. Willing to speak the truth but loving sinners while calling them out of their sin.
When did we start to measure our relationships by those that agree with us and do only the things that we approve of and how do we not see this as a problem? We look to CNN to give us polls and numbers and we determine on the basis of the statistics that we see where the problems are. We trust that every single car company out there is the NUMBER ONE CAR COMPANY IN AMERICA. Ford, Chevy, Toyota and Dodge - all number one. Every cable and satellite company is number one in customer satisfaction. Every cell phone company. Every presidential candidate. And yet we measure our lives by these fabricated statistics without examining any of them with any measure of critical thinking. We hear statistics about crime and avoid people who frighten us because they look like the guy we saw on the news.
The problem with this is that some of this same kind of mentality is precisely what led to Hitler being in power. First it was economic turmoil that needed someone to blame. So Hitler turned all of that into power as he theorized who was to blame and then created a path out of the economic turmoil that included horrible treatment of multiple people groups who as it turned out did not look like Hitler or think like Hitler. People who were not like him were now the enemy. When I hear our present day political discussions I cannot help but think we may be close to a similar problem. And history tells us how this kind of thinking turns out in the end. It turns out with the worst marginalization of anyone who does not agree with the party in power at the time.
As Christians it is our job not to simply engage the world, it is our job to live with the love of Christ, the joy of Christ, and the mind of Christ among other things. So the next time you read a news article, or hear something on the radio, let us not lose our collective minds over whatever it happens to be. Let us stop and think both critically and most of all biblically about whatever it happens to be. And then let us engage our world in a Christ-like fashion. Willing to speak the truth but loving sinners while calling them out of their sin.
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Emphasizing Missions
This past Sunday was Missions Emphasis Sunday. I really enjoy the privilege of listening to God's Word. It is something that as a preacher I do not usually get to do live. I can listen to speakers online or on the radio and I certainly am studying during the week, but there is something about the spoken Word of God that is just wonderful to hear. I am grateful to Mike Deen for preaching it well as our keynote speaker for Missions Emphasis.
I am also grateful for our Missions Committee, who put together such a wonderful day of focus on mission. I am grateful because they remembered to include the idea that we have to be willing to serve Jesus here in our local community. Sometimes I can get caught up in all of the great stories of what is happening overseas in Ukraine or Africa or Brazil that I forget all of the good and important things that God is doing right here in my own backyard. I can be so focused on people needing to hear the gospel in a foreign country that I forget that people need to hear the gospel next door to where I live and work.
I am thankful that we have the joy of participating within the context of our own church family and serving each other. I am thankful that our church has opportunities for people to minister. I am thankful for people in our church who understand that our ministry as a church extends beyond our four walls and go out and serve in various ministries like a work camp or that help our crisis pregnancy center. I am thankful for those who serve in ministries like Gideons. I am thankful for those that faithfully serve our AWANA program and VBS as we see these programs bring these families that need the good news right into our church building!
I really enjoyall that we are able to do together as we serve our Savior for the glory of God! And I love that we were able to focus on these practical things on one of our Missions Emphasis Sundays!
I am also grateful for our Missions Committee, who put together such a wonderful day of focus on mission. I am grateful because they remembered to include the idea that we have to be willing to serve Jesus here in our local community. Sometimes I can get caught up in all of the great stories of what is happening overseas in Ukraine or Africa or Brazil that I forget all of the good and important things that God is doing right here in my own backyard. I can be so focused on people needing to hear the gospel in a foreign country that I forget that people need to hear the gospel next door to where I live and work.
I am thankful that we have the joy of participating within the context of our own church family and serving each other. I am thankful that our church has opportunities for people to minister. I am thankful for people in our church who understand that our ministry as a church extends beyond our four walls and go out and serve in various ministries like a work camp or that help our crisis pregnancy center. I am thankful for those who serve in ministries like Gideons. I am thankful for those that faithfully serve our AWANA program and VBS as we see these programs bring these families that need the good news right into our church building!
I really enjoyall that we are able to do together as we serve our Savior for the glory of God! And I love that we were able to focus on these practical things on one of our Missions Emphasis Sundays!
Tuesday, September 17, 2019
A Public Service Announcement
This is your friendly neighborhood blog post, reminding you of something that I think we forget - giving thanks to God is not limited to November on the fourth Thursday. In point of fact, we are commanded by God in this book that He has given us to give thanks.
"Rejoice Always;" (1 Thessalonians 5:16, NASB).
And then just 2 verses later. . .
"in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:18, NASB)
Now if you are not a scholar in biblical Greek, that is OK. You can still understand this verse plainly because what it says it says very plainly. I want to make just a few observations about what it says.
1. "In everything" - I think that most people know what the word everything means. It means exactly what it says. In every single thing that God allows in your life you are called to do something.
2. "Give thanks" - this is what you are called to do in every thing. Notice that thanks is given. It is like a gift back to the one who has gifted you. The trouble is that we tend to forget number 1. We tend to give thanks when we have received something we wanted or are surprised by but know we will really enjoy. We write thank you cards to those who give to us, we don't write thank you cards to our cable company or the electric company or to those people who seem to only want to take from us. So we have a hard time giving thanks to God for all things because we only want to be thankful for the things from God that we like!
3. "This is God's will" - I love how many people think they want to know what the will of God is for their lives, but forget that the Bible clearly states what God wants from them. He wants them to give thanks in every single thing that happens in their life. Are you in the midst of turmoil - give thanks! Are you having a terrible day at work? Give thanks. God wants you to give thanks.
4. "In Christ Jesus" - I also find it fascinating that God knows me. He knows I cannot give thanks on my own and so He reminds me that I need Jesus to be able to do this. This is what God will for me in Christ Jesus. And in this I have not only the power (in Christ) but also the means. In Christ I can be thankful for things even in the midst of turmoil or a bad day at work. Nothing this side of eternity can separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus. And that alone is something to be thankful for.
Give Thanks.
"Rejoice Always;" (1 Thessalonians 5:16, NASB).
And then just 2 verses later. . .
"in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:18, NASB)
Now if you are not a scholar in biblical Greek, that is OK. You can still understand this verse plainly because what it says it says very plainly. I want to make just a few observations about what it says.
1. "In everything" - I think that most people know what the word everything means. It means exactly what it says. In every single thing that God allows in your life you are called to do something.
2. "Give thanks" - this is what you are called to do in every thing. Notice that thanks is given. It is like a gift back to the one who has gifted you. The trouble is that we tend to forget number 1. We tend to give thanks when we have received something we wanted or are surprised by but know we will really enjoy. We write thank you cards to those who give to us, we don't write thank you cards to our cable company or the electric company or to those people who seem to only want to take from us. So we have a hard time giving thanks to God for all things because we only want to be thankful for the things from God that we like!
3. "This is God's will" - I love how many people think they want to know what the will of God is for their lives, but forget that the Bible clearly states what God wants from them. He wants them to give thanks in every single thing that happens in their life. Are you in the midst of turmoil - give thanks! Are you having a terrible day at work? Give thanks. God wants you to give thanks.
4. "In Christ Jesus" - I also find it fascinating that God knows me. He knows I cannot give thanks on my own and so He reminds me that I need Jesus to be able to do this. This is what God will for me in Christ Jesus. And in this I have not only the power (in Christ) but also the means. In Christ I can be thankful for things even in the midst of turmoil or a bad day at work. Nothing this side of eternity can separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus. And that alone is something to be thankful for.
Give Thanks.
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
5 Things to Pray for the Students in your Church
Let us be honest for a minute and realize that we need to pray for our kids. I am not talking in a general sense, but in a very specific sense. I am saying that in a world of spiritual warfare that they are ill equipped to understand, we need to lift our young people up in prayer. I do not think that this world is changing for the better and I think that there are issues that our students are facing at an earlier and earlier age. This means they are less prepared mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually to handle much of what comes their way. And so we pray.
1. Pray that your students would build their relationship with God first.
"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
2. Pray that your students would equip themselves with the armor of God.
"Finally, Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might."
3. Pray that your students would be students of the Word of God.
"so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work."
4. Pray that your students would be salt and light.
"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. . ."
5. Pray for the testimony of your students.
"Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe."
I think that far too often we are focused on their grades, their socialization, the group of friends that they are bringing home, their relationships with people of the opposite gender, their involvement, etc. Maybe we need to bathe this year in prayer for their testimonies and that they would have a godly testimony in the sight of their peers and their teachers. Remember that God gets the glory, not just in the lives of adults, but in the lives of our kids too!
Soli Deo Gloria!
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Is Jesus the Answer?
I wanted to share an excerpt from a book I recently read called Core Christianity by Michael Horton.
"Jesus isn't just the answer to our questions; he gives us better questions. It's not that our needs are unimportant, it's that they're so shortsighted. We don't know what we really need. Our immediate problems are not necessarily our deepest or our most serious. We focus on the symptoms because they are right in front of us. And they are real: loneliness, abandonment, guilt, fear, depression, broken relationships, and financial or health issues. But Jesus Christ is the answer to the deeper and wider problems that we all face. He did not come just to give us our best life now. He came to give us eternal life. He came to free us from the curse of death and hell and the tyranny of those habits that poison our relationship with God and others."
(Horton, Michael. Core Christianity. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2016)
I love the first line. Jesus is not just the answer to our questions, He gives us better questions to ask! It is interesting because most of us are trained to be inherently selfish and centered solely on our own needs and wants and we have a hard time differentiating the two. In fact, some things that we call needs are not needs at all. When we were shopping for a house we made a list of things we "needed". Maybe you have done something similar. On that list we had multiple bedrooms, multiple bathrooms, a garage etc. These are not needs and many people around the world would scoff at what I called a need.
Jesus refocuses my life. He gives me a new perspective. He does not just make my perspective a little better He calls me to total surrender and demands that I hear and listen to His perspective. He calls my views of my own life and needs not only inadequate, but sinful and demands that I change. So often we get this all backward. We find ourselves content with our own understanding of the world and our own emotional responses to situations. We learn to trust a great deal in ourselves and when our world turns upside down we turn to those things we have learned to rely upon. And God comes and tells us we are doing it all wrong. We should not turn to strength, but revel in our own weakness that God's power is manifested. We should not trust in horses and chariots, but trust in the name of the Lord our God. We should not lean on our own understanding but always acknowledge God and understand that His ways are higher (and better) than ours!
God help me to ask better questions and realize all of the answers that you have already given me in Jesus!
"Jesus isn't just the answer to our questions; he gives us better questions. It's not that our needs are unimportant, it's that they're so shortsighted. We don't know what we really need. Our immediate problems are not necessarily our deepest or our most serious. We focus on the symptoms because they are right in front of us. And they are real: loneliness, abandonment, guilt, fear, depression, broken relationships, and financial or health issues. But Jesus Christ is the answer to the deeper and wider problems that we all face. He did not come just to give us our best life now. He came to give us eternal life. He came to free us from the curse of death and hell and the tyranny of those habits that poison our relationship with God and others."
(Horton, Michael. Core Christianity. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2016)
I love the first line. Jesus is not just the answer to our questions, He gives us better questions to ask! It is interesting because most of us are trained to be inherently selfish and centered solely on our own needs and wants and we have a hard time differentiating the two. In fact, some things that we call needs are not needs at all. When we were shopping for a house we made a list of things we "needed". Maybe you have done something similar. On that list we had multiple bedrooms, multiple bathrooms, a garage etc. These are not needs and many people around the world would scoff at what I called a need.
Jesus refocuses my life. He gives me a new perspective. He does not just make my perspective a little better He calls me to total surrender and demands that I hear and listen to His perspective. He calls my views of my own life and needs not only inadequate, but sinful and demands that I change. So often we get this all backward. We find ourselves content with our own understanding of the world and our own emotional responses to situations. We learn to trust a great deal in ourselves and when our world turns upside down we turn to those things we have learned to rely upon. And God comes and tells us we are doing it all wrong. We should not turn to strength, but revel in our own weakness that God's power is manifested. We should not trust in horses and chariots, but trust in the name of the Lord our God. We should not lean on our own understanding but always acknowledge God and understand that His ways are higher (and better) than ours!
God help me to ask better questions and realize all of the answers that you have already given me in Jesus!
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
The Armor of God
"Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm." Ephesians 6:13 (NASB)
My last post was about the ways that Satan wants to break down a church. Thankfully, God does not leave us without the ability to withstand the onslaught that Satan will bring. But, we have to prepare ourselves with armor that neither belongs to us or comes naturally to us. I do not wish to rehash the sermon that I just preached (although if you would like it is online through the website www.whitelakebaptist.com. But I do want to make a few points about the verse that I listed above in particular.
1. We are supposed to take up the full armor of God. Not a part of the armor, but the full armor. I cannot imagine that if we were going to war and defending ourselves with a suit of armor that we would intentionally leave off a part. We need all of it. We need truth and righteousness and the gospel and faith and salvation and the Word of God. We cannot stand properly against everything that the devil throws at us without all of the armor - do not leave part of it behind!
2. Notice that as you put on the armor, you have two responsibilities. One is to resist and the other is to stand firm. At the end of it all God does not want us to storm the gates of hell and conquer Satan. That would make no sense given that Satan is already defeated. He does however know that the modus operandi that Satan has is to try and tear down believers through deception and lies until the day that Christ returns. A deceived believer is useless to his Savior and a benefit to the opposition. We instead are to simply hold our ground!
3. It is worth reminding ourselves of over and over again - the therefore is there for a reason and in this case the reason is the reminder that our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against forces of darkness and wickedness (verse 12). No matter what is happening in your life, your primary struggle is not against whatever it is. It is not against cancer, it is not against people, it is not against politics. Our primary struggle is against Satan. This is not to say that Satan is behind every corner, but it does point out that he is the one with whom we war. The funny thing about this is that the war that Satan knows he is fighting is ultimately pointless. Satan has already lost and his doom is sure. But he is not too happy with that and so he continues to fight rather than graciously accept his own defeat. Praise God for the victory that we already have through the work of Christ!
My last post was about the ways that Satan wants to break down a church. Thankfully, God does not leave us without the ability to withstand the onslaught that Satan will bring. But, we have to prepare ourselves with armor that neither belongs to us or comes naturally to us. I do not wish to rehash the sermon that I just preached (although if you would like it is online through the website www.whitelakebaptist.com. But I do want to make a few points about the verse that I listed above in particular.
1. We are supposed to take up the full armor of God. Not a part of the armor, but the full armor. I cannot imagine that if we were going to war and defending ourselves with a suit of armor that we would intentionally leave off a part. We need all of it. We need truth and righteousness and the gospel and faith and salvation and the Word of God. We cannot stand properly against everything that the devil throws at us without all of the armor - do not leave part of it behind!
2. Notice that as you put on the armor, you have two responsibilities. One is to resist and the other is to stand firm. At the end of it all God does not want us to storm the gates of hell and conquer Satan. That would make no sense given that Satan is already defeated. He does however know that the modus operandi that Satan has is to try and tear down believers through deception and lies until the day that Christ returns. A deceived believer is useless to his Savior and a benefit to the opposition. We instead are to simply hold our ground!
3. It is worth reminding ourselves of over and over again - the therefore is there for a reason and in this case the reason is the reminder that our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against forces of darkness and wickedness (verse 12). No matter what is happening in your life, your primary struggle is not against whatever it is. It is not against cancer, it is not against people, it is not against politics. Our primary struggle is against Satan. This is not to say that Satan is behind every corner, but it does point out that he is the one with whom we war. The funny thing about this is that the war that Satan knows he is fighting is ultimately pointless. Satan has already lost and his doom is sure. But he is not too happy with that and so he continues to fight rather than graciously accept his own defeat. Praise God for the victory that we already have through the work of Christ!
Tuesday, August 6, 2019
How to Destroy a Church
I regularly receive a devotional from Ligonier ministries. The most recent arrival contained an interesting portion that imitated C.S. Lewis work The Screwtape Letters. The devotional is written in the same style as the Lewis book in that it is written as though it is written by an older and wiser demon with the goal of instructing a younger demon how to accomplish the purposes intended for him. The devotional contained 16 such attacks that have the potential to destroy the church. I wanted to note these 16 things as I think they do have the potential to destroy the church and want to make sure that we avoid them. Please remember that as these are written allegorically from one demon to another as things that will work to destroy the church and not things that I condone. I encourage us to find no place for these attacks by countering them with their opposite.
1. Erode Evangelism and Missions
2. Cultivate Cowardice and Worldliness
3. Subvert Communion and Baptism
4. Wreck the Word of God
5. Wear Down Worship
6. Push Against Personal Piety (holiness)
7. Demonize Church Discipline
8. Make Marriage Miserable
9. Fracture Families
10. Destroy Doctrine
11. Frustrate Fellowship
12. Obliterate Offerings
13. Pulverize the Pastor's Family
14. Sabotage Sanctification
15. Diminish Deacons
16. Attack Assurance
I know that I have seen Satan at work doing these things, sometimes even in our own church. May God help us fight Satan with the power of the Spirit of God and the truth of the Word of God for the glory of God!
1. Erode Evangelism and Missions
2. Cultivate Cowardice and Worldliness
3. Subvert Communion and Baptism
4. Wreck the Word of God
5. Wear Down Worship
6. Push Against Personal Piety (holiness)
7. Demonize Church Discipline
8. Make Marriage Miserable
9. Fracture Families
10. Destroy Doctrine
11. Frustrate Fellowship
12. Obliterate Offerings
13. Pulverize the Pastor's Family
14. Sabotage Sanctification
15. Diminish Deacons
16. Attack Assurance
I know that I have seen Satan at work doing these things, sometimes even in our own church. May God help us fight Satan with the power of the Spirit of God and the truth of the Word of God for the glory of God!
Tuesday, July 16, 2019
The Importance Place of Sorrow in the Life of a Christian
I believe that we have mistaken joy for happiness.
What I mean by this is that we know the Scriptures call us to give thanks and to have joy in all circumstances. These are clear statements. And so we have assumed that we need to be happy at all times. We pretend each Sunday morning that there are things that do not bother us that really grate at our souls. We endure hardship and feel guilt because we are not going through our day with a smile. We have mistaken happiness and assumed that God has called us to happiness in every moment and every circumstance.
The Scriptures do certainly teach that we are to have joy and to give thanks. But the same Scriptures also contain a book called Lamentations. They contain a whole group of psalms that are known as the psalms of lament. There are multiple examples of God's chosen leaders crying out to him in their pain and despair and agony and fear and God does not condemn them for doing so. It would seem to me that when we look at the whole of Scriptures that there is the ability for a believer to both lament their situation and praise and thank their God for the very same situation they are lamenting.
Which is why I think we need a better understanding of the place of sorrow in the life of a believer. When people die well before they should, when illness takes someone we love, when pain is a part of the daily life of a person, when an infant dies we need to know that this is not the way it is supposed to be and God tells us so. We can lament illness and pain and grief and hurt. These things are not a part of the world as God created it.
In fact, I think we need to have more godly lamentation. We need to lament the things that are not as God intended. If we just put on a happy face we are doing disservice to Christ who came to die to make the wrong things right again. So cry out in the midst of things that are wrong and unfair. And in our grief and sorrow we will find our praise all the more meaningful.
What I mean by this is that we know the Scriptures call us to give thanks and to have joy in all circumstances. These are clear statements. And so we have assumed that we need to be happy at all times. We pretend each Sunday morning that there are things that do not bother us that really grate at our souls. We endure hardship and feel guilt because we are not going through our day with a smile. We have mistaken happiness and assumed that God has called us to happiness in every moment and every circumstance.
The Scriptures do certainly teach that we are to have joy and to give thanks. But the same Scriptures also contain a book called Lamentations. They contain a whole group of psalms that are known as the psalms of lament. There are multiple examples of God's chosen leaders crying out to him in their pain and despair and agony and fear and God does not condemn them for doing so. It would seem to me that when we look at the whole of Scriptures that there is the ability for a believer to both lament their situation and praise and thank their God for the very same situation they are lamenting.
Which is why I think we need a better understanding of the place of sorrow in the life of a believer. When people die well before they should, when illness takes someone we love, when pain is a part of the daily life of a person, when an infant dies we need to know that this is not the way it is supposed to be and God tells us so. We can lament illness and pain and grief and hurt. These things are not a part of the world as God created it.
In fact, I think we need to have more godly lamentation. We need to lament the things that are not as God intended. If we just put on a happy face we are doing disservice to Christ who came to die to make the wrong things right again. So cry out in the midst of things that are wrong and unfair. And in our grief and sorrow we will find our praise all the more meaningful.
Tuesday, July 9, 2019
The Joy of Jericho
We are studying the book of Joshua in our SS class each Sunday morning (at 9:45 AM if you want to come!) As we read the last couple of weeks, we noticed how joyous and amazing the story of Jericho is. In truth, we spend a lot of time talking about Joshua. We started learning the story back when we were kids in Sunday School. We sang songs about Joshua and the "battle" of Jericho. We know the walls come down from walking around and the people go in.
I think that there is still much we can learn and appreciate from the story of Jericho, even as adults. But the chapter that immediately follows we often overlook. We talk and think about Jericho but think that is where the story ends. We forget that in the narrative of Jericho God records a command that is disobeyed. One man ignores the commands of God and a whole nation feels the brunt of the punishment of sin. God simply removes his presence from being with His people. He cannot stand sin and the sin of Achan was an affront to His holiness and could not be tolerated. It was more than just taking something that he should not have taken, he stole something from God Himself. And so God withholds his presence.
This translates into losing a battle against a small town that had only a few people to defend it. The contrast as Joshua records it is stunning. Win when impossible, lose when you don't need much help and the point that it makes is that it is not about the size of the obstacle at all, but the power of God being with you or not dependent upon obedience. God is immensely powerful and promises His power and presence for those who follow Him. But when we do our own thing and decide we do not need God, God simply allows us the freedom to do things our own way, without His power and presence and often the results are disastrous. God tells us to put our spouse first. When we do this we are blessed and can see His good results. When we put ourselves first we usually wind up fighting! God tells us to grow the church through the personal sharing of the gospel. When we think it is the pastor and deacons job to grow the church God simply allows us our choice and we move forward without the power and presence of God! This leads to stagnant churches and hollow Christianity at home. I could go on and on. Do you want the power and presence of God to be active in your life? Of course we all do. But we often forget that we see the power and presence of God when we choose to obey and follow his path for our lives. Sometimes we need to stop telling God things and listen instead.
Will you listen?
I think that there is still much we can learn and appreciate from the story of Jericho, even as adults. But the chapter that immediately follows we often overlook. We talk and think about Jericho but think that is where the story ends. We forget that in the narrative of Jericho God records a command that is disobeyed. One man ignores the commands of God and a whole nation feels the brunt of the punishment of sin. God simply removes his presence from being with His people. He cannot stand sin and the sin of Achan was an affront to His holiness and could not be tolerated. It was more than just taking something that he should not have taken, he stole something from God Himself. And so God withholds his presence.
This translates into losing a battle against a small town that had only a few people to defend it. The contrast as Joshua records it is stunning. Win when impossible, lose when you don't need much help and the point that it makes is that it is not about the size of the obstacle at all, but the power of God being with you or not dependent upon obedience. God is immensely powerful and promises His power and presence for those who follow Him. But when we do our own thing and decide we do not need God, God simply allows us the freedom to do things our own way, without His power and presence and often the results are disastrous. God tells us to put our spouse first. When we do this we are blessed and can see His good results. When we put ourselves first we usually wind up fighting! God tells us to grow the church through the personal sharing of the gospel. When we think it is the pastor and deacons job to grow the church God simply allows us our choice and we move forward without the power and presence of God! This leads to stagnant churches and hollow Christianity at home. I could go on and on. Do you want the power and presence of God to be active in your life? Of course we all do. But we often forget that we see the power and presence of God when we choose to obey and follow his path for our lives. Sometimes we need to stop telling God things and listen instead.
Will you listen?
Tuesday, June 25, 2019
VBS Update
We are in the second day of VBS 2019 - Missions Adventure Preparation School and are learning about different parts of the world and what it takes to be a missionary. We are learning stories of missionaries who have gone before and most importantly we are passing on the message of the good news of Jesus to a great group of kids. We are already hearing of the fruit of the labor and how the gospel is creating questions in the hearts of some of the kids.
I wanted to let you know that i am most pleased that we have a great group of over 20 helpers who are here today to help in some capacity. Some are helping check the kids in, some are helping in crafts, some are teaching, some are helping get snacks for the kids - some are helping in games. We are so glad for all of the help and the multitude of help makes serving the 78 kids and their families much easier. We also thank all of you who are praying for your ongoing prayers for our VBS. We are so blessed to be able to serve the community and so grateful for all your prayer.
As we continue to serve in VBS, please keep praying and there is still opportunity to help this week, so stop on by and we will find a place for you to help!
I wanted to let you know that i am most pleased that we have a great group of over 20 helpers who are here today to help in some capacity. Some are helping check the kids in, some are helping in crafts, some are teaching, some are helping get snacks for the kids - some are helping in games. We are so glad for all of the help and the multitude of help makes serving the 78 kids and their families much easier. We also thank all of you who are praying for your ongoing prayers for our VBS. We are so blessed to be able to serve the community and so grateful for all your prayer.
As we continue to serve in VBS, please keep praying and there is still opportunity to help this week, so stop on by and we will find a place for you to help!
Tuesday, June 11, 2019
You are Here for the Benefit of the Church
"And He gave some as apostles and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ."
Ephesians 4:11-13 (NASB)
We have an interesting way of looking at things in our culture that is sometimes wrong and even against Scripture. I have been a pastor in some capacity now for over 15 years (only a few years compared to some) and I have noticed in that time that people tend to treat church like it is a fast food restaurant. They will go regularly and call it their favorite place until they stop serving the food they like. Or they have a bad experience with one of the staff and they decide to go elsewhere. Or someone is not as friendly greeting them as they think they should be and they go elsewhere. Or they drop their kids programming and they decide they have to leave. The problem with this view is that they are the consumer of church and the church is simply there to provide goods and services for them to consume. Even people who are serving in the church can succumb to this idea. The problem is that this view that the church is something that is to provide for my needs is flat out wrong.
These verses in Ephesians (alongside many other Scriptures) remind us that the church is not for us - instead, we are for the church. God has gifted each believer with a gift that is to be used to the benefit of others in the context of the church. And if you are not using your gift for the benefit of others, you are missing a major part of your calling as a Christian. In other words, church is not something that exists solely to benefit you, but it exists for you to benefit the people who exist as the church. You exist to benefit God's people!
The question then should move from, "What is my church doing for me?" to , "What am I doing for my church?" It is a major shift in focus. This is not to say that you get nothing from the church, but these verses also define what we ought to look for when we are being church together. It lists three benefits that we should receive from service. We should attain unity with our fellow believers, we should attain a greater knowledge of the Son of God and we should attain maturity. May I suggest that we use these things as the mark of considering churches - will I be unified with the believers, will I attain a greater knowledge of the Son of God and am I going to be matured here?
It is interesting that musical styles and children's programming are not mentioned here.
So, how are you doing? Are you serving? Are you seeking to be a benefit to the body of Christ that develops unity, knowledge and maturity? If not, perhaps it is not the church that is doing it wrong!
Ephesians 4:11-13 (NASB)
We have an interesting way of looking at things in our culture that is sometimes wrong and even against Scripture. I have been a pastor in some capacity now for over 15 years (only a few years compared to some) and I have noticed in that time that people tend to treat church like it is a fast food restaurant. They will go regularly and call it their favorite place until they stop serving the food they like. Or they have a bad experience with one of the staff and they decide to go elsewhere. Or someone is not as friendly greeting them as they think they should be and they go elsewhere. Or they drop their kids programming and they decide they have to leave. The problem with this view is that they are the consumer of church and the church is simply there to provide goods and services for them to consume. Even people who are serving in the church can succumb to this idea. The problem is that this view that the church is something that is to provide for my needs is flat out wrong.
These verses in Ephesians (alongside many other Scriptures) remind us that the church is not for us - instead, we are for the church. God has gifted each believer with a gift that is to be used to the benefit of others in the context of the church. And if you are not using your gift for the benefit of others, you are missing a major part of your calling as a Christian. In other words, church is not something that exists solely to benefit you, but it exists for you to benefit the people who exist as the church. You exist to benefit God's people!
The question then should move from, "What is my church doing for me?" to , "What am I doing for my church?" It is a major shift in focus. This is not to say that you get nothing from the church, but these verses also define what we ought to look for when we are being church together. It lists three benefits that we should receive from service. We should attain unity with our fellow believers, we should attain a greater knowledge of the Son of God and we should attain maturity. May I suggest that we use these things as the mark of considering churches - will I be unified with the believers, will I attain a greater knowledge of the Son of God and am I going to be matured here?
It is interesting that musical styles and children's programming are not mentioned here.
So, how are you doing? Are you serving? Are you seeking to be a benefit to the body of Christ that develops unity, knowledge and maturity? If not, perhaps it is not the church that is doing it wrong!
Monday, May 20, 2019
Far More Abundantly Beyond
Ephesians 3 reminds us that God can do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think. I want to revisit that this week. Over and over again I want to come back to that singular thought and remind myself that God can do. He is able. When something does not happen that is good, or when bad stuff happens it is NEVER a deficiency in the ability of God.
Sometimes I think we weaken God out of a desire to make sure that He is understood by the masses. Bad stuff happens in our lives and in the lives of people and in our haste to make sure people know it is not God's fault we diminish the power of God. Paul has no place for this. His God can do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think. This means that the problem is not in the power of God. For most of us the problem lies in where we understand the primary purpose of our lives to be.
When we make ourselves, or even humanity in general the main point of creation and think that God is for us in the sense that we are here to tell God what to do. When we believe that God is obligated in some way to bring about only things that we like, we have misunderstood what God has said to a horrible degree. This world is not about me and it is not even about us. This is a story about God and what God is doing for the glory of God. In this story He promises my good in the long view and has already secured it. I have good coming to me and there is nothing that anyone or anything can do to separate me from this good that God has promised. But that does not mean that everything that I face or everything my friends face will be good. In fact God promises trouble and trials and pain. And when we face these we cry to God and ask why and we do this because we deep down know He had the power to prevent it. But He is not in this for our glory, He is in this for His glory and we are in this for His glory.
So yes, God could have prevented the tragedy. God is bigger than sin and bigger than death and bigger than pain and sorrow. But in the great Plan of God He uses our pain and our sorrow and our death and our life and all of who we are for a far bigger purpose -His glory. And knowing that He will accomplish His glory even through my pain makes this life ok. Even when it hurts.
Sometimes I think we weaken God out of a desire to make sure that He is understood by the masses. Bad stuff happens in our lives and in the lives of people and in our haste to make sure people know it is not God's fault we diminish the power of God. Paul has no place for this. His God can do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think. This means that the problem is not in the power of God. For most of us the problem lies in where we understand the primary purpose of our lives to be.
When we make ourselves, or even humanity in general the main point of creation and think that God is for us in the sense that we are here to tell God what to do. When we believe that God is obligated in some way to bring about only things that we like, we have misunderstood what God has said to a horrible degree. This world is not about me and it is not even about us. This is a story about God and what God is doing for the glory of God. In this story He promises my good in the long view and has already secured it. I have good coming to me and there is nothing that anyone or anything can do to separate me from this good that God has promised. But that does not mean that everything that I face or everything my friends face will be good. In fact God promises trouble and trials and pain. And when we face these we cry to God and ask why and we do this because we deep down know He had the power to prevent it. But He is not in this for our glory, He is in this for His glory and we are in this for His glory.
So yes, God could have prevented the tragedy. God is bigger than sin and bigger than death and bigger than pain and sorrow. But in the great Plan of God He uses our pain and our sorrow and our death and our life and all of who we are for a far bigger purpose -His glory. And knowing that He will accomplish His glory even through my pain makes this life ok. Even when it hurts.
Tuesday, May 7, 2019
Death
Death is an interesting concept. It is one of those words that we measure not by itself, but by the absence of something. Like darkness is the absence of light and cold is the absence of warmth, death is the absence of life. Biblically this makes sense. We were created with life. We were made for life, and death only enters into the picture because of sin.
One thing that I am grateful for is that Jesus came to conquer death. Jesus did not just come to die to pay the penalty for sin, but He through His perfect life, and his Resurrection conquered death. In other words, death, for those who believe in Jesus, is no longer a reality in the most crucial sense. It is sadly true enough that until Christ returns our physical bodies will still perish. And in this there is still sorrow and hurt and pain. But in deepest reality those who die in Christ do not really die. They really live. Jesus said, "I am the Resurrection and the Life; he who believes in me will live even if he dies." (John 11:25-26)
So that if I am in Christ death has been conquered. So to live is Christ and to die is gain. It is the reason I do not have to fear. It is the reason for my hope in the face of tremendous loss and pain. I will not ever, as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, cease to live. I have eternal life. We often think we are waiting for eternal life - we place it in what comes next, but I have eternal life now! Earlier in John, in chapter 10 Jesus says, "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (John 10:10) We have eternal life now and forever. And may we remember that all those who have gone on before us are very much alive in the presence of Christ. We WILL be reunited with them because we have the same eternal life in Christ. We will all be bound to Christ and His life for eternity!
So death has already lost. It has no power. It has lost its sting. Praise be to Jesus who gives us the victory!
For the record, I write this through tears as this past weekend I lost a friend and our church has been grieving the loss of a young husband and father and friend, a son, a brother. This message is for me too and I must grieve, but we grieve with the hope of knowing the truth about death. And so we say again and again, over and over until the return of Christ. . .
So death has already lost. It has no power. It has lost its sting. Praise be to Jesus who gives us the victory!
One thing that I am grateful for is that Jesus came to conquer death. Jesus did not just come to die to pay the penalty for sin, but He through His perfect life, and his Resurrection conquered death. In other words, death, for those who believe in Jesus, is no longer a reality in the most crucial sense. It is sadly true enough that until Christ returns our physical bodies will still perish. And in this there is still sorrow and hurt and pain. But in deepest reality those who die in Christ do not really die. They really live. Jesus said, "I am the Resurrection and the Life; he who believes in me will live even if he dies." (John 11:25-26)
So that if I am in Christ death has been conquered. So to live is Christ and to die is gain. It is the reason I do not have to fear. It is the reason for my hope in the face of tremendous loss and pain. I will not ever, as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, cease to live. I have eternal life. We often think we are waiting for eternal life - we place it in what comes next, but I have eternal life now! Earlier in John, in chapter 10 Jesus says, "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (John 10:10) We have eternal life now and forever. And may we remember that all those who have gone on before us are very much alive in the presence of Christ. We WILL be reunited with them because we have the same eternal life in Christ. We will all be bound to Christ and His life for eternity!
So death has already lost. It has no power. It has lost its sting. Praise be to Jesus who gives us the victory!
For the record, I write this through tears as this past weekend I lost a friend and our church has been grieving the loss of a young husband and father and friend, a son, a brother. This message is for me too and I must grieve, but we grieve with the hope of knowing the truth about death. And so we say again and again, over and over until the return of Christ. . .
So death has already lost. It has no power. It has lost its sting. Praise be to Jesus who gives us the victory!
Tuesday, April 23, 2019
Life
Life. Such a simple word. A word loaded with complexity and meaning and yet so very simple.
Life. It is immediately recognizable and immediately evident when it is absent. It is often taken for granted and overlooked, but its absence brings reminders of all of its glory. Life.
We fight for the right to life. We consider it precious. We want it and pursue keeping it at all costs. Life.
I wonder if you have considered the enormous gift of life. I say it is a gift because apart from the work of another you would not have it. I am not here referring to your mother without whose work you also would not be here, but I am speaking more importantly of the life giving work of the Son of God. Without his work none of us would have even the possibility of life. We might breathe, we might work, we might exist, but we would be dead in our trespasses and sin apart from His glorious Life.
And His Life he freely offers as a gift to all those who would believe that He is not only the Author of Life but that He gave His own Life to be a substitute for my own. So that the Life I now live is not my own but lived by faith in Him! The eternal Life that I receive as a free gift through the faith He enables starts now and continues for. . . you guessed it - eternity! Life. Never-ending Life.
And we owe it all to the man who was crucified. Who died. But death could not hold him. Life cannot be undone in this ultimate sense. Life can only continue. So come to the fount of Living Water. And Live. Life.
Life. It is immediately recognizable and immediately evident when it is absent. It is often taken for granted and overlooked, but its absence brings reminders of all of its glory. Life.
We fight for the right to life. We consider it precious. We want it and pursue keeping it at all costs. Life.
I wonder if you have considered the enormous gift of life. I say it is a gift because apart from the work of another you would not have it. I am not here referring to your mother without whose work you also would not be here, but I am speaking more importantly of the life giving work of the Son of God. Without his work none of us would have even the possibility of life. We might breathe, we might work, we might exist, but we would be dead in our trespasses and sin apart from His glorious Life.
And His Life he freely offers as a gift to all those who would believe that He is not only the Author of Life but that He gave His own Life to be a substitute for my own. So that the Life I now live is not my own but lived by faith in Him! The eternal Life that I receive as a free gift through the faith He enables starts now and continues for. . . you guessed it - eternity! Life. Never-ending Life.
And we owe it all to the man who was crucified. Who died. But death could not hold him. Life cannot be undone in this ultimate sense. Life can only continue. So come to the fount of Living Water. And Live. Life.
Tuesday, April 9, 2019
Grace
As I reflect on the opportunity to preach last Sunday, I think it is always good to remind ourselves that there is more that could have been said. Or at least to remind ourselves of the truth that was spoken. It is really easy to wake up on any given morning and forget that without Christ I am nothing more than a rotten, stinky, filthy corpse.
We go through our days and we see a world filled with merit. Your promotions at work have never been about grace. Your bank does not show grace when you miss a payment on your loan. Even the library does not show grace when you hold a book for an extra week. Our whole world runs on merit. You have to work hard. You have to pay money. You have to accomplish and earn. If you do not, you will not have the things that you want. Grace is something that is foreign to us and so we go to bed in a world that does not exemplify grace and we wake up in a world that seems to hate it.
And yet here I am. I am a rotten, stinky, filthy corpse that has been saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone! What a glorious truth. And this truth drives me to reach out to other corpses who have not yet found themselves alive in Christ! This truth drives me to a humility that binds me to the one who raised me to life. This truth drives me to a better understanding of the life God has called me to live, to a better knowledge of the God who raised me. In one sense, the fact that I was dead must be a foundational truth of my faith. It must be a part of my understanding of myself and the world in which I live. If it is not, my theology will go awry.
If I fail to maintain proper focus on my "corpsliness" (I know this is not a word), I might start to think God owes me something. If I fail to keep perspective, I might think of myself more highly than I ought and I might start to think that church is all about me! SO always remember that you were dead in your trespasses and sin and that you were made alive by God in Christ (you were even passive in the process!) And it is all because of GRACE!
We go through our days and we see a world filled with merit. Your promotions at work have never been about grace. Your bank does not show grace when you miss a payment on your loan. Even the library does not show grace when you hold a book for an extra week. Our whole world runs on merit. You have to work hard. You have to pay money. You have to accomplish and earn. If you do not, you will not have the things that you want. Grace is something that is foreign to us and so we go to bed in a world that does not exemplify grace and we wake up in a world that seems to hate it.
And yet here I am. I am a rotten, stinky, filthy corpse that has been saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone! What a glorious truth. And this truth drives me to reach out to other corpses who have not yet found themselves alive in Christ! This truth drives me to a humility that binds me to the one who raised me to life. This truth drives me to a better understanding of the life God has called me to live, to a better knowledge of the God who raised me. In one sense, the fact that I was dead must be a foundational truth of my faith. It must be a part of my understanding of myself and the world in which I live. If it is not, my theology will go awry.
If I fail to maintain proper focus on my "corpsliness" (I know this is not a word), I might start to think God owes me something. If I fail to keep perspective, I might think of myself more highly than I ought and I might start to think that church is all about me! SO always remember that you were dead in your trespasses and sin and that you were made alive by God in Christ (you were even passive in the process!) And it is all because of GRACE!
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
On Being A Sheep
The other day some folks from my church were doing a nursing home service at the local nursing home. As a part of this, I had the privilege of giving the devotional. In the devotional I talked about being a sheep in the flock of our Savior. I spoke most about the nature of our Shepherd and talked about the quality of the shepherd determining the quality of life for the sheep. After giving the devotional I had the privilege of talking with a man who said that he had actually been a shepherd and wanted to give me some additional insight.
As I listened what he said was profound. He told me that of all the animals on a typical farm, there is only one animal that cannot really be herded well. You can herd cattle, you can herd horses, you can even herd chickens (though why you would want to is beyond me). But he said that you cannot herd sheep well. He told me that the only way to get sheep to go where you want them to go easily is to lead them. Sheep have to be led.
As I reflected on this (I took the man's word for the truthfulness of it) I thought of how fitting. We as people do not get herded well. We want to go off and do our own thing and we do not really want to follow the rules that God sets for us because until we are believers He is not our Shepherd.
I also thought that describes how important the choice of who you are going to follow is and why no body can follow two masters - because they do not go in the exact same direction. We need to follow our Good Shepherd.
I am a sheep. I am thankful that my Shepherd is the Good Shepherd.
As I listened what he said was profound. He told me that of all the animals on a typical farm, there is only one animal that cannot really be herded well. You can herd cattle, you can herd horses, you can even herd chickens (though why you would want to is beyond me). But he said that you cannot herd sheep well. He told me that the only way to get sheep to go where you want them to go easily is to lead them. Sheep have to be led.
As I reflected on this (I took the man's word for the truthfulness of it) I thought of how fitting. We as people do not get herded well. We want to go off and do our own thing and we do not really want to follow the rules that God sets for us because until we are believers He is not our Shepherd.
I also thought that describes how important the choice of who you are going to follow is and why no body can follow two masters - because they do not go in the exact same direction. We need to follow our Good Shepherd.
I am a sheep. I am thankful that my Shepherd is the Good Shepherd.
Tuesday, February 12, 2019
The Winter Storm
We just lived through a doozy of a storm. The hardest part of it all is the hundreds of thousands of people without power. For me it meant that our home got down to 34 degrees in the coldest spot in the house after 48 hours of not having power. What was amazing about all of this is how God demonstrated his goodness to us.
It is always easier in retrospect to look back than it is in the moment to look up. But with the benefit of looking back I want to share some of the blessings.
1. You realize what is really important. I was willing and ready to leave the house behind so long as my kids and wife were warm and cared for. I realized what was really important to me!
2. You are primed to listen to the voice of God. As I struggled with the anxiety, I was ready and willing to hear. I was looking to hear. I was seeking God's voice, and this allowed me to hear lessons from God even in a Keys for Kids devotional shared at the house we were staying in.
3. You realize the blessings of the family of God. During and after we had so many offers for help it is a little overwhelming!
4. You see that your world extends beyond you. There were many people who helped from other states to get everything back in order. The way that God intended us to live is to help one another in times of need.
5. You are grateful for salvation. Even if all I had was taken away, there are things God has given me that cannot be taken away. And for these things you become grateful.
6. Worship becomes sweeter. The words of songs seem to stand out and have more meaning when you have gone through something. Worshiping with God's people on Sunday was that much sweeter!
And there are so many more that I could mention. But for the sake of time I will simply conclude with:
7. You realize that no matter what happens - God is good and brings good out of hardship and even tragedy.
"The Lord's been good to me, and so I praise the Lord for giving me the things I need, the sun and the rain and the apple seed. The Lord's been good to me. Amen."
It is always easier in retrospect to look back than it is in the moment to look up. But with the benefit of looking back I want to share some of the blessings.
1. You realize what is really important. I was willing and ready to leave the house behind so long as my kids and wife were warm and cared for. I realized what was really important to me!
2. You are primed to listen to the voice of God. As I struggled with the anxiety, I was ready and willing to hear. I was looking to hear. I was seeking God's voice, and this allowed me to hear lessons from God even in a Keys for Kids devotional shared at the house we were staying in.
3. You realize the blessings of the family of God. During and after we had so many offers for help it is a little overwhelming!
4. You see that your world extends beyond you. There were many people who helped from other states to get everything back in order. The way that God intended us to live is to help one another in times of need.
5. You are grateful for salvation. Even if all I had was taken away, there are things God has given me that cannot be taken away. And for these things you become grateful.
6. Worship becomes sweeter. The words of songs seem to stand out and have more meaning when you have gone through something. Worshiping with God's people on Sunday was that much sweeter!
And there are so many more that I could mention. But for the sake of time I will simply conclude with:
7. You realize that no matter what happens - God is good and brings good out of hardship and even tragedy.
"The Lord's been good to me, and so I praise the Lord for giving me the things I need, the sun and the rain and the apple seed. The Lord's been good to me. Amen."
Tuesday, February 5, 2019
Quick to Hear and Slow to Speak
"But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger. . ." James 1:19 (NASB)
In a world in which we get so angry when we learn of a recent decision in government that disagrees with our position. In a world where we whine when we do not get our way. In a world where we get angry with authority and high school students can assault police officers and teachers and then go viral because the police officers stun them with tasers. In a world where we are divided by all sorts of barriers and choose to focus on the division instead of what has potential to unite us. In this kind of world the words of James almost seem to not make sense. And yet, James is here presenting this truth.
First of all I want to be fair to the text and remind us that he is primarily talking about our need to listen to the text of Scripture. We need to listen and become doers of the Word of God and not simply hearers only. And so when the word of God talks about blessing our enemies - we need to listen and do. When the word of God talks about kindness and love - we need to listen and do. When the word of God talks about taking a stand for what is right - we need to listen and do. When the word of God judges a behavior as evil - we need to listen and obey.
Sadly, so often we only choose one or two of those. So one half talks about love and tolerance but forgets the importance of obedience and absolute truth and authority. The other half talks about the right and wrong but fails to love in any meaningful way. And the two sides quickly degenerate into an argument that gets heated and eventually just gets posted on Facebook. And we missed the point entirely. Both sides (pardon the expression) need to shut up and listen to what God is saying to us. Both sides need to look at God's Word and allow it to develop them into maturity.
So the next time you are being drawn into an argument, stop. Ask God for wisdom. Search your copy of the Scriptures for what God might have already said about this and go out and obey!
In a world in which we get so angry when we learn of a recent decision in government that disagrees with our position. In a world where we whine when we do not get our way. In a world where we get angry with authority and high school students can assault police officers and teachers and then go viral because the police officers stun them with tasers. In a world where we are divided by all sorts of barriers and choose to focus on the division instead of what has potential to unite us. In this kind of world the words of James almost seem to not make sense. And yet, James is here presenting this truth.
First of all I want to be fair to the text and remind us that he is primarily talking about our need to listen to the text of Scripture. We need to listen and become doers of the Word of God and not simply hearers only. And so when the word of God talks about blessing our enemies - we need to listen and do. When the word of God talks about kindness and love - we need to listen and do. When the word of God talks about taking a stand for what is right - we need to listen and do. When the word of God judges a behavior as evil - we need to listen and obey.
Sadly, so often we only choose one or two of those. So one half talks about love and tolerance but forgets the importance of obedience and absolute truth and authority. The other half talks about the right and wrong but fails to love in any meaningful way. And the two sides quickly degenerate into an argument that gets heated and eventually just gets posted on Facebook. And we missed the point entirely. Both sides (pardon the expression) need to shut up and listen to what God is saying to us. Both sides need to look at God's Word and allow it to develop them into maturity.
So the next time you are being drawn into an argument, stop. Ask God for wisdom. Search your copy of the Scriptures for what God might have already said about this and go out and obey!
Tuesday, January 29, 2019
Baby Its Cold Outside - The Atmosphere of Offense
In case you have not noticed, times have changed. In recent news this past holiday season there were multiple news articles and much discussion centered around a song that does not fit within our current context given its content. If you gave this any thought, there is much at stake here and the discussion reflected a number of important cultural shifts. I want to address them here.
1. Truth no longer is connected to its original context.
We no longer determine truth (if we are interested in truth at all) by looking at the origin of anything. Instead, we define truth in our modern sophisticated society by how something makes people feel. So if a song does not fit our current narrative we do not look to the time in which it was written and what might have been different or if the lyrics reflect something other than what it might seem from our point of view, we simply assume that our point of view is truth and evaluate our world based upon the truth we perceive.
The trouble is that the Bible is often looked upon in the same way. We no longer care about original context, or historical understanding. The who's, what's, when's, where's, and why's no longer matter. All that seems to matter is what does the reader think of the text they are reading. And this makes much of the Bible seem antiquated and out of touch with reality.
The trouble with this is that nothing could be farther from the truth. I will consider God true and everything else a lie because I believe in a God who is Truth and His Word that is Truth. So we as Christians need to be careful not to distance truth from its objective grounding in God.
2. The greatest problem in our culture is causing offense.
Everyone seems to get along fine until someone is offended. And keep in mind that the offense does not have to be current. I can be offended that someone might have done something 25 years ago to someone I don't know. But I can only be offended if it hurts my feelings. If I dare call something wrong (objectively) than my feelings no longer matter because I have offended someone else. So, if for instance I argue that life begins at conception, the argument immediately derails because I have offended someone who has had an abortion and I clearly am not considering their feelings.
Again this seems to be innocuous enough, but we have lost the ability to hold contrary sides of a position with dignity and respect. So if I disagree with you, you assume I am not respecting you and our discussion can no longer occur peacefully. This leads to the fracturing of society into "sides". For an example, look at politics. We are now more divided than we ever have been because we cannot hold to ideals or beliefs about what our government should be, we are either Republican or Democrat and either side holds shame to all those who disagree. When we believe that Christians can only be one or the other we are committing the same issue that has caused this culture of offense in the first place by boiling down the person who has some belief into a side and judging them based on the little we know of that side.
The bigger problem with this is that the gospel is an offense to those who are perishing. (see 1 Cor 1) And when those who preach the gospel become a stumbling block to those that do not want to hear it, a silencing will soon follow. We must cause offense for the content of the gospel because the content of the gospel is that people are dying because of their sinfulness. To say otherwise is not true, regardless of how people feel about it.
So as true followers of Christ we must ground truth in the objective reality of God and His Word and we must understand that our gospel is offensive.
1. Truth no longer is connected to its original context.
We no longer determine truth (if we are interested in truth at all) by looking at the origin of anything. Instead, we define truth in our modern sophisticated society by how something makes people feel. So if a song does not fit our current narrative we do not look to the time in which it was written and what might have been different or if the lyrics reflect something other than what it might seem from our point of view, we simply assume that our point of view is truth and evaluate our world based upon the truth we perceive.
The trouble is that the Bible is often looked upon in the same way. We no longer care about original context, or historical understanding. The who's, what's, when's, where's, and why's no longer matter. All that seems to matter is what does the reader think of the text they are reading. And this makes much of the Bible seem antiquated and out of touch with reality.
The trouble with this is that nothing could be farther from the truth. I will consider God true and everything else a lie because I believe in a God who is Truth and His Word that is Truth. So we as Christians need to be careful not to distance truth from its objective grounding in God.
2. The greatest problem in our culture is causing offense.
Everyone seems to get along fine until someone is offended. And keep in mind that the offense does not have to be current. I can be offended that someone might have done something 25 years ago to someone I don't know. But I can only be offended if it hurts my feelings. If I dare call something wrong (objectively) than my feelings no longer matter because I have offended someone else. So, if for instance I argue that life begins at conception, the argument immediately derails because I have offended someone who has had an abortion and I clearly am not considering their feelings.
Again this seems to be innocuous enough, but we have lost the ability to hold contrary sides of a position with dignity and respect. So if I disagree with you, you assume I am not respecting you and our discussion can no longer occur peacefully. This leads to the fracturing of society into "sides". For an example, look at politics. We are now more divided than we ever have been because we cannot hold to ideals or beliefs about what our government should be, we are either Republican or Democrat and either side holds shame to all those who disagree. When we believe that Christians can only be one or the other we are committing the same issue that has caused this culture of offense in the first place by boiling down the person who has some belief into a side and judging them based on the little we know of that side.
The bigger problem with this is that the gospel is an offense to those who are perishing. (see 1 Cor 1) And when those who preach the gospel become a stumbling block to those that do not want to hear it, a silencing will soon follow. We must cause offense for the content of the gospel because the content of the gospel is that people are dying because of their sinfulness. To say otherwise is not true, regardless of how people feel about it.
So as true followers of Christ we must ground truth in the objective reality of God and His Word and we must understand that our gospel is offensive.
Tuesday, January 22, 2019
The Importance of Teaching Integrity
As parents we tend to teach our children a lot of things. Many of them we teach intentionally; they learn from us things like how to read and how to speak. They hopefully learn some important life skills and by the time they leave the home they know enough of these things to make it on their own. When they are little we teach differently than when they are older, but as parents we are always teaching. Some things they learn unintentionally. They learn our mannerisms, they learn how to relate to one another and how to pick a spouse from us, even if we do not teach these things directly. One thing that I am grateful for is that my father and mother made a point of teaching the value of integrity.
Integrity is defined by the 11th edition of the Miriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary as, "Firm adherence to a code of moral or artistic values." My father always defined it as making sure that what we do is the same no matter who is looking or if anyone is looking at all. I firmly believe that we need to teach both intentionally and unintentionally the value of integrity. As we do so, there are a few key principles that I would suggest.
1. We found our integrity solely on the Word of God.
Any other foundation or moral code is not worth clinging to, but the one that does not fail and never returns void is worth teaching and clinging to for the rest of our lives. Teach your kids that we make choices not based on our own ideas or our parents ideas, but on what God says. We do not make choices based on what feels right or makes us happy, we evaluate morality based on the Word of God and strive to live accordingly.
2. Integrity does not depend on social situations.
We do not choose to act one way in front of our parents or at church and then act another among our other friends. This is not integrity, this is having two different moral codes (or more for some people). We do not base moral decisions based on where we are at the time, we live with integrity to the moral code of God's Word wherever we go.
3. Integrity does not come naturally.
In fact, we are really built to not show integrity! Our natural selves are built to be moral chameleons. We will, if given the chance, change multiple times to fit our own needs. We will adjust morality and we will adjust our own understanding of the basics of right and wrong before we submit to an authority outside of ourselves. In a very real sense we cannot have integrity apart from Christ. Or I should say that we cannot have integrity based on the Word of God apart from Christ. Our integrity before Christ shows itself in a complete and total allegiance to self and self alone.
4. Integrity is best shown and taught.
It has to be both intentional and unintentional. We need to both talk about it and live it. We need to acknowledge to our children and to our family, and to our friends and even to our church family that we are imperfectly trying to have integrity in all that we do.
5. When integrity is absent . . .
The consequences are enormous. I might even suggest that this is part of the reason that students tend to leave the church at the age of 18. I might suggest it is the reason that people do not see that the Bible or the Church is relevant. It might be a part of the reason so many see the church and its people as hypocritical. When we lack integrity, we lose our platform to speak to a lost and dying world.
So parents, please teach your children by both your verbal instruction and by your actions about the importance of integrity!
Integrity is defined by the 11th edition of the Miriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary as, "Firm adherence to a code of moral or artistic values." My father always defined it as making sure that what we do is the same no matter who is looking or if anyone is looking at all. I firmly believe that we need to teach both intentionally and unintentionally the value of integrity. As we do so, there are a few key principles that I would suggest.
1. We found our integrity solely on the Word of God.
Any other foundation or moral code is not worth clinging to, but the one that does not fail and never returns void is worth teaching and clinging to for the rest of our lives. Teach your kids that we make choices not based on our own ideas or our parents ideas, but on what God says. We do not make choices based on what feels right or makes us happy, we evaluate morality based on the Word of God and strive to live accordingly.
2. Integrity does not depend on social situations.
We do not choose to act one way in front of our parents or at church and then act another among our other friends. This is not integrity, this is having two different moral codes (or more for some people). We do not base moral decisions based on where we are at the time, we live with integrity to the moral code of God's Word wherever we go.
3. Integrity does not come naturally.
In fact, we are really built to not show integrity! Our natural selves are built to be moral chameleons. We will, if given the chance, change multiple times to fit our own needs. We will adjust morality and we will adjust our own understanding of the basics of right and wrong before we submit to an authority outside of ourselves. In a very real sense we cannot have integrity apart from Christ. Or I should say that we cannot have integrity based on the Word of God apart from Christ. Our integrity before Christ shows itself in a complete and total allegiance to self and self alone.
4. Integrity is best shown and taught.
It has to be both intentional and unintentional. We need to both talk about it and live it. We need to acknowledge to our children and to our family, and to our friends and even to our church family that we are imperfectly trying to have integrity in all that we do.
5. When integrity is absent . . .
The consequences are enormous. I might even suggest that this is part of the reason that students tend to leave the church at the age of 18. I might suggest it is the reason that people do not see that the Bible or the Church is relevant. It might be a part of the reason so many see the church and its people as hypocritical. When we lack integrity, we lose our platform to speak to a lost and dying world.
So parents, please teach your children by both your verbal instruction and by your actions about the importance of integrity!
Tuesday, January 15, 2019
I Have Been Rescued!
Every year I try and pick a theme verse for the year, and this year the verse comes from the book of Colossians:
"For He rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." (Col. 1:13-14, NASB)
I got the privilege of preaching these verses on January 6, the first Sunday of the year. I think that sometimes we here a sermon, or read a devotional, or read a passage of Scripture and we forget that we are to meditate on the Word of God. We hear it, and it goes in one ear, rattles around for a day or two, and then it is gone. I think that there are times when we need to just dwell on a passage of Scripture for a good long time. This is the case with these verses.
I have been rescued. This is another one of those words that we use and really downplay when we use it. We talk about being rescued from a meeting by a phone call. We thank people for rescuing us from boredom or uncomfortable situations. This is not the heart of the word. The origin of the word is the idea of casting something off and discarding it. In other words, we are completely casting off the danger that we find ourselves in. The one thing that is consistent in the usage of the word is that we always need someone else to do the rescuing.
I cannot cast off the darkness myself. I cannot enter the Kingdom of God on my own. I need the help of the Son of God. I need his redemption, I need his forgiveness, I need His rescue.
I also think it is worth noting that in this particular case we are talking about a finished work. Note that it does not say he is rescuing us as if the work of changing kingdoms is an ongoing and unfinished work. If you are saved, you are rescued. It is done. You are now the citizen of a new kingdom and your citizenship cannot be revoked because it is bound to the one whose kingdom in which you now live!
These two thoughts - the fact that I have been rescued and the fact that in the providence of God it is a finished work are worth going over time and time again. Perhaps we can start to re-frame how we look at the world and how we think of ourselves if we begin from the premise that God rescued us. Or perhaps you need to consider that rescue is available through Jesus and place your faith and trust in Him today!
"For He rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." (Col. 1:13-14, NASB)
I got the privilege of preaching these verses on January 6, the first Sunday of the year. I think that sometimes we here a sermon, or read a devotional, or read a passage of Scripture and we forget that we are to meditate on the Word of God. We hear it, and it goes in one ear, rattles around for a day or two, and then it is gone. I think that there are times when we need to just dwell on a passage of Scripture for a good long time. This is the case with these verses.
I have been rescued. This is another one of those words that we use and really downplay when we use it. We talk about being rescued from a meeting by a phone call. We thank people for rescuing us from boredom or uncomfortable situations. This is not the heart of the word. The origin of the word is the idea of casting something off and discarding it. In other words, we are completely casting off the danger that we find ourselves in. The one thing that is consistent in the usage of the word is that we always need someone else to do the rescuing.
I cannot cast off the darkness myself. I cannot enter the Kingdom of God on my own. I need the help of the Son of God. I need his redemption, I need his forgiveness, I need His rescue.
I also think it is worth noting that in this particular case we are talking about a finished work. Note that it does not say he is rescuing us as if the work of changing kingdoms is an ongoing and unfinished work. If you are saved, you are rescued. It is done. You are now the citizen of a new kingdom and your citizenship cannot be revoked because it is bound to the one whose kingdom in which you now live!
These two thoughts - the fact that I have been rescued and the fact that in the providence of God it is a finished work are worth going over time and time again. Perhaps we can start to re-frame how we look at the world and how we think of ourselves if we begin from the premise that God rescued us. Or perhaps you need to consider that rescue is available through Jesus and place your faith and trust in Him today!
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