Uncategorized

by

MOTIVATION

Proverbs 3:5&6, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your path straight.

Matthew 6:25, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?”

John 15:17, “This is my command: Love each other.”

This morning, as I lay in my bed pondering my relationship with the Lord, it occurred to me that my ability to love others is wholly depended on my ability to trust the Lord. When I leave my needs and wants in his hands, I am freed from looking for those things in others.

My conclusion is: the more I trust in the Lord; the more my motivations are purely rooted in love; and the more I can fulfill Jesus’ command to love others.

by

A THREE STRANDED ROPE

By yourself you’re unprotected.  With a friend you can face the worst. Can you round up a third?  A three stranded rope isn’t easily snapped (Ecclesiastes 4:12 The Message).

In August of 1980, two people from across the country sat down in the foothills of California and surrendered their lives to the Lord. One was a native Californian from the central coast, and the other had recently relocated from Virginia.  In November of that year, they met for the first time.  By April of 1981, they were both convinced that the Lord wanted them together, and they married.  Thus began a life together that was full of exciting adventures.

Did I mention love?  Yes, what the Lord puts together is always full of love.  And through the years, they developed deep devotion and a strong relationship.  The secret to their now 40 years of marriage is fully depended on what happened before they met.  A life that is surrendered to the Lord affords success.

In the environment of today’s world, there are a variety of difficulties for a married couple to face.  United they have a good chance of success, but they face a great on slot of factors trying to pull them apart.  Jesus adds the much needed strength to their relationship. This has been my experience.

Bonnie and I are about to celebrate our fortieth year of marriage, and we still like each other!  We are deeply thankful to Jesus for guiding us through, and blessing us with a wonderful life together. 

by

I HAVE NO IDEA

Jesus went to the cross as the Son of God and the Son of Man.  As I contemplate the agony he suffered I realize I have no idea.  I have an inkling of what it might have been to face the cross as the Son of Man, but I have no ability to understand what it was like for him as the Son of God.  I have often considered what Jesus might have suffered, and I have heard many sermons on this topic, yet, I must conclude; I have no idea.

What I do know about Jesus’ suffering is that billions of people like me have experienced the results of what his suffering meant for mankind.  We have felt the love and peace of God’s forgiveness, and the renewed life that it afforded us.  I may not comprehend what Jesus suffered, but I believe he had full knowledge of what he was going to experience, and with that knowledge he walked bravely to the cross for us.

by

GOD’S WILL – OUR WILL

(2 Peter 3:9) The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.  He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

We become a Christian when we surrender our life to God and receive the gift of salvation Jesus achieved for us.  Jesus surrendered his life to pay for our sins.  So, even God has experienced surrender.  When we come to the place of giving our lives to him, he is faithful to receive us as his children, and he gives us his Spirit to seal us for eternity.  Thus begins our intimate relationship with our creator.

I think it’s important to understand that this relationship is offered to all of us.  As the above scripture makes clear, it is his will that we’d all receive salvation and eternal life.  The only thing standing in the way of an intimate relationship with God and eternal life is our will. 

If you haven’t surrendered to God, the Easter Celebration is a great time to surrender your will to him.  You can trust him because he gave his life for you.

(Romans 6:23) For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

by

EVIL FOR GOOD

  Many years ago, I learned an important concept from the scriptures.  I learned that God can use evil for good.  The passage that confirms this is found in what Joseph spoke to his brothers who had sold him into slavery.  Genesis 50:19 & 20, But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid.  Am I in place of God?  You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

When we think of the cross, that evil place of torture, humility, and death, we see God’s hand at work.  For the finite human mind, God’s ways are amazing, unexpected, unique, and often unfathomable.  Who has understood the mind of the Lord (Isaiah 40:13)?  Yet Jesus’ death on the cross was the ultimate event in the history of mankind.  God brought great good out of evil intent.

At the foot of the cross every man, woman, and child can find the gift of God – eternal life.  There we find forgiveness, the greatest expression of love, and peace.  This is why we call next Friday Good Friday.  

by

TOGETHER WE CELEBRATE

Sometimes when I sit down to read my Bible I think, “I’ve read this part a thousand times.”  Then I begin to work through the scripture and find there’s something new in that old familiar story.  I realize again that the Spirit always has a new insight to challenge and guide me.

The other day, I was reading in Matthew chapter 9.  As I went through verses 14 and 15, a new thought came to me.  In The Message the verses read:

A little later John’s followers approached, asking, “Why is it that we and the Pharisees rigorously discipline body and spirit by fasting, but your followers don’t?”  Jesus told them, “When you’re celebrating a wedding, you don’t skimp on the cake and wine.  You feast.  Later you may need to pull in your belt, but not now.  No one throws cold water on a friendly bonfire.  This is Kingdom Come!”

What came to me was that when Christians meet we are getting together to celebrate the coming of God’s Kingdom.  We are celebrating our shared citizenship in His Kingdom, and basking in the realization that Jesus is here with us.  Our hearts are filled with joy as we honor the one who made it all possible.

by

WHAT DOES LIVING IN THE SPIRIT LOOK LIKE?

Our Pastor Eric Nelson recently wrote about living in the Spirit.  In that message he stated:

The Christian life without the Spirit of God is just another religion, just another man-made project. Just another way of clawing our way to the heavenlies, just another attempt at controlling the living God, just another attempt to prove our worth and righteousness is on par with God’s.

In conjunction with these thoughts, I have been reading in Matthew chapters 5-7(The Sermon on the mount).  It dawned on me that in these chapters Jesus is describing what living in the Spirit looks like.  In Matthew 5:21-48, Jesus addresses many moral issues and how we should respond.  He is presenting to us God’s loving, forgiving nature in response to these moral issues.  I love and am challenged by the way verse 48 reads in The Message, “In a word, what I’m saying is, grow up.  You’re kingdom subjects.  Now live like it.  Live out you’re God created identity.  Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.”

This then is how God wants us to live, but as Pastor Eric declares in his above quote, “without God’s Spirit it’s just another religion…. just another attempt to prove our worth and righteousness is on par with God’s.”  Jesus tells us what living in the Spirit looks like.  In order to live like this we need closeness to God.  I’m reminded that in John 15:5 Jesus affirms, “I am the vine; you are the branches.  If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

To me it’s quite obvious that Christians are being called to put aside the things of this world and draw closer to God so that we might bear much fruit.  It’s time to recognize that we are subjects in God’s eternal Kingdom, and start living like it.

by

TWO KINGDOMS

I’ve been thinking over the current events here in our country and what my attitude might be in response to these events.  I have been reflecting on the broader picture from a Christian perspective, and these are some of the thoughts I’d like to share.

There are two ruling kingdoms on the earth.  They are the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light.  The kingdom of darkness is ruled by Satan. It is a finite kingdom that will end at God’s discretion.  The kingdom of light is ruled by God.  God’s kingdom is eternal, it will never end.  The people of the earth who have not chosen which of these kingdoms to enter are citizens of the kingdom of darkness.  Many are unaware of this. Those who have received the salvation God offers through the sacrifice of Jesus his son have become members of God’s eternal kingdom.  We should all be very aware of this.

The earth has many countries that have their various forms of government.  These governments are ruled by humans who are often unaware of the kingdoms that rule over them.  Being unaware leads them to being influenced by the kingdom of darkness.  This results in a lust for power and greed.  Unchecked, this lust and greed feeds on itself until all morality is lost.

For those of us who have chosen to enter God’s kingdom of light, we have been commanded as to how we should conduct ourselves.  Jesus commanded us to love one another, and to go into all the world sharing the good news of his salvation. We have not been commanded to kill the non-believers, but to love and pray for our enemies and those who persecute us. 

Christians should live in contrast to the kingdom of darkness.  We are to be light and salt on the earth. Living in opposition to the world is not easy. Doing it on our own is impossible.  We rely on God’s constant help.

Let’s pray for each other that we might all live in contrast to darkness and look to Jesus for help in bring salt and light to the earth.

Scripture references: John 15:17, Matthew 28:18-20, Matthew 5:43-45, Matthew 5:13-16

by

PRAYER FOR THE NATION

This prayer, attributed to Paul Harvey and Billy Graham, was first penned by Bob Russell in 1995.  It has been modified somewhat over the years, but its message exposes the dialogue of the day and highlights how far we have gone astray.

“Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says ‘Woe to those who call evil good,’ but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We confess that.

We have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it Pluralism.

We have worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism.

We have endorsed perversion and called it alternative lifestyle.

We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.

We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.

We have killed our unborn and called it choice.

We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.

We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem.

We have abused power and called it politics.

We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called it ambition.

We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.

We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free.

by

A DEPRAVED MIND

In my concern for our country, I would like to spark some Biblical insight about what is happening to America.  Last week I shared that countries will be judged for their wickedness.  Today I’d like to give some thoughts on what is wrong with our thinking.  Have you noticed that our leaders seem especially irrational in their thinking?

In Romans chapter one the Apostle Paul explains how rejecting God affected our thinking.  Romans 1:21, For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.

If you think there isn’t a God, you fit in well with the liberal thinking of our times.  However, America was founded with the idea that there is a God who is identified in the Bible.  There is certainly still enough evidence to this conjecture to be convincing.  No doubt there are many who would like to destroy this evidence, but let’s get back to our investigation of the problem with our thinking.

Romans 1:28-30, Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.  They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity.  They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice.  They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents.

In God we find the source of wisdom.  We think we’re intelligent, but without God we falter in our use of knowledge.  Sin gets in the way of our ability to think rationally.  We need God!  He is our only hope!  Unless we repent and turn to God, we are doomed to continue in our futility and irrational sin driven thinking.