Persistence

            When I have my daily devotional time with the Lord I have the pattern of Read more…


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“WE HAVE HEARD THAT GOD IS WITH YOU!”

          In the last week or so I’ve been working my way through The Old Testament Book of Zechariah for my devotional time with the Lord. Zechariah ministered during the period Israel was moving back into the Holy Land following their 70 years of captivity in Babylon. Why were they in Babylon? According to The Bible it was because of their unfaithfulness to God.

          Miraculously, Israel turns back to the Lord and is restored to their homeland. That alone must have been a tremendous encouragement to the Israelites. But then they receive this incredible message from God. Speaking through the prophet Zechariah: 

          “This is what the Lord Almighty says, “In those days ten men from all       languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe       and say, “Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with You.” (Zechariah 8:23, NIV)

          Now, this word of prophecy pertains mainly to the future coming of the Messiah when people from every ethnicity will make their way to Jerusalem to worship Him. It’s a truly beautiful picture that is particularly fitting for our divisive times. It won’t come soon enough! 

          Yet, I think there is an underlying truth here that all followers of Jesus Christ must take to heart and put into practice. That truth is that real godly character attracts others to the Lord. Are others who don’t know the Lord drawn to Him because you consistently are reflecting Him? Do people see His love in you? Do they see His grace, and mercy, concern and care exhibited in your life, in your activities, attitudes, and priorities?

          We often feel helpless to make any substantial difference in our world. We toss up our hands and say, “What could I possibly do?” Most of us are not people of great power, persuasion, or influence. We possess limited resources. We’re poorly positioned. There are a thousand reasons why we might resign ourselves to the ranks of the inconsequential. God, however, is well accomplished in using ordinary people to do extraordinary things and advance His Kingdom here on earth. I’m reminded of how God took a shepherd’s staff and transformed it into “The Rod of God” and how he took an old has-been named Moses and used him to deliver an entire nation from slavery and lead them to a land flowing with milk and honey. Think of what He was able to accomplish with a teenage shepherd boy and his sling, or a handful of simple fishermen!

          What might God be able to do through you and me as we simply make ourselves available for His use and strive to live all out for Him? I’m convinced we too can feel the tug of others on our sleeves and hear their sincere and hopeful pleas, “Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with You!” May it be so with you and me! 
 

In “Him who is able to do exceedingly more than we could ever dream”, Pastor Paul


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Will We Always Be Free?

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Outrage

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Leak

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Live The Life!

“Through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed.”

(Genesis 22:18, NIV)

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.”

(Psalm 33:12, NIV)

“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people.”

(Proverbs 14:34, NIV)

 

          If God is the Creator, and indeed He is, He is creator of all, and all bear the stamp of His image upon their being. All are of infinite worth without exception. The price He paid for us through the Son leaves no question about this. Not only is He creator of all, His intention has always been to be Father to all and Savior to all. He is willing if we are willing.  This is clearly understood in the first book of the Bible as He promises to Abraham, a man of Semitic ethnicity, “Through your offspring ALL nations on earth will be blessed.” There is no room in God’s Family for bigotry or bias. He explained this to Abraham and affirms it at Pentecost, which we celebrated this past Sunday. 

          Pentecost was an amazing event on several counts, among them the inclusion of people from many different ethnic backgrounds.  As Luke recalls in The Book of Acts, many different people groups were present when the Church was born and were in turn baptized in the Holy Spirit:  “Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene, visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs.” (Acts 2:9-11, NIV) And it did not stop there.  The Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has continued to spread to every continent and almost every tribe. And in The Book of Revelation, the last book in The Bible, John shares the beautiful vision of a multitude of representatives from every tongue, tribe, and nation gathered around the throne of Jesus Christ and singing with one voice, one song of praise and adoration. (Revelation 5:9)   

          For this reason, as followers of Jesus Christ, where injustice is found, as in the case of George Floyd, we must call for things to be set right and encourage safeguards to be put in place to insure justice and fairness prevail.  God cares deeply about justice.  This is plainly seen in the Scriptures. 

          Now, having said this we should also acknowledge that God equally cares about righteousness.  And amidst the legitimate protest for justice across our country has been mingled disproportionate, unrighteous behavior that itself has perpetrated injustice, chaos, injury, heartbreak, and ironically – loss of innocent life. The last that I heard 11 people have lost their lives because of the riots, using the George Floyd’s death as a pretext.  No nation or community can expect to last long which celebrates or turns a blind eye to such behavior. We ought to be deeply concerned for our country. We are in trouble! 

          In actuality both injustice and unrighteousness share a common thread: the absence of God. Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the great Soviet dissident warned the graduating class of Harvard on June 8th, 1978 about where our nation was heading. His words were prophetic. Tragically, they laughed at him and booed him off the stage.

          Solzhenitsyn warned that the West was going down the same path that his former country had traveled 60 years earlier, the path of godlessness.  He recalled as a little boy sitting by the fire hearing the older members of his family discuss how their nation had ended up where it did with the Revolution, tens of millions slaughtered and 6 to 7 million imprisoned in the gulags.

          “We have forgotten God,” insisted his Grandfather.  “We have forgotten God!” Interestingly, years earlier the German, atheist philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, also saw where the West was heading – toward godlessness. He too prophesied destruction and chaos for the nations that turned away from God and His ways. Predictably, the 20th Century turned out to be the bloodiest the world had ever known.

          Where are we headed now, as a nation?  What’s next?  What hope do we have?  The truth is, no amount of social programming, government intervention, or justice reforms are going to address the real root of our problems. OUR ROOT PROBLEM IS A SPIRITUAL ONE. And the only solution is God. 

          What recourse do we have then? The Church, those of us who name His Name, must be the visible Church before the watching world. The time is now to pray for a spiritual awakening throughout the land and set an example for our neighbor by how we live and love. The time is now to quit talking about our faith in Jesus Christ and really live the life of fully committed believers, consistently ministering to the needs of the poor and needy, and unashamedly sharing the Hope that is within us. Nominalism is the bane of the Church. It’s passionless, powerless, and pointless and the Lord will judge it. Let’s not fool ourselves. 

          A few years back Michael W. Smith sang these powerful words.  I think they’re quite timely for our present situation: 

 

We’re passengers aboard the train

Silent little lambs amidst the pain

That’s no longer good enough

And when it’s time to speak our faith

We use a language no one can explain

That’s no longer good enough

And God knows it’s a shame

‘Cause if we look to pass the blame

We are not the worthy bearers of His name

For the world to know the truth

There can be no greater proof

Than to live the life, live the life

There’s no love as quite as pure

There’s no pain we can’t endure

If we live the life, live the life

Be a light for all to see

For every act of love will set you free

 

          Church of Jesus Christ, we are called by our Savior to do something about the state of our land.  It’s time for us to live the life!

 

Yours in Christ, Pastor Paul


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Influence

The famous preacher and abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher once said:

“The humblest individual exerts some influence, either for good or evil, upon others.”

Just think for a moment about all the individuals during the course of your life who have influenced you for good or bad. In my personal testimony that I like to share, I highlight five people who all played a part in shaping me, in particular steering me toward a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

 

Parents
From a very early age, my parents read to me from my children’s Bible. They prayed with me each night at dinner and before bed, and regularly took me to church on Sunday mornings for worship and Sunday School. There was Ruby Davis, an older retired woman who taught my fifth grade Sunday School class who encouraged me to be diligent in prayer, and to get a good Bible to read, one that I understood. I remember one of my peers, a boy named Jeff Lindeman, who shared with me on a number of occasions about his coming to faith in Jesus Christ and how that made me want what he had, a close relationship with God.
 
Speaker
It was Jeff who invited me to hear a speaker with Student Ventures when I was in seventh grade. His name was Roger Hershey. It was Roger who clearly presented the Gospel to me and invited me to pray to trust Jesus as my Lord and Savior.
 
Your life
Each of these had a positive spiritual influence on my life. I would invite you to think through all the people who’ve had similar influence upon your own life. Pause, and celebrate the fact that God caused their lives to intertwine with yours. Offer a prayer of thanksgiving for them. Maybe, you might even give them a call or write them a note expressing your gratitude for them and the influence they’ve had. During this time of being locked down they’d probably really appreciate it.
 
Influencer
Now, take a moment to consider if there are those who would call you, if so prompted. How have you been an influencer and are you an influencer even now? As followers of Jesus Christ, it ought to be something we intentionally aim for – to influence people for the good and especially for God. Jesus invites us to when He says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8, NIV) As He influenced people to enter into His Kingdom we continue to do the same. And He empowers us to do it!
 
Challenge
Let me challenge you, if you know Jesus as Savior and Lord to strive to be an influencer. Ask the Spirit to strengthen you for this purpose and look for and pray for opportunities to influence those around you for Jesus, even if in some small way. We underestimate small things, but let’s remember that small things add up and significant things often have small beginnings. Jesus’ teaching about the mustard seed has application here.
 
Yours in Christ, Pastor Paul

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