Sermon for

Sunday, May 1, 2016

Frustrating the World

Daniel 3: 24-28

Romans 12: 1-2

Luke 9: 23-26

 

WW II history lesson –

Battle of the Bulge

Brigadier General McAuliffe

“NUTS!”

Surrender : the act of submitting or surrendering to the power of another

Capitulation, submission – “give up.”

Surrender : the act of delivering or the condition of being delivered

Delivery, transfer – “give in.”

Frustrate : to prevent from accomplishing a purpose

Baffle, balk, check, defeat, foil, thwart

When you “give up” you surrender, submit, capitulate, to the purpose of another.

When you “give in” you understand your circumstances, but decide to

Frustrate those circumstances and stand your ground.

You are in essence being “delivered” by “frustrating” the purposes of another.

Daniel 3: 243-28

“. . . . they have frustrated the King’s word . . . “

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego decided to

“Give in”

And basically said to the king “Nuts!” – “Go to hell!”

O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.

If that is the case,

Our God, whom we serve, is able to DELIVER us

From the burning fiery furnace,

And He will DELIVER us from your hand, O King.

But if not,

Let it be known to you, O king,

That we will not serve your gods,

Nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.

These three intrepid Godly men,

Frustrated the king

By preventing him  from accomplishing his purpose

And by total surrender,

They were delivered!

As Christians, we are at war – war with Satan and the world.

And like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego,

We have been commanded by Satan to bow down and worship him –

Through our politics, money, emotions, and even in our faith.

Imagine this letter being sent to Jesus

To Jesus Christ, Commander of the encircled Christian forces in the world.

The fortune of war is changing. This time the Christian forces all over the world have been encircled by the much stronger forces of the Devils brigade. More of the Devil’s politics, finances, emotional and spiritual units have crossed over and have taken control of all the above mentioned areas.

There is only one possibility to save your encircled forces from total annihilation: that is the total and un-honorable surrender of all Christian forces. You may have only mere moments to decide, but if you capitulate, you will be rewarded with an eternity in the lake of fire, unending pain, hunger, and thirst; you will never see your loved ones again, and of the utmost importance, you will be forever separated from your God.

The Devil’s Commander.

Now imagine this response from Jesus –

To the Devil’s Commander.

NUTS!

Jesus Christ, the Christian Commander.

The idea of Total Surrender starts right here!

You know all about being encircled by evil.

You know that your politics, money, emotions, and faith

Are all under attack.

Tell the Devil “NUTS”

Tell him to go to hell!

Oh, wait a minute, your’re already there! And there you’ll stay.

From the Cross on Calvary, Jesus cried out in a loud voice and said,

It Is Finished!

NUTS!

And He totally frustrated the purposes of the Devil

By delivering you!

The word used in the Daniel passage for frustrated

Comes from the Hebrew to alter, to change.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego,

By their faith and trust in God,

Altered and Changed the king’s word –

And by altering and changing the king’s word,

They changed the world –

They Frustrated the World!!

And like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego,

We, too, are called to Frustrate the World

Because we have been delivered.

Frustrate your politics,

Frustrate your finances,

Frustrate you emotions,

Yes, frustrate your faith –

Especially if they are not being directed by your complete faith and trust in God!

Frustrate the World by saying with these three Godly men,

Our God whom we serve is able to DELIVER us

From the politics, finances, emotions, and faith of the world,

And He will DELIVER us from your hand, O World.

But if not,

Let it be known to you, O World,

That we will not serve your politics, your finances, your emotions, or your faith!

Nor will we worship any of the images which coincide with those things!

Memorize that text!

Write it on your heart, your mind –

Engrave it on your soul!

Let it guide you into absolute and total surrender.

Let it Frustrate the World and its purposes!

You’ve taken the first step –

You’ve told the Devil and his world –

NUTS!

Now take the next steps:

First –

Make yourself a living sacrifice!

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego did just that!

They offered themselves to God, not to the king, as living sacrifices!

Paul was telling the church in Rome to

Do the same thing!

In total surrender, give yourselves to God,

Let Him through you,

Frustrate the World!

He has delivered you for that purpose!

“Give in” to God.

When you are doing battle on His behalf,

When you are surrounded, encircled by the forces of evil,

And having done all,

Paul tells the church in Ephesus,

To stand!

Be firm in you resolve to resist –

You may have to battle hard and long,

But relief is just a prayer away!

Second –

Do not conform –

Don’t “give up!”

“Give In!”

The total surrender that is being asked of you

Is not to the Devil, but to God!

And always, always “Give In” to God!

Let your mind –

Remember from last week,

Be Single-minded –

Be changed, altered, renewed –

You know how this works,

Renewal takes time, takes hard work, takes confidence!

And by being changed, altered, renewed, with confidence in the One who

Has provided your renewal,

You will be transformed

From the Greek meaning metamorphose – altered, changed!

And by being metamorphose-ed

You will be Frustrating the World!

Third –

When you tell the Devil “NUTS” –

You are denying yourself!

One of our deepest, most basic instincts is

The preserving of life –

Both our life and the life of our family and friends!

And sometimes we have to ask ourselves,

At what cost?

The Germans were ruthless –

They were like Boaz before he met Ruth –

He was “Ruth-less.”

They could not be trusted with any kind of “honorable” surrender.

Neither is the Devil.

He, too, is ruthless in the most graphic way –

There is nothing honorable about him –

That’s why he is where he is,

And is who he is!

Don’t give up,

Give in –

The cost is Total Surrender to God,

Deny yourself

And you will Frustrate the World.

And Fourth –

You MUST take up YOUR cross and follow Jesus every day!

Just like the men under the command of

Brigadier General McAuliffe,

We are told to

Dig in,

Stand our ground,

Shoulder our responsibility,

Be accountable,

And do our job!

Tell the Devil “NUTS!”

We are called by God,

In Christ,

To Total Surrender –

Surrender : the act of delivering or the condition of being delivered

Delivery, transfer – “give in.”

We deny ourselves. We give in, and are delivered by the power and grace of God.

We give in by giving it all up for Him!

And being delivered by God through Christ,

We give in for all He has for us.

By our Total Surrender,

We are truly Frustrating the World!

Sermon for

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Spiritual Myopia

Isaiah 26: 1-4

Philippians 2: 3-11

Matthew 6: 25-34 and Luke 12: 29

Myopia : A visual defect in which distant objects appear blurred because their images are focused in front of the retina rather than on it; nearsightedness.

Lack of discernment or long-range perspective in thinking or planning.

45 times in the New Testament Jesus uses the word “eye” or “eyes.”

What do you think He was saying when He said things like,

The lamp of the body is the eye.

If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.

But if your eye is bad,

Your whole body will be fill of darkness.

If therefore the light that is in you is darkness,

How great is that darkness!

**Read Matthew 13: 10-17**

What Jesus was telling His disciples was this –

Only with clear vision and focus can one see the things of God

In their proper light.

And what was true then is just as true today.

We, like the early disciples, are on “sensory overload!”

So many people, so many places, so many things

Clamoring for our attention;

Wanting us to see and hear them all –

All at the same time –

Trying to get our attention and then keep it!

All distracting us from having a single-minded purpose –

To get, and keep, our eyes focused on God

Only with clear vision and focus can one see the things of God

In their proper light.

So how can we overcome this Spiritual Myopia –

How can we clear out all the clutter;

Drown out all the noise and clamoring;

All the voices of all the people, all places, and all the things

So desperately trying to become the source of our life,

And focus on the only true source of life –

God!

Matthew 6: 25-34 –

Jesus makes it very clear –

Seek FIRST the kingdom of God,

And His righteousness . . . .

And everything will come into clearer vision and focus.

So first things first –

But God first!

First, last, and everything in between, and always –

Put God first!

Don’t seek after all the worldly stuff –

People, Places, and Things are the gifts of life,

NOT the source of life.

Dr. Gary Smalley

God is the SOURCE of life

And gives us the people, places, and things of life as His gifts to us!

Treasure them, love them, be kind to them,

But always put God first.

Philippians 2: 3-11

Paul was telling the Church in Philippi that very thing,

That even Jesus,

The one and only begotten of the Father,

God’s Son,

Always put God first –

Let this mind be in you,

Which was also in Christ Jesus . . .
Jesus was under attack –

Politically,

Religiously,

Emotionally,

Spiritually –

So Are We –

Don’t get distracted –

Don’t let your politics inform your faith,

Let your faith inform your politics;

Don’t let your pastor, or radio and TV preacher, or favorite Christian writer

Or any other “religious person” inform your religion,

Let the Bible and time with God inform your religion;

Don’t let your family, your friends, your neighbors, or any one else

In form your emotions,

Let God control and direct your emotions;

And don’t let any thing, any person, any thought inform you spiritually!

But with single-minded purpose,

Let God, through Christ,

Inform, direct, guide, lead, influence,

All you think, say, and do spiritually!

Only with clear vision and focus can one see the things of God

In their proper light.

I’ve flirted a few times with eye surgery to correct my “myopia.”

But I’ve resisted because I wasn’t ready yet to go under the knife so to speak.

I would really love to NOT wear classes anymore –

They do get in the way of some of the things I like to do,

BUT,

I’m not sure I’m ready just yet.

Maybe in a couple of more years

I might give it some thought.

But not just yet.

I can see fairly good now, why mess with it?
But it is a totally different thing when it comes to my faith.

I don’t want to be crippled with Spiritual Myopia –

I want to see God clearly and in perfect focus!

I don’t want to miss a thing –

I do, more often than I’d like,

Miss so much of what God has in store for me

Because I’m so focused on my own stuff.

So how does one stay focused on God?

It takes discipline –

Discipline : to impart knowledge and skill to

Discipline – implies a subordinating to a master of a subjection to control.

As people of faith,

We have only one Master,

Jesus said that you cannot serve two masters;

For either you will hate the one and love the other,

Or else you will be loyal to the one and despise the other.

One is your master, the Christ!

He is our Master, and He is in control!

It takes total commitment –

Only with clear vision and focus can one see the things of God

In their proper light.

And you can’t have that clear vision and focus

With any kind of half-hearted attempt to achieve it!

Jeremiah 29: 13 –

And you will seek Me and find Me,

When you search for Me with all your heart –

When you put your whole self –

Body, soul, spirit, heart, and mind into following God –

He will be easy to find and even easier to follow.

Romans 12: 2 –

Do not be conformed to this world,

But be transformed by the renewing of your mind,

That you may know and understand what God’s perfect will is.

God did not restore, renew, and reclaim us just for something to do.

Jesus did not die for the salvation of our souls to leave us the way we were –

Jesus saves us to believe, act, and become more like Him –

Have this mind in you, Paul says,

That we can live lives of grace and mercy,

Live lives of victory,

And lives that overcome the world –

Jesus said,

These things I have spoken to you,

That in Me you may have peace.

In the world you will have trials and tribulations;

But be of good cheer,

I have overcome the world!

It takes complete and absolute trust –

Trust in the Lord with all your,

And lean not on your own understanding,

But in all your ways acknowledge Him

And He shall direct your paths.

Luke 12: 29 –

And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink,

Not have an anxious mind

Don’t go after all the worldly stuff,

God knows what you need,

And even what you like and love,

All He asks is that you trust Him completely and absolutely.

It takes discipline –

It takes total commitment –

It takes complete and absolute trust –

To have a clear vision and focus to see the things of God

In their proper light.

One last thing –

It takes corrective lenses

The Spiritual Myopia that plagues all of God’s children

Needs the corrective lenses of Prayer and Bible Study!

It takes discipline –

It takes total commitment –

It takes complete and absolute trust –

And it takes the corrective lenses of prayer and Bible study –

And the results are breath-taking –

You will keep them in perfect peace,

Those whose mind is stayed on You!

Sermon for

Sunday, April 17, 2016

The Best GPS Ever!

Joshua 1: 1-9

Hebrews 4: 12

Matthew 13: 1-9 and 18-23

 

“The Word”
Sara Graves

I’ve done every devotional
Been every place emotional
Trying to hear a new word from God
And I think it’s very odd, 
that while I attempt to help myself
My Bible sits upon my shelf
With every promise 
I could ever need.

And the Word was
And the Word is
And the Word will be.
The old Word is the new Word is
The old Word is the new Word is…
People are getting fit for Truth
Like they’re buying a new tailored suit
Does it fit across the shoulders
Does it fade when it gets older
We throw ideas that aren’t in style
In the Salvation Army pile
And search for something more to meet our needs.

I think it’s time I rediscover 
All the ground that I have covered,

Like Seek Ye first what a verse,
We are pressed but not crushed,
perplexed but don’t despair.

We are persecuted but not abandoned.

We are no longer slaves
we are daughters and sons,
and when we are weak
we are very strong.
And neither death nor life 
nor present nor future
nor depth nor height
can keep us from the love of Christ.
And the Word I need
is the Word that was
who put on flesh to dwell with us.
In the beginning….

Was the Word

And the Word was with God,

And the Word was God . . . .

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us . . . .

Prayer of Confession –

Worst of all, Father,

We think we can keep Your Word bound in a book,

Limited to words on a page, and stories that are cute and cuddly.

Forgive us, Father,

For trying to keep Your Word separated from You, our God,

Who cannot be bound, limited, or just written about in words –

You are boundless, limitless, and way beyond mere words! Amen.

God has given us His WRITTEN Word for one purpose,

And one purpose only –

As a guide Book!

A Book that guides our thoughts,

A Book that guides our hearts,

A Book that guides our faith,

But above all else,

A Book that, from beginning to end,

Is a love story –

A love story that has no beginning and no end!

God, in His Book,

Tells us His love story,

A love story that is from everlasting to everlasting!

And God loves each of us so very much

That He wants us to be victorious in our faith!

He wants us to succeed in every faithful endeavor we undertake in His name;

He is cheering us on,

Encouraging us,

Strengthening us,

Disciplining us,

Loving us,

In and through and with His Word!

Bert and his two GPS’s –

Now I have three women telling me where to go!

I like our GPS –

We used it very successfully on our last trip to see Rachel and her Family.

It took us where we wanted to go

And helped us get there safe and sound,

And return the same way!

Using it prevented a lot of headaches and missed turns,

And helped us relax a little and enjoy the trip!

So it is with our spiritual GPS –

God’s Positioning System!

If used like it is meant to be used,

It takes us where we want to go,

Helps us arrive safe and sound,

You won’t need it for a round trip though, ‘cause on this trip, its one way!

But it can still relieve headaches,

And help you navigate all the twists and turns

That living in this world throws at us.

And it most definitely

Will help you relax and enjoy your trip!

In using any Global Positioning System

Two things are required –

That you listen,

And,

That you believe what the GPS is telling you!

 

The same is true with God’s Positioning System

You must listen,

And,

You must believe!

 

Joshua 1: 1-9

Only be strong and very courageous,

That you may observe to do according to all the law

Which Moses My servant commanded you;

Do not turn from it to the right hand

Or to the left,

That you may prosper wherever you go.

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth,

But you shall meditate in it day and night,

That you may observe to do all according to all that is written in it.

For then you will make your way prosperous,

And then you will have good success.

Observe: to perceive with special effort by all of one’s senses.

God was telling Joshua to engage all of his senses in trying to understand

God’s Law – His Word.

And God promised that if Joshua did his best,

God would do the rest.

Here is God’s Positioning System operating at its best –

Do not turn from it to the right hand

Or to the left,

That you may prosper wherever you go.

For then you will make your way prosperous,

And then you will have good success.

Crossing over the Jordan into the Promised Land,

Had Joshua and the people of Israel not had their GPS,

They would have surly been lost and never found the Promised Land.

We are on our way to the Promised Land –

**Read Hymn 777**

And God has promised that He would get us home,

Home to the Promised Land.

All we need to do is Listen and Believe His Word!

But God’s Positioning System – His Word,

Is so much more than that!

Listen to Hebrews 4: 12 from different renderings:

The NIV –  For the Word of God is living and active.

Sharper than any double-edged sword,

It penetrates even to the dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow;

It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

The Philipps Paraphrase –

For the Word that God speaks is alive and active:

It cuts more keenly than any two-edged sword:

It strikes through to the place where soul and spirit meet,

To the innermost intimacies of a person’s being:

It exposes the very thoughts and motives of a person’s heart.

The Message Paraphrase –

God means what He says.

His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel,

Cutting through everything,

Whether doubt or fear,

Laying us open to listen and obey.

Nothing and no one is impervious to God’s Word.

We can’t get away from it – no matter what.

God’s Positioning System

Not only directs our path to the Promised Land,

It also directs the way we should think, act, and believe in this life.

It cuts through all the chaos, the clutter, the calamity of life,

Calming all our doubts and fears.

Turning our hearts, minds, souls, and spirits toward God,

And by listening and believing,

We have peace for the trip!

Matthew 13: 1-9 and 18-23

Jesus combines both of the above Scriptures when He declares,

That the Word of God,

God’s Positioning System,

Will bear much fruit –

You’re going to love this –

Bear much fruit : from a root word in the Greek meaning

Let her drive;

To be driven;

To move or go forward!

 

God’s Positioning System –

Told Joshua to move forward and take possession of the Promised Land;

God’s Positioning System was telling the Jewish Christians in the Book of Hebrews,

To let it direct the way we should think, act, and believe in this life.

Let it cut through all the chaos, the clutter, the calamity of life,

Calming all our doubts and fears.

And Jesus, through God’s Positioning System tells us point blank –

Let it drive you;

Be driven by it;

Move forward and get on with your life –

Making this The Best GPS Ever!

 

Just listen and believe!

Sermon for

Sunday, April 10, 2016

Fireside Chats with God

Psalm 66: 16-20

Philippians 4: 6-9

Mark 1: 35, 6: 45-46 and Luke 6: 12

I have been driven to my knees many times

By the overwhelming conviction

That I had no place else to go!

Abraham Lincoln

How I wish more presidents would understand that overwhelming conviction!

How I wish more Christians would understand that overwhelming conviction!

Prayer, in the Bible, is more than just the recital of well-known and well-worn phrases –

It is the outpouring of the heart;

Outpouring in all its forms –

From heartache and pain to triumph and gladness;

From being lost to being found;

From the good to the bad;

From plenty to want;

From crying out in anger and frustration to blissfully listening –

Prayer is our soul connection to the God who created us,

Sustains us,

Redeems, reclaims, and restores us!

The God who loves us with an everlasting love!

So why is prayer one of the most often disregarded spiritual discipline?

Why is prayer so difficult for us?

I believe that there are two basic reasons for our disregard and difficulty –

Honest ignorance,

And,

Just plain old stubbornness!

Let’s tackle the ignorance part first!

Exclusive of the Psalms,

Writes Bible scholar Herbert Lockyer,

Which forms a prayer-book on their own,

The Bible records no fewer than 650 definite prayers,

Of which no less than 450 have definite recorded answers.

If the Bible makes Prayer one of the most frequently recorded topics,

It should be of immense importance to us as the people of God!  

The honest ignorance that plaques us is this –

We misunderstand and misinterpret prayer in the Bible.

To Pray means to offer a reverent petition to God;

To make an earnest or urgent request –

Appeal, beseech, entreat, implore, plead, supplicate – ASK!

That’s what Paul was telling the church in Philippi –

Be anxious for nothing,

But in EVERYTHING by prayer and supplication,

With thanksgiving,

Let your requests be made known to God!

Here’s where our ignorance really ramps up –

We forget about the EVERYTHING!

And then we forget about the thanksgiving!

Our prayer life lacks substance,

Substance – that from which things are or can be made;

A basic trait or set of traits that define and establish the essence of something.

The word Paul uses here means in every matter, condition, or particular;

In all things!

It is the outpouring of the heart;

Outpouring in all its forms –

From heartache and pain to triumph and gladness;

From being lost to being found;

From the good to the bad; From plenty to want;

From crying out in anger and frustration to blissfully listening –

Prayer is our soul connection to the God who created us,

Sustains us,

Redeems, reclaims, and restores us!

The God who loves us with an everlasting love!

And Paul adds that pesky little phrase,

With thanksgiving –

If prayer isn’t already difficult enough,

We have to remember to be thankful!

But it is here,

In our thankfulness,

That prayer really changes for us –

Being thankful changes our heart,

And when our heart is changed,

So is our approach to prayer.

Try this the next time you pray –

Just say,

God, Thank you for prayer!

And with your heart filled with thankfulness for prayer,

Let Him have it!

Lay it all out there –

Don’t hold back,

You can come boldly before God,

He’s not delicate, or fragile, or weak –

He won’t break because you’re letting Him have all your hurt, frustration, anger,

Shame, guilt, discouragement –

He loves it when His people pour out their hearts to Him!

The stubbornness comes because we are willful and quite often just plain self-centered!

We grit our teeth,

Tighten up our gluteus maximus,

Clench our fists,

And yell,

I Can Do This All By Myself!

Maybe not out loud,

But we say it so God can hear us!

I’m sure God gets a chuckle sometimes out of watching us

Do it all by ourselves –

Knowing that we will fail, and fail again, and then, we turn to Him.

How many times do we have to get burned before we know enough not to put our hands in the fire?

There is another part to understanding prayer that often escapes us,

Not because we are honestly ignorant or stubborn,

But because we miss this part altogether.

And this part is quite possibly the most important part of our prayer life!

Between 1933 and 1944,

President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered 30

Fireside Chats with the American people.

These chats were often unscripted and from his heart.

He chatted about the continued effects of the Great Depression,

The Banking crisis,

New Deal initiatives,

And of course, WW II.

These chats were designed to quell rumors, explain policy,

Give detailed information to keep ignorance at bay,

And give the American people hope, comfort, reassurance,

And most of all,

Remind them that he was with them, beside them, and for them!

This is the part we so often miss with our prayer life –

These Fireside Chats With God!

Through our soul connection with God through prayer,

He desperately wants to offer us hope, comfort, reassurance, and above all else,

To know that He is with us,

Beside us,

And for us!

That’s exactly what Jesus was doing every time He went away to pray!

Now in the morning, having risen long before daylight,

Jesus went to a solitary place to pray;

And when Jesus had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray;

. . . He went out to the mountain to pray,

And continued all night in prayer to God!

Here is an absolutely true statement:

If Jesus needed these Fireside Chats With God,

It is for sure we do!

Jesus knew what He was facing –

The hatred, the bigotry, the betrayal, the abandonment, the loneliness,

The pain and the suffering –

He knew all these things,

And knew that it was only by being in prayer,

It was only through these fireside chats with God,

That He would have hope, comfort, reassurance,

And above all else,

Know that His Father was with Him, beside Him, and for Him.

And it was in everything by prayer and supplication,

That Jesus was able to accomplish the work that His Father had given Him to do.

The same is true for you –

In your own hatred, bigotry, betrayal, abandonment, loneliness,

pain and suffering –

God wants to give you hope, comfort, reassurance –

And the knowledge that He is

With you, beside you, and for you!

And in the midst of these fireside chats,

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding

Will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus!

Enjoy your Fireside Chats With God,

And like the Psalmist David,

You too, can say –

Certainly God has heard me;

He has attended to the voice of my prayer!

Blessed be God,

Who has not turned away my prayer,

Nor His mercy from me!

Thank You God for Prayer!

Sermon For Sunday, March 27, 2016

Easter Sunday

Surprised in the Graveyard

(Adapted from Max Lucado, Six Hours One Friday)

Matthew 28: 1-10

 

• What a somber picture this must have been:
  • Mary, who had been healed from many demons and afflictions, who had given her all to Jesus and followed Him faithfully, and gratefully, for His entire three year ministry. Mary, who with Mary the mother of James, was at the foot of the cross. Weeping, watching, waiting, wearied.
  • Rising early – probably because she couldn’t sleep – gathering her perfumes, oils, spices, to anoint the body of the One who had saved her.
  • Gathering her things almost mindlessly, yet with guarded purpose.
  • Her oils, perfumes, and spices in hand, she takes her first tentative steps out of her front door into the early morning dawn.
  • She makes her way down the narrow, twisting, dusty street to James’ mother’s house.
    • Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.
  • Both now make their way together to the tomb. Both anticipate a dark, dismal, and dreary trek.
  • Both know what awaits them at the tomb: body swollen; skin purple; unrecognizable features; and most of all the stench.
    • As they make their way around the last curve in the lane leading up the hill to the borrowed tomb, both stop mid stride and with eyes wide open in amazement and concern
      • They are met with an earthquake, almost knocking them to the ground, and see an angel from heaven descend, rolling back the stone from the tomb, and then sits on it!
      • His countenance was like lightning and his clothing as white as snow. The guards shook with fear of him, and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”

 

• How quickly the picture changes: Now the women are frightened – even though the angel told them not to be – they are! That’s all they needed was to add fear to their miserable trek!
  • They are in the cemetery – a graveyard – a place filled with tombs.
    • For most of us this is a place where we are a little uncomfortable to begin with. These women were already in a state of dysphoria and now this!
    • Then angel tells them “go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. . .”

                                                        

• So they went out quickly . . .
  • Me Too! I would not have stayed another second! I would have run out of that place and probably set a new world land speed record!

 

• So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy . . .
  • Fear and great joy are not synonymous with one another –
    • FEAR : great agitation and anxiety caused by the expectation or the realization of danger.
    • JOY : a feeling of extreme gratification aroused by something good or desired.

 

• What a morning!
  • It usually takes me at least two cups of coffee to ramp up for a normal day! This was anything but normal for these two intrepid ladies! Going from extreme sorrow and depression to fearing joyfully! What an exchange of emotions!
  • Could it get any more surprising! Sure it can! This is God we’re talking about :
    • God is a God of surprises:
      • SURPRISE : to impress strongly by what is unexpected or unusual : amaze, astonish, astound, awesome
    • Abraham was surprised at having to move so much and then have children when he should be having grandchildren!
    • Moses was surprised on multiple levels
    • How about David and his little rock – Rock star status?
    • Over and over we see God surprising His people – from the mightiest gesture to the simplest request, God specializes in surprising us!

 

• But why are we so surprised when God does the surprising?
  • The two Mary’s are leaving the cemetery quickly, with fear and joy mixing just as quickly, when all of a sudden, in the midst of their mixing it up a bit, they are totally surprised – a voice as clear as a spring morning, a voice as gentle as softly falling snow, a voice as sure as a sunrise, a voice as recognizable as any they have heard, calls to them and says, REJOICE!
  • Could their surprise get any surpriser than this!
    • Remember what they came to do? They came to anoint Jesus’ badly beaten, broken, bloodied corpse! Remember?
    • But look at what they have encountered – They have been totally surprised in the cemetery! What they had originally intended to do, they leave undone. Rather than pouring on the oils, perfumes, and spices on the body of Jesus, they are now anointing the very ground which He created! After dropping them, the vases and containers broken, they are left to soak and anoint the place where death once held sway.

 

• But why all the drama? Why couldn’t Jesus just appear in the open tomb? Why didn’t He just say to these two women Himself that He was alive? Why all the extras?

 

• Because God likes surprises! God especially likes to surprise us –

 

• When we have reached the end of our rope; when we are overwhelmed with our own dysphoria, our weeping, watching, waiting, weariness, God surprises us – He says with the voice of clarity, gentleness, sure and recognizable, REJOICE!
• God waits for us to despair of human strength and then intervenes with heavenly strength.
• God waits for us to give up – and then, SURPRISE!

• Has it been a while since God Surprised you?
  • Sometimes we miss the God-Surprises because we think we have Him all figured out.
    • We want answers so we sit down at the computer. We push buttons, enter information, ask questions, and BAM! We have God all figured out.
    • We chart all the past surprises on a spreadsheet, compare old spreadsheets, and BAM! We have God all figured out.
    • We write down all the sermon notes, record all the questions and answers from the Bible study, read our Bibles religiously, and BAM! We have God all figured out.
  • God does his best work when we think we have Him all figured out!
    • These two ladies came with everything all figured out. Boy were they surprised. In a graveyard no less!
    • They had planned on a funeral – but God planned a celebration!
    • The woman caught in adultery planned on being stoned – but God planned Grace and mercy
    • The crowd of five thousand planned on being really hungry – but God planned a feast
    • The blind, the lame, the deaf, all planned on living their lives as outcasts – but God planned on making them the guests of honor.
    • Satan had planned to have the final say – but God planned otherwise and boy was he surprised!

God specializes is the surprising!

God turns tragedy into triumph.

Frowns into smiles,

Hopelessness into healing,

Darkness into light,

Cold into warmth,

Defeat into Victory!

Death into life.

Let God continue to surprise you,

Even in the most unlikely of places!

It’s there, that He will do His best work

And surprise you in doing it!

Happy Easter!

 

REJOICE!

 

 

Sermon For

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Palm Sunday

Living Between Two Extremes!

Psalm 95: 1-7

Hebrews 10: 19-25

John 4: 19-24 and John 12: 12-26

 

Back and forth,

Flip-flop,

Tug-of-war,

Up and down,

Over and under,

Left and right,

Topsyturvy,

To and fro!

Do any of these,

Or perhaps all of these,

Describe your faith!

If they do, you’re not alone!

Everyone who has ever put their faith in Christ,

Feels exactly the same way!

These are those of whom the writer to Hebrews refers to as

That great cloud of witnesses!

Those who struggle with

Living Between Two Extremes!

Everyone who lined the streets of Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday,

Struggled between two extremes!

Peter will struggle with these extremes!

Judas for sure did!

All the other disciples struggle between these two extremes – back and forth, flip and flop,

Up and down, over and under, left and right, to and fro,

Until finally they leave Jesus standing in a grove of trees,

Running at full speed.

Even the apostle Paul,

The great defender of the faith,

Proclaims his struggle between two extremes –

For the good that I will to do, I do not do;

But the evil I will not to do, that I practice!

I decide to do good, but I don’t do it;

I decide not to do bad,

But then I do it anyway.

The Message Bible

In his total frustration,

Paul cries out,

O wretched man that I am!

Who will deliver me from this body of death?

Look at the disciples,

Look at Peter,

Look at Judas.

Look at the crowd of people lining the streets,

Listen to their praise,

Their proclaiming Jesus as their Lord and Messiah!

Throwing down their coats and shirts on the street as He passes by.

Waving palm branches!

Listen as they sing,

Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna!

Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!

Blessed is the kingdom of our father David

That comes in the name of the Lord!

Hosanna in the highest!

Now see them, and listen to them,

That same crowd of people who had just a few days ago proclaimed Him as their King,

Are now calling for His death!

That crowd was Living Between Two Extremes back and forth, flip and flop,

Up and down, over and under, left and right, to and fro,

Proclaiming Jesus as their king one day,

And now crying out for His death!

So if you are struggling between two extremes,

You are not alone!

You are keeping good company –

Remember, you are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses

Who have struggled and struggled and struggled

To live their faith

In that proverbial faithful tug-of-war!

If you have a faith that goes

Back and forth,

Flip-flop,

And plays Tug-of-war,

Goes up and down,

Over and under,

Left and right,

Turns topsy-turvy,

And throws you to and fro!

I have some gospel news for you!

Gospel – Good News!

Paul found the answer to his struggle –

O wretched man that I am!

Who will deliver me from this body of death?

I thank God – through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Here’s the gospel – here’s the good news –

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus,

Who do not walk according to the flesh,

But according to the Spirit.

The therefore in this passage is the gospel, the good news

It literally means, Because of . . . .

And in this case, Because of Christ!

Remember always, always –

I am crucified with Christ;

It is no longer I who live,

But Christ who lives in me;

And the life which I now live in the flesh

I live by faith in the Son of God,

Who loved me and gave Himself for me!

I know, I know!

But Pastor you just don’t understand!

I do understand.

My faith still rages between the two extremes.

I struggle, I wrestle, I agonize with my faith –

But I never, ever forget,

Whose I am!

And that even the best of us,

Struggle at times.

Here are 3 things you can do to keep your faith from being too extreme –

First,

Don’t let politics get in the way of your faith.

That’s what happened with the crowd on the street!

They were swayed,

Sway = back and forth; to and fro

By all the political

Flip-flopping –

And no, I’m not talking about those funny little sandal things

Some of you wear during the summer on your feet!

I’m talking about being swayed

By the current wave of political rhetoric that is taking place.

The politicians wanted Jesus out of the way

And what better way to do that,

Then get the people all stirred up about Him!

To keep you steady,

Don’t be fooled or swayed

By all the current, contemporary worldly and political rhetoric playing tug-of-war

With your faith.

You know in whom you have believed,

According to the song of that name,

I know in Whom I have believed

And am persuaded that He is able

To keep that which I’ve committed

Unto Him against that day.

To keep that which I’ve committed unto Him –

You’ve committed your very self to Him.

Let Him keep you!

Keep praising and worshipping Him – In Spirit and In Truth!

Spirit = breath, vital principle, mental disposition

Truth = true; open = not concealed

With your every breath worship Him openly!

Second,

Be bold in your faith!

As you come to Him, any time and any place and in any circumstance,

You can come with boldness –

Therefore . . . having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus . . . .

. . . . hold fast – tightly – to the confession of our hope without wavering . . . .

Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together. . . .

But exhorting one another –

Lifting each other up,

Encouraging one another,

And Worshipping God together!

And third,

When you worship, do it with your whole heart, mind, soul, body, and spirit!

Psalm 95: 1-7 READ

Come, sing, shout joyfully, with thanksgiving, shout joyfully,

Come, worship, bow down, kneel before Him –

All describe a person in the presence of God to worship and adore Him

With a deep sense of personal devotion employing all of their heart, mind, soul, and spirit

In that act of adoration and worship!

As people of faith,

We will always be Living Between Two Extremes –

But the one extreme –

Like the crowd at the end of the week –

Can be kept at a minimum,

Lived less intensely,

By keeping the other extreme firmly in place by

Not being swayed by politics or popular opinion;

By being bold in your faith,

Not being ashamed of your faith but holding tightly to it,

Not wavering;

By living your faith both privately and corporately

With all your heart, mind, soul, and spirit!

Sermon for

Sunday, March 6, 2016

The Real Master’s Tournament

Malachi 3: 10

III John 2-8

Luke 16:13

I’m preaching to the choir here,

But this follows along with our Believe Bible study –

Preaching to the choir:

Preaching to the choir means you are trying to make believers

out of people who already believe,

or convince people who are already convinced.

“We could start a new tradition,

Celebrations without Cellphones. It could work.” 
“Preachin’ to the choir here.”

Even though I’m preachin’ to the choir,

Stewardship is a solid biblical and spiritual truth

And a sure foundation upon which to base our faith.

From the very beginning,

I’m talking about

“In the beginning” beginning.

And no, not the bottom of the ninth with the go ahead run at third base,

Not that Big Inning,

But the very earliest of beginnings.

We all know the story of Cain and Able.

They both brought their “gifts,”

Their offerings to God.

Obviously Adam and Eve taught this to them,

And they were doing what they were taught to do.

These offerings were acknowledgement to God for His blessings

To His people, to His children.

This acknowledged that what they “offered” back to God,

Was out of what belonged to Him in the first place,

And offered as a “thankyou” to Him for all that He had given them to enjoy.

So the idea of “Stewardship”

Became a foundational faith response to God for His lavish blessing to His children.

But stewardship goes way beyond acknowledging that God

Is the sole provider of our blessings –

It means that we KNOW,

And know well,

Who is in charge and in control.

Stewardship : utilizing and managing all of God’s resources-

All of our time, talent, and treasures,

For His glory,

And the betterment of all His people.

Every breath you take, every piece of food you eat,

Every drink of water,

Every heartbeat,

Every thought, word and action,

All are given to us by God –

And to be used in His service and making our little corner of the world a better place!

And there isn’t anything in all creation that belongs to us,

They all belong to Him!

Acts 17: 28,

“For in Him we live and move and have our being;we are His children.”

The Psalmist David very pointedly declares in Psalm 24:1,

“The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness,

The world and those who dwell therein.”

This is the first of three vital, primary principles of good stewardship:

Knowing Who it all belongs to!

It all belongs to God! He owns everything!

We are very simply,

Stewards and managers of all His “stuff!”

In our stewardship we acknowledge that it all belongs to God,

And expresses our knowledge that He is the Master!

We are in control only as far as God has given us control –

We are to do His bidding at all times,

In all places,

With all people,

With all He has given us,

Which at all times and in all circumstances is His to begin with.

This is where The Real Master’s Tournament begins:

You cannot serve two masters:

For you will either hate the one and love the other,

Or be loyal to the one and not the other.

You cannot serve two masters.

Acknowledging Who it all belongs too,

Acknowledges the real Master.

The second of the three vital, primary principles of good stewardship is:

Be responsible!

And by being responsible,

We are accountable.

I Timothy 6: 17 says,

“. . . . God has given us richly all things to enjoy . . . .

Let us do good then, that we may be rich in good works,

Ready to give, willing to serve.”

God has given us richly –

Richly = copiously; abundantly; wealthy.

Jesus said that

He has come that we may have life, and have that life more abundantly!

Having this abundant life,

And knowing that we have abundantly,

Means that we are responsible and accountable stewards

Of God’s abundance!

One way,

Just one of many ways,

Of acknowledging God’s abundance

Is giving Him our tithes and offerings.

Malachi 3: 10 puts God to the test –

Be very careful here –

But the Bible does say,

Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,

That there may be food in My house,

And TRY Me now in this,

Says the Lord of hosts,

If I will not open for you the windows of heaven

And poor out for you such a blessing,

That there will not be room enough to receive it!

And this leads us into our third vital, primary principle of good stewardship:

Knowing Who it all belongs to!

And knowing who it all belongs to will keep us responsible!

And by being responsible,

And being accountable –

There is great reward!

Colossians 3: 23-24 says,

And whatever you do,

Do it heartily,

As to the Lord and not to men,

Knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward

Of the inheritance;

For you serve the Lord Jesus Christ!

Jesus makes it very clear in several of His parables,

That those who work and serve God,

Will receive a great reward.

Matthew 25:21 says,

Well done, good and faithful servant . . . . Welcome into the joy of your Lord!

Heaven, and all of its resources and riches,

Are at our disposal –

For we serve the Lord,

And if we serve the Lord,

Who has been given all authority in heaven and on earth,

We can go into all the world and share the blessings of God’s riches.

But much more than this,

God is able to make all grace abound toward you,

That you, always having all sufficiency in all things,

May have an abundance for every good work –

For I rejoiced greatly when visited by our fellow workers who

Testified of the truth that is in you . . .

I have no greater joy that to hear that God’s children walk in His truth.

Beloved of God,

You always do faithfully whatever you do for believers as well as strangers,

Who bear witness of your love before God, men, and Christ’s Church.

This is The Real Master’s Tournament – and the Master wins!

Because you faithfully do whatever you do as good stewards of God’s blessings!

Sermon for

Sunday, February 21, 2016

Those Awesome, Wonderful, Footprints

Deuteronomy 1: 26-33

Romans 1: 18-23

Matthew 18: 1-5

 

Stripping and waxing floors  at the grocery store in California

Footprints In The Sand

One night I dreamed a dream.
As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.
Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,
One belonging to me and one to my Lord.

After the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,
especially at the very lowest and saddest times,
there was only one set of footprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it. 
“Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,
You’d walk with me all the way.
But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,
there was only one set of footprints.
I don’t understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me.”

He whispered, “My precious child, I love you and will never leave you
Never, ever, during your trials and testing’s,
When you saw only one set of footprints,
It was then that I carried you.”

– by Mary Stevenson

Our Footprints –

Much like those pesky footprints left on my freshly cleaned, stripped, and waxed floors,

We are uncaring and concerned only about ourselves.

Over and over we have trampled on God’s graciousness,

Our only concern – ourselves!

The Garden of Eden was just the beginning.

What God created,

He created for Adam and Eve.

What He created was for their comfort and enjoyment.

What He created was to give them a place of beauty and pleasure.

What He created was a place for Adam and Eve to have a home,

For them to meet with God and delight in that place, and delight in His presence.

And Adam and Eve trampled it all under their uncaring, selfish feet.

The beauty, joy, comfort, and pleasure

Was all destroyed because they didn’t care.

Their story,

Now our story,

In the Bible’

Tells us the great lengths that God went to show them, and us,

That even when we mess it up,

God will clean it all up again.

Listen to the words of Deuteronomy –

This is how they saw God –

You rebelled against the command of the Lord Your God. . .

You complained in your tents . . . .

You were discouraged . . . .

Because God brought us out of the land of Egypt to die in the wilderness

Now listen as Moses tells them how God sees them –

Do not be terrified or afraid . . .

The Lord your God,

Who goes before you,

He will fight for you . . . .

The Lord your God carried you,

As a man carries His son,

Until He brought you to this place.

Yet, for all that,

You did not believe the Lord your God,

Who went in before you . . . .

To search out a place for your tents . . . .

Even while we are trampling the Lord’s beauty and blessing,

He is working to clean it all up.

Still!

So why do we do it?

Why do we so easily trample the Lord’s beauty and blessing?

Paul gives us a little insight into why we do what we do

In our Romans reading –

Because, although they knew God,

They did not glorify Him as God,

Nor were thankful,

But became futile in their thoughts . . .

And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man.

When God becomes like us,

Just one of the boys,

Or just one of the girls,

When He becomes less than who He really is,

It’s so much easier for us to trample all He has given us.

When we become foolish in our thinking and our believing,

God is no longer God in our lives –

And His beauty and blessings are just something to walk on,

To trample under foot,

To trash and destroy.

So how does God see us when we are trampling His beauty and blessing?

What does He see in us worth forgiving and redeeming?

First –

He always, always, sees us through the eyes of love.

Jeremiah 31: 3 says,

I have loved you with an everlasting love;

Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.

Drawn = Hebrew meaning to pull, to move –

And indicates that the pulling and the moving are done while being carried.

Paul tells the church in Rome this truth when he says,

Nothing . . . . shall be able to separate us from the love of God

which is in Christ Jesus our Lord!

Nothing means Nothing!

Even we we’re so careless about God’s beauty and blessing;

Even when we’re so calloused,

So disinterested,

So discourteous,

And so unmindful,

Of all He has done,

And continues to do,

God still loves you!

When we trample all over God’s freshly cleaned, stripped, and waxed floors,

He still loves us!

How does God see us?

He always, always, sees us through the eyes of love.

Second –

God has made Himself known to us for a reason!

What may be known of God is manifest in them –

Manifest = Greek meaning make known

Manifest =

Readily seen, perceived, or understood;

To make apparent;

Demonstrate, display, proclaim;

To give expression to;

To represent in bodily form.

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen,

Being understood by the things that are made,

Even His eternal Godhead,

So that they are without excuse.

He has made Himself known to us so that we know

That this is His beauty,

These are His blessings,

That these freshly cleaned and waxed floors,

Are for us –

All for us –

How does God see us?

He always, always, sees us through the eyes of love.

Even when we are unthankful and making excuses,

Of course we are without excuse,

But we try anyway.

And Third –

The first two deal with how God sees us,

This one deals with how we see God

Live your faith like a child!

To keep God’s beauty and blessing in proper perspective,

Have a child-like faith.

Unless you are converted and become as little children,

You will by no means enter the kingdom of God!

Wait a minute – back the bus up!

Just last week you told us that we are to become mature in our faith –

That we should no longer be children,

But mature!

Now you’re telling us to act like children!

Not exactly!

But, yes!

A distinction needs to be made here –

There is a HUGE difference between being

Child-like and Childish!

What Jesus is talking about here is that we are not to lose

Our sense of

Awe and Wonder,

Our sense of the miraculous and amazing,

Our sense of the incredible and astounding,

In the presence of God

And in our faith.

It is through our being child-like

That we see clearly God Himself,

And God’s beauty and blessing as they were intended to be seen.

And when the trials come,

When the testing is unimaginable,

And you’re tempted to trample on God’s beauty and blessing,

God still sees us through the eyes of love,

Gently picks us up,

And whispers softly,

“My precious child, I love you and will never leave you
Never, ever, during your trials and testing’s,
When you saw only one set of footprints,

Those Awesome, Wonderful, Footprints

It was then that I carried you.”

Because He always, always, sees us through the eyes of love!

Sermon for

Sunday, February 14, 2016

A Real Dichotomy

Psalm 127: 1

Ephesians 4: 7-16

Matthew 16: 13-18

• Loquacious: very talkative

• Logorrhea: excessive use of words or talking

• Anthropomorphism: attribution of human characteristics to inanimate objects, animals, or natural phenomena

• Zoanthropy: Delusion of a person who believes himself changed into an animal

• Emacity: fondness for buying things

• Eucatrastrophe: happy ending to a story

• Dichotomy: division into two contradictory yet equal parts or opinions; branching characterized by successive splitting into approximately equal divisions.

• Dichotomorphous: (My word) = Dicho – into two parts + morph – to undergo transformation

• The natural state of the Christian; Christians who have been transformed into two equal, yet distinct parts, of one whole.

Are you thoroughly confused?

Thoroughly = excessively complete

Confused = unable to think with clarity or act with understanding and intelligence!

Any idea where I might be going with this?  

The natural state of the Christian,

Those who have been transformed into two equal,

Yet distinct parts,

Of one whole.

Matthew 16: 13-18

Who do you say that I am?

You are the Christ,

The Son of the Living God!

Blessed are you, Simon BarJonah,

For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you,

But My Father who is in heaven.

And I also say to you that you are Peter

= Greek Petros meaning “Rock” –

And on this rock I will build My church,

And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

This is the Real Dichotomy:

Peter’s personal confession

And

The confession of Christ’s Church =

Greek = ekklesia = community of members on earth and saints in heaven

The word ekklesia is both a personal pronoun and a noun –

Designating both an individual and a group of individuals –

A group that is made up of those individuals who have confessed,

Just like Peter,

That Jesus is The Christ, the Son of the Living God

And gather in His name for Worship, Praise, Prayer, and Fellowship

For the equipping of the saints =

No, not the football team –

Although they need all the help they can get –

But the saints = Greek = hagios = separated =

Separated from sin and therefore consecrated to God = sacred

First, individually,

And then collectively,

You – individual – are the Church

We – collectively – are the Church

A Real Dichotomy!

For the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry = in service to others,

For the edifying of the body of Christ – the Church –

Till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God,

To a perfect man,

To the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

That we should no longer be children = immature –

Tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine,

By the trickery of men,

In the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,

But, speaking the truth in love,

May grow up in all things into Him who is the Head –

Christ –

From whom the whole body,

Joined and knit together by what every joint supplies,

According to the effective working by which every part does its share,

Causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

 

Paul is not speaking just for speaking sake –

He is making a point –

A serious point,

About the Church –

We are individuals – first making our confession of faith as individuals,

That Jesus IS the Christ, the Son of the Living God,

And that with purpose and deliberate intention,

We join with others, who have made the same confession,

Becoming saints together with one another,

Building the household of faith.

 

There is a huge caveat here:

Caveat = advice to beware; caution, warning

 

Psalm 127: 1

Unless the Lord builds the house,

They labor in vain who build it;

Unless the Lord guards the city,

The watchman stays awake in vain!

 

The greatest struggle of the Church in the 21st Century is this –

We are to let Christ,

In all things,

In all places,

And at all times,

Be the Head of the Church –

He is to build His Church,

He is to protect His Church,

He is to inspire His Church,

He is to encourage His Church,

He is to love His Church,

And we, His people,

Are to let Him!

 

The caveat, the caution, the warning, here is three fold:

 

First:

To let Him be the Head of the Church,

Read your Bible!

Know what it is He wants from you,

From us.

He has given us His Word for that very purpose –

That we should no longer be children = immature –

Tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine,

By the trickery of men,

In the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,

But, speaking the truth in love,

May grow up in all things into Him who is the Head –

Christ –

From whom the whole body,

Joined and knit together by what every joint supplies,

According to the effective working by which every part does its share,

Causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

 

Second:

Do your very best,

And trust Him for all the rest!

Trust in the Lord with all your heart –

Individually first, then collectively as His Church,

And lean not on your own understanding – see First above –

In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

 

Third:

Work hard for His sake.

Building a house takes lots of hard work.

It takes lots of energy,

Resources,

And time.

He knows all that!

All we need to do is do the work –

He will

Inspire us,

Lead us,

Equip us,

Strengthen us,

Encourage us,

And He will work right beside us,

All around us,

Inside all of us –

In this real and glorious

Dichotomy!

Ash Wednesday

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Imposition of Ashes And Communion Service

Zephaniah 3: 14-20

Luke 15: 11-20

Turning Toward Home!

• Christmas. Under the tree there are, what seems like, thousands of beautifully wrapped presents. Matthew, a young man in his 30’s stares in wide-eyed child-like wonder at the avalanche of gifts. Surely, he thinks, there’s at least one for me! Matthew is mentally handicapped. He stares in child-like wonder because that’s where his heart, and his mind, take him. He watches, and hopes, and dreams, that at least one is his. As the mountain of packages dwindles, so does his wide-eyed wonder. Only one gift left! It is! It is! It is his! The gift is brought to him by one of the other children. He unashamedly tears into the package with a ferocity born of years of neglect, and broken hopes and dreams. But this year, he thinks, he has finally received his own gift. As he completes his demolition of the paper, he quickly opens the box – and to his utter dismay, it’s empty! Devoid of anything but air. He is crushed, again! And with tears streaming down his cheeks, the other children laugh uproariously! They’ve done it again. “He’s such a loser” they all chirp. “He’s so easily fooled. What makes him think that he’d ever get a present from one of us or any one for that matter” they chortle.

 

• Penny weeps uncontrollably into her pillow. She’s always wanted to fall in love, be married, have a home of her own, children to raise, PTA meetings, office parties, holidays in her home. She has all of these things; she’s done all of these things. But she has realized that the honeymoon has been over for a very long time; she’s married to a man she doesn’t love and who doesn’t love her; she has long since lost any desire to raise her children let alone go to their school functions; and forget about having any kind of party – she’s way past having a party attitude. She’s ready to just run away and leave her sorrows and shame behind.

 

• John, a middle-aged, wealthy and successful businessman sits behind his large mahogany desk, in his well-appointed plush high rise office. He has achieved all he set out to achieve. And at a very young age. But now he is considering all he has given up to get where he is. He has no family, no friends, no life, and no real future. He is about to lose it all because he gave into some minor indiscretions and got caught. Not only is he facing to the loss of all he’s worked so hard to get, he’s going to jail for a very long time.

• Brandon. A tall, muscular, teenager who has done well on his ACT’s and excelled in two major sports. He is being scouted by major colleges and has been offered full and complete scholarships to many of them. He is on his way! But he holds in his hands a letter, received today, from the NCAA. It informs him that he is being investigated by the NCAA for substance abuse. He thought that he was being so very careful. He only went to reputable doctors and sports authorities. But now, he’s been caught and he’s about to lose all he has worked so hard to get. He has nothing if he can’t play sports and get a college degree. He sits totally dejected and humiliated. He just can’t face the truth of what he’s done. There is only one way out!

 

• You. You’re sitting on the sofa in your nicely appointed, but modest home. You’ve been a good and dutiful wife or husband; a doting mother or father; involved in all kinds of community, church, and civic organizations. You’ve cooked, cleaned, sacrificed to make sure your husband or wife and family were well cared for, provided for, and had fun in the process. But here you sit with the divorce papers in your hand. Your home is eerily quiet because your spouse has taken your children and left. Your world has come crashing down upon you. And you are right in thinking, “What did I do to deserve this?! Why has this happened to me?!  I’ve done everything I was supposed to do; everything I was asked to do; and this is the thanks I get!

 

• You’ve just returned home from a doctor’s appointment. You, or your spouse, have just received the news – inoperable cancer. They said those words that you thought only other people heard – “There’s nothing we can do. You need to get your affairs in order. It won’t be long.” In an almost dream like state you’ve returned home. Maybe for the last time. The silence, except for the tears, is almost unbearable. The shock is taking its toll. On you, your spouse, and eventually the rest of your family. This is not how you planned your life. You’ve made all kinds of plans, none of which you have any opportunity to put into effect. Now what? What do we do next? Your life, or the life of your spouse, is almost over. The news is devastating. You’re angry, frustrated, discouraged, depressed. But most of all you’re angry. Angry that you didn’t do at least some of the things you planned. All the questions, the doubts, the dismay and anger are running through your heart and mind like a Kentucky Derby race horse!
• Anyone here who can identify with any of these people? Most of us, at some point in our lives, have been here, or have come close a time or two. We’ve been discouraged, depressed, broken-hearted, dismayed, hurt, angry, crushed! The tomorrow we thought would never get here, is here!

Here’s the story of a young man who has been there. Maybe the story resonates with you-

• You’ve been a good son. Done all that your father has asked you to do. Until today. Today you’re a man. You want to strike out on your own. You’ve gotten up the guts to go ask your old man to give you what belongs to you. You want everything that’s owed to you and you want it now.

• Your father loves you and agrees to give you what you deserve. He does so out of love but also with fear and trembling because he knows what’s about to happen. He smiles, gives you what you’ve asked and sent you on your way.

• You’ve packed your bags and kicked the dust off your feet and are happily skipping down the road. The road that leads. . . . leads somewhere.

• You really don’t have a particular place to go, but you’ll know it when you get there. And soon you round the bend, and there it is!

• You’ve arrived! This is the place you’ve been dreaming of all your life. This is going to be the best thing that has ever happened to you. You are going to live life to the hilt. No holding back. No thought about tomorrow. No thought about your family. No thought about your father – the one who made this all possible! He’s just an asterisk beside your name.

• Your name! Wow! I am going to make a name for myself! I’m going to be important. I’m going to have lots of friends who will love me and be there for me always! It’s going to be awesome!

• Money is no object. You’ve got enough to last forever! I’ll have so many friends, go to so many parties, buy so many things. . . . . I won’t have to think about tomorrow until . . . . . well, tomorrow!

• Tomorrow comes. You wake up from the stupor you’ve been in for so long, you have no clue how long it’s been, but you’re awake now.

• As the morning light blinds your eyes, fogs your mind, dulls your heart, you realize that this is not your home. This not even in the same neighborhood, or on the same street. You have no idea where you are. And all of a sudden it hits you. . . it’s tomorrow.

• And because its tomorrow and you’ve made no plans for it being tomorrow, you have no clue what to do.

But this young man has something he has forgotten he has,

A father who loves him!

A father who has not ceased to

Pray for him

Look for him,

Hope for him,

And believe in him,

EVER!

His father has spent his days and nights

Praying,

Hoping,

Trusting,

Believing,

That his son will come home.

And because this young man has a father

Who prays,

Who hopes,

Who trusts,

Who believes

He does not have stay in his depressing, self-imposed tomorrow!

He can Turn Toward Home!

Somehow,

Someway,

The prayers

The Hopes,

The trusting,

The believing

Of this young man’s father,

Did what they were supposed to do –

Turn him toward home!

If you’ve been given an empty package;

If the honeymoon has long since been over;

If all you’ve worked hard to achieve has been lost;

If you’ve made mistakes,

If you’ve been served papers,

If your life has been crushed,

And there’s no way out –

If you’re wallowing in self-pity,

Plagued by self-doubt,

Overwhelmed by self-absorption,

Obsessed with self-indulgence,

And the muck and mire

Of the pig slop life you’ve created,

Threatens to destroy you –

Don’t just stand there,

Turn Toward Home!

Lent reminds us

That we, too,

Have a Father

Who prays,

Who hopes,

Who trusts,

Who believes,

And encourages us to Turn Toward Home!

Our heavenly Father is waiting for us to turn the corner,

Even though we seem so far away,

He’s looking,

He’s longing,

He’s waiting,

For us to

Turn Toward Home.

Come to your senses,

Remind yourself,

That your Heavenly Father loves you so very much!

So get up,

Leave the slop,

The muck,

And the mire,

Of a less than perfect life.

Turn the corner,

And even though you are still a long way off,

Your Father in heaven will see you coming,

And He will run to you,

Throw His arms around you,

And He will take great delight in you,

He will quiet you with His love,

He will rejoice over you with singing.

He will gather you up in His arms,

And bring you home.

He will give you honor and praise,

And restore to you all that’s been lost!

Don’t wait,

Turn Toward Home!

Sermon for

Sunday, February 7, 2016

Who Am I?

Jeremiah 31: 31-34

Romans 8: 14-17

John 1: 1-13

What’s in a name?

For instance –

Arthur –

Arthur comes from English, Irish, Scottish, or Welsh origins.

It is also the name of legendary King Arthur and his knights of the round table

From the 5th or 6th century.

It remains a mystery as to the names meaning but gained in popularity

After the Arthurian legend became so widely known.

Patricia –

Patricia is the feminine form of Patrick, which is from the Latin, patricius

Which means someone with royal blood or family connection.

The name became popular after its use with

Princess Victoria Patricia Helena Elizabeth born in 1886,

Who was known as “Princess Patricia.”

So together,

We are King Arthur and Princess Patricia!

You have high royalty as pastor and his wife!

It’s great knowing a little about my name,

But that definition does not “define” me.

I am defined by another name entirely.

Casting Crowns but it like this –

Who Am I

Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth

Would care to know my name,

Would care to feel my hurt?

Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star would choose to light the way

For my ever wandering heart?

Not because of who I am

But because of what You’ve done.

Not because of what I’ve done,

But because of Who You are.

I am a flower quickly fading,

Here today and gone tomorrow.

A wave tossed on the ocean.

A vapor in the wind.

Still You hear me when I’m calling.

Lord, You catch me when I’m falling.

And you’ve told me who I am.

I am Yours, I am Yours.

Who am I, that the eyes that see my sin

Would look on me with love and watch me rise again?

Who am I, that the voice that calmed the sea

Would call out through the rain

And calm the storm in me?

Not because of who I am

But because of what You’ve done.

Not because of what I’ve done,

But because of Who You are.

I am a flower quickly fading,

Here today and gone tomorrow.

A wave tossed on the ocean.

A vapor in the wind.

Still You hear me when I’m calling.

Lord, You catch me when I’m falling.

And you’ve told me who I am.

I am Yours, I am Yours.

Something I’ve discovered about God –

He loves naming people, places, and things!

He loves making them unique and special,

And one of the ways He does that is by giving them names.

And what makes them all special, especially His people,

Is the name is ALWAYS, ALWAYS followed by,

You are mine!

Past, Present, Future, and Possessive tense of

Who Am I?

Arthur – You are mine!

Patricia – You are mine!

And yes, you have royal blood flowing through your veins –

The blood of the King of kings and Lord of lords

All ya’ all have royal blood flowing through your veins!

You, too, have the blood of the King of kings and Lord of lords

Flowing into and out of you heart!

Giving you life, and purpose, and meaning!

Bringing with it all the joy, the encouragement, strength,

And the power of heaven!

Moving through your veins at

Three feet per second when it leaves your heart.

It slows down as it gets into smaller arteries and capillaries.

But it only takes a minute to get through your entire body.

Five quarts of blood per minute are transported throughout your body.

And for those who know the saving grace of God,

That royal blood moving at three feet per second –

Is blood filled with all the rich nutrients of

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

Gentleness, and self-control.

In these days, when God’s people know who they are,

The nations will see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory;

You will be called by a new name and you will be a crown of splendor in the Lord’s hand,

A royal crown in the hand of your God.

For we are a chosen people, a royal priesthood,

A holy nation, a people belonging to God,

That we can proclaim the praises of Him

Who called us out of darkness into His wonderful light!

From Isaiah 62 and I Peter 2

Listen to the words of Jeremiah –

This is the new covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,

Says the Lord:

I will put My law in their minds,

And write it on their hearts;

And I will be their God,

And they shall be My people!

Even when His people were being obstinate, disobedient,

Willful, and deliberately sinful,

God was calling out to them –

Who am I, that the eyes that see my sin

Would look on me with love and watch me rise again?

Who am I, that the voice that calmed the sea

Would call out through the rain

And calm the storm in me?

God is ever watchful, vigilant, and caring

For His people –

His people, called by His name,

Followed by,

You are Mine!

Paul was reminding the church in Rome of this very same fact –

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God,

These are the children of God.

For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear,

But you have received the Spirit of adoption

By whom we cry out, “Abba, Father” = meaning, “Father, I trust You; Father, I love You”

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we ARE the children of God!

And John, the beloved disciple,

Writes in his gospel – the Good News –

As many as received Him – Jesus –

To them He gave the right to become children of God,

To those who believe in His name –

That name which is above every name,

That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

And that every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,

To the glory of God the Father!

Who am I, that the eyes that see my sin

Would look on me with love and watch me rise again?

Who am I, that the voice that calmed the sea

Would call out through the rain

And calm the storm in me?

Not because of who I am

But because of what You’ve done.

Not because of what I’ve done,

But because of Who You are.

I am a flower quickly fading,

Here today and gone tomorrow.

A wave tossed on the ocean.

A vapor in the wind.

Still You hear me when I’m calling.

Lord, You catch me when I’m falling.

And you’ve told me who I am.

I am Yours, I am Yours, I am Yours.

Sermon for

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Divine Locution

Psalm 119 – Compilation

II Timothy 3: 16-17

Matthew 4: 1-11

 

A father and his young son were reading the Bible together.

After they had finished reading,

The father asked his young son

What the Bible was all about.

His son thought for a few minutes and then said,

Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.

A rather innocent acronym from the word Bible,

Yet filled with the innocence of a young heart and mind

Not made sinful and cynical just yet.

The Bible is that – an instruction book –

But it is ever so much, much more!

It’s where we find the grace that saves us,

The mercy that moves us,

The power that changes us,

And the love that fills us!

It’s where we find the peace that sustains us,

The joy that encourages us,

The hope that strengthens us,

And the forgiveness that redeems us!

It’s where we find the light that guides us,

The gentleness that comforts us,

The goodness that reassures us,

And the faithfulness that helps us persevere!

It’s where we find the truth that dispels our confusion,

The defense when we’re threatened,

The provision when we are in need,

And the refreshing when we are parched!

 

It’s where we find beauty for the ashes,

The oil of gladness in the midst of mourning,

The garment of praise for our spirit of heaviness,

And healing for all our diseases!

It’s where we find pardon for sin,

Strength for today,

Bright hope for tomorrow,

And blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

It is this Divine Locution –

God’s way of telling us how much He truly loves us –

Through words that convey deep and profound meaning –

God’s ultimate expression of love!

Listen to the words of the Psalmist –

Your word I have hidden in my heart,

That I might not sin against You!

My soul melts from heaviness;

Strengthen me according to Your word.

Forever, O Lord,

Your word is settled in heaven.

Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light upon my path.

I am afflicted very much; Revive me, O Lord, according to Your word.

I rejoice at Your word as one who finds great treasure.

Let my prayer come before You, O Lord;

Give me understanding according to Your word.

Let my supplication come before You;

Deliver me according to Your word.

40 times in 176 verses, David makes it clear,

God’s word is what strengthens him,

Sustains him,

Redeems him,

Feeds him,

Delivers him!

 

Can you imagine what it would be like if we didn’t have the 23 Psalm?

Or Matthew 6: 9-13?

Or John 3: 16?

How about Romans 5: 1-4 or 8: 35-39 –

Nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord!

Ephesians 2: 1-10;

Philippians 4: 4-8 or 4: 13 –

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!

This is exactly what Paul was telling young Timothy –

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,

And is profitable – Greek meaning helpful, serviceable, advantageous;

Benefit, gain, profit.

We gain the greatest benefit and profit the most,

When we know the word of God.

For doctrine = teaching, learning

For reproof = admonish (reprimand), convict, evidence

For correction = to straighten up

For instruction in righteousness = justification, innocent, holy

That we may be complete = lacking nothing essential,

covering all aspects with painstaking accuracy –

Thoroughly equipped for every good work.

With the word of God firmly planted in our hearts and minds –

There ain’t nothing we can’t do;

Nothin’ we can’t endure;

Nothin’ we can’t overcome!

That’s what Jesus was talking about when He said,

It is written,

Man shall not live by bread alone,

But by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God –

The word of God,

That Divine Locution –

Expresses meaning,

Deep, down in the soul meaning –

 

Read hymn #410 – Standing on the Promises of God

Sermon for

Sunday, January 10, 2016

It’s Just You and Me Kid!

Psalm 8:1-9

Romans 8: 35-39

Luke 22: 31-32

Read from BELIEVE, Preface, page 7

Believe is an action word!

So the question before us this morning is this –

Do You Believe!

Or maybe a better question might be this –

Does Jesus care,

When my heart is pained too deeply for mirth and song;

As the burdens press, and the cares distress,

And the way grows weary and long?

Does Jesus care,

When my way is dark with a nameless dread and fear?

As the daylight fades into deep night shades,

Does He care enough to be near?

Does Jesus care,

When I’ve tried and failed to resist some temptation strong;

When for my deep grief I find no relief,

Though my tears flow all the night long?

Does Jesus care,

When I’ve said good bye to the dearest on earth to me,

And my sad heart aches till it nearly breaks,

Is it aught to Him? Does He see?

O yes, He cares; I know He cares,

His heart is touched with my grief;

When the days are weary,

The long nights dreary,

I know my Savior cares!

Does Jesus Care? By Frank E. Graeff and J. Lincoln Hall

 

The hymn writer was asking a rhetorical question,

But a question that needs to be answered nonetheless!

Do you BELIEVE that God is deeply, passionately, and personally

Involved in your life?

Can you, with absolute confidence and certainty,

Answer the rhetorical question with

O yes, He cares; I know He cares,

His heart is touched with my grief;

When the days are weary,

The long nights dreary,

I know my Savior cares!

Is this One True God,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit –

The One we say we believe in,

Is He good?

Does He have a plan for my life?

And does He care for me?

Remember the old commercial that said

Only her hair dresser knows for sure!

Don’t leave this question to be answered by your hair dresser,

Or anyone else for that matter –

You, and you alone, can answer these questions.

My fervent hope and earnest prayer is that

Each and every one of you can answer

Unequivocally and unreservedly,

Oh, Yes!

Over and over the Scriptures declare that God is Good!

He heals all our dis-eases,

He gives us strength,

He redeems us,

He provides for us,

He watches over us,

Look at the birds of the air, they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns

Yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

How much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

Every good and every perfect gift is from above,

And comes down from our Father in heaven,

With whom there is no shadow of turning.

So, is God Good?

 

Does God have a plan for your life?

For I know the thoughts I think toward you,

Says the Lord,

Thoughts of peace and not of evil,

To give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope –

This IS what we believe –

Without wavering,

For He who promised is faithful.

Hebrews 10:23

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world,

But be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Then you will know what God’s will is –

His good, pleasing and perfect will!

So, Does God Have A Plan For Your Life?

 

Does He REALLY Care for me?

This question is the real key to our relationship with God.

The Psalmist wrestled with this question more than any other,

But he also knew in the deepest inner recesses of his heart,

That God really does care for you!

Listen to his words in our Psalm reading this morning,

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,

The moon and the stars,

Which You have ordained,

What is man that Your are mindful of him –

For You have made him a little lower than the angels,

And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

 

How about Psalm 23 –

The Lord IS MY shepherd,

I shall not want –

You know this Psalm

I lie down in green pastures,

I rest beside calm and quiet waters,

He restores my soul . . . .

Or how about all those places the Bible where it says,

I have loved you with an everlasting love!

Paul knew about this everlasting love when he said to the church in Rome,

Read Romans 8: 35-39

If you still need more proof that God really cares for you,

Have I got a Scripture for you –

Simon, Simon . . . I have prayed for you!

Art, Art . . . . I have prayed for you!

Dean, Dean . . . . I have prayed for you!

Shelly, Shelly . . . . I have prayed for you!

Judy, Judy . . . . I have prayed for you!

Tom, Tom and Tom, Tom – since there are two Tom’s . . . . I have prayed for both of you!

Therefore whoever confesses Me before men,

I will also confess them before My Father in heaven Matthew 10: 32

Because God really, really cares for you,

Because you have confessed Him here on earth,

Your name is being confessed in heaven –

Because you have recognized God here on earth,

You are recognized in heaven.

Because you have acknowledged God here on earth,

You have been acknowledged in heaven!

So, Does God really Care about Me!

O yes, He cares; I know He cares,

His heart is touched with my grief;

When the days are weary,

The long nights dreary,

I know my Savior cares!

 

When I’m lost and forsaken,

My world darkens and is sorely shaken,

And all God’s beauty from me is hid –

I hear His voice –

Don’t worry,

It’s Just You and Me Kid!

 

Sermon for

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Faltering Opinions

Joshua 24: 14-15

Acts 17: 22-31

John 17: 1-5

 

It was one of the greatest showdowns in all of human history.

The two teams gathered on the appointed day and time,

At a place set by a Third Party and agreed to by both teams.

One team was favored to win and win big!

The whole community was behind them, cheering them on!

The other team, poorly represented,

But with much enthusiasm and overwhelming confidence,

Stepped up and embraced the challenge!

The home team, highly favored to win,

Came with their full roster of 850!

450 from the first string and 400 from the second string!

The visiting team came with their only player – one!

But this one player was ready to play and to win!

As the contest was about to start,

The visiting teams one player stepped up and with a voice filled with confidence

And strength and tenacity,

Said,

“How long will you falter between two opinions?

If the Lord is God, follow Him;

But if Baal, follow him!”

“I alone am left as a prophet of the Lord –

So here is the challenge . . . .

I Kings 18: 16-40

This one player, this one man, was Elijah.

The others, followers of a detestable and rather nasty little god named Baal.

The contest was simple –

See if your puny little god can do this . . . .

And see if the God I serve can do this . . . .

 

We have had faltering opinions ever since this showdown.

God’s people have been swayed back and forth,

Up and down,

Sideways,

And every way in between!

Paul says to the church in Ephesus,

Don’t be children any longer,

Tossed to and fro and carried about

With every wind of doctrine,

By the trickery of men,

In the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting . . . .

In writing to Timothy,

Paul says,

**Read from II Timothy 4: 1-4**

We Are Here!

Read from A.W. Tozer

In these days,

The Church of Jesus Christ

Is faltering between two opinions –

It should not be like this!

We, as God’s people know better!

We know the truth,

And what’s being said about Christ’s Church is false – it’s wrong!

We’ve sold our birthright for a bowl of cold, tasteless, and rancid porridge!

The current Christian conception of God . . . .

Is so decadent as to be utterly beneath the dignity of the Most High God

And actually to constitute for professed believers something

Amounting to a moral calamity.

A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy, p. 10

A moral calamity –

Morals define who you are and how you live your life –

A calamity is widespread destruction and distress!

So the current Christian concept of God amounts to

A widespread destruction and distress of who we know we are as God’s people!

 

So why do we live our faith like this?

Why are we being tossed to and fro

By every wind of doctrine

And faltering opinions?

Maybe you’re not living your faith like that.

Maybe you’re struggling to know,

Really know,

What it is you believe.

You have a good foundation,

You’re reading your Bible and praying,

And yet still struggle with those pesky faltering opinions!

You are not alone.

We are all in the same boat.

But my hope and prayer is that in these next weeks and months

As we look deeper into what we BELIEVE,

The intensity of the struggle will lessen,

And we can jettison the moral calamity,

And finally,

Finally,

Get a grip on our relationship with God –

Our God –

The One True God.

If I can share any truth with you about how to overcome

The moral calamity

And the faltering opinions

It would start with these three

Simple, yet profound truths in God’s word –

First,

Take Joshua at his word –

Joshua 24: 14-15

Fear the Lord –

That word fear means to revere – regard with great awe and devotion

And serve Him with sincerity and in truth –

Be sincere in your faith – Don’t just give it lip service –

Do what you say you believe and live like you believe it!

 

Put away all the other “gods” in your life –

Whatever those things are that take your focus off of God –

No matter how big or how small they may seem,

If they interfere with your relationship with God –

Put them away!

Or better yet,

Just throw them away! Get rid of them!

Second,

Make up your mind that God is God –

Know that He is not far from us –

He is as close as you need Him to be;

He is as close as a whispered prayer;

He is as close as your next heart beat;

As your next breath;

As your next thought!

For in Him we live and move and have are being!

The Lord God,

He made the heavens and the earth and all that it contains

And just as He knows the names of every star in the sky,

He knows you name as well!

And do you think that He has more love for the stars in the sky than He does for you!

No!

There is nothing in heaven or on earth

That can separate you from the love He has for you!

The God of all creation –

The One True God –

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit –

Knows your name!

He knows everything about you and still loves you!

And Third,

Know that you are precious to God!

When Jesus prayed His High Priestly prayer – recorded in John 17 –

It was prayed with you on His mind and you in His heart –

That He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him,

And this is eternal life, that they may know You,

The only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent!

That they may know You – the only True God

And in that knowing

We are set free from our faltering opinions!

The One True God Loves us and we are precious to Him!

Stop with the faltering opinions –

Revere the Lord and serve Him with a sincere heart

Make up your mind that

He is God – the One True God

And that the One True God is your God,

And you are precious to Him – all the time!

Sermon for Sunday

December 27, 2015

 

How to Keep Christmas Well.

 

Jeremiah 29: 11-13

Philippians 3: 7-14

Romans 8: 31-19

“A merry Christmas, Bob,” said Scrooge, with an earnestness that could not be mistaken, as he clapped him on the back.  “A merrier Christmas, Bob, my good fellow, than I have given you for many a year.  I’ll raise your salary, and endeavor to assist your struggling family, and we will discuss your affairs this very afternoon, over a Christmas bowl of smoking bishop, Bob.  Make up the fires, and buy another coal-scuttle before you dot another i, Bob Cratchit!”

Scrooge was better than his word.  He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father.  He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world.  Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh, and little heeded them; for he was wise enough to know that nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter in the outset; and knowing that such as these would be blind anyway, he thought it quite as well that they should wrinkle up their eyes in grins, as have the malady in less attractive forms.  His own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him.

He had no further intercourse with Spirits, but lived upon the Total Abstinence Principle, ever afterwards; and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge.  May that be truly said of us, and all of us!  And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God Bless Us, Every One!

 

• He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world.

 

• What change took place in Scrooge’s life?

• What made him become as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man that anyone had ever seen or known?

 

He had no further intercourse with Spirits, but lived upon the Total Abstinence Principle, ever afterwards; and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. 

 

. . . . lived upon the Total Abstinence Principle

 

Total Abstinence of what?

 

If you know the story, Scrooge was plagued by bitterness, being mean-spirited, angry, dour, greedy, grasping, self-centered, and unforgiving.

It was from these attitudes and emotions that he was abstaining!

 

He had no further intercourse with Spirits, but lived upon the Total Abstinence Principle, ever afterwards; and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well,

If any man alive possessed the knowledge. 

 

The key for Scrooge was that –

 

His own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him.

 

His own heart laughed. . . . Scrooge had a change of heart!

 

. . . . how to keep Christmas well,

 

And keep it well throughout the coming New Year –

 

Do what Scrooge did,

 

Have a change of heart!

 

Change your heart from being bitter to being better.

Change your heart from being mean-spirited to being grace-spirited.

Change your heart from being angry to being at peace.

Change your heart from being dour to being joyful.

From being greedy to being generous,

From grasping to content,

From self-centeredness to Christ-centeredness,

And from unforgiving to forgiving and forgiven.

 

But pastor, you don’t know what my life is like!

You don’t understand how mistreated and abused I am!

You don’t know what I have to put up with!

 

In most cases I would say you’re right.

I don’t live your life.

And so I really don’t know what your life is like.

 

But Jesus does!

 

And if anyone can change your heart, it’s Him.

 

There are 3 things that Jesus is asking you to do to let Him change your heart:

 

First,

To change your heart –

Seek Him with all your heart.

 

He can change your heart because He knows

The thoughts He has for you,

Thoughts of peace and not of evil,

To give you a future and a hope.

 

But the change can only come if you

Seek Him with all your heart and pray.

When you seek Him with all your heart and pray,

He will listen.

 

Psalm 34: 10 says,

Those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.

 

Jesus said,

Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,

And all these things shall be added to you.

 

Paul says to the church in Colossae,

Seek those things which are above,

Where Christ is,

Sitting at the right hand of God.

Set your mind on things above,

Not on things of the earth.

 

A heart filled with Jesus is a heart that has no room for anything else!

 

Second,

To change your heart –

Leave the past behind and change your ambitions

 

Read from Philipps Translation – Philippians.

 

Birthday card –

Forget the past, you can’t change it.

Forget the future; no one knows what’s going to happen,

And forget the present, because I didn’t get you one!

 

And third,

To change your heart –

Always remember that God never changes:

He is the same yesterday, today, and always.

And because He never changes His love for you

Never changes – and that love is everlasting,

And nothing can take that love away!

Nothing.

 

Read from Philipps Translation – Romans.

 

His own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him.

 

He had no further intercourse with Spirits, but lived upon the Total Abstinence Principle, ever afterwards; and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. 

 

May that be truly said of us! 

And so, as Tiny Tim observed,

God Bless Us, Every One!

Sermon for Thursday, December 24, 2015

Christmas Eve

Luke 2: 1-20

 

• Story of large wedding in Indiana:
  • Father of the Groom: “You mean to tell me that’s it! After more than a year of preparation and spending almost $60,000. 00 and you get the whole thing done in 45 minutes!!!”
  • And he was serious! He was mad and made sure I knew he was mad!
    • I did explain to him that the REAL work is just getting started!

 

And I gently reminded him of the support they just offered the couple:

 

So and So have invited you all here today to be partakers of this blessed and holy moment with them. They will need all your support, your earnest prayers and friendship, your guidance and influence. They will need your comfort in times of sorrow and pain, your laughter and smiles in times of joy and happiness, and, they will need your loving correction when they have done wrong, your praises when they have done right.

In the Presence of these two persons, and in the sight of God, will you now give your pledge to love and support so and so so that they may live in love, peace, and harmony?

If so, please answer “We Do”.

 

The reason for the pledge of support is that they will need it!

The hard work of making a relationship work is just getting started!

 

• Christmas is just like that wedding:

• We have spent the better part of a year just wishing and hoping, thinking and praying, planning and dreaming – Dusty Springfield has nothin’ on you ‘cause you’ve done that already!!!
• But isn’t that just like us – to spend so much time and so much money and expend so much effort making Christmas a real party, that after tonight, all that was memorable about it, will go back in a box and put up on a shelf  for next year!
• And you’ll be saying, just like that groom’s father – “You mean to tell me that this is it! After a year of preparation and spending almost – put your own dollar amount in – the whole thing is over in a couple of days!!

That’s It!!

 

Yes.

But now the real work starts.

 

And as the real work of Christmas begins,

God lovingly reminds us,

Mary and Joseph have invited you all here tonight to be partakers of this blessed and holy moment with them.

And through them and the baby Jesus,

You have all My support, everlasting love and encouragement.

I will give you guidance and direction.

I will comfort you in times of sorrow and pain,

Laugh and smile with you in times of joy and happiness.

And, I will give you loving correction when you have done wrong,

And applaud when you have done right,

So that you may live in love, peace and harmony.

These are the Good tidings of great joy –

God is lovingly reminding us of all the Good tidings of great joy He has for us –

All the blessings of His heaven –

Blessings that won’t break,

Fade,

Wear out,

Be returned.

Blessings that can’t be stolen,

Or lost,

Or misplaced.

Blessings that can be given away and kept at the same time.

Blessings that can only come from Him

And are filled with

Great Joy

And these joyous blessings are everlasting and eternal.

As you prepare tonight to receive the greatest gift ever given,

Remember that in this gift,

There are good tidings of great joy –

And yes, I mean to tell you that,

Although the celebration is almost over,

And you’ve spent the better part of year preparing,

And spent so much money and exerted so much time,

The joy, it’s just beginning!

Have a very Merry Christmas

Sermon for Sunday

December 20, 2015

An Uncomfortable Christmas

Isaiah 53: 1-12

Matthew 1: 18-25

John 12: 23-28 and 18: 33-37

 

Jeremiah 29: 11 says,

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord,

thoughts of peace and not evil,

to give you a future and a HOPE.

There are so many reasons God loves you,

thinks about you, and saves you:

To bring glory to Himself, to appease His justice,

To demonstrate His Lordship and sovereignty.

But one of the sweetest reasons God saves you is –

He really does love you!

He loves you with an everlasting love.

A love that bears all things,

Believes all things, HOPES all things, And endures all things.

He loves having you around.

He thinks that you are the best thing since sliced bread. . . .

If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it.

He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning.

Whenever you want to talk, He’ll listen.

He can live anywhere in the universe,

But He chose your heart!

And the Christmas gift He sent you,

The one that He never stops giving,

The one He reminds you about every year. . . . (adapted from Max Lucado, A Gentle Thunder)

A reminder every year that He is with us =

Behold, the virgin shall be with child,

And bear a Son,

And they shall call His name Immanuel =

God with us!

 

But God’s presence with us,

The Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us,

The Light shining in the darkness,

Here in this sin darkened, hard-hearted, fallen, depressed world, cost Him dearly.

The cost of His love for us was sending His Son –

As the babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger,

Delivered by the virgin,

Watched over by the shepherds,

Visited by the wise men,

Was the One who would deliver us from sin and death =

Hark, now hear the angels sing,

a new King born today!

And man shall live forever more, because of Christmas day!– Jester Hairston

to give us HOPE!

HOPE that transcends time and space,

HOPE that is a light in our dark places,

HOPE that sets the hard-hearted, depressed and the prisoner of sin, free,

HOPE that is the substance and the evidence of our faith.

But this HOPE comes with a price!

   The price was the life of Jesus.

  The price was the life of the babe born in a manger.

And the revealing of God’s Redemption Plan!

Read from God Is In The Manger, pg. 41  

We have spoken of Advent itself. That is how it is with the coming of Christ: Look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing close. (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Advent sermon, December 3, 1933)

At Christmas, God’s reveal’s His Redemptive Plan in all its glorious details:

The First part of God’s Redemption Plan

Were the prophecies concerning Jesus.

Isaiah 53: 1-12 tells the story of how God was planning it all.

The tapping and the breaking of rocks.

Voices crying out in the darkness, Where are you?

Help is on the way!

 

The Second part of God’s plan is Christmas:

Christmas = Christ’s Mass = Celebration of Christ!

Christ Jesus is here!

“And she shall bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS,

for He will save His people from their sins.”

Wrapped up in this second part of God’s Plan,

And this is where we get uncomfortable,

Especially at Christmas = with all of its nice, comfortable,

Warm fuzzy feelings, all the pretty bows and packages,

And the food – thank God for the food!

The cookies, the hot chocolate, spiced cider,

Christmas Carols, the decorations, the music,

All the running here and there,

Did I mention the cookies . . . .

All the things that divert our attention away from the real reason Jesus came –

 To save us from our sin and bring us back into a right relationship with God.

John 12: 27

Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say?

Father save Me from this hour?

But for this purpose I came to this hour.

John 18: 37

You say rightly that I am a King.

For this reason I was born, and for this cause –

His suffering and death –

I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth –

The truth, that through the birth, life, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ,

God has shown us the full extent of His love.

A love told throughout the centuries,

A love that was born in a stable in Bethlehem and laid in a manger,

Carried by Jesus throughout His life,

All the way to His BROKEN BODY AND SHED BLOOD on the Cross,

To Christ’s resurrection on Easter Sunday!

 

And we often forget, so caught up in the wonder of the season,

That this is the real reason for the season –

And where Christmas gets uncomfortable!

Maybe that’s why we forget –

It’s too uncomfortable for us to remember!

But we are asked to remember –

Jesus said,

As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup,

Do this in remembrance of Me.

This is God Breaking through –

We were trapped in a cold, dark, silent, death-awaits, forbidding place!

Hope was of rescue almost gone!

But the tapping has stopped;

The breaking of rocks has stopped;

God has broken through;

The voice crying out in the darkness,

Now whispers softly and soothingly in your ear –

I am here!

The help that was on its way – just arrived!

Paul takes God’s breaking through a little bit further when he said,  

Whenever you eat this bread, drink this cup,

you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes –

until He returns! Until His second Advent.

This is the Third part of God’s Redemption Plan:

Christ’s Second Advent –

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men,

Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts,

We should live soberly, righteously,

And godly in this present age,

Looking for the blessed

HOPE and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

When He will return to bring us all home –

So do not let your hearts be troubled,

You have HOPE.

 

In our Father’s house are many rooms,

One just for you, one just for me,

A room reserved with your name on the door,

And Jesus is coming back to take us all home!

This is God bringing us out of the

Doom and gloom of that dark, desolate, hopeless, forbidding place

And bringing us Home – our final home,

Where there will be no more tears,

No more sorrow,

No more pain –

All the old things have gone,

Everything has been made knew –

And we will live with God forever!

In this Sacrament of Holy Communion we find our HOPE:

In the breaking of this Bread, we have HOPE!

In the drinking from this Cup, we have HOPE!

Our HOPE is Jesus!

Hark, now hear the angels sing, a new King born today!

And man shall live forever more,

Because of Christmas day!

Sermon for Sunday

December 9, 2012

Second Sunday in Advent: PEACE

“A Storm at Christmas”

Isaiah 9: 6-7

Luke 2: 8-20

Mark 4: 35-41

 

• They start with subtle changes: a rise or drop in temperature; winds shift slightly; clouds move softly in; humidity increases or decreases; and with each noticeable change, we get a little more anxious, a little more wary. Our senses heighten, we become more vigilant, and pay closer attention to those subtle changes = especially here in the mid-west. This could turn into a major storm = heavy rain, large hail, damaging winds, tornados!

 

• Then there are the ones that just seem to come out of nowhere! Wham! They hit us and hit us hard! Not much warning, no subtle changes with this storm = Bam!! It’s on us!

And if you’re caught by surprise and unprepared, it can ruin your whole day! Not to mention your hair, your clothes, your newly washed car. And forget bringing in those bags of groceries from your detached garage!

• Storms are like that! Some predictable, others, not so much. Such was the storm that the disciples found themselves in!

Storms on the Sea of Galilee were almost always unpredictable. Storms would start in the mountains and then blow down through the numerous valleys like a funnel! They would crash into the lake and create almost hurricane like storms!

    Read Mark 4: 35-41 = Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?

Storms are like that, too! They create fear and dread and anxiety and they overwhelm us – like the disciples!

An emotional storm caused by the physical manifestation of wind and waves, and suddenly, our calm, seemingly peaceful little world is anything but calm and peaceful!

 

• It was such a storm as this into which the Prophet Isaiah was called by God to prophesy: Both a physical and emotional storm:

After the death of Solomon, the nation of Israel was racked by a civil war, ending with a divided kingdom = Israel, the Northern Kingdom, and Judah, the Southern kingdom. The Southern Kingdom, Judah, had a long, prosperous and peaceful time after the division.

But sin overtook them and the Southern Kingdom was ravaged by war and internal strife and a long line of sinful kings. Isaiah was called by God to prophesy during that time.

 

• What God does here is so amazing = God brings judgment but He also brings promise!

Therefore My people have gone into captivity . . . .

Therefore Hell has enlarged itself and opened its mouth beyond measure . . . .

People shall be brought down . . . .

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil . . . .

Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes . . . .

Therefore the anger of the Lord is roused against His people; He has stretched out His hand against them . . . . A storm of God’s anger and judgment

Read Isaiah 9: 1-7 = In the midst of the storm, Peace!

Not just any peace, but a peace beyond understanding! A peace that permeates body, soul, mind, and spirit and is an everlasting peace – because it is given by the Prince of Peace Himself – Of the increase of His Peace, there will be no end!

 

• The proclamation of the angel to the shepherds came as a storm was pounding the nation of Israel again = again under the anger and  judgment of God =

• The Roman government: oppressive taxes, harsh living conditions. Pilot using genocide to keep “this new king” from taking away his kingdom = political storm!

• Mary: An unwed, pregnant 15 year old = emotional and social storm!

• Joseph: engaged to a pregnant 15 year old = emotional and social storm!

• The shepherds: tending their flocks, minding their own business = visited by the angel and the heavenly host and they were greatly afraid = spiritual storm!

• We can all, at some point in time, identify with some, or all, of these storms and feel like God’s anger and judgment are filling our little boat, threatening to fill it and dump us out =

But remember, that with the anger and the judgment comes the fulfilling of the promise =

Read Luke 2: 11 – 14 = Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace . . . .

 

• If Advent and Christmas are hitting you like a proverbial storm, don’t forget that Christmas is the fulfilling of the promise of God to bring Peace to His people!

Peace in the midst of the Physical storm: Peace, be still!

Peace in the midst of a political storm: Peace, be still!

Peace in the midst of an emotional and social storm: Peace, be still!

Not just any peace, but a peace beyond understanding! A peace that permeates body, mind, soul, and spirit and is an everlasting peace – because it is given by the Prince of Peace Himself – and of the increase of His Peace, there will be no end!

 

For low, the days are hastening on, By prophets seen of old,

When with the ever circling years Shall come the time fortold;

When peace shall over all the earth It’s ancient splendors fling,

And the whole world send back the song which now the angels sing.

Sermon for

Sunday, November 29, 2015

First Sunday in Advent

The Scarlet Thread

Isaiah 9: 6-7

Ephesians 2: 14-18

Luke 2: 1-12

Tapestry :

A heavy cloth woven with rich, often varicolored designs or scenes;

A word used in reference to an intricate or complex combination of things or events.

Since the beginning of our faith history,

Starting in Genesis 3: 15,

God has woven this beautiful,

Often painful, embarrassing, and shocking

Tapestry of faith.

Beautiful scenes of creation,

Majesty, power, delight,

Pain, anger, frustration,

Life, death, love, mercy, and grace,

Redemption, reclamation, and resurrection.

Woven throughout this awesome, beautiful,

Frightful tapestry,

Is woven a single scarlet thread –

A thread so brilliantly red,

That it cannot be missed.

This Scarlet Thread is called

Prophecy – Prophecy concerning the coming of the Savior, Jesus Christ.

And finds it culminating point, it’s end,

In the beautifully woven story of the birth of Christ.

Richly woven into each scene of this tapestry,

One can find over three hundred individually punctuated points

Where God has woven His Scarlet Thread.

 

In each piece of this clearly visible Thread,

God is telling us that He has heard the cry of His people,

And that their cries have not fallen on deaf ears –

God hears each and every cry.

And through these punctuated points of Scarlet Thread,

God says,

Hang on!

I’ll be right there!

Rev. Billy Graham,

In the preface to his little devotional,

The Cradle, Cross, and Crown

Says this:

“In the midst of all the upheaval and crisis and difficulty

And problems and fear,

Comes the message of Christmas with all its hope, goodwill, and cheer.

I think the message of Christmas has been terribly misapplied and

Misunderstood for many years in this country.

The real message of Christmas goes far deeper . . . . “

Than sales, shopping, and web surfing;

Deeper than all the gifts, glitz, and glamour;

Deeper still than all the food, fun, and fellowship!

“It heralds the entrance of God into” the Tapestry of faith,

“His entrance into human history.”

“It is heaven descending to earth.

It is as though a trumpeter had taken his stand upon the turrets of time

And announced to a despairing, hopeless, and frustrated world

The coming of the Prince of Peace!”

For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called

Wonderful,

Counselor,

Mighty God,

Everlasting Father,

Prince of Peace!

Of the increase of His government and peace

There will be no end,

Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,

To order it and establish it

With judgement and justice

From that time forward,

Even forever.

Isaiah 9: 6-7

Paul tells the church in Ephesus,

For He Himself is our peace . . . .

For through Him we have access by one Spirit to the Father!

That access is to God Himself!

God, who took on human form to become like us,

Took on flesh and bone and blood,

So that we could know Him!

Really, truly know Him!

So here in our tapestry, we come to this scene:

Shepherds out in the fields keeping watch over their flock by night.

The night being punctuated by an angel who said to them,

Do not be afraid, for behold,

I bring you good tidings of great joy

Which will be for all people.

What is the real meaning behind these good tidings of great joy!

Rev. Graham answers that question with this story:

During World War II,

Many mothers would do their best to keep the memory of the husband and father

Who was away fighting fresh and clear in the hearts and minds of their children.

Portraits of the fathers would be on display and the mothers

Would encourage the children to look at the pictures often to keep that memory alive.

One little boy, looking at his father’s picture,

Exclaimed,

Mom, wouldn’t it be great if Dad could just step out of the frame?

That’s exactly what God did.

Our tapestry of faith is framed by the handiwork of God –

And He decided to step out of the frame!

That Scarlet Thread so beautifully woven

Was punctuated with God’s intention

To step out of the frame to be with us!

As you continue to prepare your hearts and home to receive

This best gift divine

There are three things I would encourage you to do:

One:

Get rid of all your preconceived notions and ideas of what Christmas is,

And really enter into this Advent season with a different attitude.

**Story of little girl with the most unusual Christmas picture.**

We are confused and mixed up because we’ve bought into all the trappings of a

Worldly Christmas.

Look at our story in Luke.

It wasn’t to kings, and princes, and generals of armies,

It wasn’t to the rich and famous and celebrity

That God choose to share His good tidings of great joy –

It was to a group of lowly, humble shepherds!

Why?

Because they had hearts, minds, souls, and spirits,

Uncorrupted by worldly concerns.

They were not impressed with wealth and riches,

Fame and celebrity status.

They were impressed only by the words of the angels,

And they came with haste –

The Wise men came with gold, frankincense, and myrrh,

These humble shepherds came with haste –

I don’t know how they brought it,

But the came with it nonetheless!

Start your Advent uncorrupted by worldly concerns.

Two:

Don’t be afraid to change it up this Christmas!

Do something unworldly; something different;

Something that won’t break, rust, get lost, stolen, fought over –

Just Believe!

Just like the shepherds,

We have a choice to make –

Instead of going to the mall, the mega-store, or a dot com

. . . . go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass,

Which the Lord has made known to us.

Bring your own haste, and come uncorrupted and humble to Bethlehem!

Third:

Listen!

Really listen!

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host

Praising God and saying . . . .

If the shepherds were more concerned about worldly cares,

They would not have been listening –

And they would have missed –

Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace,

And good will toward men!

I believe that we miss so much of our faith,

Because we simply don’t listen!

The birth of Christ,

Of Immanuel,

God with us,

Is not just an isolated, quaint little story tucked into the Bible

We celebrate each year.

The Christmas story is to be remembered, re-lived,

Experienced each and every year!

I love to hear this story over and over and over each Christmas.

Even as I approach my 60th birthday,

I’m like a little kid again,

Hearing the songs, the music, the words of the Christmas story,

That I still get a thrill –

It moves me to know that God

Would become like one of us,

The One who made us and the world in which we live,

The Eternal One,

The One with no beginning and no end,

Loves me, and you, so much,

That He would so beautifully weave into our tapestry of faith,

This wonderful, awesome, majestic,

Redemptive

Scarlet Thread!

 

Don’t let your Advent and Christmas

Pass you by as it has in the past.

Let it be

Uncorrupted by worldly concerns,

Just believe,

And listen, really listen!

 

And you may hear the shuttle being moved back and forth,

In and out,

Over and under,

Lovingly weaving that Scarlet Thread!

Sermon for

Sunday, November 22, 2015

 

A Heart Filled With Thanks – Part 4

 

Psalm 16: 7-11

I Peter 1: 3-9

John 15: 9-11

 

Question: What gets agitated but cheerful?

Answer: A washing machine with cheer detergent in it!

Maybe I’m taking this analogy a bit too far,

But here goes =

A washing machine is designed to wash clothes by “agitating” them

In a thing called an “agitator.”

We help the “agitation” clean our clothes by adding detergent.

So between the two,

The agitation and the detergent,

Our clothes get clean.

Life is like a washing machine =

It definitely has an “agitator”

And the more “agitated” we get,

The more our lives need to be cleaned up!

That’s when we need the detergent =

Might as well be a heaping dose of Cheer!

Here’s how Proverbs 15 says it:

A joyful heart makes the face cheerful;

The cheerful heart has a continual feast;

A cheerful look (smile) brings joy to the heart!

Here’s how an anonymous philosopher put it:

The really joyful and cheerful person is one who can smile

And enjoy the scenery even on a detour!

Is life “agitating” you?

Has your life run out of “Cheer?”

Are you finding the “detour” your life is taking un-enjoyable?

 

If you answered yes to any of the above,

Have I got something for you.

Here’s where we start and end today:

This is the last of our four parts to having

A Heart Filled With Thanks

Thankfulness invites joy to live in our hearts!

When life has the agitator running at full speed,

We’re all out of Cheer,

And the detour – don’t even get me started on the detour!

STOP! TAKE A DEEP BREATH!

AND RELAX –

God is still in control,

And, yes, He still loves YOU!

You may think he’s got you mixed up with someone else,

But He doesn’t!

He knows what He’s doing –

The very first thing you need to do is this:

When the agitator is running full speed,

Remember God is with you –

Even in the agitator!

Remember the Bible says over 365 times,

Do not be afraid;

Do not be fearful;

Be strong and full of courage –

Why?

The Lord your God is with you wherever you go!

Joshua 1: 9

Here is a sound theological and spiritual truth:

Nothing comes to me that hasn’t passed through You!

Your part is prayer and gratitude. God’s part? Peace and protection!

 

Isaiah 43: 1-3a

But now, thus says the Lord,

Who created you, and He who formed you:

Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name;

You are Mine!

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

And through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you.

When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned,

Nor shall the flame touch you.

For I am the Lord your God,

The Holy One, your Savior . . . !

Even in the agitator!

The Psalmist says –

In Your presence is fullness of joy!

It doesn’t get any clearer than this –

If God is with us wherever we go –

His presence is there –

Even when the agitator is running at full speed

And you’ve run out of cheer

And the detour is just too much to take –

You are in His presence –

And in His presence is the Fullness of joy –

And by being thankful for His presence,

His presence with us always –

Invites joy to live in our hearts!

Peter says it this way –

In this you greatly rejoice,

Though now for a little while, if need be,

You have been grieved (agitated) by all kinds of trials,

That the genuineness of your faith,

Being much more precious than gold that perishes,

Though it is tested by fire (agitated). . . .

 

That the genuineness of your faith =

Genuine : Not counterfeit or copied ; actual, authentic;

devoid of any hypocrisy or pretense

genuineness : the quality of being authentic

Even though your faith is being agitated and tested

And you are anxious, distressed, discouraged –

Let your faith be genuine; let it be authentic;

Let it be what you actually believe and say it is –

Let the presence of God be the cheer you need to add when your faith is agitated!

Some French philosopher said this,

Joy and cheerfulness are the infallible signs of the presence of God!

With your faith intact and genuine,

Even though being agitated,

It will bring

Praise, honor, and glory to God through Jesus Christ,

Whom having not seen, you love.

Though now you do not see Him, yet believing,

You rejoice – are cheer-filled

You rejoice with joy inexpressible

And full of glory.

We’ve all seen those movies and commercials where

Someone has put too much detergent in the washing machine –

It just spills out everywhere –

Soon it covers the entire floor.

When someone walks into the laundry room they are engulfed in the suds –

That’s what is supposed to happen with us and our faith –

That joy inexpressible –

The joy that our faith brings us,

When it’s genuine,

Overflows with cheer-fullness,

Covering the entire room and engulfing us as well as others!

And in the most agitating moments we can smile,

Be thankful and let joy live in our hearts.

 

Jesus brings this joy invitation to a whole other level :

These things I have spoken to you,

That My joy may remain in you,

And that your joy may be full!

The word Jesus uses here for joy comes from a Greek word meaning

Cheerfulness; delight; gladness; exceedingly joyful

Through 4 chapters Jesus has been telling His disciples,

The agitation is coming,

The detour is just around the corner,

You will experience days that are “cheerless”

But it’s OK –

I am with you,

I am with you always.

Do not be afraid;

Do not be fearful;

Be strong and full of courage –

Even though now for a little while, if need be,

You have been grieved by various trials. . . .

Rejoice and be thankful –

It Invites Joy To Live In Your Hearts!

 

 

Sermon for

Sunday, November 8, 2015

The Heart Filled with Thanks

Genesis 22: 1-14

I Corinthians 2:9

John 14: 1-4

 

In a car garage, where a famous heart surgeon was waiting for the service manager to take a look at his Mercedes, there was a loud mouthed mechanic who was removing the cylinder heads from the motor of a car. He saw the surgeon waiting and lured him into an argument.

 

He asked the doc after straightening up and wiping his hands on a rag, “Look at this car I’m working on. I open the engines, take valves out, grind them, put in new parts, and when I finish this baby will purr like a kitten. So how come you get the big bucks, when you and I are doing basically the same work?” 

 

The surgeon very calmly leaned over and whispered to the loudmouth mechanic, “Try doing it with the engine running.”

 

Ah, the heart. Truly an amazing thing!

 

The heart is the hardest-working muscle in your body. An average adult heart is about the size and shape of a closed fist. The main job of your heart is to pump blood. This section will show how the heart and blood vessels keep your body healthy.

Although you may feel your heart beat when you place your hand over it, your heart is not right under your skin. Instead, your heart is behind your breastbone, inside your ribcage, and between your lungs.

• Each minute about 5 quarts (4.7 liters) of blood flow through your heart.
• Each day the average heart beats 100,000 times and pumps about 1900 gallons (7200 liters) of blood.
• In a 70-year lifetime, an average human heart beats more than 2.5 billion times.

The Chambers and Valves in Your Heart

The hollow center of your heart has four sections, called chambers. Each chamber is like a separate room, with doors that let blood in and out.

• Two upper chambers are called atria; one is an atrium. The atria are the receiving chambers of the heart.
• Two lower chambers are called ventricles. The ventricles are the pumping chambers of the heart.

When you listen to your heartbeat through a stethoscope, you hear the sound of your heart valves closing.

Your heart valves keep blood flowing in one direction through your heart, just like the one-way valves in your home’s plumbing. They open to let blood flow through, and then close to prevent blood from flowing back the way it came. Blood flows through each valve one time on its way through your heart.

The four valves can be grouped by their job:

• The tricuspid valve is between the right atrium and the right ventricle.
• The mitral valve is between the left atrium and the left ventricle.
• Blood flows out of the right ventricle to the lungs through the pulmonary valve.
• Blood flows out of the left ventricle to your body through the aortic valve.

So your heart keeps you alive by pumping blood to all the vital areas of your body.

It plays a physical role in preserving your life.

But it also plays an emotional role as well – here’s what I mean:

Ever heard the expression, “Getting to the heart of the matter”?

It means “The most important or vital part”.

So, your heart plays both an important and vital part of your physical

As well as your emotional, wellbeing.

Here are a couple of examples of your hearts emotional connection:

Learn to love with all your heart

And accept the faults of others in your life.

Remember, anyone can love a rose

But it takes a great heart to include the thorns.

Anyone can catch your eye,

But only one can catch your heart!

Follow your heart – But take your brain with you!

So God really did know what He was doing when He created our hearts!

As we approach the holidays,

Today especially thinking about Thanksgiving,

We’re going to look at

A Heart Filled with Thanks!

And like our own physical hearts,

There are four parts to

A heart Filled with Thanks:

The first part:

Thankfulness acknowledges that God is our Provider

The second part:

Thankfulness prevents a complaining spirit

 

The third part:

Thankfulness creates a positive attitude

And the fourth part:

Thankfulness invites joy to live in our hearts

Today, we’re looking at the first part:

Thankfulness acknowledges that God is our Provider.

 

The Heidelberg Catechism of 1562 asks these two questions:

What do you understand by the Providence of God?

And

What advantage comes from acknowledging God’s creation and providence?

The first response is answered like this:

The Almighty and ever present power of God whereby He still upholds,

As it were by His own hand, heaven and earth together with all creatures,

And rules in such a way that leaves and grass, rain and drought,

Fruitful and unfruitful years, food and drink, health and sickness,

Riches and poverty, and everything else,

comes to us not by chance but by His Fatherly hand.

And the second response is answered like this:

We learn that we are to be patient in adversity, grateful in the midst of blessing,

And to trust our faithful God and Father for the future,

Assured that no creature shall separate us from His love,

Since all creatures are so completely in His hand that without His will

They cannot even more.

From the Westminster Confession of Faith of 1729

We have the following confession concerning the providence of God:

God, the great Creator of all things, doth uphold, direct, dispose,

And govern all creatures, actions, and things,

From the greatest to the least, by His most wise and holy providence,

According to His infallible foreknowledge,

And the free and immutable counsel of His own will,

To the praise of His glory of His wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy.

 

Thankfulness acknowledges that God is our Provider.

Genesis 22: 1-14

Tells us the beautiful story of Abraham and his son Isaac.

Isaac was the “child of a promise” made to Abraham by God

Through you all nations of the earth will be blessed –

You know the story.

So why are these two now climbing this mountain without a lamb for the offering?

You all know how this works!

Has God ever in your life, asked you to do something for Him,

Something that He didn’t really give all the how’s and why’s of what He was calling you to do,

But you did it anyway!

You made the decision to take Him at His word,

Made the long and arduous trek up the mountain,

With the lingering doubt that what He’s asked you do

May very well change your life, and the life of your loved ones,

And you have yet to find out the how’s and why’s?

 

But you continue. You reach your destination.

You are about to do ALL that God has asked you to do,

You may have even pulled out the proverbial knife,

And are ready to wield it!

And still the questions, the doubts, the fears, the anguish

Continue –

But you are committed to following God’s command.

 

Then, there in thicket, lies the answer to your questions, doubts, fears, and anguish!

 

God has responded, not only to your faithfulness,

But to your willingness to do all He has asked of you!

 

When the realization hits you that God has provided for you,

For your loved ones, for your very existence,

What’s your first response?

 

What was Abraham’s?

He did exactly what God asked him to do:

. . . the lad and I will go yonder and worship. . .

Worship : the act of adoring; deep ardent affection;

to regard with great awe and devotion;

To feel deep devoted love for.

Anyone can catch your eye,

But only One can catch your heart!

 

The One who caught Abraham’s heart on this day,

Truly was God!

And out of a heart of true thankfulness,

Abraham worshipped because God did provide –

Jehovah-Jireh = The Lord will Provide

 

Thankfulness acknowledges that God is our Provider.

 

In this season of Thanksgiving, there are three things to remember

That will help your heart be filled with thanks:

One:

Always remember that God will provide –

But where is. . . it’s OK to ask the question, as long as you follow quickly with

My son, God will provide. . .

You may be required to prepare for a long journey,

An arduous trek up a mountain,

With questions, doubts, fears, anguish,

But remember,

When you reach God’s appointed destination,

God will provide. . .

 

Two:

When God provides,

He does it BIG

I Corinthians 2:9

Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,

Nor have entered into the heart of man

The things which God has prepared for those who love Him!

Jeremiah 33:3

Call to Me, and I will answer you,

And show you great and mighty things,

Which you do not know

It wasn’t just a lamb,

But a big, powerful ram,

Caught in the thicket –

A large, powerful animal who could have easily escaped that thicket,

But God had plans,

Big plans.

 

And He has big plans for you,

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord,

Plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

Plans to give you hope and a future Jeremiah 29: 11.

And three:

When God plans big for you,

It’s not just for a little while,

It’s forever –

John 14: 1-4

When you’re climbing up your mountain,

Recite these words,

Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.

Make that your earnest prayer,

And do what you’re praying about:

Trust God with all your heart,

An lean not on your own understanding,

But acknowledge Him in all your ways,

And He will direct your path

Up the mountain and to the thicket –

And then,

On top of all that He provides for you here,

He also provides for you in eternity –

I go to prepare a place for you. . . .

And I will come again and receive you to Myself;

That where I am, there you may be also!

 

This is truly the best way to have a

Heart Filled with Thanks!

Sermon for

Sunday, October 11, 2015 

The Endurance Factor 

(Adapted from Charles Swindoll, Three Steps Forward Two Steps Back)

Isaiah 40: 28-31

Hebrews 12: 1-2

Matthew 24: 13

Those of you who know me,

Know that I have

A list of my favorite Scriptures

As well as my favorite hymns –

Both lists are extensive!

But on the first page of my all-time favorite Scriptures

Is this verse from Matthew 11: 28

Jesus said,

Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened,

And I will give you rest.

I Love this verse, because Jesus knew, He always knows –

How weary one can be following God.

It is here, in this place of weariness, when we need to come to him –

We have our marching orders,

We have our directives,

Our course is set –

Go therefore and make disciples . . . .

Jesus knew, and knows,

How difficult a task this was going to be!

He never promised us this was going to be a walk in the park!

He knows what it takes from us –

We’re like the proverbial salmon swimming up-stream;

Our my favorite metaphor –

I never knew what a meta was,

Let alone what it was phor,

But this works for me –

We’re like the NFL  running back,

Always struggling to get to the goal line

Imagine what it would be without the offensive line –

Without those who are running interference for you, making the way easier –

By the end of the first play –

Talk about weary!

In Galatians 6: 9, Paul says,

And let us not grow weary while doing good, 

For in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

I want to talk with Paul when I get home to heaven.

I want him to clarify some things,

This is just one of them –

What did you mean here?

What were you thinking?

This is hard work!

This “not growing weary thing”

Have you listened to the news?

Have you heard what happened just down the street?

Don’t you know what’s happening, really happening, in the Church?

And don’t even get me started on politics and politicians –

That really makes me weary!!!!!!

So what are you talking about –

“Let us not grow weary in doing good?”

Paul knew well, all to well,

What the cost was of being Christ’s disciple!

In this Galatians passage,

Paul was reminding the Church in Galatia,

Keep your feet under you,

Keep the legs moving,

Keep pushing forward –

And eventually, you will reach the goal line!

You will be bruised, battered, and broken 

When you get there.

But remember,

The One who struggled to give us the ultimate victory on the field,

Was also bruised, battered, and broken –

But reached the goal 

So that we can reach the same goal!

Talk about bruised, battered, and broken!

But here’s the deal –

Jesus KNOWS!

He KNOWS and has given us such a gracious and awesome blessing –

Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened,

And I will give you rest.

In Jeremiah 31: 25,

God says to Jeremiah,

For I have satiated the weary soul,

And I have replenished every sorrowful soul.

Satiated = Hebrew, raw-vaw, meaning to slake the thirst; abundantly satisfy; to give rest.

In order to receive the blessing of rest for the weary,

You first need to be weary!

And this not just a run of the mill, I’ve worked hard all day type of weary.

This kind of weary is the deep down in the soul,

Physical, mental, emotional, spiritual weariness

That comes from days, weeks, and even months of fighting

Seemingly unwinnable battles.

This is the day after day after day struggle

To maintain your faith in the midst of overwhelming odds

And come out at the end victorious –

Reaching the goal.

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,

Let us lay aside every weight,

And the sin that so easily ensnares us,

And let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

Looking unto Jesus,

The Author and Finisher of our faith,

Who for the joy that was set before Him

Endured the cross, despising the shame,

And has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

It is a good thing to remind ourselves that we are not the only ones to run this race,

Or play the game,

And have finished and become victorious –

So Don’t give up!

Run with endurance Paul says = King James = patience =Greek meaning hopeful, continue, endure; Endure = have fortitude, persevere = to continue without halting despite difficulties and setbacks.

Charles Swindoll, in his book Three Steps Forward Two Steps Back,

Says that there are

Four Spiritual Flaws

That we often succumb to when we grow weary :

Flaw 1: Because you are a Christian, all your problems are solved.

The Bible never says that as a Christian, we won’t have problems.

Just the opposite is true.

Because you are a Christian, your life, your faith, your ethics, your moral values

Are, at times, diametrically opposed to the world!

God has promised that our final destination is secure,

And, that we won’t face our difficulties and setbacks alone –

We have Christ and the Holy Spirit,

We have that great cloud of witnesses cheering us on,

And we have each other to run interference for us, to make the way eaiser!

Flaw 2: All the problems you will ever have are addressed in the Bible.

They’re not! 

When we can’t find the answer to the difficulties or the setbacks we’re facing,

We must live absolutely by faith.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

And lean not on your won understanding,

But in all your ways acknowledge Him – 

Especially when you’re faced with

Difficulties and setbacks that have no direct biblical response,

And He shall direct your paths.

It is here, truly, that We walk by faith, not by sight!

Flaw 3: If you are having problems, you are unspiritual.

It is so very sad that we have perpetuated this false and very damaging Flaw.

This simply means that you are human. We live in a tangible, fallible, time restrained,

And earth-bound existence.

And as such, we have earthly boundaries and time restrained lives.

To have difficulties and setbacks, means that we are human.

**Read Psalm 8**

But we need to remember that although bound by time and earthly measure,

We are known by God and He will never leave us nor forsake us!

Flaw 4: Being exposed to sound Biblical teaching automatically solves problems.

You have an awesome, talented, gifted preacher and teacher,

No, I mean, you really do have an awesome, talented, gifted preacher and teacher!

Why are you still having problems?

I would refer you to flaw #3 above.

Think of the Scriptures as an absolutely accurate map.

A map tells you how to get to a certain destination.

But just looking at the map won’t atomically transport you to your desired destination.

Getting to your destination means that you have to make the effort . . . . 

Pay the cost . . . . take the time to prepare and take time to travel . . . . 

And stay at it until you arrive (Swindoll, page 4).

This is The Endurance Factor – this is the place of perseverance –

This is the place where we will grow weary!

This is the place where the battle takes its toll –

But it is also the place where Jesus says,

He who endures to the end,

Shall be saved!

Saved = from the Greek meaning to keep safe; to deliver; to protect

Jesus says, You and Me together, we will get through this!

We will win the war; we will finish the course; we will arrive at our destination!

It is also the place where Jesus says,

Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened,

And I will give you rest.

This is the place where Jesus offers us halftime.

This is the place where

Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength;

They shall mount up with wings like eagle’s, They shall run and not be weary,

They shall walk and not faint.

Wait on the Lord; and be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart;

Wait, I say, on the Lord! Psalm 27: 14

Sermon for

Sunday, October 4, 2015

Three Steps forward, Two Steps Back

(Adapted from Charles Swindoll, Three Steps Forward two Steps Back)

Psalm 42: 1-11

II Corinthians 4: 7-18

John 14: 27 and 16: 33

 

A young couple in the church was having a tuff time.

They were dealing with all kinds of “difficulties”

At home and at work, most of which were just a little annoying,

But tolerable.

But then the bottom fell out –

The wife’s father had been living with them during a long, serious illness.

And in the midst of all the “difficulties”

The father died.

The service was planned in the town where he had been living.

The town was some distance away.

The day the family left for the service, the weather turned cold and snowy.

Part of the family traveled in one car,

Followed by the older children in another car a day later.

Traveling was difficult but the first car made it safely to their destination.

The next day, the family received a call the older children had been in an accident.

The car was totaled and

One child had to be airlifted back to the hospital in Wichita.

With no life-threatening injuries, the family stayed for the service and then headed back home.

I spoke with the family some time later and the mother whose child had been hurt,

Who was also the daughter of the man who had died,

Said that she was emotionally and spiritually drained.

She said with tears in her eyes,

And a quiver in her voice,

“Art, I know God won’t give me more than I can handle,

But I really think He has me mixed up with someone else!”

 

Ever feel like that?

That God has you mixed up with someone else?

Or maybe He hasn’t gotten you mixed up with anyone else,

But your life is still filled to overflowing with “difficulties”?

Ever feel like you’ve taken three steps forward,

Only to take two steps back?

Well, you’re not alone.

We’ve all been there,

And sometimes we’ve stayed there.

Sometimes in the midst of these difficulties,

You feel like God has abandoned you,

He’s left you to fend for yourself!

Maybe your life is like this –

“This Is The Stuff”

Francesca Bottistelli

I lost my keys in the great unknown
And call me please ’cause I can’t find my phone

This is the stuff that drives me crazy
This is the stuff that’s getting to me lately
In the middle of my little mess
I forget how big I’m blessed
This is the stuff that gets under my skin

But I’ve gotta trust You know exactly what You’re doing
Might not be what I would choose
But this the stuff You use
45 in a 35 sirens and fines
While I’m running behind

This is the stuff that drives me crazy
This is the stuff that’s getting to me lately
In the middle of my little mess,
I forget how big I’m blessed
This is the stuff that gets under my skin
But I’ve gotta trust You know exactly what You’re doing
Might not be what I would choose
But this the stuff You use

So break me of impatience
Conquer my frustrations
I’ve got a new appreciation
It’s not the end of the world

This is the stuff that drives me crazy
This is the stuff
Someone save me
In the middle of my little mess
I forget how big I’m blessed
This is the stuff that gets under my skin
But I’ve gotta trust You know exactly what You’re doing
Might not be what I would choose
But this the stuff You use

I think the Psalmist David knew all about “The Stuff”

Life can throw at us –

That Three steps forward, two steps back dance routine!

Psalm 42 –

So pants my soul for God . . . .

My tears have been my food both day and night . . . .

Why are you cast down, O my soul . . . . why are you disquieted within me?

Disquieted = to make a loud noise, a great commotion, to rage, to war,

To fight, to moan, to clamor, to be troubled!

O my God, my soul is cast down within me . . . .

I will say to God my Rock, why have You forgotten me? . . . .

 

But David, unlike us struggling in the midst of our difficulties,

Knew the answer to his difficulties and being mixed up –

Twice in 11 verses he says,

Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him

For the help of His countenance;

And then he says, In the middle of my little mess, I forget how BIG I’m blessed –

Therefore I will remember You from the land of the Jordan –

The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime,

And in the night His song shall be with me –

A prayer to the God of my life

A prayer . . . .

Remember from a couple of weeks ago,

We talked about prayer –

Prayer has two vital parts –

It keeps us in direct communication with God and Him with us,

And it is through prayer that we enter into His presence –

This is where David knew,

He knew,

That he could put his hope in God,

Even when his soul –

Indeed his whole world,

Was disquieted within him

That God would restore to him

The voice of joy and praise

 

Because he knew In the middle of my little mess,

I forget how BIG I’m blessed!

 

When we are overwhelmed with life’s “difficulties”

And we feel like God had us mixed up with someone else,

It is here, Charles Swindoll says,

We find the other side of the Christian life –

The other side of our faith.

If for no other reason than to uphold reality,

Christians need to be told that difficulty and pressure are par for the course.

No amount of biblical input

Or deeper life conferences or supervictory seminars

Will remove our human struggles.

God promises no bubble of protection,

No guaranteed release from calamity.

 

But God does say, over and over and over,

I am with you – You and Me together –

We’ll stand strong and stand firm

Through the difficulties,

Through the storms,

Through the trials and tribulations

Through the lost keys, phones and the speeding tickets;

Broken down washers, dryers, colds, flus, cancers, unemployment, death of a loved one . . . .

We are hard-pressed on every side,

Yet not crushed;

We are perplexed,

But not in despair;

Persecuted,

But not forsaken;

Struck down,

But not destroyed –

Therefore we do not lose heart,

Though outwardly we are wasting away,

Yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving

For us an eternal glory that outweighs them all.

So we fix our eyes not what is seen, but on what is unseen.

For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

 

Jesus tried to convince His disciples of this great truth of our faith when He told them,

Now telling us,

Peace I leave with you.

My peace I give to you; not as the world gives . . . .

Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

These things I have spoken to you,

That in Me you may have peace.

In the world you will have tribulation;

But be of good cheer,

I have overcome the world!

 

Stand strong, stand firm through your tuff days,

You and God together will Persevere –

To continue without halting despite difficulties and set-backs;

To take and maintain a stand obstinately = to continue in spite of difficulties!

There is no other partner to dance with through life

Then when you’re doing the Three Steps Forward, Two steps back routine!

Trust God to take the lead,

And together, Persevere!