Faith

My Rock; My Fortress

/ The Pastor

For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.
Psalms 62:1-2 (ESV)

Oh, God,
my soul waits for You,
from You comes my salvation.
Therefore You are my rock; my fortress
I shall not be shaken.

Many assail against me,
this culture condemns my trust in You.
But You are my rock; my fortress
I shall not be shaken.

Satan seeks to draw me away,
he’s wily in all his ways.
But You are my rock; my fortress
I shall not be shaken.

Many say, “put your trust in the princes of this world“;
“find your fortress in them“.
But You are my rock; my fortress
I shall not be shaken.

The rulers of this world say I must be quiet;
that I must acquiesce to their demands.
But You are my rock; my fortress
I shall not be shaken.

False prophets speak elegant words;
drawing many away from the Truth.
But You are my rock; my fortress
I shall not be shaken.

Ill health or injury may bring despair;
bringing frustration and hopelessness.
But You are my rock; my fortress
I shall not be shaken.

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
for my hope is from him.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
On God rests my salvation and my glory;
my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us.
Psalms 62:5-8 (ESV)

The Pastor -|—

Faith

/ The Pastor

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. Hebrews 11:1-2 (ESV)

Faith doesn’t make sense, but if it did make sense, it wouldn’t be faith. If faith made sense we wouldn’t need God. Faith is mysterious so that the only thing left to do is to trust God. It’s like being blind, and being OK with it, because you’re being lead rightly and loved abundantly. Faith is being blind and not fearing the darkness because you know the one with you, who sees everything, is for you. Faith is knowing with certainty, in the absence of physical and logical proof, that something is true because the one who says it’s true is infinitely trustworthy.

Faith doesn’t make sense, but that is OK with me because my faith is in Jesus Christ my Lord; my sure foundation, and thus there is nothing to fear. Jesus the Light of the world, has scattered the darkness, and thus Satan’s claim on me is null and void. Jesus the Good Shepherd, will never lead me astray. Jesus the resurrection, rose for me.

Proof?
I don’t need any.
All I need is Jesus.

The Pastor -|—

Never Undone

/ The Pastor

Jesus is my treasure.
Jesus is my life.
Jesus is my Savior.
Jesus is always right.

Jesus is mighty.
Jesus is strong.
Jesus is compassion.
All others are wrong.

Cling tightly to him;
trusting in his name.
Cling tightly to Jesus,
and your life won’t be the same.

“Why” you might say
is Jesus so great,
because faith in him
thwarts death as my fate.

And so Jesus is my treasure
and Jesus is the One,
as I trust in his name
I will never be undone.

The Pastor -|—

Standing

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

I stand.

I stand condemned under the weigh of my sin,
with no logical defense to make.
I stand condemned as a violator of Your holy law,
oh God.
I stand condemned.

I stand condemned as glory-stealing,
honor-withholding sinner.
I stand condemned as an non trusting kingdom builder,
oh God.
I stand condemned.

And as I stand condemned I see my Savior,
my Lord,
my advocate,
my Jesus.

Jesus stands with me.
Jesus intercedes for me.
Jesus takes the judgment for me.
Jesus dies for me.

And…

Jesus rises for me.

I now, through faith, I stand liberated,
I stand free,
I stand hopeful,
I stand forgiven.
For Jesus, my Lord, took the weight of my sin
and made my defense before You,
oh God.

And now I no longer stand,
rather,
I fall on my face to worship You,
oh God.
I fall on my face to honor You,
oh God.
I fall on my face to praise You,
oh God…

as I stand on Your promises.

The Pastor -|—

Seed Sowing in Satan’s Face

/ The Pastor

In reading the Parable of the Sower in Mark 4:1-20, I am quickly reminded that the call and the joy of the Christian is to sow the Word of God. The joy comes from the fact we are sinners but that God offers forgiveness of our sins by His grace through Jesus Christ. And through this forgiveness, we have the sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life.

This is the Gospel.
This is the Good News.
This is AMAZING news!

And yet, we often see evangelism as a chore or as something to do later if we have time or something reserved for a certain committee or (and this is my favorite) it is something reserved strictly for the pastor.

Maybe this inattention to evangelism comes from the fact that, more times than not, you get beaten up when you try to seed sow. Maybe someone strongly rejects your Gospel presentation. Maybe someone tells you to keep your faith to yourself. Maybe someone argues with you to the point of exhaustion. Maybe you have been shot down too many times to count and you’re just plain tired of getting hurt or embarrassed. Whatever the case, it serves as a reminder that Satan is hard at work. Whenever you are sharing your faith or trying to present the Gospel or stand up for what you believe, Satan is right there to make life difficult. And he should because the Gospel threatens Satan.

But we must keep seed sowing.
We must keep spreading the Gospel.
We must keep telling people that there is hope.
We must keep showing people Jesus.

For when we stop, Satan wins and thus he laughs.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, seed sowing is hard but look at the bright side. If seed sowing is difficult and it feels like you are being resisted every step of the way, then maybe you’re doing something right. In that case, keep on going in the strength of the Lord and mock Satan knowing that Jesus stands with you and that Satan can not possibly win.

And that is cause to laugh in Satan’s face and praise be to God always and forever!

The Pastor -|—

Weeping to Strength

/ The Pastor

I look out into the world,
and I weep over what I see;
for I see a people lost;
as sheep without a shepherd.
I weep and wish people would turn and look;
seeing a loving Savior;
Jesus,
reaching out to them.

Oh, how I wish people would see Jesus.
Oh, how I wish people would see their destructive path.
Oh, how I wish people would repent and live.

But all I see is a world spiraling out of control;
a world racing toward a cliff;
a world hell-bent on destroying themselves.

Why, oh God, why?
Why can’t people see?
Why don’t people know?

And as I weep I also fear.
I fear for my own children.
I fear for my family.
I fear for how I will respond.

Will I be strong?

Oh God, Creator of heaven and earth,
grant me Your Spirit that I may be strong.
May I stand firm and rely on the armor
that only You can give.
Grant me, oh God,
the belt of truth,
 the breastplate of righteousness,
the readiness given by the gospel of peace, 
the shield of faith,
(with which I can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one),
the helmet of salvation,
 and the sword of the Spirit,
(which is the word of God).
May this armor be my strength.

But one last thing,
oh God,
may I not be passive,
but rather may I go forth into battle with your armor.
May I brandish the sword of the Spirit
with all love and grace.
And in the end, may You be glorified.

Be my strength and hope.
Be my peace and salvation.

Oh God, You reign forever and ever,
through Jesus Christ my Lord I pray,
Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Prayer of Anti-Laziness

/ The Pastor

Holy and awesome God,

What a privilege it is to gather together and worship You.
What a joy it is to lift up our thanks and praise to You.
What a peace-filled thing it is to rest in Your promises.
What a comfort it is to know Jesus.

For You sent Your one and only Son to do battle for us.
For You sent You one and only Son to suffer and die for us.
For You sent Your one and only Son to rise victorious for us.

Holy and awesome God,
Thank you!

Receive our worship,
hear our praise,
accept our cries,
and cradle us in Your holy arms.

But as we rest peace-filled and thankful, may we not be complacent.
May we not cheapen Your grace through selfish desires.
May we not turn our backs on those who are lost.
May we not take You for granted.

Holy and awesome God,
send Your Holy Spirit that we may know You better;
that our lives may be ones of worship and praise;
glorifying Your most holy name.

Bless us now, that we may be a blessing to others.

Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, we pray,

Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Send ~ A Prayer

/ The Pastor

Holy God,
may You send Your Holy Spirit
that those here who do not believe
may come to a saving faith in Jesus.

Send also, Your Holy Spirit
to those struggling with doubts,
that the resurrection of Jesus may be confirmed in their souls.

Send Your Holy Spirit
that the peace that surpasses all understanding
may hold us firm when Satan is strongly attacking from all sides.

Send Your Holy Spirit
that we may know You better and better.

Oh God, please send Your Holy Spirit.

All praise, worship, glory and honor be onto You,
Holy God,
through Christ Jesus our Lord,
AMEN.

The Pastor -|—

Speaking ~ good; silence ~ bad

/ The Pastor

I am finishing the sermon for tomorrow and wanted to share this little tid bit with you before I posting the prayer I wrote for the closing of the sermon:

In the Gospel of Mark, chapter 14, Jesus is on trial before the high priest. During the trial, (false) witnesses came forward with testimony against Jesus, but with one glaring problem: Their testimony did not agree. More witnesses came forward but still could not agree. And when asked by the high priest to answer these charges, Jesus remained silent. At this point, there was nothing to convict Jesus and thus remaining silent could have meant his freedom because after all, the truth was on his side but also THE Truth was on his side, and thus silence is not an option.

So the high priest eventually chimes in to ask if Jesus was the Son of God, and Jesus breaks his silence to speak the Truth; signing his own death certificate. All Jesus had to do, to save his life, was remain silent, but he spoke the Truth to set you free.

And what about you, do you remain silent about the Truth of God; about the Gospel. Sure, it may be easier to remain silent in this world that is hell bent on discrediting Christians, but what does that silence achieve? To remain silent may secure your comfort but it may mean eternal death for someone else if they don’t hear about Jesus. Silence may be easy for you but it may come with a high cost for someone else.

But really, if you truly know the Truth of God through Jesus Christ, how does one keep silent. Speak, for the truth has already set you free. Let’s pray…

All honor, glory and worship be unto You,
oh God,
for the awesome gift of life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
All thanksgiving be to You
for giving us Your Holy Spirit to sustain us.
All praise be to You,
Holy God,
for receiving redeemed sinners into Your presence through Jesus.
May we be so bold to speak and abhor silence when it comes to the Good News of Jesus.
May proclaiming Your grace and love be as natural to us as breathing,
as we look forward to that day when we begin worshiping You
forever and ever
in Your glorious kingdom.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, I pray,
Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Be BOLD

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

Here’s a morning rant for you so please excuse my language…

There is a lot of crap going on in the world. I surf social media and read news stories and I am blown away by the depravity that is out there. I can hardly believe it when I hear and read about people reveling in calling good evil and evil good.

What is going on?!?

I know, I know, we live in a sinful world, but where are all the voices? Where are all the people who follow Jesus Christ? Why isn’t there more of an outcry?

Yesterday, the people responsible for bringing to light the evil practices of Planned Parenthood were indicted instead of Planned Parenthood. How is this possible. Granted, I am not a legal expert and maybe there are facts that I am not aware of, but come on, this makes no sense. Never mind that fact that people are being killed before they even get to see the light of day. And then there are the politicians that are lauding this decision; calling evil good. That I get because they don’t care about those babies since they are not voters.

In any case, we need boldness…

And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, (Acts 4:29)

Following Pentecost, Peter and John heal a crippled man in the temple and then go on to proclaim the risen Jesus Christ. The Pharisees are not the least bit happy and demand that they no longer speak of Jesus. Upon returning to their church, Peter and John report what happened and what was said. Instead of cowering in fear of the authorities, the church worships God and prays for more boldness to speak of the Gospel.

My friends, we need to pray for more boldness and speak of Jesus. We need more boldness and speak the truth. We need not fear the this world. As this Acts Church prayed from Psalm 2,  “‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’— The nations can rage all they want against God’s anointed, but guess what?

They can not win.

Through faith in Jesus Christ we have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit and therefore you are on the side of power and victory. Pray for boldness. Stand up for the truth. Do not be silent. The nations may rage against you, but you have Jesus.

Be BOLD! Be STRONG! For the Lord your God is with you.

The Pastor -|—