Gospel of Matthew

The Mission

/ The Pastor

Holy God,
what a relief it is that my
strength,
abilities,
knowledge,
credentials,
and the like
are not what you are looking for
to advance the kingdom of heaven.
As Luther said in his sacristy prayer,
“if it were left up to me I would surely bring it all to ruin”.
That is so true.
Rather,
you call the unqualified to proclaim Your Good News;
qualifying us through the Holy Spirit.
May we keep our eyes on You
and not turn inward; thinking either
“I am not qualified” and thus turn away from the mission,
or think,
“I am pretty good” and thus focus on our abilities; derailing the mission.
Holy God,
through Jesus Christ You redeemed us and empowered us.
May we not abandon the mission
but rather proclaim from the mountain top,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”.
All praise, honor, glory and worship be unto You,
oh God,
through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen!

The Pastor -|—

The Call

/ The Pastor

Holy Father,
through Jesus Christ,
You call us to follow and to make disciples
despite the fact that we are sinners;
unqualified.
But You qualify the unqualified;
sending us out to do important work;
announcing that the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Oh God,
may we remember
that it’s not about our abilities or knowledge
but rather about Your Spirit giving us what we need.
May we never disqualify ourselves
but rather trust in You,
who qualifies the unqualified,
and that all quality is of Your doing.
And through the quality of Your work in and through us,
may the quantity grow to Your glory.
In Jesus name we pray,
Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Qualified

/ The Pastor

While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him.
[Matthew 4:18-20]

Think about it for a second (or two), Jesus called a group of unqualified men to follow him and be the beginning of the Church. No small task, so one would think Jesus would look for only the best. But Jesus doesn’t ask for a resume or a list of references. He doesn’t quiz them to check their knowledge of scripture. He doesn’t inquire about any advanced degrees. Jesus simply approaches these men and says, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men“. Their only qualification was their un-qualification. JESUS made them qualified to be fishers of men. It wasn’t about oratory skills or knowledge or street smarts or financial savvy. It was only about Jesus. He called, they followed and once Jesus died and rose, the Holy Spirit guided them into all Truth.

And so think about it again. If Jesus can use a group of unqualified men to continue a movement of sorts, don’t you think that Jesus can do something amazing through you. Never think that you are unqualified to follow Jesus or be a leader in the church. If you are called, then you are qualified. Just trust in him and follow.

Awesome God,
You called a group of unqualified fishermen
to walk with Jesus
and to proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
As Your Spirit led those first disciples
may Your Spirit lead us now in serving You in this world.
May we not bow to the temptation
that we are not good enough
but rather trust in You
that we may give glory to Your holy name.
May we leap out in faith when Jesus calls,
and may we go with the strength and courage of the Holy Spirit.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior we pray,
Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Come Far and Near

/ The Pastor

Wise men came from the East;
magicians
astrologers
worshipers of the stars,
seeking a Messiah;
a King.
They knew the prophesies
They heard the stories
but most of all
they saw a STAR;
a STAR created and sent by God.
Don’t try to scientifically explain it;
just give glory to God!

So without delay they left on their journey,
long,
difficult,
dangerous,
and for what; for who?
A BABY.
They sought out the king and the leaders of the land,
but knowledge of the birth
they had none.
Prophesies were told
and the location was known.
So Herod sent them on their way
for he, too, wanted to “worship” this child.

(Don’t believe him, he is lying)

Upon finding this child,
they fell to the floor in worship of the
KING.
They worship the KING through their gifts of
Gold
Frankincense
Myrrh
They worship the KING through their joy.

(Praise be to God!)

But these wise men must leave.
They must return to tell Herod
so he, too, can come and “worship” this
KING
But warning comes;
a warning comes via a dream

“Don’t believe Herod. Don’t go back to him”

So they wise men return by a different Way.
They returned changed.
They returned glorifying and praising God.

Have YOU seen Jesus?
Have you seen the KING?
If so, why are you walking along YOUR way?
Confess your sins and be forgiven;
for Jesus is the WAY and the TRUTH and the LIFE.

Come far and near and see Jesus.

The Pastor -|—

Bearing Fruit

/ The Pastor

The follow is a sermon teaser for tomorrow (Dec 18) on Matthew 3:1-12.

Bear fruit in keeping with repentance is John’s call for an authentic Jesus following life. It’s one thing to come to worship, confess your sins, put an envelope in the offering plate, and serve in the presence of others, but is your life bearing fruit in keeping with repentance. Do you abhor sin? Does what happened in the garden sadden you or are you enjoying the temporary freedom that Satan gifts you with? Bearing fruit in keeping with repentance is about turning away from sin, not just in words but also in deed. It is making a 180 degree turn and fleeing from that which draws you away from God. The fruit is a God-glorifying, Jesus-exalting life that leads people to the throne of God; where the true treasure lies, not some fool’s gold.

May the Gospel of Jesus Christ transform your life to the glory of God our Father through Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Stuff

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

For 12 years I have resided in a 12′ by 12′ office. One wall is the door and a closet. The next wall is shelving and cupboards. The next wall is my desk and space to open my cupboards, and then the final wall is more shelving, boxes and room to open the door. So really, my 12 by 12 office is a lot smaller than that when you factor in all the stuff lying around. So given that I reside in a space about the size of a prison cell, one would think that packing this space up would be a piece of cake.

Not even close.

Where did all this stuff come from?

I have five boxes of books I am getting rid of with more on my “free stuff” table outside my office. I have 10 boxes/containers packed of stuff I am taking with me with a couple more boxes to pack.

Once again, where did all this stuff come from. Just look at the banner on the top of this blog and you can get an idea of what I have been dealing with this week.

Stuff, stuff and more stuff.

Incredible.

And I am not even going to talk about the parsonage.

Why do we have so much stuff? I definitely don’t need it because a lot of it is getting tossed. And the stuff getting tossed is stuff I didn’t know I had in the first place and therefore I really didn’t need it to begin with.

That’s it. Every year I am going to purge my office of stuff so I don’t have to deal with this again. Ya right, that will never happen, but it’s a good thought.

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal (if only they would steal some of this stuff), but lay for yourselves treasure in heaven, where moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
[Matthew 6:19-21]

Now seriously, please tell me you are not surprised with the scripture I just used 🙂

In any case, I should be encouraged by this whole endeavor. I am not attached to a lot of this stuff and therefore it is easy to throw away, yet I am still keeping a lot of stuff. My treasures? No, not treasures. Just stuff. Stuff I could part with if need be. My real treasure is Jesus. I just wish Jesus hadn’t blessed me with all this stuff. At least He could come and help me pack.

Oh well, enough procrastinating, back to packing.

Come, Lord Jesus, and help me (pack).

The Pastor -|—

An Active Church

/ The Pastor

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. [Matthew 28:19-20, ESV]

Notice the four underlined words in the text above:
Go
Make
Baptizing
Teaching

They are all active. There is no where in the Bible (that I remember) where it says,
“Stay and wait”,
“Build it and they will come”,
“Create an attractive program and the nonbelievers will flock to you”.
No where does it say anything like that. Rather we are to,
Go and Make
Baptize and Teach
Serve and Love
Proclaim and Share

We are to be active and do something, not be passive and lazy. Yet that is what many churches do. Why? Because it is easier to just sit around and use our brains and wait for people to respond. The problem is that nonbelievers are not looking for Jesus. They are busy serving their own self-made gods. And if they are serving their own self-made gods, the only way to show them Jesus is by going to where they are and show them Jesus. But that takes work. That takes energy. That takes faith in God through Jesus Christ. It takes a passion for souls and a love for people. Sitting back and being passive is not loving. Love is active and therefore Jesus says “Go”, “make”, “baptize” and “teach”. Jesus calls us to be active because those who do not believe are active in not believing. Passivity can not compete with activity.

And so the Great Commission sends people out.

Imagine if those disciples stayed locked up in that upper room. Imagine if they set up camp in Jerusalem and counted on word of mouth to bring people to them. Imagine if Jesus did that. But the fact of the matter is this: Jesus was active. The post-resurrection disciples/apostles were active. Just read the book of Acts and see how Paul risked his life to bring the Gospel to people. The Church, by definition is an active and living being. I say that because the Church is not a building or programs. The Church is people with Jesus as the head. That is active.

So,

Go, Make, Baptize and Teach.

Go, Love, Serve and Proclaim.

Go, get off your butt and bring the Gospel to your neighbors, and all to the glory of God.

And one more thing: Jesus will be with you, always and forever 🙂

The Pastor -|—

Eyes

/ The Pastor

“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light,  but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! [Matthew 6:22-23]

I wanted to share this devotion with you that I read today through my YouVersion Bible app. Check it out:

“The Lamp”

Our natural eyes are given to us to help us function and communicate in the natural world, but they have another purpose; to help us perceive the beauty and glory in the natural world that bear witness to the nature, character and purposes of God the Creator. We all know that natural eyes, if they are blinded or otherwise defective, can block or distort the light that is intended to guide us. This is true in the spiritual world as well.

One way this happens is when, as Romans 1 explains, we exchange divine glory for natural glory, and things such as female beauty, affection and sexuality take on an exaggerated importance to us because they have been separated from other things which are supposed to be part of the male-female relationship, such as genuine love and covenant. Romans 1 goes on to explain how we can even be “given over” (essentially, addicted) to increasingly wicked behavior, because our “bad eye” has distorted our perspective.

The way out is to reverse the exchange we have made through repentance, acknowledging God and making a conscious choice to value divine glory over natural glory. Only then will our “bad eyes” become “good eyes” again, allowing our bodies to be filled with light instead of darkness.

I read this and thought of the song lyric, “Be careful little eyes what you see”. The eyes are indeed the windows to the soul and ones that will pollute your soul in a big hurry. And when we are polluted, we exchange the glory of God for that which is not beautiful. It’s only a false beauty that will wear out and grow dim. Only the glory and beauty of God will never dim and never disappoint. Only the beauty of God will draw us in and hold our affections. Natural beauty begs us to return and through sin we are more than happy to acquiesce.

So…

Keep your eyes fixed on the beauty of God.
~ Running to His Word
~ Dwelling in His promises.
~ Gazing on the cross of Jesus.
~ Reflecting on your sin and God’s forgiveness of said sin.
~ Spending time with other believers in worship.
~ Studying God’s word.
~ Filling your thoughts about the glories of God.

Basically, keep yourself so busy with God that your eyes don’t have time to let in false beauty that is of this world. Look at everything through the lens of faith and give glory to God our Father; beholding His beauty.

Holy God, give me eyes so I can see Your beauty and not exchange Your beauty for that which will fade. And where I have failed; where I have exchanged Your beauty for natural beauty, grant me faith and strength to repent. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Change

/ The Pastor

And going into the house they (The magi) saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. [Matthew 2:11-12]

And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. [Luke 2:20]

And Jesus said to him (Bartimaeus, who used to be blind), “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way. [Mark 10:52]

While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he (Jesus) saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed Jesus [Matthew 4:18-20]

What do all these texts have in common? It’s OK, you can go back and read them again. I’ll wait…

[Cue Jeopardy theme]

…waiting…

…waiting…

…did you see it?

In all these situations/encounters, the people leave changed. They encountered Jesus and they are changed. The shepherds returned glorifying and praising God. The Magi returned by another way (and I would say figuratively as well; meaning THE Way). Bartimaeus listened to Jesus and went “his way” which happened to be the way of Jesus. Peter and Andrew meet Jesus and when invited/commanded to follow, they dropped everything and followed.

And it makes sense, really. I mean, how does one meet Jesus and not be changed? How does one encounter the Son of God and return to your former way of life? How does one hear, “I love you and I forgive you” and say “That’s nice“? How does one receive the Gospel and not say anything about it?

Jesus changes people.

And so I am lead to conclude that if you are not making your way the way of Jesus then maybe you haven’t met Jesus yet. If you are not proclaiming the Gospel through word and deed then maybe you haven’t received it yet. If you are just going with the flow of culture then maybe you haven’t been confronted by the Son of Man. For you see, when the Good News of Jesus Christ takes hold of you, it takes hold of you. I am not saying that you will be perfect in your following but at least you will know where to turn when you do fall. You will care about the fact that you sinned against God and therefore will seek reconciliation through the blood of the Lamb. Repentance will be your desire. Holiness will be your goal. Worship of God Almighty will be your life.

Jesus changes people.

Therefore I can’t imagine peering into that manger stall without being blown away by the love that had just entered the world through a tiny baby. I can’t imagine standing face to face with Jesus and not dropping everything to be near him. I can’t imagine being powerfully healed by Jesus and not shouting “Alleluia!” for all the world to hear.

Jesus changes people.

I look at what is going on in the world and it saddens me but I am not angry with people. I am not angry with our government. I am not angry with our leaders. I am just saddened because I am part of an institution that has not done enough to introduce people to Jesus. But instead of just sitting here feeling sorry for myself, I need to do a better job of introducing/proclaiming Jesus.

~ Being more bold in my faith
~ Being more bold in practicing forgiveness
~ Being more bold in encouraging people
~ Being more bold in calling people to repentance
~ Being more bold in advocating for the Word of God
~ Being more bold…(God, You fill in the blank)

Change me, oh God, to be who You need me to be for the sake of the Gospel.

Meet Jesus and then “go your way“; following the one who has redeemed you from your sin and show people the love our your Savior. Let the Holy Spirit work through your life and give praise and glory to God our Father.

Let Jesus change you that he may change the world.

Holy Father, send Your Spirit to change people. Send Your Spirit to embolden people. Send Your Spirit to save people. And in the end may Your children praise and worship You. Glory be to You, oh God, through Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.

The Pastor -|—

The Call to Follow Jesus

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

[18] While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. [19] And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” [20] Immediately they left their nets and followed him. [Matthew 4:18-20 ESV]

The call to follow Jesus is one where you relinquish control of your life and trust the One whom you follow; namely Jesus. It’s not a life where you call the shots. I was recently speaking with a group of young men when one asked me how long do pastor’s stay at churches. I responded, “That depends on God”. He smiled and agreed and that was the end of his inquiry. My guess is that he heard all he needed to know; basically, the call to follow Jesus is not one you get to control.

The call to follow Jesus is one of trust. You may not get the whole picture. Often times God operates on a need to know basis. The call may simply be to go to such and such a country or to such and such a town. God may not lay everything out in black and white but rather in a muddled, garbled mess; one that starts to make sense as you move along God’s path.

The call to follow Jesus is not necessarily one of worldly riches and comforts. And this is the one the gets a lot of people. I need to provide for my family. I have to pay the bills. So you may be hesitant to listen to God’s voice because you are afraid of what it might say (even though deep down inside you have been hearing it already).

The call to follow Jesus is one that may lead to friction in worldly relationships. Family may be upset that you are moving so far away or putting your family in a difficult financial situation or moving to an unsafe part of the world. Close friends may express sadness and maybe a little pressure to stay close. Some may call you crazy and think you have fallen off your rocker for “following Jesus”.

The call to follow Jesus is one of discipline and refining. God may bring a period of darkness in your life in order to draw you deeper in Him. God may be refining out impurities in your faith in order for you to minister in a new way. God may be convicting you of a sin that needs to be addressed in order for you to better glorify Him.

The call to follow Jesus is one of leaving peace of mind in order to bring peace to those in chaos.

The call to follow Jesus is one of Kingdom advancement; not yours, so therefore the hesitation for some.

The call to follow Jesus is one of great joy for those who place their complete faith and trust in God almighty through Christ Jesus our Lord. For when the Jesus follower does this it is because they know it’s not their knowledge or skills or wisdom or strength that will get them by. It’s God and if God is for you then who could possibly be against you?

The call to follow Jesus takes prayer, patience and persistence. Prayer in order to receive your true marching orders; patience to wait on God’s timing; and persistence to keep at it during periods of darkness and difficulties.

The call to follow Jesus is one of fishing for people so the nets of God’s kingdom are filled to overflowing and then some. Those first disciples had no clue what Jesus meant by “fishing for men” or how to go about doing it. They simply responded to the call to follow Jesus and trusted him. And you know something? They did it and the net continues to be filled.

The call to follow Jesus is a call to participate in God’s plan of redemption and God’s plan is NOT going to fail. So drop your nets and go. Follow Jesus wherever HE goes.

Holy Father, You have called me to follow You. You have called me to faith. You have called me to share the Gospel through Word and deed. You have called me to obey. Grant me the faith to listen and follow that you may continue to be glorified. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

The Pastor -|—