Jesus

Grace and Mercy ~ A Prayer

/ The Pastor

Father God,

Your grace and mercy is something that doesn’t make sense.
I mean, sinners, us, receiving mercy and forgiveness.
Sinners receiving chance after chance to change our ways and be obedient.
Sinners who constantly turn on You.
Sinners who would much rather be their own god
or acquiesce to weak worldly gods.

To reflect on such depravity sends chills up and down my spine.
But it is because of such depravity
that Jesus comes.
It is because of such darkness within
that Jesus is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
It is because of such self-glorification
that Jesus dies and rises,
FOR US.

Oh God,
may Your Spirit continue to shine the light of Truth in our hearts
that we may always run to You.
And once in Your arms
may all worship and thanksgiving be given to You
for Your incredible grace and mercy.
Oh God, there is no god like You
and therefore You are worthy of all praise.
All glory be unto You, oh God, through Christ Jesus our Lord,

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 -|—

Cling to Jesus ~ A Prayer

/ The Pastor

Holy God,
Lover of my soul,

the depths of my betrayal is unsearchable
and there is no limit to my sinfulness.
I can not claim innocence
or even begin to mitigate the charges levied against me.
When all is said and done,
and I stand in Your holy court,
I have no defense of my own that will hold water;
for anything that I could say I’ve done
is filled with deadly holes.

On my own I am sunk.

But Jesus is my hope,
for he does not forsake me
and therefore I cling to his righteousness.

May Your Holy Spirit be sent to me
that I may always cling to Jesus
and thus be acquitted of all charges;
for Jesus has already be charged, tried convicted, sentenced and punished,

FOR ME.

Jesus bore it all that I would not have to.

Oh God, You are an awesome God
and I’m unworthy, therefore
all praise and glory be unto You, holy God, through Christ Jesus my Lord.

Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Jesus’ Body and Blood ~ A Prayer

/ The Pastor

Holy God,
it’s a humbling and awesome thing
to reflect on the cross of Jesus.
To think that Jesus obediently and willingly
had his body broken
and blood spilled,
for me,
is something that sends me to my knees in thankfulness and worship.
But what is even more profound and awesome
is to think that, through faith in Jesus,
I will be drinking of the fruit of the vine with him
in Your glorious kingdom someday.

Oh God,
You are holy and great and merciful.
You are compassionate and forgiving and loving.
We are unworthy but yet redeemed through the blood of the lamb.
May we cling to this New Covenant;
never taking it for granted.
And may we long to proclaim this Good News through word and deed.

All glory be to you, holy Father, through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen.

The Pastor -|—

God of Peace

/ The Pastor

God of peace,

Unpeace is something I do not desire.
Conflict is something that wears on me.
Discord is something the brings me down.

Oh God, bring me peace.

Waves batter against me.
Storms rage all about me.
Satan is working overtime around me.

Oh God, bring me peace.

People speak evil about me.
People plot against me.
People seek my demise.

Oh God, bring me peace.

Amidst the unrest it is tempting to take matters into my own hands.
Amidst the unrest it is tempting to lose the faith.
Amidst the unrest it is tempting to give up.

Oh God, bring me peace.

But then I remember that You have never promised peace
in this world.
You never promised that the road would be
easy.
You never promised to dismantle the storms
in my life.

You promised peace.
You gave Jesus.

So…

 Amidst the unpeace,
in this world.
Amidst the conflict,
in this world.
Amidst the discord,
in this world.

May I always know the peace of Jesus,
within.

God of peace,
I praise you.

The Pastor -|—

Open Letter to the Doyle Rices of the World

/ The Pastor

[From a story posted on Kare11 in Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN; written by Doyle Rice from USA Today. This is in reference to the winter solstice (first day of winter).]

And why is the Earth tilted? It’s probably the result of collisions with various proto-planets and other massive objects during the formation of the solar system billions of years ago, according to NASA. Just a bit unsettling to realize that the reason the Earth has the perfect temperature for life to form is a few random collisions with other space rocks a few eons ago.

Oh Doyle Rice, if only you knew that the reason the earth is perfectly tilted isn’t due to “random” collisions. If only you knew that this perfect planet was created and put into perfect motion by God Almighty, our Creator. If only you knew that the only “unsettling” part of all of this is that your very life (and ours) are in the hands of an Almighty God.

But…

The Good News is that your very life (and ours) are in the hands of a loving, Almighty God who came to us on Christmas Day in Jesus Christ. And through faith in Jesus Christ, redeemed a lost and sinful people.

Therefore, when you look at creation, it should send you to your knees in humble worship of an awesome and powerful and loving God. There is NOTHING random about God. Creation is NOT a fluke. Life DIDN’T just happen. There are hundreds (maybe thousands) of details about our universe, galaxy and planet that have to be perfect in order for life to exist. That is NOT random. That was NOT an accident. Collisions DIDN’T just happen and bump things into perfect place. Nature doesn’t work that way. If any collision is responsible for the earth being tilted PERFECTLY then God’s mighty hand guided that collision to make sure it was perfect; as God guided and formed all of creation.

One CAN NOT just pass off life as a cosmic accident.

And so to all the Doyle Rices in the world, I appeal to you to meditate on creation and consider the perfectness of all those thousands of factors and then look to God Almighty and worship HIM through Jesus Christ; for you are not random but rather wonderfully created.

So don’t be “unsettled” over randomness and accidents and chance, but rather worship and praise this awesome God of ours as we live in this perfect masterpiece called creation.

All praise and glory and honor and worship be to God, always and forever.

The Pastor -|—

 

Getting Closer ~ A Prayer

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

God of hope.
God of Joy.
God of glory.

As Advent winds down
we continue to wait with anxious anticipation
as we long for the coming of our
Lord Jesus.
We look forward to worshiping this week;
giving You thanks and praise
for the Christmas gift to beat all Christmas gifts,

but more importantly,

we long for the second coming of Jesus.

May we not look past the manger
and miss the joyful Good News contained within.
May we not see only a cute little baby
born to humble parents in humble circumstances.
May we not only enjoy the pageantry of the season
but may we also see our salvation story
being played out before our longing eyes.

May we see our hope.
May we know true joy.

So we humbly ask that You may send your Holy Spirit
to fill our hearts with the hope of the resurrection
through faith in Jesus.
May we know and live the true meaning of the season.
Jesus Christ,
our victorious Lord and Savior.
And may the joy on our face and in our voices
show people that we indeed mean business.

Amen.

God bless you, this 4th Sunday of Advent, as we speed ever closer to the manger. May your Christmas preparations draw you closer and closer to Jesus.

The Pastor -|—

The Pass

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. [John 5:24 ESV]

I lived in the state of Washington for a year while doing my internship just north of Seattle. It was my first time living that long outside of my home state of Minnesota. It was great living out there but I still longed for home.

After some time I became homesick for some snow so I decided to drive up to Stevens Pass, one of the ski resorts in the Cascade Mountains. So on my day off I set out on my little day trip but as I started ascending the mountains I came to a check station. The state police where stopping vehicles; highly recommending chains on tires. Of course I didn’t have chains (because us Minnesotans don’t use them) and so I was worried they wouldn’t let me satisfy my craving for snow. When I approached the check station the officer said they were recommending chains due to the heavy snow on the mountain pass. I told him I didn’t have any since I was just out here for a year from Minnesota. He asked for my drivers license (My guess he wanted to confirm my story) and said,

“OK then, being that you’re from Minnesota, you’re probably going to be fine. Go ahead.”

And he let me pass. I was still nervous since I had never driven in mountain snow before but once up there I found that navigating the pass was no problem for this experienced winter driver.

The pass was passable for me.

But the “pass” from death to life is NOT something that can be navigated by the strong or the experienced or the intelligent or wealthy. The “pass” can not be traversed through right thinking or big dreaming. The “pass” from death to life can not be negotiated through force of will.

The “pass” from death to live is only survived because of the One who survived it first: Jesus. When you hear the Word of God and believe in Jesus Christ, you receive eternal life right then and there. No, you are not transported to heaven at that moment; but rather given the hope of the resurrection; which is eternal life here and now.

And it is that hope that gives me strength now as I see the junk and chaos and death that is all around me. It’s the the hope of the resurrection that gives me joy when the world and culture are attacking the Church. It’s this hope that gives me courage when Christian liberty and freedom are being taken away; knowing that my true freedom is through faith in Jesus Christ.

It’s not me that defeats the “pass” but rather the cross of Christ; God’s love and grace for defiant sinners.

So hear the Word of the Lord:
~ You are a sinner worthy of death.
~ Jesus died on a cross that your sins would be forgiven.
~ Jesus rose from the dead that you may live forever.
~ The passage way from death to life has been secured for you.

And best of all, this is all GRACE.

Let Jesus take you over and through the “pass”. Trust him and praise him always and forever.

Holy Father, words cannot express my thankfulness for Your Son, Jesus Christ, defeating death that I my live. Receive me into Your arms through the gift of faith and may the hope of the resurrection give me joy and courage and thus bring You glory here and now and forever. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Call on Jesus

/ The Pastor

image

Amen!
Praise be to God!
Alleluia!

But this verse is not hocus pocus.
It’s not a magical incantation.
The name of Jesus is not some name to be used to get what you want.

This verse is an act of worship; an act of submission. Notice that it does not say, “calling on the name of Jesus” but rather “Lord”. It is definitely referring to Jesus but instead uses the title that describes Jesus’ relationship to you.

To call on a lord is to recognize their authority over you. You aren’t going to call on a lord if you don’t think they can save you. But in this case, calling on THE Lord, Jesus, is something one does because they already know Jesus can and has saved them through faith. A person is not going to do this willy nilly because they want to save their butts from the eternal flames, but one does this out of love for the one who forgives sin through amazing grace.

But also, one doesn’t not submit to a lord if they still want freedom over their own life. You don’t submit to a lord if you’re too proud to admit you need help. You don’t submit to a lord if you want your cake and eat it too. But the fact of the matter is we need help and with Jesus you get something better than the proverbial cake. With Jesus you get THE Lord of lords who takes great joy in saving your life.

Amen!
Praise be to God!
ALLELUIA!

So go on, call on Jesus, submit to him and praise his Holy name.

Father God, you’re an awesome God. Thank you for sending Jesus to be Lord of my life to save me from myself. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

The Pastor -|—

No Separation (Romans 8:38-39)

/ The Pastor

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. [Romans 8:38-39 ESV]

There is nothing more horrifying than that thought of being separated from the love of God. And that separation would be the definition of hell. Even among the flames; in the midst of pain and suffering, if God’s love were still there, there would still be hope of rescue and healing and restoration; even if not in this life. Without God’s love, though, there is:

No hope
No rescue
No healing
No restoration and…
No God

THAT is hell and THAT is something that no one would ever want a taste of for even a second. So when people say things like, “That was just hell going through that” or “I’ve been through hell and back” or other such sayings; people have no idea nor do they want an idea. I think we too often minimize hell and therefore we don’t take it seriously enough. Hell is separation from God. The Good News, though, is that through faith in Jesus, you have never, ever been separated from God and never will be.

death
life
angels
rulers
things present
things to come
powers
height
depth
anything else in all creation

None of these things will or can separate you from God’s love. You may think your suffering feels like hell, but it is not. Your suffering here is for but a moment and believe me, you are not alone. If Jesus is your Lord and Savior, you are not alone; you are not in hell; you are not separated from God. Granted, I don’t know what your suffering is like. I don’t know how you may be feeling. I don’t know exactly how I would respond in your position. But the one thing I do know is that in Christ Jesus…

GOD LOVES ME

and God loves YOU.

Cling to this wonderful promise in Jesus Christ and rejoice that hell is not your place but rather God’s love is your reality and hope.

God of life and salvation, we praise You that Your love over comes the powers of this world and therefore gives hope through Jesus. May those who suffer know Your love and may they know they are not alone. Give them hope. Give them strength. In Jesus name I pray, Amen

The Pastor -|—