Jesus

Godly Training (1 Timothy 4:7-8)

/ The Pastor

Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. [1 Timothy 4:7-8]

I think a lot of Christians waste a lot of time engaging in silly arguments, debates and controversies at the expense of godly training time. Christians also engage in everyday life without proper godly training. Christians deal with stress and temptation without proper godly training. This is basically what the apostle Paul was warning his young friend, Timothy, about. And this is something that all Christians need to take to heart.

Train so you can be ready.

I am currently registered for a half marathon in June. This will be number three for me to add to the three marathons I have already done, so I know the value of proper physical training. The problem is that I haven’t taken my own advice yet and really gotten into my physical training. I need to get moving because I can not expect to do well in June if I don’t prepare my body now. Without proper training my body will take beating and I high doubt I will be able to finish.

The same goes with godly training but godly training has many more benefits than anything we can do to prepare our bodies in this life. Recently I was reporting to my church council that Lent this year was going very well; that my stress level was down considerably from past years. I then went on to say that I have been continuing to exercise my faith through daily Bible reading, devotions and writing on my blog everyday (sometimes more than once). Following the meeting, a council member/friend approached me and said, “Do you think that your reduced stress this year has anything to do with your prayer/devotional life?”

Silly me, I never considered that, but absolutely!

Nurturing your relationship with God through Jesus Christ through worship, praying, reading God’s word, not only strengthens your faith as the Gospel is read and proclaimed to you but it also helps you deal with life now. Don’t get me wrong through, I am not slipping into a prosperity Gospel preaching mode; trying to give you some easy steps to a happy and stress free life (if I ever do that would someone please slap me up across the head). Anyway…what I am saying is that godly training is important in this life to bring glory to God. Because believe me, there are irreverent and silly myths and controversies all over the place and the Christian needs to be ready. So this godly training is not about a happy and stress free life (that is just a pleasant “side effect”). Godly training is about glorifying God today and preparing our souls for eternity.

And so if you don’t engage in godly training now; when life happens and the world challenges your faith, you will stumble and fall. But also, if Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior, why wouldn’t you want to train and grow closer to him?

So…

Exercise your faith.
Train your soul.
Prepare your defense.
Be ready.

And when life happens, you can bring glory to God (and not yourself).

What a joy it is to spend time with You, oh God. What a joy to grow closer and closer to You. What a joy to soak in Your holy law. What a joy to give You glory in this life. May You bless our “training” not for us but for You, oh God. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Condemned but Free (Romans 8:1-8)

/ The Pastor

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. [Romans 8:1-8]

Imagine this scene if you can…

You are on death row for the most heinous crime one can think of; and not just one time but you have committed this crime over and over, but you don’t think the crime is that bad. You look out and see that other people are far worse than you. But you are still considered a menace and therefore you need to be condemned and killed.

And so there you sit; condemned, when your attorney comes in. He has good news for you. He tells you he can set you free and remove your condemnation. All you have to do is, with your whole heart, admit your guilt, at which point, your attorney will take your place on death row and your record expunged.

Sounds like a pretty good deal.

But instead of taking the “deal” you are offended. You will admit nothing. So promptly fire your attorney; convinced that you can plead your own case and set yourself free. You don’t need any help.

FOOLISH!!!

Before the Almighty God you stand condemned because of your sin, but through faith in Jesus you are no longer condemned, as he has taken the punishment for you that your record may be expunged and that you may be free. And when you rack up charges again, your “attorney” stands ready to speak for you.

What a deal
What a gift
What mercy
What grace

You see, our flesh is too weak to satisfy the requirements of the law so therefore we have no hope of pleasing God. Yet many people try.

I’m a good person.
I go to worship (often).
I don’t kill people.
I don’t cheat on my wife/husband.
I help people.
I am definitely not like that person over there.

If this is your defense, you are still lacking ~ by a long shot. For you are NOT a “good” person. You are a sinner, evil, bad, condemned, no matter how many good works you do. In the flesh you are dying but in the spirit; that is if the Spirit of Christ lives in you through faith, you will live.

So why in the world would you want to fire your attorney when you stand condemned in front of God Almighty? As the saying goes, “A man who is his own attorney has a fool for a client”. So don’t be a fool.

Jesus has saved you by grace through faith. You did not earn this. You do not deserve this. And you can not live without this.

Set your mind on the spirit and not on the flesh and let Jesus take your condemnation and give you justification, righteousness and life.

That is a good deal so take it and live.

Mighty God, may Your Spirit transform our weak minds and hearts to be inclined towards You through Jesus Christ. May we see this gift of life and receive it with our whole heart. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Opening prayer ~ The Narrow Gate (Matthew 7:13-14)

/ The Pastor

As we prepare for worship this morning, let us first prepare our hearts to praise God and receive His Holy Word. Let us pray…

Father God,

scripture teaches us to “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:13-14) May those who are here gathered enter by the narrow gate and deny themselves the easy way through the wide gate. May we enter through

Your Word
Your Promises
Your Grace and,
Your son, Jesus Christ

But we are not so foolish to think that the path through the narrow gate will be easy. It will be hard, so I humbly ask that you may send your Holy Spirit to make us lean; trimming away

the cares of this world
idols
false gods
false doctrine
hypocrisy
gossip
prosperity gospel faith and
anything else that weighs us down.

May we have the faith to deny ourselves, pick up our cross and follow Jesus through the narrow gate.

So make your Word manifest among us as we lift up our prayers, praise and thanksgivings. You are worthy, oh God, You are worthy. So here we come, to worship Your holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

May you bless God as you worship this morning and may you be blessed by the proclamation of God’s holy Word.

The Pastor -|—

Dead fish and Salmon (Mark 8:34-38)

/ The Pastor

A fun “tip” my dad used to share when I was young:
“Only dead fish go with the flow all the time.”

And then you have the opposite:
Salmon struggle to swim up stream to find a place to spawn and lay their eggs.

[Now cue the theologizing of the Pastor as he works on the Sunday sermon]

Only dead fish (“Christians”) go with the flow (of culture) all the time.

Salmon (true Christ followers) struggle to swim up stream (deny themselves and pick up their cross and follow Jesus) to find a place to spawn and lay their eggs (share the Gospel and bring glory to God).

Hmmm…that could work.

Any thoughts on this?

The Pastor -|—

JESUS!

/ The Pastor

A sermon, a message of hope or anything of the sort can never, ever just assume Jesus (not mentioning his name) because people will never assume Jesus. If your message is truly about the hope we have through faith in Jesus, then say it.

Say, write, proclaim, shout, sing ~ JESUS!

Don’t tip toe around Jesus and be bashful. Be unafraid and bold.

JESUS!

For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” [Mark 8:38, ESV]

You are sinful, but Jesus is not ashamed of you. I mean, just look at the cross. He did that FOR YOU. So you, don’t be bashful.

JESUS!
JESUS!
JESUS!

The Pastor -|—

The Curse and The Victory

/ The Pastor

Many Christian churches around the world will be recognizing Ash Wednesday tomorrow (Feb 18). This is the beginning of the 40 day season of Lent (40 days not including Sundays) culminating in the vigil of Easter and then Easter itself the next day celebrating the resurrection of Jesus.

The season of Lent is one when we remember our mortality and to focus on our sinfulness. Reminders are placed on foreheads as people are marked with ashes; signifying the curse of sin which was pronounced to Adam and Eve (and all humanity) in Genesis 3, “from dust you came and to dust you shall return”. Through our willful disobedience to God we have incurred the penalty of death. Our bodies are subject to decay and thus will perish someday.

But this is not the end…

The mark of the curse is made in the form of the cross signifying our redemption through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Earlier in Genesis 3, when God was cursing the serpent for his actions; ones that drew Adam and Eve into temptation; God announced his plan of redemption:

[15] I will put enmity between you (the serpent) and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring (Jesus); he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

The offspring of the woman is Jesus.
The heel bruising is Jesus being crucified.
But the head bruising is Jesus defeating death through his resurrection.

The serpent, Satan, will be destroyed for his part in corrupting God’s beautiful and perfect creation. In the mean time, we will be subject to death and the rule of Satan, but through faith in Jesus, we will taste victory.

So Lent begins with a curse but ends with victory; but in order to know this victory we need to accept our fallen sinfulness and Lent is a time to focus on that. So remember who you are AND know who Jesus his. The curse of death is not forever. The victory has been won and has been given to you.

Praise be to God and Amen!

The Pastor -|—

The Law is good

/ The Pastor

Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law. [Romans 3:31]

Yesterday we explored the awesome grace of God as we briefly surveyed the 10 Commandments and found that we definitely stand condemned, but by the mercy of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, we have salvation.

Praise be to God!

The question before us now (and one that the apostle Paul answers) is this:
Now what?

If we are saved by grace apart from the Law, does that mean that faith in Jesus nullifies the Law. 

Basically, the implication here is that since we are saved by grace through faith, why worry about the Law. Why obey the 10 Commandments when God will forgive anyways? Why bother learning these Laws? The apostle Paul, in response to these questions, would slap you you up across the head and say ” You idiot” (but say it with all love of course) it’s because we are saved apart from following the Law that we are free to obey the Law with all joy in order to show love to our neighbor and to God.

You don’t abandon the Law because you are saved, but rather follow the Law because you are saved. Just read Psalm 119 and you will discover the joy the author has in learning and following God’s Law. He’s not seeking salvation but rather wants to learn more and glorify God.

Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors. (vs 24)

The earth, O Lord, is full of your steadfast love; teach me your statutes. (vs 64)

Teach me good judgement and knowledge, for I believe in your commandments. (vs 66)

And there are many more such verses. The Law of God convicts us of our sin and therefore our need for a Savior (Jesus Christ). But the Law also shows us how to love God and neighbor. As Tom Brokaw once said, They are not called the 10 suggestions. They are Commandments. This is a holy tension; this grace and Law thing, but one that makes sense through faith.

If your faith is truly found in Jesus Christ, then said faith will find joy in obeying God for God is worthy. When one foolishly tosses the Law away because they are saved it makes me wonder if they are really saved at all.

So give praise to God for salvation through Jesus Christ and then seek to learn God’s righteous decrees more and more. Seek to know Him better through His Commands. Seek to honor God more through your obedience.

May God be praised and obeyed; served and worshiped; honored and glorified; always and forever. Amen.

May God bless your day 🙂

The Pastor -|—

Morning devotions ~ Flesh vs Spirit

/ The Pastor

For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. [Romans 8:6-8]

The prosperity gospel…

[Oh no, here goes the Pastor again :-)]

…tries to convince people that peace is found in this life; through the flesh. It says that in order to “have your best life now” all you need to do is get your flesh in order. Meaning ~ thinking right, believing right, dreaming right, saying the right things and doing the right things. All of this, they claim, will curry God’s favor and therefore you will live “your best life now“. In essence, the prosperity gospel is trying to sell peace when it is actually bringing the wrath of God.

Those trying to sell this crap (excuse my language but this is what it is) have their minds set on the flesh and not on the Spirit and therefore they themselves are really not at peace. But when you are in the midst of what you believe is “your best life now” you don’t know you’re really not at peace. The flesh has a way of shielding one’s eyes from the truth.

So what is true peace if it is not found in this life? That answer seems pretty simple: By keeping your mind set on the Spirit which is faith in God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
~ A mind set on the flesh thinks only of this life; but a mind set on the Spirit thinks of the promised life to come through Jesus.
~ A mind set on the flesh can only achieve a temporary peace; but a mind set on the Spirit receives true, everlasting peace from the only true peace-giver: Jesus Christ
~ A mind set on the flesh can only achieve a fleeting happiness, that comes and goes and comes and goes; but a mind set on the Spirit has a joy that is not fleeting.
~ A mind set on the flesh CAN NOT please God; but a mind set on the Spirit has salvation.
~ A mind set on the flesh lives in death; but a mind set on the Spirit lives in Life.

And you probably get the point. When you have true faith in God through Jesus Christ then you submit to God’s Law and follow him in complete joy, for God is worthy. Your focus is on pleasing God, not the flesh. The prosperity gospel does not get this and therefore will never preach this. The true Gospel is understanding we can do nothing to achieve peace in this life but rather its submitting to God who is the only peace giver. It’s placing your faith in Jesus and believing your best life is yet to come, not now.

So set your mind on the Spirit and be at peace.

May God grant you a peace that totally blows your mind so that you may see and experience true peace in Him. Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Morning devotions ~ THE War on Terror

/ The Pastor

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. [Galatians 5:16-17]

We are at war.

No, I am not talking about the war on terror but it is close. This is the war against the flesh; sinful desires. And this is a war that has been going on since Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the garden in Genesis 3. And it is a war in which Satan is relentless for he knows what he is up against: Weak human beings.

The problem for many is that they don’t realize they are at war. It is hard to fight a battle if you don’t arm yourself. But worse yet, you are not going to fight a war unless you first declare war. You need to be ready and that means knowing who your opponent is, where the war is being fought, what is at stake and what your assets are.

Opponent ~ Satan
Location ~ The flesh
What’s at stake ~ Your soul
Assets ~ Jesus

Your biggest weapon in this “war on terror” is walking in the Spirit; staying close to God in Jesus Christ. That means staying in scripture; being in prayer; living a life of worship; studying the Word; having regular fellowship with believers. If you arm yourself in such a way, you are giving yourself the upper hand, not because you are so smart or strong but rather, through faith, you are submitting to the one who already fought the battle and won the war.

That’s right, the war has already been won, but the battle still goes on. It’s a backwards way of doing things but Satan is still trying to take down as many people as he can before Jesus comes again to claim his prize once and for all. But don’t despair, God is not throwing you to the wolves in the interim. You are here to glorify God in this life and bring others to him. You’re not alone.

Fight this battle with the flesh as you walk along side the one who has won the war for you: Jesus Christ. Declare war on Satan and realize temptation is all around you. Stand strong and hold firm to hope of the resurrection.

So go into battle today, ready and willing to fight, all to the glory of God.

Praise be to God and Amen!

The Pastor -|—

Morning devotions ~ Be nice and love…EVERYONE

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. [Luke 6:35-36]

Wow, that’s a tough one. Love my enemies? Do good to them and lend to them? Expect nothing in return? This seems to be asking a lot. And why should I do all of this since my enemies have very little interest in loving me or doing good to me or even lending to me?

In a culture of, “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”, we are not used to returning good for evil. If someone hurts you then you withhold love and goodness as a form of punishment. But more than that, we often withhold love and goodness as a way to protect ourselves from further injury and pain. We have a tendency to distance ourselves from our enemies

But this is not the way of the Gospel.

Instead, Jesus says love your enemies. What better way to proclaim the Gospel than to show love to those who are not expecting it or to those the world is not expecting you to show love to. This is the whole “heaping burning coals on their head” (Romans 12:20-21) thing; that we should not be overcome by evil but over come evil with good. A tall order. A difficult task. An awesome command.

Lord have mercy and help me.

But consider something else: Who are we to call people evil when we ourselves are evil? That’s right, God shows love and goodness and mercy to you and me; filthy sinners; evil; enemies of God. God sent Jesus to die for us because we are evil and sinful. God did not withhold his love from us even though in the economics of this world he had every right to do so. This, my friends, is what makes God’s love through Jesus Christ so amazing…

It’s undeserved.

Therefore, what better way to show God’s love than to love those we consider enemies, because who knows, we might win a new friend. Better yet, we might win a new brother/sister in Christ.

As God loves you through Jesus Christ, love one another…EVERYONE, to the praise and glory of God our Father.

Have a glorious and blessed day 🙂

The Pastor -|—