Morning devotions

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 ~ A Prayer of Holiness

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. [Ephesians 5:3-4]

Holy God, I thank you that my eye lids opened to see this day you have made. I thank you that I am here in this world to glorify you. I thank you that you are using me to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

But I need help; we need help.

There is so much filthiness around your children. So much impurity, sexual immorality, crudeness and foolishness. There is so much temptation and Satan is too strong for us.

Forgive your Church.
Strength your Church.
Purify your Church.
Send out your Church.

May this filthiness not be named among us and may we flee from its presence. May we run to you and may we seek refuge in your arms. Then, Oh God, lift us up that we may give you praise and speak of your goodness and holiness and grace and love. May we proclaim with boldness the death and resurrection of Jesus and the forgiveness of sins.

May we be holy as you are Holy.

Loving God, this task is too great for us and if it were left up to us then we would certainly bring it all to ruin.

May you be glorified and praised and worshiped; through Jesus Christ our Lord I pray, Amen.

May God bless your day as you strive for holiness and serve Him.

The Pastor -|—

Morning devotions ~ What you really need to hear

/ The Pastor

And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” [Matthew 21:21-22]

Oh how these verses have been misunderstood and misapplied.
Oh how these verses have been abused and therefore have caused many people to go astray.

If you believe right and have enough faith you can get what you want and “live your best life now”. This is the mantra of the prosperity gospel (not THE Gospel of Jesus Christ). The likes of Joel Osteen have championed this theology and have garnered many adherents, thus leading many people astray. And the reason these prosperity theologians are so “successful” is that this message is something people think they need to hear.

Give me the secret to success.
Tell me how I can be happy now.
How can I feel fulfilled?
How can I live my best life now?

Everything is about this life, now, and nothing about the life to come. It’s about manipulating and controlling God to get what you want. Throw in talk of Jesus and faith and you have enough to trick people into thinking this theology is legit; from the Bible.

Lord have mercy.

But what was Jesus really teaching in Matthew 21 about faith and prayer? Was he giving us a magic formula to get what we want out of prayer?

Absolutely not!

Two things are being shown:
(1) You may have faith, but you still doubt.
(2) If you truly know God you will ask according to God’s will, not your own. It’s then that you receive what you pray for.

The big difference here is that it is not about your happiness now (your will) but your eternal joy (God’s will). It’s about aligning your will with God’s will. It’s about humbling yourself and admitting that you are a sinner. It’s about realizing that without Jesus you can not get out of this world alive. It’s about realizing that you are meant to glorify God and enjoy him forever. This life may be crappy but you still can have joy; that is if you believe Jesus is your Lord and Savior.

So don’t be fooled by false prophets and self-serving prosperity theologians by trying to reach for and cling to happiness in this life now but rather place your faith in Jesus Christ and cling to the hope of the resurrection. Don’t be fooled into thinking that it is about how you have faith rather than who you have faith in.

Jesus is life and salvation and therefore the source of true joy. That right there will give you peace. And THAT my friends is what you really need to hear.

Have a blessed day enjoying God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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 -|—

Morning devotions ~ Prevailing

/ The Pastor

So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily. [Acts 19:20]

Sometimes I get the feeling that the Word of God is taking steps back. I watch the news (and that might be my first problem right there) and read the paper online and I see this world continuing to sink deeper into depravity. I see chaos all around and therefore plead with God, “Come, Lord Jesus and end it all.”

Here are just a few of the things I have been noticing:
~ With the rise of ISIS one wonders if this war can even be won. It’s scary.
~ Racism seems to be on the front burner again. Not that it ever left but it seems to be garnering more headlines now.
~ With continued court battles over marriage, it seems that traditional, biblical marriage is gone forever and families seem to be falling apart.
~ The prosperity gospel seems to be taking a stronger hold among many people as they strive for happiness now instead of eternal joy.
~ The holiness of God seems to be slipping into only a theological concept for many.

And I could go on, but that would get too depressing. Looking around; how does one not wonder what God is up to.

So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.

But then I read the book of Acts. I am also reminded of Isaiah where he says that God’s Word WILL NOT return to Him empty. But more importantly, I am reminded of the cross. You see, God’s Word has already prevailed. Jesus has already won. The forces of evil and darkness have already been defeated. ISIS and racism and hatred and war and Satan may have their day, but that’s it.  God’s Word has prevailed and will continue to prevail.

And so I pray, “Come, Lord Jesus” so that those who do not know may find their hope in the Lord. Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name. For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.(Psalm 30:4-5 ESV) Morning is coming, my friends. Hold on and know that the Word of the Lord has prevailed through Jesus Christ.

Praise be to God!

The Pastor -|—

Food for the dogs

/ The Pastor

The sermon text for this morning is Mark 7:24-30 (The Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith) and the following is the prayer I wrote to precede the message. Let us pray together…

God of glory and wonder, we seek you this morning as dogs unworthy of even a morsel of your grace from your holy banquet table.

We scavenge this life for self-fulfilling food while ignoring the fact that you have sent Jesus to give us the bread of life. We ravage others of dignity through selfish pursuits.

But holy God, you don’t turn your backs on us. You don’t withhold the glorious morsels of your grace. You don’t treat us as the dogs we are.

Rather, you wait for us and offer your forgiveness.

Loving God, may we curl up in the arms of your grace and bask in the glow of your love. May we be filled with the Bread of Life and may we find all we desire in you. Heal us of pride. Restore us to Life. Strengthen us to live a life of repentance.

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

May this Lord’s Day bring glory to God as you offer your worship and praise; and while doing so, I pray that the Word take root in your hearts. May faith be created or strengthened. May you be send forth to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ crucified and risen for the forgiveness of sins. And may you be at peace as you cling to the hope of the resurrection.

God bless you this Lord’s Day and beyond.

Praise be to God!

The Pastor  -|—

Morning devotions ~ Be still

/ The Pastor

This pastor so needed the devotion from yesterday; to be still and know that God is God. To be still and listen to the voice of God. To be still and be at peace. I so needed that, but that is not what happened.

———————

My little girl woke up this morning at 5:30 a.m. crying,

“I want my daddy! I want my daddy!”

Tired, and a little cranky that I was getting up earlier than planned, I acquiesced to my little girl’s cry. We rocked for a while and then I laid her back down when she seemed to be sleeping, but immediately she started crying for me again. I returned to her room and sat in the rocking chair next to her crib. I then reached my hand through the crib and caressed her head; and she calmed down. Whenever I tried to leave she would cry. Eventually I fell asleep in the rocking chair…

[I’m not sure why she wanted this snoring beast next to her]

…and woke up just after 8 a.m. (I had a 9 a.m.baptism meeting). This was not how my morning was supposed to start. I bolted out of her room: showered, made coffee, ate (all the while my little girl is screaming for me) and got dressed. My wife woke up and help her but she still wanted daddy.

Be still and know that I am God. (Psalm 46:10)

All I wanted was to be still and know that God is God.
All I wanted was time alone with God before I started my day.
All I wanted was to hear God’s voice.
All I wanted was some encouragement as I prepared to finish two sermons today.
All I wanted was God.

And God did acquiesce to my request. God gave me a beautiful moment this morning and all I could think about was that it wasn’t what I planned. As a pastor friend of mine told me yesterday in a blog post comment,

“God made the time and gave it to you”

God definitely made the time for me this morning but I missed it.
Oh God, please forgive me for being so selfish and short-sighted.

Definitely carve out moments to get away and enjoy the fact that God is God, but don’t miss the moments that God carves out for you. Don’t be so short-sighted and selfish like I was this morning but rather…

Be still and know that God is God.

…and then actually pay attention and listen.

Holy Father, thank you for the holy moments that you create. May I have the eyes of faith to see them.

Praise be to God and Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Morning devotions ~ Off and Pondering

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

Another day off for this pastor; drinking coffee, enjoying the laughter of my children and now some quiet time as my wife bathes the oldest and the youngest sleeps on my chest. A beautiful morning to enjoy the wonderful blessings in my life. God is indeed great.

And in the quietness of my living room now, I’m reminded of Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” What a wonderful reminder to take advantage of every quiet moment to listen for God and to reflect on His promises. Sometimes we get so busy that we forget about God but God will not be denied. God will be exalted. God will be glorified. If not by us then the rocks will cry out.

So remember to create quiet time throughout your day and don’t just wait for it because it may never come otherwise. Carve out moments to get away and don’t feel guilty about it, thinking you’re being lazy. Reflecting and “day dreaming” about God is time well spent. So listen for and to the voice of God. Worship His Holy name and reflect on his promises.

May God bless your day and happy day dreaming 🙂

The Pastor -|—

Morning devotions ~ No distinctions

/ The Pastor / 3 Comments

But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.” [Acts 15:11]

In the early years of the church, they were struggling with how to deal with Gentile converts. There were many disagreements among the Jews on what the Gentiles needed to do to be saved. For them, faith wasn’t enough but you needed to be circumcised as well. So finally, the elders in Jerusalem were discussing this when Peter chimed in (he was the one called by God to preach to Cornelius, a Gentile, in Acts 10. There, Peter realized that salvation is for all people through faith).

So why make distinctions?
Why place requirements on some for salvation?
Why place a greater burden on some to enjoy the gifts of God?

I believe the simple answer was, and still is in some cases, that many in the church want to maintain a sense of power and control. And maybe even to help maintain appearances. You can’t have just any person off the street in here. If so, then live like we live and dress like we dress.

What a shame that some believe this. But Jesus says:

Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
(Luke 15:7 ESV)

Salvation is through faith alone in the crucified and risen Jesus Christ; that through his death and resurrection you have forgiveness of sins and thus will live forever. And therefore the church needs to be a place for messed up sinners, not a museum for saints. And in case you haven’t figured it out, YOU are a messed up sinner.

Jesus didn’t make distinctions and neither should we. Celebrate and give thanks that you are saved through faith ALONE and that you are welcomed even though you are still a messed up sinner.

What an awesome God we have. Praise be to God through our risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Morning devotions ~ “Poison” people

/ The Pastor / 4 Comments

But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. [Acts 14:2]

Paul and his associates were preaching the Gospel in Iconium where many hearts were being turned to the Lord. The church was growing and people were turning away from their previous ways of life. But there were many who opposed Paul and the others; opposing the Good New of Jesus. So they tried to “poison the minds” of those who believed. Eventually, those who opposed the message tried to stone Paul and his crew but when they learned of the plot they fled to Lystra. At Lystra Paul proclaimed the Gospel but people from Iconium came and stirred up the people and this time they stoned Paul to “death”. But of course Paul did not die. Instead he continued proclaiming the Good News and then moved on.

There are many today who oppose the Good News of Jesus by trying to “poison the minds” of those who believe AND don’t believe. There are many who are going to try to steer you away from serving Christ. There are going to be many who are going to try to convince you that regular Sunday worship is not important. The media will continue to “poison” minds through inaccurate and biased reporting of Christians. The government and other groups will “poison” minds through oppressive rhetoric and legislation. And believe it or not, there are and will be many within the church or those who claim to be Christians that will “poison” minds through false teaching.

So many detractors out there. So much poison.

But what should our response be to those who would oppose the Gospel? Paul did not fight or argue or fire unsavory words at his detractors. When people oppose the message of Jesus; when people try to “poison your mind”; fire back in kind; “poison” their mind and heart with the Gospel.

Continue to live your faith.
Continue to announce forgiveness.
Continue to show love.
Continue to be bold.
Continue to walk in the Way and don’t not bend to popular opinion.

Your determination (the Holy Spirit working in your life) will give power to your words and actions but don’t stoop to the level of those who would “poison” you. Instead, rise up and boldly proclaim the name of Jesus. Don’t let detractors dictate your message. Don’t let opposition steer your path. Don’t let the fear of man control you but rather the fear of God.

The Good News is that God can not be opposed. Actually, God has already won through Jesus Christ. The enemy has already been defeated. Opposition is irrelevant.

So choose your “poison”, but choose wisely; for only one leads to eternal life.

Praise be to God and Amen.

The Pastor -|—