Morning devotions ~ Don’t be offended

/ The Pastor

And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” [Matthew 11:6]

What kind of people offend you? Rude people? People who tell racist jokes? Those who gossip about your friends or family? Those who make fun of your looks or heritage or religion? Those who say you are not good enough?

No doubt you have been offended by someone and probably not too long ago. And when someone offends you, what do you do? Run away? Confront them? Go on the offensive trying to offend the offender? Get violent?

Sometimes the offense is unintentional but whatever the case, when we are offended; a wall has been built and a relationship has been cut off. You want nothing more to do with that person since they obviously don’t understand you or care about you.

And then we have Jesus; the great offender. Seems kind of strange to say that but it is true. One of my favorite seminary professors told us early in our seminary education that the Gospel is offensive to some. And how true that is. The Gospel tells you that:

~ YOU are a sinner
~ YOU are worthy of death
~ YOUR good works do nothing to make God love you more
~ ALL your best efforts still fall short of God’s expectations
~ YOUR heart is full of evil and sin
~ YOU will die on your own

A sinner hears statements like that and it’s offensive. People want to hear the “good stuff”; how they can be successful not how bad they are. So it is no wonder why people are offended by the Gospel, especially in a culture where many so-called preachers are saying that everything will be alright if you just believe correctly or think correctly or dream big enough. That’s not the Gospel. And actually, it’s quite offensive to this pastor.

The fact of the matter (the Gospel) is that YOU are not good enough but JESUS is.

YOU fall short but JESUS does not.
YOU displease God but JESUS does not.
YOU are filled with sin but JESUS is not.
YOU are not worthy but JESUS is.

And the Gospel is that through faith in Jesus you are connected to him and thus live. If this offends you then you will be lost forever, but blessed is the one who is not offended by Jesus.

Holy God, grant us the faith to receive this Gospel. Help us to see that we fall short and that our only hope is to run into the arms of Jesus. May we never be offended by you, instead may we see you as our loving Father, wanting us to live with you forever. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Defiled and cleansed

/ The Pastor

The opening prayer for the sermon today on Mark 7:14-23.

Holy Father, we are defiled. We are unclean. We are sinful. And the depths of our sin is so deep we can not and will not even think about it. We even have the mistaken notion that we can do something about it. We look at the sin in the world and think we can stop it or at least reign it in through legislation or rules. But the fact remains, sinful people can not stop sin; only the holy, which is you. And so we are thankful that the holy, Jesus, died and rose that our defilement might be taken away and thus making us restored in your eyes.

Oh God, grant us the faith to be honest with ourselves; that we may run to you for help. Grant us ears to hear and a heart to receive the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Loving God, we praise your holy name as we lift our voices in worship and hear Your Word proclaimed. Through Jesus Christ our LORD we pray, Amen.

May God bless your day.
May your worship bring glory to God.
May your faith be strengthened to serve Him.

Praise be to God!

The Pastor -|—

Morning devotions ~ Messing with heads

/ The Pastor

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. [Romans 5:8]

Isn’t this awesome; that God would show such an amazing love even though we are sinners. But better yet, God shows this amazing love because we are sinners. This is what is called unconditional love. And praise be to God for that because we would never live up to God’s demands and expectations.

So if God shows us this kind of love shouldn’t we show this same kind of love to one another; especially our enemies?

[In case you’re wondering, the answer to the previous question is ~ YES]

Too often we make our love for people conditional. If they are nice to us then we are nice to them. But Jesus says, what reward is there in that, even the Gentiles do that; even those outside the faith. But when you show unconditional love to those you feel don’t deserve it and those who are not expected it, you proclaim the love of Christ and show people that there is something “usual” about you.

I have always enjoyed this fun-loving quote:
Love your enemies. It messes with their heads.

I giggle at this but there is Gospel truth there. Your enemies are not expecting love from you. They expect revenge or apathy or coldness from you but not love. So try it sometime. Show Christ’s love to an “enemy” and see what happens. It may tick them off at first, but keep at it. Keep at it and proclaim Christ’s love. Keep at it and Praise God always and forever.

God of love, your love is amazing. You love is life-giving. And your love is something I don’t deserve. Help me to receive this love into my heart so that I can show this love to others; not to my glory but to your glory Oh God. Thank you, God, for showing me unconditional love, in Jesus name I pray. Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Morning devotions ~ No day off

/ The Pastor

For this pastor Friday is a day off but not a day off. It is a day off as it pertains to my “work” but not a day off as it pertains to my faith journey, as there is never a day off in that regard.

As you pursue God you should never get tired. If you are then you might be doing it wrong. Pursuing God should be a joy. It should be life giving. It should be faith building. It should be a constant and consistent part of your life.

So pursue, enjoy, grow, worship and live. And do so without a break, because when you think about it, God never ever takes a day off from you.

And with that I am going to continue MY day off but not day off as a enjoy God with my two beautiful children.

Praise be to God, always and forever. Amen

The Pastor -|—

Morning devotions ~ Unclean and then clean

/ The Pastor

And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. [Matthew 8:2-3]

I love this interaction between this leper and Jesus; for here I see my own sinfulness but also the grace and love of God.

Here we have the unclean; humbly and faithfully and boldly, coming to Jesus even though it was not socially acceptable for him to do so. Actually, it was against the Law. This unclean outcast desperately seeking cleansing, healing and restoration. And he demands nothing but rather throws himself at the mercy of Jesus.

IF you will…

And before Jesus even says a word Jesus lets his actions speak love and mercy by reaching out to touch that which no one would have dreamed of touching. And after the leper feels the touch of Jesus he hears those life giving words:

I will; be clean

And that’s it. This outcast is clean and restored and healed and brought back into communion with God. I imagine there was much joy for the leper following this act of love and mercy…

…and GRACE.

And you too, O sinner, are unclean. That’s right, I’m talking to you; the one reading this.
YOU are unclean.
YOU are a sinner.
YOU are separated from God.
And YOU are in need of healing. If you don’t agree with me then too bad, for you can’t escape this fact. But there is hope for there is Jesus. Just call out to God in the name of Jesus and you too will be cleansed.

So will you, O sinner, join me in calling out to God?

O God, if you will, you can forgive me. I am a sinner. I have hurt others and especially you. And I especially want to confess_________. Have mercy on me. Touch me. Restore me. Make me whole again. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

And now, O sinner, hear the words of God:

My beloved child, I am more than willing, you are forgiven.

O sinner, rejoice and be glad. Through faith in Jesus you are made whole.

Praise be to God and Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Morning devotions ~ Don’t be lazy

/ The Pastor

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. [Matthew 7:21]

Dear Christian, it is a dangerous thing to be so secure in your salvation that you become complacent. It is a dangerous thing to think you can coast through life without “working out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2). It is a dangerous thing to think that the Christian life is a spectator sport. For if this is what you are doing, then you don’t know Jesus.

May you not find yourself in a position where the door is being shut in your face because you traveled down the wrong road. I imagine (because I can’t say for certain since I am not God) many a “Christian” have lived a “secure” life because they have “put their time in” or because they thought they were already through the door and then found themselves being rejected by the one they through they were following, because they really did not know Jesus. That is a terrifying thing to think about.

Instead, O Christian, work out your salvation with fear and trembling (as the apostle Paul so eloquently says).  See your salvation through faith in Jesus as a wonderful gift and then seek to do the will of God. Search him out and listen. Listen and then do. Do and rejoice. Rejoice and glorify God.

When you truly know your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and what he has done for you, then you are not going to want to sit on the sidelines. When you realize what salvation truly means you are going to want to “get into the game” in order to glorify God and share with others this awesome God.

So dear Christian, don’t be lazy. When you say, Lord, Lord” actually mean it. Get to know the real Jesus and work out your gift of salvation with fear and trembling.

Praise be to God, always and forever. Amen

The Pastor -|—

A wretched mess

/ The Pastor

[14] And he (Jesus) called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: [15] There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” [17] And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. [18] And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, [19] since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) [20] And he (Jesus) said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. [21] For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, [22] coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. [23] All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” [Mark 7:20-23]

This is the sermon text for Sunday in the Gospel of Mark sermon series I am preaching. And as I read and re-read and pray about this text I am thinking…

Stuff that goes in our stomachs does not defile us since it enters NOT the heart. So what is entering our hearts that is defiling us? What kind of images are we seeing? What things are we hearing? What is messing up our hearts to a point that it spews out the crap in verse 21? And since we ARE defiled (for we are all sinners) that means we are unclean and separated from God. 

Wow…what a wretched mess we are. Who shall save us from this body of death? (Romans 7:24)

Praise be to God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Yup…I think this text will preach 🙂

The Pastor -|—

Morning devotions ~ God can handle it

/ The Pastor

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
[Matthew 6:33-34]

Oh dear Christian, there is so much to worry about in this life and so little that can be changed by worrying. There is so much to worry about in this life and so much that can be lost by worrying. There is so much to worry about in this life but we have such a big God to handle our worries.

But what can be lost by worrying?

First off, we are not guaranteed tomorrow so worrying about tomorrow seems to be a waste of time. Deal with what you can control now and go from there; placing tomorrow in God’s hands.

But second, worrying now takes you away from a great and joyous pursuit: Seeking God’s Kingdom and enjoying all that God is.

When you worry about things that you have no control over you are placing such pursuits over God and actually making said worries a god over God almighty. But you are also robbing yourself the opportunity to enjoy God and see God’s mighty hand at work in your life; however that may look.

When I worry too much and get anxious about the many ministry demands in my life everything is effected. My chest starts to hurt as my heartburn kicks into high gear. I get distracted by such pains thinking that this might be “it”. So I stop what I am doing and maybe go home for a while to rest and calm down, all the while worrying about what I should be doing. I vicious cycle. Grrr.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

What if you actually did that and sought God’s kingdom and his righteousness? I am not giving you permission to be lazy and neglect your to do list, but what if you spent more time enjoying God’s promises and less time worrying about things you can’t control. When you can do that then you can spend more time witnessing to others as you live for God.

Now that sounds like a good plan:
(1) Seek and pursue God
(2) Enjoy God’s promises
(3) Watch God do His Mighty thing in your life
(4) Receive all you truly need

Deal with today and let tomorrow rest in God’s hands. Trust him, God can handle it.

Praise be to God, always and forever.

The Pastor -|—

WARNING

/ The Pastor

Christian beware!!! Today is the “last day of Christmas”.

Maybe you have already taken down your tree and decorations. If not, I am guessing soon. Whatever the case, beware, watch out, don’t let your guard down.

As the world around us moves on from Christmas, the many reminders of the season are slowly being packed away for another year. And as that happens, the threat of forgetting looms larger and larger all the time. Soon life will return to “normal”.

May that never be.

Just because the Christmas season has passed it doesn’t mean the promises of Christmas should be packed away as well. The love of God that came down in that baby in the manger, Jesus, is still alive and well the other months of the year. This Good News is not seasonal, and praise be to God for that. I don’t know about you, but I need to hear about God’s love every single day. I need to read scripture, pray, think about, contemplate, ponder and question every single day. I need to hear that my sins are forgiven. I need to hear that God is nearer to me than I am to myself. I need to hear the Good News proclaimed to me every single day. I need to hear about the hope of the resurrection.

I need Jesus.

So Christian beware!!! Don’t grow complacent as “normalcy” re-enters your life.

Keep running to the manger to see God’s love.
Keep running to the cross to see Jesus die for you.
Keep running to the tomb to see it empty.

Don’t pack away the Good News of Christmas with the rest of your decorations. Prominently display this Good News for all to see. And if it helps you, throw in a few “Merry Christmas” greetings throughout the year. I guarantee you will get people’s attention and get them thinking again and maybe even yourself.

So Christian beware and be merry.

Merry Christmas and Praise be to God 🙂

The Pastor -|—

Morning devotions ~ Pushing Back

/ The Pastor

And someone came and told them, “Look! The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.” [Acts 5:25]

Yesterday we heard that Peter and John were told not to speak about Jesus anymore. They responded that they were going to obey God rather than man. Bold faith.

Today (Acts 5), the apostles are arrested and thrown into prison for continuing their ministry. While in prison, an angel of the Lord opened the doors and told them to carry on. So they did.

[I just love this next part]

The next day the high priest ordered that the apostles be brought to him but when the officers arrived at the prison the apostles were gone. The guards were in place, the doors were locked but everyone was gone.

Where were they? [and here’s the part that I love] The apostles were back doing their thing; teaching and preaching about Jesus in the public square. The high priest had to be baffled and annoyed at their persistence. So in addition to being ordered to shut up, the apostles were beaten and then released.

The apostles’ response?

They rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer for Jesus.

Wow, I love that part but it does make me wonder how I would do under pressure like that. Would I stand up to a stern warning but then back down after being threatened with prison or torture or capital punishment? Would I rejoice that I was counted worthy to suffer for Jesus? Would I continue ministering knowing my very life was in danger?

I hope so and I pray everyday for the faith to stand because what a powerful witness to those who don’t believe; when they see Christians willing to suffer for their faith. Actions speak louder than words. It’s one thing to say you are a Christian but when the chips are down, are you really “all in” or are you all smoke and mirrors; just an allusion with no depth.

Your strength to stand depends not on you but on whether you truly believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose that YOU may be forgiven and thus live for ever with him in God’s Kingdom. So go to God in prayer; asking for the faith to stand and witness to the resurrection. Ask for strength and boldness to continue under pressure. And don’t be afraid.

Hold firm and believe in your heart that you are saved through faith in Jesus Christ. And when push comes to shove, don’t worry, God will push back.

Have a great day serving and witnessing to our risen Lord and may God be praised forever and ever.

The Pastor -|—