Salvation

My Rock; My Fortress

/ The Pastor

For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.
Psalms 62:1-2 (ESV)

Oh, God,
my soul waits for You,
from You comes my salvation.
Therefore You are my rock; my fortress
I shall not be shaken.

Many assail against me,
this culture condemns my trust in You.
But You are my rock; my fortress
I shall not be shaken.

Satan seeks to draw me away,
he’s wily in all his ways.
But You are my rock; my fortress
I shall not be shaken.

Many say, “put your trust in the princes of this world“;
“find your fortress in them“.
But You are my rock; my fortress
I shall not be shaken.

The rulers of this world say I must be quiet;
that I must acquiesce to their demands.
But You are my rock; my fortress
I shall not be shaken.

False prophets speak elegant words;
drawing many away from the Truth.
But You are my rock; my fortress
I shall not be shaken.

Ill health or injury may bring despair;
bringing frustration and hopelessness.
But You are my rock; my fortress
I shall not be shaken.

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
for my hope is from him.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
On God rests my salvation and my glory;
my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us.
Psalms 62:5-8 (ESV)

The Pastor -|—

The Feast

/ The Pastor

Father God,
You have prepared a banquet feast for us
through the cross
and you have invited us to the feast
through faith in Jesus.

May we run to the table as we give You thanks and praise.

And as we journey to the table
may we announce with boldness
the invitation given by You;
that all those around us may bring You praise and glory as well.
Through Jesus Christ
our risen Lord and Savior we pray,
Amen.

The Pastor -|—

The Narrow Door

/ The Pastor

God of grace and mercy,
through Jesus Christ You paved the way
through the narrow door
and by Your Holy Spirit
You give us access through faith.
Keep us on the straight and narrow
as Satan works to lead us astray.
Grant us boldness of faith
to resist the wide and easy gate
that leads to destruction.
All praise and glory be unto You,
oh God,
through Christ Jesus our Lord,
Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Faith

/ The Pastor

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. Hebrews 11:1-2 (ESV)

Faith doesn’t make sense, but if it did make sense, it wouldn’t be faith. If faith made sense we wouldn’t need God. Faith is mysterious so that the only thing left to do is to trust God. It’s like being blind, and being OK with it, because you’re being lead rightly and loved abundantly. Faith is being blind and not fearing the darkness because you know the one with you, who sees everything, is for you. Faith is knowing with certainty, in the absence of physical and logical proof, that something is true because the one who says it’s true is infinitely trustworthy.

Faith doesn’t make sense, but that is OK with me because my faith is in Jesus Christ my Lord; my sure foundation, and thus there is nothing to fear. Jesus the Light of the world, has scattered the darkness, and thus Satan’s claim on me is null and void. Jesus the Good Shepherd, will never lead me astray. Jesus the resurrection, rose for me.

Proof?
I don’t need any.
All I need is Jesus.

The Pastor -|—

Never Undone

/ The Pastor

Jesus is my treasure.
Jesus is my life.
Jesus is my Savior.
Jesus is always right.

Jesus is mighty.
Jesus is strong.
Jesus is compassion.
All others are wrong.

Cling tightly to him;
trusting in his name.
Cling tightly to Jesus,
and your life won’t be the same.

“Why” you might say
is Jesus so great,
because faith in him
thwarts death as my fate.

And so Jesus is my treasure
and Jesus is the One,
as I trust in his name
I will never be undone.

The Pastor -|—

Standing

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

I stand.

I stand condemned under the weigh of my sin,
with no logical defense to make.
I stand condemned as a violator of Your holy law,
oh God.
I stand condemned.

I stand condemned as glory-stealing,
honor-withholding sinner.
I stand condemned as an non trusting kingdom builder,
oh God.
I stand condemned.

And as I stand condemned I see my Savior,
my Lord,
my advocate,
my Jesus.

Jesus stands with me.
Jesus intercedes for me.
Jesus takes the judgment for me.
Jesus dies for me.

And…

Jesus rises for me.

I now, through faith, I stand liberated,
I stand free,
I stand hopeful,
I stand forgiven.
For Jesus, my Lord, took the weight of my sin
and made my defense before You,
oh God.

And now I no longer stand,
rather,
I fall on my face to worship You,
oh God.
I fall on my face to honor You,
oh God.
I fall on my face to praise You,
oh God…

as I stand on Your promises.

The Pastor -|—

Seed Sowing in Satan’s Face

/ The Pastor

In reading the Parable of the Sower in Mark 4:1-20, I am quickly reminded that the call and the joy of the Christian is to sow the Word of God. The joy comes from the fact we are sinners but that God offers forgiveness of our sins by His grace through Jesus Christ. And through this forgiveness, we have the sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life.

This is the Gospel.
This is the Good News.
This is AMAZING news!

And yet, we often see evangelism as a chore or as something to do later if we have time or something reserved for a certain committee or (and this is my favorite) it is something reserved strictly for the pastor.

Maybe this inattention to evangelism comes from the fact that, more times than not, you get beaten up when you try to seed sow. Maybe someone strongly rejects your Gospel presentation. Maybe someone tells you to keep your faith to yourself. Maybe someone argues with you to the point of exhaustion. Maybe you have been shot down too many times to count and you’re just plain tired of getting hurt or embarrassed. Whatever the case, it serves as a reminder that Satan is hard at work. Whenever you are sharing your faith or trying to present the Gospel or stand up for what you believe, Satan is right there to make life difficult. And he should because the Gospel threatens Satan.

But we must keep seed sowing.
We must keep spreading the Gospel.
We must keep telling people that there is hope.
We must keep showing people Jesus.

For when we stop, Satan wins and thus he laughs.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, seed sowing is hard but look at the bright side. If seed sowing is difficult and it feels like you are being resisted every step of the way, then maybe you’re doing something right. In that case, keep on going in the strength of the Lord and mock Satan knowing that Jesus stands with you and that Satan can not possibly win.

And that is cause to laugh in Satan’s face and praise be to God always and forever!

The Pastor -|—

Now

/ The Pastor

Yesterday is gone.
Today is now.
Tomorrow is guaranteed to no one.

Act now and make a difference.
Speak now and bring healing.
Do now and do not wait.

For someone desperately needs to hear about Jesus.

The Pastor -|—

Gripping the Cross

/ The Pastor

image

The hand that grips this cross
is sinful and stained,
but thankfully the one who died upon the cross
is holy and perfect.

The hand that grips this cross
is in need of help and rescue,
but thankfully the one who died upon the cross
has won the victory through his resurrection.

The hand that grips this cross
falls short of God’s glory continually,
but thankfully the one who died upon the cross
extends grace and mercy endlessly.

The hand that grips this cross
will one day give way to death and decay,
but thankfully the one who died upon the cross
has risen that the possessor of this hand may live eternally.

The hand that grips this cross
doesn’t always treat people as they ought to be treated,
but thankfully the one who died upon the cross
doesn’t treat the person of this hand as they ought to be treated.

and therefore,

The hand that grips this cross
will always cling to the promises secured therein;
thankful for Jesus, the one who died upon the cross
FOR YOU and FOR ME.

The Pastor -|—

Beneath

/ The Pastor

image

Beneath the cross of Jesus
I am humbled by your love.
It’s for sinners that you died;
through grace coming from above.

Beneath the cross of Jesus
I’m convicted of my sin.
But sacrificed as the lamb;
My Savior was slain for me.

Beneath the cross of Jesus
I am captured by your grace.
Undeserving as I am
but life’s given by your hand.

Beneath the cross of Jesus;
reflecting on Your mercy,
Your precious Son died for me
to heal me forever more.

The Pastor -|—