October 2009 - Putting Feet to Our Faith

“This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners’—and I am the worst of them all. But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.” 1 Timothy 1:15-16

The Apostle Paul wrote this nearly 2,000 years ago to encourage his young protégé Timothy. Do you really believe this applies to you, too? Try reading the verse again, only replace the word sinners with your name. Ask the Holy Spirit to cause this passage to open your mind and your heart to the truth of this Scripture. Go ahead, read it several more times using your own name until it resonates deep within your soul.

Hopefully, these verses convict us of two things. First, that we are sinners by nature, and that we would be condemned by God apart from Christ. We should be dead because of our sin, our rebellion against God and our constant desire to have our own way in life.

Second, however, it should reaffirm for us that in God’s wonderful grace and mercy He has redeemed us through His Son Jesus’ death and resurrection. In response to this extraordinary act of mercy from God, we should be stepping out and telling others about the amazing thing God has done for us. He has saved us from certain death and eternal punishment for our sin!

This unbelievable free gift is something to be celebrated and shared with others! Henry Ward Beecher (1813–1887) put it this way, “If you want your neighbor to know what Christ will do for him, let the neighbor see what Christ has done for you.”

Have you ever stepped out of your comfort zone and talked to someone about your faith, telling them about our church or about Jesus and they immediately shut you down? “I have my own belief,” they say, or something like that.

A great preacher, Oswald Chambers (1874–1917) once said, “We preach to men as if they were conscious they were dying sinners, they are not; they are having a good time.” He was speaking at the turn of the last century. It is amazing how little people have changed in 100 years!

People do not know there are eternal consequences for their choices unless they are told. They also will not know there is a Savior, one who offers forgiveness and mercy, unless they are told.

Whose job is it to tell them, to warn them of the coming time of judgment? It is ours! Those of us who know we are sinful and have accepted God’s free gift of forgiveness and profess faith in Christ as our Savior and Lord. It is our job, yours and mine.

You may think this is too difficult or that you are not equipped for the task. Oswald Chambers reminds us, ”People say that it is so hard to bring Jesus Christ and present Him before the lives of men today. Of course it is, it is so hard that it is impossible except by the power of the indwelling Holy Ghost.”

Stop and pray right now. Ask God to fill you with His Spirit and to give you His heart for those who have not accepted God’s free gift of forgiveness through Christ. Ask Him to give you the words you need to communicate His love and the hope you have in Jesus with someone who needs to hear that message today. Will you? Are you willing to be God’s example like the Apostle Paul was? It will change your life for the better! Try it today! Put feet to your faith!

Your fellow traveler following Christ,

Pastor Tim

September 2009 Church Newsletter Article

Back to School

Perhaps you are like me; there are some things which never cease to amaze me. Sometimes I will hear well-meaning people say, “I want my kids to make their own decision about God, I don’t want to influence them to my faith. They should choose for themselves.”

There is no greater music to the Devil’s ears! This kind of statement is the equivalent of saying to the Devil, “My children are yours to do with as you please. I don’t care if I see them again in heaven.” This statement may sound harsh, but it is the spiritual reality affecting the lives of our kids each day.

Those of us with young children and grandchildren work hard to get them prepared and ready for school, and often closely monitor their learning. But do we approach their spiritual instruction with the same diligence and devotion? Like getting them ready for school, helping our kids grow in the things of God each day takes planning and work and intentionality.

Through Moses, God puts it this way:“Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord you God with your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.” Deuteronomy 6:4-7

Like children, we all can become distracted by the many demands and pleasures of life. While many of these demands and pleasures seem good and worthwhile at the time, their importance is greatly diminished in the light of eternity.

How well manicured we kept our lawn, the kinds of cars and recreational equipment we acquired, the status we attained at work, etc. will only affect our eternity to the extent that they kept us from paying attention to the things that really matter, and the things for which God holds us accountable.

It is not only our responsibility to learn, but also to teach our children and grandchildren about God, about Jesus and His life, death, and resurrection for our sins, and to encourage them to make their lives a witness for Him.

If we try to delegate this responsibility to others, or neglect it altogether, we are being disobedient to God. He holds us accountable for the spiritual instruction of our children. Spiritual instruction is not the work of the church alone. It must start and be reinforced in the home.

With the help of the Holy Spirit, God’s Word, and the church to train us, thankfully, God gives us the resources and ability we need to do this. Through Christ, God’s forgiveness is available for the ways we fallen short in this area in the past.

Pray and ask for God’s wisdom and strength to be a part of instructing your children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren in Him. God is faithful and will supply your needs in this and all aspects of your life.

Your fellow traveler following Christ,

Pastor Tim

August 2009 Church Newsletter Article

Preparation

Summer is flying by at a rapid clip and for many of us our thoughts are turning to fall. In Oceanside, school begins at the end of this month. For others, scheduling trips or planning to host friends and relatives for the upcoming holidays is just beginning. Whether it is school, holidays, or just the change in routines, the end of summer is usually a season of preparation.

The busy-ness of life can be all-consuming. All too often we find ourselves putting more thought into and spending more of our time preparing for the temporal events of this life and less and less time preparing our hearts and minds for eternity with God in Heaven.

When determining priorities, common sense indicates we should spend the most time on the things that will have the greatest and most lasting impact. Yet, for many of us, we “major in the minors” of life. We devote extraordinary amounts of time and energy to things that will have little or no impact from an eternal perspective.

What kind of car we drove, how big of a house we owned, what title we earned at work, the salary level we attained, and the influential people we knew will have no impact on whether or not we spend eternity with God in Heaven.

Therefore, it is important in this season of preparation to re-examine our priorities and to ask God’s help in re-setting our agenda to be more focused on the things that will draw us closer to Him and help us to bear “fruit that will last” for His Kingdom (John 15:1-8, 16). Jesus was concerned about our eternal life much more than our temporal life here on earth.

Later in John 17 Jesus is praying to the Father about His followers, “And this is the way to have eternal life – to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth… Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, for I have passed on to them the message you gave me. They accepted it and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me” (John 17:3, 7-8).

We can only “accept” God’s message to us by hearing it, reading it, and studying it in His Word, the Bible. In writing to his protégé Timothy, the Apostle Paul reminds him that, “All Scripture [the Bible] is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

By spending more time in His Word and growing to know it better and better, God actually helps us re-orient our priorities and prepares us for eternal life, as well as aiding us through this life on earth. As this summer begins to draw to a close, thank God for sending Jesus to save us from our sins and to make it possible for us to inherit eternal life with Him in Heaven.

After Jesus rose from the dead and returned to Heaven, God sent His Spirit (the Holy Spirit) to live permanently in us. It is God’s Spirit that equips us to understand and apply God’s Word to our lives. We do not “go it alone”, but God goes with us, every hour, every day, helping us to make decisions and do the things that will prepare us for an incredible, jaw-dropping, glorious eternity with Him in Heaven.

I want to be prepared for that day, my first day in Heaven. With God’s help and through His grace I will be prepared, and you can be, too. Jesus died and rose again to prepare the way for us, won’t you spend some time preparing to be with Him there?

Pull the plug on Atheism

A rose by any other name...

People often ask me how do you know God is speaking to you. They are generally surprised when I tell them that God generally speaks to me through a still small voice in my thoughts, rather than a booming voice penetrating through parting clouds. It reminds me of the story of Elijah when he was hiding in a cave on a desert mountaintop. He was running away from Queen Jezebel who wanted him killed.

What has always been curious to me about his story was that his flight from Jezebel was right after his defeat of her prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. It was an amazing encounter in which God's power was manifest through Elijah's amazing boldness and God's fire falling from heaven. One would think Elijah would be fearless. His God proved faithful once again, and in such a demonstrative way. Merely a few days later, Elijah is in a cave cowering in fear because of a threat from one person.

God causes a great wind that draws Elijah to the front of the cave, but God was not in the wind. Then there was a great earthquake shaking the mountain, but God was not in the earthquake. Next the mountain was engulfed in fire, but God was not in the fire, either. Confused, Elijah wonders why God has not appeared in power as he had before. Instead, God follows the fire with a gentle and quiet breeze. It was in this soft way that God spoke to Elijah. He wanted Elijah's undivided attention.

So it is with us. God wants us to listen, in the same way we tell our children to take their eyes and ears off of the television when we are speaking to them. We want to know they are really listening, and that they really want to hear from us. As the perfect parent, God wants the same from us.

As I was picking out flowers for my wife for Mother's Day, the florist provided me several options. In spite of the beautiful choices in front of me, a voice confirmed later to be the Holy Spirit told me the one to choose - a bouquet of red roses, nothing less would do. There were more colorful bouquets, but I just knew they would not be sufficient. I chose the rose.

Not knowing my choice, over lunch my wife was already lamenting that again she would probably be disappointed because I would forget her favorite flower - a red rose. Even one or two would make her happy she said. She had even been crying out to God asking Him why she had been disappointed in the past. I just smiled knowing the Holy Spirit not only heard her prayer but that He communicated it to me as a still small voice of a persistent thought in the middle of a florist shop.

When we arrived home and my wife saw the beautiful bouquet of a dozen red roses you would have thought she just won the lottery. That is how God often answers our prayers - bigger and better than we can ever imagine. He loves to bless us. He loves when we take the time to cry out to Him with the desires of our heart. He especially loves when we take the time to listen to that still small voice of the Holy Spirit in our mind that God uses to guide and direct us moment by moment so that we can be used by Him.

I often wonder how many blessings go unspoken and are never received because we are so busy we ignore or don't even hear the gentle voice of the Holy Spirit calling out to us. Will God speak to you about a choice of flowers? Absolutely! Why wouldn't He? And if He will guide you to be a blessing in such small things, will He not use you in much greater ways if you will but listen and obey? The answer again is absolutely He will.

Ask God to tune your physical, mental, and spiritual ears to hear His voice however it appears. When you hear it, obey! Then thank Him for speaking to you and helping you obey. Then be sure to thank Him for His wonderful grace through His Son Jesus Christ that makes all of this possible with His gentle but unbelievably powerful Holy Spirit.

Sermons Now Available!

I am grateful to announce that we are now uploading my sermons to this blog. Each week you will be able to listen to my messages on-line. If you are blessed by them, please forward a link for this blog to your family and friends, and leave a comment on this page. Please also consider supporting our ministry in prayer and financially.

Scroll down to see the Sermon Player. Please note, the volume on some sermons may be very low. You may have to adjust your speaker's volume and the volume bar on the sermon player in order to hear the message clearly.

And so it begins...

With the encouragement of a dear friend and a life-long love of writing, I begin my journey into the blogosphere. I dive in head first, without the aid of breathing apparatus or swim fins. It is here that I will pour out my musings about life and ministry and the events of the day. I begin with this simple but continual prayer that God will grant me wisdom as I write and speak, and that what I compose and publish here will be to His glory alone. In His infinite mercy and grace may He grant me the blessing that my words will be used to bring the truth of Jesus Christ, His light and love, and His wonderful Good News into someone's life in a meaningful and life-changing way.