Pastor's Blog

May 18, 2012

Problems Prepare us for Ministry

(God) comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

2 Corinthians 1:4

Problems in our lives make us sensitive to the problems of others.  How could the men and women of God reach out to a hurting world if they had never experienced that same pain in their own lives?  How can we put our arms around a brother facing disappointment if we have never experienced disappointment ourselves?  Sometimes God allows problems in our lives so that we can better minister to someone else.  That’s exactly what happened to Joseph.  From his humbling slave and prison experiences, he was able to fairly administer grain to a starving populace.

You see, problems have advantages.  They provide us with opportunities if we will but look for them.  They promote spiritual maturity if we let them make us better instead of bitter.  They prove our integrity, produce a sense of dependency, and prepare our hearts for ministry.  God allows problems so that we can learn and grow.  We don’t like them, but they are necessary if we are to grow and change.  Don’t run from the pressures God wants to use to make you his perfect example of Christlikeness.

May 17, 2012

Doing the Steps

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.  Proverbs 9:10

A little boy comes to his father:  “Daddy, I can’t get this piece of my model car to fit.  I know it goes right here, but there’s just no room.”  After walking his son back through the directions, they discover together that the problem part should have been glued in on step four-and the little guy is nearly finished.  “See what happens?  They tell you to put this piece in early because they know there won’t be room once the others are assembled.”

Sometimes when life’s pieces don’t fit together, it may be because we skipped the first step.  And the first step to gaining wisdom and God’s knowledge is to fear the Lord.  The word beginning can mean either “the first part” or “the main part.”  In both cases, the practical message is the same.  The first step, and the continual priority, in fitting all the parts of life together is to honor, revere and worship God.  Why?  Because all knowledge and wisdom come from God and we must seek answers through Him if we are to find them at all.

If your are stumped with a part of life that won’t fit, humble yourself before the Lord.  That’s the first step in living life skillfully.

May 16, 2012

The Indestructible Word

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever.  Isaiah 40:8

Down through the centuries, the Bible has always been hated and scorned by God’s enemies.  Men have gone out of their way to abolish it.

There have been some “heroes” of God’s Word.  William Tyndale devoted his life to spreading God’s good news.  He translated it, printed it, and distributed it.  In the midst of the great distribution under Tyndale, the bishop got angry and wanted to get the Bibles out of circulation.  He sent a friend to buy all the Bibles Tyndale had printed.  “Whatever it takes, buy them and destroy them.”  The friend talked Tyndale out of the Bibles in spite of Tyndale’s exorbitant price.  The bishop’s friend paid it, took the Bibles, and destroyed them. With the money from the Bibles, Tyndale bought materials to print thirty times as many Bibles and distributed them all over the country.  When the bishop discovered more Bibles, he asked where Tyndale had gotten the funds to do this.  His friend said, “You paid for it-you bought the Bibles and he distributed them.”

Isn’t that great!  The Bible, defiantly, victoriously, convincingly, still stands.  It remains the only inerrant, infallible, complete revelation man has ever received from his living God.

May 15, 2012

When God Seems Unfair

You say, “The way of the Lord is not fair.”  Hear now…is it not My way which is fair, and your ways which are not fair?”

Ezekiel 18:25

That’s not fair!  Did you ever say that to your parents?  Most of us have, and in some cases we have spoken the truth.  But usually children feel that way because they’re unable to see things from a more mature perspective.

In Isaiah 55:8-9, our heavenly Father says:  “My thoughts are not your thoughts, not are your ways My ways…For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”

Abraham might have wondered if God was being too harsh with the population of Sodom, but he contented himself with this assurance:  “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25).

He shall!  God is righteous-that is, He is morally right, and He is right in His decisions and in all His ways.  But God tempers His justice with mercy.  If you sometimes feel God has treated you unfairly, tell Him so.  Then ask Him to give you a higher understanding of His ways and a deeper dependence on His grace.  You can trust the Judge of all the earth to do right.

May 14, 2012

Joy that Stays

I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.  John 16:22

The joy of Christ doesn’t go away.  Have you noticed how easily earthly joy can leave?  Have you discovered how simple it is for your gladness of today to become your sadness of tomorrow, for your sweetness of the morning to turn into the bitterness of the night?  Have you discovered how the people you thought were your friends today can become your enemies tomorrow, the wisdom you thought was so great yesterday is foolishness today?

Nothing seems to be too stable in the world.  You can’t really count on much anymore.  But the joy of Christ is a continual, never-ending absolutely constant joy when we follow the principles of the Word of God.  This joy survives all the difficult times in life.  This joy is not hinged on happenings but on a Person.

In John16:22, Jesus says, “Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.”  Isn’t that something?  Jesus says the joy He wants to give every one of His children is the kind of joy you don’t have to lose.  Nobody can take it away from you!

May 10, 2012

How to Value Anything

He who tills his land will be satisfied with bread, but he who follows frivolity is devoid of understanding.  Proverbs 12:11

Many men of the world have understood the necessity of commitment when trying to accomplish great things.  Spanish explorer Cortez landed at Vera Cruz in 1519 to begin his conquest of Mexico with a small force of seven hundred men.  It is said that when his entire crew came ashore, he purposely set fire to his fleet of eleven ships.  Presumably, his men on the shore watched their only means of retreat sink to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.  There was now only one direction to move-forward into the Mexican interior to meet whatever might come their way.

This illustration of diligence is a stark rebuke to those who believe that all of life’s fruits can be had instantly and with little or no sacrifice.  But in God’s economy, the germination-cultivation-harvest cycle remains.  And it is based on the application of diligence and commitment.  Are you facing the temptation to give up on something important?  What does your level of commitment say about the importance of the cause you have committed to?

The value we place on a relationship or project or opportunity can be measured directly by the degree of diligence we apply in working at it.

May 9, 2012

When God Delays

Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb?  Surely they may forget, yet I will never forget you.

Isaiah 49:15

Let’s be honest.  Sometimes when God delays, we feel forgotten.  Someone has said that it is the length of the trial, not the severity of it, done is most threatening to us.  When a painful trial begins, we rally our resolve, we call our comrades, and we determine to defeat our “enemy.”  But as the days wear on and nothings changes, we lose heart and begin to grow weary.  We never imagined God would let us suffer so long!

God says it is as likely that He would forget us as it is that a mother would forget her nursing child (Isaiah 49:15-16)—thought it doesn’t seem like it in the midst of our trials.  Not only can we feel forgotten—we can feel forsaken as well.

So when you pray to God in your house of seeming abandonment, just remember:  God has heard that prayer before, even from His own Son.  He knows what you are going through.  In fact, He deliberately turned His back on His own Son so that He would never have to turn His back on us.  He tells us, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

May 8, 2012

The Spirit’s Translation

The Spirit helps us in our weakness.  We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.

Romans 8:26

I heard a story about a pastor who frequently visited a woman who was dying from cancer.  One day she told him, “I’m so often racked with pain that it’s hard for me to gather my thoughts to pray.  Even when I rally a little from the influence of the medication, my mind is still so dull I can’t concentrate for any length of time.”

He looked at her a moment and said, “Well, you can groan, can’t you?”

“Oh yes,” she replied, “My days are spent doing that.”  “Well, never mind that you can’t formulate prayers,” the pastor told her.  “The Holy Spirit translates your groans into eloquent petitions and presents them to the Father!”

Can you remember moments in your life when your heart was so heavy or your thoughts seemed so confused that you couldn’t even find words to speak to God?  Sometimes, even though we’re on our knees in an attitude of prayer, we can only manage to sigh or groan or whisper the Lord’s name.  And in those moments, according to Paul, the indwelling Holy Spirit takes our sighs and our groans and brings those prayers to God.  He understands the inward turmoil in our life.  He is the searcher of our hearts, and He knows us better than we know ourselves.

May 7, 2012

Be Humble, Be Wise

 When pride comes, then comes shame; but with the humble is wisdom. Proverbs 11:2

On December 6, 2001, American evangelist Billy Graham received a singular honor from the British Empire.  He was given an honorary knighthood in recognition of his Christian service benefiting England and the world.  When given his award by the British ambassador to the United Sates, the evangelist’s remarks were characteristic:  “I accept it with humility and unworthiness.”  He went on to say that he looked forward to laying his honorary knighthood, along with any other recognition he has ever received, at the feet of Jesus Christ, who deserves all honor and praise.

One has to wonder if the impact of Billy Graham and his ministry around the world is in any way connected with his personal spirit of “humility and unworthiness.”  In light of biblical testimony concerning humility, the answer has to be yes.  God gives skill and advancement to the humble and actively resists (stands in the way of) the proud.  If you have a destination in view, you can remove at least one serious roadblock by being humble on the way.

Skills for living are not acquired as much as they are received in the form of grace—given by God as wisdom to the humble.

May 4, 2012

Angels Rejoice at our Salvation

Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.   Luke 15:10

The Bible tells us that angels are aware of the moment each person repents of his sin and becomes a Christian.  According to Luke 15:10, they rejoice.  One writer says that “they set the bells of heaven to ringing with their rejoicing before the Lamb of God.”  Although the angels rejoice when people are saved and glorify God who has saved them, they cannot do one thing:  they cannot testify personally to something they have not experienced.  Angels have not been redeemed.  They can only point to the experiences of the redeemed and rejoice that God has saved them.  This means that throughout eternity, we humans alone will give our personal witness to the salvation that God achieved by grace and that we received through faith in Jesus Christ.  As great as they are, angels cannot testify to salvation the same way as those who have experienced it.