Galatians 3:28-"There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."

Wouldn't it be great if we could tear down all the walls that divide us -- racial, social, and gender. The apostle Paul spent his entire life trying to do just that, to tear down the walls that divided people by bringing them to Jesus and the cross. There are no positions of superiority or inferiority at the foot of the cross, only those who discover God's might displayed in sacrifice and God's love displayed in the face of human cruelty. While the forces of culture and human selfishness are always finding ways to divide us, we must remember that in Jesus, and only in Jesus, we can be one.

Self-Centered or God-Centered

Matthew 16:23-"You are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's ..."
The apostle Peter is a glaring example of the struggle between self- and Christ-centered living. Only moments after Peter confessed the fundamental truth that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:13-16), he found himself in league with the powers of darkness. Having just blessed Peter for his noble confession, Jesus announced to him and the other disciples the suffering and death which awaited Him at Jerusalem. "And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, 'God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You'" (verse 22). Jesus responded: "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's" (verse 23). Jesus' memorable rebuke seems mercilessly severe. But the fact that He identified Satan as the source of Peter's words describes precisely and appropriately the character of the advice Peter tried to give: "Save yourself at all costs. Sacrifice duty to self-interest, the cause of Christ to personal convenience." Peter's advice was satanic in principle, for Satan's primary aim is to promote self-interest as the chief end of man. Satan is called the "prince of this world" because self-interest rules the secular world. He is called the "accuser of the brethren" because he does not believe that even a child of God has a higher motive than self-service. You can almost hear him hissing, "All men are selfish at heart and have their price. Some may hold out longer than others, but in the end every man will prefer his own things to the things of God." That's Satan's creed, and unfortunately the lives of all too many Christians validate his claims. Satan has deceived them into thinking they are serving themselves when in fact they are serving the world, the flesh, and the devil. But the Christian worldview has a different center. Jesus confronts our humanistic, self-serving grids and offers the view from the cross. Only from this center can you escape the bondage of the one whose sole intent is "to steal, and kill, and destroy" (John 10:10).

I Believe in Jesus

John 6:29-"Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: To believe in the one he has sent."

Do you believe in Jesus? Do you really believe? Shortly after Max Lucado came back from his mission work in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, he shared with a group of his closest friends that his theology was pretty simple. He didn't have a handle on a lot of the big difficult theological problems that divide folks. But Max said he came to the firm and deep conviction that God loves us and he showed that love by sending Jesus to live among us, to die for us, and to be raised from the dead so we could, too. This is the work of God -- amazingly simple and awesomely powerful.

Real Peace of Mind Through Christ

Isaiah 26:3-"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you."

It is naive to think that trusting in God solves all of our problems -- Christians have many of the same problems that unbelievers do because they share the same mortal flesh. On the other hand it's true that if we trust in God, we believe our work stands or falls in his hands and that ultimately we will share in his victorious and glorious presence. It means our lives will not be lived in vain. That's not just confidence, but it's the foundation to true peace -- life lived to its fullest and richest knowing that it matters and we don't need to be anxious about its results.

I Belong To Jesus

Romans 12:4-5-"Just as each of us has a one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others."

One of the key realities of Christianity is belonging. I belong! I belong to God. I belong to Jesus. I belong to the body of Christ which is His church. I have a place and a purpose in that body. I belong! I have a work and function that I can accomplish and fulfill through the grace of God and the enabling of his Holy Spirit.

He Cares and He Hears

Psalm 116:1-2-"I love the Lord, he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. "

Understanding the Lord's love and nearness should lead us to serve him and continue our relationship with him. While we love God for many reasons, we want to express our love to him today especially for his personal concern for us. Nobody knows us like the Lord does and nobody cares for us like the Lord does. He's always there for us and will always care for our needs.

Conviction

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)

Have you ever wished you could take back something you just said? Or, have you ever thought if only I had known then what I know now, I would have done things differently? More than once in my life, I have wished I could go back and do something over to make it right. Even with our best intentions and motives, there are times when our words come out the wrong way and we find ourselves feeling badly. We usually know it immediately. I have learned from my own experiences that the Holy Spirit will convict and impress upon me that I should have handled a situation differently. One of the Greek definitions for the word “conviction” means to bring to light, to cause shame, or to show one’s fault. One of the Holy Spirit’s jobs is to convict us when we say or do things outside of God’s will. This includes speaking when we should have been listening or speaking from our own wisdom instead of the Lord’s. When I find myself in those situations that I feel badly about what I have just said or done, I start praying. I begin by confessing my sin and asking for forgiveness. The Lord promises that He will forgive us our sins if we confess them (1 John 1:9). Repentance is definitely a next step because we need to acknowledge that we do not want to continue in sinning against Him or others in this way. Next, we have a responsibility not only to pray for ourselves but to also pray for the person(s) involved because our sins do affects others. And that is one of the reasons I love Romans 8:28. I pray this verse to the Lord when I know I have made a mess of something. I start asking the Lord to work it together for good despite what I have done or said. I can honestly say that the Lord has always been faithful to these prayers. You see, we are going to say and do things that we wish we could take back. We are going to hurt others, even when our intentions are good. We will fail and fall short; we need a Savior. We are sinners saved by grace. So today, put the responsibility back on our Savior and Lord. Ask the Lord to work “all things” together for good and apply this verse to those times when you know you have just made a big mistake. Ask forgiveness, then start praying for God to make it right. Only He can make things right. God’s love, mercy and grace cover us every moment of our lives and He gives us His Word to help guide us. Memorize this verse today and ask the Lord to bring it to your mind in times of trouble.

A Song In My Heart

Psalm 42:8-"By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me -- a prayer to the God of my life."

I come from a family of singers and musicians. I am not only a third generation pastor, but I am also a third generation musician and singer. Music is something that I dearly love and enjoy. In fact, I have always loved music. To this day, songs help unlock the part of me that is most yielded to God. It helps me declare my love for him and my praise to him. But as the psalmist says, at night, especially on those nights when sleep is hard to come by, his song is with me.

How God Works

Deuteronomy 8:6-"You shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him."

I believe in miracles, and I accept as fact every one recorded in the Bible. I believe that our entire Christian experience is a miracle. It simply cannot be explained by natural means. And God's power is seen in other miraculous ways today, but must He always prove Himself by stepping outside His created order? If God doesn't primarily guide us through His Word (which never changes) and take into account the fixed order of the universe, how can we ever have any stability? How can we make any plans if God doesn't reveal His ways and then stay consistent with them? God is not trivial in His dealings with man. He has clearly established His ways and He is faithful to them. I believe God has revealed His ways and we are to walk in them. The question is, how does God work through human responsibility and the natural order of the universe to bring about His will? Somehow He works through a less-than-perfect church, intervening in human affairs in such a way as to guarantee the outcome of the ages. What really impresses me is His timing, not His miraculous interventions. Notice how Jesus responded to those who insisted on a sign: "An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet" (Matthew 12:39). Satan wanted a sign too. He said, "If You are the Son of God throw Yourself down" (Matthew 4:6). To this Jesus responded, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test" (verse 7 NIV ). Jesus was saying that the sign we need is the Word of God, and we are to use the Word to guard against Satan's temptations to force the Lord to prove Himself. I think it is better to prove ourselves to God rather than demand He prove Himself to us. We are the ones being tested, not God. "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15).

Not Easily Shaken

Psalm 16:8-"I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken."

There are many things that can trouble our lives, but none that can shake us loose from the grip of God's grace if our hearts remain close to Jesus as our Lord, and our hope remains focused on the Lord's return. If Jesus is our Lord, then all of life's greatest blessings lie ahead of us and we will let nothing rob us of this coming glory!

PRAISE

"Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, You are very great: You are clothed with honor and majesty, 2 Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment, Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain. 3 He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters, Who makes the clouds His chariot, Who walks on the wings of the wind, 4 Who makes His angels spirits, His ministers a flame of fire. 5 You who laid the foundations of the earth, So that it should not be moved forever, 6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment; The waters stood above the mountains. 7 At Your rebuke they fled; At the voice of Your thunder they hastened away. 8 They went up over the mountains; They went down into the valleys, To the place which You founded for them. 9 You have set a boundary that they may not pass over, That they may not return to cover the earth. 19 He appointed the moon for seasons; The sun knows its going down. 20 You make darkness, and it is night, In which all the beasts of the forest creep about. 24 O Lord, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all. The earth is full of Your possessions." (Psalm 104:1-9, 19-20,24)

Take a moment and read these verses. Take even more time and read the entire Psalm 104. Sometimes we need to be reminded of God’s awesome power and greatness. This Psalm captures the beauty of the Lord in poetic imagery. We can read the verses and almost visualize God’s majesty. He is God and there is none other. He is worthy of all praise and worship.
Who else covers Himself with light? God is light. Who else stretches out the heavens like a curtain and lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters? God. The same God moves upon the clouds as though they were His chariots and walks on the wings of the wind, because He made them. Who placed the waters in their place and put a border around them? God. The same God put the moon and the sun in their places, for seasons and for days, for light and for darkness. There is but one true God. Creator God. Sovereign Lord. Lord of heaven and earth. And as if all of this is not enough, He created us in His image. He has a plan for each of us. He loves us beyond our understanding. And He wants to spend eternity with us. He has even prepared the place in heaven that awaits us. What do we have to do in return? Believe in His Son Jesus Christ, and receive the free gift of salvation. Take time today and praise the Lord, not just for all that He has done, but for just who He is.

Purity in a Impure World

1 Corinthians 7:1-"Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out reverence for God."

In a world so full of distractions and temptations, purity is difficult. Even more than difficult, the call to purity often goes forgotten and ignored. Cheap grace is substituted for a call to passionate living. While we never want to give in to a "works righteousness," we also must remember that impurity through laziness, lack of commitment, or simple rebellion are contaminating to those claiming to be Christians and ruin our influence before the watching world.

Standing for Truth

What is it about us humans that have such a hard time admitting the truth? What is it that when we panic, we have the ability to compromise our convictions in a moment? The Bible says in John 18:25 that Peter denied he knew Christ. That scripture says, “Now Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. Therefore they said to him, "You are not also one of His disciples, are you?" He denied it and said, "I am not!" Peter is the perfect example of compromising our convictions in a heated situation. Peter was more concerned about the consequences of telling the truth than standing up for the Truth itself. As he watched the persecution of Jesus, Peter impulsively chose to deny even knowing Him. Why would Peter do this? He did it out of fear. Peter was confused as to what was happening around him and at that moment, he only thought of himself. Would any one of us have responded any differently? When posed with uncomfortable questions about our beliefs, how do we answer? Whether we realize it or not, there is a growing, yet subtle, attitude against Christianity. To profess the name of Jesus Christ can bring persecution to the one openly speaking His name. Do you think I am kidding? Just test it out. People are comfortable talking about “God” but go ahead and speak the name of Jesus and people who do not believe in Him will have an immediate reaction. Usually the reaction becomes personal against the person speaking. I have personally felt at times as if I was being discredited in people’s minds because I believed in Jesus as Lord and Savior, even to the point of second glances or almost worried looks. However, I have also had moments when I knew I should speak the name of Jesus and did not do it. The feelings afterwards are quite painful to bear inside. It is easier to deal with the persecution from the outside, speaking out the truth than to deal with the conviction on the inside of not speaking out for the truth. To stand for Jesus in a world who is against Him is not easy and we do not have the strength to do it alone. When circumstances press against us, we tend to want to do anything to relieve the pressure. Know today that the enemy, Satan, uses this pressure to get us to not stand for Jesus. Why? Because our witness and testimony of Jesus Christ is the most powerful tool we have in the world today. Christians who stand together in one voice proclaiming the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ form an effective weapon against the powers of darkness. Jesus came for us because He knows how we all fall short, just as Peter did. His power to forgive us our sins gives us the power to keep going, not defeated but victorious. Don’t let the “I am not” moments keep you down. Get back up and try again. Together in Christ we can make a difference, just by speaking the truth of who He is. Ask the Lord to give you strength against fears in the circumstances, so that you can be bold to stand for Jesus.

Prepared By God For His Purpose

Ephesians 2:10-"We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

The Psalmist reminded us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made and God has something definite planned for us to do while we are here. We display his craftsmanship and skill when we intentionally live for him and not like the rest of the world.

Working At Church This Week

I have been busy this week doing various jobs around the church. This week I and some men from the church were able to hang new doors for our storage room in our church annex and we also purchased chairs for our annex dining hall which look great but had to be picked up this week also. I will try to make a few more entries before the end of this week. It's just been a busy time, trying to get projects and work done this week. Hope you all are having a good week. God bless.

Your Worth to God

Luke 12:6-7-"Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."

In a universe so vast, what is our little planet? In a planet so diverse and so full of life, what are people? Among all the billions of people alive and who have lived and already died, what significance do I have? Jesus reminds us that our significance is great -- not because we are so important but because we are known personally by God. We don't have to be afraid, we are known and loved by the One who is and was and is to come!

The Real Judge

Isaiah 33:22-"The Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us."

When we think about God being our judge, we normally think of falling into judgment. Isaiah reminds us that God being our judge means that he will be there to judge us based on his will, his rule and his grace. He is on our side and is looking to save, not condemn. Using the New Testament idiom, when we stand before our Judge we see instead our Father.

Finding the Right Path

Psalm 119:130-"The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple."

Sometimes the right path is not so difficult to find, we just need to know where to begin our search -- the reading of God's words. The right way is very seldom just the property of the bright, wise, and scholarly. It is very clear if we will but look for it!

God's Great Invitation

Jeremiah 33:2-3-"This is what the Lord says, he who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it -- the Lord is his name: Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."

In a universe of billions of stars, think of the power of the God who made them and knows each of their names. Think of all he knows that we don't. Think of all he has seen that is not in a history book. Think of all he has done and can do. Add to this that he invites us to speak to him about the things of our heart.

Back From Vacation

(Me with some old friends from the class of '89)

Well my family and I finally returned from our vacation. We spent six days traveling to Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana and then onto St. Louis for my 20 year high school reunion for the class of 1989 from Fox High School. It was great to spend time with family in St. Louis and to see old friends that I had not seen in twenty years. Many of us are now married and have families along with our careers and other interests. I am sure I will keep in touch with many of my classmates in the future and can't wait until we all get together again. Have a great week and God bless.

Following God's Word

James 1:22-"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

What we know and even what we believe are not that significant if they don't show up in the way we live. Pure and simple, faith not lived everyday is not faith, it is facade. You must live what you believe and put that belief into practice everyday.