July 29, 2010

Are your prayers significant?

Revelation 5:8
Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

Do you find it interesting that God keeps our prayers? Bobbi and I have a box full of love letters and correspondence from before we were married. Those letters are of no value to anyone but us. The prayers we pray over the years of our lives have value to us and to God. How are those prayers kept? Are they kept in some kind of technical sound file? How are they sorted? Is it according to person or according to situation or according to date and time? The verse does not answer those questions. It just states that in the bowls are the prayers of the saints.

How often have you felt that God was just not hearing your prayer? How often have you wished that someone who prayed better than you would pray for you because you thought that God would hear their prayers better than yours? Maybe you felt like a kindergartener learning to write compared to a fourth grader who was writing cursive. And yet, God was both hearing and answering and saving your seeming insignificant prayers.

Have you ever read a prayer book and used someone else’s prayers because they really sounded rich and good? In God’s ears all of our sincere prayers are heard and kept. They are important to Him.

Note also that the verse says that in the bowls full of incense, are the prayers of the saints. Those who are still in their sin, who have not been made saints before God by faith in the grace of God, they, not being saints, are not heard when they pray neither are their prayers kept. The Psalmist put it this way “If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me.” (Psalm 66:18) It has been said that the first prayer the Lord hears from anyone is the humble prayer for salvation.

And yet, how amazing it is that the Lord both hears and keeps the prayers of the saints. Take heart in your prayers. God hears. Take heart in your prayers. God hears and answers and keeps them; they are important to Him.

Well, Caleb comes home today. We had a misunderstanding of the international date line and his departure and arrival times. We went to O’Hare and waited for an hour and a half past his arrival. Bobbi went to the upstairs desk where she told her that Caleb was on Thursday’s flight. We have texted with him since then and he will home today.

If you have not participated with us in the Wednesday night concert of prayer, I wish you could come. It has been a blessed time of focusing on the Lord, meditating upon Him, confession and intercession. I come away blessed each week. It is not a ‘usual’ church service.

Thanks for your prayers for Justin and his family and group. Their trip to the Ukraine was filled with changes and God-led opportunities. They got home and are thrilled with all that happened especially having seen 23 children in camp come to the Lord Jesus.

Kristin’s son Alan, whom we prayed for on Tuesday, had a very successful surgery. Thanks for your prayers for him. His recovery requires him to stay off his leg for six weeks. Pray for continued healing.

Last Sunday’s message, “How dead, How alive” is up on the website.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

July 28, 2010

A predicament and a resolution – Praise the Lamb!

Revelation 5

1 And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals.

2 Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?"

3 And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it.

4 So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it.

5 But one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals."

6 And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

7 Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.

8 Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

9 And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,

10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth."

11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands,

12 saying with a loud voice: "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!"

13 And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: "Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!"

14 Then the four living creatures said, "Amen!" And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.

This is another amazing scene recorded for us. We have preserved for us John’s awe at the both the predicament and the resolution. The predicament was that there was a scroll to be opened but no one was worthy to open it. In light of what we have learned so far, there are in heaven creatures that defy imagination, cherubim and seraphim, who have lived their existence praising God. There are angels, and elders and people from all time before the throne of God. Yet in that milieu with all of its grandeur, no one was worthy to do the work of Jesus Christ except Christ Himself!

When you think of all of the world religions and religious leaders and guru’s and peace leaders and missionaries and apostles and popes and reformers and nationally acclaimed spiritual leaders and then realize that not one of them stepped up to open the scroll, you realize that no one, born on this earth, can do the work of Jesus Christ. Our sin stops us short of being worthy in and of ourselves.

So, Jesus Christ, the Lamb that was slain, the One who lives forever and forever (both backwards and forwards) steps up, opens the scroll, and receives the cheers and the praise of the entire world. He is the worthy One to receive honor, and wisdom, and power, and glory and blessing. (No, Handel did not come up with these words, he took them from this verse.) Jesus alone is the worthy One. So, in this life, let’s ever make Him the worthy One. Let us never absorb praise to ourselves but ever reflect it upward to Him. One day, all the world will bow before Him and all will see Him in His glory as Saul of Tarsus did and all will praise Him who was slain and who is alive forevermore. Amen and Amen.

Take time today to meditate on these fourteen verses. Let your mind wander back to them. What a difference meditation can make. Take these verses into your prayer time today. Ask the Lord for an opportunity to talk to someone about these verses this week. Let the Word of God help you exalt the Savior, the Lord Jesus.

Caleb flies in around 10:00 this morning. We are looking forward with great anticipation to having him home. Thanks to all of you who have prayed for Caleb during this six months of his life. He would like to go back to college in a month. Pray with us for the financing of this next step. He needs a bachelor’s degree to get a permanent visa as a teacher in China.

Pray for the work at Wayside this morning.

If you can, come to our prayer and bible study time at church at 7:00.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

July 27, 2010

He is worthy of praise for His creative acts.

Revelation 4

9 Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever,

10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying:

11 "You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created."

As we have thought about this heavenly scene of awesome wonder, indescribable majesty, absolute holiness, and filled with praise to God, we come to the primary message of the twenty-four elders. They sit on thrones, they are representative of all people from all ages and all tribes and nations, and they are going to cast their crowns at the feet of the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ. None of them are Judas-like in that they are hoping for something for themselves. All of them are in awe and wonder and worship of the Lord who sits on this unparalleled throne.

In verse 11 we find their message. Let’s focus on that for a moment.

“You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, honor and power…” At this point, every so called “great” person of this earth will be dead and forgotten. But, the Lord Jesus, who is alive forevermore, who conquered sin and death and will conquer every enemy before long, is truly worthy to receive the praise given. He is worthy. Think about that statement. He is worthy. Human beings have applauded and given standing ovations to many “great” people. He is worthy. Books have been written about human exploits and achievements and medals of honor have been given. He is worthy. Statues have been erected to remember great people and buildings and roads and rivers are named after great people. He is worthy. We pay money to go watch great people perform and then we applaud their talent. He is worthy.

Why is our Lord worthy of all of our glory, honor and power? He created all things for His will and glory. Michelangelo was a great painter who created great paintings. Can you live without seeing the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel where Michelangelo’s paintings are created? Sure. Wayne Gretsky was the greatest hockey player that ever played. He created moves that no one had ever seen. Can you exist without having heard of or seen Gretzky play hockey? I think you get the point. We were created, the earth was created. Food was created. Air was created and is sustained. Our Lord is worthy because He created all things for His will and glory.

Note that it does not say that He started creation but the He created all things. It does not say that He created some things thus allowing evolution to take its course but that He created all things. If the twenty-four elders before the throne of God believe in creation and they praise God for His creation and God, who is holy, does not stop them for mis-stating their praise, then I think we can say that God created all things.

We cannot exist without creation and without the Creator. Take time to praise God with the twenty-four elders. Praise Him for His creation. Praise Him for every aspect of His creation. Praise Him for holding all things together. Praise God for His creation, us. He is worthy.

Kristin Fowler’s son, Alan, is having surgery at 11:00 today. Pray for the success of this surgery. He is having repair surgery after a fall he took while mountain climbing.

Please pray for a buyer for the daycare. We have enough students to pay the bills so it should be a good time to sell it. Pray for Connie and the staff as they labor there each day. Pray for opportunities to witness to the parents of the children.

Ladies, remember the dinner for Georgia Taylor tonight. She is moving to California Saturday.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

July 23, 2010

God is holy. What difference does that make to us?

Revelation 4:8 The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!"

Isaiah 6

1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.

2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

3 And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!"

4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.

5 So I said: "Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts."

Hundreds of years after God brought Isaiah into His throne-room, John is brought in. The same seraphim are still proclaiming the same message, God is holy!

In Isaiah’s experience we find the prophet immediately aware of his own sinfulness. This is without doubt how each of us will feel in the presence of our holy God.

What does it mean to be holy? We can say that God is holy in His wisdom, holy in His judgment, holy in His love, holy in His purposes, holy in His attributes, yes, God is holy in every way. There is nothing about God that is tainted nor unholy. A holy God filled with holy ways accomplishes all that He purposes in holiness. A holy God hates evil and cannot have evil in His holy presence. God is holy.

God’s holiness creates a dilemma for mankind. We who recognize our sinfulness have to recognize that we do not belong in the presence of a holy God. This gives us a couple of choices. We can redefine God. We can make God more man-like, giving Him human attributes and lowering Him in our own minds down to our level. At that level God is more accessible to us and we can go to Him and talk about our eternity. As one man told me, “When I die, I will go to God and say, “God, you are a reasonable being, let’s talk this out.”” That man lowered God to his level.

Another choice we have is to assume that we can do something good to merit acceptance into God’s holy presence. As you know, the problem remains that we still carry our sin thus we can never merit ourselves into holiness.

No, my friends, the only way to become holy is to have your sin removed. You cannot perform this surgery only Jesus Christ can. His blood mixed with your sin washes you as white as snow before God. Those washed in Christ’s blood can enter the holy presence of God wearing the holiness of Jesus Christ. “Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin.”

Thank God today for you who were born in sin can be re-born into holiness by faith in God’s grace. Are you ready to stand before our holy God? Come to Jesus for forgiveness and He will cleanse you of all your sin and prepare you to live with Him in the holy presence of God for eternity.

Pray for Pastor Bill and his services at Spring Meadow and Sunrise today.

Pray for RU tonight that those who come will find hope in Jesus Christ. Pray for salvation and change of life that only the Lord can bring.

Today is the last day of camp for our teenagers. Pray for them to take spiritual steps today.

Once again, pray for Sunday that God will accomplish His purposes here. Pray that we will be a people after God’s own heart, as David was.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

July 22, 2010

Wow, cherubs! No, God will be the focus.

Revelation 4

6 Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back.

7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle.

8 The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!"

Ezekiel 1

5 Also from within it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had the likeness of a man.

6 Each one had four faces, and each one had four wings.

7 Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the soles of calves' feet. They sparkled like the color of burnished bronze.

8 The hands of a man were under their wings on their four sides; and each of the four had faces and wings.

9 Their wings touched one another. The creatures did not turn when they went, but each one went straight forward.

10 As for the likeness of their faces, each had the face of a man; each of the four had the face of a lion on the right side, each of the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and each of the four had the face of an eagle.

Ezekiel 10

20 This is the living creature I saw under the God of Israel by the River Chebar, and I knew they were cherubim.

21 Each one had four faces and each one four wings, and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings.

22 And the likeness of their faces was the same as the faces which I had seen by the River Chebar, their appearance and their persons. They each went straight forward.

The importance of today’s devotional is this: God has created beings in His presence whose purpose is to proclaim His power and glory. While some have said that God is an egomaniac who demands too much praise, we have to say that God is not a man, God is holy, and God is worthy of the praise that He receives. We cannot superimpose upon God that which we would impose upon a man. God is worthy of all praise and will one day receive all praise from all men. Philippians 2 tells us this.

God has created cherubim who live in His presence. They are faithful to Him; they do His bidding which is to praise Him. When the day comes that we are ushered into God’s presence we will be in awe. The beauty is beyond description and will put all human thrones to shame. There is a sea, there is thunder and lightning, there are angels and people, and there are these cherubim that we cannot begin to understand how they live and move. How can one creature have four faces and live in unity even with itself? We tend to humanize these creatures but they are God’s private heralds.

If you had heralded the coming of the God of heaven, you would never be impressed with anyone else. These cherubs will not be impressed by any man or woman who comes by. They know the awe of God better than anyone for they live in His presence. Perhaps we will speak to them one day, perhaps we won’t. But they know our God.

And yet, there is a part of God that we know which they cannot know and that is His grace. We are told that we who trust in Christ will one day proclaim His grace as His church to His principalities. Do not wish to be a cherub. If you are a redeemed child of God you have experienced something that a cherub cannot. You have experienced God’s love and grace. For eternity, the cherubs have and will give praise to God. They are created to do so. We will spend eternity praising God as His church, His bride, His redeemed ones who rejoice in His love and in His will to save us. Perhaps the cherubs will come and ask us what God’s grace feels like.

I look forward to God’s physical presence. I look forward to seeing the cherubs for myself. But most of all, I look forward to seeing my Father and my Savior. The cherubs will lose my attention as my eyes fix upon the Lord Jesus and my praise overflows to Him forever.

Thank you for your continued prayers for our church. God is doing His work each and every day. It is amazing to watch God open doors and close doors and empower us and lead us. Truly, this is His church and He is in control at every level.

Keep our teens at camp in your prayers. We long to hear their testimonies of God’s working in their lives. Pray to this end throughout today and tomorrow.

Begin to pray for Sunday that we will all be prepared to gather in the Lord’s name. Pray for Satan’s defeat and for God’s exaltation.

Those making VBS calls, you are also in our prayers. Please give the completed call reports back to me. Thanks.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

July 21, 2010

The awesomeness of God’s presence

Revelation 4:5 And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

Ezekiel 1:13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches going back and forth among the living creatures. The fire was bright, and out of the fire went lightning.

14 And the living creatures ran back and forth, in appearance like a flash of lightning.

Exodus 19:16 Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.

17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.

18 Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.

If you were God and you wanted to make a statement about the glory of your presence, how would you do it? How would you communicate to mankind that you were above him in every way? How would let men know of your power and glory? Well, God did just that each time He met with man.

In the Sinai wilderness the escaped nation of Israel was at the foot of Mt. Sinai where Moses was about to go and meet with God. Moses had met with God at the burning bush and at the Red Sea and a few other places so he was ready to go speak with Him. But the people while having seen God’s power over Egypt and nature had never seen God’s presence. So God shows up with thunders and lightnings and dark clouds, a storm that shakes the earth and rattles their feeble hearts. He was God and they were not. They needed to listen to this God who inhabited the storm that He created for His purpose and time.

Ezekiel was a prophet of an exiled people to whom God gave visions of hope and future. For Ezekiel God opened up a view of heaven and he too saw God in His thunder and lightning. (Well, he did not exactly see God but he saw the manifestation of God’s awesome presence.) As you read Ezekiel chapter 1 you scratch your head and try to make sense out of it all and you will come up short. I think that the only answer for the visions of God’s presence that Ezekiel saw is that when we see it it will make sense but until then it is quite confusing. God did get Ezekiel’s attention which always happens when He shows His power and glory.

John saw the same thing. That which brings fear and concerns to us is where God lives! Thunder and lightning incite fear into men but this is the habitation of God. Only God could use the power of thunder and lightning to proclaim His power and glory. When man thinks he has accomplished something, God shows man how puny his accomplishments really are. Realize again the awesomeness of our God. We enjoy the personal aspects of God but we must not ignore the powerful aspects of Him. While we can go to God as our Abba Father, He is also powerful and awesome beyond our imagination. Therefore we go to Him with utmost respect and trust. He is God!

I hope to see you tonight as we humbly bring our praise and worship and requests before our God.

Have a great day in the Lord God,

July 20, 2010

Important lessons from the 24 elders

Revelation 4:4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads.

10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying:

11 "You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created."

Revelation 5:8 Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth."

14 Then the four living creatures said, "Amen!" And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.

These 24 elders are men who are representative of all believers from all ages. We do not know who they are nor where they came from but they are elders who have been placed in seats of honor before the throne of God. However, they do not keep their honor for themselves but lead the innumerable multitude in praise of the Lord Jesus Christ.

For their labors, these elders were given crowns. And yet, not one of them keeps their crown but all of them place the crowns at the feet of Jesus symbolizing His ultimate and supreme Kingship. Peter calls us all a kingdom of kings and priests before our God. We are no longer subservient to earthly kings and priests but can go directly to God the Father through Jesus the Son. While this is a wonderful spiritual position, we will never usurp anything from God. We too will cast any crowns earned at the feet of Jesus recognizing for eternity that there is one and only one supreme King.

These 24 elders are men who came from this earth. As 5:9 says, they came from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. Thank God that his salvation is available to all people. There is not one people group who has not heard and had someone come to faith. How clear this makes John 3:16! “For God so loved the world…” While Israel was His own special nation, God loved the world. I am so glad that He did.

Note too that while earthly throne-sitters take the glory upon themselves, these 24 throne-sitters give all glory to the Lamb. What an example these redeemed elders are to us all. We will never give glory to men or women but will be led in giving all praise to God and to Him alone. Let’s start doing this now so that when we get to heaven praise to God will already be second nature to us. Let’s stop absorbing the praise of men in any fashion and be sure to give all praise to God for all that He enables us to do. Let’s take time in every day to exalt our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He is worthy of all of our praise for all that He gives us ability and strength to do which is everything that we do. Cast the crowns of praise at His feet. Follow the example of the 24 elders.

Having taken the teens to meet the camp bus in Madison yesterday, I was not able to get a devotional out. The kids were excited to go and I did enjoy spending that time with them. Keep them all in your prayers this week. Remember to pray for Yienye, Richard, Monica K, Liz, Jessie, Monica, Karen, Ken, Rebekah, John, Lebu, David, Benjamin and Liam. Pray their hearts to be open to the Lord every time the Word of God is given. Pray for their unity and safety. Pray for a great week of spiritual emphasis in every way.

Pray for our church. Satan is against everything we do and prayer one for another is a necessary part of our battle plan.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

July 15, 2010

What is God’s presence like?

Revelation 4

2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.

3 And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald.

4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads.

5 And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

6 Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back.

7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle.

9 Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever,

10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying:

11 "You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created."

“Just wait until he sees me! I don’t care if he is the CEO of the world I will tell him what I think!” Perhaps you have thought this way about certain company heads, government officials or higher. And truth be known, given the opportunity to speak to fellow man about how their business was infringing upon your life, you would speak your mind.

However, John found himself in a throne room unlike any on earth. He found himself in the presence of One whom he could not spout off to. In the presence of God the only reaction is to fall to your knees and worship. It will not matter then if you thought God was fair to you or not. (John had faithfully served God for sixty to seventy years and was exiled to a prisoner island to die. How fair was that?) You will realize that in His presence is holiness, justice, truth, love, and grandeur like no where on earth. Think about it, God created the earth. Surely His throne room is greater than what He created for us.

In God’s throne room there are creatures that defy description and the description given defies my imagination. These are creatures created by God for the sole purpose of worshipping Him. In God’s presence is the reality that God is worthy of all of our praise and worship and honor and glory. Furthermore, in His presence everything else will come to complete calm and understanding. There is a sea like glass before God’s throne. So while there is thundering and lightening there is calm. Everywhere John looked there was more to see and worship of God.

When we get there, we will not “give God a piece of our mind.” We will bow in awe of His majesty and glory. We will then join the myriads of people and angels and created beings worshipping Him together as one voice. Then everything will make perfect sense from that day forward forever.

I do hope you are at peace today.

Remember to pray for our children at camp today. Tonight and tomorrow will be great opportunities to hear the preaching of God’s word. Pray that their young hearts will be open to God’s call.

Pray for our church to be effective in giving out the gospel and in discipling those who come. This is the stated purpose of the church. Pray that our church will make these Christ given goals our constant effort.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

July 12, 2010

We could hear the trumpet today!

Revelation 4

1 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, "Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this."

2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.

While this passage is not a clear teaching on the rapture of the church it points to it for several reasons.

1. Chapters 2 and 3 describe the church age with the different problems and blessings that are with it.

2. Chapter 4 through the next several chapters describe the judgments of God upon the rebellious world and upon satan.

3. There is no more mention of the church until the judgments are finished.

4. Throughout the Bible we find God removing His people from His direct judgments upon wicked people.

5. Recorded for us in 4:1 and 2 is a description similar to what is written in 1 Corinthians 15 and 1 Thessalonians 4.

Think through this passage with me. “After these things” indicates a time line of events. After the churches are rebuked and corrected or blessed and encouraged there is a call from heaven. There is a door open into heaven which is indicative of entering into something. Then there is a voice like a trumpet calling John up into heaven’s open door.

There is going to be a trumpet call. All who hear the trumpet will be taken up into heaven to ever be with the Lord. Songs have been written about Gabriel’s trumpet blowing the call home. What a great call that will be when the redeemed of all the ages will hear the trumpet call. “The dead in Christ will rise first then we which are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” To those who know the Lord, these are comforting words indeed. We will not have to live on this earth during the judgment for God will call us home.

Then John says that immediately he was in the Spirit. This is another indication of the rapture, or the uptaking of the church. We will be given a new body which will be both physical and spiritual which will be incorruptible and will never fade away. Hallelujah! In this spiritual body we will then be ushered into the presence of our loving and forgiving Lord.

In 1 John, John writes that because of the coming of the Lord we should purify ourselves as He is pure. The knowledge of the rapture of the church should help to keep us walking carefully with our Lord. It should keep us talking about Him so that others who know us will know about the Lord and their need of Him. Christ could call us any day. Are you ready if He called today?

I again thank God for His day in church yesterday. God is so good and gives us His word to learn from and to apply to our lives. Stay in the Word this week. Study Jesus and learn all you can of Him.

Our children got off to camp today. Keep them in your prayers today and throughout the week.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

July 9, 2010

You have ears, are you hearing?

Revelation 3:22 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."

Do you find this phrase interesting? Don’t all of us have ears? Can’t all of us hear? Seven churches, seven messages and seven invitations to hear.

The Bible is filled with words from God so that it is called the Word of God. Words are what we use to communicate thoughts and ideas. Without words we are guessing what people want. Kim has trouble talking and we have trouble understanding what she wants. Jared is hard to understand and therefore sometime difficult to please. He will repeat himself in unintelligible words until we get it or until he gives up, which is not usual.

God’s word is not unintelligible. God’s word is not hard to understand. God’s word is clear with clear messages for those who are listening. Therein lays the trouble. It is not that God’s word is not clear it is that we are not listening. We have ears and He has given the Word but we choose what we want to listen to and what we do not want to listen to.

“But if only God would speak directly to me then I would listen.” Probably not. He has spoken directly to us with all of the revelation and knowledge that we need. Are we listening? Are we interested in listening? Do we prepare our ears to hear and our minds to understand and our hearts to surrender or do we just determine not to listen?

My friends, today’s thought is simple: you have ears, God has spoken, listen and apply the messages He has given to you. You will be the beneficiary by listening.

Today Pastor Bill speaks at Spring Meadow and at Sunrise. Pray for these services as for those who attend this is their weekly church service.

Tonight is Reformers Unanimous one year anniversary at our church. I thank God for the work put in each week to prepare and to strive to minister to those who come. Pray for tonight’s anniversary celebration that the Lord would be exalted and those who come would be encouraged.

Pray for Sunday that our hearts would all be prepared to hear God’s given word.

Saturday afternoon we will be doing follow up visitation for VBS. If you want to help with this come around noon.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

July 8, 2010

God gives us what we want, eventually

Revelation 3:21 "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”

Several years earlier, James and John asked Jesus if they could have the thrones on His right and left hand. This was a very bold question. They were asking for the seats of greatest authority in the new kingdom. They wanted the greatest exposure to the subjects and the greatest honor available to man. Matthew records that even their mother came at one time asking Jesus if her sons could be given this honored position. The other disciples, when they heard about this question, were filled with indignation because each of them wanted the same thing! How filled with pride and self-aggrandizement these men were.

We see in today’s passage that Jesus had a plan for them which included a throne next to Him. But their timing and their motivation was off. To them who overcome, that is, they overcome the temptations of life to fall away from the Lord and they overcome the trials of life to leave the Lord and they overcome the persecutions of life to deny the Lord, there is a throne awaiting them.

God knows our hearts’ desires, He created our inward desires. Furthermore, He has a righteous way of fulfilling every one of those desires. James and John’s motive and timing was off. Jesus had a throne for them but in His time, not theirs. What does the Lord have for you?

Isaiah 64:4 is repeated in 1 Corinthian 2:9 “But as it is written: Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him." Then David makes this wonderful statement regarding what we want: Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.” Stay away from illegitimate ways of fulfilling what you want. God has a plan to fulfill that desire in a righteous and eternal way. James and John will get their thrones as will all of the apostles as will all who overcome. Amen and Amen! We will rule and reign with Christ for a thousand years. Be faithful, my friends, unto the end.

A former member of Grace Fellowship church, Jerri Doubek, found her youngest son dead at his apartment earlier this week. Pray for the Doubek family during a most difficult time.

Pray for the RU anniversary party Friday night. Pray for God to be honored and that some will come back who have stopped coming. All are welcome. If you have been wondering about RU tomorrow night would be a good time to get acquainted with it.

Have a great day in the Lord,

July 6, 2010

Jesus still wants in

Revelation 3:20 "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

21 "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

22 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."'"

Revelation 3:20 has been used to encourage lost people to respond to the knock of the Lord Jesus upon the door of their heart. He is standing and knocking but the door of the heart must be opened from the inside. There is a famous painting of Jesus standing and knocking at a wooden door. The artist who painted this illustration painted the door without a handle on the outside. This is illustrative of our heart’s door. The Lord will not force Himself in but stands knocking, desiring to come in and to cleanse us and to fellowship with us.

But the context of the passage is a message to a lukewarm church. Here is a church that had need of nothing in their own eyes, but was miserable, poor, wretched, naked, and blind in God’s eyes! They had functioned as a church without the Lord’s presence. They had done many things but did so in the power of the flesh without any reliance upon the Lord. To this church the messenger sends the picture of Jesus standing outside of their church knocking and wanting to come in.

What is the purpose of having church without the Lord Jesus? You have action but no substance. You have sacrifice without benefit. You come week after week just to meet with friends and to do your thing but you are doing it all without the person of Christ with you. What a sad commentary upon the church that at one time lived for the Lord’s presence. He is now outside wanting in but unable to come in until the church repents of their independence and falls upon God’s grace as they realize their great need.

And what does Jesus do? He promises to come in when the door is opened to His knocking. He promises to bring this empty church back to sit with Him on His throne. What a merciful and loving God we serve. Whenever we repent He opens the fullness of heaven to us. Let’s live in His presence, welcome Him into everything we do, and rejoice forever in His heaven.

Since I did not get out a devotional yesterday, let me comment on Sunday. I thank God that He is doing His work through Grace for Life Bible Church. He is bringing people in, He is working on lives, He is teaching us from His word every time we get together. It was a blessed day in so many ways and I thank our God for all that He has done and is doing. I am amazed all of the time that we who are so unable to hold it together can still be used by God Almighty here in this life. I challenged you Sunday morning to think about how you are using your American freedoms for God’s kingdom. I really would like your feedback on how we can be more responsible with this great opportunity.

Please pray for some friends of ours. Ken Subjeck is near death. He is in his fifties. Pray for Ken to be healed. God can still raise him up.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

July 2, 2010

Are we all that we think we are?

Revelation 3

17 "Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing' --and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—

18 "I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.

19 "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.

20 "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

21 "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

22 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."'"

To the Laodicean church, which was a wealthy church in a wealthy part of the country, the messenger from the Lord tells them that spiritually speaking they are wretched, poor, miserable, blind and naked. What a scathing statement to a church who thought so well of themselves. I recently read a book about what happens when God comes to church. In it, the author describes how many churches are so program perfect that it does not matter if God shows up or not, they are going to have a perfect program. In fact, if God did show up He might mess it up.

Are we fully and completely dependent upon God for our wealth, our cleansing, our sight and our righteousness? God wants us to come to Him for true riches tried in His fire. He wants us to come to Him for clothes cleansed in blood so that we may wear the clean garments of His righteousness. He also wants us to come to Him with our blindness so that He may enable us, enlighten us, to see.

The irony here is that the Laodiceans were wealthy due to rich natural resources. Their clothes were beautiful, their health was great due to natural hot springs and they boasted in their eyesight for there was a natural balm for eyes that came from Laodicea. And yet in spite of all of their natural wealth, they were spiritually bankrupt, unhealthy and blind. Therefore the call from the messenger was to repent of their prideful condition and fall upon the One who could give them, by grace, all that they needed.

The Lord stood outside the door of this wealthy church asking them to open the door to Him so that He could come in and fellowship with them. Oh may our fellowship be much more Christ centered. May He be the One we go to for everything and may we never rely upon our own abilities and resources. We are as bankrupt as this church was if we ever think that we can exist one Sunday or one fellowship without the Lord Jesus. We must overcome the American success syndrome and come to the Lord for all that our church needs.

Please pray for me today. There is much to do between now and Sunday and the energy level could use your prayers.

Our event last night was a raving success! Thanks to you who made or bought pies and cookies. All that we brought was sold out. Most of all that was brought was sold out. The fundraiser part of it went well and so did the managing of the event. Thank you for your prayers and for your continued support.

Remember that Sunday is a bit different. Being the 4^th of July we are not having our normal Sunday fellowship dinner after the morning service. Instead we are meeting after the evening service in the church parking lot and yard for a time of games and food and fellowship awaiting the Naperville fireworks. If you have any questions email me or call Bobbi.

Have a great day in the Lord,

July 1, 2010

No more lukewarmness, let’s be zealous

Revelation 3

14 "And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, 'These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:

15 "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.

16 "So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.

This passage has been preached around the world exposing God’s attitude toward lukewarm Christianity, and rightfully so. For while we like the idea of having our sins forgiven and of coming to church weekly and even giving some of our income to the church offering, most of us really don’t want to be called “Bible thumpers,” or “zealots,” or “on fire” Christians. We pacify ourselves by telling ourselves that we are not pastors so we are not supposed to be like “that.” After all, we don’t want to be weird we just want to live a “normal” Christian life like most other Christians live.

Then re-read verse 16.

God, who gave His only Son, so we could have eternal and abundant life (John 10:10) wants us to be on fire for Him. And the truth is that we can get excited about so many unimportant things. We get excited about things that are totally temporary and want to stay lukewarm about the only eternal things. Doesn’t make much sense, does it?

In fact, God would rather we be cold spiritually for then the world knows we are cold and the church knows that we are cold. When we live the lukewarm life the world is not sure who we are and the church is comfortable. There is no threat of persecution for there is no fire for God coming out of our lives. Let me admit here that living the lukewarm life is much easier than living the hot life. It is much more comfortable when I am spending my time as I want to spend it, spending my money on what I want to spend it, and being comfortable with all of those around me. And yet, when they stand before God they will wonder why I was not on fire for the only thing that really mattered. If those who know me stand lost before God one day and I never spoke to them of Christ and never took a stand for my faith and for righteousness, they may look at me with tears and ask me: “Why were you lukewarm when you knew that eternity was on the line for me?”

The indictment of the passage is the God would like to vomit out of His holy and zealous mouth those who claim Him but live the lukewarm life. Even God is sick of our lukewarmness. Let’s go to Him this day, ask forgiveness for being lukewarm and then pray for boldness to be zealous for the Lord. In the next conversation that gives you a chance, stand up for the Lord. In the next conversation that speaks of emptiness and hopelessness, express your fullness and eternal hope in Christ. We are not to live out of the world but in the world caring for the world for Jesus sake. Let’s be a church of people zealous, on fire for Jesus Christ.

I am speaking Sunday on the Christians responsibility to our freedom. This should bring some interesting questions to our minds. Hope to see you here.

Remember that this Sunday we will not be having dinner after the morning service and will be meeting after the evening service at 7:00 for food, (bring your own and to share) and for games as we await the Naperville fireworks.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

June 29, 2010

A little strength, an open door, and faithfulness to God goes a long way

Revelation 3

7 "And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, 'These things says He who is holy, He who is true, "He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens":

8 "I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.

9 "Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie--indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.

10 "Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

11 "Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.

12 "He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. And I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.

13 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."'

I have often come back to this passage and asked God to let me live verse 8. It does not say they had a boatload of strength nor a mountain of faith. What they had and what the Lord commends is that they (and we) have a little strength. God has all of the strength that we need He just wants to see us make the first move in the direction of His open doors. When we move toward His open doors He gives the strength necessary to keep going. Doing God’s work is not something that we need to understand from A – Z to get started. If He shows us a direction He wants us to start in it. The rest is up to Him.

Secondly, when God opens a door of opportunity, no man can shut it. Men can remove their financial support, remove their endorsement and even remove their participation. But if one with a little strength continues through the door God has opened, that door will remain open. As long as God leaves an opportunity open, we need to continue to persevere into it. When God closes the door we need wisdom and perception to bring that ministry to and wait for the next open door.

Finally, this church was, and we will be, commended for not denying God’s name. Whatever we do we must do in the name of our God and Savior. Too many Christian “professionals” today are doing what they do for their name and for their fame. When Christian artists who put themselves on the cover of their cd’s and pose with a blank expression trying to copy their rock counterparts, who are they exalting? Christian musicians, comedians and preachers alike absorb the praise of their audiences and fans. Are they by their actions denying the Lord who gave them their talents? We must not deny the Lord! He is one and all is in His power. He opens, He shuts, He empowers, He alone calls and saves the lost. It must be in His name that we live and breathe and have our lives.

Verse 10 speaks to the Lord’s removal of His faithful church from the hour of trial which is to come upon the whole earth. As we continue through the book of the Revelation of Jesus we will see some of those trials. Thank God, He has always removed His faithful from His judgments. He will set His faithful into His eternal presence with His holy name attached to them. What a mighty and glorious and loving God we serve.

Pastor Bill is taking the Sunrise service today. Pray for his opportunity to talk to Anthony about Caleb and about the Lord.

Keep praying for a friend named Mike that God would bring him to himself and out of the mess he is in.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

June 28, 2010

Are you “watching?”

Revelation 3

1 "And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, 'These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: "I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.

2 "Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God.

3 "Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.

4 "You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.

5 "He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.

6 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."'

It seems that the Sardis church, though functioning as a church, had forgotten the command to watch for the coming of their Lord. The importance of the command to watch goes back to the walled city culture. If a city did not have someone watching they might be attacked without warning and be defeated. A watching city was a city that was always prepared for an attack. Today this might be akin to a Navy ship which though never attacked regularly goes through attack drills just in case an attack would come.

Jesus told the disciples to watch and pray lest they enter into temptation. They slept instead and in a short time ran away from their Savior. Paul often reminded his readers to watch and be ready. Watch for one another, watch for yourselves, watch for sin and watch for the Savior’s return. A watching church is one who is caring for each other and anticipating the eminent return of Christ. The Sardis church was no longer watching and God said that their works were no longer perfect or complete before God. Since He should be our primary audience for all that we do if we are not working for Him then what is the point?

We do see here that even in a problem church there will be some who are faithful and God will treat them accordingly. They will walk with Him in white. Perhaps they would be surprised that there were not more with them but God who knows the hearts is the ultimate judge. Therefore keep your heart repentant before God.

In verse 5 we see the forbearance of God who always asks us to repent. Regardless of what we have done or how we have strayed repentance is always an option. Repentance is a turning from all of your ways and ideas to all of His ways and ideas. Repentance is realizing that God is God and you are not. Repentance is submitting yourself fully to God’s will and purpose for your life and learning to rejoice in Him. There is still time, repent today and enjoy with the repentant of Sardis the confession of Jesus Christ of your name before the Father.

God richly blessed us last week with VBS. The testimonies yesterday were such a thrill to hear. Perhaps the purpose of this year’s VBS was to unify us. Yes, we gave the gospel to probably 90 children overall and yes we ministered God’s love to many parents. All of that seed is yet to be cultivated and brought to fruition by the Spirit of God. But the obvious fruit right now is the joy of the Lord in the hearts of all who served as one body together for the glory of One. Thanks to all who served. God was honored and we were blessed.

Three weeks ago I asked for you, the church family, to help me by making a pie or two or some cookies for a community event that I am in charge of this Thursday night. If you can help me with this, (fruit pies not cream pies for there is no refrigerator outside at the event) and you did not let me know in church yesterday, please let me know today. Thanks.

We had a great time with Caleb on Skype last night. This has been such a life-changing event for him. He comes home in a month from today and he has mixed emotions about that. We are thankful to God for his time in China and for his coming into alignment with the Lord and wanting His will. Pray with him about God’s direction for this fall. He is not able to go back to China that quickly and has some options which require more money than he has. Just pray with him about this.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

June 24, 2010

Only listen to godly teachers

Revelation 2

18 "And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write, 'These things says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass:

19 "I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first.

20 "Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.

21 "And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent.

22 "Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds.

23 "I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works.

24 "Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden.

25 "But hold fast what you have till I come.

26 "And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations--

27 'He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter's vessels' --as I also have received from My Father;

28 "and I will give him the morning star.

29 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."'

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to believe that something sinful is good for you? This church in Thyatira, though it did many things good, came to accept the teaching and ways of an evil woman. This woman, Jezebel, who was typical of the OT character by the same name, was evil. But somehow she sounded good and good church members were deceived by her. In the deception they ended up away from God’s truth and away from God’s righteous paths.

Do not be deceived my friends, anything that begins by taking you into some sinful thought or action will take you farther than you really wanted to go. In the end it will cost you more than you wanted to pay and it will keep you longer than you wanted to stay. In the end you will regret every following those ways and ideas.

There is a cry today for acceptance of people regardless of their sexual preference or of their sexual actions. We are being asked, almost demanded, to accept people regardless of what they do in private. I will accept a person at work who lives a sinful life and if they are without Christ I will expect them to be sinful. Their greatest need is the Lord Jesus and a new life in Him. But in the church, I can only accept those blood-bought ones who having separated themselves to God have left their sinful lifestyles. Often those living in sin want to be accepted without any change. God does not do that. In Hebrews 12 God is described as a father who corrects and chastens His disobedient children.

We need to heed the warning to the Thyatira church. We cannot allow sexually perverse people to teach us for they will seek to draw us into their perversions not closer to the Lord and His ways.

In conclusion, the Lord makes an offer to those who reject the sinful ways of Jezebel and come back to the Lord. He offers them His power and His beauty. Sin’s offers, though awesome at first, pale in comparison to the true offers of God. In a side-by-side comparison we will always chose God’s glorious plan and end. Leave the false ways of sin and come back to the true ways in Christ.

We had an amazing night at VBS! At 6:05 the tornado sirens went off. All who were there went into the church basement until the sirens ended. As you know, the rain and wind was powerful. After the sirens, more people came with their children. We changed the locations of the games and crafts moving everything inside and had ministry with 50 children. Thank God for allowing us to serve Him in the midst of His creation. Near the end a rainbow appeared in the dark sky and when we came out the rain had stopped. What a mighty God we serve!

Pray with us today for God to call children to Himself in salvation. This is the desire of our heart that God would use our efforts to bring children to Himself.

Thanks for your prayers for one another. It makes an amazing difference.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

June 23, 2010

Stay close to the truth

Revelation 2

12 "And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write, 'These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword:

13 "I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.

14 "But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.

15 "Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.

16 'Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.

17 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it."'

The Lord Jesus has the sword of truth. Truth cuts through error like a sword cuts through flesh. Furthermore, the sword of truth is sharp. Be careful with the truth but do not be timid with it. Let the truth be known and when it cuts realize that it is cutting and be there to love those cut by it.

The Lord begins His truthful evaluation of this Pergamos church by commending them for their work and their steadfastness and their faithfulness. He also mentions twice in this passage that this is a city where Satan’s throne is. There are places of greater evil. A friend pastored in a town that printed a nationally known pornographic magazine. It was a very difficult town to pastor in because so many of the people were connected to this evil business. Pray for the Lord’s work in difficult places.

The condemnations of this church were that they taught the doctrine of Balaam. Balaam was a prophet who sold himself to the highest bidder. God’s truth should never be for sale. It should not be held back because of financial threat or promise. The result of selling truth is that it gets convoluted and people will go into greater sin not greater understanding and faith. Ever be faithful to God’s truth regardless of what it costs or what is promised to you.

In fact, in verse 16 there is a command to repent of these evil ways lest the Lord come and fight against those who at one time were on the same side with Him. The Lord will not fight against His own people. So this is a real change of language in verse 16. The Lord historically fights against His enemies, those who have rejected His word and His grace.

Thankfully, verse 17 gives the hope needed and that hope is to those who do repent. For those who repent and overcome their sinful ways is a promise of provision and of possession. God will meet their needs and will give them a name that connects them to Him forever. Satan cannot touch those who belong to God no matter where he is in control. We can serve the Lord and be faithful to Him in the worst of situations. Stay close to the Lord who holds the Truth.

We thank God for the work of VBS last night. Though attendance was a little bit down from Monday we had several parents come and connect with us. The weather held off again and all of the children were attentive throughout the night. The Bible lessons last night were on the lost sheep and the loving shepherd. Pray that the children who do not know the Lord as Savior will open their hearts to Him yet tonight.

We also ministered to a lady named Millie whose house burned two weeks ago. Pray for this family whom we have known through VBS for several years now. This is a good time to reach out and care for them.

We had a good morning at Wayside today. Yesterday I stopped to minister to a man at Sunrise who had Caleb as a care manager. Pray for Anthony to come to the Lord.

Our church air conditioning is failing. We are getting bids for a new system. We will let you know more when we have more information.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

June 22, 2010

Life and Death, be faithful to God

Revelation 2

8 "And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, 'These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life:

9 "I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

10 "Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.

11 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death."'

I find in this commendation a life and death struggle. Here is a church that had done well. They remained faithful to the Lord. They endured tribulations of poverty, blasphemy, and persecution but the worst was yet to come.

The Lord introduces Himself to them as He who was dead and came back to life. If you were facing death for your faith, this would be a comforting reminder. This life is not the end, it is the only the path to eternal life. We may or may not die for our faith but we can be certain that those in Christ will live again for Jesus paved the way for us. He died unjustly that we, though unjust may live forever in Him. Death then becomes a nuisance, a door we must pass through to enjoy eternal resurrection with Jesus.

But Jesus pauses with a parenthesis to this poverty stricken church and tells them that they are rich. When are the poor rich? James says that the poor are rich in faith and heirs of God’s true riches. Some of the kindest and happiest people I have ever known were people much more poor than me. The reality of Christ within reverberated through every pore of their body thus proclaiming their wealth in Christ. Are you rich today? Can you rest in the riches of God’s grace even though you cannot make it financially? Does God see you rich or poor? Therein lays the true definition.

In verse 10 this church is told not to fear the things they are about to suffer. The devil is going to attack them and some of them are going to be imprisoned for their faith. Their faith will be tested by suffering and some will die refusing to recant the Lord Jesus. They are encouraged to be faithful even to death and the crown of life will be theirs forever. For them there is no second death.

Life and death. This is a part of life. Life and death, we love life we hate death. We love births we hate funerals. If the one in the casket knew Jesus the second death had no sting. If you were to face death for your faith, be true to the Christ you know. As soon as your persecutors push your body too far you will enjoy the smile of Jesus forever. Be faithful unto death. If we die of natural causes we will still die and we too will look forward to the smile of our Savior. From that moment on we too will enjoy the true riches of our eternal inheritance. Perhaps we should look forward to death as a promotion instead of a detriment, a positive instead of a negative.

Again I must give praise to God. After our first night of Vacation Bible School we see the Lord in control of so many aspects of the work. The rain was supposed to begin at 6:00 it did not begin until 9:30. The weather was just beautiful. We enrolled over 70 children with many returnees from the last two years. It was good to see parents whom we have come to know through VBS. We had new people who received flyers and brought their children. We had more workers than ever giving us a cushion in every department. From beginning to end the Lord was exalted. Our story time prepared the kids hearts teaching them about the “soil” of their hearts. The children listened and grasped the teaching.

Pray with us for tonight that again God will do His work through our human efforts, the gifts He gives us to use for His kingdom.

I am always amazed what God can do when we surrender to Him. He takes our weakness and does amazing things. Glory to God!

One of our church members needs especial prayer today. Pray that God will grant His peace and guidance in a difficult situation.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

June 18, 2010

Good trade, accept God’s offer

Revelation 2

4 "Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

5 "Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place--unless you repent.

6 "But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

7 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God."'

Pay attention to the extremes mentioned throughout the Bible. God promises both blessings and cursings to His people. When they would faithfully follow Him God promised blessings for up to a thousand generations. But when the people forsook God and served idols and served their own lusts God promised cursing for a thousand generations. God promises eternal life to those who seek Him and eternal death to those who reject Him. In God’s way of thinking you are following Him or you are not, there is no middle ground.

So here we have from God an offer to remember what is was like to be in love with Him, to repent of losing that love and to come back to serving Him from a loving heart first and foremost. When that repentance happens God promises the tree of life in the middle of God’s paradise. He is, in effect, promising the riches and the blessings of heaven to those who hear His warnings and repent.

This is a good trade. I trade in my misplaced values and actions to love God and to make sure my service flows from a loving heart and He receives me forever. He feeds me with eternal fruit and eternal life which comes from the middle of His paradise. Wow! Now, what was satan offering me today?

But just in case you were wondering, if you chose not to accept God’s offer and accept the devil’s offer, God will remove the light from your church and leave you acting like you have a church when you really have a corpse without His Spirit in it.

Come back to your first love for God who saved you, redeemed you, justified you and adopted you as His own giving you an eternal inheritance in Him. This makes sense both for now and for eternity.

Today is a full day. Pray for the preparations for VBS, the canvassing, the decorating, the planning, and all that will be done between now and Monday night. There will be building preparation today and tonight and tomorrow. All hands are welcome.

If you can make it, please come for a VBS prayer meeting Saturday night at 7:00. God honors the work that keeps Him at the center of it.

Pray for Pastor Bill as he ministers today at Spring Meadow and at Sunrise Assisted Living.

Pray for RU tonight as they have been having upwards of twenty men and women coming each week.

Pray for people who receive VBS flyers to send their children Monday.

Pray for Sunday and for all of the preparations in place for our services here.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

June 17, 2010

What a church! Maybe not

Revelation 2

1 "To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, 'These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:

2 "I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars;

3 "and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name's sake and have not become weary.

Before we look at the Lord’s condemnation of the Ephesian church, let’s take a look at the points for which He commended them. He commended them on several levels for both their works and their attitudes. They were hard workers and they were patient. They stood for truth and expelled those who were evil. They showed discernment when men, calling themselves apostles came but did not bear out the message or the life.

This church persevered when it was not easy to do so. We live in a society that is accepting of someone’s “change of church” but in the first century they were not looked on favorably for becoming a follower of Christ. Yet they persevered patiently in their faith and Christ walk.

Even their labor for the Lord’s sake showed a genuine heart for they worked without becoming weary.

If this church were to prepare this resume of itself and sent it out looking for a new pastor, most men looking for a church would happily receive this invitation. What a great church! What an awesome people! Surely this would be the ideal place to be a pastor. And if you moved into a community looking for a church this would appear on all sides to be THE church to join.

Then we read verse 4 “Nevertheless, I have somewhat against you for you have left your first love.”

If you were a member of the Ephesian church and got to this condemnation it would have blown you away. You would have gotten defensive and stuttered and then become confused having thought you were doing everything right. Here is the point: God is not interested in us doing everything right. He is first and foremost interested in us committing ourselves to loving Him above all, worshipping Him above all and doing all that we do as an overflow of our love for Him. God is more concerned with our heart attitude than with our aptitude. We might have great talent but if that talent is not fired by love first then it is not acceptable to God.

Do an assessment today. Are you serving God out of love or out of habit? Do you do what you do because it is right or because you love the Lord who saved you? He commanded this church to repent and to redo their first works which were works out of love for the one who saved them. Let us all go back to that motivation of love and live there for the rest of our lives.

Pastor Bill is going canvassing at 4:00 today and is looking for anyone who has time to go with him. Meet him at church. We have had so much rain that our efforts have been hampered; today should be a beautiful day to get out.

Jodi is decorating the church every day and the stage crew will be working from 5:00 Friday on. If you have desire to help in either of these areas please jump in with us.

Most of all, please commit with us to prayer. God wants to know that we are relying upon Him for all that is happening here.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

June 16, 2010

The Lord, the Head of the church, knows what His church is doing

Revelation 2:1 "To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, 'These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:

2 "I know your works,

As the Lord Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords began to tell John what to write, the first thing He says to John and the first thing He states about every church is that He knows exactly what has been going on. In each of the seven churches listed the Lord knows the good and the bad and even the motivation behind the actions. This reality should get our attention like nothing else.

Whose church is Grace for Life Bible Church? Is it the people who have been here the longest or the people who give the most money, or the people who are the church servants? Does the church belong to the congregation or to the pastor? (When I was growing up my friends thought that my dad owned the church.) We know that the New Testament church belongs to Jesus Christ. He is the head of the church. We are His body but He is the Head. Nothing happens in the body without the Head’s knowledge and most of what the body does it does because the Head has led it to do so. Or at least that is how it is supposed to be.

At the time John wrote these revelations from the Head to the churches, the founder of these churches, the Apostle Paul, was dead. Tradition has it that he was martyred at Rome. His love for these churches is seen in his letters to them and his prayers for them. But Paul could not keep these churches going, only Jesus could. However, even Jesus was limited by the submission of these churches to Him. So now He is sending out report cards to these seven churches. (Ironically, the good points and the bad points of these churches parallel the New Testament churches of all time. People don’t change and we seem not to learn from the mistakes of others.)

If Jesus came to our church and stood up beginning with, “I know everything that has gone on here and I am going to talk to you about it all.” Would we be ready for commendation or for condemnation? To each NT church the Lord gave instruction and one had no condemnation. Then to each church Jesus gave an opportunity to repent of the works that had taken them away from Him and from their stated purposes.

Let’s take a moment to look critically at our church and to see where we need to repent and to come back to the Lord’s center for us. Let us commit to being such a church that He is able to bless and to use in the days and months ahead. VBS without the Lord is just a lot of work to please a bunch of kids. None of us want it to be that. We need the Lord’s presence every day and at every moment of our VBS week. Let’s be willing to the One who knows us tell us where He wants us to come back to and let’s do it.

We will be taking specific time tonight for VBS prayer. Saturday night at 7:00 we will be having a prayer time at the church again dedicating all that we are doing to the Lord and asking Him to do His work through us next week.

Tonight is our prayer and Bible study time. This has become a favorite night for many. I hope to see you with us.

Pray for a young woman named Shandi and for a man named Joe. We have reached out to both of these people and need the Lord to bring them back to us.

Chris is doing better after his diverticulitis attack last week. Do keep him in your prayers as his required diet is not giving him the energy foods necessary for daily activity and work.

Sunday we are having a baptism. Alicia is getting baptized. If you have been waiting for the right time, this might be it. Let me know of your interest to follow the Lord in believer’s baptism.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

June 15, 2010

God loves the church

Revelation 1

11 saying, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last," and, "What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea."

12 Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands,

13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man,

20 "The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.

Let’s take a moment today to understand and to rejoice in God’s love for us, His church. We could examine the use of the word “church” throughout the NT and find that there are over 100 references to a local church. We could examine the NT teaching on the church as the Bride of Christ which will be given to Christ and will live forever in sinless bliss as His wife on the new earth. But instead, I would like to look at the emphasis on the church in this passage.

First of all, when Jesus, the risen Lord, the King of kings first spoke to John He introduced Himself and John’s purpose which was to write a letter about Christ to the seven churches in Asia minor. Whom did the Lord Jesus die to save? He died to save individuals who would make up His church in this world. When believers in Christ gather they develop local bodies of Christ, churches. In fact, the church is called the body of Christ. (Colossians 1:24 I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church,)

The word “church” means a called out group. We who are saved by the blood of Christ are called out of our sin and called out of the world to gather together to the praise of the glory of His grace. So when we gather we are gathering to exalt our Savior. In verses 12-13 the seven churches are demonstrated by seven golden lampstands with Jesus Christ in the center of them all. If Christ is not the center you do not have a church but a gathering of people for religious works purposes. This is a huge difference. Thus we must emphasize a Christocentric church! Otherwise, we are not a church in the eyes of the One who matters.

Then Jesus tells John that the mystery held away from his understanding was that each star was an angelic messenger and that each lampstand was a local church. (The word for angel is the word messenger in this text.) So God has a messenger from Him for each church and God has placed each church as His lampstand to be His light in communities around the world.

Therefore, we, God’s people, gather together to be God’s church, His body, to listen to His messages and to be His light in Naperville and the surrounding communities. God loves His church, sent Jesus to die so that we could be cleansed and become His body, that is His arms, legs, voice, etc, in this world. We are not an unimportant group in town but from God’s perspective might be the most important group in town. Wow! And you thought you were just going to a building called church on Sunday. No, not at all. We are God’s body coming together to do His work under His authority with His message.

Keep VBS in your prayers. Pastor Bill is going canvassing any day it is not raining. If you want to go with him give him a call at 630-362-2166. Jodi is working on the building each day. If you can help her give her a call at 773-615-8382. Men, keep Friday night open for helping build the stage. We will need all the help we can get for this undertaking.

Have a great day in the Lord,

June 14, 2010

Who is Jesus today?

Revelation 1

12 Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands,

13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.

14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire;

15 His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters;

16 He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.

17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.

18 "I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.

Put yourself into John’s sandals for just a moment. He knew the Lord Jesus while He was on the earth. He was there when Jesus was arrested and when He was crucified. He saw the risen Lord and was there when Jesus ascended. John knew the Lord Jesus. But when He saw the Lord in His glory and in His position as King and Lord of all, he was in awe. John did turn around and recognizing the Lord Jesus give Him a quick greeting. John was so awed by the Lord of lords that he takes these verses to describe Him to us. Then John tells us how he fell at the feet of Jesus in terrified worship.

Everything about Jesus was awesome. Every part of his clothing communicated His grandeur. On this earth Jesus was one of us. Though He did miracles and taught amazing truths, He walked next to the apostles and He ate and drank and laughed and cried with them. Nothing could have prepared John to see Christ in this form. (Reread these verses and see if you can share in John’s awe.)

In our humanity we have pictured Christ as a baby in the manger, as a boy in the temple, as a teacher on the hillsides, at the Lord’s table, (a famous painting bears out that event) being beaten by the Romans and being crucified. The modern crucifix still has Christ suffering on the cross. Then there are the pictures of Jesus ascension where a white cloth is haphazardly draped around His body as His eyes and arms reach upward.

Please realize with John that the true Jesus of today is the one John saw. He is holy, He is kingly, His eyes see right through every lie and rejoice in every truth. He holds the churches in His hands and out of His mouth goes the sword of true judgment and justice. From head to toe Jesus is the King of kings and the Lord of both the earth and the universe. I believe it is time we get our visual of Jesus from Revelation 1 for this is who He is today. We will then bow before Him every day and then some. We will give our hearts to Him for He alone is deserving our whole lives. John fell down at His feet. What a great place to live, at the feet of the risen and exalted Jesus.

Will you pray with me today for our church? Will you pray that we would see the hearts of our members growing in their spiritual hunger and spiritual depth? Will you pray that God would raise up within us men and women who love God more than life and who will give their lives to caring for others in Jesus’ name and for His sake? The Ephesian church was known for their faith and for their love for one another. Will you pray that this will be the testimony of Grace for Life Bible Church? Please join me in this prayer.

Bobbi and Stefani and Emily got home safely last night. The wedding went well and they had a great time with friends and family.

Remember in prayer today the families in Arkansas who lost loved ones to the flash flood in the campground. What a terrible tragedy that was.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

June 11, 2010

It is God’s word, rejoice!

Revelation 1

19 "Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.

When it comes to understanding and believing that the Bible is the very word of God, verses like these are a great help to us. Jesus Himself appeared to John (we will examine that appearance on Monday) and told him to write down what he was seeing and what he was going to see. Then John was to send this revelation to the seven local churches in Asia. Make sure when you go to church that you are hearing the message of God from His word and not just the nice thoughts of a pastor. The only real difference in life is whether or not we have God’s word and what we do with that word. Otherwise we are living by human logic and human emotion only. In that scenario relativism is the best we can hope for.

Recorded in verse 19 is the specific outline of the book of Revelation. John was to write what he had seen, the past, what he saw, the present and what he was going to see, the future. God’s plan encompasses all three. God is the creator of time and is therefore over time and is not bound by time. He has already planned the past, the present and the future. All that has happened has been according to His will, all that is happening is according to His will and all that will happen will be according to His will.

From this we can learn that 1. We do not need to worry, God is in control. Whatever takes place on the stage of the earth, God is in control. Be it China, Russia, North Korea, the Taliban, Iran, Israel, British Petroleum, the USA, and more, God is in control. Our God is not on vacation and never takes a nap. He is in control. Rest there.

2. We can learn that God has a plan and neither man nor group of people can mess it up. God has a plan for me and for you. He wants us to be saved, to grow in Him, to tell others about Him, and to live to the praise of the glory of His grace. Everything else is in His very capable hands.

3. Since God’s ways are above man’s ways and His wisdom above man’s, God’s plans are good and will cause us to rejoice. We are to enjoy God’s grace, to praise Him for His promises and to exult in His future plans for us. He has redeemed us to Himself and will one day redeem the entire earth, man, plant and animal kingdoms under the submission of Jesus Christ. All will bow to Him and He will redeem all in one under Himself.

This is what John is going to tell us. This is what John saw. Buckle your seat belts; the Lord is taking us where He wants to go.

Congrats to Karen Flesh who won the top honors in her school band and last night played with the Naperville Municipal Band at the downtown band shell! Good job Karen, we are proud of you!

Stefani is a semi-professional flower girl now. I have lost count of the weddings she has been asked to do this. Tomorrow is probably going to be her last flower girl gig. She and Bobbi went to Virginia to take part in the wedding of Janna Walton. The Waltons have been our friends for a long time, Pastor Walton was our pastor for ten years and Janna is one of his granddaughters.

Remember to pray for Pastor Bill’s ministries today and for RU tonight. Pray for our canvassing tomorrow that we will find doors open and parents wanting to send their children to VBS. Pray for good weather.

Pray with me for Sunday that God will meet with us once again. It is always a joy and a thrill when He does.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

June 9, 2010

What is the big deal about Sunday?

Revelation 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet,

John, the Apostle, had been a Spirit-filled follower of Jesus for over 65 years. Having grown up as a Jew he would have been one who was faithful to the Sabbath, which was Saturday. When Christ rose from the dead on the first day of the week the meeting time for His followers was chosen to be on His resurrection day to constantly celebrate His resurrection. The Sabbath was no longer necessary as Jesus fulfilled the Law which included all Sabbath restrictions. John understood this and even in exile stopped on the first day of the week, on Sunday to worship the Lord Jesus, His Savior and God.

Two points here, what do you do on Sunday and why do you do it? Is coming to church something you do because it is Sunday or do you look forward to gathering with other believers to rejoice in the Lord on His resurrection day? In the book of Acts we see this pattern: Acts20:7 Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight. Paul did not seem to worry about getting people home on time. He was there to preach on Sunday.

Paul spoke of the day for taking offerings being Sunday: 1Corinthians 16:1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: 2 On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.

The church of Jesus still practices gathering on Sundays as the primary day of gathering. We gather to celebrate our risen Savior who rose on Sunday. We are not Seventh Day Adventists nor are we Sabbath holders. Sunday is not the Sabbath it is a day of worship around our Lord Jesus. We gather on Sundays for a specific reason.

The second point is that John was “in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day.” I believe we should prepare our hearts for Sundays. I believe we should come to church already ready to hear God’s word and to sing God’s songs and to meet with God’s people. John’s heart was in the Spirit. He was worshipping God. In that prepared condition God gave John a message. If you want to get the most out of church, come in the Spirit. Wake up early on Sunday and spend time praying for church. Read the Word instead of the paper and already submit your heart to its teachings. Turn on Christian music at home so your home’s atmosphere prepares everyone’s heart to come to church. On the way, pray as a family that God will be honored and that we will be open to His will. Come to church already in the Spirit.

In that condition and with that attitude, you too will hear the message from God to your soul.

We had a great time at the Cougars game last night. The rain stopped the seats were wiped off for us. The Cougars won and I was home by 9:30. I got a replacement dryer for $50. (I love Craigslist!) and Bobbi now has a dryer again, which is pretty essential.

I look forward, as always, to tonight’s time together. The prayer time exalts the Lord and seeks His guidance in all that we do. The Bible study brings us into the truths for life that we so desperately need to know and live.

Have a great day in the Lord,

June 8, 2010

Can you identify with this man?

Revelation 1:9
“ I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

“The Romans used the island as a penal settlement to which they sent political agitators and others who threatened the peace of the empire. According to Eusebius, John was banished to Patmos by the Emperor Domitian, A. D. 95, and released 18 months later under Nerva.” (Taken from a book by Ferrell Jenkins March, 2003)

So, John was banished from society and sent to an arid and rocky island as penal punishment for preaching Christ. If John had just stopped preaching Christ he would not have been persecuted. Note the date of John’s exile, A.D. 95. John had to be in his late 80’s when he was banished! For eighteen months, with no real hope of release, John was in this banished condition.

Please note what John says about his condition and see if you can identify with him as he calls you to do. He first calls himself your brother. This removes any position of deity from John. No church can put John up above the position of man for he calls himself our brother. Secondly he calls himself our companion in tribulation. Whatever you are facing because of your faith you have a companion in John the Apostle and in millions of others who have really and physically suffered for their faith. The Bible teaches that all who live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. We American Christians are way too soft. Are we suffering? Why not? Are we standing for Christ? If we are then there should be some elements of persecution somewhere in our lives. John is our companion in tribulation.

Then John is our brother in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ. Oh my friends, we are not alone in our faith and our waiting for Christ’s coming. John, who saw Jesus ascend over 60 years previous, was still our brother patiently awaiting the return of His Savior. He did not lose heart though he had to die waiting. And when he died, it all made sense to him. We are still waiting and if Jesus comes or if we die it will make sense and our patience will pay off.

Finally, we need to identify with John in his exile for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. We are not to collect to ourselves gurus to follow in this life. No, we are to look to and live in the Word of God and in Jesus Christ. Whatever happens to us should happen because we are based in God’s word and are living testimonies of Jesus Christ. There is no other argument, there is no other plea. It is enough that Jesus died and that He died for me. Accept any and all persecution that comes to you because of your commitment to the Word of God and your commitment to uphold the testimony of Jesus Christ. He is our all in all and those around us are not going to get it until He becomes their all in all.

Can you identify with John in his exile? He calls us to do so. In exile, God still used John and gave Him the Revelation of Jesus Christ. Man exiled John; God had a plan for John. In exile John did more for the church of Jesus Christ than he could have done had he continued preaching the Word among people. While they mourned for John’s persecution, God had a plan to use John. Keep your eyes and heart focused on the Lord whose way is perfect.

I met a Nigerian woman named Stephanie who wants to bring her children to VBS. She was in the church parking lot waiting for me when I came in this morning. God is doing His work, Hallelujah!

If the rain holds off, tonight is the Kane County Cougars baseball game. Currently we have three families going. If you are interested call me or email me. I can get a few more tickets even yet. They are box seat tickets that have been discounted for us to $6.00. There is no parking fee.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

June 7, 2010

Jesus is coming again

Revelation 1:7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.

8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

In the Garden of Eden God prophesied that the seed of the woman would defeat the serpent. It was four thousand years later that Jesus came to this earth. Isaiah prophesied that one day the lion and the lamb would lie down together and the child would play with the snakes without fear of harm. When Jesus ascended into heaven the angels told the stunned onlookers that Jesus was coming back in the same way they watched Him go. That was two thousand years ago.

Fifty to sixty years later the Apostle John, exiled from people because of his preaching of Christ, was given a revelation of Jesus Christ for all who would believe on Him from that day forward. In this revelation, seven verses into it, we have these words, “Behold He is coming with clouds and every eye will see Him…” Jesus is coming again!

This is important to us because we get busy and forget this. We get distracted by the trials and pressures of this life and the sin and corruption of this world. We get discouraged and even depressed thinking that the bad guys are winning and God has forsaken us. We lose focus on what is important and look at the bling and the glitz and the promoted pleasures of this life. If Jesus let you know that He was coming at 2:00 this afternoon, what would you do differently today? Plenty.

Well, Jesus is coming. Some will rejoice and some will mourn when He comes. More will mourn than will rejoice because more have rejected Him than accepted Him but at the moment of His return every one will see Him and will know who He is and will realize that they were wrong on every point that was against Him. John confirms the coming of Christ with the very words of Jesus, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

Jesus is coming. Will you be ready? Jesus is coming. Put off what needs to be put off, adjust what needs to be adjusted, and put on what needs to be put on. Put off sin, adjust your life-view, and put on the righteousness of Christ. Jesus is coming.

Thank you for your prayers and labors for the work of the Lord at Grace for Life Bible Church. May we be guilty of pursing God, leading others to pursue God, and living for the praise of the glory of His grace.

Keep VBS in the forefront of your prayers. If your neighbors have children get some flyers and invite them to come. If your co-workers have children, get some flyers and invite them to come. If you would want to canvass your street, get some flyers and do so. This is a great time to let God use you for evangelism.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

June 4, 2010

The revelation of Jesus Christ – meditate on Him

Revelation 1

4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,

5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,

6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.

8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

The first section of the book of Revelation is devoted to Jesus Christ, the risen King and Lord, revealed to John. After this we have letters to the seven churches in Asia (minor) expressing their strengths, weaknesses and prescriptions for healing.

So John writes this book to the churches that he is aware of. However, as we know now, this great book was written to every church professing Christ. Since Christ is the focal point of this book and He is accomplishing His purposes in the affairs of mankind and the world, every believer needs the message to follow.

As this is the revelation of Jesus Christ, John begins with a glorious description of our Lord.

1. He is the One who was and is and is to come – Jesus is eternal

2. He is the faithful witness – everything Jesus sais is true

3. He is the firstborn from the dead – the resurrected Jesus has conquered death

4. He is the ruler over the kings of the earth – all earthly kings and rulers are subservient to Jesus

5. He has washed us from our sin with His blood – all sacrifices pointed to Christ and Christ fulfilled them all. As such, our sins are only washed away through His blood

6. He made us to be a kingdom of priests to God – we do not need earthly priests we are accountable to one High Priest and function under His authority priesthood

7. He is the one worthy to receive all glory and dominion forever – we can praise Jesus now and we will praise Him forever

8. He is coming again and every one will see Him and will bow down to Him – some will rejoice and some will mourn as they have rejected Him as Savior and will then know Him as judge

9. He is the beginning and the end of all truth, of all religion, of all thought, of all creation, of all in all – as creator, Jesus started all things, as Savior, Jesus will bring all things to their rightful end until all is fulfilled and united in Him forever

10. He is the Almighty – there is no power greater than Jesus and there is no power the He will not have dominion and glory over.

Meditate upon our Lord Jesus as He is revealed to us.

Remember again that Sunday is our monthly dinner day. Those who help with set up and clean up be ready again. If you want to hang out at church for a while bring outdoor games to do so. Don’t be in a hurry and enjoy the fellowship of one another.

Ben got home this morning! Yea! He and Krista Ruse drove through the night and arrived safely.

I am quite excited about this Sunday’s message. The Holy Spirit is our seal and guarantee of our salvation. There is much confusion that has been taught about the Holy Spirit, from Ephesians 1 we will see what the Holy Spirit does for the believer.

Pray for Pastor Bill’s services at Spring Meadow and at Sunrise today. Pray for RU tonight that God will bring those who need to be here and that our workers will have God’s wisdom and power to help those who come.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

June 3, 2010

God has a plan and is working it

Revelation 1

1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants--things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John,

2 who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw.

3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.

As world events unfold I am reminded that God is in control and that He is working all things after the counsel of His own will. There are no mistakes, there are no disasters, there are no tragedies that are not a part of God’s purpose.

As we look at the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ we will see many things that will shortly take place. There are prophesied events that are going to happen which will take a changing of the world’s religious mind. There is going to be a mass following of one John calls the Anti-Christ. This one will cause all of the people of the world to come into one government. He will then rule the world with a rod of iron and the people will follow him. There will be catastrophic events sent by God to bring His judgment upon their sin. Eventually this Anti-Christ will bring persecution on Israel and on Christians.

As I read these prophesies I realize that there are national attitudes that will need to b change before this happens. A one-world religion and a one-world government will have to be a reaction to some catastrophe.

John tells us to pay attention to this Revelation and to be ready for these times. Over the next months we will seek to prepare ourselves to be ready for God’s next world-wide plan. In light of all that is happening around the world today, this is going to be important for us.

Please pray for a man named Doug who needs to make a right decision today.

Pray for a man named John who needs to seek the Lord and His wisdom for his life and marriage. I will be talking with him today.

Pray for Sunday and with all of the preparation for it. I will be speaking on the Holy Spirit, the guarantor of our salvation.

Sunday is our dinner today. Remember to bring food for your family plus a little bit more.

Have a great day in the Lord,

May 28, 2010

How valuable is prayer?

James 5

16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.

18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

Never doubt the value of prayer!

Most of us have, at times, wondered if our prayers made any difference at all. We have wondered if God was hearing a thing we were saying. We have felt alone in our trials not really believing our prayers or anyone’s prayers would help. We need to take James’ word for it, prayer is effective.

Here James instructs us to pray for one another’s sins. Sin is a disease we are born with and we need the prayers of one another for healing. Confession of one to another is what we call accountability. It is also a step of humility. Be careful to entrust your heart to someone who will pray and not talk. But do find someone to pray with you and for you. Find a person whose personal life is righteous, that is, they are a true believer in Jesus Christ and obviously posses His righteousness.

We are given the example of Elijah. He is called a man with a like nature as ours. He put his clothes on like we do. He slept like we do. He got discouraged like we do and he faced trials and temptations like we do. Elijah was faced with a pagan queen married to a godless Hebrew king. Ahab and Jezebel were a match made in hell. They were diabolical together. Elijah prayed to God to stop the rain according to his prayer to show God’s judgment upon this godless king and queen. God heard Elijah’s prayer and sent a drought for three and a half years! That is no small thing.

Imagine no rain upon our nation for three and a half years. It would drive the nation to anger and to its knees. Much would change. People would starve. The world would have to come to our aid. It would be a terrible time.

During that time God fed Elijah. God took care of His prophet and of those who took care of him. Then after three and a half years Elijah prayed for God to bring the rain back and God did. 1 Kings 17 and 18

Here is the lesson: God hears the prayers of normal people. God answers the prayers of normal people. Therefore, pray effectively and pray fervently. Give prayer your sincere attention. As you do, God will hear and God will answer. Pray, pray, pray.

Pray for Sunday. Pray for God to do His work in His church. Pray for those who need to be there to come. Pray that satan and the flesh will be defeated. Pray for God’s kingdom to be established in people’s hearts. Pray for all who are teaching and preaching to be ready and to have God’s message ready to give.

Saturday afternoon is Conor Strajcek’s graduation party.

Saturday at 11:00 we will be canvassing for VBS for a couple of hours.

Pray also for RU tonight that God will bring those who need to be there. Pray for their submission to God’s word.

Have a great day in the Lord,

May 27, 2010

A different reaction to life

James 5

13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms.

14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.

15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

The Christian reaction to life is totally different from the non-Christian reaction. And rightfully so because we know the God who is behind it all. James begins his book with the challenge to rejoice in trials for God is shaping us uniquely through them. Here at the end he again tells us to turn to the Lord in the face of life’s situations.

In times of suffering, we are to pray. Humanly speaking in times of suffering we moan, we look to humans for help. God would have us to pray first and foremost in those times. We have learned that prayer does not change the mind of God but prayer changes us. Prayer will bring us in agreement with the will of God. Pray submits us to that will. Pray gives us hope when we conclude that God is and has been in control all of the time. He is working His will in our lives. And then, when the season of suffering comes to an end, God is to receive the praise and glory for it all.

In times of cheerfulness, sing psalms. When things are going well, we do not always think about the Lord. I have always felt that God brought hard times to remind me to pray. He would have us sing psalms to keep our hearts focused upon Him even in the good times. Christian music should be a part of our daily lives. We can enjoy many kinds and styles of music but the primary music we enjoy should uniquely point us to rejoicing in and praising our Lord.

When we are sick, what do we do? We call the doctor. God tells us to call Him. Get others to call Him with us. The anointing oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit and focuses our attention on Him. The oil is not magical for verse 15 tells us that the prayer of faith raises the sick and the Lord bring healing. Furthermore, there if there is a sin issue, God will forgive this and raise the person up spiritually too. Often in Jesus’ life He forgave the sin of the sick person before healing their bodies. Sickness is a result of sin so the Lord heals both.

Again, as followers of Jesus Christ we do things differently because we are taking our cues from God Almighty first and foremost. (There are times we call a doctor but we do so trusting the Lord, not the doctor.) He is God and He knows all; in fact, He knows what is going on in your life and body right now. Learn to trust Him with everything! He is trustworthy.

Our house is full with Lynne Massey and her children and dog. She is meeting Mark today as he is on his way back from a missions trip with the boys. It is a nice full.

Monday is our annual Memorial Day picnic. If you did not sign up on the sheet at church please email me back that you are going as we have to purchase enough paper supplies.

I am meeting a friend for lunch today. Pray for an open heart to the Lord Jesus.

Pray for one another. Some of us need much prayer right now.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

May 26, 2010

Are you dependable to your own word?

James 5:12 But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your "Yes," be "Yes," and your "No," "No," lest you fall into judgment.

In my lifetime a man’s word was worth something. But now there has to be a contract drawn or a document signed or some other way to confirm that someone is going to do what they say they are going to do. In days past people had the same problems so they would make a promise using something great to promise by. For example, since Zeus was the greatest of the gods to make a promise using Zeus as collateral was a confirmation that you were going to do what you said.

Why is this a problem? Why does this cause us to fall into judgment?

In life our reputation is the most valuable commodity we possess. You could be incredibly talented but if you were not trustworthy what good would your talent be? If people could not rely upon you to do what you said you were going to do, to show up when you said you would or even to be on time when others were waiting for you, what reputation would you have? People expect me as the pastor to be in church on Sunday. I expect people who are church members to come to church. How dependable are we?

Here in James 5 we are instructed to simply tell someone “yes, I will be there” or “no, I will not be there.” When we give our word others will know what we are going to do. When we do not keep our word, it does not matter how sincere we were when we promised nor how great the object we promised with, we fall under the judgment of those we let down! Our reputation is built on how we follow through or how we let people down. Because Christ is in you, keep your word. Be judged faithful to your word at all times.

We had a great time at Wayside this morning. Pray for the men who heard teaching on redemption. Some of them need to be saved. Pray that they will come to Christ for now and for eternity.

We are looking forward to our time together tonight. I hope you can make it for prayer and Bible study. This is a vital time for our church and necessary time for our spiritual growth.

We still need helpers for the summer months for the Wednesday night kids programs and for our children’s Sunday school. Pray for this need.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

May 25, 2010

Can you be patient?

James 5

7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.

8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

9 Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!

10 My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience.

11 Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord--that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.

The word ‘therefore’ in verse 7 reflects back to the previous verses on the rich whose wealth is a witness against them. God would have us to patiently trust in Him and to wait upon Him. The more money one has the harder it is to trust in God. In this passage we are given examples of the waiting farmer, the suffering prophets and persevering Job. The point is not to grumble but to wait on the Lord.

Psalm 24:17 Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He will strengthen your heart. Wait I say on the Lord.

The farmer waits and his seeds bring forth crops which he sells and eats. His waiting pays off. Suppose he got impatient and dug up his crops early. Would that benefit him at all?

The prophets proclaimed the messages God gave them. They were often persecuted for giving God’s message but they gave it anyway. They knew the message was from God and that the people needed to hear it. Suppose the prophet got tired of suffering and stopped preaching the truth? Would God have been pleased?

Job is the ultimate example of perseverance. What a man! He lost all and was told by his wife to curse God and to die. In her way of thinking death was better than the life they were being forced to live. But Job persevered. He remained faithful to God through the trial, as difficult as it was, and in the end knew the blessing of God again. Suppose Job had listened to his wife’s advice and stopped persevering?

Wherever you are right now, do not become weary in well-doing. God is faithful. He will not allow you to be tested more than you can bear and will provide a door of escape for you. Be careful not to gripe against God nor against His will. His will is perfect even if it does not seem so right now. Be patient, wait upon Him, and rejoice in all that He has already done and will do for you.

Pray for us today. Dad is going to preach at Sunrise and I am going to the funeral of a friend. Pray for opportunities to exalt Christ.

We heard from Caleb Sunday night. He is doing very well. Pray for him as he studies the Chinese language. He is taking tutoring three times a week. He is also teaching English at a university there and is thoroughly enjoying that. He seems to have a gift for this. He is praying for opportunities to speak of Christ to people he comes to know. Pray for open hearts to hear and to receive the Savior.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

May 18, 2010

A warning to the rich in this life

James 5

1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you!

2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten.

3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days.

4 Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.

5 You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter.

6 You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.

Jesus told the story of the rich man and Lazarus the beggar. It was a contrast between the top and the bottom of life. No one would want to identify with the beggar in this life. He was the worst of the worst. And yet, a moment into eternity and the tables were turned. No one wanted to identify with the rich man who was in agony in the fires of hell while Lazarus was enjoying paradise.

It is not a sin to be rich but the rich tend to be self-sufficient, self-directed, and careless toward the poor. In James day the rich cheated their laborers and the laborers, who were believers, complained about being cheated. James takes time to condemn the rich. They had plenty of money. In fact, they had so much money they buried it in the ground for safe keeping. Buried money had a way of getting corroded in the moisture. The corrosion was a testimony against the rich man. He could have paid his workers better, he could have helped the poor, but his lifestyle and cold heart caused him to be more interested in accumulating money than anything else.

The imagery in verse 5 is frightening. As the rich man would fatten a cow for slaughter so he is fattening his own soul for his own destruction. The poor cannot resist the rich, he has no power, no influence, and no money. The poor rely upon the rich for employment. The rich can mistreat the poor but what can the poor do? In our day, the rich can get away with murder and the poor can’t do anything about it.

Just remember who is keeping the records. We need to pity the cruel rich for their riches only buy them temporary comfort. If they die without Christ they will join the rich man in hell who is still in torments. Pray for the rich to trust in the Lord and not in their riches. Remember that they have all but they have nothing. They are sick with success and do not even realize how sick they are. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter heaven. Pray for the rich of this world to humble themselves before it is too late.

I am thankful that the Lord gives me just enough money to live on. He keeps me dependent upon Him and that is a good thing.

If you are a believer and you are rich keep your eyes ever upon the Lord. He gifted you with riches. Depend upon Him for rest, for life, for joy, for your children’s salvation, and more. Be good to the poor and to those who give their lives to work for you. Honor the Lord with your substance and with the firstruits of all your increase. He will then continue to bless you as He knows He can trust you with it.

Have a great day in the Lord,

May 5, 2010

Evidences of wisdom and its source of folly and its source

James 3

13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom.

14 But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth.

15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic.

16 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.

17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.

18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

Wisdom of mind is demonstrated by works done and lived in meekness. True wisdom exercises itself in pure and peaceable living. It treats people with a gentleness. True wisdom is submissive, willing to yield one’s will to someone else. True wisdom is demonstrated by living a life filled with mercy and good fruits which lead to live. True wisdom leads us to live without one foot in the Lord and one foot in the world which is hypocrisy. Finally, true wisdom bears the fruits of righteousness by living in peace with those who make peace.

No man can live these evidences of true wisdom unless he is living under the realization that God is within him. This wisdom is only from God for men cannot perceive of living this way apart from God.

The wisdom of the world is folly at best. It brings about bitterness, envy, self-seeking, pride and dishonesty. It comes from unregenerate people who are rooted in their sin and of the pride of hell. The folly of this world is in complete contradiction to God’s wisdom. It is earthly, of the earth, it is sensual, of the flesh, and it is devilish, of satan himself. Folly never leads to wisdom nor to any real peace. Satan, the world and the flesh are about doing what one wants to do which desire keeps men and women from coming to Christ.

Filter people through these evidences and you will find who has true wisdom and who is driven by folly.

Thank you for your prayers yesterday and today. The opportunities to preach the gospel both at the funeral and at Wayside were tremendous. Continue to pray for those who heard it to be brought to conviction of sin and to faith in the work of Christ.

Men, we are in Galatians 2 tonight. This study will be quite revealing as we look at Peter‘s separation from true believers to stand with the hypocrite Jewish believers. There has been too much of this attitude in my lifetime and we are going to look at this tonight.

Tomorrow morning I will be leaving early for BJU and Ben’s graduation. I might be able to get a devotional out Friday and Monday, no promises.

This Sunday missionary Dave Davis who was with us last year, is going to be in the services. Dave and his wife have been supported by this church for a long time. They spent many years in Pakistan and have a unique ministry perspective. I am looking forward to Dave’s ministry to our church.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

May 4, 2010

Who do you battle? Yourself

James 4

1 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?

2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.

3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.

4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

Peter said that we should abstain from fleshly lusts which war against our souls. The greatest battles of our lives are the battles that come from within our own hearts. In the movies they will put an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other who will argue about whether or not the person does something sinful or not. This is descriptive of the war that goes on within us. A part of us always wants its own way. A part of us always wants to gratify itself. These self-focused desires turn into controlling lusts that cause battles within us and can eventually lead to our ruin.

You may battle another human being and be deeply hurt by them. However, the greatest cause of ruin is not someone else but it is what we do to ourselves. A man or woman go through a divorce and experience great pain. Someone at work reaches out in care and that care turns into a fornicating relationship. We call it a “rebound.” Now that person has both a a divorce and a sexual sin causing them pain. We desire pleasure, James says. We justify sin by saying that we deserve a good time. I know a woman who wanted one more good time. Her life was not happy so she was trying to fulfill her happiness desire. In that one more good time that she “deserved” she contracted a sexual disease that has afflicted her monthly for the rest of her life!

Any friendship with the world is enmity against God. Enmity is a word that means hostility, it is extreme ill will or hatred that exists between enemies. So, James says, if you are loving the world and seeking to have your pleasure needs met there, you are at complete odds with God. In that adversarial relationship with God you will be at war with yourself and will bring greater pain upon yourself than any other outside pain can ever bring.

Verse 2 is the key verse here. James says that we do not have because we do not ask. Whom do we not ask? We do not ask God. God has given us richly all things to enjoy. He who created us is able to meet our every need and legitimately fulfill our every desire. When we do not ask Him for His guidance and for His fulfillment we seek for those in the wrong places and create that war within. You do not have because you do not ask. David told us to wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He would strengthen our hearts. We are not very good at waiting on the Lord, we would much rather jump up and do it ourselves. But that brings on the inner war and the greater loss. Trust God today to fulfill you and He who has the riches of heaven at His disposal will give you all that you need and do it in peace.

We had a great time yesterday at Victory Homes. Continue to keep that ministry in your daily prayers. There are spiritual battle going on throughout every day in the hearts of those boys. Pray for a boy named Cody who last night gave his life to live under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Please pray today as I am doing a funeral for a friend in the community. These are dear people and I am praying to be able to bring both comfort and hope to them.

Thanks to all for a great yard sale and car wash last Saturday. We had a wonderful time all day. I was especially encouraged by the amount of church people who came out and spent the day working and playing together. This is what church family is supposed to look like and it was awesome!!!

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

April 30, 2010

Is your tongue tamed?

James 3

7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind.

8 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.

10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.

11 Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?

12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.

Imagine that man has the ability to tame animals and fish of all kinds. Pavlov proved this with salivating dogs. Disney had proven this over and over with movies featuring dogs, cats, bears, lions, wolves, dolphins, and killer whales, snakes, monkeys of all types and more. Man can train animals. A trained animal is a fun animal. A horse that responds to the rider is a fun horse. But an animal that does not respond to its owner is an annoying animal at best and a dangerous animal at worst.

So is the tongue. A trained tongue (and it takes Holy Spirit training) is helpful, loving, caring, powerful, leading and respected. An untrained tongue is an unruly evil full of deadly poison. Wow, what a description of the muscle in our mouths. “Untameable,” James says.

Even the best of tongues can blurt out a cruel word or a spiteful comment, or a bitter thought, or a sarcastic comment.

We are then given two illustratations to prove the point. 1. A fountain of water that comes from the earth is either good water or bad water. It is either clear or brackish; it is either sweet or bitter. 2. A fruit tree either bears olives or figs. It cannot yield both. It is just as unnatural for one mouth to be sweet in one moment and cursing in the next.

A heart yielded to God brings forth words that reflect the presence of the Holy Spirit and the love of God. A heart that is unyielded brings forth selfish, angry, hateful, bitter speech. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A man does not slip and in an explosive moment say horrible things, no, that man has a horrible heart that he masks most of the time. There are people whom you know would never say certain words or express themselves in hatred and bitterness. Why? Because they possess the Lord’s nature. He is the only one who can tame the tongue. No man can tame his own but the Lord can tame and control anyone’s mouth who submits to Him.

Tomorrow is our church garage sale! Pray for clear weather all day. Pray for many customers. Pray that enough funds will be raised to make a difference for those signed up for summer camp. Pray for witnessing opportunities as people come onto our church property.

Men, we need your help especially from 7:00am – 8:00am. There is a garage full of sale items and tables that need to be brought out to the yard by 8:00 and your strength is needed. Please come at 7:00 and come ready to jump in. With enough of us we can do this in an hour.

Teenagers and kids, if you are going to camp we need your help for the car wash. You know the drill and are very good at it. Come by 8:00 and we will be washing cars until 3:00. Bring towels and a change of clothes.

Pray for RU tonight and for church Sunday that God will be exalted, that people will be saved and that believers will be strengthened.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

April 29, 2010

The tongue, can you control yours?

James 3

1 My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.

2 For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.

3 Indeed, we put bits in horses' mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body.

4 Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires.

5 Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles!

6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.

In Proverbs there are verses telling us that in the multitude of words there is no lack of sin. Here James continues that thought saying that teachers need to be very careful about their words for they are under a stricter judgment. Teachers use many words. Teachers teach truth to their students. Teachers can easily mis-speak causing someone else to be led astray. Be careful how you use your words.

Verse 2 is an amazing thought. If I can bridle my tongue I can control my whole life. The point is that nothing is as hard to control as my tongue. Two examples are given of something small controlling something big. A bit in a horse’s mouth controls the horse. A 1200 pound animal, one very strong, much stronger than the man or woman riding it, is controlled by a two pound bit. A ship, huge and able to face winds and waves, is controlled by a comparatively small rudder.

How small is the tongue compared to your whole body? How strong is the tongue as a muscle compared to your leg or back muscles? And yet, that very small muscle can turn the whole body toward something good or toward something evil. The tongue can ruin a family gathering, cause one to lose a job, can destroy a marriage, can turn children away from their parents, can ruin churches, and destroy countries. How great a fire a little spark can kindle and what great ruin a misplaced word can cause.

Then in verse 6 James reveals one more startling fact. The destructive fire of the tongue comes from the fires of hell itself. No, your destructive little comments are not just your personality, nor your spiritual gift, nor your way of talking. Those destructive words are satan’s desire for you and the destruction they cause comes from hell itself! Stop justifying your critical words and bring your tongue under the control of the Holy Spirit of God who can take your evil ways and make your tongue a member that gives life and hope and encouragement and love instead. Let the Lord Jesus have control of your tongue. Give the Holy Spirit of God the reigns and let Him put a bit in your mouth to control your tongue. Evil words are never good. There is no good place to light the fires of hell and let them ignite a situation from your very mouth.

What a great service we had last night. Pastor Fady Malouff brought us a greater understanding of the Great Commission and the strategic placement of Lebanon for the spread of the gospel in the Arabic world. Lebanon is the only non-Islam state in the Arabic world. As such there is still liberty there to preach Christ. They have faced persecution from the Meronite Catholic church. We need to pray for Pastor Fady and for his work in Lebanon.

Bobbi’s great uncle passed away yesterday. We are praying now for the funeral that family members who do not know the Lord hearing the gospel may receive Christ.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

April 28, 2010

Does your faith work?

James 2:24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.

25 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?

26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

In verse 25 James uses one more illustration to make his point about faith that works. The city of Jericho was the gateway city into the Promised Land. Joshua sent three spies into Jericho to bring back a report of the city that God told them to attack. In the city was a woman whose heart God had already prepared. Rahab was a prostitute in Jericho. She knew that the people of Israel had crossed the Jordan on dry ground. She knew that they were coming against her city. Furthermore, Rahab believed that their God was going to defeat her city. So when she saw these men walking the streets of Jericho she invited them into her house, told them of her faith in their God and hid them for the night. When the city police came looking for the three men Rahab played dumb and then sent the spies out another way.

Because Rahab believed in the God of the Jews she put herself in danger to protect His men. Her faith in God caused her to work for Him. She went against everyone else in her city. She provided needed protection and used her position as a citizen of Jericho to protect and to be a guide to God’s men. When the city fell, Rahab and her family were the only ones in the city that were saved. Were they saved because she helped them or because of her faith? Yes. Her faith caused her to help and because of her working faith she was saved.

Then James makes the point that a body without a spirit is dead, OK, we get that. We have seen dead bodies whose spirit was gone. So then faith that has no works is also dead. You cannot claim to be a person of faith but have no spiritual works coming out of your life. Your claim to faith is a dead claim. True faith will produce evidential works.

Since becoming a Christian, what evidential works have come from you? The first should be a love for others that was not there before. Peace should come out of you where strife used to. The joy of the Lord should be in you and should come out of you. You should have a greater patience than you used to have. You should be more gentle than you used to be. You should have a new interest in goodness and right living. You should not be as proud as you used to be but should be experiencing a meekness that was not there before. You should be acting with a greater temperance toward things of the flesh that used to control you. These fruits of the Spirit are unique works in the life of one who has a new faith in the work of Jesus Christ and then posses the Holy Spirit. These are the initial works of faith. No faith, no works. No works, no faith. True faith will work. Faithful work is the evidence of faith.

Pray for the men at Wayside who are preaching the gospel this morning. Pray for the men who hear the word to be unable to get away from its truths.

Pray for the family of Irene Rutten and Deb Kahl who heard the gospel yesterday at the funeral. They have a huge family with many many relatives. Most of them, good people, are not born again. I preached on Jesus, the resurrection and the life. Pray that the Word of God would have an impact and not return void.

Remember to come hear Pastor Malouff Fady tonight. This will be a speaker you will regret not hearing if you miss. We as American Christians need to hear about men living in completely different adverse situations. We need to know that other Christians alive today are struggling for their church and for their lives. Pastor Fady will give us this important persective.

Check out the church website for last Sunday’s message on Ephesians 1:3, Living in the Heavenlies

Have a great day with the Lord,
PS

April 27, 2010

Faith is evidenced by works

James 2

19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe--and tremble!

20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?

21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?

22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?

23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." And he was called the friend of God.

24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.

This passage has caused much confusion through the centuries. Some have taken it as the passage to push the need for good works to obtain salvation. Nothing could be farther from the correct application. Of course, if you take many bible passages out of the context of the bible itself you can create any belief system you would want.

James was not trying to create his own system here. James is making a very valid point about the life that follows faith. Faith is always first. Faith is required for salvation. Without faith it is impossible to please God. (Hebrews 11:6) Paul said in Romans that anything apart from faith was sin. Faith is a necessary element of peace with God.

James clearly points out that the life of faith is evidenced by works. Works demonstrates the heart of faith. The works spoken of here are good works that are not done by non-spiritual people. Who cares to do constant good to his fellow man apart from the love of Christ within? How could Abraham have left his family and country without the Lord with Him? How could Abraham have offered Isaac upon the altar apart from the Lord with Him? There is no way.

So it is with us. The love of the Lord in us enables us and creates a desire within us to love and care for others. These are good works. These good works of caring for others for Jesus’ sake is evidence of our faith. Justification is by faith, evidence of justification is our works. Therefore our works demonstrate, that is they justify our statement of our faith. Our statement of faith is justified by our works. Our souls are justified by grace, our statement of faith is made believable, Justified before men, by our works.

Whom are you serving today for Jesus’ sake? Who will see the evidence of your faith today?

At 11:00 today I will be going to and preaching at the funeral for Tom Joslyn, Irene’s brother and Deb’s uncle. Pray for this gospel opportunity. Deb and Irene are very concerned for the rest of their family. Join us in prayer for this funeral being held at Biedelman’s funeral home on Route 59.

Tomorrow night for our Bible study time Pastor Malouff Fady from Lebanon will be speaking to us. You will not want to miss Pastor Fady’s presentation of what God is doing today in Lebanon. We hear much of Lebanon in the news but nothing of the spiritual battles there. See you tomorrow night.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

April 23, 2010

Dos your faith show the works of God’s love?

James 2

14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?

15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food,

16 and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?

17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

18 But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

Some have been confused by this passage thinking that James is establishing a works based salvation. Nothing could b farther from the truth. When a man or woman comes to Christ He indwells that person and they become a new creation in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17) John said that in Christ we are to love one another (1 John 4:7-8) He also says that if we do not show love we are not of God. Francis Shaffer wrote a little book called “The Distinguishing Mark of a Christian” in which he defined the believers ability and requirement to love one another.

What makes us as Christians different from any other people? It is the love of God shed into our lives and then shed from our lives to others. If someone claims Christ but has no change of love in their heart they are not in Christ. That is the long and short of James’ teaching. When you have the God of love in your heart you will care for others with His love. Your faith will show the love that is in your heart. That is, you will do good works toward other people.

Your faith is made evident by the works of love that come out of your redeemed life. Your works are the evidence of your faith. Show the world the message of the gospel by doing good works for them from your heart filled with God’s love. Then they will know that you are filled with faith.

Bobbi wants to remind all of you who are working with or are wanting to work with our children’s ministries that there is a meeting Sunday at 4:45. This is an important meeting for all children’s workers and nursery workers. Please plan to attend.

Pray for Pastor Bill as he speaks at Spring Meadow and at Sunrise today.

Pray for the RU ministry tonight as there are many who have come and need to come back. Pray for a man named Steve to come. Tomorrow is the Methadone clinic witness, pray for this important outreach.

Caleb sent out a letter of his time in China. If you did not get this let me know and I will forward it to you.

Tom Joselyn, Irene Rutten’s twin brother, passed away Wednesday night. We are not sure of the funeral plans yet. Pray for Irene and Deb and their family during this time of loss.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

April 22, 2010

Are there levels of bad?

James 2

10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.

11 For He who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.

12 So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.

13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Verse 10 is a difficult concept for us. We are people of justice and in my justice way of thinking a child who steals a piece of candy from a store is on a different level from an adult who robs a bank. A man who lusts after a woman on the street is on a different level from a man who commits adultery, and so forth. You might fudge the numbers on your taxes but you are way better than Bernie Madoff who scammed millions of dollars from innocent people.

However, the blunt point of this passage of scripture is that before God when we break His law at any level we are, from that point forward, breakers of His law. All lawbreakers are kept in the same jail. All lawbreakers have to go before the judge. The action is the same because the same thing took place, that is, the law was broken. Are there levels of sinners or is there only one category: sinner? Can I really stand before a holy God and say that I am better off than the worst criminal of all time? Didn’t Jesus teach that if I have hatred toward someone I have committed murder in my heart? Didn’t He say that if I lusted after someone I have committed adultery in my heart? How than can I justify even the “smallest” infraction as not so bad?

Apparently God has two categories: The first category is those who are holy and the second category is those who are not. All who are not holy are law breakers and will face the judge and the sentence for their sin. There may be levels of pain in hell but the easiest level of pain is still eternal punishment and eternal separation from God. Hell was created for transgressors of God’s law and rejecters’ of His gift of grace. Since all are transgressors all are guilty. But mercy can triumph over judgment for those who cry out for it. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus for the law of the Spirit of live in Christ Jesus has made us free from the law of sin and death.” Thank God for His offer of mercy for we are all transgressors.

Adam is doing much better. Keep his recovery in your prayers.

Saturday is a work day at church. We need men and women and teenagers to help do some projects of cleaning and painting and repairing. Whatever your skill level we can use your help. We will be here from 8:00 to 3:00.

This Sunday Brent and Mandy Olsen will be with us. The Olsen’s have a unique ministry to teenagers. Since January they have facilitated meetings to over 20,000 teenagers in Mexico. You will want to learn about their work.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

April 21, 2010

All people are loved by God, this is our example

James 2

1 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.

2 For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes,

3 and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, "You sit here in a good place," and say to the poor man, "You stand there," or, "Sit here at my footstool,"

4 have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

5 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?

6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts?

7 Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?

8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well;

9 but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

Jesus died for all. Every man and woman are image-bearers of God. In God’s eyes there are not rich and poor, valuable or invaluable they are all people, sinners who need a Savior. God looks down upon us and loves us all with the same love. There are no unwanted children, people, or groups in God’s eyes, all are eternal souls for which Jesus died.

How then can we be partial to one person or another? How can we give preferential treatment to one over another? How can we be prejudiced toward one people group or another? And especially in the church of God, how can these selective attitudes be displayed? God would have us to love people as He does. He would have us to show no preference to one but the same preference to all. How is it that we show special favor to those who care less for us? We may think that the acceptance of a certain type of person is good to keep on our good list. Why? All people should be on our good list.

James then warns that keeping people on the good list who will deliver you up to the courts for your faith just does not make sense. Furthermore, to show partiality is just plain sin. So, if we would only practice this passage of scripture we would never show prejudice nor make fun of people in a painful way. This would show the love of Jesus in your heart toward all people and enable your witness for Christ to them.

Have a great day in the Lord,

April 20, 2010

Religion or religious

James 1

26 If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless.

27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

In order to understand this teaching, we need to understand the word used here, “religious.” It is only used here in this verse, that is, there is no other usage of this word in the NT. It means to act in a pious manner or to be ceremonious in worship. The root of the word means to wail. We can deduce here that a religious looking person would be one who at a temple or church gathering really got into the service. In the singing, they sing with all they have. In the prayers, they pray with the best of them. When it to read the bible, they jump right up. When it is time to say amen, they say amen. James is describing a person who looks the part of a good church member in all of his church actions.

However, If this apparently religious person cannot hold his or her tongue, they are not really religious in heart and all of their religious actions are useless. Those actions which make one look good can be done apart from a right heart and the words that come out of the mouth expose the real fiber of the heart. The word translated “useless” means that all that was done before has no real value to it. What a waste of time and energy just to make yourself look good. Give your heart to God and let Him change your tongue too. Then your practice of religion will no longer be useless but really will bring glory and praise to God.

James then defines true religion for us in verse 27. This is where the heart is shown. Instead of acting the part in church the person with a religious heart will show his or her piety in places where no one will see. They will visit the unfortunate, the less-loved, and the ones who will not tell anyone that the visit happened. Spend your time showing the love of God to others instead of trying to look good at church. The condition of your heart and your desire to serve others go hand in hand. If you cannot serve the less-loved perhaps your heart is not filled with Christ. When Christ possesses your heart you cannot help but show His love wherever you go. He is in you. He comes out of you. He loves the world through you.

Pray for our Sunrise service today. Pastor Bill is taking that.

Keep my mom and Rachel in your prayers, they are still fighting sickness.

See you tomorrow night.

Have a great day in the Lord,

April 19, 2010

Hear and Do or Hear and Ignore?

James 1

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror;

24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.

25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

This passage reminds me of the difference between a junior high boy and a senior high girl. A junior high getting ready for school does not care if his hair is combed, if his clothes match, or if they are clean. While having food on his face might embarrass him, it might not. If you were to ask that boy if he got ready for school that day he would look down at himself and say, “Yes.” If you were to hold a mirror in front of that boy he might run his hands through his uncombed hair and say, “See, I told you I got ready!” Everyone else know that he left the house within two minutes of getting up but in his mind he is in great shape. Of course, compared to every other junior high boy he is in good company.

On the other hand, a high school girl gets up an hour and a half before the bus, takes many minutes in the mirror making sure every hair is in place and every blemish is covered. She chooses her clothes with great care then irons them. Once dressed, she meditates in the mirror again. Then she eats then she checks with the mirror at least one more time while the bus is pulling up to the stop. If anyone asks her what is wrong with her appearance she can boldly say, “Nothing is wrong, I am completely ready today.”

Here is the parallel: The junior high boy is like the casual reader of the bible. This one reads his bible and ignores anything that applies to himself is lying to himself telling himself everything is fine when it is not. And just like the junior high boy, every one else knows that he ignores his appearance, so everyone else knows the casual bible reader is not really living what he is reading but needs to.

The devoted bible reader is like the high school girl. She pours over the word of God, she looks for her faults in its pages and makes the necessary adjustments.

The casual reader goes his way and forgets what kind of person he is before God. The meditative reader hears the word, dies the word and is blessed in her works.

Joshua 1:8 tells us that when we meditate in the word God will give us success. David said that the entrance of God’s word gives light to our lives and when we hide in our hearts it will keep us from sin. There is power in the Word of God. Look carefully into it every day. You will benefit, those around you will notice, and God will give you the wisdom you need for today, tomorrow and for the rest of your life.

Again I thank God for His meeting with us in church yesterday. The study on grace and peace was a great study for us all. Grace is the fountain of God’s undeserved goodness to us. Peace is the river that flows from that fountain. Without God’s grace earthly peace is always elusive. When God’s grace is received He gives His peace to fill us in every way.

Last night we spent time in John 12 studying the lifting up of Jesus Christ and the attraction of the Lamb upon the cross. We had two unsaved men in the service. Pray that the truths of God’s word would even yet work in their hearts.

Today is Ben Schroder’s 22^nd birthday. Happy birthday Ben. Looking forward to having you home.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

April 16, 2010

Where do our good deeds come from?

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

While the heart of man is deceitful and desperately wicked, the gifts of God are good and caring and edifying. When someone does something that is innately good and contrary to the flesh that person is demonstrating the goodness of God, His gift in their life. Alfred Clark put it this way: “Whatever is good is from God; whatever is evil is from man himself. As from the sun, which is the father or fountain of light, all light comes; so from GOD, who is the infinite Fountain, Father, and Source of good, all good comes. And whatever can be called good, or pure, or light, or excellence of any kind, must necessarily spring from him, as he is the only source of all goodness and perfection.”

I want you to read a verse that was very odd to me that might help us understand this today. Proverbs 21:4 A haughty look, a proud heart, And the plowing of the wicked are sin. I understood the first two statements but the third was a problem to me. How could honest work by an honest man be considered as sin? Farmers are the hardest working people on the planet. How could their hard work be sin? In pondering this question I came up with this conclusion: every man and woman live first and foremost for themselves. Even a farmer is farming for himself, for his own needs, for his own reputation, for his own future. His work , though honest and hard, is for himself. He would not work if he was to get nothing out of it.

How does this apply to James 1:17? No one does something innately good from their own flesh. Every good thing a person does has a self-goal to it. So when someone does something truly good it is a gift from God through that person. We are sinful, God is good. When God works through us He is doing His goodness through us. Who then gets the glory when we do something good? God should. We cannot take the glory for anything truly good that we do. We could not do it were it not for the goodness of God’s gift through us. He brought us forth spiritually by His word of truth so that we could be His firstfruits in a godless generation.

Meditate on these three verses dealing with our ability to do good works:
Matthew 5:16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Titus 2:14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

Adam has no internal damage, thank God. He will be having his first surgery on Saturday. Ed is thankful for his Christian church family who is standing with him through this.

Pray for RU tonight as we have had calls this week for it.

Have a great day in the Lord,

April 15, 2010

Do you listen first or get angry first?

James 1

19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;

20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

Before approaching a difficult section, James lets his readers know that they are loved by him. When someone knows that we love them it is easier to hear rebuke from them. When we think someone does not love us the rebuke is hard to hear. Remember the teaching of 1 Corinthians 13 which tells us that if we posses all spiritual gifts in the greatest excess possible, avd exercise them without love they are of no value. This does not mean that we say things without love but we say what needs to be said in such a way that the person knows we care deeply and our words though hard are loving.

The instruction is about living as an angry person. We can justify our anger if the person we are angry at really did us wrong. When our justice button has been pushed our anger is not far from the surface. James confirms that our anger does not confirm God’s righteousness. If we think we are righteous and what we have done is right and what some else has done is wrong, we will not be righteous by showing off our anger toward the situation.

So James gives us a formula to follow. First be swift to hear. Be in a hurry to listen not to talk and not to anger. When was the last time you were swift to hear? James makes this step one. Be a good listener. Be a person willing to listen to the whole story someone else tells. Do not be a person who draws all of your own righteous conclusions before taking time to listen to others involved. What if you missed a key detail? What if your conclusion was 50% or more wrong because you did not listen to others involved? Be in a hurry to listen.

The second step in the formula is to be slow to speak. Some think it a gift to be able to make right decisions quickly. Maybe it is. I do not posses that gift, if it is a gift. Whenever I make quick decisions I soon find out that I did not have all of the data and that I spoke out of turn and out of place. Be slow to speak. One of my observations is that the older a man gets the more wisdom he gets and slower he is to speak. A malady of younger men is that they think highly of their opinions and conclusions and are quicker to speak them out. Be slow to speak.

The third step in the formula is to be slow to anger. The word here used for anger is a slow burn that grows into a terrible rage. Anger is a human emotion that grows from frustration. The slower we proceed, the more we seek to determine the truth, the less frustration and the less anger. We can all use this instruction. James then concludes saying that the wrath of man does not work the righteousness of God. You may be right. You may need to say what you said. But when you incorporate the anger of your heart God’s righteousness is not displayed for it is shadowed out by your wrath. So when is anger justified? Very seldom and only toward sin and never when it is out of control.

We need to pray for Adam. Adam is a new believer who got in trouble last night. He was beat up and is a hospital. Pray for Adam’s healing and pray for Adam to seek the Lord more than ever before. Pray for his family who is struggling with this incident.

Begin to pray for Sunday that God will prepare all of our hearts to be ready for our time in church.

Pray for the country of Poland to seek the Lord in the time of their great loss.

Caleb was a long way from the earthquake in China. Thanks for your concern.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

April 14, 2010

Do you pass the tests?

James 1

12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.

14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.

15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.

The word used here for temptation is the biblical word for a test or putting something to proof. How do we know if something works? We test it. You buy a new pan you want to make something with it to test the pan. You get a new mower you want to cut the grass to test the mower. The word James uses for temptation is this word ‘test.’

As believers we profess that we love God and that we have turned from our sin to Him. When temptations come we are tested to see if we are going to remain true to our confession. Satan’s challenge to God over Job was that Job’s faith had never been tested. God let satan test Job’s faith and Job proved the authenticity of his faith throughout the test. Where did Job’s test come from? Who tempted Job to curse God and to leave his godly foundation? God would not test Job to leave Him. God knew Job’s heart. Satan believed Job would leave God but God was not worried for God knows all things.

When we pass the tests of temptation to go back to the old ways or to doubt God’s goodness, or to fear that God has left us alone there is a crown of life prepared for us which the Lord will give to us. Many will join Job in the receiving of that crown. The crown of life is tested evidence of your confession of faith. God loves you and God is glorified when you chose Him over anything and everything else. Job’s wife lost faith and told Job to curse God and die but Job knew that God was still good and worshipped God in the middle of his great test. How we respond in the face of the tests of faith proves the reality or the emptiness of our spiritual condition.

Some tests come from our own sinful desires. We are drawn away from God because our flesh still wants the lustful things of this world. Because of our own desires we can turn away from God and fail the test. The failing of these tests end in sin and death. A true believer will face the tests but should not go full blown back to the sin and death. At that point they have failed the test and are showing the weakness or absence of their faith in and love for God.

James ends this section with a statement, “Do not be deceived my beloved brethren.” Sin’s goal is to deceive us at any level. When we have the right God-focus, sin cannot deceive us. God, who is truth, uses the truth to set us free. We need never again go back to sin’s bondage. We can pass the test and give God all of the glory due to Him.

Pray for the people of western China today as another earthquake has hit killing hundreds and burying more. Jesus said that as the end drew near there would be earthquakes in various places. In the meantime people are living in the pain of great loss.

I look forward to seeing you at church tonight. We are looking forward to our time in prayer and bible study. Focus your heart on the Lord with us.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

April 13, 2010

The ground is level at the foot of the cross

James 1

9 Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation,

10 but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away.

11 For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.

One of the problems in the early church, which problem has been a problem ever since, was that the rich were treated better than the poor. In fact, the rich thought they should be treated better than the poor. At feasts, the rich had the seats of honor and poor had the other seats. The rich were ushered in while the poor had to find their own way in. This came from a class attitude which followed people into the church.

Suppose you were a poor person and all your life you were treated as a poor person. You were looked down on, you were talked down to, you never made much money, you lived on dirt floors, and your wardrobe consisted of the clothes on your back and maybe one other. The only people you really talked to were other poor people because the rich acted like you did not even exist. Then you heard about Jesus and about His sacrifice for your sin. You heard that He loved you and wanted to save you. As Jesus called your name you responded in faith and found that He was willing to save you. You were then invited to church to meet other believers in Jesus. When you got there you saw a rich man and women who had slighted you your whole life. You might ask yourself what they were doing there. In fact, unless they came and spoke to you with the love of Jesus you might not want to come back to a place where you were slighted again.

James writes here that the lowly brothers, the poor ones, are to glory in Christ for in Christ they are exalted all the way to the presence of God. What an exaltation! No more are they the off-scouring, the dirt of the earth but now they are adopted by God into His family where they get a new Father, a new name and a new hope. What an exaltation indeed.

But for the rich to come to Christ they must humble themselves. They must realize that all of their pride-gotten and pride-held riches could not save them and that they are penniless before the God of heaven. The rich has to realize that he will die just as the poor man dies and without Christ will have labored his entire life in vain. For the rich man to realize all of this and to come to Christ begging for eternal forgiveness of all of his sin is humiliating. The truth is that as the beautiful flower fades so the beautiful rich will also die and come to nothing of value to anyone.

So when we come together at church, the rich are humbled at the foot of the cross and the poor are exalted at the foot of the cross. At the foot of the cross they meet in mutual love for the one who loved them enough to reach into this sinful world and call them and save them. At church there should then be mutual love for Jesus, mutual fellowship among all brothers and sisters in Christ. All class structures should be put aside as we all worship the same Lord for the same reason. Then when we leave church we are to treat all believers as we would treat them in church. The grace of God changes us all. The ground is level at the foot of the cross.

Pastor Bill will be leading the service at Sunrise today. Pray for open hearts to the word of God.

Pray for Daniel who needs to make some decisions soon. Pray for God to give him the wisdom he needs and for Daniel to receive that wisdom.

Pray for Jonathan as he begins his ministry to men who having come back to the Lord need transitional housing.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

April 12, 2010

James 1

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;

8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

When God asked Solomon what he needed the most to rule the nation of Israel, Solomon asked for wisdom. He could have asked for wealth or power or authority but Solomon asked for wisdom. Becaue he asked for wisdom he received all that he needed for life. We applaud Solomon for his choice and we need to join him in this choice. We tend to try everything that we can on our own and then wonder why it only works half the time.

James tells us here that we need to ask God for our greatest need and He will give it to us. We need, need, need wisdom. We need wisdom for parenting, for husband and wife success, for job security, for financial planning, for church life, for daily everything. When we try to go it without God’s wisdom we might succeed and we might fail. When we ask for God’s wisdom He leads us in the way of His perfection. This is a prayer we ought to pray every day and throughout the day. We need God’s wisdom! God promises to give His wisdom to those who ask Him for it. ASK! God promises to give His wisdom to those who ask.

The only caveat to this asking is that we ask in faith without doubting. Is God able? Yes, He is able. In our double-mindedness God does not give His wisdom but when we ask in faith without doubting God promises to give. Ask Him for His wisdom today.

I thank God again for the glorious day we had in church yesterday. It was glorious. God did what He promised to do, He met with us. It was a bit longer of a service than usual but it was good for us. We heard a report on our children’s ministries and those who make them work. We also heard that we need some more workers as teachers and helpers.

I started a new Sunday series on the book of Ephesians yesterday. I will get that sermon video on the website today.

Have a great day in the Lord,

April 9, 2010

Take joy in what? Why would I do that?

James 1

1 James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings.

2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,

3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

James, the pastor of the church in Jerusalem, writes his letter to his church members who have been scattered throughout the region because of the persecution of the believers in Jerusalem. Because of the persecution it became difficult even impossible for thousands who lived there to stay there and make a living so they moved out to be able to provide for their families and to escape the physical threats of persecution.

Whey the left they found that Christians were not looked kindly upon in many places and for many of those dispersed the trials of persecution continued. This would have been quite discouraging, to say the least. We Americans have no clue what the persecuted church lives with. We complain when our car breaks down or when a boss tells us to take the Bible off of our desk. Persecution? We have no clue the various trials James is writing about here. We do face trials of life but I have never faced the trials of persecution.

Having said that, this passage is meant to encourage us in all of the trials of life. Some of you do face the trial of family who won’t speak to you since you became a Christian. Some of you have lost promotions because you would not go out to the bar with the boss. Some of you have been ridiculed for your faith. Whenever these trials come, James, the pastor of the persecuted, says to count it all joy. If Jesus could go to the cross with joy in His heart, we can face persecution with His joy in our hearts. For God to call us to share in the persecution of Jesus is an honor to us. Count it all joy.

We are given a specific reason to count the trials of persecution as joy. Our loving God has designed the trials that we face with a specific purpose in mind and that purpose is our completion. When we come to Christ for salvation we are still filled with ourselves. We will surrender certain things of this world to the Lord but we are essentially still the same person with the same personality. I have found that it is easy to give up something for God but it is hard to change my personality for God. Trials get past the things into my very being and shape the ego, the very core of who I am.

Be patient with God, He is shaping who you are. And when He is finished you will like the product that His hands have shaped. The words here “perfect and complete lacking nothing” speak to the work that God is doing, the person He is shaping you to be. That person will be spiritually complete, spiritually mature, spiritually ready to show forth the glory of God in this world. You, in and of yourself, shaped by your own past and your own likes and dislikes do not reflect the glory of God very well. However, the person that God brings out of trials will be a different person, a better person, a more content person, a more patient person, and a more God-focused person.

Therefore, let patience have its perfect work that you may be complete and entire lacking nothing before God and man.

Wednesday night we read Psalm 24 to take time to reflect upon God in prayer. Ps 24:1 The earth is the LORD'S, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein. As I meditated upon this a smile broke across my face and I said, “The earth is not the Democrats, Republicans, the Socialists, the EU, the terrorists nor any one else’s. The earth is the Lord’s. Day after day the news is discouraging. No one is doing a good job, it seems. Everyone seems to be out for their own agenda. In reality, God is in control, the earth is His. Pray for our country and for our leaders. They are accountable to God, pray that they will recognize this fact as Nebuchadnezzar did.

Pray for Pastor Bill as he preaches the Word of God today at Spring Meadow and at Sunrise.

Pray for RU tonight that men and women would come and face their addictions with the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Pray for Sunday and for all who are preparing to minister the Word. I will be starting a new message series on the book of Ephesians. Read it through today and tomorrow to prepare yourself.

Happy Birthday Dad. I thank God for you, your love to me, and your love for the gospel.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

April 8, 2010

What power did Jesus leave behind?

Mark 16:17 "And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;

18 "they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.

This is parallel to Matthew 28:18 where Jesus claims all power in heaven in earth and then sends His disciples out into all the world with the message of the gospel. Here is the beauty of this, our Lord Jesus, who conquered both sin and death, has promised to give us all that we need to do His work on this earth. We need never fear that we will find ourselves alone facing the enemies of the gospel for our Lord is always with us and greater is He who is in us than he (satan) that is in the world.

There are those who have twisted this passage and bring snakes to church to prove that God has given them power over snakes. These “snake-handlers” bring embarrassment on the true believers who have faced real danger for the name of Jesus. Paul the Apostle had a snake come out of a wood-pile and bite his hand. When he should have swollen up and died nothing happened. Paul was doing the will of God and the snake could not stop him. Carriers of the gospel have faced many types of persecution and attempts at hindering the message only to see the Lord Jesus empower them over the hindrance

And while I am not a faith healer I have prayed for many who were sick. Some improved, some did not. God, in whose will we pray, hears our prayers and answers them even for the sick. Where the gospel is on the line, God has raised up many to continue proclaiming His name. Paul was stoned and left for dead. The next day he came back with the other disciples to preach the gospel. We must not let the difficulties of this life nor the threats of the sinners keep us from powerfully proclaiming the gospel of Christ. The gospel has power unto salvation. Proclaim it and let God do His part.

Forty days after the resurrection Jesus ascended into heaven. When He left angels asked the disciples what they were staring at. Then they said that this same Jesus who was taken from you into heaven will so come in like manner as you have seen Him go. Yes, Jesus is coming again in power and in glory. Are you ready for His second coming? Give your sin, your heart, and your life to the Savior. Cry out with mercy in faith to Him and those who come to Him He will in no way cast out. He will receive all who come to Him by faith in His grace. Those who come to Christ receive Him now and will be received by Him eternally. He to whom all authority was given has the power to save those who come to Him. Trust Him today.

Tomorrow is Pastor Bill’s birthday. You can send him a message at billkit3654@gmail.com

Pray for our preparation for Sunday. Yesterday a woman named Robin came to see me. Pray that she will be in church Sunday. I talked with a man named Joe who promised to come Sunday. Pray that he does. As these come, welcome them into your church, your hearts and even your homes.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

April 7, 2010

Does baptism save?

Mark 16:15 And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.

The Great Commission has a couple of different versions but they say the same things. One different point of the Mark account is the insertion of the phrase “and is baptized.” Some like to take this insertion and build a doctrine on the necessity of baptism for salvation. While baptism is an important part of our Christian life for it is a physical demonstration of our submission to Christ, this text does not teach that it is a part of our salvation.

Notice the second half of verse 16 which is necessary to the understanding of salvation. While the statement is “He who believes and is baptized will be saved,” the opposing phrase omits baptism and only mentions belief. For one not to be saved they must reject the belief that Jesus is God and that salvation is through Christ. Baptism cannot save nor can the omission of it cause one to be lost. Salvation is the result of faith in God’s grace.

If baptism was a functional part of salvation we might have trouble with Ephesians 2:8 for baptism is a work of the flesh. Baptism is something we agree to do to follow the example of Jesus and identify with other believers. It is an outward evidence of an inward change. One does not obtain eternal redemption through baptism but through the shedding of the blood of Jesus on the cross for their sin. If salvation could come through baptism then Jesus death on the cross was unnecessary.

Religions like to baptize babies. This act of the parents and the church on the infant has nothing to do with the infants confession of sin and recognition of a desire to follow Jesus Christ. Infant baptism prepares an infant to be attached to a certain church type for life. In some churches infant baptism replaces the Jewish rite of circumcision symbolically bringing the child into the covenant. This teaching replaces Israel with the church and offers a child a false hope for which he or she never had a part in the decision. Many adults are trusting their infant baptism to save them from their sin. If nothing else this teaching is confusing to those who are submitted to it.

Biblical baptism always followed conversion. Phillip told the Ethiopian that if he believed in his heart that Jesus was his Savior he could be baptized. Every NT example has baptism following conversion. 1. Baptism does not save, only Jesus can do that. 2. Baptism was commanded by Jesus to be submitted to by every believer in Him.

We had one man come to Christ at Wayside this morning. Pray for Michael Cole to grow in his new faith. Pray for a man named Joe who was saved and baptized recently. Joe also needs to grow in the Lord.

I hope to see you tonight as we gather together for prayer.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

April 6, 2010

Do you believe Christ is risen? Does He live in you?

Mark 16

1 Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him.

2 Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.

3 And they said among themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?"

4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away--for it was very large.

5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.

6 But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him.

7 "But go, tell His disciples--and Peter--that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you."

8 So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

9 Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.

10 She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept.

11 And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.

12 After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country.

13 And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.

14 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.

The repeated phrase in this passage is “they did not believe.” After His resurrection Jesus appeared to a select few people. He appeared to Mary Magdalene, the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and an angel spoke to three women early in the morning on the third day confirming that Jesus had risen. Why was this so hard for the others to believe? We read elsewhere of Thomas who went so far as to say that he would not believe until he stuck his fingers in the holes in Jesus’ hands.

Unbelief has been man’s problem since time began. Eve was tempted not to believe what God had said. Cain did not believe that God wanted a blood sacrifice. The people of Noah’s day did not believe it was going to rain according to the word of God and on it goes. People today still struggle with what they believe and why they should believe it. On the day of the resurrection, eye-witnesses brought personal messages from an angel and from Jesus Himself yet the others refused to believe that they had really seen Jesus. All they could remember was Christ arrest, His beating, His crucifixion, and His certain death. Their faith died with Jesus.

Has your faith died? Do you have difficulty believing the Word of God from the Bible or from someone teaching the Bible? Are you still waiting for a personal appointment with Jesus before you really believe? Jesus did raise from the dead. No one else has ever demonstrated that much power. Since He did rise from the dead Jesus is worthy of your faith above any other religious leader of all time. If you are skeptical you will never enjoy the fullness of peace that Jesus gives to those who believe. You see, He did all the work. Jesus does not owe you a personal visit. The next step is yours and it is a step of faith. “For by grace you are saved through faith, and that, not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.”

Once you accept the risen Christ by faith He will enter you, fill you, and become your Savior. Then you will know Him up close and personal. Then you will meet the risen Lord and know that He is alive for He will live in you. Jesus is alive!

Today begins our week of ministry with a 10:30 service at Sunrise. Tomorrow morning we are at Wayside at 7:00. Tomorrow night we will continue our concert of prayer beginning at 7:00. Men, work on the handout I sent home with you last Wednesday from Galatians 1.

The Resurrection Day sermon video is on the church website. www.graceforlifebc.org

Have a great day in the Lord,

April 5, 2010

God uses our preparations for His purposes

Mark 15

42 Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath,

43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

44 Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time.

45 So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.

46 Then he bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen. And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.

47 And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses observed where He was laid.

Take a moment to notice that God always had people ready to do His work. Jesus was dead and His body needed to be buried. The common people did not have nice tombs prepared for themselves and so when they died they would be placed in a common grave with many others. Had this happened the resurrection might have lacked clarity. For in a common grave there could have been many wrapped bodies lain together. But God had a different plan.

Our text tells us that Joseph of Arimathea took courage and went to Pilate to request the body of Jesus. To this point, Joseph’s faith was hidden. He believed in the coming of the Kingdom through Jesus but as prominent council member, he was not at liberty to proclaim his faith. Apparently Joseph of Arimathea was a man of some wealth and clout for he was comfortable going to Pilate. In Joseph we have a prepared man for a prepared opportunity. He broke through his comfort zone and through his timidity to do God’s will.

Joseph was a man of some wealth for he had a grave made for himself and for his family. The ground in Palestine is very rocky so the wealthy would hew out a cave for the burial of their families. Joseph was such a man with such a plan. When God calls you to use something you planned for yourself, take Joseph’s example and give it to God. Let the Lord Jesus use your personal preparation and watch what God can do through your preparation.

Having a public tomb with no other occupants, there was no question when the resurrection took place. There was no difficulty discerning who was missing from the tomb. God does all things well and His plans often include things that we have prepared. What an amazing partnership God has with His servants. Never be afraid to partner with God. He will use what you have in ways that you can never begin to imagine.

Yesterday was a glorious Resurrection Sunday at our church. The music exalted the Lord. The choir sang two numbers, the kids choir sang, there was a brass duet, and the congregation lifted up their hearts in song. On top of that we had a husband and wife follow the Lord in baptism. Thanks to all who prepared their gifts to minister to the body of Christ. All of us were ministered to and that was a great blessing.

On top of that many people brought breakfast foods and drinks and we fed well over 120 people. By the time everyone came we had 167 in the morning service. Wow, when God brings a crowd, He really brings a crowd. It was a glorious day and we sought to exalt Him and the resurrection of the Savior in every way. Thanks be to Him.

By the end of today the sermon for the morning, “Who can bring life out of death?” will be available to watch on our church website: www.graceforlifebc.org

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

April 2, 2010

Jesus, for the joy set before Him, endured the cross

Mark 15

29 And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, "Aha! You who destroy the temple and build it in three days,

30 "save Yourself, and come down from the cross!"

31 Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, "He saved others; Himself He cannot save.

32 "Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe." Even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him.

33 Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.

34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"

35 Some of those who stood by, when they heard that, said, "Look, He is calling for Elijah!"

36 Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink, saying, "Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down."

37 And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last.

38 Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

39 So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, "Truly this Man was the Son of God!"

Even while He was hanging on the cross Jesus was reviled and mocked. Can you imagine the hatred of satan for the Christ? Satan unleashed all of his bitterness and hatred and anger against the Lord at this moment in time. Those whose father is the god of the world were his tools to spew his venom upon our wonderful Lord. We have to notice that Jesus, knowing that His hour of redemption had come endured the cross and all of its shame for the joy that was before Him. Satan had no clue as to what was next neither did anyone else at Calvary that day, but Jesus knew.

Jesus came as the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world and that is exactly what He was doing. Know this, whenever God is doing His work satan is against it and will bring his people against us. We must not be surprised when satan’s children oppose the work of the Lord. However, we too must look to the joy of the Lord, the thrill of souls coming into the kingdom. We must look at sins forgiven as well as our Lord, the sin bearer, and continue to do His will in this life.

As Jesus knew what was next, so we must look forward to the power of the gospel to accomplish the work of our Lord in the lives of those we know and love.

Jesus still had one more step of work to do and this last was the most difficult. For a moment in time the unity of the Father and the Son was broken. In order for Jesus to be our effective High Priest He had to feel the pain of our sin. The greatest pain of sin is the separation that it brings when it separates us from our Creator God. Enduring the rejection of God is the worst rejection man ever faces. Every human rejection can be healed but the rejection of God is beyond our ability to fix. Man can go from church to church and from religion to religion never covering the entire distance between him and God.

We are separated from God because of our sin. Jesus was separated from God because of our sin and it was the most agonizing moment of His life. Yet again, Jesus endured this for the joy that was set before Him for He knew that in time He our redeemer would never again be separated from us. There would now be a way, the cross, for us to cross the chasm of Divine rejection. No wonder when it was all done the centurion said, “Surely this man was the Son of God.”

Focus on our Jesus on the cross. Focus on the work He accomplished there to bridge the chasm of rejection that our sin created. “Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of God.” Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Take time tonight for the Good Friday service. Your heart will be stirred as we focus on our Savior. What a great opportunity our society gives us to focus upon our Lamb on the altar of the cross.

Remember that Sunday morning we are serving breakfast from 9:15-10:15 with the Resurrection Sunday service starting at 10:30.

Men, we do have our monthly prayer breakfast tomorrow morning at 7:30 at IHOP. Trustees, we have a meeting immediately afterwards at the church. See you then.

April 1, 2010

Thank you, Lord Jesus

Mark 15

20 And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.

21 Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross.

22 And they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull.

23 Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it.

24 And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take.

25 Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him.

26 And the inscription of His accusation was written above: THE KING OF THE JEWS.

27 With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left.

28 So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "And He was numbered with the transgressors."

When you stop to consider that the incarnate God, the Lord Jesus Christ in flesh was the one having this done to Him, you are in awe. If anyone today was treated like this it would be stopped as cruel and unusual punishment! From being mocked with a purple robe to having that ripped off and then forcing other clothes over His beaten and bleeding body, to making Him carry the cross beam of the cross until He collapsed in exhaustion, to the nails pounded through His hands and feet and the cross dropped into the hole so that His bones came out of joint, this was indeed cruel and unusual punishment.

Our Savior was offered a mixture of wine and myrrh which was a sedative to lessen the pain and He refused it. Why did He do that? This was probably the only merciful act of the event. Our Jesus needed to feel every pain as He paid the price for our sin. To lessen the pain was to lessen the redemption. Jesus felt every human pain as He was judged for our sin. He also felt the pain of eternal rejection from God, again, a pain that He needed to feel to provide our salvation. So He rejected the myrrh.

Jesus was crucified with two sinners. According to prophesy He would have to be and He was. Luke records for us how that one of the two thieves mocked the Lord with his dying breath and the other cried out Jesus for mercy. The one crying out for mercy was granted mercy by the only one that day who could give it Him. To the penitent one Jesus said, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” What a peace must have flooded over the soul of this lost and degenerate man. What hope Jesus gave to each of us when He showed such compassion to condemned sinner. Thankfully, Jesus spoke those words of mercy into my heart and filled me with His Spirit so that I know that one day I will meet both my Jesus and the believer on the cross next to Him.

“Thank you Lord Jesus for dying for my sin. Thank you for not just saving the man next to you bur for saving me. I deserve no more than the thief on the cross. Yes, he deserved his crucifixion as I deserve hell for my sin. But as you showed him mercy that day so you have shown your mercy to me. I believe in You and have received the gift of your grace. In turn, you have promised me Paradise with You forever. Thank you for not taking the myrrh. Thank you for feeling every pain and for bearing my every sin. Thank you for going to the cross for me.”

We had an amazing crowd at church last night. What a thrill to see so many of you committed to prayer and to the study of God’s word. God is doing His work in our hearts and in His church. Pray with me for Friday night. Nate will be speaking on the passion of Christ, Chris will be speaking on the crucifixion of Christ, and Steve will be speaking on the resurrection of Christ. This will be the best place in town to be Friday night. Pray for these men as they prepare to open God’s word with us.

Please pray today for a man named John and for a man named Doug. Both are facing life-long spiritual and physical battles and need our prayers.

Pray for the people in Rhode Island who have lost homes and businesses and much of their lives due to flooding. I am sure there are believers there who are crying out to God to stop the rains. Let’s pray with them.

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS

March 31, 2010

Why? Why did Jesus have to do this?

Mark 15

12 Pilate answered and said to them again, "What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?"

13 So they cried out again, "Crucify Him!"

14 Then Pilate said to them, "Why, what evil has He done?" But they cried out all the mo

I met a Nigerian woman named Stephanie who wants to bring her children to VBS. She was in the church parking lot waiting for me when I came in this morning. God is doing His work, Hallelujah!

If the rain holds off, tonight is the Kane County Cougars baseball game. Currently we have three families going. If you are interested call me or email me. I can get a few more tickets even yet. They are box seat tickets that have been discounted for us to $6.00. There is no parking fee.

Have a great day in the Lord, PS

Have a great day in the Lord,
PS