- Jun 18, 2023What’s In Your Heart?
What’s In Your Heart?There are two sides to every person: the inside and the outside. Or in the language of the Bible, there is the “inward man” and the “outward man.” (2 Corinthians 4:16) Each of us chooses which will receive our focus and attention. Either we will focus on the external things that other people can see and notice or on the internal things that may go unrecognized. Which one we make a priority determines the direction of our life takes. If you believe that perception is more important than reality, then your focus is on the outward man. If you believe that if you fake it, you can make it, then the outward man is your priority. If you do what you do “to be seen of men,” then external things are paramount to you, and that is a problem. It is a problem because Jesus said that what is in your heart is more important than what people see on the outside. The heart is the real you, and it determines what will come out of your life. The most religious people in Jesus' day were consumed with maintaining an appearance of godliness, but in reality, their heart was far from God. Their heart was evil, and the result of an evil heart will be an evil life. They were meticulous about ensuring that nothing went in their mouth that would “defile” them, but they ignored the corruption that was in their heart. The inward man is the most important part of us because that determines who we really are. We must be sure that we keep our hearts clean, and when we do that, our whole lives will be pure.
- Jun 11, 2023Tradition!
Tradition!A tradition is a ritual or belief handed down from one generation to another. Many people like traditions because they can give a sense of stability, consistency, and connection. Not all traditions are bad. In fact, many traditions are very good and helpful because they are based on Biblical principles. If, however, a tradition is at odds with God’s commands, we must reject that tradition so that we can obey God. Sadly, many people confuse traditions and God’s commands. They assume that because something has “always” been done, it must be right. They are not humble enough to admit that they and those who have gone before them might have been wrong. This was one of the glaring problems of the Scribes and Pharisees in Jesus’ day. To them, keeping the traditions of the rabbis and elders of bygone days was more important than truly obeying God’s word. Their teaching was particularly tricky because those traditions were often loosely based on the scripture. They were traditions of men presented as the doctrines of God. In Mark 7:1-13, Jesus was confronted by the religious leaders about His disciples not keeping the tradition of ritual hand washing before meals. Jesus turned the question back on them, pointing out that they were breaking the commands of God to keep their traditions. But it is not just the Scribes and Pharisees who have been guilty of elevating tradition above the commands of God. If we are not careful, any of us could fall into the same trap. We like to think that we have had it right all along, but only God’s Word is infallible. When our traditions contradict the Bible, we must give up those traditions and obey God.
- Jun 4, 2023Secret Sins (Psalm 90:8 KJV)
Secret Sins (Psalm 90:8 KJV)
- May 28, 2023Growing Pain
Growing PainOne of our church themes this year is growing. God created us to grow physically. But with that growth often comes times of pain. We call it growing pains. A baby might experience teething pain. We may feel pain while lifting weights to build muscle. Muscles grow stronger by working them harder. Our church should be exercising its spiritual muscles to grow as well.
Christians can expect to experience growing pains in spiritual growth as well. God allows these growing pains of hardship, suffering and even hurt because He loves us and according to Romans 8:29 He is conforming us to the image of His Son Jesus. As God allows our church to grow, we can expect growing pains. The early church dealt with hardship, persecution, and suffering as part of God’s plan to build His church. We are going to have growing pains, by living our life God’s way, times of pain will bring the growth God desires to see in our church. - May 21, 2023A Godly Influencer
A Godly InfluencerIn the last few years, we have seen a dramatic rise in the number of people using social media to build a business around themselves and their ability to gain a following. These people are known as “influencers” because they use their platform to influence the purchasing decisions of others. God has called Christians to be influencers, but not like the world thinks of an influencer. We are to make a difference in the world, to be salt and light by living according to the truth of the gospel and sharing the message. Social media influencers persuade people to follow them. Christians should persuade people to follow Christ. The Apostle Paul was a great example of this kind of Godly influencer. His influence was so strong that people said he had “turned the world upside down.” (Acts 17:6). As a godly influencer, Paul did not live for himself. He had a taste of fame, fortune, and a following of men before he was saved, and he knew that they weren’t worth living for. Paul’s goal was to make Jesus famous and not himself. Paul lived to “preach…the unsearchable riches of Christ,” not to gain a fortune for himself so that he might live a comfortable life. Paul did not strive to build a following for himself. He only invited people to follow him as he followed Christ. The result of Paul’s selfless, sacrificial, servant-hearted influence was the glory of God through his life and ministry, which should be the goal of every pursuit a Christian undertakes. We must use whatever influence God may give us to magnify God.
- May 14, 2023The Virtuous Woman
The Virtuous WomanWho can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.
-Proverbs 31:10, 25-31 - May 7, 2023Two By Two Part 1
Two By Two Part 1Jesus did not attempt to proclaim the gospel to the world singlehandedly. Instead, He recruited others to spread the message of salvation. In Mark 6:7-13, we read of the first time Jesus officially commissioned His disciples to go out and preach. Notice first how Jesus called and commissioned the twelve disciples to go out as His representatives. They went out by the authority of Jesus. In so doing, they went out in total reliance on God for provision and success. Note how the disciples responded with obedience. “They went out and preached….” Some would receive the message they were to deliver, and some would reject it, but they were not responsible for the actions of others. They obeyed and their obedience would honor God. The content of their message was simple. People needed to change their minds about sin and their need for a Savior and turn to Christ. That is the message of repentance. It is the message that John the Baptist preached, that Jesus preached, and that all followers of Jesus should preach. We also see how God worked through them to confirm their message. God gave them miraculous abilities that proved that the gospel they preached was of God. While we do not have the same miraculous abilities today, we do have the same Holy Spirit working through us to confirm God’s word in the hearts of those who hear. Believers today are in a similar position to those apostles. We have been commissioned to go forth and preach the message of the gospel. We are not responsible for how people respond, but we will answer to God for our obedience. We go out by the authority of Jesus and preach, relying on God to work through us.
- Apr 23, 2023A Disappointing Homecoming
A Disappointing Homecoming
In “The Wizard of Oz,” Dorothy famously said, “There’s no place like home.” Returning to the place you grew up after being gone for years is often a happy experience, with fond memories and reunions with old friends as you visit familiar sites and reminisce. For many, returning home after a long absence is a joy and a relief. Sometimes we forget that Jesus had a childhood home and a hometown that He grew up in. Though little is recorded of it, the first thirty years of
His life were spent primarily in one small town called Nazareth. But when, in Mark 6:1-7, Jesus returned to His hometown to do for them as He had done for so many others, the reception they gave Him was anything but warm and friendly. Their rejection of Jesus limited His ministry to that community. “And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief.” (Mark 6:5-6) Perhaps the old adage “familiarity breeds contempt” explains why they did not believe on Jesus. Jesus was not a new and exciting figure to them like in other towns. Their rejection of Jesus resulted in their missing out on miracles and blessings because they would not believe. We can limit God by doubting. We do not limit His actual power, but we limit what He will do in our life, just like the Israelites when they doubted God in the wilderness. They “limited the Holy One of Israel.” (Psalm 78:41) Don’t limit the work of God in your life, and don’t let familiarity with God erode your faith in God. - Apr 17, 2023Five Faith Facts
Five Faith FactsFaith is believing what God says. When you think of it this way, you realize that faith is not complicated. It is not always easy to have faith. Sometimes it is very hard, because life is complicated and confusing. But having faith is simply choosing to believe what God says, even if you don't understand how that makes sense in your current situation.God rewards faith. He rewards saving faith (faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ) with eternal life. He continues to reward the saved who walk by faith with the blessing of answered prayer and extraordinary blessing. If you want to see God solve big problems and meet enormous needs in our life, then you must have faith that God can and will do it.
- Apr 2, 2023The Gospel Seed
The Gospel Seed
Jesus often used parables to teach
the truth about the Gospel. In Mark 4,
we have several parables about seeds that
help us understand how the message of
the Gospel works.The first parable is of the seed and
the soil. A sower sows seed that lands
on various types of ground with varying
results. Some seed withers, some is stolen,
some sprouts but never brings forth fruit,
and some grows into a healthy plant that
bears much fruit.The next parable deals with the
mystery of the seed’s growth. We may
plough a field and plant a seed, but we
cannot make a seed grow. God does that
through the mystery of creation, and we
can only watch in wonder and be ready to
reap when the time is right.The third parable highlights the impact
that one small seed can have. A mustard
seed is small, but it grows into a plant so
large that birds can make a home in it.
There is a tremendous amount of potential
in that one seed.All of these parables illustrate the Gospel
seed. We may not understand exactly how
God uses the Gospel to work in a person’s life,
but we know that if we sow the seed, it will
have a huge impact. We must be ready to do
our part in planting and reaping the harvest
while trusting God to do the real work of
causing that seed to bring forth fruit. - Mar 19, 2023The Unpardonable Sin
The Unpardonable Sin
Can God forgive every sin? The truest answer is, “Yes, God can forgive every sin, but He will not forgive every sin.” Rather than universally forgiving every sin, God has chosen to forgive the sins of those who respond to the Holy Spirit’s conviction with repentance. Understanding this truth is key to understanding what is commonly termed “the unpardonable sin.” In Mark 3:22-20, Jesus was slandered by a group of religious professionals known as the scribes. They attributed the miracles that He did to the working of Satan. Jesus responded to their libel by pointing out the fallacy of their logic, and from there, He went on to warn about the danger of what they were saying. This was the context in which Jesus revealed “the unpardonable sin.” “Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.” (Mark 3:28-29) The unpardonable sin is not stealing, murder, or adultery. It is the sin of disregarding the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit’s ministry to the lost is to point out their sin and their need for a Savior. If a person does not respond to the Holy Spirit’s work with repentance, they will not be forgiven of their sin. Forgiveness will always be available to them if they repent, but they will remain lost until they do. Everyone must accept Christ as their Savior to have their sins forgiven.
- Mar 12, 2023The Blessing of the Deacon
The Blessing of the DeaconWhat is the job of the deacons in the local church? In some churches, the deacons are set up as a ruling body, equivalent to the board of directors in a corporation. The church body delegates all of its decision-making power to the deacon board. In other churches, the deacons are elected to run the church's day-to-day operations, and they relegate the pastor to "preaching, marrying, and burying." According to this philosophy, the deacon's job is to control the pastor and protect the church from him. On the other end of the spectrum, you have those who think that the deacons are to be the pastor's "yes men." They provide the rubber stamp of approval for every whim and fancy of the pastor, giving legitimacy to whatever notions he may have about the direction and the decisions of the church.None of these concepts line up with the Biblical purpose of a deacon. In Acts 6:1-7, we read of the election of the first deacons in the New Testament. According to these verses, we learn what the essential qualifications of a deacon are. We also learn that deacons are a vital part of the church ministry because they assist the pastor and help free him up to focus on doing what only the pastor can do. Godly deacons are a tremendous blessing to the local church.
- Mar 5, 2023Hard Hearted & Hard Headed (Mark 3:1-6 KJV)
Hard Hearted & Hard Headed (Mark 3:1-6 KJV)
Nothing demonstrates the selfish pride in
our nature better than the times that we get
upset when good things happen to other people.
In Mark 3:1-6, we read a story about Jesus healing
a man who had a crippled hand. Instead of rejoicing
that the man had been healed, the Pharisees
became murderously angry at Jesus because He
pointed out the error in their hard hearted and hard
headed ways.If we are honest, we will admit that we each
have a tendency to be hard-hearted and
hard-headed too. We do not always respond the
right way to God’s working and God’s blessing on
others. Sometimes we act skeptical, cynical, and
jealous. We would rather be seen as right, and
therefore superior, than to see something good
happen to someone in a way that we did not expect
or that we did not think was proper.Such stubbornness grieves the heart of our
Savior. God does not always do things the way
we think they should be done. When God’s
methods contradict our traditions and preferences,
then we are the ones who are wrong. God is
never wrong. We must humble ourselves enough
to admit that we were mistaken, rejoice in what
God does, and give Him the glory for it. - Feb 26, 2023The Three “R’s” of Revival
- Feb 19, 2023Jail And The Nail Part 2 (Judges 5 KJV)
Jail And The Nail Part 2 (Judges 5 KJV)
