Just sharing.

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“For this child I prayed.”

1 Samuel 1:27

Devout souls delight to look upon those mercies which they have obtained in answer to supplication, for they can see God's especial love in them. When we can name our blessings Samuel, that is, “asked of God,” they will be as dear to us as her child was to Hannah. Peninnah had many children, but they came as common blessings unsought in prayer: Hannah's one heaven-given child was dearer far, because he was the fruit of earnest pleadings. How sweet was that water to Samson which he found at “the well of him that prayed!” Quassia cups turn all waters bitter, but the cup of prayer puts a sweetness into the draughts it brings.

Did we pray for the conversion of our children? How doubly sweet, when they are saved, to see in them our own petitions fulfilled! Better to rejoice over them as the fruit of our pleadings than as the fruit of our bodies. Have we sought of the Lord some choice spiritual gift? When it comes to us it will be wrapped up in the gold cloth of God's faithfulness and truth, and so be doubly precious. Have we petitioned for success in the Lord's work? How joyful is the prosperity which comes flying upon the wings of prayer!

It is always best to get blessings into our house in the legitimate way, by the door of prayer; then they are blessings indeed, and not temptations. Even when prayer speeds not, the blessings grow all the richer for the delay; the child Jesus was all the more lovely in the eyes of Mary when she found him after having sought him sorrowing. That which we win by prayer we should dedicate to God, as Hannah dedicated Samuel. The gift came from heaven, let it go to heaven. Prayer brought it, gratitude sang over it, let devotion consecrate it. Here will be a special occasion for saying, “Of thine own have I given unto thee.” Reader, is prayer your element or your weariness? Which?

 

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The Shape of the Past



Our pasts are as complicated as our present. Maybe even more. What we have been through forms and shapes who we are. The relationships around us inform our perspective and our values.

The shape of the past is like a mold. It shows us boundaries, consequences for crossing those boundaries, and the parameters for truth. What we have been through communicates to us how the world works. For better or worse, it establishes patterns in our lives. It sets up a specific worldview.

Yet, our molds are not definitive. They are jelly molds. We can move them. We can reshape them. Our experience informs our perspective but does not dictate it. We are influenced but not shackled.

Repetitive Narrative
We love stories with good guys and bad guys. Friends and enemies. Heroes and villains. The past shapes our perspective on who is included in each of these lists. Not just people, but ideas. What is shameful? What is honorable? Our experience teaches us how to define these things.

Those definitions help shape our values. And establish a desired culture.
We hear these stories over and over again. Confirmation bias kicks in. We start to see what we are looking for. And soon unhealthy patterns can form. If we are not careful, we create a perspective that is not based on reality, or grounded in truth. We find ourselves believing a false narrative.

Strained Choices
The good news is that today’s choices become tomorrow’s past. Said another way: we are not done growing. What we do now, the relationships we are in, and the experiences we have will inform what we perceive in the future. Our perspective is not beyond redemption. It is being reshaped and/or reinforced every day.


The great epiphany, the turning point of a human journey, is when we see the ways in which our patterns are not working. We see consequences we didn’t expect. We don’t receive the promises advertised by the lie. And life becomes strained.
A strained life is not a bad life. It is not a failed (or even failing) life.

A strained life is a beautiful opportunity. To evaluate. To discover truth. To create new patterns.
The trajectory of our lives is a strong pull of mass and energy. But it is not beyond repair. Our past has a shape. But so does our future. And they needn’t be exactly the same. The whole point of the human journey is to grow, to discover, to expand.
Our pasts, no matter how messy, have set us up to grow. They have established a foundation. Whether we were spoiled or abused, affirmed or rejected, our pasts are a reality we have to come to grips with. A truth we have to appraise.

 

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His Word Lights Our Pathway Teach me, O LORD , to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end. Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart. Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word. Psalm 119:33-37 NIV _______________ And He (Jesus) said to them, "O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?" Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. Luke 24:5-7 NASB _______________ All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16,17 RSV _______________ Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift: Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God is the object of our faith; the only faith that saves is faith in Him.

 

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“Encourage him.”

Deuteronomy 1:38

God employs his people to encourage one another. He did not say to an angel, “Gabriel, my servant Joshua is about to lead my people into Canaan—go, encourage him.” God never works needless miracles; if his purposes can be accomplished by ordinary means, he will not use miraculous agency. Gabriel would not have been half so well fitted for the work as Moses. A brother's sympathy is more precious than an angel's embassy. The angel, swift of wing, had better known the Master's bidding than the people's temper. An angel had never experienced the hardness of the road, nor seen the fiery serpents, nor had he led the stiff-necked multitude in the wilderness as Moses had done.

We should be glad that God usually works for man by man. It forms a bond of brotherhood, and being mutually dependent on one another, we are fused more completely into one family. Brethren, take the text as God's message to you. Labor to help others, and especially strive to encourage them. Talk cheerily to the young and anxious enquirer, lovingly try to remove stumbling blocks out of his way. When you find a spark of grace in the heart, kneel down and blow it into a flame. Leave the young believer to discover the roughness of the road by degrees, but tell him of the strength which dwells in God, of the sureness of the promise, and of the charms of communion with Christ.

Aim to comfort the sorrowful, and to animate the desponding. Speak a word in season to him that is weary, and encourage those who are fearful to go on their way with gladness. God encourages you by his promises; Christ encourages you as he points to the heaven he has won for you, and the spirit encourages you as he works in you to will and to do of his own will and pleasure. Imitate divine wisdom, and encourage others, according to the word of this evening.

 

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Finding Faith by Studying the Down-and-Out




Chris Arnade studied the most destitute and seemingly hopeless Americans–street people, addicts, prostitutes, the wretchedly poor, the “underclass,” people often referred to as the “dregs of society”–searching for the shreds of human dignity that they still have by getting to know them. And a funny thing happened: He came to faith.

From a review by Kathryn Jean Lopez of Arnade’s book Dignity: Seeing Respect in Back Row America:

After attending “hundreds of different services [with his subjects in the course of his study],” he “couldn’t ignore the value in faith, not as a scientist, not as a person who claimed to want to learn from others.” At first, he saw it as a “utility,” but “there was more to it than that,” he realized. “My biases, my years steeped in rationality and privilege, [were] limiting a deeper understanding.”

Perhaps, he writes, “religion was right, or at least as right as anything could be.” But, he admits, “getting there requires a level of intellectual humility that I am not sure I have” — which sounds more than a little bit like humility.
He explains that he was used to thinking he had all the answers — the luxury of delusion. “With a great job and a great apartment in a great neighborhood, it is easy to feel we have nothing for which we need to be absolved. The fundamental fallibility of humans seems outdated, distant, and confined to a few distant others. It’s not hard to imagine that you can have everything under control.”

But there is no such delusion on the streets he spent time on:

You cannot ignore death there, and you cannot ignore human fallibility. It is easier to see that everyone is a sinner, everyone is fallible, and everyone is mortal. It is easier to see that there are things just too deep, too important, or too great for us to know. It is far easier to recognize that one must come to peace with the idea that “we don’t and never will have this under control.” It is far easier to see religion not just as useful but as true.
. . . Their communities have been shattered, their sense of place and purpose ruptured, leaving them with no confidence in ‘worldly’ institutions and with a clearer sense of the importance, value, and necessity of faith in something beyond material.”

But doesn’t this go against the fact that the working classes are the most unchurched in America? No. That’s the white working class. Many of the people he was studying and going to store front churches with are black. And African Americans are the most religious demographic in America. Plus, these folks Arnade is writing about are not “working class.” They typically don’t have jobs. So they don’t fit into the American economic class system, such as it is, either.
Does this experience contradict what we blogged about yesterday? Arnade seems to have taken on a “humanitarian” project, and he refuses to judge these folks.
I’m interested especially in the impact that these people and this side of life had on the thoroughly middle class Arnade, with his Ph.D. and social standing. Does this suggest that Luther’s Theology of the Cross can play a role in evangelism?

 

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He Has Freely Given Us all Things Even His Holy Spirit In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession - to the praise of his glory. Ephesians 1:11-14 NIV _______________ "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son; if you ask anything in my name, I will do it. "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him; you know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you. John 14:12-17 RSV _______________ But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Galatians 5:16-18 NASB _______________ Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift: Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God is the object of our faith; the only faith that saves is faith in Him.

 

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“In the evening withhold not thy hand.”

Ecclesiastes 11:6

In the evening of the day opportunities are plentiful: men return from their labour, and the zealous soul-winner finds time to tell abroad the love of Jesus. Have I no evening work for Jesus? If I have not, let me no longer withhold my hand from a service which requires abundant labour. Sinners are perishing for lack of knowledge; he who loiters may find his skirts crimson with the blood of souls.

Jesus gave both his hands to the nails, how can I keep back one of mine from his blessed work? Night and day he toiled and prayed for me, how can I give a single hour to the pampering of my flesh with luxurious ease? Up, idle heart; stretch out thy hand to work, or uplift it to pray; heaven and hell are in earnest, let me be so, and this evening sow good seed for the Lord my God.

The evening of life has also its calls. Life is so short that a morning of manhood's vigour, and an evening of decay, make the whole of it. To some it seems long, but a four-pence is a great sum of money to a poor man. Life is so brief that no man can afford to lose a day. It has been well said that if a great king should bring us a great heap of gold, and bid us take as much as we could count in a day, we should make a long day of it; we should begin early in the morning, and in the evening we should not withhold our hand; but to win souls is far nobler work, how is it that we so soon withdraw from it?

Some are spared to a long evening of green old age; if such be my case, let me use such talents as I still retain, and to the last hour serve my blessed and faithful Lord. By his grace I will die in harness, and lay down my charge only when I lay down my body. Age may instruct the young, cheer the faint, and encourage the desponding; if eventide has less of vigorous heat, it should have more of calm wisdom, therefore in the evening I will not withhold my hand.

 

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The Upside-Down Kingdom



All throughout the Gospel, Jesus Christ is shown to be “the friend (and defender) of sinners” who “ate and drank.” (See Luke 7:34). In this story, we find Him to be eating, drinking, and befriending a female sinner.
Jesus welcomed the tax collectors, the thieves, the prostitutes, and the adulterers into His kingdom. For this reason, the Lord consistently violated social taboos to reach out to those who the culture marginalized (Luke 7:1–10), economically (Luke 7:11–17), religiously (Luke 7:24–34), and morally (Luke 7:36–50).

But He leveled his severest critique to the religious, self-righteous, morally upright. (See the Lord’s bone-chilling rebukes to such people in Matthew 23.)
These self-righteous folks disqualified themselves from the kingdom of God—the kingdom they thought they were building through their outwardly pristine behavior.
This truth is part of the astonishing reversal of the kingdom of God. And it goes against every expectation that the people of Israel had about what the world would look like when God’s kingdom materialized on earth.

No one expected that the kingdom would look like prostitutes forgiven, tax collectors received, adulterers rescued, divorcees honored, traitors absolved—each of them receiving a new life and a high place in God’s house, all because of the amazing grace, unfailing mercy, and abundant redemption of Israel’s true Messiah.

 

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He Gives us Purpose For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:8-10 NIV ________________ The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Romans 8:16-18 NASB ________________ But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:4-7 ________________ Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift: Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God is the object of our faith; the only faith that saves is faith in Him.

 

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“Gather not my soul with sinners.”

Psalm 26:9

Fear made David pray thus, for something whispered, “Perhaps, after all, thou mayst be gathered with the wicked.” That fear, although marred by unbelief, springs, in the main, from holy anxiety, arising from the recollection of past sin. Even the pardoned man will enquire, “What if at the end my sins should be remembered, and I should be left out of the catalogue of the saved?” He recollects his present unfruitfulness — so little grace, so little love, so little holiness, and looking forward to the future, he considers his weakness and the many temptations which beset him, and he fears that he may fall, and become a prey to the enemy. A sense of sin and present evil, and his prevailing corruptions, compel him to pray, in fear and trembling, “Gather not my soul with sinners.”

Reader, if you have prayed this prayer, and if your character be rightly described in the Psalm from which it is taken, you need not be afraid that you shall be gathered with sinners. Have you the two virtues which David had — the outward walking in integrity, and the inward trusting in the Lord? Are you resting upon Christ's sacrifice, and can you compass the altar of God with humble hope? If so, rest assured, with the wicked you never shall be gathered, for that calamity is impossible.

The gathering at the judgment is like to like. “Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.” If, then, thou art like God's people, thou shalt be with God's people. You cannot be gathered with the wicked, for you are too dearly bought. Redeemed by the blood of Christ, you are his for ever, and where he is, there must his people be. You are loved too much to be cast away with reprobates. Shall one dear to Christ perish? Impossible! Hell cannot hold thee! Heaven claims thee! Trust in thy Surety and fear not!

 

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King Jesus





I often hear Christians say something to the effect of, “I’m not into religion. I’m into having a relationship with Jesus.” This is one of those slogans that sounds really spiritual on the surface, but in fact says virtually nothing. Today, I want to talk about what the Bible says about our relationship with Jesus, a relationship that is defined by kingship.

What is Your Relationship with Jesus?

I have many relationships, which fall into very different categories. My most intimate relationship is with my wife. It is singularly unique. We have one daughter, with whom I have a different yet also unique relationship. I have friends, yet these relationships differ from one friend to another. Then there are work relationships, which also vary from one person to the next.
As you can see, saying I have a relationship with Jesus doesn’t mean much until I get more specific. So, to the person who likes to quote the slogan, “I’m not into religion. I’m into having a relationship with Jesus.” I ask this question, “What, exactly, is your relationship to Jesus?”
I’ll wait a moment while you think.
Jesus is My…?

The sense I get from a lot of popular Christian music and teaching is that many Christians define their relationship with Jesus as boyfriend or lover. I say this only half jokingly: it’s as if they’ve taken a Harlequin romance novel (are these still a thing?) and replaced the hero with Jesus. I have to be honest. As a guy, treating my relationship with Jesus this way creeps me out a bit.

But someone will argue, “Doesn’t the Bible say we’re the bride of Christ?” Yes, the Bible does indeed. However, in contexts where this is used (2 Cor. 11:2; Rev. 19:7), the image is not one of modern romance where lovers pursue one another drinking deeply of amore. Instead, in the biblical imagery the church is Jesus’ fiancé waiting for her wedding day. In the mean time, we are to maintain our purity by not cheating with other gods. That way, when the wedding day arrives, we will be given to Jesus as a pure virgin.
This is consistent with OT imagery of Israel as God’s bride. This image is used as a metaphor of Israel’s unfaithfulness to God in her pursuit of other gods. See Ezekiel 16 and Ezekiel 23 for particularly graphic uses of this image. You may want to be sure you’re sitting down when you do.

So, yes, the church is the bride of Christ. However, the language of romantic love is not the imagery the Bible uses. It’s used in the context of being faithful to our betrothed until the wedding day.
Jesus is King

The Bible is very clear about our relationship with Jesus. He is our king. The good news (i.e. the gospel) he preached was the gospel of the kingdom (Matt. 4:17; 4:23; 9:35; 10:7; 24:14; Mark 1:15; Luke 4:43; 9:2; 16:16). Jesus came to establish and reign over God’s kingdom.

This is why it was important to the NT church to establish Jesus’ pedigree as David’s heir. God promised David that one of his descendants would sit on Israel’s throne forever (2 Sam. 7:16). This promise is reiterated in the prophets (Isa. 9:7; 11:1-10). As David’s heir, Jesus took his rightful place as Israel’s king.
Of course, God’s plan was that he alone would be Israel’s king (Ex. 15:18; Ps. 45:6; Isa. 24:23, 43:15; Ezek. 20:33; Micah 4:7). So how does God reign as Israel’s king at the same time as David’s heir? I think you guessed it. Jesus is both Son of God and David’s heir.

King Jesus – Son of God and Son of David

This dual emphasis of God’s resurrection of Jesus and Jesus’ David lineage is present in the first evangelistic sermon that Peter preached in Acts 2:14-41. Later, in Acts 13:13-52, we read Paul’s first recorded evangelistic sermon. Not surprisingly, Paul emphasizes the same things.
In fact, Paul’s own pen confirms that this is the heart of the gospel. In Rom. 1:3-4 Paul writes about the gospel he preaches. It is “the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.” At the end of his life, Paul instructed Timothy to “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David – that is my gospel,” (2 Tim. 2:8). Paul’s gospel was the gospel of the kingdom, the gospel Jesus preached, the King Jesus gospel.


Jesus – Appointed King by God

When I think of kings, I can’t help but recall the scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail when King Arthur is trying to convince a peasant that he is her king. The peasant pushes back against Arthur’s claim stating, “I didn’t vote for you.” An incredulous Arthur replies, “You don’t vote for kings.” Then the peasant asks a logical question, “Then how did you become king?”

How indeed? In Arthur’s case, he pulled the sword Excalibur from the stone in which it had been lodged. This signified that he was the one worthy of the kingship.
For Jesus, as we’ve noted, his kingship is grounded in the convergence of two important factors: his descent from king David and the promise God made to David, and God’s testimony about Jesus by raising him from the dead.

Before Jesus was born, Judea came under the control of Rome. The Roman consuls Octavian and Mark Antony, acting as the supreme rulers of the empire, appointed a man named Herod “King of the Jews.” Herod’s kingship was not something in inherited by rite. It was granted to him by the ruling powers of the time.

Jesus’ kingship came both as inheritance and appointment. On the one hand, his is both son of David and Son of God. On the other hand, God, the king and sovereign ruler of all creation, appointed him by raising him from the dead.
If we’re not preaching the gospel that calls people to allegiance to Jesus as king, we’re not preaching the gospel that Jesus, Peter, and Paul preached.
Jesus is My King

So what is my relationship with Jesus? He is my king, my lord. Everything else is simply a matter of what this means as a matter of faith and life.

 

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Working Out Peace In Your Life In 2021



How do you and I work out the peace of God in our lives that is already working inside of us?
The anxiety you feel right now is an opportunity for God to show you how His peace can still come out of you and overcome the anxiety you feel.
His presence of peace in you is greater than the anxiety coming from the circumstances around you.
Certainly keep asking God to change your circumstances, but my experience is, God wants to often times teach me how to have peace in the adverse circumstances of my life. Why? I believe, because the circumstances create an opportunity for me to get to know Jesus better. And isn’t that what life is all about? To know Jesus?

The Apostle Paul told the Philippians in Philippians 2:12 to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling.
How do you and I do that?
It begins with fear and trembling.
Paul begins verse 12 with “therefore” or “in light of.” Paul is telling them to do what Christ did in the previous verses in Philippians 2:1-11. What did Christ do?
Philippians 2:1-11 tells us that Christ emptied himself. He emptied himself of his will and made himself completely receptive to God’s Will.

He tells them to “work out their salvation.” That means He wants us to work out what we do to ourselves. We fill ourselves with worry and anxiety. God wants us to work in what He does for us. He gives us peace. What’s your work out plan to rid yourself of the anxiety you are going through right now?
How do we work out what God has already worked in us?
You can’t work out what isn’t in there already. We can’t work out salvation inside of us if it isn’t inside of us. We have to first accept Christ as our Savior. Then the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of us to help us work out this salvation. Does the Holy Spirit live inside of you? You might say, “I don’t know.” Have you given your life to Jesus? If yes, then the Holy Spirit lives inside of you.

Working out your salvation is not possible if you have not accepted Christ as your Savior. But once you have, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of you and then with His partnership you can “work out” your salvation. You can experience practically in your everyday life the unlimited resources of peace, joy, and hope that accompany the Holy Spirit’s presence inside of you.

None of us have this life of faith all figured out. We are all in a process of growing or declining but we never stay stagnant, we are always going one direction or the other.
What is your wake-up call right now? Is it cancer, covid, long term unemployment, a painful loss, a betrayal, uncertainty in your future in some area? God wants us to work this out with fear and trembling.
The “fear and trembling” Paul is referring to is the attitude Christians are to have in pursuing this goal. We are to have a healthy fear of offending God through disobedience and an awe and respect for His majesty and holiness.
How we act right now as followers of Jesus will greatly impact our internal peace.

Fear and trembling simply means, approach God with humility and ask him for His peace to be increased to a greater measure than the anxiety you are experiencing. Say to Him, “Lord, I humbly ask for your peace to be increased in me. I need it Lord to get through my day. Please help me Lord.”
And guess what? God will. God promises us in Philippians 2:13 that He is at work in us both to will and to work for his good pleasure. This is a promise.
If you ask God for an increased measure of His peace, He will give it to you. As you wait for God to increase your peace, don’t get caught up in complaining, grumbling or disputing with Him or others. Paul encourages us in Philippians 2:14 to do all things without grumbling.

If you are going to experience God’s peace you have to stop complaining long enough to obey Him and wait patiently for Him to move.
Why does God want us to do what He is asking us to do? Obedience triggers greater peace in our lives and greater peace triggers greater effectiveness for us as witnesses for Christ. Paul tells us in Philippians 2:15 that obedience brings blamelessness into our lives in the midst of a crooked and twisted world and this enables our light for Him to shine brighter.
You know what is amazing about you working out your peace by being obedience to Christ? It creates an innocence in you that becomes attractive to others and begins to impact other believers and nonbelievers to see in you something they want.

When talk with people right now who are in great unrest and anxiety, which is a lot of people right now, they say, “Aren’t you worried?” I say, “Well, I see the concerns, but I believe God’s got it and if He wants me to do anything about it, He will let me know, and I will do it. Otherwise, it is my job to pray and support others who are to do something about it.”
If God is not asking me to fight a battle then Paul tells me my job in Philippians 2:16 is to simply hold fast to the word of life, God’s Word!

We have to hold on to God’s Word, be in God’s Word, and apply God’s Word to our lives if we hope to maintain any sense of peace in this world.
What does it mean to hold fast to God’s Word?
“Holding fast” in the Bible literally means to hold your position, or fix your gaze and not lose sight of. So, if we hold fast to God’s Word we are fixing our gaze on God by reading His Word and applying it to our lives regardless of our circumstances.

You might say, “yeah, but what if it gets really bad? What if it cost me my life to follow Christ?”
Paul says in Philippians 2:17 that even if we are to be poured out as a drink offering meaning, even if it cost me my life, it is worth it.
We saw a group of people storm the Capital building a few weeks ago. It cost five people their lives. One was a police officer trying to defend the Capital building and protect those in Congress. It cost him his life. His name, Officer Brian D. Sicknick. I don’t believe his death was in vain. He did what he had been commissioned to do and he did it with bravery for our nation. He is a hero.

But let me just say this, protecting our country is important, extremely important. There are few things more important, but following Jesus and giving your life for Jesus is more important than anything you can do with your life for our country. We need to live for Jesus like Officer Brian did in trying to protect the Capital building.
Peace is born out of sacrifice not control.
We need to live for Jesus regardless of what it costs us.

Blessings,
Pastor Kelly

 

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As we walk in His Light He gives us more Light. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:19,20 NASB ________________ For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. Romans 2:13 RSV ________________ As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. John 15:9,10 NASB ________________ Thanks be unto God for his wonderful gift: Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God is the object of our faith; the only faith that saves is faith in Him.

 

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“When my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the Rock that is higher than I.”

Psalm 61:2

Most of us know what it is to be overwhelmed in heart; emptied as when a man wipeth a dish and turneth it upside down; submerged and thrown on our beam ends like a vessel mastered by the storm. Discoveries of inward corruption will do this, if the Lord permits the great deep of our depravity to become troubled and cast up mire and dirt. Disappointments and heart-breaks will do this when billow after billow rolls over us, and we are like a broken shell hurled to and fro by the surf.

Blessed be God, at such seasons we are not without an all-sufficient solace, our God is the harbour of weather-beaten sails, the hospice of forlorn pilgrims. Higher than we are is he, his mercy higher than our sins, his love higher than our thoughts. It is pitiful to see men putting their trust in something lower than themselves; but our confidence is fixed upon an exceeding high and glorious Lord. A Rock he is since he changes not, and a high Rock, because the tempests which overwhelm us roll far beneath at his feet; he is not disturbed by them, but rules them at his will. If we get under the shelter of this lofty Rock we may defy the hurricane; all is calm under the lee of that towering cliff.

Alas! such is the confusion in which the troubled mind is often cast, that we need piloting to this divine shelter. Hence the prayer of the text. O Lord, our God, by thy Holy Spirit, teach us the way of faith, lead us into thy rest. The wind blows us out to sea, the helm answers not to our puny hand; thou, thou alone canst steer us over the bar between yon sunken rocks, safe into the fair haven. How dependent we are upon thee—we need thee to bring us to thee. To be wisely directed and steered into safety and peace is thy gift, and thine alone. This night be pleased to deal well with thy servants.

 

[beensetfree]

As we walk in His Light He gives us more Light. See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. Deuteronomy 30:15,16 NIV _________________ Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you. Philippians 4:8,9 KJV _________________ Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Matthew 7:24,25 NASB _________________ Thanks be unto God for his wonderful gift: Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God is the object of our faith; the only faith that saves is faith in Him.

 

[beensetfree]

“Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe.”

Mark 9:23

A certain man had a demoniac son, who was afflicted with a dumb spirit. The father, having seen the futility of the endeavors of the disciples to heal his child, had little or no faith in Christ, and therefore, when he was bidden to bring his son to him, he said to Jesus, “If thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us.” Now there was an “if” in the question, but the poor trembling father had put the “if” in the wrong place: Jesus Christ, therefore, without commanding him to retract the “if,” kindly puts it in its legitimate position.

“Nay, verily,” he seemed to say, “there should be no ‘if’ about my power, nor concerning my willingness, the ‘if’ lies somewhere else.” “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” The man's trust was strengthened, he offered a humble prayer for an increase of faith, and instantly Jesus spoke the word, and the devil was cast out, with an injunction never to return.

There is a lesson here which we need to learn. We, like this man, often see that there is an “if” somewhere, but we are perpetually blundering by putting it in the wrong place. “If” Jesus can help me—“if” he can give me grace to overcome temptation—“if” he can give me pardon—“if” he can make me successful? Nay, “if” you can believe, he both can and will. You have misplaced your “if.” If you can confidently trust, even as all things are possible to Christ, so shall all things be possible to you.

Faith standeth in God's power, and is robed in God's majesty; it weareth the royal apparel, and rideth on the King's horse, for it is the grace which the King delighteth to honour. Girding itself with the glorious might of the all-working Spirit, it becomes, in the omnipotence of God, mighty to do, to dare, and to suffer. All things, without limit, are possible to him that believeth. My soul, canst thou believe thy Lord to-night?

 

[beensetfree]

What If I’m Not Ready to Forgive My Ex?



Forgiving is one way of letting go of your old baggage so that you can heal and move on with your life. It’s about giving yourself, your children, and perhaps even your partner or ex-partner, the kind of future you and they deserve – unhampered by hurt and recycled anger. It’s about choosing to live a life wherein others don’t have power over you and you’re not dominated by unresolved anger, bitterness, and resentment. But often forgiving your ex-spouse or partner is very difficult and seems impossible.



Many therapists consider forgiveness a critical aspect of divorce recovery and yet don’t really give any alternatives for people who are not ready to forgive. Others suggest that acceptance is a worthy option in these cases.
For instance, author Mark Banschick suggests that we show compassion for people that can’t or won’t forgive others. He writes, “It is not constructive for a patient to prematurely forgive as a way to feel that they have been a good patient.”

Dr. Banschick elaborates, “Terrible things do happen to innocent – and not so innocent people. As therapists we are witnesses to the horror of history. Our job is to help those in our care to feel human despite their trauma. Our goal is to somehow metabolize their betrayal or wound without becoming a victim to their victimhood. It is a worthwhile project.”
Some authors and therapists explain that that acceptance is a good alternative to forgiveness when the person who injures you did something unforgiveable – or when you’re not ready to forgive. I agree with this perspective and have begun to dig deep into more research on the topic.

In her groundbreaking book How Can I Forgive You? Janis Abrahms Spring, Ph.D. explains that acceptance is a responsible, authentic choice to an interpersonal injury when the offender won’t engage in the healing process. While Dr. Abrahams encourages readers to muster up the courage to forgive others who have wronged them, she also says that forgiveness that’s not genuine is “cheap” so not worth much. She writes, “For those of you who have been wronged, I encourage you to take care of yourself, be fair, and seek life-serving ways to cleanse your wound.” She suggests that while genuine forgiveness is a worthy goal, acceptance is the middle ground between unforgivable hurt and cheap forgiveness.

There are many reasons why people have difficulty letting go of the past and reversing the painful consequences of their divorce explains Dr. Fred Luskin in his acclaimed book Forgive For Good. He posits that they may take on the pain of others mistakes because they take their offenses personally.
Subsequently, some people create a grievance story which focuses on their suffering and assigns blame. Dr. Luskin explains that individuals heal best when they are able to acknowledge the damage done and shift to an impersonal perspective.

The next step is crafting a new story by creating a positive intention – a way of transforming a grievance story into a positive goal. For instance, my positive intention is “I let go of the pain from my divorce and forgive myself and my ex.”
Luskin writes, “Forgiveness is not a focus on what happened in the past and neither is it remaining upset or holding onto grudges. You may have been hurt in the past, but you are upset today. Both forgiveness and grievances are experiences that you have in the present.”
The following are six steps to becoming a forgiving person adapted from Dr. Luskin’s model:

• Gain awareness of the emotions you experience about your past hurt. Talking to a close friend or therapist can help facilitate this process.

• Take steps to lessen the impact the grievance has on your relationship. Repair the damage by finding ways to soothe hurt feelings. This might include writing a letter or release to the person who injured you – even if you don’t mail it. Your release might read something like: “I release you from the pain you caused me when we used to argue.”
• 
  
• Make a choice to feel hurt for a shorter period. Challenging your thinking and letting go of “unenforceable rules”— Luskin’s term for unrealistic expectations and standards that people hold for themselves and others that ultimately lead to feelings of disappointment or distress.
• Focus on those things that you can control. You can’t control the past but you can make better choices today – such as letting go of hurt feelings.
• Accept that people do the best they can and attempt to be more understanding. This does not mean that you condone the hurtful actions of others. You simply come to a more realistic view of your past. As you take stock, you will realize that all people operate out of the same basic drives, including self-interest.

• The final step is learning to think like a forgiving person each and every day. Avoid holding a grudge and declare you are free to stop playing the role of victim. After all, we are all flawed. For some people, genuine forgiveness is not possible, but accepting their divorce and the events surrounding it is.

Crafting a New Story
In Choices: Taking Control of Your Life and Making it Better, Author Melody Beattie explains that people often let others choose for them so they don’t have to take responsibility for the results. She writes, “A lot of things happen to us over which we have no control. That includes people, their use of free will (or not), and acts of God and life.” Beattie’s words remind us that we can be so invested in playing the victim that forgiving someone may make us redefine ourselves. However, forgiveness signifies breaking the cycle of pain and giving up the belief that the other person should suffer as much as we do. It’s about crafting a new story for our lives based on acceptance of ourselves and others and focusing on taking responsibility for the choices we make each and every day!

 

[beensetfree]

Take a Break... "It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed." And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God. Exodus 31:17,28 NKJV __________________ "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Exodus 20:8-11 NIV __________________ Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made to benefit people, and not people to benefit the Sabbath. And I, the Son of Man, am master even of the Sabbath!" Mark 2:27,28 NLT __________________ Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift: Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God is the object of our faith; the only faith that saves is faith in Him.

 

[beensetfree]

“I sleep, but my heart waketh.”

Song of Solomon 5:2

Paradoxes abound in Christian experience, and here is one—the spouse was asleep, and yet she was awake. He only can read the believer's riddle who has ploughed with the heifer of his experience. The two points in this evening's text are — a mournful sleepiness and a hopeful wakefulness. I sleep. Through sin that dwelleth in us we may become lax in holy duties, slothful in religious exercises, dull in spiritual joys, and altogether supine and careless. This is a shameful state for one in whom the quickening Spirit dwells; and it is dangerous to the highest degree. Even wise virgins sometimes slumber, but it is high time for all to shake off the bands of sloth.

It is to be feared that many believers lose their strength as Samson lost his locks, while sleeping on the lap of carnal security. With a perishing world around us, to sleep is cruel; with eternity so near at hand, it is madness. Yet we are none of us so much awake as we should be; a few thunder-claps would do us all good, and it may be, unless we soon bestir ourselves, we shall have them in the form of war, or pestilence, or personal bereavements and losses. O that we may leave for ever the couch of fleshly ease, and go forth with flaming torches to meet the coming Bridegroom!

My heart waketh. This is a happy sign. Life is not extinct, though sadly smothered. When our renewed heart struggles against our natural heaviness, we should be grateful to sovereign grace for keeping a little vitality within the body of this death. Jesus will hear our hearts, will help our hearts, will visit our hearts; for the voice of the wakeful heart is really the voice of our Beloved, saying, “Open to me.” Holy zeal will surely unbar the door.

“Oh lovely attitude! He stands
With melting heart and laden hands;
My soul forsakes her every sin;
And lets the heavenly stranger in.”

 

[beensetfree]

Where is Jesus’ Kingdom?


An earthly kingdom is defined by the extent of the king’s authority. The limits of his authority are typically marked off geographically. A landmark, whether natural like a river or mountain range or one that is man made, indicates that on one side you’re under the king’s authority and on the other side you’re not.

Another thing that defines a kingdom is its capital city. This is where the king’s palace is. It is the seat of his authority. All the surrounding territory that looks to that city as its capital is part of the kingdom. Sometimes, like with Rome, the empire takes the name of the capital city.
So what are the markers of Jesus’ kingdom?

The Kingdom of Heaven

The NT uses two different designations for the kingdom. The more popular one is “Kingdom of God.” Matthew’s Gospel is unique, in that the favored expression is “Kingdom of Heaven.” Both are helpful for understanding the nature of the kingdom.
We’ll start with Matthew first. I think the reason he likes “Kingdom of Heaven” is because it places God’s kingdom in sharp contrast with worldly kingdoms. The traits that humans are used to using when defining kingdom don’t apply to God’s. It’s not defined geographically. It doesn’t have an army nor does it hold together through military might.
Nevertheless, there are some familiar traits that do apply to God’s kingdom. Since God reigns over the entire earth and his throne is in heaven, his kingdom is defined by its capital. The city in which the king resides defines the kingdom.

Matthew makes this explicit. When the magi come to find the child born King of the Jews, they naturally go to the capital city of the Jews. To their surprise, the child is not there. This is one of the many details that, for Matthew, illustrate how different this kingdom is. It doesn’t radiate out from an earthly city. The King of God’s Kingdom reigns from his heavenly throne.
As it says in Psalm 11:4, heaven is God’s throne room.

The Kingdom of God

The rest of the NT writers go with the designation “Kingdom of God.” God’s kingdom is defined by the extent of his reign. Wherever God reigns, you have his kingdom.
One the one hand, as we have already established, God is the sovereign ruler over all creation. There is no place where God doesn’t reign as king.
Nevertheless, on the other hand, this world is filled with rogue nations who do not submit to God’s reign. This is the paradox of God’s reign. His kingdom fills the world, a world that is filled with rogue states.

In Matt. 13, Jesus uses several parables to illustrate the nature of God’s kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven. In 24-30, he uses the parable of the weeds to illustrate that, currently, God’s kingdom is mixed in with the world. However, there will come a day when the kingdoms will be separated. See 36-43 for Jesus’ further explanation of the parable.
In 31-32, Jesus compares the kingdom to a mustard seed, which begins small but grows into a large tree. Likewise, God’s kingdom, though currently small, will someday dwarf all the nations and kingdoms of this world.
Verse 33 echoes the parables of the weeds. In this parable, Jesus says that just as a small batch of yeast works its way into a large lump of dough, so too God’s kingdom is working its way into the entire world.

These parables teach us that God’s kingdom is currently in this world. It exists in the midst of these rogue nations that are destined to pass away. So how do we know when we’re within the boundaries of God’s kingdom?
The Reign of God

The extent of God’s kingdom is defined by people, not geography. In the OT, even after the Israelites lost their land and were taken into exile, they maintained their identity as a nation. This was because God’s reign over them as king could be maintained no matter where they lived.
In Deut. 10:12-22, God summarizes his requirements for his people. What does he require of them? That they fear the Lord, walk in his ways, love him, and serve him. As long as they do this, they demonstrate that he is their lord and king. Wherever this is practiced, God reigns.

The People of God

Israelites were defined by a number of key features that differentiated them from the nations around them. One of these features was circumcision. I think we know enough about this process that I can skip any further explanation. What I find intriguing is that, in Deut. 10:16, God tells the Israelites to “circumcise the foreskins of your hearts.”

This really helps us to understand how God’s kingdom is defined. In the same way a circumcised body looks different than others, so also a circumcised heart is different than others. A circumcised heart prioritizes the fear of the Lord. It values walking in God’s ways, loving him, and serving him.
The reign of God begins in the hearts of men and women. People who circumcise their hearts by embracing love for God and his ways are the citizens of God’s kingdom. This kind of heart circumcision is repeated by Paul in Rom. 2:29. Here Paul writes, “Real circumcision is a matter of the heart – it is spiritual and not literal. Such a person receives praise not from others but from God.”

God’s people, the citizens of God’s kingdom, are people with circumcised hearts. God’s reign is present wherever there are people who have circumcised hearts. Since Jesus came, people who circumcise their hearts embrace him as lord. They love him, fear him, serve him, and walk in his ways.
This is why God’s kingdom can’t advance through force. People can be forced to act in certain ways through threats and violence. However, heart change can only happen when a person willingly submits to transformation. This can only happen when the person is completely free to accept or reject the transformation.


Conclusion

Jesus said, “Where two or more are gathered together, I am there among them.” You will find God’s kingdom anywhere people whose hearts are circumcised gather together. God’s kingdom reigns in the hearts of his people.