Connecting Points

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Today’s Topic:  What’s Your Heritage?

Today’s Text: 2 Peter 1:15   And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.

Oh the heart of a shepherd! Peter’s passion was people. It hadn’t always been that way. Before he finally surrendered to another Lord – THE LORD – he had tried to be lord of himself. To quote the words of Lord George Noel Gordon Byron (1788–1824), “Lord of himself—that heritage of woe.”

Peter discovered a better heritage to pass along – the heritage of the knowledge of God, not self. He made a commitment to live out his life passing along that heritage to those he had mentored. He wanted to be sure that the things he taught become so much a part of their lives that they would never forget them.

The heritage we leave is important. We start leaving it the moment we begin having any sort of influence on others. Even children, who are learning what their heritage will be, are actually passing along what they learn from an early age. That’s why God places such an emphasis on parenting in the Scriptures.

Remember the words of God through Moses in Deuteronomy 6?

“These are the commands, decrees, and regulations that the LORD your God commanded me to teach you. You must obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy, and you and your children and grandchildren must fear the LORD your God as long as you live. If you obey all his decrees and commands, you will enjoy a long life. Listen closely, Israel, and be careful to obey. Then all will go well with you, and you will have many children in the land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, promised you. Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” 

It has always been and will continue to be the primary responsibility of the family to pass along the heritage of true faith in the one true God, the LORD of all, to the next generation. It is essential to the health of a church to pass along the heritage of truth to all that are brought to saving faith in Jesus Christ. It is imperative to us as individuals who truly love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and strength, that we commit ourselves to teaching God’s love to others both in word and lifestyle.

We must become keenly aware that every one of us is passing along a heritage of one form or another. The heritage of the past is the seed that brings forth the harvest of the future.

So what kind of seeds are you planting in the people around you?

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Monday, February 08, 2010

Today’s Topic:  Constant Reminders

Today’s Text: 2 Peter 1:12-15   So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.

Pastor Roger relates this story in Christian Reader magazine. His 5-year-old daughter, Ashley, was tracing her hand on a piece of paper. “Jesus died on the cross,” she said, busily at work. “This is his hand.” Then pointing to a dot in the center of the drawing, she added, “And that’s where the nail was.”  Tears welled up in his eyes. He was reminded again that we can’t hear enough of the greatest sacrifice ever made for mankind.

If you were to pick up your Bible for devotions today and it happened to flop open to this passage, your initial thought would be to just start reading there and keep going. We do that a lot when we “study” the Bible. I put that into quotation marks because we really aren’t studying if we do that. How can we read that Peter wants to constantly remind us of these things if we don’t go back and look at what He has just written so we know what the “things” are?

So take a few minutes and go back again over the first eleven verses. You will discover again the incredible promises of God and His purpose for your life. But go into it with a correct attitude. Here’s what I mean. We are easily tempted into believing that the proof of God’s existence, power, and presence is found in great big things He does. We tend to need miracles. We are no different than the people of Jesus’ day. We are no different than the Israelites standing at the edge of the Red Sea. We are just like those who require to be shown before they will believe.

But the proof of God’s presence in you and purpose for you is not found in some miraculous epiphany. It is found in the simple yet powerful work of the Holy Spirit in you to create the character of Christ. Here’s how Henri J. Nouwen puts it:

Our salvation comes from something small, tender, and vulnerable, something hardly noticeable. God, who is the Creator of the Universe, comes to us in smallness, weakness, and hiddenness. I find this a hopeful message. Somehow, I keep expecting loud and impressive events to convince me and others of God’s saving power; but over and over again I am reminded that spectacles, power plays, and big events are the ways of the world. Our temptation is to be distracted by them and made blind to the “shoot that shall sprout from the stump” [Isaiah 11:1].

In the words of the Psalmist – “Be still, and know that I am God.”

We must stop ourselves from demanding big things from God in order to prove He’s still there. Instead, we are privileged to sit at His feet and learn from Him. As children of the Father, we are qualified to be cuddled in His arms. As those baptized by the Holy Spirit into the family of God, we are uniquely equipped to carry the character of the One and Only Son of God.

We are the living proof that God is and always will be. We are the visible evidence that Jesus saves. People will be drawn to Jesus as we live our lives faithfully in front of them. Not because of miraculous experiences of supernatural power. Not because of our success or wealth. Not because we have all the answers to mankind’s questions. No, none of these things are the true evidence of God’s presence.

We are the living proof of God because we participate in the Divine nature (vs. 4). People will be drawn to Jesus by watching the life of Jesus be lived through us (vs. 5-8). The unsaved of the world will start asking us about the hope that lives within us (1 Peter 3:15) when we start living like we are sure of it ourselves (vs. 10-11).

Be still today. Allow the Holy Spirit to penetrate all of the conflicts imposed upon your mind by the world. Listen for the voice of God. He will be telling you who to be, not what to do.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Thursday, February 04, 2010

Today’s Topic:  Be Sure

Today’s Text: 2 Peter 1:10-11   Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I remember my first job. I was only 15. A man named Jack from the church my dad pastored owned a gas station. I don’t remember any interview, just an invitation. He approached me in church one Sunday and asked if I wanted to work on Saturday’s as a pump attendant. That was way back in the days when gas stations offered full service. My job would be to pump gas, clean windows, and check the oil and fluid levels.

I said yes. He said he would pick me up at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday and return me home at 6:30 p.m. Lunch would be provided.

When I got home from church I was so excited. I had been invited to work for someone. I had no idea what he saw in me, but I didn’t let my insecurities ruin the opportunity. I was just super excited to be asked. I couldn’t wait until Saturday.

As the week went on the excitement built. Every day at school I would find it hard to concentrate because I was making lists of what I was going to do with the $13 I made every Saturday. That’s right; I made $1.30 an hour. First, I would buy my first set of golf clubs. That only took two weeks. I paid $17 for them. Then I would buy a bag, then golf balls, then a membership, and here I am today.

Well, Saturday arrived, and I was up early. I listened carefully during the 25 minute drive as Jack told me about my responsibilities at the station. I followed him closely as he showed me around once we arrived. I asked questions. I was thankful my dad had already taught me how to care for a car so I knew how to do everything already, but wanted to make sure I was doing it Jack’s way. After all, I was serving him and his customers. I was representing his reputation as the business owner.

 The day went great. I pumped gas, washed windows, and did everything and anything Jack asked me to do. Lunch was the best. He called me into the shop and there was a bag for me. I don’t remember the name of the restaurant, but it was the best double cheeseburger I had ever eaten. I think that’s because it was the first double cheeseburger I had ever eaten. I felt so blessed. I stood in the shop with all the other guys and felt like I was part of a team. I was accepted by men twice my age and better.

There had been times during the week prior to my first day of employment that I wondered if this invitation was real or not. I started to question my ability. I doubted my worth. How could I be sure that I was needed and accepted?

The answer was simple – show up for work. Accepting invitation was the first step, but acting upon it was vital. If I hadn’t shown up, the invitation would have been withdrawn.

Now, except for the part about the invitation being withdrawn, this situation is a pretty good illustration of our salvation. God, the creator and owner of the universe and everything in it, has invited us to be His servants. His invitation, once accepted, is permanent. But it is our responsibility to conquer our doubts about that invitation.

Doubts happen. We question our worth. We wonder if we are qualified. But we must remember that the invitation had nothing to do with our qualification, just as my invitation to work didn’t. God did no interviews. There are no spiritual resumes.  He invited us as an act of grace.

Showing up for work eliminates doubts. That’s what Peter is saying in this passage today. Be careful not to let this verse confuse you. We are not responsible, nor are we even able, to make God’s calling and election sure. We are responsible to make ourselves sure of it by doing what Peter taught us in the previous verses. We do that by growing in the knowledge of God and increasing in the character of Christ. When we do, we remove doubt, and we gain a rich reward when we enter glory. We do not show up for work to earn our entrance – that’s already guaranteed by the invitation we accepted. But the welcome we receive when we get to heaven does depend on the quality of work we do today as servants of the King.

Remember, your life represents the reputation of Jesus.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Today’s Topic:  Remember Your Salvation

Today’s Text: 2 Peter 1:9   But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

Early this morning I was at the hospital with a very dear friend who is having a valve replaced in his heart today. In six months he will be 80 years old. As I drove to the hospital I asked the Holy Spirit to lead me to a passage of Scripture to read to him before he went into surgery. When I parked the car and picked up my Bible I was led immediately to these words in Psalm 89:

I will sing of the LORD’S great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you established your faithfulness in heaven itself. The heavens praise your wonders, O LORD, your faithfulness too, in the assembly of the holy ones. For who in the skies above can compare with the LORD? Who is like the LORD among the heavenly beings? In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared; he is more awesome than all who surround him. O LORD God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you. Your arm is endued with power; your hand is strong, your right hand exalted. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you. Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O LORD. They rejoice in your name all day long; they exult in your righteousness. For you are their glory and strength, and by your favor you exalt our horn.

What a wonderful time I had with some of his family as we gathered around the Word of God and declared our confidence in His faithfulness and love. What a blessing it was to be with those who have learned to acclaim the LORD and who walk in the light of His presence. The LORD is our glory and strength, and by His grace He exalts us.

I hurt for the people who have forgotten the splendor of their salvation. I am ashamed of the number of times that I have become nearsighted. It is hard to see how many people have degenerated their regeneration and become blind to spiritual things when they have the right to see the glory of God. How it breaks my heart to realize that there are brothers and sisters in Christ who will live today solely for themselves surrounded by the anguish of their dreadful circumstances and not once remember that their sins have been forgiven.

Yet we must remember this – while they may have forgotten that God has forgiven their sins and made them His child in Christ Jesus, GOD HAS NOT FORGOTTEN! Peter never says that the person who stops growing loses their salvation. HALLELUJAH for that, or we would all live in the bondage of fear. But that person does miss out on the incredible blessings of fellowship with the Father through the filling of the Holy Spirit.

So much pain could be eliminated from our lives – pain caused by our constant struggle for self-exultation – if we would just remember that the LORD is our glory and strength, and that He exalts us.

So today, begin a mind and body renewal program. Here’s the starting point – fix nearsightedness by fixing your eyes on the LORD. His love endures forever. His faithfulness extends through all generations. The LORD is more awesome than all who surround Him. He is mighty, and mighty to save. In His arm is power. In His hand is strength. With His right hand he lifts us up and exalts us. Fix your eyes on the LORD, and walk in the light of His presence. You will be renewed by His righteousness. You will replace despair with rejoicing. You will see the glory of God.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Today’s Topic:  The Principle of Increasing Measure

Today’s Text: 2 Peter 1:8-9   For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

I was awakened this morning by the sound of the snowplow. He is so consistent. Every morning following a snowfall he makes his first pass in front of our house at 5:30 am.  I waited for the second pass which usually occurs within 10 minutes. This morning it was 40 minutes. I actually fell back asleep, which is rare for me. His second pass woke me up, and I got up to shovel the driveway and the wall of snow created by the plow. Grandkids would be arriving within the hour.

As I was running the snow blower, I thought about today’s Scripture passage. I thought about the principle of increasing measure. My snow removal was a real-time illustration of this principle. You see, I had not removed the last snowfall from the driveway. I had been out of town. It was a minimal amount, but then the freezing rain had come, with a little more snow on top of that. Consistent traffic on our driveway had packed it down, but it was rutted and bumpy. The snow blower was bouncing. My feet were slipping on ice which was exposed in the newly blown areas. I was tempted to not remove any more snow and just pack this two inches down also. At least it wouldn’t be so slippery.

As I finished removing the snow, I thought about how we make similar decisions in our lives and then experience the principle of increasing measure. It is equally valid in the negative and the positive world.

First, in the negative world of sin, every choice we make to ignore sin will only bring an increasing measure of sin. Sin is a weed, and unless the soil of your heart is being consistently cultivated with the Word of God, those weeds will choke out the harvest of righteousness. Sin will take over. You will become nearsighted, and unable to focus on things of the future because you are only focused on the immediate. That will eventually lead to blindness, and you will not be able to see God at work in any part of your life. That will lead to forgetfulness, when even the memory of God’s grace is covered by the desire to fulfill the sinful pleasures of the world.

The Bible gives us some good advice at this point –

• “Do not let the sun go down on your anger” (Ephesians 4:26)
• “Avoid even the appearance of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:22)
• “See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” (Hebrews 12:15)
• “Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.   A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.” (Matthew 7:17-18)

Be careful, brothers and sisters in Christ, that you do not succumb to the principle of increasing measure by allowing a single sin to go unchecked in your heart. It will multiply and choke out the seeds of faith that have been planted. You will become increasingly inward focused. Finding human solutions and fixing human pain will consume you. Gratifying self will suppress grace. Bitterness will bury your beauty.

But on the positive side, the principle of increasing measure works equally well. In fact, because it is empowered by the Holy Spirit of God, it is guaranteed successful. The seed that brings this abundant harvest is faith, which must be watered with the knowledge of God. As our knowledge grows, it will be productive in changing our character and effective in conquering our conceit. We will become mirrored reflections of the character of Christ – humble servants of others who bring glory to God.

But again, let me caution you – it takes a determined and intentionally effort to accomplish this. Just as it was not my neighbors responsibility to clean my driveway, it is not the pastor’s or the small group leader’s responsibility to make you grow up in Christ. You must do it. You must study. You must pray. You must apply the truth to your life. You must let the knowledge of God transform your mind and influence your choices. And as you do, God will abundantly increase your faith and keep you from being unproductive and ineffective.

The choice is yours. It always will be. Will you choose to have an increasing measure of self or the Savior? Will you choose to let bitterness, resentment, gossip, slander, hate, lust, adultery, covetousness, envy, or any of the other items on the long list of sin continue to stick to your driveway and just drive over it as if it isn’t there? Or will you choose to put your hands to the spiritual snow blower powered by the Holy Spirit and remove every connection to sin so that God can fill you with an ever-increasing measure of His Son’s character? The choice is yours.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Monday, February 01, 2010

Today’s Topic: Love

Today’s Text: 2 Peter 1:6 …and to brotherly kindness, [add] love.

I am going to intentionally be of few words this morning. No, it’s not because I spoke too long yesterday morning. I did, but that’s not the reason I’m going to be brief today. You know me better than that. I’m going to get right to the point because if I don’t, I will still be here tomorrow morning writing this Connecting Point. The subject matter of love is vast. According to the Psalmist, For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him. There are 505 references to love in Scripture. If I don’t limit myself I will get carried away.

Our modern day culture, under the control of our enemy the devil, has accomplished an extensive and effective brainwashing of our minds. If not for the influence of the Holy Spirit, we would be firmly convinced that life is about us, and that the focus of all activity must be on the betterment and enjoyment of self. Every choice we would make would be to make ourselves feel better. Every activity in which we choose to participate would be designed to bring some personal benefit. Every expense of our resources would be invested to build greater treasure for ourselves in this life. Every moral and ethical decision we make would be rationalized by the need to express personal freedom and gain personal favor.

Praise God for the power of the Holy Spirit in us to resist such deception. Give thanks to the Father who has covered us with the righteousness of Christ and has transformed us from children of darkness to children of Light. And give glory to God that the character of Jesus is growing in each of us so that we reflect His glory in ever increasing measure.

Because the character of Christ is increasing in us, we are growing in the activity of love. It is the culmination of character development. We are sacrificing our personal dreams on the altar of community. We are learning to put aside our own preferences for the good of others. We are shifting the focus of life from affirming self so we feel accepted to affirming others so they are accepted. We are learning that one of the greatest expressions of love is to encourage others.

So, I’ve written an acrostic for love. It is not to be the total expression of the theology of love. It is just today’s Connecting Point. I hope it lasts longer than today. May it be said of each of us that we are the living expressions of the character of Christ because we have added this action to our repertoire of love. May every word that we speak today and every day Leave Others Visibly Encouraged.

Pastor John