Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Today’s Text: Proverbs 27:19 (ESV) As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man.

I dislike fakes, and yet I must admit that at times I have been one. I have said I am fine when I’m not. I have pretended to like someone I didn’t. I have presented myself as more proficient at a task than I really was. The truth is, we all are fakes in one way or another. In varying degrees of “fauxness” (I just made up that word) we choose not to be real. Fear drives are false representations: fear of nonacceptance by others, or fear of not measuring up, or fear of being seen for who we know in our heart we really are. Whatever the reason, all faking is sin, for it denies the integrity of Christ’s character in us. It is unholy.

Several years ago I found a Facebook post that stimulated my think about holiness. I saved the picture as a reminder of the pursuit of Christ’s character.

Live without pretending – that’s integrity. Every part of our lives integrated together in perfect harmony with no contradictions. Nothing fake. Nothing done to impress others. Just a life lived as a reflection of the character of God in us.

Love without depending – that’s identity. It’s knowing we have God’s approval rather than seeking the world’s approval. That means accepting God’s definition of our identity rather than seeking it from others. That’s giving to others out of security rather than to receive affirmation. True love is not the world’s love that depends on a response nor is it love that looks for a return benefit. True love is sacrificial love that originates in the heart of God and flows from a Godly heart.

Listen without defending – that’s humility. Be able to be corrected. Pride defends the value we think is being attacked. Humility listens to the possibility of improvement. Pride protects personal choice. Humility submits to anything or anyone as being God’s instrument of perfecting our lives. Pride convinces us we are right and have rights. Humility sees the right in others. Pride cannot see a reason to improve because that would require admitting a weakness or fault. Humility can admit faults because value is not found in performance but in the Person of Jesus Christ.

Speak without offending – that’s grace. Speak the truth, but do it in love, with a pure and holy motivation to truly help the person to whom you are speaking. Do not speak to be heard. Do not speak to build up self. Speak to impart God’s wisdom so that it will be heard and applied. Speak to be an instrument of God’s grace to others.

Now those are four rules by which we all should live as we pursue holiness.

Pastor John

Life Link
Monday, February 09, 2015

Today’s Topic: All Is Well, Even In the Storm
Today’s Text: 1 Timothy 1:15 (ESV) The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.

We sang a song in church yesterday that deeply touched my soul. It is a contemporary song that is based on a grand old hymn named The Solid Rock. The words are still replaying in my head. They are an offering of praise and a prayer all at the same time. The lyrics are simultaneously the present reality and the desire of my heart.

My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

The traditional chorus continues like this:

On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand.

The version we sang, called Cornerstone, uses this chorus:

Christ alone, Cornerstone
Weak made strong in the Savior’s love
Through the storm He is Lord, Lord of all

By the time we reached the end of that chorus I was already in tears as my Savior Jesus Christ ministered to the needs of my heart with His love and compassion. As I contemplated the real life applications of those words to my present circumstances, the second verse started.

When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

No matter how dark the world begins to look around me, and how severe the storms of my life become, I know I stand secure in Christ. Why, because His Word NEVER fails. His promises are ALWAYS fulfilled. In Christ our hope is secure! I began to sing the next words with greater joy.

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.

Then, with my heart overflowing with thanksgiving for my Savior’s grace to me, and hope and security swelling up within me, the final verse began. My tear-filled eyes were fixated on the coming of Jesus to bring me to His glory and His glory to this earth.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

Because of grace through faith I will be found in Christ. God will see only the righteousness of Christ in me as I stand faultless before His throne. So let the storms rage. My ANCHOR holds. My hope is in what Christ has done, and what He has done can NEVER be undone.

Pastor John