LifeLink Devotions

Monday, October 17, 2022

1 Peter 3:17 “It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.” 

Is it God’s will?

How can I know God’s will?

As followers of Christ we deeply desire to know and do the will of God. In a humble spirit of Biblical admonition, let me say that Christians who ask those questions are revealing a spiritual weakness. The desire to know God’s will is not a weakness but claiming to not know it is. To be confused between what God wants and what we want reveals the level to which we have validated our pride and minimized our surrender to Christ. Most often, I believe, when we claim to not know God’s will, it is because we have chosen to walk according to the flesh and not according to the Spirit. When we are filled with the Spirit and have surrendered our will to the will of the Father, we will be keenly aware of anything in our lives that is not in conformity to the will of God. Not knowing His will indicates that the flesh is still in control.

Tomorrow I’m going to give you six simple ways you can confirm the will of God in your life. Today you may be disinterested. The reason may be that we have been trained by the flesh to deal with issues from the outside in, rather than the inside out. We would much rather follow a self-help plan that has been developed to supposedly fix the problem than be asked to look into our own hearts as the root of the problem. But our hearts are the real problem, and the real fix we need to the problem of knowing the will of God is to first surrender to the fullness of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Satan would love us to remain in denial about the influence of the flesh on our everyday lives and our decisions. Knowing and doing the will of God requires the death of the flesh and the full surrender of our hearts to the Lordship of Jesus Christ through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Please carefully study the following passages of Scripture and let the Holy Spirit convince you of this truth –

• Galatians 5:16-17  “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.  For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.” 
• Romans 8:5-8  “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.”
• Romans 12:1-2  “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Notice the progression of knowing and doing God’s will:

• First, we must choose to live according to the power of the Holy Spirit and not according to our own sinful nature. We must move from “my will” to “I will”. Even though we may not see the outcome, knowing the will of God is a walk of faith which requires our surrender first. We must not impose any contingencies or reserve the right to refuse what God reveals. We must say “I will” before He will show us His will.
• Second, we offer our bodies as living sacrifices to the Lord. A sacrifice has no control of outcomes. We must be willing to accept whatever God determines for us even when we have no idea what that will be. Anything less than that is not faith, and without faith it is impossible to please God.
• Third, we allow the mind of Christ to transform and renew our thinking, so we no longer make our decisions according to the standards and patterns of the world but according to our faith in the presence and power of God.
• Fourth, we will now be able to know, test, and approve God’s will.
• Fifth, we will find His will to be good, pleasing, and perfect for fulfilling our lives.

Please take some serious time today to let the Holy Spirit root out every area of pride and fleshly desire. Let us fall on our knees before the throne of grace and confess every area of self. Let us surrender by faith to the will of God and let us be determined to obey His will no matter what it is.

It is ALWAYS better to do God’s will, even if it means we must suffer.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Friday, October 14, 2022

The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States says “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” The right to freedom of speech granted in this law of the land continues to be severely tested. From flag burning to pornographic art, citizens have decided that they have the right to say anything they want, in any form they choose.

We could argue that right all day long, but what is more important than the freedom of speech is the challenge to get people to listen.

“We believe in freedom of speech. You’ve got the right to say anything you like. But others don’t have to listen! They’re under no obligation to tune you in. When they do, they can also tune you out anytime they wish.

“Your right to speak is guaranteed—but you must earn the right to be listened to. It depends solely on your integrity. Integrity – having a clear conscience – is the prerequisite to acceptance. If you expect to be paid attention to, back it up with your life. Let your walk correspond to your talk. This is fundamental to your witness for Christ. Many so-called Christians listen too little, talk too much, and live lives that contradict what they say. Their “witness” betrays Christ – and alienates those to whom they speak.” (Richard C. Halverson in No Greater Power. Christian Reader, Vol. 25, no. 1)

The power of our witness for Christ is not found in our words alone – it is in words backed up by behavior. In fact, according to Peter, it is our behavior that eventually convinces our critics to listen to us.

1 Peter 3:15b-16  “But do this with gentleness and respect… so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.” 

I have been guilty far too many times in my life of saying one thing and doing another, I’m sure you know of what I speak. I am so thankful for the cleansing power of the Blood of Christ which washes away all sin and its guilt. The grace that He extends is indescribable and transformational. His mercies are new every morning, and each new day is to be a fresh start of new life. Let’s not waste this new day by continuing the hypocritical lifestyles so many have adopted. It is time to be children of God with clear consciences. It is time for integrity to reign in the church.

Integrity – a clear conscience – is to live by a single standard consistently. The late golf champion Babe Didrickson Zaharias once disqualified herself from a golf tournament for having hit the wrong ball out of the rough. “But nobody would have known,” a friend told her. “I would have known,” Babe Didrickson Zaharias replied.

Here are three questions to ask yourself at the beginning of every day:

• “What will I do to Jesus today?”
• “What will I do for Jesus today?”
• “What will I do with Jesus today?”

Then, at bedtime, review your day and ask these three questions:

• “What did I do to Jesus today?”
• “What did I do for Jesus today?”
• “What did I do with Jesus today?”

I guarantee you that if you do that consistently, you will develop integrity, and your witness for Christ will become effective. Remember, witnessing is not so much about the freedom of speech, but the application of the Word. Your consistent choice of righteousness will be the living light of Jesus that the lost world needs to see.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Thursday, October 13, 2022

1 Peter 3:15b-16  “… keeping a clear conscience.” 

When was the last time you specifically asked God to heal your conscience? Probably never, right? We may be too scared to do so. We may have too many skeletons in our closets to ever ask God to open the doors and let the light of His holiness shine on them. We’ve worked hard at dulling our conscience so we no longer feel guilty about doing the things we know are wrong but choosing to satisfy the desires of our flesh. I wonder how many people have a clear conscience?

Some electronic fire alarms have an internal switch triggered by a beam of light. So long as light is received unbroken by the photo-sensitive receiver, the detector is quiet. But if smoke or moisture or an insect obstructs the beam for even a split second, the alarm sounds. Our conscience resembles such an alarm. When sin obstructs our connection with the light of God’s Spirit, the conscience signals us that there’s life-threatening danger. But if the sin is not removed, and the alarm is endured and left to ring, soon the battery expires, and the alarm stops sounding.

So it is with us and our conscience. We have become immune to the sounding of the Holy Spirit’s alarm. In fact, for some, the Holy Spirit has been completely quenched so that the alarm no longer works. We have chosen to pursue the sin we love while ignoring the recharging of the batteries through the reading and application of God’s Word. We have decided to please self rather than God, and to remove the guilt of such rebellion we have unplugged the alarms God intended for our safety and security.

Some people claim their conscience is operating correctly, when in fact they are simply acting in response to the expectations of others. There is a difference between one who does right because of his own conscience and the one who is kept from wrongdoing because of the presence of others. A person’s honor is found in the consistency of the private life and the public.  Michel Eyquem de Montaigne said it well back in the 16^th century when he wrote, “A person of honor would prefer to lose his honor rather than lose his conscience.” Honor makes consistent choices no matter who is watching.

Others claim their conscience is operating correctly based on the idea that if they haven’t been caught, they aren’t guilty. They have chosen to believe a lie that has eliminated the guilt that should exist in the heart. The conscience has been trained not to respond to heart conviction but only to legal conviction. The light of God’s holiness has been interrupted by the darkness of man’s pride.

God intended for our conscience to be illuminated by the Holy Spirit so that our minds are captivated by truth. Mark Twain said, “An uneasy conscience is a hair in the mouth.” For most of us, unfortunately, we’ve gotten used to hair in our mouths. Something must change. The Apostle Paul said in Romans 9:1, “I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit.” We must understand that while the conscience reigns, it does not govern. We do. We have chosen to suppress the truth and live according to our own dictates.

That has left us as people in turmoil. John Milton wrote, “He that has light within his own clear breast may sit in the center and enjoy bright day; but he that hides a dark soul and foul thoughts benighted walks under the midday sun.” Those who walk in the denial of guilt walk a lonely and dark path in life. God did not intend us to live that way. He designed our conscience to be empowered by His presence in the Holy Spirit so that we can walk in His will and experience abundant life. We have instead chosen to walk according to the praise of men rather than God.

Thomas à Kempis (c. 1380–1471) wrote, “Great tranquillity has he who cares neither for praise nor criticism. He will be content whose conscience is pure.”

It is time for us to become people of honor again. It is time for the people of God to pray for healing of the conscience. It is time for us to become true people of honor, like our 16^th president, Abraham Lincoln. He wrote, “I desire so to conduct the affairs of this administration that if at the end, when I come to lay down the reins of power, I have lost every other friend on earth, I shall at least have one friend left, and that friend shall be down inside of me.”

May we be people of honor with a clear conscience – clear because we are completely controlled by the Holy Spirit of God.

“Lord, heal my conscience. Show me the guilt of my sin so that I may repent of it. Let the light of your truth be energized and empowered by the Holy Spirit to sound the fire alarm of hell when even the smallest sin breaks the beam. Restore unto me the honor that comes from true integrity. Amen.”

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Wednesday, October 12, 2022

As I observe the average Christian in America today, I am troubled by the minimal amount of evidence I see that Jesus is Lord of our lives.  I see commitment to Christ tempered and even controlled by our dependence upon culture and family. We have decided to love the idea of a future in heaven, but we choose to live as residents of this world until then, dependent upon it more than on Christ. We strive for financial security. We long for social acceptance. We crave cultural connections. We do not live as pilgrims in the world, but rather as partners with the world.

God has called us to Himself. But God’s call to salvation and service is not based on our merits. In the Old Testament, Abraham had been raised in a family that worshiped idols (Joshua 24:2). Yet God called him to become the father of a great nation through which would come the Messiah someday. Abraham had not earned any favor from God. God’s call is always an act of grace.

Along with God’s call to salvation and service, He also provides us with faith to accept the call. Faith is also a gift of grace (Ephesians 2:8-9). But faith without activity is no faith at all. So, as with Abraham, God calls us to demonstrate our faith by action. He called Abraham, and then told him to leave his country, his culture, and his family, and go to an unknown place of service. To do that, Abraham had to surrender the lordship of his life to God. He didn’t do it completely right away, but he did make a start. Eventually, after all the hindrances were removed, he was called the friend of God. He is the only man or woman in the Bible to be so named.

There’s a description of this in the book of Hebrews, where the author relates to us the life of faith that was lived by Abraham. He says, “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”

The call of God requires separation from the things of this world. It demands trust in Christ and not in country or culture. Everything about our lives here on this earth is to be considered temporary and dispensable. We have been called to follow Christ by faith, with our eyes fixed on the finish line of heaven and the place He has prepared for us.

How sad it is to see so many Christians calling Christ their Savior but reserving the right of self-lordship. They’re too busy with their own pursuits to serve in the nursery, or teach in children’s ministry, or get involved in a small group Bible study. Commitment to Christ comes well down on the priority list of things to do. Self-fulfillment overwhelms self-sacrifice. Serving Jesus takes a back seat to serving self. Is it any wonder that the world cannot see any hope in us?

1 Peter 3:15  “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord…”

The world needs hope. Those who have set apart Christ as Lord of their lives are the carriers of hope. Their faith in Christ is lived out in the activity of serving Jesus for the glory of God. They care more about the Gospel than they do their own good. They are the ones being asked by the unsaved what makes them so special. They are the true witnesses for Jesus.

Are you one? Are you being asked about the hope you have in Christ? If not, check your throne room. Maybe you’re sitting on the throne more often than you realize. Set apart Christ as Lord…and start acting like it.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Tuesday, October 11, 2022

1 Peter 3:15  “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”

I want to tell you a story today. I’m praying it moves us to consider whether we have allowed excuses to replace hope in our lives.

Every Sunday afternoon, after the morning service at the church, the Pastor and his eleven-year-old son would go out into their town and hand out Gospel Tracts. One Sunday afternoon it was very cold outside, and pouring down rain. The boy bundled up in his warmest and driest clothes and said, “OK, dad, I’m ready.” His Pastor dad asked, “Ready for what?”

“Dad, it’s time we get our tracts together and go out.” Dad responds, “Son, it’s very cold outside and it’s pouring down rain.” The boy gave his dad a surprised look, asking, “But Dad, aren’t people still going to Hell, even though it’s raining?” Dad answered, “Son, I am not going out in this weather.” Despondently, the boy asked, “Dad, can I go? Please?” His father hesitated for a moment and then said, “Son, you can go. Here are the tracts, be careful son.” “Thanks Dad!”

And with that, he was off and out into the rain. This eleven-year-old boy walked the streets of the town going door to door and handing everybody he met a Gospel Tract. After two hours of walking in the rain, he was soaking, bone-chilling wet, and down to his last tract. He stopped on a corner and looked for someone to hand it to, but the streets were totally deserted. Then he turned toward the first home he saw and started up the sidewalk to the front door. He rang the doorbell, but nobody answered. So he rang it again and again, but still no one answered. He waited but still no answer.

Finally, this witnessing trooper turned to leave, but something stopped him. He knew he should ring the doorbell again. This time he also knocked loudly with his fist. He waited, something holding him there on the front porch. He rang one more time, and this time the door slowly opened. Standing in the doorway was a very sad-looking elderly lady. She softly asked, “What can I do for you, son?” With radiant eyes and a smile that lit up her world, this little boy said, “Ma’am, I’m sorry if I disturbed you, but I just want to tell you that JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU and I came to give you my very last Gospel Tract which will tell you all about JESUS and His great LOVE.” With that, he handed her his last tract and turned to leave.

She called to him as he departed. “Thank you, son! And God Bless You!”

The following Sunday morning in church Pastor Dad was in the pulpit. As the service began, he asked, “Does anybody have testimony or want to say anything?” Slowly, in the back row of the church, an elderly lady stood to her feet. As she began to speak, a look of glorious radiance came from her face, “No one in this church knows me. I’ve never been here before. You see, before last Sunday I was not a Christian. My husband passed on some time ago, leaving me totally alone in this world. Last Sunday, on that cold and rainy day, it was even more so in my heart that I came to the end of the line where I no longer had any hope or will to live. So I took a rope and a chair and ascended the stairway into the attic of my home. I fastened the rope securely to a rafter in the roof, then stood on the chair and fastened the other end of the rope around my neck. Standing on that chair, so lonely and brokenhearted I was about to leap off, when suddenly the loud ringing of my doorbell downstairs startled me. I thought, ‘I’ll wait a minute, and whoever it is will go away.’

I waited and waited, but the ringing doorbell seemed to get louder and more insistent, and then the person ringing also started knocking loudly. I thought to myself again, ‘Who on earth could this be?

Nobody ever rings my bell or comes to see me.’

I loosened the rope from my neck and started for the front door. When I opened the door and looked I could hardly believe my eyes. There on my front porch was the most radiant and angelic little boy I had ever seen in my life. His SMILE, oh, I could never describe it to you!

The words that came from his mouth caused my heart that had long been dead to leap to life as he exclaimed with a cherub-like voice, ‘Ma’am, I just came to tell you that JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU.’ Then he gave me this Gospel Tract that I now hold in my hand.”

As the little angel disappeared back out into the cold and rain, I closed my door and read slowly every word of this Gospel Tract. Then I went up to my attic to get my rope and chair. I wouldn’t be needing them anymore.

You see—I am now a Happy Child of the KING. Since the address of your church was on the back of this Gospel Tract, I have come here to personally say THANK YOU to God’s little angel who came just in the nick of time and by so doing, spared my soul from an eternity in hell.”

There was not a dry eye in the church. And as shouts of praise and honor to the King resounded off the very rafters of the building, Pastor Dad descended from the pulpit to the front pew where the little angel was seated.

He took his son in his arms and sobbed uncontrollably. Probably no church has had a more glorious moment, and probably this universe has never seen a Papa that was more filled with love & honor for his son… Except for One. Our Heavenly Father also allowed His Son to go out into a cold and dark world to rescue sinners. And now He has seated Him at His right hand in glory waiting for all those who will by faith become His children.

If you are a child of the King, you have an eternal hope that springs from your heart. No more excuses – go and tell someone about Jesus today. 

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Monday, October 10, 2022

1 Peter 3:15  “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”

Standing only four foot six inches tall at his adult height, Alexander Pope was a man of great hope. His short stature was caused by a series of illnesses, not the least of these being a form of tuberculosis that affected his bones and caused severe curvature of the spine. Born in 1688, he lived his entire life in England, and died at the age of 56. He was ridiculed for his physical appearance, and later threatened with death because of his writings. In his later years, he never ventured outside of his house unless accompanied by his Great Dane and two loaded pistols.

Yet when anyone studies English literature, they read Alexander Pope. You may be familiar with one of his most famous writings entitled “Essay on Man”. It was an essay that proclaimed his faith in an eternal God who was not only the creator, but the controller of all things. His theology may not have been very good in most other aspects of the essay, but in this one thing, he had learned and proclaimed an important truth – God is in control.

Yet his application of that truth was severely lacking in his own philosophy of life. He believed that the only way God’s sovereignty was revealed to people was through their happiness. Happiness justified God’s existence. And because man is not very happy, and his own life certainly wasn’t, he spoke of man’s existence as a constant pursuit of the unattainable. He called that hope. And in his essay he writes:

“Hope springs eternal in the human breast;
Man never Is, but always to be blest:
The soul, uneasy and confin’d from home,
Rests and expatiates in a life to come.”

How sad this is. To live life believing that we never reach the point of blessing but are driven by the eternal spring of hope to pursue it. “Maybe someday my life will change sufficiently so that I may experience happiness.”

Unfortunately, many people live their lives under the same deception that hope is a wish for something better rather than a guarantee of present blessing. That’s because they have not set apart Christ as Lord in their hearts. Happiness is their lord. Wealth is their lord. Fame is their lord. Acceptance by this world is their lord. And unless Christ is Lord, all other lords lead to hopelessness.

Vast numbers of people in the world today believe in nothing more than fate. If they believe in a God at all, it is a God who is disconnected with humanity and has left people to fend for themselves. To most people, the future is in their own hands. God is not in control and has no final outcome in mind. We the people determine the outcome. We are people without any real hope.

Yet Alexander Pope was on the right path when he said in another essay, “A God without dominion, providence, and final causes, is nothing else but fate and nature.” I only wish there was evidence that he had chose to believe in that God. However, there is something that can be done about our hearts today. I long to know that you have set apart Christ Jesus as Lord of your life. I want you to know the hope that springs eternal in the human breast when man in Christ is fully blest. The soul, content, while confined from home, rests secure in the life to come. It is a hope that is sure. It is the guarantee of the life to come, and that life is the final glory of God.

Spend some quality time right now asking the Holy Spirit to evaluate the status of your heart. Who or what is on the throne of your life. Who or what have you set apart as Lord of your life? What motivates you to activity? What drives you? Is it hope that something better from this world is just around the corner? Or is it certainty that something out of this world is just around the corner? If we as God’s people would set Christ apart as Lord of our lives, our hope would become the conversation piece of our culture. They will want what we have rather than us wanting what they have, when what we have is true hope.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Friday, October 7, 2022

I remember watching man’s first walk on the moon. At least that’s what I believe I watched. Not so for author and conspiracy theorist Bill Kaysing. He claims, in a self-published book based on only hunches and what he thinks is photographic evidence, that the whole thing was a ruse of NASA to prevent international embarrassment over a failed space program. Kaysing also believes that astronaut Neil Armstrong, who took those first steps on the moon, has hired secret agents to follow his every move to make sure he doesn’t get too close to the truth. Celebrities have joined the crusade to convince the American public of the hoax, including Whoopie Goldberg.

The foundation of most conspiracy theories is this – FEAR! People who succumb to belief in conspiracies have already surrendered to a spirit of fear. For some reason they believe that the government is out to get us and dominate the world through the use of secret spy organizations. While many people may not fall prey to the fear that results in conspiracy theories, many of us love to read books and watch movies that speculate on such things. Why else would Jason Bourne and James Bond be so popular?

Speaking through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord had this to say – “Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread, and he will be a sanctuary;” (Isaiah 8:11-14)

Yesterday we saw Peter encouraging us to be do-gooders in our culture. We are to focus on how we can help people rather than what’s wrong with our country. Change enough people and the country changes. But those in power will resist such change, because they like the power they have. So in order to keep what they have come to love, they will threaten those whom they perceive as threats to themselves. Peter knew this based on his eyewitness account of seeing them do it to Jesus. Peter also knew that Jesus had prophesied that it would happen to him. (“When you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. John 21:18-19).

Yet even though Peter knew he would suffer as a do-gooder, he quoted the prophet Isaiah and said, “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.” (1 Peter 3:14) The Lord is our sanctuary; of what do we have to be afraid?

Every day we are tempted to succumb to the fear-filled news of the world. We get all bent out of shape over inflation, taxes, bailouts, and terrorists. We sit at the coffee tables of our local restaurants and spend uncountable moments theorizing over how to solve these issues. Yet every day we walk away from those conversations less hopeful than before. Why? Because not once during the conversation did we talk about our faith in Jesus Christ as the Sovereign Ruler of all and our sanctuary from fear. How many unsaved people have been left hopeless because we have chosen to share our fears rather than our faith?

My friends, we live in a day of fear, when what is needed is faith. We live in a day of hopelessness, and what people need is the God of hope. They should see Him in us. He may be your sanctuary in private, but you are not fulfilling your mission for Him until you make it public. I challenge you to make every conversation you have with anyone count for Jesus. Make sure people walk away from their time with you feeling some hope.

In fact, since we’re living in a day of conspiracy theories, let’s talk about this one – Jesus is coming and everyone who has been born again will be raptured out of this world and taken to glory. Meanwhile, the world will fall prey to an Anti-Christ who will end up leading them all to destruction. How’s that for a conversation starter? 

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Thursday, October 6, 2022

I have a question running through my mind this morning. It deserves some contemplation. It requires an answer. Here’s the query – “How does the world know that I’m a follower of Jesus?”

The first response that comes to my mind is that they know I’m a Christian because I say that I am. But the people of the world are more discerning than that. For example, no matter how much I told people I was a Viking fan, no one would believe me if I consistently wore a Packers jersey. The truth is activity validates claims.

For the third time now in his letter, Peter challenges each one of us to show the validity of our faith through the activity of doing good. And he’s not done telling us to do good. He will say it one more time a couple of verses from now. Let’s review:

• Peter told all of us to be good citizens of our countries by submitting to the authorities over us, and to do good. When the government is corrupt, the good deeds of God’s people will silence foolish men. “For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.” (2:15)
• He challenged us as employees to do good even when we had bosses who were harsh. “But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.” (2:20)
• In today’s passage, he encourages us to do good within the context of our everyday lifestyles with people. “Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed.” (3:13-14)

Unfortunately, many of us have an underlying aversion to doing good. Our very nature – the flesh – is selfish and prideful and has convinced us that we are weak if we do good for anyone other than self. We resent being called a do-gooder. In fact, our own Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary defines a do-gooder as “an earnest usually impractical and often naive and ineffectual humanitarian or reformer.”

But doing good is what Jesus was all about, and He certainly wasn’t weak. When Peter was in the home of Cornelius, bringing the Good News of Jesus to the Gentiles for the first time, he described Jesus this way – “You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached—how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.” (Acts 10:37-38)

The validation of God’s presence in the life of Jesus was the activity of doing good. It is the same for us today. We prove the love of God by loving others. We prove the goodness of God by doing good to others. We proclaim the grace of God by showing grace to others. By this the world will know that we are followers of Jesus – because we love one another.

Some of my fondest memories of childhood are the songs I heard in church. God still uses them to refocus my heart when it is needed. I remember the first cantata I ever heard in our church as a boy, and I remember the song that stuck out to me. It was from John W. Peterson’s “No Greater Love”, and the song was called “He Went About Doing Good.” Let the lyrics bring you to a point of greater understanding of the Scriptural truth that we are to be like Jesus and be do-gooders.

When our Lord was here, Our Savior dear,

He gladdened each neighborhood;

For the Bible tells, the message spells,

He went about doing good.

It was love revealed when the lame He healed,

The blinded ones made to see;

When He raised the dead, the hungry fed,

The demon possessed set free.

He went about doing good,

And helping where’er He could;

Our example is He, and like Him we should be,

Who went about doing good.

Follow the example of Jesus and be a do-gooder.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Wednesday, October 5, 2022

I have a face that’s easy to read. I know, some of you humorists out there think I should have said I have a face that’s easy to forget. While that may be true, I am told by those closest to me that I do not have a poker face. My true feelings and emotions are easily read by the expression on my face. It is an almost uncontrollable reaction to what I hear and what I see. There are times I wish I could hide it. I’m sure there are times when you wish I would hide it as well – the whole face, that is.

Unless we have become very good actors, or as we learned yesterday, liars, our face is the outlet of the sea of emotions within us. The face responds almost instantaneously to what is going on around us. The expressions of the face are the indicators of what we feel. Those around us, even strangers, can read us as easily as Dick and Jane books.

Once during a class I was teaching, I was sharing a truth about our salvation in Christ. I noticed one of the men with a scowl of pain on his face. I thought I had said something wrong, or that he was confused about what I had said. I asked him what was wrong. He said he had bumped his foot on the bottom of the chair and that it really hurt. His face immediately gave away his feelings.

There are several expressions used in Scripture about the face of God. For one, His face shines on those who are righteous (Psalm 67:1). We also know that His face is against those who do evil (Psalm 34:12). In addition, and to our benefit, He hides his face from our sin (Psalm 51:9). And when things aren’t going our way, or moving as quickly as we think they should, we accuse God of turning His face away from us (Psalm 88:14). We are also encouraged to seek the face of God (Psalm 105:4).

While we could make lots of applications of these truths today, let me just ask this one question – What would be the expression on the face of God right now if you stood face to face with Him? Would He have to turn His face because He couldn’t look at your sin? Or would His face be shining with joy at the mere sight of you?

1 Peter 3:12   “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” 

H. G. Wells, while not a real friend of the church, told a helpful story years ago in the New Yorker.  There was a certain pastor who was the kind of man who always said pious things to people. When troubled folks came to him, he found that a particularly helpful thing to say, if said in a right tone of voice, was, “Have you prayed about it?” If said in just the right way, it seemed to settle things.

The pastor himself didn’t pray much; he had life wrapped up in a neat package that he thought he controlled pretty well. But one day, life tumbled in on him, and he found himself overwhelmed. It occurred to the pastor that maybe he should take some of his own advice. So, one Saturday afternoon he entered the cathedral, went to the front, and knelt on the crimson rug. Then he folded his hands before the altar and began to pray. He said, “O God,” and before he could say another word, he was dead.

 The next day when the worshipers came to Sunday services, they found the pastor sprawled face down on the crimson carpet. When they turned him over, lines of horror were etched upon his face.  

There’s a point to this story: there are folks who talk a lot about God who would be scared to death if they saw him face to face.

Either the face of the Lord is against you, or it is shining upon you and giving you peace. God does not arbitrarily decide to do either one. His facial expressions are a response to you, and His face is easy to read with your spiritual eyes. If you are living in righteousness, surrendered to His will, His face is shining. His eyes are upon you and His ears are listening to you. But if you are living with known and unrepentant sin, His face is against you. His eyes still see what you are doing, but He has closed His ears to your prayers. “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.” (Psalm 66:18) The face of God is the mirror that reflects your choices. Just remember, your face also reflects those same choices to us. What does your face tell us today?

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Tuesday, October 4, 2022

1 Peter 3:10   “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech…” 

Deceitful speech, referred to by Peter in today’s Scripture, is more common than we want to admit. It starts with what we think are simple embellishments of the truth to improve the story’s impact or gain greater recognition. Fact is, they’re lies!

So how big was that fish you caught, and what was your real golf score without mulligans?

The biggest embellishment of all is when we claim to be one thing, but in our hearts we know we are something else. We do this for a variety of reasons, not the least being that we are attempting to live up to what we perceive as other’s expectations. We may be seeking the approval of people. We may be trying to measure up to some standard we are convinced gives us greater value. Whatever the reason, Jesus called it hypocrisy. It is deceitful speech.

When we claim to be followers of Jesus in public, but in private we pursue the gratification of the flesh, we are liars. When we unite with a local church and worship with people so that we may appear spiritual, we are using the church as a means of deceiving others, so they won’t see who we really are. When we claim to be in fellowship with God, but we seek to impress others and earn the approval of those living in sin, we are guilty of deceitful speech. When we appear to be looking to connect to others and find intimacy, but don’t include Christ in our fellowship, we are lying to ourselves, to others, and most of all to God, about who we really are.

“Lord, forgive us for living deceitful lives that seek to connect to You and the world at the same time. Let our connection to the world be only so that we may connect the people of the world to you. Let every avenue of connection we have be used to connect others to Christ. Let others see the truth of Jesus in us every day. AMEN!”

Pastor John