LifeLink Devotions for Wednesday, July 3, 2024

As time goes by and most things change, it is wise for us to realize that some things must not change. New technology and improved methods of production do not necessitate a change of purpose in most cases. Automobiles are certainly produced differently today than they were 75 years ago, but the basic purpose of the automobile has stayed the same. There may be more comfort and convenience in them today, but they still provide simple, basic transportation from point A to point B.

The same must be true about the church. Society has changed, and methods of ministry have certainly changed, but the basic purpose of church must not change, and the fundamental activities of church people must stay the same as when the church was established. We do not have the right or the privilege of laying a new foundation other than the one that has already been laid – Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:10-11 says – “By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” We may build differently on that foundation, but in the REAL church the foundation never changes.

Our Scripture passage for today tells us there are four things that result from keeping Christ as the Foundation of the REAL church.

Acts 2:42 “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”

1.      A devotion to the teaching of God’s Word

2.      A devotion to the fellowship of God’s people

3.      A devotion to the cross of Jesus Christ

4.      A devotion to prayer

Notice first of all that “they devoted themselves” to these things. Who were “they”? It was Pentecost, and the 125 faithful believers in the resurrected Christ were together in a prayer meeting. The Holy Spirit came upon them in fulfillment of Jesus’ promise, and Peter began to preach. As a result of his sermon, 3,000 people were saved, baptized, and added to the fellowship of the first REAL church. A total of 3,125 people now devoted themselves to the foundational principles of the church.

Notice that they devoted themselves. They were not asked to sign a document that stated their specific doctrinal position on any topic nor were they forced to obey a set of rules and regulations to conform their behavior. They simply responded to the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives to produce the character of Christ in them and they devoted themselves to the things that produce that character.

My friends, in response to an ever-changing world system, the church has been tempted to change its foundational principles to seemingly add more security. For some reason we feel safer surrounded by more rules and stricter control, but that is a deception of Satan to keep us from a walk of faith. Everything about the new church in Acts was about faith, and everything built on the foundation of faith will stand. There is nothing we can add to the four fundamentals of Acts 2:42 that will make the church more productive or more holy.

In the devotion to God’s Word comes an honest surrender to its teachings, producing holiness of lifestyle. In devotion to the fellowship of God’s people comes accountability for spiritual growth and production. In devotion to the breaking of bread comes a constant reminder of the death of Jesus Christ for our sins, which produces the humble spirit of unity. In devotion to prayer comes surrender to the authority of Jesus Christ over the church and a serving spirit of accomplishing His purpose.

Every aspect of church life is covered in these four fundamentals of the REAL church. But for it to work, we must devote ourselves to them. We must not be satisfied to just be able to state them, but rather we must live them. Let’s evaluate our lives today considering these four principles, and set a course of devotion to them, so we can truly have REAL church.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Tuesday, July 2, 2024

In a previous ministry I organized a Foundation Team. This team of three men was responsible for keeping the spiritual foundation of our church focused on the non-negotiables so that any future decisions about ministry expansion would be in keeping with God’s purpose for the church. At one of our annual events this team gave a challenge to the congregation. They reminded us that we are all a royal priesthood, and we have all been called to be a part of the spiritual foundation of this ministry. We are a team, with Jesus Christ as the Head Coach, and the only way we will work together to accomplish the goals of the Coach is to be in communication with the Coach. We need to pray.

The one consistent theme of the REAL church in the book of Acts is prayer.

Acts 1:12-14  “Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walkfrom the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying…They all joined together constantly in prayer…”

Acts 2:42  “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”

Acts 4:24  “When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God.”

Acts 4:31  “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”

Acts 6:3-4  “Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”

There are 29 more references to prayer in the book of Acts that show us the importance of it as a foundation to the spiritual vitality of a church. Stephen prayed while he was being stoned. Paul and Silas prayed while in prison. Peter prayed and was directed to take the Gospel to the Gentiles. The church earnestly prayed while Peter was in prison, and he was set free. The church prayed about sending out missionaries. Paul and Barnabas knew that prayer had to be the foundational activity of every church they planted.  

It is essential that prayer be the primary activity that captivates our involvement.  Here is my challenge to you:

1.      Choose a minimum of five minutes every day that you will commit to pray for the ministry of your church.

2.       Every day at that time, pray for the following things:

a.       That God would be glorified in everything we do and it would be consistently grounded on the truth of Scrpture.

b.       That every person who attends the church would be living out the Great Commandment in every part of their lives, loving God above all else, and loving each other with His love.

c.      That every person who attends the church would in some way fulfill the Great Commission by being a Holy Spirit empowered witness of Jesus Christ’s resurrection.

d.       That every ministry of the church would accomplish two purposes: equipping each person to fulfill the first three objectives and providing an entrance point for unsaved people to meet Jesus.

Are you ready? I am! In prayer we surrender to the purpose of God, we are strengthened by the power of God, and we are supplied with the provision of God. The Holy Spirit has been given the church as His temple of residence, and when the foundation of our ministry is to fulfill that spiritual purpose, then God will provide all the rest that we need to do His work.

Come on; join the team. What time of the day will you choose to pray?

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Monday, July 1, 2024

In our last devotional we talked about the passion to accomplish the purpose of Christ – witnessing to the resurrection power of Jesus to bring eternal life to those who are dead in their sin. We saw people in Hebrews chapter eleven who passionately pursued God’s purpose at the risk of severe persecution and death. What motivated them to go to the limits of human endurance and beyond? The answer to that question is found in the next chapter of Hebrews. It says:

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”  (Hebrews 12:1-2)

We have an example to follow; a model to mimic. He is Jesus, and he endured the shame and the pain of accomplishing God’s purpose because He knew the joy of the promise He had been given. Jesus did not falter in the time of fatigue because He had his heart fixed on the future, where God would restore Him and reward Him.

That is what the angels were saying to the apostles when they watched Jesus ascend into heaven to His place of reward.

Acts 1:9-11  “After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

Instead of fixing our eyes on the circumstances of the present, fix our hearts on the certainty of the promise of His return. Jesus is coming back, and when He does we will experience the fullness of joy and the perfection of life.

No matter how hard I try today, I will not be able to make life perfect. I will not be able to fix all my own problems, and certainly not any of yours. So if problems are a fact of life, why not let the cause of those problems be honoring to God? What on earth could I mean by that? Well, most of the problems that exist in my life are caused by my pursuit of my own agenda. That does not honor God. What honors God is the pursuit of His agenda. We have been told in Scripture that the pursuit of God’s purpose will separate us from the world and bring us trouble. Jesus said in John 15:18-19, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”

If the problems that are in my life are primarily caused by my selfish pursuits, then what promise do I have for relief from those problems? But if the problems in my life are being caused by a world that is rejecting the stand I take for Jesus Christ, then the promises I have for relief from those problems are many:

1.      I have sufficient grace for each day to endure anything according to 2 Corinthians 9:8 and 12:9.

2.      Jesus has already overcome the world according to His own words in John 16:33.

3.      With Jesus in us we are already overcomers of the world according to 1 John 4:4.

4.      The glory and joy we will experience at the return of Jesus Christ cannot be compared to any of the suffering we are enduring today as Paul said in Romans 8:18.

Take some time to reflect on those verses, and discover the incredible freedom to live out the purpose of Jesus Christ when we have our eyes fixed on the right finish line. We are not running the race of the world, so do not look at the world’s finish lines. We are running the race that has been marked out for us by God, so let’s fix our eyes on the glory of God’s finish line. Jesus is waiting there to greet us.

Pastor John