Connecting Points

Tuesday, December 06, 2011

Today’s Topic: Safe and Secure

Today’s Text:  Isaiah 54:10  Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

In Isaiah 54, God is speaking through the prophet declaring the promise of a restored nation of Israel after their fall into sin and captivity. He illustrates the barrenness and shame of the nation by referring to the life of Sarah, Abraham’s wife, who was without child and shamed by her people. She was desolate, just like the nation of Israel would be. We know this passage speaks of Sarah because of Paul’s words in Galatians 4:26-27, where he quotes Isaiah 54:1 in reference to her and his picture of the New Jerusalem.

Isaiah understands the emotions Sarah must have felt, and he relates them to the emotions the nation of Israel will experiencing in its time of shame. He then declares how the Lord Almighty meets and ministers to us in those times of need. Yesterday we saw how God met the specific needs of Sarah. Today in the remainder of the chapter, Isaiah declares the victory that comes from the Lord for His chosen people.

I was thoroughly blessed by the promises of God for His people as I began to read what He was going to do for them. Remember, these are people who have made Him angry. “For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back. In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,” says the LORD your Redeemer. (Verses 7-8)

Yet these are people on whom He will have compassion. This is the story of salvation – the undeserving receiving grace. Look at what God is going to do for them, and us, as a heritage for the servants of the Lord. Verse 17 says, This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and this is their vindication from me,” declares the LORD. Maybe you should read the whole chapter first to get the big picture, and then read the broken down list – Isaiah 54.

Here are God’s promises for His people:

• The removal of shame and humiliation – verse 4
• Redemption – verse 5
• Reconciliation to God – verse 6
• Perfect Peace – verse 9 and 13
• Unfailing love – verse 10 – what a fantastic verse for today – go back to the top and read it again.
• The heavenly city built with beauty and strength – verses 11-12 (compare Revelation 21:10-21)
• Perfect Righteousness – verse 14
• No fear – verse 14
• Conquering power over sin – verse 15
• Powerful weapons and armor from the Lord – verses 16-17
• Powerful words from the Sword of the Spirit – verse 17

Such is the heritage of those who serve the Risen King. Such are the promises for the Children of God. Welcome the teaching of the Holy Spirit into your heart and mind to make the personal applications to your life.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Monday, December 05, 2011

Today’s Topic: God Is Exactly What We Need

Today’s Text:  Isaiah 54:5  For your Maker is your husband—the LORD Almighty is his name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth.

I’m running late this morning. I hate being rushed when I get to the office, but the snow had to be shoveled and the ice chipped away from the door. Then I had the privilege of helping a missionary prepare a Bible Study he needed right away and because of the time differential I needed to do that first. Now I have 15 minutes before Monday staff meeting to write something profound. HELP!!!

I imagine Sarah cried “HELP!” many times as she struggled with her barrenness. Even though she had the promise of God to Abraham that they would have a son, time kept ticking away, and there wasn’t much of it left. But as she cries out, the Lord answers her with these incredible words, re-written from the original according to my understanding of what God is saying –

“I am your Maker, and I am your husband. I am the Lord Almighty, and I am all you need. I have all things under control, and no matter how lost you feel in the darkness of your despair, I have redeemed you.”

I am overwhelmed with this thought – Whatever my need, God is exactly what I need at that time.

If I am lonely, He is my love.

If I am struggling, He is my strength.

If I am needy, He is my nurturer.

If I am discouraged, He is my deliverer.

If I am poor, He is my provider.

God is exactly what I need at all times.

He made me. He loves me. He has a purpose for me. He provides for me. He never leaves me. He never fails.

Sarah discovered it.

How about you?

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Thursday, December 01, 2011

Today’s Topic: Faith Overcomes Shame

 Today’s Text:  Isaiah 54:4  “Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.”

It was dreadful. It did great damage to my family, many friends, my ministry, and my heart. There are times when I wonder if I’m still beyond all the pain of what happened seventeen years ago. It was my fault. I was selfish and insecure, and I covered it with shameful behavior. It caused a church to split. What had begun as a marvelous new relationship between pastor and congregation soon turned ugly because I didn’t take the time to really listen to the people God had called me to shepherd and instead demanded my own way. The church’s response was to remove me, so our family was forced to leave that place. I felt the deepest shame I have ever experienced. I had publicly embarrassed my Lord, and felt totally unworthy to ever serve Him again.

After two long years of recovery, thanks to the help of a Christian businessman who gave me a job and a small church that took me in and affirmed my gifts, my wife and I accepted an invitation to candidate for the position of Senior Pastor at the church I currently serve. Throughout the interview process the nagging shame of my past ate away at my heart and kept me in the bondage of fear. I told the search committee that I would not consider full-time ministry again, believing that I needed the security of secular employment to fall back on in case I would fail again.

Then, on the last night of interviews, as my wife and I drove to the meeting place, God interrupted us in the car. I looked at my wife and she looked at me, and we agreed that our fears were not of faith, and that God had called us to step out in faith and enter full-time ministry again. We prayed, and arrived at the meeting. The search committee was prepared to offer a part-time position, but I interrupted them and told them what God had said and done in our hearts. We were afraid, but our faith in God’s promise covered our fears. We stretched out the tent curtains and did not hold back. Now, almost 16 years later, here we are, and God has proven Himself faithful again – as if He needs to prove Himself.

The shame of the past shatters the success of the future. Shame produces the fear of ongoing disgrace and humiliation. Our enemy the Devil seeks to hold us in the bondage of past failures. I see it in my own personal life, and I see it in the church. Past experiences of failure resulting in shame immediately build self-protection defenses in us that we implement every time we are asked to take steps of faith. Go back and read that last sentence again. Think about it carefully in your own life, or in the life of your church. How many times has God spoken and we resisted because it reminded us of another time and another place where we experienced failure by trying?

God has promised Abraham and Sarah a son. Sarah has been humiliated by her peers because of her barrenness. They have been disgraced because of their attempts to solve the problem according to the flesh. Now, when God tells them to move forward in faith, He reminds them of their shame and how debilitating it will be if they don’t fully trust His Word. In essence He says to them, “I know how much you are hurting from your past, but do not let that stop you from receiving my future for you. If you will let go of the past, and by faith accept and act upon my promise, you will be set free from the bondage of that shame once and for all.”

Many of you today are living in the bondage of a past failure. You are stuck in the shackles of shame. You are not moving in faith because you are mired in fear. Today, seek the heart of God. Ask Him to reveal His will to you – He wants you to know it. And when you discover it, do it! Everything that caused shame in the past because you did it your way will be erased and replaced with the glory of God.

As I wrote that last paragraph, an email arrived from a good friend, Scott Soden, owner of Elliott’s Automotive. Please take the time to read this. I share it with his permission.

Pastor, I’ve been wanting to talk and with the busyness of everything going on I haven’t found time to, but after reading your devotion today (from December 1) I thought it’s time to just email you. I wanted first of all to encourage you that since you retuned from your trip I’ve seen an amazing difference in you, in a good way. You have heard the calling of God and clearly understood it and accepted it. I have always liked your boldness but when you have the love of Jesus with it, it seem to flow though the people like the loving water of God should. Back to your Thursday devotion – I feel Elliott’s Automotive was in the same place as Calvary is, bursting at the seams trying to figure out what corner to use next for that storage spot or to stuff a child – I think you know what I mean. As Elliott’s Automotive we felt God’s calling to this new location but could not figure out how we would pay for it. God put us in a place where we had to do something, so we started moving forward. God instantly provided an answer and here we are moving. As I sit here in tears I see God’s hand all over this place, and it’s an awesome feeling! PRAISE GOD! As I sit here in this little building for the last day, I can’t wait for the day that it will be Calvary’s last day in its building. From what you said in your devotion I’m sure you know what the next move is, so let God do his thing whether we understand it or not.

The shame of the past must not be allowed to shatter the success of the future. When God speaks – MOVE!

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Thursday, December 01, 2011

Today’s Topic: Vision

 Today’s Text:  Isaiah 54:1-3  “Sing, O barren woman, you who never bore a child; burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labor; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband,” says the LORD. “Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities.

On September 16, 2003, I was in a meeting of the Chippewa Valley Evangelical Ministerial Association being held at the WWIB Radio studios in Hallie. As the meeting began, one of the most precious women I have ever met led us in devotions. Mabel Louise Steward had been the wife of the founder of the radio station until he went home to glory with Jesus. Her work for the Lord continues as she ministers God’s grace to countless numbers of people.

As she talked, I opened my Bible and it fell open to Isaiah 54. I have written notes in the margin as a reminder of what God spoke to me. I began reading – sorry Mabel Louise, but God was speaking to me and using you to help. I read about Abraham’s wife Sarah, the barren woman who was promised a son. I read of the faith she was challenged to put into practice by enlarging her tent and not holding back in preparation for the day the son would be born. Even though she had nothing more than God’s word to go on, she was told to act as if it had already happened.

At that time God had started to plant a vision in the hearts of the people of our church that it was time to start thinking about a bigger building to meet the ministry demands of a growing congregation. I recognized God’s hand moving us, but the challenge to act had not yet come. We were standing still and waiting, which was wise at that time.

Then three things happened nearly simultaneously. It was almost more than my mind could handle all at once. First, God spoke as plainly as I have ever heard Him and said, “That’s what Calvary is supposed to do. Enlarge your outreach by not holding back. Spread out to the right and the left, and settle in a desolate place.”

Second, as God spoke to my heart, Mabel Louise said to the group, “We serve a big God who can do more than we can imagine.”

Almost as she was saying it, a retired missionary named John Schone, who was sitting next to me at the meeting and who attends Calvary, leaned over to me and said, “We should buy that abandoned grocery store for our church.”

God gave a clear vision that day. I was pumped. The church leadership and congregation understood the vision. We proceeded to do what God had said. We organized a building team at went to look at the store. It was perfect. Plenty of parking. Plenty of room. It was exactly what God had for us. We asked the realtor to find out if the building could be purchased. Within a week the realtor came back to us with the news that the building could be purchased – for 2.1 million dollars. Our hearts sank. We hadn’t even started fund raising yet, and there was no way we could afford that. HUGE MISTAKE! God had not asked us to afford it; He told us to buy it. I praise God that He has continued to be faithful to our church, but I must humbly admit that since that day my faith has been hindered by a fleshly spirit of practicality.

Sarah would be in her nineties when her first child would finally be born. Practicality could have and should have conquered her faith, but it didn’t. She began doing what God had said. She accepted God’s promise and received God’s provision. Until we make that choice, I don’t think we will ever be able to afford a building, because we are letting practicality rule our faith, and that keeps us from experiencing the miracle of God’s provision.

I am sorry, Lord, for not having more faith. I am sorry for that first crash in the waves of worldly vision that sank me into the waters you wanted me to walk on. I am sorry for all the times since then that you have offered another plan and I have succumbed to the practical wisdom of the world that said it couldn’t be done. Never again! Speak clearly again, and I will follow, no matter the opposition. It is time to enlarge, stretch out, and not hold back. Let us go and settle in a desolate place. Your humble and obedient servant, John.

Connecting Points

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Today’s Topic: Intercession

 Today’s Text:

Isaiah 53:12  Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

When I rose this morning I was still thinking about the wonder of my justification through Jesus Christ.  When I got to the office to write today’s Connecting Point I was still thinking about it. There was maybe a little flesh being manifested when I wondered if anyone else really understood the magnitude and magnificence of what the Lord said yesterday about the sacrifice of Jesus. But whether or not they did, I did, and the Lord is deeply touching my heart with His grace.

Then I read for probably the 50^th time in the last two months the last verse of Isaiah 53, and in a fresh way an old truth jumped out at me. Jesus was numbered with the transgressors – He became one of us!

I couldn’t help but think of the old Paul Harvey story of the birds. In case you don’t know it, here’s a link so you can listen to it. http://everydaychristian.com/blogs/post/9201/

Jesus, as God, became one of us so He could bear our sins and make intercession for us to the Father.

That got me to thinking about intercession – you know – when we go to God the Father and pray for someone else for their benefit. As I was contemplating that from the perspective of Jesus making intercession for us, the Lord put a clear thought in my mind – True intercession requires total identification.

This was the case with Jesus, who now sits at the right hand of the Father and intercedes with Him on our behalf. Romans 8:34 says, Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. That is amazing – Jesus constantly talks to the Father on our behalf. In fact, the apostle John says Jesus is our advocate, defending us to the Father even when we sin. My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:1-2)

But we must acknowledge that He is qualified to do that because He first totally identified with us in every way. The book of Hebrews states this clearly for us. Take the time to read and absorb these precious truths:

• For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for  the sins of the people.   Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. (Hebrews 2:17-18)
• Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens,  Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.   For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.   Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16)

Jesus is able to intercede for us because He identifies with us. He identified with our sin. He identifies with our suffering. He identifies with our needs. He identifies with our circumstances and experiences. Therefore He can intercede on our behalf to the Father. He does this through His indwelling Holy Spirit. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will. (Romans 8:26-27)

Just think, our intercessor not only knows us completely, but also knows the heart and mind of God completely. He identifies with both, which makes Him the perfect intercessor and able to meet our every need. That’s what Romans 8:28 means when Paul says, And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Besides the huge blessing I have received from the truth of Jesus as my intercessor, there’s a huge challenge in this for me when it comes to how I pray for others. Can I really say I am interceding to the Father on behalf of someone if I have not first identified with the person for whom I am praying? Can I truly be interceding if I do not fully, as much as is humanly possible, identify with the Father’s heart for that person? How would my prayer life be changed if I really identified with others when I promised to pray for them?

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Monday, November 28, 2011

Today’s Topic: Justification

Today’s Text:  Isaiah 53:11  After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.

When I was in the Philippines in October, my dear friend Glenn and I developed a little joke between us. It was actually more than a joke – it was a loving admonition. It involved the use of one word. In our conversations with each other or with other people, when we would hear any form of rationalization or defense of behavior, we would simply look at each other and say, “justification.”

I am amazed at how many times we had to say that to each other. I am embarrassed to admit how many times in any given day I attempt to justify my behavior or my choices. I think you can agree with me that we have become expert justifiers of self.

For example, I wonder how many hunters shot at deer last night after sunset? I know of at least two around me that did. One shot I heard was so close to dark that I had my flashlight on so I could see the deer I had legally shot. I wonder how they would attempt to defend that action if confronted by a game warden.

How much justification of materialism will take place between now and Christmas? How much justification of gluttony just took place at Thanksgiving? How much justification of setting aside our personal quiet time with our Lord because we are so busy is going on right now?

Justification simply means to declare innocence. The foundation for justification is laid out in the Old Testament law, where God declares that He will never punish the innocent or let the guilty off the hook. Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty. (Exodus 23:7) When King Solomon dedicated the temple he had built for the Lord, he reviewed the laws that would be upheld in the spiritually revived nation. “When a man wrongs his neighbor and is required to take an oath and he comes and swears the oath before your altar in this temple,   then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, condemning the guilty and bringing down on his own head what he has done. Declare the innocent not guilty, and so establish his innocence. (1 Kings 8:31-32)

Justification is the declaration of innocence. But notice that in the Old Testament law, only the truly innocent were declared innocent. Justification was simply the acknowledgment of what was already true.

In contrast to that, consider the justification that was provided by Jesus Christ through His death on the cross. He has declared the guilty to be innocent! The Righteous Servant has born the iniquities of the unrighteous sinner. The innocent One has taken the punishment of the guilty.

But the guilty are not justified automatically. It is only by faith. The guilty cannot be declared innocent by earning it through obedience to the law. A man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified. (Galatians 2:16) The law cannot declare the guilty to be innocent nor can it declare the innocent to be guilty.

But what the law does do is lead us to faith in Jesus Christ’s work on the cross so that He can declare us to be innocent. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.(Galatians 3:24) It is by faith alone in the finished work of Christ that we are justified. The Apostle Paul specifically states this in Romans 5 where we read, Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

How marvelous! How magnificent! How incredible! Jesus the Innocent One bore the sins of all the guilty, and those who have faith in Him are eternally declared innocent. Oh the splendor of justification!

Pastor John

I heard from a friend yesterday who told me he missed my blog and wondered if I had stopped writing it. I assured him I had not stopped permanently, but that since returning from the Philippines I have been overwhelmed with things that interfered with my writing time in the mornings. I also assured him that I was not falling away from the daily discipline of my devotional life.

I want to assure all of you of the same things. Between meetings with people and trips to see family, I have not been available to write. Next week will be no better as I already have every morning booked up. You see, even though writing is important to me, and ministers to many people, it’s the personal one-on-one contact with people that is most important. That is always God’s priority for me. Because of my extended time away in Davao City there has been a lot of personal ministry to accomplish. After Thanksgiving I intend to block out the early mornings again for writing these Connecting Points.

For today, consider this activity of God in my heart – Without exception,  Love always dictates conduct.

My heart has been torn apart by that truth. What I choose to do is always a result of what or whom I have chosen to love. If you spend any time at all considering the reality of that in your own life, you will be broken as I have been with the truth that we love self much more than we would ever admit publicly. And yet the public already knows because they see the choices we make that serve self. They see the contradictions between our statement of faith and our code of conduct. We have a serious love issue.

Jesus told us quite plainly that love always dictates conduct. When asked about the greatest commandment, He replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. And the second is like it – Love you neighbor as yourself.”

The impetus behind obedience to every law of God is love for God. Nothing less. Nothing more. It sounds easy, but it’s not. Love for self constantly conflicts with love for God. Serving self severely stifles the sacrifice of self. Decisions are made every day, over and over, based on the single criteria of personal benefit – the love of self. Love always determines conduct.

For the last several weeks I have woken each day to that truth. As a result, I don’t like what I see in me much of the time. God is changing my heart. I am renewing my love for my wonderful Savior. It has been the one overwhelming blessing of my study of Isaiah 53 for the past 6 weeks. My deepest desire is to love Jesus more, and that is only possible if I first understand how much He loves me. This is what I know about His love:

He was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed…because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

May every word of my mouth and every meditation of my heart be pleasing to the One I love, and let that One be Jesus.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Today’s Topic: Snow?

Today’s Text:  Isaiah 53:11  After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.

Yesterday morning (Wednesday) I rose from bed at 4:20 A.M. to prepare for a day of deer hunting. I was in the car on the way to my tree stand at 5:00. When I got to within six miles of the hunting land, it started to snow. It snowed hard, and it was wet. I put on all of my hunting clothes and started walking the 500 yards through the swamp and forest to my stand. The snow was so heavy that the flashlight did nothing but reflect back into my eyes, so I had to go by memory, which isn’t so good. Somewhere in the thicket I took a wrong turn and ended up looking for my stand for over 20 minutes. I didn’t really make any progress until I waited for a little of the natural light to appear. When I got there I was wet and sweaty; not a good combination when the plan is to spend several hours sitting still in a tree.

As the snow continued to fall everything became white. Deer hunters love the snow, and I’m no different. It makes the deer so much easier to see, and I saw deer. I didn’t shoot any of them, making the decision to let each one grow up a little more, but it was so great to see them and watch their movements as they related to each other during this breeding season. Up until this time I hadn’t seen a deer, but when everything was white I was able to see what I was pursuing.

As I sat in the tree for those five hours I pondered the truths that had been revealed to me:

• I thought about how long we wander around in the thickets of our circumstances looking for the tree from which we will have a better vantage point on life and be able to accomplish our goals. We think we know the way, but we constantly make the wrong turns and get lost.
• We get angry that we can’t find our way because the snow keeps blinding us with the reflection of our own light. We know we need the snow, but we are mad at it at the same time because it increases the awareness of our lost condition.
• When we return to the place where we made the wrong turn, God is there waiting to reveal His way to us, and when we take it, we cease to be lost. We get to use His light, not ours, and that brings us to life.
• When we let the snow cover everything in us and around us, we finally get to see what we’ve been looking for. The pursuit of our heart becomes obvious.

Simple thoughts, but I trust the Lord will use them to help you understand how great it is to know that our sins are forgiven, and through the blood of Jesus Christ we have been washed from all unrighteousness and are now whiter than snow.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Tuesday, November 08, 2011

Today’s Topic: How Could He Do That?

Today’s Text:  Isaiah 53:7-8a  He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away.     

How could He do that? He was right; they were wrong. It was injustice to the max. He was falsely accused and unjustly abused. He was tortured without truth. Yet not once did He defend Himself, with words or with actions. How could He do that?

In my flesh, I can’t do what Jesus did. My first response to criticism is self-protection. My love for self motivates my response to threats against my value and worth. My pride protects what I believe are my rights. My words and my actions are defense mechanisms to justify my behavior. It appears that I would rather see others suffer from the expression of my pride than to experience any personal pain that might be caused by being humble. How foolish I am, for ultimately the pain I am seeking to avoid is magnified many times over by my pride.

In my spirit, under the influence of God’s Spirit, I have discovered how Jesus could do what He did. It is a simple answer, but oh so difficult to actually put into practice. The answer is found in Hebrews 12:2, which says, 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. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Jesus understood and accepted the higher purpose of what was happening. He did not have his heart focused on the immediate, but the eternal. That is how He could endure the opposition of sinful men and scorn the shame of the cross – He saw the joy and glory that was to come, and He chose it as His own.

I know that my fleshly response to criticism and correction is completely driven by my focus on the immediate need for approval and acceptance which I wrongly believe cannot be granted if I am found guilty. I know that my pride pushes me to protect my rights because I have given them far too much value in determining my worth. I know my love for self causes me to do anything I can to avoid pain in the present because my heart is fixed on happiness rather than joy. I know that this is all true of me, and would destroy me were it not for the grace of God in me.

But praise God my flesh does not control me. My eyes are fixed on Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith, who was oppressed and afflicted unjustly, and was led away by oppression and judgment to suffer the shame of the cross. How could He do it? Because He saw me in my sin, and His love for me overcame any obstacle to saving me. He was completely focused on the higher purpose.

That will be my goal today and every day – to stay focused on God’s higher purpose. No more living for the immediate. No more unbelief in the joy of eternity which is manifested in the avoidance of pain today. No more self-protection by resisting oppression. No more defense mechanisms against injustice. No more exaltation of my rights. There will only be the quiet response of Jesus that shows the world that my eyes are fixed on eternal joy for which I am completely qualified in Christ. And as the world observes a life so lived, may they ask, “How can he do that?”

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Monday, November 07, 2011

Today’s Topic: It’s All about the All

Today’s Text:  Isaiah 53:6  We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Many years ago, after a mission service, the preacher of the evening was hurrying away to catch a late train back to his home. He had just three minutes to get through the station when he heard a man calling out to him as he ran after him.

“Oh, sir,” he said breathlessly as he came up, “can you help me? I am very anxious about my salvation.”

“Well,” replied the preacher, “my train is just here, and it is the last one; but look up Isaiah 53:6. Go in at the first ‘all’ and go out at the last ‘all.’ Good night.”

The man stood staring after him until he had disappeared into the station and then he muttered, “Go in at the first ‘all’ and go out at the last ‘all.’ What does he mean?”

When he arrived home he took down his Bible and turning to Isaiah 53:6 read these words, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

“Go in at the first ‘all,’ ” he repeated. “ ‘All we like sheep have gone astray.’ I am to go in with that ‘all.’ Yes, I see. It means that I am one of those who have gone astray. I am one who has turned to my own way. I am one who is responsible for my own sin.I am one who deserves to be punished for my sin.”

“And go out with the last ‘all.’ ‘The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.’ I see. God has chosen to punish Jesus Christ for my sin. Yes, I am to go out free with those whose iniquity has been laid on Christ.”

At last he realized his individual lost condition and his individual redemption available through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

“O praise the One who paid my debt, and raised this life up from the dead!”

Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe; sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow!

Pastor John