LifeLink Devotions for Tuesday, June 25, 2024

What would REAL Church look like if Jesus was truly the Head of it? I think it would be warm, caring, loving, and serving. For the next several days I would like us to be reminded of the characteristics of a “REAL” church as we discover in the New Testament.

The book of Acts in the Bible is the book of the continuing work of Jesus Christ on the earth through His Holy Spirit. In the past centuries, the book was called The Acts of the Apostles, but this is not an accurate title, and should be called The Continuing Acts of Jesus Christ. In Acts 1:1-5 we read this:

“In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Notice how Luke, the author of Acts, states clearly that in his previous book, the Gospel of Luke, he wrote about what Jesus “began to do.” The book of Acts is Luke’s declaration of what Jesus continues to do, even though now He does His work through His Spirit in us while He himself sits on the throne in heaven.

I want to share a summary statement of Acts chapter 1 with you, and then break it down into its individual parts over the next few days. Here is the summary:

A  REAL church is one that is focused on the presence of Jesus Christ, is filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, is passionate about fulfilling God’s purpose of proclaiming Jesus Christ to the world, is expecting the promised return of Jesus Christ to establish His kingdom, and is constantly in prayer.

For today, let’s get the following points firmly planted in our memory banks.

1.      Presence of Jesus Christ (Acts 1:1-5)

2.      Power of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8)

3.      Passion to serve Jesus Christ (Acts 1:8)

4.      Purpose of proclaiming Jesus Christ (Acts 1:8)

5.      Promised return of Jesus Christ (Acts 1:11)

6.      Praying intimately with Jesus Christ (Acts 1:14, 24)

The church will only be as real as each individual in the church, and that makes each one of us significant. We must evaluate our lives with these six characteristics and be willing to become REAL people so we can have REAL church.

Beginning tomorrow we will look at each of these characteristic of a REAL church in detail. For today, reflect on the total package and ask God to prepare your heart for the cultivating work of the Holy Spirit.

Pastor John  

LifeLink Devotions for Monday, June 24, 2024

In our last devotional we asked some questions that dug deep into our attitudes about church. You may have discovered some things that may be hindering the natural growth of your church that is being facilitated by the Holy Spirit.

Today let’s discover some things we can do to have a better attitude about what Jesus meant when He said that He would build His church. Here’s one major attitude adjustment that may be needed: the church does not exist to meet your individual needs: the church exists to glorify God by the sharing of the Good News of Jesus Christ to a lost world so that the Kingdom of God grows. That means every church is designed by the Head of the church to grow. But that means we must change some attitudes so they match the following criteria.

1.      You may not be personally acquainted with everyone who attends.  That’s why we encourage small groups where people can do life together and provide the intimacy we all desire.

2.      You may be crowded in your building for a while, but remember the parable of the mustard seed. Jesus intends for more birds to show up.

3.      You may have to develop new ministries and use a variety of methods to reach the most number of people. Here’s what the Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23.  For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

4.      We must accept all newcomers who sincerely seek to follow Jesus, and no one will be considered an outsider.

5.      We will be blessed with new workers. Those who already lead ministries will be able to train up new leaders, and those who are currently not serving in any ministry will be motivated by the Spirit of God to begin serving. 

Friends, let’s make sure that we are not the ingrown toenails of our church. Let’s ask God to give us the Spirit of Christ to reach out and serve rather than to be served.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Friday, June 21, 2024

One of the most painful conditions I can think of is an ingrown toenail. I remember as a young adult, as a result of having injured my toe in a basketball game, going to the doctor to have an ingrown toenail surgically removed. I waited so long as I could before going, but the pain was just unbearable. I couldn’t walk. I couldn’t work. It affected every part of my being.

Our bodies, and every part of them, were designed to grow up and to grow out, not to grow in. Imagine how dysfunctional we would be if our fingers grew in instead of out. Or if our lungs collapsed instead of expanded. We function at full capacity when we are fully extended. We even do stretching exercises to make sure we have full range of motion. We do not want our effectiveness to be limited by a lack of mobility.

Matthew 13:31-33  “He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.” He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.”

One of the most painful conditions known to the Body of Christ is the ingrown Christian. These people cause the church to become ineffective, forcing the energy of the body to be redirected from outreach to internal care. It may be a sin in their life that is causing the spiritual infection, but it is more likely an attitude of selfishness (which is still sin) about the purpose of the church that is causing the pain. Here’s a test you can take to determine if you are an ingrown Christian. Respond to each statement honestly with a yes or a no.

Do you need to be acquainted with everyone in my church?

Do you want your church to be one big happy family?

Do you hope the church is not crowded when you go for worship?

Do you hope the music in church is always the style that you prefer?

Do you hope the church has programs to meet all of your needs?

Do you hope the church can meet all the spiritual needs of your kids?

Do you hope your church never has any problems?

Do you believe outsiders and newcomers tend to not understand us and therefore cause problems?

Do you think your church has enough ministries in place?

Do you believe that adding new ministries will overload those already working hard?

Do you believe that the people who have always been in charge should stay in charge no matter how many new people come?

A “yes” answer to ANY of these questions is the start of an ingrown attitude that will infect the rest of the Body and cause the church to become ineffective. When these attitudes persist, the church will not extend itself to a lost world and will not function at full capacity in the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish the Great Commission, because individuals within the church are not living out the Great Commandment. They are more in love with themselves and their own needs than they are in love with God and their Savior, Jesus Christ.

Please carefully review each of these questions. In our next devotional we will see some attitude adjustments we must make if we are to see the Body of Christ grow.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Thursday, June 20, 2024

Today is the last day of our study on wisdom for living. I trust it is not the last day of wisdom, but just the beginning of an ongoing pursuit of how God desires us to live our lives.

Solomon ends his discourse to his son in the same way he started it – with a challenge to fear God. Let’s go back and review how this study started.

Proverbs 22:17-21 “Pay attention and listen to the sayings of the wise; apply your heart to what I teach,for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart and have all of them ready on your lips.So that your trust may be in the LORD, I teach you today, even you. Have I not written thirty sayings for you, sayings of counsel and knowledge, teaching you true and reliable words, so that you can give sound answers to him who sent you?”

Solomon ends his discourse to his son this way in Proverbs 24:21-22 .

“Fear the LORD and the king, my son,  and do not join with the rebellious, for those two will send sudden destruction upon them, and who knows what calamities they can bring?”

The purpose for Solomon’s teaching was to develop trust in the Lord, which is based on a healthy fear of the Lord. Let me try to illustrate in a simple way.

I get afraid when I am up high in an unsteady position. I don’t like to fall. I’m sure none of us enjoys the thought of falling from any height. But for me, it’s more than just a fear. I get unnerved. I doubt my ability to make good decisions. I go into a mild panic attack. My heart races: I really am afraid. I’m afraid that the ladder I am about to climb will fall over. I am convinced before I even get part way up that if I go any higher it will tip over and I will fall. I get down and I look at the ladder. I check its stability. I know it is solid. I know the ladder has held me before, and that if I remain inside its boundaries it will hold me again. If I use it correctly it can be trusted. When I focus on the trustworthiness of the ladder my fears are somewhat relieved and I can do the job. So I climb again.

One of the scariest Bible stories for me as a child was the story of Jacob’s dream of the ladder going up into heaven with all the angels on it. Now you know why it scared me so much. I thought my journey to heaven had to be like that, and I couldn’t stand to think about going up that high on a ladder. But at the top of the ladder stands Jesus, and when my eyes are focused on Him and how trustworthy and faithful He is, my fears are relieved. My fear has increased my trust.

Solomon says at the beginning, “So that your trust may be in the LORD, I teach you today.” Solomon says at the end, “Fear the LORD.” Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom; trust in God is the application of wisdom. In between we have discovered many practical ways to grow in wisdom. Now at the end we are put to the test – how well will we trust in God’s wisdom by not joining with the rebellious? Before you answer that, think carefully about how we tend to join with the rebellious: maybe not in actual rebellious actions, but what about in our attitudes and conversations? How do our minds still conform to the rebellious world’s system in the ways we think? How influenced are we by our political and social environments? How have we, as the Apostle John puts it, “taken the mark of the beast” by becoming dependant upon the world’s system and not on God alone?

We have come full circle in this study, and the circle of wisdom goes on, taking us from fear to trust to fear to trust. Let the circle grow, but keep it intact. Stay within the boundaries of wisdom. It is far better to fear the LORD in a trusting relationship than to fear the destruction of the LORD by breaking relationship through rebellion.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Wednesday, June 19, 2024

Today’s wisdom passage is hard for me, because in my human nature I tend to rejoice when people who have done wrong get their just rewards.

Proverbs 24:17-18 “Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice, or the LORD will see and disapprove and turn his wrath away from him.”

You must know what I mean and have felt the same way about certain people. For example, as you’re driving down the interstate, a sports car races past you going at least 85 mph. What’s the first thought in your head? I’ll bet it’s what mine is – “I hope there’s a highway patrol up ahead and he gets stopped.” Two miles up the road we see the flashing lights ahead, and we think another thought – “I hope it’s that sports car guy.” We drive by, and when we see that it is, we smile and think – “good, you got caught.”

If our thoughts at such a time go beyond just being thankful that we have police to keep our roads safe, and they move to rejoicing over someone else’s misfortune (even though they made the choice to speed and deserved the consequences), then we are not acting in God’s wisdom. God’s wisdom is defined in James 3:17, which says, “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”  I cannot in any way justify my feelings of revenge or rejoicing over someone else’s misfortune when I read this description of wisdom.

What is my heart thinking when I wish harm on another person? What kind of spiritual dysfunction exists in my mind when I am happy to see a sinner suffer? How carnal have my attitudes become when I devise ways to see justice enforced upon other people? How un-like Christ do I appear when I love conflict more than peace, self more than surrender, and justice more than mercy? How self-centered I truly am when I desire consequences for the actions of others but seek to avoid consequences for my own choices? Oh that the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ toward enemies and sinners overwhelm us with sincere compassion for those who need to be shown the path of wisdom and righteousness.

Dale Carnegie, who wrote the book How To Win Friends and Influence People, says “You attract more flies with honey than with vinegar.” The simple point I would like to make today is this – We will attract more people to Christ by showing them the right and the good way they could live rather than by constantly pointing out to them the wrong and the bad way they are living. When we focus on sharing the good news, we become merciful. When we focus on voicing the bad news, we become judgmental. Wisdom is merciful and loving. Let’s “Be wise in the way we act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let our conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that we may know how to answer everyone.” (Colossians 4:5-6)

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Tuesday, June 18, 2024

I can still remember the person who first told me about the future hope of heaven. He was a tall man with no hair, and he had an insatiable hunger for the Word of God. Every time I would go over to his house to visit he was studying his Bible. He was a retired preacher who still did evangelistic crusade ministry in churches, focusing on prophecy and the book of Revelation. I would go over to his house as a child because I loved to play in his back yard where a creek meandered through a grove of trees. I would climb out onto the branches of those trees that overhung the creek and just watch the water go by, looking for trout that would dart out after food as it passed by in the current.

I remember going into his house on one such visit and asking him what heaven would be like. Most of my questions were pretty childlike. “Would there be fishing in heaven?” “Will I be able to climb trees?” “Will I know people that I knew here on earth?” He was patient with me and directed my attention to the real joy of heaven, the presence of Jesus Christ. But he also gave me an assignment; read Revelation 21 and discover the wonder of the heavenly city.

I read the assignment, and as a result developed my own appetite for studying God’s Word, especially in the area of prophecy. For most of my childhood and my early adult years, it was the focus of most of my study and preaching. I know that I do not have all  the answers to prophecy, but I do know this – Jesus Christ is coming back, and it could be at any time.

Proverbs 24:14  “Know also that wisdom is sweet to your soul; if you find it, there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.”

Living with the expectation of Christ’s return changes my life in several ways:

1.      I am made more aware of the selfishness that exists in my life, and I am given a desire to renounce it for the sake of serving Jesus.

2.      I am made more aware that the greatest fulfillment of life comes from accomplishing God’s purpose for His glory, not my purpose for my advancement.

3.      I am made more aware of the interruptions that God brings into my life because God wants me to minister to the need of someone else so that they can see a visible example of His love.

4.      I do not question inconveniences or hardships, because they are not worthy to be compared to the glory that will be revealed in me when Jesus Christ returns.

5.      I am made more willing to sacrifice anything of this world for the sake of bringing one more person to Jesus for salvation, knowing that their life is the only treasure from this world that I can take into eternity.

6.      I am made more aware of the value of time and using it to the fullest for God’s purpose and not my own.

These are just a few of the ways that a constant expectation of the imminent return of Jesus Christ affects my life every day. I am so thankful to the man who developed the hunger in my life for Christ’s return. I still love him even though he is with the Lord right now. He died when I was about 20, but his heritage lives on in my heart. I will see him again, and I will know him, because we were connected at a spiritual heart level here on earth. I just want to thank him again for investing in my life.

Thank you, Dr. J.A. van Gorkom, my grandfather.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Monday, June 17, 2024

It’s the beginning of another week, and I have a question nagging at me that just won’t go away. I believe it is God’s question for all of us today, and for every day. It comes from the very heart of God and His concern for a lost world of people. Listen to these words of wisdom in the form of questions in Proverbs 24 verses 11-12.

“Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?”

My burning  question is this: “How many people over the weekend did I see through the eyes of God and recognize their hopeless condition of being led away to death by their sin?”

I saw lots of people. They seem to be everywhere. I saw normal people. I saw happy people. I saw angry people. I saw determined people. I saw distracted people. I saw people I would want to know better. I saw people I tried to avoid. I saw people in all kinds of situations going about their duties and recreation and calling it life.

I made judgments about people based on my perceptions of them. I responded to people in different ways because of those judgments. I saw their exterior and determined their worth and value, usually based on the return or hurt I would get from contact with them.

What I did not do very often was to see their heart from God’s perspective and realize that whatever was on the outside could be radically changed by the transforming power of Jesus in their heart. I noticed their physical condition without recognizing the spiritual need that caused it. I need to sit up and take notice from God’s perspective.

But then another question nags at me: “What will I do about it when I do see people through the eyes of God?”

It doesn’t do us any good to sit up and take notice if we keep on sitting. Taking notice of people’s spiritual condition puts us on the right track, but as Will Rogers once said, “Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” Once I recognize the spiritual need in a person’s life, I must also recognize that I have already experienced the answer to that need, and that I now have the Power to give that answer away to others.

Yesterday as you worshipped in the gathering of your church, you were equipped in some way to better represent Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world of people. You will see many of those people every day. Will you see them through the eyes of God? How many of them will pass into a Christ-less eternity because we did nothing about it?

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Friday, June 14, 2024

Yesterday we looked at the first of three principles for spiritual success found in this Bible verse:

Proverbs 24:5-6  “A wise man has great power, and a man of knowledge increases strength; for waging war you need guidance, and for victory many advisers.”

Our first principle was this – we must be determined to be a success.

Here are the other two principles.

2.      Surround yourself with spiritual protectors – the Holy Spirit will direct us to people who can encourage us, teach us, train us, and fight for us. Get to know these people intimately. Trust them. Serve them. Develop a common goal and commit to its accomplishment. Study each other’s strengths and weaknesses so you can stand by them no matter what the opposition is. Let’s become a team.

3.      Study the opponent. Even though we have developed a game plan under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the people that are on our team, we must be aware of what the opponent is going to do to try to stop God’s plan. We must discover where he is and how he will try to stop us, and then run where he isn’t. Then, as we get stronger and more confident in God’s power to protect us, we can start running where the opponent is, and make him run away. James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

It’s a great moment in a football game when the offense decides it is time to run at the strength of the defense because they have worn them down and are determined to overwhelm them. It’s also a great moment in a Christian’s life when they are able do the same. 

Psalm 20:7 says, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”

It is not the size of the church, or the money in the bank that make the Body of Christ spiritually powerful; it is the name of the LORD our God. Find in Him all the strength you need for any battle today, because “greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.”

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Wednesday, June 12, 2024

There’s one more wisdom principle for us to apply from King Solomon if we are going to build a life of meaning and purpose. It’s found in Proverbs 24:3-4.

“By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.”

After laying the foundation of salvation, and establishing our house firmly on that foundation through understanding of how and by whom we were saved, we furnish the inside of the house with rare and beautiful treasures by growing in our knowledge of God and His purpose.

We are all guilty of furnishing areas of our lives with the inferior quality goods that come from the world. Why? We have available to us all the riches of God in Christ Jesus to furnish every room in our house. It’s time to start a little summer clean-up project and remodeling. Check out all the rooms in your spiritual house. Are they furnished with the eternal riches of God’s grace or the cheap imitations of a failing world system? Check out these verses:

Ephesians 1:7-8 “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.” 

Ephesians 3:16-19 “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

Philippians 4:19 “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”

So, how is your house inspection going? I know I have a couple of rooms that need work. I’d better get at it. The Building Inspector could come today.

Pastor John

LifeLink  Devotions for Thursday, June 13, 2024

Small football players fascinate me. One of the greatest running backs of our era didn’t think anyone in the National Football League would give him a chance because he was too small to succeed. But the Dallas Cowboys liked what they saw in his heart and gave him a chance. For fifteen years he was the model of sportsmanship and success. Here’s what Emmit Smith accomplished:

He was rookie of the year, three-time rushing champion, three-time Super Bowl champion and once was the Super Bowl MVP. He also held or still holds eight different
NFL records. 

What it is that makes a 5’9”, 180-pound running back have any kind of a chance against 6’5”, 275-pound defensive lineman? There is only one answer – wisdom and guidance.

Proverbs 24:5-6  “A wise man has great power, and a man of knowledge increases strength; for waging war you need guidance, and for victory many advisers.”

First of all, he surrounded himself with a bunch of 6’5”, 300-pound offensive lineman to run interference against the huge, headhunting defensive guys. He was made strong and earned victory because of the many advisors that he had – from coaches teaching him what to look for in defensive alignments to other players making a path for him on which to stay safe.

Secondly, he filled himself up with as much knowledge of his opponent as possible, so that when he came into the game situation he was able to adjust his running to what he recognized the defense would try to do. His eyes were always alert to the location of every opponent, and he avoided being hurt by running where they weren’t.

There are some great spiritual lessons for us in this that can be applied to how we run the race that has been marked out for us by God. Here’s one of those lessons for today.

Fill yourself with the determination to be a spiritual success, which is really a product of the filling of the Holy Spirit. It is an act of our will to surrender to the will of God and be empowered by the Holy Spirit to accomplish that purpose. We must make it our priority to be spiritually successful.

When we walk in the Spirit of God, we are promised victory over the desires of the flesh. However, we must be determined to put to death those ungodly desires that disrupt our fellowship with Jesus. We must be determined.

Several years ago a song was released by Tim Shepherd that really spoke to my heart. It was entitled “I Am Determined.” I pray the lyrics will motivate you to be determined to live for the Lord.

Darkness around me, sorrow surrounds me
Though there be trials, still I can sing
For I have this treasure – My God reigns within me
And I am determined to live for the King

Hell’s gates are trembling from our prayers ascending Darkness is crumbling from praises we sing
Our Sovereign, Victorious is marching before us
And we are determined to live for the King

When I am weary – I’ll look to His face
And when I am tempted
I’ll trust in His grace —
Yes, I’ll trust in His grace —–

I am determined to be invincible
‘Til He has finished His purpose in me
And nothing shall shake me
For He’ll never forsake me

And I am determined – I am determined — I am determined to live for My King

Pastor John