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Friday, March 4, 2022

I am a fan of team sports. I think they’re a great analogy of the church. I have a favorite baseball and football team, and while I don’t have a specific favorite hockey team, I love watching the Stanley Cup playoffs. I also love basketball, although I am not a fan of how the NBA has ruined the game. But of all the team sports, football is unique, and for me makes for the best comparison to the body of Christ. For example, in baseball, hockey, and basketball, while there are specific positions and skills required, everyone on the team has the chance to touch the ball and score. They all have to share certain skills in common that are required to put points on the board. Not so in football. I have a deep admiration for the members of the offensive line. These five guys – almost 50% of the team – except for the center who has to hike it to the quarterback, are not allowed to touch the ball unless there’s been a fumble. By rule they are not allowed to be the first ones to touch a pass if it is thrown. They have one role – block the players of the defense so someone else can pass, catch, or run with the ball.

Soon the National Football League will hold their annual draft of college players. Some people might think that the guys who pass, catch, or run with the ball would be the first ones chosen. It would seem that their skills would be most important to the team. However, in a recent draft, the very first player taken was an offensive lineman. Of the top 31 players chosen, 23 were NOT quarterbacks, running backs, or receivers. That’s why I love football – everyone’s skills and position on the team is equally valued. The press and the fans may choose to overemphasize one position’s importance over another, but not the owners, scouts, and coaches. They know the importance of the guys in the trenches.

Ephesians 4:7 “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.“

That’s how it is to be in the Body of Christ. We do not all get to score touchdowns or hit home runs or score goals. We do, however, all get to play, and every player’s skills are essential to victory. Our Coach, Jesus Christ, has chosen us for His team because of the specific skills we have. Then, after selecting us, He gave us additional spiritual skills that are not learnable in the flesh. Those gifts complement and enhance our natural abilities, and make us perfectly fit for the position we are to play on the team. We tend to overemphasize the importance of certain positions, like pastors, elders, and teachers.  We believe that unless we have those skills and gifts we are not really needed or important. How wrong that thinking is! That’s exactly how Satan keeps the church from becoming the powerful force of change in our culture. That’s exactly why the church isn’t being recognized as a contender for the championship of life.

The Apostle Paul tells us in today’s Scripture verse that Jesus Christ, the Head Coach of the team, has given each member of the team a specific skill and gift set in the exact proportion He wanted to fit each one for a specific task that is necessary to the complete success of the team. You are one of those team members. You are essential to the team’s success. No one has the privilege of considering themselves more important than anyone else, and no one has the right to consider themselves insignificant and unimportant. It is Jesus Christ who determines our value, and that value has nothing to do with the position you play on the team. It has everything to do with the person you are in Christ. You are chosen. You are gifted. You are exactly what Jesus made you to be, whether that’s a ball carrier or a blocker.

So come on, get in the game. There are places for you to serve. There are games to be won. We need you to play so we can all be champions.

Pastor John

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Thursday, March 3, 2022

Magnets are cool. They help me see the invisible. They teach practical lessons of eternal value. I remember playing with two little magnetic dogs in church when I was a little boy. They were mom’s way of keeping her three sons quiet while she sang in the choir and while dad led the service. Little did I know the importance of the lessons about unity I would learn from them. You see, the force of a magnet has the ability to attract an object if it is made of a material that responds to magnetic force. That material can also be influenced to become magnetic itself. If the object is another magnet, it will either attract or repel depending on its position. Let’s draw some spiritual applications from these scientific facts. 

Ephesians 4:3  “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.“

I see the power of the Holy Spirit represented by magnetic force. God has created all human life out of eternal material that is able to respond to the Holy Spirit. We can be influenced sufficiently by the power of the Spirit to become like Him. That’s what happens when we let the power of the Spirit flow through us. But just like magnets, we can also be repelled by the Spirit if our position is wrong. When I played with the two magnetic dogs, they would attract each other if they were facing each other. If I tried to come up from behind one of them with the other, it would be pushed away. The Holy Spirit can only attract those who are facing God and seeking Him. All others will be repelled deeper into their own lives of selfish aspirations.

Once a life is attracted by the Holy Spirit, connection happens. This connection is most powerful and influential when there is nothing between the two. However, things do get between us and God. I used to put one dog underneath the cover of the hymnbook, with the other dog on top. Any movement of the bottom dog would influence the position of the top dog. God’s Spirit influences us constantly, and directs our every move, even when things of the world try to interfere. However, the more pages I would put between the two dogs, the less influence there would be, until finally the top dog was not influenced at all. Continual submission to the things of the world will quench the power and we will be unable to sense the movement of the Spirit.

One of the direct results of continuous magnetic force on an object is that the object itself becomes magnetic. I remember this lesson from a time I was fixing a car. I had dropped a small bolt down into a very tiny opening in the frame of the car, and needed to retrieve it. The magnet I had was too large to fit into the opening. I grabbed a nail, and began stroking the nail with the magnet. The nail became magnetized. I attached a wire to it, and dropped the nail down into the slot, which in turn picked up the bolt. What a great lesson for us. We are constantly being stroked by the Holy Spirit so that our lives with be used to attract others to Jesus.

Another direct result of magnetic force is that it will hold objects together so long as the force is permitted to work. Let me tell you about another experiment I did once in school. On an oak table we placed a pile of nails. Underneath the table we had built a small electromagnet. When the electric current was turned on and the poles of the magnet were brought up under the table, immediately there was a field of magnetic force formed around the nails. So long as this field of force was maintained the loose nails could be built up in various forms, such as a cube, a sphere, or an arch. So long as the current was on, the nails would stay in exactly the form placed, as if they had been soldered together. But the second the current was cut off the nails would fall into a shapeless mass.

Unlike the experiment, where the power could be turned off, the power of the Holy Spirit cannot be cut off. The power to create unity is always on. But picture those nails all being held in a large arch by the magnetic force. Now, remove one of the nails and replace it with one made of a non-magnetic material, and try to build the arch again. It won’t work. Every individual nail has to be connected to the power for true unity to exist.

That’s why the verse says that we are responsible to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit. His power is always creating unity. Our lives sometimes become an obstacle to unity because we are more attracted to the world than we are to Christ. We have turned away, like the magnetic dog, and are no longer facing Jesus. We repel His power rather than connect to it. What that field of magnetic force was to those nails, the Holy Spirit is to all believers. By His power we are held together in a bond of love, a bond that is broken when we grieve and quench the Holy Spirit by our self-willed actions. Make every effort to let the Holy Spirit’s power continue to influence every part of your life, and your life will be used to bring unity to the Body of Christ.

Pastor John

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Wednesday, March 2, 2022

Let’s be honest – there are people who bug us. Some bug us with their idiosyncrasies, while others bug us just because we think they’re idiots. Sorry for the bluntness, but that’s the truth of how we think, isn’t it? There are people with whom we lose our patience. There are people we’d just like to smack. There are people who need to be told to shut up, and there are people who need to be encouraged to speak up. There are people who make us mad, and there are people who make us laugh. We laugh with some because they are funny. We laugh at others because we think they are dumb.

Like this woman. I don’t know if hair color has anything to do with it, but she was blond. She was crying her eyes out at work when the boss asked her what was wrong. “I just got off the phone with my mom and she told me my grandmother died.” Being a compassionate man, he told her to take the rest of the day off. She refused, stating that it would be best if she could keep her mind off it by staying busy. Several hours later she was found crying hysterically again. The boss asked if something else had happened. She explained, “I just got off the phone with my sister, and she tells me her grandma died too.”

Smack! It’s what we want to do. But what does Christ say?

Ephesians 4:2  “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” 

I don’t think we realize how much arrogance we display in our attitudes towards others. Far too often our lives stand in direct contradiction to Christ’s Spirit within us, leading us to be completely humble and gentle. Where is the patience that is one of the fruit of the Spirit? Where is the Christ-like perseverance to bear with one another in love? I know where it is – it’s locked up in the basement of our life’s house. We may have poured the foundation correctly in Christ, but the house itself has been built with faulty materials. The building permit for the house was issued by God, but we have changed the name on the permit from LORD to SELF. We built everything just the way we wanted it, for our use and for our honor. We’ve locked the Spirit of God in the basement, and then have the audacity to proclaim that we built on the right foundation. We are the ones who need to be smacked.

We are proud people. We seem to constantly pursue our personal agenda. We seek approval. We perform to earn value. We make choices based on one main criteria – self-satisfaction. We look at others as competitors for a limited amount of worth that is available. We have succumbed to the lie of Satan that’s there’s only so much good to go around, so we’d better grab all we can while it’s accessible. Even if we can’t keep others from getting some of it, we can at least criticize them in our own minds so they appear to us to not have any, which in some warped way is supposed to make us feel like we do. We have wandered a long way from living humbly.

Humble living involves two things. I don’t intend for these to seem simple – they are not. But they are required. Not just partially, but completely. First, we must have an honest opinion of ourselves in comparison to Almighty and Holy God, not in comparison to others; and second, we must have complete confidence in God to provide all things and work all things out for His good, rather than having to control it all ourselves. That’s a lot to work on. Imagine how bugged with us God must get. Or does He? He does not! He is gentle with us, bearing us up in His arms and sustaining us with His powerful right hand. He is patient with us, which is an amazing thing because we all know how much patience it has taken to stand by us knowing all we have done in the past. He bears with us in love because He is the One of perfect love. He has modeled for us how we are to live with others. 

May I suggest a starting point. Take a piece of clear plastic, and with a permanent marker write the word SMACK! on it. Now, right up at the top of your car’s windshield, on the inside, next to the reminder for your next oil change, stick that piece of plastic. Then ask God to draw your eyes to that spot every time you get frustrated with another driver. It will remind you that you are the one who needs to be smacked for allowing pride to govern your life. It will be the start of learning humility, gentleness, patience, and love.

Pastor John

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Tuesday, March 1, 2022

From 1996 to 2000, the New York Yankees were the dominant team in Major League Baseball. They were World Series Champions four out of those five years. Each year, as the rookies would arrive for spring training and receive their new uniforms, Joe Torre, the team manager, would remind them of something a former Yankees manager by the name of Billy Martin used to say to his players when they won two championships in the 1970’s. “Men, you are now members of the greatest team in baseball history. You are New York Yankees. When you put on this uniform, you represent a tradition like no other. You are part of a team like no other. We are champions. I ask only one thing of you – play like you are a champion. Be worthy of this uniform.”

Today’s principle from the book of Ephesians is the same – live like a champion.

Ephesians 4:1  As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 

We are followers of Jesus Christ. We represent a tradition like no other. We are part of a team like no other. We are spiritual champions. Our team manager, Jesus Christ, asks only one thing of us – live life like a champion of God. Be worthy of wearing the uniform of faith.

It’s interesting that Paul makes that statement while a prisoner – under arrest for living like a champion of God. It’s hard to understand his logic. He lived worthy of his spiritual calling, got arrested and thrown in prison, yet tells others to live in the same way. That puts us at risk of the same outcome. Many reject this calling. Many compromise their faith for the sake of secular acceptance. Many keep silent about their faith for the sake of financial peace. Many hide their beliefs for the sake of personal safety and security. But Paul’s logic makes perfect sense to those who truly understand their calling and position in Christ. Paul urges his friends to live like champions because he knows two things from personal experience:

1. That no suffering in this life is worthy to be compared to the glory of seeing Jesus someday; and…
2. That during the suffering, the grace of God is so sufficient that the experience of the peace of God is more satisfying than the suffering is harmful. Paul knew that faithfulness to God brings a fulfillment to life that no suffering can diminish. 

Unfortunately, many of us have never put that to the test. We have avoided suffering and hardship by living a life worthy of the world but unworthy of being a champion of God. We have predetermined that visibly and boldly living out of our faith will cause us to lose relationships, suffer financial loss, and experience social alienation. What we have chosen to idolize human experience above our love for Jesus. We put on the spiritual uniform on Sunday, but on Monday, when game day arrives, and we walk to the plate to take our first at bat, we intentionally strike out to please the other team. When we walk to the mound to throw our first pitch, we throw easy pitches for the opponent to hit so they can win. We bring shame to the name by which we are called when we intentionally live to please the other team. We disgrace the uniform of Christ by living like losers, not champions.

But we are champions. We have been called to not only be on God’s team, but to wear the uniform of Jesus Christ our Lord and King. We are called by His name. We are proud to be identified as one of His followers. There is nothing this world or its people can do that can separate us from His love.

So today, we choose to live a life worthy of our calling. We will proudly wear the lifestyle of holiness. We will proudly tell everyone that we are members of God’s team. We will live in faith and full confidence that strikeouts, hitless streaks, and errors do not bring an end to the game. We will bear down like champions and finish the game, being fully confident of this – we are champions, and we will win!

Pastor John

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Monday, February 28, 2022

Sometimes I wonder about the strangest things. Like this morning, I wonder why we say “please” when we ask for something. Here’s what I think. The basic meaning of the word “please” is “to be agreeable; to satisfy”. I confess that the satisfaction part of the definition is more significant than the agreeable part. When I am pleased with something, I feel satisfied by it. When I take pleasure in something, it satisfies me and in some sense fulfills me. It is in that sense that we use the word “please” the most. When we make a request to another person, we are usually asking within the context of our own perceived satisfaction, and we want the other person to know that it will please us.

But we misuse the word when we think it of it only from that perspective. We cannot be truly pleased if what we ask for is not agreeable to the one we are asking. Saying please when asking for something must take into account whether or not the person we are asking will be agreeable to what we have asked and will be satisfied to grant it. “Please” is a two-way street. As parents and grandparents we have practiced this for years, but have probably never really thought about it. Kids think, as do childish adults, that saying “please” guarantees results. No matter how many times my grandchildren would say “please” when asking me for permission to play in the street, I would deny their request, because I am not in agreement with their desire and it would not satisfy me. They can say “please” all they want, but I will not be pleased to say yes. The ultimate expression and fulfillment of “please” is to be in agreement with the person being asked.

I started thinking about that today while I was evaluating how my life pleases God. I thought about God’s words to His Son Jesus when He was baptized, when He said, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” How and why did Jesus please the Father? We tend to believe that pleasing God, or people, is all based on performance. But at this point, Jesus had not yet performed anything. He simple lived in quiet, humble submission to God’s will and purpose for His life. He was a carpenter, with nothing written about His life after His birth except one event at the age of twelve where He astounded people with His wisdom. Otherwise, His life had been lived to this point in obscurity – unnoticed, unrecognized, and unappreciated. Yet God said He was pleased with Him. Pleasing God goes far beyond performance.

It’s not that performance isn’t a part of pleasing God, but it doesn’t start there. As important as doing the work of God is, pleasing God begins with God doing His work. It is only possible to do the work of God if we first let God do His work in us. What ultimately pleases God is this – when He can fulfill the work of His Son Jesus in our lives.

Ephesians 2:8-10  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

God is most pleased when we become His workmanship. Then, when He creates the life of Jesus in us, it will result in us doing good work that pleases Him. That is why God was pleased with His Son before any work had been done. Jesus was fully surrendered to whatever God’s work would be, and that was the basis of God’s pleasure.

So many people spend their lives trying to work hard to earn the approval of God. Some even waste their lives trying to earn the approval of people. But this one truth will set us free. God is pleased with me because I am His workmanship, and there is no performance that can improve my position. Performance doesn’t earn position. Performance only validates position. God is pleased with position, not performance, and our position in Christ pleases God. He is in agreement with it. He is satisfied with it. That truth has power to change your life. Insecurities will dissolve into the security of God’s approval on life because of who we are in Christ and not because of what we can or cannot do.

Will you let this truth have the same effect on you…please?

Pastor John

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Friday, February 25, 2022

Not all churches understand unity. Many have never experienced it. Like the church I read about this morning. The Pastor had presented an idea to the Elders several weeks earlier that he believed would facilitate greater spiritual growth and outreach within the church. The Elders met to debate the idea, and the meeting dragged on for hours. They were worn out from arguing. Each side had presented convincing arguments that only seemed to entrench the opposition more deeply in their own defense of their position. Finally it came time to vote, and the results were announced to the congregation the following Sunday. The Elders had voted 6-5 to participate in Unity Sunday.

Unfortunately this scenario describes far too many churches. A firmly entrenched group of long-term “owners” of the ministry seem to run everything. Newcomers are excluded from leadership and are not included in the inner circle of information. They are called foreigners, aliens, and immigrants, but are never accepted as fellow citizens or members of the household. That’s because some churches believe that they get to define their household of faith and get to choose who belongs to it. A few powerful and influential people take power and dictate the direction of the church. Once that happens, it is nearly impossible from a human perspective to ever overthrow their self-appointed reign.

But that’s not how God established the church. Here’s how the church is supposed to operate.

Ephesians 2:19-22  Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

The church is God’s household, and in Christ, everyone, no matter how young or old, rich or poor, powerful or weak, black or white or red or yellow or brown, newcomer or long-time member, is joined together to form a building in which God dwells by His Spirit.

Because God is holy He can only dwell in holiness. Unless the whole building – everyone who calls Jesus Lord and has been washed in His blood for the forgiveness of sins – is joined together it cannot rise to become the holy temple in which God will dwell. Racial prejudice has no place in the church. Preferential treatment for people of a particular heritage is unacceptable to Jesus. Assigned status based on financial solvency is an offense to God. Every member of Jesus Christ is a member of God’s household and is to be accepted, included, and treated as an equal.

I think this story illustrates perfectly what our Scripture passage is saying today:

During Vacation Bible School one year the pastor’s wife had an experience with her primary class that she says she will never forget. Her class was interrupted on Wednesday about an hour before dismissal when a new student was brought in. The little boy had one arm missing, and since the class was almost over, she had no opportunity to learn any of the details about the cause or his state of adjustment. She was very nervous and afraid that one of the other children would comment on his handicap and embarrass him. There was no opportunity to caution them, so she proceeded as carefully as possible. As the class time came to a close, she began to relax. She asked the class to join her in their usual closing ceremony. “Let’s make our churches,” she said. “Here’s the church and here’s the steeple, open the doors and there’s…” The awful truth of her own actions struck her. The very thing she had feared that the children would do, she had done. As she stood there speechless, the little girl sitting next to the boy reached over with her left hand and placed it up to his right hand and said, “Davey, let’s make the church together.”

My friends, let’s make the church together, using every building block God has given us. Together, in unity, we will become the dwelling place of God in all of His glory.

Pastor John

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Thursday, February 24, 2022

I am in awe of God. Every day the awe deepens. Every day the splendor of who he is becomes more real. It’s not at all like this guy, who was still a little groggy after waking up from surgery. He turns to his wife and mumbles, “You’re beautiful.” Then he rolls over and goes back to sleep. A short time later he wakes up, looks at her again, and says, “You’re cute.” She asks him what happened to beautiful, to which he replies, “I guess the drugs must be wearing off.“

Sometimes the initial thrill of things wears off. You only get your first hole in one once, or see Mount Rushmore for the first time once. Familiarity minimizes awe, and that is probably true about most experiences in life. It has long been my dream to live on the shores of a lake, where every morning I could dive off the end of my dock and exercise these aging muscles with a good swim. The thrill of being able to jump in my boat any time I want and go fishing would be spectacular. I would like to think that I would never grow complacent toward the blessing of being able to live in such a paradise, but I’m afraid I would. If the lake property didn’t also include enough woods on which to deer hunt, or wasn’t located close to a golf course, I’m sure I would begin to complain. I think most of us become dissatisfied with what we have, always looking for something better and more fulfilling on the other side of the fence.

That’s what makes our relationship with God so fascinating. Nothing grows old with Him. Every day there is something new to discover about the paradise of personal intimacy with God. It’s like knowing that every morning’s sunrise over the lake will be more spectacular than yesterday’s, and with every record fish caught from the lake God has replaced it with bigger ones. It’s like one of my friends always says, “His mercies are new every morning.“ Here’s how the Apostle Paul describes it.

Ephesians 1:15-19 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.”

In my years of ministry I’ve stood next to people who shared a testimony of what God was doing to personally move them higher in their spiritual lives. I’ve heard people who had walked with Jesus for many years say how God was moving them out of their comfort zones into ministry they never knew they were gifted to do. I listened as a new Christian told how God brought him to understand his role as the spiritual head of his family and how he is accepting that role. One young couple that is new to our church talk about their pain from previous church experiences and how meaningful it has been to find a church that is faithful to God’s Word and where they have been accepted for who they are. In all of this I’ve seen Jesus Christ confirming our mission. The Holy Spirit is actively at work in people’s lives. I am in awe of God. I will NEVER grow weary or complacent about what God has done, is doing, and is planning to do.

This is real church. This is people who have the Spirit of wisdom and understanding and are pursuing knowing God better. I am watching people whose hearts have been enlightened and are living according to the hope of their heavenly inheritance and not according to the pursuit of an earthly one. I am serving with a group of people who believe in the power of God to do immeasurably more than they could ever ask or imagine. I am in awe of God!

“Thank you, Jesus, the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and Head of the church, for calling us together to accomplish your great and eternal purpose of connecting people to God. Thank you for the Holy Spirit who equips us to do that work, and who brings us to unity of mind and heart to bring glory to Jesus Christ our Savior. And thank you for today and the new adventures we will embark upon together. Lead on, O King Eternal. We will follow you!“

Pastor John

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Wednesday, February 23, 2022

“I’ll take John.“ 

Growing up I didn’t usually hear those words until there were only two of us left. The two boys who were selected to be captains had already chosen all of the best players for their teams. I knew they wouldn’t choose me right away. Most were better hitters because they had more muscle. I was the skinny, tall kid who still stumbled over his feet because he had grown faster than anyone else and his coordination hadn’t caught up. I knew I would be included on one of the teams, but I also knew that the rest of the team may not be very enthusiastic about me being one of them. But regardless of what they thought of me, I would do my best and give my all to make them glad they chose me and not the other guy. I may have been included as a last resort this time, but I would earn my way up the ladder and get chosen earlier next time.

The need to feel included is huge, but simple inclusion isn’t enough. Without acceptance and participation, inclusion is meaningless. But in Christ we have been included, accepted, and been granted full rights of participation. I can’t speak for you, but for me this is an incredible truth. We have been chosen by God to participate on His team. 

Ephesians 1:11-14 “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession – to the praise of his glory.”

At first it appears that Paul, the author of this letter to the Ephesians, is about to distinguish between those who were chosen first and those who were added later. Paul and the rest of the Jewish Christians to whom Jesus had revealed Himself first and were His chosen people since the days of Abraham seem to have an advantage over everyone else. God appears to be just like all the human team captains we’ve known – the first chosen will be the ones that bring Him the most glory.

But wait, here comes the incredible part. God included the Gentiles on the team too, and not because He had to because they were in line waiting to be chosen, but because He wanted to so He could get even more glory. He not only included us, but He gave us a permanent Uniform to identify us as one of His team members forever. The Uniform marks us as His possession, and informs us of our position on the team. When wearing the Uniform, we are equipped to play that position like no one else can. The Uniform destroys all distinctions between members of the team, and erases all relevance of when we were chosen. The Uniform guarantees equal acceptance. Every team member is assigned the same ultimate purpose – to be for the praise of our Captain’s glory.

We’ve been included in Christ. We’ve been accepted by God. We’ve been given the privilege and power to participate in God’s pursuit of the championship of the world. Of course we know He is already the Champion. We now live to let the rest of the world know they can be on the winning team. And the more people we bring to the line to get chosen, the more praise there will be to His glory.

Pastor John

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Tuesday, February 22, 2022

A young man asked a rich, old businessman how he had made all of his money. The man nodded wisely and said, “It was 1932, in the depth of the Great Depression, and I was down to my last nickel. I used it to buy an apple that I polished all day. At the end of the day I was able to sell that apple for a dime. The next morning I invested that dime in two apples. I polished and polished those apples, selling them for 20 cents at the end of the day. I continued this process for a week until I had accumulated 6 dollars and 40 cents. Then my wife’s father died and left us 2 million dollars.“

I can relate to the work ethic of polishing apples. I can’t relate to the wealth of such an inheritance… except from a spiritual perspective. In the spiritual realm, there are two distinct groups of people – those who polish apples and those who freely receive an inheritance by grace. Only one group is connected to God. Only one group has the guarantee of eternal life.

As we mentioned yesterday, the Apostle Paul starts off his letter to the Ephesians by highlighting the incredible gift of salvation we have received from God through His Son Jesus Christ. Four times in the first fourteen verses he refers to the praise that is due to God for what He has done. Today he expresses praise in the glorious grace that made our salvation possible.

Ephesians 1:5-8. “In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will – to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 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.”

Grace describes a gift that is given to an undeserving recipient. Apple polishers never receive grace. Apple polishers never understand God’s unconditional love. Apple polishers never get redeemed, never get forgiven, and never receive an inheritance. The poor in spirit do. The broken and humble do. Those with nothing receive everything. Those who have lost it all get lavished on. Those who work hard to polish the apple of their heart to make it worthy of God’s presence never enjoy His company. Those who admit that their apples are full of worms and discard them as worthless are given the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Becoming an adopted child of God does not require me to be polished, only poor. Poor enough to realize that I am hopeless and lost. Poor enough to accept a gift, knowing that I have no way to repay the Giver. Poor enough to finally understand grace.

O how we need to praise the God of grace. We who were poor have become rich because of the glorious grace of God. We have been adopted into His eternal family. We have been made joint heirs of all things owned by God. We have been guaranteed an inheritance of lavish wealth. We are the beneficiaries of an eternal life insurance policy, and have already received every spiritual blessing of that inheritance because the Owner of the wealth already died. We have been redeemed from our sin because He died to completely pay for our sin. We have been unconditionally and absolutely forgiven for our sin because of the grace of God that honors the blood of His Son Jesus shed on Calvary. 

Praise Him, praise Him, Jesus our blessed redeemer.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions (Click here for Audio Blog)

Monday, February 21, 2022

HAPPY 46^th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY TO MY AMAZING WIFE!

I woke up one morning at four a.m. with a sermon outline running through my mind. I don’t remember

dreaming about it. It was totally the Spirit of God who wanted to talk to me. I love those times of intimacy with the Lord when He initiates communication. It brings such peace to my heart knowing that I am in the center of His will at that moment. I knew right away He was giving me the outline for a Sunday message. I laid there for over an hour and prayed as the Holy Spirit developed the thoughts and points for me. Since thenI have been thinking about how each of those points needs to apply to my life.

One of my favorite books in the New Testament on the role of the church is Ephesians. It’s practical, it’s

powerful, and it’s precise in telling us who we are in Christ and how we are to live as a result of our salvation. As I started reading it this morning, I was deeply impacted by the emphasis on praise from the very beginning of the book. I know I don’t spend enough time in praise. My life can quickly get out of balance with complaining. I can easily see wrong before I notice right. The demands of the immediate can quench the dreams of the future. Emotional responses overwhelm faith, resulting in excessive energy being expended to seek solutions rather than resting in the arms of a faithful Lord and praising Him for what He is about to accomplish.

In Paul’s opening statement in Ephesians he expounds on God’s plan to save us. Within that context he uses the word praise four times. Each one has significance. For today, I need to focus on just the first one. 

Ephesians 1:3 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”

Paul encourages praise based on blessings. In Christ we have received every spiritual blessing available from the realms of heaven. My problem is I tend to count problems rather than blessings. It amazes and confounds me how quickly a problem can wipe my memory bank clean of any good that has happened.

Does that happen to you? Good, I’m not alone. When one thing goes wrong it can destroy all the bliss of previous blessings. I remember the first time I ever went to a professional football game. As I entered the stadium I was overwhelmed with gratitude that someone had given me these tickets, and that I was going to see players I admired up close and in person. I was experiencing a blessing. I was so thankful to be there. That all ended when those same players started making mistakes, and my team started losing. I yelled. I got mad. I lost all concept of thankfulness for being there. I remember thinking what I could have been doing at home had I not wasted my time to watch this stupid game. All the benefits and blessings of being there were lost.

We must train ourselves to think beyond the problems of life and praise God for the blessings that cannot be lost. There is an old hymn we used to sing that really says it well. Let its words minister to your heart today.

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed, When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, Count your many blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

When you look at others with their lands and gold, Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold; Count your many blessings. Wealth can never buy Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.

Count your blessings, name them one by one, Count your blessings, see what God hath done! Count your blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

No matter what happens in life, we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. Not one of those blessings can be taken away. There is no problem or experience that can diminish the reality of the spiritual blessings of relationship with Jesus. Our attitude is our choice. Today, I choose to count my blessings. How about you?

Pastor John