Connecting Points

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Today’s Topic: Oh How He Loves You and Me                                

Today’s Text:  Psalm 103:10-13 (ESV)

¹⁰ He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. ¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; ¹² as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. ¹³ As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him. “

Some of you who were around in the 1970’s will remember the name Kurt Kaiser. He was a musician and composer, and had a huge impact on the Christian Music scene of that era. From 1965 to 1970 he worked with Ralph Carmichael to create Christian Rock Musicals, although the word “rock” was more of a marketing ploy rather than fully descriptive of their music. Their first musical, Tell It Like It Is, included the song “Pass It On“, and became a classic in the youth movement of the day.

As I read through the 103^rd Psalm again this morning, I was reminded of a song by Mr. Kaiser. I know it will be running through my head all day today, and that’s okay. Just read the words of the Psalmist again, and then read the lyrics to the song, and you will hopefully be as blessed as I am. How awesome is the love of God to save us from our sin!

¹⁰ He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. ¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; ¹² as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. ¹³ As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.

Oh How He Loves You and Me
by Kurt Kaiser

Oh, how He loves you and me,
Oh, how He loves you and me.
He gave His life, what more could He give;
Oh, how He loves you, Oh, how He loves me,
Oh, how He loves you and me.

Jesus to Calv’ry did go,
His love for mankind to show.
What He did there brought hope from despair.
Oh, how He loves you, Oh, how He loves me,
Oh how He loves you and me.

Oh, how He loves you and me,
Oh, how He loves you and me.
He gave His life, what more could He give;
Oh, how He loves you, Oh, how He loves me,
Oh, how He loves you and me.

If you want to see Kurt Kaiser leading this song from the piano, there’s a you-tube video of him at the Waco Texas Hymn Sing doing just that. It starts at time stamp 2:14 of the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAr_P7Ss5u4

Or, here’s a version with the lyrics – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmtFxnQsl6Q

Celebrate the love of God today, and praise Him for the forgiveness of our sins!

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Today’s Topic: False Worship                                                           

Today’s Text:  Judges 21:25 (ESV)
In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

It is inherently true in the very nature of man that we surrender to a ruler – to someone from whom we seek guidance and to whom we grant control over the motives and activities of our lives. That ruler is either someone other than ourselves, or as is true in most cases, it is our self. We are addicted to doing what is right in our own eyes.

The temptation is to think that others are guilty but not me. None of us would be naturally so humble or so brave as to admit that what we are doing is only for our own good. We have developed lots of justifications for the choices we make, and each one has an element of good appearances, but at the very root of it the action is designed to enhance our own measure of self.

In the last five chapters of Judges we read story after story of man’s choices based on the false assumption that we can be in relationship with God and yet make choices that satisfy our fleshly desires. It starts in Judges 17, with the story of a man named Micah (not the prophet) who stole 1,100 pieces of silver from his mother. After her curse upon whoever stole it, he admits what he did and returns the silver to her. When she received it back, this is what she said – “I dedicate the silver to the LORD from my hand for my son…”  Sounds great, right? She is giving apparent worship to the Lord for the honesty of her son, and is even going to give her son a reward for his honesty.

But wait, there’s more that she said. She also declares, “…to make a carved image and a metal image. Now therefore I will restore it to you.” She says she is dedicating the silver to the Lord but in reality uses it to make an idol of false worship. Not only does the son do that, but he uses the rest of the silver to make other items of idolatry, and sets up a shrine in his home. He even goes on to appoint one of his sons as a priest of their newly-founded religion.

The story continues when a Levite is persuaded to serve as a priest, giving even more human credibility to their false religion. From there the descendants of the tribe of Dan capture the shrine and idols and take them as their own to give spiritual support to their attacks of innocent people so they can capture more land for themselves. It eventually turns into an all-out war, and the book of Judges concludes with this statement – In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Four times in those five chapters we are told that Israel had no king. They had made the choice to appoint self as king and serve him wholeheartedly. Everything they did had a fake covering of faith when in reality it was all done for self-fulfillment.

It makes me wonder how true that is of you and me in this modern world. How many things do we say we are doing as an act of worship to the Lord when in reality we are doing what we have decided is best for ourselves?

That’s a serious question to contemplate. Who will take the challenge of such personal and potentially life-changing self-evaluation? The bottom line is this – who is Lord of your life? Everyone has one and is eternally responsible for their choice of who it is. Will it be self, or the Lord of Lords Jesus Christ?

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Monday, September 17, 2012

Today’s Topic: Don’t Miss A Thing                                                    

Today’s Text:  Philemon 1:4-6 (ESV)

⁴ I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, ⁵ because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, ⁶ and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.

Which do you prefer – watching the big game on television or in person? Maybe you believe that watching on TV gives you a better chance of not missing anything because of the multiple camera angles available on instant replay. Or maybe you would rather sit in the stadium with friends and fellow fans as you scream your lungs out in unison hoping that it motivates your team on to victory. Some would argue that the full experience of the game comes from knowledge of every detail of every play, so TV gives them the best opportunity to have that knowledge. Others argue that the real experience is in the live venue so you can feel the emotional ebb and flow of the fans and be a part of a bigger crowd.

I’m not sure which I prefer in football, but I know for sure which option brings the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us from Christ – the live venue!

Some of you prefer to live out your Christian lives in the comfort and privacy of your own home, and you enjoy some of the blessings of relationship with Christ. But the Apostle Paul makes it clear in his letter to Philemon that there is only one way to experience the fullness of every blessing God has placed in us for the sake of His Son Jesus Christ – to become an effective witness for Jesus.

Jesus Christ’s mission was to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). He came not to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved (John 3:17). His death and resurrection satisfied and abolished the wrath of God for those who believe in Him (1 Thess. 5:9). As a result of our faith in His work on Calvary and repentance from our sin, Jesus has blessed us with every spiritual blessing from the Father’s presence (Eph. 1:3), including the indwelling of His Holy Spirit who equips us to serve Him as witnesses (Acts 1:8).

So the question I ask myself is this – “Am I satisfied with what I currently know of the goodness of God, or is there more to experience?” I can only conclude that there is more based on what Paul says to Philemon. The only way I could be satisfied that I have attained the full knowledge of all the good things God has given is to be confident that the sharing of my faith with others is having its full effect on them.

I’m not there yet.

Are you?

I wonder what we are missing. I think it has to do with the experience of being in the stadium, surrounded by people who are also enjoying the game. Who knows, maybe you will end up sitting next to someone who is cheering for the other team, and you will have the opportunity to experience the incredible strength and peace of God that comes from being public about your faith. After all, you wear your team’s colors proudly enough even when you are in the opponent’s territory. I think our Savior expects the same.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Friday, September 14, 2012

Today’s Topic: Finish Well                                                                 

Today’s Text:  Matthew 25:21 (ESV)
 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’

I saw it in his eyes before I heard it from his heart as it passed through his lips. It was a humble and yet amazing answer to a simple question, and it made a huge impression on me.

Yesterday I stopped by the apartment of a man that I knew back in the late 1980’s. He has reappeared in my life and requested a personal visit. After some catching up chat, I asked the question, “So what’s on your heart today?”

As he looked into my eyes, I saw the humility and sincerity of a heart that had been moved by the Holy Spirit. He simply said, “I want to finish well.”

He explained how he had wandered from Christ, been divorced, has a daughter that was told he was dead, and blamed all of his medical issues on God. He was born with spinal bifida, but was one of the few that did not become paralyzed as a result. He has a shunt in his neck to drain excess fluid from his cranium so his brain can function properly. He has torn ligaments in his knee and damage in his right wrist. He uses a walker and/or cane to remain mobile, but there are days when all he can do is get into his wheelchair.

For several months he has been watching our church service on TV every Sunday, and several weeks ago decided to attend in person. I didn’t recognize him, but he knew me, and gave me a warm hug as the extension of his huge smile. He’s been back every week, and even attended our Saturday night worship event last week. Now, as we sat in his living room, with his Bible open on the table in front of him, he said, “I want to be found faithful when Jesus returns.”

You know me well enough by now to know that the tears welled up in my eyes. We talked about what faithfulness would look like in his life with his current physical limitations. His vision was well beyond my expectations. He listed two things:

• I want to get into a Bible study that will help me grow, but it has to be fairly simply because I have comprehension problems. It takes me a while to get it, but I want to get it.
• I want to be involved in the church’s visitation program. I love working with older people, and would love to be able to visit shut-ins. After all, I’m almost one myself already.

I was blown away. As I sat this morning and reflected on his requests, I immediately thought of the parable Jesus told about the Master who gave varying talents to His servants to manage for Him until He returned. Two of the servants invested wisely and doubled the Master’s resources. But one man, out of fear, buried his talent and return only the initial amount when the Master returned. The two investors were rewarded not only with promotions but with eternal words of affirmation – ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ However, the one who had buried his talent was condemned.

Now here I was, sitting with the man who I thought got only one, and after years of burying the talent that Jesus had given him, he was now ready to invest it for the Master. How ashamed I am to now realize that he was given far more than one. What an honor to be the one God called to come along side of him and help him finish well, so he can hear those eternally affirming words, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’

Now I must contemplate in my own life how I will finish, and so must you. With all that you have been given, is it being invested for the Master or for self? We must know this truth – everything invested in self is considered buried by the Master, and it will all be lost. Today may be your day to repent of your past, surrender your present, and secure your future. It begins at the cross, where Jesus will forgive you, and help you dig up the treasure He gave you. He will clean off all the flesh that has tarnished it so that you can invest it in His service for His glory. Then and only then can you be assured that you will finish well and be found faithful when the Lord returns.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Today’s Topic: Increase the Margin                                                  

Today’s Text:  Ezra 10:11 (ESV)  ¹¹ Now then make confession to the LORD, the God of your fathers and do his will. Separate  yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.”

I tend to tailgate. My wife and my friends, in fact anyone who rides with me when I’m driving, knows that I stay too close to the car in front of me. Speed doesn’t matter. When I’m behind the wheel of a car I’m an incognito NASCAR driver. Every trip, whether on the highway or around town, is a race, and the object is to get there as fast as possible and beat everyone else to that location. I must be first.

Pretty sad, right? Maybe more scary than sad. But thanks to the constant encouragement of my wife and friends, I’m doing much better controlling the urge to ride in someone else’s draft.

The general rule of thumb is that you need at least two car lengths between vehicles for every ten miles per hour of speed that you are traveling so that there is adequate space to react and stop in the event that the car in front of you stops suddenly. I use Mini Coopers as my standard measurement of car length. Because of the difficulty estimating car length distances, especially at freeway speeds, the two-second rule has come into existence. No matter what speed you are travelling, maintain a two second distance between you and the car in front of you.

Obviously, the distance between the two cars must increase as the speed increases. The margin must become greater to maintain control in the event of a hazard up ahead. But for most of us, the distance between vehicles is the same at all speeds. When the car in front goes faster, so do we. After all, we have to maintain visual contact with them so we can take advantage of an opportunity to pass them and get ahead.

Not only is this a dangerous choice in driving, but it is extremely dangerous in our spiritual lives. The world is increasing its speed away from God, and many of us have sped up with them. We started out years ago at a very safe distance from the sin of the world. We were able to see the potholes that emerged from under the car in front of us in plenty of time to avoid them ourselves. We saw their vehicles swerve and spin out of control as they ignored the winter road conditions and for safety we even slowed down to increase the margin.

However, in general, as the world has sped up and driven themselves farther and farther from the Father, we have travelled with them. We justify it by saying that we have maintained as safe margin, but little do we realize the truth that we are now where they were just a few years ago. What we called a danger to holiness is now common among Christians. What we knew were potentially deadly choices before have now become lifestyle choices that are easily accepted.

We choose divorce over commitment, sexual expression over purity, materialism over trust in God’s promise of provision, and with destructive consequences that ruin our testimony of faith in the transforming power of Jesus Christ, we choose the right to personal freedoms rather than sacrifice those liberties for the sake of others. We proclaim and pursue personal privileges at the expense of a humble heart, all the while preaching humility to sinners as the only way of salvation, thereby earning the title of hypocrite. We drink alcohol proudly and publicly at the expense of new believers who are trying to climb out of that pothole and we are the reason they stumble and fall back in. We indulge in every opportunity for financial gain and social status at the expense of our own heart’s intimacy with Christ based on a life of contentment with His choices for us. We claim to have maintained adequate separation from the world, but we look just like the world did a decade ago.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we must increase our margin from the world. Do we not remember the words of God as applied to our lives by the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 6:16-18?  

 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you,  and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”

Let not the Enemy of our souls begin his attack on us with thoughts of justifying our position. Let us with humble hearts fall on our faces before God and realize that we are travelling through life much too close to the world. Let us put on the brakes right now, and if necessary shift into reverse, and return to a position of holiness as described by God and not the world. Let us increase the separation as the day draws near when we will be permanently separated from this world at the return of our Lord. Only in this way will we be able to slow others down and bring them with us into glory.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Monday, September 10, 2012

Today’s Topic: Don’t Forget to Remember

Today’s Text:  Psalm 103:1-22 (ESV)

1 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! 2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, 3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5 who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Saturday night was an incredible night at our church. We heard a challenging report from missionaries to Mexico while we ate pizza. Then we moved to the auditorium where we spent an hour and forty-five minutes in worship. We sang and prayed and cried out to God for personal holiness and humility before His throne. At one point Pastor Josh read from the 103rd Psalm. As he read I found myself quoting most of it with him. I wondered how the Holy Spirit had brought that to my mind so clearly.

Then this morning I remembered. Back in November of 2007 I was in the midst of a personal study of the Psalms, and had challenged everyone to spend one week letting that Psalm sink deep into our hearts. I did my thinking while I was on a tree stand most of that week during the last week of bow season. Here’s the devotional I wrote five years ago about what the Lord taught me.

As I sat in a tree early one morning, I began to remember all of the benefits of being a child of God. The words “forget not” captivated my mind. I thought about another passage of Scripture that talks about forgetting. It’s in Philippians 3:13 – 14 where Paul writes, “Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” 

I began to think about the difference between forgetting some things and not forgetting others. I came to a simple solution – I am to forget everything that is of the flesh and not forget anything that is of the Spirit of God. But why? That was an easy answer for me – only the things of God are to our benefit.

Think back with me to a time that for some of us was very long ago. Go back to fourth grade for a moment, and try to remember what happened in your life at that time. Can you think of any special or meaningful events? You may come up with one or two, but overall you probably can’t remember much. What’s the reason we can remember some things and not others? Well, it’s because we assign a personal value to every event of our lives. We make a determination of its significance and importance, and within the context of that value assignment we either choose to remember it or forget it.

For example, I remember only one thing about fourth grade. We moved to a new town in April of that year, and I had to start a new school with one month left in the school year. I only remember the playground, because it was there that I gave value to an event that would cause me to remember it until now. Two of my new classmates, both girls, would chase me around that playground until they caught me, and then they would give me a kiss on the cheek. I felt accepted. I determined to always remember the benefit of that event.

Now, the big point of application. Every event of our lives has been recorded in the incredible memory bank of our brains. We may not be able to recall it, but it’s there none the less. Apart from a mental disorder, the reason we cannot recall it is because of the value we placed upon it when it happened. So when Paul says that he will forget everything that was behind him from his past, he is saying that he will assign it a new value – a value of “0”. Look at his words: “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ…” (Philippians 3:7 – 8)

So what I must decide for myself, and you for yourself, is this: what value have I assigned to the things of this world, and what value do I assign to the things of God? Those things of minimal value will be forgotten. The things we treasure will be remembered. I can’t remember the names of the girls on the playground. I can vaguely remember the playground. I know the story more than I remember the event. But since fourth grade I have discovered the incredible value of being accepted by Jesus Christ. I will never forget His benefits. All that the world offers is nothing compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior.

So when Satan comes and tempts with something he says has value, I still get to determine its real value for me. I choose to assign those things a value of “0”. I choose to assign the things of God a value of “10” on a scale of “10”. Now I can forget what is behind, and forget not His benefits, and press on toward the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus. You can do that, too.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Thursday, September 06, 2012

Today’s Topic: The Gift of the Grind                                                 

Today’s Text:  Isaiah 64:8 (ESV)  But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.

For reasons I am not at liberty to share, a very well-known parable of Jesus has been on my heart. There is a very real possibility that I am going to be blessed to watch it lived out before my own eyes. There is no greater testimony to the reality of the forgiveness available from the Father than to see the process of rebellion, repentance, reconciliation, and restoration in action.

Take a moment to read this familiar story again.

Luke 15:11-32 (ESV)
¹¹ And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. ¹² And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. ¹³ Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. ¹⁴ And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. ¹⁷ “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! ¹⁸ I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ ²⁰ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. ²¹ And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ ²² But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. ²³ And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. ²⁴ For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate. ²⁵ “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. ²⁷ And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ ²⁸ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, ²⁹ but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. ³⁰ But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ ³¹ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. ³² It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’ ”

Here are the points that really connect with my heart:

• Rebellion – the squandering of the Father’s property, whether it be my life, someone else’s life that was given to me as a gift, or the possessions that God gave me to use for His glory which I instead use for my own purposes and fleshly desires.
• Repentance – The New International Version reads “When he came to his senses” in verse 17. Coming to our senses reveals itself in four ways – taking responsibility for our actions before God (vs. 21); taking responsibility for how our actions affected others (vs.18); releasing all personal rights to the people against whom we sinned (vs. 19a); and willingness to assume a humble position (vs. 19b). That’s true repentance.
• Reconciliation – The son is actually embraced and received back into fellowship by a compassionate father before he can even repent, but that fact is what gives the son the confidence to repent. It is the knowledge of our compassionate Savior who loves us and wants to forgive us that propels us to repentance. The Father’s arms are a safe place for absolute honesty. Oh that others would see the same safety from us.
• Restoration – The father declares the son to still be his son! The lost has been found. There is no change in status. All rights are restored. Let the celebration begin!

This is not to be a rare occurrence in our lives today. It is the constant reality of our relationship with the Father. But it is also to be the constant reality of our relationships with others. It is a glorious display of the Father’s heart for the lost when the world sees us living this out. The Son of Man has come to seek and to save those who are lost. We are the arms of love that extend from His heart to those who are coming to repentance.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Tuesday, September 04, 2012

Today’s Topic: The Gift of the Grind                                                 

Today’s Text:  Isaiah 64:8 (ESV)  But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.

The morning light revealed our outlook on life. As we rose from bed we were presented with two emotional options: agonizing apprehension and anxiety, or enthusiastic eagerness and excitement. The choice we made is a real statement of our outlook on life.

How did the kids react to the first day of school? How did you react to sending them off, maybe for the first time? How did you choose to look at the first day back to work after a long holiday weekend?

For many, the defining statement of their attitude is this – “Back to the grind.” For others, it is “Back to the growth.” Life is either grinding us down to make us smaller or grinding us down to make us stronger. It all depends on how we choose to look at it.

My garage is a mess right now. Three weeks ago, while using my trailer to haul a bunch of equipment for our outdoor worship service on the site of our new building, the shackle on one of the leaf springs broke away from the frame. It was a combination of rust, a heavy load, and very rough ground. In the past two weeks I have been tearing the trailer apart, cutting away sections of the frame that need to be replaced, grinding down the parts that can be saved and reused, and preparing everything for re-assembly. The sparks have been flying along with the dust and rust. Tomorrow a friend will come over with his welder, and we will begin the repair. It has been quite the project, and I look forward to when it is done so I can put the cars back in their home again.

As I spent three hours yesterday cutting and grinding the metal pieces of the trailer, I realized how important it is to be ground. Some pieces had to be discarded because they had not been properly protected from the elements and were seriously weakened by the rust that resulted from their exposure. Other pieces could be salvaged and strengthened by grinding away the rust. During the grinding, some pieces were re-shaped to better connect to the new pieces that would be installed. The ultimate result after painting will be a much stronger and longer-lasting trailer that will endure exposure to the corrupting influences of nature.

There are sufficient obvious applications for each of us in this illustration, and the Holy Spirit will make them if you open your heart to His teaching. How you choose to apply those applications will determine your outlook on life when you wake up tomorrow. Will it be “Back to the grind,” or “Back to the growth?”

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Friday, August 31, 2012

Today’s Topic: Living in Denial                                                          

Today’s Text:  Matthew 16:24 (ESV)
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

Over the last few weeks I have been bombarded with evidence that we are living in a time of huge spiritual crisis. People who call themselves followers of Christ are turning to lives of rebellion and sin and personal pleasure at a scary pace. Not a day goes by lately that my wife and I are not being asked to give advice or counsel to someone who is being affected by a spouse’s or friend’s decisions to serve self rather than God. These are people whom we have participated with in ministry and heard their testimonies of faith in Jesus Christ.

I believe more than ever that these are the last days before the return of Christ. The gray area of personal choice between the truth positions of morality and immorality that once was very small has become increasingly immense. That’s because we’re participating with our culture in redefining the truths that establish the standards of each absolute position. Those who choose to redefine morality and embrace immorality justify it with the argument of the pursuit of personal pleasure and happiness. They are motivated by a deep and deadly desire to eventually destroy the position of immorality by turning everything gray for a time until it begins to appear not gray at all. Their goal is to move all the black and gray into the light of white and declare everything moral.  As this happens, they are becoming increasingly intolerant and abusive towards those who maintain a position of morality based on God’s truth. The attacks against truth are more consistent and louder than ever, and the attacks against those who hold a position of truth are gaining cultural acceptance at an alarming rate.

Here’s a thought that came to me as I prayed this morning – It is a good thing to live in a state of denial. In fact, it is an absolute truth that all of us do, one way or another.

The follower of Jesus is commanded to live in a state of denial towards self. This is where I see the evidence of the great falling away in today’s church. We are not living in this state of denial. Rather, we are living in a state of entitlement to self with all of its pleasures and prosperity. So many in the church today have a claim to faith without the following that inherently must follow true faith. How can one claim to have faith without obedience?

Those who compromise their faith and follow self are usually unaware that they are still living in a state of denial, but one with deadly consequences ahead. You see, if we are not denying self and following Jesus, then we are denying Jesus and following self. One way or another we are ALL living in a state of denial. It’s our choice which one.

Listen to these words from the Apostle Paul and from Jude, the brother of Jesus.

Titus 1:16 (ESV) They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.

Jude 1:4 (ESV) For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

In the last three days I have counseled two people who are increasing the territory of the gray in their lives. In both cases I asked them one question – Whom do you love? It is the very root of the problem for all of us. Whom do you love? In both cases of counseling, neither person was willing to admit verbally that they love themselves more than anything. Yet it is obviously true. It is true of me in places of my own life and I am on my knees every day gaining insight from the Holy Spirit as He guides me to deny self and take up my cross and follow Jesus – in EVERYTHING!

We must recognize that in any and every area of our lives, when we choose to pursue self for any reason, it can only be defined as denial of Jesus. But when we pursue Jesus we are in denial of self. That is the state of denial I want to be in consistently. We are always in one or the other. It’s our choice. Choose wisely, and do so with eternity in view.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Today’s Topic: Who Will You Meet?                                                 

Today’s Text:  Galatians 6:7  “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap”

A few months ago while attending the Moody Pastor’s Conference I met Daniel Henderson. He leads a ministry called Strategic Renewal, whose purpose is to ignite the passion of the church through prayer. Every week he sends out an e-devotional, and I was really challenged by this week’s and want to share part of it with you. It’s called “The Old Person at the End of Your Road”. Ladies, make the necessary gender adjustments as you read.

In the epilogue of my first book, The Seven Most Important Questions You’ll Ever Answer, I shared a reading that has marked me since the first time I discovered it many years ago.  It is titled, “The Little Old Man.” The author is unknown but the insights will challenge you.

“You’re going to meet an old man someday down the road – ten, thirty, fifty years from now – waiting there for you. You’ll be catching up with him.

“What kind of old man are you going to meet? That’s a rather significant question.  He may be a seasoned, soft, gracious fellow, a gentleman who has grown old gracefully, surrounded by hosts of friends, friends who call him blessed because of what his life has meant to them.  Or he may be a bitter, disillusioned, dried-up old buzzard without a good word for anyone, soured, friendless, and alone.

“The kind of old man you will meet depends entirely on yourself, because that old man will be you.  He’ll be the composite of everything you do, say, and think today and tomorrow.  His mind will be set in a mold you have made by your beliefs.  His heart will be turning out what you’ve been putting into it.  Every little thought, every deed goes into this old man.  He’ll be exactly what you make of him.  It’s up to you.  You’ll have no one else to credit or to blame.

“Every day and in every way you are becoming more and more like yourself.  Amazing, but it’s true.  You’re beginning to look more like yourself, think more like yourself, talk more like yourself.  You’re becoming yourself more and more.  Live only in terms of what you’re getting out of life, and the old man gets smaller, drier, harder, crabbier, more self-centered.  Open your life to others, think in terms of what you can give, your contribution to life, and the old man grows larger, softer, kindlier, greater.

“The point to remember is that these things don’t always show immediately.  But they’ll show up sooner than you think.  Those little things so unimportant now – beliefs, attitudes, ambitions – they’re adding up inside where you can see them, crystallizing your heart and your mind and someday they’ll harden into that old man.  Nothing will be able to soften or change them.

“The time to take care of that old man is right now.  Today.  This week.  Examine his values, his motives, his attitudes.  Check up on him.  Work him over while he’s still plastic, still in a formative condition, because the day comes awfully soon when it’s too late. The hardness sets in worse than paralysis.  Character crystallizes, sets and jells.  That’s the finish.

“Any wise businessman takes inventory regularly.  But his merchandise isn’t half as important as he is.  Better take a bit of personal inventory.  We all need it, and by keeping this check on ourselves, you’ll be much more likely to meet a splendid old fellow at the proper time.  A fellow you’d like to be.”

As I think about the “Little Old Man” I hope to meet someday, I realize that every choice, every day, matters – and shapes the man I am becoming.  The Scriptures frame it with clarity: “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7).