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).

Connecting Points

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Today’s Topic: Don’t Scratch the Itch                                               

Today’s Text:  2 Timothy 4:3 (ESV) For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,

Have you ever tried to not scratch an itch? Maybe it was a mosquito bite or a rash, both of which are really hard. But the hardest itch for me to resist is the one that has no apparent cause, like the one in the middle of my back right now. As I sit in my chair typing these words, there is an itch that won’t go away. It is not being caused by an external source, but by something within me to which the nerves are reacting. I am doing my best to resist it, but it’s not going away. The more I think about resisting, the stronger it gets. Little movements of my arms as I type cause my shirt to move over the spot and irritate it all the more. But I shall not scratch it.

Why not, you may ask? Scratching the spot will make you feel better. It will remove the irritation. It will satisfy you and bring you to a place of rest and contentment so you can accomplish more. Go ahead, scratch it.

Now in this case that is all true, but I am still not going to scratch it so that I can make a connection to a deeper truth. The world today wants the freedom to scratch anything that itches. It feels good, so why not do it? I need it right now. He doesn’t satisfy me any more so why shouldn’t I enjoy life with someone else? I was born this way. I have the right to be happy. And it goes on and on and on and on. We have itches that are being generated by something inside of us to which our emotions are reacting.

That something inside us is called pride, and the itching is the gateway to sin. We all have our little itches. Itches for success. Itches for security. Itches for pleasure. Itches for acceptance. Itches for food or finances or fun. Don’t scratch. The temporary satisfaction of scratching has an eternal backlash.

We live in a day when taking a stand for truth is extremely unpopular. In many places of the world, including right here at home in ever-increasing frequency, not scratching is being condemned by a culture that believes it has the right to scratch any itch. In fulfillment of the Apostle Paul’s prophecy in Second Timothy, people have surrounded themselves with teachers, preachers, and friends that validate their right to scratch. It’s happening right in the middle of the church. And churches who don’t give in to scratching are becoming more and more unpopular with society. They are condemned in the media for being intolerant, when in reality they are the only ones who are truly tolerant because they can tolerate the itching.

So as I sit here with a bigger than before itch in the middle of my back, I wonder about the other itches in my life being generated from within by my selfish desires. I wonder how long I will be able to resist scratching them. I wonder how I can even do that. Then I read these words from Paul:

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge:  Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage–with great patience and careful instruction. 2 Timothy 4:1-2 (NIV)

That’s it! Two keys to not scratching – the presence of God and Jesus Christ, and a constant view of His appearing and coming Kingdom. Itching ceases in the presence of God. Itching increases if we prefer the presence of the world. Itching ceases when we are focused on the return of Jesus Christ. Itching increases when we believe that this life is all we get and that we are entitled to everything it has to offer.

So as the world increasingly turns away from the truth, keep your head in every situation. Don’t scratch the itch. Endure whatever hardship will come as a result of your stand for the truth, and keep doing the work of the Lord. (2 Timothy 4:4-5). You want to be able to say what Paul said at the end of life’s journey on this earth –  For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.2 Timothy 4:6-8 (ESV)

Paul didn’t scratch. He loved the appearing of Christ more than the scratching of an itch. So should we. Stay strong. Stand for the truth. Resist the itching.

Now, about that one in my back. I wonder where it went?

Pastor John

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Connecting Points

Monday, August 27, 2012

Today’s Topic: The Backlash                                                            

Today’s Text:  Isaiah 30:15 (ESV)  For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”

I was so blessed by someone else’s devotional today that I just have to share it with you. It’s from Ron Hutchcraft’s A Word with You radio program that airs at 7:30 every weekday morning on WHEM radio. I have attached the link so you can listen to it, or here is the written version for those who would rather read.

http://mp3.hutchcraft.com/web/awwy/A_Word_With_You_08-27-2012.mp3

When you hear about the weather on the East Coast, you almost always hear about a place called Cape Hatteras. It’s a barrier reef off the coast of North Carolina; it’s been called the Graveyard of the Atlantic. And it’s probably the storm center of the East Coast. In fact, when you look at the map or hear the weatherman in the morning he’ll say, “There’s a blizzard off of Cape Hatteras. There’s a hurricane off of Cape Hatteras. There’s a major storm system off of Cape Hatteras.”

It’s a place where most hurricanes coming up the East Coast make landfall. Oh, you have the ocean on the front side of this barrier reef, and then there’s a quieter bay on its backside. When a hurricane hits, it can do a lot of damage. I talked to some people when I was there, and they told me a surprising reason why the hurricane does so much damage. Most of it doesn’t come from the hurricane coming in from the ocean, which I would have thought; it comes after the hurricane leaves from all the water that was pushed back into the bay. It’s that backlash that kills the island, not the front of the storm. It’s sort of like postponed destruction.

Maybe you’ve faced some gale-force winds lately in your life. But because of the way you’re handling it, you may face something worse than the storm, and that’s the backlash from the bay.

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Avoiding the Backlash That’s Building Behind You.”

Our word for today from the Word of God is about people under pressure; people who are being hit with perhaps emotional, or financial, or medical, or family hurricanes; storm centers like Cape Hatteras. Isaiah 30:15 talks about ways that we can handle that kind of pressure, “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.” Listen to what He says, “‘But you would have none of it. No, here’s how I’ll handle it.’ You said, ‘No, we will flee on horses. Therefore, you will flee.’ You said, ‘We will ride off on swift horses. Therefore your pursuers will be swift.'”

Now, what He’s talking about here is handling pressure in that time-honored way, “Run for it! Escape! Get on a fast horse and get out of here.” It may very well be that trouble has hit you, and you’ve been trying to run from it rather than face it. You haven’t resorted to horses, but there are a lot of other ways to run. To run from your family problems, from personal doubts you’ve been having, maybe a problem you’ve been postponing dealing with or a confrontation you need to have. Perhaps you run to your friends, or you just turn up the music, or get real busy, or use drugs or alcohol, maybe just deception – you kid yourself, you run to your recreation, you get lost in your work. Or maybe you’ve been running from the Lord’s personal dealings with you.

But see, the backlash from the bay is going to catch you. That’s why the Bible says your pursuers will be swift. The backlash is building. You can’t postpone it. The Bible says, “Your strength is not in running from it. Your strength is in repenting, in resting, being quiet, in trusting.

Stop running from what you should be facing. You’ve got to face the pressure, face the storm, face the issue, and if need be, face the Lord. Trade in that false and temporary security we feel by trying to escape. Trade that for the real security of the peace of Almighty God.

Connecting Points

Friday, August 24, 2012

Today’s Topic: Elevator Praying                                                       

Today’s Text:  Matthew 7:7-8 (ESV) ⁷ “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

How many people did you communicate with yesterday? For some of you that number will be very high, while for others it will be very low. Some of the reasons for such a wide range of responses are things like opportunity, personality, and personal preference. But there’s one huge reason for the differences that you may not have considered – definition.

How we define communication determines how we answered the question. If communication is nothing more than saying hello, then our count is high. If communication means the expression of facts and feelings combined with listening to the same from the other person, then the count is probably extremely low.

So let’s ask another question. Have you prayed today? Again, your response is going to be determined by your definition of prayer.  Now let me state clearly that just saying “Hi” to God is still prayer, and it’s important to be in that attitude of His presence every minute of every day. But is it enough?

Several weeks ago the Lord Jesus put upon my heart through the power of the Holy Spirit to consider prayer as an elevator. The elevator stops at every floor, but we are missing out on a great privilege by not taking it all the way to the top.

Let’s get a word picture firmly in place in our minds eye. Our prayer closet has suddenly become an elevator. It is the access point to the Eternal. It is where we communicate with the Father. There are multiple floors at which we can stop and exit and experience His presence. The building is divided into three levels, with multiple stops in each level. Let’s get on at the ground floor and make our way up to the top, checking out each level as we go.

Level one is the Ask Level. This is entry level prayer, where we seek to understand the “what” and the “how” of our current circumstances. It’s at this level that we are satisfied to simply get a solution to our problems. There are times in crisis situations where this level is all the higher we have time to access. But that’s okay – God inhabits this level, and hears our cries for help.

Level two is the Seek Level. This is mid-level prayer, where we seek to understand the “why” of our circumstances. We have chosen to exit the elevator at a higher level of communication with the Father, moving beyond the request for a solution to a deeper conversation about the purpose of God for designing and allowing this event. We ask questions at this level. They are still “what” and “how” questions, but they are not focused on the circumstance but upon our heart. “What do you want me to learn, Father?” “What do I need to change, Father?” “How will this help me to grow to be more like your Son, Father?” God is on this level as well, and His grace extends to our deepest need of forgiveness and spiritual development.

Level three is the Knock level. This is roof-top prayer, where we seek to know the “Who” of our circumstances. On the rooftop we have moved past the focus on the circumstance to the highest level of communication possible, where two hearts are connected as one. It is here that we begin to experience the Presence of the Father. Here we are no longer captivated by the circumstances but rather lavished with the Father’s love. This is what God intended prayer to be for all of us.

At every level God makes a promise.

• If you ask for a solution, you shall receive one that honors His will for your life
• If you seek understanding, He will reveal His will to you within His knowledge of your capacity to understand.
• If you knock because you want to deepen your relationship with Him, He will open the door to His presence and reveal Himself to you.

In the publication Our Daily Bread from July 10, 1999, Nancy Spiegelberg wrote this: Lord, I crawled across the bareness to you with my empty cup, uncertain in asking any small drop of refreshment. If only I had known you better. I’d have come running with a bucket.

Have you prayed today? Really?                                                                                                       Pastor John