LifeLink Devotional

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Acts 14:19 – 22  Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead.  But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe. They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.

Today’s word is WINNERS.

It’s all about winning. Everything in life is about the experience of victory. From sports to business deals, everyone pursues triumph. Even when we diet, losing is really winning. We were created with an undeniable urge to experience the “thrill of victory” and avoid the “agony of defeat.”

Now before you react negatively to this, think about it carefully. It is not wrong that we focus on winning. The Bible speaks of winning, overcoming, and victory almost 100 times. With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies. (Psalm 60:12)

Sports are one of the Apostle Paul’s favorite metaphors of the Christian experience. Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules. (2 Timothy 2:5) The passion to win is not a sin. It is only wrong if we think winning defines our worth and if we believe winning in this life is the ultimate victory. An exaggerated emphasis on worldly accomplishments results in ultimate loss, not gain. If a person’s worth is measured by their win/loss percentage, then ultimately at the point of death everything is loss. Even after all our personal victories in life are counted, death still wins and none of our wins matter: UNLESS death itself can be conquered.

The good news of Jesus Christ is that death has been conquered, and everyone who comes to repentance and faith in Him will ultimately win. Paul wrote about this in 1 Corinthians 15 when he said, “When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The only victory worth training for is that one. The only win worth fighting for is eternity with Jesus Christ. The only true motivation to get up after a defeat and continue fighting for the faith is the knowledge that ultimate victory is ours in Christ. Look at these incredible promises from God:

1 John 5:4 – 5 For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.  Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Life will be filled with lots of losses. We will suffer rejection from our families and friends because of our faith in Jesus Christ. We will be criticized and even persecuted by our culture because of our stand for moral righteousness and God’s justice. We will suffer financial loss. We will experience emotional loss. There will be deaths in our families. Living life faithfully for Jesus is not easy, and we may experience very few personal victories. But Paul was a great example of how to keep our faith and live it consistently even in the face of death. He was considered dead after the stoning he suffered at Lystra, but he got back up and went right back into the city that had rejected him, putting himself in harm’s way again. Then, after visiting Derbe and winning people to Jesus Christ, he went back to Lystra again to strengthen and encourage the people to remain true to the faith. He modeled to the people how to look beyond the hardships of today to the victory that was coming when Jesus returns.

Death was but the doorway to victory for Paul, and it must be that for us as well. When we see it that way, the fear of worldly loss is consumed in the fire of faith that Jesus Christ has conquered the world. So be encouraged. Do not fear what the world can do to you. Do not fear the loss of worldly gain and worth. Do not fear the people who stand against you because you stand for God.

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (1 John 4:4)

And when you do fall down in defeat, even to the point of death, know this: God’s people, the disciples, will gather around you and encourage you so that you will get back up and go back to doing God’s work. And when one of the faithful disciples you know falls under the weight of persecution and loss, go to them and take your stand around them so they are encouraged to get back up also. We are not in this alone. God is with us, and God’s people stand beside each other. Remain true to the faith, and let’s fight until Jesus comes. We are winners!

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Monday, October 22, 2018

1 Corinthians 15:57  But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Today’s word is Victory.

I have come to realize that far too much of our time is spent in trying to gain victories over the issues of the world and far too little time is spent living in the victory of eternity. We exhaust ourselves seeking to enhance and extend this life, when all effort to do so is futile. All we gain from this world will be lost. Jesus said, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?”  There is no ultimate victory that can be gained from the world. Jesus declared this truth to us when He said, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.”

Victory comes at the end of life to those who have lived by faith, not to those who have gathered the most goods. The Apostle John reminds us of this when he says, “everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.”  Our faith is in the God who was victorious over death through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. We have a hope that is sure.

Unfortunately, many of us run the race of life with the wrong focus. For most of us the track on which we run is filled with hurdles. Each hurdle has a name. There’s one called financial security. There’s one named success. Others are labeled as family, friends, and acceptance. Each of our races has different hurdles in a different order. But all our races have one final hurdle named death.

Most of us run our races with our focus on each hurdle. Many of us take a break from running after each hurdle is successfully jumped. We leave the track and spend time soaking up whatever glory we can get from bystanders, as if we have accomplished some great victory. Some never get back on the track and melt into the crowd of those who have lost sight of the finish line. While they think they are living, they never really do.

Some run the race with faith. Every hurdle is crossed with determination to make it to the next one, and the next one, until finally, with eyes fixed firmly on Jesus at the finish line, the last hurdle of death is navigated, and they cross into eternal victory.

Dear Lord and Savior, let me run the race with my eyes fixed firmly on you, and not the hurdles. Let me pass each hurdle with a determination to run faithfully to the end. I determine to not be distracted by the temporary joys of hurdle-jumping, but to remain focused on the joy that is set before me at the end of the race, when there are no more hurdles to jump and I will rest in your arms. May I not be tempted to place value on the things I accomplish for myself while running the race, but to rather consider all things a loss compared to the excellency of knowing and serving You. May my life be filled with thanks – not for things, but for the victory I have in You. May I live every day in full confidence of the hope of glory, and that one day You will reward me for having run my race faithfully as Your servant. I pray this in Your Name, Jesus. AMEN!

Pastor John  

LifeLink Devotional

Friday, October 19, 2018

Psalms 133:1 – 3 How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down upon the collar of his robes. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.

 Today’s word is UNITY.

A story in a magazine caught my eye. A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons, Kevin, 5, and Ryan, 3. The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake. Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson. “If Jesus were sitting here, he would say, ‘Let my brother have the first pancake. I can wait.’” Kevin turned to his younger brother and said, “Ryan, you be Jesus!”

Unity is tough because it requires personal sacrifice. In Exodus 28 and 29 we read the historical account of Aaron being ordained as the first high priest of Israel. This required a great sacrifice on Aaron’s part. He was giving up his rights to herds and flocks and personal wealth. He was giving up his right to ownership of land. He was surrendering his entire life to the service of God in the tabernacle. His sacrifice would be required of all his descendants as well. Why would he make such concessions? Because he saw the bigger picture of God’s plan for personal relationship with His people. He was willing to do whatever God asked him to do to bring unity between God and man.

At the end of Exodus 29, after all has been accomplished and the precious oil has been poured on Aaron’s head, God says, “So I will consecrate the Tent of Meeting and the altar and will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. They will know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.

If unity is to be accomplished in the church of Jesus Christ today, it must begin with the precious oil of sacrifice. Unity with God is possible because of Christ’s sacrifice for us.  His sacrifice is where God bestows His blessing of eternal life. Unity is only possible among people if they are first united with Jesus in His sacrifice. We must be in tune with Christ to be in harmony with one another.

God’s Spirit is quenched where people are divided. A bone of contention has no place in the body of Christ. We are called to cooperate in a higher purpose than our own personal pursuits. Opinions are not options. Personal preferences are not mandates. Anything that satisfies self must be sacrificed to the singular purpose of God. True unity is found only in surrender to His Spirit.

Unity, however, does not necessarily mean uniformity. By that I mean this – unity focuses on goals while uniformity focuses on methods. We must all have the same goals – those given to us by our King. We are united in our passion to accomplish God’s goals. We must not demand uniformity of methodology.

Look around the world and take notice of all the examples we have, like team sports. Every team is made up of individuals with a common goal – to win a championship. Each individual is united with his teammates in his pursuit of the goal. However, each individual has a specific function on the team. How many football games have been won by a kicker who comes off the bench as a David among Goliaths and becomes the hero? While all the giants are out there play after play banging heads and battering their bodies, a little guy does one thing and gets all the glory. But they won, and that’s all that mattered.

God has placed each of us as individuals on His team with unique skills and responsibilities. Unity requires that we share a common goal. Unity requires understanding of distinct methods. Unity is accomplished through sacrificial cooperation. Unity is not possible in a group of one. Remember the banana? Every time it leaves the bunch it gets skinned.

How good and pleasant it is when brothers and sisters in Christ live together in unity – all made possible by one sacrifice, which becomes the model for each one of us. When we turn our focus from self to the Savior, the LORD will bless us with unity.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Thursday, October 18, 2018

1 Chronicles 16:8-10   Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.

Today’s word is THANKS.

In the spring of 2009, I remember sitting around our dining room table with my entire family and a birthday cake in front of me. The grandkids gathered around me to help blow out the candles that had been arranged in two groups of five and six to represent my age. Then the kids delivered presents to me. They were all very well thought out and met a need I had mentioned in the past. One of them was especially fascinating. It was a rectangular box about ten inches long and three inches wide. I wondered what it was.

When I peeled off the wrapping paper I found something inside I had never needed before. I had talked over the last couple of years about trying something new, but had never really thought seriously about it because I didn’t have all of the equipment necessary. But thanks to my favorite hunting buddy – my son – I was now set up with the first piece of equipment. I took it out of the box and tried it right away. I was incredibly attracted to it. The sound it made resonated in my heart. For the first time in my life I owned a wild turkey call. Thanks to another hunting friend who would loan me a shotgun, and my son who arranged for us to hunt together on a friend’s land, I was going to try turkey hunting.

Turkey always reminds me of Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is coming up in a few weeks, but the spirit of thanksgiving is to be a constant in our hearts and a prominent part of our daily communication. But it isn’t, is it? I’ve discovered a severe lack of thanksgiving in my personal life. Getting a turkey call for my birthday made me realize that. As I’ve learned the meaning of all the different sounds turkeys make, I’ve discovered that I’ve not even been a very good turkey. I’ve done a lot of cackling out warnings and I’ve gobbled in pride about my position in the flock, but I’ve done very little clucking of contentment. Even when others around me are softly purring their satisfaction with group life, I interrupt them with gobbles that draw attention to me.

The spirit of thanks is destroyed by the philosophy that everything is about me. I think the problem starts with the very way we are taught as children to be thankful. I’m a victim of it, and I know I’ve done it with my kids and grandkids. We require them to say “thank-you” when they receive something, but we don’t take the time to teach them how to be thankful. We have taught them to say thank- you because it pleases us, gets us off their backs, and gets them what they want. But it doesn’t do anything to teach them the attitude of gratitude. Maybe instead of telling them to say thank-you, we need to ask them how the gift made them feel. The attitude of thankfulness and its verbal response of thanks is generated only by a sincere appreciation for what was done. We’ve learned to say thanks without really being appreciative.

What it really boils down to is a lack of understanding about grace. We only really appreciate what we know we didn’t deserve. We are only truly thankful for what we never expected. That’s why we should be overwhelmed with thanksgiving for God’s unmerited gift of salvation.

Recently I arrived at the office before sunrise and unlocked the door, but I stood outside for over five minutes. I was overwhelmed with the beauty of the day. I looked up at the dark sky and praised God for His immensity. I thanked Him for the wonder of His forgiveness. I cried tears of joy as I recalled all the expressions of grace in my own life that have brought me undeservedly to this point of ministry. I gave thanks unto the Lord.

As I entered the door, I found myself singing an old, old chorus. I was singing it loudly, and I’m glad no one else was there to have to hear it.

“Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul. Thank you, Lord, for making me whole. Thank you, Lord, for giving to me; Thy great salvation so rich and free.”

That’s the call I want this turkey to make all day every day.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Zephaniah 3:17   The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.

My mind is flooded with words that start with the letter “s”. Obvious words relating to faith, like salvation, sacrifice, and sin. Less obvious words also appear, like solitude and security. But I wonder what words come to other people’s minds.  I can hear them now. Sex. Super Bowl. Selfish. Stupid.

Words that come to our mind are a good indicator of the priorities of our life. They are also an indicator of what we think about other people. Let me illustrate.

When unsaved people think about Christianity, what word do you think comes to their minds first – sin or salvation? I think that whichever word they think of is an indicator of what they hear us talking about the most. If the most frequent topic of our conversations with people is sin, then that’s what word will come to their mind when they think of Christians. The same is true for salvation. If we consistently talk about the joy of our salvation, then other people will think of salvation when they think of Christians.

That seems simple.

I’m saved!

Our God is mighty to save! He takes great delight in us. In the midst of any storm, He quiets us with his love. When He looks at us, He rejoices over us with singing. Let it be obvious in me all day and every day.

Simple. Saved. Singing. Sharing.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

1 Peter 3:15   “Always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you…”

Today’s word is RESPONSE.

Several years ago my wife and I led a Life Group at our church.  On one particular night, we watched the next to last session of the Truth Project, a video series that teaches a Biblical world view. The session focused on our jobs and how labor and work are designed by God for His glory, for our fulfillment, and for the benefit of serving others with a generous spirit. During his presentation, Dr. Dell Tackett said something that really hit me hard. In essence, this was it – If work and labor are to reflect the nature of God, then shouldn’t Christians be the most valued of all employees in the workplace? Why are employers not specifically seeking Christians to fill their vacant positions? Why are they not rejoicing when they find out they hired one?

That got me thinking about what most Christians believe about work. To many it is a necessary evil, and because of that they display attitudes that are less than Christ-like while they are in the workplace. But to God, work is an opportunity for us to present the secular world with a vision of God’s grace and love. People who see work as a part of God’s plan to reveal Himself to the world will have very different attitudes and responses to the hardships that we all endure at work and in society.

What kind of attitudes do you display when things don’t go your way? We may tend to avoid answering because it cuts too deeply into our hearts and forces us to face issues we may have kept buried for too long. But we must answer so we can learn how to respond to difficulties with the grace of God.  Whether you are an employer, employee, or customer, your life can reflect the grace, mercy, and compassion of Christ. Unfortunately, far too many Christians don’t look or act any differently than an unsaved person.

When we grumble and complain because things are tough, we are not looking at the finish line of faith, but at our immediate need for gratification and satisfaction. That’s PRIDE. When we speak poorly of other people and withdraw from them because we think they are doing something contrary to our preferences – that’s PRIDE. When we get gloomy and depressed about our finances, we cannot be standing on the promises of God but are standing on our own desires. That’s PRIDE.  When we participate in the negativity of conversations about our government, its officials, and the impact their decisions have on our lives, we are placing our hope in this world and not in Jesus Christ. That’s not just pride, it’s IDOLATRY.

Pride is idolatry. Think about it. We are to worship God alone as the one who provides us with position, purpose, and provision. He alone is the one who qualifies us and gives us value. Anyone or anything else, including self, that we allow to validate our lives is an idol. Pride is idolatry.

I know things are tough in life. But that’s the exact context into which the Holy Spirit inspires Peter to write today’s verse. But to fully appreciate it, you must read what comes before it. Peter is talking about tough times and how we as God’s people are to respond differently than the way the world responds. Here’s what he says – But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened. But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.

How much tougher can it get than having to suffer for being right? But when we do, we do not respond as the world does – with fear. Why? Because we have set Christ on the throne of our hearts. We recognize Him as LORD, and we have surrendered to Him in faith. Our suffering becomes the proving grounds of our faith, and our proper response to the suffering is hope.

Here’s how the Apostle Paul says it in Romans 5 – Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

It is sad and embarrassing to see so many Christians – including me – respond to difficulties with hurtful words and shameful behavior. Pride shows up when the hope of glory should be evident.

We live in a most opportune day. It is a day in which the world is falling apart on many levels. It is a day in which we ourselves are suffering. It is a day in which our hope should shine because by grace we stand in the presence of Almighty God. When times get tough, we rejoice in the hope of glory because God will never disappoint us. If we respond with hope, then get ready – we will be asked to explain the hope that we have, and people will get to hear good news instead of grumbling.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Monday, October 15, 2018

Psalm 131:2  “I have stilled and quieted my soul.”

 We follow up last Friday’s devotional on the presence of God with a further study of stillness. Today’s word is QUIET.

There is yet a deeper meaning to the idea of being still before God so that we may know Him. It is reflected in two passages of Scripture, one which we have above. On Friday it must be our priority to let down our guards and be still before the Lord that we may hear Him. But hearing Him is not enough. We must be doers of what we hear. That is the idea behind King David’s statement that he not only stilled His soul, but he also quieted his soul.

What’s the difference between being still and being quiet? To be still means to be able to listen. But the Hebrew word for quiet goes deeper. It means to not only be silent, but to make it permanent. It is used in a couple of places in Scripture to refer to the silence of the grave. In Psalm 131, David refers to the silence of the soul. By that he means this – when I am still before the Lord so that I may hear Him, I also need to put my own desires, wants, and needs (my soul) to death so that I may respond in obedience to what I hear.

It is the nature of our soul to be self-sufficient because of sin. Our natural tendency is to weigh all information on the scales of personal benefit and then make our decision. We even do that with what we hear from God. We are proud people, and pride is the enemy of quietness. Before David makes his statement about being still and quiet he says, “My heart is not proud, O LORD, my eyes are not haughty.” (verse 1) He knows that pride is not the companion of obedience. It is not sufficient to be still and listen – that can be done in pride. Listening may be nothing more than courtesy without commitment.  We may already have made our minds up about what we will do with what we hear. At the least, we tend to reserve the right to obey until after we have heard all the information. We have been still, but we have not quieted our soul.

This brings a whole new level of understanding for me to the book of James in the New Testament. James says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.”

James continues later by saying “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

Our pride causes us to claim faith but not act upon it. We have not quieted our souls. We have not died to self so that we might live for Him who saved us. James says it boils down to surrender to God – to quiet our souls before Him. He says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

Do you struggle with obedience? With sin? It may be because you have declared those things to be worthless and meaningless. You have chosen to believe the lie of Satan that those things have some value to you. You have chosen to believe that sin will benefit you in some way. You have heard God’s word, but you have chosen to weigh those words on a scale that lies. Satan has his thumb on the scales of your soul, and he will not release his grip until you submit to God by quieting your soul.

Put to death whatever is of the flesh, and choose now to obey whatever God says.

Be still and be quiet. Put your hope in the LORD, both now and forever. (Psalm 131:3)

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Friday, October 12, 2018

Psalm 46:10  “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Today’s word is PRESENCE.

I feel overwhelmed. I’m sure I’m not the only one who does. Life just doesn’t let up. Even breaks from the routine turn into energy-sapping, brain-draining events. When we do something to relax, we aren’t really relaxing because we are doing something. We end up just as tired after recreation as we do after work. And if we just sit and do nothing, the guilt of inactivity wears out our emotions. I’m exhausted just writing about exhaustion, and that’s no exaggeration. Where’s my coffee? I need caffeine. I must keep going.

With my performance-based filters in place, even the Bible convinces me that I must keep going. Over and over I read in Proverbs about the consequences of being slothful. My very character is brought into question when I read verses like “One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys.”  It is easy for me to jump to the conclusion that anything that isn’t work is ultimately destructive, when in reality the opposite is true.  In fact, the word slack in that verse is the exact same Hebrew word as “still” in today’s Scripture verse. Seems contradictory, doesn’t it. We’re wrong if we’re slackers but we can’t know God unless we take time to be still.

I want to challenge you to do something. It’s going to be hard for some of you. I’ll give you some information that will help you get started. I want you to read the first chapter of Ezekiel. Here’s what you will discover. Ezekiel has a vision of the glorious Presence of God. Allow me to make a practical life application of this powerful passage that declares the glory of God.

The four living creatures can represent you and me.  At first, they appear to be all-powerful and self-sufficient. They are imposing beings, just as we try to be. They have the faces of men, but also have the faces of a lion, an ox, and an eagle, representing authority, power, and vision. That’s pretty revealing of our own prideful nature, isn’t it? We claim to have all the authority, power, and vision we need to make life work. At the end of that paragraph you’ll find a verse that perfectly describes most of our lives – The creatures sped back and forth like flashes of lightning. Work hard. Play hard. Die hard. That’s us.

The next thing you’ll see in the vision are the wheels. The wheels can represent our work and our culture. The wheels moved in conjunction with the creatures. In fact, it tells us that the spirit of the creatures was in the wheels. How true is that? We pour our entire being into what we do. When we move, everything moves with us. Our lives are wrapped up in our activity. We must keep the wheels turning. Moving wheels make lots of noise. Noise proves function. Function proves value. Movement proves worth. These are the lies we have been led to believe.

Then the truth is revealed. Read this carefully, starting in verse 24. When they stood still, they lowered their wings. (The Hebrew word for still and lowered is the same word used in Psalm 46:10.) Then there came a voice from above the expanse over their heads as they stood with lowered wings. Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.

WOW! I don’t know about you, but that truth has powerfully affected me today. It’s time for me to let down my wings and quit flapping. When I do, I will hear the voice of God. I will realize that behind everything I do is His power. Behind everything I think I am and try to prove I am, God is the great I AM. Behind every turn of the wheels of life is His authority. Every direction I move is controlled by His vision.

Oh Lord, let me be still, and know that You are God. I choose to live life more quietly in your PRESENCE.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Thursday, October 11, 2018

I Samuel 15:24-26  Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I violated the LORD’S command and your instructions. I was afraid of the people and so I gave in to them. Now I beg you, forgive my sin and come back with me, so that I may worship the LORD.” But Samuel said to him, “I will not go back with you. You have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you as king over Israel!”

The word for today is OPINION. Here’s a word riddle for you. An opinion is like an irrational onion, with layer after layer of randomness. Message me if you figured it out.

Opinions have always been dangerous. Yet today we live in a world where they are respected as truth. It’s a problem that has existed in the hearts of man since the beginning.

It was an opinion that caused the first sin. Eve was asked to make a judgment about the consequences of eating the fruit of a specific tree. She made her judgment based on misinformation. That is the basis for the definition of opinion. According to dictionary.com, an opinion is a belief or judgment that rest on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty. It is a personal view, attitude, or appraisal. Another dictionary I have says that an opinion is a belief not so strong as knowledge. In other words, opinions are not necessarily truth.

Eve got into trouble when she moved from standing on the truth to forming an opinion about the truth. That’s what makes opinions so dangerous – they are usually based on something other than absolute truth.

We form opinions because we have the capacity to think and reason. That thought process is tainted by our sin nature, which forces us, apart from Christ, to seek self-fulfillment. When not formed and based in truth, opinions are nothing more than our attempt to promote and enhance self. We form opinions based on what we think we need or on what makes us feel most comfortable. Our opinions can be motivated by the need for acceptance. That was the case in King Saul’s life in today’s Scripture reading. Our opinions are powerful and can be used to influence people for good or evil. But the bottom line is that unless they are continually regulated by God’s truth, they become dangerously selfish.

I don’t know about you, but I’m really tired of public opinion polls. I understand their perceived usefulness in providing public input so that our representative form of government is maintained. Where I have my problem is when public opinion is elevated to the place of truth, especially when it stands opposed to God’s truth. In politics, the majority rules. Not so in the Kingdom of God. And not so in the church.

Personal opinions and preferences continue to be a deadly weapon of Satan against the body of Christ. We live in a church culture that is the product of allowing personal opinions to be validated as truth. It seems that the basic truths of God’s Word have been supplanted by the need to be accepted. Opinions have become the message that tickles the ears of hearers who are offended by the truth. We teach and preach what is politically correct. Even when we do present truth we sugar coat it, so it comes across as opinion, because opinions are not offensive. We’ve been taught to tolerate opinions. Unfortunately, we no longer tolerate truth.

We must guard our hearts from allowing opinions and preferences to dictate our actions. Elevating opinion over truth causes us to become self-focused, and we cease to be effective at reaching others for Christ. I think we would be shocked if we would seriously reflect on the number of personal opinions we have allowed to govern our lives. We must return to building our lives, our attitudes, and our actions on truth rather than opinion.

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you any areas in your walk with Jesus where you have chosen personal preference rather than truth to guide you. Let Christ also show you how His church is being hurt by the promotion of opinion rather than truth. Be open to allowing Christ to show you how you may be a part of that church problem.

Then, choose to let your opinions be subject to the truth of Jesus Christ, and reject any opinions that aren’t. Let the layers of irrational randomness be peeled away, and let truth be the source of all you believe.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Wednesday, October 10, 2018

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

In the late 1920s a newly married couple moved into the husband’s old family home. It was a clapboard house with a hall down the middle. In the ’30s they decided to tear down the old house and build another to be their home for the rest of their lives.

When the house was done, the wife was dismayed. Many of the materials of the old house were re-used in their new house. They used old facings and doors, and many other pieces of the finishing lumber. Everywhere my grandmother looked, she saw that old house—old doors that wouldn’t shut properly, crown molding split and riddled with nail holes, unfinished window trimming. It was a source of grief to her. All her life she longed for a new house.

Contrast that with one of my favorite television shows from a few years back called Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. I remember the story of Alice Harris of South Central Los Angeles. ABC Network producers volunteered to demolish her house. In 2003, a flood had left the community activist and her family, who had no insurance, living in one bedroom. Worst of all, the waters had ruined a stash of Christmas toys Harris had collected for poor children. Harris said, “I figured no one was going to come to Watts and help us. No one had ever done that.”

But Extreme Makeover: Home Edition found her. Its bullhorn-wielding host, Ty Pennington, shipped Harris and her family off for a week’s vacation in Carlsbad, California, while over one hundred workers and neighbors tore her home down to the foundation and built a new, bigger one. They replaced the Christmas toys and donated appliances, mattresses, and landscaping to her flood-stricken neighbors. They even threw in a basketball court for the neighborhood kids.

On the one hand, we have a rebuilt home that used old materials, while on the other we have a rebuilt home that is completely new. One house represents religion’s attempts to restore mankind. One house represents God’s restoration plan. Religion attempts to put old materials into a new context. God destroys the old and makes ALL things new.

The extreme home makeovers on tv all had something in common: an outsider comes in with a plan. First, that outsider sees the possibilities you couldn’t see. Second, that outsider does what you couldn’t do. Third, that outsider pays for what you could not afford to pay.

With much more perfection, that’s what God did for us. Life – our house – was in shambles because of sin. No amount of renovation could make it livable for long. But God saw what was possible if all the old was removed. He sent Jesus to remove the building materials of sin, and they were destroyed in His body on the cross. Jesus was then raised completely and eternally new. The old was gone. The new had come.

All of that is possible in our lives right now. The old can be put to death by faith in Jesus Christ. Life can be completely and eternally new. But each one of us must do what every person on the tv show had to do – be willing to let the old be destroyed. When we agree to that, God makes us a new creation in Christ Jesus. No more longing for a new house based on reminders of the old one. Everything is forgiven and gone. Everything is new, and better than we could have ever imagined.

Go ahead – open the door.

Pastor John