No Longer a Fool

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Psalm 14:1   The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

There is an increasing volume level to the voices of those who say there is no God. The noise is booming throughout the world. But there is something that concerns me even more than the loudness of a few who vocalize their opposition to God. It is the quietness of the multitude of people who on the outside appear to believe in God but in their hearts they deny His relevance to their lives. It is these people who pose the greatest threat because they are the greatest fools.

Look at Psalm 14:1 again. The greatest fool is the one who denies God in His heart. The vocal ones may appear to be the biggest threat, but the hypocrite is the biggest fool.

Now, for this truth to have any impact on our lives, we must make it personal. So we must engage in some Holy Spirit evaluation. Here is a simple guide to assist you with the evaluation. (Watch out – the first question isn’t so simple. As a matter of fact, none of them really are. But please read on.)

• If I say I believe in God, what makes me different from the demonic angels who also believe that He exists?
• If I say that God is real to me, then am I learning to trust Him with every detail of my life?
• If I say I am a follower of Jesus Christ, do I live in such a way as to model my love for Him in every part of my life?
• Do my thoughts, ideas, and attitudes support or contradict what I want other people to see about my belief in God?
• Is the Holy Spirit enjoying the consistent atmosphere of faith as He dwells in me, or is their constant tension because my will is so strong?

No one likes to be called a fool, yet God calls people fools who do not sincerely believe in Him from their heart. The outward appearance means nothing to God. He searches the heart to find out what we really believe. Our thoughts and attitudes are the true indicator of what we believe, and it should scare us a little how many times we love and trust ourselves rather than God. In that moment, we are being foolish.

When the head knowledge of God brings forth the fruit of heart belief, then we will leave the fear-stricken realm of the foolish and experience the super-abundant peace of God.  This level of peace will be ours when the contradictions between the heart and our life-choices are removed through a sincere faith in Jesus Christ that produces holiness. Then, no matter what happens in us, to us, or around us, we will have no fear, because we know God.

King David declared it this way at the end of Psalm 14 – There they are in great terror, for God is with the generation of the righteous. You would shame the plans of the poor, but the LORD is his refuge.

While the world in its foolish disbelief plunges into terror and shame, we who truly believe in Christ will stand strong, for we know that God is with us, and He is our refuge.

Now go back and read the evaluation questions again. The Holy Spirit wants you to be convinced that what you say you believe is coming from a heart that sincerely believes. Don’t be satisfied to even be a little bit of a fool.

Pastor John

Clichés of Truth

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Psalm 13:6  I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me.

How often do you use a cliché? Do you like them, or seek to avoid them? Maybe an even more important question is, have you turned meaningful statements into clichés by overusing them?

We tend to use clichés without even knowing it. For example, phrases such as “to this day” or “next thing I knew” are clichés, and we often say these phrases without noticing we are doing so. Or what about these?

• Cat got your tongue?
• Fall head over heels
• Read between the lines
• Laughter is the best medicine
• Waking up on the wrong side of the bed
• That and a quarter will get you a cup of coffee
• Sent a shiver down my spine
• Gut wrenching pain
• Heart-stopping fear
• I love you more than life itself
• And they all lived happily ever after
• We’re not laughing at you, we’re laughing with you
• The quiet before the storm

According to Wikipedia, a cliché is an expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, even to the point of being trite or irritating, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel.

That makes me wonder – how many biblical truths have we turned into meaningless clichés through overuse or misapplication? The cliché that came to my mind today was stimulated by reading Psalm 13. Follow along with me on a journey through this scenic Psalm.

As King David begins to write, he is crying out to God about all of the evil that is being done to him by his enemies. He is beginning to feel like God has forgotten him and hidden His face from him. He asks God to consider his plight and answer his prayer, for he is afraid that he is very close to giving up and just ending his life. He certainly feels like his enemy is going to ultimately prevail and rejoice in his triumph.

But then, spiritual truth takes over and David speaks these words to his Lord:

But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me.

As soon as I read those words, my first thought was “Count your blessings.” Then it hit me. Have I turned that truth into a cliché through overuse and misapplication? How many times have I focused on the trials and pain of life’s circumstances and then just tritely said, “Oh but I am so blessed?” Can I really say with David that I have trusted in God’s steadfast love? Is my heart rejoicing in God’s salvation? Am I singing to the Lord because I understand how bountifully He has dealt with me?

So today, rather than just saying “Count your blessings” as a cliché, I’m going to actually do it. I’m going to start with an acknowledgment that I am blessed to have been sought after and saved by Jesus Christ, and that nothing can ever separate me from His steadfast love. Today I’m going to give meaning back to the cliché because I know it is spiritual truth.

Pastor John

Pure Words

Monday, April 13, 2015

Psalm 12:5 “I will now arise,” says the Lord.

Today’s devotional day trip travels through the twelfth Psalm. From the moment I started to read it my mind was captured by the present day reality of what King David wrote. What was true in his day is unfortunately even truer today. My heart cringed at every one of the first few words as I saw in front of me the panoramic view of our current culture’s rebellion against God. Then, when my cynicism was at a peak, these words refreshed my spirit – “I will now arise,” says the Lord.

In that moment I began to evaluate my attitude towards the corruption of the world. How easy it is to become critical and cynical when all around us it seems that godly people are becoming fewer and fewer, and people who are unswervingly faithful to the truth of the Gospel have all but vanished from public view. (Psalm 12:1)

I was also challenged to look deeply into my heart and ask the Holy Spirit to evaluate the integrity of my thoughts and my words. Am I one of the people to whom David refers when he says, “Everyone utter lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.”? Could it be that I have become a working part of a rebellious culture because I have adopted the philosophy of man that justifies lying for the sake of personal gain?

I also spent several moments considering the fear and anger I have allowed to take up residence in my heart and mind because of the current corruption of our culture. I repented of the way I dive headlong into conversations with people who are critical and judgmental of the political and social lawlessness that exist. I discovered that because I have given permission for that spirit to abide in me in relation to culture, I also take those same sinful liberties with the church. It is a very simple step from building prideful positions of spiritual superiority over the people of the world to building those same prideful positions in our relationships with the people of Christ’s church.

O may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord.

As I journeyed on, the Holy Spirit presented me with an incredible contrast. It was as if I was looking out over a charred landscape of stumps blackened from a forest fire, yet there, growing up in the middle of it all, was an oasis with lush evergreens, prairie grass and wildflowers surrounded by a wide river which the fires of judgment cannot cross. The contrast was invigorating.

Yes, the world is filled with the blackness of sin, resulting in the plundering of people. (Psalm 12:5) But the Lord has risen and taken action to restore a place of safety. But here is where the metaphor is completed. The oasis of safety is found in the pure words of the Lord. (Psalm 12:6)

The contrast is vivid. The words of the world are lies and flattery and result in judgment. The words of the Lord are pure, and they guard us from this generation of wickedness. (Psalm 12:7) Even though the reality of the world is that the wicked prowl everywhere, and vileness is exalted as good among in our culture (verse 8), the words of the Lord are pure and trustworthy and guards us from it all. While the faithful and godly seem to vanish from the earth, the word of the Lord will never pass away, and will keep our hearts and minds at peace in Christ Jesus.

Thank you, my dear Lord Jesus, for being my spiritual chiropractor today and adjusting my attitudes so the pain of a critical and cynical spirit is relieved. Thank you for arising and meeting the needs of your people with the words of truth that provide an eternal oasis for our souls.

Pastor John

We continue with our walk through the Psalm, today stopping in Psalm 11.

An Unfailing Foundation

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Psalm 11:3-4  When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do? The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD is on his heavenly throne.

I have been the victim of building on sandy ground. Seventeen years ago our family started a home building project. We purchased a vacant lot in a new subdivision and hired a company to dig the hole and pour the concrete foundation. As they dug we again confirmed that the state of Wisconsin is one giant anthill. The soil was very sandy.

After the footings were poured and had dried, we were one day away from the concrete basement walls being framed up and poured. That night, a serious thunderstorm came through the Chippewa Valley and dumped over 7 inches of rain on us. When we arrived at the “hole” the next morning, the runoff from the storm had washed away a large portion of the sand from under the footings, and they were suspended in mid-air. So instead of spending that day putting up the basement wall frames, we had to pay the excavator and the concrete company to restore the washed away sandy soil and pour additional footings under the previously poured ones so the house could be built on a solid foundation.

Sometimes it feels like the foundations of life are being washed away. Sometimes the storms of life cause such a downpour and result in so much runoff that we wonder if what we have built will survive. Ah, you see the point already don’t you? What we build cannot survive, but what God builds can never be washed away.

When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do? The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD is on his heavenly throne. (Psalm 11:3-4)

“God is always on the throne!” 

When was the last time we took the time to evaluate the true foundations of our lives? If we did, I think we would discover that the fear and anxiety we experience in the storms of life are a product of building on the wrong foundation. There is only one true and unshakeable foundation for life, and it isn’t found in anything this world has to offer. Any parts of our lives that are built on any other foundation than Jesus Christ are subject to destruction. Financial foundations will collapse. Friendships will deteriorate. Success will sour. But the sure foundation of Jesus Christ will never change and cannot fail. When all around us it appears that the foundations of life are being destroyed, remember this – our lives are not built on the foundations of the world, but on the one true foundation of Jesus Christ, and He is in His holy temple; He is on His heavenly throne!

The prophet Isaiah spoke twice of the foundation upon which we can build our lives. In Isaiah 28:16 he says, So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed. 

And then in Isaiah 33:6-7 he says, The LORD is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness. He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure. Isaiah calls the sure foundation a rich treasure to which we have been given the key. The key is the fear of the LORD.

Why does it give us such security to know that God is on the throne? It’s because we know that the reign of Christ from the throne is a reign of justice and righteousness. Right will win out, and all else will be judged with justice. We can count on that because of what David tells us in Psalm 89:14 – Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. 

The throne of God is built on the foundation of righteousness and justice. Jesus is on that throne, meaning everything He does in His reign is dictated by righteousness and justice.

When we surrender our throne – the reign of our lives – to Jesus Christ, then the foundation of our lives becomes righteousness and justice.

When evil seems to be thriving, remember, righteousness will win out and justice will be done.

When financial failure shakes you, remember, do good, be rich in good deeds, and be generous and willing to share. In this way you will lay up treasure for yourselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that you may take hold of the life that is truly life (1 Timothy 6:18-19).

When friends fail you, remember that God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his.” (2 Timothy 2:19)

When it seems like the foundations of your life are being shaken and destroyed, then maybe it’s time to realize and admit that you’ve built your life on the wrong foundation. Your life does not have to be shaken by the events and circumstances of the world.

The righteous are never shaken, because their lives are built on the foundation of Jesus Christ. The LORD is on the throne.

He reigns!

Do what King David did – I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken… He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken…Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever.

Pastor John

God Is Paying Attention

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Psalm 10:13  Why does the wicked renounce God and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?

In 1982, “ABC Evening News” reported on an unusual work of modern art: a chair affixed to a shotgun. It was the kind of art that demanded audience participation to appreciate. People were allowed to sit in the chair for 60 seconds and look directly into the gun barrel. Doesn’t sound too scary yet, does it? But the gun was loaded and the trigger was set on a timer to fire at an undetermined moment sometime within the next hundred years. The amazing thing was that people waited in lines to sit and stare into the shell’s path! They all knew that the gun could go off at point-blank range at any moment, but they were gambling that the fatal blast wouldn’t happen during their minute in the chair.

Yes, it was foolhardy, yet many people who wouldn’t dream of sitting in that chair live a lifetime gambling that they can get away with sin. Foolishly they ignore the risk until the inevitable self-destruction and the guaranteed judgment of God comes upon them.

It’s a fact of our sinful human nature that we become complacent about sin when there are no impending consequences. If we don’t get caught, then we gain courage to take the risk again. When the fear of being caught is removed, then we think we are free to redefine the behavior as right because it pleases self.

Just watch children. When they don’t experience negative consequences to behavior, they immediately believe that the behavior is acceptable. When the leadership of the home is inconsistent then children become confused about right and wrong and do not learn the skill of making wise and moral choices. They become self-serving. That’s when the parents call for Super Nanny. They can’t understand how their children got this bad, and they have no idea how to fix them. But Super Nanny’s solutions are simple: build consistent family structure and enforce consequences. When children are placed under loving and just authority, they thrive.

You and I will also thrive when we willingly and humbly place ourselves under the loving and just authority of God. It is time for us to be honest about the areas of sin in our lives that we currently believe we are getting away with. Satan has deceived many of us into believing that God will not call us to account for our behavior and our choices. But He will and He does. He is a just, righteous, and holy God. He is paying attention.

Here’s a novel idea: because we know that God will discipline us for our sin because it is the expression of His vast love for our well-being, we should be asking Him every day to discipline us for our sin. Read carefully these words from Hebrews chapter 12 –

And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.” Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?  If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Only the wicked claim there are no consequences for sin. Only the fool says there is no God who is paying attention and stares down the barrel of a loaded gun.

But we who believe in Christ, and know the nature of the Father’s love, understand that we will thrive in a harvest of righteousness and peace when we submit to the daily discipline of God to destroy the power of sin and develop the character of Christ in us. Only through the surrender of self and the constant filling of the Holy Spirit of God will we experience victory.

So as a part of your daily devotional and prayer life, add this element – ask God to reveal your sin to you and submit to the Holy Spirit. Take your eyes off of what others have done, and for sure don’t ask God to fix them so you can be better. Allow Him to do whatever is necessary to correct your sin. You will begin to experience the joy of knowing that there is no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus. The discipline that God brings into our lives today is a wonderful and fulfilling indication that we are truly loved by Him as our Heavenly Father and will spend eternity in His presence.

Pastor John

To Know Him Is To Trust Him

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

 Psalms 9:9 – 10  The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.

We all have fears to some extent. We all worry to a degree. What we may not have is that fear and worry are the products of ignorance of God, or, if we do claim to know Him, the denial of God as being relevant to our life. Fear is the enemy of faith in God, and originates in man’s desire to trust himself. Fear and worry are the product of trusting self because we know our limitations and failures. Fear can only be eliminated through trust in God.

The Psalmist says that those who know His name will trust in Him. So today, at this scenic overlook in Psalm 9, I have decided to contemplate the names of God and how they reveal God’s nature and character to me so that I can trust Him. It is through the knowledge of God that He becomes my refuge and stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know God, both intellectually and experientially, have no need to fear or worry.

So join me as we take in the spectacular panorama before us, gazing at the splendor of the Names of God and the trustworthiness of His character that they represent. It is not a complete list, but it is a great starting point for us to understand that when we know His Name, we can put our trust in Him.

EL: God is mighty, strong, and prominent.

ELOHIM: plural form of EL, denoting the Trinitarian nature of God, proclaiming Him as Creator, Preserver, Mighty and Strong.

EL SHADDAI: God Almighty or “God All Sufficient.” He is complete, self-sufficient, and self-sustaining, needing nothing from me and able to provide everything for me.

EL ELYON:  Most High. The One and the Only True God, exalted in the heavens above all.

EL ROI: God of Seeing. The God who see us, and who opens our eyes so that we may see Him and His purpose.

EL-OLAM: Everlasting God. He is not constrained by time or space, so is with me at all times.

EL-GIBHOR: Mighty God. He is able to conquer. He is victorious. He never loses.

ADONAI: Lord or Master, Absolute ruler, He is sovereign. He is always in control of all things.

JEHOVAH: YHWH is the covenant name of God and proclaims His eternal existence. He is the Self-Existent One, “I AM WHO I AM”. He transcends all time and space and human limitations.

JEHOVAH-JIREH: The Lord will provide. God always provides; He is adequate for us when the hard times come.

JEHOVAH-ROPHE: The Lord Who Heals. This implies spiritual, emotional and physical healing.

JEHOVAH-NISSI: The Lord Our Banner. God is on the battlefield, fighting our enemies, and we rally to victory around His banner.

JEHOVAH-M’KADDESH:  The Lord Who Sanctifies. God makes us whole and holy, set apart for His glory. He defines and dictates the purpose for our life.

JEHOVAH-SHALOM: The Lord Our Peace.  Peace that results from being a whole person in right relationship to God and to one’s fellow man.

JEHOVAH-TSIDKENU: The Lord Our Righteousness. With perfect justice we are declared innocent by the righteous Judge.

JEHOVAH-ROHI: The Lord Our Shepherd.  He cares for us, leads us, and provides for our every need.

JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH: The Lord is there. He is always there. For you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you. (Psalm 9:10)

JEHOVAH-SABAOTH: The Lord of Hosts. The commander of the angelic host and the armies of God is our stronghold and defense.

Now if you just read all of that and are satisfied that you know God, let me ask you to reflect on something. Knowing God is much more than simply having intellectual knowledge of Him. To truly know Him we must experience Him. So god back to the list and apply what you know to be true of God to the specific circumstances of your life right now. Ask God to reveal his nature and character to you through that circumstance. Then, in the future, when fear and worry attack you, you will be able to tap in on the previous experiences of trusting God.

Don’t be content with head knowledge. Head knowledge does not generate love. Experience generates love. Experience God in your life, and then you will be able to love Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. At that point He will become your refuge when you are oppressed and your stronghold in times of trouble.

Check out these links for more study –

https://www.navigators.org/Tools/Discipleship%20Resources/Tools/30%20Days%20of%20Praying%20the%20Names%20and%20Attributes%20of%20God

http://www.allaboutgod.com/names-of-god.htm

http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Names_of_G-d/El/el.html

Pastor John

A Moment of Majesty

Monday, April 6, 2015

Psalm 8:1  O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.

I find myself on this Monday morning in one of those moments of being in awe of the greatness of God. The last 72 hours have brought me to this place, prepared by the Holy Spirit, to simply pull off the road of duty and responsibility and just rest in this thought –

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

On Friday I thought I would never get better and be able to celebrate Resurrection Sunday at church. I had already missed Palm Sunday. In 36 years of preaching I had never missed an Easter. God, what’s up? What are you trying to teach me?

No clear answer was given.

On Saturday I started to feel better, and accomplished a couple of tasks that needed attention around the house. But most of the day was spent resting. I started to believe that I would make it for Sunday. But as my mind began to be energized, it also became filled with all of the things that I had to do, and with all of the problems that were piling up. God, how am I supposed to have the strength to handle all of this?

I recognized the stupidity of that question as soon as it appeared on the marquis of my mind. I don’t have the strength to handle anything. I spoke to God again. The Lord is my refuge and my strength. He is my fortress and the rock of my salvation. I trust you with all of these things. I will do only what you ask me to do.

Just preach! It was clearly the Holy Spirit giving me an answer to the sickness, to the loss of energy, and to the lack of focus. Just preach! Leave everything and everyone else to me.

So I did. I let everything else go into the hands of God, and I thought only about His resurrection. Then, in my weakness, I preached what God had prepared. No fancy outline. No cute stories. Just the truth of Scripture directly from the Scripture. It was invigorating. It was healing – not physically, but most certainly spiritually. It was for me a demonstration of the power of God.

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Four people were saved at the end of the sermon. Four souls who will never forget Resurrection Sunday 2015. Four more have come to be baptized over the next few weeks. The baptistery is about to become a permanent part of the stage décor.

After the service I received a message from a young man in our church. It said, “This morning I saw God’s vision for the church first hand. What an amazing time of worship, an amazing sermon, then people laying their lives before Christ. That’s what it’s all about.”

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

So today, in this moment that has turned into hours, I am in awe of the excellency of God. And yet I realize this – from the heights of the tallest mountains, to the depths of the deepest seas, and from the splendor of the redwood forests to the seemingly infinite expanse of the starlit sky, God’s glory can be seen. Yet it is not the full extent of His glory, for that has been set above the heavens, where only God can see it, for only God can know the fullness of His own glory. What we see here and now of the majesty of God is but a shadow of the reality that dwells with Him in heaven. But we will see Him, in all of His glory. Face to face. One day we will be resurrected with Him into His eternal presence one. Let it be today!

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

How Great is our God!!!  https://youtu.be/NojwQKHuF54

At Golgotha

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Matthew 27:33   And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull)…

Our final stop on the tour of places where Jesus shed His blood brings us to Golgotha, or better known to us as Calvary. It was here that Jesus would be nailed to a cross and remain there until He gave up His Spirit and breathed His last breath.

The cross is the place where the final payment for mankind’s sin was made. It is where the blood of Jesus Christ was fully shed to cover the ultimate consequence of sin, which is death.

As God declared in the early days of man’s existence on earth, “The life is in the blood.” God demanded that everything that was to be purified for spiritual service had to be cleansed in blood. On the Day of Atonement the Old Testament priests would enter the Holy of Holies with blood to cover the sins of the people.

When Christ’s blood was expelled from His body through the spear’s wound, His physical life was terminated. Yet according to Hebrews 9 the blood of Jesus was accepted as the once-for-all sacrifice for sin in the true Holy of Holies in heaven. The same blood that indicated death on earth brought life in eternity for all who choose to be covered by it.

The redemptive plan of God for mankind is simple – costly for God but simple for us.

1. God is Holy and Perfect
2. Man sinned, sacrificing his relationship with God, and has no ability to restore it.
3. God chooses to do what is necessary to restore the relationship because of His incredible and indescribable love for us.
4. Jesus agrees to take the full force of God’s wrath against sin by suffering call of the consequences of sin and shedding His blood for them.
   1. He suffered sin’s agony in the Garden of Gethsemane
   2. He suffered sin’s punishment at Gabbatha when he was scourged
   3. He suffered sin’s cruelty in the Praetorium when He was mocked and despised
   4. He suffered sin’s death at Golgotha when He died.
5. God, being satisfied with the sacrifice His Son offered on the altar of heaven, declared for all eternity that justice had been served, and He raised Jesus from the dead.
6. God honors the sacrifice of Jesus for all eternity in the life of any person who repents of their sin and believes in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

The shed blood of Jesus on the cross, spilled out to indicate human death, has the power to save anyone and everyone from their sin and grant them eternal life.

HALLELUJAH FOR THE CROSS! Death has been swallowed up in victory!

1 Corinthians 15:53-57 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Pastor John

In the Praetorium

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

 Matthew 27:27-31 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.

Already this week we have seen that Jesus shed His blood to cover the agony of sin’s temptations when He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, and to cover the punishment for sin when He was flogged by the Roman soldiers at Gabbatha.

It is appropriate that on this day, April 1^st, commonly known as April Fool’s Day, that we investigate the third instance of Jesus shedding blood. It occurs when the same soldiers who had just scourged Him decided to extend the suffering and humiliation beyond what was authorized. It is their attempt at an April Fool’s joke well before it would ever be known by that name.

After the public whipping that left Jesus brutally beaten and bloodied, the Roman soldiers went back into Pilate’s headquarters to add insult to injury. They called together the whole battalion of soldiers to witness the crowning of a king. They stripped Jesus of His robe, and placed on Him a regal robe of scarlet.

They placed a reed in His hand to represent a royal staff. Not a limp reed, like we think of that grows in the lakes around here, but the shaft of the flowering reed that grew in that region, which resembled bamboo.

Then they twisted together a bunch of thorns from bushes which grow plentifully all over the region, and made a cruel crown to place upon His head.

As a part of the “coronation” ceremony, they all fell to their knees and mocked Jesus, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”

Then, to humiliate and harm our Lord even more they rose to their feet, spit on Him, and took the hard, bamboo-like reed with the bulbous bud of a flower on the end, and struck Jesus on the head, driving the thorns into the shallow flesh until they struck His skull. After mocking Him more, they removed the robe, but not the thorns, clothed Him in His own robe, and led Him away to be tortured and killed by crucifixion.

My friends, do you see the lengths to which sin will go? Do you see the cruelty of sin when left unabated? The cruelty of sin will take people…and us…to extremes we never thought possible.

Have you felt the sting of words that degrade and demoralize you? Have you endured the false accusations of others? Have you seen or experienced the pain of someone’s brutality as they use you as a symbolic punching bag in an attempt to validate their own authority? The blood of Jesus was shed for all of that, and more.

Or maybe…just maybe…you have been the mocker, the spitter, or the striker. Be aware that this is no joke. The only April Fools here were the fools rejecting their Savior…and fools still mock other people in the same way. We mock Christ himself by mocking Christ’s people. We make fun of them, criticize them, spit on them, and intentionally hurt them to validate our own positions. The blood of Jesus was shed for that, so that we might be free from the need to respond to sin with even greater sin.

Here’s the hope we all have – Jesus shed His blood to cover all of the mockery, the spitting, and the abuse. He modeled for us how to respond to it – with silence motivated by complete trust in the righteousness of God. And the blood He shed from his brow completely covers any thorns in our flesh so that we may constantly reflect His glory.

No matter how extreme the expression of sin directed at us, we stand covered by the blood of Jesus that was shed to protect us and forgive even those who abuse us.

Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. (1 Peter 4:16)

Pastor John

At Gabbatha

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

John 19:13  So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic Gabbatha.

Matthew 27:26  Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

Recently a quote from a famous preacher has been circulating on Facebook. It is a statement of truth from Chuck Swindoll, who said, When the consequences of sin are ignored rather than feared, we’re in deep trouble.

Every sin has a consequence. The only way to believe differently is to also believe that God is not perfectly pure, not perfectly holy, and not perfectly just, which in reality makes Him not God. The very nature of God demands that all activity contradictory to Him is punishable by Him.

When God sent His one and only Son to redeem sinful mankind, He sent Him to fully eradicate every aspect of sin. The agony Jesus felt in the Garden of Gethsemane was the fearful response of man to the realization of sin’s consequences. Yet in the end, the deity of Jesus, His love for the Father, and His love for each one of us, motivated our Lord to stay true to the plan of redemption and endure every consequence of sin on our behalf. Hallelujah! What love the Father has shown for us!

The consequences of sin are numerous, and include alienation from God and friends, emotional agony, and physical suffering. When Jesus surrendered to the will of the Father in His garden prayer, He agreed to suffer all of the consequences of our sin. He had no sin of His own for which to suffer. The spotless Lamb of God became our scapegoat. Hallelujah! What a Savior!

When Jesus was arrested, He stood before the religious authorities who mocked Him and then blindfolded Him while they beat Him with their fists. It amazes me what so called spiritual people will say and do in order to accomplish their own agenda.

After a visit to King Herod, their final stop was in front of the Roman procurator named Pilate. After a public and private conversation with Jesus, he determined that Jesus was innocent. But righteousness was not his priority – survival was. So Pilate caved in to the public demands to crucify Jesus. It amazes me what people will choose to do to preserve their status.

Before turning Jesus over the army to be crucified, Matthew tells us that Pilate had Jesus scourged. Scourging was the punishment decreed for criminal behavior not worthy of death. It was horrible. A leather whip with nine tails tipped with sharpened stone or steel was violently lashed across the bare back of the criminal, opening deep wounds in the flesh from which blood flowed profusely. The innocent Savior suffered the scourging of a sinner. The physical consequence of punishment for our sin was paid for by Jesus and is covered by the blood He shed at Gabbatha. Hallelujah! By His stripes we are healed from our sin.

Isaiah 53:3-6  He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.  Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.  But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.