Connecting Points

Friday, October 19, 2012

Today’s Topic: Determined To Do It                                                  

Today’s Text:  Psalm 119:1-8 (ESV)

¹ Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD! ² Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, ³ who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways! ⁴ You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently. ⁵ Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes! ⁶ Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments. ⁷ I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous rules. ⁸ I will keep your statutes; do not utterly forsake me!

Determination: we all know what that is, and we even have it in many areas of our lives. We are determined to make the most of life. We are determined to take a well-deserved vacation. We are determined to get ahead. We are determined to get the job done.

If only that kind of determination was being experienced in our spiritual lives. For some of you it is, but for far too many of us it just doesn’t seem to be there. We read our Bibles, pray, worship and praise when things are good, but let there be a little trouble and we run in retreat and slumber in self-pity. Our true heart is revealed in such times as we seek to take control and fulfill our own objectives for our own good. We are determined to protect ourselves when we could be determined to let God protect us.

Many of us tend to read the Bible with such self-serving motives. About the only thing we have really determined in our hearts is that the Word of God is just another of the viable options on the table. We read it for information only so later we can make what we consider to be a wise choice when it is compared with the other options available. The only real determination we have is that we are determined to run life our way.

That must change if we hope to have any blessing from God and stability to life. The prerequisite to living a full and abundant life of peace and freedom is to enter into the reading of God’s Word with a determination that whatever it says will be obeyed explicitly and exclusively. God’s Word is not one of many entrées on the buffet of life, but rather is the only item on life’s menu.

I am beginning today a study of the one-hundred-nineteenth Psalm, taking one section each day. I am doing this in my own personal life because I need to find strength for the days ahead from the only Source of lasting strength. I chose this portion of sacred Scripture because of its affirmation of the beauty and authority of God’s Word.

As I started studying the first eight verses I was immediately overwhelmed with the truth of determination. Before any promises other than blessing are given by God for our benefit, the Psalmist makes clear that he is already determined to do whatever it is that God says. He emphasizes that he is determined to be steadfast and walk only in the ways of the Lord. He is determined to be obedient. Only then does he discover the reward for such determination – freedom from shame and the constant presence of God in his life.

Please understand this clearly – the Lord God Almighty is offended by our attempts to claim His presence in our lives when while we pick and choose which parts of His Word to obey. He will turn us over to the natural consequences of our choices. It will appear to us that He has forsaken us, but that is not the case, for He cannot and will not forsake His children. He is simply honoring our choices, while waiting with open arms to receive back into fellowship the one who repents and again determines to be obedient.

Determination: it is to be the foundation of the study of God’s Word. I am determined that whatever God says I will do. Could it mean rejection by the people of the world? Probably. Could it mean public disgrace in the eyes of those who serve self in the world? Possibly. Could it mean humiliation? Hopefully, because it is in humiliation that the power of Christ’s Presence is discovered. You see, the guarantee of God is that the one who is determined to obey at all cost is the one who will never be put to shame. That’s because there is no shame in the truth. Shame is always the product of hypocrisy. The inconsistent heart is the fertile soil in which the seed of shame grows. But where there is truth and the consistent, steadfast, and determined obedience to it, there can be no shame.

I am determined, from this day forward, to be blameless; to walk in the way of the Lord; to keep His testimonies and seek Him with my whole heart; to do no wrong; to be steadfast in keeping God’s statutes; and to praise Him with an upright heart as He corrects me when I need it. I am determined!

Connecting Points

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Today’s Topic: Do You Believe?                                                       

Today’s Text:  John 11:40 (ESV)  Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”

As I return to my office this morning from a three day trip to the Bayou of Louisiana, I am still struck with the words of Jesus that Pastor Jerry shared at the funeral service for his wife Cindy. “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”

As Jerry shared the story of Cindy’s death with me during one of our quiet times together, he told me how after the paramedics had ceased their efforts to revive her they left the room to give him some alone time with her. He carefully covered her body, and then laid down on the floor beside her and held her, stroking the cool arms and cheeks that had been warmed by life just moments before. He talked to her, and said his final goodbyes, heard not by the ears beside him but by the soul now in the presence of Jesus.

After thirty minutes or so, the coroner arrived, and said he had some questions to ask. Before he could begin, Jerry started to share with him the story of Cindy’s life and the reality of her incredible spirit of grace and love. He spoke specifically about the forgiveness she displayed for his many mistakes, blunders, and sins.

When Jerry finished praising and honoring his wife, the coroner simply filled out his paper work and told Jerry that he must go home. He explained that earlier that day he had been involved in an argument with his wife and they had not talked all day. She was mad, and so was he. He said he had to go home right away and make it right. Even at the moment of her death Cindy’s life was ministering to others. Even in death, God’s glory was being revealed.

“Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”

We tend to believe that the trouble we are experiencing right now is ours to handle and ours to resolve. We are fixers. We want the solution now, for we do not know how nor do we desire to know how to endure until God’s glory is seen. We believe that God’s glory is displayed in temporal blessings brought on by solutions, when in fact God’s greatest glory is displayed in resurrection which necessitates death. God’s glory is not revealed when there is still plenty of rope left, but only when we reach the end of it. God’s glory is not revealed when we can say we are satisfied, but when God says His will has been accomplished.

We want immediate change, but God says our strength is renewed in waiting. We want the removal of stress, when God desires to teach us perseverance. We ask for peace, but do not pray for the faith required to trust God’s outcome that produces God’s glory. We ask for blessing without obedience. We ask for things to be done rather than ask for a deeper intimacy with the One who does all things according to His purpose for His glory. We are conditioned for results, when God is committed to relationship.

Reflect on that today – we are conditioned for results when God is committed to relationship. Begin to discover the incredible blessing of knowing God rather than just watching God work. Jesus said in John 17:3 “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” It is in the knowledge of God – defined in Scripture as the personal experience of His eternal presence in your life – that we discover the glory of God. Such knowledge comes only by belief.

We want solutions: God wants trust. We choose to hurry our way through the valleys of despair and death: God chooses to comfort us while in them so we begin to see them only as shadows. We choose to get things done and take control: God lets us do it until we turn in humble confession of our inadequacies and let Him do it. But He may not solve it right away, because the lessons of relationship have to be learned before the class is dismissed.

Believe Jesus. Trust Him. He promises that we will see the glory of God in the end. Let His end be the only end you pursue.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Friday, October 12, 2012

Today’s Topic: How Big Is God?                                                       

Today’s Text:

Isaiah 40:26 (ESV) ²⁶ Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing.

Isaiah 42:5 (ESV) ⁵ Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it:

Psalm 148:5 (ESV) ⁵ Let them praise the name of the LORD! For he commanded and they were created.

Check this out!

NOW, TRY TO WRAP YOUR MIND AROUND THIS….. ……

THIS IS A HUBBLE TELESCOPE ULTRA DEEP FIELD INFRARED VIEW OF COUNTLESS
‘ENTIRE’ GALAXIES BILLIONS OF LIGHT-YEARS AWAY.

Now, how big are you, and how big are the problems that you think overwhelm you today? The same God who created this immense and unknowable universe is the same God who became flesh and dwelt among us so that we might know Him! He has everything under control, and He can be trusted to accomplish His glory, which is for our good if we are living according to His purpose. Let us praise the Name of the Lord, and rest in the assurance that all things are in God’s hand.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Today’s Topic: HOPE!                                                                       

Today’s Text:  1 Thessalonians 4:13-15 (NLT)
¹³ And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. ¹⁴ For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. ¹⁵ We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died.

My friends, this devotional is delayed today at the request of a family member of a dear friend who died last night, so that all the members of the family could be notified. It has been a hard morning of mourning, but I am refreshed with the words of the Apostle Paul that remind me that my grieving is not to be like those without Christ who have no hope. The tears I shed are not only from human loss, but also reflect the joy that comes from knowing the promise of eternal life based on the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. We have a hope – a guarantee – that in Christ there is no death, but only resurrection to the eternal Presence of God.

This is the email I received from her husband during the night.

She had a particularly bad day today, severe pain in her head throughout the day. I stayed home all day until about 7pm, gave her 7pm meds and went to feed the animals. When I got back home she was still in her chair and almost unresponsive. She opened her eyes twice. There was no fear, only recognition and fatigue. About the time the paramedics got here she just stopped breathing. We worked on her for about thirty minutes and then I told them to stop. It was her time. For the first time in many years, your mother is not in pain any more.

Considering the intense pain she has suffered almost constantly for these past several years, my heat breaks, but not for her. She is so much better off now, so very much better. Of course I grieve, even though I’ve known I would see this day sooner or later. The Lord gave her twenty years more than the doctors did, and to this day I know she was here just for me. She was the one who added all the colors of the rainbow to my otherwise black and white life. Why God blessed me with such a passionately loving and devoted wife, I do not know, but I am satisfied that the Lord called her home at this time. I will certainly miss her; I do not know how to be me without her, but I know tonight she is so much better off, and I am totally confident the Lord Jesus will walk with me through whatever comes, just as he always did for me and her when we were walking through life together.

So, we do not grieve like men who have no hope, for we believe that Jesus died and rose again. In this same way God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus.

So as we mourn the loss of our dear sister in Christ, we rejoice in a life faithfully lived as a servant of her Lord. Her endurance through physical suffering is over, but the spirit of grace and love we all saw in her remains as her spiritual legacy for all to follow. She will be missed, but not for long. We will stand together in the Presence of God someday before the throne of Jesus Christ and He will declare, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

So long for now, Cindy Moser. May the Lord’s grace be upon Jerry and the rest of the family as their mourning is turned into rejoicing through the celebration her life in Christ lived totally for God’s glory.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Tuesday, October 09, 2012

Today’s Topic: What Do You Really Want?                                      

Today’s Text:  Psalm 73:25 (ESV)
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

This will be short, but the depth of its meaning in my life right now is beyond measure. Oh that I would live in the power of this truth, that there is nothing on this earth that I desire besides God.

Besides God. It is essential that we understand this. We are not living in spiritual power if we can only claim that we desire God more than other things. God does not time share. God is not to be diminished to a place of equal consideration with other pursuits. We are not to declare ourselves spiritually healthy because we have put God ahead of other things. That is shallow discipleship. That is self-centered discipleship that leaves open the option to replace God with other things that provide more immediate benefit. We are to desire nothing other than God.

Oh how we live so much of our lives in the deception of Satan who has us convinced that there are other good things besides God. They may not be as good, yet we believe they are still good. So we put them on our priority list, but declare ourselves to be spiritual by placing God above them. Yet God is to be on the list alone!

God does not desire to be included in our other activities. God desires that we include all other activities in Him. It may sound more like semantics than theology, but these are profound truths. There is NOTHING on earth that we are to desires besides God! God is not to be asked to bring his blessing upon our choices, but rather we are to only make choices that already carry His blessing.

We live compartmentalized lives, and because we have given God the highest and largest compartment we think we are holy. But we are to holy as He is holy, which means the elimination of all compartments so that there is nothing in our lives except Him.

So what do you really want? Some want a life that is their own, and reject God completely. Some want a life that is their own, yet has a portion of God that satisfies their need to be spiritual. Some want a life of spiritual vitality, yet continue to hang on to things that bring some form of personal reward. But there are some, one of whom I desire to be, that want nothing but God. They declare all things of this life and world to be unworthy to coexist in the Presence of God. It is those who truly know Him, and are known by Him.

So what do you really want?

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Monday, October 08, 2012

Today’s Topic: My Response is My Responsibility                          

Today’s Text:  Psalm 101:1-7 (NIV)  I will sing of your love and justice; to you, O LORD, I will sing praise.

I am so guilty of doing this wrong. I think you can probably relate. We are so guilty of making other people responsible for our choices. It starts when we are kids and we tell mommy that Susie made me do it. We quickly learn how fragile our assessment of self is, and we develop great skills at covering up anything that could potentially minimize that assessment. The easiest way to protect ourselves is to blame others and make them responsible for our responses.

I am dealing with that right now in a couple of serious situations with people. The worst part is that they refuse to see the reality of what they are doing. They are laying the foundation for continued sin by making other people responsible for causing it and by proclaiming that their future responses will be dictated by other people’s responses to their sin. My heart is so overloaded with the weight of this problem that I cannot sleep, yet as I lay awake in bed in the dark hours of the night I cannot help but make it personal and ask the Holy Spirit to show me how I do the same thing.

We blame a lot of things and people for our choices, don’t we? “I’m so down today because…” (finish the sentence with excuses like the weather, Packer loss, gas prices, politics, etc.) We blame people’s behavior for our anger, our rebellion, or distrust, and more. All such responsibility shifts are nothing more than a defense mechanism to cover up for a damaged value system that we created by previous choices we made. Yet our ego does not permit us to humble ourselves to the point of true repentance because we have chosen to see such humility as additional damage to our worth. So we blame others to protect ourselves, and the bondage increases.

It is obvious that we do not really believe that God exalts the humble, so we seek to exalt ourselves. It is apparent that we do not believe that Jesus Christ died to redeem us from the old nature of sin because we are unwilling to truly crucify it and experience His resurrection power. It is debilitating to our souls to not believe that God our Father can and will completely qualify us and stamp us with His approval if we will humble ourselves before Him. If we really believed all of these things, we would do them.

So today, I choose to make my response my responsibility. It does not matter to me any longer what is done to me, but only what is done by me. I choose to do only what honors my Lord and Savior, no matter how much personal pain and anguish it causes among men. God and God alone is the one who truly tests my heart. When I have sinned, I will not focus on the pain it has caused me, but with a truly repentant heart I will see the offense it was to God, and then His Holy Spirit will direct me to focus on how my sin affected others so I may humble myself before them as well. That is true repentance. Forgiveness cannot be granted without such repentance.

Today, I choose to follow the instructions of Psalm 101 which the Lord Jesus Christ gave to me this morning to refresh my spirit. May it serve to do the same for you.

Psalm 101:1-7 (NIV)  I will sing of your love and justice; to you, O LORD, I will sing praise. ² I will be careful to lead a blameless life– when will you come to me? I will walk in my house with blameless heart. ³ I will set before my eyes no vile thing. The deeds of faithless men I hate; they will not cling to me. ⁴ Men of perverse heart shall be far from me; I will have nothing to do with evil. ⁵ Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret, him will I put to silence; whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart, him will I not endure. ⁶ My eyes will be on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me; he whose walk is blameless will minister to me. ⁷ No one who practices deceit will dwell in my house; no one who speaks falsely will stand in my presence.

My response is my responsibility, and today I choose to respond to all things with praise to God accompanied by obedience to God so that I may have a blameless heart!

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Thursday, October 04, 2012

Today’s Topic: Spiritual Awareness                                                  

Today’s Text:  Psalm 34:7 (ESV)
The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.

A devotional I received this morning by email really got me thinking about truths we ignore. One of them is the truth that there is a spiritual realm outside of this physical realm in which we live, and God has designed it so the two can interconnect.

According to God’s design, the spiritual realm rules the physical realm, and consists of two governing bodies: the Kingdom of Satan and the Kingdom of God. Of course, as Creator, God is ultimately the ruler of Satan (Revelation 1:5 – and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.), but for now, in this present age, Satan has been given dominion over the earth. (Ephesians 6:12 –  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.)

Every person is being governed in their physical existence by one or the other of these spiritual Kingdoms. Not both. Only one! Those who are living according to the flesh to fulfill its desires are being ruled by the power of Satan, and are children of the Devil. In John 8:44 Jesus says, You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. Those who are living according to the Spirit of God have God as their Father by rebirth through faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Again, the words of Jesus – for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. (John 16:27) and  that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. (John 17:21).

Now that the foundational truths are in place, let us consider what the Lord put on my heart this morning as I read the devotional about angels. As children of God the Father, we have direct and intimate contact with the spiritual realm that surrounds us. God has created and appointed ministering spirits called angels to serve Him on our behalf. They care for us, protect us, and deliver God’s will to us. They are not only looking over our lives but also looking into our lives to understand the glory of God’s redemption. Contemplate these Scripture passages today that relate to us what is happening all around us in the spiritual realm.

Psalm 103:19-21  The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all. Bless the LORD, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word! Bless the LORD, all his hosts, his ministers, who do his will!

Hebrews 1:13-14 And to which of the angels has he ever said, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”? Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?

Psalm 91:11-12 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.

1 Peter 1:12 …the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

Ephesians 3:10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

Congratulations are in order if you have stuck with this devotional to this point. Here’s my main point in the form of a question – How aware are you on a daily basis of the activity in the spiritual realm that exists around you? Do you understand how the Lord has established an army of ministering spirits called angels that are constantly ministering the grace of God to us? Do you understand how those angels are watching our lives so they can better understand God’s glorious plan of redemption? Do you understand how the way you live your life is a testimony to the spiritual realm – either to the demons of Satan or the angels of God?

I was so very blessed this morning to think about the love of God manifested in the constant care of my life. I am so guilty of seeing only the circumstances and the harm they are doing, rather than the spiritual realm of the angels that have been assigned to protect me and minister the grace of God to my heart. Take a moment and reconnect with the spiritual side of life, becoming more aware of the presence of God around us and in us.

Connecting Points

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Today’s Topic: Sow the Seed                                                            

Today’s Text:  Matthew 13:3 (ESV)
And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow.

I’m sure you are all very familiar with the parable proceeded to tell the crowds after this opening statement. In case you haven’t heard the story, here’s a link so you can read it. Matthew 13:1-9

You’ve probably heard many teachings on this story, and most of them probably focus on the four types of soil that are mentioned. There are good lessons for us personally in such teaching. But today as I prepared some comments on this passage for a radio interview I was doing, the Lord impressed two truths on me that are extremely significant, and I’d like to challenge you with them.

First, in this parable of Jesus, there is no mention of soil preparation. Our human nature demands that we place value on our efforts, and we prioritize our efforts based on return and results. Where there is little chance of success there is little demand for investment. Yet in the example Jesus gives us of a true Kingdom sower, there is no concern for the type of soil into which the seed will be sown.

We tend to predetermine the worth of the recipient before we sow any seeds of truth in them. We make judgments about their fitness for fertilization and then hoard our seed until better soil comes along. Maybe we believe that the seed is limited when in fact there is an infinite supply. It could be that we believe the seed is too precious and cannot be wasted, when in fact the preciousness of it demands that it be spread all the more because of its power to produce fruit. Maybe we are more concerned about our image as a sower than we should be, hoping that by trying to guarantee production we will be declared a wise farmer, when the reality is that obedience is the real definer of image.

So the first point I make today is this – start sowing seed everywhere and to everyone with no exceptions. God alone is responsible for soil preparation and for results.

Second, nothing is ever said in the story about changing the seed. What if the story went this way? “A sower went out to sow…  After meeting together as sowers, the people decided that it would be more productive to produce seed that was resistant to birds, drought, and thorns, so they began to dissect the seed to see if it could be improved. They developed different varieties of seed to match the conditions of the soil and climate where it would be sown so that they could increase the harvest.”

My friends, there is one seed and only one seed – the Gospel of Jesus Christ who grants salvation to anyone through faith in His work on the cross to pay for our guilt of sin and His resurrection from the dead to guarantee us eternal life. There is no way to improve upon that. There is no greater harvest to be realized than the one God produces by faithfulness to that message. We don’t need to change it, compromise it, or condition it so it is more acceptable to the hearer. The truth of the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes. It is NOT our responsibility to make the message acceptable to the hearer. We are only responsible to proclaim the message, and we are to do so with the compassion of Jesus, speaking the truth in love.

So the second point is this – Don’t try to change the seed you are going to sow. Just sow the truth, and sow it everywhere and to everyone, trusting God with the harvest. Every time you put your hand in your pocket or purse to remove keys, money, or anything else, just imagine that your hand is going into a seed bag hanging from your waist, and then scatter it on someone with words of truth.

Pastor John