Isaiah 55:8-9

⁸ “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.

“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.

⁹ For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so my ways are higher than your ways

and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. ^[1]

God is different…well, it may be better said that we are different, because He is the standard. We are told in Scripture that God made us in His own image, but sometimes we are guilty of trying to create Him in our image, and that is when we get into trouble. We must be careful when we are thinking of God that we don’t project human characteristics on Him, specifically one’s like our own, but allow space for God to be who He is; which should be the proper way of thinking in any relationship.

No doubt in the timeline of history, God, in the 2^nd Person of the Trinity, incarnated Himself into being a human for the purpose of revelation and redemption, but God Himself is not a “larger” form of ourselves with more perfect human characteristics than us. He is completely different than us in a league all His own. God is God alone.

We as His followers must realize not only the difference, but the need to conform our lives to who He is in the person of Jesus, who is our true reference point, not the other way around. We must take time out in our lives to ponder and wonder on the Being who is God, now our Father through faith in Jesus. So, remember, make sure your view of God is correlated in Jesus, not in a more perfect version of yourself. 

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^[1] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Is 55:8–9). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

1 John 2:6 NLT

“Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.”

The 19th-century British evangelist Rodney (Gypsy) Smith once said, “There are five Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the Christian—but most people never read the first four.” The reason so many people doubt Christianity today is because many have not seen the authentic life change in those who claim to be believers. It’s easy to go to church, hear three points and a poem, shake everyone’s hand, and bid everyone a good week, but it is difficult to actually surrender the details of our lives to Christ so that He can be revealed in our day to day living.  As the quote above relates, why should people bother with the four Gospels if they can’t get around the life of the Christian believer.

So, the question to pose is to the Christian: What kind of Jesus are you revealing to the world this week? Is it your ‘personal pet Jesus’ that overlooks the things you do, ‘denominational Jesus’ that fits nicely within your traditions, or the actual, authentic, historical Jesus of the Bible?  I’m reminded of a story where a young boy named Joe brought his friend for the first time to church. The teacher asked the class, “Who would you like to be like?” The young friend, not knowing who Jesus is, said Joe. The teacher, trying to set the boy up for the Sunday School answer, stated, “Wouldn’t you like to be like Jesus?” The young friend said, “Yes! If he is anything like Joe.” Would someone say that about you this week?

Christmas has become so commercial with everyone often trying to “keep up with the Jones’” it can feel very overwhelming. Trying to do last minute shopping and the hustle and bustle can sure get to us in the end.

The first Christmas was not without its overwhelming features. Imagine a young virgin girl being told she was going to be with child, not only just any child, but the very Son of God. Talk about overwhelming! I think about things today that the Lord calls me to do, and I feel overwhelmed but nothing like the responsibility of raising God’s child. I think, any of us if we are honest, might not have received the news quite as well as young Mary. Her response was one of obedience and surrender. Where often times my response to God is, “What? Wait a second…I don’t know if…You really mean me?” Whereas in my life I’ve been guilty of balking on God, Mary was guilty in simply believing in God.

May we this Christmas be reminded that the reason for the season is the reality that God became human to become our Savior, and the vehicle in which He used to accomplish this great task began with a young virgin girl, who said, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Matthew 1:38) If only our responses to God were more like Mary’s response. We must remember it is a privilege to serve the Lord of the Universe and for Him to choose us to do any task for Him is a grand opportunity.

            We all need prayer and all need to pray. Jesus taught that our prayers are not about length or performance, but about honesty, humility, and our deep needs such as forgiveness, provision and protection. As believers’ prayer should be the safest of all places in our lives because we can share our hearts openly with God and be the most vulnerable. There is nothing we need to hide from God because 1) He already knows our needs before we ask Him, and 2) He loves us unconditionally. Unconditional love can only come from God because He is the only One who knows all our conditions. He invites us to share our hearts with Him because He loves to hear from His children. No, we aren’t informing God of anything when we pray, but rather we should be enjoying Him which is where true happiness is. This is why He wants us to have fellowship with Him in our prayers. My encouragement today is quit worrying about how well you pray, or if you sound as good as the next person praying, and just pray openly, honestly, and with humility. Open your heart to the Lord, and He will meet you wherever you are.

For where envy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every kind of evil. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without favoritism and hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who cultivate peace.  – James 3:16-18

I just saw a quote on social media today that said, “We are drowning in information while starving for wisdom.” I believe this is such a true statement. Humanity has never had such access to information like we do in the present, yet it might be safe to say that humanity has never struggled more with knowing how to think, not just what to think, and allowing wisdom to produce discernment. I heard in a talk one time by an Oxford professor that “non-sense is still non-sense even when given by an intelligent person.”

We as a culture are starving for wisdom, but wisdom will not be found through the mass of information that we have at our fingertips or through what our emotions tell us. Wisdom is only found from above given by God producing good fruit in our character. What we need more of today is leaders leading from good character not just mere talents, and followers following the wisdom and character exemplified in their leaders. As the verse below says, wisdom is first pure, but we live in a culture where purity is being lost and scoffed at. We see more and more selfish ambition and envy rearing their nasty heads and producing chaos and disorder. The more we push God out of our society and even in our churches the less we will see wisdom and the fruit which it produces.

Genesis 1:1

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

One of the great debates of our day is whether or not God exists. Many of our day choose to believe that the worldview of Atheism (NO GOD) is the best explanation over and above the worldview of Theism (GOD). So how can one determine which worldview is true? The only answer is in the evidence.

Now many want to point to Darwinism as a support to Atheism, but the reality is not whether one believes in evolution or creationism (another discussion), the bigger question is “Why is there something versus nothing?” Science is in agreement with the Bible in the fact that both state the Universe came into existence. So the question is “Why does it exist now?” From a logical standpoint the only game in town is that there had to be something prior to the existence of the Universe that brought the Universe into existence. This makes sense at every level regarding Cause & Effect. For example, if a book comes into existence there has to be an author.  Therefore, if the Universe came into existence at some point the only logical explanation was that there had to be a Cause behind it. It seems to take greater faith to believe ‘something came from nothing’ than to believe that ‘something came from something prior to it.’ The first statement of the Bible seems to be the most logical, and simply put I don’t have enough faith to be an Atheist.

1 Peter 4:17

For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household;

  Hebrews 10:23-25

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

As a pastor I hear many complaints on a weekly level about how our country and society is turning away from God. This of course is not new news, but one has to begin to ask why is there such a turn in our culture away from God? First, we can say that humans are rebellious to God and a turning away from God is to be expected. This is true without question, but secondly, we as Christians need to be open to what part we play in this downward spiral.

            Many Christians may want to reject that we as believers have any part to play, but they would be downright wrong. Jesus called His followers to be the light of the world (Matthew 5:14). When the light goes dim the rest of the room gets darker. I believe this has a lot to say about why our country is getting darker in its moral compass. Followers of Christ are simply not being the light. The lack of commitment in churches is astounding, particularly when you ask what those believers say that believe. If a believer truly believes that Christ died for them to make them right before God, how in the world can so much other stuff come before God, worship, and learning His truth that should shape our lives? How many “Christians” go to church either because they feel guilty because they haven’t been in a while, or there was nothing more entertaining on their calendar that Sunday? There is nothing wrong with missing church every so often to go on vacation, etc., but when rodeos, baseball, the mall, and the like become regular replacements for worship, then you the believer have become the major part of society’s problem. When parents make God only an option, when there’s nothing better going on, then don’t come whining to your local pastor when your kids grow up making poor choices that reflect that God’s only an option to them. Remember you taught them to make such choices. If you do this for only a few generations, you can begin to see how the moral sands begin to shift.

Philippians 4:4 – Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

For the believer joy is a fruit of the spirit. To know that our sins are forgiven, our account is cleared, graced bestowed, and hope granted should create an inner celebration for those who have put their faith in Christ Jesus. Therefore, as followers of Christ, our perspective of life should be different than the rest of the world not rooted in the circumstances of life but in the reality of a loving and forgiving God.

My question for us this week: Is your temperament, mood, or attitude towards life rooted in your circumstances or the reality of God’s love for you?  I’ve heard many times the statement, “Well under the circumstances…” For the Christian one must ask, “Why are you under the circumstances?” Your reality in Christ is greater than any circumstance that comes your way in this life. See beyond today through the spectacles of eternity.

Paul writing to the Philippian church from a Roman dungeon clearly is not under the circumstances of his situation where his hope would be minimal and future dreary. No, he is rejoicing at the fact that He knows Christ, he has been recognized by the world as a spokesman for Christ and is willing to be punished and even die as a prisoner for Christ. Paul would tell us that no matter the circumstances you are in, even if death is inevitable on the immediate horizon of your future, as a believer you have reason to rejoice in Jesus. May we as His followers rejoice in God’s love no matter our circumstances.

8/7/22

2 Peter 3:9

⁹ The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.^[1]

With all the turmoil that is going on in the present, the believer may sometimes grow anxious, like John at the end of Revelation, for Christ to come now. We may grow a bit impatient because we see the destruction of God’s good world, and how good is called evil, and evil referred to as good. It’s distressing to see values cease to be valuable to our country and countless sinful acts celebrated. So, why does Christ delay His coming?

This verse above addresses this specifically. God doesn’t approve of the evil that is taking place, but rather He desires for all mankind to come to Him to experience His forgiveness and grace. He is not slow, or forgetful, regarding His promise to return, but is patient with humanity desiring their repentance in faith. The Bible teaches that the first characteristic of love is patience (1 Cor. 13:4). It also teaches that ‘God so loves the world’(John 3:16) that anyone who would call out to Him (Romans 10:13) will be saved.

So, imagine for a second the immense amount of patience it takes to see the ones you created creation for, destroy every good thing you desired for them in hopes that some would return back to Him in repentance. This only illustrates and demonstrates the enormous amount of love God has for the Image-Bearers, otherwise known as mankind. Not to even speak of the fact that God was willing to become one of us, to live the life we couldn’t, pay the debt we owed but couldn’t afford, so that, reconciliation between God and man could be reestablished in love. What an awesome God we serve!

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^[1] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. (1989). (2 Pe 3:9). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

1 John 2:1-2

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; ² and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. ^[1]

This verse is a verse of comfort, because we are all sinners struggling in some way. The elder Apostle John is writing to those he refers to as his children, this is most likely referring to those he has mentored in the faith. His words are comforting twofold: 1. An encouragement not to sin

2. An advocate, if and when, we do sin.

John is investing in those he has tutored so that they won’t fall into sin. Scripture clearly teaches that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23), but once we come to know Christ, we are called to a life of sanctification, which is a drawing out to be different than the rest of the world, to be like Christ. We will never be sinless, but as we grow in our faith we are to sin less. John’s letter is an encouragement not to sin, but John didn’t stop with just encouragement not to sin, but also addressed when we fail and sin.

John also realized that at times we are going to fail and succumb to sin, and therefore, reminds believers that we have an advocate standing in our corner, before God, on our behalf. In other words, like a defense attorney, ready to give witness to God the Father on our behalf, because ‘He who knew no sin, was made to be sin, so that we could become the righteousness of God’ ( 2 Cor. 5:21). Christ stands in the gap promoting our lives before His Father as if our life was His life. May we all be encouraged not to sin, and take great comfort knowing that Christ has paid for all sin and stands as an advocate on our behalf.

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^[1] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. (1989). (1 Jn 2:1–2). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.