For the Love of God1/20/2024 ![]() 2 Corinthians 5:14 ~ "For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died." Let there be no doubt concerning the love of God--and that He loves you. The challenge most people have when it comes to the idea of "love" is from the subjective nature with which we consider it. Human affection is often based upon some quality of interest that the object of our desire has impressed upon our heart and mind, and so we say we "love" them. When that interest wanes, many will determine that they no longer love the other and they will separate their affection from the object. It is not so with God. Look at the condition of our nature when God loved us. Romans 5:8 clearly reveals His love, "But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." There was no character within us, no quality of interest that should have attracted God's affections toward us, there was nothing but sin--that is all we had. And, in that condition, God loved us to such an extent that Christ died. Oh, beloved, does this love hold any interest to you? God did not love you for anything other than that you were needing to be loved by Him. He loved you simply because it is in His nature to love (see 1 John 4:8). We were prisoners in the dungeon, justly waiting our eternal punishment and then the word came to us that the King had taken our place! He died to satisfy our crimes. Then, because His life could not be constrained by death, Jesus rose from the grave and now calls anyone who will be His to leave the prison and embrace His love through repentance and loyalty to Him. Romans 2:4 states, "Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?" Let the other prisoners laugh at us, let the remaining inmates who reject the King's offer mock us for our abandonment of this earthly dungeon. I, for one, am eternally grateful for His love that rescued me from His wrath and delivered me from His judgment to receive an eternal inheritance in His family. The Lord Jesus suffered and died on the cross for you--do you now think that if you receive His love that He will sit in heaven not also longing for you to be with Him? Does not love desire to be in the presence of the object of affection? If you are in Christ, you are the object of His affection and He delights to know you. It is this love that God offers to you, not human subjective love, but the solid, unwavering sacrificial love of Christ. And it should be that love which compels us to Him. Thus, the love of Christ controls us. Another word for "control" is "constrain." That is, it holds us fast--confines us in this life that we should no longer live for anything other than His love. Consider the follow-up verse, 2 Corinthians 5:15, "And he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised." What will you do for the love of God? Not, what will you do to earn it--for you cannot earn His love, but you must humbly receive it. What will you do with your life going forward knowing that He has loved you with such sacrificial mercy? Will you do as the Apostle states, and no longer live for yourself but for Him--that is, Jesus--who died for you and was raised to be the King of kings? Though we still live in this world, believer, we are no longer bound to its condemnation. We are free--delivered by His love, for His love, and to be in His love forever. In His Grace, Pastor Michael
1 Comment
No Other Jesus1/9/2024 ![]() 2 Corinthians 11:4 ~ "For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough." There is danger in the effort to introduce Jesus into the culture different than He is revealed in Scripture. And the Christians of the church in Corinth are rebuked for that very thing. Though it is unclear exactly who it was that came into the Corinthians church and proclaimed a different Jesus, with a different spirit and a different gospel, the church seemed quite ready to receive it. The Apostle Paul describes these people in verses 13 and 14 of the same chapter: "For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light." But what is the danger? Simple: the danger is to leave people deceived and yet believing that they are in Christ. However, they are believing on a false Christ. An imaginary Jesus cannot save, how can he--for it is a lie. Peter said that there is no other name by which we must be saved--and that still remains today (see Acts 4:12). And much the same thing is happening in the cultural Christianity that has grown in the post-modern era of our world today. Consider what happens when a person has gravitated to a mimic of Christ in some various media expression and they declare that they can now believe in Jesus because He was finally portrayed in a way that they could accept? They don't look to God's word for the truth of Christ, they look to the modern rendition despite the fact that it bears so little resemblance to the Lord Jesus. It comes back to the original lie of the enemy, "did God really say?" And buying the lie of an invented Jesus runs a terrible risk of keeping someone from the truth--exactly what the devil wants to do. It is also what the world desires. Consider the words of 2 Timothy 4:3-4, "For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths." A more comfortable, more agreeable and palatable Jesus is exactly what the world wants, for eventually they will have a Jesus that conforms to them. There are two things you can do in the face of this. First, hold fast to the Lord Jesus Christ as revealed in God's word through the gospel. The rebuke of the Apostle comes at the church for their acceptance of a false Christ. Do not accept anything other than solid, Biblical truth. Second, do not readily put up with any other rendering of the Lord Jesus that does not conform to the Word of God. Many may call you all manner of pejorative names, believing that you've become stolid and unbending, don't give in. Remember that the distortion of Jesus, even though much might be similar to Scripture, is like a drop of poison in an otherwise pure glass of water. Both are deadly, and it is a foolish thing to drink either. In His Grace, Pastor Michael The Ancient Paths1/5/2024 ![]() Jeremiah 6:16 ~ Thus says the Lord: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’" With the advancement of technology, most people now have a GPS in their vehicles (or on the phones) and find their way by the instruction of computerized voices based upon directions given by satellites a thousand miles above the earth. It didn't used to be that way. Once upon a time, in the distant reaches of the past, people actually looked at roadmaps and asked the locals for directions. And, surprisingly, they found that they could find their way based upon the knowledge of the neighbors. Otherwise, if you didn't trust the locals, you might find yourself quite lost and in need of help. One day, as I was navigating by GPS to find a local shop, the computer voice took me down the road and into the parking lot of another business. I reset it. Turned it off and on again. All effort on my part never corrected the GPS and I could not find the shop I needed--until I went in and talked with a local. Consider the text above, "ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is." The first thing I want you to see: there is a path to follow, a good way to travel, and it is the "ancient" one. The modern approach to the Christian life leaves much to be desired with its conformity to the trends of society. The "GPS" of the post-modern Christian life will direct you away from the good way and try to lead you toward a road that is self-focused, entertainment driven, audacious and proud. As one friend told me, "They seem to focus more on the clay than the potter." The ancient path, however, is sacrificial and humble. It is driven by a need to bring glory to God. It follows a road that is navigated by the Word of God and prayer. It is marked with the scars of faithfulness and it is a narrow and hard way to follow--and few there be that find it (see Matthew 7:13-14) There is also a need to "ask" for that way. Many have traveled the road ahead of you, walking by faith in Christ for years and have learned how to give good directions to those who are standing and looking. Go to them--and ask. Ask how to pray. Ask how to study God's word. Ask how to walk in loving obedience to Christ in your marriage, with your children and/or grandchildren. Ask how to be faithful with your local church. There are many things you can ask, and a good neighbor who is familiar with the road, will point you to God's "ancient" path of His word and show you how to walk. Then, if you want to experience the promise of "rest for your souls," you must walk it out. Give attention to that ancient path and step out by faith in obedience to the guidance of God's word. It is a light for your path (see Psalm 119:105). Do not be like those who said they would not walk in it. Don't trust any other way than the way of Christ through His word. The "GPS" directions of those who have a more modern view of the Christian faith will leave you walking away from the ancient path of God. So, my friends--stand, look and ask. And when the ancient path is presented you--step out and walk upon it. In His Grace, Pastor Michael The Mountain Remains1/2/2024 ![]() Isaiah 26:4, "Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock." Years ago I lived in the midst of some beautiful mountains. Each winter I would gaze upon those snow-capped peaks and marvel at the majesty of those spires. Rugged and wonderful, they stretched like granite towers carved out by the finger of God. But as winter is so prevalent to do here in the Pacific Northwest, clouds rolled in and hid those encircling mountains. They were hid so well in fact, that if you had never seen them and only experienced cloudy days in that mountain town, you might believe that those mountains never existed in the first place. One Sunday morning, I asked the congregation where I served if the mountain was gone. It had vanished behind the clouds and surely the mountain had moved on and found sunnier skies where it could display its majesty. Of course, the silliness of that reasoning was obvious--just because you couldn't see the mountain did not mean it wasn't there. And, dear believer, I suspect that you have found out my point. Just because you cannot see God, and though the clouds of doubt, fear, anxiety, distress, persecutions and sorrows blanket the skies of your faith, does not mean the Mountain has departed. As Isaiah 26:4 declares, our God is an EVERLASTING rock! He does not depart, He will not forsake you. And though the clouds of suffering may hide your view of Him, He has always remained. Consider another passage from Isaiah 50:10, "Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of his servant? Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God." Do you fear the Lord and yet it seems that you walk in darkness and have no light? Then do what it says--trust in the name of the LORD and rely upon your God. Do not give yourself over to the niggling doubts that creep into your thoughts when the way seems shrouded. Turn to His word and trust Him. Live out the life of faithful obedience and God will, in His time and for His purpose, dispel those clouds. They are there, even now, to test your faith--to show that you can trust Him, even if the way is dark. Consider what the Apostle Peter had to say in 1 Peter 1:8, "Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory." Though you do not see Him, continue believing. The clouds may hide the Mountain, my friend, but they can never, ever, remove Him. In His Grace, Pastor Michael From the Mountains to the SeaEvery step we take on this journey called life ought to be used for greater understanding. I've lived from the mountains to the sea, and this blog is my personal thoughts and observations with a desire for Biblical understanding. Welcome. Featured BookArchives
December 2024
Categories
All
|
|
© COPYRIGHT 2023. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
|