Victory after dinner

Professional sports teams often have a pre-game meal.  The team nutritionists are tasked to choose just the right amount of carbs, protein etc… All of this to ensure the players will have the strength to endure and win that days game.  

God loves a good pre-game meal and it seems that whenever God is getting ready to defeat evil He plans a feast.

In the Old Testament, Exodus 12, the children of Israel have been in bondage for more than 400 years.  God wants to defeat the Egyptians and set HIs people free. Just before the last plague when God will deliver His people He invites all of His children to a meal, the first Passover Meal.  This meal preceded the defeat of the Pharaoh and his armies, and became the annual remembrance of God’s relationship with His people from that day forward. 

David in the Old Testament knew this to be true and writes these words in Psalm 23,

5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;

Then we read in Revelation 19 just before Jesus is getting ready to return and put a final end to all evil for all time it seems that once again God is saying, “Hey just before the final victory, “let’s eat”. 

19:9 Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” 

On this Thursday of Holy Week we remember the meal that Jesus and his disciples had together just before Jesus great victory on the cross.  To celebrate that victory, Jesus invited His disciples to, you guessed it, a meal.

Mark 14:22 And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” 23 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. 24 And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25 Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” (ESV)

On Maundy Thursday, when Jesus is about to go to the cross to “destroy the works of the devil”   He invites his disciples to set down with Him for dinner.  Actually they are celebrating that same passover meal of their forefathers.  Only now Jesus is updating its significance to reflect His own sacrificial work on the cross where He will destroy an even greater enemy than Pharaoh,  Sin! 

What is Jesus doing while the High Priest are plotting His arrest?  He is doing what David said the Lord always does, “He prepared a table in the presence of His enemies” and was having supper with His disciples.  

A good meal always preceded a great victory!

Today we are invited to join Jesus at the table of grace. He invites us to take into our whole being His power, His Spirit, His Word, His forgiveness, His grace and His character.   As we feed on Him, trust in Him and allow Him to dwell in our innermost being we are then prepared to experience victory over sin and find the strength we need for every battle ahead.  

Feed on Jesus today!  Victory always comes after a good dinner!  

BE ENCOURAGED, WE’RE CHRISTIANS!

Troy

Danger of Discontentment

Do you ever find yourself dealing with discontentment?  

As a Christian we have the incredible privilege of being in relationship with the God of the universe. Through Christ we have been given supernatural provision for both this life and our spiritual life.  According to scripture and experience Jesus never fails!  We also have this promise that “all things work together”, that “nothing separates us from His love” and that we are both now and eternally “more than conquerors through Christ.” (Roman 8) It only makes sense that discontentment should be rare in the believers life. Yet somehow we all experience it, undoubtedly more often than we want to admit.  

Someone described discontentment very simply as being dissatisfied with our circumstances because our expectations are unmet.  

Discontentment displays itself in a myriad of ways in our life.  When we are discontent we are prone to, complaining, worrying, being preoccupied with what we don’t have rather than what we possess, greed, jealousy, never being satisfied, being hard to please, critical, sad and perpetually disappointed.  

Discontentment is a sin, and left unbridled it becomes the parent of much worse off-spring.  It destroys marriages, creates addiction, divides churches, spends money and wastes decades in the lives of men and women who are always chasing ever-elusive satisfaction.  

Discontentment is not new.  

The disciples who lived with Jesus, watched Him perform miracles and participated in His earthly ministry were not immune from wanting more.

I think about what James and John said to Jesus in Mark 10. They actually spoke their discontentment to Jesus face.  

35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 

What an interesting approach to prayer.  Honest and embarrassing at the same time and it is a reflection of the discontentment that was in their heart.  They were with Jesus but were not satisfied to be disciples only, they were trying to negotiate for a better position in Christ Kingdom.

37 And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”

Someone said, Discontentment is sin because it is evidence that we treasure something—or someone—more than we treasure Christ.  This was certainly the disciples issue.  They longed for a position in Christ Kingdom more than the relationship with Jesus Himself.  

Discontentment has everything to do with our focus. Looking in the wrong direction will always produce yearning for something more.  

To focus primarily on ourselves will create discontentment in us.  To be so centered around our needs, our wants, our desires, our deficiency will inevitably cause us to become unhappy with, you guessed it, OUR circumstances.  

Stephen Arterburn speaks to the futility focusing only on our desires.  “When we settle for unhealthy and unfulfilling imitations of what we really desire, our appetites can begin to rage out of control and start controlling us. We will turn to sources of satisfaction that will eventually turn on us and force us either to give up altogether or to overindulge to the bitter end.”

Looking at other things or people moves us to dissatisfaction.   Discontentment is unmet expectations because we have expected satisfaction from the wrong place. It is putting the pressure on something or someone else to meet our needs and asking them or that to do what they or that have no capability of doing. 

Contentment then is found by turning our focus on the Lord.  Looking to the only one that can actually meet our needs.  Something supernatural happens in each of us when we trust the Lord with what we have and what we  do not have.  When we thank the Lord for His provision and rejoice in who He is we experience incredible contentment, regardless of our circumstances.  Philippians 4

Paul was right when he wrote to young Timothy,  “godliness with contentment is great gain” (I Tim. 6:6)  By the Spirit’s help we learn that the key to finding contentment is knowing and being known by Christ.  The pursuit of all earthly “gain” only leaves us grasping for more.  Only Jesus can satisfy our soul.  

Clara Williams, who was raised in wealth, reminds us of this truth this morning.  

1. All my life I had a panted

For a drink from some clear spring,

That I hoped would quench the burning

Of the thirst I felt within.

2. Poor I was, and sought for riches,

Something that would satisfy,

But the dust I gathered round me

Only mocked my soul’s sad cry.

chorus

Hallelujah! I have found Him

Whom my soul so long has craved!

Jesus satisfies my longings,

Through His blood I now am saved.

Seek Him today and find true contentment.  

BE ENCOURAGED, WE’RE CHRISTIANS!

PT

Changed by changelessness

Of all the things that have the potential to create anxiety and fear in our hearts perhaps none is greater than the reality that our life could and definitely will change.  

What is interesting is that we all like some level of change.  Home renovations, better jobs, cars or achieving goals that bring new things in our life.  But change that we do not expect or desire is a problem for most of us.  The uncontrollable alterations to our life, our families, our jobs, our relationships, our finances  and ultimately our futures usually create in us great trepidation.  These are moments when our faith is tested, our families experience strain and they can be an opportunity for the enemy to wreak havoc in our lives.  

While we know that unexpected change is one of the changeless realities of life, it doesn’t make it any easier.  Our emotions are impacted, our relationships feel the pressure and even our walk with the Lord can feel the weight when uncertainty closes in around us.  

If you have ever experienced the tension of transition in your life, I have some good news for you today,

Our changeless God is unmoved in our changing world.  

The things that stir fear and anxiety in us do not worry Him at all and do not threaten His ability to work in our life.  Just as sure as our lives will be altered by the events of our world and this life, our God does not and cannot change.  

Malachi 3:6 declares very straightforwardly, “For I the Lord do not change”.  Hebrews 13:8 tells us “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

These verses simply remind us that the character, the purposes and the abilities of God are the same today as they were yesterday.  While our moods and emotions swing on the trapeze of time, God remains the same.  

When we feel “different” about our life, more or less uncertain, confident or clear about future, God’s understanding of it remains the same.  Whatever He has promised remains true and that which He has done in our life is not undone by our circumstances or feelings.  

Holding firm to our never-changing God enables us to weather the storms of life without losing our way or succumbing to the pressure of the changes that we do not expect or desire.  

Regardless of our circumstances, feelings or emotions, we can trust that our God’s views, opinions, promises and reactions to our life are the same as they were “back when” we felt amazing!  

A.W. Tozer said, “God never changes moods or cools off in His affections or loses enthusiasm.  His attitude toward sin is now the same as it was when He drove out the sinful man from the garden, and His attitude toward the sinner the same as when He stretched forth His hand and cried, ‘Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’”  

And here’s even better news, A changeless God changes us.  

When we by grace and faith are able to grasp this powerful truth that God never changes something powerful happens in us, we are changed!  That’s right, His immutability becomes the bridge to our transformation.  Our lives of fearful, anxious worry are calmed and quieted as we hold onto this truth.  When we know that everything we know from scripture about God is true, and cannot change something powerful happens in us.  Fear is changed to trust.  Anxiety is replaced with peace.  Despair is exchanged for hope. And the uncertainty about tomorrow is outdone by the certainty of the one who holds our future in His hands.  

BE ENCOURAGED, WE’RE CHRISTIANS!

Troy

The safest place to be

As we enter this year there may be some of us who have never made prayer a vital part of our life. While it is your desire to pray perhaps it has remained an untapped practice in your life. I want to encourage us this morning with a simple yet profound thought about prayer. 

The place of prayer is the safest and most powerful place to be. 

This morning as I was reading a very familiar Old Testament story the Lord began revealing this truth to me about prayer. 

Daniel who had been exiled (bureaucratic way of saying kidnapped) from his homeland of Israel by the Babylonian army has now settled into his life in Babylon and actually found favor and had success. He has risen to become a high ranking government official who is a favorite of the ruler. 

But Daniel is different. He is a man who has remained strong in his faith in God and his love for the Lord. While his peers are pagan and seeking their own fulfillment, Daniel understands that his life is being directed by the Lord and never stops the rhythms of worship and prayer to God. 

You know the story. 

Daniel had a pattern of praying 3 times a day to the God of the Bible. Those around him who were jealous of his success manipulated the King to pass a law that no one could pray to anyone except him. They knew that this was the only way they could get Daniel in trouble. They were right, His commitment to prayer was unwavering. Long story short, Daniel did not obey the new law and was found guilty of praying to God. (Oh that, that could said of you and me today! If we were put on trial for faithfulness to God, let us be found guilty!) 

They throw Daniel in the lions den and once again Daniel without hesitation goes in and spends the night with a bunch of hungry beast. But he prays and God works. The next morning when the king comes to check on him, these are Daniel’s words.

22 My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.”

Daniel was so convinced of the importance of seeking God, that he believed he was safer, praying in the Lions Den, than he was trusting himself in the comfort of the palace.

Prayer is reliance, faith, trust and commitment to God. And relying upon God is the safest way to live.

There is another way, the world lives that way and unfortunately, so do many believers. It is trusting ourselves, living to please others, ensuring we protect our reputation and protecting our flesh while neglecting our soul. It is trying to solve our problems with the arm of flesh rather than the wisdom and power of God. I can assure you that is the most dangerous way to live. 

Wherever we are this morning, whatever we are facing today, let us learn from this ancient man, that seeking the face of God is privilege and a blessing and the place of prayer is the safest place on earth!

BE ENCOURAGED, WE’RE CHRISTIANS!

Troy

Problem or Providence?

There is a phrase that we all have heard or used that describes an individual who suffers ill consequences because of factors that were out of their control.  Such a person is described to be a “victim of circumstance”.  

When we look at the Christmas story it could said that the events around the birth of Jesus made Joseph and Mary just that, a victim of circumstances.

The events surrounding the birth of Jesus seem so unfortunate.  The opening lines of Luke 2 reveal the power that was held in the hand of the Roman Emperor that resulted in one of those hard, inconvenient things in this young couples life.   

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered,

Ceasar Augustus was the Roman emperor who had demanded the title of supreme ruler.  The nephew of Julias Ceasar, he had arranged for the Roman Senate to give him the title Augustus, which means “exalted” and “sacred.” No other leader had carried this name.  Under his leadership Rome wasn’t any longer a republic, governed by laws; it was an empire governed by an emperor.  He was the the first Emperor of Rome who held absolute power.  

He was not a follower of God and was mostly concerned about assembling power and authority over the world. 

This registration was not merely a census for counting people but a means whereby Ceasar could tax them.  

It was inconvenient, costly, and executed from a heart of selfish and evil motives.  And Joseph and Mary were caught up in it, seemingly a victim of circumstances.  

But, one greater than Ceasar was actually in charge.  God almighty was using Ceasar to accomplish HIS plan, to raise up an even greater Savior and to do something in the world that would produce hope and salvation for the world.  

What looked liked a PROBLEM to Mary and Joseph was actually the PROVIDENCE of God.   

I love what David Guzik says about the providence of God in this story.  

As he sat in his palace and made his decree, he thought it was the supreme exercise of his will, the ultimate flexing of his muscle. But he was just a tool in God’s hand. God had promised that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), and that promised would be fulfilled. So how does one get a young couple from Nazareth down to Bethlehem when they might not be inclined to travel? Simple. Just work through the political “savior of the world,” and use him as a pawn in your plan.

For those who walk with the Lord, there is no evil plan of the enemy that invades our life that God cannot redeem and use for His glory and our good.  

This morning you may feel the burden of a serious issue in your life. The enemy may have made a decree against you and you are struggling under the weight of it.  I have good news, For those who trust in the Lord, the providence of God is at work even in the works of “Ceasar”. Mary teaches us that,  What is happening TO you is not nearly as important as what is happening IN you. 

When God is in control of our lives the grace of God redeems the edicts of the enemy and turns what Satan means for evil into something good in us. 

Because of God’s providence, Mary and Joseph and every believer are never left to the vicious whims of the enemy.  In hard times we can trust that we are being led, even through difficulty, to the fulfillment of God’s grand purpose in our life!  Praise God!

BE ENCOURAGED, WE’RE CHRISTIANS!

Troy

Really Paul?

The key to thanks in everything

This morning as I look back over the past year I could thank God for so many tangible blessings. Another year of God’s provision in our life. A home, a family, a church, a ministry, friends and daily provisions. These all are gifts directly from God’s hand. I thank God for all of these. He has granted Janel and I another year of life together, for which I am extraordinarily thankful. We have been blessed with some exceptional experiences (the privilege to travel to Hawaii) and she has received great care. For all of these I am so thankful. 

But this morning rather than focusing on a list of tangible good gifts from God I want to express thanks to God for the gift of grace that enables us to understand what the Apostle Paul says in I Thessalonians 5:18

18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 

While it is easy and today a bit obligatory to express gratitude for “good things” in our life, things like bonuses and benefits, friends and families, plenty and pleasure, Paul is calling us to a deeper understanding of thanksgiving than just the obvious blessings that we all receive from the Lord. 

As I pondered his words this morning the first profound thought that crossed my mind was, “really Paul, you want us to offer thanks in “every circumstance” of life?” 

This is exactly what He is saying. That as believers God has grace that can work in our life which produces in us a spirit of gratitude not FOR everything, for that is impossible, but IN everything we can maintain a spirit of thankfulness to God no matter what is happening to us. 

This is a much more mature understanding of thanksgiving than simply going around the dinner table and thanking God for some tangible blessing. (Although that is a good idea)  This is the ability to somehow by God’s grace look at life optimistically, even when it is not.  

What is it that enables us to be thankful and that spurs a grateful spirit in us when things are difficult, discouraging, when our families are struggling, when sickness overtakes us, when the future looks grim? In other words, In “every circumstance.”

I believe the answer is found in looking to Jesus. 

Jesus lived this out in the most practical and powerful way the night before His crucifixion, the darkest moment in His earthly life. He was gathered with His disciples in the upper room and listen to His prayer;

19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

Wait a minute, He broke the bread which symbolized the crushing of His body and “gave thanks”? Yes, Jesus somehow was thankful in this moment.  

Jesus was not thankful for the pain of the moment, He was offering thanks for the glory and the promise of the future. He knew His sacrifice would provide salvation for the world, crush the head of the Satan, ultimately destroy the works of evil and ensure Heaven for you and me and hundreds of millions/billions of people. 

Jesus did not merely see the battle He was in but He trusted in the ultimate purpose of God for His life and therefore gave thanks in His darkest moment. 

The Hebrew writer tells us that Jesus is our example and that looking to Him is the key for us to live with gratitude in every moment.  

 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame. Heb.12:2

Because of the “joy before Him” He willing “endured the cross and despised the shame” with a thankful heart.   

In Christ the Holy Spirit enables us to see our lives as Jesus saw His, not just marked by the pain of our present circumstance but trusting in the promise of God’s ultimate plan for our life. 

When we see our lives as Jesus saw His, we can understand and attain the high standard for thanksgiving that Paul set in his letter to the Thessalonian Church and actually give thanks in “everything”. 

On this Thanksgiving day 2023, let us, as Jesus did, pause and offer thanks to God, no matter what may be going in our life. Thanks that is rooted not in our circumstances but in our trust in the promises and purposes of God. Knowing that God’s plan is as good as He is and with Him the future is bright and secure. 

BE ENCOURAGED, WE’RE CHRISTIANS!

Troy

Better through your battle

The Psalmist declares 3 times in 10 verses a truth that is not as comfortable some others that we find in the Bible.  

I don’t know about you but I am not in to pain or suffering.  If I have the privilege to choose I am definitely going with less pain, less trouble and less suffering. And yet the scripture in many places tells us that there are times when difficulty is for our development, suffering is part of our sanctification and heartache moves us towards holiness.  

In Psalm 119 there is a section where the writer seems preoccupied with the thought that the Lord uses “affliction” for some glorious purpose in our life.  

67 Before I was afflicted I went astray,
but now I keep your word.

71 It is good for me that I was afflicted,
that I might learn your statutes.

75 I know, O Lord, that your rules are righteous,
and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.

This startling truth can be misused to teach some twisted view of a God who wants us to be in pain or to live a gloomy life.  This is certainly not the case.  The reality is that we are told that there is no greater blessing than living in obedience and in harmony with our wonderful God. “in His presence is fullness of joy and at His right hand are pleasures forevermore”.  (Ps.16:11)  

And yet, while our God is a God whose Spirit in us produces peace, joy love and hope there is this truth that we find over and over again in scripture that says somehow our problems are part of the process in which the Lord produces good things in us.  

2 things that came to mind as I pondered these verses this morning.

First, we live in a world where suffering is inevitable.  Whether you are a Christian, a Buddhist or an atheist this world, at this time, lives under the curse of sin and all of us are subject to its brokenness.  While there is coming a day where all of these difficult things that are part of this life will be gone, we are yet living in the day where they very much impact our lives.  There is no promise in the Word of God that ensures that a believer in this life will not suffer in some way.  (There is your encouraging word of the day:)  )  We should be careful not to embrace or pursue a theology that teaches that because we are Christians, we won’t get sick, our family will not suffer loss, every deal will go our way and sunshine is always in the forecast.  

However secondly, and very importantly, we need to know that God is a good God.  In the very passage that we quoted above the very next line says v.68 “you (God) are good and do good”.  

The real promise that believers possess that the unbeliever does not is that the “affliction” in our life in those times when we are brought low are the very moments where God shows up and does something divine in us.  

As Christians our troubles may not vanish from our life but neither will our God!  While we are facing them He will use our trials like a surgical instrument to produce something better and beautiful in us.  This is the great miracle. That we are “more than conquerors” even while we suffer affliction.  That the very thing that Satan wants to use to destroy our faith, abolish our future and cause all hope to be lost becomes something good for us.  Something that makes us more like Christ, teaches us more about the love of God and enables us to experience God like never before. Not only that but in these sanctified moments of suffering God’s glory is revealed to others and the Kingdom of God expands.  Wow!

So this morning, don’t run from trial, don’t question God’s goodness and don’t think that something is wrong with you if things are not all that rosy.  Simply tell the Lord that you are surrendered to His will in this and that whatever happens you want His glory to be seen and His purposes to be accomplished in your life.  

Our good God is both powerful and peace-giving.  He who creates the winds also calms the storms.  Trust Him and He will make you better through your battle!  

BE ENCOURAGED, WE’RE CHRISTIANS!

I love you all!
Troy

Run with the Pack

In Hebrews 12 we read some powerful words for believers. They are packed with great encouragement for all of us who want to faithfully live the Christian life.

You will recognize them.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, Heb 12:1-2

The admonition we receive in these verses reminds us that we are not alone, we must be diligent and that focusing on Jesus enables us to finish strong. While nothing is more important than keeping our eyes on the Lord, the reality mentioned here of the importance of others influence on us in the race cannot be overstated. 

Christians need each other.

I was reminded of these verses as I talked with our daughter Natalie this week. Her and our son-in-law ran a 1/2 marathon last weekend in Hampton. He focused for months and was well prepared for the race. Her description of her preparation was simply, “I was NOT prepared to run this race”. With the demands on her as a nurse, a mother of 4 and her own mother battling cancer she admits her preparation was minimal and miserable and her expectations for the race were low. 

She was dreading being far slower than any other 1/2 marathon she has done before. She had resigned herself to the fact that it was going to be a slow struggle of a race and the goal was just to finish in under 2 hours which would have been a 9:20 mile. This compared to her previous 7:49 per mile was humbling.  

I’ll let her tell you in her words what happened next. 

“When we got to the start line, my husband and a friend were up towards the front. I kissed my husband goodbye and took my walk of shame towards the back to find the slower runners. 

When they blew the horn to start the race we all started shuffling through the start line. As people started to clear out I found myself unintentionally right in the middle of a pace group. A Pace group is a group led by a couple of leaders(pacers) who are trained runners. They carry a card on a stick with the pace on it and they lead the group to the finish line at that steady pace.I looked at their sign and I was smack dab in the 8 min 30 second group. 

While I felt pretty comfortable at this pace I knew the adrenaline running through my veins here at the beginning would soon fade.   I was confident I wouldn’t be able to keep up the whole time. My training runs had pretty much all been over 9 min/mile. 

But as I began looking around at this group of about 12-15 runners who were literally surrounding me on all sides, I started to reason with myself. Maybe if I stayed here surrounded by these 8:30 runners, I could keep up? Maybe the peer pressure would give me the extra umph I need to run at this pace? 

But then the doubts crept in… “I’ve not been running at this pace, its too fast…This pressure might stress me out too much”. But as these thoughts bounced around in my head, the miles ticked away under my feet. So I began reasoning with myself that if I could just run with them halfway, then I could slow down and drift apart into the 2 hour group. But the longer I ran with them, the more I thought about how they would probably notice if I left at this point. So I stayed with them and surprisingly wasn’t overwhelmed with the pace. Only a few words were exchanged, no one knew each other, but somehow it felt like we were a team.

I slowed down briefly at the 10 mile mark but encouraged by the group I caught back up.   Surrounded by others running at this pace, towards a common goal and led by pace setters who knew exactly when to speed up and when to slow down I finished the race in a time I never thought possible.”

The spiritual applications present in her experience were palpable to her and they are present for you and me this morning. They fall right in line with the scripture above.

All of us are running a race. You may feel unprepared and ill-equipped to walk with the Lord, to lead your family, to disciple your children but it’s race day and you’re in the race!  Keep running.  

We need to run in Christian community. When running alone we are often overwhelmed by the discouragement and doubt of our own lack of ability. Run with others. When we realize we are surrounded by those who are running towards a common goal our spirits are buoyed to not only keep running but to run in a way we never dreamed possible. Christians were made to run together. Stay in church stay close to those who love you and know the Lord.

Spiritual leaders set the pace. Those “Pace Setters” took it upon themselves to train in such a way that many others could trust their leadership to lead them safely across the finish line, in the exact time desired. Leadership is so important in all of our lives. I need it and you need it. Thank God for those men and women who set the pace for us. Best of all, Jesus is the ultimate pace-setter. We look to him who has already finished and we know He will get us victoriously across the finish line! 

This morning all of us are running, all of us are someone else’s support system and all of us have someone looking to us for guidance. 

You’re running well, and you are going to finish! Just keep your eyes on Jesus and stay with the pack! 

BE ENCOURAGED, WE’RE CHRISTIANS!

Pastor Troy

Dear Christian, don’t get distracted

What are we going to do about ___________?   Did you hear that ___________ is happening?  What are they actually trying to do by _________________?  Does this mean that?  Does that mean this?

These questions and many others are prevalent in our world today.  With information flowing to us at an unprecedented pace there is so much to consider and quite a bit to be concerned about.  

But we are Christians right? 

And as I was reading a few days ago in I Timothy chapter 1 I received a powerful reminder about the importance of Christians remaining focused on the great teaching scripture, the powerful truth of the Gospel and strong faith in Jesus.

In the opening words of this letter to this young pastor, Paul immediately charges Timothy with the importance of not allowing the chatter of the culture of his day to become a distraction to simply living out the pure Gospel in the world.  As a young leader Timothy was not only being called to not allow the speculations of the day to divert his faith but he was being called to challenge those within the church who were losing the centrality of the Gospel in their life by embracing the crazy noise of their day.  

This is how Paul says it in those opening lines of I Timothy.  Notice the things that believers were being drawn to and therefore away from the simple truth of the Gospel. 

v.3…remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, 4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. 5 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion.

What we understand these things mentioned above to be are cultural myths mixed with scriptural teaching.  These Christians were not abandoning truth altogether they were simply mixing it with sensational ideas of the day.   They were polluting the truth not denying it.  Yet, this mingling of God’s truth with a man’s theory, the cause of Christ with conspiracy, salvation with speculation was only impeding the growth of the Gospel in the church and the lives of those believers, and therefore in the world.  

Paul wants Timothy stay away from this himself but more importantly to “charge” (a word that means give military orders) the church to stay away from mixing salvation with superstition.

I believe this is a good word for Christians today.  If this was a problem amongst Christians in a primitive world where news traveled at a snails pace, how much more is it an important word for you and me today who are exposed to every possible crazy idea known to man every minute of the day, via the internet?

As human beings we only have so much spiritual, mental and intellectual bandwidth.  And as believers we are to give our “whole heart soul mind and strength” to primarily knowing the Lord and living out His truth in this world.  When we consume our minds and emotions continuously with stuff that looks and sounds so convincing from the internet we too will become absorbed with things that do not help us but distract us on our journey to heaven.  We, like these early Christians are susceptible to being “led away into vain discussions”.    

Paul tells us exactly what our focus and purpose as believers should be in verse 5.The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

Wow!  Is there anything more important than these things being present in our life?  This is the “aim of our charge” the goal of our life, the purpose for which we live as believers and it is where we should spend our energy.   

If a bad person, company or government is scheming to destroy us, that’s stinks.  But for the person whose faith is truly in the Lord, whose heart has been made pure by the blood of Jesus, whose conscious is clear before God and who by grace is loving others and God, they will be ok. We are serving the God who attends every closed door meeting and who sets the parameters on Satan’s work in the life of the believer.   

So as a pastor I am going to heed the words of Paul and challenge you and me to spend a little less time chasing the latest internet speculation and spend more time in pursuit of the one who knows it all and has the power to bring us through whatever this world brings our way!

BE ENCOURAGED, WE’RE CHRISTIANS!

Pastor Troy

Grace is more than goods

Do Christians get sick?  Do Christians experience physical difficulty? Do the chosen children of God suffer under the effects of this fallen world?  

What interesting questions.  Especially coming from someone who’s wife is in a battle with cancer.  But I want to ask it just the same.  While the answer may be for me a foregone conclusion there is a subtle teaching within broad Christianity that somehow a favored child of God is more exempt from the struggles of this fallen world than someone outside of the grace of God.  

What stimulated this thought today?  
A couple days ago my wife and I, while sitting in the living room together, were listening to a well-known televangelist (not something we often do) who began to tout his wealth, his health and the blessings of this life that God had given Him as a result of his faith and standing with the Lord.  He spent considerable time describing his “mansion”, a home he described as the “largest preachers home in America.”  He described his wealth as providing for he and his wife the ability to do “anything, at anytime, as much as they desired.”  And then he said, we “haven’t been sick one time in 40 years”.  He then went on to describe how those listening could experience this kind of life.  

Quite a list of bold statements by this man.  While I don’t doubt his wealth or the size of his home or even that he has had amazing medical care that has enabled him to live a fairly healthy life, I absolutely doubt his theology, It is neither Christian or Biblical.  I have no doubt that this man has, through his religious shenanigans, made a good living, but I also know he is laying up treasures on earth, not in Heaven.   His teaching makes a mockery our of every martyr in church history and is disputed over and over again by the scripture itself.  

The scripture is abundantly clear that real treasure and blessings are not found on this earth.  Actually Jesus tells us that while we live in this world we will “have trouble” (Jn 16:33) but there is something more powerful than earthly possessions for the Christian.  That is we possess vibrant spiritual life and blessing while remaining in these broken bodies.  

The apostle Paul in II Corinthians describes this truth this way from the example of own life

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.

He sums up his teaching on the simultaneous existence of earthly struggles and spiritual victory in verse 16 by saying, 

 Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.

What was interesting about the timing of this televangelist message for us was that Janel and I were at that moment both sick.  She was laying there under the effects of her cancer and chemotherapy and I have been battling a serious cold/flu/something for several days.  

Actually this man did help us though, while we found no comfort in his heresy we did find a bit of humor in his statements.  Our help came from God. We found great comfort in knowing the words of scripture, receiving the ministry of the Holy Spirit and believing the promises of God.  

This morning I praise God that Grace is more than Goods.  Holiness is a greater gift than Health.  And the Promises of God are still good in the midst of the Problems of this life!    

So today for only the 3rd time in 29 1/2 years I missed a Sunday morning service due to sickness. 

Yes, we may be feeling under the weather, and we may even be feeling this way while we sit in our small and modest home,  yet we are blessed.  We have been renewed by the grace of God, the Word of God and the Spirit of God.

Yep true Christians get sick and they know that grace is sufficient for every battle and it is certainly more than a temporary blessing! 

BE ENCOURAGED, WE’RE CHRISTIANS!

PT