Depart from Me

Posted on Mar 14, 2022 | The Pastor's Musings |

I wanted to share an article that I read that ought to give us pause and think about our brand of Christianity.  Is it the real deal or a commercial fake?  (NOTE: Andrew Strom is a Pentecostal evangelist, so I obviously do not agree with all of his theology.  Nevertheless, he gives us some food for thought.)

 

WE’VE LOST CHRISTIANITY by Andrew Strom

Despite the thousands in our megachurches today, soaking up the warm entertainment offered to them every week, I want to put it to you that we have lost Christianity. Despite the Christian books
now found in every Wal-Mart, and the “crossover” of Christian artists into the mainstream, and our Christian mega-stores and CD´s and DVD´s and Study-Bibles, I want to put it to you that we have lost Christianity.

Despite our lavish Cathedrals in the suburbs…with their pastel hues and comfortable pews, their projector screens and $30,000 sound systems, I want to put it to you that we have utterly lost Christianity.

We left it behind somewhere when we shifted our churches from the inner city into the “comfortable” suburbs. We left it behind when we stopped welcoming the bums off the street into our meetings and started welcoming only the “respectable” people. We left it behind when we stopped preaching “take up your cross” and turned the gospel into a success formula – `Seven Steps to your Best Life Now.´

Somewhere in our comfortable suburban streetscape with its manicured lawns we lost the real thing. Somehow in our concern for “property values” and a better `dental plan´ we left it behind. But that is not the worst part of it. The worst part is that we don´t know how to get it back again. Or perhaps we don´t really WANT to get it back again. The cost simply doesn´t bear thinking about, does it? And so, as we drive around in our nice shiny cars with our groovy plastic toys, and attend “church” as we know it twice a week for 2 hours; as we live a life that is about as unlike Jesus as you can get, a life of comfort and coddling undreamt of by billions around the world; a lifestyle in the top 10% of the earth today (in debt up to our eyeballs all the while), the fact is that we don´t really CARE that we have lost original Christianity, do we? We are too busy, man. Don´t bother us with that kind of talk.

It will all be OK, the preacher tells us. We will all make it to heaven in the end. We are all “decent” people here. We have “prayed the little prayer”. We have `given our heart to the Lord´.

But what is this? What is that thundering voice I hear? “DEPART FROM ME.” `But LORD… But LORD….´

“I said – `DEPART FROM ME´. Don´t call me Lord. You never truly lived like I was your Lord and you know it. For I was hungry and you gave me no food; I was thirsty and you gave me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take me in; naked, and you did not clothe me; sick and in prison, and you did not visit me….”

What is the essence of true Christianity that we have lost, my friends? It is simply described by James as follows- “Pure religion and undefiled is this: To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” (James 1:27).


Seek the Lord

Posted on Mar 6, 2022 | The Pastor's Musings |

“I never hear from God!” “I don’t understand the Bible!” “I don’t get anything out of church or the sermon!” “I am spiritually dry!”
 
These are common complaints within the American church, and these may be common complaints by you as well. Did you ever stop to consider why? Most often people begin to blame others or the situation around them. The pastor is boring. The church is dull. The Bible is difficult to read.
 
Have you ever considered that you are getting nothing because you have invested nothing? Are you passively sitting around waiting for God to come to you and fill you? What if I told you that the spiritual equivalent of being a couch potato is not the Biblical answer? We are to be spiritually active to seek the overflowing fountain of spiritual renewal. How? By actively seeking the Lord.
 
But from there you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.
(Deuteronomy 4:29 ESV)
 
The young lions suffer want and hunger;
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
(Psalm 34:10 ESV)
 
Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near
(Isaiah 55:6 ESV)
 
The Bible tells us 31 times to seek the Lord, and God says 18 times to seek him. I think that is pretty important. If you want spiritual vitality, don’t wait for it to just happen, don’t expect your church or pastor or Life Group leader to do it for you. Seek the Lord with everything you have, and then see how your life completely changes.

God is on the Throne

Posted on Feb 28, 2022 | The Pastor's Musings |

For God is the King of all the earth;
sing praises with a psalm!
God reigns over the nations;
God sits on his holy throne.
(Psalm 47:7-8)
 
With various world events going on (Ukraine, pandemic, etc.), it would be easy to give a fatalistic view of things. Even Christians give in to the view that things are spinning or spiraling out of control. In one sense, things are out of control because they are out of our control. There is not one thing you or I can do to change the situation. We can’t stop a virus. We can’t stop the Russians.
 
We don’t like that feeling of being out of control. We still like to think that we are in control of our own destiny and that we can move and shape the world around us to accomplish our goals and dreams. And if there is anything that threatens those goals or dreams, we want to be able to change or manipulate it so it won’t get in the way. We want control. And there are things happening on a global scale that are beyond us. And it’s frightening.
 
But we don’t need to be scared just because we don’t have that control. We know the One who does have control. God is still reigning over the nations. God sits on the throne. God has control over viruses and presidents and armies…and everything. And so we trust in the Lord with all of our heart, not leaning on our own understanding. We entrust all our ways and all global events into His hands. We pray and seek instead of fret and worry. And we watch Him unfold things as He sees fit, and we give a hearty AMEN!

Changes

Posted on Feb 21, 2022 | The Pastor's Musings |

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
 
There’s a funny little saying about love and marriage: Women marry men expecting them to change, but they don’t. Men marry women expecting them not to change, but they do. I wouldn’t call that a hard, fast rule; but it seems to make a connection between commitment and change.
 
When we committed our lives to Christ, there was complete change expected. We were made new creatures, so change should have been inevitable. In today’s church, however, it might not be as inevitable as first thought. Let me share with you a paragraph taken from Kyle Idleman’s book, Not a Fan:
 
“Most of us don’t mind Jesus making some minor change in our lives but Jesus wants to turn our lives upside down. Fans don’t mind Him doing a little touch-up work, but Jesus wants complete renovation. Fans come to Jesus thinking tune-up, but Jesus is thinking overhaul. Fans think a little makeup is fine, but Jesus is thinking makeover. Fans think a little decorating is required, but Jesus want a complete remodel. Fans want Jesus to inspire them, but Jesus wants to interfere with their lives.” (Not a Fan, 31)
 
Commitment to Jesus means change. Do you think you only need minor adjustments in life, or are you ready for Jesus to make a complete change of everything? Will you not surrender to practically becoming the new creature you are in Christ?

Can’t Stand No More

Posted on Feb 13, 2022 | The Pastor's Musings |

Then she named the child Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel!”

1 Samuel 4:21

 

Then the glory of the LORD departed from the threshold of the temple

Ezekiel 10:18

 

So he {Samson} awoke from his sleep, and said, “I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!” But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him.

Judges 16:20

 

I remember the old Popeye cartoons where Bluto would do all sorts of stuff to Popeye and the gang.  Although he tried to be patient, Popeye had a limit to what he would take.  And often just before taking his spinach and letting Bluto have it, Popeye would say, “I’ve had all I can stands, I can’t stands no more.”

 

We know our God is loving and merciful and longsuffering and patient. But even God gets to a point where His people are so blatantly sinful and disobedient that He “can’t stands no more.” But instead of taking spinach and flexing His muscles, His glorious presence is taken from the people, and the people live in defeat.

 

It happened in the days of Eli the priest and judge, who allowed his wicked sons and the evil nation of Israel to run wild in sin. God allowed national and personal defeat causing one of his grandsons to be called Ichabod (“where is the glory?”).  In Ezekiel, during the Babylonian captivity (before the destruction of Jerusalem) the prophet was given a vision by God showing God’s glory leaving the temple complex and out of Jerusalem completely, leading to defeat and destruction. What sad shape Samson was in when God’s glory left him, and he didn’t even know it.  The once indestructible Samson was brought to defeat.

 

Oh church! God can’t stands no more. And I fear without faith and true biblical repentance the glory of God will leave us, and we too shall taste defeat. Defeat spiritually as a famine of God’s Word comes upon us. Defeat economically as our luxuries are taken from us. Defeat nationally as this once great nation turns to chaos and anarchy. Let us pursue God.  May we Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. (Isaiah 55:6) If we don’t, when God’s glory leaves, so goes our victorious Christian living.


Thorn in the Side

Posted on Feb 6, 2022 | The Pastor's Musings |

Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” As soon as the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. (Judges 2:1–4 ESV)
 
The command was simple. Go into the Promised Land. Destroy ALL of the people groups within the Promised Land. Then you will have subdued the Promised Land, and you will have peace and prosperity. Pretty simple, isn’t it?
 
Yet the Israelites did not obey. They did not destroy all the Canaanite peoples. Some they left alive out of fear (because they had big, menacing iron chariots that struck fear in the hearts of God’s people). Others they left out of shear laziness. Oh sure, they destroyed some cities here and there, but they did not destroy them all. So the Lord said that the people they left alive would constantly be a thorn in their side, causing them trouble and causing them to stumble and fall in many ways.
 
Incomplete obedience is still disobedience. There is no such thing as partial obedience. It is an all or nothing proposition. When we “partially obey” there are consequences. There will be things in our lives that will haunt us and be thorns in our side maybe for life, all because we would not fully follow the Lord’s commands. Where is it in life that you are only “partially obeying” God? What will it take for you to fully/truly obey? Deal with it now, or have a thorn in your side the rest of your days.

Handling Disappointments

Posted on Jan 30, 2022 | The Pastor's Musings, Uncategorized |

This was going to be the year. Aaron Rodgers was at his peak and was putting in another MVP-style season. He was surrounded by an amazing core of receivers. The defense was running on all cylinders. There was no way the Packers were going to miss the Super Bowl this time. And yet, as seems to be the same story year after year, they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in the playoffs. The Packers were out. Again. Another disappointing end to an otherwise amazing season. This has been the same song, different verse, for the past 11 years since the Packer’s last Super Bowl appearance. More disappointment.
 
Of course, in the grand scheme of things, the Packers missing the Super Bowl is not a big deal. The earth still revolves around the sun, and Jesus is still on His throne, and there really is no difference in my life. But there are some people who suffer much deeper, more meaningful disappointments in life. Trust me, there are much more serious things going on in people’s lives than the Packers missing the Super Bowl. Some have job disappointments. Some have marriage disappointments. Some have family disappointments. There is an unending list of things that can go wrong, leaving people with a sense of foreboding and dread and heartbreak and discouragement.
 
It’s hard to imagine that Jesus’ disciples would feel disappointment while ministering with Him, and yet that happened quite often. Most of the disappointment was due to their own misinterpretation or spin on things. Other times is was due to their wrong expectations. Yet still, there were times when they had legitimate reasons to be disappointed. How were they to handle it? What were they to do with it?
 
In the gospel of John, Jesus had just washed the disciples feet and told them the new commandment was to love. And yet, during a time that should have been a spiritual high turned into a spiritual disappointment. Jesus revealed that one of them would betray him (which Judas would then leave to do just that), He told Peter that he would deny Jesus (after having boldly said he would die for Jesus), and He told them that He was leaving them. The disciples were disappointed and their hearts were troubled. In John 14:1 Jesus tells them not to let their hearts be troubled (or disappointed). Why? They believe in and trust God, they are to believe in and trust Jesus. He would go on to tell them of the place that He is preparing for them (and all believers). But the key word is trust. When you are disappointed, trust that Jesus is in control, that He knows what He’s doing, that He is moving things according to His plans and purposes in His timing, and trust that He still loves you even during the difficult times. We know we can trust Him with these things because the Bible gives us these promises. Trust God that His Word and promises are true. Yes, you are disappointed. Yes, you are hurt. Yet you can trust God and trust Christ that they are still with you and will see you through this season of life. God never changes. He and His promises are the same yesterday, today, and forever. TRUST TRUMPS DISAPPOINTMENT!

Use Discernment

Posted on Jan 23, 2022 | The Pastor's Musings |

One of the downfalls of social media and the internet is that there are a slew of people who merely take things at face value without digging a little deeper into what is being said. This may come as a shock to some, but not everything you see on the internet or Facebook or Twitter is true. Just because someone says it, doesn’t make it true. It doesn’t matter if that person is a famous Hollywood entertainer, a sports icon, a musical virtuoso, or even someone claiming to be a preacher of God. We have to use discernment. The apostle John tells us, Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. (1 John 4:1, ESV)
 
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the verb ‘discern’ as being able “to come to know or recognize mentally” or “to recognize or identify as separate and distinct.” The usual Christian use of discern and discernment is being able to recognize something as right or wrong, or recognize something as from God or not from God. It is having the wisdom to analyze a situation and then use God-given wisdom to determine what the right course of action is (as God defines what is right). It is recognizing what God would have you do in a certain situation. Through the spiritual disciplines the Christian can grow and mature in their ability to discern. Paul said in his prayer for the Philippian church, And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ. (Philippians 1:9-10, ESV)
 
When we think of discernment we automatically think of making a choice to sin or not to sin—make a choice between right and wrong. While there is definitely that aspect, it can be a little more subtle than that. We might need to discern between better and best. Or we might need to discern between a good thing and a God thing. We need to realize that not everything that comes in our path or falls into our lap or makes itself available in our lives comes from God. Just because a good opportunity comes our way does not mean that God put it there. The devil may put something good in our path if it can be used to distract us from the path that God would have us go. We have this idea that the devil only tempts us to sin, but that is not the case. The devil is the adversary of God, and he is trying to take God’s people off the path of God, but he doesn’t always use sin or evil, sometimes he distracts with good things that aren’t wrong in and of themselves. Just because something good comes into your life doesn’t mean it is of God. That is why discernment is needed. We want what God wants, not what we want. To do otherwise can lead to some heartbreaking consequences. So, no matter what comes into our lives, we need to pray and seek God before just jumping right in. This “good” situation might just be the devil’s carrot on the stick to lead us further from God, not closer to God.
 
There is no magic formula for discernment. Only having a closer walk with God can truly give us the discernment we need. We can allow Scripture to transform our thinking so we follow God’s ways. As Paul’s ever-famous verse says, Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2, ESV) And we can pray for discernment, as James wrote, If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. (James 1:5, ESV) So, my prayer for all of us is that we don’t just rush headlong into anything assuming it’s true or it’s from God, but that we cultivate and use a spirit of discernment in every area of our lives.

Be Ready

Posted on Jan 16, 2022 | The Pastor's Musings |

Over the past few weeks, the passing away of certain notable celebrities took up a lot of the news. While people passing away itself is not news (it’s something that happens every day), the passing of celebrities brings the subject of death to the forefront of the public’s consciousness. It is a reminder to all that no one is immune from this scourge called death. That sort of reminder is not necessarily a bad thing because it forces us to think about our own mortality. And, with much hope and prayer, it will begin the discussion of what happens after death. This is a discussion that we Christians ought to look forward to because we actually have the answer to the question. Maybe this will lead to divine appointments.
 
If anything would come from this sort of news, I would hope it would cause people to consider if they themselves are ready for death—that they would have concern for their souls. Whenever a celebrity dies, that is one of the first things that I think of—did they know Christ? I do not know their hearts, but from the fruits of their lives and occupations we might be able to make a pretty educated guess. And it hurts my heart to think that these people that we enjoyed in this life we will not be able to enjoy in the next because they were not ready. They may have laughed and made people laugh, but all the laughter is gone now if they did not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and were saved.
 
This line of thinking is the fruit of a Christian worldview because we are Christ’s ambassadors on this earth, and our number one priority is expanding the Kingdom of God through the knowledge of Jesus Christ, bringing souls under His watchful care. If we are more concerned about missing these celebrities’ gifts than we are about the destination of their soul, then we have missed the mark of Christianity. Our concern for everyone, celebrities included, is that they be ready to meet death.
 
But then these very public passings ought to make us pause and consider ourselves. We need to ask ourselves, “Am I ready for death? Am I ready to meet eternity? Am I ready to face God?” First, have I trusted in Christ for the salvation of my soul? If not, I have no promise of living another moment and better get that right immediately. But, secondly, if I have trusted in Christ, am I living in such a way that I am ready to see Jesus and hear Him say, “Well done my good and faithful servant.” Over the next few weeks and months it it inevitable that more celebrities will die. The only thing that we can do is pray that they be ready, and the only thing we can control is that we ourselves are ready. So, are you ready?

The One Who Hears

Posted on Jan 9, 2022 | The Pastor's Musings |

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. (Revelation 2:7, ESV)
 
There are numerous warnings in Scripture that state that those who have ears to hear, let them hear what God or Jesus or the Spirit or the Word has to say. First, we have to ask ourselves, who has ears? It is the assumption that everyone has ears to hear (notwithstanding anyone who has some sort of physical defect or abnormality). Hearing is really more of a state of the heart than a state of the ears. Even a deaf person can “hear” in this sense. They can “hear” the Word of God through reading the Scripture. They can “hear” the Word of God when someone communicates gospel truths to them. Anyone has the capacity to hear. The problem is that most people don’t want to hear because of what hearing actually entails.
 
This leads to the second question. What does it mean to hear? Biblical hearing is more than just receiving and processing the audio waves. True hearing is receiving what is said / written and then acting upon it. True hearing entails obedience. So, in a sense, you can hear without hearing. Jesus quoted from Isaiah when He explained why people weren’t picking up on His parables. He said:
For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them. (Matthew 13:15, ESV)
It’s not that the people couldn’t physically hear or physically see—their ears and eyes were working just fine. But the problem was that they were not truly hearing and seeing—they refused to accept what Jesus was teaching and they refused to live according to its implications. The problem was not the ears or eyes, rather, it says that their heart had grown dull. The heart was bad, and it made them spiritually deaf and blind.
 
But we have to be careful in pointing fingers at others. We might say that this deafness and blindness is a problem of the lost. But notice what is going on in Revelation 2:7 that I quote above—it is a warning to the church. A church can become deaf to the Word of God. Even saved, born-again, Bible-believing Christians can have a dull heart leading to living like a deaf and blind person. A church that lives for itself or lives like a country club or lives for the world will deafen itself to the convicting call of Christ to repent and return to its first love. We have to pray to God to give us listening ears and obedient hearts, and we actually have to obey when it comes down to it. We may talk a good game, but our choices and actions might say something different. May we at Harvest Baptist Church choose to hear and obey and we will see ourselves becoming more than conquerors in the face of whatever this world may throw at us.

Use Your Mind

Posted on Jan 3, 2022 | The Pastor's Musings |

In an effort at low humor and self-deprecation, I have said things to the effect of not having deep thoughts or not a lot going on in my mind (if I have one at all). While I say these things to remind myself that I am not as smart as I think I am, they could easily be misconstrued as saying that thinking is not an important part of the Christian’s life. Nothing could be further from the truth. Some have wrongly suggested that faith involves leaving one’s brain / mind at the door, but that is not a biblical concept of faith. Faith is not believing in something in spite of the evidence or despite well-reasoned arguments. True faith is believing in the facts—the facts of Christ’s birth, death, burial, and resurrection.

Jesus thought that thinking was so important that He added the word “mind” to the normal Shema saying from Deuteronomy when He quoted it as, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” (Mark 12:30, ESV) Part of loving God is using your mind to think right thoughts about God, yourself, and all of reality. While so many want to relegate the faith to mere feelings, living in truth means thinking deeply on the the things of God as given to us in Scripture.

But we do not merely think philosophically, but we allow the Holy Spirit through Scripture to develop a specific kind of mind in us—the Mind of Christ. Paul tells us to have the same mindset as Christ (Philippians 2:5) because through salvation we have been given the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). But this mind needs to be developed through prayerful thinking and meditation upon God’s Word, and then our minds are renewed and we are transformed and we are able to find God’s will (Romans 12:2).

So, don’t be afraid of deep thoughts, nor avoid thinking about deep things. By doing so, you honor God and demonstrate your love toward Him as you love Him through your mind.

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