...from the pastor

Everything in This Life Is On a Fault line

2009-06-12T14:19:00.001-05:00

I just came back from El Salvador and what a powerful time we had in the Lord. It is always a blessing to be able to preach the good news of Jesus Christ. There was one experience that I will never forget; I experienced my first earthquake. It was around 2:30 in the morning and my friend in the next bed said “wake up we’re in an earthquake”. The room shook for about 20 to 30 seconds and then it was over. I wasn’t really afraid but it was one of the strangest experiences of my life, and it did give me a feeling of vulnerability.

It made me realize move than ever before, everything in this life is on a fault line. There are so many people living on this planet who have never accepted Jesus Christ as the savior of their life. All of their hopes and dreams are here in this world and one day it will all crumble. Jesus spoke of this in the sermon of the mount,

Matthew 7:26-27 (NKJV)
²⁶ “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: ²⁷ and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

Paul also spoke along these lines,

2 Corinthians 4:18 (NKJV)
¹⁸ ^bwhile we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

The writer of Hebrews said it this way,

Hebrews 12:26-28 (NKJV

²⁶ whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, ^l“Yet once more I ²shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” ²⁷ Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the ^mremoval of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. ²⁸ Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we ³may ⁿserve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.

Note, this verse say there is a kingdom which cannot be shaken. The unshakable kingdom is the one headed by my savior Jesus Christ. If you want you live to be built on a solid unshakable foundation accept Jesus offer of salvation today.

Romans 10:9-10 (NKJV)
⁹ that ⁱif you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

b Rom. 8:24; [2 Cor. 5:7; Heb. 11:1, 13]

l Hag. 2:6

2 NU will shake

m [Is. 34:4; 54:10; 65:17; Rom. 8:19, 21]; 1 Cor. 7:31; Heb. 1:10

3 M omits may

n Heb. 13:15, 21

i Matt. 10:32; Luke 12:8; Acts 8:37; Rom. 14:9; [1 Cor. 12:3]; Phil. 2:11

Stay in the Word

2009-05-22T16:52:00.001-05:00

Today I was reading an article By Reverend R.T. Kendall in Ministry Today magazine. I will give you the web address just in case you may want to read it yourself. http://www.ministrytodaymag.com/index.php/evangelical-essentials/18172-wheres-the-discernment.

I want to encourage you to do what brother Kendall talks about in the article “Grow in discernment”. If there has ever been a day when we as ministers and church members need to be saturated in the Word of God, it is today. Paul told timothy to “study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth”. We live in an age that has become so casual that this casual attitude has crept into our attitude toward God and His Word. God expects our desire for Him and His word not to be casual but passionate and energetic (Phil 3 14, Psalm 42:1). The fact is, studying the Word of God is hard work, but work that will bestow great dividends upon your life. The reward of scripture study is invaluable, intimacy with God, knowledge of God’s ways, protection from the enemy, and growth in grace. You and I can never be all God wants us to be unless we stay in the word.

Stay in the Word and let it guide your life.

GAY MARRIAGE?

2009-04-24T12:24:00.000-05:00

Recently in the Miss USA pageant, one of the judges (openly gay), asked Miss California (a Christian), a question about the legalization of gay marriage in the United States. Her answer was “I believe marriage is between a man and a woman.” Of course this set off a firestorm of controversy, and the judge gave her a score of 0 costing her the pageant. I admire her stand for the truth even when it wasn’t convenient. I believe the Lord will bless her for standing up for what is right.

So what does the bible say about gay marriage? I came across an article which addresses the gay marriage issue from a biblical perspective. I did not write it, but I agree with it wholeheartedly. I encourage you read it and be blessed.

Question: "What does the Bible say about gay marriage / same sex marriage?"

Answer: While the Bible does address homosexuality, it does not explicitly mention gay marriage/same-sex marriage. It is clear, however, that the Bible condemns homosexuality as an immoral and unnatural sin. Leviticus 18:22 identifies homosexual sex as an abomination, a detestable sin. Romans 1:26-27 declares homosexual desires and actions to be shameful, unnatural, lustful, and indecent. First Corinthians 6:9 states that homosexuals are unrighteous and will not inherit the kingdom of God. Since both homosexual desires and actions are condemned in the Bible, it is clear that homosexuals “marrying” is not God’s will, and would be, in fact, sinful.

Whenever the Bible mentions marriage, it is between a male and a female. The first mention of marriage, Genesis 2:24, describes it as a man leaving his parents and being united to his wife. In passages that contain instructions regarding marriage, such as 1 Corinthians 7:2-16 and Ephesians 5:23-33, the Bible clearly identifies marriage as being between a man and a woman. Biblically speaking, marriage is the lifetime union of a man and a woman, primarily for the purpose of building a family and providing a stable environment for that family.

The Bible alone, however, does not have to be used to demonstrate this understanding of marriage. The biblical viewpoint of marriage has been the universal understanding of marriage in every human civilization in world history. History argues against gay marriage. Modern secular psychology recognizes that men and women are psychologically and emotionally designed to complement one another. In regard to the family, psychologists contend that a union between a man and woman in which both spouses serve as good gender role models is the best environment in which to raise well-adjusted children. Psychology argues against gay marriage. In nature/physicality, clearly, men and women were designed to “fit” together sexually. With the “natural” purpose of sexual intercourse being procreation, clearly only a sexual relationship between a man and a woman can fulfill this purpose. Nature argues against gay marriage.

So, if the Bible, history, psychology, and nature all argue for marriage being between a man and a woman—why is there such a controversy today? Why are those who are opposed to gay marriage/same-sex marriage labeled as hateful, intolerant bigots, no matter how respectfully the opposition is presented? Why is the gay rights movement so aggressively pushing for gay marriage/same-sex marriage when most people, religious and non-religious, are supportive of—or at least far less opposed to—gay couples having all the same legal rights as married couples with some form of civil union?

The answer, according to the Bible, is that everyone inherently knows that homosexuality is immoral and unnatural, and the only way to suppress this inherent knowledge is by normalizing homosexuality and attacking any and all opposition to it. The best way to normalize homosexuality is by placing gay marriage/same-sex marriage on an equal plane with traditional opposite-gender marriage. Romans 1:18-32 illustrates this. The truth is known because God has made it plain. The truth is rejected and replaced with a lie. The lie is then promoted and the truth suppressed and attacked. The vehemence and anger expressed by many in the gay rights movement to any who oppose them is, in fact, an indication that they know their position is indefensible. Trying to overcome a weak position by raising your voice is the oldest trick in the debating book. There is perhaps no more accurate description of the modern gay rights agenda than Romans 1:31, “they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.”

To give sanction to gay marriage/same-sex marriage would be to give approval to the homosexual lifestyle, which the Bible clearly and consistently condemns as sinful. Christians should stand firmly against the idea of gay marriage/same-sex marriage. Further, there are strong and logical arguments against gay marriage/same-sex marriage from contexts completely separated from the Bible. One does not have to be an evangelical Christian to recognize that marriage is between a man and a woman.

According to the Bible, marriage is ordained by God to be between a man and a woman (Genesis 2:21-24; Matthew 19:4-6). Gay marriage/same-sex marriage is a perversion of the institution of marriage and an offense to the God who created marriage. As Christians, we are not to condone or ignore sin. Rather, we are to share the love of God and the forgiveness of sins that is available to all, including homosexuals, through Jesus Christ. We are to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) and contend for truth with “gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15). As Christians, when we make a stand for truth and the result is personal attacks, insults, and persecution, we should remember the words of Jesus: “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you” (John 15:18-19).

2009-03-26T06:10:00.001-05:00

Christ Sovereign Control

In our Wednesday evening service last night I ministered from the sixth chapter of the Revelation. The first eight verses speak about the four horsemen of the apocalypse. When we consider the events that will transpire in these last days it is very easy to get focused on those terrible events; antichrist, war, famine and death. Yet if we will look closely there is sovereign control of every event that happens. Notice it is the lamb that opens the seals Vs. 1,3,5,7. It says in verses four that the red horse rider was allowed to take peace from the earth; that means all the events of the revelation are under the control of the sovereign hand of God.

Psalm 11:3-4 (ESV)

³ if ^cthe foundations are destroyed,

what can the righteous do?”¹

⁴ ^dThe Lord is in his holy temple;

the Lord’s ^ethrone is in heaven;

his eyes see, his eyelids ^ftest the children of man.

We must always remember the LORD is on His throne even during the difficult days of life. Let keep our focus in the right place, upon the author and finisher of our faith Jesus Christ; He is on the throne!

c Ps. 82:5; Ezek. 30:4

1 Or for the foundations will be destroyed; what has the righteous done?

d Ps. 18:6; Mic. 1:2; Hab. 2:20

e Ps. 2:4; Isa. 66:1; Matt. 5:34; 23:22; Acts 7:49

f See Job 23:10

Free Tony

2009-02-14T11:51:00.001-06:00

I came across this online today and thought it might interest some of you. Apparently there is a truck stop in Louisiana that has an 800 pound tiger named Tony on display in a cage. People young and old come to see Tony and watch him pace back and forth. Well, you may ask, what’s the big deal? The big deal is that it is against the law to have a tiger like tony in private possession. Yes, you guessed it; an animal rights group has taken up Tony’s cause and have been waging a legal battle to free Tony to an animal preserve. In fact there is a web site where you can keep up with what’s happening in Tony’s battle www.freetony.com. This group at big cat rescue is very passionate about rescuing suffering animals, especially Tony.

Where do I stand on the on this issue? I love animals, and don’t ever want to see an animal suffer. It is very sad to see Tony having to stand on concrete all day and night and also to be forced to listen to the deafening sounds of the diesel trucks. I don’t have a tiger like Tony, but I do have two dogs (Tia & Elle) that are like family. The scripture even talks about how we should treat our animals (Proverbs 12:10).

Now where am I going with this Tony the tiger story? It made me think of all the people in our world who are caged in a prison of sin. I believe we as the Church of Jesus Christ should be more passionate about seeing people freed from the chains of sin than this animal rights group is to free Tony the tiger from his cage. God has given us a message of hope through the gospel of Jesus Christ his son. John 8:36 says “so if the Son sets you free you will be free indeed”. So the next time you are eating your frosted flakes and thinking of Tony the tiger you might want say a pray for Tony but also say a prayer for the lost all around us who have never met Jesus Christ as their savior.

I wish Tony well.

Good Thoughts

2009-02-13T09:41:00.001-06:00

There seems to be so much bad news in the world-plane crashes, financial problem and violence. If we are not careful, we can let it overwhelm our minds which can in turn rob us of our joy, peace and faith. I would never advocate a Pollyanna attitude where our optimism is based on an unrealistic reality. The scripture says “above all take up the shield of faith”. I find when I focus my mind on God and His Word, I began to see the world through the eyes of faith. How do the eyes of faith work? Well, we begin by responding the way the psalmist did in

Psalm 11:3-4

The foundations of law and order have collapsed.

What can the righteous do?”

But the Lord is in his holy Temple;

the Lord still rules from heaven.

He watches everyone closely,

examining every person on earth.

The Lord still rules! Fill your mind with this good thought today and your faith will soar. Then instead of the bad news pulling you down, you will pull others up to the good news. Of course the best good news is that Jesus died for our sins and offers us salvation and abundant life. Good thought.