April 27, 2009
Deliver Us From Evil

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away. 2 Timothy 3:1-5
 
Paul warns that life during these last days are difficult, distressing, and even demonic. Last week on April 20, America remembered an evil event that took place in Colorado at the Columbine High School. We witnessed the fulfillment of the above verses in two lost, lonely and lethal teenagers.
 
Have you ever asked yourself, "Why did something of this magnitude happen? Why such evil and hate in two human beings?"
 
You may remember one of the victims on that day was Rachel Scott. Her father, Darrel Scott, was invited to address the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee in 1999 (after the shooting) and he answered our questions from the following transcript:
 
“Since the dawn of creation there has been both good and evil in the hearts of men and women. We all contain the seeds of kindness or the seeds of violence. The death of my wonderful daughter, Rachel Joy Scott, and the deaths of that heroic teacher, and the other eleven children who died must not be in vain. Their blood cries out for answers.
 
The first recorded act of violence was when Cain slew his brother Abel out in the field. The villain was not the club he used.. Neither was it the NCA, the National Club Association. The true killer was Cain, and the reason for the murder could only be found in Cain's heart.
 
In the days that followed the Columbine tragedy, I was amazed at how quickly fingers began to be pointed at groups such as the NRA. I am not a member of the NRA. I am not a hunter. I do not even own a gun. I am not here to represent or defend the NRA - because I don't believe that they are responsible for my daughter's death. Therefore I do not believe that they need to be defended. If I believed they had anything to do with Rachel's murder I would be their strongest opponent. I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy - it was a spiritual event that should be forcing us to look at where the real blame lies! Much of the blame lies here in this room. Much of the blame lies behind the pointing fingers of the accusers themselves.
 
I wrote a poem just four nights ago that expresses my feelings best.
 
Your laws ignore our deepest needs
Your words are empty air
You've stripped away our heritage
You've outlawed simple prayer
Now gunshots fill our classrooms
And precious children die
You seek for answers everywhere
And ask the question "Why?"
You regulate restrictive laws
Through legislative creed.
And yet you fail to understand
That God is what we need!
 
We have refused to honor God, and in so doing, we open the doors to hatred and violence. And when something as terrible as Columbine's tragedy occurs - politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA. They immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that contribute to erode away our personal and private liberties. We do not need more restrictive laws. Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal detectors. No amount of gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre. The real villain lies within our own hearts.
 
As my son Craig lay under that table in the school library and saw his two friends murdered before his very eyes, he did not hesitate to pray in school. I defy any law or politician to deny him that right...Dare to move into the new millennium with a sacred disregard for legislation that violates your God-given right to communicate with Him.
 
To those of you who would point your finger at the NRA - I give to you a sincere challenge - dare to examine your own heart before casting the first stone! My daughter's death will not be in vain! The young people of this country will not allow that to happen!”
 
John 16:33 "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

April 22, 2009
A Californian With Convictions

“Study this Book…continually. Meditate on it day and night so you may be sure to obey all that is written in it. Only then will you succeed.” NLT Joshua 1:8

This week during the Miss USA contest, one of the contest judges, Perez Hilton, who is homosexual, asked Miss California Carrie Prejean that since Vermont has now legalized gay marriage shouldn’t every state follow suit? Ms. Prejean had the courage to express her views and said, “Well, I think it’s great that Americans are able to choose one or the other. We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage. And you know what, in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that’s how I was raised and that’s how I think it should be between a man and a woman. Thank you very much.”

Ms. Prejean’s comments were cheered by the crowd, but a few jeers could be heard in the background by some who were angry at her answer. According to one news source, arguments broke out in the lobby of the theater, with one gay man shouting, "I think it's ridiculous that she got first runner-up..." 

When did it become necessary for Miss USA contestants to hold values in agreement with homosexuals? Isn't it interesting that this response also came from a Californian with convictions?

This is a courageous woman who stood tall and triumphant despite losing the crown. Was she successful even though she lost the contest? Absolutely! She was serving her Lord Jesus Christ in the heat of hardship and sharing her faith in the midst of a turbulent trial. And because of her source of truth (the Bible) it gave her the ability to stand and speak the truth. And through this, Carrie found a power and a purpose that millions of people witnessed.

Remember what I said in Sunday's sermon, "Servanthood is a position where a Christian finds power and a place where a Christian finds purpose. And that’s success!"

Matthew 23:11 “He who is greatest among you shall be your servant.”

April 14, 2009
Everyday Success

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

As we begin our new series this Sunday entitled "Experience Success For Life", let's examine a few thoughts that will help us take the first step towards real and tangable success.

There is a line that separates everything we do. It separates the moral from the immoral; the ethical from the unethical; the wise from the unwise. And too many of us walk the edge and the ledge of that line trys to see how close we can get before we have to face the consequences.

God tells us, in order to reach our potential, in order to gain the full and rich life that He has in store for us, we can't walk that line! Instead, if we are in line with God first, we will make wise and insightful decisions that bring us overflowing success everyday in His eyes. When we fail to do that, we spend an insane amount of time swimming laps in the pool of regret. We look back at our dumb, what was I thinking decisions and shake our heads and say, "If only... if only... if only."

Can you imagine daily gaining everything the world offers but in the end losing your soul for eternity? Remember the words of George Bernard Shaw that he wrote before his death in 1950 - a religious man turned atheist, “Faith in Jesus Christ, I’m not sure about anymore…but the science to which I pinned my faith is bankrupt. Its counsels, which should have established the millennium, have led directly to the suicide of Europe. I believed them once. In their name I helped to destroy the faith of millions. And now they look at me and witness the great tragedy of an atheist who has lost his faith.”

The best way to avoid diving into the pool of regret; the best way to make the right decisions is to ask ourselves the right questions. As each of us go through the daily decision making process, look at each option with "in tense" eyes. When we are in tense about our decision making process, we will gain the insight that allows us to see what may look like success in the world's eyes and not in God's eyes!

This week, let's ask ourselves, "Are my decisions going to reflect what I have learned from my past; are my decisions wise considering my present conditions; and if my decisions are leading to lasting and godly success. So get in line with God first in order to see the right answers to life's multiple choice test!

April 7, 2009
Satan's Most Hated Word

"When Jesus had received the vinegar, He said, ‘It is finished’…” John 19:30

The ancient Greeks boasted in being able to say so much with so few words. That’s what happened when Jesus said just one word, but it was a word that shook the world – "Tetelesti".
 
In John 19:30, Jesus cried from the cross, “It is finished.”In English it's three words, but in Greek, it’s only one word - "Tetelesti". The word means paid in full, completed, summed up in essence.
 
When Jesus said, “It is finished,”He meant all of the prophecies had been fulfilled. You can see the prophecy in Psalm 69:2, “They gave me also gall for my meat and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”
 
It is absolutely indescribably amazingas you study the prophecies that deal with the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. Just one such example is in Psalm 22. It reads as though the writer was standing at the very foot of the cross and yet it was written centuries before the Lord Jesus Christ was born.
 
Jesus Christ in six hours upon the cross suffered all the hell that you and I would suffer for eternity. For Jesus, being infinite, suffered in a finite period of time what you and I, being finite, would suffer in an infinite period of time.The eternities as well as the sin of the world were compressed upon the Lord Jesus Christ in that time.
 
But the cruelty of the cross was the final suffering. So many other ways He suffered even before He got to the cross - the Garden of Gethsemane, the mock trials, the spitting in His face, the beatings and mockings.
 
But it was not the physical suffering that redeemed us. At midday the glowing face of the sun hid and the shade of night and darkness was pulled. The veil was pulled across the sun symbolizing the greater spiritual darkness that Jesus was in. And Jesus gave those words from Psalm 22, “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?”
 
God’s mighty work of redemption was finished. When Jesus died, all that was necessary for you to be forgiven and to be saved was done. Every blot, every blur and every blemish that ever came across your soul, Jesus has done it all. And all you need to do now is to receive what He has done. Oh, it’s not what you do, it’s what He has done!
 
This ancient word "Tetelesti"was the one word Satan hated the most because he knew it was the one word that could open the door for another hated ancient word  "Resurrection!"

April 3, 2009
Christ On Display

"God demontrated His love towards us, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

What an incredible verse from the Bible! This tells us everything about the love of God. The word "demonstrate" is key to understanding God's action. Literally it means "to put something valuable on display". 2000 years ago God displayed His greatest work for all mankind to see - the death of Jesus Christ at Calvary! Christ’s cross still stands the test of time for all to embrace with a sense of awe. Calvary’s cross still stands the test of critics because it was the location of the greatest sacrifice to secure our greatest need – salvation!

History records this event for us so well and it is through the pages of history that we can look back at God's valuable display of love. Today in the 21st century the world can also see God's greatest display of love written on the hearts of the redeemed!
 
This is the season that is so important for Christianity! This is the time that we all must let Christ's love be seen in our lives! So let’s stand together and visualize for our families, friends and foe, the power of sacrifice in our giving, the power of the resurrection in our service, the power of love in our behavior and the power of truth in our character!

March 23, 2009
A Portrait of Christ

"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." Matthew 5:17-18

We now have available, instantaneously, the wisdom of the ages. Or do we? We have the ability to read or hear or view the opinion or beliefs of anyone who thinks they are an intellect.

Now intellect is a wonderful thing, isn't it? You can understand biology, but if you don't know the Giver of life, you're still uneducated.  You can comprehend geology, but if you don't know the Rock of Ages, you don't really know anything of importance. You can know all about botany, but if you haven't met the Lily of the Valley, your knowledge is useless. You can know all the facts of history, but if you reject the central figure of history, your time has been wasted.

The wise man who doesn't know God is ignorant. The strong man who doesn't know God is weak. The rich man who doesn't know God is poor. Only the Lord can fulfill all our needs and answer all our questions. Jesus came to fulfill all things.

The Lord said He had come to fulfill the prophets. The historical figure of Christ is the secret to understanding the Bible. Everywhere you look in Scripture, you see the writer pointing toward Christ.

In Luke 24:27, after His resurrection, Jesus appeared to two forlorn followers and began teaching them the secret to Scripture. "And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself." The Old Testament points toward Jesus Christ. Every story and every event leads directly to the Savior.

In John 5:39, the Lord Jesus told His followers to "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me." Of course, the New Testament had not yet been written, so Jesus is telling His disciples to explore the Old Testament writings, because they all point toward Him.

As you read through the Old Testiment, see how it points to Jesus...

• Christ is the Seed of woman and in Genesis 3:15 we are told He will one day crush Satan.

• In Exodus we find the story of the Passover Lamb, and Christ is the sacrificial Lamb given for us.
 
• In Leviticus we read of the high priests making sacrifices for the people, and Christ has become our High Priest, making the perfect sacrifice to atone for our sins.
 
• In Deuteronomy Moses prophesied of a prophet who would come that would be greater than Himself. Jesus is that Great Prophet.

• In the book of Joshua, Joshua met the Captain of the Lord's host. That man is Jesus Christ.

• In Judges, the leaders were judges who delivered God's people, each of them typify¬ing the Lord Jesus.

• Boaz, the kinsman who redeemed Ruth's inheritance, is a picture of Christ.

• David, the anointed one, pictures Jesus and Jesus is described as being the Son of David.

• In 2 Samuel when the king is being enthroned, the entire scene is descriptive of the Lord Jesus.

• The books of Kings speak of the glory of God filling the temple and the Chronicles describe the glorious coming king, both referring to Jesus, the King of Kings.

• Ezra depicts Jesus as the Lord of our fathers.

• Job says clearly that the Redeemer is coming!

• Esther offers a picture of Christ interceding for His people.

• Christ appears time after time in the Psalms, including when David describes Him as "the Shepherd."

• Isaiah details His glorious birth.

• Jeremiah reveals that He will be acquainted with sorrows.

• Joel describes Him as the Hope of His people.

• Amos tells us that Jesus is the judge of all nations.

• Obadiah warns of the coming eternal kingdom.

• Jonah offers a picture of Jesus being dead for three days, then coming back to life to preach repentance.

• Zephaniah says that He will be the king over Israel.

• Zachariah is the prophet who speaks of Jesus riding on a colt.

• Malachi is the one who calls Him the Son of Righteousness.

Can you see it? The entire Old Testament points toward Jesus as Savior, and if you miss that, you've missed the entire point of the Scriptures. Jesus is the Messiah and the fulfillment of prophecy. This is truely knowledge that transforms our lives!

March 3, 2009
A False Witness

"A false witness shall perish: but the man that hears speaks constantly." Proverbs 21:28

If there's anything this world is hungering for, it's reality. We see that yearning played out in our own homes on our televisions with every type of "reality" show imaginable. People are just tired of games, hypocrisy and cardboard Christianity.

I firmly believe that we can reach people with Christ's gospel if it touches people with a sense of reality. You see, the greatest hunger of every person is to know truth and that truth is Jesus Christ - not know about Him, but to know Him and to have that reality in their own lives.

We find the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:21, explaining that one of the devil's favorite ploys is to use false witnesses, "Not every one that says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of Heaven; but he that does the will of My Father which is in Heaven."

I've heard it said, "The worst form of human badness is human goodness" and when that human goodness becomes a substitute for the new birth, Jesus called that sin and a false religion!

Let me share with you 3 marks of reality in a faithful witness or a contagious Christian...

First of all, there is a listening worship in His sheep. No man knows God, or is prepared to serve Him until he's first heard His voice. One of the marks of all true Christians, in fact, in all reality in spiritual matters, is that you have heard the Lord. Jesus said in John 10:27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them." The Lord doesn't know anyone unless they've heard His voice.

Secondly, there is a living witness in His servants. If we've heard God, we dare not be silent. Jesus didn't say, "You shall be my lawyers", he said, "You shall be witnesses of Me." A lawyer argues a case, but Jesus says we are called to tell what we've seen and heard.

Thirdly, there is a lasting walk in His saints. This is the hallmark of our reality. Remember the verse above, "A false witness shall perish, but the man that hears speaks constantly." Did you get those last 2 words - "Speaks constantly"? If you've got a reliable relationship with God, verses an unreliable religion with good intentions, you and I will go the distance in this life! 

Do you know if God is real in your life or not? Are you an exclamation point or a question mark? Are you a Cardboard Christian? If so, then life has no real purpose! If you don't know Jesus Christ as the Shepherd of your soul, I want you to know Him - this Pastor wants you to experience daily a for sure reality and not a form of religion!

February 24, 2009
Worry Wart!

“Worry wart!” What an expression! What comes to your mind when you hear that phrase?  In some ways it is fitting because a wart is a growth that is unsightly and unbecoming to our eyes and how true it is with worry – it’s unbecoming and unfitting in our lives! Isn’t it true that God's Word promises us that He is in control? What part of God can we not trust! What a sobering thought!

Jesus declares boldly in Matthew 6:25 “…do not worry about your life...?” Take time this week to revisit the whole context of Matthew 6:25-34.

Let's look at:

1. The Objects of Worry.
Jesus mentions five areas in which we are not to worry - finance, food, fitness, fashion, and the future. The first is finance. When we worry about our finances, it's a way of making money our god rather than God.

The second is food. What farmer would feed his chickens and starve his own children? The Creator takes care of the birds of the air and He will take care of you.

Matthew 6:27 cautions us about fitness, “Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit into his stature?” Can we worry ourselves taller? I think Jesus wasn't primarily referring to the height of life but rather the length of life. Worry will shorten our life span for sure!

In verses 28-31, Jesus said not to worry about fashion. If God makes grass for the clothing of the earth and places beautiful robes on the flowers that fade, how much more will He take care of you? Listen - God cares about the details in our lives!

Finally, Jesus mentions our future in such striking words in verse 34, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Why do we struggle with this truthful verse?

2. The Problems with Worry.
Worry is absolutely harmful because it can lead to evil, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret (worry) when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret - it leads only to evil.” Psalm 37:7-8

Worry will do the same thing to us physiologically that sand will do to machinery - it will wear us down. Not only does worry contaminate us, it's toxic to other relationships.

Mostly, worry creates a wound in the heart of God. In Matthew 6:30, there is a small, sobering phrase: “You of little faith.” Worry is an insult to God because worry says we don't trust Him and at times refuse to trust Him. I ask again, what part of God can we not trust?

3. The Solution to Worry.
The first solution to our worries is what I want to call the Father factor. Has it ever dawned upon you that your heavenly Father has a responsibility to care for you? God did not create and redeem you to forsake and abandon you!

Second, is the focus factor. Worry is a sign that we are not focusing on our Father. Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” What things? Finances, food, fitness, fashion, and a hope-filled future.

Third, there is the future factor. God is in control and some days He sends sunshine and some days He sends rain. You see, God allows enough trouble every day to cause us to turn to Him and to get the grace that is "sufficient" for that day's distress - not tomorrow's trouble. If you take things that belong to tomorrow and bring them into today, that is called borrowing trouble.

What is the high cost of borrowed trouble? First, worry pulls tomorrow's clouds over today's sunshine. Secondly, worry steals our strength. Tomorrow has two handles - fear and faith - and we can take it by either.

I think we all need to keep saying, "God you are my Father and Oh how I wound your heart when I worry." So together let’s trust God with today and leave the future in His hands.

February 3, 2009
Wandering Worship

"For Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me..." 2 Timothy 4:10

Our hearts and affections are fickle. Even as believers in Christ we can wander off like dull sheep, following other bypaths and trails, chasing other goals and gods, falling in love with lesser things. The moment we quit walking in dependence on the Holy Spirit, we're in danger of wandering affections.

It happened to Noah - he had a wandering desire. After the Genesis flood, he became a farmer and vineyard keeper, and on one occasion became too attached to his wine. His resulting drunkenness created a family scandal.

It happened to Samson - he had a wandering passion. Here was a man whose birth was predicted in advance, who was dedicated to the Lord from infancy, and who was gifted by God with supernatural strength through the Spirit. Yet his passions continually led him astray.

It happened to David - he had a wandering eye. The man who wrote, "O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth...," had a wandering eye that led him into adultery, murder, and cover-up.

It happened to Solomon - he had a wandering heart. He married foreign women, and when he was old, the Bible says, "His wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God."

It happened to Peter - he had a wandering mind. Sadly Jesus had to rebuke him with words that I'm sure haunted him for many days after, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." 

It even happened to the church of Ephesus - they had a wandering love. The echo of  Revelation 2:4 can still be heard today, "Jesus said: "Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love."

The Apostle Paul reminds each of us in Ephesians 4:23,24 "And be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness."

So let's look at 3 ways I think we can give wholehearted worship to God.

1. Replace wandering ways with renewed wondering.

Take time to relish the beauty of God's majestic creation. I know it helps me to keep my mind concentrating on the words of hymns and praise songs that are sung on Sundays. They have a way of bringing out such beautiful thoughts toward God's incredable creative power.

David gets it right with these words from Psalm 145:2,3 "Every day I will bless You...Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable."

Have you replaced your worship of God with a misplaced affection? Confess this to God and realign your priorities.

2. Replace wandering ways with renewed dedication.

Just months before his death, missionary David Livingstone wrote in his diary: "Birthday. My Jesus, my King, my life, my All; I again dedicate my whole self to Thee."

It helps to ask God to search our hearts. We are expert self-deceivers, and we often don't know our own hearts. Psalm 139:23 contains a simple prayer that comes with powerful results, "Search me, O God, and know my heart."

3. Replace wandering ways with renewed trust.

If we follow through with 1 and 2, it's only natural that we will have a deeper trust in God's provision. Determined faith will always follow renewed dedication and renewed worship. Let's dismiss the thought of giving up on God and step up boldly into His presence - totally trusting Him with our burdens, brokeness and heartaches. Amen!

I love the words to the song we sang on Sunday, they reveal such a tangable truth for us...

Fragmented
Wandering far from home
The shattered dreams
Of what our lives become
Still holding on to something yesterday
When dark clouds rise
Trust the eyes of faith.

There's still room, at the cross of Jesus
There's still love, wider than the sea
We're layin down, all our heavy burdens
Finding rest, at mercy's feet.

January 26, 2009
The Cure

"And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ..."  Ephesians 4:11, 12
 
By now you know that FBC is striving to be "The Cure For The Common Church". We are working hard to make an impact on people's lives with the power of the Gospel! Below are the core principles that help keep us focused on the kingdom task before us...
 
Compassion for the hurting
Unashamed of biblical truth
Relationships are a priority
Enriched worship to God
 
The word "Equip" from the above verse is literally a medical term in Greek that describes the setting of a bone in order to heal.
 
These are difficult days for many of us with so much concern about our families, faith and fortunes. Many are struggling to make sense of all the chaos and confusion in our culture today. Simply put, the world as we know it today is experiencing a tsunami of change that is spreading across this country - in fact this sweeping sea of change is something that we have never experienced before! The Ozzie and Harriet world of just a few years ago is long gone - if you haven't noticed!
 
These are critical days for Christianity and how we respond and react to this sweeping sea of change within our culture, will tell a lot about how Christianity survives in the next 25 years.
 
Frankly, we need to see America, including Calaveras County, as one huge mission field. Only 2 countries have more non-believers than the United States - India and China. America is the 3rd largest mission field in the world. As I see it, we need to begin impacting the 2 largest mission fields in our area - the unchurched and the overchurched!

 Get this: "Only 15% of this nation's 320,000 churches are highly effective."  
                                                                                     - Barna Research

That means the other 85% of churches are filled with Christian agnostics - at least that's the way it comes across!
 
We have to get into life again! We have our work cut out for us but we have a mighty God who equips (remember our definition) all of us to reach the hurting people all around us. This is why the CURE is so effective for the times we live in. As a community of believers, equipped to serve in true love while sharing the true gospel - we can bring healing to those hurting, we can bring love to those lonely and we can bring wisdom to those weary!
 
Through everything life throws at each of us, let's be a body of believers, who hurts together, heals together and trusts together - so let's press on together!

January 20, 2009
The Journey of Change

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

A quick study of American history shows that the greatness of this country comes from the courageous conviction that God would not abandon us along the journey of change, and that through the darkness and into the light we would still be standing for all to see.

I appreciated the words of our new President Obama as I heard him say today in his inaugural address to all Americans, "Let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet it."

My mind recalls how Joshua in the Old Testament must have felt as he too was called to lead a mighty nation of God's people into the Promised Land. "Then He (God) inaugurated Joshua and said, "Be strong and of good courage; for you shall bring the children of Israel into the land of which I swore to them, and I will be with you." Deuteronomy 31:23

What inspiring words for anyone of us who may face at times, an unbelievable task during times of great change.

I think the reason change is so difficult for us is because of the fear of the uncertain and facing the unexpected. Have you ever felt that way?

But consider yourself in a great company of companions who have charged ahead of change and consider yourself in the presence of a "great cloud of witnesses" who, from heaven's balcony, wave us all through the shadowy dark and into the brightest light! Hebrews 12:1.

No matter how empty the darkness feels or how tempting to surrender - stand in faith before your season of change and be another Joshua and lead your family, or another Esther and inspire a friend, or another Paul and endure to the end.

Above all, let us take command of change as we follow the example of our Commander in Chief Jesus Christ and love through it all.

January 6, 2009
What Are We Carrying Into This New Year?

In many cases, who we are today is a direct result of our past.  We all have scars and wounds from the hurtful words and hateful ways of others and from our own failures and mistakes.  But for the Christ-follower this is not the end of the story.

As the Spirit of God uses the Word of God to remake us into new creations, these scars from the past year become stepping stones to spiritual maturity.  Embrace these ten principles from God's word and allow Him to rebuild your battered life and together let's look forward to 2009!

10. I Am Created.
"For we are God's workmanship." Ephesians 2:10

9. I Am Chosen.
"For we know, brothers loved by God that he has chosen you..." 1 Timothy 1:4

8. I Am Protected.
"Protect me as you would the pupil of your eye." Psalm 17:8

7. I Am Complete.
"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." 2 Peter 1:3
 
6. I Am Victorious.
"In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." Romans 8:37

5. I Am Called.
"God has saved us and called us to a holy life--not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace..." 2 Timothy 1:9

4. I Am Forgiven.
"There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Romans 8:1

3. I Am Free.
"Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free." John 8:32

2. I Am Loved.
"I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness." Jeremiah 31:3

1. I Am Accepted.
"To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved." Ephesians 1:6