Wow, look at it coming down out there! Still covered in snow from the last storm we’re now expected to get another heavy coating of the white stuff. If you have to drive in this snow, be careful because in a split second you can go from straight ahead to sideways in a hurry. One moment, everything is fine and the next moment you’re waste-deep in trouble. A quick assessment finds a dented door, a broken head light, a flat tire and snow packed all the way up to the fenders. “Now what?” you say to yourself. Now you need help! It’s time to make the call, but make sure you call the right person or bad can go to worse quick!
You know everyday we drive the roads of life and we have to be careful too don’t we? I mean one second life is grand and the next we’re waste-deep in trouble. Who do we call on to help out? Make the right call! Your life may depend on it!
“Arise, call on your God. Perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish”
Jonah 1:6
When we find ourselves off the road and stuck in sin we’ll soon find out that the dented door is now dented character. The broken headlight is now a broken relationship. The flat tire is now a life of flat line living and the snow packed up to the fenders becomes additional sin quickly approaching neck level, ready to suffocate us!
Now when we get off course in driving we call AAA or the local tow truck without a thought don’t we? Well when we find ourselves waste-deep in sin, we need to make sure that we call the right tow truck. Now Jesus doesn’t show up in a tow truck but you can be sure that He’ll show up (1 John 1:9).
But just how many times have we called on Jesus because we found ourselves off the road, off His path in the same exact place as yesterday, as the day before, as last week? Maybe it’s time to slow down or even take another route?
This change of course is called repentance and is expected in the life of the Christian. It ensures that we stay the path and avoid becoming sideways in sin. Now when we’ve driven the same way for so long, it becomes hard to change our mind about our chosen direction, but be sure of this; when we allow God to steer our lives we can be certain that He’ll get us home safe! And if you find yourself stuck and a little banged up, make the call to God, because He’s been fixing wrecks forever and His work is guaranteed!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
POWER IN THE UNIFORM
“Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.”
Colossians 3:12-14
Have you ever noticed just how much a uniform makes a difference? Think about it. You’re in a large department store and you can’t find something, what do you do? You look for a person wearing a uniform because they’ll know where to go to find just what you’re seeking. If we find ourselves in distress or danger, the sight of a police officer or firefighter brings us comfort and we know them by their uniform. Uniforms are usually made to stand out in some way or another. The one in uniform is different in some way from those without one.
The Apostle Paul refers to us as the “elect of God” which means that we are called by God, chosen and set apart. Christians are not called to wear uniforms as those listed above might but the Apostle Paul did encourage us to “put on” certain things that would set us apart from others. These were more than just “things”; these were to be the markings of true Christian character.
Paul says we’re to put on tenderness and kindness, being called to show the same compassion that Christ showed those in the gospels. We’re also instructed to be humble and meek placing others needs above ours when given the opportunity. We are called also to be longsuffering, meaning that we are not to look at people as thieves of our patience but as people who need the same care as we once did prior to coming to Jesus Christ. With what patience did God show you? We are to extend others the same.
And what about that piece of the uniform that seems to bring it all together, that leaves us no doubt of who “they are”. Christians have that too! Paul says in vs14 that it’s Love. Love is the piece that perfects us! Love is that defining garment that comes from God Himself.
It’s amazing how uniforms change so frequently due to style but that’s what great about the clothing that God gives us to wear, they never go out of style and they’re always the right fit!
Pastor Seth <><
Colossians 3:12-14
Have you ever noticed just how much a uniform makes a difference? Think about it. You’re in a large department store and you can’t find something, what do you do? You look for a person wearing a uniform because they’ll know where to go to find just what you’re seeking. If we find ourselves in distress or danger, the sight of a police officer or firefighter brings us comfort and we know them by their uniform. Uniforms are usually made to stand out in some way or another. The one in uniform is different in some way from those without one.
The Apostle Paul refers to us as the “elect of God” which means that we are called by God, chosen and set apart. Christians are not called to wear uniforms as those listed above might but the Apostle Paul did encourage us to “put on” certain things that would set us apart from others. These were more than just “things”; these were to be the markings of true Christian character.
Paul says we’re to put on tenderness and kindness, being called to show the same compassion that Christ showed those in the gospels. We’re also instructed to be humble and meek placing others needs above ours when given the opportunity. We are called also to be longsuffering, meaning that we are not to look at people as thieves of our patience but as people who need the same care as we once did prior to coming to Jesus Christ. With what patience did God show you? We are to extend others the same.
And what about that piece of the uniform that seems to bring it all together, that leaves us no doubt of who “they are”. Christians have that too! Paul says in vs14 that it’s Love. Love is the piece that perfects us! Love is that defining garment that comes from God Himself.
It’s amazing how uniforms change so frequently due to style but that’s what great about the clothing that God gives us to wear, they never go out of style and they’re always the right fit!
Pastor Seth <><
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
BUSTED, BUSTED, BUSTED!
We carry so many habits from our childhood with us don’t we? We often go where everyone told us not to go and we often do what everyone said not to do. And then when we’ve “gone there” and “done that” we’re left looking around to see if anyone saw us? The question looms in our minds…. “Did I get away with it?” Yes, maybe you did but only for the moment, for although human eyes miss so many things the eyes of God see all. So that makes you and I …..BUSTED, BUSTED, BUSTED!
“One day after Moses had grown up he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. Glancing this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.” Exodus 2:11-12
Wrong is wrong no matter who sees and who doesn’t. I read a definition of character once and I thought it was right on. It defined character as this: Character is who you are in the dark! Our character is formed inside of us and expressed by our values, beliefs and priorities which then are shown outwardly by the way we handle ourselves in our day to day lives. There were many times in the Gospels that we saw Jesus by Himself. He was alone on the mountain facing the devils temptations (Matt 4) and in the garden prior to His arrest (Matt 26). In His moments by Himself, Jesus still maintained His character and sinless life. How easily it would have been to give into the devil on the mountaintop, how easily it would have been to deny His destiny in the garden, after all no one was there, no one would know, right? Wrong, God the Father would know what Jesus did and God the Father, who sees and knows all, knows our hidden sins.
Sometimes we make the mistake of believing that we can somehow get away with our sin, that if no one sees it there’s no crime. Remember the old question, “If a tree falls in the forest and no one’s there to hear it, does it make a sound?” Some of us do things with the same question looming in the background, “if no one saw me do it, where’s the harm?” We need to understand that one day we will give account for all our sins. We need to know that we don’t leave sin behind; it becomes a part of us when it becomes un-confessed sin. Hidden sin, un-confessed sin can eventually drown out the Holy Spirits workings in our life. Sin wraps us up and eventually paralyzes us (Hebrews 12:1).
But when we willingly present our sins to God and confess our mistakes, God forgives us and Christ heals the wounds caused by our sin. “If we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.” 1 John 1:9
So let us not continue to go through our lives being “BUSTED” but let us go forward being “FILLED” by God’s forgiveness and healing.
Pastor Seth <><
“One day after Moses had grown up he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. Glancing this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.” Exodus 2:11-12
Wrong is wrong no matter who sees and who doesn’t. I read a definition of character once and I thought it was right on. It defined character as this: Character is who you are in the dark! Our character is formed inside of us and expressed by our values, beliefs and priorities which then are shown outwardly by the way we handle ourselves in our day to day lives. There were many times in the Gospels that we saw Jesus by Himself. He was alone on the mountain facing the devils temptations (Matt 4) and in the garden prior to His arrest (Matt 26). In His moments by Himself, Jesus still maintained His character and sinless life. How easily it would have been to give into the devil on the mountaintop, how easily it would have been to deny His destiny in the garden, after all no one was there, no one would know, right? Wrong, God the Father would know what Jesus did and God the Father, who sees and knows all, knows our hidden sins.
Sometimes we make the mistake of believing that we can somehow get away with our sin, that if no one sees it there’s no crime. Remember the old question, “If a tree falls in the forest and no one’s there to hear it, does it make a sound?” Some of us do things with the same question looming in the background, “if no one saw me do it, where’s the harm?” We need to understand that one day we will give account for all our sins. We need to know that we don’t leave sin behind; it becomes a part of us when it becomes un-confessed sin. Hidden sin, un-confessed sin can eventually drown out the Holy Spirits workings in our life. Sin wraps us up and eventually paralyzes us (Hebrews 12:1).
But when we willingly present our sins to God and confess our mistakes, God forgives us and Christ heals the wounds caused by our sin. “If we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.” 1 John 1:9
So let us not continue to go through our lives being “BUSTED” but let us go forward being “FILLED” by God’s forgiveness and healing.
Pastor Seth <><
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
The Better Gift
“Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” Matthew 16:24-25
This past week our 5 year old daughter Ella experienced another “first” in her life. Ella lost something that she’d been holding onto for over 4 years. She never went anywhere without it. She gave it special attention both in the morning and then again in the evening. No, it wasn’t her favorite blanket or even her best teddy bear. Ella lost her first tooth! It was so funny to watch her working that little tooth with her tongue, and then oh so gently working it back and forth with her finger. She swore up and down that losing that tooth would be the most painful experience ever but we assured her she’d somehow get through it. Most importantly we made her aware of the fact that in order for something stronger and more permanent to come in, something had to be given up. “My tooth” she asked. “Yes, your tooth.” I replied. She looked up and said, “Ok Daddy”. And then with some coaxing by me and the gentle hands of her mother, out it came and Ella was free of her tooth!
In our lives we too must often give up a few things in order to lay hold of others. That’s what the life of a Christian is all about. It’s us letting go of what we cannot keep so that we may possess that which cannot be taken from us. What is it we are called to give up? Jesus says simply in Matthew 16:24-25 that we must give up our life. Wow, that’s a pretty big request. Many cults have asked the same of their followers and unfortunately many innocent and misinformed lives have been lost in this manner. Is Jesus asking the same of us? Not exactly, Jesus indeed asks us to give up our lives but only to the extent that we give up our own agendas and selfish desires and instead take upon ourselves a mind and a heart like His. The Apostle Paul in Romans 12:1-2 urges us to be “living sacrifices” here on Earth. We are of great value to God here on Earth, spreading the gospel, and being the hands, feet and voice of Christ. We are here to “live” out our faith. It’s on Earth that we the church accomplish God’s greatest work, giving up the lesser to claim the better gift!
We all know that our lives are limited in just how much time is in them. We do not know how long we will be on this Earth and in that we see the reality that we cannot keep our lives. Willingly letting go of our lives results in laying hold of His for us and Jesus says in that sacrifice, true life is found (v25). We often think that “giving up” our lives means giving up everything that’s fun, fulfilling and pleasurable in our lives. God doesn’t want us living sad, empty and droll lives. He wants us to be happy but not at the expense of it costing us in the long run or harming us. He wants to eliminate anything from our lives that separate us from Him. Is that bad? No, I would say….that’s Love!
So what is it that you’re holding on to? What are you fighting to keep at the expense that it’s costing you that perfect relationship with Jesus Christ? Wiggle it, tug it, move it around and get rid of it so that you can take on something stronger more permanent that’s of God. Giving it up will only hurt for a little bit. Smile, Jesus is perfect at “filling in the gaps!” Pastor Seth <><
This past week our 5 year old daughter Ella experienced another “first” in her life. Ella lost something that she’d been holding onto for over 4 years. She never went anywhere without it. She gave it special attention both in the morning and then again in the evening. No, it wasn’t her favorite blanket or even her best teddy bear. Ella lost her first tooth! It was so funny to watch her working that little tooth with her tongue, and then oh so gently working it back and forth with her finger. She swore up and down that losing that tooth would be the most painful experience ever but we assured her she’d somehow get through it. Most importantly we made her aware of the fact that in order for something stronger and more permanent to come in, something had to be given up. “My tooth” she asked. “Yes, your tooth.” I replied. She looked up and said, “Ok Daddy”. And then with some coaxing by me and the gentle hands of her mother, out it came and Ella was free of her tooth!
In our lives we too must often give up a few things in order to lay hold of others. That’s what the life of a Christian is all about. It’s us letting go of what we cannot keep so that we may possess that which cannot be taken from us. What is it we are called to give up? Jesus says simply in Matthew 16:24-25 that we must give up our life. Wow, that’s a pretty big request. Many cults have asked the same of their followers and unfortunately many innocent and misinformed lives have been lost in this manner. Is Jesus asking the same of us? Not exactly, Jesus indeed asks us to give up our lives but only to the extent that we give up our own agendas and selfish desires and instead take upon ourselves a mind and a heart like His. The Apostle Paul in Romans 12:1-2 urges us to be “living sacrifices” here on Earth. We are of great value to God here on Earth, spreading the gospel, and being the hands, feet and voice of Christ. We are here to “live” out our faith. It’s on Earth that we the church accomplish God’s greatest work, giving up the lesser to claim the better gift!
We all know that our lives are limited in just how much time is in them. We do not know how long we will be on this Earth and in that we see the reality that we cannot keep our lives. Willingly letting go of our lives results in laying hold of His for us and Jesus says in that sacrifice, true life is found (v25). We often think that “giving up” our lives means giving up everything that’s fun, fulfilling and pleasurable in our lives. God doesn’t want us living sad, empty and droll lives. He wants us to be happy but not at the expense of it costing us in the long run or harming us. He wants to eliminate anything from our lives that separate us from Him. Is that bad? No, I would say….that’s Love!
So what is it that you’re holding on to? What are you fighting to keep at the expense that it’s costing you that perfect relationship with Jesus Christ? Wiggle it, tug it, move it around and get rid of it so that you can take on something stronger more permanent that’s of God. Giving it up will only hurt for a little bit. Smile, Jesus is perfect at “filling in the gaps!” Pastor Seth <><
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
CLEANING HOUSE
The other day I had the opportunity to tackle a home project that I had long been putting off. I had some extra time and decided that it was time to clean out the garage. I knew it would be a long project but felt that it was definitely time that it got done. The driving force behind this decision what the awareness of something that flat out stunk!! I was actually scared to find out what the root of the smell was but none the less, I ventured in focused on my task. Sometimes in our lives, there are hidden things that are flat out stinking up our building as well!! We have two choices.
1.) We can either try to ignore it and hope it goes away.
2.) Or we can tackle the task and eliminate the source of the problem.
“Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, “It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer…” Matthew 21:12-13
As I went about cleaning out my garage, I was surprised to see just how much junk I had accumulated. I found myself asking, “Now just what was I holding onto this for?” The problem with holding on to all that “junk” was that by making room for it, I was losing room to store those things that really are of value to me and my family. The only way I was going to have room for the stuff of value was to rid myself and my garage of the things that were taking up useless space and inevitably “stinking”.
Often times in our lives, we too are losing valuable space because we’re holding on to things that not only hold no real value but hinder us from claiming and storing up the true treasures that God wants us to hold onto. In Matthew 21:12-13, Jesus recognized that there were things in the temple that didn’t belong there. The temple was housing attitudes, mis-placed thinking and ultimately sin that didn’t have a place there. Jesus in a rage started to “Clean House” and there’s a lesson for us to learn here.
The Bible says that our bodies have become living temples (1 Cor. 3:16) and the truth is that we allow much to be housed in them that crowds out God and His purposes for us. Think about it. What is being stored in your houses and what is being left out.
1. Are our Saturday evening activities draining us to the point of finding ourselves too tired to attend church on Sunday?
2. Are our favorite T.V. shows more important than our weekly study and prayer time?
3. Is our quest for material things crowding out our responsibility to support the church and God’s Kingdom?
You see when we don’t make time to clean our insides; it will begin show on our outsides and inevitably start to stink. It is so important that our priorities in life always find God at the top of them. Right priorities begin with God, grow out of a consistent dependence on God and flourish as a result of our obedience to God. When we give God the right place in our lives, our lives will show it.
Take some time to take on the project of “Cleaning House” in your life. Ask God to bring to the forefront the useless things that are crowding out the things of God that He wants you to enjoy. After all it’s been said that “Cleanliness is the next closest thing to Godliness!”
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit with me.” Psalm 51:10
Pastor Seth <><
1.) We can either try to ignore it and hope it goes away.
2.) Or we can tackle the task and eliminate the source of the problem.
“Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, “It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer…” Matthew 21:12-13
As I went about cleaning out my garage, I was surprised to see just how much junk I had accumulated. I found myself asking, “Now just what was I holding onto this for?” The problem with holding on to all that “junk” was that by making room for it, I was losing room to store those things that really are of value to me and my family. The only way I was going to have room for the stuff of value was to rid myself and my garage of the things that were taking up useless space and inevitably “stinking”.
Often times in our lives, we too are losing valuable space because we’re holding on to things that not only hold no real value but hinder us from claiming and storing up the true treasures that God wants us to hold onto. In Matthew 21:12-13, Jesus recognized that there were things in the temple that didn’t belong there. The temple was housing attitudes, mis-placed thinking and ultimately sin that didn’t have a place there. Jesus in a rage started to “Clean House” and there’s a lesson for us to learn here.
The Bible says that our bodies have become living temples (1 Cor. 3:16) and the truth is that we allow much to be housed in them that crowds out God and His purposes for us. Think about it. What is being stored in your houses and what is being left out.
1. Are our Saturday evening activities draining us to the point of finding ourselves too tired to attend church on Sunday?
2. Are our favorite T.V. shows more important than our weekly study and prayer time?
3. Is our quest for material things crowding out our responsibility to support the church and God’s Kingdom?
You see when we don’t make time to clean our insides; it will begin show on our outsides and inevitably start to stink. It is so important that our priorities in life always find God at the top of them. Right priorities begin with God, grow out of a consistent dependence on God and flourish as a result of our obedience to God. When we give God the right place in our lives, our lives will show it.
Take some time to take on the project of “Cleaning House” in your life. Ask God to bring to the forefront the useless things that are crowding out the things of God that He wants you to enjoy. After all it’s been said that “Cleanliness is the next closest thing to Godliness!”
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit with me.” Psalm 51:10
Pastor Seth <><
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