Our theme for this month: “Change can be good for you”

Our Bible verse for today: “But we encourage you, brothers and sisters, to do this even more, to seek to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, so that you may behave properly in the presence of outsiders and not be dependent on anyone.” 1 Thessalonians 4:10-12 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “There’s a lot to be said for a simple, quiet life.”

All this month we’ve been considering how it is that this time of social distancing and isolation could potentially result in some good changes in our individual lives, and perhaps even in our nation. The pandemic and all of the associated turmoil is not a good thing, but perhaps some good things can come out of it.

I’ve also noted that one of the biggest problems we face, one that is often subtle and insidious, is the busyness that tends to characterize many of our lives. I shared with you the observation from philosopher and professor Byung-Chul Han from his little book “The Burnout Society” when he commented about western society in general, “They are too alive to die but too dead to live.”

For us Christians all the busyness, and a life filled with too many competing demands and constant distractions, results in superficiality in our relationship with God. As Richard Foster wrote, “Superficiality is the curse of our age.” Yes, I think that’s true. We allow ourselves to become so busy with other things that we don’t set aside the time to go deep with God.

What a loss! The things we could experience with God but don’t, simply because we thought we were too busy and therefore didn’t make the time! This is what author Jim Peterson was referring to when he wrote, “One of the greatest gifts God has given us is the infinite opportunity for spiritual growth. But however much we have matured, there is always more beyond. It is in this that we find the adventure of living. There will always be new, unexplored dimensions of His person beckoning to us. The possibilities go off the chart.”

But we must be living the kind of life that provides us the time and space to do that. This is the reason that in 1 Thessalonians 4:10-12 the Apostle Paul urged his readers to consider carefully the value and benefits of a quiet and simple life. It has often and accurately been said that if the devil can’t make you bad, he will make you busy. Even if he can’t get you to do bad things, if he can get you to be so busy and so distracted that you neglect God, he’s happy.

If this time of isolation and social distancing results in us slowing down, simplifying, and making more room for God in our lives, then something very good will have come out of something very bad.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Change can be good for you”

Our Bible verse for today: “But the news about him spread even more, and large crowds would come together to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. Yet he often withdrew to deserted places and prayed.” Luke 5:15-16 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Confessions of an unapologetic introvert”

In recent days I’ve been pressing the point about the need for most of us to slow our lives down, to uncomplicate things a little, and to spend more quiet time attending to the nurture of our souls. I have to admit that’s easier for some of us than it is for others. Surveys indicate that roughly 56% of people consider themselves to be introverts, while 43% see themselves as extroverted, and 1% don’t seem to know what they are. There are benefits and negatives to both, but in terms of slowing down, being quiet, and looking inward, we introverts have the advantage. We’re naturally inclined to do that anyway. This time of isolation and social distancing has served to remind me that I’m a strong introvert and that I like it.

I used to think that being an introverted pastor was a handicap that I needed to overcome. But one time a friend of mine, who is a former pastor and also a strong introvert, corrected me. In his opinion introverted pastors tend to study more and they spend more time going deeper, but pastors who are strong extroverts, while being friendly and outgoing, often tend to have trouble with quiet time and extended hours of study.

I don’t know how accurate that assessment is but I’m going with it anyway. I’m an introvert, I like it, and I’m not changing. I like people well enough, and I enjoy spending time with them, but it can be emotionally and intellectually draining for me. Whereas extroverts are energized by social interaction, introverts are drained by it. So after periods of social interaction and conversation, for the introvert it’s then time to withdraw into solitude and silence again. (By the way, I think Jesus was an introvert too. At least I’m claiming Him as one of us. He liked His time with people, but He liked His time with God more.)

There’s actually a lesson in this for all of us. For me, since I’m strongly introverted by nature, as we come out of this time of isolation I probably need to guard against that introverted nature drawing me too far away from people. There needs to be good balance. And for all you extroverts – repent now while there’s still time! (Just kidding). But you probably do need to consider ways in which you can dial it back a bit and spend less time with people and more time with God.

So there you have it – confessions of an unapologetic introvert. I’ll continue to play to my strengths and you can continue to play to yours. I’ll be the introvert and you can be the extrovert. But in all of our cases there needs to be good balance, and therefore we would all probably benefit by making some adjustments and corrections to our routines.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Change can be good for you”

Our Bible verse for today: “What no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has conceived – God has prepared these things for those who love him. Now God has revealed these things to us by the Spirit, since the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Go deep with God”

In yesterday’s devotional I shared with you the observation from A.W. Tozer that most modern Christians are simply too busy to take the time it requires to go deep with God. I also noted that during this time of social distancing and isolation many of us have probably had some extra time that could have been spent sitting quietly with God in prayer, Bible study, and reading good Christian books. I hope that has been the case for you and I hope you will continue that practice even after the pandemic passes and life begins to return to normal.

The other day on my day off I went hiking by myself, as I often do. I went out to a wildlife refuge area in our county which offers great trails, majestic views, and lots of quiet and privacy. There’s a large rock outcrop that I often sit on as I spend some time reading. It overlooks the creek far below and provides a great view over miles and miles of treetops and rolling hills. It’s very peaceful and it’s a great place to spend quiet time with God.

On this day I brought with me one of my favorite devotional books. It’s called “Intimacy with the Almighty” by Charles Swindoll. It’s just a small book which can easily be read in a single sitting. It’s all about taking the time to go deep with God. Swindoll writes,

Deep things are intriguing. Deep jungles. Deep water. Deep caves and canyons. Deep thoughts and conversations. There is nothing like depth to make us dissatisfied with superficial, shallow things. Once we have delved below the surface and had a taste of the marvels and mysteries of the deep, we realize the value of taking the time and going to the trouble of plumbing those depths. This is especially true in the spiritual realm. God invites us to go deeper rather than to be content with surface matters.

That’s what the Apostle Paul was describing for us in 1 Corinthians 2:9-10. God wants to take us deeper into the divine mysteries, and it’s the job of the Holy Spirit to take us there. But it’s up to us to carve out the time and to place ourselves in a position before him whereby He can take us deeper.

As I noted yesterday, hopefully one of the changes we will all bring with us out of this time of social distancing and isolation is a somewhat slower lifestyle that does make time for God. There is much that God wants to show us, and much He wants us to experience. He wants to take us deeper. Will you make the time to go there with Him?

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Change can be good for you”

Our Bible verse for today: “Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “A slower, simpler pace of life can enhance your relationship with God.”

Early in my life as a Christian someone introduced me to the writings of A.W. Tozer, and I’ll be forever grateful to them for it. Tozer lived during the early to mid-1900s and served for 44 years as a pastor, author, and conference speaker for the Christian and Missionary Alliance denomination of churches. His many books, articles, and sermons are still studied today and widely quoted by other pastors, authors, and speakers.

Tozer’s most popular book was a small volume entitled “The Knowledge of the Holy”. The purpose of the book is to help the reader come to an accurate understanding about the essential elements of God’s character and nature. Tozer believed that without such an understanding, the Christian could not really grasp who God is and what He is like. However, gaining such an understanding requires time and effort – unhurried, thoughtful, prayerful time and effort. And that’s where the modern Christian fails. Most of us aren’t willing to commit that kind of unhurried time to gaining an accurate and deep understanding of who God is and what He is like. Tozer wrote,

“Modern Christianity is simply not producing the kind of Christian who can appreciate or experience life in the Spirit. The words, ‘Be still, and know that I am God,’ mean next to nothing to the self-confident, bustling worshiper in this middle period of the twentieth century.”

Tozer wrote those words in 1961. In my opinion, the problem has gotten exponentially worse since then. Most of us are simply too busy, too distracted, too uninterested and too unwilling, to invest the time to develop a truly deep relationship with the Lord. It takes time to “Be still, and know that I am God.” It takes willingness and desire; it takes discipline; and it takes a lifestyle that allows sufficient room for matters of the spirit.

Many years ago I wrote an article entitled “Room for the Singing of Angels”. It was inspired by a quote I once read that said, “In each life there must be room for the singing of angels.” In other words, our lives must be structured in such a way that we allow the time, solitude, and quietness to experience spiritual things. If you would like to have a copy of that article let me know and I would be happy to send it to you.

During this time of social distancing and isolation most of us have probably had extra time for sitting quietly before the Lord in prayer, study, and worship. I hope that’s been true for you. I encourage you to continue that as life now begins to return to normal. Make sure that in your life there is “room for the singing of angels.”

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Change can be good for you”

Our Bible verse for today: “God has made us plain and simple, but we have made ourselves very complicated.” Ecclesiastes 7:19 (TEV)

Our thought for today: “It may be time to simplify your life so you can focus more on the things that truly matter.”

There’s a chronic condition that afflicts many people in our society today know as “multitasking”. It’s the idea that we can focus on and accomplish multiple things at once, and it’s usually spoken of as if it’s something good. Many of us brag about our ability to do two or more things at the same time. We drive the car, talk on the phone, glance at the passing billboards, and tap our fingers along with the song on the radio. Or we have a halfhearted conversation with our spouse or children as we’re scrolling through our Facebook newsfeed on our smartphone.

In such cases we’re multitasking, doing more than one thing at once, but none of them have our full attention. We’re doing several things poorly rather than doing one thing well. Also, the constant pull of multiple distractions eventually dulls our senses, exhausts us intellectually, and drains us emotionally. Korean-born German philosopher Byung-Chul Han (a professor and writer who studies Western culture) calls this kind of constant hyper-activity the signature issue of our society. He says it defines us. His conclusion is that we’re so hurried, frazzled, and distracted that we are, in his words, “too alive to die, but too dead to live.”

Modern society, with all its time-saving technology and innumerable conveniences designed to make our lives easier, is actually having the reverse effect. We’re all too busy, too distracted. It’s dulling our senses and numbing our emotions. But it was never supposed to be this way. As Today’s English Version of the Bible (TEV) translates Ecclesiastes 7:19, “God has made us plain and simple, but we have made ourselves very complicated.”

Hopefully with all the social distancing, the stay-at-home-orders, and with the closing of many of the places we normally go to and the activities we engage in, one of the impacts of this COVID 19 pandemic is that it has caused all of us to slow down a bit and to simplify our lives. If so, that’s a good thing. That’s a good outcome, and I hope it’s one you will resolve to carry with you out of this. Many of our lives have become so complicated and so busy that we’re doing a lot of things poorly but none of them well. That often includes, most importantly, our relationships with God and with others. Those relationships suffer when we’re too busy and too distracted.

This is vitally important and therefore we’re going to spend some time thinking more about this in the days to come. How could our lives be better if we simplified them, focused intently on the things and people which really matter, and learned to do one thing at a time well rather than multiple things poorly? We’ll explore that thought more tomorrow.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Change is good for you”

Our Bible verse for today: “They are focused on earthly things, but our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly wait for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Philippians 3:19-20 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Keep your priorities straight”

I’ve learned an important lesson as a result of this COVID 19 pandemic. It’s something I was already aware of and which I had been attempting to practice more and more in my life anyway, but this crisis in our nation has really brought home to me the importance of this particular mindset.

Our nation today is in crisis, and not just from the pandemic and the associated economic meltdown. We are a nation divided in so many ways. There is so much anger and partisanship; so much social dysfunction and even class warfare. We’re a society that is angry, bitter, and divided, and in some respects, we’re finding it increasingly difficult to function at all. The issues associated with the pandemic have only served to amplify all of that.

As Christians this situation creates a dilemma for us. On the one hand, we are supposed to be active and engaged in the society in which we live. Therefore, we should be part of the political, social, and economic discussions, and we should attempt to influence those issues in good ways. But on the other hand, we have to be careful we don’t become so deeply involved in the debates that we lose sight of our higher calling. We’re citizens of heaven first, citizens of a country second. We’re to be on-mission with Jesus in this world first, and proponents of a particular political, social, or economic agenda second.

Unfortunately, as I listen to and observe all that’s going on in our society today, it often seems as if many Christians are more focused on advancing a political, social, or economic point of view than they are about advancing God’s kingdom on earth. They think about, talk about, and engage in the issues of the world much more than they do the issues of God. And please don’t misunderstand me, the political, social, and economic issues are important; they’re just not the most important. We need to keep our priorities straight.

Personally, I’m more grateful than ever for my calling as a pastor. It helps to keep me focused on what matters most. My job first and foremost (and therefore my primary focus) is to preach the Gospel, teach Biblical principles, care for God’s people, and look for opportunities to bless others by meeting their needs in the name of Jesus. And that needs to be true regardless of whatever else is going on in the world at this time. I am aware of, concerned about, and engaged in the political, social, and economic issues of the day. But all of that is, and must remain, of secondary importance. Kingdom issues must come first.

What’s true for me as a pastor is also true for all of us as Christians. We’re citizens of heaven first, citizens of a country second. The issues of the world do matter, but they don’t matter as much as our Father’s business does. We should be engaged in the current issues of importance in our society, but we should be about our Father’s business first. The current issues of the day can be used to advance our Father’s business of course, there is a connection, and we can be a positive force for good as we deal with those political, social, and economic issues, but we do need to be careful to keep our priorities straight. We have a higher calling.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Change is good for you”

Our Bible verse for today: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. You are to labor six days and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. You must not do any work – you, your son or daughter, your male or female servant, your livestock, or the resident alien who is within your gates. For the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything in them in six days; then he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath and declared it holy.” Exodus 20:8-11 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “You need to practice Sabbath”

The word “Sabbath” comes from the Hebrew word “Shabbat” and literally means “to stop”. As John Mark Comer wrote in his book “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry”, “Sabbath is simply a day to stop: stop working, stop wanting, stop worrying, just stop.” It’s a time to take our focus off of the demands and chores and obligations and worries that fill up our lives the other six days of the week and to focus on God, and then on ourselves. It’s a time intended by God for us to worship, rest, renew, and enjoy.

Many Christians today mistakenly believe that the concept of Sabbath was an Old Testament teaching that applied only to the Jews, and that it doesn’t apply in the New Testament Age. But that’s just not true.

Observing the Sabbath is one of the Ten Commandants (the fourth). It’s the only spiritual discipline that made it onto that list. Praying is not one of the Ten Commandments. Neither is reading your Bible; or putting a check in the offering plate; or serving in a ministry at church; or any of the other things we normally associate with the ways in which we practice our faith. Only the practice of Sabbath is on that list of Ten Commandments and none of the Commandments have been superseded or done away with. It’s not as if there are only Nine Commandments still operative in our day. All ten of them still apply, including observing the Sabbath.

The concept of Sabbath – of just “stopping” is so important, and we need it so badly, that God modeled it for us in the creation account by resting on the seventh day. It’s not as if He was tired; it’s not as if He had things He needed to stop fretting about for a day; it wasn’t that He had unfulfilled wants and desires that occupied His thoughts the other six days of the week and which He needed to let go of for a while. God rested as an example for us. In Mark 2:27 Jesus even told us that God created the Sabbath for our benefit. You need a day of the week that is set aside exclusively to refocus on God in worship, and then to rest and recuperate – and the truth is that many of us are bad at this. Many of us make excuses for skipping church, and then we fill our Sundays with busyness and chores.

Hopefully one of the changes each of us experiences as a result of this COVID 19 isolation is we will come out of it with a renewed appreciation for our group worship experiences, and for the importance and pleasure of downtime and renewal. That’s what the practice of Sabbath is supposed to be for us.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Change can be good for you”

Our Bible verse for today: “I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “God is at work in your life”

Philippians 1:6 is an amazing verse of scripture which communicates some deep and important truth about God, and about His work in our lives. Only twenty-six words in the Christian Standard Bible, but twenty-six words that reveal deep and profound theological truths.

For one thing, Paul tells us that God is at work in our lives and He is in the process of accomplishing something important. He started it at the time we placed our faith in His Son Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins, and He will continue that work until the day in heaven when we are complete in Christ and we will be the person God intends for us to be for all eternity. Paul was writing about the doctrine of sanctification. Sanctification is the life-long process whereby the Holy Spirit slowly and progressively molds and shapes us into the people we are supposed to be. It’s an ongoing process that progresses daily, and will continue until you take your final breath and pass into heaven.

Also found in that verse is the implied truth that God must then be sovereign over the events of our lives. God is omnipotent (all-powerful); He is omniscient (all-knowing); and He is omnipresent (present everywhere, all the time). He is everywhere, He knows everything, and He has complete power and total control over everything. That includes the events of your life. You will never experience anything in your life that God isn’t aware of. You also will never experience anything that He has not either caused directly, or chosen to allow. And He uses all of it to help accomplish His good purposes in your life.

Fast-forward now to today’s COVID 19 crisis and the associated economic meltdown. Bad stuff, right? Inconvenient and painful, right? Yes, and yes. But God is sovereign over these events in your life, and He is using it as part of the process of your sanctification (Romans 8:28). That doesn’t mean that the things that are happening to you at the moment are necessarily good, but it does mean that God can and will bring good things out of this bad situation to help further His work in your life.

Can you see His activity in your life? Are you paying attention to it? Are you cooperating with Him as He works to bring good out of bad and to use it all in the continuing process of transforming you into the person He wants you to be? Sanctification implies change, and change means that things don’t stay the same.

As we continue our study of “Change can be good for you”, I will attempt to help us see some of the ways in which God may be using this current crisis to bring about good change in our individuals lives, and in our nation.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Change can be good for you”

Our Bible verse for today: “Look, I am about to do something new, even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “In what way will your life be different?”

During the recent COVID 19 pandemic there is a political party that has done something which I believe is shameful. As government leaders were scrambling to mitigate the disastrous impact of having to shut down the economy, one of the parties took advantage of it for partisan political purposes. To legislation intended to bring relief to businesses and individuals, they attempted (and succeeded) to attach all sorts of additional spending for things that had nothing to do with the crisis. They did it to advance the most liberal aspects of their political agenda. When asked about it on national television multiple spokespersons for that party smugly responded, “Never waste a good crisis. This is a great opportunity for us to advance our agenda and we would be foolish to waste it.”

While I’m repulsed and angered by the way those politicians shamefully took advantage of a national disaster to advance their partisan agenda, I do agree with the basic premise of “Don’t waste a good crisis”. Within every crisis there are moments of great opportunity for change. A crisis often causes disruption to the normal way of doing things, and that then causes us to pause and reevaluate how we have been doing things up to that point. A crisis will often require us to make temporary adjustments in our lives that we then discover to have been good, and which we decide to continue after the crisis is over.

I believe we have such an opportunity before us as a result of the COVID 19 pandemic. As a nation and as individuals we have all had to make major adjustments in order to deal with this crisis. Many of those changes have been inconvenient and some of them have been bad. But not all them. Some of the changes have been good for us, and it would be in our own best interest to carry the new habits forward into a new season of life, both as individuals and as nation.

Have there been some good things that have come out of this crisis for you so far? Has it caused you to consider some ways in which you might change your life for the better? Without question, this pandemic and economic meltdown are bad, and they are causing tremendous suffering and long-term damage. But just as in any crisis, there can also be some good things that come out of it. We will spend the coming month thinking about the ways in which this crisis can result in good changes for all of us.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Life on this side of the cross”

Our Bible verse for today: “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.” John 16:33 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Don’t be afraid of what lies ahead.”

In his great little book, “The Care of Souls: Cultivating a Pastor’s Heart”, Harold Senkbeil was writing primarily to encourage pastors to stick with the task of caring for God’s people regardless of whatever the current set of circumstances happen to be. Towards the end of the book he pointed out how it is that the world has always been in a state of flux and turmoil, that’s normal, and therefore regardless of whatever else is going on in the world, the task for God’s people remains the same – we are to seize the day for the cause of Christ. At one point he was comparing our current day to the dawn of the Middle Ages and here is what he wrote:

“In many ways our world is much like theirs. Things familiar and comfortable have vanished, replaced by radically different lifestyles and values … We live in an era of change now between the age of reason and whatever comes after it. It is much like the world of late antiquity – when the classic age was collapsing and the early Middle Ages were just beginning to dawn. But those threatening years turned out to be the church’s moment in the sun, one of its best periods of vigorous mission and growth. It wouldn’t be too many centuries before those Germanic hordes that had sacked and looted the city of Rome would themselves become Christians.”

As we conclude our study of “Life on this side of the cross”, and as the COVID 19 pandemic begins to wind down and we start moving forward into whatever lies ahead for us as individuals and as a nation, there is no need to fear it. In all probability life is going to be different now in significant ways, but the mission of God’s church hasn’t changed. And the promise of Jesus that He will never leave us and never abandon us (Matthew 28:20; Hebrews 13:5) is still true. Likewise, John 16:33 is still true too. There will be challenges ahead and there will be trouble, but we are to face it courageously because Jesus goes forward into it with us and He has already conquered the world.

In every generation of human history there have always been troubles and challenges, disasters and times of crisis, but they have always passed and history has marched on. The same will be true for us in our day. For our part, we need to be faithful and remain focused. Our mission is to shine for Jesus in the middle of whatever the circumstances are, and to help build His kingdom here on earth. Don’t be afraid of what lies ahead and do not be deterred. There will be great opportunities for good things to happen as we go forward from here.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim