Our theme for this month: “Living a life of love”

Our Bible verse for today: “If you died with Christ to the elements of this world, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations: “Don’t handle, don’t taste, don’t touch?” All these regulations refer to what is destined to perish by being used up; they are human commands and doctrines. Although these have a reputation for wisdom by promoting self-made religion, false humility, and severe treatment of the body, they are not of any value in curbing self-indulgence.” Colossians 2:20-23 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “God has given you freedom to make choices”

Over my years as a Pastor I’ve had many conversations with people who were seeking the Lord’s direction pertaining to some issue in their life. Usually they were looking for, and expecting, some detailed guidance from the Lord, or a burning bush of some sort, to show them exactly what to do. But that’s not usually the way in which God guides us. Sometimes it is. Sometimes He does have a specific and very detailed plan that He wants us to adhere to. But usually not. More often he gives us Biblical boundaries to stay within, along with a general direction to move in, and then he gives us a gentle pat on the back and prods us to move forward in life.

In Colossians 2:20-23 Paul was writing to the Christians in the city of Colosse about the freedom they have in Christ. In their case they were struggling with Old Testament dietary restrictions. They thought they needed the Levitical list of strict rules and regulations to provide a menu of what was okay to eat and what wasn’t. Paul’s message to them was that God no longer deals with His people like that. In the New Testament Age, He has given us the Holy Spirit to guide us and He has given us the freedom to make well-informed choices of our own.

This is a common New Testament theme that’s taught repeatedly in different passages and contexts. God is like a loving parent who raises His children to think for themselves and to make good choices of their own. He provides us with the Bible to provide us with the parameters or boundaries that we must live within but beyond that, for the most part, we can then consider the choices before us, make our own informed decisions, and move forward. We usually don’t need specific step-by-step instructions from our Father about what to eat, or what to wear today, or even what job to take or where to live. In those cases where He does have a specific direction for us, He has plenty of ways to communicate that to us. But usually, like a loving parent, He wants us to be able to make good decisions of our own without having to rely on His constant intervention and guidance.

So be prayerful, and be Biblical, and then go live your life.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Living a life of love”

Our Bible verse for today: “A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.” John 10:10 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Don’t let the thief steal your gifts from God.”

Satan is a thief. He is a destroyer. His goal is to steal and kill and destroy all that is good and holy – anything that comes from God. The great love that God has for you, and the peace, joy, and abundant life that comes with it, are good and holy, they are gifts to you from your heavenly Father. The devil would like nothing more than to steal those gifts away from you. If allowed to, he will kill your experience of God’s love; he will destroy your peace and joy; and he will ruin your life that should be abundant.

Are you going to let him get away with that? Are you going to allow him to steal your gifts from God?

When it comes to my home and family, I take intentional steps to protect them from bad guys. I own guns and I keep them loaded. I know how to use them and, if necessary, I will use them to protect my home and loved ones. I also lock my doors. And, I have dogs too. (Okay, they’re eight-pound sissy dogs, a Maltipoo and a Yorkie, but they do make a lot of noise!)

The point is, if a thief tries to break into my house to steal what is mine or to hurt those I love, he will meet resistance. Shouldn’t the devil meet with at least as much resistance if he comes into my life to steal my peace and joy, and to damage my experience of God’s great love for me?

But does he meet with resistance? How much resistance do I really put up? Do I easily give-in to pessimism and negative thinking, or do I train my thoughts to stay focused on positive things like Paul teaches us to do in Philippians 4:8-9? Do I allow myself to fret and worry about worldly wealth and provisions, or do I trust in the God of all provisions, as Jesus taught us to do in Matthew 6:25-34?

Yesterday I wrote about the importance of doing the things necessary to nourish your soul and to keep your relationship with the Lord strong and healthy. That’s exactly how you stay strong in the Lord – by being intentional about nurturing your relationship with Him. Then you will be able to resist Satan –  that thief, that hater of your soul.

Will you sit by and allow your gifts from God to be stolen by this vile intruder from the pit of hell?  I hope not! The gifts are yours. They belong to you. They were given to you from your Father in heaven who loves you very much. I encourage you to resist the devil. Fight him. Don’t let your gifts be stolen!

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Living a life of love”

Our Bible verse for today: “The person who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence indeed is the Lord, is blessed. He will be like a tree planted by water. It sends its roots out toward a stream, it doesn’t fear when heat comes, and its foliage remains green. It will not worry in a year of drought or cease producing fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Stay healthy in the Lord.”

I love the little retirement home Linda and I live in. There are many positives about the house and the community but one thing I don’t like so much is that the house behind us is pretty close to my property line. The neighbors are very nice but still, a little too close. So I’m attempting to grow a large hedge of Foster Holly trees along the property line to provide a little more privacy. When mature, the trees will be 12-15 feet high, 5-6 feet wide, and very thick. It will be a high thick wall of green.

However, we recently we had a terrible drought here in Tennessee. For about two months we had hot temperatures and no rain. And dummy me, I failed to take care of my trees. I didn’t water them very much and now they’re brown and withered. The drought is over, and I am working diligently to nurse the trees back to health, but they really suffered during that dry spell. If I had only watered them, they would still be healthy and flourishing.

That’s the picture Jeremiah paints for us in Jeremiah 17:7-8 except, it’s about our souls not trees. He says that the person who keeps his or her soul properly nourished by trusting in the Lord and nurturing their relationship with Him, will be like a healthy tree planted by a good source of water. Their roots will be deep and when the heat of life’s trials comes, they will remain healthy and flourishing, they will not fear, they will not doubt, and they will continue producing good fruit for the Lord.

That needs to describe us. And if you don’t drink long and deep of the Lord’s goodness every day? Your soul will end up like my trees – unhealthy and withered!

Yesterday I told you about my friend who is battling terminal cancer but doing it in an admirable and inspiring way. What’s the secret of his strength, courage, and great attitude? He’s trusting fully in the love, watch-care, protection and provision of God, and he’s doing all the things necessary, every day, to stay spiritually healthy and strong.

The hard times in life can feel like a terrible drought with blistering heat and few things to soothe or refresh us. Those are the times we need the Lord more, not less. Those are the times to draw closer to God not pull to away from Him. God loves you, and He will take care of you through the times of trial, but you need to stay close to Him. You need to stay healthy in the Lord.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Living a life of love”

Our Bible verse for today: “We also glory in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Romans 5:3-5 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “You can experience God’s love in the middle of suffering”

I have a friend who is currently battling a serious form of cancer which is very advanced. The doctors tell him that at this point there’s no chance for a cure, but they may be able to beat it back and give him more months, or perhaps a couple of years, of additional life. He has already had extensive radiation treatments. Now he’s going through a regime of chemotherapy.

How is he handling it? Like a champ! He is upbeat and positive and he pushes himself to live life as fully as he can under the circumstances. He rarely misses church or any of the church social events. He greets people with a smile and a firm handshake. Ask him how he’s doing and in a strong voice he will tell you he is blessed and doing fine. And that’s not just happy-talk either. He means it. He is grateful for another day of life; he thanks the Lord that he lives in the age of medical science when we do have therapies like radiation and chemo; and he knows that as long as he is alive, the Lord has a purpose for him. Rather than feeling sorry for himself or allowing himself to give-in to despair, he makes it a point to bless others, to show interest in them, and live life fully.

My friend is determined to handle his very serious health struggle with dignity and grace, giving glory to God and allowing God to use his example as a means of inspiring and encouraging other people. I hope if the day comes that I’m faced with a serious illness like that that, I will handle it with the courage and grace and dignity that my friend has.

The Apostle Paul was a man who knew a thing or two about dealing with struggles, and like my friend, Paul chose to see the hand of God and the love of God in the middle of those struggles. That’s what he was writing about in Romans 5:3-5. God isn’t absent in our times of struggle. In fact, His presence is often more real and more profound to us during those times than at others. But we have look for it. If we determine to bring Him honor and glory through our times of trial, we will be much more likely to experience His presence, His power, and His peace in the midst of those struggles.

Life happens to all of us. Struggles, problems, sickness, the death of a loved one, our own impending death – it happens to all of us sooner or later. And when it does, we have a choice to make about how we will view it and how we will handle it. My friend has chosen to focus on the great love of God and to see God at work in the middle of his struggles. And he has chosen to exhibit strong faith, courage, dignity, and grace as he deals with it. I hope that will be true of you (and me) as well.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Living a life of love”

Our Bible verse for today: “He said to him, “Love the Lord your God will all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.” Matthew 22:37-40 (CSB)

Our thought for today: Don’t make it harder than it needs to be.”

Sometimes we are our own worst enemies. We often complicate things and make life much harder than it needs to be. That’s especially true when it comes to organized religion. Historically, humans simply have not been able to leave the Bible alone. It’s as if we believe God didn’t finish the job and so we need to help Him out by adding our own rules and regulations to what He gave us.

In Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus simplified things for us. In that passage He was referring to the Old Testament Law of Moses and to the words of the Old Testament prophets, all of which were legitimate instruction from God, and I think He was also taking a backhanded swipe at the laws of the Pharisees, which built upon and embellished God’s word. In this passage Jesus simplified it all by telling us to simply love God and love other people. The more fully we do those two things – love God and love others – the more completely we will have fulfilled every other thing God ever told us to do. If you fully love God, and if you love other people too, you will be right in the center of God’s will. It’s as simple as that.

The Apostle Paul made this same point in Romans 13:10 when he wrote, Love, therefore, is the fulfillment of the law.” He said it again in 1 Timothy 1:5-6, “Now the goal of our instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. Some have departed from these and turned aside to fruitless discussion.” Paul’s point was that many Christians have lost sight of the beauty and simplicity of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 22:37-40 and they’re all tangled up instead in endless discussions and arguments about things that don’t really matter all that much.

The Apostle John also wrote about this teaching from Jesus. John came to be known as “the Apostle of love” because so much of his teaching revolved around the simple message of just loving God and loving each another.

Love is the answer. Just love God and love others. Really love them. Fully love them. Do that and everything else will take care of itself.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Living a life of love”

Our Bible verse for today: “We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “This is why we contemplate His love”

Monday’s are typically my day off. Sunday’s are the busiest day of the week for me and by Monday I’m ready for a day off. I even have a special Monday morning routine I observe that includes sleeping a little later than usual, using devotional literature that is reserved only for Mondays, and having my quiet time with the Lord in a special Monday morning location. During the warmer months that’s out on the back porch. During the cooler months, like now, that location is in the living room next to the fireplace in a recliner that I only sit in on Monday’s. Other family members sit in that chair at other times throughout the week, but I only sit there on Monday mornings when it’s cold enough for a fire in the fireplace. For me it’s a special time in a special location when I can just be with God as I contemplate, relax and reflect.

Yesterday I was there in that chair, in front of the fire, with my Monday morning devotional materials, and I came across a profound insight from the Chinese writer Hwee Hwee Tan. She was commenting on Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 3:18 and she observed, “We become what we contemplate.” That’s exactly what Paul was teaching in that verse. As we gaze steadily and intently upon the glory of Jesus, we slowly become transformed into an image of Him. That’s the story of the Christian life. That’s our journey. It’s the process of sanctification that slowly and steadily makes us more and more like Him. As we gaze upon Him, contemplating Him, studying Him, striving to be like Him, we begin to look more and more like the image we’ve been gazing upon. We become what we contemplate.

And that’s why we’re spending so much time studying and contemplating the love of God. We’re considering it from every angle. We’re carefully exploring all the different aspects of it. We’ve considered what love is, how it is defined, how we can best embrace and experience God’s love, and how we can share it with others. Over the course of two months of devotional messages we are turning the subject upside down and inside out, considering it from every possible angle, gazing at it intently. Why? Because we become what we contemplate. The more time we spend gazing at, contemplating, and experiencing the love of God, the more it will come to define who we are. As we look into that mirror Paul writes about, we first see the love of God looking back at us, but soon it begins to become our image too.

This is why we contemplate His love – so that little by little, progressively, it will become our image too.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Living a life of love”

Our Bible verse for today: “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light within you is darkness, how deep is that darkness!” Matthew 6:22-23

Our thought for today: “Learn to see through eyes of love.”

In Matthew 6:22-23 Jesus was teaching a lesson about perception – about how we choose to see people and events. My perception of things goes a long way towards determining my experience in life. How I see things determines what I believe to be true. It also determines how I think and speak, and how I act toward others. If my perception is clear – if I see things through the eyes of Christ, my experience in life will be enlightened. But if my perception is not clear, if I choose to see the world and those around me through the distorted lens of worldly values, then my experience in life will be darkened rather than enlightened.

With respect to our theme of living a life that is grounded in the love of God, if I learn to immerse myself in the love of God – understand it, receive it, embrace it, and share it – my life will be defined by that love and that will be my experience. It all depends on how I chose to see people and events – through a Christ-like perspective, or through a worldly perspective. Jesus sees through eyes of love, and therefore as a Christian, a Christ-follower, one called to be like Him, I must strive to see through eyes of love as well.

Perhaps the best way to train ourselves to do this is to consider Jesus’ words found in Matthew 25:31-46. In that passage He taught a lesson about serving and blessing others, especially those in great need. In verse 40 He explained, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

The application for us is that often it’s easier to love Jesus than it is to love people. It’s easier to want to do things for Jesus than for people. So Jesus has designated other people to be His surrogates and to receive our acts of ministry to Him, on His behalf. In other words, whatever it is you would like to do for Jesus as a demonstration of your love for Him, do instead for other people, and He will receive it as having been done directly for Him. Intentionally see other people as your opportunity to demonstrate your love for Jesus. That will help you to begin seeing people through eyes of love. If you can’t love them for who they are, then love them because Jesus loves them. And if you have difficulty blessing them for who they are, bless them as a way of blessing Jesus. See that person as an opportunity to show your love for Jesus.

Your perception of people and events matters. The lens through which you view the world will determine everything else about you. I encourage you to learn to see through eyes of love.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Living a life of love”

Our Bible verse for today: “I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? Consider the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they?” Matthew 6:25-26 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “God loves you, He cares for you, and He provides for you”

There’s a wonderful old hymn we sing in church sometimes called “His Eye Is on The Sparrow”. It’s inspired by the words of Jesus taken from the passage of the Sermon on the Mount, which I quoted from above. In verse 26 we read, “Consider the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they?” Evidently it was an important lesson because Jesus repeated it again in Matthew 10:29-31: “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” Here’s the chorus to the song:

I sing because I’m happy,
I sing because I’m free,
For His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.

Few things cause us more anxiety and worry than our concern for provisions and financial security. But the truth is that you have a Father in heaven who loves you far beyond your understanding. He watches over you constantly and He is more concerned with your well-being than even you are. That is so true that Jesus dedicated an entire passage in the Sermon on the Mount to the subject (Matthew 6:25-34), and He repeated the lesson in various forms multiple times in His teaching throughout His ministry years.

The key to the lesson is found in verse 33 of Matthew 6 when Jesus tells us, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.” In other words, instead of being overly preoccupied with concerns about money and possessions, focus first and primarily on living a life that honors God. Then, in His way and in His time, He will provide for your basic needs. But that doesn’t absolve you of responsibility. You still have to do your part. Money and food are not going to rain down on you like manna from heaven. You need to work and do your best to provide for yourself and your family. But then trust your Father who loves you dearly to look out for you and to care for you in His way and in His time.

God’s love and care extends even to the sparrow so surely, He will also take good care of you as well. I encourage you to rest in the knowledge of God’s love and care for you.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Living a life of love”

Our Bible verse for today: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (N IV)

Our thought for today: “Be sure you do “due diligence”

Did I shake your confidence yesterday in your ability to discern God’s leading in prayer? If so, I’m sorry, but in truth that is what I intended to accomplish. You see, we can become too casual in assuming our ability to discern God’s leading in prayer. We can believe that just because a thought came into our head during prayer it must be the leading of God in answer to whatever we’re praying about. Sometimes that thought is from God, but many other times we confuse our feelings with God’s leading.

I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard someone confidently declare, “God told me to do (this, that, or some other thing)”. And I’m frequently amazed at how often this thing that God “told” the person to do, turns out to line up perfectly with what it was the individual wanted to do to begin with. Hmm … pardon me if I’m a little suspicious. I don’t doubt the person’s sincerity, but I do wonder if they’re really hearing from God or maybe just responding to their feelings.

So, how can we have confidence in the leadings we believe we’re receiving from God in prayer? Two ways: First, we check and confirm the leading in the ways I described yesterday. We compare what we believe God is saying in prayer to what we know He has said in the Bible. Then we also discuss it with one or more trusted advisors. We should also give careful, prayerful thought to how the leading lines up with circumstances (God’s leading through circumstances is a lesson unto itself but for this morning it will suffice to say that God is amazingly consistent in how He works in our lives, and through our circumstances He is often pointing us towards something).

Once we’ve done our “due diligence” by giving God lots of opportunity to confirm His leading, then we can claim the promise of Proverbs 3:5-6 and move forward with confidence. Trust God with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will then make your paths straight. In other words, once you have done your genuine best to understand His will in this matter, you can trust Him to lead you.

The fact is that God wants to be understood by us so that He can then be obeyed by us. The only way that can happen is if He communicates with us. He may not provide you with a detailed roadmap and He may not dictate every step you are to take, but if you do your part to understand Him on this issue you’re seeking guidance for (due diligence),  you can trust that He will then guide, direct, and nudge as necessary to move you in the right direction. It’s all part of the love relationship He has going on with you.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our theme for this month: “Living a life of love”

Our Bible verse for today: “My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “We need to hear God”

In the devotional two days ago, the one where I revealed that I personally hear from God best and most often through the written Word, I also mentioned that for me, hearing from God through prayer, is only the fifth best way I hear from Him. Higher on the list was the Bible, creation, circumstances, and counsel from friends and mentors. I think I caught some of you by surprise by that and I therefore want to come back to it this morning because there’s an important reality in play that needs to be discussed.

First, as the starting place, we need to acknowledge that God wants to be known by us. He also wants to be obeyed by us so He can then bless us. In order for that to be true, He has to clearly communicate with us. Good two-way communication is vital for the health of any relationship.

In John 10:27 Jesus gave us a beautiful picture of Himself as our shepherd, and of us being like sheep who know their shepherd, recognize His voice, and faithfully follow Him. However, the voice of God is not audible for us. I’ve never known anyone who could honestly claim to have heard the audible voice of God. Instead, we “hear” Him in other ways. And as was noted in the devotional from two days ago, His primary and clearest means of communicating with us is through the Bible.

Prayer is the primary way that we talk to God, but it is not the primary way that He talks back to us. In fact, I would say that what we believe we are hearing from God in prayer is perhaps the least reliable means of hearing back from God. That’s because we tend to confuse and conflate our thoughts, feelings, and desires with the voice of God. A thought comes into our head during prayer and we conclude it must be God speaking to us. However, it’s just as likely that what we’re calling the voice of God is nothing more than our own feelings – and we have to be careful about our feelings, because they can be deceptive little boogers.

God does speak to us in prayer, but it’s a very subtle thing. That’s why we need to check and confirm what we believe we are hearing from God in prayer, with other ways in which God speaks to us. For instance, if you believe God has said something to you in prayer, immediately check it against the Bible. God will never tell you something that is in conflict with His written word. Another way to check and confirm the leading you receive in prayer is through the counsel of trusted advisors. God often speaks to us through our Pastor, or spouse, or close Christian friend. Also, as Henry Blackaby taught in “Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God”, a primary way God speaks to us is through our circumstances. So, take the leading you believe you received in prayer, and see how it lines up with the applicable circumstances.

Good two-way communication is a vital part of a love relationship with God. The primary way that we talk to God is in prayer, but the primary ways we hear from God is through the Bible, words of counsel, circumstances, and yes, also through prayer (but be careful with this one).

Henry Blackaby once said, “It’s more important for me to hear from God than it is for God to hear from me.” That’s very true and so we need to learn to hear God’s voice. It’s vital to our relationship with Him. I encourage you to invest the time into learning how to hear from God.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim