Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Keeping first things first”

Our Bible verse for today: “Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the Emperor.” 1 Peter 2:17

Our thought for today: “Treat people with dignity and respect.”

I was once in a close working relationship with a man with whom I had deep and fundamental disagreements on important ethical issues. I sometimes felt as if my own integrity was at stake because of the positions he had taken and which directly affected me because we worked together.

At one point a disagreement between us became heated and in the middle of it he made an observation which stopped me in my tracks. He said, “Jim, I know you disagree with me but I think you also have disdain for me as a person.” The reason that comment brought me up short was because as he said it I realized it was true. Beyond just disagreeing with him on important and fundamental points of principle, I had come to disdain and disrespect him as a person.

In 1 Peter 2:17 Peter was giving Christians guidance about our relationships with others. In crisp, short phrases he addresses our relations with God, other Christians, government officials, and other people in general. With respect to other people in general, the Amplified Bible translates it, “Show respect for all men (treat them honorably) … “

I recently read a statement that said, “Jesus honored the dignity of every person, whether he disagreed with them or not.” I think that’s true. The only possible exception could be the way He felt about the religious leaders of His day with their arrogant hypocrisy. When they perverted religion for their own personal gain, and abused their positions of authority by using it to control people, Jesus got angry and lit into them. But in all other cases we read of Him treating everyone with dignity and respect. That was true whether He was dealing with faithful and obedient disciples, or a woman caught in adultery, or a notorious tax collector, or a Roman soldier, or even Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him.

Treating people with dignity and respect is easy when we’re dealing with a nice person whom we like. It’s much more difficult when we find ourselves having to interact with someone we don’t like, or with whom we disagree, or a person who has done someone wrong and must now be held accountable for their actions. In situations like that it’s harder to treat them respectfully, but doing so is probably even more important then.

I see an excellent example of that every time I appear in court with one of the men I’m working with in the jails. Regardless of the offense the incarcerated man has committed, the Judge and all of the attorneys always address him with the title “Mr.” They also call him “Sir” and they ensure their tone with him is measured and calm and professional.

This is what Peter was referring to. It’s also what Jesus modeled for us and I believe it’s what we need to strive for in our relationships with others.

First things first, we must treat others with dignity and respect.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Keeping first things first”

Our Bible verse for today: “But Peter and the Apostles replied, ‘We must obey God rather than men.” Acts 5:29 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “Our allegiance and obedience must be to God.”

Anyone who isn’t aware of the seismic cultural shift which has occurred in our society recently simply hasn’t been paying attention. The understanding of what is right or wrong, moral or immoral, ethical or unethical has been turned on its head. Behaviors which used to be universally recognized as wrong are now widely accepted, and those who remain faithful to long held traditional values are ridiculed as being old fashioned, intolerant, or worse.

Recently a high profile and popular candidate for President of the United States was being questioned by reporters concerning what should be done about conservative Christians who refuse to embrace the new standards of morality. This individual replied that if the faith of conservative Christians prevented them from embracing the new and enlightened understanding of sexual morality, it was time for those Christians to change their beliefs. And if they wouldn’t do so willingly, the rest of society needed to take the steps necessary to pressure them to change.

Those were chilling words from a person who aspires to the highest position of leadership in the free world. However, that is the direction our country is moving in. The time is coming, perhaps soon, when Christians who hold a Biblical worldview will be so out of step with modern cultural norms that we will be held in contempt, and we will be subject to great pressures to change our views. The opposition to our faith will come in the form of intense peer pressure and public ridicule. There will also be legal and perhaps even criminal challenges to be faced.

In those days we will need to respond in the same way that faithful Christians have always responded to such challenges – regardless of the age of history they lived in, regardless of the country they were citizens of, and regardless of what the issues were. The answer is always, “We must obey God rather than men.”

Although Christians are Biblically compelled to be the best citizens in whatever society they live in, our higher allegiance is to the Kingdom of God and to His laws. We are to obey the civil laws of our government as long as they don’t conflict with the laws of God. But when they do we must be firm in our obedience to God, even if doing so brings us into conflict with our government.

First and foremost (keeping first things first) we must obey God rather than men.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Keeping first things first”

Our Bible verse for today: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your graciousness be known to everyone.” Philippians 4:4-5 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “How we conduct ourselves matters.”

In his book, “Disappointment with God” author Philip Yancey makes an interesting observation about how Christians should live in this world. He writes, “The people of God are not merely to mark time, waiting for God to step in and set right all that is wrong. Rather, they are to model the new heaven and the new earth, and by so doing awaken longings for what God will someday bring to pass.”

Yancey’s point is that despite all the problems and challenges we face, there is much about life on earth that is not only good, but which is a reflection of heaven. This current world gives us glimpses of heaven in things like beauty and splendor, but also in things like godliness, peace, and joy. We, the people of God, should model heaven in the way that we live here on earth. We should call people’s attention to the glory and majesty of God as seen in the things of earth, and we should model Godly virtues by the way in which we conduct ourselves. Doing so will draw others to God.

In Philippians chapter four the Apostle Paul provides some instructions on how to do exactly that. In verse 4 he tells us to be intentional about rejoicing always, and he also says we should make sure our gracious attitude is evident to everyone. He goes on in verses 6 and 7 and tells us to live lives of prayer so that we will then have a great sense of the presence and peace of God. That peace will be seen in our demeanor.

In verse 8 he tells us to be disciplined in our thinking, keeping our mind focused on pure and honorable things. This too will directly affect our character and personality and will be evident to everyone. In verse 11 he writes about the virtue of contentment, and the obvious implication is that we must learn to be content. And in verse 13 he tells us the great secret of living such a life: “I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

How we conduct ourselves in this world matters a lot. People are watching. They do notice. If we are thoughtful and intentional about it, they will see glimpses of heaven as a result of the things we say and do. That then will awaken in them a longing for that better world which the Lord has waiting for those who belong to Him. The problems and challenges we face in this life are not insignificant and they do matter, but how we handle them matters even more.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Keeping first things first”

Our Bible verse for today: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Once you were not a people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” 1 Peter 2:9-10 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “Being a chose people comes with a cost.”

Peter wrote the letter we call 1 Peter to Christians. In 2:9-10 he explained to his Christian readers that they (we) are a people chosen by God for a specific purpose. This is reminiscent of what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 when he asked, “Don’t you know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.”

Peter and Paul were expressing the same truth. We are not our own. We were chosen by God for a purpose; purchased by Jesus, on the cross, by His blood.  What is that purpose for which we were chosen and purchased? Paul expressed it as glorifying God with our bodies. Peter said it was so we can proclaim His praises. Either way, we belong to God and we have been tasked by Him to further His purposes in this world.

It’s a wonderful thing to have been chosen by God, to be part of His family (1 Peter 2:9). And to be a walking, talking, mobile temple of His Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19)? Well how can you put a price on that? It’s priceless. But with the blessing comes responsibility. The privilege is given for a purpose. From the book of Acts on, the entire New Testament is the story of God’s chosen people on a mission in this world to carry out His agenda for the human race.

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ then your primary purpose in life should be to represent Him in this world and to further the spread of God’s kingdom. As you make decisions about how you are going to use your time and resources your first thoughts should be for your primary mission. That doesn’t mean we ignore other important things like family and work. It only means that our first concern is for the things of God. Everything else has a lower priority.

It may seem to you that such thinking would be inconvenient and that living that way will probably require sacrifice and maybe hardship. Well, yes. But being chosen by God for His purposes comes with a cost. There are great rewards, now and in eternity, but there are responsibilities and expectations that come with it. God has given us much – forgiveness of sins; the Holy Spirit to live in our hearts now; and an eternity in paradise. But with the blessing comes responsibility. We have been chosen by Him for the purpose of furthering His kingdom in this world. I encourage you to do your part. Tell somebody about Jesus today. Show them His love by the way that you treat them. Help to build the kingdom. It is your primary purpose here on earth.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Keeping first things first”

Our Bible verse for today: “Remember this: The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously.” 2 Corinthians 9:6 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “Be generous”

Generosity is a Biblical principle that God not only encourages, but requires of His people. God is generous with us and He expects us to be generous with others. However generosity is actually just the icing on the cake of how we as God’s people are to handle the money He allows us to have. Generosity with others brings us into the “over and above” regions of stewardship. There is actually a more basic and fundamental principle which must be established first. It is the principle of tithing.

As a starting place, God requires His people to set aside the first tenth of all we receive and give it to the church to finance His kingdom-building work on earth. The practice started with Abraham and Jacob in the book of Genesis; it was established as a requirement by Moses in the books of Deuteronomy and Leviticus; it was affirmed by Nehemiah during the rebuilding of Jerusalem (Neh. 10:38); and God even closed the Old Testament by reaffirming the practice in Malachi 3:8-10. There He promised great blessings for those who would obey Him in this manner.

Four hundred years after the time of Malachi, Jesus reaffirmed the practice of tithing in Matthew 23:23. Beyond that, the Apostle Paul encouraged his readers to give joyfully but also sacrificially (2 Corinthians chapters 8 and 9).

Based upon the whole body of scriptural teaching on the subject, early Christians established the tithe as the starting place and as the minimum for faithful Christian giving but it was only that, the minimum. The truly meaningful giving was that which was sacrificial and which came after the tithe had first been paid. That then, is where true Christian generosity begins, and that has been the established understanding about tithing and Christian generosity for almost 2000 years since then.

It has become something of a Christian cliché in our day, but the old saying still holds true that, “You can live a lot better on 90% with God’s blessing, than you can on 100% without His blessing.” That is very true. Spend a few moments reading Malachi 3:8-10 and Matthew 6:25-34.  God promises to bless faithful tithers in ways you cannot even begin to imagine. He will bless in material ways probably, but with spiritual blessings without a doubt. That’s simply a Biblical promise pertaining to faithful tithing.

But then comes real generosity. Pay your tithe but don’t stop there. Bless others sacrificially, over and above, and the blessings of God upon you are compounded exponentially. Again, you can count on Him to meet your physical, material needs. But the best blessings of God are spiritual. And, you simply cannot out-give God.

As you prepare to gather with your church family this Sunday I encourage you to give careful and prayerful thought to your giving habits. Then, be generous.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Keeping first things first”

Our Bible verse for today: “Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “Be strong and courageous by trusting God.”

It’s unlikely that any of us are facing a situation as big and difficult as what Joshua was facing. He was going to have to lead the Israelites out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land. But they were going to have to fight for it. And the enemies were big, and well-armed, and in fortified cities. It was a big deal. There was great potential for failure – even death.

As they faced this tremendous challenge it was important for them to get their thinking right first. They had to have the right mindset about it as they approached the situation. So God told Joshua, and by extension the entire nation, to be strong and courageous. “Do not give in to fear or discouragement.” Why? Because “The Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

There it was – the key to right thinking – the Lord their God would be with them. As they marched forward, doing the thing the Lord had told them to do, He would be with them. And that being the case, they had nothing to worry about.

Now, that did not mean it was going to be easy. And it did not mean they would not face hard times and maybe even set-backs. But it did mean that as they walked the path the Lord was pointing them to, and as they did the things He required of them, He would go with them and He would enable them to deal with whatever they encountered.

What did it require on their part? Courage, obedience, and faith in God. On the front end of things they needed to get their thinking about it right. They needed to remember that their God was watching over them, He was guiding them, and He would protect them. Once they had that straight in their heads, then they were ready to move forward.

The same is true for us. This was not an isolated Biblical promise which only pertained to Joshua and the Israelites. This was about you and me too. “Be strong; be courageous; trust God.” It is a Biblical prescription which is repeated numerous times in both the Old and New Testaments. Read Proverbs 3:5-6. Spend a little time meditating on Isaiah 41:10. Hear the words of Jesus in Matthew 28:20 as He sent His followers off into the future, “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Whatever it is you’re facing in your life, step one of preparing to deal with it is to remember the words God spoke to Joshua but meant for you, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged. The Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Keeping first things first”

Our Bible verse for today: “If any of you has a legal dispute against another, do you dare go to court before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?” 1 Corinthians 6:1 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “Keep it “in-house”

Should a Christian ever file a lawsuit against another Christian? Is there ever a good reason for Christians to appear in civil court contending against each other? There are differing views about this in the Christian community.

In 1 Corinthians 6:1-11 Paul seems to have pretty clearly forbid the Corinthian Christians from doing so. He told them that taking another Christian to court before the civil authorities was a disgrace and a matter of shame. He said that there should be wise leaders within the Christian community capable of judging the matter in-house, and there was no good reason for two Christians to be slugging it out in front of unbelievers, because doing so was a bad testimony and damaged the cause of Christ. Paul even went so far as to tell them that if they could not resolve the issue quietly within the church family, then they should just let it go without seeking resolution at all.

There are some in the Christian community today who maintain that Paul’s instruction in this passage was situational and pertained primarily to Christians of that day in that culture. The Roman courts were notorious for imposing brutal punishment for minor offenses and therefore Christians needed to shield each other from that. Christians from this school of thought maintain that our judicial system today in the USA is different and better, and therefore this passage doesn’t apply to us.

Others maintain that the overriding principle of Paul’s teaching still holds. These folks argue that Christians need to keep such disputes in-house. There should be wise leaders who are capable, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to lead Christians to fair resolutions of such disputes. And the individual litigants must have enough spiritual maturity and humility to submit to the judgment the leaders arrive at.

Many churches in our day actually have a written “Membership Covenant” which all new members are asked to agree to and sign as a condition of membership. In the covenant is a clause which talks about this very issue and which asks that all members agree to resolve disputes internally, within the church, with the assistance of Christian leaders. I personally believe this to be a very good, and Biblical, policy.

Paul’s point, I believe, is that the church must be ever-conscious of the testimony we present to the unbelieving world. If they see us squabbling and bitterly striving against one another, it damages our witness. It is much better to resolve our differences among ourselves, and to even allow ourselves to be wronged without resolution, rather than damage the cause of Christ in our community by engaging in public lawsuits against other Christians.

Keeping first things first means we’re more concerned with the cause of Christ than we are with winning a dispute against another Christian.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Keeping first things first”

Our Bible verse for today: “Rejoice always! Pray constantly. Give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “Pray first.”

Philip Yancey is one of my favorite Christian authors. I’ve read pretty much everything he has published. I enjoy his skillful use of words as he explains important concepts in clear and interesting ways, but I have also come to appreciate his deep insight into spiritual matters with which of all us wrestle.

In his book “Prayer: Does it make any Difference?” Philip addresses the common concern about whether or not some of our prayers are inappropriate, or maybe even petty and silly. Philip notes that even some of the greatest Christian pray-ers of all time have struggled with this. Meister Eckhart refused to bother God with what he considered to be “trifles”. Catherine of Genoa recorded in her journal that after thirty-five years of constant prayer she had never once asked God for anything for herself.

But is that understanding of prayer Biblical? Actually no, it isn’t. The prayers recorded in the Bible model the exact opposite for us. In the Bible we read of people making all sorts of prayer requests for their own sakes, and praying about the most common and even mundane issues of daily life. An infertile woman prayed for a baby; a poor widow prayed for more cooking oil; a solider begged for victory in battle; people prayed for rain during a drought. Jesus told us in the Lord’s Prayer to ask for our daily bread. Paul prayed for safe travels, prosperous work, relief from physical ailment, and boldness in his preaching. James instructed us to pray for wisdom and physical healing.

Yancey writes, “After reviewing the prayers in the Bible, I have stopped worrying about inappropriate prayers. If God counts on prayer as a primary way to relate to me, I may block potential intimacy by devising a test of appropriateness and filtering out prayers that may not meet the criteria. According to Jesus, nothing is too trivial. Everything about me – my thoughts, my motives, my choices, my moods – attracts God’s interest.”

What does this have to do with our theme of “Keeping first things first”? Paul answered that for us in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 when he told us to “Pray constantly”. In other words, pray about everything. Pray first, pray last, pray in the middle. Pray about big things and pray about little things. Pray when things are going well and pray when they’re not. There is nothing about you or your life that God is not interested in. So pray about it all, and pray about it before you do anything else about it.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Keeping first things first”

Our Bible verse for today: “For where envy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every kind of evil. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without favoritism and hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who cultivate peace.” James 3:16-18 (HCSB)

Our thought for today: “Unity in the body is more important than having things your way.”

The image the New Testament gives us of James, the biological brother of Jesus, is of a dignified elder statesman of the church who had great authority and was held in high esteem by the people. If you read his book (the letter of James) you get the impression of a man who had high standards, expected a lot from people, and had little patience for fools. James could certainly not be accused of being soft or in any way tolerant of sin.

That being the case, what he wrote in James 3:16-18 carries even more weight. In this passage he cautions his readers against allowing their personal preferences and their strong opinions to create disunity in the church. Please note that he is not saying that we shouldn’t contend for the truth or stake out firm positions on important issues. He is saying that rather than always getting our own way in the church, we need to be more concerned with peace and unity.

Look at the virtues he highlights and commends here, things like wisdom, purity, a peace-loving approach, gentleness, compliance, mercy. He encourages his readers to sow and cultivate peace. And again, please read the rest of the letter. Don’t mistake this as having been written by a soft man who didn’t have the strength of character to take firm stands on important issues or to hold people accountable for their actions. James was the exact opposite of that. But he recognized that human nature is always in play in the life of the church, and human beings have an innate tendency toward selfishness and self-righteousness. We also naturally tend to conclude that our way is the right way and that everyone else should see it as we do.

So in this passage he instructs them (and us), to back it down, be a little less impressed with yourself, a little less certain that you’re right and everyone else is wrong, and to intentionally strive for the virtues that help to facilitate peace and unity.

The fellowship of a church is a fragile thing that can easily be damaged. Therefore it’s incumbent on all members to be less assertive and more considerate; less insistent on having things their way; and more willing to let others have it their way. The truth is that not every point has to be challenged; not every issue has to be addressed; and not every problem has to be fixed (at least not right way).

Keeping first things first will sometimes mean that things might not be exactly the way you would like them to be, but that’s OK.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Keeping first things first”

Our Bible verse for today: “Today know this: God, your God, is crossing the river ahead of you – he’s a consuming fire. He will destroy the nations, he will put them under your power. You will dispossess them and very quickly wipe them out, just as God has promised you he would.” Deuteronomy 9:4 (The Message)

Our thought for today: “God goes before you.”

One of the things about the future that concerns and even frightens people is the uncertainty of it. We look forward and try to imagine what’s waiting for us around the next curve in life – next week, next month, or next year, and we don’t know. That uncertainty often produces fear and anxiety.

We tend to forget that God is already in the future. Time doesn’t pertain to God. God exists in eternity. Time is something He created as a useful tool for human beings. So in that sense, God exists simultaneously in the past, present, and future all at the same time.

But in another sense, with respect to the future, He goes ahead of us, He prepares the way for us, and then He waits for us to catch up. So when you arrive in the future, God is already there. You will never enter into any situation in which God is not already there.

How does that pertain to our theme this month of keeping first things first? Just that as we think about the future and as we plan for it, we need to remember that God is already in the future. He already knows what we’re going to face and how it’s going to turn out. And, we know that He has our best interest in mind. God is more concerned about your future than you are. So in your thinking about the future the first thing you need to do is remember that God holds the future, and He is sovereign over it.

I want to leave you this morning with two very reassuring promises from God, both recorded in the Old Testament, and quoted from the NIV:

“For I know the plans I have for you” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

“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

God Bless,

Pastor Jim