Turn Into the Storm

From Pastor’s Desk:

But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. – Isaiah 40:31 NKJV

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If I had to choose two favorite verses in Scripture, after John 3:16, 17 of course, this would be one of them. Too lengthy to elaborate on here, but if you will take the time to study the eagle, the meaning of this verse will become crystal clear. The eagle can soar higher than any other bird, I have read. Suffice it to say, it can fly higher than the storm. At the first hint of a storm it will turn into it and use the winds excited by the storm to lift it above the storm where it is safe from the tumult.

We who wait on the Lord should, like the eagle, turn into the face of any storm that might assail us, and use the “winds” of the storm to propel us high above it.

Looking down upon a storm is not nearly as fearful as being in the middle of one.

Waiting Quietly

From Pastor’s Desk: 6-25-17

Lamentations 3:25-26 The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; 26 it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

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Busyness is one of the most significant detriments to quality life. Especially to the Christian, whose whole purpose in life should be to draw close to God.

We will not, indeed cannot, be drawn as close to God as He desires for us to be as long as we are too busy to wait patiently for the salvation of the LORD. Waiting quietly necessitates hope. Hope implies trust. We will not wait for something in which or someone for whom we do not trust. If we do not trust in something or someone we will have no hope in that something or someone.

Hope brings good from the never-failing LORD (self-existing, eternal Jehovah). Waiting quietly is a much better way to evoke salvation of the LORD than the way we, most of the time, procure it.

Indeed, “…it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.” It’s been proven over and again, but Scripture substantiates the truth as well (2 Chronicles 20:17; Psalm 46:10).

A “No-brainer!”

From Pastor’s Desk:

 

 

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Mark 8:36 NKJV

 

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It is an astonishing thing to think about all the exhausting effort to gain the whole world. And then to think that, if it could be done, there will be no profit in it, simply due to the fact that when death’s demands are met, there is absolutely nothing, of all that was gained, that can be taken out of this world. All effort wasted!

 

On the other hand, there really is no effort in receiving Jesus Christ as Savior. Just a simple confession with the mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, and a belief in the heart that God has raised Him from the dead is all that is necessary (SEE Romans 10:9-10).

 

Have all the world while you’re here, and lose it all when you die, or accept Jesus here and live in the splendor of heaven for eternity. That really is a “no-brainer!”

Unstoppable!

From Pastor’s Desk:

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word… – Ephesians 5:25-26 NKJV

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The key phrase, to me, is “gave Himself for her.” If every man loved his wife enough to give himself for her the way Jesus loves the church, this world would be a much better place. No dysfunctional families, no single mothers raising their children by themselves, etc., but rather, a wholesome family entity that is unstoppable.

That, then, would carry over into the church, because the church is made up of each family unit. Thus, the church would also be unstoppable.

Good Up-bringing

From Pastor’s Desk:

And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. – Ephesians 6:4 NKJV

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This verse merits a short word study.

Wrath: παροργίζω parorgizō (par-org-id’-zo); to anger alongside, that is, enrage: – anger, provoke to wrath.

Nurture: παιδεία paideia (pahee-di’-ah); tutorage, that is, education or training; by implication disciplinary correction: – chastening, chastisement, instruction, nurture.

Admonition: νουθεσία nouthesia (noo-thes-ee’-ah); calling attention to, that is, (by implication) mild rebuke or warning: – admonition.

In our world today (even in the church) we are seeing too much of the first one and much too little of the second and third.

It’s hard to tell when the generational degeneration began, but somewhere along the way someone has neglected the last two!

Those Who Need the Gospel

From Pastor’s Desk: 6-18-17

Acts 26:28-29 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?” 29 Paul replied, “Short time or long–I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.”

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“Short time or long…” Paul would stay the course, no matter what it took, how long it took, and no matter where he had to go to proclaim the gospel to a world lost without Christ Jesus. He would become all things to all men that by any means he would win them to Christ. He would not let those in authority intimidate or inhibit him. He would face the very jaws of hell to win a soul for the Lord.

Are we ready, “Short time or long” to do whatever it takes? It may mean setting aside differences. Personalities must not get in the way. Our likes and dislikes must not dictate to whom we present the gospel. The “Pedigree” of certain people must not be a factor in whether we share the gospel with them. The skid-row bum is as much a candidate for hearing the gospel as the rich man living in up-scale suburbia. The teen who disrupts his/her own life by making a bad choice, not realizing the effect of a moment of ecstasy from which motherhood/fatherhood is thrust instantly upon them, desperately needs the life-changing gospel. The person who is about to throw away everything by choosing to live an “alternate” lifestyle and change (or try to) who they were born to be.

Oh, the list could go on and on. Church, we cannot, we dare not turn away from those who need the gospel. It is the only word that is “the power of God unto salvation.”

The Father’s Pity

From Pastor’s Desk:

As a father pities his children, So the Lord pities those who fear Him. Psalm 103:13

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“Pities” is translated from the Greek word רָחַם râcham (raw-kham’), which is, to fondle; by implication to love, especially to compassionate…

As children we have known the “pity” of our parent(s) as we would come to them with a “boo-boo” of some kind. As they would take us in their arms and comfort us as only a parent can, the hurt, even if it really was painful, would subside and off we would go, back to what we were doing before the incident.

Those of us who are parents now know the other side of pity. Rather than receive it, as we did as a child, we now give it, as a parent.

There is never a hurt so big that God can’t make it subside. He will take us in His arms and comfort us until we can go back to what we were doing before the incident.