Nearly a year ago my wife and I were driving west across the Oregon Cascade mountains and to pass the time she read to me from a small pamphlet discussing issues pastors have to deal with. It was all very good and spoke to my heart, but the one thing that has stayed with me is the author’s use of 1 Tim 1:5 – “Now the purpose of the commandment is love, from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith…” It struck me how this single verse defines the mission of a pastor. So, for the next few entries I am going to discuss some of what it speaks to me. For example, what is a pure heart? What defines a good conscience? What is faith and what makes it “sincere”? How do those things fit in with love?
I think this is a proper discussion for the context of this blogger since we are engaged in planting a new church. We are seeking to bring unbelievers into the Kingdom of God and a pastor’s job is to nurture new believers into maturity in the faith. In other words our goal is “…love, from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith…” Keep that in mind as you read the next few posts.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Sharing something good....
I just read the latest newsletter from David Wilkerson and it really spoke to my heart. Here's a link to it so you can read it too:
These Times Demand Special Trust
Hope it ministers to you as it did to me.Friday, December 28, 2007
While praying for His disciples Jesus said of us “…they are in the world, but they are not of the world.” “In” – “of” – those two short prepositions highlight a really big difference. We exist in this present fallen world. We can’t help it since we were born here and except for the hope of an end-time rapture, our only exit is death. This world we are in is full of the results of sin with evidence of man’s fallen nature found everywhere. It is our burden and struggle to deal with it. Yet Jesus also said that we are not “of” the world. In making that distinction the Lord made it clear that there is to be a distinction between unbelievers and believers and that there should be a clear and obvious contrast between them. In the book of Romans Paul said that the believer is no longer a “slave to sin”. We don’t have to sin or live lifestyles that reflect the fallen-ness of the world. The contrast between Christian and non-Christian lifestyles should be glaring. Yet when you look at the lives of the average Christian found in the churches of America it is often hard to tell the difference.
I say all that because during my exercises this morning I was thinking about the practice (that has become so ubiquitous in American society) of leaving the TV blaring all the time. It is something I would expect of an unbeliever (after all unbelievers are of this world), but what concerns me is that I see most Christians practicing the same thing. They turn on the television in the morning and it blares for the rest of the day. We should consider that the content of what is broadcast over the cables and airwaves is almost entirely the image of the antichrist. With the exception of a few good programs (punctuated by unsavory commercials) the programming of American television is hostile to Christ.
So, are you participating in this? Does your lifestyle include the constant blaring of the image of the antichrist in your home? I’ve had lots of people tell me that they just want it on for the noise. That’s a lame excuse – that “noise” is entering your thinking in a nonstop flow whether you are paying attention to it or not. The old adage “garbage in, garbage out” applies here.
I have two suggestions: First, if your living room is arranged around the television set then the television is the center of your household. That ought not to be and needs to change. Sell your big screen TV and buy a small model you can easily pick up and carry around. Then store it in a closet. When you want to listen to the president’s speech, watch coverage of a natural disaster, or just watch an entertaining video, take it out, set it up, watch your program, then put it away. Second, learn to discern good programming from bad. Check out the many online sources for reviews that come from a Christian perspective. Be in this world without being of it.
I say all that because during my exercises this morning I was thinking about the practice (that has become so ubiquitous in American society) of leaving the TV blaring all the time. It is something I would expect of an unbeliever (after all unbelievers are of this world), but what concerns me is that I see most Christians practicing the same thing. They turn on the television in the morning and it blares for the rest of the day. We should consider that the content of what is broadcast over the cables and airwaves is almost entirely the image of the antichrist. With the exception of a few good programs (punctuated by unsavory commercials) the programming of American television is hostile to Christ.
So, are you participating in this? Does your lifestyle include the constant blaring of the image of the antichrist in your home? I’ve had lots of people tell me that they just want it on for the noise. That’s a lame excuse – that “noise” is entering your thinking in a nonstop flow whether you are paying attention to it or not. The old adage “garbage in, garbage out” applies here.
I have two suggestions: First, if your living room is arranged around the television set then the television is the center of your household. That ought not to be and needs to change. Sell your big screen TV and buy a small model you can easily pick up and carry around. Then store it in a closet. When you want to listen to the president’s speech, watch coverage of a natural disaster, or just watch an entertaining video, take it out, set it up, watch your program, then put it away. Second, learn to discern good programming from bad. Check out the many online sources for reviews that come from a Christian perspective. Be in this world without being of it.
Sunday, December 23, 2007
First Post
It is the eve of Christmas Eve and this tonight we watched the Boston Pops put on a really great Christmas concert/pagent. It's really a far cry from the stuffy concerts they used to put on and I enjoyed the show very much. It was full of joy! It was full of celebration! The last song was "Let There Be Peace on Earth" and we came away feeling good and happy.
And that got me to thinking. There is lots of sin in this world and sin always works against peace. The scripture is pretty clear that there will not be peace on Earth until the Lord returns. Yet the angels sang to the shepherds "Peace on Earth, good will toward men." We sing songs of joy and good will, but for many people Christmas is a time of sorrow and loss. A year is coming to an end and if all went well we have cause to celebrate -- but if we lost loved ones or lost jobs, experienced failure, or times are hard and we don't have the financial resources to give our loved ones even token gifts -- it's hard to sing "Joy to the world" and mean it. What in the world could those angels have been thinking?
Well, the answer comes in what real peace is. Real peace is found in the knowledge that the loved one you lost is living in heaven waiting for you to come and join him/her. Real peace comes to us when we trust God to direct our steps to that one job He has chosen for us. Real peace is found when we rest in the knowledge that God even takes our failures and turns them to good. We aquire real peace when we hand our poverty to Him knowing that our future and our provision is His concern and He is actively involved in taking care of it.
Yet the sting of death would still be with us if it were not for that miracle birth in Bethlehem. The uncertainty and fears of unemployment would have no antidote if Emmanuel had not been born. The reproach of failure was placed on the back of that manger-cradled baby. Even our poverty was taken by Him to the cross.
So wars and fighting and hatred and all the effects of sin in this world may not cease until His return, but God, expressing His good will toward man, made peace possible through Jesus' birth. Because Jesus was born in Bethlehem, because He was sacrificed on the cross, we can be freed from the slavery of sin and know the peace and joy the angels sang about.
During that last song of the concert the orchestra was playing, the choir was singing, a children's choir came up on the stage and was singing, the audience was singing -- all crying out "Let there be peace on Earth". Most of us will sing that song in hope that wars and rumors of wars should cease and that all men should be on good terms with their neighbors and certainly that is our prayer. But my prayer when I sing that song is that all men should come to know the Christ child and find that true peace that "passeth all understanding".
Be blessed in your celebration of the Savior's birth.
Pastor John
And that got me to thinking. There is lots of sin in this world and sin always works against peace. The scripture is pretty clear that there will not be peace on Earth until the Lord returns. Yet the angels sang to the shepherds "Peace on Earth, good will toward men." We sing songs of joy and good will, but for many people Christmas is a time of sorrow and loss. A year is coming to an end and if all went well we have cause to celebrate -- but if we lost loved ones or lost jobs, experienced failure, or times are hard and we don't have the financial resources to give our loved ones even token gifts -- it's hard to sing "Joy to the world" and mean it. What in the world could those angels have been thinking?
Well, the answer comes in what real peace is. Real peace is found in the knowledge that the loved one you lost is living in heaven waiting for you to come and join him/her. Real peace comes to us when we trust God to direct our steps to that one job He has chosen for us. Real peace is found when we rest in the knowledge that God even takes our failures and turns them to good. We aquire real peace when we hand our poverty to Him knowing that our future and our provision is His concern and He is actively involved in taking care of it.
Yet the sting of death would still be with us if it were not for that miracle birth in Bethlehem. The uncertainty and fears of unemployment would have no antidote if Emmanuel had not been born. The reproach of failure was placed on the back of that manger-cradled baby. Even our poverty was taken by Him to the cross.
So wars and fighting and hatred and all the effects of sin in this world may not cease until His return, but God, expressing His good will toward man, made peace possible through Jesus' birth. Because Jesus was born in Bethlehem, because He was sacrificed on the cross, we can be freed from the slavery of sin and know the peace and joy the angels sang about.
During that last song of the concert the orchestra was playing, the choir was singing, a children's choir came up on the stage and was singing, the audience was singing -- all crying out "Let there be peace on Earth". Most of us will sing that song in hope that wars and rumors of wars should cease and that all men should be on good terms with their neighbors and certainly that is our prayer. But my prayer when I sing that song is that all men should come to know the Christ child and find that true peace that "passeth all understanding".
Be blessed in your celebration of the Savior's birth.
Pastor John
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