Fire & Hammer

Jeremiah 23:28-29 says, "'Let the prophet who has a dream recount the dream, but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully.  For what has straw to do with grain?' declares the Lord.  'Is not my word like fire,' declares the Lord, 'and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?'"

God's Word is stronger than many believe.  It is as unquenchable as a raging fire.  It cannot be stopped.  It spreads though many for centuries have tried to suppress it.  It is as hot today as ever before.  God's Word is also an incredibly strong hammer.  Hearts as hard as stone are smashed and softened every single day by the power of His Word. Why try and build defenses against God's invincible Word?

An enemy wants to keep us away from its power.  When people are influenced to ignore it and avoid it, it will present itself again and again.  It's not going away, because the God Who loves them has unleashed it into this world to not keep silent.  Like a fire and a hammer, it will powerfully keep spreading and hitting hard with the message of His love.  Why avoid it?

 - Pastor Michael

True freedom is Dependent upon Jesus

To many, freedom means doing whatever they want, independent from God. If we’re honest, we know that such living only and always leads to the bondage of sin, resulting in broken and empty lives here, and ultimately separation from God in spiritual death.

Knowing this, Jesus has given us the recipe for real freedom. In John 8:31-32 Jesus said, ‘If you abide in My word, you are my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” In response the people grew irritated, thinking that they were already free, but even in earthly terms that wasn’t true, since the Romans occupied their land. He was talking about how to get free from the slavery of sin and declared, “Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:36. Jesus let them know that He was the only One who could give them that kind of freedom. They had to depend on Him.

It’s no different for us. We can go through all the motions of being a Christian, giving our time, our money, our skills, but if we haven’t given Jesus our self in dependence upon Him, we aren’t free. From Mere Christianity p. 59 CS Lewis wrote, “Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement; he is a rebel who must lay down his arms.” If we want freedom in Christ, we must lay down our arms in total dependence on Him. Our minds, our bodies, our possessions are His. Our struggles and desires, and burdens, and plans, must all come under the authority of Jesus. In exchange for our surrender, God promises to make following Him possible. Because God loves us, He will give us a new heart with His law written on it so that following Him will no longer be a burden, but a delight. His love will change our desires, renew our minds, direct our paths, and give us love we’ve never experienced. And all of it will free us to be His children forever. Amen!

-Pastor Jim

Chaos Ministry

Matthew 14:12-14 says, “John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it.  Then they went and told Jesus.  When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place.  Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns.  When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.”

What a day Jesus experienced.  Upon hearing that His cousin John the Baptist was tragically executed, Jesus tried to take time to be alone.  Jesus had little time alone, however, as the crowd immediately searched for Him.  He had compassion for the crowd and continued healing their sick.  Afterwards the thousands in the crowd got hungry and He fed them all by way of an astounding miracle.  Finally, Jesus got alone time in prayer before walking on the water to find the disciples on the lake in a boat.  He then helped Peter to walk on water and explained to Peter he doesn’t need to be afraid of the wind and the waves but instead have faith. 

Life is chaotic, isn’t it?  Difficult news is ever falling upon our ears, yet life and ministry opportunities ever continue at the same time.  Will we grow fearful or have faith?  Dear Lord, show us today how to have faith through the turbulent waters of this troubled earth.  Like You, we want to tirelessly touch the lives of those who need their hearts healed through compassion and care. 

Pastor Michael

In The Storms of Life, Fall at Jesus’ Feet

Rembrandt’s painting captures the storm on the sea of Galilee so well. Some disciples are pictured toiling away to save the boat and their lives, others are panicking, some are waking up the sleeping Jesus, and another seems to be praying at the feet of Christ.

 By the way, have you counted the number of people in the painting?

 There are 14.

 The Twelve disciples, Jesus, and then one other person.

 Do you see him? It’s the man in the center, holding onto a rope with one hand, and grasping his cap with the other.

 Who is this extra person in the painting?

 While this extra person is not mentioned in the gospels, the extra person in the painting is Rembrandt himself. Why did Rembrandt paint himself into the story?

Because that's what Biblical stories do. They invite us to imagine ourselves within them.

Can you imagine yourself there that night? Can you imagine what it would be like to be on the boat, during that storm on the sea of Galilee? Can you feel the wind, the rain, the terror?

Are you in a storm right now in your life? Is life right now chaotic? Are there things happening in your life that are outside of your control?

Are you, like the disciples, toiling to save yourself? Panicking? Worn out? Me too.

My prayer is that during the storms of life, that in addition to living wisely and responsibly, that we would also fall at the feet of Jesus, and ask him to save us during the storms we face.

Because, after all, “He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.” Luke 8:25

Pastor Evan

Scheming Scammers & Correcting Corruption

Isaiah 29:15-17 says, "Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the Lord, who do their work in darkness and think, 'Who sees us?  Who will know?'  You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!  Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, 'You did not make me'?  Can the pot say to the potter, 'You know nothing?'"

Corruption of all kinds exists in every corner of the earth.  Scammers scathingly scratch for every sinister cent they can siphon from some unsuspecting soul.  Sin is always at the door, knocking for those even with pure motives to open up to avenues of subversive schemes.

Father in Heaven, help us bring every action before You and let You judge the attitudes of our hearts before we act.  You are the Potter.  We are the clay.  Mold us into a strong vessel that can bring refreshment to all who are tired of falling prey to those who refuse to pray.  Give us wisdom to recognize evil schemes and give us grace to see when we ourselves are evil scheming so we can make things right.

 -Pastor Michael

See the Best

Revelation 15:2-4 says, "And I saw what looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name.  They held harps given them by God and sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb:  'Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty.  Just and true are your ways, King of the nations.  Who will not fear you, Lord, and bring glory to your name?  For you alone are holy.  All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.'"

When God's people are redeemed there is this gorgeous scene recorded in Revelation that is awe inspiring.  A sea of glass of glowing fire and a song sung about our Lord God Almighty.  Those who are saved have fully seen the beautiful truth of Who God is.  They see all of His righteous acts.  They see all that He is done is true and right and worth giving glory to His name.  God alone is holy!

Father in Heaven, help me to see the best in You now and always.  Help me also see the best in others now and always.  You are so merciful and good, You sought to save even me.  Help me remember You are willing to save even the worst of society that we can all one day soon sing together and give You the glory.

 - Pastor Michael

Peanut Butter Problem

Proverbs 18:24 One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin,

 but there is a friend who sticks closer than a sister.

If you were to ask me, the preferred method of stirring a Costco sized jar of Adam’s peanut butter involves a Dewalt drill and a beater from an electric hand mixer. The drill is powerful enough to stir it right in the jar and the cleanup is minimal if you manage not to spill much.

This was what I anticipated as I put the beater into the drill and tightened it up. Holding the jar with my left hand and drill in my right I pressed the trigger, being careful not to spill any peanut butter on the outside of the jar that would make the jar slippery. The beater went up and down and around the sides getting all the clumps mixed in. It was a clean job.

But just as I gave it one last pass, the jar slipped in my left hand and gave a complete spin slopping the now liquid peanut butter in a neat spiral out of the jar. After the drill stopped I surveyed the damage. There was peanut butter all over the counter, slopped onto the wall, dripping down my shirt onto my pants and flung halfway across the kitchen floor.  It was quite the mess and I was standing in the middle of it.

Right then my sister came around the corner into the kitchen and stopped quickly. “Oh my,” was the first thing she said. Then she said, “I’ll go grab you a clean shirt.” She could have just laughed. She could have left me to clean up by myself. But instead she stayed to help me get out of my sticky mess.

That peanut butter was sticky, but my sister stuck closer. In life we all make mistakes. Let’s stick by each other and show up, regardless of the mess.

-Pastor Kristen