In My Time

Is the favorite song in your life, “In My Time”? Maybe we don’t say those words, but our kids have said it many times. They might say, “just a minute”, or maybe a quick “okay” only for us to come back in an hour and see that our request has not been honored. Why is this? The answer is simply, priority! It’s all about us as individuals. Our needs, our comforts and our own situations are more important than anything or anybody else’s!

How many times have you made out a list of priorities? By the very nature of the word we are beginning on the wrong foot. Webster defines the word like this: “something given or meriting attention before competing alternatives”. In light of this, our list should only have one thing on it. There can only be one priority.

We are so much with God, like children are with their parents. God says, “come”, “stop”, “go”, “give” or just fill in the blank ( ), and we say, “I’ll do that when I’m good and ready!” Well, you might say, “I’d never say that to God!” Oh, no? How long have you been contemplating forgiving that person? Are you waiting for them to do something, like make the first move? Are you holding off serving until you’ve got “it” (whatever it is!) all together? Are you going to partake of that “forbidden fruit” one last time before giving it up to the Lord for good? As parents we call it, “First time obedience”. A parent instructing a child and the child, saying, “yes, ma’am”, or “yes, sir” and dropping everything and making in that moment, that request, his/her priority! Instead we argue and say, “…but what about…?”

A fairy-tale? No, that’s the standard that God calls us to. Remember Abraham? God told him to go and kill his one and only son. Remember what he did?

Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about." Early the next morning ……he set out for the place God had told him about.
(Read Gen. 22:2-3 NIV)

Abraham had but one priority. That was to serve and obey Father God. Anything else was a “Competing alternative.” This week, let’s practice saying, “Yes, Sir” to our Heavenly Father!

A Little Talk With The Father

As I walked through the door one evening this week, one of my sons ran up to me and said, “Dad, guess what Daisy did?” Daisy is our Black Lab and probably the sweetest and dumbest dog on the planet! My son went on to tell me that he caught Daisy walking around the back yard with a bunny in her mouth. Well, at least the body of the bunny, the head was gone and from the looks of our flower bed it looked like Daisy had already given it a proper burial.

I pulled Daisy aside and sat her down and said, “Daisy girl”, that’s what I call her, “what did you go and kill a poor innocent bunny for?” With her tail wagging and her tongue hanging out, I heard this voice, “She’s just doing what comes naturally!” It was my son explaining to me that that’s just what Lab’s do and she was doing what she was born to do.

That little incident got me thinking. At the end of my day, when the Trinity (Father, Son and Spirit) talk about me and recall something that I did that day, what do they say? I wonder if the Lord ever says, “Mark is just doing what comes naturally.” I hope He says that less and less about me as the years go by because from what Scripture teaches and experience shows, the things that come naturally to me are not good. As Galatians 5:16-21 says, “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

God’s desire for us is that we would not live lives of “doing what comes naturally”, rather that we would live lives doing what comes “supernaturally” empowered and controlled by His Spirit.

When this happens, we look more like Him then we do like our “natural selves”. This is what He desires to see and what the world should see when they see us. Verse 22 of Galatians 5 sums it up: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

Daisy could take pride in doing what came naturally, but we should be thankful and praise God when we are able to, through His Spirit to do what comes supernaturally. May it be so.

It's Friday But Sunday Coming

It's Friday. Jesus is arrested in the garden where He was praying. But Sunday's coming. It's Friday. The disciples are hiding and Peter's denying that he knows the Lord. But Sunday's coming. It's Friday. Jesus is standing before the high priest of Israel, silent as a lamb before the slaughter. But Sunday's coming. It's Friday. Jesus is beaten, mocked, and spit upon. But Sunday's coming. It's Friday. Those Roman soldiers are flogging our Lord with a leather scourge that has bits of bones and glass and metal, tearing at his flesh. But Sunday's coming. It's Friday. The Son of man stands firm as they press the crown of thorns down into his brow. But Sunday's coming. It's Friday. See Him walking to Calvary, the blood dripping from His body. See the cross crashing down on His back as He stumbles beneath the load. It's Friday; but Sunday's a coming.

It's Friday. See those Roman soldiers driving the nails into the feet and hands of my Lord. Hear my Jesus cry, "Father, forgive them." It's Friday; but Sunday's coming. It's Friday. Jesus is hanging on the cross, bloody and dying. But Sunday's coming. It's Friday. The sky grows dark, the earth begins to tremble, and He who knew no sin became sin for us. Holy God who will not abide with sin pours out His wrath on that perfect sacrificial lamb who cries out, "My God, My God. Why hast thou forsaken me?" What a horrible cry. But Sunday's coming. It's Friday. And at the moment of Jesus' death, the veil of the Temple that separates sinful man from Holy God was torn from the top to the bottom because Sunday's coming. It's Friday. Jesus is hanging on the cross, heaven is weeping and hell is partying. But that's because it's Friday, and they don't know it, but Sunday's a coming.

And on that horrible day 2000 years ago, Jesus the Christ, the Lord of glory, the only begotten Son of God, the only perfect man died on the cross of Calvary. Satan thought that he had won the victory. Surely he had destroyed the Son of God. Finally he had disproved the prophecy God had uttered in the Garden and the one who was to crush his head had been destroyed. But that was Friday.

Now it's Sunday. And just about dawn on that first day of the week, there was a great earthquake. But that wasn't the only thing that was shaking because now it's Sunday. And the angel of the Lord is coming down out of heaven and rolling the stone away from the door of the tomb. Yes, it's Sunday, and the angel of the Lord is sitting on that stone and the guards posted at the tomb to keep the body from disappearing were shaking in their boots because it's Sunday, and the lamb that was silent before the slaughter is now the resurrected lion from the tribe of Judah, for He is not here, the angel says. He is risen indeed.

It's Sunday, and the crucified and resurrected Christ has defeated death, hell, sin and the grave. It's Sunday. And now everything has changed. It's the age of grace, God's grace poured out on all who would look to that crucified lamb of Calvary. Grace freely given to all who would believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross of Calvary was buried and rose again. All because it's Sunday.

As told by Dr. Tony Campolo. May this encourage your heart during your “Friday’s in life!” Happy Easter!

Pastor MJ

Palm Sunday

Today, we are celebrating what we refer to as Palm Sunday. That was the day beginning the last week that Jesus spent on this earth when our Lord rode into Jerusalem and the crowds hailed Him as their Messiah. They believed He was truly there to set them free from Roman oppression. They gave Him their nod as the prophesied ruler of their people. Throughout the crowd that day, each and every person had their own perception and expectation of who Jesus was and what He could, and would, do for them. Due to events following Palm Sunday, their praise would prove to be largely dependent on his delivering exactly what they wanted, or not.

As you lift up your voice to praise God this morning, as you sing, pray and meditate, what is your praise and worship based on? Is it based on only what God has done? Is it based on what you are expecting Him to do? If there are days where He doesn’t seem to answer your prayers, will you still praise Him? Is our praise today based on what we expect God to do for us in the way that we expect Him to do it? If so, what will we do when His answer, response or solution is not what we were expecting or looking for? Will our praise be conditional?

This week take some time and read or re-read Matthew chapters 21-27. Note the difference in the crowd’s response to Jesus in only one week’s time.

Do you feel that God has let you down? Has He answered differently than you thought He would, or should? Don’t stop praising Him. Fill your mind and heart with His Word and allow Him to do “exceeding abundantly above all that you are able to ask or think!” (Ephesians 3:20) He will come through for you as He did for His children back then. Only, just as He showed them, He will show you, that His Kingship, plans and purposes are much bigger and better for you than your own hopes, dreams and expectations! Join me as we lift our praises to the King of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus! For the One who came, lived, died and rose from the grave over 2,000 years ago is worthy of our worship and praise today and every moment of every day! Hosanna! Blessed is He who came in the Name of the Lord!

Blessings,

Pastor MJ