The Path of Life

You make known to me the path of life;

in your presence there is fullness of joy;

at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

—Psalm 16:11

How many of us live with a heavenly perspective on life? By heavenly perspective, I mean seeing life through the lens of eternity. I remember as a young boy, I prayed and talked with my family and friends constantly, about my hope that the rapture would not come before I got married and had the opportunity to experience being married and all that marriage had to offer like being a dad. I remember hearing messages and religious leaders, especially in the late seventies talk about how imminent the return of Christ was, even setting dates. I remember praying desperately and asking God to “wait” until I got married. Well, I can’t say that the fact that I’m married and am a dad 4 times over (one is in heaven) is a direct answer to my prayers, but it has happened and I’m glad that God has blessed me in this way.

However, as I’ve grown in the Lord and come to understand His word better I now see things a bit differently. Not that I would change my situation at all, but as I see and understand it now, if the Lord had come back prior to 1991 when Rebecca and I got married, I would have not only not missed being married, but in heaven I would not even give it a second thought, as being in the presence of God would be my delight, my focus, and my pleasure. How different would our lives be if we walked day in and day out viewing everything through eternal lenses?

We face difficulties, pain and suffering and vast uncertainties each and every day. Left to dwell on what life brings us along, we travel a road of hopelessness and fear. But when we allow every aspect of our daily circumstances to be filtered through the truth of God’s Word, we are able to act and react in a way that is not only pleasing to the Lord, but that allows us to walk in freedom from fear and anxiety. The old hymn puts it this way,

“When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word, what a glory he sheds on our way! While we do His good will, he abides with us still, and with all who will trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there’s no other

way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”

John H. Sammis

My friend, no matter what today will bring, ask Father God to help you to see your situation through His eyes and whether it’s sickness, debt, relational problems or even death may His Word give you hope for not only a new day, but a better day “tomorrow”!

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” —John 14:1-3



Happy New Year

Happy New Year. I truly pray that it is and that it will be indeed a happy New year for you and those you love. However, remember that whether your days are happy or not, never forget that God is with you always and that nothing in your life's circumstances are outside of His knowledge and care. He is with you from the beginning of the year until the end.

In the next several days, all of the Christmas decorations and celebrations will all but be memories of Christmas 2011. As you tuck away the family decorations and put your homes back to normal, let me suggest you take some time and remember once again the powerful message of the season that we've just come through. Those of you with a manger scene, take a moment as you store it away and remember that the baby of the manger did not remain a baby, rather, He grew to become a man who had His eyes fixed on a cross, a cross that He would die on to pay the price for your sins and mine.

This week as we gather to worship, we will once again celebrate Jesus, this time however, we will celebrate not only that He came, but what He came to do. The manger was a prelude to the cross. His birth was the beginning of the journey to His death on the cross. Our time together today will give us an opportunity to focus on the sacrifice that He has made for us and will give us an opportunity to thank, praise, adore and worship Him for the ultimate gift the Father has given us, life through the death of his beloved Son.

Today, His Word will remind us of what He has done and wants to do in and through us. Our songs will give us an opportunity to lift up our praise. Our prayers will be a response to the goodness that God has showered on us through the sacrifice of His Son. Our lives today and throughout this year will be an opportunity for us to express our deepest thanks for what He has done.

Prepare your hearts right now to focus on the King of kings and the Lord of lords and how you will say thanks today. And my friend, if you are reading this and have not yet given your heart to Jesus, today is your day. Listen with your heart and allow God's Spirit to show you what He has done to bring you into a relationship with Him that you were created for. May this be your best year yet as you live each day in the grip of His love and grace.

Pastor MJ

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas. It’s been awhile since December 25th landed on a Sunday. However, it’s seems very fitting that we are celebrating the birth of our Lord on the day that we regularly come together to worship Him. Corporate worship is in itself a celebration.

Each week we celebrate our Great God for all that He is and for all He has done and is doing. Today we focus in on celebrating our Master: “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”(Phil. 2:6,7) Praise and glory be to Him!

As you celebrate this Christmas be sure and take some time out just to thank Jesus for being willing and obedient to step into your journey so that you could have a relationship with His Father. Celebrate Him for being the greatest gift ever known to man. Celebrate His Father for being the Giver of such an incredible gift! Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! (2 Cor. 9:15)

The greatest gift and celebration that you could offer, if you have not already, would be to receive the Greatest Gift from the Greatest Giver that He is offering you today. So, if you do not know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, give your life to Him today and experience why the God of the universe moved heaven and earth just so your could celebrate what we call Christmas day.

Have a very Merry Christmas and remember to say Happy Birthday to Jesus!

Pastor MJ

Love = Sacrifice

”This is how God showed his love among us….”
1 John 4:9-11

There are many definitions of love floating around. We hear it almost daily in relation to food, weather, and articles of clothing, celebrities, music and more. One of the sad things about how love is portrayed today is that it just comes and goes. We see people falling in and out of love. One day they are “madly in love” with each other, the next they are in a bitter divorce. For many, love is conditional and is based on circumstances rather than a choice.

I am so glad that God sheds light on the true meaning and foundation of love in His Word. When we look at love through God’s eyes we see something that is not only possible, but promised when we look to Him for direction and ability to love like He loves.

In John 15:13, we read, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Jesus not only spoke these words, but He had the example of His own Father who, out of love for His creation sent Jesus to be sacrificed as redemption for us.

Love = Sacrifice

In 1 John 4:9-11, it is clear and concise how God displayed His love, by sending His one and only Son to be sacrificed for our sins.

Rarely do we see or hear a conversation about love where sacrifice is brought into the conversation. Love is almost always depicted or defined as something that makes us feel good, comforted, cared for and safe. And although the large picture of love does ultimately include those things and more, foundationally true love begins with sacrifice. That is why John tells us that love is, “Not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”(vs. 10) In this way, we are reminded that true love involves sacrifice. And that is the love that we are called to extend to all those that God places in our lives. We must be willing to sacrifice, or give up, feelings, comfort, safety, or the expectation of anything in return and love unconditionally, because that is the way that Father God loves us.

As we reflect this Advent season, and today on love, take a moment and think about the Love that it took for the God of the universe, the Prime Mover of all that was, is and is to come to will the sacrifice of His one and only Son because of His love for you and for me. John 3:16, proclaims, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Love=Sacrifice=Giving – This is what God did by sending Jesus to be born that very first Christmas morning and what He will again express on that day that we look forward to as He comes again.

Blessings.

Still Not All We Should Be

“No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be,

but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing:

Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.”

Philippians 3:13 (NLT)

Not too long ago, I was laying down resting and thinking deeply about my past and how, if I had the chance to do it all over again I would change some things I’ve done, not speak some things I’ve said, not go some places I’ve been, not think some things I’ve thought. It almost became discouraging as I realized none of my past can ever be changed until God began to replace those thoughts and blanket me with truth from His Word. His Spirit spoke Psalm 30:11 to me, where it says, “You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy.” (NLT) And then Joel 2:25 “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you.” (NKJV). And finally, Isaiah 43:18-20 "Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past. "Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness. (NASB)

God has given you and I breathe today in order for us to bring glory to Him. One way that we can do that is to not focus on the past, except to repent of anything there that might be displeasing to Him, accept that it is covered by the blood of Christ and live today in a way that is pleasing to Him. When Jesus spoke to the woman caught in adultery, he did not excuse her sin, yet He pointed her forward and said, “Go and sin not more!” (John 8:10-12)

We cannot change yesterday, but we can, with God’s help and our obedience change how tomorrow reflects on today. Where have you really blown it? What things do you wish you could change about “yester-year”? Remember Isaiah’s words, “Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past.” And don’t forget the words of Jesus, “Go and sin not more!” Today is a new day. Go in His strength and through obedience to His Word put a smile on the Lord’s face about your “today”. From that morning, recently, I’ve been holding on to this thought: that I will live each day, “Striving to put a smile on the face of my future’s past as I put a smile on the face of my Lord today”!

Let’s praise and worship the Lord today for being a God who can indeed take a failed past and turn it into a bright and joy filled future. Glory to His name!

Pastor MJ