Friday, October 28, 2022

Pastor's Ponderings, October 28, 2022

Christ Is Our Attorney

We are hearing a lot about the courts because many are being charged with crimes and face substantial penalties.  It seems that “lawyering up” is a term that we must know because of the dangers of violating a law.  Doctors need lawyers as well as medical knowledge, politicians need lawyers as well as votes, and educators need lawyers as well as students.

While lawyers are important in the natural world, we need a lawyer in the spiritual world. We know everyone has sinned and the devil wants God and the whole world to know it.  However, the Bible says that those who love the Lord have an advocate, Jesus Christ, who will argue their case in the Father’s court (1 John 2:1, 2).  Jesus Christ will intercede for us whenever we sin (Hebrews 7:25).  But thanks to God, this accuser, the devil, will be struck down (Revelation 12:10).

We can feel confident that we have Jesus who will be a lamp for our feet and a light for our path (Psalm 119:105). In other words, He is watching out for us.  He does not want any to suffer for their sins and when we repent, He will forgive us and cleanse from evil (1 John 1:9).  Just like powerful people can be strong in the courtroom and be found not guilty, we have an eternal advocate, Jesus Christ, who has never lost a case. We can cast all of our cares upon Him (1 Peter 5:7) and can be assured because of His eternal defense.

1 John 2:1, 2

New International Version

1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 
2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

 

Hebrews 7:25

New International Version

25 Therefore he is able to save completely[a] those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

 

Revelation 12:10

New International Version

10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

“Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.

 

Psalm 119:105
New International Version

105 Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.

 

1 John 1:9

New International Version

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

 

1 Peter 5:7

New International Version

7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.



 

 

 

 

 

  

Thursday, October 20, 2022

Pastor's Ponderings, October 20, 2022

Christ Is The Answer To All Our Questions

What do you do when you don’t know what to do?  Where do you go when you are lost? How do you feel when life has numbed you from feeling?  Who do you turn to when all have turned away from you?  

Some of the lyrics to “I Go To The Rock” written by Dottie Rambo and famously sung by Whitney Houston, provides an answer.  “I go to The Rock for my salvation. I go to the stone that the builders rejected. I run to the Mountain and the Mountain stands by me. When the earth all around me is sinking sand, on Christ, the solid rock I stand. When I need a shelter, when I need a friend, I go to The Rock.”

It is wonderful to know that when I have come to the end of my rope and I have more questions than answers, more problems than solutions, and more obstacles than opportunities, I know there is One that knows what to do.  Jesus knows the way because He is the Way (John 14:6).  He is a help when we are in trouble, a solace for our pain and support when all seems hopeless.

Today God wants us to take a leap of faith in Him.  We have tried the rest, now let us try the Best.  He is our Shepherd (Psalm 23:1). He is our Comforter.  He is our wisdom, and we are made righteous in Him (Romans 5:1).  He speaks to us when we lie down and greets us when we awake.  Idols are pretenders, but He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, a shield, a battle axe (Jeremiah 51:20). He can do anything but fail (Luke 18:27).

Today when we are surrounded by confusion, doubt, and fear let us see Jesus, let us give Him our cares (1 Peter 5:7) and let Him lead us in every area of our lives.

John 14:6

New International Version

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

 

Psalm 23:1

New International Version

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

 

Romans 5:1

Common English Bible

Therefore, since we have been made righteous through his faithfulness, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Jeremiah 51:20

New King James Version

20 “You are My battle-ax and weapons of war: For with you I will break the nation in pieces; With you I will destroy kingdoms;

 

Luke 18:27

New International Version

27 Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

 

1 Peter 5:7

New International Version

7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.



 

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday, October 13, 2022

Pastor's Ponderings, 10 13 2022

Let Us Speak God's Word Today

The well known actor, Tom Hanks, recently shared on the Tonight Show a conversation with his doctor after he was notified of his new diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes. “My doctor said, ‘Look, if you can weigh as much as you weighed in high school, you will essentially be completely healthy and not have type 2 diabetes'…And I said to her, 'Well, I’m gonna have type 2 diabetes.’” The crowd laughed along with him as many of us can relate to this story.


Have you ever stopped to think how many of us will speak things in our lives that we really do not want to happen? How many of us will say, “This is going to kill me”, or “this will be the death of me”. Some of us justify risky behaviors such as driving without seat belts, substance abuse, or getting that delicious third piece of cheese cake by saying, “Well, you have to die from something”.

The scripture says that death and life are in the power of the tongue. We have to speak life, speak that we are blessed, and speak that we are healthy. This does not mean that we should ignore our challenges and our current situations. However, we should declare God's faithfulness and the fact that he says he has plans to prosper us.

Let us daily speak God's promises in our lives. “I am blessed, I can do all things through Christ, I am created in his image, I am an overcomer, I am healthy, and I prosper in everything that I do."

Will you speak these words today?

Proverbs 18:21
New International Version (NIV)
21 The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will
eat its fruit.

3 John 1:2
New International Version (NIV)
2 Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may
go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.

Jeremiah 29:11
New International Version (NIV)
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to
prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Thursday, October 6, 2022

Pastor's Ponderings, October 6, 2022

We Have Freedom In Christ

Stephen A. Crockett Jr. wrote an article in the September 30, 2022 Huffington Post entitled,Elijah McClain Was A Sensitive Black Man And That Still Didn’t Save His Life”  This article was about a young black man that died in police custody on Aug. 24, 2019. Mr. Crockett wrote, “What will never leave me for the rest of my life are McClain’s final words to police:

“I’m an introvert. I’m just different, that’s all. I’m so sorry. I don’t have a gun. I don’t do that stuff.
“All I was trying to do was become better. I’ll do it. ... You all are phenomenal.”
“You are beautiful. And I love you. Try to forgive me. I’m sorry.”
May we all live as free as Elijah McClain.” Even though he had minutes left in his life and he was being violently restrained, he was still free.

What would it feel like if we were free? Instead, our world is bound up with fear, doubt, suspicion, worry and did I mention, fear?  Despite the examples of man’s inhuman inhumanity to man, we must know that Jesus came into this world so that we do not have to move or breathe bound by the evil of this world. In fact, Jesus came to deliver us from this world’s evil (Galatians 1:4).  Jesus came that we might have freedom in Him and an abundant life in Him (John 10:10b).  

The evil one tries to bind us up in our fear, doubt, suspicion, and worry.  Jesus wants us to free us by keeping our minds, thoughts, hopes, and beliefs in Him.  Elijah McClain is now free from the hindrances of this world.  Perhaps we cannot attain the depths of liberty that he exhibited but we can know that our complete freedom is in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Galatians 1:4

New International Version

who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

 

John 10:10b

New International Version

10 … I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

 

2 Corinthians 5:17

New International Version

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!