Pastor's Ponderings, June 17, 2019

The Choice is Yours

God gives us a simple choice in life. The Bible declares on the one hand that there is a roaring lion, the evil one, an adversary and a thief who has been hanging around our lives waiting to destroy the mission on which God has sent us.  On the other hand, there is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords who holds the universe in His hands, who died for all of our sins, but who assures us that we are accepted in the beloved.  

In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses also gives the Israelites a stark contrast. They could serve God and live or serve idol gods and die (Deuteronomy 30:15, 19).  The choice of whom to serve seems clear, but few will choose God and most will choose the lifestyles of the temporarily passable, but permanently damned.

Why? The devil blinds most of our minds (2 Corinthians 4:3, 4).  The devil deceives us into making unwise choices to disobey God (2 Corinthians 11:3). We have not let Christ’s viewpoint dominate our thinking because we are focused on worldly concerns and not on Godly commandments.  However, God tells us to set our concern and affections upon things above and not on things of the earth (Colossians 3:2).

This is the same choice that we must make continually.  We can choose to serve the worldly system that seeks to only please oneself or we can choose to serve the true and living God who gives us His benefits everyday (Psalm 68:19).  Today, let us choose the straight gate and the narrow path that leads to life (Matthew 7:13-14).  Let us decide that in spite of what your friends, family, or neighbors are doing, we will choose to serve God (Joshua 24:15). We are influencing those who are watching us choose life or death.  Let us choose life in God.

Deuteronomy 30:15, 19
New International Version (NIV)

15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.

19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.

2 Corinthians 4:3, 4 

New International Version (NIV)

3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.

4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

2 Corinthians 11:3
New International Version (NIV)

3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

Colossians 3:2
New International Version (NIV)

2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

Psalm 68:19
King James Version (KJV)

19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.

Matthew 7:13-14
New International Version (NIV)

13“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Joshua 24:15
New International Version (NIV)

15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Pastor's Ponderings, June 10, 2019

My Steps Are Ordered

“If I Had to Do It All Over Again” was the name of a 1976 film.  The title is intriguing because some may consider what they would do if they could live life all over again.  What would we do? Where would we go? What would we invest in? Who would we let in our life? Who would we refuse to have any relationship?  What would our priorities be in our new life that we never considered in the past?  

In the study of Economics, there is a term called, “Opportunity Cost,” which means “the loss of potential gain from other alternatives when one alternative is chosen.”  For example, you could have been an actor, but you chose to be a teacher.  You might have been a cellist, but you chose to be preacher.

We do not have to worry about paths not taken because the Bible says that God knows the thoughts that He thinks toward us in order to bring us to an expected end (Jeremiah 29:11).  He is not shocked when we make bad decisions because He decrees that all things work together for the good for those who love the Lord (Romans 8:28).  Those who thought they made the wrong choice in life and are seeking a “do-over” should not worry because God declares that He makes the steps of a good man or woman firm so they will not fall (Psalm 37:23-24).  

We can comfort ourselves and any others who are experiencing buyers remorse over relationships not pursued, business decisions not made or opportunities not explored because God knew your days before you were born (Psalm 139:16).  

For those who are still convinced that their life is hopeless, their situation is dire, and they are slated for failure because of their bad decisions, there is still hope.  God said His compassions are renewed every morning because He is such a faithful and loving God (Lamentations 3:22-23). Everyday is a new day to obey an awesome God who gives us a fresh lease on life.  We can rejoice because we can live our life all over again every day in God.

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.

Romans 8:28
New International Version (NIV)

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Psalm 37:23-24
New International Version (NIV)

23 The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him;

24 though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

Psalm 139:16
New International Version (NIV)

16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Lamentations 3:22-23
New International Version (NIV)

22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.

23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Pastor's Ponderings, June 3, 2019

Celebrating 41 Years Of Marriage Through Commitment And Communication

On June 3, 2019, my wife, Jacquelyne and I will celebrate forty-one years of marriage.  It has been quite an adventure filled with memories that will last us a lifetime.  However, we feel that we have been very blessed despite the ups and downs, because we still feel God put us together.  

We made a commitment early in our marriage that God was to be the final arbiter of every disagreement by agreeing to clear any disputes with Him and each other before we went to sleep. We recognized that we had to personally sacrifice and compromise to make the marriage work.

As the husband, I wanted to treat my wife with consideration and respect so that our prayers are not hindered (1 Peter 3:7).  I also take the scripture seriously that I am to love Jacquelyne and to demonstrate this love by my willingness to give myself up for her.  This passage in Ephesians can be summarized by, “He who loves his wife loves himself”(Ephesians 5:25-28). 

Jacquelyne also believes the scriptures in that she should be submissive to me (1 Peter 3:1, 2).  Furthermore, she teaches that she should be submissive to her own husband in everything just as she does to the Lord (Ephesians 5:22-24).  The reason why this works in our household is that we also firmly believe the scripture that we are to submit ourselves to one and another (Ephesians 5:21). 

There are some areas that my wife is an expert in and I follow her lead.  As a powerful woman of God, Jacquelyne speaks as an oracle of God and I have been blessed with wisdom from the throne of God through her ministry.  She is organized, goal-oriented and serious.  I am so blessed to have her in my life.  

Again, we thank God for 41 years of marriage. We share these scriptures with you that have worked for us and hope that God will use them to be a blessing to those who want to have Him accompany, preserve, and defend them as they live lives together and submit to God.

1 Peter 3:7
New International Version (NIV)

7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.

Ephesians 5:25-28
New International Version (NIV)
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 

26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 

27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 

28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself

1 Peter 3:1, 2
New International Version (NIV)

1 Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, 

2 when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.

Ephesians 5:22-24

New International Version (NIV)
22 Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. 
23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 

24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

Ephesians 5:21

New International Version (NIV)

21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Pastor's Ponderings, May 28, 2019

Let's Be A Friend Like Jesus

Aladdin, a 1992 American animated musical fantasy film, has a song made famous by Robin Williams called, “Friend Like Me.” The blue genie sings about all of the benefits that he can provide to the main character and then in the last line of his song the genie reminds him, “You ain't never had a friend like me, hah!” 

While we may enjoy the antics of this fantasy genie, Alan Jackson wrote the classic entitled, “What a Friend We Have In Jesus.” A few of the powerful lyrics are, “What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and grieves to bear. What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer.” When we have Jesus as a friend, He is like no other.  Because He loved mankind so much, He laid down His life for the world (John 15:13).  He went to the painful cross, a sacrifice for the sins of all of mankind, all for the joy of it (Hebrews 12:2).

Jesus is our perfect example. The King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, elected to be with the sinners when He could have reigned in the palaces (Mark 2:16-17). Jesus will stick closer to us than anyone (Proverbs 18:24). Can we temporarily eschew the good life to talk with societal outcasts?  Are we willing to be friends to the friendless, to comfort those who are rejected and sad, or to drop by the jails just to befriend a prisoner who has lost hope? Are we willing to sacrifice our comfort, our income, our position, status, or respect for those who have none of these things? 

We have never had a friend like Jesus who sees us at our worst and who looks beyond our faults and sees our needs.  Can we be friendly to someone who really needs us?  Someone needs us as a friend. Please let it be you and me.

John 15:13
New International Version (NIV)

13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

Hebrews 12:2
New International Version (NIV)

2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Mark 2:16-17
New International Version (NIV)

16 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Proverbs 18:24
New International Version (NIV)

24 One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Pastor's Ponderings, May 20, 2019

God Wants Us To Bless Others

Audra D. S. Burch and David Gelles wrote an article in the New York Times on May 19, 2019, entitled, “Morehouse Graduates’ Student Loans to Be Paid Off by Billionaire.” Mr. Robert F. Smith announced during Sunday’s graduation ceremony that he and his family were paying off the student loans for the entire 2019 graduating class of Morehouse College, a historically black college in Atlanta, Georgia. Needless to say, the news brought great joy to the graduates and their families.

It is wonderful to know that there are people who want to pay it forward by helping others.  We greatly applaud this billionaire’s efforts. The Bible speaks of another who gave so that others may benefit. Jesus Christ impoverished Himself so that those who believe on Him may become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9). Furthermore, the Bible says that God gives riches, but does not add any painful toil with His gifts (Proverbs 10:22). He wants us to be in health and prosper even as our soul prospers (3 John 2).  God gets pleasure in the prosperity of His servants (Psalms 35:27).

According to the Bible, Mr. Smith has a great blessing on his way because of his generosity. The Bible advises us to give and it will be given back to us in abundance (Luke 6:38). We may not be billionaires, but we can follow his example and bless others as God directs us to give. He says that we have a great inheritance in Jesus (Ephesians 1:18) and those who love the Lord are His heirs.  As God guides us and gives to us, let us not forget to bless others.

2 Corinthians 8:9
New International Version (NIV)

9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

Proverbs 10:22
New International Version (NIV)

22 The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, without painful toil for it.

3 John 2
King James Version (KJV)

2 Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

Psalm 35:27
King James Version (KJV)

27 Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.

Luke 6:38
Amplified Bible (AMP)

38 Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over [with no space left for more]. For with the standard of measurement you use [when you do good to others], it will be measured to you in return.”

Ephesians 1:18
New International Version (NIV)

18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,

Pastor's Ponderings, May 13, 2019

What Do You Have In Your Hand?  

In the Bible, God sent Moses to deliver the Israelites, but Moses replied that people would not believe him.  God then asked him what was in his hand and to throw it to the ground as a sign. His staff became a living snake (Exodus 4:1-3). As a result, Moses had a change in his thinking about accomplishing God’s mission.

The Bible says that as a man thinks in his heart, that is what he is (Proverbs 23:7a).  If one feels they are defeated while they are at their starting line, it is pretty certain they will not win their race. We think we need something else when God tells us that the Greater One lives on the inside of us (1 John 4:4). Moreover, if God is for us, who can be against us (Romans 8:31)? 

Often people will look to something else outside of their reach to help them reach their life’s mission.  They reason that if only they had more money, more education, great contacts, more authority, or more hutzpah, they would feel they could really accomplish their assignment in life. If only they had something more than they have.

In the Bible, King David had five smooth stones and a slingshot to defeat a highly trained giant (1 Samuel 17:40).  Moses raised his rod and God parted the Red Sea. Abraham believed the promises of God and produced an heir in his old age. The prophet Elijah asked a widow to continue to pour her oil, which was enough to deliver her family from being sold into slavery (2 Kings 4:1, 2, 4, 7). We are commanded to speak the things that are not as though they were so (Romans 4:17).  Death and life are in our own tongue’s power.  

What do you have in your hand?  Let us take an inventory of our strengths, resources, dreams and visions and let us run the race that God has set before us. No, we do not need more money, more education, more great contacts, more authority, or more hutzpah.  Jesus has already given us everything that we need that pertains to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). Let us receive the strength, wisdom, faith, and knowledge that He has already given us because He lives in us. Moreover, let us continue to remind ourselves that everything that we need is already in our hands to accomplish whatever His mission is in our lives.

Exodus 4:1-3
New International Version (NIV)

1 Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”

2 Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” 

“A staff,” he replied.

3 The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.”

Proverbs 23:7a
King James Version (KJV)

7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:

1 John 4:4
New International Version (NIV)

4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

Romans 8:31
New International Version (NIV)

31What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

1 Samuel 17:40
New International Version (NIV)

40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.

2 Kings 4:1, 2, 4, 7

New International Version (NIV)

1 The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.”

2 Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”

“Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.”

4 Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”

7 She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.”

Romans 4:17
New International Version (NIV)

17 As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.

2 Peter 1:3
New International Version (NIV)

3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

Pastor's Ponderings, May 6, 2019

See Ourselves As God Sees Us

On April 3, 2017, Donnalynn Civello, the Executive Director of Ethereal Wellness Counseling, wrote a blog post about a common practice of,  “Seeing Yourself Through The Eyes of Others. She mentions that doing this “renders you blind to yourself. Why use others’ eyesight to see yourself? Why would you want to look at who you are through the lens of someone else? It seems odd, yet we do it all the time.”   Many times we will accept the lies of that other people tell us rather than believing what God has said about us.

In the Bible, the children of Israel approached the Promised Land after God had miraculously delivered them from Egypt, the land of their captivity. Their spies returned with tales of a land full of milk and honey.  Yet they refused to try to take that land because they felt the inhabitants looked at them as small grasshoppers, which is how they felt about themselves (Numbers 13:33).  Even though God had brought them through the Red Sea and destroyed the Egyptian army, they declared that they were not able to defeat their newest enemy (Numbers 13:31).

Many times we will talk ourselves into defeat because we will judge ourselves inadequate to deal with the exigencies of life. Our parents, friends, or relatives will tell us that we can’t accomplish our mission in life and we simply accept the fact that we are defeated. 

But God tells us that we are more than conquerors (Romans 8:37) and He will always cause us to triumph (2 Corinthians 2:14). God is always for us, so who can be against us (Romans 8:31)?  The King of Kings and the Lord of Lords will be with us always so we should not be concerned with how man sees us, but instead should focus on how God sees us. We are smart, talented, successful and we are wonderfully made in His image.  Our capacity is limitless because we serve a God that is limitless.

We can decide that we can do everything through God who gives us strength (Philippians 4:13).  He calls us prosperous, healthy, victorious, and overcomers.  Let us receive the good report from the Lord about who we are and what we can do. Let us see ourselves like God sees us.

Numbers 13:31, 33
New International Version (NIV)

31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.
33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”

Romans 8:37
New International Version (NIV)

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

2 Corinthians 2:14
King James Version (KJV)

14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.

Romans 8:31
New International Version (NIV)

31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Philippians 4:13
New International Version (NIV)

13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.