I think sometimes as Christians, we try to hide in the shadows of this world. We don't want to be offensive to anyone, we don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. But here's the big one... we don't want the world to HATE us. But Jesus lets us in on the fact that we will be hated.
18 "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.20 Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.(John 15:18-20 ESV)
So Christ reveals to us that his teachings are not exactly the most popular thing in the world. So when we try to live for him, we will be persecuted. This is hard to grasp in a day and age where political correctness is what we are being taught. But when politically correct goes against God, we can't just ride the tide.
Now I'm not saying to go out with a picket sign and yell at the top of your lungs that Jesus hates sinners and all sinners will go straight to hell for their sins. This makes the Gospel completely judgmental and ignorant. What we need to do is teach the good news of mercy and grace of the Gospel through love. The Gospel is perfected love at it's craziest and most unconditional point. Jesus died for every sin in it's past, present, and future. We need to show the world this.
The world will most assuredly hate you at times for this, for they don't understand. But we CAN'T reach a world of hate with hate. It just doesn't work. Too often there is an angry gospel preached. God hates this type of person, God hates that type of person. If God hates those sinners, he hates you too. We are ALL sinners, but God doesn't hate anyone. God cannot look on sin, because he is the opposite of sin. But the message we should be preaching is the ultimate love message of Jesus who took the sin of the world and defeated it.
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Sometimes we have to eat the hatred in order for the true love of Jesus to be shown and spread.
-Pastor D
5.02.2012
4.16.2012
Build a Better Foundation for Life
Luke 6:46-49(NIV)= "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete."
Jesus blows my mind every time I read through the Gospels. His words are genius and compelling. He breaks down the principles of following him into easy and understandable terms for the people of this time period, but it still relates to us today.
Here he is telling us that if we listen to the words he has spoken and then put them into practice we are setting a solid foundation for our life.When we stay connected to Christ and his teachings, we have strength that we ourselves cannot attain. It's great knowing that we always have that in him.
Christ warns us, however, that if we don't stay connected to him that we have a weak foundation. Having a weak foundation ultimately leads to a collapse. I think that's why a lot of people feel like their lives are completely falling apart and are utterly hopeless. See Christ doesn't promise that through him your life is always going to be sunshine and daisies. But having a strong foundation in him helps you to get through the tough times. But when we have no foundation in him at all, we fall and fall hard. Except in that case, you don't get up.
I have not had the strong foundation in Christ at times in my life, and still to this day have foundation issues at times. Pastor Chris, my dad, brought us an amazing sermon yesterday about staying connected to Christ. He had a point that really stuck with me and I think we can all get it. Most of us have a G-Mail account for our email. Google products are basically amazing and make tools that we all can use. Actually this blog is owned by Google. I'm steering away from the point, but you see what I'm saying. Most of us have these G-Mail accounts to stay connected, but we aren't connected to the REAL G-Mail. That's God's Mail, A.K.A., The Bible. That's one of the major tools he gave us to stay connected. If we can schedule time for things in our lives, we should schedule time to read this perfect word God gave us. Yes, I'm even talking to myself here.
To sum up, stay connected to God!
-Pastor D
Jesus blows my mind every time I read through the Gospels. His words are genius and compelling. He breaks down the principles of following him into easy and understandable terms for the people of this time period, but it still relates to us today.
Here he is telling us that if we listen to the words he has spoken and then put them into practice we are setting a solid foundation for our life.When we stay connected to Christ and his teachings, we have strength that we ourselves cannot attain. It's great knowing that we always have that in him.
Christ warns us, however, that if we don't stay connected to him that we have a weak foundation. Having a weak foundation ultimately leads to a collapse. I think that's why a lot of people feel like their lives are completely falling apart and are utterly hopeless. See Christ doesn't promise that through him your life is always going to be sunshine and daisies. But having a strong foundation in him helps you to get through the tough times. But when we have no foundation in him at all, we fall and fall hard. Except in that case, you don't get up.
I have not had the strong foundation in Christ at times in my life, and still to this day have foundation issues at times. Pastor Chris, my dad, brought us an amazing sermon yesterday about staying connected to Christ. He had a point that really stuck with me and I think we can all get it. Most of us have a G-Mail account for our email. Google products are basically amazing and make tools that we all can use. Actually this blog is owned by Google. I'm steering away from the point, but you see what I'm saying. Most of us have these G-Mail accounts to stay connected, but we aren't connected to the REAL G-Mail. That's God's Mail, A.K.A., The Bible. That's one of the major tools he gave us to stay connected. If we can schedule time for things in our lives, we should schedule time to read this perfect word God gave us. Yes, I'm even talking to myself here.
To sum up, stay connected to God!
-Pastor D
4.02.2012
The Beauty of God in Our Surroundings
The past few weeks have been very up and down. A lot of amazing feelings and a lot of struggles and trials. One minute my new daughter comes into the world and I'm beaming with joy and happiness, then the next minute Satan is stirring up trouble in our church and even in my own life. But through it all I see the beauty of my God in my surroundings. As I write this blog I'm sitting on the rock that Carl Sandburg did most of his writing on. I'm watching my oldest daughter, Faith writing her heart out and be completely happy to be in the woods. It makes me so happy to see my children happy. Today God is reminding me of all the good things he has placed around me, because we all know complete goodness is God and God alone. Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."(John 10:11 ESV) That in itself should give us all reason to rejoice and see beauty in our lives even when times are tough.
Pastor D
Pastor D
2.02.2012
Be Ready for the Coming of Christ
Matthew 25: 1-13
1 “Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaidst who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.3 The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps,4 but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil.
5 When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6 “At midnight they were roused by the shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!’7 “All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps.
8 Then the five foolish ones asked the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’
9 “But the others replied, ‘We don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.’10 “But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked.
11 Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, ‘Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!’
12 “But he called back, ‘Believe me, I don’t know you!’
13 “So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return.
As I was reading in Matthew I ran across this very familiar parable that I've always thought was a great analogy for the second coming of Christ. Jesus often taught in parables so that mere humans, like ourselves, could understand these complex things in a more simple matter that related to day to day life.
Now obviously the culture in the modern world isn't like this one. In those days when there was a wedding the groom would come almost in a surprise fashion and the people would go into the wedding when they were called out to come. It's not necessarily like that today. We're invited months ahead of time so that everything has already been prepared and taken care of. But I think this is still an interesting analogy.
Now as you see here, there were five people who were wise and were prepared. They knew that any minute the groom could come and they didn't want to miss out on it. But there were five who didn't find it important enough to be ready for the coming. When the groom came the five who were ready did not panic, got their lamps ready and followed him into the place where the wedding was to begin. The other five were in complete panic mode. I liken it to today's day when we wait until the last second to pay the power bill and their a few hours away from cutting the power off to your home.
So as they dash to buy the oil needed for their lamps everyone goes into the place and the door closes and locks. When they come to the building and see this they begin to call out for them to be let in, no actually the beg. But upon hearing the pleas, the man says he doesn't know them. If they knew the man, they would have been ready for him.
Jesus tells us this is how he will return. No one knows. Not even Jesus knows the time or date when the the father will send him to take his children.
So to end, if you don't know Christ, then please start a relationship with him. The beauty of him is he came to die for all of us and give us eternal life with him in Heaven, when all we really deserve is a life of pain and agony in Hell. The only thing we have to do is accept him into our lives and strive to repent of our sins and follow him the best of our abilities.
If you already have that relationship with Christ, then go out and tell others about him, so that no one shall perish. There are a lot of people who don't have their lamps ready. It's up to us to help them know where to buy the oil, so to speak. It should be our desire that no one should live this life without the beautiful relationship of Christ that we have.
Luke 14:23- And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
-Pastor D
1 “Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaidst who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.3 The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps,4 but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil.
5 When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6 “At midnight they were roused by the shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!’7 “All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps.
8 Then the five foolish ones asked the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’
9 “But the others replied, ‘We don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.’10 “But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked.
11 Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, ‘Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!’
12 “But he called back, ‘Believe me, I don’t know you!’
13 “So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return.
As I was reading in Matthew I ran across this very familiar parable that I've always thought was a great analogy for the second coming of Christ. Jesus often taught in parables so that mere humans, like ourselves, could understand these complex things in a more simple matter that related to day to day life.
Now obviously the culture in the modern world isn't like this one. In those days when there was a wedding the groom would come almost in a surprise fashion and the people would go into the wedding when they were called out to come. It's not necessarily like that today. We're invited months ahead of time so that everything has already been prepared and taken care of. But I think this is still an interesting analogy.
Now as you see here, there were five people who were wise and were prepared. They knew that any minute the groom could come and they didn't want to miss out on it. But there were five who didn't find it important enough to be ready for the coming. When the groom came the five who were ready did not panic, got their lamps ready and followed him into the place where the wedding was to begin. The other five were in complete panic mode. I liken it to today's day when we wait until the last second to pay the power bill and their a few hours away from cutting the power off to your home.
So as they dash to buy the oil needed for their lamps everyone goes into the place and the door closes and locks. When they come to the building and see this they begin to call out for them to be let in, no actually the beg. But upon hearing the pleas, the man says he doesn't know them. If they knew the man, they would have been ready for him.
Jesus tells us this is how he will return. No one knows. Not even Jesus knows the time or date when the the father will send him to take his children.
So to end, if you don't know Christ, then please start a relationship with him. The beauty of him is he came to die for all of us and give us eternal life with him in Heaven, when all we really deserve is a life of pain and agony in Hell. The only thing we have to do is accept him into our lives and strive to repent of our sins and follow him the best of our abilities.
If you already have that relationship with Christ, then go out and tell others about him, so that no one shall perish. There are a lot of people who don't have their lamps ready. It's up to us to help them know where to buy the oil, so to speak. It should be our desire that no one should live this life without the beautiful relationship of Christ that we have.
Luke 14:23- And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
-Pastor D
2.01.2012
Welcome!
Hello all!
I'm glad you made your way to my blog. I'll be posting a lot of good stuff on here that I hope will enrich your life with Jesus! My hope and prayer for you is that through this blog, God will give you what you need! I'll be posting about scripture studies, new music, family, and just things God lays on my heart. Plus I'm sure the occasional sports blog will be added.
I hope everyone has a beautiful day filled with God's presence!
-Pastor D
I'm glad you made your way to my blog. I'll be posting a lot of good stuff on here that I hope will enrich your life with Jesus! My hope and prayer for you is that through this blog, God will give you what you need! I'll be posting about scripture studies, new music, family, and just things God lays on my heart. Plus I'm sure the occasional sports blog will be added.
I hope everyone has a beautiful day filled with God's presence!
-Pastor D
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