We Should Strive to be Faithful

In our roles as pastors/spiritual leaders we should strive to be faithful, not seek to be famous. There is a striving, a working, even an agonizing that is required in the pursuit of faithfulness. Striving is required if we are to remain faithful to the call of God upon our life. Striving is required because there will be obstacles to overcome in order for us to remain faithful. Striving is required in order for our faithfulness to be tested and measured. Striving is required in order for our faithfulness to be considered just that...faithfulness. Striving is required for us to be truly God glorifying.

On that day the Lord will say, "Well done my good and faithful servant." not "Well done my good and famous servant." as we enter into His joy.

Fellow pastors, let us strive together to be faithful, and may His joy be full in us.

A Monday Morning Word of Encouragement to Pastors

 

There is a sense in which putting together a sermon is much like editing a movie. Just like much of what is shot for the movie is left in the computer or cutting room floor, so it is for a sermon. After prayer and study a preacher almost always has to leave out thoughts, insights, and information either because they do not fit the context of the sermon, or he just doesn't have room to fit them in.

There is also the preaching moment, which sometimes is editing on the fly, in which the preacher adds things he did not intend to say and had not thought about, or leaves out things he had intended to say, things that he considered important and necessary,  things that were even in his notes or preaching manuscript.

In either of the above scenarios the preacher can always second guess himself, and get into the, "Oh, I could have said this...Oh, if only I would have said that... Oh, I should have said this...game with himself, and many of us do. Now, I am not saying the preacher should never examine his sermons or think critically about them, or that we should not get upset in those rare occurrences (and they should be rare) when we preach that uninspired and unaccompanied by the Spirit clunker of a sermon; BUT I am saying that at some point we have to trust the Lord with His superintending of the process of preparing the sermon and His superintending our preaching of the sermon. If we are working hard in the preparation and are praying for His illumination, His revelation, His guidance, His making His thoughts our thoughts and His words our words, then we must trust Him with what is left in the study and with what actually comes or doesn't come out of our mouth when we are delivering His word.

When we know that we have done the best we could, then we must trust the Lord that it was enough; and that just as the Lord took the fish and the loaves and fed the five thousand, He will take our meager thoughts and words and by His power multiply them to feed those to whom we preach.

The Pastor's Personal Life

Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching;

persevere in these things, for as you do this will ensure

salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.

I Timothy 4:16

Pastors, when you pray for your people, pray for yourself as well. Your prayers for the people under your watchcare should include you as well. Yes, we are shepherd's of the flock that the Lord has assigned to us; but we are undershepherds who have been called out from among the sheep to shepherd the sheep, so we share the same weaknesses and proclivities that our people do. So the admonition to pay close attention to himself that Paul gave Timothy goes for us as well.

Paul was not telling Timothy to be self-absorbed or narcissistic, but to be self-aware. It was a warning to be on the look out for his own spiritual well being, to be on guard for his own holiness, to be sensitive to his own weaknesses. He was telling Timothy not to be so focused on those he was ministering to, so as to miss his own sin.  

Our personal holiness not only affects us, but it affects our ministry as well. It affects those to whom we minister, and those whom we lead. The leaven that begins with us can affect the whole flock, and can have a ripple effect into the broader church. This is another area that James 3:1 speaks to.  

So how do you watch over yourself? Here are a few ways:

1.  Pray for yourself, just like you pray for your people. Pray for discernment. Pray for your own heart. Pray for sensitivity to sin. Pray for protection from temptation. Pray that evil will not ensnare you. Pray for your own spiritual growth and your own spiritual needs.  

2. Don't become enamored with your own holiness, or think that you are above sin. The admonition that he who stands should take heed lest he fall is particularly applicable to pastors. Humility regarding our own spiritual condition is a safeguard here, which means you must never think you are above temptation, never think certain sins will have no draw upon your flesh.  

3.  Never become content with where you are spiritually, never think you have arrived spiritually, but seek to be constantly growing. A growing faith is a flourishing faith, and a flourishing faith is more sensitive to sin, and therefore less prone to fall prey to temptation.

4.  Stay fresh in the word, so that the word will stay fresh in you. The continual treasuring up of the word in our heart, the continual exposure to the word provides a protective shield for our heart and mind against sin.

5. Be on your guard, and be aware of the schemes of the enemy. He is constantly on the look out for whom he can devour, whom he can cause to fall, so we must be constantly vigilant against his wiles. Do not let yourself be put into situations where temptation will lurk. Part of praying that you will not be led into temptation is the realization of the areas in which you can be tempted.

Fellow pastors, the bar is set high for us because the spiritual stakes are so high, not only for us, but for those the Lord has assigned to our care. So let us be diligent in our own spiritual life so that the example we set will be equal to the word we preach.

Reminded by God

 He who made the Pleiades and Orion

And changes deep darkness into morning,

Who also darkens day into night,

Who calls for the waters of the sea

And pours them out on the surface of the earth,

The Lord is His name.

The Lord God of hosts,

The One who touches the land so that it melts,

And all those who dwell in it mourn,

And all of it rises up like the Nile

And subsides like the Nile of Egypt;

The One who builds His upper chambers in the heavens

And has founded His vaulted dome over the earth,

He who calls for the waters of the sea

And pours them out on the face of the earth,

The Lord is His name.

Amos 5:8, 9:6-7

Two times in the midst of His dirge against Israel, God stops and reminds the Israelites of who He is and His great power. He not only does this in Amos, but this is a pattern throughout the Old Testament.  He starts this in Genesis 17:1 when He tells Abraham, "I am God Almighty, walk before Me and be blameless." He does this in the last few chapters of Job as He confronts Job with His power and majesty and starts off by saying, "Now gird up your loins like a man, and I will ask you and you instruct Me!"  There are myriads of other times in the Old Testament where God has to remind those with whom He is dealing of exactly who He is.  

Sometimes today, with us, He has to remind us of who He is. Sometimes it is to put us in our place as we have become a little too big for our spiritual britches, and we need to be brought back to reality.  Sometimes it is because we need to see that He is bigger than our situation, or the people we are facing.  Sometimes it is to remind us that He is more than capable of delivering what He has promised.  Sometimes it is to remind us that He is God and we are not, or that He alone is God. Sometimes it is to remind us that we are not the captain of our ship or the master of our fate, but He is, and as such we are answerable to Him. Sometimes it is for comfort and sometimes for correction. Sometimes it is to remind us that He is bigger than life and all that it holds. All the time it is to give us the proper perspective on life, His perspective. 

We are forgetful by nature, and are often deceived by sin; and sometimes we have to be reminded of what we already know. That is why daily devotionals or consistent bible study is so good for us.  Through His word He speaks to us to remind us of all that He is and all that He has done. It is refreshing to be reminded. It is soul stirring to be reminded. It is necessary to be reminded. It is good for us to be reminded. Thanks be to God that He has not forgotten that.

The Greater Holocaust

 I watched a short video from the Holocaust museum. It concerned an album of pictures depicting the lives of the officers over the Auschwitz prison camp, and covered the period of May through December 1944. Auschwitz was the place where thousands of Hungarian Jews were murdered by the Nazis, with much of that happening during 1944. The pictures showed ordinary looking men with their families at different functions as they were overseeing the mass destruction of so many other humans. This caused me to reflect on the horrors and atrocities committed against the Jews during WWII as over six million Jews (men, women, and children) were slaughtered by different methods. It makes your spirit shudder to think about it.

It also prompted me to reflect on what the Scriptures say awaits the nation of Israel in the end times. As horrible and nightmarish a time as the Holocaust was, it pales in comparison to what lies ahead for those who are of the nation of Israel, whether they live in Israel or not. The Lord warns about this in Matthew 24:15-22 ending in verse 22, "Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved." We see a little more about this in Revelation chapter 12 where in verse 13 we see the vengeance of Satan upon Israel that starts after Satan is cast out of heaven at the mid-point of the tribulation. In Zechariah 12 and 13 we see this time described and in Zechariah 13:8-9 the word of God tells us that two thirds of the nation of Israel will perish, but that He will bring one third through the fire. This corresponds with Zephaniah 3:11-13, Joel 2:28-32, Jeremiah 50:20, Isaiah 4:1-3, Daniel chapter 8, and Romans 9:27-29. What a horrible time for the Jews as two thirds of all the Jews in the world will perish. The nation of Israel is still under the divine judgment of God for its forsaking God, breaking its covenant with God, and rejecting the Messiah. God will not completely forsake the Jews, but will save the one third that He refines through the fire. All of this is included in the divine plan of God and in the one eternal purpose mentioned in Ephesians 3:11 and further explained in Romans 9-11.

So a greater Holocaust is coming, a time of great tribulation, a time that happens after the fullness of the Gentiles has been completed. Let us not be indifferent to the plight of the Jews for the eternal plan of God revolves around them, and it includes us as we have been grafted into their rich spiritual life and heritage. In thinking about all of this I am brought to a state of humility before the Lord as I have pondered as Paul in Romans 11:33 "Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!"

Oh Lord, we can not attain to this as it is too high for us and too wonderful for us. Thank you Lord for including me in your eternal plan. Thank you Lord for selecting me and preparing my place in Your plan from all eternity. Strengthen me by Your Spirit in my inner man to faithfulness in carrying out the stewardship entrusted to me. Will and work in me Lord to completeness, lead me away from temptation, and let not evil have its way with me. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth just as it is in heaven. Work out Your decrees until all Scripture is fulfilled, righteousness reigns, and You and You alone are glorified in Your saints in that day. Amen

An Old Word for the Current Day

 Nothing is more needed in our common life

to-day than recovery by the ordinary Christian

of the spiritual values of the Word of God. 

It is at once our Chart, our Lamp, our Food,

our Sword.  And in all these ways it may be known

by the humblest believer who yields himself to the

illumination of the Divine Spirit--its Author.

It was not given originally in order to make men

scholars, but rather that they should by its means

become sons and saints, servants and soldiers of

the Most High.  It is the glory of the Bible that

while its heights and depths are so great that no

human learning can scale or sound them unaided,

its Treasure-house is yet unlocked to the simplest

believer by the golden key of obedience.

J Stuart Holden

The Holy Gospels Opened

Page vi-vii

Circa 1900

Seven Things to Keep in Mind When Going Through Trials

It is not unusual for us to go through a season of trials and affliction. The Lord alone knows what all He is using those season(s) of trials to accomplish in our lives. However, I do know that so many times He is taking the knowledge we have about Him from our head into our heart, so that the knowledge ceases to be academic and becomes experiential; and, as such, becomes part of the fabric of our person, part of who we really are and how we really live. It is one thing to know about the fact that His grace is always sufficient, and then quite another to know the sufficiency of His grace because you have experienced it and lived it through a season of trial and affliction.

Being very obvious or even very subtle, all of us have a very strong strand of self-sufficiency, and are very good at taking care of things and getting things done for ourselves and by ourselves. Because of this the Lord has to get us in a situation where we are past the point of being able to handle it by ourselves, where the situation is bigger than us and our own abilities, and, to top it off, keep us there for a while. This shatters the popular, but false, "taughtism" that God will not give us more than we can handle. He will allow or cause us to be in situations beyond our limits because He wants us to understand that He is bigger than we are, and that He is absolutely in control, not us.

So many times the season of trial we are experiencing is comprised of many trials, sort of trials within a trial, and they are all related. During this time they tend to hit us like waves from the ocean, so as soon as we get our head up from the prior wave a new wave engulfs us. He wants us to not just become dependent on Him, but to learn to stay dependent on Him. Again, it is one thing to know that, and another to experience it to the point where it affects a permanent change in us. Also, in James 4, He tells us that He is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. The root of self-sufficiency is a very subtle form of pride, a pride that says I can do this, I can handle this; and in essence says, “I don’t need the Lord.” So the Lord shows us that we do indeed need Him. He shows us that we cannot handle it, successfully, completely, and consistently without depending on Him...casting ourselves completely upon Him.

My wife and I were talking once, and she told me of a quote she had come across that day. It is “Circumstances are the expression of God’s will.” God is sovereign over your circumstances…all of them. Psalm 103:19 tells us, “The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all.” He is ruling over what you are going through right now, and it did not come upon you without His will. A section in Psalm 119 gives us some insight into His purposes in times of affliction:

119:65 You have dealt well with Your servant,

According to Your word.

119:67-68 Before I was afflicted I went astray,

But now I keep Your word.

You are good and do good;

Teach me Your statutes.

119:71-73 It is good for me that I was afflicted

That I may learn Your statutes.

The law of Your mouth is better to me

Than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

Your hands made me and fashioned me;

Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments.

119:75-77 I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are righteous,

And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.

O may Your lovingkindness comfort me,

According to Your word to Your servant.

May Your compassion come to me that I may live,

For your law is my delight.

1. Notice that God deals well (in a good and prosperous way) with us and that way is in accordance with His word. The word of God is an expression of the will of God, reveals the purpose(s) of God, guides us in the ways of God, and explains the means by which God brings us to the fullness of the stature of Christ, which is for our good and our spiritual prosperity. 

2. One of the purposes/spiritual benefits of affliction is that it brings us back to a state of obedience to God's word (I Peter 4:1,19) This is the goodness of God in action, as trials are a means of spiritual discipline, and all of His discipline is designed for our benefit, and ultimately is an expression of His goodness toward us (Hebrews 12:5-11).

3. The word affliction means to have hardships, to find oneself in a stunted, lowly, humble position; and it is also the means by which God brings us to that stunted and humbled position (James 4:6, Isaiah 66:2). All afflictions have a purpose behind them, and we are strengthened and gain hope when we can see past the afflictions themselves and see God's good purpose in them (Psalm 37:1, Proverbs 29:23).

4. It is during times of affliction that our heart is the most attentive to, receptive and desirous of , the word of God; and it is His word taken in and lived out that bears spiritual fruit (James 1:21-25, Psalm 119:1-4).

5. God is righteous in His afflicting us. He knows just what we need, when we need it, and how long we need it to remove the dross in our lives and  properly conform us to the image of Jesus Christ. As the master silversmith will not let the heat of the fire ruin the metal, He will not let the heat and pressure of our affliction be to our ruin, but to our glory (I Corinthians 10:13, Romans 8:18, II Corinthians 4:17, 

I Peter 4:12-14).

6. Our afflictions are a sign of God's faithfulness to us, as they are His means of completing the work of salvation which He started in us (Philippians 1:6, 2:13, Romans 8:28-31).

7. So when we pray, let us not just pray for relief from the circumstances, but also for all that God has for us in and through this time of trial and affliction…for we know His grace is truly sufficient, and His mercies are new every morning; and these truths become more precious to us when we experience their fullness during times of trial and affliction.

Preaching to the Mind

 This is a repost from an excerpt from an email I sent a friend of mine in 2008. Unfortunately, emotionalism is more of an issue now than it was then.

.....The line in your email where you quoted Joyce Meyers grabbed my attention and I have thought about it quite a bit. What she said about not teaching or speaking to the mind, but to the heart is not Scriptural. It sure sounds good, but it does not square with Scripture. Unfortunately, much of her teaching is designed to stir the emotion and play to the heart, but that is not what a teacher or preacher of the word is supposed to do. Yes, the heart is affected, and should be, but it is affected by what comes through the mind and what the mind dwells upon. Proverbs 23:7 tells us that as a man thinks within himself, so he is. In fact, it is what we allow our mind to dwell upon that affects how we feel. The Scriptures speak to this quite abundantly and I want to share some examples.

Hosea 4:1-6 details the effect on Israel because there was no knowledge of God in the land, and we see how this culminates in verse six, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge, because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you from being my priest." Additionally, Isaiah 5:13 tells us that the nation of Israel went into exile because of their lack of knowledge of God. It is the lack of knowledge of God and the things of God that brought destruction upon His people. That destruction was a just consequence of them not knowing, therefore not following and abiding by, the will of God. Ephesians 5:17 tells us, "So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." We can not do that without knowledge, without an informed mind concerning the things of God. This is the plight of the church in America today. Most churches have services designed to appeal to the emotions, to pull on the heartstrings, instead of engaging the mind.

Look at what we are told to concentrate on as believers. II Peter 1:2-3, "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence." So we see that grace and peace are not just given, but multiplied to the believer in the knowledge of God and Christ, and that everything we need for life (spiritual life) and godliness comes through the knowledge of Him. In 3:18 Peter goes on to finish this letter with the command to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. None of this can happen unless you speak to and teach to the mind; and where ever the mind goes the heart will follow.

We are not to be governed by our emotions, but by our mind, by what we know, especially what we know to be true. Romans 12:2 tells us not to be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our mind, so that we may prove that the will of God is good, acceptable, and perfect. As the mind is engaged by the word of God the person is transformed into the image of Christ as he knows, understands, and conforms to the will of God.

Without knowledge there is no discernment as it is knowledge of the truth that brings discernment, and where is knowledge located, in the mind. Without knowledge and discernment the people can be led where ever the teacher or preacher desires, especially when they are taught to follow their emotions. Hebrews 5:11-6:3 tells us what happens when the people of God become dull of hearing, are not partaking of the solid food of the Word, and how it is that solid food and the practice of what they know that brings discernment. We do not hear with the heart, but with the mind; and the heart is reached, but it must go through the filter of the mind. This is why Paul gives us what to let our mind dwell on in Philippians 4:8, and in 4:6-9 he tells us that our heart and mind will be guarded in Christ by peace; and the heart is guarded by what the mind dwells upon, and the mind dwells upon that which it has been taught, that which it knows.

Finally, in Colossians 2:1-8 Paul talks about the heart and mind connection, and how the heart is encouraged by the full assurance of understanding that comes from the true knowledge of Christ Himself, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. In this section he tells us not to be deceived by persuasive argument then goes on the tell us in verse eight not to let our mind be taken captive by the philosophy and empty deception of the traditions of men and the elementary principles of the world (one of which is emotionalism). This is what many in evangelicalism are doing today....appealing to the flesh and emotions, by what sounds good and normal, but is based upon the elementary things of the world.

In Biblical times the heart was considered to be not the center of the emotions, but the seat of the will. The kidneys and viscera were considered the seat of the emotions. The heart and mind were considered as one which we saw in Proverbs 23:7, as a man thinks within himself, so he is. In essence what we are doing when we teach and preach is engaging the mind with the knowledge of the truth. This knowledge of the truth affects the will, the will directs the decisions, the decisions direct the behavior, which many times will be in direct opposition to how people feel at the time. We want people to do what they know to be right in spite of how they feel about the situation or the person. This can only happen by teaching to the mind, giving them the knowledge of the truth.

There is much teaching that sounds good and biblical, but when you dissect it, it does not hold up to the light of the truth. The road that this particular teaching would eventually take someone down is fraught with disaster, and would lead to a faith based on the fickleness and surges of emotion instead of the stability and assurance of faith based on the knowledge of the truth.

Measuring Our Worship

                                                                   

I Chronicles 16:

7 Then on that day David first assigned Asaph and

his relatives to give thanks to the Lord.

8 Oh give thanks for His deeds among the peoples.

Make known His deeds among the peoples.

9 Sing to Him, sing praises to Him;

Speak of all His wonders.

10 Glory (boast) in His holy name;

Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad.

11 Seek the Lord and His strength;

Seek His face continually.

12 Remember His wonderful deeds which He has done,

His marvels and the judgments from His mouth, 

13 O seed of Israel His servant,

Sons of Jacob, His chosen ones!

14 He is the Lord our God;

His judgments are in all the earth.

15 Remember His covenant forever,

The word which He commanded to a thousand generations,

16 The covenant which He made with Abraham,

And His oath to Isaac.

17 He also confirmed it to Jacob as a statute,

To Israel as an everlasting covenant,

18 Saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan,

As the portion of your inheritance."

19 When they were only a few in number,

Very few, and strangers in it,

20 And they wandered about from nation to nation,

And from one kingdom to another people,

21 He permitted no man to oppress them,

And He reproved kings for their sakes, saying,

22 "Do not touch My anointed ones,

And do my prophets no harm."

23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth;

Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.

24 Tell of His glory among the nations,

His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.

25 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;

He also is to be feared above all gods.

26 For the gods of the peoples are idols,

But the Lord made the heavens.

27 Splendor and majesty are before Him,

Strength and joy are in His place.

28 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,

Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

29 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name;

Bring an offering, and come before Him;

Worship the Lord in holy array.

30 Tremble before Him, all the earth;

Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved.

31 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;

And let them say among the nations,

"The Lord reigns."

32 Let the sea roar, and all it contains;

Let the field exult, and all that is in it.

33 Then the trees of the forest will sing for joy

before the Lord;

For He is coming to judge the earth.

34 O give thinks to the Lord, for He is good;

For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

35 Then say, "Save us, O God of our salvation,

And gather us and deliver us from the nations,

To give thanks to Your holy name,

And glory in Your praise."

36 Blessed be the Lord, The God of Israel,

From everlasting to everlasting.

Then all the people said, "Amen," and praised the Lord.

When you gather for worship each Sunday, is this what you are doing? Is this what is accomplished during the time of your gathering that you call praise and worship? Does what you do and what you sing about elevate the Lord as this does, or do you find yourself singing songs to yourself, about yourself ? Do you glory in praising Him?  Do you sing of His mighty deeds, the greatness of His salvation, the wonder of His majesty, the glory of His name? Does what you call worship boast in Him? Does what you do on Sunday bless the Lord, or is it designed to bless you? Can you really be blessed if you are not blessing the Lord? Would you call your gathering a holy array? Do your people come to present themselves before the Lord, and have that sense of trembling before Him? Are you ascribing to the Lord the glory due His name? Does what you do bring glory to His name? Does your worship time cause the people attending to say, "Amen," and praise the Lord.?

Just asking.....But God has given us the means, by His word, to inform and guide our corporate worship. Hopefully, this is how you are measuring your worship; to know if it is acceptable in His sight, and a pleasing fragrance and soothing aroma to Him

What God Begins, God Finishes

For I am confident of this very thing, 

that He who began a good work in you

will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 1:6

Life is the Lord's finishing school, as He uses all of what we encounter to continually conform us into the image of Christ until we are complete in Him. He leaves nothing unused as He works all things together for our good, and our good is to become more like Christ. He has begun the work of salvation in us and will continue in that work until it is perfectly accomplished. So, my fellow saints, rejoice this day that He is busy at work in you. Rejoice that He will not leave undone the good work that He has started, and will continue to work in you to accomplish His good pleasure for His glory, and your complete salvation.

The Lord will accomplish what concerns

me; Your lovingkindness, O Lord, 

is everlasting...

Psalm 138:8

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify

you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and

body be preserved complete, without blame

at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Faithful is He who calls you, and He will also

bring it to pass.

I Thessalonians 5:23-24

The Practical Atheist, Is That You?

Those who say they believe in God,

and have trusted in Christ

for the forgiveness of their sins,

but who live their lives with no fear 

 of God, are, as such, practical atheists.

Transgression speaks to the ungodly

within his heart; there is no fear of

God before his eyes.

Psalm 36:1

Transgression is the deliberate violation

of the law of God, and the ungodly

fearlessly violate the Law of God.

The fear of the Lord is to hate evil;

pride and arrogance and the evil way

and the perverted mouth I hate.

Proverbs 8:13

Pride, arrogance, and a mouth that

speaks perverted things are 

all part of the evil way; and those

who truly fear the Lord hate these

things when they see them in themselves.

...by the fear of the Lord one

keeps away from evil.

Proverbs 16:6b

 One who truly fears God, is one

who shuns evil and runs from evil.

One who fears God does not embrace evil.

Do not let your heart envy sinners,

but live in the fear of the Lord always.

Proverbs 23:17

 One who truly fears God does not 

desire to have the same life, to live

the same lifestyle as sinners.

There is none righteous, not even one...

There is none who seeks for God...

There is no one who does good...

There is no fear of God before their eyes.

Romans 3:10-18

One who truly fears God is one who truly

seeks after God, who seeks the things of

God, and seeks to do good--according to

what God says is good.

..."Give praise to God, all you His bond-servants,

you who fear him, the small and the great.

Revelation 19:5

One who fears God is one who has 

the desire to praise God, and cannot

contain his praise for God.

I will make an everlasting covenant with them 

that I will not turn away from them, to do them

good; and I will put the fear of Me in their 

hearts so that they will not turn away from Me.

Jeremiah 32:40

My friends, do you have the fear of God within you?

If not, repent of your rebellion against Him, and ask

Him to forgive you and give you the fear of the Lord.

Becoming What We Worship--Psalm 115

 

Their idols are silver and gold, 

the work of man's hands.

They have mouths, but they cannot speak;

they have eyes, but they cannot see;

they have ears, but they cannot hear;

they have noses, but they cannot smell;

they have hands, but they cannot feel;

they have feet, but they cannot walk;

they cannot make a sound with their throat.

Those who make them will become like them, 

everyone who trusts in them.

Psalm 115:4-8

Italics mine

In this grand Psalm, the worship of God is contrasted with the worship of idols. The key thought is in verse 8 in italics above. There is a truth presented here that we are molded into the image of what we worship. As a result we take on the identity of what we worship. Those who worship idols made by the thought and hand of man will become just like them.  

As the Psalm progresses, Israel is exhorted to trust the Lord and worship Him. Why? So they will become more like Him. So a good question to keep in mind as we structure our worship service is who is the object of that service, man or God?

If You Don't Have a Philosophy of Ministry, Get One

Everyone who has been in ministry for any length of time has a philosophy of ministry. Whether they have thought through it thoroughly, or articulated it fully, they still have one. A philosophy of ministry is what you believe ministry is about, what you believe ministry is to accomplish, in essence it is your raison d'etre (reason for being). It is the mindset behind why you do what you do.

A philosophy of ministry is your guiding light, and will inform and be the foundation of all that you do. It will guide you in how you do church, from choosing curriculum and staff members, to structuring worship. It will influence every decision you make. It is your vision of what you want to accomplish in your ministry.

That is why it is important to take the time to think through what you believe about ministry and why, and then write it down. Tinker with it and adjust, make sure it reflects what you really believe. Of course, when related to the church, it needs to be based on biblical principles, and reflect biblical values. It is not a doctrinal statement, but will reflect doctrinal beliefs. 

If you are planting a church you need to have thought this through. If you are applying for a pastoral position, you need to be able to provide this to the search team. If you are choosing a pastor, you need to know this about the applicant, as that is how he will conduct his ministry; and if he does not have one or cannot articulate it, then pass him by.

I am sharing mine below as an example. 

Philosophy of Ministry

We want our people to:

     Know God  (Jeremiah 9:23-24, I John 4:16)

            So that they will be secure in their faith  (Isaiah 43:10, I Peter 1:2, John 4:42,

            II Peter 1:2, 3:17-18, Hosea 4:6))

     Love God  (II Corinthians 5:14-15, Deuteronomy 11:13)

            So that they will be sincere in their faith  (I Timothy 1:5, Hebrews 10:22)

     Glorify God  (Matthew 5:16, Romans 15:6)

            By being steadfast in their faith  (Psalm 112:7, I Corinthians 15:58)

     Know and Understand the Word  (Psalm 119:11, 27; I Peter 2:2)

            So that we can learn to think with the word (Romans 12:2, Psalm 119:24)

            So that we can view life through the word  (Psalm 119:14-15, 24)

            So that we can live life by the word  (Psalm 119:32, 59, 105)

We believe this is best accomplished by expositional preaching and teaching.

We want our people to corporately participate in and experience:

     Fellowship--which is the body sharing in the things of Christ, the work of Christ, the

     love of Christ, and ministering to one another to build each other up in love.

     I Thessalonians 4:9, II Thessalonians 1:3, Hebrews 13:1, I Peter 1:22-23, Psalm 55:14,

     Acts 2:42, I Corinthians 1:9,  12:12-14, 18, 25-26, II Corinthians 13:14,   

     I John 1:3, 3:14

     Praise and Worship—which is the exaltation of God alone, and is a witness to the

     believer and non-believer of all that God is through Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.

     Deuteronomy 11:16, I Chronicles 16:29, Psalms 2:11, 21:13, 22:22-23, 29:2, 30:4, 12,

     Psalms 33:10, 66:4, 95:6, 99:5, John 4:23, Exodus 15:2, Deuteronomy 10:21,

     I Chronicles 23:5, 29:13, II Chronicles 5:13, Nehemiah 12:46, Hebrews 2:12, 13:15

     Prayer—which we believe is one of the great callings of the church. It is corporate

     prayer, not only when the church is gathered together, but also when the church

     members pray individually for a common concern and for kingdom issues that the

     church is the most unified and spiritually effective.

     Matthew 6:9, 19:13, 21:13, 22, Mark 11:17, Luke 1:10, 18:1, 10, Acts 1:14, 2:42, 3:1,

     Acts 12:5, 16:13, 16, Romans 12:12, Ephesians 6:18, Philippians 1:19, 4:6,

     Colossians 4:2, I Thessalonians 5:17, 25, II Thessalonians 3:1, I Timothy 2:1-4,

     James 5:16, I Peter 3:12, 4:7, Revelation 5:8, 8:3-4

We want to provide our people with:

     Spiritual Leadership—which should guide, guard, and feed the flock, and also be     

     an example to the flock. Leadership should also be concerned with the spiritual

     development and training of younger men to provide continuity in church leadership.

     I Timothy 1:11, 18; 3:1-7, 6:20, II Timothy 1:14, 2:2, Titus 1:3, 7-9, Acts 14:23: 15:2,

     Galatians 2:7, I Thessalonians 2:3-12, I Peter 5:1-3

Coming to Christ

                                               

                                           All that the Father gives Me will come to Me,

and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.

John 6:37

We come to Him because we have believed in Him, and upon Him we have cast all our hope for our eternal salvation. We come to Him because we depend upon His finished work, His once for all sacrifice, His blood bought redemption, and nothing else. We come to Him because He, and He alone, is the the way, the truth, and the life; and we know that there is no other way to enter heaven and stand before the throne of God except through Him. We come to Him because He alone is the Holy One of God, and He alone has the words of eternal life. We come to Him and Him alone.

Come to Jesus, come to Christ, come to your one and only Savior today. Come to Him casting all that you are and all that you have upon all that He is and all that He has done. Behold, He stands with His arms open to receive you! Cast aside all that hinders you and come to Him now, delay no longer.

Twelve Reasons Our Salvation Is Secure

 1. We have been baptized into Christ Jesus, and united with Him in His death, and then certainly in His resurrection. Romans 6:3-6

2. We have become partakers (koinonos--joint sharers, partners) of the divine nature. II Peter 1:4

3. We have an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, and, which is reserved in heaven for us. I Peter 1:4

4. We are protected by the power of God for a salvation which will be revealed (fully brought to light, fully manifested) when Christ returns. I Peter 1:5

5. Because we are in Christ, there is no longer, forever, any condemnation on us. Romans 8:1, Psalm 34:22

6. When we sin we have an Advocate who stands before the Father on our behalf, who always lives to make intercession for us and plead our cause before God against all of the cries of the accuser. This Advocate was also the one who made propitiation (satisfaction of the wrath and penalty) for our sins through His own death in our stead, and thus He saves forever those who come to Him in repentance and faith. I John 2:1-2, Psalm 119:154, Hebrews 7:25, Romans 5:6-8, Romans 8:33-34, Revelation 12:10

7. It is Christ Himself who has laid hold of us for salvation, never to let us go. Philippians 3:12, John 10:28-30

8. Nothing created...no circumstance, no power, no angel, nothing yet to come, nor ruler can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35-39

9. The Father would not dishonor the sacrifice of the Son by letting one for whom the Son paid the penalty of the Father's wrath, not make it into heaven and be raised up on the last day. John 6:37-40

10. God has sealed our salvation by the Holy Spirit, who is also His pledge (down payment, escrow) of our inheritance which is reserved for us in heaven. Ephesians 1:13-14, 4:30, II Corinthians 1:21-22

11. What God has started, the work of His salvation in us, He will complete. Philippians 1:6

12. All of the promises of our salvation are made sure and complete in Christ. I Corinthians 1:20

So, my friends, rejoice in the security and therefore the surety of your salvation. Let us offer up a prayer of thanksgiving and praise to our great God, and His great Son our Lord and Savior, for the greatness of this salvation, His making it available to us, His making its accomplishment in us fool-proof, and the confidence this gives us in our relationship with Him. What a wonderful God! What beautiful truths!

Biblical Guidelines for Church Leadership: The Weight of Small Sins

 

          Spiritual leadership without character is only religious activity,

possibly religious business or, even worse, hypocrisy......

The qualified leader is a man of the Book, using it not just

to prepare sermons and preaching notes, but, first and foremost,

to prepare himself.

James M. George

The Call to Pastoral Ministry

Pastoral Ministry

(How to Shepherd Biblically)

Page 91

Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you;

and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.

Hebrews 13:7

How important it is for those of us who occupy a place of spiritual leadership to be men of character, character forged by the Holy Spirit and formed by the Word of God. Providing spiritual leadership is a daunting responsibility, a responsibility that underscores the Lord's admonition in James 3:1 "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment." This is why the Lord stresses Godly character in His requirements for those who occupy the post of pastor; and why Paul buffeted his flesh, so that after he had preached to others he would not be disqualified.

The landscape of the church is littered with the moral failures of those who failed to watch themselves.  In fact, it has become much too common, and it is just not in the area of personal sexual immorality, as noted by the current furor over an SBC president. Over the last several years we have seen pastors removed due to lying, inflating numbers, financial impropriety, bullying, alcoholism, and undue self-promotion. Another one of the issues the SBC has been taken to task for is the sexual abuse and the toleration of it by certain persons and churches within its ranks.

These are the obvious, the news grabbing and headline making, but what about the ones that don't make the news, the ones that cause damage just as great? I was reading an internet article about how Peacemaker ministries worked to reconcile a church's pastor and elders after temper, egos, and innuendos had split them and the church. What about the detrimental effects of pride, stubbornness, selfishness, ambition, jealousy, unforgiveness, lying, greed, and gossip? What about those that fear man more than they fear God, those that are men-pleasers vs God-pleasers, and those who would compromise rather than confront? What about the small things that are done daily that add up over time? Most often it is the weight of the small sins which make a ministry ineffective and erodes the trust and confidence necessary to be followed.

I remember once hearing Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, preach, and in his sermon he was stressing the need for moral integrity. He said that he had asked God to take him home before He let Bill commit adultery. Admirable, yes, but for most of us, we are on guard against the big A when it is the perniciousness of the so called small sins that we ought to be on guard against as well.  Is our prayer, "Lord, lead me away from temptation in the areas where I am weak and most easily tempted, and let not evil have any way with me. Please keep me from causing any of the brethren to stumble. Help me to adorn the doctrine I preach with the life that I live. Empower me to do what is right, to love what is good, and to walk humbly with You. Enable me to treat others the way I would want to be treated in every circumstance. Let not anyone, saved or unsaved, look at me and cry hypocrite. Let me be at home and behind the scenes what I am publicly."

Who is adequate for this? None of us outside of the power that God supplies. There is a greater burden, a greater responsibility, for those whom God has called into ministry; but there is a greater grace available as well. Let us be on our guard, empowered by the grace of God, so that sin will not have its way with us, not derail us nor render us impotent in our efforts to advance the kingdom of God in our own lives, so that we will be effective in advancing His kingdom in the lives of those whom He appointed to our shepherding. Let not the sin in our own lives be an impediment, an excuse, for those whom we lead in dealing with the sin in their own lives.

Father, guard our hearts and our minds. Work within us only that which is pleasing in Your sight. We are frail and weak in our own strength, so help us by the strength which You supply to live a life worthy of the gospel of Your Son, and a life worthy of the calling with which we have been called. Help us to be an example to the flock, living a life worthy of admiration and imitation. Guard us from our own selves, and give us a sensitivity to the sin which so easily entangles us. Help us to fight the good fight of faith and finish our course without disqualification. AMEN.

The Truth and Our Mind

 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever in honorable,

whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,

whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence

and if anything worth of praise, dwell on these things.

Philippians 4:8

"An old subject is thus brought before us again: the cardinal place occupied by the Christian's mind, for good as well as for ill. Just as a carnal mind is the surest passport to the downward path, so a mind drilled in the things of which God approves is the steadiest way into practical holiness. If, in a difficult relationship (1), we allow our minds and judgment to be clouded by half-truth, or if we allow frivolous and damaging thoughts about the other person (2) to simmer in our minds, we are hardly being like Christ. We should rather determine to think only the truth about the other person (2), to value what is attractive and praiseworthy about him. This will prove to be the way of peace.

We are to meditate on, to prize as valuable, and to be influenced by all that is true, all that merits serious thought and encourages serious-mindedness, all that accords with justice and moral purity, all that is fragrant and lovely, all that brings with it a good word, that speaks well, whatever has genuine worth of any sort and merits praise. It is the will of God that by giving attention to things of which he approves we should shape our minds to be like his: to those who do so, he pledges his guardian peace and his own presence as the God of peace."

Alec Motyer

The Message of Philippians

Page 212

The italics above are mine, and for #1 you could substitute situation or circumstance; and for #2 you could substitute the Lord.

Philippians 4:8 is a powerful verse.  It is one of  the verses that should be required memorization for every Christian.  It is the verse that both guards and shapes our mind. Proverbs 23:7 tells us, "As a man thinks within himself, so he is."  And how we think within ourselves should be guarded and shaped by Philippians 4:8.  

There are two things I would like for us to take note of in this verse:

First is the word dwell (think in the ESV). The Lord could have used the two most common Greek words for think, phroneo or dokeo, but He didn't. Instead He used the word logizomai. This word means more than just having an opinion or giving acknowledgment. It means to give careful consideration, to make a reasoned reflection, to be circumspect about. It implies deliberateness and seriousness. As it is used here, logizomai is also in the present tense and imperative mood, which means it is a permanent command to the point that these qualities are to be the habitual focus of our mind; and then these qualities, qualities of which God approves, will guard and shape our mind.      

Second, is the word truth. This word is the first word in this list of eight things which our minds are to be dwelling upon. The primary, most important, first and foremost thing which we are to give careful consideration to is the truth. Truth is to be the gatekeeper of our mind, and the main shaper of our thoughts. All the other qualities that we are to let our mind dwell on should always be subject to the truth. Truth is the best thing we can know, and the most reliable and powerful thing we can reflect upon.  

The most important, most reliable, and most powerful truth we can know, and therefore dwell upon is the truth about God. How we think about God and what we think about God greatly affect our life; and how we respond to all the different situations we find ourselves in is based in large part on our view of God, and our view of God is shaped by what we know about God. So knowing the truth about God is paramount.

The second most important truth we can know, is the truth about ourselves. It is against the backdrop of the truth about God and in light of the truth about God that we gain insight into the truth about ourselves, and in knowing the truth about ourselves we begin to see ourselves as God sees us. We see our life and all of its dynamics from God's viewpoint. We see our motives, our reactions, our plans, our thoughts and desires from God's vantage point, and we began to view ourselves in light of the truth that we know about God. Of course this truth was realized, brought to full view and manifested thoroughly, in Jesus Christ (John 1:17) because He is the embodiment of the truth (John 14:6).

Where can we go to find this truth? Why, of course, we go to the word of God, which is truth (John 17:17), and speaks the truth concerning every subject it touches (Psalm 119:160). The truth which should guard our mind and shape our thoughts is found in the Scriptures, and is the Scriptures themselves, as the Bible does not contain the truth, but is the truth.

Romans 12:2 tells us that we are to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. Our mind is renewed (continually made new) as we grow in knowledge of the truth. In John 8:32, Christ tells us that in knowing the truth we shall be set free. Starting with salvation, there are a myriad of applications in this verse, but the base line is that we shall be set free from the shackles of the lies of the enemy, the lies of the world, and the lies of our flesh. These are the lies we have been believing for most of our life, lies that have shaped our thoughts and governed the course of our life, lies that have made our lives miserable, lies that have separated us from God and from others, lies that our unredeemed flesh still wants to cling to.

So, it is imperative that we know the truth, and not just know the truth but continually reflect upon all that we know to be true, to give deliberate, serious, and careful consideration to what we know to be true. As we do this, our knowledge of the truth, what is true about God, ourselves, and life will grow; and as we engage our minds on the things we know to be true, our mind will be guarded from what is false...the lies of the enemy, the world, and our flesh...and our mind will be trained and shaped.

The more truth we know, the more our mind and therefore our thoughts are conformed to the truth. The more our minds are conformed to the truth the more discerning we will be regarding the lies of the enemy no matter which area of the prevailing culture they emanate from. Truth is the backdrop against which the lies of the enemy become apparent. 

Friends, let us determine today, and pray today for strength, wisdom, and discernment in the things that are true, so that our minds will be fixed upon only that which is true, so we will be people of the truth. In doing this we will be set free from the lies of the world, the flesh, and the devil, and have the peace that surpasses all human comprehension.

Sensational Works or Simple Faith

Matthew 7:21 Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 "Many will say to Me on that day, ' Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' 23 And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you,' Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.' 

Look at what these people are claiming as their basis of right standing as they stand before the Lord on that day. It is not faith, but works, and not just any works, but sensational works; and not just any sensational works, but sensational works done in His name. The three works they claim are prophesying, casting out demons, and performing many miracles/works of power (Hmm, sounds like a certain persuasion today). What were these people trusting in for their salvation? They were trusting in their own sensational religious works and not in Christ. They were not doing the will of the Father and therefore were workers of iniquity/practicers of lawlessness. What then is the will of God that we are to do to assure us an entrance into the kingdom of heaven? It is that we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, on Him alone, on His person and His finished work for our salvation. There can be nothing more and there is nothing less. 

The context that this sensational claim is made in is interesting because in verses 12-14 Christ says that the gate is wide and the way is broad that lead to destruction, but the gate is small and the way is narrow that lead to life, and few there be that find it. (A friend once made the comment that both gates have the same sign, "This Way to Heaven" but only one takes you there.) In verses 15-20 Christ tells us to beware the false prophets who come to us in sheep's clothing, but that we will know them by their fruits (see also Hebrews 13:7). Then in verses 24-29 Christ says that it is the wise man who hears His words and acts on them, but the fool is the one who hears His word and does not act upon it (see James 1:22). 

Christ is the narrow gate and the narrow way. Religion is the broad way, and the broad gate. Religion says chart your own course to God, choose what you want to believe, what you want to do, believe that there is something you can do to achieve right standing before God. False prophets tell you they know the way, so follow them. They even claim sensational works to back it up. However, they will always lead you away from Christ never to Him. We can know them by their fruits, the result of their conduct, and not be led astray by their sensational works and claims. It is the wise man who hears Christ say, " I am the way, the truth, and the life. Come to the Father through Me." and then follows Christ and Him alone. It is the fool who hears the same words, but decides to make his own way, chart his own course, and great is His fall. 

So, where are you today, my friend? What are you depending on for your entrance into the eternal kingdom of God? Is it your confession, your baptism, your prayer, your attendance, your tithing, something you have done or are doing now, or is it Christ Jesus and His finished work on the cross? Are you depending on yourself or on what God has done for you in Christ? Religion is what man can do to get to God. Christianity is what God has done to bring man to Himself. Where does your faith rest today, on yourself, or in the power of God in the cross of Christ? Think about it, weigh it carefully, consider it wisely because your eternal destiny hangs in the balance. 

He is Worth It

                                           

More than that, I count all things to be loss in view

of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus

my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of

all things, and count them but rubbish so that 

I may gain Christ.

Philippians 3:8

In thinking about my relationship with Christ, its value far surpasses anything else. He is worth the sacrifices I make for Him. In the process of thinking about this, I had a scene come into my mind. A scene that has come up occasionally when thinking on sacrificing for the Lord, and how He is worth the sacrifice. It is a scene from my own imagination, that came about as a result of reading an excerpt from a missionary biography a few years back about John Paton. I wish I could remember where I read it, but here is the gist of it.  

There was a family that felt led of the Lord to go and witness to the natives of the New Hebrides, and were dropped off on the island to begin their ministry. The inhabitants were cannibals, and were fierce warriors. Over the next couple of years his children and his wife died and were buried, and John slept on their graves every night for fear that the cannibals would dig up their graves. John would later remarry and return to the island to continue to share the gospel with these people. Of course, there is more to the story, but the scene that keeps coming to my mind is one where this man, having given up all his possessions, comforts, and security to come to this foreign and hostile land; and then losing his entire family, is alone in the darkness and stretched out over the graves of his wife and children. And in my mind the man is proclaiming to the Lord, "You are worth it!  You are worth it!"

My friends, I don't know what you are giving up to serve the Savior. I don't know what sacrifices you are making or have made; but I do know this, "He is worth it!  He is worth it!" He is worth the work of our faith and the labor of our love. He is worth the taking up of our cross. He is worth the suffering of shame for His name sake. He is the pearl of great price who is worth all of what we have. He is the One who paid it all, and so He is the one who is worth it all. Let us take our lives and offer them up, so that along with Paul, we too may gain Christ and may be found in Him on that day. 

One Time for All Time

 

 By this will we have been sanctified through the offering

of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Every priest stands daily ministering and offering

time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins;

but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time,

sat down at the right hand of God...

For by one offering He has perfected for all time

those who are sanctified.

Hebrews 10:10-12, 14

Italics mine

Once for all, one sacrifice for all time, and one offering for all time. This is the power and the efficacy of the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf. The blood of innumerable bulls, goats, and lambs sacrificed over two millennia were not adequate for and were not effective in providing redemption. These sacrifices highlighted the need for a sacrifice that would completely take away sins.

In the fullness of time God sent forth His Son who was born without sin and lived without sinning to be the perfect sacrifice for sin. Therefore the offering of the body of Christ completely sanctifies all those whom have placed their faith in Him and His work of redemption. His offering is that by which God sets us apart from sin and unto Himself. The power of that offering is in the holiness of the one who was offered up. He was the sinless Lamb of God, and in His sinlessness was the perfection and power of the offering. This one offering, thereby, which God could accept on behalf of all those who, having no intrinsic merit, would accept this specific sacrifice as their own, and therefore be sanctified wholly and completely unto God; becoming His own possession through the redemption accomplished in Christ's sacrifice

His is a one time for all time sacrifice for sins, which permanently takes away the sin of all who place their faith in Him. No sin is too strong to or too resilient to stand up to the power of His blood. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. In His blood is the power to cleanse the guilt of sin, and remove the guilt of sin from all who come to Him confessing their sin and need of His cleansing power; and in faith trusting in His sacrifice as the means of removal of the stain of sin upon them.

Not only has His sacrifice sanctified us and taken away the guilt of sins from us, but through that one offering we are made complete in Him for all time. Nothing else is needed, nothing else can be added, and for all time we live in the sphere of the fullness and completeness of His sacrifice. This is the Sabbath rest of God that we are to enter into. Resting in what He has brought to completion on our behalf in the once for all offering of His Son. We rest in the completeness, the effectiveness, the permanence of this one offering, by faith accepting this offering on our behalf. It is the rest of faith, resting in and resting upon this glorious truth that God in Christ has most thoroughly and completely and effectively done every thing needed to accomplish His great salvation. This is why the author of Hebrews tells us up front to not neglect it.

Let us rejoice and celebrate this great salvation in our own hearts and souls, singing and making melody in our hearts to God. And let's share this joy and melody with those with whom we gather each Lord's day. Let our joy and thanksgiving be contagious.

Only You Father could do such a thing, could accomplish such a great salvation on behalf of those on whom You have set Your great affection upon from before the foundation of the world. Who are we Lord, to be showered and lavished with such a great love? Who are we Lord? Who are we? But we are grateful, knowing our own unworthiness, but basking and glorying in what You have done on our behalf. Praise You!  Glorify Your name! May Your name be great in all the earth, may it be great in our heart, and great on our lips. To You and You alone be glory, power, majesty, and dominion this day and forever! Amen.