Make Sure of Your Goal!

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Pastor Dave

 In 1938, Douglas Corrigan flew from Brooklyn, New York to Ireland although the flight plan he filed was to fly to Long Beach, California!  He claimed his unauthorized flight was due to a navigational error caused by heavy cloud cover. But, he had made modifications to his plane for transatlantic flight even though he had been denied permission to attempt such a flight (He was one of the builders of the Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St Louis).  Douglas Corrigan gained the nick-name, “Wrong Way Corrigan.” 

     In a game against the San Francisco 49ers on Oct. 25, 1964, Jim Marshall, defensive end for the Minnesota Vikings, scooped up a fumble by the 49er’s quarterback, Billy Kilmer, and raced to the end zone–unfortunately the wrong one, resulting in a safety for the 49ers!  There are at least two other instances of players in the NFL heading toward the wrong end zone.That scene has been repeated in many sports. If you have participated in or watched enough basketball, hockey, or soccer, you have seen players make goals for their opposition. (It may have even happened to you!)
     “In the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, Matt Emmons of the United States, a world-champion marksman, had a significant lead entering the final round of the 50-meter, three-position rifle competition. He hit the bull’s eye on his three shots, then looked on, puzzled, as the automatic scoring system did not credit his shots. He called the judge over, and the target was pulled in to ascertain just what had occurred. It was untouched. No holes. The target in the next lane, however, had three extra holes–holes made by Matt’s shots. His mistake cost him in the standings, and he finished eighth.” (From Uncommon by Tony Dungy)  He was obviously aiming at the wrong goal.  (An interesting footnote to the story: Competitor Katerina Kurkova of the Czech Republic made it a point to introduce herself and offer her condolences to Matt. Less than three years later, they married!) 
     So, what’s the goal you are shooting at or heading for in your life: success in business, a healthy bank account, lots of possessions, prestige in your community, achievement and fame in your realm of endeavor?  Oh, it is good to have goals, because “He who doesn’t know where he is going will discover that any road will take him there.”  But, as someone wisely said, “Take time to think where you’re going or you may not like where you end up!”  A little saying I heard years ago that sounds a bit silly, but makes a lot of sense goes like this: “As you travel down life’s road, may this ever be your goal; keep your eye upon the donut, and not upon the hole!”  If you’ve read Solomon’s book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible, that could be a paraphrase of his observations regarding life. Because he had great wealth, he was able to acquire anything he wanted and to do anything his heart desired. He tried “everything under the sun” and here is his observation: “I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind…And all that my eyes desired I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor and this was my reward for all my labor.  Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun” (Eccl. 1:14; 2:10,11). After a description of all that Solomon had accomplished and acquired, his final analysis was: “Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth….The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep his commandments…” (12:1, 13). 
     As the Westminster Catechism states: “The purpose of man is to enjoy God and to glorify Him forever.”  They got it right. That’s what the Bible says and it must be our final standard for measuring our lives and our purpose in being. Man’s greatest goal must be to bring glory to God.  Now that doesn’t mean everyone must quit what he or she is doing and become a preacher or a foreign missionary or a full-time vocational Christian worker. What it does mean is whatever we do, we are to do it for the glory of God, as an “ambassador for Christ” (II Cor. 5:20). Paul wrote: “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father…Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men; knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve” (Col. 3:17,23,24).  When that is the “goal” of our life, not only is our life pleasing to God, but we will find the significance, the purpose, the fulfillment, the satisfaction that we search for, but can’t find, in other places. When we can say with the Apostle Paul, “For me to live is Christ, but to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21), then we are really living. Then we are aimed at the right goal. Then we will also, one day,  be able to say with Paul, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing” (II Tim. 4:7,8).
     So, make sure you are headed for the right goal. Don’t score for your opponent (your adversary, the devil).  Solomon, who shared his wisdom in the book of Proverbs, wrote: “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Pr. 14:12).  Many a person has set goals and climbed the “ladder of success,” only to find it leaning on the wrong wall. Don’t be one of those!  Make it your goal to “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Mt. 6:33).
 
                                                                                                        Forever His,
                                                                                                                Pastor Dave
    
 
    
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I Have a Dream

Posted on January 20, 2014 by Pastor Dave

 Today has been designated “Martin Luther King Day” in commemoration of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who fought for civil rights and on August 28, 1963, delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech before a quarter million people gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. Dr. King said: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” So, how are we doing? Has his dream been fulfilled?  Is our country free from racial prejudice? How about in the areas of religion, social status, political beliefs?  Have we finally arrived at that state of utopia where we are all united and get along “peachy keen”?   Hardly!

     And, Martin Luther King, Jr. was not the only one who has fought for civil rights and the abolishment of slavery. Don’t forget William Wilberforce in England, and President Abraham Lincoln and the horrifying “Civil War” that nearly tore our country apart. And it goes back much further than the problems in England and the United States. Happen to recall the story of Moses and the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt?  What had they been doing there for more than 400 years–vacationing?  They had been slaves of the Egyptians, abused and mistreated.  Do you recall that a good percentage of the population in the Roman Empire during the time of Christ was slaves? In fact, the Apostle Paul, in writing to the Ephesians gave some guidelines in relation to slaves and masters (Eph. 6:5-9). 
     Sad to say, involuntary slavery was not abolished by Moses, by Wilberforce, by Lincoln, or even Martin Luther King! It is still thriving today, especially in certain Muslim and other non-Christian strongholds, but still exists in our own country in various forms of human trafficking. We have also unsuccessfully attempted to stop violent crime, spousal and child abuse, drug use and all related to it, corruption in government and business, and on and on. What’s the problem?  Well, the problem is the heart of man. It is, as the prophet Jeremiah described it, “…more deceitful than all else and desperately  (or incurably) sick…” (Jer. 17:9).   From the time of the disobedience by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, man’s nature has been sinful, rebellious, corrupt, deceitful. The Bible refers to the bent toward evil that we inherited from Adam as our flesh.  Paul wrote: “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh…for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die…” (Ro. 7:18; 8:13). When we trust Christ as Savior and are born again (Jn. 3:3), and made new creations in Christ (II Cor. 5:17) we have a new nature which cannot sin. Christ now lives in us through the Holy Spirit who comes to dwell in us (I Cor. 3:16; 6:19,20). We have “…become partakers of the divine nature…” (II Pet. 1:4). But, the old, Adamic, sinful nature–our flesh–has not yet been abolished.
     So, as Christians, we have an ongoing battle for control raging within us between our old and new natures. Paul’s challenge to us is: “…walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh, for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please” (Gal. 5:16,17). Then Paul goes on to list the deeds of the flesh versus the fruit of the Spirit. By checking our life at any given moment, we can tell whom we are allowing control, the Spirit or the flesh. In another letter to believers, Paul wrote: “…in reference to your former manner of life, lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (Eph. 4: 22-24). 
     When society tries to abolish symptoms of the sinful nature such as slavery, civil injustices, crime, immoral behavior, etc, it is like attempting to hold ping pong balls under the water with your hands (try it sometime)!  It is not wrong to fight as did Wilberforce and Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr. against the wrongs in our society and to stand up for our biblical convictions on the sanctity of life, marriage, etc, but ultimately the only way to change a society is for the heart of man to be transformed by the regenerating power of the Gospel and the indwelling presence of God. Even then, sin will not be eradicated because we still have to choose to be controlled by the Holy Spirit rather than by our fleshly, sinful nature.
     It is interesting to note what it will be like during the final period of earth’s history before Christ comes to reign. We have a rather detailed description of that period in John’s revelation while living as an exile on the Isle of Patmos. In Revelation 17 he writes about the destruction of the final apostate religious system (the empire of the antichrist and false prophet, referred to as “Babylon the Great” (17:8) and then in chapter 18, John speaks of commercial and political “Babylon the Great” and its fall. In Rev. 18:5 it says, “her sins have piled up as high as heaven and God has remembered her iniquities…and she will be burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her is strong.” And what are those sins? They are listed for us. Babylon harbors many forms of wickedness hated by God–fornications, sorceries, bloodshed, etc. But the chief characteristic of its wickedness is its devotion to commercialism above all else: “…the merchants of the earth have committed immorality with her, and they have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality” (v. 3). Note especially the verses which describe the weeping over her fall: “…And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargoes any more” (v. 11).  Then note that merchandise (v. 12,13)!  Not only “gold and silver and precious stones” but also “slaves and human lives.”  In the last days, when this awful judgment falls, the merchants will still be involved in human trafficking. But, Praise God, all this will end when Christ returns and “the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be among them, and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain (or human injustice); the first things have passed away. And He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ …There shall no longer be any curse (of sin); and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His bond-servants shall serve Him forever” (Rev. 21:3-5; 22:3).
     While we commemorate those like Wilberforce and Lincoln and M.L. King, Jr. who have taken bold stands against human injustices, we too need to do our part. We can look forward with full assurance to the future when the “Prince of Peace” comes to make all things right (I Cor. 4:5).  Then the “dreams” of all who fight for the truth and for justice will be fulfilled. “Even so come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:20).
 
                                                Forever His,
                                                            Pastor Dave
 
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Cycles of Civilization

Posted on January 13, 2014 by Pastor Dave

 In 1887 Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh, said: “A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse over loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.” Tyler went on to point out that “The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations from the beginning of history has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequences:

        From bondage to spiritual faith;
        From spiritual faith to great courage;
        From courage to liberty;
        From liberty to abundance;
        From abundance to complacency;
        From complacency to apathy;
        From apathy to dependence;
        From dependence back to bondage.”
 
     If you know your Bible, that sequence should remind you of a particular book that describes a very similar cycle in the history of Israel. The book of Judges is “the book of cycles” describing the dark ages of Israel’s history, the 350 years of national deterioration following the death of Joshua. In spite of God’s persistent commands and Joshua’s persistent warnings, the people chose to accommodate rather than annihilate the Canaanites, thereby surrounding themselves with godless and immoral influences. Because of Israel’s compromising attitude, God allows neighboring powers to test Israel by war to find out if they would obey the commandments of the LORD (Judges 3:1-4). Failing these tests, Israel settles down into a downward spiral spiritually, politically and morally.  Judges takes its name from the Spirit-appointed military leaders the LORD raised up to deliver the nation during the dark ages of declension and apostasy with no central government, only a loose confederacy around the central shrine at Shiloh. During that period there were seven cycles of Sin, Servitude, Supplication, Salvation and Silence, or Disobedience, Discipline, Desperation, and Deliverance. The final verse of the book of Judges appropriately summarizes this period of Israel’s history: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25…repeated in 17:6; 18:1 and 19:1).
     When you look at the history of our own nation, born in 1776, going on 238 years, you see a very similar trend. Our forefathers left England looking for religious freedom. They tried Holland, but didn’t find it there so came to North America where they established themselves but still had to fight to free themselves from the dictates of Great Britain. They finally broke free and founded a new nation, the United States of America, writing powerful documents to guarantee the rights and freedoms of individuals living in this great nation. They established a check-and-balance system of government in an attempt to perpetuate these freedoms. Our founding documents were based on both Scriptures and principles from the Bible, the Word of God. The spiritual faith of our leaders provided great courage which brought about liberty. But, as Alexander Tyler observed, in a democracy, that liberty leads to abundance, which it did. We became the greatest, most powerful nation on earth, helping out much of the world in their struggle for survival. We also sent missionaries to bring the Good News of the Gospel, that not only would people’s physical needs be met, but also their spiritual. But that abundance has led to complacency and then to apathy. (A church sign: “Apathy is our most serious problem–but who cares.”) 
     We began to reject God’s Word as the absolute standard for faith and practice. This turned morality upside down and we became like those addressed by Isaiah, the prophet: “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness…” (Isa. 5:20). Sins spoken of in the Bible became just “alternate lifestyle choices” and must be accepted as normal.  Our leaders and law makers began to eliminate the Bible and prayer from public places. Even symbols of Christianity, such as crosses and nativity scenes, or the Ten Commandments were forbidden to be displayed publicly. Our military personnel were forbidden to share their faith or even openly display a Bible!   Instead there came a demand for tolerance and political correctness. We must not offend anyone of a different faith or a different lifestyle or different values. The natural result of the demand for tolerance is hostility and persecution towards “intolerance.”  Such displays of “Intolerance”  are even called “Hate Crimes.”   (By the way, this is the same sequence that took place in Germany when Hitler rose to power!)  
     Week after week we hear of some new, outlandish, discrimination against Christians because they dare to adhere to the Word of God and not deviate from what God Himself calls sin. Articulate that truth in the marketplace of ideas, and it just might cost you your job, or your business (and someday soon, imprisonment).  As an example is the story of former NFL quarterback for the New England Patriots, Craig James who got “sacked” from his job at Fox Sports–after just one day on the job–because he dared to declare a biblical truth about marriage and homosexuality.  I also noticed that in today’s headlines is another well-known sport’s figure, boxer Evander Holyfield, a committed Christian, who is being chastised for saying publicly that being gay is a “choice.”   We are witnessing the new “acceptable” form of discrimination. If you are a Christian who believes what God has said regarding marriage, then you are deemed to be a bigot or worse, a hater. But more than the label of bigotry, intolerance, and hatred, Christians are being fined, losing their jobs or facing court-martials because of what they believe. This is a dangerous new low for our country and the freedom to believe what you want to believe. 
     As you consider where the United States is in the cyclical pattern of democracies, pray that God will grant mercy and bring a revival to the church and repentance to our nation that we might once again be a lighthouse of truth in the dark world of sin and suffering. God can only bless our nation–as He has in the past–if we are “One nation under God.”  (“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD”… Psa. 33:12).
 
                                                                                                Forever His,
                                                                                                    Pastor Dave
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Are You Using Your Gifts?

Posted on January 6, 2014 by Pastor Dave

 Well, it has been nearly two weeks since Christmas. Have you made use of the gifts you received?  One of the things we struggle with before Christmas is to think of a gift to give someone that they will actually use, wear, display, or whatever, not just put up on a shelf, or in a box in the garage, never to be taken out again until it is put into a garage or yard sale. I’m sure we all have some gifts that we have received that were put in storage never to surface again. Some we may even have forgotten we have or from whom they came.  It is always gratifying to see that the recipients of our gifts are really putting them to use. 

     As I was contemplating that, I couldn’t help but think of what we, as believers, have done with the gifts that God has given us. First on the list, of course, is salvation–eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. That’s the greatest gift we could ever receive for it met our greatest need.  It changed our whole eternal destiny. But, it is far more than “fire insurance” to keep us out of eternal punishment in the “lake of fire” (hell). It is the beginning of a whole new life.  “Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold new things have come” (II Cor. 5:17).  The grace of God not only justifies us before God, but also makes us “a new creation” which results in a changed style of life, as we read a couple verses earlier in Paul’s letter: “and He died for all, that they who live (i,e., those who have received Christ) should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf” (v. 15).
     So, how do we “use” our gift of salvation?  By continuing to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (II Pet. 3:17). By “…walking in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called” (Eph. 4:1). Paul challenged the believers at Colossae: “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord (i.e., by faith), so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude” (Col. 2:6,7).  While there is a point, a moment of salvation, at which we “pass out of death into life” (Jn. 5:24), salvation is also a process which continues until Christ takes us home through death or rapture. In that process we are becoming more and more like Christ, being “conformed to His image” (Ro. 8:29).  Scripture refers to this process as “sanctification.”  Paul writes this to the believers at Philippi: “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” (when we stand before Him at the Judgment Seat) (Phil. 1:6). 
    Another way we “use”‘ our gift of salvation is by sharing it with others, i.e., by telling others about our new life in Christ and how they too can have a personal relationship with Him. “Let the redeemed of the LORD, say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary” (Psa. 107:2). We are to “sanctify Christ as Lord in our hearts, always be ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you…” (I Pet. 3:15).  You won’t “lose” your salvation by sharing it with others. It was meant to be shared, not to hoarded
     At the time of our salvation, we were also given spiritual “gifts” by the Holy Spirit who came to live in us. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul deals with the subject of spiritual gifts, writing, “But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good…But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills” (I Cor.  12:7, 11). Note that these are “gifts” given by the Holy Spirit as He wills, not as we request, and they are for the “common good” of the body of Christ. They are not for personal enjoyment and edification, though they supply that, but are for the building up of the Body of Christ, the Church. Paul also discussed spiritual gifts in his letter to the Ephesian believers and concludes by saying: “from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love” (Eph. 4:16). 
      Again, these gifts are given not to be hoarded, put on the shelf or stored, but to be used in helping the church grow. “And since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let each exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving, or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness” (Ro. 12:6-8). In other words, God has given us the perfect gifts to fit our personality and abilities and we are to focus on using those gifts and not envy what gifts others received. We are to discover, develop and deploy the gifts we have been given. Do you know what gifts you received? Are you using them to build up the body of Christ? The first verse of an old chorus goes this way: “When the Lord Jesus comes and asks you for your talents. What will you do with the talents you hid away?” Don’t hide your gifts away in storage. Use them for the glory of God and the good of others.
 
                                                                                          Forever His,
                                                                                                    Pastor Dave
      
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Keep Your Beak Into the Wind

Posted on December 30, 2013 by Pastor Dave
 
 
“KEEP YOUR BEAK INTO THE WIND”
 
     What do Eastern Montana, Eastern Washington, Eastern Oregon and Oklahoma have in common? (You could also throw in most of North Dakota and Wyoming and Nebraska!)—-WIND during much of the year. The wind just blows and blows and blows. In the winter, the same snow seems to just keep being recycled as it blows across the prairies. As you travel through these “beautiful areas” (really, they do have their own beauty!), you’ll notice an abundance of birds–red-winged blackbirds, meadowlarks, red-tailed hawks–perched on the thousands of fence posts that border the highways.  And, when the wind blows, which is most of the time, without exception these feathered friends are pointing their beaks directly into the force of the wind, pinions pulled tightly behind them (for you non-Audubon members, pinions are wings or feathers!), and claws dug deeply into the wooden posts upon which they rest. It becomes obvious that were these birds to turn their backs against the wind, their pinions would be pummeled by the mighty blast of the wind. Feathers would go everywhere and the birds would not be able to stand their ground. And even if they did somehow manage to hang on to their wooden perch, their plumage would be decimated by the force of the wind. Wings would be broken or feathers ripped out.
     It seems our feathered friends know something about life that we too often forget–that the best way to endure the blusters life brings our way is to face them head on–beak forward, tail feathers behind and tightened, claws dug deeply into something solid. Blustery winds are about as commonplace in our lives as they are in these windy sections of our country. Perhaps you are being tossed around by one right now. If not, I’m sure you will face some in the year ahead.
                —  There is the awful “gale of guilt” that erodes your soul. Some blast from the past continues to howl in your head in the silent moments of your day.
                —  Then there is the “wind of worry” that picks up as the brightness of the day evaporates.
                —  There is the “scorching scorn” of a fellow believer whom you once called “friend”–an injury that affects the soul as well as the body.
                —  There is the “hurricane of sorrow and grief” over loss.
                —  There is the “tempest of a broken heart” due to family or friends falling into temptation.
 
     These are but a few of the squalls that blow across the landscape of our lives. No doubt you could add many more to the list. Whether or not you are currently experiencing some winds of adversity in your life, most assuredly some await you in the year that lies ahead. Here are some principles that should be helpful in order to keep your “beak into the wind”:
                —  Determine from which direction the wind is blowing. Discernment is needed to know from which source you are being attacked. “A discerning man keeps wisdom in view, but a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth” (Pr. 17:24), i.e., a discerning person keeps the winds in view. Clear vision is  pursued in prayer, and the one who discerns will have a teachable quality that facilitates a deep awareness of what the present conditions are on one’s            personal “weather map.”
                —  Land facing the wind.  Whenever a bird descends to a fence post, it lands facing the wind. If a meadowlark were to turn aside to the wind, it would only  serve to  give the wind a broad sail by which the little creature would be tossed aside. Jesus told His disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me” (Jn. 14:1). A person who trusts in God has the courage to stand “beak into the wind.” Turning aside can be devastating.
                —  Dig your ‘claws’ into something solid.  Knowing the direction of the wind and landing facing it will be for naught if we don’t have something of substance to which to cling. When we face the squalls of life, it is necessary to be anchored deeply in the forever-established, totally infallible, never-failing, never-changing, absolute standard of God’s Word. “Forever, O LORD, Thy word is settled in heaven…O how I love Thy law! It is my meditation all the day… From Thy precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. Thy word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path…Those who love Thy law have great peace, and nothing causes them to stumble” (Psa. 119:89, 97, 105, 165).
 
     The Apostle Paul faced some gale-force winds during his walk as a believer and he learned to keep his “beak into the wind” and to “dig his claws” into the solidness of God’s Word. His testimony is given to us in Phil. 3:7-14. In this passage we see how Paul recognized from which way the wind was blowing. He knew what to turn his back on and which way to head, and on what to anchor his life.  He realized the temporal nature and emptiness of the things the world considers gain–position, power, prestige, riches, toys–and saw it as rubbish in comparison to a close walk with the Lord. He got his life prioritized (vv. 7-11).  He got his claws onto something solid (v. 12). He laid hold of that for which he was laid hold of by Christ Jesus, i.e., to be conformed to the image of Christ. He wasn’t satisfied with mediocrity or complacency, or just sliding on home. He put the things behind him that needed to be left there, he faced into the wind, and pressed on for the goal of being a faithful steward until Christ called him home.
     Our ultimate example to follow, of course, is that of Jesus Christ, who was determined to accomplish the mission for which he came to earth. He faced many winds of adversity, but head on. He never flinched in His purpose in being here to become the sacrifice for our sins. We read in Luke 9:51: “And it came about, when the days were approaching for His ascension, that He resolutely set His face to go to Jerusalem.”  He knew that in Jerusalem He faced betrayal, arrest, trial, torture, persecution, crucifixion, and separation from His Father. He could have just ascended back to heaven without going there, but where would that leave us???  Matthew, in his gospel, writes: “From that time Jesus Christ began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day” (Mt. 16:21).  Peter even decided to dissuade Him from going. “And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying ‘God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.’ But He (Jesus) turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s’ ” (vv. 22,23). 
     We have, in fact, a whole “great cloud of witnesses” (believers from the past), who “kept their beaks into the wind” and stayed true to the Lord, no matter the adverse winds they faced. The author to the Hebrews speaks of them saying, “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart” (Heb. 12:1-3).
    So, as your face what the year ahead holds for you, “keep your beak into the wind” and keep your “claws” deep into the post–dig into the Word and face the future with anticipation and excitement. 
 
                                                                                        Forever His,
                                                                                               Pastor Dave
 
 
                       
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God’s Message of Light

Posted on December 23, 2013 by Pastor Dave

One of our family’s favorite things to do on Christmas Eve was always to drive around and look at lights. Some neighborhoods go all out, not only in decorating their home and outdoor trees but in placing luminaries along the road or driveways. The lights are such a great reminder of the “light of the world,” Jesus Christ, who came to earth to dispel the spiritual darkness caused by sin. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life” (Jn. 8:12).

    Initially, the created cosmos was in darkness–a darkness which God Himself had to create (Isa. 45:7) since “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all” (I Jn. 1:5). But then the dark cosmos was energized by the Spirit’s moving, and God’s light appeared in the darkness. “Then God said, ‘Let there be light;’ and there was light. And God saw the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night…” (Gen. 1:3,4).  This sequence of events in the physical creation is a beautiful picture of the entrance of light into the darkness of a soul born in sin. “For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (II Cor. 4:6). The light enters our soul by His Word. “The unfolding of Thy Words gives light…” (Ps. 119:130).
     This great theme, contrasting the darkness of the soul without Christ to the glorious light He brings when that soul receives Him by faith, is found often in Scripture. We are to “…proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (I Pet. 2:9); “…the darkness is passing away, and the true light (the revelation of God in Christ) is already shining” (I Jn. 2:8); “giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light, for He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Col. 1:12,13).
     When the world became darker and darker (spiritually) because of sin, God judged the earth with the great flood. After the world was washed clean, God promised to never again destroy the world with water and He sealed His promise with a sign–a rainbow (Gen. 9:12-15).  At creation, God pushed away darkness with His light and brought the promise of physical nourishment and life to an empty world. At the end of the flood, God took that same light and wondrously split it into its parts, giving us the gift of His rainbow and the second promise of life. But sin had affected more than the physical world. The spiritual was also infected, and a flood could not wash it clean, nor could the sun give it life. Another Light was needed–the same Light that shone in the beginning before the sun, moon, and the stars were put in their places. And that light was Jesus. Way back in Numbers 24:17, God told us “A star will come out of Jacob.” God hung His brightest star right over the place where His Son, the Light of the World, would lay in meekness in an animal feeding trough. Seven centuries before Jesus’ birth, Isaiah used the image of light and shadow to foretell the coming of a Savior for Israel: “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them…For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:2,6).
     Not only is light symbolic of life itself, but it also depicts God’s daily guidance for our lives. “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (Jn. 8:12). Since there is no darkness in God, “If we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another” (I Jn. 1:7).  Because we have received the true light, we should live in the light of His truth. “For you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light” (Eph. 5:8). “…Let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light” (Ro. 13:12).
    Since “God is Light,” and He dwells in us as believers, Jesus’ challenge to us is: “You are the light of the world…Let your light shine in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Mt. 5:14,16). 
 
 
                                                                                                   Have a very Merry, Christ-centered Christmas,
                                                                                                                    Pastor Dave
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Anticipation

Posted on December 16, 2013 by Pastor Dave

  I remember as a child how difficult it was to wait for Christmas to arrive.  At least, because of our Scandinavian roots, I didn’t have to wait until Christmas morning. We celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve.  Our time around the tree, though, was agonizingly postponed as supper was dragged out, and then the washing and drying dishes. It seemed like it took forever!  Much of the excitement over receiving a gift is in the anticipation while you wait.  Sometimes you don’t receive what you are expecting, and, of course, are greatly disappointed. Even when you do get the gift you hoped for, the excitement wanes once you have received it. If it is a toy, you get tired of playing with it, or the batteries run down or it breaks, or maybe it was even defective or, if something that had to be assembled, was missing parts. When our family was here for Christmas a couple years ago, our grandson received a rocket which he was really excited to assemble and go out in the field and try. The problem was, it didn’t come with the needed launch pad or fuel. Those had to be purchased separately, but it didn’t mention that on the box.

     How much like real life. Things are often not quite what they are advertised to be. Even when “the parts are all there,” the excitement of having them is usually short-lived and then we start looking toward something else to bring us satisfaction. Kind of like a child sitting under the Christmas tree, surrounded by piles of paper and opened gifts, saying, “Is that all there is? Aren’t there more gifts?”  It seems that the greatest excitement comes in the anticipation, rather than in the possession.
     Well, imagine waiting for a gift for centuries!  God had promised, way back in Genesis that He would send a Deliverer to save us from our sin. As He addressed Satan through the serpent, note what He prophesied: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head and you shall bruise him on the heel” (Gen. 3:15).  From that time on, we see the promise becoming more and more specific as to the “seed of the woman.” After Cain killed his brother, Abel, Eve gave birth to Seth (Gen. 4:25), which means “the appointed one.” She very likely thought this might be the one God had promised. But mankind would have to wait for several thousand more years for fulfillment of the prophecy.  God chose a man, Abram, through whom He would develop a “chosen nation,” and through whom the promised “seed of the woman” would come. God made a covenant with Abram saying, “And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:2,3). God repeated that covenant to Abram’s son Isaac, and to Isaac’s son Jacob, whose name was changed to “Israel,” and whose 12 sons became heads of the tribes of Israel.  Then God chose Jacob’s son, Judah, as the one through whom the royal line would come, resulting eventually in the birth of the “King of the Jews,” the promised Messiah.
     After the progressive revelation in the Old Testament, we have a silent period of 400 years when mankind did not hear from God. Talk about how hard it is to wait!  Finally an angel of the Lord, Gabriel, was sent to a priest, Zacharias, to announce that his wife, Elizabeth, was to give birth to a son whose name was to be called “John” (Lk. 1:13). He would become the “forerunner” of the promised Messiah, helping people prepare their hearts for His coming (Lk. 1:16-18).  In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, Gabriel was sent to give the virgin Mary, Elizabeth’s cousin,  the amazing news that she too was going to conceive, as a virgin, and give birth to a son, whose name was to be “Jesus” (“the LORD is salvation”). “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end” (Lk. 1: 32,33).  Finally, after all the years of waiting, God sent His gift to man, His Son, Jesus Christ, to save people from their sins (Mt. 1:21). The Apostle Paul, in writing of God’s timing in sending His “Gift,” said: “But when the fullness of the time came (at just the right time), God sent forth His Son, born of a woman (the ‘seed of a woman,’ i.e, a virgin birth), born under the Law, in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons” (Gal. 4:4,5). 
     The long, long anticipated “gift” from God had come. Unfortunately, many did not recognize who He was, or accept the purpose for which He came. John wrote, “He came to His own (the Jews), and those who were His own did not receive Him” (Jn. 1:11).  They were disappointed because it wasn’t “the gift” they were expecting. They were looking for someone to free them from oppression to Rome and set up His kingdom right then and there.  They weren’t looking for a “suffering” Messiah who came to die for sin.  But there were those who did believe in Him and allowed Him to “rule” in their hearts. John went on to write: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name” (Jn. 1:12). 
     In contrast to all the temporal things the world has to offer which soon lose their glamour and attraction, God’s gift to us is truly the “Gift which keeps on giving.” This is the “Perfect Gift” which will never lose its attractiveness, never wear out, never need new batteries, never break, never become obsolete as new, better models come out. Jesus, God the Son, is the inexhaustible source of joy and purpose and satisfaction to all who receive Him. Everything we could possibly ever need or want is available in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and once He is invited into our life, He will never leave us or forsake us (Heb. 13:5).  In this case the possession brings even more satisfaction than the anticipation. Oh, there will still be anticipation, for, we have yet to see all the things He has prepared for us in the future: “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not hear, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him” (I Cor. 2:9). As believers, within us we have Christ “who is able to do exceeding abundantly, according to the power that works within us” (Eph. 3:20).  Now that’s something to get excited about!  “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (II Cor. 9:15). Have you received God’s Gift?  Have you “opened the package” that God sent? We do so by simply admitting our lost condition due to sin, and acknowledging by faith, that Jesus, as the God-man, paid for our sins, rose again from the grave and offers eternal life to all who will receive Him (Jn. 3:16).
 
                                                                                                                Forever His,
                                                                                                                       Pastor Dave
 
            
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The War Against Christmas

Posted on December 9, 2013 by Pastor Dave

Well, it is that time of year again when the “War against Christmas” is going full force as the ACLU, the Freedom From Religion Foundation and the Atheists Association are doing their best to eliminate all true Christmas commemorations or celebrations from public places.  Whether it is Nativity Scenes on public property or Christmas carols sung in the public schools (or, in one school any displays of red and green!), or greetings of “Merry Christmas” in a shopping center, they are doing all they can to get rid of any and all evidences of “the Real Reason for the Season.” 

     While I am both saddened and angered by this, I am also amused to think that the birth of a child in an obscure village in the little country of Israel nearly 2,000 years ago could cause such an uproar and pose such a threat–especially to those who claim they don’t even believe God exists–that they would do all they can to prevent the celebration of that event.  I don’t know of any attempts to stop any other “birthday celebrations.” Truly, the birth of Jesus Christ must be of great significance, both to those of us who have believed in Him and to those who oppose Him.
     Even at the time of His birth, there was an attempt to destroy the “Nativity Scene” by killing the One born that starry night in Bethlehem. “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the King, behold magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him. And when Herod the King heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him…And when they (the magi) saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And they came into the house and saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell down and worshiped Him…” (Mt. 2:1-3,10,11).  King Herod didn’t share their joy, but, feeling his authority was being threatened, determined how old the child would be at this time and put out an edict to kill all the male children in the Bethlehem area, from two years old and under (Mt. 2:16).  But, an angel of the Lord had appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise and take the Child and His mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the child to destroy Him” (Mt. 2:13).
     So, the “war against Christmas” didn’t begin with the ACLU or the FFRF or the Atheists Association” but with His birth. (Actually, even before that as we read in the Old Testament of the attempts of Satan to destroy the royal line through which the Messiah would come that would defeat him, as prophesied way back in Gen. 3:15.   The “war against Christmas,” while it is spear-headed by a number of anti-Christian groups, is really run by our “adversary, the devil, who prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (I Pet. 5:8). He currently is “the ruler of this world” (Jn. 12:31), “the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2). He hates God and is doing all in his power (actually only what God allows him to do) to destroy God’s work on earth, to destroy Christians and Christianity, and to eliminate all records of what God has done, including His miraculous incarnation as God became man to dwell among us and become our sin-bearer.
     It is no wonder, then, that the world system (ruled by our adversary, the devil) is opposed to any evidences of Christ, and of those who follow Him. Jesus told His disciples (and us): “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (Jn. 15:18,19). So, the very fact that there is so much opposition to Christmas commemorations and celebrations, and to Christian expressions of any kind, is evidence of the truth of God’s Word and of the very claims of Jesus that He was and is the very God. In John’s gospel, it says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God…In Him was life and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it…He came to His own (the Jews), and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name…And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn. 14:1-14). 
     That little child born of a virgin in Bethlehem didn’t stay a child. Luke 2:40, 52 says, “And the Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him…And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”  Jesus grew into adulthood and at age 30 began His public ministry, gathering a group of disciples to teach and train. Then, after three years, opposition to Him grew so great that He was betrayed, arrested, unjustly tried, beaten, scourged and crucified. But, all this was actually in fulfillment of His true mission to earth, and that was to become the sacrifice for sin so that we could be reconciled to God and have eternal life. “We see Him who has been made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone…Since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is the devil; and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives” (Heb. 2:9,14,15). But, praise God, the story doesn’t end with His crucifixion and burial, but in three days He arose, victorious over Satan, and over the consequences of sin, which is death.  Now He offers eternal life to all who will  repent, turn to Him and believe in Him as their personal Savior and Lord. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (Jn. 3:16).  That’s the true message of Christmas, and no “war against Christmas” is going to stop that “Good News” from being shared. In fact, the attempts to do so only give credence to the very message. God always has the last word!!
 
                                                                                                        Forever His,
                                                                                                            Pastor Dave
    
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What a Difference Hope Makes

Posted on November 18, 2013 by Pastor Dave

 Flooding in Colorado, Earthquake and Typhoon in the Philippines, Tornadoes in the Midwest, Wildfires in California, Arizona and Colorado, Hurricanes in Florida and Louisiana…and the list goes on and on. Just think of the devastation, and dire circumstances each has created with the loss of homes and lives. We have received an email from our missionary friend in the Philippines that she and her co-workers are okay, though without water and power, probably until Christmas. She and her staff had to stand in line for two and one half hours just to get drinking water, but she said on many of the islands they are having to drink coconut juice. 

    As I think of the disruption to lives caused by natural disasters, crime, loss of employment, serious health issues, broken relationships, etc, I wonder how people who have no hope in Christ deal with such things. Our worldview really affects how we deal with such difficult circumstances. The Christian has a faith that is infused with hope that sustains him in times of trial and suffering. From the hope of the coming Messiah promised way back in Gen. 3:15, to the hope of the New Heavens and the New Earth in Revelation 21, God’s Word is full of hope for those who believe in Him and in His promises.  Just a quick word search in the Bible reveals anywhere from 60 to 72 times when the word “hope” is used just in the New Testament (depending on the translation), along with numerous synonyms.  We have a hope that God will be faithful in the future as He has been faithful in the past, and there is a day coming when “He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning or crying or pain” (Rev. 21:4).  
     The Bible, in fact, refers to God as “The God of hope” (Ro. 15:13).  And according to Rom. 15:4, the Scriptures “were written…that we might have hope.” Hope is closely tied to faith, “For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one also hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it” (Ro. 8:24,25).  Compare that to verses like Eph. 2:8 where it says we are saved by grace through faith and Heb. 11:1 where faith is defined as: “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”  The Apostle Paul refers to “The hope of His calling” (Eph. 1:18). It is not just a “wishful thinking,” as in “I sure hope things work out,” but it is a deep-seated assurance that they will. The Greek word used in the New Testament is elpis (el-pece’) which means: “expectations, confidence, assurance.  It is a “Hope laid up in heaven” (Col. 1:15).
     Since God is the “God of Hope” (Ro. 15:13), and Christ, who lives in us is God the Son, Paul writes of “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27 cf I Tim. 1:1).  We have “the hope of salvation” (I Thes. 5:8), “the hope of eternal life” (Tit. 1:2; 3:7), and “the hope of His return” (Tit. 2:13). It is a “hope that does not disappoint”  (Ro. 5:5).  As believers, “we rejoice in hope” (Ro. 5:2; 12:12). And, because it is based on the resurrection of Jesus Christ, it is “a living hope” (I Pet. 1:13).  Since the hope is fixed on Christ and His return, the Apostle John also tells us that “everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”  During times of adversity, this hope is our foundation. It is what sustains us and takes us “through” the storms of life. The writer to the Hebrews said this about hope: “In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, in order that by two unchangeable things (The promise made to Abraham and the oath which rests on the very being of God), in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have strong encouragement, we who have fled for refuge in laying hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast…” Heb. 6:17-19).
     But, those who have not put their trust in Christ do not have this hope. Paul, in writing to the Ephesian believers, reminded them that before they believed in Christ, they “…were separate from Christ…having no hope, and without God in the world” (Eph. 2:12).  In writing to comfort the believers at Thessalonica who had lost loved ones through death and were wondering if they would ever see them again, he said, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope” (I Thes. 4:13).
     Those without Christ have no anchor for their soul to see them through the storms of life. Their hopeless philosophy is described well by atheist Richard Dawkins in his book River Out of Eden. He writes: “The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference.” With such a worldview, tears are at best useless, restoration is futile, encouragement has no basis, because THERE IS NO HOPE. The sad thing is that this is the worldview being taught to our children and young people in public education that makes right and wrong indistinguishable, the Bible a joke, and hope just an intervention crutch. But, hope does not arise out of nothing, and the only foundation for that hope is being eroded everywhere we look by the ramifications of the teaching of the theory of evolution.  Hope needs a foundation that the world and evolution cannot sustain.
     An illustration of the contrast in the lives of those who have hope and those who do not, is seen in looking briefly at the lives of two Ernests taken from Relationship Principles of Jesus by Tom Holladay. The first is “well-known author Ernest Hemingway who is universally acclaimed as one of the great American authors.” He was extremely talented, but with his non-Christian worldview, was governed almost entirely by what he felt like doing at any given moment. “In the end, he shot himself to death as did his father before him and his brother after him, because that’s what his depression (no hope) drove him to feel like doing.” The second Ernest was a little-known missionary, Ernest Fowler, who, “five years after Hemingway’s death…also died of a gunshot wound. His was not self-inflicted, but came at the hands of bandits who attacked his missionary home and family in Colombia in July of 1966.” He was faithful, even to the point of death in his ministry for Christ and his concern for others. Ernest Hemingway took his life, Ernest Fowler gave his life. The difference? One lived without hope. The other had “Christ in ‘him’ the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27).  
     Do you have that hope as an “anchor for your soul”?  If not put your trust in the only source of hope, Jesus Christ. If you do have that hope, always be ready to give a reason for it to those who ask (I Pet. 3:15).
 
                                                                                         Forever His,
                                                                                               Pastor Dave
 
P.S.  The complete story of Ernest Fowler can be found at people.bethel.edu.
 
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The Real “War to End All Wars”

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Pastor Dave

 World War I, known as “the  Great War,” officially ended when the “Treaty of Versailles” was signed on June 28, 1918, in the palace of Versailles outside of the town of Versailles, France. Fighting, however, ceased seven months earlier when an armistice–temporary cessation of hostilities–between the allied nations and Germany went into effect on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. For that reason, Nov. 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.” 

     In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed Nov. 11 as the first commemoration of “Armistice Day” with the following words: “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations.” The original celebration involved parades and public meetings and a brief suspension of business beginning at 11 a.m. An act approved on May 13,1938, made Nov. 11th a legal holiday–a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be therefore celebrated and known as “Armistice Day.”  It was primarily a day set aside to honor veterans of WW I, but in 1954, after WW II and the Korean War, the 83rd Congress, at the urging of the veteran’s service organizations, amended the Act of 1938 by replacing the word “Armistice” with “Veterans.”  On June 1, 1954, Nov. 11th officially became “Veterans’ Day,” a day to honor American veterans of ALL wars, for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.   Later that same year, on Oct. 8th, President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the first “Veterans’ Day Proclamation.” 
     World War I was a great war that was supposed to end all wars, but many wars have followed and there is still no real peace in the world. In fact, the world, especially the Middle East, is a powder keg just ready to blow at any time. The fact is, there can be no lasting peace between men and other men or between nations, until there is peace between men and God. Zechariah of the Old Testament prophesied concerning the coming of the Messiah into Jerusalem, riding on a lowly donkey’s colt: “Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem!  Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on the foal of a donkey” (Zech. 9:9).   That prediction was fulfilled by Jesus as He came into Jerusalem on that last “Sunday before His death and resurrection (Mt. 21:4-5).  But, the prophecy in the next verse, Zech. 9:10, reads: “And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem; and the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; and His dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.”  This was definitely not fulfilled with Jesus first coming to earth, for there have been wars somewhere in the world practically every year since Jesus came. Nevertheless, the day will come when He shall indeed “speak peace” to all the nations. Only the Lord Jesus Christ can make such a peace, for He alone is the “Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6).  Indeed, He has already paid the price to make such true and eternal peace, for “…He made peace through the blood of His cross…” (Col. 1:20).
     As world-wide conflict escalates to a climax at the end of the period the Bible calls “the Tribulation” (Mt. 24:21,29), all the armies of the world will gather in Israel at a place called “Har-Magedon” (or “Armageddon”), for “the war of the great day of God, the Almighty” (Rev. 16:14). Then the “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (Rev. 19:16) returns to earth with the armies of heaven which will conquer the enemies of God and of the Jews and of Christians and establish His kingdom, “Making wars to cease to the end of the earth” (Psa. 46:9), “And the pride of man will be humbled, and the loftiness of men will be abased, and the LORD will be exalted in that day” (Isa. 2:17).  That will be “The War to End All Wars,” and until that time, no matter the efforts of the United Nations, no matter the efforts of the United States or the United Kingdom, there will continue to be “wars and rumors of wars” (Mt. 24:6). 
     Meanwhile, as we live in this chaotic world of sin and wars and destruction, we can individually be at peace with the “Prince of Peace,” by trusting Him as the Sacrifice for our sin “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ro. 5:1).  We can also have a peace in our heart. The Apostle Paul, wrote this exhortation/promise to the believers at Philippi: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phi. 4:6,7).
     We want to thank all the veterans (as well as those on active duty today) for their service for our country, sacrificing their time and often their health or lives to maintain the freedoms we so cherish. And, although they cannot provide the lasting peace we long for, we give all glory to our God who can. He conquered sin and death through the cross and the resurrection, and will one day return to establish peace to this war-torn world.  “Amen. Even so come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev. 20:20).
 
                                                                                            Forever His,
                                                                                                   Pastor Dave
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