God’s Special Blessings

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Pastor Dave

 When we love someone, we enjoy doing special things to show them–surprises, unexpected things.  God, as our heavenly Father, also pours out special blessings to show His love for His children. To all of us He gives beautiful sunrises and sunsets, colorful spring flowers, the smell of apple blossoms and the buzz of bees as they pollinate those blossoms so they will produce fruit, a rainbow after a spring or summer rain, a blanket of diamond-like crystal snow flakes to cover the landscape, the playfulness of a kitten, puppy or a fawn deer, the giggles of a precious little baby. These are all gifts from God. “Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow” (Jas. 1:17).

     But God also loves to surprise us with special blessings, just as reminders of how much he loves us. We experienced that this past weekend. We were asked to run a high school tennis tournament in Eureka, which is 75 miles north of us, just a few miles from the Canadian border. We weren’t given much notice, but Kathy managed to get the information from the schools involved, seeded the players, and got the brackets made up. The tournament began 8:30 a.m. Friday morning so we left early for Eureka to get things set up, meet with the coaches and players and get the “ball” rolling. We had great weather, which in itself is a blessing for a tennis tournament. The host school brought us our lunches, sent us for supper to a yummy Chinese restaurant and put us up in a bed-and-breakfast place Friday night, as the tournament ran for two days.
     As almost always happens (Murphy’s Law at work), the final two matches on Friday went for three long sets. We had just finished and Kathy had picked up the bracket posters off the tables when the sprinkler system came on! We missed by seconds having our posters ruined. For that we were very grateful. We just made it to the restaurant before it closed and had a great Chinese meal, sitting outside on the pleasant spring evening. We then went to the bed-and-breakfast place, the Pruett House, built in 1908. Wow, what a beautiful old home, with huge bedrooms and amazing furnishings. They had stools so you could get up on the gigantic king-size bed. The bedposts were about eight inches in diameter, made probably of cherry wood.  The bathroom, too, was amazing with a huge, glass-enclosed shower, a large Jacuzzi tub, and a beautiful granite-topped vanity.
     The owner, Joan, moved up a few years ago from Atlanta, Georgia, so understands how to offer genuine Southern hospitality, including some scrumptious breakfasts. I read through the guest comments from the past couple years and several mentioned that they travel world-wide and stay at bed-and-breakfast places and that this was the nicest one, with the most gracious hospitality of any they had ever experienced. Coffee was ready for us in the hallway at 7:30, and then the aroma of breakfast cooking came wafting up the stairs!  As we went out in the hall to get coffee, we met the two other parties that had stayed that night. One was the mom and grandmother of one of the tennis players for whom I had strung a racket that afternoon. Interestingly, I had to string her racket last year too when we were tournament directors here in Libby. The other party was a couple from Great Falls where he is an anesthesiologist and she an O.R. nurse. They had met at STOKR (Scenic Tour of the Kootenai River) Biker event here several years ago. STOKR takes place each Mother’s Day weekend.  It is a fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity. During STOKR several years ago, this couple had met up on Pipe Creek Pass, the mid-way point of the 100 mile trip. On another STOKR event he proposed to her there!  They had flown a small plane into Eureka this time and brought a tandem bike to ride down along the Koocanusa Reservoir on the Kootenai River. 
    As we sat down at the huge round table, covered with a crocheted table cloth with fancy Bluestone china, and a great breakfast of fruit, Dutch babies, sausage and scrambled eggs, we found out that the grandmother of the tennis player was from Polson where I grew up. I mentioned that I have a sister and brother-in-law living on Finlay point near Polson. The grandmother said, “That’s where I lived too until recently, about a mile from them, and Audrey (my sister) is my best friend. We attend the same church, First Baptist, in Polson!”  I asked the group if we could have prayer together before our meal and led in prayer. We had a great time of fellowship and were very encouraged. What a special blessing. It was sort of an “oasis” experience–a time of refreshing, and a reminder of how much our God loves us and how He is “able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think” (Eph. 3:20).  Jesus said, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!” (Mt. 7:11).  But He also loves to give us special gifts for which we didn’t even ask. That’s just who He is and how much He cares about us. Thank you, Lord!
     Oh, the girl whose racket I strung, whose mom and grandma we met at the bed-and-breakfast, along with her partner won the doubles championship. And the couple from Great Falls has come up with a spice they are marketing called “Eric’s Wicked Seasoning.” You can check it out on his website. It is selling very well here in Montana. Must be good. Also, if you are ever in Northwest Montana, and want to be spoiled, give the Pruett House in Eureka a try. You can go to the website www.pruetthouse.com for information.
 
                                                                                      Forever His,
                                                                                            Pastor Dave
    
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How to Handle Stress

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Pastor Dave

According to David Kupelian, managing editor of World Net Daily and editor of Whistleblower, “the sheer stress of living in today’s America is driving millions to the point of illness, depression and self-destruction. Suicide has surpassed car crashes as the leading cause of injury death…and more U.S. soldiers died last year by suicide than in combat. One-third of the nation’s employees suffer chronic debilitating stress…One in five children aged six-12 have been medically diagnosed with ADHD, anxiety depression or bipolar disorder…Stress renders people susceptible to serious illness and chronic stress plays a major role in the progression of cancer and heart disease…Eleven percent of all Americans aged 12 and up are currently taking mood-altering antidepressants…Add to that the tens of millions of users of all other types of psychiatric drugs and throw in the 28 Percent of American adults (60 million) with a drinking problem plus the 22 million using illegal drugs and a picture emerges of a nation of drug-takers with many millions dependent on one toxic substance or another–legal or illegal–to ‘help’ them deal with the stresses of life.”

      We all experience stress to some extent. It is the mental and physical strain caused by the pressures of life. Any event or situation–even a positive one–that causes change in your life patterns can be stressful. Actually, stress is a normal part of human life. It keeps us active and alert, and yet in today’s fast-paced world, stress often becomes distress or stress overload and we see “Americans ‘Snapping’ by the Millions,” as Mr. Kupelian titled his article in the April 2013 issue of Whistleblower.  The truth is, we all need a certain amount of stress to keep us alive, although too much of it becomes harmful to us, as indicated by the quote above. When most of us use the term, “stress,” we usually are referring to this harmful aspect–overstress, distress or stress overload.
      An instructor of a class on “Stress Management” walked into the room with a raised glass of water. Everyone knew she was going to ask the ultimate question, “half empty or half full?”  But instead she asked the class, “How heavy is this glass of water?” Answers called out ranged from 200 grams to 1kg. She responded, “the absolute weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that’s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you’ll have to call an ambulance!  In each case it’s the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes, and that’s the way it is with stress. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy to bear, we won’t be able to carry on. As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we’re refreshed, we can carry on with the burden. So, as early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don’t carry them through the evening and into the night. Pick them up tomorrow (if they are still there).” 
     That was some excellent advice. I remember the late Dr. Howard Hendricks of Dallas Seminary suggesting that when you drive home from work each day, you need to have a place along the way where you “dump out” all the “garbage” that has collected during the day, all the stress-factors that could ruin your evening with the family. If it is still there, you can pick it up on the way to work the next morning. Also wise counsel.
     At the very core of the stress problem is lifestyle that is too hectic and fast-paced. We are driven by a need to succeed and our lives have little room for relaxation. It’s as if we are trapped on a runaway train, the “engines” of our bodies have jammed at full throttle, and we don’t know where the brakes are. And Christians are not immune from the ravages of stress disease, because being a Christian doesn’t mean we’re exempt from the pressures of society. In fact, it sometimes may mean being under even greater stress, because trying to live a godly life in a godless world can take its toll. For example, read Romans 7:15-24, and you will see that the Apostle Paul was definitely feeling stressed out!  We live in a world that produces stress. The potential for stress is all about us–in our friends, family, work, even in our church–in fact, in every part of life. Stress comes at us from every angle–time constraints, relationships, expectations, assignments, guilt from sin, excitement, lack of exercise, lack of sleep.   
     A great protector from the stresses of the world is a stable, safe, secure home that serves as a refuge. But, in our society today, we see the home in shambles and deteriorating rapidly. With the pressures of a weak economy, unemployment, the controversy over what marriage is, the threat of terrorism, the inroad Islam is making, the succumbing to gay-rights activists, a government that is becoming bigger and bigger and transforming our nation into a socialistic state, it’s no wonder “we the people” are experiencing distress and millions are suffering psychological, emotional, physical and spiritual problems as a result.
     God equipped us with a highly sophisticated defense system designed to help us cope with events in our lives that threaten and challenge us. When the state of alarm or emergency is triggered our various physiological systems are bathed in adrenalin, which produces a heightened state of alert: the heart beats faster, digestion is speeded up, and a host of hormones is released into the blood stream to prepare us for dealing with the emergency in a “fight or flight” response, to either attack what is threatening us or to run away from it. This alarm system is triggered by stress and its purpose is to alert us to a threat so we can be better equipped to deal with it. But, if we live such that we are under constant stress, or in a constant state of emergency, we begin to experience the damaging consequences of stress overload. It’s like keeping an elastic band constantly stretched without letting it move frequently to a relaxed position. Soon it begins to lose its elastic properties and will eventually snap. Similarly, if our bodies are repeatedly alarmed or held in a constant state of stress, they soon begin to show damaging consequences–stress disorders–physical, psychological and spiritual. The immune system is affected, sapping the body’s ability to fight off diseases.
     The solution the world offers: music, sex, drugs, alcohol, counseling, yoga, hot tubs, pets, divorce, religious exercise, hypnosis, massage, cookies and milk!  But only one prescription is fully guaranteed, and it is offered by the One who made us. He offers a three-part prescription:   
    1)  “Cast all your care (anxiety) upon Him, because He cares for you” (I Pet. 5:7 cf Phil. 4:6,7; Ps. 55:22; 18:6; 61:1,2).
 
     2)  Fill your mind with good things: “Whatever is true…noble…right…pure…lovely…of good repute…excellent or praise-worthy, think (let your mind dwell) on these things” (Phil. 4:8 cf Pr. 4:20-27).
 
     3)  Rest in God’s Mighty Arms: “When I am afraid (or stressed), I will put my trust in Thee. In God, whose word I praise, in God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me?” (Psa. 56:3,4 cf 27:1-3)
 
     Here are some additional practical stress reducers:
    1)  Sing a favorite hymn or chorus (Eph. 5:19)
    2) Slow Down!  “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him” (Psa. 37:7)
    3) “Don’t let the world squeeze you into its mold” (Ro. 12:2 LB).
    4) Have a Daily  Quiet Time
    5) Laugh a Lot (cf Pr. 17:22)
    6) Simplify your life (Mt. 6:33)
 
And remember, what is the word “stressed” in reversed order?…   “Desserts!”
 
                                                                                                     Forever His,
                                                                                                                   Pastor Dave
 
    
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CARRYING OUT THE FIRST COMMANDMENT

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Pastor Dave
     What is the first commandment in the Bible?  It comes long before Moses goes up on Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments. It appears in the very first chapter in the Bible and says: “And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them; and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Gen. 1:27,28). God created Adam and Eve, male and female, and told them to “multiply and fill the earth.” 
     Why is it so important to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman? Because that was God’s plan from the beginning of creation. We read of the first wedding way back in Genesis: “So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh at that place. And the LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man” (Gen. 2:21,22). And, as someone aptly said, “That was no side issue!”  “Heterosexual relationships are the foundation of society. Procreation, and the nurturing and care of children, are the primary purpose of marriage, because these relationships bring forth and best nurture the next generation. While some heterosexual relationships don’t produce children, the only relationships that do are heterosexual–and we have to preserve that, legally and nationally” (Dr. Frank Turek in Faith & Justice, Vol. VI, Issue 1 by Alliance Defending Freedom).  Same-sex relationships that are being pushed today cannot even be defined as “marriage” and they definitely go against God’s pattern of one man and one woman and His command to be fruitful and multiply. To insist that marriage be heterosexual isn’t bigotry. It is biology!  You can’t raise chickens if all you have is two roosters or two hens!  “The law is a great teacher. Whatever is legal, people (tend to) think is moral, and whatever is illegal, people (tend to ) think is immoral” (Dr. Turek).  The push for “same-sex marriage” isn’t so much about marriage as it is about social validation. It’s about transforming a society so that those who practice homosexual behavior (which the Bible condemns) feel better about what they are doing. They are looking for validation of living in sin and being acceptable.
     Just because two people of the same sex love each other and want to live together doesn’t mean they can establish a “marriage,” at least not according to God’s design.  Marriage between a man and a woman is the foundation of a society, and when our marriages are strong, our families are strong, the nation is strong, and the government has less to do!  Think of all the programs and the funding required that our government is involved in to support the problems created by the breakdown of the family. Passing laws to approve of same-sex marriage (and who knows where it will go from there?) only exacerbates the problem. When a man and a woman come together and stay together, and bring up children, we have a safer society, fewer problems,  a larger work force,  and lower taxes, because the government doesn’t have to be as big to take care of all the problems that result from broken families. Economic problems come from moral and spiritual problems. In fact ultimately, all our problems are moral and spiritual. “The heart of the problem is the problem of the heart.” Solomon, in his great wisdom, wrote: “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life” (Pr. 4:23).
     Unfortunately, today we face these issues of gay rights and same-sex marriage largely because Christians over the past several decades have been compromising their faith rather than “walking worthy of their calling” (Eph. 4:1)  and “contending earnestly for the faith” (Jude 3).  We have become “conformed to this world” rather than being “transformed by the renewing of our mind” (Ro. 12:2). The church has been silent. Instead of being “salt and light” (Mt. 5:14-16), we have withdrawn from and haven’t engaged our culture. And, if you take the godly people out of the culture, you are going to get a godless culture. Now we see these disturbing things happening and we are finally beginning to take a stand and voice our concerns, but it may be too late. Only God knows, for He is working His plan and nothing will change that, but we pray that in His plan, He would still include a revival for our nation. Our nation has been so blessed and used so mightily by God to carry the Good News to the far corners of the earth, but that can’t continue unless we return to Him. And it must begin with the church, the household of God. God spoke to His people, the Jews, through Solomon, saying: “If My people, who are called by My name, humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (II Chr. 7:14). I believe we can apply that principle to the Church today. It would seem that Christians are responsible for the condition of their nation. Over time believers in this country have become complacent, apathetic, and compromising. God’s Word has been watered down. We have tried to cater to the whims of people, to entertain them to keep them coming, rather than to continue faithfully holding forth the Word of Life. We have failed to “retain the standard of sound words (doctrine)…and guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to us” (II Tim. 1:13,14). We have failed to “preach the Word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction” (II Tim. 4:2).  Instead we have accommodated those who “want to have their ears tickled” (II Tim. 4:3). And as a result, many “turned away their ears from the truth, and turned aside to myths” (v. 4).
     So, the trends in our nation today that are so disturbing (at least they should be) to us as believers–homosexuality, same-sex marriage, abortion, the loss of religious freedoms, etc–have happened in a big part because we, the church, have been asleep. We have become too comfortable, and complacent. What we are seeing are symptoms of spiritual decline. They don’t really have to do with politics or economic philosophies. They have to do with the need for believers to again put Christ first in their lives, and to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which we have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in a bond of peace” (Eph. 4:1-3).
 
                      Forever His,
                            Pastor Dave
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Fawn

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Pastor Dave

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

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THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Pastor Dave

 Something that never ceases to amaze me is that mysterious phenomenon we call “the providence of God.” In more common vernacular, we refer to “God sightings” in our lives. We experienced another one this past week, for which we are very, very grateful. I mentioned to you in last week’s “Wisdom of the Week” that we had gone to visit at the church where I pastored and were very challenged and encouraged by the presentation of a young couple headed for the mission field in Africa. What I didn’t mention, because at the time we didn’t know the significance of it, was that we were invited to the Sampsons’ home for dinner after the service. Ray Sampson was one of the original elders at Three Lakes and his wife, LuRee, taught kindergarten for our Christian school. They are very dear friends and were always such a great encouragement to us as we ministered at Three lakes. We did most of the construction of the Three Lakes facilities on our own and Ray was always my right-hand man. Anyway, we had a great visit and time of fellowship with the Sampsons and also Ellis Stewart, another long-time member and elder at Three Lakes. (His wife, Ida, went to be with the Lord several years ago).

     This Saturday morning we got a call telling us that Ray had collapsed, was taken to our local hospital and was in ICU there. As we visited at the hospital a couple times that day it was pretty obvious that Ray was likely already “absent from the body and at home with the Lord” (II Cor 5:8).  He was on life support but that appeared to be all that was keeping his body going. Early Sunday morning LuRee called to say that Ray was in heaven. Ray had his 90th birthday last June 4 (which happened to be my dad’s birthday as well), so he had well surpassed the “seventy years, or if due to strength, eighty years” of Psalm 90:10. We praise the Lord that Ray’s homegoing was quick and relatively painless.
     We also praise God that, in His providence, He had us in the Sampsons’ home for dinner last Sunday!  Neither we, nor they, had any idea what God had in store for this past weekend, but He knew exactly what He was doing and gave us the privilege of getting to spend some very quality time with a dear friend before He took him home. God’s providence, or “God sightings” as we state it, is such an amazing thing. In the scheme of world-wide events, with earthquakes, terrorist attacks on our own soil, unrest in the Middle East, North Korea making threats of nuclear attack, etc, to think that God cares about, and is still involved in the every-day events of our individual lives, sort of blows our minds (at least it does mine!). 
     Providence is one of the words which do not occur in the Bible, but which nevertheless represents a truly biblical doctrine. We find it expressed in such ways as: “He gives food to all flesh” (Psa. 136:25); “He sends forth springs in the valleys…They give drink to every beast of the field…He waters the mountains from the upper chambers…” (Psa. 104:10-13). Providence is God sustaining, providing for, His creation (“For by Him all things were created..by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together” (Col. 1:16,17). But, His providence goes much further than just caring for His physical creation, it also involves our individual lives, and His purpose for each one of us. David wrote: “Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Thy book they were all written, the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them” (Psa. 139:16). God has planned out the days of our lives. He orchestrates our “chance” encounters with others. He brings just the right people and circumstances into our lives to mold us for His purpose.  The Apostle Paul, who had been a persecutor of the early church, was chosen by God to be the missionary to the Gentiles, and penned much of our New Testament, wrote this to the believers at Ephesus: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10).
     The doctrine of providence tells us that the world and our lives are not ruled by chance or by fate but by a sovereign God, “Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure’; Calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of My purpose from a far country. Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it” (Isa. 46:10,11). “Whatever the LORD pleases, He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all the deeps” (Psa. 135:6).
   We are so thankful that God, in His providence, drew us to Three Lakes last Sunday and to the home of the Sampsons for dinner. God is so good!!
 
                                                                                                             Forever His,
                                                                                                                    Pastor Dave
 
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DEFRAGMENTING YOUR LIFE

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Pastor Dave

  A couple times a week I will do what is called “defragmenting” (also referred to as “defragging”) my computer. Frequent use of certain programs and documents causes pieces of information to become scattered, requiring my computer to search for the pieces before it can use them. With regular use, files and folders on a computer’s hard drive break down or become “fragmented.” They become disorganized and scattered across the hard drive causing the system to slow down and experience processing problems. In some cases, severe fragmenting may even cause a program to stop running entirely. “Defragging” the computer gathers and reorganizes the files, putting related data back together (ones that had gotten spread out or on opposite sides of the hard drive),  which improves retrieval time and the computer’s overall performance.

     Like computers, our lives can also get fragmented. We can be torn in many directions because of our circumstances. Many people may be making demands on our time. Our emotions may be on a roller coaster ride of ups and downs as they are pulled this way and then that by situations and by people in our lives. We try to focus on the task at hand but have difficulty concentrating because of all the distractions. Prayer and personal Bible study are a real struggle, or may have even been abandoned because of all the hecticness and stress. Our mind won’t stop trying to resolve all the issues we are facing; sleep is hard to come by and soon we begin to feel weary, helpless and depressed. Our health begins to be affected. If we were to express to God how we feel, it might be: “Lord, I am scattered, restless, and only half here!”  Our life has become so “fragmented” that we are having difficulty accomplishing anything. Some of the “programs” may have even quit working altogether.
     I’m sure we have all been in such condition at one time or another. Maybe some of you are right now. King David experienced this as he describes in Psalm 55. He wrote: “Give ear to my prayer, O God; and do not hide Yourself from my supplication. Give heed to me, and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and am surely distracted, because of the voice of the enemy, because of the pressure of the wicked; for they bring down trouble upon me, and in anger they bear a grudge against me. My heart is in anguish within me, and the terrors of death have fallen upon me. Fear and trembling come upon me; and horror has overwhelmed me. And I said, ‘Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. Behold, I would wander far away, I would lodge in the wilderness. I would hasten to my place of refuge from the stormy wind and tempest” (Psa. 55:1-8). 
     David’s first instinct–and usually ours as well–in his dealing with his burdens was to run away (Jonah tried that too, only to encounter worse problems!).  Then David tried to berate those who were causing problems and complained about them to the Lord (see verses 9,15,17).  But this strategy didn’t bring satisfaction either. Finally, the Lord gave David the solution and he found the rest for which he had been so fretfully searching. David relates the solution to us in verse 22: “Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.” The way to deal with problems, with difficult situations and difficult people, isn’t to flee from them or to fret about them, but is to turn them over to the Lord. The Apostle Peter may well have had that verse in Psalms in mind when he wrote this: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety (cares) upon Him, because He cares for you” (I Pet. 5:6,7). This is our “defragging” program–prayer, casting our cares on the Lord. When we do that He will show us what we need to do and what only He can do–and He will do it!  The Apostle Paul’s advice was the same as Peter’s. He wrote this to the Philippian believers: “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” (Phil. 4:6,7). God gives us His peace, the peace which is part of His very nature, a peace which was undisturbed by circumstances, people, or things–even when the angels rebelled or man fell. Hey, that’s the kind of peace we need!
     When my “defrag” program finishes running, it tells me what it has accomplished and then recommends that I do it every day to keep my programs running fast and efficiently. That’s pretty good advice for us too, spiritually. If we daily, in fact throughout each day, “cast all our cares upon Him,” our lives will run much more smoothly and efficiently. We won’t get to where we have to say: “Lord, I am scattered, restless, and only half here!”
 
                            Forever His,
                                Pastor Dave      
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No Grave Clothes

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Pastor Dave

What a beautiful day our Lord gave us to celebrate the resurrection. We first attended a sunrise service. It was a bit crisp, but clear and the sun shone on the nearby snow-covered Cabinet Mountains as we sang joyous songs of the miraculous resurrection of our Savior. As we did, we could also hear all sorts of birds singing as if they too were excited for the beautiful morning, celebrating life. Nearby trees showed swollen buds and were ready to burst forth with new spring growth after a cool winter of dormancy. The grass had begun turning green. Everything spoke of, and was a reflection of, our life-giving Creator and Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ “who was delivered up because of our transgressions and raised because of our justification” (Ro. 4:25). The resurrection was proof that our sins had been paid for. God’s holiness and justice were satisfied (propitiated). Had there been no risen Christ, then we, as Paul said, would still be in our sins, our faith would be worthless and we, of all men, would be “most to be pitied” (I Cor. 15:17-19), “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive” (vv. 20,21).

One of the significant aspects of Christ’s resurrection is that He wore no grave clothes as He came forth. He left them in the tomb as evidence of His being raised in a glorified body that could escape them without having to be unwound, and could walk right through the large stone which had been rolled in front of the tomb, and could enter into the Upper Room where the disciples had again gathered behind locked doors. Jesus still had flesh and bones, even scars on His hands and feet and side to show “doubting” Thomas (Jn. 20:26-29), but His body was now in its glorified, eternal state.
In contrast, when Jesus raised (resuscitated) Lazarus from the dead, Lazarus was still bound by grave clothes and Jesus told his family and friends to “unbind him and let him go” (Jn. 11:44). Lazarus was still in an earthly body which would die again. Had they not unwound the grave clothes he wouldn’t even have been able to move around. He had not yet received a glorified body as Jesus had when He was resurrected. Lazarus came forth still covered by the evidence of his death and had to be freed in order to join his family and friends.
As I usually do, I planted some squash and pumpkin seeds to get an early start on our garden. I start them inside in little containers. As they come up, they still have the seed attached–their “grave clothes.” Some of the seedlings are able to shed their covering, but others I have to help get the shell off so they can open and grow. They are like Lazarus, who had to have his grave clothes removed.
When we are “raised from the dead” (born again…Jn. 3:3), we are still bound by “grave clothes.” We still have an old sinful nature, that must be dealt with in order for us to live a victorious Christian life. Paul, in his letter to the believers at Ephesus, put it this way: “that in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lust of deceit, and that you 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). In other words, we are to “put off the grave clothes and put on the grace clothes!” We are to start walking in the newness of life which we now have in Christ (cf Rom. 6:4,11-13). As long as we are still in our earthly bodies, we will have the struggle with the old, Adamic nature that is in rebellion against God, as Paul described in Gal. 5:17. But, praise God we can experience victory over the desires of the flesh (as he calls this sinful nature) by walking in the Spirit, that is, by depending upon Christ and obeying His Word. We are still capable of sinning, but we do not have to. In John’s first epistle, he wrote: “My little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (I Jn. 2:1).
The exciting thing that we have to look forward to, because of Christ’s victory over death, is that one day we will receive glorified bodies like His resurrected body, and our sinful nature will be gone–Praise the Lord! In that great resurrection chapter, I Cor. 15, Paul wrote: “It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power, it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body…For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality” (vv. 42-44,53). In His letter to the church at Philippi, Paul said: “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has to subject all things to Himself” (Phil. 3:20,21). Now that’s indeed good news!
Forever His,
Pastor Dave
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No Grave Clothes

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Pastor Dave

What a beautiful day our Lord gave us to celebrate the resurrection. We first attended a sunrise service. It was a bit crisp, but clear and the sun shone on the nearby snow-covered Cabinet Mountains as we sang joyous songs of the miraculous resurrection of our Savior. As we did, we could also hear all sorts of birds singing as if they too were excited for the beautiful morning, celebrating life. Nearby trees showed swollen buds and were ready to burst forth with new spring growth after a cool winter of dormancy. The grass had begun turning green. Everything spoke of, and was a reflection of, our life-giving Creator and Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ “who was delivered up because of our transgressions and raised because of our justification” (Ro. 4:25).  The resurrection was proof that our sins had been paid for. God’s holiness and  justice were satisfied (propitiated). Had there been no risen Christ, then we, as Paul said, would still be in our sins, our faith would be worthless and we, of all men, would be “most to be pitied” (I Cor. 15:17-19), “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive” (vv. 20,21).  

     One of the significant aspects of Christ’s resurrection is that He wore no grave clothes as He came forth. He left them in the tomb as evidence of His being raised in a glorified body that could escape them without having to be unwound, and could walk right through the large stone which had been rolled in front of the tomb, and could enter into the Upper Room where the disciples had again gathered behind locked doors.  Jesus still had flesh and bones, even scars on His hands and feet and side to show “doubting” Thomas (Jn. 20:26-29), but His body was now in its glorified, eternal state.  
     In contrast, when Jesus raised (resuscitated) Lazarus from the dead, Lazarus was still bound by grave clothes and Jesus told his family and friends to “unbind him and let him go” (Jn. 11:44). Lazarus was still in an earthly body which would die again. Had they not unwound the grave clothes he wouldn’t even have been able to move around. He had not yet received a glorified body as Jesus had when He was resurrected. Lazarus came forth still covered by the evidence of his death and had to be freed in order to join his family and friends.
     As I usually do, I planted some squash and pumpkin seeds to get an early start on our garden. I start them inside in little containers. As they come up, they still have the seed attached–their “grave clothes.” Some of the seedlings are able to shed their covering, but others I have to help get the shell off so they can open and grow. They are like Lazarus, who had to have his grave clothes removed.
     When we are “raised from the dead” (born again…Jn. 3:3), we are still bound by “grave clothes.” We still have an old sinful nature, that must be dealt with in order for us to live a victorious Christian life. Paul, in his letter to the believers at Ephesus, put it this way: “that in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lust of deceit, and that you 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). In other words, we are to “put off the grave clothes and put on the grace clothes!”  We are to start walking in the newness of life which we now have in Christ (cf Rom. 6:4,11-13).  As long as we are still in our earthly bodies, we will have the struggle with the old, Adamic nature that is in rebellion against God, as Paul described in Gal. 5:17. But, praise God we can experience victory over the desires of the flesh (as he calls this sinful nature) by walking in the Spirit, that is, by depending upon Christ and obeying His Word.   We are still capable of sinning, but we do not have to. In John’s first epistle, he wrote: “My little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (I Jn. 2:1).
     The exciting thing that we have to look forward to, because of Christ’s victory over death, is that one day we will receive glorified bodies like His resurrected body, and our sinful nature will be gone–Praise the Lord!  In that great resurrection chapter, I Cor. 15, Paul wrote: “It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power, it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body…For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality” (vv. 42-44,53). In His letter to the church at Philippi, Paul said: “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has to subject all things to Himself” (Phil. 3:20,21). Now that’s indeed good news!
 
                                    Forever His,
                                            Pastor Dave
    
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March Madness

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Pastor Dave

 For those who enjoy watching college basketball, this is a fun time of year as there are three national tournaments going on simultaneously, the NCAA (called “The Big Dance”), the National Invitational Tournament (the NIT, which initially was “The Big Dance”), and the women’s NCAA tournament. Oh yes, and there’s also a tournament held by Christian colleges, but that doesn’t receive television coverage.Those who don’t like watching basketball are probably impatiently waiting for “March Madness” to be over so they can watch their normal television programs.

     Our son, who happens to be a high school basketball coach, always challenges the family members to fill out brackets for the NCAA tournament and each of us does, including all the grandchildren. It’s fun watching to see how our picks end up doing. Fun that is, until your favorite teams loose (like the Zag’s!).  But as you think about it, of the 64 teams that are privileged to make it to “The Big Dance,” 63 of them will end their season with a disappointing loss. Only one will end up with a win, the national champion. Last year’s national champion, the University of Kentucky, didn’t even make it this year to the NCAA tournament. They played in the NIT and lost out in the first round.
     As I thought about how only one team will end up winning, I couldn’t help but praise God that, as believers, we are on the “winning team.” We are in a great spiritual battle against the powers of darkness. The Apostle Paul, in writing to the church at Ephesus, challenged the believers with these words: “Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:10-12). Our opponent, our enemy, is Satan (which means adversary), also called the Devil (which means accuser, because he accuses God’s people day and night before the throne of God…Rev. 12:7-11). Working with him are demons or evil spirits which are angels who also rebelled against God along with Lucifer (who thus became Satan…Rev. 12:4; Isa. 14:12-15; Ezek. 28:11-17).
     As Christians, we actually face three enemies: the world, the flesh and the devil. “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air…Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh…” (Eph. 2:1-3).
    1)  The “world” refers to the system around us that is opposed to God, that caters to “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (I Jn. 2:15-17).
        It is the secular, humanistic society that leaves God out.
    2)  The “flesh” is the old, sinful nature that we inherited from Adam, a nature that is opposed to God and can do nothing to please God (Ro. 7:18; Gal. 5:16-22).
    3)  The “devil” is, of course, the fallen angel Lucifer, who opposes all that God is and does and attempts to keep people from coming to Christ for salvation, or to dis-
        courage and defeat them if they do in order to ruin their joy and testimony. He is “the ruler of this world” (Jn. 12:31).
 
     Sooner or later, every believer discovers that the Christian life is a battle ground, not a playground, and that he faces an enemy who is much stronger than he is–apart from the Lord. That’s why Paul emphasizes that we “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.”  You see, by His death and resurrection, Christ overcame the world (Jn. 16:33; Gal. 6:14), the flesh (Gal. 2:20; Ro.l 6:1-6), and the devil (Eph. 1:19-23; Heb. 2:14,15). So, as believers, we do not fight for victory–we fight from victory!  The Holy Spirit enables us, by faith, to appropriate Christ’s victory for ourselves so we can “walk in victory.”  “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord” (I Cor. 15:56-58). “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph in Christ…” (II Cor. 2:14). “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, ‘For Thy sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us” (Ro. 8:35-37).
     “March Madness” turns to “March Sadness” when your favorite team loses out. The seniors on the team will have played their last game for that university, but the team will be back again next year, hoping to make it even further. On an infinitely more significant note, those who are playing on, or following a “losing team” when it comes to spiritual things, will not survive to “play another day.”  All who are putting their hope of an eternal future in heaven in anyone or anything other than the death, burial, and resurrection of the God-Man, Jesus Christ, are going to end up in defeat and hear one day, “I never knew you; depart from Me” (Mt. 7:23).  When all is said (by those who are teaching the myriads of religious views) and done (by those who are working to gain eternal life), there will be only one team left standing victoriously at the end of time. It will be made up of all who trusted solely in the work of Jesus Christ on their behalf, acknowledging that “He (God) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (II Cor. 5:21).
     It is disappointing when your team loses in the NCAA tournament, but can you imagine how folks will feel when they come to the end of this life and find out they have been on a “losing team,” and face an eternity separated from Christ!  Such a sobering thought should spur us who know Christ to pray for boldness and open doors to share the Gospel, the “Good News,” with those around us who haven’t entered into victory through the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you know that you are on the winning team? If not, I suggest that you prayerfully read I Jn. 5:1-13, and make sure, for you can “know that you have eternal life” (v. 13), and it is not in any religion, or code of ethics, or ritual. It is in a person, the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
                                            Forever His,
                                                Pastor Dave
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Going Green?

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Pastor Dave

Yesterday I wore a green dress shirt and a royal blue tie to church. You see it was the day we honor a rather famous slave-become-missionary who was given the title, “St. Patrick.”  If you were to take a poll and ask people who St. Patrick was, you would likely hear that he was an Irish Catholic who chased the snakes out of Ireland.  But that would be wrong on all accounts. He was not Irish, nor Catholic, and didn’t chase the snakes out of Ireland!  He was born in Roman Britain to a middle-class Christian family with Scottish roots in AD 387. His family was associated with the ancient Church of Britain, and he was never officially canonized as a “saint” by the Roman Church, although the day of his death has been commonly known as “St. Patrick’s Day” for more than a thousand year. And, after the ice age,  there were no snakes in Ireland!

     Patrick was son of a deacon named Calpurnius, and grandson of Potitus, a presbyter. Calpurnius was also a magistrate of noble rank. When Patrick was 16, marauding Irish raiders attacked his home. Patrick was captured, taken to Ireland, and sold to an Irish King, who put him to work as a shepherd. In “How the Irish Saved Civilization, Thomas Cahill writes, “The work of such slave-shepherds was bitterly isolated, months at a time spent alone in the hills.”  Though Patrick had been reared in a Christian home, he had never personally received Christ as his Savior, but now, hungry, lonely, frightened, and bitterly cold, Patrick began seeking out a relationship with God. He wrote in his Confession, “I Patrick, a sinner, rude, unfaithful, and despicable. They brought me into captivity in Ireland with several thousand men. This we deserved because we had departed from God…It was there the Lord helped me sense my unbelief, remember my sin, and restore my whole heart to Him…The love of God surrounded me more and more..I can’t keep quiet about how God blessed me in my captivity.”
     Six years after his capture, God spoke to Patrick in a dream, saying, “Your hungers are rewarded. You are going home. Look–your ship is ready.” What a startling command!  If he obeyed, Patrick would become a fugitive slave (like Onesimus in the Bible who fled from Philemon and met Paul in Rome, where he was converted to Christ). But he did obey–and God protected him. He walked nearly 200 miles to the Irish coast where he boarded a waiting ship headed back to Britain, but which because of a storm, landed on the coast of France where for 28 days he journeyed through a desert, running out of food. Then he was captured again, but God assured him he would only be held for two months. “On the 60th night, the Lord delivered me.” He finally made it back to his family in Britain. But, Patrick was a changed man, transformed by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit, born again into the family of God.  Soon God spoke to him again in the middle of the night. He wrote: “I saw a man named Victoricius coming from Ireland with numerous letters. While I read the one he gave me, I heard the voice of those who were near the western sea. They shouted, ‘We beg you, holy youth, come and live among us.’ Another night, a voice spoke from within me, saying, ‘He gave His life for you; He it is who speaks in you.’ ” As a result, Patrick returned to Ireland as a missionary in March 433 AD.
     The Irish of the fifth century were a pagan, violent, and barbaric people. Human sacrifice was commonplace. Patrick understood the danger he faced, writing: “I am ready to be murdered, betrayed, enslaved–whatever may come my way.”  Through Patrick, his love for the Irish, and his fearless preaching, God converted thousands. As a former slave, his testimony and life backed up the gospel of forgiveness through Christ which he shared and many trusted in His Savior. Because of Patrick, a warrior people “lay down the swords of battle, flung away the knives of sacrifice, and cast away the chains of slavery” (Cahill). In his preaching, he utilized the Irish shamrock with its three separate leaves to illustrate the Tri-unity of God. The three-leaved clover has three separate leaves but they are joined together as a single entity, just as there are three divine persons in the one God. Patrick ministered in Ireland for 32 years, dying on March 17, 465. He didn’t “chase the snakes out of Ireland,” but he did introduce the people to the one true God and the Irish people were forever transformed.  Ireland, a land once under the influence of the pagan Druids,  became a stronghold of Christianity, and after the Dark Ages, Irish missionaries brought Christianity back to Europe. 
     As it is with many Christian holidays, Saint Patrick’s Day has lost much of its original meaning. Instead of settling for parades, cardboard leprechauns, the wearing of green (or dying the water or your hair green!), we ought to recover our Christian heritage, celebrate the great missionary-evangelist, and teach our generation about this Christian hero. 
     And, by the way, while most often we wear green (for the “Emerald Isle” and the shamrock)  to celebrate Saint Patrick’s day on March 17th, the day of his death, his color was really royal blue!  It is the same blue color that appears on the Irish coat of Arms and the flag of the president of Ireland.  So, as I dressed for Church yesterday, I wore green to commemorate the Trinity which St. Patrick taught to the pagans in Ireland, and a touch of royal blue, for after all, His life was devoted to serving royalty. He was an ambassador for the King of Kings–as are each one of us who know Christ.
 
                                                                                                                 Forever His,
                                                                                                                        Pastor “O, Nelson”  
      
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