The Perfect Gift

Posted on December 24, 2012 by Pastor Dave

  “Twas the night before Christmas and Santa’s a wreck,

How to live in a world that’s Politically Correct?
His workers would no longer answer to “Elves.”
“Vertically Challenged” they were calling themselves.
And labor conditions at the North Pole,
Were alleged by the union to stifle the soul.
Four reindeer had vanished without much propriety,
Released to the wild by the Humane Society.
And equal employment had made it quite clear,
That Santa had better not use just reindeer.
So Dancer and Donner, Comet and Cupid
Were replaced with four pigs–and did that look stupid!
The runners had been removed from his Sleigh;
The ruts were deemed dangerous by the E.P.A.
And people had started to call the cops,
When they heard sled noises on their roof tops.
The second-hand pipe smoke had his workers quite frightened,
And his fur-trimmed suit was “unenlightened.”
And to show you the strangeness of life’s ebbs and flows,
Rudolph was suing over unauthorized use of his nose.
And gone on Jay Leno in front of the whole nation,
Demanding millions in overdue compensation.
And as far gifts, why he’d never had a notion,
That making a choice could cause so much commotion.
Nothing of leather, nothing of fur,
Which meant nothing for him and nothing for her.
Nothing that might be construed to pollute.
Nothing to aim and nothing to shoot.
Nothing that clamored or made lots of noise.
Nothing for just girls or just for the boys.
Nothing that claimed to be gender specific.
Nothing that’s war-like or non-pacifistic.
No candy or sweets…they are bad for the tooth.
Nothing that seemed to embellish a truth.
And fairy tales, while not yet forbidden,
Were like Ken and Barbie–better off hidden.
For they raised the hackles of those psychological,
Who claimed the only good gift was one ecological.
No baseball, no football…someone could get hurt.
Besides, playing sports exposed kids to dirt.
Dolls were said to be sexist and should be passé,
And video games would rot your entire brain away.
So Santa just stood there, disheveled and perplexed;
He just could not figure out what to do next.
He tried to be merry, tried to be gay,
But you’ve got to be careful with that word today.
His sack was quite empty, limp to the ground;
Nothing fully acceptable could be found.
Something special was needed, a gift that he might
Give to all without angering the Left or the Right.
A gift that would satisfy with no indecision,
Each group of people, every religion.
Every ethnicity, every hue,
Everyone everywhere…even you.
So here is the gift, it’s price beyond worth,
May you and your loved ones enjoy Peace on Earth!!      
     ~~ Author Unknown~~
 
     As you observe the world scene today, there is not a whole lot of “Peace on Earth.” It is desperately needed, but how can it be achieved? On the night of Jesus’ birth, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared before shepherds who were watching over their flocks on the hills near Bethlehem and said, “‘Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths, and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased'” (Lk. 2:10-14).  Before Jesus went to the Cross, He told His disciples, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful” (Jn. 14:27). 
     The only way that there can be “peace on earth” is for the “Prince of Peace,” Jesus Christ, to be here ruling, which one day He will be. Until then, there will be wars, and rumors of wars and turmoil and hatred and injustice and fear and tension.  But until that time, inner peace is available to anyone who will receive God’s “Perfect Gift,” Jesus Christ, as Savior and Lord of their life. The Apostle Paul wrote: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ro. 5:1).  The word translated “peace” means “to bind together that which had been separated; i.e., to bring about a reconciliation.” When we trust Christ for eternal life, we are no longer His enemies, alienated from Him, but are brought back into a right relationship with Him. We have “peace with God.” And then, we can also experience on a daily basis the “peace of God” by depending upon Him for all things. “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 is not dependent upon circumstances, people or things. Yes, “peace” is the perfect gift, but it is only available in the person of Christ. He is our peace. Now that is the Good News the world needs today.
      May the peace of Christ bring you joy and happiness this Christmas and every day.
 
                        Forever His,
                            Pastor Dave
   
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A Message from Outer Space

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Pastor Dave

  For many years, scientists have had their ears cocked to the sky in a search of voices from outer space. They’ve used telescopes and satellites and huge antennae covering acres in order to try to pick up messages from outside our world, hoping to discover if there is life out there and to track down the source of our own existence. While space scientists may have drawn a blank, the amazing fact is that messages from beyond the world are silently signaling, but it’s not a telescope or an antennae we need to focus on them. All we need to do is focus on the order of life and space and we’ll hear “voices” from outside our world.  We have untold messages in nature. Just a few examples:

     1. The Formation of Crystals 
                 A crystal is a solid body, usually clear and transparent, which has a characteristic internal structure and is enclosed by symmetrically arranged plane            
                surfaces, intersecting at definite angles.   The plane surfaces are always in shapes involving the ratios of 2,3,4,6–and no other. Why not?  It’s as if the crystals                 form to programmed instructions.
 
    2.  The Construction of Bee Hives
                Every bee hive is built geometrically, with the same number of hexagonal cells per square inch in every hive. Who’s doing the thinking for the bees? Do they all
                use the same blueprint?  When a worker returns to the hive, it relates the distance of the nectar source by its body motion, and then lands at the appropriate
                angle on the hive with respect to the sun to point in the direction of the nectar source. Does the honeybee have some fantastic built-in computer system?
                If so, who programmed it?
 
 
     3.  The Fibonacci Series (an arithmetic progression)
                You start with one and add the digit before it to get the next (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89 etc). If that series of numbers were to come in
                from outer space on astronomers’ radio telescopes, scientists would shout “LIFE!”  The Fibonacci “message” is being received, but not in the 
                huge bowls of the radio telescopes, but in tiny cupped heads of the garden daisy, where tiny florets in its yellow center form detectable 
                spirals with 21 clockwise and 334 counterclockwise; or the scales on a pinecone with five spirals one way and eight the other; or the bumps on
                a pineapple which has eight or 13 spirals; or the center of sunflowers which have 34 and 55, or on larger blooms, 55 and 89–all of which are 
                adjacent figures in the Fibonacci  Series. Is this mere chance? The odds against are staggering? 
 
     4.  The Venus Fly Trap   
                It can count up to two!  It has trigger hairs in its jaw-like leaves. An insect alights on the lower leaf but nothing happens. The plant ignores the
                first touch, but upon the next movement, the trap springs shut.
 
     5.  Fiddler Crabs 
                Fiddler Crabs on the East coast change color for camouflage as the tide goes out. As the tide returns, the crabs go back to their pinkish 
                normal color. The strange thing is that this cycle happens 50 minutes later every 24 hours–to suit the moon’s control of the tides!  Even 
                removed from their native habitat, the crabs will continue to change color to coincide with every ebb of the sea–but they will adjust to any
                change in time zone and thus low and high tide!
 
     6.  Tree Crickets
                You can calculate the air temperature from the number of chirps per minute emitted by the tree cricket!
 
     7.  The list of such examples is endless. 
                a.  How does the salmon find its way back to its place of birth?
                b.  Who tells the birds to fly south for the winter and north for the summer? How can they find their way?  How can the tern migrate from pole
                    to pole each year?
                c.  How do baby opossums know they’re supposed to climb up into the pouch when they’re born?
                d.  Etc, etc……
 
     Surely all this shows that some extra-terrestrial intelligence is superimposing its mind in the most unexpected places. From the formation of crystals and the construction of bee hives to the chirping of a cricket, messages are coming through. The language of space is all around us. the Master Designer is maintaining and directing that which He created. He has a wonderful plan for even the tiniest of His creatures. 
     If God is concerned enough to camouflage the Fiddler Crab so it can survive when the tide is out or in–surely He is concerned about you and me–the crown of His creation. If God created tiny creatures which could respond to messages from the Creator, don’t you suppose that He made man such that he could receive “messages from outerspace”?  If God has such a carefully laid out plan for these tiny specimens of His creation, just imagine the plan that He has for you and for me!
     Undoubtedly the most incredible part of that plan included God, the Creator, becoming man and walking among us, to communicate with us, show us what He is like and then to rescue us from sin by becoming the innocent substitute for us by bearing our sin and dying on the cross.  We read in John’s Gospel: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…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. 1:1,14).  The writer to the Hebrews put it this way: “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. 2:14,15).    
     Christmas, despite all the commercialism and attempts to make it just a winter holiday, is still the celebration of this inconceivable event–the INCARNATION–God becoming flesh and dwelling among us, coming to rescue us from sin so we could spend eternity with Him in heaven. Jesus said, “I am come that you might have life and that you might have it abundantly” (Jn. 10:10).  Christmas is definitely God’s message from outer space, the message John recorded in that very familiar and beloved verse, “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 truly the “Good News” from outer space that we need on this earth where mankind is in great turmoil due to sin. Have you responded to that message and received God’s love gift–Jesus Christ?
 
                                                                                                                    Forever His,
                                                                                                                          Pastor Dave
 
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Whiter Than Snow

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Pastor Dave

One of the advantages of living in northwest Montana is the fact that we have four distinct seasons, each with its own special beauty.  I always look forward to our first major snowfall–hoping it comes before the end of hunting season!  It didn’t quite make it this year as it came just this past week, when we received about seven inches one day and then the weather turned cool and clear–and beautiful. Since we seldom get wind in the winter, the snow piles up on trees and fenceposts and sticks to fences, creating some amazingly beautiful scenes. The snow provides great insulation and provides moisture for the months to come as it will eventually slowly melt and seep into the ground water reserves, replenishing them. Of course it also means we will not only get some exercise shoveling and snowblowing but we will also be able to get out the cross country skis and take advantage of God’s provision of the billions of snowflakes which have accumulated in the area.

     Most of all, however, it is another reminder of God’s promise to us through His prophet, Isaiah: ” ‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ says the LORD, ‘Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool’ ” (Isa. 1:18). Scarlet and crimson speak of the guilt of those whose hands were “full of blood” (v. 15), speaking of extreme iniquity and perversity (cf Isa. 59:3).  Snow and wool are substances that are naturally white, and therefore portray what is clean, the “blood-guilt” having been removed.  When the prophet Nathan confronted David with his sins of adultery and murder, David confessed, saying, “Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me and I shall be whiter than snow” (Psa. 51:7). Old Testament priests used hyssop, a leafy plant, to sprinkle blood or water on a person being ceremonially cleansed from defilements such as leprosy or touching a dead body (cf Lev. 14:6ff; Num. 19:16-19).  Here hyssop is a figure for David’s longing to be spiritually cleansed from his moral defilement. In forgiveness, God washes away sin and makes us even “whiter than snow.”
      It’s hard to imagine anything whiter than snow, but that’s how clean God makes us when we confess our sin. David also wrote, in Psa. 103:12: “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” (Indicates that they are infinitely removed.)  Isaiah wrote: “For Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy back.” The prophet Micah wrote: “Who is a God like Thee, who pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in unchanging love. He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot. Yes, Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea” (Mic. 7:18,19). (And, as someone astutely observed, “He put up ‘No Fishing’ signs!”)  God spoke to Isaiah, saying: “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins” (Isa. 43:25).  This verse is probably the high point of grace in the Old Testament. In spite of Israel’s utter unworthiness, the Lord, in His grace, has devised a way that He can forgive their sins and grant righteousness without compromising His holiness. He would accomplish this through the work of His Servant (the Messiah…Isa. 53:6). God the Son became man and as “The Lamb of God” took away the sins of the world (Jn. 1:29).  “He (God the Father) made Him (God the Son) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (II Cor. 5:21).
      Once we have trusted Christ as our personal Savior, God sees our sins in Christ on the cross and sees Christ’s righteousness now in us. We have been made eternally clean, “whiter than snow.”  That, of course refers to our position in Christ which is permanently established by faith in Him (Jn. 3:16; Heb. 7:25).  We do, however, still have an old nature (until death) and still sin. “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (I Jn. 1:8).  But, we also have the promise: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I Jn. 1:9). And guess how clean we will be at that moment (in practice)? We will be “whiter, yes, whiter than snow!” 
    Each time you see a new blanket of snow this winter (or at least see pictures of it!), remember the gracious forgiveness offered in the blood of Christ which cleanses us “whiter than snow.” 
 
                                                                                                    Forever His,
                                                                                                            Pastor Dave
    
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The Joy of Christian Fellowship

Posted on December 3, 2012 by Pastor Dave

  We had the privilege recently of a visit from a Christian couple, Dave and Bonnie Perry.  This past year they moved down from Anchorage, Alaska to a location near Spokane, Washington which is much closer to where we live in northwest Montana. When I recently wrote a “Wisdom of the Week” about the importance of “face-to-face” interaction versus texting and tweeting and emailing, Dave responded (by email!) that we needed some “face-to-face” time.  Well, we got to have that and what a joy it was. Dave and his brother Mark had been teens in the youth group I lead when we first came to Montana to work with Rocky Mountain Bible Mission. That’s been about 35 years ago but we have stayed in touch with Dave over the years.

     It was such a blessing to hear Dave and Bonnie tell of how God has been at work in their lives and in their family, how He has used them to minister to others along the way, and how He led them to the job in Washington. There were many “God-sightings” along the way, and I’m sure there will continue to be as they stay in tune with Him. They are definitely using the gifts that God has given them to serve Him and the Body of Christ, and to reach out to the lost. Our hearts rejoiced as we filled in the blanks of the time we have been apart sharing what God has been doing in and through us.  
     I thought of a Scriptural term that describes what we experienced. It is a word that is so abused in our every-day “Christianese” and that is the word fellowship. To many it just means getting together for refreshments between Sunday school and the worship service. You can’t have fellowship without coffee and cookies! We invite folks to a gathering for “food and fun and fellowship.” Most often the “fellowship” is just meeting around the table and talking to each other about everything under the sun except the one thing that would give us true fellowship–the person of Christ. 
     Fellowship for the believer means that we meet and share the things of Christ. We talk together about the Lord Jesus Christ, His Word, and what He has been doing in our lives.  We read in John’s first epistle: “What we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also that you also may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ…But if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (I Jn. 1:3,7).  The Greek word for “fellowship” is koinonia which means “having in common or sharing with, partnership, participating, intercourse, communion, fellowship.”  In other words, it is an intimate time of sharing our spirit and the things of Christ with another believer, a time of sweet communion. It is possible only as we “walk in the light,” meaning to live in obedience to God’s Word, consistently allowing the Holy Spirit to control our lives, to convict of sin, and to direct our paths. As we do that, then we are rewarded with the joy of having “fellowship with one another.” John added in I Jn. 3:4, “And these things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.”  And, we experience the continual cleansing power of the “blood of the Lamb.” (I Jn. 3:7b). 
     When we allow sin in our lives to go unconfessed, we lose that joyous fellowship with other believers and with God. Prayer becomes empty form, worship is just a dull routine, and we become critical of other Christians and probably start staying away from church. Paul said, “what fellowship has light with darkness?” (II Cor. 6:14b).  A backslidden husband, for example, who is walking in spiritual darkness, out of fellowship with God, can never enjoy full fellowship with his Christian wife, who is walking in the light. In a superficial way, the couple can have companionship; but true spiritual fellowship is impossible. This inability to share spiritual experiences causes many personal problems in homes and between members of local churches.  But, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I Jn. 1:9) and our fellowship is restored–with God and with other believers who are walking in the light.  
     It is interesting that the Apostle Paul even uses the word koinonia to speak of our relationship with Christ. He wrote: “God is faithful, through whom you were called into koinonia with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (I Cor. 1:9).   Some translate this “fellowship” and others “partnership.” If you are in Christ, if you have come to Him and trusted Him as your Savior, then not only do you have sweet communion with Him, but you are in a partnership with Christ as well. He is willing to be our partner! Wow!  “We are God’s fellow workers” (I Cor. 3:9). Paul expressed this “partnership” often in his letters. For example, in Col. 1:28,29, He wrote: “And we proclaim Him admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to the power, which mightily works within me.” 
 
                                                              His “Fellow Worker”
                                                                        Pastor Dave
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Adopted as Sons

Posted on November 27, 2012 by Pastor Dave

  My wife and I read Haven Ministries Anchor Devotional each evening before we go to bed. It’s always good to have God’s Word as our focus just before going to sleep. “God’s Word the last word” is a good principle for us all to live by at all times.  This month one of the authors (and editor), Kathy Daane (a pastor’s wife), writes about their experiences in adopting their two children and compares it to our being adopted as children by God through faith in Christ. She said that a couple questions adoptive parents are asked are: “Are they really yours?” and “Do you have any children of your own?”  The answer, of course, is “Yes, they are really ours,” and “Yes, we do have children of our own–those we have adopted!” 

     While all children are a gift from God (Psa. 127:3), those who are adopted, are special in the sense that they are specifically chosen by the adoptive parents to be their own, with all the privileges of being part of that family. The Apostle Paul often reminded the believers in Rome, Galatia and Ephesus that they were brothers, adopted children of God.  He told them that the family of God extended beyond Israel and into the whole Gentile world.  In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul disclosed a “mystery” that God had revealed to Him, which in fact was the basis of his ministry to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15), and that was the “Mystery of the Church,” that God had broken down the barriers between Jew and Gentile and now placed all believers into one body, called the Church (Eph. 2:11-16; 3:1-7), where “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28), “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:26).  
     By our natural birth, we are, in one sense all children of God in the fact that He made us, but in order to be part of His spiritual family, and to spend eternity with Him, we must, as Jesus told Nicodemus, be “born again” (Jn.3:3). The mystery of that is that He does the choosing!  Paul wrote in Eph. 1:3-6:  “…He chose us in Him (Christ) before the foundation of the world….He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.”  “Chose” (eklegomai) is from the same Greek word (eklektos)translated “elect” elsewhere. God’s choice was not simply a matter of His foreseeing our choice of Him, but was a choice solely by His own will and grace (cf Acts 13:48).   Jesus said, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you…” (Jn. 15:16).  This fact, however, in no wise lessens our own responsibility to trust in Christ as Lord and Savior (cf Jn. 3:16-19; 5:25; Ro. 10:9,10). How these two fit together we can’t understand; we can only thank and praise Him. As the Psalmist wrote: “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain to it” (Psa. 139:6). The Apostle Paul, also in awe at the plan of God, exclaimed: “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!” (Ro. 11:36), to which I would shout “Amen!”
     The word that Paul uses for our “adoption as sons” (Eph. 1:5) is the Greek word, uiohothesia, which means “the placing as a son.”  To the Galatians, Paul wrote: “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”  Jesus said, “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, who were born, not of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (Jn. 1:12,13).  The “after its kind” of Gen. 1 represents a law of reproduction that governs the whole realm of biological nature. It does not, however, govern the realm of the Spirit. Christians cannot beget Christians. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (Jn. 3:6). It takes a fresh act of God every time to produce someone who is truly a child of His. Paul refers to the process as “adoption as sons.” Those whom God chooses He places as “full sons,” with all the privileges of sonship. Human parents, through adoption, can bestow their love, resources, name, and inheritance on an adopted child, but not their own distinct characteristics. But God miraculously gives His own nature to those whom He has chosen and who have trusted in Christ. He makes them His own children in the image of His divine Son, giving them not just Christ’s riches and blessings as “heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ” (Ro. 8:17), but also His very nature (II Pet. 1:4). And He gives us the Holy Spirit Who “bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Ro. 8:16). We have “received the spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba Father!’ “Abba” is an Aramaic term for Father that conveys a sense of intimacy. Like the English terms “Daddy,” or Papa,” it connotes tenderness, dependence, and a relationship free of fear or anxiety.  As adopted children we really do belong to Him and can call Him “Daddy!”
     The children (one of which was adopted and knew it) of a family were discussing how they came to be part of this particular family. Those who were born into the family were making fun of the one who had been adopted, but he rose to the occasion by saying to them: “Mom and Dad were stuck with you, but I was specially chosen!”  He understood the special relationship we have as adopted children of God.
 
                                                                                                        Forever His (By adoption!)
                                                                                                                       Pastor Dave     
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You Can’t Eat Tracks!

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Pastor Dave

 My oldest brother (age 80) was here for our annual rifle hunt together. We had some beautiful hikes, covering about 40 miles in the mountains over the five days.  We did see some doe deer and a couple cow elk, but you can only shoot bucks and bulls, so we did not fire a shot, which means we didn’t have all the work of getting an animal out of the woods(!), but also that we didn’t provide any meat for the table.  Since there had been some snow the week before, we were able to at least see tracks to know if there was anything around. I have Peterson Field Guide Animal Tracks book (by Olaus J. Murie), so we had fun identifying all the tracks we saw each day: moose, elk, deer (whitetail and mule deer), bear, wolf, coyote, grouse, turkey, squirrel, weasel (ermine in the winter), bobcat, pine martin and cotton tail and snowshoe rabbits.  Unfortunately, we saw wolf tracks almost everywhere we went, which accounts for the reduced number of deer, elk and moose we get to see around here.

     While it is kind of fun to see all the tracks, it doesn’t help to fill your deer and elk tags. You can’t eat tracks!  (Oh, I guess you can buy some “Moose Tracks” ice cream and I believe there is some “Bear Attack” ice cream as well.)  Tracks are only evidence that the real thing exists and has passed through.  But until you see the animal making those tracks, you go home empty handed. As I pondered that, I thought of how so many people only follow Jesus’ “tracks,” but never meet Him personally and gain eternal life. They may read the Gospels in the Bible and study the life of Christ, His miracles and His teaching. They may even go to Israel and “walk where Jesus walked,” hearing about what events took place at each site.  They may attempt to gain heaven by following the example of His life and by considering in each situation, “What would Jesus do?”  Well, good luck with that!  The Apostle Peter wrote in his first epistle, “but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am Holy'” (I Pet. 1:15,16 cf Lev. 11:44,45). If you are banking on your attempt to follow Jesus’ example for your eternal life, you’d best reconsider, for that means you have to be totally without sin–as He was, and that you cannot accomplish. James wrote: “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all” (Jas. 2:10).  Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Ro. 3:23).  That is, no matter how hard we may try, or how “good” we may appear, we all fall short of the standard, which is the holiness of Christ. That is the standard by which we will be measured if we decide to have God judge us based on our performance, and the verdict will always be “guilty.”
     Trying to make it to heaven by following Jesus’ example and being the best we can be is like our following tracks of deer and elk. We brought home no meat.  Jesus, on one occasion, told the Pharisees “You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me, and yet you are unwilling to come to Me, that you may have life” (Jn. 6:39,40.  There is no life in the Scriptures, but they will lead you to Him (Jesus) in whom is life eternal.  Scriptures are like the animal tracks. They lead you to the One who “made the tracks,” for it is only in a personal encounter with Him that we gain eternal life. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me” (Jn. 14:6). Eternal life is in a Person, Jesus Christ. It is not in a creed, it is not in trying to follow Jesus’ “tracks” by doing what He would do. It is only through trusting Him as the One who died in our place, for our sin, and rose again. John wrote: “And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life” (I Jn. 5:11,12).
     You might be really hungry and thirsty, and have before you a freshly baked loaf of bread, and a glass of cold milk.  Ooh, it looks so good and the bread smells so good!  But, you could sit and look at that bread and milk all day and it won’t help your hunger or thirst. It will just accentuate it. Well, a lot of folks just look at Jesus, “the bread of life” (Jn. 6:35) and “the Living Water,”  but never partake, and remain hungry and thirsty. Jesus said, “He who comes to Me shall not hunger and he who believes in Me shall never thirst” (Jn. 6:35; 4:10).  You can’t just try to follow Him and do as He does, you have to come to Him, admitting you are a lost sinner, and believe in Him as the only One who can save you through His death, burial and resurrection. Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life” (Jn.5:24). You see, just trying to be like Jesus (“following the tracks”) does not make us righteous. There is only One who is righteous, and that is Christ. When we receive Him as our Savior, then we have HIS righteousness.  “But by His (God’s) doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and RIGHTEOUSNESS and sanctification, and redemption” (I Cor. 1:30).  That is the only basis upon which any of us will be allowed into God’s perfect heaven, by having the righteousness of Christ credited to our account. “He (God) made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteous of God in Him” (II Cor. 5:21).
     Have you come to Him and believed in Him for eternal life, or are you still trying to “follow tracks”?
 
                                                                                            Forever His,
                                                                                                    Pastor Dave
    
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Not What We Expected–But, What God Planned!

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Pastor Dave

 I don’t know how many of you were like me last Tuesday night. I had trouble sleeping, feeling a bit like I had been kicked in the stomach and couldn’t get my breath. My emotions ranged from disappointment, to disbelief, to confusion, to anger, to discouragement with my mind trying to foresee what the outcome of the elections meant for the future of our country, and for our children and grandchildren, and for believers and churches that preach the Word, and for Christian organizations that choose to stand for biblical principles, and for companies run by Christians, etc, etc….  I imagined all sorts of scenarios and spent much time in prayer.

     The next day as I was working on an outdoor project that didn’t require the attention of my mind, I had a good talk with God and my disappointment and discouragement turned to excitement, as God helped me remember that HE is still the one in control and will use the conditions of our country to “grow His Church.”  I had to acknowledge that when things go our way and make it “easier” for us to openly live the Christian life we have the natural tendency–due to our old, sinful flesh–to become apathetic and complacent, which I believe the Church in this great nation definitely has become. As we look at the history of Christianity, we see that it has grown the most when it is persecuted the most. In fact, God had to use persecution to get the believers to leave Jerusalem. After Pentecost folks were getting saved daily in Jerusalem and they were having such a joyous time fellowshipping and enjoying Bible study together that they neglected God’s command (Acts 1:8) to also spread the Good News throughout Judea and Samarian and to the “remotest part of the earth.”  Luke writes: “And on that day a great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria…Therefore those who had been scattered went about preaching the word” (Acts 8:1b,4).  Jesus said, “I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it” (Mt. 16:18).  That’s a promise, and Jesus knows how to fulfill it. He knows just what it takes to build His church, and He makes no mistakes, nor does He waste anything.  All is working as He plans.
     I needed that reminder and to realize afresh that we must never stake our future on political success or failure. As believers, we should hold an eternal perspective (“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil. 3:20), and that means standing for truth–whether it is winning or losing in the political arena. We cannot–indeed must not–depend on the government for our spiritual welfare. We need to continue “contending earnestly for the faith” (Jude 3) in an increasingly dark and hostile world–no matter what the outcome and must not succumb to the temptation to despair and disengage, believing that America is beyond hope. The outcome of the election emphasizes our mission as “ambassadors for Christ” (II Cor. 5:20)  and we must renew our commitment to help hearts be reconciled to God, which is the only cure for society’s ills–not our government, not the White House, or Congress, or Supreme Court. The Psalmist wrote: “Do not trust in princes, in mortal man, in whom there is no salvation. His spirit departs, he returns to the earth; in that very day his thoughts perish. How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God” (Psa. 146:3-5). 
     We who know Christ as Savior, local churches that uphold the Word, and Christian organizations such as Alliance Defending Freedom, Family Research Council, and The American Center for Law and Justice will probably face even greater spiritual battles in the near future regarding religious freedoms, traditional (biblical) marriage, freedom of speech–even from our pulpits, the sanctity of human life (beginning at conception), and the moral sins which are now called “acceptable alternate lifestyles.” As a nation we will be facing the consequences of our choice to go against a biblical world view.  But, for us, it is time to get up, dust ourselves off, and trust in God’s ability to work either through or inspite of who is in the position of leadership.
     Daniel, who was with the Jewish exiles in Babylon, and continued to stand for truth, no matter what the consequences might be for him and for His people, said, “Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. And it is He who changes the times and the epochs (seasons); He removes kings and establishes kings…” (Dan. 2:20,21).   The Apostle Paul, who was living under the oppressive ungodly Roman Empire, wrote this to the believers in Rome:  “Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God” (Ro. 13:1).  Wow, that’s pretty clear! I would say, that God is ultimately calling the shots. I recall a song we used to sing at church: “God is still on the throne, Almighty God is He; and He cares for His own throughout eternity. So, let come what may, whatever it is I only say that  ‘I have Christ in my heart.’ ”  In other words, for this I have Jesus. Praise God, I’m on the winning side!
 
                                                                                    Still in His care, and excited about the future!
                                                                                                                        Pastor Dave
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The Storms of Life

Posted on November 5, 2012 by Pastor Dave

We were reminded again last week of the power of nature when “an angry girl named Sandy” slammed the Eastern Seaboard causing unbelievable damage and the loss of a number of lives. Many lost their homes and businesses, and life–as they knew it–came to a screeching halt. Presidential campaigning was even curtailed for a couple days. Somehow perspectives were instantly changed into survival mode.  Thousands have come to aid in the clean-up, and rebuilding will take months. For some life will never be the same again.

     Storms can drastically change our plans and disrupt our lives. We don’t plan on them, and even though we might do some to prepare over them, we really have no control over them. But then over how much do we really have control? God is the one who determines if we will even take our next breath. Our idea of “control” is really just an illusion. The overwhelming power and uncontested authority of a major storm like hurricane Sandy is just another reminder that God is in charge and we’re not.          When Job’s world came crashing down, including not only the loss of his livestock, but also the death of all his children as a result of great wind that swept across the wilderness and destroyed the house in which they were having a meal, Job received “counsel” from several so-called “comforters.” One of them, Elihu, said to Job, “Out of the south comes the storm, and out of the north the cold. From the breath of God ice is made, and the expanse of the waters is frozen. Also with moisture He loads the thick cloud; He disperses the cloud of His lightning. And it changes direction, turning around by His guidance, that it may do whatever He commands it on the face of the inhabited earth. Whether for correction, or for His world, or for lovingkindness, He causes it to happen” (Job 37:9-13). But didn’t Satan bring the adversity into Job’s life? Is he in control of the weather and storms?  If you carefully read Job 1:13, you will discover that the power Satan exercised over Job was granted to him by the Lord. Satan may be “the prince of the power of the air” (Eh. 6:12), but that indicates his power over spiritual beings (fallen angels), not the physical elements.
     We read in Gen. 8:1, that after the Flood of Noah, “God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the water subsided” (Gen. 8:1).  During Israel’s wandering in the wilderness, they complained about their constant diet of manna and wanted some meat (Nu. 11:4-6,18). After Moses poured his heart out to God about the people’s request, “there went forth a wind from the LORD, and it brought quail from the sea…” (v. 31).  The heavens and the heavenly bodies are “the work of Thy (God’s) fingers” (Ps. 8:3). “The heavens are Thine, the earth also is Thine; the world and all it contains, Thou hast founded them” (Psa. 89:11).  Asaph, the writer of Psa. 83, asked God to use a storm as an instrument of fear: “So pursue them with Thy tempest, and terrify them with Thy storm” (v. 15). We see Him doing that very thing in Psa. 107:25-29: “For He spoke and raised up a stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea. They rose up to the heavens, they went down to the depths; their soul melted away in their misery. They reeled and staggered like a drunken man, and were at their wits’ end. Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and He brought them out of their distresses. He caused the storm to be still, so that the waves of the sea were hushed.”  Psa. 148:7,8 calls for praise “…from the fire and hail, snow and clouds; stormy wind, fulfilling His word.”
     Who can forget the events in the life of the “reluctant missionary,” Jonah, when he tried running from God rather than going to preach in Nineveh? “…the LORD hurled a great wind on the sea and there was a great storm on the sea so that the ship was about to break up” Jon. 1:4).  And remember the storms on the Sea of Galilee when Jesus was here on earth. On the one occasion, Jesus was with His disciples in a boat when a great storm arose  “so that the boat was covered with the waves” (Mt. 8:24). The frightened disciples awakened the sleeping Jesus who “rebuked the winds and the sea; and it became perfectly calm. And the men marveled, saying, ‘What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?'” (vv. 26,27).  Waves large enough to cover a boat on a small lake in such a short time could only have been generated by a tremendously powerful wind, requiring a complex of forces in the atmosphere, triggered by the sun itself. Even when wind dies down, the waves will continue for a time, but suddenly both ceased at once. No known natural phenomenon could have produced this. Jesus removed not only the symptoms (the waves) but the cause (the wind). The Psalmist said, “The sea is His, for it was He who made it…Whatever the LORD pleases, He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all the deeps. He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; who makes lightnings for the rain; who brings forth the wind from His treasuries” (Psa. 95:5; 135:6,7).
     I guess there’s really no question Who is in control of the weather. You may hear about “climate change,” and how we are polluting the earth and causing changes in the weather, but the truth is–God is in control and we are not!!  And storms aren’t random–whether in nature or in other areas of our lives such as health, marriage, job, family, or relationships. Nahum, who prophesied the destruction of Nineveh, said: “In whirlwind and storm is His way, and clouds are the dust beneath His feet” (Nah. 1:3).  While there are many mysteries about storms and floods, God does nothing on a whim, but always with a purpose–His purpose. “When ‘storms’ hit your life or the lives of those you love, you start asking questions you wouldn’t have asked if it weren’t for the storm, questions that make you stop and think about what’s really important and what really isn’t. You face issues you might not otherwise face…Most importantly, the storm that’s blowing you around can actually blow you Home–to the God of the storm. Because, sadly, we just keep doing what we want to do with our life until there’s something we can’t fix, we can’t change, or we can’t control. So your storm may be your wake-up call: to change your plans; to take your clenched hands off the wheel and let the ONE who should have been driving all along take you where you were created to be” (Ron Hutchcraft in A Word with You, 10-31-12).
  Do you happen to recall what it was that brought John Newton, the author of “Amazing Grace,” to his knees to commit his life to Christ?  He was a slave trader until a violent storm hit his ship and he cried out to Jesus to save him from his sin. It took a storm and a great fish to get Jonah to Nineveh. Storms come in various forms but God always has a purpose in them. The child of God can trust Him even in the things he/she doesn’t understand. Remember, God said: “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa. 55:9).  Don’t forget Elihu’s words to Job: “Whether for correction, or for His world, or for lovingkindness, He causes it to happen” (Job 37:13).  If God specializes in controlling storms, then what storm in your life do you need to commit to Him today? Pain? Doubt? Discouragement? A broken relationship?  
 
                                                                                                                                   Forever His,
                                                                                                                                            Pastor Dave
 
P.S.  God doesn’t promise security from life’s storms, but security in life’s storms (cf Isa. 43:2).  If God sends the storm, He will also steer the vessel. Smooth sailing doesn’t make skillful sailors.  Better to go through the storm with Christ than to have smooth sailing without Him. It’s not what you are walking through but who you are walking with that makes all the difference.
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Has Technology Really Brought Us Closer Together?

Posted on October 29, 2012 by Pastor Dave

Maybe you’ve received the recent email showing folks “getting together” at a coffee shop, a cafe and restaurant, enjoying the beauty of a museum or a day at the beach, taking in a ball game, having a date with a girlfriend, taking a drive in a convertible. In each case everyone in their “get togethers” is busy texting (including the driver of the convertible!), totally ignoring the people they are with. The email ends with this revealing, prophetic quote from Albert Einstein: “I fear the day when technology overlaps with humanity. The world will only have a generation of idiots.”

     But just think of all the ways technology has enabled us to stay in touch: email, video chat sites, Facebook, Twitter, texting.  The number of ways we have available today for communicating is staggering. (And oh yes, we do still have the telephone and can actually still mail letters through “snail mail.”  When is the last time you wrote someone a letter?)   We are living in an amazing time where we can instantly communicate with others, be they family, friends, missionaries, politicians or preachers.  We can share intimate details about our lives, argue about politics, talk about our favorite sports team, voice our opinion on theological matters, strike up a “relationship” with someone and “fall in love”–all without ever even meeting each other face-to-face.
     And now, thanks to a team of researchers at MIT, we can even give physical affection remotely. They have created an inflatable vest that links you to your Facebook account and “hugs” you every time someone “likes” something you’ve posted–a perfect example of how the rise of social media has changed the concept of “relationships.”  Today we have “virtual friendships” that fall woefully short of the real thing. Dr. Sherry Turkle, a specialist in technology and society, also at MIT, has spent years researching the ways technology changes people, and has written a book entitled Alone Together.  She concludes that all this technology that is supposed to connect us, has made us even more lonely. We’re afraid of intimacy and so “from social networks we’re designing technologies that give us the illusion of companionship without the demands of friendship. We turn to technology to help us feel connected in ways we can comfortably control. But we are not so comfortable. We are not so in control.”  
      Andy Braner, president of Camp Kivu in Colorado and a thoughtful observer of the youth culture, said, in an interview on Breakpoint that “Loneliness is the ironic epidemic of this over-connected age and students are longing to be truly known and truly connected.”  A person–young and old alike–may have literally hundreds of “Facebook ‘friends,’ but how many real friends do they have?  How many people do they actually have with whom they spend “face-to-face” time, really getting to know one another and accepting one another as they are?  Aristotle said, “Wishing to be friends is a quick work, but friendship is a slow-ripening fruit.”  True friendship grows by spending time together, interacting together, going through tough times together. Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints on your heart. Doug Larson said, “A true friend is one who overlooks your failures and tolerates your successes!”  Wise king Solomon wrote–under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit–many things about friendship: “A man of many friends comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Pr. 18:24); “Wealth adds many friends, but a poor man is separated from his friend…Every man is a friend to him who gives gifts” (Pr. 19:4,6b); “A friend loves at all times” (Pr. 17:17a). 
     Developing genuine friendships is like Aristotle said,  “slow-ripening fruit,” then it takes time spent together, but if that time is spent texting others, no relationships are being developed. It is amazing to watch what goes on in a restaurant, or at a ball game, or at any place where people are getting together. Many of them are only there physically, as they are spending their time staying in touch with all their “friends.”  No wonder, as John Stonestreet commented on Breakpoint and Dr. Sherry Turkle of MIT wrote, with all the fantastic means of technology today for staying connected, we seem to be “Alone Together.” 
     The Apostle Paul didn’t live in a day of the technology available to us, but he understood the importance of actually being with someone, of talking to them “face-to-face.” He wrote this to the believers at Thessalonica, “But we, brethren, having been bereft of you for a short while–in person, not in spirit–were all the more eager with great desire to see your face…as we night and day keep praying most earnestly that we may see your face and may complete what is lacking in your faith…” (I Thes. 2:17; 3:10).  He knew there were some things he just couldn’t accomplish by letter. In John’s second epistle, he wrote to the recipient: “Having many things to write to you, I do not want to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, that your joy may be made full” (v. 12). Again, in his third epistle, written to a fellow believer, Gaius, John said: “But I hope to see you shortly, and we shall speak face to face…” (v.14).
     And speaking of face-to-face encounters, the Apostle Paul wrote: “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully just as I also have been fully known” (I Cor. 13:12). And the Apostle John’s comment was: “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when he appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is” (I Jn. 3:2). 
     Technology is a great tool but it is no replacement for actual face-to-face time with others. It is easy to be so distracted by our gadgets of “communication” that we end up being “alone together.”  How about spending some “deliberate time connecting with family and friends the old-fashioned way. You know–without the text lingo, the friend requests, and the inflatable vest!” (John Stonestreet in Breakpoint).
 
                                                                                                           Forever His,
                                                                                                                    Pastor Dave
    
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Vote Based on Biblical Values

Posted on October 22, 2012 by Pastor Dave

 Very likely the upcoming  election could be the most crucial our nation has ever faced. Never before have we been at such a crossroads regarding the direction we will head with respect to traditional Judeo-Christian ethics and values.  As evidence of the gravity of this election, prayer groups are meeting across the nation praying for our country and the election, and Billy Graham, the world’s best-known evangelist, who has always steered clear of politics and has befriended each standing president for decades, is running full-page advertisements in a number of newspapers across the country, urging voters to vote for candidates that support biblical values of life, marriage and religious freedom . Here is one of the pleas from Billy Graham:

                 “The legacy we leave behind for our children, grandchildren, and this great nation is crucial. As I approach my 94th birthday, I realize this could be my last.
                   I believe it vitally important that we cast our ballots for candidates who base their decisions on biblical principles and support the nation of Israel. I urge
                    you to vote for those who protect the sanctity of life and support the biblical definition of marriage between a man and a woman. Vote for biblical values this                     November 6th, and pray with me that America will remain one nation under God.”
 
     All Christians, but especially those in leadership roles, have a high calling to speak the truth from the Word of God. Dietrich BonHoeffer, who faced the atrocities of a Nazi prisoner of war camp, said, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil.” There is an ongoing struggle for the soul of America and it appears to have reached a crisis point which may well determine the future “greatness” of this nation. Many people look to pastors and Christian ministry leaders for guidance on important moral and social issues. Could we possibly do any more or any less than vote for candidates who most closely reflect our own biblical values?  As Dr. Graham so eloquently stated, there is so much at stake for the future of our families and nation. As citizens of this great nation, we are afforded the right to choose the candidates (executive and representative) who best reflect the vision we hold for a constitutionally based government and who most closely embrace the biblical core values that have molded our nation. Andrew Jackson, on his deathbed, pointing to the Bible on his nightstand, said, “That book, sir, is the rock on which our republic rests.” 
     Erwin Lutzer, pastor of the Moody Church in Chicago, recently wrote an article entitled “How Should a Christian Vote” emphasizing that “whether we are enthusiastic about our political candidates or disappointed with our choices, we should not shirk our duty as good citizens.” I would add that we need to value our vote and vote our values. Pastor Lutzer wrote, “In my opinion, we should vote for the person who best represents our convictions on the following issues” (I have added a few verses to his):
        1. Character and Integrity
                “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when the wicked rule, the people mourn…The king by judgment establishes the land but he that
                receives gifts overthrows it…If a ruler listens to lies, all his servants are wicked” (Pr.29: 2,4,12).
        2.  Sanctity of Human Life
            a. “In sin my mother conceive me” (Ps. 51:5–indicates that life begins at conception).
            b.  “For you have formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb” (Psa. 139:13)
            c.  “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you” (Jer. 1:5…God speaking to Jeremiah)
        3.  Marriage: One man and one woman
            a.  “And the LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man” (Gen. 2:22).
            b.  “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination” (Lev. 18:22)
            c.  “For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same
                  way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and                       receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a
                  depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper” (Ro. 1:26-28).
        4. Freedom for Religious Speech
            a.  “So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, ‘Whether it is right in the sight                 of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, but we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard'” (Acts 4:18-20).
            b.  “Let the redeemed of the LORD say so…” (Psa. 107:2)
        5.  Racial Equality
            a.  “And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on the face of the earth” (Acts 17:26).
            b.  “…and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priest to our                 God” (Rev. 5:9,10).
            c.  “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28).
         6.  National Security
             “And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection                         against them day and night” (Neh. 4:8,9).
         7.  Taxation and Government Spending
             “We have borrowed money for the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards…we are forcing our sons and daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have                     already been enslaved, but it is not in our power to help it, for other men have our fields and our vineyards” (Neh. 5:4,5).
        8.  Support for Israel (my addition to pastor Lutzer’s list)
            a.  “And I will bless those who bless you (Abraham and his offspring). And the one who curses you, I will curse. In you all the families of the earth shall be                         blessed” (Gen. 12:3). 
            b.  “Blessed is everyone who blesses you and cursed is everyone who curses you” (Nu. 24:9…Balaam’s prophecy regarding Israel).
 
“Whether our preferred candidate wins or loses, we have a God-given responsibility to pray for our leaders and to support them in whatever way we can. Paul, addressing the Romans when Nero was on the throne, wrote: ‘Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God’ (Ro. 13:1).  “Vote with prayer, seeking wisdom from God, keeping your biblical values in mind.”
 
    Our political candidates often close their speeches with, “And may God bless America.” It’s easy to say this, but it will only happen to the extent that the people are willing to bless and honor God. “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD” (Psa. 33:12).  “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.”  Ann Graham Lotz, daughter of Billy Graham, said, “How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?” She’s spot on! The answer for our individual lives and the society of our nation lies in the lordship of Jesus Christ. As Andrew Jackson said, “The Bible is the rock on which our republic (must) rest.”
     So, do your homework, check out the candidates on biblical issues, pray, and get out and vote. And, if you think your vote doesn’t really matter, consider this: In 1776, one vote gave America the English language instead of German!  In 1941, one vote saved the Selective Service System just 12 weeks before Pearl Harbor was attacked! And, in 1923, one vote gave Adolph Hitler control of the Nazi party!  Never underestimate the power of one! Please exercise your privilege to vote in this election, and vote based on your biblical world view.
 
                Forever His,
                        Pastor Dave 
           
           
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