Wisdom of The Week

     We live in quite an amazing age of technology. Never before have so many had access to so much information. It is totally mind boggling to see what is available today at the touch of a few computer keys taking us to a search engine such as Google or Good Search.  My wife has a box of pears to can and was wondering why we go to all the bother of peeling them. Is it really necessary?  So, she just typed in her question on Google and within a minute had some answers. Guess we will try it without peeling them. Sure will save time. Any of you ever try it?  How did they turn out?
 
     As our technology and knowledge available expands at an exponential rate, ironically  what we are discovering helps us to see how little we know.  According to Reuters News Service, for example, the Hubble Space telescope has seen 10,000 galaxies in a window of the night sky about the size of a full moon. Who can begin to imagine what it means to find 10,000 galaxies in one small area of the heavens?  Our own galaxy, the Milky Way, is made up of about 100 billion stars, and our whole solar system revolves around only one of them! 
 
      Research on the human body has shown how amazingly complex we really are.   The Human Genome Project, for example, is harvesting knowledge faster than our minds can process, as scientists attempt to map and sequence all of the 100,000 genes of the human body, with the goal of finding treatment and prevention of disease.  Deciphering the DNA alphabet of the human body brings with it both exciting and disturbing possibilities.  As with everything else in life, there is a downside to living on an information highway. Overloaded computers can crash and our minds too can lock up. While looking for useful information, we can get lost in a blinding blizzard of data that our finite brains just cannot handle.  And we encounter information that can be dangerous to our emotional, mental and spiritual health.  The same browsers we are using to solve our problems and answer our questions can also be used for pornography or instructions on how to make a bomb or to carry out crimes or acts of terrorism. 
 
     The very first couple to inhabit this planet discovered long ago that knowledge without wisdom is dangerous. By eating from the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” they made the fatal mistake of trying to match wits with their Creator.  They were deceived by Satan into thinking that they would be “as God” and wouldn’t  need to depend upon Him any longer. Well, that lie is still around today and  many are following it.  When sin entered the human race through Adam and Eve’s disobedience, human knowledge became infected like corrupted computer files which have been attacked by a virus that clogs information systems.   The pursuit of knowledge without wisdom can overload our minds and drown us in data and lead us in a direction away from God. Because of our old sinful nature inherited from Adam, we have a tendency to use knowledge for things that are opposed to the character and purposes of God.  The Apostle Paul said that “knowledge makes arrogant” (I Cor. 8:1); i.e, knowledge alone  (without a godly perspective) leads to humanistic pride.  King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived (apart from Christ) wrote much about knowledge and wisdom, saying: “The tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable, but the mouth of fools spouts folly” (Pr. 15:2).  Our secular  knowledge needs to be governed by an overriding knowledge of God and His Word.  The Old Testament prophet Hosea wrote: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” (Hos. 4:6).  They didn’t  “know” God.  Solomon said “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of  knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Pr. 1:7).  “My son, if  you will receive my sayings, and treasure my commandments within you…then you will discern the fear of the LORD, and discover the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up wisdom for the upright” (Pr. 2:1,5-7).  “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Pr.  9:10).  “Wise men store up knowledge, but with the mouth of the foolish, ruin is at hand” (Pr. 10:14). 
 
      Wisdom is the practical side of knowledge, enabling us to use insight  skillfully to reach a desired goal. But, there is more than one kind of wisdom.  According to the New Testament, the wisdom of the world is different than the wisdom of God. The first is self-centered and uses knowledge to get ahead at the expense of others. The second comes from God and uses knowledge to glorify God and for the good of others. Paul speaks of worldly wisdom in his letter to the Romans, saying: “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him  as God, or give thanks;; but they became futile in their speculations, and their  foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools” (Ro.  1:21,22). As a result they began worshiping the creation (evolution and animism) instead of the Creator and dishonored God with perverted sexual  practices of homosexuality and lesbianism (Ro. 1:23-28).  In contrast, James wrote about Godly wisdom, saying: “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits,  unwavering, without hypocrisy” (Jas. 3:16). 
 
      There is an unbelievable amount of information available today,  literally at our fingertips. But, be careful in accessing it that you filter it through a knowledge of God and His Word.  Make sure that you use Godly wisdom to apply the knowledge you gain. “How blessed is the man who  finds (godly) wisdom, and the man who gains understanding.  For it is better than the profit of silver, and its gain than fine gold. She is more  precious than jewels; and nothing you desire compares with her” (Pr.  3:13-16).
 
                       Forever  His,
 
                                 Pastor  Dave

                                                       
 
 
     Those of you who have studied science are probably familiar with the two laws of thermodynamics. The first is “the law of the conservation of mass and energy,” which observes that matter is neither being created or destroyed, merely transferred from one energy form to another.  The second is “the law of increasing entropy,” observing that as you pass from one energy form to another some of the usable energy is lost so that things run down and wear out  and become more random and less complex. These two laws, by the way, totally contradict the theory of macro-evolution which is taught as scientific fact in our public institutions!  But these two laws do support the biblical teaching of creation for Genesis 2:1,2 says, “Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. And by the seventh day God completed His work which He had done; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.”  God rested, not because He was tired, but because His work was completed. He would no longer be creating, but sustaining what He had made. The Apostle Paul wrote in Col. 1:16,17, “For by Him (Christ) all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth….And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”   The first law of thermodynamics is an observation of God’s completed, sustained creation.  Then, when Adam and Eve sinned, we read in Gen. 3:14-20 that God put a curse upon the earth resulting in struggle, pain, suffering and death.  Thus we see that the second law of thermodynamics is an observation of the curse placed on the earth because of sin.       The term “entropy” means “turning inward” or “inversion,” or “confusion.”  In science, entropy is a measure of disorder in any given system.  The universal law of increasing entropy states that every system tends to disintegrate into disorder, or confusion, if left to itself.  This tendency can only be reversed if energy is applied to it effectively from a source outside the system.
      This universal scientific law has a striking parallel in the spiritual realm.  A person turning inward to draw on his own strength and ability to “cope” will inevitably deteriorate eventually into utter spiritual confusion and death. In Prov. 14:12  Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, wrote: “There is a way  which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”  In the New Testament, we read these words from Paul: “Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God.” (II Cor 3:5)
       The word “entropy” is from the Greek word entrope  (en-trop-ay’) which is used two times in the New Testament. The first is in  I Cor. 6:5 which reads, “I say this to your shame (entrope). Is it so, that there is not among you one wise man who will be able to decide between his brethren.”  The second is in I Cor. 15:34:  “Become sober-minded as you ought, and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame (entrope).”   In both verses, the word entrope is translated “shame.”   Evidently this special variety of shame is associated with taking controversies between Christian brethren to ungodly judges and also with failing to witness to the non-Christian community. Instead of bringing the true wisdom of God to the ungodly, such “entropic Christians” were turning to worldly wisdom to resolve their own spiritual problems. This inverted behavior was nothing less than spiritual confusion!
      The Apostle Paul bore witness to this fact as he wrote to the church at Rome, saying: “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the wishing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not” (Ro.  7:18).  When we turn within to find strength to deal with life, we are drawing upon our Adamic, sinful nature, which the prophet Jeremiah described this way: “The heart (old nature) is deceitful and desperately  wicked. Who can understand it (i.e., how bad it is)?” (Jer. 17:9).   But, when Christ enters the life, that person becomes a new creation in Christ Jesus (II Cor. 5:17).  Through the Holy Spirit and through the Holy Scriptures, “His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to  life and godliness” (II Pet. 1:3).  The law of spiritual entropy is transformed into the “law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” (Ro.  8:2).  We have a new power working within us. It is Christ living in us through the Holy Spirit (Gal. 2:20).  Now we can say with Paul,  “I can do all things through Him (Christ) who strengthens me.” (Phil. 4:13)  So, “we are not adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves (our old flesh), but our adequacy is from God (Christ living in us through the Holy Spirit)” (II Cor.  3:5).   
      If you are going to “turn within,” be sure it is to depend upon Christ, not upon your own abilities and strength. Don’t forget Jesus’ words in John  15:5, “for apart from me you can do nothing.”  
 
 Forever His,

     Pastor Dave
 
                                                                                   

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   Sorry that the “Wisdom of the Week” is late this week. I spent the first two days hauling and splitting firewood.  One of the fellas in our church had spotted a large larch tree which had just died and was accessible from the highway about 30 miles out of Libby, so Monday some seven of us from our church headed out there with our trailers and pickups and chainsaws and wedges and mauls.  As we prepared to fell the large tree people were stopping along the highway to see what was going on and some asked if they could stay to watch the tree come down (they ‘split’ as soon as the hard work started!).    
     Well, we ended up with five loads of firewood on Monday and some of us went back Tuesday to finish and got another three loads!  As we were working Monday morning–when I usually do “Wisdom of the Week”–one of the men said,  “I’ll bet there’ll be a “Wisdom of the Week” come out of this somehow.” I replied, “I’m sure there probably will be!”  It seems that if we are open to it, there are spiritual lessons for us to learn every day as we go about our activities. All of life is really a classroom if we are teachable and looking for what God would show us each day as to where we can trust Him and apply His Word to our situations. 
     Anyway, as we  worked together I was reminded of a number of truths from God’s Word which applied to our wood-gathering project.  So, Tom, here goes!  
     1)   First of all, the tree we felled was more than what one, or even two people would want to tackle. It required a group of us working together.  I was reminded of the importance of being part of a local assembly of believers where we have the support and encouragement of fellow believers to tackle challenges that alone would be too great. The Apostle Paul said that we are to  “Bear one another’s burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal.  6:2).  Paul used the Greek word baros which means “heavy load.” Interestingly just a few verses later Paul said “For each one shall bear his own load” (v. 5).  There is no contradiction here, for in this case Paul used a different Greek word, phortion, which means “responsibility.”  The privilege of having Christian friends who will share and help us with otherwise unbearable loads does not absolve us of the responsibility of doing our own part in carrying out our God-given responsibilities.   
     2)    We let the ones with the most logging experience do the felling of the large tree. We didn’t argue over who got the honor.  There is always some danger involved in felling trees–especially big ones–and you need someone who really knows what they are doing. The rest of us were very content to help cut up bolts, split them and load them onto the trucks.  In the body of Christ, God has equipped each of us uniquely with certain talents and gifts and we need to work together as a team, not envying another’s gifts and competing with each other (Rom. 12; I Cor. 12).  Everyone is just as important as the other as we work together, but particular tasks are best left to those who have the special gift and/or experience in that area. Those felling the tree did an excellent job and placed it right where we wanted it to go (not on the highway!)   
     3)  As we began cutting through the large-diameter log and splitting the bolts small enough to lift and load, we realized how out-of-shape we were, as we were huffing and puffing and having to take frequent “breathers.”  In our spiritual walk, when we encounter a challenging situation that tests our faith, we find out what kind of “shape” we are in spiritually. If we have kept up our time in the Word and in prayer and in Christian fellowship we are able to handle the hurdles much more readily than if we have gotten out of shape by neglecting the Word and the fellowship of believers.  When we consistently “walk in the Spirit” (Gal. 5:16 cf Eph. 5:18) and “Let  the word of Christ richly dwell within” (Col. 3:16), we don’t seem to live from crisis to crisis. Every major thing we encounter doesn’t throw us into panic mode. We don’t hyperventilate and think we can’t make it through this one. We see the situation as just another opportunity to see what God can  do and we continue to depend upon Him and with Paul can say, “I can do  all things through Him who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13).    
     4)  Our project was also a reminder of the reward for our labors. As a result of our time and effort, we will have some nice wood to keep our houses warm this winter. (Actually you get more warmth out of the wood than just when burning it in your wood stove, for you generate a lot of heat when cutting, splitting and stacking the wood as well!).  Sometimes in our Christian walk we get weary and think, “Is this worth it?”  But “Do not lose heart in doing  good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary” (Gal. 6:9).   So, “My beloved 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. 15:58).  
      5)  The fella who spotted this tree could have just kept it a secret and gone out on his own and tried to get all the wood for himself.  But, he was willing to share with others what he discovered.  When the four lepers who had been living outside the gate of the city of Samaria which was under siege by the Arameans wandered into the camp of the Arameans, they  discovered it had been vacated and all the food and belongings left behind. They began eating and drinking and taking the belongings for themselves and “Then they said to one another, ‘We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, but we are keeping silent…Now therefore come, let us go and tell the king’s household” (II Kgs. 7:9).  If you have discovered new life in Christ, then don’t hoard the “Good News” to yourself. People all around you are dying without Christ and desperately need to hear about Him–from you! 
      6)  As we were finishing up yesterday, one of the men said,  “Well, fellas, this has been fun!”  And it was. It was very hard work, but working together for a common profitable goal, brings a  satisfaction during the process and a sense of camaraderie that makes even challenging projects enjoyable.  When, in the body of Christ, we work together facing challenges which are too much for one to bear, there is joy in the camaraderie that develops as we become “God’s fellow workers” (I Cor.3:9).  The Bible uses the word  koinonia which is usually translated  “fellowship” or “partnership” (Acts 2:42; I Cor. 1:9; Phil. 1:5; I Jn. 1:3).  
     Every day there are lots of Biblical lessons for us to learn. Just look for them and thank God for them. The principles from His Word are very practical and fit everyday life situations. Watch for them today. 
     Well, I need to go split some firewood! 
 
                   Forever His,
 
                              Pastor Dave

                                                    
     This past Thursday I had the opportunity for an adventure with a friend,  Allan, from church. He invited me to go kayaking with him on the Bull  River. After lunch with Allan and Sue, we headed to the first bridge where we unloaded the kayaks, carried them down to the river, which at this time of year is usually about as low as it will get, and began our adventure.  Our wives drove both vehicles to the next bridge where we would be getting back out–hopefully–and left one vehicle for us.  The distance between bridges is about five miles, but, as we discovered, the distance by water was probably something over 10 miles!  We gave our wives an estimated time of our return of a little over two hours. 
     But, Allan had never navigated the first part of this stretch of the river and for the first hour we discovered a series of shallow riffles and log jams which required numerous portages. Other times we managed to navigate the shallow stretches by pulling ourselves along the gravel with our hands!  Once we encountered a log across the water at the surface in a fairly fast, but deep  stretch of water and found ourselves in a rather difficult predicament of not being able to continue downstream but having a challenge to get the kayaks to the bank and out of the water to go over the log jam. (These were rather long lake kayaks, not the short river kayaks, so it was not quite so easy to just  “take up your boat and walk!”)  Allan said had he come and scouted out our course, he probably wouldn’t have attempted it. But, it was a beautiful day, we had a great time, and overcame the obstacles along the way and soon had smooth water for the remainder of the journey.  It did turn out to be much further than expected and though we paddled hard for the last portion, it took us a good three hours. Our wives were just about to coming looking for us when we returned. 
     Allan and I commented on how, had he checked this out ahead of time and decided not to  attempt it, we would have missed out on a fun, exciting adventure. It is a beautiful stretch of water in the spectacular Bull River Valley, with an awesome view of the mountains around us and the schools of fish beneath us scurrying along to outrun us.  We had a great day and were very glad we had continued on our adventure, even though we hit some tough spots along the  way. 
    How much like the spiritual adventures in our lives.  If we knew ahead of time what challenges we would face, we’d probably opt out and say, “God, this is not for  me. I am very satisfied just to stay in my comfort zone and float on the smooth waters.”  It’s a good thing that God doesn’t show us ahead of time the obstacles that we will face, the hard times we will go through, and the  adversity that will come our way. We would probably look for a way to avoid that course and find an easier path.  But, we would miss out on some great adventures.  Serving Christ will have its challenging times, ones where you will think there is no way you can continue, but when you trust the Lord you somehow make it through and often find some “smooth sailing” (for a while!) on the other side.  One thing about serving God, it is not boring!  When He called the disciples to follow Him, Jesus never promised it would be easy. He  never promised them a life of ease. But what He did promise was that He would always be with them and provide all they needed to make it through each adventure along the way. In the “Great Commission” Jesus said to the disciples, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…and lo I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Mt. 28:19,20).   Did the disciples have an easy ride?  Hardly, but it was surely an exciting one.  In fact Jesus warned them, saying, “In the world you will have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world” (Jn.16:33). 
     But, many of us don’t want to take risks. We like the safe and comfortable and predictable. We’re afraid to try any new “stretches of  water.”  We want things calm and serene.  But then we will miss out on some of the exciting adventures that God has in store for those who are willing to step out of their comfort zones and take risks for Him.  Someone said, “The Church is made up of ‘risktakers’ and ‘caretakers.’  If the risktakers are ruled over by the caretakers, they will go to the  ‘undertakers’ with little to show for their lives.”   
     When the  Israelites were entering the Promised Land, they had to cross the Jordan River  across from Jericho.  But it was harvest time and the “Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of harvest” (Josh. 3:15). How  would the hundreds of thousands of Israelites get across?  “Then Joshua said to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow the LORD will do  wonders among you.’ And Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, ‘Take up the ark of  the covenant and cross over ahead of the people.’ So they took up the ark of the  covenant and went ahead of the people.  Now the LORD said to Joshua, ‘This  day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you. You shall, moreover,  command the priests who are carrying the ark of the covenant, saying ‘When you  come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan” (Josh. 3:6-8). Normally the Kohathites carried the Ark, but on this extraordinary occasion the Levites who were priests carried it.  How would you like to have been the priests at the front of the line?  Not only were they to step foot in the flooding Jordan, but they were to stand in the middle of the river while all Israel crossed over!  What if they had decided, “No way are we going to do this. It is too risky. What if it doesn’t  work?”  But they stepped in, and “the waters which were flowing down from above stood and rose up in one heap…and those flowing down toward the Dead Sea were completely cut off. So the people crossed opposite Jericho.  And the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan while all Israel crossed on dry ground, until all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan” (Josh. 3:16,17).   Wow, what an adventure!  What a display of the power and providence of Almighty God.
     I’m sure that God has some exciting adventures in store for us as well, but we need to be  willing to “step into the water,” just like Peter too had to do when Jesus invited him to walk on the water. If we stay “in the boat” we will miss those adventures that come to those willing to take risks and follow the Lord wherever He leads.


           Forever His,

                     Pastor  Dave

                                                    
 
    One of our favorite annual flowers that we put in our planters each spring is the gazania. If you are not familiar with it, it looks a bit like a sunflower but the plant gets only about 8 inches tall. It blooms all summer and has very brilliant blossoms in shades of red, orange, and purple.  One of the interesting features is that the blossoms only open up in full sun. They do not open if it is cloudy or if they are in the shade, and they close as soon as they are out of the direct sunlight.  
     To me it is a picture of the importance of us as believers staying in the “Sonlight” and focused upon the Son of God, Jesus Christ.  There are lots of things that can come between us and the Son, things that distract us from our focus on Him and His Word, and as a result, we sort of “close up” and people don’t see the beauty of Christ is us.  Athletes talk a lot about “staying focused” in order to be successful. As Christians we too need to stay focused on Christ if we are going to be a positive witness to the world.  It’s easy to let our busyness–or our business–come between us and the Lord and we lose the reflection of Christ through our lives.  Instead, we start manifesting the self-centeredness and sinfulness of our old flesh. Gazanias are not very pretty  when they close up due to lack of sunshine.  Similarly, we believers are not very pretty when we aren’t living in the “sonshine” of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  We still have our old natures and no matter how long we have been saved, our old nature has not improved. It is still full of ugliness. 
     Paul the  Apostle definitely kept his eyes focused on the Lord throughout his missionary ministry. In fact his testimony to the church at Philippi was,  “…one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phi. 3:13,14).  Paul consistently kept his focus on Christ and not on the circumstances which often could easily have pulled him down spiritually and marred his testimony and service for the Lord. He was so confident in his “focus” that he could challenge others to “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ” (  Cor. 11:1 cf 4:16).  The Apostle Paul was definitely a “Gazania Christian” who kept his life exposed to the Son. 
     Do people consistently see the beauty of Christ in you, or do they more often see the ugliness of your old flesh?  Do they see the “fruit of the Spirit” (the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control), or do they see the works of the flesh (idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness and carousing) (Gal. 5:19-23).  The difference will be whether we are focused on the Son or on our problems, our weaknesses, others, or the allurements of the world system.  
     Albert Orsborn and Tom Jones wrote a chorus which expresses the importance of opening up to the Son so that others can see Him in our lives.                  
 
                 Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me– 
                 all His wonderful passion and purity!   
                 O Thou Spirit divine, all my nature refine, * 
                 Till the beauty of Jesus of Jesus be seen in me. 
 
     Just be sure that if people admire some quality in your life that really belongs to Christ, that you give God the credit and the glory. As Jesus said, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Mt. 5:16).  The Apostle  Paul was quick to say, “By the grace of God I am what I am” (I Cor.  15:10).  He said, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved my, and delivered Himself up for me” (Gal. 2:20). Similarly, to the Philippians he wrote,  “For me, to live is Christ” (Phil. 1:21).   
     Are you a  “gazania Christian?”  Do you display the beauty of Christ through your life by focusing on His beauty and the beauty of His Word?   
 
                Forever His,
 
                        Pastor Dave

*God in reality gives us a new nature.  Our old nature is not improvable  The rest of the song is great!

                                            
 
     One of my good friends with whom I worked at Hyster Company as an engineer many years ago always signed his communications: “So many books, so little time.”  As I was preparing my message for this past Sunday on the doctrine of the Church (ecclesiology), I was struck with the mission which we–the Church–have been given of being Christ’s ambassadors representing Him on this earth until He takes us home.  The Apostle Paul wrote: “We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (II Cor. 5:20).  God uses us to take the Good News of the Gospel to others so they too can believe and become members of His Church through faith in Christ–but there are “so many lost, so little time.” 
      God’s main purpose today is building His Church. You’ll recall the conversation that Jesus had with His disciples when He asked them who people said that He (Christ) was, and He then turned to His disciples and asked, “But who do you  say that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, ‘Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Blessed are you,  Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it” (Mt.  16:15-18).  You’ll notice by the tense of the verb, “will build,” that the Church was still future. It would begin at Pentecost when God sent the Holy Spirit to indwell believers (Acts 2). Jesus also prophesied that the “gates of Hades” would not overpower the Church. Since gates were used for defense, it implied that the Church would be on the offensive tearing down the strongholds of Satan as it took the Gospel of Christ worldwide.  
     Before Christ left to go back to heaven, He commissioned the eleven to “make  disciples of all the nations” (Mt. 28:19) by “preaching the Gospel to all creation.” Just before He ascended He told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they received the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4).  Then He went on to say, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).   Our “Commander in Chief” issued our marching orders and they remain unchanged.  At the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier there is an impressive Changing of the Guard every 30 minutes. The scene has been repeated thousands of times for about 70 years with the same verbal exchange as the guard going off duty says, “Orders remain unchanged,” and the new guard responds, “Orders acknowledged.”  Today, almost 2,000 years after Jesus commissioned the eleven and the Church, the Master’s orders remain unchanged. Our orders are still to get the Good News about Jesus to “all the world.”  
     There are about seven billion people in this world for whom “God so loved that He gave His only begotten Son,” and it is His passion that every person in every corner of this planet has a chance to know His Son. His unchanged orders are now in our hands.  The fulfillment of those orders are so overwhelming that it will require the active involvement of every person who belongs to Jesus–every member of His Church. There can be no “spectators,” only active “participants.”  Why?  Because there are “So many lost, so little time!”  Every week a million people in our world reach their eternal destiny–heaven or hell.  We have been sent out to rescue those who don’t know Christ before it is too late, but the time is short. World events indicate that history is rushing rapidly to the conclusion that is prophesied in Scripture. We definitely need to heed the admonition of Paul to “make the most of our time because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:16).
       It is a tremendous privilege to be a member of the Body of Christ called the Church, but with it goes an awesome responsibility. We have the very crucial job of rescue work to do. And that “we” includes every believer. Every heart with Christ is a missionary and every heart without Christ is a mission field.  If you know Christ as your Savior, you are His ambassador to help your friends, family members, neighbors, fellow workers, classmates, etc. to be reconciled to God. And there are “so many lost, so  little time!”
  
              Forever His,
 
                          Pastor  Dave

 
 
     Our neighbor is building a large deck around their house and went down into the crawl space to check out the walls where the ledger boards were going to be attached. It was providential that he did so, because while he was down there, he noticed that the ground was wet in one location and found a galvanized pipe that was spraying water out of a little hole. Fortunately it was in an easy place to repair, but had he not found it when he did, it could have eventually caused some major damage.  
     I couldn’t help but compare that situation to what often happens in our spiritual lives.   We have a “slow leak” and don’t realize it.  Some area of our life is draining us of our spiritual vitality, little by little. If it continues, however, unnoticed and unattended to, we will continue to grow weaker and weaker spiritually.  It could be a bitterness we are harboring from an unwillingness to forgive someone. It could be a habit that is detracting from our relationship with God and our testimony for Him. It could be an infatuation with some allurement in the world that has distracted us from our walk with God.  It doesn’t even have to necessarily be a sinful thing (though it often is), but it is slowly drawing us away from a life of enthusiasm for Christ, for His Word, and for assembling with fellow Christians on a regular basis.  And we are not even aware it is happening.
     Now if a pipe bursts, or a tire blows out, we know about it right away, but it is those slow leaks that subtly rob us of our faith and joy in Jesus.  Others may see it happening but probably if they confronted us, we would say, “I’m okay.  Everything is fine.”  But they have been able to observe us over time and see us drifting spiritually. 
      It is like having termites eating away at the walls of your home and you don’t realize it until much damage has been done. Or, as Solomon wrote regarding his relationship to the Shulamite  woman, “Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that are ruining the vineyards, while our vineyards are in blossom” (Song of Sol. 2:15).   Both Solomon and his fiancee resolved to keep anything from spoiling their relationship.  The “little foxes” are so-called “little sins” that  undermine a believer’s love and service for His LORD.  Even the most “separated” Christian, active in witnessing and Christian service, may easily allow some little sin or habit or attitude to hinder the production of real and lasting fruit in his “vineyard.” It might be worry (Phil. 4:6), impatience (Heb. 10:36), ingratitude (Eph. 5:20), pride (I Pet. 5:5), unforgiving spirit (Mt.  6:15; Eph. 4:32), or any number of other things. 
     Ask God to show you any “slow leaks” going on in your life that are draining your spiritual strength and stamina. Then repair them, remove them. Using Solomon’s analogy, ask God to help you find and catch any “little foxes” that have entered your “vineyard” and are spoiling the vines, and robbing you of fruit in your life. 
     I suspect that had happened to the Church at Ephesus that Christ addressed in Rev.  2:1-7.  They were doing many things right but Christ said, “But I have this against you, that you have left your first love” (v.  4).  “First” here refers not only to primacy in time, but also in quality. The Church at Ephesus had left that devotion which gives the Lord first place in their affections.  But there was hope. It is not always possible to recover what has been lost, but we can always return to the position from which we have strayed.  The Lord calls each of us who has wandered (whose spiritual vitality has been “leaking”) to come back to the place of putting Christ first and loving Him supremely.
      Would you say that you have “left your first love”?  Has your life been drifting spiritually?  Has there been a slow leak going on without your realizing  it?  What would your Christian friends say?  What would your spouse say?  What would God say?  Well, ask Him. King David did. He  prayed, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way” (Psa. 139:23,24).  If you sense that you have lost your first love for Christ, ask God to show you where you have been “leaking” and ask His help to fix it. He is definitely in the “repair or replacement business!”  Get rid of those “slow leaks.”  Or if you’ve had a pipe burst or a tire blow, He can help you with that too!  The important thing is that you get back to having a vital relationship with Christ and to being of greatest service to Him.  And, oh, it will restore your joy too  (see Psa. 51:12)!
 
  
                                          Forever His,
 
                                                      Pastor Dave

                           
 
     Last Monday night we had a picnic at the visitors’ center at the Libby Dam. We have friends who lived here before moving back to Pennsylvania who are the campground hosts. The picnic was for our Monday night Bible study group that meets during the school year.  We had been praying at each Bible study for Billie, the sister-in-law of one who attends our study. Billie had a major stroke while she and her husband were in California on a vacation. Their home is in Alaska and she hasn’t been able to return because of her condition. In addition to her paralysis due to the stroke they also discovered that she has cancer, but they don’t dare do surgery.   
     Well, we were waiting for Judith (Billie’s sister-in-law) to arrive at the picnic and we see a  large motor home drive up. In it was Billie and her husband, Clark, and Judith, and a brother-in-law, Richard, who attended our Bible study when he was visiting up here last year.  Needless to say we were greatly surprised to meet the one for whom we had been praying. We had no idea they were up in our area, let alone would be at the picnic.  Clark, who is an engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers in Alaska, and a construction engineer friend in California had modified the motor home to accommodate a hospital bed and designed a system to hoist Billie out of the motor home and into a wheel chair. It was pretty impressive.  
    Something that was even more impressive, and very moving, was to see the love and care that Clark had for his wife, who can no longer respond other than to move her eyes and utter a few sounds.  He has had to take a leave of absence from his job and his life is consumed with helping his wife, knowing that barring a miracle from God she will not survive long.  As I witnessed Clark’s great unconditional love for Billie, I couldn’t help but be reminded of how God loves us. One passage in particular came to mind and that is Rom. 5:6-8  which states: “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.  For one will hardly die for a righteous man;  though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  When we consider our own sinful life it is so amazing to think that God would send His Son to die for us.  
     The prolific hymn writer, Charles Wesley, must have also been contemplating God’s amazing  unconditional love when he penned the words to And Can It Be?   Here are the words to the first verse: 
                  “And can it be that I should gain an int’rest in the Savior’s blood?  Died He for me,                          who caused His pain? For me, who Him to death pursued?  
                  Amazing love! how  can it be that Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?”
 
     We read in the most beloved verse in the Bible, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (Jn. 3:16).  The Greek word used most often in the New Testament for God’s love is agape  (ag-ah’-pay) and God is the source of that kind of unconditional love.  The other Greek words that express love, eros and phileo, have strings attached–“I’ll love you if,” or “I love  you because.” But agape love acts spontaneously, and gives sacrificially to meet needs. That’s the kind of love God has for us. In fact, the Bible says, “God is love (agape)“ (I Jn. 4:8).   Agape love is one of the attributes of God.  And the apostle John goes on to write: “By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (I Jn. 4:9,10).  God’s love for me isn’t based on how well I perform, how much I deserve it, how “lovely” I am, but on who He is–and it’s a good thing too!  If I got what I deserved, I would end up in hell, because I have an old, sinful nature  indwelling me that cannot please God.  The apostle Paul said the same thing  was true about him (Ro. 7:18).  And, the same is true about you!  It is all about God’s love, and grace and mercy.  The Bible says there is no one who is righteous or who does good (Ro.  3:10,12).   “For we have all sinned and fall short of the  glory of God” (Ro. 3:23).  And, “the wages of sin is death” (Ro. 6:23). 

     That’s what’s so amazing about what God did for us.  He could have justly left us all under the condemnation of sin to pay the penalty in hell for eternity, but in His great love, He came and paid the penalty Himself so that all who believe on Him could be saved, have the guilt of sin removed, and spend eternity with Him.  And it does not depend one iota on how well we do. Our part is simply to believe and to accept what Jesus did as being sufficient and final. That’s GRACE–God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense!   
     That’s unconditional (agape) love.  And the “icing on the cake” is that when you receive Christ, and He comes to live in you through the Holy Spirit, then you can love Him and others with that same kind of love. Rom. 5:5 says, “…the love of God  has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to  us.”   
      Have you trusted Christ as your Savior and experienced His unconditional love?  Are you letting Him love others through you with that same love?
 
        Forever  His,
 
                 Pastor Dave                                                                                   




 
 

   
     That little, seven-word warning ought to appear on every “some-assembly-required” package, whether it is a Bar-B-Que, a play structure, a plastic model airplane, or some  high-tech piece of equipment–anything that comes disassembled. And don’t try to tell me you have never gotten yourself in trouble by ignoring the assembly instructions thinking you were sure “smart enough to do this.” I mean, it looks  pretty obvious and some good old common sense should be good enough. After all, “I have a degree in engineering, how hard can this be?”  Like most intelligent men and women, you thought you could put it together without help of the assembly instructions.
      Chuck Swindoll, pastor, author and speaker tells of one time that he looked at a simple backyard swing set, and thought, “Man, a guy with my ability shouldn’t have any problem with this.” But an hour later, after making a complete mess of  the project, he looked for the instructions and across the top of the instruction manual was this opening line:  “Now that you have made a mess of things, please start over and follow these simple instructions!”   Hey, how did the writer of the manual know?  Because he knows  human nature.  It is part of our fallen and proud disposition to do things our way, and only when the consequences of failure become overwhelming do we seek help. Most manufacturers, acknowledging this stubborn tendency in mankind, and anticipating what is going to happen, include with the product a  “Quick-Start-Guide” along with the normal detailed instruction manual.   This is usually a condensed version of instructions which provide just enough information to keep the user from hurting himself or damaging the product! 
     Well, life happens to come with an owner’s manual too. The Creator has written His  instructions in the inspired pages of Scripture.  Starting in the first book of the Bible, Genesis, and ending in the 66th book, Revelation, He  describes for us our origin, explains our purpose, relates how sin separated us  from fellowship with God, prescribes the remedy He provided, explains to us how to live, and even reveals what will happen in the future. He did this all by using some 40 different human authors over a period of 1500-1600 years and yet orchestrated every word they recorded so that it was the exact message He intended. He has presented His instructions in the most amazing piece of  literature every known to mankind, full of history, poetry, prophecy, personal  letters, an exciting adventures.   
     But, man’s tendency in his pride and stubbornness is to lay aside the Owner’s Manual and  rush headlong into life with the assumption that our own intelligence and common  sense is enough to get us through. Tragically, we foul up something far more significant than a child’s model airplane or swing set. We foul up our life and  maybe others in the process. And even worse, we are headed for an eternity separated from God. The Bible says “There is a way that seems right to  man, but its end is the way of death” (Pr. 14:12).  The author of that verse, Solomon, also wrote: “The way of the fool is right in his  own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel” (Pr. 121:15).   The fool is the one who ignores the assembly instructions and the “owner’s manual.”  The wise man (or woman) is the one who reads the instructions and follows them. 
 
     Many people try  to make sense out of life without ever finding out what their “Maker” said about them and their purpose. Many focus their time and energy on acquiring  possessions that will be sold for pennies on the dollar after they are gone.  Many leave a trail of broken relationships and heartache.  Many climb the ladder of success in business or athletics or music or entertainment, only to find it leaning against the wrong wall. Solomon should  know, he had the means to try anything he wanted (while ignoring God) and his conclusion?  “All things are wearisome; …The eye is  not satisfied with seeing, nor is the ear filled with hearing…there is nothing new under the sun….I have seen all the works which have been done under  the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after the wind…And all that my eyes desired I did not refuse them.  I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure…Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity and striving after wind  and there was no profit under the sun…Thus I hated all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must leave it to the man who will come after me. And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is vanity” (Eccl. 1:8,9,14; 2:10,11,18,19).   
     Solomon had  decided to lay aside the “Owner’s Manual” and try things on his own. He made quite a mess and found it empty and meaningless. He finally picked up the Manual and passes on this advice to us: “Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will  say, ‘I have no delight in them…’  The conclusion, when all has been  heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person” (Eccl. 12:1,13).
      The writer of the assembly instructions for Chuck Swindoll’s swing set and the writer of the book of Ecclesiastes give the same piece of  advice: “Now that you have made a mess of things, please start over and  follow these instructions!”  No matter what kind of mess you have made, it is never too late to turn to the “Owner’s Manual” and start  following the instructions.  We cannot hope to be good for anything on our own; however, if we read and follow the instructions God  provided, our lives can become monuments to His glory and models of His goodness. Paul wrote, “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed” (II Cor. 9:8). He also wrote this: “Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us” (Eph.  3:20).  The pieces of your life will fit together so much better if you follow the assembly instructions of the Manufacturer. He had a purpose in how He made you and knows exactly how to put your life together so that it will be purposeful, meaningful and significant.
 
    Forever His,
 
           Pastor Dave 
 
(The illustration from Chuck Swindoll is taken from his book: The Owner’s Manual for Christians: The  Essential Guide for a God-honoring Life,  Thomas Nelson,  2009