Wisdom of The Week

     The daily devotional from Moody Bible Institute, Today in the Word, this month focuses on the lives of Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph and looks at how God kept the promise He made to Abraham in spite of the deceit, violence and turmoil in his family.  You may recall, as recorded in Gen. 12:1-3, how God made an unconditional covenant with Abram to give him a land, bless him, provide many descendants, make them a great nation and also through them be a blessing to all the nations on earth. We see the covenant promises repeated in Gen. 17.

     As you follow the stories of the lives of Isaac, the son God provided to Abraham and Sarah in their old age, and his sons Jacob and Esau, and Jacob’s son, Joseph, you read some of the most famous stories in the Bible, including Isaac lying about his wife, calling her his sister; about Rebekah favoring Jacob and Isaac favoring Esau, about Jacob stealing his brother’s birthright and the blessing of his father and then fleeing for his life from his twin brother, Esau; of how Jacob, the “deceiver,” was deceived by his uncle Laban, and ended up with two wives, which created quite the tension in the home; of how Joseph was Jacob’s favorite son and was hated by his brothers who plotted to kill him.

     All that to say, they had very dysfunctional families.  A “dysfunctional family” is defined as “a family that experiences conflict, instability, and tension, and where family members may behave in negative ways, often involving child neglect, abuse or favoritism which creates friction.”  I’d say that Abraham and Sarah’s family qualified, and I didn’t even mention the arrival of Ishmael, born to Abraham and their servant, Hagar, and the problems that caused and continues to cause!

      But the amazing thing is how God has kept, and will continue to keep, His promises to Abram, Isaac and Jacob, whose name God changed to “Israel” after his wrestling match with God.   The twelve sons born to Jacob would become the heads of the twelve tribes of the nation of Israel.  And that nation, though it has struggled greatly due to unbelief and idolatry and rebellion and was conquered by Assyria and Babylon and scattered over the face of the globe, has returned  and continues to return (just as Ezekiel prophesied...Ezek. 37). That nation provided us with our Scriptures and with our Savior, Messiah, Jesus Christ. And, in 1948, that nation once again declared statehood.  Though they continue to be persecuted and attacked, and though many nations vow to wipe them off the face of the earth, they happen to remain God’s chosen people to whom He promised a land, a nation and a blessing and through whom He has blessed the world.  

     In addition to providing God’s Word and God’s Redeemer through that nation, God has blessed the world in so many other ways through the many advancements in science, technology and medicine that have come out of that little country the size of New Jersey.  Remarkably, people of Jewish descent represent less than .20% of the world’s population, but they represent 22.4% of all Nobel prize winners! Out of that very dysfunctional family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, came a little nation that has greatly blessed all of mankind–just as God promised Abraham would happen. 

     Have you ever thought that God can’t use you because of your past, where you came from or what you have done, or because of the dysfunction of your family? Well, if you’ve ever felt that way, be encouraged by the stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Families don’t get much more dysfunctional than theirs, but God is faithful and can work through all our weaknesses to accomplish His purposes. Check out I Cor. 1:26-31 and see what kind of people God uses. That should encourage you as well. 

Forever His,

Pastor Dave

     Construction sites are typically very noisy with all the heavy equipment and tools and workers. That’s why the scene described in I Kings 5:13–6:7 of the construction of the temple under the leadership of Solomon is so incredible. The building of Solomon’s temple was one of the most remarkable construction projects in history. Much of the temple’s legendary beauty was attributed to the great stones–beautiful and costly stones quarried from beds of white limestone–that were used in its construction.  

     Maybe the most remarkable feature of the project was that each stone was carefully cut and dimensioned while still at the quarry, so that the temple itself could be erected in silence, with each stone fitting perfectly in place as it came to the temple site. I Kg. 6:7 says, “…and there was neither hammer nor axe nor any iron tool heard in the house while it was being built.” The temple, as the structure where God would meet with His people, was considered too sacred to permit the noise of construction during its erection. Only the High Priest was allowed access to the “Holy of Holies” in the temple where he made sacrifices for his sins and the sins of the people on the Day of Atonement each year.

     But then came Jesus Christ, our High Priest, who, through laying down His own life as a sacrifice, put away sin once and for all (Heb. 10:9:11,12; 10-14). . The large curtain that separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple was torn in half, symbolizing how believers now each have access to God through our High Priest, Jesus Christ, the “one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all…” (I Tim. 2:5,6).  Before Jesus left the earth He said, “I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it” (Mt. 16:18).  Ten days after Jesus returned to heaven (on Pentecost), the Holy Spirit came to indwell believers and to baptize (immerse)  them into the body of Christ, the church (I Cor. 12:12,13).  From that moment on, all who believed, both Jew and Gentile, were added to this body, the church. The Gentiles, who “were separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel. and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world…were brought near by the blood of Christ. For He made both groups into one, and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall” (Eph. 2:12,14).  In the church, which Christ is building, “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).  Gentiles “are no longer strangers and aliens, but are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord..a dwelling of God in the Spirit” (Eph. 2:19-22). 

     The physical temple that Solomon built is a type (picture) of the mighty house of God, the church, being erected by the Holy Spirit. Each believer is like one of the beautiful temple stones–so costly that the price was the shed blood of Christ Himself–taken out of the great “pit of sin” by the Holy Spirit, and one by one is being placed quietly (“fitted together”) in the great spiritual temple, the church. Peter wrote, concerning the building of the church: “You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (I Pet. 2:5 NASB).  The KJV calls the believers “lively stones.”  Having pastored a little rural church for 37 years, it was so exciting to see God quietly add new “lively stones” to our body as people came to know Christ and became part, not just of Three Lakes Community Bible Church, but of the universal church of all N.T. believers.  Some of them were livelier than others, and I hope, God willing, to write a book about those “lively stones”–some great stories!  Many have graduated to heaven by now. The last remaining (other than myself) early-on leader in our church, John Alex,  just went home to Glory this past Saturday. I can only imagine the scene in heaven of the “lively stones reunion” taking place!

Forever His,

Pastor Dave

     When Adam and Eve succumbed to Satan’s temptation and  disobeyed God’s clear directive to not eat of the ” tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Gen. 2:16,17), they were really declaring their “independence” from God. From that time on all who were born inherited that rebellious, sinful nature from Adam (Ro. 5:12).  David acknowledged, “I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me” (Psa. 51:5).  It is not that the acts of giving birth or conceiving are sinful, but that from the moment of conception, a person possesses a sinful nature, one that seeks to be independent from God or any authority.  

     That bent is displayed early on as children refuse our help, saying “I can do it” (when they really aren’t capable).  Teenagers long for the day when they can be out on their own, free from the rules and regulations of their home.  As adults, the old nature continues to rebel against rules and authority, as reflected by the statement in the book of Judges: “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (21:25).  I’m reminded also, of the song, “I Did It My Way,” made famous by Frank Sinatra.  The verse in Judges and the lyrics of Sinatra’s song really express the rebellious nature of mankind and the resulting desire to be free from restraint.  

     In reality, what we really need freedom from is that old sinful nature to which we, from the time of conception, are in bondage.  Well, Praise God, He made it possible. God, in the person of Jesus Christ, became man, not only to pay the penalty for our sin, but also to enable us–through His resurrected life living in us as believers–to be free from sin’s power, no longer under its bondage.  The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans that when we trust Christ for eternal life, we are united with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection “that we should no longer be slaves to sin…For sin shall not be the master over you, for you are not under law, but under grace” (Ro. 6:5,6). 

     So, does that mean we are finally free to do whatever we please?  If God’s grace is greater than all our sin, “are we to continue in sin that grace might increase?” (Ro. 6:1). And Paul’s answer is “May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? (v. 2).  Now that we have been set free from bondage to the old, sinful nature, we are to “walk in newness of life” (Ro. 6:4).  “For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf” (II Cor. 5:14,15). 

     We are free–free from the Law, from sin and self and Satan; free from condemnation–but free to do what we ought to do, not what we want to do!  Liberty is not license. True freedom is not found by doing it “my way,” but by yielding to God’s way–in submission (bondage) to Christ. Peter wrote: “Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God” (I Pet. 2:16). Paul wrote, “For you were called to freedom, brethren, only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” (Gal. 5:13).   God doesn’t save us by grace that we might live in disgrace! “After all He’s done for me, how can I do less than give Him my best and live for Him completely?” 

     You will notice Paul begins most of his letters with: “I Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus” (Ro. 1:1; Phil. 1:1; Tit. 1:1; Philemon 1:1).   Even though Christ died to set us free from sin, and self and Satan, God has not yet eliminated sin or our old sinful self, or Satan, so He put guidelines in place within which we have freedom to be all God wants us to be–provided we allow Him to be Lord and the Holy Spirit to be in control. That may sound paradoxical, but that is how God works. So, whether it has to do with marriage, or sanctity of life, or any other feature of our society, only within the confines of God’s parameters can we experience His blessing in our life and sense our freedom in Christ. When we start ignoring or trying to tear down those fences, we lose the freedom He offers, because we are right back in bondage to sin, self and Satan. We experience chaos and frustration and anger–all the while thinking we are free. Does that sound like our society or what?

     So, to really experience our spiritual freedom in Christ, we need to “declare our dependence upon Him,” as Paul did in II Cor. 3:5: “Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God.” Each morning before I get out of bed, I pray: “God help be to be sorry for sin today, sensitive to the needs of others and dependent upon you.”  It’s my daily “Declaration of Dependence.”  I highly recommend it!

Forever His, 

Pastor Dave

     In the Anchor Devotional June 13th devotional from “Haven Ministries,” Rev. Curry Pikkaart told the “story of some Detroit passengers who were waiting to take off and were listening to their flight attendant welcoming them. She stumbled repeatedly over which destination  cities they were bound for, but then an authoritative voice came over the intercom saying, ‘I’m your pilot, folks. And don’t worry–I know where we’re going!’ “

     Well, there are a lot of “flight attendants” (religious leaders, politicians, educators, etc.) today whose messages are very confusing, offering no real assurance of reaching the destination we are hoping for–namely heaven!  How reassuring to know our “Pilot” knows how to get us there, and He is the One in charge!

     I think of the time when, in the Upper Room, shortly before Jesus was arrested, tried and crucified, He said to His disciple: ” ‘In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I am going.’  Thomas said to Him, ‘Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?’  Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me’ ” (Jn. 14:2-6). 

     Not only does Jesus know the way to heaven and to the Father, but He IS the Way!  He is not “a” way, He is “The” way, for “There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).  Jesus was sent from the Father (Jn. 3:16; 20:21), and 40 days after His resurrection, returned to His Father in heaven–so He knows the way!  And He is the way!  If I plan to visit somewhere I have never been before, it is very helpful to talk to someone who has been there before.  And, it is even better if they will go with me as my guide.  

     Well, guess what?  When we acknowledge that Jesus Christ died for us and rose again, paying the penalty for our sins, and we receive Him as our Savior and Lord, He–through the Holy Spirit–comes to live IN us and, since He will never leave us or forsake us (Heb. 13:5), He will be there to “guide us to His home in Heaven.”  Whether that comes through our physical death or His coming to take all believers (the Church, the Bride of Christ) to His Father’s house, He knows the way for “He IS the Way!”   His is the authoritative voice of the pilot saying, “Don’t worry folks, I know where we are going, and I will get us there!”  You see it is “Christ in us” that is our “hope of glory” (Col. 1:27).   

Forever His,

Pastor Dave Nelson 

     A central issue that  caused the American Civil War (1861-1865) was slavery, not merely on a moral basis but also due to the economics of slavery and the political control of that system involving states’ rights. The Dred Scott vs Sanford Supreme Court decision in 1857 which endangered Northern anti-slavery forces created tensions which led to the war. An enslaved African American named Dred Scott sued for his freedom after he was taken to a free state, arguing that living in a free state should nullify his status as a slave. The Supreme Court ruled that enslaved people were not citizens of the United States and, therefore, could not expect protection from the Federal Government or the courts. The opinion also stated that congress had no authority to ban slavery from a federal territory. (We have a similar battle raging today over the issue of abortion).

     President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation Jan. 1, 1863, but it wasn’t until April 9, 1865 that Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his troops to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia.  On May 12, 1865, the final battle of the Civil War took place at Palmito Ranch, Texas.  On May 26, 1865, the Civil War officially ended when General Simon Bolivar Buckneer of the Army of Trans-Mississippi agreed to terms of surrender. 

     Then General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston Texas on June 19, 1865 with an announcement that, after more than a century of slavery and years of war, it was officially over– all slaves were now freedmen. This was the last community in the west to know of their freedom.  A big celebration ensued, one that has continued to the present. It is called “Freedom Day,” or “Juneteenth” (combining June and nineteenth).  Now “Juneteenth” celebrations are held all over the country and world with barbecues, red-velvet cake, ice cream, red punch, watermelon, dancing, music, bands, singing, parades, praise worship, rodeos and sporting events. 

     A long battle still lay ahead, but now the slaves knew they had been officially declared free. Experiencing that on a daily basis would come with great challenges, some of which are still ongoing.  

     Spiritually, all of us began in this world in bondage to the sin nature we inherited from Adam because of his disobedience in the Garden of Eden. David wrote: “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me” (Psa. 51:5).   It is not that the acts of giving birth or conceiving are sinful, but that from the moment of conception, a person possess a fallen, Adamic sinful nature.  In his epistles, Paul refers to it as “the old man”  (Ro. 6:6; Eph. 4:22; Col. 3:9) or “the flesh” (Ro. 7:18; 8:1,3), or “the old self” (Ro. 6:6).  We sin because it is our nature to do so.  We are slaves in need of emancipation.  Paul said, “…but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin” (Ro. 7:14). But in His mercy and grace, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to become sin for us not only to pay the penalty of sin, which is death (eternal separation from God), but also to set us free from the bondage of the old sinful nature.  Through sending us the Holy Spirit at the moment we trust in Christ for salvation, Christ comes to live in us, and through Him we have the power to not sin.  We have the Divine Nature indwelling us (II Pet. 1:3).  We have been united with Christ in His death and resurrection. “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism (of the Holy Spirit...I Cor. 12:12,13) into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life…Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin…Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Ro. 6:4-11).  “For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son (saved from the penalty of sin), much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved (from the power of sin) by His life (that He now lives in us)” (Ro. 5:10). 

We have been “freed from sin, that we might become slaves of righteousness” (Ro. 6:18). 

      So, on this “Juneteenth” of “Freedom Day,” as we celebrate the freedom granted to the African American slaves in our country, if we know Christ as Savior, we can celebrate our freedom both from the penalty AND the power of sin in our lives. PTL We have been set free!  “And you shall know the truth, and the  truth shall make your free.  If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed” (Jn. 8:32,36).  

     When was your “Freedom Day” when you were set free?  If you aren’t sure you have been set free, why not celebrate today by personally accepting what Jesus did on your behalf at the Cross through His death and resurrection.  He will set you free and you will be “free indeed!”  Jesus said to His disciples, “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father, I have made known to you” (Jn. 15:15).  “What A Friend We Have In Jesus!”

Forever His,

Pastor Dave

     Last week we looked at “Why Do Birds Sing?”  We found that many have quite a repertoire and sing for a number of reasons: to attract a mate, to stake out a territory, to warn others of danger, but also just to encourage or express joy after a refreshing spring rain.  They were wisely and ingeniously “programmed” by their Creator, the Lord Jesus Christ, “by whom all things were created both in the heavens and on earth” (Col. 1:16 cf Jn. 1:3).  

     A similar question for our discussion today is “Why do animals play?”  That is a question very perplexing to evolutionists who adhere to Charles Darwin’s theory of “the survival of the fittest” which presumes that all behaviors evolved in response to survival and selection. What exactly does play do for a young (or old) animal to become a more fit survivor, especially considering the energy and risk that it involves? If animals play for enjoyment and not to enhance their survivability, that does not fit in the evolutionists theories of origin and development.  If animals play just to be silly, then Darwinism is at a loss to explain the behavior’s origin. In Darwinism all behavior must be purely pragmatic and animals playing for pure enjoyment does not fit this formula.  If nature is locked in a battle for the survival of the fittest, where did all this “frolicking” among animals come from? 

     Who hasn’t gotten pleasure from watching kittens or puppies roll around and play, and it isn’t always with those of their kind. National Geographic did a video series of “Unlikely Animal Friends.” One episode was about Surya the orangutan that met Rosco the hound dog at a river park, and the two became best buddies, wrestling and running, hugging, rolling and just being silly. Was this just an accidental byproduct of natural forces or did God engineer this behavior?

     Many animals–and possibly all mammals–play: squirrels, kangaroos, monkeys, bear and lion cubs, wolf puppies. We have had the privilege of watching otters playing in the water and ducks going down a snow slide into a pond (then going back up and doing it again–just for fun). 

     Birds get into the act as well. Crows play pranks on other creatures, and will even team up to play. I read about a group of crows (called a “murder”!) that would fly toward each other, drop a tin plate and a member of another “team” would swoop down and catch it in mid air, turn and fly back toward the other team, drop the plate and continue the game–all the while being “very vocal” as only crows can be! 

     Our neighbors’ two labs beg pretty much daily to come over and “play ball.”  They play until they are tired and then head back home!  They have “a ball” and we get entertained. When we visit our children and their families in Oregon, we are entertained by their cats and dogs and all their silly antics.  So, why, if they are just the products of time and chance and got here by being survivors, do they enjoy playing?  It is because they were created by a God who loves us and loves to see our joy when we enjoy His creation and His creatures. 

       Psalm 104 describes what a great God we serve. One who is “Clothed with splendor and majesty, covering Yourself with light as with a cloak, stretching out heaven like a tent curtain. He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters; He makes the clouds His chariot; He walks upon the wings of the wind. He makes the winds His messengers, flaming fire His ministers. He established the earth upon its foundations, so that it will not totter forever and ever…He sends forth springs in the valleys; they flow between the mountains; they give drink to every beast of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell. They lift up their voices among the branches. He waters the mountains from His upper chambers; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works…O LORD, how many are Your works!  In wisdom You have made them all; the earth is full of Your possessions. There is the sea, great and broad, in which are swarms without number, animals both small and great. There the ships move along and Leviathan, which You have formed to sport in it” (vv. 1-4,10-13, 24-26).  “Leviathan (cf Job 41:1) was probably a sea-going dinosaur, and is described as being made to “sport (made to play) in the sea.” 

     So, why do animals play?  Because God created them that way for His pleasure, for the enjoyment of the animals themselves, and for the pleasure of those of us who have the joy of watching their antics. Thanks be unto “God, who richly supplies us with all things (including birds and animals) to enjoy” (I Tim. 6:17). 

Forever His,

Pastor Dave

     Last week we looked at “Why Do Birds Sing?”  We found that many have quite a repertoire and sing for a number of reasons: to attract a mate, to stake out a territory, to warn others of danger, but also just to encourage or express joy after a refreshing spring rain.  They were wisely and ingeniously “programmed” by their Creator, the Lord Jesus Christ, “by whom all things were created both in the heavens and on earth” (Col. 1:16 cf Jn. 1:3).  

     A similar question for our discussion today is “Why do animals play?”  That is a question very perplexing to evolutionists who adhere to Charles Darwin’s theory of “the survival of the fittest” which presumes that all behaviors evolved in response to survival and selection. What exactly does play do for a young (or old) animal to become a more fit survivor, especially considering the energy and risk that it involves? If animals play for enjoyment and not to enhance their survivability, that does not fit in the evolutionists theories of origin and development.  If animals play just to be silly, then Darwinism is at a loss to explain the behavior’s origin. In Darwinism all behavior must be purely pragmatic and animals playing for pure enjoyment does not fit this formula.  If nature is locked in a battle for the survival of the fittest, where did all this “frolicking” among animals come from? 

     Who hasn’t gotten pleasure from watching kittens or puppies roll around and play, and it isn’t always with those of their kind. National Geographic did a video series of “Unlikely Animal Friends.” One episode was about Surya the orangutan that met Rosco the hound dog at a river park, and the two became best buddies, wrestling and running, hugging, rolling and just being silly. Was this just an accidental byproduct of natural forces or did God engineer this behavior?

     Many animals–and possibly all mammals–play: squirrels, kangaroos, monkeys, bear and lion cubs, wolf puppies. We have had the privilege of watching otters playing in the water and ducks going down a snow slide into a pond (then going back up and doing it again–just for fun). 

     Birds get into the act as well. Crows play pranks on other creatures, and will even team up to play. I read about a group of crows (called a “murder”!) that would fly toward each other, drop a tin plate and a member of another “team” would swoop down and catch it in mid air, turn and fly back toward the other team, drop the plate and continue the game–all the while being “very vocal” as only crows can be! 

     Our neighbors’ two labs beg pretty much daily to come over and “play ball.”  They play until they are tired and then head back home!  They have “a ball” and we get entertained. When we visit our children and their families in Oregon, we are entertained by their cats and dogs and all their silly antics.  So, why, if they are just the products of time and chance and got here by being survivors, do they enjoy playing?  It is because they were created by a God who loves us and loves to see our joy when we enjoy His creation and His creatures. 

       Psalm 104 describes what a great God we serve. One who is “Clothed with splendor and majesty, covering Yourself with light as with a cloak, stretching out heaven like a tent curtain. He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters; He makes the clouds His chariot; He walks upon the wings of the wind. He makes the winds His messengers, flaming fire His ministers. He established the earth upon its foundations, so that it will not totter forever and ever…He sends forth springs in the valleys; they flow between the mountains; they give drink to every beast of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell. They lift up their voices among the branches. He waters the mountains from His upper chambers; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works…O LORD, how many are Your works!  In wisdom You have made them all; the earth is full of Your possessions. There is the sea, great and broad, in which are swarms without number, animals both small and great. There the ships move along and Leviathan, which You have formed to sport in it” (vv. 1-4,10-13, 24-26).  “Leviathan (cf Job 41:1) was probably a sea-going dinosaur, and is described as being made to “sport (made to play) in the sea.” 

     So, why do animals play?  Because God created them that way for His pleasure, for the enjoyment of the animals themselves, and for the pleasure of those of us who have the joy of watching their antics. Thanks be unto “God, who richly supplies us with all things (including birds and animals) to enjoy” (I Tim. 6:17). 

Forever His,

Pastor Dave

     We recently had the privilege of spending time with our children and grandchildren (including a great granddaughter) in Oregon–always a blessing!  On Mothers’ Day, after attending a really great church service and a dinner to celebrate the day, we went to George Rogers Park on the Willamette River, where I (with the assistance of our son Grant) had the joy of baptizing our granddaughter Lacey, and two of her good friends (Millie a senior and Kate, a sophomore) from North Clackamas Christian School. That was so very special! 

     I shared with the group as we gathered by the river, that being offspring of Adam, we all have two basic needs. First, we need forgiveness for what we have done (sinned). Isa. 53:6 says, “All we like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way...” And Ro. 3:23 reminds us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  Second, we need deliverance  from what we are (sinners).  We sin because we are sinners. We each inherit the fallen, Adamic nature. 

     Jesus, by His death and resurrection met both of those needs–forgiveness for what we have done and deliverance from what we are. Isa. 53:6 goes on to add, “…But the LORD has cause the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.” And in II Cor. 5:21, Paul writes: “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”   Peter, in his first epistle writes: “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross…(I Pet. 2:24).  In reference to Christ’s sacrifice for us, he writes: “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses...” (Eph. 1:7).  By His death in our place, Jesus paid in full the penalty for our sins so that when we trust Him as Savior, we are no longer under condemnation (Ro. 8:1), for He was condemned on our behalf. Through Christ and His shed blood, we have forgiveness for what we have done–sinned.

     But through the power of the resurrected Christ, who comes to live in us at the time of salvation, we also have available deliverance from what we are–sinners.  Rom. 5:10 says, “For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son (our sins were forgiven), much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life (the resurrected Christ who lives in us).”  Before Jesus left the earth to return to heaven, He told His disciples, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you…In that day, you shall know that I am in My Father; and you in Me, and I in you” (Jn. 14: 18,20). When we are born again, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us (I Cor. 6:19,20) and through the Spirit, the resurrected Christ (and the Father) live in us as well. We have the divine nature living in us (II Pet. 1:4). That is why Jesus told His disciples, “It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper (the Holy Spirit) shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you” (Jn. 16:7). 

     With the divine nature indwelling us, we have the power available to say “no” to the desires of the flesh (the old, sinful, Adamic nature) and thus have deliverance from what we are–sinners by nature. As we “abide in Christ” (Jn. 15:4,5) “walk in the Spirit” (Gal.5:16) and “Let the word of Christ to richly dwell within..” (Col. 3:16), we have victory over the “old man” (our sinful nature).  That is way John could say in his first epistle, “My little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin…” (I Jn. 2:1).  Because of our new identification with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection, we are no longer slaves to sin, for “we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life…Our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin…Even so, consider yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Ro. 6: 4-11). 

     So, as Paul wrote in Ro. 5:10, “we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son” (forgiven for what we have done) and “much more, we shall be saved by His (resurrected) life (which He lives in us)” (delivered from what we are).  Before Jesus returned to heaven, He left us with two ordinances which symbolize how He met these two basic needs for forgiveness and deliverance.  During the Passover meal which He celebrated in the Upper Room, Jesus took the bread “and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same way He took the cup also, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” (I Cor. 11:24,25).  Jesus instituted the ordinance of “The Lord’s Table (or Supper)” or “Communion.”  Because of Christ bearing our sins in His body and shedding His blood for our forgiveness, we have fellowship or “communion“ with Him, so we call our times of remembrance a “communion service,” with the emphasis on thanking God for His forgiveness of sin through the work of Christ at the cross. It is an ordinance that we practice on a regular basis.

     The second ordinance is water baptism, which symbolizes how we have been united with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection by being baptized into His body, the church, by the Holy Spirit at the time of salvation (I Cor. 12:12,13). Water baptism is our testimony to the world that we have been united with Christ, identified with Him and are under new “ownership.”  The word “baptism” (baptizo in the Greek) means “immersion.”  So, as we go into, under and up out of the water, we symbolize that union with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. Our testimony to family, friends and to the world is that–in Christ–we have died to the old sinful nature, and that it is our desire to follow Jesus and “walk in newness of life” (Ro. 6:4). 

      Whereas we celebrate Communion on a regular basis, thanking God for forgiveness for what we have done, baptism is something we do once, in recognition of our being dead to sin and alive to Christ in our union with Him. Though we no longer have to sin, we still do and His blood continues to cleanse us (I Jn. 1:7-2:2). But our union with Christ (our position in Him) does not change. In fact, as Paul wrote, not only have we, who were “dead in sin” (Eph. 2:1) been, because of God’s mercy and grace, “made alive together with Christ,” but we  are even now (positionally) “seated with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:4-6). 

     Praise the Lord for our Communion with Christ because we have been forgiven for what we have done–and do–and for our Union with Christ, providing deliverance from what we (by nature) are. 

Forever His,

Pastor Dave

     We have the joy of listening to the springtime mating songs of the birds which have returned from their winter habitat to nest in our area. Since we have several birdfeeders, a water source, and lots of trees, many of the birds are attracted to our place–that and the fact that we don’t have any dogs to chase them away!  It is also interesting to keep a log of when each of the species arrives, often within a day or two of previous years. And, they know just where to go to get a snack to replenish the “fuel” they used up in their migratory route!

     Our investment in bird seed is rewarded with getting to watch them and listen to their “music.”  Some of them, such as the rufous-sided towhee have beautiful, melodic songs. Others, like the black-capped chickadees, have very repetitive refrains that they sing, and others, like the flicker and pileated woodpeckers, stellar jays and blue jays have very shrill, raucous  songs. Among our favorite songsters, besides the towhee, are the meadowlark and the red-wing blackbird. 

     May is probably the month we get to hear the most music, as the returned birds are seeking a mate. It is primarily the males that are the greatest songsters as they attempt to woo a female with their best renditions. We had one particular red-shafted flicker that apparently had trouble finding a partner. Not only do they sing with all their lungs, but they also “rat-a-tat-tat” on a tree or rooftop or whatever they can find that makes a really loud sound that will carry up for a great distance. This flicker could be heard daily for several weeks sending out his “love call.”  Hopefully he found his true love! Maybe these flickers need to learn from the Canada geese that mate for life!

     The enjoyment of the singing of birds is one of the oldest forms of appreciation of God’s creation. As early as 1650, bird songs had been transcribed into musical notation and were later incorporated into compositions by Beethoven, Vivaldi, and others. Bird song has even found a place in literature. Keats praised its beauty in Ode to a Nightingale and Walt Whitman used the repetitive call of the mockingbird to set the rhythm for his poem Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking. Like the beauty and aroma of wildflowers and the colors of a sunrise or sunset, bird song has a profound effect on the human senses. In the chaotic upside down world in which we live today, listening to the music of birds can lift our spirits and refocus our attention on God, “who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy” (I Tim. 6:17). 

     In addition to their mating songs, many birds have quite a repertoire to meet the need of the occasion. They have their “this is my territory” notifications. They have signals to warn others of danger. They have “words” of encouragement, like the honking/cackling of the Canada geese as they migrate. We have many crows which show up here in the spring and they supposedly have at least 50 different messages that they share. I know, when they get together, they are really noisy. Cardinals are known to have at least 28 tunes and researchers have recorded 684 variations of the song sparrow. But the champion is the brown thrasher, said to have upwards of 2,000 songs!

     Beautiful or not, the songs of birds fill the North American spring and summer months. The varying light intensity of a summer day cues different birds to begin their concerts. Robins, for example, often begin their songfest at the first hint of light. Some, like the vireos and wrens and chickadees may sing all day. And the night is not without its background music from mockingbirds, whippoorwills and owls. The summer air is rarely without song!

     So why do birds sing and why such a variety of songs?  Evolutionists have no explanation. They can only attribute it to time and chance, but the variety makes no sense to them.  Well, the Bible has the answer, way back in Genesis. On the fifth day of God’s creation week, “God said, ‘Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.’ And God created the great sea monsters, and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that is was good. And God blessed them saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth’ ” (Gen. 1:20-22).  

     And, just as God created an immense variety of sea life, each with unique features, so God created a large variety of birds, each with its own distinct characteristics and communication skills.  Every bird has a unique “song” and “language.”  No two species speak quite the same “dialect.”  As we listen to the songs and communications of the many bird species we are privileged to observe, we praise God for the display of His splendor that He provides for us to enjoy. What a wonderful God we serve!  In this world torn apart by sin, the glory of God still shines through–if we are watching for it. Just imagine what heaven will be like with no more curse or sin!

     And speaking of “songs,” when (at the time we are “born again”) God lifts us up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay and sets our feet upon a rock, making our footsteps firm, He also puts a new song in our mouth, a song of praise to our God! (Psa. 40:1-3). 

Forever His,

Pastor Dave

     How disturbing to witness the current displays of antisemitism across our nation, especially in the protests being held on many of our elite university campuses, with  signs and shouts of “From the River to the Sea,” a universal call for the eradication of Israel.  Probably the most violent protests are being held at Columbia University, where a Jewish student was poked in the eye by a protester waving a Palestinian flag.  I couldn’t help but be reminded of Zech. 2:8: “For thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘After glory He has sent me against the nations which plunder you, for he who touches you, touches the apple of His eye’ “.   The “apple of His eye,” of course, is not a fruit, but the pupil of the eye, so essential for sight that it becomes an apt symbol for a prized possession, something precious to God–in this case, His chosen people, Israel. 

     Although the context describes the time of Christ’s reign on earth (the Millennium), the phrase is also used in the “Song of Moses” in Deuteronomy chapter 32, where God sets the boundaries of the nations with Israel as the center of interest (looking forward to His kingdom on earth). It speaks of the “Most High” giving the nations their inheritance. (NOTE: “Most High” is El Elyon which means “the strongest strong one” and is the Millennial title of Deity.) Dt. 32:10 says of Israel: “He guarded them as the pupil of His eye.” 

     Antisemitism goes all the way back to the covenant God made with Abraham more than 4,000 years ago, in which God promised to bless the world through Abraham’s Seed  (Gen. 12:1-3; 22:18).This was God’s declaration that the Messiah, the Savior of the world, would come through Abraham’s descendants of promise (Gal. 3:8,9,16). Being the nation that brought us the written revelation of God and would birth the Savior, made the Jewish people the enemy of Satan, who is therefore the “father of antisemitism.”  Satan wants to destroy what God is using to redeem the world because God’s success means Satan’s demise, prophesied way back in the Garden of Eden in Gen. 3:15: “And I will put enmity between you (Satan) and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise Him on the heel.”  The “seed of the woman” (Jesus, born of a virgin) would deal Satan a fatal blow (see Heb. 2:14,15; Mt. 25:41; Rev. 20:10), but would suffer in doing so (Jesus would be arrested, tortured and crucified, but in three days rise again, victorious over death and Satan). 

     Satan, understanding God’s promise to Abraham and his “seed,” attempted to destroy the descendents of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob, knowing that it was through them that God’s promises would be fulfilled and end up in his own defeat.  The Egyptian midwives were told to make sure any boy babies didn’t survive, but Moses did and became the Hebrews’ deliverer from bondage in Egypt. Then as they made their exodus, Pharaoh’s army tried to destroy them but the Israelites escaped and Pharaoh’s army drowned in the Red Sea.  The Jews finally made it to the land of Canaan that God had promised to Abraham.  Assyria and Babylon both tried to wipe out the tribes of Israel and Judah, but a remnant ended up going back to restore Jerusalem and the Temple.  Haman, in his hatred toward the Jews, plotted to have them annihilated and even got King Artaxerxes of Persia to set a date for the destruction of all the Jews.  Well, his plan backfired, the Jews survived and he was hanged on the gallows he had prepared for Jewish Mordecai (the book of Esther).   

     Finally, “When the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons” (Gal. 4:4,5).  The “seed of the woman” had come who would defeat Satan and become the Redeemer of mankind.  He was born to Jewish parents in the land of Israel. He observed Jewish Law, visited synagogues, quoted the Hebrew Scriptures, and went up to the Temple in Jerusalem for the holy days each year. He fulfilled hundreds of Jewish prophecies, was born in the Jewish town of Bethlehem, and lived in the Jewish town of Nazareth. Today, these town are Arab, but in Jesus’ day, they were Jewish. (NOTE: God’s Word contains not a single reference to “Palestine.” It speaks of Israel, Judea, and Samaria. Not until AD 135 did the Romans rename the land “Palestine” after the Philistines, Israel’s archenemies. It was their way of stripping the Jewish homeland of its Jewish identity. To claim  (as even one of our own Congressional members has done) that Jesus was a Palestinian is an insult to the Christianity and to the Jews and their history and denies that the tiny nation of Israel is a miracle and that God is fulfilling His promises to restore the Jewish people as a nation in their own land and will restore them spiritually and will come to reign on the throne of David as He promised.)

         When Satan had failed in stopping the “seed of the woman”  from coming, he attempted, through King Herod, to kill Him when He was a little toddler. Later, the religious leaders of the Jews made several unsuccessful attempts on His life.  Jesus would die on His own terms by being “lifted up” on the cross(Jn. 3:14; 12:32), the sacrificial Passover Lamb (Jn. 1:29; I Cor. 5:7) to put away sin. Even then, no one took His life from Him. Jesus said, “No one has taken it from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again…” (Jn. 10:18).  The “seed of the woman” (Gen. 3:15) and the “seed of Abraham” (Gen. 22:18) came and accomplished God’s plan of providing a Redeemer.

      But, Satan didn’t give up. Since He was unsuccessful in stopping the Seed from coming and dying for sin, if he could get rid of the Jewish people, then Jesus wouldn’t come back and set up His kingdom as promised, so he has continued, in his hatred of God, to attempt to destroy the Jewish people.   For centuries, the Jews remained dispersed throughout the world, a nation without a land.  Hitler,  Stalin, and other Jew-haters (pawns of Satan) tried to destroy the Jewish people.  It seemed that God’s covenant promises to Abraham had failed (and Satan was succeeding).  Maybe God would fulfill the promises through the church instead. “In 1932, British expositor G. Campbell Morgan wrote, ‘I am now quite convinced that the teaching of Scripture as a whole is that there is no future for Israel as an earthly people at all’ (This Was His Faith, p. 290). Then came May 14, 1948, and the rebirth of national Israel! Just as God kept His promise to Abraham and sent the Messiah, so He will keep His promise and restore the land to His people” (Be Obedient by Warren Wiersbe, p. 49). 

     In spite of the Jews’ rejection of Christ when He came (Jn. 1:11), they remain “the apple of His eye,” His chosen people and He will protect them and one day, when God is done calling people (mainly Gentiles) into His Body, the church, Jesus will remove the church from the earth (I Thes. 4:13-18) and will turn His focus back on Israel, and through a very difficult time called “The time of Jacob’s distress” (Jer. 30:7) or the “great tribulation” (Mt. 24:31), “All Israel will be saved” (Ro. 11:26).  God is not finished with Israel yet and they remain His prized possession and to go against the Jews, desiring to see them destroyed is very serious business. God said to Abraham, “I will bless those who bless you and the one who curses you I will curse” (Gen. 12:3).  We know, as in the days of Asaph, Israel’s enemies “made shrewd plans against Thy people, and conspired together against Thy treasured ones. They said, ‘Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no more’ ” (Ps. 83:3,4). But, God preserved Israel and He will continue to do so today and in the days to come (Rev. 12). God has promised that Israel will never cease to exist (Jer. 31:35-37).  

     I praise God that through the people who are “the apple of God’s eye” we have a Savior, we have the Word of God, and we have, through faith in Jesus Christ, been grafted into the vine and become recipients of the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant (Rom. 11:11-24; Gal. 3:16-29). Pray for both the Jews and the “Palestinians” that they will come to know the real Messiah, Jesus, our Redeemer. 

Forever His,

Pastor Dave