Wisdom of The Week

     If the San Francisco 49ers had won the Super Bowl yesterday (they lost in an exciting  overtime game, 25-22), quarterback Brock Purdy (age 24) would have become the first QB selected as the final pick (262nd) of the NFL draft to lead a team to a Super Bowl victory.  Obviously, Brock was not a highly sought-after draft pick and was described by one sports analyst as “shockingly normal.” He may not be someone flashy, but he did manage this season to set a 49er’s franchise record for passing yards in a season (4,280), surpassing NFL legends Joe Montana and Steve Young.  Brock may be humble and unassuming, but when it comes to his faith in Jesus Christ, he is very outspoken, making reference to his faith nearly every time he has opportunity. On Instagram he describes himself as a “follower of Jesus” and on X as “a believer in Christ.”  He regularly includes references to God and his faith in his photo captions, like under a picture of him and his family in December, he put “God is good, all the time.”  He says, “My identity is not in football. I know who I am, and ‘God, if you want me to do great with football, great. If not, all right, let’s go do something else, wherever You need me,'” And Brock adds, “That has allowed me not to put pressure on myself. It’s allowed me to play free and to live my life and keep things simple.” His passage for meditation this year has been Psalm 23. 

     As I read this about Brock Purdy, I couldn’t help thinking about the people God uses. Throughout the Bible we see how God delights in calling and using people whom we would least expect. Our ability to be used by God does not depend on our status, skill or talents. The Apostle Paul reminds us of this in his letter to the Corinthian believers, where he writes: “For consider your calling brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised, God has chosen, the things that are not, that He might nullify the things that are, that no man should boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus. who has become to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, that, just as it is written, ‘Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord’ ” (I Cor. 1:26-31).  

     A well-known actor commented that he enjoyed playing “flawed” characters in movies because people could relate better to an imperfect character, because each of us knows that we are imperfect people. God includes stories in the Bible of people who were deceitful, weak, unreliable, and angry, and yet He used them.  Take Abraham for example, who lied twice to save his own neck, claiming that his wife was his sister (a half-truth, and thus a lie!).(Gen. 12:10-13; 20:1,2)  or consider Jacob, who deceived his father so that he would receive a blessing (Gen. 27:1-29). Then there was Gideon, who, when God called him to strengthen and deliver his people from the hand of Midian, responded: “O Lord, how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house” (Judges 6:15). Gideon  was so unsure that God would do what He said, that twice he asked God for proof (Judges 6:36-40).

     When the Israelites demanded to have a king like the other nations, they chose Saul because he was tall and handsome ( I Sam. 9:2), but then, because of Saul’s disobedience, God rejected him and sent Samuel to anoint his replacement. He sent him to Jesse’s house where Jesse brought out his sons and Samuel thought surely (as Jesse likely did as well) that it was Eliab(I Sam. 16:6), “But, the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (v. 7). .One by one Jesse presented the rest of his sons, but the LORD indicated it was none of them so Samuel asked, “Are these all the children? And Jesse replied, “There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he is tending the sheep” (v. 11).  That, of course, was David, whom God described as “a man after His own heart” (I Sam. 13:14; Acts 13:22). David had his own weaknesses but it is he to whom God promised that his kingdom would endure forever (II Sam. 7:8-17).  And then there was Peter, who for fear of his own safety, denied even knowing his Lord (Mk. 14:66-72). 

      But, when we read the rest of these characters’ stories, we observe that they were able, with God’ help, to overcome their shortcomings, and ultimately to be useful to Him. That happened when they depended on God rather than upon themselves. Even the Apostle Paul, who did have some impressive credentials, admitted, “Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God”  (II Cor. 3:5).  God takes just ordinary people with all their flaws and enables them to carry out His purposes and, through Him, to do extraordinary things, for, like Paul said, “God’s strength is made perfect in weakness” (II Cor. 12:9). 

     People value power, wealth, popularity, position, education, etc., but the Lord is not impressed with the things of this world. Our efforts do not depend on our abilities but on His power. Are you “shockingly normal”?  Great! God can use you. He will use any willing heart. 

Forever His,

Pastor Dave

     How many of you have projects that you started but have yet to complete?  I know I have several, some of which I haven’t even begun–and time is running out!  A good friend that I worked with at Hyster always closes his emails with: “So many books, so little time!”  Amen to that!   There is a real sense of satisfaction when we finally complete a project that we’ve been working on for sometime.  For example, years ago we constructed a 1/30th scale replica of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse (on the North Carolina coast).  Over time the wood started to deteriorate and the lighthouse needed to be replaced.  Since the model is constructed of three hexagonal sections, and the main section is also tapered, it took some time to get all the pieces cut out, assembled caulked, sanded and painted.  We finally got the new lighthouse up in the fall. It looks great and gave us a real sense of finally accomplishing the challenging venture.  

     Some homeowners seem to have perpetual remodeling going on.  Probably none is comparable, however, to Sarah Lockwood Pardee Winchester’s remodeling project.  Sarah and her husband, William Wirt Winchester, lived in New Haven, Connecticut. where William started the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. Their infant daughter died of a childhood illness and then a few years later, William died of tuberculosis. In her grief, Sarah, heiress to a large portion of Winchester Arms, decided to move out West for a fresh start. She bought an eight-room farmhouse near San Jose, California, and began what might be the world’s largest and longest home renovation project. It lasted from 1884 until Sarah’s death in 1922.  The mysterious, sprawling Victorian-style mansion became an historic landmark that has been visited by millions (my family included). The eight-room farmhouse had been turned into a 24,000 sq. ft. mansion with 160 rooms, 2,000 doors, 10,000 windows, 52 skylights, 40 stairways and three elevators, 47 fireplaces with 17 chimneys, 40 bedrooms, 13 bathrooms (but only one shower!), 6 kitchens and two basements.  There are a number of mysterious features such as doors that open to walls, and stairways that lead only to the ceiling. Most likely, had Sarah lived longer, the remodeling would have continued as long as the money lasted!

     I’m sure our time on earth will expire before we finish all the projects we have started or planned, especially since we keep adding to the list!  But, I’m so glad God always finishes what He starts.  He, of course, has the advantage of being omnipotent and omniscient while we are finite, frail humans. When the Apostle Paul wrote a letter to the church at Philippi, in his introductory comments he reminded them of his thankfulness for them (Phil. 1:3), his prayers for them (v. 4) and his gratitude for their participation in the Gospel (v. 5) and then he wrote of his confidence in God’s continuing work in their lives: “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (v. 6). 

     The “good work”  of which Paul speaks is the transforming work of grace, something of which we are incapable. Paul added: “For it is God who is at work in you both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (2:13).  In his letter to the church at Rome, Paul explained the “good work” as conforming us to the image of Jesus Christ (Ro. 8:29). Each one of us, no matter where we are in our spiritual journey, has to admit that it seems like a rather “ambitious” plan. It is a good thing it is God doing that “good work!”  As Paul wrote: “Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God” (II Cor. 3:5).  Whether it is God’s plans for Israel, for Old Testament believers or for His Church (us), He declared: “Truly I have spoken, truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it” (Isa. 46:11b).  Whatever God plans, He accomplishes. Whatever He starts, He finishes. Jesus demonstrated that in His mission to earth to pay the penalty for our sins. He came to do His Father’s will, and accomplished that in every detail. From the cross, “He said, ‘It is finished!’ And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit” (Jn. 19:30). 

     Jude, the Lord’s half brother, as he closed his letter, wrote this benediction: “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of His glory, blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever Amen.” (Jude 24,25).  

     The believers at Corinth were struggling spiritually and Paul wrote to them, saying: “And I brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as men of flesh, as to babes in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men (unbelievers)?” ( I Cor. 3:1-3). Yet notice that in that same letter of rebuke and correction, Paul also wrote this: “I Thank my God always concerning you, for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus…who shall also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day ouf our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (I Cor. 1:4,8,9). 

     Praise God that He is faithful and able, and will finish what He started. He will not give up on us. If He has begun a “good work” in us, He will perform/perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ (when He takes us home) (Phil. 1:6). 

Forever His,

Pastor Dave

     None of us ever accomplishes a project perfectly on our first try.  Normally we have to do some “tweaking” to get things to work and often have to start all over. We call it the “trial and error” method. We keep trying until we get it right.  Thomas Edison was one of the most successful innovators/inventors in American history. He was called “The Wizard of Menlo Park.”  Early on he made a name for himself by improving the telegraph. His first patented invention was an electrographic vote recorder, but when he took it to Washington D.C. there was little interest in his device. He decided that from then on he wouldn’t invent things just to invent them. He needed to be able to sell them. He invented an electric pen which later led to the creation of the mimeograph machine and probably eventually the modern tattoo needle. He came up with ideas for the phonograph, assigning the rights to Western Electric Manufacturing Company. He also invented talking dolls and ore mills and separators.  But, it often took him many tries to get something to work.  In response to a question about his many failed attempts at developing the incandescent light bulb, Edison said, “I have not failed 10,000 times–I’ve successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work!”  He tried thousands of different materials before finding the perfect filament for the light bulb. 

     Kathy and I have been reading Undaunted Courage by Stephen E. Ambrose, the account of Lewis and Clark’s historic expedition on behalf of President Thomas Jefferson to explore the newly purchased Louisiana Territory and find a waterway to the Columbia River and Pacific Ocean. In 1803, as part of the preparation for their expedition, President Jefferson and Lewis worked together to design a collapsible, iron-frame boat dubbed  The Experiment.  The frame was forged at Harpers Ferry, Virginia along the Potomac River. The plan was to pack the frame until they reached the Missouri River and then assemble it to help transport the explorers and their supplies on the journey up the Missouri. The frame of The Experiment  took up space that could have been given to trade goods, tools and food, but Lewis and President Jefferson felt it would be well worth it if it worked as  planned. Finally, near the end of June in 1805, Lewis and his crew, along the shores of the Missouri,  excitedly began assembling The Experiment.  On July 9, after holding up  their expedition for two weeks to assemble  the iron-frame boat, and to cover it with elk and buffalo hides and then waterproof it, they were ready to launch. Lewis “was counting on The Experiment to carry the bulky items to the Shoshone country at the source of the Missouri. He had a lot at stake. Lewis was exultant. But just as the expedition was about to become waterborne again, a violent wind came up, raising whitecaps on the river” (Undaunted Courage, p. 248). When the storm passed, Lewis discovered that the waterproofing composition had separated from the hides and left seams exposed and the boat was leaking like a sieve.  Lewis was devastated and, knowing they didn’t have time to waste continuing to work on “The Experiment,” very reluctantly abandoned their plan and buried the iron frame, along with a cache of letters and gear near the expedition’s camping spot on the Missouri.  (Note: The cache has yet to be discovered.)  

     In contrast to the efforts of even the most gifted humans (such as Thomas Edison and Meriwether Lewis) in developing new devices or methods of accomplishing tasks,  God–in His omniscience and omnipotence–always “gets it right the first time”!   When God created the heavens and the earth and all the plant and animal life and then Adam and Eve, He didn’t have to experiment until He succeeded in getting it right. At the end of each day of creation, we read: “And God saw that it was good” (Gen. 1:10,12,18,21,25). And then, after creating Adam and Eve, “God saw all that He had made, and behold it was very good” (v. 31).    When you examine anything in God’s amazing creation, you see such detail and complexity that there is no way anything could have survived if all the features hadn’t worked perfectly at the outset.  There is absolutely no way things could have evolved over eons of time through time and chance. Mankind, being created in God’s image (Gen. 1:26,27) has great creative capacities to discover and develop new things, but, being finite creatures,  we do so through the trial and error method. Edison, regarding his work on the light bulb, said, “It was a process that took me 10,000 steps!”  But, “As for God, His way is perfect…” (Psa. 18:30).  God makes no mistakes. He never fails to get it right the first time.  He said, “It is I who made the earth, and created man upon it; I stretched out the heavens with My hands, and I ordained all their host…truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it” (Isa. 45:12; 46:11). 

     I’m so glad that also applies to salvation and God’s work in and through our lives.  The sin in the Garden of Eden didn’t take God by surprise, forcing Him to come up with “Plan B.”  God doesn’t ever have to have a “Plan B.”  He plans and He does it–period!  From before the foundation of the world, “He chose us in Christ” (Eph. 1:4).  God hasn’t been in a “chess match” with Satan. He has always been totally in control, carrying out His plans. The cross wasn’t a reactionary step that God had to take. It was His eternal plan for the redemption of mankind. Jesus Christ was not a “victim,” He was the “lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world” (Jn. 1:29; I Cor. 5:7; Rev. 5:6,12,13; 13:8).  God will never change His mind about us, thinking, “Boy, that was a mistake choosing him/her!”  He cannot make bad choices and never has to revamp His plan. That is why Paul claimed: “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6).  The same is true for each of us who has trusted Christ for eternal life.   Jesus said, “All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day, for this is the will of My Father that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him, may have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day” (Jn. 6:37-40).  I’m not the object of an experiment, I am the recipient of the grace and mercy of a perfect Heavenly Father, who doesn’t use the “trial and error method,” but “gets it right the first time.”  Praise God!

     “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen” (Jude 24,25). 

Forever His,

Pastor Dave

     I was scheduled to fill the pulpit at the Nazarene Church next Sunday, Jan. 28th, but got a call this past Thursday that the speaker lined up for this Sunday wouldn’t be able to make it due to health issues and I was asked to preach yesterday instead. (Note: The church has a new pastor coming but he got delayed in his arrival by several weeks).  I was excited to see how God obviously knew I would be there on the 21st instead of the 28th, what my message would be about, and how He orchestrated some of the things that led up to the sermon.. I spoke about how Jesus wants true followers and not just fans and what it means to follow Jesus.  Well, one of the choruses we sang was “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus,” and then one of the church members, who had just turned 90, shared his life story and related how he came to know Jesus as Savior but later really surrendered to following Him and as he put it, “Following Jesus completely changed my life.”

     I shared with the congregation what our “job description” is as a believer.. It is pretty simple. When Jesus was “walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And He said to them, ‘Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men'” (Mt. 4:18,19).   Nineteen times in the Gospels we see Jesus repeating that command: “Follow Me.” He wasn’t interested in attracting a crowd of fans to cheer for Him, He wanted those who would “deny self, take up their cross and follow Him” (Mt. 16:24).. He wanted those who would be willing to deny the attractions of the world system ruled by Satan and the lusts of their old nature, and be willing daily to lay down their lives for Christ if need be.   Jesus wasn’t here to win a popularity contest but to speak the truth and to “give Himself as a ransom for all” (I Tim. 2:6). 

      To follow Him means to get out of the stands, off the sidelines and “onto the playing field.”  Jesus wants those who are willing to be involved in His commission to go into all the world and “make disciples” (Mt. 28:19). A “disciple” is a “follower” and if we are going to make disciples, we must be one who is following Jesus, not just an enthusiastic admirer (a fan).  Many are looking for a gospel that will offer them everything but cost them nothing.  While it is true that Jesus did all the work in paying the penalty for sin, following Him means allowing Him to “interfere” with every aspect of our lives on a daily basis. Too often we think we can “compartmentalize Christianity and give Jesus a “piece of the pie,”  but, if He isn’t “Lord of all, He isn’t Lord at all.”  Paul writes in Col. 1:18: “He is also head of the body, the church, and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything.”   When we decide to follow Jesus, that means allowing Him to “interfere” with every aspect of our lives, just as He did with the Apostles who followed Him.  It means we are “all in” for Him, holding nothing back, keeping no areas that are “off limits” to Him. 

     “All to Jesus, I surrender, all to Him I freely give; I will ever love and trust Him, in His presence daily live.      All to Jesus, I surrender, humbly at His feet I bow; worldly pleasures all forsaken, take me, Jesus, take  me now.   All to Jesus, I surrender,  make me, Savior, wholly Thine; Let me feel the Holy Spirit–truly know that  Thou art mine.   All to Jesus I surrender, Lord, I give myself to Thee; Fill me with Thy love and power, let Thy blessings  fall on me.

     I surrender all, I surrender all, all to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all.”

                                                                                    …..Judson W. Van de Venter

So, are you a true follower of Jesus or just a fan?  As believers our “job description” is to “follow Jesus.” 

Forever His,

Pastor Dave

     As we conclude 2023 and enter 2024, it is appropriate that we pause and reflect on the goodness of our God and His providential care for us.  The Psalmist does that in Psa. 65:9-13:  “You care for the land and water it; You enrich it abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so You have ordained it.  You drench its furrows and level its ridges; You soften it with showers and bless its crops. You crown the year with Your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance; the grasslands of the desert overflow; the hills are clothed with gladness. The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing” (NIV).  

     While this passage applies especially to the conditions of the Millennium when the curse is lifted from the earth and bumper crops are the rule, even now we see God’s provision for His own and for all mankind in general (Mt. 5:45) as He sustains the earth that He created (Col. 1:17). . In spite of the curse on the earth because of sin (Gen. 3: 16-19), we still experience God’s blessings of provision. Springtime is like a visit from God as He sends us rain and warmer temperatures and causes seeds to germinate and plants to grow. In the midst of the “groaning” of creation (Ro. 8:19-22) we see the hand of God and His providential care.  It seems that all nature shouts for joy as the abundant fruitfulness testifies to God’s blessing. Truly,God, you “crown the year with Your bounty” (Psa. 65:11).  

     One summer, during an especially hot, dry spell in August, our family backpacked into the nearby Cabinet Mountain Wilderness to Wanless Lake, the largest lake in the Cabinets. On the way we camped near Upper Geiger Lake. Due to the hot, dry conditions, we were not able to have a campfire so brought along a little camp stove for cooking.  But, before we started hiking out a couple days later, the much-needed rains came and the trail that had been powder dry and dusty now had water running down it like a little creek!  The vegetation that had been all wilted and droopy on our ascent was soaking up the moisture and the leaves were now opened up, facing heavenward, gladly receiving the blessing from heaven–like the Psalmist said: “They shout for joy and sing” (Psa. 65:13).   We witnessed the providence of God, that is, His care, control, and governance over everything in His created universe by His sovereign will (Eph. 1:11). 

     As we conclude one year and enter a new one, it is good for us to recognize God’s providence in our lives and over all of His creation. We can say with David: “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul and forget none of His benefits; who heals all your diseases; who redeems your life from the pit; who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion; who satisfies your years with good things; so that your youth is renewed like the eagle” (Psa. 103:1-5).  Similarly, we need to stop and “count our blessings.”

     “When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed, when you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, count your many blessings–name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

      Are you ever burdened with a load of care? Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear? Count your many blessings–every doubt will fly, and you will be singing as the days go by.

     When you look at others with their lands and gold, think that Christ has promised you wealth untold; count your many blessings –money cannot buy, Your reward in heaven nor your home on high.

     So amid the conflict, whether great or small, do not be discouraged–God is over all; count your many blessings–angels will attend, help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

     Count your blessings–name them one by one; count your blessings see what God hath done; count your blessings–name them one by one; count your many blessings–see what God hath done.”   (Count Your Blessings by Johnson Oatman, Jr.).

     Praise God for His providential care in 2023. We look forward to new adventures with Him in 2024, as we are “Looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds” (Tit. 2:13,14). 

Forever His

Pastor Dave

     Merry Christmas!  We are so grateful that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn. 3:16).  With the Apostle Paul we say, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift”! (II Cor. 9:15). 

     We celebrate today the coming of Christ to earth to dwell among us (Jn. 1:14) and not only to reveal the character of God to us but also to live a sinless life so He could die in our place to pay the penalty for our sin (II Cor. 5:21).If there had been no cradle, there would have been no cross.  In speaking of the incarnation (God becoming flesh), the writer of Hebrews says: “But we do see Him who has been made for a little while lower than the angels, namely Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God He might taste death for every one…Since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is the devil, and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives…Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God to make propitiation for the sins of the people” (Heb. 2: 9,14,15,17). 

     Many of us, yesterday and today have had the opportunity to gather with family and friends to celebrate Christ’s coming with programs, messages from Scripture, singing of Christmas hymns and fellowshipping with fellow believers. But, not everyone in the world is free to do so. In many places Christians are under such persecution they are not allowed to join together to celebrate Christmas.  We have missionary friends (with whom my wife went to school at Prairie Bible Institute), Doug and Margaret Nichols, who serve with Commission To Every Nation. In their Christmas newsletter they shared the story of when Margaret was five years old and living in Communist China where her parents, Walter and Helen Jespersen, were missionaries.  “Their city was under strict governmental control with soldiers living in their house. All church services had been stopped. Many community leaders and some of their Christian friends were being executed publicly.”  Margaret’s folks had almost no contact with their beloved Chinese Christian friends so it was a very discouraging time for them.  Margaret relates what happened that particular Christmas:

       “On Christmas morning, 1950, Dad slipped downstairs early for his devotions. In His discouragement, he put their record of Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus on their old wind-up phonograph. As those strains wafted through their house, ‘He shall reign forever and forever; King of kings and Lord of lords–hallelujah!’–his attitude changed as did the family. Hope and joy replaced gloom. Mom, Dad, and the children ate breakfast rejoicing in their victorious and reigning Lord.”

     Thus began a Christmas tradition for the family. Each Christmas the families get up early and turn on the Hallelujah Chorus, “as a sign for the children and others to get up, come to the living room, to sing, hug, and, and greet one another on this wonderful Christmas day…Christmas always begins with the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ celebrating the birth of the risen Savior and King of Kings!” 

      Sounds like a great tradition.  No matter the circumstances around us, we can celebrate and rejoice in our coming Savior, Christ the Messiah, Immanuel, God with us–Hallelujah!

Merry Christmas,

Forever His,

Pastor Dave

     In just a few days, those of us in the northern hemisphere will experience the shortest day and longest night of the year. It is called the “winter solstice,” which  occurs when either of Earth’s poles reach its maximum tilt away from the sun. It is the point at which the path of the sun travels the shortest path through the sky, resulting in the day of the year with the least sunlight and therefore the longest period of darkness. And, the further north you are, the shorter the day will be. Here in Northwest Montana, we will lose sunlight close to 4:30 p.m. In contrast, during the summer, we have light to be outside until around 10 p.m. and have actually played tennis until 10:30 p.m. close to the summer solstice toward the end of June.  

     Light is essential for life to exist and since it also affects our mental well-being, some folks really struggle during this time of year. Added to that, we have been experiencing a long period of foggy and cloudy weather so have rarely been seeing any actual sunshine lately. It takes its toll on the mental state of all of us, but especially on those who suffer from what has been called “Seasonal Affective Disorder” (SAD). At this time of year, those who work inside go to work in the dark and come home in the dark without seeing any sunshine at all. SAD is a type of depression thought to be caused by a chemical change in the brain which results from a lack of sunlight. LIght therapy and/or anti-depressants are often prescribed. to help the depression. 

     God, who “is light and in whom is no darkness at all” (I Jn. 1:5), created us to be drawn to light, not only physically, but spiritually.  Just as we can see plants and trees stretching toward the sun and its beams of light, so our hearts are drawn to the beams of light coming from the SON, who radiates light from the Godhead.  The author of the book of Hebrews, in his emphasis on the superiority of the person of Christ over the angels, Moses and the prophets, writes: “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature…” (Heb. 1:1-3).  The word “radiance” means outshining, not just a reflection. In other words, it is flowing out of the very source of light, God Himself.  

     Just as light from the sun is essential  for the physical life of plants and animals, so the light from the Son is essential for spiritual life.  In his gospel, John writes concerning the “Word” (Jesus), “In Him was life and the life was the light of men, and the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend (or overpower) it.” He was “the true light which, coming into the world lightens every man” (Jn. 1:4,5,9). Later, John quotes Jesus saying, “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life” (Jn. 8:12). Our Lord here draws an analogy between the sun as the physical light of the world and Himself as the spiritual light of the world.

     Though God created us to be drawn to and respond to the light (both physically and spiritually), there are many who prefer spiritual darkness. Jesus said, “And this is the judgment that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed” (Jn. 3:19,20). If we experience depression because of the lack of sunlight (“Seasonal Affective Disorder”–SAD), imagine how SAD it is for those who are not experiencing the light of life from the SON!  “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus” (Blaise Pascal). 

     Not only did God give us the living “Word,” Jesus, “the Light of the World” to provide us with eternal life (Jn. 3:16), but He also provided us with the written Word to help us “walk in the light.” The Psalmist wrote: “Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path…The unfolding of Thy words give light; it gives understanding to the simple” (Psa. 119:105; 130).  So, if you are depressed (sad) because of the lack of “Son-light,” ask Jesus Christ, who is the “radiance of God’s glory” to come into your life and then get into God’s Word for some daily “Son-shine”!  Don’t let the “god of this world” blind you any longer to “the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (II Cor. 4:5,6). And, “You who were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light…and do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them” (Eph. 5:8,11). “Walk in the light as He is in the light” (I Jn. 1:7). 

Merry Christmas!

Forever His,

Pastor Dave

     Many of our memories center around  “adventures”  that our family has been on, when we stepped out of our normal routine, and often out of our “comfort zone,” and ventured into the unknown to do something we had never done or went places we had never gone. We made numerous camping treks into our nearby Cabinet Mountain Wilderness to explore and spend time at mountain lakes.  On one occasion we hiked up over the top of the Cabinets from our home on the East side, to the road on the West side leading to the church where I pastored. It took us 12 hours. On another occasion our family took a three-day, twenty-five-mile loop hike in the Cabinets.  We also used some settlement money from a car accident to take our family (plus Kathy’s sister) to camp in Europe for six weeks, visiting 13 countries as well as a couple missionary families along the way. 

     When we travel by car, Kathy normally drives (because she gets motion sickness very easily as a passenger), so we always have a book with us which I read out loud as we travel.  Currently we are reading “Undaunted Courage” (by Stephen Ambrose), an adventure story presenting the account of one of the most momentous journeys in American history as Ambrose follows the Lewis and Clark Expedition to find a waterway to the Pacific Ocean per the request and aspirations of President Thomas Jefferson. Talk about venturing into the unknown!  But they did so with much excitement and anticipation, though they often faced very challenging, life-threatening situations. 

     Most of us find it exciting to go where we’ve never gone before. Well, in Genesis 12, God told Abram: “Go forth from your  country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house to the land which I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing…And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. And Abram went forth as the Lord had spoken to him” (vv. 1-4).  In this account we read how God began a new relationship with humanity. God had flooded the earth and, because of the wickedness of mankind, had destroyed all humanity except Noah and his family and now set in motion His plan of redemption for all mankind through the nation He would establish through Abram, for through his descendants would come the nation of Israel, the Holy Scriptures and the Messiah, the promised “seed of the woman” (Gen. 3:15).  God chose Abram and took him on an unexpected, and very adventurous journey that would demonstrate to the world that He is God and loves us and “desires all men to be saved” (I Tim. 2:4). 

     God commanded Abram to leave his home and his family and friends. Leaving the known and entering the unknown must have been terrifying. Keep in mind, Abram had no “smartphone” or GPS to help him navigate. He couldn’t Google the best travel route to stay out of danger on the trip. All he had (and all he needed!) was a promise from the Lord God Almighty.  Abram was not venturing into the unknown to fulfill his craving to explore. Instead he was obeying what the Lord commanded him to do. And, God promised that not only would Abram and his family be blessed, but the entire world would be blessed through him–through his obedience. The promise God made to Abram was not just to him and his family, but to everyone, including you and me. 

    Obeying God’s directives in Scripture, such as going into all the world to preach the gospel (which includes your neighbor next door or the people you work with), or forgiving others as Christ has forgiven us, may involve venturing into new territory, but we can be assured that we will be blessed for it and so will the people around us.  What “adventure” might God be calling you to take where you can trust God to provide everything you need to accomplish it? When you obey, you won’t be the only one blessed. Your obedience may affect many others.

     I think of the ultimate example. God the Son left His Father and His heavenly home and glory and took on “the form of a bond-servant and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance of a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:7,8).  Jesus Christ, the Creator of all things (Jn. 1:1-3; Col. 1:16,17), took on a human body so He could fulfill the eternal plan to redeem mankind through His suffering and death, and because of His complete obedience, salvation was made available to all and eternal life to all who would, by faith, respond and trust in His death and resurrection to pay for their sin (Tit. 2:11; Jn. 3:16).  Because of His obedience multitudes have been, are being, and will be blessed.  Because of Adam’s disobedience, each of us was born a sinner, separated from fellowship with God, but because of Christ’s obedience we can be restored to fellowship when we accept His work on our behalf. “For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous” (Ro. 5:19). 

     So, have you been blessed by the obedience of God the Son?  If you have received Him, you have been “blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Eph.. 1:3).  By our natural birth we are “dead in trespasses and sins…but God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:1, 4-7). 

     During this Christmas season, we become involved in gift-giving and receiving because “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn. 3:16).  Have you received God’s gift to you–Jesus Christ?  He is the “gift that keeps on giving.” You will be so blessed because He was “obedient unto death, even death on a cross.”   And, oh by the way, you will be entering an exciting adventure beyond your greatest imaginations for “He is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us” (Eph. 3:20). 

Forever His,

Pastor Dave

     We were in the optometrist’s office last week picking up some new glasses.  Also in the office were a mother and her three daughters, two of whom had just tried on their very first glasses. It was fun to see them get super excited about being able to see things clearly.  I couldn’t help but think of what it must have been like for the blind man that Jesus healed that we read about in John chapter nine. 

     Jesus had gone to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles.  All male Jews were required to attend three annual feasts in Jerusalem: Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles (or booths).  During the Feast of Tabernacles, which commemorated the wandering in the wilderness and dwelling in tents or booths, the Jews had a ceremony of carrying water from the Pool of Siloam and pouring it into a silver basin at the altar of burnt offering each day for the first seven days of the Feast, to symbolize how God miraculously provided water for them in the wilderness.  On the eighth and final day of the Feast, this was not done, symbolizing their awaiting the coming day of refreshing when Messiah came. It was on that day that Jesus stood and cried out, “If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes on Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water’ ” (Jn. 9:37,38 cf Isa. 44:3; 55:1; 58:11; Jn. 4:10).  

     The next day Jesus again came to the temple, sat down and began teaching, when some Scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman who had been caught in adultery (Note that they didn’t bring the man with them!), expecting Him to condemn her to death. Instead, Jesus turned the tables on them. With His finger, He wrote something on the ground (maybe their sins?) and said to them: “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her” (Jn. 8:7).  Rather than picking up stones, the menfiled out in order by age!  Jesus forgave the woman and sent her on her way, saying, “From now on sin no more” (v. 11).    

      Jesus resumed teaching, saying, “I am the light of the world, he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life” (Jn. 8:12).  He followed that up by adding, “Unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins…before Abraham was born, I Am” (vv. 24,58).  At that point the Scribes and Pharisees “picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple” (v. 59).  This revealed their spiritual blindness for they were acknowledging that Jesus claimed He was God but considered Him a blasphemer, worthy of death (cf Ex. 3:13-15).

     With that as the background, as Jesus left the temple, we come to the encounter with the “man blind from birth” (Jn. 9:1).  The disciples asked an interesting question, “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?” (v. 2).  Sickness and suffering were commonly thought to be the consequences of one’s sin. But this became complicated when the victim was born with a handicap such as blindness!  Jesus first corrected the false idea then focused on the purpose of this particular suffering, which provided an occasion for revealing God’s glory. (v. 3).  Jesus healed the man in a rather unusual way by putting mud in his eyes and asking him to go to the Pool of Siloam and wash it out. He did and received his sight (v. 11).  The healing caused quite a stir among the spiritually blind Pharisees, especially because Jesus performed this miracle on the Sabbath, violating some of their made-up rules.  They pressed the man for more information about how this happened and who the man was who healed him.  Then they interrogated his parents who, out of fear of being excommunicated from worship and fellowship in the synagogue, said, “He is of age; ask him” (vv, 22,23). So they again approached their son and basically said, “Tell us the truth, how can this man we know is a sinner have healed you?” “He therefore answered, ‘Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see’ ” (v. 25).  Just imagine what it must have been like to have been blind from birth and suddenly have perfect vision, opening up the amazing world around you which you had never seen before!  

     But that is not the end of the story; the best is yet to come!  Jesus heard that the man had been put out of the synagogue, “and finding him, said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ He answered and said, ‘And who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you.’  And he said, ‘Lord, I believe.’  And he worshiped Him” (vv.  35-38).   Not only could the man now see the physical world around him, but the “eyes of his heart” were opened. His whole world was illuminated for the first time–both physically and spiritually. He had “been called out of darkness into His (the One who is ‘The Light of the World’) marvelous light” (I Pet. 2:9). The man who was “formerly darkness” was now “light in the Lord” (Eph. 5:8). 

     Proverbs 20:27 tells us that “The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD…” and when we, by faith, put our trust in Jesus Christ to save us, the “Light of the World”  “lights our lamp” (Psa. 18:28). We often use the idiom, “the light came on” to describe finally seeing the solution to the problem we have been struggling to understand or solve. Well, when we are “born again,” the ight really comes on and we have a whole new view of the world around us, our purpose for being here and what our future holds. Something to get excited about for sure!

      With the Apostle Paul, I pray for you “that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe…” (Eph. 1:18-19). 

Forever His,

Pastor Dave

     “And this is the message we have heard from Him, and announce to you, that God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth” (I Jn. 1:5,6).  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend (or overpower) it” (Jn. 1:1-5).  

     Light is the most fundamental and important form of energy, and energy includes every phenomenon in the physical universe. It is appropriate for John to affirm that “God is light,” because everything created must reflect the character of its Creator. God is the source of all light–physical, intellectual, moral, and spiritual–and He doesn’t change.  James, in his epistle, wrote: “Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow” (1:17).

     A friend and I went out hunting (“hiking with our guns”) a couple times recently. We drove through very dense fog to our hunting site and as we hiked up higher, we experienced brilliant sunshine and clear blue skies. The valley below  remained shrouded in fog.  Each of us is living in a valley of fog and darkness until we receive the One who is life and the light of men, Jesus Christ, God the Son.  “For God, who said, ‘light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (II Cor. 4:6).  Earlier in that chapter, Paul wrote: “…the god of this world (Satan…Jn. 12:31) has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ…” (v. 4). 

     With all that is going on in the world–the war in Israel and in the Ukraine, economic uncertainty, unpredictable world leaders, rising global tensions, moral dyslexia where evil is called good (and even celebrated) and good is called evil (see Isa. 5:20,21), and with the added drama of the upcoming presidential election, many people are experiencing heightened levels of anxiety and fear and hopelessness. It seems “darkness” is creeping over the world and gaining new ground with each passing day. But, praise God, the darkness can never overcome light. It’s physically and spiritually impossible. In a pitch-black room, a single candle can shine brightly, and there is no way to somehow add more darkness to snuff out that light!  Light cannot and will not be overcome by darkness in this world either. 

     In the very beginning, when  “the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep…God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light” (Gen. 1:2,3).  God pushed away the darkness and brought the promise of physical nourishment and life to an empty world. But soon after God created man, sin entered and plunged the world into spiritual darkness, separated from fellowship with the Creator (Gen. 2:17 cf Ro. 5:12).  The darkness grew greater until God judged the earth with a universal flood (Gen. 6,7).  But then God took the same light and wondrously split it into its parts, giving us the gift of His rainbow as a sign of His promise to never again destroy the earth with water (Gen. 9:11-17).

     But sin affected more than the physical world. The spiritual was also infected, and a flood could not wash it clean, nor could the sun give it life (spiritually).  Another light was needed–the same light that shone in the beginning before the sun, moon, and stars were put in their places. And that light was Jesus. Only Jesus could push away the darkness and destruction of sin. Only the “light of the world” (Jn. 8:12) could give the gift of life eternal.

     “A star will come out of Jacob (Israel),” God told us back in Numbers 24:17. God hung His brightest star in the sky to guide the wisemen to Bethlehem to worship the light of the world. While you and I look up to see rainbows and stars, God looks down remembering His promise of eternal life in His Son.  “And the witness is this that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life” (I Jn. 5:11,12).  

     This great theme, contrasting the darkness of the soul without Christ to the glorious light He brings when that soul receives Him by faith, is found often in Scripture. For example, we read in I Pet. 3:9: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.“  Since we have received the true light, we should henceforth live in the light of His truth. “For you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light” (Eph. 5:8). “Let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light” (Ro. 13:12).  As those who have received the “light of the world” into our lives, we are exhorted by Jesus to “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 world may be getting darker and darker, but it cannot overpower the light. Jesus said, “I will build my church, and (even) the gates of Hades shall not overpower it” (Mt. 16:18). Keep your light shining brightly!  The darker it gets, the more it will show up.

Forever His,

Pastor Dave