tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70017048370515026152024-03-08T03:30:48.737-05:00By His StripesShort, personal commentary by Pastor Steve Pennell of By His Stripes ministries.Pastor Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01108956624380092003noreply@blogger.comBlogger255125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001704837051502615.post-50970871245928919112018-03-09T06:59:00.000-05:002018-03-09T06:59:00.576-05:002 Corinthians 1:3-4 "Comforting Others"<i><span class="text 2Cor-1-3">Praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! The Father is a merciful God, who always gives us comfort. </span></i><span class="text 2Cor-1-4" id="en-CEV-26709"><i>He comforts us when we are in trouble, so that we can share that same comfort with others in trouble. </i> 2 Corinthians 1:3-4</span><br />
<br />
True spiritual qualities are not natural to us. By nature we are not
compassionate and merciful and loving and kind and patient or any of
that. And the only way that we can become more patient with others is
if someone invests some patience into us –because you can’t give what
you don’t have.<br />
<br />
The only way we can be more compassionate is if someone
shows compassion to us. The only way we can be more forgiving is if
someone forgives us. The only way we can be more loving i<span class="text_exposed_show">s if someone loves us.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="text_exposed_show">
I liken this to a spiritual bank account –a checking account. Before
we can write any checks on this account, somebody has to make some
deposits into it. And Jesus is the one who makes the deposits.<br />
<br />
Jesus has all of those characteristics –and if we have accepted His
love, He has invested into us and we now have love to share with others.
If we have received His mercy, we now can be merciful. If we have
trusted Him for the forgiveness of our sins, we now can forgive others.<br />
<br />
Once those deposits have been made into our lives, not only can
we turn around and give them to others, but the Bible says that if we
are going to follow Jesus, it’s not optional –we must invest what Jesus
has given to us into the lives of others.<br />
<br />
Spiritually the flip side of you can’t give what you don’t have is that you must give what you do have.<br />
<br />
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Pastor Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01108956624380092003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001704837051502615.post-55191435421936754252018-03-06T05:57:00.002-05:002018-03-06T05:57:51.806-05:001 Kings 19:1-21 "Hearing God In The Normal"<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">After the prophet Elijah confronted and bested the prophets of Baal,
Queen Jezebel vowed revenge. And Elijah, who had been fearless before
the false prophets, became afraid and he ran and hid.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> At this
point, Elijah is terribly depressed. He does not even want to go on
living. And apparently, he is also a little angry with God. He is
feeling sorry for himself. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I think I understand how he was
feeling. He was thinking to himself that he had been faithful, that he
had done what God had commanded, that he had even been vindicated by God
before the nation. God had used him in a mighty way. And yet, instead
of being rewarded for his faithfulness, his life was still in jeopardy.
He was being hunted. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> If I'm honest, I sometimes feel like
that. I sometimes want God to reward me right here and now for the
times I am faithful. Sometimes I even begin to think that I deserve
better treatment. More recognition. A little honor, perhaps?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
But God simply said to Elijah, "What are you doing up here hiding,
feeling sorry for yourself? The job's not done yet. There is still
much to do." </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Then God told Elijah to prepare himself, because He
was going to speak. You might remember the story. There was a mighty
wind -a tornado or a hurricane. It was a massive display of power and
force; but God didn't speak in the wind.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Then there was an
earthquake. The mountain shook and rocks split. Again, it was a
massive display of power and force; but God didn't speak in the
earthquake.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Next came a raging fire. It was intense. Whole trees were consumed. But God didn't speak in the fire.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
Believe me, Elijah was listening for God in the mighty wind. He was
watching for God in the earthquake. He was certain he would find God in
the raging fire. But when God spoke, it was unexpectedly in the
gentlest of whispers. Why? Why did God send these spectacular
catastrophic events? Then, why did He choose to communicate in the
still small voice?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I think God sent the spectacular, the
powerful, and the catastrophic to remind Elijah who was in control. God
can use any means He chooses to accomplish His will. If He desires,
all nature is at His command.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> But Elijah (and maybe me) needed to
be reminded that the lasting, enduring work of God is usually
accomplished in the small things -in the quiet places of our hearts even
when we are lonely or nervous or fearful or anxious.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> The big
events are great and many times God uses mountaintop experiences in our
lives to grow us and encourage us. But too often we seek God in the
spectacular and the extraordinary and the loud and the big -while God is
waiting for us in the quiet and the ordinary.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> It is not our
place to question God's methods. He will use the spectacular when He
sees fit for His own purposes, and His own honor, and His own glory.
Occasionally God will communicate with us through the spectacular, but
it is often our place to be still and listen for the gentle whisper of
God in the quiet, intimate moments of the normal.</span>Pastor Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01108956624380092003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001704837051502615.post-86842480520710538212017-08-28T07:27:00.001-04:002017-08-28T07:27:17.905-04:001 Samuel 16:7 "The Way Things Appear"Church is the one place in all the world where we ought to be able to
be honest, where we should be able to be real. But this clearly is
not the case.<br />
<br />
In fact, religious people might be the worst
people in the world when it comes to being honest about our true
feelings and what is going on inside.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, almost
every religious person I have ever met has bought into the lie that
“real Christians never struggle with sin; real Christians don’t get
scared or confus<span class="text_exposed_show">ed; real Christians
don’t stumble; real Christians don’t get discouraged; real Christians
don’t doubt. And if Christians ever actually do any of those things,
they don’t show it.” </span><br />
<br />
<div class="text_exposed_show">
We
choose to believe that it is more spiritual to hide our fears and
doubts and sins and anxieties and worries than to express them and
expose them and deal with them. We will not allow anyone else to know
that we have problems because they might think less of us spiritually.
And we don’t want people to think less of us spiritually, so we buy the
lie and bury the truth.<br />
<br />
And if we do this, you see, we
invariably end up leading a life that is focused on outward appearances
instead of internal realities. It can’t work both ways. If how things
appear, if how they look is what matters most to us, then how things
really are cannot matter much. That’s what religion without
relationship does. It seeks the approval of man.<br />
<br />
<i><span class="text 1Sam-16-7" id="en-NIV-7603">1 Samuel 16:7 "The <span class="small-caps" style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the <span class="small-caps" style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> looks at the heart.”</span></i> <br />
<br />
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Pastor Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01108956624380092003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001704837051502615.post-25938580683279485472017-08-11T14:38:00.001-04:002017-08-11T14:38:24.619-04:00Luke 11:46, Matthew 23:25 "Hard Life Harder"<span class="text Luke-11-46" id="en-NIV-25452"><span class="woj"><i>“And
you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with
burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one
finger to help them."</i> (Luke 11:46)</span></span><br />
<br /><span class="text Matt-23-25" id="en-NLT-23917"><span class="woj"><i>“What
sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees.
Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and
the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence!"</i> (Matthew 23:25)</span></span><br />
<br />
Religion is, of course, not necessarily a bad thing. Religion is
believing in God. Religion is tradition and ceremony. Religion is
learning the difference between right and wrong. Religion is praying
and celebrating religious holidays and reading the Scripture and coming
to church and giving our tithes and offerings.<br />
<br />
Those are all
things that I affirm and have made a part of my life. Religion is not a
bad thing –unless we simply practice religion instead of entering in<span class="text_exposed_show">to the relationship that God wants to have with us. </span><br />
Jesus told one of the most religious men of His day that unless a
person is “born again,” he will never see the Kingdom of God. Unless I
allow Jesus to transform my heart and mind, it really doesn’t matter in
the big picture if I know how to act religious.<br />
<br />
Religion might
change my behavior, but only Jesus can change my heart. Why is this
important? Because acting religious doesn’t forgive my sin. Being
religious doesn’t take away the emptiness in my soul. Being religious
doesn’t take away my sense of guilt and shame. Religion without
relationship only treats the symptom, it doesn’t cure the disease.<br />
<br />
It seems to me that religion often makes a hard life even harder. Because religion cannot change the heart, it tries to control people with laws and expectations. Religion is good at describing high standards of right behavior –but
only a right relationship gives hope and mercy to those who realize they
don’t measure up.<br />
<br />
<div class="text_exposed_show">
When we
finally get to the end of ourselves and begin to understand that we
hurt, that we are empty inside, that we have deep spiritual needs that
we can’t meet ourselves, that there has to be more to life than we are
experiencing –when we finally admit that we have made a mess of things
and we need divine help, if we turn to religion, we only get the added
burden of additional laws that in our hearts we know we can never keep.<br />
<br />
Religion makes a hard life harder. But a relationship with God through Jesus gives mercy and hope.<br />
<br />
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Pastor Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01108956624380092003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001704837051502615.post-56661534460556504232017-08-05T22:35:00.000-04:002017-08-05T22:35:29.123-04:00James 3:15, James 4:4 "God's Enemies" <b>James 3:15</b> <i>Such wisdom does not come down from heaven; it belongs to the world, it is unspiritual and demonic.</i><br />
<b> </b><span class="text Jas-4-4" id="en-NLT-30302"><b>James 4:4</b> <i>Don’t you realize that
friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If
you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.</i></span><br />
<br />
None of us would intentionally declare ourselves to be God’s enemies.
Yet, when we choose our own way instead of God’s ways –when we choose
the world’s wisdom over God’s wisdom –when we choose to side with the
world instead of siding with God, that’s exactly what we are doing.<br />
<br />
The world’s values are carnal and unspiritual; they are, in fact,
influenced by the devil. So, when we choose these values
over God’s values, we are quite literally choosing the evil o<span class="text_exposed_show">ne over God. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="text_exposed_show">
Whether we have thought this decision through or not, the result is the
same: when we side with the world, we declare ourselves to be God’s
enemies. And just to make sure we understand, James says it clearly
again: “anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy
of God.” <br />
<br />
It is not an option that God leaves open to us for us to be vaguely religious. We cannot be “kind of” Christian.<br />
<br />
When it comes to spiritual things, God wants us to be fully surrendered
to Him, living our lives in His Spirit, choosing His ways over our own
ways. Clearly, there is a choice here that we must make.<br />
<br />
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Pastor Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01108956624380092003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001704837051502615.post-19411944667339563352017-07-25T06:35:00.003-04:002017-07-25T06:35:43.957-04:00Genesis 1:27 "In God's Image"Have you ever wondered why universally women all want to be beautiful
and men want to be strong and courageous? In every culture on the face
of the earth for as far back as we have recorded history, women have
wanted to be beautiful and men have wanted to be strong and courageous.<br />
<br />
I know that evolutionists would say it’s because of how we
evolved so that the human race could survive. But I think a better
answer is found in the verse , Genesis 1:27, <i>“God created people in </i><span class="text_exposed_show"><i>His own image; God patterned them after Himself; male and female He created them.”</i> </span><br />
<br />
<div class="text_exposed_show">
Courage and strength and beauty are all characteristics of God –and we
were created in His image. We were created with and for God’s glory.<br />
<br />
Satan would love to destroy God’s glory –in fact, to destroy God -but
that isn’t possible, so he has made it his mission to destroy those
created in God’s image. What difference do we make to Satan? None.
The only reason he cares about us is because God cares about us.<br />
<br />
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Pastor Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01108956624380092003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001704837051502615.post-85325538356696575942017-07-18T04:31:00.002-04:002017-07-18T04:31:26.099-04:00John 10:10, Isaiah 61:1 "Matters Of The Heart"
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<br />
I think that we forget the importance of our hearts. We forget that
Jesus told us the greatest commandment is to love God with all of or
hearts. We forget that we are to hide the Word of God in our hearts.
We forget that God’s commandments and promises are to be written on our
hearts. We forget that although man looks on outward appearances, God
looks at our hearts. We forget that it is out of our hearts that
authentic praise and worship flows. We forget that our hearts<span class="text_exposed_show"> are the very wellspring of life. We forget how central the heart is, but our enemy hasn't.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="text_exposed_show">
Our enemy knows how important our hearts are –and that’s why he is so
intent on destroying them –that’s why he is intent on breaking our
hearts –on twisting our hearts –on deadening our hearts. If the enemy
can break our hearts, he has broken us. <br />
<br />
The enemy twists our
hearts and deadens our hearts and breaks our hearts –but listen to this
prophecy from Isaiah chapter 61:1 that Jesus claimed as His own mission
statement:<i> “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because
the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent
me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for prisoners."</i><br />
<br />
Here, then, is the
situation. The enemy (according to John 10:10) robs and kills and destroys, but Jesus gives life,
binds up the broken-hearted, and proclaims freedom and release to those
in bondage. He came to take away our damaged, unresponsive, broken
hearts –and replace them with new hearts –hearts fully capable of loving
God. Jesus came to give us back our hearts.<br />
<br />
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Pastor Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01108956624380092003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001704837051502615.post-62580653301057368982017-06-20T04:51:00.002-04:002017-06-20T04:51:38.085-04:00Romans 5:20 "Fall Down, Get Back Up"<i><span class="text Rom-5-20" id="en-NTE-4908">But where sin increased, grace increased all the more. <b>Romans 5:20</b></span></i><br />
<span class="text Rom-5-20" id="en-NTE-4908"><br /></span>
<br />
There is nothing good about sin. But it is the nature of God to be
redeeming, and because God is a God of grace and mercy, He has found a
way to make even our struggles and our failures into valuable,
redemptive life-lessons.<br />
<br />
The very cycle of falling down and
getting back up is what creates in us the perseverance it takes to
eventually overcome. It is not the falling down that is good; it is the
getting back up. It is turning back to God when we realize that we have
sinn<span class="text_exposed_show">ed, again. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="text_exposed_show">
If we continue to fall down because we are trying to overcome sin on or
own, through our own strength, through our own will power, through our
own efforts, we will eventually realize that whenever we try on our own,
we I fail.<br />
<br />
We are not strong enough. We don’t have enough will power. We are too weak. But, then, that is the point where God wants us.<br />
<br />
For those who truly love God, the very cycle of falling down and
getting back up eventually brings us to full surrender to Christ. Out
of our weakness, God’s strength is shown.<br />
<br />
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Pastor Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01108956624380092003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001704837051502615.post-59167572720343434972017-06-15T03:33:00.000-04:002017-06-15T03:33:26.571-04:00John 13:34-35 "If You Love"<i><span class="text John-13-34" id="en-GNT-29704">"And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. </span></i><i><span class="text John-13-35" id="en-GNT-29705"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples.” John 13:34-35</span></i><br />
<span class="text John-13-35" id="en-GNT-29705"><br /></span>
Jesus said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples –if you love one another.”<br />
<br />
Think about the incredible implications of that statement. The world
will not know the truth just because we hold correct doctrine, or
because we go to the right church, or because we are knowledgeable in
Scripture, or because we use our talents and abilities and spiritual
gifts for the Kingdom, or because we are faithful to tithe, or because
we follow the rules, or because we know<span class="text_exposed_show"> a lot of religious jargon. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="text_exposed_show">
Most of these things are good things –they are positive things –they
are even things that usually accompany a right relationship with God.
But none of these things are authorized by Christ to be the trademark
for Christians.<br />
<br />
The one and only identifier that is endorsed and authorized by Jesus is that the Body of Christ exhibits true love.<br />
<br />
If the Body of Christ can truly love, the world will believe; if we cannot truly love, the world will never believe.<br />
<br />
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Pastor Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01108956624380092003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001704837051502615.post-59221417425230944242017-05-30T03:59:00.002-04:002017-05-30T03:59:38.134-04:00Psalm 51:4 "God Loves Losers And Sinners"Everybody loves a winner; nobody wants to associate with a loser. We
live in a very competitive culture, with everyone striving to be on
top. But stop and think about it for a moment. In order for there to
be somebody on top, somebody else has to be on the bottom. The only way
for one person to win is for someone else to lose. And I just want to
say I'm glad that God doesn't limit his love to a select few who out
perform others. I'm glad that God loves losers. <br />
<br />
The Bible tells us plainly that <span class="text_exposed_show">all of us have sinned against God. We are, each of us, equal in that respect. If God only loved the winners, we'd all miss out.</span><br />
<br />
Psalm 5, however, reminds us: <i>"Against You—You alone—I have sinned and done this
evil in Your sight. So You are right when You pass sentence; You are
blameless when You judge.....God, create in me a clean heart and renew a
steadfast spirit within me. Do not banish me from Your presence or
take Your Holy Spirit from me....You do not want a sacrifice, or I would
give it; You are not pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifice
pleasing to God is a broken spirit. You will not despise a broken and
humbled heart, God."</i><br />
<br />
All God has ever wanted from us is honesty,
and a broken heart before him. All God wants from us is for us to admit
our failure, and allow Him to show His strength through our weakness.
Just as we are equal in our sin, in Jesus, we are equally accepted and
forgiven in our repentance. Because God loves us. God loves losers and sinners like you and me.<br />
<br />
#by-his-stripes.com #ByHisStripesPastor Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01108956624380092003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001704837051502615.post-15085148805561586372017-05-26T03:20:00.002-04:002017-05-26T03:20:38.030-04:001 John 1:9 "Confessing Sin"<div class="_5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id="js_i9">
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_5927d36d70e274a02539083">
We
live in a fallen, broken world, we are constantly surrounded by evil
influences, and we are weak willed people; so, even though we believe in
Jesus and have accepted His death as the punishment for our sin, and
have turned to Him for forgiveness and new life, we still struggle with
sin.<br />
<br />
Because we still struggle with sin, God made a continuing
provision for sin. The Bible tells us, “If we confess our sin, He is
faithful and just to forgive our sin and cleanse us from al<span class="text_exposed_show">l unrighteousness”(1 John 1:9).</span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show"><br /></span>
<div class="text_exposed_show">
Jesus has already paid the penalty for sin –in that sense, God made
provision for our forgiveness once and for all, and for all time. The
penalty has been been paid, and we have been forgiven. Yet, Christians
are specifically instructed to confess sin as it occurs.<br />
<br />
There
is a very good reason God wants us to confess our sin. It’s because
unconfessed sin turns into baggage that we have to carry around with us.<br />
<br />
When we sin and do not confront it, and do not repent, and
refuse to confess it, we end up with a load of guilt and shame and
bitterness and anxiety and fear. God doesn’t want that for us. God
wants us to unload those kinds of burdens. We unload by confession and
repentance.<br />
<br />
God doesn’t need to hear our confession so that He
knows what we’ve been up to. He already knows every wrong thing and
every right thing we’ve ever thought or said or done. Our confession
doesn’t change God, and it doesn’t change God’s mind, and it doesn’t
change God’s opinion of us. Our confession changes us.<br />
<br />
When we
are humbly confessing our sin to God, something happens. In order to
truly confess, we must examine ourselves. In order to realistically
examine ourselves, we need to quit pretending to be people we’re not –we
need to let our defenses down, we need to take our masks off. In order
to confess, we need to be brutally honest about ourselves before God.
And it is in the context of humble honesty, with no pretense and no
defense that a relationship with God begins to develop. And the
relationship is what God desires.<br />
<br />
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</a>Pastor Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01108956624380092003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001704837051502615.post-25464687594578444672017-05-26T03:13:00.002-04:002017-05-26T03:13:58.970-04:001 John 3:1 "God Loves Me" I believe that God loves me. I know it is a simple thought, but it
has profound implications.<br />
<br />
How can He love me in a personal way if He
doesn’t know me in a personal way. God knows me. <br />
That’s a
thought that is comforting and frightening all at once, isn’t it? I’m
sure we all have a few things in our past that we’d rather not parade
out in public.<br />
<br />
I used to think that I’d be more comfortable with God if He didn’t know all about my failures and faults. It’s embarrassi<span class="text_exposed_show">ng
to think that God knows everything about me –even my secrets. But then
I realize that He loves me. That changes everything –doesn’t it? </span><br />
<br />
<div class="text_exposed_show">
I mean, if God said that He loves me, but didn’t know the worst about
me, I’d always have to hope that He never finds out. I’d always have to
worry that if He really knew me that maybe He wouldn’t love me.<br />
<br />
But the fact that He loves me even knowing the worst about me means
that I never have to worry about that. He already knows the worst about
me. And He loves me.<br />
<br />
<span class="text 1John-3-1" id="en-NLT-30541"><b>1 John 3:1</b> <i>See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!</i></span><br />
<span class="text 1John-3-1" id="en-NLT-30541"> </span> <br />
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Pastor Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01108956624380092003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001704837051502615.post-8847969777376580552017-05-24T03:19:00.002-04:002017-05-24T03:27:39.730-04:00Luke 4:40, Matthew 14:14 "God Loves Individually & Personally"It is possible to go all day without ever actually talking to another
human being –I don’t mean by avoiding them or by hiding out indoors, I
mean in a normal day in which we do all sorts of normal things, we could
go all day without actually speaking to anyone.<br />
<br />
We do banking
at ATM machines or online. We send emails and texts instead of talking
on the phone. Many stores have self-checkout lines where we don’t even
need a cashier to wait on us. We do our shopping on the int<span class="text_exposed_show">ernet.
We pay for our gas with a credit card right at the pump. . As our
society gets more and more impersonal, I think it’s good to know that
our relationship with God is personal –His love for us is personal. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="text_exposed_show">
Jesus taught great multitudes of people. Often several thousand people
at a time gathered to hear Jesus teach. Everywhere He went hundreds of
people gathered around Him wanting to be healed from every imaginable
sickness. Think about this –if He had wanted to, He could have healed
every sickness in every crowd with a single word. He could have raised
His arms and waved them over a crowd and healed every disease at once.
But He didn’t do it that way. Instead He placed His hands on them one
at a time and healed them one at a time.<br />
<br />
I think it’s because
He didn’t see crowds of people in the same way we see them. I think
that Jesus saw a crowd of a thousand people as a thousand individuals,
each unique and each important. And that’s the way He sees us –and
that’s the way loves us. He loves us each individually.<br />
<br />
Jesus
didn’t die for the sins of humanity in a generic sense –He died for my
sin and He died for your sin –personally. As our society gets more and
more impersonal, it makes me happy to know that God loves me,
personally.<br />
<br />
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Pastor Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01108956624380092003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001704837051502615.post-11296412918888632552017-04-10T06:11:00.000-04:002017-04-10T06:11:42.609-04:00Deuteronomy 33:25 "Strength For Today, Today"I was reading about a college professor who came into his class one
day and hung a giant piece of white paper up on the board. Down in the
bottom corner of the paper was a black dot.<br />
<br />
He asked his
students to tell him what they saw. Every one of the students said they
saw a black dot. The teacher said, "That's interesting. Doesn't
anyone see a huge sheet of white paper? After all, the dot is just one
tiny spot on an very big piece of paper."<br />
<br />
But, that's the way we are, i<span class="text_exposed_show">sn't
it? We tend to focus on the details and miss the bigger picture.
Sometimes we focus on the dot of our present circumstances and miss the
bigger picture of what God has already done for us, and what He will
certainly continue to do. </span><br />
<br />
We sometimes focus on the wrong things -temporary things -and loose
sight of the fact that "the Lord our God is a great and awesome God."
And when we loose sight of the fact that God is a good God, God is a
great God, God is an awesome God, we get overwhelmed.<br />
<br />
In
Dueteronomy 33:25, God says, "Your strength will equal your days."
There is no strength for Monday on Sunday. Monday will get here soon
enough. Use the strength God gives you for today, today. Trust that
God will, indeed, give you strength for tomorrow, tomorrow. When we run
ahead of our strength, we run out of strength. God will provide what
we need when we need it, and He will provide exactly the right amount to
meet the need. That's the way He works.<br />
<br />
Let's try to see God's big sheet of white paper and not just the small black dot of current circumstances and frustrations.<br />
<br />
#by-his-stripes.com #ByHisStripes Pastor Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01108956624380092003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001704837051502615.post-33916475880183680862017-03-31T06:37:00.004-04:002017-03-31T06:37:37.962-04:00Ephesians 2:10, Exodus 19:5 "Prized Possessions"<div class="_5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id="js_13">
A
few years back we took a family vacation up to the Washington D.C.
area. While we were there, we visited some of our national museums.
In the national art galleries, they had paintings by artists like
Rembrandt and Van Gogh and Da Vinci. They truly had some of the best
art of all history. Any one can go there and see these wonderful paintings
up close. Some of these paintings are priceless. At least, the
originals are priceless. In the gift shop, of course, you can buy
posters of some of the more famous paintings relatively cheap. You can
even buy postcards for about 25 cents. But the cheap reproductions,
obviously, are not the same as the real originals painted by the masters
themselves.<br />
<br />
We are the originals, handcrafted by God Himself.
In <b>Ephesians 2:10</b> we are told, <i>"We are God's workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus to good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
</i>Understand what this is telling us. We are originals created by God.
We are His workmanship. We are His masterpieces, created with a
purpose. We are "created to do good works, which He has prepared in
advance for us to do." Because God has a purpose for us, He has created
in each of us uniquely the qualities and characteristics necessary to
do the works He has prepared for us to do. Nothing that has gone into
the shaping of our lives is by accident or random chance.<br />
<br />
In <b>
Exodus 19:5</b>, God tells the nation of Israel (and this promise holds true
for us as well), <i>"If you obey me and keep my covenant, then you will be
my treasured possession." </i><br />
<br />
Some of us have been hurt or
rejected or ignored or abused or criticized. We have been told things
that were hurtful. And those negative messages play in our minds. They
affect the way we feel about ourselves. But remember that it is not
our friends that determine our worth. It is not our employers or
critics or our spouses or our moms or dads or even our culture that
determines our value. It is our Designer who determines our value. And
God has declared that we are His workmanship. And God has declared that
we are His treasured possessions.<br />
<br />
When we think of all the
wonderful, beautiful things God has created, we are amazed. The
intricate, detailed design of the universe astounds me. The stars, the
mountains, the rolling hills, the oceans, the deserts, the incredible
diversity of animal and plant life. I marvel that God conceived
everything from the Swiss Alps to Niagara Falls, to the Grand Canyon, to
the South Sea Islands, to the African deserts. It's incredible. There
are so many wonderful things that God created. But out of all He has
created we are his prized possession.<br />
<br />
All of humankind is
created by God in His image and has intrinsic value. But we who have
believed and trusted God through Jesus are the masterwork of God. We
fully realize our value only when we are brought into right relationship
with God through Jesus. We are God's workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus. It is In Christ Jesus that we discover our true worth. We can't
fully understand how much we are worth until we accept the love of the
One who loves us most.<br />
<br />
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Pastor Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01108956624380092003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001704837051502615.post-14131720520348416142017-03-28T09:36:00.000-04:002017-03-28T09:36:33.910-04:00Deuteronomy 7:17 "Little By Little"<div class="_5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id="js_9">
How
often we tend to get ahead of God. It’s in our nature. We worry about
things that aren’t even realities yet –and maybe never will be. We’re
afraid of things that we don’t even have any control over. We get
anxious about scenarios that exist only in our imaginations. You know
what I mean –we worry that even though we got the bills paid this month,
we might not be able to pay them next month. We worry that even though
we feel fairly healthy today, we might have someday have cancer. We
worry that the car might break down in the middle of the night on some
dark deserted stretch of road. It’s our nature to be fearful and
anxious. And then when we add to all of our unfounded worries and
anxieties, the fears and anxieties that seem justified –we worry about
our children and our relationships and our jobs; and then when we add to
all those worries our regrets and our hurts and our failings, life can
seem a little overwhelming.<br />
<br />
I want to look for a few minutes at
God’s plan for dealing with all that overwhelming stuff. He doesn’t
intend for us to carry all that baggage, but He knows how hard it is for
us to set that baggage down, so He has a plan for us. His plan is
revealed in the Old Testament in the story of the Israelites wandering
in the desert after leaving Egypt.<br />
<br />
After the Israelites had left
Egypt, God revealed His plan for the Hebrews to Moses, and Moses, in
turn told the people. In Deuteronomy chapters 6 and 7, we find Moses
telling the people how God has chosen Israel for a special purpose. He
is telling them that if they obey God and keep His commandments, God
will bless them and God will go before them as they go into the land of
Canaan and take it for their own. The problem was that Israel was a
puny little country. Well, they didn't actually even have a country;
they only had a group of people. And the land that God had promised
them was already inhabited. Much of it was inhabited by fierce
warriors. Not only were these people fierce and barbaric, but they
lived in walled cities that were nearly impenetrable.<br />
<br />
Looking
ahead, the Israelites were a little overwhelmed. But God told them to
go into the land and engage these fierce warriors in battle and drive
them out of the land. As you can imagine, the Israelites were a little
worried about how this was going to be accomplished –they weren’t all
that anxious to engage stronger enemies in walled cities.<br />
<br />
But God had a
plan for them –a plan for victory. In Deuteronomy 7, beginning
with verse 17, we read, <i>"You may say to yourselves, 'These nations are
stronger than us, how can we drive them out?' But stop worrying! Do not
be afraid of them. Remember well what the Lord did to the Egyptians….
And He will again work miracles for you when you face these enemies…. So
don't be frightened when you meet them in battle. The Lord your God is
a great and awesome God. As you attack these nations, the Lord will
force them out little by little." </i><br />
<br />
I want you to read that last
sentence again because I think here we find God's basic formula
for dealing with stress and worries and addictions and persistent,
nagging sin, and all of the things that seem to assault us on our
spiritual journey. Here we find God's plan for dealing with those
things that seem overwhelming. The Lord will force them out little by
little. That was God’s plan for the Israelites when they were
overwhelmed, and I think it is God’s basic plan for us as well.<br />
<br />
God's plan for dealing with the overwhelming is to deal with it little by little -with Him leading and us following.<br />
<br />
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Pastor Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01108956624380092003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001704837051502615.post-84009295234532743512017-03-26T04:57:00.003-04:002017-03-26T04:57:45.452-04:00John 10:10, Luke 4:18-19 "Heart Matters"<div class="_5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id="js_z">
The
heart is central to everything. That’s because of why were created.
We were created to love. I think that somewhere down inside we all
understand this –love is the whole point. Without love, life is
meaningless. We know that if we can truly love, and be loved, and not
lose love –we know we would be happy. But you see, this kind of love
–love that is true and pure is a heart thing. Loving requires a heart
that is fully alive and free. And this is where we have problems.<br />
<br />
We forget the importance of the heart. We forget that Jesus told us
the greatest commandment is to love God with all of or hearts. We
forget that we are to hide the Word of God in our hearts. We forget
that God’s commandments and promises are to be written on our hearts.
We forget that although man looks on outward appearances, God looks at
our hearts. We forget that it is out of our hearts that authentic
praise and worship flows. We forget that our hearts are the very
wellspring of life. We forget how central the heart is, but, again, our
enemy hasn’t forgotten.<br />
<br />
Our enemy knows how important our hearts
are –and that’s why he is so intent on destroying them –that’s why he
is intent on breaking our hearts –on twisting our hearts –on deadening
our hearts. If he can disable and deaden our hearts, he has effectively
foiled God’s plan for us –God’s plan that our hearts be fully alive and
free to love God with all of our hearts –to worship God with all of our
hearts. If the enemy can break our hearts, he has broken us.<br />
<br />
Over a period of time, we have all suffered blows. We’ve all had
hardship and trials. And to some degree, we have all lost heart. And
as a result, instead of the life that Jesus came to give us, we settle
for efficiency, busyness and productivity. To some degree we have all
suffered some heart damage, and we tend now to drift through life, going
through the motions, but not truly understanding how very much God
loves us, and incapable –because of our damaged hearts, to truly love
God. <br />
The thief, satan, our enemy, has done the job of stealing,
killing and destroying when it comes to matters of the heart, hasn’t
he. Boy, do we need some help.<br />
<br />
That’s why Jesus packaged the two
thoughts together in John 10:10. <i>“The thief has come only to rob,
kill, and destroy, but I have come so that you can have life, and have
it abundantly.”</i><br />
This is what the relationship with Jesus is all
about –getting our hearts back. The thief robs and kills and destroys
–but Jesus gives life. The enemy twists our hearts and deadens our
hearts and breaks our hearts –but listen to this prophecy from Isaiah
chapter 61 that Jesus said was about him:<br />
<br />
<i>“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, <br /> because the LORD has anointed me <br /> to preach good news to the poor. <br /> He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, <br /> to proclaim freedom for the captives <br /> and release from darkness for prisoners,"</i><br />
(Luke 4:18-19) <i><br /></i><br />
<br />
The enemy robs and kills and destroys, but Jesus gives life, binds up
the broken hearted, and proclaims freedom and release to those in
bondage. Jesus restores our hearts.<br />
<br />
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Pastor Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01108956624380092003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001704837051502615.post-38244476948955303532017-03-11T04:23:00.002-05:002017-03-11T04:23:23.279-05:00"Not Tolerant, But Good" Exodus 35:6-7The acceptance of toleration as the only valid religion has permeated
our society so completely that we have developed an entire new style of
language. It's no-fault language.<br />
<br />
A factory in Vermont no
longer fires people or even lays them off. Unneeded or unsatisfactory
employees are given "Career change opportunities."<br />
<br />
General Motors called a plant closing a "Volume-related production schedule adjustment."<br />
<br />
Chrysler Motor Company called plant closings a "Career alternative enhancement program."<br />
<br />
In many schools, children do not fail anymore, they "achieve a deficiency."<br />
<br />
At some hospitals, patients never die. They simply experience, "negative patient-care outcome."<br />
<br />
The idea behind this no-fault language is that since no opinion is
actually wrong, we want to word things in such a way that nobody takes
offense or ends up feeling badly about him or herself.<br />
<br />
This has
created a difficult environment for the church because despite what the
culture teaches, tolerance is not very high on God's list of priorities.
That sounds like an awful thing to say, but it is true.<br />
<br />
Since
the beginning of the last century, it has been considered enlightened
to believe that there is no such thing as sin. After a hundred years of
wrong thinking about the nature of sin and man, we have come to assume
that when people do wrong, even when people do outright evil, that they
have been victims of some circumstance outside of themselves. It is
assumed that they have been the victims of poverty or too much sugar or
bad education or even bad toilet training. It's assumed that people are
basically good, so if they do wrong, it must be attributed to some
outside factor.<br />
<br />
With this social history, it really is not
surprising that our non-Christian neighbors are stunned when we talk
about sin. They are outraged when we say that abortion is wrong, that
adultery and pornography and sexual relationships outside of marriage
are immoral, that lying and cheating are unethical, that homosexuality
violates God's law.<br />
<br />
They immediately assume that if we believe
in moral absolutes, if we believe in absolute truth, if we believe in
sin, that we hate all the people we consider to be sinners. To the
average person, the absence of tolerance simply means hatred. And since
by definition to be a Christian means to accept God's law as absolute
truth, we are intolerant and therefore we are hate-mongers. But nothing
could be further from the truth.<br />
<br />
The problem is that unspiritual
people cannot understand the truth of God's Word, and so what we
actually believe is misunderstood and misrepresented. We are pictured
as cold, uncaring, bigoted, hatemongers, who restrict women's rights and
bash gays and cram our version of morality down people's throats. We
have even been compared to modern day Nazis.<br />
<br />
But, I grew up in the church. The cultural stereotype of Christians
does not match my experience. Most of the people I have associated with
all of my life have been Christian people. And far and away, most of
the Christian people I know are caring, compassionate, forgiving,
loving, people. Certainly there are some that are not -but those
"Christians" who are uncaring and unloving do not accurately reflect the
character of God.<br />
<br />
God is not especially tolerant, yet He is
"compassionate and gracious..., slow to anger, abounding in love and
faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness,
rebellion and sin." (Exodus 35:6-7)<br />
<br />
We, as followers of Jesus
need to be the same as our Father...not especially tolerant...not
calling evil good and good evil; yet, compassionate and gracious, slow
to anger, quick to love and forgive.<br />
<br />
Unspiritual people will
never understand us, but we need to represent Father accurately
regardless of the world's understanding.<br />
<br />
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Pastor Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01108956624380092003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001704837051502615.post-7087895389083263922017-01-02T04:18:00.001-05:002017-01-02T04:18:28.487-05:00"The Choice (part two)" Galatians 5:22-23, Galatians 6:7-8If we want qualities like true joy and true love and true kindness
and true goodness and true peace –if we want those kinds of qualities in
our lives, then we’ve got to sow the right seed. We sow the right seed
by choosing to walk in the Spirit instead of the flesh.<br />
<br />
In
Galatians chapter 6, Paul explained it like this: He said that whatever
we sow, we will reap. To think otherwise is to mock God –but God can’t
be mocked.<br />
<br />
If we are sowing seeds that produce death and destr<span class="text_exposed_show">uction,
we shouldn’t be surprised when harvest time comes that we find ourselves reaping a
harvest of death and destruction. But on the other hand, if we sow
according to the Spirit, when harvest time comes we will reap spiritual
fruit. The fruit of the Spirit that comes as a natural consequence of
following the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). </span><br />
<br />
<div class="text_exposed_show">
Understand that there are natural consequences for our choices. If we
sow to the flesh, we will reap a natural (flesh) outcome –if we sow to the
Spirit, there will be a spiritual outcome.<br />
<br />
We now can choose to
walk in the Spirit. We now can choose to sow good seed that produces
the spiritual qualities we want and need in our lives.<br />
<br />
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Pastor Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01108956624380092003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001704837051502615.post-41728419075889960922017-01-02T04:13:00.001-05:002017-01-02T04:13:17.792-05:00"The Choice (part one)" Galatians 5:16We have a choice. I’m talking now to all of us who have already
asked Jesus into our hearts and lives and have claimed Him as our
Savior. We can follow God or follow our own path. But we can’t do
both. We can do one or the other. And that’s good news.<br />
<br />
There
was a time when we had no choice –before we came to Jesus, we were
slaves to sin –we didn’t have the choice to sin or not to sin, we only
had the choice to sin –there was no other option. All have sinned and
fallen<span class="text_exposed_show"> short. We all were slaves to sin, doing whatever our own best thinking and the physical senses and our flesh demanded. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="text_exposed_show">
But now, as Believers, Jesus has set us free from bondage to sin. We
once had no choice –we were slaves to sin. Now, however, we have a
choice. We can choose to sin –but we can also choose to not sin. We
can now choose to obey God. That’s the part we could not do apart from
Christ –but now we can.<br />
<br />
<b>Galatians 5:16</b> says, <i><sup>"</sup>So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh." </i>We can choose to not sin because now, if we are
in Christ, we have the Holy Spirit living in us. That’s what the Bible
says.<br />
<br />
Now the choice I have moment by moment, hour by hour, day
by day, in every situation is this: will I listen to the Spirit who is
in me speaking to my heart, prompting me, leading, guiding me, helping
me to know wrong from right? Or will I listen to the Flesh –my own best
thinking, the world’s best thinking, the stuff I perceive with my
senses instead of my spirit. Will I trust God, or trust myself? This
is the choice.<br />
<br />
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Pastor Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01108956624380092003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001704837051502615.post-38141507233322481272016-12-09T07:55:00.002-05:002016-12-09T07:55:13.577-05:00Luke 2:7, John 1:14 "No Room" (part two)<br />
<span class="text Luke-2-7" id="en-NASB-24981"><i>And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. (Luke 2:7)</i></span><br />
<br />
<i> </i><span class="text John-1-14" id="en-NIV-26059"><i>The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. (John 1:14)</i></span><br />
<br />
This was clearly the most significant event in all of world history
–God had become man. God’s plan for redemption and salvation had been
put into action. Angels were amazed, but the humans were oblivious.<br />
<br />
Christ, the Messiah, had come to Bethlehem, but Bethlehem didn’t even
know it. These people who thronged the streets and hawked their wares
and filled the inns –these people who had longed for and prayed for God
to send the Messiah –these people missed the birth of God<span class="text_exposed_show">. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="text_exposed_show">
They didn’t miss the advent of the Messiah because they were terrible
people. Not at all –they were mostly good, devout Jewish people. These
other people living in the village of Bethlehem didn’t miss the most
important event in all of human history because they were hopelessly
evil or wicked or cruel. They missed the birth of Jesus simply because
they were too busy to notice.<br />
<br />
That brings me to today. I wonder
–do I really have to make the application? We sure are busy people
aren’t we? We have much to do –don’t we? Here it is already the
Christmas season. On top of our jobs we have chores to do, errands to
run, places to go and people to see. And somehow we still have to find
the time to trim the tree and hang up some decorations, and do some
Christmas shopping –and, of course, we have parties to go to, and
get-togethers, and pageants, and caroling. And then guests are going to
be arriving for the holidays –or else we’ve got to get packed to go
home ourselves. We are always busy people, but at Christmastime we are
even busier than usual.<br />
<br />
And just mentioning these things has
gotten some of your minds racing, thinking of all the things that still
need to be done around your house. But I want to encourage you to take a
moment right now in the middle of this busy season to stop and think of
how much love God has shown us through this baby that was born.<br />
<br />
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Pastor Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01108956624380092003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001704837051502615.post-35420788792322485232016-12-08T05:52:00.005-05:002016-12-08T05:52:44.096-05:00Luke 2:7 "No Room"<div style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>And she gave birth to her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in strips of cloth, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:7</b></span></i></span></div>
<div style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
We like to picture the manger scene as a nice sterile place with clean, fresh hay, and clean stalls with pretty little sheep and maybe a friendly cow or two. And that’s alright for our nativity sets we put out to symbolize this scene and remind us of the circumstance of Jesus’ birth –I mean, who wants a dirty, smelly barn sitting out on the coffee table? </div>
<div style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
But let’s be realistic. Jesus was born in a real barn with real sheep and real cows and real goats and maybe chickens. <span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">Real animals living in real barns don’t stay pretty and clean for very long. </span></div>
<div style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="text_exposed_show" style="color: #1d2129; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px;">
Jesus was born in the midst of musty hay and sweaty animals and manure and mice and cobwebs, and his mother wrapped him carefully in some rags and laid him carefully in the feeding trough so that the cows wouldn’t accidentally trample him while she rested. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
This is how God entered the world –the King of all Creation, Almighty God became a tiny baby, born to a teenage girl in a barn behind the local inn.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
I want to invite you to pause for a moment -in a sense, to pause before the manger and look at that baby and think about God’s extraordinary love. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
God loved the world so much that He sent His only Son that whoever believes on Him will not perish, but have everlasting life. This is love –not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
This is love –God sent His Son. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
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Pastor Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01108956624380092003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001704837051502615.post-91610829421537904362016-11-30T09:53:00.001-05:002016-11-30T09:53:09.522-05:00God Became Man (part two) A few years ago, it seems like everybody was wearing the little WWJD
bracelets. What Would Jesus Do? On the one hand, that’s an ok
approach to life –to ask ourselves in any given situation, What would
Jesus do?<br />
<br />
But, the only way we can really know what Jesus would
do is by looking at what He actually did do. And, again, I want to say
that I think there are enormous implications for our lives in the way
Jesus lived His.<br />
<br />
<div class="text_exposed_show">
Jesus interacted
with sinners all the time. He treated them with dignity and grace. So,
how should we treat the neighbor next door with his live in
girl-friend? Or the guy at work who is addicted to pornography? Or the
mixed up kids with all kinds of garbage going on in their lives? How
should we treat people who, in all honesty, are immoral?<br />
<br />
How did
Jesus treat the woman at the well who had sought intimacy in all the
wrong places and had already failed at 5 marriages and was now living
with a man who wasn’t her husband? How did Jesus Treat the woman
caught in the very act of adultery? How did Jesus treat the woman with a
bad reputation who inappropriately wept at His feet and tried to dry
the ears away with her hair? He loved them. He forgave them. He
restored them. He encouraged them to change their lives.<br />
<br />
How
did Jesus react when His friend Lazarus died and the sisters were
grieving? He cried with them. How did Jesus treat the thieving little
weasel, Zaccheus? He had lunch in his home with him. How did Jesus
show His disciples the importance of serving each other? He washed
their feet. What did Jesus do when the crowds yelled “Crucify Him -and
the religious leaders lied about him, and the soldiers brutally tortured
Him, and people sneered and mocked as His life’s blood drained away?
He looked to heaven and said, “Father, forgive them, they don’t
understand what they’re doing.”<br />
<br />
All of these things, Jesus did,
not as almighty God, not as Ruler, not as Creator, not as Lord of All
–all of these things Jesus did, fully human. All of these things, and
more, Jesus did to teach us and show us. Jesus died to forgive us –but
He lived to show us how to live. And since this is why Jesus came, this
is what Christmas is really all about.<br />
<br />
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Pastor Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01108956624380092003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001704837051502615.post-72273139784481363322016-11-28T09:17:00.003-05:002016-11-28T09:17:22.276-05:002 Corinthians 3:18 "Why God Became Man" When God became man –when Jesus was born –He had more in mind than
simply providing forgiveness. If forgiveness was all that God wanted,
He probably could have found an easier way than dying a brutal, painful
death on the cross –He could have found an easier way than taking our
sin and our shame and our guilt and our emotional and spiritual baggage
onto and into himself. If our forgiveness was all God wanted, I think
God would have done things differently.<br />
<br />
When Jesus came, <span class="text_exposed_show">it
was to provide salvation for mankind –but let’s not ever limit our view
of salvation to having our sins forgiven. Our salvation lies in the
relationship with God that was made possible when our sins were forgiven
through the death and resurrection of Jesus –but Jesus did more than
simply die for our sins and rise again from the dead –Jesus lived. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="text_exposed_show">
He lived a real life. He was born. He lived here among us. He ate
food like we eat. He slept when He was tired –and drank water when He
was thirsty. He laughed at weddings and cried at funerals. Jesus lived
here among us. That means something –there is a reason. God didn’t
plan it out that way on a whim.<br />
<br />
There is a sense in which Jesus
came, not only to be our Savior, but also to be our teacher –our mentor.
A good teacher, or a good mentor, not only tells his students what
they need to know –a good teacher does whatever it takes to make his
students understand. A good teacher shows his students. <br />
Jesus
lived a real life among real people. Some of those people, as you
remember, loved Jesus a whole lot –others hated Him. Some showered
gifts on Him while others plotted to take His life. Sometimes Jesus had
plenty to eat –while other times He went hungry. Sometimes Jesus was
well rested –at other times He was weary to the bone. If Jesus is our
mentor, you see, this stuff all matters a whole lot.<br />
<br />
If Jesus
lived His life in some kind of secluded bubble –we still wouldn’t know
how to act and behave and treat others. But Jesus lived a real life
just like ours. So, we actually know how to live the life that God
desires –Jesus modeled it –in real life.<br />
<br />
<div class="Sermon">
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">And all of us have had the veil removed so that we
can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit
of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his
glory even more.”</span></i>
<br />
<br />
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Pastor Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01108956624380092003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001704837051502615.post-48504049301504911082016-11-17T16:05:00.002-05:002016-11-17T16:05:35.688-05:00Matthew 6:9-13 "Praying Like Jesus"The twelve hand-picked disciples must have learned a lot walking all
over Judea with Jesus. One of the things that they learned was that
Jesus prayed.<br />
<br />
Not that He prayed stuffy, boring prayers –not
that He prayed out of a sense of duty or obligation. They'd seen plenty
of pharisees and religious people standing on the street corners and in
prominent, noticeable places praying those kind of prayers.<br />
<br />
But Jesus prayed differently. They noticed that Jesus had an intimacy wi<span class="text_exposed_show">th
God that they had never observed before. And they noticed that
whenever Jesus prayed, things happened –God responded. They noticed
these things, and they wondered if they might have the same relationship
with God that Jesus had –after all, Jesus was their teacher. They
wondered if maybe Jesus could teach them to pray like He prayed. </span><br />
<br />
In Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus gave them this prayer as a model:<br />
<br />
‘Our Father in heaven:<br /> May Your holy name be honored;<br /> may Your Kingdom come;<br /> may Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.<br /> Give us today our daily bread.<br /> Forgive us the wrongs we have done,<br /> as we forgive the wrongs that others have done to us.<br /> Do not bring us to hard testing,<br /> but keep us safe from the Evil One.<br /> For Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.'<br />
<br />
These are things that we also should pray for and about if we, like the disciples, want to learn to pray like Jesus.Pastor Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01108956624380092003noreply@blogger.com0