Faithful To The Word

1. Hayden 4-10-17

The last decade has revealed an ever-growing apostasy that has attached itself to many in the Church. This apostasy has its support in the idea that “diversity” is the greatest benefit to society and so we need to embrace the belief systems of other religions so as to promote diversity. First of all, diversity that does not have “unity” as its foundation brings division and chaos. We see this in the news on a daily basis. But this idea that all religions are the same, only the names are different, is absolutely false at its very core. Focusing on the words of Jesus, it is clear that the Lord did not in anyway buy into this false concept.   While there may be many Christian denominations and non-denominational fellowships that are pathways to a relationship with Christ, there is only one pathway to God and that is through Christ alone. It is this apostate doctrine that all religions lead to God that has led many liberal leaders in organizations like The National Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches to label missionary efforts and proselytizing (witnessing for Jesus) for the Lord as being arrogant and intolerant of other people and their culture.

John 14:5-7 says this, “Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. 7 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” Jesus is not one way to God, He is the only way to God! That does not mean we should be unkind with others of different religions or cannot be a friend to people of other faiths. On the contrary, we are told to love even our enemies, so loving those who believe differently than we do is a hallmark of our faith. But we should never join with them in accepting their faith apart from Christ as an acceptable pathway to God. We need to be faithful to God’s Word, realize that apart from faith in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for our sins, and continue to love others enough to tell them the truth of their need for The Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Be blessed even more!

Pastor Chris

Joy, Joy, Joy

1. Hayden 3-25-17

Don’t let the devil steal your joy. Let me say that again. Don’t let the devil steal your joy. It never seems to fail that when we experience a victory in our lives, i.e. a wonderful time of worship, a soul being saved and baptized, or a step forward in our spiritual growth, an unexpected blessing, the devil can often be found trying to rob us of our new found joy.   This can happen through negative circumstances or negative people or our own personal negativity arising in the shadow of victory like a wall sent to block all the good things God has been doing. We end up focusing on the negativity and soon the victory we experienced is forgotten and our joy in the Lord has evaporated. Proverbs 4:23 reads thusly, “Guard your heart with all diligence, for out it flow the issues of life.” If we allow the devil to steal our joy, our whole life is affected and we end up becoming the vehicle of negativity that goes about stealing joy from others, affecting the whole Church.

So how do we combat those attacks on our joy? First, look upon negative incursions as an opportunity to be joyful anyway. Scripture says, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing” (James 1:2-4). Though the attack may have it’s origin in the devil, God will use it for our good if we let Him.

And second, take the advice of Philippians 4:6-9, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. 9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.” Let God’s peace be a guard over your heart. Remember, an attack from the enemy of our souls often means we have been and are doing something right! Don’t let the devil steal your joy!

Be blessed even more!

Pastor Chris

An Encouraging Word

1. Hayden 3-9-17

Our world can often be a very critical and cynical place to live in. It is so easy to see how many Christians see this generation in light of the scripture that says, “10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:10-12). With record violence taking place in many of our major cities, ever increasing anxiety over the direction of world and online communications with one another becoming less and less civil due to our expansive differences in belief systems, it would appear that our love for one another, as the prophecy reveals, is certainly growing colder than ever before. While we may be witnessing this icy transformation take place in our nation and around the world, it does not have to be a characteristic of the Body of Christ.

John 13:34-35 says this, “34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” When the Lord tells us that we are to love one another, what He really means is…that’s right…we are to love one another. That means we should say encouraging words that lift each other up rather than finding ways to tear each other down. We are to seek the best for our brothers and sisters in Christ, not just for ourselves.

We read in Ephesians 4:29–32, “29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” When we communicate with each other, is our speech laced with kindness? Do we make every effort to speak edifying words to one another so that we are consistently imparting grace to those that hear us? When we allow the Spirit to be our guide, our conversation will be an encouragement to our fellow believers and the world will see the love of Christ flow through us and thereby know that we belong to Jesus.

Be blessed even more!

Pastor Chris