The Intimate Presence of God

1. Hayden 6-13-18

God’s intimate presence in our life is real and life giving. Few people illustrate this concept of intimacy with God then the psalmist David. In Psalm 63:1-4 we read these words, “O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. 2 So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory. 3 Because Your loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You. 4 Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.” It is easy to see why the Scriptures describe David as a man after God’s own heart. In the very first verse, David declares that he seeks God, thirsts for Him and longs for God’s intimate presence. David does not simply want to appease God or complete a checklist of “God stuff” so as to feel safe from God’s judgment. David wants to know and experience God’s presence intimately. He wants to know God in his life and become intimately acquainted with His presence.

How does David go about seeking this wonderful experience? Verse 2 gives the answer. He starts by looking for God in the sanctuary (vs.2), to see God’s power and His glory. David has an expectation of experiencing the Lord’s power and glory when he comes to worship. Read the verses of that Psalm again. The picture we see is not one of a person just marking time, but of David the King whose focus is on the Lord, worshipping God with all of his heart, soul and body. The wonderful thing about God’s intimate presence is that we can experience God daily no matter where we find ourselves. God’s presence is not just in the church building. He lives within each and every one of His children. For we are the temple (1 Corinthians 6:19) or sanctuary of God’s Spirit and we can know Him and sense Him anytime of the day regardless of where we are.   This week, take time to meet with the Lord, seeking His intimate presence and letting Him heal your heart, mind and body.

Be blessed even more and have a wonderful week!!

Pastor Chris

Promise without the Premise?

1. Hayden 5-23-18

Have you ever been in a dark room, stumbling around to find the light switch? Feeling around on the wall for what should be easily found but is seemingly doing everything to escape your grasp? It’s an uncomfortable feeling until the light goes on and then you can see clearly. In Psalm 18:28 David says, “my God turns my darkness into light.” Isn’t that an awesome promise? No matter what you may be going through and how much darkness pervades over your life, God can turn it into light. However, I have noticed that most promises come with a premise first. In other words, “if I do this, God will in turn do that.” In Joshua 1:8, we are told at the end of the scrip­ture that we will be prosperous and successful. The premise found in the beginning of that verse, however, is for those people who study and meditate on God’s law so that they are able to do it.

When we turn to the light of the Gospel, we see the need to understand and accept the premise along with the promise. Most people want the promise without the premise. They want God to do His thing, but then they want to do their own thing regardless of God’s thoughts on the matter. Psalm 18:22-24 declares, ^“For all His judgments were before me, and I did not put away His statutes from me. ²³ I was also blameless ^[a]before Him,
And I kept myself from my iniquity. ²⁴ Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.” In other words, I have kept myself from sin, and that the rewards have come from that kind of living. The premise of God being our shield (vs.30) is “for all who take refuge in him.” The promises of God are yes and amen for all who desire to know and do His Word; for those who “take refuge in Him.”. We cannot expect to have the promise without the premise, because it’s the founda­tion upon which the promise will come to pass. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, (PREMISE) that whosoever believes in Him……(PROMISE) shall not perish but have everlasting life.”

Be blessed even more!!

Pastor Chris

The House of Salt and Light

1. Hayden 5-10-18

The last couple of Thursday mornings (10am), we have been studying the portion of scripture known as the “Sermon on the Mount.” This study has been an excellent journey into one of the most powerful sermons of our Lord Jesus recorded in the Gospels. It is in the Sermon on the Mount that we find the Beatitudes, the Lord’s Prayer, and the call to enter through the narrow gate, not the broad way leading to destruction. It is also in this divine oration that we find the inspiration for the back of our Central Christian t-shirts “The House of Salt and Light.” I wanted to put this phrase on our shirts to send a message to others and to ourselves that our purpose in this world is to be salt and light as directed in the Gospel of Matthew.

Matthew 5:13-16 says this, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 14 You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” In this passage we are to be salt and light. Salt which is a mineral that is used as a preserver of other foods, a seasoning that brings flavor to meals, and causes one to thirst for water. As Christians, we should live out our faith in such a way that we are agents that preserve God’s righteousness in this sin filled world, brings flavor as carriers of God’s Good News, and causes unbelievers to thirst for knowing the Christ they see in us.

We are also to be the light to those who are living in the darkness of sin and a worldly way of life that, in essence, denies the Lordship of Jesus the Christ. Billions continue to live without a relationship with the Son of God, and as carriers of God’s Word, we are lights that point the way to God and the path He has laid out for the salvation of the world. That is why we are to be the House of Salt and Light! The challenge we leave with you this week: Be the salt of the earth and be the light of the world! By doing so, we will become instruments of rescue for a lost and dying world.

Be blessed even more and have a wonderful week!!

Pastor Chris