Defeating Death

 

April 2021

Message from Pastor Tom:

I found myself sitting here only a week before Easter, when my thoughts leapt to remembering Easter from long ago, praising Jesus and looking forward to the day when I get to see Jesus face to face. How blessed we are through His death and resurrection, Jesus defeated death for the last time. This made a way for all who believe Jesus is our Lord and Savior, to live in paradise right alongside Him. Hallelujah! He is Risen, He is Risen indeed!

I feel blessed every day I travel to work when I pass this old grain silo beside the freeway with a giant lit up cross on its side. You used to be able to see the cross a mile away, but with all the growth these passing years and the trees getting much taller, it has become visible only when you get real close to it now. I always hope no large trucks are beside me to obscure my view, but even when it does happen, I take comfort in knowing it’s there. You see, I try to leave all my troubles at the base of the cross every day, and this cross helps to remind me to do just that. We all need to have our hearts become more like Jesus so we can find the peace and understanding He so wants us to have. 

Jesus spent years loving, teaching and equipping His disciples and when the time was right, He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15). As Christians, we are taught our life begins anew when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. We must let go of ourselves in order to become more like Christ, living a life that brings glory to God. Our mission as Christians is to fulfill God’s plan of bringing the Truth to all the people of the world no matter where they might be.

The disciples of Jesus’ time learned about what was happening, as well as the deeper meaning and the consequences of those events, as they shared their doubts, questions, and concerns with Him. We need only do the same to fulfill God’s mission joyfully, by opening ourselves up and enabling God to work through us as we share this Good News where there is the greatest need without fear of persecution or crossing cultural and racial barriers. The Holy Spirit will be our guide and constant companion and lead us wherever we need to go. 

As a Christian, it is my heart and my soul’s eternal life at stake. I need to trust God and obey everything He has commands me to do. I believe it is imperative to develop my mind as well as my thoughts to grow intellectually in Christ, thus surrendering and devoting my mind to Him. This enables me to become one of the Lords apostles, a servant of God, going out into the world and making disciples.

Heidi and I pray this devotion touches your heart in some fashion during this Easter season. That you too will find your own “cross” to remind you to place all the problems you bare at the foot of the cross, giving them over to Jesus who is better equipped to take care of them for us. We also ask you continue to join us in praying for peace for our country, our leaders and those who are persecuted racially and spiritually worldwide. 

Until next month, may God richly bless you and keep you, may His face shine upon you always. Have a very blessed Easter.

Blessings from a pastor and his wife.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 1 Peter 1:3

Sharing the Good News

March 2021

Message from Pastor Tom:

In bringing you this month's blog, I came across a photograph by Dan Miller, which was taken in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Indian Legend states, Once upon a time there was a great flood, which covered all but the top of Manitou's Mountain. When the water subsided, the Great Spirit turned the floating carcasses of the drowned animals into sandstone, and rolled them down into a garden valley below where they remained as mute evidences of the Great Flood. 

In the picture Pikes Peak is the snow capped mountain, but below the peaks is where we see the site of that supernatural catastrophe, which can still be seen today. In this special valley you'll discover rock formations with names like: Balanced Rock, Cathedral Spires and the Kissing Camels, and it is known as the Garden of the Gods. I was able to visit this magnificent area when I was a child living in Colorado, and then again fifty years later. While I was astonished how drastically the surrounding areas had changed, I was pleasantly surprised and still in awe of the unchanged beauty and history of the Garden.

The Indian lore surrounding this magnificent place was a source of fascination to me. The Southern Ute Indian tribe native to the area considers it to be the Garden of Eden. They believe the creation of their people occurred at this sacred place. The Great White Mountain (Pikes Peak) was the center of their world. They believed on the summit of this thunderous peak stood the Western Gates of Heaven and there dwelt the supreme Manitou, (meaning in Native theology, “spiritual and fundamental life force, omnipresent”). The holy garden pictured above inspired reverence and the Ute's formed a spiritual connection with the reddish, sandstone formations. While the legends of the Garden of the Gods is interesting, my Christian belief that God is the Creator of all things, the Garden brings to mind the passage in Isaiah 52:7, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns” (NLT).

So I ask you this, are you bringing the Good News from "your" mountaintop? Are you living in peace with the Lord and reigning under His salvation? We are all God’s messengers, and we should have the love and beauty for Jesus Christ in our hearts much the same as the magnificent beauty we see in the Garden of the Gods. Our lives may drastically change from one season to the next, much like the area surrounding the Gardens as I spoke of earlier, but our hearts over time must stay the same for Jesus Christ as the day we first believed. We should be obedient and share the Good News as Jesus commanded; yet I think it also goes much deeper than mere obedience. As a Christian we should only want to do that which honors God and brings Him glory. We cannot help but to respond with loving obedience, but this is a direct result of our encounter with Christ.  

Jesus is the most perfect example of an evangelist, who for the time He walked upon this Earth with twelve handpicked Disciples, demonstrated He was into quality rather than quantity. He was dedicated to living with His Disciples and teaching them by His own example. Jesus ministered to the very souls of His Disciples so they could mature in their faith and become as much like Him as possible. Jesus made sure they were equipped to bring the Gospel of Christ to life for all eternity. After His resurrection He gave the Great Commission (Matthew 28:12-20), which was no more than what He had already accomplished with His Disciples by equipping them to share the Good News with everyone. Therefore, the Great Commission fits the category of evangelism. 

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20 NIV).

Heidi and I continue to ask you join us in praying for peace throughout our country, wisdom for our leaders, and compassion for all those who are persecuted racially and spiritually worldwide. Until next month, may God richly bless you and keep you, may His face shine upon you always.

Blessings from a pastor and his wife.

God's Love

 

February 2021

Message from Pastor Tom:

By now, you are all probably aware I am a little late getting this month’s blog out. Most of us also know Punxsutawney Phil has seen his shadow, and as legend holds means six additional weeks of winter coats and chilly weather. In addition, we also know whatever the weather future may be, February is known as the month for love.

Valentine's Day is fast approaching. With this pandemic, what can we do to show our loved ones how much we care?? I know some of you are bitter and becoming covid-19 fatigued. Some may even think Valentine’s Day is just another excuse to sell Hallmark cards, chocolates and marked up flower, but is there really anything wrong with setting aside a special day to celebrate love?

I firmly believe every day should be a special day for loving. Loving our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, our family and friends, and yes the ones who are also hard to love. I know I struggle with the last one too and always ask myself what Jesus would do. The answer is simple and never changes, love them just how Jesus first loved us. 1 John 4:19 states, “We love, because He first loved us” (NIV). What greater motivation could we have than to live our lives with a single-minded devotion to Love, and honor with God who makes us clean with our every thought, action, or deed? A God whose love has proven to be unconditional, unlimited and complete.

Remember this; life is our journey we experience only between birth and physical death. We must forever strive for our blessed life to reach entire sanctification with perfect love for God, as well as all humankind. The Holy Spirit indwelled within each believer gives us a spiritual resurrection allowing us to live a holy life while in our physical bodies. It is because we are still living in the flesh we will be tempted, just as Jesus Christ, as fully man was tempted, but because He was also fully God, Jesus never gave in to temptation and sin.

While it is possible we can overcome the power of sin through entire sanctification, even with perfect love, a life of holiness where we have achieved entire sanctification will not mean we are perfect. Our journey to perfection is a never-ending work in progress. We must aggressively strive for perfection with discipline and repeated acts of consecration. When we achieve entire sanctification, we can overcome the ability to sin with the help of the Holy Spirit who makes it possible for us to conquer our natural sinful nature and willingly choose not to give in to our sinful nature. What a way to celebrate love, by showing God our spiritual dedication. Shouldn’t you not want to do everything you can to be ready for the moment you finally realize what it is to be clean of sin, and see the radiant glory of the God who died to make you pure?

Heidi and I continue to ask you to join us in praying for peace for our country, our leaders and those who are persecuted racially and spiritually worldwide. Until next month, may God richly bless you and keep you, may His face shine upon you always. Happy St Valentine’s Day.

Blessings from a pastor and his wife

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life. Psalm 143:8

What is Your Foundation Like?

January 2021

Message from Pastor Tom:

Happy New Year and yes, this sounds great after everything we have endured in 2020. However, Covid and some of the craziness will be with us a while longer. Most people are still working from home, struggling with home schooling their children and bouncing around their schedules, many are dealing with total loss of their businesses or employment. Does any of this sound like a really great start to the New Year? A few questions for each of us to ponder. Is my foundation a firm one, steady and unshakable, or is it a bit unstable? Can I hold up under the strain and unforgiving pressure of this worldly life alone? 

The answer to all these questions is very simply no. Not if you are trying to do it alone, if your foundation is not built solidly on our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Matthew 7:24-27 states, “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

Trust me, I’ve been a building inspector and seen my fair share of damage and building collapse from structures built on shaky foundations. I personally find having Christ as the foundation in my life a very stabilizing and solid basis for everything I do, how I react to various situations, and also for direction in the decisions I make daily in my life. I’ve always wondered how anyone could fail to choose God, or trust in the Father’s promises, receive the guidance of the Holy Spirit, know the power of prayer and the authority of the cross?

The answer however soon becomes clear. We are not allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us in knowing what God wants and how He thinks, being more concerned with what we want and think. All of us are guilty of this at one time or another during our walk with God. But if we stay focused on God’s plan and purpose for our life, if we open our hearts and listen to that soft, small voice speaking to us, find the quiet time to be with the Lord in prayer, by shutting off that radio, TV, or cell phone, we can start working on that close personal relationship with our Lord. I know I want to experience the promise God has given to all of us, I want eternal life with the Father. What do you want? Will you take it to prayer? The line of communication is open and God is waiting to hear from each of us.

If you don’t already have a daily habit of devotion to the Lord, it’s not too late to start. Why not begin by simply looking deeply into your heart, and then ask God to draw you closer into a relationship with Him? To increase our trust in God, we must fill our minds with the truth of Scripture, remember our Father’s faithfulness to us in the past, and look for His hand working in our present situation. When our minds are renewed, our faith will be also.

Heidi and I ask that you join us in praying for peace for our country, our leaders and those who are persecuted racially and spiritually worldwide. Until next month, may God richly bless you and keep you, may His face shine upon you always.

Blessings from a pastor and his wife

Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness” 2 Timothy 2:19.

God's Gift of Grace

 

December 2020

Message from Pastor Tom:

During this past Thanksgiving holiday, I hope many of you found time to reflect on your blessings and the many things you have to be thankful for. And if you're anything like me, all your Christmas decorating was complete either before or during the Thanksgiving break, getting ready for the fast approaching Christmas season with all the splendor and anticipation this time of year brings. The wonder of watching our loved ones, children and grandchildren alike, as they look forward with hope for what’s to come. Yet for others, the Christmas season can actually be a sad and lonely time. A rather hopeless reminder of a lost loved one, the loss of employment, or an illness, especially with Covid-19 still running rampant. But no matter what has gone before, the one thing we can always be assured of, by God’s Grace we have HOPE!

It's strange how we can find it much easier to trust God’s miracle of resurrection, rather than God’s miracle of grace. We all fear failure to some extent, and most of us have been guilty at one time or another of creating an image of perfection, feeling we are somehow not worthy, falling short of God’s expectations. We're then left with trying to please God either by our works, or some other monumental accomplishments and expectations we force upon ourselves. Instead, we should remember God’s promises are always kept, God’s love is unconditional, and we don't have to do anything in order to deserve God’s grace, because it is truly a free gift. All we need to do is accept it and cherish it.

Our emphasis therefore, should be on living a full Christian life of holiness, which stresses the importance of loving God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, and to love one another as Jesus loved us (Mark 12:30-31). God’s grace is the love and mercy He freely gives us, not because we have done anything to earn it, but because God wants us to have it so we can understand faith and what it means to live a Christian life. Ephesians 2:8-9 states, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God - not the result of works, so that no one may boast” God’s grace freely flows because of His great love for us, and we can know how much God loves us with the incredible gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, the source of our faith. This faith is what gives us our heart change when the Holy Spirit takes over our spiritual senses and gradually begins our spiritual birth. This new birth is a process allowing us to experience a new beginning living in Christ, seeing and hearing spiritually.

As God’s children we seek perfection because Jesus Christ calls us to be good Christians, building up others in the faith so we may show His grace to the unsaved. We are no longer sinners needing salvation, but born again believers seeking perfection. Since only God sees into our hearts, the only way a person can know our heart is by our actions, witnessing our good works and seeing how we live every day as children of God. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and repent our sins, we do so because our mind and heart has changed. We turn away from all that dishonors God, and embrace all that brings honor and glory to Him.

While we are justified through faith in Jesus Christ alone, what we believe should be confirmed by what we do. Faith should inspire not only our living a Holy Christian life displaying Christian morals and ethics, but also performing works of service. Scripture reminds us, “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” (James 2:17). When we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, we become transformed, turning away from behaviors rooted in sin, and toward actions that express God’s love as we strive to become as Christ-like as possible. It is by our good deeds and outward evidence of our faith we will show others the way to the Lord.

We have no better example of what it means to truly love unconditionally and without hesitation than Jesus. It is not just that Jesus sacrificed Himself in our place, but that through His resurrection we are given the perfect gift of a new life in Christ. We will therefore demonstrate the authenticity of our faith by how we live each day with the light of our Lord shining through us, as we share our love and knowledge of Christ by our deeds as willing servants of God. “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved” (Romans 10:9-10). So please this Christmas reach out for God’s Christmas gift to each and every one, the gift of His Amazing Grace. With Grace there is HOPE.

Heidi and I ask you join with us in praying for peace for our country, our new leaders and those who are racially and spiritually persecuted worldwide. Until next month, may God richly bless you and keep you, may His face shine upon you. Merry Christmas and may each of you enjoy a very happy and prosperous new year in Christ.

Blessings from a pastor and his wife

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

Spiritual Fog

 

 

November 2020

Message from Pastor Tom:

Have you been in a Spiritual fog lately? Some of our fall days have been foggy, and a lot of people are foggy about which Americans are going to win in the final elections, or whether there will be a medical treatment for Covid soon. What does this picture above show you? Is it a train coming, or is it a clearing through the fog? With the holidays soon upon us, we are not sure exactly the outcome, as these times are foggy at best. Should we be with family, travel, or be out in public places?

A fellow Chaplain stated “God is doing so much, yet through the fog it is hard to see it.  We get some glimpse, we can see it, but we can’t see through it.  When we allow ourselves to be so consumed with everything that life brings with it, we move from a sense of obedience to God, to a short-sighted approach that stops when the fog descends down over us and puts us in a spiritual fog.” These words ring so clearly true right now. So just how do we lift the fog from around us and bring the light and happiness to the world? Well, no passage gets at this need and God's provision better than Psalm 119:105. "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Did you catch that? When it talks about light, it isn’t just talking about illumination, it’s also talking about happiness. Yes, when we follow God’s Word, it’s also meant to bring us happiness. What better confirmation is there than that?

Yet you never hear people around the world saying, “We need to get back to using God’s Word as a lamp unto our feet, or as a light unto our path.”  Sometimes God’s people even fail at using God’s Word properly. The list is quite long for the need of the light only our Lord and Savior can bring to the human race, to all His creation. There are many of us in need of His light to help deal with the unexpected. We need His light to cope with new emerging difficulties. We need His light for dealing with our families, in our marriages and our parenting. We need His light for our jobs and relationships with our neighbors. We need His light for our struggles with desires and temptations that can separate us from Gods Will.

So this Thanksgiving, let’s all be thankful for the light our Lord Jesus Christ makes available to each of us. All we have to do is reach out and let His light shine through us, illuminating clearly and perfectly the path He has chosen for you and your family once the fog is finally lifted.

Heidi and I ask you join us in praying for peace for our country, our leaders and those who are racially and spiritually persecuted worldwide, and please make sure you go out and vote! Until next month, may God richly bless you and keep you, may His face shine upon you.

Blessings from a pastor and his wife

Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. 1 Corinthians 13:12