DISAPPOINTMENTS

 Life has an innumerable number of ways to disappoint us. I can never count the times I have been disappointed in my life. Disappointment I have brought upon myself by bad choices, disappointments I have incurred by the actions of others, and disappointments because life does not treat us fairly. Why should we expect it to? We live among fallen men and women in a cursed world. Sinners will do what sinners do. Sometimes things go our way, but many times they do not. In  the course of  my pastoral ministry for 34 years I have seen the heartaches, the tears, the sorrows, and the death of dreams that disappointment brings. The career you wanted failed to materialize. The loving husband or wife you desired turned out to be someone other than you thought. The son or daughter you raised went their own way. The robust health you worked to obtain and maintain brought you cancer instead. The friends you thought you had for life, could not be found when you when you needed them the most. In times like these we can begin to feel that even God has disappointed us and forsaken us. He seems like a distant stranger. You are not alone. On the road to Emmaus two disciples of Jesus met someone who appeared to be a stranger. The encounter in Luke 24:13-21 goes like this:

"Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him. And He said to them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?” Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?” And He said to them, “What things?” So they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. Him. But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. 

Did you pick up on the disappointment of the disciples?  They were hoping Jesus was going to redeem Israel and usher in the Kingdom of God they longed for. But that did not happen. Jesus had been crucified on a cross and a dead Messiah/deliverer does not offer any hope, or so they reasoned. After Jesus called them foolish ones and slow of heart, He explained that what had happened was all in the plan of God for a greater purpose and "And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself" (27). This is the problem we all face in the midst of our disappointments. We cannot see what God can see. We do not know what only God can know. We fail to understand the greater purpose God is fulfilling in our lives. We know that all things work together for good to those who love God etc., but somehow in the midst of our disappointment, that Scripture in Romans 8 seems like a promise to others and not to us. What do we do in such times? What did Habakkuk do when he looked for answers?

“I will stand my watch and set myself on the rampart, and watch to see what He will say to me, and what I will answer when I am corrected (Habakkuk 2:1). 

God’s answer was write what I tell you, in the end it will not disappoint, wait for it - because it will surely come to pass. And while you are waiting to make sense of it all, remember that, “the just shall live by faith” (Habakkuk 2:4). Keep pressing on dear saints of God, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of your faith (Hebrews 12:2).

Our disappointments are God’s way of drawing us closer to Him. They are the fire that He uses to refine the gold and make us more like His Son.

Keep pressing on,

Pastor Tom

 

SATAN'S SUBTLE WAY OF BRINGING YOU DOWN?

 The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis is the fictional account of an older devil giving his advice to his nephew Wormwood, who is not yet worldly wise enough to secure the damnation of an ordinary young man named "the patient". Wormwood needs his devilish methods and tactics polished up if he is to useful in Satan's kingdom, because he is not skilled enough about the nature of temptation and how to take humans away from God. The Screwtape Letters is a classic on the subtle strategy of spiritual deception and warfare. One of the things that I read recently which caught my attention is Screwtape saying, "It is funny how mortals always picture us (devils) as putting things into their minds: in reality our best work is done by keeping things out." Life can easily make you busier and busier, and push the Word of God, fellowship with other believers, prayer, and other godly influences far from you. You become a very shallow Christian and the winds of the time cause you to drift away from the things that matter most in your spiritual life. Maybe it has already happened, or is happening to you now. The tragedy is that you may not even notice that it is occurring. Slow drifts tend to work that way. 

It is time to put on the full armor of God as described in Ephesians 6. Don’t be ignorant of Satan’s devices to neutralize your service to God, and keep you down in the spiritual ditch called "lukewarmness" (Revelation 3:15,16). Rise up, repent, and follow Jesus with your whole heart, mind, soul and strength (Matthew 22:37).

May God give us all the strength, wisdom, and courage we need to keep pressing on in our spiritual life to His glory.

Pastor Tom

THIS IS YOUR LIFE

 Proverbs 4:10 Listen, my son, and accept my sayings, And the years of your life will be many. ¹¹ I have instructed you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in upright paths. ¹² When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; And if you run, you will not stumble. ¹³ Take hold of instruction; do not let go. Guard her, for she is your life.

How many times has good advice been ignored in your life, and what was the outcome? Sometimes, a single bad decision has tragic consequences. Sometimes, it is a matter of life or death. As of 2023, every day, 37 people in the United States die in car crashes with an alcohol-impaired driver. This is one death every 39 minutes. Each of these deaths has a lifelong impact on many lives that could have been prevented by following the simple advice, “Don’t drink and drive”. Some drunken drivers perish by their own hand, as well as taking the lives of innocent people. DUI drivers who caused a fatality and survive must live with the guilt of what they have done and the legal consequences for their actions. Solomon instructed his son to “take hold of instruction and not let go.” In other words, hold onto it for dear life because it can be a matter of life and death. Moses gave the children of Israel the same admonition prior to their entering the promised land, “Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law. For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life” (Deuteronomy 32:46,47).

The Holy Scriptures are God’s instruction book to his children to show us the way we are to go, and the paths to avoid. Let all who name the name of Christ as Savior take heed to follow this “way of wisdom” so that we do have to live with many regrets and sorrows.

God bless,

Pastor Tom

THE DEPTH OF GOD'S LOVE

“For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;  That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God” (Ephesians 3:14-19).

Fridtjof Nansen was a Norwegian explorer who led an expedition to the Arctic Ocean in a search for the North Pole. He took his ship into very deep water. As part of his studies, he would drop a sounding line to check the ocean's depth. When the line was too short to reach the bottom of the ocean, he would record the date, time, location, length of line, and a final note that read, "Deeper than that." He would then lower a longer line with the same result and notation, "Deeper than that." Then he would make another attempt with the same result and notation: "Deeper than that." Finally, after lowering his longest line, the logbook received the final notation of so and so length of line and "deeper than that."

This story illustrates in a very small way what we know, and do not know about the depth of God’s love. No matter how much we learn about it, there is always more to learn.  No matter how much we try to plum the depth of God’s love, there is always more to it. The love of God is an infinite love!  Psalm 147:5, reads, “Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.”  Infinite means “cannot be counted or numbered.”  We might use the word “immeasurable” to describe it. “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12). This “infinite forgiveness” is just one aspect of the love of God. Our sins, once forgiven by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will never be held against us. Gone, gone, gone, gone! Yes, my sins are gone. Now my soul is free, and in my heart's a song; Buried in the deepest sea, Yes that's good enough for me; I shall live eternally, Praise God! My sins are gone” (lyrics from a gospel chorus).  If you have experienced this wonderful love of God, take time to thank Him for it every day and share it with those around you. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Fredrick Lehman wrote:

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

Keep pressing on,

Pastor Tom

 

 

BEHOLD, THY KING COMETH!

 Take a listen to a message on Christ's entry into Jerusalem fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9

Listen at "Hear a Sermon" at faithsd.org

Shalom

ABOUNDING HOPE

 Romans 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

Abounding hope leaves no permanent room for depression, despair, or giving up. Abounding hope expects nothing less than great things from God! Abounding hope always points us in the direction of Christ. Abounding hope rest in Christ’s perfect love for us. Abounding hope overcomes the darkness with the light of Christ. Abounding hope sees beyond the present to the future which God has laid in store for his children. Abounding hope is the anchor for the soul, it is the balm of Gilead, it is the bright and morning star. Abounding hope is an expectation with certainty that God will do what he has said. It is based on the character of God who will never leave us or forsake us.

KINGDOM VIRTUES

 Romans 14 is one of the chapters in Scripture with great practical value for the local church. It deals with a division arising in the church over whether the Christian had the liberty to eat meat, or must he/she restrict themselves to vegetables. The two camps are described as the strong and the weak. Romans 14:2, “For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.” This is a dispute over what we call “Christian liberty.” Although the exact issue Paul is dealing with is not a cause for division in the church today, there are plenty of issues that still pertain to Christin liberty. For instance, does the Christian have the liberty to get a tattoo? Does the Christian have the liberty to attend a movie theater, or watch questionable television programs?  What about dancing or drinking a little wine? You can probably come up with your own list of questionable matters, but the real issue at heart in Romans 14 is, “how will the choices I make as a believer effect another Christian who may be weak/immature in their faith? Am I willing to forgo my liberty for the sake of their spiritual growth?  In verses 16 and 17 Paul brings his spotlight to center stage, “Let not then your good be evil spoken of: For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” First of all, even if your action is right, it becomes wrong for you to do if another Christian is scandalized by it, and speaks evil of it. Secondly, Paul makes it clear that the citizens who will make up the future kingdom of God when Jesus rules upon this earth demonstrate kingdom virtues such as righteousness (godly living), peace (promote or harmony within the church), which brings them joy both inwardly and outwardly. These virtues on produced in them by their willing submission to the Holy Spirit, “… the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance:” (Galatians 5;22,23). How then should we live in the present? As Christian's, our lives should be characterized by virtues which promote the things that foster peace and edify (build up) the church rather than tear it down, “Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another” (Romans 14:19). Are you a peacemaker in the church, or a troublemaker? Do you promote unity or cause division? Are you someone who insists on your own rights and liberties, even if they hurt other people who need time for their Christian conscience to be developed? May the Spirit if God lead us all to follow the example of Christ who gave up the glories of heaven and humbled Himself by becoming a man to suffer and die for our sins “… if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died (14,15)..

Walk in love,

Pastor Tom