The Way Today

Genesis 28

2012-01-13T16:26:00.002-05:00

27 When the time came for Tamar to give birth, it was discovered that she was carrying twins. 28 While she was in labor, one of the babies reached out his hand. The midwife grabbed it and tied a scarlet string around the child’s wrist, announcing, “This one came out first.” 29 But then he pulled back his hand, and out came his brother! “What!” the midwife exclaimed. “How did you break out first?” So he was named Perez. 30 Then the baby with the scarlet string on his wrist was born, and he was named Zerah.

I love this story in Genesis! I am using the New Living Translation and the footnotes define Perez as meaning "breaking out" and Zerah as "scarlet" or "brightness" ...a story which gives us a rich offering is symbolism as we reflect on our own lives.

I love how the midwife was prepared. Properly identifying the firstborn in Jewish culture is vital. (If you want to read more about this, try New Unger's Bible Dictionary which is a mainstay in my library.) She was not casual about her responsibilities. What are you presently doing as ministry in your church? Are you just doing enough to get by? Do you have an attitude that if they gave you more responsibility that you would be more committed? Whatever it is that you have been asked to do, do it with excellence..."a pocket full of scarlet strings" kind of attitude!

Finally, I'm always captivated by their names. How? There is a prophetic promise in them for each of us! The birthing of your destiny, my destiny will always "break out" no matter how "bright" my present circumstances appear to be in the contrary. What does that mean? Often our present circumstance seem to be so prominent (bright) that they are irrefutable. We have a promise from God but our present reality is blindingly obtrusive, making believing in His promise exasperatingly difficult. Abraham was 100 before Isaac was born. He was blinded by the brightness of his natural condition...but come on, providence arrived, destiny could not be denied, Zerah was overcome by Perez!

Be prepared and above all else, be willing to believe for your own Perez moment!

Pastor Fred

Genesis 16

2012-01-05T08:31:00.002-05:00

We find here a great lesson for us all, to never make assumptions about God's intent. Sarai convinces Abram that God has prevented her from having children, in spite of a very specific promise from God to the contrary. Yes, they have waited for decades, yes, they are well beyond child bearing years, yes, they have grown weary of waiting...as we are at times as well in waiting on God. However, in our waiting, we must never make assumptions. Assumptions are conclusions that we reach apart from a divine revelation. Proverbs 3:5-6 comes to mind...

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
6 Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.

If you are in a place of waiting, don't make assumptions about God's intent, His apparent delay, His motives...trust, wait, believe!

Pastor Fred

Genesis 13

2012-01-04T09:15:00.004-05:00

These chapters in Genesis are like the words spoken in the first chapter about the oceans at creation, teeming with life! I am especially drawn to the beginning of the 13th chapter, where Abram and his entourage leave Egypt and return to a familiar place, a place where God had spoken to him previously, a place where he had a built an altar of worship.

In Genesis 12, we read that God promised this land to him when God appeared to Abram after he had left Haran and was journeying towards the Negev. Here, between Bethel and Ai, Abram built an altar to commemorate the promise, a marker for a divine encounter. Even though a famine, desperate circumstances forced them to travel to Egypt, Abram never lost faith in God's ability to keep His promise, evidenced by Abram's return to the altar between Bethel and Ai.

What promises from your past have you forsaken? What promises you believe God spoke to you in your yesterdays have you abandoned? For you, your journey may not be measured by a map or gps but rather the geography of the heart. Your "place" between "Bethel and Ai" is a place of believing, a place of faith. Find a quiet place today where you can return to an altar from days gone by, God wants to meet with you just as He met with Abram. God wants you to rediscover your faith in His ability to keep that promise. Remember, God's faithfulness is not measured by time, nor by temporal circumstances, nor by the doubt of others. His faithfulness is measured by His word. For Him, a promise made is always a promise kept.

Psalm 27:14 says that we must wait patiently for the Lord, being of good courage! Return today to your place of promise, believing again in the dream that God has spoken to your heart!

Pastor Fred

Genesis 8

2012-01-03T08:34:00.001-05:00

In Genesis 8 we find the great contrast between the raven and the dove. Which are you, am I...some of each for most of us. The raven is the picture of a person who goes to a place prematurely and languishes there rather than remaining where one is and continue flourishing. The dove is the picture of a person who wisely waits and flourishes, recognizing that the time to depart has not yet come. The risk here is that the person might wait too long. Imagine if the dove had never left the ark. The ark that once was a refuge eventually became desolate and the flooded earth emerges as a paradise. Even when we see something in our future that proves to be a new source of flourishing, often replacing our present, the timing of God is always vital!

Pastor Fred

November 3

2011-11-03T07:53:00.007-04:00

The questions Philemon compel us to ask...

Who in my life have I been such an example to that I could press them like Paul presses Philemon?

Who in my life has my example to them been so Christ like that they are inspired to make restitution for their most egregious sins?

If I were in chains for faith in Christ, would there be anyone who would come to my aid at their own risk, their own expense?

Are the people closest to me more like Jesus because of my influence or in spite of my influence?

Have I cared for someone so deeply that I was willing to bear much of the cost for their mistakes?

Am I demanding of others when I am in the right or am I lovingly gracious, pursauading them with gracious truth as a dear friend?

What other questons can you find in today's reading of Philemon?

Pastor Fred

November 2

2011-11-02T08:39:00.004-04:00

3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. 8 This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone....14 Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order to provide for urgent needs and not live unproductive lives.

Titus 3:3-8,14

What good will you and I do today in light of the mercies of God so liberally showered upon us? What good will we seek out today that is commensurate to the wondrous grace of our Heavenly Father? What good will you and I seek out today, meeting urgent needs, refusing to live unproductive lives?

Do some good today!

Pastor Fred

October 28

2011-10-28T07:15:00.001-04:00

19 Lord, you are my strength and fortress,
      my refuge in the day of trouble!
   Nations from around the world
      will come to you and say,
   “Our ancestors left us a foolish heritage,
      for they worshiped worthless idols.
   20 Can people make their own gods?
      These are not real gods at all!”

   21 The Lord says,
   “Now I will show them my power;
      now I will show them my might.
   At last they will know and understand
      that I am the Lord.

Jeremiah 16:19-21

God, we want to see your power, we want to see your might, we want to know and understand...you are The Lord!

Pastor Fred

October 26

2011-10-26T09:07:00.004-04:00

I grew up in a rural community just east of Richmond, VA in a town called Varina. If you wanted to go anywhere for shopping, entertainment...anywhere, count on a 30 to 45 minute drive. Everyone's mailing address is still Richmond because Varina is too small for a post office. However, in the mid 1980's, interstate 295 was built creating access to neighboring cities and towns at half the travel time...progress! I can remember traveling from Varina to the 295/95 interchange on Sunday evenings on my way back to college and only see a handful of other cars traveling in either direction! But now, these new paths are filled and the former ways much less traveled.

Here is Jeremiah 6:16 from yesterday's reading...

   This is what the LORD says:
   “Stand at the crossroads and look;
   ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
   and you will find rest for your souls.
   But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’...

Unlike modern transportation, there is no innovation for journeying into the depths of eternal life! There are ancient paths that have always been the way to a life lived to the fullest possible measure. God's loving grace is the only path to the forever of eternal life, but our walking on the ancient paths in the here and now are the only way to the fullness of eternal life this side of heaven. There are no short-cuts, there are no innovations, there is no evolution with journeying in the realm of our spiritual life.

So, are you on these paths? Bible, prayer, fasting, worship, accountability, reaching, gathering, relationships, stewardship, generosity, service, and rest are the ancient paths...travel!

Pastor Fred

October 19

2011-10-19T07:36:00.003-04:00

2 “Enlarge your house; build an addition.
Spread out your home, and spare no expense!
3 For you will soon be bursting at the seams.
Your descendants will occupy other nations
and resettle the ruined cities."

This is from Isaiah 54...and I believe is a message from God to us, The City Life Church, as we are working with North Riverside Baptist Church near the campus of CNU to be our first permanent home as a church here in Newport News and also with the launch of City Life Williamsburg at 222 Monticello Avenue, formerly Grace Fellowship. God is affirming our efforts to firmly establish a base of operations for each campus, places where we can gather to grow and disperse to deliver!

We do not want to be bursting at the seams for the sake of number but so that we can fulfill a divine purpose, telling our world the good news, the gospel of Jesus Christ!

Pastor Fred

October 18

2011-10-18T08:49:00.002-04:00

¹¹ So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. ¹² Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ.

We find these challenging words in 2 Thessalonians chapter one...reminding us that there is work God expects from us, born out of the grace He so freely gives! I am convinced that a message of grace that does not come with a call to change is not grace at all. If my faith is not prompting me in any way, as Paul commands in the 11th verse, then I should feel compelled to do some soul searching. If Christ is within me, then all my days should be overflowing with faith compelling moments born out of His living presence within!

Excited already for this weekend...taking on David Platt's second chapter of Radical Together, "...the gospel that save us from work saves us to work..." What a tremendous book, I know that our church is going to be the radical community of faith that the Jesus within us demands!

Pastor Fred

September 13

2011-10-13T07:20:00.005-04:00

In today's reading we find these words by the Apostle Paul written to the church of the Thessalonians, "wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. We don’t need to tell them about it..."

This begs a poignant question of us. Would this be the case if the people we are among everyday were asked about us? What would their response be if asked about our values, our conduct, our integrity, our compassion, our words, our interests, our allegiances...if they were told we were Christians, would they be surprised?

In Isaiah 41 to 42, he prophesies against idols, lifeless, man-made objects that become the recipients of our worship, the source of strength, the audience of our prayers. This idea of idolatry is difficult for us to relate to in our culture because most people we meet do not have carved images in their homes that are presented as being sacred religious icons. However, I would humbly suggest that idolatry is just as pervasive in America as it was in Israel during Isaiah's ministry. Idolatry is anything that has a displacing effect on the adoration, attention, and allegiance that God alone deserves.

So when those around us most are interviewed for the purpose of identifying what we are about, our reputation, would their answers reveal an idolater or someone who has a passion filled, life defining, moment by moment governing relationship with God?

Pastor Fred

October 5

2011-10-05T08:02:00.010-04:00

We began a new series last weekend entitled "Radical" which is based on the book by David Platt "Radical Together." Our first message was "The Radical Vow." Jesus' message was nothing short of radical, a message, a gospel, good news that demands from us a vow of devotion that is equally nothing short of radical.

Our reading today in Philippians reminds us of this radical vow. I believe that a radical vow of devotion to Jesus is comprised of three parts, each component being related to a monumental moment of Jesus' life: His death, His resurrection, and His imminent return.

His death demands of us a prayer, radical forgiveness. Some of the most beautiful words in Scripture are atonement, redemption, justification, and propitiation, all speaking to Jesus' substitutionary death on our behalf. Romans 6:23 declares that death is what we deserve for denying God's divine right to rule over our lives but that we can be forgiven because Jesus died for us, so that we could receive the gift of eternal life, when eternal death was deserved. Have you prayed this prayer? Have you asked God to forgive you? His forgiveness is not effectual for you personally until you accept His grace. Think of everything that you have done in your life, and not done, that saddens God's heart. Is there genuine remorse in your heart? If there is, there is genuine forgiveness He longs to give you! "God, I'm sorry, will you forgive me of my past, for all that I have done and not done that has disappointed You and shamed me?" His answer is always a resounding YES!

His death demands of us a promise, radical devotion. When Jesus raised Himself from the dead, that moment was His declaration to the world that He has the power to fulfill every promise He has made to us. Have you ever over-committed yourself? Have you ever been disappointed by someone who couldn't deliver what they assured you they could do? Jesus cannot relate to that! His power has NO limits, no bounds. A radical vow of devotion to Jesus begins with a prayer but it must continue with a promise, a promise to give Jesus complete and total control of our lives. There is a moment of allegiance that is required. There is a moment of surrender that is expected. Mark 8:34-35 could not be more clear. We must be fully committed. The metaphor so often used in Scripture is that we are the bride of Christ. No bride or groom enjoys the sacredness of marriage without first forsaking all else for one another. Have you forsaken all for Him? "Jesus, my life belongs to You. Wherever You lead me, I will follow. I want You to be the dominant voice in my life. What You believe, how You would repond, what You value...I want You to rule over me!"

His imminent return demands of us a pursuit, radical living. What will Jesus find you doing when He returns? In the first chapter of Philippians, The Apostle Paul mentions Jesus' return frequently. Why? Because Paul understands that looking for Jesus' return is a vital part of the radical vow of devotion that many of the readers of his letter have made. If I have said The Prayer and if I have made The Promise, then I MUST be living radically for The Pursuit! If nothing of my life has changed in light of my Prayer and my Promise, then have I really become part of God's divine family? While The Promise is all about intent, The Pursuit is all about action! Verse 10 says "...live pure and blameless lives..." Verse 11 says "...the fruit of our salvation--righteous character..." Verse 27 says "...living as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Godd News..." What life are you living in light of The Prayer, in light of The Promise? "God, I want to become the person that You created me to be, to do everything that You created me to do! Help me die to who I used to be and live for You. I don't want to just be a believer but a follower!"

Are you radical?

Pastor Fred

September 29

2011-09-29T07:27:00.002-04:00

...unless your faith is firm, I (God) cannot make you stand firm.

Isaiah 7:9b

Are you standing firm in your faith today? What are you believing God for today, that only He can do? Psalm 124:1 says "Unless the Lord had been on their side..." I call this living in the gap, in the gap between what I can do and what only God can do. I want to live in the gap, with a faith that is firm, trusting and knowing that in that place, He will make me stand firm, if I only believe.

Pastor Fred

September 27

2011-09-27T08:01:00.004-04:00

In those days a man will say to his brother,
“Since you have a coat, you be our leader!
Take charge of this heap of ruins!”
But he will reply,
“No! I can’t help.
I don’t have any extra food or clothes.
Don’t put me in charge!"

We find these words in verses six and seven in Isaiah chapter three, and we find their meaning in the church today. Have you ever heard someone offer as the reason they are leaving a church, "I'm just not getting fed..."? These verses in Isaiah are warning us against the sentiment that says, "If you can feed me, you can lead me." I'm not suggesting that the competence level of a leader is not a valuable consideration. Isaiah is pointing out the danger of adopting a mindset that expects others to do for you what you should be doing for yourself.

Granted, there are times when we leave a church because their message has become diluted or worse, in error, or worse still, lazy! However, I have found that the majority of the people who I have heard complain about not being fed are people who are doing little to satiate their own spiritual appetite...their lives are 12 Pathway deficient (worship, prayer, Scripture, fasting, relationships, accountability, gathering, reaching, service, rest, generosity, and stewardship).

As we continue reading in Isaiah 3,
we find this same principle repeated in the context of marriage, women desperate for men to marry them for a name, symbolic of an identity. Our church most certainly should give us a sense of belonging, a sense of being a part of a family, a deep spiritual need we all most certainly must not neglect; however, that sense of belonging is only healthy and life giving to the degree it is complimenting an individual identity we have personally as a child of God, a fully devoted follower of Jesus.

Remember Paul's demand in Ephesians 4, that yes the Body (church) is fit together but only to the degree every part is doing its own work. What church family do you call home, and what are you doing there to feed others...and what are you doing at home to feed yourself?

Pastor Fred

September 23

2011-09-23T06:39:00.003-04:00

This morning, we are still reading in Gatatians. And in the second chapter, verse 2, we find The Apostle Paul writing these words...

"I went there because God revealed to me that I should go. While I was there I met privately with those considered to be leaders of the church and shared with them the message I had been preaching to the Gentiles. I wanted to make sure that we were in agreement, for fear that all my efforts had been wasted and I was running the race for nothing."

I like this verse because it reminds me of a phrase that is repeated in Ecclesiastes, "meaningless." Paul says in Galatians, "...for fear that all my efforts had been wasted and I was running the race for nothing." If you have ever been confounded by the word "meaningless" as you have read through Ecclesiastes or in some translations, "all is vanity" then consider this. This repeating theme in Ecclesiastes is not to be understood as "has no value" or "something that should never be done." Let me suggest another phrase you could insert every time you come to the word "meaningless" or phrase "all is vanity" when reading what can be a perplexing book in Scripture, insert "should not be a person's life defining purpose." Now we can begin to see that many of the pursuits mentioned in Ecclesiastes are not worthless, but rather the instruction of the most wise Solomon to not make the same mistakes that he made, to allow good things to become our main thing. The author Bruce Malina likes to use the phrase "project of existence." The most common enemy to our respective destinies is not failure but distraction.

What does this have to do with Galatians? We find The Apostle Paul submitting something Christian leaders he believed needed to have a voice in his life. Paul is not playing politics here, he is not catering to the needs of arrogant men, his actions are not perfunctory...he is laying out for us an essential Biblical principle by the example of his own life...if one wants to live a life chasing after distractions, live outside the influence of Christian leaders.

Who are the Peters, James, and Johns of your life? Who have you given the right to correct you? If you are looking for perfect leaders, you won't find them, just as the text addresses Peter's failings in Antioch. The imperfections of others must not be permission for us to live outside the realm of leadership relationships. I have people to whom I am submitted, people who have the authority to say no to me, to correct me. Not only do I realize that I will always have blind spots but equally important, I do not want to waste my life in pursuit of distractions when destiny awaits!

Who are your leaders?

Pastor Fred

September 22

2011-09-22T10:22:00.003-04:00

Today's reading takes us into what many believe to be the oldest text of the New Testament.

Listen to D. Thomas Lancaster in The Holy Epistle to the Galatians (given to me by my good friend Jason Hess), "Scholars tell us that the Holy Epistle to the Galatians is the oldest document in the New Testament. Paul wrote it before any of his other epistles. It is older than Mark, Matthew, Luke, John, and the Acts of the Apostles. It almost certainly predates the other epistles and the Revelation. Paul most likely composed the epistle before 50 CE, less than twenty years after the resurrection."

This is important context for us because it speaks to Paul's courage and boldness but also the challenge facing the readers. After reading through Galatians, imagine if you had only ever had what we know to be the Old Testament today as your sacred, God-inspired texts for spiritual instruction? One is being asked to set aside everything they have held as sacred, conviction that has been passed to them through millennia of generations.

I share that because when we today witness our faith in Jesus with others, may we be patient and gracious with those for whom Christianity means a complete and utter re-orientation to life. Our sense of urgency to see those who are spiritually lost come to faith in Christ should not be mistaken as permission for hurriedness. We are not "bringing" Christ to anyone. He is already there! Let them weigh the truths that you share, keep the conversation going, we are not trying to win an argument or close the deal so to speak but rather be an instrument of the Holy Spirit, bearing witness to Christ, having faith that they too will have an epiphany, a revelation of Jesus, that is Spirt born.

Appreciate the magnitude of a call to full devotion. May we never misrepresent the radical, absolute, utter abandonment for which Christ calls, but at the same time, not be dismissive of the enormity of such a vow of devotion.

Pastor Fred

September 21

2011-09-21T07:40:00.003-04:00

Ecclesiastes is a book that contains a wealth of instruction for us. But for me, I believe one of its greatest lessons, most priceless teaching treasures is this, that if we allow the gift that God bestows upon us to rule over us, only misery awaits us; His gift to us is to be our servant and not our master.

We know that Solomon when asked by God for anything he desired, he asked for wisdom. Ecclesiastes is Solomon's confession, his confession of how his life went awry as wisdom became his task master. The phrase he repeatedly uses "this too is meaningless" is not to say that there are no absolutes in this world, that nothing has meaning for we see in this very writing by Solomon that he continually gives meaning to mysteries and instruction that he expects we will heed. This phrase he uses is a part of his confession, that we should not make the same mistake he made, that we are not given the gift of wisdom so we can spend every waking moment trying solve the great mysteries of life as there are many mysteries we will never fully understand. Solomon is confessing that he allowed wisdom to drive him, that he became obsessive in regards to his need for more and more answers and compulsive in his search to find those answers. This is evil's greatest weapon, to turn that which God intended to be an empowering gift to equip us to serve others into something we serve, something that controls us and ultimately marginalizing our gift and our life's impact.

What is your gift? Are you a genius with numbers, is compassion your strength, are an organizing administrative prodigy, does music flow from your life with ease, is oration your treasure, laughter your gift...? Don't' serve your gift, have dominion over the garden of your life!

Pastor Fred

September 15

2011-09-15T07:22:00.001-04:00

There is little in life more sacred than Provers 22:6...

Direct your children onto the right path,
and when they are older, they will not leave it.

Pastor Fred

September 14

2011-09-14T08:16:00.005-04:00

We opened our weekend services with the following question, if you hadn't eaten for 5 days, what would you dream about eating? The answers were what you would expect, people's favorite meals like mac n cheese, steak, loaded potatoes, chocolate, and the surprise was cold cereal! Then, we shared this, "The situation we just imagined is a scenario that God wants you to experience, physical fasting is essential to Christianity." (take time to listen to Saturday's podcast)

There are many kinds of fasts such as fasting television, favorite activities, etc., but a physical fast is a practice that alters your diet or eliminates food and/or drink for a Scriptural purpose (Isaiah 58:6-8) with the added benefit of deepening our measure of eternal life (Mark 9:29). The verse in Isaiah 58 gives us, according to Dr Elmer Towns, the 9 Biblical fasts. However, Dr. Towns like many others, treats Mark 9 as a textual reference for a specific type of fast. I believe that Mark 9:29, where Jesus references fasting along with prayer as the key to Him being able to minister to the possessed boy after returning from the Mount of Transfiguration, is Jesus teaching us that spiritual disciplines are the key to being ready for moments of ministry. I don't believe He is speaking to fasting and prayer as much as He is speaking to what they represent, a person who is committed to strengthening their spiritual life is a person who is ready when faith is required. Jesus' comment "this kind" was not just in reference to the type of possession from which the boy suffered but also the approach the disciples had been taking in trying to assist the boy. "This kind" of human effort cannot do what only our spirits are equipped to accomplish and our spiritual life is only matured and strengthened through spiritual disciplines, what we call at City Life "pathways" of which Jesus mentions two, prayer and fasting.

Fasting does not have to be accompanied by extended times of prayer and study to be beneficial. All the pathways enrich one another. I find prayer blended with worship is wonderful, serving while also building relationships is especially meaningful, so of course, fasting along with other pathways elevates each but that should not lead to the wrong assumption that it cannot stand alone. Prayer alone is powerful. Scripture alone is powerful. Generosity alone is powerful. Worship alone is powerful. Fasting alone is powerful. Fasting is not for the most spiritually mature. We do not get promoted into fasting one day when we have reached the pinnacle of spirituality. Fasting is fundamental. Fasting is basic Christianity! The extent and measure of one's fast will reflect a person's spiritual life but missing one meal, setting aside one day, altering one's diet in some manner is something that everyone can do. Even if you have unique medical needs, talk with your doctor about how you can safely practice fasting. Remember, you must cross the threshold of self-denial in order for fasting to begin. Drinking Coke products instead of your preferred Pepsi products is not fasting! Drinking Maxwell House instead of some gourmet brand is not fasting...it may be tragic but it's not fasting!

Self-denial is a critical component of physical fasting as this brings us to a place of exercising control over our physical bodies, conditioning ourselves to learn how to let the Holy Spirit be the dominant influence over our will and not our humanity. Our humanity has been given to us to serve us. Too many people are a slave to their humanity instead of having dominion over their own lives...and physical fasting is a key to breaking free!

Hey, don't eat that!

Pastor Fred

September 9

2011-09-09T08:52:00.003-04:00

In My Seat

I want to invite you to watch In My Seat today, remembering and honoring the tragic events of September 11, 2001, asking the question, as someone who still possesses the gift of time, what am I doing with my life to glorify God?

Pastor Fred

September 8

2011-09-08T08:42:00.002-04:00

In today's reading of 2 Corinthians 1, we find two intensely probing questions to which we must all submit ourselves.

The first one is imbedded in the Apostle Paul's statement of self-discovered divine purpose, or as the author Edward P. Wimberly says in Recalling Our Own Stories, our project of existence. Paul writes, "I have been chosen by God to be a missionary for Jesus Christ." I have place missionary in italics to identify this as your fill in the blank! We must all be able to complete this sentence! What have you been chosen by God to do, your divine purpose, your project of existence?

The second one is imbedded in his very next statement, "Timothy is here with me..." Who has God called you to be with as you pursue your purpose? In fact, I would argue, who you are with not only determines the measure of success you will have in fulfilling your project of existence but is also essential in even discovering that purpose! The Apostle Paul himself, after his life altering encounter with Jesus, immersed himself in the community of the church, out which, his revelation of purpose began. Did he spend time in the wilderness, yes, but he did not remain there! Read the first few verses of Acts 13:1, "In the local church at Antioch..." This is where Paul's first fill in the blank moment was written!

What are you to do, who are you with? For me, I know that means pastoring at The City Life Church with the people of the Peninsula and the Tidewater region. Fill in your blanks!

Pastor Fred

September 7

2011-09-07T07:31:00.005-04:00

We find in todays reading of 1 Corinthians 16 a great challenge to give 4 gifts this week, I hope you step into the generosity the Apostle Paul commends us to embrace!

First, in writing to the church in Corinth, he asks them to prepare an offering to support the ministry of the impoverished church in Jerusalem. I trust that the church you call home has many ministries that need your support! In some churches, you can give to directly to a particular ministry, in others, people are asked to give to a general fund and a gifted team of leaders are tasked with working to distribute those funds to the necessary ministries. However you church operates, set something aside this week above and beyond the percentage of your income (tithe) that you always give and bless the ministries of the house you call home this weekend!

Second, in this chapter, the Apostle Paul acknowledges the hard work of some of the leaders there in Corinth. He identifies Timothy who has not yet arrived but will soon. The work of leadership in a church is not for the fragile or ill-equipped. Leaders not only have the demand of the tasks to which they are called but also the care of people. Whether these leaders be vocational in the church or volunteers, the load they carry is weighty. Often, much of what they do is never seen by the church because in working with people in crisis, there is the responsibility to protect the privacy and dignity of those to whom they minister. Write a thank you note to a leader in your church and give it to them this weekend. Let them know how much you appreciate their sacrifice for your church family and spend time this week praying for the and their family!

Third, the Apostle Paul identifies some people who left their homes and all that is familiar to join him in his missionary endeavors. I trust your church has missionaries that are in the field, whether they have moved into impoverished neighborhoods working towards practical and spiritual revitalization in your own city or possibly they have moved to some remote village in a distant land. Missionaries seldom have the benefit of a large church family for emotional support as we have here at home. Their work often demands isolation from other followers of Christ if they are serving among an unreached people group. Their work often demands forgoing modern amenities. Their work often places themselves and their families at grave risk. Write a letter to a missionary this week, encourage them, trust the Holy Spirit will give you some words to share that will encourage their hearts, send a care package, possibly even a monetary gift that is not for their ministry but for them personally to enjoy. Love on them this week!

Fourth, he mentions the "churches in Asia." In Paul's day, the churches in a city worked together, in partnership with one another. I know many people decry the vast array of denominations that exist today but I am of the opinion that this was always part of God's plan. I am a firm believer that it takes all kinds of churches to reach all kinds of people. However, even in celebrating our differences, we can find a path of cooperation. Every city will do well to remember that we can do more for the building of God's Kingdom together than we can alone. Identify a church in your neighborhood and send the pastor there a note thanking him/her for their devotion, their love for the city, and their tireless efforts in leading their congregation. Let them know that you believe that your city is a better place because of the ministry of that church!

Let's unleash some generosity this week!

Pastor Fred

September 6

2011-09-06T07:32:00.006-04:00

Are you ready? In 1 Corinthians 15, the Apostle Paul lays out for us in great detail what awaits us all.

He compares each of us to a seed, a seed that will one day be "planted" when we each breathe our last. Death is unavoidable. Of every mystery that still remains, of every question that remains unanswered, of every perplexing conundrum that remains elusive, death has a clarity that is unmistakeable. We understand death, we know death, we await death. Here, the Apostle Paul defines death. It is a planting. Are you ready to be planted? Not do you hope for a death that is soon but is the seed of your life ready to planted in the sense that it is ready to grow?

In verses 42-57, we learn that we all inherit from Adam this natural body of ours. However, only Jesus has the power to enable this "seed" to produce the fruit of a heavenly body that will last forever. Can you imagine planting a garden and with the seeds came instruction that something needed to be planted with the seeds in order for them to be transformed into something living, fruit bearing and you chose not to add the something? Would you be surprised when nothing grew? Would you complain? Here in 1 Corinthians 15, we are reminded that Jesus must be added to the seed of our lives if there is any hope of us being transformed into the heavenly bodies that are to live with God in heaven for all eternity. Are you ready? Have you added Jesus to your life?

Verse 57 says, " But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ." The word Lord is key. Many people believe that Jesus lived, that He is God's Son, that He even died for our sins, that His teachings were of God...but is He their Lord? Verse 45 refers to Jesus at the last Adam, the One who is a life giving spirit. Has He given you such life? Unless there is a moment that you can identify where you made a vow of devotion to Jesus, when you gave your life fully to Him, when you surrendered all of who you are to Him, when He became Lord, the supreme ruler of your existence, then you are not ready to be planted!

The Apostle Paul continues. He gives us two very important tests for a person who has sincerely made a vow of devotion to Jesus. In verse 34 he notes that we must stop sinning, an honest effort to stop doing the things we know in our heart are displeasing to God, and in verse 58 he notes that we must enthusiastically take up the work of doing the things that we know in our heart are pleasing to God. Are you ready to be planted?

I do not hope for a death that is soon coming, but I am expectant and confident that my seed is ready to be planted and the heavenly body that my eternal self longs to fill is promised to me because I am promised to Christ!

Pastor Fred

September 3-4

2011-09-03T09:51:00.004-04:00

I am posting a blog from 2008 for today and tomorrow as we find ourselves once again in the wonderful teaching of the Apostle Paul concerning spiritual language. Not a day goes by that I do not personally pray and worship in a spiritual language. If you are looking for a great book to read on this topic, The Beauty of Spiritual Language by Jack Hayford is excellent! Possibly you have been taught that spiritual language is not for today or even that spiritual language (also referred to as tongues) is evil. If so, I would humbly encourage you to read Jack Hayford's book and consider another view. My prayer has always been, "God, I want everything You have for me this side of heaven!" I pray that you will join me in that prayer!!

Spiritual Language
Ever read through the 14th chapter of I Corinthians and wonder why so many churches believe the supernatural gift of praying or worshipping in a spiritual language is still encouraged? This chapter can be very confusing and I hope you'll take the time read it. I believe the use of spiritual language is a wonderful gift, a gift for every devoted follower of Jesus, and that this text is often misused in discouraging people in its pursuit. I hope this brings some clarity! Let’s read together…

1CO 14:1 "Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. 2 For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit. 3 But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. 4 He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. 5 I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified."

Here Paul clearly endorses the use of spiritual language in two ways in corporate gatherings. In fact, he comes right out and says that he would hope all experience this wonderful gift (vs. 5a). He acknowledges that sometimes a spiritual language is for the freedom of expression to God (vs. 2) and also sometimes used to give a message from God to people but then it must be accompanied by an interpretation (vs. 5b). I’ve heard people say too that the interpretation must come for some different than the person giving the "utterance." But verse 5 challenges that position directly by giving the person who gives the utterance the liberty to also give the interpretation.

1CO 14:6 "Now, brothers, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction? 7 Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the flute or harp, how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes? 8 Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? 9 So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. 10 Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. 11 If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and he is a foreigner to me. 12 So it is with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church."

1CO 14:13 "For this reason anyone who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret what he says. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 15 So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind. 16 If you are praising God with your spirit, how can one who finds himself among those who do not understand say "Amen" to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying? 17 You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified."

1CO 14:18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19 But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue."

It is always important to remember the context of the text in order to fully understand the intent of the text. Paul was writing this portion of the letter because of excesses and abuses during their times of corporate gatherings. The abuse he is addressing specifically here is that they were forsaking the instruction of their congregation. They were having powerful, supernatural, expressive worship services, but time given to instruction was sorely lacking. And instruction has to be done in a language that is understood if it is to benefit the church. I believe Paul was saying to Corinth and God is saying to us that our times of corporate gatherings should incorporate both: undeniable supernatural manifestations of God’s presence (like that of speaking in languages we’ve not formerly learned) and also clear, direct, sound, teaching that can be understood without any need of interpretation.

Okay, here we’re going to tackle a portion of scripture like the one in Hebrews 4 we did together in November of 2007 that takes what seems to be unexpected turns. Let’s read and I’ve imbedded some commentary that will hopefully help make these verses more easily understood.
1CO 14:22 "Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers (pf – because God uses the supernatural to make our witness undeniable); prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers (pf – it is important to remember that prophesy if broader than just "foretelling" it also encompasses what I call prophetic teaching/instruction which is being supernaturally empowered to understand and articulate the mysteries and truths of God’s Kingdom which is why this is primarily for believers, those seeking to understand what it means to live as a child of God, a devoted follower of Christ). 23 So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? (pf – I thought Paul just said it is a good sign? He did, but what we need to remember is that Paul is responding to excesses at the church of Corinth so what he is saying now is that a gift that is supposed to be a good sign, a sign that was supposed to cause the unbeliever to recognize God exists…when it is abused, used in excess, not done in an orderly way, that which God intended to be beneficial, becomes counterproductive.) 24 But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, 25 and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!" (pf – Paul is saying that if the church of Corinth is unable to exercise the use of spiritual language in a responsible way in their times of corporate gatherings, then they should rely solely on prophecy, even though prophecy is primarily for the believer as we stated above. Prophesy too can have a "sign" benefit for the unbeliever, by God using the prophetic teacher to reveal something that only the unbeliever would have otherwise known in order to demonstrate the reality of His existence to the one who needs to come to faith in Christ.)

1CO 14:26 "What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. 27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, two--or at the most three--should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret (pf – when spiritual language is being used to articulate a message from God to the congregation, but no interpretation is necessary when people are in a moment of collective prayer or praise because then they are speaking directly to God, expressing their heart and thoughts to Him). 28 If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God… (pf – If church leaders yield the attention of the congregation to a person using a spiritual language to articulate a message from God to the congregation and the person is unable to bring the interpretation nor anyone else feels inspired by God to give an interpretation, then the church leaders should be cautious in allowing this person to address the congregation in a spiritual language in the future and encourage that person to use their gift of spiritual language in worship and prayer to God.)
1CO 14:39 Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 40 But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way."

I hope this helps you!!

Pastor Fred

September 2

2011-09-02T08:41:00.003-04:00

In reading 1 Corinthians 13 this morning, we are challenged to remember that a life defining faith in Jesus is about what we do and what we do not. Jesus teaches us that what we didn't do can be just as egregious as an overt mistake.

The parable of the Good Samaritan contrasts right action with inaction, noting the sin of the priest and the Levite as what they failed to do. The parable of the Talents contrasts right action with inaction, noting the sin of the one steward as what he failed to do. On the contrary, we find in the parable of the Unforgiving Servant contrasts the right action with wrong action, noting the righteous act of the king and the sinful act of the steward.

We are called to love. And the moments when we fail to love as well as the moments we act in a manner that is contrary to love, both grieve God's heart and harms others.

"4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." (1 Corinthians 13 not)

Pastor Fred

September 1

2011-09-01T08:48:00.002-04:00

If you are trying to find a reason to celebrate God today because your circumstances have eclipsed your praise, look no further than Psalm 135. Let's look at them together...

Verses 1 & 2, "...praise Him you who serve the Lord, you who serve in the House of the Lord..." The New Testament pairing in today's reading is 1 Corinthians 12, what a perfect match! Psalm 135 tells us to praise the Lord because He has given each of us gifts, talents, passions, and abilities that enable us to serve Him. Celebrate the gift you have been given and celebrate that you have a church that you love where you can put those gifts to work! What a privilege we have to be useful in His Kingdom, what a cause for celebration!

Verses 3 & 4 have three specific reasons we should celebrate the Lord. First, He is good! Come on! He only and always has our best interest at heart. Even when we don't understand, even when we fell as though He is not listening or He has forgotten us, we must remind our feelings that they must yield to truth...that He is good! We are told here as well that we are celebrate because of His name. Jesus tells us that His name is Father. Of all the ways that He could choose to relate to us, He chose one that is paternal, love. All of us have experienced love in some measure, no matter how small, even if it was just the compassion of a stranger. Now imagine someone whose love is perfect, without limit, always enduring, and eternal! That is His love for you, what a celebration! Finally, these two verses tell us that He has chosen us, that we are His treasure. This is important because there are times that we love people in this life because we are committed to them, because we are loyal to them, but at times, we are certainly are not liking them. God's feelings of affection for us never wane! Even at our worst, we are His treasure...what a cause for celebration!

Verses 5-11 are recounting His greatness. These are important texts in our search for a cause for celebration. Think of all the people you love who have found themselves in situations where your heart longed to help but your resources, your ability, your influence just wasn't enough. Think of times when you over committed yourself to help others, you over promised. God cannot relate! His resources, His ability, His influence, His power knows no bounds...what a cause for celebration!

So for the rest of the chapter, you try. Read the remaining verses and make a list of reasons given for why celebration should be rising in our hearts and give that celebration a voice, praise Him!!

Pastor Fred

August 31

2011-08-31T08:43:00.005-04:00

I'm not sure the Apostle Paul would have found his place in children's ministry if he were alive in this era. I can hear him now, "Johnny, if you want to cry, I'll give you something to cry about..." In today's reading, 1 Corinthians 11:17-34, we find him speaking with a directness that would cause may of us to find a new church the following weekend. While certainly children's ministry is a place for an abundance of love and affection, many of us are still wanting to be coddled as if we were in grade school. May I be so bold as to say that what we need are people who love us enough to speak plainly to us, to be direct, to "Apostle Paul" us when necessary.

In verse 32 he equates his reprimand to how the Lord Himself pursues us by reminding us that being corrected is in fact a loving act so that we will not be condemned with the world. Are gentleness, softness, empathy, and comfort vital aspects of love? Absolutely! But may we not be a people who leave the rest of love behind! I Corinthians 11 love that is bold, direct, challenging, corrective, and telling should be equally celebrated!

Take some time today to read Luke 5:17-26. Two of the most poignant words in the entire account of the supernatural healing of the paralytic man were "get up." Yes he needed friends, yes he needed a divine encounter, yes he needed a revelation of Jesus, yes he needed to be forgiven...but yes he needed to get up. How many of us in an emotional sense, would rather be catered to, continue to be carried around by others, remain the victim instead of heeding the words of our loving Savior, "get up!" We read this historical account of Jesus but the practice of our lives implies that we have overlaid information that is not there. We live as if Jesus said, "Hey, could someone get this man's mat for him?" or "Hey, I know he can walk now but we need some volunteers to carry this poor man home, hasn't he been through enough today?" No...he heard Jesus say, "get up!"

I am not suggesting that compassion has no place in our lives, on the contrary! I am suggesting that true compassion is both comforting and courageous. Who in your life have you invited to speak to you with directness, to tell you no, to Apostle Paul you, to 1 Corinthians 11 you, to tell you to get up? May our churches be places where hurting people can come and find a gentle voice and a loving hand but also find a community of people who love each other enough to be confronted by trusted friends who care deeply and call us to "get up!"

Pastor Fred

August 27

2011-08-27T08:33:00.002-04:00

Psalm 121

    1 I look up to the mountains—
      does my help come from there?

    2 My help comes from the Lord,
      who made heaven and earth!

    3 He will not let you stumble;
      the one who watches over you will not slumber.

    4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel
      never slumbers or sleeps.

    5 The Lord himself watches over you!
      The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.

    6 The sun will not harm you by day,
      nor the moon at night.

    7 The Lord keeps you from all harm
      and watches over your life.

    8 The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go,
      both now and forever.

August 25

2011-08-25T08:38:00.003-04:00

Psalm 119:55 says, "I reflect at night on who you are, O Lord; therefore, I obey your instructions. A revelation of who He is gives birth to a motivation to embrace what He says. When I see His sovereignty, I surrender myself.

This great chapter continues in verse 77b, "...for Your instructions are my delight." Are they? Or do we have an "oh, okay, if a I have to..." mindset when it comes to giving generously, to loving our enemies, to forgiving people who have betrayed us, to accept suffering in innocence, to feel responsible for strangers, to take up the cause of the poor, to serve my church family, to...is this our delight?

At City Life we teach about 12 pathways: prayer, Scripture, worship, fasting, accountability, relationships, gathering, reaching, service, generosity, stewardship, and rest...let's delight in them! Let us run after them with celebration and abandonment, our joy, our life, surrendering ourselves to His ways because we have seen His sovereignty!

Pastor Fred

August 24

2011-08-24T08:22:00.003-04:00

Listen to what the Expositor's Bible Commentary states in regards to a "capstone" as mentioned in Psalm 118:22, "The capstone was an important stone that held two rows of stones together in a corner (cornerstone) or stabilized the stones at the foundation or elsewhere." Jesus is referred to as the "chief cornerstone" by Paul in Ephesians 2:20. Again Paul (Romans 9:33) and also Peter (1 Peter 2:6-8) point to Isaiah 28:16 as a prophetic Messianic metaphor, referring to the coming Messiah (Jesus) as a "precious cornerstone."

In Psalm 118:22, I am intrigued by the picture of the builder having rejected a stone. The cornerstone needed to be reliable and attractive, sturdy and aesthetically pleasing. This stone needed to be strong enough to fulfill a vital purpose and also appealing enough for a place of prominence in construction. The builder has a trained eye. "Builders" as referred to in Psalm 118 carried with them generations of training, handed down from parent to child. Our geological science today was not present then. They held a stone and in their hands, in their eyes, centuries of knowledge created a well honed intuition. They were expert craftsmen...and they were wrong.

Each of us is building a life. Our lives, our values, our sense of right and wrong have been passed down to us through centuries of culture. The wisdom of this Psalm is to confront us that our judgments are flawed. Our trained humanity, our natural intuition is incapable of choosing the right "cornerstone" for our lives. Everything about Jesus is contradictory to our natural self.

If you are sharing Jesus with people around you and they seem to be disinterested, suspicious, even contentious... be patient. They are the master craftsmen of Psalm 118. Can you imagine walking onto an job site in ancient times, going to the rubble pile and picking up a stone buried there and taking it to the head craftsman and convincing him and that this stone is supposed to not only serve as a cornerstone but the chief cornerstone of the entire structure! You might be thrown back into the rubble pile with the stone!

Nick Hokkanen on Saturday night preached about Reaching, and during his sermon he said that we cannot do the Holy Spirit's job, brilliant. We find this in 1 Corinthians 12:3. Appreciate the magnitude of the offer that you present to people in sharing Jesus. We are not trying to encourage them to live out what they already believe, although sometimes that is the case, but rather completely abandon their personal value system, cultural norms that for them have worked their way into their lives through generations of influence. There is a vast difference between being intentional and being hurried. Don't be hurried in sharing Jesus. The Holy Spirit has been working on that person's heart from the foundations of the earth! We have a part to play, most certainly (Luke 10:2), but the Holy Spirit is the only One who can administrate the supernatural work of a cornerstone replacement project!

Pastor Fred

August 23

2011-08-23T07:56:00.006-04:00

In todays reading through biblegateway.com, we find an interesting start to the sixth chapter of Paul's first letter to the church at Corinth. He writes, "When one of you has a dispute with another believer..." His instruction is not that they should never have disputes. His counsel is that there will be disputes, in fact, disputes that will be serious enough to necessitate formal proceedings.

How do we reconcile that with Jesus' declaration in John 13 that the world will know we are His disciples by our love for one another and again in John 17, His prayer, that we would be one as He and the Father are one? I would submit to you that oneness and unity are not contradictory to conflict. In fact, Christianity expects us to pursue relationships to a degree of vulnerability that if we have never been disappointed, if we have never been hurt, if we have never been emotionally violated, then we have not loved deep enough! Jesus does not expect us to be naive; He tells us in Matthew 10:16 that we are to be as wise as serpents yet innocent as doves. He is not demanding that we make ourselves emotionally and materially vulnerable to others impulsively, without considering a person's character or a person's reputation. We are simply being taught a principle of relationship, the bond of friendship, brotherhood, sisterhood, is not held until we cross the threshold of vulnerability. In addition, vulnerability has degrees. The wisdom of Proverbs speaks volumes to this idea of being measured in our vulnerability to others; however, we cannot be measured if we have not even begun to trust!

I Corinthians 6 is a treasure to the church. Our witness is not in an absence of conflict but rather the presence of reconciliation. When the Church begins to, among ourselves, reconcile relationships that the world itself deems irreconcilable, there will not be enough chairs and pews in an entire city to contain those who will come. We all know that we are broken, we are looking for a place that heals and unfortunately, for most people, the Church has been just another place of perpetual relational fracturing.

We are talking about Relationships this weekend at the Newport News campus of City Life, specifically Matthew 18...if you cannot be with us, checkout the podcast! We are working diligently to be a church where the ministry of reconciliation is held in high esteem!

Pastor Fred

July 27

2011-07-27T07:58:00.002-04:00

Take time to read Psalm 45 today, I like the New Living Translation if you are reading online. Envision Jesus as the King in the song and we, His church, as the daughters/bride. Enjoy!

Pastor Fred

July 26

2011-07-26T08:44:00.003-04:00

²³ For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me, ²⁴ and he said...

This comes from Acts 27 in today's reading. In these few words we find three of the most foundational concepts of Christianity!

First, does my belief in God translate into a sense of belonging to Him? I have met few people who deny in the existence of God but many who have no sense of belonging to Him, acknowledging His right to fully govern and rule over their lives. In Greg Gilbert's book, "What Is the Gospel?" he lists four questions that we should all acknowledge as being vitally important to our existence: Who made us and to whom are we accountable? What is our problem, in other words, are we in trouble and why? What is God's solution to that problem? How has He acted to save us from it? How do I, myself, right here, right now--how do I come to be included in that salvation, what makes this good new for me and not just for someone else? One of the reason I love this book is because he defines sin, at its very essence, as living in a state of rebellion, denying God's sovereign right to rule over us. If we believe but do not submit, we are anchored in sin. We must belong to Him!

Next, in my belonging to Him, am I serving Him? I teach about 12 Pathways that lead us into the depths of eternal life this side of heaven, believing that eternal life is not just measured on the time continuum but the depth continuum as well, a life that is forever, yes, but also full! You show me a person whose life is tracking on every path: Scripture, worship, prayer, fasting, gathering, relationship, accountability, reaching, rest, service, generosity, and stewardship and I will show you are person who is serving Him! Belonging to God is a matter of the heart, serving Him is a matter of effort. I cannot earn His love, I cannot earn His grace, I cannot earn His salvation...but make no mistake, serving Him is about activity. The book of James brings this perspective like no other book in Scripture, read it, live it!

Finally, we come to "he said..." which is the angel speaking to Paul. If I belong to Him, if I am serving Him, I will not endure without and expectation that He will speak to me. Whether by angels, visions, the Holy Spirit, divine encounters, a prophetic voice...we must have a vision for a God who speaks! I have never heard the audible voice of God but seldom does a day go by that I do not feel His whisper to my soul.

Submit to Him, work for Him, and above all, be listening!

Pastor Fred

July 22

2011-07-22T07:57:00.000-04:00

¹ Oh, what joy for those
whose disobedience is forgiven,
whose sin is put out of sight!
² Yes, what joy for those
whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt,^[c]
whose lives are lived in complete honesty!
³ When I refused to confess my sin,
my body wasted away,
and I groaned all day long.
⁴ Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me.
My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.Interlude

⁵ Finally, I confessed all my sins to you
and stopped trying to hide my guilt.
I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.”
And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.Interlude

⁶ Therefore, let all the godly pray to you while there is still time,
that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgment.
⁷ For you are my hiding place;
you protect me from trouble.
You surround me with songs of victory.Interlude

⁸ The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.
I will advise you and watch over you.
⁹ Do not be like a senseless horse or mule
that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control.”

¹⁰ Many sorrows come to the wicked,
but unfailing love surrounds those who trust the Lord.
¹¹ So rejoice in the Lord and be glad, all you who obey him!
Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure!

May Psalm 32 be the story of our lives!

Pastor Fred

July 20

2011-07-20T07:58:00.004-04:00

If you have been following this blog for any amount of time, you have found that there are three beliefs central to my faith in God as a devoted follower of Christ: the goodness of God, the potential of people, and the centrality of church.

Psalm 27:13-14 from today's reading is a hallmark verse for my unwavering confidence in God's goodness...

¹³ Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness
while I am here in the land of the living.

¹⁴ Wait patiently for the Lord.
Be brave and courageous.
Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.

I love how David doesn't say that the only way he will see God's goodness is once he is in heaven with Him after death. No, there is goodness here! But still, as he concludes in verse 14, he acknowledges that often patience is required of us in waiting for this goodness to be realized. And as we continue in today's reading, we come to Acts 22 where we find a narrative that exemplifies this foundational truth, God's goodness.

We find Paul arrested, bound, and about to be beaten and tortured for the purpose of rendering a confession from him. I wonder if in the moments before he was recalling Psalm 27? Our belief in the goodness of God does not include a denial of hardship. On the contrary, we have every expectation of hardship! The promise of the goodness of God contains an assurance that when we face hardship, the suffering is never meaningless. The goodness of God is not just about seasons of ease but most certainly also seasons of affliction. When God chooses to allow me to suffer, I see His goodness because in such places my character is formed, my destiny is advanced, and the message of the gospel of Christ is preached to people I would have otherwise never encountered! Even when I am suffering because of my own folly and foolishness, my suffering becomes my teacher, helping me to eradicate sinful patterns from my life.

I must have patience for God's goodness to be realized this side of eternity, for a season of suffering to change into a season of ease and also for a revelation of understanding to see how the season of suffering was in itself purposeful for me, my future, and my world!

He is GOOD!

Pastor Fred

July 15

2011-07-15T08:47:00.002-04:00

¹ Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord?
Who may enter your presence on your holy hill?
² Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right,
speaking the truth from sincere hearts.
³ Those who refuse to gossip
or harm their neighbors
or speak evil of their friends.
⁴ Those who despise flagrant sinners,
and honor the faithful followers of the Lord,
and keep their promises even when it hurts.
⁵ Those who lend money without charging interest,
and who cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent.
Such people will stand firm forever.

Psalm 15

May it be for each of us!

Pastor Fred

July 15

2011-07-15T08:47:00.001-04:00

Psalm 15

May it be for each of us!

Pastor Fred

July 14

2011-07-14T07:51:00.002-04:00

In today's Old Testament readings, we find Psalms 10, 11, and 12. What a tremendous picture of our emotional journey at times when we are in crisis.

Psalm 10 conveys the sentiment of feeling abandoned by God. Verse one opens with, "O Lord, why do you stand so far away? Why do you hide when I am in trouble?" Have you ever felt this way? God doesn't want us to ignore our feelings. He doesn't want us to be ruled by them either. Suppressing our feelings is what leads to being controlled by them. One of the great lessons of Psalms is to bring our feelings to God in prayer. When we do, we find our hearts turning towards Psalm 11.

This Psalm opens with "I trust in the Lord for protection..." We must note that David's situation has not changed, rather his outlook, his heart. When we feel abandoned, ignored by God, we bring those feelings honestly to Him and in that place, we find His presence, we experience His comfort, we sense His voice and direction and hope comes alive in our hearts. Amazingly, that same heart that once despaired now becomes a well spring of trust and faith, preparing us for Psalm 12.

In verse five we find the long awaited moment, "Now I will rise up to rescue them..." God's timing may not be what we would at first prefer but we must trust in His sovereignty. We must let truth saturate our heart and mind (Psalm 119). We must be honest with Him about what we are feeling and remember that waiting on God is not a sign of His delay but an opportunity for us to grow!

Wait well!

Pastor Fred

July 8

2011-07-08T07:45:00.003-04:00

At the end of Acts 15, we find the account of Paul and Barnabas' disagreement that led to a parting of ways for a time. Unfortunately, for many Christians, this is where their story ends... but not for Paul, Barnabas, John Mark, and Silas.

We are destined to have disagreements with people that we love and respect, unavoidable. However, we are expected to work through those differences and even if we cannot come to a place of agreement, we reach a place of mutual respect and being relationally reconciled. In the end, the relationship has to be more valuable to us than being right.

Eventually, these men were once again working together in ministry. See 2 Timothy 4:11 for Paul and Mark and 1 Corinthians 9:6 for Paul and Barnabas. In addition, according the Expositors Bible Commentary, both Luther and Calvin believed that 2 Corinthians 8:18-19 refers to Barnabas, placing him together ministering with Paul and Silas.

Paul practiced what he preached. In Ephesians 4:3 he speaks of "the peace that binds us." He was in prison at the time of the writing of the letter to Ephesus making his metaphor clear. We should be held captive by our commitment to be at peace, reconciled to one another always eventually.

A hallmark of being spiritually unhealthy is whether or not a person has a lengthy list of people with whom they are estranged, that fractured relationships characterize them, especially people with whom they have worked closely in ministry.

Acts 15 is not permission to part ways, it is given to us to remind us of the "bond of peace" to which we are committed to uphold, usually at the expense of our pride!

Pastor Fred

July 7

2011-07-07T07:40:00.002-04:00

Acts 15...unity is when absolute commonalities transcend relative dissimilarities.

Great leaders are always asking the question, "What are the absolutes, immutable truths, timeless principles, upon which we agree, hold in common? And, what are the issues where we disagree, dissimilarities, that are relative to ones perspective, opinion, preferences?"

When we elevate issues that are relative to an undeserved place of absolutism, we create a legalistic environment. When we concede absolutes to an undeserved place of relativism, we create a compromising environment.

Discern, dialogue, distinguish...lead.

Pastor Fred

July 5

2011-07-05T08:16:00.002-04:00

In reading Acts 13:26-52, I am struck at how similar the predicament of Paul's Jewish audience in Pisidian Antioch is to so many people in our time.

The people to whom Paul was speaking had in their possession the Holy Scriptures of their day, for us, that would have been the Old Testament since much of the New Testament had not even been written, much less canonized. And in the Old Testament Scriptures, as Paul so aptly identifies, Christ is clearly identified as the Messiah. Yet, even when confronted plainly with the truth, a life altering response is not forthcoming from the crowd.

I meet few people who do not embrace a belief that the Bible is sacred and from God. I meet few people who do not embrace a belief that Jesus is divine, lived a perfect life, died for our sins, rose from the dead, and will one day judge us to determine our eternity. Yet, I meet many people, as with Paul's day, whose beliefs do not alter their existence.

What of the Bible do we believe? How have those beliefs changed our lives? Paul speaks plainly in his second letter to the church of Corinth when he wrote in the fifth chapter, the seventeenth verse, "Therefore, if any person is in Christ, they are a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come."

If you believe, what old things for you have passed away, what new things have come...and may it be that the passing away of the old and the coming of the new never cease as long as we have breath! May that which we declare to believe forever define us as we live!

Pastor Fred

June 18

2011-06-18T08:14:00.005-04:00

Acts 2:22, "...miracles, wonders, and signs..." Is there a difference? My father-in-law is doing a series at Christian Life Center in Williamsburg on this topic which created a curiosity in me about the distinctions between them. I had always thought of them as three words restating the same sentiment, redundant for emphasis. But they are in fact, each one, unique.

The word that is translated "miracle" is typically the word "dunamis." Vines defines it as, "...power, inherent ability, is used of works of a supernatural origin and character, such as could not be produced by natural agents and means." You will also find this word translated as "power" throughout the New Testament. When "miracle" is used for the translation, it is when a specific occurrence is being referenced, one that necessitated power of supernatural origin (see Matthew 7:22). If you want to see examples of where "dunamis" is translated "power" then see Mark 5:30 and Ephesians 1:19.

New Ungers Bible Dictionary has a great definition for miracles, "supernatural manifestations of divine power in the external world, in themselves special revelations of the presence and power of God."

"Wonders" is the typically a translation for "teras" which according to The Complete Word Study New Testament, "to watch, as that which for its extraordinary character is apt to be observed and kept in memory." You can find this word in Matthew 24:24 and Acts 4:30. The word "miracle" is the more general word, a category of sorts, in which "wonders" could be thought of as a subset. Not every miracle is a wonder but every wonder is a miracle. An example of a miraculous wonder is when we practice tithing, priority percentage giving, we have less according to the math but for everyone who faithfully does this, you know, we always end up with more! It is a miraculous wonder!

"Signs" is from the word "semeion" which according to TCWSNT, "valuable not so much for what they are as for what they indicate of the grace and power of the doer or his/her immediate connection with God." When you read Mark 16:20, Acts 14:3, and Hebrews 2:4, you will see how "signs" has a special meaning relative to the others although it often appears in a list with them. Again, not every miracle is a sign but every sign is a miracle. An example of a miraculous sign is Jesus' virgin birth. A miracle most certainly but more importantly, a sign for Jesus being the Messiah!

In Acts 2:37 we see a great example of a miraculous wonder in that Peter's sermon was just words, but words that were supernaturally empowered from on high, words that "...pierced to the heart..." and brought the listeners to a moment of surrender to God!

In Acts 2:25-28 we see a great example of a miraculous sign through the prophecy that David gave centuries before in speaking of the Messiah in Psalm 16:8-11.

May we be a people of miracles, wonders, and signs!!

Pastor Fred

June 14

2011-06-14T08:32:00.002-04:00

Stage fright. Our daughter has her first recital this weekend and her big question is, "Will I get stage fright?" I am quite certain that is the least of her worries! If anything, we may have difficulty getting her off the stage!

In Acts 1, we find the crowd of people who just witnessed the ascension of Jesus suffering from a sort of spiritual stage fright, paralyzed by the moment, needing a bit of a push to start that for which they had been training, studying, and practicing for the last three years.

I believe City Life, our church, is a place where we have a responsibility to be like the two men in the white clothes (although we prefer jeans, flips, and t's!) who say to people, "Hey, stop gazing at heaven...we've got work to do and you have a part to play!" People are stuck. They have a vision and a hope to one day be in heaven but they have never begun the work Jesus expects of us all, to bring heaven to earth, now.

The very first thing they did was to begin meeting together, they created a spiritual community, they formed the very first church! They prayed together, worshiped together, were active in the community telling others about Jesus, they worked to sure up their leadership team, they held meetings, they met practical needs...and as we keep reading in Acts, so much more! Does this describe you? Does this describe your life?

Don't be stuck staring aimlessly into heaven! Find a church, be a part, get to work!

Pastor Fred

June 9

2011-06-09T09:21:00.002-04:00

“My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom...My Kingdom is not of this world.” This is Jesus responding to Pilate, recorded for us in John 18, verse 36.

I wonder how that perspective would change our reaction to perceived moments of unfairness in life? When we are passed over for a promotion, when we are the victim of unscrupulous business practices, when we are the subject of neighborhood gossip, when our hard work goes unnoticed or worse, credited to another, when we feel neglected by our friends, when we are excluded from certain social circles, when we are judged prematurely... my kingdom is not an earthly kingdom, my kingdom is not of this world.

That perspective doesn't preclude us from feeling hurt, feeling disappointed, feeling sorrowful, even angry. It does however keep us from slipping into a place of self-pity, from regressing into an emotional state of defeatism, a life orientation that allows disappointment to always eclipse hope. We must be genuine and honest and courageous in embracing the emotion of the moment, allowing our hearts to feel deeply. But then we give those feelings in prayer to God, we give those feelings to trusted friends, we give those feelings to their proper place... felt, not followed. Truth must be what ultimately leads us, that my kingdom is not an earthly kingdom, my kingdom is not of this world.

That which I suffer in innocence here costs me nothing... my kingdom is not of this world.

Pastor Fred

June 8

2011-06-08T08:32:00.007-04:00

In today's reading in 2 Chronicles 30 and 31, we find some beautiful examples of the expectation that God has of each of us to do our part in ensuring that there are vibrant, life giving spiritual families in our respective communities that gather for worship, embrace a life defining faith, and support a vocational clergy.

In verses 7-9 of chapter 30, God speaks of the people who refuse to gather for corporate worship as being stubborn, having abandoned God, and having become the object of His derision because they are refusing to submit to God's call to gather regularly for worship. The particular gathering in this account is to celebrate the annual feast of Passover. I love the instruction that God gives regarding the Passover in Exodus 12:4, that families who cannot consume an entire lamb by themselves, should join with other families so nothing is wasted. If Jesus is the Passover Lamb, and we know He is, then what kind of crowd do we need to be a part of consistently to rise to the measure of His life! Do you gather with a church each week? Are you experiencing the joy sharing in the worship of Christ with others?

Moving on to chapter 31, in verse 1 we find that for those who gathered, there was a personal revelation during that gathering that there were inconsistencies between what they professed in worship and how they lived at home. And immediately upon their return to their communities, they began to abandon aspects of their lives that they knew were a contradiction to their declaration of faith to live as a child of God. When you drive home after sharing in the worship of Christ with others, are you examining your life as the Holy Spirit leads to explore areas of inconsistency in your life, between your declaration of faith and your attitudes, your words, your life roles, your relationships, your habits, your character, your marriage, your parenting, your job...

Finally, again in chapter 31, verse 4, we find that the people took up the responsibility to take financial ownership of ensuring that priests and their families were supported so they could devote their time to meeting the spiritual needs of their respective communities. Part of gathering for worship regularly is in bringing your contribution so that the church you call home has the financial means to advance ministries and endeavors to care for the community and will be ready to care for you when you need them, and at some point, you will! But until your crisis arises, be a person who takes delight in knowing that the urgent needs of others are being attentively addressed because you cared enough to share what you have!

Go to church this weekend, share in the worship of Christ, live according to your faith, and give generously!

Pastor Fred

June 3

2011-06-03T09:04:00.003-04:00

Did you see it? The Old Testament teems with imagery of the salvation we find in Christ alone!

In todays reading of 2 Chronicles 20, listen to the prayer King Jehoshaphat prayer...

"O Lord, God of our ancestors, you alone are the God who is in heaven. You are ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty; no one can stand against you! O our God, did you not drive out those who lived in this land when your people Israel arrived? And did you not give this land forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham? Your people settled here and built this Temple to honor your name. They said, Whenever we are faced with any calamity such as war, plague, or famine, we can come to stand in your presence before this Temple where your name is honored. We can cry out to you to save us, and you will hear us and rescue us."

Here we find the spiritual predicament of all humanity. Their political state mirrors our spiritual condition, helpless apart from divine intervention. Paul writes in Romans 7:24-25, "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God-

through Jesus Christ our Lord!"

And as we continue reading in the narrative of the battle between King Jehoshaphat's soldiers and the invading armies, we find that God supernaturally intervenes so that Judah's army doesn't even pull a sword from its sheath! Paul writing again, this time in Ephesians 2:8-9, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not of works, so that no one can boast."

And finally, we find that the armies of Judah spent 3 days gathering the plunder left behind by the invading army. So too as Jesus was in the tomb for 3 days, so that we might gather the greatest plunder the world could possibly ever receive, the spoils of the battle from an eternal realm, eternal life! Paul continues in both of the following... Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." And 1 Corinthians 15:54b-55, "...Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death is your victory? Where, O death is your sting?"

We finish with 1 John 5:13, by the Apostle John, "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life."

Do you?

Pastor Fred

June 2

2011-06-02T08:18:00.003-04:00

2 Chronicles 18:18-22 gives us a glimpse into heaven...and what we find there is terribly unsettling, but should it be?

We find an account where Ahab, the king of Israel has come to the end of the reservoir of grace that God has established for him and judgment draweth nigh! The text tells of a vision by the prophet Micaiah where God asks how might Ahab be influenced to go into battle to meet his demise. A "spirit" approached the Lord upon His throne and volunteered. We do not know if this was a heavenly being or possibly something evil (which is possible based on Job 1:6-12). And God ordained that a lying spirit be allowed to influence Ahab's pagan prophets to lead Ahab to his judgment, a plan that we see from the narrative was successful, once again seeing that providence is inescapable.

So, should this be troubling to us? Not if we have resolved in our hearts to, as Earl Palmer says, put the full weight of our lives on Him. Do we fully trust? We need not fear ever the acts of a our Sovereign God! If we are Jehoshaphat and find ourselves unintentionally caught up with an evil person, God rescues us! If we are Ahab, then whatever judgment that befalls us is due to us. God's will reigns supreme.

This account does not give us permission to engage in deceptive practices to manipulate others in our earthly schemes. We do not possess the wisdom necessary to execute such strategies. We know that lying for mankind is only and always evil from Proverbs 6:16-19. God is the only entity in existence who is accountable only to Himself to which we say as Jesus taught us, hallowed be His name, He is perfect in all His ways, even the ways that are forbidden to us.

Rather than being unsettled by this account, our faith in God should be buoyed! There is nothing that He cannot accomplish, there is no escape from His hand, may we all put the full weight of our lives in Him!

Pastor Fred

June 1

2011-06-01T08:37:00.003-04:00

Ever heard someone say that what we need is less religion and more life in churches today? I appreciate the sentiment but the truth is that there will never be more life unless there is more religion.

Theology is what we believe about God. Religion is what we do in light of those beliefs. I would argue we live in a society that has an abundance of theology but is painfully void of religion, beliefs with few life implications, doctrine with minimal personal expression, convictions that are indiscernible in one's daily living.

Listen to 2 Chronicles 15:15, "All in Judah were happy about this covenant (to live out their beliefs, a religion reflecting their theology), for they had entered into it with all their heart. They earnestly sought after God, and they found him. And the Lord gave them rest from their enemies on every side." And then in 2 Chronicles 16:9a, "The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him."

At City Life, we teach there are 6 pursuits that reflect a "whole hearted" and "fully committed" life in light our beliefs: devotion to Jesus, intimacy with God, care of one another, personal transformation, diligence in service, and a life empowered by the Holy Spirit. All of these are promised to us by Christ in His teachings. In fact, they are are related to 6 very specific commands He gave. There is the follow Me command in John 1:43b, the love God command in Mark 12:30, the love each other command in John 15:12, the transformation command in Matthew 5:48, the serve command in Mark 16:15, and the be empowered command in Act 1:8.

Another Bible is never going to be written. We have the sacred text that God intends for us to cherish. But this very Book speaks to our lives being contained in pages of books in Heaven (Psalm 139:16) and may it be that for each of us, our books mirror 2 Chronicles 15:15 and 16:9a, that we lived for God with all our hearts, found by Him to be fully committed, religious to the very end!

Pastor Fred

May 29

2011-05-29T08:21:00.003-04:00

This comes from 2 Chronicles 9:5-8a...

“Everything I heard in my country about your achievements and wisdom is true! ⁶ I didn’t believe what was said until I arrived here and saw it with my own eyes. In fact, I had not heard the half of your great wisdom! It is far beyond what I was told. ⁷ How happy your people must be! What a privilege for your officials to stand here day after day, listening to your wisdom! ⁸ Praise the Lord your God, who delights in you and has placed you on the throne as king to rule..."

This is the Queen of Sheba's description of her visit with King Solomon...and I believe is recorded for us, not just to give us the history of God's divine plan throughout the centuries but to give us a picture of what we find when we come to The King, Christ...more than that for which we could have ever hoped or imagined!

Pastor Fred

May 27

2011-05-27T08:25:00.005-04:00

For years, and probably still today in some theological circles, the popular instruction on prayer was to pray specifically, the implication being that if we were not specific in our prayers, the outcome may be different than what we had intended and could have been altered, if we had only been more specific in our prayer. I've never been a big fan of that teaching.

I do believe in being specific in our prayers for the simple reason that God wants our conversation with Him to be one that is deep, authentic, vulnerable, and trusting. The specificity of our prayer is a measure of vulnerability, not effectiveness. Paul's great exhortation on prayer found in Philippians 4:6 is a great example of how prayer is foremost about the heart. Verse four actually sets the context, "Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say, rejoice!" Then he launches in verse six into prayer, continuing the theme of rejoicing. He uses three words translated for us: prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving.

The first word for prayer has a strong emphasis on praise, meaning that we should be worshipful, rejoicing in our prayer, celebrating the One to whom we bring our needs, in the same way the Lord's Prayer begins with worship, acknowledging our relationship with God (Our Father), exclaiming His divine being (who art in heaven), and professing our belief that He is perfect and that there is no one or no other entity in existence that compares with Him (hallowed by thy Name). That is the essence of what Paul means when he says "prayer."

Then we find supplication. This is to launch into our conversation with God. He wants to hear from us, what's going on in our lives, not because we are informing Him but because He knows that the deeper we go in our sharing, the deeper our hearts go with Him in relationship. Acts of expression lead to feelings of intimacy and He longs for all things deeper with His beloved children. Specificity is the key to deep love, not expeditious responses.

Finally, we see the phrase, "with thanksgiving." This simply means that we will are thankful for whatever the outcome. That we trust in His sovereignty, we trust in providence, we trust in the perfectness of His being and the attentiveness of His heart. This is why Paul began with "be anxious for nothing..." and finishes with "and the peace of God" in verse seven. There is no anxiety and only peace, not because we are certain to get what we want but rather because we certain in the One to whom we pray!

Really, the best text on a key to prayer is found in the reading today, 2 Chronicles chapter 1. Solomon was blessed with so much more than he had asked (sounds like Ephesians 3:20) not because he was specific but because he was sincere and honorable.

Let it be that our prayers are laden with authenticity, seasoned with sincerity, overflowing with goodness, lead by His Spirit!

Pastor Fred

May 26

2011-05-26T08:38:00.003-04:00

This is taken from 1 Chronicles 29...may it be a declaration over all our lives!

¹⁰ Then David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly:

“O Lord, the God of our ancestor Israel,^[m] may you be praised forever and ever! ¹¹ Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. ¹² Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength.
¹³ “O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name! ¹⁴ But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us! ¹⁵ We are here for only a moment, visitors and strangers in the land as our ancestors were before us. Our days on earth are like a passing shadow, gone so soon without a trace.
¹⁶ “O Lord our God, even this material we have gathered to build a Temple to honor your holy name comes from you! It all belongs to you! ¹⁷ I know, my God, that you examine our hearts and rejoice when you find integrity there. You know I have done all this with good motives, and I have watched your people offer their gifts willingly and joyously.
¹⁸ “O Lord, the God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, make your people always want to obey you. See to it that their love for you never changes.

Pastor Fred

May 25

2011-05-25T08:31:00.002-04:00

Listen to these words found in 1 Samuel 22, reading verses 1-2...

"So David left Gath and took refuge in the cave of Adullam. When David's brothers and his father's whole family heard, they went down and joined him there. In addition, every man who was desperate, in debt, or discontented rallied around him, and he became their leader. About 400 men were with him."

Then turn to 1 Chronicles chapter 27 and read the names of the his military commanders...do you know where he first them? In the caves of Adullam, men who were either desperate, in debt, discontented, or some of each, now listed as the leaders of the greatest army on earth at that time in history!

There are three core beliefs I have in life: the goodness of God, the potential of people, and the centrality of church. Every time I read these texts and see their connectivity, I am reminded that people do not have to be defined by their present circumstances. If we help people find their footing in their relationship with God, help them become part of a thriving spiritual family, well, we will find the potential of the desperate, indebted, and discontented people unleashed, names once written in shame soon to be written in honor!

Pastor Fred

May 24

2011-05-24T08:52:00.004-04:00

I have been meditating on the narrative of David and Saul for a few weeks. I have heard countless sermons in my life about how this is a blueprint for how we must engage leadership where we disagree, posturing ourselves as David did, in a place of humility and deference.

My objection however is that this narrative is not about a leader making what others perceive as mistakes or leading with preferences that others would not prefer. The narrative is about a leader who is broken, Godless, only self-serving, deeply insecure, evil. Most of us will spend our entire lives and never encounter such a dynamic. Yes, we will encounter flawed leaders, but seldom ones who have utterly forsaken God and have embraced occult practices.

So where is the relevance of this story to us? I believe its greatest relevance is in what NOT to do, especially with Jonathan. As a father, I am going to tell my children, if I am ever as wrong as a Saul with my life, don't die on the mountain with me, stand and lead with a David! If I am ever as broken as a Saul, live and serve God with a David! If I am ever as lost as a Saul, pray for me, reach out to me, don't give up on me, but don't die in vain with me... find a David!

Did David act inappropriately by continually deferring to Saul? Not if he was acting on the conviction of his heart born out of a mandate by God spoken to him. And I believe that is exactly what he was doing. But the mistake we make is not discerning what God intended to be a lesson in obedience with Him at a personal level and creating a model for how all people of all times are always supposed to deal with tragic leadership. David's burden was David's burden. It may not be yours or mine when facing leaders that are so flawed that they are a danger to themselves and others.

I am not advocating rebellion. I am not advocating violating confidences. I am not advocating harming the dignity of others. Scripture gives us steps with beautiful clarity for how we are to engage others in a process of discussion of our differences. It should be private, respectful, loving, with humility, and never with the intent of fracturing the relationship. Even with people who are tragically flawed, the goal is never to be right or usurp authority but to see the person in question fully restored personally. If we take the Scripture as a weapon to bludgeon others with our "moral authority" we are no better than the one we are accusing.

Most differences when it comes to people in leadership are about preferences. Seldom are we disagreeing about doctrine. I like to say that unity is when we let our absolute commonalities transcend our relative dissimilarities. Hymns or modern praise is not an absolute, it is relative based on a person's personal preference, pews or chairs, kjv or niv, robes or slacks...etc! The Deity of Christ is not however relative but a strict absolute, as is the Trinity, the sinfulness of mankind, the efficacy of the Cross...etc! The first step in disagreements with leaders is to discern together whether we are dealing with an absolute truth or something relative.

If it is relative, then someone's preference needs to rule and that is why there are leadership teams in place in churches to to help define the culture of that church. And if it is not what you are looking for, well, that is why there are many different churches. At City Life, we are committed to helping people find the best church for them, even if it isn't us! The other mistake that people make when they are leaving for another church over preferential reasons is in leaving with an attitude that the church was wrong not to change to accommodate them. That is poor and certainly not Christ honoring. When will we leave the playgrounds of elementary school and stop needing others to be wrong to make ourselves feel more right.

News flash...we can both be right when dealing with matters of preference. Let others be free to champion their preferences and you be free to champion your own! And when we are facing tragically flawed leaders, seek God's direction and if He is asking you to help correct it, move with grace, humility, and patience. Don't be in a hurry, the goal is to rescue a life, not win an argument; otherwise, you will find yourself in need of your won rescue.

Galatians 6:1, "Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted."

Pastor Fred

May 18

2011-05-18T09:39:00.003-04:00

Be careful not to read too quickly when you are exploring Scripture. And part of reading too quickly is allowing the more popularized content of a certain text to overshadow other equally, awe-inspiring details that are forgotten.

For example, the account of Jesus walking on water is so popular that it is part of the vernacular of modern language. How many times have we heard someone exclaim in a moment where they felt too many demands being placed upon them, "What, do you expect me to walk on water too?"

Yet, right here in John 6, we find another phenomenal supernatural event. If however we are reading too fast or if we are simply scanning the story believing we already know the details, we miss the second half of verse 21, "...and immediately they arrived at their destination." Really?

They were in a storm, they had been rowing for hours without making any progress against the storm surge, they were taking on water, fearing for their lives... Jesus steps into the boat (yes, after having walked to them on the water) and as soon as He enters the boat, BAM, they are at the docks in Capernaum! If you are prone to motion sickness, I wonder if time travel is dizzying? They are in one place and in an instance, they are in another. We recently acquired a phone with GPS capability, we named the voice Barb...I can hear Barb now, "Rerouting..., wait, what?"

But it is the first part of verse 21 that is the deepest of meaning for you and I, "Then they were eager to let Him in the boat..." Are you eager to have Jesus captaining your ship? Let's read with expectation of continued revelation, regardless of how many times we have read the same story before...and let's slow down and find new truths that have escaped us in the past but should be defining us in the present!

Pastor Fred

May 17

2011-05-17T10:24:00.002-04:00

Will I be accused in the end? In today's reading of John 5:25-47, we find some sobering words. That one day when we all stand before God to give an account of our lives, we will face questions about how our lives followed in action what we professed to have believed.

Jesus is accusing the people of His day for saying that they believed in the writings of Moses but yet their lives were a contradiction to those writings, specifically rejecting Him as the Messiah about whom Moses and all the other divinely inspired authors of the Old Testament wrote. One cannot read through the Old Testament and not see that Jesus is the fulfillment of all that God has promised. This is Jesus' complaint against His contemporaries who rejected Him.

Will we be accused? I have met very few people who have rejected Christ, but I have met many who although accepting a belief in who He is, their lives are rejecting what He taught by their actions. These words in John 5 stand as a timeless reminder that it is not enough to just give intellectual ascent, there must be a devotion of the heart, willingness for that which we believe to be life defining, moment by moment governing.

Who will accuse us on that day...what will they say? May it be for you and me that although we will never be perfect, that the testimony of others about us on that fateful day will be that we lived up to the truth that we professed and where we failed, we always possessed a penitent heart!

Pastor Fred

May 11

2011-05-11T09:53:00.002-04:00

Do I demand to see something of His glory before I will obey? If so, His glory is seldom revealed to such demands. John 2, the wondrous account of the wedding of Cana reveals to us that His glory is revealed to those who have already obeyed. If ever the was a verse in Scripture that embodies all the rest of the Bible, John 2:5b, "...Do whatever He says."

If you are waiting for a divine revelation, it could be that God is waiting on you.

I am also intrigued by the word John is inspired by the Holy Spirit to use for revelation/manifestation in verse 11. There are primarily three words in the Greek to convey revelation/manifestation. The first is epiphaneia. This word focuses mainly on the object being revealed, without necessitating any understanding by the observer. The observer sees but may not comprehend. I would use the word "oh" to express this sentiment. The second word is apokalupto. This word focuses on the object but also implies there is understanding on behalf of the observer. I would use the phrase "oh, I see" to express this sentiment. The final word is phaneroo. This word focuses primarily on the observer, meaning that the observer is responding to the revelation. I would us the phrase "oh, I see, yes" to express this sentiment. This is the word we find in John 2:11.

The world is full of people who see Jesus and say "oh." The world is full of people who see Jesus and say "oh, I see." There are few people in the world who see Jesus and say "oh, I see, yes." That is why Jesus says in Matthew 22:14 that may are called and few are chosen...few say yes. I love how John 11 wraps up, for emphasis, just in case the reader missed the distinction of the word chosen for revelation/manifestion...the verse concludes with this, "...and His disciples believed in Him." They said yes.

What is the word that describes your Jesus revelation...may it be phaneroo!

Pastor Fred

May 9

2011-05-09T17:06:00.002-04:00

2 Kings 7-9 could be entitled, as so much of Scripture, "providence." God orchestrates, directs, drives, engineers, choreographs, coordinates, directs, arranges... organizes all events of history, not just for humankind but every individual.

One of the most striking in this group of texts is as follows...

¹ Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, “Go away with your family and stay for a while wherever you can, because the LORD has decreed a famine in the land that will last seven years.” ² The woman proceeded to do as the man of God said. She and her family went away and stayed in the land of the Philistines seven years.

³ At the end of the seven years she came back from the land of the Philistines and went to appeal to the king for her house and land. ⁴ The king was talking to Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, and had said, “Tell me about all the great things Elisha has done.” ⁵ Just as Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life, the woman whose son Elisha had brought back to life came to appeal to the king for her house and land.

Gehazi said, “This is the woman, my lord the king, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life.” ⁶ The king asked the woman about it, and she told him.

Then he assigned an official to her case and said to him, “Give back everything that belonged to her, including all the income from her land from the day she left the country until now.”

That which He did then, He does now, for you, for me!

Pastor Fred

May 4

2011-05-04T08:48:00.002-04:00

What a tremendous lesson in leadership we are given in the moment Solomon passes his throne to his son Rehoboam. Division always has an epicenter, a moment of inception. The division of Israel is often attributed to Rehoboam and Jeroboam but I believe it began among Rehoboam's Council. One group gave one course of direction born out of the conviction of their hearts and one group gave a different course of direction, born out of the conviction of their hearts. A great leader would have done nothing until both groups were reconciled together and of one mind and one heart. This division became one that expanded out for centuries of history.

Our core leadership team at City Life doesn't vote on anything. We work until we are of one heart and one mind. Unity is what every leadership team should be reverberating throughout their church, vibrations of togetherness that inspires the whole house toward togetherness! In Acts 2:1 we read that they were "all together in one place." And again, in Acts 2:44 we read "Now all the believers were together..." This Greek word for "together" can be used for geographic togetherness but also for being together of one heart and mind. Acts 2:1 speaks of a geographic togetherness while Acts 2:44 addresses their unity of heart.

There will always be division ultimately. There will always be dissenting people as decisions move out into the broader group of leaders and members of a church. Seldom does everyone in the whole of the church agree on everything. And disagreement does not have to be about right and wrong. We far too often want the the opposing side to be wrong to buttress our position, out of insecurity. My experience has been that most moments of division in churches are about preferences and methodology. Both positions can be right while simultaneously divergent.

Consider travel. There are many routes to a destination. Is one right and the other wrong? Each is right but one cannot travel on both concurrently, bringing about a divergent moment. In a church's life, there will be many divergent moments. But the first signs of separation should only and always be as vision moves out into the broader realms of concentric circles. However, the core should never be responsible for the division, only and always the unity!

At City Life, our core is defined by two groups, the first circle is what we call our Governance Team (Lead Pastor, Elders, and Two Trustees) and also the next circle out, our Ministry Life Team Council (all the leaders of our various ministries). If this group is not on the same page, we don't turn the page...but once they are, we run after vision together!

Great leaders inspire people together to one place, both space and desire!

Pastor Fred

April 29

2011-04-29T09:03:00.002-04:00

Grace! We celebrate grace! We should, we must! I had a Sunday school teacher in my adolescence who taught me the wonderful definition of grace that I will never forget, "God's willingness to use His power on our behalf even though we do not deserve it." Thank you Mr. Mays! Another popular definition for grace is from each letter, God's riches at Christ's expense.

Regardless of how you remember grace, the essence the same. God's power at work in our lives was not free, Jesus gave His life, purchased what we desperately need and yet are powerless to attain apart from His sacrifice. In our modern economic world, the concept of free easily slips into a synonymous realm with cheap. However, economics and eternity are vastly different. That which is fully free in the realm of eternity is also the most sacred and the most costly, God's grace.

Which brings me to a verse in today's reading. Luke 20:47 tells us of an account where Jesus is teaching on the Old Testament's teachings about the Messiah (Himself) and that religious leaders who relish more in their own personal glory than championing their sacred trust for the spiritual health and well being of others by pointing them to the Messiah (again, Himself)... in Jesus' own words, "will be severely punished."

How do we reconcile Luke 20:47 with the precious doctrine of grace? Ephesian 2:8-9, "For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift, not from works, so that no one can boast." Every gift culminates in a moment of acceptance. His grace is most certainly a gift, freely offered to us all, purchased by Christ's pure life sacrificed, but a gift that must be accepted.

May we all accept His grace, for our sake. The doctrine of grace lives in among an innumerable body of Christian doctrine, one of which is the doctrine of consequence, which we find again here in Luke 20:47. They do not contradict, they are interwoven together as only could be done at the hands of a Sovereign God.

Grace is not the permission to live as we please. Grace is God's willingness to use His power on our behalf even though we do not deserve it. Embrace grace, His love, His power, His plan, His rule in our lives! May we never know the consequence of rejecting anything that our loving Father gifts to us, His children.

Pastor Fred

April 26

2011-04-26T08:22:00.002-04:00

To say that 2 Samuel 24 is perplexing would be an understatement! How do we reconcile this with our unrelenting belief that God is only and always good? The text clearly states that God caused David to do something that was wrong, after which a punishment ensued, inflicted on people who had no part in the transgression.

We must remember that the Bible is always the best means of interpreting itself. James 1:13-15, with equal clarity, states that God never tempts. Temptation is an act to seduce someone to transgress with the hope that they will in fact fail. Testing is creating an environment where a transgression is possible, but with the hope the person will pass the test by resisting evil. We also have 1 Corinthians 10:13, with equal clarity, states that we never face any sort of temptation that is beyond what we are able to resist. These two texts help us to see that God's anger with David is because He sees the pride in David's heart and out of love, will not allow that pride to remain hidden and unchallenged. Thus, God tests David with a idea. In the end, David will either deal with this pride by either overcoming it by resisting what he knows to be wrong or he will deal with his pride through repentance and forgiveness after the transgression is committed. What at first appears to be a sadistic act of an uncaring Deity is now revealed as the loving, caring act of a perfect Father.

But what of the innocent who are killed in consequence to David's transgression? Ezekiel 18:20, with equal clarity, states that God only punishes the guilty for their sin and does not visit judgment on one for the sin of another. There are only two alternatives for the population of 70,000 people who died in the plague, people who were guilty of their own unrepentant transgressions whose sin finally culminated in judgment and those who were in right standing with God. For the guilty, their death is not then the result of David's sin. God is using one plague to deal with scores of people for their own individual transgressions. Why isn't that clarification given to us...because God knows He has given us all of Scripture and expects us to be well versed in the breadth of revelation that is present in the entirety of our Sacred Texts. So what of the people who died in right standing with God? Since when is being promoted to heaven ever a punishment?

May we be careful to not let an over-identification with this temporal world be a filter of bias that causes us to hold a God who is only and always good in a negative light!

Pastor Fred

April 25

2011-04-25T08:56:00.002-04:00

May it be that for us all, 2 Samuel 22 would be our anthem, our song, our psalm, our story!

Pastor Fred

April 22

2011-04-22T08:53:00.003-04:00

Good Friday. The ember Christ created, may we hold it sacred forevermore.

In 2 Samuel 14:7 we find these words as the Tekoa woman conspires with Joab to convince King David to pardon Absolom, "They want to extinguish the only coal I have left..." The technological conveniences of our modern world eclipse our efforts at understanding the precariousness of life in ancient times. Fire. We push a button, strike a match, flip, pull, point... effortless and on demand. In the ancient world, an ember was saved from the previous fire, especially when traveling, wrapped in husks and green leaves from a plant to protect, to preserve, to perpetuate the very thing that was essential for survival, fire. For sustenance, for heat, for light, for comfort, even for battle...the ember was sacred.

So as the woman from Tekoa draws on this imagery as a metaphor for her only remaining son, King David is deeply moved. He understands. He lives in an era when the concept of scarcity is an ever present reality, unlike the excess of our today.

"Then said I, Woe is me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips...Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar, and he laid it upon my mouth and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin is purged." Isaiah 6:5-7

Jesus is our ember, the fire of forgiveness in the world. On this Good Friday, the day of His atoning death, the day the ember was passed from Heaven to earth, may we not just remember, but ask ourselves if we hold an ember from that fire...and if we do, to whom have we shared such a burning coal, that they too might partake, that they too might join the scores of us who having been "undone" as Isaiah, live purged because of Him, our cherished ember.

Good Friday. The ember Christ created, may we hold it sacred forevermore.

Pastor Fred

April 19

2011-04-19T22:11:00.004-04:00

Luke 15 gives us some of the most direct counsel in how to love people back toward life in relationship with God and His family. There is a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son. In the first two parables, the sheep and the coin are sought after, while the son is left to himself with the hopes he will return on his own.

The sheep represents people who wander. They aren't rebellious. They aren't angry at God or disillusioned. They simply have a curiosity for life beyond the boundaries of Kingdom living that they have yet to conquer. They are still waiting for their revelation that all things outside the pursuits of eternal life are ultimately settling for less. We follow Jesus' example and gently follow after them and encourage them to reconsider their place and life in devotion to Jesus and in relationship with His family. Their transformative measure is when they stop being the wanderer and become the retriever.

The coin is the only focus of the three parables that is lost at the neglect of another. This person deserves the most patience. Their being displaced is because of another person's sin. This is the one who was betrayed by a spiritual leader, a parent who terribly mis-portrayed faith in Christ, suffered a terrible tragedy as a victim...we never stop seeking them out. They desperately want to be found and need us to be relentless in our search for their lost hope. Their transformative measure is when their story becomes a tool for helping others to heal.

The son is left to suffer the consequences of his rebellion. We must not prematurely rescue the rebellious. Their pain is their teacher and we must not take them from school before the course of their God ordained lessons are learned. Their transformative measure becomes intervening in the lives of the people predisposed to rebellion and helping them avoid that defining moment of arrogance that fractures essential relationships.

He is risen!!

Pastor Fred

April 16

2011-04-16T08:13:00.002-04:00

1 Samuel 30...

-verses 6-8, we find our comfort and strength in His presence, before we find His answer...

-verses 11-12, we must never be too busy for mercy...

-verses 21-31, generosity, generosity, generosity...

1 Samuel 31...

-verses 8-10, Saul's end and Goliath's end were ultimately the same, being in the right camp means little unless we have the right heart...(Luke 13:23-29)

Pastor Fred

April 15

2011-04-15T08:03:00.003-04:00

1 Samuel 27, it is remarkable how quickly we can make peace with our enemies when we are motivated.

We also see here in this chapter the beginning of David's unabated violence that lead to his disqualification from being God's instrument in building the temple later in his life. God never punishes us for what we do in obedience to Him. David conquered much at the behest of God but here among the Philistines, we see him slaughtering innocent people to cover up his own deceptive practices, a tragic flaw that haunts him again in the Bathsheba narrative.

Finally, for this chapter, in verse 11 we are given a poignant lesson in leadership: being desperate for the deference of others always leaves us vulnerable to deception.

So what is up with a witch being able to conjure up Samuel from eternity to communicate directly with Saul? Was this actually a deceptive demon, did this necromancer really have power to control a prophet who was now dead, was it all just a delusion given Saul's poor health and famished state? We really don't know ultimately...but I will share my humble opinion. I believe this really was Saul. We know that through divine intervention, there can be communication with saints of old. Take the account of Jesus, James, and John in Mark 9 communicating with Moses and Elijah. However, the key is DIVINE INTERVENTION and not witchcraft. The critical part of the 1 Samuel text that leads to my belief is in verse 13. In the NASB translation, the medium describes what she sees as a "divine being coming up out of the earth." I believe this description is essential because it tells us that Samuel is not being controlled by a dark art but rather he is being sent by God. Does witchcraft exist? Does demonic activity occur? I believe yes. But nothing of Satan's realm has any power over the people of God, ever.

A quick note about today's reading in the NT, Luke 13. At the start, Jesus challenges the mentality that says bad things only happen to people who are being judged by God for doing bad things. As Jesus clearly points out, the great flaw in this line of thinking is not just in mis-judging those who are suffering, but also, in so doing, we mis-judge ourselves. This line of thinking leaves us vulnerable to mistaking God's grace for our own sinfulness as divine approval.

Go to church this weekend!!

Pastor Fred

April 13

2011-04-13T09:50:00.002-04:00

⁷ “Listen here, you men of Benjamin!” Saul shouted to his officers when he heard the news. “Has that son of Jesse promised every one of you fields and vineyards? Has he promised to make you all generals and captains in his army? ⁸ Is that why you have conspired against me?...

1 Samuel 22:7-8a teaches us something profound...our own personal indiscretions will always become our own haunting suspicions.

Pastor Fred

April 12

2011-04-12T08:48:00.002-04:00

In 1 Samuel 19, we find the most remarkable account of the power of God's presence. On three different occasions, Saul sent troops to arrest David and each time as they encounter Samuel the prophet, God's presence was so irresistible that instead of searching for David, they began to sing and worship and declare the wonders of God. Finally, even Saul himself journeyed to Ramah and found himself in the irresistible presence of the majesty of God.

So often in my life during my youth and college years I would find myself in church services and experience the undeniable presence of God and be drawn into moments of worship and prayer. But I would always inevitably revert back to a self-directed existence almost immediately after leaving the service. The only way that His abiding presence can take root in our lives is when we choose to embrace a God-directed existence; otherwise, our God encounters will always be as Saul's, on the road of "on occasion."

Are we Saul or are we Samuel? Is our God life intermittent or life defining? May we too be overwhelmed by His presence and may we be a people whose belief in God is life defining, passion filled, and moment by moment governing!

Pastor Fred

April 11

2011-04-11T09:17:00.003-04:00

Truths we find in the narrative of David and Goliath...

1.) God often hides the glory of our future in the humility of serving others in our present. Remember, Samuel had already anointed David as the future king of Israel yet he is still expected to obey his father and serve his brothers.

2.) Every crisis must be viewed as an opportunity to awaken people to the abiding presence of God. Goliath calls the army of Israel the servants of Saul but David saw them as the armies of the living God. Who we see ourselves ultimately serving, in our life roles, our vocations, our volunteerism, dictates how we respond in crisis and how well we leverage those moments for God's glory.

3.) We all have Eliabs, people who are critical of our capacity to dream big dreams and our faith that God is at work leading us towards the fulfillment of His promises spoken over our lives even when our present circumstances appear to deny His intent.

4.) God is always at work preparing us for our future. David had to conquer bears and lions before he could conquer giants. He had to conquer giants before he could conquer armies. He also had to learn how to handle the praise of people and to not love their songs more than God's approval.

5.) As a leader, we must not expect others to operate in our giftings but their own. As leaders, we must help others identify their unique giftings and see them developed. God has a different kind of "armor" for everyone. In that same vein, we must not be threatened by people who are more gifted than we are. If God brings us our successor, it is an honor to help them grow and ultimately take our place.

6.) Note to self, if I am always the one at odds with everyone, including my own family, I am the one with the problem...remember Saul!

Pastor Fred

April 9

2011-04-09T21:55:00.001-04:00

1 Samuel 13, our perception of a spiritual leader's poor timing is never permission giving to violate our integrity.

Pastor Fred

April 8

2011-04-08T09:45:00.002-04:00

1 Samuel 10:6b, "...you will be changed into a different person." Verse 9, "...God gave him a new hear..." And verse 11b, "...How did the son of Kish become a prophet?"

Is my belief in God changing me? Is my devotion to Jesus transforming my life? Regardless of where I was born, the family to which I belong, my occupation, my denomination, my socioeconomic standing, my education, my city of residence, my past...when we live in His presence, we are divinely wrought works of His power.

How are you different from a year ago? We have a saying at City Life, changed beyond recognition...may that be each of our stories!

Pastor Fred

April 6

2011-04-06T08:30:00.002-04:00

3 Axioms to live by in 1 Samuel 4-6...

1.) Religious icons have no power unto themselves and are no substitute for a heart obedient to God and His sovereignty. (4:1-10)

2.) When we are decrepit, indulgent, permissive in our parenting, and characterized by being lackadaisical in our leadership, God's grace acts in judgment, rescuing the innocent from our continued harm. (4:12-18)

3.) God does not judge us because we break a rule on a list but because we resist His rule in our hearts. (6:19-21)

Pastor Fred

April 5

2011-04-05T08:47:00.002-04:00

In Luke 8 we read the account of Jesus raising Jairus' daughter to life. I find an interesting parallel with the account of Lazarus' coming back from the grave moment, John 11. In both narratives, we are told Jesus was especially loud when He prayed. How loud does one have to be in order to break the temporal barrier? How loud does one have to be in order to be heard in eternity? Oh God, teach me to be noisy like that!

Pastor Fred

April 2

2011-04-02T09:26:00.003-04:00

Samson and Micah, two lives that give us great lessons.

If we do not realize our utter dependency on God, the total depravity of our humanity, the veritable spiritual lack of us all, we will pray little. Jesus in Matthew chapter 5 in giving us the famous beatitudes spoke to this very revelation when He declared, "... blessed are the poor in spirit because the kingdom of heaven is theirs." What is the correlation between being poor in spirit and possessing the kingdom of heaven? Prayer. When we see how poor we are within, we put the full weight of our lives on Jesus, living in a place of constant petition.

We read the account of Samson and wonder how he could have been so naive. Delilah had demonstrated her deceitfulness on three prior occasions, was Samson naive? No, he was arrogant, he had lost is proper self-perception, he had lost his sense of utter dependence on God, he had come to believe that his strength was his own. He told his secret because he was convinced he himself possessed his own strength. A hard lesson to learn. We see his strength returning because we see him returning to a place of prayer, a place of total dependence upon God in the last moments of his life. Judges 16:28, "Sovereign Lord, remember me again. O God, please strengthen me just one more time." If ever we loose our sense of spiritual poverty, God loves us enough to bring us to our knees, for the sake of our eternity.

Micah is the same story. There he is at the end of Judges 18, running down a road, chasing after a band of warriors who have stolen his idols, stolen his priest, stolen the sacred objects of his temple, exclaiming, "I have nothing left." God loves us enough to take from us everything that we have embraced that displaces Him. Here, Micah eschews his depravity, but what he has yet to see is that in that moment, he was rich beyond measure. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs in the kingdom of heaven."

It is intriguing to find in Revelation when the tribes of Israel are listed in chapter 7 that Dan is no where to be found. Why? We find our answer in Judges 18. What had formerly been the sin of one family became the sin of an entire Israelite tribe for generations upon generation upon generation, never again to regain their revelation of God dependence, never again to re-discover their spiritual poverty, never again to live in a place of constant petition, never again to put the full weight of their lives on Him... losing the kingdom of heaven.

If you feel like God has taken much from you, don't frown, smile, even in your darkest hour. He only takes that He might give what lasts forever, eternal life.

Pastor Fred

March 30

2011-03-30T09:51:00.002-04:00

Jotham's parable is a fabulous insight into leadership, especially within the local church. Often, people are drawn into leadership by the same motivation as Abimelech, vain glory. Jotham's parable repeats the phrase (Judges 9:7-15) "just to wave back and forth over the trees."

In Matthew 20:28, Jesus tells us that even He came not to be served but to serve, and offer His life as a ransom for many. We must however be careful that we do not misunderstand Jesus' command. If leaders are overly pre-occupied with the daily details of tasks, there is no time to invest in people. A leader's greatest act of service is to invest in others and see their life potential fulfilled. Which takes us back to Jotham's parable.

He speaks of the olive tree, the fig tree, and the grape vine. Each one endowed with a special gift that worships God and benefits people when flourishing. I like the distinction among the three trees, subtle but still very instructive: to bless, to delight, and to uplift.

A great leader does not long to wave above the masses, feeding their own selfish ego. Great leaders find their greatest joy in empowering others to be the absolute best creation, uniquely endowed by their Creator, possible. If you are searching for a church, make sure that on your list of criteria, you are looking for a place where people are blessed, delighted, and uplifted because the leadership there excels in service, not vain glory!

Pastor Fred

March 29

2011-03-29T16:46:00.003-04:00

Peter faced the same decision in Luke 5 that we face at critical moments in our lives. Who are we going to follow, to what are we going to give our lives? Our destinies, our futures, await the moments of decision that we all must face. Imagine if Peter had not followed, if Peter had refused to go, if Peter had rejected Jesus' call to become one of His followers? He probably would have continued in his family business, raised a family, lived a meaningful and enriching life there in his community, even been a faithful worshipper of God and quite possibly a devoted believer in Jesus... but God's plan beckoned to him.

I remember when Vannessa and I faced a decision about our future in ministry together. We were in a wonderful church with great leaders, deep friendships, and close to family. But a meaningful existence is not the standard by which we measure our lives. We must consider our call, Heaven's invitation, what do the books in Heaven mentioned in Psalm 139:16 say about our journeys this side of eternity? Peter walked in those pages... I want to walk in those pages... let's walk in them together! Is God asking something of you? Don't stay in the chapter you are in when destiny is waiting!

Pastor Fred

March 25

2011-03-25T18:10:00.003-04:00

In Joshua 21, we read about the allotment of cities to the Levites. In the preceding chapters, there were 12 other allotments of land to the the 10 other tribes who descended from the sons of Jacob, in addition to the two tribes who descended from Joseph. All the other allotments geographically defined the various tribes, set boundaries, distinguished them from one another. As well, the distribution of territory had been determined by God, instructed to Moses and now being executed by Joshua.

Yet for the Levites, the giving of land was according to the individual tribes. They each gave a portion of their cities, that they had at first received from God. Why didn't God just set aside those cities for the Levites initially? Why give them to the 12 tribes only to be given immediately in turn? And while we are questioning, why are the Levites dispersed throughout the entire Promised Land without a specific geographic identity?

God is creating a picture of Himself relative to humanity. His desire has always been to be among His people but even in His sovereignty, He longs for us to give Him place in our hearts.

Pastor Fred

March 23

2011-03-23T22:24:00.002-04:00

As Zechariah prophesied over his eight day old son, we find the story of each of us. Luke 1:76-79, begins with a reminder that we often need the voice of others to inspire us to listen more intently to the voice of God. Zechariah speaks of his son becoming a prophet of the Most High. We need each other. I find that the more I accept that God speaks through people, the more I hear Him in others and ultimately the more I hear Him directly with greater clarity.

The latter half of verse 76 presses me to self-reflect. How am I helping others prepare for a life more fully devoted to Jesus? I want my life to echo in eternity and one of the most eternally significant pursuits I can pursue is to point others to Jesus, with my attitudes, my choices, my character, my graciousness, my generosity, my family...I want to be a " way preparer."

Verses 77-79 all emphasize the same sobering reality, we need forgiveness. Until we fully yield to God's divine right to rule and govern our lives, we remain in darkness, the path of peace an untraveled road for our spiritual feet, the shadow of death eclipsing the light of heaven in our hearts...may we not delay casting ourselves fully upon His tender mercy, Jesus will lead us there.

Pastor Fred

March 22

2011-03-22T18:02:00.002-04:00

Luke 1:48... what have we accomplished in our lives that will cause future generations to call us blessed? May we all have some measure of hope to make a contribution in our world that will have a generational impact.

Pastor Fred

March 21

2011-03-21T19:44:00.003-04:00

Achan, oh Achan. How do you go from infancy to adulthood, seeing every moment of Isareal's burgeoning history, every moment of obedience that was rewarded and every moment of disobedience punished, in strikingly public arenas and come to Jericho with instructions from God that in no way lacked any clarity and reach the conclusion that a robe, a bar of gold, and some silver coins were worth risking death?

And how about the manner in which he was discovered...can you imagine Achan trying to not be conspicuous? "Hey, who do you think it's going to be?" and he knows it's him! What was it like when his tribe was identified, then his clan, then his family...uh oh! And then, him. One person out of millions...we cannot hide from a sovereign gaze.

The moment of the narrative that spoke to me most however was the silver being buried deeper than the rest. He was actually preparing for a later moment of deception. That if something was found, he would confess the first layer. Remember, he says that the silver was buried deeper than the rest. We all have a tendency to only confess just enough to assuage the suspicion of the person bringing accountability to us. I think it also confronts us in the manner in which we respond to God's rule over our lives. We yield in layers when the fullness of life He longs for us to posses, the truest of treasures, can only be held when we give Him every strata of our humanity.

Confess generously, yield completely, live fully!

Pastor Fred

March 20

2011-03-20T20:07:00.002-04:00

Luke 1:19-20, have you found your prayer voice? Many people like Zechariah, live in silence spiritually because they doubt that God transcends circumstances. Don't be a mute prayer! Find your prayer voice...believe!

Pastor Fred

March 19

2011-03-19T10:15:00.002-04:00

⁶ “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. ⁷ Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. ⁸ Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. ⁹ This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

This excerpt comes from Joshua chapter one and is not just for leaders of nations, not just for pastors, not just for church leaders...it is the promise of God to everyone. We all have a life we lead, a life for which are are responsible, a life God has entrusted to us. May God find in us the same resolve recorded in this great text: courage, strength, deference to Scripture, no fear, no discouragement, and an unrelenting faith in the abiding presence of God!

Now let's go and conquer our destinies!

Pastor Fred

March 14

2011-03-14T10:18:00.002-04:00

I'd like to suggest that an overly simplistic view of grace has over-shadowed the Biblical teaching on desecration for many people. Deuteronomy 21:1-9 brings this idea of desecration into focus for us. If I were to define desecration as I understand it in relation to our lives, I would say desecration is to cause the sacredness of my life to be diminished by my willful disobedience to God's precepts resulting in the minimization of the favor of God upon my life. My missteps in life do not jeopardize my hope of Heaven as a devoted follower of Jesus, that's a healthy hold on grace. But desecration is something entirely different. Check out these verses for how desecration affects our prayer life: -Psalm 66:18, -Zechariah 7:13, -Proverbs 21:13, -Proverbs 28:9, -Isaiah 1:15, and -1 Peter 3:7.

C.S. Lewis says, "The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us." That's a wonderful distinction between grace and desecration. We cannot keep Him from loving us, His grace, may we not resist His divine work to transform us, dealing with our desecration inclinations!

Pastor Fred

March 11

2011-03-11T08:38:00.002-05:00

Okay, I love Deuteronomy 14:21b, "You must not cook a young goat in its mother's milk." What is the spiritual significance of that? None! It's just wrong, come on, God's sense of fair play just can't allow some things!

I find Jesus' response to the questioner in Mark 12:34 curious, " Realizing how much the man understood, Jesus said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God." Knowing and being are never the same. There are scores of people who know much about Scripture, Jesus, and the Kingdom of Heaven but the pressing question is still the same 2,000 years later, are we in are just not far.

Pastor Fred

March 10

2011-03-10T18:06:00.002-05:00

Mark 12:13-17 is a demanding text. It is here that Jesus takes a coin that bears the image of Caesar and acknowledges that the observable image substantiates ownership. He then makes that statement, "...give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and give to God what belongs to God."

What belongs to God? We needn't turn far for our answer, the preceding parable, verses 1-12. And the answer is most certainly, everything. Psalm 24:1 declares, "The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world and all who live in it!" Then we read in Genesis 1:27, "So God created mankind in His own image..."

We are the coin of God, His image is upon us, we belong to Him.

Pastor Fred

March 8

2011-03-08T17:26:00.003-05:00

Deuteronomy 6:7-9, what of God's Word have I repeated to anyone today, written to anyone today, taught to someone today? What of God's Word was observable today from the countenance of my face, my expressions in response to people and circumstances? What of God's Word was evidenced today through the work of my hands? What of God's Word was undeniable today in my home, the manner of my house, the values of my family? What of God's Word was discernible from what I allowed to enter into my life?

Pastor Fred

March 7

2011-03-07T09:25:00.002-05:00

The cities of refuge are an interesting study in the extent to which God asks us to go on behalf of others. You can read about them in Numbers 35. One would expect that if the slayer, the person who accidentally killed someone was found innocent of malicious intent, that the law would have required the avenger, the closest relative of the slain, to exercise restraint and not kill the slayer. And if the avenger killed the slayer, that their life would be forfeited, because they would be guilty of murder.

But the law demands that the slayer, the person who accidentally killed someone, be escorted safely to a city of refuge and live there until the death of the residing high priest. If they do not, and the avenger finds them and kills them, the avenger is not held responsible. Really? The innocent person is expected to give up their entire way of life so as not to tempt the anger of the family member of the deceased. What would our society be like today if we loved one another to such an extent...may The Church be a place where such sacrifice, such devotion is still thriving today!

Pastor Fred

March 5

2011-03-05T07:46:00.002-05:00

Numbers 33 is a poignant picture of our own respective journeys out of a life of self-governance, at the behest of our craven human nature, and into a life fully submitted to God, a life defining, passion filled, moment by moment governing relationship with Him. The two lives are juxtaposed for us in seeing Egypt paralleled with the Promised Land.

The list in Numbers 33 repeatedly states, "...they left...and camped..." When a person makes a vow of devotion to Jesus, we must be patient. There is a lot of "leaving" and "camping" on their spiritual journey ahead. The journey out of Egypt into the Promised Land is not a 24 hour excursion. Values, habits, life orientations, patterns of thinking...we must be careful to not demand a pace that is not in keeping with the work of the Holy Spirit in an individual's life. Granted, as with the Israelites, disobedience along the way can very well extend one's stay so there is a delicate balance we must discern as well.

In John 3, Jesus uses the metaphor of birth to bring revelation to our hearts regarding the beginning of spiritual life. I find that people who are new in their faith unfortunately find a demand from people established in their faith as if Jesus had spoken of the inception of spiritual life as a mold... we promise, He pours, out we come. But birth necessitates a womb, birth expects infancy, birth sees the value of time, birth waits for maturity.

If you are new in your spiritual life as a devoted follower of Jesus, while I can't speak for others, at City Life Church, you will find in us a grace to "leave" and "camp" with you as you confidently abandon Egypt and expectantly reach for His Promised Land!

Pastor Fred

March 4

2011-03-04T08:36:00.003-05:00

In Mark 9:29 we read where Jesus declares that such miracles, the deliverance of the boy whom the disciples had been unsuccessful in helping, could only be accomplished by prayer and fasting. Yet, we know that the time between the father's plea for help and Jesus praying for the boy does not qualify for a fast. That would be like us trying to justify the time in between our meals as fasts! Too, the disciples had prayed for the boy to no avail so again we find Jesus' command about prayer and fasting rather cryptic.

I believe that Jesus is trying to tell us that it is a lifestyle of prayer and fasting that prepares a person to be effective in such moments. And not only prayer and fasting, but all of what we teach as spiritual pathways at City Life: scripture, prayer, worship, fasting, relationship, reaching, gathering, accountability, service, generosity, stewardship, and rest. Show me a person whose life is defined by these pathways and I'll show you a person who has been to the top of the mountain and is ready to minister in power.

Pastor Fred

March 2

2011-03-02T08:47:00.002-05:00

One of the reasons a commitment to reading the Bible daily is so vital is because we need to maintain our vision for more, more of what could be, more moments in life where the veil of this temporal world is pulled back and a glimpse of the world in which we are immersed is revealed.

The story of Balaam. There he is on the road and God enables him to see the angel. The angel has always been there, even the donkey saw the angel. So often our attention is drawn to the wonder of a donkey being given the power of speech and Balaam's apparent lack of surprise regarding his conversational beast of burden with whom he proceeds to have an argument! Undoubtedly, that part of the account deserves attention, however, not at the expense of what ensues. He caught a glimpse, the veil was pulled back, he saw something of the eternal world in which this temporal world is immersed. He saw a heavenly being.

Jesus often began His teachings with the phrase, "He who has ears, let him hear." We find that same statement from the angel in Revelation 3:22 when speaking to John. Certainly having ears and eyes has always been common place among humanity... for the hearing and seeing within the context of this natural realm. But may it be for all of us that like Balaam on the road and John on an island, God would grace us with moments of an open heaven, a glimpse.

Pastor Fred

February 28

2011-02-28T09:37:00.002-05:00

Do you think John the Baptist felt abandoned by God as the axe fell?

The list of people in Scripture who were prominent with no mention of being personally flawed is quite short. Noah got drunk as soon as he got off of the ark, Abraham lied about his wife being his sister to save himself and don't forget Hagar, David was an adulterer and murderer...the Apostle Paul mis-judged John Mark...the list keeps going. But where do we find any mention of John the Baptist being a disappointment? I am not suggesting that he was perfect as that rests with Christ alone; however, his prominence and his reputation together put him on a very,very short list. Which brings us back to his final moments, as the axe fell, did he feel betrayed by God? Where was God when he needed Him most? Come on, if I were writing the story, how about as the axe fell, Herod's head actually fell away and the axe supernaturally passed through John without harming him!

I don't believe that thought ever entered his mind. What made John the Baptist great was his heart of total deference to His Creator, His Heavenly Father. When we rest in His sovereignty, we are at peace with our circumstances. God, help us to be unwavering in our devotion even when the perception of the onlooker is one of our being abandoned by the God we serve. As John himself said, if in my decreasing, the fame of Christ increases, I am the one who eternally gains, even in my temporal demise.

Pastor Fred

February 26

2011-02-26T09:33:00.003-05:00

Our family is always excited for a new episode of I Shouldn't Be Alive... amazing stories of people surviving against all odds, enduring starvation, dehydration, crippling injuries, and the most treacherous enemy of all, despair. I recall one where two mountaineers fell into a cravace.

A cravace is an opening in the ice, think of a long narrow ice canyon that can be hundreds of feet deep. They are often covered by snow, obscuring them, causing unsuspecting mountaineers to misstep and plummet, possibly to their death. In Numbers 12, we find Aaron and Miriam falling into a leadership cravace. What? When we observe a decision or an action by someone we have a sense of loyalty towards as a leader, we find this thought creeping in, "I could do what they do, possibly even better." That may even be true, that may even be your destiny, but if you violate your integrity, if you break an allegiance, if you sacrifice your loyalty...you are about to fall into a leadership cravace. It looks like safe ground to tread...just ask Aaron and Miriam. There is a proper way for succession to take place, but betrayal is never the path.

Don't throw away your future leadership by demanding it prematurely!

Pastor Fred

(examiner articles)

February 25

2011-02-25T08:42:00.002-05:00

Give Numbers 7:4-9 a quick read...there is a fabulous parallel here to prayer. In the text, there is a distinction between how various items are to be carried. The sacred items of the Tabernacle were not permitted to be placed in a wagon, they had to be shouldered by the priests. If we truly care about people in our lives, will we shoulder the burden of their need in moments of prayer?

I'm also drawn to Numbers 8:23-26...why would God require that Levites retire at age 50? For the same reason He requires them to begin serving at 25, every generation of pastoral leaders should have one primary goal in mind, preparing the next generation to rise up and assume the sacred responsibilities of shepherding the house!

Pastor Fred

February 23

2011-02-23T08:21:00.002-05:00

In Mark 4:12, Jesus is quoting Isaiah 6:9-10 which if we are not careful, can create a misperception of God. Why would God not want others to understand? Why would God not want everyone to have complete and full revelation of who He is and His plan for their lives? Philippians 3:16 is a great example of this principle, paraphrased it means that we are expected to live up to whatever truth has been revealed to us. We understand Mark 4:12 in light of this principle, and now instead of viewing God as callous, we see Him as perfect grace. He knows the heart of every person (Hebrews 4:12). If we knows that they are going to reject the revelation He will bring to them, out of His mercy and grace, He may withhold it to lessen the judgment that would come upon them otherwise.

Now, what about the last part of the verse in Mark. Doesn't it seem to imply a different motivation. Doesn't it appear to say that God might withhold revelation so they will not repent? We must always understand the Bible in light of itself. If we find verses that appear to at odds with one another, the problem is never in Scripture but rather in our understanding. 2 Peter 3:9 states that God's desire is that no one perish and not have the opportunity to come to full repentance and be reconciled to Him as their Creator and Heavenly Father. So how do we understand the latter half of Mark 4:12?

I believe that Jesus here is comparing two paths, the first part of the verse is speaking to how people may still rebel after they know better so God withholds revelation to minimize their judgment and that the latter half of the verse is speaking not to God's motivation but rather the alternative choice of the person. We should read it this way, "When they see what I do, they learn nothing. When they hear what I say, they will not understand (thus I will not bring more revelation to people I know are just going to rebel). Otherwise, they will turn to me and be forgiven (then there are other people who have a heart that defers to me so that when I bring revelation to them, they repent and further submit their lives to me and oh how I long for all people to be this way instead of the former).

Which one are you, am I?

Pastor Fred

February 21

2011-02-21T22:20:00.004-05:00

Really? Numbers? God, why do I need to know how many men there were in the tribe of Zebulun?

There is constant debate in academia regarding the historicity of Scripture, meaning, is the Bible historically accurate? Is the Bible a history book, albeit sacred, but also historical. This is an essential question because if the Bible is not historical then it must be mythological. And if Scripture is mythological then the idea of God is metaphorical. And if God is only metaphorical then morality is inconsequential. God puts historical data in Scripture to remind us that He is our greatest reality!

Pastor Fred

February 19

2011-02-20T10:33:00.002-05:00

God's punishments are always for one purpose, to break a proud spirit in us (Leviticus 26:19) so that we will come to full repentance and the full embrace of His sovereignty over our lives (Leviticus 26:40).

A prayer for us today, Father, help us to see any seed of a proud spirit within our hearts so that we might offer it to You for eradication, that we might humbly and fully come under the absolute governance of Your authority over our lives, enjoying Your favor, celebrating Your grace!

Pastor Fred

(examiner articles)

February 18

2011-02-18T09:26:00.002-05:00

As we are reading through the Mosaic Law, there should be a sobering epiphany... there was no ritual sacrifice for any violation that was willful and intentional. We find offerings intended to support the priests and the Temple, we find offerings that celebrate the sovereignty of God, we find offerings related to vows, etc... and we find offerings for unintended sin (Leviticus 22:14). We have discussed this before in a prior post but it captures my heart again today. Death was the only prescribed response to willful disobedience to God.

How many times in our lives have we willfully disobeyed God? Willfully violated our God given conscience? If it were not for Jesus' death on the cross for you and I, we would be condemned to that which we deserve by our own innate longing for self-rule. But there is hope! Leviticus 22:31 makes the most sublime declaration, "I am the Lord, who made you holy." His desire is not to condemn us but rather to forgive us, for us to put our trust in Him, yielding to His love, embracing His grace, submitting to His rule.

Matthew 28:17 speaks to us about Christ's ascension into heaven. For the last three years, His life demonstrated nothing short of divinity. His culminating act was raising Himself from the dead! And here a crowd in the hundreds sees Him in His post-resurrection state ascending into heaven! And still, we read in the text that some doubted. Don't be one of the doubters! God has been revealing Himself to you for your entire life! Run to Him!

Pastor Fred

February 15

2011-02-15T08:25:00.004-05:00

We find a great irony in Matthew 27. The religious leaders who plotted against Jesus refused to place the money they had paid for Judas' betrayal back into the Temple treasury because it was "blood money." Did they not see that their corrupt hearts did not belong among the spiritual leadership of a nation for the very same reason?

There is an intriguing parallel with the reading from Leviticus 15, as the instruction continues about defilement. We have already explored the symbolism that God is using to help us understand our need to be cleansed by Jesus' atoning sacrifice on the cross. There is another lesson to be learned as well. In 1 Corinthians 15:33, we read that "bad company corrupts good character" (a quotation from the Greek poet Menander). We must not live our lives in isolation, for then, how could we ever fulfill our mandate to be a light to the world (Matthew 5). However, we must be vigilante to ensure that we are the influencer in the relationship, the change agent. Romans 15:21 declares, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good!"

Then as we continue into Leviticus 18, I am reminded that even if we are diligent in being mindful of the influence individual relationships can have on our lives, there is a broader influence pressing us as well, that of popular culture. This chapter speaks directly to sexual relations that God views as inappropriate, distinctions that our popular culture denies. We must work to ensure that we do not fall into the same trap as generations before us, championing Biblical truth without compassion, without humility, without genuine concern for people. Upholding Biblical sexual boundaries does not have to be at the expense of graciousness and being gracious does not have the expense of Godly standards. If ever we are at a loss how to hold these two in a healthy tension, we need not look any further than Jesus, complete in His love for people and unyielding in His devotion to principle.

Pastor Fred

(examiner articles)

February 13

2011-02-13T16:49:00.002-05:00

Leviticus 14:33-57...Lord, help me to be found as one who has the faith to receive instruction from You for promises by You that have yet to be fulfilled.

Pastor Fred

February 12

2011-02-12T10:15:00.002-05:00

I ate a Cuban sandwich last night, loaded with pork barbecue, love the pig! But am I now ceremonially unclean? What about this section of daily readings where we are journeying together in Leviticus? For the last two days we have been inundated with meticulous restrictions regarding diet, hygiene, and biological functions. We may not be ordering screech owl from the menu but a lack of appetite for many of the creatures listed does not displace our curiosity... why would God give such strict restrictions?

First, let's make our case more complicated. In Matthew 15:11, Jesus emphatically declares that nothing that goes into one's mouth has the power to make them spiritually unclean, but rather what comes out of one's mouth. The heart of a person is what ultimately matters, often discerned through conversation. So is Jesus dismissing centuries of sacred standards, that He Himself established?

We find our answer in two New Testament texts, Galatians 3:19a and Romans 7:7. Paul explains that the laws were to set boundaries for a burgeoning nation to create an orderly existence. No nation can function cooperatively without laws. Secondly, as we read in Romans 7:7, God was preparing the world for Jesus. He created a system of laws and rituals to bring about a revelation to all mankind for our need for redemption, for a Savior. All of these laws were a representation of the holiness of God, a standard unattainable by human effort yet vital for relationship with our Creator, the great conundrum. Our greatest need is to be in relationship with Him yet His holiness is our impossible obstacle. All the laws are our teacher, to learn the lesson of the depravity of humanity and our desperate condition apart from the forgiveness that is only found in Christ and the capacity for personal, spiritual transformation that is only possessed through His indwelling Spirit.

As we continue to read Leviticus, our thoughts must not be questions regarding which of these am I to uphold today but rather, a declaration of dependence, "Oh God, apart from you and your grace, what a wretched man/woman I am... but one who is moving ever forward, being transformed, changed, re-born, a living sacrifice, ever deeper into the depths of eternal life, steps towards Christ likeness, no matter how inconsequential they may appear to be, I will not relent!"

Pastor Fred

February 10

2011-02-10T18:09:00.003-05:00

"Honey, have you seen the Urim and Thummim?" Do you think Aaron had a dish by the front tent flap where he kept the things he needed whenever he left? We have a key dish...all my keys ALWAYS go in there. I have drawer where my wallet ALWAYS is placed when not on my person. Otherwise, inevitably, those items I desperately rely upon are too easily misplaced.

For the first 23 years of my life, I had misplaced my love for Christ and my devotion to His plans and purposes for me. In December of 1990 I gave my heart fully to God and in so doing, created a place in my soul where my affection and loyalty remain... my prayer now, dependent upon His grace, that they will never be lost again.

Matthew 25:45 says, "I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these My brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help Me." Here is a parable that is a poignant picture of Christ's judgment in the end of time of each of us. Backing up just five verses, we find the antithesis of this judgment, an accommodation of people whose affection and loyalty for Christ were safely kept in the places of the heart and was evidenced by the expression of their lives.

May it be for each of us we find that which should never be lost and keep safe that which should forever remain within the heart.

Pastor Fred