Matthew 7:3-5

Have you ever considered that Jesus calls the one sin a plank and the other a speck of saw dust, not because the plank is the more egregious sin but because the eradication of the plank from the one has the greater potential to build the Church? You can't build a house with saw dust but you can create quite a structure with planks.

This text is found in Matthew 7:3-5. Now read it in conjunction with Matthew 16:17-18. He's building...the question is, are we supplying the planks He desires to build His Church?

Pastor Fred

Privately

In Matthew 24:3, Mark 9:28, Mark 13:3, and Luke 10:23 we are compelled to ask ourselves if we are close enough to Jesus to have private conversations.

Think of all the people you know. How many of them are casual acquaintances vs. close personal friends? How awkward would you feel to ask a casual acquaintance for a private conversation? Which is Jesus for us? If we feel awkward having a private, intimate conversation with Jesus, it is a sure sign our life with Him needs to move into the arena of friendship (John 15:14-15).

Let's go deeper in love with Him together!

Pastor Fred

What Are You Wearing?

Matthew 22:1-14 is one of those parables that if we are not attentive, not prayerful, not inquisitive, we will not only miss the truth God intended for us to have, but also, embrace a false truth that will be damaging.

A cursory glance at this text leaves us feeling as though God is unfair, lacks compassion, is compulsory, impulsive, egotistical, legalistic...a very dangerous path of interpretation. We see the judgment toward those who reject the king as being fair and righteous; however, his judgment towards the one who came, who accepted, who abandoned his other pursuits to be with the king but is "simply" wearing the wrong clothes appears to be treated unnecessarily harshly, cruelly.

Let's look more closely at those who didn't come. If we dig a little, this too seems a little unfair. In what way? Well, to include the three noted in the same list. Doesn't it seem unfair to list a person who simply returned to work, another who returned to the farm with the one who mistreated innocent people and in a fit of rage, murdered them? Really? Jesus is teaching us something deep...that the sin is in the rejection of God, not in the alternative choice. How are you rejecting Him today?

As we continue, we come to the wrongly dressed guest. How could his situation warrant such a brutal response from the king? Because in the parable, the king is God and coming to Him, choosing Him is not enough. We must come to Him on His terms. Clothing in this parable represents righteousness and the clothing being worn by the guest, self-righteousness.

Read Isaiah 64:6, that all our righteous acts are like filthy rags or as one translation puts it, polluted garments. Just because we are at church does not mean we have fully chosen Him! May we be ever mindful that being present is not fully choosing the King. We must answer His call AND embrace His ways!

Pastor Fred

The End

One of the keys to the Lazarus text is remembering that our definition for "end" is seldom the same as His.

In John 11:4, Jesus proclaims that "...this sickness will not END in death but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." I know for me, the END is typically felt when my circumstances appear to make that for which I had hoped no longer attainable. END is about limits, about the realm of possibility, about reality. Lazarus breathed his last and his family concluded he had come to his END.

Are you in the midst of a situation that feels as if it is over? There is a fine line between denial and faith. Oh God, may we live there...that still your Son may be glorified through it. May we risk denial for the possibility of hearing Jesus say again, "Come out!" Bring us to an END so we can stand in the midst of one of your miraculous beginnings.

Waiting at an END...

Pastor Fred

Same God?

Have you ever read Luke chapter 12, verse 32 and verse 47 and asked how this can be the same God? Because reading them alone can leave two entirely different impressions.

Verse 32 reads, "Do not be afraid, little flock, your Father has been pleased to give you the Kingdom." Wow, that makes me feel accepted, loved, cared for...chosen! I'm great, celebrating, dancing even!

Then, I get to verse 47, "That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does do what his master wants will beaten with many blows." In the verses prior, Jesus states in the parable that a servant can be assigned to a place with unbelievers! Okay, now I am very, very afraid! I find this such a striking contrast because the consequence is not just the Kingdom being withheld, but in addition, a very real punishment being exacted.

This is why we read the whole Bible and use phrases like, "We understand all Scripture texts in light of the whole of Scriptural texts." If I only read verse 32, I have a perception of God that no matter what, the Kingdom is ours if we are His. If I only read verse 47, I am constantly trying to survive, just trying to avoid wrath with no hope of favor.

Jesus left these two insights into the heart of God next to one another, not to confuse us, but rather to complete us, to ensure that our understanding of the Father is whole.

May we all be given fully to His will, His ways, walking out of consequence and walking into favor!

Pastor Fred

Malachi

Be careful to not let certain books and certain texts get "type cast." This happens to actors frequently. They become so identified with a certain character, casting them in a different role becomes difficult because viewers only see them as a particular character. Malachi is often cast in our consciousness as the "tithe" book. But it is so much more!

One of the greatest gifts Malachi is to us is the lesson of self-reflection through the power of the Holy Spirit. In John 16, Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. In Malachi 1:2 reads, "...but you ask: How have You loved us?" In 1:7, "...yet you ask: How have we despised your Name?" And again in 2:14 and 2:17 respectively, "Yet you ask: For what reason" and "...yet you ask: How have we wearied Him?" And in 3:7, "...but you ask: How can we return?" And in 3:8, "...you ask: How do we rob You?" In 3:13, "...yet you ask: What have we spoken against You?" Seven pressing questions!

God wants to have a conversation with us, one that is prompted by the Holy Spirit, self examination! Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 13:5, "...examine yourselves..."

What questions are the Holy Spirit asking of you today?

Pastor Fred

Psalm 126-128

There are some great "proverbs" in these three Psalms! Let's start with Psalm 128...

Verse one proclaims, "How happy is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways!" I have a saying, as goes the husband/father, so goes the whole house. This first verse is speaking directly to the Dad and the "everyone" in verse one refers to the family. We see this as we continue to read. Verse three speaks of the wife and children, and then in verse six, the grandchildren. We must not let a secular society deceive us into believing the fallacy, "If I'm not hurting anyone else, leave me alone." We are always hurting someone else if we are not walking in His ways... especially our families!

Psalm 127 reminds us that no amount of human effort alone will succeed in walking in His ways. We have been in a series at our church entitled "Am I?" It is a play on words with Jesus' seven I Am statements in the gospel John. The idea is that if He is in us, and He most certainly is for everyone who has made a vow of devotion to Him (John 14:20), then we should be becoming more and more like Him throughout our lives. His I Am's should inspire us to ask Am I? This is the truth of Psalm 127, we are desperate for who He is in us to empower us to become like Him. He is in us not just to reveal the standard of life up to which we fail to measure...but to change us! As we yield to Him (Psalm 127), He will enable us to walk in His ways (Psalm 128).

And as we walk on this journey of transformation, may we not be surprised by the hardships and trials that await us. Psalm 126, verse five speaks plainly, "Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy." Bruce Wilkinson unlocks John 15 like no other in his book Secrets of the Vine. God's use of discipline and pruning are essential to our personal transformation.

Psalm 128, verse 5 wraps it all up...

"May the Lord bless you... so that you will see the prosperity... all the days of your life!"

Pastor Fred