Substitutes

Substitutes

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other

 name under heaven by which we must be saved.”

                                                    Acts 4:12

The margarine dish on vacation reminded me of years and years of substituting margarine for butter in our house because of the constant warnings on butter causing high cholesterol and other health evils. We eventually went back to using butter, having concluded that the substitute didn’t even come close to the real thing. Something very similar happened years ago with egg-beaters after a not so positive cholesterol report from the doctor. It didn’t take long to realize that egg-beaters scrambled didn’t compare with the real thing over easy (we’ll talk about the bacon crispy another time), but isn’t that how all substitutes are?

Spiritually, we have to realize that the substitutes we put in our lives to take the place of God just don’t satisfy. Jeremiah 2:13 gives a good example: “My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” Using the symbol of water, Jeremiah portrays  a people who instead of receiving what they need in life from the Lord, from the very source and fountain of life, substitute a man made, far inferior method of collecting water, cracked cisterns where all the water would eventually leak out leaving them empty and dry. The cisterns were a poor substitute for the real thing but that didn’t stop them from doing it because substitutes, by their very nature, are so deceiving.

Some substitute drugs and alcohol in their attempt to find peace when the Prince of Peace stands ready to calm the troubled waters of their lives. Others do the same with money, relationships and their career, taking something that has a clear purpose and value in its own right and putting it in place of finding purpose in life through a relationship with Jesus Christ. And maybe the most deceptive is when we substitute work for the Lord and religious activity for a relationship with the Lord, or as one man said, “Getting so busy doing the work of the kingdom that we forget who the King is.”

We must all be careful to avoid accepting substitutes for God Himself, for the relationship He wants to have with each of us, and for what He wants to accomplish in each of our lives. Substitutes are not the real thing and substitutes for God will, at the end of the day, always leave a person empty and without hope. Accept no substitutes for the awesome God we serve and for the close, personal, loving relationship He wants with each of us.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

The Confidence of Faith

The Confidence of Faith

“Anyone who comes to God must believe that He exists

and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.”

                                                         Hebrews 11:6

Scriptures like the one above remind us of the incredible, foundational importance of the state of our faith. Jesus said “according to your faith it will be done to you” making it clear that it is a subject we must return to often in our walk with the Lord. So how do we define faith?

The definition of faith that has helped me the most is very simple; faith is the heart’s confidence in God. Confidence is nothing more than the full trust and belief in the powers, trustworthiness or reliability of a person or thing. My hope is that by simply writing out the areas where we can be confident in God, it will help us through the struggles and challenges of life.

Faith is the heart’s…….

·         Confidence that  God loves me and cares about me as an individual, that He takes a personal interest in helping me with my hurts, needs, problems and cares.
·         Confidence in God’s power, that nothing is impossible with God and that God’s power is available through prayer to meet the needs in my life.
·         Confidence in the wisdom of God that He can guide me through the course of my life, helping me to make the best choices and decisions for my future.
·         Confidence in God’s promises and in His Word that they are true and that they can be trusted and relied on to give hope, encouragement, and direction as I feed on them.
·         Confidence in God that He wants only the very best for my life and for my family’s, that His dealings with me are those of a loving Father with a son or daughter.
·         Confidence in God that He will remain faithful even when I am unfaithful, that He will love me in my weakness and in my failure, and not give up on me.
·         Confidence in God that He wants to use me for His glory and to build His kingdom and will give me strength and ability by His Holy Spirit for everything He asks me of me.
·         Confidence in God that through the blood of Jesus, He truly forgives sin, casting my sins into the depth of the sea and giving me the hope of eternal life.

This list is no doubt just a beginning. I look forward to hearing from you this week about areas of confidence in God that have helped you in your walk with the Lord.

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Don't Play Fair

Don’t Play Fair

“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies,

do good to those who hate you, bless those who

curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you.”

                                          Luke 6:27

The title of the chapter did its job, catching my attention and peaking my interest. After all, from the youngest age we had been taught, in everything we did, to play fair. Choose teams that were even, no changing the rules in the middle of a game, no dealing from the bottom of the deck, no hiding outside the boundaries of “hide and seek”, etc, etc, etc. The author of the book was Henry Cloud and his perspective on playing fair is one we could all benefit from.

We all know what fair looks like: you’re nice to someone, fair is that they’re nice to you in return. Someone says something not so nice, even downright cruel about you, fair gets to say something equally cruel about them, I mean “it’s only fair.” And we all know what unfair looks like too; it’s when the scales are apparently tipped in someone else’s favor and they seem to either be getting away with something or being blessed in a way they don’t deserve.

“Don’t play fair” certainly fits with what Jesus taught us. His challenge to bless those who curse us runs totally counter to the culture we live in as does the call to pray for those who mistreat us. The same is true for loving our enemies. We just have to think for a minute what an enemy tries to do and how an enemy acts towards a person in realizing that asking us to love our enemies, to love those who do wrong toward us and who are out to do us harm is certainly not fair. But it certainly is right and here’s why!

We often forget that thoughts become actions, actions turn into habits and habits form our character. So if an enemy, or the enemy, can get us to react in a certain way in the interest of fairness, we end up hurting ourselves and becoming someone we don’t want to be. If we stoop to the level of another in being cruel with our words and vindictive in our desires, the loser will always be us. God has called us to live a life of love and kindness and he is looking for men and women of Christ-like character. And the surest way to get there is “don’t play fair.” Just as Jesus demonstrated on the cross, look to give more than you receive in every situation and in every relationship. Learning to not play fair is a giant step on the road to success in life.

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Extrapolate

Extrapolate

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper
 time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
                                                    Galatians 6:9

Have you ever had a word get stuck in your head? Did you ever have a thought that is confirmed over and over again by a variety of people?  That is what has been happening to me for quite a while now with the word “extrapolate.” The definitions of the word extrapolate are:

·         To use existing information to discover what is likely to happen in the future

·         To project into the future based on what is known

·         To extend to a greater length

In a day when we all tend to live in the moment, saying what we want and doing what feels good, the message of the word extrapolate is to think out the end result  and ultimate consequence of our actions before we do them. A decision on buying something might need to take into account whether the debt being incurred is worth the enjoyment of what is being bought. An action might be enjoyable but considering how it would affect our relationship with the Lord or our testimony to other believers might save us from a whole lot of trouble. At the same time, an action that we might be leery about might have real potential for good and for changing a life. And just a little thought might convince us that the hard thing we weren’t going to do would really pay off down the road and is the right choice for our future. Taking time to extrapolate will both prevent the bad and encourage the good in our lives.

With our words, the challenge is to consider what response and reaction our words will produce before uttering them. James warned us to be slow to speak, encouraging us to take a minute to consider if our words will bring life or death. A short look at what our words might produce will often make us decide to hold a thought and to just be quiet. At other times, we might realize the positive impact an encouraging word would make in another person’s life and decide to go out of our way to contact them and sow something good at a time of need.

Henry Cloud called this practice “Play the Movie,” seeing our actions as one scene in a movie and, only after viewing the movie, deciding if we want that scene to be a part of the movie of our lives. At times we will like what we see and at other times we won’t. But the key is we get to decide how the movie of our lives will play out. Take time to extrapolate; you’ll find it well worth the time and effort!

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

God at Work

God at Work

“For it  is God who works in you to will and
 to act according to his good purpose.”
                                     Philippians 2:13

Looking back on the events in my life that set the stage for my giving my life to the Lord, it is pretty clear that I failed to recognize the Lord at work in my life. A look at just a portion of what happened back then might help each of us learn to recognize that the Lord is daily at work in our lives to accomplish His plans and purposes.

It was the mid 70’s and the real estate developer who owned the 188 acre farm that we were renting in Lima, New York had given us notice that he was selling the property and that we would have to move. Despite not having running water (a well and a pump were our source of water), we were very fond of the farmhouse and the peace and relaxation of living in the country. To say that the news of having to move was not well received would be an understatement. But soon after, three of us who lived there responded to a simple ad, “country estate for rent, $350” and found ourselves in a far better place. And it was at that place that I found Christ and received His salvation.

What I now realize, many years later, is that in answer to prayer, God had moved on the heart of that developer to sell his property. His actions were neither random nor coincidental. God was at work; I just didn’t recognize it. God had also coordinated the timing of his notice to us so that it perfectly coincided with the ad being placed in the paper.  And that meant that the Lord also had to move on the heart of our new landlord to rent out half of his house now that his children had moved away. Wow, was God busy and all in answer to prayer, and all for my good, leading and guiding without me having a single clue.

One translation of John 14:7 begins with Jesus saying, “If you had learned to recognize me…” We are to learn to see the Lord in every situation we face and in the people He brings into our lives. What we consider ordeals are most often opportunities. What we see as obstacles to our success are the very means of our preparation for God’s next step. Trials and difficulties in life are to be opportunities for us to trust the Lord and for our faith to grow as we exercise it.  When we see a problem as an ordeal or an obstacle, we fail to see the Lord in the situation and we miss an opportunity to grow and to be strengthened. Let’s stop giving in to frustration and discouragement at the first sign of difficulty and trust that the Lord, out of a heart of pure love, is at work in each of our lives.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

The Welfare of Others

The Welfare of Others

“I have no one else like him, who takes
a genuine interest in your welfare.”
                       Philippians 2:20

The story is one familiar to most Christians: Paul and Silas were in jail, having been severely beaten for delivering a slave girl from a demonic spirit. Around midnight they were praying and singing hymns to God when an earthquake struck. The shaking from the earthquake was so violent that it caused the prison doors to fly open and everyone’s chains to fall off. Now I don’t know too many people who, at that moment of seemingly being set free, wouldn’t have encouraged Paul and Silas to run for the hills. Yet, despite their wounds, and despite the open doors, that is not at all what those two godly men did.

Years later, Paul wrote back to the believers in the city where those events occurred and commended the character of young Timothy, pointing out traits that made Timothy stand out from the crowd of believers in his day. Paul wrote, “I have no one else who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. For everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.” Maybe living in a “me first” generation as we do is not so original after all. But, hopefully, there are still Timothy’s to be found in the church, men and women who will put others’ needs before their own.

But I want to get back to what happened that day in the jail when the earthquake struck because Paul had lived out the very traits he was noting in Timothy’s life. Taking advantage of the open doors in the jail that night would have meant the certain death of the jailer whose responsibility it was to guard them. Misinterpreting the open doors as a sign to flee would have had disastrous results for not just the jailer but his entire family. No, Paul and Silas were found sitting in their cell, and the result was that the jailer and his entire family became believers that night.  The choice to “not seek their own good but the good of many” bore incredible fruit not only that night for that family but it resulted in a strong church being raised up in that city.

Putting the welfare of others first so goes against the grain of our society that it has to become a trait we purposefully embrace. Certainly the Lord demonstrated it for us on the cross, when He gave up His life for ours.  And Paul and Silas provided another stirring example in their response to cell doors flying open and chains falling off. Now it’s our turn. Let’s each look for opportunities to help others through life, even in situations where our own interests have to take a back seat to those of others.

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Into The Night

Into the Night

“He saw the disciples straining at the oars and about the fourth

watch of the night, He went out to them, walking on the water.

                                                        Mark 6:48

Leaving Baltimore at 2:30 in the morning on Thursday to be back home for a high school graduation, I spent the next few hours sharing the roads with hundreds of truck drivers who make their living delivering the food and other goods we rely on to stores throughout the country. The night drive left me with a healthy appreciation of the job they do and with absolutely no desire to ever join them again at such a ridiculous hour. But it did remind me of a story in the Bible that occurred at just about the same time of the night.

The disciples had gone ahead of Jesus and ran into some rough conditions on the lake, rowing against the winds and making little progress. Though He was alone on the land, Jesus saw them struggling in the night to make headway. What a perfect picture of Jesus that story paints. He saw them struggling as He sees us in our struggles and difficulties. In the darkest hours of the night, Jesus had His eyes on his disciples making sure that the waves did not overwhelm them. Two thousand years later, Jesus still keeps His faithful eye on His people as they go through the storms of life. David wrote in Psalm 33:18 that “the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love.”

And it was into the night of their lives, the fourth watch of the night that began at 3:00 am, during the darkest hours, that Jesus walked on the water to come to their rescue. It is in those darkest times of our lives that we too can expect to see Jesus coming to us to help in our time of need. His words to them, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid,” still ring true today. In the storms of life, knowing that Jesus is always with us is to be our source of strength and courage to face life’s challenges and troubles with faith and determination.

But the story has an interesting twist, as if written by a modern mystery writer. The Bible records that Jesus, who came out to help them, was “about to pass them by.” That saying has always puzzled me. Why would Jesus pass by the very disciples who needed Him? Wiersbe explains it this way: “Jesus wanted them to recognize Him, trust Him, and invite Him into the ship.” So often we face our problems knowing that Jesus loves us but without ever inviting Him in to the difficult times we are going through. Finding peace in the midst of our storms may be as simple as taking our eyes off the waves and humbly inviting Jesus to come in. He calmed the winds that night and He will do the same for you and I if we invite Him in and trust Him afresh.

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

For People

For People

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He has

 anointed me to preach good news to the poor.”

                                                Isaiah 61:1

Some statements and quotes not only stick with us, but they open up a train of thought that leads to a fresh understanding of the heart of God. That happened to me recently when I read this quote from Lloyd Ogilvie, “The power of Pentecost is for people.” My first thought went to the verse above that Jesus quoted in the synagogue at Nazareth. Breaking it down brought out a common thread that runs though Isaiah’s prophecy:

·         “…to preach good news to the poor”
·         “…to bind up the brokenhearted”
·         “…to proclaim freedom to the captives”
·         “…to release from darkness the prisoners”
·         “…to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor”
·         “…to comfort all who mourn”
·         “…to provide for those who grieve”
·         “…to bestow beauty for ashes”
·         “…to give the oil of joy instead of mourning”
·         “…to give a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair”

What was so abundantly clear was that the heart of God beats with a passion, not for programs or buildings, but for people. God sends the anointing and gives wisdom to see people just like you and I, our family, friends and neighbors, comforted, delivered, healed, strengthened, and given hope and purpose. God sent His only Son into the world to die for people, to give men and women the hope of salvation and the promise of eternal life.

What we can expect in our own lives, as God molds us into the image of His Son, is that more and more our hearts will be re-focused from possessions to people; that we will be filled with a desire to see their burdens lifted and hurts healed, their needs met and fears released, and, most importantly, their salvation assured. “The power of Pentecost is for people” is just a reflection of a God of love, One who calls His people to love one another as He has loved us.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

A Substance

“A Substance”

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped

for, the evidence of things not seen.”

                                             Hebrews 11:1

If, as the writer of the Book of Hebrews asserts, faith is a substance, something tangible and real, then we should be able to visibly identify it in the lives of those who live by it. Here is an attempt, taken from various works, to give an admittedly incomplete description of what faith looks like in the life of a believer:

·         Faith inspires action.
·         Faith endures trials.
·         Faith obeys the Word.
·         Faith stifles complaining.
·         Faith waits patiently.
·         Faith controls the tongue.
·         Faith produces fruit.
·         Faith responds to the promises of God.
·         Faith produces separation from the world.
·         Faith is undeterred by circumstances.
·         Faith is willing to sacrifice.
·         Faith boldly asks.
·         Faith perseveres.
·         Faith believes.
·         Faith gives.
·         Faith works.
·         Faith never gives up.
·         Faith secures the victory.

James uses the natural example of someone looking in a mirror to explain the introspection that studying God’s Word is to cause in our lives. In much the same way, we can look at the characteristics of true faith found in the scriptures and use them to evaluate the quality of faith that we are experiencing in our own lives. To the degree that such self-examination produces real and lasting changes in our conduct and character, we will truly be blessed.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Sustained Passion

Sustained Passion

“Then his disciples remembered this prophecy from the

Scriptures: ‘Passion for God’s house will consume me’.”

                                             John 2:17

Shortly after the miracle at the wedding feast at Cana in which He turned the water into wine, Jesus traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover feast. What happened when He entered the temple almost seemed out of character for a God who displayed such incredible love, mercy and acceptance throughout His ministry. John records that in a display of passion, Jesus made a whip out of cords, driving out those selling animals and exchanging money, going so far as to turn over their tables sending the money they were exchanging flying everywhere.

Fast forward three years in Jesus life from the events described in the second chapter of John at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry to Palm Sunday, just a few short days before Jesus was to be crucified. Jesus again entered the temple, again saw things going on that weren’t right in God’s house, again “drove out all who were buying and selling there”, and again overturned the tables of the money changers. It was at that point that Jesus quoted the prophecy of Isaiah, “My house shall be called a house of prayer.”

Sustained passion! Three years of ministry, three years of meeting the needs of hurting people wherever He went had not dampened Jesus’ passion for the honor of His Father’s house. With the cross looming large on the horizon, His vision remained clear and His passion was undiminished – “My Father’s house will be a house of prayer.” Three years later, passion for the honor of His Father continued to be a driving force in the life of Jesus.

Sadly, the kind of sustained passion that Jesus demonstrated is not always seen in the lives of those He died to save. We start out strong and with good intentions but our vision becomes clouded; our priorities slowly change over time with God being relegated to a place of convenience, and our passion for the things of God is lost. But God, in His unfailing love and mercy, is calling His people back to a life of passion and devotion, and most importantly, to a consistency in that passion that honors the Lord over time. Let Jesus’ example of sustained passion move each of us to search our hearts, to look back over the years and, if need be, seek to recover any lost love or passion that filled our hearts at the beginning.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Furnished and Ready

Furnished and Ready

“He will show you a large upper room, furnished

 and ready. Make preparations for us there.”

                                                 Mark 14:15

As we celebrate Easter this year, the completeness of what Jesus accomplished on the cross for you and I has stood out to me like never before. Isaiah tells us that He “bore our iniquities” and that “the Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” But Isaiah also tells us about so much more that was accomplished in the sufferings of Christ. An example is the peace that Christ purchased for us at Calvary. In Isaiah 53:5, we are told that “the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him.”We can walk in peace during the most ferocious storms of life because of what Jesus endured as He went to the cross. To the one who feels like they can’t handle one more thing, there is a peace available to you today, a peace that Jesus paid for in full as He was punished for our sins.

We can look to the same verse in Isaiah and read “by His stripes we are healed.” Healing in its many aspects was provided for in Christ as He received those thirty-nine lashes to purchase our healing. And that includes inner healing from emotional pain and suffering as well as physical healing from disease and sickness; by His stripes we are healed! We need to look closely at the work of the cross, with eyes and hearts open, to fully see all that Christ has done for us. And with that discovery, we can approach the throne of God’s grace with a renewed boldness and confidence.

Jesus was “a man of sorrows” who bore our sorrows and pain as He walked from the Garden of Gethsemane where He was arrested to Calvary, the place of His crucifixion. There is no sorrow you will endure, no pain you will experience, no suffering you will face that the Lord did not go through and win the victory over. You will not face a trial that He is unprepared to comfort you in and help you through. Are you lonely? The Bible records that all men forsook Jesus in the hour of His greatest need. Do you feel no one understands? Jesus was despised, a pretty strong word, by the very people He came to save. Are you at the end of your rope? Jesus was crushed, cut off, rejected by men and stricken by God, oppressed and afflicted yet He opened not His mouth in complaint, choosing to trust the plan of His Father. And at the end of the day, that will of the Father prospered in the life of Jesus as it will in your life by God’s grace.

It is as if a table is furnished and ready for you and I, the table of the Lord, filled with the fruits of the cross for all those with eyes open to see and hearts open to receive this Easter.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Turning Over The Keys

Turning Over the Keys

“For as many as are led by the Spirit

of God, these are the sons of God.”

                           Romans 8:14

In his popular book “tuesdays with Morrie”, Mitch Albom tells of the day when the main character, a college professor named Morrie battling the debilitating effects of ALS, turned over his car keys. No sooner had I read the words than my mind returned to my own parents and how vast;u different turning over the car keys was for each of them. On the one hand, you had my mother who one day, at the age of 94, made a decision that driving her car was no longer a good idea and not only handed over the keys but her car as well. My father was a whole different story. I can still remember him using a walker, having to be helped up and down steps and in so many other ways, yet in total seriousness asking me to take him to renew his drivers’ license. Needless to say his keys had to be taken away while he slept one night.

Turning over the keys can be likened to turning over control of our lives to the Lord. Some people quite easily find the faith to let go and trust God with their lives while others struggle, stuck in that place with head knowledge that God can be trusted but never actually able to give God complete control. Pastor Jim Cymbala said it this way, “Sadly, there are too many believers today who profess faith in Christ but who haven’t surrendered themselves to the control of the Spirit.” Surrendering control to God is a “not my will but yours be done Lord” mentality. Turning over control means admitting that only God knows what is truly best for our lives and includes our humbly acknowledging that if left to ourselves, we would make a mess of our lives.

Maybe another analogy from one of our two junk drawers would help. This particular one contains the spares sets of keys to each of our cars. Most of us reading this have given God some measure of control over our lives; we have certain areas of our lives that are yielded to Him, areas of behavior and speech limited by the constraints of right and wrong imprinted on our hearts by the Lord. But, then again, there is always that spare set of keys, the ones we pull out of the drawer when we want to do something that is selfish, that God would say no to if we dared to ask, and that are outside the boundaries of a committed, devoted, holy Christian life.

In encouraging each of us to turn over both sets of keys to the Lord, I do it with the certainty that our very best efforts to live a good life are as nothing compared  to the abundant life we can experience through a life fully surrendered to the Lord. It will take faith and trust greater than we have ever known but the result will be joy, peace, and contentment beyond our imagination.

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

The Unwritten Chapters

The Unwritten Chapters

“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a

good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

                                                 Philippians 1:6

The short little story, tucked away in the gospel of Luke, tells of a fig tree that had not borne fruit for three years. The man who owned the tree, frustrated at the lack of fruit, wanted the tree cut down but his gardener talked him out of it. With a plan of breaking up the soil around the tree and heavily fertilizing it, the owner agreed to give the tree one last chance; either the tree bore fruit or it was going to be cut down.

The story is actually quite encouraging, helping us to realize that despite our mistakes and failures, God continues to give grace and opportunity for each of us to make the changes He has long wanted to see in our lives. And those changes relate to character, to personal holiness, to a committed relationship to Jesus Christ, and to bearing fruit in the kingdom of God. The owner not giving up on that tree is a message of hope, the words written in red, but a message of hope that comes with a warning that the grace given should not be taken lightly.

The story has something missing though; it has no ending. We don’t know if that tree began to bear fruit and lived “happily ever after” or if it was cut down twelve months later and replaced by the landowner. The story of that tree is left open-ended, the outcome unknown, just like the story of our lives. The last chapters in the story of our lives are still unwritten, their message still to be determined, hope still alive for an ending that gives glory to the Lord.

The question then is what do you want those unwritten chapters of your life to say? And how do you go about bringing that ending to pass? It will certainly take courage, determination, and a deeper relationship with the Lord for the unwritten chapters of your life to tell a tale of a man or woman of God who overcame, who wouldn’t give up, who pressed in to accomplish all that God desired for their lives, leaving behind a legacy of integrity, of a genuine love for both God and man, and of being able to discover what really matters in life.

What a joy to know that on this Saturday in March of 2012, the story of our lives is still open-ended, still has bright hope and promise, and is still being written. Let’s make sure that the story of our lives being written is one we’ll be glad to have others read.

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Even Though

Even Though

“Therefore, let him who thinks he

stands, take heed lest he fall.”

                   I Corinthians 10:12

Teaching the Book of Luke in the Philippines was an eye-opener for many reasons as many of the parables and stories that I’ve taught many times before seemed to have a new freshness. One challenging thought follows below. Consider this man:

• He took part in handing out the loaves and the fish, seeing five thousand and later four thousand miraculously fed by the power of God. When they were done, he also helped to gather the many basketfuls of fragments that were left over.

• As he was entering the city of Nain along with a crowd of people, he saw Jesus, moved with compassion, stop a funeral procession and raise a grieving widow’s only son back to life.

• He experienced the fear of being in a boat during a storm and seeing it filling with water, only to have Jesus get up, rebuke the wind and the raging waves, and calm the storm.

• He looked on as demons were cast out of the man with a “legion” of spirits, sent into a herd of swine, only to see the swine rush down an embankment and all drown. And if that wasn’t enough, the man out of whom the spirits were cast out became a new person right before him, sitting at Jesus’ feet and in his right mind.

• He was one of the twelve sent out by Jesus to preach the good news and to heal the sick, and experienced being used by God and having the power of God flow through him as he ministered in city after city.

• He heard the truth preached for a three and a half year period, sermons, parables, and stories that were so anointed that no one could speak a word after Jesus had finished sharing them.

• He looked on as Lazarus was raised from the dead, as a woman crippled for eighteen years was healed, as the blind received their sight back, as the deaf had their hearing restored, and so much more.

You would think that with all those experiences, with getting to be a part of so much that God was doing through Jesus, with seeing what he saw and hearing what he heard, that this man’s life would have been perfectly on track. And you would be wrong. This man’s name was Judas – the Judas who betrayed the Lord, in part because he never let the Lord deal with the covetousness in his heart.

With that in mind, let’s each walk humbly before the Lord, allowing Him to speak to our hearts, being open to change, sometimes radical change in the way we are serving the Lord and, most importantly, not thinking more highly of ourselves than is wise.

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

The Changing Face of Virtue

The Changing Face of Virtue

“Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to

 virtue knowledge, to knowledge self control…”

                               I Peter 1:5-6

The difficulty in defining virtue is that it represents the values and principles considered admirable and ethical in a given society. The definitions found in the dictionary include the following thoughts:

Conformity of one’s life and conduct to moral and ethical principles
A good or admirable quality, property, feature or trait
A particular moral excellence or strength

The problem becomes clear when we look at examples of what was once considered virtuous. In Russia during the Communist reign, turning in family members for religious activities was considered virtuous; in some Moslem nations, honor killings of daughters who dishonor their family is seen as acceptable and admirable behavior, and Germany considered involvement in the purging of Jews and other inferior races from their society as a desirable trait.

The title, The Changing Face of Virtue, reflects the not so subtle changes that have taken place in our society in recent years. Where once honesty, loyalty, integrity and kindness topped the list of values included under virtue, we have now seen success, comfort, convenience and acceptance take their place as qualities to be desired. Sadly, those values and virtues have opened the door to society accepting abortion, to a staggering divorce rate, to an acceptance and sanctioning of lifestyles contrary to God’s Word, and far more.

And the church has not been unaffected as the virtues God commends, faithfulness, commitment, a surrendered life and sacrificial living have taken a backseat in recent years to the same virtues the world embraces, comfort, convenience and “what’s best for me.” But the good news is that virtue can be reclaimed. We don’t have to be caught up in the downward spiral of values and character seen everywhere. We can decide to take a stand for true virtue, for integrity, honesty and hard work, loyalty in relationships and faithfulness in all areas of life. And in so doing, we can have a part in not only seeing Godly virtue restored to our nations, families and churches but in seeing hope restored for our future.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Sayings

Sayings

“Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?

If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?”

                                      Genesis 4:6-7

My mom had quite a number of sayings that she used over the years, some more frequently than others, to punctuate a discussion or address a situation that she was involved in. For example, “what goes around comes around” was one of her favorites, used in those situations where someone was treating someone else in a way they would never want to be treated themselves. Really, it was just the golden rule of “do to others what you would have them do to you” modified for additional emphasis.

Another favorite, and I’ll give you the personal version, “Joey, there’s a God up above” was used in well-defined situations where it seemed someone was getting away with something that wasn’t right. “There’s a God up above” was my mom’s way of saying that the Lord sees everything, that nothing escapes his sight,  that He is the judge of each man and woman, and that He will deal with the things we have done, right and wrong, here on earth.

Probably the saying that I remember the best though was “what’s right is right.” When we were having one of those around the kitchen table discussions about an area of questionable integrity that was going on, of an area of behavior that even a very basic knowledge of right and wrong condemned, “what’s right is right” was her trump card. That saying appealed to the listener’s basic standards and values, a call to realize that some things are so obviously right as to be beyond discussion or exception. And it was understood that the counter “what’s wrong is wrong” was a given, no debate needed and no special knowledge required for something so clear.

“What’s right is right” runs so counter to the situational ethics that so many rely on to justify their behavior. In areas where the Word of God is clear and where the demands of conscious ring loudly, the situations that a person faces are too often used to justify choices, decisions and behavior that clearly violate the moral and ethical laws of God. And unfortunately, many realize all too late that the Lord’s standards of right of wrong, of commitment and faithfulness, are not subject to negotiation based on our own circumstances; situation ethics doesn’t work with a God who is the same yesterday, today, forever. Let’s ask the Lord to lift the veil over our eyes in any areas where we’ve compromised, justifying our actions by looking at the situations we face. Because, after all, “what’s right is right!”

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Changing Claims

Changing Claims

“My beloved is mine, and I am his. He

feeds his flock among the lilies.”

                          Song of Songs 2:16

Changing the order of words will often make the thought clearer or give a different emphasis on what is being communicated, but that isn’t the case in the book of Song of Songs. In a series of verses, using pretty much the same words, the writer unveils 3 stages of maturity in the life of a follower of Christ that, if we allow, can help us see the direction the Holy Spirit is leading:

1. “My beloved is mine, and I am his.” (Song of Songs 2:16)In this first stage, while she sees herself as belonging to the Lord, and while her salvation has a valuable place in her life, the believer’s first priority is her claim upon the Lord. I, me, my and mine are words that emphasize self and, if used too often, sound a warning signal that we are placing our priorities, and the demands of self, before the Lord’s. Far too often, our own needs are at the forefront of our relationship with the Lord.
   
2.  “I am my beloved, and my beloved is mine.” (Song of Songs 6:3)
   As she grows in her understanding of the Lord’s mercy and grace in her life, and begins to comprehend the depth of His love for her, His claim on her life displaces her claim on the Lord and she now puts the Lord first. Self is still there but it has taken a back seat to God’s will for the believer’s life, and to the beauty of a surrendered life. The cry of “not my will but yours be done Lord” is often heard coming from her lips.
   
3. “I am my beloved, and his desire is toward me.” (Song of Songs 7:10)
   Her last declaration is of finding a place that most believers never arrive at, that place where self has been vanquished. Here the believer finds so much contentment in the Lord’s love for her, and in knowing that He desires only her best, that she no longer has to look out for her own interests. She is able to find true rest in the Lord’s loving arms.

Growth, maturity and change are integral parts of the Christian life. Not settling at any one stage, never getting that feeling of having arrived or attained, and continuing the battle against self are so important if we hope to walk in the beauty of a love relationship with our Savior. Set your sights high; the unsearchable riches of the Lord await you!

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Undiluted

Undiluted

“Your silver has become dross, your

choice wine is diluted with water.”

                                  Isaiah 1:22

A well-known ploy by unscrupulous shopkeepers has often been to water down the wine or drink being served in an attempt to make it go farther and reap a greater profit. The result was a diluted product not worth the price being paid, not representing the quality or true value of the product involved. From orange juice served with breakfast to the maple syrup we use on our waffles, the diluting of something we enjoy still goes on today.

From that practice, a phrase has arisen “watering down the wine” that is used in many applications: a political position may be watered down to make it more acceptable to the voting public, a teaching may be watered down to make it easier to grasp, and standards are too often watered down to avoid controversy, trouble, and rejection. Many have said that, in our day, even the gospel is being watered down to make it more palatable to others, easier to respond to, and less offensive to those not wanting to follow the demands of the narrow road.

And so when God spoke through Isaiah the words, “your choice wine is diluted with water,” the message was pretty clear. What God had intended for them to enjoy was being watered down by compromise and self-serving interests that denied much of what God had desired for their lives. In our day, the purity of the joy God offers His children has been watered down to now take into account circumstances that affect our every mood and attitude. The peace that passes all understanding has been diluted by our need to be in control, and standards of holiness, that are so precious to God, have been watered down by the excuse “everyone else is doing it.” The list of watered down areas of Christian life unfortunately includes so much more.

And while we may settle for less than God’s best at the breakfast table, we have to seriously consider if anything is worth forfeiting “the choice vine” that God has promised to those who walk in His ways. Maybe it’s time to hold out for something better in your life, for a version of God’s blessing and favor that, no matter the cost, is undiluted and pure, strong and alive. If the cost is faithfulness in everything from giving  to your job to your marriage, God’s best is more than worth it. If the price is honesty, sacrifice or perseverance, the reward will so far exceed what God asks as to not compare. Begin today to hold out for a Christianity and a faith that is strong, vibrant and powerful, a faith worth following, you’ll be glad you did.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Lying Dormant

Lying Dormant

Looking at our garden in the cold of winter, seeing the barren ground and the signs of a previous year’s effort, has always reminded me of the potential that lies within each of us. Every year, at the first hint of warmer temperatures, seeds that were buried under the snow and ice of winter, zucchini, pumpkin and tomatoes to name a few, snap out of their dormancy and burst forth to new life. In the same way, on the inside of so many men and women of God are talents and gifting lying dormant, waiting to be revived, waiting to be stirred by the Holy Spirit, and break forth and bear fruit for the Lord. A few verses in the Book of Job communicate so well a message of hope in our future:

“At least there is hope for a tree: if it is cut down,
it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not fail.
Its roots may grow old in the ground
and its stump die in the soil,
yet at the scent of water it will bud
and put forth shoots like a plant.”
                                           Job 14:7-9

Our churches are filled with “ordinary and unschooled” men and women of God, no different from those who turned the world upside down in the early church. But far too often, for one reason or another, they are lying dormant, with unrealized potential of incredible magnitude, waiting to be energized by hope and made alive by a fresh touch of the Holy Spirit. Job described the budding that came forth at just the scent of water; a process I liken to a believer being filled with a hope for their future that has been sadly missing. But notice that Job doesn’t talk about the rain of heaven causing the new growth but only the scent of water, making it clear just how close the breakthrough might be and how open and ready so many are to being used for His glory.

My prayer for the coming year is that the dormant among us will come alive as God touches them afresh, and that the dry bones of Ezekiel, those who have lost hope and vision, will come back to life as God stirs their hearts and fills them with His Holy Spirit. If that is you, get ready for “the scent of water” that God is about to send your way. Be on the lookout for a word that is tailor-made for you, sent from heaven for the sole purpose of awakening you to all that God has planned and purposed for your life.

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church