The Father’s Heart

The Father’s Heart

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father
has been pleased to give you the kingdom.”
                                     Luke 12:32

Sitting in the hospital for long hours watching someone you love suffer can be very difficult. That was my experience this week as my mom battled some health issues at Rochester General Hospital. Lots of reading was done in the times when she was sleeping, lots of coffee was consumed to stay awake, and much prayer was offered up for the Lord to be merciful. In the midst of waiting and watching, I was reading about the events of Easter Week and, in particular, about the sufferings of Christ recorded in Isaiah chapters 52 and 53:

“See, my servant will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted
Just as there were many who were appalled at him – 
His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man, 
And his form marred beyond human likeness.”

“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed 
for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace 
was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.”

“Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer….”

As I watched a loved one in the hospital, my mind wandered to what it must have been like for the Father, for our heavenly Father, to watch his Son suffer the agony of the cross as He gave His life as a ransom for you and I. It was the Father who had sent the Son on this mission of salvation and now the Father had to watch each of the events from the scourging to the crown of thorns, from the mocking and reviling of others to the nailing on a wooden cross. He heard the cry of “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me” when our sins were laid upon Jesus, and the prayer of “Father, forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing” as Jesus showed compassion to the end.

The pains of watching a loved one suffer were experienced by the Father that morning in ways we can only begin to imagine. But His love for us, His desire for us to walk in salvation and life and hope allowed it and enabled Him to endure it. That is how great the Father’s love is for you and I that He watched Jesus suffer an excruciating death on the cross that we might experience eternal life. There is no doubt - God loves you and I.

Happy Easter
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

The Record

The Record

“I will not die but live and proclaim
what the Lord has done.”
                          Psalm 118:17

In Gettysburg, statues with well defined meanings, markers to denote where troop lines were, and a restored battlefield down to the trees being removed because they weren’t there in the 1860’s tell the story and declare the record of the bravery of men from both sides in our nation’s civil war. In Washington, the record is told at every turn and in every building, the record of a nation founded on the mercy of God and built by the dedication, hard work, ingenuity and sacrifice of men and women of many succeeding generations. It is a record that we need to have; it’s permanence contradicting modern claims of a separation of church and state never intended by our founding fathers.

That God is found in the record of our nation should not surprise us. That God’s providence and grace, mercy and favor are the very building blocks of the modern nation the United States has become is a record that time would erase were it not for the marble and granites halls, stone monuments and memorials on which our nation’s history is engraved. We owe a debt of thanks to those who thought it important to record and to memorialize for future generations those heroes who established a Christian nation in the wilderness of America as well as those soldiers who protected our freedoms and those of so many other nations on other continents around the world.

The significance of the Holocaust Memorial has taken on new meaning in much the same way as leaders of certain nations deny that the Holocaust ever took place. The pictures and films taken by our soldiers when they liberated the occupants of concentration camps throughout Germany provide a record that says otherwise. The testimonies of survivors also paint pictures that no denial can erase; their story is recorded for future generations to learn from and prevent.

The many books in my library provide another kind of record, the record of men and women whose lives of faith have changed the world, Finney, Wesley, Kuhlman and Graham to name a few. And now it’s our generation’s turn to provide a record of faith and service, dedication and commitment to our nation. What is memorialized, recorded and written about us will tell a story; what we do will make up a record of the sacrifices we were willing to make to advance the cause of Christ in the nations of our world.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Certainties & Uncertainties

Certainties & Uncertainties “I know whom I have believed and am convinced that He is  able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day.”                                                     II Timothy 1:12 On a daily basis, we face uncertainties in so many areas. The price of gas was $3.73 this morning when I filled up at Sam’s Club. What it will be when we go on vacation this summer is anyone’s guess. For our public school teachers, the battle over the state budget and what school funding will be set at next year has left many uncertain as to what the future will hold for them and whether they will still have a job. Students graduating from college face similar situations, with the uncertainty of job prospects clouding many a future. For graduating students, making plans for life after high school opens up a whole new set of questions about what lies ahead. And the list could go on to include the elderly and the uncertainties many of them face in considering their future care. The children of parents in the midst of divorce would surely make the list, wondering each day what life will be like without the stable home they were accustomed to. The families of soldiers fighting overseas, the mom waiting for biopsy results and the dad wondering what happens when unemployment benefits run out all find themselves in the same quagmire of uncertainty with the many worries that accompany it. But thank the Lord, the coin has another side; the side that has “In God We Trust” clearly engraved for all who handle it to see.  Our God is “the same yesterday, today and forever”, an unchanging Savior in an ever-changing world. In our times of need, He is our certain help. In our storms and trials, He is a certain shelter from the attacks that come against us. When everyone else fails us, we can be certain of one thing; God will never leave us or forsake, never give up on us and definitely never let us go.  When the writer of Hebrews likens our hope in Him to “an anchor for the soul, firm and secure,” he’s painting the picture of a life that with God as their anchor, can rest in the certainty of His love and care. If the battle of uncertainties versus certainties was an election, the certainty that comes from trusting in God would be the clear landslide winner. If it was a boxing match, uncertainty would be laying on the ground knocked out by the God who tells us that “we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” We can safely say that, as we draw near to God, no uncertainty can stand in the presence of a certain God, or in the minds of those who put their trust in Him. God Bless, Pastor Joe Gateway Church

Over the Round

Over the Round

“For a man’s ways are in full view of the
Lord, and He examines all his paths.”
                                             Proverbs 5:21

Looking out towards the horizon is a sure reminder that the roundness of the earth keeps us from seeing too far into the distance. Even from the observation deck on the 86^th floor of the Empire State Building, Europe still remains invisible, impossible to see over the round of the earth. The same is true from the window seat of an airliner cruising at 35,000 feet over the Atlantic seaboard; England, France, Portugal and Spain to the east are still too far over the horizon of the vast Atlantic Ocean for us to take in. As for God, now that’s a different story; His vantage point is heaven, He sees all things. To our God, there is no such thing as a horizon, there is nothing “over the round,” and nothing, absolutely nothing is hidden from His sight.

The same principles apply in life. None of us really know what lies ahead in our lives. We can surmise what awaits us based on our current circumstances. We can worry and lose sleep over our own assumptions about the future but the truth remains that we cannot see over the round of our lives; that perspective, that ability remains exclusively in the power of our God. Though many will try, no one can predict what tomorrow will bring. We’ve been taught many principles for living that are based on God Word and we rightly understand that certain choices have an end. But at the end of the day, the only certainty we can bank on is that only God sees over the round of our lives.

And so when the wind blows in our lives and we face trials with uncertain outcomes, we can rest in the fact that God sees the direction those winds are blowing us and, as the scripture above states, He is examining the path we are on. From His viewpoint in heaven, He sees clearly and exactly the end of our struggles, where they are leading us in our character development, how they will prepare us for our future, and what part today plays in our preparation for the many tomorrows still ahead. He sees what we cannot and, because of that, we can trust Him to orchestrate our futures.

We so often have to make conscious choices to trust the Lord. Knowing that He sees over the round of my life, past the limited horizon in my field of view, is a very settling thought. Being assured that He has only my best in mind, I can trust in a God who sees the beginning from the end out of eyes of love, mercy, grace and compassion. Today, I can leave it all with God!

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

The Fiber of Our Character (Part 2)

The Fiber of Our Character (Part 2)

“And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit
within them ….. and give them a tender, responsive heart.”
                                                     Ezekiel 11:19

In the midst of having the many fibers that keep out the cold, the wind and the rain, materials that insulate us from the harsh weather conditions we face here in the Midwest, we have to guard against a mindset that keeps not only the weather out but people too. Ingrained in many of us is a self-preservation mode that keeps out anyone or anything that might threaten us, a hard shell that develops over the years because of offences, rejections and hurts. And it all too often ends up keeping not only people at arms length but the Lord Himself.

We play a vital role in each other’s lives whether we want it that way or not. In fact, I have come to believe that the Lord created each of us with weaknesses, deficiencies and voids that can only be filled by other people. Call it a “built-in” need that, no matter how hard we try, we can’t meet ourselves. And so the mindset that we can do it ourselves, that we can go it alone, leaves us in the place of trying to accomplish something the Lord never intended or equipped us for. No wonder so many are frustrated in life as, in reality, they’re fighting against the very way the Lord created them.

The scripture teaches us that “as iron sharpens iron, so a person sharpens his friend.” If your desire is to be a better, “sharper” person, the input of trusted friends, family members, and fellow believers is essential. For those who battle self-esteem issues, a conscious effort to allow others in has to be made. Forget what the world says; he is the stronger person, not the weaker, who can accept suggestions, advice, and even correction from other people. The notion that something is wrong with us if we need others’ help is so contrary to the Word of God. Moses needed Jethro’s wisdom and advice when he was doing too much himself, David needed Nathan to speak the truth to him about his sinful actions and Peter needed Paul to warn him about his hypocrisy when he refused to eat with the Gentiles. We all need other people, people God-sent with the right word at just the right time to help us in our Christian walk.

Knowing that the enemy will say otherwise, we want to have hearts and minds that are “able”. Try and remember it this way, God wants us to be teachable and adjustable, tender and open to being sharpened by those whose motives are right and whose love is sincere.

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

The Fiber of Our Character (Part 1)

The Fiber of Our Character (Part 1)

“We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God
We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.”
                                        II Corinthians 10:5

Walking to the car in a driving rainstorm last weekend reminded me of the advances that have been made in the development of man-made fibers. We now have materials that are incredibly lightweight, wind resistant and water repellant, able to withstand temperatures that I hope I never find myself in. Because of those breakthroughs and the progress of technology, in situations where years ago we would have found ourselves cold and wet, we can now stay warm and dry. The cold does not get through the layers we have on, and the rain never makes it past the outer defenses that our coat represents.

Having those same fibers in our character would be an even greater blessing than the Columbia and North Face fleeces and parkas we wrap ourselves in to stay warm.  The ability to repulse wrong thoughts that attack our mind is invaluable. The ability to identify thoughts and ideas as either coming from the enemy or as the product of our imagination is an aspect of character that must be developed in the life of every believer. Those thoughts and the imaginations of our minds can be seen in several easily identifiable areas:

·         Wrong thoughts about your future, lies that nothing will ever change in your situation, and lies that your future holds no hope or promise.

·         Imaginations that other people are in some way against you (when, in reality, they are facing their own trials and difficulties, struggling themselves.)

·         Pervasive lies about God, minimizing His love for you, denying that He is on your side and that He has your very best in mind in everything He does.

·         Subtle deceptions that something or someone other than God is the key to your happiness, fulfillment, and contentment.

Many have rightly termed it “the battlefield of the mind”, the struggle to take control of our thought life, and to reject and repulse those thoughts that are contrary to what God has so clearly revealed to us in His Word. My prayer is that the natural fibers available to us in our clothing will remind us of a fiber that God wants to develop in our character, a fiber that will withstand every attack, that will repulse the lies that bind and the thoughts that defeat, freeing us to live the life God intended with a mind that is clear, alert, and focused on the things of God.

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Oxygen Masks

Oxygen Masks

“Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from
the fire and save them, to others show mercy ….”
                                  Jude 22-23

Four flights, four sets of instructions that we are all familiar with: “your seat cushion may be used as a flotation device in the event of a water landing”, “please note the location of exits in the event of an emergency evacuation”, and “oxygen masks will drop down if we lose cabin pressure”. None of these were very comforting considering our flight’s route was over northern Canada, Alaska, the Bering Strait, and the uninhabited frozen wilderness of Northern Russia before we landed at Japan’s Nagoya airport. But a magazine I read while away helped me to see one aspect of these instructions, putting on the oxygen masks, in a new light.

The instruction to put on your own oxygen mask before helping others with theirs contains a lesson for each of us in our quest to make a difference in the lives of others. Are we the one God wants to use to encourage someone else to trust the Lord? Maybe we even quote a scripture or two in our effort to stem the tide of worry and anguish in a friend’s life, something life “commit your future to the Lord; trust in Him and He will act on your behalf”. But we have to put our own oxygen mask on first; we have to have that trust worked out in our own lives to effectively minister trust to another.

Name an aspect of Christianity that you would like to see the Lord use you in and you will find that your message is effective only to the degree that you are walking in that truth yourself. Encouraging someone to walk more closely to the Lord, stressing the importance of faithfulness in the Christian life, pleading with a family member that God, not the world, is the answer to their problems, and teaching on a host of subjects from holiness, character, and love to forgiveness, humility and seeking the Lord – our own oxygen mask has to be on first. One by one, we have to make sure that these traits are a part of our Christian walk, or our words will be empty words, likely to have little or no effect on others.

The Christian life is a series of choices that define our lives and mold our future. Some define the hope, the confidence, and the life we have in Christ while others affect our ability to minister to those around us. Because our lives matter to God, and because so many others depend on what we do, the time to live out our Christianity fully engaged, totally surrendered, and with a willingness to sacrifice for the cause of Christ has never been so great. May God’s life overflow from you to many others in the days ahead!

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church