Beginning Advent - Hope

 Sunday, November 29, was the first Sunday of Advent and the sermon focused on the hope of the second Advent of Christ because of the certainty of his first Advent. That is why this week's devotion to the church builds on the message of Hope. Enjoy... 

From the Pastor:

1 Peter 3:15-16

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.

Hope is a very powerful tool. Hope can give an underdog the motivation to compete against the favorite. Hope can help us overcome our fears in moments of distress. Hope can help us see through the darkest of times to find the light at the end of the tunnel. Hope can drive us to achieve way more than what we thought possible due to limitations placed on us by ourselves or others. It truly is amazing what hope can do in the life of an individual. And yet, when the Bible speaks of hope, it’s not talking about a basely optimism summoned up from our own wishes or dreams of personal or group achievement. No, Biblical hope is a trust in the foundational promises of God that are rooted in His never-changing character that are sure and consistent because they have been proven true time and time again. That is the Hope of the Christian, and the hope we want to consider this week.

In our text above, Peter is writing to believers that have been spread out due to persecution because of the Gospel of God in the Lord Jesus Christ. In this first of two epistles written to these believers, Peter is wanting to encourage them in the Gospel to keep on persevering even in the midst of their difficulties. He has directed their eyes to Christ from the beginning of the letter so that they would see themselves as a people “born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (1:3) And as they fix their eyes on Christ this living hope would change their minds and prepare them to live as God’s holy and precious people in the midst of a hopeless world where their lives and behaviors would appear strange and alien to those around them. Then as they live this way inside of their jobs, families, and everyday lives nonbelieving people would begin to take notice, and while it may lead to more persecution in some situations, it would also serve as a testament of Christ’s sufferings for his people being the source of the willingness of his people to suffer hopefully and joyfully for His Name.

Christians should live lives that make the nonbelieving world around them take notice. The nonbelieving world should see a people dedicated to holiness, love, joy, and hope that can only come from a transcendent God. Why? Because nonbelievers think that there is little to no meaning in a world that’s simply the product of cosmic chaos. And how could there be meaning in a world where everything is decided by chance, luck, or happenstance? How could anyone take responsibility or joy for what happens to them when its just a product of being in the “right place at the right time” or benefitting from one’s perceived privilege because of their fortuitous birth.

As Christians we reject these notions because they do not honor the Sovereign God that has created the world and everything in it. This type of thinking also denies human beings any real responsibility to live in such a way that benefits others around us and rises our neighbors and society up from its constant struggle with sin and its own fallenness. To the contrary notions of the world, Christians are called to live hope-filled lives that are distinct and different. We ground all of understanding for life in the truth claims of the Bible and live joyful, thankful, and full lives based on these foundational truths. Then, when others ask why we live so differently in such dark days, we tell them of the light of the Gospel, Jesus Christ the Lord. And when they slander us or mock us for living in such a way or claiming to live by such foolish truth claims in their own eyes, their own words come back on them because our commitment to truth proves not only what we believe, but displays the inconsistencies of the secular mind and its humanistic worldview. Our Hope is Christ, and He is all the hope we need.

Fighting for Truth

 Christians must be Truth Seekers and Truth Speakers. FULL STOP! We must be a people that seek to understand the truth claims of others and their positions so that we can rightly understand their arguments. We must search out the Scriptures, the Sciences, historical claims, and all the rest to make sure that what then speak out for or against is true or can be rightly defended as the truest claims. This also means we must not create "straw men" of our opponents' positions, revert to ad hominem attacks, or fall into the trap of other logical fallacies, when depicting or arguing against what others might be putting forward. I state this because how we Speak about the truth and truth claims of others also reveals how dedicated one is to truth. We do not get to falsify other people because we believe their claims are false. We must be dedicated to seeking and speaking the truth at all times for the sake of rightly representing morality and the Christian ethic to all people.

You see Christians believe in absolute, universal, transcendent truth. Therefore, we must behave accordingly. We make no apologies for this either. NONE! We believe that God made the world and everything in it by speaking it into existence, because only He possess the power and authority to do so. We believe that He created this world in 6 literal days as a display of His power and creativity. We believe that He made everything GOOD when He made every living thing. And we believe these truth claims are the foundational truth claims of Biblical Christianity. One cannot ignore the first truth claims of the Bible and then desire to believe other parts of the book. The whole logic of the Holy Scriptures begins with the Truth claim that "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." To get to sin, covenant, law, miracles, and most importantly, redemption, one must see the collective truth claims of the Bible in their total cohesion and unity to rightly understand the fullness of the story that spans the 66 books in both the Old and New Testaments. By the time one makes it to John's Gospel and reads Pilate utter the words "What is truth?" while looking Christ in the eyes trying to decide what to do with him, you should realize that this is more than just a climatic scene in a short narrative, but this is the question EVERY observer of life must ask of the Holy Scriptures and its Savior ultimately. Yet, let me digress for a moment and deal with more practical matters concerning Christians and their dedication to Truth Seeking and Speaking. 

We are still coming out of the haze of a recent election where an overwhelming number of people went to the polls, or to their mail-box, and voted in historic numbers for the President of the United States of America. Now in this election, like all the others in my life-time, there were claims made by each side that lacked truth. Perhaps in some situations they were all out lies! But politicians and their surrogates lying or manipulating truth is about as surprising as turkey and dressing at Thanksgiving. Its more expected than not, and the only true hope is it better be good! If one is at least directionally true in a sense, their perspective might be more valued than one who is outstandingly false in their words or writing. Yet, because confidence in media, politician, and the foundational systems of our country are at an all time low, at least this is what we are told by pollsters that also seem to have a truth telling problem, there doesn't seem to be any place for truth at all. (Apologies to David Wells for borrowing the title of his book "No Place for Truth") Add all of this to the skepticism of the Covid-19 crisis and how different states, counties, and municipalities have handled it, and you get a recipe for misinformation, conspiracy theories, and all out deniers of anything claimed by the media at all. And let me be clear, this is not good for society or culture at large because when no one is trusted and skepticism rules the day it makes it that much harder for Christians to make the important claims that our faith, the one true faith given to the Saints, must make to a blind and deaf world. 

To demonstrate my point, I was at a basketball game recently watching one of my children play. Now, I will openly admit I love sports to a degree that might not always be beneficial, and especially when the Arkansas Razorbacks are playing anything versus anyone. However, at this particular game I was really bothered when the rules of the game were not properly applied in a crucial situation. Yes, there are times in sports where an official or umpire might make a judgment call that I disagree with, this happens all the times in sports when fans and players are more emotionally invested than the referees and perspectives can be blinding, but a rule being applied and followed is not the same as a judgment call. Even umpires, officials, or judges deciding a case are not free to ignore, misapply, or create new rules in the middle of a contest or anything else because this affects the fairness of the game or situation overall. In other words, when truth becomes relative in one aspect of life, you can expect that it will become relative in other places as well. One must believe in absolute truth because without them nothing in life can be rightly adjudicated or evaluated according to any accepted standard whatsoever, and as my example shows this goes for all of life. 

This is why fighting for truth must be the mentality and commitment of the Christian. We must fight for truth at home, at work, at church, and everywhere else we engage others. We must seek the truth when we read claims made by others or hear facts spoken. Then, when we speak, or share materials on social media, we must only speak the truth. Yes, as Christians, we have an obligation to speak the truth in love and not use it as means to belittling those who disagree with us. Truth is not a blunt force object to put our opponents in their place, Truth is a promise to live by and a joy to share. Christians must be Truth Seekers and Truth Speakers. We cannot compromise for any reason to this commitment. Nothing is worth sacrificing truth for and Christians must lead the way in this noble pursuit. 

In Everything Give Thanks

 

From the Pastor:

1 Thessalonians 5:14-18

Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

The verses above are greatly beneficial to the church at all times, but especially in the midst of difficult ones. They teach us that regardless of our circumstances we are able to show kindness, goodness, rejoicing, and give thanks. Of course, we need to be taught these important lessons, because all too often we let our circumstances, or the events of the day, to manipulate our emotions into refusing to do what God’s Word commands us to do, and instead we give into sin. Instead of showing kindness, we are harsh. Rather than pursuing good, we reply with an intention to hurt. We do not rejoice and give thanks in the midst of trials, but rather we feel like we’ve not been given a fair deal and question the goodness of God. All of these instructions matter all the more when we have endured a year like this year. Many of us have said goodbye to dear loved ones this year. We’ve felt isolate, alone, and afraid. Covid has dominated our minds and the headlines, along with election concerns, and claims that all types of “existential threats” exist right outside our front doors. Anyone would seem justified in feeling overwhelmed, scared, and timid about life going forward.

However, Christians do not see the world the way that unbelievers and sceptics do. We understand that living in a fallen world comes with all types of difficulties and trials. Some of those trials come in the form of viruses and diseases. Some of those trials come in the form of persecutions. Some of those trials come in the form of the loss of loved ones. And in even more subtle terms some of those trials come in the form of perceived unfairness or unkindness from others. Yet, as believers in the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ we know that we are only strangers and aliens in this present world, and that our true home is a place still unseen by human eyes whose builder and maker is God. That’s why we are able to endure all things that a fallen world and fallen people can throw at us, not to mention the sins that are a product of our own disobedience, because our hope is not in this world or the people of this world. Our hope is in Christ and his righteousness. Our hope is in the fact that in Him we can live free and thankful. In him we can endure all things because His amazing love works in us through all of the circumstances of life for our good and His glory. We know that in life and even in death nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore, be thankful this week and everyday the Lord gives you because His goodness and love surpasses all the heartache and brokenness of this fallen world.

Now What?

 To say that I was disappointed in the outcome of the most recent election would definitely be an understatement. I had feared that a Trump win would be a long shot due to Covid, the constant media scrutiny, and the awe-shuckness of Biden, but I was hoping that Trump would find a way to rally his base along with the silent Trump voters and find a way to shock the media once again. Alas, it does not look like this will be the case, even though certain votes in some states look pretty fishy and voting irregularities do seem glaring, the likelihood of anything being overturned at this point seems impossible. And for the record I am all for making sure that every legal ballot gets counted and every illegal ballot gets tossed out, as well as Trump taking his case for voter fraud all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary. Look, if actual voter fraud took place, that should scare or upset everyone, regardless of party affiliation. But I have a feeling it won't upset most people, anymore than cities boarding up their windows on the eve of the election seemed to upset people. 

I'm often befuddled at the fact that our cultural commentators on the evening news can continue to fake shock and awe at the "new" levels of low they believe to be taking place in the White House, when they completely and willfully ignore the chaos happening outside their own doors and windows. The chaos they have created and exacerbated for four plus years because of their fear and whoremongering over the Trump administration. They've created a narrative of violence and unrest because of their hatred for Trump that has led to lives being lost in the streets and in ICU wards. 

Yep, I blame them for the Covid deaths as much as they desire to blame Trump for them. The news media anthropomorphized Covid into Donald Trump. What I mean by that is, they made him the embodiment of the virus so that they could blame him for all of its havoc. In doing so they further discredited themselves and their ability to be the voice of reason by inciting fear, false science, and silencing any others that may have disagreed with their narrative. Even today in Europe and on other continents, the virus continues to harm the most vulnerable, but you will not hear a word of that from the media, because it hurts their narrative of blaming everything on Trump. Besides, how was one man supposed to stop a highly contagious virus from spreading? Lockdowns? Again, Europe proved that lockdowns alone did not stop spread. Masks? Our own CDC has continued to go back and forth on their safety and the claims of protection, and here's something I've heard no one state... doesn't the promotion of masks as some sort of stop gap or protection of Covid actually encourage those with the virus to continue to go out instead of quarantining as they should? I mean, the only real way to slow the spread of Covid is to make sure that everyone who has the virus stays home! And if you know that you have been exposed to someone who has recently tested positive to the virus you should also take about 5 days off or at home to make sure that you don't come down with symptoms as well. These are the things that should be continued to be pushed, not false narratives that spread misinformation and lies. When was the last time you were reminded or heard a media source say that for those 65 and older this virus is 99.9% survivable? When was the last time you heard someone state the fact that for pediatric cases this virus is less fatal than the seasonal flu? All of these statistics can be verified by simply looking up you state's cases or the CDC's numbers... but I digress...

So now we're supposed to believe that everything is fine because Orange Man will soon be disposed from his throne and we will have our America back! But what America are we getting back? The America that we've been told over and over for the last decade or so that is an evil, vile place filled with racist and bigots of all sorts? The America that is systemically racist in all of its foundational documents and its systems? Why would anyone want that America back? 

You see the greatest problem with the narrative the media and the "Woke" left have been pushing for so long now, is that even when they are in charge what good is it? I mean, to borrow from our former Black President, if we are all in the car headed for disaster, does it really matter who's behind the wheel? This is what makes so much of what they are trying to sell to America so terrible, and in my humble opinion why they actually suffered more defeats than were granted victories in this last election. No sane person should want to live in the America. Not the America they insinuate that we live in, nor the one they would like to turn this place in to. Can you imagine what an America remade in the image of Ibram X. Kendi would like? Well... it would kind of look like America in the 50's and 60's before integration, actually. We would all be taken back to a time when people were segregated by their color, and cultures weren't allowed to mix because it would be a misappropriating of those distinctives. No intermarriage of the races, no sharing of cultures or experiences, no one being valued for their ideas or their character only for their genetic identifiers that place us in subgroups to be either praised or blamed. That America doesn't seem appealing to me, or a vast number of people, and yet if the left get their way that's exactly where we are headed. And don't think you will be able to do much about it when it does happen, because they will already made your speech a crime and social media will already have blocked your posts.  

The only way forward for a country is an embracing of the principles of Liberty and Freedom that she was found upon. Somehow someway we have to get back to this being the driving force for every citizen in this country. The toxicity of the media and the woke left, along with the toxicity of alt-right have to stop being forced into the bloodstream of our nation. The voices that advocate for these positions have to be drowned out by the voices of reason, morality, and transcendent truths. I preached a sermon from Philippians 4 earlier in the year and one particular verse and idea has stuck with me and many of our people since then...

Philippians 4:8
"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things."

We Christians must STOP listening to, focusing on, or buying into anything that is fixated on lies, deception, and misinformation and that even goes for conspiracy theories and QAnon supporters! And Christians must START only speaking, believing, and valuing the GOOD, the BEAUTIFUL, and the TRUE. Christian's believe in a transcendent God that is more powerful, more wise, more excellent, and more virtuous than any government, president, movement, or method that has ever existed. We can no longer be a people tossed to and fro. We have to stay dedicated to the values taught to us in God's Word and stay committed to living them out every day even in the midst of this fallen world that hates us and everything we know to be pure. They will call us names and mock us for standing on truth. They will call our ideas evil and prefer the darkness over light, but we cannot give in. We cannot follow them into darkness. We must be the light and live as light. Just as we have much to be thankful for even in a difficult year like 2020, we have much to praise God for even when things do not turn out like we would like. This is what we as a body of believers must do now. Now is not the time to stop, to give in, or remove ourselves from the public square. NO! Now is the time that we shine truth, act nobly, love unendingly and selflessly, and fight for true justice. Count the cost, put on the armor of God, take up your cross, and go make disciples. And in all that you do fix your mind on the Good, the Beautiful, and the True.  

From the Pastor 11-16-2020

 Since I have given up on social media for the time being, I will begin putting my weekly letter to my church members here on my blog. There might be times when the letter is more specific to the needs of our church so I will not always copy them here, but from time to time I will do so. 

From the Pastor:

 Acts 2:22-24
“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know – Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.”

This past Sunday morning I was privileged to be able to listen to Bro. Gerald Henderson preach to us from 1 Peter 2:1-8 on “Christ the Cornerstone.” It was a good and timely message for me to hear for many reasons, but mainly because it made consider the perfect work of Christ contained in His perfect person that works perfection in me to fit me for eternal glory with the perfect Holy Triune God. That’s an amazing thing to consider, is it not? Christ is the perfect cornerstone that aligns all of God’s chosen people to himself. No one else is even close to being able to do such a thing. Yet that is exactly what Christ does for us who are in him, his fellow brothers and sisters in the Father. This has led me to the verses that I have quoted above from Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost because it fixes our eyes on the significance of the glorious Gospel of God in Christ Jesus, the greatest blessing ever given to fallen man.

Yes, the Gospel is the greatest blessing we have ever received because it is the Good News that changes us from sinner to Saint. It’s the greatest blessing because it gives all other blessings their true value and significance from the very life that we have been gifted from our mother’s womb to the air that we breathe to the food that supplies us. The unnumbered blessings of God reach their greatest experienced worth only when we know and believe in the precious gift of Christ as our Savior and Lord. Only then can we begin to be truly thankful towards our Father in Heaven. Only then can all the other blessings that He so richly bestows upon us be properly appreciated and understood.

This is why we must continuously preach the Gospel to ourselves. Every day we must remind ourselves that Jesus Christ lived, died, rose from the dead, ascended, intercedes, and promises to return on behalf of all those the Father has given him. It was God’s love that compelled and delighted the Son in doing all that he did for us by fulfilling the Father’s amazing plan of redemption. And it is the Son’s continued and constant love for His Father that keeps us safe in His eternal plan and captivated by the Son’s love for us that flows from the Father. Christ’s atoning work was not accomplished in a vacuum, in some other dimension or space. No, it was accomplished here on this earth 2000 years ago in flesh and blood by the actual person of Jesus of Nazareth, the God-Man, sent by the Heavenly Father to redeem his children from all time. This plan had been orchestrated by the Holy Triune God from before the foundations of the world and continues on today through the preaching of this great and glorious news so that all for whom Christ died would come to saving faith. And make no bones about it, all who are in Christ Jesus will without a doubt come to the knowledge of their need for a Savior and call out to the only one who is able to save them to the uttermost, Jesus Christ.

As you consider what to be thankful for this Thanksgiving season. I pray the first thing on your list is the salvation that has been granted to you by your Heavenly Father. I pray that as you pray over you family and with your family you would pray that they too would know of this great and precious gift. I pray that all of you would be able to delight in the blessings of God this season because you know of the greatest blessing that he ever gave this earth, the blessing of His Son the Savior of the World.