No Other Gods

No Other Gods

          As Pastor Greg spoke about God’s commandment “have no other god’s before me,” in my mind I could see a cleared path leading to the Almighty. Pushed to both sides are the things that have taken over my thoughts and time in front of God. A lot of these things are good in themselves, even wonderful, but if they get in the way of God being the center of our lives then we have an idol. 

          If worrying about your children takes over from the trust you have in God, then you need to give them over to Him. Praise God for what He has planned for them, and trust. He really cares more about them than even you do, anyway.

If church ministry prevents you from spending alone time with God, then you need to put it in its place.

Even pain can take over your mind, filling it with negativity and depression. Actively pushing these thoughts aside may take great effort. Get others to help by praying for you.  

There are so many things that take your eyes off of God. Push them out of the way with a purposeful shove. God is a jealous god. Not jealous of other gods, gods that don’t even exist, but jealous for you, in wanting you to experience the very best of the love and care He wants to give you.

When Did We See You?

When Did We See You?

          This sermon, preached by Greg Ralston, came just after he spent time with his parents, helping his mother move into a nursing home. It allowed him to remember the commandments about honoring our parents, and how we treat each other is how we want to be treated. His daughters tease him about, “Be nice to me. I will choose your nursing home.”

          In Matthew 25:31-36 Jesus talks about heaven and how The Son of Man, Jesus, will separate those that really knew God, from those that just said they did.  Some come feeling certain they will be recognized right away. But God doesn’t know them.  Others God know does know immediately. Why?

He tells them they gave Him water when He was thirsty, food when He was hungry, clothes and a home when needed. The others did not. Both were confused. Jesus said whenever you have done these things for someone in need, you have done it for me.

This made me think what would we do if we truly saw Jesus in the sick bed, on the street destitute, or in prison? Maybe we would act quicker, think about it less, and reach out more. 

Contentment

Contentment

          This day’s sermon, by Evan Westburg, was from Psalm 30 and contained a prayer to be content. For us not be so poor that we are worried and distracted from God. Yet not too rich that we forget our need for Him.  

          How do we get there? What is too rich, too much? Is the list of food, shelter, entertainment, comfort, friends and family in our lives, enough? If you do have the above and more, there are others around the world that wouldn’t even rise to, enough.  Maybe we could share as much, and as often, as we can.

          If we are struggling to have enough, we need to not let these worries distract, but allow it to teach us to keep going, even in fear. I lived for two weeks in a poor village in Thailand last year. There they had no kitchen sinks. They washed dishes in the yard with a hose. They had little furniture, sleeping, eating, and sitting on the floors. Chickens and dogs wondered in the streets. My friend Moses lived in a one room bamboo hut with his family of nine people, sleeping on the floors. Yet both he and his sister shined with the love of Jesus. Both were content. 

          Pray this prayer with me from Psalms 30:7-9:

Two things I ask of you Lord: do not refuse me before I die. Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or I may become poor and steal and dishonor the name of my God.   

Generousity

Generosity

          This sketch came from two sermons on generosity. The first was preached by Evan Westburg, the second by Greg Ralston. The words in the picture tell the sermons. Fear keeps us from being able to give freely. We need to let go of the worries, “the what if’s?” and the questions of “what about me?”  Those fears cause us to hold our possessions with a death grip. They keep us from receiving the joy of being able to trust God, and having the privilege of blessing another.

          Here are the verses that are printed inside the word “Generosity.” Mark 12, Matthew 57:30, Psalm 50, 1 John 3:18, John 18:6, Acts 44-47, Psalm 24. These references help us understand several points. That God already owns it all but grants us the honor of being able to return a portion back to Him.  They show that God desires for us to be a giving and generous people. Not to show how great we are but to shine the light back to His Glory. 

Choice

Choice

The Sunday after the shooting in Aurora, CO our pastor, Greg Ralston, decided to change his sermon topic. Knowing his congregation would be emotionally affected by the news.

First he mentioned something I had also thought about. Aren’t we, at some level, surprised that this kind of thing doesn’t happen more often? Think about the thousands of people, and hundreds of places, where someone could inflict this type of massacre. Could God be keeping us from far more evil than we know about?

Greg then taught about choices. (Genesis 1:7-31) We are fashioned in the image of God regardless of what people do, or who they are. He declared it good. God created us good. God’s image rests in all of humankind, but we can choose to go our own way. (Genesis 3:3-7) The story of Adam and Eve is the story of all humankind. There is always a tempter and always a choice before us. (Romans 5:12). Sin is an infection that has gone unchecked for 1000's of years. Humankind has a fallen nature. (Romans 7.15-23) There is a war going on inside us between being created good, and doing evil. There is a struggle between good and evil. Even the best people we know will admit to moments of wanting to do wrong.

Then Greg spoke directly to the event n Aurora. The key words in Romans 1:18-32 are "God gave them over". God loves everyone so much that he gave us free choice. You cannot be completely free and be limited by God. In order to fully experience free will, humankind has the capacity to experience horrific deeds.

People need a savior. (1 John 1:8-10) We cannot clean our own lives, sin is too deeply rooted in who we are. (2 Corinthians 5:17-19) We need to be remade. It' not enough to modify our behavior, we can only be cleansed by God.

We must let God remake our inner being. That's the challenge in being a follower of Jesus, to choose complete surrender to Jesus Christ.

Thank you for the Prayers!

THANK YOU FOR THE PRAYERS!

This drawing was inspired by the Sunday service held right after the wild fires had rolled along the foothills of Pikes Peak. Our church spent time in that morning service praying for those who had lost homes and for the evacuees. This service made me think about all those around the country that were praying for Colorado Springs as the flames raced down the mountainsides.

Along with the extreme heat from the weather, the burning eyes from the smoke, and the fear of evacuation we experienced hope through your prayers. I know that people from all across the country prayed. From those of us that witnessed the blaze, and those that experienced loss, we thank you for the covering of your prayers. God sent cooler weather, brave firefighters, less wind and a new appreciation for what is really important.

The One Thing

The One Thing

     Do you have one thing? I mean the one thing, the spark that keeps you going in life?

Last Sunday Dan Danielson, former Covenant Army Chaplain, spoke at Living Hope Covenant Church. His message was titled The One Thing. What is the one passionate, love of our life, that one thing that makes life worth living?

     Dan brought in the story of King David. David loved God and being in His presence. It was his most loved thing. He’d rather spend one day in God’s courts than a thousand elsewhere. When repenting of sin he cried to God in Psalm 51:11(NIV)”Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.”

     This brought to my mind a song from contemporary singers Shane and Shane. Their song is called Without You:

I can walk through the storm

I can walk by faith when my sight is gone

Just as long as you are there with me

And I can gain everything

But what do I have if I don’t have the King?

Oh, I need to know you are here with me

If your presence goes, I don’t wanna stay.

If your presence stays, I don’t wanna go.

I need you.

God’s is always there. But when you decide to stop and concentrate on Him you can experience being near to God, aware of Him. It’s not about the place it’s the presence of God that matters. You could be somewhere still enough to listen to His words, or loud enough to send Him shouts of praise. This is where we connect with the heart, mind, and spirit to a passionate God.

The church building isn’t a magical spot where God is kept. Don’t leave Him there after Sunday service. Spend quality time worshiping Him throughout your day, and be used by Him in mercy, justice, and love. Be in His presence.

Wait! Stop! Don’t use this as an excuse for not going to church. God’s word is very specific about wanting us to meet together. We NEED each other. Church is a place for encouragement, inspiration, learning, and accountability. If you want to grow stronger in faith, closer to God, and wiser in your decisions then fellowshiping with others is where you need to be.