On The Edge

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Proverbs 5:14 “I was on the verge of total ruin, in the midst of the assembly and congregation.”

“The assembly of the congregation”, or in our case, the church, was designed by God as a means to help the individual believer grow in Christ. The Word of God, corporate worship, and fellowship, were all designed by God to help each of us grow in Christ. When we come to church with a soft heart, eager to hear from God, His Word has a way of speaking directly into the things we are facing; equipping us in advance against trials and temptation. When we enter worship, with a desire to give back to God for all He has given to us, we find we draw near to Him, and surrender more of ourselves to Him. When we develop honest fellowship with other believers, we are willing to ask for prayer and counsel. When we remain open to share our struggles, we find that iron sharpens iron, and we are able to overcome sin and temptation.

That being said, it is dangerous when we enter the assembly of the congregation, put on a mask, and begin to play the Christian game. By wearing a smile and speaking our best Christianese, we convince others that all is well, when in reality we have begun to wander from the Lord. Instead of allowing the Word to do its work in our lives, by convicting, instructing, and changing, or taking advantage of the fellowship of the saints, we use our church time to pretend all is well.

Solomon warns of the danger of living like that. He declares, it is possible to be on the verge of total ruin, while standing in the midst of the assembly. Backsliding begins long before we stop gong to church. It starts when we begin to pretend all is well; when truly we have begun to drift. Instead of putting on your best mask, come to the fellowship with a hunger for the Word, a desire to worship, and an eagernes to glean all you can from other believers.

Pastor Jim

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Willing To Change

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Hosea 5:4
“They do not direct their deeds
Toward turning to their God,
For the spirit of harlotry is in their midst,
And they do not know the Lord.”

I have often sat at my desk across from people who, while living without any regard for what the Bible says, still claim to know God. They might declare how important God is to them or even that they love Him. However, when their lifestyle is confronted by what the Bible teaches, they become angry and unwilling to change. The real evidence that a person is a child of God is not that they live a perfect life. Instead, it is how willing they are to change when confronted by the Scriptures.

When I first became a Christian I had no idea what God required of me. I found myself daily challenged by what the Bible taught. I had to make changes in my private and my public life. My goals, and the way I would choose to achieve them, were impacted by the teachings of Scripture. Even now, as I daily read the Word, I am confronted and challenged. The Bible is constantly tweaking and changing my thinking and behaviors.

If you are unwilling to allow the Scriptures to confront, challenge, and change your lifestyle, you need to examine whether or not you have ever truly surrendered your life to Christ. Jesus warned, on the final day of judgment, many will find that while they thought they knew the Lord, they had in fact, deceived themselves. On the other hand, if you allow the Word of God to guide, challenge and change your behaviors, you will experience the blessed life. Instead of being afraid of correction, we should look forward to whatever transformation the Lord may bring, through the power of His Word.

Pastor Jim

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Above The Heavens

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Psalm 113:6 “Who humbles Himself to behold The things that are in the heavens and in the earth?”

A few years ago my wife and I were window shopping at an outdoor mall in southern California when we stumbled onto a crowd of people huddled around a large telescope. We decided to stand in line and see what they were looking at. When our turn came to look through the view finder we were stunned. From the courtyard of the mall we were able to see the rings around Saturn. We took advantage of the moment and allowed the young man who owned the telescope to point out distant stars and even a distant galaxy. Technology has provided us with things that were unthinkable during most of human history, and there in the mall we were able to observe the heavens. I was struck both by the majesty of the heavens and by the advances of science that would allow the casual shopper a glimpse into the heavens. But I did realize that this was only possible because of the highest reaches of human development. Centuries of studying the stars had come together at that moment to provide a telescope that could view the heavens.

I often think of that when I read the psalmist words;

“Who humbles Himself to behold The things that are in the heavens and in the earth?”

What takes the height of human development to glance at, God has to bow to look into. As majestic as creation may ever seem the creator is much more magnificent. His glory is above the heavens.

Pastor Jim

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