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Spoils Of War

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1 Samuel 5:7
“And when the men of Ashdod saw how it was, they said, ‘The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is harsh toward us and Dagon our god.’”

The Philistines mustered all their courage as they confronted Israel on the battlefield. They soon overpowered the Israeli army and took the spoils of war. In this battle, the spoils included the Ark of the Covenant. Upon returning to Ashdod, the Philistines placed the Ark in the their temple, and found themselves facing an interesting predicament; they now had two gods. As night fell, so did Dagon the Philistine god. When morning’s light appeared, they discovered the image of Dagon had fallen before the Ark of Jehovah. Their reaction was to help Dagon back to his feet. However, the next morning, they found Dagon had once again fallen, and this time, been destroyed. Realizing Jehovah would not share His position as God, the Philistines had a decision to make. Which God would they serve? Sadly, they rejected the true and living God and selected a man-made god.

Matthew 6:24
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

We all face the same decision. We have before us the true and living God, who loves us, and will set us free from the bondage of sin and death. We also have countless other things demanding our worship, service, devotion, time and hearts. We must decide who we will choose to serve and follow. The Philistines not only made the wrong choice, they made a foolish one. They saw the folly of Dagon, yet chose him anyway. Their decision was no doubt influenced by many things, including the fact that for generations their fathers had worshipped Dagon.

For some, the strong tie that keeps them from coming to Christ, is the realization that in accepting Christ, they are admitting they have been doing things wrong in the past. Don’t be so foolish as to let your pride keep you from surrendering to the One who will forgive your sins and transform your life.

Pastor Jim

 

By The Word

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1 Samuel 3:21
“Then the Lord appeared again in Shiloh. For the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord.”

Long before Jerusalem was established as the capital of Israel, Shiloh was the ancient location of the Tabernacle. It was at Shiloh, where the High Priest would meet with the LORD on the Day of Atonement. It was there, where the glory of the LORD would fill the Holiest place like a cloud.

Samuel was a prophet, not a priest. He served at the Tabernacle, but never entered the Holy place. It was not for Him to pass through the veil and meet with the LORD. Yet, we read, the LORD appeared to Samuel in Shiloh, “by the Word of the Lord.” Samuel could meet daily with the Lord. Whatever circumstance he might be facing, he could have an encounter with God and receive direction for life. He could hear God speak to his private life, family life, and ministry. Imagine young Samuel sitting down with scroll in hand and receiving direction from the LORD.

The same can be true of you and me. If we will, daily, take time to look into our Bibles, we will find that God speaks to our lives. This happens in a number of ways. First,as you commit to reading through portions of the Word, you will find God knew in advance what you were going to face, and speaks specifically to your circumstances. Second, there are times when we need to investigate specifically what the Bible has to say about certain subjects. You might be facing a problem with someone who has hurt your feelings and you are not sure how to react. In those times, we need to look through the Word to see what God says about forgiveness, and how to treat those who wrong us. Finally, this happens when the Word of God is being taught. The Bible is like a Sword in the hands of the Holy Spirit, who will strike our hearts with what we most need to hear. Coming into Bible study with an expectation to hear from God and obey, is the best way to ensure that God speaks to you.

Samuel had learned early in life,  when God spoke he was to respond, “Here I am LORD.” Let’s be sure we are responsive to the Word of the LORD by committing ourselves to obeying Him.

Pastor Jim

 

Man Or God? 

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Acts 28:6
” However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.”

After the ship ran aground and all the passengers and crew arrived safely on shore, it would not take long for the onlookers to see who was who. Even after saving the lives of the entire crew, Paul is still treated as a criminal, and is sent to gather sticks for the fire. While reaching for a stick, Paul encounters what many people fear the most… a snake.

I have seen grown men scream like little girls, push their friends out of the way, and even leave friends stranded in the dark, at the sight of a snake. Paul did not just see a snake, but it struck him and refused to let go. What a sight that must have been! The darkness illuminated by the fire’s flames, and in the shadows, Paul swinging his arms around, attempting to get this poisonous viper to release its grip. The natives of the island, seeing this scene, determined that Paul must be a guilty man; although he was able to escape the sea, the viper got him. As they looked on, expecting him to be killed, their opinion drastically changed. They began to think that he was not a guilty man or even a man at all, but that he must be a god, for only a god could survive such things. What would cause them to have such a drastic swing in their opinion of Paul? I think it was due to their lack of a spiritual foundation upon which to build their understanding of God.

While we probably are not often mistaken for gods, we certainly live in a time when people seem to have little or no spiritual foundation. Outside the church, we find people searching everywhere to find spiritual encounters. Just the other day, I saw signs around our town for a “Psychic Seminar,” where people could come and have a spiritual experience. Within the church, emotions and experience are often mistaken for the moving of the Spirit; and popular opinion shapes our view of the love and holiness of God. We live in a time when a firm spiritual foundation is essential to develop our understanding of God; and that foundation can be nothing less than the Word of God.

Rather than being tossed around, wondering what God is really like, we need to take the time to see who He declares Himself to be, within the pages of His Word. It is very common to hear people say, “We can’t limit God” or “You cannot put God in a box.” While it is true that we often limit God and miss out on what He wants to do in and through us, it is also true that God has put boundaries upon Himself. Those boundaries are found in the pages of His Word. God is not different from who He declares Himself to be, nor will He change His viewpoint based upon public opinion. Let’s determine today to get to know the God of Scripture, rather than the god of culture.

Pastor Jim

 

Incredible

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Acts 26:8
“Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead?”

It has been said,  if we can believe the first four words of the Bible, we should have no problem with the rest of its claims. “In the beginning God…” The Bible is filled with stories of the mighty workings of God. We read of Him speaking the worlds into existence, delivering a nation from the threat of death, parting the seas, providing food in a desert, knocking down the walls of Jericho, raising a shepherd boy to the palace, healing the sick, and delivering those who were possessed by devils. Page after page, we read of God being God and providing victory over the affairs of life. It seems that for many of us, we have no problem believing in the mighty workings of God. We trust the validity of our Bibles, we celebrate His mighty work in the life of others, and even sing together of His miraculous power. However, when it comes to our own lives, we sometimes act like Agrippa. We question the ability of God; we wonder if His power is really strong enough to help us in our time of need.

I love Paul’s question; “Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead?”

What is it about God that you do not understand which makes it difficult for you to believe He raises the dead? I mean, if He is, in fact, God, we should expect He would be able to do what is impossible. It would be foolish to think otherwise. The problem is, we often reduce God to someone we can understand. Since we have taken away so much of His majesty, we also doubt His ability. Sometimes, in our efforts to relate to God, we have a tendency to reduce Him to someone we can understand. We cannot fathom His holiness, so we ignore it and focus only on His love and mercy. Since we cannot understand His majesty, we limit Him to His humanity. The result is we lose sight of the power of God.

In “The Chronicles of Narnia,” CS Lewis refers to Aslan stating, “He is not a tame lion.” I have always loved that reference. I think He is referring to the fact that God is bigger than we will ever be able to comprehend. We cannot reduce Him to someone who we understand, or else we have reduced Him to someone He is not.

If you are having trouble believing that God is able to work in your life, or give victory to your situation, it is time to cast off the limited God that you have created. It is time to introduce you to the God of Scripture. A God so great that the Heavens cannot contain Him.

Pastor Jim

 

Pocket Size

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Judges 18:24
“So he said, ‘You have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and you have gone away. Now what more do I have? How can you say to me,’What ails you?'”

Israel had forsaken the Word of God and fallen into a place of spiritual confusion. We read of “homemade religions” with their own gods, priests and theology. As the story unfolds, we will see this spiritual confusion leads to social chaos and immorality.

In the current chapter, we find one of the many follies of creating your own god based upon your experiences and imagination. Micah paid good money to have a silver image built, and his own priest on salary. When a large group from the tribe of Dan, passed through town and saw his priest and god, they decided to confiscate them for their own use. Because they outnumbered Micah, he had no choice but to comply with their demands. As he watched them parting, he unwittingly declared the folly of false religion,

“You have taken away my gods which I made…”

Any god that can fit in the saddlebag of the enemy, is not the true and living God. Jehovah God demanded no images be made of Him. The reason for this is that no likeness could do Him justice, and He is infinite. To reduce Him to a silver statue that fits in your purse, is to lose sight of His very nature. Solomon described God as the One who “. . . the heavens cannot contain. . .” (2 Chronicles 6:18).

Sometimes, we reduce God to a manageable size so we can understand Him. I think it is much better to realize there are things about the nature of God which are too big for me to get my head around, than to reduce Him to fit into my limited knowledge. After broaching the subject of the sovereignty of God, Paul dropped to his knees and declared,

“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!” Romans 11:33

Pastor Jim

 

The Value Of A Verse

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Acts 23:11
“But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, ‘Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.’”

Unknown-1.jpegWebster defines a trial as, “A test of faith through subjection to suffering or temptation.” Paul’s current situation may be the text book case of a trial. He came to Jerusalem with the goal of sharing Christ with his friends and countrymen, spent his time preparing to share with them, but before he ever spoke a word, he found himself under attack. After his unjust arrest, he had two opportunities to share the Gospel; both times he was cut short, as the people become enraged with him. To make matters worse, his Christian friends had warned him not to go to Jerusalem in the first place. They said he would be beaten, arrested and perhaps killed. Paul believed the trip was the Lord and ignored their warnings.  Now, incarcerated and facing the threat of death, it would be natural to feel as though he had failed the Lord and his situation was hopeless.

I love the fact that while facing this great trial, the Lord spoke to Him. The voices surrounding him said  he was a blasphemer and he was going to die, and perhaps a voice within, saying he had failed. However, one voice cried out louder than all the rest. It was the voice of Jesus, providing Paul with a promise that would carry him through all the trials of the next few years. Prison in Rome, the threat of death, a late night escape, forgotten in Caesarea, ship wrecked on an island, and being bitten by a poisonous viper, could not shatter the strength given from these few simple words uttered by Christ. No matter how bad things became, he was promised safe passage and opportunity in Rome.

The Word of God is like that. A timely promise from God is able to sustain us though whatever difficulties we are facing. I have had times that seemed hopeless, and all I had to sustain me was a simple truth from the Word of God. As time continued, I found that no force on earth could shake the foundation given by the promise of God. No matter what you are facing, get in the Word and allow Jesus to whisper His great and precious promises, and strengthen you from within.

Mark 13:31
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.”

Pastor Jim

 

The Blame Game 

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Judges 10:14
“Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them deliver you in your time of distress.”

It is common for people to show no interest in God until calamities arises. As long as life is going their way, they are not concerned with God, but as soon as things get difficult, suddenly, they cry to God for help. Those who have shown no interest in the ways of God, suddenly blame God for the calamity they are facing, and cry out to Him to fix everything.

Many in Israel found themselves facing the threat of death. They had left the Word of God and were living life their own way. This “free living” led them once again into hardship, and they cried out to God for deliverance. Time and time again, they cried out for help, and God provided deliverance, but this time was different. This time God responded,

“Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them deliver you in your time of distress.”

If you are living life by your own standards, ignoring the Word and ways of God, you cannot expect God to bail you out when things go wrong. He may respond by telling you to ask your own self-will, or the gods of possessions, or pleasures for help. Fortunately, for Israel and for us, this is not the end of the story. We read,

Judges 10:15-16
“And the children of Israel said to the Lord, ‘We have sinned! Do to us whatever seems best to You; only deliver us this day, we pray.’ So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the Lord. And His soul could no longer endure the misery of Israel.”

Instead of treating God like their cosmic servant, they realized they had been living wrong. They took inventory of their lives, removed all the things that were forbidden by God, and made strides to get their lives to line up with His Word. We read, as God observed their repentance, He could no longer resist His own desire to come to their aid.

Today would be a good day to take inventory of your life. Are you living according to your own standards and asking God to bless your ways? Or have you surrendered to Him and His Word? Let’s put away anything that is foreign to Him, that we might experience the blessed life He promises to those who follow Him.

Pastor Jim

 

Serve God 

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Joshua 24:14
“…Serve the Lord!”

Years ago Bob Dylan wrote a song that included the phrase, “You’ve got to serve somebody.” Centuries before, the Psalmist declared, we will become whatever we choose to serve. He stated, if we serve false gods we become like them, but if we choose to serve the True and Living God, we will become like Him. Our lives will be determined by what masters us.

Romans 6:16
“Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?”

Sin is a reckless master. It makes promises it will never fulfill. When we choose to disobey the Word of God, getting involved in practices He forbids, it is not long before we are controlled by the very things we thought would be pleasurable. Drugs, alcohol, sexual promiscuity, are all harsh taskmasters, destroying the lives of those who serve them.

With his final breath, Joshua pleads with Israel to serve the One who will transform their lives, and who promises to give them life. All those who stood before Joshua on that day have long since passed from this life. They found the exhortation of Joshua to be true. They came to realize the brevity of life and the length of eternity. Won’t you follow their lead, and choose today to serve the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Pastor Jim

 

A Place To Stand

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Joshua 21:45
“Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.”

A lot of my childhood was spent on the ocean. From as far back as I can remember, my dad had a boat and we would spend the summers taking vacations to Catalina Island. It was a great way to grow up. We would spend day after day on the boat, fishing, swimming, diving and exploring. When the vacation finally came to an end and we made the 27 mile journey back to the mainland, I experienced an interesting sensation. After so much time rocking back and forth on the boat, the ground seemed especially solid.

Life can seem like a journey at sea. We seem to get hit by unexpected waves, and the ground we are standing on is moving. If we are going to get through turbulent times, we need to have some solid ground to stand on.

After a lifetime of following the Lord through some very turbulent waters, Joshua confidently exclaimed that not a single promise of God had ever failed him. No matter what the obstacle, Joshua had learned by experience,  the promises of God are like a solid rock upon which he could stand.

I have found, for every experience of life, there is a promise to cling to. When facing the challenges of life, it is vital that the child of God look into the Word, find the appropriate promises, and then hide in them, like a bunker from the storms of life.

Some of the promises which have been particularly encouraging to me include:

2 Timothy 1:7
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

Philippians 4:7
“. . . and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Hebrews 13:5
“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’”

Isaiah 54:17
“‘No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me’, says the Lord.”

Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

2 Corinthians 3:5-6
“Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

In response to this blog a good friend sent me the following note.

“When I was diagnosed with an illness, a close friend gave me a list of “promise” verses. Honestly, at the time, I read through them and tucked them away, but that was about it. In the last 3 years, I can’t tell you how many times I pulled out that list and allowed the Word of God to comfort, strengthen and encourage me.

To your list I would add Isaiah 41:10, Psalm 61:1-4, Psalm 55:22 and so many more.”

Praying His Word will be like a safe harbor, and like solid ground, in the midst of the storms of life.

Pastor Jim


Call Of God

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Acts 13:2
“Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

This is one of the most important events in history. It marks the beginning of the missionary campaign to the church in Antioch. The results of this event brought the Gospel throughout the Roman Empire, and changed the face of Western Civilization. History would forever be changed as a result of these two men responding to the call of God. A few things strike me about God’s call.

First, it did not seem, at the outset, to be something grand. We read that God spoke; probably through one of the men with the gift of prophecy. He was to tell Barnabas and Saul to do what the Lord told them to do. That is far from a life altering experience. No mention is made of the room shaking, or lights coming from heaven. It may have happened much like this . . . while they were praying, one of the guys might have said, “I think the Lord is telling Barnabas and Saul to do what He already told them to do.” It was a message reaffirming what Barnabas and Saul had already sensed; what God wanted for them. So the saints of Antioch laid hands on them and sent them away. It would not be until they walked in faith-filled obedience to His call, that they would realize what God had in store for them.

I am also struck by where God called them. Again, we read that before this prophecy was given, Barnabas and Saul had already sensed a desire, or call of God to go . When it was confirmed, they packed their bags, and headed off to Cyprus. Cyprus is an island that sat out in the Mediterranean Sea and was the home town of Barnabas. They were called to share Christ with the people Barnabas grew up with. I think it is natural that as we grow in Christ, we develop a desire to see our friends and loved ones come to Christ; and that is exactly where God called them.

Finally, notice how they received the call of God. We read they “ministered to the Lord and fasted.” Ministering to the Lord would include worshipful prayer, and fasting (denying of the flesh’s desires). They heard from God when they got their eyes on Him and sought Him. The call of God comes when we spend time with Jesus. Too often, we want to determine what God wants for us, and spend all our time asking others. If you want to hear from God, get alone with Him, seek Him until He speaks, then do what He says.

Who knows what God may call you to, and how that may change the world forever.

Pastor Jim