sin

Time For A New Path

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Jeremiah 3:3
“Therefore the showers have been withheld, And there has been no latter rain.”

Difficulties in life are not always the result of personal sin, but sometimes they are. Sometimes our struggles could be alleviated by getting things right with God. Haggai wrote, the people in his day were ignoring the Lord and their relationship with Him, and as a result he wrote, “You have sown much, and bring in little; You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; And he who earns wages, Earns wages to put into a bag with holes. ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts’: “Consider your ways!'”” (Haggai 1:6&7) It is possible that the hardships you are enduring are not actually trials or even the natural results of living in a fallen world. It is possible that you are facing the consequences of certain behaviors, or even the chastening of God. The solution to alleviate those types of difficulties is through what the Bible calls repentance; a word meaning to change both your mind and your direction.

A few years ago, I was involved in taking a group of high school students to the mountains for a retreat. We decided to take them on a hike that led to a deep water creek. As we ventured down the path, we realized that it was much more difficult and dangerous than we expected. Instead of walking, we were forced to sit down and “scooch” our way down the hill. Once we finally reached the bottom, we saw some local teenagers who informed us that we had taken the wrong path. They pointed us to a much easier and safer way in and out.

Perhaps the solution, for the troubles you are facing, is to get on a different path. Instead of living like those in Jeremiah’s day, who “followed the dictates of their hearts” (which is a fancy way of saying they did whatever they wanted), we need to turn to Christ and live pleasing to Him. Don’t take another step down the road of self will. Stop, surrender to Jesus, and start following Him.

Pastor Jim

Bridging The Gap

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Isaiah 59:1-2
“Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.”

Sin is missing the mark. Just as an archer aims at a target, lets his arrow fly, and misses; so we attempt to do our best, only to fall short of the perfect standard of God. The problem is, sin has grave consequences. Sin not only effects our emotions by making us feel guilty, it also effects our ability to have a relationship with God. Isaiah reveals, the real impact of sin is separation from God.

If we were hiking and came to a gorge where a bridge used to be, we would be forced to either fashion a new one or find another way across. When it comes to sin, the gorge is too wide. Our efforts can never bridge the gap between man and God. We must look for another way across. Fortunately, there is a way. Jesus went to the cross to make a way for sinners to be reconciled to God. We are told, “if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead youwill be saved.” (Romans 10:9).

Imagine the utter joy of sin being forgiven, and knowing God personally! This message so impacted the first generation of believers, they sacrificed all to travel the world, telling anyone and everyone that reconciliation with God was possible.

Thank God that while sin separates, Jesus restores.

Pastor Jim

Double Agent

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Titus 1:16
“They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.”

  • The church in Crete was like most churches. It had a pastor, who was seeking to minister to the spiritual needs of the people, while facing many struggles from within and without. It had members who were growing in the Lord and seeking to serve Him, and members whose growth was stunted, due to a variety of lingering and tolerated personal sins. Then there were others, who only pretended to be Christians. Paul describes this group as ones who claim to be followers of Christ, yet they fail to really follow Him.

“They profess to know God…”

The word “profess” is a very important word. It is used in Romans 10 to describe personal responsibility in salvation. We are told, in order to be saved, we must “confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus” (Romans 10:9). The word “confess” is the same word translated profess in our text. It is used again in 1 John 1:9 where we are told “If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us”, and is also used in Hebrews 11 to describe those who lived lives committed to the Lord. Those individuals are also described as men of whom the world was not worthy. Paul is suggesting there are people in the church who look like they are believers. When we see them on Sunday mornings we assume they are living lives committed to Christ. They say all the right things, speak the language, know the songs, maybe even lift their hands in worship, or hand out bulletins at the door. The problem is, their lives from Monday through Saturday don’t back up the profession of their lips. They are only pretending, play acting, putting on a show in order to hide the fact that they have never surrendered all to Christ.

“in works they deny Him…”

The word “deny” is also a very important Biblical word. Jesus used it in Luke 12:9 when He said, “But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.” Paul also used the word when writing to Timothy stating “If we deny Him, He will also deny us.” (2 Timothy 2:12) The word “deny” means to reject, and was used to describe those, who on Palm Sunday raised their voices in praise, but on Friday cried out “crucify Him.” Paul explains in this verse, the word means more than a simple statement. While it is necessary to confess Christ with our lips, it is also necessary that our lives back up our profession. Coming forward at the altar call is an important step in your Christian life, but it does not stop there. We must move on to walking after Jesus in our daily lives. If you are putting on your best Christianity to show up at church each week, only to live a double life throughout the week, you are not only in sin, but in grave danger. Deception is always dangerous, but self-deception is deadly.

Don’t wait another minute to lay down your sin and get things right with the Lord.

Pastor Jim

 

When Righteousness Dies

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Isaiah 57:1
“The righteous perishes, and no man takes it to heart…”

Isaiah watched as righteousness ceased in the land. Those who lived their lives according to the standards of the Bible were looked down upon and even persecuted. Rightoeusness was seen as a plague, and the righteous were treated with contempt.

In many ways, we are facing the same attitude today. Unrighteous behaviors are being passed off as lifestyle choices. Anyone who dares to speak out against sin is called intolerant, while those who turn a blind eye to sin, or worse yet, applaud the choices of wickedness, are seen as openminded, loving, and progressive. We are failing to see that God has given man a standard to live by, and there are consequences for violating His ways.

One of Isaiah’s primary messages was unrighteousness weakens the nation. It mattered little to the prophet, the size of Israel’s military, or their economic condition. To him, the greatest danger was turning from the Word of God. We are constantly being reminded of the economic, social, and international troubles our nation has. At the moment, we are facing threat of war, threat of disease, and a continual economic crisis. The fact is, our nation is more than broke, we are in debt so deep it may be impossible to ever get out of it.

Instead of waiting for Washington, it is time for the individual Christian to take steps away from sin and toward the Lord. When we, as believers, choose to set aside sin, pride, prejudice or compromise, that action has a dramatic effect on those around us. Perhaps it is time to examine yourself and see if there are things that need to be set aside in your life. We may never know the impact a decision to stop smoking, drinking, or compromising will have on those around us.

Pastor Jim

 

Throw That Out

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Isaiah 31:6-7
“Return to Him against whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted. For in that day every man shall throw away his idols of silver and his idols of gold—sin, which your own hands have made for yourselves.”

Isaiah prophesied of a day when a nation would come against Judah, and the Lord would defend His people. This happened at the end of the 8th Century BC when the Assyrian forces besieged Jerusalem, and were supernaturally defeated. In light of this, Isaiah calls people to return to the Lord. I find it interesting, that he couples coming to the Lord, with the laying aside of idols.

It is not difficult to imagine this scene. A person hears about the true God, makes a commitment to him, returns to his home, gathers up any and all images to other gods, and throws them in the trash. Meeting the Lord results in turning from false gods. It would be difficult for any of us to believe a person had truly repented if we visited their home and it was still filled with images to Molech, Baal or Ashtoreth. What we often fail to understand is, idols are physical representations of the desires of the flesh. A person who lived for pleasure would worship Molech, so getting rid of the idol was an evidence of turning from sin.

Today, at least in western culture, it is not common for people to have images which they bow down to in worship. Instead, we tend to live for the sin the idols represent. As a result, it is a little more difficult to see whether or not a person has truly repented. However, a little closer look into the fridge, movie cabinet, or Google search history, might reveal some idols that have not been thrown away.

Perhaps it is time to do some personal inventory. Have you turned to Christ and trusted Him alone to save you? Have you gone through your life, and your home, and removed the things you once lived for, which are not pleasing to God? Maybe it is time to do some spiritual house cleaning. Why not start this morning?

Pastor Jim

 

I Haven’t Been This Way 

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Colossians 3:1
“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.”

Sin is a killer. It is guilty of taking the spiritual life from all of us. God warned Adam that if he disobeyed the command of God and partook of what was forbidden, he would die. While many years transpired before his physical death, the moment Adam sinned, he experienced spiritual death, or separation from God. Since we are sons and daughters of Adam, we have all joined him in his sin and its consequences. The remedy for that condition is faith in Christ. The moment we put our trust in the work of Christ on the cross, our sins are forgiven, and we who were dead in sin, come alive to God. Jesus called that being “born again.” Paul calls it being raised with Christ. Since this is such a miraculous event, it should have tremendous impact on the way we live our lives. Paul goes on to give a series of exhortations, all predicated on the fact that, we who were dead have been made alive.

“Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” Colossians 3:2

While it is necessary to be earthly minded in the sense of meeting our responsibilities, caring for the needs of others, and impacting our world for the kingdom of heaven, it is completely unnecessary for us to be carnally minded. No more, should our thoughts be filled with the pursuits of the flesh. Instead, we should set our minds to think of ways to live righteously and love others.

“Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth . . . ” Colossians 3:5

Paul is echoing the words of Jesus when He said, “if your eye causes you to sin pluck it out” Sometimes, we must take radical action against those traits that lead us to sin. If we are having a problem with one particular sin, we must take radical action to ensure we make it more and more difficult to fail.

“But now you yourselves are to put off all these . . .” Colossians 3:8

Paul lists the things that were part of our lives before coming to Christ; things we must eradicate from our lives now. While those things might have been acceptable before you came to Christ, they have no part in your life now.

“Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on…” Colossians 3:12

Paul never reduced Christianity to what we don’t do. To him, meeting Christ meant a total transformation of our life. Old habits and actions would be replaced with new ones. After all, we are new creations in Christ, the old has passed away and all things have become new. The way I look at God, and the way I treat others, should be transformed since coming to Christ.

“Wives… Husbands… Children… Bondservants…”

A transformed life results in transformed relationships. Many of us grew up with poor relationship examples. Perhaps your parents divorced, or you had a particularly cruel father or distant mother. Often, those examples impact the way we treat our spouse and children. Without even knowing it, we are following the patterns set for us. The remedy for that is to look at each relationship in light of Christ. Paul gives us fresh insight into how a husband and wife are to relate to one another, how parents and children should treat each other, and what we should be doing at work. Our Christianity should radically affect the life we live.

“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, . . ” Colossians 3:23

Before coming to Christ, my life was consumed with pleasing me. Now that I have been born again, my desires should be to please God, above all things. Paul exhorts us to look at life through the lens of pleasing God. Whatever we are doing, we should do it as unto the Lord.

Pastor Jim

 

Then He Said Go

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Isaiah 6:7-9
“Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged.’
Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: ‘Whom shall I send,
And who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me.’
And He said, ‘Go…’”

Isaiah 6 is perhaps most well known for what Isaiah saw. He records, in the year of King Uzziah’s death, he had a vision of the throne of God. He describes how he saw the Lord enthroned and surrounded by angelic beings, who ever live to give Him praise. What perhaps, is sometimes missed, is what Isaiah heard. He records hearing the voice of God in two distinct ways.

First, an angel took a coal from the altar, touched Isaiah’s lips, and declared God had taken away his sin. In order for Isaiah to receive pardon from God, he had to first recognize he was a sinner, and then allow God to touch him with the coal from the altar. Those coals would have been stained with the blood of the sacrifices. The most important words you will ever hear are, your sin has been taken away. That happens the moment you realize you are a sinner, Christ is the Savior, and you choose to trust in Him. At that moment, all your sins are washed from you. No longer do you have to carry the burden of the guilt from sin, because He carried it for you when He hung on the cross. No words could ever be sweeter than when heaven declares “your iniquity is taken away and your sin is purged.”

Second, once cleansed, Isaiah heard God speak again. This time he was commissioned by God to go into the world with a message. The remaining chapters of Isaiah have to do with that message. Essentially, God is using Isaiah to call others to the Lord. It is important to realize God wants to commission each of us. Something happens to a person who has truly met God, they begin to be filled with a desire for others to know Him as well.

Have you come to Christ and heard Him say “Your sin is taken away”? If not, take this moment to confess you are a sinner, and trust Him as the Savior.

Have you responded to the great commission, where you realize He not only saved you, but is sending you? Before you head out the door, pray God would give you opportunity to invite someone to come hear about Christ, or perhaps He would grant you the chance to tell them yourself.

Pastor Jim

 

Expanding 

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Isaiah 5:14
“Therefore Shoel has enlarged itself
And opened its mouth beyond measure;
Their glory and their multitude and pomp,
And he who is jubilant, shall descend into it.”

Sheol is an Old Testament word for the abode of the wicked in death. The New Testament uses the words “Hades,” “Tartarus,” and “Gehenna.” Although different words are employed, they all refer to the final resting place for those who reject Christ, and as a result die in their sins. Isaiah gives a sobering picture when he writes, “Sheol has enlarged itself…” Suggesting that the boundaries of hell are expanding because of the unwillingness of people to respond to the call of God and the cries of the prophet. There are a few things we need to keep in mind.

First, hell is expanding because people are refusing to turn to the only one who can rescue them from its eternal flames. At the same time,  sin was running rampant and people were choosing to live as though there are no consequences for their choices or behaviors, Isaiah and others were boldly and faithfully calling people to come to God. Today things are much like they were in Isaiah’s day. People are calling evil good and good evil. People are receiving awards and national recognition for self-seeking, destructive choices, while those who stand for righteousness are being carted off to jail. They are warned to reconsider their stand against what is clearly forbidden in Scripture. Those who refuse to respond to the call of the Gospel of Christ, will ultimately stand before God and receive just compensation for a life ruled by self. It does not have to end this way. All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. Past failures and present acts do not keep a person from eternal life. If you are willing to receive Christ, you will be pardoned, rescued, set free and given the free gift of salvation.

Second, hell is expanding because it was never God’s intention for anyone to end up there. Hell was created for Satan, as a place to keep him eternally imprisoned, as retribution for his sin against God and man. Heaven was designed for mankind. Jesus declared that His Father’s house is filled with rooms and He was going to prepare them for us (John 14:2). The work of the cross is like a doorway into eternal life, for all who will walk through it. For a person to end up in hell they must refuse the inner work of the Spirit, the constant opportunities to come to Christ, the pleadings of their friends and family, and the very work the church was left on the earth to accomplish.

Don’t let Sheol expand its borders any farther. If you have not given your life to Christ, do so right now. Pray something like this,

“God, thank you for the cross where Jesus died for me. I ask you to forgive me of my sin and accept me as your child. Help me to leave my sinful ways and begin to follow you. In Jesus name…

Pastor Jim

 

The Branch

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Isaiah 4:2
“In that day the Branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious; And the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and appealing for those of Israel who have escaped.”

_41153086_gallerytree.jpg“The Branch of the Lord” is a messianic title, meaning it is a description of Jesus our Savior. This phrase is used often by the prophets to speak of the work of Christ.

Isaiah 11:1 “There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. ”

Jeremiah 23:5: “Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.”

Jeremiah 33:15 ” In those days and at that time I will cause to grow up to David a Branch of righteousness; He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. “

Zechariah 3:8 “For behold, I am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH.”

Jesus used this same imagery to refer to Himself and our relationship with Him, when He called Himself the Vine and us the branches. The basic idea being that there is life in Christ, and as long as we are attached to Him, we will experience His life giving power, and have a life filled with fruitfulness. As the chapter continues, Isaiah speaks of some of the fruit that stems from being in relationship with Christ.

First, he speaks of our sins being washed. Sin is what keeps us from God and from eternal life, and as such, is the primary need of man and purpose of God. Jesus came, not primarily to be our teacher, guide, or example, but to be a sacrifice sufficient to wash away all sin. We need Christ because sin keeps us from heaven.

Second,  he speaks of holiness. The fruit generated by relationship with God is a holy life. Holiness means to be set apart in life and service. A person who is holy is a person devoted to God, and seeking to live in a way that pleases Him. Some of the marks of holiness are commitment to live in light of the teachings of Scripture, commitment of personal, private, family, church, and social life to God. A willingness to offer your time, talents and treasures in the service of Christ.

Third,  Isaiah refers to blessings that flow into the life of those who are connected to the branch. We will experience the benefit of intimacy with God. His presence will be like a cloud and a fire. This, no doubt, takes us back to Israel in the wilderness, when the cloud of God’s presence guided them through the desert. We find them being led through difficult seasons, where their needs were supernaturally met by God, and His voice gave insight into heir situations.

What an amazing promise He has given us. In the midst of the spiritual, moral, and social confusion of Judah, God promises that His people can be linked to the Branch who gives life.

Pastor Jim

 

 

Let’s Make A Deal

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Isaiah 1:18
“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord,
“Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.”

If it were possible to travel back to the time of Isaiah, I think we would be surprised by how religious the people were. At the temple in Jerusalem, sacrifices were being offered and the priests were busy about the work of the Lord. The hilltops throughout the land were laden with altars, and homes were filled with religious images. Prayer was perhaps at an all time high, and religious music filled the air waves. To an outside observer, it might seem that all was right in Israel. The problem was, although the people were passionately religious, they were not in a relationship with God. Isaiah wrote to explain the problem was with sin, and that religious activity is not the cure.

Many years have passed since Isaiah walked the streets of Jerusalem. Fashions have come and gone, technology, travel, and commerce, have made great strides, causing the world to look a lot different today than it did then. Even though much has changed, some things remain the same; we are still a people laden with sin and religious activity will not solve the problem. The message Isaiah delivered to Israel is the same message God declares today.

Isaiah 1:18
“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord,
“Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.”

Notice, God declares we are sinners. Earlier, Isaiah referred to us as being “laden with sin,” meaning we are overloaded by our sins. Perhaps that provokes images of a person strung out on drugs, or caught up in one vice or another. Keep in mind, Isaiah is writing to people who are listening to praise music and offering sacrifices. The reality we all must face is that we have sinned and no action of ours can remove our sin. That truth makes the reality of God’s invitation to us all the more amazing. He declares sinners can come to Him and have their sins washed away. All the guilt and penalty of sin can be removed by the simple act of coming to Him. Paul explains how this is possible.

Colossians 2:14
“Having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”

What an amazing offer! All your sins can be washed away through the simple act of receiving Christ. No longer do you have to live with the guilt and shame of sin, nor do you need to keep striving with one attempt after another to find peace in religious actions. You can come to Christ and be forgiven.

It is my hope and prayer that you will take Him up on His offer.

Pastor Jim