Showing posts with label Salvation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Salvation. Show all posts

Every Sunday Is Fathers Day!

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Monday, June 15, 2015 3:52 PM

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Father’s Day should be a great day for families! I realize that with our current culture in which we are immersed and with the onslaught of Satan’s constant attacks against the family, this may not be the case for some reading this. The fabric of many families has been ripped to shreds, but it doesn’t mean we need to lose hope. No, we have all the reason in the world to hope and celebrate Father’s Day. You may be scratching your heads and asking, “How so, Scott?”
There is comfort and encouragement for all who have been saved no matter the sate of fatherhood in our lives. You see, when we turned to God in real faith we were immediately adopted into a heavenly home and were given a new Father who is God Almighty. He is worthy of honoring and celebrating on this Father’s Day! If we think about it, isn’t every Sunday Father’s Day? Follow my logic if you will…
We sing His praises and thank Him for being faithful to us. A believer’s worship is Father-focused, not self-focused. Our worship is audible and visible: we sing, we pray, we speak and we obey. We do all of this for the glory of God.
We bring gifts to Him every week. I’ve never been in a Sunday service when an offering has not been taken. Christians freely and joyfully give. It is not under compulsion or the treat of expulsion that we give, we give because our heavenly Father has given so much to us. Our giving is a response to the generosity of God.
We regularly eat a meal with Him. Granted, it is not a typical Sunday meal, and it is one that He has paid for in full (No, wait, that’s what father’s do on Father’s Day when they go out to eat with their family!). However, the Lord’s Supper is completely different because it remembers the great sacrificial price God paid to rescue us from sin and rebellion. Nonetheless it is a meal that is totally focused on our heavenly Father and His Son, our Brother, Jesus Christ.
So let’s celebrate our earthly fathers this Sunday, and let’s especially give honor and praise to our heavenly Father every week!
Happy Father’s Day,
Scott

Preparing for Gospel Conversations

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Monday, March 16, 2015 10:22 AM

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Sharing the gospel can be done a thousand different ways. There are all sorts of strategies and methods that are good and work when sharing the gospel. We can use words, drawings, music, or whatever. It’s all about living our lives intentionally…we are intentionally living in such a way so that we will build relationships that will lead to gospel conversations. People do this all the time in our culture. Nations build relationships with other nations that will lead to international good will. Companies build relationships with customers that will lead to a healthier bottom line. Young couples build relationships that will hopefully lead to the altar. All of this building takes time, patience and long-term investment, but it is worth it. When we are building these bridges for the gospel the goal of sharing what Jesus did is far greater than international good relations or a prospering company or a couple saying, “I do.”
I want us to be perfectly clear about what the gospel is. The gospel is the good news that God is also on a mission to transform sinners into saints. God created us and loves us. We rebelled against Him. This rebellion has separated us from God forever. We have a problem we can’t fix on our own. An eternal punishment is hanging over our heads because we’ve sinned against an eternal God. We need an eternal God to intervene. God did intervene and provided His own sacrifice – His own Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus is God in the flesh who lived perfectly, obediently, lovingly and sacrificially. In the end He laid His life down as our substitute. He died on the cross we deserved to die on.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:16-17)
God in His kindness provided Jesus to take our place; God in His mercy gives us the gift of faith to believe in what Jesus did; God in His grace gives us all the benefits of being in Christ. The gospel is understanding who God is, who Jesus is, who we are, and how we respond to it all.
We should not be living life telling others that we are Christians; we should be living life telling others that they need Jesus. I hope you notice the difference. Get the gospel deep in your heart so that when God opens the door, you’ll be able to share the good news of what God is doing.
Grace & Peace,
Scott

Advent Conspiracy - Receive

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Monday, November 24, 2014 12:02 AM

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I want to talk about one more thing that will change Christmas. Can you think of somebody who is joy impaired? If we could fully embrace joy it would change our Christmas. Joy is a vital part of the Christmas story.
“And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 2:10)
How do you get joy? You just can’t tell people to be joyful; it’s like trying to push spaghetti up a hill. The issue is not that we need joy; the issue is how do we get joy.
The word “joy” comes from the Greek word that comes from another Greek word that means “to be really, really, really glad.” And this word comes from another word that means “gift.” You see, gladness and gift flow together. You can’t have one without the other. But in order to be glad for a gift we have to receive that gift.
“And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.’” (Luke 2:10-12)
That is good news for everyone, but you must be willing to receive this gift.
As I’ve gotten older little seems to surprise me, and that’s tragic. Nothing really holds the wonder and awe for me the way it should. Is that true of you?
The joy of Christmas is the wonder and awe of the gifts. Kids are amazing; they are in awe and wonder of everything. I am afraid that the more a child hangs out with adults the more they lose their wonder and awe.
Step back from Christmas and look at all the gifts in your life…
·      Look at your family…they are a gift!
·      Look at your life…it is a gift!
·      Look at your friends…they are a gift!
·      Look at your church…we are a gift to each other!
This Christmas let’s turn down our cynicism and embrace wonder and awe. Stand in awe and wonder at all the gifts around you. To experience joy you need to go back to awe and wonder.
I want you to receive like a kid. I want you to be really, really, really excited.
God chose to enter our story and rewrite it. He chose to become man and give us grace. If you don’t receive grace you can’t experience grace. Christmas is about receiving grace.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8)
Grace is a gift we can’t earn, didn’t deserve, but we must receive it like a child with wonder and awe and shock. We can’t experience it unless we receive it. Grace is a gift we must receive in order to have joy.
This Christmas have a little awe…have a little wonder…have a little shock!
Grace & Peace,
Scott

Freedom from the Enslavement of Sin

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Tuesday, February 04, 2014 10:24 AM

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We are enslaved to all sorts of things. When we think of being in bondage to something we mostly think of drug addictions, but I think that is much too narrow a view. Being in bondage to sin involves so much more than a small subset of legal and illegal drugs. We need to expand our thinking to include such things as the intangible, like power, fear, acceptance, image, etc., and such tangible things, like money, cars, clothes, etc. No matter how you look at it, being in bondage freezes us spiritually, emotionally, relationally, and financially. It’s like we
’ve been sucked into a black hole and there just seems to be no escape, no way out, we’re stuck to live like this the rest of our lives, or are we? That’s a pretty defeated and bleak way of looking at things.
Here is something that amazes me, God provides a release from this bondage through His marvelous grace. Think about it…if God can free us from the bondage of our old master, Satan, could His grace not release us from something like being enslaved to the need to have all the power or the need to have all the latest fashions or the need to be right?
Every sin is a declaration that God isn’t enough. When we sin we are screaming that God cannot satisfy our deepest longing but this replacement of God can.
Sin enslaves and produces addicts of everyone. Those who live enslaved to sin are riding an escalator. The sin committed and ignored will only need something more and greater to satisfy the appetite once fed. Our new master wants more and more of us because sin is never satisfied. Every sin becomes a “drug” we take to deal with a pressure we face that we don’t think we can face with God’s grace. It is a slow spiritual suicide we commit when sin is ignored, and sometimes we choose not to even know what’s taking place in our lives. After all, “ignorance is bliss,” we’ve told ourselves long enough and now we believe it.
The grace God offers through Jesus doesn’t end at salvation, no the grace of the gospel continues with us each day to free us from the power of sin in our lives. Paul wrote to the Romans,
“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18)
When Paul says, “who are being saved” he is talking about sanctification…our everyday life of growing in God’s grace. He furthers says this is a demonstration of God’s power. God’s power to do what? It is God’s ability and authority to keep us from going back into the slavery of sin.
Jesus said,
 “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:34, 36)
It is only through turning our backs on sin and trusting God through His grace that we can be free. The promise and hope we have is that God is enough. God can and will satisfy the deepest longings of our soul. What we need to do is experience that God is enough; we must fight for a hungering and thirsting for God.
“I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands. I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.” (Psalm 143:5-6)
Grace & Peace,
Scott

When God Says, "Your mine!"

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Sunday, January 26, 2014 4:03 PM

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Can you remember a time when you got something and you were finally able to say, “That’s mine”? Maybe it was a car or paying off the mortgage on a house or a new bike. This happens all the time after the Christmas or birthday gifts are opened. You can finally say, “That’s mine.” Hopefully you don’t say that in a selfish way, but I think you know what I mean. You finally have what you’ve long awaited for. The beauty is that nothing changes the fact that the new bike is now yours; nobody can take it back; you get to enjoy it everyday.
I was thinking about this in terms of our relationship with God after salvation. God claims us as His own. This is what the LORD said in Isaiah 43:1,
“But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.’”
Once we belong to God nothing changes that fact. Is anybody greater than God? Can anyone take us from God? Does God lose anything that is His? Here are a couple of other verses that come to mind.
“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30)
“And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:39-40)
Are we secure? Absolutely! Nothing, and nobody, has either the right or the power to take us away from God. So why do we feel so distant from God?
First, we let circumstances dictate security. We let events change the way we feel about how God feels about us. But honestly, has God changed His mind and decided He didn’t want us anymore. You know that’s not going to happen. We just can’t allow bad news to negatively affect how we view our relationship with God.
Second, we let sin disrupt fellowship. Sin devastates us and it throws a money wrench into our relationship with God. It definitely isn’t God’s fault; we have to own our own disobedience. God hasn’t gone anywhere. We are the ones hiding in the jungle trying to cover our own nakedness, and God is the One seeking us wanting to cover it for us (cf. Genesis 3:7-13, 21).
In either case we need to repent, soak our minds and hearts in God’s promises, and soar above and beyond both our sin and circumstances.
Grace & Peace,

Scott

Change

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Tuesday, September 24, 2013 12:02 PM

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The fall is a beautiful time of year. It is a time of change. We change our clocks back and gain an extra hour; we change our wardrobe and bring out the sweaters, jackets and boots; the scenery changes from green to vibrant hues of orange, gold, yellow and brown; and we change from having the kids around all day to missing them until they return from school. These are just a few of the changes that take place every year. For many of us this is our favorite time of year. Maybe it’s the change or maybe it’s something that we can’t quite put our finger on – we just like the cooler, crisp weather; we like that things are going to be different; we like that we have a new routine.
This reminds me that our spiritual life is about change. God never intended for us to be static. He expected change to take place continuously throughout our lives. Paul put it in the following terms:
“…For your progress and joy in the faith.” (Philippians 1:25)
“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him.” (Colossians 2:6)
“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18)
These are just a few indicators in Scripture that our life in Christ was never meant to get to a point where change didn’t happen. And God has a goal in mind. God’s goal is for us is to be formed into the image of His Son (Romans 8:29-30).
But what if change isn’t taking place? There is a great danger in being satisfied with where we are in our relationship with God. What if someone has no hunger or thirst for righteousness (Matthew 5:6)? What if someone doesn’t delight in God’s Word enough to study it and meditate on it (Psalm 119:16) or even carry it? What if, when someone is confronted with truth, they consistently choose to disobey that truth? Let me put to you this way: How can anyone claim to be God’s child if they have no interest in knowing and obeying the Father?
The answers to these questions are not easy, but I think the questions are necessary for each of us to ask personally. “The unexamined life is not worth living” (Socrates). “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith…” (Paul in 2 Corinthians 13:5).
Grace & Peace,
Scott

Doing the Gospel

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Monday, August 26, 2013 11:46 AM

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This week I want to recap the last message series. Believing the gospel is not enough; we must also be doing the gospel. Doing the gospel involves loving, listening, speaking, and living.
Love is what moves us to people. Love is the motivator behind our actions as believers. Love is the starting point for our behavior. Love causes us to do things that are supernatural. Love is essential to mission.
Before we can talk to someone about who Jesus is and what He did we need to listen to their story. Everyone has a story to tell about his or her life. We don’t listen for the sake of checking listening off the list; we genuinely and prayerfully listen to identify what our friend believes their purpose is (creation), where they think things went wrong (fall), who, or what, will rescue them (redemption), and what their ultimate hope is (restoration).
Once we know their story we can now speak God’s story as His ambassadors. As believers we also believe this pattern is God’s story as well – creation, fall, redemption and restoration. God created us to honor Him and spread His fame; however, Adam (and us as well) had a better idea: live for self and spread my own fame. The fall is where every thing went wrong. But, God provided redemption for all through His Son Jesus. Jesus is the Hero in God’s story. Jesus is the only one who can rescue us from our rebellion against God and recreate us to once again live for God’s glory. God will one day restore all things to the way He originally created it and intended it to exist. We will honor God forever; we will live in peace with one another forever; we will joyfully serve God forever – that is our ultimate hope.
With all of this we must remember that “doing the gospel” words make no sense if they are not backed up by a “doing the gospel” life. Living the gospel is essential if we want people to hear the life-transforming message of the gospel.
This series was meant to encourage all of us to begin praying that God would reveal to us who He is calling us to. What relationship(s) does God want you to begin building? God has sovereignly placed us in families, neighborhoods, jobs and gyms to be missionaries. It may take some time to build a relationship bridge to that person, but with patience and wisdom it will happen. And I would love to hear your story about how God did this.
Grace & Peace,
Scott

Why God Made Us His Own

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Tuesday, June 04, 2013 11:28 AM

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God has blessed my life tremendously. He has blessed me with a gracious relationship with Himself through the redemption He provided through His Son, Jesus Christ (back to this in a minute). He has blessed me with a wonderful family. He has blessed me with a loving church. He has blessed me with caring friends. He has blessed me with a beautiful place to live. He has blessed me with clear instructions through His Word. He has blessed me with life. He has blessed me with opportunities to serve Him. And the list goes on. In fact, most everyone reading this has been blessed in many of the same ways. Now back to redemption…
Redemption is the plan whereby God beautifully reverses the fortunes of those who are not His own. Peter put it like this,
Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:10)
That is the gospel and the gospel is the great reversal. Throughout the Bible we can find different metaphors describing the reversal. Once we didn’t belong, but now we do belong; once we had no identity with God, but now we are identified with God; once we didn’t know who our father was (Satan), but now we do know that our Father is God; once we were lost, but now we are found; once we had no hope, but now we are filled with hope. Isn’t that a beautiful reversal of fortunes?
Peter shares the purpose behind this reversal in the previous verse:
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (verse 9)
So God changed our lives so that we could tell others how He could do the same for them. This is at least part of why God saved us, isn’t it? Yes it is! Evangelism is not about some new program that the church needs to buy into; it’s not about a certain night when we all “go out” to knock on doors. While those may be helpful they may also become harmful. How? Because it leads the church to think that getting the gospel out into the community is something that we can check off our list of things to do for the week. It can also be dangerous because it leads Christians to practice evangelism once a week instead of making it part of our lifestyle. What about the girl you work with? What if she was to ask about your hope and joy on Friday morning but visitation was Tuesday night? I guess she’s just out of luck for four days, right? No, right then and there we can begin to share the gospel by sharing our story of how God’s marvelous grace rescued us from the darkness and placed us into His beautiful light.
Has God’s blessed you the way He’s blessed me? If so, then why don’t you thank Him and then look for an opportunity to share His blessings with others.
Grace & Peace,
Scott

"Hosanna!"

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Monday, March 18, 2013 12:25 PM

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What word in the Bible is most associated with Palm Sunday? Got it yet? Come on, rack your brain…no, it’s not “palm.” The word most associated with Palm Sunday in the Bible is “hosanna” (John 12:13; Matthew 21:9, 15; Mark 11:9-10). It is a unique word, a word that we sing, but is it a word we really understand? As we approach Psalm Sunday allow me some time this week to shed some light on this beautiful word…
“Hosanna” is not an English word, it’s not even a Greek word. Both borrowed the word from other languages. Our English Bibles borrowed it from the Greek and simply used equivalent English letters instead of Greek letters: h-o-s-a-n-n-a. And the writers of the New Testament did the same thing, they used the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew phrase: hosi a na.
Hosi a na is found only once in the Old Testament in Psalm 118:25,
Save us (hosi a na), we pray, O Lord!
The cry of Hosanna in the Old Testament was a cry for help. The cry was in anticipation that God would rescue them. It’s interesting that the answer to their cry came in the very next verse:
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
The Messiah was the answer. So they were pleading for the Messiah to come and rescue them. They could not see their Savior, but they knew He would come; they knew God would send a deliverer; they had great confidence in God.
The cry of Hosanna in the New Testament was a cry of confidence. No longer was the Deliverer anticipated, He was a reality. The rescuer had come! I don’t buy into the fact that the crowd in Jerusalem knew what they were shouting; crowds shout all sorts of things. But, some of them did. They recognized that the Messiah they long anticipated was finally here in Jesus.
The cry in the Old Testament, “Save us!” became the shout in the New Testament, “The Savior is here!” This is what we celebrate on Palm Sunday (and every other day of the year). God has sent His Son to save us.
Imagine you are a child, alone in a canoe, thirty feet from shore, on a blustery day. All of a sudden a giant gust of wind capsizes your canoe, and you are violently thrown into the water. Immediately you would cry out, “Help, save me!” As you come up gasping for air you see your dad running down the hill, plunging in the lake, and swimming furiously toward you. Your cry for help is now different because your rescuer had come. Now your shouts of “save me” are joyful because you know someone has come to save you.
That is how we shout “Hosanna!” today. “Salvation has come! I am saved! I rejoice that I now have hope! I am no longer under the heavy burden of my sin and guilt.”
Hosanna!
Scott

Jesus Told Us to "Make Disciples"

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Tuesday, February 26, 2013 11:30 AM

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As I watched the students go through the True Love Waits Ceremony Sunday night I was blessed to witness their bold courage and excited to see what God was doing through them, and that got me thinking this morning…
Those thirteen students didn’t get on that stage by accident; they didn’t just stumble in on Sunday night and say, “Hey, I think I’ll do this purity thing tonight.” No, they got there through intentional work on their part, their parents and their church. The general principle holds true: people don’t get where they are without intentional work. Godly kids don’t raise themselves, bills don’t magically get paid by the bill paying fairy, beautiful yards take long weekends of hard work, socks don’t fold themselves, and churches don’t grow just because they’re, well, there.
Everything in life takes hard work: jobs, yards, relationships, churches and disciples. Remember what Jesus said to those first disciples? He told them to “make disciples”; He didn’t tell them to build a building and then sit back and wait for people to show up. The “Field of Dreams” philosophy of building a church is not biblical (“build it and they will come”). That is the church building strategy of the lazy person.
Some people are under the impression that building a building equals building a church. I wish it were that easy. Building a church takes hard work. We are promised that God will do His part (“upon this rock I will build my church” [Matthew 16:18]). But what about our part; what work are we supposed to do? Please read on.
We must begin by consistently praying for ourselves and others that we might impact the world for eternity right now. Pray for boldness and opportunity; pray for clarity and reception; pray for God’s Spirit to use God’s Word to birth God’s children.
This will also involve us getting the gospel into our hearts so that we can pour it out into other people’s lives. We need to be intentional about reading, studying, and hiding God’s Word in our hearts. It’s can’t be about a program or memorizing a plan. It must become about an every day relationship with the God of creation. What He puts into our hearts on any given day will be exactly what we need to give as an answer for our hope to those who ask (1 Peter 3:15).
Certainly making disciples involves intentionally building meaningful relationships where God has strategically placed us. We just need to allow God to use where He has providentially planted us in this world to reach people with the gospel.
Finally, we need a courageous boldness to share with those people how God radically changed our lives and how that same God can change theirs as well. We don’t need to have all the answers, but we do need to have all the love to share the most beautiful news we’ve ever heard.
Grace & Peace,
Scott

Keeping the Church Doors Open

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Tuesday, January 29, 2013 4:14 PM

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Without an active and effective witness in the world the church is dead in the water – its doors will close one day. I’m not talking about the church universal; God will always have a group of His people who will risk everything for the sake of the gospel. However, as an individual part of that church, Calvary could cease to exist one day if we shut down our witness to the community. Jesus’ words to His disciples are appropriate and applicable to us…
34…If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses him life for my sake and the gospel’ will save it. (Mark 8:34-35 ESV)
Jesus is describing a believer who is willing to give up everything, including life, instead of saving themselves for comfort or fear or convenience or whatever excuse. These are the type of people who keep the church alive and thriving; they are the ones who “keep the doors open.” Think about it – if we don’t reach people who are unsaved then eventually nobody will be left.
Friends, we have a tremendous, God-provided opportunity right in front of us. Building a building doesn’t reach a community; it just puts us providentially and strategically in a good place. If we stand back and think we’ve done a good job and now God can “bring them in” then we are missing the point of being a church. Being a church means, at least in part, being a witness. And that is where the fear comes in. Let me put our fears to rest. By saying four things.
First, the results are not up to us. As Paul pointed out to the Corinthian congregation, he planted, Apollos watered, but God harvests (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:5-9). So breathe easy, the pressure is off. It’s all on God and He’s good at what He does. He saved us didn’t He?!
Second, and I can’t stress this enough, get into the Bible and study God’s promises. Hopeful people look hopeful and hopeless people will notice and ask why we are so hopeful. The best way I can tell you to be an effective witness is to get happy in God, and the only way we are going to get happy in God is to be saturated with His Word.
Third, build meaningful relationships. The normal way God opens a door for witnessing is through people we know. It may be somebody in your family, somebody you work with, somebody you play with (you know, shopping, golf, shooting guns, or skydiving), or somebody who lives across the street. Just figure it out.
Fourth, pray hard and long. Pray like everything depended on God, oh, yeah, everything does. Pray for yourself and others. Pray for wisdom and courage. Pray for an occasion. Let’s pray for one another and share our stories. It’ll be beautiful!
Grace & Peace,
Scott

Jesus Came & Declared War on Sin

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Wednesday, December 05, 2012 11:48 AM

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Got a question for you: “Have you been doing Advent?” By that I simply mean have you been able to focus time and energy on the true meaning of the coming of Jesus? Before the stores and parties and concerts and gathers highjack our time I think it’s necessary for us to reflect on what the Advent of Jesus means.

Celebrating the coming of Jesus cannot become just another opportunity to spend money, go to parties, and have a Christmas musical. Let me be clear: I’m not against any of the festivities and traditions of Christmas, but I don’t want the true meaning of Christmas to be completely ignored either.

Jesus came into this world on purpose; God gave us the gift of His Son for a reason. Throughout Scripture we find that purpose laid out. This week I’d like to draw our attention to one of those Scriptures and unwrap at least part of the reason Jesus came.

            You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. (1 John 3:5)

            …The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8)

And there you have it – in part at least. Jesus came (“appeared”) to deal with sin.

Sin is what destroyed the beautiful relationship God intended for us to have with Him. Sin is debilitating relationally. God has always known that we would be powerless to change our human condition no matter how hard we try. Amazingly He was not satisfied to leave us in that sinful condition.

God in His wisdom and mercy acted by giving His Son to remove (“take away”) sin. It is through believing and trusting that Jesus came, lived a sinless life, was publicly executed on a cross, rose from the dead, and is coming back that we will receive forgiveness and relational rightness with God.

Jesus effectively dealt with the problem of sin by destroying it. The only way sin could be removed from our lives and the works of Satan destroyed was by Jesus facing them head on at the cross. The cross makes a difference in our lives that will last for eternity.

Jesus was born for this battle. His purpose was to go to war against sin and the devil. Ultimately that cosmic fight took place at Calvary. The good news is that Jesus won!

And so, part of our reflection during Advent season is to remember that it is about a child who came to save us in a battle we couldn’t win, but He could. In a sense, those first cries 2000 years ago from the Village of Bethlehem were battle cries declared against sin and the devil.

Grace & Peace,
Scott

The Gospel & Restoration

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Monday, March 05, 2012 9:13 AM

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The rebuilding has begun! Yes, we are pretty excited around here. On the other hand, we will have to put up with the inconveniences of tripping over workers, being temporarily ousted from our offices and classrooms (again!), coughing through the cloud of drywall dust, gagging on the fumes of paint and carpet glue, and waiting on everything to get finished. I guess we could call this a time of inconvenient excitement! I’ve been told that once it is all done it will be like it never happened. Although that may be true, it will never change the fact that the new car has been metaphorically dinged. You see, six months from now when somebody new comes to Calvary they probably won’t notice that we’ve had a flood; they will never realize that all of the flooring on the right side of the building was replaced; neither will they be able to tell that on a Monday morning in January we walked into a mess. That is the beautiful nature of rebuilding and that beautiful nature is true of us spiritually. Let me explain…

Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth that “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17). In Christ we are brand new! This doesn’t mean that we don’t have a past, it means that God is giving us a future. Through the gospel we get an opportunity at a fresh start; the cross is the beginning of a process whereby God rebuilds our lives. He takes what has been marred by sin and restores it. The restoration doesn’t happen overnight, it is a long, lifetime process we call sanctification.

Paul goes on to explain this lifetime process as “the old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” Just like our brand new building that has been “dinged”, we have been “dinged” with sin, only the consequences are much more devastating and the stakes much higher. In the end will people know and see the effects of sin in our lives? To a certain degree the answer is “Yes,” some of the devastation of sinning leaves marks that cannot be erased, but that doesn’t mean we don’t stand on solid ground if we stand at the foot of the cross and let it center our lives.

So, as you see the restoration of the building take place let it be a reminder that God is in the process of restoring your life as well.

Grace & Peace,

Scott

Christmas Is the Path of Glory

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Tuesday, December 13, 2011 9:47 AM

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A couple weeks ago our son, Ben, sang This Is War written by Dustin Kensrue. This song rings a bell not heard very often at Christmas, but its message is so true that it needs to be heard over and over again.

This is war like you ain't seen.
This winter's long, it's cold and mean.
With hangdog hears we stood condemned,
But the tide turns now at Bethlehem.

This is war and born tonight,
The Word as flesh, the Lord of Light,
The Son of God, the low-born king;
Who demons fear, of whom angels sing.

This is war on sin and death,
The dark will take its final breath.
It shakes the earth, confounds all plans;
The mystery of God as man.

We readily sing songs that bring us joy and happiness, songs that celebrate the coming of the King, and this is right that we do. But we must remember that the occasion of the birth of Jesus that causes us much celebration is also one that caused Him much pain. His birth was the result of difficult choices. God the Father made the difficult choice of sending His Son. Jesus the Son made the difficult choice of leaving the glorious majesty of His Father to be born a human. The immortal God took on mortal flesh. He became like one of us!

Jesus spoke of His death as the hour He would be glorified, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (John 12:23). And just a few verses later He stated that He came for the very purpose of His death so He could glorify His Father (“But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name” [vv. 27-28]). The cross was the path for His own glory and the glory of His Father.

So even though it was a path of great pain, ultimately it lead to unadulterated joy as Jesus returned to the Father, and so He will forever be enthroned!

Jesus’ difficult choice leads me to the conclusion that our lives are going to be full of difficult, but necessary, choices. The path of our King will be the road we will travel as well. So as we celebrate Christmas this year let’s certainly celebrate, but let’s also not forget what lies ahead.

Grace & Peace,
Scott

Never Get Over the Cross!

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Tuesday, March 23, 2010 1:30 PM

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I remember the first time I told Barb "I love you." I remember our first kiss. I remember the first time I held each of our children. I remember the first church I pastored. I remember the first time I preached at Calvary (Easter, 2006). There are some things you remember forever; you just never get over them, and you don't want to, and you shouldn't.

Do you remember the first time you realized God's love for you was so great that He sacrificed His own Son? Have you gotten over it? Do you remember when you made the decision to follow Him and trust Him with your life? Salvation is something that is rooted in the event of the cross. That event took place over two thousand years ago and it still never loses its power to transform a life! The cross is central to our faith and it changes everything we do. It changes the way we love; it changes the way we worship; it changes the way we raise kids; it changes the way we spend money; it changes the way we live.

Oh, so many have come to the cross and accepted its sacrifice only to turn their back on the One who paid the supreme price to secure everlasting life. They came enamored by the transformation it produces; they stayed in love long enough to fervently read the Bible and learn how to live above the confusion and noise of a world gone mad; and they have followed hard after Jesus...for a time. Then suddenly, or maybe subtly, they drifted and "fell out of love" with the cross. No, they would never admit that, but their actions speak of a betrayal that mirrors Judas. They simply got over the cross and it is no longer central to their life. But this shouldn't be.

Never get over the cross!

Grace & Peace,
Scott

How Do We Have Peace of Earth?

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Tuesday, December 08, 2009 11:31 AM

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Christmas is a wonderful time of year. It is a time that brings out the best in some people and the worst in others. I personally think its kind of sad that Christmas is the only time when some people are on their best behavior. It is tragic when believers act like this. Let me share the impact the coming of the Christ child has...

Luke records the response of the angels to the birth announcement of Jesus:

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased. (Luke 2:14 ESV)

We need to be very careful at this point not to misinterpret what the angels said. Does this mean that every December 25, and the weeks surrounding, that there is a mystical, special, super-inspirational, supernatural peace that floats down on the world in an invisible mist so that everyone feels good about everyone else. Is there a little less killing, a little more love and understanding, and does everyone treat each other better? I don't think so! A look at the world around us tells a different story. So what is meant by these words? Glad you asked...

This emphasizes the work of Christ on the earth. He came for the purpose of seeking and saving the lost. His mission was to set man's relationship with God right--to make men to be at peace with the Father through redemption. This is a life-changing, radical rescue. When redemption is brought into play then sin must be recognized and that flies in the face of popular opinion. What the Christmas message is saying is that man is at odds with God and is a sinner who is dead in his sin and is in need of rescuing!

There is no peace in a sin-stained, Satan-dominated world. But, if you are one of those who has come to Christ and taken Him as your Savior, then His peace rests on you.

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:1 ESV)

Grace, Peace & Merry Christmas,
Scott

A Tale of Two Bachelors

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Tuesday, October 06, 2009 1:57 PM

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Sometimes we just can't give up! Okay, when it comes to someone's eternal destination we must never give up. God puts all the pieces together. He may call us to share a word of the gospel with someone who is lost, or He may just want us to live a consistent life before them so they will see that the gospel does make a difference, or God is calling us to pray for their salvation. This week I want to share a word of encouragement to all of us about not giving up on someone's salvation.

The first came two and a half weeks ago when I got the news that my Uncle Robert died. He was a bachelor and one of our favorites. He loved the outdoors and took every opportunity to take one of us fishing, hunting, or trapping. I learned a great deal around him and loved every visit he made. The only struggle I had through the years is that he didn't know Christ. On many occasions his mom, sister and brothers would witness to him, they consistently lived Christ before him and always prayed for his soul. When I got the news of his death my greatest fear was that he went off to meet God in judgment and condemnation. My brother told me this week that a pastor who was connected to our family had gone to visit him recently. After sharing the beautiful, life-changing gospel Uncle Robert said, "Yeah, I can do that."

The next story comes from Bascom Ford's brother, Harry. Harry died a week ago. The family didn't know for sure if he believed before his death. For those who have found themselves in this situation you know how difficult it is. Bascom called me Sunday night and told me Harry's story. Pastor Joey Burnett of Arcadia First Baptist Church shared Sunday morning that he and Harry's old boss, Leroy, went to make a visit on Harry on a Monday night. They shared the gospel and Harry accepted Christ.

Both of these stories brought peace and encouragement to their families. Their lives were very similar...both men were quiet, bachelors, came from large families, and were very kind. The most exciting similarity was that they both believed before they died.

It just goes to show that we must never give up! Paul wrote that some get to plant the seed and some water it, but it is the Lord who brings in the harvest (1 Corinthians 3:6). Who is important? Neither and both (vv. 7, 9). Ultimately God is the One who counts because He is the One who saves. It is our honor to be a part of the process of someone's salvation. So, don't give us on those whom God has placed in your life who are yet unsaved...keep planting and keep watering!

Grace & Peace,
Scott
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