How To Become A Christian

It only takes a moment to become a Christian. To recognize that one has sinned, indeed is a sinner, and has no way to absolve those sins, then repents and relies on Christ and His work on the cross for the removal of sin and the bestowal of Christ's righteousness. A change takes place in that person's life. We cannot offer our own moral solution to our sinfulness but we can accept God's solution, His atoning sacrifice for us, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to enable us to live a holy life. The reservoir of evil within us is deeper than we know, but the Holy Spirit is able to give us  daily victory over it. Thus the moment it takes to become a Christian is followed by a lifetime of becoming a mature Christian. It takes a moment to become a Christian. But surrendering our will - our agenda - our desires - to the Lordship of Jesus so He can mold us into maturity - is a lifetime process.

Made in God's Image

Because you are a person made in the image of the infinite, eternal God, you are a creature of more potential than you can possible realize. This is not a matter of pride, but of reality that honors God for the creative and all-powerful God that He is. It does nothing for your ego to realize the great potential that is within you. You had nothing to do with it! But you are responsible to this Creator God to develop to the fullest all that God has put in your spirit, soul, and body. Just as you could never imagine the tremendous tree that lies latent and resident in the acorn - or the array of colors and beauty within the dried up bulb- so it is beyond your imagination the skill, talent, powers, possibilities, that reside in you. Much of it will only be revealed in eternity. But don't miss the thrill of the discovery!

Help and Compassion for the Stranger

Scripture everywhere shows concerns for the stranger among us. The Old Testament lays down laws regarding care and hospitality , the New Testament speaks of compassion, and Jesus' parables teach concern for the stranger. Recently I read of a stranger looking for a church in a new community. She tells of looking for nonexistent directional signs, of having to interrupt greeters busy talking to one another, and of other indications that the church was simply not "tuned in" to the seeking stranger. Do we show God's concern for the stranger in our churches and in other areas of our lives as well? Someone who moves in next door or someone just coming onto the job beside us...Can you feel their loneliness, isolation, and confusion? Let's really enter into God's concerns for the stranger among us - at church; in our neighborhood; at work. You never know the depths of loneliness and separation they may be feeling. You can help them feel Christ's compassion and concern through you and your actions. 

It's Not MY Fault!

This is an age that is famous for shifting responsibilities to another. People spill hot coffee on themselves and sue the one who sold it to them! Or get overweight by eating too much fast food and sue the fast food companies! A burglar gets hurt or shot while robbing a place and sues the owner! I guess our homes and places of business are to be kept burglar-friendly! The church must not get caught up in the buck-passing. Changing the world has been left up to each local church. We can't pass the buck to our favorite political party - or to the  mega-church in California or Texas. We - this church - are called to be a world-tranformer. Let's use every legitimate means at our disposal to carry out our Lord's commission. It matters if we fail - and there is no one to whom we can pass the buck. It is our responsibility.

New Worldview Sighted

The new biotechnology of our day has become a total worldview for many people. It is a promising science and promises to make life easier, cure or mitigate many diseases, and add many years to our lifespan. But, as with all things in a fallen, finite world, it is not good without remainder. The remainder can be fatal to the Christian worldview, for it ends up sacrificing human dignity and spiritual value at the altar of physical and longevity. The new biotechnology assumes that we can smooth out all the rough edges of human nature, disposing of all that is infirm or bothersome, making ourselves completely at home in this world. This is a secular approach to bringing in the kingdom of God, an ersatz(substitute in an unworthy manner) Paradise, and has too many implications that can be destructive of Christian values. The lived-out and proclaimed "Jesus - is - Lord" life is the only thing that can replace the frenzied drive for immortality and wholeness. The drive for wholeness cannot be satisfied with any quantity of life, for the reach of natural desires always exceeds our grasp.

Disaster May Come Your Way

Remember the infamous sniper case, among others, that have been solved. What, if anything, might we learn from this? Perhaps the incredible depths of evil that can exist in the human heart, for one. To derive pleasure from the stopping of a life, especially a human life, in this case lives, that caused no conceivable harm or disturbance to the killers, is simply beyond the comprehension of normal minds. So many people were deprived of the presence, love and companionship of a loved one! This, along with the World Trade Center Twin Towers, Columbine High School, the government building in Oklahoma, and numerous other murderous incidents in the last 10 years, stunningly reveal what a life out of God's control can do. Might it also inspire us to a new zeal to reach out in love, to our neighbors and co-workers with the gospel of Christ? Who knows whether a more diligent word of witness - one or more invitation to church - a more loving attitude toward a neighbor - might have made things be far different in one or more of these disasters.

Who IsThe Lord of Your Life?

Is Jesus Christ really the Lord of your life? There is a tendency in Christianity, at least contemporary American Christianity, to separate Jesus as Savior from Jesus as Lord. If this is possible, it is certainly not proper, nor does it give Jesus much credibility as truly a Savior. Jesus does not save us merely to give us a ticket to heaven. He saves us to create another outpost of His kingdom in an alien and lost world. He advances His kingdom as He finds people willing to claim Him wholeheartedly and relentlessly as Lord of their life. He is Lord of our time. If He is truly Lord, He sets the agenda of our life. We don't tell Him what we will do, we allow him to tell us. Otherwise, "Jesus is Lord" is less than an empty slogan. It is a mockery of Christianity. He is Lord of our activities. Not just rank pornography, but movies that cheapen sex and incite violence, could hardly be consistent with "Jesus is Lord". And even things good in themselves can be instruments of evil if done in excess, in the wrong way, or at the wrong time. If "Jesus is Lord" is true in each of our lives and in our church as a whole, we can be an effective instrument for advancing God's Kingdom in such a time as this. 

Defining Terrorism

God is present in the world he has created. His presence creates the truth, goodness, beauty, justice and righteousness that flow from His being and mark His reality. The divine absence is seen in the false, deceptive, illusionary, ugly, evil and cruel existence of the fallen world. Where God is accepted, even in a superficial way, His qualities are felt in the world. The absence of God, and substitutes for God, leave the negative, hurtful characteristics mentioned above. The terror being inflicted upon the world by some in the name of religion, demonstrates the terrible negative power religion can have, when that religion is not the revealed religion of the Bible. Terrorism is not the product of ethnicity - it does not occur because one is Iraqi, Iranian, Palestinian, or of any other national origin. Terrorism is a product of a perverse understanding of who God is and what He expects of His people. The failure to discern the Spirit - and spirits - in religions, leads to the terrible misunderstanding of God and religion. And to the sad outworking of the wrong qualities in human existence.

How Should We Legislate Morality?

Any civilization needs God and belief in God, to survive. As someone sarcastically, but truthfully put it, "If chance be the father of all flesh, disaster is his rainbow in the sky, and when you hear 'state of emergency! Sniper kills ten! Troops on rampage! Bomb blasts school!' - It is but the sound of man worshiping his maker'." Morality is pretty hard to defend apart from God. Certain things can be legislated, but how to defend whose values and whose morality and whose justice should prevail is hard to consistently define and defend without the God of Holy Scripture. We are seeing this reality coming to the surface more and more in our country and all indications are that it will continue to do so. The moral law of God is reenacted in a nation in response to God and His law, and out of love for Him and fear of disregarding Him. If nothing else, simple self-interest should cause people to think about God, what He has to say to us, and what should our relationship to Him and His Word. This awareness in turn comes about as Christian people - those who have a personal relationship with Him, seek Him earnestly for an outpouring of His Spirit upon the Church, and upon our nation. Pray for revival among His people, and conviction and awareness among those who don't yet know Him.

What's Happening?

What in the world is going on? Catastrophic debt and unemployment in the U.S., riots in London, and other cities in the U.K., economic disaster in Greece and other countries. Terrorism remains a universal threat. No country is safe from it. Genocide is a way of life in countries in Africa, where some tribes and nations are determined to exterminate others. We can’t help but wonder what will happen next and where. Granted, we have more access to disturbances worldwide, and that could account seemingly for a more troubled world, but even granting that, who can deny the increased vulnerability and viciousness of debate and security in our country and others? There seems little doubt that a tumultuous and somewhat terrifying times portrayed in the Bible, in the book of Revelation and other parts of inspired scripture is upon us.  Will things ever go back (or ahead) to the relatively quiet, peaceful times, say the 1950's? Every decade   has its fears and problems, for we live in a fallen world. The striving for place and power push people to trample others in their own selfish pursuits. But the present time seems unique in the sense of the universality of the tragic in every area of life. But our hope is a sure one in Christ. When all else fails, or at the very least, peace does not seem prevalent, we find that Christ and His everlasting, true nature does not and will not fail us when we lean on Him.

The Life of the Christian

  A pallid, tepid, insipid life will not do for the Christian.  To do things with a resigned sigh, or because "Well, who will if I don't," is not acceptable to God.  In fact, Jesus says of such ho-hum desultory Christians in Revelation 3:16 "So - because you are lukewarm, neither hot (with passionate love for Me) nor cold (with refreshing, satisfying love), I am about to spit you out of my mouth!  Wow!  I hope he is not saying that about me - or you!  But how can we have that kind of love?  You can't love someone truly or wholly until you get to know him or her.  We can really know God and love him - since that is what he especially wants - when we get the things out of the way that hinder this knowing and love.  And when we passionately love God, we will love what he loves - which is other people.  What hinders you?  Do you spend so much time watching TV, for example, that God doesn't have time to speak at length to you, to foster within you a love for him?  Give God time and you will see what love can really be!

Faith or facts?

Faith does not mean ignoring facts. Indeed, faith and facts go hand in hand. Faith often defies fact, turns adverse facts into opportunity to show the power of faith. But it does not deny or ignore  fact. Before God's people Israel went into claim the land that God had promised them, they sent a fact-finding committee in to search out the land. Ten of those on that committee found the facts so formidable they fled before them. Two said, "Yes, those are the correct facts. But God is with us. We can take the land God has promised us. Let's go!" The rest is history. The land was taken, not without struggles, pain, and reversals. But it was taken. God is still with His people today. Our part is to find what God is blessing and be there! It is not, "Lord, bless what I am doing". But, "Lord, show me what and where you are blessing, and help me to be there."

Water Baptism

To be a community, a given number of people have certain things in common. It may be common experiences of life – grief over loss, celebration over gain or promotion, shared political ideas or goals, common religious beliefs and/or actions. One of the longest continuing communities is the one founded by Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago – His church. One becomes a member of that community by faith in its living Founder. We don’t just follow His teachings – we follow Him, our living Lord. The outward symbol of membership in that community is water baptism. By going beneath the waters we picture our death and burial to self and the world. By coming up out of the water we picture our resurrection to new life as a new creation in Christ, and part of the new creation.  

 Next Sunday(8/21/2011) from 1:30 P.M. to about 5 P.M. the church is invited to gather at Pastor Shaw and Nancy’s home at 444 Seventh Ave. in Atlantic Highlands for this celebration of baptism. Any who have received Jesus as Savior but have not been baptized, speak to pastor about being baptized. If you are not sure about it, you may want to discuss it with the Pastor. Bring picnic fare as well, for we enjoy a picnic dinner with our baptisms. Bring all your friends, neighbors, long lost uncles and meet us there next Sunday.

The Light of the World

Jesus is the light of the world. To follow Him is to walk in the light. The coming of light to one who has known only darkness can be terrifyingly painful. The light shines upon us and begins to reveal places of darkness that we don't want to look at and certainly don't want others to see! But true light does not discriminate. It shines into a place and whatever is there, is exposed. The light can be welcomed and received by faith - or it can be rejected, and the darkness becomes deeper still. Blaise Pascal received that light in a terrifying and transforming but beautiful experience that left him feeling that all he had done up to that time was but straw compared to his new beginning. Pascal wrote a description of his experience and sewed the paper he had written it into his coat lining. It was discovered a few days after his death. He begins his description with the word "Fire!" The fire of God's light burns all that within us is not of Him, not usable for His kingdom. And though it is painful, without it we are left with the straw of an unredeemed life. And straw makes a poor foundation for eternity!

The Third Person

Jesus sent the third Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Holy Spirit, to indwell the hearts of His followers, and to empower them for service. How much, how broadly, how deeply, do you allow the Holy Spirit to work in your life? What if he should suddenly leave? Honestly, would you notice the difference? Would you really know He was gone, or would things be any different anyway? And if He left our church, would we notice? This, of course, is not to suggest he would leave either the individual believer or the corporate believers, the church. But if He were withdrawn, would we be acutely aware of it? Or do we do things so much on our own that there would not be difference enough to notice? God intends that the Holy Spirit make a noticeable, tremendous difference, both in the life of the individual and of the church. He does so as we surrender our all to Him.

Three Beautiful Words

The three words, "I forgive you, " are the sweetest, most beautiful in any language. With these words - meant from the heart - broken relationships can start over.  Wives and husbands can start their marriage again. Children can come home. Brothers and sisters are reunited after years of avoiding each other. The employee can work for the "boss" again. But this is only a faint analogy of forgiveness by a holy God. God not only forgives, He forgets. He satisfies the guilty conscience by having paid for our sins. Though we will always regret that we ever offended this holy God whom we now love and serve, yet our conscience is clear and quiet. It is so, because He has made it so by His death on the cross. Thank God for what the cross means for our relationship to God - to each other - and even within ourselves.

The Power of the Cross

The cross where 2, 000 years ago, Jesus died, is still making history. People’s lives are being radically transformed for the good when they are confronted by that cross, and respond in faith and commitment. Think, for example, of babies in the Kara tribe in Ethiopia, who are considered by the tribes’ people as “mingi” – cursed- if their top teeth come in before their bottom teeth! According to the Elder’s law, the child must die or the whole tribe will be cursed. Several other events can also cause the baby to be “mingi”. So the baby is thrown into the bush or the river to die. But the cross of Jesus Christ is changing that. There are some Christians in the tribe and they have built an orphanage, to rescue and raise many of these children. This is not a rare occurrence; it is one of the more radical examples of the power of the cross. But to those who rejected its saving and transforming power, the cross has an equal negative effect. For example, atheist organizations are trying to get the cross that was formed by two steel beams in the destruction of the World Trade Center, removed from ground zero memorial. The complaints? They experience anxiety, depression, indigestion and other problems when they see that cross at the Ground Zero Memorial! What a negative testimony to the power of the cross! Being reminded of an event that occurred two thousand years ago can cause such deep distress today! If only the complainers would consider what could cause such violent reactions!

How Should We Pray?

"And when you pray..." These are our Lord's words as He sets out to teach His disciples (present and future) how to pray. Note the words carefully - Jesus does not say "If" you pray but "When" you pray. Prayer is a universal experience echoing a universal need echoing a universal creation. Because we are made in God's image we sense a need for union with or help from that God in whose image we are. So we pray. I remember as a little boy asking my mother, who was not a believer at that time, to teach me to pray. She taught me the little children's prayer, "Now I lay me down to sleep", etc.  which I prayed faithfully until I came to know the Lord in a personal way. I have been preaching on The Lord's Prayer and found after three sermons, we have not begun to exhaust the great truths of that concise power-packed prayer. Each phrase is pregnant with meaning. If the elements of that prayer were truly realized and prayed with faith and preserving intensity, what a different place this world would be! Let's all give ourselves to more regular, believing, relentless insistent prayer. As we do, we will see differences for the good in our individual lives, our families, our churches, our communities. But don't give up if it doesn't happen in two days! We also have an enemy who will do all he can to stop you with his "weapons of mass distractions." Don't let this dampen your spirit. Pray on!