Posted by Pastor Pat on October 31, 2009
“ He caused the storm to be still, So that the waves of the sea were hushed.”
(Psalm 107:29)
Have you ever felt as if you have no control over your life? It is the kind of feeling you get that wakes you up in the middle of the night and refuses to let you sleep. The emotion you experience is probably the same as one whose parachute is not opening even though every possible chord is pulled. Regardless as to what you might think and what others might tell you, the ‘feeling’ you have is less than ideal and your emotional stability is shot. When we find ourselves sucked into the vortex of the storm, what are we to do?
Why is God allowing us to experience a life out of control? I believe there are at least four reasons why such times visit our lives.
- First, trials come to assure us that we are not in control (James 4:13, 14).
Because of depravity, we have this incredible capacity for unbridled arrogance. For whatever reason, we actually believe the humanistic reports concerning our development and future. Whenever we think we have “our act together,” God has a way of showing us just how fragile the best-laid plans are. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
Posted by Pastor Pat on October 25, 2009
2 Corinthians 9:6
Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in every thing, you may have an abundance for every good deed;
While teaching the teens in the earlier part of the year I spoke on “The Seven Laws of the Jungle.” These “Laws” are dispensationally generic meaning regardless as to the dispensation they neither change nor become dated or irrelevant. One of the seven is called, “The Law of Sowing and Reaping.” In the providence of God this “Law” is no less true concerning giving.
At WBC we believe in what is called “Grace Giving.” This means we believe God is big enough to supply the needs for the advancement of His ministry in us and through us. We are equally convinced that God will use His people to meet the financial needs of the local church ministry. Thus at WBC you will not hear perpetual pleas for financial assistance nor will guilt be used to motivate the people of God to give. If somehow the corporate fellowship does not believe the ministries of WBC are worthy of continuation through financial giving, then they will come to an end. God’s will, in some ways, can be determined by the availability or lack therein of financial backing.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on October 19, 2009
“Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:22)
Peter’s question in verse 21 is intriguing because it is either very sincere, innocent or it is deceptive and pharisaical. Perhaps Peter thought he was already reasonably forgiving or he was maybe thinking of a situation where he was being “victimized” and wanted to know when he could “pull-the-plug” on another individual relationally.
Why did Peter say, “Up to seven times?” Let us consider some historical insight.
“It was Rabbinic teaching that a man must forgive his brother three times.” (Barclay, Matthew, 193). The prophet Amos uses the formula, “For three transgressions and for four” which many have “deduced that God’s forgiveness extends to three offences and that he visits the sinner with punishment at the fourth.” When Peter suggested “seven times,” he thought he was going very far. He expected commendation by His Lord.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on September 23, 2009
“So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:36
Perhaps one of the most painful experiences in life occurs when you are personally misrepresented or maliciously attacked through verbal assault. Such things are sourced in either, the world, the flesh or the devil. None of it is any good. It will come through one of two channels either the saved or the unsaved. Both are painful. However to have the attack come from a brother or sister in Christ is self-destructive and bitter cannibalism. Nowhere in the Scripture is such action justified. I would like to answer two questions concerning personal slander. First, what is slander? And second, how are we to respond to slander?
First, what is slander? The English word comes from two Greek words.
The first is our English word “blasphemy.”
And the second is katalalia and means, “To speak against.”
Katalalia is found only twice in the NT (2 Cor. 12:20; 1 Peter 2:1).
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Posted by Pastor Pat on August 20, 2009
“Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, but the fruit of the Spirit is . . .”
(Galatians 5:19-23)
The contrast could not be more dramatic. Even the word used to describe the outworking of both is telling: “Deeds/Works” versus “Fruit.” In the context of Galatians the irony of the setting should not escape us. The deeds of the flesh are those activities produced by seeking to gain spirituality through a system of rules and regulations whereas the fruit of the Spirit are those activities produced by resting in His finished work. Let us consider for just a moment the two lists.
Posted by Pastor Pat on July 28, 2009
“Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another,
because love covers a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8)
I have already stated several times how one of my presuppositions in reading the Bible is, “I do not read the Bible to determine how to live, but rather to discovery what He is like.” Does your perspective matter? I believe so. When my life becomes disjointed and I am consumed by the mundane and distracted by the unimportant I have to step back and get my focus back on Christ (Heb. 12:1, 2). It is only when I see the centrality of Jesus Christ that life in all of its little pieces makes any sense (Col. 1:17). In Jesus Christ we have the perfect display and embodiment of grace. Jesus Christ is the proper name for grace.
It is for this reason I will often use the two words as synonyms.
Often as I read my Bible I put the words, “Jesus Christ” and/or “grace” in the place of “love.” For example in our text before us if we changed the words it would read as follows, “Above all, keep fervent in your grace for one another, because grace covers a multitude of sins.”
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Posted by Pastor Pat on July 14, 2009
Read Mark 8:10-21
In this short study, I would like us to consider the biblical warning to “watch out” and “beware.” The word “watch out” is used three times in Mark’s Gospel (1:44; 8:15, 24). It is only here where it is used with the force of an imperative. Mark uses the word for “beware” fourteen times. It is used with force in Mark 4:24; 12:38; 13:5, 9, 23, and 33.
The words “watch out” or “beware” call for a quick response. They warn us of immediate or impending danger. In the passage before us we are warned of three potential adversaries: hypocrisy in fake questions, hostility in false teachers, and hardness in fat hearts.
All three areas can cause the unaware to be positioned against God. The first danger of hypocrisy is seen in the question asked by the religious establishment. Their questioning attempted to cloak the deception of their hearts. They did not ask to investigate, but to ensnare. Their sole intent was to trap and destroy. They had no desire to hear, examine, and grow through change. Their minds were already made-up and their resolution was already against Him.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on July 10, 2009
Read Mark 8:1-9
I believe it is important to keep our Lord’s movements in mind when reading the various stories. Jesus is in the Decapolis and is speaking to a predominately Gentile audience. It is important to remember the continued conflict with the religious leaders and political authorities. He has come to His own people first and then begins reaching out to the Gentile world. In the world in which Jesus lived, everyone who is non-Jewish is Gentile. Mark shows how Gentiles are included in the story of God. Mark opens this idea with Jesus addressing the Pharisees on the topic of “clean versus unclean.” He then heals a Canaanite woman’s daughter of a demon. He continues His handling of the unclean Gentiles by healing a deaf and mute man. To show equality among the Jews and Gentiles, He repeats His feeding miracles among a predominately Gentile audience. His actions do not negate Jewish primacy. Jesus did not forget that it was to the Jew and through the Jew that God’s revelation and divine incarnation would take place. Such action on His part reflects an impartial worldview. In fact, His actions always reflect a Christian worldview. Often I think as Christians we need to be reminded that a Christian worldview is a Christ worldview. His worldview is to be reflected by and represented in our worldview. It is not the other way around. Sometimes I, we, confuse our nationalism, our patriotism, our tribal instinct, our religious experience for a biblical worldview. What is His worldview? What is a Christian worldview? WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
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Posted by Pastor Pat on July 6, 2009
Read Mark 7:31-37
This narrative continues to celebrate the innate goodness of God. Regardless as to what our thoughts and opinions might be concerning Jesus, they must conclude with the idea that He is good. It is because He is good that what He does is good. It cannot be otherwise. In our present passage, Jesus heals an individual who is both deaf and speechless. His inability to hear contributed to his inability to speak. Regardless as to the condition, it was just cause for our Lord to act and, in acting, to display His power over all disease. In so doing, His status as Messiah continues to be established. In commenting on the grammatical structure of this statement, A.T. Robertson notes how, “The present perfect active shows the settled convictions of these people about Jesus.” Jesus was never charged with doing evil. Everything He did was “good.”
The entire Gospel of Mark seeks to establish the identity of his primary character. He is the one who was foretold and pre-figured. He is God’s Hero King. What Jesus did and why it was done has intentional design. Nothing was random; everything was deliberate. I appreciate the calculated manner in which the following thought explains this idea.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on July 2, 2009
“Even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.”
Read Mark 7:24-30
Mark’s accounting of this story is direct and terse. Matthew provides necessary embellishment that enhances the encounter. Together they form a remarkable story of how our Lord is merciful. Mark places this story in contrast to the interaction with the religious leaders. The Pharisees and Scribes are arguing over whether or not one should eat with unwashed hands, and Jesus ministers to a Gentile woman whose daughter is demon possessed. The disparity could not be more stark. How many times do we “hyperventilate” over the unimportant only to overlook the dying lying at our feet? Although it would appear His actions are insensitive (“He did not answer her a word”) and His words are demeaning (“throw it to the dogs”), what we cannot feel is the look in His eyes and the expression of His face.
The woman was consumed by her grief. Her condition was agitated and her actions were aggressive. Her circumstance removed all protocol and etiquette. Without shame or restraint, she pursued our Lord with her petition. Her daughter, her little daughter was cruelly possessed by a demon. As a Canaanite, an outcast and dog to the Jew, she came and prostrated herself before, “The Son of David.” Her petition was simple, “Lord, help me, have mercy on me.”
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Posted by Pastor Pat on June 28, 2009
Read Mark 7:1-23
Remember to whom Mark writes. He is writing to a Roman audience, a Gentile audience. He is showing how they are included in the redemptive purpose of God to secure for Himself a people who will love Him and worship Him forever. It is these people who will enjoy the presence of God forever. Although this truth caused the religious establishment to put Him to death, it caused the larger world to rejoice.
In the purpose of God for the redemption of His people, worshippers from every tongue, tribe, people, and nation were intentionally included. Many within the Jewish religion excluded Gentiles from a redemptive hope. Jesus forcefully shows how Gentiles were a part of God’s plan all along.
The same tension continued to exist with Peter and Cornelius in Acts 10. In Acts 10 we have the vision to Peter declaring that all foods are clean (10:1-23). The Holy Spirit then falls on the Gentiles, just as He did in Acts 2 (10:23-48). Peter defends Gentile inclusion (11:1-18) and the church in Antioch grows strong in the Spirit (11:19-30).
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Posted by Pastor Pat on June 24, 2009
But He answered them, “You give them something to eat!” And they said to Him, “Shall we go and spend two hundred denarii on bread and give them something to eat?” (Mark 6:37)
Mark appears to emphasize the fragile and frazzled existence of Christ and His disciples. No matter where they turned, the masses waited with their needs. This thought has two immediate applications. First, in vocational ministry “life” can be very consuming. People have needs and if anyone attempts to meet those needs in their own strength, they will fail physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The pace alone when engaging in vocational ministry will consume the individual. It has been said, “Ministry makes a terrible mistress” and “the ministry will take all you have, never set boundaries and never thank you for what you’ve given.” Second, simply living is consuming. No matter who you are or what your station is in life, it is demanding and draining. The question is, “How do we exist with physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being without disengaging?” “How do we rest in Him no matter what the storm offers? Let us consider the thought as it is found in Mark 6:37.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on June 20, 2009
17 “For Herod himself had sent and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, ‘It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife’”(Mark 6:17, 18).
I find John’s statement and cause for imprisonment striking in light of our presidential elections on Tuesday (November 4, 2008). Although I would probably argue that the prophet’s role in a theocracy, John’s role in a monarchy and our role in a democracy might be different, there are similarities. I am told pastors cannot tell you to vote for specific candidates, there is, however, a right and wrong in what each of our presidential candidates promote and the Bible does speak to issues.
Does the Bible promote a system of honorable work? Are we to concern ourselves with the poor, widowed, and orphaned? Is greed and the exploitation of the less fortunate sinful? Should we be warmongers or peacemakers? Does war, like divorce, exist simply because of the hardness of men’s hearts? Should laziness be enabled? Does the issue of personal convenience justify taking the life of the unborn child, infanticide or euthanasia? Is the use of our natural resources an expression of biblical stewardship and mankind’s dominion over the earth? When does environmentalism become idolatry and exploitation become criminal?
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Posted by Pastor Pat on June 16, 2009
“And He summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs,
and gave them authority over the unclean spirits”(Mark 6:7).
The word used for “authority” is the word used to describe a person whose position gives them the power to act and order. Mark uses the word “authority” nine times. Jesus taught as one having authority (Mark 1:22). He exercised “power” over demons (Mark 1:27). In healing the sick Jesus revealed His power over sin and its consequences (Mark 2:10). It is this same transfer of “authority” He gave to the twelve disciples (Mark 3:15; 6:7). The power exhibited by Jesus Christ was evident to all; from where this power came was openly questioned (Mark 11:27-33). The religious establishment desired to assign its source to Satan. Jesus openly refuted such blatant error.
There is a parable unique to Mark in Mark 13:28-37. In the parable our Lord speaks of the time when He will be physically absent from the work. Verse 34 continues the thought found in Mark 3:15 and 6:7 where authority is given to His servants in His absence. It is through His people that His presence is continued. It is because of this authority transfer that His people are able to go into all the world and call everyone, everywhere to repentance and faith in Christ. It is the same idea contained in Matthew 28:18 where Jesus is described as having been given all authority in heaven and in earth.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on June 12, 2009
Read Mark 6:1-6
In all of our stories from Mark 4:35 and following, there is consistent thread of faith. Faith appears throughout as a precondition to the miraculous. Nonetheless, is faith a precondition to the miraculous or is it a consequence of the miraculous?
Some would argue from the passage that “the miracle does not generate faith; rather, faith must be present for the miracle to occur. This is the negative side of the positive correlation between faith and miracles seen already in Mark: miracles can and do take place in a context of faith (cf. 2:4; 5:43, 36); conversely, where there is no faith, miracles cannot occur.” ([emphasis added] The Oxford Bible Commentary, Ed. John Barton and John Muddiman [Oxford: University Press, 2001], 897, 898).
Here is my tension with the absoluteness of this statement. If such a conclusion is true, then faith becomes a burden to be born. Faith becomes a tool to be exploited and expanded on. In the absoluteness of this statement, every bad thing you’ve prayed over and had as its outcome nothing can be attributed to your lack of faith. Had you simply believed “enough” disease, death, depression, and dysfunction would have turned out the way you asked. Your child would not have gone astray, your marriage would not have failed, your bills would have been paid out, and your health would have been restored, had you simply believed. Such thinking is truly guilt-forming and bondage-making. This is not a biblical view of faith.
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