Posted by Pastor Pat on August 16, 2010
Do you ever find yourself succumbing to fleshly lusts? Have you ever wondered why you find it so easy to do evil when the good is equally present? No matter how hard you try to talk yourself out of it, failure seems so inevitable; your frustration level is climbing; stress becomes a part of your every day life. The gap between what you know to be true and how you experience life is glaring and the schism is heart breaking.
I am confident that all who read this can identify with Paul’s dilemma as lamented in Romans 7:19. Those who do not identify fall into one of two categories: those who are spiritually dead as an unbeliever, and those who are spiritually deceived as a believer.
Honesty and transparency are difficult, for they leave us vulnerable. The alternative, however, is mask wearing, and I have always found mask wearing to be uncomfortable as well as stifling and “plastic.”
So, let us be honest – both you and I struggle. While we do not struggle with the truth claims of faith, we do struggle with our progression forward. We want to see Him and have Him use us in an unprecedented way. We want to see Him with the eye of faith. We want to believe that which awaits us can swallow up the trials of this temporal world. We want to believe that somehow in the midst of all this “craziness” God is in control. And yet . . . we struggle. We struggle at work; we struggle with our kids; we struggle with our spouse; and we struggle financially, emotionally, physically, and, at times, spiritually. We just flat out struggle. Life is hard; nothing appears to be easy. We want the supernatural and miraculous. We want God to snap His fingers and fix all of our problems. Yet despite all of these desires, it is still incredibly difficult to do right when wrong is so easy.
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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 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 December 14, 2008
Do we really understand what we have in Christ? I know we are Christians, but do we really know what that means? To be sure we are not Buddhists or Muslims or Hindus, but do we know what it means to be Christian?
Unfortunately, Christianity is more noted for what we do or not do than for who He is, what He has done, and who His people now are because of it. Do we openly and regularly celebrate the nature of His cross-work and confirming resurrection?
Christians are different than non-Christians for the simple reason that we are forgiven of all our transgressions (Col. 2:13). As Christians we no longer carry the burden of guilt that daily and habitually grind the non-Christian into fine dust fragments of what it means to be made in His image. We no longer live with fear of the unknown or of God. We have a peace that passes all human understanding (Phil. 4:7). Christians are different because we live contented lives and die with hope (1 Thess. 4:13).
Christians do not live with the burden of trying to please their God and somehow in ways unknown they try to stumble into His favor and blessing (Eph. 1:3, 1 Thess. 5:23, 24). Christians do not carry grudges or judge people ruthlessly or live intolerant lives toward those who are different in culture, worship, or belief (Rom. 14). Christians love their enemies and do good to those who despitefully use them (Luke 6:27). Christians forgive even as they have been forgiven (Eph. 4:32).
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Posted by Pastor Pat on December 10, 2008
“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.” 2 Cor. 4:7
In today’s culture of glitz, glamour, and glory it is easy to forget that we are but “jars of clay” (NIV). We are clumps of clay waiting to be shaped under the Master’s touch. It is only as He moves in us and through us to those around us that we echo His voice to others. As I consider the infinity of God I am often staggered by our “puny” attempts to contain Him through our “monitoring” of other people’s spirituality. Spiritual fruit is as diversified as the Holy Spirit is immeasurable. Yet as I consider grace and its embodiment in “fleshly pots” I believe the following seven statements are the kinds of reflections we will see in us and through us by those around us.
1. We must never consider ourselves to be better than anyone else regardless as to where they were born, to whom they were born and to what they were born. In Christ’s Church, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28).
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