Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Something to think about.
“You must do your own growing, no matter how tall (or short) your father was”
Pastor's Corner
for Sunday Aug. 30th
Refined by Fire.
“He [God] will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.” (Malachi 3:3) We all know that to refine silver it has to be refined in fire. This process brings the impurities to the top where the silver smith scrapes it off. Now, this is the cool part, when the silver smith can see his face in the molten silver he knows that he has removed all the impurities. So, when God says that He is like a silver smith refining us, two very profound truths are brought out. First, God through the “fire” of struggle and pain is removing the impurities from our lives. Those things that get in our way; those things that keep us from being all that God wants us to be are removed from our lives. And, these are things that only fire can remove. They are things that we do not let go of easily and so struggle and pain are required to make us let go of them. The second truth is that God wants to see His “face” in our lives! Who doesn’t want to reflect the image of God? So, this gives us a very positive attitude to struggle and pain in our lives. When I am a baby in Jesus there is too much of me and therefore the image of God is not very clear at all. A lot of selfishness and pride has to be removed before people can see God clearly. My hard and insensitive heart must be softened and then Jesus can be seen in me. Our times of struggle and pain are not easy times, but we can glory in these times knowing that “your reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.”(1 Pet 1:9)
Pastor Don
Refined by Fire.
“He [God] will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.” (Malachi 3:3) We all know that to refine silver it has to be refined in fire. This process brings the impurities to the top where the silver smith scrapes it off. Now, this is the cool part, when the silver smith can see his face in the molten silver he knows that he has removed all the impurities. So, when God says that He is like a silver smith refining us, two very profound truths are brought out. First, God through the “fire” of struggle and pain is removing the impurities from our lives. Those things that get in our way; those things that keep us from being all that God wants us to be are removed from our lives. And, these are things that only fire can remove. They are things that we do not let go of easily and so struggle and pain are required to make us let go of them. The second truth is that God wants to see His “face” in our lives! Who doesn’t want to reflect the image of God? So, this gives us a very positive attitude to struggle and pain in our lives. When I am a baby in Jesus there is too much of me and therefore the image of God is not very clear at all. A lot of selfishness and pride has to be removed before people can see God clearly. My hard and insensitive heart must be softened and then Jesus can be seen in me. Our times of struggle and pain are not easy times, but we can glory in these times knowing that “your reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.”(1 Pet 1:9)
Pastor Don
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Pastor's Corner
for Sunday Aug 23
What makes life valuable?
What makes you valuable as a person? What gives you the right to live? Does the amount you cost society make a difference? Does the impact you have on the environment make a difference? I ask this because there is steady effort to devalue human life at every level. Back in 2005 we had the Terri Schiavo case where her life was terminated because someone decided that her life was no longer important; that she didn’t matter anymore. Her death was the frightening yet logical result of a culture that has replaced God with moral relativism and so judge certain people to be "defective" and believe that their quality of life is not worth the effort or expense to preserve or maintain. It would be better, they say, for all involved if these “defective” (read old, sick, unproductive) people moved on quietly and peacefully. Just look at the new proposed Health program that would “ration” health care for evidence of this mindset. Now, a pair of scientists at Oregon State University, Paul A. Murtaugh and Michael G. Schlax, suggest that the answer to the environmental consequences of carbon emissions is to reduce the number of children born. They say that a child adds 9441 metric tons of carbon dioxide to the carbon legacy of an average female. Their theory is simple, having less children is the most effective way to reduce our “carbon foot-print”. What this means is that a person’s worth is reduced to the “quality” of their life, or cost effective criteria, or the size of their “carbon foot-print”. But here’s the truth, our significance and worth is given us by God. The bible says God breathed into Adam and he became a living being – we have God’s breath in us! God made us in His own image, nothing else in all of creation is created in the image of God, therefore, the world was made for us, not us for the world. We don’t dispose of people to enhance the planet. In fact, we use the planet to enhance the lives of people. EVERY PERSON is valuable and their life is significant and worth living simply because God gave them life and that’s enough reason for us do all that we can to improve the quality of their life and do what’s necessary to keep them alive.
Pastor Don.
What makes life valuable?
What makes you valuable as a person? What gives you the right to live? Does the amount you cost society make a difference? Does the impact you have on the environment make a difference? I ask this because there is steady effort to devalue human life at every level. Back in 2005 we had the Terri Schiavo case where her life was terminated because someone decided that her life was no longer important; that she didn’t matter anymore. Her death was the frightening yet logical result of a culture that has replaced God with moral relativism and so judge certain people to be "defective" and believe that their quality of life is not worth the effort or expense to preserve or maintain. It would be better, they say, for all involved if these “defective” (read old, sick, unproductive) people moved on quietly and peacefully. Just look at the new proposed Health program that would “ration” health care for evidence of this mindset. Now, a pair of scientists at Oregon State University, Paul A. Murtaugh and Michael G. Schlax, suggest that the answer to the environmental consequences of carbon emissions is to reduce the number of children born. They say that a child adds 9441 metric tons of carbon dioxide to the carbon legacy of an average female. Their theory is simple, having less children is the most effective way to reduce our “carbon foot-print”. What this means is that a person’s worth is reduced to the “quality” of their life, or cost effective criteria, or the size of their “carbon foot-print”. But here’s the truth, our significance and worth is given us by God. The bible says God breathed into Adam and he became a living being – we have God’s breath in us! God made us in His own image, nothing else in all of creation is created in the image of God, therefore, the world was made for us, not us for the world. We don’t dispose of people to enhance the planet. In fact, we use the planet to enhance the lives of people. EVERY PERSON is valuable and their life is significant and worth living simply because God gave them life and that’s enough reason for us do all that we can to improve the quality of their life and do what’s necessary to keep them alive.
Pastor Don.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Pastor's Corner
for Sunday Aug 9th
Are you wasting your life?
Jesus said, “If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will find true life. And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process? Is anything worth more than your soul?” Mark 8:35-37 What is Jesus saying? He’s asking, “What are you doing with your life?! Are you investing your life or wasting it?!” Do you really want to get to the end of your life and find out that you wasted your life?! What a terrible thought. Can there be a more significant question than this? Some people find the question too penetrating and so move on to something else. But true disciples of Jesus confront the issues that Jesus puts before them. This is a question Jesus wants me to ask and answer – “What am I doing with my life?” Are we investing or wasting our lives? If you live your life for Jesus you will invest in your life, but if you live for yourself you will waste it! But here’s what tough, if you want to invest in eternity you have to hand your life over to Jesus. Jesus must be LORD of my life not just an adviser. Advice is something we can take or leave. I don’t have to follow someone’s advice. If I don’t like it I can reject it. But Lordship is different. If Jesus is Lord then what He asks of me is not optional, I must obey whether I agree or not; whether I like it or not. Turning my life over to Jesus is hard to do, but here’s the reality – if you are not investing your life in Jesus you are simply wasting your life, and that’s tragic.
Pastor Don.
Are you wasting your life?
Jesus said, “If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will find true life. And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process? Is anything worth more than your soul?” Mark 8:35-37 What is Jesus saying? He’s asking, “What are you doing with your life?! Are you investing your life or wasting it?!” Do you really want to get to the end of your life and find out that you wasted your life?! What a terrible thought. Can there be a more significant question than this? Some people find the question too penetrating and so move on to something else. But true disciples of Jesus confront the issues that Jesus puts before them. This is a question Jesus wants me to ask and answer – “What am I doing with my life?” Are we investing or wasting our lives? If you live your life for Jesus you will invest in your life, but if you live for yourself you will waste it! But here’s what tough, if you want to invest in eternity you have to hand your life over to Jesus. Jesus must be LORD of my life not just an adviser. Advice is something we can take or leave. I don’t have to follow someone’s advice. If I don’t like it I can reject it. But Lordship is different. If Jesus is Lord then what He asks of me is not optional, I must obey whether I agree or not; whether I like it or not. Turning my life over to Jesus is hard to do, but here’s the reality – if you are not investing your life in Jesus you are simply wasting your life, and that’s tragic.
Pastor Don.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Something to Think About
“Money often brings options, but it doesn't necessarily add value to your life”
Pastor's Corner
for Sunday Aug 9th
“Daddy! You came for me!”
I was hesitant to watch the movie “Taken” but I must confess that I really enjoyed the movie. “Taken” is about a teen age girl who goes to Paris without her parents (and against her dad’s better judgment). While there she and the girl she traveled with are abducted by a mob group who traffic in women, and they are going to auction the girls off to the highest bidder. Fortunately for her, her dad is an ex-CIA agent who has the courage, the skills and the determination needed to find and rescue his daughter. What is so clear in this movie is that these girls are completely helpless and unless someone comes and rescues her she will be sold to the highest bidder and we can only imagine the terrible future that awaits her. While watching the movie I was struck by how this parallels our story of redemption. We too were “taken” captive by evil forces; while under Satan’s power, we were slaves to sin and we had no choice but to comply with his wishes. We were totally helpless to free ourselves from this situation, and unless someone came to rescue us we had no hope of ever being free and our future was a terrifying one. But God, by His grace sent Jesus who engaged the fury of the demonic world and recued us from Satan’s grasp. He has washed away our filth with His blood and has clothed us in garments of righteousness. We are free and we are safe! In the closing minutes of the movie, when she is rescued by her father she says, “Daddy! You came for me!” I don’t know about you, but I’m glad my father came for me!
Pastor Don.
“Daddy! You came for me!”
I was hesitant to watch the movie “Taken” but I must confess that I really enjoyed the movie. “Taken” is about a teen age girl who goes to Paris without her parents (and against her dad’s better judgment). While there she and the girl she traveled with are abducted by a mob group who traffic in women, and they are going to auction the girls off to the highest bidder. Fortunately for her, her dad is an ex-CIA agent who has the courage, the skills and the determination needed to find and rescue his daughter. What is so clear in this movie is that these girls are completely helpless and unless someone comes and rescues her she will be sold to the highest bidder and we can only imagine the terrible future that awaits her. While watching the movie I was struck by how this parallels our story of redemption. We too were “taken” captive by evil forces; while under Satan’s power, we were slaves to sin and we had no choice but to comply with his wishes. We were totally helpless to free ourselves from this situation, and unless someone came to rescue us we had no hope of ever being free and our future was a terrifying one. But God, by His grace sent Jesus who engaged the fury of the demonic world and recued us from Satan’s grasp. He has washed away our filth with His blood and has clothed us in garments of righteousness. We are free and we are safe! In the closing minutes of the movie, when she is rescued by her father she says, “Daddy! You came for me!” I don’t know about you, but I’m glad my father came for me!
Pastor Don.
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