Living Water Church

I’m not one to make New Year’s resolutions.  But as I was praying and seeking God for my family and the church in the last few weeks, I wrote down some of my desires in my prayer journal.  These are things I am asking God for in the coming year.  Let me share them with you.

1.      That we, at LWC, would align ourselves such that we would see an increase in God’s manifest presence this year.  We want to see signs, miracles, and wonders, with their end result being that many would surrender their lives to Jesus.

2.      For our inheritance, God would give us the lost.  My prayer is that we would develop and cultivate an evangelical lifestyle.

3.      That we would be encouragers, building each other up.  (1 Thess. 5:11)

4.      We would be doers of the word and not merely hearers only. (James 1:22)

5.      That God would develop within us the heart of David – a heart of worship and repentance.

6.      That we would be prayer warriors.   And like Hezekiah of old, we would see God’s hand move in our world, “because you have prayed.”  (Isaiah 37:21)

7.      Ultimately, my desire for myself, my family, and my church family, is that we would live lives which are pleasing to the Father.

I love the Christmas season.  I love the decorations, the music, the amazing smells that burst from kitchens everywhere.  I love the anticipation of my children as presents begin to pile up under our tree.  But the main reason that I love Christmas is because it is the only time of year that our culture openly acknowledges the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  Just walking through the mall the other day, the loud speakers were blaring, “Joy to the World, the Lord has come.  Let earth receive her King.  Let every heart prepare Him room.”

The Creator of the Universe, the Messiah, God-incarnate, who we call, Jesus, came to earth!  And yet, few made room for Him.  They were too busy, too tired, or too preoccupied with their lives to realize that the God Himself was in their midst.  Or, perhaps they were too skeptical to investigate as to whether the baby born in the stable was just another child or Someone who would change history.

And change history—He did.  At the birth of Jesus, Earth’s history was divided into two—BC and AD.   No other man so impacted our world, ever.  Take time this season, make room in your busy lives, to discover the truth about Jesus.  Don’t just ignore Him, like the Innkeeper in Bethlehem, who made no room in his Inn.  Rather, choose to give Jesus your time and attention.  Discover who Jesus really was and still is!  Let every heart prepare Him room.  Let every heart receive our King.  Jesus is Immanuel, God with us.

We all pick favorites.  We have our favorite restaurant, our favorite food, movie, or book.  We have favorite people too, based on our friendships and hobbies.  But favoritism can be taken too far.   When we give preferential treatment to people based on economic, social, or racial criteria, it isn’t just wrong, it’s sinful.  The early church quickly developed a problem in this area.  James confronts it, stating that the church gave extra attention and care to a rich man, while debasing a poor man.

Ken’s sermon last week about personal favoritism was awesome.  He talked about the sin of preferential treatment, really driving home the point that in God’s eyes, showing partiality is a serious offense.  Ken said it gave God a black-eye.  Ken exhorted us to consider areas in our lives where our perceptions dictate our actions.  He told us to take an honest look at how we respond to people.  As a church, or as individuals, are we guilty of the sin of personal favoritism?  If so, we must repent and change our ways.   Lord helps to be like You; help us to love the way You love.   As JJ Heller’s song declares, “I will love you for you, not for what you have done or what you will become.  I will love you for you.”

I was talking with the Lord about my life this week, expressing some concerns for myself and for one of my sons.  I felt like the Lord spoke to me and said one word, “retrain.”  By definition, to train means:  “To coach in or accustom to some mode of behavior; to make or become proficient with specialized instruction and practice.”  When you train a dog, you teach it to respond a certain way by repetitive instruction and positive or negative feedback.  (Please know I am not comparing my son or myself to a dog.)  However, the principle applies.  We need to train ourselves to respond to situations in a God-honoring way and not a sinful way.  This may require some “retraining” in our lives.

In our study of James the last several weeks, we have talked about two major stumbling blocks for believers—anger and un-forgiveness.  In these areas, many of us need “retraining.”  Out of habit, we can respond to situations almost in a rote manner, without thinking.  For example, we can respond out of anger and not even realize what we’re doing.  So, we need to “retrain” ourselves and learn to respond to life’s difficulties in a more Godly manner.  James exhorts us to be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.  If you’re like me, you might need some “retraining” to obey this command.

It’s Thanksgiving week.  If you’re at all like me, you’ll shop ‘til you drop and eat ‘til you hurt.  I love this week.  The kids are off school, the house smells of pumpkin and spice.  The family gathers together. It’s a great time of year.

But if that is all Thanksgiving means to me, if that’s where my focus remains, I’ve lost the meaning, the very reason for this holiday’s existence.  In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln declared the last Thursday in November to be set apart as a time to give thanks.  This was a time when our nation was in crisis.  We were at war, with ourselves!  The Civil War was tearing our nation apart.  And in this dark hour, our president gave this presidential address, consider it:

” The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come … the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations… No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens… to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens… And I recommend to them that …  (we) fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility…” President Abraham Lincoln, October 3, 1863, Washington D.C.

Three times in the first chapter of James, James warns against falling into the trap of deception.  In James 1:16, it almost seems as if he is pleading with the new believers, “Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.”  I think James gives this strong admonition because he realizes how vulnerable each person is to being deceived.  In fact, James himself, lived in deception.  He denied the Lordship of Jesus the entire time Jesus walked on earth.  It was the resurrection that opened James’ eyes to the truth.

In its very simplest form, deception is believing a lie; it is believing something to be true, which is in fact false.  By definition, if you are deceived, you have no conscious awareness of the deception.  Come on, have you ever met anyone who admitted to being deceived?

We must protect ourselves from deception.  James clearly illustrates how to go about this.  We must know the Word of God.  It is absolute truth.  But James warns that knowing the Word is not enough.  He states, “But prove yourselves doers of the word and not merely hearers, who deceive themselves.”  James 1:22  If you have a lot of head knowledge about God’s word, and yet you don’t apply it to your life, you are your own worst enemy.  You are leading yourself astray.  You are deceiving yourself.  Lord, teach of to be obedient, doers of Your word.

Anger:–noun

1.  a strong feeling of displeasure and belligerence aroused by a wrong

2.  wrath, ire

3.  hostility

We live in an angry world.  Just this week, I heard the TV news anchors reporting that so many people voted for change in our government because they were angry.  Anger is a powerful motivator.  It is something that all of us feel and struggle with.  But how we deal with anger really determines the course of our life.

The Scripture says, “Be angry…” Ephesians 4:26a. (That’s not a command that most of us put on our refrigerator.  It just doesn’t sound right, does it?)  As I see it, the Bible acknowledges that we will be angry.  But the command doesn’t stop there.  It says, “Be angry, but do not sin.”  If we could figure out how to consistently obey this command, it would save us a lot of trouble.  Wouldn’t you agree?

In this life, we must learn to control our anger or it will control us.  James warns us to be slow to anger.  Lord, will you teach us to walk in self-control when it comes to anger?  Teach us to harness this strong human emotion so that we live righteous lives that please You.

By Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails:

“We can come before God’s throne where there is grace.  There we receive mercy…to help when we need it.”  Hebrews 4:16

Why did Jesus live on earth as long as He did?  Couldn’t His life have been much shorter?  Why not step into our world just long enough to die for our sins and then leave?  Why not a sinless year or week?  Why did He have to live a life?  To take on our sins is one thing, but to take on our sunburns, our sore throats?  To experience death, yes – but to put up with life?  To put up with long roads, long days, and short tempers?  Why did He do it?

Because He wants you to trust Him…

He has been where you are and can relate to how you feel.  And if His life on earth doesn’t convince you, His death on the cross should.  He understands what you are going through.  Our Lord does not patronize us or scoff at our needs.  He responds “generously to all without find fault.”  James 1:4

There’s a line in the hymn, Great is Thy Faithfulness, that declares that God provides “strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.”  Consider that promise.

In the last month our church has experienced great anguish and sorrow.  We have had to face serious sickness, crying out for God’s healing touch on Alisha.  We have walked through the valley of the shadow of death.  We had two funerals in 7 days.  Our emotions are still raw from the loss and the grief.  In the midst of all of this, I have turned to God for strength.  I have once again come to the conclusion that my hope is in God alone.  There is nothing else, no one else, that can provide me stability and hope in face of great difficulty.

When I preached the sermon about trials 3 weeks ago, I had no idea what our church was getting ready to face.   But God did.  And even though we have walked through incredibly difficult times, I have known the presence of the Lord in the midst of it all.  He is real.  He is faithful.  He will never leave or abandon us.  Our hope is in Him.  He provides strength for today; strength to face the trials, the disappointments, the hurts, the decisions.  He provides hope, even in the face of loss and hurt.  There is hope for tomorrow.   God’s promise is that “weeping may last through the night, but joy comes in the morning.”  Ps. 31:5  Cling to God’s promises.  He is the source of life.

Sometimes life hurts.  Our church family has experienced yet another tragedy this week.  I’m sort of at a loss for words as to what to say, which is not good when you are responsible for writing the pastor’s blog for the website.

I don’t pretend to understand why God would take home two precious people in our congregation within a week of each other.  If I could figure that out, truthfully, I could figure out God.  All I know is that God is God and I am not.  And since He is God, I will choose to trust Him.  He knows what He is doing; He has a master plan; He is in control.  When I can trust nothing else, I can trust Him.  Like Job of old, I will declare, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.”  Job 13:15

We will miss Richard.  We will miss Yvonne.  We are grieving.  God understands grief and He is patient with us as we work through the emotions of shock, anger, despair, sadness…  I would encourage you not to try to figure out what God is doing or saying during this time.  It’s just a time to grieve.  It’s time to trust.  Sometimes, you just have to hang on, hang on to God and trust that He knows what He is doing.  Let’s decide together that we are going to put our hope in Him.  He is trustworthy.