How To Become A Solid Rock In Times Of Trouble!

In Romans 5, the Apostle Paul gives us guidance and encouragment when it comes to handling problems in our lives.  In fact, the Apostle Paul tells us to rejoice in these times...

3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.  -Romans 5:3-5 NLT

It seems out of touch that we should rejoice in times of trouble.  However, Paul is right.  When we rejoice, we trust that God is working out something in our lives that will bring about good.  If you've ever experienced a troubling time, and approached it from this biblical view, you know that Paul's words are true.

When we approach life's struggles with rejoicing and faith in God (He'll never leave us nor forsake us), the result is rock solid lives laid on the foundation of Jesus, built with the tools of endurance, character, and hope!  So that when the winds of life's troubles beat against our lives, we won't be swayed, rather, we'll outlast the storms and deliver the hope we have to those whose live's have been destroyed.

So how do we become a solid rock in times of trouble?  Rejoice!

Deadliest Catch And The Church

"You watch that crab fishing show don't you!"  I heard that many times this past weekend after the band opened our church service with Bon Jovi's hit "Wanted Dead Or Alive."  To answer your question, YES, I do watch Deadliest Catch.  It is one of my favorite shows!  However, it's not the reason we opened our worship celebration with it's theme song last Sunday.   

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There are two reasons why we use popular, secular songs at New Life:


1. So people far from God can connect to His church.  Whether you know it or not, all people have common ground:  We're all sinners in need a savior.  Where can we hear about the savior?  At church!  The church is God's plan for reaching and discipling the nations.  So how do we connect someone far from God to His church?  By providing opportunities for them to find common ground between what they're familiar with and God.  Since God created the world and everything in it, we can use the world to glorify God.  PLEASE NOTE:  WE CANNOT USE SIN TO GLORIFY GOD.  What the world intends for evil God can use to save lives! (Genesis 50:20)  I don't know if Bon Jovi intended his song for evil, but I know that, last weekend, God used it for good! 

P.S. The Church is people.  When I say: we provide opportunities for people far from God to connect with His church, I mean for His people (those of you who have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior) to invite friends to an experience where they won't be alienated by people doing things that seem out of touch with reality.  The church only works when we reach out to those around us in the power of God.  At New Life, we seek to provide opportunities so people far from God can connect with Him by providing opportunities for you to invite friends to a fun, loving, and life-changing environment.  The world can provide the fun and even the love, but it can't provide real life-change for this life and the next!  Only God can do that.

2. So all of us will remember that God wants us to have a faith that's alive!  Every week, as the Worship Pastor, I look for songs that will help people remember the message preached on Sunday.  This week, Pastor Chris's message was titled "Dead Or Alive" from Revelation 3:1-7.  What better way to help people connect with his message than open with a tune many people are familiar with!  When people sing the chorus of "Wanted Dead or Alive" they'll most likely remember, "Hey we did this in church!" Hopefully, this will lead them to remember that God wants us to have a faith that is alive, not dead.  In two weeks we'll be learning that God wants us to have faith that is ether dead or alive.  He can't stand those on the fence.  In fact, the Bible says He spits them out of His mouth.  How far can God spit?  Join us on April 17th for a demonstration.

We had an awesome service on Sunday! God moved powerfully and it is so exciting to see Him do great things in the lives of people!  I am so blessed to be able to serve at New Life and I can't wait for what God has in store for us.  The best is yet to come!

Feeling Abandoned by God?

Have you ever felt abandoned by someone?  What about God?  If you're feeling abandoned by God, it's time to look inside your heart.

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Certainly, people abandon each other all the time.  Unfortunately, that's human nature.  We'd like to think people are dedicated to relationships but our culture makes clear that relational abandonment is not only common but expected.  So what about God?  Does God abandon us?

The answer is no, God doesn't abandon us.  God is not like us.  However, there are two factors that can make us feel abandoned by God.  Both of which are heart issues:

1. We have not, truly, believed in Jesus and have not received the Holy Spirit.
2. God hasn't abandoned us, we've abandoned Him.

God makes this promise to those who call upon Him: For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."-Romans 10:13 ESV  If you call on the name of Jesus and put your faith and trust in Him, you will be saved!  It really is that easy.  Living it is a different story.  That is why God gives us His Holy Spirit: But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." -Acts 1:8  So when we believe in Jesus, God gives us His Spirit to lead us into understanding the ways of God.  We surrender our will to His will.  It's all about Him, not us!  Understanding this truth is the first step to healing the abandoned heart.

If Jesus is your Savior and you still feel abandoned, it's time to look deeper into your heart.  Look at this verse from 2 Chronicles 30

10 So the couriers went from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them. 11 However, some men of Asher, of Manasseh, and of Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. 12 The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of the Lord. -2 Chronicles 30:10-12 ESV

In this short snippet of a larger story, King Hezekiah  sent messengers (couriers) out to all the cities in the Kingdom.  His purpose was to bring people back to Jerusalem that they might celebrate the passover. (A party remembering God's grace that saved them from slavery in Egypt.)  As you read in the story, only a few humbled themselves and went to Jerusalem.  The rest mocked, laughed and scorned them.

Notice, though, what God does for those who listen to His message.  God put His hand on His people and gave them one heart. (Blessing and unity.)  In other words, God aligned the people with His heart because it was done according to His word.  So, if you're a believer and find yourself feeling abandoned by God, humble yourself and pray because God never abandons us, we abandon, laugh, scorn, and sometimes mock Him.  (This happens, a lot, when He calls us to do something we really don't want to do or when something tragic happens that we have no control over...)  He is still God and He is still in control.

Be encouraged because whether you're a believer or not: He is actually not far from each one of us and, once found, will never leave us forsake us! (Acts 17:27b and Hebrews 13:5b)  We must make sure, if we put our faith in Him, we don't forsake Him even when we don't understand!  Even if we have abandoned God, He is still near to us.  All we have to do is call on His powerful name! (Acts 1:8)


If we feel abandoned by God, it's because our hearts aren't aligned with His.

God never abandons us! 

Speak Up! Was Jesus Really Silent About These Issues?

I used to have a professor who'd say "Silence implies agreement." Speaking in temporal (human) terms, he's right.  The world views silence as agreement.  When we don't speak up, the world is free to move in the direction it wants to go.  But why don't we speak up?  We don't speak up because we've been taught since pre-school not to offend anyone with our own ideas or beliefs.  Instead, we remain silent hoping someone else will speak out against the resulting issues.  However, when we don't speak up, the world views silence as agreement and moves further and further away from it's Creator's design.  This issue is certainly one that needs to be fixed, but it's not the purpose of this post.

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[Speak Up! Blog Series Part 1 of 4]

In our world, because silence implies agreement, I fear we view Jesus through the same lens.  If Jesus is silent on an issue, He must agree with it.  Here are three specific issues that our world (and some Christians) would argue Jesus was silent or not clear about:  Homosexuality, living together, and tithing.

It might surprise some of us but Jesus was not silent on any of these issues. Over the next few days we'll be discussing these issues in depth.  In fact, we're going to have a special guest blogger about one of the toughest issues for Christians.  Through this series we'll see, many times, the real problem is we pick and choose what to believe and opt for silence (or gray area) when it's convenient for us.

Speak up! Because in our world, silence implies agreement. Not so with God.*

*21 While you did all this, I remained silent,
and you thought I didn’t care. But now I will rebuke you,
listing all my charges against you. -Psalm 50:21 NLT 

Weekend Preview

This weekend at New Life, we are continuing our series "Stories Of The Kingdom: The Power Of One!"  This series has a powerful message:  God cares about us!  The series is based on the parables of Jesus in Luke 15.  This weekend we are moving into the second part of the series discussing what our response must be to God's searching for us!

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This weekend I am preaching a message on "The ONE Thing That Truly Matters"!  We are going to take a look at some of the things we think matter when it comes to living our lives here and now.  We're going to be challenged by God's Word and we'll see what God has to say about what truly matters here, now, and forever.

Saddle up and get on down to church Sunday.  No matter where you are, find a great church and go!  Don't put it off.

I will post the message up here next week.  You can also watch this message and past messages by myself and Dr. Chris Marshall on New Life's media page here.

See you Sunday!

Don't Get Caught With Your Pants Down...

This past Sunday I preached about being ready for Jesus' return.  The title of the message was "Ready or Not..."  Whether we are ready or not, Jesus is coming back.

On that day, it will be much better for us to be ready than not.

I'll let Jesus explain.

Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time?43 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.44 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions.45 But if that servant says to himself, My master is delayed in coming, and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk,46 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful.47 And that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating.48 But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

Jesus gives four specific examples of people.

1. The person who does what he/she is supposed to be doing—Serving, following, and obeying Jesus with everything inside of them!


2. The person who "assumes" today is not the day Jesus is coming back.  Do you know what "assuming" does?   Just look at the syllable breakdown: "Ass-u-me"!  This person takes advantage of Christian leadership and exploits it for their own purposes.  This person is self-centered and deserves what Jesus' describes.


3. The person who knows about Jesus but doesn't fully obey Him.


4. The person who has never heard about Jesus and acted according to the sinful nature.

Each one of these people gets what they deserve.  However, it is interesting, the person who "knows" Jesus but doesn't do what He commands gets a harsh beating (person number three).  This doesn't mean they don't get into heaven, it means they will suffer great loss.

Here is what the Apostle Paul says about this type of person:

11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw--13 each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.15 If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire./

Ouch!

I fear the population of Christians in America is best represented in person number three.

You can read God's Word for yourself...

You can see the judgements of God on each profile.

Who are you today?

Be person number one.

It will be much better for us to be ready on the day Jesus returns.  Because ready or not, He's coming back!

Don't get caught with your pants down...

The Why Behind Worship!

Lately, I have been thinking, a lot, about why we meet together on Sunday mornings for worship.  One Sunday, about two weeks ago, I was on my way to church when God put a verse in my mind:  Psalm 51:10.  Psalm 51:10 is why we join together to worship.

"Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and renew a right spirit within me."
                                                  -Psalm 51:10

God wants us to join together and glorify Him through corporate worship.  That is not all worship is, though!  If it were, worship would be all about us.  Worship is not about us!  Worship is about God and expecting Him to do greater things among us.

God is expecting to create in us clean hearts and align our spirits with His.  Paul tells us, we are to renew our minds daily, but weekly we should gather together and ask God to clean our hearts and renew our spirits!  When we come to worship expecting God to create something new in our hearts and spirits, worship becomes about Him, what He has done and wants to do within us!

It doesn't matter whether you are a seeker, new believer, or 50 year veteran of Christianity, Psalm 51:10 is the foundation for corporate worship!

So this week, go to worship expecting God to create something new within you.  When you do, God will.