Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation

Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation

I am still basking in the presence of God from this past Sunday. It is always good to share in Baptism as a congregation. God was truly present as we baptized six individuals. And to think that this was Ellie’s aunt's first church service. She couldn’t wait to attend the service because she has heard so much, all the way from China, of what God was doing in our church. She was overwhelmed with the love of God and the love of this church. We are experiencing the power of the Spirit everySunday and my heart is overflowing.

I want to focus on a prayer that Paul prayed for the church of Ephesus. He follows up a section where he talks about how Jesus has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing. The fact is that we are saved and delivered from sin and we are in line to receive everything God has planned for us which leads to a glorious life.

“For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people, and His incomparably great power for us who believe.” Ephesians 1:13-19a

In our journey together as a church, we have seen some great days of blessing and an overabundance of God’s presence. We have also experienced some pain along the way. That is why I pray for the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. It is with a heavy heart that I share the results of the tests done yesterday on Lorna Morse. The cancer has spread to her liver, lungs, and bones. The prognosis is not looking very good at all. Grant it, the doctors are doing all they know how. They have treated her with special medicine and will continue to do so. But God will have the final say. So I choose not to give up praying for His healing. God is the God of the impossible.

As my heart is heavy, their hearts are more so. Please continue to lift them up in your prayers. As Paul prayed, “I pray that God will give us a Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that we may know Him better.” We are in desperate need of knowing the hope to which He has called us, and Lorna is in desperate need of a divine touch from the Great Physician.

Many will ask what they can do. As I was visiting with Lorna last week, we were talking about heaven and what it would be like. It was a great conversation and a reminder that it is where all those who believe on the Lord Jesus will be for eternity. It is not something to be afraid of or dread our entrance. It is the prize at the end of a long race, a place where there are no more sorrows, pain, or time. There is no time table in heaven. A day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day. So there will be no time on our hands to worry or fret.

What can we do for the Morse family?

Pray! Pray for a Spirit of wisdom and revelation and healing. Pray that for Dave, Sam, and Joe as well. We can also go to the website, takethemameal.com(username: morse; password: 2boys), and sign up for a meal. As I was talking to them the other day, that seemed to be the biggest need before them other than the love and prayers.

May God reveal Himself to you today and remind you of His spiritual blessings and provision.

Joy in Jesus!

Pastor Mike

Life of Purpose

 What a great day on Sunday as we saw 22 babies and dedicated 8. We are blessed to have so many young families seeking the Lord and His blessing on their family. This Sunday we will celebrate baptism. If I get any more blessed in our services, someone is going to have to carry me out. God is doing a great work and we are blessed to participate in it. Every Sunday is a gift and we are to be a good steward of it. As a matter of fact, we are to be a steward of the gifts and graces God has given us. What is a steward? I’m glad you asked. It is someone who manages or looks after something or someone. In the case of our gifts and graces, we are to manage them well. That includes learning what they are, learning more about them, and being accountable for them. It also includes the time we spend using them.

The famous composer, Tchaikovsky put a sign out on his gate: Visiting hours Monday and Tuesday between 3 and 5 pm. Other times please do not ring. Have you ever been tempted to put a sign up like that? In essence he was saying, “I’m a composer. This is how I am going to bless the world with how God has gifted me – not by idle conversation.” He knew his purpose and lived his life to the fullest according to that purpose.

Our life is a gift from God. We are all responsible for what we do with it and are to be a steward of every minute contained in that gift.

Paul knows his purpose and the power behind it. We all share the same purpose in knowing, loving, serving, and obeying God with all of our heart. But Paul’s specific purpose was to preach the gospel. Look with me in Ephesians 3:1-8,

“For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles— 2 Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. 4 In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. 6 This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.  7 I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of His power. 8 Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.”

This passage shows us that our purpose is designed by God to bring glory to His name. It will only be realized through God’s power and not our own. Have you tuned into what God’s purpose is for you? Seek God’s heart and let Him fulfill that purpose through you today and each day by setting your time and heart seeking first the kingdom of God.

Come on Sunday to one of our services with great anticipation.

Joy in Jesus!

Pastor Mike

Seeing Things for What They Are

Seeing Things for What They Are

Whenever you return from a mission trip, you are a little more sensitive to the things that we consider normal. When being away from the television and computer, you realize how our society is slowly taking more and more steps to pull us away from conservative, God-fearing values. When looking at the change taking place on a daily basis, you don’t really see the full impact because we adapt like a frog adapts his body temperature to his environment. But over the course of time, dramatic changes have been happening to draw us away from Biblical, spirit-filled environments. Upon returning, you are also more aware of the focus of your life. You ask yourself the question, “When did that become so important to me?” It truly does open your eyes to the fact that you have changed from where you once were.

When coming to know Christ as your personal savior, you put off the old things and open your life to the new things God provides for you protection and fulfillment. You put on the Matthew 6:33-34 attitude that says, “But seek first the kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Do you know that the enemy is good at what he does? I don’t believe Satan would waste his time on exposing himself for the lies and deceit he has caused. Taking the subtle approach is the best tactic. He is prowling around like a lion looking to devour you. He is still as subtle as he was in the garden with Adam and Eve.

The good news I have for you today is that you do not have to go on a mission trip or have a life altering event happen to you in order to expose the subtlety of the enemy of our souls and be awaken to ungodly activity all around. You can choose to have the mind of Christ and to see your environment for what it is. You can call on the name of the Lord and ask Him to make you aware of anything that may be hindering a close, vibrant relationship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Sometimes it takes a major event or change to open our eyes to what is really important. Don’t wait for that to happen. God wants to give you a hope and fulfillment today, right where you are.

Jude is one of those chapters that most people don’t read very often. Let me draw our attention to a few verses found at the end of Jude.

A Call to Persevere
17 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 18 They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” 19 These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.
20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.
22 Be merciful to those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

Doxology
24 To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— 25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. -- Jude 1:17-25

I’m looking forward to a great baby day on Sunday. I will also be continuing my series, “Will Our Children Have Faith?”

May God open your eyes to see the things that spur you on and the things that drag you down.

Joy in Jesus!

Pastor Mike

Turning Inward

Turning Inward

 

I was just thinking this morning how fast time is traveling. Just a week ago I was in Marose, Haiti, building a school. We returned home on Monday and I froze as I stepped off the plane. The temperature in Haiti was in the 90s. While sleeping in Marose, I don’t think I have ever been so hot, lying on a cot, smelling like I was about to rot on that very spot. It would be good to have the rest of this devotional rhyme, but I think not.

Our trip to Haiti was incredible. There were 22 people on the trip. Each one played an important role as God put this team together. The building was not as big as our previous ones were so we had a little more time to get to know the children. I really enjoyed seeing our people come alive as they allowed God to love the little children through them. I believe everyone returned home with a new hope and vision of what God wants to accomplish in their lives. We will be sharing our amazing trip in the weeks ahead.

I think Psalm 19 reflects my thoughts as I journeyed with our brothers and sisters in Haiti. I am amazed at the handiwork of God as David was when he observed the heavens, under the dominating influence of the sun. He then went on to describe the influence of the Law of the Lord which enlightened Him. Then he prayed for complete cleansing so that his life would be acceptable to God. The experience each one of our team had prompted sincere self-examination. May the impact of God’s creation and the very words of the Bible cause us to turn inward and seek the cleansing power of His Spirit.

Psalm 19
1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. 3 They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. 4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. 5 It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. 6 It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth. 7 The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. 8 The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. 9 The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous. 10 They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb. 11 By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward. 12 But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults. 13 Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression. 14 May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

I’m looking forward to Sunday as we celebrate Mother’s Day. I will be starting a three-week series on the family. It’s going to be a great day…

Joy in Jesus!

Pastor Mike