Psalm 19:8

Psalm 19:8
'The commands of the Lord are radiant
Making the eyes light up.'

I'm guessing based on Ps 13:3 that this verse could be taken two ways.

The HCSB takes the words as though the Word of God causes the reader
to be happy. Amen! A heart turned toward God will rejoice to be His.
Our happiness will be founded on something solid, not flimsy like the
happenings around us.

But Ps 13:3 would make us think that this phrase points to the
brightness of the eyes refering to life. Again, amen! There is nothing
so dull as dead eyes; there is also nothing so dead as dead spiritual
eyes. Our eyes apart from the Word of God are dead, blind, and without
any light.

God the Father, give us light that we may see.
God the Son, give us light that others may see.
God the Spirit, give us light that Your people may rejoice!

Go to God's Word that you may have enlightened eyes.

Rejoicing together with you,
Pastor Greg

Psalm 19:1-4

Psalms 19:1-4
1 The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky proclaims the work of His hands.
2 Day after day they pour out speech;
night after night they communicate knowledge.
3 There is no speech; there are no words;
their voice is not heard.
4 Their message has gone out to all the earth,
and their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens He has pitched a tent for the sun.

The heavens declare the glory of God yet they have no voice, how then
do redwood trees declare the glory of God?

Awe. Awe is the feeling of one's 'insignificance'. The Amer Heritage
Dict defines awe as a mixed emotion of reverence, dread, and wonder.
When a 6' human being looks at a 275' tree there ought to be awe;
there ought to be a sense of dread, FEAR: What if that thig fell on
me? What if I fell off that thing?

Soon, these thoughts give way to, Wow God made that! How big mist that
guy be! What if He 'fell' on me? Then you start to think, What would I
do to get on the wrong side of God? This is the beginnig of the fear
of the Lord; this is the beginning of wisdom. It all started by
correctly looking at a tree; looking at a tree and 'hearing' it
declare the glory of God.

Father in Heaven, thank you for declaring You own glory because I
couldn't have heard it w/o Your creation.
Son beside us, thank You for putting that declaration in words I could
understand.
Spirit within us, thank You for aawakening my heart first to hear,
then to sing along for Your glory.

Notice your trees today!

Looking with you,
Pastor Greg

Ephesians 1:23

'the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in
all.' (NASB) Eph 1:23

In what way is the church 'the fullness of Him'?

Obviously not in the sense that He is the Church and nothing else; He
would be a frail and wishy washy kind of God if that were true.

Obviously not in the sense that He 'fills all in all' through the
church; there is plenty that (for now at least) has nothing to do with
the human beings that make up His Body: the moons of Jupiter for
example.

We are the fulness of Christ in that we are the repesentation that the
world needs to know Him. We are the Good News written on hearts (2 Cor
3:1-3), we are the fragrance of God to those around us (2 Cor
2:14-17), we are the fleshy representation so others can see and know
what Christ looks like.

Praise Jesus that He is so great that He can use such poor tools to
make His Glory known to all the world.

Father You are so great that You were bursting with life and spilled
over to create the Universe and all the life in it.
Son, You are so great that You gave Life to the dead because death
tried to claim You but could not and for those Who follow You, You
lead from the clutches of death and bring us to Life.
Spirit, You are so great that You energize life; You make atoms and
molecules dance in ways that cannot be explained but can only be
observed.

Praise You Jesus!

How can You praise Jesus this morning?

Living in Him with You,
Pastor Greg

Revelation 5:9-10

9 And they sang a new song:

'You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because You were slaughtered,
and You redeemed people
for God by Your blood
from every tribe and language
and people and nation.
10 You made them a kingdom
and priests to our God,
and they will reign on the earth.'
Revelation 5:9-10

What is the point of life? It is to be prepared to hear this song.

One way to look at life is to say that the whole reason we are here is
to make sure we are 'there' to sing the song: we must be standing near
enough to Christ's throne to hear the Elders singing (Rev 4:8; 5:8).
The peals of thunder and rumblings (Rev 4:5) would scare any who were
not specifically invited to see the spectacle (for that matter it
might send some fear down the spine of some who are).

Perhaps more importantly however, you must be prepared to want to hear
this song. If you are not one of the 'purchased' then you won't want
to hear about the Lamb being slain. That Event meant thedownfall of
your 'father'; it meant the downfall of your way of life.

Lastly, you will want to hear that this Almighty God, about Whom this
song is being sung, only if you are one who longs to be one of the
'priests to serve our God'.

No, I am afraid that Heaven simply will be Hell for those who don't
long to join in with the Elders singing this new song. So, one of the
whole purposes in life is going to be for you and me to prepare our
souls to desire, to long to be able to bear this song sung. May you
be one of those near me.

Father, thank you for this glipse into Your Heaven.
Son, thank You that You made Yourself worthy to take the scroll.
Spirit, thank You that You gave John this experience so that through
it I might have the encouragement of hope (Rom 15:4).

Sing this song in your heart today.

Warming my tonsils along with you!
Pastor Greg

Colossians 2:6-7

"Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving." Col 2:6-7

How did you receive Christ Jesus the Lord? By faith. How are you to walk in Him? By faith? What does walking in faith look like? Rooted and built up in Him, and established in the faith [doctrine, teachings of the Bible] and abounding in thanksgiving.

Is that all? Yes. That rounds out living by faith quite well. But what does that mean? It means that by looking to Jesus as the source of life I trust Him to be the supremely sufficient reality that I need for life. It means I recognize those things in life for what they are: temporary necessities (or not) and value most what God values most. How do I do this? By spending time with Him in His word so that he can show me what He values.

Father in Heaven, thank You for coming to earth.
Son beside us, thank You for showing us the way to Heaven.
Spirit within us, thank You for moving us there.

Have you spent time in God's Word today?

Rooted in Him,
Pastor Greg

Romans 8:1

Romans 8:1

If there is no condemnation there is nothing to fear. If we will not
be subject to Hell then there is nothing that will keep us from doing
what is most important in life: overcoming self and worshipping God
with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Therefore I will engage
in the battle for purity and holiness. I will fight my flesh and to
the end will (though not always victoriously) strive to enter the
narrow gate.

Praise You Father for releasing me from my deserved condemnation.
Praise You Son for taking that condemnation on Yourself.
Praise You Spirit for applying that salvation to me.

What are you set free to do now that you need fear no condemnation?

Set Free!
Pastor Greg

1 Peter 4:18

"If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?"

Prov 11:31

Salvation is a much bigger reality than the church often give it credit as being: salvation very often means salvation during this life that extends into the life hereafter. However, in this case Peter is pretty clearly thinking in the after this life sense. He is referring to the Judgment. One day every man, woman, and child will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ and be separated; even our words will condemn us (Matt 12:37).

Peter is looking toward that day and he is concerned to speak to the suffering Christians in his care regarding those sufferings in light of the Judgment to come. The righteous person is one who stands in a right relationship to God: these are those who ultimately will be saved. The ungodly and the sinner are those who do not stand in a right relationship with God and ultimately will not be saved following the Judgment. And Peter is picturing the Christians who have been declared or credited with righteousness and looking at them seeing how little they deserve this salvation (which of course is not at all!) and saying , 'Whoa! I can't believe that guy is getting saved! He made it by the skin of his teeth!' And of course, Peter is right: that guy is only saved by the alien righteousness that belongs to another and is given to him as a gift. The ungodly and sinner doesn't even have any teeth to make it by.

So, how does this relate to the salvation Peter is talking about? Those Christians are suffering. Those Christians are having pain. That pain and suffering are coming about from God through the unbelievers who are persecuting them (or else because of their own sin). This is a purifying judgment so that when they stand in the last day they will not face the judgment the unbelievers will. Instead they will be pure and holy and glorifying to God: because He has made us so.

Father, thank You for fire now, so I won't face the Fire later.
Son, thank You for taking the fire for me, so I won't face the Fire later.
Spirit, thank You for being fire now, so that I won't face the Fire later.

What fires are you facing now? What do you think God is purifying you from?

Facing fire together,
Pastor Greg

Matthew 6:24

"No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."
Matthew 6:24

How many of my decisions are based on what will give me the most pleasure? the most prestige? the most power? Argh! Oh Lord save me, Your servant!

While my mind views God as great and glorious, my heart still chooses to chase after things, after ideas that I might be better, or to be real: better off. Oh God change my heart! Change me and cause me to seek after you above all things. Forgive the pretension that exudes from my attitudes and actions; from my words and from my plans. Oh God, enable me to see you as glorious as far superior to all the vain hopes. Kill the self within me that longs for that which mill make me comfortable and even for the pass times that give me an excuse to get through this whatever this is at the moment.

"We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about." Charles Kingsly

Oh Lord, be the One I am enthusiastic about.

Your loving son,
Pastor Greg

John 1:18

"No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Fathers' side, he has made him known." John 1:18

This is another beautiful 'Trinity' verses. But what I am concerned with today is the fact that 'no one has ever seen God'.

Where it true in an absolute sense that no one has ever seen God we would have no knowledge of God. Fortunately, God came with skin on so we could see him. How does this verse teach this remarkable fact.
1. 'The only God': there is only one God. He exists eternally with God as God.
2. 'Who is at the Father's side': This One God is somehow in at least two persons one of whom is the Father and the other is the One who is next to the Father (John 1:14).
3. 'Has made Him known': This God has made God known; He has displayed God (Col 1:15).

We can rejoice this morning because God has made Himself known: we cannot comprehend God, that is, we cannot 'get our minds around' so to speak all of who God is; but we can understand Him, He has made Himself known through His Son and now we can understand who He is and why He does (much) of what He does.

Father, praise You that You are incomprehensible.
Son, praise You that You made Yourself known.
Spirit, praise You that You reveal Yourself to us today.

What have you done today to know God better? What have you done that would tend to obscure your sight of Him?

Seeking God together with you,
Pastor Greg

Psalm 124:8

"Our help is in the Name of the Lord; who made Heaven and Earth."
Psalm 124:8

Who is your help? Who is that you are 'siding' with?

Do you play to the crowd?
Playing to the crowd means that you seek after and find what 'most' people like. It is very easy to do today; in fact it is very hard not to do. Going on the Internet will 'naturally' guide you to the most popular pages/people and you have to try not to get sucked in. Going on the TV makes it impossible NOT to follow the crowd. TV is designed to show you what a select group of people want you to see, and the ONLY thing that guides that group of people is popularity (and arguably, demonic forces...).

The essence of 'the crowd' is what is meant by 1 John 2:14-17. John calls it 'the world'; the system that is simply pervasive in the social atmosphere around us. Left to ourselves, that means left in the world or the crowd without divine input, we cannot but follow after the lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

Playing to the crowd will help you go softly through life to its terrible, and irreversible, end. There you will find no help towards godliness (except in so far as in God's amazing grace He will leave markers of His own trail that you may find).

The Lord helps us avoid this trap through the numerous warnings in Scripture to flee from such temptations (Matthew 7:12-14; 2 Timothy 2:22-23; among many others). If we would flee through the narrow gate then we must look for ways amongst the crowd to be different. These ways are always (and only) found in His Word and among His People. It is a careful business to be in the world and not of the world. It is found by trusting the promises of God; when you actually live like what God says is true, then you will live here, among the people around you, yet you will be trusting in the best help: the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth.

Do you play to specific favorites?
People are important to us; that is as it should be. But we can make idols of our relationships. This can be true of a parent to a child, of a child to a parent or of any random person to another. It is too easy to say that we can love someone too much: when speaking of biblical love, that statement could never be true.

The Bible calls 'playing to specific favorites' 'the fear of man':
"The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe." Proverbs 29:25

To put it in plain language, the fear of man is "an inordinate desire for human approval or an intense fear of being rejected." (CJ Mahaney, Fear of Man found on Monergism.com) Obviously, this desire or fear can be placed on any number of people. But when put in this fashion, it becomes painfully obvious that these are exactly the 'fears' we must give to God: we must have as great a desire for God's approval as is possible (there's no such thing as 'inordinate' in God's case), we must have as intense a fear as possible of being rejected by God.

If there were a cobra in your room you would do everything you could to maintain a right 'relationship' to that cobra (i.e. as far away from its fangs as possible). The same 'fear' ought to be in our hearts with regards to God (i.e. as far away from breaking His laws as possible--the sting of sin is death').

God is our help because (among a great many other things) He rescues us from these fears that would destroy our souls.

Great Father, praise You that You are the 'Fear of Isaac'.
Great Son, praise You that You are the One who calms our fears.
Great Spirit, praise You that You are the Comforter of our souls.

Who or what are you fearing today instead of God?

Fearing God together with you,
Pastor Greg

1 Timothy 4:7-8

But have nothing to do with irreverent and silly myths. Rather, train yourself in godliness, 8 for the training of the body has a limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

"Train yourself for godliness" is the secret of success.

First of all, "What is training".
1. Training is disciplined effort toward a goal. Willard uses the illustration of running a marathon. If you just get up and try to finish a marathon you'll die trying. But if you enter a disciplined, intentional effort to accomplish the goal, eventually you will achieve it. Similarly with learning a language; you cannot be fluent the first time you hear a language, only INDIRECTLY, through disciplined study will a person learn to be fluent.

2. Training involves pain. The Marines say that "pain is weakness leaving the body." Only by making effort beyond your current 'abilities' (riding over your head) will you be able to be able to ride longer, harder, and better ('it never get's easier, you just get faster.' Greg LeMond). Another saying (I think also by the Marines) is that "The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in battle." When are you going to experience pain: when you are on your knees before
God, or when you're crying over a missed opportunity? You and I are more sinful than even we ourselves know (certainly more so than we'd like to admit, even to ourselves) so why on earth could we imagine that it wouldn't involve a great amount of pain to become godly?

What is godliness?
1. Holiness
To be holy is to be set apart for that which is God's. Col 3:1-4 is a good summary of what that looks like. If we 'set our hearts on things above' then we are valuing eternal things more than temporal things. Not that we don't see the value of food and clothes, but that we see
their value as less than holiness; thus we will adjust our time spent in procuring clothes and holiness accordingly. If while seeking to earn a living we are faced with the choice of pleasing God or sinning, we will choose what is 'right'.

2. Christ-likeness
To be holy (godly) is to be like Christ (Col 1:15; 2:9; 1 Cor 11:1). How do we do that? Through the power of the Holy Spirit. Through reading His Word (esp the Gospels) so that we know what He is like in the first place. If Christ indeed is God-with-skin-on, the we have been given the most amazing gift possible; we have been allowed to see not only God's loving heart for us, but we have been allowed to see what He wants us to loom like. However, just as a gift to you does not become yours until you use it, so also is this gift useless to you if you do not appropriate it in your life on a daily basis.

3. Sanctification
Sanctification is progressively becoming more and more the person God created you to be. God did not create us to be robots, all doing the same thing (if you haven't read A Wrinkle in Time, that book is a great commentary on this point). God created us uniquely us. Following
hard after Christ (like following hard after a runner in front of you) will make you the best version of you possible (think You 3.0). God loves you exactly as you are; and He loves you too much to let you stay that way.

Praise You Father in Heaven for offering us godliness.
Praise You Son in Heaven for showing us what that looks like.
Praise You Spirit in Heaven for working that godliness in us.

Where do you need to experience pain now so that you will experience godliness later?

Training alongside of you,
Pastor Greg

Deuteronomy 4

"And now, O Israel, LISTEN TO the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, AND DO THEM..." "Only take care, and keep your soul diligently..." "Therefore, watch yourselves very carefully..." "For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God." (Deut 4:1, 9, 15, 24)

God takes His commands seriously. God wants us to obey Him. Taking care of our souls, watching ourselves carefully, are descriptions of what it means to obey God's commands. If you want to live, then obey; if you want to die, then don't worry about it.

What is important is that God calls Himself in this verse 'a consuming fire' and 'a jealous God'.

1. God is a consuming fire. Whatever is not holy is destroyed by the fire that holiness is. There is nothing else holiness can do; by nature holiness destroys that which is not holy.

2. God is 'a jealous God'. There are 2 kinds of jealousy. Jealousy of something and jealousy for something. For a human being to be jealous of someone is a sin; we are placing our desires above our willingness to do someone else good. This is the opposite of God: He desires the good of all.

When we are jealous for someone, we are placing our desires, our happiness, on another's good. Hence, we can be jealous for someone to have a specific experience or blessing. This is the kind of jealousy God is. However, there is a major difference: the good of the other (namely us) is wrapped up in the honor and majesty of God Himself. So, whereas God's jealousy can (and sometimes does) look suspiciously like jealousy #1, it is only because God is fundamentally different than we are: His glory truly is our good.

Interestingly there is a 3rd 'jealousy', we call it 'zealous'. When a person is 'jealous for' God, that person is said to be zealous. Thus, we are imitating the kind of jealousy for God that He exhibits Himself.

Praise Jesus, may I be jealous for God more than my own happiness always.

Father above all creation, praise You for Your transcendence above us.
Son, creator of heaven and earth, praise You for Your Immanence among us.
Spirit, One who hovered over the waters, praise You for Your omnipotent power working in and through our human frailty.

What sin in your life do you need to fight with jealous abandon to bring it into submission to Christ?

Jealous for you,
Pastor Greg

Zephaniah 3:17

"The Lord your God is with you,

He is mighty to save.

He will take great delight in you,

He will quiet you with His love,

He will rejoice over you with singing."

Zeph 3:17

God is with you.

The Lord, your God is with you. He is near. He loves you, He reveals His Name to you.

He is mighty to save. There is nothing that can sneak around God's battlements. He will save; He will be victorious.

The Lord delights in you; yes you. If you belong to Him, already He loves you and loves looking at you and thinking about you.

The Lord will quiet you with His love. Don't fear. Don't fret. Don't worry. Let God quiet you with His love.

The Lord will rejoice over you with singing. He isn't ashamed of you who belong to Him. He is dancing and singing and bragging about you to all who are around.

You, who belong to Jesus, are loved.

Thank you Father for loving me.
Thank you Son for securing the Father's love for me.
Thank you Spirit for revealing the Father's love for me.

Are you loved?

Loving Jesus together.
Pastor Greg

1 Cor 10:13

1 Corinthians 10:13 HCSB
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity.
God is faithful, and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what
you are able, but with the temptation He will also provide a way of
escape so that you are able to bear it.

You are not alone when you face temptations.
1. All temptations are common to humanity: not everyone, but some one
you know faces the same temptations you face.

2. Jesus was also tempted (Heb 4:14-16).

3. He will not aloe you to be tempted beyond what you are able b/c He
is there to provide a way out.

You don't have to fall to your temptations.
1. God provides a way of escape.

2. Resist the Devil and he will flee from you (James 4:6-8).

3. Your temptations are most often your own (James 1:12-15), therefore
you can, by the grace of God resist that temptation (Rom 6:12-14).

Thank You Father for slavery to righteousness.
Thank You Son for redemption from the slave market to sin.
Thank You Spirit for the appliccation of that redemption to me.

What temptation must you resist today?
How will these promises give you the hope, courage, trust, and faith
not to fall?

Trusting the Promises together!
Pastor Greg

Psalm 130

Out of the depths I cry to you,
O Lord!
O Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my pleas for mercy!

If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities
O Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness,
that you may be feared.

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in his Word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.

O Israel, hope in the Lord!
For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
and with Him is plentiful redemption.
And he will redeem Israel
from all his iniquities.
Psalm 130

To wait for the Lord takes time (by definition waiting is spending time doing something you'd rather not do until something that you want comes).

To wait for the Lord takes patience (not all waiting is done well. Most of us know what it means to sin while waiting; most of us know what it means not to wait for the Lord.)

To wait for the Lord takes trust.
The American Heritage dictionary has as it's #1 definition for 'wait' as 'to remain in expectation'.
This is almost the definition for trust [just in case you're wondering, #5 = 'Reliance on something in the future, hope.'].

To 'remain in expectation' for the Lord to work is relying on, hoping in, exuding confidence in God to work for your good. This is faith. Sometimes, fortunately, God takes longer than we want Him to take in answering our prayer or our expectations. Lord willing, we will learn to continue going to Him while we wait. Then in our waiting God will teach us Himself: for that is exactly why we are hear, to glorify Him by knowing Him better b/c we with therefore also love and trust Him more.

Luke 18:1-8

Father who loves me, praise You that You hear my prayers.
Son who died and rose for me, praise You that You made my prayers audible to the Father.
Spirit who communicates to the Throne for me, praise You that you cause me to wait, in trust.

What question in your heart do you need to bring to God in prayer?

Isaiah 55:1-3

"Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;

and he who has no money, come, buy and eat!

Come buy wine and milk without money and without price.

Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,

and your labor for that which does not satisfy?

Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,

and delight yourselves in rich food.

Incline your ear, and come to me, hear, that your soul may live;

and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David."

A whole sermon could not do justice to the richness and glory that is written in these 3 short verses: Praise Jesus!

What is the invitation?
Come even though you have nothing to recommend you, nothing to use to purchase favor, come.

What is the offer?
I will give you rich food; food that will bring your joy. Water and wine that will quench your thirsty soul. Life itself for your body and steadfast love for your soul.

Note well:
The covenant for David, spoken nearly 3000 years ago is offered to you. Not an earthly Kingdom for your family, but steadfast and sure love for your soul (however, note: 1 Peter 2:9-10).

Almighty Father: Praise Your holy Name for You are good.
Almighty Son: Praise Your holy Name for You are preeminent.
Almighty Spirit: Praise Your holy Name for You are precious.

What kind of 'money' do you have that could 'pay' God for His grace?
What are you doing to 'earn' God's grace?
What do you need from your Father today? Ask Him for it; He is your Abba, your Papa.

Resting on grace with you,
Pastor Greg

Psalm 25: 8-11

"Good and upright is the Lord;

therefore he instructs sinners in the way.

He leads the humble in what is right,

and teaches the humble his way.

All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,

for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

For your name's sake, O Lord,

pardon my guilt, for it is great."

Good, God is the definition of good, and he is perfectly consistent, so Good is defined by God and God doesn't deviate from Himself.

It is because of God's goodness that He instructs us, that He guides us in the way we should go: and these paths are paved with his 'steadfast love' and His 'faithfulness'. God will not change mid-way and alter what is right or wrong. Instead, with steadfastness--with 'keeping on keeping on' God blesses us.

And because of His goodness, because of His 'keeping on keeping on' being good to us, we ask Him for still more blessing: forgive me Lord. You have been so good for so long, keep it up; bless me again, and bless me with forgiveness.

Father in Heaven, thank You for your steadfast, continual, persevering love. Son beside us, thank You for purifying us. Spirit inside us, thank You for showing us the way through this Valley of the Shadow of Death that we live in every single day.

What situation or circumstance in your life do you need to trust God to deal 'steadfastly with love' for you in?

Walking with you,
Pastor Greg

Psalm 121:5

"The Lord is your keeper;

the Lord is your shade on your right hand."

At the Santa Barbara Zoo there is a really awesome area for a couple of lions they have. Every time we go to the Zoo we always check out the lions. Once the female was pacing back and forth about 6 inches away from us (fortunately, 2 of those inches were solid glass!).

Next to the lion area is a much smaller area that holds a cat that is a little bigger than the average large house cat. Counting the 2 years we held passes to the Zoo and the 5-6 times we've been since then I've been to the SBZoo a few dozen times. I've only seen that cat 3-4 of those times. I ALWAYS spend more time looking for the cat (and then admiring it) than I do looking at the lions; which are much more impressive.

I got to see the little cat's keeper in the cage one time. I told her that I've not been able to see her keep very often. She said, 'you have to know where to look.' Within a few steps covering about .75 seconds she was standing directly over the feline doing some zookeeper thing or another.

The cat keeper knew the cats habits, she knew the cat's favorite hiding places, she knew practically what the cat was thinking (I had a friend who was the 7th boy; he said his mom knew what he was thinking before he did!). In a very murky way, that is a good idea of what God is to us as our 'keeper'.

God knows your thoughts; that is why He gives you His Word to shape your thoughts.
God know where you live; that is why He gives you what you need to flourish where you are.
God knows your habits; that is why He gives you the 10 Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, and 30,001 verses of Scripture (in the NIV) to tell you the best way to live.

God is your Keeper.

Psalm 121 is a wonderful expression of absolute, implicit trust. I'm going to be working on memorizing it; memorize it with me.

God the Father, thank You that You superintend everything for my good. God the Son, thank You that You came to let me know Who You are like, so that I can trust that You superintend all things for my good. God the Spirit, thank You that You are the God who speaks to me so that I know what You have for me.

What is a difficult area in your life right now that you need to trust your Keeper in? When will you let Him have it for good?

Psalm 120:3-4

"What shall be given to you,

and what more shall be done to you,

you deceitful tongue?

A warrior's sharp arrows,

with glowing coals of the broom tree!"

In the context of this psalm the author is probably talking about the deceitful tongue of his enemy; in the context of my own walk with Jesus, I'm more concerned about a deceitful tongue strengthening in my own mouth!

"What should be done about a lying habit?"

"Anything and everything: up to and including death by war!"

Breaking the 9th commandment (You must not bear false witness--you must not spread untrue testimony about what you have experienced) spreads damage and sin and evil more than simply to the person lied to. Lying (the willful effort to deceive someone, especially in order to cover a specific sin or a sinful heart) is at the heart of all sinful behavior (attitudes and actions); we would be less anxious to sin if we didn't believe we could successfully cover up that sin with lies.

Lying also reveals a character that is antithetical to God:

"You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire.

He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth,

for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language,

for he is a liar and the father of lies."

John 8:44

Lying is from Satan because he wants to steal, kill, and destroy: exactly the results of all lies. This is not to say that Satan is sitting on your shoulder tempting you to lie; we have enough sin in us to cause us to dream up lies to 'save us' from embarrassment. But the point is that when you and I lie, we are practicing exactly that character that seeks to do the opposite of the Father of Life.

So,

"Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices,

and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge

after the image of its creator."

Col 3:9-10

Father in Heaven, praise You for being the Author of Truth and Life. Son wholly God and perfectly human, praise You for showing us the Way, the Truth, and the Life that we might walk in You. Spirit among us, praise You for being the means of our salvation from our own sin and deceitful heart.

What lies do you need to repent of? If you confessed each of your lies to whomever it was you lied, what sins in your heart would be uncovered? Do you want those sins to maintain control?

What promises in the Bible relate to speaking the truth? What tools could you use to find those promises?

Speaking the truth in love with you,
Pastor Greg

Psalm 81:10

"Open your mouth wide and I will fill it."

You aren't going to open your mouth at someone unless you trust him. Why is it that we're so uncomfortable at a dentist: it isn't all just expectation of pain and cost!

Our mouth is a 'way into us' in a way that other parts of our body are not.
1. We feed ourselves through our mouth.
2. We express ourselves through our mouth (James 3:2; Matt 12:33-37).
3. Our mouth is very intimate: a kiss is a kiss in every culture; there is something fundamentally personal about other people touching our mouths.

In this verse God invites us to invite Him to a hugely important part of us. We are invited to allow God to provide for us in the most basic sense (food, other material needs: Matthew 6:33). But we are also invited to allow God to bless us going down to what is truly important (see #2 above).

I think (besides the obvious material blessing that is implicit in this verse) that the blessing is tied also to the command that is found in many places including Prov 4:23. If the mouth is the expression of the heart, then perhaps God 'going in there' also provides some of the 'keeping' Solomon warns us to do over our heart:

"Keep your heart with all vigilance,

for from it flow the springs of life."

Trust God today with your needs. Open your mouth to Him rather than to the other 'sources of blessings' in the world. Trust God rather than yourself or your abilities to appropriate goods. Open your heart and your mouth to God and He will fill you with goodness and blessing.

Praise You God the Father, for You have made extraordinary promises to us. Praise you God the Son for all God's promises find their Amen in You. Praise you God the Spirit for you open our hearts so that we can open our mouths so that You will fill it. I love You Jesus!

What are you depending on to 'fill your life' (think in terms of a recalcitrant sin)? Has it worked so far? What do you think God might have in store that is better than that sin?

Open your mouth to God, go to His Word and find promises relating to your struggle, then trust Him to fill you with good things.

Asking and expecting with you,

Pastor Greg

James 2:12

"So speak and so act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom."

The first and most important rule in interpreting the Bible (or any written matter; any communication at all...) is context, context, context! What is James doing in this part of his letter?

James begins this section of his book on the sin of partiality (or favoritism) from the association of verse 1:25

"But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres,
being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing."

James is big on 'practicing what you preach'. Re-picking up there, James runs with it a short ways before he hands the ball off again on his next major theme (Lord willing tomorrow: 'faith w/o works is dead'). So, James very simply commands us 'so speak and so act...'. As a continuing part of living in this world you should speak and act consistently. Consistent with what? Consistent with the law that gives freedom.

So, is James talking about the OT Law? Not as such: for "the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith." (Gal 3:24) The Law was our tutor, our pedagogue (one who firmly directs his pupil in view of the time when he will come of age and no longer be under his guidance). That Law, as such, we are no longer subject to.

Instead, we have become slaves of righteousness:

"But thanks be to God , that you who were once slaves of sin

have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching

to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin,

have become slaves of righteousness." (Rom 6:17-18)

Christians are not 'free from the law' in the sense that it no longer has any influence on us; the Law leads us to grace for justification (being declared righteous by God); but grace leads us back to the Law for sanctification (being in the process of becoming more holy, more like Jesus).

Make no mistake: Christians are still required to know God's commands (1 John 3:24). And, Christians will be judged (2 Cor 5:10).

But this Law gives freedom rather than slavery because God has now given us the ability, the grace, the freedom, to obey. And when we are so saved; God then uses this law to shape our heart so that we are truly free (John 8:31-32)

Praise You God the Father, for You have given us the Law to show us our need of Grace; Praise You God the Son, for You have fulfilled the Law in our place so that Your righteousness could become our own; Praise You God the Spirit, for You empower us to live by the Law that gives us freedom in You.

What sins (sins of commission as well as of ommission) do you struggle with? Where in Scripture is that sin commanded against? What promises relate to that sin? When will you (by God's grace) choose to stop sinning in that way?

Declaring Freedom with you,
Pastor Greg

James 1:26

"If anyone thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue, then
his religion is useless and he deceives himself."

'Religion' has fallen on hard times. Even Christians say we don't need
'religion' which is man trying to get to God, but we need
'relationship' which is God coming down to man. Certainly outside the
Church religion is almost universally rejected (in the West).

But James provides the cure to anti-religious sentiment: pure and
undefiled religion (27). James gives us 3 qualities of such religion:
religion that brings us closer to God and man (1 Peter 2:11-11).
1. An undeceived heart: when our toungs are 'unbridled' we are
deceiving ourseleves 'where words are many, sin is not
absent' (Prov 10:19). We become enchanted with our own
eloquence and are decieved; I have a theory that at least some of the
liberal garbage we endure comes because professors must 'publish or
perish'.

2. Serving those who are most in need: who could argue with this?! And
what Bible familiar Christian can not know that this is his/her duty?
So why aren't 'we' DOING it? The answer is that we are; the answer is
that it is still the Church is doing the most GOOD: but the answer is
that we can do better. Let's believe Christ's many promises and act on
them to change our world! (Do yourself the favor of reading The Whole
in Our Gospel.)

3. Keep oneself unstained from the world: this is a double-edged
sword. The Church has the same divorce rate as the world, is that
because people who get divorced realize they need Christ or is that
because people who act like Christians but are really 'just playing
Church' tire of their spouses like the rest of the world (of course
the Church is not above sin!)? Perhaps all these and even more. But
when God's people begin to take responsibility for ourselves and our
actions (that is the definition of being a man or a woman) people in
and out of the Body of Christ will see it and give glory to our Father
in Heaven (Matt 5:13-16).

Father in Heaven, praise You for making a rescue plan for Your lost
children; Son beside the Father, praise You for putting that plan into
action; Spirit in the midst of the Trinity, praise You for making that
plan known then applied to us. Give us grace to be faithful messangers
of Your reconciliation (2 Cor 5:16-21).

How does your daily life reflect 'pure and undefiled religion'?

Can others see the difference in your life that Christ makes? Is there
enough difference for them to want Christ in their life?

Striving with Jesus with you,
Pastor Greg

James 1:18

""Of His own will he brought us forth by the word of truth,

that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures."

1. "Of His own will" God does the choosing. He is the One who (in this context) gives the gifts 'every good and perfect gift' (v 17). We don't choose our gifts; but we choose to use our gifts (Romans 12:3-8; 1 Cor 12:1-11; 1 Peter 4:10-11).

2. "He brought us forth...that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures". In the context the issue is giving gifts. He does this so that we will show ourselves to be the 'firstfuits' the initial display of what kind of humans God intended us to be in the firstplace. We are to use the gifts God has given us so that others will see the new life and want it for themselves.

God wants our neighbors to see our good works so that others may give praise to Him (Matt 5:13-16). God wants our neighbors to smell Christ in us so they must make a choice about God (2 Cor 2:14-17). God wants those around us to experience transforming love that takes enormous risks on a clap (Luke 10:25-37).

3. God brought us forth 'by the word of truth'. God speaks, God gives us His Word, God gives us truth: so that we can trust Him. Depend on His Word; trust the promises of God so that you can live: live both now and in eternity.

God the Father, we praise You because You are the great God Who gave His Word; God the Son, we praise You because You are the Word made flesh; God the Spirit, we praise you because You reveal that truth to us so that we may be saved and be the agent of salvation in the lives of those around us. Glorify Your Name Almighty God; glorify Your Name in us.

What gifts has God given you? How do you know? What are you doing to use them?

How do people see your life as a reflection of the new life He has created us to live?

Trusting the Promises

"Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves

from every defilement of the body and spirit,

bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God."

2 Corinthians 7:1

It is fitting in two ways that this be the first verse in my new blog:
1. 2 Corinthians is my favorite book in the Bible because in it we see Paul's pastoral heart most clearly. There will be much more to comment on in the future about this book.

2. The title of my blog is Trusting the Promises; this verse is one of the many clear verses that express the essence of the Faith: Christian faith (among other ways of expressing it) is the knowing and trusting of the promises of God for you in Christ.

In this passage we learn that because God has given us promises in Scripture, we can cleanse ourselves and become holy through the fear of God (much more to come on the usually mis-interpreted phrase 'the fear of God').

Notice that it is God who gives these promises, and it is because of these promises we can go about the business of turning from sin (repentance) and towards God. Let us not have a content-less faith; let us instead discover in God's Word the promises He so graciously provides so that we may find the strength to face the struggles in life.

And Father in Heaven: we praise You because before time began You knew what You would promise to us who love You; glorify Your Name in us, and therefore through us. God the Son: we praise You because all the promises of God find their Amen in You; glorify Your Name as we trust in Your Good News. God the Spirit: we praise You because You reveal the Father's promises to the glory of the Son and the good of Your Church; glorify your Name in the eyes of those who see our good works. Bless us again Almighty Lord so that we may be a blessing.