"To Him be glory forever": November 2019

Friday, November 22, 2019

Why Should We Go To Church?

At 11 AM every Sunday morning people gather in our building, the Jicarilla Apache Reformed Church. Some people are present nearly every Sunday. Some are present perhaps half the time and some are very irregular in their attendance. Some people have a deep and powerful faith. They have leaned on God through hard times in their lives and know that it was Lord that carried them through. For others faith in Jesus is something that shapes who they are but they find the struggle to live by that faith each day to be a challenge. And there may be others who come on Sunday but just aren’t sure what to make of this Jesus guy they keep hearing about.

We call this gathering worship. We gather to give praise to God. To praise him for who he is, and for what he has done, looking forward to the fulfillment of the promises that he makes in the Bible. As a pastor I think those are some pretty good reasons to gather on Sunday morning, but are there any others? What other answers would we give to the question: "Why should I go to church?"

I was reading the Old Testament prophet Micah when I came across an excellent answer to that question. Like most of the Old Testament prophets Micah is speaking on behalf of God to a people who are not particularly interested in what he has to say. There are words of warning, but also glimpses of hope. In Micah 4 the prophet looks forward to a day when the house of the Lord will be established and people will come to it. In verse 2 he says:

"Come, let us go to up the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob,

that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths."

Micah gives two reason to go to church; 1) That we might be taught God's ways, and 2) That we might walk in God's paths. These two things go hand-in-hand. They are both necessary, and they are given in the right order. We learn God's ways so that we can walk in God's ways..

We live in a time when we are bombarded with information. From nearly every direction there is a voice telling us to embrace a particular truth and live a particular way. Some of those voices are speaking with God's truth, but many are not. As God's people we can, and should, open up our Bibles and read them on our own. We also can, and should, live as people of prayer, seeking for God to encourage and guide us each day. But one of the blessings of gathering each Sunday morning is moving from living as individual followers of Jesus to spending time learning God's ways together.

What was true for Micah is also true for us. God's people were coming together, to learn from God, and then to live in ways that showed the world that they were God's people. And that remains a very good reason for us to come to church each Sunday. The world can be a very confusing place but each Sunday as we sing, pray and hear from God's word we learn his ways, so that we may walk with confidence on his paths, to his praise glory.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

The Place Of Refuge

Yesterday I preached the funeral for the nephew of a friend of mine here in Dulce. I knew quite a few people from the man's extended family, but I don’t know if I had ever actually met the man or not. In the past day I find myself coming back, over and over, to the central verse of the passage I preached from, Psalm 36,

verse 7:

"How precious is your steadfast love, O God!

The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings."

God's steadfast love. A love that He sets on people and doesn't remove. It is there by His choice, regardless subsequent choices and actions of the one He has chosen to love. The love of a parent for a child has a similar nature, as we love our children when they often moments, or even seasons of their lives, where they are often so unlovable. The similarity stops when we recall that God's love is rooted in His own nature, which has infinitely more patience for the wandering and rebellious actions of His children than I do for mine.

The author of the psalm, David, is a man who's life has had quite a lot of trouble. Sometimes he's been a victim and other times his troubles are entirely self-induced. Either way, he needs refuge. He needs shelter. A place of safety, where he can catch his breath, sort out what is going on, and figure out what to do next. He needs refuge and he knows exactly where to find it. The steadfast love of God.

We have moments, days, even seasons, where the circumstances of our lives cause us to seek refuge. The refuge that David seeks has been made fully known to us in the person of Jesus. Ultimately, whether David realizes it or not, Jesus is the One who gives him refuge. And Jesus is the one, the only one, who can truly be our refuge too.

If today is a day where you need refuge, turn to Jesus. If you seek Him you will find Him. And in His arms you'll have peace, protection, comfort and guidance. Amen.

Sunday, November 17, 2019

The Solid Rock

Sunday evening. Nearly

11 PM, and for the last two hours I've been the only one up. Today was full, with worship and all the related things that I do in preparation each Sunday morning. Then a short meeting, followed by a Thanksgiving potluck with two other local congregations. Then working on the things I usually do each Sunday afternoon, in preparation for next Sunday. Robin has been ailing a bit and so I canceled our Sunday evening ministry so I could stay home to watch the kids. Someone stopped at house and needed a ride. And lastly a phone call from someone who needed to talk and be prayed for.

All that made today a bit more hectic than the average Sunday, but it's been a bit of a hectic week. Last Monday I was hoping to blog on Thursday, when the most important tasks of the week would be finished. Tuesday brought the news of a very unexpected death in our community, and so my priorities for the week changed. Still, by late Thursday I thought I might have both time and inspiration to write. But something else came up that was a higher priority. Friday brought another event that wasn't part of the plan, but needed urgent attention. Saturday was filled with the funeral and related activities. We worshipped the Lord and remembered a man who was loved deeply within this community. After that it was time to just spend a quiet evening with our family.

As I sit here I have a song that keeps passing through my mind. I chose it last week Sunday as our closing song for worship today. A bit earlier this evening I played it for Robin, who wasn't able to attend church this morning. It goes by more than one name, either "My Hope is Built," which are the opening words, or "The Solid Rock," which is from the chorus. Here is the first verse and the chorus:

"My hope is built on nothing less

than Jesus' blood and righteousness.

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

but wholly lean on Jesus' name.

On Christ the solid rock I stand,

all other ground is sinking sand;
all other ground is sinking sand."

Having picked it last Sunday it has actually been on my mind off-and-on all week, and as the week has gone by the truth of that verse and chorus has been clearly evident. My hope, and the hope that I attempt to proclaim week-by-week from the pulpit, is built on Christ, and only Christ. He, and he alone, is the solid place for me to stand.

And those things aren’t just true for me and the week I've had, or the week that is to come, but they are true for you too. If your hope is built on anything else, if you are standing on anything else than faith in Christ, you are building and standing on something that is flawed and that will fail. The faults or flaws may not be evident today, but one day they will be clearly seen.

Faith in Christ doesn't make everything in our lives perfect. Not by any means. But it is a firm, and unfailing foundation when things seem as if they are spiraling out of control. This week it has been my privilege as a pastor to open my Bible and pray with people. I don’t have answers as to why certain things happen, but I do know whom to trust in as those events unfold.

"On Christ the solid rock I stand,
all other ground is sinking sand"

May Christ be the solid rock where you stand too. Amen.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

More Than A Story

Recently I got a call from a friend I haven't heard from for nearly 40 years. We served together in the Navy and through technology that virtually no one could have imagined in 1979, the Facebook phone call, he called me up.

My friend was working on some issues in his life and had come to the conclusion that perhaps he should read the Bible. The idea may have been suggested to him by someone else. He didn’t know where to start, but he did know that I had become a pastor, and so he gave me a ring to see what he should do.

Just hearing from him was a surprise, and I wasn't sure what kind of guidance to give him. I'm a pastor, but not his pastor. If it was someone from my congregation, or maybe someone who I was talking with in my office, I could sort things out a bit before giving him some guidance. I might have some understanding and insight as to where to begin. But…those luxuries were not mine at the time. I took what seemed to be the best route and said, "Read the gospels."

A few days later I got a message. "What gospels? My Bible doesn't have any gospels."

That caught me by surprise, but also let me know that I was assuming too much. My suggestion to "read the gospels" assumed that he would know what I was talking about. It assumed that he already had a basic understanding of the organization of the Bible. So here is the basic message I sent back:

"The first four books of the New Testament are the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. In a nutshell they are the story of Jesus, each told from a different point of view. They have some things in common, and also some differences. Maybe start with reading John. John begins by basically stating that Jesus, the man who lived on earth, was also God, no ifs ands or buts. And that sets the tone for the way he would have us read the story of Jesus' life, as he tells it. His goal is that his readers would come to believe in Jesus as their savior when they get to the end of the story. John wants his readers to see their problem with God being one of living as sinners in the presence of a holy God, a God who in his mercy offers them his son, Jesus, as the only possible remedy for dealing with their sin and coming into a relationship with God. That may sound a bit preachy, but I want you to know what you are getting into as you read."

In answering my friend I was mindful of the fact that the gospels are stories, but they are much more than stories, for they have a purpose that is greater than any other story that might come to your mind. John says it himself this way,

"Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." John 20:30-31

The gospels are more than stories, for the story they tell is the only one that leads us into a relationship with God. No ifs, ands or buts.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Closer Than Brothers And Sisters

Last week I preached a funeral for someone I knew here in Dulce. Over the past six years I've met a lot of people. Some I know very casually, in that their face is familiar and I may know their name and perhaps something else about them. On the other end of the spectrum are people I know very well. I have spent lots of time with them, know many of the things they have struggled with in life, and I've prayed with them. I would say that there is a large group of people who fall in between casual and close, and that this friend was of that middle group.

The scripture I preached from was Philippians 2:5-11, where Paul praises Jesus and says this in verses 10-11:

"…so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

There are a number of powerful things in that entire Philippians passage that I brought out as I preached, but there is one in particular that I want to focus on today.

As Paul looks forward to this glorious moment on a glorious day, there are no distinctions among believers in the Lord Jesus. Brand new believers, people who have believed for decades, people who believed and yet also wandered far and long into sin, and believers for whom repentance was a regular part of practicing their faith - all of them will be joined together and enthusiastically praising Jesus. Gladly bending their knee, in humility before their Savior. Gladly lifting their voice, in enthusiastic praise of their Lord.

On that great and glorious day I'll see my friend again, and on that day our relationship will be closer than brothers. Because on that day what will bring us together will not be our relationship with each other here on earth, but our shared place as children of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And that closeness, as brothers, in the best sense of the term, will be present among all believers in Jesus. Women, men, people who we knew in this life and people who we won’t meet until we get to heaven. Sisters and brothers in Christ. All gathered together, praising Jesus. It's going to be great!