Ephesians 4:32

³² Be kind to one another, tender-hearted…

Perhaps there is no Fruit of the Spirit that is more overlooked than the seemingly “simple” fruit of kindness.  And yet, if producing kindness was so simple, then all of us would be overflowing with kindness at all times!  However, isn’t it often so true that one of the things we lack the most with those that we are closest with is “simple” kindness?  And the reason for this is because kindness is the antithesis to selfishness.  You can’t be both kind and selfish at the same time, because kindness is not simply a good temperament and intention towards others, it is good intentions followed by action.  Kindness encompasses two very important principles.  First, kindness is a pre-determined disposition of heart.  Kindness is an even temperament of love, honor, curtesy, peace, and tenderness towards others.  I say pre-determined because we must always be ready under any circumstance to show kindness.  Kindness is not subject to situations.  A disposition of kindness does not say, “I will be kind if, you are kind to me.”  It says, “I have already, even now, decided I will be kind to you even if you are not kind to me, now, or at any time in the future.”  If we do not determine, at this moment that in all future situations we will show kindness, then, you and I will probably fail to be kind when it is needed the most.  Kindness determines that there is not a time or a situation in which we will not extend grace, mercy, benevolence, and love.  We will be kind, because God has changed the disposition of our hearts from self-love, self-pride, self-righteousness, and selfishness…to humility, charity, and tenderness.   So, kindness starts with a disposition of the heart…”I will be kind no matter what”, but what good is kindness if it is only an internal tenderness?  This is why true kindness next produces a usefulness to each other.  God first showed us kindness by loving us while we were yet sinners, but that kindness then produced a usefulness to us.  God’s kindness compelled Him to produced a way to salvation through Jesus Christ.  Therefore, biblical kindness also produces a usefulness to others.   A faith that says, “good luck, I hope you make it out there on your own”, isn’t a true faith, because it does not produce one of the fruits of a real faith.  Kindness.  Kindness doesn’t just wish someone luck with their problems, needs and concerns.  Kindness, sympathizes, empathizes, and then mobilizes.  There is perhaps no other story in the NT that gives us as excellent of an example of the usefulness of kindness in action, than the parable of the Good Sarmatian.  A Samaritan man gave up his time, resources and his pride in order to help a Jewish man who hated him and probably would not have cared for him in the same way.  And what does Jesus say after telling this powerful parable?  He says, “go, and do the same.”  The usefulness of kindness in action will call you to serve each other and give up your time and resources for each other.  However, when it is the Holy Spirit producing this fruit in you, your service won’t be forced, it won’t be done with grumbling or complaining.  Your service to each other will be done with joy, thankfulness, and love.  Therefore, the fruit of kindness is a matter of both heart and hand.  Dear Christian, in Christ, God has given us a heart of kindness.  My prayer this week is that we recommit ourselves to producing this powerful and important fruit.  I know that I have a long way to go in producing this “simple” kindness, how about you?

Yours in Christ,

Pastor John 

Galatians 4:8

⁸ Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods.

Worship is a deeply instinctual aspect of the nature of man.  Simply put, man cannot help it, we must worship something.  And so, what a tragedy that anyone would be so grossly ignorant of God that they would elevate any number of random, everyday items, persons and ideologies into the position of a “god” in their lives.  But such is the nature of fallen man; created to worship, and yet, because of sin, lacking a knowledge of whom we were created to worship.  Mankind is lost in a sea of ideas, superstitions, ideologies and cults of personalities.  And yet, isn’t it interesting that these lost men, the world over, are so zealous for their “god”?  Slaves to “gods” who by their very nature and definition are not gods at all!   And yet, man remains deeply devoted to these idols.  There is no end to the “gods” of the world.  To some their god is “science” (the science they serve is not science at all), education, materialism, sex, homosexuality, drugs and much more.  To others their god is a celebrity, “Mother Earth,” naturalism, government, or spiritualism.  Of course, this is to say nothing of the over 4,000 religions worldwide that men devote their entire lives, attention and worship to.  Rather than simply existing without any form of god, man cannot help but to fix their attention on something in which to elevate to a place of godlike status in their lives.  In doing so, men become slaves to completely useless, dead, inanimate ideas and objects.  Bowing, serving and zealously worshipping…literally nothing!  “Gods” that are unable to help, answer prayer, heal and, most importantly, offer salvation.  And yet, the fervor in which these lost souls serve their “gods” often puts the zeal of service and worship of many Christians to shame.  Dear Christian, think for a moment, if you can, of the various gods that you served before your eyes were opened to the Living God.  Was there anything that would stop you from serving your “god” with all your heart, soul and mind?  Alcohol, materialism, sex, education or whatever your god may have been, these things were the very focus of your living and breathing.  Slaves to death.  However, today we praise the Lord that those days are over!  “⁸ Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods.”  However, there remains a question for all of us today.  Did you, perhaps, serve your former “god” with more zeal, fire and fervency than you do Jesus Christ?  I know our knee jerk reaction is “no way!”  But knee jerk reactions are not helpful to us.  Are you really serving and worshipping Jesus Christ more than you served your former god?  I have seen people at various music concerts, and it always saddens me to see the excitement, zeal and joy that fills their hearts at a concert, and then see their disinterested, critical, and uncaring attitudes during cooperate Christian worship on a Sunday morning.  There are people who are willing to give up their children, jobs, marriages and livelihoods for the sake of alcohol, drugs, sex and much more…and yet, are we willing to give up even our simple comfort to share the Gospel with another person.  We often say we are committed to God, and yet the overwhelming majority of our lives are spent on menial, selfish, and worldly-minded ideas and tasks.  Dear Believers, we now know God!  Or rather, He knows us!  We are in the service of a much better Master than we were formerly.  What an amazing truth this is, so amazing, I think it is far past the time that we worship and serve God with even more fire and fervor than we have ever served anything before!  The Lord is worthy of all of our praise, all of our time, all of our hearts and all of our faith.  Let’s continue to grow in our zeal for worship and service to Jesus Christ.  We are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let’s spur one another on to “live a life worthy of the calling you have received.”

Yours in Christ,

Pastor John   

  Zechariah 2:11

 ¹¹ “Many nations will join themselves to the Lord in that day and will become My people. Then I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you. 

The desire to belong and identify with a group of likeminded people is a deep need in our human nature.  Primarily we were created to know and be known by our Creator and to be in a right and everlasting relationship with Him.  However, from the moment Adam sinned, that relationship was severed and man lost his most meaningful purpose in creation which left us scrambling to fill the relationship void.  Everyone the world over is constantly searching for a way to find acceptance and meaningful relationship in one way or another.  Many look to team sports, clubs, societies, co-workers and many other things simply in search of one thing; to belong to something that gives a sense of meaning and purpose in life.  Others turn to darker pursuits to find a community, including drugs, alcohol and even LGBTQ sexual perversion.  But all these group identities are merely sinful perversions of what man was created for and who man was created to belong to.  To the unbeliever, there will be no end to the pursuit of fitting in and finding something or someone to enhance an otherwise “meaningless” life.  And yet, an unbeliever can search the world over and still never find any lasting reason for his existence outside of Jesus Christ.  As one billionaire lamented upon his deathbed, “that was interesting, I wonder what it was all for?”  And yet, fellow Believer, while the world is seeking relationship and meaning in the most worthless, sinful and trivial of things, we praise the Lord for the joy of being in close fellowship with our Creator and belonging to the most meaningful and joyful thing in all the universe…the Kingdom of Heaven.  We are citizens of an eternal Kingdom, ruled by the eternal King of Kings, Jesus Christ!  In this Kingdom we are free from fear, anxiety, hopelessness, a meaningless life, and most importantly…death.  What an unfathomable joy it is to know that the Spirit of the Living God dwells in the midst of His people!  Dear Christian, my hope for you this day is that you both realize and celebrate the incredible privilege it is to be called God’s possession and to be counted among His people.  We no longer have to search to belong or search to find true and lasting relationship, we have been granted every spiritual blessing in Christ!  We belong to God, as a dear child belongs to his loving father, as a dear sheep belongs to its caring shepherd.  And there will never be a time, neither now nor in eternity when this claim that the Holy Spirit has placed on your heart as a seal of belonging will ever be removed, shaken or destroyed!  All of us have felt alone at times, forgotten, unimportant, and have struggled with earthly relationships, but take courage, you will never be forgotten by the One who paid it all to restore a right relationship with you!  You are precious to God and what God deems precious He will never throw away!  “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,  who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-14)

Yours in Christ,

Pastor John

Amos 5:24

²⁴ “But let justice roll down like waters
And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

Much like in our own time, Israel was living in the lap of luxury during one of the most prosperous times in the nation’s history.  Outwardly, the lives of the people glimmered with the rays of success!  It was a time when comfort, ease and carefree living ruled the hearts of the people.   But another thing also ruled their hearts; corruption and rebellion against God.   Their hearts and lives became cisterns of extreme moral decay.  Therefore, again, much like in our own time, Amos lived during a time when justice and righteousness were in extremely short supply.  Israel had participated in abominable idolatrous religious practices under Solomon’s son Jeroboam and the people had become a corrupt nation with hearts that were hardened towards God.  They had become a nation of hypocrites.  Attempting to please God with religious ceremonies and superficial duties while simultaneously worshipping the false gods of the surrounding nations.  Instead of serving God with justice, humility, love, and mercy, they embraced arrogance, materialism, immorality, and self-righteousness.  To think that this incredibly prosperous nation would be conquered and exiled by the Assyrians in less than 40 years was a laughable idea to these haughty people.  And yet, that was the subject of Amos’ prophecy which came true in 722 B.C.  In many ways, America is the 21st century A.D. reflection of 8th century B.C. Israel.  A wicked nation clinging to a long past Christian identity.  Oh, how true when Solomon wrote “there is nothing new under the sun.”  America is in moral and religious freefall.  Not passively falling, but racing to the bottom with all her might.  And yet, it was in these times of moral bankruptcy and degeneracy that God called His people back to justice and righteousness.  Like a single raindrop in the ocean, Amos’ single voice of truth was crying out in the vast sea of decay.  And the message was simple; justice and righteousness.  Justice; to do that is right and fitting.  To obey the ordinances of God.  To return to a heart that is softened to the truth and obedient to proper worship of God.  To uphold a standard of truth.  In addition, justice holds a meaning of judgement and retribution too.  Should a nation fail at justice, destruction by its own hand will ever be near, and judgment by God will be unavoidable.  But when we return to God, the promise is not that justice will fall like a single raindrop, but that it will fall like a waterfall, cleansing the land, rolling over the decay as flood waters wash away the refuse of a landscape of squalor.  Next righteousness; there is nothing that will cleanse the hearts and minds of the people like righteousness.  And of course, we cannot manufacture righteousness apart from Jesus Christ.  If we seek any righteousness on our own it will only produce filth.  Therefore, we must seek the righteousness that is from Christ.  The ever-flowing river of God’s grace continually covers our own worthlessness with the worthiness of the Lamb of God!  First, let us return to justice and righteousness as the people of God.  May we bear the name of Christ, not as hypocrites, but as those dedicated to the service and fidelity to our Lord and Savior.  Next, we are given a similar task as Amos;  to stand up for justice and righteousness in the midst of moral degeneracy.  But our message is the message of the Gospel!  The Gospel has the power not only to change the heart of one single person, but like a river of endless mercy, grace and love, the Gospel has, and will continue to have the power cleanse the hearts of millions!  Therefore, shout the Gospel with compassion and boldness and always stand firm in the truth dear friends.  Never wavering, never remaining silent.  The only force powerful enough to stay the tide of ever-encroaching darkness is the cleansing River of Life, our savior Jesus Christ!

Yours in Christ,

Pastor John

Psalm 63:5

⁵ My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.

It’s hard to imagine a time of the year when the joy of this verse is more meaningful and true than it is this week following Easter Sunday!  The Christian has been filled to the overflowing with God’s blessings in Christ Jesus!  Because God’s wrath has been satisfied in the cross, our souls are satisfied in the joy of salvation.  Satisfied in the hope of heaven and satisfied in the abundant grace, mercy and love of our Lord!  We could never indulge in the blessings of salvation to the point where we would ever exhaust God’s heavenly storehouse of these graces for His children.  Like the widow of Zarephath, daily we can partake of the oil and refreshment of God’s grace, and be filled to satisfaction!  I pray that you, fellow Believer, find great strength and rest in the fact that your soul is in a state of complete satisfaction in Jesus.  There is nothing that this world could offer that would ever, or could ever compare to the complete freedom and rest we have in Jesus Christ.  My soul is satisfied indeed!  Surely then, when David first recorded Psalm 63, he too must have been standing on the mountain top of celebratory joy and victory!  However, history paints a different picture for us.  David wrote this Psalm of praise not when his life was filled with the overflowing blessings of joyful circumstances, but rather during one of his life’s most trying moments.  David penned this Psalm when he was hiding in the desert wilderness of Judah as he fled either from Saul (1 Samuel 23) or when he was fleeing from his son Absolom (2 Samuel 15:13-30).  In this dry, desolate, and unforgiving environment, there was no doubt that David was in great want of shelter, food and water.  His body literally hungered and thirsted for physical refreshment and respite.  However, in the midst of his great physical need, he found his greatest comfort not in the thought of being satisfied with food and water, but in the satisfaction and joy of salvation in God.  Outwardly he was in great want, but inwardly he was full…satisfied in the Lord.  What a beautiful picture of the true condition of the soul of a Christian!  Outwardly we all face various trials, health concerns and suffering in all their various forms.  And yet, each of us should be able to declare, as David did, “my soul is completely satisfied” in Christ alone.  There is no question that our bodies, even though they are wasting away, are still in need of constant care, attention, refreshment, and nourishment, and yet they will never be satisfied.  But your soul, dear Christian, has been satisfied once and for all through the Gospel of Jesus Christ!  We have partaken of the Living Water, the Bread of Life.  And all who eat and drink of this will never hunger or thirst again!

All this world, its wealth and honor,
Cannot sate the human breast;
But when filled with God, our Father,
Every want is fully blest.
My soul is satisfied,
My soul is satisfied;
I am complete in Jesus’ love,
And my soul is satisfied.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor John