JANUARY 2023
In a sermon recently we looked at the story of the wise and foolish builder from  Matthew 7:24-27 (also Luke 6:47-49). That passage has been special to me ever since my wife had it engraved on the gift she gave to me for our wedding. I have taught this passage many times before, and I’ve always recognized that the storms of life happen to both the wise and the foolish builder. But one thing really stood out to me this time: the abundant, fulfilling life that Jesus promises His followers is not “storm-free”. His promise is that we will withstand the storms if we build on the right foundation. But the storms will come, nonetheless.
 
One of the implications of this truth relates to something Jesus said to His disciples. “These things I have spoken to you so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 NASB). Too often I mistake God’s blessing with a life of ease. And then when my life isn’t easy, I complain to the Lord then focus on the difficulty (storm) rather than the promise of God’s blessing to get through the difficulty. In this world we will have tribulations, whether or not we are walking closely with the Lord. What we need is the peace and courage of Jesus and His victory over the world. And for that, we must build our lives on the right foundation!
 
So, rolling into 2023, I can say with relative confidence that this coming year will have storms for each one of us. They will vary in intensity, and some will be self-inflicted (obviously, we want to try to minimize those). But some, like the rain, floods, and winds in Jesus’ parable, will be outside of our control, and they will slam against our lives with relentless fury. And I can say with absolute confidence that if our lives are built on the solid rock foundation of obedience to Jesus’ words, then we will survive each storm.
 
So let it be our theme in 2023 to prove (ourselves) doers of the word, and not just hearers who deceive themselves (James 1:22). Let us both listen to and obey the words of Jesus this coming year and thereby build our lives on the strong foundation. And then our lives will be able to withstand the storms that will surely come our way.
In Christ our living hope,
Pastor Bill
    

All of us have defining moments in our lives individually. Graduations, painful breakups, the loss of a loved one, achievements in our work to name a few. Generations have defining moments too. One example: 9/11 forever marked my generation of Americans.

My parents’ generation was also marked by a horrific tragedy. When he was 84 years old my dad began to describe it to our son Steve and his then fiancée Misty and me as we sat in a restaurant. We got to talking about memorable events in our lives and suddenly my dad started describing it as if it had happened only yesterday. And his portrayal of exactly what he was doing that day took every one of us back to the very moment. His word pictures were so vivid we could almost feel what he was feeling that winter in the early afternoon of his senior year at Riverside Poly High School.
 
It was Sunday, the worship service at First Baptist Church Riverside was over and like most teens he did not enjoy hanging around after church while his parents talked with their friends. So, he asked for the car keys and went out to the parking lot, sat down in the car and turned on the radio. Somehow, he had managed to ditch his little sister temporarily (that would be my Aunt Beverly) so he could listen undisturbed to some good music. Nothing unusual really; the way Dad told it this was pretty much standard procedure on Sundays. Only on this particular Sunday when he turned the radio on, he heard the words, “We interrupt this broadcast to bring you a special bulletin…” No music, just news. The year: 1941; the date: December 7th. What Dad was describing was where he was when he first heard the news of the infamous events of the Japanese attack on the US Pacific Fleet docked in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He would always remember the details of that: the date, the impact it had on his life, that look on his mother’s (my grandma’s) face six months later when he left home to go to a war started on 7 December 1941.

Certain events change the course of history for whole generations. Pearl Harbor was one such event; impacted the world, impacted America, impacted my dad, and so we remember December 7, 1941. This year we remember the 81st anniversary of that beginning of our involvement into World War II. The remembrances aren’t quite as many or as somber as they used to be since so few of my parents’ generation are still living. But its impact on our country is still profound none the less.
 
 And speaking of historic events, isn’t there another one in December? Oh yeah, Christmas! While the remembrance of Pearl Harbor is of a more serious nature, Christmas is nothing short of a celebration. While the theology behind the event is almost imponderable, the content is relatively simple. You see after sending His messengers to mankind for the first few thousand years of humanity’s existence, God came in Person. And that Person is Jesus the Messiah (the Christ). In the Christmas celebration we remember His entrance into the human race, being born to Mary and Joseph.
 
The Christmas holiday is also one of those ‘value-added’ events. In addition to the incredible spiritual significance, it’s also a time where we reemphasize the value of family. It’s an opportunity to take time to communicate with our immediate and extended families; and it’s a time of good will toward our neighbors and the rest of the humans with whom we share planet Earth. And it’s a time to settle accounts with the ones we love. To extend forgiveness, to receive forgiveness, or just agree to put bygones behind us and move forward in love for one another.
 
We live in a fallen world and both Pearl Harbor and Christmas remind us of this. The one an expression of mankind’s dark, wicked and aggressive heart; the other an expression of God’s light and His deep and abiding love for humans such that He came and paid the ultimate price for our sin. May His grace awaken in you a deeper appreciation for the God who saved us when we could not save ourselves! And may His forgiveness flow through you to all the people around you this blessed season.

In Christ our living hope,
Pastor Bill


 

OCTOBER    A key principle for Christian living is found in the words of Jesus in the last phrase of John 15:5, “…Apart from Me you can do nothing.” When I think about this, I am always amazed at the truth of it in every area of my life. So, this month I want to encourage you to ponder this truth in your own life as I share some of the areas of my life where I apply it.
First, as a husband. God called Tina and I together and then married us in 1977. Up to that point, my life priorities were God first, His mission for my life second, and then my birth family third. But those priorities changed when we were joined together as wife and husband. The proper order was still God first, but now my mate became my second priority. My responsibility as a husband is a tall order. Ephesians 5:25 says, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her.” While I am strongly and deeply attracted to Tina, to love her in the same way that Christ loved the church demands that I let Jesus love her through me. Thus, to fulfill my obligation to my spouse, I can do nothing apart from Jesus.
Next, as a father. God blessed us with three children. My responsibilities to them have changed over the years. As small, growing children, it was to protect and provide, to love and nurture, and to teach and train. Now that they are all grown and on their own, it is to pray for them, support their families and be a godly example to our grandchildren. I am still here for them, even though as we get older, they are    more-and-more stepping up to love and support us. To be the best loving, supportive, godly examples, we can do nothing apart from Jesus!
Then, of course is my personal walk with God. He is first priority in my life, by a long shot! I want to grow in His grace and knowledge. I want to resist (flee) temptation whenever confronted. I want to pray       fervently. I want to share my faith with others. I want to continue to be passionate about this ministry to which He has called me. And so much more. For all that to happen, there is no time to be apart from    Jesus!
I hope you are getting the idea for you own life. Consider your priorities, the people in your life, and the lifestyle you want to live that is pleasing to the Lord. And remember Jesus’ words, “Apart from Me you can do nothing.” But also remember the words of Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” God has already supplied everything we need to do and be everything to which He has called us. The rest of John 15:5 states, “I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” Let us be sure to remain in Jesus each and every day of our life!
In Christ our living hope,
Pastor Bill

Back when I was leading worship, an important task in determining which songs we would sing in our worship services was to evaluate the song through the lens of the Scriptures. What I was looking for was strong biblical content that was musically beautiful and lyrically poetic. Some songs were rich with content but clumsy in their wording. Other songs were a little light on content but creative and beautifully expressed a simple truth. My most   important tool in the evaluation process was to see how many of the lines and phrases in the lyric I could match with verses from the Bible. So, I decided for this newsletter article I would apply this to a favorite song of mine that Eric introduced us to some time back. The song is titled “Living Hope” by Phil Wickham.
 
The song begins, “How great the chasm that lay between us.” A reminder that apart from Christ we are separated from God. Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” And Isaiah 59:2 says, “But your wrongdoings have caused a separation from your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.” This is our lot apart from Jesus. The song continues, “How high the mountain I could not climb.” Our situation, apart from Christ, was insurmountable in our own efforts.
 
As the song’s first verse continues, “In desperation, I turned to heaven and spoke your name into the night.” When we put our faith in Jesus, He saved us from a truly impossible and desperate situation.  Ephesians 2:4-5 says it this way, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).” We were spiritually dead. We needed life; we needed to be born again. The next lines of the song, “Then through the darkness Your loving kindness tore through the shadows of my soul.” We needed light, the light of Jesus. John 8:12, “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the Light of the world; the one who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.’”
 
And so verse one concludes, “The work is finished, the end is written Jesus Christ, my living hope.” It speaks to the completed work of Jesus. In fact that’s just what Jesus said in John 19:30 as He hung on the cross, “…It is finished…” Everything necessary for our forgiveness, for our salvation was completed by Jesus, nothing lacking. Thus Jesus Christ is, indeed, our living hope. And that directs us to what I believe is the theme verse for this song, First Peter 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
 
The phrases of the chorus and the other two verses of the song are likewise reflected in the pages of Scripture. It was really quite fun and enriching to connect the Bible to the various themes of this song that is so rich with content. When it comes to worship and worship songs, it is vitally important that we       remember the words of Jesus spoken to the woman at the well, “But a time is coming, and even now has arrived, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24).
 
In Christ our living hope,
Pastor Bill

Does God come to us or do we come to God? I’d like to consider four passages of Scripture that help to answer this     question.
 
The first is in the Book of Hebrews.
And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for the one who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He proves to be One who rewards those who seek Him. (Heb. 11:6 NASB 2020) 
 
This indicates a responsibility for the one “who comes to God.” Of course, the focus of the verse is the belief or faith of the person who comes. This verse puts the responsibility on the seeker to come to God.
 
The second passage is found in James chapter four.
Come close to God and He will come close to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (Jas. 4:8 NASB 2020) 
 
James puts the responsibility squarely on us to “come close to God.” The Book of Revelation invites us to come to God, to take freely of His offer of life (Rev. 22:17). So once again we see our responsibility here to come to God.
 
The next two passages indicate that God came to us.
 
The first is in the Gospel of John.
“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. (John 6:44 NASB 2020) 
 
Clearly God is involved in drawing us to Jesus. Whether He simply ‘clears the path’ for us to come to Him at the right time, or, whether there is an almost irresistible attraction that brings us to him, it’s not clear. What is clear is that God is
actively involved in “drawing” us to Jesus! And we can’t come to Him unless God draws us.
 
The final passage to consider is John 12:32.
“And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself.” (John 12:32 NASB 2020) 
 
Jesus is actively involved in bringing people to a saving knowledge of God. He draws us to Himself.
 
So, did we come to God or did God come to us? It is an amazing moment when we realize that it is both/and. We come to God, and God comes to us. We don’t find God until He first finds us. And God doesn’t have us until we first come to Him. As a new Believer, I thought it was all on me. That I finally came to my senses regarding my need for God and so I
exercised my will and deliberately prayed to invite Him into my life to save me. At the time I didn’t understand the active role God played in my coming to Him. Because of passages like these (among others), I do understand it now and I am so glad that He saved me!
 
In Christ our living hope,