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DW Feaster published a bulletinThe Substitute
In the game of football, there are times when the players get tired so they will sit out for a few plays. When that happens a substitute comes in the game to take their place. When an offensive or defensive lineman goes out, the substitute comes in and takes the punishment on the line so that the starter can have a break.
Do you realize that Jesus is our substitute. Due to our sin, you and I deserve the punishment. However, Jesus takes our place. He takes our punishment by giving His life on the cross
1 Peter 2:24 says, "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree; so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness." CSB
Because of what Jesus did on the cross you and I can live for righteousness. We can be made right with a Holy God, not because of anything we have done, but because of Jesus taking our place on the cross. All that you and I have to do is accept this wonderful gift. Jesus will not force us to choose Him. When we do choose to accept Him, He takes away our punishment. He becomes our substitute.
Today, I want to challenge you to reflect on your life with Jesus. Have you accepted His sacrifice on the cross to take away your punishment? If you have, are you living your life for Him? Have you taken the time lately to say thank you Jesus for being my substitute?
Re-Gift
We have all been given gifts where we are like what was that person thinking. When that happens we usually try to re-gift that present to someone else we think might like it.
Did you know that as a Christian you have been given a gift that you need to re-gift?
In 2 Tim 1:6 Paul says to Timothy, "Therefore, I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is in you."
As Christians we have been given spiritual gifts. Our gifts are not the same. Some , like me, have been given the gift of teaching. Others have been given the gift of mercy, administration, service, healing, etc. Every Christian as been given a gift and we are to use that gift to advance the kingdom of God. We are to Re-gift it in service of God.
What this means to you as a Christian is that you are important to the mission of God. God does not need you to accomplish His will but He wants to use you. He has given you a gift and you are to use that for Him.
I challenge you to discover the gift that God has given you and use that Gift in order to advance the Kingdom of God here on this earth.
The Power of Love
Love is a beautiful thing. We all long to find that special someone that we can spend the rest of our life with in love.
Love is something that we as Christians should have on display at all times. Romans 13:10 says, "Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Love, therefore, is the fulfillment of the law"
Love does no wrong. How does that look in our daily lives?
- When I choose love I will not say means things about that person
- When I choose love I will listen to what the other person is saying
- When I choose love I will stop what I am doing to pay attention to the person in need.
- When I choose love I won't steal or covet what belongs to another person.
- When I choose love I will seek to be kind to those I come in contact with
- When I choose love I will let go of m selfish desires
- When I choose love I will choose to accept Jesus as my Savior knowing that He took my place on the cross as an act of love
- When I choose love I will choose to share the truth about Jesus with those around me.
- When I choose love I will choose to live for Christ
Love does no wrong. When we choose love we will naturally do what is right to those around us. Sadly, I often choose pride over love. What about you?
As I challenge myself to chose love, I want to challenge you to chose love as well. Take the time to pick someone in your life and choose love over pride and let them know just how important to you they are
In Him
It is so incredible the wonderful gifts that you and I get when we give our hearts and lives over to Jesus. If you are anything like me, there are times when I don't really take the time to think about all that Christ does for us. So today, I want us to take some time to simply look at the beauty of what we get from Christ.
First, we get salvation. What could be greater than that? Because of our sins, you and I deserve to go to a place called Hell. But God in His great love for us has redeemed us through the precious blood of Jesus upon the cross.
- Ephesians 1:7 "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace" CSB
Second, we get an inheritance. That is, you and I get to live in Heaven. When this life is over and we are called home to be with our Lord we will spend all eternity in Heaven.
- Ephesians 1:11, "In him we have also received an inheritance" CSB
Third, we get the Holy Spirit. God Himself comes in and lives inside of us in the power of the Spirit guiding us in life. The Spirit is our moral compass. He is our guide. He is our comforter. He is with us at all times helping us to know God's will for our lives. At the moment we say yes to Jesus, the Spirit comes in and lives with us.
- Ephesians 1:13, "In him you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed" CSB
It is amazing the beauty of what God has done for us in Christ by offering us salvation. But that is not all that we get when we say yes to Jesus. We also get an inheritance and we are sealed by the Holy Spirit. When we think of all the benefits for surrendering to Christ, why would anyone want to turn down such an incredible offer?
Hope in the Struggle
We all have times in our lives when we feel so though hope is gone. We look at our circumstances and we wonder how are we going to get through this trail that we are facing. At times we fill alone and defeated. What are we to do in this times? The answer is we hold on to hope.
If anyone had a reason to lose hope it would have been Paul. Paul had been radically changed by the message of Jesus. After his transformation, he was sent on a mission to take the message of Jesus around the world. He did that and seemed to face problems everywhere he went.
Eventually he would go back to Jerusalem where he would be arrested and put on trial. He own people turned against him. He had done nothing wrong and now finds himself on trail and the Jews wanting to kill him. In Acts 24:15 Paul says, "I have a hope in God."
If Paul can hold on to hope in the midst of all he went through so can you and I. God has a plan and a purpose for our lives and He will see that plan come to be. We need to always remember that in Jesus, we always have hope.
When the Church Prays
We all know that there is great power in prayer. We have seen it in our lives. I wonder though how often we downplay the power of prayer. I know in my life I often limit my prayers to things I think is possible. I wonder what would happen if we, the church started to pray for the impossible?
In Acts 12 we see what happens when the church prays for the impossible.
King Herod had killed James the brother of John and then arrested Peter and threw him in prison. We see in Acts 12:4;6 the impossible situation that Peter finds himself in. "4. After the arrest, he put him in prison and assigned four squads of four soldiers each to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover." "6. When Herod was about to bring him out for trial, that very night Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while the sentries in front of the door guarded the prison" CSB.
The chance for Peter's escape seems to be slim to none but there is an incredible verse between verse 4 and 6 and that is verse 5. "So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was praying fervently to God for him." The church had come together and was praying for Peter. As the church came together and prayed, the impossible happened. An angel came and brought Peter out of the Prison and he then went to where the people was praying.
When the church comes together, humbles themselves before God, and fervently prays, the impossible can and will happen. We need to go beyond our often small prayers and see the incredible power of God to move and work in our lives.
I want to challenge you church to join in me in this powerful prayer: Awesome God, we your church cry out to you asking that you would do a mighty work of God in your church here. Set our community free from the bondage of the enemy. Allow us to see many come to faith in Christ and grow is in our walk with you. Lord God grow us and help us go out and share your love. May we truly be a church that goes and grows. Lord move in such a mighty and powerful way that none of us can take the credit. We want to see your glory fall upon us so powerfully and mightily. We want to be used by you for your glory."
Balancing Faith and Anxiety
"Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Phil 4:6
Anyone of us that has dealt with Anxiety has looked at this verse at some point in time in our lives. When we read this verse and still feel anxious we feel more defeated and even more anxious. That leads us to the topic of the blog today which is how do we balance faith and anxiety?
Many Americans suffer with Anxiety. Anxiety will manifest its self in different ways with different people. Those who don't struggle with anxiety do not fully understand what someone who does is going through. Thus, they will say you just need to have more faith. Is it really that simply? The answer is yes and no
For some it is simply surrendering to trusting God. For others, it is a chemical imbalance and has nothing to do with faith.
I would like to share with you all my story. There was a time when I would have been too anxious to share my battle with anxiety for fear of what people would think or the judgement that would come.
I have struggled with anxiety for around 6 or 7 years now. I am not sure how long for I never realized it till about 5 year ago one doctor told me I had anxiety. He wanted to put me on medication for it and I said no way.
How could I, a pastor, take meds for anxiety. I just need to have more faith. So for a few more years I continued try and deal with my anxiety on my own. It got to the point where I did not want to go anywhere. I wanted to stay at home because of what might happen if I try to go out and do stuff. When I took my days off from work and the wife wanted to go somewhere, I would make up some excuse why we couldn't go or find some more work that needed done.
A day came when I listened to a sermon from another pastor who was dealing with anxiety and how after he went on meds for his anxiety he became a new person. I believe that God led me to that message for I needed to here that as a Pastor, as a man of faith, there is nothing wrong with needing to take medication for my anxiety
Let me put it this way; If you break a bone in your body do you sit and home and have faith that it just heals on its own or do you go to the doctor to get it set and get some meds for the pain. When anxiety is a chemical imbalance it has nothing to do with faith. Once I realized this, I was able to get on medication that helps me. I feel like a new person.
I wanted to share this with anyone who may be having the same struggle that I have dealt with. If you are struggling with anxiety it is ok to reach out for help. If you know someone with anxiety know that their battle is real. Love them and encourage the as best as you can.
Anyone who would like to talk with me about your struggle feel free to reach out.
I have to
Have you ever felt compelled to do something? You just have that drive that if you don't get whatever it is done you will burst.
Paul had that drive in his heart and we see that in 1 Corinthians 9:16, "For if I preach the gospel, I have no reason to boast, because I am compelled to preach - and woe to me if I do not preach the gospel."
What better thing for you and I to be compelled to do than to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is something that I have to do. God has called me to preach and that is what I must do. If I do not preach the wonderful message of Jesus than I do feel as though I will burst open.
The gospel of Jesus is good news to all people. The word gospel simply means to proclaim good news. You and I have good news because Jesus gave His life on the cross so that you and I might be made right with God. Once we accept that good news, we should have a compelling with in us to share that good news with others.
Today, I wanted to take the time to share that good news with you. Jesus loves you and gave His life on the cross so that you, along with me, could be free. It is my prayer that each of you have accepted that good news and if you have not I challenge to reach out and I would be glad to share the good news with you even more for as I said, I am compelled to preach the gospel.
Thanks for Giving
2020 has been a year for sure. With just a little over a week until Thanksgiving will be here many are wondering what to I have to be thankful for this year. Many find themselves stuck inside and lonely from the virus. Many are hurting over the division in our country. Many fear what the future will hold. What do I have to be thankful for this year. The answer is a lot. I want to challenge us today to stop and at take a look at everything that we have to be thankful for.
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His faithful love endures forever.” Ps 136.1
Instead of seeing all the bad, I choose to give thanks to God for giving me:
Today and this week as we get ready for Thanksgiving, I want to challenge you to make your own thanks for giving list so that you too can see all the wonderful things that you have to be thankful for.