Christ's Church of Nevada

Addicted to His Presence

2012-01-17T19:38:00.000-08:00

Tonight I just received a call from a guy who was sharing with me his desire to change because he is addicted to drugs and alcohol. I felt this was a reaffirming word to me because last Sunday morning during our worship time the Lord spoke to me a word which has made me ponder the different spectrums of the meaning in what He said to me; “Addicted to My presence”. What I feel the Lord has shared with me over the last several days I feel it’s not speaking of being addicted in a bad way, and some might think I am splitting hairs, but I feel He was sharing with me a process we need to go through and not simply become satisfied until we are able to push through and lay hold of the Person of Jesus Christ and not just the external blessings that come with Christ. Heb. 10:19-25
"Therefore, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, LET US DRAW NEAR TO GOD WITH A SINCERE HEART IN FULL ASSURANCE OF FAITH, HAVING OUR HEARTS SPRINKLED TO CLEANSE US FROM A GUILTY CONSCIENCE AND HAVING OUR BODIES WASHED WITH PURE WATER..."
The Lord draws us in many different ways from before we came into knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ and continues to draw us along with many different experiences. When the manifested presence of God comes upon His children we see different virtues of God and the experience is glorious to behold. Exodus 33:22-23, “When My glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove My hand and you will see my back; but My face must not be seen.”
But I have seen way too many believers get caught up in the presence of God and run here and there looking for the next big experience and fail to move on seeking the person of Christ, then when the experiences come to a close, too many find themselves falling back into a comatose state of existence in their Christian walk.
The sun’s rays offer warmth and growth for the earth, but would not exist if their source, the sun, was not there or we are in a room with people when a dynamic individual walks into the room sparking life and a charismatic atmosphere, yet we really don’t know him. We can’t continue to pursue His presence and not His Person. This is a warning to be heeded!
God’s presence in our lives is a by – product of His person. How do we pursue His Person? Only by getting deep into the Word and meditating, allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal the very face/person of Christ to us, examining our personal lives (not the lives of those around us), worshipping and being obedient to His instructions. I understand that we must go to work, walk the dog, make dinner, etc. but our true passion is seeking the face of Christ. Also we might find ourselves giving up distractions that we thought we had to have in to order to seek His face, but Christ tells us to count the cost. Many years ago as I was walking and praying I made this declaration, “Lord, I just want to know You” and surprisingly, this is what came back to me, “If you really knew Me would You like Me?” For the first time the realization hit me that my preconceived thoughts and way of thinking of Christ; from a western, capitalistic, fundamentalist, charismatic, conservative view, could possibly be wrong. If Jesus was here would his comments to me be very unpleasant or sweet? I share this message not at the place of total accomplishment, but right along side you. But as we practice these simple disciplines throughout the week I believe the River of Life will over flow out of us making the Niagara Falls look like a drippy faucet.
I feel this is what Christ is speaking to me; to press in past His glory/presence and behold his face. P.S. From a simple minded country boy, “I think I will really like Him for who He is.”

Covenant Relationship In honor of my covenant brother,Mike McKinney

2011-12-21T20:05:00.000-08:00

Recently I have thought about covenant relationships and the new covenant that Christ has established with us and the Church. Pastor Mike McKinney and I served together on a pastoral team which strived for a New Testament expression of faith and practices. We would sit down and talk for hours together about the Kingdom of God and the dynamics of community life that Christ so desired amongst his children. We desired that the Church would come into a revelation of covenant lifestyle within the church and would begin to practically walk out the “one-anothers” of scripture.
What does it mean to be in covenant relationship with God? It means that we have repented of our sin and entered into the kingdom of God through faith in Jesus as Savior. It means that we have willingly and whole-heartedly surrendered our will to the will and purposes of God. Out of gratitude for the gift of eternal life, we submit ourselves as servants of Jesus. A covenant is different than a contract. A contract focuses upon the exchange of goods or services. A covenant focuses upon relationship. It involves a commitment to another and service for the benefit of another. Marriage is the best human example of a covenant relationship.
Marriage is a voluntary covenant relationship, but once it is entered into, marriage involves certain responsibilities, privileges, and blessings. Marriage is a covenant because it involves the whole being, especially the attitude of one’s heart. It is rooted in a commitment to love, honor, and serve your spouse. It means putting your spouse’s interest above your own.
Likewise in the Church we enter also into a covenant relationship with one another as Christ has prescribed through the teachings of the “one anothers”. This is something that we do not hear much teaching on, and sadly, most of our Church gatherings resemble that of the contract agreement of “what can you do for me?” But if we enter a covenant relationship to commit to love, respect, honor and serve one another, and if we take upon ourselves the responsibility for the betterment of the community, so that my presence, talents, gifts and resources are made available to help build up and encourage the community which I have committed to help become more like Christ, how different the world would view the Church. This was what Mike McKinney had in his heart; to walk in covenant relationships. Mike strived to build into someone else’s life the quality of Christlike character that would glorify Jesus Christ. I saw so many times Mike going out on a limb giving someone help or the benefit of good will, desiring to see them succeed in the Kingdom of God and life. He would tell me if I must err, I will err on the side of grace. I miss my brother this season but I’m thankful that the Holy Spirit gave me the opportunity to have a covenant relationship with this man and walk in the reality of the “one another’s” of the Kingdom of God. May our lives exemplify the humility of character, the heart that surrenders, and the hands and feet that assume the responsibility of the gospel of Christ.

Blessed are the poor in spirit,for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

2011-11-21T07:26:00.000-08:00

Understanding the beatitudes in Matt.5:1-12 requires us to comprehend the meaning of the term blessed. Many people think the word means "happy" but that view is inadequate.

Happiness,in an utimate sense,is certainly a part of being blessed by God, but divine blessing goes far beyond mere happiness. It involves God's favor, His willingness to come near and dwell among His people. This is the chief meaning of the Aaronic blessing in Num. 6:22-27. The hope of Israel was that God would shine His face on the people, that there wouild be close, fellowship between the creator and His creatures. The New Testament expands on this, revealing that our ultimate hope is the Beatific Vision-face-to-face communion with God and His glory in eternity(1Cor.13:12; 1Jn.3:2).

How do we enjoy the Lord's favor and experience a taste of His presence now, and then, for all eternity, the fullness of His glory? The answer is found in the very first beatitude.Jesus tells us that only the "poor in spirit" will receive the kingdom of heaven(Matt.5:3. Poverty in spirit is emptying of our self-reliance and claim we (falsely) believe to have on God. It is a recognition that we are utterly dependent on divine grace and undeserving of His favor. It is repentance for setting ourselves up as (gods)and then a resting in the Lord's promise of salvation.

This exerpt was borrowed from Tabletalk, a daily devotional magazine published by Ligonier Ministries.

Being what you already are.

2011-11-18T18:21:00.000-08:00

I guess one of the most difficult things for a christian is to be what God has already declared him to be. 2 Cor.5:17 "Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold new things have come." And in Rom.5:1 "Therefore having been justified by faith,we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Yes we are declared to be righteous through our faith in Christ!

Why then is it so difficult to walk it out daily? Maybe it is that we don't see ourselves the way God does. He sees us in His son with whom He is well pleased.

We are saved from the wrath to come because God has already poured out the wrath; reserved for me on His Son when He suffered on the cross.
So now we can work out our salvation in fear and trembling knowing that we are free to do so. It was for freedom that Christ set you free so that sin need not reign in your mortal bodies. Even so consider youselves to be dead to sin but alive to God.

When we were dead in our trespasses and sins, we were dead to the things of God, but now we are made alive to the things that God has for us. By the grace of God we can be what He has made us to be. Amen!

An Eternal Persprective

2011-11-05T09:06:00.000-07:00

"But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and that he will stand upon the earth at last.And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God!I will see him for myself. Yes, I will see him with my own eyes. I am overwhelmed at the thought!.” Job 19:25-27 NLT

Job had an eternal perspective that transcended his earthly problems. Job’s confidence in God is astounding. In the midst of his darkest hour he reaffirms his belief in the Eternal. I am afraid our modern evangelicalism has sold us a message devoid of eternal things. Often the appeal to the lost is about God’s blessings: healed relationships, better circumstances and solved problems – in short it presents God as primarily concerned about our life here and now. The message is summed up with the slogan, “You can have a great life now with God!”

When Christians lose their eternal perspective they often lose the true motivation to endure, persevere and ultimately triumph over day to day difficulties. Like Job we have to be able to say with confidence, no matter what happens today, there is confidence in something better tomorrow – “My redeemer lives and I shall see Him.”

This life and this physical body are the temporary parts of our life. Our Soul and Spirit are eternal. I often tell young people, “do not trade the eternal for the temporary.”

Prayer for today: Father I ask you to infuse my being with an awesome sense of eternity. Like Job I want to be overwhelmed by the reality of it, so that it captivates and motivates me to live for you and to reach others with the message of Jesus Christ and the truth that they too can enjoy an eternity with their redeemer God.

Christian Idolatry??

2011-09-20T20:10:00.001-07:00

By Steve Highlander

The idea of idolatry would make most Christians shutter. Yet we find many Christians who have a perception of God that is more like idolatry than Christianity. Consider the following passage:
“Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusts in them.” Psalm 115:4-8

Keep in mind idolaters where very religious. Many people believe in God, but the god they believe in is relatively powerless. They really don’t believe that God will speak to them today, even though Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice.” They pray for God to intervene in the affairs of men but deny the reality of miracles. They don’t really believe that God can touch their lives in a powerful way, even though God Himself, in a time of trial, poses the rhetorical question to Moses, “is the Lord’s hand grown short?” We say things like, “God don’t you see what I am going through?” Or “Why don’t you hear my prayers?” Or “God I need a touch from you.” All the while our core belief system doesn’t really allow for a God that can work supernaturally on our behalf.

The key thought in the verse above is: “… the works of men’s hands.” We cannot afford to create our own scaled-down version of God and expect it to work.

God is not like the idols – powerless, sightless, speechless and unable to work directly and miraculously in our lives if need be. Perhaps this is one key reason why the 1st commandment was not to have any gods (manmade concepts of God) or idols before Him.

When God revealed Himself to Moses at the burning bush and Moses asked His name, God said, “I am that I am,” or more correctly in Hebrew, “I will be that which I will be.” In other words God revealed Himself as being unaffected by man’s opinions of Him. To put it in modern terminology God said, “I will be who and what I am, not what you want me to be, deal with it.”

God who created the universe and stands outside of time and space is not bound by the same restrictions we humans face. We all need to take our faith up a notch and stop limiting God.

Building Blocks of Faith

2011-07-29T19:37:00.000-07:00

So What’s Up with Justification?
Part 2

As an unbeliever or even a new believer in Jesus Christ we hear terms that just don’t make sense to us and why all the excitement over “Justification”. In Romans 5:1-5, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Paul begins to lay before us God’s plan to have peace with God through faith in Jesus Christ. The word “Justification” is what is needed to bring a right relationship with God. It is having right standing with God and to be declared righteous in His sight. This is something that is not earned by good works or trying harder to be a good person but only through the work of the Cross of Jesus Christ. Praise God! When I think of my messed up life of failures, weaknesses, selfishness and stupidity that through the work that Christ did on the cross acquitted me and by faith in Christ has placed me in right standing with God.

Justification by faith changes things for us in light of eternality. In Romans 5:1 it states, “We have peace with God”, verse 9 states “since we have been justified by his blood we have been”, saved from God’s wrath, we were reconciled to Him, and we have access to Him. I thank God that through Christ my relationship with our Heavenly Father is absolutely secure. In Ephesians 1:6-7, “to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace”.

We now have access by faith (childlike trust) into this grace wherein we stand, “Good News” through the blood of Christ and the work of the cross. I have freely received the redemptive work of Christ not based on my works or efforts but faith in Jesus Christ. May we all come into this peace that has been purchased with a price on Calvary!

Building Blocks of Faith

2011-06-29T19:35:00.000-07:00

Part 1Our Nature
Titus 3:1-8, 1 Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, 2 to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone. 3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. 8 This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.
There is a term used within the Church that examines our nature call regeneration. It speaks of our spiritual change brought about in a person’s life by an act of God. In regeneration a person’s sinful nature is changed, and he/she is enabled to respond to God in faith. The word regeneration occurs two times in the bible Titus 3:1-8 and Matthew 19:28 and literally means to be “born again”. I’m afraid there are too many who profess that they are Christians, yet there is no change of heart.
When we are born again there is a radical change of mind, will and nature. In 1 Corinthians 5:17, This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! Wow, this regeneration that Christ does in and through us extends to the whole nature of man, changing a person’s desire and restoring him to a right relationship with God in Christ. So if we confess that we are a Christian but there is no change there is a serious problem. I know that before I became a Christian doing things that were wrong didn’t bother me or how they impacted others, but after I became a Christian and did something wrong I came under conviction of the Holy Spirit which really bother me until I came into obedience to Christ. So the question to us is, “Are you sure you have been born again?” it carries eternal consequences!

Its Time to put the Roof On

2011-06-09T20:13:00.000-07:00

By Pastor Steve
A few weeks ago the church was given a word by the Spirit of God that “It was time to put the roof on.” The elders have prayed and discussed what this means to our fellowship.

While it is impossible to truly know all that is contained is a short word like this there are some things that seem obvious. I want to encourage you to tap into what God is saying to us as a faith community and “get on board” with us in pursuing God’s plans and purposes in our midst.

So what does it mean to “put the roof on?” Here are a few thoughts.

It does not mean we are nearing completion. Quite the contrary. In a building project, putting the roof on means two things. First it means the foundation and supporting structure is in place. Second you put the roof on in preparation for the “inside work” of building walls, and installing fixtures, etc. In short it is a significant milestone in the journey.
This is exciting because it means we are on the path. We’re headed the right direction in building the church. The foundational aspects of the church are secure. The supporting structure is in place and we’re ready to move on to the next stage of the development of the church.

While there are probably several things involved we do know for sure that there is one significant thing we need to do when “putting the roof on”: that is develop other leaders, ministries and workers.

There are a number of things that need to be done to grow to the next level. Some of those things are just not getting done because we don’t yet have the people resources to do them. The apostles experienced this very issue in the book of Acts when they decides to set up Deacons to handle some affairs of the church, allowing the Elders to concentrate “on the word of God and prayer.”

This is where we are at as a fellowship. For us to grow beyond this point we must have some people step up to the plate and find a place of service and we also need to pray that God brings a few dedicated mature families into the church.

One thing we are doing is starting a Personal Ministry Development training course. The word “ministry” means to serve, not be served. Jesus said, “The Son of Man came to minster (serve) not to be ministered to.”

Ministry isn’t just in the pulpit. Ministry happens anywhere people are serving other people as God has given them ability. It might be running the sound, making sure guests are greeted and made to feel comfortable, or a dozen other things,

To be sure ministry meant to serve people’s spiritual needs too. In both of the respects everyone is called to “the ministry.”

One thing that makes Christ’s Church different is that we want to help you find and fulfill your unique place of ministry in the Body of Christ.

Asking God for Wisdom, Knowledge and Understanding?

2011-06-04T20:34:00.000-07:00

Do You Know Where to Find Wisdom, Knowledge and Understanding.

"But do people know where to find wisdom? Where can they find understanding? For it is hidden from the eyes of all humanity. Even the sharp-eyed birds in the sky cannot discover it. But Destruction and Death say, 'We have heard a rumor of where wisdom can be found.' "God surely knows where it can be found, for he looks throughout the whole earth, under all the heavens. He made the winds blow and determined how much rain should fall. He made the laws of the rain and prepared a path for the lightning. Then, when he had done all this, he saw wisdom and measured it. He established it and examined it thoroughly. And this is what he says to all humanity: 'The fear of the Lord is true wisdom; to forsake evil is real understanding.'" Job 28:20-28

The Bible speaks often of wisdom, knowledge and understanding in the same sentence. These three virtues are often ignored in the midst of the modern church. Perhaps some definitions are in order. Wisdom is knowing WHAT to do. Knowledge is knowing ABOUT something you might be ignorant of otherwise. Understanding is the ability to see and comprehend the significance of an event or process. While the much of the word boasts in its wisdom, knowledge and understanding concerning natural things, they are ignorant of spiritual things and spiritual processes. One day the disciples asked Jesus why he spoke in parables? He replied, “because to you (disciples) it is given to know the things of the kingdom of God, but to those outside it is not." Is God unfair that he has hidden spiritual things from the “wise and prudent and revealed them to babes?” No. God has simply determined that man could not discover the things of God with his own intellect, but rather reserved them for those who would seek revelation for God. Paul summed this up brilliantly when he prayed for the Ephesian Church in Ephesians chapter 1:16-18 “I…Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints….” Wisdom, knowledge, understanding and revelation is the disciple’s privilege, but it comes with the price tag of seeking, asking, believing and receiving

Favor with God

2011-04-24T14:58:00.000-07:00

Romans 3:25 “whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed”.

The Greek word hilasterion is the Greek rendering of the Hebrew kapporeth which refers to the Mercy Seat of the Ark. Hilasterion can be translated as either "propitiation" or "expiation" which then imply different functions of the Mercy Seat. The English dictionary definition of "propitiation" literally means to make favorable and specifically includes the idea of dealing with God’s wrath against sinners. Expiation literally means to make pious and implies either the removal or cleansing of sin.

The idea of propitiation includes that of expiation as its means, but the word "expiation" has no reference to quenching God’s righteous anger. The difference is that linguistically the object of expiation is sin, not God (that is, sin is removed, not God). Linguistically, one propitiates a person (makes them favorable), and one expiates a problem (removes it). Christ's death was therefore both an expiation and a propitiation. By expiating (removing the problem of) sin God was made propitious (favorable) to us.

Praise God! In and through Christ I have favor with God, you have favor with God through faith. He has not only dealt with my present sins and future sins but my past sins with His blood. I’m clean, “There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins; ... The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day; and there may I, though vile as he, wash all my sins away. ...”.

You have favor with God through Christ Jesus, rejoice!

Slave in Christ

2011-04-07T06:55:00.000-07:00

Recently I sent out an email and often I end my letter with “Slave in Christ”. I was asked about my statement and told how they where intrigued with this.

When I was in Africa I was going through many trials and had sensed a change in my spirit - that Christ was changing my direction of ministry, It was in Africa that the Spirit of God gave me a vision of Christ on the Cross and a personal word that so impacted my life that when I came back I wasn’t the same anymore.

I have come to the realization that for one to truly experience the life of Christ, one must surrender to the work of the cross in the believer’s life.

Romans 1:1 "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called [to be] an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God." Out of the six Greek words for "servant" used in the New Testament, Paul used one of the most slavish terms possible. The word used in this verse is "DOULOS" and comes from the root word "DEO." DEO, means "to bind" (Strong's Concordance). So Paul is literally speaking of himself as being a bondman or slave of Jesus Christ--a slave by free choice yet owned and purchased by Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 19 "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, Who is in you, Whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies."

The idea of being a love-slave by choice comes from Old Testament passages such as; Exodus 21:2-6 “If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free, without paying anything. If he comes alone, he is to go free alone; but if he has a wife when he comes, she is to go with him. If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free. But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’ then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life."

When Israelites bought Hebrew slaves, they had to set them free in the seventh year. However, if the slaves loved their masters and didn't want to go free, then holes were bored through the lobes of their ears, pronouncing them bond-slaves forever. By the use of this word, Paul was declaring Jesus as his absolute Master yet indicating the idea of his expression of love and free choice to the one whom he served.

Now I realize that I have not attained nor maybe will never reach a heart level of total servitude and perhaps some might be thinking this is a goal that you are shooting for being a slave, but to experience the presence of God is a driving force in my life.

I like how Paul put it in Philippians 3, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Slave in Christ Robert

What Constitued God's Rest

2011-02-14T20:15:00.000-08:00

"Thus the heavens and the earth were finished and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. Genesis 2:1-

Was God just plum tuckered out, physically tired, mentally worn out at the end of the creation week? In Exodus 31:17 it states, “On the seventh day He ceased from labor and was refreshed.” The term “from labor” is not in the Hebrew but was added by the translator. So this should read, “He ceased and was refreshed”. In Psalms 121:4 it states, “He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep,” showing us that God does not get physically tired or mentally wore out at the end of a day as we do.

No, what this does show is that God took enjoyment in His finished creation. Just like a carpenter who once had a plan in his head now can stand back and look at the finished creation of a beautiful home and say this is very good.What could be more refreshing and restful than God to be in fellowship with his creation?

I know personally there are times I will sit in a tree stand and watch nature and have communion with my heavenly Father and will have the same refreshing and rest that comes from a personal relationship with Him. God wants all of us to come into this eternal rest with Him and enjoy the rich bounty of His love.

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What Constitued God's Rest

2011-02-14T18:15:00.000-08:00

What Constituted God’s Rest?

Genesis 2
1Thus the heavens and the earth were finished and all the host of them. 2And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
Was God just plum tuckered out, physically tired, mentally worn out at the end of the creation week? In Exodus 31:17 it states, “On the seventh day He ceased from labor and was refreshed.” The term “from labor” is not in the Hebrew but was added by the translator. So this should read, “He ceased and was refreshed”. In Psalms 121:4 it states, “He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep” showing us that God does not get physically tired or mentally wore out at the end of a day as we do. No what this does show is that God took enjoyment of His finished creation, just like a carpenter who once had a plan in his head now can stand back and look at the finished creation of a beautiful home and say this is very good.What could be more refreshing and restful than God to be in fellowship with his creation? I know personally there are times I will sit in a tree stand and watch nature and have communion with my heavenly Father and will have the same refreshing and rest that comes from a personal relationship with Him. God wants all of us to come into this eternal rest with Him and enjoy the rich bounty of His love.

New Testament Church Transparency

2011-02-03T10:54:00.000-08:00

2 Timothy 1:7 says this about fear: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but God has given us a spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

God has not given us a spirit of fear. Fear is not of God, but God has given us a spirit of love. God wants us to first connect intimately with Him, and out of an intimate personal relationship with God, His perfect loves drives out all fear, and we are able to have healthy relationships with others. The problem is, so many of us have not become secure in an intimate relationship with God; therefore, we fear transparency (removing the mask and revealing who you really are; getting beyond the surface to what is really going on in your heart) with other people. So many people I know are living with barriers to transparency in their lives because of past pain - and their pain is real. So many people I know today build walls of protection around their heart.

But look at what God’s love does to eliminate that fear. 1 John 4:18 says: “There is no fear in in love . . . in love, but perfect love does drives out fear.”

If we as the body of Christ are to connect as the Lord intended we must take faith relational risk.

What are the rewards of transparency? In Genesis 2:25, "Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame." There was complete transparency and openness of relationships between God and man, man and women only when sin entered into the equation was the hiding from open intimacy. The reward becomes freedom to love and be loved as God intended from the beginning. Jesus said in Matthew 22:37, “Love the Lord your God will all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.”

We must first start with intimacy with God though Christ, and He said, “the second most important thing is like it, to love your neighbour as yourself.” Let us walk in faith, letting the life of Christ to heal our hearts and recieve freedom in Christ to become transparent.

The Contradictions of Life

2011-02-02T17:45:00.000-08:00

“Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. ” I Peter 3:10-12

Peter tells us the prophets were a bit confused. They had a hard time reconciling a reigning king Messiah with a suffering servant Messiah. But to their credit they “inquired diligently.”

We too can be confused by the seeming contradictions we face in our Christian lives. We know and preach that God wants to bless us, yet we sometimes find ourselves walking through circumstances that are anything but blessings. We believe in healing and yet sometimes must wait for it. God has promised to guide us, but there are times we sit waiting in the dark. The Christian life can seem to be contradictory at times.

When we are confronted with these seeming contradictions Hebrews 12:3 advises us to “consider Jesus” who endured the greatest contradiction. The true essence of Life Himself, left to die a criminal's death on a cross. Peter also encourages us not to think it strange when some fiery trial comes along, but rejoice that we are partaking in Christ’s sufferings.

There is one sure thing: Paul encouraged young pastor Timothy, “If we suffer with Him, we shall also reign with Him.” In another place Paul encourages suffering Christians with this thought: “These momentary light afflictions are not compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us.”

When the contradictions of life come along – and they will – we have an example of the prophets who went to their knees and diligently inquired of God about the things they didn’t understand. We also have the example of the savior who patiently waited through the trial and received the greatest honor of all - a name above every other name.

Learning Through the Tough Times

2011-02-02T17:42:00.000-08:00

“Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.” Hebrews 5:8

This is a difficult statement when you really start to think about it. We often read right past it. However it is one of those important scriptures that tell us something about what made Jesus’ ministry eternal.

Perfection is never valid until it has been proven. Faith is not faith without going through some thing that requires us to trust God. We can talk about BEING courageous, but without some fearsome circumstance we can not BE courageous. Likewise obedience is only good when you have the option not to obey. Jesus’ perfection had to be put to the test.

We need to be careful not to miss the point. Jesus didn’t “learn obedience” as if He wasn’t obedient and through the process of trial and error learned he had to obey or else. Had He disobeyed once it would have all been over? The point is what He learned THROUGH obedience.

It is when we step out in faith and obey that we learn some things about God and ourselves. In other words there are some things you cannot know until AFTER you have obeyed. That is the fearful part of the faith walk. Once again we can point to Abraham who, “by faith obeyed…and went out not knowing where he was going.”

One thing we learn through obedience is that God is faithful. Until we have experienced that for ourselves, it is only an unproven theory proposed by others.

Jesus’ relationship with the Father did not keep Him from having to take some steps in the dark; neither will ours keep us from learning in the same way.

Faith For Guidance

2011-02-02T17:34:00.000-08:00

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” Romans 8:14

Today’s passage relates to the mark of true sonship. It is a two-edged sword. There are many that claim to know God, but have little evidence of that relationship. Here faith meets reality. The proof of the pudding is in the eating, as the old saying goes.

It is s two-edged sword because it proves our sonship from two different viewpoints. From heaven’s point of view the proof of our sonship is our faithful obedience to the dictates of the Spirit. But from this side of the fence the Spirit’s leading in our life proves our sonship. God is not leading those that are not His.

While we are saved by faith and not works, faith must also have actions that accompany it and validate it. James dealt with this when he said, “faith without works is dead being alone.” And Paul relates the experience of Abraham in Hebrews 11 when he tells us, “by faith Abraham obeyed….”

To walk with God requires faith, but faith requires action. We must believe the Spirit is leading us, and we must have faith to walk in that guidance, even as Abraham who, “went out not knowing where he was going.”

Spiritual Offerings

2011-01-25T18:56:00.000-08:00

“May you accept my prayer like incense, my uplifted hands like the evening offering!” Psalms 141:2 NLT

Sacrifice was a daily part of life in Jerusalem. Each morning and afternoon a whole bull was burned on the altar for a “continual burnt offering.” The time of the evening sacrifice was 3 pm, the exact time of Jesus’ death on the cross. Likewise, twice a day a priest, designated for the job by lot, went into the temple to burn incense on the golden altar of incense before the Holy of Holies. Typically the worshippers in the temple area prayed at this hour. It was this event Luke refers to when John the Baptist’s father, Zechariah, saw the angel and was informed of John’s pending birth and ministry. (Luke 1)

The Psalmist, King David, was the only man in the Old Testament who truly lived as a New Testament believer. David’s Tabernacle was used for worship during his reign, even while the commanded sacrifices where taking place in the Tabernacle of Moses. David’s Tabernacle is where singing, praise and worship went on around the clock. It was an open tent with the presence of God available to all the worshippers, unlike the closed and divided Tabernacle God had Moses build. These two Tabernacles stood as stark contrast between Old Testament legalistic worship and New Testament spiritual worship. It was David’s Tabernacle, not the Tabernacle of Moses, which Jesus came to rebuild and establish. (Amos 9:11 and Acts 15:16) It was also David’s Tabernacle that was associated with the salvation of the Gentiles.

David knew God did not want empty ritual. He knew God wanted spiritual worship. This was the gist of the conversation Jesus had with the Samaritan woman at the well. She asked “WHERE should we worship?” Jesus instructed her on HOW to worship. Legalism requires ritual, ceremony and often – the right place. Legalism limits worship. Grace personalizes it. David is asking God to set aside the rituals of sacrifice and incense and accept his personal response to God as true worship.

In applying today’s scripture it is important to note a couple of things. First the Evening Sacrifice was a whole burnt offering and it stood for entire consecration to God. In some offerings the priest got the best portion as payment for his service and the person offering the sacrifice got a portion back to eat. Not so with the burnt offering. It was totally given to God. Man received no direct physical benefit. It would be somewhat akin to taking a church offering today (Let’s say $1000) and the whole church going to the parking lot and burning it before the Lord. I can hear the protests now. "Why this waste? We could have used that money for ...." It reminds me of the woman who pours the box of expensive ointment on Jesus' feet. Judas wanted to know why she had wasted it and not sold it an gave an offering. Is anything consecrated to the Lord really wasted? Money? Time? A life?

When David made this request he was making a statement of total consecration. His raised hands before the Lord indicated surrender, devotion, love, longing for God and more.

In several places the Bible uses incense as a symbol of prayer ascending before God. It was this regular twice-daily temple ritual David was referring to when he wrote this. Without becoming legalistic about it, perhaps our prayer lives should take on more consistency and structure.

Peter reminds us “You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. I Peter 2:5

At the end of the day two things that will impact the world for Jesus Christ: Dedicated prayer and consecrated, sacrificial living. It is in this way the Tabernacle of David and this Psalm is connected with World Missions and the salvation of the Gentiles.

By Steve Highlander

Keys to Transforming Your Life

2011-01-25T17:44:00.001-08:00

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:2

The importance of understanding this scripture cannot be overstated. Here Paul gives us the key to true lasting change in our lives, resulting in the fulfillment our God given destinies.

Paul often used contrasting words to emphasize a point. Here he uses the words CONFORMED and TRANSFORMED. Conformation uses external pressure to change the outward appearance of something. For instance I can take blue modeling clay and make a vase by applying technique and pressure. I can reshape that same clay into an elephant if I want. However it will ALWAYS be blue modeling clay. The nature of it can not be changed by external pressure.

Today many people are conformed by the external pressure the world, or even the church, puts on them. We call it “peer pressure.” External pressure shaping an external response without any change of nature. This is religion at its worst. Many people who have conformed to external religious requirements, however moral or good, have never experienced a change of nature and, because of this, struggle with conformity all their lives.

In contrast to this Paul uses the word TRANSFORMED. To transform something means to change its nature, not just its external appearance. It is the Greek word we get metamorphosis from. A worm “morphs” into a butterfly. They are not two different creatures, but certainly not the same either. The nature has been changed. Likewise spiritual transformation changes the believer. We are in many ways the same person, but with whole different thoughts and actions.

We know how conformation happens. But how are we TRANSFORMED? Paul tells us it is “by the renewing of our minds.” Our basic belief systems dictate our thinking and thus our outward actions and reactions. When you change what you believe you automatically impact the way you act.

To try to serve God without transformation is to fail miserably. It is only as we are transformed that we have the spiritual wherewithal to find and fulfill our spiritual destinies.

By Steve Highlander

Faith Requires that God Speak First

2011-01-25T17:42:00.000-08:00

“All he does is just and good, and all his commandments are trustworthy. They are forever true, to be obeyed faithfully and with integrity.” Psalms 111:7-8

The Christian life has a sure foundation: The Word of God. Without this there is no basis for faith, because the Bible says, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.”

It is no wonder there is such an attack on the validity of the Bible today. To destroy the authority of the word of God is to rob people of the only thing that can produce faith and thus the only thing that can please God. In Hebrews 11:6 we are told, “…but without faith it is impossible to please God.”

Religious effort that is not based in and on faith does not please God. Jesus said, “Many shall come to me in that day and say, ‘Lord, Lord haven’t we done a lot of stuff in your name.’” And Jesus’ reply was, “depart from me you workers of iniquity (self will) for I never knew you.” Paul tells us, “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” Honestly, satan could care less how religiously active people are as long as they don’t believe the Bible is true and act on it.

It was said of Abraham, the father of faith, “Abraham BELIEVED God and it was counted to him for righteousness.” Elsewhere we are told Abraham believed God and “went out, not knowing where he was going.” In the Christian life we find this progression regarding God’s word: 1. We hear, 2. We believe, 3. We obey, 4. The word produces fruit in our lives.

In this Psalm we are once again assured that the ways and words of God are both true and righteous. The Psalmist goes on to encourage our obedience, faithfulness and integrity in applying it to our lives. This brings to mind Jesus’ parable of the two men who build houses, one on sand and the other on a rock. The moral was that we were to be doers of the word and not just hearers.

God’s word is a solid rock on which to build our lives. The opposite is seen all around us in the destruction and corruption in the lives of people who want to rob the scriptures of their authority and power.

By Steve Highlander