GOD LOVES YOU...HE REALLY DOES!

I just finished reading a book that was loaned to me...and now I think I have to go buy my own copy...because you cannot mark up a loaned book with yellow highlighter, and this is one book I will need to read again and mark up.

The book is called: "He Loves Me" by Wayne Jacobsen.



Now, to be honest, when I first started reading this book I was not real sure about it. In fact, there were two main reasons that I kept reading the book even though I was not in agreement with what the author said at first. Reason One: the people who loaned it to me are the kind of followers of Christ that we should all strive to be. They are not perfect, no that is not it, they just love Jesus and His people, and so if they thought it was good enough to loan to me, I thought I should finish it. Reason Two: I'm stubborn. If I start a book and invest a little time in the first few chapters, I'm bound and determined to finish the book. This is a bit of stubborness that I have had since I was a little kid. In fact, in all my many years of book reading, there has only been one book that I did not finish...just couldn't get through it, and I was determined that this book would not be unfinshed book number two.

Truthfully, I do not agree with a few things that Wayne Jacobsen writes in this book, and some of it, if you are not grounded in the Word of God could trip a new believer up. Some of it is hard to accept, but that is the way it is when you're learning about the grace and love that the Lord extends to His children. But by the end of the book, I found this one of the most rewarding books I have ever read. In one way or another, it will impact my relationship with the Lord, His church, the lost and my even my family.

The premise of the book is that most of us don't have any idea how much God really loves us, and that even those who have tasted of the relationship with the Lord that is provided to us only through the sacrifice of Jesus, still try and earn the approval and love from our heavenly Father. While I had grasped the concept many years ago that God has never loved me more than He did when Jesus died for me, living out that knowledge and living in that love has not always been easy. This book paints the love of God in brilliant colors and vivid pictures.

The last two or three chapters alone are enough reason to read this book. In one chapter it shows how the love of Christ is lived out in us as we in turn love those around us who are unloveable or have hurt us.

I want to share just one short story that the author tells in chapter 21, "In Exactly The Same Way" :

"Recently I met a woman from the Midwest who had been divorced when her ex-husband told her he was gay, that he had AIDS, and that he wanted to live with his partner. A few years later as the disease progressed, she felt compassion for her former husband and felt God wanted her to help care for him as the disease worsened. She did just that. With her husband's permission she moved back in, not as wife but as nurse, and cared for him as the disease progressed...she talked about it as one of the greatest experiences of her life. Before he died, her husband and his partner came to repentance and faith (MY NOTE HERE: while it does not state it in the book, if, they came to repentance and faith, I would assume they ceased their homesexual relationship as you cannot repent and stay the same way you used to be). What's more, after her former husband's death, she took care of his former partner as he died. While she was doing that, other AIDS patients came to the door and asked for help. During the next decade she cared for more than sixty other patients and watched them all come to faith."

Now I don't know what you would call that, but I would call it POWERFUL LOVE! That is the kind of love that the world needs to see from the church. That is the kind of love that is able to be poured out on those that hurt us, those that sin the sins that disgust us, those that live the lives that repulse us...because we have experienced and are secure in the love and relationship that Jesus gives us.

Thank you Kitty and Jessica for this book...and thank you Jesus for loving me, even when I was not your child and yet You loved me enough to die for me.

Pastor Dave

DO YOU READ THE BIBLE?

Ok, pop quiz time.

What is the best selling book of all time? Answer: The Bible.
What is the most stolen book? Answer: The Bible.
What is the most unread book? Answer: The owners manual for your car.

I know, you thought the answer was going to be the Bible.

If we are going to be technical, the owners manual is not an actual book, but then again neither is the Bible. The Bible is actually 66 books, written by about 40 different people, from Kings to fishermen, over a period of about 1500 years, all inspired by God. This makes the Bible unique among all other books.

Unfortunately, next to your cars owners manual, sits the Bible, the 2nd most unread book ever written.

Many people have a Bible. It sits on the shelf somewhere. It lies in a drawer somewhere. It gathers dust in a closet somewhere. Yes, many people have a Bible, but few use it. This is to be expected among those who are not professing Christians. For them, the Bible is nothing more than a coffee table type book...something to glance at, but no one expects you to actually READ it, much less spend any time attmepting to undertand it.

Sadly, statistics tell us that it's not much better among those who profess to follow Christ. A recent poll by the Barna Group showed that just 4 out of 10 Christians read the Bible on a weekly basis….people that is less than 50%!!!

To make matters worse, of those that DO read the Bible on a weekly basis, commit on average, about 1 hour per week….that is 1 HOUR PER WEEK, NOT PER DAY! In other words, the average Christian in America will spend more time in the shower each week than in the Word of God! Which goes along with our consumer mentality believe-ism in this country. We’re more concerned about LOOKING good than being set apart, and living holy lives honoring to God!

Why have we lost the desire to read the God-breathed words of the creater of the universe? Why do we no longer desire to dig for the nuggets that God has hidden in the Scriptures? This is not a dusty old book with a lot of nice philosophical sayings. This is the only book that has the cure for the disease that each and every human being is infected with: sin.

One of the tragedies of the modern church is that we are largely Biblically illiterate. We know more about the Kardashians than we do the Scriptures. We can name all the top ten finalist of the current season of American Idol, but cannot recall the names of the 12 apostles. We have lines from our favorite movies memorized, but can only recall John 3:16 and maybe the 23rd Psalm from the live giving, inspired word of God.



I am amazed at the number of times I have heard of people going to church and they don't have their Bible with them...that's like going to work or school and not having any pants on! When you ask them where their Bible is, the general response is, "I couldn't find it." You couldn't find it. You couldn't find it?!?! Do you use it so sparingly that you cannot remember where you last had it? The other day at church someone told me that they could not find their Bible. I lovingly, with a smile on my face asked them when the last time was that they forgot where their underwear was. They replied, "I've never forgotten where my underwear is." And of course, they looked at me kind of puzzled. I went on to explain to them, "You've never forgotten where your underwear is for two reason: 1) You put it in the same place all the time, so you always know where it is and 2) You've developed a good habit over many years that you don't go anywhere without your underwear. It is the same with the Scriptures. If we got into the habit every day to read it the first thing in the morning and the last thing at night, we would soon always know where it was, because we would seek it out at the end of the day and at the beginning of the day. In addition we would develop a pattern over the years of daily, ongoing, regular Bible reading and would find that we just don't go anywhere without it." They smiled at me, nodding their head and told me, "I get it. I get it."

I hope they do get it. I pray that they get it, and that it gets them. If those who call themselves followers of Christ, disicples of the living Savior, students of the Messiah do not read the owners manual that He has written for them...how do we ever expect to carry out what He told us to do? The great commission will not be carred out as long as we remain a part of the great ommission of Bible readers.



So join me won't you, on one of the greatest adventures you will ever have. Turn off the tv and tune into the Word of God.

Pastor Dave

THE POWER OF PRAYER

Well, sorry that I didn't get around to doing this "tomorrow" as I said on my last post. It has been a very busy week, but it has been a good busy. As I said on the last entry, I wanted to share what others have had to say about prayer, so here are some of my favorite quotes on prayer:

"If any of you should ask me for an epitome of the Christian religion, I should say that it is in one word - prayer. Live and die without prayer, and you will pray long enough when you get to hell." Charles Spurgeon

"Do not have your concert first, and then tune your instrument afterwards. Begin the day with the Word of God and prayer, and get first of all into
harmony with Him.” Hudson Taylor

"The shortest distance between a problem and a solution is the distance between your knees and the floor" Charles Stanley

Prayer is the highest intelligence, the profoundest wisdom, the most vital, the most joyous, the most efficacious, the most powerful of all vocations. Edward M. Bounds

"When I am praying the most eloquently, I am getting the least accomplished in my prayer life. But when I stop getting eloquent and give God less theology and shut up and just gaze upward and wait for God to speak to my heart He speaks with such power that I have to grab a pencil and a notebook and take notes on what God is saying to my heart." A.W. Tozer

"God does nothing except in response to believing prayer." John Wesley (who spent 2 hours daily in prayer)

“Prayer is where the action is." John Wesley

"Talking to men for God is a great thing, but talking to God for men is greater still." E.M. Bounds

"There has never been a spiritual awakening in any country or locality that did not begin in united prayer." A.T. Pierson

“I have seen many men work without praying, though I have never seen any good come out of it; but I have never seen a man pray without working.” James Hudson Taylor

"A man who is intimate with God will never be intimidated by men." Leonard Ravenhill

"We are too busy to pray, and so we are too busy to have power. We have a great deal of activity, but we accomplish little; many services but few conversions; much machinery but few results." R. A. Torrey

"God is not the author of boredom - especially when we are conversing with Him." Daniel Henderson

"Prayer is dangerous..." Eugene Peterson

"Prayer is the most-often talked about, but the least practiced discipline in the Christian life." Daniel Henderson

"I would rather teach one man to pray than ten to preach." Charles Spurgeon

"Prayerlessness is my declaration of my independence from God." Daniel Henderson

And now, for a story or two on the power of prayer:

"In 1857 there were 30,000 men idle on the streets of New York. Drunkenness was rampant, and the nation was divided by political issues. God raised up a praying businessman, Jeremiah Lanphier. On September 23, 1857 he began a noontime prayer meeting on Fulton Street in the Financial District of Manhattan. Out of a city of 1 million people, six people showed up a half hour late.
The group decided to meet the next week and there were 14. The next week there were 23. The following week there were 40. Within weeks there were thousands of business leaders meeting daily.
God moved so powerfully that the prayer meeting spread across the nation.
Newspapers reported that over 6,000 were attending various prayer meetings in New York, and 6,000 in Pittsburgh. Daily prayer meetings were held in Washington, D.C. at 5 different times to accommodate the crowds. Other cities followed the pattern. Soon, a common mid-day sign on business premises read, "We will re-open at the close of the prayer meeting". By May, 50,000 of New York's 800,000 people were new converts
It is estimated that nearly 1 million people were converted out of a national population of 35 million, including 10,000 weekly conversions in New York City for a season."

And here is another story linking prayer and revival:

"In Wales in 1904 a revial began with Evan Roberts praying. Seventeen men began to pray with him and committed themselves to these four principles: 1) you must confess every known sin to God; 2) you must remove every doubtful habit from your life; 3) you must obey the Holy Spirit’s prompting; and 4) you must go public with your witness of Christ.
In this revival, thirty-seven thousand people were saved in one month and one hundred thousand in five months. Colleges closed down, and students marched, singing and praising God on their way to prayer meeting. For a time, crime came to an end—there were no more murders, robberies, rapes and burglaries. This revival also spread to America."

When I read these stories of prayer and revival in the past, I ask myself, "Can it happen again?" And the answer I recieve is in the form of more questions: "Has God changed? Have His promises changed?" The answer to the first question is "YES" and the answer to the second two questions is "NO".



Join me in praying for revival. Revival in our hearts. Revival in our families. Revival in our churches. Revival in our neighborhoods. Revival in our towns. Revival in our counties. Revival in our states. Revival in our country. Revival in the world. It can happen, but it will not happen without prayer.

On my knees,
Pastor Dave

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PRAYER MEETING?

Last night, (Sunday, August 15, 2010), our church met for our weekly prayer meeting, which we call "Fresh Encounters". It was the highest attended prayer meeting since we started this about two months ago. There were about 30 people there.

Now, 30 sounds like a lot, and it is....but Sunday morning...just a few hours earlier on the same day we had about 90 for our morning service. Only one third came back to pray together.

What has happened to the prayer meeting?

I read in Acts 1:14 "They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers."

They ALL joined together in prayer. Not 10%, not 25%, not 33%, not 50%, not 75%...but they ALL joined together in prayer. Now that got me thinking, and please, don't misunderstand what I'm about to say here, because I LOVE Loma Rica Baptist Church where I pastor, but if we were the first church, it is obvious that the passage would instead have read, "And one third of them joined together constantly in prayer." How sad.

I hear all the time that people wish the church was more like it used to be in the early days of the church. That they wish church was more like it was in the book of Acts. Well, truthfully, I don't think most people know what they are asking for when they make this type of statement, but the bottom line is, we are the church. If the church is not what it should be, then whose fault is it?

I really believe that one of the major problems of the church is that they don't meet for corporate prayer, seeking the face of God together. Think about it. If we were to travel in time for just a moment, and if you or I were part of the early church there, would you have been there? Would I have been there? No fair using the excuse that of course you would have been because that's where the Christians were back then...based on our prayer habits today....would we have been there?

I hear from every corner of Christianity today that we want to see revival in America, that we want to see a move of God, that we want to see the Holy Spirit poured out on the church, and yet what do we do to prepare the way?

Those words "joined together" means unanimously...they were all for it! Think about that for a moment. Can you imagine what it would be like for everyone who goes to your church (or mine) to join together, unanimously in prayer? GLORY TO GOD THAT WOULD BE AMAZING!!!

Verse 14 also says that they joined together "constantly". Other translations use the following words: "steadfastly" (AMP), "continued" (KJV), "devoting" (ESV). Now we have to ask ourselves, do any of those words describe the prayer life you have with your church? If not, why not? Is this not the example set before us? Now stay with me here, while we unpack this word "constantly" a bit more. The word, "constantly" is a combination of two greek words, one (en) meaning to “have hold, use” and the other (proskartereo) meaning o be earnest towards, to persevere, be constantly diligent, or to attend assiduously all the exercises, or to adhere closely to - attend (give self) continually (upon), continue (in, instant in, with), wait on (continually).

When you put that all together you have a description of prayer that is energetic and muscular...it is having a tight hold of prayer...and persevering in prayer, being earnest in prayer, and continuing in prayer.

Our biggest problem with prayer in the church is that we have developed into such a "me" churh. We want what we want and we don't want to have to coninue in anything, much less persevere...oh no, that would require time, sacrifice, and that really bad word: commitment. We want McChurch! We put in our order for a little McSermon, heavy on the grace, but light on the doctrine and commitment please. We will take a small serving of McPrayer, but super-size the blessings please!

I want to encourage you to be men and women of prayer. I want to encourage any pastors who are reading this to become pastors who pray! The church will never rise higher in prayer than where the pastor is. If the pastor is small in prayer, so the church will be.

I wasn't always so fired up about prayer, but I went to a "Prayer Summit" put on by Daniel Henderson through his ministry, "Strategic Renewal". I will post the link to his website at the bottom of this entry, and tomorrow I will share a little about what others have had to say about prayer, and some stories of prayer meetings throughout history.

http://www.strategicrenewal.com/

If you find Daniel Henderson is conducting a prayer summit anywhere near where you can get to, my advice to you is: GO! Churches, if your pastor wants to go to a prayer summit, let me just say that you should encourage him and pay for his way and for his wife to go as well...you, as a church, will reap blessings from having a pastor who is convinced of the need and the power of prayer.

Praying for all who will read this,
Pastor Dave

PRAY HARD

I got my first job when I was 12 years old. I became a paperboy. It was my job to deliver over 50 copies of The Hanford Sentinel newspaper every afternoon (except on Sundays-there was no paper on Sunday). If you are reading this and you have no idea what a paperboy is...well, go ask someone who is older because I don't have the time to explain it to you here.

I found myself pushing myself on this job. Nobody made me do it, but there was something in me that made me try to be the best paperboy I could. I tried to porch every paper. I tried to see how fast I could roll my papers and get them delivered. I set a record and continually tried to break that record. While a paper route is not what I would call a hard job, I will say that I worked hard at it.

Three years later, a the age of 15 I went to work for the same newspaper in the Circulation Department. I was one of many who inserted the ads into the paper, as well as the separate sections (section B, C, etc.), when there was one. I also eventually helped bundle the papers, fill newspaper racks and deliver the bundles of papers to the houses of the paper boys (and paper girls). As with my paper route, I also pushed myself at this job. I began to "race" with others who were inserters to see how fast we could insert 25, 50, 100 or more papers. I would try and finish my delivery of the bundles and the filling of the racks in record time. As with the paper route, I don't think the job I had was hard work, but I did work hard at it.

While I think that some of that desire to work hard at the job I was given is due to the instruction I received from my Dad while growing up, what I think continued to drive me on to work in that way was the satisfaction I got out of it. It always felt good when I was done...especially if I was a little "spent" once it was over, and even more so if I had broken a personal record.

All of that crossed my mind briefly while I was reading this passage in Acts. Acts 1:12-14 "Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. THEY ALL JOINED TOGETHER CONSTANTLY IN PRAYER, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers." (emphasis added)

The way I see this is that if they were "joined together constantly in prayer" they must have been praying HARD! Why is it that too often, the least attended meeting of the church is the prayer meeting? The prayer room was the delivery room for the birth of the church! The church was born during a prayer meeting!

I realize that some of the problem is the kind of prayer meetings we have had. I've been to some of "those" prayer meetings, so I get it.

But hasn't god promised to "show up" when we pray? Has the Spirit not moved in mighty ways in prayer meetings of the past? Is God dull and boring? Then if our prayer meetings are that way the reason is not God...the reason is US! We don't desire deep communication, deep communion, on a deep spiritual level.

But it shouldn't be that way. If God's people will join together, to seek the face of God, the face of the ALMIGHTY, the face of ADONIA, the face of ELOHIM, the face of EL SHADDAI, the face of JEHOVAH, the face of I AM, He says He will meet us...and He will hear us...and He will be with us!

Is anything better than that? Oh that the people of God would start to seek the face of God before we approach Him for His hand.

This is praying hard. There is much satisfaction in being "spent" for God in prayer. There is a strengthening of your relationship with the Lord, a boldness that will come in sharing your faith, and a love for the brothers and sisters like never before. How can you not be changed after you encounter the living God in prayer!

Charles Spurgeon wrote, "We shall never see much change for the better in our churches in general until the prayer meeting occupies a higer place in the esteem of Christians."

I'll write more about praying in the blog tomorrow, but for now I want to leave you with these passages.

Colossians 4:2 "Be earnest and unwearied and steadfast in your prayer [life], being [both] alert and intent in [your praying] with thanksgiving."

1 Thessalonians 5:17 "Be unceasing in prayer [praying perseveringly];"



Praying for you this morning,
Pastor Dave

CAN I GET A WITNESS

Nothing strikes fear in the heart of most believers than this one word:

Witnessing! I can hear the shrieks in my head as you read this word. It conjours up sermons from the past that produced guilt because you didn't leave a tract at McDonalds, that you have not shared your faith with your neighbor, and that you still have not memorized the Roman Road verses. It brings to mind those strange people that carry signs by the road side, or the ones that go around your neighborhood knocking on doors, invading the private homes of people they don't even know.

Believe me...I can feel your fear. I have been there. Fear of witnessing...of sharing your faith is very real...and very common.

But it shouldn't be.

I think often that the reason for much of our fear is two-fold.

One: We think witnessing is something that it isn't. We feel that whe have to have a degree in greek and hebrew and that we have to be able to answer any and every question that someone throws at us.

Two: We have bought the lie that we don't know how to be a witness.

I want to offer you some ideas, some thoughts of mine that just might relieve you of your fears and release the inner-witness inside of you.

First of all, if you know the Lord as your Savior, then you are a witness. You see, being a witness is not something you do, it is something you are. If Jesus has changed your life, brought you from darkness to light, from lost to found, from dead to alive, then you are a witness to what He has done in your life.

Second, a witness does not have to have a degree in anything. If you are called to be a witness at a trial, you don't have to go to law school. You simply have to testify to what you have seen and heard. When it comes to being a witness for Christ, it's the same thing. All we have to do is testify to what we have seen and heard. You may not know all the ends and outs of theology. There are people that use big words to impress people, but we are called to be a witness and you don't need to have a degree to be a witness of anything...you just tell what you have seen and heard, and experienced.

Third, you don't have to have all the answers to every question you will get asked. In fact, there is no way you will have the answers to every question you are asked, and even if you did, some people wouldn't believe the answer anyway.

Fourth, don't think you are the one that is responsible for the salvation of anyone...because you're not. That's the job of the Holy Spirit. Don't worry if you might say something wrong...in fact, let me assure you of this, you probably will say something wrong, but it's not about you, how well you speak, how good you look, how smooth your voice soungs, or how convincing of a case you make...you and I just need to be obedient, and let the Holy Spirit do His thing...after all, He's much better at it than we are.

So remember when you wake up tomorrow, when you go to work tomorrow, when you go shopping, go to school or go get your hair cut....you are a witness. We're not called to be the judge, jury, executioner or a super salesman. Just share what happened to you....share WHO happened to you.

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!

Pastor Dave

DUG DOWN DEEP

I finished reading "Dug Down Deep" by Joshua Harris yesterday. I have come away with a very high level of respect for Joshua Harris and a conviction that everyone who calls himself a Christian should read this book.

As a pastor, one of the things that I am aware of is that we are raising a generation of biblically illiterate believers. The sub-title of the book by Joshua Harris is "Unearthing What I Belive and Why It Matters."

What we believer will determine how we act, and sadly, many believers have no clue as to what they really believe.

While the word "deep" is in the title, the book itself is not a deep theology book, and Harris acknowledges that. In fact, if you don't generally like theology type books, I think you will enjoy this one...consider a theology book for people who don't like theology. You may not even consider yourself a theologian at all, but as Harris states in the first chapter, "We're all theologians. The question is whether what we know about God is true."

But just because it is not deep, does not mean that it is not good. In fact, it is very good. Harris weaves autobiographicaly stories along with sound theology, making the book not only readable, but memorable as well. While I have read "deeper" books on the subjects Harris addresses, I have not read about theology in more entertaining, while still thought provoking way.

Some of the subjects Harris tackles are God, the Bible, Jesus, the death of Jesus, redemption, sanctification, the Holy Spirit, the church....and humble orthodoxy. In my opinion the chapters on the Holy Spirit and the church are worth the price of the book all by themselves.

But don't take just my word on it...here is what some others have to say about the book:

J. I. Packer: “Via vivid autobiography, Pastor Harris takes readers on a personal journey into the biblical theology that, belatedly, he found he could not manage without. A humbling, compelling, invigorating read.”

John Piper: “When the apostle Peter says, ‘Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God…casting all your anxiety on Him,’ he implies that humble people are fearless. They have the courage to stand up for truth humbly. I love the term ‘humble orthodoxy.’ And I love Josh Harris. When they come together (Josh and humble orthodoxy), as they do in this book, you get a humble, helpful, courageous testimony to biblical truth.”

Joni Eareckson Tada: “More than forty years of quadriplegia has underscored to me the matchless value of knowing—really knowing—the doctrines of the Christian faith. Dug Down Deep reveals how biblical doctrine provides a pathway to understanding the heart and mind of God. If you’re looking for ‘that one book’ that will push you farther down the road to faith than you’ve ever journeyed before, Dug Down Deep is it. I highly recommend it!”



Get "Dug Down Deep" and get your spiritual shovel out...you'll need it.

Pastor Dave