Author: pastordarryl68

While I am deeply grateful that the highest court of our nation has reversed its 49-year-old ruling on the willful termination of life created and designed by God, I am deeply grieved and my joy is over-shadowed by the hateful words and behavior of professing christians, name-calling and spewing sarcasm passive-aggressively to these hurting, confused, and angry pro-choice advocates. Sure, the hatefulness has volleyed both ways, but it is those that are dragging the name of Jesus Christ through the dung heap that sickens my soul. They claim to possess a Spirit that empowers and educates them to know better, to minister Truth with the same compassion, grace, and mercy that they claim to have received.

May God have mercy on the souls of those that have made tragic decisions because they felt trapped, cornered, or abused. May God have mercy on the souls who continue to advocate for the willful termination of innocent life. And may God have mercy on the souls of those who further abuse them with vile words and actions in the name of Christianity and defense of life.

May God grant us the wisdom, discernment, and resources to provide solutions rather than slander, help instead of hate, compassion instead of contempt. May God grant us favor in the face of adversity, blessing in the face of cursing, and peace in the face of persecution.

Our American culture is in conflict over a handful of issues that illicit great hatred, judgment, rudeness, and anger for/with one another. The question that evokes this horrible dialogue among image-bearers of God is often “Do I approve/disapprove of a specific behavior in our culture to which someone has assigned a universal identity based on the behavior?”

The question is not whether you or I approve of a certain behavior or not. The question is whether the Lord our God, Creator of the Universe approves of it and whether you or I want to submit to God’s approval or not.

This is not about me and you. I honestly do not care whether you approve of my behavior or not and you should not care whether I approve of your behavior or not. I only care about your thoughts to the extent that my behavior poorly reflects on the character and image of my Savior Jesus Christ. It’s about the Creator of the Universe and how He said He wants us to live.

I cannot control how you choose to respond to the Creator of the Universe about your behavior. Jesus did not force people to accept His Way of human behavior. However, I can and should control how I respond to cultural indoctrination that opposes God’s design and redemption plan.

It IS possible that we love things that God hates. We SHOULD pay attention to that. We SHOULD separate the identity from the behavior. When God calls us to repent of a behavior, we SHOULD respond to that in repentance, obedience, and trust in the One who designed us, redeems us, reconciles us, restores us, and conforms us (changes our identity) to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ.

–thanks Mike Winger for the seed thoughts.

Truth is loving. Truth always wins out.

We lie to avoid tough conversations. That is not loving…it’s selfish.

We lie to avoid confrontation. That is not loving…it’s selfish.

We lie to avoid consequences. That is not loving…it’s selfish.

We lie to deflect responsibility. That is not loving…it’s selfish.

The Bible instructs us to speak the truth in love…because the truth is loving.

My dad always said that a half-truth was a whole lie.

Jesus says that He is Truth.

Jesus says that Satan is the father of lies. “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

Jesus said that he would send the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, and he will guide you into all the truth. John says, “We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”

How do we profess Jesus with our mouths and then lie and do not tell the truth?

How do we legitimize and rationalize lies when we know the origin of lies and the origin of truth?

Even when I talk about my hurts, habits, and hangups…

Even when I talk about my hardships, ailments, and pain…

Even when I talk about my suffering, trials, and tragedies…

Even when I talk about my enemies, oppressors, and abusers…

I want to talk about them in light of Jesus. Even though I may experience these things, even though I may be struggling through these things, even though I may be treated in these ways…

*I’m so glad that Jesus has gone before me and endured them before me.

*I’m so glad that Jesus has already declared victory over these battles for me.

*I’m so glad that His Comforter walks through this valley with me.

*I’m so glad that His strength is made perfect in my weakness.

*I’m so glad that I have His promises spoken over me.

*I’m so glad the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

LET’S TALK ABOUT JESUS MORE AND MORE

Let’s talk about Jesus, the King of kings is He,

The Lord of lords, supreme, throughout eternity

The Great, I Am, the Way, the Truth, the Life, the Door

Let’s talk about Jesus more and more!

Let’s talk about Jesus,

Let all the world proclaim.

The pow’r and majesty

Of such a wondrous Name.

The Babe of Bethlehem,

The Bright and Morning Star,

Let’s sing His praises near and far.

Let’s talk about Jesus,

The Bread of Life is He,

The Saviour of the world,

The Man of Galilee.

The Prophet, Priest and King,

The Mighty God is He,

The well of Living Water free.

Let’s talk about Jesus,

The Prince of Peace is He,

The Great Physician too,

Down through all history.

The Lily pure and white,

The Rose of Sharon fair,

The Shepherd of such tender care.

Let’s talk about Jesus,

The Rock of Ages He,

The Lamb for sinners slain,

That Man of Calvary.

The Great Emmanuel,

The Word of God sublime,

He is our Bridegroom so divine.

#LovingOneAnotherWell is rarely easy. Those who embrace sin and elevate self will never feel loved by God, His Character, His TRUTH, or His People. Only those who truly understand the depth and breadth of the offense of their sinfulness before God as well as the resulting damnation to their soul…only those will truly understand the depth of love in TRUTH. BUT, their lack of understanding and their pride do not negate or remove the responsibility and privilege of the redeemed to be vessels through which God’s love flows.

We live in a world that has been HEAVILY influenced by demonic powers that minimize the character of God and elevate the sinful desires of men.

We are trained to view the world through the lens that there are two groups of people in the world: the oppressed and the oppressors. Gone are the righteous and the unrighteous. Gone are the obedient and the disobedient. Gone are lovers of God and lovers of self.

We are being trained to believe that every way of a man is right in his own eyes. There is no God. There is no righteous and unrighteous…no obedience and disobedience…no right and wrong…only oppression and freedom from oppression.

We are trained to believe that the oppressed can and should set the oppressed free. We are to take what we want. The oppressors (those with whom we disagree) should be shamed, minimized, and extinguished…the target is the oppressive God of the Universe. The oppressed become the oppressors.

We are trained to minimize and remove the personal shame of doing what God hates. We are front and center to the searing of conscience against the common grace of God that restrains us from our own debased minds…the common grace that serves as our natural moral compass, whether we are followers of Jesus or not.

We are trained to set up earthly kingdoms that serve our own personal pleasure, entertainment, and SELF-gratification. We minimize hard work and service to others in order to maximize the pleasure of serving our own flesh.

There was only one wrongly oppressed, righteous Man that can set other oppressed unrighteous men and women free. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth. It was the will of the Lord to crush Him; He has put Him to grief. For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, He did not threaten, but continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly. He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

He did not come to set us free from the oppression of wicked men. He did not come to set us free from the judgment of self-righteous men. He did not come to set us free to continue in sin that grace may about. He did not come to minimize the awfulness of sin against His Father. He did not come to redeem sin and make it a matter of selfish pride. He came to set us free from our bondage to sin. He came to set the captive free. He did not come to redeem sin. He came to redeem the sinner from their prison of sin.

Every single person seeks meaning for their life. All of us go through life searching for something. Perhaps we long to be loved, or accepted, or seen for who we really are. Maybe we yearn to understand who we are ourselves, and why we’re here on this Earth. We desire to be closer to our God and creator, even if we aren’t aware of it. We have this desire for meaning because this is how God has made us. And it is only his meaning which fulfills our searching. “You have made us O Lord for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you,” as St Augustine famously put it.

What am I searching for in this season of my life? What am I longing for?

Loving Father, I ask You to light the path of my friends who don’t yet know Jesus. Help them to find You, even if they’re not fully aware that, ultimately, You are the One that they are looking for.

Father, help me to live this day to the full, being true to You, in every way.

Jesus, help me to give myself away to others, being kind to everyone I meet.

Spirit, help me to love the lost, proclaiming Christ in all I do and say.

Amen.

Why is it that some find freedom, joy, and celebration in the teachings of Jesus, the Prophets, and the Apostles and yet others find condemnation, judgment, and misery in the same Words?

I believe it’s all in our response to those Words.

I am set free to live as God designed me when I am convicted by His teachings about how the desires of my flesh offend the character and person of my Creator. I find joy in the fact that Jesus bore my sin in His own body on the cross so that I might die to sin and live to righteousness – to be zealous for what is good. I celebrate that He reveals the selfishness and sinfulness of my heart and actions and THEN redeems me from my wicked captor, reconciles me to Himself, regenerates and restores me to once again live as He designed me. I am ELATED that He wants to purify me for Himself (meaning, remove the impurities), a people for his own possession who is zealous for good works.

Those who choose to see these teachings as condemning, judgmental and hateful do so because they choose self-righteousness as king instead of Jesus as King and Savior. They choose denial, deflection, and rationalization over confession, repentance, and allegiance. They choose indulgence over obedience. They choose self over sacrifice.

If Jesus is calling me to repentance, I am running into His arms, not away from Him. I’ve seen the kingdom built by my own hands and I deeply await the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, [12] training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, [13] waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, [14] who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. [15] Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you. Titus 2:11-15 ESV

We make time for the things that we treasure.

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Luke 12:34

Where we leverage and invest what God has entrusted to us – our family, our time, our money, our possessions – will always point to our true passions.

Colossians 3:1-4 ESV

[1] If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. [2] Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. [3] For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. [4] When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Philippians 3:7-10,18-20 ESV

[7] But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. [8] Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ [9] and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith- [10] that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, [18] For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. [19] Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. [20] But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,

Matthew 6:31-34 ESV

[31] Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' [32] For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. [33] But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. [34] "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

It is NOT wrong to have a concern or even a preference – whether it’s taste, climate, comfort, etc. What is offensive to our Creator is to whom and HOW we express it.

Some are passive-aggressive.

Some are sarcastic.

Some just exaggerate.

Some prefer to engender and manipulate “sides” for or against.

Some talk to people who can do nothing about the problem.

Some just gripe and complain.

Check your heart first. Are you being self-centered/self-absorbed OR is this something that can really adversely affect multiple people and God has ordained you to be the advocate of positive change?

Take it to the Lord second. Ask His Spirit to check your heart, to give you wisdom and discernment. Ask Him to surround you with truth and to fill you with compassion and consideration.

Third, if you have peace from the Holy Spirit, go to the person who is responsible and/or has the authority to make the change that you believe is necessary and engage them with honor, dignity and respect.

The goal – that the Lord God Almighty be Glorified through it all.

Sometimes we tell ourselves (and others) that our lives are so much more busy, crazy, important, tough, tragic, _______ than that of others (fill in the blank with your own adjectives).

As image-bearers of God and followers of Jesus, we’re all gifted with the same number of minutes in an hour, hours in a day, days in a week, weeks in a month, etc. We have the same basic needs, are designed by the same Creator, and have been given the same basic mission in life – to glorify God in all that we do. We all face various difficulties, challenges, and hardships – some due to our own failures and some because we live in a broken world cursed by sin. We all have access to the same sufficiency of grace, the same power in our time of weakness.

It’s our priorities that are different.

It’s our perspectives that are different.

It’s not that we didn’t HAVE time to do something we should’ve done…it’s that we didn’t take the time to do it because of different and/or misplaced priorities or because we’re trying to fit something in that He never desired for us.

It’s not that our problems are worse than others…it’s that we place higher values on OUR struggles and on OUR desired outcomes. We place less value on the One who offers to bear our burdens with us and less value on the One who is in constant care for and absolute rule over us, for HIS glory and the good of HIS people.

Philippians 4:12-13 ESV

I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. [13] I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 ESV

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. [10] For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

John 3:30 ESV

He must increase, but I must decrease.