Living in God's presence

During my devotions this morning I came across a verse; Psalm 140:13 "Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name; the upright shall dwell in Your presence." ESV translation
This verse gives us what the heartbeat of every Christian ought to be. I want to dwell in His presence. I trust that you want to dwell in His presence. Jesus said this in several different way and in John 15 the emphasis is abiding in Him and Jesus in us. This ought to be what a life of a believer is all about. God loves you and wants you to dwell in His presence. God is for you and not against you because He wants you to dwell in His presence. Jesus died on the cross to free us from our sins so we could dwell in His presence. Jesus defeated the works of the enemy, sin and death so that we would be able to dwell in His presence. Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith because He wants us to dwell in His presence. Jesus provided grace and mercy in the times of our weaknesses because we are powerless to dwell in His ever abiding presence when He said that He would never leave us nor forsake us so that His presence is always our guiding light. In saying all that this verse also communicates that it is the upright who dwell in His presence. This is not a works thing but it is an obedience thing. For day one of creation of Adam and Eve God has required obedience to experience His tangible manifest presence. When Adam and Eve sinned God had no option but to expel them out of the Garden of Eden, that is a symbol of His presence. The upright in this verse is speaking of those whose life is marked by a lifestyle of obedience, not perfection but similar to that of Kind David, having a heart after God. We can live in His presence on a daily basis. This is the heartbeat of God for you and I trust it is also your heartbeat for God.
May God bless you throughout this week with His tangible presence in your life.

Pastor John

What is missing in today's church? Part IV

On the obversations of what is missing in today's church I am going to address the lack of hunger for God. Your obversation maybe a bit different. Though there are many books, CD's, DVD's and conference on related topics of one's relationship with Christ there seems to be something missing. It is clear that there are pockets of great passion for God but as a whole many Christians seem to be going through the moments. The reasons for this are likely due to compromise, complacency or distractions. There are likely other reasons for a lack of hunger but I think these are the big three. So what ought I do if I am a Christian but lack a genuine hunger for God and for a move of God in my life and church. First, repent for a lack of hunger and then commit to seek the Lord with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13 "You will seek me and you will be found by me if you seek me with all your heart." Jesus said in Matthew 5:6 "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." Praise God that He responds when we seek Him with all our hearts. Second, become aware of the distractions, compromise and the places of complacency that has taken energy away from your passion of God. This may well result in your need to change some patterns or give up something for a seasons but we are encouraged to seek the Lord and put Him first in our lives and anything that keeps us from that is not a good thing. Third, be consistent with your daily prayer life and your church attendance. This will bring you into His presence which will feed your hunger for God. Bethel A/G is having special services with Evangelist David Nichols this weekend and I encourage you to feed your hunger for God by allowing God to speak to you this weekend. Services are on Bethel Facebook.
May the Lord keep you in His love and peace.
Pastor John

What's missing in today;s church? Part III

The couple of weeks I have address that true biblical love and being on the agenda of God is what is missing in today's church. This is not missing in every church but by and large with the American church we are moving by our own heartbeat rather then the heartbeat of God. Today in my observation what is missing is a lack of true spiritual discernment. One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is the discerning of spirits. This is understood in understanding what is of God and what is of man or of the enemy. Time here does not permit me to be in depth but the church seems to lack the ability to know what is right or wrong and what is true spiritual anointing and charisma of the individual. When we lack the ability to know right from wrong we will begin to allow ungodly behavior that will hinder one's ability to mature as a disciple of Christ. Psalm 119:11 "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sing against you." The concern in this area is that we begin to allow the culture to determine what is right or wrong rather then allowing the Word of God to determine what is right or wrong. I realize that not everyone who is even a serious student of the Bible will agree on everything here but when the church begins to allow clearly stated sins as being OK we are missing something. A clear example of this is allowing sexual immorality within the church. We must be careful not to be misled into legalism to define right or wrong but we must be careful to allow the grace of Christ to so impact our lives that we allow the Spirit to guide us into all truth and to live a life pleasing to God. The other area of my concern in the lack of discernment comes in confusing the true anointing of God and the charisma of a person. This is not always easy but here are three things that have helped me over the years to discern whether a person is walking in the anointing of God. First, Is the cross central to their message? If Jesus does not remain at the center then it becomes an easy transition for self to be the center. Second, Is there a commitment to honor the Word of God? Properly handing the Word of God ought to be a given but somehow the church overlooks how some handle the scriptures because they sound so good. That is a huge mistake, the Holy Spirit authored the Word of God and it is the same Holy Spirit that brings the anointing and He never contradicts Himself. Third, Is the character of a humble servant present within their character? This is not always easy because we know some evangelists or prophets from a distant but let us be aware that true anointing can only function in a person who is wholly dependent upon the Lord, humility. I encourage you to keep your observation skills active so that proper discernment can take place. This is just a quick overview of why it is my opinion that true biblical discernment is missing in today's church.
May the God of peace and strength be with you and help you to know right from wrong and you will begin to growth in your spiritual discernment abilities.

Pastor John

What's missing in today's church part II?

Last week I talked about true biblical love. This week what is missing in today's church is the truth that many churches have their own agenda rather then the agenda of God. To understand this thought allow me to ask a couple of questions. What does it mean to be a Christian church? If Jesus is Lord and if we affirm in a faith statement that Jesus is the Head of the church then why are we not following the Bible in how church life is done? One more question: Is it OK for the culture to frame how church is done or is it the church to help frame the culture in what is right or wrong? How one answers these questions will determine whether or a church is truly living with the agenda of God in mind or living out their own agenda. I will briefly answer each question. To be a Christian church, that church must be following Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. Most would agree with that but for Jesus to be Savior you must be He is the second person of the Godhead and that He died on the cross for sins and as He said Himself that He alone is the way back to the Father. To be Lord then one must commit to follow His teachings and commands. The second question follows the first one. If Jesus is Lord then we must follow how He wants us to live as being part of His family. To say that Jesus is Lord and then do church life by following man's ways or traditions that do not align with the Bible is being hypocritical or naive. Whatever maybe the case if you are not following the scriptures in how to do church life then it will be difficult to receive healthy spiritual results. The third question is likely the hardest for some people to understand. Many will so that the Bible was written hundreds of years ago and is not relevant for today but that is unfortunately a shallow understanding of Biblical principles. The Bible was written in such a manner that the principles for life stated in scriptures can be applied in any culture and in any time period. The key to receiving the blessing of God is to do life His way. The teachings of the Bible rightly applied will enhance every culture and will improve every person ability to live a fruitful life. Therefore what is often missing in churches today is good principles taught from the Word of God that are properly applied to man's everyday living. When we allow the culture to be a standard of what is permissible within the church we are going to be in trouble with God. God and His Word is to be the standard in how we do church life.

May the Lord bless you and keep you and grant to you peace.

Pastor John

What's missing in today's church?

There are some very good Christians that make up the church today. My comments are not designed to cast a negative light on the church but to bring an awareness of the church today to do some soul searching. Before I address anything that is missing allow me to ask two questions that will hopefully provoke some thinking and direction for this blog. Is the church today a place of refuge for those who are in great need? Is the church having a positive influence within their community which implies that there is hope and peace within the church that the community is clearly observing? Unfortunately the answer to both of these question by and large is no. Therefore what is missing in the church today? The things that I will be addressing today and in subsequent blogs is my personal opinion with no exception that everyone will agree with me. Today I am going to address that true biblical love is missing. The first church the Spirit address in the letters to the churches in Revelation 2 & 3 was Ephesus. The problem this church had was that they had forsaken their first love. John 13:35 "They (community) will know that they are my disciples if they love one another." The restoration of love, genuine love, for God and for one another would go a long way in restoring the church to its rightful place in our community. Unfortunately the church is more known for its splits, clicks and personal agendas then it for its love. The Spirit encouraged the church of Ephesus to repent and to begin to do what they first were doing. The restoration of love begins with repentance and then it is quickly followed by acts of love which must be motivated by the decision to love. If we wait for the right feelings before we do the right thing we then are likely to continue down the path we are now heading. If love is not expressed in tangible, practical ways then who will know that love is actually present. Let us heed the apostle John, "Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." 1 John 3:18.
If you need to be reminded of what love is I encourage you to read and meditate on 1 Corinthians 13. May we be found to be lovers of God and love one another as Jesus has loved us.

Pastor John