The Authentic Gospel

Last week we concluded a series entitled, “The Fulfilled Life.” Through this series, we examined the Beatitudes and their implication for us on a daily basis. We saw the progression of these attitudes and growth that they produce. Simply put, we must recognize our spiritual bankruptcy, which should lead to mourning and submission. Out of these three come a hunger and thirst for righteousness. The pursuit of God in this hunger will produce four things in our lives: we will be merciful, we will be pure in heart, we will be peacemakers, and strange enough, it will invite persecution into our lives. It is my hope that in the days ahead you will continue to meditate on these Beatitudes and seek to appropriate them into your life.

For the next few weeks we will turn our attention to the book of Galatians. If you were to ask me in a phrase what Galatians is about, I would tell you that it is a rather impassioned defense of the clear and simple gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus had revealed Himself to Paul on the road to Damascus. From there the Lord worked in Paul’s life turning the chief persecutor of the church into the chief propagator of the gospel. When people realized that they could not defeat the gospel, they decided to add to it. Paul was having none of this.

The gospel is clear and simple; we are sinners deserving of hell and Christ endured the full wrath of God because of it. If we will recognize that, and abandon the life we are pursuing, and instead pursue the will of God, we will be saved. That’s it! Nothing more, nothing less. To add anything to it is to take everything away from it. This is why Paul is so impassioned.

While there is a risk that this series could seem like Christianity 101, I pray you would not approach it that way. I pray that you would have an open heart and an open mind toward what God desires to say to you. I trust that God will give us a clearer understanding of the Gospel as well and a deeper passion. May this gospel work deeply in our lives, but also propel us to share the good news with others.

Honored to be your pastor,

Darrell

Biblical Love

As I write, it is Valentine’s Day. A day that has come to represent a celebration of our love for one another. Specifically, Valentine’s Day has become a celebration of romantic love. Romantic love is a beautiful thing and I think a gift from God. However, romantic love can be rather shallow and for some, rather fleeting. Romantic love in and of itself will never be enough to sustain a meaningful relationship. Love must go deeper. Love must be based on something more emotion or feelings. Scripture often speaks of love as more of a commitment than it is a feeling. In fact, consider this rather popular passage of scripture related to love:

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends (1 Corinthians 13:4-8, ESV).

Clearly two things are apparent when reading this passage. One, there is nothing selfish about love. Two, love puts a very high value on its object. We see these truths in the playing up of positive characteristics; love is patient and kind, rejoices with the truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all thins, and endures all things. We also see it in the playing down of the negative characteristics; love does not envy or boast, is not arrogant or rude, does not insist on its own way, is not irritable or resentful, does not rejoice at wrongdoing, love never ends. Clearly, love is more than a feeling.

Take a quick look at those lists of characteristics, both positive and negative. Now think of someone you know who is in a broken relationship and tell me if the problem is not readily identifiable. When we allow selfishness and jealousy to enter in, the very foundation that love is built upon crumbles. Let us strive to reflect a biblical love and not some artificial product that popular society has tried to sell us. Biblical love is about others, not ourselves.

Honored to be your pastor,

Darrell

Financial Authenticity

Our theme for the year has been, “A Journey of Authenticity.” We have been examining what it means to journey authentically with our Lord. This authenticity relates to our faith and trust of God, our interaction with others, and our willingness to step out in faith to do things that we might not think we are capable of. As we consider this journey of authenticity, we must ask, “Does it relate to our finances as well?” Do we trust God to provide for our needs? Do we trust God enough to step out in faith as it relates to our giving?

If you are paying attention to our tithes and offerings you will notice that we are lagging behind. Of course, as the leader of this church I do not like to see that. However, that is not my greatest concern. My greatest desire is for you to discover the joy and freedom of giving. If I may, let me share a bit of my story with you.

As a young adult, in spite of the fact I grew up in a Christian home and was taught about tithing, I was not faithful to the tithe. I served the first six years of my adult life in various ministry capacities that included youth ministering, missions work, and serving as a Baptist Student Ministries director (BSU back then). While God was incredibly faithful to me, I was not so faithful as it came to finances. For some reason, I was never able to establish a habit of tithing. I was well aware that scripture said, “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need” (Malachi 3:10). And, “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). Yet, I did not give.

When Kimberly and I got engaged, we had long discussions about how we would handle our money as a married couple. One of the things we agreed to was being faithful in the tithe. Early on, it was difficult. There were many times we paid bills and were tempted to skip the tithe because it would cut us short on grocery money or leave little fun money. However, we had made a commitment and when one of us was weak, the other would provide the accountability (the weak one was usually me).

As time went on, we began to notice how God protected and blessed our finances. Not is some “name it claim it, give and you’ll get rich,” sort of a way, but in subtle ways that we could recognize, God was taking care of us. This summer we will celebrate 20 years of marriage. All these years later we still faithfully and joyfully give our tithe. I cannot tell you that there have not been financial struggles, but I can tell you that God has seen us through every single time.

The joy and happiness that we have received from giving has far surpassed any amount of money that has been given up. Tithing frees you up to give to other worthy causes and ministries, only multiplying blessing upon blessing. Let me encourage you, if you are not tithing currently, begin developing a plan to get there. I promise, you will not out give God.

Honored to be your pastor,

Darrell