Bible Truth

As C. S. Lewis said about Jesus’ claims (i.e. he is either a lunatic, a liar or Lord), something similar could be said about the choices we face when we consider the book in which those claims are recorded. Either the Bible is a collection of error-laced letters penned by delusional authors who thought they saw and heard things that never really happened, adding interpretations of would-be events which they believed, but which had no correspondence with reality. Or the book is a shrewdly crafted hoax intended to mislead people to believe in things that the authors knew were not accurate or true. Or the Bible is a record of God’s revelation, penned by the means of honest men of sound mind who did not, and would not, embellish or distort the revelation they were conveying. The latter is precisely the claim that is repeatedly embedded throughout the record. Peter summarized, “no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation, for prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2Pet.1:20-21).  If they thought God was speaking through them but he in fact was not, instead they were delusional, then we would all be wise to throw away our Bibles and run the other way!  Likewise, if the authors were trying to pull one over on us, we should be discerning enough to reject this band of liars and never again expose ourselves or our families to this kind of fraud. But if God was using them to expose his revealed truth, then we ought to be careful to read, study, memorize and meditate on their words ­for in reality then, they are the words of God (1Th.2:13).

-Pastor Mike

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Coveting

Do you covet? Most would say, “not really” or “not too often.” But I wonder how in tune we are with the presence of this subtle sin? Even when we recognize its presence in our hearts, how quick are we to minimize its gravity? It seems we will more readily admit to any of the other moral transgressions than we will to a covetous heart. We have the ability to dismiss the sinfulness of coveting with a shrug of the shoulders, while God, on the other hand, has placed its warning as a part of his centerpiece of moral prohibitions in the Ten Commandments. Christians would be wise to learn to hate coveting as much as God does. It would behoove those making a claim to godliness to ferret out those insidious and unstated feelings of displeasure about someone else’s prosperity, intelligence or beauty the way we would the temptation to murder or commit armed robbery. We would do well to declare war on our inability to honestly rejoice in the blessings of others without the fleshly addendum of “I wish I had that,” or “I’m not sure she deserves it.” God told his people to be content with what they have and to rejoice with those who rejoice not only because it honors his holy character, but also because it has profound benefits for those who obey. As we learn to grieve over our covetous hearts and cry out to God in repentance, we will find a multitude of insidious effects remedied. We might see that coveting is in fact the cause of a hundred lesser evils in our lives. We might discover afresh that a war on coveting is one of the best things we could do for our progress in sanctification. So let’s get honest about its presence and serious about its eradication. And let us look forward to the blessings that come from a heart undefiled by an enslavement to wanting what we don’t have.

-Pastor Mike

For more devotionals sermons and resources go to http://www.focalpointministries.org/

God's Involvement

Some say that those of us who do not believe that God continues to regularly suspend natural law in our presence the way he did through the apostles and prophets in Scripture, somehow “put God in a box” or seek to diminish his work in the world. But if you think it through, it is actually quite the opposite. Those who ardently seek the supernatural alteration of “nature’s laws” are usually relegating the non-supernatural intervals to those times “between God’s work.” They imply that when God sees us “backed into a corner” he then “shows up” to bail us out or make a statement for his glory. But consider those of us who claim that God is active and at work every day, in every situation, working “everything after the counsel of his will” (Eph.1:11). We will be the ones inclined to proclaim that “his mercies are new every morning” (Lam.3:22-23) and that every day “the heavens declare the glory of God” and that “day after day they pour forth speech” (Ps.19:1-2). We will be the first to recognize that God is always working powerfully and sovereignly within the natural laws that he made, never surprised by our circumstances or the dilemmas of our lives. We will be apt to affirm that he sovereignly guides us through the challenges of our lives and that Christ indeed “is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Col.1:17). There will be no doubt as we trust our wise and mighty God that “in him we live and move and have our being” (Ac.17:28).

-Pastor Mike

For more devotionals sermons and resources go to http://www.focalpointministries.org/

God's Ownership

Living the Christian life as we ought requires that we periodically ponder the significance of the biblical statement: “You are not your own; you were bought with a price” (1Cor.6:19-20). When we recognize that God not only gives us “life and breath and everything else” (Ac.17:25), but he is actually the Owner of our very lives, it changes the way we think and the way we live. We are his by virtue of creation, but more than that, as Christians, we were actually “purchased” or redeemed by Christ and therefore we are doubly his! This should have a radical effect on the decisions we make and the lives we lead. We cannot be autonomous or self-directed about the choices we face. It really then should not be about what “we” want to do, or where “we” want to live, or about what “we” want to accomplish. The questions rather, have to do with where we choose to invest God’s man or woman – what we do with God’s body, God’s life and God’s asset (Eph.1:14). All of these choices will not only be made with great deference to the perceived desires of our Owner, but they will then be carried out with a sense of stewardship. While Christians sometimes see the use of their possessions as a stewardship, we must think more profoundly about the entirety of our lives being an act of stewardship. So be sure and consider how you direct God’s man or woman today. It is an amazing responsibility and honor! And may it be that one day we hear, “Well done good and faithful servant” (Mt.25:21).

--Pastor Mike

For more devotionals sermons and resources go to http://www.focalpointministries.org/

Forgiveness

God’s forgiveness is complete. Because God is too pure to approve or tolerate what is evil (Hab.1:13; Ps.5:4-5; et al.), to say that we are God’s beloved children because we are accepted by God in Christ, is to make a gigantic claim that assumes that our sin problem has been totally resolved. It can only mean “total” forgiveness. To see yourself in the promise of Romans 8:1 “there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” is to affirm that your connection with Christ through faith can be nothing less that 100% release from any residual trace of your sin in the files of heaven. While there may be earthly consequences, we must admit that the cross of Christ has eradicated all eternal traces of your sin that would otherwise alienate you from a perfectly holy God. The transaction which took place on the cross didn’t “help” your problem, it obliterated it! If your trust is in Christ your sin and its condemnation has been forever resolved “once and for all” (Heb.10).  When we doubt God’s forgiveness as a complete and finished work we either don’t understand the profound nature of the cross or we underestimate God’s holiness. For the Bible declares that “we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Christ” (Heb.10:10). If we are made holy by God’s standards through the work of Christ then we are holy, perfectly holy. While our lives are in a process of learning to live holy (i.e., “sanctification”), our account has been cleansed by the transaction on the cross (i.e., justification). So, while you may be tempted to doubt it, fight the temptation and revel in your perfect forgiveness!

--Pastor Mike

For more devotionals sermons and resources go to http://www.focalpointministries.org/