“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” – Albert Einstein

“Never, Never, Never give up!” – Winston Churchill

“Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. Because they were holding on to something… ” – Sam, Lord of the Rings

 

Jesus Had Every Reason to Give Up

• 3 years of Living with the hurting, an example of Love and forgiveness.
  • Opposition by those in power at EVERY turn

He said, “the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me.” (John 5:36)

• Ignored at best and hated at worst by many of those He came to save.
  • Suffering ridicule, insult, people taking advantage of his healing power
• Arriving in Jerusalem to praises from people who yelled “Crucify Him” days later.
  • They beat Him, tortured and crucified Him. Laughing as He died.

He cried for them, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
(Luke 23:34)

Why didn’t He quit?  I would have. Why didn’t He abandon us to the sin we chose?

• We were ALL guilty. We deserved what we put Him through. But He chose Grace.

However guilty we are, however wrong we have been, however worthless we may feel at times, God sees something good in us, and He was willing to fight and die for us.

He Gave Us Every Reason Not To Give Up!

Jesus told us how we can continue to fight the good fight, and finish our race.
Luke 14:25-35. The biggest reason we fail, give up for a time, or quit, is because we were not prepared for the effort it would take.

My fellow ambassadors, Jesus calls us to take up our cross if we are going to follow Him. NOT suffer a little, NOT put up with unlovely people, NOT deal with persecution, BUT to take our cross. We must be ready to die. We must willingly walk to our own death if God calls us to it. TOTAL COMMITMENT. “I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, unless its hard…” (That’s not how the song goes!)

We must count the cost of following Him (and then NOT complain when it costs as much as He said it would). If anyone ever told you loving like Jesus loved would be easy, they LIED to you!

We must be CERTAIN that with God, all things are possible, or we will give up or surrender to those who oppose Him.

“Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all.”  – Nelson Mandela

Of His work, Jesus said, ‘It is Finished’ – Of Himself, He said He was the Bread of Life, the Living water. AND WE are the salt for all. Don’t Quit

 

Stay away from idols,

Pastor Rob

“Life is like a box of chocolates” – Forrest Gump

It’s a good thought. Chocolate is good. Caramel is Good. Coconut, nuts, cherries…  Maybe the orange cream isn’t great, or the hard toffee?  But in general, unless one is allergic to chocolate, it would mean life is like one great surprise after another.  But life isn’t really like that is it?

What about when you suffer loss? When you get sick? What is life like when your relationships are strained to the limit, when your bills are greater than your income or you lose your job? Maybe this doesn’t happen to you, but as an ambassador of Christ you are called to walk with and help those who are struggling. Can you say to someone who can’t make ends meet, “Life is like a box of Chocolate”?

The answer to the toughest of life’s “chocolates” can be found in a Job. Not in employment, but Job, specifically chapters 13, 19, and 30.

About 3000 years ago God allowed the devil to put a man named Job to the ultimate test. Job was a faithful man and blessed by God, but God allowed the devil take away His family, take away his health, and take away his money to see if he would continue to walk faithfully with God.

When you have suffered some loss, great or small, emotional or physical, what was your reaction? Did you run toward God or away? Did you try to escape reality or try to understand it?  Perspective is the answer to recovering from trouble and holding onto hope.

Job wrote, “But when I hoped for good, evil came, and when I waited for light, darkness came. My inward parts are in turmoil and never still; days of affliction come to meet me. I go about darkened, but not by the sun; I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.” (Job 30:26-28)

Life is least like a box of chocolates when trouble comes and overcomes us and we react by making poor choices. No life is exempt from suffering. Even Jesus suffered, but Hebrews tells us that Jesus learned obedience through suffering. Perspective.

When we look to dull the pain of life, when we seek to escape the stress, to find hope and joy again but do not run to God, we will always run to sin, to self destructive habits or activity. The problem is when we blame God for our situation (even though we ‘say’ we believe we are being tested, or that God is doing this for a reason…)

Job had NO IDEA what God was doing, but he said, “Though he slay me, I will hope in him; ” (Job 3:15) Perspective.  Job was not controlled by the pain he was going through, he was controlled by a desire to follow God through ANYTHING!

Why? Job tells us.  ”For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God” (Job 19:25-26)

My redeemer lives! I believe that.  I have suffered a few great things in my life. I have been to the edge of giving up. But my redeemer spoke into my ear that He was near. And I found myself (much to my own surprise at the time) responding with, “Though he slay me, I will hope in Him.”

I found Job. And now as an ambassador of Christ, it is my intention to lead others to find a Job in their time of need.  This is your call as well, for your own life and to help others.

 

May He not find you idle,

Pastor Rob

“Time is the school in which we learn, Time is the fire in which we burn.”
– Last two lines of “Calmly We Walk Through This April’s Day” by Delmore Schwartz

In the Movie “Star Trek – Generations”, Dr. Soran alludes to this poem from the 1930′s in telling the captain that time is a predator, that death stalks us all, no one can escape it. He paints time as something that runs too quickly, is gone before you know it.

I have felt that way, this week in fact. Maybe you have felt time slip by, wondered where the time has gone, felt the loss of moments wasted or opportunities missed or selfishly spent.

However, Schwartz wasn’t complaining about the loss of time, or stressing over how quickly it passes as we quickly move inevitably toward death. As much as each moment is only given to us once and cannot be repeated, each moment of our past is also a teacher for our now. ‘Time is the school in which we learn.’  No moment past needs to be time lost if we have learned, if we have weathered the storm or have grown in hope, or faith, or love.

The fire that burns us need not consume us. The death that approaches need not make us fear. Because we have a teacher that uses time to refine us rather than destroy us. We have a savior that used death to give us life eternal.

“Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,”
– Hebrews 5:8-9

As ambassadors of Christ, we need not be perfect in control of time, we need only be faithful to His calling, available to do His bidding, and teachable by His Spirit. And He WILL redeem our time, He will make our path through this world straight to His open arms. And may He cause other to follow in our wake.

Keep yourselves from idols,
Pastor Rob

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.”  – Ephesians 5:15-21

“I love you” does not mean I have to agree with you. “I love you” does not mean I have to accept what you do. “I love you” means I will never walk away. It means I will never abandon you when you need my help; I will never make you cry alone; I will never hope that you get what you deserve, but that God will be gracious to you. “I love you” means I sincerely hope and pray that you will come to know Jesus and be rescued from death eternally, and that is not hate speech. If I didn’t love you, I wouldn’t care what you believe or what path in life you decided to walk down. I wouldn’t care if your life was destructive to you or if the stuff you chased after or believed in would harm you in the end. I guess if I didn’t love you, and you didn’t love me, we might all be able to get along.

Some ask why we can’t all just get along. The problem is not that we can’t work together or help one another. The problem is that those who ask the question usually mean ‘agree’ when they say ‘get along’.

You see, there are many things that all people can agree on, many ideas that we all share, many thoughts of peace that we all pray for. But just because there are some fundamental beliefs about truth and God that we can not agree on, doesn’t mean we can’t be friends. (And I expect that if we really are friends and we really DO believe what we say we do, then we WILL have conversation – debates – arguments about our differing understandings of God and truth because if we don’t try to help our friends understand what we understand about eternity, we would be willingly allowing them to walk down a path we believe leads to their own destruction, and this is true whatever our belief is.)

You see Muslims, Jews, and Christians all believe God is merciful to those who follow Him, so some would say let us all then accept that we all follow the same God in different ways. But those who think this are ignorant of the most core beliefs of these faiths.

A Christian Says Jesus is God in the flesh, while both Jews and Muslims would say that is blasphemy. A Muslim believes God is completely other (or different from man) while Jews and Christians believe God is personal and can have a relationship with His created people. To a Christian, only a follower of Christ can be saved, to a Jew, only a convert to Judaism can be saved, and to a Muslim, only a true Muslim can be saved. Every group believes the others are condemned to destruction if they do not convert, but that DOES NOT mean we can not be friends.  It doe not mean I don’t love those I believe have rejected or never heard the truth of Jesus.

I will love you no matter what you believe. I will talk to you about Jesus without forcing anything upon you whether you change your ideas and follow Him or not. I will be your friend whether you end up agreeing with the Bible or not. But I will always pray that God will reach you and bring you home. And that’s BECAUSE I love you.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. ”You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?  You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.  – Matthew 5:38-48

 

Stay away from idols,

Pastor Rob

After the resurrection, the disciples began teaching in the temple and on the streets about Jesus. Several times they were brought before the Jewish leaders, sometimes beaten and always commanded NOT to speak about Jesus.

And the high priest questioned them, saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”  – Acts 5:27-32

Today, Ambassadors, our lesson is to live for Christ no matter what the world says or would do to us for it. We must obey God rather than men.  We don’t disregard people just to be oppositional, we are called to live at peace with everyone if we can. But we must NOT shrink from displaying our faith in Him and continue to speak about the truth we have come to know.

In His Service,

Pastor Rob

What is the ‘will of God’ and why is life so hard if His will is good for us?

I ask because I have had a rough few days and I know I am not the only one who has had days like these. Too many Christians waiver in their faith and lose hope because they are not sure what God’s will is. They go through a troubled time and wonder where God is, or why He would allow such things to happen.

But I have learned that in all situations, God is good and His will perfect. So like Paul I am learning to be content in all things.  How have I reached a place where trouble doesn’t bother me for long?  Knowing the will of God.

God has a particular will or plan for each of us, but we will never understand the particulars if we can not see His general will that is given to us in the Bible. So here is a list of verses that define the will of God for all those who follow Jesus.

1) Think differently.  Do not think of yourself first, or how the world is affecting you, but meditate on the promises and blessings of God. Then you will begin to understand the Will of God.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.  – Romans 12:2

2) In renewing your mind to think first of God and His ways, consider that His first and greatest will or plan for you is your redemption (salvation).

For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. – John 6:40

3) When your mind is changed, and you recognize His salvation work for you, thank Him and pray for His will to be done, this also is His will for you.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.  – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

4) Then once your thoughts are on things above, your life has been redeemed, and your attitude is one of gratefulness and prayer, Remember that you have been called out of this world, you are called to be an ambassador of His grace, proclaiming the light to all you know that still live in darkness.

Keep yourself from obeying the desires of your flesh, be honorable and have integrity so that if you are accused of evil by those who live in darkness, they will be forced to see that you walk in light and truth.

Then subject yourself to every authority, not because you are bound by them as those of this world but because God has called us to respect and honor what He has established in this world, so that your good work among them will silence ignorant and foolish people among that that would accuse you of evil.

Remember that when the days are evil, when you are pressed in from all sides and you feel like God is absent – YOU ARE FREE, the chains of this world no longer bind you, so use your freedom to serve God and love the people He is sending you to testify to.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.

Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

– I Peter 2:9-17

 

Beloved of God, this is How I am picked back up by God when trouble finds me, and I pray this lesson on the will of God will also strengthen your faith as your commitment to Him is tried.

In His Service,

Pastor Rob

For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this:

That one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)

Paul write to us who follow Jesus:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:17-19)

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. – 2 Corinthians 5:20-21

We are Ambassadors for the Kingdom of God to this world, but what does that mean? It is an ambassador’s job to represent the King in a land that is not his own. That job varies from being responsible for taking care of other citizens of God’s Kingdom and their needs, to inviting others in this world to become citizens. As Paul said, “We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” We work on building relationships with the people of this kingdom and encourage them to consider a better way of living (ultimately to the ONLY way of living forever).

One thing I have noticed that we can do to help this world is to comfort them. People live in fear. Many people voted for Trump because of the economy or a fear of what a more liberal supreme court would have looked like, and many voted for Clinton because they were afraid of walls and what Trump might do to the country. Most then, whatever side they are on, are living in fear and clinging to their leader to rescue them.

We know that Only Jesus can rescue us. So let us today choose to Love – even those across the political aisle from us – because perfect love casts out fear. (I John 4:18)

And that is the Ambassador’s Job for today.

 

In His Service,

Pastor Rob

Hello,  I have started this blog to chronicle my thoughts, prayers and hope for those loyal to Jesus Christ in this world. It has become more clear to me that we are not of this world and need to consider ourselves more as citizens of God’s Kingdom more that citizens of America or of this world.  I pray this blog is used by God to benefit those of us fighting the good fight.

First Thoughts:

What makes people think they can make a decision and have it go unchallenged if they say, “I prayed about it”? God certainly speaks to those who follow Him, but never inconsistently nor in a way that would cause or spread confusion. God’s design is to draw us to Truth and those who can’t or wont justify their action consistent with the Bible have no right to use God to justify their own will.

I am surviving in this new world by this one thought, “I am not of this world”. Perhaps this turn of events will enable me to take my eternal citizenship more seriously from this point on. To begin then, let me say, “Fear not, citizens of earth. We come as ambassadors of your creator.”

 

In His Service,

Pastor Rob