Sanctification

When you undergo trials, how do you look at the experience? If you think of the trial in a spiritual context, do you wonder if you have done something for which you are being punished? Do you wonder if the Holy Spirit is in the process of strengthening your faith? Do you think God must be busy dealing with someone who has a greater need?

What if God is simply trying to help you understand? What if it has nothing to do with you? What if God is simply answering our prayer that we might learn how to be more compassionate?

Rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings.

(1 Peter 4:13)

Hebrews 4:15 tell us  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet he did not sin.
That is a tremendous comfort. It is not always a moral thing. Sometimes our Lord is simply teaching us something about compassion. He might be preparing us for an opportunity to minister to someone else.

He has allowed us to follow a difficult journey so that we can understand someone else’s journey later in life. I know that seems, at times, a harsh sentence, us going through difficulties so we can understand someone else’s difficulties. I have learned to look at it as a training ground. Our life is like that. Things do not happen in a vacuum. Whatever happens in our life, god intends for us to use it for his glory. Knowing this, look at life differently, your Lord giving you all the tools you need, not just for your own life journey but to share in the journeys of others as well.

Pastor Craig

From October 31, 2014

Today is one of my favorite days of the year! Yes, for the vast majority of the country it is simply Halloween, a night to dress up, go to parties, and get candy. I gave up the costumes some time ago, and I buy my own candy now. However, as a pastor I love the day for very different reasons than I did as an elementary school age boy.

Today is the day when Martin Luther decided he had had enough and wanted to talk to someone about what was going on within his church, the Roman Catholic Church. He loved it and wanted to preserve it. He wanted it to be true to its calling. He wanted it to be faithful to the Gospel.
Dr. Luther asked for a debate. He wrote out 95 points of concern he had with his church and where he thought it had departed from the Gospel. It was 492 years ago that he took his challenge and posted it on the door of the church in Wittenberg. It was a bold move because he was declaring that he was out of step with the entire church. He was not declaring his intention to break away from the church, but he was being very clear as to what he thought he needed to do and to teach as a pastor/priest in his community.

So, began one of the central acts of the Reformation. Dr. Luther was not the first. In fact, his inspiration came from the letters of John Huss who had been burned as a heretic 115 years before Luther became so bold to nail his own concerns to the church door. For his efforts, he was eventually branded as a heretic himself, and, probably, would have met the same fate as Huss if had not developed a very powerful ally in Frederick III, Elector of Saxony. Fredrick was both an avid collector of relics and a supporter of modern scholarship. He was educated at an Augustinian monastery and made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He collected religious relics—19,013 of them, in fact, by the year 1520—with the wish that Wittenberg, as a depository of sacred items, would become the Rome of Germany. He had such rarities (it was claimed) as four hairs from the Virgin Mary, a strand of Jesus’ beard, and a piece of the bread eaten at the Last Supper.

The pious Frederick also founded the University of Wittenberg. After inviting Luther to teach there, he found himself having to protect the troublesome professor of Bible.

When in 1518 Luther was summoned to Rome for a hearing, Frederick intervened and arranged for the meeting to take place on safer German soil. And after the Diet of Worms placed the reformer under an imperial ban, Frederick found him a hiding place at his castle, the Wartburg.

Today we remember the Reformation and continue its tradition of the primacy of Scripture over tradition. We commend ourselves to the task of study, prayer, and obedience to the Holy Spirit over the traditions of councils and denominations. Do something radical today – read your Bible!

Pastor Craig 

What Does God Want?

What does God want for your life? We all say we want God’s will? Most of us struggle to find it. However, we usually limit it to major decisions in life. Should I take this job or that job? Which college should I attend? Who will be my perfect mate? Some of us agonize over what we think God may want us to do; others assume that God wants whatever is in our best interests, whatever will make us happy, so that is how we decide.

There are a handful of things we can know for certain that God wills for our lives.

For this is the will of God, your sanctification.

(1 Thessalonians 4:1)

Many of us think Sanctification is something that is automatic, coming with salvation instantaneously. Not so, that is Justification. The process of Sanctification begins with our salvation, but it is never completed in this life.

The strict definition of Sanctification is “to set apart something for the use for which it was intended.” The “set apartness” takes place at the moment of salvation. The living out of that “set apartness” takes a lifetime. It involves a constant search for what God wants us to do with our lives. It involves active engagement in ministry. It involves intentional learning and study of the Scriptures that we might discern what God expects from us.

Sanctification is not a question of whether God is willing to bring about this work in me. The question is, “Am I willing to bow my will to His? Am I willing to put myself under his complete guidance, saying ‘More of Thee and less of me?’” Am I willing to say I will give up that which I dearly wish was God’s will for that which I see revealed in His word to be true? Am I willing to let God do in and through me everything He can for the furtherance of His kingdom and the glorification of His name?

It is time for the body of Christ to become more Christ-like. We often pray that the Spirit of Christ would fill us. Now, we must add to our prayers the actions which are indeed Christ-like.

Know, as you begin, that the road is too difficult for you. That is why Jesus provided the Comforter from the very first days of the Church. The path is steep and the way is hard. Each of us battles against our own nature, a way that seems right, but which the Holy Spirit tells will lead to our own spiritual downfall.

We have spent enough time trying to remake God in our image, with our likes and dislikes. It is time for us to be remade in His.

Pastor Craig

My Favorite Bible Verse

It’s somewhat awkward to speak of favorite Bible verses, or to say, “Now, here is a verse I really like!” It implies there are verses we find unfulfilling or don’t like. Granted, there are verses that are much more fun to hear, and there are verses that challenge us and will not allow us to go forward complacently. So, maybe it is okay to say "I really like 1Ch 12:32."

Of the sons of Issachar, men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their kinsmen were at their command.

You have heard me use this verse before. It is a verse of encouragement when we speak of leadership. God provides wise people to govern His people as they seek His voice. We need to be wise enough to place these people in positions of leadership and authority.

We are in an election year filled with complex issues. We are bombarded with negative ads, each one claiming the opposing candidate is incompetent, immoral, has committed crimes, is ignorant of common sense answers to the problems before us, and many other frustrating things. We need to wade through the hate-speech and look for sons of Issachar, a difficult thing to do sometimes.

This is also the season during which we look for leaders in our church. We have complex issues as well. Fortunately, we don’t have a campaigning process for the job. Most people would like to sidestep the responsibility if possible, many because of issues of time commitment or feelings of inadequacy.

The Nominating Committee will begin contacting people within the next couple of weeks. They are looking for men and women with the heritage of the men of Issachar. I do not believe that the tribe of Issachar had some special corner on the wisdom market. I DO believe that some of the men of Issachar covenanted together to pray for wisdom in all their dealings, and I DO believe God answered their prayer in their personal dealings. I believe that God put these same faithful people in positions of leadership, not because they had all the answers, but because they knew the one to whom they needed to go and ask the questions. Asking wise questions usually is the first step to getting wise answers.

As we seek for elders for the class of 2016, we will be looking for people of faith. We will also be looking for people who are engaged in ministry, or who will accept the challenge to engage in a ministry of their own.

If you are approached and asked to serve take a step back and breathe, recognize that we have prayed and see leadership in you. We believe you just might be one of these people. Pray about it. Seek wise Christian counsel. We hope you will say, “Yes,” but we want you to follow the call of Christ on your life, and He may call you to something else. Recognize, that our approaching you has been the result of our own journey and time before the Lord in prayer. As we seek God together, may he bless us with our own sons of Issachar and lead us to his glorious will.

Pastor Craig

Whatever

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things.
           (Philippians 4:8)

Yesterday was a day filled with anxiety, tension, confusion, etc. A person I love dearly was lied to and lied about to others. The day was probably not the complete disaster that you might expect from reading the first part of this paragraph. However, it was one of those days we are glad to put behind us, hoping that the tomorrow will make up for it and put a positive balance in our emotional bank account.

In most of the situations the circumstances were beyond my control. There was nothing I could do but ride the day out to its end. I ended the day tired. I did not end it with praise. I did not end it thinking about purity and justice. I did not end it looking for the things of good report. I saw no virtue or praise. I meditated on myself, and therein lies the problem.

If I center only on me rather than the One who is alive in and through me, I will have a hard time finding truth, because I must seek truth in the One who is Truth, I will mourn the loss of purity because I am not pure, there will be no good report because slander, whether it is heard or spoken, rarely centers on the good in another. So, it is easy to see how one can arrive at a time for sleep having not experienced virtue and having praises unspoken.

Maybe if I start the day differently myself, concentrating on those words of encouragement from Philippians, I will find it better for myself and make it better for others as well.

Pastor Craig

When We Are At Our Best

Two weeks ago I promised some important questions concerning the past, present, and future of our congregation. The first one was, “Think back on your entire experience at this church and name a time when you felt most engage, alive, and motivated.” The challenge from that question was to accept responsibility and to take action to reawaken this in your personal spiritual life and the life of this congregation.

The second question was, “When you consider all of your experiences at this church, what has contributed the most to your spiritual life?” The challenge here was to spend time in the Scriptures aligning your spiritual priorities with those God has in mind for you.

Today’s question is, “what do you think is the single, most life-giving characteristic of this church? When we are at our best, what are we doing?” This question requires a little bit more thought than the others because each of us can recall aspects that are of tremendous sentimental value to us in this church. These memories may be of significant importance to us personally. However, are they life-giving? Are they Gospel centered? Or, are they of sentimental value only. When you consider the entirety of the Gospel message, what activities, programs, and ministries exemplify this message most?

Please, don’t answer quickly. Spend some time thinking about this one because this is something I want us to center our life, mission, and ministry around over the next year or two. This is how our session will determine our programming and budget for the coming year. As you think about this question I would like you also to consider that this is something that is life-giving in our church because it is something that the Holy Spirit has gifted us to do. It is life-giving because it is affirmed by the Spirit when we do it, when we carry it out. At that point we are doing that thing which God has called us to do and he is blessing us with his presence.

Spend some time in prayer. Spend some time in the study of the Scriptures. Spend some time listening to the voice of the Spirit. Spend some time in silence. I hope, when you are done, you will come spend some time with me and tell me where you think God is leading us.

Pastor Craig

Your Spiritual Journey

Over the next several weeks I am going to be asking you all several questions. How you answer these questions six months from now will be more important than you initial answers as you read them.

I won’t keep you guessing. The reason your answer six months from now will be more important than the answer you give today is that, if the answer remains unchanged for six months, it will show that we are headed nowhere. We may talk a great deal about the who, what, when, and where of ministry, but the only thing that matters is if we actually engage in the ministries we have planned.

You had your first question last week. Here is your second question: When you consider all of your experiences at this church, what has contributed the most to your spiritual life? Think. Think very hard. Remember a time when you felt close to God? Remember things, spiritual practices that brought you to that place in your life? What things made the most difference in your spiritual journey?

While your answers may be quite different and varied from person to person, I can tell you one thing that always guarantees a solid return in your spiritual growth. That thing is time alone with your God and His word. God promises us that His word “will not return void.”[1] This means that your faithful study of the Word of God will bring you closer to the God who gives humanity his Living Word!

Maybe your study comes with the rising of the sun. Maybe it is the last thing you do before you go to bed. It may be something you do with your spouse and family or something you do in a quiet place all by yourself. You may join a study formed at church, or you may use a book or guide you buy at a store and do it all on your own. You may read the Scriptures and meditate on a single verse all day, or you may read long sections of Scripture and drink in the larger flow of God’s interaction with humanity.

We usually stop our study of the Word when we feel the action has become something of rote. We may not get the same “feeling” we had originally. We wonder what we get out of our effort. We wonder if we are wasting our time. The Scriptures promise that we are not. God is in the reading, and if God is there it can never be a waste of time.

Whatever it was that meant so much to your spiritual life, don’t give up on it. Reclaim your first love. Remember the words of the One who cannot lie telling you that you will be blessed if you choose to spend time before Him, studying Him, learning His ways, and experiencing His eternal goodness.

Pastor Craig

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[1] I Thessalonians 2:13