This Is Eternal Life
C. Hayden
7-1-22
It is always wonderful to read the Word of God. These words were written down by men, but inspired and yes, dictated by God Himself as he spoke to men dedicated to Him. The words printed in red in our Red-Letter editions are especially sweet as they indicate the dialogue of Jesus with others as He spoke
words of life to all who would listen. In one such instance, Jesus prays to His Father God just before His arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. He said these words in John 17:1-3,
“…Father, the hour has come.
Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.
And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
What did Jesus say? This is what eternal life is, “knowing God?” When God rescues us and we become “born-again”, as Jesus termed the phrase, along with the gift
of eternal life we are actually given access to God with the express right to know Him. Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
What a privilege it is to actually be able to come to Him at any time of the day, every day, and pour out are hearts to Him and then listen to what He may say to us. Through the Word of God and prayer, we come to know Him personally as our Lord and our Father in fellowship with Him. In this way, not only do we have eternal life reserved for us, but we have eternal life NOW, enjoying communion
with God as one of His children slated to live forever in His Kingdom. J.I. Packer authored a wonderful Christian classic titled, “Knowing God.” Packer takes the reader through the journey via God’s Word to knowing God for yourself. I recommend this text highly and hope you take advantage of this classic book. He knows you, now it is time that you get to know Him!
Be blessed even more!!
Pastor Chris
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Fear Not! Stand Firm
6-15-2022
J. Fields
Over these past several weeks it seems that every time I turn on the news there is nothing
but negative and evil information. For a few months now the war between Russia and Ukraine
has been leading the headlines but most recently there has been a string of shootings that have
grabbed the headlines. As I sit and read and watch all this sadness take place, I become more
disappointed and frustrated with the direction of our world. No matter who is in the White
House, Congress, or whomever the Pope might be none of those folks are going to be the answer
that will fix the problem. Now before you get too frustrated “believe me I feel you” I have some
information that I think will help you feel more at ease.
Scripture has warned us that all this evil was going to happen, I have no idea when the
end will come but one thing is for sure when it does, I’ve got a ticket out of here! In Matthew 24
the followers of Jesus were asking the same thing we are today; when the judgment will take
place on Jerusalem and how will they know the end is near. Jesus lays out the things that must
take place first, but don’t grow weary these things must take place as part of the plan. Matthew
24:6-13; “ You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such
things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom
against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the
beginning of birth pains. 9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and
you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith
and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many
people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one
who stands firm to the end will be saved. ”
As Christians, we shouldn’t just sit back and do nothing even though we know how
everything will turn out. The world is completely lost and we have something that everyone
needs, Jesus Christ. As believers we should be a walking example of the change that is needed,
we should be overflowing with fresh fruit. Is it okay to be angry, yes! Is it appropriate to be
broken-hearted with what we are seeing, of course! Should we just stay silent so that we don’t
ruffle any feathers, no! The world needs its toes stepped on just a bit, not in a rude and mean
way but in a truthful and loving way. What we are seeing is not okay and the church can’t stay
silent and then wonder why change isn’t happening. Yes, we need to love another but sometimes
true love hurts. I’ve heard it said that we should love the person but hate the sin.
Don’t lose hope, don’t think that it’s too late for change, and don’t just stay silent because
of the fear of hurting someone’s feelings. We shouldn’t be rude and hateful but we should stand
up and say enough is enough, the “church” is standing on the promises of God Almighty! We
are One Nation Under God and there is no evil in this world that is going to prosper. Rise up,
church! I’ve got good news, I’ve read the end of the Book, God and all those who are His
followers will win!
Be blessed,
Pastor Jason
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The Hard Truth
5/24/22
C. Hayden
Jesus was such a wonderful teacher. He often spoke with gentleness and lovingkindness as He led His
disciples in the ways of God. He waxed eloquent at times, poetic in others. And at times, He would give
the hard truth in such a manner that you knew He meant exactly what He was saying. See Matthew
23:27 as He informs the Pharisees of their membership in the “White-washed Tombs” club. And if you
think Jesus only spoke hard truth to the religious leaders of His day, look at Matthew 23:37 as He
reminds all of the Jews in Jerusalem who rejected Him how He wanted to gather them to Himself, BUT,
they would not do it (thereby rejecting their Messiah). Hard truth.
Jesus spoke often of hard truths that are not easy hear.
Listen to just of few of the difficult sayings of Jesus:
“Why do you call me good. There is no one good but God alone” Matt. 19:17
“Love your enemies. Do good to those who despitefully use you” Matt. 5:43-44
“Whosoever, is angry with his brother without a cause is in danger of judgment…
whoever calls his brother “a fool’, will be in danger of hell fire” Matt. 5:22
“If any man come to me and not hate his father, and mother, and wife, and children,
and brethren, and sisters, yes, and his own life, he cannot be my disciple” Luke 14:26
Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. There are many more.
So what are we to make of these hard truths? Well, first, context is key. Jesus often gave hard sayings
for a reason. Following Him is not the same as signing up to be a member of the Kiwanis or Rotary club.
Believing in Jesus is not just giving mental assent to a great guy. It is recognizing that you are unable to
save yourself and making a life commitment to Jesus the Christ as Lord and Savior of your life. In other
words, Jesus is to be first place in your heart. It is then that life change can begin so that as we are
saved by grace, we also reveal this salvation by evidence of our Christian faith resulting in consistent
obedience to Christ good works (Ephesians 2:8, James 2 18). More truth that can be hard to swallow yet
tastes good when received by the Spirit that dwells in us. Don’t reject the hard truths that we see in
God’s Word. Recognizing and applying the easy sayings along with the more difficult directions from
Scripture, leads to tremendous spiritual growth and much, much, much fruit.
Be blessed even more!
Pastor Chris
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