Walking in the Valley of the Shadow of Death

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.
(Psa 23:4-6)

If we are His own, God's goodness and mercy follows us every day and everywhere. Into the wilderness, into the desert, into the valley of the shadow of death, into the presence of our enemies. God has a bountiful table ever set before you, so don't be tempted by the enemy's poison apple. Be wise as serpents and be aware that there are those that would seek you harm, but do not fear. It matters not how big or many your adversary might be. What matters is who wields the rod and the staff in your defense. Take comfort because your shepherd is the King of kings, and Lord of hosts!

God's goodness and mercy will ever run over us as a thirst quenching stream, for the well of God's Spirit is within us. We will dwell in the house of the Lord forever, for the Lord of all creation dwells in us! Praise God!!

Yours in Him,

Pastor B.

Don't forget that we're meeting 9:30 a.m. at the church Sunday to prepare the banners, streamers, and robes for our grand procession of worship! All are invited, but the youth and children are especially invited to come and participate. Service is at 10:00 a.m. It's going to be an awesome celebration of our Lord!

Things are not always as they Seem

June 12, 1987, Reagan challenged Gorbachev, the then General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, saying, "Tear down this wall!". Can you imagine what people would have thought had he said, "Unzip this wall!" Then again can you imagine if you spent most of your life behind that wall, wishing you were on the other side, and finding out at one point that you were only an 'unzip' away?

The worst kind of walls are those invisibile walls we build between us and God, or between us and others, to keep God or others at bay. We see walls as protecting us, when in fact, walls hem us in and make us susceptible to the plague.

The bottom line is that building relational walls as a refuge is a poor substitute for seeking refuge with the one true source of safety and security- our God.

The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, A refuge in times of trouble. And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.
(Psa 9:9-10)

Not only will our own walls not truly protect us, they are often built on misconceptions, evil suspicions, and other ilk that should be shunned by those of us that claim the name of Jesus. In humility, we need to recognize that we are not all knowing, we are not mini-gods, we are in no place to judge the hearts of others, and we often get taken in with half-truths and lies that the enemy plants through people around us or even directly into our mind through our fleshly nature.

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;
(Rom 12:9-11)

Yours in Him,

Pastor B.

Do You Serve from the heart? Willingly and with Great Joy?

This passage in 1 Chronicles 29 is a fascinating passage. Ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you through it, reveal the Lord through it, and exhort you through it.

Then the leaders of the fathers' houses, leaders of the tribes of Israel, the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the officers over the king's work, offered willingly. They gave for the work of the house of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze, and one hundred thousand talents of iron. And whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the LORD, into the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite. Then the people rejoiced, for they had offered willingly, because with a loyal heart they had offered willingly to the LORD; and King David also rejoiced greatly. Therefore David blessed the LORD before all the assembly; and David said: "Blessed are You, LORD God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, And You are exalted as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, And You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great And to give strength to all. "Now therefore, our God, We thank You And praise Your glorious name. But who am I, and who are my people, That we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from You, And of Your own we have given You. For we are aliens and pilgrims before You, As were all our fathers; Our days on earth are as a shadow, And without hope. "O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have prepared to build You a house for Your holy name is from Your hand, and is all Your own. I know also, my God, that You test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things; and now with joy I have seen Your people, who are present here to offer willingly to You.
(1Ch 29:6-17)

Yours in Him,
Pastor B.

What do we do when we find ourselves sitting in the dark?

Have you ever felt like you were sitting in the dark? Have you ever felt afflicted? Are you sitting in the dark praising the Lord in the midst of your afflictions? Do you know that there are those that are watching you as you sit in the dark, in the midst of your afflictions?

Then the multitude rose up together against them [Paul and Silas]; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. (Act 16:22-25)
Beaten, humiliated, and thrown into prison- How could Paul and Silas be bound, and yet praying and singing praises to the Lord? The prisoners must have found this to be curious, to say the least. Yet Paul likely sang something like this- "How can I keep from singing His praise, How can I ever say enough, How amazing is His love, How can I keep from shouting His Name, I know I am loved by the King, and it makes my heart want to sing!"

For He satisfies the longing soul, And fills the hungry soul with goodness. Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, Bound in affliction and irons—Because they rebelled against the words of God, And despised the counsel of the Most High, Therefore He brought down their heart with labor; They fell down, and there was none to help. Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, And broke their chains in pieces. Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!(Psa 107:9-15)

Yours in Him,

Pastor B.

Thank God for giving us our American freedoms

Regardless of how you may feel about our American history, how we came into being, and who we are today, all of us should be thankful of the freedoms we have enjoyed as Americans, and the blessings that God has heaped upon our nation and the church of Jesus Christ that is on our soil. We have sent out much aid, many missionaries, and been used of the Lord to shine His light in the darkest parts of the world. Praise God for letting us be part of this venture that is known as the United States of America!

Please take a few moments to also pray for Honduras and its people, the church of Jesus Christ in Honduras. This includes Pastor Jason and Patty and the Calvary Chapel Tegucigalpa family and the outreach in Ojojona, Sally Taylor, our missionary there, and Claudia Eickhoff and Christine Barnett that are holding tickets to fly down there soon.
Yours in Him,
Pastor B.

Is your body your slave?

The apostle Paul was determined to win the race. We know the rules, and there is no excuse for being disqualified. In 1 Cor 9:27 Paul tells us that he disciplines his body and brings it into subjection. The phrase "bring it into subjection" is a translation of a Greek word (doo-la-go-geh-o) that means to lead away into slavery. (I've posted a picture from the Greek Lexicon so you can see what it says on this interesting word.)

Do you make your body a slave? Or, does your body drive you?

But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.(1Co 9:27).

For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
(Gal 5:17)

We must be serious, be watchful, and keep our flesh in submission if we are going to spiritually succeed. So how do you think Paul enslaved his body? How do you think he kept his flesh in subjection? hmmmmm.

Yours in Him,

Pastor B.

What are we running to obtain?

What are you running to obtain? Is this Christian life all about obtaining better health, more wealth, and greater prosperity?

In 1 Corinthians 9:25 we read,

"And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown."

So which crown are we really seeking?

And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. (1Pet 1:17-19)

Gold and silver didn't redeem us from our sin, and gold and silver won't give our lives meaning, because gold and silver are no prize at all in the grand scheme of things. I find it interesting that Peter even references being redeemed from our vain, aimless, empty way of life handed down to us by our religious forefathers. In other words, our lives can be quite religious, and yet quite devoid of true spiritual success.

So how are you measuring your success in running the race?

The good news is that no matter how far off track you have gotten, repentance will always put you right back on track, as the blood of Christ can cleanse us from all our unrighteousness.

Yours in Him,

Pastor B.