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Pastor's Point - January 2024

As we enter a new year, we have no way of knowing what awaits us. We cannot predict the future. People have tried throughout the years only to be embarrassed or made to look foolish. I came across a few humorous quotes that speak to the impossibility of predicting the future, and looking foolish when we try.

Gary Cooper stated in 1938…
“Gone with the Wind” is going to be the biggest flop in Hollywood history. I’m just glad Clark Gable will be the one falling on his face and not Gary Cooper.”
In May of 1940 Mahatma Gandhi said this…
“I do not consider Hitler to be as bad as he is depicted. He is showing an ability that is amazing, and he seems to be gaining his victories without much bloodshed.”
Jim Denny, manager of the Grand Ole Opry, firing Elvis Presley after one performance, 9/25/54...
“You ain’t goin’ nowhere…son. You ought to go back to drivin’ a truck.”

These quotes are humorous and sad to me. They heighten the fact that none of us can predict the future of other people or in life in general. We have no idea what 2024 has in store for us. And I would suggest instead of trying to make predictions, or guess what is going to happen, we should keep our eyes on Jesus and trust Him to see us through the ups and downs of the new year to come.

One main way that I want to encourage our church family to keep our eyes on Jesus is to focus together on a new sermon series that I am beginning in January from the Gospel of John. The scripture that will be our theme verse will be John 12:21c which states… “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”  We are going to look at themes from each of the twenty-one chapters of John each week as we keep our eyes on Jesus in 2024.

I have seen pulpits in different churches throughout the years have this portion of this verse engraved, or affixed to the pulpit so that whenever the pastor is standing there preaching God’s Word it is a constant reminder to him that those who gather to worship on Sunday morning are not coming to see the one standing in the pulpit, they have come to see Jesus.

You see it really matters that people see Jesus because he is the only one who can save them from their sin. He is the only one who offered the perfect sacrifice of himself for those who would come to trust in Him as their Lord and Savior. And it is Jesus who can sustain us through the new year to come. We must train ourselves to keep our eyes on the only one who can take away the sin of the world. Let the words of John the Baptist ring in our ears as we consider the importance of “seeing” Jesus in the new year to come.

In John 1:29-32 John states…
²⁹ The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ³¹ I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” ³² And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. May God bless us in 2024 as our
hearts wish to see Jesus!!

I love you and I love being your pastor!

Family Ministry Moments - January 2024

Can you really change?  New Year’s is a time of reflection.  We think about what we dislike about ourselves and what we need to change.  Often those changes revolve around bad habits.  The top resolutions according to a Forbes article are: improved fitness, improved finances, improved mental health, lose weight, and improved diet.  In the past I have also seen people resolve to drink less, meet certain career goals, travel more, and be more spiritual. What do all these resolutions have in common?  They all have to do with change.  

The desire to change and improve is a uniquely human experience. I believe that this desire is fueled from deep within our souls.  Even if we refuse to acknowledge it, people know they are flawed.  They know they are imperfect and in need of something better.  Christians know this to be true because the Bible reveals the truth to us. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23.  God is the standard of perfection.  He is just, righteous, and holy.  Since this is the case and we are His creation, created in His image, I believe there is an innate desire to be better.  We want to overcome this sin-sick world and be perfect.  This is why we have a desire to change.

The question remains: can we change?  The pessimist says that we cannot change, that people virtually remain the same and that change is temporary.  The optimist says that change is surely possible provided one is willing to work for it.  What does the Bible say on the subject?  The Bible is a proponent of transformative change through the power of the gospel.  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” 2 Corinthians 5:17.  In Christ we can change; we go from dead to alive, from sinful to righteous.  This is the only true and lasting change.

This is the change that I have experienced in my own life, as I reflect on my life before Christ and realize how much I ran from God.  I also realize how offensive my sin was to God.  This is not to say that I still don’t struggle with sin despite being freed from it.  The battle with the flesh continues to rage even for the new creation.  This is why we need to continue in our transformation of becoming like Christ.  The work of sanctification (becoming like Christ) is not completed until we go to be with the Lord.  Christians should be people that believe in change and strive to develop throughout our lives. 

The way we change, however, is not through trying, but rather through faith driven surrender.  We must continue to strive for greater and greater faith.  Jesus continually challenged His followers to have faith. “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.” Mark 11:22-23.  Notice that Jesus tells us to have faith in God.  Faith in ourselves gets us nowhere, only faith in God means anything.

The beginning of true change starts with faith and continues as we surrender daily to the Lord.  There is no amount of trying that is going to bring us lasting change, it is only when we stop trying and start surrendering, we truly find hope. “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. When we submit to the Lord we can be transformed.

This new year, take time to reflect on where you are personally, physically, and spiritually.  It is a great time for self-assessment and, as you reflect, remember to take your deficiencies to the Lord.  God cares about all the concerns in your heart.  Whatever you are struggling with, ask God to help you.  With faith driven surrender to the Lord we can change to become more like Christ!