Author: Pastor Doug

Our scripture this morning is Ephesians 4:31-32 (NASB).

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

I read this passage this morning and thought this is probably the most difficult thing we are asked to do as followers of Jesus. We can suffer hardship for Him but when we are taught to forgive those who caused it, we pull back. How could we possibly forgive THEM?!

This division of “us” and “them” can’t exist in God’s kingdom, it can only be “we”. We are all God’s children and any that have received His forgiveness, we must forgive as well. How do we know who God has forgiven? We can’t and thus we are to forgive everyone.

This is the stumbling block we face as Christians. It is hard to forgive others as He has forgiven us. It requires us to stop keeping score. When Jesus told us about forgiving: “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:22), He wasn’t asking us to do the math, He meant never stop forgiving.

Patient God, You continue to offer Your forgiveness even though we don’t deserve it. Help us to forgive as You have first forgiven us. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Deuteronomy 31:7-8 (ESV).

Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

God told Moses that his time leading the people was finished and chose Joshua as his successor. In these verses Moses passes his leadership position and encourages Joshua in front of the people as God had encouraged him all along. There are many examples of this type of encouragement in scripture.

In 2 Timothy 1:7 Paul writes “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control”, encouraging Timothy in his ministry. This kind of mentoring in the faith is as essential now as it was in the early church. We are responsible for and to the next generations, ensuring that they are nurtured in the love of Christ.

Jesus Himself tells us in John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” The old hymn “Onward Christian Soldiers” says “we have Christ’s own promise and that cannot fail.” Jesus has called us to go in His power and love, sharing that blessing with the world.

Loving Lord, forgive us when we let the world intimidate us and remind us that we go in Your name. Strengthen us in faith when our discipleship is difficult, and send us with Your love. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Isaiah 26:4 (NASB).

Trust in the Lord forever, For in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock.

The phrase “God is our rock” appears many places in scripture, and it reminds us that God is unchanging and everlasting, even more so than the rocks He created. In biblical times the term was usually meant as a fortress. While enemies threatened them physically, more devastating was the spiritual attack of pagan religions around them.

This idea is expressed often in the Psalms. “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer” (Psalms 18:2) and “He only is my rock and my salvation” (Psalms 62:6) are just a couple of examples. They reminded themselves (as should we) of God’s love for us and His protection for those who trust in Him.

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matthew 7:24). His words and example are the solid rock foundation for our faith, and His sacrifice for us the only way we can be saved.

Loving Lord, you are our Rock! We know that no matter what earthly life confronts us with, You are there for us. Help us to be faithful to Your love even in challenging times, and send us to share Your love with all Your children. Amen.

Hello! It’s been a busy summer with travel for many things, but I should be home for a while now! I hope you have all enjoyed or are looking forward to a time of refreshing as I have had recently. 

Our scripture this morning is Malachi 4:6 (NASB).

He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.

Malachi is often considered the “last” prophet in the Old Testament. The Book of Malachi is the last Old Testament book in most Christian bibles and also the final prophet in that section of Jewish scripture. After this there was 400 years of “silence”, when God did not speak to His people through prophets. Later, God raised up John the Baptist as the herald of Christ and the final prophet of His salvation.

There is a depth of meaning in Malachi’s words here. He speaks of restoring hearts between fathers and children, and while this points to personal relationships, it also refers to restoring their connection to God the Father by returning to the faith of their earthly fathers. 

There is an explicit warning here as well. Our sin puts us on the wrong side of God’s justice, and we can’t save ourselves. Without the gift of Jesus we are lost. However, God’s love and mercy are there in our Savior, and when we put our trust in Him, we are safe.

Gracious God, we are ashamed of our willful selfishness and lack of care for each other. Forgive us and strengthen us in faith, that we may be the face of Your love to everyone. Amen.

Hello friends! Celeste and I are at brother Eric’s so they can go to church camp this weekend and we get to visit with my parents. Next week is a trip to a breeder in eastern Iowa to pick up brother Mark’s service dog. Mid month I’ll be home and back to regular postings. God bless you all!

Our scripture this morning is Joshua 1:8 (ESV).

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Too many people seem to think the Bible tells us “Do what I say or you’re in trouble!” Yes, there are commandments in Scripture that teach us to do and not do certain things, but these are intended for our protection and good. I’ve heard the example of a toddler and the hot oven. Are parents restricting them when they say “Don’t touch that?” Are they good parents if they sit back and watch and say “they’ll learn!” God is the ultimate parent and He is always concerned for our welfare. What kind of parent would not try to intervene if they know what their child is doing will harm them? That is a large part of the gift of scripture – God giving us guidance so we don’t have to learn the hard way. We often try to do things our own way and the results are often poor to tragic. Jesus tells us that even as sinful humans we know how to give good gifts to our children (Matthew 7:9-11); how much more can we expect good gifts from our Father in heaven? Scripture and the lessons it provides is one of those good gifts.

Gracious God, we are grateful for Your love and care, and the blessing of Your guidance in our lives. Help us to be obedient and to share Your word with all Your children. Amen.

Friends, I apologize for my erratic posting lately, I have been traveling and will again over the next three weeks. Bless you all and I’ll try to be in touch!

Our scripture this morning is Psalm 33:4-5 (ESV).

For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.

The Filament Study Bible says of this passage “God’s word displays His character and power.” Praise psalms like this express our worship of the Lord who made everything that is. Sometimes we need to praise Him just for who He is and not the things He has done for us.

God doesn’t demand anything of us, but He invites us to choose a life in Him which is eternal. Compare this to what the created world offers, which is only temporary, and we can see what a relationship with God means for us. God says “I want you to be all I created you to be, not what you have become in the world.”

We are made in His image and we are capable of sharing world-changing love if we accept Jesus as our Savior and follow the path He showed us. He said it would be difficult but we continue out of our love for Him. Some day we will all praise the Lord with one voice!

Gracious God, in Your mercy You sent Jesus to love and save and free us. We are amazed that You made a way for us to return to You. Bless us to be the messengers of the Gospel everywhere. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Ephesians 6:12 (ESV).

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Our brother Paul writes to remind the Ephesians (and us) that there is a war going on and it’s not with each other. That’s what the forces of evil want us to think and they encourage the chaos. It is how evil has always separated us from God and each other.

In Romans 8:31 we read “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” We seem to forget this essential truth and as we often do, try to handle things ourselves. Unfortunately we usually direct our efforts against other humans who are not the underlying cause of the problem, only the symptom.

Colossians 2:15 tells us that through Jesus “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in Him.” This battle belongs to the Lord! When we put our faith in Christ, we are part of this victory.

Loving Lord, help us to remember we are all Your children and we can choose Your way over the ways of the world. Bless us to go in Your name to share Your love with everyone. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭31‬:‭24‬-‭25‬ (‭ESV‬‬).

And Judah and all its cities shall dwell there together, and the farmers and those who wander with their flocks. For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.

I’ve been traveling for family this last week and haven’t been on much. I head home tomorrow and hope to resume daily posting. I have been doing a lot of thinking though.

I feel we put way too much emphasis and effort into our human created organizations, counting on them to save us from what we have allowed to happen in the world. At times I’ve been asked why I don’t speak out more in defense of or opposition to one side or another. I’ve always thought Jesus doesn’t have a “side” in all this. We are all His brothers and sisters.

To be honest, I do have opinions and I vote, but I don’t think that is what matters to Jesus. God warned the people what asking for a king meant in 1 Samuel 8:7 – “And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.” Unless we are willing to let Him be the king of our lives, nothing else matters.

What about people who don’t listen to our message? Well, first off it has to be His message, not ours. Look at how Jesus handled it with the rich young man in Matthew 19:16-26. We read that the young man walked away sadly, and Jesus didn’t run down the hill after him. In the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), the father let the son make his own decisions, both to leave and to return. God gave us free will and waits for us to use it properly.

Today’s verse from Jeremiah reminds us we are all called to a better existence than we know here. God wants our trust to be in Him, not in things or organizations we have created ourselves. That’s why I avoid political commentary here and stick to scripture. Please know I am a fallible human and I surely don’t have answers to many of our very human and very valid questions. Only our personal relationship to the Father through Jesus can bring that peace.

Patient God, we are amazed that You are still waiting for us to make the decision to return to Your love, and ashamed it has taken us so long. Help us to be patient with each other, that we may all be part of Your Kingdom. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Luke 9:23-24 (ESV).

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”

Jesus teaches that if we intend to follow Him we must want what God wants for us rather than what we want for ourselves. This is hard for us as humans as we see in our history. We are not very good at denying ourselves whatever interests us at the moment, no matter the risk.

In addition to this we must be willing to take up our cross daily. Jesus means we are called to do as He does, wanting what is best for God’s children and not just us personally. True service as He showed us is caring about each other more than ourselves.

He tells us “whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” This seems backwards to humans but is completely faithful to what He teaches and does for us – sacrificing Himself that we might be saved. Jesus tells us the world is not our home and that He has prepared a place for us in the Father’s house.

Loving Lord, we are sorry for our selfish ways that often harm us and others. Forgive us and send us to show the world Your love and mercy. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is John 20:21-22 (ESV).

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

This is John’s recording of the Great Commission given to us by Jesus. He says “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you”, meaning we are sent to do and teach the things He did and taught us. What an amazing gift, to be part of His work in the world!

He’s not sending us alone. Yes, we have brothers and sisters in the faith who will go also, but more than that, Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit to be our guard and guide wherever we go. This is God present with us always.

Jesus taught us about God’s love for us and the special relationship He has with the Father. He wants all of us to have that same relationship with God as His children, and with each other as His heirs. We carry on His work of spreading the Good News all over the world.

Loving Lord, we are humbled that you call us to be Your representatives here. Help us to go in faith wherever there is need and bring Your love to all. Amen.