Honestly, I must admit that I don’t always love fervently nor do I always do so with sincere love.  In this life, I have found that it’s very easy to become deceived or misled by emotions and other desires that literally wage war against the soul. My walk in Christ is not always what I want it to be and thus I know I must pursue the Holy Spirit daily if I am ever to hope to live how Jesus intended for his followers.  

I wonder how many believers communicate Christ’s love through their lives, or do we communicate legal truth as a hammer to hit people to condemn their sin? Paul spoke about imparting Christ to people around us by having his Holy Spirit imparted to our hearts. Our lives should change because our hearts are truly impacted, rather than just intellectually informed. Our changed lives should then impact those around us. From my observation much of Christianity either revolves around judging other people of different styles of faith, or being wrapped up in our own personal edification rather than caring how we affect others. Paul said we are called to be ambassadors not just spectators.

This heart change that Paul talks about was “MANIFESTED” in the early believers so people who did not know God could tangibly see the love of God by how his followers acted in public and private. Secular people saw the transformation that Paul talked about in 2 Cor 5:17 where he says that the old things have passed away and new things come when people are born again. He calls it “Transformation” because Paul wanted people to know that being born again is not just a mental enlightenment, but a total change in our core that captivates our hearts. Paul talked about salvation in terms of “Conversion” rather than from a philosophical or theoretical perspective.

2 Corinthians 5:17-18

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature (creation); the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.

The change that Paul talks about in this New Covenant is one in which we are reconciled to God. Our forgiveness is “Predicated” on the idea of reconciliation. Unless we are reconciled to God there is no forgiveness, regardless of any sinners prayer or declaration by us or others. In our modern church forgiveness has become such a cheap commodity that anyone can receive forgiveness, regardless of their relationship with God. This is something the scripture totally denies.

2 Corinthians 3:1-3

Are we beginning to commend ourselves again?  Or like some, do we need letters of commendation to you or from you? You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

When Paul uses the illustration of a “Letter” of Christ he is talking about a means of communication. Paul says this new covenant letter is possible by and through the power of the Holy Spirit in which life happens from the inside out. It is an impartation of God himself coming to live in harmony with us because we surrendered our selfishness and self- will which, in reality, was killing us. It is sad if we settle for a cheap form of grace that changes nothing other than our insecurity.

2 Corinthians 3:6

Who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Paul goes further in this chapter and says if the Holy Spirit lives in our souls we will find liberty because Jesus has set us free from being controlled by our selfish passions. How foolish for people to speak about Jesus being in their souls while holding on to selfishness and self-interest above God. We all have seen and heard of people claiming to have Jesus Christ as the Lord of their lives yet are still in rebellion to God and his word. Confession doesn’t make their salvation real unless they are living a surrendered life. This kind of life won’t happen by our strength of will, but rather by surrendering our will daily to the Holy Spirit, who keeps us free. Our choices make a difference and should never be minimized, but if God did not offer us help, our will and choices would be irrelevant. Paul states very clearly that “IN” the Holy Spirit is true freedom and liberty.

2 Corinthians 3:17

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

Ask yourself this one most important question about this new covenant: Are you experiencing liberty to do what you want, or experiencing true liberty to do what God wants? The answer will either confirm who Christ is to you, or who he is not. My hope is that your confession will confirm the Lordship of Christ and declare to the world around you who your Lord is.

Additionally we need to understand that this transformation is not a one-time event or experience. Rather, it should be a daily journey as long as we continually yield our life to the Holy Spirit. My belief is that many who come to Christ for transformation get stuck in the initial encounter with Christ and are forever trying to live off that first experience. But, the fact is, we are called to experience Jesus in our lives freshly every day.

2 Corinthians 3:18

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

Remember that scripture always refers to salvation from three perspectives: Salvation from our past, salvation over our current life issues and our salvation when Jesus comes back to earth to claim all who love him. To think of salvation as a one-time experience is totally contrary to how God presents it in his words, and is nothing more than the doctrine of man.

Real Christianity is about discovering the lover of our soul in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, who manifested the Father’s heart for humanity. It is in this revelation that we discover how to walk day by day.

May Jesus be the light that we manifest.

Questions:

1) Have you experienced the transformation Paul talked about in which the love of God changes you? This is what Jesus talked about in John 3 about being born again. Don’t be fooled by just embracing doctrines as if Christianity is just about theology.

2) Have you embraced the Holy spirit for empowerment in your personal life, or are you trying to live the Christian life by shear willpower? Many people live like orphans rather than children of God – read what Jesus said about not leaving us as orphans, but giving us the Holy Spirit in John Chapter 14.

May we enjoy the manifestation of the Holy Spirit daily,

Pastor Dale

As Christmas 2024 is coming soon I want suggest that we reflect on the magnitude of God’s love before we get lost in the buying frenzy heading towards Christmas. It seems obvious to celebrate Jesus during the Christmas season, yet I fear so many of us will enjoy our kids, grand kids and relatives while we let Jesus fade into the background. Being purposeful about focusing on Jesus during this time of year can make all the difference in our lives as we prepare for a new year.

In the book of Romans Paul links everything in the Christian faith back to Abraham, who was the father of the Jewish nation. Abraham set the tone for trusting God even when he couldn’t understand his future. Trusting God is often a very hard concept when you give your heart to God because, like Abraham, we may not understand what or why God is leading us to do something or go somewhere. Faith and trust are linked together and if a Christian wants to please God we have to put our faith and trust in what God says just as Abraham did so many years ago. The pathway to a healthy relationship with God starts and continues with trust, in spite of a lack of information or revelation.

Hebrews 11:6

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

At the foundation of faith and trust is the purpose He gives all believers to “Be a Blessing” to those around us. This idea of purposely being a blessing challenges us at the core of our self-centeredness and the Holy Spirit will work on this attitude all of our lives. Building our life around loving God and loving people are the two many principles Jesus talked tirelessly about. It often means giving up resentment and bitterness over offenses. Abraham understood that God was calling him to be like his Heavenly Father and we have the same calling.

Genesis 12:2-3

And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.

God blesses mankind so God expects and directs us to follow in his footsteps. I am reminded of the scripture in the book of Matthew where Jesus is talking about loving not only your neighbor but your enemies as well. I confess this is a hard value and principle to follow but it is incorporated within seeking the kingdom of God directive. God implies that since He is perfect in loving people, even the bad ones, we should strive to love as God loves, even the ones that seem difficult to bless because of their conduct. God knows we are broken because of sin in the world and yet He still loves us as John 3:16 declares. Every time it rains it does so on both the good and bad among us.

Matthew 5:45

So that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

Let’s go back to Abraham. God shows him that the calling in his life is to be a blessing to those around him and impact the world.  God also says that Abraham’s greatness will be tied to that purpose. Since Abraham is our father of faith, we should follow in his footsteps and be a blessing to those we encounter in life each and every day.  It is certainly not always easy to do yet God promises us we will be blessed if we act as he does. It may be easy to bless those who seem to desire it or who are kind and generous to us but what about those who are unfair or cruel to us? That’s why having faith in what God says is often difficult to do. We must trust, even though we can’t always see the why.

After being freed from slavery in Egypt, Abraham’s brother Aaron was given the responsibility and privilege to be the head priest over Israel. If you look at the character of Abraham’s brother, he was anything but a solid believer in God and yet God chose him to set the example for Israel by verbally blessing them. Likewise, we may have come out of the world with bad habits and flawed character yet, as born again believers, we are now to order our steps like Abraham and his brother Aaron.

Aaron was given the calling to “Bless” God’s people and that same purpose is our calling.

Numbers 6:24-26

The LORD bless you, and keep you; The LORD make His faceshine on you, and be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace

There are over 500 direct verses that speak to the importance this practice of blessing and being a blessing. The disciples of Jesus, when going out to preach and heal, were instructed to have this same attitude of imparting a blessing and even to verbally bless those they encounter.

Matthew 10:12-13

As you enter the house, give it your greeting. If the house is worthy, give it your blessing of peace. But if it is not worthy, take back your blessing of peace.

Blessing others may not always be received with open arms but, in the end, our attempt to be a blessing to people we meet will impact the world around us. Today could be that day the Holy Spirit puts in your path a person who desperately needs your blessing. Will you be obedient to the call of God and be the light of God through your actions or will you sit on your blessing and close your heart?

Questions:

1) Do you purposefully try to be a blessing to others? If we are not intentional regularly, we will most likely fall into the rut of thinking the world around us is for our benefit only.

2) How do you prepare to be a blessing to others? Look at your own talents and endeavor to naturally be a blessing to others with your gifts. Don’t just do what others do.

Pastor Dale

As we approach Christmas so many people get caught up in the stress of trying to find the perfect gift for family and friends, but what if we thought “Outside The Box” this Christmas and consider doing something special for a complete stranger or for a person we don’t know well? What if we prepared something unique and special that would demonstrate God’s love to this person? When we think about sharing our faith in God, or witnessing for Jesus during December, we often get intimidated by the complexity of the story rather than keeping things simple and to the point. Jesus made it simple for all of us when he said:

There is so much to learn from the traditions and behavior of the nation of Israel in the Old Testament.  Unfortunately, many Christians today neglect it, for various reasons, despite the fact that it can benefit those who truly want to be centered in their relationship with God.  Simply put, ignorance may hinder our ability to come closer to God today.

In this third and final article on healing and the atonement I want to to conclude with the passage in 2 Peter 24-25 as Peter references the passage used previously in Isaiah 53, typically used as the text for the purpose of Jesus coming to earth to save humanity from sin. This now is the third article on healing, so if you have not read parts 1 and 2, please do so before reading this final one, as they are built on each other. 

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I have learned over my years of walking with the Lord that I have often spoken truth, but not always at the right time. I also have learned that I have spoken out of frustration rather than out of wisdom. I am amazed that God uses people like me and you, who, more often than not, use words poorly that end up hurting our pursuits rather than helping them. The words we speak can end up cutting people rather than healing them. This does not mean we should never use “Tough Words,” but we should seek the guidance of God and not just act out in a fleshly way.

One thing I discovered studying the scripture over the years is that when considering Jesus Christ and his offer to be my sacrifice for my sin it is clear there would be an exchange. I would be exchanging my way of life for his and that meant appreciating who and what he has done and will do in my life.

Just because people surrender to Jesus Christ doesn’t mean they are living and thinking like the Lord would desire. The apostle Paul spoke about the need to “NOT” be conformed to the thinking of the world but to be “TRANSFORMED” in our thinking so our choices and actions would be pleasing to the Lord and our lives would be blessed. The problem is that we so often exchange transformation of thinking for learning doctrine, which often hardens our hearts rather than making them softer towards the Lord. Transformation is a process rather than a belief and transformation doesn’t happen without God’s help and our cooperation.