Author Archives: justkeithharris

Songs for Sunday – 8/9/2020

Earlier today, I was picking up some garbage in front of the church. Cars were going back and forth down Carrollton Rd., and I thought about typing out one of those Facebook posts. I have not written one of those posts in years. I have thought them plenty of times. But I really wanted to type out a good ole passive-aggressive, self-righteous public service announcement to remind people that they should not throw trash out of their windows in front of the Lord’s house.

Then it happened. Even though it the idea for the post was just a brief thought, it triggered a memory that I had forgotten about.

It had to have been about eighteen or nineteen years ago that the men at the church I grew up in were helping an older lady move. She had a grandson who had been born special. We were the same age and had been around each other for years. I can remember being intimidated by his love for the Word and memory for Scriptures, especially since his mind did not work the same as everyone else’s. For whatever reason, they allowed him to ride with me as we hauled furniture in my pickup.

It was hot. I chugged down the last of my pop. And I threw the bottle out the window on a dusty gravel road. I can remember his words clearly: “I know the Lord doesn’t like people to throw garbage out in His creation.”

Ouch!

He did not mean it passive aggressively. He was not being self-righteous. In fact, he was not capable of either vice. He was genuinely grieved by what I had done, and I was convicted. He showed me grace.

That is what God showed me again today when I was convicted of my heart and mindset on the side of the road. I am thankful for the grace of God to allow me to see my sin and repent. I am thankful for the grace of God in forgiveness. I am thankful for the grace of God in letting me remember. And I am even more thankful for the grace of God in that “as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12).

And that’s what we are singing about this Sunday: the grace of God.

These verses were on my heart as the worship set came together this week:

Here are our songs:

I hope to see you with us, whether you gather in person, in the parking lot via speaker, or on Facebook or YouTube live!

If gathering in person, please remember that masks are recommended and that we need to remain vigilant in our social distancing measures. Continue to pray for those who are sick – not just our members but all those around the world.

Refresh & Restore – 8/6/2020

1 Peter 1:13 —

13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Colossians 3:1-4 —

1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Greetings, Sojourners!

We are continuing our journey together through the hope found in 1 Peter, and I am extremely thankful for today’s passage.

There are so many things fighting for my attention and grabbing at my thoughts – outside voices and from within me. Fear and biased rhetoric are at all time highs in our society. I cannot speak for you, but my mind has been all over the place. It is easy for the doubts and fears in my mind to take over.

The Scripture we are looking at today can help us with this, but we need to realize what these verses are and are not supposed to do. Firstly, we need to realize that these verses are for people who have confessed Jesus as their Lord. There is no way for us to hope to get our minds under subjection if our lives are not subject to Him. Secondly, these verses are not magic words that will ward off the boogie-man of our wayward minds. They are “breathed out by God and profitable for teaching”; they are meant to teach us and correct us that we “may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

In this passage, Peter urges his readers to be “preparing [their] mind for action”. This is good advice, but it is much easier said than done.[i] To help us understand what Peter means, we need to look at what this phrase meant in the original language. This phrase, translated literally, would be to “gird up the loins of your mind”.

The idea of girding up one’s loins goes back thousands of years – back before pants and shorts – to when everyone, even warriors wore robes and tunics. So, if they ever needed to get anywhere quickly, they needed to (sort of) hitch up their skirt tails and confine them with their belt. It kept the soldiers from, literally, being tripped up.

To apply it to our lives and minds, think of all of the stray or wild thoughts that go through your mind on a daily basis – especially in times where your anxiety is heightened – as stray cloth that is tripping you up. The image is fitting. We find ourselves unable to think or focus because our thoughts are everywhere. So, Peter’s advice for us to gird up the loins of our mind – prepare our minds for action – means that we need to gather up our thoughts and pull them into submission, cinching them up in the “belt of truth” (Ephesians 6:14).

1 Peter 1:13 gives us another image to clarify what needs to happen in our minds when he urges his readers to be “sober-minded”. The idea of being sober contrasts that of being drunk. Just as alcohol or drugs alter one’s mind, our stray thoughts take our minds off where their focus should be and puts it elsewhere. When the mind of a believer loses its focus on Christ, it is no wonder we begin to feel hopeless. But we do not have to lose hope because our hope in Jesus is different than worldly hope – it is living (1 Peter 1:3)!

And that living hope is where our focus should be. I love the way that Peter puts it here: “set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ”. In the case of setting our hope, I think the best illustration is a thermostat. But, before I show you that illustration, let us look at how Peter’s urge for us to “set” our hope on Christ fits with Paul’s in Colossians 3.

When we are urged to set our hope on Christ, it is quite specific. We are to set our hope “fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ”, showing us that our hope is to be fixed on Jesus – specifically on the fact that He is coming back! Similarly, Paul begins in Colossians 3:1 with the idea that those who “have been raised with Christ” – born again, saved – should be seeking things from “where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God”. In other words, our hope is in what – Who – is coming.

Paul goes on to urge believers to “set [their] minds on things that are above” instead of “things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:3). Here we see Paul telling his readers to fix their attention on heavenly things rather than earthly things. This is where the thermostat comes into play.

A thermostat is a glorious invention – that is, if you are the one who gets to control it. One can set their thermostat on a temperature and – Lord willing, everything in the air conditioner is working correctly – that small box will control the temperature throughout a house. You set it to a temperature and leave the air conditioner to do its work. You do not have to will your air conditioner on or off. They even make thermostats that can control the temperature on a schedule, adapted to when you are away or at home. It should be the same for our minds and our hope.

I realize that setting one’s hope or one’s mind is not as easy as pressing buttons. I understand that it takes time to train one’s mind to react under certain circumstances. But I know that, if I leave my mind to its own devices, I will be of no good to anyone – much less be of use to the Kingdom of God. This is something that I am having to practice and use often.

As I stated at the beginning of this devotion, tensions and anxiety are at all-time highs in the world around us. But Jesus is still “seated at the right hand of God” and we still await “the grace that will be brought to [us] at the revelation of Jesus Christ”. Paul Tripp asks a question that has stuck in my mind and challenged my fear and doubt: “Why allow yourself to fear the future when all of your days are held in the wise and loving hands of your Sovereign Savior King?” Our hope is in a King whose victory and return are fixed events in the future. If we believe that, we have faith that He has taken care of us, is taking care of us, and always will. But all of this talk is for nothing without hope in Christ.

This is very challenging for me because, apparently, I have a very specific sort of amnesia. I know Christ. I know and trust in His finished work on the cross. I know and trust that the tomb is empty and that He is at the right hand of the Father. I know that He has a plan for me. I just forget. But there is grace even in my forgetfulness. That grace is present in today’s passages. That is why I must set my hope fully – set my mind on things above – in order to be prepared for action.

So, how do we do this? My suggestions are simple:

  • Pray – This is the first step in setting our mind and hope. God wants us to talk to Him and trust Him for our daily needs. This gets our hearts and minds off of our problems and points them toward a solution.
  • Read the Word – If you find yourself struggling to hear the voice of God in the midst of your thoughts, you do not have to look for an ethereal voice to speak out. We have God’s words written and compiled in book form. If you want to hear God’s voice, read His Word.
  • Meditate on the Word – To meditate on God’s Word is to think and ponder on what His Word says. Here is a list of verses that can be handy to settle your mind: 1 Peter 1:13, Colossians 3:1-4, Romans 12:1-2, Psalm 121:1-2, Isaiah 43:1-3, and Matthew 11:28-30 (and many, many more).
  • Talk about the Lord – Share with others about the hope you have in Christ. You are likely surrounded with people who are feeling hopeless and isolated. God has planted you where you are for a reason.

I am praying for you regarding this, and I hope that you will pray for me as well. There is no better place to set our hope and our focus than on Jesus. This makes me think of Paul’s words in Philippians 4:8: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Sojourners, I can promise you that there is only one thing out there that is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise; His name is Jesus. And, oh, what a change of mind occurs when we focus on Him – and a change of life, as well.

As always, I hope that you are loved and prayed for. Reach out if you need me. But, most importantly, you are loved by the King and any hand out to Him for help will not be brushed off.

[i] For additional resources related to “preparing your mind for action” in the context of 1 Peter 1:13, you can check out the message from Christ Community Church on Sunday, July 19, 2020.

Songs for Sunday – 8/2/2020

Who is the most influential person you have ever encountered?

If we were not talking in a church setting, most people would answer with the name of a parent, teacher, or mentor of some sort. Maybe you have had the opportunity to meet someone famous or have had some chance encounter that changed the trajectory of your life. No doubt these individuals have had profound and lasting impact on your life – and, hopefully, for the better. But no one – no one – has a more lasting impact than Jesus.

Encountering Jesus always has a profound effect on the lives of people. In fact, there are only two responses of people who have encountered Him. People either follow Him or reject Him. And those two responses could not be farther apart.

To reject Jesus is to follow after the world.

  • Unrepentent Cities, Matthew 11:20 – Then He began to denounce the cities where most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent.
  • The Rich Young Ruler, Matthew 19:22 – When the young man heart this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
  • Chief Priests & Pharisees, Matthew 21:45-46 – When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that He was talking about them. And although they were seeking to arrest Him, they feared the crowds, because they held Him to be a prophet.
  • Chief Priests, Elders, & the High Priest, Matthew 26:3-6 – Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill Him. But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.”
  • Judas, Matthew 26:15 – and [Judas] said, “What will you (chief priests) give me if I deliver Him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.
  • The people/crowd – likely including those who the chief priests were afraid of in earlier verses, Matthew 27:22-23 – Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let Him be crucified!” And he said, “Why? What evil has He done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let Him be crucified!”
  • Chief Priests & Elders, Matthew 28:12-13 – And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, “Tell people ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’

To follow Jesus is to find Life.

  • Andrew & Peter, Matthew 4:20 – Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.
  • James & John, Matthew 4:22 – Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him.
  • Matthew, Matthew 9:9 – As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and He said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed Him.
  • Roman Centurion(s) at the Crucifixion, Matthew 27:54 – When the centurion and those who were with Him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
  • Joseph of Arimathea, Matthew 27:57-58a – When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

Just scanning through the book of Matthew, we can see the difference in response to Jesus. Those in both lists were people who saw Jesus with their own eyes. They could have touched Jesus with their hands. They – both groups – saw and experienced His power through miracles we can only imagine. Yet some did not follow.

Jesus’ words in Matthew 16:24-26 show us why:

Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?

So, when we encounter Jesus will our response be to put all of our hope, trust, faith, and worship in Him, or will we try to put all of those things in the world? Ultimately, we are asked with our lives to answer the question Pilate asked above: “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called the Christ?”

My hope for you is that you have looked at the surpassing worth of Jesus and followed Him. 1 Peter 5:6-7 says, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.”

That’s good news and what we are singing about this Sunday! We are going to set our eyes on the King of kings and get to worship Him! We are going to seek His face and pour out our hearts before Him! We have the privilege to worship and follow Him; may He change and mold us as He sees fit!

These verses were on my heart as the worship set came together:

Here are our songs:

I hope to see you with us, whether you gather in person, in the parking lot via speaker, or on Facebook or YouTube live!

If gathering in person, please remember that masks are strongly recommended and that we need to remain vigilant in our social distancing measures. Continue to pray for those who are sick – not just our members but all those around the world.

The Gospel & Social Media

I learned a long time ago that you need to have a good hook in your writing and that, sometimes, a quote is a real attention-getter. My first thought was to go with a good Winston Churchill quote like, “Kites rise high against the wind, not with it.” But it was a little too abstract. I found a few more that would work for what I was looking for and decided to go with a tried-and-true idiom: “don’t shoot the messenger”.

Social media platforms are mainstays in our current culture. There are few who do not partake, and its uses vary widely. When Facebook first reached this area, it was used predominantly by college students to reconnect with people from their earlier school years. It has branched out quite a bit from that point and is used to connect with old friends, share pictures and life events with distant family, be a political platform, and everything in between. It leaves me wondering, for the believer, what our social media presence should be like.

As I sit here typing these thoughts, I must admit that I am afraid. Over the last twenty-four hours, I have watched self-proclaimed believers eviscerate other believers for warning against a cult-leader spouting medical knowledge in a viral post. I have seen self-proclaimed believers copy and paste rhetoric to support their stance against mask wearing that came from a basis of support in pro-choice abortion in contrast to their former pro-life stances. I have seen enough to scare me to the point where I vastly overanalyze everything that I consider posting to the point that I rarely post more than a few Bible verses and the devotions I send out weekly. Where is the gospel in all of this?

The word translated gospel can literally be translated good news, and good news is hard to come by on social media these days. In Romans 1:16, Paul tells us something about how our attitudes and lives should be shaped by the gospel: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Paul exhibited this in his life by having the sharing of the gospel as a defining characteristic in his life. His calling was to be a missionary to the Gentiles, and Scripture tells us that he consistently shared the gospel message wherever he went. He was clearly not ashamed of its message or the Christ he proclaimed. But, most importantly, his continual sharing of the gospel showed that he genuinely believed that it was “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes”.

I believe that we should allow the Bible to define the gospel message a little bit more. If one were to look to individual passages of Scripture to concisely define the Gospel, I have laid out a few that are more commonly known:

  • “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
  • “For I delivered unto you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures….” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)
  • “For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Each of these passages very clearly present Jesus Christ. One might argue that more context is needed for any of them, and I would wholeheartedly agree – that is what sharing the gospel truly is, opening the Scriptures and pointing to Jesus! This information is extremely important. Furthermore, it should be a part of our life, our speech, and our conduct (Matthew 28:18-20, 2 Corinthians 5:18-20, Deuteronomy 6:4-9).

Before we go any farther in this discussion, we must ask ourselves the following questions: (1) do I truly believe the gospel of Jesus has the power to save people, (2) do I truly believe that Jesus has the power to change the lives of the people He saves, and (3) am I presenting other solutions for peoples’ salvation instead of the gospel?

Now, as I have discussed this with people recently, I have heard these two counterarguments most commonly. The first counterargument is that there is nothing wrong with posting other, non-gospel things on social media, and, to that, I mostly agree. We can post whatever we want. I am not arguing that our social media platform should look like what people perceive the church to look like. I am not calling for a removal of all memes, articles, songs, etc. I am not advocating for anything more that for believers in Christ to look at the message we are presenting to the world. Rather than me try to define what I want for my life and the lives of other believers, it would serve us all better for God to do that as He already has in His Word. Colossians 3:17 tells us, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” This is a good admonition in Scripture that I fall short of quite often, but that does not change the fact that it is a good admonition for believers to strive to match up with – both in-person and virtually.

The second counterargument is that believers should be involved in politics. I do not disagree with this stance; however, I think we should define what being involved in politics is and is not. Firstly, I do not think that non-stop sharing of political memes and any article put out by members of your particular political party can be called being “involved” in politics. No political change is going to happen sitting on one’s couch. People often hail back to the founding fathers who were believers, and I think they set a good example. They did not merely write out the Declaration of Independence and sit back to watch others share it about in the villages and towns around them. The sharing of a document did not change the landscape of the new world. That would be ridiculous. They sent that declaration to King George, got off their rear-ends, and were active in their cause – not just on election days. Secondly, I find that little thought goes into much of what is viral in the present. I have seen people share articles from Snopes – a fact-checking website – because of their agreeing with the headline and ignore the fact that they are actually proving themselves wrong with the content of the article. We need to be discerning in what we say (James 3:1-12), whether with our physical mouths or through our thumbs via an app.

If we genuinely believe that the gospel of Jesus Christ has the power to change lives, it should be present in our lives. And before it can ever impact anyone else, it has to have impacted us in our own hearts. This means that the lack of gospel in our social media presences will not be fixed by merely adding some Jesus-y content to our regimen of copying and pasting. It means that we have some repenting to do in how we interact with others. We need to ask ourselves if Jesus would be pleased with the content we put out. We need to examine whether or not Jesus would agree with the overall message that we are presenting. It means we should repent – as often as necessary – and spending more time in prayer to God and in His Word than we do on social media in the first place. Maybe you need to go over to the settings on your phone and look at the screen time percentage for social media. I just looked at mine, I and am ashamed. I had to stop writing and repent to the Lord and to my family. We have had screen time limits for our daughter and content restrictions on all of our phones, and, before finishing writing this, we now have screen time limitations across the board.

Not only should the gospel be present in our lives, but it should also show up in the content we put out. I would urge you to look back on your social media platforms and see whether or not there is any gospel content going out. Are you proclaiming anything that you believe people need to see and learn? Are you proclaiming solutions for people’s lives that come from worldly places more than from God’s Word? If so, you need to repent. It is something I have had to do myself. It is not easy, but it is absolutely vital.

I do not want this article to be a finger-pointing, judgment session, and I am afraid that it will be taken as such. My hope for you is the same as I have for myself – that we continue to grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ, Him bringing change in us. I have fought against the urge to write this for some time now, and, if you are reading this, I can assure you that I have prayed for you in your reading. But, rather than have me continue to type my own words, let me offer you some words from Scripture that I constantly try to bring to my mind when I get off-balance in my thinking and speech. Romans 12:1-2 are verses that I try to post on my desk at work and try to post in my mind as often as needed. I believe they have that gospel influence that I have been writing about and hope they help you on your way:

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 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.”

Refresh & Restore – 7/30/2020

1 Peter 1:3-5 —

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Greetings, Sojourners (I will explain this later)!

I am excited to continue writing to you about HOPE! Hope is something that we need to carry on in our day-to-day lives. And it is hope that is missing in much of what we take in on a daily basis.

1 Peter’s original audience was dispersed from their homes and were exiles in foreign countries. They were driven out of their homes for their faith in Christ. Persecution sought to silence them, yet, for these early believers, it did not steal their hope – it made them missionaries.

Last week, our focus was on the nature of our “living hope”. We were reminded of God’s “great mercy” and how He causes “us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”. We looked at what it means to be born again and why it matters that our hope – found only in Jesus Christ – is living.

This “living hope” really helps to put things in perspective. By putting our hope in Jesus Christ and what He has done/is doing/will do for us, our point of view shifts. We shift from trying to earn, work, and do to trusting in what He did for us on the cross. We shift from looking at death as an ending because the grave could not hold our King. We shift from oppressive fear of the unknown to rejoicing in being known by a God who loves us, cares for us, and knows us.

So, if today finds you feeling hopeless, isolated, and alone, I am glad that God’s word has hope to share with you in today’s passage.

If you are born again, God has something special for you. We talk a lot about it when we look at the gospel and salvation, but, sometimes, we talk about it in such an abstract way that it seems as if it is not real to us. I am talking about eternal life.

You see, our “living hope” is not just for the here and now but for the always. Remember, these exiles were torn from the homeland where their ancestors had lived in for thousands of years – all the way back to their father Abraham (had many sons…). That land was intended to pass from them to their children, grandchildren, and so on. Now, that inheritance would go to someone else.  

It is hard for me to wrap my mind around the idea of an inheritance like that. My branch of the Harris family came out of what is now the back corner of Grenada lake. A representative came to my forefathers with a check, and, despite their disinterest in selling, bought the family plot and flooded it for our recreational pleasure. My great-grandfather and grandfather ended up in Riverdale Road in Grenada across from the airport. If you ride by now, you will not see the old home place because it was cleared out for the fence and equipment where the runway extension lights now burn.

We have all, at one time or another, fantasized about that distant rich uncle who passed away and left you millions and a mansion, but, even if no Harris had been displaced, there was no vast inheritance waiting for me. For these exiles an inheritance was expected. They were of Israel, God’s chosen people of old. There was history there between them and God – history and many promises. What could compare with that? Verse 4 lays it out: “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you”.

Once we are born again, we are born into an inheritance that supersedes anything that this world could offer. We are adopted into the family of the King of kings. He has an inheritance for us that is imperishable – that will neither die nor decay. It is undefiled – never be polluted or stained with sin. It is unfading – eternally fresh and flourishing. Our inheritance is full of life, peace, and perfection.

Most often, we equate this reward with Heaven. There is a street made of pure gold. Every precious stone known to man is used in the craftsmanship of its walls. There are riches there that no place on earth can even remotely begin to match. Yet it all pales in comparison to the glorious companionship we will have when we see Jesus! Eternity with Jesus is our inheritance! To echo the hymnwriter of old:

“What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see. I shall look upon His face, the One who saved me by His grace…. What a day, glorious day, that will be!”

“What a Day That Will Be”, Jim Hill (1955)

What can give more hope than that? The worst threats that this world can throw at us cannot offer a terror that can stand against eternity. The world can threaten us, beat us down, and even kill us, but the world’s greatest threat, death, is our greatest reward, Life (Romans 6:23, John 14:6). So, we do not have to live hopeless frightened lives because we know there is more to the story.

Furthermore, there is nothing we can do to lose that inheritance! Peter tells us that it is “kept in heaven for you” (v. 4) and that we are protected by “God’s power…being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (v. 5). Since our salvation was not paid for by us, it is not kept by us. Because our salvation rests solely on the power and might of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, there is nothing that can wrestle it from His power (Romans 8:35-39). This is good news! And it should spur us on to hopeful living (Romans 8:24-25).

Just as the exiles that Peter wrote to did not cease serving the Lord when things got difficult (Acts 8:4), we must continue, patiently serving, when things get difficult. I think that Paul gives us a good example for what this hopeful living looks like in Philippians 1:21-23:

“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ for that is far better.”

When he penned these words, Paul was near the end of his life in a Roman prison. His sentence was death. Rather than cower in fear, he looked at his options: to live and continue preaching the gospel or to die under persecution and be with Jesus. Because of the HOPE that he had in Christ, he saw the first option as possible because his future was wrapped up in the second.

I do not know what you are going through right now, and I do not want to minimize your trials. Thankfully, we have likely not suffered in the same way that these exiles have. So, does this mean that what you are going through is not valid since it is less severe? Absolutely not! God’s Word gives us context to know that He can absolutely handle whatever situation we encounter – bad or worse. We can take whatever our situation to the Lord and trust that He has got this.

Maybe you are reading this and are at your wits end. Maybe you are contemplating giving up. Know that the “living hope” that Peter wrote about is not a hypothetical idea; that living hope exists in the person of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 5:6-7 says, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.” If you reach out to Jesus for help, it is comforting to know that “the mighty hand of God” will reach out to pull you up rather than beat you down farther.

Jeremiah 29:11 is often taken out of context. It was originally part of a promise for Israel when their Babylonian captivity was over. But its words echo the sentiment in today’s passage: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” If you have trusted in Christ, He has not forgotten you and has “a future and a hope” for you that is far beyond anything offered in the world.

In the meantime, between now and eternity, we do not have to continue to think of ourselves as exiles and outcasts. That word can also be translated “sojourners”. A sojourn is a temporary stay. Those of us who are born again are only here temporarily – worshiping and serving our Lord until we see Him face to face. And that future gives us hope on our way.            

So, Sojourner, know that you are loved and prayed for on your journey. As always, feel free to reach out if you need anything.

Songs for Sunday – 7/26/2020

Are you forgetful? Maybe you were about to tell someone something and your mind went blank. Or maybe you walked into a store to grab a few items only to leave with ten other things (and none of what you came after in the first place). But what about what God has done for you – have you ever forgotten about that?

Psalm 107:1-3 says,

Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good,
for His steadfast love endures forever!
Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
whom He has redeemed from trouble
and gathered from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.

God’s people have always been a forgetful people. If you look back through the Bible – Old and New Testaments, you see God consistently redeeming His people from trouble, their forgetting what He did for them, and His reminding them of the grace and salvation again and again.

Psalm 107 gives us a clear picture of this.

We are able to see a variety of things that God saved His people from in this psalm; for example:

  • “wandered in desert wastes” (v. 4)
  • “hungry and thirsty”, soul-fainting, “trouble…distress” (v. 5)
  • “darkness”, “shadow of death”, “prisoners in affliction and in irons” (v. 10)
  • “fools through their sinful ways”, “because of iniquities suffered affliction” (v. 17)

Those problems and afflictions are many, and, most of us, can problem identify with many things from that list. But, rather than identify with them in their affliction, we need to identify with them in their response. Every, single, time God’s people gave the same response (vv. 6, 13, 19, 28): “Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress.” Not only was that their constant response, but God delivered them every, single, time

The pattern was the same over and over. God’s people cried out, a description was given of the affliction from which they had been delivered, and a response was prescribed for them (vv. 8, 15, 21, 31): “Let them thank the LORD for His steadfast love, for His wondrous works to the children of man!”

We have already established that we are forgetful, but let me remind you that God always delivers His people. Whatever affliction we are suffering feels like it will never end because we are in the middle of it. But think back to all of the times that God has helped you, redeemed you, rescued you. God’s track record speaks for itself. But we are forgetful in the middle of the storm. But let the words of Psalm 107 calm the storm inside of you:

Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and He delivered them from their distress.
He made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
Then they were glad that the waters were quiet,
and He brought them to their desired haven.
Let them thank the LORD for His steadfast love,
for His wondrous works to the children of man!

Psalm 107:28-31

And that’s what we’re singing about this Sunday morning! We are going to be reminded that the steadfast love of the Lord is upon us and available for all! And we are going to trust Him to bring us to our “desired haven” – eternity in His presence!

These verses were on my heart as the worship set came together this week:

Here are our songs:

I hope to see you with us, whether you gather in person, in the parking lot via speaker, or on Facebook or YouTube live!

If gathering in person, please remember that masks are recommended and that we need to remain vigilant in our social distancing measures. Continue to pray for those who are sick – not just our members but all those around the world.

Refresh & Restore – 7/23/2020

1 Peter 1:1-5 —

1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,    2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for the obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with His blood:

May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

            Greetings, reader! I would like to start today’s devotion off with a question: have you ever felt hopeless and isolated? I think it is safe to say that everyone has felt that way from time to time, and – if you had not prior to 2020, you most likely have experienced it this year.

The people that Peter wrote to in his first letter were the poster children for hopeless and isolated. These exiles of the “Dispersion” saw a different kind of pandemic in their day, but, rather than a virus, they saw an outbreak of persecution in their home country. Acts 8:1-3 gives us some context:

And Saul approved of [Stephen’s] execution.

And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.

Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.

In the early chapters of the book of Acts, the Church was flourishing and growing. This is the very beginning of the Church, and the honeymoon period did not last long at all. In fact, this illustrates something important about the Church: if she reflects her Savior, she will be treated like He was. We often get caught up in terrible nature of their situation, but I want to draw your attention to the last verse quoted above: “Now those who were scattered went about preaching the Word”.

If that strikes you as odd, you are not alone. Firstly, the church in America has never experienced persecution like this.[i] While many of our brothers and sisters around the world still face the same persecution and vastly more dangerous, we have yet to have to endure such things. Second, our fear of such persecution drives us to focus on the experience of those believers in Acts rather than their response. The believers in Acts continued to share their faith as they were scattered because their faith was genuine. And, out of that genuine faith, they found hope.

That hope is what I want us to look at and study today and over the coming weeks. 1 Peter is a book of hope for the scattered, isolated, and hopeless. So, we will dive into all the passages in this letter that talk about hope to see what the Lord offered the original audience through Peter – and thereby to us!

This first passage of hope is one of my favorites and one that I find myself quoting – to others and to myself – more and more often. As I quote it, I find myself laughing because, as an English teacher, this passage should drive me crazy because it is one, very long run-on sentence. Usually, run-ons drive me crazy, but, oddly enough, this one soothes me. It reminds me that the hope of God through Christ is overflowing and continual.

If you did not read the Scripture prior to my comments, please read it now. (If you only read one thing in what I post, your time and soul would be better served with the Scripture at the beginning than anything I offer.) We will dive in bit-by-bit and take up next week where we leave off.

The first phrase we see – “according to His great mercy” – is quite a big deal for us. You see, church-folks throw around words like grace and mercy, but that does not mean that we understand them. Grace (undeserved favor) often gets most of our focus. It is easily seen in Christ giving his life for us because the eternal life gained from such a gift is clearly not deserved by any sinner. Mercy is different, and it is a little bit less comfortable for us because it recognizes the reality and consequence of our sin.

If grace is God giving us something good that we do not deserve, mercy is God withholding punishment that we do deserve. Mercy is “divine forbearance” (Romans 3:25) where God holds off the penalty for our sin. Mercy is Jesus taking our punishment on Himself instead of it falling rightly on us. So, when Peter says that our being “born again” is according to God’s “great mercy”, we need to realize how big of a deal it truly is!

The term “born again” is especially important as well. Jesus talked to Nicodemus about it at length in John 3, going so far as to tell him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). To talk about being born again means we need to understand what happened after our first birth.

The Bible is clear that all human beings are sinners (Romans 3:10, 23). It also makes it abundantly clear that the “wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Because of our sin, we are spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1-2) and effectively have earned a death penalty against a holy, righteous, and perfect God. Usually, death is a pretty permanent thing. There is no continue after the game over, that is, without Jesus.

You see, Jesus came to “seek and to save the lost” – those dead in their sin (Luke 19:10). Jesus died on behalf of lost sinners, giving opportunity for those sinners to put their trust and faith in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). Those who put their trust in Him are born again. Ephesians 2:4-5 illustrates this well using similar language to 1 Peter 1:3: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved…” (“saved” and “born again” are both phrases that talk about people who have trusted in Jesus as Savior and Lord).

I know that is a lot to process, so let me bring it all back together. God – in his vast riches of mercy and grace – gives us the opportunity to have life instead of death by putting our trust and believing in Jesus. It is just that simple. He even clearly shows us how to go about doing it in His Word: “…because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

This is good news! This is news that gives hope! And it seems like hope is in short supply in the world today. Because it is such a rare thing, I think it would do us well to define it. Hope is “confident optimism”. Confidence and optimism both seem to be in short supply as well. But we can be confident in Jesus and what He has done on our behalf.

The hope that we see here in 1 Peter 1:3 is a special kind of hope indeed. What little hope that can be found in the world is fleeting, but hope in Jesus is “living”. And hope in Him is living because He is alive! “According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead….” Amen.

As I type this, I am praying for you, reader. I do not know whether or not you are “born again”. I pray that, if you are not, you would cry out to God and ask Him to save you. The Romans 10 verse from above continues beyond the instructions on how to be saved; it also contains a promise: “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13). So, you do not have to remain hopeless. There is grace and mercy for you.

If you are reading this and are “born again”, I am praying for you also. I am praying that you will be reminded of the hope that you are re-born into. I am praying that when trials come – and they will if they have not already – you will not look horizontally at the world for help but vertically to Christ for the “living hope” promised here.

Either way, know that you have been prayed for. Feel free to reach out if you need a listening ear. Whether or not you want to talk to me or someone else, know that there is One greater than me Who would love to hear from you. Call on Him any time.

[i] I am immensely thankful that we have not had to endure persecution like many of our brothers and sisters around the world. We are blessed to live in a country where we still have the opportunity to be free to worship the Lord as He commands in His Word. However, I would like to give you two things to ponder on here: 1) 2 Timothy 3:12-13 tell us, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived”; and 2) we need to ask ourselves this startling question, “Are we using our religious freedom in our country to truly do what Jesus commanded – to make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20), or are we busy with other things instead?

Songs for Sunday – 7/19/2020

Our typical Songs for Sunday will follow this important announcement for Christ Community Church.

Dear CCC Family:

Proverbs 15:7 says, “The lips of the wise broadcast knowledge, but not so the heart of fools.” In troubling times such as these, there is a temptation to keep some knowledge to ourselves. But some information needs to be shared, so we wanted to reach out and let everyone know that we have had a few church members diagnosed with Covid-19 over the past week. These members are taking all recommended precautions and are currently quarantined.

We still hold that church is essential, so CCC will still be open on Sunday for those wanting to gather in person. Those gathering in person need to understand that our social distancing and disinfecting measures are in place for a reason and need to be respected and followed. And, for those who decide it is best for themselves and their families to gather in their homes utilizing our online streaming resources, that is understandable.

While we hold that church is essential, the Sunday morning worship time will be our only in-person service until we announce otherwise. Wednesday services will still be provided via online streaming resources.

So, where does that leave us? There are a few responses that need to take place over the coming days:

  1. Pray for God to heal those who have contracted this virus – our members and around our city, county, state, country, and world.
  2. Pray about how God would lead your family to respond in regard to Sunday.
  3. Whether you gather in person or in your home, make sure that you reach out to your brothers and sisters in Christ. We have plenty of resources at our fingertips to communicate with others. If someone crosses your mind, pray for them before calling, texting, or messaging them to remind them that they are not alone.

We love you and are praying for you all,

CCC Pastors

Songs for Sunday

These are truly unprecedented times for us. We have never experienced anything like this – in health, economic, political, or general human nature – in our life times. But God is not surprised.

Psalm 139:13-16 gives us some context:

For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
When I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.

Amen. God knew all of our days before we were even conceived in the womb. And God knows where we are and our need now. When teaching His disciples how to pray, Jesus reminded the that the “Father knows what you need before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:8).

He knows what He need, and He is with us in the midst of whatever we are going through. He is Emmanuel, God with us. And that’s just what we need. And His presence in our lives gives us hope through the good times and the darkest of times.

Romans 5:3-5 tells us of that hope in the midst of suffering:

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

That is good news and what we’ll be singing about this Sunday.

These verses were on my heart as the worship set came together:

  • Psalm 139:13-16 – above
  • Romans 5:3-5 – above
  • 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 – Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Here are our songs:

I hope to see you with us, whether you gather in person, in the parking lot via speaker, or on Facebook or YouTube live!

Social Distancing & Concerns for Sunday

What the Grace of God Can Do for You

Titus 2:11-14

Introduction

Context is key when looking at the Bible. It is easy to take a verse out of its context and really mess it up.

Before we dive into our passage for tonight, let’s look a little bit at the context of Titus 2. Verse 1 helps a lot: But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. Let me translate that verse a little simpler: But here’s what you need to be doing – teaching people (the Word) with correct, healthy instruction.

Paul goes on from there and tells Titus why this is important for various age groups in the church there in Crete where he pastored:

  • older men – (v. 2b) sound in faith, love, and in steadfastness
  • older and younger women – (v. 5b) that the Word of God may not be reviled (the literally word from which we get blasphemy)
  • younger men – (v. 8b) so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us
  • slaves – (v. 10b) so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior

So, when we look at our passage today, we get a piece of the doctrine – the instruction – about salvation that Paul was giving to Titus. Let’s check it out. We’re going to see how God’s grace redeems us, reforms us, and rewards us in salvation.

  1. Grace Redeems Us (vv. 11, 14a)
    1. v. 11 – For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people….
      1. Titus 3:4-5a – But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us….
      1. 1 Timothy 2:3-4 – This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
      1. So, who can be saved? “all people”
        1. Colossians 3:11 – Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
        1. Revelation 7:9-10 – After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
        1. Matthew 28:19-20 – Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
        1. Romans 10:13 (quoting from Joel 2:32) – For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
          1. The Bible is clear: anyone can be saved. It is also clear on how one gets saved: by repenting and believing.
    1. v. 14a – …[Jesus Christ] who gave Himself up for us to redeem us from all lawlessness….
      1. Ezekiel 18:23 – Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from His way and live?
      1. Let’s look at a little more of Titus 3:4-5b – But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved, us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy…
        1. Jesus “redeem”s us by paying the penalty for our sin. And He does this simply because He loves us. Oh, what a love He has.
        1. A few weeks back, I noticed a church sign that caught my attention. It said, “Come as you are. Leave changed.”
          1. Jesus meets us in our sin (Romans 5:8) to save us, but He wants more for us afterward. Let’s look at how Grace Reforms Us
  • Grace Reforms Us (vv. 12, 14b)
    • v. 12 – …training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.
      • Even though the world around us has not changed, our hearts are changed when Christ saves us.
        • 1 Peter 4:2 – …so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.
      • So, what does all of this accomplish?
        • Philippians 2:15 – …that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of truth….
        • The way we live our lives either shows God to be a powerful Savior or weak and not very effective.
    • v. 14b – …and to purify for himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works.
      • Ephesians 2:10 – For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
      • God has a plan for you. God has a mission for you.
      • But the best news of all, is the reward – but it’s not heaven and glory and mansions and crowns – we get to be with God! Let’s look at how Grace Rewards Us.
  • Grace Rewards Us (v. 13)
    • v. 13 – …waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.
      • I will never forget June 17, 2006…. When those doors opened at the back of the church….
      • Revelation 21:1-4 – Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
        • Amen, and hallelujah!
        • (Paul Washer) “Everyone wants to go to heaven. They just don’t want God to be there when they get there.”
        • He. Is. Our. Reward.

Conclusion/Application

I know I’ve given you a lot to chew on today, but I hope that you have listened to the Scripture that I shared and examined your life.

Salvation is available to everyone who calls on the Lord and repents/believes in Him. How about you: have you called on his name? Have you repented of your sin and confessed your faith to Him?

Coming into contact with the grace of God is life-changing. Has it changed your life?

Refresh & Restore – 7/16/2020

Psalm 1 —

1 Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

Greetings, readers! It is Thursday again, and I am glad for us to be spending time together in the Word today!

It is always my hope that these Refresh & Restore devotions serve as a reminder to us of Acts 3:19-21: “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.” It is good for us to repent and enjoy times of refreshment in the presence of God – specifically in His Word and prayer – while we follow Him and wait for all that He promised to take place.

Today, we are going to look at what it is like to follow God and be planted firmly in His Way in Psalm 1. This particular psalm reads a lot like the wisdom writing in the Proverbs. And, in it, we see how God intended for His people to live and be happy in Him.

I know for some people it seems like a stretch to imagine Christians to be happy. It is very sad to think that Christians – church folk, anyway – would be characterized as being anything other than happy because we have more to be happy about in Christ! On Thursday nights at Jesus Saves Bro, Tonya is always reminding folks how good it is to be saved and to be happy and excited about it. If nothing else, Psalm 1 shows us the difference in being saved/happy and lost/wretched.

We start off with a description of the “blessed…man” (or woman). The word translated “blessed” here can also be translated “happy” or “fortunate” – as in those who are saved are fortunate and should be happy in thinking about it. It follows with a description of what this “blessed” person does not do.

The “blessed” do not walk in the counsel of the wicked. This means that the lost world around them does not dictate what they do or how they live. It also means that our response to what happens in the world around us should be based on the Word of God instead of the way that the crowd around us does. The word “counsel” here reminds me how easy it is to have my mind hijacked by worldly thinking.

The “blessed” do not stand in the way of sinners. Jesus’ prayer in John 17 clears up what this means:

(vv. 14-15) “I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.”

Even though we continue to live and minister in a lost world, we must be careful and guard ourselves against the influence of the world. We are called to be in the world but not of the world. Essentially, we guard our minds with the “helmet of salvation” (Ephesians 6:17), guard our hearts with the “breastplate of righteousness” and pull it all together with the “belt of truth” (Ephesians 6:14). And, being guarded in this way, we do not need to go in the “way of sinners”; we know the Way (John 14:6).

The “blessed” do not sit in the seat of scoffers. What in the world is a “scoffer”? I am glad you asked. Proverbs 21:24 says, “‘Scoffer’ is the name of the arrogant, haughty man who acts with arrogant pride.” The “blessed” person does not slump into the role of the arrogance and pride even though it is easy to do. We are instead characterized by the humility of Christ (Philippians 2:5), Him showing through us and not our own pride.

We see a lot of what the “blessed” person does not do, so what does he/she do? The “blessed” delights and meditates on the word of God. The word there for “delight” means to take joy or pleasure in or to recognize as costly or a treasure. Psalm 119:92 attributes this joy because “If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.” Basically, if it had not been for the law – the Word – the “blessed” person would not know what it is to be saved. They also “meditate” on the Word.

We have allowed the word “meditate” to be stolen from us by Eastern mysticism and the world. But it is a spiritual discipline found and highlighted by the Word of God. To “meditate” on the Word of God is to have it dwell in your mind. This may sound odd, but it reminds me of chewing gum, as in – we need to bite off some of God’s Word and chew on it throughout the day. Rather than try to rush through our reading of God’s Word each day or try to just get through the Word, we need the Word to get through us. When we “meditate” on the Word and it gets through us, we walk in the way of the “blessed” and have less desire to be “wicked”.

The comparison of the tree by the stream (“blessed”) and the wicked (“chaff”) shows just how clear the division between the two is. The “blessed” are “like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither” (verse 3). Picture a majestic oak tree with luscious branches and beautiful leaves on the side of a river bank. Drought can hit the land, and many of the other trees around it may dry up, but it will continue to be healthy because its roots have nourishment beyond what can be seen. You see, the “blessed” are rooted in something greater than themselves (Colossians 2:6-7) and what the world can offer. But nourishment, in and of itself, is not enough.

Jesus said that a tree is known for its fruit (Matthew 7:20). Likewise, the “blessed” will be known by the fruit they bear. Again, the difference between the “blessed” and the “wicked” is clear. Jesus explains this better than I could ever hope to in John 15:4-6:

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered and thrown into the fire, and burned.”

Apple trees bear apples. Orange trees bear oranges. And the “blessed” bear the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) because they are planted in Christ. Consequently, if there is absolutely no fruit of the Spirit in one’s life the opposite is true.

Roots are important. A tree can only grow so large if its roots are weak or shallow. Shallow or weak roots can cause a tree to fall. A strong enough storm can pluck a tree that lacks strong roots from the ground and carry it away. It is the same for the “wicked”. Without Christ, we are tossed about whenever trouble comes, and, if we remain solid during the storms of trouble, it is only because of Him (Matthew 7:24-27).

Ultimately, the only difference between the “blessed” and the “wicked” is a relationship with Christ. We live in a world that has more than enough trouble – especially in 2020, but we often want to truck on under our own steam and power. Maybe you are toiling away like that today. But, please hear me on this, there is no hope without a relationship with Jesus Christ.

I hope that you have a relationship with Him as you read this today, but, if you do not, I would love to talk with you. I want you to be planted by the water and have the assurance and hope that only comes from Him.

If you know Him today, rest assured that whatever storms come and rage against you that He is more than strong enough to hold you and keep you. Maybe you feel like you are hanging on by the roots. But if you are rooted to Jesus, that is more than enough to keep you safe through the storm!