Sometimes when Christ-followers say Jesus is our everything or that He is everything to us, it can sound a bit cliche. But for those who are in Christ, it is not just a statement we make; it is the foundation of our hope — the foundation of our life in Him.
When we are saved, He takes us from death to life (Ephesians 2:1-5). He takes our sin and exchanges it for His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). Our old life passes away in His death and new life is born through His resurrection (2 Corinthians 5:17, Colossians 3:9-10, Ephesians 4:17-24). He builds us up and establishes us (Colossians 2:6-7).
Not only is Jesus faithful in salvation, but He is faithful in keeping us and protecting us. Think about it: if we can trust Him to do what He says and save us — if He can bring us from death to life in Him, isn’t He powerful enough to protect us and “guard [us] against the evil one”?
The answer is yes.
As the author of Hebrews put it: “He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23). And I sure am thankful He is!
Thank You, Lord, for being the One who never fails, never lies, and never changes. When He say You will do something, You do it. When You promise, You fulfill it. When You love, You don’t let go. There is no one else in the universe faithful like You — definitely not us! Thank You for being faithful to build us up and protect us from evil. Amen.
All through the month of November, our Christ Community Church family is focusing on what we are thankful for and expressing our thanks to our “great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us” (Titus 2:13-14).
This, like the #DailyWisdomChallenge we went through in October, is a challenge from our pastor John Goldwater — the #GRATITUDEandHOPEchallenge — where we have the opportunity to post Bible passages that move us to thanksgiving or in which we find hope. May this lead you to be grateful and find your hope in Jesus!
I say this a lot, but it is because I am blessed. Much to my regret, I have not always realized this and took it for granted for too long. Lord willing, I won’t forget — or let her forget it!
This passage from Genesis 2 is when Adam awoke from the sleep God put him in and saw his bride for the first time. I love the phrase “at last” there because it communicates the worthiness and excitement that comes with his declaration. He had named all the animals and there “was not found a helper fit for him” (Genesis 2:21).
At last God parade something in front of him worthy of him. If you’ll forgive the pun, Adam’s reaction was “Woah, man!” He was excited and happy to meet his bride. It was a match made in Eden.
I can still remember the first time I laid eyes on Candice. I can remember the glint of the sun on her hair on the afternoon I asked her to marry me. I remember seeing her on our wedding day when the doors of the church opened. And I get to look over to my left and see my beautiful bride right now as I type this. Woah, man, I’m blessed!
If you are blessed to have a wife, let her know. It doesn’t hurt to do it on social media, but it is best to be done regularly and rightly in person. Recognize how God has blessed you with her, thank Him for giving her to you, and thank her for putting up with you as well!
Lord, thank you for Candice. Thank you for letting me spend every day with my best friend and for waking me up to realize the gift you have given me in her. Let Keri, Xander, and me tell her often that we love her and show her more than we say it. Help others who are reading this to be thankful for their wives, too, and move their hearts to tell their wives they are thankful as well as showing them. Amen.
All through the month of November, our Christ Community Church family is focusing on what we are thankful for and expressing our thanks to our “great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us” (Titus 2:13-14).
This, like the #DailyWisdomChallenge we went through in October, is a challenge from our pastor John Goldwater — the #GRATITUDEandHOPEchallenge — where we have the opportunity to post Bible passages that move us to thanksgiving or in which we find hope. May this lead you to be grateful and find your hope in Jesus!
So many are filled with anxiety right now as they watch the election results roll in. Honestly, I feel it, too. But there is One we can trust no matter the outcome of this election, or if He tarries, the outcomes of the next or the next. His name is Jesus, and He is truly trustworthy.
I chose this passage today because it is a good reminder of why we should trust the Lord rather than put our trust in worldly things.
To trust in “chariots” and “horses” was trusting in military prowess. Their might is contrasted with the “saving might” of God’s “right hand” in v. 6 and compared to the way His people can continue to stand when their worldly trusts “collapse and fall” in v. 8.
Psalm 20 is appropriate as it is a prayer for their nation’s king. As we pray tonight for the King of kings to grant us the president we need, we can stand in our trust of the Lord. If everything collapses, we can stand in our trust of Him. He won’t move. I’m reminded of the lyrics of the hymn: “Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus / how I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er.” The good news isn’t that we have proved Him but that He has proved Himself “o’er and o’er” and will again and again.
As you watch the election coverage — or if you are reading this once the results have come in, don’t put your trust in donkeys or elephants. They will all collapse and fail you one way or another. Put your trust in the name of the LORD our God. His name is Jesus — the King of kings, Lord of lords, and the Potentate of presidents. He will never fall or fail.
All through the month of November, our Christ Community Church family is focusing on what we are thankful for and expressing our thanks to our “great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us” (Titus 2:13-14).
This, like the #DailyWisdomChallenge we went through in October, is a challenge from our pastor John Goldwater — the #GRATITUDEandHOPEchallenge — where we have the opportunity to post Bible passages that move us to thanksgiving or in which we find hope. May this lead you to be grateful and find your hope in Jesus!
Tomorrow is the Lord’s day, and I’m thankful to have the opportunity to gather with my faith family and worship Jesus!
Over the next few days, there will be a lot of fearmongering and confusion as our country heads into a major election. We should all be feeling the weight of this moment in our nation. But this does not have to be a hopeless time. The Lord’s day reminds us that He is alive and well and already victorious no matter the events of this world (Revelation 1:17-18, Colossians 2:15); it reminds us that our ultimate hope is not in earthly governments or leaders but in the King of kings (Revelation 17:14, 1 Timothy 6:15).
As we prepare our hearts to gather and worship Jesus tomorrow, let us reflect on 1 Peter 1:3-5, one of the passages we will be reading in our worship gathering tomorrow. Peter reminds us that, through Jesus, we have been “born again to a living hope”, “to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading”. This promise is a steady anchor in turbulent times (Hebrews 6:19).
For Peter and his original audience, the Roman empire was becoming increasingly more dangerous for Christians. Persecution was about to begin a steady incline that would end up killing thousands upon thousands of Christians in the empire, even Peter and the apostle Paul. This “living hope” was what carried them through the persecution to the arms of their Savior in eternity. For us, Jesus is still our “living hope” and untouchable by politics, economies, and any uncertainties in the world.
That’s good news!
And that’s what we are singing about tomorrow as we take the time to pause, lift our eyes to Jesus, and be reminded that our hope is in Him. We’ll remind ourselves of the goodness and faithfulness of our Lord (Psalm 145:13), the power of His Kingdom (Daniel 7:14), and the mercy He’s shown us and will continually show us every day no matter what troubles come our way (Lamentations 3:22-23). We can take this time, like our brothers and sisters in Peter’s day and the centuries of terror and persecution that followed, to lift our voices in worship and trust to the One who truly holds the future and has already “overcome the world” (John 16:33)!
So, today in preparation for gathering to worship Jesus with our faith family tomorrow, let’s approach the throne of God in prayer (Hebrews 4:16) and lay down all of our worries, what-ifs, and the weight of the world before the King of kings (Psalm 55:22). He is sovereign, good, and faithful (Psalm 100:5). Let us do so with the knowledge that whatever Tuesday’s election outcomes, King Jesus will be just as sovereign, just as good, and just as faithful on Wednesday — and all the days until the Day He returns to bring us to Himself (Hebrews 13:8, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)!
What about you?
Do you have a church home? Are you planning on gathering with your faith family?
If you are in or around Grenada, MS, we at Christ Community Church would love to invite you to gather with us and to point you to Jesus!
Here are our Scriptures & songs:
Scripture | Titus 3:1-7 —
1 Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. 3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
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 a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Here we are FINALLY finished with the #DailyWisdomChallenge! What took some 31 days, only took me 56. But this challenge is not about an amount of time or some mark we check off, is it? No, it is about getting God’s Word in us and through us — Him producing results and us giving Him our time, minds, and lives to spend time with Him in His Word and share it with other. I have enjoyed spending this time with Him and sharing Him and His Word with you.
This last proverb is one that has been on my mind. I have typed and retyped this post because I just couldn’t seem to articulate it — to get my words right. Today, it is what it is and ain’t what it ain’t. Let’s dive in.
Much of Proverbs 31 (vv. 10-31) is about the virtuous wife/woman. I was tempted to pick some verses from that section and speak well of my wife, which I do as often as I can because she is amazing. But Proverbs 31:8-9 is about using our voices — in this case, my voice and platform — to speak for those who have no one to speak for them. I will always speak up and advocate for Candice, but what of those who have no advocate?
It might help to understand what it means to advocate for someone. Let’s break it down. There are two forms of the word, both spelled the same; one is a verb (meaning to support or speak in for — or in favor of — someone or something) and a noun (meaning one who supports or speaks for someone or something). To use both in a sentence: an advocate advocates for people or issues. That’s the English teacher take on it, but we need a more pastoral perspective here.
In 1 John 2:1-2 give us a good picture of Jesus as our Advocate (the ESV even using that exact word):
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
In this brief passage, we see Jesus almost as an advocate or defense attorney in courtroom. We know that Satan is known as the “accuser” in Revelation 12:10 and is “day and night” putting our sin in the form of an accusation or case against us “before our God”. Satan wants God to look at our sin and cast us out as he was so long ago. He wants to hurt God by showing Him how His children sin against Him and others. He also wants to hurt us and see us destroyed (1 Peter 5:8). We really don’t need an accuser to understand this because just like our great-great-great-great-uncle Cain, our sin cries out like Abel’s shed blood (Genesis 4:10), and God knows it, too.
Who would stand as an advocate for one who is clearly guilty? How many courtroom dramas have feature hot shot defense attorneys remarking that only a fool would ask their client if they are guilty. In this case, we know we are guilty. All have sinned (Romans 3:23) and none stand before God as righteous in their own standing (Romans 3:10). Yet John clearly says that those who are in Christ who sin (which includes any and everyone who has ever and will ever be saved) has an advocate: Jesus Christ the righteous.
Jesus stands for us when our sin cries out against us, reminding the Father that He has cast our sin as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).
Jesus stands for us when the accuser comes before the Father and reminds him that He has exchanged our sin and shame for His righteousness and standing as a son (1 Corinthians 5:21).
He speaks for us when the recollection of our sin silences us and shuts the mouth of accuser, reminding us that He has saved us and him that his doom is sure.
What a joy it is to have someone speak for you when you are in trouble (Psalm 34:17)! What a relief it is to have someone advocate for you to receive help in your time of trouble (Psalm 46:1)!
That’s the point of our final proverb together: use the voice and platform God has given us to be an advocate for those in need and in trouble, people who do not have anyone to speak for them. Worldly wisdom says mind your business and stay in your lane when it comes for helping folks in precarious situations. God’s wisdom says speak up for those who have no one to speak up for them (“the destitute”) and no voice of their own (“the mute”). God’s wisdom says that we are to “defend the rights of the poor and needy” — to make sure that people can get the help they need.
Now, the argument that comes up here is always something like “What about those who are misusing the help they receive?” or some citing of something like 2 Thessalonians 3:10 and some variation of “if you don’t work, you don’t eat”. Remember this is not a blanket statement of foolishness or reckless speech; it says “judge righteously” right here in the proverb. But we are to err on the side of help rather than stinginess — advocating for help rather than silence.
So, what about you? Are you silent for the suffering or speaking for them to receive help? Does Jesus the righteous advocate for you and yet you remain silent for others?
This is the culmination, not only of the #DailyWisdomChallenge for me, but the pinnacle of the challenge of whether I will yield to God’s wisdom or roll with the world’s. John has challenged us to speak and share God’s Word with others. Now, God in His Word has challenged us to speak and share God’s Word FOR others, too.
Won’t you join me?
For the month of October (and finally finished 25 days into November), we are answering the challenge John Goldwater, pastor of Christ Community Church in Grenada, MS, laid out — the #DailyWisdomChallenge. Each day, we are going to read through a chapter of Proverbs corresponding to the day of the month.
This fits with what we have studied in Colossians, specifically Colossians 3:1-2, namely that we should seek “the things that are above, where Christ is” and set our minds like a thermostat “on things that are above, not on things that are on earth”. Imagine what a month meditating on God’s Word daily can do for us.
Won’t you join us on this #DailyWisdomChallenge and set your minds on Christ?
This proverb struck me as a poignant example of the perspective God gives us through His wisdom that counters the anti-wisdom of this world.
Whatever you revere or fear drives you, or at least steers you. Think about it. If there are certain holidays or people that you revere, you will act a certain way around them. Your life and behavior change in their presence or on those days. It works the same with fear. If you are afraid of someone or something, your body does its own thing in their presence. Your heart rate will elevate; your skin may grow clammy and/or sweaty; and your fight-or-flight response kicks in.
We live in a day and age when the powers-that-be use fear to motivate. This can be in the political arena as we have seen recently in many political ads and politically-driven social media posts. The news is always doom and gloom – and changes depending on the political leanings of one channel to the next. We have become accustomed to making decisions based on fear, and per the wisdom we see here, that sort of fear is a snare.
A snare is a device meant to catch something, and often carries with it the purpose of restraining something in order to kill it. If a hunter puts out a snare to catch an animal, it is often so that the animal can be caught, killed, and eaten. This reminds me of the description of Satan in 1 Peter 5:8 as one prowling “around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour”. Satan likes snares because they catch people unaware using camouflage and trickery. 2 Corinthians 4:4 describes this work as him blinding “the minds of unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” He has no glory of his own and nothing of worth for people to follow, so he tricks and hoodwinks people, trying to keep them from seeing the Light.
While Satan is on the prowl seeking to devour and destroy, God offers His mighty hand to lift us up and offers the opportunity to cast “all [our] anxieties on Him, because He cares for [us]” (1 Peter 5:6-7). You can trust the Lord and be safe (Psalm 62:8). There is a big difference between prowling around like a lion and being the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5)! Jesus is the genuine article and came to seek and save the lost instead of seeking destruction (Luke 19:10, John 3:17)!
Your fear of what man can do to you lays a snare. But trusting in God brings safety – from the snare, from destruction, from being devoured.
That’s good news to those who trust in the Lord! How about you? Will you be driven by your fear of man or your trust in God?
For the month of October (and November for slowpokes like me), we are answering the challenge John Goldwater, pastor of Christ Community Church in Grenada, MS, laid out — the #DailyWisdomChallenge. Each day, we are going to read through a chapter of Proverbs corresponding to the day of the month.
This fits with what we have studied in Colossians, specifically Colossians 3:1-2, namely that we should seek “the things that are above, where Christ is” and set our minds like a thermostat “on things that are above, not on things that are on earth”. Imagine what a month meditating on God’s Word daily can do for us.
Won’t you join us on this #DailyWisdomChallenge and set your minds on Christ?
This #DailyWisdomChallenge has been convicting for me. As I have walked through these proverbs, God’s wisdom has outshone the anti-wisdom of the world – the anti-wisdom that lures us to sin instead of illuminating our understanding that there is a God who loves us and made a way for us to come to Him. Proverb 28:13 is a good example of this.
Human beings mess up. A lot. When we mess up and our actions go against God’s righteous standard and expectation, going directly against what God has said, this is called sin. We all do it. First and foremost, we sin against God (Psalm 51:4). This is the case even when we are sinning against other people as well, which is the second point here. This is important to know because sometimes we like to subscribe to the idea that our sin only affects us. It doesn’t. The consequences of our sin affects others, especially when there are people who receive some of the sin we commit.
If we lie, we have sinned against God and the person we lied to. If the lie is about someone else, that adds to it.
If we murder, we have sinned against God. Clearly, we have sinned against the victim, but the sin extends to his or her family, friends, and so on. The toll can be catastrophic in some circles.
If we sin, we sin against God and others. Period.
The reality of sin is that judgment and condemnation is deserved. A holy God created this world and has the authority to say what is right and wrong, holy and righteous. We might not like it. We might wish He had decided that our pet sins were ok or to let something slide, but He is holy and cannot abide with sin. If He did, He would not be holy – definitely not righteous. The good news is that God has made a way for us to be reconciled to Him and not receive that wrath that is due for our sin (Romans 6:23, 1 Corinthians 15:16-21).
The word “reconcile” is helpful here in our understanding of sin. You see, when people talk about sin deserving death, they balk and try to explain how their sin does not warrant such a penalty. But reconcile does not leave room for that. Because we have sinned against God, we are in need of reconciliation because the relationship has been damaged. Sinning against Him puts enmity between us (Romans 5:10). Things need to be put right.
Our proverb today says that the only way for things to be made right between people, where one has done wrong and the other been wronged, is for the transgression to be confessed. Concealing it only allows it to fester – think along the lines of a boil beneath one’s skin. Reconciliation cannot happen unless the transgression is confessed and dealt with. This is essentially the message that Paul shared with the church at Corinth when he shared with them about how God through Christ offers opportunity to be reconciled to Him where He does not count “their trespasses against them” (2 Corinthians 5:19). And He explains this in one of the most beautifully succinct examples of the gospel – the good news of Jesus – in 2 Corinthians 5:21: “For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Just as it happens between people, reconciliation means confession needs to be made. 2 Corinthians 5:21 gives us a picture of the God we have sinned against putting His perfect, sinless Son forward in our place to bear the punishment of sin. Those who believe in Him exchange their sin and the debt due for it for Jesus’s righteousness and favor. Jesus, the God we sinned against, puts forth the offering that makes our relationship right. He trades our sin debt for His eternal riches of grace, mercy, and love. He trades our rightful wages of death with a gracious portion of His eternal life. He trades our rap sheet for His righteousness.
Concealing our sin and acting like it does not exist only delays the inevitable. Confessing it – confessing Jesus as Lord and believing He rose from the grave (Romans 10:9) – gives opportunity for reconciliation and salvation. One side leads to death and the other to life.
The advice of Proverbs 28:13 points us toward God’s wisdom and counting all we have as loss for the “surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:8) and forsaking the anti-wisdom of the world that leads us to think there is no consequence for sin.
Lord, thank you for offering reconciliation when we don’t deserve it – when no one else in the world would. Reconciliation is hard to come by, but it reflects Your heart toward those who turn to you. Help me to confess my sin to you instead of concealing it. Help me to do the same for others I sin against as well. Amen.
For the month of October (and *hopefully* the early part of November), we are answering the challenge John Goldwater, pastor of Christ Community Church in Grenada, MS, laid out — the #DailyWisdomChallenge. Each day, we are going to read through a chapter of Proverbs corresponding to the day of the month.
This fits with what we have studied in Colossians, specifically Colossians 3:1-2, namely that we should seek “the things that are above, where Christ is” and set our minds like a thermostat “on things that are above, not on things that are on earth”. Imagine what a month meditating on God’s Word daily can do for us.
Won’t you join us on this #DailyWisdomChallenge and set your minds on Christ?
I have seen this proverb on t-shirts, coffee mugs, and many social media posts. But the place I see it most these days is in my life.
As we have seen throughout the #DailyWisdomChallenge, God’s wisdom is better — and often contrary — to the world’s wisdom. Worldly wisdom teaches men that they are to be self-sufficient, tough, stoic, and unbreakable. If I have learned anything in my decades of life and decades of being an adult man, men are breakable and definitely not entirely sufficient, at least that hasn’t been the case for me. I spent years trying to prove how strong and sufficient I am. Too many of those years were devoid of the kind of friendships that this proverb — that God’s wisdom — prescribes.
The good news is that God’s wisdom can repair the seemingly wasted years.
In the past decade or so, God began bringing Christ-like men into my life who hold me accountable when I go astray, lift me up when I fall down, and come alongside me to support me when I struggle. More than that, they celebrate with me in joyous times and have provided more laughter than I thought possible. I also get to provide the same to them, although not as well as they do for me.
I am better — sharper — because of the friendship of these men. This was God’s intention, hence Proverbs 27:17. God intended saved men to lift each other up and to sharpen each other’s lives and characters. This is contrary to the fickle relationships that pass for some friendships where people are enablers and anchors to negative behaviors or toxic, long-lasting adolescence. No, God provided us brothers who point us to Him and are willing to knock our rough edges off if we need it or help us cut through trouble if that’s what the occasion calls for.
Thank you, Lord, for the brothers you have sent me.
For the month of October (and November for slowpokes like me), we are answering the challenge John Goldwater, pastor of Christ Community Church in Grenada, MS, laid out — the #DailyWisdomChallenge. Each day, we are going to read through a chapter of Proverbs corresponding to the day of the month.
This fits with what we have studied in Colossians, specifically Colossians 3:1-2, namely that we should seek “the things that are above, where Christ is” and set our minds like a thermostat “on things that are above, not on things that are on earth”. Imagine what a month meditating on God’s Word daily can do for us.
Won’t you join us on this #DailyWisdomChallenge and set your minds on Christ?
Today’s verse(s) for the #DailyWisdomChallenge use the imagery of eating, just like it did in the one from Proverbs 25. Maybe it is because I have been having to work to get back on my healthy eating patterns, or maybe it is just a holdover from my lifetime as an adult allowing eating to set my course and rule much of my life, but these passages resonate with me.
The “words of a whisperer” is referencing the giddy joy people get when they are talking about something they know they shouldn’t be. In some cases, it is the whispers of gossip, sharing some piece of news of something bad that happened or something bad that has befallen someone. That type of news makes people feel good at the expense of others and takes advantage of them looking bad to make oneself look better. In other cases, it could be inappropriate humor or speaking bad/making fun of someone else – things that are bad enough by themselves but made worse by sharing that wicked talk with others.
The very nature of this having to be whispered shows that we know it is bad but decide to do it anyway. Well, we may think we are keeping quiet except to the one with whom we are whispering, but God hears and knows. And here in Proverbs 18:8 and 26:22 we see what he thinks of it; he thinks it is pretty crappy.
That may seem crass (it is definitely pushing Bible study pun boundaries), but look at the end of the verse. When you dine on the whisperer’s words, they go “down into the inner parts of the body”. They get digested. The honey of Proverbs 25:16 gets regurgitated, but the whisperer’s words linger. In the end, they end up becoming waste; however, in the meantime they work their way into our minds and our hearts.
One thing that I remember hearing from teachers and parents growing up – one that I find myself saying to my kiddos at home and school, too – is that, if you have to whisper it, it must not be good. We see that as an example of godly wisdom – not that we should never whisper, but we should not participate in wicked speech, loud, quiet, or otherwise.
Next time you find yourself about to dine on some juicy gossip or listen to someone whisperingly run down someone to you, remember what you are dining on. If you find listening to that crap as appetizing, chew on this analogy and decide if it’s worth it!
For the month of October (and November for lollygaggers like me), we are answering the challenge John Goldwater, pastor of Christ Community Church in Grenada, MS, laid out — the #DailyWisdomChallenge. Each day, we are going to read through a chapter of Proverbs corresponding to the day of the month.
This fits with what we have studied in Colossians, specifically Colossians 3:1-2, namely that we should seek “the things that are above, where Christ is” and set our minds like a thermostat “on things that are above, not on things that are on earth”. Imagine what a month meditating on God’s Word daily can do for us.
Won’t you join us on this #DailyWisdomChallenge and set your minds on Christ?
I don’t know about y’all, but I can’t wait because I need it.
I need to be reminded fresh that we gather in remembrance of Jesus’s resurrection (Luke 24:1-6). The reason we gather on the first day of the week is because that is when the stone was rolled away from the tomb, and Jesus, the Man of Sorrows (Isaiah 53:3), rose from the dead by His own divine power (John 10:17-18, John 2:19-21). He fulfilled His promises to return, and His body just stopped being dead (Matthew 28:5-6, Romans 6:9). As Peter put it, “God raised Him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it” (Acts 2:24).
I need to be reminded that I am not the only one struggling with sin and this fallen world (Romans 7:18-25). Part of gathering together is reminding each other that the God who saves and raised from the dead — who promised that He would save, die for our sins, and rise from the grave — is faithful to keep His promises (2 Corinthians 1:20, John 10:28-29, Hebrews 10:23). Part of gathering together is having my brothers and sisters “stir me up” to love and good works (Hebrews 10:24-25). I need to be stirred up or else I will get stuck like a noodle to a hot pot, so I need my faith family to stir me — to lift me — up (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, Galatians 6:2).
I need to be reminded that none of this is all about me. Jesus is Lord (Philippians 2:9-11). Jesus is God (John 1:1-3). All that there is belongs to Him (Colossians 1:16-17, Psalm 24:1). In fact, I belong to Him (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). But rather than be humbled to despondency or insignificance, I get reminded that the King of kings and Lord of lords, God Most High, set His affections on me and saved me because He loves me (Deuteronomy 7:7-8, Ephesians 2:4-5). We all get reminded that He looks upon the weak and lowly with compassion and saves all who call upon the name of the Lord (Psalm 34:18, Romans 10:13).
I need to be reminded that all of this — my life and this world and everything in between — belongs to Jesus (Colossians 1:16-17, Psalm 24:1). I need that specific time set apart specially to worship and focus on Jesus to remind me that all my times should be so set apart (Psalm 46:10, Colossians 3:1-2). I need my focus reoriented. I need my eyes lifted up from the mire and the weights of this world and set on Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-2, Psalm 121:1-2). I need this reorientation turning my life back toward Him like a compass to the north (Psalm 25:4-5, Isaiah 26:3).
Simply put, I need Jesus, and my brothers and sisters in Him need Jesus, too.
Tomorrow, at Christ Community Church, that is what our focus and effort will be aiming at: pointing people, pointing each other, to Jesus.
Our songs will be focused on seeing Jesus as the Bible presents Him. We will see Him as God and be overwhelmed by His magnitude and magnificence (Colossians 1:15-17, Hebrews 1:3). We will see Him as the prophesied man of sorrows who bore our sin and shame to give us life (Isaiah 53:3-5, 1 Peter 2:24). We will see Him as the reigning King who promised to return to rescue us in power and finality (Revelation 19:11-16, Matthew 24:30). We will Him lifting us up and fighting our battles (Romans 8:37). We will see that He has a frightening level of power that humbles us and moves us to worship Him all the more, in awe of what He has done, can do, and will do (Job 26:14, Revelation 5:12-13).
Our time in the Word will see our pastor, John Goldwater, open God’s Word and point us to Jesus.
Our time spent in worship together will remind us of the solidarity that comes from being in a family — dysfunctional as we be — who is bound together by love and common-purpose. I cannot wait to stand to raise my voice in the crowd and hear my brothers and sisters singing to Jesus and proclaim His gospel to me.
What about you?
What are your plans for the LORD’s day?
If you are in or around Grenada, MS, we at Christ Community would to invite you to gather with us and allow us to introduce you to King Jesus.
9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
1 Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 For He grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.
4 Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
Just Keith Harris 