Top Ten Things on the Pastor's To Do List

10) Start using new devotional book

9) Find new devotional book

8) Get on Amazon to replace lost devotional book

7) Set appointment with couple needing pre-marital counseling

6) Find pre-marital counseling materials

5) Get on Amazon to replace pre-marital counseling materials

4) Prepare Bible study on Amillenialism

3) Get a dictionary to find out what Amillenialism means

2) Goal: write a sermon like Max Lucado

1) Get on Amazon to purchase a Max Lucado book

Did you hear the one about the four boys...

Four boys caused a disturbance at the local zoo and were brought in to juvenile court. 

"Boys," said the judge sternly, "I never like to hear reports of juvenile delinquency.  Now I want each of you to tell me your name and what you were doing wrong."

"My name is George," said the first boy, "and I threw peanuts into the elephant pen."

"My name is Larry," said the second by, "and I threw peanuts in the elephant pen."

"My name is Mike," said the third boy, "and I threw peanuts into the elephant pen."

"My name is Peanuts," said the fourth boy.

Let's just praise the Lord!

What do you do when God answers a prayer? You respond with a song of praise!

That's what Hannah did.  As the wife of Elkanah, Hannah desperately wanted to conceive a child.  In spite of their union, Hannah remained barren.  Still, she did not give up.  In chapter one of 1st Samuel, Hannah steadfastly prayed about her desire to conceive a child.  And the good news, according to 1:19 is that "God remembered her."  Hannah did conceive and gave birth to a son, Samuel, who became a great Old Testament prophet.

Hannah's song of praise? 1st Samuel 2:2 - There is no one holy like the Lord.  There is no one besides You! There is no rock like our God!

To pray that God is "holy" is to acknowledge that there is no one whose majesty and glory is greater than God's.  He is above all things.  To pray that "there is no one besides you," is to confess that our God is the one true God.  All others are just pretenders.  To pray that God is "the rock" is to point to the strong fortress of protection He offers His people.  We are moved to join the hymnwriter and sing, "On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand."

Hannah sets a good example for us.  This week let's praise the Lord!  

Wise Words from Luther

"I what we need isn't available to us, we have to rely on God's promises.  If we don't rely on God, we are testing Him."

Martin Luther, "Faith Alone,"  August 17

And what does the Lord require of you?

We have the verse Micah 6:8 -  "And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God" - on a plaque in our home.  While doing some study regarding the meaning of this verse, I found helpful what Cyril Spaude write in the "People;s Bible."

Act Justly.  Act accordingly to God's standard of justice and laid out in His Law.  Worshipping God alone and not idols, trusting in Him alone and not in weapons, acting justly to one's fellowman is showing him no injustice or cruelty in word or deed but treating him like oneself.

Love Mercy.  This God's kind of mercy.  It's the love He shows to us, a forgiving, compassionate love, an unselfish, giving love.  The father of the prodigal son had it; he welcomed back his son with open arms.  The good Samaritan showed it to the hapless victim on the road.

Walk Humbly.  God-pleasing humility is found only in the presence of the holy and just God.  When man sees himself as God sees him, a sinner deserving death, then he will humbly see God's forgiveness in Christ and gladly seek His help to live a godly life according to His will.

Micah 6:8 is really an epitome of the entire Law, of both tables which show man's duty to God and his duty to his fellow man.  See Matthew 22:37-40.

Repentant faith in the Savior is the basis for showing justice, mercy and humility as God requires.  Faith gives us the reason and the gospel gives us the strength to love the Lord our God above all else and our neighbor as ourselves!

It's a Gimme!

Do you know what a "gimme" is? In gold, if a player hits a shot to within a foot or so of the hole, a attempts a putt that falls just short of the cup, the other players may give him the next short without having to putt out,  It's like a gift.  It's the other players acknowledging that the next putt would be made anyway.  It's a gimme!

Whenever I read John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life - I think of the gimme.  Nearly every Christian knows this verse, one of the most precious in all of Scripture.  It speaks of the greatness of God's love for sinful people.  It tells how God made the greatest sacrifice of all - giving His one and only Son to save us from eternal death and to grant us eternal life.  It is pure Gospel.

Martin Luther wrote: "It was not an angel, a principality, or any of the world's mighty who became incarnate and died for us - no, the angelic and the human nature would have been too weak - but it was the divine nature that assumed humanity.  It was Christ who adopted our flesh and blood that we might be saved through Him."

Don't take this good news for granted.  Instead, rejoice! God loves you.  He gave His Son to be your Savior.  Through faith in Jesus, you have eternal life,  Rejoice!

By the way, that's me playing the south course at Torrey Pines in San Diego.  To my back is the Pacific Ocean.  It's a beautiful spot to play golf.  However, my golf game that day was not a beauty:-( 

A ransom for many

Dr. Jack Preus, writing in his book, "Just Words," notes that, "Ransom is a word that evokes the marketplace, particularly the slave market.  The ransom is the price paid to purchase a servant or slave from indenture or slavery,  In Mark 10:48 - For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many - Jesus is playing all the roles.  He is the servant - perhaps it would be better to say slave - standing in our place.  He is the one who came to pay the price for securing our freedom of those in slavery.  And He is the price paid, the ransom required to secure the slaves' freedom.  
Christ is everything in this transaction."

Do we need this ransom payment from Christ Jesus? Absolutely! According to Proverbs 5:22, "The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of sin hold him fast."  Bondage to sin becomes our condition, our way of life.  In John 8:34, "Jesus replied, 'I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin'."  Unless we are somehow freed from this bondage to sin, our future is bleak; spiritual death and eternal separation from God is the fate we face.

But the apostle Paul brings good news! "For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all men."  (1 Tim. 2:5-6)  The price to secure your freedom from sin, death and the devil has been fully paid! Rejoice in the Savior who gave His life as a ransom for you!