Pastor's Blog

2011-07-26T11:03:00.000-07:00

After 17 wonderful years of being your pastor, I am finally writing my last blog for the bulletin.

We will not say goodbye officially until our last service on August 28. But the clock is ticking

allowing the remaining days to slip by. We wish to thank everyone for your love and support.

For every prayer you prayed for us; for every dollar you gave; for every service you attended;

for every program you supported; we thank you. Although we will soon part, we trust that the

parting will not represent a permanent separation. We hope to be able to return and visit 211 in

the future, maybe the near future. Let's keep each other in our prayers. Farewell.

2011-06-29T15:17:00.001-07:00

Of all the events that have ever occurred in the month of July, the 4th is remembered as the day that gives the 7th month of the year its identity. Two hundred and thirty five years ago our great nation voted on July 2 to separate from England. On July 4, 1776 the Declaration of Independence was signed. But the Revolutionary War that gave us our independence started in 1775 and did not end until 1783. Although we declared our independence, it took seven more years to really obtain that independence.

When a person surrenders his life to the Lord Jesus Christ, it often takes awhile for that victory to be enjoyed fully. We have to fight for it. In fact it won’t be until we get to heaven that ultimate victory will be enjoyed. We can celebrate today, but the real celebration will be at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

2011-05-20T19:44:00.001-07:00

June is named for the Roman goddess of marriage, Juno. Feeling that marriage in June brings good luck, a lot of marriages are performed in this month. For this reason a lot of brides are waiting for their date in June when they and their groom will be united in matrimony. But there is another bride, the Bride of Christ, the Church, that is waiting anxiously for her day which will begin with the Rapture. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the Church is a June bride?

2011-04-25T17:24:00.001-07:00

There are only two months in the year whose names may be used as verbs. They are March and May. In March we talked about marching. In May when it comes to commitment we don’t want to talk about the possibility that we may. Instead of saying, “I may,” let’s say “I will.” So we are officially changing the name of the firth month of the year to “Will.” When it comes to commitment to God and His work, say, “I will.”

2011-03-29T11:38:00.001-07:00

April gets its name from a Latin word meaning “to open,” for April is the month known for the opening of flowers and trees. As winter is the season of things closed, spring is the season of things open. May April be a challenge to all of us to open up to the Lord. Let’s open our mind and mouth to the Master and enjoy the blossoming of revival.

2011-02-23T10:22:00.000-08:00

The word March comes from ancient Rome where March was the first month of the year and was named after Mars, the Roman god of war. March, as a noun, is the name of the third month of our year. March, as a verb, means, “to walk in time and with regular paces, like a soldier.” Considering March as a noun and as a verb, we receive a challenge to march as a soldier of Jesus Christ and to join the battle against Satan and sin. It’s March, so let’s march!

2011-01-26T12:05:00.000-08:00

About all that February has going for it besides cold, snow, and dreary days, is Valentine’s Day. We would not have that if several things in history had not occurred. Although they cannot agree on the origin of Valentine’s Day, one popular explanation is that Valentine, a young Roman Christian was martyred on February 14 by Emperor Claudius II for refusing to give up Christianity. Rumor has it that Valentine, as a priest, defied the emperor’s ban on marriages by marrying young people in secret. According to legend in the 3rd C. after Christ, the Emperor Claudius II did not want any of his soldiers falling in love and marrying because he felt women and families distracted the soldiers from their duty to him. In the 5th C. Pope Galasius issued an edict that February 14 should be set aside as a day to honor Valentine. Now we can marry and have Valentine’s Day.

2010-12-30T12:17:00.000-08:00

Nothing creates enthusiasm like the opportunity to start over. If you have ever messed up and wished for an opportunity to undo and then redo, you know what I am talking about. Although in life’s game, we cannot do this, the closest that we can come to doing this is presented to us at the first of each new year. This is why people make new year’s resolutions. It is the most ideal time of the year to start over. Here we are again at the first of a new year. Whatever happened last year that represented failure and disappointment, let’s start over and have a great year.

2010-12-09T10:53:00.001-08:00

We are rapidly approaching the end of the first decade of the 21st century. The only comforting thing about time flying so fast is that soon we will be flying away to be with the Lord. I’m not talking about death. I’m talking about life, eternal life in Heaven effected by the Rapture of the Church. Whatever you planned to accomplish this year, you have one month left, one-twelfth of the time you had when 2010 began. In 2011 we may be in Heaven. If you are not ready for all of this to transpire, let your motto be, “I’m Going To Decide In December.”

2010-12-09T10:52:00.001-08:00

If October is known for Halloween, November is known for Thanksgiving. And what is Thanksgiving known for? Turkey and dressing dinners with all the trimmings. We only have to examine the word “Thanksgiving” to understand what the meaning of this word is all about. It is a time set aside to give thanks to the Lord. I Thessalonians 5:18 says, “In everything give thanks.” It does not say, “for everything give things” but “in everything.” So in the midst of everything, good and bad, we are to give thanks. Although it is easy to give thanks when things are good, it is not so easy to give thanks then things are bad. But we can always thank the Lord that things are not worse than they are. Let us be thanks givers not only during November but every month of the year. Remember November is not turkey month. It is the month of thanksgiving.

2010-12-09T10:51:00.001-08:00

Unfortunately, when people think of October, they often think of Halloween. And Halloween conjures up thoughts of goblins and ghosts. The ancient Celts believed that the border between this world and the other world became thin on Halloween allowing spirits, both harmless and harmful to pass through. The families’ ancestors were honored and invited home while harmful spirits were warded off. It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks.

Christians do not believe this superstition. We do believe that the border between this world and the other world is thin enough for the Ghost, the Holy Ghost, to come to us and fill us. Let’s not ward off this wonderful Spirit by our costumes of self-righteousness, but let us pull off our masks of hypocrisy and allow His Spirit to go home with us.

2010-08-31T12:29:00.001-07:00

In a Broadway musical produced in 1938 Walter Huston introduced Kurt Weill’s song, September Song. One verse says, “Oh, its a long, long while from May to December, but the days grow short when you reach September.” Concerning the last days, Jesus said, “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened” (Matthew 24:22). The other two lines of that verse of September Song says, “ When the autumn weather turns the leaves to flame, one hasn’t got time for the waiting game.” With the days being shortened, we must not wait to give our best to the Lord.

2010-07-29T14:34:00.000-07:00

The month that we call “August” was once called “Sextillis,” its Latin name. In 45 BC Julius Caesar monkeyed with the months and came up with what is called the Julian Calendar. Finally 37 years later in 8 BC the eighth month was named “August” after Caesar Augustus. We are not so much concerned with the noun, August, as we are the adjective “august”

(pronounced with the accent on the second syllable) which means “marked by majestic dignity or grandeur.” In August we need august men and women to stand up and be counted for God and country. This is what John Walter Foss meant when he said, “Give me men to match my mountains, Give me men to match my plains, Men with freedom in their visions and creation in their veins.”

2010-06-22T20:25:00.000-07:00

The fourth is perhaps the most remembered day of July. It is the day we celebrate our independence from Great Britain. On July 4,1776, the Continental Congress announced that the 13 colonies were now independent states, and thus no longer a part of the British Empire. We declared our independence but had to fight for it for five years before the final victory won. It was even two years after that before the Treaty of Paris officially ended the Revolutionary War.

We can declare our independence from Satan and sin, but we have to fight for it to be a reality. Confrontation always follows declaration, but our spiritual freedom is worth fighting for.

2010-03-29T12:55:00.000-07:00

When God delivered Israel from Egyptian bondage, He told them, “This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you” (Exodus12:2). This month was Abib, or the equivalent of our April. It was appropriate for April to be the first month of the Jewish year, for in April we see nature springing to life much like Israel coming back to life when they left Egypt.

If you have suffered a long winter of discontent, allow the spiritual sap to surge through your dreariness producing the beautiful blooms of a new beginning. Tell the devil, “My winter is over and my spring has begun.”

2010-02-13T18:46:00.001-08:00

I am always encouraged when the month of February rolls around. Winter is a gloomy time of the year with the trees poking their naked fingers to the cold sky.

Some people allow these dismal days to depress them. But when the calendar says February, I know that the next month is March, and Spring begins in March. This helps me to get through the days when everything looks dead to the days when things start coming alive again. Let the lesson of the months encourage you. No matter how dark and dismal life may seem right now, just say, "Next month is Spring." With hope on the horizon it is easier to make it through the "winter of our discontent." Psalms 30:5 says, "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning."

2010-02-13T18:40:00.001-08:00

How exciting and challenging is January! Being the first month of a new year, it is an excellent time to start over and attempt to redo the things we messed up on the previous year. Everyone likes the opportunity to start over. Obviously any day of the year we could do that, but the first of a new year just seems like a better time. Why? The year is starting over. The months are starting over. Therefore we feel that it is just the appropriate time to begin anew. Let us purpose to draw closer to the Lord this year. If you have not been as faithful to the Lord, to your family, and to yourself as you should have been, the calendar is giving you an ideal opportunity to turn over an old leaf and begin a new leaf: January, 2010.

2009-12-01T11:17:00.000-08:00

Each year as we view the Christmas scene of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus in the manger, we are reminded to thank the Lord for coming to this earth to provide salvation for all mankind. Not wishing to take anything away from this blessed event, have you ever noticed the roles in the divine drama played by animals?

How did Mary get to Bethlehem from Nazareth? Although the Bible does not tell us, it is assumed that, especially in her condition, she rode the back of an animal, whether donkey or camel.

Because there was no room in the inn, they were offered what we would call a barn, for there, when Jesus was born, they laid Him in a manger, a feeding trough for animals.

Note that the angel of the Lord appeared immediately to shepherds “abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.” Not only was Jesus born amidst farm animals, the angelic announcement was made to shepherds with sheep all around.

When the days of Mary’s purification following the birth of Jesus were accomplished, Joseph and Mary took Jesus to Jerusalem where they offered a sacrifice prescribed in the law: A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.

We are all aware of the countless number of animals that were offered in the Old Testament to satisfy God’s requirements for sin and worship. This is not an attempt to elevate the status of animals to the place given them by radical animal rights groups. For the Bible says that “Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you” (Genesis 9:3). God also said that man would have dominion over “every thing that creepeth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:26).

I suppose the real purpose of this Christmas letter is to acknowledge the place that animals have in the general scheme of things, and perhaps to remind us that we are to treat them respectfully. The Message Bible renders Proverbs 12:10, “Good people are good to their animals, the “good-hearted” bad people kick and abuse them.”

We wish you and your animals a great Christmas. How should it be a great Christmas for you and animals? They don’t have to be offered anymore for our sins, and we don’t have to die for our sins. Jesus, the Lamb of God, took, not only the animals’ place, but our place, and died that we might have everlasting life.

2009-07-02T14:12:00.000-07:00

The Hebrews' new year started with April, for that was the month in which they were delivered from Egyptian bondage. Their fourth month, then, was July. One of the saddest pages in the history of the Hebrews occurred in July. Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, beseiged and burned Jerusalem after breaking down the walls. He then killed the king's sons, put out his eyes, and took him captive to Babylon.

Don't let July be the month in which the enemy comes in and destroys your home, family, and values. Be strong in the Lord and maintain the walls.

2009-05-27T12:31:00.000-07:00

The month of June witnesses the end of spring and the beginning of summer. Because June is named after Juno, the goddess of marriage, many marriages begin in this month. The month of June usually sees the end of school and the beginning of summer vacation for students. Since June seems to be the month of endings and beginnings, if you are not where you want to be in your walk with the Lord, let June be the end of your carnality and the beginning of your spirituality. Enjoy a spiritual boon in June, soon.

2009-04-27T20:17:00.000-07:00

March and May are the only two months that can be used as verbs. As everyone knows, a verb is a word of action. Although grammatically "may" is considered a word of action, we often use it to indicate the possibility of our doing something such as, "I may serve the Lord," rather than the commitment, "I will serve the Lord." Let's make this the "will month" instead of the "may month." What a beautiful time of the year to not only serve the Lord but to work faithfully for Him.

2009-03-27T21:02:00.000-07:00

Although the meaning of the Latin word from which April is derived is uncertain, it is thought that it could mean "to open," a reference to the month of the year when nature begins to open its blooms. As Spring invites nature to open up and become fruitful in april, the Spirit is inviting us during this month to open up to Him and become fruitful spiritually. If you have been suffering in the winter of your discontent, open up to Him and see what new life He has for you.

2009-03-27T21:00:00.001-07:00

2009-02-26T12:33:00.000-08:00

March is named after Mars, the Roman god of war. March is remembered as the month of the beginning of Spring. It is also the month in which we begin daylight savings time. What a great time to march forward, not only with our clock, but with our agenda to declare war on Satan and to enjoy victory in revival for ourselves and for the church. As God's army for the task that lies ahead, let us march.

2009-02-26T12:19:00.001-08:00