For this is the will of God, your sanctification 1 Thessalonians 4:3
 
 
The word sanctified simply means “set apart for purpose” ( Wiersbe’s Expository Outline on the New Testament)
 
     I have heard people ask, “What is God’s will in for my life?” The answer……sanctification. Christians are to be set apart from the normal or logical way of thinking that the world employs. Ask yourself what does it mean to be a Christian; what makes you as a Christian different than the world?
 
First, as a Christian you must always remember you are no longer your own; you belong to God. The ultimate purpose of the Christian is to bring God glory and honor. Your life is no longer your own or just about you.
 
Second, when becoming a Christian, you become the bride of Christ. Your actions and thoughts are to be exclusively His and not shared with the world. Just as God ordained marriage between one man and one woman, He ordained the Christian walk to be between Himself and His bride. This was made clear when He said, “You shall worship no other gods.” (Exodus 34:14)
 
Third, God called you to be a vessel of honor. A vessel of honor because you are the temple of the Holy Spirit. To indulge in any behavior or action that is dishonoring to this vessel will dishonor God and fail to show that you have been set apart. Do not linger in sin allowing it to control you. The world may tell you indulgence in behavior unfitting for a Christian is normal, but for the Christian it is abnormal.
 
Christ did not die so that you would continue in sin but to set you free from the bondage that enslaved you and ultimately cost you more than you can imagine. You are to be more that conquerors in Christ. Possess your vessel in Holiness and Honor for it is the will of God and your calling as a Christian.
 
Because of His Grace ~ Pastor David

     I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. John 12: 46 ESV

When I was a young child, I remember a sleepless night due to limited light in my bedroom. This small amount of light only allowed me to see shapes of different items in the room, causing my imagination to run wild. I saw a man standing in the corner and a wild animal on the dresser ready to pounce. There were other images I saw that night that were all lies, and because of the low light and a wild imagination, I was robbed of rest. Hours I laid in bed with my focus dancing from lie to lie, only because I could not see the truth of what the objects really were. The morning sun rose and light began to fill the room and my needless fear was relieved as I saw each item for what it really was. When my fears were relieved, I closed my eyes and fell into a deep relaxing sleep….no more fear. I was surrounded by light. Three things Jesus reminds us of with the words he spoke in John 12:46.

     I have come into the world as light: The world can be a cold dark place, but when His light illuminates the darkness that overwhelms our souls, we can see. See hope where there might have been despair. See joy in the mist of sadness. See life where once death was the victor. See God as He really is … as light. God is light, and in him is no darkness. 1 John 1: 5b Jesus is God made flesh and is the light in our lives that will remove the fear of uncertainty.

     So that whoever believes in me: Believing is important because whatever you believe will determine how you live. The person that does not believe in Jesus lives knowing that he/she will one day die. The person that lives believing in Him will live knowing they will never die.

    May not remain in darkness: When using a flashlight, you can see far enough ahead of you to be comfortable when taking the next step. The darkness of sin overwhelms the souls of men that walk and stumble in its darkness. Jesus obviously is more than a flashlight, but the principle applies when traveling through life. Jesus is the guiding light of the soul that is overcome in the darkness of sin. He is the light that will lead you to an abundant life in Him when you confess your sin, repent, and believe. Believe that He is the light of the world.

Because of His Grace ~ Pastor David

     Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead. Philippians 3:13 ESV

     There are those who live so much in the past that it makes it difficult to move forward. It can be important to reflect on past experiences but to live there can inhibit new experiences and opportunities. There are some experiences and past mistakes in life that are best forgotten, but many times those seem to linger in our memories the most. Satan is more than willing to remind you of failures in your life. Jesus, however, is more than willing to forget your past and give you a future worth living. More than one time were people’s failures staring them in the face in the presence of Jesus, and He would do a precious work in their lives making them new. Jesus was and is merciful, forgiving, kind, loving, and more than our vocabulary could ever express. This is why in Paul’s writing of Philippians 3:13 he made three important statements.

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own:
The life Paul lives, after coming to know Jesus as Savior, was dramatically different than his life before Christ. Paul could have bragged more than anyone concerning self righteousness, but to live in his past perceived righteousness would never allow him to see his need for Jesus. It wasn’t until Jesus appeared and spoke to Paul on the road to Damascus that Paul saw himself for who he really was without Jesus. A man lost and without righteousness needed to experience eternal life… The righteousness that can only come through Jesus Christ. 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, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Titus 3: 4-7 ESV

But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind:
I would dare say that Satan was more than willing to remind Paul of his past. I believe Paul made every effort to forget his unchangeable past to focus on his incomprehensible future with Christ. When I remember things that I wish I had done differently in my life, I remind myself of the grace in which I experienced and have in Christ. This grace and mercy causes me to love Jesus more because he chose to forgive me rather than condemn me. This is what Jesus did in the life of Paul, in my life, and in the lives of any who will believe and follow him. Remember the woman whom Jesus forgave; this is what he said of her. “Therefore I tell you, her sins which are many, are forgiven – for she loved much . But he who is forgiven little , loves little.” Luke 7: 47 ESV  The only thing we should reflect upon from our past is how much for which we have been forgiven. This will cause you to love Jesus and others much and to be merciful to others the way Christ was towards you. Other than that remembrance … move forward.

Straining forward to what lies ahead:
What does lie ahead in our lives? We don’t always know, but what we do know is that God knows and when we put our trust in Him, we can face the uncertainties of life. It is called faith, and in pleasing God, we must learn to grow in faith. God desires for us to trust him with our whole being. I don’t know about you but sometimes that might be the straining part. We can become so self reliant that we forget God. Our flesh can be so strong, in self will, that God is an after thought. I know that in the most difficult times in my life I would cry out to God, and in those times I grew closer to Him, for I realized my abundant need for Him. It is called growing in faith and perhaps God allowed those times to draw us closer to him. Let me encourage you to strain forward no matter what the circumstance in you life… good or bad. You need to know God will never leave you. Make it a point in your life never to leave Him, be faithful and live in faith even when life might not make sense. God said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrew 13 :5b

      Be encouraged in the new year for God already knows all that will happen, and He has chosen to make you a part of it. Live it to the fullest until the Lord calls you home. The day belongs to the Lord, for he has made it. Rejoice. Don’t live in the past for which you cannot change nor improve. Move forward in the Lord living intentionally for Him to bring Him much glory.

Because of this Grace ~ Pastor David

    She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.  Matthew 1: 21 ESV
 
     Christmas, the most wonderful time of the year! At lest that is what I heard expressed in a song on the radio. I tend to agree with the song, but there are some who would beg to differ. For me, I enjoy the season and the gathering of family and friends. I enjoy hearing and saying, “Merry Christmas” to and from those I meet. It seems to be a time when people are a bit more merciful to one another. A time when it feels a bit more peaceful. Not all would agree with my description or feelings. They miss loved ones who are absent for one reason or another. They do not desire to share nor feel the sentiment of Merry Christmas. Perhaps they would even agree with Mr. Scrooge when he says, “Baugh.. Humbug.” People do not seem more merciful to them and it defiantly isn’t peaceful for them. I suppose it depends in how you want to view things, for I believe life is a choice. It does seem to be easier and sweeter for some, or is it that they just choose for it to be so. I know for me; I could feel some of the second person described, for I have experienced some of the narratives as described, but I choose JOY. Some days are easier than others in making this choice but never the less, I choose JOY. Why? Because there is another song I have heard and it says, “Joy to the world the Lord has come.” I believe He, the Lord, is the reason for the season and this reason reminds us who He is.
 
HE IS THE SON: The Son of God coming and given to the world because of love. For to us a child is born, a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder. Isaiah 9:6a ESV  Not just any son but God made flesh in His Son. And the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1: 14 ESV …. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son. John 3:16a ESV
 
HE IS JESUS: The sweetest name I know, and I know it is to many. By Jesus, The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. Matthew 11:5 ESV  You might be temped to say “I’ve never seen nor experienced this.” Really? If you are a Christian, you have been given spiritual eyes to see, the ability to walk in the Lord, able to hear spiritual truth, and have been made alive in Christ. I know you have heard the gospel of the good news preached.
 
HE IS THE SAVIOR: For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 ESV  If you know you have a home in heaven, it is only because Jesus paid the debt of your sins. It was necessary for Jesus to be born in order for us to receive eternal life by Him. If there was any other way, then His birth, death, and resurrection was all for nothing. By faith we believe and receive the precious gift of eternal life. The greatest gift of Christmas to us was Jesus, God’s only Son….born to die that we might live.
 
     As you reflect on this day, do not let the past rob you of the JOY of the present and future. Make the choice to live in JOY for it may be the only light enabling some to see in a dark world. A light that will be as the star that lead the wise men to him. May the light of Christ burn so brightly in you that others see the truth of the miraculous birth of Jesus.
 
Because of His Grace ~Pastor David

     May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace believing, so that by the power of the
Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Romans 15:13 ESV

 
When I think of the topic of HOPE, the chorus that always comes to mind is… “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus name.” Jesus- the name above all names. (Philippians 2: 9-11) Truly our hope is in the truth of the baby boy born in Bethlehem to be the Savior of the world. Emanuel, God with us in the flesh born to save us from our sins…. The perfect lamb of God. If a person places hope in anything or anyone other than Jesus, it will be a hope that eternally will be disappointing. Hope without Jesus is a temporary hope at best. What does the Christian hope look like?

UNASHAMED… Hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5:5 ESV God has poured His life into ours. We were dead in sin and now as Christians, we are filled with the Holy Spirit. Filled with life because God has made it so by His own choice. He did not have to send His Son. He did not have to let him die. He did not have to adopt us as his children. But He did this, by his own choice, so my hope is built upon Him and not in myself to live good enough rather to love Him much because he first loved me.

BOLD…. Since we have such a hope, we are very bold. 2 Corinthians 3:12 ESV We are bold because Jesus has set us free from the power of sin and death. We are able to face death with no fear because we live in the power of the living God. This power is living in us by the Holy Spirit! We can be secure in this fact that we are His and no one or anything will separate us from His Love. ( Romans 8:31-39)

FREE … For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life Christ Jesus our Lord Romans 6:23 ESV …. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:2 ESV We are unashamed and bold because we have been set free from the consequence of our sins by God through His Son Jesus. We should live as free and not be entangled in what steals our freedom to begin with…. sin. Sin and the memory of sin will always burden you with the chains that hold you, but the hope in which we live in Christ will set us free. Free, because God has made it so. The Bible teaches us that, If we confess or sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 ESV This is the hope that I want to live out loud in my life. A life set free by God.
 
Let me close this day with this passage. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Romans 15:13 ESV
 
Because of His Grace ~ Pastor David

      In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loves us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. 1 John 4:9-10 ESV

      The love of God is greater than words could ever explain. So how can a person even begin to attempt explaining His love for us? In attempting to do so, one would need to look to the life that was, is, and will always be as lived by Jesus. (Hebrew 13:8) Love is most often shown more than spoken. You may say to someone, “I love you,” but to show someone that you love them by actions will always speak louder than your words. That is exactly what God did when He sent His only Son to save us from our sins. I am not sure who first made this statement, “He became like us so that we could become like Him,” but it speaks volumes for us who recognized our need for a Savior. Why would God, who answers to no one, choose to save us from our sin rather than just erase us from existence and start over when sin happened? The answer…… LOVE. Not by just words but action.

GOD BECAME FLESH: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the word was God. John 1:1 ESV …… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 ESV.  In the town of Bethlehem some two thousand years ago this became a reality. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. Luke 2:7 ESV  Shepherds were the first to hear this great news as told them by the angel. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11 ESV

GOD GAVE HIS SON: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be save through him. John 3:16-17

GOD GAVE US SALVATION: For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:9 ESV ….. And there is salvatoin in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12 ESV  Salvation was made possible because God became flesh by giving His only Son to receive the punishment for our sins. This is action that speaks louder than words. What more could God do to prove His love for you? Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13 ESV  No one loves you more than God! Never has, never will.

 Because of His Grace ~ Pastor David

     Without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6 ESV

     Faith in God is not believing because you can see Him, but it is believing in God even though you cannot see Him, and with confidence, believing and trusting everything about Him to be true. Faith is not looking for Him hoping He exists; it is looking for Him knowing He exists. This is the kind of faith that pleases God because this is a child-like faith that simply trusts in Him as God. This faith believes the words of God from the past, in the present, and for the future.

 PAST:

     By faith we believe in the immaculate conception and virgin birth of Jesus, God’s only Son.  And the Angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.”  Luke 1:30-31 ESV … And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy -the Son of God.” Luke 1:34-35 ESV …. For nothing will be impossible with God. And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be according to your word.” Luke 1:37-38 ESV

PRESENT:

     By faith, we believe that Jesus has commissioned us to tell the gospel of His coming and acknowledge that He is with us always.  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 I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.  Matthew 28:19-20  ESV

FUTURE:

     By faith we believe our future to be secure.  Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. John 14:1-3 ESV

     True faith in the past, present, and future concerning the things of God will determine how you live. You will live as shepherds seeing, as wise men seeking, and a sojourner traveling through. Faith teaches that this world is not your home because you have a Savior that has given you a heavenly citizenship. Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 3:20 ESV May I encourage you to live in faith, not only believing in thought, but in faith that causes you to believe with action – Faith that changes how you live because you realize you have a Savior. The Savior, Jesus, God’s only Son that became flesh and lived with us in the world. A Savior that became like us yet without sin, so that we might become like him in whom there is no condemnation.

Because of His Grace ~ Pastor David