Archive for the ‘Gospel’ Category

15 Dec

From the Cradle to the Cross

Posted by sandhillspastor in Advent, Christmas, Culture, Gospel, Incarnation.

Dear readers,

Winter weather appears to have come to stay. We did get a small amount of snow over the weekend, but not enough to create problems. As of this writing, it is cold, but warmer temps are forecast for this week. The big event on most the minds of many is the Christmas holiday just around the corner.

In this Christmas season, I encourage you to look beyond the manger in Bethlehem to the cross of Calvary. The birth of the Savior is worthy of celebration, but the reason for His coming is a greater cause for celebration. When He came, it was into a world tainted by sin. His purpose in coming was to pay the sin-debt of every person ever born. This is the gift of God to those who would understand they were sinners and had nothing to offer that would pay that debt. As is often quoted, “We owed a debt we could not pay, and He paid a debt He did not owe.”

The penalty for our sin was paid at Calvary, when Jesus died on that cross. The proof of that payment was shown in His resurrection. The story began in a manger and ended on a cross. Because of that fact, our salvation is sure. Our responsibility is not to work our way to heaven, but to accept the gift of salvation that Christ has provided to us.

I’m reminded of the chorus of an old song:

“From the manger to the cross, the rugged cross of Calvary
The road that Jesus walked for you and me all alone
By the world forsaken still He shed His blood for me
From the manger to the cross the rugged cross of Calvary.”

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 (John 3:16).

The baby in the manger grew to be the Man who opened the way for us to have eternal life. As the apostle Paul wrote, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15).

As we celebrate Christmas, let us also give God glory for being our Lord and Savior.

Because He lives,

Pastor Jerry

17 Nov

Trust and Obey

Posted by sandhillspastor in Assurance, Faith, Gospel, Marriage, Obedience, Relationships, Trust.

Hello friends,

Again, we have extra nice weather for mid-November. I expect we’ll be paying for these nice days. The past few days have given us an opportunity to get a bit of work done on the house. The shingles on the little bay window overhangs were in sad shape, so over three days we were able to get three hours of work done.

In this there was a lesson in trust between two people in a long-term marriage relationship. To get the shingling done, I had to be lifted to the eave on the tractor loader. Since there were only two of us to get the job done, it fell to Milrae to operate the loader controls. I’m sure many of you have had a similar experience.

I needed to give her directions on operating the loader controls, and she is willing to help, but somewhat anxious about getting it right. If she happens to move the control lever the wrong way, I could find myself on the ground in short order. She trusts me to give right directions, and I must trust her to follow them. I can report that she handled it well; I didn’t get thrown to the ground and the repairs were done.

It reminds me of the old hymn Trust and Obey. It speaks of our need as Christians to trust and obey the Lord Jesus. Trust comes first, as we put our faith in Him to give us proper instructions as we serve Him. When we have faith, we can then obey His commands without fear or hesitation. He says do not fear, for I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20).

Trusting and obeying, in our current culture, are words that are not often well-received. Perhaps you have trusted someone, only to find out they are not trustworthy at all. It is hard to be obedient to someone you cannot trust.

Jesus asks us to trust Him in the everyday things, and to obey His commands. In doing so we can live knowing He is in control and his commands are for our good. “In fact, this is love for God: to keep His commands, And His commands are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3).

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

For Him,

Pastor Jerry

3 Nov

The Light of the World

Posted by sandhillspastor in Discipleship, Evangelism, Gospel, Salt and Light, Salvation, Witness.

Hello all,
Another month has rolled around. With it comes the change back to Standard Time. I, for one, would prefer to have it set one way or the other and stop this twice-yearly craziness.

It seems the world is becoming a darker place at a rapid pace. I’m not referring to the length of daylight hours, but to the sense of spiritual darkness. The Bible tells us that Jesus is the light of the world. When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).

Isaiah, referring to the coming Messiah said, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in darkness, a light has dawned” (Isaiah 9:2). Jesus references this prophecy in Matthew chapter 4; “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned” (vs 15-16).

Speaking of Jesus, John wrote, “In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:4-5).

In writing to the church at Thessalonica, Paul said, “But you brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of the dark world, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12).

The good news is this: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:90).

As we share the gospel with others, we may hear these words that were spoken to me many years ago; “You pointed toward the light and I followed. I was confused and lost, and you pointed the way.” Words that warm my heart even today.

For Jesus,
Pastor Jerry

20 Oct

The Lord’s Patience

Posted by sandhillspastor in Bible, Culture, Eternal Life, Faith, Gospel, Judgment, Salvation, Truth.

Dear friends,

The weather seems to be moving toward the changing of the seasons. It has been much cooler in recent days. There were reports of frost in areas to our north Sunday morning.

Our local network of churches met on Sunday afternoon, and it was encouraging to hear how the Lord is working in each of those ministries. There were reports of increasing church attendance, and growth in the areas of youth groups and Bible studies. Small churches sometimes get overlooked in the grand scheme of things, but I believe they have a big part in God’s plan for getting the Good News out to the world.

In this age of anti-Christian thought, we must be reminded that the Bible is true, and that it contains the Word of God. The skeptics would have us think believing in a loving and just God is a myth. This is a lie from the devil and is designed to make us doubt.

I’m reminded of the words of Peter’s second letter. “Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, ‘Where is this ‘coming’ He promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.’ But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:3-9).

The Lord desires everyone to come to Him, accepting His salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. If you have not done that, why are you waiting? He is patiently waiting for you to admit your sin, repent (turn from) it, and believe that Jesus came to save all who will believe. Do not reject His offer.

For Him,

Pastor Jerry

25 Aug

Two Destinations

Posted by sandhillspastor in Eternal Life, Eternity, God's Word, Gospel, Heaven, Hell, Judgment, Resurrection.

Hello friends,
I am sure a lot of people are enjoying the cooler temperatures. I like it cooler, but not if I’m going to have to wear a sweater or jacket. There will be time for that. In other news, the Lord has provided us with a vehicle to replace the one we wrecked in June. It is a bit older and has high mileage, but as Milrae says, we probably won’t need it for too many years!

Our adult Sunday school finished a series of lessons that took us through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. A statement that struck me in this is; every person will ultimately spend eternity in one of two places, heaven or hell.

Some folks believe that when this life is over, it’s over. They are of the mindset this is all there is. But the Bible is clear that there is an afterlife. Everyone who has ever lived will be resurrected to face final judgment. Those who have placed their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior will be ushered into heaven for eternal fellowship with God and with Jesus.

Those who rejected God’s offer of salvation will be condemned to eternal punishment in hell or the lake of fire, as it is called in Revelation 20:14. We are not all God’s children. The Bible clearly states that only those who have accepted God’s salvation as provided by Jesus’ finished work on the cross are His children. All are created by God but only become His children through faith in Christ. This is referred to as being born again. Jesus said to Nicodemus, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (John 3:3).

Concerning Jesus, John wrote the following, “He was in the world, and although the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him. Yet to all who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God…” (John 1:10-12).

All who have accepted Christ will live with Him forever. However, if anyone’s name is not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15).

Is your name written in the book of life? Are you born again?

In Him,
Pastor Jerry

11 Aug

Victory

Posted by sandhillspastor in Assurance, Gospel, Praise, Worship.

Dear friends,
This week we are dog-sitting while Alex and family are on vacation. It is a bit of a change from our usual routine. I have discovered my ball throwing skills have deteriorated with age, while the dog’s willingness to retrieve it seems never to tire.

My devotional thought for this week comes from the realm of music. I love the old hymns and gospel songs. No matter what the subject, a song or line from a song will enter my mind. This morning it was “Victory in Jesus.”

It begins with the line, “I heard an old, old story, how a Savior came from glory, how he gave His life on Calvary to save a wretch like me”.

I hear people say they have found Jesus. Guess what? Jesus was never lost; we are the ones who were lost. The chorus reads, “He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood.” Jesus was seeking us to save us. His purpose in coming to earth was to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10).

The song writer goes on, “I heard about His healing, of His cleansing power revealing, how He made the lame to walk again and cause the blind to see, and then I cried , “Dear Jesus, come and heal my broken spirit,” and somehow Jesus came and brought to me the victory.

Victory over what, someone might ask. Victory over sin and darkness. The Bible says all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). The one who believes in Jesus Christ as Savior is free from slavery to sin and has been set free from the guilt and shame brought on by his disobedience to God’s will. Our sin has separated us from God, but that relationship is restored through faith in the One who died to pay our sin debt.

The song concludes with these words, “I heard about a mansion He has built for me in glory. And I heard about the streets of gold beyond the crystal sea; About the angels singing, and the old redemption story, and some sweet day I’ll sing up there the song of victory.”

If you have placed your faith in Jesus, you too, will join the angels in singing praise to Him. Remember, the shepherd went searching for the lost sheep. The sheep was not seeking the shepherd.

In Him,
Pastor Jerry

21 Jul

Differences

Posted by sandhillspastor in Eternal Life, Faith, False teachers, Gospel, Salvation, The Good News.

Dear readers,
It is amazing how quickly we can go from being dry all winter to the place where people are complaining about the rain. Let us remember, it can get from wet to dry in a very short time.

Our devotional thought this week concerns the difference between religion and faith. There is a marked difference between the two. Religion is the number one substitute for genuine faith. Religion convinces you are worthy and then gives you a list of things to make yourself more worthy.

Religious people would rather have a religion that just teaches you to live a good life, to be a social activist, to be generous, to be a better you, to be better a dad and husband and partner, to live strong. As Christianity has gone mainstream, people have corrupted it to say just that.

That is not the gospel. The gospel is that you have no worthiness. All your righteousness is like a filthy rag. Isaiah says it best, “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.”

We have no righteousness of our own. God created us, and we have precious worth in his sight. But sin caused us to be separated from God. We need to be saved, rescued, born again. Those words may sound backward and uneducated and even old fashioned to the world, but they are the words of eternal life.

The religious almost always reject those truths because they like to see themselves as respectable. Jesus points out that religious people will miss the party, that is, heaven, because they refuse to acknowledge that they are unworthy. That’s why they don’t take Jesus seriously.

Jesus says in Matthew 5 that only the poor in spirit will inherit heaven. The poor in spirit say, “Maybe I’ve done some good things, but even my good things were done for bad motives. My kindness was mixed with self-righteousness and selfishness. Oh, wretched man that I am! Every part of me is stained with sin.”

The poor in spirit see Jesus’ invitation for what it is; something they are desperate without.

The bottom line is this: It is not about our “religion”, it is a relationship with the Lord Jesus that saves us.

For Him,
Pastor Jerry

7 Jul

Faith Brings Freedom

Posted by sandhillspastor in Eternal Life, Faith, Freedom, Gospel.

Dear friends,
Here we are in the month of July already. It was a wonderful weekend of celebrating our independence here at the lake. There were many families present to enjoy the activities. As usual, the fireworks display was the “best ever”.

Celebrating our freedom here in the good old USA reminds me to celebrate what the Lord has done for us. We are told in the Bible that as believers, we have been set free from slavery to sin. As we receive the gift of salvation through His finished work on the cross, we are promised eternal life in the presence of God. This is truly something to celebrate; not just one weekend a year, but every hour of every day.

In Paul’s letter to the church, he says, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery… You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love” (Galatians 5:1,13).

Peter wrote, “Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God” (1 Peter 2:16).

Jesus, speaking to the Jews, had this to say, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:34-36).

Romans chapter six reminds us, “You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness…When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness…but now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life” (verses 18, 20, 22).

Paul writes in Colossians 3, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you will also appear with Him in glory” (Colossians 3:1-4).

That, my friends, is true freedom!

For Him,
Pastor Jerry

28 Apr

The Only Way

Posted by sandhillspastor in Eternal Life, Eternity, Faith, Gospel, Salvation, Truth.

Hello friends,
Rain! We have finally seen some rain, although not a huge amount we are grateful to the Lord for His provision.

There are many in the world who, if they believe in heaven at all, think it can be obtained by doing good deeds or following some set of rules. The Bible teaches otherwise. In the very familiar John 14:6, the Lord Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Sinners need a Savior. “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God,” we are told (Romans 3:23). Speaking of Jesus, the apostle Peter told his audience, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). This means we have direct access to God only through the Lord Jesus. We need no one else to intercede on our behalf. There is no other one or any other way to connect with God.

If we believe that God is the God of creation, we must also believe he is the God of salvation. He has provided a way for us to enter heaven, and it is not by any good works we might do. Ephesians 2:8-9 reads, “For it is by grace you are saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”

To those who are depending on works, Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you. Away from me you evil doers.’” (Matthew 7:21-23).

Again, Jesus says He is the way, not one of many ways. Proverbs reminds us, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death” (Proverbs 14:12).

The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him (Lamentations 3:24).

Blessings,
Pastor Jerry

14 Apr

What Do You Believe?

Posted by sandhillspastor in Cross, Easter, Eternal Life, Faith, Gospel, Resurrection.

Hello friends,
. My how the wind does blow here in Nebraska. I have said before that it takes a little wind for the windmills to pump water, but lately it has been a bit extreme.

It is Easter week, meaning that as Christians we acknowledge the apparent tragedy of Good Friday and celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ on Sunday. I am glad God sent His Son to save the world from sin (Matthew 3:16).

Every person is given the opportunity to accept the gift of salvation. It is the will of God that all will believe, but there are many who will not. In the words of Jesus, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him” (John 3:35). In another place He says, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life” (John 5:24).

I recently read the following: In order for a person to appreciate the gift of salvation, they must believe they are being saved from something. That ‘something’ called sin. Sin is disobedience to God’s commands. Sin came into the world because Adam disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, therefore everyone is born with sin in their nature. Scripture says, “but now a righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:21-23).

Sin is the thing from which we must be saved, and no one is righteous on his or her own. It only comes through faith in Christ. When we finally realize the only one to whom we can compare ourselves is the sinless Son of God, we are driven to confess our sins and ask for His forgiveness.

If we confess our sins, He Is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives (1 John 1:9-10).

For Him,
Pastor Jerry

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