Archive for the ‘Gospel’ Category

8 Jun

Campground Meditations

Posted by sandhillspastor in Blessings, Christian Living, Faith, Fellowship, Gospel, Heaven, renewal, Rest, Worship.

Work is nearing completion on the addition to the house. Our attention will turn now to finishing the landscaping and some interior projects. I hope this means we will begin to really enjoy our surroundings and spend time getting to know our neighbors better.

Today I want to share some thoughts from time spent in a secluded campsite. As I sat enjoying the quiet early morning, it came to me than only in the country, with a setting of grass, trees, and water do we get back to the pure, uncontaminated world that the Creator desired. It doesn’t matter if the water is a stream, a lake, or the ocean. There is a little plaque on our wall at the lake house that says, “Heaven is a little closer by the water”, and I think it is true.

Almost any other place we visit shows more of sins corrupting influence on nature and mankind. This is part of why it seems right to just get away. In doing this, we perhaps sense the nearness of God in a much more real, dare I say intimate way. To come apart, as it were, from the distractions of being in the city, at the office, or even in a crowd of people anywhere. I believe a certain amount of intentional solitude is good for body and soul, much more than most people realize.

Jesus often went away by himself to pray, as we see in the following verses. “After he had dismissed them (the crowd of people), he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone” (Matthew 14:23). “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Luke 5:16). I wonder if those lonely places might have been by a stream or mountain lake.

Then this: When many people were coming and going, Jesus said to his disciples, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. (Mark 6:31-32).

The advice He gave his disciples is perhaps even more important to us today, in this high speed, high pressure environment. “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” May you find that quiet place this week.

Resting in Him,
Pastor Jerry

27 Apr

A Cat Story

Posted by sandhillspastor in Bible, Blessings, Eternal Life, Faith, Forgiveness, Freedom, Gospel, Praise, Salvation, Sin, Temptation, The Good News, Truth.

It was a busy weekend. Much time was spent driving and sitting in meetings, and I am glad to be home. More on that later. Today I want to give you a cat story.

We have a sliding patio door leading onto our back deck. The corner of the screen has been damaged and there is a square of cloth covering the hole. Over time, our cat and dog have used it for a pet door. Last week, a stray cat came through it into the house.

We tried several times to get him out. The first time he came to the door, he could not see how he came in. I opened the screen and we brought him around again. Still, he must have thought the screen was closed. He ran to the bathroom. We chased him back to the door. He hid under a bed. Finally, he took a chance and jumped out through the wide open door. He didn’t even come back and thank us.

Temptation many times seem harmless, so we take a small step into it, and find ourselves trapped. We cannot find the way out, even when loving, caring Christians try to help us see it. They show us from the Bible that Jesus is the way to freedom, but we refuse to believe them or to see their sincerity. Finally, out of desperation we take a chance, step through that door, and are set free.

Jesus says not only am I the door, I am the only door (or gate). I am the way, the truth and the life (John 10:9; John 14:6).

I visited with a young man this week, and found that he is a pastor to prisoners and people in recovery. He shared he had come to faith in Jesus out of that kind of background. Here are his words: There were people who tried to show me the way out of that lifestyle, but I would not listen. I wish I could find some of them, tell them what happened, and thank them.

If you have experienced that freedom, thank those who showed you the way. If you are one trapped in sin, Jesus is the way out. Place your faith in Him, your sins will be forgiven, and you will be set free. The Bible tells me so. (See John 6:37).

Free in Christ,
Pastor Jerry

6 Apr

On Blessings and Trials

Posted by sandhillspastor in Blessings, Christian Living, Easter, Faith, Gospel, Praise, Rest, The Good News.

You may have noticed there was no article from me last week. I had one of those springtime colds that left me no desire to do anything, except to survive. I am much better now, thank you.

I’ll give you a brief recap of the missing week: It started Monday with a trip on to Grand Island to get some things for the lake house. On my way home from Grand Island with the little trailer behind the van, I stopped for gas and realized I had lost the trailer. To say I was surprised, would be an understatement. On examination, I discovered the receiver hitch pin was missing, as was the hitch and trailer.

It was a little like the Bible story of the woman who had ten coins and lost one. She went to great lengths to find the lost one. I have several trailers, and I was not one bit concerned about the ones left at home, but was very interested in finding the lost one. I did find the trailer and its cargo sitting upright and in great condition, parked in the edge of a cornfield beside the highway. This was cause for celebration and praise to the Lord for keeping it safe and out of the way of others on the road.

Tuesday, there was a visit to the tax man. The blessing of that was, in spite of a fairly large amount of tax due the IRS, it could have been much worse.

In the middle of the week, came the beginning of the aforementioned cold or flu, whatever it was. I even stayed home from church that Sunday and let someone else preach in my place.

Last week was spent regaining my strength and motivation, and it ended yesterday celebrating the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus with many of our church family. I also had the privilege of conducting a baby dedication service just prior to the Easter message.

It was a couple of weeks of blessing and trial, with the several blessings making the trials seem less important. Looking back, I see that the happenings of the last 14 days allowed me to pause and see what matters most. It begins with my faith in the Risen Lord, and knowing that He is in charge of every situation, good or bad.

In His grip,
Pastor Jerry

16 Mar

On Updates

Posted by sandhillspastor in Bible, Change, Christian Living, Faith, God's Word, Gospel, Holy Spirit, Prayer, renewal.

Dear readers,
Thursday, I went to Topeka, Kansas for a meeting. As I drove down highway 281, I saw power company workers stringing new wires along a line of new poles. This is being done to update the system in order to meet projected demands for electric power. Just last week our immediate area experienced a 6 hour outage, so work could be done on the new lines. It was a reminder how dependent we are on our electric system.

I believe we Christians, people who look to Jesus as our source of power for living, sometimes neglect our power source. By that, I mean we do not stay close to Him in our daily walk. It seems we get into maintenance mode, and just do the basics. We may attend church occasionally, or maybe think about reading a few verses of scripture now and then.

At our meeting Friday morning, we were challenged as pastors to update our technology, with a thought that neglecting those updates would be detrimental to our ministries. The idea is to keep current on ways to communicate the gospel to the people. There is a real danger of becoming stagnant and ineffective as God’s servants, if we neglect those periodic updates.

Have you been tapping your power source to its full potential? What about updating your relationship with the Lord? Have we slipped into maintenance mode? Has our connection to the church become a random post of a ‘religious’ sounding meme on Facebook?

Verses that come to mind include Hebrews 10:25. “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another…”
“Come near to God and he will come near to you…” (James 4:8a).
“I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being” (Paul in Ephesians 3:16).
“May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father…encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word” (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17).

In our world of electronic communication, we need to stay updated. Why should it be any less important to update the connection to our Source of spiritual well-being?

Could it be time for a spiritual update? Do we need to get out of maintenance mode and rebuild that connection to our Father in heaven?

Just thinking,
Pastor Jerry

23 Feb

On the Relevancy of Scripture

Posted by sandhillspastor in Bible, End Times, Evil deeds, Faith, God's Word, Gospel, Sin, The Good News, Truth.

Here is one more article concerning false teachers present today, then we’ll move on. I think it is important to point out some of the ideas about the Bible that are floating around out there.

A preacher of some renown, named Rob Bell, several years ago wrote a book promoting the idea that there is no literal hell, and that Jesus would eventually save everyone. Let me tell you right now, the Bible nowhere teaches such heresy. Now, this same person, appearing on a popular television program, announced that the church was on the verge of total commitment to same-sex marriage.

He went on to say that if the church wants to be relevant in our day, she needs to stop depending on what he called “2,000 year-old letters”.

Personally, I will continue to depend on those old letters we call God’s Word, the Bible, for judging what is true, and what is false. Contrary to what this man promotes, I believe the Bible is totally relevant to this discussion.

In 2 Peter, chapter 2, we get a vivid picture of the destination of those who distort God’s Word, and deceive their followers. That place is called hell, and it is definitely not a place of enjoyment.

As a pastor, I understand that I have a great responsibility to correctly handle God’s Word, and to speak it clearly. The Bible is no less relevant that it has ever been. May it always be so!

“Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly” (James 3:1).

Finally, this: “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” (2 Timothy 4:3).

In Truth,
Pastor Jerry

16 Feb

On Being Ready

Posted by sandhillspastor in Bible, Christian Living, End Times, Faith, Gospel, Persecution, Salvation, Second Coming, The Good News, Truth.

Hello all,
Sunday evening we held our 9th annual Valentine supper. I think it is safe to say everyone in attendance was glad they came. Thanks to those who decorated, took reservations, and helped out in any other way. Special thanks to the catering crew for a great meal, and to Pastor Don for his special brand of music and cowboy poetry.

In news from the lake house, the sun porch continues on its way to completion. We had hoped to get some siding on, but the colder temperatures have slowed those plans. Maybe I can get the kitchen remodel finished up instead.

As we see events in the world unfolding, I am once again reminded of the Bible’s teaching concerning the times and events preceding the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the 24th chapter of Matthew’s gospel, we read the words of Jesus. He is speaking to his disciples: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. These are the beginning of birth pains. Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me” (Matthew 24:7-9). He goes on to say, “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (verse 36).

What should be our response to this teaching? He follows with these words: “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him” (verses 42-44).

How are we to be ready? By confessing our sin, asking His forgiveness, and turning from our sinful ways. I do not write these things to frighten you. My prayer is that all who read these weekly articles would answer the Lord’s invitation to receive His gift of salvation. It is by and through making Him our Lord and Savior that we are able to face tomorrow, and the challenges it may bring.

In His love,
Pastor Jerry

2 Feb

Finishing Well

Posted by sandhillspastor in Bible, Christian Living, Eternal Life, Faith, Giving, God's Word, Gospel, Salvation, The Good News, Truth, Work.

Winter has returned. Snow, wind, and sub-zero temperatures Sunday morning, caused many churches to cancel services.

Like millions of others, I watched the Super Bowl Sunday night. I had no strong preference of which team I wanted to win, but was somewhat surprised by the ending. In all, I thought it was a good game.

One of the big draws for the Super Bowl is all the new advertising that is debuted during the game. In kind of an ironic twist, at least one of those ads indicated that cheating was okay as a means to win the race.

As I remember the story, when the turtle and the hare had their race in the old fairy tale, the turtle won by taking a slow and steady pace, defeating the speedier rabbit.

We are told in the Bible the one who runs the best race is the one who keeps his eye on the finish line, not being distracted by things going on around him. The writer of Hebrews said, “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1).

The Apostle Paul said, “I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—“(Acts 20:24). Then, near the end of his life, Paul wrote, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).

To the church at Corinth, Paul exhorted his readers to run in such a way as to get the prize (1 Corinthians 9:24).

In each of these examples, the emphasis is on finishing well, not so much being first across the finish line. How does a Christian finish well? Only one thing mattered to Paul: to finish the work God had given him to do. We do not have the same calling as Paul, but the following applies to all Christians.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:8-10).

In Him,
Pastor Jerry

26 Jan

Post Only These Things

Posted by sandhillspastor in Bible, Christian Living, Evil deeds, Faith, God's Word, Gospel, Great Commission, Hypocrisy, Salvation, Sin, The Good News, Truth.

Dear friends,
The month of January has had its ups and downs. I think this would describe the temperature fluctuations we have experienced. I, personally, am glad for the warm-up of recent days. In news from the remodeling at the lake house, the kitchen project is winding down, and work is progressing on the sunroom that started out as a deck. I hope to get the walls up and the roof on it before it rains or snows again. Prayers appreciated.

For our devotional thought this week, I would like to address an issue that concerns me. It is the quality of some of the things Christian people post on social media. I am not opposed to social media. In fact, most of you get these articles by way of email, Facebook, or a link to one of my blogs. Even the newspaper version is sent weekly by email. If God’s people are to be light and salt to the world, and if we are to live in a way that reflects the holiness of God, why would we post these most profane and innuendo laden memes, comments, and photos for the whole world to see?

Not everyone does these things, but I see enough of it to be concerned. Is it any wonder so many people don’t see a reason to invite Jesus into their life? If Christian behavior isn’t any different from the rest of the world, why join them?

Here are some scriptures that just might cause us to think twice about those things we put out there on social media.

“Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did” (1 John 2:6).

“But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language from your lips (and Facebook pages) (Colossians 3:8).

“But among you, there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality or of any kind of impurity…because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place…” (Ephesians 5:3-4).

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—post these things” (Philippians 4:8 Pastor Jerry’s version).

It would benefit all of us to consider these things before posting anything.

In Christ’s love,
Pastor Jerry

19 Jan

Identifying False Teachers

Posted by sandhillspastor in Bible, Christian Living, Evil deeds, God's Word, Gospel, Salvation, Sin, Temptation, Truth.

The January thaw is under way in our part of the world. The snow is melting away and everyone just has a better outlook. We were able to get some outside work done on the lake house, including the construction of steps, so we don’t have to climb on concrete blocks to get to the front door. This will greatly reduce the risk of injury, especially for someone getting along in years…

My current sermon series is from the Apostle Peter’s second letter. In it, he addresses the issue of false teachers in the church. You see, the presence of false teachers in the church is nothing new. They were present in the Old Testament in the form of false prophets; men who claimed to speak for God, but did not. Later in New Testament times, men came into the church with teaching that downplayed the importance of faith in Jesus, and obedience to his commands. Much of their false teaching was centered on immoral behavior and the idea that because of grace, they could engage in all kinds of immorality without fear of judgment.

Those false teachings are present in churches today. Some are preaching and teaching a “new morality”, much of which is disguised as “civil rights” along with other misleading definitions of sin. Let’s be clear about this. There is no new morality, it is only the old immorality repackaged. God’s judgment awaits those who teach this false gospel, and those who follow them.

Peter writes concerning false teachers: “They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute” (2 Peter 2:2-3).

There are four things to learn from our study: First, the church is not immune to false teachers. They are among us today. Second, promoting sexual immorality is heresy. It goes totally against God’s word. Third, Gods judgment is coming upon those who deny or reject the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Last, and most important, all sinners will be saved from judgment if they repent (that is turn from their sin), and trust the Lord Jesus, who bought them by His blood.

To Him be praise and honor and glory and power, forever and ever. Amen.

In Truth,
Pastor Jerry

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