Archive for the ‘Gospel’ Category

17 Jun

A Backward Glance

Posted by sandhillspastor in Assurance, Best Life, Change, Faith, Gospel, Planning.

Hello friends,

Reflecting on the past can be beneficial. Early last week, we took a trip down memory lane and decided to drive past the place where we spent our first four and a half years of married life. It was sobering to see only weeds growing up where our little house used to be. There were some recognizable landmarks, but little remains of what was there. Memories came back, but I wouldn’t want to go there again.

There are some who want to live in the past, and I don’t mind visiting there now and then, but when it comes to living there, no thank you! I’m with the apostle Paul who wrote, “forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:13-14).

I don’t believe it is wrong to take a backward glance now and then, just to be reminded of our journey to the present. There are exceptions, but to try living in the past can be disheartening, especially if we continually ask ourselves, “what if”? As Christians our focus needs to remain on the Lord Jesus, so that we don’t go astray. As one who came to faith later in life, I can look back and see God’s hand at work in my life, even as I had no idea at the time that he was directing my steps. I would not want to relive that experience, making all those mistakes over again.

Each one of us has a story, and I would hope our story would be our testimony of how God has drawn us to himself. Proverbs 16:9 tells us, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” Also, Proverbs 19:21: Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.

In all our moves and job changes, it is evident that God was bringing me back to the place I grew up, for me to attend the little church down the road. In that place, I learned that I needed a Savior and all my so-called works meant nothing.

Wherever you are in life, God is leading you to the place He wants you to be. Don’t mistake the journey for the destination.

In His grip,

Pastor Jerry

27 May

It’s Not Complicated

Posted by sandhillspastor in Eternal Life, Gospel, Repentance, Salvation, Truth.

Dear friends,

There were a few cooler days last week; also, beneficial rain and more than enough wind for me. The flags along the Boulevard and around the carousel were a fitting display for the Memorial Day weekend. Many thanks to those who purchase the flags, and to those who put them out on special days. There are many volunteers who make all this possible, you know who you are.

Ice maker connections: Why are they so complicated? There are a multitude of connection combinations that confuse the issue. It seems there should be a universal standard to connect the water line to the refrigerator.

Many people think the gospel is complicated, but it is not. The message is simple, but many are unable to see the simplicity of it. I believe the problem is that they can’t grasp the concept that they don’t have to work their way to heaven.

Men will make comparisons, thinking “I’m not as bad as the next guy down the road, so God will surely choose me over him.” This is the thought that we can get to heaven by our good deeds or our good works. Here is the truth from Romans… “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23-24).

Ephesians 2:8-10 says, “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.”

Salvation leads us to do good works, but good works have never saved anyone.

The simple gospel message is found in John 3:16; “For God so loved the world that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Did you get that? All mankind is born with a sin nature because of Adam’s sin in the Garden. None are sinless and the wages of sin is death. The gospel is this: Admit you are a sinner, Believe on the Lord Jesus and Commit yourself to his lordship. It’s as simple as ABC.

Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13).

For Him,

Pastor Jerry

6 May

No Other Name

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

Dear friends,

It did rain last week, so the lawn grass is growing like crazy. Twice-a-week mowing is barely enough to keep it looking nice. I do so appreciate the person who perfected the riding mower.

There are a multitude of ideas that promote the idea that there are many ways to get to heaven. The old saying is there is a God shaped hole in everyone and nothing else can fill it. Every leader of every religious group in the world died and went to the grave. Only Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead, proving that he was who he said he was and proving the power of God who raised him.

The power of God was made known through the healing of the blind, the lame and other miracles of Jesus. This same power is the one that accomplished our salvation through Jesus’ resurrection. Jesus didn’t get out of the grave because of a subjective preference about life but because of God’s power over death. That is what is needed for the soul’s salvation: not a subjective feeling of religiosity but the objective power of new life.

Salvation is not about a new philosophy or feelings of comfort. It is about being dead in sin, chained to our depravity, unable to break our addictions to our flesh, unable to walk in righteousness. And so, God did for us what we couldn’t do for ourselves.

Jesus paid our sin debt by living the life we should have lived and dying the death we were supposed to die so that we could be declared righteous because of what Jesus has done. He raised himself from the dead so that the Holy Spirit could live in us and infuse us with the power of new life.

There is only one question that separates the gospel from every other religious message in the world: Who can save us?

If we can save ourselves, then there can be multiple ways to God. You choose a path, do your very best, and try to be a good person in the religious way you have chosen.

But if God is the only one who can save us, then salvation is only found in the place where he has provided it. “For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

In Truth,

Pastor Jerry

15 Apr

Questions for God?

Posted by sandhillspastor in Assurance, Eternal Life, Faith, Gospel, Salvation.

Dear friends,

After a few pleasant days, we are forecast to see some lower temps and possibly some rain. There is some talk of stormy weather, but we will pray that doesn’t happen. My lady got her driver’s license renewed last week, so we are both good for a few more years. Sunday, we enjoyed worship and sweet fellowship with our church family. Also, we have the pleasure of having a little girl visiting our house this week.

I have heard people say, “When I get to Heaven, I’m going to ask God this or that question.” My response is, when you get there, you will be so in awe of Him that those questions will be forgotten. Pastor Greg Laurie had some thoughts on the topic in a recent article I would like to share with you.

He writes, “I think that one second after they get to Heaven, they won’t care about those questions anymore. They will see God for who He is, and everything else will come into its proper focus.

The apostle Paul wrote, all that I see now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely (1 Corinthians 13:12).

Pastor Greg goes on: The most important thing to me about Heaven is that Jesus will be there… To me, heaven is about Jesus. And wherever Jesus is, that is where I want to be. Heaven will be greater than anything we have ever imagined, and the good news is that it will last forever. This is a promise to believers.

Those who don’t know Jesus ought to be afraid. I hope you know that you are going to heaven. It is not the worst thing to die. Rather, the worst thing is to die without Jesus.

It amazes me how people will go to great lengths to make sure they have things like car insurance, health insurance, homeowner’s insurance, and life insurance. But they won’t give a passing thought to their eternal assurance. The most important thing of all is what will happen to us beyond the grave. But if we wait to decide, it will be too late.

On the other hand, if you have put your trust in Christ, then you don’t have to be afraid. Your life is in God’s hands.” (Pastor Greg’s Daily Devo; April 4, 2024).

In Him,

Pastor Jerry

25 Mar

The Resurrection

Posted by sandhillspastor in Assurance, Cross, Easter, God's Word, Gospel, Hope, Resurrection.

As I begin this article, the weather forecast is for winter-like conditions for the next few days. I suppose we knew those nice days were only teasers. Although the calendar tells us that spring is here, we know from experience there can still be snow and cold. On a personal note, I will get new lenses for my glasses this week. I expect changes for the better after the cataract surgery. I will report on the success of that procedure in a future column.

Next Sunday is Easter Sunday. I would rather refer to it as Resurrection Day. Christians celebrate this as remembering that Jesus Christ, after being in the tomb for three days, came back from the dead to be with His disciples for a time. During this time, He met with those eleven disciples who remained after Judas met his end. Jesus assured those men that He was very much alive and would leave them to take up residence in heaven, and that they would see Him again. This is the message of the resurrection, and the hope of all who believe.

The hope spoken of is the sure knowledge that we who believe Christ died and was raised from the dead will go to heaven when we die. The writer of Hebrews says, “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure” (Hebrews 6:19).

Peter wrote, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Because of His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. You are being guarded by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:3-5).

In these difficult times, be encouraged by these words of Jesus: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:1-3).

This is real hope; that we who believe have a home in heaven, Period!

Praise Him,

Pastor Jerry

4 Mar

Planting Time

Posted by sandhillspastor in Calling, Christian Living, Discipleship, Gospel.

Dear friends,

Our weather continues to be pleasant for this time of year. I’m not complaining at all, just enjoying the blessing. The reality is we still have to navigate March and early April. And, we haven’t gotten our seed catalog from Gurney’s.

On the topic of planting, I want to share some thoughts concerning what Jesus said about sowing the seed of the Gospel. If you remember, He was speaking to His disciples about the need to share the salvation message with those around them. Here is what he said:

A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he scattered the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown (Matthew 13:3-9).

He explained to the disciples that the seed represents the Word of God, that is the Good News of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. The response of the seed to the various soils illustrates the response of different people to the planting of the gospel message. Some will ignore it, some will accept it for a short time, some will start well, but turn away when times get hard, and others will persevere in the faith and in turn make other disciples who will plant more seed of the gospel message.

The apostle Paul wrote, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow” (1 Corinthians 3:6-7).

Planting seeds, that is what these devotional thoughts have been about since the beginning of these devotional messages. My prayer has been that many who read these articles will respond to their message and seek the Savior. It is about sowing the seed of God’s Word and leaving the results to Him. My prayer is that you have received the message and allowed God to grow you in the faith.

For Him,

Pastor Jerry

lakecitynews@gmail.com

22 Jan

Undeserved Blessing

Posted by sandhillspastor in Blessings, Eternal Life, Gospel, Grace, Salvation.

Dear friends,

I recently made a coffee stop at a convenience store. The clerk was manning two registers and there were several people waiting. When I got to the counter he said, “Just the coffee?” I answered yes, and he said, “this one’s on me.” I did nothing to deserve this courtesy, but I didn’t argue, just counted it a blessing.

This recalls another undeserved blessing. Jesus came to bring salvation to the world. We do not deserve it, but He offers it out of His love for us.

2 Corinthians 5:21- God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 9:15 –Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

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.

Salvation is a gift. No one can earn it. We cannot pay for it. We aren’t asked to jump through a series of hoops. Here’s the deal, not everyone is a child of God. A popular saying is, “we are all God’s children”, but this is not true. God’s children are those who believe Jesus is the Son of God, and in so doing, they are adopted into the family of God. Galatians 4:4-7.

“In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves” (Ephesians 1:5-6). God says, “this one is on me.”

“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God” (John 1:12-13).

 You see, it’s not on us to pay for our salvation. God says, this one is on me. We only have to accept the gift. Make sure you don’t reject his offer. Receive the gift, for to refuse it is to spend eternity separated from God. Salvation is free, the price was paid on Calvary. An old hymn contains these words, “The Savior is waiting to enter your heart. Why don’t you let Him come in?

For Him,

Pastor Jerry

11 Dec

Giving and Receiving

Posted by sandhillspastor in Advent, Blessings, Christmas, Giving, Gospel, Salvation.

Dear friends,

            Fair weather was the word of the week. It is always a good feeling to have moderate temperatures in December. Many times there is deep snow and cold this time of year. My point is this; let’s enjoy mild weather while we can, and count every nice day as being one day closer to spring!

            Christmas is a time of giving. People everywhere are shopping for that perfect gift for family and friends. Well, except for the ones who are organized and have had their shopping done for months already. Christmas is also a time for receiving. Every gift given needs a recipient, and the transaction is not complete until the one receiving has accepted or taken the gift.

            Many years ago, our family had fallen on hard times. There were no funds to purchase Christmas gifts for our kids. I had shared this information with a friend in a conversation and a few days before Christmas, I got a phone call from him asking us to their house as they had something to tell us.

            We went to their place and after some small talk, he told us he and his wife had decided to give us a cash gift so that we could get some Christmas gifts for our boys. He handed me a check saying he and his wife had a little savings account and they were giving to us out of their savings. I have never forgotten that evening. We were in tears over their kindness and generosity.

            The gift was given, but only by receiving the gift would the blessing be complete. I could have said that’s nice, but only by reaching out and taking that check would we benefit from their generosity.

            John 3:16 says, “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.” In John 1:12 we read, “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”

            Did you get that? The gift was given, but only by receiving, or taking it will it be of any use to us. The gift from our friends was a picture of the message of Christmas. Salvation comes as a gift from God, but we must accept that gift.

In His love,

Pastor Jerry

27 Nov

Watching

Posted by sandhillspastor in Advent, Assurance, Christmas, Gospel, Hope, Second Coming.

Dear friends,

Thanksgiving has come and gone. We hope to be able to say the same about the leftover turkey. Having cooked a turkey a few weeks back, our Thanksgiving meal was liver and onions. It was a quiet affair, with just the two of us. And I doubt anyone else would have enjoyed it as much.

Snow happened this week. The weather man guessed we would get less than an inch, but it turned out to be more like 2 to 3 inches here. We will now need to get the rest of the Christmas lights up and plugged in.

It is the advent season, when Christians focus on the first coming of the Lord Jesus. While there are differing opinions over the exact time of year He was born, there is no doubt in His followers’ minds that He was born in Bethlehem, just as the scripture says.

In today’s world, there is renewed interest in His second return, or second advent. Jesus plainly told His disciples to expect His return at some time in the future. As we read the New Testament, it seems they anticipated He would come back in their lifetime. He did not, however, give them a specific time for His return. He told them some things to look for and warned them not to get caught up in false prophecies.

These are His words: Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, “I am the Christ, and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed… As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man (Matthew 24:4-39).

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 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 (Matthew 24:42-44).

“He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by His own authority” (Acts 1:7).

He will return. Are you ready?

In Him,

Pastor Jerry

9 Oct

Why Do You Wait?

Posted by sandhillspastor in Blessings, Christian Living, Eternal Life, Gospel, On Aging, Salvation.

Dear friends,

We have had our first frost. As usual, there were preparations for the garden. Peppers, tomatoes, and some late planted cucumbers were covered. They survived the chill; however, I have my doubts for the next time. Most folks are welcoming the cooler temperatures after the hot summer, but I suspect it won’t be long before we want it to warm up. That’s just human nature, I guess.

I observed another birthday anniversary last week. As the old saying goes, if I had known I would live this long, I would have taken better care of myself. We know that aging is part of life, and no one is guaranteed a long life. It is important that we have a personal relationship with the Lord, so that when our life is over, we know we will be with him. The Bible says nothing about second chances. “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:27-28).

Salvation comes to all who believe. A favorite scripture of mine reads, “For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—not from works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Then this; “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved” (Romans 10: 9-10). Verse 13 says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

I suspect some who have read these devotional thoughts over the years have yet to place their faith in the Lord Jesus. My prayer is that you do not wait any longer. As I wrote earlier, no one is guaranteed a long life, in fact we are not even guaranteed tomorrow. As it is written in God’s Word, “today is the day of salvation.”

In the words of the old hymn, “Why do you wait dear brother, O why do you tarry so long?” Jesus is waiting.

For Him,

Pastor Jerry

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »