Time and Time

Inconvenienced for the Gospel

Dear South Coast,

Sunday’s message (Acts 3:1-11) was a real challenge to me personally. I just want to encourage you on a couple of points today:

1. What do you have to give: I was challenged by the words of Peter to the cripple at Gate Beautiful, “silver and gold I do not have, but that which I have I give to you, rise up and walk”. Peter sees this man, cripple from birth and knows that he has something to give this man to meet his human need. He doesn’t give him money, he had none to give, but he gave the cripple what the Holy Spirit gave to him, life. 

I know that we may say to ourselves that we have never seen someone healed from our touch, but that is not true. Do you know that your love to a person, young or old that you see, may bring healing to them from the pain that they may be living at home?  There were many days when I was a cripple and did not know it. Then the Holy Spirit sent  someone, they came and touched me in Jesus name. From that touch I was able to run and leap and praise God, just like this man. You see – the Holy Spirt is in all of those who say yes to Jesus, and He is in our life as an active powerful agent, if you allow Him to be. 

….. and as we saw how Peter had something to give… he then…. 

2. Moved on it. The text says that Peter and John stopped. They were on their way to go the temple to worship and they were interrupted by this man, begging. Maybe they saw him before, maybe not – but this situation was not a planned meeting, but it was a long needed need. And when they saw him, they stopped. Would they have before? Well the gospels show us many instances that say no. Jesus did, but the disciples always had other plans. But this day, their heart changed by the Holy Spirit, they stopped and gave. They were willing to be inconvenienced for the sake of the Gospel and this one man’s life was eternally changed. 

Personally,  I can see many times that I am not willing to be inconvenienced for the sake of the Gospel. I am asking the Holy Spirit to change my heart and yours, that it will beat not with our needs but with the needs of those around us. Sometimes we don’t have to look far either – not any further than the walls of our own home. We all have something to give. We have the same Holy Spirit as the disciples had, if we chose to allow Him to move – through us.

Let us be willing to be inconvenienced for the sake of the Good News!

Much Love,

PR

Prove it By Your Actions

““‘Cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.
’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’” (Deuteronomy 27:26 ESV)
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I used to be a talker – and I know a lot of people that are talkers – I have some in my own family. The problem with talkers, and I know of what I speak, is proving it by your actions. All of us can say something, even anything, but can we prove it by our actions.

When I was young I played golf and I was very consumed by the sport. But I was not just consumed with playing the sport, but I was consumed by also by “having the look”.

Get “IN” to it

“This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalms 118:24 NKJV)

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I have been meditating on this passage for an entire week now. It is a passage that many people know and can quote, but isn’t that where most humans miss things – the ones we should know the most. There was a dear saint of God that was part of South Coast Church for my first years, Ruby, and she would always say, “Pastor, it has to get into your knower”.

Think about it for a moment, we know the phrase, “stop and smell the roses” but who of us does it?

This psalmist tells us, “this is the day the Lord has made” and they are all days that He made. There is no junk with God. We call some bad days, but in God’s perfect eternal plan, there are no bad days. But it is the next line that gets me, “We will rejoice and be glad in it.” Now that is the part that hits me all week. We will! We will rejoice! We will be glad! IN IT!

As I meditated on this passage, I was wondering, how do we get in it? Then I remembered the words of a dear friend at her mother’s funeral. She said that her and her mother loved to swim in pools. It wasn’t that they just liked water, the ocean wouldn’t be the same. They just loved to be in a pool. There had to be no house, not buildings around, just let there be a pool and they were happy in it – and they could be in there all day. That made sense to me. That is being in it.

So today I leave us (I need this just as bad as you) with this powerful truth. This is the day the Lord has made. Everyday is. He makes nothing bad. So, jump into the day as if it were a pool and rejoice and be glad in it. Be a kid again – go running into it yelling “canon ball”. Our Father in heaven has our hand and our destiny, and it won’t let us drown.

Take the plunge! Get In to it!

Canon Ball!!!!

PR

Withholdings

“And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”” (Genesis 22:12 NKJV)

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I love the reading we do in our devotions the first of the year! I love the stories of Genesis and I love how God reveals Himself to man.

As I was reading the text this morning (or having it read to me online!), my attention was caught on the word “withheld”. This of course is the story of Abraham following God’s command to offer his son, the one he waited for, the fulfillment of a God promise, something dear to him as life itself. The text above is right at the crucial part of the story – right as Abraham is about the thrust his knife into his son and offer him to God. At that very moment – out of, what seemed to be nowhere, and angel of the Lord stops him and says these words. WOW, what a movie that would make – but it wasn’t a movie – it was real life.

So, let me take you back to the word that got my attention – withheld. I never really liked that word. You see, like most of us the first time I really understood that word was when I started my first job. I was getting $4.10 an hour at Vons and I had tabulated how much money my check was going to be. I had worked 22 hours that first week. 22 x $4.10 = $90.20. That was amazing money for a sixteen year old in nineteen – cough, cough, cough, seventy-nine. So Friday came, I run to the store because I am going to get some really cool stuff for my car, I already had the auto part guy holding it for me, and I get my check, and I open it up ….. and ……. $57.50! WHAT!!!!! I slowly walk to my car and study the check stub and under the category they called “withholdings” I learned of the ugliness of that word. It meant to me, stealing.

It was hard for a sixteen year old to fully understand taxes, but eventually I learned the necessity of it all, but it did not mean that I liked it.

In life I have learned that there are many things that we can withhold. We withhold truth, we withhold love, we withhold our best, and the list can go on. Here, in this text, Abraham is not withholding anything from God, he is giving all to him. Is it any wonder that God called him righteous!

So today, I just have one question, a question the Holy Spirit placed on my heart for me and I in love share it with you:

What are you withholding from God?

You see, many of us withhold from the One who never withholds from us. We withhold our worship, we withhold our love, we withhold our giving – and again the list could go on. You see, that word can still be ugly, if you are withholding from God the Bible calls it stealing.

Let us all give God our best and trust him with our lives.

Much Love,

PR

Half Empty or Half Full

“Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;” (1Peter 1:13 NKJV)

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I know that we have pretty much all heard that saying, “half empty or half full” when it comes to ones attitude. So many people, Christians, see things from the view point of despair when God is wanting us to see them from the view point of the miraculous.

Personally, I am a 9/10ths full kind of person. I have to be. I am not saying that I don’t have those moments or days when I fall under the weight of worry, but I HAVE TO pull myself up and look at it according to the Word of God. If I don’t I will drown. And that is what our text is saying to us today. Look with me and see what the Apostle Peter is telling us:

GIRD UP THE LOINS OF YOUR MIND: The picture that Peter is using here is an image taken from the way in which the Israelites ate the passover with the loose outer robe girded up about the waist like a girdle, as ready for a journey. Workmen, pilgrims, runners, wrestlers, and warriors (all of whom are types of the Christians), are instructed to gird themselves up, both to shorten the garment so as not to impede motion, and to gird up the body itself so as to be braced for action (JFB). It is amazing how “flappy” our minds can get – and when the winds of life come they are beating in the wind instead of being anchored solid in the Word.

BE SOBER: The picture here is one who has all his faculties solidified and they are not compromised by anything foreign. Like one who drinks alcohol, that foreign substance hinders your decision making. Properly, a man of a sound mind; one who follows sound reason, and who is not under the control of passion. The idea is, that he should have his desires and passions well regulated. (Barnes) Have you ever considered that worry or any other thought that is against God’s Word would cause you to be unstable? There is only one form of “filled” we are to be …. “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,” (Ephesians 5:18 ESV)

REST YOUR HOPE FULLY: Now here is where I saw the “half empty or half full” illustration. I was quickened in my heart with the word “fully”. Do I, do you, have our hope FULLY on God? You see, it isn’t even asking if we are half of anyway – but are we fully set on His Word and on Jesus?

The fullness of grace and its complete work will come only when Jesus returns, and believers are to long for that day, but we are to live everyday by living in God reality and by living sober-minded and sensible lives.

Let us gird up our flapping minds, stop drinking the world’s Kool-aide and focus on the One who is (yes I am shouting) bringing us through to victory!

Much Love,

PR

Everyday is the Season for Peace

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” (Romans 5:1 NKJV)

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Sometimes when I read our devotions I get off track with the very first verse – and such was the case for me this morning. I was thinking, what does it mean to have peace with God? I understand it in the basic sense, but there is something more there that I had to dig out and find. There was a deeper truth gnawing at my spirit.

First, before we knew God, before we understood His love and His desire for our lives, while sinners, we were in a state of enmity or hostility with God. I know that sounds a bit rough, but Jesus said, “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.” (Matthew 12:30 NKJV) I know that it is hard to think of yourself that way – I know it is for me. I wasn’t a mean person before Jesus, I did not steal (oh wait, I did kind of from my parents change), I did not cheat (oh, ummmm, I remember a few tests in school) …… let’s say I wasn’t all that bad. Most of all I surely did not see myself against God. But the fact is, that is what I was. I was in my rebellion against his authority, and my transgression against His laws. So, now, being reconciled (the debt paid that was owed and my acceptance of that payment in Jesus), I/we have peace with God. That is amazing – but what is the “more” I feel and could there be more?

So, as I did a study on peace, here is what I found:

• eijrh/nh eirene, i-ray´-nay; probably from a primary verb ei¶rw eiro (to join); peace (literally or figuratively); by implication, prosperity: — one, peace, quietness, rest, + set at one again.

As you look at that definition as a whole it is saying that we are being joined with God to His peace, prosperity, quietness and rest. To be set again to the place where we belong! WOW!

Then I got digging a little bit more. Again, listen to the words of Jesus using that same word “eirene”:

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 28 You have heard Me say to you, “I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I.” (John 14:27-28 NKJV)

Now this was a common form of benediction among the Jews – it is the invocation of the blessings of peace and happiness. In this place it was, however, much more than a mere form or an empty wish. It came from Him who had power to make peace and to give it to all and pour it on all. There is a lot more to this passage than a mere reading of the words, it is a powerful truth for us all.

So, as we today begin the countdown for Christmas, as we hear the words of peace because of the season, we must understand and know that peace for those who believe is everyday. Peace is always in season and it is promised by the One who can and will pour it into your life, all you have to do is ask.

May the Peace of Christ be with You All!

PR

Be Free to Forgive

“Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, “Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ 27 Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.

28 “But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ 30 And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. 32 Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, “You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ 34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.

35 “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.””

(Matthew 18:23-35 NKJV)

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This story has always intrigued be how one can receive such a huge gift and then go and treat someone else so poorly. On this week of Thanksgiving it is good to be reminded of our greatest gift that we have, and that is the forgiveness of our sins from the Lord. What a great gift we have been given that all our sins are under the blood of Jesus, and He has washed us white as snow.

Let us be free with our hearts too to those who have offended us and or hurt us – we will be the freer for it! So, go ahead and forgive. Let us follow in the footsteps of our God.

Much Love,

PR

Old News Still Real News

“In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”” (Matthew 3:1-2 NKJV)

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Have you ever had someone come and tell you some sort of news only to say to them, “I have heard that already”? Ever speed through a certain part of highway (I know – none of us do that), because you have never seen any law enforcement there? Ever seen the warning on an iron that says “this side hot” and really not pay much attention to it – until you get burned? Well, I think the passages in the Bible that speak of end times or judgement times are taken much like that today. Kind of with the “ah, ya, I read that but nothing is going to happen – it hasn’t yet and it is not going to” kind of mentality.

The fact is, this news is as real and relevant today as the day John the Baptist uttered them in the Judean wilderness. It is our hearts that once again need to be pierced by the reality that the Kingdom of God is at hand and that repentance is the need for all.

You see, when we lessen the power of this truth we tend to find ourselves living apathetically and not living with the urgency that God wants us to live with. We must understand that the end and eternity is at hand RIGHT NOW for many people. According to some reports, 182,000 people die every day globally. If you do the math from there that works out to be 66,430,000 souls going up or down – that is a staggering number, and yes it is MILLIONS. You see, this is not old news – it is the real news.

Now I know that not all are called to go out like John and preach from street corners, but as Brother Ray shared with us Sunday, we are all called to preach it where we live.

“……. so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.” (Titus 2:10 NIV-G/K)

What a great word that is for us today. Let us remember that we, in one way or another by our actions are shouting the same words that John the Baptist shouted – and that the Kingdom of God is at hand today.

May the Father anoint you to live for His glory by the power of the Holy Spirit! AMEN! AMEN!

Much Love,

PR

Influencers

“Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.” (1Corinthians 8:13 NKJV)

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As I woke up this morning I was thinking of our big day here at South Coast – a very successful Creative Arts Festival. I was thinking about all the artwork, the pottery, the music, dance and drama. I was hearing in my mind again all the comments that people shared with me as they were touched by one aspect or another – many left God’s house touched. What a great day!

Then as I was reading our devotions this morning I saw how this truth above spoke to who we are as a church – and entire church body. Now I know that the passage above speaks of things on the negative – but it is the truth that I want to focus on. You see, we are influencers for the Kingdom of God. We can bring people down or we can bring people up. We can bring them closer to God or we can push them away, all by what we do. Is that not powerful to you?

It is my pray today that we will be influencers for the good of God’s kingdom. May people see in you and me the good of God, and may we sing His praise, not our life’s whoas and struggles. May we all use our gifts to propel people upward. May we all come out and be who God created us to be. We are needed desperately today.

Be an influencer today …….. FOR JESUS!

Much Love,

PR