Pastor's Blog

 What does hope for a Christian look like in the 21^st century? The same as it did 2000 years ago. It looks like Christ’s open arms offering hope to the world.  

            When we allow bad news or world events to dictate our attitude in a way that takes away from who we were as the body of Christ, we are failing. If the church acts like it is defeated, the culture of defeat will create a pessimistic environment that will overshadow the good news of the Gospel. The world has been in a constant battle between the forces of God and the forces of Satan. The Bible says in Ephesians 6 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

            That has always been the case. The issue might be different today than it was yesterday or the methods used against might be different, but the battle is always raging. This battle is bigger than me and you; it’s bigger than this church, state, country, and even this world. It is a battle for supremacy of the entire cosmos. The church has been a part of this battle since its inception, but lately I think the church has been infected with a defeatist mindset. Lately we have spent so much time thinking about the enemy’s’ plans that we have forgotten to look at God’s plan. We have forgotten to rest in God’s promises in God’s love.

            I think one of the quintessential elements that the church in the United States has lost is hope. Hope that we can rest in the assurance of God’s love and grace today. Hope that tomorrow will be better than today, hope that salvation is offered to those who believer, hope that the grace of God is powerful enough to transform lives, hope that God is at all times working to thwart the plans of the enemy.

            God has a way of turning imperfection back to perfection. We see this so many times throughout the salvation history. It comes in many different forms, some of them painful, but others as the result of the fervent prayers of the righteous. Never doubt that God can find a way to draw in people. Of course we must continue to pray and ask God to use us, so that we can be a part of salvation history, but never forget that we serve a God who is not defeated. We serve a God who wove the fabric of creation into being, who knows every corner of Creation intimately. We serve a God who is faithful and loving, one who desires all people to be in a relationship with him. We serve a God who made us in his image so that we may enjoy life to the fullest. We serve a God whose reign’s sovereign. All it takes is one spark to start a fire and the right kindling. Will you be kindling for God’s spark of hope so that you may burn brightly?

            The hope of Christianity is not in death but in life. It is hope that allows us to say to death "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" There is no sting in death, because it is in death that we find life. It is in death that we are enabled to live as we ought to live now. Because of Christ we do not have to hope only for the future, we have hope now. We have hope that we can be a part of God’s salvation history in human history today.

            We serve a God who wants to rescue people from the death, corruption, and sin of the world. We serve a God who wants to whisper to every person that they are loved and made in the image of God. We pray in the Lord’s prayer “thy Kingdom come on Earth as it is in Heaven.” We are not waiting to escape Earth as citizens of the Kingdom of God; we are God’s agents helping the world to realize that the Kingdom of God is at hand! There are a million reasons to lose hope and faith in humanity, but there is one reason, Jesus Christ, to hold on.

            As the Church we must help people to see that belief in Christ produces a hope so profound that it shines brighter than darkness.

Thanks,
Scott Donahue-Martens

Pastor's Blog

Hope for the New Year

Pastor Steve Nash

How many reading this article have a genuine hope for 2015?  I guess it depends on one’s perspective.  Could it be that attitudes and perspectives, carried over from the previous year, have a great bearing on how we look into the future?  Some may think that having a republican controlled Congress will solve many of the nation’s ills.  I’m not so sure about that.  Too many times I have become a bit disillusioned by hopeful politicians who promised great reforms.

No man or woman can straighten up the mess we have gotten ourselves into.  Therefore, our hope must be redirected to someone who has promised and can deliver for the coming New Year!  How about Isaiah 43:19 where the Lord has this to say: “See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”  That sounds refreshing to me.  We could use those “streams in the desert!”

Some may think that God is done with us.  He has given us plenty of time and opportunity to get it together and repent of our wrongdoings.  We have been unfaithful and rebellious like many others who have gone before us.  Still, I hear the voice of the weeping prophet, Jeremiah, in Lam. 3:22-23: “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassion never fail.  They are new every morning; great is His faithfulness!”

What about all the lawless, wicked, evil and hateful people who take advantage of the defenseless innocents?  This world is not a just place; there is no fairness in any land.  Psalm 31:23-24:  “Love the LORD, all his saints!  The LORD preserves the faithful, but the proud he pays back in full.  Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord!”

But it is hard to change my attitude that always seems to bring me down as well as those around me.  I’m tired of always being so negative!  Ephesians 4:22-24:  “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires (thoughts);  to be made new in the attitude of your minds;  and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

These leaders will never change.  They are corrupt and that’s just the way it is with most all of them!  Proverbs 21:1:  “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord. Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.”  And then there is Ezekiel 11:19: “I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a soft heart.”

You’re probably thinking by now, “Pastor, you must be kidding me.  You’re quite the dreamer!”  You may be correct, but I can tell you, God did that in my own heart and life.  I was much worse than most of the bad people you may be thinking about.  As John Wesley said, “But for the grace of God, there go I!”  I am hopeful, but that is what the New Year is all about, isn’t it?  If we cannot hope for a better tomorrow, we are to be pitied.  I have to hope as Micah did in 7:7:  “But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.”

Can you dig deep and search hard for better days ahead?  Can you grab hold of just a glimmer of hope for 2015?  Is there a way to see through all the fog of despondency?  My friend, hold on to Jeremiah 29:11:  “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Hope has with it the condition that we willingly decide to take God at His Word.  As Peter said, “Where else have we to turn, for He has the words of eternal life!”  As the cliché says, “Go with God!”  Begin this New Year a different way this time.  Efforts to make resolutions we never keep, and simply “hope for the best,” has not worked in the past and won’t work for today.  Surrender your entire will to God and He will give you a brighter outlook for 2015!

Pastor's Blog

Hope for Our Children  (part 2)

Pastor Steve Nash

What is it that brought millions of immigrants to our shores?  I’m sure there were many reasons,  but we can all agree that one predominant aspiration was that many mothers and fathers who found their way to Ellis Island came because they wanted new hope and a brighter future for their children.

My grave concern is that the very reason many came to these shores (our children) is about to be lost forever.  Let me explain it another way.  We’ve had great hope for our children’s economic prosperity.  That hope today is fading like a setting sun.  We are selfishly saddling them with a national debt (nearly 18T) they will never be able to bear.  We long to have our children enjoy a healthy spiritual and social life.  Those values we feel important for a healthy society are constantly under attack from many fronts and we are rapidly losing ground in that battle.

Did you know that 75% of our youth believe there is no such thing as “absolute truth” and that all truth is relative?  Did you know that 83% of our High School students have been sexually active?  Did you know that 40% of our 8^th graders have used illicit drugs?  Did you know that 78% of our inmates grew up in a single parent or no parent home?  We are told by the Psalmist that “children are a gift from God,” yet we have aborted 55 million since 1973.  If the child survives the mother’s womb, many of our young ones feel they are a burden to their parents, not a blessing from God. The main reason we are gradually increasing in our population is not because of the natural pro-creation of the American family but because of immigration, both legal and not.  Couples living together outside of marriage is a growing trend that keeps the divorce rate at about 55%.  We can agree that divorce or illegitimacy is not a healthy upbringing for any child.

Children are more afraid of the divorce of their parents than they are of the drug dealer or physical abuse.  Some researchers on the family feel that divorce is more damaging to a child’s heart than even sexual abuse.  I don’t know if I agree with that, but nevertheless, such findings reveal the seriousness of a broken home.  Divorce is a sin against the child but few parents seek the forgiveness of their children after the home has been broken apart.

Today’s child is forced to grow up too quickly.  By the influence of the media, peer pressure and lack of a healthy family environment, today’s child loses their innocence and becomes a product of society’s demoralization.  Suicide, addiction, self abuse and violence are too often the outcome for the children God has blessed us with!

We have a wonderful missionary outreach program called “Save the Children” that encourages us to sponsor a child in a developing country, but what about our own?  Do we spend the time, show interest in their lives and equip them with spiritual and moral safeguards that will enable them to survive the constant attacks on their mind, spirit and body?  What is invading or permeating the mind and heart of your child?  Too many parents provide the sports, dance lessons and other club involvements for their children but neglect the most important need – the spiritual.  These parents run their children all around during the week for these appointments but fail to bring them to church!   Doesn’t the Proverb exhort parents to “Train up a child in the way they should go?”

What can we do to raise our sons and daughters the way God would have us? First of all, have them!  Many parents don’t want the responsibility of any children so they choose not to have a child.  The root problem here is “fear” and “lack of responsibility.”  Secondly, teach them!  Do not leave that responsibility to other people or influences that may not embrace your belief system.  Thirdly, demonstrate to them that they are secure in their family life and you will always be there for them when they need your help and advice.  Lastly, learn from them.  Didn’t Jesus constantly use children as an object lesson to teach profound truths to the adult?  “For such is the kingdom of heaven!”

Our children need not be part of the sad statistics I quoted before.  Our children must be special and equipped to make a difference in their generation.  The other day I asked my 24 year old 6^th child if she believed she was part of the “terminal generation.”  She indicated that she was determined to be a beacon of hope to her generation and leave the time table of God’s coming to Him.   May God help us to raise sons and daughters as sharp arrows who are able to pierce the darkness and turn many of their generation to righteousness!”

Pastor's Blog

What Can We Do?

Pastor Steve Nash

Waking up in the morning and hearing the latest headlines isn’t exactly a positive way to begin the day.  We must be informed, but wow, I don’t know if that’s the way I would want to begin the day and retain any positive perspective.  The only way one could turn that exposure around and make it an encouraging experience, is to use the daily headlines as a prayer list.  Every time we read a story or listen to one over the television/radio, stop for a moment and pray for the ones affected by that current event.

Last night I was surveying the long list of headlines on the Drudge Report.  Here is a sample:

“Stocks Plunge!”

“Top General Worries that Army is too Small”

“Ebola Coming to Our Southern Boarder”

“The U.S. Slips to 12^th in Economic Freedom”

“Vatican Paper Urges Churches to Change their View on Gays”

“Four Northern California Faults Primed for BIG Quakes”

“ISIS Gaining Ground in Spite of Bombing”

What hope is there for our children when we are approaching an 18 Trillion dollar debt?  What kind of world will they live in when we see America in decline on so many fronts?  Our civil and religious freedoms are evaporating faster than the California lakes!  America is in a downward spiral morally, spiritually, economically, militarily and socially.  If we don’t see that as a reality, we either have our head in the sand or we haven’t lived very long.

With all the doom and gloom we are bombarded with every day, we long for the news of any hope; a different direction and a safe world for our children.  Where do you turn for a brighter tomorrow?  How do you begin and close out a day with a smile on your face and a peaceful night’s sleep?  Can we actually be an optimist in a pessimistic world?  I believe we can!

The Apostle Paul reminds us in Rom. 8:31-32, “What can we say to these things?  If God be for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”  That’s good logic, isn’t it?  That is a perspective we must lay hold on!  The condition attached to this promise is that we belong to Him, and He to us.  If we have not a relationship with Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

Verse 35, 37 of that chapter gives us further hope.  “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  Yet in all things we are more than conquerors through Him who loves us!”  That sounds good to me.  I need to pass that faith onward to my children and grandchildren!

The radical Islamist has no such hope.  Their goal is to conquer this world through the sword; through terror and all sorts of evil.  We Christians will conquer the world through truth and love and the certainty of heaven.  Light is diametrically opposed to darkness.  The Bible calls us “people of light” who happen to reside in a world of darkness.  Light is greater than darkness, truth is more powerful than lies and love is more enduring than evil!  If we are indeed people of light, we have nothing to fear.  Satan flees when he sees the weakest saint upon their knees.

The secret to victory is getting on the offense.  We need not run and hide; we must be willing to become arrows that pierce the darkness.  How can this happen?  Begin on your knees, surrender all the hate, bitterness and hopelessness to God and let Him empower you with His life.  Turn those headlines into a prayer list; speak with your opponent with truth and love.  This battle is too great for us to face the Goliath’s of this world without the Lord with us.  If God be for us, who can stand against us?

  

Pastor's Blog

Unlike the doomsayers, I believe there is Hope for America.  I will attempt to stay positive with this message, but, we must remember, we cannot be made well unless we first realize that we are ailing!  Isaiah 1 appears to be like the morning headlines of the American newspaper.  We have become a sick nation, primarily because of the lack of godly leaders with courage and convictions.  

We must individually examine our own hearts when it comes to our indifference or backslidden condition.  C. Tobey: “The things that are wrong with our country today are the sum total of all the things that are wrong with us as individuals!”  It can be said of that the average Christian has become “desensitized” or even “accommodating” to the gradual decay of Christian values in our country today! We are no longer the “conscience” of our communities!  We are to be “light” in a dark world.  If the light is dim, people will perish in darkness.  I believe that Christians are the only people who possess that true light.

Gen. Omar Bradley reflects, “We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount.  We have achieved brilliance without conscience.  We are nuclear giants and ethical infants!”  As the Book of Romans declares, “We are worshiping and serving the creature rather than the Creator!”

Where’s the HOPE?  Psalm 114:34 – “Righteousness EXALTS a nation…”  The question is; how can we practice Righteousness?  Following are just a few suggestions:

Remain true to our Christian Convictions!  What might they be?

The Bible is the final authority for me and my family!

My Body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit!

The only way to heaven is through faith in Christ!

Marriage between a man and woman is a life-long commitment to God!

Money is to be earned and managed according to Scriptural principles.

My life-style must be in line with Christian values.

My children will be raised to believe the above!

Help the helpless!   

Show compassion and mercy!  

Showing others a “better way” of living!  

America has the most admired heritage of any country of modern civilization!  Have we gotten off course?  Yes!  We need to see it and admit that!  Is there Hope for the Future?  Some would say NO, but I believe 2 Chron. 7:14!  I believe there is Hope for America and, that we, like our forefathers can leave our children a “Memorial” they can build upon!