Pastor's Blog

 "Here, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might!"  Duet. 6:4-5.  Jesus quoted this passage, called the Shema, at least 3 times in the Gospels.   

John said in his epistle that, “we love God because He first loved us!”  God has loved His people from the beginning and only desires that we love Him as well.

Sadly, most people never understand the Love of God and do not experience that love in their own hearts.  To be loved by God and to love Him in return is the greatest interaction of expressions and emotions that anyone could ever know!  Yet, it is the most lacking in the heart of humanity today!

There are billions of wandering souls who long to be loved and unfortunately are unable to love anyone else as they could.  The reminder of the Shema is to love the Lord God with all that is within us (heart, soul, strength)!  For that to be possible, God must become our “first love.”

We are unable to have that relationship with the Lord if we do not have the Holy Spirit possessing us. He enables us to love God.  Ask the Lord to send the Holy Spirit into your innermost being, so He might transform your mind, spirit and body.  Paul said that is the only reasonable thing we are to do.

Pastor's Blog

We read in Ephesians 2:1-9 about God’s ability to transform a “reprobate” into a “holy one” it is extraordinary!  Only He can:

• ·       Resurrect the walking dead and make them a Child of God.

• ·       Bring correction to a Child of rebellion and rehabilitate them into a Child of obedience.

• ·       Overhaul a wretched, sinful life and transform them into a saint of God!

How do we begin to define the amazing Grace of God that we all can experience?

·       When a person works an eight-hour day and receives a fair day’s pay for his time, that is a wage.

·       When a person competes with an opponent and receives a trophy for his performance, that is a prize.

·       When a person receives recognition for his long service or high achievements, that is an award.

·        But when a person is not capable of earning a wage, can’t win a prize, and deserves no award—yet receives such a gift anyway—that is a good picture of God’s Grace.

Paul makes it very clear that God’s favor cannot be earned. 

Living the Christian life to the fullest, means to strive to imitate Jesus in all we do, without forgetting, that we can only do so, because of God’s loving kindness or “grace.”

The Christian life is supposed to be a life lived by faith because of His grace.  It is by faith, coupled with His grace, that we enter into the Christian life; and it is by faith and His grace that we live on!

Christmas Greetings

I remember my last Christmas before I met my Savior.  It was on Grand Forks AFB, ND.  My heart was as cold as the North Dakota winter.  My soul was as barren as the Bad Lands in the western part of the state.  My marriage was beginning to fall apart and I had no direction for the future.  My searching for the truth and a god I could embrace had always ended with disappointment and confusion.

The next Christmas was entirely different!  For the first time in my life I had peace and joy and a certainty about the future.  Between the two Christmases, Pam and I had surrendered our lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  He became alive and was able to give us a hope and love we had never known before.  Ironically, I preached my first sermon on that second Christmas day! 

Dear friend, I trust that you have experienced the transforming power of Christ in your life.  He has a way of making all things better and giving us a wonderful reason to live.  Like the Kings of the East; the searching ends when we bow before the Christ of Christmas!  He becomes to us the “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace!”  Invite Him into your life if you haven’t.  If you already know Him, be sure He remains the guest of honor at all your holiday festivities.  May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you and your family during these holy days!

With Our Savior’s Love,

Pastor Steve & Pam Nash