Pastor's Blog

Shortly after the Civil War, there was a happening that helped shape the future of the battered United States.  During July of 1865 at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Richmond, VA, a lone black man came from the rear of the church down the long isle and slowly knelt at the altar to receive Holy Communion.  The congregants were astonished and didn't know what to do in response.  The people were frozen and so was the minister.
Realizing this situation could suddenly turn for the worse, a white bearded man in a gray suit rose from his pew and slowly walked toward the same altar.  Most thought he would tactfully remove the black man so that the rest could come and receive communion.  He didn't.  He knelt beside the black man and nodded to the minister to administer communion to both.  The bearded man was Robert E. Lee.
Just a few short months before that day, Gen. Lee, ranking General of the Confederate Army, was fighting to insure the negros would remain slaves and be considered less than his white neighbor.  Lee, came to realize that the war was over and the future of America was to take a better direction, a direction that would make all men equal.  May we, as Martin L. King, "never judge a man be the color of his skin, but by the content of his character."  May we never go back to the days before the summer of 1865!

Pastor's Blog

The Devaluation of Human Life

Pastor Steve Nash

During my many trips to India I would often have wives come to me for prayer.  There was a language barrier which made it difficult to know what they wanted from the Lord.  Many of them would place their hands upon their stomach with tears in their eyes.  I was told by someone who spoke English that they simply wanted to have a baby.  To be barren was thought to be a curse from God because of some sin they committed earlier in life.

Unfortunately, in our own country, some view becoming pregnant to be a curse and simply make an appointment to relieve them of a burden they will not bear.  They believe this unwanted pregnancy will hinder them from living a life style they have enjoyed and do not want to end.  They are part of a society that has come to believe that life is filled with pleasure without responsibility.  Anything (even a baby) will not deter them from their life of pleasure.

This Sunday is “Sanctity of Human Life Sunday.”  This time on the calendar was selected many years ago because of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case decided in January of 1973.  Ever since that dreadful decision, the value of human life is in a downward spiral.  Life is a gift from God, a blessing from the Lord.  Our “civilized society” has determined that the power of life and death is a decision a misguided mother and a money hungry abortionist will determine. 

My wife works for a pregnancy center where their goal is to educate and encourage the young mother to keep the child.  They have discovered that when the mother sees her developing baby via the sonogram, 80% decide to give birth.  Planned Parenthood, on the other hand, will not offer this service to the young lady for fear that they will decide to keep the baby.  Our government and your tax dollars have given Planned Parenthood hundreds of millions of dollars over the years to continue this holocaust!

Any society that devalues human life at any level will eventually destroy itself from within.  The killing of a baby will teach our children that life is not the greatest gift from God and something to be cherished.  Could there be a connection between abortion and euthanasia?  Could there be a connection between abortion and the many school shootings conducted by children?  Those are questions that future social studies will uncover but I believe there is a link.

Have you considered some of the obvious connections between abortion and the rising cost of health care in this country?  Could there be a link between abortion and child abuse or abortion and breast cancer?  There are studies that already reveal there is a link.  And to think that many would be mothers and dads have selected to kill a child because they want to party with their friends or buy a new “toy” or the mother fearing that she will experience stretch marks.  How self-centered to think that a beautiful baby, that is meant to bring joy into a family, be devalued to the degree that a tight belly is more important than a human life!

Through many years as a pastor, I have witnessed the horrible consequences that many women struggle with because they have made the decision to kill the child within.  Many of them live lives filled with guilt, shame and mental disorders that require countless hours or counseling and bottles upon bottles of medications to endure the pain deep down inside that won’t go away. 

Are there young women you know that that may be considering the death of their unborn?  Maybe there is something you can do to influence them to keep the baby.  Your intervention may prove to be a mission from heaven that produces countless blessings in the future.  May your conviction be as mine: all life was created by God and belongs to Him.  No one has the right to murder another human being.  "You shall not murder." Exodus 20:13.  The Lord hates hands that shed innocent blood according to Proverbs 6:16-17.  The Bible also teaches that we need to defend the weak and the helpless.  "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves...defend the rights of the poor and needy (and the unborn child)" Proverbs 31:8-9.  May the Lord forgive our nation for the 55,000,000 who have been slaughtered because of the devaluation of human life!  

Pastor's Blog

The New Year has long been my favorite holiday.  When I think of New Years Day I get excited about what lies ahead for me and my family, my church and the entire country.  Being the optimist I am, my hopes are high and I become energized by my thoughts about the future.  It’s a fresh start, a new beginning, with new dreams and imaginings about tomorrow!

I have to admit that in recent years some of my hopes and dreams have become tainted because of my concerns and fears, but as a Christian, “I know who holds tomorrow and I know He holds my hand.”  No matter what may lie in store for this world, it is a wonderful consolation to know you’re on the winning team.

We don’t need to look into a crystal ball to see what may be on the horizon.  Our only hope is in God’s intervention in 2014.  If He doesn’t intervene, the coming year may be far worse than what I have imagined.  Prayer is the greatest weapon we have that the enemy cannot extinguish.  Let us put on “the whole armor of God” for the going may get tough.  I don’t know about a “Happy New Year,” but I can be assured of a secure New Year as we put of hope in God alone!

 

Pastor's Blog

Finishing Well

Pastor Steve Nash

We have nearly completed another year.  It has been a year of victories and defeats; it has been a year of wonderful surprises and horrible disappointments.  Some of you have experienced sadness and for others, jubilation or maybe a mixture of both.  Nevertheless, it is a year that is fading into history with memories both positive and negative.

The Apostle Paul declared near the end of his earthly pilgrimage, that he had “fought the good fight, had finished the course and had kept the faith.”  He had assurance that “a crown of righteousness was awaiting him when he would appear before God.”  Though the Apostle knew about the horrible execution of being beheaded was lurking, that didn’t seem to frighten him to the point where he became derailed by those thoughts.  He was going to a better place to hear the words, “Well done good and faithful servant!”

Life has its inequities but death its equalities!  Life is never fair but we were never promised it would be.  Our only call is to faithfulness, not success.  We leave successes to God.  With that thought in mind, just how can we be considered faithful?  What should be our attitude as we enter another year that maybe was missing in the past? 

We never know how much time we have left in order to make a difference with the talents, knowledge and wisdom the Lord has blessed us.  We may be young or we may be old.  In whatever stage of life, we will discover there are things we have started that must be completed.  I’m not speaking of the home repairs we haven’t completed; I’m speaking of having the hope of seeing our dreams fulfilled. 

At this time in our lives, we must do some “self-examination” in order to finish well.  We should ask ourselves the following questions:

·        Why am I in existence in the first place?

·        What am I suppose to accomplish?

·        What are the “essentials” and “non-essentials” that I am to be involved with?

·        Where am I going to get the time and energy to accomplish anything good?

Paul is saying that everything must come to an end and we must end that “something” on a good note!   He could say with confidence, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race and I have kept the faith!”  His calling was to take the Gospel to the Gentile world.  Through much suffering Paul was faithful to the end.

Have you ever run a long distant race when you were younger?  I did so while in the Air Force.  There was a time I would run 3 miles a day 3 times a week.  I remember running 9 miles at one time and thought I would die with exhaustion.  The secret to running a few miles is to get the “second wind.”

Life is usually nor a sprint; it is normally a marathon.  If we fail to get the “second wind” we will not finish the race.  In our battle against the evils of our society, with a hope that there will be a return to righteousness in our nation, have we gotten the “second wind?”   Let me suggest that the “second wind” comes from God alone!  Hopefully we have come to realize that we can do little through our own efforts.  We need the “Wind of God” to flow through our souls and empower us to serve Him in the coming year!  The “Wind of God” is the indwelling Holy Spirit that gives us the power to finish well.  We must ask Him to enter our soul and be the refreshing “Wind” we so much need.

The Winter Olympics are coming in February.  The athletes who win the contests will mount their lofty platforms and receive their gold, silver and bronze medallions!  Paul said he would “receive a crown of righteousness” when he had finished his race.  I have no idea what awards are awaiting us; we only get a glimpse of that day, but I do know those awards are awaiting those who have been found faithful to the end!

Let me encourage you to consider one point of truth that will assure you a better year than the one that is fading.  Begin this coming year with a fresh dependency upon the Lord.  You may become involved with many of the same efforts you have in the past, but be sure your efforts and daily activity are orchestrated by the Lord.  Do nothing without His guidance and empowerment.  Enter into His work instead of asking Him to bless yours.  The efforts God is involved with never fail.  He can produce the success; we are only called to be faithful in His service.  If we daily remind ourselves of these secrets to success, it will be said of us some day that we have “finished well!”

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