Pastor Chuck’s Blog

7-20-2022

Long before the compass was ever invented, sailors and adventurers navigated by looking for the North Star. They did this because, no matter the weather or the circumstances, it remained constant and immovable. In the same way, Christ and the reality, truth, and power of the Cross doesn’t change. The Cross is the true north for our life.

Sometimes our hurts can be deep enough that they begin to cloud our confidence and belief that God cares about us. We begin to move and navigate our life from a wounded place. That’s the time to remember the Cross and that Christ was wounded for us and by His wounds we are healed. God repairs our wounds, heals our hurt, and mends our broken hearts.

Sometimes when we experience loss, the enemy tries to undermine our trust in the goodness of God. We begin to ask, “If God is good, then why did this loss occur?” When this happens we can look to the Cross and realize that God lost His own son. God knows what it’s like to lose something precious. But God experienced loss because He is good, and He knew that Jesus was the only way we could be free and step into true life.

Sometimes our circumstances can get so loud they start to undermine the belief that God is sovereign. When this happens we can remember that the day Jesus died on the Cross it looked like God was never more out of control. But, on that day, God was never more in control. He took the most powerful empire on earth, a crazy crowd, Judas the betrayer, the scales of injustice, and used it all to accomplish His plan. If He could accomplish His plan with all of that, imagine what He can do for us!

Always remember what the Old Testament Prophet Isaiah wrote: The Lord will guide you always…..(Isaiah 58:11a, NIV)

My prayer for you today is that, no matter the hurt, no matter the loss, no matter the circumstances, when you are faced with a storm of life or uncertainty that threatens or challenges your beliefs, you would look to the Cross. As you look to the Cross, you will find the love and power God has to reconcile, restore, and renew your spirit.

7-14-2022

If you grew up in a Christian home and your family took the time to pray prior to eating meals, you may have learned this childhood prayer: “God is great. God is good. Let us thank him for our food. Amen.” While simplistic, this prayer covers one key characteristic of God: His goodness.

Is it really true that God is good all the time? Absolutely – but the circumstances of life and the voices of our current culture can sometimes keep us from seeing His goodness. We say this all the time: It’s easy to forget in the dark what we learned in the light. It can be hard to believe in God’s goodness for many reasons, including when we’re in pain. We forget it when we’re in conflict. We think it’s for everyone else except us when we’re depressed. And when we’re worried or stressed out, we can’t seem to find—much less think about—God’s goodness, even when it’s right in front of us.

So how can we trust in God’s goodness when we don’t feel it? God’s Word reminds us of his goodness over and over: “The Lord is always good. He is always loving and kind, and his faithfulness goes on and on to each succeeding generation” (Psalm 100:5, TLB).

Focusing on God’s goodness is important to your life because it gives you perspective in your darkest days, when you need it the most. God wants to give you a life of confidence. He wants to give you assurance. He wants to protect you. He wants to give you a life of influence and abundance. He wants to give you a life filled with generosity. Who doesn’t want that? Who doesn’t need that?

When you believe and understand the goodness of God, it will revolutionize your life and your relationships. So remember, God is great and God is good! Circumstances change, but God does not. So focus on Him and His goodness!

7-7-2022

This past Monday we celebrated the independence of the United States. I hope your celebration was meaningful and fun. Related to that, in the Old Testament book of Psalms we read this:

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD…” (Psalm 33:12a, NIV)

God tells us that any nation, anywhere, whose God is the Lord will be blessed. In other words, when a nation puts God first, God’s blessings will follow. We’ve experienced that throughout the history of the United States of America. This isn’t an article about whether the United States is a Christian nation or not, but an article about how to continue the greatness and blessings we’ve experienced.

I think we can all agree that there is a lot of division right now and our nation desperately needs a recovery. It’s interesting that Jesus actually gave us a process whereby we can begin to bring unity instead of division. If we can get a grasp on what God has to say about this, we can be instrumental in bringing recovery to our nation. Where all of this begins to intersect with the Scripture is this simple principle you’ve heard a thousand times called reaping what we have sown. And here’s what happens in the principle of sowing and reaping: When you begin to reap what you have sown you start looking someone or something to blame. But mature people don’t look for someone to blame; mature people look for something to do. Here’s what Jesus had to say about this:

Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in someone else’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say, ‘Let me take that speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite…. (Matthew 7:3-5a, NIV)

Mind you, this is Jesus speaking. He says, “You” – and I’m part of you – He says, “you hypocrite”. And no one wants to be a hypocrite because we don’t even like hypocrites. By the way, do you know what a hypocrite is? A hypocrite is someone who expects something of someone else that they are unwilling to do themselves. Jesus says, “If you’re focused on the speck in somebody else’s eye and it’s really bothering you, chances are whatever you don’t like in them, there is some of that in you.” He goes on:

You hypocrite. First, take the plank out of your own eye. (Matthew 7:5b, NIV)

Here’s what He’s saying, in case you miss it. When something about you bothers me, I need to take a long, hard look at me before bothering you. That could change everything. And I know what you’re thinking. If you’re a Republican you think, “Democrats, would you just look in the mirror?” Democrats are going, “Yeah, Republicans, if you could just see you the way I see you.” And Jesus is going, “That’s a great idea. Let’s all turn off our televisions and let’s all go home and look in the mirror. Let’s all go home and say, ‘Hmm, that stuff that drives me crazy about them, is there any of that in me?'” And, of course, you don’t think there is, but this next part is so brilliant. Here’s what Jesus says:

You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly. (Matthew 7:5, NIV)

This is a promise; this is a promise to you, your family, your company, your network of friends, our community and our nation. If you take the plank out of your own eye, here is the promise: Then you will see clearly.

This isn’t a Republican problem or a Democrat problem. This is a, “We the people” problem, and it’s going to take, “We the people” to get back on track. Can you imagine what would happen in our country if we began to take the planks out of our own eyes so that we can have productive conversations? We could get on the road to recovery. There would be much more unity and far less disunity. There would be so many positive things that would happen. Because this is an “us and we” thing, not a “they” thing.

So let’s do this. Jesus said, “If you’ll look in the mirror and if you will address the plank in your eye, I promise you will be able to see clearly to help the other people around you see clearly.” And if more and more people see clearly, we will make progress in our communities and progress in our nation once again. But it doesn’t begin with they, it begins with me and it begins with we. And with God’s help, we can get back on track to being a nation whose God is the Lord.

6-24-2022

Earlier today the Supreme Court of the United States released their landmark opinion overturning Roe v Wade, effectively ending recognition of a constitutional right to abortion and giving individual states the power to allow, limit, or ban the practice altogether. While this does not eliminate abortion in the United States, it puts the power in the hands of individual state instead of the federal government.

LifePoint has always been an advocate of choosing life and we applaud this decision. This is why we have partnered with Embrace Grace. We want to give women with unplanned pregnancies an alternative to abortion. We want to be the beacon of light in our community for these often frightened individuals in need of care, mercy, love, and help. We also want to advocate for foster care and adoption as options for those with unplanned pregnancies.

Doug Clay, General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God said, “I’m thankful to God for this historic day…a day to celebrate life. Not to gloat, but to rejoice and give thanks to the Lord of life. To continue our efforts in creating a culture of life in the communities we serve.”

I agree. We are not gloating, but we are rejoicing because this ruling will reduce the number of abortions taking place in the US. But we know that there will also be challenges.

A number of organizations have put plans into motion to attack Catholic Churches (and others), along with pro-life centers with violence. I suspect there will be substantial rioting by those who are pro-abortion.

So I’m asking you to pray with me for churches and individuals across our country in the coming days and weeks ahead. Pray for their safety and for God’s protection whatever may come.

Further, while there are those who feel as though we’re somewhat “insulated” from this in south-central Iowa, we are raising the alert level for our safety team this weekend and in the weeks ahead in order to assure a safe place to worship. Our safety team will also be in place for our Community Patriotic Worship Service on the square on July 3. I have also communicated with our Network Youth Director regarding security at camp in the coming weeks and he has assured me that plans are in place to assure a safe camping experience for all of our students and counselors.

Most importantly, let’s pray that those who are far from God will come into relationship with Him through His Son, Jesus Christ!

6-22-2022

Storms are a part of life. Sometimes we get into storms and, if we’re honest with ourselves, we can figure out why. But other times, we find ourselves in a storm even when we’ve been doing all the right things. We wonder, “Lord, where are you? What did I do to deserve this? Why am I in this storm?” In Mark’s Gospel we read this:

“That day, when evening came, [Jesus] said to his disciples, ‘Let us go over to the other side.’ Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?'” (Mark 4:35-38, NIV)

Are you ready for this? The disciples were in the storm because of their obedience. Don’t let yourself believe that storms only come because we’ve done something wrong. Sometimes it’s because we’ve been obedient. And never forget this:

Jesus doesn’t promise to keep me out of storms, but He does promise to get me through them.

Mark goes on: “He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’ They were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!'” (Mark 4:39-41, NIV)

Even though it may be hard to see at first, God is there with you, and there is a purpose to the storm. We find this purpose by asking the right question and avoiding the wrong one. When we find ourselves in a storm, ask God “why,” not “what.” Ask, “What do you want me to learn?”, because there’s a lesson in every storm.

I love you, church!

Chuck