Pastor Chuck’s Blog

12-28-2023

You, Your Bible and 2024

Most people have a Bible. Many people have more than one, and some people (like me) have a bookshelf full of them……but do the owners of said Bibles read them? Statistics tell us that the answer is…..sadly…..no, they don’t. Statistically, Christians would be the exception to that, right? Not really. Studies have shown that, while Christians have a “higher than average” (whatever “average” is) Bible reading rate, it’s still not overwhelming.

There can be a gazillion reasons for this, but some of the primary reasons given by people is, “I don’t know what to read,” or, “I don’t know where to start,” or, “I’m not sure how to read it.” Whatever reason you my have, as we launch into a new year, I’d like to help with that.

One of the things I say over and over again is, “You should read your Bible, it’s fascinating!” And it is! But it’s even more fascinating…..and more helpful to your every-day-walk-with-Jesus…..if you have some kind of plan for reading it.

You don’t want to read it like the guy who was desperate one night. He opened the Bible, put down his finger and read, “…..then Judas hanged himself.”

The man thought there was some kind of mistake, so he closed the Bible, opened it to another passage, put down his finger and read, “…..go and do likewise”.

Again, the man thought it wasn’t right and so he did it one last time and when he put down his finger he read, “Whatever you are about to do, do it quickly”.

Using “Bible Bingo” as a reading plan can be a bit confusing! Fortunately, there are almost limitless options when it comes to finding a plan to read your Bible. With the internet, you and I have access to more information than ever before in the history of the world – and that includes access to Bible reading plans that will help us know God better. I’d like to suggest to you that you look into the YouVersion app for your Apple or Android device. YouVersion is free and provides several different translations of the Bible, along with countless Bible reading plans. Just go to the Apple store or the Google play store on your device and look for YouVersion…..download it and get started.

For those of you who prefer using a desktop/laptop computer, the same app is available online by going to BIBLE.COM. From there you can have access to all of the same Bible translations and Bible reading plans found on the mobile app.

Here’s the beauty of this app/website……..you can choose from a countless number of Bible reading plans that will help you read and learn the Bible for yourself. There are plans to help you read through the entire Bible in a year and multiple variations thereof, but there are also short plans that last for 5-30 days that you might find helpful. For example, there are short plans to help you through a challenging time at work, short plans to help strengthen your marriage or friendships, short plans to offer encouragement as you embark on a new endeavor. (God is interested in every part of your life!) So you can begin a plan to read through the Bible in a year, and then include a short plan to help you through a unique situation in your life. Again, countless options. And hey, you can always sit down in your easy chair, open your Bible to Genesis 1:1 and begin…..

Personally, I’m not big into New Year’s Resolutions……but…….what if you made a decision to read your Bible more in 2024? What might that look like for you? What I do know is this: If you choose to take that step you are going to know God better and love Him more. And hey, chances are you’ll be hearing His voice more in ‘24.

My prayer for all of us is that we will grow closer to God and grow closer in relationship with one another throughout the new year.

Happy New Year, friends!

The Bible is very clear on why we’re here. “Our Lord and God, you deserve to receive glory, honor, and power because you created everything. Everything came into existence and was created because of your will.” Revelation 4:11 (GW)

Nothing you and I do matters more than bringing pleasure to God. There’s a much-misunderstood word we use that describes bringing pleasure to God: worship. Worship is so much bigger than the songs we sing. Church services can be worship experiences, but we’re called to worship throughout our entire week—not just on the weekend.

God says worship isn’t onl what you do with your lips; it’s what you do with your life. You can preach the greatest sermons or sing the most beautiful songs with Christ-centered lyrics and still not worship God. However, when we focus our lives on bringing glory to God, our entire lives become an act of worship. The Message paraphrase says:

Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. (Romans 12:1, MSG)

Quickly, here are four ways you can make God smile every day:

1. Love Him above everything else. “I don’t want your sacrifices—I want your love; I don’t want your offerings—I want you to know me” (Hosea 6:6 TLB).

The thing God wants most from you is a relationship. He wants you to know Him and to love Him. When your kids are little and they run to welcome you home from work……we love that relationship, and God loves His relationship with you.

2. Trust Him completely. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart….” (Proverbs 3:51, NIV)

You trust God completely when you recognize that he knows what’s best for your life. When you do that, you begin to trust God for the impossible. You and I serve a big God……bigger than we can even imagine. We will never regret trusting God.

3. Obey Him wholeheartedly. “Here is what it means to love God. We love him by obeying his commands” (1 John 5:3 NIRV).

You and I can’t earn your way to salvation by doing good deeds. But just like your parents smiled when you obeyed them, God smiles when we obey His commands.

Obedience isn’t always easy. Some days it’ll be inconvenient, even for those of us who have been Christians for decades. Obedience will cost you. But with obedience comes the smile of God.

4. Fulfill His purposes. “God richly gives us everything to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17 NCV).

Too many people think that the only time God is smiling on their lives is when they’re doing something religious. That’s simply not true. God is smiling when we’re working, worshiping, praying and playing.

Today (and every day) is a great day to make God smile because you and I really have only one person to please—our heavenly Father.

11-25-2023

No Pain, No Gain

You can call me biased if you like, but in my opinion, the Christian life is the greatest life there is. In fact, at LifePoint Church we often say, “Following Jesus will make your life better and it will make you better at life.” And it’s true. God takes a life that was empty and aimless and, worst of all, headed to a certain judgment, and He turns it around and transforms it. That is more than enough right there. But in addition, He removes the guilt that haunted us, fills the emptiness inside of us and literally takes residence in our heart. This all comes as a result of the believing the Gospel message and putting our faith in Jesus Christ.

All of that is the good news. And I’m not sure there’s really any “bad news” to be had here, but there can be expectations that go unmet. Too often, people who do what I do, neglect to give “the whole story”……and that can lead people to have unrealistic expectations. Some people think, “Well, I’m following God now so my life will be perfect with no bumps or detours along the way.” That’s not accurate, and those who have that idea are often sidelined because of something that happens that they didn’t expect. Maybe some illness shows up, or some financial crisis hits. Someone else gets the job you were hoping for or the scholarship doesn’t come through. Did God let you down? No. Expectations let you down. You expected everything to be perfect. That’s unrealistic. Hey, things weren’t perfect for Jesus……why should they be perfect for you and me?

Even though following Jesus is the best thing ever, there is still adversity along the way and adversity is actually a good thing. Adversity levels us and keeps us humble. C’mon….you know it’s true that when everything is going well we tend to ignore God. But when there’s some kind of struggle we turn to God because we are reminded of what really matters.

When life gets really hard and adversity strikes, we pray – and so we should. But sometimes when life is going reasonably well, we sort of forget about prayer. In his book “The Problem of Pain,” C. S. Lewis writes, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

Second, adversity teaches us things that we would not otherwise learn. I choose to avoid pain at all costs. That is why I don’t run. I have tried it, and it hurts. I have even had people say, “Just run a little. You know, walk, and then run from here to there.” So I do it. And I hate it. I avoid things that cause pain. We want to get into shape, but we want a pain-free workout (maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think so) . We don’t want to hurt. We don’t want our muscles to be sore the next day. But as the expression goes, “No pain, no gain.” And what is true for the gym is also true of life. No pain, no gain. If you are looking for a pain-free life, then you are not going to grow spiritually. Pain reminds us of a deeper need, which is a need for God.

Think about some of the greatest lessons you have learned in your life. They have come through adversity, haven’t they? And those are the things that you pass on and share with others. You remember those times when God came through for you.

Third, adversity gives us a new compassion for others who are in pain. When you go through adversity, you have a new consideration of others. It has been said that success builds walls, and failures build bridges. If everything is always perfect and life is always firing on every cylinder, people don’t relate to that. But they do relate to a person who is going through or who has been through pain.

The apostle Paul said, “[God] comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us” (2 Corinthians 1:4).

We need to continue in the faith. Even when your faith is being tested, remember: real faith gets stronger through hardship, not weaker. It becomes more resilient. It doesn’t fall apart. So press on. And when you are facing adversity, don’t focus on emotions that fluctuate. Remember that God is there with you. And remember that He is in control.

Today Matters

Your mileage may vary, but personally, I love the stories in the Bible. You should read them. They’re fascinating! Every one of the stories you find there is part of a bigger story – the story of God’s love and His endless pursuit of each one of us. Whether it’s an Old Testament story or a New Testament story, each one is filled with deep truths that both encourage us and challenge us.

Call me crazy, but I happen to believe that each one of those stories is true. It actually happened. God created everything in 6 days and then rested on the 7th? Yep. God flooded the world? Yeah…..what a sad time. Everyone spoke the same language until God confused it? I wasn’t there, but there’s no better explanation of why there are so many different languages out there. The walls of Jericho? Yep. David, Goliath, a slingshot and a stone? Why not? Stranger things have happened.

I especially love the stories involving Jesus. Maybe I’m just biased (okay, I’m definitely biased), but in the stories about Jesus we find passion and compassion, and He is always pointing us toward a relationship with God the Father. One such story is the story of Zacchaeus. What a name, right?

One day while Jesus was passing through Jericho, a man named Zacchaeus came to see him. If you grew up in Sunday School, you know that “Zacchaeus was a wee little man and a wee little man was he”. You may also know that he wasn’t a particularly good man; he was a tax-collector and a dishonest business man. Since he wasn’t very tall and couldn’t see in the crowd, he climbed a sycamore tree to get a better view of Jesus. The Bible says…

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately, I must stay at your house today.” (Luke 19:5)

I love the urgency in Jesus’ words: “Come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” Jesus was saying, “Zacchaeus, don’t wait. Don’t put this off. Something important is about to happen.”

No doubt Zacchaeus was caught off guard. After all, who goes around looking for people in trees? But this was more than Jesus noticing someone in a tree. This was a divine appointment. The response of Zacchaeus?

So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. (Luke 19:6)

He invited Jesus into his house. He didn’t say, “I’m not ready. My house isn’t prepared. I don’t have enough food. I don’t have any party favors on hand. The place is a mess…Can we do this a week from Friday when I’ve had time to get things in order?”

Instead, he seized the opportunity to have Jesus come to his home. What happened next? This spur-of-the-moment meeting led to a life-change for Zacchaeus. He said, “Jesus, I want to start doing things right. I’ll give half of my money to the poor, and I’ll pay four times the amount to anyone I’ve cheated.” And Jesus said…

“Today salvation has come to this house.” (Luke 19:9)

Salvation came that day, not because Zacchaeus decided to “come clean”. The was the by-product. Salvation came because Zacchaeus trusted in Jesus for forgiveness. Once he’d been forgiven, then he decided to “clean up his act”. It all happened because Zacchaeus responded to the invitation of Jesus. He might not have felt completely prepared to have the Son of God enter his home, but he didn’t put it off. And his life changed as a result. So let me ask you:

What life-changing invitation have you put off?

Maybe something important is ready to happen………maybe even today.