The Apostle Paul states in 2 Corinthians 9: 16 TLB- Thank God for his Son-his Gift too wonderful for words.
Sounds like mission impossible, but what words would you use at Christmas time to describe God’s gift of Jesus to us?
Hoping He is the reason for the season for you,
Pastor Tom
The turmoil in our financial markets here in the US and around the world is truly cause to be concerned and even fearful. It leads us to really ponder what we base our security and assurance upon for both the present and the future.
Let me ask you, if you lost it all tomorrow, would you also lose your ability to live with security and assurance? The answer I believe depends upon what the foundation of your life is. Check out the video clip titled “Sand or Rock?” for a thought provoking perspective on the question. Here’s the link to it. Is Your Faith Based On Sand Or Rock Video Clip
In His grip,
Pastor Tom
If you could ask God a question what would it be?
Pastor Tom
In the Old Testament of the Bible is a short book of just 4 chapters called “Jonah.” Its setting & context is very much like what we live in today. Nineveh, the city in the story, reminds me of the cultural state of much of the San Francisco Bay Area & the direction in which our country is heading. An overarching theme of the book is God’s great love for people who reject & rebel against Him & the lengths He will go to spare them from the consequences of their choices.
Maybe you’re thinking that God could never love those of today who are like the people of Nineveh. Or you think He could never love you. If so I have some good news for you because God says in His Bible book Malachi 3:6 – “I the Lord do not change.” That means He feels for those of today who are like the people of Nineveh & you in the same way He did for the people then.
Here are 3 ways you can know God has not changed in His love for all people.
1- When I think of what the people of Nineveh were like it causes me to recall how I once was towards God. God who had every right to leave me to my choices, treated me like He did the people of Nineveh. As a result I know God loves me and therefore, I know He loves them [the people of today who are like the people of Nineveh] & you too
2- Read the book of Jonah
3- Watch “The Father’s Love Letter To You” which you can access under Blogroll to the lower right of here
One thing God does not love or tolerate is sin. This is the other parallel overarching theme of the book of Jonah. The people of Nineveh ended up agreeing with God that their lifestyle was sinful. They responded by changing their lifestyle in a way that allowed God to spare them from the consequences of their lifestyle choice. So make sure you are using His & not that of the culture to determine the lifestyle that appropriately responds to & honors His love. Then you too like the people of Nineveh will personally experience His love.
Behold God beholding you & smiling!
Pastor Tom
“But God has shown us how much he loves us — it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us!”
Romans 5:8 TEV
The California Supreme Court recently ruled that limiting marriage to just between a man & a women is discriminatory. Effective June 17, 2008 same sex couples may legally marry here. A just released field poll shows for the first time that a slight majority support same sex marriage. A common comment is that such marriages hurt no one. Another comment is that Massachusetts approved same sex marriage & God has not zapped them as a result so it will all be fine. And with the move to same sex relationships, it’s also becoming more common to see same sex couples with children.
I don’t expect God either to suddenly zap anyone as a result of all this. What He’s done instead is wire creation with eternal & immutable natural & moral laws. These laws act to honor our corresponding choices. Observe them like our traffic laws and your journey of life will go well. Break them and sooner or later you will pay a price.
Given God’s mode of using natural & moral laws to enforce His system of righteousness, the effect of same sex marriage and on children reared in such relationships will not manifest itself for awhile. But when it does it’s going to be ugly!
I see already an emerging generation with a marked increase in gender confusion due to how the media has portrayed what being male or female is. I recently had dinner with a 40 year old woman who was raised by a lesbian mother & her partner. Her mother pushed her to reject any presence of her biological father in her life. There is great animosity in the heart of the daughter towards her mother for doing so. These are but the first fruits / tip of the iceberg of what we are going experience from altering the basic relational structure upon which the well being of society is based.
Pastor Tom
Don’t be misled; remember that you can’t ignore God and get away with it: a man will always reap just the kind of crop he sows! If he sows to please his own wrong desires, he will be planting seeds of evil and he will surely reap a harvest of spiritual decay and death; but if he plants the good things of the Spirit, he will reap the everlasting life that the Holy Spirit gives him.
Galatians 6:7-8 TLB
A woman I know who just turned 95 learned several days later that she has 2-3 months to live. When approached about being ready for death and life after it she responded, ‘I’m not interested in religion, plus I’m Jewish.” She further reasoned that given all the people she has outlived that she was really fine about dying. The woman has no fear about death and its consequences.
I think her point about not being interested in religion is right on. It won’t help her a bit for what’s ahead of her. God is all about relationship not religion.
But what about being Jewish? She is not practicing the Old Testament form of Judaism, e.g. animal sacrifice to deal with her sin. And she does not acknowledge Jesus as the Jewish Messiah. So she cannot rely on Old Testament Judaism or New Testament Jewish Christianity for her well being in the afterlife.
She also says she has no fear about her future after death. In Matthew 10:28 NLT Jesus says, “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” If she’s right in her beliefs leading her to not have any fear then Jesus is a liar.
The Bible also says in 2 Peter 3:9 CEV, “The Lord isn’t slow about keeping his promises, as some people think he is. In fact, God is patient, because he wants everyone to turn from sin and no one to be lost.” This woman has had 95 years and many opportunities to get to know God personally proving the truth of this verse. If this verse is true then Jesus’ statement in Matthew 10:28 is also true.
I ask you to join me in prayer that this woman will change her mind from depending upon herself to relying upon Jesus for her eternal destiny which is very close.
Pastor Tom
In Sunday’s San Francisco Chronicle Magazine an interesting comment is made by the wife in the couple featured in the article “On The Couch” found on page 20. She says, “I’m not religious at all; it’s a culture thing and it’s comfort.”
God speaks about religion in James 1:27 of His book the Bible. From His perspective it’s not a cultural or comfort thing. He says religion does exist and then defines real religion.
Why do you think this women feels as she does about religion? How do you feel?
As you ponder these questions remember that God is concerned about how you feel about religion. So much so that He addressed the issue in His book He wrote for us, the Bible. In fact His whole book is full of His concern for you on all the things you feel about. But don’t take my word for it, check His Word out for yourself.
On the journey with you,
Pastor Tom
Today a massive turnout will greet the arrival of the Olympic Torch in our area [San Francisco Bay Area] to protest China’s human rights record & its rule over Tibet. Concern and action for human rights & just rule are both valid & honorable.
Jesus thought so too. So much so He gave His life so we might live in the dignity that the Creator originally intentioned, but which sin hijacked from us. He is also on record that He is coming back to establish His rule & reign in a Kingdom of peace, justice & righteousness.
Question is will you be a citizen in His Kingdom in which true freedom will be eternally experienced?
Pastor Tom
In today’s San Francisco Chronicle there is a letter to the editor titled ” Rich Enough?” The writer in response to Oracle’s Larry Ellison’s $3,000,000 property tax reduction for his functionally obsolete home in San Mateo County, CA, wonders if Ellison will also get a free pass to heaven.
In Matthew 19:23-24 TLB it says, Then Jesus said to his disciples, “It is almost impossible for a rich man to get into the Kingdom of Heaven. I say it again-it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God!”
Larry can go to heaven, but it’s not his riches that will get him there. But his riches can certainly obstruct his ability make it in.
What point is Jesus making?
Pastor Tom
This week in the San Francisco Chronicle an ad for a church inviting people to their Easter service carried the headline, “The Easter God Is Optional.”
The God of the Bible says in Acts 4:12 NCV, “Jesus is the only One who can save people. His name is the only power in the world that has been given to save people. We must be saved through him.” God is making an exclusive truth claim which excludes any possibility of an option- if a person is interested in the salvation He offers.
So if a person is not interested in salvation, maybe the Easter God is optional after all. But then what does it mean for the person who selects the non-Easter God option? What assurance do they have to stake their eternal welfare on?
Easter reminds us that life has life and death consequences.
Pastor Tom
1 John 5:12 TLB