Month: June 2017

Galatians 5:16-25

I am sure that in this prestigious group of people, there is someone who can tell me what the message title acronym stands for:

‘Please Be Patient, God Isn’t Finished With Me Yet.’

How many of you would be willing to admit that’s true? Unless your sanctification level is 100%, unless you are batting .1000, unless you are completely and absolutely holy in all areas of your life; then it’s true . . . God isn’t finished with you yet.

That acronym could be a motto for every one of us, and it implies several things that we have noted about sanctification. Sanctification (more Christ-like, holy) is a process that begins from the moment of our new birth and will continue until we take our last breath.

Sanctification is also a struggle. Last week, we referred to it as The War Within. Sometimes we take two steps forward and one step back; sometimes one step forward and two back; but as long as we ‘walk in the Spirit’ we will keep moving forward.

You recall that to ‘walk in the Spirit’ involves developing holy habits; God’s word and prayer . . . prayer and God’s word.

But to adopt P. B. P. G. I. F. W. M. Y. as a motto implies something that most of us don’t get very excited about: CHANGE.

When was the last time you got really pumped about changing your life? (more…)

Galatians 5:16-26

Paul Harvey tells of being on a ranch in the west and witnessing a riveting story of a cowboy who had a beautiful stallion that he had raised from a colt after he captured him from a wild herd of horses. The horse would follow the cowboy around wherever he went, so much so that the other ranch hands would poke fun at him. One day, the stallion stepped in a gopher hole and injured his ankle, so the cowboy put him a pasture by himself so he could recover at his own pace. One night a herd of wild horses broke into that pasture and when they left the cowboy’s horse followed the wild herd.

The cowboy was miserable . . . for two days he grieved the loss of his horse. On the second evening, another ranch hand told the cowboy he has seen his horse in a certain canyon and sure enough was still hanging out with the wild bunch. The cowboy decided to get a good night’s sleep before heading out in the morning.

Before dawn, he and Paul Harvey rode out to the opening of that canyon and hid behind a rock from which they could watch the herd. They were grazing quietly, so the cowboy decided to play Indian and sneak up close enough so that he could speak to his horse. When he got within earshot, he slowly stood up; all the horses heads jerked up, ears alert, ready to bolt. While the cowboy began talking to his horse for all he was worth, the other horses took off and ran further down into the canyon. The cowboy’s horse stood still, muscles twitching, not sure what to do. He looked toward the wild herd, took several steps in their direction; then he stopped and turned towards the cowboy as he continued talking. He began to prance around in a circle not knowing which way to turn as he looked first at the wild bunch of hoses, and then towards His master.

Paul Harvey said, ‘You could see and feel the tension in that horse; there was his master whom he loved and there was the wild herd which he did enjoy running with; which way to go?’ For a moment it looked as though the cowboy had lost as his stallion ran about 20 yards to follow after the herd. But then he stopped dead in his tracks, turned around and with head up pranced back to the cowboy. The cowboy placed a rope around his neck, the horse nuzzled him the chest and finally, the cowboy led his horse out of the canyon.

Paul Harvey later wrote, “I laid my head down on my arms and prayed, ‘Dear Lord, if I am ever tempted to run with the wild herd, let me listen to your voice when You call.’”

That story illustrates exactly what Paul is discussing with us in Galatians 5:17:

The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.

There is a tug of war that goes on in our hearts; in yours and in mine. I call it the war within; where on the one hand we desire to serve and follow the Master whom we love, and on the other, our sin nature encourages us to follow self. (more…)

John 14:15-21
Ephesians 2:8-18

From Reader’s Digest, Life in These United States, Ann Spivack writes, “While our friends from India traveled to California on business, they left their 11-year-old daughter with us. Curious about my going to church one Sunday morning, she decided to come along. When we returned home, my husband asked her what she thought of the service. “I don’t understand why the West Coast isn’t included too,” she replied. When we inquired what she meant, she added, “You know, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the whole East Coast.”

She’s not the only person who is a little clueless when it comes to the Holy Spirit; especially when it comes to talking about The Trinity, our subject for today.

So what are some of my thoughts on the Trinity?

First, the doctrine of the Trinity points to the mysteriousness of God. The doctrine does not make an attempt to define the totality of God. Where would we in our finite humanness ever get off thinking we could even begin to comprehend the Eternal One?

An unknown author wrote: “If God were small enough to be UNDERSTOOD, He would not be big enough to be WORSHIPPED.” The idea of the Trinity is a paltry human attempt to describe what God has allowed us to know of Himself. I am reminded of the words of Paul writing to the Christians at Corinth:

Now we see things imperfectly as in a poor mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God knows me now. (1 Corinthians 13:12)

Someday, we’ll understand more about God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. For now, we will have to be satisfied with what we can glean from God’s word.

And what can we glean? (more…)