Quarantine Devotional – Day 16

Passage to Ponder: Psalm 34

Fear the LORD, you his godly people, for those who fear him will have all they need. Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the LORD will lack no good thing. Come, my children, and listen to me, and I will teach you to fear the LORD.” -Psalm 34:9-11 (NLT)

A few days ago, I asked you to pray for some real-life heroes, our healthcare professionals. They need our prayers every day! Now I ask that you pray for educators. My children started online classes on Monday. I am so glad I’m not a teacher right now! Not being one who is technologically savvy, I would be lost. And my students would be even more messed up! Students ought to be so glad I’m not their teacher, too! Let’s remember to pray for these wonderful people who are investing their lives for our children’s future. In fact, stop reading right now and say a prayer for our teachers and school administrators.

Now that we have prayed for the teachers, let me ask a question related to education. What is the most important thing that parents need to make sure their children learn? If you read Psalm 34, you know the answer. If the answer didn’t pop into your mind instantly, you need to go back and take a slow attentive walk through that Psalm again. “Come, my children, and listen to me, and I will teach you to fear the LORD.”

So, what does it mean to “fear the Lord”? The main Hebrew and Greek words translated fear in the Bible can have several shades of meaning, but in the context of the fear of the Lord, they convey a positive reverence. The Hebrew verb yare can mean “to fear, to respect, to reverence” and the Hebrew noun yirah usually refers to the fear of God and is viewed as a positive quality. This fear acknowledges God’s good intentions (Exodus 20:20). The Bible tells you this positive reverence is produced by God’s Word (Psalm 119:38; Proverbs 2:5) and makes a person receptive to wisdom and knowledge (Proverbs 1:7; 9:10). At the heart of the fear of the Lord is a desire to love God (because He intends the best for us in all He does) and to obey the Lord’s commands (because God has placed joyous guidelines for us to live productive and meaningful lives).

It is good to make sure your children (or grandchildren) get a good education. A good education is a wise investment that will bless a family for generations. But teaching them to fear the Lord is a blessing that can last a thousand generations. I can hear some thinking, “A thousand generations? Really? How can you make such a claim?” I can make this claim because God has promised this to us! In Exodus 20:6 the Lord said this, “I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.”

Love,
Pastor Larry

Click to View March 29th Livestream Message

(This is from a series of devotionals written during our time of restricted meetings and activities due to the coronavirus.)

Quarantine Devotional – Day 15

Passage to Ponder: Philippians 1:1-14

I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.” -Philippians 1:9-10 (NLT)

   

    Let me take you back to an experience I had as a little boy. My parents were dear friends of the Sheriff of Brazos County, Texas. J.W. Hamilton was an old school lawman and had been re-elected to his position for decades. He was loved by the citizens (law-abiding ones, anyway) and was respected by his peers. He also served as the president of the Texas Sheriff’s Association, composed of the sheriffs from Texas’ 254 counties.  He was usually like Sheriff Andy Taylor from Mayberry, but could be the lawman you didn’t want to mess with, if you know what I mean. Picture in your mind a tall Texan in a cowboy hat and you’re on the right track. I always knew him as a gentle giant. I still remember the day I saw him become a grizzly bear.

  Sheriff Hamilton owned a waterfront camp house on Chocolate Bayou off Galveston Bay, and we made some trips with him there for saltwater fishing. On one trip, I was riding with him as he drove his truck while my parents followed behind in their truck. As we were driving through the little town of Clute (home of the world-famous Mosquito Festival) there was some road construction with a young deputy sheriff from that county directing traffic. As Sheriff Hamilton eased by, the young deputy yelled at him, “Hurry up you old coot! You’re slowing traffic!” (I cleaned the language up considerably here in case you were wondering.) Traffic suddenly got a lot slower! 

  He parked his truck right in the middle of the highway and pulled his long frame out the cab. The young deputy turned white as a sheet as Sheriff Hamilton pulled his jacket back to reveal his sheriff’s badge and his holstered pistol. The young deputy’s boss was a good friend of the man he had just cussed out. Old J.W. made the young deputy get on the radio with his sheriff boss and explain what he had just done and why he shouldn’t be fired. Then the two sheriff buddies chatted a while on the radio about whether the deputy should keep his job. The conversation ended with Sheriff Hamilton urging that the deputy keep his job saying he had learned a lesson on the importance of good manners. We went down the road and traffic started moving again after about 20 minutes.

  Now here is the point, the young deputy was full of himself and lost sight of the job he was supposed to do—keep people safe and serve the public. He forgot what really mattered most in his job. The result of his loss of focus caused him to almost lose his job. I’m sure that moment of humiliation was something he never forgot. I like to think that he went on to become a great law enforcement officer after his painful and embarrassing lesson.

  So, how are you doing when it comes to keeping your life focused on what matters most? I don’t know all the reasons God is allowing this pandemic to radically alter our lives and threaten our health. But I do believe that it has been good in one sense: Christians are realizing what really matters--their faith, their families, their neighbors, and their churches. Have we taken these things for granted? Now we can’t go see our extended families. We can’t have close contact with our neighbors. We can’t attend our churches. If we knew we would soon not be able to do these things, I’m sure that most of us would have made that unscheduled trip to see family; we would have walked to our neighbors house just to visit; we would have made sure that we put in the effort to worship God with His people. When this pandemic is over will you still remember what really matters? Or, will learning the lesson be even more painful the next time?                

                         

  

Love,
Pastor Larry

Click to View March 29th Livestream Message

(This is from a series of devotionals written during our time of restricted meetings and activities due to the coronavirus.)

Quarantine Devotional – Day 14

Passage to Ponder: Colossians 3:1-17

“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.” -Colossians 3:1-2 (NLT)

   

  You made it through another week! Two weeks are behind you and now the third week of this societal sabbatical is staring you in the face. How are you doing? Ready for some human contact and freedom? I sure am, but the Lord is still working His perfect plan to conclusion. So, you and I must wait, work as best we can, and keep looking up!

  “Keep looking up? Pastor, I don’t need clichés to get me through this…I need real spiritual advice!” While it may sound like a cliché, the counsel to keep looking up is biblical. If you are in Christ, you have been given a new life, a new reality. With this new reality comes a new perspective. The day I chose to cast my lot with Jesus and trust in His death on the cross for the washing away of my sins, everything changed. My eyes were opened, and I saw that I had been living in blindness. My vision was 20/20, but I couldn’t see beyond my own little selfish world. As John Newton wrote in the classic hymn Amazing Grace, “I was blind, but now I see.” My spiritual eyes were now opened. “How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed!” 

  The Bible tells you in Colossians 3:1-2 that if you have been raised to a new life with Jesus, you now have the ability to look beyond your immediate situation and set your eyes on the “realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.” When the Bible tells you to “keep looking up,” you are NOT being told to put on a fake smile and convince yourself that everything is going to be fine. You are being told to see reality: no matter what happens, Jesus is still on the throne at the Father’s right hand. He is still in control! That is why Paul reminds you to “Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.”

  Each day of this quarantine you have a choice to make. Am I going to focus on my momentary frustrations and fears? Or, am I going to focus on Christ’s purpose in all of this? Am I going to try to get through this in my own emotional strength and strategies? Or, am I going to keep looking up to Christ and lean on His strength and strategy? The Apostle Paul went on to write in verses 3-4, “For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.”  Am I going to have a pity party? Or, am I going to celebrate that the Lord has invited me to a great victory party? That is the difference between looking around and looking up! 

  This world is often like a mirage in the desert. It offers the promise of an oasis from your troubles. But the oasis is nothing but more sand and more thirst. Christ offers reality—the ability to see beyond your immediate circumstances and peace in times of trouble. Keep looking up!

                         

   

Love,
Pastor Larry

Click to View March 29th Livestream Message

(This is from a series of devotionals written during our time of restricted meetings and activities due to the coronavirus.)

Quarantine Devotional – Day 13

Passage to Ponder: 1 Chronicles 12

“From the tribe of Issachar, there were 200 leaders of the tribe with their relatives. All these men understood the signs of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take.” -1 Chronicles 12:32 (NLT)

   

    I have heard so many say something along the lines of, “I’ve never been through any thing like this before.” Unless you are old enough to remember the 1918-1919 Spanish flu pandemic, that sentiment is correct. I’ve been a pastor for 35 years now and last Sunday was the first time I stood in an empty sanctuary preaching to a computer screen during regular worship times. I pray that this doesn’t become something I get used to doing! Such strange times for our world. We need some “men (and women) of Issachar” today! Who?

  In 1 Chronicles 12 the people of Israel find themselves facing a difficulty no one had ever experienced. King Saul is the king of Israel. However, because of his disobedience God has chosen a new king to rule the people, King David. David refuses to lift his hand against Saul and David is allowing God to take care of the problem. Saul doesn’t see it that way. Saul puts David’s picture on Crime Stoppers and wants to kill the threat to his throne. The people of Israel are caught in the middle of this real life and death drama. They were being forced to choose sides. That is what is happening in 1 Chronicles 12. We get a list of some of the people who made the right choice and took David’s side. 

  The list we are given includes 200 men of Issachar…“men [who] understood the signs of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take.” These were men who were very wise and gave great advice to King David. Our nation needs people like that right now. Our churches need people like that, too! The modern church in America has never traveled down this road. How do we stay connected? How do we continue to worship and make disciples? How do we receive offerings to meet the physical needs of the present? How do we minister to those who need help? 

  Your church is just like all the others right now. Pastors and lay leaders are flying the plane with one hand on the yoke and the other hand holding the book “Learning to Fly for Dummies”! And, all these pastors and church leaders are desperately hoping their churches survive the landing! They know that some churches aren’t going to walk away from the crash. Many churches have no financial reserve and are going to close their doors in the next few months unless the Lord removes this disease.

  Pray for these leaders to have a wisdom that can only come from the Lord--that they would understand the “signs of the times” and know “the best course” for their churches to take. Your pastor and church leaders have never led a congregation through a pandemic before. Every pastor will make mistakes during this time. So, they not only need your prayers, they also need your grace, support, and encouragement. Pray that your pastor will listen to God’s Spirit, God’s Word, and wise counsel! 

  At the risk of sounding self-serving, I ask that as you pray for our national, state, and local leaders, remember to pray for your pastor, too! He needs it more now than ever before!                           

   

Love,
Pastor Larry

Click to View March 22nd Livestream

(This is from a series of devotionals written during our time of restricted meetings and activities due to the coronavirus.)

Quarantine Devotional – Day 12

Passage to Ponder: Acts 14:1-23

“After preaching the Good News in Derbe and making many disciples, Paul and Barnabas returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia, where they strengthened the believers. They encouraged them to continue in the faith, reminding them that we must suffer many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.” -Acts 14:21-22 (NLT)

   

  STOP! If you didn’t take a few minutes to read Acts 14:1-23, do it now. If you don’t, you won’t get the impact of “They encouraged them to continue in the faith, reminding them that we must suffer many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.” I’ll stop writing and give you a minute to read it. I’ll start writing again when you get back…

  …All done? Good! The chapter began with such an exciting event, didn’t it? Paul and Barnabas preach in the synagogue at Iconium (in modern south-central Turkey) and many people become Christians—both Jewish and Gentile. Have you ever noticed that when your faith is going well that it doesn’t take very long for opposition to arise? When life is smooth sailing that the seas start raging? Some of these things are the natural course of life. We all have ups and downs. But that is not what happened to Paul and Barnabas. They weren’t victims of circumstances; they were under attack from the enemy. Wicked people fought against them until it reached the point where they were forced to leave town. 

  Just down the road were the twin cities of Derbe and Lystra. At Lystra, the attack began again. This time Paul was taken outside of town and stoned to the point that his enemies figured he was dead and left his battered body there in the ditch by the road for the vultures. Verse 20 is one of the most poignant verses in the Bible. “But as the believers gathered around him, he got up and went back into the town. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.” Wow! Bloodied, bruised and left for dead on the edge of town, Paul struggled back to his feet and went back into Lystra! He went back into the battle! Rocky Balboa was a wimp compared to the Apostle Paul. I don’t think Rocky would have gotten back into the ring if the crowd watching the fight was bent on killing him. But Paul got back in the ring! The next day he went down the road to Derbe to preach. Then verse 21 tells us that Paul doubled back through Lystra on the way back home to Antioch.

  Serving the Lord is easy at times. God is gracious to ring the bell to end the round of the fight and let you sit on the stool in the corner to catch your breath and drink some water. But then the bell sounds and it is time to get back into the fight! You are going to take some punches. You might even get knocked down a few times.  Then the real fight reaches it hardest moment. Defeat or victory is decided while you are down on the canvas with the world counting down from 10. It is the battle of your faith. Will you get up off the canvas and get back in the fight? Will you throw in the towel of surrender? 

  In all those Rocky movies do you know why Rocky Balboa kept getting back up after being knocked down? IT WAS IN THE SCRIPT! If Rocky didn’t get back up, there would be no point of making the movie. The script said the end was not going to be in doubt. Now look again at verse 22…“They encouraged them to continue in the faith, reminding them that we must suffer many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.” You can choose faith and get up again in the face of many hardships because the end of the SCRIPTure says that after the fight you will “enter the Kingdom of God”!

   

Love,
Pastor Larry

Click to View March 22nd Livestream

(This is from a series of devotionals written during our time of restricted meetings and activities due to the coronavirus.)

Quarantine Devotional – Day 11

Passage to Ponder: Matthew 8:5-13

“Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed.” ...When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!” -Matthew 8:8, 10 (NLT)

   
  The plea on the behalf of a young paralyzed servant came from the lips of a Roman Centurion, an officer who led over 100 men in the Roman army. It seems this officer had never met Jesus before. Yet, he knew the stories of the miraculous healings that had happened at the hand of Jesus. We are not given a biography or even a little back story on this man of great faith. He simply appears in Matthew’s Gospel and the exits the scene just as quickly. I have a few questions for him when we meet up in heaven one day. How did he first learn of Jesus? What caused him to reach the conclusion that Jesus is the Messiah…the one who could save mankind? How hard was it to come so publicly to Jesus knowing the eyes of his superior officers would probably take notice?

  

The act of stepping out in faith for the Centurion was an uphill climb. You couldn’t find two men who were more different. He was a man of war; Jesus was a Man of peace. He was a Gentile; Jesus was a Jew. I believe that even with these differences, the Centurion understood what it meant to wield authority. He gave the reason why he was not worthy of Jesus entering his house in verse 9: “I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.”

  

As an officer, when he gave a command, those under him had no choice in following that order. It was not optional. With that background, the Centurion understood who was the Ultimate Authority. This Jewish Messiah held the power over all things, including the emperor of Rome. There is nothing not under the command of Jesus. (Excuse the double negative!) The Roman officer knew that all Jesus had to do was speak the command and the servant would be healed. “Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed.” The paralysis didn’t have a choice once the Supreme Commander gave the order. It had to leave immediately. The command of the Lord must be obeyed.

 Earlier in the ministry of Jesus, He and the apostles were in a boat crossing the Sea of Galilee during the night hours. A storm overtook them, and the apostles struggled to keep the boat afloat while Jesus slept peacefully in the back on a cushion. In panic and the fear of going under the boys awakened Jesus and said, “Master, don’t you care that we are all about to drown?!” Jesus opened His eyes and asked them, “Where is your faith?” Jesus stood and commanded the storm to stop. And it instantly obeyed the command. The apostles marveled and asked each other, “Who is this Master of ours that even the winds and the waves obey Him?”

  

“Who is this Master?” He is the Ultimate Authority! You can take steps of faith and come to Jesus trusting He will be able to command any sickness, storm, or situation to be stilled. Will you follow the example of going in faith and asking the Commander of heaven and earth to give the order?

   

Love,
Pastor Larry

Click to View March 22nd Livestream

(This is from a series of devotionals written during our time of restricted meetings and activities due to the coronavirus.)

Quarantine Devotion – Day 10

Passage to Ponder: Exodus 15:22-27

“If you will listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and keeping all his decrees, then I will not make you suffer any of the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the LORD who heals you.” -Exodus 15:26 (NLT)

   
  Each of these daily devotions have thus far addressed personal spiritual issues dealing with how you can have encouragement from the Lord and be an encouragement to others during the pandemic. Today’s devotional is going to be different. I am challenging you to spend some time in what is known as intercessory prayer—that is interceding before God on the behalf of others. You are commanded to do this in the Scriptures. “Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert in this with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:18 HCSB).

  There are some people who are in critical need of your prayers, your interceding on their behalf before God. These heroes are standing between you and the coronavirus. These warriors are putting themselves in the heart of the storm to save lives. I am, of course, talking about all those who work in the health care system—doctors, nurses, administrators, janitors, maintenance workers…anyone who is at the battle front every day in hospitals, clinics, and doctors’ offices. You and I personally know some of these amazing people. Maybe your spouse, parent, sibling, cousin, niece, or nephew is a health care worker. Some of you reading may be one of these heroes.

  As you pray for these dear ones, claim the promises of God on their behalf. One of my favorite names for God is found in Exodus 15:26. In our English Bibles you will read where God says, “I am the LORD who heals you.” A literal translation from the Hebrew is this: “I am Jehovah-Rapha.” All the titles for God in His word reveal a compelling aspect of His character and nature. When God calls Himself Jehovah-Rapha, He is telling you that He is the Ultimate Healer. Jesus demonstrated this repeatedly in His earthly ministry. There is no disease that God cannot heal.

  A comprehensive reading of the Word of God will reveal to you that there are basically three reasons illness and disease enter into a life. First, it is because of sin. All of us born in Adam are now mortal because mankind has fallen in original sin (Romans 5). To compound that, your personal sins can bring more disease and disaster into your life. The second reason God allows illness in your life is to bring you to eternal glory.  Your days are numbered, and God has a time for you to stand before Him in the eternal. The third reason is key to intercession. It is so He will get glory—that there would be no doubt that God is real and that we need Him! God has used plagues many times to turn people back to Him. In John 9 Jesus encountered a man born blind. Jesus was asked whose sin caused his blindness…his parents, or, had he done something before he was born that caused it? Jesus answered it was neither. Jesus said this man was blind so that God would receive the glory when he was healed and people would know that Jesus was the Savior, the Son of God. Then Jesus healed the man!

  As you pray for health care warriors, claim the promise of God that He is Jehovah-Rapha. Pray for their protection in the face of danger. Ask God for their perseverance in the face of long days. Call upon the Lord for the patients they care for to be healed by the authority of Jehovah-Rapha. Pray for the health of their families so their attention will not be divided. Pray that God would receive the glory and that people would seek the Lord while He may still be found! Pray that this war against an unseen enemy be won by the power of Jehovah-Rapha!

  May God bless our heath care workers! If you are one of these heroes, I thank you!
   

Love,
Pastor Larry

Click to View March 22nd Livestream

(This is from a series of devotionals written during our time of restricted meetings and activities due to the coronavirus.)

Quarantine Devotional – Day 9

Passage to Ponder: Ezekiel 34:1-16

For thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘Look! I, even I, will seek my flock, and I will look after them, just like the caring of a shepherd for his herd on the day when he is in the midst of his scattered flock. Thus, I will look after my flock, and I will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on the day of storm and stress.’” -Ezekiel 34:11-12 (The Lexham English Bible)

   
  Social media has been filled with examples of price gouging and greed the past few days. It has been on the television newscasts… “Man buys all bottles of hand sanitizer and resells them for $17,000 profit” … “Woman selling 9-packs of bath tissue for $50 out of the back of her SUV.” These are just two examples of many of people profiteering from the panic and desperation of others in this pandemic. You probably have read and seen others. If you are reading this, you probably aren’t the type of person who would stoop to such levels.

  Sadly, you also know that religious people are not necessarily righteous people. In ancient Israel you couldn’t find anyone more religious than the priests. However, a close reading of Ezekiel 34 reveals that these men were wicked and were fleecing the sheep, God’s people, for their own profit. In verse 10 God says to those greedy priests, “Look! I am against the shepherds, and I will seek my flock from their hand, and I will put an end to them from shepherding flocks, and the shepherds will no longer feed themselves, and I will deliver my flocks from their mouth, so that they will not be as food for them.”

  Look at that verse again. Now, contrast it with verses 11-12. God plainly says that He will remove the crooked shepherd and rescue the flock. I can hear you asking, “But what does this have to do with me? I am not a priest in ancient Israel; I am not a pastor in present-day America, either.” That may be true, but don’t get so hung up in the players that you miss the principle: God is against those who would take advantage of others who are needing help. God is on the side of the needy and those who help them. You don’t want to be on the wrong side!

  As this pandemic spreads, more and more people you know will be suffering and have need. You will be faced with a choice to be greedy or to be generous. What will you decide? The Bible warns you, “The one who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:17). The suffering person will probably not ask for help. When you know of someone in need, especially one who needs a saving faith in Jesus, the decision you make can have eternal impact. You will not be able to fix every person’s plight. The good news is that God doesn’t ask you to do that. He only asks that you make a difference. Jesus said that when you even just give a cup of cool water to a person who is thirsty, it is as the same as if you gave the satisfying water to Jesus Himself.
   

Love,
Pastor Larry

Click to View March 22nd Livestream

(This is from a series of devotionals written during our time of restricted meetings and activities due to the coronavirus.)