Blog Archives

Get Plugged In

11/25/2018

"On the worst day of my life my name is written in heaven." said Pastor Josh as he was pointing out that getting sold out to Jesus is more than just a one day a week thing. "Remember," he said, "it's not about you, it's about God. And you can't be committed just part of the time. You have to be committed all of the time." Those are the kind of words that lift the listener out of his/her seat and causes the heart to beat faster. It's so easy to get lazy. Just like the vacuum cleaner, if it isn't plugged in, it won't be of any use in cleaning the house. You have to get plugged in and stay plugged in.
     We aren't the ones with the power to get us to heaven. It's God power and he spells it out so eloquently in his word, the Bible. God's power is spoken of in Psalm 114. He is the One who led his people out of Egypt, parted the Red Sea, caused the Jordan to go dry, and caused water to spill out of the rock. It's not about man, it's all about what God is willing to do for man.
     Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Verse 29 goes on to say that he (meaning God) foreknew. God is everywhere. He sees everything from the beginning to the end. Of course, he already knows. Time is of no consequence to him. God rises above the earth and time to a spectrum which man knows nothing of. From his perspective, that is, God's, he sees all. He knows what man is going to do tomorrow before he does it. This is God's wisdom. He has foreknowledge.   We were in his heart eons before we were ever born.
     The next part of Romans 8:29 states, "(those he foreknew)...he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son...". Remember, in verse 28 it says that this is for the ones called according to his purpose. God's has willed it to be so. Those who are called will be conformed to the image of his Son. How wonderful. How he's going to do that is up to God. God in his omnipotence has willed that he wants as many who choose him to be like his Son. Heaven will be filled with people who will be like his precious Son who suffered and died for everyone on the cross. First Timothy 2:6 says that Jesus gave himself a ransom for all. It also says in verse 4 that God wants all to be saved. That's everybody, no one is left out. Unfortunately there will be those who make the conscious decision to reject Jesus and the saving grace of God.
     Yes, God has willed it that man has the right to chose whom he will serve. He's sovereign and that's the way it's going to be. Period. In Romans 8:30 he goes on to say that the ones who are called (the ones who choose God) will be justified. One of the dictionary meanings of justified is "declared or made righteous in the sight of God." The dictionary itself points out that man has nothing to do with it. Once a person is called to God, he's conformed to the image of his Son and now, he is declared righteous in the sight of God. Romans 4:5 backs that up, "... his faith is counted for righteousness." It's all God. Except for the fact that each and every person has the right to chose heaven or hell.
     There's one more line in Romans 8:30 that says, "...and whom he justified, them he also glorified." It's done. God has done it. Those who are justified are glorified, honored, exalted. God sees us as we will be in heaven. One thing more, though, just for the benefit of the reader. God also says in Hebrews 12:6-7 the ones he loves will also be chastened and scourged just as a father cares for his child and wants him to be good.
     Man only has to decide where he wants to spend eternity. God gives man all the chances in the world to go to Him. He sends out his special messengers like Pastor Josh to help man make up his mind. The messengers get it and feel the same urgency in delivering God's message to all who will hear and make the decision. What'll it be? Heaven or Hell?

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No Secret Sins

11/18/2018

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Once upon a time there was a man, a rich man. He was a good man, too. In fact he was a godly man. Or so everyone thought. He reasoned that because he was a good man that his goodness far outweighed his, let's say, shortcomings. He had done so much good and served God that it just wasn't possible that he should come to no good end.
     Then the day came. He died and passed from this earth. Upon arriving in heaven, which was where he expected to be, he was shown into the great accounting room. It was an immense room with files that reached up as far as the eye could see. And they were standing in rows and columns all around the room.
     In the center of the room was a great table and someone sitting in a chair with such a tall back that he couldn't see who it was. "Welcome." said the voice from the other side of the chair. "Everyone comes here before their admittance. You see, I must check my files and see if you have any unforgiven sins on your records before you are admitted." Just then beads of perspiration formed on the man's forehead. His heart began to race...Suddenly, he jerked awake. "Thank God." he said. "I'm not dead."
     This could have been David. King David of ancient times. Up until Nathan paid him a visit, David was certain that his "secret sins" were secret. It's in II Samuel 12. The prophet Nathan went to King David and told him a story about a rich man taking a prized ewe lamb from a poor man. Reading the text is pretty dramatic. Enough so that it infuriated David. He wanted to go out and hang this rich, arrogant man from the nearest tree. The shocker was that Nathan pointed at David and told him that he was that man. That's when it dawned on David that the Lord sent Nathan to set before him his sin.
     "For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known." (Luke 12:2) There is a day of reckoning that is coming for each and every one on the face of the earth. David, once his sin was set before him, was contrite. The Lord had chosen him to lead Israel. He had blessed him many times over. David had much to be thankful for. And, yet, he had backslidden. Is there repentance for the lamb who has strayed from the fold and, now, wants to return? Isaiah 1:18 says to that "though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow". David was like the prodigal son in Luke 15. He had strayed but when he came to his senses, he returned to his God. The proof of it is in Psalm 51. It is a passionate pleas for God's mercy and grace. Everyone should read it.

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Repent and Hold Fast

11/11/2018

Jesus said it all in Acts 1:7, "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power." He finished by telling the apostles they would receive the power of the Holy Ghost and would be witnesses. And then he ascended. These are the last words Jesus spoke on this earth. It still holds true today. Christians still exist in a world of uncertainty and it is still the duty of believers to be witnesses.
Noah lived in a time of uncertainty when evil was everywhere and he built the Ark (Genesis 6). Abraham coexisted with uncertainty when he up and left his homeland (Genesis 12).   Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were surrounded by uncertainty when they refused to worship the idol of Nebuchadnezzar's (Daniel 3). They all lived in a time of uncertainty and it isn't any different today. God has looked down on the nature of man and said that he would not always strive with man (Genesis 6:3). There is a day coming. That is certain. The uncertainty is not knowing when.
     Jesus was sitting on the mount of Olives with his disciples and they were curious about the end of the world. Here we are over two thousand years later and we still wonder the same thing. He goes on in Matthew 24 and tells them that the end is not yet and what the things are that must come to pass before God brings down the curtain on this old world. From what he describes it will be just as wicked as many of the events described in the Bible. The warnings of what to expect begin in Matthew 24:16-21. Those in Judea, flee into the mountains, don't stop to get anything, just go. It will be awful for expecting and nursing women. Pray that it won't be in winter or the Sabbath. Finally, it'll be the worst tribulation since the beginning of the world.
     Since the beginning of the world. Let that sink in. Sodom and Gomorrah were decimated along with the plains around it. God rained down brimstone and fire from out of heaven and destroyed all the inhabitants for their wickedness (Genesis 19:24). Lesson number one: The sins of Sodom and Gomorrah were great enough to cause God to rain down fire and brimstone until they were destroyed. This was only two towns. At a future time known only to God, the sins of this earth will be so great that the "heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also..." (II Peter 3:10).
     Nineveh was another matter. That great Assyrian city came up before God for its' wickedness. Jonah, after some convincing, was sent there to preach that Nineveh was going to be overthrown unless they repented. They did repent, and so they were secure for a time. Historical accounts report that about 200 years later, the city was destroyed and the inhabitants carried away. Lesson number two: Repent and be saved. God sent his prophet to warn them and they paid attention. II Peter 3:9 says the Lord is...not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Unfortunately their repentance became slack and the city became only a footnote in history.
     Times are uncertain and no one knows what the future holds or if there's a future. What's important is found in Revelation 3:3. "Remember therefore how thou has received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee."

Tend to the Inside

11/4/2018

A good day was had by all this past Saturday. Especially Pastor Josh. He got out his old Grandpa Roy's '92 truck and drove it all day while he got about the business of getting things done. First, it was messing with the cows. Then, he ran down by the church to get a few things ready for the church hayride that night. Then he and a church member went after the hay and loaded it in the bed of the old truck.
     Time for a break so they took themselves to breakfast. Then it was back to church to get out the tables, make sure everything was under control. Time to go back home, the four-year-old's birthday party was that day. Six o'clock was already here. He ran out and jumped into the old truck and headed back for church. Pretty soon he was pulling into the churchyard. All day in Grandpa's truck, what a treat.
     Well, it was a treat but come Sunday morning, Pastor Josh decided to take his new Chevy truck. The one that had a tilt steering wheel, softer seats, more elbow room, bigger cab, nicer sound system. His new truck was a lot more comfortable. And life is all about being comfortable, having the nice things.
     That was the opening of the sermon. Like the expert fisherman he is, he had set the hook. We all saw the old truck Saturday night. Little did we know that it was going to lead us right into his sermon. The story was about the physical side of life. And like the physical side, one day all of that stuff that we have that makes life comfortable will belong to someone else. The body will draw its' last breath.
     What he wanted to know was--Are we doing as much for the inside of ourselves as we're doing for the outside? How's the soul going to fare when it's time for an accounting? There's a story in Luke 11 beginning at verse 45. Jesus has just been invited to dine with a Pharisee. Obviously others are there also. Right off the bat the Pharisees take particular notice that Jesus didn't wash before dinner. Jesus warns them that while they're making a fuss over what is on the outside, they're not tending to the things which are on the inside. Appearances are deceiving, on the outside they appear godly but on the inside they're wicked.
     The religious experts in the law take issue and Jesus goes after them. He recites chapter and verse their deeds and deeds of their fathers. Chapter 12 continues with a warning to beware of the Pharisees. Also, there is a day coming when everything will be revealed. Verse 4 and 5 say, "...Be not afraid of them that can kill the body...Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell..."
     In this same passage Jesus calls the Pharisees hypocrites. Pastor Josh recited an old saying that a hypocrite was someone that went to church on Sunday and lived like the devil the rest of the week. Sometimes people use the excuse that they won't go to church because people there are hypocrites. Pastor Josh responded that he would rather spend a few hours on Sunday with hypocrites than spend eternity in hell with them.
     People love the finer things in life but like Matthew 6:19-20 tells us that things here on this earth are transitory, here today and gone tomorrow. Rather, lay up treasures for yourself in heaven. The treasure that is valued is the treasure of the heart. Be careful about what is important to you. When it's over, it's like the passage in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil."

Linda Johnson

Linda Johnson moved to Douglas County with her husband Tom 11 years ago after retiring from teaching. Following Tom's death in 2016, Linda began facilitating a grief support group called GriefShare through Sweden Church. She serves as the Sunday School teacher for our High School class. Her "Layman's Pen" articles are also published in the local paper, The Douglas County Herald.

Andrea Strong

Andrea is Pastor Joshua Strong's wife. She also serves Sweden Church as Church Secretary, website administrator, and Sunday School teacher to the Intermediate Class.