Thank You Lord

"I thank you, LORD.  Though you were angry with me, your anger turned away and you comforted me."  Isaiah 12:1 CEB

Thank You... our position with and attitude towards God should always be one of Thankfulness.  God owes us nothing.  God isn't required to give us nor provide anything for us... in fact, God has every right and is fully justified in being angry with us and giving us nothing but wrath.

That is a lot to take in, isn't it?  But, it is the truth.  We often act as though "how dare God be disappointed or angry with me or anyone else (that I like, anyway).  But it is the truth that God, who is just, owes us nothing.  We have no claim on His kindness, mercy or love.

The Good-news, however, is that God wants us to know His love, His mercy, and His kindness.  He  has chosen to "turn His anger away" from us and instead offer us His comfort.  While we deserve His anger and wrath He has provided for us a way to not be on the receiving end.  He has turned His anger away from us and toward Jesus.  Jesus bears the brunt of God's anger.  Jesus absorbs or takes it all upon Himself and gives to us His righteousness, blessing, and comfort.  We receive God's love, mercy and kindness that was deserved by Jesus.  To quote the country song... we "Got the goldmine and He got the shaft". 

2 Corinthians 5:21 says, "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."  It is in and because of Jesus' righteousness that we receive God's mercy and comfort.  It is in Jesus that we receive the blessings, grace and gifts of the Spirit.  Gifts that Jesus deserves not us! 

So, our position and attitude towards God is one of thankfulness!  Thank You Lord Jesus
Pastor Bill Johnson

When the Time is Right!

When the right time finally came, God sent his own Son.           Galatians 4:4

When the time was right... not sooner, not later... when the time was right.  Jesus will come again... when the time is right, no sooner, no later. We can't force it, we can't  keep it from happening.  It wil happen when the time is right.  God is not in a big hurry.  It will happen in his time, at his pleasure.  Sometimes we are like little children who can't wait for Christmas.  We lay awake all night trying to figure out if it's time to get up yet, only to be told by grumpy parent's to "shut up and go to sleep... Christmas will be here when I say so!" Jesus will come again when God says so!

Joy in Jesus!  Amen!
Pastor Bill

How Much Glory is Due the Lord?

Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.  Psalm 29:2

How much glory is due the Lord? How much glory, honor and praise; how beautiful, how holy is the Lord? It isn't a matter of comparison to me or someone else. It isn't that God is more holy than me or more beautiful or more worthy than I am.  No...God is beyond all comparison. God is the definition of beauty.  God is the definition of holiness.  When considering these things, God is those things. God is the standard, God is beauty, God is holiness so only He is worthy.  So how much glory is God due? How much glory should I take?  I should take none!  I should give God all glory, honor and ascribe all beauty to Him.  There is no beauty apart from Him.  It isn't that the mountains or a sunset aren't beautiful...their beauty comes from God. It isn't that I can't be good, but that when I am good God is the source of my goodness. All of this is to bring me to worship not the creation but the creator of all things.  When I see the beauty of the plains in bloom, a mountain bluebird in flight, JoAnn's wonderful smile... when I encounter beauty it is intended to be a reminder of God's beauty, a reflection of who God is and it should remind me to praise Him for His beauty, holiness and glory. He is worthy of my worship! In Jesus name, Amen!

Peace and Joy!
Pastor Bill

"Finally, they returned"

Finally, they returned by ship to Antioch of Syria, where their journey had begun. The believers there had entrusted them to the grace of God to do the work they had now completed. Upon arriving in Antioch, they called the church together and reported everything God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles, too. And they stayed there with the believers for a long time. (Acts 14:26-28 NLT)

During the trip I was unable to access this blog page to share some thoughts along the way.  We are home, now.  I am guessing that the others are having the same difficulty that I am... So many thoughts and memories of what we saw and heard that it is difficult to narrow the focus to what can be shared in one or two sermons.

I suspect that is why Paul and Barnabus "stayed there with the believers for a long time."  So much to share.  While our trip wasn't like Paul's in that we were not taking the Gospel into unknown territory, we were going into places and cultures that were unfamiliar to most of us.  Like Paul we were witnesses to the great acts of God.  We met people whose courage and faith are on the line every day.  We met people for whom dependence upon God is not haphazard nor without consequence.  I was truly and deeply humbled many times, every day.

As I begin the precession of reflection upon it all, I realize that it will take many Sundays to share it all.

Paul and Barnabus didn't stay forever in Antioch.  They made many more trips, some to places they had already been, and some to new lands and people they had never been, taking others with them.  My hope and prayer is that those of us who made this journey will do the same.  That we will trust God to provide for us to return with others who will inturn return with others and in this way move the Kingdom of God to all people every where.

Thank you, Reid and Angela and the other members of the team for your time, care and fellowship.  Thank you, Ecumenical Church Family for prayers and support to make this trip possible.  Thank you Steve Van Ostran, and ABCRM for the invitation, and support to make this trip.
Grace and Peace in Jesus...
Bill Johnson

Worry? - Not me!

Jesus said, "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own.  Today's trouble is enough for today" Matthew 6:34

 

Is Jesus saying we should worry about Today?  "Today's trouble is enough for today." The things I worry about that are "tomorrow", are things that I can not do anything about anyway. So why worry about them?  The stuff that is "today's" is usually the urgent stuff.  It is the stuff that needs attention.  Tomorrows "worries" are usually "phantoms", imaginary. So why worry about them? Trust in today. God will provide as I trust him. Thank you, Jesus, That I can trust you.  That I can look to you with confidence in all that I do.  In Jesus Name Amen.


Peace & Joy
Pastor Bill Johnson

Uncovering a Mystery!

"As you read over what I have written to you, you'll be able to see for yourselves into the mystery of Christ."  Ephesians 3:4

It goes to say that this mystery is made known by God's spirit. As we read scripture...as we look at it, HE is made known.  I enjoy uncovering a mystery.  I love the "Ah Ha" feeling I get when I see something that I hadn't noticed or just didn't know.  When I was a kid I delighted in "Highlights" magazine.  It could be found in any Dr.'s or Dentists office.  It always had the section where you had to find the hidden objects.  I always loved that.  Do I bring that same delight in finding the mystery's of God in scripture? Do I get excited each time I open the Bible, looking or expecting to uncover a new insight or a new way of looking at the Word?  I Should!  Often I don't because I don't expect to find something new.  God, recreate in me that desire, that hope, that JOY of expecting you to reveal yourself to me in scripture. 

In Jesus Name

Peace and Joy
Pastor Bill

Can you feel it?

Isaiah 60:1
Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.

It used to be that people got up at dawn.  Arise and shine like the sun really meant something. To rise and let the "glory of the LORD" rise upon you was to get up and face the sun.  To feel its warmth, to feel its presence.  WOW!  That sense of warmth and peace that I have felt when basking in the sunlight is amazing.  I have been in the mountains to experience the sun rise... what a feeling of joy and hope.  God's presence gives us that same feeling...only more.  Face into God, stand in his presence.  Feel the warmth, joy and hope at his announcement. Let the glory of the LORD arise on you!