Have you ever been in the midst of one of the storms of life and wondered why?   Why is this happening, why am I walking through this struggle? Often we never get answers to the why’s of life but the good news is we always know the who.  Who is in control? Who loves me through this storm? Who never will leave me?  It’s always Jesus.  It’s interesting that God actually gives Pharaoh a why in the midst of bringing down judgment through the plagues.  Let’s look at the passage together today.

 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, confront Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me, 14 or this time I will send the full force of my plagues against you and against your officials and your people, so you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth. 15 For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. 16 But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. 17 You still set yourself against my people and will not let them go. 18 Therefore, at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded till now. 19 Give an order now to bring your livestock and everything you have in the field to a place of shelter, because the hail will fall on every person and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field, and they will die.’” 20 Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord hurried to bring their slaves and their livestock inside. 21 But those who ignored the word of the Lord left their slaves and livestock in the field.

It’s interesting that God tells Pharaoh His purpose.  He says that Pharaoh is actually a part of God’s plan.  His stubbornness actually goes on to serve God’s purpose and plan.  Some times after we walk through a time of struggle God’s plan and purpose become evident to us.  I can look back on several of those seasons in my own life and clearly see that God was at work.  Other times I can look at and not see anything.  The truth that I can hold too is that God was with me through all of those times.  In good times and bad.  He is with you and He loves you and He is at work.

In His Grip,
Pastor Dave

Today is Olympics Day at our elementary summer camp.  Kids will be competing in a variety of fun and crazy games today and winning interesting prizes.  Whenever I think of competition I am reminded of my sports days.  I remember how hard I would work to try and be successful for whatever I was competing in, particularly baseball.  I also am reminded of the following passage from I Timothy 4, let’s look at it together today.

Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. 9 This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. 10 That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe. 11 Command and teach these things. 12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. 13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. 14 Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you.

Physical training is important.  The Bible doesn’t knock it.  We are simply reminded of the even more significance of godliness.  How much do we “train” for that?  I don’t know if any of the kids have been in training for the ice cream eating competition they will have in camp today but I do know we should all be in training in our spiritual lives.  I love Paul’s words in Philippians –  “What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him…  Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”  Let’s press on toward our goal of knowing Jesus more and more, embracing His love, and sharing that love with the world.

Have you ever awoken and started your morning routine only to find you are out of coffee?  It truly is a disheartening experience.  What do you do?  Run to the store and buy some more.  Stop at the coffee shop and pick some up.  Perhaps grind it out and wait and get some at work.  For the coffee addict this becomes a true dilemma.  What if we “needed” to spend time with God each morning the way we need coffee.  David seemed to have this need for God and His word.  Let’s look at what he says in Psalm 19 today.

The reality is we need God much more than we need coffee.  The question is how much do we pursue God.  I can remember one morning being out of coffee and running to the store which was closed and then asking Siri which coffee shops were open.  I then drove 15 minutes to a shop to wait another 10 minutes for it to open to get my morning fix.  In my defense I once owned coffee shops so it’s not as bad as it seems.  What if we put that kind of energy into pursuing God each morning?  How filled with the spirit might we be with that type of effort.  I’m sipping my coffee as I write this but more importantly I’ve had some time in God’s word to prepare it.  That truly is the best way to start the day!

Any of you ever experience FOMO – Fear Of Missing Out.  I have a little bit right now as our students are on the Rush trip.  I have been at Rush probably 15 times and it is always an awesome experience where God does amazing things in the lives of students.  As I was praying for them this AM it occurred to me that we often look forward to God working in special places or at special events but the Bible is actually filled with stories of God working in the every day mundane activity of life.  Let’s look together at Luke 15 today.

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. 5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. 7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” 8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Zacchaeus’ FOMO led him to climb a tree so he could see who this Jesus really was.  His every day ordinary act of climbing a tree led to Jesus, a dinner party, and ultimately his salvation.  God’s word to me this morning and to all of us is not to wait for the “special” times where God shows up and works but look for Him in the midst of the every day.  God is always at work in our lives sometimes when we least expect it.

Imagine you are Mary, either one.  Jesus has just been crucified and you are devastated.  You go to mourn His loss and walk up on the tomb only to experience an earthquake and watch an angel roll to stone away and plop himself down on it. The angel says do not be afraid, ha good luck.  The guards are shaking and feint like dead men. I can only imagine the crazy emotions they must have been going through.  Let’s look at the account together today.

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. 2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. 5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.

I love verse 9  I wonder if Jesus was watching the whole scene slightly amused.  The Marys run off afraid and excited and all of the sudden Jesus pops out.  Now the fear is gone and it’s only joy and worship.  He sends them on their mission to tell the disciples and I imagine has a good laugh.  That’s the thing about Jesus.  He is with us even when we don’t see Him.  When we do look to Him everything changes.  Our problems look smaller and Jesus is bigger.  Whether you are walking through good times or bad make sure you don’t miss Jesus.  He is with you always.

Throughout the years many followers of Jesus have always been interested in the end times.  This is not a new phenomenon, the disciples even asked Jesus about it.  I have been asked questions about the end countless times over the years.  Let’s look at what Jesus says in Matthew 24 together today.

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains. 9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

I think that over the years people have focused on the wrong part of Jesus’ message here.  Many have tried to identify wars, natural disasters and persecution as “signs” of the end.  Certainly Jesus says that those will happen but those things have been happening since before Jesus’ time on earth.  Instead we should focus on what else He says, stand firm and preach the gospel to the world.  Those are the only parts of this that we can actually control and do anything about.  The rest is up to God.  We don’t know the when but Jesus is clear about the what.  What we should do is stand firm and share His message and love with the world.  According to Google searches there has been a recent surge in people looking for signs of the end of the world.  I suggest instead of looking for signs we look for Jesus.  We fix our eyes on Him and point others to Him whenever we can.

If Jesus’ fate was not sealed up to this point it certainly must have been after the events of Matthew 23.  He calls the Pharisees out blatantly on their hypocrisy the chapter ends with the famous 7 woes of the Pharisees but let’s look at the beginning of the chapter together today.

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2 “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. 5 “Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; 6 they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; 7 they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others. 8 “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10 Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. 11 The greatest among you will be your servant. 12 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Jesus tells His followers to obey the law of the Pharisees but He makes a clear point for them not to live like them.  The Pharisees love a life of religious show but not true hearts of following God.  The call of a follower of Jesus is not one of esteem but of humility.  Our faith journey is meant to more and more point us toward our need for God not to make us point out how good we are on our own merit.  A. W. Tozer once stated that the closer we get to God the more we recognize just how sinful we truly are.  The Pharisees were far from God because they thought that they were pretty good.  May we be a people who recognize our need for God more and more and hold on tight to Him.  He is always holding on tight to us.