There have always been people who have predicted the end of the world is coming.  They look to sign and try and interpret scripture to say that Jesus is about to return.  While I think it is good to have an attitude and mindset that Jesus’ return is imminent, I think too often we focus on the wrong things.  We have a tendency to focus on the signs instead of focusing on being ready, or our mission of sharing His love and message with the world.  Let’s look at some of Jesus’ words about the end from Luke 21. 

Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, 6 “As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.” 7 “Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?” 8 He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them. 9 When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.” 10 Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. 12 “But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. 13 And so you will bear testimony to me. 14 But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. 15 For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. 16 You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. 17 Everyone will hate you because of me. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 Stand firm, and you will win life.

Jesus encourages us to be ready but not to worry.  He tells us not to get caught up with those who say the end is coming.  He reminds us that we must bear testimony for Him and He will even give us the words to say.  There are always signs out there in the world that the end is near.  Don’t focus on looking for these and interpreting them.  Use these as a reminder to get to work and be ready!  Jesus is coming.  Keep doing His work.

In His Grip,

Pastor Dave

Throughout Jesus’ public ministry on earth the religious leaders are trying to catch or trap Him in what he says.  Sometimes He says things seemingly to provoke them and other times He measures His words carefully.  In both instances though He leaves us with truths that we can hold on to.  Let’s take a look at one such instance found in Luke 20.

20 Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be sincere. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said, so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor. 21 So the spies questioned him: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. 22 Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” 23 He saw through their duplicity and said to them, 24 “Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?” “Caesar’s,” they replied.25 He said to them, “Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” 26 They were unable to trap him in what he had said there in public. And astonished by his answer, they became silent.

The Jewish people were not happy about the taxes that they had to pay to Rome.  The Pharisees were included in this but they assumed that Jesus as this potential Jewish Messiah would lead an uprising about this.  They asked Him if they should pay taxes.  His response is brilliant when He asks to see a coin.  – Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and God what is God’s.  The reality is that Caesar’s taxes were unfair and were instituted by force.  On the other hand everything is God’s.  Our resources, our gifts, our very lives.  Jesus is teaching us a principle in the midst of this interaction about using out time, talents, and treasures for Him.  He has given everything to us and therefore our lives are offered to Him as our act of worship.  The Pharisees meant this as a trap, yet Jesus used it as another opportunity to teach us truth.  I pray that we might all give to God what is God’s namely our lives.

In His Grip,

Pastor Dave

Hello Advent Family,

One of my very favorite Bible stories growing up was always the story of Zacchaeus.  I was always curious just how short he was.  Just how wee was the wee little man we sang about?  I also thought it was great that Jesus immediately went and shared a meal with him.  I remember my teacher in Sunday school making a joke about how no one has ever liked tax collectors except for Jesus.  Let’s look at the story together today found in Luke 19.  

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.”

One of the things that struck me the most about the story of Zacchaeus was the immediate transformation that takes place in his life after encountering Jesus.  Tax collectors in that day were notorious for being greedy and taking more that was owed and then keeping it for themselves.  Zacchaeus not only commits to paying that back, but he says he will pay back four times the amount and give half of his wealth to the poor.  Jesus takes that heart of greed and it is immediately changed to a heart of generosity.  That is the transformative power of Jesus in our lives.  He changes us from the inside out through the power of His Spirit.  The other thing that sticks me about the story of Zacchaeus is the lengths that he goes to to see Jesus in the first place.  I’m sure that it must have been embarrassing for him to have to climb a tree to see past the crowds.  That didn’t matter because seeing and experiencing Jesus was just that important.  I pray that attitude of Zacchaeus would be one that we all would take on.  We will do whatever it takes to see and experience Jesus.

In His Grip,

Pastor Dave

Have you ever noticed how many times in the Bible that Jesus goes against what might be considered normal in culture?  He often ends up doing or saying the opposite of what is expected.  Luke 18 has 4 different stories where the crowds and even His disciples expect one thing and Jesus does something different.  Let’s look at one of those stories about public prayer together today but I encourage you all to read the entire chapter as well.  

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ 14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

I often talk to people who are uncomfortable with public prayers.  Perhaps it is because they have heard long prayers with large theological words and flowery language and that is all they are used to.  There is a time and place to pour your hearts out to God in such a way but I also love the humble, heart pouring out prayer of the tax collector here.  “Lord have mercy on me a sinner.”  That is a prayer that we can all pray.  God’s interest is our hearts not our prayer vocabulary.  May we all pour our hearts out to God in our prayers whether we use fancy words or simple ones God is simply interested in our hearts.  

Have you ever been extremely grateful for someone or something?  How do you respond when you are feeling gratitude?  Jesus tells a story about it in Luke 17.  Let’s take a look at the story together today.

Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” 14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. 15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

In the culture of Jesus’ day there wasn’t a much worse fate you could experience than being a leper.  I am certain that all 10 people who were cleansed were extremely grateful.  Their lives were changed for the better in so very many ways.  They could return to their families and friends.  They no longer suffered from this horrible disease.  They would no longer be considered unclean and could participate in worship.  They were not outcast of society any longer.  So why did only one return to Jesus and thank Him?  It is easy to simply blame the 9 lepers but perhaps a better activity is for us to consider how often we thank Jesus for all He has done and continues to do in our lives.  We were also outcasts from Heaven and Jesus made us whole.  He has made us heirs to the Kingdom of God.  He leads, guides, and directs, us in life.  He watches over us.  He gave His life so that we might live.  Today and every day make it a point to be like the leper who returned.  May we all be people of gratitude toward God for all He has done and continues to do in our lives. 

In His Grip,
Pastor Dave

The Bible talks a lot about money.  Money is not a bad thing in fact it is important to be responsible with our money so that we can accomplish the ministry that God has set forth for us to do.  There are times however where money can be a distraction or stumbling block.  Jesus knew that this was the case for the Pharisees and for others so He often addressed it.  Let’s look at His words together today from Luke 16.

10 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? 13 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” 14 The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. 15 He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.

Jesus uses this strong example to get to the heart of the matter.  Money isn’t and wasn’t the problem.  The problem was the hearts of the Pharisees.  They were focused on the outside appearance and wanting to appear to be wise and good but they were not truly interested in following God.  Money is often a reflection of our hearts and our priorities.  I pray that God would grant all of us a healthy attitude toward money.  May we be generous and responsible with it and continue to help use it to share the love of Christ with the world!

In His Grip,
Pastor Dave

Have you ever lost or misplaced something that was important to you? You typically can’t rest until you find what you are looking for.  I can remember having bought a present for one of my kids and I was so excited to give it to them.  I hid it because I did not want it to be found ahead of time.  When it was time to give the present I could not find it anywhere.  I spent hours looking and could not find it anywhere.  I searched and kept searching and trying to remember where it was.  Eventually I found it days later in a place I would never look (of course) my sock drawer.  Jesus tells us several parables describing God searching for the lost in such a way.  Let’s look together at His words in Luke 15.

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. 8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

If rescuing those who are lost is that important to Jesus than it should be important to us as well.  The Pharisees were upset that Jesus was hanging out with sinners but He was teaching them that is exactly where He should be.  Obviously we receive support and encouragement and mutual growth from our time with other believers.  We also have a responsibility to bring God’s love and message to the lost.  I pray that we all would do this with the same passion that we search for things that we have lost.  After all we are simply helping our Father find His lost children.

In His Grip,
Pastor Dave

Have you noticed that some of the teachings of Jesus are particularly difficult? The passage we are looking at today from Luke 14 is one of those.  Jesus uses extremely strong language to stress the importance of being all in when it comes to following Him.  Let’s look at His words together today. 

Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ 31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. 34 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

Jesus has tons of people following Him at this point.  He wants to be strong with His message so the curious and those just following the crowd know that this is a serious commitment. Jesus is calling His followers to a completely different way of life.  He calls us to a kingdom life that has different priorities from the rest of the world.  He starts off by telling people to hate their family to follow Him.  To us this seems even more extreme than it actually is.  “Hating” is actually a Semitic expression for loving less.  Jesus is saying that He should be our first priority even over our family.  Then with His next illustrations He is encouraging us to count the cost.  He doesn’t want people to make an impulsive decision to follow Him and then fall away or lose their saltiness.  Jesus wants us to be “all in” when it comes to following Him.  Sometimes during our journey with Jesus being “all in” is easy and other times it is hard.  Jesus certainly went all in for us even to the point of dying for us. He simply calls us to in our fallen, broken, way go all in for Him as well.

In His Grip,
Pastor Dave

There are certain stories we have in the gospels that just clearly illustrate the difference between the heart of Jesus and the approach of the religious leaders.  There is one found in Luke 13 that I would like to look at today. 

On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11 and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. 14 Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.” 15 The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? 16 Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” 17 When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

Of course we all know that Jesus had compassion on people.  Time and again He breaks down barriers and crosses lines to help others.  In this instance He sees a woman who has been suffering for 18 years.  He knows it is the Sabbath and He knows how others will respond but He doesn’t want her to suffer a moment longer.  He also wants to teach the Synagogue leader and other religious leaders something important.  He pointed out their hypocrisy on this issue and also showed them how important God’s children are to Him.  The religious leaders were so caught up in God’s law that they were missing the heart of God for His people.  Jesus came to show us that and to ultimately show it in the greatest way by giving up His own life for us. Today thank Jesus for His great compassion and love that He showed then and continues to show every day in our lives!

In His Grip,
Pastor Dave

Many of you know that I am currently down in the Florida Keys on a Pastor’s retreat.  It has been a good couple of days and we are wrapping things up today.  Yesterday we were having lunch at the Keys Fishery and Bobby McFerrin’s famous “Don’t Worry Be Happy” came on the radio.  We began to joke a little bit about the connection of the concept of the song to the gospel.  Ironically the text connected to this concept is where we happen to be in the book of Luke today.  Let’s take a look at chapter 12 of Luke.

Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?27 “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

Jesus tells us that we need not to worry because we can rely upon Him.  It’s not quite don’t worry be happy but it’s more don’t worry trust Jesus.   We are told to turn our focus to building God’s kingdom and let Him worry about our daily needs.  I find that the more I learn to rely upon God and trust Him, the easier it becomes to put the worries of life aside.  I pray that God would help all of us to rely more and more upon Him and worry less and less.  Don’t worry trust Jesus!

In His Grip,
Pastor Dave