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The No-Secret to Conquering Worry

Matt R. — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 03:49:02 +0000

Matthew 6:25-34 are very near and dear to those of us who are tempted to worry. The first statement of Matthew 6:25 is rather shocking, “Don’t worry about your life!” Christ then lists many of the areas were are tempted to worry about everyday.

What I never noticed about this passage is the connection it has to the preceding context in Matthew 6:24. The first phrase of 6:25 binds these two verses together (“For this reason”). The passage on worry is sandwiched between two strong statements about serving God as your top priority (Matthew 6:24, 33).

The “no-secret” to conquering worry is serving God as your chief ambition in life. When you do, God says He will take care of the details along the way.

When those “worrys” pop up your first line of defense is prayer (Philippians 4:6-7).

Keep Jesus Above The Rest

Matt R. — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 12:59:09 +0000

Luke 9:33-35 And as these were leaving Him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles: one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah” — not realizing what he was saying. While he was saying this, a cloud formed and began to overshadow them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. Then a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!”

A Lesson from the Transfiguration
The Father will not let Jesus share common worship or levels of reverence with other humans. The Father’s declaration runs directly against Jehovah’s Witness doctrine of Jesus, “He is just like us, just a little more advanced.” May we see Jesus as fully man while at the same time fully God (Philippians 2:5-8).

Let us not let the greatest human scholars or theologians of our day or the past find the same level of authority as Jesus. The Roman Catholic pope is neither, but many place his ex cathedra declarations on the same level as Bible! The Father’s message is “Listen to Jesus!”

Thoughts On Our Savior’s Incarnation

Matt R. — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 21:29:13 +0000

Anbetung der Hirten (Adoration of the Shepherds) (c. 1500–10), by Italian painter Giorgio da Castelfranco

On Philippians 2:5-9

“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

Christmas should remind us to live for the best interest of others. In the Person of Christ, God willfully took on the limitations of human nature for the good of all mankind (1 John 2:2). B. B. Warfield encapsulates this thought in the following quote:

“So far is Paul from intimating, therefore, that Our Lord laid aside His Deity in entering upon His life on earth, that he rather asserts that He retained His Deity throughout His life on earth, and in the whole course of His humiliation, up to death itself, was consciously ever exercising self-abnegation, living a life which did not by nature belong to Him, which stood in fact in direct contradiction to the life which was naturally His!” (The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, “The Person of Christ”, Vol. 4; p. 2339.)

What an amazing challenge to us to do the same (Philippians 2:3-4). Every moment of every day choosing to sacrifice my “rights” and desires for the benefit of others. Are you building up and edifying others with your actions and words, or tearing them down (Ephesians 4:29-32). Thank God for another person of the Trinity who lives inside us to enable us to this end (Galatians 5:22-23).

God Knows!

Matt R. — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 10:31:23 +0000

God’s providence is at work in every aspect of our lives. The Book of Exodus is a clear reminder of how God is at work bringing all the details of life together to accomplish His plan.

As Moses under the inspiration of God recounts the details of the nations condition (Exodus 1:1-22) as well as his own illegal birth (Exodus 2:1-10), he carefully highlights the movements of God’s sovereign hand even in the face of man’s sin (Exodus 2:11-15). Through every detail of the seemingly ordinary events of life, God is at work preparing a man to accomplish His plan.

Chapter 2 ends with a summarizing statement concerning Israel’s condition (Exodus 2:23), and His knowledge of their condition (Exodus 2:24). God hears the sighing and crying of His children! Let the pressures of life amplify your cries to God! He hears your “groaning” produced by the pressures of life! He remembers His unconditional obligation to you (“God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob”). He sees your financial strain, health issue, difficult decision, and takes notice (literally “knows”) every detail about what you are going through.

Praise God His knowledge propels Him to action in our lives! Israel was not where He wanted them to be (bondage in Egypt). The hardness of Pharaoh, or the complaining of Israel, could not keep Him from accomplishing His eternal plan in their lives, or in yours!

If you are looking for an encouraging Book to read, I heartily recommend Exodus!

When Rats Eat Your Treasure

Matt R. — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 02:32:22 +0000

Out of the uncertainty in financial markets, especially in Greece, comes a great illustration of the biblical principle of Matthew 6:19-21. The following illustration is taken from a recent news article.

“One senior investment banker is more blunt: “People are scared that the government doesn’t know what it’s doing.” He tells a story about an acquaintance who took out €30,000 (Euro = $42,546), wrapped it in a bag and stashed it in his garage. “The bag had previously had some food inside,” he says. “So it attracted rats, who ate the notes.”"

So much better to lay up our treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:20-21)!

Soli Deo Gloria

Matt R. — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 19:33:16 +0000

Why do you do what you do? Why do you make the decisions you do? What motivates you? Scripture answers these questions with a single focus: “Do all to the glory of God.”

Here are a few verses the Lord has brought to my mind as I have been meditating on this truth:

Romans 1:3-5 “concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, 4 who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake,”

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 – “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”

1 Corinthians 10:31 – “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

1 Peter 4:11 – “Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

Colossians 1:16 -18 – “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.“

There is no greater purpose in life than to glorify God in every attitude, thought, and action! May God give us grace to that end!

Restoring Spiritual Power

Matt R. — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 14:31:28 +0000

Do you ever feel like you have lost your spiritual power to overcome sin, fight temptation, advance in your Christian walk? In 1 Samuel 7:1-2 Israel is in the midst of a 20 year power outage because they were unwilling to do what is necessary to restore their relationship connection with God, the only source of true power. The following are steps to restoring spiritual power taken from 1 Samuel 7:3.

Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you return to the LORD with all your heart, remove the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your hearts to the LORD and serve Him alone; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.”

A. True change comes from your heart/will. (Emphatic position in Heb. “with all YOUR heart”).

1. Exp: External pressures to change and conform are not enough to bring lasting change.

2. Ill: Children in a Christian family/college – conform to the rules to avoid the consequences – discipline/expulsion, but if it is not from their heart it is not true change.

B. Repent (“return to the Lord”)

1. Acknowledge the error of your way and change it.

2. Direct your heart to Him, place Him as the first and most important in life.

C. Remove sin from your life. (“remove the foreign gods and ashtaroth”).

1. App: As long as you keep sin in your life, your relationship with God cannot be right.

2. Ill: Removing cancer from your body. No good simply to identify and leave. – Surgery is painful but necessary!

D. Renew your relationship with God (“prepare your heart” – prepare = direct, arrange).

1. Our hearts experience the 2^nd Law of Thermodynamics – they always tend to wander away from God.

3. You must establish new actions and methods that keep checking your heart and redirecting it toward God.

E. Serve Him alone (“serve/worship Him alone”)

1. God desires single-hearted worship – He will not share it with anyone or anything.

F. Result: The power will be renewed (“and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines”).

God’s desire for you is victory and freedom from sin!

Words of Encouragement for a College Student!

Matt R. — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 00:55:16 +0000

This evening I came across this comment on Facebook that a seasoned, godly friend, Ed Fallon, had placed on the wall of a freshman college student who is beginning to feel the weight of the semester. I thought his words were full of wisdom and great advice to all of us! (I share this with his permission.)

Remain focused on your tasks one day at a time. Try not to think about what you have to do next week; rather think about what you have to do today. Break-up long term tasks into daily/weekly tasks as appropriate. Set mini-goals for yourself… (not humonga tasks) & celebrate your accomplishment in achieving them. Idea here is to break big tasks down into small manageable ones then focus on small manageable tasks one at a time and one day at a time. Additionally, remain committed to finishing the goal. You will have set backs, everybody does. You will get discouraged, everybody does. But failure is only defined as giving up, not having set backs, difficulties, or discouragement, so remain committed. Lastly, you are beloved of God, “wonderfully & marvelously made”, precious in the sight of God. God will enable, strengthen, & help you because He loves you. Call upon God & walk with Him. He will give you all that you need.
Romans 8:37, Philippians 4:13; Hebrews 4:16; James 1:5
O.K., now go get’em kid!

There is None like my God!

Matt R. — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 12:46:11 +0000

The Lord has been encouraging my heart as I have been meditating on the awesome character of my God. I thought I would just share some passages that have been an encouragement to me!

1 Chronicles 29:11-13 “Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O LORD, and You exalt Yourself as head over all. 12 “Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone. 13 Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name.”

Jeremiah 10:6-7 “There is none like Thee, O Lord; Thou art great, and great is Thy name in might. 7 Who would not fear Thee, O King of the nations? Indeed it is Thy due! For among all the wise men of the nations, And in all their kingdoms, There is none like Thee.”

If you have some verses that have been a blessing to you on the greatness of God, please leave them in a comment!

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing!

Matt R. — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 18:37:50 +0000

On Sunday evening, June 6th, I tried something I have been wanting to do for a while. In an effort to help our people grow in appreciation of the hymns we sing, I preached a sermon based on the text of one of our well known hymns, “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” Many of the arguments people have against singing hymns are based on the assertion that hymns are dull and dry. I would agree with that statement if you do not put out the effort to focus on the words you are singing. Rich spiritual blessing is available to those who apply their minds while singing hymns.

If you are interested, you may listen to that sermon here. God has blessed us with men and women who have put rich theological truths to text and tune through which the Word of God may grow in our hearts. I believe our people as well as myself received a great blessing meditating on the thoughts. I hope that you will also!