Pursuits and Possessions

²¹ And he said, "All these things I have kept from my youth." ²² So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." ²³ But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.

 (Luke 18:21-23)

Success in the Christian life is never measured by what we possess, but rather what we give away. And this “giving away” involves much more than material possessions – it reaches all the way down to how we see ourselves, and the value we place on everything and everyone around us. It’s not until we are willing to be empty of our own will and beliefs that we are ready to be filled, and we must be willing to know nothing before we can know anything at all.

"You still lack one thing.”

It is a strange thing to tell a rich man that he is still lacking. That is because Jesus does not count what a man has, but what He can give him. Yet, our Lord will never seek to fill someone who is already full, nor will He pry open a closed fist and force Himself upon him. But He will patiently wait until he realizes how desperately poor he really is before revealing Himself. “Blessed are the poor in spirit . . .” (Matthew 5:3)

. . . he became very sorrowful.

 God will challenge us by placing someone in our path that possesses a greater measure of the Spirit than us to provoke us to a holy jealousy. How we respond to that person says everything about our willingness to grow in the Lord. We are never the same after we’ve seen this man, and we will either shrink back into the comfort of the familiar or pursue the upward calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Then Peter began to say to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You."

(Mark 10:28)

Love and perfect peace,

Pastor Eric

The Power of Paying Attention

Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, and attend 

to your herds . . .  (Proverbs 27:23)

One of the greatest weapons a disciple will ever employ is his attention to detail. We tend to believe that loving Jesus is the end all, but it is truly just the beginning. Nothing is more frustrating to a teacher than a student who is smart but inattentive – and we frustrate the Lord when we declare our love for Him and remain emotionally immature and undependable. There is no spiritual maturity without dragging our daily attitudes before the Lord for His painful and honest inspection, and be sure that He will inspect every millimeter of our character because He loves us.

Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee 

from Your presence?  (Psalms 139:7)

Most of us turn inward and get surly with God when He first corrects us, and that tells us we are walking in the flesh. Yet, the Lord does not relent, for He knows He will have to judge us wherever we do not humble ourselves and repent. His mercy dictates His patience and His fierce determination to present us to Himself without spot or wrinkle. Our duty is to respond immediately when we are rebuked or corrected by His Holy Spirit, and in doing so we prove we are sons and servants of the Most High God. All this demands an open heart and a steely-eyed focus on our relationship with Him and our brothers and sisters in Christ. Be sure that we will give an account for every word, every deed, and every gift we receive from above. So, let the Lord find us fully engaged in dialogue with Him, abiding in Him, and attentive to Him. It is a matter of life and death!

Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; ²⁴ and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalms 139:23-24)

Love and Peace beyond understanding,

Pastor Eric

"I will Build my Church..."

Matthew 16:18

For a pastor (at least this pastor), these words of Jesus are among the most comforting and reassuring words in the Bible.  They are also the most sobering and convicting, because they oppose so many beliefs I have about my job.  I always feel the self-imposed pressure to “grow up” the Father’s House both in membership and maturity, and God must remind me every day that it’s His job to build the church, and He instructed me to, “. . .  feed My sheep.”

Please refocus with me.  The question is not, “How can I get the church to grow or get others to come?”  But, “How can I share the love God has shed on me with others?”  We can trust that if the Lord is pleased with the Son of God in our lives, He will use us and our church to bring many sons and daughters to glory, and that excites me much more than simply larger numbers of bodies in chairs!

Here’s my point.  It’s my one desire to see Jesus Christ fully realized in my life.  It doesn’t matter what occurs or does not occur, what happens to me and the things I love, or if I get anything in life I so deeply desire – as long as the Heavenly Father receives glory and honor through me. Efforts to make the Father’s House in our image are simply vain and futile, because we can’t build the church.  But we can be built up in Christ and function as a member of a church where Christ builds up others in His image.  

Now, I do believe that God will multiply and mature us mightily in this coming season.  My main task, though, is to see that this flock I pastor reflects the person, power, and love Jesus Christ with anyone and everyone who comes among us. Examine yourself, as I’m examining myself.  Are we loving, honoring, praying, and giving in the way that Jesus commands?  If we are, God will delight in increasing us, because He’ll be multiplying Christ through us. That’s all the Father wants . . . more, much more of Jesus!

Love and peace beyond understanding,

Pastor Eric