Revelation

Revelation – When Jesus Calls My Name

Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.  Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”

Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher). John 20:14-16

Jesus had become the central figure in Mary’s world, yet she still understood so little of Him. She knew Jesus – so she thought. She had been with Him, watched Him, served Him, followed Him, and deeply loved Him. Yes, Mary knew Jesus better than most, but that knowledge was so limited that she didn’t recognize Him though He stood right in front of her . . . “and [she] did not know that it was Jesus.”  Mary’s knowledge was built on familiarity and experience, and that’s true of most of us today. And, just like Mary, there is something lacking our in knowledge of who Jesus really is.

There is a deeper level of knowing the Lord reserved for those desperate for His abiding presence – those of us who hunger and thirst for a more personal and authentic relationship with God. We don’t see Him at first, but He sees us - Jesus said to her, “Mary”. Once we hear our name on His lips, we are never the same. She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!”  Now we see the One who sees us. This is the point where our knowledge of Him becomes something greater; it becomes revelation.

The term “revelation” means unveiling. Therefore it is perfectly possible to possess knowledge, yet totally miss the true nature of a matter altogether. God is determined that our knowledge of His Son progress beyond an intellectual acknowledgment of the historical Jesus – that He was simply a great teacher, a martyr, a great man, and a prophet. The Holy Spirit will not stop until we come to see Christ for ALL He is – God, Lord, and our personal Savior! This is the unveiling He does in our hearts when we earnestly seek Him. He comes to us and calls us by name, bringing us into the most intimate personal relationship – oneness! Search for Him and listen closely. You’ll hear Him calling your name.

Love and peace,

Pastor Eric 

On Love

On Love

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13:13

Love is the quintessential characteristic of the Kingdom of God. The Bible teaches us God is love, that God loved us so much that He gave His only Son for us, that the love we show is the proof we are His, and that love never fails to accomplish His will. 

It a fantastic thing that God doesn't leave us alone to struggle with the challenge to love in our own strength, but the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit Who is given to us by God (Romans 5:5)! We are commanded to love as Christ loves, and to forgive because Christ loves and forgives us, and we the power to do those things dwells in us.

To be sure, there will be many offenses, slights, hurts, and attacks that are sent our way by the enemy of our souls. These are meant to plant a seed of bitterness and mistrust in our hearts which makes us withhold love, and we can become cold to others without even realizing it. But God trusts us with these trials to give us the opportunity to forgive and love, just as He has done for us. When we pass the test of loving those who hurt us, we are perfected in His love, and we are the light of the world we're called to be.

So be encouraged. Go back to that person or situation which the Spirit has already brought to your mind.  Confess the sin of cold love, and be cleansed and strengthened to love again by the power of the Holy Spirit.  The joy of the Lord will flood your soul, and you will be set free once again to do the perfect will of your Father and to love your neighbor as yourself!

Love and perfect peace,

Pastor Eric

The Wonder and Meaning of Christmas

The Wonder and Meaning of Christmas

The Biblical account of the birth of Jesus Christ is the greatest story ever told. It has greater ramifications than any other event in history – even greater than creation itself, as creation and all therein is the work of His hands. No one can concoct a story so sweet and simple, yet so majestic and consequential. Jesus represents the fullness of all that God is and loves. Yet in this story, we see the awesome Prince of Heaven subjected to the meanest of earthly circumstances. We witness the greatest humiliation imaginable, as the Son of God Himself takes on the likeness of an infant – an infant whose parents do not even rate a decent room at the local Bethlehem Inn! A barn or a cave sufficed as the hospital room where the King of the Universe was born, and a crate filled with straw meant for feeding cattle was His crib. The little King was wrapped in strips of rags, as the Most High and Most Worthy gladly became the least of these.

And so this story illustrates the most poignant and stunning display of agape that only God in His infinite wisdom can give. We do well to turn our faces away from the world and its obsession with the worthless, and to gaze upon the beauty of the Bible’s revelation of Christmas and its true meaning. May each of us find ourselves in the holy narrative, as the Christ child truly came for every one of us who hears the message today, and His birth should be celebrated with the same blessed thanks, wonder, and expectation of the angels who proclaimed His coming some 2000 years ago!

"Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" (Luke 2:14)

Evangelism and the Supermarket

Evangelism and the Supermarket

Ministry is not something you spend a great deal of time talking about. It is service - something you do. The fields are always ripe for harvest, but can God find us doing the work of bringing men to Christ, instead of just talking about it?

I was walking to the supermarket not long ago, when I noticed three or four shopping carts that had been abandoned on the nearby sidewalks. The Lord began to speak to my heart as I approached the carts.  He explained to me that these carts were useless setting there on the sidewalk, because they were misplaced and out of the element for which they were created.  He told me to gather them and take them back to the supermarket where they would once again be useful and appreciated. 

This a picture of evangelism - gathering precious people who are standing around, going nowhere, and doing nothing useful in God's sight. We are to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them and lovingly usher them to the House of God where they will be put to work as soldiers in the Army of the Living God.  They get their lives back and help bring many others - who are spiritually dead like they were - to eternal life in Christ.

If this generation is to be saved, we must be trained to gather the wayward, bring them to the House of God, and show them the blessed Kingdom life that's ours in the Spirit! Pray this prayer with me:

"Lord, now that I am gathered to You, teach me to gather others, who will gather others,

 that Your house and Your joy might be filled! In the name of Jesus, Amen."

Love,

Pastor Eric 

The Call to Something More

                Luke 5:1-4

So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

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The Lord was drawing Simon Peter, and he had no idea he was “on the hook.” Jesus commandeered his boat, and Peter allowed it - reluctantly. Jesus asked him to push out a little from the shore, and he did - reluctantly. He then asked Simon to launch out into the deep and let out his net – again. A frustrated Simon, who had fished all night and caught nothing, reluctantly agreed; and I guarantee he didn’t do it with the best of attitudes or expectations. “What can this carpenter/rabbi possibly know about catching fish?” Yet, Peter did what the Lord asked – reluctantly; and his life was forever changed.

Jesus was not after fish, He was after Simon. Simon thought his life was about catching fish, but from this point on, it was about Jesus and catching men. Just like Simon, we will only find the true meaning of our lives when we are overmastered by the Lord and His calling. So don’t be afraid. Leave the boat, the net, the fish, everything, and everyone behind. Respond to the Lord’s calling. Your life is ahead of you, and it’s found in Christ Jesus.

                Luke 5:11

So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.

The choice is yours!