Daily devotion

Good-bye Pastor Rick and Kay

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments

I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. 1 Corinthians 1:4 NIV

We have known for a year since Pastor Rick first announced his coming retirement, that this day was coming, yet on receiving the official announcement, I was still overwhelmed. No, Rick and Kay have not been perfect people, nor is Saddleback a church without fault, yet the impact they have made together has been tremendous. But rather than revisit old arguments back and forth over their Purpose Driven model; today might be a day of to put that aside and be thankful for the good they have done, the sacrifices made and the many who have come to know Jesus because of them.

I remember first opening a shiny new copy of the Purpose Driven Church back in 1995-96. Its concepts were simple, challenging and gave hope for reaching our communities for Christ. Too long we had either met between four walls, with minimal positive outreach, or gathered for stadium events, which though outwardly successful, seemed to have little impact in our own local churches. Sure, there are lots of things I wish were different with our own church which seems to follow closely their model, but we are at least in some areas truly growing, baptizing new believers and trying new things every year to serve our community.

But church politics aside, let’s pause and be thankful for Rick and Kay. Let’s pray for God to continue to keep them in His hands and bless them as a family that has been through much together in the service of Jesus. More than this, let’s realize that as Rick said of their replacements, “… God has prepared and chosen them to take up the baton and run the next leg of the Saddleback marathon.” God has also prepared and chosen each of us to either be passing or taking up the baton where we live (I’m in the passing generation). I learned from the track team on which I once ran, that winning the relay race was more than just running fast. Our team won first place in the state in 1965, not just because our guys were the quickest, but because every one of them passed the baton flawlessly on to the guy running the next leg of the race. The key was that the approaching runner could not slow down even a quarter second. He had to keep up the same pace as he stretched out his arm with the baton. The receiving runner could not just stand there waiting. He had to start running beforehand and then match his pace with the one behind him till they were almost side by side, then, with a seemingly effortless move he grasped on to the baton and took off alone to run his leg of the race. So, don’t slow down, if you are the one giving it your all to pass on the gift that God has given you. Run with all that is in you- not to – but through, the finish of your lap. For you who are waiting for the baton to reach you. Don’t just stand around waiting for it to be handed to you on a silver platter. Get going! Start running your best, till you match the pace of the one who is handing on to you what God has chosen for you to receive. We are all on the same team – Team Jesus! And when we finish our course, there is a victor’s crown that waits, which we will one day cast at the feet of Jesus – who loved us and gave His life so that we could run the race!

You can read my post from a year ago here

Loving Our Enemies?

/ pastorpete51 / 5 Comments

But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Luke 6:35 ESV

I have long forgotten my professor’s name but still remember his comment that, “The Christian life isn’t hard – it is a miracle!” No verse more epitomizes this tension between our natural way of thinking and God’s than the concept of loving our enemies. Jesus wasn’t just a nice teacher teaching us nice things about how we should be sweet and polite. Not at all! The teachings of Jesus contain the most revolutionary thinking of all time! Who in the world thinks that loving enemies is a good idea? Does God really expect us to put this into practice?

Very rarely (like never!) do we hear about loving our enemies in most Christian circles. Instead we seem to think Jesus said, “Complain about your enemies to other Christians.” or “Lobby your local representative to pass laws making their behavior illegal.” Other times we take the approach of simply ignoring the whole “Love your enemy.” idea. But the pesky thing about God’s commands it that He repeats them so often that pretending that He didn’t say them requires us to ignore vast swathes of scripture.

If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, Proverbs 25:21

But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Matthew 5:44

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. Romans 5:10

Now, it is not surprising that we are to love fellow Christians and maybe just a bit more difficult to love our neighbors, but loving people who don’t like us, or worse yet are shooting at us. That is not an easy concept to practice! I have had my own wrestling with putting this into practice, so I do not suggest that I have it all figured out. Are we supposed to win over evil people by just being good? After all, our goodness is just a pile of dirty rags. But God His sent His Son, “While we were still enemies.” to show us His heart and the way. God was so angry with our sin and the evil of what we have done, that instead of destroying us, He sent Jesus to die. That is the miracle. That is the Christian life. That is the only way to love our enemies and to win their hearts and minds for Him!

"The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.”
G. K. Chesterton

What’s On the Menu?

/ pastorpete51 / 6 Comments

We have friends on the Keto diet, others on a gluten free menu and a few going the sugar free path. Our get-togethers can be tricky if you’re the one trying to figure out what to serve so everyone will be happy. Though I am not a big fan (or even a little one!) of fancy diet plans I respect my friends even though I tease them sometimes. Now, diets are something we can be picky about but today’s verse tells us that we should be as choosy about what words come out of our mouths as what foods we put in them.

I don’t know what you are facing this morning or what fears stand in your path. This passage from Psalm 34 has been one of my go-to scriptures when I have felt overwhelmed by my own problems. I have found that after clinging to God’s words in the darkest situations that they become more precious and real the next time I face them. Have a blessed Sunday. No matter what is on your menu remember that you can still choose to bless the Lord. His daily bread is on your table and He sends it fresh out of Heaven’s oven every morning for you!