Moosic Alliance Church

Power Hour Prayer Meeting

Pastor Doug — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:25:01 +0000

Title: Power Hour Prayer Meeting
Date: 2010-09-08

How to get to Heaven

Pastor Doug — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:24:00 +0000

If you read yesterday you know that today I promised to give you the solution to the problem of “badness” that every person has as part of their character. Remember that according to God’s standard we are all “bad” and as a consequence our eternal destiny is the lake of fire.
If you have concluded that you would rather have heaven as your eternal destiny then read on! It will mean your willingness to submit yourself to God’s rule and rules; it means surrender of your will for His.
Is there anyone who doesn’t know about John 3:16? Here how it reads from the New International Version of the Bible, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” The word “world” does not refer to the planet but rather to the humans living on the planet. Notice that is also so says “whoever” which simply means we all qualify. “Eternal life” equates with eternity in heaven with God. The word “gave” refers to the historical fact that God took on flesh (remember Christmas?) – we call Him Jesus – and lived a sinless life. Jesus was crucified and served as a substitute sacrifice for everyone sins; that is, He paid the price for your sins so you don’t have to pay it. What is boils down to is rather simple (though not simplistic). If you believe in Jesus Christ (what He did for you) God promises you heaven as your eternal dwelling place.
So let us get down to what it means to believe. The apostle Paul, the major writer of the New Testament, deals with this in Romans 10:9-13 if you want to see it in context. A person needs to confess “Jesus is Lord”. That means willingly, honestly, submitting yourself to His rule over your life such that your goal is to do His will not your will in all things, as you live your life. A person also needs to accept as true that God the Father raise Jesus the Son from the dead; you believe that in your heart. I know, your high school biology class proved that can not happen. But consider this. If God really is who He claims to be – a supernatural being – then it is not impossible with God to raise a dead man to life again; it is supernatural! High school biology is only intended to study the natural things of life not the supernatural. There were many eyewitnesses to the fact that Jesus died and rose again from the dead and there are a number of their written testimonies in the Bible for you to read. The celebration of Easter each year is the recognition of the event of Christ’s resurrection almost 2000 years ago. Paul then writes, “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” The promise from God is straight forward, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
If you are willing to tell God and others that you submit to the lordship of Jesus Christ, believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead and then ask God to save you based upon what Jesus has done (and not on anything you have done) you will be saved. And this just starts the journey! The choice is up to you.
Want to talk about any of this? Drop me a line and let the dialogue begin. Oh, and if you do talk to God and ask Him to save you please let me know.

All Are “Bad”

Pastor Doug — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 14:09:43 +0000

We, as in the human race, have a problem! Look around you and then consider why we have to have laws? Why can’t we just accept that a person will do what he/she says they will do? Why do we have to have contracts instead? How come we have to have locks and bolts on our doors? Why do we have to have police to enforce the laws we have?
I suppose we could conclude that we are in the shape we are in because there are a few “bad” people out there that have to be controlled. But is it possible that you and I are also part of the “badness”; just different by degree? Look at your own life a minute. Have you ever done something you later wish you had not done? If so, why did you do it in the first place? Just a little mistake perhaps; or are we quibbling about degree again? Have you ever said you would do a thing and then didn’t do it? Why didn’t you keep your word? Have you every said you would not do a thing and then did it? Why didn’t you keep your word?
Ok, so can we agree that none of us humans is perfect though there are varying degrees of “badness” among us? If that is the case then as long as I compare myself to some one with a larger “badness” number than mine I guess I could say I’m pretty good (if only in a relative sense). But by my admission that we are all “bad” (again with different degrees) I am also admitting there is a standard by which “badness” can be measured (again even if it is only relative). But whom shall we trust to set up the standard since all of us are “bad”. Right, that is a problem.
Let me give you further discouraging news. The Bible says, “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.” God has spoken in agreement with our conclusion that “all are ‘bad’.” I guess I could agree with God and then just go on living my life the way I wanted; always making sure someone had a larger “badness” number that mine. That way I can always say I’m good compared to him/her. I suppose that will make me feel better about myself.
But suppose I don’t feel good about myself and I want to change? Honestly, have you seen people live perfectly good lives? Me either. Though I have read about Jesus, who lived in the flesh but did not sin. Oh! I should have said, but did not do “bad”. But you knew I was getting to sin didn’t you?
The problem with sin is that the standard by which you and I are measured is determined by God and He has already said no one is seeking Him and so no one is righteous by His standard. The Bible says that if you and I stay in that condition we eventually end up in a lake of fire where we spend eternity. Even if that is figurative language it still does not sound like a place any of us want to end up. Do you?
There is a way to avoid the lake of fire. Do you know that way? I’ll get back to you tomorrow with the answer. So try to be good; or at least less “bad”.

Tuesday and Wednesday of Passion Week

Pastor Doug — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 17:01:07 +0000

After “cleansing the Temple courts” on Monday Jesus returns to the Temple area on Tuesday. Tuesday is a very busy day for the Lord (read Matthew 21:23 – 25:46 to get an idea of how busy) but there are two points I want to pick out for us today.
As Jesus was walking and teaching in the Temple courts He was confronted by “the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders” (Mark 11:27) who challenged Him with the following questions (Mark 11:28). “By what authority are You doing these things? … And who gave You authority to do this?” Jesus responds by asking them about John’s baptism, “…was it from heaven, or from men?” These leaders talked it over among themselves, couldn’t figure out which response was most politically correct so replied that they didn’t know! Jesus then told them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.” Jesus then proceeded to teach the people in the hearing of these leaders using parables. One parable in particular cut them to the quick and (Mark 12:12), “Then they looked for a way to arrest Him because they knew He had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left Him and went away.”
When Christians today speak in public places about the Kingdom of God and Jesus Christ His Son they should not be surprised if there are some listeners who take offense! So, Christian friend, do you know by what authority you speak about these things? And do you know who gave you this authority? If not, I believe you need to open your Bibles again and find the answers to these questions; otherwise you could find yourself not holding firm to the faith you profess.
Eventually Jesus leaves the Temple courts and goes to the Mount of Olives for the night. Here He gives what we commonly call the Olivet Discourse which is primarily about His second coming; you can read the short version of this in Mark 13. Among the volume of teaching He does that night look at this one section near the end found in Matthew 24, “Be on guard! Be alert! … keep watch because you do not know on what day your Lord will come [back]. … Who then is the faithful and wise servant…? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing [his master’s appointed work] when [the master] returns.”
There is a lot of talk about the end times going around in Christian circles today. I don’t think that is a bad idea at all. Just be careful that all the talking prevents you, as a follower of the soon coming King, from doing what our King has appointed you to do. Jesus will return at God’s appointed time – make sure you are busy with Kingdom work when He does.
I’ll be gone for Wednesday so here it is in a nutshell. The chief priests and the teachers of the law and the elders “plotted to arrest Jesus in some sly way and kill Him.” (Matthew 26:1-5) At the dinner party that night Mary anointed the Lord to, as He said, “prepare Me for burial.” (Matthew 26:6-13) And Judas made his deal to betray Jesus for thirty silver coins. (Matthew 26:14-16)
When you make your plans for the future do they include the Lord and what He desires for you to plan?
Think about these things and let me know what you think.

Monday of Passion Week

Pastor Doug — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 14:21:21 +0000

Mondays! For most people Monday is a return to what we got away from on the weekend. The Lord’s Monday was busy with people just like Sunday was. Jesus of Nazareth had quite a Sunday; we traditionally refer to it as the Triumphal Entry. He had spent all day with people; first on the road into Jerusalem from Bethany, then a short visit to the Temple followed by a return to Bethany with His Twelve (the apostles). Early Monday morning (Matthew 21:18) He was headed back to the Temple.
Once in the Temple area He “began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts.” (Mark 11:15b-16) Since His teaching during this event was about the sacredness of the place for prayer the general consensus is that He was ridding the place of offensive people and noise to provide more space with a quieter environment for prayer which is what God had in mind originally for that location.
Later, as He was teaching His followers some Greeks, who had gone up to the Temple during these days of preparation for Passover to worship, found Philip and told him that they would like to see Jesus. Philip found Andrew and the two of them told Jesus. (John 12:20-22). The Lord’s response was to teach the crowd that His time was drawing to an end. One thing He said I think is striking. “Now My heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your Name!” (John 12:27&28) Jesus was certainly aware of what was going to happen on Friday but choose to continue on the path His Father had set before Him so that His Father would be glorified. His commitment to the will of God cost Him His life.
What about Christians today? Are they/we/you as committed? I like to hope so but I continue to see professing Christians who shrink back from some of the Lord’s commands, often uttering the phrase, “It is too hard for me.” I do not condemn them for I have found myself among them. I know I need to become more consistently filled with the Holy Spirit so as to complete the tasks set before me. My prayer is that I will grow more in the faith. How about you? How is your commitment level? Are you satisfied or do you want to grow more? Let us encourage one another as these days go by.

A King’s Love

Pastor Doug — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 20:19:14 +0000

OK, try this on for size. Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” John 3:16a, “For God so loved the world….” The King of the universe loves you! What do you think of that? To far fetched to be possible? Unbelievable? Don’t care?
Well, here is the thing. Because God is God what we think or believe or care does not determine what He decides. That means when He says He loves you it does not depend on your qualities (or lack of qualities) that determines His love for you. He loves you because He chooses to love you. The only real question is what are you going to do about it. Sure you can ignore it but the only one who misses out on the great benefits of God’s love is you. Sure you can not believe it, but again the only one who misses out on the great benefits of God’s love is you. And sure you can ignore it but … well, you get the picture.
The facts of the matter are actually simple. God loves you and because you (and I and everyone else) are a sinner God provided a way He could punish sin so His justice and holiness were satisfied yet you could still live with Him in heaven. How you ask? He gave His one and only Son to die for your sin (and mine and everyone else’s) in your place. If (really big two letter word here) you will accept that sacrifice for yourself, remembering the astonishing truth that Jesus rose again from the grave (here comes Easter) and accepting the risen Savior as your new Master then when you ask God to forgive you your sin He will. Too good to be true you say? If it is not true then we will die in our sins and our eternity is pretty black because there is no other hope than in Jesus. If it is true and you (or anyone for that matter) choose to ignore God’s offer of forgiveness then, again, your future is pretty black. Yet, for those who do believe and act on that belief God promises them eternal life in heaven.
I don’t know where you are in your thinking in this subject but if you have not crossed that line of faith why not begin a dialogue with God about it. If I can be of any help drop me a line and I’ll tell you what I know. I once was on the other side of that faith line and since I’ve crossed over my life has not been the same. Think about it.

Gentle Answer

Pastor Doug — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 20:26:54 +0000

Proverbs 15:1 says, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”
When I do marriage counseling I almost always use Proverbs 15:1. That’s because by the time people come to see me they are at their rope’s end with each other and usually do not talk in a civil manner to each other. But this verse is also good for all of us in these days of high stress and mounting fear of the future. People walk around like wound up rubber bands because of their stress and so it does not seem to take much to set them off when you have opportunity to dialogue with them (or maybe its you but I don’t want to get too close to home with this).
It seems lately that more and more people are afraid some one is trying to take advantage of them and so they are on their guard when they talk to other people; sometimes even old friends. My advice to you is that when you are taking to some one like this and you notice the voice raise in pitch or volume just a little make sure your answers are gentle ones. Too often you and I have watched a discussion turn into a heated shouting match because first one and then the other starts using harsher and harsher words in their answers and so, before you know it, anger is spilling out all over the place. And very often angry speaking people are out of control with their choice of words and even harsher words flow. I think the best thing to do in those cases is ask for a time out to give each person time to cool off and then choose to speak gentle words.
The Bible is full of good instructions on how to live our lives in today’s frantic world so let me suggest you pick it up and start reading. The Psalms would be a good place to read. Or one of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke or John) is a good place to learn about Jesus and what He has to say about how we should live our lives. We need to be more careful how we speak to one another these days so let us heed the words of Proverbs 15:1 and speak gently to one another.
Have something gentle to say to me? Drop a comment; I’d like to hear from you.

Christmas Revisted

Pastor Doug — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:09:03 +0000

I’ve recently been thinking about the current stresses in our lives and a “hidden” message in the Christmas story. I though I’d share my insights on that linkage with you today.
From about one to twenty-seven A.D. the common people of Israel had a pretty rough time of it. They were a county occupied by Roman soldiers and governing officials who offset their expenses by taxing the people of the land. The Romans even hired local Jews to collect the taxes and gave these tax collectors a pretty free hand in how much tax was charged just as long as they got what they wanted. These tax collectors could even call on Roman troops if someone didn’t want to pay their taxes. The Roman appointed king of Israel ran a somewhat corrupt government they taxed the people as well. Then there was always the tax for the support of the Temple and the religious leaders too. There were folks, call Zealots, who hated the Romans and keep stirring up trouble in a vain attempt to force the Romans to leave. In addition there were cyclic droughts in the region which sometimes produced famine conditions. That’s just a little taste of their life and times during those years. On the religious side of things many of the people felt that at least some of the religious leaders were self-serving, conceited individuals. There are reports that these unholy holy men defrauded the widows and orphans. There are stories that they had ‘attention getters’ to let anyone in the area know when they put money into the Temple kettles or stood on a street corner to pray. Synagogue on Saturdays appeared to usually be mere formalities with uninspiring preaching/teaching and a strict adherence to the line that one had to keep all the laws perfectly in order to be saved. These folks, like any of us today, realized that they could not continually keep all the laws perfectly. Seems to me that they had a pretty hopeless existence with even less hope for what would happen in eternity.
Most of you know the Christmas story and at least a basic idea of the 33 years of the life of Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus was probably born around 4 B.C. and did not begin His public ministry until around 27 A.D. So the common people were suffering and hopeless during those three decades before Jesus performed his first miracle. This means God had already sent His answer to the people’s feeble hopes and prayers. For about 30 years the promise of God lived among His people but they did not know He was there. Yet the fact of His presence is the testimony to the goodness of God toward his people. Even though they were not aware until later that Jesus was there.
In a similar way, I believe that the current stresses we are living with right now already have God’s answer on the way. I know for a fact that while I was still a sinner Christ died for me, the ungodly one, to demonstrate God’s love for me (Romans 5:6&8); that was about 2000 years ago. So my sin “problem” already had an answer that I did not know about until someone told me about the solution. Since God’s solution to my sin problem was applied back in 1974 I have learned that God considers Himself my provider so I am confident that if I seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness all that I need to live during these times will be provided to me (Matthew 6:33).
So, rather than worry myself into a bad frame of mind my choice is to trust the promises of God (yeah, even if I can’t see the results yet) and trust that help is on the way.
So how are you dealing with current stress? Drop a line and let me know.

Repent?

Pastor Doug — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 16:27:12 +0000

From Jeremiah 18, “This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: ‘Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you My message.’ So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Then the word of the LORD came to me: ‘O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?’ declares the LORD. ‘Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel. If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if the nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned.’” God then goes on to give Jeremiah a warning to give to the nation of Israel, they don’t repent and so God destroyed them (read Lamentations sometime!).
My point today is to ask us how we think our country is doing in its relationship with God. Browse through the Old and New Testaments of any Bible and ask the question, “Is America trying to live for God or for itself interests?” My evaluation is that for too long our country has had self-interest ahead of God’s interests. We may not like it but our country is in the hands of God like a lump of clay is in the hands of a potter. Are we marred? I think so. I believe God is even now forming us “into another pot.” Is there still time for our country to repent? I believe so but I doubt we will do it. So where does that leave us? In the hands of the God we, as a nation, have rejected.
Now, how about the personal level? I am convinced that God watches individuals as well as countries. So let me challenge myself and every other Christian with this question. What does God think of your relationship with His Son our Lord? I know there is a final evaluation of how I live my life for my Lord (but not my salvation). Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:10 that, “…[Christians] must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” But even now, before I stand before His judgment seat, I have experienced God’s discipline (see Hebrews 12:4-11) during my struggle against sin.
I am so thankful for 1 John 1:9 which says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Christian, I hope you have experienced, like I have, His forgiveness in your life for the sins you (and I) have committed in these bodies of ours. So today, if you need to repent of those things you have done contrary to the Word of God let me encourage you to do so at once. The demonic may whisper in our ears that we have time before we need to confess to God and that we should enjoy what we have done that offends Him just a little longer. Last I read Satan lies! So my advice is to not listen to his advice. Rather, pay attention to what the Bible says and what your pastor preaches/teaches in accordance with the Word of God. Let today be a day of renewal filled with the blessed hope of Christ’s soon appearing.
Want to talk about how you are doing? Drop me a line and let the dialogue begin.

Living for God

Pastor Doug — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 19:52:36 +0000

Should Christians meander through life? I mean, if a person is really saved from the penalty of their sin against God can’t they just do as they please with their lives? Ok, so you’ve already concluded that a saved person should not sin, but what I am talking about is the question of aggressively living the Christian life. As you can guess from my choice of words I am convinced that Christians have an obligation to work hard at living a life that not only pleases God but also gives Him glory.
Here is an example of what I mean in 2 Peter 1, “For this reason {the fact that we have God’s power to participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires}, make every effort to add to your faith, goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.” What do you think “make every effort” means? I am convinced it means I have to work at accomplishing this list. I know it will not affect our eternal destiny because that was settled when we crossed the line of faith. This has to do with how we choose to live our lives. How do you choose to live your life?
The text goes on to tell us that choosing to work on living out this list will make us effective and productive in our knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. It also says that if a person doesn’t engage in making every effort to live out the list then that person is “nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.”
I sincerely suggest that every one of us spend enough time with the Holy Spirit so that we can ask Him to evaluate our souls and our very lives and then to let us know where we are lacking for the sake of the Kingdom of God. Why don’t you pause right now and do that? It will be good for you.