Tag Archives: Bible study

Pastor Wrinkles: Laboring To Rest Pt. 2

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This post is part two in our sermon from Sunday 11-30-14. If you missed part 1 you can find it here:

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Our leading Scripture is found in Hebrews 4:11

“ Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest lest any man lest any man fall after the  same example of unbelief.”

 

So what does laboring to rest mean?

Does it mean that if we work hard eventually we will get to rest in Heaven as a reward for our labors?

Some say that Christianity is a religion of “do’s” and “don’ts”, that if we are ever to make it to Heaven we have to work very hard for it.

They might say something like,”Be good.Be saintly and God might just find you good enough to let you enter Heaven.”

Many people  labor under the false idea that God  is up in Heaven with a calculator right now tabulating good works versus bad works. When asked if they expect to go to Heaven their answer is that they hope that they are basically good people and that God will find their good works to outweigh their bad works and so He will let them into Heaven; But this is not biblical and it is certainly not what Jesus or the writer to the Hebrews meant when they suggested that we labor to enter into rest.

Paul the apostle Paul questioned

 “What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage?”

And he was right when he concluded

” Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. 10 As it is written:

 “There is no one righteous, not even one;

11     there is no one who understands;

    there is no one who seeks God.

12 All have turned away,

    they have together become worthless;

there is no one who does good,

    not even one.” Romans 3: 9-12

Later he wrote:

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Eph. 2:8-10

The work and the labor spoken of do not speak of our own works or of Heaven.

Good works can never earn us entrance into Heaven. Our works will never be good enough to earn us a place in Heaven. Our place in Heaven is only guaranteed by our faith in Jesus Christ.

Jesus , himself,said “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

So we see that what God requires of us in order to get into Heaven is not a list of good works but a daily living faith in Jesus Christ.

Paul the apostle wrote in Romans 10 that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame. 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

And again in the book of Ephesians chapter 2 He tells us it is by grace you are saved through faith.

Have you realized what we are to labor at yet? Tune in tomorrow!

Pastor Wrinkles: Laboring To Rest Pt. 1

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Me reclining after walking up the "Rocky" stairs at the Philadelphia Art Museum.

Me reclining after walking up the “Rocky” stairs at the Philadelphia Art Museum.

Today in our church we continued our study through the paradoxes of Scripture. As our  Lead Pastor, Barry Risto,  has shared many times over the past few weeks:

a paradox is simply- Something that is made up of two opposite things that seems impossible but that is actually true or possible.

Here are some examples of paradoxes.

 

“You are never too old to become younger!”

― Mae West

 

“The Universe is very, very big.

It also loves a paradox. For example, it has some extremely strict rules.

Rule number one: Nothing lasts forever.

Not you or your family or your house or your planet or the sun. It is an absolute rule. Therefore when someone says that their love will never die, it means that their love is not real, for everything that is real dies.

Rule number two: Everything lasts forever.” Craig Ferguson

Today’s Scriptural paradox  says, “If we are ever to find rest then we must labor for it.”

This is found in Scripture verses like Hebrews 4:11

“ Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest lest any man fall after the  same example of unbelief.”

And Ma 11:28-30

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

 

So how do we find ourselves laboring to rest? How is it possible to work hard and rest at the same time? How can we labor to enter rest? How can we take on a yoke (a burden a chore) and find rest?

Let’s start by talking about some of the myths about Christian labor and rest. Let’s talk about what it does not mean.

  1. Laboring to rest does not mean that Christians never get weary. Some people say if you labor for God perfectly and in the things that God wants you to really do, then you will never get tired. Some say that any sign of weariness means you are not listening to what God is really telling you to do because if you were you would have enough energy.
  2. and not be tired.

But even Paul the apostle said he had served the church…

“In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.” 2 Cor. 11:27

We will get weary.

Isaiah 40 says, “Even princes get weary… but they that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.”

Weariness is to be considered a normal part of this life.

  1. Neither does laboring to rest mean we should never rest. Some people say that the Christian life is all about exhausting every bit of energy you have and never resting.  I have heard Christians say “I’ll rest when I’m dead. There are souls to save.”

But we are not the savior and the same Lord that told us to go out into the harvest field said “The Sabbath the day of rest was made for man.”

What are some myths you have discovered about labor and rest in the Christian life?

Open Books

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In our denomination a normal church service will consist of: lots of prayers, at least a half hour of singing, a sermon, an altar call where people can approach for personal prayer and sometimes a spontaneous sharing from a member of the congregation called a word of prophecy.

The college plays host to The Book Of Kells, the world's most famous illuminated manuscripts.

This week one of our elders gave “a word” about how God was making our lives to be open books for the world to read. I got to thinking about what that means for us. Now, while I am sure I don’t have the full understanding of what it means to be an open book several things do come to mind.

First, all books whether open or closed, have authors. Books don’t write themselves. I know this because I have had occasion to leave empty notebooks on shelves for months  hoping that somehow they would spontaneously generate completed stories given enough time. Each time the results have been the same. Nothin’!

If we are to be proper stories we have to let the Author of Life write His words on our hearts. Otherwise all our life’s work will amount to nothing.

Second, books are written with a purpose in mind. The open book that you are has three eternal purposes: First to make famous the name of the God of Heaven; Second to strengthen the faith of those who have faith; Third to be a testimony to those who do not believe, that God is real!

Finally books, at least really good books, are filled with tension, conflict, successes and failures. This is an important point because so often we think that if the story of our lives is less than perfect, we are nothing more than damaged goods unable to be used by God. Listen! The chapter of your life which God is writing right now may be filled with sadness, madness or badness, but your life is more than a chapter; It’s a book and no one reads a book for chapter 10. They read a book to get to the end, to know the whole story. So don’t make too much of the chapter you are in right now whether it’s good or bad. Your life is a story God is still writing. You are a character in process. You are meant to be an open book whose Author intends to change the world. He will use you to do just that if only you surrender to Him and let Him keep writing.

Heaven Pt. 157: A Cry For the Persecuted

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The “Heaven Posts” were originated as a word study through the Bible. The thought is  to bring a devotional thought from every section of the Bible that mentions the word “Heaven”.

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Here is today’s

Let this be written for a future generation,
    that a people not yet created may praise the Lord:
19 “The Lord looked down from his sanctuary on high,
    from heaven he viewed the earth,
20 to hear the groans of the prisoners
    and release those condemned to death.”
21 So the name of the Lord will be declared in Zion
    and his praise in Jerusalem
22 when the peoples and the kingdoms
    assemble to worship the Lord. Psm 102: 18-22 NIV

Many will deny it today but the truth is that the world at large is at war with Christianity. Here in the West we can easily hide from the fact that most of the Christian church across the planet faces hardship on levels that we would consider harsh persecution, but western denial does not change the fact that the gospel is now and has always been a message under siege.

Jesus said it would be so and truthfully none of the biblical writers ever had opportunity to consider an unpersecuted faith. The biblical text is proof positive that faith in the One True God has always attracted enemies. So what is the church to do in the face of persecution?

We are to pray and not give up! Where we can we are to comfort the hurting…And we are to continue to spread the Good news NO MATTER WHAT!

God will not forget us. Let us not forget Him!

Soaking In the Presence

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I am enjoying the slowing down thing a lot. In  the last two days I have rested, caught up on some TV shows, started to fix  some broken shingles on the house and I have washed my dogs (much to their chagrin).

My dogs really don’t like baths. It got me thinking of all those times I have been in services where the Holy Spirit of God has moved profoundly. In my circles we call that “soaking in the presence of God”.

Some people really seem to love it and others…well let’s just say they take to the Presence about as well as my pups take to water. I can’t help wondering if it’s  not for the same reason. Some folks consider the moving of the Presence of God just another opportunity to swim in the current of miracles. Others know only too well that when God puts in a powerful appearance at church they are about to be doused with the shampoo of conviction and confronted with the Scissors of the Holy Spirit to cut out some of the sin mats they have been carrying around.

Bath time is not fun for my dogs. It’s also not much fun for me. I usually come away covered in dog fur, soaked to the skin and needing to clean and mop the bathroom. I wonder sometimes if God doesn’t feel the same way in dealing with us. Do you think there might be times when God sighs and says to Himself before our church services, “Well this is not going to be pleasant.”?

Still He moves knowing in advance that what must be done must be done, just like I know that no matter what, my dogs must be washed.

It seems a silly analogy but I just wonder how much faster bath time with my dogs would go if there wasn’t as much splashing and jumping out of the tub and I wonder…well I guess you can imagine what I am wondering about us humans and church and such.

They are dogs. We are humans. I suppose there ought to be a difference in how we take a good soaking.

 

 

Incredible Season Of Harvest

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Through my long years of Christian service I have learned that God generally speaking works seasonally in our lives. Ecclesiastes chapter 3:1 says, “For everything there is a season,    a time for every activity under heaven.”

This has been a season of great harvest and as I sit back this morning on the last day of my harvesting I can see that God has given me abundance through this time.

In September I was honored to lead worship and do personal care-giving at the Special Touch New England Getaway. I was honored with the privilege of baptizing six new converts into the faith!100_4726 Besides that incredible week we held our regular C.cada meeting and hosted the monthly communion meeting at the Gardner Visiting Nurses Center for a congregation of nearly forty people. The month culminated with the Winchendon Enhancement Committee’s Toy Town Fall Fest where almost two thousand people came to examine the site for a potential makerspace.

The pie-baking contest

The pie-baking contest

Four days after the Fall Fest my daughter Amanda and I departed for a two week stay in Ireland while our teams continued planning for the upcoming art show, Cloverton concert, Double service launch, oh yeah and Melanie’s wedding.

A Celtic Cross in the cemetery atop the Rock of Cashel

A Celtic Cross in the cemetery atop the Rock of Cashel

We touched down on American soil again on the 14th of  October and were back in office on the 15th catching up with all the plans. Cornerstone launched its double services on the 19th and as of this date it looks like the church has grown by about forty people!

C.cada’s fourth annual art show was the largest ever. We hung over 250 pieces and almost every artist sold at least one piece. To top it off connections were made with another area art association for a possible project collaboration.

Three concerts later I stood at an altar giving away my youngest daughter as a bride to my new son-in-law James Franklin II.

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Then last night just two days after my daughter’s wedding Cornerstone hosted Cloverton to a nearly packed house.

The band singing Patterns

The band singing Patterns

God has given me a season of much fruit! Now the harvest has been brought in. It is time for the land and this laborer to rest a bit and get back to a quieter schedule. Cornerstone isn’t stopping but the next big projects are not mine; They belong to other harvesters. Aside from a carolling event and Christmas Eve I have nothing to prepare for outside of my ordinary duties between now and Easter. While I am sure something is bound to pop up I think I am going to take a month or so and just try to be quiet(er).

Maybe now is a good time to hide myself away a bit and finish the new book!

Heaven Pt. 156: The Most Incredible Nobody Who Ever Lives

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For who in the heaven can be compared unto the LORD?who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the LORD? Psm 89:6

The world is full of great men, powerful men. The universe has many examples of incredible power both natural and spiritual. I have watched as men steer the nations  with their words saving or destroying the lives of countless individuals. I have seen the devastation of a tsunami and the world- stopping power of a blizzard. I have also been present at times when angels have ministered healing and grace while demons created discord and destruction. But all of these displays of power are small in comparison to the power of God. There is no one like Him. His greatness  dwarfs the  galaxies that dwarf the planets that dwarf the mountains that dwarf the people who live and walk among them.

In His greatness God is God and therefore the One being in all the universe who has no governing authority but His own character. He is the slave to no galaxy or planet or mountain or man; But we are all His. As this is true, it makes the Scripture in Philippians all that much more potent:

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:” Phil 2:5-7

The God, whose greatness made and one day will unmake the universe, became, in the course of time, the most incredible nobody who ever lives (I can’t say lived because He lives still). The Darling of Heaven was crucified  so that you and I might live.  Forget the dying part for a minute and just concentrate on what He gave up, even in coming to Earth, so that you might know how special you are to Him. He is so big and you are so little. He holds the span of the universe in His hand. You can hardly hold a basketball in yours. But He gave up that universe-sized hand for one like yours in the hopes that you would catch a glimpse of his dedication and love for you. He became nobody in time so that you could become somebody in eternity!

Now that is love! How could we not love Him back?

Driving Into the Light

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles, Travel

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This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. I John 1:5-7

When I get to Heaven I expect many surprises. I get more than most that there are things about Christianity that just don’t make sense within the current context of a fallen sinful world. We have never known anything but this so how could we expect ourselves to understand something that is totally other than this?

For instance: How do we work out the concept of eternity (the absence of time) in a universe that measures everything in time. How do we rationalize having complete free choice under the auspices of a completely sovereign God? How can innocence ever return when the knowledge of good and evil is so deeply ingrained within our race? AND how can  Something or Someone be entirely light in a universe that is only able to measure light by the amount of darkness it dispels?

We cannot fully explain these things now but we Christians must firmly hold to them because God has taught them in His Word.

As Amanda and I mosied from Moher along the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, we traveled into a place called the Burren.

The Bay Of Galway

A veritable moonscape splattered along the Western coast of Ireland, the Burren is the badlands between the green spaces of Kerry and Connemara. Amanda and I were struck to silent wonder as we twisted the corkscrew roads down into the nothingness and back up and out again towards the bay of Galway. Always in our travels there was this light in the midst of the lonely terrain that reminded us that magic and mystery can exist side by side with the natural man.

100_5388The sun was setting over the Bay of Galway as we pulled into the SaltHill Hotel along Ocean Dr. As it nestled itself to sleep under a haze of dark black cloud I was reminded that I may not know how time and eternity, sovereignty and free will, innocence and knowledge, or light and darkness can exist perfectly side by side, but there are a great many things I do not know or have not seen; My not knowing them or not seeing them does not make them any less so.

What parts of God’s Word do you struggle with because it doesn’t seem to match up with what you have experienced?

Heaven Pt. 155: Holding On For the Promise

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I will listen to what God the Lord says;
    he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants—
    but let them not turn to folly.
9 Surely his salvation is near those who fear him,
    that his glory may dwell in our land.

10 Love and faithfulness meet together;
    righteousness and peace kiss each other.
11 Faithfulness springs forth from the earth,
    and righteousness looks down from heaven.
12 The Lord will indeed give what is good,
    and our land will yield its harvest.
13 Righteousness goes before him
    and prepares the way for his steps” Psm 85: 8-13 NIV

The future of the Children of God is a glorious one indeed. Eternal life  in the light and presence of the One True God. John the Revelator when writing of it said,

“Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”[a] for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’[b] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Rev. 21:1-5

But in this world of toil and care it is sometimes easy to get our eyes off of the eternal promises and onto the trouble of the moment. It is for this reason the Psalmist felt the need to warn his readers “but let them not turn to folly.”  Folly is easy to fall into when spiritual myopia causes us to see too much of the trouble in the moment and not enough of the treasure in eternity. The cure is to hold on to the promises and to remember just what it is we are holding onto faith for. We need to keep the finish line (or the lack of one as this is eternity we are talking about) firmly fixed in mind as we face the troublesome bends in our current road.

Christian, just keep going. This momentary light affliction ( and it will seem just that when we see Jesus) will pass. You are a part of eternity. Hold on to that today!

Be A Champion

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 “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” MA. 9:37,38

Here in New England the harvest is apparent as well as abundant. With church attendance in the six state area hovering just over 2%,  just about everyone you meet on the sidewalk is part of the harvest and with a 98 to 2 ratio the Lord’s acknowledgement that the laborers are few is something of an understatement (granted the numbers are far better than when he walked the Earth… but still).

I find no lack of good ideas within the church walls as to how the church should reach the multitudes with the message of the gospel. But when it comes right down to it we don’t need more ideas we just need to take a couple of those good thoughts and perform them.

Here’s the thing; Suggesting an idea to the pastor of your church and then not being willing to participate in the carrying out of that idea is not helpful. Pastor’s do not need more ideas. Most of us are swimming in a sea of ideas which have no method of implementation. What ideas need are champions to carry them out. And if God gave you the idea then perhaps you are the champion of that idea. Yes you need pastoral support. Yes you need to be realistic about your own abilities and limitations;  But in the end if God is giving you an idea about how to work in the harvest field, that idea is your responsibility to carry out; Just giving it away to someone else and shrugging your shoulders when it doesn’t get done because “those other guys have no vision” does not release you from the responsibility of the idea. God gave it you! See it through! Be the champion of your harvest idea!

Here are some champions I currently see working in our church:

Deb Maciorowski, VP Special Touch REACH New England Chapter

Deb Maciorowski, VP Special Touch REACH New England Chapter

Amanda Lillie Buddy Barrel Coordinator kids church

Amanda Lillie Buddy Barrel Coordinator kids church

Ray Parker, Cornerstone Testimonial Newsletter

Ray Parker, Cornerstone Testimonial Newsletter

 

What do you need to do to champion your harvest cause?