In last week’s message I did not address the question about the Servant of Yahweh being called “Israel”. How do we understand the title Israel in light of the servant’s identity?

Is the servant the nation? Is he the prophet? It is difficult to identify the servant as the nation, because the servant is called to gather Israel to the Lord.

The servant seems to be addressed to an individual. It is hard to imagine any prophet playing the redemptive role that is given the servant.

It seems likely that the servant of Yahweh is “Ideal Israel” in the sense that all of the hopes for redemption are woven into this unique person that God calls.

Isarel, the nation, was called to play a specific role as a witness for the Lord to the nations. They failed in that role. Now God is calling His servant to fulfill this role.

From the servant, God will now raise up a new Israel to be witnesses to the nations. Jesus understood this and chose the twelve Apostles to represent the new Israel.

Along with the Apostle Paul, God has called His new covenant people to carry the message of the Servant’s work of redemption.

This is our calling! We are followers of the Servant of Yahweh. We are here as a mission post for Jesus. We are making inroads into our community.

Please pray over our community and join in on what God is doing here in our midst!

Pastor Fred

Here was a church at the end of the first century that had a reputation for being alive, but in reality it was dead! Their works were not producing the quality of life that promoted spiritual health.

It is sad to say, but this would be the condition of many churches today. They are doing a lot of activity, but their spiritual health is decaying. Jesus says they need to wake up! They need to strengthen what remains.

What is the Spirit saying to us? I believe we need to first be devoted to Jesus. Our works must flow out of our love and passion for him. Once we are closely connected to Jesus, then we can move out and serve.

Secondly, we need to really love one another. When we love one another from the heart, then the Spirit can move us into a place of health as a church.

Third, we need to see that all of our life together must have a missional focus. We must resist the temptation of becoming what some call a “family re-union” church.

We must always be intentional of reaching beyond ourselves knowing that God is at work in our world.

Fourth, we need to reclaim our calling as priests. We are all given gifts and the Spirit to minister the grace of God. As people are empowered and freed up to serve, the body of Christ will be strengthened.

Fifth and finally, our fellowship is essential to foster growing relationships. This can be done in our gatherings after Sunday morning or in small groups.

Healthy groups that truly enjoy breaking bread, praying, sharing God’s word and personal stories is essential medicine for healthy emotional and spiritual life.

We are moving in that direction! It is encouraging to see what God is doing. As the writer of Hebrews says, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on in love and good works.

And let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching”. (Hebrews 10:24-25).

Pastor Fred

Reclaiming our priesthood! Since the Protestant Reformation, Christians have rediscovered the biblical doctrine of the priesthood of all believers.

Because of the anointing of the Holy Spirit, every follower of Christ is called into the priesthood. We are all called to intercede for each other and to be Christ’s presence in this age.

If we can only practice this more, we will see God work in our lives. We all have a personal relationship with God. But we need each other as we seek to be faithful followers of Christ.

There is something powerful about having a brother or sister pray for us. There is something also powerful about having a brother or sister there to keep us accountable.

On Thursday evenings we are reclaiming the priesthood. We hear stories of how God is working and speaking through us. We are drawing encouragement from each other’s stories.

We pray for one another and for our church and community. We are an open group and if it grows over 10 or 12 people we will multiply and begin a new group.

We will continue to multiply as the Lord increases. These groups are very informal and everyone is valued. This ministry does not have to be only on Thursday evenings.

In the future, we may have groups meeting at different times and different places. Our sole purpose is to give each person an opportunity to share what God is doing in their life.

Every person has on opportunity to pray and intercede. These are challenging times for the body of Christ. I believe Christ is raising up followers to do great things for the kingdom of God.

I believe He is wanting to do a great work here in our community. Come join us as we worship, study God’s Word, fellowship and pray.

Pastor Fred

Here is a great definition of God’s character. His dominant characteristic is love. Essentially, God is holy and it is out of His holiness that His character flows.

This holy love is pure and righteous. His anger is not an attribute, because it is not something that is lasting. He does not desire to bring calamity to us.

This definition of God’s character is found throughout the Old Testament. When we get to the New Testament we see His character perfectly imaged in the person of Jesus.

We can trust this great God that we worship. We cannot presume on Him, but we can rely on Him. What He wants from us is to approach Him in reverence and awe.

The gods of the ancient world were depicted as being capricious. There was no sense of security in their worship. Because these gods were tied to the natural world, anything could happen.

A flood or a drought was reason to believe that the gods were angry and up to no good! Yahweh was always depicted as a the true God who acted out of pure motives.

We can trust the One and Only God who has revealed Himself in His Son. Worship Him today in spirit and truth. When hardship comes, remember that God can use these things to bring about good

to those who love Him and are called for His purpose. Have a great week!

Pastor Fred

This blog comes out of my reflections from a book: Tethered by C.M. Collins with the subtitle; Technology, Faith & the Illusion of Self-Sufficiency.

The basic thesis is that technology is the product of humans coping with the challenges of living in a fallen world. Technology is not bad, but now that we survive by the sweat of our brows,

we look to technology to improve our existence. And surely it has done that! The next time you turn on an air conditioner in 100 degree heat, you can thank technology for making your life more comfortable.

But what technology has done is make us more self-sufficient and we increasingly live farther away from dependence on God. Man is exalted in his knowledge and ability to control his environment.

How does this relate to the verse of the week? In the book of Revelation, there are four enemies of God. The first and primary enemy is Satan or the Serpent.

The ancient deceiver will in the end deceive the nations and go to war in seeking to crush Christ’s followers. The way he will do this is through the other three enemies.

The first two that are revealed are called beasts. The third is called the great harlot. Historically, these would be the Roman Emperor, the Emperor’s priesthood and Rome.

In these three are government, the propagandist of the government and the economic community of the great city. As these prophetic symbols are projected in the future, it is easy to see in them a globalist government,

a highly technological propaganda machine and a worldwide and interconnected economic community. Here is an interesting question:

What will happen with Artificial Intelligence if in the future it gets in the wrong hands. Would “signs” and “wonders” prop up a world leader to deceive the nations and finally eradicate the only people on earth i.e.

Christians, who would call out this deception as what it really is? Could a world leader control the masses to such a degree that the freedom to worship and live be taken away?

Maybe the last three years is a good indication that it can happen! Are the masses so addicted to their technology, i.e. cell phones and computers, that the media moguls and government could alter reality

and bring about the great deception? Is a worldwide economic community able to control the masses in the case of a financial crisis? I am afraid the train has left the station! It is only a matter of time before

our world unites around the great deception. We don’t know how long this will be till it happens, but in the meantime we are called to faithfully witness to the only true King and Lord of the earth.

As Revelation says, the only way we overcome this war is, “by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.”

(Revelation 12:11). Use technology, but stay free from it’s addictive power. Ask yourself; “Could I go 72 hours without my cell phone or computer?”

Is the Word of God or technology dominating my thinking? Just asking? Remember, we are more than conquerors and must stay true in our witness. Stay free my friends and live in the truth!

Pastor Fred

Staying the course through suffering produces perseverance. I have definitely been learning this lesson these past four months! From the day of my wife’s stroke to the present I have had to stay the course in helping her work through her recovery.

This is my first “rodeo” in being a care taker. I have a lot more compassion for those of you who are caretakers. As a caretaker and a husband, it is a twenty four hour responsibility.

I can testify to Paul’s words that it does shape the character. It is like marathon training. Each day is a building block. It is getting easier as I witness my wife’s recovery.

This work of perseverance is giving me hope that she will one day be almost completely back to where she was before her stroke. Last week we took a hike at the Glendora Wilderness Park and she covered about a quarter mile!

It was slow treading, but she did it! Her vision therapy is helping her with things that before she took for granted. This is a slow process, but with perseverance we do see progress and with that hope.

Our Christian faith is shaped by our sufferings. There is no way around it. If God is going to shape us for His glory, then we must walk through our various trials. I know it is not easy to rejoice in our sufferings.

But when we see what God can do in and through our sufferings then it is much easier to walk through them. One thing I can say for sure. Jesus is with me all the way!

I have sensed his presence and he is faithful every step of the way! My prayer is that you will face your trials with the awareness of his presence and that you will let him do his perfect work in you.

May the Holy Spirit be with you and fill you as you go about this week in his presence.

Pastor Fred

The last two weeks Pastor J.P. has brought messages on the kingship of Jesus. As I was listening and reflecting on this theme, I kept asking myself the following question:

In what sense is Jesus’ kingship a reality now? I know that “heaven” is not some faraway place that is removed from this world. Heaven is simply the sphere of God’s effective will.

Wherever God’s will is being done is the sphere of what we call “heaven”. Heaven comes to earth and becomes a reality when God’s will is being done. When Christ truly dwells in our hearts then the old song,

“Heaven came down and glory filled my soul” becomes a reality. As this age progresses and the enemies of God are brought under the footstool of Christ, then His Kingship becomes a universal reality in this world.

When his enemies are finally defeated, then heaven will truly be united with all the earth! In the meantime, Christ is reigning and his kingdom is advancing. He desires to rule in the hearts of all his followers.

My prayer is that the reality of Christ’s kingship will shine through all of his followers. As a Servant King, Jesus demonstrates his powerful reign through the sacrificial love of his followers.

If we want Jesus to live our lives as if he were us, then we need to follow in his footsteps of love. It is the nations that rule from the top down! Christ rules from the bottom up!

As servants of our King, let us walk in His presence and be the salt and light to our world.

Pastor Fred

Contingencies! Life is full of decision making and contingencies. Right now on earth billions of people are making decisions every moment of the day. With every decision that is made there are billions of contingencies.

God is making decisions in response to humans decisions. James calls his readers to make the decision to draw near to God. If we respond to his call and draw near to God, God makes the decision to draw near to us!

Is the opposite true as well? If we decide to draw away from God, does he draw away from us? What are the consequences of drawing close to God? What are the consequences of drawing away from God?

Isaiah critiques the people of God for coming near to him with their lips, but their hearts are far from him. (Isaiah 29:13). To come near to God we must come with hearts that are open to his will and purpose.

Our hearts are the “control center” of our will. When we draw near to God with our hearts, he will draw near to us and we will experience his presence and power. God is the ultimate responder in his universe.

He is fully aware of all contingencies of the human will. The Bible portrays a God who is always striving to influence us in making decisions that have consequences which will affect our lives.

What he wants to do is bless us as we make right and wise decisions. The best decision we can make each day is to draw near to him! Taking the time each day to draw near to God with an open heart sets the course of our day

and can influence our decisions. Of course we need to be aware of his presence and influence all through our day. When I draw near to him in the beginning of my day, it is much easier to stay near all day long.

Today is a new day! It is full of possibilities. I hope that you will begin each new day by drawing near to God and let him demonstrate his will and purpose in your life.

Pastor Fred

We are going through the Psalms at home. Each day we are reading a Psalm and the other day we read Psalm 19. It is a Psalm that highlights creation and the Word of God. Both creation and God’s Word communicate to us.

Creation gives us “general” information about the beauty, goodness and power of God. The Word of God gives us “special” revelation about God’s character and His will and purpose.

The psalmist says there is a rightness about the precepts of the Lord that give joy to the heart. If we love the Lord God with all of our heart, then when we follow His Word there is joy!

He is pleased with us and we are pleased as well. The Word of God also gives clarity to us. We are able to see clearly and as a result make good and wise choices.

As followers of Christ, we are under a “New Covenant” (Jeremiah 31), and as a result the law of God is written on our hearts. This amazing reality gives us power to live for Christ.

It is not out of our own strength to live a holy life, but it comes out of the resource of the Spirit of God in us. As we yield to the Spirit’s power, we will be able to experience the kind of life that God desires for us.

The end result is life and joy. I trust that this year you will join me in reading God’s Word on a daily basis and let it “sink in” to your heart and mind.

Then as we go about our days we need to let Jesus, “Live our life as if he were we.” (Dallas Willard).

Pastor Fred

God wants us deeply rooted in his word. This comes by meditating on it on a regular basis. As we integrate the word in our hearts, it becomes a way of life. The promise is fruitfulness and prosperity.

The wholeness that is promised is available to all who take the word of God seriously. My prayer is that this year we will take the time to integrate God’s word deep in our hearts and minds.

We are reading a Psalm a day and using this section to meditate on what he is revealing to us. There are many voices in our world that would lead us away from God.

It is crucial in these days to resist the voices of our culture and listen to God as he speaks to us. We are planted in the streams of the Spirit and in season he will produce fruit.

This is the beginning of a new year. Make a commitment to listen to God as he speaks. When he does speak he will call us to action. Take the actions of his word and put them into practice.

Be patient and you will see improvement. As we grow deeper in our faith, God will bring about fruitfulness and wholeness. May God give you endurance and steadfastness as you continue to live in him.

Pastor Fred