Weekly Newsletter
Pastor David’s Weekly Devotional
One of the most important truths we can know – and perhaps one of the most difficult truths to grasp – is the fact that not everything in life is about us. That is, the life we live is not to be lived primarily for or about us. However, the thought that the world revolves around us is something that comes very naturally to a person. It seems to be intrinsically woven within the fabric of every person from birth. While this vain philosophy may be prevalent and even pandemic in our world today, it is certainly not the message we read from God’s Holy Word.
Scripture proclaims that everything on this planet and everything in our lives ought to be based on, centered in and lived out for God – that life is essentially all about Jesus Christ! The Bible clearly and emphatically states that we exist ultimately to magnify and glorify God with everything we say and do. “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1Cor.10:31; see 1Cor.6:20; Rom.11:36; Eph.3:21). This is the essence of the Christian life, and the divine mandate of every life! We were not created to worship or glorify ourselves. God did not create humans so they could strive for a self-esteeming, self-affirming, self-fulfilling, or self-serving life.
Like the thundering waves that successively crash onto the shore, God’s Word relentlessly pounds the human heart and mind with this powerful message: You were created to display and magnify God with your life! God seeks to wash away our self-security, and to break apart our self-sufficiency so that we can fully experience and enjoy the fullness of His glory in our lives! God has created us to do so much more than to live in a room full of mirrors, engrossed in the contemplation or adoration of self. He has created us to walk away from those hollow reflections, and He beckons us to climb to the mountain peaks of contemplating His divine character and glory. From the summit of His sovereign majesty God calls to us, and His voice echoes throughout the canyons of this world with the words: You were created by and for Me!
Unfortunately, in too many contemporary Christian sermons and books, the true Gospel is being subtly eclipsed or replaced with an egocentric and narcissistic message. These preachers package the Gospel as some sort of path to self-fulfillment or self-satisfaction. Their slogan is as simple as it is misguided: “God loves you because you are special” [please note the perilous difference between God creating, loving and redeeming us because we are special, and the Biblical truth that we are special because God has created, loved and redeemed us]. The Bible states quite definitively that the true path to Christ is not through self-esteem or self-acceptance, but self-denial (see Lk.9:23-25).
Pastor and preacher, John MacArthur, gives us this important caveat: “Ministers and teachers who water down the gospel of Christ in order to make it more popular and appealing may be leading their fun-loving audiences down the road to eternal punishment. Too many people just want a ‘Madison Avenue’ Jesus to make them well, make them happy, and make them prosperous. But Jesus is not a personal genie. He is the Savior. He died in agony to satisfy the wrath of a holy God and to forgive the sins of humankind. Faith in Him demands a willingness to make any sacrifice He asks. The hard truth about Christianity is that the cost is high, but the rewards are priceless: abundant and eternal life that comes only from faithfully following Christ.”
Together in and for Christ,
Pastor David
Scripture Readings for the Week (Monday – Sunday ~ Week #29):
Leviticus 16-18; 2 Kings 11-15; Psalm 84-86; Proverbs 11-12; Ezekiel 31-36; Luke 21-22; Colossians 3-4
Recommended Reading:
“Hard to Believe” by John MacArthur
One of the most important truths we can know – and perhaps one of the most difficult truths to grasp – is the fact that not everything in life is about us. That is, the life we live is not to be lived primarily for or about us. However, the thought that the world revolves around us is something that comes very naturally to a person. It seems to be intrinsically woven within the fabric of every person from birth. While this vain philosophy may be prevalent and even pandemic in our world today, it is certainly not the message we read from God’s Holy Word.
Scripture proclaims that everything on this planet and everything in our lives ought to be based on, centered in and lived out for God – that life is essentially all about Jesus Christ! The Bible clearly and emphatically states that we exist ultimately to magnify and glorify God with everything we say and do. “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1Cor.10:31; see 1Cor.6:20; Rom.11:36; Eph.3:21). This is the essence of the Christian life, and the divine mandate of every life! We were not created to worship or glorify ourselves. God did not create humans so they could strive for a self-esteeming, self-affirming, self-fulfilling, or self-serving life.
Like the thundering waves that successively crash onto the shore, God’s Word relentlessly pounds the human heart and mind with this powerful message: You were created to display and magnify God with your life! God seeks to wash away our self-security, and to break apart our self-sufficiency so that we can fully experience and enjoy the fullness of His glory in our lives! God has created us to do so much more than to live in a room full of mirrors, engrossed in the contemplation or adoration of self. He has created us to walk away from those hollow reflections, and He beckons us to climb to the mountain peaks of contemplating His divine character and glory. From the summit of His sovereign majesty God calls to us, and His voice echoes throughout the canyons of this world with the words: You were created by and for Me!
Unfortunately, in too many contemporary Christian sermons and books, the true Gospel is being subtly eclipsed or replaced with an egocentric and narcissistic message. These preachers package the Gospel as some sort of path to self-fulfillment or self-satisfaction. Their slogan is as simple as it is misguided: “God loves you because you are special” [please note the perilous difference between God creating, loving and redeeming us because we are special, and the Biblical truth that we are special because God has created, loved and redeemed us]. The Bible states quite definitively that the true path to Christ is not through self-esteem or self-acceptance, but self-denial (see Lk.9:23-25).
Pastor and preacher, John MacArthur, gives us this important caveat: “Ministers and teachers who water down the gospel of Christ in order to make it more popular and appealing may be leading their fun-loving audiences down the road to eternal punishment. Too many people just want a ‘Madison Avenue’ Jesus to make them well, make them happy, and make them prosperous. But Jesus is not a personal genie. He is the Savior. He died in agony to satisfy the wrath of a holy God and to forgive the sins of humankind. Faith in Him demands a willingness to make any sacrifice He asks. The hard truth about Christianity is that the cost is high, but the rewards are priceless: abundant and eternal life that comes only from faithfully following Christ.”
Together in and for Christ,
Pastor David
Scripture Readings for the Week (Monday – Sunday ~ Week #29):
Leviticus 16-18; 2 Kings 11-15; Psalm 84-86; Proverbs 11-12; Ezekiel 31-36; Luke 21-22; Colossians 3-4
Recommended Reading:
“Hard to Believe” by John MacArthur
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