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Live In Harmony

“Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” Romans 12:16-18

The Apostle Paul here instructs the Roman church to “Live in harmony with one another.” When I think of harmony, I first think of the different musical parts of a choir. Each part is sung in a different key, but the various parts come together to make a full, strong, complex, and beautiful song. In a similar way, the church should live in harmony. 

The Lord Jesus intends for us to live in community – life together – and in living together in the church there should be great diversity. Our church is made up of different backgrounds, talents, ages, races, cultures, jobs, economic status, styles, and personalities. But within all this diversity we have one driving purpose, which is to worship and live for Christ Jesus our risen Savior. We must all be striving to love the Lord with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love our neighbor as our self. 

A call to harmony is not a call to sameness. Harmony, by definition, requires difference, but that difference complements and makes the whole better and fuller. The boundaries of sameness come in worshipping the Lord Jesus as He is revealed in the Bible and obeying his moral commands. But the moral commands of Christ are not racially or culturally specific. It is clear from John’s Revelation 7:9-10 that by the saving work of Jesus Christ people from every language, tribe, and nation will one day gather before the throne of Jesus to worship. I do not believe that this will be a group conformed to sameness, but a beautiful harmony of cultures, language and races unified for the single purpose of worshipping our Savior, Jesus. 

In Romans 15:5-6 Paul clearly states the goal of diverse harmony in the church; “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Regardless of your age, race, style, job, background, or talents may you join with others in our church to glorify the Lord Jesus with one voice! This harmony will be more powerful and more beautiful to a watching world than your witness alone. Let us be grateful for the sense of harmony that the Holy Spirit has brought to our church, but I pray for it to grow even stronger. 

As we approach another Lord’s Supper Sunday, let us confess and forgive any division that may be between us. Let’s speak authentically with each other, not holding back speaking of our needs and struggles out of pride. Let’s talk together much during the week and be in each other’s homes. And then, let’s come together on Sunday to lift our voices to the Lord and hear the preaching of His word. Let’s do everything possible, on our behalf, to live in peace with others. Let’s live in harmony together!

May nothing divide us against each other,

Pastor Vic

Anxious For Nothing

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:4-7

This beautiful passage begins with the command to rejoice always and in all things. This reminds us that joy in our life does not come from the circumstances of our life, but from our personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Joy is one of the fruits that the Holy Spirit bears in our hearts when we draw near to Him in devotion. Through this, it is possible to choose to rejoice, instead of dwelling on anger or fear. Why – because “the Lord is at hand” (v.5b). Let us remember as we go through our week, the Lord is present with us in a real way. This is the imminent presence of God with us, indwelling our hearts by the Holy Spirit. You are not alone or forgotten. The Lord is at hand, to guide your life toward His good purposes.

Therefore, “do not be anxious about anything.” As a caring Father, the Lord Jesus is ready to hear the anxieties of your heart. Life is crazy and full, from youth to old age, with anxiety upon anxiety. Your only hope for peace is to learn the discipline of prayerfully giving your anxieties to the Lord. In a very literal way, when you feel overwhelmed by anxiety, get alone (in your car, your office, bedroom, etc.) and pour out your fears to Jesus who is at-hand and cares for you. Let your requests be made known to God, but temper these prayers always with thanksgiving. You may not see it until you get on your knees, but there is always much to give thanks for. By giving focus to thanksgiving, it helps remind us where Jesus is at work. 

By praying in this way, you are consciously giving over to Jesus the temptation to be crippled by anxiety. There are only two options in your thinking: (1) the biblical teaching that God is sovereign, God is good, and God is working out a good plan in your life. Or, (2) God doesn’t really exist, the world is a series of random events shaped only by your efforts, and success is up to you. The first perspective leads to life, the second to pride and self-destruction. 

If you struggle much with anxiety, this process of recognizing God’s near love for you and giving all anxiety over to Him in prayer may happen 100 times a day for a while. However, eventually, this habit of always coming to Jesus with your fears will keep you near to Jesus and constantly in prayer. This is known as abiding in Jesus (John 15:1-8) and walking by faith (Romans 1:17). This is the way Jesus would have us live. By this, the peace of God will “guard” your heart in a way that surpasses your understanding. As you grow in faith, thanksgiving, and joy you will begin to face trails with a peace that surpasses understanding – because you walk by faith – knowing that your heavenly Father loves you and is working out His purposes in your life. 

Dear brothers and sisters – this week choose to be anxious for nothing – keep on giving your anxieties to the Lord!

May the peace of God guard your heart,

Pastor Vic 

The Sanctity of Human Life

“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” Psalm 139:13-16

In 1984 President Ronald Regan proclaimed January 22 as “Sanctity of Human Life Day.” This day was the eleventh anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal in the United States. Reagan was urging our country to remember that God ultimately decides right from wrong, not the Supreme Court of the United States. In this case, the Supreme Court got it wrong, and we are still living with the consequences. Abortion continues at an alarming rate, with approximately 800,000 abortions performed in the US during 2018. But those of us who oppose abortion – the killing of the unborn – remember at this time of year to focus on this terrible evil and pray for its end. 

As medical science has advanced it has brought us to a clear moral crossroad. Medical technology makes abortion possible, but medical technology also makes it possible to see the fully formed bodies of unborn children in 3-D detail. Medical technology makes it possible for significantly pre-maturely born babies to thrive and grow into healthy adults. It has created an entire medical discipline (NIC – neonatal intensive care) of amazingly talented nurses and doctors to care for these tiny infant children – even performing surgery on children in the womb! Yet many still argue that these tiny children are not human until the mother decides they are. This is a moral conflict to which the Bible speaks clearly.

Psalm 139 beautifully writes of the miraculous formation of a living child inside of its mother’s womb. This formation is a creative work designed by God and infused with purpose and meaning. The Psalm speaks to how each unborn child has a potential life before them – a life known only by God. It is a powerful Christian doctrine that life is never an accident. Each life is caused by God, has purpose, and should be protected and cherished. At the beginning of the book of Jeremiah we are given insight into how God has purpose for our lives from before we were born, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5). 

Abortion is a human rights issue. Fighting to end abortion is the righteous work of striving to protect the most helpless of all people, the unborn. Those who truly have no voice. Christians, above all people, must care about the issues of defending the weak and helpless. We should be passionate about caring for the disabled, the elderly, the enslaved, and the unborn. Jesus had constant compassion toward “the least of these,” and so should we. 

As a church, we must be involved with this issue. First, we extend the forgiveness of the gospel of Jesus Christ to those who have been a part of the abortion process. The gospel is about the forgiveness of sin, and by the grace of God, you can be forgiven. Second, we must labor to help those with unexpected pregnancies to choose life – through counseling and practical help. Third, we must be willing to open our homes to long and short-term foster care/adoption, to take into our homes those children who are born but orphaned. Forth, we must be unashamed to speak against this sin, but to speak against it with love. We must overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). 

If you want more information on how to be practically involved with helping end abortion in our area through counseling those in need, speak with Maria Carpenter. If you would like more information on how to be involved with short and long-term orphan care, please speak with Justin Woodruff. 

May the Lord grant an end to legal abortion in the United States,

Pastor Vic

Prepare Your Hearts for Worship

Prepare Your Hearts for Worship

“The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.” – Psalm 24:1-4

Psalm 24 is a Psalm of ascent, one used in worship as the people approached the temple. It is supposed that David penned this Psalm as a part of the procession to bring the Ark of the Covenant to the Temple. For us, it is should be used in the same way – to prepare our hearts for worship. The words of the psalmist remind us that God is our creator and that “ascending” into His presence cannot be taken lightly, and that sinfulness will not be allowed in His presence. The person that will be allowed into the presence of God to worship is the person with clean hands (righteous deeds) and a pure heart. But NONE of us fit this lofty standard of perfection! Only by the grace and forgiveness of Jesus are we purified and made “whiter than snow” (Psalm 51).

My question for you is, “How do you prepare your heart for gathered church worship each week?” Gathering as a church, with the prayerful expectation that the Holy Spirit will minister to our hearts, is a special occasion and should be approached with heart preparation. I encourage you to consider and practice a few steps in your family:

(1) Rise early enough to spend some time in prayer and confession before engaging your family and coming to church. Take some time to pray and ask for the blessing and direction of the Holy Spirit on the gathering of our church. It will change your mindset. Confessing your sins will allow you to enter the congregation with a pure heart, ready to hear the preaching of the Word and to encourage friends and strangers around you as we meet.

(2) Play Christian music in your home while you are getting ready for the day – not on head headphones, but a speaker so music honoring Jesus fills your home! For Sunday morning, I really enjoy Fernando Ortega: The Shadow of Your Wings (Hymns and Sacred Songs); Chris Rice: Peace Like a River (The Hymns Project); and (if you like bluegrass) Claire Holley: Sanctuary.

(3) Lastly, come to church with expectation! When people walked miles and miles, stayed late with no food, and strained through the windows of packed houses to hear Jesus – they came with expectation. They expected to hear a word from the Lord and get answers to their questions. They sought healing in body, mind, and soul. They came not even knowing why they came but knowing that something special was going to happen in the presence of Jesus Christ. I feel the same way every time we gather!

I urge you to spend some time preparing your heart, and the heart of your family, for worship this Sunday. May the Lord bless us with His presence.

Soli Deo Gloria,
Pastor Vic

Creation

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1

“By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.” Hebrews 11:3

Happy New Year friends! In beginning a new year, I have begun again to read through the Bible. It’s always an important part of the new year to be reminded that God is our Creator. It’s important to be reminded in the midst of busy days, traffic, demanding job situations, crying kids, and many other competing priorities – that God created this world and continues to uphold it by His power (Colossians 1:16-17). This reality must not be ignored by us, and should dramatically shape our priorities:

  • God created us for relationship. God does not need anything from us, but created us for His own pleasure and glory. He created us in His image – meaning that we share enough similarities with God that we can have a real and personal relationship with Him, while at the same time, He is beyond us in ways we can never fully understand. 
  • God has revealed Himself to us in the Bible for the purpose of right relationship. I hope you will make it a priority this year to constantly study the Bible, but that your study of the Bible will be for the purpose of gaining a deeper personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We must have truth for authentic relationships. We can never have a meaningful relationship with anyone that we don’t know truly, but knowledge does not equal relationship. I know much about George Washington through reading about his life, but I do not have a relationship with him. God created this world, you personally, and has disclosed Himself to us and recorded that disclosure in the Bible – so that we might know Him personally.
  • God created a structure of time for us to live within: 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week, 365 days in a year, a set number of years for your life. God is infinite and unbound by time. We, by design, are bound by time. God did not create our lives to be bound by time so that we might frantically fill it with every possible event. God created us to need sleep, Sabbath rest (one day in seven), and relaxation in the midst of regular hard work. As you pursue the work God has for you this year, be careful to remember the unhurried life of Jesus. He accomplished all of the Lord’s will – in an unhurried, simple, relationally rich life. He cut out everything that was not necessary. I encourage you to remember that if you cannot fit your planned activities into the time God has given you – then your life choices have gone beyond God’s design for your life and something needs to change.

This year, let us together remember that God is our Creator, and let us focus on knowing Jesus Christ and those around us with much love and authenticity – by re-structuring our lives to live within the good boundaries God has set for us. 

Soli Deo Gloria,

Pastor Vic 

Psalm 145

I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. 

One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness. They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. 

The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made. All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD, and all your saints shall bless you! They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power, to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. 

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. The LORD is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works. The LORD upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing. 

The LORD is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them. The LORD preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD, and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.