“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.” Luke 24:5b

“When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying, ‘Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of dead and hades.’” Revelation 1:17-18

The crucifixion of Jesus Christ was a real event. To fulfill the perfect righteousness of God the Father, and the legal demands of the Old Covenant, Jesus allowed Himself to be put to death at the hands of His enemies. It was done by the scheming wickedness of men who hated Jesus, but it was also done exactly according to the prophesied and foreordained will of God. Jesus, the Lamb of God, suffered and died in humiliation upon a Roman cross that a way of final forgiveness and salvation might be opened. He died for you and for me. 

Jesus, in His perfection, bore no malice toward His disciples who all but one (John) fled when He was captured and crucified. He bore no hatred toward those who physically whipped him, pounded thorns into his brow, and nailed Him to the cross. To make sure those watching knew this, He called out before His death, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Even as His life was ebbing away, Jesus continued His ministry of mercifully calling people to Himself – as a justly crucified man saw how Jesus suffered and believed in Jesus just before His death (Luke 23:39-43). 

The resurrection of Jesus Christ was a real event. To be our Savior from death, Jesus must be a living Savior – the Living One. After three days, Jesus was raised from the dead by the power of God the Father and lives never to die again! He lives now to glorify Himself by saving sinners that they might experience the joy, freedom from sin and death, might worship His glorious name, and reign with Him forever on high! But the resurrection of Jesus was similar to the first coming of Jesus. Similar to His first coming, Jesus did not loudly announce what He was doing in the world. Instead, He first announced the glory of His new life to a simple woman, Mary Magdalene, then to His disciples, and then to the greater crowds. As with the first coming, Jesus revealed what He was doing in the world to those who loved His name and sought His appearing. 

He is the First and the Last – He existed before us and will exist when the world has seen its last day. He is the Living One – Jesus is the one who gives us life. He gives eternal life to those who believe in Him – a life that begins in the here and now, setting us free from the bondage of sin and addiction. That life expands from now into eternal life, from now into His glorious presence forever. He holds the keys of death – death can no longer hold those who are followers of Jesus Christ. Death is the greatest enemy, the final enemy, but it has been overcome by Jesus!

This time of year is a time to focus on these glorious realities. It is a time to turn our attention away from the troubling things of our time and realize that Jesus continues to work out His glorious final plan of salvation in this world! He continues to work out His glorious plan of salvation in your life! It is a time to look to those around us that may not understand what I have written about here. A time to study the Scriptures that speak to the crucifixion and resurrection – that we might worship with a full heart and grow in our understanding of what Jesus has done to accomplish our salvation!

May the Lord bless you this Easter as we seek to exalt Jesus,

– Pastor Vic

“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 4:5b-7 

This beautiful and comforting passage reminds us that the Lord is near. This is an important truth to keep before us in these troubled days. As the virus spreads and economic trouble worsens, it will be vital to come back to what Paul teaches here often. 

Paul teaches us that since the Lord our God is near, we should not be anxious about anything. Why? Because God our Father is sovereign, good, and loves us more than we can understand. He knows our troubles and has a plan for our lives. That plan is to bless us, but the primary blessing is to conform us to the likeness of Jesus in our character and in the affections of our hearts. He uses struggle and hardship to bring us to the end of ourselves and cause us to turn to Him. 

In these verses, we are commanded to bring all our struggles and anxieties – everything – to the Lord in prayer. We must stop our normal pattern of struggle, go to a quiet place, humble ourselves before the Lord who loves us – and tell him what is on our heart. Speak to the Lord, who cares for you, what you are anxious about. However, the tone of this prayer must be “with thanksgiving.” We must not be like Israel of the Old Testament, who brought their requests to the Lord, but with bitter complaining and anger. 

Instead, we must look always to what we have to be thankful for from the Lord, then make our request. It may be hard to find something to be thankful for in very difficult circumstances. In times like this, we actually have to turn our minds toward considering, “What can I be thankful for?” This is a good frame of mind to be in – and quickly the Holy Spirit will bring to mind how you have been blessed by the Lord.

When you offer your requests to the Lord in this thankful and hopeful way, your prayers are heard. Regardless of how the Lord chooses to answer your prayer, when you pray in this way the Holy Spirit will bless your soul with peace from God. This peace is not from yourself, but from the Lord and will truly change your outlook on the difficult circumstance which you were in prayer about. The peace that God gives truly calms the soul, and is beyond our understanding. God’s perfect peace will allow you to be still in the midst of great trouble and sorrow. This peace will guard your heart and mind against the trouble that had worked to crush you. 

I don’t know what trouble is upon you now – but God does. You don’t know what trouble will come tomorrow – but God does. I urge you to follow this pattern from Scripture during these troubled days. May we humbly, and with thanksgiving, make our anxieties and struggles known to God! 

The perfect peace of Christ to you, 

Pastor Vic

“If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.” Mark 3:24-25

We are all spending a lot more time at home than we normally do as a result of social distancing and business closures. Our kids are going to be home until the fall because of statewide school closures. I encourage you to be intentional in honoring the Lord over the next few months and accept this season as a blessing. 

Jesus is right to say that a house divided cannot stand. When we are around each other at home for long periods, familiarity can breed contempt. If we do not exert good spiritual leadership in our homes they will quickly become toxic, full of bitterness, anger, and isolation. I encourage you to focus on certain Christian virtues and wise patterns during this extended time together that our homes may be unified, filled with joy, and productive for the glory of the Lord.

First, let’s give greater focus in prayer and application to being the loving father, mother, or child that we can be in Christ. Each day, think of those in your household as empty vessels. As you spend time with the Lord in His word, pray that the Holy Spirit will fill you with His love. With your heart full of God’s love, be intentional throughout the day through words of blessing, physical affection, and acts of service to fill up each person in your home with Christian love. By the end of the day may their empty cup be overflowing! 

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful.” 1 Corinthians 13:4

“Above all keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8

Second, freely ask for and grant forgiveness. We will offend and sin against each other as we live together in close quarters. Be quick to ask for forgiveness when you feel conviction. Do not let pride keep you from taking that step of humility. Be quick to fully forgive – without holding a grudge – when forgiveness is necessary. 

“Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” Colossians 3:13

Third, establish healthy routines that will foster spiritual growth, education, exercise, and adequate sleep. As a part of these routines, I encourage you to make family devotions a high priority. This does not have to be complicated. I suggest choosing one meal a day. After eating, keep the entire family around the table. Choose a book of the Bible to work your way through – open to the family what book they would like to read. If an entire Old Testament book is too much, then just read about the events of one character’s life. Once per day, after your meal, pass the Bible around the table and have each person at the table read a portion of the chapter for that day. When you are finished discuss the chapter. Parents, have one or two questions prepared to spark conversation. After discussion pray for the day and needs that are on your prayer list. I suggest having different members of your family offer the opening and closing prayers. This is a good opportunity to coach them, and help them understand how they should pray in a non-threatening environment. 

May the Lord continue to watch over us, and unify our families at this difficult time.

The love of Christ to you,

Pastor Vic

“He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’” 1 Peter 1:15-16

We serve a holy God.

In his first epistle, Peter quotes from the Old Testament book of Leviticus (11:44), where repeatedly Moses writes about the holy, separated, and consecrated nature of the Lord our God (Leviticus 11:44, 19:2, 20:7, 20:26, 21:8). The Lord tells Moses that because He is holy, the people of Israel – His people – must also be holy. Holiness is similar to consecration, which means to set something apart for a sacred purpose. Something that is holy is separated from sinful and evil things, and unstained by them. 

The Lord God is holy in all His ways. He is seated upon His throne in heaven, in perfection and power (Isaiah 6). Because of His holiness, all sinful humanity is separated from God, and under condemnation because of our rebellion against His will. But by grace and according to His mercy, God sent His only Son, Jesus, to bear the punishment for our sins. By faith in Jesus Christ, the free pardon of guilt is open to all who believe. We are not saved by works, but by the grace of God alone.

However, once we are forgiven for our sins, we are called to follow in the ways of Jesus – to live for Him in a separated way motivated by our love for Jesus (1 John 5:3-5). This is the holiness of the Christian life. We must be holy because Jesus was holy. When we read of His life, it is clear that Jesus did not speak the same way as those around Him. Jesus treated all people with a respect and a love that was distinct. Jesus did not love or indulge in the corrupt pleasures of this world. Jesus was humble, not proud; patient, not angry; pure, not lustful; full of love, not selfishness. He was a peacemaker, not a gossip; He loved God His Father, not the passing things of this world. 

Jesus lived a holy and separated life, but he did this while still living amidst the world. In John 17:15-17, Jesus prays for you and me, that God the Father would guard us against evil and set us apart (sanctify us) by His truth. It is God’s will that we remain a part of this corrupt world after putting our faith in Jesus Christ so that we might go and bear witness to others about who Jesus is. God would have us live morally pure lives in the midst of the world so that we might shine like light in darkness. We must live amongst the world, as Jesus did so that we can daily speak to and affect those around us with the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

As we live for Jesus, we will daily fail and sin. Holiness will progressively increase as a work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, but we must pray for and strive after it. The Bible calls this sanctification – becoming progressively set apart over time. Daily sin does not destroy our relationship with God, but does break our fellowship with Him. 

Keep short accounts with God this week. When conviction comes upon you, do not wait until the end of the day to confess your sins. Be immediate. Confess your sin to Jesus as soon as you know you have sinned. Jesus is faithful and just and will cleanse your heart of all shame and guilt (1 John 1:9). 

“Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” Proverbs 28:13

This week, let us strive by the strength and grace of our Savior Jesus Christ to be holy as He is holy.

“And when it was day, He departed and went into a desolate place.” Luke 4:42 

After a full day of teaching and ministering individually, person-to-person, laying His hands on the sick, Jesus rises early and seeks out a desolate place. In doing this, Jesus is intentionally getting away from other people to focus on prayer and being near to God the Father. If being alone with God was important for Jesus, to strengthen His soul and inner resolve to continue doing the Father’s will, it is infinitely more important for us. In His perfect strength and divinity, but full humanity, Jesus often went away to desolate places to quiet His mind before engaging the crowds again. 

We all need such disengagement in our lives, but this separation needs to be intentional. Even non-Christians know that people need quiet space in their lives, but the non-Christian does not know where to turn for the rejuvenation of soul that they seek. As Christians, we get alone and quiet so that we can set our hearts and minds again on things of Jesus Christ and His eternal perspective (Colossians 3:1-4). This is accomplished first through the careful reading of Scripture and next through prayer. 

I suggest a brief time of prayer asking for the Holy Spirit to quiet the noise of your heart, to open your heart to understand, believe, and receive what you read in the Bible that day. Next, spend what time you have reading a passage from the Bible. I suggest you keep a marker in your Bible and keep moving it. Section by section, at your own pace, read through entire books of the Bible – New and Old Testament. However, read small sections at a time that you can thoughtfully consider. Reading the Bible is not an accomplishment to check off, but a life-time discipline that will change your entire worldview. 

Once you have read a passage of Scripture, pray about the things that have come to mind as you read. Taking notes of any sort in a journal while you read can help to focus your thoughts. In prayer, worship Jesus for His perfect goodness, give thanks, confess sins, ask Jesus questions you have, pray about your anxieties, pray for others in need. Reading Scripture is a time of listening to Jesus as God. Prayer is a time to respond in faith. 

Like many, you may agree with the above, but still not practice getting alone with God, because life is just too busy. Let me encourage you that your “desolate place” need not be a remote mountainside. Millions and millions of Christians, both now and in the past, have lived in metropolitan cities where there is no quiet garden to find silence. This does not mean that a devotional life is impossible unless you live in the country. From busy moms to those of us that work two jobs, the daily need is to find someplace where you can shut out the noise and hear the quiet voice of Jesus through the Bible – and then be able to turn your heart to Him in prayer. This could take place in your car, a closet in your home, early morning or late at night at your kitchen table, but it must happen. If not, your soul will run empty and you’ll begin to do life in your way and by your own strength. 

Lastly, sometimes the desolate place really needs to be a desolate place. When you come to major crossroads in life (major job changes, moving, getting married) I suggest you take a vacation day, find some actual remote place, take your Bible and a journal (no phone, no music), fast (completely or to bread and water) and get alone with the Lord Jesus. Seeking the Lord in such a significant way demonstrates to the Lord that you really want to know and do His will. Try it and see how the Lord answers your prayer! 

Let’s get alone with our Savior this week.

May the Lord fill our hearts from His abundant goodness, 

Pastor Vic