"The Long Way Home"

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  • Friday, October 29, 2010
  • “…that they may be perfected in unity…” John 17:23

    We borrowed the expression from our own servant to the lepers in Southeast Asia, Denise Jasmer. It became a frequent expression from the lips of my grandson, Tate. “Perfecto!” And as the evening grew rapidly dark on that Monday two weeks back, it seemed to be the proper word to sum it all up.

    You know the scene. Just east of the offices of State Farm, a cultural phenomenon is played out. Just try finding a place to park the family bus! YMCA soccer for six-year-olds; eight small children, four in each jersey color, running wildly and randomly around the field, followed by two dads who pretend to be “coaches” calling out instructions and encouragement. Somewhere in the midst of that mob there bounces a hapless ball. Legs are flailing in the air, occasionally making contact, but rarely actually directed. And then, ever so often, that ball discovers the back of the net. Goal! And wild celebration spontaneously breaks out.

    Now, that sort of describes the action on the field. Lining that arena of play is another crowd. Dads risking early-life strokes over missed opportunities or failed attempts appear dangerously close to going “postal”. And moms far too often make the “Texas Cheerleader Mom” look more like a gentle and kind Sunday School teacher. Lots of energy. Lots of excitement. And occasionally, “Goal! Perfecto!”

    Tate’s first game? Total unorganized chaos! Lots of running and pushing and falling and misdirection and… But suddenly, from the edge of the crowd in front of the net, he kicks a ball that bounces off an opponent’s ankle and settles into the net. “Goal! Perfecto!” A wild celebration (notice, they learn how to celebrate long before they learn how to actually play the game?)!
     
    That was the beginning of a long season of Monday evening events. But amazingly, due to a great, kind and patient “coach”, those six-year-old boys began to come together as a team. They were dribbling, passing, blocking, and, once in a while, scoring. They were actually learning to do it well…together.

    So Jesus prays, “The glory which You have given Me I have given them, that they may be one…that they may be perfected in unity…” Perfected, to be made complete, to mature, to reach the goal; a process of molding His team into gospelizers, so that together they could celebrate the success of the goal.

    Early sunset shortened the final game. No practice period this time. Just line them up and kick the hapless ball. And as the second half began, I did it. God did it. Tate did it. And I almost hesitate to say what it is I did. Most of you will once again conclude that I am crazy. And a couple of you might take a misguided theological detour. However, I did it. God did it. And Tate did it.

    It had been a long season since Tate’s first goal. And he had really, really worked hard as a part of his team. So, without making any scene or whatever, as the second and final half of the last game of his season began, I simply prayed, “Lord, would You be so gracious as to let Tate score just one more goal?”


    And not 30 seconds later, out of the crowd of little bodies near mid-field, Tate came with the ball. And with a random swing of his left leg, it found the back of the net some 25 feet away. And the coach, and that team of six-year-old boys wildly celebrated TOGETHER. Formerly total strangers had, in one season, become a team. “Goal! Perfecto!”

    “That they may be perfected in unity, so that the World may know…”

    Goal? “Perfecto!”



    See you Sunday, Church!
    Pastor Tom



    P.S. We just MIGHT have the World Games covered in 20 years J.

    He Sent Him from Heaven to Earth: AMAZING Grace!

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  • Tuesday, October 26, 2010

  • As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.”  John 17:17
    As we near the end of our study of Jesus’ prayer for Himself, His disciples, and for us, we focus on the method that God has chosen to spread His word…

    Jesus’ Mission was to…
    ·          save them out of the world – While I was with them, I was keeping them in Thy name which Thou hast given Me; and I guarded them, and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.  John 17:12
    ·          preserve them in the world "I do not ask Thee to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.” John 17:15
    ·          send them to the world – “As Thou didst send Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. John 17:18

    Jesus’ Method was
    ·          Incarnational – He took on human form so as to go TO the world
    ·          Intentional – He sought out those who were lost
    ·          Incidental – He was aware of those hurting and seeking and in need of Him.
    ·          Individual – He loves the lost
    ·          Indispensable – He is THE way, THE truth, and THE life!

    Jesus’ Message was and is that man is
    ·          separated – we have broken fellowship with God through our sin
    ·          condemned – we are all guilty and deserve shame and death
    ·          redeemed – God sent HIM to save us… this is the unfolding drama of the gospel
    ·          justified – in the eyes of God, Jesus has taken care of our debt – it is PAID IN FULL!
    ·          transformed – we are a new creation
    ·          restored – the sin that separated us, that has been dealt with by Jesus will return us to Eden’s fellowship!

    Jesus has prayed that we be in the world, but NOT of the world… How can this be possible?
    1.       Have a passion for the Word  (John 17:17) - Only the Word keeps us from loving the World
    2.       Partner with the Body – we are to be ONE even as He and the Father and the Spirit are ONE!
    3.       Be in Prayer and depend upon prayer

    Just be Jesus in your square mile” – Stuart Briscoe

    “As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world." John 17:17


    “He sent Him from Heaven to Earth: Amazing Grace!”

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  • Friday, October 22, 2010
  • Lets humble ourselves for a moment and tone down our defensive posture long enough to simply marvel.

    The Oldest Object Ever Seen in the Universe, reads today’s headline. And for clarification, they are NOT writing about my dear brother, Dr. Tom!

    The article goes on to say, “An ancient galaxy has broken the record for the most distant point in the sky known to date, with its light taking 13.1 billion years to reach Earth—also making it the oldest thing in the universe.”

    Reading these reports immediately took my mind back to the hymn of praise recorded in Psalm 8. I have this mental picture of a teen-aged shepherd sprawled out on a grassy knoll, his sheep quietly resting around him, his ankles crossed under his cloak and his fingers locked behind his head, propping it up in a comfortable position, his eyes fixed on the dark canopy above it all. A planet brightly glitters over there, just beneath the moon…the big dipper here, the little dipper over there. The longer his eyes focus on the sky, the more stars seem to occupy its space. No telescope, no Hubble lens, no magnification; simply thousands of glittering stars observable to his naked eye. Our shepherd takes it all in and contemplates what he is seeing.

    Then suddenly, he sits up, grabs his backpack, pulls out his iPad and begins feverishly tapping the screen, O Lord, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth, Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens…when I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained; What is man that You take thought of him, and the son of man that you care for him?

    Thought much about that lately? Paused to stand in your driveway, tip your head back and soak it all in? Have you moved the kids’ bedtime a half an hour later so that you can sit in the backyard and study the sky together? RECENTLY? Have you taken the risk of feeling, for a moment at least, totally lost, small, and insignificant in the massive space of the Universe? Are you humble enough to marvel at the enormity of space and the incomparable grace that stirs the heart of its Creator to even know you are sitting out in your backyard tonight? Or that He would even CARE that you are sitting outside with your kids tonight? Have you recently heard yourself humming that tune, O Lord, OUR Lord, How majestic is YOUR name in all the earth…? Or swallowed your self-adoring pride long enough to ask, What IS man that You take thought of him?

    The temptation of this new “discovery” (Take heart, God knew all along that it was out there. He even gave each of its stars its own name!) will be to immediately begin arguing about that “13.1 billion years” date and miss the message God has imbedded there. Let’s humble ourselves for a moment and tone down our defensive posture long enough to simply marvel.

    What IS man that you take thought of him? Out of the thousands of planets He has cast out into His Universe, and all the galaxies and the stars of which they are comprised, think on this amazing thing. It was to OUR world that God sent His very own Son, our Creator and Sustainer! And to OUR world He was sent as a Savior!

    Now…move the kids’ bedtime back half an hour or so tonight. Play the role of the Hebrew shepherd boy for a few slow minutes. Wrap a blanket around yourself; lay back with your fingers laced behind your head. Stare long and hard at the canopy of stars that covers you. Humble yourself for a moment and tone down your defensive posture long enough to simply marvel. And teach the kids to say, O Lord, OUR Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth!


    See you Sunday, Church!
    Pastor Tom

    The Unaborted Mission of the Christ

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  • Tuesday, October 19, 2010
  • “Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth.”  John 17:17
    To sanctify is to ‘set apart for a sacred work’. Jesus in His prayer to the Father asks that we be sanctified… that we be "set apart" in spite of the world in which we live! It is this aspect of the "justification / sanctification / glorification" story of the gospel that is the focus of these verses in John 17.

    “Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth...”  begs six questions to be asked… “Who? What? When? Where? How? and Why?!”

    1. WHO?
    The "them" is simply all those that God has redeemed through His Son…
    “After Jesus said this, He looked toward heaven and prayed: Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify You. For You granted Him authority over all people that He might give eternal life to all those You have given Him.”  John 17:1-2

    The setting apart of those God has given to the Son is NOT optional! God foreknew and predestined these He called to be justified, sanctified and glorified!

    And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” Rom. 8:28-30

    2. WHAT?
    Well then what is sanctification?? It is a process of transformation…
    “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”  Rom. 12:2
    …from the inside out… It is a renewed mind that precedes any action on our part…

    3. WHEN?
    Since at the moment of faith we were "set apart", our ongoing process of sanctification is just that… on going…
    “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”  1Cor. 10:31

    4. WHERE?
    We are set apart from the world and we are set apart for the world!

    His prayer to sanctify us separates us from the world…
    “They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”  John 17:16-17

    His prayer to sanctify Himself for us sets us apart for the world…
    “As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.”  John 17:18-19

    5. HOW?
    So just how does this sanctification work? Simply stated… The Word…
    “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”  John 17:17

    And God Himself…
    “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.  1Thes. 5:23-24

    6. WHY?
    And finally, why… Why does God desire to sanctify US?? In order for His gospel to go forth, through us, to the world in which we live..
    “As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.”  John 17:18
    “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”  1Pet. 3:15a


    May our prayer be that we would be more in the World and the World would be less in us.

    The Unaborted Mission of the Christ

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  • Friday, October 15, 2010
  • The mission of the Savior of the World was not aborted at the cross.

    The fable goes something like this…
    Relaxing after a most eventful evening shared in the Upper Room, the disciples are musing together about the declining attendance at their recent public events. What had at one time been standing-room-only crowds, events where they actually had to make a “preaching platform” out of a boat pushed away from the shore, His followers were becoming painfully aware that more people seemed to be leaving Jesus than joining Him. So the event team began to discuss what adjustments they might propose which could reverse this attendance slide. Andrew suggested, “I think we need to organize more of those ‘tail-gate parties’ where Jesus takes small amounts of food and feeds the thousands. You have to admit, He definitely had them jazzed about that!” Philip was quite impressed with the healings. “Maybe we need to round up some more blind people and secure a stadium with excellent seating and better sight-lines for the audience. Let Jesus demonstrate some of His various healing methods on them. Spit and make some mud-packs…cover their unseeing eyes with His hands…or build the anticipation with another of those ‘progressive sight restoration’ healings.” Nathanael, the skeptic, was drawn to the earlier stages of Jesus’ public exposure. “If we would line up some water pots and have Him turn them all into top-quality wine, we not only could build the crowds, we could even underwrite some of the increasing ministry expenses by selling it after the event.” James wondered aloud why Jesus had to do His walking on the water thing in the middle of the night with the only “stage lights” being a full moon. So on and on went the strategizing for restoring the momentum to the mission.  And then, during a lull in the conversation, they heard Judas say, “I don’t know much about your marketing strategies and all. But I would like to suggest that if we are going to keep meeting up here in this Room, we do something about replacing the carpet!”

    Being a somewhat impatient sort of guy…the kind who sees three cars in the drive-thru lane and parks to and go inside to get the kiddie meal…who can’t believe how slow his MacBook opens up…who wonders why they haven’t developed a grass seed that sprouts in 48 hours…the kind of guy who believes we “just need to make a decision” and then, if it is a bad decision, we simply fix it with a better decision later. You know my type! Being an impatient sort of guy, I marvel at the strategy Jesus employed for His mission to our World!

    Thirty-three years of living in one small geographic location with his only “out-of-the-country” excursions being in His infancy to Egypt and in His stepping onto the eastern shoreline of the Sea of Galilee. Three concentrated, sensational years of public ministry and proclamation; and yet, by the time He is preparing to return to Heaven, He is actually losing more followers than He is adding! And with the shadow of His cross looming ever nearer, He declares victory/success/mission-accomplished. “In the World you have tribulation, but take courage, I have overcome the World!”
    John 16:31

    With the unlimited power of Creator being His, one HAS to marvel at the strategy Jesus employed for reaching the World. “As You sent Me into the World, I also have sent them into the World.” John 17:18 Rather than build His followership on grand events with additional numbers recorded each time, Jesus ordained the principles of multiplication. “Each one reach one” by the power of the gospel and for the glory of the Savior.

    If you were sent to “save the World”, what strategy would you employ to accomplish the mission? On the eve of His death on the cross, the number of those who truly believed in Him was very, very small. And then, if you add into the mix the “kind” of followers He had amassed…His impact was unimpressive by nearly all standards!

    But the mission of the Savior was not aborted at the cross. No, rather, it was accelerated there! For that handful of faithful (SORT- OF faithful…night runners and verbal deniers…) embraced their calling and committed themselves to the task. One soul at a time the gospel was proclaimed and embraced. And before long, the reputation of this small band of disciples was, “they have upset the whole world by their preaching of this Christ”!

    In the World but of the Word, John 17:13-17

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  • Tuesday, October 12, 2010
  • As we gathered together this past Sunday as a body of worshipers (known as “Faith Bible”), we sang hymns and songs to our God! Colossians reminds us such music, when sung from the heart, is an outward manifestation of the indwelling word of Christ!

    "Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God." Col. 3:16

    One hymn we sang together was A Mighty Fortress is Our God…

    A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
    our helper he amid the flood of mortal ills prevaling. 
    For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
    his craft and power are great,
                            and armed with cruel hate,
                            on earth is not his equal.

    OK really, do you know what a ‘bulwark’ is? The dictionary definition is “a solid wall-like structure raised for defense” (also breakwater or seawall). A bulwark is a structure of protection, keeping out dangers both human (an enemy) and natural (seawater). Such structures can be built created to make a city where one is not possible (after all, parts of New Orleans are below sea level!). Yet danger lurks as one only has to remember the destruction that followed Katrina when the man-made bulwarks and dykes gave way. But our God is a bulwark that NEVER fails!

    Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing,
    were not the right man on our side, the man of God's own choosing.
    Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is he;
    Lord Sabaoth, his name,
                            from age to age the same,
                           and he must win the battle.
                           
    God’s offensive weapon? His Son Christ Jesus! Jesus, the “Lord of the Sabbath” is the one who will prevail and win. In the end, HE WINS!

    And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
    we will not fear, for God hath willed his truth to triumph through us. 
    The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
    his rage we can endure,
                            for lo, his doom is sure;
                           one little word shall fell him.

    That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
    the Spirit and the gifts are ours, thru him who with us sideth. 
    Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
    the body they may kill;
                            God's truth abideth still;
                            his kingdom is forever.
                           
    The final two verses focus upon ‘one little word’… a word that takes out Satan himself! God’s word is God’s Word, the Son. The message and the messenger are One!

    "I have given them Thy word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." John 17:14

    The Word of God is our defense, protecting us from the world, and our offense, who in the end wins! Pray that though you are in the world, that you will be more in the Word!

    "He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark." Psa. 91:4

    In the World but of the Word, John 17:13-19

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  • Thursday, October 7, 2010
  • "They were Yours and You gave them to Me…I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one…They are not of the world…sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth."
    John 17

    In the world but of the Word…

    Some lessons stick. This one stuck! It was a story illustration told many times by my Mom and Dad while they were teaching the Word to children.

    You would not have thought it of much value. In fact, it sat practically unnoticed in the pawnshop window. Was rather crudely constructed with its misshapen hull and its tilted mast. The paint job was obviously applied by inexperienced hands. “Primitive” might be the word for it. The kind of toy that rests on fireplace mantels or atop antique chests among a home filled with collector’s furnishings. It was unique…a “one-of-a-kind” sort of thing. Most folks passed without noticing it at all. But not everyone…

    One afternoon a young boy was walking past that window following his mom to the store down the block. Suddenly he stopped. “Mom! Mom! There it is! There is my boat! That man in the store has my boat!” And though she had errands to run and stuff to do, his mother stopped, turned back, and led him into the store.

    “Sir,” said the little boy. “The boat in your window is my boat. I made it in our garage. I cut it out with my Dad’s saw and I drilled the hole to put the sail on it. And I painted it all those pretty colors. It was raining so I took it out in front of our house and sailed it in the gutter where all the water was running. But it went too far down the street and I lost it. That boat in the window is my boat! Can I have it?”

    “Son,” replied the clerk, “that boat actually belongs to me. A man brought it into the store and sold it to me. I know you might have made it, but it is the store’s boat now. However, I would be willing to sell it back to you, if you want it.”

    Not to be discouraged, the young boy told the man to hold it for him and he would be back in a little while to buy it. He did not even attempt to negotiate a lower price. It was worth it, because the value of the possession, though too high for others to understand, was not in what it was, but in who had made it.

    Later that afternoon, the boy was seen leaving the store with the boat gripped tightly in his arms. A couple who was passing by overheard him saying to the toy, “You are mine. You are twice mine. I made you and then I bought you back. You are all mine!”

    And to the casual observer, you and I are not too much to look at. In fact, most folks simply pass us by, unnoticed. But the Lord sees us and loves us deeply. And those who pause to listen will hear Jesus say, “You are mine. You are twice mine. I made you and then I bought you back. You are all mine!”

    In the world but of the Word…

    See you Sunday, Church!
    Pastor Tom

    Keeping Power of Saving Grace John 17:7-10

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  • Tuesday, October 5, 2010
  • Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. John 17:7-10

    As we work through the Lord’s prayer as recorded in the 17th chapter of John, Tom this past Sunday outlined four questions which emerge with a careful reading of verses 7-10…

         1. How will God save my ‘unsaveable’ friend?
         2. Does Jesus pray for you?
         3. How is Christ ‘glorified’ in me?
         4. Am I safe forever?

    (1) How will God save my ‘unsaveable’ friend? (17:7-8)

           "For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them…”

    God has given ‘His Word’ to Jesus to give to us!

           So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. Rom. 10:17

    We must then listen and accept these words…

           "They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me” John 17:8

    We come to understand that Christ came from God the Father… We "know" this truth about Christ… In short the message IS the messenger!
          
             In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1

    We believe that Christ was indeed sent from God as the one and only "good news" and gospel for the human race for those whom the Father chooses…
          
            "…just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy  and blameless before Him..." Ephesians. 1:4

    (2) Does Jesus pray for you? (17:9)
    Yes!

           I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. John 17:9

          Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because He always lives to intercede for them. Heb. 7:25


    What more needs to be said?!

    (3) How is Christ glorified in me? (17:10)
    Did you notice why this question arises?

           All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. John 17:10

    How do I bring glory to HIM???

    My rescue from sin and death is accomplished by Jesus the Son who desires that we be transformed…

           “and everyone who has this hope fixed on Him, purifies himself, just as He is pure” 1 John 3:3

    so that we can be with Him

           "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus  Christ…" Philippians 3:20
    …and be like Him!

           “…who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.” Philippians 3:21

    (4) Am I Eternally Safe? (17:11-12,15)
    (more on this next week!) but for now…

    I have been saved
    REGENERATION—salvation accomplished

    I am being saved
    SANCTIFICATION—salvation working in and working out

           And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. Rom. 8:28-30

    I will be saved
    GLORIFICATION—salvation completed

           We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, for we shall see Him just as He is. 1 Jhn 3:2

    Keeping Power John 17:6-12,15

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  • Friday, October 1, 2010
  • We affectionately labeled it “Daisy Theology”…you know, “He loves me, He loves me not” kind of reasoning.

    I pulled old Bibles down from my shelf yesterday. Linda and I were raised in two differing theological “camps” of thought regarding the security of believers, i.e. the doctrine sometimes called “once-saved-always-saved.” So our Bible College years were marked by a hypersensitivity to ANY portion of scripture which would speak in any manner concerning this source of “conflict” in our home. If a preacher would cross-reference a text in his sermon, which in any way spoke of the subject, we would go to the flyleaf of our Bibles and write the reference there. If any book or article we were reading addressed the subject, we quickly marked it down. Bottom line? I think we believed that we would accumulate a serious list of Bible passages on two sides of the argument and then, depending upon which one was the longer, that would be our conclusion. Pretty immature approach to doctrinal convictions…but then, we WERE pretty immature! And the evidence lives today in the flyleaves of those old Bibles.
    It is not too difficult to embrace the truth that eternal salvation, including the complete eradication of sin/offenses that condemned us to eternal hell, was not possible in ”works righteousness”, but required the incredible grace of God. Salvation by grace through faith was easy to embrace. But, what about maintaining that salvation once it was received? So we argued over the meaning of “eternal life” and “forever” and all such word battles.

    One BIG point of discussion was sort of like this: “How will a person be restrained from practicing major sins if they don’t have the fear that they will lose eternal life for doing the sin? What will hold them back?” Our counter to that was, “Why, if one understands the greatness and costliness of saving grace, would they WANT to go back into old sinning?” And on the argument went.

    It was only as we started to grow up as Christians and mature as Bible readers that we began to understand and appreciate the truth that our salvation is never going to be secured on the basis of how well we persevere, but rather on how persevering in His love for us God is. And, that our security in eternal life rested, bottom line, on the greatness of the character of the God who purchased it and guaranteed it. Safe…because He is a great and a faithful God…period!

    We affectionately labeled it “Daisy Theology”…”He loves me, He loves me not.” Kind of “cute” when it occurs on the playground. But rather devastating when it is the quandry of the believer’s heart. Salvation is by grace through faith. He is the Savior…we are the saved. He has done the work…we can do nothing to insure and secure it.

    Dawn-Marie loved daisies. She would quote frequently from one of her favorite movies, “Daisies are the friendliest flower!” Yes, they do seem friendly. But they have no place in the doctrine of our eternal salvation!

    My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and My Father are one! John 10:28-30

    He loves me. Question solved!

    See you Sunday, Church!
    Pastor Tom