This week we will continue last week’s pastor’s corner about a lie. The question that we are looking at is when is a person responsible for there actions whether they are unintentional or deliberate. In the ninth chapter of St. John, Jesus heals a blind man who was borne blind by spitting on the ground and rubbing the mud on his eyes. He was then instructed to go wash in the pool of Siloam and wash his face. Afterwards the man returned healed of the blindness and the people who knew him before were astonished. They ask him how he could see and he explained to them what had taken place, giving Jesus all the credit for the miracle. He was taken to the Pharisees and they tried in vain to convince the man and the people that Jesus had not performed a miracle. Afterwards Jesus met the blind man and told him that he was the Son of God and that he came to spiritually open blinded eyes. When the Pharisees heard this they ask if they were blind also and Jesus inferred that they were because they saw the miracle and did not acknowledge Jesus. He then explained to them that once they saw the miracle (made aware) they were accountable for there sin (denying Jesus as the Son of God). I believe that this principal is relevant to all sin, once we are aware we are accountable.

Pastor Danny

One of the channels our cable company provides is the History Channel. It offered a fascinating show about the history of armor. It illustrated the various types of armor from ancient to modern times. There are many different kinds and functions of armor. However, there is one central purpose for all armor: to protect and to keep safe. According to Ephesians 6:14-18, God has provided us with armor to keep His warriors safe. He has give us the Belt of Truth, the Breastplate of Righteousness, the Sandals of Peace, the Shield of Faith, the Helmet of Salvation, and the Sword of the Spirit. These are our defenses against Satan, to protect us from harm and make us able to withstand the spiritual warfare that we as Christians should be waging every day. Did you put on your armor this morning?
- Author: Jim Davis (from Disciple Magazine)

The Meaning of Forgiveness
“How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child,” says William Shakespeare’s King Lear. Well, then, how about a thankless jailbird? If you want an answer to that one, ask District Judge Phillip Killien of Seattle. Recently, a young man appeared before Judge Killien on charges of car theft. The judge saw no reason to keep him locked up while he awaited court action. He released him on his own recognizance. A short time later, Killien’s own car disappeared. Police quickly found the stolen car, and the one who stole it. Then, Judge Killien was in court in a new role, not as a judge, but as a witness, against the same young man he had released, who stood accused of stealing the magistrate’s wheels. A Japanese proverb reminds us that forgiving the unrepentant is like drawing pictures on the water. Ignoring sin may gain the sinner’s temporary gratitude, but makes no lasting impression. A forgiven car thief is still a car thief if no change of character takes place. How about you? Do you seek to escape justice or to be justified by God’s grace and Christ’s mercy? God offers you liberty, not license, in the cleansing blood of Christ.

The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.
You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God. (Psalm 51:17 NLT)

Exodus 3:14 “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”

Praise ye the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints. (Psalm 149:1 KJV)

One-Man Band
The late Bill Bright told the story of a lone musician-a man who believed himself to be the finest musician in the world and needing no one else to produce the finest music.

Accordingly, when the curtain went up for a symphonic concert, the audience was astounded to see 70 empty chairs, with the appropriate instruments, and only one person to play them all. When the conductor’s baton signaled the start, this man ran frantically from one instrument to another, trying to keep up with the conductor.

“Of course, this is just an allegory,” Bright wrote. “But isn’t that what many Christians are like? They are content to live their Christian lives by themselves without seeking the fellowship of others. There is no possible way that we can exist as healthy Christians without fellowship.

“In the fictional one-man orchestra above, you can imagine what the music sounded like-disconnected, uncoordinated and offbeat. That is what a Christian’s spiritual life is like in isolation from other members of the body of Christ.”

The other day my neighbor was working on restoring an old saddle. It had been hanging in a barn/shed for around 20 years and it was not fit for use. The leather was hard and dry and in a few places it was beginning to crack. He was putting oil on the saddle and it was already looking better. After the oil, he put a coat of polish on it while I watched, and it began to bring life back into the leather. The next day I started thinking about this and it reminded me of how God changes a man or woman’s life. He takes someone who is hard and dry and makes them soft and pliable with his Spirit. God calls it becoming a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17). Without the oil and polish the saddle would never have been used anymore and with out the Spirit of God we cannot become a Christian. God tells us that his Spirit will make us alive and without his Spirit we cannot be a Christian (Romans 8:9-11). The saddle was made to use, not hang in a barn and people are made to be alive in Christ, not die and be lost.

Pastor Danny

The other day Rusty, our cat, came to the back door with a half grown squirrel and wanted to come into the house. To Rusty what he had done was neither good nor bad. It was just natural and part of his nature. He did not do it because he was hungry; he did it because the opportunity arose. I think that sometimes people operated like Rusty when it comes to sin in there life. They walk according to their sin nature and see nothing wrong in partaking of sin when the opportunity arises. To them, sin is neither good nor bad; it is just something in life to be enjoyed. For this attitude to change they must first have a change in their very nature. The Bible has various names for this change, born again (John 3:16), new man (Ephesians 4:24), new creature (Galatians6:15) are just a few. In order for this change to occur they must be enlighten by the word of God and that is why it is so important for them to come into contact with God’s word. I would not let Rusty into the house with a squirrel in his mouth and God will not let people into heaven with sin in their life.

Pastor Danny

All day today, and most of last night, this has been weighing on my mind: How could two bright young people have never heard of this iconic man? I suppose that “we” take it for granted that the next generation knows about great people of the Faith, such as Dr. Graham. We also figure they know basic tenants and truths of God’s Word. In many instances “we” are dead wrong: they don’t have a clue.

The Bible says we are to teach the things of God to our children and our grandchildren. Just because most of the 40+ demographic grew up with at least basic Biblical knowledge doesn’t mean that the ones behind did. In fact, we dropped the ball and are seeing the results of that fumble nationwide, if not worldwide.

And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. (Romans 13:11 KJV)

It’s not too late. But we don’t have any more time to waste either. An untold number of souls are on the wrong side of the balance today.

We are in a war today: a spiritual war. And as much today as any time in history disciples of Jesus Christ are under attack. The attacks come from all angles, all places, from where we, often, are least likely to look or think about. Like the specialists divers, there are times when we need to leave the comfort and safety of our “boats” and get in the water. Just like those Naval divers, we have to go to the problem even if it’s out of our comfort zone and address it directly. The cargo and supplies and people the Navy protect are very important. But the eternal cost of the lives that our enemy is assailing are so, so much more important.

In this New Year, I pray that we all, the Church, will find the courage, the desire, and the drive to get out of the boat and do the job at hand. The cost of not doing so is just too high to bare.