Devotional - Groveland Missionary Church

April 20

Posted on Apr 23, 2020 in Devotions |

Again, the week has gotten away from me. Sorry. We looked this week at the first of the minor prophets: Hosea. And the message we learned from this book is that God loves us. His love will not let us go. However his love does not exclude punishment for sins or consequences. The kindness of his wrath is to bring repentance and a return to his loving arms. His true wrath will only be felt by those who refuse to return or trust in God. We all have been given opportunities to confess our sins and we will continue to have them until we die or Jesus comes to take his children home. Since we have no idea when either of those events will happen, do not put off this choice. Please see the love that God has for you before that day comes when you will not be able to change your mind and you will experience what God’s wrath really is all about.

April 13

Posted on Apr 13, 2020 in Devotions |

Well we survived Easter Sunday without gathering together. And even though it was hard not to see people gather to worship a risen Savior, we all know that the message has not changed in 2000 years. We serve a risen Savior who is in the world today. And that, it so happens, is where the church finds itself. We too are in the world ministering to those around us. We are not the church gathered but the church scattered. The church is not closed, it is now unenclosed. I hope this will not just be a time of hunkering down and staying isolated, but that we, like Jesus did on earth, be like physicians who are not healing the healthy but going to the sick and dying. Even now we can in our own self-distancing can reach out to those who need a spiritual touch. When you cannot touch others physically, you can still touch them spiritually.

April 6

Posted on Apr 9, 2020 in Devotions |

If you noticed, I did not post this on the 6th (Monday) like I usually do. To tell you the truth, I forgot about it until today. With the quarantine, my schedule has been thrown in a loop this last month and the new routine has not yet set in yet.

As most of you know this is holy week; the week we celebrate the passion and the resurrection of Jesus. And this is “Maundy Thursday”. If you did not know (I had to remember again), the reason it is called Maundy Thursday is because in Latin Maundy is our word for “command”. It is to remind us of Jesus’ commandment to his disciples in his last supper to “Love one another just as I have loved you”. And in today’s world, this should take on new meaning with all that is going on. It should also remind us of a similar command to love God and to love each other. How are you showing love this week?

March 30

Posted on Mar 30, 2020 in Devotions |

Well we are at the end of the month of March. And as far as the coronavirus goes, it came in like a lamb March 1st and is going out like a lion, just the opposite of how March should be. However, I hope all of you reading this are safe and well. It has been a long month of coping and it looks like maybe another month of separation. And it looks like one of my worst fears is going to happen. When I thought about canceling church two and a half weeks ago, I thought, “If we start canceling church now, we might not be able to worship on Easter together. And more and more that seems to be the case. I can think of nothing worse than having no fellowship and worship and praise being lifted up on this holiest day of the year. Yes we can still listen to music on the radio or sermons on Facebook, but not being together corporately to hear and participate in giving God the glory for the resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ is the WORST thing that could ever happen.

This is other then the resurrection not happening in the first place. Let me remind you of what Paul says about the resurrection. “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. . . . And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. (1 Cor 15:14-20)

This is Easter. Not a worship service celebrated once a year, but a realization that our preaching and our faith are real every day of the year. (P.S. you might hear this line in one of my sermons coming up.)

March 23

Posted on Mar 24, 2020 in Devotions |

As a pastor I have to make some tough choices these days. With the virus spreading in our country and things on lock down, I have to decide how and when to open our doors. We have been blessed because of the blood drive on Monday and now we are a lunch distribution center for the Morton lunch program. And because of the idea of the later, more places are becoming distribution centers in Morton. This is putting less strain on families who need lunches but also want to stay close to home during this quarantine. But I know that our Parent’s night out and our Easter Egg hunt are going to have to be cancelled. And if things go the way they are, celebrating Easter itself together physically may be out of the question.

On the plus side, Facebook and other social media are bursting with sermons and other “church” activities like never before and many more might be reached this Easter because of this blooming.

So stay in prayer during this time that God’s word will continue to go forth. Maybe this will be the start of a revival and a change in the hearts and lives of this nation and around the world.

March 16

Posted on Mar 16, 2020 in Devotions |

The coronavirus is on many peoples mind this last week. And like many pastors, I struggled with the idea of canceling worship services or not. If we where not having a guest speaker (Justin Kron: please check out his message under the sermon page), I might have done so. However, I would have still preached my sermon and posted it on our webpage. I might have even done a video of it to upload. I know that many of the people who attend our weekly services do not use computers since most did not grow up with technology and are not as comfortable with it. But there are others who are.

And this is my thought for the week. I know there are smaller churches out there that have not put much effort in the past about having and maintaining a website or having an online presence. Maybe like mine the members are not tech savvy or are older or just few in number and they do not feel the need to download a podcast, etc. But with the quarantines and people staying at home, more and more of these churches are starting to put their messages online. In this last week, I have seen more churches with Facebook live, or Vimeos, and other steaming videos than in the past. This should be a great encouragement to everyone. Because not only does it connect those who are part of a church, but it gives those who are outside of the church greater access to sermons and messages that a month ago were only delivered from a pulpit. I hope this virus will encourage more churches to develop a web presence so that something Satan intended for evil will be used by God to spread his message to more and more people.

March 9

Posted on Mar 9, 2020 in Devotions |

While I enjoyed the message yesterday morning, today I was gearing up and getting a sneak preview of our services next week. If you have not heard we are having Justin Krom from Chosen People Ministries come next week (March 15th) to share The Passover Experience with us. It is a wonderful presentation of the Lord’s Supper and how it relates to the Jewish Passover feast that Jesus was celebrating that night with his disciples. Hear how many of the elements from this 3500 year old ritual shines a prophetic light on the life of Jesus. Invite everyone you know to this unique worship experience.

March 2

Posted on Mar 2, 2020 in Devotions |

I liked the idea from this Sunday that two thieves with equal assess to Jesus prayed two different prayers, with two different answers. Both witnessed the same man dying between them, yet only one found the faith and courage to ask to be remembered. Only the second thief had his prayer answered and paradise awaited him. Both men had life and death held out before them. One chose physical life and died. One chose spiritual life and lived. We too have that same choice before us. Are you going to choose the right one?

February 24

Posted on Feb 25, 2020 in Devotions |

Lent is not a word we use a lot around this church. Many churches, especially those of the Catholic variety, do however practice it as part of the church calendar. As I said in my sermon Lent (from Ash Wednesday to Easter) is a time of preparation and remembering of the passion of Jesus. The passion of Jesus refers to the last day of Jesus’ life from the prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane (also known as the Mount of Olives) through the trial and flogging, all the way to his suffering and death on the cross. In order to remember that kind of suffering, during Lent many people “suffer” to help them remember that Jesus suffered. This suffering takes place in many forms. Some fast for part of the day; others give up certain foods like red meat (hence many fish fries around), or chocolate, or sweets in general. Some others give up some “luxury” like watching TV, using the internet, or other like activities. And there are other ways, some more extreme, others less.

Again, the idea is to do something as a form of suffering or denial so that we do not forget the suffering Christ went through.

As a little side note: if you are going to start denying yourself some pleasure starting on Ash Wednesday, the world thinks you should indulge the day/night before- and hence the invention of Mardi Gras on Tuesday. (Because that is just what Jesus did before he started suffering . . . NOT)

While we typically do not practice Lent, the idea behind it is sound. Jesus did suffer intense agony. And this is something that we should remember. But I am not sure “denying” ourselves food or TV will help us understand what Jesus went through. We in our modern day cannot fully understand the depths of Jesus’ suffering. Fasting and other penitence will not bring that any closer. Do not get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with fasting or denying yourself something during Lent. But let’s not believe that these actions in any way make us closer to Christ or to understanding everything he suffered for us. Going without sugar for a month (for example), which some may consider suffering, does not equal to the suffering Jesus went through. But if it helps you to remember not only the suffering of Jesus but also the reason for his suffering (hint: it is for our forgiveness), then Lent away.

February 17

Posted on Feb 17, 2020 in Devotions |

This is the last week of my I Am series. And I think it is a vital I am statement that we need to ponder many times. What does it mean to be connected? How are we to bear fruit? Am I in danger of being cut off? In answer to that last question, the simple answer is if you are asking the question, then most likely you are not cut off. Being cut off is not something that you have to worry about if you are worrying about it. It is when you get to the point of not being concerned about this possibility is the first indication that your heart has grown so cold and hardened that it doesn’t matter to you whether or not you are saved. Nothing in life can take away your salvation (Rom 8), but if you choose to walk away from God and his gift of life in Jesus, your salvation may be in jeopardy. Just as you have free will to accept Jesus as your savior, you have free will to reject his salvation. However, if you are starting to ask the question, “Am I in danger of being cut off” than maybe God is urging you into a closer more intimate relationship with him. Just as earthly relationship can grow distant and disconnected if not given the right time and effort needed to maintain those relationships, so to your relationship with God. God doesn’t just want your initial yes to his plan of salvation, He wants that acceptance to grow closer to you as you grow closer to him. The closer you are with God, the further you are from wandering off and losing that salvation given to you.