Pastors Blog

Public Manger Scene

rstonestreet — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 17:32:43 +0000

Christmas season seems to bring out the best in some people and the worst in others. Our home is just an eyeshot away from Travis Air Force Base. Each year, the base puts up a manger scene with a monorah, to honor the meaning of Christmas. It is a large and beautiful display. A few weeks away, a person who happens to work on the base and is not in the military, took objection to the manger scene. He contacted an atheistic group to demand the manger scene be removed from a “government” installation claiming the separation of church and state. Thankfully, the base commander refused to remove the display. It is thrilling to see people stand on principle rather than political opinion or pressure.

First of all, where did we come up with the idea that we are to change an entire group for one or two people. Has our democracy died? Have we gone from a majority rule to a minority? There are some that are so selfish, they believe everyone should cater to their objections. The answer is simple, if you don’t believe in Christ and Christmas, then ignore it. Muslims have Ramadan each year as a part of their religious tradition. I don’t support or believe in it, yet, they have their right to follow its tradition. It would be wrong for us to create a movement against it unless they are hurting other people in the process. It is strange how political pressure has caused many leaders to bow to the minority because of a lawsuit threat. I am glad the base commander is willing to stand on principle rather than the threat from a few people that hate Jesus Christ.

Secondly, those who hate God and the Bible, love to retreat to the separation of church and state card. History bears out the fact that separation of church and state was to protect the church from the government not the government from the church. Needless to say, this does not mean there should be a government sponsored religion, but a freedom to believe what we choose. Atheists and Liberals want to sanitize anything to do with Christ in the public arena. Our forefathers never intended to remove Christ out of the public domain but only to protect the freedom of worship as Americans would choose.

It is always encouraging to find people who stand on principle. God wants us to stand for Him in a world that hates Christ. During this Christmas season, may each of us be thankful for the manger. Each manger scene is a reminder of Christ coming to earth. Perhaps the issue is more spiritual than political at Travis Air Force Base.

Mary’s Ponderings

rstonestreet — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 16:49:44 +0000

Have you ever pondered something? It seems the things you never understand are easy to ponder. Maybe you have pondered creation and wondered how God made such a beautiful universe. Doctors have pondered the human body and intricacies trying to figure how things work. Scientist have pondered nature itself trying to understand why things work as they do.

One of the overlooked verses in the Christmas story is Luke 2:19 “But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.” What things? Why did she keep them? The magnitude of the Christmas story weighed heavily on Mary’s heart. Consider the fact she was totally pure; yet, now she is bearing a child. You try to explain that to a lost world. This child was not any child either but the very Son of God. To say the least, bearing God’s own Child was not only a privilege but a huge responsibility. Her and Joseph was given a sacred trust to rear the Savior of the world.

How could Mary tell anyone these sacred things? Would they believe her? If they did believe her, would they accept her anyway? There are times in our lives when God does amazing things that we don’t understand. Many Christians are wanting the complete information before they do what God asks them. Mary only moved on the knowledge God had given her. She responded in faith to accept God’s calling for her life. We learn from her life that we are to accept God’s plan for our lives and trust Him for the future. Some would like to make her goddess but she was a normal woman with human flesh just like any human being. None would doubt her godliness and purity.

While her pondering is unclear in the Scripture, more than likely Mary considered the birth of the Messiah. This was miraculous and God had privileged her to be a part of it. His birth meant salvation for all of mankind. Eternal life was wrapped up in the birth of this child. As we have arrived at the Christmas holidays, let me encourage each of us to ponder these things. When we have met Jesus Christ as our Savior, God has given us the greatest gift in all the world (Romans 6:23). Christmas will always have a significance to the believer because of its recognition when God became man. Jesus was born to die so that we can be saved. Just as Mary pondered these events in the first century, we can ponder the true meaning of salvation in the 21st century. Salvation’s work is that which is worth pondering this time of the year.

Merry Christmas!

Thanksliving

rstonestreet — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:43:47 +0000

Psalm 100: 4 says, “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.” For the Christian, thanksgiving is not just a one day a year holiday, but it is to be a continual attitude. Without Christ our lives would be empty, our souls would be doomed, and our purpose for existence would be worthless. It is such an honor and privilege to be a Christian! There is so much in our Christian life to be thankful for.

This is the reason Paul wrote I Thessalonians 5:18 “in everything give thanks.” As Christian we can certainly enjoy the holiday festivities of family, food, and football on Thanksgiving Day, but it is should be a daily attitude. We are commanded to pray with thanksgiving, walk daily with gratitude, and go to sleep with a heart of thanksgiving. This appears to be all the time. It is not just thanksgiving, it is thanksliving. After being a pastor and in the work of the Lord for over 30 years, I am still amazed and grateful for all God has done for me and other believers.

As we enter this Thanksgiving week, let me challenge you to meditate on all God has done for you. Perhaps read through many of the thanksgiving Psalms and even journal your thoughts. When life tries to get you down and there are many reasons for that today, reflect on the good things God has done for you. Gratitude is God’s way of keeping our spirits high.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Power of Prayer

rstonestreet — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 16:28:42 +0000

Any serious Bible students knows that prayer is a critical component in the Christian life. You can hardly read anywhere in the Bible where prayer is not demonstrated or mentioned. The results of prayer are always God’s doing, praying is our doing. Jesus teaches us in Luke 18:1, “men ought always to pray and not to faint.” It is so easy to faint, but praying, well that’s a different story. Why do we NOT pray when we are commanded to pray? Is it because we don’t believe or are we too lazy? Maybe it is because we are disobedient.

Quite frankly, it appears, God puts His children into places where prayer is the only alternative. It is sad we have to learn prayer at that place in our lives. The economic downturn has impacted most of our churches. Many churches are cutting their budgets, laying off employees, and struggling each week because the giving is down. This is the time to lift up our prayers to our God. God is able to take care of His church. Many churches have members who have lost jobs and it is time for us to lift them up in our prayers for God’s provision.

God recently reminded me of Psalm 37:25, “I have been young, and now am old, yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” What a marvelous promise! There is a God in heaven that knows our need and He can turn things around in moment. God longs for us to visit Him in prayer, to feast at His table of blessing, and to enjoy His presence. Prayer is the Christian’s greatest weapon, yet, the devil will do everything he can to prevent us from praying. Even while Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane praying, the disciples were sleeping instead praying.

Believer, let me remind you the words of Jesus found in Luke 18.1. This warning is given so that when we are tempted to “faint” and “not to pray,” we need to pray. This turning to God is exactly what He wants and He waits with arms wide open. Keep in mind, the power is not in the prayer but in the God that answers the prayer.

Stewardship Misunderstanding

rstonestreet — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 14:51:26 +0000

Without question, one of the greatest areas of misunderstanding is the area of stewardship. Somehow people seem to think they are here to get everything they can get and hang on to it. Perhaps it is the insecurity of society; however, God has a different plan. In the Scriptures, God teaches us we are not commanded to get, but to manage the resources we are given. In I Corinthians 4:2 Paul teaches us the principle of faithfully managing everything God gives us. “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a mand be found faithful.”

Notice the word “required” is there in the passage. As we recognize we came into this world with nothing and we leave with nothing, we are required to manage or steward the resources God has given us. The world has no understanding of this, they have no comprehension of this, for the world tries to get everything it can for itself. God’s Word teaches that God owns everything here in the world and we are to manage these resources based on His commands. When we obey these commands, we are faithful stewards.
Consider the extent of this truth in your own life. Your health can never be taken for granted since life is a vapor for only a little time. Your finances are given to provide for you and your family’s needs. God never intended we use our finances to get all we can get for ourselves. God’s Word teaches us He provides our financial needs and we are to manage His financial resources. It is not a matter of how much I have to give to God of my money, it is how much of God’s money will He want me to use for myself.

Time is another resource given to me by God. Probably the biggest waste of our stewardship is in the area of time. The devil gets us to mismanage our time. How many times have we said my time is mine, I want time for me? Certainly that is true, we need personal time for rest, recuperation, and rejuvenation. However, our time needs to be managed with an eternal view in mind. Our time here in the temporal should be an investment in eternity. A believer should never neglect the important matters of his life such as prayer, Bible reading, church attendance, and telling others about Christ. There are certain built in responsibilities we are given such as employment but then there is the freedom of choice on our own time. How do we manage our time? While rest and recreation is important, let’s not forget our investment in the eternal things as well.
There are many pressures on us today to push us away from a proper understanding of Christian stewardship. Keep in mind, everything belongs to God (Psalm 24:1). He privileges us to live in His world and manage His property. There are times we should step back from life and examine our priorities. Let me challenge you to look at your activities to make sure they are in line with God’s stewardship principles.

Weather Conditions

rstonestreet — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 17:56:15 +0000

Hello world! This is my first time to write a blog and not knowing if anyone would be interested. Please be patient and understanding as I begin.

The end of August and the first of September has been some amazing weather. We had Hurricane Irene that threatened the Eastern Seaboard with a “huge” scare and then the tornadoes that have swept through the Gulf coast dumping huge amounts of rain. It is mind boggling to know how weak we are and how strong God is.

The weather is a daily reminder of our dependence on God. He controls, orchestrates, and directs the weather in line with His purposes and plans for this world. It is mystifying to know there are many people in our world who actually believe in evolution. Somehow, this creation just happened and all of life is just happening.

God makes it clear in the very first book of the Bible in Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created. . .” Nothing could be more basic and simplistic than those five words. The problem mankind has is responding to the God that made heaven and earth. We would rather “think” there is not God to reckon with, no God to answer to, no God to be accountable to. However, the weather says otherwise. He is all powerful and we will answer to Him.

The great news is God wants us to come to Him in simple faith. We admit we are sinners and accept Him as our personal Savior. Romans 10:13 “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved.” What a mighty God we serve. He could not be any better than that.

Enjoy the weather no matter what the conditions are because it comes the hand of a Mighty God.