Don't get caught!

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Let it go - so you won’t get trapped

I have been led to these topics that we’ve been studying for Lent. Yesterday we talked about “letting go”. I was in my room, about five this morning, praying, asking God for the next “surgery” topic. It became apparent that the idea of “letting go” might need a little more discussion.

Have you ever been monkey trapping? Nah, me either. But I’ve read about it and seen videos. I’m sure there are other ways, but the one I always remember is when the trappers had a big jar with a rather narrow neck. (Sometimes they create a trap in a dirt mound, same principle). The jar was attached to a big board; inside something that a monkey would want, peanuts or something shiny like marbles. Left where the monkey can find it, he puts his hand into the jar, grabs a fistful of goodies, but cannot get his hand out.

And he refuses to let go.

Even as the trapper carries him off, the monkey screaming in rebellion, yet he won’t let go. The monkey is caught between; on one side - freedom and life, on the other – captivity and death. The key to his freedom is letting go.

“Evildoers are snared by their own sin...” Proverbs 29:5

Satan may be out to trap us, but it is our own thoughts, desires, and actions that allow us to be caught.

“Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” James 1:14-15

What’s in your hand? What are you clinging to so tightly that it’s allowing Satan access to your heart? Your mind? Your body? Well, unlike the monkey, we have someone on our side.

“The LORD will be at your side and will keep your foot from being snared.” Proverbs 3:26

“My eyes are ever on the LORD, for only he will release my feet from the snare.” Psalm 25:15

So then, what are we to do?

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrews 12:1

How?

“Submit yourselves, then, to God.”
“Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
“Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.” James 4:7-8

A good thing to be thinking about; letting go and drawing near. And watch, just watch, how God draws near to you.

God willing, see you tomorrow. Pastor Jim

Let it go...

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Let it go…
Lent as Surgical Repair
(This message is also available at: http://pastorjimdorton.blogspot.com/)
I’ve heard people say that submitting to God was difficult because they are

“control freaks”, or some other phrase that explains their difficulty in releasing control.

Part of me gets that, part of me say’s “baloney”,

The part of me that gets it does so because I have some of those tendencies myself, from time to time, but the part that says “baloney” wins. I don’t know anyone who really tries to control everything in their lives. We put our lives in other peoples hands all the time. Pilots. Politicians. Other drivers.

Surgeons.

I’ve spent a lot of time with surgeons lately. What God spoke to me yesterday as I lay down on the table was how completely I was surrendering; how completely I was giving up any control. One may opt in or out of many things in order to maintain a sense of control. However, refusing a necessary operation is to one’s own detriment. And so, you strip down, take the IV, and go to sleep, knowing that your body and your life is in someone else’s hands, and you have zero control. But, you do it to feel better, or to be healed, or maybe even to live. And so it is with ourselves and God. If we want to feel better, if we want to be healed, if we want to live, we submit ourselves, wholly, to Him.

I’ll shut up now and let the Scriptures speak:

It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. Deuteronomy 13:4

Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you that it may go well with you. Jeremiah 7:23

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. James 4: 7- 8


In the flesh, even Jesus turned it over to His Father:

To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. 1 Peter 2: 21 - 25

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:5-11

Until tomorrow, God willing, Pastor Jim

P.S.
Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the whole duty of man.
Ecclesiastes 12:13

Cancer treatment

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Surgical Repair
(This message is also available at: http://pastorjimdorton.blogspot.com/)
So far we have looked at Lent as “road repair” and as “corrected vision”.

As a Christian, I do not believe in coincidences. Coincidences are like Bigfoot and unicorns, fun to talk about, but they don’t exist in the real world. On Friday March 11th, I wrote the following in this space: “As soon as I finish writing this, I’m off to the hospital for surgery. Nothing life threatening; I have a tear in a muscle that the surgeon is going to, Lord willing, repair. Left unattended, this tear would get worse, longer, wider, and making the surrounding tissue, and me as a whole, weaker.” Today, as we go back to look at this topic for the week, as soon as I finish writing this, I’m off to the hospital for surgery, again. Again, nothing life threatening; I have a skin cancer, a basal cell carcinoma, on the back of my neck and am undergoing Mohs procedure to have it removed.

I have appreciated all your emails, cards, visits, and prayers and covet them for this as well, but that’s not why I’m mentioning it. God is working all things together for good as He promises He will do. Cancer, left untreated, will ruin the body. It cannot be treated with a cream or an ointment. It must be irradiated or cut out.

Jesus said, “If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” Matthew 5:30

Sin is like cancer, left untreated, will ruin the body. It cannot be treated with a cream or an ointment. It must be cut out. “Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” James 1:14-15

Unlike cancer treatment, the treatment for sin will always work, and though it might be tough, the treatment won’t make you sick.

Sin = damage.
Righteousness = repair.

The righteousness of Christ enabled Him to be the One that is the eternal cure for sin, for the sin of the world. “For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.” Romans 6: 9-10
His righteousness is also our cure.
“In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” Romans 6:11

Have no doubt, sin has attacked your person, as Romans 3:23 says, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. “All”. We cannot ignore that.

How has sin hurt you? This season of Lent let us each look for that damage, and look to God for repair.

Until tomorrow, God willing, Pastor Jim

Take it - it's yours

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So, what do I do with this necklace?
(Lent as vision correction)
(This message is also available at: http://pastorjimdorton.blogspot.com/)


What do you think when you hear the word “cross”?

Christians know the importance of the cross. But sometimes I think that the abundance of crosses, on altars, desktops, necklaces, and t-shirts, might make it so commonplace that it loses some of its…impact. Some non-Catholic folks will comment on the crucifixes used by Catholics, depicting Christ on the cross (as opposed to an empty cross) saying, “they want to keep Christ on the cross”. In other words inferring that they are missing the point of the resurrection. I don’t really think that’s true, but I’m not writing to stir up any debate. The resurrection is the focal point of Christian faith and I believe all Christians, Catholic, Protestant, whatever, denominations understand that. However, it is important that we understand, and try to ever increase our understanding, of the purpose of the cross.

Sometimes we forget until we stop and think about it, that the cross was an implement of torture and death; and long before Jesus’ crucifixion. Josephus recorded one single instance of eight hundred Jews being crucified.

How horrifying it must have been to hear the Man you adored and desired to follow say: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Matt. 16:24)

But how important that we look at the cross. I would never compare myself, in any way (except in his confession to being chief among sinners), to the Apostle Paul, but how I love and relate to his declaration “Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.” (1 Cor. 1:17)

And how I appreciate the words of C.S. Lewis:

When He died in the Wounded World He died not for men, but for each man.
If each man had been the only man made, He would have done no less.

And those of John Stott*:

“Before we can begin to see the cross as something done for us,
we have to see it as something done by us.”

We all agree, I believe, that Jesus did not deserve to die on the cross; but do we see that we do? And that we are, each and every one of us, the cause of His crucifixion?

If it was horrifying for His followers to hear His call to take up their crosses, how much more terrifying for Simon the Cyrene?! As they were leading Jesus to Golgotha, á certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross.” As far as we know, Simon was innocent, and I wonder if in the middle of this madness he thought he was about to be unjustly crucified.

Innocent? Unjustly? It’s almost as if God yelled, “Stop! My Son is the only one innocent here! Any of you are more deserving that He!” It’s like they all got a moment, and we should take the same opportunity, to pause and consider our role in His death.

Then we should fall on our knees and thank and praise and worship our Savior.

May your weekend be blessed, see you Monday, Lord willing, Pastor Jim
*If interested, more about John Stott
http://www.lausanne.org/covenant
http://www.johnstott.org/

More than metaphor

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So, Lent as Vision Correction – Sight as a Metaphor…right?

(Lent as vision correction)
(This message is also available at: http://pastorjimdorton.blogspot.com/)


I use metaphors a lot. I know. But God uses things of nature, things of His natural creation, to teach us about parallel truths of His spiritual creation. We know that Jesus healed many people, including the blind. (This makes me think that it would be good to study Jesus’ miracles in light of what He might have been teaching us about the spiritual nature of things. Hmm…well that’s for another season. )

Besides Jesus healing of the blind, He also taught using the idea of blindness as a spiritual shortcoming:

““Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.

Woe to you, blind guides…You blind fools…You blind men… You blind guides…Blind Pharisee!" Selected verses from Matthew 23: 13 - 26

Jesus was talking, of course, not about physical blindness but about an inability, of leaders of the church by the way, to see as God intended them to.

Saul was a Pharisee and God had a great work intended for him. But Saul was so spiritually blinded that he was overseeing the persecution and murder of early Christians. So spiritually blind was he that when Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus that Saul lost his physical sight.

God changed his name.

God changed his heart.

God restored his physical sight.

God gave him a new way to see and it caused an immediate* change:

Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. Immediately he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.

We may not be extreme cases like Saul/Paul or the other Pharisees but there is no reason to think God would expect less from us. Remember the warning to the church in Laodecia inRevelation 3 for being neither hot nor cold,

Jesus chastised the Pharisees. He struck Paul down. He wants us to get it,

For this day of Lent, let’s not worry too much about the how. Let’s just remember the words to the old hymn (based on Psalm 119) and sing or say them as a prayer:

Open my eyes, that I may see glimpses of truth Thou hast for me;
Place in my hands the wonderful key that shall unclasp and set me free.
Silently now I wait for Thee, ready my God, Thy will to see,
Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine!


Amen. Should the Lord tarry another day, and if it His will, see you tomorrow Pastor Jim

*You may have heard that Paul spent some fourteen years before beginning his ministry; that is the time before his missionary trips started, he preached in Damascus “immediately” upon recovering.

Jesus can help us see too...

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How can I possibly see that?
(Lent as vision correction)
(This message is also available at: http://pastorjimdorton.blogspot.com/)


We have been discussing our shortcomings all week; our inability to see things – to see situations, circumstances, other people, even ourselves, the way that God sees. Indeed, God has said as much for centuries! He told the prophet Isaiah:

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9

So what are we to do? Is there any hope that we can ever see God or see as He sees? Sure there is. In the same passage God tells us:

“Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live…Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near…my word that goes out from my mouth will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Likewise: But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. (Deuteronomy 4:29)

And Jesus promised that the pure in heart will see God, and God inspired Paul to teach us that we can do all things, through Christ who gives us strength.

I say all that to say this; it is important, whether during Lent or any other time, to recognize how weak we are, how sinful we are, and how desperately lost we are – on our own. The purpose of such a realization is to see our need for the Father who created us, His Son who saves us, and His Spirit that works in and through us. But it is not just to make us see our need, but the amazing ways in which God fulfils our needs – how He will fill to overflowing with a mercy and grace and unending love.

If you received ashes on Ash Wednesday (if you didn’t, for a moment, pretend you did), go take a look in the mirror. Are they still there? Of course not. You have washed since then. Brothers and sisters, so it is with your ‘spiritual face’. You’ve been washed by the blood of the Lamb! You are clean, free, and forgiven!

For the rest of this season, try this little exercise, every time you wash your face, then raise it to look in the mirror, take a moment to recall where the ashes were, and how they are now gone. Then praise God for what He has taken from you. And what He has given to you, including this new way to see. Proclaim like the man in John, blind from birth, “I was blind, but now I see!”

Yes you can! Pastor Jim

On the outside looking in...

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On the Outside Looking In
(Lent as vision correction)
(This message is also available at: http://pastorjimdorton.blogspot.com/)



Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed stands here before the LORD.” But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16: 6-7

This passage is drawn from the story told in I Samuel where God, having rejected Saul as king, sent the prophet Samuel to Jesse, to anoint one of his sons as the next king. Jesse had eight sons, and all but the youngest were brought before Samuel. Human judgment would have picked the eldest, or the strongest, or the most renown. One by one the seven passed by Samuel without receiving affirmation from God. Only when Samuel asks if there are any more, does Samuel sent for the one God had already chosen, the youngest, the smallest, David.

Why didn’t God just tell Samuel to go anoint David? I don’t know. But I do know that the process Samuel went through has provided a lesson for us all.

Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed stands here before the LORD.”

We look at other people and make decisions. Sometimes, like Samuel, our decisions are based on appearance, physical appearance. Sometimes, they are based upon the clothes they wear, especially if that’s a reflection of their income. It could be the color of their skin, their accent, or the car they drive.

We make decisions about others based upon a multitude of things that we see.

But God says “no”. He tells us that we can’t see the truth; our perspective is not as His. We cannot see in people what God has in store for them. “The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

But, here’s the problem; we tell people they are not rich enough, not pretty enough, not skinny enough, not athletic enough, and they believe us. We see a shepherd – God sees a king!

Samuel so clearly heard the voice of God that his inability to see well did not keep David from the throne. May our inaccurate view of someone’s potential never prevent them from being what God is calling them to be!

During this season of Lent may we sense our own visual shortcomings, and turn our ears, tune our ears, to the truth – to the wonder that God has in store for those around us.

In times when we are shaken, hurting, and afraid, faith is holding, with all we have, with heart, soul, mind, and with all your soul. (Deuteronomy 4:29)
Lord willing; see you tomorrow, Pastor Jim

Faith is Not Blind!

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Faith is not blind
(Lent as vision correction)
(This message is also available at: http://pastorjimdorton.blogspot.com/)



We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5: 6-7

There is a phrase, often used in Christian circles, which I find woefully inaccurate. That phrase is “blind faith”.

As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.” Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him. Matthew 20:29-30

Why did these men want their sight? Experts say that when someone is deprived of their sight, then their other senses become heightened, allowing them to get by in the world. But they knew, they knew, that there was another way, a better way, to move through this world. And they knew that this Jesus was the One who could provide.

Blindness to sight is like sight to faith. It’s not that we are blindly jumping off a cliff (Indiana Jones notwithstanding) with some vague hope that God will catch us. No! Faith is a sense better than sight! Without faith, we are blindly stumbling through this world.

Further, even though we say things like “seeing is believing”, we really know that our vision is limited and flawed. We know that microscopes can show us things that are right in front of our eyes that we cannot see with the naked eye. Hold up a prism and see the color bands unseen otherwise. Likewise, the world of angels and demons and principalities, of God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit, exists all around us, unseen by the naked eye.

But, seen by faith.

Faith is not blind. Faith is better than sight.

A child walking in a crowd, unable to see anything past a few inches in front of him, so as not to get lost, clings tightly, with all he has, to his father’s hand, for his father can see above and beyond the crowd, and will always safely lead his child.

In times when we are shaken, hurting, and afraid, faith is holding, with all we have, with heart, soul, mind, and strength, to the hand of the Father, who sees all, and will always safely lead his child.

But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. (Deuteronomy 4:29)
Lord willing; see you tomorrow, Pastor Jim

Limited vision

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Limited Vision
(Lent as vision correction)



For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 1 Corinthians 13: 9-12

You’ve seen them, haven’t you? Those mirrors in school or park restrooms not made out of glass, but a (sort of) shiny metal. You can see yourself, enough to know it’s you, but the details are blurry at best. You’d never see one used as a ladies’ makeup mirror!

Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. [You may have heard this translated as “glass” instead of mirror, which simply has to do with the vernacular at the time – when a mirror was called a “looking glass”; mirror is accurate. Mirrors at the time this was written were metal.]

The idea is that what we see of ourselves is not an accurate reflection of who we are as God sees us. 1 Corinthians 13 is known as the “Love Chapter” for it is all about perfect love. Paul goes on to write that there are many imperfections in the world, and we do not see ourselves as God sees us. For that matter, we don’t see others, or the world, or God, as God does.

But, just like combing our hair or adjusting a necktie in one of those ‘metal mirrors’ we do have to focus on the truth that we can see, and rely upon other truths to fill in the gaps. (More on that tomorrow, Lord willing.)

This season of Lent, let us recognize that what we see is not perfect. Let us focus on what we can see that God says is real and true. And let us seek with all we have, the truth that is God.

But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. (Deuteronomy 4:29)
Shalom, Pastor Jim

What is church for?

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The church exists for three purposes; the primary one is…
(Road Repair concluded)

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.’”

The final thing I’d like to discuss (though certainly not the final word on the subject) about road repair, about making the path straight, is worship.

Although this could be worded in many ways, and one could come up with another number; church exists for three basic purposes:

- To bring people to Christ

- To disciple believers

- To worship God

The first two are directed, commanded, by Jesus. These are two of the basic purposes of the church, each local church, the community churches, and the worldwide church. And they are two of the basic purposes for the lives of each individual believer.

Critical to the life of each believer, in and out of church, and the primary purpose for gathering in church is worship.

This is why Satan tried all he could to get Jesus to worship him; if worship is deflected from God, all else goes awry.

Worship, true worship, transcends everything else, all traditions, all rules, everything. As God said to Isaiah and Jesus repeated to church people; “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.” (Matthew 15:19)

Worship, true worship, transcends everything else, everything we say and sing and repeat and read; it must come from and go to a deeper place than the flesh can take us. “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24)

Worship, true worship, must come from and go to a deeper place than the flesh can take us. “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.” True worship changes who we are; “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” True worship is the path to His path for us. “Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is; His good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:1-3)

Worship will be central to our eternity, as John saw; Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. (Revelation 4:9-10)

Worship takes place in grand cathedrals and little country churches; in living rooms and in alleys. It happens with organs and praise bands and with no instruments at all. It can be loud and it can be silent. Worship happens in Manhattan and Mumbai, on the beach and in the desert. It is protected by some governments and prohibited by others. Worshipers have been lifted up as community leaders and lifted up on crosses.

Worship, true worship, transcends everything else, everything we say and sing and repeat and read, it must come from and go to a deeper place than the flesh can take us. True worship changes who we are. True worship is the path to His path for us; it prepares the way for Him to us, it makes the path straight.
Is this what worship is for you? Is this what worship does for you? May it be so.

I pray your hour of worship tomorrow is this kind of worship; and I pray that one hour tomorrow morning is not your only time of worship for the week to come.
Until Monday, peace be with you, Pastor Jim

But my hands are full!

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But my hands are full!
(Road Repair continued)



In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”

Yesterday we talked about picking up our crosses and following Jesus down the road He has marked out for us. But what if our hands are full with other stuff? What if we have reached into, and grabbed a handful of, a bunch of the world’s sticky, messy, nasty stuff, and now we are completely overcome with it?

Some recent statistics, concerning regular church attendees, from barna.org:

- Over 50% of the men have been involved with pornography within the last week

- Over half of evangelical pastors admit viewing pornography in the last year.

- 34% of female readers of Today's Christian Woman's online newsletter intentionally access Internet porn

- 1 out of every 6 women, including Christians, struggles with an addiction to pornography

- Born again Christians and non-Christians have essentially the same probability of divorce.

- Mormons are more likely to read the Bible during the week than are Protestants or Catholics.

- 12% of Senior Pastors say they have the spiritual gift of leadership; 8% say they have the gift of evangelism

- Three out of ten born again adults say that co-habitation, gay sex, sexual fantasies, breaking the speed limit or watching sexually-explicit movies are morally acceptable behaviors.

And this is just a random sampling; there is less and less a behavioral difference between adults in church and adults not in church. A good part of that is the lack of emphasis on the Word of God in church! Consider these words from Paul: Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them. (Romans 1:28-32)

“…they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God…”

“…they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them….”

Friends, may it not be so! Instead, “…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews12:1-3)

May we, indeed, fix our eyes on Jesus! Again, this comes through prayer and the reading and studying of His Word. Then, with our eyes firmly on Him, and our hands unencumbered, we can take up our crosses and follow Him.

Tomorrow, Lord willing, “The Only Three Reasons for Church”, until then, Shalom! Pastor Jim

P.S. If you need a starting place for spiritual discipline, consider the following: Starting today, and then first thing tomorrow morning, I challenge you to listen to God, with this five-minute exercise:

1) Do this as soon as you wake up. Set your clock a few minutes early if that is what you need to get up ahead of the household noise. Lay your Bible by your bed as a reminder. 2) Go to the quietest place in your house, outside, your kitchen, your bathroom...wherever. 3) Pray for 1 minute that God would speak to you. Audibly, out loud, ask Him to remove Satan from your presence for this time. Ask Him to remove distractions and mental clutter. During this time, do not ask Him for anything else, do not thank Him for anything else, do not pray for anyone else (but please find another prayer time for all these things). 4) Open your Bible and read for 2 minutes. This is God talking to you through His Word. Listen to Him. 5) Close your Bible and be silent for 3 minutes. Listen for Him. He may come as a thought, a nudge, an idea. For a while, He may seem hard to hear. There is so much clutter in our minds! Keep listening.

This may seem difficult. You will hear every creaking tree branch. You will hear every barking dog. But like Elijah's time in the cave, God is not in the tree branch, God is not in the dog. Persevere. Listen for the gentle whisper.

Go ahead, pick it up...

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Go ahead,pick it up
(Road Repair continued)

(This message is also available at: http://pastorjimdorton.blogspot.com/)

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”

As we continue to look for ways to clear debris out of the road between God and us, today we will look at an oft-unconsidered obstacle – the cross. No, not “The Cross”, your cross, my cross.

“Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.” (Mark.8:34-38)

His cross stands, or once stood, between you and salvation. If you are reading this, I hope you’ve already accepted the work of that cross, if not, may today be the day, and call or write me if I can help. But for believers, there is another cross, your cross, and it stands between you and discipleship. We don’t want to just accept Jesus, we are called to follow Him. But as we have seen all week, there is stuff, lots of stuff, which gets in the way. One of those things, a big one, a universal one facing all believers, is our own, personal cross. Thyis passage may be looked at in many ways, but for our purposes here, let us consider the following:

“If anyone would come after me…” First, is this the decision you’ve made? Are you willing to go after Him?

“…he must deny himself…” Are you willing to put aside everything you want for what He calls you to have?

“…and take up his cross and follow me.” This has more than one meaning.

Are you willing, am I willing, to bear the burdens of the Lord? 1 John 5:3-4 – “This is love for
God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born
of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our
faith.”

Are we willing to die for Him, spiritually? Romans 6:6 – “We know that the old self was

crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be brought to nothing.”

And, are we willing to die for Him? Hebrews 13:6 - So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
God’s call holds different details for each person who responds; but it always shares this: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

I cannot tell you what your cross is. But I can tell you that you have one.

Get it out of the road.

Pick it up.

Follow.

Lord willing, see you tomorrow, Pastor Jim

P.S. If you need a starting place for spiritual discipline, consider the following: Starting today, and then first thing tomorrow morning, I challenge you to listen to God, with this five-minute exercise:

1) Do this as soon as you wake up. Set your clock a few minutes early if that is what you need to get up ahead of the household noise. Lay your Bible by your bed as a reminder. 2) Go to the quietest place in your house, outside, your kitchen, your bathroom...wherever. 3) Pray for 1 minute that God would speak to you. Audibly, out loud, ask Him to remove Satan from your presence for this time. Ask Him to remove distractions and mental clutter. During this time, do not ask Him for anything else, do not thank Him for anything else, do not pray for anyone else (but please find another prayer time for all these things). 4) Open your Bible and read for 2 minutes. This is God talking to you through His Word. Listen to Him. 5) Close your Bible and be silent for 3 minutes. Listen for Him. He may come as a thought, a nudge, an idea. For a while, He may seem hard to hear. There is so much clutter in our minds! Keep listening.

This may seem difficult. You will hear every creaking tree branch. You will hear every barking dog. But like Elijah's time in the cave, God is not in the tree branch, God is not in the dog. Persevere. Listen for the gentle whisper.

Is worry in the way?

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Is Worry in the Way?
(Road Repair continued)


In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”

As we continue to look for ways to clear debris out of the road between us and God, today we will look at this command from Jesus:

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? (Matt.6:25-27)

Jesus commands us here; “do not worry”. He does not say ‘try not to worry’. He does not say ‘only worry when things are really bad’. He says, plainly, “do not worry”. And I can say it too; to you and to myself. So can you. It’s easy; “Do not worry”. Well, it is easy to say. But most of us find it difficult to accomplish. And yet, we do want to be obedient to Jesus, and we do realize that what He calls us to do is better for us, right? Thankfully, God’s Word does not leave it there:

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4: 1-7)

We hear that God has peace that transcends our understanding, but what are we to do with that? You may well have heard me say this before; this, this passage, is God’s recipe for peace:

Rejoice in the Lord…

Do not be anxious about anything…

But in everything… present your requests to God.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

First, we must rejoice. Regardless of our circumstance, we must rejoice.

We must be willing to be obedient, to continue the steps to not be anxious.

I think this next step is key; we must present “everything” to God. We are prone to asking for help with a particular issue, while we run everything else. But God is neither our co-pilot nor our assistant. If we want to take control of part of our circumstances we must be prepared to take them all. If we want God’s help, we must be willing to turn everything over to Him. Everything. If we do, then we can receive the promise of peace, peace greater than we can understand. And that peace, which will come to us, is peace that dwells in the heart of Christ, will guard our hearts and minds, guard what we think and guard what we love. And then…peace.

Until tomorrow…peace. Pastor Jim

P.S. If you need a starting place for spiritual discipline, consider the following: Starting today, and then first thing tomorrow morning, I challenge you to listen to God, with this five-minute exercise:

1) Do this as soon as you wake up. Set your clock a few minutes early if that is what you need to get up ahead of the household noise. Lay your Bible by your bed as a reminder. 2) Go to the quietest place in your house, outside, your kitchen, your bathroom...wherever. 3) Pray for 1 minute that God would speak to you. Audibly, out loud, ask Him to remove Satan from your presence for this time. Ask Him to remove distractions and mental clutter. During this time, do not ask Him for anything else, do not thank Him for anything else, do not pray for anyone else (but please find another prayer time for all these things). 4) Open your Bible and read for 2 minutes. This is God talking to you through His Word. Listen to Him. 5) Close your Bible and be silent for 3 minutes. Listen for Him. He may come as a thought, a nudge, an idea. For a while, He may seem hard to hear. There is so much clutter in our minds! Keep listening.

This may seem difficult. You will hear every creaking tree branch. You will hear every barking dog. But like Elijah's time in the cave, God is not in the tree branch, God is not in the dog. Persevere. Listen for the gentle whisper.

Anorexia

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Anorexia

(This message is also available at: http://pastorjimdorton.blogspot.com/)

If you are just joining this study, this portion is called “Road Repair”, and is inspired by John the Baptist’s call to clear the road and make way for the King. And so, we are looking at things in the “road” between God and us.

I heard a story once about a pastor of a big church somewhere. Every morning, he spent the first hour of his time at the church office in prayer.

Drove his secretary crazy.

There were papers to sign, calls to respond to, meetings, people wanting appointments, and so on. Regardless, the first hour was blocked out of his schedule for prayer. One day, in an effort to get him to realize the importance of his ‘priorities’, she caught him coming in the door with a list, twice as long as usual, of all he needed to do that day, hoping he would skip, or at least shorten his prayer time. His response was priceless.

“Goodness,” he said, looking over the list, “I’ll need two hours to pray today!”

We can giggle at this, but there is a reality of need in his response. Skipping prayer is like going without food. Imagine a runner, preparing to run a marathon, saying, “It will take me a long time to run this, I don’t have time to eat.” Or, imagine you are riding shotgun with a friend, on a three-day drive across the country, brought about by some family emergency that required you to be there as soon as possible. What would you think if your friend said, “We’re in a real hurry here, I’m not stopping for gas”?

Those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength… (Isaiah 40:31)

Jesus (as related in Mark 8) spent the night in prayer the day prior to contesting with the Pharisees for the life of an adulterous woman. Jesus! If Jesus spent the night in prayer prior to a trial, how can we hope to get by? When God said, “Be still and know that I am God.” (Ps.46:10) he was not playing some kind of game with us, or testing us. Like a car needs fuel, like our bodies need food, our souls must have prayer.

If we choose to hurry to work, school, church or anywhere else without time in prayer, we are going underfed and undernourished and we will fall.

I guess the issue for many of us is to truly believe that our need is that real. We know what will happen if we run out of gas. And we know what will happen if we do not eat for a long period of time. But most of us have been starving ourselves from prayer for so long that we have developed a sort of spiritual anorexia; our perspective is so skewed that we think we’re ok.

Lent. Reflect. Reach out and clear some space between you and God. Be still. Know God. Be renewed.

That’s what I’m going to go do. Until tomorrow, Pastor Jim

P.S. If you need a starting place for spiritual discipline, consider the following: Starting today, and then first thing tomorrow morning, I challenge you to listen to God, with this five-minute exercise:

1) Do this as soon as you wake up. Set your clock a few minutes early if that is what you need to get up ahead of the household noise. Lay your Bible by your bed as a reminder. 2) Go to the quietest place in your house, outside, your kitchen, your bathroom...wherever. 3) Pray for 1 minute that God would speak to you. Audibly, out loud, ask Him to remove Satan from your presence for this time. Ask Him to remove distractions and mental clutter. During this time, do not ask Him for anything else, do not thank Him for anything else, do not pray for anyone else (but please find another prayer time for all these things). 4) Open your Bible and read for 2 minutes. This is God talking to you through His Word. Listen to Him. 5) Close your Bible and be silent for 3 minutes. Listen for Him. He may come as a thought, a nudge, an idea. For a while, He may seem hard to hear. There is so much clutter in our minds! Keep listening.

This may seem difficult. You will hear every creaking tree branch. You will hear every barking dog. But like Elijah's time in the cave, God is not in the tree branch, God is not in the dog. Persevere. Listen for the gentle whisper.

Road Repair Revisited

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Road Repair

(This message is also available at: http://pastorjimdorton.blogspot.com/)

We have established these topics: Road Repair, Vision Correction, Surgical Repair, and Rehab and Therapy. By no means are these the only ways, or is this the only perspective, to look at Lent. However, as we now spend a few days in each one, what we look at will be based on Scripture.

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”

God said it first, as a matter of fact; He made it the first Law of Laws. Centuries later there seems to have been some confusion as a Pharisee asked Jesus: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.’” (Matthew 22:37-37)

Jesus was quoting the words we find given to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 6, and in the fifth chapter of that book we find the Ten Commandments, which God began with “Have no other gods before me.” The Old Testament lists several other gods that people made up and convinced others to pursue, from Ashtaroth and Baal to Kiyyun and Bel. Today, this conversation could go in the direction of non-Christian religions; however there is another problem we need to address.

When the Old Testament peoples ran after other gods, they were looking for connection, security, power, and protection in some form or another. Likewise, modern day people have created a whole slew of gods: careers, money, activities, etc. They may not worship them in a church/temple setting; but do they not make sacrifices for them?

God detested the Baals and other false Gods, but it seemed no surprise that heathens sought them. He seemed to suffer particular pain, however, when His chosen people ran after the other gods. And so it is today. It is no surprise that those outside the faith seek fulfillment in something other than God. But it causes Him particular pain when we, Christian believers, allow anything to come between Him and us. But we do.

Wealth. Poverty. Stuff. Activities. Sports. Schedules. TV. Church. Anything that gets between Him and us.

What is more important to us than God? We want to say “nothing” but can we? Does anything distract us from worship or must we get to some other event? Do we spend time worshiping Him other than Sunday morning or is ‘my show’ on? Do we “pray without ceasing”? Have we prayed today? Did we spend time listening in prayer? Do we know much more of His Word than we did a year ago?

What is more important to us than God? Anything that causes us to answer those questions in a way other than the way we should.

What is more important to us than God? Let’s make a list. Let’s start getting that stuff, that debris, out of the road. Let us prepare the way, clear the way, between us and God.

Lord willing, see you tomorrow. Pastor Jim,

P.S. If you need a starting place for spiritual discipline, consider the following: Starting today, and then first thing tomorrow morning, I challenge you to listen to God, with this five-minute exercise:

1) Do this as soon as you wake up. Set your clock a few minutes early if that is what you need to get up ahead of the household noise. Lay your Bible by your bed as a reminder. 2) Go to the quietest place in your house, outside, your kitchen, your bathroom...wherever. 3) Pray for 1 minute that God would speak to you. Audibly, out loud, ask Him to remove Satan from your presence for this time. Ask Him to remove distractions and mental clutter. During this time, do not ask Him for anything else, do not thank Him for anything else, do not pray for anyone else (but please find another prayer time for all these things). 4) Open your Bible and read for 2 minutes. This is God talking to you through His Word. Listen to Him. 5) Close your Bible and be silent for 3 minutes. Listen for Him. He may come as a thought, a nudge, an idea. For a while, He may seem hard to hear. There is so much clutter in our minds! Keep listening.

This may seem difficult. You will hear every creaking tree branch. You will hear every barking dog. But like Elijah's time in the cave, God is not in the tree branch, God is not in the dog. Persevere. Listen for the gentle whisper.

Rehab and Therapy

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Rehab and Therapy

First I’d like to say thank you to everyone who has been praying for me and checking in on me. My surgery went as expected, and I am, as my doctor ordered, staying in my recliner, with an ice pack, and lifting nothing heavier than the remote!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lent as rehab and therapy.

But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. Hebrews 5:14 (ESV)

OK, I am just sitting around for a few days, but after that I will need to begin a regimen of some sort to strengthen that which Dr. Domenick repaired, muscles would begin to atrophy. With some surgical repairs, the lack of follow up therapy can actually cause the situation to be worse than before; at a minimum, it would prevent one from receiving the maximum benefit of the repair.

And so it is spiritually: “… this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.” Matthew 13: 20-22

We can receive from God, but we can also atrophy spiritually if we do not develop roots. Simply stated: prayer, reading, and study*, with other actions added as faith takes root and grows. So, as we clear things out of the road between us and God, reflect on our lives using His Word for perspective, allow Him to do the repairs inside us, let us also commit to getting ourselves into, or back into, the kind of shape for which we were made.

Sabbath rest tomorrow, see you Monday, Lord willing, Pastor Jim

*If you need a starting place for spiritual discipline, consider the following 5 minute exercise:

Starting today, and then first thing tomorrow morning, I challenge you to listen to God, with this five minute exercise:

1) Do this as soon as you wake up. Set your clock a few minutes early if that is what you need to get up ahead of the household noise. Lay your Bible by your bed as a reminder.

2) Go to the quietest place in your house, outside, your kitchen, your bathroom...wherever.

3) Pray for 1 minute that God would speak to you. Audibly, out loud, ask Him to remove Satan from your presence for this time. Ask Him to remove distractions and mental clutter. During this time, do not ask Him for anything else, do not thank Him for anything else, do not pray for anyone else (but please find another prayer time for all these things).

4) Open your Bible and read for 2 minutes. This is God talking to you through His Word. Listen to Him.

5) Close your Bible and be silent for 3 minutes. Listen for Him. He may come as a thought, a nudge, an idea. For a while, He may seem hard to hear. There is so much clutter in our minds! Keep listening.

This may seem difficult. You will hear every creaking tree branch. You will hear every barking dog. But like Elijah's time in the cave, God is not in the tree branch, God is not in the dog. Persevere. Listen for the gentle whisper

Surgical Repair

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Surgical Repair

So far we have looked at Lent as “road repair” and as “corrected vision”. I have a couple more comparisons, and then we’ll use those as sort of sub-topics for the rest of Lent.

As soon as I finish writing this, I’m off to the hospital for surgery. Nothing life threatening; I have a tear in a muscle that the surgeon is going to, Lord willing, repair. Left unattended, this tear would get worse, longer, wider, and making the surrounding tissue, and me as a whole, weaker.

That is what sin has done to the human race and that’s what it does to us as individuals. Sin tears away at who we are, and it is, indeed, life threatening. Left unattended, this it gets worse, it gets longer, wider, and makes us weaker, and eventually kills us; “…sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” (James 1:15)

But Jesus is not called the Great Physician simply as some sort of metaphor. Nor is that term restricted to physical healing that He absolutely supplies. It also applies, even more importantly, to the healing from sin, that only He can provide.

For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. Romans 5:19


Sin = damage.
Righteousness = repair.

How has sin hurt you? This season of Lent let us each look for that damage, and look to God for repair.

Until tomorrow, Pastor Jim

Corrected Vision

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Greetings!

So, here we are in Lent, a season, it is often said, of ‘self-reflection’. I think that is a good thing, we should always be doing that somewhat, but it is good to take a season and really focus on it. But we need to be careful when looking at ourselves; our eyesight just isn’t all that good. That’s why "we walk by faith and not by sight.” (2 Cor. 5:7) What we see is a misrepresentation of reality. Oh sure, we talk about “20 20 vision”, “seeing is believing” and the like. But what else have we learned?

We can only see so far, unaided. But a telescope shows us things about the moon and stars invisible to the naked eye.

And there’s stuff on our skin and in our water that we are blissfully ignorant about until we look into a microscope.

Hold a prism to the sunlight and see bands of light, always present, but otherwise unseen.

Our very lives depend upon the oxygen we breathe but never see.

They say dogs are colorblind, how different their vision is from ours, right in the same world.

Likewise is our vision; far short of what God sees.

“Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. “ 1 Cor. 13:12 (Remembering that first century mirrors were little more than polished metal.)

So certainly, please, spend some time reflecting this season. But do not rely on your own perception of righteousness – and for God’s sake, do not use the world’s standards.

Instead, use His Word as a sort of spiritual lens. If you need a place to start, read the book of James.

And pray. Pray by speaking, and pray, pray, pray by listening.

Sure, you’ll see a few more of the warts, the mistakes, the sin. But you know what? You will also see that when God looks at you He loves you more than you love yourself. Sure, your sins will beexposed but so will a greater measure of His love.

God’s vision is not impaired; He sees the you that you can be. “Man looks at outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)

See you tomorrow, Pastor Jim

Road repair

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Greetings!

Shrove Tuesday.

Ash Wednesday.

Lent.

Easter.

What is this stuff all about? It’s interesting – if you do a little research there is a lot about traditions and how different denominations practice these things differently, if at all. So, it’s not like there are any hard and fast rules – good.


“Shrovetide” used to be the three days when Christians would confess their sins and seek absolution before “Ash Wednesday” when they would go to church and receive ashes on their foreheads recalling the Biblical references to ashes as a sign of repentance. Thus began Lent a time of self reflection, especially concerning one’s relationship to God.

OK? Sounds OK to me. Last night I was privileged to speak at Wyoming Church’s Shrove Tuesday Pancake Dinner (OK, the pancakes are another whole discussion!). In preparation, the Holy Spirit led me to the first chapter of Mark’s Gospel:

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,
"Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,'" John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, "After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

So John came, the people confessed, got baptized, the process of ‘making the paths straight’ was begun. (In ancient times, people would go out ahead of a king and clear brush, rocks, etc. from the roadways, cleaning the path – making it straight – for the king.)

So, I’m going to say that ‘shroving’ is like coming to John, confessing our sins and our ashes are our repentance. (This can be true whether you ate pancakes and got ashes or not.) But John was not the goal! Jesus was the goal. John was a signpost to Him; John was clearing the way for Him.

So, join me if you will, in confession, repentance, and jumping into Lent; where we will do a little path straightening. Let us spend some time clearing out the debris – the junk that has fallen and grown into the road between us and Jesus.

Lent – like John – is not the goal. Easter - the resurrected, living, saving Jesus Christ is the goal!

Let’s spend a little time making the path straight for Him.