Daily Devotions - Entries from January 2010

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SunSundayJanJanuary31st2010 January 31, 2010
Posted Sunday, January 31 2010 @ 11 PM byPhil Nelson Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment
Zechariah 7:1-7 (NIV)
1 In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Kislev.
2 The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melech, together with their men, to entreat the Lord
3 by asking the priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and the prophets, "Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?"
4 Then the word of the Lord Almighty came to me:
5 "Ask all the people of the land and the priests, 'When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted?
6 And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves?
7 Are these not the words the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest and prosperous, and the Negev and the western foothills were settled?'"

Today you are reading this in your home and you have not been able to get to worship because of the ice on our parking lot.  Perhaps God has designed this weather interruption for you to have more time to give to prayer and fasting for his purposes.  Do not waste this time but rather give yourselves to prayer and fasting for the kingdom of God.

Lest we be deceived about the true motive for fasting and prayer God gives us instruction in Zechariah.  His people had observed fasting and feasting times faithfully over the years but they had lost the reason for such obedience. It was not for their benefit it was to be for the benefit of the nations who were watching.  These disciplines that God gives us to observe are not meant to benefit us; they are the means by which God pours his life through us so others can see his glory. 

This season of prayer and fasting must not be about how we can see more join our ranks; it must be about giving ourselves to the Lord so He can do his work.  It may not lead to having more attend our church or see more miracles worked in our midst.  It may be that the Lord desires us to be the lead intercessors for his body in this region and he may choose to bless others with more visible awareness, but let us give ourselves to Christ so the body of Christ can be benefitted.

We are reminded through Zechariah that whatever we do must be done to the Lord and not to men.  We are not in this ministry because of the benefit we derive from men, we are in this ministry because we desire to please and obey the Lord who has redeemed us.

So for the next eight days we will humble ourselves and pray and seek his face not for us but for his glory and for the sake of the lost among us.

God the glory of Christ and the sake of the lost,
SunSundayJanJanuary31st2010 January 30, 2010
Posted Sunday, January 31 2010 @ 9 PM byPhil Nelson Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment
Joel 2:15-17 (NIV)
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly.
16 Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber.
17 Let the priests, who minister before the Lord, weep between the temple porch and the altar. Let them say, 'Spare your people, O Lord. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, 'Where is their God?''

A trumpet is an instrument of warning and coming judgment.  You can almost sense Joel’s urgency.  He sees the coming judgment heading Judah’s way and he speaks to warn the people in the hopes that they would give themselves to true repentance and prayer and fasting so they could avoid this judgment.  He cries out and seeks to warn all he can but history records that no one listened, they went on their own way thinking they were safe because after all they were God’s chosen people.

Joel spoke with such urgency he even told those who were preparing to walk down the wedding isle to stop their march and seek after the Lord.  Those who were nursing at the breast were to be pulled away from their mothers and both nursing child and mother were called to stop all other activity and give themselves to prayer for the judgment was imminent.

The priests were called to stop all their activity and weep and wail before the porch and the altar.  They were supposed to take seriously the state of the nation and it would lead them to weep and to mourn but they were too busy performing their religious rituals to stop and listen and as a result the nation was carried away into captivity and judgment.

What activity can you give up this next week so you can spend time in crying out to God?  How can you arrange your schedule so you can cry out to him for the sake of the lost around you and for the sake of the church who has grown powerless to affect any change in this culture?  I plead with you to heed the warning of Joel and give yourselves to prayer and fasting and weeping and mourning for our land.  Who knows perhaps God will use our prayers to turn back a nation once again.

Let us pray and fast and weep and mourn that God might restore to us his Presence.  May the watching world no longer say, “Where Is your God!”  May God visit his people once again so the world may know him.

Blowing the trumpet and sounding the alarm,
SunSundayJanJanuary31st2010 January 29, 2010
Posted Sunday, January 31 2010 @ 9 PM byPhil Nelson Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment
Joel 2:12-14 (NIV)
12 'Even now,' declares the Lord, 'return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.'
13 Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.
14 Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing-- grain offerings and drink offerings for the Lord your God.

When should I give myself to prayer and fasting? The answer comes in the text before us, “Even now!”  How should I give myself?  With fasting and weeping and mourning.  We grieve for the lost in our land, we mourn the fact the our Lord is blasphemed and ridiculed by even those in our nation’s capitol.  The glory of our God is seldom heard or seen in our culture.  God’s hand has been removed and his protective influence is withdrawn.

Joel spoke to the nation of Judah as they had violated almost everything the Lord had told them.  They had perverted His truth and ceased to observe his commandments.  They had become viler than the heathen around them and even with this knowledge the Lord sends Joel to preach to them and offer his grace once more.  See the mercy of our God as he cries out to his people to return to him so he could have compassion on them, so he could restore the years the locusts have eaten.  He longed to forgive and restore.

Consider these precious words, “Who knows, he may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing.?”  There are those in our culture who say that God is finished with us, we have gone past the point of return.  They use many verses to support their message and they are right when you consider the state of our nation but I will stay on the side of Joel when he says in essence, “God should judge us and cast us out, but he still calls us to himself and offers his grace and mercy.  Let us cry out to him once again and set our hearts to love him once again and perhaps, just perhaps, America will become the example of the first nation in history to experience a revival unlike any other nation who has gone past the point of return.  O people I believe that God can and will do a work in our midst of reviving his Church so that all the nations will see and wonder at his grace on such a nation as ours.

Join me and a growing number of others who are believing God for a great return to His Truth as we cry out to him for his Spirit to move upon us.

Crying out and lifting my voice to the heavens,
SunSundayJanJanuary31st2010 January 28, 2010
Posted Sunday, January 31 2010 @ 9 PM byPhil Nelson Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment
Joel 1:13-14 (NIV)
13 Put on sackcloth, O priests, and mourn; wail, you who minister before the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, you who minister before my God; for the grain offerings and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God. 14 Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord.

Some have asked why we are spending so much time on this emphasis on prayer and fasting.  You only need to look at the statistics in our culture to see the need for prayer and fasting.  Teen Mania ministries conducted a recent survey among the next generation and these are the results of their study.  In 1950 we had almost 65% of our culture attending some Christian worship service at least weekly.  In 1965 the statistics dropped to about 40%, in 1980 even with the Jesus Movement they dropped to 35%, in 1995 they had dropped to 15 % and now this next generation coming up have less than a 5% attendance record in any Christian worship service.  We are losing this culture faster than all the mega churches can reach them.  If God doesn’t do something with his church soon our culture will go the way of western Europe where churches will only be tourists attractions for visitors as they read the days about when God moved in the culture but no longer does.

I do not want the Church of Jesus Christ to be a museum piece for tourists, I desire that she becomes the great transformational force in  the culture once again.  The lives of our children and grandchildren are riding on what we do with the moment of time we have right in front of us.  So let us declare a time of solemn assembly, let us set aside large portions of our calendar to give ourselves to prayer and fasting for our culture. 

I am convinced the times we live in call for radical commitment to Christ.  Church as usual will not get the job done, we must give ourselves to serious and prolonged times of prayer and fasting and humbling our selves before the Lord our God.  Let us call for the leaders and the dads and the moms and the granddads and the grandma’s grandchildren and the children to come and join us as we cry out to God.  Would you join us as we give our selves to great intercessions and fasting for our culture and for the lost in our midst.  Come let us spend the night in sackcloth and cry out to our God for this generation.

In the coming weeks and months you will be invited to join us as we cry out to God in seasons of prayer and fasting.  Begin now by setting your heart to hear from God and obey His Word.  Let us raise our voices to the heavens for the sake of the lost among us and for the sake of the glory of our Savior in our land.

Raising my voice and cry to the heavens,
WedWednesdayJanJanuary27th2010 January 27, 2010
Posted Wednesday, January 27 2010 @ 5 AM byPhil Nelson Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment
Daniel 11:32 (NIV)
32 With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.

The days of this age are fast becoming days of growing deception.  Many churches are giving themselves to running entertainment centers or movie theatres to hold the crowds or draw more.  Signs and wonders are what draw many to the church for they love to see a sideshow but are little concerned with the truth of God.  If there are not outward miracles or messages that make you feel good the crowds go elsewhere.  The coming great deception will be accompanied with all sorts of miracles signs and wonders and they will deceive many.

Notice the text says it is with flattery that the deceiver will corrupt.  He will come and speak a lie that sounds much like the truth and because he has the ability to perform miracles many will be led astray.  But we are not among these for we will set our sights on the Word of God and His Truth.  We will not be deceived by those who can perform miracles and tell us it does not matter how we live because after all God loves you so don’t worry be happy.

No we will not be led astray for we have given ourselves to prayer and fasting and to the knowing of God through His Word.  As we obey God in these ways we will be strong and find a strength on our own that will empower us to resist this great deceiver who will take many with him because they did not like to seek after God, they only sought after what would make them feel better or stimulate their nerve endings.

Holding Fast to the Word through Prayer and Fasting,
TueTuesdayJanJanuary26th2010 January 26, 2010
Posted Tuesday, January 26 2010 @ 10 PM byPhil Nelson Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment
Daniel 10:10-21 (KJV)
10 And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands.
11 And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.
12 Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.
13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.
14 Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days.
15 And when he had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb.
16 And, behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, O my lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no strength.
17 For how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me.
18 Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me,
19 And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me.
20 Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.
21 But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.

O what marvelous words to hear from an angel of God, “O Daniel, a man greatly loved, I want you to understand the words that I speak with you about.” Can you hear these words children of God?  Can you even in your wildest thoughts ever think such things to be true about you?  You are greatly loved by God.  Because of Christ you have no longer any fear of judgment and you have only his grace to look forward to every day.  You who were once under the wrath of God and set on a course for certain destruction have been rescued and set in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus.

How long was it before Daniel heard these words?  It took twenty one days for the answer to find its way to Daniel but see that the answer was sent on the very first day that Daniel had begun to pray.  We understand here that one of the reasons to persevere in prayer is because there is a war going on  in the heavenlies and prevailing prayer is needed to accomplish the works of God. 

Notice also the greater blessing falls to those who do not give up in well doing but they maintain their posture of prayer no matter what because they know that God will come through so they do not give in and quit. When the Lord first began to speak to Daniel the words were hard to hear.  They were so hard that it took his breath away and Daniel was almost ready to pass out for fear of the Word of the Lord but the angel reached out and touched him and he was strengthened.  It would take nothing less than the hand of God to give strength back to Daniel..  But see how it was that Daniel regained his strength to believe and obey God, it came as a result of hearing the Word of the Lord.  “When he had spoken to me I was strengthened”  So it is with all of us, when we find our lives losing strength to endure we must find ourselves running to the Word as our life preserver. Let us abide in his Word and in prayer that we might be strengthened for the task ahead.

As the Scriptures revealed to Daniel there were going to be very difficult days ahead but if he would abide in His Word he would find the necessary strength to endure.  So let us be like Daniel and give ourselves to prayer and fasting and meditation on the Word so we too can know the Lord our God in these days.

Seeking His Face,
TueTuesdayJanJanuary26th2010 January 25, 2010
Posted Tuesday, January 26 2010 @ 9 PM byPhil Nelson Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment
Daniel 10:1-9 (KJV)
1 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision.
2 In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks.
3 I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.
4 And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel;
5 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz:
6 His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.
7 And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.
8 Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.
9 Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground.

Today at noon we gathered at the Worship Center to pray and fast for God to move in our midst.  We have now been observing this focused time for prayer and fasting for eight days and here is what is beginning to happen so far.

During our noon prayer times I have been asking God to give us some sign or indication that we were responding to His Word clearly.  This past Wednesday evening as we were finishing our Mid Week study on the Psalms everyone had left the Worship Center and I returned to spend some alone time in the darkness of the Sanctuary, just to be alone with God.  I had been there for about ten minutes when all of sudden I heard my name being called from the foyer.  Two of the men who had just left the study hour and were going to their cars had a young woman drive up and tell them that she was feeling convicted about not being where she needed to be in her walk with the Lord.

So needless to say I talked with this college student for about thirty miniatures and saw that God was indeed working in her life drawing her to him once again.  I asked how it was that she decided to come to this church on this evening and she said that she was convicted every time she drove past our property that she needed to get back on track with Christ.

How do you account for this, only by the praying of the church as we have begun to set our hearts to seek His face.  With each day that goes by and with each day that we continue our focused prayer and fasting on seeking God for awakening and renewal our prayers become more personal and our desire to know God grows.  As I was closing our time in prayer today at 1 p.m. my eyes were directed to I Samuel 7 where the nation of Israel pleads with Samuel to not stop praying for them that they might be rescued.  It was then a light went on and the Word of God spoke so clearly to me, we must be about this business of intercessory prayer because those who are lost desperately need us to intercede for them that they might be rescued.

It was much the same for Daniel as he was mourning over Judah’s spiritual condition.  After praying for three weeks with no outward indication that God was doing anything he did not give up but he gave himself to prayer and fasting with renewed commitment and then it was all made clear to him, He saw a messenger from God revealed before his eyes and he heard magnificent promises that no one else heard. Those who were with him did not hear anything or see anything but the mountain moved where they stood and they hid themselves from the terrifying presence.

People of Lakeland and others let us not be weary in well doing (fasting and praying) for in due time we will reap if we faint not.  I believe God is about to do something in our midst if we will give ourselves to prayer and fasting and not let up.  May the Lord work in us that which is well pleasing in his sight for his glory as we look to him in these days.  There are great encounters with God that are just around the corner so let us prepare ourselves spiritually so we can see them when God sends them.  Let us not be like the four men who ran and hid but let us be like Daniel who stayed the course and met God.
SunSundayJanJanuary24th2010 January 24, 2010
Posted Sunday, January 24 2010 @ 3 PM byPhil Nelson Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment
Daniel 9:1-3 (KJV)
1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; 2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

When you read the Bible do you read just because it is something you have to do in order to be a “good person?”  Those who read the Bible for this reason miss out on the greatest thrill of hearing from God.  Think of it, as you read the Bible, God can and will reveal to you His purposes and you will learn to hear his voice and be able to know what it is God wants you to do.

This was certainly the case in Daniel’s life.  He was in his regular discipline of reading the Word of God and praying.  As he read this day he was in Jeremiah the Prophet and he came across the promise that the captivity of God’s people would only last seventy years.  He began to do the math and figured out that they were now in the sixty-ninth year of captivity.  If this is God’s Word then what must be true?  The Jews were going to go home in less than one year.

Daniel had kept up on the news from back in Jerusalem.  Things were not in good shape back there.  There was much discord and unrest.  The city was in ruins and the temple was destroyed.  How could God’s people be able to go home if the city of Jerusalem was in ruins and the temple destroyed?  It then became apparent through reading the Scriptures what must have to take place before all this would come to pass.

Daniel knew that the people of Israel would need to have a change in heart in order to go home again because they had prospered under the Babylonian rule.  How could it be that people would want to leave a place of ease and comfort to return to a place of hardship and difficulty?  This would certainly have to be a work of God.  He knew what needed to take place so he gave himself to prayer and fasting in order to intercede for God’s people so they would be ready when the opportunity came for them to return to Jerusalem.

Notice his first step of obedience to prepare God’s people for their return, it was the step of prayer and fasting and humbling of himself before God.  This would take nothing less than the very power of God and it must not have any human touch to it.  Do you see any parallels in our day with this passage?  I see several.

God’s people are in captivity to the culture, there is no visible difference between those who are pagan and those who are claiming faith in Christ.  The church is comfortable in this society and it is hard to convince many of God’s people to go to the difficult and hard places to carry the gospel.  Many in our own nation have grown complacent in their relationship with Christ.  So let us be like Daniel who heard the voice of the Lord as he read the Scriptures.  Our Lord has promised that our captivity to this world would only last for a season and that someday soon he would come back for us to take us home.  Let us give ourselves to prayer and fasting and to the humbling of ourselves so God can work in us to prepare God’s people for going home.

Choosing to eat less and pray more,
SunSundayJanJanuary24th2010 January 23, 2010
Posted Sunday, January 24 2010 @ 3 PM byPhil Nelson Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment
Esther 4:1-17 (NIV)
1 When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly.
2 But he went only as far as the king's gate, because no one clothed in sackcloth was allowed to enter it.
3 In every province to which the edict and order of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing. Many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
4 When Esther's maids and eunuchs came and told her about Mordecai, she was in great distress. She sent clothes for him to put on instead of his sackcloth, but he would not accept them.
5 Then Esther summoned Hathach, one of the king's eunuchs assigned to attend her, and ordered him to find out what was troubling Mordecai and why.
6 So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king's gate.
7 Mordecai told him everything that had happened to him, including the exact amount of money Haman had promised to pay into the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews.
8 He also gave him a copy of the text of the edict for their annihilation, which had been published in Susa, to show to Esther and explain it to her, and he told him to urge her to go into the king's presence to beg for mercy and plead with him for her people.
9 Hathach went back and reported to Esther what Mordecai had said.
10 Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai,
11 "All the king's officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that he be put to death. The only exception to this is for the king to extend the gold scepter to him and spare his life. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king."
12 When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai,
13 he sent back this answer: "Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape.
14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?"
15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai:
16 "Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish."
17 So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther's instructions.

During Esther’s life the nation of Israel was in great danger of being destroyed.  The influences of pagan philosophies had affected some pagan rulers in Persia and led to a growing hatred for God’s people. Those in high places had developed a strong dislike for those who stood for righteousness and holiness.  When you study about the times during Esther’s reign as Queen of Persia you come to see many parallels with our situation today.

There is growing hatred for those who stand for purity and holiness.  Those in high places of authority have begun to show their growing dislike by passing laws and regulations that seek to undermine the faith of the godly.  Some have taken the position of fatalism, “It is all in God’s hands.” is their speech.  But I do not believe this is the correct position.  Consider if Esther would have taken this position, what would have happened?

From our text we understand that Esther would have been destroyed along with her family if she did not obey God’s Word, but the Jewish Nation would have been saved anyway.  So what is it that we can learn from this passage?  God will do His work with or without you.  He invites you to join him in his great campaign of redemption, but if you throw your hands up and say, "It is all in God’s hands,” and do not lift a hand to intercede or fast for the deliverance of God’s chosen people you will experience defeat while those who chose to obey will experience great victory.

So what is the proper course of action? Choose to do what Esther did, she prayed and fasted and went before the king and was part of the activity of God in bringing about the deliverance of her great nation.  Could it be that God may have you invest in fasting and intercession for the deliverance of his people?  I believe it is, so how about joining the God force and seek the Lord in fasting and prayer as we pray for God to move in our midst and rescue the perishing without Christ?

Participating with God in His Great Rescue Campaign,
SatSaturdayJanJanuary23rd2010 January 22, 2010
Posted Saturday, January 23 2010 @ 4 PM byPhil Nelson Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment

Nehemiah 9:1-3 (NIV)
1 On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and having dust on their heads. 2 Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners. They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the wickedness of their fathers. 3 They stood where they were and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day, and spent another quarter in confession and in worshiping the Lord their God.

The nation had just finished a week long celebration of God’s goodness by observing the festival of booths.  There was great rejoicing and great celebration.  Spirits were high in the land and then we read what comes next. Right on the heels of this great celebration comes a time of great repentance.  Does this seem out of context to you.  How could it be that the nation went from great celebration to great repentance and fasting and confession?  I thought God desired to give them his best not beat them with this nagging sense of sinfulness.

This is precisely where we get off track.  We think that conviction of sin and the weight of our guilt is a bad thing but it is quite the opposite.  Paul tells us in Romans 2:4 that it is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance.  They had just witnessed the marvelous grace of God in a week long worship celebration and they now understood more clearly than ever that God was really for them and not against them.  He desired their good and not their harm. 

So after the people are convinced that God is out for their good God now can do the work most needed for his children to draw us even closer to him.  This work is not what I call fun work but work that is most needed.  They have only scratched the surface of their relationship with God now the deeper work must be done.  This deeper work is the work of personal holiness without which no one will really enjoy the Lord.

So it is fitting that we find them in this situation immediately following the festival of booths.  Read over the passage carefully and note the actions of the nation. They were gathered together in community for the purpose of drawing close to God.  How were they going about this process of drawing close to God?  Through prayer and fasting.  But not notice the clothes they were wearing, sackcloth were their garments and ashes was the makeup applied.

Why sackcloth?  Perhaps because it was this garment that rubbed their skin and chafed every time they moved. It made movement difficult and painful.  What is it that makes our relationship with God difficult and painful?  Is it not sin that we hold close to our hearts and cherish?  Perhaps the sackcloth was a means of God reminding them of how hard their life would be if they did not do whatever was necessary to remove sin from their lives.

Why the ashes or dust?  Isn’t that what we really are without God, just a pile of animated dust without any purpose or meaning?  Who was it that gave life to the first pile of dust?  God blew into a pile of dust and man became a living being.  Perhaps it was God’s way of telling them that without Him they would never be much more than a pile of dust. 

Maybe the dust on the head was a way to show in a clear way how sin clouds our vision of the world around us.  I would think they would have to often wipe the dust out of their eyes so they could see again.  Maybe this was the way God showed them how often they would have to come to him for cleansing from their sin if they were going to walk with Him.

The nation separated themselves from all foreigners and they stood in their places.  They had made a specific decision to withdraw from the world around them so they could focus intently on this God who had called them to know him.  This is what the period of prayer and fasting is to be, it is to be a time when we draw away from others attractions of the world so we can grow in our knowledge of God.

Some may ask, “How is it that we will grow in our knowledge of God?” The answer is once again discovered in the text as always. They confessed their sins and the sins of their fathers before them. How was it that they were convicted of their sins?  The answer comes in these words, “They read from the Book of the Law for a quarter of the day.”  The Law of God is designed to bring conviction of sin and point us to the Savior so we can rejoice in his redemption.  Does this come about by a quick prayer to God, a short sermon on some passage of Scripture?  Not this time, it takes reading and listening and meditating on the Word for several hours, for our sin nature is hardened to the things of God and unless we sit under the downpour of God’s Word we will never have our sinful nature shattered by the hammer of God’s Word.

Now notice the next thing that follows, they spend another quarter of the day in great worship and confession, but this time it was not the confession of sin but the confession of what a great God they had come to know.  SO as a result of this very brief passage of Scripture let me ask a few questions for you to consider during your time of prayer and fasting.  When is the last time you spent several hours before God in confession of sin which soon broke out into loud celebratory worship and great confessions of who God is?  When is the last time you put everything on hold and set your heart to seek after God for a whole day? Perhaps this might be something for you to consider scheduling in the very near future.  I hope you will seriously consider setting apart some significant amount of time to seek after God in the not too distant future.

May the Lord do His Work at drawing us to himself in these days?
SatSaturdayJanJanuary23rd2010 January 21, 2010
Posted Saturday, January 23 2010 @ 3 PM byPhil Nelson Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment

Nehemiah 8:13-18 (NIV)
13 On the second day of the month, the heads of all the families, along with the priests and the Levites, gathered around Ezra the scribe to give attention to the words of the Law. 14 They found written in the Law, which the Lord had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites were to live in booths during the feast of the seventh month 15 and that they should proclaim this word and spread it throughout their towns and in Jerusalem: "Go out into the hill country and bring back branches from olive and wild olive trees, and from myrtles, palms and shade trees, to make booths"--as it is written.
16 So the people went out and brought back branches and built themselves booths on their own roofs, in their courtyards, in the courts of the house of God and in the square by the Water Gate and the one by the Gate of Ephraim. 17 The whole company that had returned from exile built booths and lived in them. From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated it like this. And their joy was very great.
18 Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God. They celebrated the feast for seven days, and on the eighth day, in accordance with the regulation, there was an assembly.

As we enter this period of prayer and fasting let us be sure that we give significant attention to the Word of the Lord.  In our text before us today we see that the people of God had sought to seek the Lord by the reading of His Word.  Some things of importance took place during their reading. IN verse 14 the text reads that they found something written in the law that they had not been obeying.  What were they to do about this lack of obedience?  Did they hold deliberation meetings to see what others thought?  Did they go out and consult other spiritual leaders?  Did they just put the Law back on the shelf and say, “Well that was a really great read!?” 

They did none of these things.  They immediately saw what they were to do in the Word of God and they went out to obey its directives. There is something we must understand from this context.  They had just understood that they had not obeyed the festival of booths for years, but this festival was to last for seven days.  This was not just, “You forgot to put in your tithe so write out a check and get it done.”  This would require of them to completely rearrange their next week so they could obey what God had commanded.

Plans that had been made were put on hold, planting and harvesting would have to wait.  Vacations would have to be postponed, well on second thought this was a week long vacation.  Perhaps those who lived to work would have to agree to stop working for one whole week.  Isn’t it just like God to interrupt our world when we read His Word and then give us some command to do something that you had not come prepared for?

Lest we think that obeying God will lead to bad stuff consider what happened when the nation obeyed God in this text.  They had an immediate seven day vacation where they would relax and enjoy the goodness of God.  It would be a time of reflecting on his character and spending time around His Word.  Certainly it would call for repentance and confession but repentance is not bad, in fact it leads us to enjoy God more.

As I was praying in the worship sanctuary today at noon I had this thought come to me.  God has made us for himself and he has designed us so that we will find our greatest pleasure in Him. He has also given us spiritual disciplines to obey so that by them we can come to experience his goodness.  The more we obey the more of his goodness we experience. 

One writer put it this way, “It is like the owner of the Gold Mine saying to his workers, ‘GO and dig for yourself all the gold you can carry away.  And the more you carry away the more satisfied I will be.”  Can you even believe this truth?  God has hidden in His Word rich treasures for his children to live off of. The more we dig and the more we seek to obey these directives the more we will find our lasting pleasure and the more God will be seen as magnificent.  Let us go forth to dig the riches of His Word and then live according to them.

Entering the Mine of God’s Word on Bended Knee,
TueTuesdayJanJanuary19th2010 January 19, 2010
Posted Tuesday, January 19 2010 @ 8 AM byPhil Nelson Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment
Colossians 1:28 (NIV)
28 We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.

So we come to an end of our emphasis on proclaiming the truth of God.  Notice we are reminded here that we proclaim him not our own version of the truth we speak of Him and not of ourselves.  We are so convinced that Christ is necessary for all that we admonish and teach all we encounter about this great God.  We seize every moment and redeem it for the purpose of telling the gospel to all who will listen.  We hasten to speak the gospel for in our speaking it others will believe and the day of his appearing will draw ever closer

We speak the gospel because it is our desire to offer to Christ many lives that have been made perfect by the truth of the Word of God.  We declare the gospel for we are like the young child who has been anxiously working on an art project for her father who has been away on a trip.  We desire that when he returns he will find us with a completed project that will bring joy to his heart.  So the declaration of the gospel is our project that we desire to have finished by the representation of many lives that have been altered by our gospel message that has gone out from our mouths in the days of our lives.

Working on the Project until He comes,
MonMondayJanJanuary18th2010 January 18, 2010
Posted Monday, January 18 2010 @ 8 AM byPhil Nelson Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment
Isaiah 61:1-2 (NIV)
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,

Have you seen a pattern in the missiles this past week?  The Gospel is about our using our “Words” to tell the truth to the world.  So let me ask a question, “How many words have you spoken this past week?  How many of those words had to do with the gospel?  How many of those words were spoken to those out side without Christ?”

If the gospel is about words and if the gospel is the means by which God brings the lost to himself then it follows that we must be about speaking the gospel to others if we are to be in obedience to God’s call on us as a church.  This concept arrested me this week.  Jesus tells us that we will give an account of all the idle words we have spoken.  Could it be that the idle words are not just words of gossip but words that have nothing to do with the gospel.  Is not the gospel the power of God to salvation to all who believe?  If this is the case then should we not be about sharing the gospel in as many ways in conversation as possible?

Sharing the gospel is not giving someone a cup of cold water, it is not feeding them with physical food for a day, it  is not listening to them tell their story.  These are ways in which we may gain a hearing for the gospel but if we do not share the gospel as our first priority then we do not do the works that God has sent us for.

Notice in our text the very first thing the Messiah did when he came, “preach good news.”  Remember this is a day of good news now.  If you will take notice of verse two you will see that the Messiah would proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God.  When you go to Luke 4 and listen as Jesus read the scroll of Isaiah he stops in the middle of the verse and does not finish the text.  He stops with to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.  Why does he stop there?  Because he is speaking to this day in which we live.  If you are alive in this world presently you are under the Lord’s favor for a season.  If you trust in Christ you will enter into the joy of the Lord forever but if you reject his offer of forgiveness you will be plunged into the day of God’s vengeance from which there will be no escape.

This is the reason we proclaim to all the good news of the gospel because a day is fast approaching when the day of God’s wrath will be visited upon all who live on the earth and then it will be too late to turn and confess Christ.

Let us proclaim and preach and speak the good news in this day of the Lord’s favor.
SunSundayJanJanuary17th2010 January 17, 2010
Posted Sunday, January 17 2010 @ 8 AM byPhil Nelson Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 (NIV)
1 Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.
2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

1 Corinthians 1:21 (NIV)
21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.

In our day there seems to be a downplay of the means by which God has chosen to save the world.  We often hear of dialogues in the church and dialogues have their place but when it comes to the means of conversion it is the teaching of Scripture that it is not in a dialogue that men and women are saved it is in a monologue, God delivering to men and women what is necessary for them to believe in order to be saved.  There is no dialogue here.  The gospel is not up for discussion or debate or consideration it is that by which God commands men everywhere to repent.

We like to think we have options with the gospel, we want it this way and not that way.  We want our concerns taken into consideration, we want to know what is in it for us, but when the gospel comes it does not come from a committee who have searched out what they think is best for us, it comes from the very throne of God and it demands our allegiance or it will set us up for judgment. 

We want the gospel to be delivered in a nice package where everyone gets along but this is not the way of the gospel, it divides homes and families and nations and peoples.  Those who believe it are saved and those who refuse it are condemned.  The preaching of the gospel brings with it a sword of separation, to not believe it is to set yourself against the truth of God and those who hold to it.

How does this saving gospel come to us?  In what from are we to find it?  We find it among those who are preaching.  It comes to us in the words of human language.  It is verbal and understandable, it is not just a good life lived it is a good message given in verbal form.  God has chosen the method of verbal proclamation to be the means by which people are brought into the kingdom so let us be clear about the emphasis here, it must be in words not just in deeds.  It must contain the truth of Jesus’ death burial and resurrection.  To explain away these basic historical acts of God is to undermine the truth and mislead many.

We must understand that it is not our acts that make up the gospel it is God’s acts.  If we are waiting to get our acts right before we speak the gospel then we are putting our trust in our own works instead of God’s.  Let us not wait to get our lives right, let us share the gospel truth that God got it right on our behalf.

Do not let your mouth be closed, open wide and let God speak through you the Gospel which is his.
FriFridayJanJanuary15th2010 January 16, 2010
Posted Friday, January 15 2010 @ 4 PM byPhil Nelson Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment
Acts 17:22-23 (NIV)
22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.
23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.

Because there is only one God we speak up to declare this one true God to all that we see, to do any less is to allow deception to reign in our world.  Consider the boldness of Paul in this text.  He stood before the greatest philosophical minds of the world and told them in very nice ways they were all wrong about who God was.  They had fashioned hundreds of idols all over Athens but they still did not have the confidence they got it right so they covered their bases with the idol to the unknown God.

In the midst of this philosophical and theological confusion Paul stands up and tells them they have got it all wrong about God and he was sent to help them get it right.  Does this not sound somewhat arrogant on Paul’s part?  Certainly in our world today it does.  But it was not anything less back then.  Everyone sat around the Areopagus talking about all the new ideas but they never did anything with them, at least not until Paul showed up.  When he spoke, some of the leading men of the counsel made their commitment to Christ and others said they would think on these things.

Our calling today is to expose the false theologies and philosophies and replace them with the true gospel of Christ.  Let us stand alongside of Paul and proclaim to a dying world the truth about Christ so they too can believe

Our declaration is as follows; The God that you do not know, who has made you for himself we are going to declare to you so that you may know him too.  Let us be among those who not only know the truth but speak the truth so others can join us.

 Pastor Phil
FriFridayJanJanuary15th2010 January 15, 2010
Posted Friday, January 15 2010 @ 4 PM byPhil Nelson Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment
1 Chronicles 16:23-27 (KJV)
23 Sing unto the Lord, all the earth; shew forth from day to day his salvation.
24 Declare his glory among the heathen; his marvellous works among all nations.
25 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods.
26 For all the gods of the people are idols: but the Lord made the heavens.
27 Glory and honour are in his presence; strength and gladness are in his place.

Malachi 1:11 (NIV)
11 My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations," says the Lord Almighty.

Throughout the Scriptures we see that we are commanded to take the name of Christ and speak it openly to all that we meet.  We are commanded to sing unto the Lord constantly and as a result of our worship encounter we will be compelled to shew forth his salvation from day to day.  There is not a down time in declaring the truth of Christ.  Notice where we are to declare his glory, “Among the heathen.”  Not where it is safe but where it is most needed.  “Among all nations,” not where it is always convenient.

Why is such a call given to the saints?  Because as we go to the hard and difficult places others will see the value we give to Christ.  We leave the comforts of our surroundings and follow him to hard places because his name is most needed there where it is not heard. Why is such call given to the saints?  Because God is greatly to be praised and we are called by God to gather the largest praise gathering in the universe that will live out the rest of eternity in praise to this one great God.

Our lives are to demonstrate that there are no other gods worth being committed to.  We must leave all other idols and cleave only unto him so the world will see God for who he really is, the one and only true God who gives life to all who will come to him.

It is Show and Tell time every time we leave the comfort of our home.  Let us make certain that we put God on a good display for all to see and hear.

Preparing for Show and tell,
FriFridayJanJanuary15th2010 January 14, 2010
Posted Friday, January 15 2010 @ 4 PM byPhil Nelson Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment
Exodus 32:30-32 (NIV)
30 The next day Moses said to the people, "You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin."
31 So Moses went back to the Lord and said, "Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold.
32 But now, please forgive their sin--but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written."

How much do you know of God since your conversion?  Do you know him to be a God who longs to forgive and set people in his presence with great joy? His is his delight and his nature.  This is why Moses could pray such a bold prayer in this text.  In so many words he said, ‘God if you do not forgive then I am speaking to the wrong God because you are a God who delights to forgive the sinner and restore the prodigal.  To do any less means I have the wrong God to whom I am speaking and need to get off his list.’

Moses knew God and his character so he could pray this bold intercessory prayer. Who do you know who has rebelled against God in wanton disregard for his truth?  Take a moment and go to God on their behalf and intercede for them.  God delights in rescuing those who are considered unreachable, for this is what brings him great glory.  Consider those in the Scripture who were beyond the reach of forgiveness in most minds.  Let’s list a few of them; Moses, the murderer; Manasseh, the wicked king; David the adulterer and murderer; Matthew the tax collector; Jairus, the dead daughter; Saul the persecutor of Christians.

Stop for a moment and think of who made up the early church  1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (NIV)
9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Sound like a nice group of people to be around, thieves, liars, swindlers, prostitutes, homosexuals, adulterers.  Would make for a nice close knit group don’t you think?  But notice the operative word in this text, “such WERE some of you.”  Past tense, they had been accepted and found forgiveness and freedom in Christ, what a marvel of the world in that day and in our day.

Let’s take the culture by storm as we present the gospel to all that we encounter.  May God give us real life transformation as we take the gospel out of our homes and into the streets and offices and shopping centers.

I desire to be like Moses,
FriFridayJanJanuary15th2010 January 13, 2010
Posted Friday, January 15 2010 @ 4 PM byPhil Nelson Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment
2 Kings 7:3-9 (NIV)
3 Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate. They said to each other, "Why stay here until we die?
4 If we say, 'We'll go into the city'--the famine is there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So let's go over to the camp of the Arameans and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die."
5 At dusk they got up and went to the camp of the Arameans. When they reached the edge of the camp, not a man was there,
6 for the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army, so that they said to one another, "Look, the king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack us!"
7 So they got up and fled in the dusk and abandoned their tents and their horses and donkeys. They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives.
8 The men who had leprosy reached the edge of the camp and entered one of the tents. They ate and drank, and carried away silver, gold and clothes, and went off and hid them. They returned and entered another tent and took some things from it and hid them also.
9 Then they said to each other, "We're not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let's go at once and report this to the royal palace."

“We are not doing right, this is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves.”  Do you believe this?  Is this day really a day of good news?  Most certainly it is for we have this moment to walk with God, we have this moment to trust in Christ.  O how many are there who do not know of this good news?  How many are there that think good news is about receiving a good report from the doctor, or that they have won the lottery, these pale in comparison with the good news that we have received in Christ.  All the debts that we had incurred against  a holy God have been paid, all the remnants of sin and its affects are about to be permanently removed from us forever.  Because of Christ we have instant and constant access to the God of the Universe, most certainly this is a day of good news.

Now for the questions, “Are you doing right with what you have received?  Are you keeping this news to yourself?  Are you passing by people for whom Christ died to set free and not speaking of them that their debts have been cancelled, their sins forgiven and they have received a mansion in heaven where they will forever be with their creator?”

This is a day of good news let us be about the business of declaring this news from every possible corner of our lives.

Going to the Rooftops for the Gospel of Christ,
FriFridayJanJanuary15th2010 January 12, 2010
Posted Friday, January 15 2010 @ 4 PM byPhil Nelson Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment

2 Peter 3:8-12 (NIV)
8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. 11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives
12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.

Last night at our men’s Bible study as we closed I heard one of the men pray the following, “God let us boldly share the truth of the gospel so all of your elect will be brought in so we can go home.”  This prayer greatly affected me and I began to think of the truth of such statement.  The Scriptures indicate that there is a fixed number of those who will trust in Christ and when that number is finally gathered in the end will come.  Consider the following Romans 11:25 (NIV)
25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.

Are you in love with Christ?  If so then you will desire to be with him and if these passages are any indication of when the end will come then those who love Christ will set their hearts affections on sharing the gospel because as we do we allow the ones who will trust in Christ to hear the message and respond.  Who knows what that fixed number is of those who will trust in Christ? However we do know this since the number is fixed and the Scripture indicates that when the full number is reached we will be going home then it would follow that as we actively and courageously share the gospel to the lost we cooperate with God in bringing about the final consummation of all things. 

If we love Christ let us live Gospel centered Christ exalting lives so that the elect of God can see and hear the truth so we can go home, for we seek a city whose builder and maker is God’s.  Even so come Lord Jesus

Declaring with the Saints the everlasting goodness of God

 
MonMondayJanJanuary11th2010 January 11, 2010
Posted Monday, January 11 2010 @ 2 PM byPhil Nelson Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment
Ezekiel 3:17-19 (NIV)
17 "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. 18 When I say to a wicked man, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. 19 But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself.

Acts 20:25-31 (NIV)
25 "Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. 26 Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men. 27 For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. 28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. 29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.

Have you ever considered how many people you pass by each day? Have you ever felt the weight of the gospel as you go about you daily routine? God is jealous for His Son's glory and he has set us with the task of telling the gospel to all who live around us. How shall we accomplish such a great undertaking when it seems that most do not have the time to listen to the story?

Let me suggest a few possibilities. !. Begin to ask God to give you divine appointments with those you encounter each day. As you pass by each person lift up a prayer to the Father asking for his discernment as to how to share about Christ with this person. It may be just a kind word or a smile breathed in prayer. It may be you hand them a tract that explains the gospel for them to read later. It may be that you offer a word of praise as you are passing through the checkout counter. It may be that you actively listen to those who express a difficult day and then offer to pray for them.

2. It may be that you write out a personal presentation of the gospel and have it copied so you can distribute it to those you encounter. I have found that this one thing really helps to set in your mind what exactly it is that you believe. You may want to have your pastor or some other leader in your church to help you evaluate the contents of your writing.

3. It could be that you take advantage of writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper expressing biblical views on any number of cultural concerns.

4. It could be that you take notice of the obituary column and send note of prayer to those who have lost loved ones recently.

5. It could be that you volunteer to spend time in your church's prayer room praying for the lost in your area and around the world.

These are just a few ideas that you could develop to help you be a faithful proclaimer of the good news. Certainly Paul had developed a way in his day to share about Christ with everyone he met so he could say that he was free from the blood of all men because he had not shunned to declare the whole counsel of God to them. Let us also be among those who have been found faithful.

A word of warning though, if you go on record as belonging to Christ and set your heart to declare the gospel expect difficulty to begin to visit you since you have now decided to go on the offensive against the enemy.

Join with me and others who have set our hearts on declaring the good news of the gospel until the Lord comes for us. I want my last words in this life to be, "I urge you to repent and turn to Christ."
SunSundayJanJanuary10th2010 January 8, 2010
Posted Sunday, January 10 2010 @ 9 AM byPhil Nelson Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment
Acts 20:22-24 (NIV)
22 "And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there.
23 I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me.
24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me--the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.
Yesterday I did something I have been praying about for some time. I was not a believer when I graduated from high school 35 years ago and over he years I have often prayed about how to share Christ with my graduating class of 1975. I knew that there would be some repercussions from sharing about Christ and I was somewhat concerned about that but as I have watched our culture continue to spiral out of moral truth I decided yesterday that the time was now.

I penned a letter that I sent to everyone by e-mail yesterday. It went out to about 200 of my former classmates. Today I received one letter back so far telling me that they were glad I had found religion but they found it offensive that I would use such an e-mail list to proselytize my classmates. At the end of the letter they did wish me a happy new year.

This response got me to thinking more about the necessity of the gospel. As I have been reading several biographies of those who have gone before us and those who have lost their lives for the sake of the gospel I was at once convicted and challenged to no longer be silent with the gospel.

I began to think what it would be like to stand next to our brothers and sisters across the history of the church at the end of time and hear them ask us what we had suffered for the cause of Christ. They may tell us of their scars and the life they had lived and the cost they paid and then it would be our turn and the question would come, “What scars do you have to show for your confession of Christ in your day?”

I thought for a moment and knew at once something was terribly wrong. What scars do I have to show for my walk with the Lord? Possibly a few that think I am crazy for believing in such "Nonsense." Every time I step onto an elevator I find myself grow timid, I step into a room of unbelievers and feel afraid because I do not want them to think I am a fool. My silence has been too deafening, my courage too lacking. I believe it is no longer time for us to be silent about the Gospel.

To be sure we must live lives that demonstrate the truth of the gospel. We should pray for our enemies and love those who despitefully use us, but we should not stop at that we must speak the gospel. There was an old preacher who was thought very wise when he said to his congregation, "Preach the Gospel, and if necessary use words." When I first heard that I thought to myself, “What a nice statement.”

It sounded good in my ears and gave me a sense of rest. I no longer had to share the truths of the faith I just had to live a good moral life led by the Spirit. What a breath of fresh air, I thought.

I could not have been more wrong. The gospel is a matter of words, right words, and right doctrine. To only live a moral life is to reject the very gospel we seek to proclaim. The one who gave us the gospel speaks from His Word, Isaiah 40:9 (NIV)
9 You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, "Here is your God!"

The salvation of those who will rust in Christ is dependent on preachers being sent. Romans 10:13-17 informs us that it is the preaching of the Word that is heard in the ear that produces faith in the redeemed. Words are absolutely essential to this ministry that God has called us to. Without words being spoken there will be no faith be exercised.

But we also must know this that when we begin to speak these words the enemy will do whatever he can to shut our mouths. Let us labor to be as the early disciples and say that we cannot help but speak of the things which we have seen and heard. O God may you open our mouths even more in these days so the dead can hear and live again.

Speaking up for the Gospel,
ThuThursdayJanJanuary7th2010 January 5, 2010
Posted Thursday, January 07 2010 @ 1 PM byPhil Nelson Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment
Luke 15:20 (NIV)
20 So he got up and went to his father. "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

What is necessary to understand for a full and meaningful walk with the Lord in this world? Some may answer, “Your theology must be perfect. You must not have any unworthy thoughts of God." Others may respond, “Make sure your life is ordered only be the Scriptures and that you possess no unwholesome practices in you." Still others reply, “Care not for anything but that you are saved and worry not about such things as theology, behavior or the like, and just live your life."

A man who was well known for his rejection and open ridicule of the Christian faith and its dictates would spend the first almost thirty years in complete wanton disregard for the truths of the gospel. He would live as a reprobate and encourage others in the same way. Even though he had been spared numerous times from certain death on the high seas and in ordinary life routines he would not turn to Christ.

He had attempted a few occasions of living the Christian life but all to no avail. These turns would only last a few months or at best a couple of years but he would once again return each time to greater reprobation. What would be his hope? From where would he find his deliverance? He tried to turn to the churches of his day only to find false teachers filling her pulpits. He tried reading books on religion or philosophy but nothing seemed to work. It would be a gradual awakening over time after being delivered from certain death on the high seas one more time that he would begin in earnest to seek after this God who had spared his life time and again.

How would God receive such a person who had spent the first part of his life living in wanton disregard for the things of God? The text before us today answers much to the shock of the world, that our Great Redeemer does not wait for us to come home he runs after us and finds us in the far country and as we turn to him he runs towards us to receive us. Can this be true? Yes Church this is the truth which we have received and on which we stake our claim. The good news of the gospel is that when we once see the utter hopelessness of our condition we will find our Savior running toward us with open arms.

O Holy Spirit come and bring your conviction of sin that we might see our utter brokenness so we too can be rescued as the great hymn writer John Newton who penned these wonderful words for us, “Amazing grace how sweet the sound the that saved a wretch like me, I once was lost but now am found was blind but now I see.”

Proclaiming such an Amazing Grace,
ThuThursdayJanJanuary7th2010 January 4, 2010
Posted Thursday, January 07 2010 @ 12 PM byPhil Nelson Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment
 2 Samuel 7:28 (NIV)
28 O Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your words are trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant.

How shall we face the coming year with all of it uncertainties and trials? Let us take courage from the text of Scripture in front of us today. Our God is sovereign and he controls everything in his universe, nothing, not even evil can occur without his divine permission and direction. Such thoughts are perhaps too marvelous to us to grasp and yet they are true nonetheless. Whatever God has promised will come to pass no matter how many forces are aligned against such truths.

It was this confidence in the Word of God that would compel Adoniram Judson to cross the thousands of miles of ocean to set his course toward India and Burma. He would leave his homeland and family and travel with his wife, Ann and together they would give birth to several children that would all die under the harsh tropical climate. Along with the loss of his children, Adoniram would see his own beloved wife, Ann, taken by the same diseases.

How shall one fare when faced with such hardships? Hear in his own words how Adoniram viewed the sovereignty of God which would sustain him on the foreign field for decades while he would tarry for the Master often alone on foreign soil. "If I had not felt certain," he says, "that every additional trial was ordered by infinite love and mercy, I could not have survived my accumulated sufferings." Judson joined with Paul in declaring: "The love of Christ constraineth me ... Therefore I will glory in reproaches, in persecution and in distresses for Christ's sake."

We all face many trials in this life but none so hard that the sovereign God cannot keep us in the midst of such trials. He can deliver us from such trials but his most often way is to sustain us in His Word through such trials. Let us go forth into this new year with the confidence that the sovereignty of God will keep us, for he who commanded he light to shine out of darkness has shined into our hearts and he has already given us the knowledge of God in the face of Christ our Savior. If we have such a treasure like this then let us face the future with unwavering confidence.

Facing the Future under the Sovereign God’s Care,
MonMondayJanJanuary4th2010 January 3, 2010
Posted Monday, January 04 2010 @ 2 PM byPhil Nelson Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment
Philippians 3:12-14 (RSV)
12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brethren, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

In this day of success driven ministries and church growth conferences and principles of how to grow large churches and build thriving ministries I find some things very disturbing, something of vital importance is being neglected. I just finished reading a brief biography of Dwight L. Moody and found things in his life that were very visible at the outset that never left his ministry.

At the beginning of his ministry Mr. Moody heard a preacher raise the question, “The world has yet to see what God can do with one man that is totally committed to him.” Upon hearing that it is told that D.L. Moody said to himself and a few gathered around him that he wanted to be that man. It would be his practice from then on to rise early every morning for prayer and serious Bible study. Most mornings would find him up before 4 a.m. studying in his small prayer room.

This practice of significant Bible study would be the foundation on which God would build a worldwide ministry. Out of his commitment to serious Bible study he discovered the regular discipline of intercessory prayer. It would become his lifelong thrill to take every concern to his Heavenly Father and seek to prove the reality of God by his own prayers. He would often call many of those who supported his ministry to times of prayer and fasting for specific meetings in the cities he would travel in.

Out of his continued walking with God he came upon the commitment to not let a day go by where he did not talk with at least one person about their need for Christ. There would be some days when he would be preparing for bed and realize that he did not speak with someone about their need for Christ and he would get up and go about the city seeking to find one person whom he could share his Savior with.

I suppose if you were to travel with Mr. Moody you have been somewhat embarrassed by his constant pleading with people to put their faith in Christ. The conversation would not cover the topics of the day but would often turn to the truths of Scripture. Gossip would not do around Mr. Moody for there was too little time and too many lost persons around to spend it in trivial conversations.

May we set our course like that of Mr. Moody and set our sights much higher because of the path he has set for us, which in reality is only the path that our Savior has set before us. Let us seek to study and pray and share as if we had no more time before our Savior would come for us.

God give us the same spirit that was given to Mr. Moody, in our day,
MonMondayJanJanuary4th2010 January 2, 2010
Posted Monday, January 04 2010 @ 1 PM byPhil Nelson Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment
Matthew 28:18-20 (RSV)
18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age."
How shall this year fare when the calendar is finalized at the end of 2010? What promise can we take with us into this coming year that will sustain us and give us hope in the midst of challenging times? I suggest we take this verse from Matthew with us for it has been the foundation and the support of two of my favorite missionaries of all time, John Paton and David Livingstone.

David Livingstone was often heard to say, that this text is the word of a gentleman and I shall trust the word of such a gentleman. John Paton learned early on in his young childhood that he could take this promise and live off of it because he had witnessed his father living off such a promise every day of his life as he led his family in worship at the start and end of each day.

It would be this promise that would sustain John Paton as he went to minister among cannibals in the New Hebrides islands in the middle to late 1800’s. For our consideration today let me share one day in the life of John Paton as he jived among violent cannibal tribes.

The tribes that Paton had gone to minster among had circled around him several times to take his life. The following is one such record. “On one occasion when Paton was preaching in one of the villages, three sacred men stood up and declared that they could kill him by Nahak or sorcery, if only they could get possession of any piece of fruit or food of which he had eaten. Being thus challenged, he resolved, with his Lord's help, to strike a blow at the tremendous power for evil wielded by the sorcerers. After taking a bite out of three plums, he handed one of them to each of the sacred men. The natives were astounded at his action and momentarily expected to see him fall over dead, as the sorcerers proceeded with their incantations. With many gesticulations and mutterings, they rolled up in leaves the three plums, kindled a sacred fire and burned them. "Stir up your gods to help you," urged Paton. "I am not killed. In fact I am perfectly well."

At length the sorcerers said that they would call all the sacred men together and that they would kill Missi before the next Sabbath arrived. Paton told the people he would meet them at that same place the next Sabbath morning. Great excitement prevailed on the island. Every day messengers came from different quarters inquiring if the white man was ill. Sabbath morning he appeared before the people in sound health and said: "Now you must admit that your gods have no power over me and that I am protected by the true and living God. He is the only God who can hear and answer prayer. He loves all human beings, despite their great wickedness, and He sent His dear Son, Jesus, to save from sin all who will believe and follow Him." (Copyright 2009 www.WholesomeWords.org)

There would be many other times in Paton and Livingstone and countless other missionary lives that would stake all their hope on this one text. It served the faith of those who have gone before us well so let us take this text and set our affections on it as well as we seek to make the gospel known in our day.

Staking My Claim on his promise, “I am with you always.”
FriFridayJanJanuary1st2010 January 1, 2010
Posted Friday, January 01 2010 @ 11 PM byPhil Nelson Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment
Philippians 3:12-14 (NIV)
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

With the new year in front of us and the past year over what shall be our first thought for this new year? Let me suggest one from Scripture from our text this morning. We have not yet arrived for there is much still to do so we press on to take hold of Christ. Though we have walked with Christ for years we have not yet reached our full maturity so we press on. We may have faltered many a time in the past but we will not give up we will press on. We may not have all that others have but still we press on not for ourselves as much as for those who have yet to hear the gospel of our Lord.

We come to this new year with thousands of people groups still untouched by the gospel of Christ so we press on for their sakes. There are those in our families and friendships that are still without his knowledge so we press on for them. There are places where our Lord is not glorified so we press on, not considering that we have attained anything for there are still millions who have not heard so we press on.

Let this new year be the year that you press on toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Brothers and sisters that high calling is to be found in him declaring his glory when he comes for you. Let us labor so to speak and live that the last words that form the breath of our mouths be words of praise and adoration so the nations can see that he is faithful to the end just as he promised.

Still Pressing one the Upward Way,
FriFridayJanJanuary1st2010 December 31, 2009
Posted Friday, January 01 2010 @ 11 PM byPhil Nelson Tagged No tags 0 comments Add comment
2 Timothy 4:6-8 (NIV)
6 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

As we come to the end of another year and look back over the past months we must ask; Have we grown any in our walk with our Savior? Are we any better off this year than last in our fight against sin and evil? Perhaps some have made progress that they can see, but there are many others who look back over the past year and see nothing but more of the same; many frail attempts at remaining stedfast in the faith, few opportunities taken to further the gospel of Christ, many times of weakness and frailty.

Do not allow these times of failure to drag you down, even these times will be used by our God to grow in us a desire to depart this life and be with Christ. Paul says that he finished the race and kept the faith. Just what did this mean to him as he approached the end of his life? Did it mean that he never faltered from the course, he never wavered from his appointed task, he never sinned against his Lord after his conversion?

Certainly this cannot be what Paul means for he writes in the same letter that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners of whom he was the chief.

If it does not mean these things then what can it mean for us? Notice the phrase, “to all who long for his appearing.” Who is it that longs for his appearing? It is only those who face the constant struggle against sin and evil and find that they grow weary of such battles, they really long to be free from such struggles but God has deemed it necessary for them to endure hardships and pain and difficulty so that they will love his appearing when it comes.

So as you look back over this year take careful stock of all the sin that you have been guilty of and let it mount up. Then take all of this and turn your eyes upon Jesus and look full in his wonderful face and you will find that the things of this world will no longer hold the power over you. You will find yourself longing for heaven so you can be done with sin and be in your Saviors presence for the rest of forever.

Go ahead and drink deeply of his grace this last day of 2009 and then turn your eyes toward the future with the great expectancy that it may be this year when we will all be gathered around the throne in worship without any sin to hinder our love for God ever again. O what a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see. Until then we walk with God through the pain and through the struggle. Let us be faithful as was Paul to always long for his return.

Looking Upward Until He comes,
Daily Devotionsby Devotions for your daily Bible readings written by Pastor Phil Nelson. If you would like a copy of an older devotional, please contact the church office.
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