The Shepherd’s Staff: Light In The Darkness

The Shepherd’s Staff: Light In The Darkness

     I imagine you’ve heard someone describe the actions of another person who is acting in a questionable way, like this, “That guy is completely in the dark about what he is doing.” That person was blind to their actions, not realizing what they were doing or even why they were doing it. Others around them could see the consequences of their actions and how they kept stumbling through life, but that person was oblivious to it. He or she could just not see it, they were completely in the dark.

         Well, this world, and the god of this world, Satan, lives in the domain of darkness and for millenniums most of mankind was living in that domain. Men and women were living as if they were in darkness, not seeing the actions they were taking were leading them into destruction. They were not aware of the spiritual stumbling blocks, the potholes, the pits or the chasm in front of them. Those things were invisible to them because they were blind to them. The god of this world had blinded them so that they could not see, nor did they really want to see. They loved the darkness because they did evil things and believed that they could hide in the darkness.

         THEN, God shattered the darkness by sending the Light into the darkness 2000 years ago.

A little child was born to insignificant parents, in an insignificant village in Israel and in an insignificant moment in the history of the Roman empire. BUT, that baby was the fulfillment of the prophecy made by Isaiah about 700 years prior to His birth, “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them” (Isaiah 9:2, NASB) and, “To bring open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon and those who dwell in darkness from the prison” (Isaiah 42:7, NASB).

         Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world, he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” (John 8:12, NASB) Luke records Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus where Paul hears Jesus tell him that he has been chosen to be a witness to the Gentiles,“to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me” (Acts 26;!8, NASB).

         However, the Apostle John says, “this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil” (John 3:19, NASB). Those are some of the most tragic words you can read. Just think of it this way. Imagine a person who is blind from birth, who is told that there is a procedure that a surgeon has developed which will give that person 20/20 vision and that this surgeon has performed countless successful surgeries. On top of that, this surgeon is willing to perform the surgery for free, as soon as this person asks him to do it. Imagine the blind person saying, “I love my blindness! I’m used to it. As a matter of fact, my other senses have been further developed as a result of my blindness. No thanks. I don’t want your free gift! It may be good for you, but not for me.”

 

         Do you remember the years you lived when you were blind and living in darkness? Do you remember the times when you heard about Jesus but were enjoying your life of sin? BUT, remember the moment of faith when you reached out and received the gift of sight as the Great Physician performed that supernatural surgery miraculously healing your spiritual blindness? You immediately saw the Light and He now lives in you for eternity. Paul encouraged the church at Thessalonica with these words, “for you are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of night nor of darkness” (1 Thessalonians 5:5, NASB).

         Paul exhorted the Ephesians, “you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord, walk as children of Light” (Ephesians 5:8, NASB) and to the Romans he said that he was “confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness” (Romans 2:19, NASB).

     Praise God that the Light has come into the world as a little child and you have received that Light by faith. Now that you are Light in the Lord, be a guide and let your light so shine that others may comprehend the true meaning of Christmas. The Light has come and has dispelled the darkness to all who will receive the Light.

The Shepherd’s Staff The One Who Overcomes Shall Not Be Hurt By the Second Death

Persecution will not cease but will increase as we near the end times and the Great Tribulation.

The Shepherd’s Staff: Granted

The word “granted” may be obvious in meaning but, it is packed with incomprehensible meaning in Paul’s usage.

The Shepherd’s Staff: Devoted

Is the future of the church defined by a building or its people? What can we glean from the New Testament about this?

The Shepherd’s Staff: My Rock

With all that is going on in the early days of 2021, we need to have our perspective directed in the right place.

The Shepherd’s Staff: Each Day is the First Day of the Rest of Your Life

With a new year rapidly approaching us, I wanted to bring you some encouragement as you anticipate the unknown 365 days ahead

The Shepherd’s Staff: Light In The Darkness

A little child was born to insignificant parents, in an insignificant village in Israel and in an insignificant moment in the history of the Roman empire. BUT, that baby was the fulfilment of the prophecy made by Isaiah about 700 years prior to His birth

The Shepherd’s Staff: He Emptied Himself For You and For Me

In the midst of singing carols, decorating trees, exchanging gifts, feasting on pastries and roasted meats, and gathering together with other believers-in person or online-to worship the One Who was born 2 centuries ago, there is a deeper, and more profound aspect of...

The Shepherd’s Staff: The Blessed Hope

If you have ever received correspondence from me, I typically sign it with the term, “Maranatha!”. The term is found in 1 Corinthians 16:22

The Shepherd’s Staff: Love Letters

Why am I writing this to you? Because I want you to experience the presence of the living God, Who is like
no other god created by man.

2020 Advent Devotional

Advent is a special time to celebrate the coming of Jesus Christ into the world as Lord and Savior. This booklet is written by members of Belmont to encourage and help us as we celebrate this special time.

The Shepherd’s Staff: He Emptied Himself For You and For Me

The Shepherd’s Staff: He Emptied Himself For You and For Me

In the midst of singing carols, decorating trees, exchanging gifts, feasting on pastries and roasted meats, and gathering together with other believers-in person or online-to worship the One Who was born 2 centuries ago, there is a deeper, and more profound aspect of Christmas, which is beyond our comprehension. It is a theological description recorded by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the church in Philippi. “He emptied Himself.

Hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus, the prophet Isaiah revealed this prophecy in 7:14,”Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.” (NASB). This verse was quoted in Matthew 1:23, where the definition of the Hebrew name, Immanuel, is translated as, “God with us.” The miraculous birth of Jesus by a virgin is defined by theologians as the “incarnation”, which means “God becoming flesh”. “The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14a, NASB). The term for this miracle is the “hypostatic union”. It is defined as “the mystical union of Christ’s humanity and divinity in one individual existence”.

 Now that we have delved into an incomprehensible truth, the question arises as to the motivation and sacrifice inherent with the incarnation. We have a simple answer to the motivation in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (ESV). Other centered, unselfish and unconditional love was the untarnished motivation of the Father to send His Son. It was also the motivation of the Son as explained by Paul in Philippians 2:3-8, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not [merely] look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, [and] being made in the likeness of men.” Paul describes the attitude of Christ Jesus as humbling Himself by regarding us as more important than Himself. He went to the extreme of denying all His glory as the eternal, immortal, sovereign God and taking on the form of a sinless, mortal, human being. His decision was motivated by agape love, that inherent attribute which defined Him.

 He emptied Himself. Did that mean that the Son of God discarded His deity during the time He was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary and walked the earth for some 33 years until He voluntarily died on a cross? Not at all! It meant that He stepped out of the perfect realm of Heaven into the realm of sinful humankind. It meant that the Creator moved in with His creation for a time. It meant that He left behind the environment of being in the very throne room of the Triune God, with all of its glory, into a corrupt environment of hatred and evil, the kingdom of the god of this world, Satan. The term used by Paul, “emptied himself,” has been defined by Dr. Charles C. Ryrie, “His incarnation does not mean that He surrendered any attributes of deity, but that He took on the limitations of humanity. This involved a veiling of His preincarnate glory and the voluntary waiving of some of His divine prerogatives during the time He was on earth.” I cannot imagine what that meant personally to my Lord. The Son of God, along with the Father and the Holy Spirit are the focal point of the universe. To voluntarily remove Himself from that glory, that incomprehensible fullness of being, is beyond our comprehension. The Godhead is to receive all glory and honor based upon the fact that the Triune God is before all, and in all, and will be forevermore, the only true God.

 Imagine Queen Elizabeth voluntarily moving out of Buckingham Palace, becoming an insignificant, homeless, impoverished woman in an obscure village in England. Imagine what she would feel like in that environment after having been served hand and foot since she was a child in the  royal family. That will never compare to what it was like for the Son of God. The most profound truth of all this is in the purpose of our Savior and His resulting reward. “Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:8-9, NASB)         BOW DOWN TODAY AND WORSHIP HIM!

Bill Olsen, Elder

The One Who Overcomes Will Rule with Authority

According to the trending world view of progressive America, we should not state that this kind of lifestyle is contrary to Biblical truth. We are ‘intolerant’ if we do.

The Shepherd’s Staff The One Who Overcomes Shall Not Be Hurt By the Second Death

Persecution will not cease but will increase as we near the end times and the Great Tribulation.

The Shepherd’s Staff: Granted

The word “granted” may be obvious in meaning but, it is packed with incomprehensible meaning in Paul’s usage.

The Shepherd’s Staff: Devoted

Is the future of the church defined by a building or its people? What can we glean from the New Testament about this?

The Shepherd’s Staff: My Rock

With all that is going on in the early days of 2021, we need to have our perspective directed in the right place.

The Shepherd’s Staff: Each Day is the First Day of the Rest of Your Life

With a new year rapidly approaching us, I wanted to bring you some encouragement as you anticipate the unknown 365 days ahead

The Shepherd’s Staff: Light In The Darkness

A little child was born to insignificant parents, in an insignificant village in Israel and in an insignificant moment in the history of the Roman empire. BUT, that baby was the fulfilment of the prophecy made by Isaiah about 700 years prior to His birth

The Shepherd’s Staff: He Emptied Himself For You and For Me

In the midst of singing carols, decorating trees, exchanging gifts, feasting on pastries and roasted meats, and gathering together with other believers-in person or online-to worship the One Who was born 2 centuries ago, there is a deeper, and more profound aspect of...

The Shepherd’s Staff: The Blessed Hope

If you have ever received correspondence from me, I typically sign it with the term, “Maranatha!”. The term is found in 1 Corinthians 16:22

The Shepherd’s Staff: Love Letters

Why am I writing this to you? Because I want you to experience the presence of the living God, Who is like
no other god created by man.

The Shepherd’s Staff: The Blessed Hope

The Shepherd’s Staff: The Blessed Hope

If you have ever received correspondence from me, I typically sign it with the term, “Maranatha!”. The term is found in 1 Corinthians 16:22, “If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed. Maranatha.” I understand that you may feel that it is a strange way to sign correspondence, but bear with me and let me explain the context of the verse and the meaning of the term, “Maranatha”.

The context is the entire letter to the church of Corinth. That church was one of the most gifted churches of the New Testament.

However, Paul’s letter records numerous incidents where those gifts were used for self exaltation, not for the glory of the Lord. Chapter 13 describes what love is by contrasting it with the use of spiritual gifts without love. Paul uses exaggeration to admonish their use of gifts without love. He says in 13:3, for example, “And if I give all my possessions to feed [the poor,] and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.” They were using their many gifts for the wrong motives. In addition to the misuse of gifts, Paul admonishes the church for allowing incest to go on without church discipline. He writes these potent words in chapter 5; 1-2, “It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife. You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst.” They were arrogant in that they were proud of the cheap grace they had shown toward this man by letting him continue in his sin, instead of loving him and disciplining his blatant transgression against the holiness of God and the church.

There was a multitude of fleshly and divisive activities going on which was contrary to the many blessings that the Holy Spirit had bestowed upon them. The situation was bringing reproach against Jesus Christ and His church. So, having concluded his greetings, Paul says, “If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed.” That means he was leaving it up to the Lord to deal with those who had flagrantly sinned against God’s holiness. Paul made that very clear in verse 5:5 where he wrote, “[I have decided] to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” Paul held God’s holiness very high but he knew that even after confronting sin, believers do not always confess and repent. Paul grieved over that reality, but he knew that God will discipline His children in His own way and time.

So, having said those very sobering words, Paul includes the very positive Aramaic word, “Maranatha”. It is translated as, “Our Lord. Come”. What a change in perspective! After writing this very difficult letter to a church that is loved by the Lord Jesus Christ and Paul, he recognizes that the future hope of the return of the Lord Jesus Christ will set all things right.  Paul was deeply saddened concerning the church, which was still immature and should be eating solid spiritual food, but were still drinking spiritual milk meant for the babes in Christ. There were those who did not love the Lord, which meant they were not obedient to His Word, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Paul is longing for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ and the perfect new heavens and new earth, where Christ will reign on the throne of David in the new Jerusalem and there will be perfect peace on earth. That is our “Blessed Hope.” It is going to materialize one day before our very eyes. All of God’s children will experience the answer to the phrase in the Lord’s Prayer where Jesus instructed His disciples to pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

I can only imagine what that will be like and my imagination isn’t large enough to do justice to the reality. I know that it will be a physical, tangible, eternal existence on a physical earth, sinless, perfect in every way, inexplicably enjoyable, perfect in relationships with other saints, and most of all, God will live with us. Heaven will be literally, on earth! We will see the risen Savior face to face and be able to personally converse with Him. This eternal life will not have an end to it. Everything we know on this earth has a beginning and an end. The new heaven and new earth will have no end. It will go on and on into eternity, something we cannot comprehend. Nevertheless, we will live in this new world. It is a reality, not a wishful dream. Just close your eyes and try to imagine being in that environment for ever and ever and ever. That’s why I write, “Maranatha!”, as a conclusion to my correspondence.

Maranatha!

Bill Olsen, Elder 

The One Who Overcomes Will Rule with Authority

According to the trending world view of progressive America, we should not state that this kind of lifestyle is contrary to Biblical truth. We are ‘intolerant’ if we do.

The Shepherd’s Staff The One Who Overcomes Shall Not Be Hurt By the Second Death

Persecution will not cease but will increase as we near the end times and the Great Tribulation.

The Shepherd’s Staff: Granted

The word “granted” may be obvious in meaning but, it is packed with incomprehensible meaning in Paul’s usage.

The Shepherd’s Staff: Devoted

Is the future of the church defined by a building or its people? What can we glean from the New Testament about this?

The Shepherd’s Staff: My Rock

With all that is going on in the early days of 2021, we need to have our perspective directed in the right place.

The Shepherd’s Staff: Each Day is the First Day of the Rest of Your Life

With a new year rapidly approaching us, I wanted to bring you some encouragement as you anticipate the unknown 365 days ahead

The Shepherd’s Staff: Light In The Darkness

A little child was born to insignificant parents, in an insignificant village in Israel and in an insignificant moment in the history of the Roman empire. BUT, that baby was the fulfilment of the prophecy made by Isaiah about 700 years prior to His birth

The Shepherd’s Staff: He Emptied Himself For You and For Me

In the midst of singing carols, decorating trees, exchanging gifts, feasting on pastries and roasted meats, and gathering together with other believers-in person or online-to worship the One Who was born 2 centuries ago, there is a deeper, and more profound aspect of...

The Shepherd’s Staff: The Blessed Hope

If you have ever received correspondence from me, I typically sign it with the term, “Maranatha!”. The term is found in 1 Corinthians 16:22

The Shepherd’s Staff: Love Letters

Why am I writing this to you? Because I want you to experience the presence of the living God, Who is like
no other god created by man.

The Shepherd’s Staff: Love Letters

The Shepherd’s Staff: Love Letters

When I was in the United States Air Force, my future wife, Evelyn, and I wrote letters to each other every day of the week. They were handwritten and stamped “snail mail” letters. Evelyn even used a wax seal on her letters and were anointed with her perfume. When I opened my mailbox I could smell her virtual presence. I couldn’t wait to go to the mailroom and dial in my four digit lock code to open that little door to collect those precious love letters.
Sometimes, due to holidays and weekend schedules, there would be no letter in the box and I would be crushed. But, I would go back to my barracks and reread the previous letters.

We were just teenagers, but our love was intense and we were exclusively devoted to one another. Those letters were read over and over again to the point that I knew which ones had the content that I needed to reread in order to pick me up when I was lonely for her presence. My memory of the times I was with her were precious, but to read her words made me experience her presence in a more substantial way. It was her words, written in her style, in her handwriting, and with her scent. We would write about what we had done that day, the thoughts we were having, the hopes and dreams and plans we had for our relationship, the frustrations and hurts we were experiencing in our separate lives, what we had to eat, what we were wearing. We shared everything with each other. Total transparency and honesty. We no longer write letters to each other, because we don’t have to say, “Goodbye!”, and part from each other as we did decades ago. We thank God daily that we now live in physical presence with each other.

When I got saved as a young teenager, several years before my relationship with Evelyn, I had that same experience with the love letters I read from God in my Bible. They did not come in my mailbox, so I did not have to wait for the mailman to deliver them. Those letters were right there with me in my Bible. I could read them any time I wanted to, just like the letters I saved from Evelyn. As I read His letters to me, I experienced His presence in a real way. They were not just words on a paper, they were words of an intimate relationship between me and my Heavenly Father, my Savior, and my Comforter. 

He told me about His love for me, what He had done for me, about His plans for me, His emotions towards me, His total knowledge of me and His total acceptance of me in spite of knowing my sins and shortcomings and immaturity. There was total transparency and honesty. I did not write letters to Him but I did speak to Him through prayer, memorization, and meditation. I rehearsed our initial encounter when He opened my eyes to my sin and then offered me forgiveness. Our relationship has grown through the years as I have read and reread His love letters to me. I continue to reread His love letters with the anticipation of the Day when I will see Him face to face and live in His physical presence for eternity.

Why am I writing this to you? Because I want you to experience the presence of the living God, Who is like no other god created by man. Our God, YHWH, is a personal God, who loves us and has revealed Himself to us in love letters, the Bible so that we can have an intimate relationship with Him. It breaks my heart when I hear from men and women who tell me that they don’t read God’s Word on a regular basis. They tell me that they are too busy to sit down and read. They tell me that they don’t like to read. They tell me, that if they do read, they don’t understand what they are reading. They tell me that they hear what the Bible says when they go to church or listen to a sermon, or
watch an online service. I wonder if they would leave love letters (or emails) from their boyfriend, girlfriend, fiancè, or fiancèe sitting in the mailbox, with little or no time or interest to read them. What kind of love does that demonstrate towards the one sending the letter (or email)? What kind of relationship is that? How would the writer feel knowing that their communication is not worth their time reading?

We, the Church of Jesus Christ, are compared to a wife in Ephesians 5. As individual members of the Church, how is it that many believers don’t devote themselves to reading the love letters from their husband, Jesus Christ? They have lost their first love, as did the church of Ephesus in Revelation 2:1,4 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden
lampstands, says this:…’I have [this] against you, that you have left your first love.’” Our Lord Jesus Christ responded in this way to the church at Ephesus in verse 5, “Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place– unless you repent.” That is the consequence of insulting our Lord by not reading His love letters. If you are one of those who does not love to read the love letters from your Savior, please take this admonishment and confess it to your Lover, and then repent and dive into what He has written to you. Then respond in love by doing the works He has prepared for you (Eph. 2:9).

Bill Olsen, Elder

 

The Shepherd’s Staff: Each Day is the First Day of the Rest of Your Life

With a new year rapidly approaching us, I wanted to bring you some encouragement as you anticipate the unknown 365 days ahead

The Shepherd’s Staff: Light In The Darkness

A little child was born to insignificant parents, in an insignificant village in Israel and in an insignificant moment in the history of the Roman empire. BUT, that baby was the fulfilment of the prophecy made by Isaiah about 700 years prior to His birth

The Shepherd’s Staff: He Emptied Himself For You and For Me

In the midst of singing carols, decorating trees, exchanging gifts, feasting on pastries and roasted meats, and gathering together with other believers-in person or online-to worship the One Who was born 2 centuries ago, there is a deeper, and more profound aspect of...

The Shepherd’s Staff: The Blessed Hope

If you have ever received correspondence from me, I typically sign it with the term, “Maranatha!”. The term is found in 1 Corinthians 16:22

The Shepherd’s Staff: W.I.F.E

The Shepherd’s Staff: W.I.F.E

“A happy wife is a happy life!” Many of you have heard that little catchphrase and most husbands would say, “AMEN!” to that. Well, I believe this following statement also warrants an “AMEN!” “A happy church is a happy life!” Let me explain myself. A happy wife is one who is very pleased with the relationship she has with her husband. She not only sees actions of love from her husband, but she is confident in the devotion he has for her, which is based upon the commitment that was made by him to love and cherish her until death separates them. The relationship is a dynamic one where he lovingly sacrifices himself for her and she lovingly respects and submits to his leadership. A marriage based on devotion to the basic foundations of the ‘one flesh’ relationship will produce joy, blessing and growth.

Now let me digress here a little. We all know what a wife is, but I want to tell you what a W.I.F.E. is. Paul uses the physical analogy of marriage to describe the relationship between the Lord Jesus Christ and the Church of Jesus Christ. He says in Ephesians 5 that Jesus is the Bridegroom (husband) and the Church is the Bride (wife). We all know what a physical wife is, but what is a spiritual church?

First of all, the worldwide Church is comprised of all those who have individually placed their trust in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins and the gift of eternal life. It is worldwide in scope and includes all who have believed since the day of Pentecost and who will believe in the future. Second of all, the worldwide Church meets in physical locations known as local churches, as it was with the church at Corinth, the church at Ephesus, the church at Colossae and the church at Rome. The Greek term for ‘church’ is ‘εκλησσια’ or ‘ecclesia’ and means ‘assembly’. The writer of the book of Hebrews exhorts the dispersed believers with these words, “not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:25, NASB)  The local church is a physical gathering of believers in a certain locale. In the book of Acts, the local church met in the synagogues and in houses. They also had godly men (elders) who were appointed by the Apostles or by their disciples, like Paul, Timothy and Titus.  These local churches “were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” (Acts 2:42, NASB) These practices, which characterized the early church, are basic practices which are to define local churches today. Hence, an online meeting without physical assembling is not a church. It may have believers watching and interacting through chats, but it is not a church.

From that description in Acts, the acronym W.I.F.E. is derived “Worship”, “Instruction”, “Fellowship, and “Evangelism”. The early church was devoted to worshipping in prayer, they listened to the teaching of God’s Word, they enjoyed meals together with the Lord’s Supper, sharing with one another their material possessions so that no one had needs and they witnessed to others concerning the love of God in Christ Jesus and His death and resurrection. Consequently the local churches multiplied and there was great joy in the midst of Roman suppression and Jewish persecution. They were devoted because they had experienced the new birth and the new relationship they had with the living God through His Son. They were devoted because they now had the peace of God and hope for the future and the assurance of their salvation. Everything else became secondary to a personal, daily, and vibrant relationship with God. Having like minded believers gave them the opportunity to practice the ‘one another’ exhortations which were later recorded in the epistles. These new believers supernaturally exercised them because they were so grateful to Jesus and empowered by the Holy Spirit to freely and cheerfully live that lifestyle.

 So, in the 21st century, the Church worldwide is still the Body of Christ and family of God. In addition, local churches existing all around the globe are still defined as they were in the Word of God. However, due to numerous factors, the local church in America is sadly deficient in being a “happy” church, thereby not experiencing a happy life. Too many true believers are not enjoying the abundant life which Jesus promised in John 10:10. Too many of these believers are satisfied that they are going to heaven when they die, but their priority in life is not seeking the kingdom of God first. They are not willing to die to self and live for Christ. Their salvation is simply, and tragically, “life insurance”. They are not concerned about worshipping the Savior Who bought them, reading and obeying the Word of God, enjoying meaningful fellowship with fellow believers, other than a casual one hour encounter online on Sunday morning, or sharing their salvation experience. How sad! What is our Heavenly Father feeling? That is not a happy or abundant life! Let’s pray for revival!

Bill Olsen, Elder

The One Who Overcomes Will Rule with Authority

According to the trending world view of progressive America, we should not state that this kind of lifestyle is contrary to Biblical truth. We are ‘intolerant’ if we do.

The Shepherd’s Staff The One Who Overcomes Shall Not Be Hurt By the Second Death

Persecution will not cease but will increase as we near the end times and the Great Tribulation.

The Shepherd’s Staff: Granted

The word “granted” may be obvious in meaning but, it is packed with incomprehensible meaning in Paul’s usage.

The Shepherd’s Staff: Devoted

Is the future of the church defined by a building or its people? What can we glean from the New Testament about this?

The Shepherd’s Staff: My Rock

With all that is going on in the early days of 2021, we need to have our perspective directed in the right place.

The Shepherd’s Staff: Each Day is the First Day of the Rest of Your Life

With a new year rapidly approaching us, I wanted to bring you some encouragement as you anticipate the unknown 365 days ahead

The Shepherd’s Staff: Light In The Darkness

A little child was born to insignificant parents, in an insignificant village in Israel and in an insignificant moment in the history of the Roman empire. BUT, that baby was the fulfilment of the prophecy made by Isaiah about 700 years prior to His birth

The Shepherd’s Staff: He Emptied Himself For You and For Me

In the midst of singing carols, decorating trees, exchanging gifts, feasting on pastries and roasted meats, and gathering together with other believers-in person or online-to worship the One Who was born 2 centuries ago, there is a deeper, and more profound aspect of...

The Shepherd’s Staff: The Blessed Hope

If you have ever received correspondence from me, I typically sign it with the term, “Maranatha!”. The term is found in 1 Corinthians 16:22

The Shepherd’s Staff: Love Letters

Why am I writing this to you? Because I want you to experience the presence of the living God, Who is like
no other god created by man.

The Shepherd’s Staff: Hope

The Shepherd’s Staff: Hope

The nation of Israel was God’s chosen people, called by His name. YHWH made covenants with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David, which were eternal, unconditional, and unilateral. Which meant that they could never be broken. He had promised them a nation, a land, and a blessing.

That same God, YHWH, made a covenant with the church through the blood of Jesus Christ, which Jesus initiated at the Last Supper and ratified at the Cross. This new relationship was not revealed in the Old Testament, and it included gentiles, Greeks, and Jews. All who trust in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are also called by His name. That covenant was also eternal, unconditional, and unilateral. The loving and faithful God will never cancel either covenant.

During the Old Testament period, the nation Israel repeatedly disobeyed YHWH and committed spiritual adultery with other gods. There was a period of time in their history, which we call the period of the Judges when the nation of Israel “did what was right in their own eyes.” God disciplined them, they confessed and asked for forgiveness, God forgave, then they repeated the same pattern several times. Finally, God sent the northern kingdom (Israel) into exile in Assyria and subsequently the southern kingdom (Judah) into captivity in Babylon, even after Judah had witnessed God’s judgment to Israel.

The prophet Jeremiah ministered during the last five decades of Judah’s history. During that time, Jeremiah warned Judah of their sin and God’s judgment if they would not repent. His prophecies fell on deaf ears. While his prophecies predicted terrible times for Judah, there was a light in the darkness in chapter 29, where these words are recorded. “For thus says the LORD, ’When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. ’For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ’plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. ’Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. ’You will seek Me and find [Me] when you search for Me with all your heart. ’I will be found by you,’ declares the LORD, ’and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the LORD, ’and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’” That will not be fully realized until Jesus Christ returns in glory and establishes His 1,000 year reign as King, literally sitting on the throne of David in Jerusalem.

 During the Old Testament period, the nation Israel repeatedly disobeyed YHWH and committed spiritual adultery with other gods. There was a period of time in their history, which we call the period of the Judges when the nation of Israel “did what was right in their own eyes.” God disciplined them, they confessed and asked for forgiveness, God forgave, then they repeated the same pattern several times. Finally, God sent the northern kingdom (Israel) into exile in Assyria and subsequently the southern kingdom (Judah) into captivity in Babylon, even after Judah had witnessed God’s judgment to Israel.        

Right now, this nation is doing what is right in its own eyes and it will get worse. We can still be salt and light in a land that has kicked God out of the picture.  The answer is a revival in the Church of Jesus Christ. So, live a day at a time in trustful obedience to the Word of God and hold onto this sure promise, “I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ’plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” My heart is heavy for the Church, but I am encouraged by the Blessed Hope of the imminent return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Maranatha! Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Bill Olsen, Elder

 

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