April Desktop article for Mt. Pleasant Newsletter

“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.  The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.  After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”  (Hebrews 1:1-3)

            I had occasion to need to be in contact with “customer service” for an organization I was doing business with.  I don’t know what your experiences have been, but it seems to me that the term customer service has almost become an oxymoron, (a term of opposites used together for effect).  While my concern was eventually dealt with by a human, the aggravation I had to go through to get to a human left my blood pressure rising.  This is such a contrast for me as my years in my previous vocation in the grocery business, customer services was drilled into us as employees.  You want to talk to someone who not only has the knowledge and ability to handle your concerns, but has the compassion and interest to deal with you in a kind manner.

            I’m glad that when it comes to our faith, when it comes to the most important issues of life, we have a kind, compassionate heavenly Father who loves us and is interested in us individually.  We don’t talk to a computer voice that doesn’t understand us.  We don’t have to go through several people, none of which can help us, until we finally get so frustrated that we give up.  Nor do we have to wait “on hold” until the “next available customer service” person can take our call.

            We are able to go to the Father, through the Son, who is the “exact representation of his being,” who is “sustaining all things by his powerful word.”  In chapter two of this same book, the writer tells us that “Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers.”  And in the closing verses of chapter 2, “For this reason, he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.  Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”

            He knows what we go through.   In 4:15 it says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.”  He was tempted with the same things we are tempted with.  He knows the struggle.  Not only that, but He is able to lend us His strength to make it through the tough times.  So then, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

                           

By His Grace Alone,

Pastor Bruce Jacobsen

January 2013 Newsletter Article

“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” (Luke 15:4-7 NIV) I’ve often thought about raising a few sheep, not for their wool necessarily, not for meat, but just to learn what it is about sheep that is so instructive in regard to us humans that I still need to learn. References are made to Christ being the “Great Shepherd of the sheep”, pastors are referred to as shepherds, King David got his start as a shepherd; so you can see that I might be intrigued by the thought of raising sheep, if only for a short time. So far, I’ve not followed up on that, but it has crossed my mind on numerous occasions, this being one of them. The context of this passage is an accusation the Pharisees and teachers of the law leveled at Jesus, that he “welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Jesus responds with a series of three parables dealing with lost things, a sheep, a coin, and a son. For this article, I want to focus on the first—the lost sheep. The stinger or the indictment Jesus points back at the Pharisees and teachers of the law comes in verse 7. “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” You see, the Pharisees and teachers of the law believed that because of all the “righteous deeds” that they did, because of their strict adherence to a set of rules they themselves had created, that they were more righteous than most Jews. They did not feel a need to be repentant. The truth is that they are every bit as much in need of repentance as those that they referred to as “sinners”. The Bible reminds us that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Only those who are willing to recognize their status as “sinners”, who are willing to humble themselves before a Holy God, repent of their sin, and accept the sacrificial work of Christ on the cross as payment for their sins will truly be made righteous before our heavenly Father. If we’re counting on our actions or our own personal efforts to help us to become righteous before God, we’ll be sadly mistaken on our Judgment Day. Wouldn’t it be much better to know that the angels in heaven will rejoice to know that while we were once a “lost” sheep, we’ve now been found by the Great Shepherd? By His Grace Alone, Pastor Bruce Jacobsen

December Newsletter Article

“The centurion replied, ‘Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go”, and he goes; and that one ‘Come” and he comes. I say to my servant, “Do this,’ and he does it.’ “(Matt. 8:8-9 NIV) The centurion not only understood authority, but he understood that Jesus had authority over illness such that He could command it and it would obey. He understood something about Jesus that it seemed was hidden to so many others we think perhaps should have understood it because of their background and knowledge of God. His response to Jesus also revealed something else. He first states that he does not deserve to have Jesus come to his home to heal his servant. This man is a significant leader in the Roman army, the oppressors of the Jews, and yet he does not feel that he deserves a visit from this man named Jesus, a Jew, and subject of Rome. His response here reveals that he understood Jesus to be something much more than a mere man. News of the healing that Jesus had been doing had surely reached the ears of this centurion as that was where much of Jesus early ministry had begun. Jesus could scarcely get away from the crowds to have some time to refresh Himself. Matt. 4:23-25 makes it clear that Jesus was gaining a widely known reputation for having the power to heal. These miracles were clear evidence that Jesus was much more than a man, as Peter states in his sermon to the crowd in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. “Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. (Acts 2:22) We don’t know much about the centurion from what Matthew writes in this passage above, but we can know this: he believed Jesus to be someone greater in power and authority than him, even though he had significant authority himself. He believed that this authority was sufficient to heal his servant, and that his power to heal was not limited to his present location—he was not bound by time or space. I’m convinced he believe that Jesus was a god of some type. By Jesus’ willingness to heal at his request, we might even surmise that he believed that Jesus was indeed God, “big G”. How about you? What does your faith in Christ allow you to believe Him capable of? Does your faith in Him go beyond believing that He exists? Can the Jesus you believe in save you from the consequence of your sin? Who is Jesus to you? This man was credited by Christ with “such great faith”. How far does your faith carry you? By His Grace Alone, Pastor Bruce Jacobsen

October 2012 Pastor's Desktop Article

“So then, faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” (Rom. 10:17 KJV) Paul, in his letter to the Romans, was instructing them on how it is that we can have the righteousness that comes through faith. Being a Jew himself, Paul knew the mindset of the Jews of his day, and that many were seeking to have righteousness that came through their own efforts in trying to keep the law. Through Paul’s Damascus road experience when Christ came to him in blinding light, the light finally dawned on his heart and he heard the Word of Christ speaking to him. He found out that Christ had fully paid the penalty that Paul was still trying to pay on his own. We all have to come to that same realization. Our good works, no matter how many nor how good can never wipe away the sin that is ours. Only the blood of a perfect person, someone without their own sin to atone for, could pay the price for the sins of another. In the case of Christ, “who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin” He has been able to pay the price for all our sin. (Heb. 4:15b) Faith for Paul came by hearing Christ’s voice on that Damascus road showing him that the way he was going was not going to get him where he thought he was going. He thought he was pleasing God by persecuting those who were of the faith. Now, as he writes this letter to the Romans, his desire, as indicated in Rom. 10:1 was that the Israelites would be saved. They need to hear the glorious truth of this message, but how will they hear unless someone tells them. As we drive around town, moving past countless people in cars and homes along the way, is our heart burdened with the knowledge that many of those people don’t know Christ, and that without Christ they are headed for eternity separated from the one who has made the way for them through the shedding of His own blood? Do we at least pray that God will make His message known to them? Do we even consider that we could be used by God to share that Message? Don’t worry that you won’t know what to say, or how to say it. Pray first that God will give you the words you need, (they’re His Words anyway), and leave the results up to Him. He is the one who makes the seed of faith grow in our hearts, but unless the seed is planted, unless the Word is spoken, nothing will grow. “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Rom.10:15b) You may never get to see or know the results of sharing your faith, at least not on this side of heaven. Wouldn’t it be great one day to meet someone in heaven who tells you, “I’m here in part because you cared enough to tell me about Jesus”? By His Grace Alone, Pastor Bruce Jacobsen

September Pastor's Desktop Article

“I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:11 NIV) How are we doing with that whole hiding His Word in our heart thing? This isn’t something that we can have someone else do it for us. We can take our car to the mechanic and state the problem and expect them (with some degree of assurance) to fix the problem. We can even have our mechanic do preventative things like changing the oil periodically to keep future problems from happening, but our familiarity with the Word of God isn’t like that—it is truly up to us. Perhaps many of you have a regular time of reading and prayer that you practice on a daily basis, but in a group the size of our congregation there are probably some who have not yet made that a daily practice. The other possibility is that while you may have done well with that practice at some point in your life, maybe right now you’re not as regular with it as you would like. I am inviting everyone in the congregation, young and old alike, to a Bible Reading and Prayer program beginning October 1, 2012. I will be putting together a plan for us to be reading a chapter a day for about 260 days, coincidentally the same number of chapters in the New Testament. If we begin reading a chapter a day beginning in October, we should finish sometime in June with all of the New Testament. I know that for some, this may seem painstakingly slow. My purpose in one chapter a day is this: I think there will be great benefit first of all in having most of the congregation reading the same chapters of Scripture at the same time. I’m hoping for conversations amongst the body about the things you’re reading, and rediscovering along the way. Secondly, I don’t want this to seem overwhelming for anyone. At a chapter a day, even if you get behind a few days or so, you can go back to the plan and get caught up. Thirdly, but only reading a chapter a day, I hope that some thoughtful meditation and prayer will also take place keeping the passage you read along with other things going on in your lives in mind as you do. Finally, if you’re already involved in another reading plan, as I know some of you are, this won’t be too much of an addition to what you’re already doing to be too much. I am already excited thinking about what God might do amongst us as we read and study His Word together, as we are in prayer over various passages together. The other component that will run alongside this Bible Reading Plan is that I intend to draw the sermons for this time period from the chapters that we will have just rest together as a congregation. I hope that you will prayerfully consider being a part of this church-wide effort. I hope that it will help you to remain faithfully in His Word if that has been your practice, or to get you back in His Word if you’ve not been so regular there. Finally, I am trusting in God to make His Word come alive to us as we read and study together. By His Grace Alone, Pastor Bruce Jacobsen

Pastor's Desktop Article for August 2012

Which Jesus is your Jesus? “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, my making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.” (Colossians 1:15-20 NIV) Which Jesus is your Jesus? Is He the Jesus of Scripture, the only begotten Son of God, currently seated at the right hand of the Father, whose substitutionary death on the cross has rescued us from certain eternal spiritual damnation, or is he a Jesus of our own making, one who judges us less harshly, holds us to a lower standard, and requires less of us in following him? Either He is the Son of God, of the same substance and attributes as God the Father has, as is indicated in Scripture (“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory, and the exact representation of the His being, sustaining all things by his powerful Word…” Heb. 1:3a) , or he is something less; something of our own making, our own design, made to our specifications so that we can easily deal with him, and so that he makes less demands of us. Which Jesus is your Jesus? Churches all over the country, from possibly every denomination and those without denominational affiliation, are settling for a Jesus of their own making. And if there are churches going down this troublesome path, there are certainly many who call themselves “Christian” who are headed down the same troublesome path. This path requires no discipline, no active participation, no great sacrifice, and certainly no suffering for His sake. Why is it that anyone who names Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord thinks that this is what they have “signed up for” is in keeping with the Holy Scriptures? Folks, we can’t claim to be Christian, and have little or no commitment to actually allowing Him to change our lives, to call us to a life of holiness, and discipline, suffering or sacrifice. That’s not what the Bible tells us we can expect. We can expect the world to hate us when we take a stand for Biblical principles, as the world hated Him first. (John 15:18) That doesn’t mean we don’t take that stand, it just means that we shouldn’t expect the pagan world to applaud our decision. My prayer is that all of us will be willing to take a closer look at Scripture and be willing to live out and apply what we find to be the example Jesus has set for us, even if that means being wrongly accused, misunderstood, or mistreated. By His Grace Alone, Pastor Bruce Jacobsen

July 2012 Pastor's Desktop Article

"I beheld then, that they all went on till they came to the foot of the hill Difficulty, at the bottom of which there was a spring. There were also in the same place two other ways besides that which came straight from the gate: one turned to the left hand, and the other to the right, at the bottom of the hill; but the narrow way lay right up the hill, and the name of the going up the side of the hill is called Difficulty. Christian now went to the spring, Isa. 49:10, and drank thereof to refresh himself, and then began to go up the hill, saying, “The hill, though high, I covet to ascend; The difficulty will not me offend; For I perceive the way to life lies here: Come, pluck up heart, let’s neither faint nor fear. Better, though difficult, the right way to go, Than wrong, though easy, where the end is woe.” The other two also came to the foot of the hill. But when they saw that the hill was steep and high, and that there were two other ways to go; and supposing also that these two ways might meet again with that up which Christian went, on the other side of the hill; therefore they were resolved to go in those ways. Now the name of one of those ways was Danger, and the name of the other Destruction. So the one took the way which is called Danger, which led him into a great wood; and the other took directly up the way to Destruction, which led him into a wide field, full of dark mountains, where he stumbled and fell, and rose no more." (Bunyan, J. (1995). The pilgrim's progress : From this world to that which is to come. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.) This passage is from the great Christian Classic, “Pilgrim’s Progress, first published in February, 1678, and written by John Bunyan while imprisoned for 12 years (1660-1672) for preaching and holding services without the permission and consent of the Church of England. His only reference while writing this was the Bible. I recently finished reading the first section of this book, edited into more modern form of English and am now re-reading the original language version. This book has been translated into at least 200 languages, and since it was originally published in 1678, has never been out of print. I would encourage you to include this in your summer reading list, if you do that kind of thing, and even if you don’t, it’s worth your time and effort to read. Even if you’ve read it before, a good classic is always worth going back to refresh your memory. This passage included above is indicative of the allegory used in the book, using names to indicate something about the person or place being referenced and inserting Scripture references to support the allegories along the way. The hill before Christian, the main character who is on a journey to the “celestial city”, is named “Difficulty”. If only we could have in mind the lines that he said as he approached and climbed that hill, we would be less inclined to avoid such difficulty, knowing that the way God has laid before us is best and that He will provide all that we need along the way of that difficulty. This life that we live does not allow us to avoid difficulty, trial and hardship. It’s part and parcel of life in this fallen world. In John 16:33, Jesus told His disciples, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” This wonderful little book captures the struggle of life, of the Christian journey, but also the inestimable value of persevering to the end, and relying heavily on the help that God gives us along the way. Those who have already climbed the hill called “Difficulty”, as Bunyan found himself doing while writing this account, are perhaps best equipped to counsel those in the midst of that journey. Remember that wherever we are on that journey that the one who promised that He will never leave us or forsake us goes with us. By His Grace Alone, Pastor Bruce Jacobsen