Pastor's Desktop Article for March 2015

“I thank my God every time I remember you.  In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Phil. 1:3-6  NIV

            I’ve had some opportunity this past week to be very blessed as I’ve reflected on relationships that God has allowed me to have in my life.  It’s almost overwhelming when I stop and consider all the folks that God has brought into my life at various points—people I’ve ministered to and with, family and friends who have supported various aspects of ministry that I’ve been involved with, and those who have added so much to my own life.

            I can relate to Paul as he writes to the church in Philippi about how he thanks God every time he remembers them.  There are so many people in my life who bring that kind of thought to my mind as well as a smile to my face.  As I think of them, and how our paths crossed, I am happy to bring them once again to the Father’s throne, asking Him to bless them and watch over them and for Him to continue to make Himself known to them.

            I thought of those who helped support my recent trip to South Sudan, who offered to pray or helped me to raise the funds needed to go.  I thank God for every one of them.  They were a part of an amazing trip where I saw God at work as we ministered to more than 900 people, making gospel presentations to all of them, and knowing that each was seen by a medical professional to help improve their health in some way.  45 of those who heard the gospel made a profession of faith in Christ.  Many others were renewed in their faith as they recommitted their lives to Christ and returned to church.

            While in South Sudan, I was given an opportunity to speak at a retreat for young men that was going on at the same time while we were there, and in the process of that opportunity to preach, I was able to greet and encourage a man who had been my translator on two previous trips, and another who had been placed as a pastor in a church I had helped to plant.  It was exciting to renew those friendships, and catch up with where they were now in ministry.

            On the long journey home, we landed in Atlanta, (the next to the last stop on the way home) only to learn that our flight had been cancelled and due to the number of weather related flights cancelled, that there were no rooms to be had in the Atlanta area that evening.  I posted an update on Facebook relating our dilemma, and got a response from someone that folks here might remember, Alyson Bomberger, now Alyson Nagle.  She and her husband and family lived in the Atlanta area, and were willing to drive to the airport, pick up myself and the two ladies traveling with me at that point who were also stranded at the airport, host us for the night, and take us back to the airport in the morning.  Who, but God could take a long difficult day of travel and turn it into such a grand blessing?

            Now that I was getting home a day late, and at a time that Nancy would not be available to pick me up, I had no anxiety at all about getting home from the airport, as I knew I would only have to make a call or two to find someone from the church here who could help me get home from the airport.  Sure enough, I was able to reach Glenn, and he gladly met me and brought me home.

            Then as I made my breakfast Friday morning before heading into the office, I listened to Mark Kell preach the message from last Sunday’s service as he filled the pulpit for me.  As I think back on these and many other ways that I have been blessed by connections God has allowed me to make through the years, I can only echo the words of the apostle Paul once again.  “I thank my God every time I remember you…because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”

By His Grace Alone, and with a heart full of gratitude,

Pastor Bruce Jacobsen

Pastor's Desktop Article for February 2015

“The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.  I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Genesis 12:1-3 NIV

            Too often in our era, we spend most of our time reading, studying, and even preaching from the New Testament only.  We may have a sense that the Old Testament isn’t really relevant and God is different now, and so we should be relying on the New Testament for our understanding of God.  I too thought that way for much of my life until I came to realize that God hasn’t changed, and the God of the New Testament is the same God we find in the Old Testament.  It is one continuous story of God’s love for mankind, and His relationship with those created in His image.

            When God initiated His covenant with Abraham, then referred to as Abram, He was beginning to make Himself known personally to a specific group of people that He would call His own.  Over the span of many generations, He would make Himself known to them in a variety of different settings, through a variety of different means that all were a part of this process of self-revelation.  God continues to this day to call people into relationship with Himself and continues to use a variety of different settings and means.  As curious as it is, and as weak as we are, God choses to use us to take the message of His mercy and grace to the world; and it all began with this promise to Abram, “…and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

            From the time of Abram, or Abraham, the name God gave him later on, until now, God has been fulfilling this promise and we see this in the evangelistic efforts of so many who answer the call to spread the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Whether that means sharing the gospel with folks in our neighborhood, teaching the message of the gospel with our children in our home, or a Sunday School class at church, or traveling to take the gospel to foreign lands, people are being blessed as they hear and respond to the message of finding peace with God, and the hope of an eternal home in heaven.

            And before we even think about patting ourselves on the back for our initiative in this work, remember it was God who was the initiator.  He called Abraham, He built the nation of Israel, He sent His only Son into the World as the Lamb of God to take away the sins of those who would receive Him.  And even in our faithfulness to share the gospel, wherever that may be, it still requires Him working through His Holy Spirit to awaken the heart and mind of an individual to the truth of the gospel before that ancient blessing is realized.

            `In a few days, I’ll be boarding a plane, or series of planes bound for the region of Kajo Keji, South Sudan.  My purpose is to share the gospel with those who the Lord will direct our team to through the course of our time there.  While I would appreciate your prayers for our safety as we travel, even more important would be to pray for God to move and make Himself known to the people of South Sudan, not just the ones we will talk to, but to the region as a whole.  The work of evangelism there goes on whether Americans are there or not due to the diligence and hard work of the nationals there who are constantly training and preparing more and more men as pastors and missionaries because the need is so great.

            Perhaps it is because hope has been such a scarce commodity in the region for so long given the political unrest the people of this area have known in the last 20-30 years, but whatever the reason, God has seen fit to stir the hearts of the people of South Sudan to draw them to Himself.  Please pray that this work will continue, and that in some small way, we may be able to see and be a part of the work that He is doing there.

           

By His Grace Alone,

Pastor Bruce Jacobsen

Desktop article for Mt. Pleasant Church of the Brethren

“Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him.  This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet:  ‘Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?’ For this reason they could not believe, because as Isaiah says elsewhere: ‘He has blinded their eyes and deadened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn—and I would heal them.’  Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.  Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him.  But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise from men more than praise from God.”

John 12:37-43 NIV

            It’s hard for us to understand how the Pharisees and Jewish leaders were not able to understand who Jesus was given all the signs and wonders he performed in their presence.  It’s even harder for us to understand the concept of God “blinding their eyes” to this truth, but that’s what Scripture says.  We often treat faith in God as something everyone should understand because the evidence of the existence of God is right there for all to see in the natural world around us, and after all, we have the Bible.  Why is it that they do not understand?  We fail to realize the treasured gift that faith in God is to us.

            I don’t pretend to understand why God turns the light of the understanding of the gospel on for some and not for others, but in His grace and mercy He does extend that understanding to some.  It’s certainly not because we deserve it.  In our Wednesday night study in Daniel, we studied how the prophet understood something about the mercy of God in his incredibly humble prayer in Dan. 9. 

            Daniel had been a part of the group taken captive to Babylon when Jerusalem was overthrown, and had not lived in Babylon for nearly 70 years.  He had been studying the prophet Jeremiah’s writings, and read where it was written that after 70 years, Israel would be restored.  In his prayer Daniel pleaded with God for the forgiveness for his own sin, and that of the nation of Israel.  In verses 17-18 he pleads, “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant.  For your sake, O Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary.  Give ear, O God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name.  We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy.”

            Now, on this side of the cross, still few understand very much about God.  Many don’t believe in Him at all.  Some claim to believe, but in reality know very little about what they claim to believe.  As we approach this Christmas season, let’s pray that the light of God’s Holy Spirit will shine in the hearts and minds of those who do not yet have an authentic faith relationship with God, believing Him to be exactly who the Bible says He is, and not something that we make Him to be.  Pray that they will come to Him and seek Him, not based in a righteousness they feel they already possess, but because of His great mercy.

           

               

By His Grace Alone,

Pastor Bruce Jacobsen

Pastor's Desktop Article for November 2014

“Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”   

John 17:3 NIV

            Why are we here?  What is the meaning of life?  These are questions that have been asked by mankind for generations, with limited satisfaction in finding answers.  Philosophers have pondered the universe in pursuit of answers, and many have ended their own lives because they lost sight of any significant reason to go on.  So, the world doesn’t have a really good, universally applicable reason or meaning for life.  What about the church?  What about God, what does He have to say about it?  The verse above very simply but succinctly answers the question.  “…that [we] man know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”

            When we attempt to answer the meaning of life question without consulting the one who created the world, we cannot hope to satisfactorily answer the question.  It would be like the pot trying to determine its use without consulting the potter as to the reason it was made.  The resounding theme throughout all of Scripture is this theme.  From the beginning of time God has been making Himself known to mankind through a variety of means and ways.

            I think this helps us as a church, as well, to know why we are here.  What is it that Mt. Pleasant is supposed to do, here on the corner of Pittsburg and Mt. Pleasant?  As the Westminster Shorter Catechism responds to the question, “What is the chief end of man?  Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.”  As a church, how can we help accomplish that chief end?  If we will be faithful in making Him known, through our actions, our prayers, our programs, our activities, our worship and our lives, we will be doing our part in that quest to make Him known.

            There is a limit to what mankind can do to make God known to other men and women.  Some would say that we just need to make the message easier to understand; we need to say it this way or that way.  I contend that a great deal of that work of man knowing God, not just knowing about God, but in actually knowing God, belongs to Him through the work of His Holy Spirit.  Jesus said, in John 6:44, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.”  And again later in the same chapter, verse 65, “He went on to say, ‘This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him’.”

            Our part as a believer in Christ and as a church body is to be faithful to do our part to make Him known through all those means mentioned above.  Then God will use this message as He stirs the heart of those who will one day truly come to know Him.     

               

By His Grace Alone,

Pastor Bruce Jacobsen

Mt. Pleasant News Pastor's Desktop article

“…I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”  

2 Samuel 24:24b  NIV

            King David sinned before the Lord in having a census taken of the fighting men of Israel and Judah.  His sin was that God did not want David to become prideful or arrogant about the number of people he ruled over as king, nor to put his faith in the strength of his army.  God had forbidden such a census.  David overruled even the advice of his closest and most trusted friend, Joab, and ordered the count.  As soon as the number of fighting men was reported to David, he was grief stricken, knowing he had sinned a great sin before God.  “I have sinned greatly in what I have done.  Now, O LORD, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant.  I have done a very foolish thing.”  (2 Sam. 25:10b)

            Through the prophet Gad, God gave David a choice of three terrible options.  You see, although David’s sin would be forgiven, there were still to be consequences for his sin.  David’s choice was to put himself in the hands of a God he knew to be merciful.  At this the plague began on Israel and Judah with thousands being destroyed in the plague.  As David watched the destruction, he was deeply grieved, and begged God to punish his own family instead of the rest of the house of Israel.  God gave instructions for David to go and offer a sacrifice to Him on the threshing floor of a man named Araunah, the Jebusite.

            David went as directed, and explained the reason for his royal visit to Araunah and asked to buy the threshing floor in order to offer the sacrifice there.  Araunah, being the loyal subject that he was, offered to give the floor, the wood and the animals needed for the sacrifice to David.  The king insisted in paying for all this, and the poignant part of his response is printed above. 

            “Wow, what a great story, Pastor, so what does that mean for me?” you might ask.  I’m glad you asked.  We are working through a brief series on the subject of worship.  Have you even considered what your worship costs you?  How much real sacrifice is involved in your worship?  What am I talking about?  Well, believe it or not, my first thoughts were NOT the offering plate, though there should be some measure of sacrifice made there too.  My first thoughts were of our involvement with the worship service, really being there, not just our body, but our mind and spirit as well.  When we are invited to stand and sing, are we doing more than just mouthing the words?  Are we taking in the words as well?  

            Can we forget about the clock, and just allow the service to be finished when it is done, instead of feeling like anything past 11:30 is late?  Are we there with a sense of what we can bring and give to God, (not just from our wallets) but of our worship, our encouragement to others, our fellowship with others, or are we there just to take--to see if we will be blessed?  Are we satisfied with offering to God that which costs us little or nothing?  It’s something to think about, and then act on.

               

By His Grace Alone,

Pastor Bruce Jacobsen