Hi Friends!
And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:23-24)
I love this interchange between Jesus and this dad in Mark 9! It’s almost humorous to think that someone would say to Jesus, “If you can.” Sadly, though, that often still seems to be the attitude of many of us. Do we really believe that Jesus is who He says and can do all things? When our faith is wavering, we would be wise to emulate this father’s reply: “I believe; help my unbelief!”
Last Sunday I didn’t get to one important point I wanted to make in the message, simply because I got a bit emotional on another point and had to move on! But in 2 John 10-11, it says, “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.” Now, there is debate about what this means in practice for us. But I had planned to quote from an interesting statement by F.F. Bruce, so here it is: “The command not to receive any one who does not bring the teaching of Christ means that no such person must be accepted as a Christian teacher or as one entitled to the fellowship of the church. It does not mean (for example) that one of Jehovah’s Witnesses should not be invited into the house for a cup of tea in order to be shown the way of God more perfectly in the living room than would be convenient on the doorstep. Even less does it mean that disagreements on church order should be treated as deviations from the teaching of Christ and used as a ground of exlusion from church fellowship… But for a church, or its responsible leaders, knowingly to admit within its boundaries the spread of teaching subversive of the gospel is to participate in what John describes as wicked works.” So, as far as I’m concerned, the decision on whether or not to allow people from cults who show up at your door into your home is a personal decision which may vary from situation to situation. There can at times be great benefit from letting them in and explaining the truth clearly. Sometimes it can become a fruitless debate that just causes frustration for all involved. So it takes much prayer and asking God for wisdom to know how He wants you to respond to that knock at the door!
This Sunday I begin a new series on “Jesus’ Last Week”, with a message from Matthew 21:1-11 on the Triumphal Entry. Our goal will be to celebrate Jesus, our humble King, and deepen our worship of Him. Please prayerfully read the passage ahead of time and consider how you can respond to Christ. Does your heart cry, “Hosanna!”?
You will also see this note in the upcoming bulletin: “Congratulations to Aiden Timmons, Joshua Stoneberg, Ethan Parker, and Micah Beach for qualifying for Awana State Bible Quizzing! It takes place March 8, at 1pm at West Hills Community Church in Salem. Come support our boys if you can!” Also, please pray for them as they study, study, study!
Celebrating our humble King with you!
Love From Your Pastor,
Michael