We have completed the first 2 weeks of the NewThru30, and it has been incredible. I am so excited to be beginning Luke today. I am also already looking forward to this wednesday night when we get to here from everyone what they are getting out of reading the Bible. I am so encouraged by how many of us are on pace and reading so much of God’s Word.

Last week in Galatians, I was challenged by 2:10.

“Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.”

Chapter 2 of Galatians is Paul telling how he finally is accepted by the Apostles. There had been some hesitation and reluctancy due to Paul’s former life. However, when James and Peter and John (who Paul called pillars) “gave the right hand of fellowship” to him and Barnabas, all seemed to be different and well. 

But then he makes this great statement, “they asked us to remember the poor.”  James, Peter, and John asked them. The pillars asked them this. The inner circle of Jesus’ 12 disciples.  The 3 that were taken up on the mount to see the transfiguration of Jesus. The three that knew our Lord the closest asked Paul to remember the poor. Wow!

And then Paul writes “the very thing I was eager to do.” Jesus undoubtedly had a heart for the poor. The 3 pillars, James, Peter, and John, had a heart for the poor. And Paul also had a heart for the poor.

Do you have a heart for the poor? And how are you going about it? It seems to me that every follower of Christ must have an attention and affection for the poor. Reading the whole New Testament so quickly has only confirmed this. 

To not be mindful and deliberate with the poor is to be unbiblical.

This is our town! Fairdale, KY 40118!

We are praying that God would do a mighty work here. We sing that “greater things have yet to come”. We believe that “all who call upon the name of Jesus will be saved.”  We know that “Christ is able to save to the uttermost.” We understand that what seems impossible is certainly “possible with God.” We are trusting that “whatever we ask we will recieve.” We are hoping that God “will send out laborers into the harvest.” We are working to “reap a harvest if we do not give up.”  We find confidence in the truth that “greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” And we are humbled that “He is faithful and just to forgive us for our sins.”

It is our desire to love our neighbors well. It is our desire to be servants of all. God have mercy upon us and give us passionate hearts for our town, Fairdale.

This past week our church memorized Matthew 22:36-40.

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

That last statement by Jesus is huge. HUGE!  And it really caught my attention. “On these 2 commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Well, loving God is huge. We all know that. That is what all of this life is about. Verse 38 proves that “This is the great and first commandment.” 

But I want to focus on the second one, Loving your neighbor.  We need to realize that loving our neighbor is big, monumental, HUGE! Combine that command with the command to love God and Jesus says you are talking about the WHOLE MESSAGE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT! That is a big deal.

The command to love your neighbor originates from Leviticus 19:18. Then Jesus quotes it to the Rich Young Man in Matthew 19:19. Then He makes this statement in Matthew 22:36-40. Mark tells the same story in his gospel (mark 12). Luke states it emphatically in the Parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37.  And so we see that the huge, weighty command to “love your neighbor” is meaningful in the life of Jesus and His close followers Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Let’s look even further into the Word to see more.

Paul says in Romans 13:8-10 that “the one who loves another” is the one who is fulfilling the law. And he even directly quotes “love your neighbor” for further emphasis. Then later on, when writing to the Galatians (5:14), Paul says that “the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” And so we see that the huge, weighty command to “love your neighbor” is meaningful in the life of Paul and those he is ministering to. Let’s look even further.

James writes in 2:8 that “if you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well.” Wow! James just took it to another level. He calls this command “the royal law”.

So in regards to the command to love your neighbor as yourself. James calls it the royal law. Paul said it fulfills the whole law. Luke used it to illustrate true compassion in one of the most well-known parables in the Bible. Matthew and Mark both tell of Jesus combining it with the greatest commandment of all, to love God, and then stating that all of the Law and Prophets depend on these two. So, we need to embrace it. Not just know it. We need to embrace it. We need to become it. We need to become a people who hear this command and then work to obey it.

Let us Love Our Neighbors!

Dr. Mohler has written an incredibly timely blog on the amount of media intake young people consume these days.

Please take time to read this article.

Jesus said in the Great Commission “…teaching them to observe all that I have commanded.” Let us be those who have intentional plans to train our kids how to follow Jesus, and therefore, not let media and stuff train them for us.

Click this link for Dr. Mohler’s article.  www.albertmohler.com

Reading through Mark’s gospel, I was grabbed by Repentance.

“So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent.” -Mark 6:12

Now, I know that John the Baptist came preaching that people should “Repent.” (Mark 1:4) And I know that Jesus came preaching that all people should “Repent.” (Mark 1:15)

But now I see that the disciples went out preaching that too. (Mark 6:12)  When it came time for Jesus to send them out (Mark 6), that is what they went out doing. It says it plainly. And I identify myself as a disciple (follower) of Jesus.

So I figure that this is the message that we ought to be proclaiming. This is the message that our neighbors need to hear. This is the message our friends need to hear. This is the message our town needs to hear.  This is the message I need to hear… and you need to hear.  This is the message all folks everywhere need to hear. That they need to repent. And that is exactly what Paul told the Areopagus in Acts 17 “but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.” (Acts 17:30)

A couple questions…

When was the last time you heard your preacher tell people to repent? Or When was the last time you actually told someone that they should repent?

Our true desire is to be like Jesus. We want to be what He wants us to be.  Fairdale, lets keep repentance on our minds and in our hearts.  Repentance is turning from sin. Repentance is simply the reverse side of the two-sided coin in which the other side is Faith. Faith and repentance go hand in hand. To love Jesus and to hate sin is the same thing. Faith and Repentance. Paul, in Acts 20:21, preached to “both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

One of the most influential passages in all of scripture upon my life and faith is in Matthew 25. This is the passage where Jesus refers to the “least of these”.

On a regular basis (daily almost), we have needy people stopping by our church asking for help. I thank God for these encounters. I am excited when people stop by for anything.

Let me tell you a story that I hope will challenge you.

This week two women stopped by asking for assistance.  One stayed in the car, the other sat in the office waiting for me to come speak to her. She waited 10 minutes or so until I was available.  We talked for about 10 minutes concerning her needs. She assured me they were not lying. She assured me they had never ever had to ask for help before.  She assured me that they would not need much help in the future…they were only needing it now. She also went on to assure me that they would be here for our Wed. evening service.

I made sure I was accurately understanding their position and needs. The local ministries had provided them with a weeks worth of food. We put them in touch with a local group that would pay their LG&E (electric) bill this month. I made sure they had food for that day. I asked her come back the next day and I would have them some more food. (She came and we gave her more food.)

Now, here is the part that caused me to write. During our very pleasant and cordial conversation, kinda in the middle of it, she said that “these days no one helps anymore.” She said they have been around several places and asked several people. “But no one just likes to help people anymore.”

I was offended. Not because I help people. Not because my church helps people. I was offended because Thats Not True. I was offended because her comment directly opposes Jesus.

Jesus helps people.   When she said that, I responded by saying “Thats not true.”  I went on to tell her that Jesus helps people and that followers of Jesus help people.

I told her that I was so sorry that her experience has led her to think that no one helps, but I comforted her with the life changing truth that Jesus helps people and so do His followers. Because of grace and Jesus in us at FBCF, we want to help people. We want to help people so badly that no one would dare say that no one helps.  My heart is that our world and our town (Fairdale) would be in awe of our desire to be like Jesus and help people.

Matthew 9:35 “And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.”

Galatians 6:9 “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”

Most of us, maybe all, have no idea what it is like to live poor and needy and without hope.  Also, many of us need to learn to care and feel and act for those who do know what its like to live poor and needy and without hope.

Click here to view some pics of Haiti

Haiti has been devastated. Already reported that a half a million people are dead. To put that in perspective, when the World Trade Towers were attacked and destroyed we americans lost a little over 3,000 people. Haiti has just lost over 500,000.

Lord, give us compassion like you have.  Jesus always had the needy on His mind. 

Please click the link above to see pics from Haiti.

Luke 6:32-35

“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.  And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.  And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.”

Reading through Matthew this week, I was caught by Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mountain in chapter 5:43 and following. Then I cross referenced that over to Luke 6 (the text above). Wow!  I know a lot of Christians. I mean, I know thousands of Christians…personally. 

I know few people that live this out. When I think about this text, very few folks come to mind.

How about you? You know lots of believers. Do you know anyone that lives this out? Or how about this… When your friends and family and neighbors and co-workers think about this text and question, do you come into their minds? Are you who they think of when they think of love and giving and selflessness like this?

I pray that we will take Jesus’ words seriously. 

The last 2 days, which are the first 2 days of the NewThru30 challenge for our church, have been incredible. I have been giddy excited to jump in and be reading God’s Word.

God has already caught my attention in some mighty ways. Wow, we are only 2 days into it!

Notice with me what I have seen as I’m reading through Matthew,

In Matt. 3:11, John the Baptist speaking of Jesus says he is not worthy to carry his sandals.

In Matt. 8:8, the centurion while asking for help tells Jesus “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof”.

By grace, I echo both these men.I am not worthy of Christ. And that is why grace is amazing. And peace is beyond all comprehension. And mercies are new every morning. And love is greatest. Because Jesus has saved us who are unworthy.

My prayer is that there will be more people in Fairdale who confess they are not worthy of Jesus, and by faith love Him because worthy is the Lamb who was slain.

I am about to finish this mighty book, Why Revival Tarries.

On one of the last pages Leonard Ravenhill writes, “At the judgment seat the most embarassing thing the believer will face will be the smallness of his praying.”

God has gotten my full attention through this small book.  I know that prayer is important.  It has been my highest priority in my beginning months as the pastor in Fairdale to lead us to pray more. We pray more. We pray quite a bit. We have a goal of praying 2 whole hours a week corporately as a church. That seems to me to be a lot. But we are almost there.

But our goal is not merely to pray a lot, but instead to have powerful prayer lives. It is our desire to know God well. We want to ask…and receive.

God, give us the ability to pray big and not be embarassed.