FROM THE PASTOR'S DESK... SPRING

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I think most of us are a bit weary from the lingering winter season.  We’ve had record cold this season in Lansing.  But I “count it all joy” (James 1:2) because Spring in on the way!  I can see the “evidence of things hoped for” (Hebrews 11:1) in the gradual shift from winter’s icy and stubborn grip to the insistent call of spring to bring warmth and give new and resurrected life. 

 

With patience, nature will awaken again with a flurry of beauty.  The trees and fields will paint the landscape with unyielding hues of brilliant diversity.  Flowers will bloom in an array of spectacular colors and birds will form a universal chorus to welcome the new season, singing a panoply of praises written by angels: “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised (Psalms 145:3). 

 

In many ways the coming of spring is a theological metaphor for hope.  No matter how cold the world, “we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith” (Gal. 5:5).  We are always moving towards a brighter day, a time of regeneration and new life.  We hold fast to the truth that the Lord Jesus Christ will return in His glory to finish the work of reconciliation (1 Thess. 4:16, 17).

As we emerge from the winter season of semi-hibernation, it means spring cleaning, planting, watering and fixing things.  Perhaps it’s time to do a little spring cleaning in life.  Are there some things you need to discard, fix up and repair? Confessing your sins is a good way to get the spring back in your step.

Pastor Jones

Dr. Melvin T. Jones, Senior Pastor

FROM THE PASTOR'S DESK... BELIEF ALONE IS NOT ENOUGH

James provides rational context for his belief that just believing is sufficient.  His theological perspective is similar to Israel’s quest to occupy the land of Canaan during the time of Joshua.  In both instances just believing wasn’t good enough to defeat the enemy and inherit what God had promised.

Christians aspiring to be a credit to the faith need to clearly understand that “faith without works is dead” (James 2:20) and won’t successfully address the mission and vision of the faith. Israel needed to understand that the land God promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was not achievable without sacrifice, conquest and obedience (Joshua 1). Faithful aspirations require work.

Too many postmodern Christians believe that belief alone is sufficient; a position usually accorded to salvation rather than responsible stewardship.  It is true that we are saved by grace through faith and not by works (Eph. 2:8, 9). However, it is also true that we are workers together with Him; and that we should not receive the grace of God in vain (2 Cor. 6:1).  The Apostle Paul declared that “…His grace towards me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me” (1 Cor. 15:10). 

Salvation puts a Christian in right position with God. On the other hand, works demonstrate the purpose of the position.  The great commission instituted by Jesus Christ coincides with this analysis: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and in the name of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28: 19-20). Faith thrives on output not just input.  It is the duality of inhaling and exhaling that brings life to faith and true meaning to what it means to be a Christian.

The challenge to modern day Christians is the same as it has always been, making disciples.  However, the church in many cases has drifted into a lackadaisical network of internally focused ministries catering to the people in the pew.  In the Externally Focused Quest, Eric Swanson and Rick Rusaw raise a simple question: Is your church trying to be the best church in the community or the best church for the community? In far too many cases churches are trying to be the best church in the community and just trading members between churches.

I want to challenge you to do discipleship through the establishment of relationships.  Rather than selling Christ with tracks and set plans of evangelism; let’s share the love of Christ through acts of charity that support the mission of our church –“Building Community.”  There are several objectives underlying our mission: inspiring through worship; improving the quality of human life; promoting academic achievement; and developing initiatives for financial empowerment. 

   

Photo Credits: Google Images

We welcome you to become part of the “work” of the church.  Call our church office (517-485-7705) and we can get you started in an area of ministry that will be personally rewarding and beneficial to the uplift of our community and the glory of God.

 Pastor Jones

FROM THE PASTOR'S DESK... OVERCOMING INTERNAL BLINDNESS

Photo Credit: JesusMafa.com

John 9:1

Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth.

There is a pervading darkness in the human soul; an inability to see or discern the manifestation of divine things. Psalms 51:5 gives support to this conclusion: “Behold I was brought forth in iniquity and in sin my mother conceived me.” Numbers 14:18 states that “The Lord is long-suffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation.”  These two verses give credibility to the question raised by the disciples in John 9:2, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

The response of the Lord dismisses the notion that the blind man’s condition was based on generational sin. Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him” (John 9:3).  The blind man is elevated to an iconic position given the Lord’s response.  It is no longer a question of his sin or the sin of his parents, but the sin of anyone in any generation who cannot see the “works of God” in Jesus Christ.

The Jews and the Pharisees are an example of blinding disbelief. They were blinded by the legal structure of Judaism. They could not accept eye-opening evidence of a predestined act of God to reveal Jesus as Lord of the Sabbath (Matt. 12:7). Even after rigorous examination into the nature of the blind man’s healing, they could not see beyond the darkness in their own souls (John 9:13-34).  

Divine perception is difficult for many postmodern thinkers. Like the Pharisees, we tend to dismiss the notion of things we cannot explain; things that don’t fit neatly in our empirical world of observation-based belief. The secularization of our thoughts blind us from seeing the transformational character of divine healing, whether it is physical, spiritual, social or psychological. We sometimes miss the simplicity of God’s actions through the blinding complexity of religious dogma or doctrinal purity. Too often we do church and miss Christ.

When we do Christ, people get healed.  Sacrificial acts of kindness and love unhinged from selfish motives and religious institutionalism bring healing. Tearing down walls of systemic injustice bring healing.  Stepping outside the bounds of expected protocol bring healing. The Good Samaritan is a primary example (Luke 10:33).  Jesus broke with the religious norm of His day by healing on the Sabbath.

The blind man had no political or religious agenda. He was blind from birth.  Jesus anointed his eyes with mud made from His saliva and told him, “Go wash in the pool of Siloam.” Unlike the paternal blindness that prevented the Pharisees from seeing the goodness of God, the blind man expressed the simplicity of faith in God’s works through Jesus Christ, “One thing I know, that though I was blind, now I see.”

Have you checked your eyesight lately?

Pastor Jones

 

Photo Credits: LSW Wilson, JesusMafa.com and Google Images