How Should We Treat Jesus’ Mother?

“The angel went to her and said, ‘Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.’”
– Luke 1:28

Mary was really confused.

 

Wouldn’t you be, if an angel appeared to you? Even more confusing, in Luke 1:28, the angel called Mary “highly favored” and told her that “the Lord was with her.” That was a statement reserved for great prophets, priests and kings—not for an insignificant teenage girl whose family hailed from the armpit of Galilee.

 

So, just how important IS Mary? Some churches have gone way too far in their reverence for Mary. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that Mary was born without a sin nature, or that she remained a virgin all her life, or that she ascended to heaven without physically dying.

 

Because of these exaggerated doctrines about Mary, many evangelical churches have overreacted by largely ignoring her. But the Word of God—especially Luke 1—gives us a clear biblical understanding of who Mary is and how much attention we should give her.

 

So, let’s go back to the angel Gabriel’s God-given message to Mary. In verse 30, he tells her she has found favor with God. Now, WHY did Mary find favor with God? Was it because of something SHE did, or was it simply because God chose to show her favor? It’s clear that Mary received grace (undeserved favor) from God.

 

Gabriel goes on to tell her she is somehow going to get pregnant and give birth to a son named Jesus, which means, “Yahweh the Lord saves.” And her son will be the long-awaited Messiah AND the King of the Jews (vs. 30-33). Mary must have been blown away! But in these verses, notice who Gabriel is most focused on: Jesus, not Mary.

 

In verses 34 and 35, Gabriel explains that Mary will be overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, and that’s how she will conceive a child. And not only will Mary give birth to the Messiah and King of Israel – He’s going to be the Son of God. Wow! This otherwise insignificant teenage girl from an insignificant town had her virgin womb miraculously transformed into a Holy of Holies.

 

After the angel Gabriel finishes speaking, Mary sets an example for us all by saying: “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said” (v. 38). Not only did Mary believe the Word of the Lord that Gabriel spoke to her, she was willing to do whatever God wanted her to do.

 

Warren Wiersbe says it so well: “Mary’s believing response was to surrender herself to God as His willing servant…. Therefore she could be used by the Spirit to accomplish the will of God. A ‘handmaid’ was the lowest kind of female servant, which shows how much Mary trusted God…. What an example for us to follow.”

 

Mary was obviously a woman of great faith and humble obedience, but the only reason she didn’t live an insignificant life is because Jesus made her life significant. And if you follow Him, Jesus will make your life significant as well.

 

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. Join us at Impact for Sunday services: in person or online at 8:45 a.m. on Facebook Live or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

John is on his Way!

“Many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.”

– Luke 1:14-15

Before Christ was born, the forerunner to the Christ was born.

 

Interestingly, the Gospel of Luke is the only one of the four gospels to tell the beautiful story of how the forerunner to Jesus Christ, John the Baptist, was born. And Luke’s account is full of life-changing lessons for us today.

 

As the story begins in the early verses of Luke 1, it appears that John the Baptist’s parents had lived rather quiet lives. Zechariah was a Jewish priest, and Elizabeth was the daughter of a priest (v. 5). We read that they were both “righteous in the sight of God,” but they had no children and “were both very old” (vs. 6-7). In those days, being childless was considered a disgrace for a Jewish woman.

 

Their monotonous lives changed, however, when an angel appeared to Zechariah as he was burning incense in the Holy Place of the temple. The angel announced, “Your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John” (v. 13). The angel foretold that John would “be great in the sight of the Lord”; he would never drink alcohol; and he would be filled with the Holy Spirit even before his birth (v. 15). Furthermore, John would bring many Israelites back to their God, turn parents back to their children and disobedient people to a righteous wisdom – all “to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (vs. 16-17).

 

Zechariah wasn’t so easily convinced … starting with the part about having a child. After all, he and Elizabeth were no spring chickens. They had most likely given up on children years ago. But the impossible happened! Elizabeth soon became pregnant, and she seems to have responded with much more faith than her husband.

 

As her pregnancy progressed, Elizabeth wrote a short hymn of praise: “The Lord has done this for me…. He has shown His favor and taken away my disgrace among the people” (vs. 25). In her heart, it seems she understood that the baby in her womb was no ordinary child.

 

Here are 3 Life Lessons we can draw from this passage:

 

Lesson #1: Even prayers we’ve stopped praying years ago can still be answered in God’s perfect timing. It’s important to persevere in prayer, but even when you drop the ball, your past prayers may still be answered.

 

Lesson #2: Don’t assume that your afflictions are meaningless. They aren’t. Christians who are afflicted BY God are being set apart to do great work FOR God. I am so thankful that God never wastes an ounce of pain or difficulty in a Christian’s life.

 

Lesson #3: Our impossible situations set the stage for God to do His best work of drawing people to Christ.

 

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. Join us at Impact for Sunday services: in person or online at 8:45 a.m. on Facebook Live or YouTube. And don’t miss our special Christmas service this Tuesday,December 23^rd at 7 p.m. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Beware of Overconfidence!

“If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” 
– 1 Corinthians 10:12

When God freed the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt, they should have had it made. Right? In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul begins by naming some of the most amazing benefits and blessings that the children of Israel were given.

 

ALL the Israelites who were delivered out of bondage were able to walk across the Red Sea on dry land. ALL the Israelites “ate the same spiritual food” and “drank the same spiritual drink” (vs.3-4). Every day except for Saturday, they walked outside and found bread from heaven in the morning and quail in the evening. And on at least two occasions, God gave ALL the Israelites fresh drinking water from a rock.

 

“Nevertheless,” Paul writes, “God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness” (v. 5). The Israelites fell into the sins of idolatry, sexual immorality, grumbling against God and testing the boundaries of His patience. These sins disqualified them for the prize of entering the Promised Land.

 

And if you think you’re any better, think again. In verse 12, Paul gives us this powerful warning about overconfidence in our Christian walk: “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall.”

 

We must use wisdom and discernment whenever we exercise our rights and freedoms in Christ.

Ask yourself: Will doing this bring glory and praise to God? Will doing this set a good example for other Christians, building them up in love? Will doing this help draw unbelievers unto Christ or push them further away? And finally: Will doing this tempt you to sin and risk disqualifying yourself from your heavenly reward?

 

With that in mind, take note of these 3 beautiful truths about temptation in verse 13:

 

Truth #1: Your temptations aren’t unique to you. Many Christians (past and present) have experienced the same things. The devil loves to whisper in your ear: “No one understands what you’re going through. No one can help you.” Remember: The devil is a liar. Many believers have been through the exact kinds of temptations you’re going through and have overcome them.

 

Truth #2: Because God is faithful to His promise to never leave you nor forsake you, He will never let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. God never sets you up for failure. If you think your trials and temptations are tough, you should see the trials and temptations that God has shielded you from.

 

Truth #3: When you’re tempted, God will always provide a way of escape. Whenever you are undergoing a trial or a temptation, God ALWAYS provides a way out so that you can stand up under it. And, most often, the way of escape is to NOT walk on the edge of the cliff in the first place. As we walk in freedom, we should never flirt with sin like the Israelites did. “If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall.”

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. Join us at Impact for Sunday services: in person or online at 8:45 a.m. on Facebook Live or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc. 

What's Good About Being Single?

 “Let each one live the life which the Lord has assigned him, and to which God has called him.” 
– 1 Corinthians 7:17

An old country pastor once said, “Better to live in single loneliness than in married cussedness.”

In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul tells us that singleness and marriage are both gifts from God, and that each one presents unique opportunities for us to serve Jesus Christ. Therefore, the Word of God urges us to be content and bloom where we’re planted. If you’re single, stop wasting your time daydreaming about the greener grass of marriage. If you’re married, stop wasting your time daydreaming about the greener grass of singleness. Whatever your situation is, be the best Christian you can possibly be right where you are.

So, if you are a Christian single, take heart! Here are four good reasons to remain single and celibate:

Reason #1 (vs. 25-27): Single celibacy allows you to better navigate the “present crisis.” We’re not sure what “present crisis” Paul was referring to, but whatever it was, he saw it as a higher priority than tying the knot. So, does this word of instruction apply to us today? Yes, during times of “crisis,” it’s best to shelter in place. The NIV reads this way: “Are you married? Do not seek a divorce. Are you unmarried? Do not look for a wife” (v. 27).

Reason #2 (v. 28): Being married can add to your troubles. Marriage is hard enough when a husband and wife are on the same page. It’s significantly harder when a husband and wife have different callings and assignments. So, singles, don’t get married just to have an escape valve for your sex drive, or because your parents really want grandkids, or because you’re lonely. Ultimately, marriage is the solution for only one thing: Fulfilling the will of God. Only get married if it is clearly God’s will for you.

Reason #3 (vs. 32-35): Singleness allows you to serve Christ with “undivided devotion.” I believe that of all the reasons for remaining single and celibate, this one is closest to Paul’s heart. The gift of singleness allows a Christian to focus 100% on the concerns of God. If God has called you to be single—whether for a short season or permanently—you have been given a beautiful opportunity to focus entirely on pleasing God and doing His work without the distraction of also pleasing your spouse.

Reason #4 (vs. 39-40): Marriage is a lifelong commitment. Marriage isn’t a car. You can’t just take it for a test drive. Warren Wiersbe writes: “There is no place in Christian marriage for a ‘trial marriage,’ nor is there any room for the ‘escape hatch’ attitude. ‘If the marriage doesn’t work, we can always get a divorce.’…  There must be a willingness to grow, to learn from each other, to forgive and forget, to minister to one another.”

If you have been given the gift of single celibacy, your assignment can best be carried out in your singleness. But if you have been given the gift of marriage, your assignment can best be carried out as you lock arms and hearts with your Christian helpmate. Choosing marriage or singleness boils down to choosing to walk in obedience to fulfill the will of God for your life.

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. Join us at Impact for Sunday services: in person or online at 8:45 a.m. on Facebook Live or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Dealing With the Gray Areas

 “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak.” – 1 Corinthians 8:9

In some ways, being a Christian would be a whole lot easier if Jesus had given us more rules to follow: “Do this. Don’t do that. Go here. Don’t go there.”

 

And following Christ gets more complicated when we start dealing with the gray areas, where we don’t have a clear command in Scripture. For example, here are five things that the New Testament doesn’t specifically say are sins: drinking beer; smoking cigarettes;dancing; listening to secular music; and gambling in Las Vegas. Are any – or all – of these sins? Maybe. Maybe not.

 

For guidance on matters not mentioned in Scripture, Paul takes on a pressing question in 1 Corinthians 8. The Corinthian Christians wanted to know: “Is it okay for us to eat meat that was used in a pagan sacrifice?”

 

You see, in ancient Greece, there were idols all over the place. So it was darn near impossible to find any meat at the marketplace that wasn’t either used in a pagan sacrifice or prayed over in the name of some false god. What was a Christian to do?

 

As Paul answers the Corinthians’ specific gray-area question, he also answers the same, foundational question: When we’re exercising our freedom in Christ in a gray area, how far is too far? Paul answers: It’s too far when the exercise of our freedom becomes a stumbling block to a weaker Christian.

 

So, Paul says, eating food sacrificed to idols is not inherently sinful – but what is PERMISSIBLE is not necessarily BENEFICIAL. What is permissible for you might be harmful for the Christian across the table from you. Verse 9 gives us this timeless principle: “Be careful that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.”

 

Immature Christians’ superstitions and misguided beliefs don’t disappear as soon as they walk out of the baptistery. So, when deciding whether or not to exercise your freedom in Christ in a gray area, ask yourself these three questions:

 

Question #1: Will doing this bring glory and praise to God?

 

Question #2: Will doing this set a good example for other Christians, building them up in love?

 

Question #3: Will doing this help draw unbelievers unto Christ or push them further away?

 

Remember, it’s not about you. It’s about those around you. Jesus loves young Christians, so He is patiently and methodically strengthening and maturing their consciences. And as He does, it’s never a good idea to get in the way of Jesus’ good work in the life of another believer.

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. Join us at Impact for Sunday services: in person or online at 8:45 a.m. on Facebook Live or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc. 

Can I Divorce My Non-Christian Spouse?

“‘For I hate divorce!’ says the Lord, the God of Israel. ‘To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty…. So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife.” – Malachi 2:16

In Old Testament days, many of God’s followers didn’t think divorce was a big deal. Many New Testament Jews didn’t think divorce was a big deal either. And today, a growing number of Americans – and even many Christians – don’t think divorce is a big deal.

But God HATES it (Malachi 2:16). And in Matthew 19:9, Jesus says much the same thing: “I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.” In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul once again makes it clear: If you are married to a Christian, you MUST stay married (vs. 10-11). If you get a divorce for any reason other than adultery, you must either stay single or remarry your ex-spouse. 

But what about Christians who are married to a non-Christian spouse? As Paul continues the chapter, he considers 2 different scenarios:

#1: Christians who are married to non-Christians who want to stay married (vs. 12-14): Paul makes it clear that when a married man or woman comes to faith in Christ, his or her Christianity shouldn’t negatively disrupt the family or tear the family apart. To the contrary, a husband or wife’s Christian faith should be a blessing to their marriage and should be a sanctifying force in their family. So, when it comes to the question of whether or not a Christian has God’s permission to divorce his/her non-Christian spouse, the answer is NO. If your non-Christian spouse is willing to stay married to you and is not committing adultery, you do NOT have God’s permission to divorce him/her.

#2: Christians who are married to non-Christians who want a divorce (vs. 15-16): In this case, Paul writes that when an unbelieving spouse chooses to walk out and abandon his/her spouse, “a believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances” (v. 15). So it seems clear that in God’s eyes, a divorce is permissible in this case. What Paul doesn’t tell us is whether or not God permits the abandoned spouse to remarry. However, if you go back to Charles Spurgeon in the 19th Century and Martin Luther and John Calvin in the 16th Century, all three respected Bible scholars taught that re-marriage was permissible for a divorcee who was the innocent party in a marriage that dissolved because of adultery or desertion.

Is God’s Word on divorce countercultural? Most definitely! And is it uncomfortable to hear? Without a doubt! But now you know the truth – right from God’s Word.

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. Join us at Impact for Sunday services: in person or online at 8:45 a.m. on Facebook Live or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Is Celibacy the Way to Go?

“Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do.” 
– 1 Corinthians 7:8

Singleness is on the rise in the United States. Many young adults are choosing to wait longer to get married. The median age for men to get married for the first time is 30 years old, and it’s 28 for women. And a growing number of adults are choosing NOT to get re-married after being widowed or divorced.

 

So -- what does GOD have to say about singleness vs. marriage? If you’re single, should you be celibate? If you’re married, should you still be celibate? 

 

In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul is answering specific questions that the Corinthians asked him, beginning with this one: “Is it good for a man NOT to touch a woman?” “Touch a woman” was a G-rated way of saying, “have sexual intercourse.” So, we could paraphrase their question this way: “Is it good for a Christian man to remain single and celibate?”

 

And Paul’s answer is a surprising … YES! “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman” (v. 1). In verse 7, Paul even goes so far as to say that singleness is a grace gift from God: “I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.”

 

However, looking at verse 7 again, it also implies that, like single celibacy, marriage is another grace gift from God. And in verse 2, Paul says: “But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband.”

 

Now, Paul doesn’t say that the whole purpose of marriage is to give your sex drive a place to cut loose. But it IS true that for the majority of Christians who have sexual desires and needs, marriage provides a safe, holy place to fulfill those desires and needs (within reason). As Paul continues in verse 3 and 4: “The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband.”

 

As far as celibacy within marriage goes, Paul tells us we should only practice it sparingly. He writes, “Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control” (v. 5).

 

Regardless of whether you’re single or married, by God’s grace you CAN be content (Philippians 4:12-13). If you’re single, be content in your singleness as long as God blesses you with it – because your singleness gives you a beautiful opportunity to serve God without distractions. And if you’re married, be content in your marriage, because your spouse is a gift from God. Single or married, you can be content and serve God “through Christ who gives you strength.”

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. Join us at Impact for Sunday services: in person or online at 8:45 a.m. on Facebook Live or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.