No More Guessing Games!

“We know that we are children of God…. We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true.”
– 1 John 5:19-20

 

Aren't you grateful that God doesn't make us play a guessing game when it comes to the most important questions in life? 

 

In his first letter to the early Christian church, the Apostle John shares six certainties to give us great confidence as we follow Jesus Christ. Last week I shared the first two of those certainties. Today I’d like to share the last four:

 

Certainty #3: God hears and answers prayer (1 John 5:14-17). John writes, “If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him” (vs. 14-15). Now, notice that John DIDN’T say that God hears and answers ALL prayer. We read in the Old Testament of times when God turned away from the prayers of His children when they were disobeying His will. God makes it clear: If you are rebelling against Him and refusing to repent, He makes no promises about listening to or answering your prayers. But we CAN be confident that God hears and answers our prayers when our hearts are right before Him. And our hearts are right before God when we obey His commands, do what pleases Him and ask according to His will.

 

Certainty #4: God’s Children Don’t Keep Sinning. Verse 18 says, “We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them” (v. 18). Does that mean God’s children never sin? No. Earlier in his letter, John writes, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). But, he continues in the next verse, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” You see, John isn’t talking about occasional sins, when Christians let their guard down and give into temptation. He’s talking about ongoing lifestyle sins—LIVING in sin. When we follow Jesus, the One born of God (Jesus) keeps us safe from perpetual sin.

 

Certainty #5: God’s children are free from Satan’s control. John writes, “We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one” (v. 19). According to John, either you are a child of God who is safe in your Heavenly Father’s hand, or you’re in the grip of the devil. There’s no middle ground. So if you are a born-again believer and follower of Jesus Christ, you can be sure that as a child of God, you are free from Satan’s control.

 

Certainty #6: God’s Children Know the One True God. As John tells us, “We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true” (v. 20). As we follow Christ and obey His Word, we can be sure that God doesn’t make us play the guessing game. We can know the one true God.

 

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church. Join us tomorrow for a special service at our office facility: 8:45 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd in Victorville. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Do You REALLY Love Him?

 “Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?”
– John 21:17

It’s one of the most dramatic passages in the Bible. After Peter denied Jesus three times, he was once again face to face with the man he’d promised to follow without fail. And in John 21, Jesus questions Peter … three times.

 Three times, in three different ways, Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love Me?” And each time Peter replies, “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You” (vs. 15-18). Why does Jesus ask the same question three different times? Does He think Peter is lying? No. Is He rubbing Peter’s failures in his face? No. Is He trying to embarrass or shame Peter? No. So, why does He do it?

 Here’s why. In His mercy and grace, Jesus gives Peter three different opportunities to reaffirm His love and commitment to His Lord — one opportunity for every denial. And each time Peter does so, Jesus reiterates His calling on Peter’s life—not just to be a fisher of men, but to be a shepherd of Christ’s sheep: “Feed My lambs” (v. 15), “Take care of My lambs” (v. 16), and “Feed My sheep” (v. 17).

 In other words: “For the record, Peter, not only do I forgive you, I’m also restoring and promoting you. You’re still My disciple. You’re still My apostle. And I need you to finish what you’ve started. There are still many Jews in Israel who need to be brought into My sheep fold and cared for. And you’re the man for the job.”

Three times denied—three times FORGIVEN. Three times denied—three times RESTORED. Three times denied—three times PROMOTED.

Then, in verse 18, Jesus prophesies Peter’s martyrdom: “When you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” As best we can tell, it was about 34 years later, in 64 A.D., when Simon Peter was crucified for his faith in Jesus Christ. Peter died for his faith – but not before leading thousands of lost sheep to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and feeding them the Word of God.

Here are just two of many life lessons we can draw from this passage:

Life Lesson #1: Love covers a multitude of sins. Years later, in his first epistle, Peter writes: “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). Peter is speaking from personal experience. Jesus Christ IS love. And Jesus had covered a multitude of Peter’s sins. Jesus lifted Peter out of his guilt and shame and transformed him from a wimp into a warrior … from a failure into a success … from a disgrace into one of the most influential Christians in history. Jesus’ love and grace were big enough to cover Peter’s sins, and they are certainly big enough to cover yours. So, bring your sin, guilt and shame to Jesus – and let Him get to work.

Life Lesson #2: Loving Jesus comes at a cost. Loving Him brings both a responsibility and a cross. Each time Jesus responds to Peter’s profession of love, He says, in essence: “IF you love Me, then you have to prove it by doing what I ask you to do … even if it costs your life.” Love always requires sacrifice. And if Jesus is your First Love, love requires you to be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church, meeting Sundays at 8:30 and 10 a.m. at 16209 Kamana Road in Apple Valley.

Learn to Love Like Mary

“Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying.” – John 20:11

Despite her sordid past, Mary Magdalene was the first witness to Jesus' resurrection.  

Early in His ministry, Jesus delivered Mary Magdalene from seven demons, and she was forever grateful. She had been forgiven much, so she loved much—sticking by Jesus' side through thick and thin. As Jesus hung on the cross, she was there on Golgotha. When Jesus was buried, she followed Joseph and Nicodemus to the graveside. On Easter morning, Mary Magdalene was there at the tomb. And for her love ... she was richly rewarded.  

When she first saw Jesus – possibly because she was blinded by her tears – Mary didn’t recognize Him. But everything changed when Jesus spoke one simple word: “Mary.” Hearing Jesus say her name, she immediately recognized the voice of her Shepherd. As Jesus taught in John 10: “I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me” (v. 14).

Then, when Mary went to embrace Him, Jesus surprised her by saying, “Do not hold on to me” (John 20:17). Instead, He asked her to let go of Him, go and share the news of His resurrection with the disciples. And how did Mary Magdalene respond to Jesus’ commands? With obedience. As difficult as it was to leave her Shepherd, Mary hurried to the disciples with the good news: “I have seen the Lord!” (v. 18).

Here are three lessons we can learn from Mary Magdalene: 

Lesson #1: If you have been forgiven much … love much. As Jesus said in Luke 7:47, after a sinful woman bathed his feet with her tears, “Her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” We don’t know much about Mary Magdalene’s past. We do know she had been possessed by seven demons, and Jesus had set her free and forgiven her sins. She had been forgiven much, so she loved much. Now, it took a LOT of Jesus’ blood to cover all of your sin, right? You have been forgiven much—so love much.

Lesson #2: Learn to recognize the voice of your shepherd. Christians often ask, “How can I recognize God’s voice?” Here’s how: Learn to tune your spiritual ears to Jesus’ unique frequency. You can do that by filling your heart and mind with the Word of God. The better you know God’s Word, the more you will hear and recognize the unique voice of your Shepherd. As Jesus declared in John 10: “[The Good Shepherd] calls his own sheep by name … and his sheep follow him because they know his voice” (vs. 3-4).

Lesson #3: It’s tempting to cling to Jesus and keep Him to yourself, but He has an important job for you to do. So, let go. Then go, and tell. Because Mary Magdalene loved Jesus so much, she was quick to do exactly what He asked her to do. She did it out of her deep love for Christ. And out of our deep love for Christ, you and I must do it too. Rejoice over your living Savior. And go tell the world!

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church, meeting Sundays at 8:30 and 10 a.m. at 16209 Kamana Road in Apple Valley

 

Who Deserves Mercy?

"If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." – John 8:7

It’s one of the most beloved accounts in any of the Gospels.

In John 8, Jesus was teaching in the temple courts when he was rudely interrupted by the teachers of the law and some Pharisees. They brought Him a woman and said: “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now, what do you say?” (vs. 4-5). And then John adds a quick little FYI in verse 6: “They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.”

You see, the religious leaders knew that if Jesus said they SHOULDN’T stone the woman, they could arrest Him for rebelling against the Law of Moses. On the other hand, if Jesus said the woman SHOULD be stoned, He could be arrested by the government, because it was against Roman law for the Jews to carry out capital punishment without Roman approval.  So, Jesus was stuck with a lose-lose question. Or so everyone thought.

But Jesus’ response in verse 7 is genius: “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”

At that, the woman’s accusers slunk away, one by one, too convicted by their own sins to start hurling rocks. When Jesus was left alone with the woman, He asked, “Has no one condemned you?” And when she responded with a “no,” He said, “Then neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin” (v. 11).

Jesus showed the woman mercy – undeserved forgiveness. And in this passage, Jesus gives us three important lessons about showing mercy:

1. Legalists prefer to CONDEMN. Jesus prefers to FORGIVE. Often, it’s easier to condemn than it is to forgive. But when we start preferring condemnation over forgiveness, we can be sure that we are following in the footsteps of the Pharisees. Forgiveness is the path of Christ.

2. Jesus’ mercy comes with an implied warning: “If you reject My mercy, one day you will suffer God’s wrath.” Some Christians think that Jesus was soft on this woman’s sin. But He really wasn’t. Notice that He didn’t just say, “Neither do I condemn you. Tell your lover I said ‘Hi!’” He said, “Go now and leave your life of sin.” Jesus called upon this woman to make a radical change in her life.

4. Where legalists see miserable sinners, Jesus sees potential saints. Throughout the New Testament, we see lives radically transformed by following Jesus Christ. God doesn’t offer us a time machine to go back and change what we’ve done. But Jesus Christ gives us the next best thing: a second chance. Jesus is the God of second chances. He gives you the opportunity to change your life – beginning today.

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church. Join us for worship on Sunday at 8:30 a.m. or 10 a.m. at 16209 Kamana Road in Apple Valley, or livestream us on Facebook or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Maybe He Can Change Your Life, Too

"The true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks." – John 4:24

Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia is widely regarded as one of the best mayors in American history. He effectively led New York City through the most difficult years of the Great Depression and World War II. Although LaGuardia had a short frame, he had a BIG personality, and he loved people of all ages. It wasn’t unusual for him to ride the New York City fire trucks or take entire orphanages to baseball games. And when the New York newspapers were on strike, he went on the radio and read the daily comics to the kids.

Well, one night in January 1935, Mayor LaGuardia showed up at the night court that served the poorest ward of the city. LaGuardia dismissed the judge for the evening and took over the bench himself. An old woman was brought before him, charged with stealing a loaf of bread. She told LaGuardia that her daughter was sick and that her son-in-law had deserted her and their two kids. The old woman said she stole the bread because her grandchildren were starving. But the shopkeeper from whom the bread was stolen refused to drop the charges, insisting that the woman had to be punished to teach a lesson to others in that bad neighborhood.

LaGuardia sighed, turned to the woman and said, "I've got to punish you. The law makes no exceptions: ten dollars or ten days in jail." But as he spoke, he reached into his own pocket and pulled out a $10 bill. Mayor LaGuardia said, "Here is the $10 fine, which I now remit; and furthermore, I am going to fine everyone in this courtroom 50 cents for living in a town where a person has to steal bread so that her grandchildren can eat. Mr. Bailiff, collect the fines and give them to the defendant.” 

The next day, New York City newspapers reported that $47.50 was turned over to the shocked grandmother who had stolen a loaf of bread to feed her starving grandchildren. Fifty cents of that amount was contributed by the embarrassed grocery store owner. The remaining 70 people in the courtroom not only coughed up 50 cents each; everyone in the room rose to give the mayor a standing ovation.

I’ll bet you agree that a grace like that DESERVES a standing ovation. And so does the amazing grace that Jesus showed to the Samaritan woman at the well.

As I discussed in last week’s column, the Samaritan woman had little or no social standing. She was a five-time divorcee who was sexually promiscuous. It’s pretty clear that she was a social outcast. Yet, in John 4:16-24, Jesus urged the woman to receive the spiritual truth He was offering her and to step into the grace of God. Jesus explained that true worship isn’t confined to a certain building in a certain place: “A time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem….The true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks” (vs. 21-24).

In this passage, Jesus highlights two differences between false worship and true worship:

Difference #1: False worship is a selective worship, but true worship transcends time, space and ritual (v21). Jews and Samaritans held different views regarding where God should be worshiped. The Jews claimed that God HAD to be worshiped in Jerusalem. But the Samaritans insisted that God HAD to be worshiped on Mt. Gerizim, there in Samaria, where the Samaritans had set up a temple of their own. Jesus, however, pointed out that true worship can’t be confined to a specific place—because GOD can’t be confined to a specific place. Is our God so small that He’s stuck inside a 30 x 30-foot room on top of the temple mount? No way! Our God is a BIG God. His glory not only fills the earth; His glory fills the heavens and the earth.

Difference #2: False worship is an ignorant worship, but true worship involves a personal knowledge of God and His Word (v. 22). The Samaritans had tossed out most of the Old Testament, leaving only the first five books. So they were largely ignorant of who God was. But God has given us several wonderful gifts to help us NOT be spiritually ignorant. First, He gave us His Word—but we have to read and listen to His Word and hide it in our hearts. The second gift God gave us is our brains. It’s wonderful when our emotions are engaged when we worship God, but true worship requires our minds to be engaged. The third gift God gave us is His Holy Spirit—our most faithful Teacher and personal Tutor, Who opens our minds and hearts to the truth of God’s Word.

When I think of the grace that Mayor LaGuardia showed the granny who stole the loaf of bread, I can’t help but wonder how that grace changed her life and the lives of her hungry grandkids. And when I think of the grace that Jesus showed the woman at the well, I can’t help but wonder how His grace changed HER life and the lives of those she shared that grace with.

At the end of the account of the woman at the well, she runs into town saying, “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did” (v. 29). In a matter of minutes, she goes from simply having a little bit of intellectual knowledge about God to knowing God personally—because God in human flesh came to the well to have a one-on-one conversation with her. I believe that God has called you and me to do the same thing. Sometimes it's simply about telling someone, “Jesus Christ changed my life. Can I tell you what he did for me? Come with me to church on Sunday. Perhaps He can transform your life, too. Come and see a man who changed my life. Come and see!”

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church. Join us for worship on Sunday at 8:30am or 10am at 16209 Kamana Road in Apple Valley, or livestreaming on Facebook or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc. 

Jerusalem or Bust!

“Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” – Acts 21:13

In one of his many inspiring books, Pastor Max Lucado tells the story of Chippie the parakeet. One moment, Chippie was peacefully perched in his cage. The next thing he knew, he was—in Lucado’s words—“sucked in, washed up, and blown over.”

It all began when Chippie's owner decided to clean his cage with a vacuum cleaner. She stuck the vacuum hose in the cage and flipped the switch. Everything was going fine until the phone rang. The owner picked it up, said "Hello," and … sssspp! Chippie got sucked in. Chippie’s owner gasped, put down the phone, turned off the vacuum, and opened the canister. There was Chippie -- still alive, but stunned and covered with dirt. She ran to the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and held Chippie under the running water. Then, when she saw that Chippie was soaked and shivering, she tried once again to help—by reaching for the blow dryer and blasting him with hot air.

A few days later, someone asked Chippie's owner how her pet was recovering. “Well," she said, "Chippie doesn't sing much anymore—he just sits and stares." Poor Chippie!

On the surface, Chippie and the Apostle Paul had a lot in common. As he wrote in his second letter to the Corinthians: “I have been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked.” (2 Corinthians 11:23-25). Like Chippie, Paul was sucked in, washed up and blown over. After all that he endured for Christ, Paul’s friends and family would have understood if he had finished his life like Chippie—just sitting there shell-shocked, staring into the distance. But even after all that he had suffered, and knowing that more persecution awaited him in Jerusalem, Paul was just as determined as ever to fight the good fight, finish the race and keep the faith.

As they set off for Jerusalem, Paul and his team stopped in several towns, staying in the homes of fellow Christian disciples. In Caesarea, they spent several days at the house of a man you might remember: Philip the evangelist. Twenty years earlier, Philip had served as a deacon alongside Stephen, the first Christian martyred for his faith in Christ. Paul was at that execution … watching over the coats of the murderers who were throwing rocks at Stephen’s head. Think about that: Paul was an accomplice in the murder of one of Philip’s partners in ministry. Stephen might have been one of Philip’s best friends—and Paul had helped kill him. Surprisingly, in Acts 21, there is no hint of bitterness, anger or a grudge. There is just warm Christian hospitality. Isn’t this a beautiful testimony to the power of Christian love and forgiveness?

Before Paul’s group left Caesarea, a prophet named Agabus visited them to deliver a prophetic message to Paul. He took off Paul’s belt, tied it around his own hands and feet and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles’” (vs. 10-11). The church’s reaction to this prophecy wasn’t surprising. Paul’s missionary buddies and the Caesarean Christians “pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem” (v. 12). Paul had now been warned multiple times that persecution awaited him in Jerusalem. But listen to Paul’s response: “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus” (v. 13). Is it any wonder that this man is a hero of our faith?

I’d like to suggest three life lessons we can pull from this passage:

Life Lesson #1: If you follow Christ faithfully, you will be misunderstood. Follow Him faithfully anyway. The 19th century essayist and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson said it really well: “Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther…. To be great is to be misunderstood.” Even Paul’s fellow missionaries couldn’t understand why he was so dead set on going to Jerusalem when he knew full well that persecution awaited him there. So, Paul was misunderstood by many people, including his Christian friends. To be a great Christian is to be misunderstood.

Life Lesson #2: If you are a Christian, you have family and friends all over the world. Everywhere Paul traveled and encountered Christians, he had a place to stay. And the same is true of Christians today. No matter where you find yourself here in the United States, or in other parts of the world, go to church. You’ll find family and friends there who will receive you with open arms.

Life Lesson #3: As you walk in grace, the Holy Spirit gives you the grace to forgive. I believe Philip is an unsung hero. Most people wouldn’t have done what he did. In our world, where people hold grudges and harbor anger, bitterness and unforgiveness, Philip walked in God’s grace. So, God gave him the grace to forgive Paul. Remember, no matter WHO the person is or WHAT they’ve done to wrong you and your family, God has given you the grace to forgive that person. So, do it. Let go of the anger, the bitterness and the unforgiveness today. Jesus will give you the grace to forgive, if you’ll just hand over your unforgiveness to Him.

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. Join us at Impact for Sunday services: in person at 9 a.m., or online at 10 a.m. on YouTube or Facebook. Dane’s latest book, “Called to Persevere: One Man’s Journey to Overcome Pain, Disease and Disappointment with God,” is scheduled for release on Amazon in September.

Beware of Pollution in the Church

“Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.”  – Revelation 2:23

When I was in eighth grade, I attended a small Christian school in Camarillo. During the spring semester, our school had a science fair, and I did my science fair project on water pollution. My parents bought me a few cheap goldfish, and I put them in separate bowls. The goldfish in one bowl had nice fresh water. And the goldfish in the other bowl didn’t. Every day I added salt to their water. As you probably know, salt water isn’t good for fresh-water goldfish. For them, it’s polluted water.

After a week or two, guess what happened to the goldfish in the polluted water. No, they didn’t die! I’m not a fish murderer! But the salt water did stunt their growth. They were noticeably smaller than the goldfish in the fresh water.

Pollution has a way of doing that. It stunts our growth. It makes us sick. Eventually, it will kill us. And what is true in the natural world is also true in the spiritual world. You see, nothing infects and weakens a church faster than moral pollution. And one of the most polluted churches in the New Testament was the Church at Thyatira in Revelation 2.

Before wading into the church’s moral mess, Jesus praises the Thyatira Christians for their deeds, love, faith and persevering service. But there is something glaringly absent from Jesus’ praise: He doesn’t praise them for their doctrine. Jesus doesn’t praise them for teaching God’s true word while expelling all false teaching. There’s no indication that they stand firm against people who pollute God’s word. And that’s a big deal … because Jesus spends six verses to rebuke their conduct.

Jesus begins His rebuke in Revelation 2:20: “Nevertheless, I have this against you. You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads My servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.” Let’s take a closer look at the three sins Jezebel was polluting the Thyatira Christians with:

Sin #1: She called herself a prophetess. She was assuming a position of authority and a title that God hadn’t given her. As the Apostle Paul teaches, “in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing….” (1 Cor. 12:28). The list goes on, but we can see that Jezebel was proclaiming herself to be in the second-highest tier of leadership in her church. Jesus teaches us to pursue humility, not arrogance. Any time someone comes to a church and immediately asks to be a pastor or elder in the church, the leadership team should see that as a red flag.

Sin #2: Jezebel’s teaching misled Christians into adultery. In the Old Testament, God refers to idol worship as “adultery.” That makes sense, because just as a husband has promised himself to his one wife, Israel promised herself to her one God: Yahweh. So, to worship any other god is to cheat on God. Some Bible scholars believe Jezebel was just leading her followers into spiritual adultery—idol worship, not into physical adultery. But bearing in mind how worship at the pagan temples worked in those days, I think it’s much more likely that Thyatira’s Jezebel was doing both.

Sin #3: Jezebel’s teaching misled Christians into the eating of food sacrificed to idols. It also seems likely that Jezebel was convincing Christians to give in to the pressure from the trade guilds to conform. In Thyatira, there were several well-organized trade guilds for at least a dozen different industries. Every year, each guild threw lavish parties in Apollo’s temple, which every trade guild member was required to attend. Jezebel’s teaching probably went something like this: “Jesus taught us to give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God what is God’s. So, our city leaders and trade guild leaders are asking us to go to Apollo’s temple and offer him some incense. And they expect us to eat food sacrificed to idols. Who cares? And God created sex, so if there’s a little sex involved in the Apollo worship, it’s no big deal … especially if you’re having sex with a brother or sister in Christ who you love. This is no time to get on your moral high horse. It’s not worth losing your job over.”

The bottom line was: Jezebel BELIEVED in God, but she didn’t TRUST in God. And without trust, it’s impossible to please God (Hebrews 1:6). She didn’t trust God to take care of her and her family if she got fired for obeying His first two commandments: “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me,” and “Thou shalt not make for yourselves an idol to worship.” Jezebel didn’t trust God to take care of her and her family if she got fired for obeying His seventh commandment: “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”

Jesus makes it clear that, in mercy, He has given Jezebel time to repent, but she has refused (v. 21). So, she is about to suffer His judgment, and her spiritual children—those who follow her false teaching—will suffer His judgment next if they refuse to repent (v. 22). “Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds” (v.23).

Jezebel polluted sound teaching in the Thyatira church by teaching Christians that moral compromise is okay if it helps you keep your job. But in Christ’s church, moral compromise is never okay—no matter what it helps you keep. Therefore, it should never be tolerated in the church. God’s message to the Christians in Thyatira is loud and clear: It’s not okay to turn a blind eye to polluted teaching or polluted behavior in your church. You must get rid of it. Jesus’ church must be a holy church. And if it’s not, judgment is coming. 

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. His new book, “Buoyed Up: Jesus’ 8 Steps to an Unsinkable Life,” is available on Amazon in paperback, e-book and audiobook. Join us at Impact for Sunday services: in person at 9 a.m., or online at 10 a.m. on Facebook Live or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

The Danger of Moral Compromise

“There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin.”  – Revelation 2:14

When we hear of a church being "under attack," we tend to think of it being assaulted by an outside force. Critics are slandering. Atheists are picketing. Or the landlord is threatening to evict the church from its building. But more times than not, churches die from the inside out. And one of the culprits is a silent killer: moral compromise.

A pastor gets caught in an act of indiscretion. The treasurer helps himself to the church's donations. The small groups become gossip groups. The members become cold and self-absorbed. And little by little, the church becomes indistinguishable from the world.

But moral compromise in the church is far from new. It was just as much of a danger to the Christians in the church at Pergamum, and in Revelation 2, Jesus calls them out for it. After praising the Pergamum Christians for their loyalty and courage in verse 13, Jesus rebukes them for two things. The first rebuke is in verse 14: “You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality.”

In the Old Testament, Balaam was a pagan prophet and sorcerer who believed in God and, to some extent, worshiped and obeyed God. In Numbers 22-24, he blessed the Israelites four times when he was hired by the evil King Balak to curse them. But a few chapters later, we learn that Balaam cooked up a plan to send Moabite women into the Israelite camp to seduce them into sexual sin and idolatry (Numbers 31:16).

Basically, Balaam told King Balak: “I can’t curse the Israelites. God won’t let me. But there’s another way that you can get God to curse them. It’s a back-door approach. If you send your hottest, most alluring women into the Israelite camp to seduce their men into having sex with them and joining their pagan worship, God will HAVE to curse them, because He can’t turn a blind eye to that kind of sin.” From that point on in Scripture, Balaam’s name becomes synonymous with moral compromise.

So, when Jesus tells the Pergamum Christians that some of their people “hold to the teaching of Balaam,” in essence, He’s telling them this: “Christians in Pergamum, although you’ve stood strong against threats and attacks coming from outside the church, you’ve started to give in to moral compromise inside the church. And it’s not okay! I have called you to a higher standard, so I expect you to raise your moral standards … not lower them.”

In verse 15, Jesus rebukes the Pergamum Christians for allowing some of their church members to “hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.” Since the Nicolaitans aren’t mentioned outside the Book of Revelation, we don’t know exactly what they taught. But the word “Nicolaitans” literally means “conquerors of the people.” So, in one way or another, the Nicolaitans were infiltrating the church, convincing young, impressionable Christians to be soft in their convictions, and to be soft on sin.

Together, the Balaam followers and the Nicolaitans in the Pergamum church were corrupting their congregation. The church was supposed to be holy, separate and distinct from the sinful culture surrounding them. But as the weeks passed, they were becoming more and more indistinguishable from their culture.

Jesus’ message is loud and clear: It’s not enough to just stand strong against the soldiers from OUTSIDE the church who come to arrest you for your faith. You have to stand just as strong against compromising Christians INSIDE the church. You have to stand strong against carnal Christians who are trying to get you into bed with them. You have to stand strong against lukewarm Christians who are trying to get you to drink this or smoke that. You have to stand strong against Christians who live like the devil outside the church building and are trying to get you to live the same way. They want you to be like them—to live lives that are indistinguishable from the world around you. Jesus tells the Pergamum Christians in verse 16: “Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.”

However, in verse 17, Jesus makes a wonderful promise to those who resist the allure of moral compromise: “To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna.” In other words: “If you overcome the temptation to eat the bread of sin, I will bless you with the bread of life.”

So, don’t jump on the bandwagon of moral compromise, even when your fellow Christians are going for a joyride. Your refusal to compromise your morals and your integrity will pay off in the end, when you successfully cross the finish line of your Christian race and receive your heavenly reward. What a mighty God we serve!

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. His new book, “Buoyed Up: Jesus’ 8 Steps to an Unsinkable Life,” is available on Amazon in paperback, e-book and audiobook. Join us at Impact for Sunday services: in person at 9 a.m., or online at 10 a.m. on Facebook Live or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

A Model Church

“I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich!” – Revelation 2:9

 Afflicted, dirt poor and slandered. It was just another day for the Christians in Smyrna.

 Although the ancient city of Smyrna was the most beautiful city in the Roman Empire, it had some really ugly stuff going on inside city limits. You see, Christianity was outlawed. So, it was open season on followers of Christ. But in Revelation 2:8-11, Jesus sends a little message to the Smyrna Christians, and He praises them for patiently enduring three things:

1. The Smyrna Christians endured afflictions. Christians were persecuted in every one of the seven cities in Asia Minor, but the persecution against the Christians in Smyrna was particularly cruel. In the city of Smyrna, everyone was expected to worship the Roman Emperor. Refusal to do so was treason. So, if a resident of Smyrna neglected their patriotic duty to worship the emperor, they were discriminated against. They were kicked out of the local trade guilds—leaving them unemployed. And many vendors in the marketplace wouldn’t sell them food. So, starvation was a real possibility. Many of them endured torture. It was stifling, even crushing, and Jesus knew it.

Remember, Jesus is not oblivious to our pain and suffering. He KNOWS what we’re going through, and He knows what it feels like: “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering…. He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and … afflicted” (Isaiah 53:3-4). In Revelation 2:9, Jesus says to the Smyrna Christians, “I know your afflictions.” And He means it. He’s been in their shoes. He’s felt the crushing weight of persecution for the sake of the Gospel.

2. The Smyrna Christians endured poverty. The Christians in Smyrna were dirt poor. They had nothing. Under the persecution of the emperor, these Christians had their homes and property confiscated. They lost their jobs when they were kicked out of the local trade guilds. And many Bible scholars believe that since Christianity was illegal in Smyrna, the Christians had their smaller possessions looted by both Jews and the Romans. So it’s remarkable that Jesus tells them in verse 9: “You are rich.”

But Jesus isn’t as shallow as we are. In 2 Cor. 6:10, the Apostle Paul says, “[We are] sorrowful, yet always rejoicing, poor, yet making many rich, having nothing, and yet possessing everything.” How was it possible for Paul and his fellow missionaries to have nothing, yet possess everything? The short, sweet answer is: Because they had Jesus. Anyone who has Jesus is rich. Forgiveness, grace, love, eternal salvation, adoption into God’s family, peace, purpose and joy: All of these riches and so many others are ours in Christ. As far as material possessions go, the Smyrna Christians had nothing. But they actually had the greatest Mother Lode of treasure that money can’t buy. So, Jesus tells them in verse 9, “You … are … rich.”

3. The Smyrna Christians endured slander. Sadly, much of this slander came from people who called themselves “Jews.” The Jews in Smyrna seem to have practiced their religion only to the extent that it made their lives easier, while ignoring God’s commandment to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” The Jews jumped on the bandwagon and slandered Christians’ good names. They accused Christians of having orgies at their church services, and of eating human flesh and drinking human blood when they took the Lord’s Supper. They called the Christians “cannibals.” Was any of it true? Of course not! But that’s one more reason why the Smyrna Christians’ endurance was so remarkable.

If you’ve been a follower of Christ for any length of time, you have probably faced discrimination and persecution for your faith at one level or another. And when it comes to endurance, the church at Smyrna is a model church. Like the Christians in Smyrna, we need to remain faithful to Christ and endure, no matter what the world throws at us. When we are afflicted, we must faithfully endure. When our Christianity costs us our jobs, we must faithfully endure. And when we are slandered for the name of Christ, we must faithfully endure. And with Christ’s help, when the heat is turned up in the kitchen, we will do just that: We will faithfully endure. And as Jesus promises at the end of His message to the Smyrna Christians, every bit of endurance for Christ will result in a heavenly reward. 

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. His new book, “Buoyed Up: Jesus’ 8 Steps to an Unsinkable Life,” is available on Amazon in paperback, e-book and audiobook. Join us at Impact for Sunday services: in person at 9 a.m., or online at 10 a.m. on Facebook Live or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

The Right Motive for Doing Good

 “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.” – Revelation 2:4

Years ago I visited a local church for a special evening service. During the worship time I noticed the sound mix in the room was terrible. Some microphones were turned up too high. Others were turned down too low. So, I did what many of us do when we don’t like the sound quality—I turned around to glare at the sound man.

As I glanced at the sound booth, I immediately diagnosed the problem. The sound technician was standing in the booth with her eyes closed and her hands lifted high in praise. So, I thought to myself, “Well, she’s busy worshiping and loving Jesus, so I guess I’d better leave her alone.” You see, sometimes we’re so focused on doing good ministry, we forget why we’re doing it in the first place. That woman hadn’t forgotten.

In Revelation 2 and 3, Jesus writes seven short letters to seven different churches in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). Since He is the Son of God, Jesus Christ has both the power and the insight to do what you and I can’t do—to perform a spiritual X ray of every church in order to diagnose its true condition. Within each letter to the seven churches, Jesus tends to follow this basic three-point outline. First, He praises the church for at least one thing its members are doing RIGHT. Next, He rebukes the church for at least one thing they’re doing WRONG. Finally, He makes a promise to the church.  

Jesus follows this outline to a “T” as He addresses the first of the seven churches in Revelation 2:1-7: the Church at Ephesus. First, Jesus praises them in verses 2, 3 and 6. When you take a closer look at these three verses, you’ll discover that the Ephesian Christians were doing a lot of things right. In fact, Jesus offers them nine compliments that can be summarized this way: They didn’t put up with bad teaching or bad behavior; they stood firm in their faith during times of persecution, and they protected younger Christians from exploitation.

Sounds like a great church, doesn’t it? And—considering how wicked the City of Ephesus was—it’s remarkable that the Ephesian church was so morally strong and faithful to Christ. The Ephesian church didn’t cave to the pressure to conform to popular culture.

But as Jesus inspected the hearts of the Ephesian Christians, He found something inexcusable—something that, if not addressed, would bring about the church’s downfall. Jesus addresses it in verse 4: “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.” The New Living Translation says it this way: “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love Me or each other as you did at first.”

So, what was the Ephesian Christians’ inexcusable sin? Somewhere along the way they had stopped loving God and people. So, Jesus basically tells them, “Christians, do you remember how you used to love Me? And do you remember how you used to love each other? Something has changed, and I’m not sure you even realize it. Your love has grown cold. You do so many things right, but you do them for the wrong reasons. You work hard, but there’s no love in it. You don’t put up with bad teaching or bad behavior, but there’s no love in it. You patiently endure persecution, but you don’t do it out of love. You’re not doing your good deeds as an act of love for Me or for the people around you.”

Do you remember what Paul wrote in the first three verses of 1 Corinthians 13—the “love chapter”? “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but I have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”

Wow! Don’t miss what God’s word is telling us. It doesn’t matter how hard you’re working or how many good deeds you’re doing or how much persecution you’re enduring for Jesus; if there’s no love in it, it’s MEANINGLESS. And in Revelation 2:5, Jesus tells the Ephesian Christians (and us): “Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.”

Friends, what we do for the Lord is important, but so is why we do it. There could be a hundred different reasons why we do the good deeds we do. So, Revelation 2:4-5 serves as a clarion wakeup call for you and me. Jesus calls us to turn away from cold, loveless Christianity. It there’s no love in it, our ministry is meaningless. So, it’s imperative that you and I get back to loving Jesus Christ as we once did—with our whole hearts. So, if doing good ministry ever gets in the way of loving Jesus, I believe God’s word is clear. We need to follow the example of the Jesus-praising sound technician: Take a short break from your ministry in order to get your priorities and motives back in check. Love God first. Do good ministry second. And once we put the love first, we can once again do both together.

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. His new book, “Buoyed Up: Jesus’ 8 Steps to an Unsinkable Life,” is now available on Amazon in paperback, e-book and audiobook. Join us at Impact for Sunday services: in person at 9 a.m., or online at 10 a.m. on Facebook Live or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Don't Let Sin Slow You Down!

“We are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.” – Hebrews 10:30

When I think of running a race with perseverance, Cliff Young comes to mind. Who is Cliff Young? An Australian sheepherder and potato farmer, of course! In 1983, Australia began hosting what was, at the time, the most grueling foot race on earth: a seven-day, 543-mile ultra-marathon stretching from Sydney to Melbourne. That’s like running from Victorville to Sacramento, hanging a left and running 85 miles to San Francisco, then topping it all off by running back-to-back marathons around the city. 

The day the Sydney ultra-marathon started, 150 world-class runners showed up. And guess who showed up to run with them: Cliff Young. At the age of 61, Cliff approached the registration table, wearing overalls and rain boots, and declared his intention to run. You see, Cliff had grown up on a farm without the luxury of a horse or a four-wheel drive. So, when the storms rolled in, Cliff had to put on his rain boots and run for two or three straight days to round up 2,000 sheep over a 2,000-acre farm. To Cliff, running an ultra-marathon sounded like another day on the farm.

When Cliff started running, spectators thought, “This must be a joke!” Because he didn’t really run. It was more of a leisurely old-man shuffle. Australians were glued to their TVs, saying things like: “Someone should stop that crazy old man before he kills himself!” But five days, 15 hours, and four minutes later, after shuffling for 543 miles, Cliff Young shuffled across the finish line in Melbourne—in first place. And he didn’t win by a few seconds, or even by a few minutes. Catch this: The second-place runner was nine hours and 56 minutes behind him. You see, during the race, Cliff shuffled along day and night with almost no sleep, until he crossed the finish line. And the 61-year-old sheepherder who defied all odds became a national hero.

If Cliff Young can persevere through a 543-mile ultra-marathon, you and I can certainly persevere in our lives as Christians. One of the keys to running a gold-medal race for Jesus is, “Don’t sin.” Sin slows you down. Sin makes you weak. With that in mind, I’d like to point out three sins that slow you down and cause collateral damage in the church:

Sin #1: Unbelief. God’s word tells us in Hebrews 11:6: “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” God is deeply concerned about unbelief in His followers. No sin will stop a church dead in its tracks as quickly as the sin of unbelief. Unbelief is a spiritual cancer within a congregation. And Hebrews 10:39 tells us: “But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.” We are believers—not quitters. No matter what tragedies happen in your life … no matter how many people around you think you’re nuts … no matter how hard it is to hold on to your faith … don’t stop believing.

Sin #2: Unforgiveness. To me, this is one of the most troubling sins in the church today. It grieves my heart to see how many Christians hold on to bitterness, resentment and unforgiveness. And Christianity is nothing without forgiveness. Do you remember what Jesus taught us to pray in The Lord’s Prayer? “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” And in case we missed it, he elaborates in Matthew 6:14-15: “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” If you refuse to forgive someone who has sinned against you, God will refuse to forgive you who have sinned against Him.

Sin #3: Undernourishment. Even if you’ve never participated in a team sport, you know that a nutritious diet is very important for an athlete. If you don’t train well or eat well, it affects you on the playing field. The same holds true in the spiritual realm. Our number-one source of nourishment is the Bible. It is our spiritual meat. It is our living water. Yet sadly, one recent study found that only one in eight Christians read their Bible daily. Last week, how many days did you go without eating any food? I would guess—zero. But how many days did you go without eating any spiritual food? Our second source of nourishment is prayer. Every follower of Christ needs to spend time with God in prayer every day. If we don’t, we’ll be undernourished. Finally, our third source of spiritual nourishment is the church. More than ever before, Christians are not making church attendance a priority. And the results have been devastating. Hundreds of churches across America have closed their doors for good. Needs in the community are going unmet. And most tragic of all: Millions of people are NOT getting saved … because the church is AWOL.

So, please make sure that you do your part to stay well-nourished as we run this Jesus Race together. Be in God’s Word every day. Spend quality time in prayer with God every day. And if you’re physically able to attend, be in church every week. We’ve got a lot of race left to run and not much time left to run it. So, let’s each do our part to finish our Jesus Race strong … together.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our in-person worship service Sundays at 9 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd. in Victorville. Or, join us online at 10 a.m. on the Impact Christian Church YouTube channel or Facebook page. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

I Never Knew You

 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven.”
- Matthew 7:21

When all is said and done, the most important thing we ever do in life is to share the gospel. The most important thing that we can do is tell people the truth—that every human being will live forever in one of two places: either in heaven or in hell. The good news is, there is a way to heaven that is guaranteed. And that way is Jesus Christ.

In eternity we will have fully functioning minds and bodies. Those who are in heaven will fully perceive every bit of joy and peace and comfort and love. And those who are in hell will fully perceive every bit of pain, agony, shame and regret. The Bible teaches us that hell is a place of eternal torment that God has prepared for the devil and his demons. We're okay with that, aren't we? The devil and his demons deserve what's coming to them. And so do Adolf Hitler, Osama bin Laden, murderers, rapists and child molesters. Right?

We look at the most vile criminals in human history and say to ourselves, “They deserve to go to hell!” But in Matthew 7, Jesus warns us that it’s not only murderers, rapists and Satan worshipers who will go to hell. Many professed CHRISTIANS will go to hell also. In verse 23, Jesus says that many Christians who stand before Him on Judgment Day will hear seven of the most horrifying, spine-chilling words in the Bible: “I never knew you. Away from Me.”

How is this possible? To understand, let’s take a look at 3 hard-hitting truths about the narrow road to heaven.

Heaven Truth #1: Confessing Christ as Lord and Savior won't get you to heaven, no matter how often you do it. Jesus says in v. 21, “Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” As important as confessing Christ is, if there is no faith in Christ and no transformed life, there is no salvation—no matter how many times you parrot the words, “Jesus is the Christ and the Son of the living God.” Atheists can parrot those same words. Demons routinely parrot those words.

Perhaps James says it best in James 2:14 & 26: “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?... As the body without spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” James could just as easily have said, “Confession without deeds is dead.” If you're simply confessing Christ with you mouth, but not confessing Him with your actions, your confession is empty and useless.

Heaven Truth #2: An emotional response to Christ won't get you to heaven, no matter how amazing it feels. Jesus says in Matthew 7:22, “Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?” There are several truths about the road to heaven that we can extrapolate from this verse. But one of these truths is this: Emotions and enthusiasm won't get you there.

This should frighten a lot of church-goin' folk who are convinced they are saved. One of the trends in modern-day worship services is to produce very emotional worship services. The music and the lights and feverish pitch of the sermon are all designed to draw out an emotional response. Now, emotional worship services CAN be a wonderful thing … if God is in it. But church leaders have to be careful not to manufacture emotional responses to the Gospel that are a mile wide but only an inch deep. Emotions are a terrible indicator of whether you're going to heaven or hell. Emotions come and go. Emotions are up, down and all around. So, they're a terrible indicator of whether or not you're really saved.

Heaven Truth #3: Religious acts won't get you to heaven, no matter how impressive they look. Of these three heavenly truths, this one is the hardest for many of us to comprehend. Jesus doesn't point out three simple religious acts that fake Christians can easily do, like going to church, memorizing the Lord's Prayer or singing in the choir. Jesus identifies three really big and impressive acts: prophesying in Jesus' name, performing exorcisms in Jesus' name, and healing others in Jesus' name. This is the kind of stuff that will knock your socks off. But remember this. Judas Iscariot was one of Jesus' chosen 12 apostles, and Jesus gave all 12 of them power and authority to drive out demons, cure diseases and heal the sick. Judas Iscariot did ALL of those wonderful, powerful “Christian” things—and after all of that, he still went to hell.

Religious acts won't get you to heaven, no matter how impressive they look. Tithing won't get you to heaven, even if you’re the biggest tither in the church. Baptism won't get you to heaven, even if you were baptized by Billy Graham himself. Praying for the sick, volunteering at the food bank and handing out gospel tracts are NO guarantees of your salvation. Sadly, many of the most religious churchgoers in America will not make it to heaven.

Real Christianity boils down to three things: Trust God, love God and obey God while abiding in a personal relationship with God. Only a true follower of Christ will aim to do these three things every day—whether we're at church, at home, at work or at WalMart. Whether we're around Christians or nonChristians. Whether our obedience to Christ is applauded or hated. If you’re the real deal, you will trust God, love God and obey God every day until you reach the end of the narrow road and Jesus calls you home to heaven.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our in-person worship service Sundays at 9 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd. in Victorville. Or, join us online at 10 a.m. on the Impact Christian Church YouTube channel or Facebook page. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

3 More Prayer Requests from Jesus

 “Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” – Matthew 6:11-13

I think most of us understand that there’s a wrong way to pray. For example, this year’s Super Bowl was an absolute slaughter. At halftime the Chiefs were down 21-6 to the underdog Buccaneers. And by that time, you can guess what many Chiefs fans were doing, especially those who had bet on the game: They began praying for a miracle. After all, they had a lot riding on that game: money, pride and bragging rights. Do I even need to say it? That’s the wrong way to pray.

Another wrong use of prayer is to take someone else on a guilt trip. Instead of confronting them face-to-face, we choose the passive-aggressive approach and pray in front of them. “Lord, thank you for Jennifer. But I pray that she’ll stop being late all the time.” Or, “Father in heaven, help John to stop being so rude to me.” Most of us parents, at one time or another, have performed some guilt-trip prayers in front of our kids. After all, why confront them with their bad behavior when we can just pray for them at the dinner table? Friends, that’s another wrong way to pray.

But in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus begins teaching us the right way to pray. He says, “This, then, is how you should pray” (Matthew 6:9). And He proceeds to teach us The Lord’s Prayer. There are six prayer requests in this short prayer. Many Christians assume the first three requests in The Lord’s Prayer are focused on God’s needs and wants—“Hallowed by Your name,” “Your Kingdom come,” and “Your will be done”—while the last three requests focus on our needs and wants. But that’s only partly true. The last three prayer requests are very personal and practical, but each one still stems from a desire to see God’s name honored, God’s kingdom come and God’s will be done. Let’s take a look.

Jesus’ 4th Prayer Request (v. 11): “Give us today our daily bread.” Many ask, “What does Jesus mean by ‘daily bread’?” Well, we know that “bread” is a common symbol in the Bible, usually used as a synonym for food. So, Jesus’ 4th request in The Lord’s Prayer most likely boils down to this: “Our Father in heaven, give us the food we need today for our sustenance and support.” Or, as the New Living Translation puts it: “Give us today the food we need.” Notice that Jesus doesn’t say, “Give us this month the food we need.” Or even “Give us over the next few days the food we need.” Jesus wants us to express our dependence on God every day. 

Jesus’ 5th Prayer Request (v. 12): “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” In Jesus’ day, Jewish teachers used the word “debts” as a synonym for “sins.” So, Jesus is teaching us to pray that God will “forgive us for our sins, as we also have forgiven those who have sinned against us.” And if you’re wondering if Jesus is actually saying what you think He’s saying, the answer is YES … HE IS. Jesus is teaching us to basically pray, “Father in heaven, please forgive me for my sins. But only forgive me to the extent that I have already forgiven others who have sinned against me.” And all God’s children say, “Uh-oh!!!”

In case we miss what Jesus is saying here, He clarifies this 5th prayer request later on, in verses 14 and 15: “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Is Jesus actually saying that God will refuse to forgive us if we refuse to forgive others? Bingo! That’s exactly what He’s saying. Think about it: How can we possibly expect God to forgive us for a sin that we fully intend to commit again and again--tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that?

So, according to Jesus, this is the right way to pray: “Our Father in heaven, You are a God of great mercy and forgiveness. So, as we follow in Your footsteps, we have shown mercy and forgiveness to those who have sinned against us. Now, that we ourselves aren’t holding on to any unforgiveness, please forgive us for the sins we’ve committed against You.”

Jesus’ 6th Prayer Request (v. 13): “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” The Bible teaches us, “God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone” (James 1:13b). So what does this prayer request mean? Here’s a great insight that I learned from Pastor John Piper: “All our experiences are tests from God and are temptations from Satan.” He goes on to explain, “Pleasant Experiences – God wants us to thank Him. Satan wants us to idolize the pleasure. Painful Experiences – God wants us to trust Him. Satan wants us to curse God.” Learn to think of everything that you go through in life—whether it’s good, bad or ugly—as a test from God and as a temptation from Satan.

I pray that you’ll take these prayer requests to heart and pray them daily, alone AND with your family. Express to God your complete dependence upon Him to meet your needs today. Forgive others first, and ask God for forgiveness second. And finally, ask God to deliver you from anything—even blessings—that might pull you and your family away from God.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our in-person worship service Sundays at 9 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd. in Victorville. Or, join us online at 10 a.m. on the Impact Christian Church YouTube channel or Facebook page. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Easter Isn’t Over!

“We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.” – 1 Thessalonians 4:14

If your household is anything like mine, by now all the chocolate bunnies have been eaten and all the Peeps have given their last Peep. Maybe your kids’ Easter baskets have a few stray green jelly beans lurking down there in the fake grass, but that’s about it. After all, Easter was over a week ago. Right?

Right. But there’s something about Easter that ISN’T over—not today, not next week, not six months or six thousand years from now. You see, that first Easter changed the world … forever. So today, I’d like to share with you five reasons why Jesus’ death and resurrection changes your world:

#1: Jesus’ death and resurrection confirm that the Bible is true. There are dozens of Old Testament verses that prophesied that the Jesus Christ would suffer, be killed, be buried and rise from the dead. Concerning Jesus’ crucifixion, King David wrote in Psalm 22:16-17: “A band of evil men has encircled Me, they have pierced My hands and My feet. I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over Me.” Concerning Jesus’ burial and resurrection, we read in Isaiah 53:9 and 11: “He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death…. After the suffering of His soul, He will see the light of life, and be satisfied.” And Psalm 16:10 says: “You will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.”

Every one of these prophecies was written hundreds of years before Jesus was born. Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection prove to you that even the seemingly-impossible Bible prophesies are all fulfilled in Christ.

#2: Jesus’ death and resurrection prove that Jesus is God. In John 10:18 Jesus told his followers, “No one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.” What a remarkable thing for Jesus to say! Any martyr could claim to have the authority to lay down his or her life for someone else. But none of us has the authority or power to raise ourselves from the dead. No one can do that. Not even an angel can do that. Only GOD can do that. Therefore, Jesus’ resurrection proves that He is—in fact—God in the flesh.

#3: Jesus’ death and resurrection pave the way for your own future resurrection, giving you great hope. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-16 says, “We do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him…. For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven … with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.” 1 Cor. 15:14-22 reads: “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.”

Bottom line: Jesus’ resurrection from the dead blazed a trail for YOUR resurrection from the dead. Jesus has paved the way for you to live forever. So, whenever you’re sitting next to a loved one’s bed in ICU or attending a family member’s funeral, you can have hope. Because Christ conquered death, you and I have this unshakable hope: This life is not all there is. The best is yet to come.

#4: Jesus’ death and resurrection prove that your Judgment Day is coming. The Apostle Paul says in Acts 17:30-31, “In the past God overlooked ignorance, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent. For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising Him from the dead.” Jesus’ resurrection isn’t great news for everyone. Because Jesus is alive, He will hold us accountable for our sin. That’s the purpose of Judgment Day—to declare our innocence or guilt before our holy God. And for those of us who are found guilty of rejecting Jesus Christ during our lifetimes and breaking God’s laws, there WILL be Hell to pay. Because Jesus is alive, Judgment Day is coming. So, you had better make sure you’re ready.

#5: Jesus’ death and resurrection empower you to live a life that pleases God. What do you think the chances are of you—on your own—living a life that pleases God? Slim to none? No! Just plain—NONE. The Bible reveals that on our own, our good deeds are like filthy rags compared to God’s holiness. So, on your own, you CANNOT live a life that pleases God. It’s impossible. But with Christ…all things are possible. You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength.

Easter changed your world forever. So, I’ve got to ask you: What are you going to do about it? Jesus Christ suffered and died … for you. Jesus Christ had his broken and bloody body placed in a tomb … for you. Jesus Christ busted out of that tomb on the third day … for you. So…what are you going to do about it? I hope that if you haven’t done it already, you’ll do it today: admit that like all of us, you’re a sinner who needs the Savior; believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins; and choose to follow Jesus as your Savior and Lord.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our in-person worship service tomorrow at 9 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd. in Victorville. Or, join us online at 10 a.m. on the Impact Christian Church YouTube channel or Facebook page. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.