Build Your Life on the Rock

“Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” - Matthew 7:21

It’s one of the most iconic buildings in the world: The Leaning Tower of Pisa. It was only supposed to take a few years to build, but five years into construction, when the builders reached the third story, the tower began to lean ever so slightly to the south. The builders tried to correct the lean by making the remaining stories shorter on the uphill side, but the extra weight of the upper stories just made the lean worse. In the 600 years after the tower was completed, it kept leaning more and more. It became clear to engineers that the tower wasn’t just leaning -- it was actually falling at a rate of one to two millimeters per year. By the late 1980s, the tower was leaning by more than 5 degrees.

Do you know why the leaning tower leans? It has a weak foundation. So, between 1990 and 2001, a team of 13 experts worked to save the tower by reinforcing its foundation with concrete.  And their best guess is that the Leaning Tower of Pisa is safe for at least another 200 years.

At the end of Jesus’ greatest sermon—the Sermon on the Mount—He asks us to inspect our spiritual foundation to determine whether or not we are fake Christians. To illustrate his point, He shares a short parable about two men who built houses on very different foundations: one on bedrock, and another on sand. As Jesus explains, everyone who hears His words and obeys them will be like the man who built on rock. When a storm came, “the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall” (v. 25). On the other hand, those who hear His words and don’t obey them are like the second, foolish man, whose house “fell with a great crash” (v. 27).

But what does it all mean? Well, remember the context. The entire Sermon on the Mount came on the heels of Jesus going from town to town and preaching this basic message: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” Within the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus calls us to turn from our sin and bring some of the best things of heaven into our corner of the world: truth, humility, peace, purity, forgiveness and love. And in the verses preceding this parable, Jesus makes it clear that many people who THINK they are on the narrow road to heaven ... aren't. Many people who THINK they are saved aren't really saved. Many people in the church are under the impression that they can call Jesus “Lord” without having to do what He says.

To break down the symbolism of this parable: You are the builder. The house is your life. The rock is obedience to Christ's teaching. The sand is anything else that you build your life upon. And the storm is the testing of your faith here on earth and also the Day of Judgment. So, to the best of my understanding, this is what Jesus is asking his listeners (and today’s readers) after they hear His teaching: “Are you going to live it out? Are you going to be a doer of My word, or are you just going to be a hearer?”

Think about it: You are building your life, and to many people, your life may look really good. You look like a follower of Christ. You talk like a follower of Christ. But sooner or later your faith in Christ is going to be tested. Following Jesus will get harder. You're going to be criticized by people around you, even by people you love and respect. Jesus will ask you to do some things you don't want to do. And He will ask you to stop doing some things that you really want to keep doing. Sooner or later, your devotion to Christ is going to be tested. And if your life isn't built on the firm foundation of obeying Jesus, your faith will crumble. Because if you are not obeying Christ as Lord, your faith has no foundation. It's not built to last. The truth is: If you're not obeying Christ, then you're a fake Christian. And sooner or later, fake Christians will jump ship when the ride gets too bumpy.

The storms of life have a way of separating real Christ followers from the fakes. And so does the Day of Judgment. One day every one of us will stand before Jesus and give an account of our life here on earth. And according to 1 Cor. 3:11-15, your life will be fed through the fire of testing. Only what you did in obedience to Christ will survive the flames. Sadly, on the Day of Judgment, many people who called themselves “Christians” will see their lives completely consumed by the flames of testing.

It doesn't matter how good your Christian life looks to those around you. God doesn't look at the outward appearance. He looks at the heart. So, on the Day of Judgment, the truth about your Christianity will be laid bare. If you built your life on anything other than the firm foundation of Jesus Christ, it will turn into a pile of rubble and ashes. But if your life is built firmly on the solid rock of obedience to Christ's teaching, you won’t just survive. You will also hear Jesus Christ speak to you those six amazing words: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

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.

The Narrow Way

 “Small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
- Matthew 7:14

I love a good poem. And one of my favorite poets of all time is Robert Frost. In 1915, Frost wrote one of his most beloved poems, “The Road Not Taken.” He actually wrote it as a joke to tease his friend Edward Thomas about his indecisiveness. But most people who read the poem, including me, take it as a clarion call to choose the right path in the life—the path that most people don’t take. The poem ends: “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by—And that has made all the difference.”

We make decisions every day—minor ones, such as what to eat for breakfast, and major ones, such as who to marry and how many children to have. But no decision is as important as the one Jesus highlights in Matthew 7:13-14: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Jesus makes it clear we all stand at a spiritual crossroads, and there are two paths in front of us. The first path is wide and well-traveled. It’s the path that most people take, and it leads to eternal destruction. In other words, the wide path leads to hell. The second path is narrow, bumpy and less-traveled. It’s the path that only a few people take, and it leads to eternal life. In other words, the narrow path leads to heaven.

What’s the difference between these two roads? Bible scholar William Barclay points out four differences:

Difference #1: The narrow road is the HARD road; the wide road is the EASY road. Anyone who tells you that following Christ is easy is lying to you. I’ll tell you what’s easy: Going with the flow, following the crowd—doing what everybody else around you is doing. It’s the path of least resistance, and it’s so, so easy. But following Jesus on the narrow path to heaven is never easy. It’s a battle to keep our big mouths shut. It’s a battle to be patient. It’s a battle to get rid of our anger and resentment, to put others’ needs above our own and to keep our priorities straight. But if you go with the flow, you’ll go to HELL Going with the majority will never get you to HEAVEN. Walking through the small gate and traveling the narrow road to heaven is really, really hard. But Jesus says, “Travel that road anyway.”

Difference #2: The narrow road is the LONG road; the wide road is the SHORT road. Traveling the wide road to destruction not only is easy, it’s short. In fact, it’s so short that you’re already there. The Bible makes it clear that you and I are already dead in our sins. We’re not on our way to destruction. We’re already there! The shortest road in the world is the road to hell. We don’t need to exert an ounce of effort to get there, because we’ve already made our reservation. But the road to heaven is a long road. As Christians, we may have come a long way in our faith, but we still have a long way to go. But as hard as it is to follow Christ well over the long haul, it is so, so worth it.

Difference #3: The narrow road is the DISCIPLINED road; the wide road is the UNDISCIPLINED road. Nothing great is ever achieved without discipline. But untold millions of men and women have squandered their lives by being undisciplined and lazy. If you sleep too much and work too little, guess which road you’re most likely on? If you feed your face more than you feed your spirit, guess which road you’re most likely on? The wide road to hell is easy, short and lazy. The narrow road to heaven is hard and long and requires discipline.

Difference #4: The narrow road is the THOUGHTFUL road; the wide road is the THOUGHTLESS road. It requires no thinking at all to go to hell, does it? You don’t have to think about what’s right or wrong. You don’t have to think about what’s moral or immoral. You don’t have to think about whether God approves or disapproves or your words, your actions or your priorities. You don’t have to think at all to go to hell—just do whatever the “hell” you feel like doing! But if you don’t want to go to hell, there’s no way around it: You’re going to have to think. We live in a time when far too many people fail to consider the long-term consequences of their actions. Too many addicts get behind the wheel of a car without considering that their stupidity will end up killing someone. Married men and women have affairs without considering that their selfishness will tear their family apart. Too many singles have sex with anyone they date without considering that their lack of self-control will lead to unplanned pregnancy, STDs, sterility or possibly even cancer. Far too many people live for the moment and will spend the rest of eternity regretting it.

In Matthew 7:13-14 Jesus throws down the gauntlet and says, “Choose, people! Choose one or the other. Option #1 is the wide road to hell. The wide road is easy, short, undisciplined and thoughtless. Option #2 is the narrow road to heaven. The narrow road is hard, long and requires discipline and thought. The choice is yours. But you MUST choose.”

I hope and pray that you join me in saying, “To hell with the easy road, the short road, the undisciplined road, the lazy road!” I pray that you will choose the road less traveled—because that will make all the difference, both now and for eternity.

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 Prayer Requests from Jesus

“This, then, is how you should pray.” – Matthew 6:9

The Sermon on the Mount is the greatest sermon of all time, delivered by the greatest preacher of all time—Jesus Christ. And right in the middle of this ground-breaking message, Jesus gives us a model prayer to follow when we’re speaking with our heavenly Father. It includes six prayer requests in all, and today, I’d like to take a look at His first three prayer requests with you.

Jesus’ 1st Prayer Request (v. 9): “Hallowed be Your name.” Now, “hallowed” isn’t a word that we use every day. The closest word to it in everyday English is Halloween, which has absolutely nothing to do with what Jesus has in mind here. The word hallowed comes from the same Greek word as holy, which means “to be set apart.” So, to be hallowed means to be regarded as holy or to be set apart from everything else. But if we draw the conclusion that hallowing God’s name is just a matter of regarding God as holy in our minds, we have missed Jesus’ point. God is not interested in hearing us say with our mouths, “Hallowed be Your name” unless we really mean it in our hearts. If our hearts don’t mean it, then God’s ears don’t want to hear it.

Here are a few synonyms for “hallow” as Jesus uses the word in The Lord’s Prayer: revere, honor; esteem, value, treasure and love. With that in mind, what is Jesus’ first petition in this great prayer model? It’s this: “Our Father in heaven, we want Your name be revered here on earth. We want Your name to be honored among us. We desire to esteem and value Your name more than any other name. We want to treasure You as the highest priority in our lives and love You will all our hearts.”

If we’re just praying with our mouths and not with our hearts, our prayers will always be shallow and weak. But our prayers come alive when they are prayed from a heart that truly desires for God to be honored, valued, treasured and loved here on earth just as He is in heaven. Once you understand what it means to truly pray, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name,” Jesus’ next two prayer requests make perfect sense.

Jesus’ 2nd Prayer Request (v. 10a): “Your Kingdom come.” This second petition touches on two key things. First, it focuses on Jesus’ present Kingdom expanding now. As Jesus walked this earth, wherever He went, He took some of the best parts of heaven with Him—mercy, grace, kindness, truth, compassion, and unconditional love. And if you and I are followers of Jesus Christ with the His Holy Spirit living inside us, we also take some those parts of heaven with us wherever we go.

So, when we pray, “Your Kingdom Come” what we should mean is this: “Father in heaven, because our hearts long for You to be revered, valued, treasured and loved, we ask that You expand Your kingdom wherever we go. This world we live in has pushed You away long enough! So, Father, won’t You expand Your kingdom in our families, in our neighborhoods, in our schools, and in our church. Everywhere we go, loving Father, grow Your kingdom through us.”

This second petition also touches on Jesus’ future kingdom covering the earth. Jesus is urging us to be forward thinking, to say as John says at the end of the Book of Revelation: “Come, Lord Jesus.” As Christ’s disciples, we are determined to expand Jesus’ kingdom today in our corner of the world. But at the same time, we long for the day when Jesus Christ will come down once again and restore complete order, peace and righteousness to this old earth—as it is in heaven.

Jesus’ 3rd Prayer Request (v. 10b): “Your will be done.” This petition goes hand-in-hand with the prior one. As God’s kingdom is established, His will must be done. As with the first two petitions, when we pray this prayer, we must be ready and willing to live it out. Yes, we want God’s will to be done in the White House, but first God’s will must be done right here in our house. Yes, we want God’s will to be done in our neighbor’s backyard, but first God’s will must be done in our own backyard.

With each of these petitions, we are asking God to partner with us to hallow His name, to usher in His kingdom and carry out His will. If you’re like many Christians, you’ve probably wondered at times why God doesn’t seem to answer your prayers. Why is that? Well, if you and I aren’t willing to roll up our sleeves and make it so in our own lives, the words of our prayers are empty. But when we’re willing to surrender our treasuring of ourselves to our treasuring of God; when we’re ready to scap our own kingdom in order to expand God’s kingdom; and when we’re prepared to push aside our will in order to carry out God’s will—you’d better believe that God will answer our prayers.

Try this in the coming week: Pray every day. And when you do, pray for God’s name to be treasured and loved  by you and by those around you. Pray for God’s Kingdom to come. And pray for His will to be done in your little corner of the world.

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.

Heaven or Hell? The Choice is Yours!

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.” – Matthew 7:13

What comes to mind when you hear “Nearer My God to Thee”? You probably think of the sinking of the Titanic. Many eyewitnesses who survived the sinking of the Titanic reported that “Nearer My God to Thee” was the last song that the band played as the Titanic sank. Although 705 passengers and crew members survived, on that fateful night over 1,500 men, women and children drowned or died of hypothermia. And as each of them drew their final breath, their final destinations were sealed.

The Bible teaches us that every person who has ever lived will spend eternity in one of two places: with God in heaven, or with the devil and his demons in hell. So, as the Titanic disappeared beneath the surface just over 108 years ago, each person who died either entered God’s presence in heaven or was cast aside to spend eternity in hell. We don’t know how many of them entered either place—but tragically, “Nearer My God” was not the final destination of every person who perished that night.

It’s a sobering thought. And it’s a question that plagues many people, Christians and nonChristians alike: What are heaven and hell really like?

In Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus tells us: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Although we don’t find the words “heaven” or “hell” in these verses, Jesus uses two common synonyms for them: “life” and “destruction.” And in these verses, Jesus points out two truths about heaven and two truths about hell. Let’s start with heaven.

Heaven Truth #1: Heaven is the eternal place of life. It’s a place where death and decay do not exist. Try to wrap your mind around that concept: In heaven our bodies never grow old or wear out. Imagine: 20/20 vision—forever. Perfect hearing—without the Miracle Ear. No lower back pain. No diabetes. No false teeth. No prescription meds. And that’s not even the best part. Since Heaven is the eternal place of life, in heaven there is no war, no depression or hopelessness, no grief or heartache or sadness. So, in heaven we will finally experience perfect peace … perfect hope ... and perfect joy.

Heaven Truth #2: The way into heaven is very narrow, and only a few find it. What does that mean? Sadly, it means that most people won’t make it to heaven. So, what is the narrow road that leads to heaven? What is the small gate that leads to eternal life? God tells us in the Bible that the narrow road, and the small gate, leading to heaven are both Jesus Christ. In John 14:6 Jesus tells us plainly: “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Many people these days believe that all roads lead to heaven. But that’s not true. The truth is, all roads lead to hell … except for one. And that one road is Jesus himself.

In Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus also tells us two things about Hell:

Hell Truth #1: Hell is the eternal place of destruction. Both heaven and hell are eternal—they last forever. Try to wrap your mind around this truth: Hell is continuous, never-ending destruction. That means in hell our bodies burn, but never burn up. Our bodies feel searing pain, but there’s never the relief of death. The physical pain of hell will be horrendous. But it won’t compare to the emotional and spiritual pain. Since Hell is the eternal place of destruction, there is no peace. There is no hope. There is no joy. There is no reprieve, no time out, no light at the end of the tunnel. And one of the most heart-breaking descriptions of hell is given in 2 Thessalonians 1:9. Hell is the place where sinners will be “shut out from the presence of the Lord.”

Hell Truth #2: The way into hell is very wide, and most people take it. What a tragedy that most people alive today are on a path to hell. That’s not a very popular statement, but it’s true. Most people in our world today are cruising down the wide road to destruction. But I hope and pray that you’re not one of them.

According to Matthew 25:41, the eternal fire of hell was “prepared for the devil and his angels.” So think about it: Hell was not made for you. It was custom-made for the devil and his demons. You don’t belong there! You belong in heaven. So, please choose eternal life in heaven over eternal punishment in hell. And once again, the only way to choose heaven is to choose Jesus Christ. You have to choose to trust and serve Jesus Christ during this life.  

One final thought: After you die you will have to stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Regardless of whether you traveled the wide road to destruction or the narrow road to life, you WILL be judged for what you said and did during your lifetime. But here’s the thing: Non-believers will be judged by their EVIL words and deeds and be justly punished in eternity. But because believers’ sin has been covered by the grace of Christ, they’ll be judged by their GOOD words and actions. So, which would you prefer—to be judged according to your moral failures or to be judged according to your moral victories? Pretty easy decision, isn’t it? So, choose grace. Choose Christ.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our online worship service Sundays at

10 a.m. at Live.GreaterImpact.cc or on our YouTube channel (Impact Christian Church) or on Facebook.

How Can I Know God’s Will For My Life?

“May the God of peace … equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ." 
- Hebrews 13:20-21

Last ­­Tuesday was a hard day for my family. Our Welsh Corgi, Molly, had been part of our home for almost 12 years. We adopted her when she was just a few months old. My oldest daughter Kayla was just 6 at the time, and my second daughter Haley had just turned 4. But one night a few weeks ago, Molly had a seizure. We took her to two vets, who gave her IV fluids and some medication, but her health declined rapidly. And then, last Tuesday morning, Molly fell over and began kicking all four of her legs frantically. She couldn’t stand up. Her breathing was rapid and labored. So, we made her as comfortable as we knew how. We fed her one last meal of chicken and a popsicle for dessert. And Haley, now 16, carried Molly one last time. She carried her to our van, and together we took her for her last trip to the vet.

Over the past 12 years we’ve had a lot of pets in our home: fish, a desert tortoise, a red crested gecko and about a half dozen hamsters. But every member of my family would agree that Molly was, hands down, the best pet we’ve ever had. And we believe that God made Molly for our family. God gave her to us to make us smile and laugh, and—every once in a while— to drive us crazy. But most importantly, God gave us Molly to love us with all of her little doggy heart. And she did. The Bible doesn’t say whether or not all dogs go to heaven, but if Molly got to meet Jesus last week, I have a hunch that Jesus said to her, “Well done, good and faithful Corgi.”

We wonder: If I know God’s will for my dog’s life, then why can’t I know God’s will for my life? Doesn’t the Bible say that I’m more important to God than a dog? Yes, it does. Doesn’t the Bible say that God creates each of us and has a plan for us? Yes, it does. Great! Then what is it? Ultimately, the answer to our question is in the Bible. How can I know God’s will for my life? I can know it by searching the pages of God’s word. After all, we call the “BIBLE” our “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth” for a reason. The answer to your question is right there in His word … but you have to put in some effort to find it.

However, in some important ways, God wants the same thing for all of us. Hebrews 13:20-21 says, “May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” Now, that’s a mouthful. But three very important truths are revealed in these verses.

1. God doesn’t just give you a purpose. He also equips you to carry out that purpose. You can take comfort in knowing that whatever God asks you to do, he will equip you to do. As has often been said, “Where God guides, He provides.” And “God doesn’t call the equipped. He equips those He’s called.” So, you don’t have to live in fear worrying that God is going to call you to do all sorts of things that you’re completely inept at doing. If God calls you to do something, He will equip you to do it effectively.

2. Your greatest accomplishments in this life will be the result of God working in you and through you. You won’t be doing God’s work alone. He will work in you and through you to carry out His purposes. That’s great news, don’t you think?

3. Ultimately, God’s will for your life is to bring Him pleasure and glory. You might feel unable to bring God pleasure and glory with your life. But God will equip you to do that too. If you’ll let Him, God will work in you and through you to bring Himself pleasure and glory. A favorite Bible passage for many people is Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Remember those words: “Trust in the LORD.”

The great theologian Jonathan Edwards spent years searching the pages of Scripture for the answer to the question: What is God’s will for my life? And he concluded that God’s will is twofold: to bring God glory with our lives, and to find our greatest pleasure and joy in Him. After years of study, he came to realize that these two purposes are one and the same. As Pastor John Piper says it: “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” The bottom line is this: God’s will for your life is for you to enjoy bringing Him pleasure and glory. That’s why you were created: To enjoy bringing pleasure and glory to God.

As you open God’s word each day to get to know Him better and learn His will for your life, guess what? The very act of learning God’s word and spending time with Him IS God’s will for your life. When you spend time with God in prayer, that IS God’s will for your life. When you prioritize attending a worship service on the Lord’s day, that IS God’s will for your life. When you give of yourself to love and serve others, that IS God’s will for your life. When you trust Jesus Christ and love Jesus Christ and obey Christ’s commands, that IS God’s will for your life. And that isn’t just God’s will for your life. That is also God’s will for your marriage, and for your family, and for our church, and for our nation.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our online worship service tomorrow at

10 a.m. at Live.GreaterImpact.cc or on our YouTube channel (Impact Christian Church) or on Facebook.

Christmas at the Movies: The Polar Express

“Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished.”  – Luke 1:45

The Polar Express is a classic children’s book that was made into a 2004 movie starring Tom Hanks. You’ve probably seen it. If you have, you’ll recall that it tells about a young boy who doubts the existence of Santa Claus. It’s well past bedtime on Christmas Eve, and as he lies in bed, he longs to hear the sound of reindeers’ sleigh bells, which would prove to him that Santa is real. But the boy doubts that he’ll ever hear that sound. Although he really wants to believe, the honest truth is … his belief in Santa is hanging by a thread.

Of course, we know what happens next. The young boy climbs on board The Polar Express, where he and about 10 other children drink hot cocoa and embark on a thrilling, rollercoaster-like ride down a steep canyon and across a frozen lake. Eventually, they make it to the North Pole none the worse for wear. And throughout their long journey north, this young boy continues to wrestle with his doubts. He hopes that his midnight train ride will lead to a rekindled belief in Santa Claus. But he fears that it’s all just a dream.

I wonder if Mary had a similar reaction when the angel Gabriel appeared to her in Luke 1. Did she pinch herself to see if she was dreaming? Did she rub her eyes to make sure she wasn’t seeing things? I don’t know. But I do know that she was shocked, scared and confused. Yet despite all that, she listened intently to every word as the angel told her: “You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end” (vs. 30-33).

Mary responded to this astonishing news in verse 34 by asking only one simple question: “How will this be since I am a virgin?” Compare that to her cousin Zechariah’s reaction when Gabriel appeared to him a few months earlier. Gabriel told Zechariah that his barren and now elderly wife Elizabeth would give birth to a son named John (who would grow up to be John the Baptist). Like Mary, Zechariah responded with a question: “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years” (v. 18). At first glance, Zechariah’s question seems very similar to Mary’s. But there’s a BIG difference. Zechariah asked, “How CAN this be?” Mary asked, “How WILL this be?” Zechariah responded with UNBELIEF. Mary responded with BELIEF.

On The Polar Express, our main character continues his journey of faith. The young boy comes face-to-face with his own unbelief when he meets a mysterious hobo who has some doubts of his own. The hobo tells him, “Seeing is believing.” Is that true? For many people, the answer to this question is a resounding “Yes.” Their belief is limited to what they can see with their eyes, what they can hear with their ears, and what they can touch with their fingertips. In other words, if they can’t personally experience it with their five senses, they don’t believe it.

But then, about 15 minutes or so after the hobo scene, the little boy is talking with the conductor. In just a few words, the conductor offers him what I believe is the greatest nugget of wisdom in the entire movie: “Sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we CAN’T see.”

And he’s right. We can’t see God the Father. We can’t see Jesus Christ. We can’t see the Holy Spirit. We can’t see heaven. We can’t hear eternal life. We can’t taste forgiveness. We can’t touch love, grace or forgiveness. But we know that they are even more real than the clothes on our backs. They are more real than the car you drive, more real than the chair you’re sitting in, more real than the screen you’re reading this on. For many people in this life, seeing is believing. But if you have chosen to follow Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, you have chosen the path of faith. And on the path of faith, NOT seeing is believing. As Jesus said to Thomas after showing his doubting disciple the proof of his resurrection, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29).

When the Polar Express reaches the North Pole, the kids are surrounded by thousands of tiny elves. But the little boy still struggles to believe. He realizes that he needs to come to a point of belief, not after he sees Santa with his own two eyes, but before. As he stands in the village square, one of the reindeer’s sleigh bells is flung into the air and lands just a few feet from him. That is the moment he has to decide once and for all whether or not to believe in the one he cannot see. He picks the bell up and shakes it. Eyes shut tight, he whispers, “Okay … I believe. I believe!” And in that moment of faith, when he shakes the bell, its beautiful sound chimes out.

Zechariah responded to God’s word with unbelief. He was a “Seeing is believing” kind of Christian. Mary responded to God’s word with belief. She was a “walk by faith and not by sight” kind of Christian. Which kind of Christian are you? You’ve asked God to forgive your sins. Do you believe He has? Jesus said he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do you believe His words? Jesus said he’s going to heaven to prepare a place for each of his followers, including you if you truly follow him. Do you believe him?

Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Mary’s cousin Elizabeth proclaimed in Luke 1:45: “Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished.” So too will you be blessed as you believe the word of the Lord. I don’t know about you, but I believe! I believe!

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Join us for our holiday message series, “Christmas at the Movies,” Sunday at 10 a.m. at the new Dr. Ralph Baker School in Victorville. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Are You Disappointed in Jesus?

“Go to Jesus and ask him, ‘Are you the one who was to come, or should we

expect someone else?’” – John 7:19

In July 1999, I began serving as the pastor at First Christian Church of Victorville. And my faith was really tested early on. About four months after I came on staff, our church secretary, Dorothy Love, was hospitalized with major medical issues. By December it didn’t look like she was going to make it. I remember walking into my bedroom in the apartment where my wife and I lived at the time. I knelt beside my bed and begged God to heal Dorothy. I prayed. I cried. I did everything I could think of to do to make sure that God heard and answered that prayer. And guess what happened? Within twenty-four hours, Dorothy breathed her last, and she was gone.

I’ve got to tell you, I really felt let down by God. He had the power to heal Dorothy, and He didn’t do it. He said He would answer the prayer of faith lifted up by one of His followers, but He didn’t do it. I was disappointed with God. Have you ever been there? I’m sure you have. But you and I are not alone. In Luke chapter 7, John the Baptist—the man who hailed Jesus as the Savior—went through a dark night of doubt while he was being held in prison.

John had been imprisoned for speaking out against King Herod’s warped marriage to his brother’s former wife, who also happened to be Herod’s niece. Put yourself in John the Baptist’s shoes: an innocent man, sitting in a dirty, smelly jail cell for months. You’ve gone over in your mind the events that led to your arrest, and you’ve concluded that you did nothing to deserve the punishment you’re experiencing. You simply did what God put you on this earth to do: to plead with people to wake up and point them to Jesus Christ.

In Luke 7:18, some of John’s followers visited him in prison and gave him a full report on Jesus’ teaching and miraculous healings. You would think that John would have been blown away. But he didn’t seem blown away at all. In fact, he seemed a bit confused—even disappointed. In response, John sent two of his disciples on an errand: “Go to Jesus and ask him, ‘Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?’” (vs. 19).

Baffling! Think about it: Yet John was the man who had pointed to Jesus and proclaimed, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” It was John who baptized Jesus and saw the Holy Spirit descend on him in the form of a dove. And it was John who heard the voice from God the Father that said, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” But as he sat in that prison cell, John had doubts.

But when John’s followers delivered his message to Jesus, notice that Jesus DIDN’T shake his fist and say, “That no-good locust eater! How dare he question me!” Jesus didn’t condemn John’s doubt. He embraced it. Jesus didn’t complain about John’s disappointment with him. Instead, he responded with compassion. Jesus kept preaching the good news and healing the sick in view of John’s disciples. Then Jesus told them: “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me” (vs. 22-23).

John’s disciples returned to John and relayed Jesus’ message to them. And as best as we can tell, John’s faith in Jesus was restored, and he served him faithfully until his dying day.

As we follow Christ, we all deal with some doubt and disappointment. I know in my heart that Jesus is good, but at times it doesn’t feel like He’s good to ME. I know in my heart that Jesus’ plans are better than my plans and his timing is better than my timing, but at the same time … it feels like Jesus has let me down. With that in mind, here are three important lessons on doubt and disappointment:

1: If you are a true follower of Christ, doubt may temporarily disturb your relationship with Jesus, but it won’t destroy it. It’s okay to have some doubts about God’s plan and His goodness in your life. It’s okay to feel at times like he’s let you down. And truth be told: When we go through a period of doubt and disappointment, it can actually make our faith in God even stronger. Chuck Swindoll makes this great point: “Some doubting is healthy. Doubt can force us to pursue the truth rather than just being gullible and believing whatever we are told…. Doubts fuel the believer’s pursuit of real answers to life’s most troubling questions.”

2: When you are doubting Jesus and feel like he has let you down, take your doubt and disappointment to Him. He’s a big God. He can handle it. John the Baptist had overwhelming evidence that Jesus was the promised Christ. But when John was down in the dumps, he had doubts and disappointment anyway. And when John brought his doubt and disappointment to him, Jesus was perfectly fine with it. In fact, he wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. The same goes for you.

3: Special blessings await those who endure earthly disappointments and inequalities believing there are heavenly rewards. John’s imprisonment never seemed fair to him, because it wasn’t fair. His imprisonment never seemed just, because it wasn’t just. But John the Baptist endured, knowing that God would reward him in heaven. And that’s exactly what God did …and He will do the same for you. 

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information,

visit www.YourVictorvilleChurch.com  and join us for church Sundays at 10 a.m.

Love Has Come!

“May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other

and for everyone else.” – 1 Thessalonians 3:12a

Would you agree with me if I were to say, “Most Americans don’t understand love”? When we talk about two people “falling in love,” it demonstrates a misunderstanding about love. Love can’t be fallen into. When a husband or wife says, “I don’t love you anymore,” that person doesn’t understand love. Love isn’t an emotional switch that accidentally gets turned on or off.

If you really pay attention, you’ll notice that we overuse the word “love” – a lot! I say “I love you” to my wife and kids. But I also say, “I love In-N-Out Burgers. I love going to Disneyland. And I love eating carne asada tacos!” We’ve tossed around the word “love” so much over the years, we need to go back to the source—God’s word—to be reminded what true love really is.

There are three Greek words that are translated as “love.” There’s “eros,” which is a romantic kind of love. Next there’s “phileo,” which is friendship love, or brotherly love, between two people who have a close relationship. And finally, there is “agape,” which was chosen by the writers of the New Testament as the best word to describe God’s love and Jesus’ love. Agape is a self-sacrificing kind of love—a much higher form of love than eros or phileo.

You see, eros love sets its sights on someone you’re attracted to. But agape love doesn’t discriminate between someone you think is hot, and someone you think is … not. And phileo love is directed at someone you already have a close personal relationship with, like a family member or a close friend. But agape love doesn’t discriminate between someone you know well and someone you don’t know at all. It doesn’t even discriminate between someone you like and someone who drives you up the wall.

Do you see why agape is the highest form of love? It’s no wonder we find this word used some 320 times in the New Testament in reference to God the Father’s love for Jesus, God’s love for people, and Christ’s love for his church. And it’s no wonder that when Jesus Christ commands us to love one another, he commands us to “agape love” one another. Let’s take a look at what the New Testament teaches us about agape love.

1. God the Father loves His Son. We read about this in John 17:26, when Jesus prays to the Father for his disciples, saying, “I have made You known to them and will continue to make You known in order that the love You have for me may be known in them and I myself may be in them.” He says, in essence, “Father, I know that You love me more than life itself. And I have so badly wanted to share Your amazing love for me with them. So, I have taught them about You and shown them through my actions what You are like. And as they’ve taken it all in, they’ve taken Your love in, and they’ve taken me in, too.”

2. God the Father loves people. Agape is the attitude of God the Father for His Son, but it’s also His attitude toward people. Without a doubt one of the best-known verses in the Bible is John 3:16, where the love of God for the human race is made crystal clear: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Now, think about it. What God the Father did 2,000 years ago is no small thing. He sent His one and only Son from absolute Paradise to this messy, smelly, sin-cursed world. Why would He do such a thing if He REALLY loved His son as much as the Bible says? Well, He did it because “God so loved the world.” God the Father loved God the Son more than life itself. But He also loved you and me more than life itself. And because He couldn’t bear the thought of all of us spending an eternity in Hell, He sacrificed His one and only Son so that you and I could be forgiven and live. There should be no doubt in our minds: God is love—agape love. And love came down to earth on that first Christmas.

3. The Father desires for us to love. The Bible is clear that God expects His followers to love as He has loved. According to Jesus, the two greatest commands in the Old Testament are, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37) and “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39). If the Bible is true that heaven is absolute paradise and Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven, there is only one logical conclusion we can come to: The most loving thing you could ever do for any person is to do whatever you have to do at whatever cost to yourself to help people have an all-satisfying relationship with Jesus forever.

Jesus made it clear that he wants us to agape love our fellow Christians. But true, agape love never stops at the church door. Jesus also makes it crystal clear that he also wants us to agape love our spiritually lost and dying family, friends and neighbors. Jesus wants us to do whatever we have to do, at whatever cost to ourselves, to help unsaved men, women and children get saved and have an all-satisfying relationship with him. And that’s a Christmas present that will last for eternity.

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information,

visit www.YourVictorvilleChurch.com and join us for church Sundays at 10 a.m.

Blazing the Trail for Jesus

"I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” - Luke 3:16b

The story goes that a man died and was met by Peter at the pearly gates. Peter told him, “You need 100 points to make it into Heaven. Tell me all of the good things you’ve done and I’ll give you a certain number of points for each item, depending on how good it was. When you reach 100 points, you get in.” “Okay,” the man said. “I was married to the same woman for 50 years and never cheated on her, not even in my heart.” “That’s wonderful,” said Peter. “That’s worth three points.” “Three points!” the man exclaimed. He thought some more and added, “Well, I attended church all my life and supported its ministry with my tithes and service.” “Terrific!” said Peter. “That’s certainly worth a point.” “One point?” the man echoed. “Okay … well, I started a soup kitchen in my city and worked in a homeless shelter every weekend for 20 years.” Peter said, “Fantastic! That’s good for two more points.” “Two points!” the man cried out in frustration. “At this rate, the only way I’ll get into Heaven is by the grace of God!” Peter gave him a wide smile, stepped aside and said, “Come on in!”

You get the idea. It’s not possible for any of us to get into Heaven without God’s grace. And if that’s hard for many people to understand today, it was that much harder in the days of John the Baptist. Most Jews thought that if a person had been born into a Jewish family and pretty much followed God’s Old Testament laws, they would be saved. In their minds, salvation was simply a matter of being born into the right ethnic group and following Jewish law. If those two requirements were met, they’d be a shoo-in for salvation.

Then along came John the Baptist, From a very young age, I’m sure that John’s parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth, had told him what the angel Gabriel had prophesied about him before he was born: that John would turn the hearts of fathers to their children, turn the disobedient to obedience, and to get the people ready for the Messiah’s coming. When John embarked on his ministry, we’re told in Luke 3:3, “He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”

Now, baptism was a pretty common thing in John’s day, but the kind of baptizing that John was doing was unprecedented. You see, in those days the only people who were baptized were non-Jews who wanted to convert to Judaism. If you were born into a Jewish family, you would never be baptized. But John the Baptist was insisting that Jews come to God the same way that non-Jews did. John was basically saying that everyone has to come to God on the same terms. Nobody has the advantage of being able to ride their ancestors’ shirt tails into heaven. What John was preaching was revolutionary.

John also made it clear that he was paving the way for a leader far greater than himself: “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie” (Luke 3:16b). In other words, “The promised Savior and King is coming, and I’m not Him. He is much stronger than me. He is much more important than me. My job is simply to help get you ready for Him and then to get out of the way. When he gets here, you’ll need to leave me and go follow him instead.” How’s that for an unconventional approach to leadership?

And once John’s followers were baptized, they asked John what to do next to demonstrate their repentance. And John told them bluntly in verses 11:14: If you see someone in need, give him your jacket. If you are a tax collector or a soldier, stop using your job to cheat people. Stop strong-arming people and using your position to build your own bank account. Do what is right and good. Do what God would want you to do.

John packed a lot into his short ministry, but I believe it can be condensed into three points that still hold true for us today:

1. Everyone has to come to God on equal terms. We’re not that different from the Jews in John’s day. They believed that because they were born into a Jewish family and had studied the Bible, their salvation was secure. But they were dead wrong. Similarly, many people today believe their salvation is secure because their whole family is Catholic or because they were born into a Christian family. But the truth is, salvation is not transferrable. Your mom’s salvation is her salvation … not yours. You can’t ride anyone else’s shirt tails into heaven. You have to stand on your own two feet before God.

2. The way you have to come to God is through faith and repentance. You must place your faith—your trust—in Jesus Christ to save you from your sins. You will never get to 100 points on your own. Not even close! You need His grace. You need His forgiveness. You need His salvation. So, as I like to say it: You need to put Jesus Christ in the driver’s seat of your life. 

3. True repentance always produces fruit. To repent doesn’t just mean to be sorry for your sin. To repent literally means “to change your mind.” And once your mind is changed, your life must be changed. So, I ask you today: If you’ve truly chosen to repent—to change your mind and turn from your sin and follow Jesus Christ—is there plenty of evidence in your life to back it up?

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information,

visit www.YourVictorvilleChurch.com  and join us for church Sundays at 10 a.m.

The Truth About Jesus

“For by him all things were created … all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” – Colossians 1:16-17

It’s been called the most significant teaching about Jesus Christ in the whole Bible—and it’s only six verses long. If you really want to know who Jesus is and understand the Christian faith, read over Colossians 1:15-20. Its powerful message is, in seven simple words: Jesus Christ is supreme over heaven and earth.

We look around us and see a world that is incredibly complex and fine-tuned. Without a doubt, it bears the fingerprint of an intelligent designer. When we come to our senses, we understand that it would have been impossible for our world to have simply evolved by chance. Well, in these passages, we learn the identity of that creator: Jesus Christ. Now, is Paul actually saying that Jesus Christ is the Creator of the universe? Yes. That’s exactly what he’s saying. Everything in the universe was created BY him and FOR him, and all of it holds together IN him.

Did you catch those three key prepositions? BY, FOR and IN. We ask the “who” question: Who made all of this? And God’s word answers back: All things were created BY Jesus Christ. Next we ask the “why” questions. Why was the universe created? Why was I created? What’s the point of it all? And God’s word answers back: All things were created FOR Jesus Christ. Then we wonder—with all of the upheaval in the universe with stars exploding and the galaxy expanding and the asteroids falling—how is it possible that this world doesn’t just fall apart? And God’s word answers back: IN Jesus Christ all things hold together.

And not only is Jesus supreme over all creation—Paul makes it clear that Jesus Christ is supreme over all eternity. Let’s face it; This life we live here on earth is just a drop in the bucket of eternity. If you live to be 100 years old here on earth, that’s barely even a warm-up lap in eternity. So, when the Bible tells us we are eternal beings, that our bodies will one day die but our souls and spirits will live on forever, I want to know who’s going to be calling the shots. Because honestly, eternity is a very long time, so I want to get in good with whoever is in charge of it.

In verse 18, Paul points out that Jesus is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead. In other words, he was the first person to have risen from the dead … permanently. Jesus has the privilege and authority to blaze a trail to heaven for his followers. He is the only one who can restore our broken relationship with God. He is the only one who could pay the death penalty for our sin that we deserve to pay; the only one who holds the key to heaven. That’s why Jesus said point blank in John 14:6: “I am the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

When it comes to this physical world we live in—and in the new and improved eternal world that’s to come—it’s so important to understand that everything in the universe was created BY Him and FOR Him. And all of it holds together IN him.

Jesus is the one and only manifestation of the invisible God in our visible world. He was and is the only one who occupies the position of privilege and authority over all creation. He is eternal—with no beginning and no end. He is Lord of all creation. And He is Lord of all eternity. He is our only hope of forgiveness. He is our only hope of a relationship with God. He is our only hope of a life filled with purpose, grace and peace. He is our only hope of heaven, because heaven is all about him. And—miracle of miracles—this awe-inspiring Creator of Heaven and earth loves you. He loves you!

Whether you like it or not, you were created by Jesus Christ. You were created by him and for him, and he is the only reason you haven’t completely fallen apart—because in him, all things hold together. So, it is my hope and prayer that today you will humbly embrace him as the awesome Creator and Savior that he is and follow him as best you can every day of your life.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information, visit www.YourVictorvilleChurch.com  and join us for worship Sundays at 10 am.

Joy in Suffering

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trails of many kinds.” – James 1:2a

Let’s be honest. Have you ever read one of God’s commands in Scripture and found yourself saying, “You’ve got to be kidding me! God, what were you thinking?”

Here’s an example. In James 1:2-4, the Bible tells us: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trails of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

There’s no way around it. That sounds like crazy talk. Are you kidding me, God? When I get a pink slip from my boss, I’m supposed to consider it pure joy? When my doctor says, “The cancer is back,” I’m supposed to consider it pure joy? When my car breaks down on the side of the road, or my marriage is on the rocks or my dog bites me in the leg, I’m supposed to consider it pure joy?

Yes, you are. But how is that possible? I’m so glad you asked. Today I’d like to share with you two ways that you and I can experience joy in the midst of the trials and suffering of this life.

The first thing you and I must do if we are going to experience lasting joy in this life is this: Remain in Christ’s presence. In John 15, Christ told his disciples,“If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love…. I have told you this so that my JOY may be in you and that your JOY may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”

I don’t know about you, but complete joy sounds really good to me. I don’t want just a sliver of joy. I don’t want a polluted mixture of joy and something else. After all, who wants a mixture of joy and lousiness? But the fact is, one of the reasons so many Christians struggle with sadness and depression is because they live their daily lives apart from Christ. Sure, we believe in him. Yes, we worship him on Sunday mornings. But we don’t remain in his love throughout the week. We can’t just open our Bibles for 30 to 40 minutes on a Sunday morning and call it quits till next week.

To remain in Christ’s love, we need to remain in his teaching and remain in prayer. But interestingly, Jesus doesn’t mention either of these two depression-busters in this John 15 passage. He simply says that if we desire to remain in his love, we must obey his commands—especially his command to love each other. So if you’re sick and tired of being sick and tired, ask yourself: "Have I disconnected myself from Christ’s joy by failing to obey his command to love others?” You see, when we get depressed, too often it’s because we’re too caught up in our own little world. Are you bummed out because you’re living paycheck to paycheck? Well, join the club. Take the little bit you do have and be a blessing to someone who has even less. Your health isn’t great? Well, I guarantee there are plenty of others whose health is even worse. Be a blessing to them—show them Christ’s love. There is great joy in the presence of the Lord. Remain in his love, and you’ll discover that peace and joy aren’t nearly as elusive as they used to be.

God’s second piece of advice for bringing more joy into your life may surprise you: Spend more time in heaven. What does that mean? No, I’m not trying to send you off to push up daisies before your time. Instead, live out Colossians 3:1-4: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

Isn’t that good? You’ve probably heard people say, “Get your head out of the clouds!” But God’s word says, “No! Put your head in the clouds! What you need is to get your head out of the dirt! You’re not an ostrich! You’re not a prairie dog! You’re not a gopher! Your heart needs to rise above the dirt of this world and beat for heavenly things. And your mind needs to rise above the dirt of this world and think about heavenly things.”

Paul says it there in Colossians 3:1: “You have been raised with Christ.” On that first Easter morning, the stone was rolled away and the light of dawn came rushing into that tomb. And when you became a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, his light came rushing into your sorry tomb as well. If you’re a Christian, you’re not hopelessly surrounded by dirt anymore. You’re not a prisoner of complete darkness anymore. Your body has already been set free from the grave. Your heart and your mind have already been released from the prison of this world.

So, get up out of the dirt and soar into the clouds. Set your heart and mind on things above. If you do, no matter what trials this dirty old world sends your way, you’ll be able to count it all joy.

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information, visit www.fccvv.com  and join us for worship Sundays at 10 a.m.

A Heart for the Lost

“Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.” – Romans 10:1

I wish I were more like the nerd. His name was Steven, and he looked like he had just stepped out of the movie “Revenge of the Nerds.” I met him while I was in college. He had been enrolled at Cal State Fullerton for over 12 years for one reason: he wanted access to students on campus so that he could tell them about Jesus. Steven looked funny and talked funny, but I will always admire his heart for the lost.

Steven was much like Paul, who wrote in Romans 9:2: “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart” (Romans 9:2). Paul understood better than anyone how wonderful Jesus is. He was amazed by Christ’s forgiveness, floored by his grace, and absolutely blown away by Christ’s love. But at the very same time, Paul understood better than anyone how horrible the consequences will be for those who turn their backs on Christ. He understood that those who reject Jesus Christ will stumble through this life shut off all of that forgiveness, mercy and love. Far worse, Paul realized that those who reject Christ during this life will spend eternity in Hell—where there is absolutely no grace, no comfort, no peace, no hope and no love.

So, Paul’s heart literally broke for those who rejected Christ, and it pained him to know that so many of his Jewish brothers and sisters had denied their only chance of salvation. In Romans 8, when Paul looked at Christ, his heart rejoiced. But in chapter 9, when he looked at his fellow Jews, his heart wept.

Paul’s love and compassion for the lost is such a rare thing today. But it shouldn’t be. We should all have a heart for the lost like Paul’s. And if we did, we would be praying every day that all of our lost brothers and sisters in the Victor Valley would be saved. We would reach out to our neighbors and co-workers and classmates in any way that we could, inviting them to church and telling them the Good News about Jesus.

If you’re a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, God has graciously given you a new perspective on people. As we read in 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” What does that have to do with sharing Christ? Well, as Warren Wiersbe points out, “Because ‘all things are become new,’ we also have a new view of people around us. We see them as sinners for whom Christ died. We no longer see them as friends or enemies, customers or coworkers; we see them the way Christ sees them, as lost sheep who need a shepherd.”

So, as a follower of Jesus Christ, you are not to view people as the rest of the world views people. I’m sure you’ve noticed that in the past few years, we Americans have taken to slapping critical labels on each other left and right. You’re not a Republican—you’re an alt-right neo-fascist. You’re not a Democrat—you’re a Marxist socialist liberal. It’s absolute madness! We lump people into different subgroups based on the color of their skin, their sexual orientation, their political leaning, some psychiatrist’s diagnosis, and a hundred other things.

And God’s word tells us: Don’t buy into the labels! Don’t buy into the world’s categories. Don’t separate people into a thousand different groups that are constantly changing in our depraved, sinful culture. In Christ we have been given a new perspective. We need to view people as Christ views people. And Christ’s perspective is very simple and straightforward. There are only TWO categories of people: “Lost” and “Found.” Or you could say it this way: “Dead” or “Alive.”

That’s it! Either someone is lost in spiritual darkness without Christ, or he/she has been found by Christ and is secure in his arms. Our greatest concern is no longer whether the person we’re speaking to voted for Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton or Elmer Fudd. Our greatest concern is no longer whether the person in front of us is black, white, brown or yellow. Like Paul, our hearts are to be laser-focused on people’s salvation. If that person is found, we love him as a brother in Christ. And if he is lost, we reach out to him, pray for his salvation and point him to Christ at every opportunity. We want him to be found.

We would never have done those things before we found Christ, but today, we have a new perspective on people, and it’s Jesus’ perspective. It’s the desire for all of those around us to be saved. Until we share Christ, too many of those around us will never experience the forgiveness and the grace and the love that can only come through Jesus. Paul understood this well. So did my college friend, Steven. Do you?

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information, visit www.fccvv.com  and join us for worship Sundays at 10 a.m.