Following God

Wash Your Hands

/ Don McGarvey / Leave a comment

In a previous blog, we started a short journey through James 4:8-9. The command there is for us “draw near to God.” This refers to our Pursuit of an intimate relationship with God.

This is a challenge for many. Most folks have no problems believing in God. The challenge is for us to think in terms of an intimate relationship. For me, it was a challenge to believe the Creator of the Universe, the Savior of the world, an omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient God wanted a relationship with me. But He does. He wants to be part of every aspect of my life. This is confirmed to me in Matthew 6 where the rhetorical questions of how God cares for the birds of the air and the flowers of the land are posed. Then the truth is dropped on us, that God cares for us even more than these things.

Then we get to the book of James, and Jesus’ younger brother informs us that He wants to be close to us. I love this because it was pre-determined before the creation of the world that God wanted to be intimately involved in our lives. We simply need to respond to Him by drawing near to Him.

We are given three things to do for this to happen. These three things are: wash our hands; cleanse our heart; and stop being double minded.

Wash my hands. This command was based on the practice of the Old Testament priests who traversed through the Tabernacle into the presence of God. They would stop at the laver, a large bowl of water between the Altar of burnt sacrifice, where our sin was dealt with and the Holy Place.

In Psalm 24:3-4 the question is posed, “Who may ascend to the hill of the Lord?” (Hill of the Lord refers to the presence of God or His dwelling place.)

The answer is, “He who has clean hands and a pure heart.”

The symbolism of this challenges us to be careful what we do with our hands. Our hands can get us into trouble. And sometimes our hands can accumulate dirt and other things capable of defiling us. Therefore we “wash or cleanse our hands.”

Cleanse our heart. The heart is the source of our thoughts. And our thoughts are the source of all that we say and do.

Solomon warned his son to “above all else, guard your heart. For out of it spring the issues of life.” (Proverbs 4:23)

Jesus spoke about things of the heart in the Sermon on the Mount. He said it wasn’t just enough to not murder someone or to commit the act of adultery. If we were angry with someone in  our heart, or if we entertained immoral thoughts, we were guilty as though we had committed these acts.

God knew our behavior would stem from our thought life. That’s why He challenged us to “submit to Him,” “keep our hands clean,” and “to keep our hearts cleansed.” Just as it was an everyday chore for the priests to wash their hands, it should be a daily chore for us to take a few minutes to cleanse our hands and make sure our hearts are clean before the Lord.

Double-minded. The final challenge here is to stop being double-minded. Being double minded was a condition of the hands and the heart. It’s when we try to please God while also pleasing our flesh. It won’t work. We need to be all in or we are not in at all.

It’s pretty straight forward. An intimate relationship with God, through Jesus, with the help of the Holy Spirit, is available to all. That’s not the question. The question is whether we will wash our hands and cleanse our heart and be completely focused on the things of God.

I’m praying for you!

Always in Pursuit!

Don

A CLARION CALL

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Many years ago, I became fascinated with this word “clarion.” It means a clear and shrill sound. The word “shrill” means high pitched and piercing.

In my mind, clarion referred to something that was trying to get my attention. The distinct shrill and piercing sound would cause me to take notice and either be warned or challenged to take action.

James, the younger brother of Jesus, gives a clarion call to all followers of Jesus. James 1:1 informs us that James was writing to the twelve tribes of Israel, who had been scattered around the world. Today, this includes all who claim Christ as our Lord and Savior, Jew, or Gentile.

James 4:8 “Come near to God and he will come near to you.” (NIV)

For me, that’s the word for 2021. I need to discover ways to be drawn closer to God than in the past year. 2020 was a tough year. It drained me, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

The pandemic wasn’t enough. Here in eastern Iowa, we had to throw in a once in a life-time derecho. This was a storm of 140 mile per hour winds, sustained for at least forty to forty-five minutes, followed by heavy rain. Some have described it as an on-land hurricane. It was not fun.

In other parts of the world, there were forest fires (some still burning), there were hurricanes, earthquakes and a whole array of employment and financial challenges. Plus, we lost many friends and loved ones to all the diseases that were present prior to the pandemic.

Between the pandemic and the derecho, I’ve discovered a whole new meaning to our need for God and our continual dependence upon Him for everything in our life.

I believe the solution for this is found in the clarion call of James 4:8. The Holy Spirit, who was guiding James in his writing, was kind to us and gave us ways for us to draw closer to God.

Wash your hands—

Purify your hearts—

Grieve, mourn & wail—

Humble yourselves—

Over the next few days, I will be blogging about these four things and exploring from the Scriptures what they mean for us. They are obviously important disciplines for us to develop since they will draw us closer to God. Doing these things won’t stop the pandemic, nor will it stop the derechos of our lives, but they will keep us closer to the one who has promised to always provide a way through the desert and wilderness.

Looking forward to sharing these things with you.

Always in Pursuit!

Don

Utterly Amazed

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Yesterday at church, I addressed the fact that 2020 has been a hard year. It’s been especially hard for those in eastern Iowa who dealt with a “once in a life-time” (we hope) derecho.

It was tough enough with COVID, yet many parts of our country dealt with wildfires, some dealt with hurricanes, while some dealt with oppressive heat.

COVID has kept us from gathering with our friends and loved ones. These times were times of encouragement, and great comfort for many. Now we had to search out new ways to maintain relationships.

Because of COVID mitigations, the economy took a real hit just when things seemed to be making a full recovery plus.

Because of COVID many spent weeks in quarantine. Some spent days, and weeks on ventilators. We all lost friends and loved ones along the way, many from COVID but some from other disease. COVID didn’t make cancer go away or heart disease or automobile wrecks. It’s been a tough year. (I forgot to mention the hailstorm back in April. It destroyed our roof, along with hundreds of other roofs in our community. Now we had to deal with our insurance company, great people, and a contractor.)

In our time together at Troy Mills Christian Church yesterday, we took a quick look at some folks in the Bible who had bad years. Noah, Esther, Job, Nebuchadnezzar and even Mary the mother of Jesus.

The remarkable thing about their bad years is that they all ended well. Losses that had been suffered were returned, some even doubled. They things exemplified the classic proverb of Solomon, found in Ecclesiastes 7:8, “The end of a thing is better than it’s beginning.”

There’s another passage we didn’t get to examine, due to time. Habakkuk 1:5 is an interesting verse. The prophet was whining to God about the evil he was surrounded by. It was much like our time. He asked God if He had noticed the evil. God acknowledged it and promised that He was in the process of working to bring about good. But before the good came, there were going to be some unusual things happen.

The promise from God was that He was going to work in a way that would “utterly astound Habakkuk.” But He challenged the prophet to pay attention. Note God told the prophet to, “look and watch.” I think too often we get so discouraged and caught up in the difficult times we forget to look for the ways God is at work. Perhaps the “watch” part of that command was meant for us to watch how we allowed the circumstances affect us.

God is always at work. He never leaves us. He won’t forsake us. He is always with us; always watching; always listening.

Now it’s our job to look for Him; watch how we live and be prepared to be utterly amazed.

Always in Pursuit!

Don

Scriptures to Read in Hard Times!

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There will always be times when we don’t quite feel as if we can continue to move forward. God knew we would have these times. He is prepared for these times in our lives. As we continue to turn to Him in these times, He will provide the antidote. For example:

When you don’t feel strong enough to go on, read Psalms 46:1: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”

When you don’t feel brave enough to go on, read Joshua 1:9: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

When you feel as if you’ve messed up too much to have any hope of going on, read 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come; The old has gone, the new is here!”

When you can’t figure things out, read Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; {6} In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

When you feel as if you are too tired to go on, read Matthew 11:28-30: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. {29} Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. {30} For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

When you think it’s impossible, read Luke 18:27: “Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

When you think nobody loves you, read John 3:16: “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.”

When you can’t forgive yourself, read Romans 8:1: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,”

When you feel as if it’s not worth it, read Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

When you don’t feel as if you are smart enough, read 1 Corinthians 1:30: “It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.”

When you don’t feel able, read 2 Corinthians 9:8: “And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”

When you just can’t go on, read 2 Corinthians 12:9: “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

When you feel as if you can’t go on, read Philippians 4:13: “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

When you just can’t manage any longer, read Philippians 4:19: “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”

When you are afraid, read 2 Timothy 1:7: “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.”

 When feel all alone, read Hebrews 13:5: “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

In Christ, Part IV

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Note: Paul gives us four important words in Philippians 2:1. They are encouragement, comfort, fellowship (common sharing) in the Spirit and tenderness and compassion, which I am treating as one.

TENDERNESS and COMPASSION. Because we have been given the gift of salvation we are “in Christ” we are to show these character traits, encouragement, comfort, fellowship, and tenderness & compassion towards one another.

The reason we are to treat others in this manner is because Christ viewed us through the lens of these four traits. He lived His life as a source of encouragement, He gives us comfort in that as our High Priest, He understands everything we have, are or will go through. His constant present with us, via the Holy Spirit provides fellowship and He treats us with the tenderness and compassion of a shepherd.

I’ll try not to gross you out but the word “tender or tenderness” in the biblical language of Greek can sometimes refers to our inner most being or to be more explicit, our bowels.

The ancients believed that extreme emotions, such as extreme anger or extreme love came for the most inner place of our being. At some point, many simply expressed the idea that these four traits were to come from our hearts, which has been cleansed by the washing of blood through Jesus’ death.

Sometimes the word for compassion was translated as “mercy.” We are to show mercy to one another since mercy was shown to us by God when He sent His One and only begotten Son, Christ Jesus.

All four of these traits are intertwined. The closer we draw to God the closer He draws to us. This means we receive more encouragement, more comfort, more fellowship, and more tenderness & compassion. Therefore, the more we receive the more we can extend these same things to one another.

And they will come from deep within rather than be a superficial show.

I love what Jesu said in John 7:38 “Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” (NIV)

The opposite of these four traits are explained to us in Philippians 2:3-4. This list includes things such as “selfish ambition, conceit.” We are to look out for the interests of others and live out of humility.

The little song we all learned as children in Sunday school, “Jesus, Others, and You” was the way to spell “JOY” is still true today.

May you receive all things in the tenderness and compassion of Christ and then allow these four things to flow out of you everywhere you go.

Always in Pursuit!

Don

In Christ, Part III

/ Don McGarvey / Leave a comment

Note: Paul gives us four important words in Philippians 2:1. They are encouragement, comfort, fellowship (common sharing) in the Spirit and tenderness and compassion, which I am treating as one.

FELLOWSHIP. I love the word fellowship. The dictionary defines fellowship as “friendly relationship,” “companionship,” or a “community of interest.”

Think about this for a minute: friendly relationship, companionship, a community of interest with God the Holy Spirit. What a thought.

God desires fellowship with us. Therefore, God sent His Son. He was the only sacrifice that would bring reconciliation between God and man.

The implication of Genesis 3:8 is that it was not unusual for God to come into the Garden in the cool of the day searching for Adam and Eve. Again, the idea here is that God enjoyed fellowship with Adam and Eve. We would assume they enjoyed fellowship with God as well.

When we accept Christ as our Savior, we are “in Christ.” When we are “in Christ” we begin fellowshipping with God, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This was due to the work of Christ on the cross and because of His work today, making continual intercession at the right hand of God on our behalf.

59 times in the New Testament the phrase “one another” appears. It is used to address our relationship with one another, fellowship. We are to love one another, pray for one another, bear one another’s burdens, serve one another, be kind to one another, be patient with one another and encourage one another.

I love fellowship with God. I love fellowship with the people of God. Fellowship recharges my batteries. I was not created to live in quarantine. Neither were you. We need each other. We need fellowship. Find someone or better yet, several “someones” you can be in fellowship with. You will be better for it and they will too.

Always in Pursuit!

Don

In Christ, Part II

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Paul gives us four important words in Philippians 2:1. They are encouragement, comfort, fellowship (common sharing) in the Spirit and tenderness and compassion, which I am treating as one.

Comfort. The world at the time of Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi was full of uncertainty. They suffered from earthquakes, disease, famines, and war. Sin was rampant and many Christ followers suffered great persecution.

Many turned to false gods, many turned to the use of ancient magic to control circumstances in their lives. But they found no comfort in these things.

Paul writes throughout this letter that circumstances must not be allowed to dictate joy or our attitude. We must always choose joy and never live “under the circumstances. We must always choose to serve rather than be served. We must always put Jesus first, others second, then ourselves. This was the formula for joy!

Paul was reminding the Christ followers in Philippi of the encouragement from being “in Christ.” He also reminded them of the comfort that was theirs. Since there was encouragement and since there was comfort found in Christ, they could rest easy knowing that a loving God was in control of the world around them. They could take comfort knowing that through Him, they would ultimately have victory. This was their and it is our hope.

This hope, found in Christ, would bring comfort to them. It also would enable them to bring encouragement and comfort to others in their time of need. Just as Paul took joy knowing that many were coming to Christ because of his difficulties, we too can take joy in being a source of encouragement and comfort.

The same God who was helping Paul and the Philippians is helping us. Always take comfort in the fact that God promised to never leave you nor forsake you. He has a plan for your life. He desires to bless you and to prosper you. His plan includes a future that is not based on your past and He plans no harm for you. Rest in His plan. Rest in the comfort that if your today!

Take comfort!

Always in Pursuit!

Don

To Live Christ, to die gain.

/ Don McGarvey / Leave a comment

This past Sunday, I taught out of Philippians 1:21 “For me to live Christ, to die gain.”

I’d never taught on this verse because it always bothered me. The reason is bothered me was that most everyone I heard teach on it, talked about how much they were looking forward to “the gain.” All I heard was that they were looking forward to dying. I wasn’t. I didn’t want to die. I still don’t want to die.

I love life. I love being a husband, a father, a pastor, and a friend. I love teaching the Word, writing a blog. I love eating good food, laughing with friends, I love taking walks with my wife and watching folks grow in their own walk with the Lord.

A few years ago, I discovered this verse was not about dying rather it was about living. Paul loved living too! I don’t think he wanted to die. He wasn’t afraid to die. He knew death had been defeated and was not to be feared. He knew that death meant he left this life and began a new life with Christ. Whatever it would be like, it would be gain.

But until the time came for his death, he was going to live. He was going to run the race. He was going to fight the good fight. He was going to press on toward the prize.

Paul wasn’t going to lay down and wait to die. He was going to live until the very last breath.

How about you? Is Christ being seen in your living? Are you fighting the good fight? Pressing on toward the prize? Are you running the race?

My friend Fredrick Aguilar posted on his Face Book page the following: “If you still have a pulse, God still has a plan. Your story isn’t over!” I don’t know if this is original with him, or if it is borrowed. But it’s good stuff, thanks Fredrick for sharing it.

Don’t quit! Keep going. God will help you to live so that one day, you will gain!

Always in Pursuit!

Don

Rejoice!

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Sunday, June 28, 2020

Text: Acts 16:11-40

Bible Reading: Psalm 58

The birth of the Philippian church is recorded for us in Acts 16:11-40

I. First Convert—Acts 16:11-15

II. Second Convert—Acts 16:16-24

III. Third Convert—Acts 16:25-30

Conclusion: The Great Question: What must I do to be saved?

Familiar Scriptures from Philippians: (NKJV)

Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;”

Philippians 1:21 “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain”

Philippians 3:12 “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.”

Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!”

Philippians 4:6 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;”

Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Consecrate

/ Don McGarvey / Leave a comment

This past Sunday, I spoke from Joshua 3:1-5. Israel was getting ready to enter the Promised Land.

The final command of Joshua prior to crossing the Jordan River was to “consecrate yourselves.” (Joshua 3:5)

This word “consecrate” sounds ominous. It means to be “set apart for service to a deity.” Or in some cases it means to make something an object of honor or veneration. (The word veneration means to regard something as “holy” or to treat it with reverence.)

The command to consecrate yourself indicated that each one was to begin to think of themselves as being set aside for the purposes of God. They were to consider themselves as “holy” or to think of themselves with reverence and respect because they were now objects dedicated to the purposes of God.

Consecrating yourself was something only they could do. Joshua nor any of the elders could do it for them. It wasn’t a group effort. It was up to each one to determine they were going to be dedicated to the purposes of God.

For some it meant getting rid of their idols. For others it meant repenting of grumbling and murmuring. Some just needed a spiritual bath. Life had been tough and came with lots of challenges. It had hardened them and perhaps caused them to be callused to the voice of God.

Crossing the Jordan River and entering the Promised Land was a new season for Israel. Their lives were going to change. No more wilderness; no more manna; no more hot sun of the desert or cold desert nights. This was a new day.

We too are entering a new season. In some ways, every day is a new season. The command to consecrate yourselves is good advice for every day. It’s not just something we do on Sundays. It’s something we should do every day.

I love the promise made to them about why they needed to consecrate themselves. “For tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.”

I wonder what amazing thing God wants to do? I’m in……you in?

Always in Pursuit!

Don