Pastor David Keuss - Hope without Compromise

Oftentimes as Christ followers we try to over-spiritualize if an area or a people or neighborhood or a family is receptive to the gospel of Jesus.  Thankfully, Jesus and his appointed representatives were especially clear on how we can know if we are investing wisely or wasting our time on a neighborhood or such.  The gospel is God's promise to us that if we believe in Jesus as our Savior and confess He is Lord, God will forgive us our sins.  A few things should caution against over-thinking the whole thing. 1.) Jesus' command to the disciples.  When Jesus sent out the disciples to preach the good news and to help people, he commanded them to stay in a place or home that was receptive.  If a place or home was not receptive, they were to wipe the dust off their feet as a sign of that problem and to be free of that place.  They then were to move on. (Matthew 10:14; Luke 9:5; Mark 6:10-11 stay vs go; Acts 13:51 wipe dust off) 2.) Jesus' example.  Whe...

Dr. Paul D. Tripp, a Christian author counselor and teacher, shares a reminder we all need regularly: " No human being is capable of carrying your hope; this side of heaven, we're all weak and flawed. No circumstance can carry your hope; every situation you're in is touched by the brokenness of the fall and isn't under your control. Amassing physical pleasures and possessions won't give you lasting hope; for all of their momentary enjoyment, they fill the senses but don't satisfy the heart. " As you ponder this, try to focus on placing your hope in Jesus, practically, in what you consider a blessing or success each day.  It is the calling of God on Israel when they are returning to the Promised Land after Exile to place their first priority of hope and comfort in the LORD, not themselves or their houses or properties, Haggai chapter one.  Where is your hope?

 In the Rio Olympics a number of athletes are giving Glory to God.  Check out some of the following articles: Rifle Competition- http://www.bpnews.net/47336/olympics-thy-will-be-done-is-shooters-prayer Swimming- http://blogs.christianpost.com/god-reports/olympic-swimmer-phelps-credits-purpose-driven-life-for-turnaround-reconciling-with-father-27950/ and delivers a win in Swimming... https://www.yahoo.com/sports/news/michael-phelps-u-s-win-gold-in-4x100-freestyle-relay-031042707.html and another.... http://www.bpnews.net/47349/olympics-swimmer-wins-gold-shares-source-of-happiness  Diving, Gymnatics, More- https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/6-christian-athletes-to-watch-at-rio-2016 Be sure to pray for these athletes that they give a great testimony.

Christianpost.com reports that Christian pastor and author Max Lucado believes he had a dream where Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump reach a 'truce' of some kind and do some kind of joint press conference in agreement. You can read about it here . A couple things about this.  First off, we should hold Max Lucado to it.  If he wants to make predictions about the future in US politics, and it does not come to pass, then he needs to be called on it.  Scripture takes a view that people who make false predictions are false believers (1st John 4, etc, etc, etc) and false prophets.  They are to be considered not worth listening to, 1st John 4:5-9. Secondly, putting aside who is your favorite candidate for president of the US, their positions are far apart.  So much so that in each case, that they share little common ground.  In some areas, maybe we don't know what is God's will, in others it is very clear.  They do not see eye to eye on key issues. ...

Dwight L. Moody in his book, The Overcoming Life , states: "Notice that everything human in this world fails.  Every man, the moment he takes his eye off God, has failed.  Every man has been a failure at some period of his life.  Abraham failed. Moses failed.  Elijah failed.... I suppose it was because they were not on the watch.  Abraham was noted for his faith, and he failed right there--he denied his wife.  Moses was noted for his meekness and humility, and he failed right there--he got angry. ...  Elijah was noted for his power in prayer and for his courage, yet he became a coward.  He was the boldest man of his day and stood before Ahab and the royal court....  Peter was noted for his boldness, and a little maid scared him nearly out of his wits." So it is with what John teaches in 1st John that we see whatever is of God is a victor.  We all must get our eyes back on Jesus.  We must say "I am crucified with Christ, neverth...

A s Christ followers we ultimately do not follow the Law of Moses as though we were national Israelites, however, we do still see principles clearly of God's will displayed throughout the Old Testament.  This is so even of the Torah portion of the Old Testament, the first five books. In the heart of those books, you find much mention of prayer in Leviticus.  In fact, Leviticus is essentially a guide to prayer in the appointed place of worship in the nation of Israel, the Tabernacle Tent of Meeting and later the Temple.  For them, this was a place prescribed for worship, instead of building one's own altar, as people had done previously.  Prayers still could be done elsewhere, but the Tabernacle/Temple became the main and required place for Israelites to properly approach the Lord at certain festivals and high holy days of Israel. So in Leviticus, perhaps we can echo godly believers then, Leviticus chapter sixteen was the high holy day in the Israelite calendar. ...

T here are times when doctrine plays a role in attracting or repelling potential new church start goers.  Consider a few examples.  You might imagine whether a church is charismatic or not influences decisions.  In our area, a large glut of charismatic church starts has sucked up all of the potential charismatics.  The ones that have been around the longest have a lions share of that doctrinal view.  Perhaps this is less an issue in a very large city, though it is clearly an issue in a small or medium sized one. Doctrine could be desirable or undesirable in still another way.  The Lord created men and women a certain way, with certain attributes innately, Genesis 1-2.  Men who are leaders out of a desire to honor the Lord are not making just a praxis decision, but are also modeling in some capacity God's call on men in the family.  A man likewise who makes a strong effort to provide for his future family is going to be more desirable to most lad...