Pastor’s Blog – Bunker Hill Community Church

The pandemic over the past year and half has affected us all in many areas of our lives.  Quarantines, social distancing, and face masks became a new and consistent part of daily living that we all had to deal with.

But as much of an inconvenience as those are, I believe the greatest challenge is, and still may be, fear.  Lack of information and then conflicting information about the virus as the pandemic wore on just added to the fear and confusion. Fear of the unknown, fear of getting sick, fear of possibly dying, and even fear of spreading the disease to someone else unknowingly were common concerns.

And our entire lifestyles changed because of it.  We stopped doing things we normally do and stopped seeing people we normally see.

But at some point, fear has to be overcome by something stronger—love. 1 John 4:18 tells us that

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear.”

When God commanded us to love one another, there were no exceptions to that. We quarantined at first in love to protect each other, but that cannot be the new norm.  We cannot truly love one another as Christ loved us unless we are together. So, we cannot let fear keep us apart.

In Mark 1, Jesus is “moved with compassion” toward a leper that had come to him for healing, and in response, HE TOUCHED THE LEPER to heal him. Jesus did not let fear of a disease stop Him from showing love, and we shouldn’t either.

Love never fails, not even in a pandemic.

The dictionary defines “accident” as an unforeseen event or one without apparent cause. Any Christian who understands the sovereignty of God will immediately determine from this definition that there is no such thing as an accident.

It’s like the cowboy who goes to buy some life insurance. The broker asked him if he had any accidents in the past year, to which the cowboy replied “No. But I was kicked by a horse, chased by a raging bull and bitten by a snake that laid me up for a while.” The agent said, “Weren’t they accidents?” To which the stockman replied, “No, they did it on purpose.”  You see this stockman realized that there are no such thing as accidents. (Source Unknown).

True accidents do not exist because God is absolutely sovereign and in control of every circumstance that happens on earth and in heaven. We may not understand why He allows things that seem “bad” to us, but we must accept that he is still in control.

Our problem is that we are human, and there is no way that we COULD understand God’s plan, even if He showed it to us.  In Isaiah 55:9 God reminds us,

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

If we were God, we would do things differently than God…and that is why we are not God.  God does all things well. The sooner we accept that truth, the sooner we will be able to find true joy and peace, even in the worst of circumstances.

Usain Bolt holds the title of being the “fastest human being who has ever lived.”  He has received 8 Olympic Gold Medals and currently holds the world record for the 100 meter sprint with a top speed of almost 30 miles per hour.  In many of his races, he was so far ahead of the competition, that he eased up for the last few yards and still won easily.

We might say that he has “superhuman” speed.  Yet, the Bible records someone who ran much faster—Elijah.

After defeating the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, Elijah prays for rain. When a “little cloud” rises out of the sea, Elijah knows it’s time to run. King Ahab was already riding in his chariot to stay ahead of the storm–his top speed would have been about 35 miles per hour. But 1 Kings 18:46 tells us,

“And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.”

With God’s help, Elijah outran Ahab’s horses over a distance of 20 miles. That was not superhuman; that was a miracle of God’s power.

Elijah was not a sprinter or an Olympic athlete.  He was a prophet of God that trusted in the power of God to fulfill his calling.

While this 20-mile dash was an extraordinary manifestation of God’s power, remember that Elijah had just prayed down fire from heaven to consume his sacrifice.

God will provide all the power we need to fulfill our ministry.  That’s why Paul says in Philippians 4:13,  “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Racism is wrong…when it actually exists. But there are those in our culture today who use accusations of racism for nothing more than to denigrate others and further their own agenda.

The dictionary defines racism as “the belief that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.” That means those who believe that certain races deserve different treatment are actually guilty of racism themselves.

Jewish believers were guilty of this in the early church to some degree, believing that because they were “God’s chosen people,” they were more acceptable to God than Gentiles.

Christians, more than anyone else, should understand that all people are equal in God’s sight, especially in the church.  In Galatians 3:28, Paul reminds us that

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ.”

Starting from the standpoint that all humans are of the human race, Paul then emphasizes the unity that we have in Jesus Christ, not because of who we are, but because of Who He is.

None of us are any better or have a higher standing before God than anyone else.  We are all sinners in need of a Savior, and when we are brought into the Body of Christ, God makes us one.

The church, more than any other group on earth, should exemplify the principle of “equal before God,”  something that should make the church stand out in the world.

Most of us know the story about the boy who falsely cried “wolf” just to get attention, and then when there really was a wolf, no one would listen to him.

That is the problem with insincerity and falsehood.  No one believes you, even when you are telling the truth.  That is why many people take to using oaths, swearing on their mother’s grave, or even swearing before God, since otherwise, they would not be believed because of their reputation for bending the truth.

Have you ever noticed that it is generally the most untrustworthy people who are always trying to convince you of something by swearing that it is true?

Jesus warned us about using oaths to convince people of the truthfulness of what we say in Matthew 5:37:

“But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.”

His command was preceded by a warning against using oaths to convince others of our truthfulness, referring to the Scribes and the Pharisees as examples of those that used oaths to deceive others into believing them.

If we would just speak the truth all the time, we will develop a reputation characterized by truthfulness and people will take us at our word without us having to swear an oath.

It really is true that honesty is always the best policy.

When you look around at all the violence happening in the world, and even in our own country as riots and civil unrest continue, you can’t help but wonder if the return of Christ is soon. But until He comes back, Christians need to continue to fight.

Psalm 144:1 says,

“Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight:”

God wants us to go to war!  But it is important that we fight the right battles.

Our war is not against liberals in government, or against people corrupting our culture with sin.  They are just carrying out the orders of their leader.

Ephesians 6:12 tells us that our battle is “not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”  Paul says that we are fighting a spiritual battle against Satan and his demons.  He goes on to say that the greatest weapons we have in that battle are the Word of God and prayer.

But victory is not defined by destroying the enemy—we cannot do that. Victory in the battle against Satan and his forces is defined as continuing “to stand in the evil day.” God will win the war, but we must survive the battles.

God has given us armor to protect ourselves from evil, but we must put it on every single day. The days that we neglect to do that, we are defenseless against the enemy’s attack.

Over the past several decades, we have seen an increase in the occurrence of natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, and other geological events on the earth.

Some people speculate the these are directly related to the judgment of God against the increasing wickedness of mankind on the earth.  While we can’t say for certain, I would not disagree with this belief.

We know from Revelation that during the Great Tribulation, all of these events and worse will be multiplied on the earth like never before as God judges the extreme sinfulness of mankind.  And just like today, most people will not repent, even in the face of the most severe suffering.

Revelation 9:20-21 tells us that they will continue in their own works, worship of false gods, murders, sorcery (including illicit drug use), immorality and theft.  Even during the worst of suffering, people’s sin just gets worse.

As believers today, we have the key to helping people escape the suffering of God’s judgment: the gospel.  Jude 1:22-23 exhorts us,

“And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire…” 

Do we really have compassion for others if we withhold the only source of escape for them?  Paul said in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation…”

Our calling as believers is to “pull them out of the fire” of God’s judgment with the gospel.  What are you doing in fulfilling that?

©arinahabich/123RF.COM

Celebrating Memorial Day should not necessarily be a festive occasion, since it is a memorial for those who died in the process of protecting and preserving the freedom that we enjoy in this country. Yet many Americans will hardly have a second thought about why we have this long weekend in the first place.

The unfortunate truth is that decades of prosperity and ease in our country have diminished both the meaning of the day and the responsibility that comes with being the beneficiaries of what it represents.

The thought that should be at the forefront of our thinking on this day is this: freedom is bought with the ultimate price.  Not only is this truth valuable for Americans to remember, but we must also remember the importance of this truth as Christians.  Romans 5:10 reminds us,

“…while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son.”

Jesus died so that we might be freed from sin and reconciled to God.  He paid the ultimate price so that we could be released from the bonds of sin and find true liberty in Him.

That is why the Apostle Paul tells us in Galatians 5:13 to “use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.” In other words, the freedom that we enjoy, as Americans and Christians, should be used not just to benefit ourselves, but to honor and benefit others.

Let us not forget the ultimate price that has been paid to secure our liberty, so that we do not forget the value and the purpose of that liberty.

How many natural catastrophes have happened in our world in just the past ten years?  More than most people want to think–floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, tornadoes.

But did you ever stop to think that God is in control of all of these natural “disasters”?  Even many insurance companies still refer to all of these events as “acts of God.”

Psalm 107:25 says,

“For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.”

In Haggai 2:21, God says “I will shake the heavens and the earth.”  And in Jonah chapter 1, it was God who sent a great storm as Jonah tried to escape God’s plan for him.

All of these “natural disasters” are under God’s control. And while many people have died from events like these, there are always those who miraculously survive, even though they are right in the middle of things.

Our life, and our death, are controlled by God.  He allows, and sometimes even causes, all the events that happen in our lives, even the “disasters.” And we cannot question why God does what He does, but we must continue to trust that He does all things well.

Psalm 34:19 is really the only answer we need: “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.”

Sometimes, God keeps us safe from harm and death, but sometimes God will “deliver” His children by removing them from the earth. In either case, He is always faithful, and He is always good.

When we pray for God to heal us, do we really want HIS healing, or do want what we think to be healing.

Let’s say that we find out we have cancer.  No one wants to go through the suffering that cancer brings, both in the disease and in the treatment.  And so we would all pray that God would remove the cancer and heal our bodies if it happened to us.  That is our perspective of healing.

But even if God does take away the cancer, that doesn’t mean that we will not die from something else, or even from that same cancer at a later date.  Physical healing is only temporary because we all must die physically.  That is part of the curse of sin.

But God wants to heal us permanently, and that can only happen apart from these corruptible bodies.  1 Corinthians 15:54 says,

“So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.” 

True healing—ultimate healing—only happens when we are free from these earthly bodies, and that can’t happen until we die or the rapture happens.

God’s desire is for us to have eternal life with Him in person; but we cannot do that in these earthly bodies. True healing then, from God’s perspective, is when we can be in His presence, where there will be no more hunger or thirst, and where He will wipe away every tear.  There and then, we will never die again!