Pastor’s Blog – Bunker Hill Community Church

Are you guilty of idolatry?

If you are a true follower of Christ, I hope your answer would be “no.” But just because you do not have statues to false gods in your house or pray to false gods doesn’t automatically make you free from idolatry.

An idol does not have to be a statue or image. It can be anything that usurps the priority of God in your life. In other words, anything that would cause you to neglect your regular daily interaction with God through prayer, Bible reading, obeying Him, and gathering with His people could be considered an idol.  That could include hobbies, sports, recreation, work, television, politics, housework, homework, friends, family, food, or even sleep.

Anything that we use as an excuse for not doing what we know we should be doing in building our relationship with the Lord has become an idol, no matter how important we may think it is.

In 1 Corinthians 10:14, the Apostle Paul gives a very simple, but very necessary command:

“Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.”

He is not saying that we cannot do any of the things that may become idols in our lives. But what he is saying is that we must constantly be on the lookout for things in our lives that cause us to put God in second place.  And what we must run from are the excuses that we make in order to justify our idolatry.

Admit that you have let idols into your life, run back to God in repentance, and make Him your first love again. That is the best way to avoid being guilty of idolatry.

What does your version of Christianity look like?

That might seem like an odd question to be asked, but I think it is an important question that we all need to answer. Why? Because the lives of so many people who call themselves believers look so different from each other, and especially different from Jesus Christ.

Now that wouldn’t be a problem if it was just that we are different people with different gifts and abilities and interests, but because there are so many different versions of “holiness” being displayed, it IS a problem.

Just about every believer knows the command in 1 Peter 1:16–

“Be ye holy; for I am holy.”

The problem is that many do not know what God’s definition of holiness is, and many don’t really want to know, because it would mean they would have to change how they live.

What we have ended up with is a mish-mash of “Christianity on my own terms” being lived out by self-professing believers. We present to the world a completely broken picture of Christ that looks more like the world than like what God calls holiness.

What makes God holy is that He is perfect in every way, which also makes Him completely different from a sinful world.

So, as children of God, which should we look like more: God or the world?

A desire for true holiness is what distinguishes between those who love God and those who love the world.

In March of this year, a Finnish lawmaker was charged with a hate crime for publishing a picture of her Bible opened to Romans 1:24-27, which condemns homosexuality as a sin.  It was just a photo, nothing else, yet that was considered a crime in Finland.

In 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States held that same-sex couples could not be excluded from the fundamental right to marry.

Preaching the truth of Scripture is a crime in some countries and may become a crime in our country, as well. In some countries, it is a crime just to BE a Christian and they are being imprisoned and even killed.  It is possible that we will soon see American pastors and Christians going to jail just for believing and sharing what God says is true.

Yet, Revelation 2:10 tells us the same thing it did to believers when it was written:

“Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried…be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”

Faith can be defined as submitting to God’s truth as the authority of our life. When God’s authority is challenged, the question is whether we will stand firm, trusting God to take care of us, or whether we will withdraw in fear.

Persecution is coming. When it does, will you be faithful or fearful?

“Hypocrisy” and “legalism” are terms that we, unfortunately, hear all too frequently in Christian circles and churches.  Usually, these labels are tossed at those we disagree with or those who have offended us in some way, rather than being applied as warnings to ourselves.

Hypocrisy is defined as “a pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not really possess.” Legalism is harder to define but boils down to believing that doing good things will prove to God and others that I am a good person.

In Revelation 2:7, we are told by Christ that the church of Ephesus had a serious problem:

“Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.”

At first glance, it might not seem like that has anything to do with hypocrisy and legalism. But leaving our first love means that we no longer live out of a love for God.

If you claim to love God, but do not obey Him, then 1 John 4 says that you are a liar, or hypocrite. It also says that if you cannot obey Him in loving others consistently without partiality, then anything you do is nothing but legalism in trying to prove your alleged goodness to others and God, when you really have none.

The best way to avoid hypocrisy and legalism in our lives is really just to love God as we should, and then we can be sure that our love for others will come naturally as a fruit of God’s Spirit in us.

Most of us know Genesis 1:1 –

“In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.”

Although this is a simple statement that even young children can memorize and understand, there is significant truth communicated to us in this opening verse of the Bible.

It tells us, first of all, that there exists a God who is bigger than all creation.

It tells us that God existed before the beginning of creation, giving us a glimpse of his eternal nature.

It tells us of God’s awesome power since He is the one who created the entire universe.

As we look at God’s creation referenced in this verse, we see the order and complexity of the world and the universe around us and are reminded of God’s infinite wisdom.

Finally, every one of us is a member of God’s creation. Since we all belong to Him, we are not only under His authority but also under His care.

What a great verse that reminds us of our great God!  So the next time you stand outside and look around or look up into the sky, remember to give praise to the One Who shows Himself in all creation.

Punishments for crime are supposed to serve as a deterrent to keep people from breaking the law. Yet, most criminals commit crimes anyway because they think they can get away with it without getting caught.

They believe that if they can gain the benefits of whatever crime they are committing without having to suffer any consequences, then there is no reason NOT to commit crime.

Unfortunately, many believers operate on this same premise.  As long as we think we can get away with sin without anyone finding out, then we are emboldened to sin.

The problem is that there is no such thing as a secret sin. Hebrews 4:13 says,

“Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.”

God sees everything, not just what we do, but also what we think.

The “little sins” that we think no one knows about—God knows. And He will not let us get away with sin if we are His children.

Not only will God expose our “secret sins,” but we will suffer his chastisement for them as well.

Remember, God said, “Be sure your sin will find you out.” Would we live differently if we remembered that God is always watching?

The term “fellowship” is tossed around Christian circles and churches very loosely these days.  Most often it is associated with getting together for a meal or a church activity.

But although true fellowship can include a meal or activity, it is more about our relationship with other believers.

In 1 John 1:7 we are told,

”But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin.”

That verse tells us that our fellowship with each other is based on how we live because of what Christ has done for us.

2 Corinthians 5:7 says that believers live by faith, not by sight.  That means that all those who are trusting God for their salvation and their daily lives will have an automatic connection to each other. After all, we have the same Spirit in us, and we are all part of the same Body.

So, our fellowship is not found just in activity or conversation. Our fellowship with other believers is found in that we are all in the same family—God’s family. He is what has brought us together. And family members are to love each other.

That is what fellowship is all about—loving each other and treating each other as family.

Have you ever watched a sailboat as it sailed across a lake?

Although it may look easy to just put up the sails and “away we go,” there is much more involved in safely navigating a sailboat than that. Understanding the wind direction and speed and how it will affect your course is just the beginning. Then you have to know exactly how to raise your sails and which sails to unfurl in order to safely go in the right direction. Sailing can be a complicated business.

In Ephesians 5:18, the Bible tells us to

“be not drunk with wine…but be filled with the Spirit.”

The word “filled” is not referring to being filled up, as a cup is with water, but to be “filled through” as a sail is with the wind.  The wind of the Spirit will push us in the right direction if our sails are up and we are willing to be driven by Him. But there is more to it than that.

Colossians 3 is a parallel passage that tells us to

“let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.”

In each passage, the result of being filled is that we will be singing, giving thanks, and submitting to one another. So it is the same command but given in different ways. We are to be filled with the Spirit, but the Spirit has nothing to guide us with if we are not also dwelling in the Word of God. God’s Word is the map through which the Spirit will drive us in the right direction. It tells us both how to sail the sea of life and in which direction we need to go.

So how are you sailing?  Are you submitting to both the wind and the map to keep you moving and on course?

John Wooden is regarded as one of the greatest college basketball coaches of all time, leading his team at UCLA to 10 national championships in 12 years. He is known not only for his great basketball savvy and strategy, but also for being a true leader who was concerned about the well-being and character of those under his leadership.

John Wooden embodied the principle of leading by example. You would never expect to find one of the greatest coaches of all time sweeping the gymnasium between practices, but that is exactly what he did. He was a great leader because he was a great servant first.

In Philippians 2:5-7 we are told,

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:”

Christ set the example for us through His serving attitude. Although He was Almighty God, he became a servant to show us what true leadership looks like. He served in love, giving up everything so that we might gain everything. That is the definition of true servant-leadership.

What does your service say about the kind of leader you are?

Did you ever think about one of the most common conversations that people have?

It usually focuses on the weather. One person complains about the amount of rain or the heat, and the other chimes in with their own opinions about the excess humidity or wind.

It might seem like benign small talk, but even a simple conversation like this can harm our testimony for Christ to the unsaved.

In Philippians 2:14-15, the Apostle Paul exhorts us to

“Do all things without murmurings and disputings:  That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.”

If we believe that God truly controls the weather, then why are we complaining about it?

Christians are to be thankful in everything according to 1 Thessalonians 5:18. Complaining, even about the weather, is a sign of selfishness and ungratefulness, and those are attitudes that hide our “light.” If we are to be blameless before the world, then even our complaining about the weather can be a deterrent to the gospel.

Let’s strive to “blameless…in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation,” and remember to praise God for the weather, no matter what other people may have to say about it.