Monday, May 18, 2020

Dear Church Family,

  I must follow up on a couple of points from yesterday’s sermon.

  The first is a quote I used from Steve Lawson – “In an instant you go from being spiritually bankrupt to being unbelievably spiritually rich.” I love this insight because it paints a glorious picture that has two frames. In the first frame we stand in filthy rags with darkness and gloom smothering us. Though created in God’s image, sin has permeated every pore of our bodies. We have nothing to offer him. Our net worth registers in the negative millions.

  The second picture frame shows us completely transformed by the saving work of our Savior. The dirty rags are gone and the righteousness of Christ clothes us. We are surrounded by untold riches that the world cannot understand. We have peace with God and sins forgiven with a new identity. A sure hope undergirds us as we live in the wonderful light of the creator God. All this said to give just a little taste of what change comes to all who by faith alone in Jesus are new creatures. We thank God that the old is gone and the new has come.

  I hope you noticed how important to understand the Gospel is the accounting concept of credit. A debit takes something away from you. A credit adds something of value to you. The second point was a combination of observations from several commentators. It reads, “It was credited to him alone as an eternally secure finished spiritual transaction.” This is a rough paraphrase of Genesis 15:6, “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.” This quote teaches that the transaction that Jesus accomplished on the cross was a once for all event. He died for Abraham’s sins 2,000 years after they happened and for our sins 2,000 years before they occurred. Nothing can change what Jesus did. It is a historical fact. Therefore by faith in Him alone we are secure in Him both now and forever! Jesus used a commercial term when He cried out, “It is finished” on the cross. It meant the debt has been paid. Because of Jesus we can cry out like someone who follows Dave Ramsey’s financial advice, “I’M DEBT FREE.”

  God’s Word declares the truth of justification by faith alone (JBFA)! Jesus has paid the debt of our sin. He took on our debt, we took on His righteousness. What a deal! What a Savior!

With great hope,
Pastor Gillikin

Friday, May 15, 2020

Dear Church Family,

  We sing about grace being amazing. If you had to write just fifty words on how grace amazes you, what would you write? Should you be able to sum that topic up with that word limit, you qualify as an incredible wordsmith! Just the first stanza of “Amazing Grace” has 25 words and it barely scratches the surface of the awe that God’s grace should spark. In those few words John Newton marveled at the sweetness of the grace “that saved a wretch like me.” How could he (or anyone) describe himself as a miserable person who is scorned? The verse closes with the wonderful answer, “I once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see.” The song goes on to rejoice, not only in God’s saving grace, but also in His sustaining with “’Tis grace hath bro’t me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.”

  Newton said near his death, “My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things: ‘That I am a great sinner and that Christ is a great Savior!’” The converted slave ship captain turned pastor knew first-hand of the way in which God’s grace transformed him. A rarely published verse shows the confidence he had in God’s grace, “The earth shall soon dissolve like snow, the sun forbear to shine; But God, who called me here below, will be forever mine.”

  Newton had the joy of knowing and living in the glorious grace of God. No one deserves it. It cannot be bought for any amount of money. It is free, though it came at the cost of the death of God’s only Son on the cross to pay the penalty of our sin. Newton and his transformed life responded to God’s grace by writing almost 300 other hymn including “Glorious Thing of Thee Are Spoken” and “How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds.” Paul did a similar thing at the end of the ‘doctrinal’ section of Romans 1-11 as he burst into praise. He marveled at “the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God” and ended with great words of praise, “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen.”

  Next week with the help of a friend’s book, I will unpack the difference God’s grace must make in our lives as the people of God. Pray even now that you might be even more amazed by that grace and empowered to live to the glory of God.

With great hope,
Pastor Gillikin

Thursday, May 14, 2020

Dear Church Family,

  We do not know how God will be glorified during this time of crisis. We have assurance that He will be honored and that He is working for the good of His people. In this time of waiting for that to be unveiled, what is God’s will for you during the virus crisis?  Let me share three things that clearly are God’s will for you. I can write that during this crisis and I could preach it with confidence at any time since I was ordained as a pastor.

  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 lays out these three things: “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” These twenty words get right to the point, so I will be brief.

  First, Paul lived a life full of suffering. Therefore, he cannot be accused of failing to understand what it means to live in a fallen world. He knew that life could be difficult. This letter came early in his ministry. A few years later he would write in Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again, rejoice!” Paul knew he could rejoice (and encourage others to do so) because he knew the unchanging character of God and knew who he was in Jesus Christ. Paul wrote Philippians from prison. He was not self-quarantined – he was under arrest, yet joyful.

  Second, God’s people are called to pray without ceasing. As we do this we practice the constant presence of God in our lives. It reminds us of our total dependence on him As Question 11 of the Heidelberg Catechism states that we need to pray “Because prayer is the most important part of the thankfulness God requires of us. And also because God gives his grace and Holy Spirit only to those who pray continually and groan inwardly, asking God for these gifts and thanking Him for them.” 

  Third, God commands (not suggests) us to be thankful for whatever comes our way. Paul’s letters overflow with words of thanks to God for who He is and what He has done. Paul is ever grateful for the salvation that came to him on the road to Damascus. I grant that it is hard to thank God for the virus. Now that one of our members is sick with Covid-19, being thankful becomes a little harder, yet we can remain confident that God will bring glory to Himself through it and use it for good in our member’s life. As we give thanks, God molds our hearts to allow us to see a little more clearly who He is and how He is working in and through us.

  By His grace may we be joyful, pray continually and ever give God the thanks He deserves.

With great hope,
Pastor Gillikin

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Click to hear Pastor Skip’s daily devotion.

https://youtu.be/0MJanujFf9Q

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Dear Church Family,

  When you are given a gift, what two things are likely to happen after you receive it? First, I assume you give thanks to the person who gave you the gift. Second, I hope you use the gift for its intended purpose. No doubt the giver intended you to use it and not keep it in its box in a dusty closet. I trust we can agree on what I have just stated.

  God is the ultimate gift giver. Throughout the Bible, you can clearly see the over and over again God generously doles out good gifts. God’s history of gifting started in the Garden of Eden as he breathed biological life into Adam. Adam had no right to be created. God did it out of His own free will. Adam then enjoyed exercising dominion over the creation bestowed on him. God saw that Adam was alone, so He gave him Eve. After they sinned by eating the forbidden fruit, God gave them what they deserved and had been promised – God evicted them from the garden and death entered the world.

  Despite their sin, God also showed them incredible mercy. They did not suffer immediate death. He showered them with covenant promises, covered their nakedness with animal skins, blessed them with children and long lives with Adam dying when he was 930. I have just entered Genesis 5 and think I could write a 500-page book on the various ways that God gives. Feel free to search the Bible and reflect on your life at the many gifts God has given you.

  Without doubt the greatest gift of God is the salvation He gives to rebellious sinners. The words, “For God so loved the world He gave His only Son…” should ever cause us to marvel at how giving God remains. Salvation is truly a gift. Nothing that anyone could ever do could earn it. God’s gift-giving is not limited to eternal life, though that cannot be beat. His provides all we need to live day by day. We live in the richest country in the world. Even those who live in poverty here would be considered wealthy in most of the world. We are blessed with biological family, friends, kind neighbors and our church family. God grants to His people spiritual gifts to help build up the body of Christ. Our hearts must overflow with grateful thanks for all the God has given.

  Now, what will do with all those gifts? I doubt you have room to store them, so you might as well use them for the glory of the One who the ultimate Gift-Giver. The Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25 calls us to wisely steward all that God has given to us. As we do empowered by His grace (another gift), we can look forward to those glorious words, “Well done My good and faithful servant!”

With great hope,
Pastor Gillikin

Monday, May 11, 2020

Dear Church Family,

  I received a missionary prayer card last week that was more than a little unusual. It did not come from a missionary that our church supports or asks that we support. Accompanying information stated it was at least 84 years old. It came from another denomination with a dated photo with three people that I recognized. Sure enough, the black-and white picture featured my grandparents and my mother who was probably three at the time.

  What strikes me is that as they served faithfully in Columbia, South America, they would be there only a few more years as severe persecution beset them on almost a daily basis. A while after the picture was taken a man approached her in the town market and declared her to be “a child of the devil.” He then stuck his lit cigar into her ear. Shocked by what happened, people picked her up and raced her home. That incident provided a wonderful opportunity to share the gospel and many professed Christ as Savior that day. My mother left when she was six to go to school in Phoenix and lived safely with her paternal grandmother for two years.

  Throughout her time in Columbia my grandmother suffered from various tropical diseases that would plague her for the rest of her life (though remarkably she lived to be almost 101!). As God worked through my grandfather to establish about 100 churches and a Bible institute that still exists, persecution came in various forms. While preaching he had bricks, rocks and even a lit stick of dynamite thrown at him. (He threw the dynamite back out the window into the street where the explosion left a two-foot deep hole.) Those opposed to the Gospel put a price on his head. He wrote, “There seems to be a direct ratio between God’s blessing and Satan’s interference.” Malaria, typhoid, bedbugs (treated with arsenic) and having ground glass put in flour that he ate brought the ten years of ministry in Columbia to an end. God led him to a fruitful pastorate in Quincy, Massachusetts for five years and then 30 years with the National Association of Evangelicals in Washington.

  Did my grandparents and mother suffer? They sure did. My grandmothers once told me that though the physical and emotional pain was great, they knew God was working in and through them to accomplish His purposes. As hard as it was, they rejoiced in the pain they endured for the sake of the Gospel. We may feel the virus crisis has brought great suffering to us. Life seems to be a little rough right now, but compared to what I have just shared, I trust you will realize we have it pretty good.

  God is at work during these times. 1 Peter 5:10 gives us hope, “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” May we suffer with this hope. 

With great hope,
Pastor Gillikin

Friday, May 8, 2020

Dear Church Family, 

  “Where is our God now?” was a question posed in an article I read recently. The writer said the question came to her during times of darkness from “the enemy, our bitter adversary – the devil, satan…” She then gave a brief, yet profound, answer to this nagging thought, “God is where He has always been, on His sovereign throne.” The preceding three sentences have deep implications that each deserve our close attention.

  First, the question of where is God may have you uneasy. We may think that it is unspiritual to ever consider such a thing. The psalms express such ponderings often. You see they lived in a fallen world, just like we do. They felt pain. They experienced disappointment. At times they wonder what in the world was going on. Remember that Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?” Our Savior was “a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.” It is a good question to ask. I dare say to do proves we are human and yearn for something better than what we have. That something anticipates our fallen world being transformed into some better or being recreated into what once existed before our first parents’ sin in the Garden of Eden. That is a good yearning to have. 

  Second, it is hard to admit we are evil and that there is an devil in the world. Sadly, Satan remains alive and active today. He opposes God in every way he can. He favorite tools (really tricks) are found in Genesis 3 when he tempted Eve. He questions the truth of God, “Did God really say?” He then lies, “You will not surely die.” Jesus, in John 8:44, describes him as “a liar and the father of all lies.” He then appeals to our pride, by saying, “You will be like God” What a deal (lie) he offers to Eve. All she has to do is eat the forbidden fruit and she will be like God – therefore, in control, all-knowing, all-powerful, etc. Who cold turn down such a deal? Sadly many give in to his trick and fail to remember that “the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” 

  Third, in the midst of an honest question, the writer gives the only answer that can provide true comfort and hope today. This must be clear to God’s people. Our great God has not gone any where during any time of crisis ever. A deadly virus cannot move God off His throne. His rule is eternal. His power is absolute. All that God does is good. Nothing will thwart God’s purposes. 

  In light of this, we live with confidence and certain hope because of the perfect character of God and the fact that Jesus has defeated Satan through His redemptive work on the cross. Satan is bound and thus limited to what he can do. Let the words of 1 John 4:4 resound in your ears and heart, “Greater is He who is in you, than he who is in the world.!”  

With great hope,
Pastor Gillikin

Thursday, May 7, 2020

Dear Church Family,

  There has been much to celebrate this week. On Monday fans of “Stars Wars” commemorated the day years ago in a galaxy far away when Yoda developed a lisp. On Tuesday the phone line to order food at La Carreta was so busy I could not get the “Chef’s Special” to properly mark Cinco de Mayo. News has come out letting us know that the “shelter in place” restrictions will be modified in the coming days, though many details remain to be hashed out. That deserves three cheers!!!

  On Wednesday without little hoopla came the 75th anniversary of V-E Day. I was born 13 years later, but both my mother and father reminded my family every year growing up how they reacted when they heard the news that Allied troops had captured Berlin and Germany had surrendered to bring an end to World War II in Europe. My mother ran into the streets near Washington, DC to joyously sing and shout with neighbors. My very proper grandmother (though she denied for years) even danced a little gig as word of the victory overwhelmed her. My dad was stationed stateside at an Army base. He told of incredible jubilation with officers hugging enlisted men, being granted extra rations and relaxed regulations on the base.

  The war did not end until Japan surrendered four months later. In less than four years of conflict over 400,000 US troops had lost their lives and almost another 700,000 were wounded. Countless families grieved the loss and lives were scarred by the ugliness of war. Our country remains forever indebted to all who served – whether in the military or in civilian ways – to defeat the Axis. I shudder to think what life would be like if the other side had won.

  What would like be like if Jesus had not come to pay the penalty of sin and defeat our enemies of sin and death? We would be under the rule of sin and death – two forces much worse than faced in World War II. I John 5:4-5 reminds of what Jesus has done. “For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” That is worth celebrating!

With great hope,
Pastor Gillikin

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Click to hear Pastor Skip’s daily devotion.

https://youtu.be/lIB-anbb08Y

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Dear Church Family,

  I remember when I was ten or eleven coming home from a Christmas vacation in Maine. After a long eight-plus hour drive in the Dodge station wagon, we pulled into our garage. My parents were tired from driving and being cooped up with their less than well-behaved energetic children. To help burn off some of that pent up energy we were told to unload the car. Somehow my little sister got out of that, but the three brothers dutifully (and maybe even with cheer) quickly brought everything inside. One thing I clearly remember is noticing something odd about a door at the back of our house. A closer look revealed that window had been smashed and someone had unlocked the door. Yes, we had been robbed by a thief who took my Dad’s VW Bug on a 500-mile plus journey to the beach (he left a pack of matches from an ocean-front motel) and returned it with an empty tank of gas. How dare anyone break into our house!

   I hope no one in our church has been a victim of theft during this time of the Virus Crisis (VC). Yet you may feel you have been robbed lately. You might think an unknown something has taken away things that are precious to you. Let me list a few: 

  1) We like to believe we are self-reliant, but (VC) steals this sense of control.

  2) (VC) might take away your peace with the many messages of fear that various media send your way.
You might forget the great truths of the Bible that remind you of the peace that God gives to His.

  3) Your sense of identity and time begins to fade as the daily and weekly rituals that have been part of
your life for years have disappeared as VC brings any sense of routine to an end.

  4) I know at least one of you enjoyed having breakfast at Bojangles with a group of friends every day. It
has been almost 60 days since you had the good time that a biscuit, coffee and humans provides. We
were made to be in community yet now we have little face-to-face interaction. (see 2 John 12)

  Feel free to make up your own list of precious things that CV has taken from you. At the same time, it is good to count the blessings God has showered on you during this time. Real quick, name three things you have a new appreciation for in recent days.

  While we may feel robbed of normalcy, God has blessed us in new and wonderful ways. I trust you miss our times of worship and fellowship. It has been eight Sundays since we last gathered. The Session met last Thursday to discuss plans to re-open. Sadly, with the guidelines laid out by authorities, it looks like we will not meet until July. It hurt to type that last sentence. It may seem like we are victims of theft, but God in His providence will use this to grow us in His grace. And no one can steal that from us.

With great hope,
Pastor Gillikin

Monday, May 4, 2020

Dear Church Family,

  Congratulations, you have made it through April 2020!  

  We are now a few days into May. The legendary composer Stephen Foster loved the month that follows April so much he wrote a song titled “The Merry, Merry Month of May.” He sang of being outdoors in the fields where “we chased the bees and plucked the flowers.” He goes on to mention the joys found in God’s creation and as the day ended “we went to rest with longing heart, for the comming (sic) of the bright day dawn.” Its bouncy tune guarantees an uplifting of one’s spirit.

  I had never heard the tune before and enjoyed it more than once. However, I am duty bound to give you more reasons to enjoy this month – and indeed every month that can be merry even if it does not start with the letter “M.” (By the way, I have never heard of a song praising the virtues of the merry month of March.)

  You can be merry for many reasons. Let me first give you what a government official in a western state recently declared, “And we know that only science and data and informed reasoning and confidence in ourselves is going to lift us out of this crisis.” These 24 words lack any reason for merriment. True joy must be based in fact not fantasy. In reverse order, our confidence must be in Christ alone and not self or the collective “ourselves.” Sin has marred the human thought process, so we must be wary of informed reasoning – both of the information and the way it is analyzed. Data is not neutral. One’s worldview – either based on the Bible or opposed to God – will determine how the data is used. While I am certainly not opposed to science, it must never be seen as a savior. The true and only Savior for the world remains Jesus.

  Right there is our best reason to be merry. We sing “In Christ alone my hope is found” with heart-felt joy and confidence. That will lift us out of the ultimate crisis that we face and we undergird us during the virus crisis. Science, data, etc. will never do what Jesus has done. They cannot provide the redemptive work that He has accomplished at the cross. We celebrate that resurrection event every Lord’s Day.

  So be merry, not just because it is May, but because your Savior is Jesus Christ!

With great hope,
Pastor Gillikin

Friday, May 1, 2020

Dear Church Family,

  I received an email this week that featured an obituary. I rarely get such content, but this proved to be so noteworthy that I must share parts of it with you. The deceased gained fame 64 years ago after five missionaries were found murdered along a jungle river in Ecuador. By our standards, he was not a smart man. He could only count to twenty because that was how many fingers and toes he had. Yet as news spread of the evil act that he and five other members of his primitive tribe, he became known around the world.

  Incredibly, within a few years he was traveling the world telling people about what he had done. Millions of people heard in person his story. A movie was made about him and the bloody act that left multiple families in grief with five widows taking care of several children. Even harder to believe is that a son of one of the dead grew so close to this man he called him “Grandfather” and traveled with him on his speaking tours – even sleeping in the same room. That son, named Steve Saint, wrote the loving obituary.

  The man’s name was Mincaye. The book and movie “The End of the Spear” tell the story of how the Gospel radically changed a man who was raised in a primitive, violence-filled tribe and lived in the Amazon rain forest. Steve Saint writes the theme of Mincaye’s talks was, “We lived angry, hating and killing for no reason, until they brought us God’s markings. Now, those of us who walk God’s trail live happily and peace.” A maxim that I quote from time to time certainly proved true in his life, “God loves us so much He accepts just the way we are. But God loves us so much He does not let us stay the way we are.” Mincaye visited our church as least once and maybe twice with our beloved Catherine Peeke translating his words into English in a similar way to which she translated the Bible into his native language.

  Note the depth of how God changed the one-time head-hunter. Steve Saint reflected, “I have known Mincaye since I was a little boy when he took me under his wing and had his sons teach me to blowgun hunt. He was one of my dearest friends in the world. Yes, he killed my father, but he loved me and my family. One of my grandsons is named Mincaye.”

  WOW! His life was a glorious demonstration of the power of the Gospel to change a life that was lost in sin. All of us are as evil as Mincaye. By faith in Christ and His righteousness we have the same power of change in us as Mincaye. May God change us to be more like our Savior.

With great hope,
Pastor Gillikin

Thursday, April 30, 2020

Dear Church Family,

  In 1961 as the Green Bay Packers began preseason training camp, legendary coach Vince Lombardi stood before his players. After waiting many seconds, he held up an object in his hand and simply stated, “Gentleman, this is a football.” David Marannis wrote in his biography on Lombardi, “He took nothing for granted. He began a tradition of starting from scratch, assuming that the players were blank slates who carried over no knowledge from the year before.”

  No doubt you are familiar with the words of a best-selling book written in 1860 titled “Say and Seal.” Stop acting like you don’t know these beloved words. Mr. Linden gently shared them with Johnny Fox as the small boy died. Little did Anna Warner imagine that within a short time the few lines of a poem she wrote would be sung and treasured by people around the world for years to come. Composer William Bradford put the words to music and added the chorus. Some believe she used Galatians 2:20 as the basis for the words, “I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

  The first stanza goes like this, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so; little ones to Him belong, they are weak, but He is strong.” Now you recognize the words? Here’s more, Anna and her sister Susan lived in an old house near West Point, New York. Born into wealth, a national financial crisis left them impoverished. Their writings reflected their deep trust in their Savior and the eternal riches that belonged to them as children of God.

  Now you might be thinking what one player said in response to Lombardi’s famous five words, “Coach you’re going a little too fast.” Learned theologians over the years have pointed to the simple truth that Jesus has shown His great love for them through His redemptive death on the cross as the most important doctrine they could ever know or teach. We must ever remember the basics of what the Bible teaches. (Just now the sermon I am listening to quoted John 3:16 and how per Romans 8:1 those in Christ no longer face condemnation.)

  In every sermon I strive to give hope. This flows from preaching the Gospel. If I have not presented the Gospel, then what has been said cannot be called a sermon. It might be a pep talk or a lecture, but if the Gospel fails to be expounded, I have not preached. Proclaiming the Gospel reminds all who hear they have been loved in the ultimate way as the song declares, “Jesus loves me, He who died, heaven’s gates to open wide; He will wash away my sin, let His little child come in.” 

  In this time of crisis, I hold up this wonderful truth to you – not “This is a football” – instead I point you to Jesus who has and does now love you!

With great hope,
Pastor Gillikin

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Click to hear Pastor Skip’s daily devotion.

https://youtu.be/R_mFDHIztOE

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Dear Church Family,

  It is less than eight months until we celebrate our Savior’s birth, so why not think about what Christmas and covid-19 have to do with one another. The virus has brought us great uncertainty. We may feel alone. We may feel hopeless. We wonder what the future holds. We might feel more that a little stress. We have the promises of God to always be with us, yet we think He is a little slow in making good on what He has said. You might even feel like you are being held captive in your house.

  The Bible let’s us know that what we are thinking and feeling during this time has happened before. In Isaiah 40 the prophet proclaimed that God would give comfort to His people. Verse two notes that Israel received the priceless comfort of having her sins forgiven through the sovereign work of God. For this reason Isaiah became known as the ‘Prophet of Redemption.’ In fact, Babylon had taken Israel captive and brought where they endured seventy years of exile. At last Isaiah tenderly speaks this soothing words that give hope in the midst of distress. Verse 11 uses the imagery of the shepherd who “gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart.”

  Jumping ahead to verse 21 and on Isaiah reminds God’s people of God’s eternal character. “He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth” which He has created and rules over…Because of His great power and mighty strength not one” of the stars He made is out of place. Therefore, as the chapter closes, the everlasting God who cannot grow tired or weary will give strength to those who hope in Him. God’s comfort will sustain those who are His.

  Jesus extends the same comfort to His disciples in John 14:1. During the Upper Room Discourse he stated, “Do not let you hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me.” God has sent the Holy Spirit to abide with us as the Comforter. That fulfills what Jesus says in 14:27, “Peace, I leave with you; My peace I give you…Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

 Paul teaches us in 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 that our lives are to be full of praise for “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort.” We get to rejoice and rest in the best comfort there is – the comfort that comes from our Lord and Savior – the Good Shepherd who makes us lie down in green pastures and leads us besides quiet waters.

With great hope,
Pastor Gillikin

Monday, April 27, 2020

Dear Church Family,

  Last week a friend sent me a picture of someone on the phone who called 9-1-1. Her fictitious words were, “Yes. I’d like to report some people not living in fear.” Please keep in mind that this should be seen as humor. Yet, if “not living in fear” was a crime, would someone be calling the police about you? It can be said that the virus crisis has caused a pandemic of fear.

  “But God” has given His people immunity from fear. There are many ways this can be shown. Let me share three, each of which provides great reason to worship God. The first is his character or who God is. A few words fail to capture the majesty of God’s being. The fourth question of the Shorter Catechism summarizes, “God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, just, goodness, and truth.” So much more could and has been written about Him. Sarah sang in our worship yesterday of how the character of God removes fear:

“Though the nations rage, kingdoms rise and fall; there is still one King reigning over all,
So I will not fear for this truth remains: that my God is the Ancient of Days.”

  The resurrection of Jesus gives us a second reason to no longer fear. “Do not be afraid” compose the first words spoken to Mary in Matthew 28 by the angel and by Jesus after He rose from the dead. Fear disappears as we remember the victory that Jesus won through His redemptive work. Our enemies of sin and death have been defeated. The refrain of “Because He Lives” drives this point home:

“Because He lives I can face tomorrow; because He lives, all fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future, and life is worth the living just because He lives.”

  I could easily put this third point into either of the first two, but it deserves to stand alone. 1 John 4:18 simply states, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.” Jesus has loved us perfectly. We may not understand this truth fully on this side of heaven. Yet even now and forever, we get to bask in the unmerited favor of our Heavenly Father. He has loved us with an everlasting love. His care for us cannot be matched. He has promised to never leave us and nothing can separate us from Him. He has removed the punishment our sins deserved as far as the east is from the west.

  May we be seen by others as people who do not live in fear – whether they call 9-1-1 or not!

With great hope,
Pastor Gillikin 

Friday, April 24, 2020

Dear Church Family,

  During my freshman year of college an older student encouraged my small group to keep a diary to help us remember what we did in college and what we learned inside, as well as outside, the classroom. Sadly I did not do that. I have done the diary thing twice in my life – during my two months in West Africa on a missions trip after my sophomore year and five years ago on my trip to Israel. Alas, I was less than faithful to write daily. It is my loss for not doing so. These postings serve that purpose to some extent as I muse after great truths of Scripture and how they apply during the virus crisis. If I were writing an actual diary, I think it would go something like this:

“Dear Diary, Today makes day number who knows what of this ongoing time of social distancing/isolation with businesses that are not considered essential closed down. Thankfully the church is considered essential. I get to have some sense of what has been routine in my calling as a pastor. I keep fairly normal hours even coming in on Saturday and Sunday. [In case you did not know, we record the worship service on Thursday, so our wonderful Sarah Fowler can get it edited for Sunday.]

I love to proclaim the Word of God. I strive to be faithful as always, but talking into an unblinking camera falls far short of being the ideal way to preach. At the same time, I am thrilled that today’s technology allows me to preach and lead in worship. I am trusting God to use my feeble efforts (and I fell so inadequate during this odd time) to build up His people and bring people to saving faith in Jesus. At the same time I am honored to be called to serve our great Savior in ministry. God has blessed this church with such servants as Elaine and Sarah. I have no idea what I would do without them. The elders and deacons are ever eager to help as best they can.

I think I am a content person. Material possessions have never meant much to me. I find myself getting envious of what I enjoyed so much less than two months ago. I can’t wait to see people face-to-face even if we are four cubits apart. We are not meant to live in isolation, especially as the body of Christ. Tuesday mornings have a big hole in them since the Men’s Bible Study has been suspended. Yesterday I wondered what would have been served for Wednesday night supper. No doubt it would have been tasty mountain cooking. You would have to be part of the choir to understand that joy we have during rehearsal. Most of all Sunday morning just are not the same. I cannot wait to praise God in gathered worship. I try to make phone calls to members, though I would prefer visits to be in person.

I do have the joy (and even fun) of opening up the Bible each day to dig in and study the great truths it contains. All in all I have it pretty good. Even cutting my grass almost every day it seems, makes for good exercise.  Diary, we just might talk again soon.”

 What would you write in your diary? Try it. You just might be surprised!

With great hope,

Pastor Gillikin

Thursday, April 23, 2020

Dear Church Family,

During the virus crisis I have ended many conversations with “Be safe.” I think I started doing so after seeing a newscast on TV sign off with it. It conveys hope that people will kept from danger and enjoy good health.

  We have taken extreme measures to be safe during this time. I rejoice that our church is enjoying good physical health over the last several weeks. Throughout the winter and now a month into spring, I made only a few hospital visits and few members have been admitted. I was willing to go to Duke to visit someone, but as at Mission, visitation restrictions kept that from happening. Most of us have stayed at home except for a trip to the grocery store. We have stayed at least four cubits (six feet, but I think we should use a Biblical term that was good enough for Noah) from one another. Thankfully the curve seems to be flattening and the restrictions might be lifted sometime in May.

  Having done all that, are we safe? ‘Experts’ have advised us to wear a mask when in public. The N-95 model offers the best protection of any mask on the market. That means 5% of viruses might still get to you. This model is in short supply. Instead, people are making their own. This is a noble effort. Sadly, a cloth mask could be marketed as N-3. In other words, 97% of more of the viruses can get through, thus offering next to no protection. Yet many confidently head out in public not realizing the mask is of little value. Sorry to be Debbie Downer. You might consider giving N-95 masks as gifts.

  Deuteronomy 33:27 directs us to a safe place, “The eternal God is your refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemy before you.” In 1887 a Presbyterian elder wrote a hymn based on these words with the help of a friend. A letter from a distraught former student led him to write a beloved song of comfort. Do these words of the first stanza sound familiar, “What a fellowship, what a blessedness, what a peace is mine, leaning on the everlasting arms”? Anthony Showalter and Elisha Hoffman penned words that reminds in the refrain that God’s people will always be “Safe and secure from all alarms.” You are safe when you lean by faith on the everlasting arms of your Lord and Savior. He is rated 100% effective!

With great hope,
Pastor Gillikin

Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Dear Church Family,

  My study of the Bible has led me to a one-step method to be at peace. Normally I am opposed to simplistic formulas for anything spiritual. However, during the virus crisis, I will now promote this formula and encourage you to use it for the rest of your life. Remember, what I am about to tell you comes directly from the Bible. Here it is:

“To live at peace, look out your window.”

  Before you think I have lost my mind, let me explain. Actually, the first two verses of Psalm 121 give the formula: “I lift up my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” This formula assumes you have a mountain view. I do not have such a view at my house and must walk up to the ridge line.

  My office window faces south. Some of our beautiful hills stand tall to remind me of the wonderful truth that the Creator of all things is my help for every minutes of every day. He remains Lord of all and is in control of all. [For those who have not been blessed to live in our gorgeous mountains, either buy a picture of the mountains or gaze at the beauty of God’s creation to fill the void.]

  The psalm goes on to state that He is personal and will not let my foot slip at any time. He is all powerful and does not slumber or sleep. He watches over every one of His people that He knows by name. Nothing can bring eternal harm to God’s people – not the sun, not the moon or anything else in all of creation. God watches over us as we go out, as we come back in, and even as we socially isolate. He will do that “both now and forevermore” as the psalm concludes.

  My formula is simple, but profound. Today and forever you can live at peace by looking out your window to the hills from where your help comes!

In great hope,
Pastor Gillikin

Tuesday, April 21, 2020

Dear Church Family,

  Have you ever the Bible and had a verse jumped out at you? It causes your heart to beat a little quicker and might make you say aloud, “Wow!” 1 John 3:1 has done that to me more than once. It reads in the NIV, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the sons of God!” In English it reads like a question – one that should cause us to reflect on God’s incredible love for us.

  Here is how Question 74 of the Larger Catechism answers what adoption is: “Adoption is an act of the free grace of God, in and for His only Son Jesus Christ, whereby all those that are justified are received into the number of His children, have His name put upon them, the Spirit of His Son given to then, are under His fatherly care, are welcomed to all the liberties and privileges of the sons of God, made heirs of all the promises and fellow-heirs with Christ in glory.” 

  I trust you were blessed by all the words of “His Mercy Is More” that we sang in worship this past Sunday. Note “the act of the free grace of God” that opens the third stanza: ‘What riches of kindness He lavished on us; His blood was the payment, His life was the cost.’ The cost of adopting a child today averages $10,000 to $15,000. It cost God the death of His only Son to adopt you to be His beloved child. Does that make your heart beat faster?

  The catechism answer goes on to unpack the many blessings that belong to God’s children and can never be taken away. Re-read the paragraph above and then rank in order which ones are the best. I rank them all as number one! You can accuse me of cheating, but they all have such infinite value that all deserve the highest rating.

  Today is my older brother’s birthday. So I just called him, and after birthday greetings, I asked for his rating. He quickly replied, “Simple answer is being loved by Him.” Certainly, all the others benefits flow out from God’s great love and grace to us. We had fun discussing it for a few minutes until his need to be on a conference ended our time.

  Today may we live to God’s glory as His beloved children!

In great hope,
Pastor Gillikin