Tuesday, July 21, 2020

Dear Church Family,

While J. I. Packer ranked highly as a Christian scholar, at heart he knew he was a sinner saved by grace who joyously lived to the glory of God. Two quotes show that he rested in the wonderful doctrine of adoption for his identity and directed how he lived out his biblical theology. Like some the other quotes cited yesterday, these are worth chewing over slowly.

“There is no peace like the peace of those whose minds are possessed with full assurance that they have known God, and God has known them, and that this relationship guarantees God’s favor to them in life, through death and on for ever.”

“Adoption is the highest privilege of the gospel. The traitor is forgiven, brought in for supper, and given the family name. To be right with God the Judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the Father is greater.”

Lest you think he was “so heavenly minded that he was of no earthly good,” here are Packer’s “6 things a Christian should tell themselves everyday”:

  1. I am a child of God.

  2. God is my Father.

  3. Heaven is my home.

  4. Every day is one day nearer.

  5. My Savior is my brother.

  6. Every Christian is my brother too.

Certainly preaching these truths to ourselves each day will change our attitude and the way we live.

Packer writes near the end of “Knowing God” words that reflect his desire for people to embrace the Gospel: “we saw that knowing God involves a personal relationship whereby you give yourself to God on the basis of His promise to give Himself to you. Knowing God means asking His mercy, and resting on His undertaking to forgive sinners for Jesus’s sake. Further, it means becoming a disciple of Jesus, the living Saviour who is ‘there’ today, calling the needy to Himself as He did in Galilee in the days of His flesh. Knowing God, in other words, involves faith-assent, consent, commitment-and faith expresses itself in prayer and obedience.”

Packer himself admitted that he lived up to his name by packing much truth into only a few words. On the last page of “Knowing God” these underlined words in my copy read, “Those who know God in Christ have found the secret of true freedom and true manhood.” I do not need to make any further comment. So I leave you with one more quote to chew over. 

“Knowing God is a relationship calculated to thrill a man’s heart.”

With great hope,
Pastor Gillikin

Monday, July 20, 2020

Dear Church Family,

One of my heroes of the faith went to be with the Lord last week. J. I. Packer, though of slight build, stood as a spiritual giant in a world desperate for a living demonstration of Biblical truth. I read many tributes about him over the weekend. You can find many at https://www.thegospelcoalition.org where I just counted more than ten on the home page. I encourage you to read them and to aspire to grow in grace as Packer did throughout his life. One article has forty memorable quotes from the many books and articles that Packer wrote. Over the next few days I will share some of them with ‘minimal’ comment. Today I give you three that offer wisdom that can apply to living in our time of pandemic.

“‘Wait on the Lord’ is a constant refrain in the Psalms, and it is a necessary word, for God often keeps us waiting. He is not in such a hurry as we are, and it is not his way to give more light on the future than we need for action in the present, or to guide us more than one step at a time. When in doubt, do nothing, but continue to wait on God. When action is needed, light will come.”

“God uses chronic pain and weakness, along with other afflictions, as his chisel for sculpting our lives. Felt weakness deepens dependence on Christ for strength each day. The weaker we feel, the harder we lean. And the harder we lean, the stronger we grow spiritually, even while our bodies waste away. To live with your ‘thorn’ uncomplainingly—that is, sweet, patient, and free in heart to love and help others, even though every day you feel weak—is true sanctification. It is true healing for the spirit. It is a supreme victory of grace.”

“Optimism hopes for the best without any guarantee of its arriving and is often no more than whistling in the dark. Christian hope, by contrast, is faith looking ahead to the fulfillment of the promises of God. . . . Optimism is a wish without warrant; Christian hope is a certainty, guaranteed by God himself. Optimism reflects ignorance as to whether good things will ever actually come. Christian hope expresses knowledge that every day of his life, and every moment beyond it, the believer can say with truth, on the basis of God’s own commitment, that the best is yet to come.”

If you have read those last three paragraphs in less than two minutes, you may be a fast reader, but you need to go back, slow down and chew over the rich meat that each quote contains. These words, and many more, show how J. I. Packer lived out the truth of his classic book “Knowing God.” May we be hearers and doers of the Word of God!

With great hope,
Pastor Gillikin

Friday, July 10, 2020

Dear Church Family,

God has given benedictions as a wonderful gift to His people. Just about every New Testament book from Romans to Revelation has one. A Bible-ordered worship service closes with a benediction. [By the way the word means “good words” and has nothing to do with picking up your stuff to leave.]

In the closing two verses of his epistle Jude lays out a benediction that overflows with solid theology, praise to God and hope for His people. Jude writes (as stated in v1) “To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ.” With that in mind, he reminds them that God “is able to keep you from falling.” God is not only able, but he will do what He has promised. They lived in tough times and faced the tempting teaching of false teaching. Jude encourages them that though they may feel weak, God would faithfully sustain them as they stayed true to the Word of God. Those words would keep them going in the present.

Jude next gives them words for the future as God will “present you before His glorious presence without fault and great joy.” In a world that offers little if any hope, God’s people possess a future that has been guaranteed by the blood of Jesus. Christ’s blood has washed away their sins. Jay Adams comments, “God has the power to keep them from falling into the clutches of the enemy. And He is the One Who can take you through all of this difficulty in such a way that on that final Day you will be faultless.” They are clothed with the righteousness by the One “who for the joy set before Him endured the cross” per Hebrews 12:2. Just image the joyful celebration that will take place in heaven as the saints gather to worship God.

Jude ends with a moving description of the One in Whom we trust and for Whom we live, “the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.” In the spiritual battle that we face each day, Jude points us to the hope and the tools we need to bring God the glory only He deserves. 

With great hope in His grace,
Pastor Gillikin

Thursday, July 9, 2020

Dear Church Family,

Not only do good things come in small packages (like the book of Jude and 3 John), sometimes you need to wait until the end to get the best part. Counselor Jay Adams writes, “Perhaps, apart from verse 3, the most important section now begins.” As we get to verse 20 Jude packs “three exhortations (that) are foundational to fighting for the faith” into a few words that merit our attention. They stand in stark contrast to the way of life of a scoffer as seen on Tuesday. Putting each of the three into daily practice will help grow us toward spiritual maturity and keep us from falling for the schemes of false teachers.

Jude encourages his ‘dear friends’ to build themselves “up in your most holy faith.’ John MacArthur writes that no Christian want to remain a spiritual child “perpetually stuck in infancy.” In the way we must grow by knowing the truth of God’s Word more. We must yearn for truth by our own time in the Bible and seeking faithful preaching and teaching. We then must meditate on those Biblical truths so they become a pattern of how we think. Jude then says to “pray in the Holy Spirit.” We will see in Romans 8 that the Spirit helps us in our prayers – giving us words to say and the power to say them. The third item calls us to keep ourselves in God’s love and to rest in His mercy that brings eternal life. We must love God and His ways rather than the world and its emptiness. God has loved us perfectly in Christ and there is no sane reason to seek love anywhere else. It will be way less than perfect.

Jude goes on with an implied motive that since we have received God’s mercy, we have the joy and duty to extend that mercy to those who doubt. In our polarized world God might just use us to “snatch others from the fire and save them.”

Tim Challies sums up a problem common to us, “The great daily challenge is, on the face of it, so very simple: to think like a Christian, to speak like a Christian, to act like a Christian. It is to think in ways that reflect a renewed mind, a mind that sees the world as it truly is and a mind that is determined to think God’s thoughts after him. It is to speak in ways that reflect a renewed heart, to understand that life and death are in the power of the tongue and that my words can be fresh water or brackish, a blessing or a curse. It is to act in ways that reflect renewed desires, to act in ways that faithfully deploy my gifts, talents, time, energy, and enthusiasm for the good of others and the glory of God.”

May we following Jude’s wise instructions as we face the ‘daily challenge’ to live to the glory of God.

With great hope in His grace,
Pastor Gillikin

Tuesday, July 7, 2020

Dear Church Family,

Jude has written words in verses 3-16 that when looked at in isolation appear to be harsh, but in reality are bathed in love. If you yell at a child running around his yard people might think you are cruel. When they realize that child was scurrying to get his ball in the busy street, their thoughts of you turn from hatred to hero. Jude must be seen as a heroic figure as he contends for the faith once delivered. He has warned in v16 of those who “are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires and boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.”

Jude’s tone changes some in v17 as he quotes Jesus to remind us, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” Therefore, it should not surprise when we see the damage of sin all around us. At times it seems people are striving to fulfill the words of Romans 1:18-32 that show how they have “exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped created things rather than the Creator…they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.”

These false teachers follow the example of the first scoffer in world history. Satan fell from his angelic position as he sought to make himself “like the Most High.” (See Isaiah 14:12-16 to learn more about Satan’s rebellion.) Then in the Garden of Eden he mocked the authority of God with his common way of deceit by asking “Did God really say?” The evil one continues his rebellious work doing using people who “follow mere natural (sinful) instincts and do not have the Spirit” to divide God’s people. Without the Holy Spirit no one can understand the Bible nor can they please God (Rom. 8:8). We must watch out that our own “evil desires” (v16) do not cause division in Christ’s church. All of us have desires. The basic question is whether they are evil or God-honoring. 

The church during the time of Jude did not have to deal with social media, the internet, TV or radio. Just about all teaching and sharing of opinions came face-to-face. Various media bombard us with all sorts of information. Some of what we see, hear and read is beneficial. Much of it is not. We must be ever vigilant to guard our hearts and minds. We need to yell out words of warning to ourselves as we get our daily dose of information. We should seek first the truth of God’s Word and have it serve as a filter for all that enters our minds. Is what we see, read and hear something that our Lord would teach us? If not, then it most likely should not be consumed.

With great hope in His grace,
Pastor Gillikin

Monday, July 6, 2020

**Today is a special guest devotion from Huntley Paton. He and his wife Dawn joined the church last year.**

It’s funny how a certain line of scripture you didn’t really notice before can jump right out and grab you.

Such was the case for me recently as I was reading the Old Testament. This sentence fragment from Judges 5:6 stopped me cold: “… the highways were abandoned, and travelers kept to the byways.”

I have read that line before, perhaps many times, but now I couldn’t move past it. Suddenly, I felt the chill I should have felt in past readings. This, I realized, was what it was like to live in a lawless time of fear and chaos.

It wasn’t hard to understand why the scripture spoke to me so profoundly this time around: We are not in the pickle the Israelites were in then, but it feels like that is what’s coming, doesn’t it? Between the pandemic and social unrest, the roads are quieter than they once were. We are hesitant to leave our homes, for fear of getting sick or becoming the victim of chaos. The safe play is to stay at home, out of sight.

There comes a point where common sense and caution becomes fear. We forget that we are in God’s hands. We forget that He is utterly sovereign over every event, every person, every molecule. We fear when we should be trusting.

My wife and I both got sick with Covid-19 in May. Dawn got it at the nursing home where she works as an occupational therapist. I had to move into the guest room and keep my distance even as I tried to care for her. No matter – I got sick on the same day she was getting better. Between us, our household was a Covid hot zone for most of May, and even though the virus is gone, my lungs still have not recovered from the insult. For Dawn, it remains a daily trauma, as she provides love and care in a workplace that has suffered more than 30 deaths. It’s depressing. It’s scary. And with recession, rioting and unrest constantly coming at us in the headlines, it’s easy to flirt with despair.

But our earthly circumstances are nothing compared to the security we have in Christ. The Puritan Jeremiah Burroughs (1599-1646), in his classic “Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment,” wrote that we must rest in Christ, not our comforts. “To be content as a result of some external thing is like warming a man’s clothes by the fire,” he wrote. “But to be content through an inward disposition of the soul is like the warmth that a man’s clothes have from the natural heat of his body.”

Christ is our creator and sustainer. He is at work, invincibly, through all of human history. No matter what the world gives us, it is nothing without Christ, and no matter what the world does to us, it is nothing compared to the mercy and security we enjoy in Him.

David knew a lot about strife and fear, more so than any of us. Yet in Psalm 3:5-6, he wrote: “I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.”

Christ has given us all the good things we enjoy. He has given us each other, our brothers and sisters in Christ. Most importantly, He has given us Himself. That is enough, today and for eternity.

With Christ's love,
Huntley Paton

Friday, July 3, 2020

Dear Church Family, 

As of today we are halfway through the year 2020. It has been one for the history books. Six months ago as the new year came in I thought I might use the 20/20 vision metric as a way to encourage our church to seek deeper spiritual insight. I am not sure why I did not use such a clever motto for the year, but I held back. Now I wish I had gone public with my creativity as I truly believe God has, is and will use the events of this calendar year to grow His people in grace and knowledge. 

We have experienced many new things. Watching the daily reports (however you get your news) that focus on death totals, tests performed, positive tests and hospitalizations still shock us, though sadly we seem to be getting used to that sad news. Wearing a mask continues to make us uncomfortable in many ways. First, it is an admission that a virus lurks somewhere that could be deadly. Second, physically masks make us hot and at time we may struggle to breathe with one on. Third, being near other masked people becomes awkward as we often cannot hear them clearly when they speak and we are unable to read their facial expressions which make up a large part of how we communicate. Do you feel claustrophobic when wearing a mask like I do? 

We have new words and phrases such as shelter in place, Covid-19, social distance, ‘Do you have a mask?” and Dr. Fauci. We have worried about having enough toilet paper, stayed away from scheduled medical appointments, wondered what the stock market will do, and yearned to watch a baseball game. We saw the senseless killing of a black man by a policeman that led to (sometimes violent) protests around our county. The fallout (good and bad) continues from that incident. Life seems totally different than it was just months ago. We have even faced the threat of a Sahara Desert dust cloud. 

Here is a short, but incomplete, list of other new things that have been tough for me to handle during the pandemic: Taking my lovely wife out to eat while trying to be content with the occasional take-out; not seeing my grandchildren in person for almost six months; feeling helpless to fix the problem; and most of all, not being with my church family and being able to minister face-to-face as I would prefer. 

Now that I have all that off my chest (look at all that as a lament), I go back to the first paragraph to ask how God is using the pandemic to grow us in grace and knowledge. Here are some wonderful truths that we should know better now than we did four months ago. God’s character should drive us to deeper worship. He indeed rules over all things. He is good and holy in all He does. God is ever with us. He will not leave us, nor will He forsake us. The Bible is clear on all of these facts. 

His grace remains sufficient for us each day. He kindly has provided for our daily bread. Psalm 119:76 gives encouraging words, “May Your unfailing love be my comfort according to Your promise to your servant.” In the midst of uncertainty God fills us with faith, hope and even joy. 

I trust God will grant us 20/20 vision to see over time His love, mercy and goodness during the unforgettable first half of this year. We can look with confidence ahead to see how He will be glorified over the next six months.  

With great hope in His grace,

Pastor Gillikin

Thursday, July 2, 2020

**Today's guest devotion is from Jack Siefaff. He and his wife Pamela live in Burnsville. They began worshiping with us at the start of the year. They hope to head to Glascow, Scotland as soon as the pandemic allows. There they will minister to a large group of international students, many of whom are Chinese.**


Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9

The days seem to be getting longer with the coronavirus quarantines in effect. We have less human contact and so we have to rely on God more than ever before.

I think of John the Apostle forced on to the Isle of Patmos. He was called the “apostle of love” because he wrote so much about love in his epistles. He was also called the “disciple whom Jesus loved.” However, there he was on the Isle of Patmos all alone without others to uphold him. No doubt he used the time to get closer to God and he wrote the final book of the Bible, Revelation.

With more time for solitude, how can we also get closer to God and be of greater service to others?

Most of us agree in our hearts that the greatest work we can do for God and for others is to pray. Many of us now have more time for prayer than ever before.

How do we pray? Well, we have the whole Book of Psalms to teach us how to pray. There are also many prayers in the Bible to guide us such as the prayers of Jesus, Paul, Moses, etc. God promises to never leave us. He promises that he will draw closer to us as we draw close to him. (Hebrews 13:5, James 4:8) God is weaning us off all our idols. All the things that propped us up without solid reliance on God.

I believe God wants to move in a mighty way on our behalf, but we must be faithful to pray and seek his face. Zechariah 2:13 Be still before the Lord, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.”

Don’t let your sufferings be in vain. Draw close to God so that you may one day hear these words from him to you, “Well done my good and faithful servant.” Matthew 25:21

Pamela and I ministered in China for over 15 years with our 8 children. We often had illnesses, persecutions and difficulties, but we saw God deliver us time and time again. He is faithful! All our children benefited from the experience. “The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:24

Here is a recent story of answered prayer from 9marks.org:

"After nearly three years of suffering from Eosinophilic Gastritis, my wife Marcia was near death. She had lost a significant amount of her body weight and doctors could find no medical solution. They had only succeeded at finding medication that helped some but worsened her condition. Finally, after exhausting all local options, we made an appointment for her to be seen at Mayo Clinic, Rochester. I explained the problem to the church as we set off for Minnesota. They prayed corporately for her and in many small groups. Something strange occurred the night before her first appointment; she awakened and said she was in absolutely no pain, for the first time in three years.

She ate a little breakfast without pain. The doctors performed extensive tests and proved the disease that was destroying her life was healed. They had no explanation other than it was a miracle." (Dennis Newkirk)

Brothers and sisters, let’s continue to pray for each other as the First Presbyterian Church of Weaverville directs us. Contact the church to get on the email list for corporate prayer. It’s fantastic to see God answer our prayers for each other! May God bless you!

Jack Sielaff

Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Dear Church Family,

Jude saw that the serious problem of false teaching had grown so bad that he must continue to warn his beloved readers about the danger they faced. In verse 11 he calls down God’s judgment on the godless ones who teach things contrary to “the faith once entrusted to all the saints.” This is not action to be taken lightly. Jude does not give details about the false teaching though they seem to downplay the sacrificial work of Christ and justification by faith alone. The words that follow show how ungodly they and their teachings must have been. We can learn from his inspired words.

Jude says they “have taken the way of Cain” who rejected God’s truth and carried out his anger by murdering his brother. So the teachers do not give a second thought to the damage they inflict on those who hear. They focus on themselves and worldly gain. They rebel against authority as Korah in Numbers 16 did in his uprising against Moses whom God had clearly put in charge of His people. Please note that things did not end well for Korah. The earth split open and swallowed him and those who followed him. Jude uses strong language and he is just getting warmed up!

In verses 12-13 Jude violates the etiquette rule of “If you don’t have anything nice to say about someone, then don’t say anything.” He lambasts the false teachers repeatedly and indeed has nothing nice to say. Among other things he says they “are shepherds who only feed themselves…clouds without rain…trees without fruit and uprooted…wild waves of the sea…wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.” Contrast those words of condemnation with what the Bible tells us about Jesus our great Prophet/Teacher. He was the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for His sheep; He was the source of living water; He calmed the storm waves of Galilee; and came as the Light of the world and delivered all who believe from eternal darkness.

Jude wraps up his words of condemnation with a prophecy from Enoch that comes from extra-biblical literature. By quoting it Jude affirms that these words contain truth and will happen in God’s timing. Note the sober tone, “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of His holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinner have spoken against Him.”

Jude serves an important purpose for us during the pandemic. With the various pressures that come our way and the uncertainties that we face, the evil one has the opportunity to lead us astray with what seem to be words of truth, but are nothing but more lies from the father of lies. We must be on guard against his deceptive ways and continue to hold firm to Biblical truth. Beware as 1 Peter 5:8 warns, “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” 

With great hope in His grace,
Pastor Gillikin

Monday, June 29, 2020

Dear Church Family,

Over the last twenty years or so we have been bombarded with warnings. If you get coffee to go and the cup in all caps screams at you “CAUTION: HOT!” I hope it is hot. If I wanted cold coffee, it would come in a different cup, but without a word about the low temperature. Words of caution are so common now that we tend to ignore them. Jude continues to write words that we must heed, lest we suffer awful consequences.

We must be careful to not buy in to the world’s “hollow and deceptive philosophy” (Col. 2:8) that teaches, “It doesn’t what you believe, just as long as you are sincere about it.” That may sound nice, yet it is utter nonsense. Jude notes in v5-7 what happens to those who rejected God’s truth and followed the ways of the world. He reminds them of those who had been brought out of Egypt but were destroyed because they “did not believe.”  Fallen angels “did not keep their positions of authority” and now will “face judgment on the great Day.” Jude ends the section with the example of Sodom and Gomorrah that “gave themselves up to sexual immorality” and will “suffer the punishment of eternal life” for they rejected God’s design for holy living.

Jude then describes various ways that false teachers mislead people. He calls them ‘dreamers’ because they rely on supposed (imaginary) visions from God. First, they reject the unique authority of the Bible. They captivate people with their alleged vision. Joseph Smith and Mormonism serves as a woeful modern example. In their fallen way of thinking, these deceivers “pollute their bodies” which means they openly practice sexual immorality and encourage their duped followers to do the same.

Second, they “reject authority” as they answer to no one but themselves. Doing so rejects the Biblical doctrine of sin in the lives of God’s people. Today false teachers tend to be independent of any connectional church body. They will have a board that they have appointed and rubber stamps all decisions. They ignore human and divine accountability and when challenged will retort, “Touch not the Lord’s anointed!”

Third, they “slander celestial beings.” This is not an easy phrase to grasp. I rely on a scholar who says, “The false teachers apparently mocked the power of the devil and his demons. Even today, a flippant attitude toward Satan and his power can lead to spiritual danger.” If their authority lies in anything other than the Word of God, any teacher is unfaithful and playing with fire. Because of this Jude calls these who “speak abusively” in unflattering terms “unreasoning animals.”  

We must not ignore these words of warning. Our world is full of false teaching. Certainly, this is a call for me and all pastors to strive to be faithful to the Word of God. It is also a call to be like the Bereans in Acts 17 who received Paul’s message eagerly and “examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”

With great hope in His grace,
Pastor Gillikin

Friday, June 26, 2020

Dear Church Family,

After his delightful greeting Jude digs right into serious business in the book that bears his name. He intended to write “about the salvation we share,” a major problem has cropped up and needed urgent attention. As is sadly common in the church of Jesus throughout its history, godless men had “slipped in among” them.” As a result Jude pens words (inspired by the Holy Spirit) that serve as part of every faithful pastor’s calling and provide an aspiration for every believer. Jude follows that with words of warning that have as much relevance today as they did 2,000 years ago.

Jude urges God’s people “to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.” We have something worth fighting for – the truth. A spiritual war continues to wage and will until Jesus returns. Scripture describes the conflict with many contrasts. To name just a few: good versus evil; life versus death; truth versus lies; and light versus darkness. The main battle focuses on the truth of the Bible. Is it the eternal Word of God? Does truth change? Did God really say? Jude here states strongly and with confidence that God the Father has given His people the words that explain what true justifying faith is. Per John 6:68 Jesus has given us “the words of eternal life!” We must not settle for anything but the truth of God’s Word. The “entrusted” message is the one the apostles of Jesus have proclaimed to the early church and it will not ever change. The “once for all” nature makes that abundantly clear. The Bible remains authoritative and sufficient for salvation.

In contrast to that in verse four Jude warns of men who “have secretly slipped in among you.” Rarely does a heretic proclaim his teaching contains untruth. Paul states in 2 Corinthians 11:14 that Satan “masquerades as an angel of light.” Satan’s biggest weapon remains the lie. Jude says the evil one uses godless men to accomplish his purposes. Satan takes what is good and turns it to evil. Here they “change the grace of our God into a license for immorality.”

We must highly value God’s grace and never use it as an excuse to sin. How does this happen? I really don’t want to tell you, but if you promise not to put the next few words into practice, I will tell you. The twisted teaching says, “I am under grace and God will always forgive me, so I can live however I want to live.” Please never fall for the lie! Instead, we must say with determination, “I am saved by grace. Therefore, I will live by grace to the glory of God and joyfully follow His commands.” I trust you see the difference and the high calling we have.

Jude further explains as one commentator puts it, “By their godless and immoral behavior the false teachers deny Jesus.” When they fail to affirmed Jesus as Lord they deny His sovereign rule over them. They become a law unto themselves and practice self-rule rather than glad submission to Jesus.

We get to contend for the faith by holding firm to Biblical truth and by living to God’s glory.

With great hope in His grace,
Pastor Gillikin

Thursday, June 25, 2020

Dear Church Family,

The Book of Jude, another of the ‘small packages’ in the New Testament, contains 25 verses of pure gold. Just the first two verses pack words that we need to savor. Most scholars believe the author was the brother of Jesus Christ. Imagine the stories he could have told about growing up with our Savior! He calls himself “a servant of Jesus Christ.”

Jude writes to fellow believers. His salutation has a rich list of blessings they enjoy and good for us to chew over. He writes “to those who have been called.” We can easily glide by those six words, yet without them not one person would ever be redeemed by the blood of Jesus on the cross. Since we are spiritually dead in sin, no one will ever come to Jesus unless a supernatural acts to change that spiritual state. That action start before God created the world when He called some (the elect) to be His chosen people. Paul lays this out in great detail in Ephesians 1, as well as throughout Romans. We do not deserve the many blessings that God showers on us. This remains a great reason to give Him praise.

Jude goes on to remind his readers they “are loved by God the Father.” This coming Lord’s Day I have the joy of digging into the “True Love” of God shown in Romans 5:6-8. Please listen carefully with your sermon outline and understand more deeply how much God loves His people. Please do not gloss over the fact that God is your Heavenly Father. Your identity must be found in being as child of the Creator God. God alone acted to accomplish your salvation by choosing you, calling you, justifying you by faith alone in Christ alone and adopted you as His beloved child. Jesus then preserves God’s people as He states in John 10:28 that He has given His sheep “eternal life; and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of My hand.”

In the second verse Jude uses a common Jewish saying that greeted people with “mercy and peace” – two wonderful benefits of God’s people. Instead of wrath, those justified by Christ have received mercy and are at peace with God as Romans 5:1 reminds us. Jude enriches the greeting by adding “love” to it. Jude further adds that we do not have just a sprinkling of those three blessing. God’s people enjoy them in abundance.

  Chew over these two verses and praise our Heavenly Father for His many blessings!

With great hope in His grace,
Pastor Gillikin

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Dear Church Family,

Here are some quick facts about the Book of Philemon. It is tucked in between Titus and Hebrews. Paul and Timothy wrote it not only to their ‘dear friend’ Philemon, but also to Apphia ‘our sister,’ Archippus a ‘fellow soldier’ and the church that met in Philemon’s home. [The gist of the letter will be addressed to Philemon, so the book has his name as its title and not because his name is the easiest to pronounce.] Scholars believe Paul, as the main author, wrote it from prison at the same time he wrote Ephesians. It contains two themes that give focus to the Christian life. 

Before getting to those two points, Paul gives warm words of thanks to them as he tells how he prays for them. He rejoices in their faith and how they love one another. He commends them for actively “sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.” Note the blessing that comes from sharing your faith with someone. It results in the sharer growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus. Paul even repeats himself as he brings up their demonstrations of love a second time. That church serves as a model for us today.

Paul could almost be accused of buttering up Philemon with those kind words as he quickly gets to his main point. Paul appeals as “an old man and prisoner of Jesus Christ” that due to the transformative power of the Gospel, Philemon should grant him a big favor. At some time after escaping Onesimus came to faith in Christ. Somehow Onesimus, a slave who belonged to Philemon, had come to Paul and had become an essential part of Paul’s life. In v11 Paul states Onesimus had been ‘useless’ to Philemon, but was now helpful to both Paul and Philemon. Paul apparently had known him while he was Philemon’s slave and now saw daily the total change in his life. Paul rejoiced, as Philemon and all of God’s people should, in the power of the Gospel to bring new life that Onesimus demonstrates.

Paul then states he will send Onesimus back to Philemon. However, he appeals to Philemon to allow his slave to stay with Paul. While it serves as a model on how to lay out logical reasoning to bring about a change of action, more importantly it teaches us the importance of striving for reconciliation. One commentator lists 14 arguments in v8-21 that Paul uses. Paul’s first argument is that as an apostle he could order the release of the slave. Instead, his second point provides the most powerful contention – the basis of love. Paul loves Onesimus as a son (v8). He sees him not as a slave, but as a brother who is “dear to me, but even dearer to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord (v16). True love cannot permit or condone treating another member of the body of Christ as a slave or a piece of property. Indeed, slavery (though apparently allowed in the Bible to pay back a debt for up to seven years) was to be normal practice for it fails to show the love that must be evident in the life of anyone who claims the name of Jesus.

It is believed that Philemon did free his slave Onesimus. Paul’s appeal worked, not just because of his wise words, but due to a life changed by the grace of God and the call to love another. 

With great hope in His grace,
Pastor Gillikin

Monday, June 22, 2020

Dear Church Family,

John closes his third epistle with words of encouragement. First, he urges them to live holy lives by watching how they pattern their lives. We all have heroes. Putting John’s words into a question ponder this, “Will you mimic the evil conduct of your idol(s) or will you mirror the God-honoring conduct of another saint who serves as your role model?”

John then lays all of his cards on the table. He states a profound truth in black and white. There is no gray in as he writes, “Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.” If you are in Christ, you will bear godly fruit. Jesus teaches this in Matthew 25, John 15 and other passages. Paul teaches in Colossians 1:10 that we please God by “bearing fruit in every good work.” Paul warned in Ephesians 5:11, “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness.” If you see your life as an apple tree, you are either bearing delicious juicy fruit or whatever grows is not worth eating and thus is of no value.

I must confess that I wonder how those words can be seen as encouraging. This caused me to check a few commentaries. The first three I consulted all had the same theme that John was contrasting the temptation to be like evil Diostrephes, whom he has warned about in v9-10, with the desire to live out the truth for which Gaius had been commended in v1-8. Even an influential secular agnostic has stated boldly, “I act as if I believe in God to the best of my ability. I am afraid that he might exist.” That thinking sadly provides an example of what Francis Schaeffer described as “modern man standing firmly in mid-air.”

John goes on to commend Demetrius to them. He is likely bringing John’s letter to them. He is one who serves as a model of one who lives out the truth of the Gospel. O, that all of us would have such words said about us!

John closes with words that ring familiar with us in the pandemic. He has much more to write about, but he hoped to do so in person. He had no idea if or when he would ever be with them as he wrote, “I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.” We certainly echo those sentiments. John blesses them with God’s peace as fellow believers send their greetings by name.

Since 3 John has only 14 verses I challenge you to read the whole thing and feast on the good truths in this small package.

With great hope in His grace,
Pastor Gillikin

Friday, June 19, 2020

Dear Church Family,

John proceeds in v9-10 of his third epistle with an abrupt change. In the first two sections he has rejoiced that his dear friend Gaius remains faithful to the truth of the Gospel and lives a life that demonstrates the reality of the Gospel. He also commends him for his hospitality to missionaries who have come to his area.

Gaius gets a strong warning from John about Diotrephes. All that we know about him is found in these two verses. John has nothing redeeming to say about him. In contrast to Jesus’ teaching that His followers are to be servants, deny themselves and follow Him, Diotrephes “loves to be first.” My paraphrase who be that “he worships the god of me, myself and I.” Diotrephes wanted “nothing to do with” John who was described as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” and a leading elder in the early church. Yet Diotrephes acted as a rule unto himself. He did not submit to the God-centered authority of others. All of this comes in just verse nine.

What John has said looks bad enough, but it gets worse. John warns that should he be able to visit Gaius and his church, he will confront Diotrephes over three blatant sins – sins that we should be careful to avoid in Christ’s church. First, malicious gossip marks his life. Gossip tends by definition to be malicious. God has given us tongues to praise Him and to build up others. We must tame our tongues, lest it be “a restless evil full of deadly poison” per James 3:8. Then, unlike Gaius in v5-8, Diotrephes refused to show hospitality to the brothers in Christ who came to the area ministering in the name of Jesus. He also practiced the ‘ministry of discouragement’ by telling God’s people to not welcome the brothers. Anyone who did might be excommunicated by Diotrephes as he practiced church discipline in an unbiblical way.

From a distance of almost two thousand years it appears that Diotrephes had not been transformed by the Gospel. He failed to live joyfully under God’s design for the church. Further, he served as his own lord rather that living in the service of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. His name means ‘nourished by Zeus” who was a god in Greek myth. I would hope anyone in Christ would have changed his name to honor the true and living God. We must beg God for the grace to not be like Diotrephes. Our call is to be used by our Savior to build up His church. Like Gaius we aim to remain faithful to the truth of the Gospel and lives a life that demonstrates the reality of the Gospel.

With great hope in His grace,
Pastor Gillikin

Thursday, June 18, 2020

Dear Church Family,

John continues in his third epistle to laud his friend Gaius for being faithful. Obviously when someone commends another for being faithful it involves a good work being done. John does not give much detail, but we can learn much in v5-8 about how we can be deemed faithful as we strive to live to the glory of God.

First, Gaius has been doing something “for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you.” Scholars believe Gaius welcomed missionaries into his house. There he proved shelter and food for them as they proclaimed the Gospel to those who lived in the area near Gaius. (We are not sure where he lived.) It is likely the missionaries came to Gaius with a letter commending their work. Though he had not met them, Gaius allowed them into his home just as he would family. After all, they were family as brothers in Christ.

John then notes that word had gotten back to him how well Gaius had loved them. As you heard in yesterday’s video devotion and just might hear in a sermon on June 28, true love involves a cost to the one who loves. Houses in the first century were not designed to host many guests. Nor did most people have an abundance of food to share. Yet Gaius ignored any financial cost, inconvenience, crowding in his house and energy involved to extend the love of Christ to fellow Christians. No doubt his acts of loved served as a powerful demonstration of the Gospel to his neighbors. He practiced the truth of  Galatians 5:6, “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself in love.”

John encourages Gaius “to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God.” This is thought to mean Gaius should generously give them money as the brothers journey to another place of ministry. John explains they do expect any help from unbelievers. It is the high duty of God’s people to support as much as possible to those in ministry. John says they do ministry “for the sake of the Name” of Jesus. That is the only reason for ministry – to spread the glories of the name of Jesus!

Our local church has existed almost one hundred years. Throughout its history we have steadfastly given generously to the cause of missions – local and international. May we continue to faithfully support the work of the Name around the world! As we do this we “work together for the truth.”

With great hope in His grace,
Pastor Gillikin

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